#when I should be sleeping instead lol lmao it’s fine

[taketheringtolohac]

I’ve literally never considered using a blow dryer up until this point in my life. Like I get it now.

[kuiinncedes]

lol i can’t tell if i’m up bc of jet lag or bc of the small amount of energy drink i had btwn like 5-8pm or bc of my normal i don’t want to go to sleep so i’m constantly on my phone btwn short attempts to fall asleep which def doesn’t help me fall asleep 👍

[dedfly]

Cute idea after reading your shadow milk x tired reader one shot. Hyper y/n x shadow milk one shot...like shadow milk knows its late and needs to put y/n to sleep buuut y/n is just so hyped up from his fun antics that they just wanna continue playing lol! Like say shadow milk doesn't realize how riled up and playful y/n was getting from his affection and games and stuff until now lol!

Shadow Milk Cookie x energetic reader

Looks like sleepover was, to put it bluntly, a bad idea. Oddly enough, this thought flashed through Shadow Milk’s head when he looked at the watch. Well not as bad. You both just devour a huge amount of sugar, fussing over whoever licked the sugar from the candy packaging this time, played a bit. Fun night. The way you resonate with his energy Shadow Milk loved dearly. Well until it's bed time and it's affecting your health.

It's already midnight and you are just as energetic as him. Which wasn't an issue for him, it's not like he needs sleep at all. He's fine just curling in bed and rest his eyes.

Shadow milk cookie stared at you. Milk makes a lot of moves in such a short time, which served as another reason for your energy to overflow while he rocks softly,thinking of the way to put your over hyped mind to sleep. He could just use hypnosis...no not right now.

Look at you. You just couldn’t stop smiling around him, his personality was what undoubtedly lured you closer to him. Made you feel a familiar rush throughout your body, he worked better than sugar.

And so you just looked at each other, each in your own little world. However, Shadow was the first to destroy this trance with the speed only he could move, grabbing you and putting you onto the bed.

“Baby, babe, should I rock you to sleep in your crib and sing you a lullaby? Look at your eyes, it’s time for you to sleep,” he purred in a mock motherly voice, wrapping you in a blanket. You feel a bit dumbfounded, why you are tucked like a burrito and..is this a puppet of him instead of teddy bear?

He can’t cope with the word at all, mentally vowing to no longer be the most responsible cookie in the room; he still remains so. Oh, what love and wanting the best for your partner does to cookies. Shadow sighed in defeat before curling up like a big cat on top of you. “Ah, isn’t it beautiful? You, me and the way your pupils are dilated,” he purred, running his hand through your hair. His voice becomes quieter with each sentence and his movements become more relaxed. And soon you felt your body begin to pass out, oh and his proximity does not help you stay conscious. He was so comforting it doesn't really matter what he kinda used his hypnosis this time. Coating you with it better than any blanket.

_________

I kinda fell asleep on this one lmao

It's messy and I think I should've focus on their dynamic more ugh but I like what came out either way

I think I would redo it

[mysadblacksoul]

Let's talk about Clancy, eh? (plus the livestream)

So I'm watching the livestream (the vod) and I decided to share my opinions about each songs!

without the first 4 singles

But tbh I think I'm an Overcompensate girly, that before hearing the rest of this album this is my top 1

With Backslide as a close second

Wait why should I increase my volume

Oh that's why

It was a trap

Okay Midwest Indigo, let's go I'm so ready

What an outfit Mr Joseph

Omg it's so bouncy

JIM

JENNA

I love the shouty lyrics

This MV is so goofy what the hell

Okay so it's so happy, so funky I love it!

The drums make want to do a lil dance

Hope the next one won't be sad

Yes Tyler, this song will go so hard live, I agree

And yes, put Josh on the mic!

Routines In The Night everybody

Oh so it's the rap one?

It's much less bouncy, but I can still tap my leg to it so I'm fine

You think that this is like the sister song to Ode To Sleep?

The chorous is so catchy what the hell

Yes! Give me those adlibs!

The dances, the visuals, the face card that never declines

What is he eating for Lord's sake

I can't pay attention to the songs when every time one ends those fools pop up on my screen again lol

"not every video is gonna be lore based" my ass

Wait so Routines is not lore oriented? But I see so many references :((((((

Vingette!

So it's a crowd's favourite? Aight

Oh it sound so nostalgic

More rap? okay, okay

Omg the vocals????

It's so different, like I can't predict where are we going with the beat

The bridge is so out of place but so in place???

What is going on

No but I see why they like it, for sure

God I love all the Joshes in the MVs

So Jenna's version will have another MV?

Sounds fun!

Oh it's soft version

So this is a fanmade mv for Jenna, how cute

No for real it is emotional, but in the best way possible

This version is filled with so much love, I can't even explain

The flashbacks to the young dudes? I might cry too

Yeah I se the vision. Like The Craving does feel more "right" played on the ukulele. It gives it much more emotion!

Now you just bully him lol. Tyler has two hands to hold two ukuleles, this is lore guys

Lavish whoo!

Before we start why the hell is the title of this song the only one written in different font in the lyric sheet in the CD, huh?

O damn man in black, get it I guess

The vocals are so dreamy, so different

Another leg mover

Why all of this songs are so catchy are you putting crack in it or what

It's also very chill so far

I also really like the use of the strings, it makes the song more full!

It kind of sounds like a movie soundtrack? Or is it just the MV that makes it feel this way

The silliest MV so far lmao

And seeing the amount of work that went into it makes it even better

And now Navigating!

I have to stop myself from looking for lore

I'm 3 seconds in, why it already sounds like a bop

This might be my new favourite song from this album

The electric guitar? With the synth? 11/10

The chorous is so amazing, simply

Will the bridge be sad or will he scream

Oh come through with this bass

JOSH ISN'T REAL THEORY WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK ARE WE IN THE FOREST FIC

Where did he go irl lmao

No for real it might be my favourite now, sorry Overcompensate

The Bandito one is the real one, write that down

NO I THINK I JUST GOT IT, THE WHOLE LORE MAKES SO MUCH SENSE NOW

What the hell Tyler, we have such a different taste then

Snap Back let's go!

What is going on

I'm like a second in

Oh no, it's broken

Instead of Snap Back premiere we have the premiere of Next Semester (ukulele version)

I'm not mad at all

Okay, let's go for real this time

Oh it's so dreamy

So this is the MV with head shaving lmao

BACKSLIDE, I heard that everyone

The drums are really shining on that song

And I love the contrast between low tone verses and more melodic, high alibs in chorous

The bridge seems sad I fear

Or are we picking up the tempo?

Nah we are putting more adlibs now!

Even better

Oldies station better be nostalgic

And quick question before we start, what the hell did you do to Josh?

Is this ballad?

Soft, fun and with funky vocals!

The lyrics are so beautiful, god

Omg Josh lmao

What a contrast to the song lol

Oh we are switching

I don't know how to justify it, but it feels like such a twenty one pilots song

Like it just makes sense for them to make it

I really like it

Honestly At The Risk Of Feeling Dumb sounds silly from the start

So is the MV

I really like the rollercoaster of the vocals. They are kind of all over the place, but still makes a lot of sense

It's the beat drop on the "drop"

Oh rap some more sure!

Why does he want to fight in every MV

Very fun, very chill and then you have the post chorous that are hard hitting

Love the contrast

Am I crazy or did they use kalimba in the end? I might be wrong tho

That's so sad that we are already finishing

One last track

Paladin Strait whoo!

I'm afraid that this one will be the sad one

The tears producer

The heart clencher

The ukulele strikes back

Love those low vocals

It's a song to sway this time

The drums strikes back

I don't know why it kind of sounds like the end of the western movie. Like after the good ending the cowboy is walking towards the sun, you see my vision?

This song is full of hope, so amazing

God the lyrics sounds like Clancy is finaly free

I might cry

It sounds like good ending to the trilogy

So it feels like a scam

It's too good to be true

But I don't know, maybe after all the ending of this story is good for all of us

What, is the silence in the official audio or is it just the end of the livestream

NO WAIT THERE IS MORE

no

wait guys no

FPE?????

WHO THE HELL

IS IT BLURRY

WHAT THE HELL

Now I need the MV to see what the hell is going on

The End

Nah, I'm not leaving you like this

I still think that Navigating is my fav from the new songs

But I'm gonna go listen to the album some more and then decide for sure

It's a good mix of everything, very twenty one pilots style

I just wished for more rage and screaming, but we need to be calm sometimes, I get it

There isn't a song that I don't like, that's for sure

So yeah! This are my feelings, thoughts (and prayers)

Give me your favourite song in the comments!

[geee-three]

ya wanna know what i did instead of talking to my parents this fine fathers day

wrote shinonome angst. lol lmao this is from my mafia auuuuu

He glanced over at his bed, her hair spilling out over the edge. They had other rooms, sure, but he didn’t want to leave her alone in case she woke up. 

Or if they came for her. 

…No, he couldn’t think about that.

He sighed, sitting up. It seemed he was the one who couldn’t sleep. Every time he closed his eyes, Toya’s face flashed in his mind. Twisted in pain, blood smeared across his cheek, or tossing and turning in an uncomfortable hospital bed.

He should’ve been there. Toya was his boyfriend. It was his job to look after him. Hell, the two had been going to meet him. He should’ve met them halfway - taken the bullet, or, at the very least, been there to comfort him.

Well, maybe he wasn’t his boyfriend anymore.

He though he was dying. Was his final wish really to be with Nene? If so, he’d respect it. But what a way to break his heart. 

…At least Nene seemed guilty about it.

No. He couldn’t blame her for something Toya asked for. That’s not fair on her.

Fuck.

Was he mad or worried? He couldn’t tell. He thought maybe this was all his fault somehow, a plot engineered to make him feel bad.

Stop focusing on yourself, asshole. 

Right. Nene must be terrified… someone sent a fucking assassin after her.

She is the only Kusanagi kid.

…Weren’t the Kusanagis involved in the mafia, too?

…Fuck. That’s… not good. It was all coming back to him now. He’d be in some hot shit for sure by protecting her.

What if they got Nene, too? What if they got Toya for real this time? What if they got Ena?

Suddenly, everything felt far too big. He was a little kid playing dress-up in the big world. He didn’t know how to deal with this.

How pathetic, to be quivering on the edge of tears over things that haven’t happened.

He didn’t care. He wanted someone to swoop down, protecting him from all of this like a mother would.

He wanted Ena.

He glanced up at the alarm clock, ticking away on his desk, the only real sense he had of how much time had passed. 00:46. She’d be calling her friends soon, and he hadn’t gone to her for years.

Fuck it. This was big enough.

He stood up as quietly as he could, debating on if he should just leave his blanket, or- he draped it over Nene’s unconscious body, praying she’d still be breathing when he came back. 

Seven footsteps, then two quiet knocks. “Ena?”

She pushed herself back from her desk, turning to face the door. “What is it?”

He shuffled in, staring at his feet, unsure of what to do with himself. “Sorry if this is a bad time, but, uh..”

“Look at me,” she stood up, striding towards him, tipping his face toward hers. He looked like he’d been crying. “What happened?”

“You might wanna sit back down.”

She pulled him by his collar to sit on her bed, and had him face the wall. She ran her hands through his here, preparing to braid it. “Spill.”

“Ena, do you gotta do my hair?”

“This is sibling bonding time. Now,” she raised an eyebrow, “stop twisting your head ‘round and spill.”

He sighed. “Ok. You know Toya, yeah?”

“Mhm. Your ‘totally not my boyfriend Ena stop looking at me like that’?”

“He’s not my boyfriend, Ena, stop- oh, I see what you did.” 

“I can read you like a book, Akito. Stop with the bullshit.”

“Ok, fine, maybe he’s a little my boyfriend! But that’s not really relevant!”

“You brought him up.”

“Shut it. Did you want me to spill or did you want to interrupt?”

“Fine. Continue.”

“To cut to the chase, he got shot.”

“What.”

“Yeah. His dad’s a crime boss or something. But they weren’t aiming for him, they were aiming for Kusanagi Nene.”

“The girl in your class, green hair?”

“Yeah. We’re friends. That’s not- ok, it is kinda relevant.”

“Continue.”

“Right, uh. Her dad owes a debt or something and they threatened to kill her a while back if he didn’t pay. Guess he didn’t pay.”

“Damn. Why are all your friends involved in the mafia?”

“Could you have some sympathy?”

“No.”

“Great. Well. They hit Toya in the shoulder, I think, so he’ll live, but he’s in a bad state. I haven’t been to see him yet, but we’re going tomorrow morning.”

“I’ll have to go see him at some point, given how often he stays at ours.”

“Yeah. But that’s not what I wanted to talk about.”

“Well, get to the point.”

“He kissed Nene. Just after he got shot. He thought he was dying, and the last thing he did was.. cheat on me.”

“Your braid’s done.”

“Mm.” He flopped backwards, looking up at Ena. “What am I supposed to do?”

She sighed. “Talk to him. And Nene, too. People kiss each other platonically too, y’know. And it could’ve been a spur of the moment thing - maybe they don’t actually want to be together but kissed just in case.” She could tell he didn’t believe her.

“Because you know so much about kissing.”

“Oh, shut up.”

A Nightcord ringtone sounded. Akito sat up, spinning his feet off the bed, standing. “I’ll get out of your way now.” He headed for the door.

“Wait.” Ena grabbed his wrist, accepting the call. “Not now, Amia. Piss off.” She hit hang up, and almost threw her phone across the room, spinning it across the carpet. “Stay.”

“No, I-“

“Well, it’ll be at least twenty minutes before Amia will talk to me again, and you’re clearly not done talking.”

“I- Ena.” He sighed. “Listen, I shouldn’t have spoken to you at all. I don’t want to be a burden, you do enough for me already, without worrying about my stupid love life.”

“I’m more worried about the fact you’ve gotten yourself mixed up with multiple people who have assassins after them.” She frowned. “And where’d you get the idea you’re a burden?”

He wouldn’t meet her eyes.

Her mental maths wasn’t great, but she knew that Shinei - sorry, her father - was home a few weeks ago, and he’d had an argument with Akito over something or other while she was at class. Neither of them would talk to her about it, and a significant amount of Akito’s alcohol stockpile was gone. More accurately, confiscated.

“I’ll kill that man if he so much as touches you, do you hear me?”

“He didn’t hit me or anything. It’s fine.”

“For fuck’s sake. Sit your ass back down. It’s not fine, you’re not fine, nothing about this is fine.” She gestured wildly, sighing as he did as requested, and lowered her voice, which had been gradually rising. “This is not normal in the slightest, just the stuff in our house, let alone everything else that’s been going on with you.”

He laughed sadly, one of the only laughs she’d heard from him in a while. “You don’t know most of it, either.”

“Akito.” She stared directly at him. “Tell me the rest of it.”

“What if I said Nene was sleeping in the other room because I don’t want her going back to her house, just in case?”

She continued to stare, mouth agape.

“What if I’ve spent the last six months watching out for sniper rifles constantly?”

“Aki-“

His voice was wobbling now. “What if I said I haven’t been coming home as much in case they get you?

“You wha-“

“What if I said I’ve been drinking far more than you know?

What if I said he didn’t hit me but I hit him, because he compared me to you in a bad way? What if I said I was drunk?

What if I said I’ve been getting into fights constantly and winning?”

“This isn’t healthy. Please, Akito-”

He shook his head. “What if I said most of my friends, boyfriend included, are likely in abusive households and won’t tell me anything, and that’s why I don’t care what goes on here because it’s nothing compared to what they go through constantly?”

He was properly crying now, and dropped the bombshell:

“What if I said I have reason to believe Mom didn’t run off with another man, she ran away from the mafia as well, and died only last year?”

“I- I don’t know what to say, Akito.” She sighed. “My little baby brother, all grown up, and in a big fuckin’ mess with the mafia.”

He sobbed into her shoulder, dry heaves shuddering his whole body. “Can we go back to when we were kids, and everything was easier?”

“I don’t have a time machine, do you?”

“No.”

They sat in silence for a minute, Ena processing everything still. “Well, I don’t have solutions for any of your problems, but did talking help?”

he sat up, sniffling. “A little.”

“Good. You do know you can come to me anytime, right?” She tried to glare at him, but it melted into soft concern the moment she met his eyes. All she could see was the little kid who ran in circles chasing butterflies, but the pretty much adult guy who’s boyfriend was just almost murdered sat in front of her, and every childhood memory seemed a million worlds away.

Were those two ever truly happy? It seemed Shinonomes rarely were. A family curse, or something. Everything ends eventually. Their name did mean sunrise, after all - the ending of the night - but it seemed to be dawning onto a world full of suffering.

Shinonomes were, historically, tragic. They seemed to be following that path.

Maybe they’d be the first to escape it. But that also seemed a million worlds away.

They were somewhere between the playground and the battlefield, and by any god who’d listen, Ena did not want to see her brother among the wounded.

“Love you, Aki.” She ruffled his hair, a childish giggle escaping him, likely the last she’d ever hear.

“Right back at ya’.” He stood up to leave, braid still framing the left side of his face. “Say ‘hi’ to Amia from me.”

“Oh, right. Will do. And-“ he glanced back to hear her final message, “-stop avoiding me. I can handle a few sniper rifles.”

He smiled, but it felt empty. To both of them.

She picked up her phone, spotting… a lot of notifications from the rest of her circle. 

#not-tunes-1 17 missed calls amia: what the fucj enanan K: hope she’s ok… Yuki reacted: finger pointing upwards amia: hey wait shes back online @enanan Enanan <3:i was dealing with a crisis (not mine this time) Yuki reacted: red question mark amia: yah I heard lil bro when you so eloquently told me to piss off amia: is he ok Enanan <3 :no but none of your business K: do you need to talk? Yuki reacted: finger pointing upwards Enanan <3: nah im gucchi amia, Yuki reacted: raised eyebrow face K: should we start now or not for tonight? Enanan <3: eh im still reeling from some of the shit he said Enanan <3: presumed u would start w/o me?  Yuki reacted: red cross or x Enanan <3: im not needed for the music amia: yah but we like you dipshit Yuki reacted: finger pointing upwards Enanan <3: why lmao amia, K, Yuki reacted: thumbs down K: bad awnser Yuki reacted: finger pointing upwards Enanan <3: yall dogpiling me ffs Yuki reacted: thumbs up amia: shkhjhhsd yuki *you* need to be dogpiled most days?? Yuki reacted: shrugging or neutral man. K reacted: nodding or agreeing head. Enanan <3: whatever im having a nap (deleted) Enanan <3: i have class in like two hours and i woke up earlier bc of the mafia so. Yuki reacted: red interrobang  amia: SORRY WHAT Yuki reacted: finger pointing upwards Mod Enanan <3 deleted a message. Enanan <3: nothing amia: im so asking lil bro about this at school Enanan <3: I swear to fuck if you do that I will actually hit you over the head with a chair Enanan <3: its already fucking with him enough he doesn’t need to be question at school of all places amia: fine Enanan <3: this is not a fucking joke do you hear me? Its none of your business and one person’s already been shot so stay out of it Enanan <3: I dont need more dead people K: are you ok, Enanan? Yuki reacted: finger pointing up replying to: Enanan <3: nah im gucchi amia: this is getting less and less believable by the minute Enanan <3: nothing I can’t sleep off. Gn.

She put her phone down, tucked herself into bed, and cried quietly into her pillow.

What on earth had he gotten himself into?

…What kind of sister was she if she couldn’t get him out of it?

[poisonpercy]

Watching episode 2, here’s my thoughts

Stalker Annabeth and the “You drool when you sleep.” My girl!!

“PETER JOHNSON IS HERE!” Lol

“Yeah, Grover, I heard him the first time.” Mr. D is so funny. I feel like he’s severely underrated in book canon

“But did you?” Sassy Percy my beloved

“Excuse me your highness.” Lmao. I love how Mr. D cringed at that

Nooo not Mr. D messing with Percy and making him like that he’s Percy’s father 💀💀 Honestly, that scene is hard to watch. It’s too embarrassing for me lmao

The way that Chiron was just standing in the doorway is funny 🧍‍♂️

“Oh, no, Mr. D is not your father.” “I could be.” “Yes, but are you?” “Why must you ruin everything?” Lol Chiron and Mr. D are an underrated comedic duo

Mr. D telling Grover not to overthink it is cute. Glad to see that Mr. D’s care for the satyrs is present in the show

I like how Annabeth showed Percy around camp in the book. Chiron showing Percy around is fine, but it was better with Annabeth

Camp looks cool. It doesn’t look anything like how I personally imagined it, but I like how they made chb. The cabins look cool. A lot cooler than I ever imagined them lmao

Chiron’s horse ass 💀

The blue jellybeans 🥺

Luke my beloathed

IS THAR JUNIPER????! Or just some random wood nymph

Mr. D and Chiron as besties. You can pry that from my cold dead hands

“I assume that they would get really squishy or something. Like an old banana, maybe.” Yes, Grover, that’s exactly what would happen if a human was crushed to death. Grover’s not even wrong. His delivery of the line is just cute and hilarious

Mr. D is my favorite character so far. His casting is perfect imo. No notes

I like how they’ve done Percy’s nightmares so far. It’s kinda cool how the nigh are scenes are just there without any explanation so you as a viewer are like ??? but the moment you see Percy jerk awake you’re like “oh, nightmare!”

Luke explaining demigod qualities to Percy instead of Annabeth?? Please stop stealing roles from my girl

Hearing Luke speak makes me want to scream. I know what you are, Luke 😠

Clarisse!!! I love her. Her actress is so pretty

Badass demigod in a wheelchair doing archery. Ok, I absolutely love that!

Percy sucks at archery. Love my loser son

Percy in welding gear is so cute. He also sucks at it but at least he looks adorable

“Is there a Greek god of disappointment? Maybe someone should as him if he’s missing a kid.” Oh, Percy. He’s so relatable. Love this little dude

“They like the smell of begging.” Lmao

Percy burning the blue jellybeans to talk to his mom 🥺🥺 Percy saying he thinks he’s made friends. I just know Luke’s betrayal is going to hurt

“Ignoring me is one thing, but he doesn’t get to ignore you…I’m going to make him see us both.” Momma’s boy 🩷🩷

Clarisse’s delivery in the bathroom scene is so good. Love her

That being said, the bathroom scene is not great. Very underwhelming

Annabeth just stalking Percy is hilarious

Leah is such a good Annabeth. Absolutely love how she portrays her. That’s my daughter!!

“She’s my little sister.” Then why did you betray her, Luke. Why did you ask her if she loved you in the 5th book, Luke 😒

NO WHY ARE THEY PRONOUNCING THALIA LIKE THAT?!

The weapons and armor look so fake to me

Annabeth calling Percy sunshine is so cute wtf

ANNABETH FIXING PERCY’S STRAP ON HIS ARMOR!!!

Annabeth’s invisibility cap is so funny. I love it

The swords are so tiny??

Percy just by himself in the woods during capture the flag is so funny. He’s just a baby boy

I am once again saying that I love Clarisse. She’s perfect

Percy is doing so good during his fight in capture the flag. Also Clarisse’s scream when Percy breaks her spear is hilarious.

“Were you here the whole time?” “Yes.” STOP THIS IS WHY I LOVE ANNABETH

“I’m sorry.” *pushes Percy into the lake* Love that

Claiming scene is boring. The book does it better

Also no hellhound? What’s up with that? That’s kind of important

“Who stole it?” “You did.” “What?!” PERCY BABY I’M SORRY BUT THEY’RE FRAMING YOU. MY BOY IS INNOCENT (except for all the atrocities)

“I am Sally Jackson’s son!” “Who’s Sally Jackson?” “She’s the one that cared enough to call herself my mother!” <- I love momma’s boy Percy

I kind of wish Percy figured out Sally was still alive and wasn’t told. I like how they handled Percy accepting the quest in the book better. It felt more authentic to Percy’s character

Ok, I like this episode a lot better than the first one. They’ve changed some things around that I think they should have kept, but otherwise the show is looking good. There was not enough Annabeth in this episode. I don’t know why they are taking away all her roles and giving them to other characters, and I don’t like it. Give me Percy and Annabeth bonding before the quest or give me death. I still feel like the show is not doing a good job of showing me why I should care about the characters and the plot, but I have hope that that changes

[aeirithgainsborough]

I haven't played the game but I've read spoilers for tlou2. Will the next season of tlou HBO even be worth it? I know Joel dies but are there any other characters that become lovable or is this Abby person at least a little likable? Asking you because I agree with all your takes on the show. Ty!

abby is a tumblr darling even tho she is a fascist and her section of the game is 12 hours of fetching things in a way that’s completely pointless to the plot, she barely shows remorse ever for her actions, she thinks ellie should b grateful to her she let her live after destroying her life, she’s the top soldier for her militia and is sad when she doesn’t have time to torture more ppl after she’s done with joel, she sleeps with her pregnant friends bf, doesn’t blink after slaughtering so many of the people in her militia she was loyal to the day before bcus of a kid who is meant to provide some sort of parallel to ellie/joel for her but is actually just rushed and can’t hit the same emotional beats whatsoever cus it’s been like… a day lmao… the narrative falls foul of telling us instead of showing us having abby say ‘you’re my people now’ which is hard 2 believe when a day previous she was making plans 2 destroy their home and loved 2 kill them. but she has muscles so a lot of ppl love her lol even tho she’s extremely bland, her gameplay is boring in the context of the plot and adds nothing to it (might have been more fun as its own game rather than coming after we’ve already played 12 hours and built up to a massive climax before suddenly being dropped back down to find ppl we know are dead and collect things… it’s a serious structural failure), and she’s barely remorseful and doesn’t really earn the redemption arc she’s given, especially not when the narrative tells us joel was too doomed to be redeemed when he’s been minding his business making guitars and wood whittling for five years in jackson and she at the end of 3 days with her when she’s meant to have evolved and realised violence is bad and her revenge didn’t achieve anything (except it does for her lol just not villain ellie!) and is meant 2 teach us all these lessons still just straight up murders ppl with glee, bonus points if they’re pregnant, beats the shit out of ellie without a slither of sympathy that she had ellie held down and heard her screaming and screaming for abby to stop hurting joel but carried on anyway even tho just finding her dad’s body is traumatising for her. ‘we let you live and you wasted it’ god i wanted to fucking shoot her myself cus she destroyed ellie’s life, took the person she loves the most brutally away in front of her, and it wasn’t a waste of abby’s life when she travelled 14 believable days across a dangerous post apocalyptic country for her revenge, and we are supposed to find empathy for her whilst she can’t find any of it for ellie lmao. the narrative props her up any chance it can whilst demonising joel and ellie, the characters we already love, trying to force you to like her in the most heavy handed and ham fisted way possible. oh she plays with dogs whilst ellie kills them!! good she’s still a torture loving fascist. but apparently she can be redeemed in 3 utterly unremorseful days and joel can go through the journey he does but is completely Hopeless and ellie is now the terrible villain of the tale. there’s a whole section that parallels the diner fight with david, this time positing ellie as the david villain to abby which is gross enough cus he was her tormenter and assaulter when she was 14, but also abby can kill who she likes and act like she likes and do torturing and murdering and the narrative never gives her this treatment or condemns her actions at all. anyway that’s a long way to say no she’s not likeable. yeah yeah the muscles, but again, she’s a fucking fascist.

honestly the other characters are fine, but they suffer in a plot in which the plot drives the characters rather than the characters driving the plot. they aren’t there for any other purpose than to move the plot and they can be a little bland for it. yeah dina is fine but she’s lumbered with this pregnancy plot so there can be some weird parallel to mel and largely doesn’t do much once you get to seattle and thus is very underdeveloped. jessie is also fine but underdeveloped too for the same reasons and he falls victim to neil ‘watch be me so diverse but poc are gonna die more than anyone else’ druckmann. all of them, new characters and old ones, continually make decisions that make you scratch your head and want to throw the controller away, again bcus plot > characters. it’s a poor way to tell a story. the characters should always drive the plot, never the other way around. it gets to the point when none of it justifies itself at all. but neil was so determined to tell his grimdark violent murderous hatred is as universal as love story that he was going to make it all fit no matter what and his characters and their motivations and characterisations fall to the wayside for it. it’s hard to find the ellie we fell in love with in part 1, let alone muster up enough energy to care about the side characters.

(as an aside neil is wrong about hatred being that universal and he thinks he’s right bcus he is a west bank settler and that alone should make you wary about season 2… the conflict in seattle is a mirror of the palestinian/israeli one and the narrative pushes on you this idea neil has that there are no wrong sides… but there is (half get to go home after a fight to a wealth of resources and land which they are trying to get more of and the other half has much less and can’t travel around the city unless they use secret bridges… idk if that sounds familiar to you) and you should all question why neil is pushing that. makes it even more hideous that he spent 25 hours propping up his wlf top soldier fascist and so many ppl lapped it up…)

maybe craig can fix some of these issues but im not holding out for it lol. some of the ways he’s talked about joel and ellie and the changes he made to the show are incredibly iffy. some of the ideas he has show he shouldn’t be allowed to talk about girls and their trauma ever again and he also thinks love can be as bad as it can be good which is such an ugly and stupid idea, especially when the whole point of part 1 is that love is what we have to hold onto when everything else is terrible. and no one come at me abt them being neil’s characters and his story cus BRUCE was there he co-created it and was the lead for the game lol.

anyway this got long im sorry no i don’t think it will be worth it.

[mermaidsirennikita]

What are your favorite oops we're married now books?

Hmmmm... I don't have a lot of "woke up married" books that I love? Lead by Kylie Scott is a solid read, but it's probably my least favorite Stage Dive book. What Happens in Scotland by Jennifer McQuiston is a very cute and fun book (and it's basically "woke up married" but with Scotland instead of Vegas in the 1800s) and I'd definitely recommend it, but it's not a FAVORITE of mine.

When a Scot Ties the Knot by Tessa Dare is sorta this and it's very classic to me. Like, she didn't accidentally marry him, but she accidentally got engaged to him and now she's basically gotta marry him. And she didn't even know he existed lol. Alexandra Vasti's In Which Winnie Halifax is Utterly Ruined is also a fun variation, though in this case she did in fact accidentally make up a WHOLE husband who shows up.

My beloved Princess by Gaelen Foley is like... It's an oops we're married on his end situation... but it's not an oops we're married on HER END situation lol. Very "Well, That Escalated Quickly". You bang one princess and get caught struggling to pull your pants back on by her dad.... (And she's all NO DAD IT'S FINE HE KILLED NAPOLEON BONAPARTE. An incredible, incredible novel that everyone should read.)

LOL WAIT Kerri Maniscalco's Kingdom of the Wicked trilogy literally has this to the point that the heroine is like "WAIT. WE ARE WHAT NOW" and hero is all *grumble grumble* magic *grumble grumble* oops.... BUT WAS IT AN OOPS?

The Music of Love by S.M. LaViolette is another great "well that escalated quickly" shotgun wedding books. Oops you slept with your employee a week after meeting her oops she's pregnant oops you're married. It's one where they're wildly attracted to each other but need to learn how to be a COUPLE.

Lol you could say that every werewolf or vampire book in particular in Kresley Cole's Immortals After Dark (a series I love inordinately, of course) is this because the werewolves find their mate and are like "MATE MATE MATE WIFE WIFE WIFE" just like, carrying these girls around like a football, and the vampires very literally call their mates their "Brides" (though this turns out to be a gender neutral term later on, which we love) and in turn are all "BRIDE BRIDE BRIDE" about it.

Omg The Viscount and The Vixen by Lorraine Heath is a great book and PERFECT for this. This is the one where the heroine answers an ad placed by an old man basically asking for a wife, and basically if she answers and signs his contract and he doesn't marry her, she gets a huge payout. And his son shows up like "Obviously she's trying to scam my dad and THIS! WILL! NOT! STAAAAAND". But she's already signed! However, the contract doesn't say she has to marry his dad... it just says she has to marry a man of his line who's GOING to have the title if he doesn't have it already. CHECK AND MATE! HAHA! THE HERO SHALL SIMPLY MARRY HER INSTEAD!

An underrated banger, tbh. I really need to reread/relisten.

Accidentally Compromising the Duke by Stacy Reid has some of this. The heroine meant to compromise this other guy by walking in on him while he was sleeping, but accidentally did it to this duke who was actually in the market of a stepmother for his kids (with the understanding that he would not sleep with the woman because trauma lmao, doesn't work out that way) so he's like "WHATEVER. FINE." And in the next book in that series, Wicked in His Arms, the hero was simply intending to have a conversation with the woman he severely dislikes, in his closet, but then he deflowered her and then they ran directly into his mom and shit right after so now they're married oops.

[bylertruther]

i'm gonna try and get some sleep so im making this one nonrebloggable lol, but will is not a stereotype. he is many things and we can and SHOULD be able to say all of those things. they do not take away from who he is or make a caricature out of him—it's when people refuse to look at his many sides and make him out to be someone that he isn't, someone more palatable and easily and quickly understood, that you make an unrecognizable, hollowed-out caricature of him that is based solely in fanon and not actual canon. you guys are aware that he's gay and instead of embracing how he can be so many things at once and avoid the stereotyping, (not that there's anything totally inherently bad about those either, because those people DO exist in real life and are just as valid and worthy of respect and stereotypes are often how marginalized groups can identify n signal to each other, etc), you guys swerve directly into the realm of harmful stereotypes that are just not based in reality for will and mike lol. we do Not get characters like will often at all that are treated with such genuine care and respect, especially in such mainstream and impossibly popular media that literally sets the bar and breaks the internet. will can be soft, strong, terrified, brave, the protectee/damsel, nostalgic, intelligent, boyish, silly, sensitive, unforthcoming, exhibit era-stereotypical (?? you know what i'm trying to say) "effeminate/feminine" qualities, the hero, protective, and so much more all at the same time. we even KNOW that he isn't your stereotypical stock gay character because there were so many people that never caught on that he was gay in the first place and there are still people that don't get it or "see it." like. you don't have to turn will into someone he isn't just because you think that somehow talking about who he is and how he's presented in canon is "problematic" when it isn't lol. you don't have to turn him into something he isn't just because you don't understand the kind of bravery and strength that he exhibits or because you think it's not enough. at some point you have to realize that maybe you just don't fucking like him and that's fine! just don't try to pass off your interpretation that blatantly ignores seasons worth of content as being True to character or deny actual scenes from the show lol. and i don't think i know everything about will or have the best interpretation at all, but i hate that i will literally repeat verbatim something that WILL HIMSELF says in the show or that the duffers have said about him and suddenly i'm enemy number one lmao. will has been carefully crafted to be many things, the same as mike, hopper, max, and more. talking about one of those things does not take away from any of the others. like what's the REAL issue here? what's not clicking?

[toastess-with-the-mostess]

Let's Rewind! Toasts watches Voltron: Defender of The Universe (1984)

Season 1, Episode 9: A Pretty Spy

Y'know I would've thought this was the Bokar episode, but obviously it's not Oooh maybe it's the Hunk version of it, I know that doesn't make sense but if it is then you'll understand soon

Looks like some not so friendly fire on a doom ship in Arus space, it really might be this one then!

Keith just effortlessly predicting how the ship is going to crash-land, what a good tactician Hunk runs off to go check for any survivors

Was it really easier to go on a horse to the desert because I feel like using yellow to explore the wreckage would've been better

A slave girl has been found, Hunk recognizes the brand she because it's the same as his Obvs she's alive so she gets taken to medical to get her help

The team minus Hunk doubts she actually escaped, yup this is the episode I was thinking of!

She's explaining her backstory but had so weirdly long pause before the flashback started Apparently Twila was only recently brought to Doom with her brother and while the guards were distracted with beating him she ran back into the ship that brought them there and bolted

I like how last episode it was established that Lance was the one with the lie detector abilities but when it's a seemingly innocent girl all that power is out the window and gets attached to Keith More discussing if attacking Zarkon with Voltron is worth it instead of just waiting for his attacks before they form up It's shot down for fear of losing their jobs

Hunk is immediately pissed at Keith because she went through that escape by herself and Keith still thinks it was too easy Justifiable but I wish it was Lance who thought it was weird for some continuity

Also for some reason they're in the dark while outside, it's probably for drama but like that castle is huge literally go to the complete other side of it and you should be fine guys

And now all the boys share a room for some reason, one of my mutuals headcannoned that Lance is superstitious about things ending with zero being bad and after prince Bokar he was proven right so I'm just gonna take that and say the boys aren't convinced and slept in the room to prove him wrong lol

Twila has weird glowy eyes and goes to check if the boys are sleeping, and after she leaves Keith gets up to check what the noise was before going back to bed

I'm sorry the castle has a MISSILE ROOM?? MAYBE THAT SHOULD BE UNDERGROUND OR SOMETHING GUYS Apparently Twila has weird electric powers, she's a robot, but I'm just going to refer to her as a person anyway, and uses them to open the door

Is she an antenna or something lmao oop she's setting off a bomb in the missile room, that's actually pretty smart for the bad guys this time around I like it when they're competent lol

Oh Kova is back with Haggar So is Twila not a robot? Haggar said she's under her spell, so maybe I'm just mixed up

The mice bother Pidge, but he doesn't care, but Keith notices and gets worried, so he gets the team to follow One of them also wake up Allura and tell her what's up, queue horrified gasp

Coran fell asleep while on watch duty, why put the old guy there I feel like that was a bad decision period They see Twila planting a bomb, Hunk is disappointed because he stood up for her

The team is worried that they can't do anything in time but Coran just sends out the time bomb because it was attacked to a missile they could fire, the castle is saved!

I feel bad for Hunk because he really trusted her, but he goes off chasing her anyway

NOT THE HORSE WHY USE LASER BEAMS ON THE HORSE THEY ARE INNOCENT IN THIS Hunk finds Twila at a cliff, now it's a stand-off

Hunk asks why she'd work for Zarkon, and she gives the regular sob story of being promised something greater than Zarkon would ever let go of, freedom for the slaves Then her says her brother volunteered to be turned into a robeast as part of that deal, the coffin flies overhead

Man absolutely everyone gets fucked over in this war, I mean I didn't expect anything less but still

The brother robeast is called the Poison BugBlade! Weighing at 4100 short tons, this guy is definitely dying

She's supposed to be yelling at him to complete their mission, but her voice sounds like she's whispering really goes to show how much voice acting has improved in modern days

Oh hey the shot of running people is reused from a few episodes ago too I think, I feel pretty good about spotting that lol

The horse is alive lets go, Hunk gives up on Twila and goes to get his lion The rest try to fight him off for Hunk to join up

Again not really liking how much Allura screams and yells, like I do understand that this is her second robeast battle, technically first while as a lion, but c'mon girly pop! It's probably the 80s treating girls as if they were still fragile while they're put in tough roles for little girls to look up to

Allura gets back up only to be manhandled by the robeast again sdovinsdv, saved by Keith of course Hunk comes in after she gets up again

The voltron preamble is super close to the final product, I'd give it a few more episodes for it to finally be the iconic phrase most fans know

Twila still isn't backing down on her beliefs, she wants Arus GONE, but instead she watches her brother die in front of her :P

HELLO?? ALLURA GIVES LANCE A CHEEK KISS BECAUSE APPARENTLY HE SAVES HER BUT LANCE POINTS OUT IT WAS ACTUALLY KEITH Oh, I definitely see why allurance was shipped this time around too

Apparently Twila went back to her home planet to plan another way to get her people back Keith really thinks that she'll be able to do it this time because they'll help her out when it comes down to it

Episode end! I don't think I'll be doing any episode reviews this Labor Day weekend mostly because I'm going home and probably won't bring my laptop which is where I usually do my blogging from

[iampikachuhearmeroar]

y’know thinking about my emo kid self, there’s such a difference in me in 2022/nearly 2023 at 27, where i can finally sing along to songs like therapy and remembering sunday by all time low, when it rains by paramore, the day i left the womb by (old school) escape the fate literally basically every mayday parade song ever, but most particularly i swear this time i mean it and a little bit of truth by you me at six… etc etc et al et al…. in the shower without choking back tears while sliding down the side of the shower.

like the day that i just started randomly singing therapy by atl and the day i left the womb by etf, for example, in the shower in like 2017 after not listening to them for a few years, bc both songs were randomly just stuck in my head…..

i knew i was feeling much better than i was at 15/16 in 2011, when i was going through my teen mental breakdown phase. i WAS screaming and choking out the lyrics to therapy and sick little games (along with the other songs mentioned above) in the shower in tears on the floor….. because i just fucking hated my life so much (lol, but not lol) and i thought i’d never leave my hometown (ok this is true and it’s fine) and it was also fucking shit because i couldn’t decide if i was depressed or not or anxious or not or i was just a big fucking fake *cue i’m a fake by the used here* and i wasn’t emo anymore and i had to be indie to sit with *echosmith voice* ~the cool kids~ when i changed schools.

like yeah. don’t get me wrong. there are times when the songs mentioned in this post make me cry (usually on my period tbh. lmao sorry for the tired joke)- like when the song/s really decides to hit me/i’ve actively looked them up on YT or spotify so i can have a good cry lol. but now i can sing these songs at any time without having an absolute snotty cry fest during any shower/bath i decide to sing these in. or just generally. like getting older rocks, in some aspects, and this is one of them.

because the songs that got you through what you thought at the time were your hardest times yet- you’ve got a huge storm coming in your mid20s, teen me- these songs will be your light instead of the pain, the utter angst and self-loathing you felt towards yourself on a daily basis as a teenager. yeah where’s that corny ass tumblr quote i used to post every fucking day of my life at 19- we all know it. but it really is. and yeah, there’s the thing that these songs are still emotional as all fuck, i still love them to this day. but i’m just not crying to them as much anymore. y’know what i mean??

anyway idek where this post was going. but growth is good and every current emo kid should know that it does get better. for the love of god it does. hang in there kids. because one day you’ll be 27, and whatever mid2000s or late 2010s emo song you’ve got on blast right now, because tiktok has been having a moment with them over the last couple of years…. will be a source of joy and not a source of self loathing and reason to cry every night in the shower. anyway. my point is, you won’t be “outdated, overrated” and you can still be “a dreamer for sure”- to quote the mayday parade song i mentioned earlier. you’ll just be a newer, hopefully happier, you. even when you’re “at bottom of the blackest hole” and want to “sleep enough to not see the sun anymore”. and that’s all you need.

[bsdndprplplld]

19 I 2023

this week is kinda crazy

I have a complex analysis test on saturday and the professor said that it will cover the entire semester. thank god I might get away with not knowing anything about analytic number theory lmao

I had troubles sleeping lately, it takes me about 3-4 hours to fall asleep every day. I sleep a lot during the day and it helps a bit but I still feel half-dead all the time. every time I fall asleep my brain can't shut up about some math problem

for the algebraic methods course we were supposed to state and prove the analogue of Baer criterion for sheaves of rings. I was the only person who claimed to have solved this, so I was sentenced to presenting my solution in front of everyone. the assertion holds and I thought I proved it but the professor said that the proof doesn't work, here is what I got:

he said that we cannot do this on stalks and we have to define a sheaf of ideals instead. when I was showing this I had a migraine so no brain power for me, I couldn't argue why I believe this to be fine. whenever two maps of sheaves agree on each stalk they are equal, so if we show that every extension on stalks is actually B → M on stalks, then doesn't that imply the extension is B → M on sheaves?? probably not, but I don't see where it fails and I'm so pissed that I was unable to ask about it when I was presenting, now it's too late and this shit keeps me up at night

I enjoy sheaf theory very much and I can't wait to have some time to read about schemes, I have a feeling that algebraic geometry and I are gonna be besties

during some interview Eisenbud said that when deciding which speciality to choose one should find a professor that they like and just do what that professor is doing lol. I feel this now that I talked some more to the guy who taught us commutative algebra. since my first year I was sure that I will do algebraic topology but maybe I will actually do AG, because that's what he's doing. is having one brain enough to do both?

anyway I'm glad that my interests fall into the category of fashionable stuff to do in math these days. my bachelor's thesis is likely going to be about simply-connected 4-dimensional manifolds, which is a hot research topic I guess. I won't work on any open problem because I'm just a stupid 3-year, not Perelman, but it will be a good opportunity to learn some of the stuff necessary to do research one day

[eyndr-stories]

Chester and the Jesters (FNAF SB fanfic) C4 - Electricity by any other name

In Summary:

The new tech sure does seem a little strange. Chester (at least, that's what their name tag says) doesn't seem as concerned as they should be about the high turnover rate here at Freddy Fazbear's Mega Pizza-Plex, or the numerous rumors about what happens to people who take the night shift. And to make matters worse, there seems to be some kind of criminal on the loose! The cops say they think the criminal is hiding out in the woods somewhere near the pizza-plex. Stress is high at the plex these days, but Chester is stoic as ever. Say, come to think of it, no one can seem to remember where Chester's application went or who they interviewed with. Their employee file is misplaced or missing just like everything else in this place. But the new tech does a good job completing their tasks, and has their own badge and everything, so of course they must belong here. It's not like someone would sneak into the plex and go this far out of their way to impersonate a low level technician. Right??

Things To Know (always read responsibly!):

Biggest warnings are for blood, death, knives, murder, the police, violence, also the OC is at one point hit by lightning. All fun stuff

About 70,000 words in total, 9 chapters, so roughly like. 7,500 words per chapter

This is an OC story, not a reader insert or a self insert! But if you want to imagine otherwise be my guest lol

Angst, fluff

OC x Sun & Moon, there's romance but zero spice

Occasional swearing

Heavy focus on Sun and Moon but most of the rest of the gang is there too :)

Afton doesn't exist, sorry peepaw, Vanessa is here but she's very chill. She's a kickass gamer girl lmao

Moon does an attempted murder but its fine. He's just a lil guy ok

OC uses they/them and also sign language most of the time

Impersonation, lying. There's also manipulation. Yall I wasn't kidding about the angst

There's also a lot of focus on how they're all robots, very cool robots with feelings lol

That's all I can think of, as always please lmk if I should add anything!

Ao3 Link: Right here!

Start reading here: Chapter 1

Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5

C4 - Electricity by any other name

     Chester woke up in a comfort they didn't recall falling asleep in. As they sat up and rubbed the sleep from their eyes under their glasses, they realized that at some point someone had placed a pillow under their head and a soft blanket over them. It must have been Sun, seeing as no one else knew Chester was up in the room behind the balcony.

     Chester could hear kids screaming and laughing from beyond the curtain. The daycare, and by extension the rest of the building, must be open. Chester didn't have any clue what time it was. There wasn't a clock in the room, and they'd plugged their faz-phone in to charge in the employee stock room when they'd clocked out last night. Their head still hurt, and they felt really groggy and just… bad. Plain bad. They wanted to go back to sleep, but they weren't tired enough, despite the grogginess that refused to fade from their brain.

     With nothing else to do, Chester started cleaning the room. Without leaving, they couldn't do much besides organize things and pile all the trash in the corner. Chester put all the parts and bits for the staff bot in its own pile. They put all the undamaged daycare supplies in a neat pile near the door. Once everything was as neat as it was going to get, Chester brushed the dust off on their pants and looked around for something else to do.

     Hunger gnawed at Chester's stomach. They were thirsty, too. There wasn't much to be done about it for the time being, so Chester sought distractions instead. Their eyes landed on the pile of staff bot parts. They did still have their tool belt with them.

     Without a guide of any sort or any real understanding of what they were doing, Chester found the task of rebuilding the entirely dismantled staff bot to be more than a little difficult. Still, there was nothing else to do, so they got as comfortable as they could and did their best to puzzle it out. They were slow and methodical, ruling out what pieces couldn't go together first, doing trial and error with pieces they thought were likely to go together. Half of the bits were damaged beyond hope, most of them unfortunately being things like joints and connectors. It almost looked like the bot had been ripped apart joint by joint. Still, Chester did what they could with what they had. They tried to picture the staff bots they'd seen in their mind and recall what they could from what they'd read.

     It was extremely slow going, but it was going. Without the pressure of the consequence of failure, Chester found that they were actually starting to have fun. Building a robot was cool enough on its own, but this one proved to be particularly interesting. There wasn't much Chester could do about the damaged wiring, but they weren't trying to get the thing to turn on. They just wanted to pass the time putting it back together.

     The frame of it was light, but there were loads of small support beams to connect along the frame. The hands were simplistic, just a handful of joints to bolt together. There were small pressure sensors meant to fit into the palms. Chester had seen bigger, more complicated sensors in the diagrams of the main animatronics. The others had sensors all along their fingers as well, not just in the palm, and a few throughout the rest of their frame as well. The sensors told the animatronic when something was touching them, as well as how much pressure was being applied.

     They'd actually become so absorbed in their reconstruction of the staff bot that they didn't realize Sun had come into the room until he spoke up, startling them.

     "Hello new Chester! Oops, sorry for startling you. I'm just here for a recharge!" Sun strode across the room, opening a panel in the wall near the electrical box. He pulled a long cord from inside, then popped open one of the circular buttons in his chest, revealing the charging port underneath. He plugged the cord into the connecting port and plopped down to the floor, sitting cross legged and leaning back against the wall. The light of his eyes dimmed and he hummed a slow little tune.

     "Thank you for the pillow and blanket," Chester signed slowly, unsure if Sun would still be active if he was in the middle of charging.

     "Nooo problem friiiend~" Sun drawled. He slowly lifted his hand, staring at it for a moment before it curled into a thumbs up. "I see youuu cleaned up in here! Clean up, clean up…" Sun mumbled a little song, quickly trailing off.

     "I did, I hope that's okay." Chester glanced around at their work. The room was still dusty, and there was still that pile of trash in the corner, but it was looking a lot better than before.

     "Sureee. I don't mind!" Sun hummed a continuous note for a few seconds. "Sorryyy if I'm a little sloooooow. Everything is running onnnnn power saving mooode while I charge. Can't turn off completelyyy orrrrr my fansss will stooooop running and I'lllllll overrrheat. So for nooooow I'm a littleee slooooooow."

     "That's alright." Chester realized they couldn't hear the sound of kids playing anymore. "Is the building closed for the night?"

     "Yeeep! All locked up niiice and tight abouuut… fiiiiive minutes agooo." Sun resumed his quiet humming.

     "In that case, I'll give you some privacy. My shift starts soon." Chester got to their feet. They changed out of their Hawaiian shirt, swapping it for their work uniform. Nametag in place and their employee profile form secure in their pocket, Chester straightened their hat and made for the door, grabbing their shoes on the way. They paused in the doorway, glancing back at Sun.

     Sun barely seemed to notice them. He hummed quietly, but was otherwise still and silent.

     "…Thank you for letting me stay here. I'll be back again at the end of my shift," Chester said.

     "Youuu betcha," Sun said.

     Chester left the room, descending the spiral staircase and making their way out of the daycare.

     It was another busy night for Chester, though thankfully far less perilous than last night. They picked through small restaurants in the food court and did their best not to outright chug a large cup of water. Besides their list of tasks to work through, Chester had a few other matters to attend to. Firstly, they wanted to print copies of some of the technical books so they'd have something productive to read during their off hours. Second, they were in desperate need of things like a change of socks, a toothbrush, maybe a comb.

     Another visit to lost and found later, Chester was one cheap duffel bag richer. The bag was covered in funky designs and fun colors and, most importantly, could hold the stuff that Chester needed to find. Now that they had a reliable and (mostly) private place to stay, they could store a few things they needed there. And if they, for whatever reason, needed to make a quick getaway, they could just grab their new duffel bag and go.

     Chester faced down a gift shop. They stood in the entrance, duffle bag slung over their shoulder. They picked at one of the bag's straps, eyes trailing over shadowed shelves of overpriced merchandise. There wasn't a security guard to watch the cameras. Chester reminded themself that stealing from a large corporation like this wasn't the end of the world. They'd certainly stolen worse for less before.

     Chester took a deep breath and stepped inside. They passed racks of sweatshirts and hats and graphic t-shirts all sporting different familiar characters in bold colors. They looked over shelves of plushies and a rotating stand packed with keychains and magnets. They breathed a sigh of relief when they spotted a small selection of socks with funky colorful prints. They grabbed a pack, stowing them away in their duffle bag. In a pack with a compact mirror and a small collection of face paint was a comb and a pair of hair scrunchies. Chester took the pack, mainly interested in the mirror and the comb. They lucked out with a toothbrush, finding a little collection of small kid toothbrushes near the back of the gift shop. Monty's likeliness was depicted on the package, flashing his pearly white gator grin.

     They didn't need the notebook, its cover a simple depiction of the Fazbear logo and boasting the inclusion of a free pen and sticker sheet inside. But Chester had frequently wished they'd been able to take notes while they read and while they worked as well, just so they could jot down things they'd figured out on the job or questions they wanted to find the answers to. And besides, they were already stealing several things, what was one more item?

     Chester picked up the notebook, but paused before they could put it in their duffel bag. They stared down at it. It looked wrong in their hand.

     I don't need this, Chester thought. They set the notebook back in its place. They were stealing enough already, and they really couldn't justify taking the notebook.

     Leaving the gift shop behind, Chester zipped up their duffel bag and headed to their first task. The bag was just heavy enough that they couldn't easily forget it was there.

     On their way back to the daycare, Chester stopped by a bathroom to clean up and put their new toothbrush to good use. Their gums bled a little, but they were relieved to finally be able to clean their teeth. They broke a tooth of their comb getting their hair under control. It had started to become matted under their hat. They briefly entertained the idea of using the face paint just for fun, but quickly put it out of mind. They grabbed a fresh bandage for their head as well as some cleaning supplies, then returned to the daycare. This time, they remembered to take their shoes off upon entering the daycare.

     Sun greeted Chester as they stepped past the double doors. Chester pulled their duffle bag over their shoulder in a small attempt to hide it behind them.

     "New Chester!! How was your shift?" Sun asked.

     "It went alright, actually. Did you… have a good… charge?" Chester hoped that wasn't weird to ask.

     Sun laughed, though not unkindly. "I did! We're all topped off and ready for another fun day tomorrow!" Sun did a fun little twirl.

     Chester wasn't sure what to say next. They usually didn't do well with conversations, but they were especially awkward since they were sort of imposing on Sun. They were, more or less, blackmailing him into letting them take over his room. A shot of guilt ran through them.

     I'm a horrible person.

     Sun spoke up, interrupting Chester's train of thought before it could get too far away from them. "So I've been thinking… since you're going to be staying here for… a while. I thought we should probably be friends! So that way it's not weird or awkward! We can just be friends hanging out together. Won't that be fun??"

     "I don't think you want to be friends with me," Chester signed slowly, not meeting Sun's gaze.

     "Why wouldn't I??" Sun tilted his head to the side.

     Because I'm a bad person. "I'm not a very fun friend," Chester signed.

     "Well I'm plenty fun!! I can be fun enough for the both of us," Sun assured. "Why don't we play a game together?"

     "A game?" Chester paused. "What kind of game?"

     Sun, spurred on by the not outright rejection of the idea, started to ramble excitedly and bounce from foot to foot. "Any kind of game you like!! We've got board games or imaginary games or active games- or we could do something else! We could do arts and crafts, or we could have a sleepover, or we could do a puppet show!"

     Chester took a moment to reply, somewhat enamored by how smoothly Sun was bouncing from foot to foot. They wanted to try and give Sun's animatronic guide book another shot, see if they couldn't figure anything out from its pages. "I guess I wouldn't mind a board game."

     Sun cheered extatically. "Fantastic!! Great choice! That sounds like so much fun, friend!"

     At Sun's further prompting, Chester chose a game from a bookshelf packed full of game boxes at random. They dropped their duffle bag and shoes off upstairs while Sun set up a game called 'Sorry'.

     Chester had never played before, so they picked up the instruction booklet and started to read.

     "I could explain the rules, if you like!" Sun offered.

     "Oh, you don't have to do that," Chester signed quickly.

     "What if I want to?"

     Chester studied Sun, unable to glean much from his relentless grin. "I suppose that would be alright then, if you really didn't mind."

     "I don't mind at all!" Sun assured, then launched into an enthusiastic explanation of the rules. He told Chester how the little pawns worked, and how they traveled clockwise around the board, unless a card said otherwise. There were little 'slides' on the board that Sun was especially excited about. He told Chester about how sometimes you could send another player's pawn all the way back to their starting area, making them start over on their trek to maneuver the pawns all the way around the board and into an area called 'home'.

     With the rules out of the way, they were ready to play. Sun got unlucky with the cards and wasn't able to get his first pawn out of the starting area for a few turns, giving Chester a bit of a head start. They started to get the hang of things fairly quickly. The only problem was that their hands would sometimes miss slightly when they went to grab a card or a pawn. They did their best not to be too obvious about it.

     Chester's attention moved to Sun's hands as they moved over the board, drawing cards with easy precision and maneuvering pawns across tiles. When they weren't busy with the game, they were busy tapping at the edge of the table or fiddling with the ribbons tied around their wrists. Chester couldn't imagine how many tiny parts and pieces went into just Sun's hand. Every motion was entirely smooth and seamless. Even the glamrocks weren’t as finely crafted as all that. Sun's casing was different as well, not metal like the glamrocks but a more flexible, almost plastic material. Chester wondered if that was part of how he was able to move so quickly and fluidly.

     Sun lifted a hand to study it himself. "I don't have something stuck to my hand, do I??"

     Chester startled, realizing they'd been staring. Embarrassed, they hurried to explain themself. "You don't, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to stare. You're just very interesting."

     "Interesting??" Sun looked down at his hands. "How do you mean, friend?"

     "I don't mean to make you uncomfortable. I apologize," Chester signed in quick motions.

     "I'm not uncomfortable! I'm just curious," Sun assured.

     Chester considered how to explain their fascination. They signed slowly, piecing together their attempt at the right words as they went. "Robots in general are very fascinating to me. You in particular are interesting for a lot of reasons. Your design is very complex and clearly highly advanced. Your range of motion not only matches but outpaces a human's. I could study just your hand alone for hours and not get bored."

     Sun stared at Chester, then looked back down at his hand. "Really?" Sun flexed his fingers experimentally. "No one has ever been so interested in my hand before. One of the other techs once complained for hours and hours about all the little connectors when one of the kids accidentally got glue in the joints and the tech had to clean out all the connectors."

     "I couldn't imagine complaining, had I been in their shoes. I'd have counted myself lucky." Chester very much wanted to open up Sun's hand and see all the little joints and connectors for themself, puzzle out how they all fit together and worked to make Sun's hands move as they did. They didn't voice this to Sun of course, fearing they'd make him uncomfortable.

     "That's kind of you to say! I think!" Sun waggled his fingers at Chester before setting his hands in his lap. "I do believe it's your turn, friend!"

     "Right. Sorry." Chester focused back on the board. They kept their attention on the game, trying not to think about how they were playing a board game with an animatronic. More than that, they were sitting in a daycare, where they currently lived surreptitiously in the walls, because they were hiding out from the police. Not only that, but the animatronic sitting in front of them, as well as the others lurking the halls, were apparently a piece of paper away from manslaughter.

     On that note, Chester realized something. They had yet to have to show Sun their employee profile form. "Hey… you don't seem to mind the fact that I don't have an employee profile in the system. Why is that?"

     Sun tapped his pawn across its remaining two board tiles, ending his turn. He angled his faceplate up towards Chester. "I did notice, that first day we met! But employee profiles go missing all the time, and your nametag barcode is valid! Even if it is a hand me down." The light in Sun's left eye went dim for a moment before lighting back up, simulating a wink.

     Chester picked at the card in their hand. They absently moved one of their pawns forward a few spaces and set their card in the discard pile. "So then… what is it about security mode?"

     "What about security mode?" Sun tilted his head curiously.

     Chester elaborated, mostly just walking through their own thoughts. "The other animatronics don't seem to mind either, during the day. They probably run through the same things you just did and decide it's not a concern. But at night, when they're in security mode, they get caught up on the missing file. So what is it about being in security mode that makes them unable to come to the same conclusions?"

     Sun tapped his chin thoughtfully. "Hm. Well, none of us are really meant to serve as security personnel, so the software we run in security mode is a little restrictive, from my understanding. Any unauthorized person in the building is a security risk. Not that you aren't authorized! Just that you would appear unauthorized without an employee profile. Since you have a valid barcode, I imagine that the two send conflicting messages. And since security mode is so limited, the others probably just get confused as to what to do!"

     'Confused' was one way to put it. "Okay… but what about you?"

     "Me?" Sun pointed a finger to himself.

     "You don't seem… confused," Chester explained.

     "Oh, that's probably because I'm not in security mode! I don't ever leave the daycare, so I don't have the software for security mode," Sun said. "My focus is always on the kids!"

     "Really?? What happens if you see an intruder or something?" Chester asked.

     "…" Sun froze, his fingers pressed flat over the surface of the table. "…I don't need to worry about things like that!"

     "Okay." Chester was still confused, but they had a different question to ask. "Why don't you ever leave the daycare?"

     "Why would I ever want to leave?? This is the best and most fun place in the whole world! Everything I know is here, and I don't ever need to leave!" Sun laughed.

     "Are you allowed to leave?"

     "If I'm going to parts and service," Sun answered, sounding a little strained.

     "Are you scared to leave?" Chester asked.

     "Scared?" Sun tiled his head once more in confusion. He considered the question, fingers tapping away on the table. "What is it like to be scared?"

     Chester was a little surprised at the question. They thought about how it felt to be afraid. "For me, it's like lightning in my belly. My brain goes really fast, and it gets hard to breathe. It makes it hard to do certain things. It's difficult to focus on anything besides getting out of danger, whatever the danger may be. It's… particularly unpleasant distress over the possibility of an unfavorable outcome."

     Sun nodded slowly. "Yes. I am scared to leave the daycare." He focused on Chester. There was a faint tinge of static in his voice. "I think I'm scared very often."

     Chester wasn't sure what to make of that. They signed, "me too."

     "You don't ever seem scared," Sun remarked.

     "I've been told I'm remarkably unexpressive," Chester said.

     Sun hummed thoughtfully. "I'm not good at expressions, either!" He tapped at his cheeks, where his grin came to a point on either side of his face. "The kids don't seem to mind. Some of the adults don't like my smile, but I think they'd like it even less if I was frowning all the time!"

     "I like your face," Chester signed, not really considering what they were saying until after it had been said. Their embarrassment didn't have a chance to grow before Sun replied.

     "Thank you, friend!! I like your face too!" Sun swayed happily, his faceplate doing a little spin.

     Chester laughed quietly. "Thank you."

     The rest of the game passed without issue. Sun ended up winning, because Chester refused to make any ‘mean’ moves, even to their own detriment. They felt too bad about knocking Sun’s pawns back to the start, and wound up drawing a lot of progress reversal cards. They didn’t much mind having lost, though. They still had fun.

     “It’s about time for me to start getting things ready! The daycare will be open soon!” Sun hummed happily as he packed the game away.

     “I should get some sleep anyways. Thank you for the game, Sun.”

     “Of course!! We can play again the next night too if you want!” Sun offered.

     “Yeah, okay. My shift is really short tomorrow night, I have a day shift the following day. So we should have plenty of time for a game or two,” Chester signed.

     Sun seemed absolutely ecstatic about that. He was quite literally jumping for joy, waving his hands around merrily. “I can’t WAIT!! Sleep well, okay?? I’ll see you soon friend!”

     Chester gave Sun a little salute before heading up the spiral steps. The little voice in their head wondered if Sun was faking it, or if he actually did enjoy spending time with Chester. Chester couldn’t imagine why Sun would like them, given the situation and their general personality. Maybe he was simply making the best of things and was happy enough that Chester didn’t mind playing along.

     Chester put it out of mind for now. They laid back with their pillow and blanket, next to their duffle bag full of stolen goods, and did their best to sleep.

~~~

     Payday came the day after, on their day shift. Rosa was waiting for them in the employee stock room with a check in hand.

     "Do you need any help setting up direct deposit?" Rosa asked.

     "Checks are fine," Chester stated.

     Rosa shrugged and chugged some coffee from a thermos, then hurried off.

     Chester stared down at the check. It hadn't even occurred to them that they'd be getting paid, since the whole thing was just a big ruse. Chester wasn't sure how to feel about the money. They had worked for it, sure. But the job they were working wasn't really theirs. They were an impersonator, an imposter. They'd gotten the job through deceitful means and were lying about their identity, they were only here to hide out from the authorities. However, Chester reasoned that they weren't exactly a stranger to making dirty money. The money wasn't even all that dirty; sure, Chester was living a lie, but the work they were doing was honest. Well, in a sense, anyways. Chester pocketed the check, grabbed their faz-phone from its charger, and punched in for the day.

     Finding an ATM machine in the building that offered the option to cash the check was difficult, but there were plenty of ATMs to inspect. With a pocket full of paper bills and their morals wrangled into submission, Chester was absolutely ecstatic, their mind racing with all the food they could buy. Not only would they not have to steal food anymore, but they could buy it hot and fresh, and they could eat as much as they could buy.

     On their break, Chester struggled not to weep over their burger and onion rings. They hadn't had a proper meal in so long, they didn't care that it was just bland mall food. To them it was the most wonderful thing they'd ever eaten.

     Chester was too busy enjoying their food in the breakroom's back corner to notice at first that someone was actually talking to them.

     "Helloo?? Error, Chester not found!"

     Chester finally looked up. At the foldout table next to theirs sat a small group of staff members, most of them new faces. The one who'd spoken was a technician, their nametag reading 'Katherine'. They had a choppy buzzcut and a strong jaw. They were smiling at Chester in a way that didn't seem particularly friendly. The others around them were doing a poor job of concealing their laughter.

     All at once, Chester was brought back to their school years. They resisted the urge to roll their eyes and brushed their hands off before signing. "Sorry. Did you need something?"

     "I was asking why you always sit alone on your break and stare blankly at everything. You some sort of weirdo?" Katherine asked. "Why don't you ever talk to anyone?"

     Chester wasn't sure how they were meant to reply to that. They felt that Katherine was trying to poke fun at them, but they couldn't be bothered to care very much. Their coworker being a little mean to them was the absolute least of their worries.

     "Uh oh, they must not have a pre-programmed response to that." Katherine looked at their friend group with a smile. "They must get along really well with the robots. That's probably why they came to work here."

     "Kat, would you shut the fuck up?"

     Everyone turned as another technician stood. She'd been sitting quietly in the opposite corner, and now stood to glower at Katherine. Her name tag read 'Vanessa'.

     "Don't be jealous because Chester does a better job than you," Vanessa said. She walked passed Katherine's table and sat herself down at Chester's table.

     Katherine scoffed. "As if!"

     Vanessa turned to face Chester, ignoring Katherine as she loudly stated, "Don't let Kat bother you. They're a dick but they don't really mean any harm."

     Katherine scowled and swiveled in their chair to face away from Vanessa and Chester.

     "It's fine, I wasn't bothered," Chester signed.

     "My sign is a little rusty, so forgive me if I don't make you suffer through my attempts to sign back," Vanessa said with a smile.

     "It's no trouble, I can hear alright," Chester assured. They still had that damn constant ringing in their ears, but they could still hear. The ringing was even ignorable, at times.

     "Great! I've decided that we're friends. My name is Vanessa, I can see ghosts and I'm damn good at my job." Vanessa smiled and offered a hand out for Chester to shake.

     Chester shook it, studying Vanessa curiously. She had long blonde hair under her hat, pulled back in a ponytail, leaving a pair of dangly bunny shaped earrings on display. Her eyes were big and bright and peered sharply at Chester down a long nose.

     "Are there any ghosts around right now?" Chester asked.

     Vanessa shook her head. "Nah, most of em don't like the crowds so they stay in the access tunnels during the day. Did you know that this place used to be a diner? The pizza plex as we know it was built on top of the old diner years after the place closed down. They still had animatronics at the diner but they just stayed on the stage and played songs for patrons. Then they started trying to upgrade the animatronics and make them more personable for the crowds and accidentally gave them low level sentience. The animatronics went batshit and killed some people and that's why the old diner shut down."

     Chester spent a moment reeling from this information. "I guess the ghosts informed you of that?"

     "Yep." Vanessa took one of Chester's few remaining onion rings and ate it. "They rebranded everything, spent a lot of hush money, and opened this place up. Pretty wild, huh?"

     "If it's true, yes."

     Vanessa winked at Chester. "So, you liking the job? Gonna stick around a while?"

     "I think so." Chester nodded. They ate the rest of their food quickly so Vanessa wouldn't steal any more. "How long have you been here?"

     "About a year. It's a pretty fun gig, all things considered. It sucks that people come and go so quickly, though. I've been in need of a new buddy to bother since Brandi left," Vanessa said.

     "Oh, Brandi quit?? I was wondering, I hadn't seen her in a while."

     "Yeah, moved on to bigger and better things. I think a lot of the rumors around here got to her." Vanessa shrugged. "You don't mind the rumors, right?? A lot of them aren't true. No one's ever been killed in the new building. That night guard rumored to have been murdered by a bot one night literally lives in my apartment complex. They work at the grocery store down the street now."

     "Has anyone ever been injured on the job?" Chester asked.

     "That I can't say. I wouldn't put too much weight in the rumors. People tend to get freaked out by the animatronics just because they're quirky." Vanessa waved a hand. "Anyhoo, my break is almost over. I hear you're usually on the night shift, is that right?"

     Chester nodded.

     "When's your next day shift?? I'll try to find you and we can take our breaks together. Maybe even double team some tasks?" Vanessa offered.

     Chester hesitated, fumbling with their empty plastic plate. They were nervous about the idea of trying to accomplish tasks in front of Vanessa, but at the same time, they might learn a great deal from being able to watch a legitimate technician work.

     "Nevermind, I can just check the schedule! I'll see you around, okay?" Vanessa grinned and waved at Chester as she got up and left the break room.

     Chester's break was nearly over as well. They carried their plate to the trash, wondering if their newly acquired learnings were of passable skill yet.

     "Hey, Chester." Katherine tapped Chester on the shoulder. "Sorry if I pushed any buttons earlier. Listen, I wanted you to make some friends, but… just be careful around Vanessa, alright? She's a little…" Katherine drew a circle beside their head with a finger. "She has, like, full unironic conversations with the custodian bots. Other times she talks to herself and claims to be chatting up ghosts. She's a little coocoo for cocoa puffs, ya know?"

     Chester wasn't sure how much weight to put in Katherine's words. They didn't much mind if Vanessa was a little weird anyways. "Thank you for the heads up, but I think I'll be alright."

     "Fair enough. See you later, C-bot." Katherine pat Chester on the shoulder and returned to their table.

     Chester left the break room, their belly pleasantly full. They put their fellow coworkers out of mind and got back to work. They had a lot of learning and practice to do if they wanted to be sure Vanessa didn't find them out.

~~~

     "Scuse me!"

     Sun shifted the toddler he was currently holding in his arms to better see the child who'd tugged at the leg of his pants. His facial recognition software instantly gave him the child's name- this was little Rachel, who came to visit the daycare every other day. Sun crouched down to be on Rachel's level. "My my, so polite! How can I help you, friend?"

     "How come you keep looking at the tower?" Rachel asked curiously, pointing at the tower in question. The red curtain behind the balcony was drawn tight over the room beyond.

     Sun hadn't even realized he'd been staring. Thinking back, he supposed he had been keeping a rather close eye on the room. Rachel had always been very observant, for as long as Sun had known her. He tousled her curly hair. "Don't you worry little friend! We just like to keep a close eye on everything. The daycare needs to be in tip top shape so we can all have lots of fun!"

     Rachel giggled, slapping her hands over her head to protect her hair from Sun's ruffling. "Tip top shape!"

     "That's right! Tip top, tip top!" Sun spun his faceplate. The toddler in his arms reached out their little hands to pat at his face, making a delighted noise. Sun's nearest ray instantly retracted as tiny hands got near.

     The motion camera by the door gave Sun a ping. He straightened up and turned to face the new arrival.

     "Hellooo there!!" Sun waved at the well dressed man who'd just stepped through the daycare doors. This was a new face, but the daycare pass in his pocket was valid, the name matching the one on his license- Roderick Smith. Sun stepped past a pair of kids playing with glamrock-shaped plushies on his way to greet the man. "Welcome to the superstar daycare! Are you here for a tour? Would you like to register a child?"

     Roderick turned his gaze from the daycare to eye Sun over. "Pick up kid," he said, enunciating exaggeratively and speaking a tad louder than was necessary.

     "I'm already on it!" Sun bounced the toddler at his hip. The toddler giggled happily and started to play with the bells tied to Sun's wrist.

     Roderick did not seem to find Sun's joke amusing. "…Elijah Jones is his name. I'm here to pick him up."

     Oh dear, this wasn't good. "I'm sorry sir, but you're not a registered adult! I'm afraid I cannot release young mister Jones into your custody," Sun stated.

     "What?!" Roderick planted his fists on his hips. "Why not??"

     Sun wasn't a fan of the man's volume. Briefly, he recalled something Chester had said to him; 'it's like lightning in my belly.' Sun felt like his battery was on the fritz, electricity curling in his torso. "It's a safety policy, sir, to protect the children. If you haven't registered then I can't be sure if you're an authorized guardian of a child."

     "What are you trying to say? Are you telling me you think I'm trying to steal a kid?!" Roderick fumed. "I'm here to pick up my sister's son, I'm not some sort of criminal!"

     "I don't think you're a criminal, it's just that we have to follow all safety procedures-"

     "This is ridiculous. Why am I even talking to this thing?? Where's the staff?" Roderick looked around, his eyes landing on the unmanned security desk. "Is there no one watching these kids?!"

     The sensation in Sun's torso was different now. It was like he was overheating, even though a quick system scan read normal temperatures. "I am the daycare attendant. Sir." Sun's voice came out tinged with static. Sun had to remind himself of his role. The kids were watching. He should be kind. He did not want to be kind.

     "Where is the actual staff??" The man pointed at the empty security desk. "First you make me pay for a pass just to get in this place and now you won't even let me get my kid. You know what? Forget it. I'll just get Elijah myself."

     When Roderick started to push past Sun, Sun moved to block his path. He quickly set down the toddler in his arms. "Sir, I cannot release any child into the custody of an unregistered adult."

     "Get out of my way, clown!" Roderick snarled.

     "Jester," Sun corrected under his breath, volume turned too low for the man to hear. He did not move.

     Roderick looked ready to try shoving past again when someone interjected.

     "Is there a problem?"

     Sun and Roderick turned to see Chester standing a few paces away. Chester was wearing their uniform and their typical stern expression.

     "Finally! Get this robot out of my way, I'm here to pick up my kid," Roderick said.

     "I heard most of the situation." Chester paused to clear their throat. They hadn't spoken aloud in a long while, and their throat was hoarse. "Did you register yourself as an approved adult?" Chester asked.

     Roderick huffed. "No, I didn't realize that was such a big deal. But it's not like I'm trying to steal a kid, which is what your clown robot would have you believe!" Roderick said, gesturing at Sun.

     "I don't think you're trying to steal a child, sir," Chester said.

     "Thank you!" Roderick shot Sun a mean look.

     "However," Chester went on, "We have absolutely no way of verifying that you are who you say you are. We make no exceptions here when it comes to the safety of the children entrusted in our care, as I'm sure you can understand."

     The man fumed for a moment. Chester stared him down with a rigid intensity until he wavered.

     "Fine. I'll call my sister and get this cleared up." The man stormed out of the daycare, pulling out his phone.

     Sun looked at Chester, who relaxed visibly as the man left. Chester offered Sun a smile they hoped was reassuring.

     "You didn't have to do that," Sun started.

     Chester shot a few signs off before Sun could finish. "That guy was being really rude. You're just doing your job and keeping the kids safe. It’s no trouble to me."

     Roderick returned, pocketing his phone. "Alright, she says she added me to her profile, so I should be on the list now or whatever it is. Can I take Elijah and go already?"

     Sun confirmed that Roderick was indeed now on the list of registered adults. He left to retrieve Elijah and make sure the boy had all his belongings with him and was ready to go.

     Elijah was sad to leave and pouted as he pulled his shoes on, but once he spotted Roderick he lit up again.

     "Uncle Rick!!" Elijah ran to Roderick, arms outstretched and making grabby hands at the man. Sun followed behind, watching to be sure Elijah didn't trip in his excitement.

     Roderick's face softened as he picked up Elijah. "Hey, kiddo. Your mom sent me to pick you up today, since she's running late at work. You ready to go?"

     Elijah nodded. He grabbed Roderick's tie in his tiny fists and started to fiddle with it.

     "Sorry for the inconvenience, sir," Chester said, fighting to remain civil.

     "Yeah. Keep your robot in check next time," Roderick said.

     Sun bristled. I am kind, he reminded himself. Even when others are not.

     Chester scowled. "Sun was right and you were wrong."

     Roderick, who had turned and was halfway out the door, stopped and stared at Chester. "Excuse me??"

     Chester almost regretted saying anything. Their throat felt dry and they hated the way Roderick was glaring at them. Still, they forced out the words, fueled by something hot deep in their chest. "Sun was doing his job and keeping the kids safe. You were the one behaving improperly. Keep yourself in check next time."

     Roderick gasped. Chester shut the door in his face.

     Sun stared blankly at Chester as they turned back around, staring at the ground as if surprised at their own actions.

     Sun finally spoke. "Chester-"

     "I'm sorry," Chester signed quickly. "I shouldn't have been mean to him. I don't know what came over me. I don't even know why I…" Chester looked at the door to the tower. "I'm sorry."

     Sun ran another system check. The check assured that nothing was overheating, but Sun was doubtful. "Chester. Thank you," Sun said earnestly. "That was… thank you."

     Chester smiled. "I hope he doesn't complain and get you in trouble."

     "Me? You're the one who was short with him." Sun laughed. He turned his attention back to the toddler he'd set down earlier, who was pulling at the bottom of his pants and making grabby hands at Sun so he'd pick them back up.

     Chester paled. "…You don't think I'd get fired for that, do you?"

     "I'm sure if you explain the situation your manager would understand!" Sun assured. "I wouldn't worry, good technicians are hard to come by, so they wouldn't want to get rid of you."

     "Right." Chester took a deep breath. "Let me know if you need anything." They retreated back up the spiral steps and into the tower room.

     Sun watched them go until his attention was pulled elsewhere, spotting some kids getting a little too rowdy.

     Chester kept to their room the rest of the day, though they kept an ear out for any more trouble.

     That night, once all the kids had gone home and the pizza-plex was closed and locked up tight, Chester eagerly headed for the food court while Sun plugged himself in for a charge. Chester was starving. That, and the ease of what had become routine of hitting up the line of little restaurants in the food court, meant that they weren't as careful as they should have been.

     Chester was halfway through a small cup of pre-cooked frozen onion rings when they heard a noise coming from the back end of the restaurant. Dread froze them to the spot as their head snapped up. They'd been caught red handed.

     The animatronic was hunched in the back corner of the restaurant, partially hidden by a shelf full of canned unprepped toppings. She looked up in surprise upon noticing Chester was there. Her hands were buried in an overturned garbage can.

     Chester stared at Chica, her hands full of garbage. There was a mess of it on her face as well. Chica stared at Chester, their onion rings in hand and packed in their cheeks.

     "I won't tell if you wont tell??" Chica offered.

     Chester nodded.

     The two went back to their business. Chester finished their onion rings quickly and hurried out of the restaurant.

     The rest of their shift passed without issue. After their run in with Chica, Chester was on high alert and avoided the other animatronics with relative ease. They kept an ear out for the sound of jingling bells, but they hadn't seen the animatronic who'd attacked them since the incident. They did bump into that one custodian bot, the one wearing the blue cap. The bot stared at them with an unwavering gaze. Chester wondered briefly about the bot. None of the other bots stared at them. Well, the wet floor sign bots did, but they always looked away if Chester noticed.

     Chester made quick work of their tasks, managing to get quite a few done. They’d lucked out with a bunch of easier ones, all simple repairs and easy replacements. They were back in the daycare before they knew it.

     Once again, Sun rattled off an impressive list of activities for them to do. Chester tried to get Sun to pick the game tonight, but Sun insisted that he would have fun regardless of what Chester picked. True to his word, when Chester suggested they sit and draw, Sun happily got out all the drawing supplies and laid them out on one of the kiddie tables.

     Chester decided against trying to sit in one of the tiny toddler chairs and sat on the floor instead, legs folded beneath the table. Sun on the other hand, settled his comically tall frame precariously atop one of the chairs and immediately got to doodling.

     It took Chester two tries to grab the pencil they were after. They felt like their aim was starting to get better, but it was still frustrating trying to pick up smaller items.

     "How are you feeling, friend?" Sun asked lightly.

     Chester shrugged. They signed with their free hand, mostly focusing on what they were drawing. "I'm alright. I have been constantly groggy. At least my headache is getting better."

     "Have you been dizzy at all? I noticed you sometimes have trouble getting up the stairs," Sun remarked.

     "You noticed?" Chester paused, feeling slightly embarrassed. They'd thought they had been doing an ok job of hiding it.

     Sun had stopped drawing and was now giving Chester his full attention. "Have you been feeling nauseous? Bothered by lights or noises? Having trouble concentrating?"

     "What's with all the questions?" Chester huffed. They didn't meet Sun's gaze. "Don't worry about me, Sun. I'm alright."

     "Chester, you may have a concussion."

     Chester stared down at their pencil. They knew they weren't doing great, but there really wasn't anything to be done about it. They glanced up as they spied a strange blue light flashing in Sun's eyes.

     "When did you hit your head?? Chester, I think you need to see a medical professional." The concern was transparent in Sun's tone.

     Chester realized Sun must have just scanned them. They pulled their hat down tighter over their head. "Right. I'll… I'll do that." Chester didn't enjoy lying, but they couldn't exactly explain why they couldn't leave the complex. They busied themself with drawing.

     Sun wrung his hands together, the bells on his wrists jingling from the worried motions. His sunrays all shrank in, slowly popping back out one by one. "Are you scared of the doctor? Don't worry, lots of kids think the doctor is scary! But its their job to help you, and I hear they give you a lollipop when you're done!"

     He'd seen right through their lie. Chester kept sketching, just so they didn't have to look at Sun. "Not that I don't love a good lollipop, but I really can't go to a doctor right now." Chester risked a glance at Sun, who had folded in on himself and was now bouncing his leg. "I'm sorry for lying."

     "You are forgiven." Sun put his hands on his knees, forcing his leg to still. "We're just worried about you, friend."

     Chester's hand stilled. They put their pencil down. "Why?"

     "What do you mean, why?"

     Chester looked at Sun incredulously. "Why are you worried about me?? Why would you care about me? I'm the asshole who blackmailed you into letting me take your room! Sun, I'm not a good person."

     "No bad language in the daycare," Sun said on impulse, though he rushed to turn the volume down as he ran the line. He quickly put his volume back up to normal and carried on. "You're not a bad person just because you don't have anywhere else to stay!! Really, we don't mind you staying here at all!"

     Chester wasn't sure where this was coming from. All of a sudden they were feeling a horrible rush of guilt and anger with themself. Here they were, making bad choices and hurting people, even though they could now afford the choice. They'd done nothing but steal and lie and deceive and hurt since they'd gotten here, since they'd gotten away. "I threatened to tell on you about the lights if you didn't do what I said. That was wrong of me! I shouldn't treat you like that. No one deserves to be treated like that." Chester took a moment, clenching their shaking hands into fists. They squeezed their eyes shut and breathed, calming down before going on. "I'm so sorry, Sun. You've been unreasonably kind to me, and I've been…" Chester stared down at the table. What were they doing here? Sitting here, drawing with Sun, pretending to be his friend. "I'm sorry. You can have your room back. I won't tell anyone about the lights, I promise."

     Chester stood up, planning to grab their duffel bag and leave the daycare. Sun shot up as well, surprising Chester when he grabbed their arm to stop them.

     "Chester… thank you for the apology. I know you don't want to tell me why you don't have anywhere else to stay, but that's okay. You don't have to. You are in need of help, and I want to do whatever I can do to help you. I don't think you're a bad person. A bad person wouldn't have helped me deal with an upset guardian, wouldn't have been kind and polite to me, wouldn't have gotten so upset over being mean to me. You can stay in my room for as long as you need, okay?" Sun slowly released Chester's arm, as if they might flee if he moved too quickly.

     Chester had no idea what to say. They lifted their hands to sign, only to lower them again. Their eyes threatened to water, but they quickly fought back the tears. They took another deep breath. "I don't know what to say. Thank you, Sun."

     Sun's head did a quick spin. "Of course, dear. I'm not mad or upset with you. Will you stay?"

     Chester thought about going back to their little supply closet, maybe stowing their stuff away in one of the empty employee lockers. They looked at Sun, tried to imagine never coming back to the daycare. "…Are you certain you don't mind me staying?"

     "Not in the slightest. I promise," Sun assured.

     "Okay… I'll stay. Thank you," Chester signed.

     Sun wrapped Chester up in a big hug, squeezing them tightly. Startled, Chester let out a nervous little laugh and awkwardly pat Sun's back.

     "Would you like to keep drawing? We can talk about something else if you want," Sun offered, releasing Chester.

     "Yeah, okay," Chester agreed. They returned to the table with Sun and took a deep breath as they picked their pencil back up (they even managed to grab it on the first try).

     "Sooo have you been making any friends?" Sun asked. He went back to doodling, amassing a collection of colored pencils and crayons.

     "Actually yeah. I think. Her name is Vanessa, she's a technician. I'm told she's weird, but I'm also told that I'm weird. I think Vanessa is alright," Chester signed. "I've also been getting along with Monty, the gator guy. One of the golf club dispensers in Gator Golf got jammed, and he roped me into a game since he was kinda bored. It was right during lunch time and there weren't a lot of people there."

     "That sounds like fun!!" Sun bounced happily in his seat.

     "Do you have any friends?" Chester asked, returning the question.

     "I've got lots and lots of wonderful friends!! The kids are all so sweet and we have so much fun together! Sometimes Freddy or Chica will stop by and pay me a visit too. Freddy is very polite, like you! Have you met him?? I think you two would get along great."

     Chester recalled almost bumping into Freddy the night they'd snuck into the complex. They'd been avoiding him and the other animatronics to the best of their ability since. "Not yet," they signed. "Hey… how many animatronics are there?"

     Sun ticked off his fingers as he counted the animatronics. "There's the four glamrocks, Freddy, Roxy, Monty, Chica, and there's also DJMM, and of course, yours truly!" Sun put a hand to his chest, popping his sunrays in and out all at once.

     That… wasn't right. Chester hadn't gotten the best look at the animatronic who'd bashed their head in, but they'd seen enough to know he wasn't any of the others. "Are you sure there's not one more?"

     Sun's hand twitched. He lowered it to the table. "…What?"

     "I… met… another animatronic a while ago. He had red eyes and a circle head like yours. I didn't get a great look at him, it was dark and…" and he was hard to see while he was chasing me and bashing my head into the ground, "I do remember bells? There were jingling bells on his costume."

     Sun sat absolutely frozen. No bouncing leg or tapping fingers, no loading symbol sunrays. He stared at his page full of doodles, but the hand holding the crayon was still.

     Chester glanced up at Sun. They wondered if he was thinking. Chester was about to prompt Sun when he suddenly snapped to attention.

     "How strange!" Sun sounded strained. "How did. How did you meet this bot?"

     It was Chester's turn to freeze. They couldn't let Sun or anyone else know about the incident. "It was just a brief meeting. Didn't even say much. Who knows, he could have just been one of Vanessa's ghosts," Chester joked.

     "Who's to say?" Sun laughed, though the sound came out high pitched and strained. "Say, what are you drawing over there??"

     Chester looked down at their sketch, gladly accepting the change in topics. "Just a rough diagram of Freddy. I've been reading those technician books all day long, I see diagrams every time I close my eyes."

     "That's a very good drawing! You even got the little compartment on his arm where he keeps his spare microphone," Sun remarked, leaning over the table to look.

     "Yeah! You all have these neat little details like that built in, it's really fascinating. Like how Chica's voice box has all this extra space for downloading voice files, so she can impersonate or mimic the others. That way she can cover for them in performances if someone else has technical issues. Or how Roxy's eyes can see through walls, so she always knows where everyone else is on the bumper car race track." Chester paused, wondering if that was why Roxy had found them so easily their first night shift, despite their attempts at avoiding the animatronics.

     "My voice box is like Chica's! Mine can even create new voice files, so we can do all sorts of fun voices for story time," Sun said.

     "Really?? That's cool!" Chester paused and looked up at Sun. "Hey, I've noticed that you sometimes say 'we' or 'us'. Can I ask why that is?"

     "…I would appreciate if you didn't," Sun said.

     "That's okay. I've got secrets too." Chester didn't press the matter. "What are you drawing?"

     Sun relaxed, straightening his posture as he held up his paper for Chester to see. "It's a cozy little cottage and a creek in a field of wildflowers," he explained.

     "Wow, that's amazing!"

     "Thank you, but I can't take all the credit. I just copied this from a picture I found online. I thought it was really pretty so I wanted to draw it," Sun said.

     Sun and Chester drew and talked about easy things for the rest of the night, until it was time for Sun to prepare the daycare. Chester tried to help clean up the art supplies, but Sun insisted he could handle it. Chester ascended the spiral stairs and listened to the faint sounds of Sun rushing around the daycare as they fell asleep.

[yappingmoxie]

I’ve noticed I’ve started apologizing a lot more again for silly things that don’t really need an apology in the first place and idk. Idk why that’s starting back up again bc I rlly thought I’d moved on from that. Like when I was 18 and had just moved in with my partner at the time bc of a lot of complicated things I remember I knocked over their red bull they’d JUST opened and I started crying and apologizing so much and it took them being like “hey wtf? it’s just a drink. not a big deal I’ll clean it up” for me to start realizing how fucked up I was lol. Like I already knew how I grew up wasn’t okay but like idk. I just kinda thought it was slightly more shitty than just shitty and it took me a while to call it abuse. Because even then I was still wanting to defend my mom about like. Everything really. Idk. I’ve been thinking about her a lot lately. And I miss her even tho she was absolutely awful to me lmao. But yeah. Idk. Maybe that has something to do with the whole over apologizing thing idk. The last time I saw her or even spoke to her was when we got in a fight because she was lying and saying when I “moved out” (she kicked me out) I took myself off her insurance when I literally would never do that lmao. Like I have a serious condition with my back that needs me to get MRIs every year to make sure I don’t literally become a quadriplegic lmfaooo. And she knew that but took me off her insurance anyways when I wouldn’t move back in with her to take care of her like she wanted. Like I would have never taken myself off her insurance knowing I couldn’t (and still can’t) afford my own. I haven’t had anyyy medical treatment for my back since before 2017 because of her. So idk why she lied about that other than because she knows it was a shitty thing to do to her daughter who has literally cleaned actual shit off of her multiple times because she was too high to walk to the bathroom herself lmfao. Idk. I could get into that a whole lot more and all the absolute batshit insane things I had to deal with growing up with her but idk if it’d be good or bad for me considering I feel myself backsliding in a lot of ways already. Like idk. I still have actual nightmares from when my sister moved out and she tried to kill herself in bed next to me lmfao. I know she said she “didn’t mean to” put a second morphine patch on but I quite literally found her suicide note when I couldn’t wake her up the next morning. Like I was literally laying right next her when she was crying and writing it all out (without ever mentioning me btw but I guess that’s just petty to bring up esp considering she threw it away when she left the hospital and swore she never wrote it lmfao. but I remember it so). She would have literally died if I’d listened to my cousins mom about how “she was fine just real tired” and didn’t call my grandma and then 911. I’d seen it before lmfao. In 6th grade. When I didn’t listen to my gut that something was wrong and her boyfriend died because of that. Like yeah he was a fucking asshole but still like. Idk 11/12 was hard to see my mom having to give him CPR when he was literally already turning colors. I remember mom making me check his breathing before we went to sleep and idk. That’s something that sticks with you so I knew everything wasn’t okay. I knew the difference between just being high off her ass and hard to wake up vs literally overdosing and unable to be conscious. Lmao idek how I got on this topic when I was just ranting about regressing before but whatever. Here I am lmao. I probably should actually talk about it more instead of whatever this was bc clearly it’s on my mind but I digress idk

[worldwright]

Good evening !

Apparently, I indeed yell when I sleep, fortunately I informed my friend yesterday that it may or may not happened so he wasn't that frightened when it happened lol

My upper body hurts a bit, because relying on crutches, not that bother me a lot -my upper body is almost all muscles, but my knees are completely fine !!!!! Omfg that's so cool, no pain ? Wtf, that's what people feel like normally ?!

I'm getting mittens with better padding soon because my hands won't make it I swear, but normally I'm not walking up a hill any time soon so that's fine

Also, I bought candies yesterday and I like them quite a lot but I still don't know how I'm supposed to eat them lmao

Have a wonderful morning my friend !

aaaaa that's so exciting!!!!! knee pain BEGONE!!!!!!!!! and now you have the option to walk w/o crutches a Little if you feel like giving your shoulders a break!!

I think I got the automatic feeder set up properly, FINALLY, after like 4 attempts over a year LMAO. I still have to give them their meds at the sane times as before, but that's ok, the routine helps me keep on track anyway :3

d&d this afternoon!! I'm having trouble planning -- tbh it doesn't seem like anything interesting is gonna happen, but I don't want to Plan for it to be boring......... like the solution is to throw some fun weird encounter at them, but. planning is hard >:c

I hot a sample pack of this tea and. fuckinggggggggggg. it is SO GOOD. tastes like stargazing

it was CRAZY windy yesterday, but today it's just kinda drizzly lol

hanging out with my friend was great!! I got a new book and a candle and some new storage bins for above my desk (it keeps accumulating junk. I should just get rid of most of it, instead of creating more places to gather junk, but. :/ SOME of it actually needs to be there lmfao)

recorded some more of the book, but it turns out there IS actually an audiobook of it at the library lmfao. it's just on CDs and doesn't have a digital version

today's a chill day! doing laundry and recovering from the time change lmfao

hope you have a lovely evening, friend!!

[se7ens-oc-heaven]

EDIT: V2 is now out! I shortened ‘Identity’ to ‘ID’ for more room, and now recommend pronouns go up with the name to provide even more room (which is also a practical readability tweak in retrospect lmao)

------------------

Ever wanted a template for your Pokemon Legends:Arceus oc? Well, look no further!! I decided to make one of my own for free use!

Featuring the base template; a sample of how it looks when filled out, using my own beloved oc; AND a standalone copy of the Pokemon team file, in case your trainer has more than six pokemon to feature, or if that’s the only part you’re really interested in! Btw, the boxes are transparent so you can just paste screenshots from your game, like seen above, OR you can draw out their profile images if you’d prefer!!

Meanings I had in mind when making and filling out the trainer stats:

stamina: physical ability to keep going without fainting

resilience: ability to recover or work through ailments and dmg

stealth: ability to go unnoticed or unchallenged by pokemon

coordination: fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination

intelligence: technical knowledge

wisdom: ability to apply their knowledge

intuition: their ability to sense if something is amiss

charisma: how likeable and well-received your character is

...Feel free to follow these outlines, or use your own interpretation!

Enjoy, and feel free to share your pages with me if you’d like!

Some further minor notes re: the sample, as well as notes on some settings I used to fill this out below!

Update: also available on Deviantart!

-There’s no watermark because I nearly forgot to do that until Right before posting, but if you follow my formatting it should fit just fine!

-This will also be posted on dA, once I get some sleep I will post and link it here!

-I was going to include a field for pokemon gender, then edited it out because I realized I could just put it next to the pokemon names like traditionally done. I then proceeded to forget this step lol

-I also forgot to factor in Alphas and Shinies (despite my beloved Ophelia being Right There as an Alpha). Currently my suggestion is to copypaste the symbols, along with gender symbols, and stick them next to the names somewhere. The names don’t Have to be centered so there’s plenty of room to add them in. If I or anyone else come up with a better solution to these issues, I will update the post and template accordingly!

-For typesetting, I used typewriter font, in a range from 3pt to 8pt with variable line spacing for the info filled out. Obviously, feel free to use your own preferred font, sizing and color! I just wanted to stay congruent with what I already had.

-For the stars, I just paint-bucketed, with a 2px expansion setting instead of 0 or 1. So long as you use the same color as on the template (the ‘pokemon team’ type is easiest to color pick from) it comes out nice and clean as seen above!

-I realized that honestly this template is fairly generic for being a pokemon legends arceus template.... Hopefully it still suits everyone’s needs! I’m also ok with other people using this as a generic pokemon oc form, tbh. ^^