#he fucking with the animatronics? what are his fucking MOTIVATIONS in any of this?? well he could go to 2 and 1 if hes looking for william.
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If Afton ISN'T Glitchtrap/Burntrap, I sorta want him to come back as an evil Glamrock Freddy.
I would fucking love a game where he swaps between killing you and helping you, always keeping you on your toes as to whether he'll be a threat or not.
Having him be an ally could show his horrible and twisted personality first hand, giving as a taste of what Michael's life was like, as well as giving us some possible motivations for his actions in the past through his actions in the present. His characterization would be made more straightforward rather than hidden behind walls of text in books and a whole two hour long film, being the main character you interact with throughout the game.
How I imagine this going is that you find a Springtrap animatronic from the Fazbear Funtime Service (AR Special Delivery) that went rouge inside the back area of wherever you are in this hypothetical game. He starts trying to kill you but would quickly become aware of the Mimic copying him and become enraged at it for its poor imitation of his glory. He would view it as an insult and get just salty enough to help the player take it down while still absolutely trying to kill them at every turn.
I think this "the enemy of my enemy is my friend" concept would be a good setup for a Security Breach style game that takes place somewhere more spooky. I imagine Fall Fest, but it could really apply to any setting you wanted it to.
I just wanted to put this idea out there because I think it would be a fun way to bring Afton back without removing the Mimic as the main threat we're going to be facing going forward. Plus, in the situation I suggested, Springtrap could realize he's also technically a Mimic and have a full-blown mental breakdown, which I think he deserves honestly. We need to see a William Afton crying. Destroy the child murder's ego. It's nice to see.
Overall, I just think we shouldn't have Afton back if he's just going to be the big bad again. It would get repetitive fast and would be more interesting if he was an evil protagonist rather than just an antagonist again.
#fnaf springtrap#springtrap#william afton#fnaf william afton#william afton fnaf#fnaf security breach#fnaf mimic#mimic fnaf#fnaf the mimic#five nights at freddy's au#five nights at freddy's#fanfic ideas#fnaf ruin#fnaf concept#fnaf glitchtrap#fnaf ar special delivery#fnaf au#fnaf ar#fnaf#fnaf burntrap#burntrap#fnaf hot take
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Psycho Analysis: William Afton
(WARNING! This analysis contains SPOILERS!)
The original Five Nights at Freddy’s had an Easter egg in the form of news articles detailing the disappearance of several children at Freddy’s, a little bit of easily missable lore that hinted that there was more to these killer animatronics than meets the eye and giving a good indication as to why the pizza place seemed like such a shithole. Of course, these papers raised a very important, chilling question: Who was the man behind the slaughter?
And the answer as provided by the sequel and that would be expanded upon in later installments was: This creepy purple fuck.
William Afton AKA Purple Guy is the monster who many lost their sons (and daughters) to. He’s a wildly enigmatic serial killer who is expanded upon in cryptic cutscenes and games in the earlier entries… And then later entries would really delve into who he is and make him also ludicrously complicated, as if he were a physical representation of the series itself. But even though it’s been so long, we’re stuck to ponder the greatest and most important question of them all:
Motivation/Goals: I think the most fascinating aspect of Afton is that, despite the lore becoming so much more dense and crazy as the series went on, one thing never changed: His goals are utterly and completely unknowable. Sure, Afton has long since been revealed to be a mad scientist and something of a Jigsaw-type torturer of children… But why? What does he gain other than perhaps some sick, perverted joy? What drives him to kill children? What made him come back to destroy the animatronics in the lead up to his first death? Why does he keep coming back time and time again? Afton leaves us with a lot more questions than answers, and even as he has steadily become sillier and sillier in terms of characterization, he still manages to retain an unsettling evil presence to him due to a lack of any real reason as to why he is the way he is. He’s just an evil, loathsome asshole.
Performance: In Sister Location, Afton is finally given a voice by P. J. Heywood, but that’s a voice role that could never hope to escape the shadow of the live-action adaptation’s casting. In the movie that was finally released in 2023 after years in development hell, Afton was portrayed by Matthew Lillard. He’s most well known today as Shaggy from the live-action Scooby Doo movies, but his role here calls back to one of his big breakout roles: Stu Macher, one half of the original Ghostface in Scream. While he is used incredibly sparingly in the film—he appears for a couple minutes near the start and then about ten minutes at the end—he steals the scene every time he’s onscreen, and his performance once he’s put the Springtrap suit on and is in full villain mode really show that he’s still got it. It’s hard not to feel disappointed we only got a small taste of what Lillard can bring to the role, but hey, there’s always sequels. Many are already calling him the definitive portrayal of Afton, and it’s hard to disagree.
Final Fate: This dude gets fucked up and comes back so much that he would leave Rasputin in awe.
In Five Nights at Freddy’s 3, we get to see his first gruesome end. Trapped by the ghosts of his victims, he decides to hide from them in a Spring Bonnie costume… that has been sitting in a damp room, and which has mechanisms that are known to fuck up and maim the wearer if they breathe funny? Bro was just asking to get Springtrapped.
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After slowly and painfully dying from having his skeleton obliterated, he was left to rot in the abandoned pizzeria’s sealed room for decades until some absolute genius decided to turn the place into a spooky haunted house attraction. Afton wakes up, but he gets less than a week to enjoy his newfound freedom because due to faulty wiring the place burns down with him inside it. He’s revealed to have survived that in the end of Sister Location, but then Pizzeria Simulator has him trapped in an inescapable maze and set ablaze again… And for now, it seems to have stuck. Sure, there are hints here and there that this guy might still be purpling around, but right now it’s nothing more than theories.
GAME THEOR—
Best Scene: Aside from the aforementioned death scene from the third game, both scenes Lillard is in in the film are the highlights of the movie.
Best Quote: “I always come back!” A line so good, they had to have Lillard drop it as his pre-mortem one-liner in the movie!
Final Thoughts & Score: As I mentioned in the opening paragraphs, William Afton very much feels like the embodiment of his home series in one character. He started out as something simple and chilling—a serial killer who targeted children, using their love of a mascot character to lure them to their death—but then, over time, slowly morphed into a mad scientist who designed the animatronics and managed to cheat death multiple times. He’s a living metaphor for how the series that started as a simple series of horror games with a little lore being drip fed to us eventually morphed into some massive, crazy science-fantasy epic with convoluted plotlines and all sorts of robotic and supernatural nonsense at every turn. And Afton and the series both ultimately have one important aspect in common: Despite everything, they’re still immensely enjoyable.
Yes, at this point Afton really just needs to stay dead and not pop up again as a main antagonist; his arc is over, he’s run his course, and his current final fate is immensely satisfying. It would honestly feel like a cheat if he came back again. And yes, it’s really silly they turned what was essentially a grounded Pennywise into Chuck E. Cheese Jigsaw, with elaborate torture machines and mad science and all, but I think it’s all very fun and charming in a B-movie sort of way. And Like I’ve mentioned previously, all of the added information still does nothing to elaborate on his true motives behind the slaughter. The man is every bit as unsettling and enigmatic because nothing we learn about him tells us the truth that we really want to know: Why?
Afton is one of the most iconic modern video game characters. No, not just villains, characters, period. I think as far as video game villains go, he’s easily one of the most memorable to come out of 2010s video game culture, and he’s pretty recognizable due to his wacky purple sprites. I think part of the appeal is all of the mystery surrounding him, especially back during the first three games. The books, later games, and to a lesser extent the movie slightly demystify him, but the elements about him that work wouldn’t make me rate him below an 8.5/10. He’s a weird, fucked up guy who is shrouded in mystery even as he gets more and more cartoonishly evil, and there’s something really fascinating about that.
Now if he could just fucking stay dead so I could appreciate him a bit more, that’d be great.
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Assuming that Michael is the player for Fnaf 1/2/3/5/6 (I have no idea what's going on w/4), I doubt there is any way that the spirits (including afton kids & William here btw) knew who they were trying kill was.
So, the animatronics are old and kinda crappy right? So the missing kids wouldn't have the best vision, and (if I recall correctly) Michael looks a lot like William. Plus, we know they attacked anyone with a security uniform (rip phone guy), so they definitely didn't know. I subscribe to the headcanon that they were affected by possible murder machine programming in the animatronics from William, increasing the likelihood that they had 0 idea what they were doing, but I don't know any proof for this, so disregard it, this theory doesn't need it.
Aftons are tricker. Based on how Elizabeth talks about William, I don't think her or CC knew about how fucked up William was.
Next CC. First off, "It's me." Which works if you think he knows Michael is Michael, but it works just as well if CC thinks Michael is William. Again, I have my doubts he knew how messed up William was, but he definitely knew how much Michael was - at least Michael as Foxy bro. I do believe CC said, "It's me" with no ill intent. Whether or not it was meant for Michael depends on how forgiving you think CC is. Irregardless of how forgiving CC is, he is still affected by bad robot eyes and falls into the same hole as the missing kids.
Before moving on to William, I want to touch on Michael. I don't think he knows that Elizabeth, CC, & the missing kids think he's William. From what I understand of SL, Elizabeth does talk like she knows the player. As mentioned above, SL is not a game I have learned a lot about, nor have I learned about Eilzabeth. I said I didn't think "It's me" was said with anger/hatred, but I do believe Michael interpreted it that way. He had been fending off murderous animatronics all night, and another one just showed up in his office. What else is he gonna think? I don't know if Michael knew that CC was haunting the Golden Freddy costume, but if he did, why would he think his brother would forgive the person who killed him? As for the missing kids, he knew they were attacking security guards (at least after a point), I doubt he thought they knew how he was.
I wanted to touch on Michael before William because this is a special case. I still doubt that William knew the security guard was Michael. His eyes have to be total crap, and (if I recall correctly) he can talk, so why wouldn't he talk to his son? Why would he be trying to kill him? Instead of trying to control him, find out what's happened since he was gone, etc. That's the same. However, I think Michael knows William doesn't know who he is. And wants it like that. Michael likely figured out that William is treating him as a rando. It's not hard to put together, but why wouldn't Michael say anything? Counterpoint, WHY THE FUCK WOULD HE? He knows what William has done, and he's there to burn everything down with William inside.
I am technically in my 2nd fnaf phase, but I've only really ever seen gameplay of SB & Ruin, and that's from speedrunners. I got this far bc of game theory binge watching. Fnaf 4s lore is too confusing for me to touch, I think it doesn't matter, maybe as motivation? Eh, no idea. 6 is more of the same, up till Henry's speech everyone assumes Mike's (oh fuck. Mike has a nickname. I'm a dumbass, forgive me) some rando, Henry speech alerts them their wrong, but they burn before figuring it out.
Edit: According to AO3 tags, I misspelled Mike's name. Guess I should fix that quickly. (I can't fix the misspelling in the tags here, though.) I also fixed a mistake with Elizabeth's name at one point. Elizabeth was a typo, I have no idea how I ended up spelling Mike's name wrong. (I'm American seriously, how did I do that?)
#fnaf#fanf theories#ok#more a headcanon than a theory#but same idea#fnaf 1-6#michael afton#sorry if your looking though thecharacter tag & see this#it is about micheal#but i doubt its the normal stuff for that tag#whatever that is#sorry if this makes no sense#this is just my thoughts#but not bullet pointed#anyway#youre amazing#oh yeah#angst ideas#probably should just to be safe#angst
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I've been meaning to answer this!! Sorry it took me so long.
So when I say hilariously bad, I mean in like its objectively a bad horror movie but it is also really fun and enjoyable. It may have been the wrong phrasing really. Maybe enjoyably bad would have been better.
I really enjoyed the Fnaf movie!! It was a lot of fun and I loved how the animatronics looked. As a Fnaf fan (though only recently, I wasnt there for the big boom) I enjoyed all of the references. While the decision to make the animatronics more sympathetic and child like was unexpected I actually really enjoyed it!
Matthew Lillard was definately a highlight, even if he wasnt there a lot and I actually really enjoyed Mike's character and his relationship with Abby.
Also the animation on the cupcake was fucking hilarious, that mf was just flying around and going ham on people's limbs. Why did it look like that.
The opening music was absolutely banger and the animation was a great reference to the games. I enjoyed that a lot.
The sets where really awesome, I loved what they did with the lighting in the pizzeria and did I say the animatronics looked awesome? They looked awesome. They looked just like the game counterparts and the way they movied looked so accurate and ough, I love costumes. Spring trap looked fucking awesome too, I really enjoyed art direction in the movie.
But, it is still critically a bad movie, there were quite a few problems that I noticed. The pacing was off in a lot of places. While I liked the scene of the characters playing with the animatronics, it went for far too long and I found myself sitting there wondering when they were going to move on. There also definately should have been more Afton, not just because I like Matthew Lillard in the role but because it felt like spring trap was kind of shoehorned in at the end because they needed that final scene. If you knew nothing about Fnaf or the fact that Lillard was supposed to be Afton, you probably would have no idea he was actually the killer. I feel like there should have been more scenes of Mike and Afton interacting that included hints to who he really is.
I really hated Vanessa. She felt so unnecessary, contradictory and was just kind of annoying. She was apparently supposed to be keeping Mike in the dark but I didnt get that from her at all? Like she was constantly giving him lore, telling him to keep Abby away from the Pizzeria and was just overall helping him? She was also just far too familiar and friendly when they first met it just came off as, is annoying the right word? It definately felt weird. I understand she wanted to try and expose her father, but her actions, I dunno they didn't reflect that all that well? I was never really sure what her motivations were. The fact that she was a cop was so unnecessary too, why did she need to be a police officer? It was never used in any meaningful way. Also she just throws Mike's medication into the river!! Who does that!! She also felt shoehorned in for the sake of having an adult female lead that could be a possible love interest in another movie. Her character could have been so much better and she feels like wasted potential. Maybe I'll make a post about how I would rewrite her...
The whole Aunt trying to take Abby away also felt unnecessary. It doesnt get enough focus on it to feel like an actual threat and it really didn't need to be there. Mike could have just been a struggling guy who had to take the night shift to put dinner on their table. Abby still could have needed to come with him some nights. I honestly dont know why that plot point was in the movie tbh. The plot with the babysitter spying on them was even more pointless and if you wanted a scene where people break into the pizzeria there could have been a better way of doing it. Maybe one of Abby's schoolmates' siblings overhears her talking about the pizzeria decides that would be a great place to vandalize idk.
Mike's dream theory stuff was actually really interesting and cool! I really enjoyed that, but I wish it was focused on more. Maybe it would have been better in a different movie where it was the focus, rather than more of a side thing to the animatronics. The dream stuff did also shelve any use of the cameras in the pizzeria, which upset me because the cams are one of the key elements of the fnaf games. But instead he was just sleeping through scenes where they could have been used. The dreams also could have been a good use to hint at Afton being the killer if it was used a little bit better.
Lastly and most importantly, the movie was not scary. I know it was supposed to be for younger audiences, but still. For a movie based on a game about avoiding getting jumpscared, there were barely any of them! Funnily enough the scariest part of the movie was balloon boy, the jumpscare. I also just didnt feel tense at all? Maybe that was just me.
Despite all of this though, the movie was still enjoyable. It was a movie that I liked! The problems didnt take too much from my viewing experience and as I said I loved the references to the games. The final scene where Afton is getting Fnaf 3ed was fucking awesome! I loved how they incorporated that into the movie! Also he said 'I'll always come back.' Which was very good. Mat Pat was a nice cameo to see too! Loved the theory man. I wish that cassette girl said 'The animatronics do get a little quirky at night.' Though. ALSO THE MARRIONETTE CRUMBS IN THE END CREDITS?? I LOVE MARRIONETTE!!
Enjoyably bad definately reflects how I felt about the movie more than hilariously bad. It was a good bad movie 6/10.
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Ok so this is actually probably gonna be several asks ‘cause we split again today and I’m mentally and physically exhausted /lh
Anyways I’m gonna start by explaining this rewritten William Afton.
William is not just a heartless killer with no reasoning or motivation. He had a pretty fucked up childhood that was a big factor in how he is during the main story.
He wasn’t abused, not outright- though as his life went on his parents both certainly reflected their trauma onto their kids, pushing upon them a cycle of generational abuse and trauma- rather, the trauma he faced was more regarding death.
William was the second of six children. His older sister Timothy was seven years older than him, younger sister Eliza was five years younger, brother Calvin was six years younger, Margaret ten years younger and Maxton eleven. However, only he, Calvin, Maxton and Margaret- or Peggy- survived to adulthood. Eliza suffered “sudden infant death syndrome” at 6 months old, and 9 months later Calvin was born. Timothy died in an accident at seventeen, and 9 months later came Peggy. Then their parents divorced and from another father came Maxton and a new marriage with him.
William’s mother Helen was obsessive, and reacted to every tragedy with another addition to the family in a desperate reach for control, particularly controlling who lived and died. This is something William internalized as he grew up. The idea of having control over who lived and who died was something that remained out of reach to Helen, but that William eventually attempted to truly grasp with remnant.
Spring Bonnie was based on a toy given to Eliza when she was born. A stuffed yellow rabbit with a white top hat and bow tie that William held onto.
The day Michael died, that stuffed bunny- which had a name tag dubbing it “bappa”, as Eliza had called it- was found at a local children’s hospital as an anonymous donation for any young patients who needed “a friend.”
William was not the most social person, but later in life began to pretend to be to earn people’s trust so no one he didn’t want to have a reason to dislike him would.
Henry, on the other hand, was the 16 year old clinically depressed autistic recluse who wore the same 3 turtlenecks every day, who no one really talked to. He spent all his time with his nose buried in a book and got all C’s except for his robotics class, which he had an A+ in.
But William didn’t want Henry to have a reason to dislike him, so he was polite to him until they actually began to hit it off in college.
Pursuing similar career goals, they went to the same town together after college, where they started Fredbear’s Family Diner in the 1970s. Henry married a woman named Melissa and had twins, and William married a woman named Amalie and had three children with her.
While all seemed to be going well- with the restaurant off the ground, they began to make promotional TV cartoons which later became a series itself that introduced characters who later became animatronics, and both seemed to have exactly what they wanted, William- just like Helen- was obsessive and needed control. He wanted to control who would live and who would die.
Soo he abused, kidnapped, violently murdered, and tortured a bunch of children, as you do. His actual body count is only about six as opposed to the like thirteen in canon, because I think not overdoing it is important to not nullifying the horror of his actions lmao
This is actually very similar to my William's motivations, even though he's not that important in my AU (except for my Good Father!William AU but that's a different story-)
While his parents did care for him, being an only child, they also had high expectations for him which stressed him out, and he gradually became just a terrible person and was an expert at manipulating others, which is how he had so many connections and created Fazbear Entertainment, despite his shady past with petty crimes.
He wanted control, which is why he had Elizabeth and decided to kidnap Michael. When Michael started to rebel in his early teen years William got frustrated that he wasn't turning out to be how he wanted, which was exactly like him, so he mostly neglected him and paid more attention to Elizabeth as a result because she was too young to really understand just what was going on.
He killed Charlie after Elizabeth's death, because the way he saw it if he couldn't be happy why should Henry be able to, and caused Henry a lot more pain because he already lost Michael to him years ago.
He only killed the FNaF 1 kids himself, any other deaths being caused by the animatronics so they could be easily written off as freak accidents, and William wouldn't be a suspect.
The worse part is that he doesn't regret anything, and still believes he was in the right for just about everything, even as he's being tortured by Cassidy in his own personal hell in UCN
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My dedicated take on FNAF as a series, is that if you only count the main games from 1 to UCN, you have an absolutely batshit insane and incoherent but satisfying enough story for the series. From that you get the story of William Afton and his wacky murder spree that blows up in his and his family's face, Henry the good-natured business partner and bystander to the chaos, and the legacy of the Freddy's franchise permanently haunted by its inability to let go of greed in the face of tragedy.
Even though I think the series long ago wrote itself into oblivion with a lack of direction or substance to its nightmare of a story, there is one core theme to it that I think is executed very well - that being to leave the demons to their demons and let sleeping dogs lie. Which is so ironic for this series it's almost a Shakespearan, but I digress.
I feel like I rarely see the anti-buisness aspect of the series talked about, which is like it's most strongly written feature both comedically and thematically. The games fucking loathe whoever the hell is ever running the locations at any point in time, with jokes about non-chalant health and safety violations and lackadaisical regard for the rights and lives of others. Which ends up paralleling Afton himself if he's not straight up running the joint. Afton and the In-Universe franchise are parallels to eachother, both unable to give up selfish and destructive pursuits in the face of complete backfire and tragedy, and they both come out of it haunted af and haunting eachother. Even though I said fuck everything but the game canon (meaning remnant from the books), I do think the pursuit if immortality is a good motive for Afton just cause it makes it similar to the Fazbear Franchise's constant need to stay relevant no matter what.
This then makes Henry a great foil to both the Franchise and Afton, being just an honest fucking guy who doesn't seem interested in abusing the legacy of his creations nor mf child murder. And Michael as well being like his father physically, but being someone who can tell when he's fucked up and hurt those around him and repent for it. Even going through hell and similar consequences as his father, but still staying on track to redeeming himself. If you squint and ignore a bunch of bullshit and focus on some reoccurring motifs, you can almost slap together a compelling tragedy about a mix of personal and corporate greed suffering supernatural wrath.
The animatronics too only ever seemed to become worse the more I learned about supplementary material. Just stopping at, "most of them are normal and got haunted, and sometimes Afton made wacky terrible monstrosities with haywire AI", is good for me. And it's insane it took till like?? Sister Location for their animosity towards the night guard (Mikey Afton) to be explained, but it works for what I was saying about Mike's character. That he's literally going through twice as much hell as his dad did over a fifth of the sins and holds true through the whole series. I appreciate the interplay between the animatronics as children's mascots and haunted abominations landing on them having a well-meaning but bloodthirsty hatred towards their murderer. And for the toys, it was probably just that their facial recognition software was seeing Mike as William, and they were doing their job to protect the kids perfectly fine lmao.
Even past UCN as the lore and what plot there is continues to be shot full of holes and repaired with scotch tape, that theme of misfortune from greed is atleast still there in Glitchtrap. But then once again, HOW ARE WE WRITING THIS AND YOU HAVENT STOPPED YET?
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Okay I'm gonna say it. I can't be the only one. I fucking hate the "Actually, Bonnie's the bad guy and tried to decommission Monty!" theory so fucking much. There's no evidence to support it, and what would his motivation be? The literal only piece of evidence that ever comes up is "Bonnie's the most aggressive/active animatronic in the other games!" when he's fucking possessed yeah. And that says nothing about how he is with his friends.
And how's Monty with his friends? Well, considering he wants to decommission Freddy and take his place as the lead, not fucking good.
That's not speculation either, we know that from the last stage in the arcade cabinet in Monty Golf, where Monty's on stage front and center, and if that was all, I wouldn't be saying this. If he were just on stage it'd just be "Oh he just wants more spotlight, who can blame him?" if it weren't for the fact on that same map, Freddy's in a dumpster worse for wear. (Yeah, he didn't make the game or anything, but it's obviously there to tell us something.)
I have more points, too. The other "point" I see is "If Monty started it why didn't they decommission him instead of Bonnie?" Probably because they don't fucking know. They haven't even fucking FOUND Bonnie yet, if they did, we'd know it. The last place any employee saw him was when he went into Monty Golf.
And here's a fucking counter to that, too. If Bonnie was decommissioned, and it was choice made by the company, there'd be a bag to explain it. We have bags to explain complaints and staff meetings, but we don't have one to explain one of the main animatronics getting fucking axed? So why don't we have THAT?
Listen, I like Monty. This isn't Monty slander, but all the evidence points to fucking Monty, and Bonnie is my boy and I won't tolerate this fucking slander! And it is slander, because there's no fucking evidence Bonnie's the instigator!
You want a theory that doesn't make Monty the culprit? Fine, here's one for you. Vanny lured Bonnie out Monty Golf, to frame Monty, and busted his ass to use his parts to rebuild Afton's suit. There. Fucking take it. Now stop slandering my guy.
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Seventeen: Welcome to Caratland (End)
Characters: Seventeen x reader (gender neutral)
Genre/warnings: horror/halloween au, choose your own adventure au, horror au, angst, murder, major character death,
Summary: The night before Halloween, you and your 13 friends decide to go explore the infamous abandoned amusement park: Caratland, where it’s rumored that rides start on their own, empty mascot suits are seen walking around, and people don’t return the same as when they left. Can you and your friends survive the night in Caratland?
a/n: realizing halloween is coming up, i’ve decided to FINALLY finish the au i did last halloween. for those who kept up with it: i’m sorry for discontinuing it. there was hardly any interaction with it so i just lost interest and motivation. and the lack of interaction is why i decided to just put all the choices in this part so you can see all the endings and whatnot. i’m sorry it took so long to wrap things up and there will probably be mistakes so i’m sorry about that, but i hope you all still enjoy it. ALSO LMK WHICH PATH/ENDING YOU GET FIRST TIME AROUND!!!
Tag list: @sadienita @xummie @mingoats @xxbluestrifexx @kwanseo @junhaoshua @allegxdly
Previous | Caratland Masterlist
[NOTE: there will probably be mix-ups with paths and endings because i literally just did all of this in 3 days and posted without anyone proof reading it. i will go through everything later to fix and edit things, so please be patient with me!!!]
»»————- ————-««
16 -- A
“It’s probably best to go back to the breach, right?” you decided. “We know it’s there so it’s the best way to get back.”
“_____ has a point,” Wonwoo shrugged.
“Alright, everyone head back to the hole -- and don’t get split up,” Seungcheol stated before deciding to take the lead.
“Okay, but if I see one of those glorified Chuck E. Cheese mascots coming toward us, I’m leaving all of you behind,” Seungkwan muttered as he followed with the group.
All of you were glancing around trying to keep an eye out for the animatronics, while also trying to quickly and quietly make your way back to the way you’d gotten into the park. You kept mentally kicking yourself for convincing your friends to come here. If it wasn’t for you, you wouldn’t be in this mess in the first place. You were just lucky everyone was still here...
The gates were starting to come into view, and you felt relief begin to course through you. Your legs were starting to move faster on their own, just wanting to get out of this living nightmare.
Seungcheol shooting his arms out to stop the group was what had you skid to a stop. He whispered loudly for everyone to get down behind the nearby shrubs and two trash bins. The fourteen of you poked your heads around to see what had gotten him to act like this, and your heart sank at what you saw
Serenity was blocking the hole in the fence.
“Fuck,” Jeonghan hissed.
“We’re gonna die here...” Seokmin whispered, but Wonwoo was quick to comfort him.
“What’s the plan now?” Hansol wondered.
“I know it’ll risk us going to jail or something,” Jihoon began, “but I think it’s time we just cave and call someone.”
“No, I’m not going back there!” Seungkwan whispered intensely.
Your eyebrows furrowed as your turned to look at him, “Excuse me?”
“I’d rather get arrested than get murdered,” Mingyu insisted. “At least we know we’ll be safe and alive in jail.”
You made a face, “Will we, though?”
“Listen,” Hansol interrupted as he pulled out his phone, “I’ll just call my parents -- they’re really chill. And worse case scenario, they just lecture us.”
But as he went to make the call, all his phone did was beep at him like the line was busy. He took the phone away from his ear and looked down, furrowing his eyebrows.
“We had service all night, right?” he asked.
“Yeah...?” Joshua replied.
“Well now I don’t for some reason,” he said, turning his phone screen to show his friends.
Mingyu’s eyes widened, “You’re kidding.”
Then everyone, including you, were taking out their phones and checking for service. Just like Hansol, you had no bars.
Unfortunately, everyone else was in the same boat.
Now, Seokmin was on the verge of tears, “We’re going to die here!”
“Don’t get hysterical yet,” Minghao told him. “There’s gotta be a way out of this. Even if we have to wait around until morning, we can probably out-run these hunks of metal.”
“Y’know, I heard a friend of a friend snuck in here once,” Soonyoung began. “Some dude Changkyun knows. He said there’s apparently some sort of underground exit under the food court.”
“At this point, we’ll have to try anything,” Wonwoo sighed.
“So back to the food court?” Seungcheol practically whined.
You took a deep breath, “Unfortunately, yeah.”
[GO TO: 17 -- A]
»»————- ————-««
16 -- B
“Does anyone even remember where the hole in the fence is?” you asked.
Everyone either gave you blank stares or shook their heads. You let out a sigh.
“Alternate way it is,” Minghao shrugged.
“Let’s just hang here until someone thinks of something,” Seungcheol suggested. “We’re all here, and I think those things are still hanging around wherever we were before. It’ll take a while before we see them again.”
So the fourteen of you hung out at the merry-go-round. Most of you leaned up against the horses or found yourselves sitting down on them. A few of you sat on the two steps of the platform. Chan and Wonwoo were sitting in one of the carriages that most families or parents sat in. All of you were scrolling on your phones or looking at someone else’s phone, trying to research anything about Caratland that might help you find a way out. Maybe a map or a blueprint or something might come up.
Suddenly, the ride jerked. You almost fell over onto Junhui as the ride began turning slowly, the music trying to play but the wiring was too old and worn that it just sounded demonic at best.
“Ha ha, very funny,” Jihoon scoffed. “Who turned on the ride?”
The question was overlooked by Mingyu’s shriek. Every head who was on his side of the merry-go-round whipped over to see Bongbong sitting on a horse only a few rows away from the tall boy. But another scream from Seungkwan was what brought attention to the answer to Jihoon’s question.
Eight was standing at the controls of the ride, his never-changing smile on his face as he slowly waved.
“Run!” Joshua called, leaping off of the horse he was sitting sideways on.
“Run where?” Seokmin called as he scrambled to get off the ride and jump the short fence.
“Food court!” Soonyoung shouted as he pumped his legs as fast as they would go. “It’s a long shot...but I have an idea!”
“I’d rather know the idea first!” Jeonghan called after him as the group ran together away from the merry-go-round.
“One of Changkyun’s friends apparently broke in before!” he tried to explain between breaths. “He said there’s an underground exit there! Who knows if it’s legit, but...”
But it was the only plan they had.
[GO TO: 17 -- A]
»»————- ————-««
17 -- A
All of you had to squeeze through the tiny basement windows to get back in after finding the doors to be locked once again.
“How’d those fuckers get out in the first place?” Jeonghan huffed as he landed on the concrete floor of the basement. “The doors have been locked this entire time.”
“We’re being chased by animatronics that haven’t been functioning for years, and they’re out to kill us for some reason, and that’s what you’re going to question?” Soonyoung pointed out.
“Can we focus, please?” Seungcheol whined. “The sooner we find this secret eit, the sooner we’re free.”
“Everyone start searching,” Hansol said, waiving for everyone to scour the basement.
All of you searched every inch you could. The floor, the walls, shelves, behind old cupboards and props -- but there was nothing.
“What if it’s not here?” Chan suggested.
“Yeah? And where else would an underground exit be other than in the basement?” Jeonghan shot back.
The youngest frowned and rolled his eyes, “Soonyoung just said it was underground, he didn’t say under what part of the food court.”
“I mean...Jeonghan has a point,” Seokmin admitted hesitantly. “The basement is underground.”
[TO GO UPSTAIRS TO THE FOOD COURT GO TO: 18 -- A]
[TO CONTINUE SEARCHING THE BASEMENT GO TO: 18 -- B]
»»————- ————-««
18 -- A
“It can’t hurt to check somewhere else,” you spoke up, moving to stand beside Chan. “We’re looked everywhere down here. What if it’s not in the basement? There could be some secret tunnel under a different location and we’re just going to be here wasting our time.”
“I mean...yeah, that makes sense,” Jihoon decided with a shrug. “Alright, we’ll try back upstairs.”
“I don’t wanna go back up there...” Seokmin whined, clinging to the nearest person -- it happened to be Junhui.
“We’re all going,” you reassured him with a soft smile. “Let’s go. Nothing’s going to happen.”
You led the way up the stairs this time, but you found yourself going slow. You strained your ears for any noise on the other side of the basement door but the food court seemed to be quiet. Maybe the animatronics couldn’t get back in since the doors were locked.
You pushed the door open cautiously, poking your head out to glance around. It seemed empty, so you opened the door wider and let everyone else out.
“Is that e--”
SLAM!
All of you jumped back and turned around hearing the basement door slam shut behind the last person out.
“Fuck this, I want out,” Mingyu stated, shaking his head as he began to quickly walk away from the door.
“Hold up,” Wonwoo reached out and grabbed Mingyu’s wrist to keep him with the group. “We should stick together.”
“It probably just closed from the weight of the door anyway,” Minghao figured before going to pull on the door handle.
It didn’t budge.
“Move out of the way, toothpick,” Seungcheol smoothly pushed Minghao out of the way before trying the door himself.
Still nothing.
“D-did it...lock?” Chan asked slowly.
“Haha, would you look at that?” Seungkwan said, checking his wrist that very clearly didn’t have a watch on it. “I actually have to get the fuck out of here. Bye!”
“Maaaaybe,” Hansol grabbed him by the elbow and dragged him back, “don’t do that.”
“Yeah, nobody goes running off, got it?” Jihoon checked, shining his light at everyone to make sure they agreed to the new rule. “Shit’s too weird to be splitting up.”
“I think our best bet would be to hide in the security room until morning,” you spoke up. “It’s probably the safest place in here.”
“_____’s right,” Wonwoo nodded. “Let’s go -- and stick together.”
As a group, all of you made your way to the security room, with you, Jihoon, and Soonyoung leading the way. All of you had your lights, shining them around to make sure the entire area was safe until you made it to the security room and barricaded the door closed.
“Jesus Christ, I hated that,” Mingyu panted as if he had been holding his breath the entire time you were walking.
“I think I almost shit myself,” Soonyoung admitted.
“Imagine your last words being ‘I think I almost shit myself’,” Junhui snorted.
“Hang on, shut the fuck up,” Seungcheol snapped, holding a hand up as he quickly scanned the group in the room. He was trying to count heads while all of you were talking, and as he quickly recounted, his blood turned to ice. “Why are we one short?”
“One short?” Jeonghan asked.
“Someone’s missing,” he said urgently.
“Alright, let’s run attendance real quick,” Jihoon decided, trying to stay level-headed. He pulled out his phone and went to the group chat. “Obviously I’m here. Soonyoung?”
“Here.”
“Seungcheol?”
“Here.”
“Mingyu?”
“Unfortunately here.”
“Hansol?”
“Yup.”
“_____?”
“Here.”
“Joshua?”
Silence.
Jihoon looked up from his phone, repeating, “Josh?”
You and your friends looked around, trying to find Joshua’s face in the crowded room. But nobody spoke up, and the silence following Joshua’s name became deafening.
“Oh fuck...” you breathed, trying to not completely lose your shit. “Did we really lose Josh?”
“We have to go back for him,” Jeonghan insisted.
“What? No!” Seungkwan shouted. “That’s suicide!”
Then everyone was bickering. While everyone of course wanted to hope Joshua was safe, half of the group felt that going back out to look for him would mean all of them would get killed. The other half, on the other hand, were willing to risk their lives to go on a rescue mission.
[TO GO OUT LOOKING FOR JOSHUA GO TO: 19 -- A]
[TO STAY IN THE SECURITY ROOM GO TO: 19 -- B]
»»————- ————-««
18 -- B
“I mean...how would it be under anywhere else?” you asked slowly with a shrug. “No offense, Chan. But like, this is kind of the only basement in the place.”
“See?” Jeonghan sneered.
Chan just frowned and rolled his eyes.
“There’s gotta be something we missed,” Soonyoung said, trying to stay calm. “Let’s just sweep the place over again.”
But after more looking, you still came up with nothing.
“At this point, I’m about to just dig through the boxes of old animatronic parts and just hope there’s a portal at the bottom or something,” Joshua sighed, slumped against a wall with Jeonghan beside him.
“Good luck,” Jeonghan scoffed. “I already tried picking one up to move them away from the wall but they’re super fucking heavy. It’s literally impossible.”
You turned your head to look at the large stack of boxes. There were piles of various sizes, but the ones at the back pressed up against the wall went up the highest. It was a long shot, but behind the boxes was the only place nobody checked because it couldn’t be reached. But with everyone giving up hope, it didn’t hurt to try, right?
“Hey, Gyu,” you spoke up before pointing to the boxes. “Think you can move those?”
Mingyu shrugged, “Yeah, probably.”
He walked over to the wall and began lifting boxes one-by-one. He grunted as he picked them up and moved them away until he called everyone over.
“There’s metal behind here!” he called over his shoulder.
“Ooh, is it the door?” Soonyoung asked excitedly, pushing himself off the floor.
“Told you it was better to look down here,” Jeonghan said once more.
Jihoon groaned, “Can you let it go? Leave Chan alone already.”
Seungcheol started assisting in the box-moving until the metal door was accessible. Seungcheol tried to push it open, but it didn’t budge. He tried harder, but still nothing.
“Can I try?” Mingyu asked.
Seungcheol stepped out of the way, gesturing for the tallest to give it a shot.
Mingyu threw his shoulder into the door a few times before it finally swung open, leading to a narrow corridor that looked like it would bring you straight to Hell.
“Okay,” Soonyoung breathed out, “let’s see if this is the way to freedom.”
[GO TO 20 -- A]
»»————- ————-««
19 -- A
“Why is this an argument?!” you shouted over the bickering. “Our friend could be dead! I don’t care if nobody comes with me, but I’m going to find Josh.”
“I’ll go,” Jeonghan stated.
“Me too,” Hansol volunteered with a slight raise of his hand.
“Plus, I highly doubt an animatronic got him,” Minghao scoffed as he went to join your group as you went to open the door.
“Well...good luck with that,” Seungkwan nodded.
In the end, it was you leading the way, with Jeonghan, Hansol, Minghao, Seokmin, and Seungcheol tagging along -- the latter two clinging to each other as you opened the door and went down the short hallway to the door that read EMPLOYEES ONLY on the other side.
“Why would he split off from the group?” Jeonghan wondered. “If he were trying to prank you guys, he would’ve had me in on it.”
“Maybe he just--”
Your sentence was cut off by a scream -- your own scream. Your eyes saw the scene before you: Joshua’s body laying just in front of the EMPLOYEES ONLY door, a bloodied mess. All you could do was scream.
Standing over him, covered in what you could only assume was your friend’s blood, was Bongbong.
“_____, run!” Minghao shouted, grabbing your arm and yanking you away from the door.
He quickly reached for the door and slammed it closed as you and the others ran back down the short hall. Jihoon had poked his head out the door to see what the noise was, and you crashed right into him, hyperventilating as tears welled in your eyes.
God, that image was going to be burned into your brain forever.
“What happened?” he asked.
“J-J-Josh!” you sobbed.
“Those things are in here,” Minghao panted, closing the door to the security room and pressing his back. “Th-they got Josh.”
“You’re fucking with us,” Seungkwan said quietly and very unsurely.
“Would Minghao fuck with you?!” Jeonghan cried. “If you don’t believe us, why don’t you go out there and check for yourself, Kwan? Go get yourself traumatized!”
“Okay, don’t scream at him, it won’t help anything,” Wonwoo spoke up, trying to somehow keep the group put together.
“Let’s just focus on finding a way out,” Seungcheol decided in a shaky voice.
“U-um...guys?” Mingyu spoke up, staring into the monitors.
Everyone gathered over to see what he was looking at.
Each room had a camera and a monitor to go with it. In each room, stood an animatronic. Each camera had an animatronic staring into it, as if they all were staring at the group.
They knew where you were.
“We have to get out of here,” Seomin panted, beginning to hyperventilate. “They’re going to come in here and kill us!”
“I get it’s scary, but we have to stay calm and--”
“Hey!”
Everyone turned their heads a the sudden exclamation. Chan was standing beside a square metal door in the floor with some dusty boxes and wires he’d moved to find it. He smirked, gesturing to the door.
“While you guys were shitting your pants, I found the underground exit,” he stated.
“Well fuck, kid,” Jihoon whistled under his breath.
“Let’s get the hell outta here,” Soonyoung said as he threw the trapdoor opened and descended the ladder that led to a narrow corridor.
Chan gave Jeonghan a pointed look, “And you thought I was stupid.”
Jeonghan just rolled his eyes, “Whatever.”
[GO TO 20 -- A]
»»————- ————-««
19 -- B
You felt like a shitty person for not wanting to risk your life for Joshua. You felt extremely guilty that you didn’t want to go out and look for your friend, but truthfully, you were afraid to die -- and that’s why half your friends didn’t want to go looking for him. Not everyone was brave enough to be a hero, and while you always told yourself you would be when putting yourself into the shoes of horror movie characters, it just wasn’t the truth.
But in the midst of the argument of whether or not to go out to search for Josh -- the argument that you stayed silent for -- Mingyu spoke up in a shaky voice, “U-uh...g-guys?”
Everyone turned toward him to see he was staring into the monitors. You all gathered over to see what he was looking at.
Each room had a camera and a monitor to go with it. However, the monitors had gone fuzzy so you couldn’t see anything in any of the rooms.
Wonwoo’s eyebrows furrowed, “Why are the cameras suddenly down?”
You wished they stayed that way after seeing what was displayed next. In each room, stood an animatronic. Each camera had an animatronic staring into it, as if they all were staring at the group.
They knew where you were.
Unfortunately, that wasn’t the most disturbing thing.
You could see on one of the monitors, Bongbong was standing in front of the camera holding a familiar body. Joshua was being held up by his neck, and blood was coming out of his mouth, nose, eyes, and even his ears.
You weren’t the only one to let out a scream and flinch away from the camera, hiding your face as you started panicking and crying.
“We have to get out of here,” Seomin panted, beginning to hyperventilate. “They’re going to come in here and kill us!”
“We have to find the fucking exit!” Seungcheol said in a panic. “Everyone go--”
“Hey!”
Everyone turned their heads a the sudden exclamation. Chan was standing beside a square metal door in the floor with some dusty boxes and wires he’d moved to find it. He was just staring at you like he hadn’t just witnessed what all of you did -- and maybe he didn’t because he was too busy searching.
“Way ahead of you,” he stated.
“Thank god,” Jihoon said under his breath.
“Let’s get the hell outta here,” Soonyoung said as he threw the trapdoor opened and descended the ladder that led to a narrow corridor.
Chan gave Jeonghan a pointed look, “And you thought I was stupid.”
Jeonghan just glared at him, “I’m not in the fucking mood.”
And then he went down the ladder.
[GO TO 20 -- A]
»»————- ————-««
20 -- A
Other than only being wide enough for one person to walk through at a time, it was also very dimly-lit. It definitely looked like something straight out of a horror movie that would 100% lead to the characters’ imminent death.
Needless to say your heart was pounding in your ears.
There was another metal door, but this one was far easier to open. The squeak of it echoed down the corridor as the thirteen of you filed into the room. It seemed to be where they kept the spare mascot suits that actual employees would wear. There were a few of the bodies of the suits hanging up, with heads scattered in corners and on shelves, along with gloves and feet strewn about.
“I hate this,” Jun stated, looking around the room.
“I know these things are empty, but looking into their empty eyes is somehow worse,” Jihoon mumbled, staring at an Eight head.
At the opposite end of the tiny room in the right corner was another metal door. You were starting to wonder how many more metal doors you’d have to encounter in this place.
To the left of the room, there was a tiny wooden door that seemed like it would lead to a crawlspace. You assumed there was just more storage back there, but nobody cared enough to look back there, anyway. The focus was to get out of this place and get to safety.
“C’mon,” you nodded your head toward the other metal door that you assumed would lead to the exit, “let’s keep going.”
As Seungcheol went for the door, you and your friends heard banging. You all paused, Seungcheol’s hand on the handle. You listened for the banging again, and then looked to where it seemed to be coming from.
“Guys?” Joshua’s voice called from behind the small wooden door. “Guys?! Oh my god, guys! C-can you hear me? Hello?! Help me!”
“Josh?” Jeonghan took a step toward the door.
[TO HELP JOSHUA GO TO 21 -- A]
[TO CONTINUE TO THE EXIT GO TO 21 -- B]
»»————- ————-««
21 -- A
“Joshua!” you cried as you ran to the small door.
You knew what your eyes saw, but was it possible none of it was real? How else would you be hearing Joshua’s voice? He must’ve been alive somehow. Anything seemed possible at this point.
You got down on your knees, opened the small door, and crawled your way through. You stood up as your friends tried to get in behind you, but what you saw made your heart fall into your stomach as your hands went to cover your mouth, muffling the loud sob that came out.
Joshua’s body was slumped against the left wall, looking just as you had remembered.
He was still dead.
Your friends had similar reactions to you. Seokmin even threw up.
Seungcheol shook his head slowly, eyes full of tears while some streaked his cheeks, “We... W-we have to bring his body...”
“He’s right,” Jihoon said solemnly -- his body seemed to be shutting down now, almost uncapable of processing his emotions. “We need evidence of what happened tonight. Nobody will believe us otherwise.”
“I-I hate to say it, b-but...it’ll s-slow us down, though,” Wonwoo interjected through his sniffles. “What if we don’t make it out?”
[TO TAKE JOSHUA’S BODY WITH YOU GO TO 22 -- A]
[TO LEAVE WITHOUT JOSHUA’S BODY GO TO 22 -- B]
»»————- ————-««
21 -- B
You quickly reached out and grabbed Jeonghan to keep him from going any closer to that door. He turned to look at you, a pained expression on his face.
“Jeonghan, that’s not Joshua,” you told him. “You saw what happened to him. Whatever it is, it’s not him.”
“I think _____’s right,” Wonwoo nodded. “We need to keep going.”
You kept your hold on Jeonghan as all of your began filing out of the mascot room into another narrow corridor like the other one. This one, though, had a sharp right turn before leading down a while to another steel door.
But this door didn’t budge.
Soonyoung was at the head of the group, and he groaned in frustration as he tugged at the handle over and over again, “You’ve gotta be fucking kidding me; what’s with these doors?!”
You started to hear a thumping. It slowly got louder and louder...
...Or maybe it was closer and closer.
Junhui walked down the way you’d come and poked his head around the corner, his eyes widening at what he saw. He whipped his head back around and booked it straight back to where your group was trying to open the door, calling, “You might wanna hurry up on that door!”
Coming down the hall were all four animatronics, their eyes lit up as they stomped closer and closer.
“It’s not doing anything!” Soonyoung huffed, trying with all his might to open the door. “Mingyu, get up here!”
Mingyu squeezed between bodies to get to the door, trying to open it as the group just shouted for him to be faster.
“We might have to just...face these things,” Chan said. “Once and for all.”
“Yeah? How?” Wonwoo scoffed. “They’ll crush us in seconds.”
“There’s fou-- thirteen of us, and four of them. We might have a shot.”
“Well hurry up and decide so we can at least put the strongest up against them first,” Junhui called.
[TO FACE THE ANIMATRONICS WHILE MINGYU KEEPS WORKING AT THE DOOR GO TO 23 -- A]
[TO FACE THE ANIMATRONICS TOGETHER GO TO 23 -- B]
[TO KEEP TRYING THE DOOR GO TO 23 -- C]
»»————- ————-««
22 -- A
“We can’t just leave him here,” you stated. “Not only for the evidence, but because he doesn’t deserve to rot away here. His family doesn’t deserve to wonder what happened to him.”
“I’ll grab him,” Seungcheol offered, swallowing his fears and stepping forward to scoop up his friend. “Let’s get him home.”
Chan was the last into the tiny room, so he turned to go. But the wooden door was suddenly closed and wouldn’t open back up.
“What the hell?!” he grunted as he continued to try the door.
“Why’d you let it close, dumbass?!” Jeonghan demanded.
“I didn’t!” Chan shouted back. “It was just open!”
“Ugh, leave it to the fucking baby to--”
“G-guys?” Seokmin asked.
“Can you get off my fucking case?!” Chan huffed as he stood up and went to stand toe-to-toe with Jeonghan. “You’re always such a fucking asshole to me! Why can’t you--”
“Guys?” Seokmin tried again, looking between the left and right walls.
“Are you two really going to argue right now?” Jihoon groaned. “We’re literally--”
“Guys!” Seokmin finally shouted over everyone. “The walls!”
“What about the--”
Jihoon’s question died down as soon as all of you began looking at the walls. They were moving in toward each other, which would crush all of you between them.
Everyone was suddenly in a panic. Everyone was throwing themselves at the door, trying to tug it open before the walls could do anything. Some of you -- such as you and Wonwoo -- decided to spread out so you had more room. But some -- like Jeonghan and Chan, who grouped up by the door with a few others -- created a big human-lump that would be crushed faster. You heard their cries and pleas before they were crushed to death with a sound you couldn’t get out of your ears.
It was only a moment later you met the same fate.
[GO TO ENDING B]
»»————- ————-««
22 -- B
"Nobody wants to be the asshole that says it’s better to leave him behind, but...” you trailed off.
Wonwoo was right. Joshua would more than likely slow you down. Besides, you knew Josh would want all of you to have the best chance of getting out alive as possible.
“Th-then you go ahead,” Seokmin spoke up, almost like he was afraid to.
“What?” Jihoon asked.
“I...” Seokmin looked at Joshua as more tears welled in his eyes. “It makes me sad to think he’d just be down here alone. I don’t care if he’s...gone. He can’t just stay down here.”
“I’m not leaving my best friend down here,” Jeonghan agreed.
“Seokmin, he’s--”
“Look, just go,” Hansol interrupted whatever Jihoon was going to say. “I’ll help them with the body. You guys just go on ahead.”
Minus the three who wanted to collect Joshua’s body, the group turned and left the small room and went back to the mascot room. Soonyoung tugged on the metal door and led the way down another corridor that looked exactly the same as the one that had led into the mascot room. This one, though, had a sharp right turn before leading down a while to another steel door.
But as you were walking down the hallway, you heard the yells and screams of your three friends. All of you turned on a dime and ran back toward the mascot room but the metal door was already closed and wouldn’t re-open for some reason. All of you were yelling and trying to open the door until you heard a sickening crunch, and then silence.
You all fell silent. You didn’t know what to do now.
“We--” Jihoon’s voice cracked so he cleared his throat. “We should just...keep going...”
Following behind Jihoon, you all turned one by one and went back down the hallway. You turned the corner and walked down that long hallway toward another metal door.
But this door didn’t budge.
Jihoon groaned in frustration as he tugged at the handle over and over again, “You’ve gotta be fucking kidding me; what’s with these doors?!”
You started to hear a thumping. It slowly got louder and louder...
...Or maybe it was closer and closer.
Junhui walked down the way you’d come and poked his head around the corner, his eyes widening at what he saw. He whipped his head back around and booked it straight back to where your group was trying to open the door, calling, “You might wanna hurry up on that door!”
Coming down the hall were all four animatronics, their eyes lit up as they stomped closer and closer.
“It’s not doing anything!” Soonyoung huffed, trying with all his might to open the door. “Mingyu, get up here!”
Mingyu squeezed between bodies to get to the door, trying to open it as the group just shouted for him to be faster.
“We might have to just...face these things,” Chan said. “Once and for all.”
“Yeah? How?” Wonwoo scoffed. “They’ll crush us in seconds.”
“There’s fou-- nine of us, and four of them. We might have a shot.”
“Well hurry up and decide so we can at least put the strongest up against them first,” Junhui called.
[TO FACE THE ANIMATRONICS WHILE MINGYU KEEPS WORKING AT THE DOOR GO TO 23 -- A]
[TO FACE THE ANIMATRONICS TOGETHER GO TO 23 -- B]
[TO KEEP TRYING THE DOOR GO TO 23 -- C]
»»————- ————-««
23 -- A
“Mingyu, keep trying the door!” you called to him. “We’ll try to hold them back.”
“We?!” Seungkwan repeated.
Mingyu continued to try to pull the door open as the animatronics slowly turned the corner and began walking toward the nine of you. You weren’t sure how to prepare yourself for this at all, but you knew you couldn’t just turn your back and die.
But you should’ve known what would happen. Four giant machines up against eight fleshy humans who were nowhere near as strong. Sure, all of you were faster than them, but how could you dodge or run in such a narrow hallway? You were doomed from the start.
Well, not you specifically.
Seungcheol had shoved you to the back toward Mingyu, promising to keep you safe. So your friends all died in front of you, and all you could do was stand there and watch in horror.
That’s when Bongbong closed in on you.
“I got the--!”
Mingyu’s exclamation of finally getting the door open was cut off by Bongbong’s arm swinging out and clotheslining him into the wall and cutting off his oxygen.
The attack that was meant for you, but you had ducked underneath.
The light flooded into the corridor, and just like that, the animatronics just shut down. The light turned off in their eyes, and they were frozen with their hands reaching out for you.
Except Bongbong’s arm that was now frozen in place, keeping Mingyu strangled against the wall.
You could hear Mingyu gasping for air as you slowly opened your eyes that you’d squeezed shut when you ducked. You looked up and saw the animatronics were lifeless now, and then you shot up and turned to try to help Mingyu. You pulled and pulled on Bongbong’s arm while you had to watch Mingyu slowly die. It was like watching a movie in slow motion, the way his body went limp and the life drained from his eyes. Still, you stood there and sobbed and told him you’d free him as you continued to pull uselessly at the animatronic.
When it finally set in that you didn’t stand a chance, you ran out the back parking lot where the door opened to. You ran out of the park and to your car -- which was still parked near the other 3 that belonged to your friends that were no longer with you -- and drove off toward home with tears still streaming down your face.
The clock on your car radio said 6:08am.
[GO TO ENDING A]
»»————- ————-««
23 -- B
“The door’s useless!” you cried. “We’re not going to just turn our backs and die. That’s not how I wanna go out.”
Nobody had any faith, but they knew you were right. Laying down and dying after all of this wasn’t worth it. If you died, at least you would die fighting.
But you should’ve known what would happen. Four giant machines up against nine fleshy humans who were nowhere near as strong. Sure, all of you were faster than them, but how could you dodge or run in such a narrow hallway? You were doomed from the start.
Seungcheol had shoved you to the back toward the door that wouldn’t open, promising to keep you safe. So your friends all died in front of you, and all you could do was stand there and watch in horror.
That’s when Bongbong closed in on you.
[GO TO ENDING B]
»»————- ————-««
23 -- C
“The door will work!” you swore “Like the basement, remember? Just keep trying!”
Sure, this was different in the way that you had to pull and not push, but it had to give eventually, right?
You continued to face the animatronics that were now starting to close in on all of you. Seungcheol tried to squeeze in besided Mingyu, grabbing the handle and pulling with him. Jihoon crawled between Mingyu’s legs and stood in between the taller boy’s arms, both of his hands wrapped around the handle and tugging with everything he had.
You moved to put yourself in front of your friends. You got all of them into this mess, so you deserved to be the first to die.
As Bongbong closed in on you, you closed your eyes.
“_____--!”
The darkness you saw behind your eyelids suddenly seemed brighter, and you felt a gust of wind from behind you.
There was a couple seconds of silence.
“Holy shit,” Minghao breathed.
You opened one eye just enough to see Bongbong’s face just inches from yours. But...why were the lights in its eyes off?
You opened your eye wider. Then the other one. Its arm was only a hair away from you, but it made no move to actually touch you. There was also light flooding into the corridor from behind you. You whipped your head around to see the door was open, and you looked back at four animatronics. Were they off now?
“Oh my god,” you sighed in a shaky voice, taking a step backward toward the door.
“Let’s get the fuck out of here,” Wonwoo said as he grabbed your hand and all but dragged you out the door.
The door opened to the back of the parking lot. All of you ran as fast as you could toward your cars, only stopping at the hood of the closest one to catch your breath. Seungcheol pulled out his phone.
“It’s 6am,” he reported.
“Maybe that’s why the door didn’t open,” Wonwoo panted, hands on his knees.
“I don’t care to speculate,” Jihoon said as he went to get into one of the four cars. “Take me the fuck home.”
[GO TO ENDING C]
»»————- ————-««
ENDING A
You weren’t sure what to do about the texts from the group chat when you got home. You swore everyone was dead. You watched them die in front of you.
Soonyoung said he was tripping balls the whole night.
Jeonghan agreed, saying he was sure there was something in the air making them hallucinate.
Even Jihoon was saying something weird had happened that night, because he thought he saw everyone die.
So...maybe they were right?
But when you inevitably went to school Halloween day, something didn’t seem right. Maybe it was because you hadn’t slept all night and you were drained in every sense, or maybe it was because you were convinced all of your friends had died right before your very eyes, but everything felt...off. At least, your friends did. It was their smiles and their voices and their hugs and laughs and promises that everything was fine, but something about it seemed alien to you.
Maybe it was from how emotionally and mentally drained you were, and the fact you didn’t get any sleep, but you swore there was an odd glow to their eyes that wasn’t just the glimmer of the florescents.
And why did Junhui wink at you?
[YOU AND ALL YOUR FRIENDS ESCAPED FROM CARATLAND...OR DID THEY?]
»»————- ————-««
ENDING B
Get dressed.
Brush your teeth.
Brush your hair.
Go downstairs and converse with your parents.
Drive to school.
Say hello to your friends.
Laugh at what Soonyoung said.
Promise to walk to class with Seokmin and Seungcheol after you go to the bathroom.
Go into the bathroom.
Use the mirror to fix your outfit.
Use your fingers to brush through your hair one more time.
A light reflects off the mirror.
You are the only one in the bathroom.
[NONE OF YOU ESCAPED FROM CARATLAND BUT SOMETHING ELSE DID]
»»————- ————-««
ENDING C
(NOTE: i know some people might’ve only had josh die while other had more people die. so this part will mention multiple people who didn’t make it home but i will only mention josh by name. sorry if it seems kind of confusing)
You didn’t even want to go back home after everything that happened. But you needed to shower and change, so you dropped your friends off before going home. After getting out of the shower, you checked your phone. Your heart dropped and your stomach was doing flips at what it saw.
One series of texts was from a group chat that was all of the people you were positive made it home from Caratland. All of them were wondering what the fuck was going on.
The other was the original group chat, with a text from Joshua asking if everyone made it home okay. It made a shiver go down your spine. How could he be texting? He died.
Those that had died started having a conversation about hallucinating, insisting something weird must’ve been in the air to make everyone trip and see things that didn’t actually happen. Nobody knew if it was possible. Minghao suggested that at this point, anything was possible. But still, why did all of you have the same hallucination?
The group decided it was best to ignore the message.
When Wonwoo offered to give you a ride to school, you said yes.
The two of you walked to homeroom together and saw the usual group of your friends sitting at the left side of the classroom. But seeing the friends you thought had died now just sitting there like nothing happened made your skin crawl. You wanted to turn around and walk out.
Wonwoo squeezed your hand and continued forward.
You sat and chatted with the group, and everyone seemed to be dancing around the fact that things were...weird. Maybe it was because you hadn’t slept all night and you were drained in every sense, or maybe it was because you were convinced all of your friends had died right before your very eyes, but everything felt...off. At least, your friends did. It was their smiles and their voices and their hugs and laughs and promises that everything was fine, but something about it seemed alien to you.
Maybe it was from how emotionally and mentally drained you were, and the fact you didn’t get any sleep, but you swore there was an odd glow to their eyes that wasn’t just the glimmer of the fluorescents.
And why did Joshua wink at you?
[YOU AND ALL YOUR FRIENDS ESCAPED FROM CARATLAND...OR DID THEY?]
#seventeen#seventeen au#seventeen imagine#seventeen scenario#seventeen fanfic#seventeen series#seventeen x reader#seventeen text au#seventeen horror au#seventeen halloween au#seventeen aus#seventeen imagines#seventeen scenarios#seventeen fanfics#seventeen text aus#seventeen horror aus#seventeen halloween aus
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Aqua Teen Hunger Force #38: “The Clowning” | December 7, 2003 - 11:00 PM | S03E20
Man, do I love this one. In “The Clowning”, Carl suddenly has hair. It’s a wig, obviously, but he can’t take it off. He uses it to pick up a disgusting woman in one of the single-funniest scenes in Aqua Teen history: Carl attempts to woo said woman by doing air guitar and making guitar noises at her while shaking his hair around. It’s so fucking good. This would be a great episode without that scene. This might be one of my all time favorites.
Eventually Carl’s wig mutates and so does Carl. Carl eventually becomes a disgusting mutant clown. His sagging skin resembles a clown’s costume, and his feet grow to an enormous size. He can’t help but juggle Frylock’s science equipment. Worst of all, he infects Meatwad who also turns into a clown. Frylock freezes Carl until he can come up with a cure. Spoiler alert: he doesn’t.
This one only suffers in one fundamental way: a bad ending. There’s a perfectly good ending in this episode, but it telescopes out into what’s basically a “just a dream” ending with Dr. Weird and Steve. It’s not very satisfying. But, you could just consider it a “bonus” ending. I don’t know why they didn’t just keep the future ending they already had. Oh well!
MAIL BAG
Doo doo doo, doo doo-doo doo Doo doo doo, doo doo-doo doo Doo doo doo, doo doo-doo doo Doo doo doo I'm packed and I'm Holden I'm smiling, she's living, she's golden She lives for me, says she lives for me Ovation, her own motivation She comes round and she goes down on me And I make you smile, like a drug for you Do ever what you wanna do, coming over you Keep on smiling, what we go through One stop to the rhythm that divides you And I speak to you like the chorus to the verse Chop another line
Hey thanks for writing. You’re right, Patton does do a lot of ham-fisted liberal hand-wringing, and I totally forgot about his feud with Barbara Gray, in which I thought he acted like a huge baby (not that I particularly identified with the outrage that precipitated it, but if I have to pick a team I’ll go Gray any day).
Doing away with the mailbag was a good choice. It's fine if someone has a cool fact about a previous episode, but most of it seemed like nonsense. Like who's thinking about hootie and the blowfish in 2021? Anyway thanks for the blog.
What actually happened was I ran out of messages and then took a little break cuz my queue was a few days full and I had a was busy scrambling to find a job in the final week of receiving unemployment benefits. It’s back now. I’m so sorry.
Todd Barry is just a lower energy Dennis Miller, don't @ me.
I won’t, fatso! Freakin’ lardass!
Do any of the wayouts even have any animation other than the drummer? I swear the other two never move much less say a peep. I always considered them animatronic that space ghost and zorak put up to simulated a full live band while zorak really does everything from his keyboard.
I seem to remember one of them having a line of dialogue early on. I remember it being a guitar player for some reason. But I like the animatronic angle. That’s fun! It’s like freaking GhostBiz Pizza, ahaha! XD
Bring back the mailbag. Let people speak their mind for cry-aye.
by all means!
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Hey, uh, do you take request for any epilogue stuff or just Henry suffering? Because if the former, well, we never got to see Old Sport apologizing to the lost souls, and since now that's his job... could we get that? Sorry to bother ^^' - (copied by me, original from AO3)
(Every kind of request is welcome! That is something I meant to write anyways, but I’m still really scared of it- it’s something very important, that HAS to sit just right.
I doubt I will manage, but hey, at least it’s out of my mind after this one.
OH AND I JUST REALIZED YOU’RE RIGHT ABOUT THE “we never saw”- FUCK
FUCK FUCK FUCK
THAT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE IN THE FINALE
I knew I forgot SOMETHING, I thought I had it all written down, but I DIDN’T.
Urgh, no point in crying over spilled milk I guess, but have my apologies, I know that you especially were looking forward to it ;n;
Now I’m lowkey stuck between a rock and a hard place- either I make this into a proper epilogue thing, in which technically shouldn’t be able to apologize- or I go back and make this as a fix-it/rewrite scene from within the action.
I think I’ll try to make it an epilogue and bullshit my way into Old Sport being able to apologize. Bear with me)
Forgiveness isn’t something you can work towards as a single person.
It wasn’t like they hadn’t known that when they made their way to the first few restaurants, but it still always left a little crack behind in their optimism.
Of course, there was nothing they could do about it.
Freeing souls was actually a terribly ungrateful job, something that surprised Dave.
Sure, Old Sport had warned him beforehand, but still.
It stung.
Not that Dave wasn’t on some level aware that he’s the one everyone’s anger was targeted at- for good reason, he had created this scenario in the first place- but a selfish part of him despised the kids for not playing along right away.
Henry had told him back in the day that he needed to get a grip on his desire for instant satisfaction- and he was right. As much as Dave hated to think about it, he was right.
There were things he easily lost patience with.
Hell, he had pressured Old Sport far, far more than he should have.
A sudden surge of stubbornness settled into his chest.
It was FINE, it worked great with Old Sport.
He didn’t do anything wrong.
He DIDN’T.
He’d do it again!
…
… that wasn’t the right attitude for a man on the road of redemption, but he couldn’t really help it yet.
Deep down he hoped the attitude change would come with habit.
There was no way he could get around to it on his own.
Old Sport was… doing okay, all things considered.
Being almost ripped out of your own body, because you resembled your worst enemy more than your former self was pretty- terrifying.
So nowadays, he was… quiet.
A little car chase always managed to rip him out of his thoughtful moments, returning the grin to the place it rightfully belonged, covering most of the Orange Guy’s face- but it was only moments, minutes, not long enough, not nearly long enough to satisfy him.
Or at least calm him.
Old Sport knew that too.
When he glanced over at his friend- his partner, his lover, all these words that almost seemed to make no sense, they felt like weren’t supposed to be applied to HIM, him the soulless guy shambling from place to place-
When he glanced at Dave, he saw the tension radiating off him like a swarm of bees.
Even in his smile, it was clear, he wasn’t outright happy, he was-
Like a bow, tightly strung, ready to escalate.
There was nowhere left where he truly could let out his chaotic desires, as each Freddy’s they walked into was another mission that had to be done perfectly, like clockwork.
Cheesy words, little theatrics, the same patterns over and over and over and over and over-
It was what had driven Old Sport over the edge the first time.
It wouldn’t happen again though.
Maybe they should go to Vegas.
However, he didn’t really want to let Dave loose anymore. Not now that their actions felt so… intertwined. Whatever Dave did, he felt responsible for, thus he tried to keep him in check.
And now…
… now he almost felt scared of Dave, from time to time.
Now that he was trying to take the lead.
It- wasn’t right. No, no. Fear, fear implied HE was the one afraid. This was different.
Worry.
He was worried for Dave and he worried for the world around him.
But that was the price he paid for being moral and wanting things to work out for everyone.
It felt a bit dirty, just picking up a morality, not due to experience and inner passion for these things, instead only because morals came as a set.
Really, he still wasn’t a whole person.
… at least he was working on it.
“What’s wrong with ya, Sportsy?” Dave stretched his neck out towards him, drawing a smile out of the Orange Guy. Somehow seeing Dave becoming all- noodly- always brightened his day.
“Nothing! Nothing. I was just thinking about the next place… apparently the Freddy’s burned down, but the animatronics are still in the area?”
“Is that what the bear told ya?”
“Yes. Which means setting up the party and getting them to stumble over it will be more dangerous than usually… we’ll have to lure them there. We miggt have to walk through the town while wearing the suit!”
“Sounds like fun!”
Slightly Old Sport smiled.
This was something Dave still was great at.
“… if you say so. You’re the only one who thinks of waltzing around in sweaty suits, while potentially being chased by dog as ‘fun’.”
“Yeah, right- I’m just the only one of us who can admit it! That’s ‘cause ya can’t admit to your feelings, Sportsy! It took ya YEARS, DECADES to finally give into your BURNING DESIRE FOR ME-“
“Sh-shut up! Don’t be weird!”
His cheeks were reddening as Dave laughed.
This was the one way his constantly building up tension melted away.
If he didn’t think for a few moments, the world seemed okay.
“Welp, either way-“ The Purple Guy continued, pulling the car to the side. “- we’re at the destination. This is the burned down place. Wait- doesn’t burnin’ them usually free ‘em anyways? Ya know. If all stops have to come out?”
“True. There are only two souls around, the one inside of Freddy and the one inside of Chica. The rest was freed by the fire.”
“So, we’re dealin’ with two REALLY nasty bastard kids?”
“You shouldn’t say that. That aside: yes, you’re right on the money.”
“Urgh, those are the worst. Can’t we just break them and burn the pieces?”
“No.”
“I knew you’d say that Old Sport. Yet I’m STILL disappointed.”
He sighed, as he parked to the side.
Getting suited up as soon as they could, they looked around the forest area, the lights of the town far in the back, but still very much visible.
No taking roads, yards were fine, forest first though.
“… alright, this will take time.” Old Sport looked over the wrecks. “Good we have plenty of things to set up a little party anyways. Dave?”
“Yessir?”
“You go out and try to find them while I set up. We can’t really afford wasting too much time, especially if they might be genuinely vengeful.”
“Splittin’ up? First mistake in the horror genre, tsk, tsk-“
“Sure, because either of us is at such a risk of ACTUALLY DYING. EVER.” He waved his hand at him. “At least stake the place out. So we know which places are easier to cross while seeking. And how much we roughly have to look over.”
“Fiiiiiiine.”
Clearly not pleased, but accepting of his role, Dave walked past him-
Just to abruptly and grab Old Sport by the mask, pulling him close into a pretend-kiss, which was somehow even more flustering than an actual kiss.
“DAVE!”
“C’mon, somehow I gotta motivate myself, right?” Happy as can be, he nuzzled his snout against Old Sport’s, before letting go and skipping away. “Be back soon! Don’t cut any cake without me!”
When he was gone, Old Sport slowly sighed.
“He… won’t hurt anyone.”
The suit echoed.
‘He won’t. As long as you won’t.’
Old Sport winced at the familiar voice- it was soft, caring, and so, so sad.
“Fredbear-“
‘The birthday, Old Sport. Birthday first.’
Nodding to himself, defeated, he pulled out the tools from within the car.
Candles, banners, lights, plates and hats, a music player…
… they were prepared to create a party out of nothing, out of a charred place of dirt, if they had to.
Thankfully the walls were at least still mostly preserved.
Ashes to ashes.
Places like this reminded him of…
“… I never apologized, Fredbear.”
‘That is true.’
“They were gone. I knew what Mike did, I just- couldn’t- I couldn’t face the Toys anymore. I didn’t even know their names. Mike knew their names, right?”
‘He did.’
“I can’t ask Mike. I can’t ask him for the names.” The words stumbled out of him.
Fredbear tended to join him every time that they were setting up, not in his true form right away, but as a presence within the suit Old Sport had to wear. It was reassuring in some regard-
But at the same time, the memories he brought Old Sport were suffocating.
‘You could.’
Old Sport wanted to scream, his busy hands still setting up, regardless of the conversation.
“Yes. Yes I could. And I could kill Dave. And I could jump from a high building to try out to fly. And I could adopt twenty cats. And I could hijack a train. And I could- what is there I couldn’t do!? But I don’t want to, because I’m not dumb, I KNOW it’s wrong, I know it’s terrible, I know-“ Shortly he paused to take a breath. “There’s so much I could be, and nothing that I am, but I WANT to be something now. So I can’t.”
For a moment it was silent, Fredbear not saying the many things he could have.
Yet somehow, it felt as though he could still hear them.
Spiteful whispers, stuck in the suit, banished from this place, but remaining as echoes.
Nothing ever truly disappeared.
He had stained the suit, and the suit had been stained by the one wearing it before him. Blood remained with any object, no matter how well you cleansed it.
“… I need to apologize to them.”
‘So you can forget?’
His mind knew that Fredbear would never say something like this with spite, but it still cut him deep.
“… so I can… know I did something right.”
‘We never can right our wrongs.’
“Since when did you become so cynical!?”
‘It is not cynical. There just are wrongs we cannot turn back the time on. Well- perhaps the dog could have, he never wanted to however. I have blood on my paws from making you, trusting a creature that never was a human… and I have damned a man to hell. And not even when I should have, only when it was too late.’
Finally, this managed to shut Old Sport up for good.
Don’t look so hurt, other people have problems too.
Except he didn’t have any problems. No, he was fine. It didn’t keep him awake at night. It didn’t bother him. Just the knowledge that there was something on his checklist to reach a goal he set himself, something that he would never be able to cross off, it irked him.
Petty.
A hint of sadness took ahold of him.
“… how old are you, Fredbear? Or- were you, when you-“
‘I lived many lives, those that joined me. Many more than I wanted to count. I feel so old, I cannot remember. And everyone I carry with me is so different too.’
“Alright then.”
They were busy enough anyhow, trying to make the place look like new, like a place to feel happy at, to play and not to think about anything-
Making it up.
Celebrating the birthday they never had.
Making a lie into a truth, a lure into a genuine gesture.
Follow me.
Old Sport did it once- now he played the part of Henry in the freeing missions. It was important to follow the old pattern, to overwrite it.
Who would be doing the luring?
Who would be cutting the cake?
What games would they play?
Fredbear kept quiet about it until they knew exactly where to go and all other preparations had been done.
One thing at a time, he always said.
“Fredbear?”
Old Sport quietly asked.
‘Yes?’
“… can I- can I apologize to you? In their place I mean. Apologize to you like I would to them- just so- I have it out. And if you think it’s any good, then maybe you can tell them what I said.”
‘… it’s alright. We can do that.’
Understanding warmth- yet it didn’t feel like it was meant for him.
He couldn’t accept it.
At least this was something he was looking forward to- now he only had to figure out the right words to say.
Lost in thought, he didn’t even realize how fast the time passed, until-
“OLD SPORT!”
Yelping the Orange Guy jumped, thankfully not triggering any springlocks.
“DAVE! God- don’t- DO that!”
Sheepishly the Purple Guy in the bunny suit tilted his head. “Sorry! Sorry Sportsy, really am, but I have- good news and bad news.”
“Bad news?”
“Ain’t nothing ya can do here.” Instantly turning more serious, Dave shook his head. “These are mine and mine alone. I guess I was really… passionate about the whole shutting down Freddy’s stuff. I lured them on my own. You can’t even be nearby.”
His voice was so different. So much smoother, more clinical.
It was nice and yet it wasn’t.
Old Sport nodded.
“… good news?”
Perking up, back to his usual self, he pointed into the woods. “I know where they are! And I know how to lure ‘em, seein’ as they fuckin’ hate each other!”
“… so two lost souls hate each other and you see that as a win?”
“Yeah! It’ll be great! I can tell ‘em to meet here to fight and then- oh.” He scratched his fake ear. “… actually, now that ya say it, it might be a bit more of a hassle.” His expression turned pleading. “Spoooortsyyyyyy…? Ya always have such good ideas, so…?”
“Depends on why they hate each other. Why are they fighting?” The pressure was on! “Uhm. How about you do actually send them here to fight, for one last time. Tell them that you’ll solve the fight once and for all. I think it will be the truth.”
“Great!”
“But Dave- remember- they might be fighting about who is at fault for their death. You… sure you want to get between that?”
“Eh. It’s fine. If they’re upset about that, then it’ll be even easier to get them to calm down. Ain’t nobody’s fault they died but mine!”
A hint of envy stung through Old Sport’s chest.
“… you… really don’t mind, do you?”
“Nah. It’s fine.” Curiously Dave looked at him. “They’ll give me a good beatin’, then they’ll be on their merry way. I dealt with worse pain before!”
“That’s… not what I meant.”
He said to much, and turning away didn’t help-
Within a second, Dave’s hands were on him, as he pulled his orange lover closer, petting over the back of his head, a gesture he could feel even through the layer of metal and fur.
“… did Fredbear bully you again? You should take the suit off.”
“He never bullied me.”
“He’s telling you stuff that upsets you! Over and over again!” Upset Dave scoffed. “Sounds like mistreatment to me! I’m telling you, if he gets too much, we’ll just get rid of him. We’ll figure the saving souls stuff out ourselves!”
“I KNOW you would get rid of him.” That was exactly why he didn’t talk about it.
“See? You know you can count on me!”
For a moment Old Sport remained tense- then he slowly melted into the hug, trying to relax.
“… I’m- Fredbear really didn’t do anything. I’m taking the suit off in a bit, when I’m sure he has nothing more to say- but it’s not the problem anyways.” He sighed, to himself. “You shrug it off so easily. I want to do it too. Or- I would want to, if I weren’t-“
It was hard to put it into words with Dave, who never really saw the world how he did.
Once more he attempted.
“If I’d do the thing I’d do, I would become worse for it. Worse and worse. I would do more bad things. So I’m- worried about messing up. I worry that if I start shrugging it off, I’ll never care in the first place.”
It was obvious Dave frowned, even with the mask.
“… I- don’t get it. Gotta be honest with you, Sportsy. Why do you think if you don’t make yourself feel a certain way, you’ll feel the exact opposite way? You’re yourself and do what you think feels right. Why would one bad thing lead to another? Unless you wanted to do all these bad things anyways? You don’t have to pretend with me.”
“I… guess. But we made a deal. We’re freeing them. What happens after that…” Stumbling over his words Old Sport tried to gather himself. “I want to be someone. Someone better than who I am.”
“… but if you want to be someone you deem good, it means you by yourself think that person is good. You, for yourself, have decided you like these traits. So if you want to be someone, then only because you can recognize what’s in them from something that’s within you.”
“Dave, you’re scaring me when you’re this serious.”
The big, moon-like eyes inside of the suit slimmed down to match a cheeky grin.
“Ya can say that Old Sport, and I can dumb myself down for ya! Stop worryin’, dunce, leave all of that to me. I’ll be able to reel ya in if ya ever go off the rails!”
Raising an eyebrow, the Orange Guy looked at him. “… you kill people for fun and profit.”
“Yeah, but that ain’t a BIG deal, right? I can let ya stay home while I do it.” Playfully Dave responded, before turning away. “You need to have some more faith in me Old Sport… and for now, nothin’ of this matters! Let’s free some souls! Or rather, let ME free some souls, while ya have a nice evening. Watch some stars! Is everything ready for the party?”
“All is set up!”
“Fantastic, that’s why I love ya, Old Sport!”
Instantly flustered, the Old Sport made a movement at him.
“Quit saying that at EVERY opportunity!”
“What?! Why?! I just say it when it’s true! Like when you laugh, when you make breakfast, when you burn breakfast, when you talk to me on the road, when you-“
“DAVE. EYES ON THE PRICE.”
“You’re the only price I-“
“D A V E.”
“Fine, fine, be the killjoy. That’s why I lov-“
“GET GOING. THE NIGHT ISN’T FOREVER.”
“Sure, sure!”
Waving at him and still laughing, Dave made his way down the hill, leaving the bear-suited guy inside of the ruin that was covered in glitter and lights.
He had taken off the suit.
Stargazing for now.
Music came from the ruins of the old Freddy’s, music and light, glimpses of another world.
It radiated outside in waves, catching up even the place where he and Fredbear sat.
Soon enough he would change his form, leaving to join the two spirits. At least so far there wasn’t any screaming or crying, or fighting- it means whatever Dave had said to them or done with them worked out.
Old Sport wished he could have joined them. Maybe he wouldn’t be caught up in all these thoughts still.
“… Fredbear? Do you think what Dave said was right?”
It was silent for a moment.
Then the bear suit shifted a little, seeming more energized in presence of the party.
‘… no. But he is not entirely wrong either. Being good does not come naturally… and neither does being bad.’
Once more, quiet.
The stars seemed a little bit closer than usually.
“Fredbear. I want… I think I can say my apology now.”
Wind breezed through the trees around them, sounding like whisper.
Maybe mocking him?
But all of a sudden, he felt a deep calm.
Maybe mocking. Maybe expecting.
No matter what, he would say what he needed to.
‘Go ahead.’
There was no soul to reach into, but his heart was still beating, still working, still doing its jobs.
The heart could be wrong and harmful and petty. Perhaps even evil.
It was better than nothing however, it was the one thing he had in contrast to Henry.
“I… wanted to apologize.”
He started.
His voice quiet.
“… and it won’t be a good apology, because what I want to apologize for isn’t something that… you CAN apologize for.
I’ve been trying to find the right words for a while now, but there aren’t any.
At least though, I can offer you a why.
Why I did what I did. Something so wrong and cruel.
I… did it, because it didn’t feel real. And that is abhorrent, I know exactly why, because now it is real, what I did was real, IS real, what I did to five real kids, who had their own lives, that I just TOOK away. It’s not fair, I shouldn’t have been able to do that.
It’s insane to think that I could have done so, that the universe let me do it.
God, I wish I could do something to make it up for you. That I somehow could replace everything I took.
Yet, I can’t. I can’t even ask you what I could offer you.
I’d let you borrow my body, wear me like a skinsuit, I’d bring you things that remind you of better times, more peaceful times, something that makes all the hurt go away for a few moments.
This apology is one of the few things I can do for you, something I wanted to do for you for a while.
I wanted to be there for the party.
But I know I shouldn’t have, so I didn’t.
… carried around these words and feelings with me for a while.
I hope that wherever you are- knowing that I’m paying for what I did, every day a little. There’s justice in this world, even if it looks weird and doesn’t come around right away.”
For a moment he paused, staring at the shining stars, that didn’t seem to care.
“… I wish… I wish you all have forgotten me already. That would be right.
Yes, I hope wherever you are, you don’t even remember the day. I hope you’re having fun and that you are free, that everything is just right, that I’m a nobody now and will stay that way forever- that you only remember those who were kind to you and made your life better.
I hope you’re happy and I’m inconsequential.
And I will keep paying and giving my best.
So that you leave in your wake only good things.”
His head hurt.
This hasn’t been a good apology- but it was all out there now.
He said what felt right to say.
He said the things that he wished that they knew, deep down, even if he wasn’t the one saying it to them.
Next to him, the real Fredbear stood up, shaking his golden fur, before putting one of his paws onto Old Sport’s shoulder.
“THE PARTY NEEDS ME NOW. I WILL GET GOING.”
“… yeah. Thank you Fredbear. Bring the kids somewhere nice, will you?”
“I WILL.”
With that the bear trotted off-
Leaving Old Sport to gaze at the stars.
At some point, someone sat down beside him.
Then someone else.
Then another one joined in.
And a last.
They didn’t forgive him.
This was not something you could forgive.
But they sat with him until the dawn broke, sun touching the grass, coloring it orange.
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Unpaid Intern
Watch, as eagle mistakes abandoned diaper for baby dall sheep carcass on video. Giggle, divided into thirds. Watch in a room that smells of must-see. An unrelaxed giggle, a well-placed giggle. Giggle for two.
Template: Eerie Light — an unrelaxed dreamer. Broken-hearted moobs, real under a giggle. Real and rancid as a crushed Peep between mattress and wall. Memories of a crushed Peep en route. Unglanced moobs of a dreamer. SNAFU of crushed Peep. Mold untold, heartpinged violence for an air-bulged dreamer. Thin sneeze of a repressed dreamer, pining for an evil attitude. FUBAR of indolence. Stare into a SNAFU and sprint at a reckoning.
The moobs are prepared for the group. The giggle is prepared for the moobs. Watching a story of the body.
The giggle is released.
On what the past several years of drifting have taught me. Fear can take up a lot of time, drifting has no built-in revelations. My unpaid internship. A long pause for no revelations. I would not want to watch a horror movie where the protagonist is already enlightened and so does not care if they live or die. No reason for an audience to follow along. But, good for the protagonist, that is a very mature mindset. When it comes the gore will feel very peaceful. As a young child walking with her mother says “hi” to me on the sidewalk and she walks by. I smile involuntarily and say “hello” back. The progression of knife-picked thoughts is, under this sudden sweetness, compressed and stowed. The child has ordered me to engage with the surroundings and respond and smile. I continue to walk home and for four of those five minutes continue to feel this way, reeling with the pleasant surprise. Shivering with the undreamt-of giggle.
Under such conditions did I find myself thinking of Rob somewhat rapidly as I turned the block of my apartment building; it felt like a moment to agitate some details. He was a hedonist of indeterminate sexuality and indeterminate politics. He had multiple young friends who were fond of wearing very specific t-shirts. He worked as an unpaid intern for a company with an indeterminate name, maybe, Personal Options? He had trouble explaining the tasks of this unpaid internship. He arrived at a term he made up that one notices him to believe is professional enough: Visual Indexer. He would say this in a way that communicated an unforeseen weakness to one day appear to others as “professional.” Beyond this tragic motive, there was no indication anywhere else that entering a realm of prepared hierarchies and the collection of strangers’ respect was at all an interest. He had the impulsive life pus flooding a young person who has that corrective obsession with the massacre of all infectious traditional boundaries. Often this had taken the form of the most cheerful defenestration. As if Rob and his friends regularly made the plan to collect any abandoned objects in the neighborhood of a certain base weight on their way back to our apartment complex and, come drink time, freely pirouette-launch the janky wares from the balcony.
The neighbors did not seem to care, how could I not be jealous, I was one pathetic moan too old to feel that form of relief. I touched the extreme upper bridge of my nose which was sore from having accidentally planted it at high speed on the top edge of my slightly angled-in laptop when reaching beyond it to grab a 4 x 6 photo of myself from my late teens. I thought it a good sign that I was so unconsciously prepared to pummel my face — could it mean that, when that liberating moment finally trembled my way, I would have 100% lack of regret in the irreversible ripening of my useless young flesh? I could only hope so. I could also only hope it was as irreversible a procedure as I had imagined it, I often needed to remind myself that I had absolutely no understanding of science. Indeed Rob’s friend Q.C. had once worn a black t-shirt with a graphic of a beretta on it and underneath it the writing, “ONE SIZE FITS ALL.” I could not know the tone with which he wore it. Rob was a Visual Indexer, I did find the term interesting. The 4 x 6 print of myself was one of many laying on my water-stained table. Portraits of myself at various ages, alone, printed at a very popular national pharmacy that also sold algae-encrusted vegan turmeric chips and had wine tastings every Friday from 5-7. Portraits at 16, 23, 25, 19, 26, 19, 21, I had the idea to tape them on my wall, sit against them with my eyes closed, and take photos of myself, to try to trace a timeline. I would close my eyes to perform that I was feeling deeply. In this photo of myself at 16, I had just a few questions about what is possible. In this photo of myself at 23, I am apparently cross-eyed. In this photo of myself at 19, a noticeable uptick in moobs.
One of Rob’s friends, Bianca (who once, in my presence, and against the seeming silent contract between Rob and his other friends, asked him how he had enough money to live alone when he didn’t make any money at his internship and had no other job, and to which Rob did not even try to respond but only left the room mimicking an animatronic Halloween decoration witch laugh) had told a story of her teen years where, emboldened by some older users in a chatroom she compulsively frequented, used to scream non-white racial slurs at white people shopping at Target and Kohl’s and yell “dyke” and “faggot” at hetero couples holding hands in the street. Though she told these anecdotes in a withdrawn and ashamed performance, she must have recognized how they might impress her group of friends who could only laugh at the altogether untraditional, societally unacceptable and, bottom line wacky behavior of their friend, who now seemed to be a reverent, committed radical anarchist that, when waiters weren’t looking, ate leftover food from plates less committed people abandoned at various restaurants. How would I ever save enough money to look peerless and decrepit? In this photo of myself at 21, a genuine smile, so wild it would seem I am kidding.
With some cheap make-up also bought at the pharmacy that had wine tastings, I had begun to stealthily repair my thriving fat eyebrows with highlights of white, probably only noticeable to me but done in the hopes that the powerful undertone would inch towards a different reception of my face when it was in conversation. “Nice to meet you” the young video director had said to the middle-aged CEO, they shook hands and the CEO said, “it’s nice to be met.” Upon being introduced to Bianca one afternoon — despite my control system being against the idea of leaving my eremitic pouch, increasingly I found myself accepting invitations to Rob’s apartment — I had carefully prepared these brows blanched in the white of the faintest melting snowflake and so felt just a smidge-stain more futurist and directed. Just one look at my altered face and people could conclude, “there is nothing different” though I hoped for, “there is nothing different?” Bianca had looked at my face, I assumed she had never seen it before, we shook hands and her grip was severe. Her face smiled. Perhaps one of these elements was meant as a distraction from the other. There was no comment from Bianca or even lingering-and-falling eye pointed towards my one-sixty-forth-assed aging attempt. Though he was not there that day, I surprised myself by pulling up badly remembered thoughts of Q.C., as Bianca and Rob discussed the new urban development of a neighborhood that was a couple miles away. I thought I had remembered the shape of his face and at least the shade of brown in his eyes. But inevitably, my attempts to display a likeness in my mind were shaved down, and major facial characteristics uncontrollably replaced with the swiftly recalled appearance of a now-grown-and-unsuccessful child star I never had the option not to know or recognize. I thought, ‘the more I see of Q.C. the more I will be able to remember of him when I am alone.’ Such projects brought their own gore, pah, the gore of worry, the worry I will be derailed. It wasn’t my place to let myself get in the way of my own revenge. The most grotesque escape. This is the strategy, sadness reappears as logistics.
I was not here to re-engage the viability of my young-ish body for the scarfing of others, I was here to become a vibe-threatening vision of near-death for the rest of my burgeoning life and also I was here to watch the yearly romantic elder comedy starring actresses and actors such as Meryl Streep and Jack Nicholson. I was just bent by the way his shoulders filled out the black t-shirt with a beretta on the front, when glanced at with his face turned away. There is no choice but to notice. “A new condo with several stories is being built just down the block from where I am taking improv classes,” Bianca tells us. “And next to it I think there’s going to be some big retail store with a giant parking lot.” “Ok,” Rob suggests, “let’s just say ‘that’s fucked up’ and continue.”
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Chapter 11 is up!
I’m spending my quaran-time wisely by writing about a dead teenager hunting for her killer.
https://archiveofourown.org/works/11674818/chapters/56827993
I’m also working on art, some shorts about characters we’ve yet to see and a backlog of chapters for if/when I lose momentum again. Planning ahead is important, kids.
Continue reading under the cut-
It had been a fair few hours since Marie's strange episode, and she was up and about once more. Up, about, and ready to follow her first lead. "Seriously, do you think I would hide something like being the witness to a god damn murder from everyone? I'm literally designed so that I can't do that." Mangle was sat sorting through a small box of mini LEDs. She was there, she was the one who screamed and was dragged off, it was impossible for it not to have been her. "That's my point exactly! Unless it was some insane near-death vision - which it definitely was not - then you were there. Yet somehow, you don't remember a thing. That can't have been an accident!" Marie grabbed her friend's shoulders tight, startling her. The tiny bulbs scattered at her feet, some finding there way through a gap in the floor panels of her den and dropping to the floor below.
"Ifreann... what do you mean? You think someone wiped my brain? This isn't a movie Marie, and even if that was what happened, the only person who could have done that was..." She trailed off as she thought. The whole thing made more sense than she wanted to admit. If anyone had seen a crime, the criminal would want to remove the threat of them talking. So it was entirely possible that she had seen her friend's murder. By that logic, any one of the animatronics could have been a witness to or even assisted with one of the murders. But they couldn't. "Fixing our mechanisms is tricky, but doable. Rewiring a whole bunch of stuff in our brains, so to speak, is nigh on impossible. At the time of you getting shanked-"
"Tactful as always."
"I was the only person capable of doing anything remotely close to that. There was only one man who could have done it to such a degree of 'not-fucking-everything-else-up-as-well', and he was definitely dead by then." She finished, muttering further as she began the grueling task of tidying the bits on her floor. Marie paused. She was right, of course. Everybody knew the fate of William Afton, he had killed himself shortly after the Bite had occurred. Unless...
"What if he wasn't dead. What if he isn't."
"What?"
"William, the guy who built you. You said that he was the only one capable of fiddling with your head with that level of precision. To wipe all traces of an event without leaving a weird gap in your memory that would make you suspicious. What if he never offed himself, but just made you forget who he was... describe him for me." Marie had a hunch.
"What, William? Well, he was... he was... I... I don't remember anything about him." She stopped picking at the floor. "But, he was always elusive, right? Not many people saw him and we only did during the early days. We never saw him after we were installed at the restaurant. At least... I don't think we did."
It suddenly made sense. Or at the very least, more sense than it had before today. If her theory was correct, then it would explain why, despite being walking security cameras, nobody had seen anyone suspicious. They were programmed to find everything about this guy completely normal, no matter how much creepy lurking and luring he may be doing. But while she had a plausible suspect, there was no motive. "I'm going to think on this a while. You, uh, have fun with your blinky lights." She said, handing her the closest one before floating out the door and away.
Dawn had been listening in as best she could. "Marie, not to butt in..." She emerged from the shadows beneath Mangle's den, squeezing awkwardly past various shelves. "I just wanted you to know... if I can help at all... like with all of this..." Marie smiled, trying to seem as unfazed as possible. "I know. I'm fine D, really." She continued towards the door. Dawn frowned. She didn't really understand any of this, and that bothered her. Normally if Marie had a problem she would tell her. She felt useless. "Actually..." She stopped. "Mind if I ask you something? Just wondering-"
"Yes?"
"Before you started here... There was a time between you and Afton right? When there was just, nobody doing repairs?" She asked.
"No, I mean, yes there was nobody here. I think mostly it was just Mangle doing what she could." Dawn replied. "It's weird though, even with a robot brain, it would have taken a long time to figure out everything she has. So, before she knew what she knows... lucky there weren't any major problems, right?" She laughed nervously.
"Huh."
Mike and Amy were still sifting through what information they could find on the Bite of '87. "Remember how this was just supposed to be a nice walk around to work off lunch?" Amy teased. She was enjoying their conspiracy hunt to a degree, but they'd reached an impasse a few articles back. There was the motive for murder but nothing could prove that the man was alive, let alone anywhere near the establishment at the time of the first murders. "I know." Mike was uninterested. If he wasn't here he'd be obligated to be at 'home' with his 'family'. No thanks, there had to be some way to prove him either right or wrong, either would be preferable to listening to his extended family argue about political bullcrap. And then the Puppet hovered in.
"Hey, how you feeling? I overheard something had happened. Blow a fuse?" Amy asked sympathetically. Chica came by to explain that something strange had occurred on her way to see exactly what that meant, but they were too absorbed to follow. "Yeah... something like that." Marie peered over at the screen. "So what kinda smut are you looking at?" She asked, half-joking.
"News stuff."
"So no tits? Disappointing." She sighed. Amy raised an eyebrow. "I'm kidding. Mostly. What kinda news?"
"We have this theory, about our killer, but it's nothing to worry over." Mike turned the monitor to show her the current article. "I mean, it involves a locally famous suicide being faked and a cyber-child, so probably in the realm of the crazy and slash or impossible." He scrolled absentmindedly onward. Marie immediately tensed up.
"Mike... Is this the case of one William Afton? Because boy-howdy do I have some interesting insight into that mess." She made an uneasy grin. Mike nodded, almost amazed. He got up from his chair and let the Puppet sit down, uncaring as to whether it would make a difference. He perched by Amy on the desk, who seemed just as stunned. "We... have the motive to believe he's the one doing this, but there's no way we could prove he's still around. If we could then maybe, but right now we've hit a wall." He explained. Marie nodded slowly.
"Funny, I have the opposite problem. I can prove he was around I think, but not why." She said. "But you might not believe the 'source' exactly."
Mangle hadn't remained in her den for long. The more she tried to think of her creator, the less she seemed to actually remember, and this was bothering her. So she decided to ask around. Crawling through the vents, she tried to think of her earliest thoughts, before she had arrived at the pizzeria. Vague memories floated around. A voice, she could remember a voice, but was it his? It was polite, asking her things, always amazed by her answers. That had to be him.
"Toy Foxy? I wanted to ask you something." He said. "You're voice is different. It used to be the one I gave you, do you remember?" He imitated a voice she barely thought her own. "But now it's something different. Why is that? Do you know what it is?" She remembers feeling pestered, but she always answered. She had to, being considerate and helpful, but she didn't feel like it at times.
"It's... Irish, isn't it? I just prefer the way it sounds. It feels like... the other voice is good, but it's yours. I want this one, it sounds like me. Why? Are you offended I didn't like what you gave me? Because I'm not changing it now." She laughed. She was much happier then, if a little annoyed by the barrage of questions.
She crawled out of the vent and down into the main hall. Below, Toy Chica was sat on her phone. Everyone had seemingly scuttled away, presumably coming to terms with today's revelation, but Toychi seemed to be entirely over it. "I've seen weirder things on the internet, in case you were wondering why I haven't curled up in a corner. I can see your reflection, y'know." She said, not looking up. Mangle extended her neck as far as possible to continue the conversation. She always misjudged how high the ceiling in here was. "Hey so, how much do you remember about William?" She asked. Toychi shrugged and continued to look at her various social media feeds.
"Come on, I need to know because of reasons." She swung her face so her hair covered Toychi's vision. "Important reasons." She affirmed. Toy chica sighed and did as she was asked. "I remember he was from England. And like, he was married I think." She said, trying to push Mangle's head away. "But nothing personal? Nothing the just us, his life's work, would remember? Or even what he looked like?"
"Of course I remember... huh. That's... totally not ok. I have an amazing memory, how the hell can't I remember that guy?" She immediately began searching her phone. "I remember he gave me this, maybe I took pictures," she switched to the internet, "Google knows everything, maybe they have a picture!" She was becoming increasingly distressed. "Mangle! What the fuck does this guy look like?!" She cried.
At this point, Toy Freddy had emerged from backstage. "What the heck are you yelling about now? Is anyone else secretly a ghost?" He wasn't feeling up to any more ghost shenanigans. However, this didn't seem like something he could ignore, given the frantic pace at which Toy Chica had begun waving him over. "What colour hair did William Afton have?!" She asked, still aggressively applying as many advanced search keywords as possible. "What? How the heck would I know?" He responded. She barely acknowledged this, still scouring her device. Mangle clambered not-so-gracefully down from the ceiling. "Was he fat, or thin? What colour were his eyes? Did he have freckles? We should know, man, but we don't! Why?!" Toychi dropped her phone into her lap with a small thud before burying her face in her arms on the table.
"I mean, yeah, that is a little unusual. Maybe it's a glitch? Or maybe we just don't remember? Ten years is a long time." He sat beside her. It was strange but surely there were more important things happening than trying to remember one man. "A glitch for all of us? And I have over a thousand people's names, faces, birthdays, favourite flavours of ice-cream... We can't forget things, not really, not unless we delete things ourselves." Came a slightly muffled reply.
"Ok, but why does he even matter. He made us then dropped off the face of the earth, big deal." He said. He was actually quite interested in helping find out just how exactly someone had removed all traces of themselves from their minds, as William no doubt had done, and why, but Toychi was in hysterics and he wasn't prepared to encourage her.
All the while, Mike continued to compile his resources. Marie decided it'd be best to let him handle things. She felt a little bad since as it was, everyone else was cleaning up this mess that she was at the center of, yet she was just idly floating around and keeping as far from it all as she could. Aside from the notes she'd been compiling, it was all down to the others. But she was far too tired to deal with anything more. She ducked into the arcade and flopped haphazardly into her box once more. She stared into the darkness, admiring herself. She had done fairly well, all things considering.
"Why me though?" She asked aloud. It was an interesting question. From Mike's debrief, she knew who had killed her. At least, she thought she knew, because she was an outlier. The other victims were all connected. All were friends of Michael's older brother, William's nephew he'd taken in according to what little she remembered about her brother's friend's family. Then there was Alex, who could possibly have been a part of the group that hurt Michael. He wasn't, but William couldn't have known.
So why? She remembered the basement, the safe room. But that made no sense either. She was smarter than that, she watched horror movies all the time. How in the world could a total stranger have lured her into the basement of the Pizzaria?
Then she saw it.
It was a gift box, very like the one she now resided in. Aside from its sudden appearance, it could have been mistaken for a completely ordinary wrapped box. Something a child could have left for her or forgotten before closing the other day. It was Christmas after all. "Alright then." She said. Maybe she'd overlooked it, she wasn't exactly thinking straight. "Happy Hannukkah, me." She picked up the box. It wasn't small at all, yet it barely weighed anything. There was a small tag hanging from the bow. She squinted to read what it said, "You are not alone. If you awaken them, they will help you find him. They will help you hunt him. They will grant revenge... Ok, this is some weird shit." She dropped the box on the floor.
"Revenge is for losers anyway." She laughed through her nose, amused by the idea that she'd want revenge. Really, she just wanted this guy found and dealt with for the sake of others, for Alex. She eyed the box with suspicion. "What does it mean, 'they'. Other kids? The ones from before?" That made sense. It didn't make any sense at all because this was all insane, but then again she was a ghost so she was already pushing her own beliefs. "Maybe..." Against her better judgment, she picked the box up again.
"Maybe I should let them out. Or bring them back with this thing, whatever it's for. I mean, if these are the other kids... what harm could they do, right? If they're vengeful I can stop them, I'm more powerful. I think." She wondered exactly how powerful she was. Enough to put a stop to some stupid toddler tantrums. She grasped the ribbons on the lid of the box. She tried once more to recall what happened the night of her death, secretly hoping that she wouldn't need this supernatural pandora's box to fix this if it even could.
It was the eve of Halloween, the eve of her birthday. "God, and then he just gets up as if nothing had happened." She was hanging around the alley beside the pizzeria, "Hey, mind letting me in on those?" She referred to the box of cigarettes in Vincent's hand. "These things kill you know." He said but still offered her one. He hadn't been ok since the Bite had happened. It was weird the place was open so quickly after such a massive accident, but it was probably something to do with corporate greed or whatever. She was more concerned about her friend.
"Look, you need to take time off. I couldn't give any less of a shit what your boss says, this place should be shut for the rest of the year and you need help." She brought a cigarette to her lips and lit it. A terrible habit for a kid, she knew, but she was running out of legal ways to stave off stress. She sighed a long trail of smoke as he shrugged at her. "Don't shrug, you know I'm right." She said, resting her hand on his shoulder. He brushed it away dejectedly and continued to stare at the floor.
"No offense Marie... but you don't know jack shit about what's going on right now. You don't know anything and you never will. You can't." He glared at her. Something was definitely off. His voice kept faltering, changing almost. Like his whole person was just an act. It scared her. But she thought she understood. "Just focus on keeping yourself safe, ok?" He tried to smile at her. She was a child, of course, there was no way she'd understand how this worked. Vincent sounded almost like her father, in a terrible sort of way, but it was fine. They'd both suffered, he was trying to push her away for both of them. She understood that.
Her face that night was a mess of make-up and grime. She'd looked for hours but he was gone. Her throat burned from trying to make her voice heard over the crowds of kids rushing to and fro. Nothing mattered anymore. Her parents, of course, blamed her. And for once, they were right, everything was her fault. But even now, as her mother wailed into her father's lap, as her father retold what they knew to his fellow police officers, she was going to fix this. She slid her window open and climbed outside. She clutched the only thing that seemed to bring any comfort, a doll of the Puppet, a gift from Vincent for her birthday last year. She hurried to the bus-stop. There was only one bus this late, she'd be walking home, but it didn't matter. She hopped on and dropped a large handful of change through the tiny gap.
Getting in was easy. Vincent taught her a trick with the back door into parts and services. "Alex?" She cried softly into the darkness. She wished she had a torch, this place was much creepier in the dark. She stumbled through the small warehouse. "Alex?" She was trying to be as loud as possible and as quiet as possible, she knew there'd be a guard on duty and the police could get here soon. She felt a little less concerned about the guard, she'd met Scott once and he seemed like a nice enough person, but he'd also likely call her parents.
"Alex?" Her voice echoed through the corridors. Eventually, she found herself in the arcade. She pushed her back against the wall and slid to the floor. This was it. Alex was gone forever. "Marie? Oh my god Marie what are you doing here?" Vincent's voice. He flashed a light through the door and approached her spot. "You! Where were you! He's gone, he's gone, it's your job to stop this stuff!" She kicked at his shins. "I'm sorry..." She began to sob again. Vincent knelt by her and offered his hand. "It's ok, we'll find him. Follow me." He said. She sniffed and cleaned her face as best she could.
They slowly made their way through the halls, checking every inch for any sign of Alex. "What are you even doing here, I thought Scott worked nights?" She asked, checking under each table for any scrap of evidence. Vincent handed her the torch. "Switched shifts. Work keeping me focused, you know?"
"Like, focused on anything special, or focused on not..."
"I said you know, didn't I? Got to keep going." He looked around. "I'm going to head back to the office, maybe some security footage will help. Think you can check the other rooms yourself?" He tossed her the keys and headed off before she even replied.
It'd been some time. What was he doing? She began heading towards the office. A door. Staff only. Maybe...
Stairs. Cold. Pain.
"No."
Marie stared at the box. William was a sure fit for everything, but he'd need access to the security footage to delete any evidence, and he had no idea who Marie was. She'd stumbled on Alex's body, sure, but how would he have known she was there if he was just popping in to murder a child then leaving again. He'd have to have been in the building, in the office to watch where she went.
"No."
He'd have to be working in the pizzeria, with an alias as a cover.
"No."
He would have to have been someone that she trusted, and who trusted her as much.
"No. No that's ridiculous."
Michael used to call Vincent 'dad'. How did he know how to help Mangle and Dawn? Scott always seemed like Vince was his superior when he wasn't. He could always somehow buy her all sorts of nice things on pittance pay. Henry's kids own the place, yet they let Vincent get away with things anyone else could be fired on the spot for. He could mimic voices so well, was it such a stretch to say is 'real' voice was a fake too? Things she'd never questioned before suddenly seemed to pile up. He first talked about doing everything themselves, keeping the police and the victim's families as far away as possible. But he would never hurt her, he cared about her, he was her best friend.
Then, without her meaning to, the bottom of the box tumbled to the floor, the top still stuck in Marie's grip. The arcade machines flashed violently as a group of masks resembling the cast's old animal heads appeared, much like her own. They fizzled into small balls of light, then vanished. A message appeared on one of the cabinet screens. 'Give gift', it read. 'Give life', it read. Marie let the lid join the rest of the box on the floor. The screens went black again and left her in the dark.
"Oh no."
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He was coughing again.
He’d been coughing since the motive was announced earlier in the day, while a fever raged as violently as the emotions inside him seemed to be. He distantly acknowledged that there was some “Despair Disease” everyone was panicking about, but he was more focused on the fact that he couldn’t seem to get any words out.
That is, until a swell of anger took over and he’d ended up blurting out how much he wanted to murder the fucking animatronic bear keeping them captive. He couldn’t communicate properly again when everyone started trying to pacify him; no matter how much he wanted to tell them that he was fine, all that would come out was more anger.
They gave up trying to talk to him fast, after a hand was pressed to his forehead and he was declared with having the fictional-sounding disease.
That hurt. He let them know as much, which resulted in a few odd looks but ultimately more ignoring as they focused on checking the others that were acting oddly.
One of which was Kokichi, who stubbornly remained elusive until someone got fed up and asked him to “stop messing around”, which ended in a very silent Kokichi who wouldn’t let anyone touch him until someone demanded that he “stay still for a minute.” He froze in place long enough for Shuichi to place a hand to his forehead and give him the same diagnosis.
Unfortunately, he wouldn’t earn the same fate as Kaito did. In fact, they seemed too interested in Kokichi’s symptoms, telling him to do ridiculous things and watching with glee as he was forced to obey.
That made him angry again. Angry enough that he told them off, heart spilling onto the floor as his feelings towards the injustice made themselves known to the group. At some point during his rant, Kokichi managed to slip away, and he would later find out that he’d holed himself up in his dorm.
Not that Kaito blamed him. He’d been encouraged back into his own dorm by Shuichi, who was apologetic as the others decided that the sick should be quarantined. He’d obeyed, understanding of the decision even if he had trouble vocalizing his agreement.
But now, Kaito just felt alone and scared.
The coughing was normal earlier, but now there were specks of blood on his sleeve and he didn’t know what to do. He just knew it was bad. He wanted and needed help, even if it was past the nighttime announcement and everyone would be asleep.
So, he peeked out into the hallway, a chill causing him to shiver as he left his dorm. He should go down to--no, Shuichi was still healthy, and should stay that way. He couldn’t burden Shuichi with this. He looked around, trying to decide which of the other sick people he could talk to, and his eyes landed three doors down from his. Well... Maybe...
He knocked on Kokichi’s door before he could figure out if he could say anything. His tongue tied in his mouth as he wanted to call out to him, but other words flowed freely from his lips, whispered but loud in the silent dormitory.
“I’m scared.”
@mischiefmandate
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Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom - SPOILER FREE Movie Review
So, it’s been a hot minute since I’ve written anything on here. I’d blame it on college but really I think it’s just because I’m so lazy. I’m working on that and hopefully, this summer will give me some time to get stuff done. Anyways, here I am, and I’m about to talk about the movie I have so patiently waited THREE years for - Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom.
Unfortunately, this movie isn’t out everywhere yet, so I’ll keep this review spoiler FREE, and maybe I’ll get myself to write a spoiler-filled review once this movie is out worldwide. Bear with me, this is long.
1. Cinematography
My absolute favorite thing about this film was the incredible cinematography thanks to Oscar Faura and JA Bayona. Almost all the shots in this film are ones I’d like to hang up on my wall. The scenes on the island are breathtaking, but the cinematography in the second half is on a whole different level. The brilliant use of light and shadows by Faura adds so much to the gothic/horror tone that the second half possesses. The visuals together with the score, courtesy of Michael Giacchino (which I will talk about later), create a striking effect that will be sure to scare the living shit out of you, and sometimes make you feel emotions you didn’t think you could feel in a Jurassic movie. The cinematography in this film is unlike any other Jurassic film, and I say that in the best way possible.
2. Music
Michael Giacchino’s score is absolutely gorgeous. At times, it was the reason why I couldn’t stop my heart from aching, and other times, it was the reason why I couldn’t stop my heart from beating uncontrollably. The music during emotional scenes would be the main factor in me sobbing out loud, and the music during tense scenes would be the reason why I would jump out of my seat. The power that Giacchino’s score has over this film is truly incredible, always being the reason as to why I felt specific emotions during different plot points throughout the movie.
3. Story
I can’t delve too much into this because I don’t want to enter spoiler territory, but I really enjoyed the story.
All I’ve heard over the past week was “why do people keep going back to save the dinosaurs, just let them die” and “why do we need another Jurassic film?”, and this really frustrates me. This might be because I’ve developed a specific emotional attachment to these animals, but I personally believe that every human being in this franchise is responsible for keeping these animals alive. They brought them back to life, despite none of the dinosaurs wanting to (at least I doubt it), and exploited them for their own gain, so I don’t believe that humans deserve an easy way out of the mess they created in the first place and the dinosaurs certainly don’t deserve to die when they didn’t ask for this shitshow in the first place. The core of Fallen Kingdom explores the ethics behind this choice, which is precisely why I love it so much.
I know a lot of people think the plot is useless and repetitive, but along with what I previously said, there is so much left to explore about this ethical dilemma. It is incredibly nuanced, interesting, and relevant. Fallen Kingdom shows us the reason why we can’t just leave these animals to die. It explores guilt, empathy, and redemption. But then again, I have a strong personal opinion and I love ethical dilemmas, so I am heavily biased.
in addition to the core of the movie, there is a plot twist later on that I really loved. I thought it seemed like a natural progression for the franchise, and it opened a lot of new doors for the story to continue through. Although I loved it, plenty thought it was stupid and unneeded, but to each their own.
Despite this, I understand the reasoning behind why some people think it’s a stupid idea to go back to the island in the first place, which I will discuss when I look at the pacing of the movie.
4. Characters
We know that in Jurassic World, Claire started out as cold and calculated and as the events of the movie unfold, she begins to change, as her actions started to become more in sync with her morals. In Fallen Kingdom, Claire has started her own foundation that is dedicated to protecting these dinosaurs she once exploited for money. Though I do wish that we got to see more of how this change developed during the time between Jurassic World and Fallen Kingdom, the way her character has changed for the better and how that change makes her the driving force of this movie is one of my favorite things about it. Seeing Claire having the passion that she lacked in Jurassic World was something that made me love her even more than I already did. Although we don’t see how this 180-degree change develops, we definitely get to see how it influences her actions and choices throughout the movie. Bryce Dallas Howard does a wonderful job at really showing us this profound change in Claire, making us feel for Claire and truly believe that she has a passion for saving these prehistoric creatures.
As for Owen, he is more or less unchanged by the events of Jurassic World, so his character development is much less, or maybe even non-existent, in comparison to Claire. The one thing I can point out is that perhaps his decision to go back to the island and save Blue is an indication of trying to face his problems, rather than simply running away from them.
For those who know me, I live for Claire and Owen’s relationship. Fallen Kingdom builds on their relationship and puts Bryce Dallas Howard and Chris Pratt’s natural chemistry to good use. I have always loved that these two characters are polar opposites but work very well as a team, and I was glad to see that dynamic again, although, I wish there could have been more time spent on further elaborating and developing this dynamic, but that’s mostly due to problems with the pacing of the movie.
Maisie, Maisie, Maisie. She is the heart of this film. All the Jurassic movies have had kids in them, but for the most part, they aren’t hugely significant. Maisie changes the game. No more can be said without entering spoiler territory, so I’ll stop there. BUT, Isabella Sermon is INCREDIBLE as Maisie, I am so surprised this was her first ever acting gig.
As for the supporting characters, I really loved Zia and Franklin, played by the wonderful Daniella Pineda and Justice Smith. The brother-sister relationship the two have off-screen translates very well on-screen and makes for some really fun interactions between these characters. Franklin serves as comic relief in a lot of scenes, and I think the skills he brings to the team are underappreciated. Zia is a badass, however, Pineda’s performance is the reason why and not and so much the story that is written for her.
The villains are a little too “I’m evil!” but for the most part enjoyable. Toby Jones seems to be the villain in every movie I watch so he’s pretty good at doing that. I don’t want to specify certain actors since I’m not sure if its common knowledge that they are villains, but I think the performances by the villans are good, apart from, as I said earlier, sometimes being a bit too cartoonishly evil.
For the cameos... Ian Malcolm is back, but not for a whole lot, which I think is a shame. Jeff Goldblum is excellent and shines in his scenes, despite not being in the film for very long. Dr. Wu appears yet again, and the one big problem that I have with this movie is how underused he is. His character understands that what he is doing is a whole other level of fucked up but he understands how these dinosaurs work as well as the consequences of what he does. I really wished that his character was more significant because his opinions reflect a big part of the ethical dilemma that the movie explores.
5. Dinosaurs
There are a lot of them and they look incredible. The animatronic Blue, Indoraptor, and T-Rex breathe a whole new life into these dinosaurs, making them feel more like characters rather than just animals for us to be in awe of. My favorite has got to be the Stygimoloch, as it plays quite a significant role in a couple parts of the movie, and also, it's so adorable. OH and I think dinosaurs are really smart, people are dumb, and so maybe people should be extinct, not the dinosaurs.
6. Pacing
Now, this is the biggest problem I have with the movie. From the very start of the movie, AFTER the beautiful opening sequence, that is, everything seemed to be moving at warp speed. There was always something going on and it was just non-stop, not giving the audience a chance to breathe and take in whatever they just watched. There are a lot of character building moments that are ruined by the lack of time the audience gets to process them, making them much less impactful than they could have been if the film had slowed down for just a few minutes. Whenever something significant would happen, it immediately became insignificant because something else would happen not long after.
The part of the film that takes place on the island moves way too fast, and I really wish they stayed on the island a bit longer, especially considering this is supposed to be the last time we will ever see Isla Nublar. The lack of time we spend there takes away from what should be an extremely significant and emotional plot point not just for Fallen Kingdom, but for the entire Jurassic franchise.
As I mentioned in the “story” portion of this post, the movie explores the reasons as to why we can’t just let the dinosaurs die. Although the movie does look at empathy, guilt, and redemption, it does so through the characters, as if we should already know these characters well enough to know why they are motivated to go and save these dinosaurs. For someone like me who is familiar with these characters and previous characters in the franchise, it is easy for me to understand their motivations. However, the film doesn’t give enough time for the casual viewer to empathize with these dinosaurs and help them understand why these characters feel a responsibility for these creatures’ fates. Again, this has to do with pacing, since with a lot of things happening from the get-go, there aren’t enough opportunities for the story to build and give viewers this understanding. I think the lack of build-up toward the decision to go back to Isla Nublar to save the dinosaurs is the main reason why many people don’t understand why this movie had to happen at all.
IN CONCLUSION, I really really did love this movie. I’ve seen it twice now and it was better the second time around because my over-excitement for the movie as a whole and for some specific aspects didn’t get in the way and I was able to focus on a lot more things, allowing me to enjoy it even more. To end things, I really need to send my biggest thanks to JA Bayona for his excellent addition to the Jurassic franchise. Whenever people talked about Jurassic Park, they’d always talk about how terrified they were when they saw the T-Rex on screen for the first time. The first time I saw Jurassic Park, I had already seen big scary monsters in the cinema, so the movie never really scared me the way it did some people. However, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom made me feel so terrified at times that I could finally understand where these people were coming from when they talk about being terrified by Jurassic. So thank you JA for scaring me into a true Jurassic experience. Despite major problems with pacing, the film is beautiful when it comes to the visuals and sound, has a really interesting plot, as well as characters that I really love. I know this movie has been met with mixed reviews, and that really bothers me, but I loved it and I hope you at least give it a shot because it certainly deserves a fighting chance.
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom gets 4/5 baby Blue’s
#Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom#Jurassic World#Fallen Kingdom#Jurassic Park#Movie review#film review#JA Bayona#Colin Trevorrow#oscar faura#michael giacchino#Chris Pratt#bryce dallas howard#jeff goldblum#daniella pineda#justice smith#rafe spall#ted levine#james cromwell#claire dearing#owen grady#ian malcolm#zia rodriguez#franklin webb#eli mills#benjamin lockwood
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' Do you wish to know HOW that murder took place ? All of you were floundering about; trying to figure out exactly what the circumstance of this mystery was. Of course, some of you were CLOSER than others. But I shall tell you the truth. '
The tone of the clown's voice makes you shudder as you are forced to listen to it after you just saw VERONICA literally burn to a crisp. Of course, you had noticed that her demeanor had gone back to its usual, calculating ways as she called for voting ------- but now ? Now it hit harder than ever.
' Sammy was CORRECT about Lillith being up to no good. That demon was angry, MURDEROUS even when Foxy & I had to resort to springlocking children. She was indeed arranging for a murder herself. At around 10:30 PM that night, she pulled Veronica into a verbal agreement to meet with her at the backstage at around 6:30 AM. Of course, Veronica was suspicious ----- & she grabbed a KNIFE from the kitchen around 10:45 PM before returning to her room for the night. While the rest of you rested; Lillith was preparing for the murder that she was SUPPOSED to commit. '
' At around 11:30 PM, Lillith left her room to begin. She held a personal grudge towards KAYLE for being an angel & went to her room. Apparently, its molting season for a birdbrain like Kayle & Lillith took advantage of that by taking her PINING FOR PINEAPPLES book & putting a bunch of FEATHERS in it. Lillith then took a SPARE PIRATE OUTFIT from the stage & stole the closet medkit from children who are actually deserving from it like Riley. She went to the kitchen & took a KNIFE from the kitchen as well, slicing her hand & writing a message on the FRONT BLANK PAGE of the book, staining the spare pirate clothing with blood & then using the medkit to bandage herself up. What did it say again ? I believe it said ' CLIP THY ANGEL WINGS ' but you never got to see that. She tossed the bloody knife deep into the TRASH CAN where it got food particles on it. She then put the EMPTY MEDKIT BOX & the BLOODY PIRATE CLOTHING into Kayle's drawers. Her final stop was the backstage where she planted the PINING FOR PINEAPPLES BOOK & THE FEATHERS before taking a DRILL GUN & hiding underneath an ANIMATRONIC HEAD before running back to her room. She was in a rush & believed that Sammy was going to be tending to his nightshift but ------ with the special bond that Sammy & Riley are sharing, Sammy put Riley first. Though ------ at one point, Riley DID want water & asked Sammy for some. Sammy was going to go to the kitchen but ----- HE CAUGHT SIGHT OF LILLITH & did not want to get involved. He went to a Lolbit for the water instead. '
' At 6:15 AM, Veronica woke up & grabbed her KNIFE; hiding it on her person before meeting Lillith at 6:30 AM. Lillith, wanting to catch Veronica off guard & kill her, insisted that Veronica stay outside & keep watch for any animatronics. Lillith STALLED; beginning to take apart the suit on display & pulling off the ARM of the animatronic to waste time. Lillith then opened the door & attacked Veronica, leaving her with a DRILL WOUND on her shoulder. Lillith & Veronica fought, leaving Veronica's HAIR at the scene of the crime & leaving Veronica herself with a very bruised wrist. Veronica eventually overcomes her & STABS Lillith multiple times. After Lillith died, Veronica catches wind of exactly what Lillith was planning when she sees the feathers & the book on display. Not wanting Kayle to be framed, Lillith stained the original note with blood & turned to the BACK BLANK PAGE, framing the first person she could think of, C.HOROMATSU. She wrote ' WHO'S THE SLIMY ONE NOW ? ' to purposely direct attention to C.horomatsu before wiping her hands dry on her pirate outfit. She goes to the stage & grabs the medkit that had been replaced THAT MORNING from the dining area as well as a SPARE PIRATE COSTUME. Foxy saw her running back to her room BLOODY to dump the medkit & the pirate costume. She then returned to the scene of the crime to grab the feathers, bloody drill, & bloody knife, & DUMPED THEM ALL in C.horomatsu's room. After that, she goes back to her room to change & clean the drill before dumping the clothes into C.horomatsu's room again & returning the drill to the backstage.’
But even as Baby’s words catch you off guard; the horror only grows. The surprisingly CRUEL grin that Lauren begins to sport that alerts you to Foxy's laughter afterwards, and when you finally glance over, he's...definitely not as frightening as he had been earlier. What in the world is going on here?
"Aye, even though the murders began 'cause we were startin' to springlock kids, some of ye already came to th'conclusion that the suits involved in th'murders were NOT the suits meant for springlockin'...
An' ye'd be correct. We didn't leave th'suits backstage like a buncha bilge rats woulda figured! No, instead our little 'heroes' were thinkin' about destroyin' them ---- which we 'ad expected, especially after extendin' the motive like that.
They were IDIOTS, but don't ye worry ------ This won' be the las' you'll see of the suits. In fact, ye migh' see 'em comin' up if ye fuck up while in 'ere..."
& that's when you realize it. The melancholy behavior from Baby. The EXPLOSIVE anger from Foxy. It was all a trick. THEY LIED TO YOU.
When the fox begins CACKLING proper, you feel a chill down your spine ---- as well as the sinking feeling in your stomach foretelling a world of pain & misery.
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Shin Godzilla initial thoughts
I have finally gotten around to watching Shin Godzilla this week, via less than legal means. Shut up. I'd have paid for it several times over by now were it an option for me, and will undoubtedly be paying for it when a western release is announced to own. I support this shit right up the jacksie.
Anyway, this is a film that I had been dying to see, and as such am filled with thoughts now that I have done so. These thoughts I now spill like bodily fluids from my pulsating gills all over the tarmac. gonna try and keep all the major spoilers out of this one, but be warned I'm not exactly a professional media journalist. If you want to avoid spoilers then either skip the synopsis or just don't bother reading this. And to be fair, this is already FUCK long. If I were to discuss the spoilers I'd need to write a book or some shit. ONWARDS!
SYNOPSIS
Tokyo Bay security are investigating an abandoned sailboat when the water beneath them begins to boil, followed by an underwater detonation of unknown origin which sends water high into the sky and also damages an underwater traffic tunnel. The Prime Minister's cabinet quickly convene and begin an investigation, but before they can reach any conclusions an enormous creature comes ashore and decimates the local area before returning to the sea.
As part of their ongoing investigations and preparations should the creature return, the cabinet forms an unorthodox thinktank composed of low-rankers and radicals to consider the seemingly impossible biology of the creature from outside of the box, and the US offer some results of their own as well as potential military aid. As this think tank hits upon a possible method of combating the creature, it returns to land and cuts a swath through the city impervious to all attempts from the Japanese Self-Defence Forces to halt it. Eventually reaching the heart of the city, the military bombardment upon the creature finally causes it to retaliate with devastating radioactive attacks before entering a state of dormancy to re-energize.
Eyes opened to the potential for global disaster the monster represents, it is reluctantly agreed that the US be allowed to vapourise the creature with a nuclear attack. The Japanese government step up their earlier devised plan to combat the creature as a final Hail Mary before the nuclear strike can occur, and successfully manage to chemically halt the nuclear
fission within the monster, effectively freezing it solid.
***
As is becoming traditional when Toho reboots the character, a big part of the hype machine comes from the radical redesign of the monster. When the Heisei era began in 1985, the last time Godzilla had been seen he was a slimmed down, big-eyed, children's hero; Here he was back to his dark, bulky persona with many design elements reinstated from the original 1955 design that were gradually shed through out the series (such as ears, fangs, and additional, more savage looking dorsal fins), and he just looked shockingly mean. When the Millenium era began people had gotten used to a very standardised (but also iconic) look that was maintained throughout the Heisei; With Godzilla 2000 we were introduced to a more reptilian monster with a jagged aesthetic, irregular teeth and fins (which were now a silvery purple) and, for the first time ever, a green hide. Unlike the Showa and Heisei eras, the game plan for the Millenium was to make films largely free of continuity, each a new and unique take on the mythos, with the idea being that the most successful would be the themes and tone carried forward in future installments. As such, Godzilla's design varied from film to film, each intended to be quickly distinguishable from the others at a glance (the two exceptions being the design from Godzilla X Megaguirus, which simply carried over a more streamlined version of the Godzilla 2000 look as it had proven immediately popular, and Tokyo S.O.S was a direct sequel to Godzilla X MechaGodzilla so the design remained the same, only with scarring from the previous film's climatic battle).
Such it was with Shin Godzilla. Toho remained secretive about the new look for the monster, allowing the tidbits of news released about production to build viewer anticipation. For one, there was the involvement of Hideaki Anno, who had developed a reputation for unique and disturbing visuals thanks to his work on Neon Genesis Evangelion, which is not only full of giants and monsters itself but is also a deeply psychological work. Then there was effects director Shinji Higuchi, who is probably most famous in the west for the live-action adaptions of Attack On Titan but who is more notable amongst Kaiju fans for his work on the Heisei Gamera films which are considered to be among the best Kaiju films ever filmed and were even at the time leaving the Godzilla movies in the dust visually. There were the reports that Godzilla would be portrayed entirely with puppetry and animatronics with minor CGI enhancement, which had gotten mixed reviews when implemented on the Attack On Titan films. There were the rumours that Godzilla would undergo various mutations during the course of the movie. And so on.
When we finally got to see the design for the movie, reactions were again drastically mixed. This new Godzilla was almost skeletal with tiny beady eyes and a jaw full of needle-like teeth that burst erratically from his lipless maw, and a tail long enough to swat the sun out of the horizon. I, personally, was simply fascinated. I didn't love the design, but I certainly didn't feel the need to take to the internet with hateful rhetoric. I chose instead to more analytical. I had faith in the creators, in Anno in particular, to have done something so drastic for a reason. There had been early interviews with Anno and Higuchi where they talked about wanting to take the monster back to his horrific roots, about making the monster a walking nightmare. They are said to have looked at old production materials for the original 1954 movie, sketches and maquettes from the time, and to have worked from that. Ideas true to the original concept that never fully made it on film or faded out over time, such as the idea that Godzilla's hide was so rough and rigid because he was supposed to have been deeply scarred by the atomic testing he was exposed to was re-examined and thus, the Godzilla of this film has a body that is a black as burn scars, with crimson seams lining him like a cracked scab over an unhealed wound; he has no lips or eyelids or ears because they were all burned away; his musculature is sunken and sickly like someone who had radiation poisoning. His new design evokes all of this despite not sharing the same origin as the 1950's inspiration. And yet, it all works perfectly for the new story behind him. There are other changes that I won't go into here, and which stem from Anno's talent for twisted physiology and visuals that are repellent on a primal level, but which are no less perfectly suited to the story being told of this new Godzilla.
Godzilla's powers are also looked at through a new lense for this film. He has always been shown to possess great healing abilities, although his amazing cellular regeneration has rarely been touched on beyond the typical sci-fi tropes of weaponising or attempting to harness it, with disasterous results. Throughout his movie history Godzilla has developed new abilities sporadically (although most are forgotten by the next entry). He has been shown to be able to utilise his nuclear energy in varied ways, from different strength oral rays to emitting the energy bodily as a destructive burst to even, yes, jet propulsion. This new movie essentially combines all of this into a single genetic thread which becomes the backbone of the movie, put poses it all in such a new and refreshing way that you don't really realise during viewing that this, all of this, has been touched on before, albeit in a very casual and throw away manner.
What makes all of this so wonderous for me as a lifelong fan, is that it signifies a change in the way Toho operate. Traditionally the studio have been so rigid as to what can and cannot be done with the the character that they had become notorious and almost self-defeating. They dearly want for their flagship character to be respected and successful that they have in the past stifled creativity. How many stories can you do about this same unchanging being? To be fair to them, they inched in this direction a little with Godzilla, Mothra, King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack (generally considered the best of the Millenium movies, coincidentally, though not by me), although that was really a departure in terms of the 'why' only rather than the 'what' and 'how' of Godzilla's existence. The Toho of ten years ago wouldn't have even allowed the look of this monster, let alone the recreation of history, biology, and very nature of it. Godzilla has always been a creature of intelligence, but Shin Godzilla is a being of pure instinct. It has no motive or goal, it simply acts. In the past, you've always been able to pin a fairly succinct label on the various incarnations. Originally he was a nuclear alegory. He was a territorial animal. A superhero. A force of nature. Shin Godzilla doesn't feel like any of those things to me. The only word I can think of that fits is simpy "Entity", with all the mystique and ominous connotations that word may imply.
The tone of the movie is quite an odd one to explain. It is, at first glance, played straight. Reactions to the monster and the events that occurr around it are logical and fairly realistic, the seriousness of the situation is never downplayed, and yet it manages to avoid heading into too heavy a territory. More astute viewers may pick up the first time of the dry humour throughout the film, though I admit I was on my second viewing before I let the humour come to me. I think the first time I was just too focused on 'new Godzilla film, must absorb it all'. Examples that come straight to mind are in a cabinet meeting early on in the film, one member issues a bunch of orders for things to be done in a manner which might usually initiate a scene change but here is met with confused glances from other cabinet ministers before one asks "whom exactly are you addressing?" and THEN the scene changes, or when the think tank are exchanging what they've learned so far one asks for analysis on behavior to which another responds "He just walks."
The film is political satire, but very subtley done, often poking at the state of current buerocracy. for example, the PM's cabinet meet in his office to discuss this mystery in the bay, and after deciding that they need to actually make some plans they move down the hall to a conference room, only for them to witness new developments on TV which means they need to go back to the PM's office to discuss it there. Similarly, when the JSDF's forces are preparing to engage Godzilla they request permission to open fire, and we follow that request down a chain of command as one person asks his superior for permission after another until we reach the Prime Minister who says yes, and then, inevitably (though we are graciously spared it), the answer has to go back down the line from person to person.
I've also seen online a number of people who complain that the film is anti-US (typically from Americans) propoganda. Utter nonsense. This film portrays the USA as a people who can and have made mistakes, and some of those mistakes may have consequences for Japan, but they are never villified. They are actually often portrayed as sympathetic. The fact of the matter is that America has always had a hand in Godzilla, fictionally. It was their atomic testing which awoke the monster in the original film, and it was their actual atomic deployment in real life which inspired it. To be insulted by a film because it reminds them of that is beyond hypocritic, considering the hundreds of films Hollywood must have put out by now where the 'foreigner' is the enemy. But that's enough of the serious stuff.
It cannot be denied that the attachment of Hideaki Anno as writer/co-director of Shin Godzilla brought with it a lot of expectation. Neon Genesis Evangelion, an anime he created in the mid-nineties in the midst of clinical depression and under a studio going slowly bankrupt, revolutionised a genre and inspired a generation of creatives. It viewed typical Super-Robot series tropes through cynical eyes and turned the cast stereotypes on their heads. It got darker as it went along, riddled with psychological themes and visuals that varied from blatent to so-subtle-it-took-scholars-to-find-them, and a use of religion and christianity in particular that left anyone with any kind of religious leanings feeling a little uncomfortable. Despite all this, it is possibly one of the biggest success stories in anime, with a legacy as strong today as it was twenty years ago. It is possibly also the biggest 'love it or hate it' situation outside of Marmite. So you can imagine that his mere involvement with a new Godzilla stirred the pot significantly.
I would like to take this opportunity to state right here and now to anyone who hates Evangelion; Do NOT use that as an excuse to avoid this film. Tonally and thematically, this could not be any further removed. Sure, there are directorial choices made here that are pure Anno, but there is none of the angst, depression, or misery that you may associate with Evangelion. This story is very stripped back and to the point, even for a Godzilla movie. The monster IS the story, and everything else in the film is a reaction to him. The only sub-plot, such as it is, is also part of the direct investigation of the monster. There are certainly things that are "Pure Anno" in this movie, but as I say this is pretty much entirely on the visual side of things, and I'm pretty sure that even "haters" would appreciate what he brings over. For one, this is an incredibly 'talky' film. But the way it's shot is still fast paced and even the slowest scenes are structured in a way that will make them interesting to watch. From scene changes signified by the putting down of a phone, for example, to close-ups of the speaker from an unusual angle (a little too high, from just off the side, etc), to mid-sentence cuts from one shot of the speaker to another to add emphasis. There are a lot of directorial choices which have plainly come from someone whose background is in animation, and the relative freedom that affords in creating a shot.
The way he goes about portraying Godzilla himself is also refreshing. He brings with him some tricks he developed with his giants in Evangelion that will be familiar to fans but still feel new and exciting when applied to Godzilla. From his first scene of the monster making landfall echoing his slow reveals of the destructive 'Angels' of Eva (quick cuts of a mostly obscured form, a screen-filling eyeball, and eventually, a full reveal that is still not what you were expecting to see), to his use of shooting the environment to portray scale (to a footstep each, we are treated to shots of a beached boat bouncing in the air, the tiles of a rooftop bouncing up and sliding forward, and the branches of a tree shaking and startling birds into flight). Yet for every trick he brings to the table, there is a throwback to the older style of making monster movies. For example, he often gives us a shot with Godzilla so far in the background you almost miss him, which is something which always made the Showa era films feel like they were more than rubber suits on a sound stage. In fact, his love of the Showa era is ever present, as the entire library of sound effects for this movie comes straight from that period (with the exception of a couple or roars from the Heisei era). Again, as a fan who grew up with them, these are a delight. Imagine if you can hearing a sound of an explosion as distinctive to you as the sound of Star Trek's torpedoes, a Lightsaber turning on, or a Transformer changing shape. Yes, I'm a nerd, but that's what it's like for almost every sound in the film.
And while we're on the subject of audio, I would be remiss to not speak about composer Shiro Sagisu. Shiro is a long-time collaborator of Anno's, having composed the scores for everything Evangelion (from the entire TV series to the five and counting animated movies) as well as Anno's teen-romance deconstruction anime His And Her Circumstances. In fact, if anything about this film can be accused of being "too Eva" it would be because Sagisu has a fast-paced, drum-heavy "Preparation" theme that he seems to use for everything he works on. There are several variations of this one theme in Shin Godzilla alone, and they will always invoke Evangelion to me, as I'm sure they will to many others. But before I come accross as being too negative here, let me clarify that I adore his music and own every once of his scores I could get my hands on on CD, including this one. One particular motif which feels fairly unique to his works is his inclusion of English-language vocal choirs for his more atmospheric pieces. It adds a sobriety to proceedings, and can also make something feel truly apocalyptic. His two major cues for Shin Godzilla that were heavily featured in promotional materials are Persecution Of The Masses and Who Will Know?, both are slow and melancholic, and during the film were used in places one might not expect to hear music of their tones typically. Unless you are a fan of Anno and Sagisu's previous collaborations, as you will no doubt have learned how they defy expectations even in sound design.
As with the sound effects though, the score is also riddled with throwbacks to the Showa era and, in particular, legendary composer Akira Ifukube (who composed Godzilla's tradtional theme as well as most of the more famous themes of the series). The choices of music to reinstate are more evidence to Anno's love of the genre, as, aside from the music which plays during Godzilla making landfall for the second time, all the selections are obscure or odd variations of particular cues. Some aren't even from Godzilla films originally.
From what I've seen online, the reactions to this movie are typically favourable. There are a few people that can't seem to get beyond the changes made to Godzilla himself, but that may be attached to a typically western mindset that I'll get to in a moment, because it's a mindset that even those who enjoyed it have displayed; That anything that happens in this movie is somehow permanent, that because these changes were made here, that is how things will be for the character from now on. Shin Godzilla was one of the most financially successful movies in Japan in 2016, which all but guarantees that a new Godzilla film will comer sooner rather than later. But will it be a direct sequel, which is what most folks I'm seeing online are assuming it's a given that it would have to be. No, it really doesn't, and in my opinion the biggest reason that Shin Godzilla works is that it's standalone. It has in traditional Anno fashion ended in a way which leaves more questions than answers, but that doesn't mean those questions are intended to be answered. What Hideaki Anno like to do is riddle his works with clues, seed them with potential, and leave his audience to try and figure things out. The state of things in the world of this movie at the end are such that any direct sequel would have to leap through some logistic and continuity loopholes just to get off the ground, but I'll say no more about that.
As much as I love this film, I don't want another like it. I wouldn't particularly like the changes made to Godzilla to become the standard. What I do want is for the next film to take the lessons learned here, technical, artistic, logistic, and creative, and run with it and give me something as impressive as this, but just as different. And if that were to involve a step back to a more traditional state for the monster, and the world he inhabits, so be it. I'm one of those wierdos that thinks Godzilla can carry a film with no other monsters in it and should do so more often, so what do you care what I think?
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