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kelpan · 12 hours

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So, remember how in my last author's note, I said I was feeling better? "More like a human"?

Yeah, I spoke too soon.

These past few months have put me through the wringer. Super stressful work environment, and new meds messing with both my mental and physical health. I'm taking steps to change the meds, and banish this nasty depression it has kept me trapped in. I can only apologize for how long it's been since my last update, though I did my best to keep writing.

This chapter might be a bit smaller than what they usually are, but it was hard-fought for. I hope you all like it, and thanks for being patient with me.

Credit for the OC Chrysanthemum headshot goes to wwispie on Etsy/Instagram!

Ao3: Petals on a Stream of Stars

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Wednesday

7:30pm

Chrysanthemum

The alarm replayed across the air, ominous and oppressive. Chrys looked towards the sound, the weight of the message sinking under her skin. Never before had she found herself in this situation; never again did she want to. The worry that gnawed at her stomach threatened to make her vomit, and the last thing anyone needed was for her to bring her lunch back out for a visit. She forced the sensation down from the back of her throat, and turned to face her partner, ready to follow whatever instructions he had for her.

“Sun, what are you—”

Yet she stood alone. The entrance doors clicked shut, broadcasting what must have been his departure. For him to leave without a word and so abruptly was unlike him.

Wait, what even are our protocols? What am I supposed to be doing here??

The two attendants from the Atrium stood out against the sea of quietly occupied children. If anyone here might have a shot of giving her some kind of guidance, her best bet was from other employees.

“Uh, hey,” Chrys asked, hurrying over, doing her best to project some sort of veneer of calm, lest her anxiety take control. “Everything seemed fine when I left. What the heck happened?”

Neither moved to look at her, or acknowledged that she’d spoken. Their game of “Go Fish” was more interesting, eyes locked on their individual sets of cards. Chrys waited, arms crossed over her chest, gaze pointed, until someone caved. The one on the right took that title; A heavyset, disheveled looking man with greasy hair, who offered only a measly, nonchalant shrug in consolation.

“Eh, she must have slipped from the group while we were walking back. Kid was there when we lined up.”

Soon the other joined in, a small, diminutive stick of a woman, likely around the same middle age as her counterpart. She clicked her teeth and added a card to the center pile. “My guess is she got distracted by something we walked past and snuck off. I’ve heard of stuff like that happening from some of the other staff. Hell, this place is like temptation in a bottle for kids.”

Chrys’s composure threatened to crack. Could they not hear themselves right now? Her tone took on a sharp edge. “What do you mean “you guess”? Aren’t you worried about her?”

“Oh chill, she’ll be fine.” The male attendant answered, unfazed. “They’ll send every mechanical bozo they’ve got in this place after her, like that creepazoid clown you’ve got here. Soon as the lights go off she won’t stay missing for long, I can tell you that.”

Chrys bristled. She didn’t appreciate the blatant, derogatory dig. “Is that about Sun?”

“Nah, the other one.” The same attendant answered. “After all, the guy’s part of security now, it’s his job to handle shit like this.”

Just then, every light in the vicinity began to fade, blanketing the daycare in a soft but artificial twilight. Some of the children shouted in mock terror, their cheeky giggles giving away their true amusement. Chrys startled out of reflex, eyes wide as she watched the scenery take on new life around her.

Stars. So, so many stars.

On every post, every wall, every support beam, even the ceiling and the fake clouds dangling overhead, glow-in-the-dark stars greeted her with their nostalgic light. Never would she have thought that the cheap ones she used to have decorating the ceiling of her childhood bedroom might be able to provide any sort of substantial light, but here they were, their collective amount—and likely higher quality—creating more than enough illumination to easily see by.

“See? Right on cue.” The attendant continued. “I bet you he’s the one who finds her first. Five minutes, tops.”

“Nah, it’ll be Roxy. Fast is like her whole thing. Ten bucks.” The woman chimed in with a barking laugh.

“Ha! You’re on!”

In the background of their grating banter, a new message spoke through the intercom, pulling Chrys from the conversation.

“ATTENTION ALL GUESTS: PLEASE REMAIN IN PLACE. OUR ANIMATRONIC STAFF AND SECURITY BOTS ARE CURRENTLY INVESTIGATING. THEIR SCANS ARE FOR IDENTIFICATION PURPOSES ONLY. LOCKDOWN WILL REMAIN IN PLACE UNTIL THE MISSING CHILD IS IDENTIFIED AND RECOVERED. THANK YOU FOR YOUR COOPERATION.”

The automated voice spoke with an ignorable note of authority, demanding obedience through command. She could only imagine how frightening this situation must be to the other children throughout the pizzaplex; To go from having the time of their lives one instant, to then finding themselves in a world of darkness and danger the next. At least the children under her responsibility seemed impervious to this, safe and secluded as they were here in the Daycare. A small blessing.

Marigold, however, could afford no such luxury. Wherever she was, odds were that she was alone, overwhelmed, without anyone to guide or comfort her. And if anyone with less than innocent intentions found her before one of the animatronics could… she closed her eyes against such a thought. The math, however, remained clear; With each minute that ticked by, the risk of this turning into a catastrophe grew.

There had to be something she could do, anything to help speed things along. In a building this large, with all the various nooks and crannies she might have wandered into, going about this in a blind sweep would be far too tedious. Kids were masters of subverting your expectations, able to get themselves stuck in the most ridiculous of places. Pressing her palm to her forehead, Chrys dug through her memories, seeking anything notable, any sort of outlier that might give her some insight into whatever was going on in that little girl’s mind.

She’d been teary and reluctant to leave her mother when she’d arrived. Commonplace, most children suffered from some form of separation anxiety at that age. She played, she laughed, she had fun… and seemed hellbent on continually bringing up a certain ambiguous “big brother” every chance she could get. Was that the missing key? What was it she had said about him again? Something about wanting to share a pizza together, that he was some grown up that worked at some beach…

No, wait, that wasn’t it. She’d said here at the beach. Did… did she mean the pizzaplex?

“Hey,” Chrys said, interjecting herself back into the conversation. “Is there anywhere in the Pizzaplex that’s beach themed, or, I don’t know, might be considered kinda “beach-y”? Someplace like that?”

The two attendants shared a look of confusion, glancing at the other for mutual confirmation that they’d heard her right.

“Uh, not really.” The man replied, in a tone that made clear what he thought of her question. “The big things are the band performances, golf, the raceway…. everything else is pretty standard kid stuff, like the arcades. It ain’t really a “beach-y” kinda place, if you catch my drift.”

The woman piped in with a snap of her fingers. “Oh, hey now, isn’t one of the free zones pirate themed? They might have some beach decor or something.”

“Oh yeah, Kids Cove, right? I always forget about that place. Hasn’t it been, like, under construction or renovations for forever or something?”

“Yeah, something like that.”

Internally, Chrys vibrated. It may only be a nugget, but this was more of a lead than she had thirty seconds ago, and she’d be a fool to dismiss it.

“Yes! That’s got to be it! Marigold had said something earlier that makes me think that might be where she’s gone! We have to let someone know. How do we contact Sun? Or Moon? Is there a way we can ping them or something?”

The pair scoffed at her.

“Who do you think we are, Vanessa? She’s the only one with direct line access to those overpriced tin cans.” The man patted the seat between the two of them. “Listen, why not sit down and relax with us for a second? I’m sure someone will find her soon, and everything will be just fine. I promise.”

His voice dripped with a syrupy sarcasm, the kind that came across as both patronizing and belittling. In her veins, her blood boiled. A little girl was out there somewhere, likely now having the worst birthday of her life, and they weren’t willing to lift a single finger to help her? To even try?

No. Unacceptable.

“Fine. If you won’t help me, then I’ll just go out there and find a way to tell them myself. Stay with the rest of the kids until I get back. Don’t work too hard now.”

Without giving either of the two a chance to retort, she pivoted and left, marching her way to the entrance of the daycare, stopping only once to grab a flashlight from the charging station mounted on the wall behind the security desk before stepping beyond the gate.

There was no way she was going to let that little girl suffer any longer than was necessary.

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kelpan · 3 months

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Didn't expect this past month, almost two, to be so filled! Overbooked with theater gigs for the holidays, family stresses, and getting Covid for christmas kept me rather occupied. Throw in some negative company-wide changes at my workspace come the new year, and we're off to a rousing start! Weeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!

You know, it really is times like these that I cherish having a medium like this to escape to.

But, I've taken some time for myself, and am feeling far closer now to the definition of a human being than I was before, so that's a positive. Here's hoping for a smoother rest of the year, and thank you to everyone who has given me the joy of knowing you're enjoying my story. Y'all have given me some big boosts in moments where I really needed it this past year 😊

With that said, on with the show!

Credit for the Oc Chrysanthemum goes to wwispie on Etsy/Instagram!

Ao3: Petals on a Stream of Stars

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Act 1, Chapter 11: A Bit of New Information

Wednesday

6:30 PM

Chrysanthemum

The path to the Atrium followed a different route than she’d yet taken, giving her a chance to see more of the pizzaplex than her morning walk into work would normally have allowed. Together, they re-entered the main lobby, this time turning at the top of the staircase to make use of the elevators. Exiting at one of the uppermost floors, the group entered into a massive, open convention hall of a room, with a stage nearly as impressive anchored along the farthest wall. Parents and children mingled about, creating an indiscernible din of voices. The outer layout reminded her of an old mall’s food court, with restaurants lining the outer perimeter and advertising a variety of offerings, ranging from Mexican to Italian to Carnival-style fried food, all pizzaplex themed, while the inner layout resembled more that of a performance arena. An odd mixture of architecture, that somehow, still managed to blend together as one cohesive unit.

The center of the room held the majority of the tables and chairs, many of which were already occupied with other parties and single families enjoying a meal. The attendants, keeping their lead, guided the line of children towards the only empty table left, the one specially reserved front and center, and already prepared for their arrival with decorations and boxes of hot pizza. As soon as the Atrium staff gave the “OK”, the children scattered, clamoring to claim their seat. Marigold, guided personally by the staff, sat at the head of the table, in a chair adorned with balloons and streamers. Unlike the rest of the children, who chattered excitedly, barely restraining themselves from the goodies before them, her attention appeared elsewhere, twisting herself this way and that around the back of the chair, as if looking for something.

Before Chrys had the time to check in on her odd behavior, all the lights began to dim, casting everything in a surreal neon glow. The children’s squeals spiked as their anticipation grew, then quieted as a building melody thumped through the speakers, followed by a soft, rolling fog which crept out across the stage. Amidst the fog emerged four black pits, obscured among the wisps of smoke, before a voice joined the music, unseen but inviting.

“Weeeeelcome, Superstars! Are you ready to have the most fazzeriffic, rockin’ birthday ever?!?”

The entire room shouted.

“I said, ARE YOU READY TO ROCK?!?”

Another universal scream, impossibly louder this time.

“Fazz-tastic! Ah one, two, three, four!”

Electric guitar, base, and an electric keyboard all sounded off in unison, collectively creating a stylized melody she didn’t recognize. The instruments harmonized well, and when the voice rejoined in song, the fullness of sound created was something enjoyable and thrilling.

“You could go anywhere, spend a fortune for wasted time, but we all know a birthday at anywhere but Fazbears should be considered a crime!”

Four animalistic, robotic faces appeared from the depths of the pits, breaking through the fog with glitz and glamor, shredding away on instruments dangled at the hip except for the dapper bear down front and center, singing into a stationary microphone. It took Chrys only a second to realize who they were; The Glamrock animatronics. While she recognized three from the advertisements plastered everywhere around the ‘plex, she couldn’t help but take notice of the one playing the bass, their encounter together when they’d accidentally met outside the daycare still fresh in her mind.

“So here’s our wish to you, our most special of guests, that your time with us will blow away all the rest!”

A few quick, hard cords, and the short rock ballad reached its end. As the last note drifted through the air, the entire band threw their fists up and shouted at the top of their mechanical lungs.

“HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!”

The kids at their table cheered and clapped their hands off before digging into their pizza, doled out by the Atrium staff. As the last of the applause died down, Marigold once again returned to her peculiar behavior, this time stretching so far as to almost tip her chair over.

“Woah, careful!” Chrys moved just in time, catching Marigold by the shoulders and righting her. “What’s so interesting over there?”

Marigold looked around one more time, her confusion apparent, eyes brimming with tears.

“Miss Chrys… where’s big brother at? I thought he’d be here by now. I don’t want to eat without him! He loves pizza.”

Chrys’s spirit sunk. Whatever she’d thought preoccupied Marigold’s mind, this was last on the list. And she was no better prepared to handle this question now than she was the first time.

“I, uh, I’m not sure. I haven’t heard anything about his arrival yet. Maybe your dad is bringing him?”

Marigold shook her head vehemently. “No, no! Big brother is a grown up! He works here at the beach!” The tears which hovered at the edge broke free, trailing down her cheeks in a miserable descent, her voice cracking. “Mama told me he’d be here…”

Her heart broke to see such sadness in one so small, even as her mind hurried to update the image in her head of this so called “big brother”. Never would she have guessed all this upset was over some adult.

“I’m sorry Marigold. I know how painful it is to be expecting someone only for them not to show. But sometimes things can get complicated. Maybe something came up at the, uh… the beach, and that’s why he’s not here yet?”

She hoped her words would be enough to appease her, at least long enough for her to still enjoy her dinner. Grabbing a napkin from the table, Chrys gently blotted the tears marring Marigold’s face, and helped her to blow her nose. While she no longer cried, the girl’s eyes still shimmered with disappointment.

“How about we work on eating our pizza while it’s hot, and we’ll save a couple of slices for “big brother” to enjoy with you later, okay? Do you think that would be alright?”

She sniffled, though a corner of her mouth ticked upward in a weak attempt at a smile. “Ok, Miss Chrys. I’ll try.”

“That’s the spirit. Now, what kind would you like? I think there is—”

“Now, I know I’m not seeing waterworks from our very own guest of honor, am I? Here, I got just what ya need.”

The coarse and crass voice rang in Chrys’s ear, a pink puff of cotton candy materializing in her face, delicate and covered in glitter. Monty flashed the both of them a toothy grin as he handed the stick off to Marigold.

“There ya go. Happy Birthday little lady, hope you have a rockin’ day. Oh, and to let you in on a little secret,” He held his hand to the side of his snout and leaned down, blocking out the others. “We were playin’ just for you, ya know. A special performance, for a special kid.”

The little girl’s eyes lit up, and a grin graced her face for the first time since entering the Atrium. Hands free, he gave her hair an affectionate ruffle, and her melancholy mood seemed to abate, at least for the time being. She set right to work tearing apart the puffball, little hums of happiness escaping her as she popped the fluffy pieces into her mouth.

“Helps to have access to a kids preference profile, eh?”

Monty, nudging her with his elbow, eyebrows waggling, shot her a look that others might have found charming. She, however, did not consider herself one of those people, and ignored it as such.

“Oh come on, the silent treatment? That’s a little harsh, don’t ya think?”

The look she shot him made her thoughts apparent.

“Alright, alright, fair enough. But yesterday was a fluke, y’all just caught me on a bad day is all.”

From the corner of her eye, Chrys noticed the other Glamrocks inching closer, making what little space remained at their end of the table cramped. She stepped back, leaving more than enough room for the others to come up and greet Marigold, as they appeared to want, and happily so if it meant she could also put a little extra distance between herself and Monty at the same time.

Too bad he failed to get the same memo.

“New girl,” he croaked, following right on her heels. “I ain’t pulling your leg here. It wasn’t my intention to get so, uh… outta line. You didn’t do nothin', Sun was the one who pissed me off. So, uh, sorry you got sorta roped into my bad mood there, I guess.”

He spoke animatedly with his hands, swiping them over his red mohawk multiple times in a nervous, uncomfortable fashion. She kept her eyes trained on him, listening, but withholding any of the appeasement he sought, at least for the time being. On the surface his apology felt genuine, enough so that she felt bad for not giving in then and there. But… there was still something “off” about the way he held himself, the way he fidgeted. Of what exactly, she couldn’t quite put her finger on, but whatever it was, it made her hesitate.

“Wait, I know! Here,” he rushed back to the table. “A peace offering. A chance to start over, yeah? Clean slate?”

Looking between him and the slice of pizza he offered, she contemplated her decision for a moment, before letting go with a sigh, taking the plate from him with a compromising smile. She was probably just over-thinking things. It’s never easy to apologize to someone, especially someone you just met. She'd be rude to reject his attempts at reconciliation now.

“Well hey, alright then!” Seeing her accept the pizza, his eyes shot open, surprised, before morphing into a full-mawed grin, hands held on his hips in triumph, an enthusiastic and boyish pose. Endearing to those who likely knew him better, she imagined.

Still not quite my cup of tea, though.

The aroma of the fresh food tickled her nose, making her mouth water. Maybe Sun did have a point about her measly packed lunch. Monty had only grabbed a simple slice of cheese, but the scent carried with it a savory mixture of fresh herbs and hearty tomato sauce, and her stomach rumbled. Guess the “Pizzaplex” did actually live up to its namesake.

“Now that we got that out of the way, tell me. How are things going over in the daycare? Smooth? No outbursts? Or, uh… incidents?”

Chrys paused mid-bite, questioning what she heard. “Incidents?”

“Yeah, incidents! You know, a parent not showing up to pick up their kid, something getting broken, someone getting killed, that sorta thing…”

She choked on her food. “Killed?! What the heck do you think happens in the Daycare, human sacrifices?”

“I dunno. Wouldn’t be the first time someone left the daycare on a stretcher with a blanket covering their face.”

She froze. He delivered the statement in such a deadpan voice that any response she might have had died on her tongue. Was he joking with her? She searched his eyes for any sign of deceit, for anything that might negate the gravity of the subject, but found none. Gazes locked, he refused to break the contact, the seriousness in his eyes souring her stomach.

“What… What are you talking about?”

“So ya don’t know then? Huh. Guess I owe Roxy ten bucks.” He shrugged. “Not really my place to say, if Sun really hasn’t told you yet. Go ask him yourself if you’re brave enough, but don’t be surprised if he don’t say much. Doubt he’d be too keen on discussing how his brother gutted someone in cold-oil.”

She swallowed thickly, trying to keep the majority of her emotions from bubbling to the surface despite the race her pulse now ran. “How… how do you know all this?” Her voice came out flat, her nerves getting the better of her. She dug her nails into the paper plate, ripping it along the edges, needing something to do with her hands.

He exhaled through his snout, long and loud. “Not really a day any of us could forget, though Fazbear’s sure done their best to get us to. We were closed for days afterwards. The Daycare even longer than that.”

Licking her lips, her mind struggled to process. “But… how do you know Moon was the cause? Were you there, did you see him? Where was Sun during this? You’re trying to freak me out saying something terrible happened, but wouldn’t I have heard about it on the news if—”

The low, visceral growl that came from Monty startled her silent. “Look, new girl, believe me or not, but that doesn’t change the facts. You’re lucky I even took the time to tell you this much. If I were you, I’d want to know who I was working with. Do with that what you will. It’s your neck.”

Throwing his hands up, Monty clunked his way back to the table, just in time to join the rest of the Glamrocks for their departure.

“It’s been a faz-tastic time with you all! Enjoy the rest of your party! And Happy Birthday Marigold!”

Freddy shouted his goodbye before leading the rest of the band backstage, disappearing one by one behind the curtain. Chrys stared at Monty’s back until he too vanished, their time together leaving a bitter taste in the back of her throat. There’d be no way she could go back to the Daycare as she was before, not without a moment to collect herself, at least.

Quickly tossing her empty plate away, she found one of the attendants as they gathered the children, herding them single file, and waved for their attention.

“Hey, do you mind taking the kids back without me? I, uh, just need to use the bathroom real quick.”

The attendant shrugged. “Yeah, that’s fine. We’re good.”

“Great, thanks!”

Popping over to the nearest restroom, Chrys had the unexpected good fortune to find herself the only occupant. She approached one of the mirrored sinks, and splashed the coldest water she could get from the tap onto her face. The water soaked into her hairline and dampened the strands of hair which had fallen out of place, but she hardly noticed, savoring the chilling sensation. The prickly, tight feeling in her skin lessened, and she could feel the whole of her body relax. Looking in the mirror, her dark bags appeared even more pronounced under the unforgiving fluorescent lights, and she sighed. There was no one to blame but herself for how exhausted she looked.

Patting herself dry with a paper towel, the thoughts which clamored to come forward broke through, creating a battlefield in her mind.

Moon. Some, supposed murderer, and the daycare, a crime scene. Just imagining it made her cringe. Monty had to be exaggerating, had to be; No company, no matter how profit-driven, would ever let a robot remain active in any capacity who still posed a threat to their patrons. But, even if Monty was just blowing smoke… what did that say for real life? His claims were too extreme to be without some kind of credence, but all rumors needed some nugget of the truth in order to be believable, to spread. What could have happened to create such a violent reputation?

She hung her head, shaking away the urge to catastrophize. Without any other perspective or information she’d drive herself mad analyzing the never-ending possibilities. Not to mention how nefarious it felt to speak about someone she’d never even been introduced to yet.

Though, perhaps that wasn’t fully accurate. They had met, if just for a moment, hadn’t they? Her gut knew who it had been with her in that dark storeroom. She closed her eyes, letting the moment replay in her head. The disorientation, the crashing. He was the only reason she was able to walk away from that room unscathed. And no matter what anybody else said, no matter how many different ways she tried to look at it, no one who would jump headfirst to someone else’s defense could be some ruthless killer. Not in her eyes.

Maybe Monty was right. Maybe not. Or maybe the truth lay somewhere in-between. But she’d be a fool to place so much confidence in such an unreliable source so soon. Things always get warped the moment they transfer from one mouth to another after all, and this would be no different. Looking into the mirror one last time, Chrys settled the fight in her mind. Until forced to otherwise, she would choose to believe in the Moon who’d saved her.

It’s all she could trust for certain.

With renewed conviction, she left the bathroom and the Atrium as a whole, pleased with herself for remembering the way back to the daycare without having to reference a map. Upon entering, however, the atmosphere felt nothing like it did when she’d left it; a raw, worrisome tension filled the air, almost palpable in its heaviness. Looking around, she found nothing of immediate concern, until she noticed all the children from the party quietly drawing at the Arts and Crafts tables, still chaperoned by the two Atrium staff.

They should have left once the kids were all safely back here. What’s going on? Where’s Sunny?

As if on cue, he appeared, stepping out from behind one of the playplaces, his stride frantic and erratic, fingers digging into the side of his faceplate as he swiveled his head around in a constant, 360 degree motion. As the door clicked closed behind her, his head whipped to face her, and he came speeding over.

“Chrys! Oh, Chrys, Chrys, Chrys, I am SO glad to see you. Is Marigold with you? Have you seen her? Please tell me you’ve seen her.”

“What?” Chrys answered, anxiety rising. “N-No, she should have returned with the rest of the party. I just stopped off at the bathroom for a second.”

“Ohh,” he moaned, eyes clamped shut as he yanked forcefully on his two lower rays. “That, that’s not good. Not good at all!”

Chrys scanned the children, checking off a mental headcount as she eyed each kid. “Was she not with everyone else when they got back?”

“No!” He screeched. “I scanned everyone when they arrived, double checked, triple checked! Scoured the Daycare! She’s not here!”

Dread sunk in her belly, and her mouth went dry.

“She… she couldn’t have gotten far, Sun. I’ll go back to the Atrium, look around—”

“No, no.” He cut her off, his expression steeling into something cold and resigned. “There are… protocols, for situations like this. We’ll handle it.”

Straightening to his full height, every inch devoid of his normal whimsy, he stepped around her, and strode over to the security desk with determination. In the same moment he reached over to the underside, the music playing through the speakers stopped with a harsh cutoff, startling everyone in the vicinity. A shrill, repetitive blaring took its place, followed by a monotone voiced recording which announced the words no caretaker ever wanted to hear.

“WARNING, MISSING CHILD ALERT. WARNING, MISSING CHILD ALERT.”

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Side note: I blame Monty for this chapter taking so long to make. Ended up having to re-write his segment more times than I can remember before it finally felt right. I swear, these characters are the ones who are really in charge of telling this story, I'm just the messenger 😅

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kelpan · 5 months

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This is the kind of edgy Moon fluff I LIVE for

I think this is like the most effort I ever put into something that was supposed to be a funny goofy but then turned into me giggling and kicking my feet. I'm in need for soft Moon cuddles, with all his gremlin energy still present...

Close ups, mostly Moon's limbs because I like how they're gripping the net fkdkkd

And finally the "reference" that started it all lmao😭

#reblog #fnaf sun and moon

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kelpan · 5 months

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So…. did I vastly underestimate how hard the holiday season as a whole would weigh on my mental health? Hoo boy yes I did. Did I also bite off more than I could chew in a single chapter, and end up splitting it into two so I didn't go mad? Also yes. Did I take into consideration any of my personal health issues throughout all this, and prioritize them amidst an uptick of work in order to avoid crashing and burning? No, no I did not.

Needless to say, sorry for the bit of a delay in an update, but please enjoy what I have so far for you all! Hopefully I'll be able to get the next one edited and posted soon.

And as a personal note, please don't be like me. The holidays can be unduly hard sometimes. Please don't forget to eat, drink water, and get some rest. There is no shame in taking care of yourself. I hope for anyone else struggling right now, you find some tiny moments of joy to help carry you through <3

Credit for the OC Chrysanthemum headshot goes to wwispie on Etsy/Instagram!

Ao3: Petals on a Stream of Stars

Act 1, Chapter 10: Storytime

Wednesday

4:30 pm

Chrysanthemum

It was almost too easy to stay on the sidelines while Sun and the kids ran about, weaving in and around as they screamed their little heads off. As caretakers, they’d naturally fallen into a good working dynamic together, their individual care styles complimenting the other; Sun, with his never-ending energy, kept everyone up and playing, a veritable fountain of excitement. Whereas Chrys, when the inevitable would occur and a lone child would tap out, out of breath, she would step in, meeting each one with grace and keep them occupied until their little batteries recharged enough that they felt ready and able to rejoin the group.

The party progressed well, managing to make it to a third round of “Princess and Gremlins”, a tie-breaker to determine the fate of the kingdom. In an unforeseen twist, the kids decided to forge an alliance in order to defeat their true obstacle, the mighty dragon, who ensured not a soul could reach the princess. Gremlins and Knights alike swarmed Sun’s feet, their war cry valiant and determined.

“Ack, what is this??? Betrayal! Betrayal most foul! Run my princess, run while you still can!”

Using his superior reach to his advantage, Sun took Marigold off his shoulders and placed her outside the swarm of kids, before collapsing to the ground, surrendering to their tickle attack.

“No! You are too much for me! I… I have been… defeated…”

With over-dramatized flair, Sun breathed his last, and the kids cheered, standing triumphant over their slain foe.

“Ha, alright you little monsters, you’ve won, you’ve won. Let him get up.”

There was little resistance as they followed Chrys’s instructions, the whole group a mess of sweat and smiles. He’d succeeded in tuckering them right out.

“It seems to me like everyone could use a break,” Sun asked, head raised. “Would anyone like to sit and listen to a story?”

Shouts of “Yes!” and “Yeah, yeah!” followed.

“Wonderful! Head on over to the reading corner then, Sunbites, while Miss Chrys gets you all a little something to drink.”

The children needed no more encouragement, and finding their second wind, pushed their little legs as fast as they could go to claim the best spots on the rug first. Chrys sauntered over, stopping at Sun’s head, arms crossed as she loomed over him for once.

“You doing alright down there?”

His smile faltered, and for a moment she worried something actually was wrong. His face held a seriousness she wasn’t used to, at least not from him. She tucked a strand of hair that fell out of place behind her ear in an effort to mask her growing concern.

“Uh, hello? Earth to Sunny? Those kids didn’t knock your motherboard out of place, did they?”

Still, he didn’t answer her, but sat up on his elbows, rotating his head on its axis so he still faced her head on, despite his torso remaining angled in the opposite direction. There was a look to his eyes she couldn’t place, something intense yet… sincere. The lack of levity she normally saw there sent a rush of goosebumps across her skin. She could do nothing to break the tension while he continued to stare, grateful then once he finally spoke.

“The lights make your hair look like you have a halo around you. It’s… stunning.”

His tone held nothing but awe, a dissonant thought for her to comprehend directed at herself. Heat snuck into her cheeks against her will, and she turned away, unable to stand to meet his gaze any longer. If such a comment would have come from anyone else, she’d have denied it without a second thought. But from Sunny… her instincts misfired. She cleared her throat to break the silence.

“Oh, s-stop kidding around, ya goofball, the kids are waiting.”

She booped his nose, the easiest way she could think of to get them back to the casual ease she was used to with him, and give her a chance to hide her cheeks. Thankfully, he took the hint.

“Right you are, sunshine! You mind grabbing the juices?”

“Not at all. You get going.”

True to form, he flipped his head around and curled himself into a rolling tumble, popping himself upright to dismount before jogging over to the group of waiting kids, bells jingling mirthfully. Chrys watched him leave, a smile worming its way onto her face even as she shook her head.

Don’t read into it too much Chrys, he probably doesn’t realize how things like that can be misconstrued. Get your head on straight…

She’d learned the day before that a small fridge sat just behind the security desk, which housed all their cold refreshments. While meals weren’t usually their responsibility, it was good to have some water and juices on hand for certain situations. Using the loose fabric of her shirt to make a pouch with, she filled up on little juice pouches and tiny bottles of water and made her way towards the back half of the room where everyone else waited.

Sun’s voice cut through the cacophony of childish voices, heard all the way from where she was. It sounded as if someone was having an argument over their spot selection. She wasn’t surprised, not with how easily amped these kids were. Sun was a saint to have handled this many kids on his own before.

She hurried back, managing to reach the group just as everyone seemed to settle down. While she handed out the drinks, Sun called out to Marigold, asking her to come up front.

“As our birthday girl and honorary princess for the day, why don’t you pick out the story? Go ahead and choose whatever you want from the bookshelf.”

She smiled wide, and ran to search the collection. It took her hardly a minute to find the one she wanted, and soon came bounding back, book in tow.

“Why thank you!” Sun took her selection from her. “Let’s see… Oh. “The Gardener’s Daughter”. I don’t recognize this one. Well, we can just discover it all together then!”

Trailing a finger down the edge lengthwise, he flipped the book open, and pulled out a small microchip embedded in its blank pages. He then inserted the chip into a hidden port at the back of his head, eyes glowing entirely white while the information transferred. The kids waited with bated breath, their anticipation mounting once his pupils returned to their normal sky-blue color. Chrys found the perfect place to sit, where she could still keep an eye on everyone, and made herself comfortable, sitting crisscross on the floor. With a squeal of glee, Marigold hurried to rejoin the group, but chose instead to plop herself down on Chrys’s lap rather than return to her original spot. Chrys gave a small “oof” as her body adjusted to the child’s additional weight, and the girl relaxed against her.

“Alright, is everybody ready?” Sun asked.

“Yes!” Shouted the crowd in unison.

“Fantastic!” Soft, subtle woodwind music began to play through the loudspeakers at his command, adding a touch of magic to the atmosphere. Chrys made one last quick visual sweep over the group, just to make sure all was well, before letting her attention fall completely under the spell of Sun’s dynamic storytelling.

“Once upon a time, there lived a young prince in a magnificent castle. His life was a blessed one, full of all the luxuries one could imagine. But for all his riches, there was one thing he lacked, something he desperately longed for. Companionship. His father was a stern, serious ruler, his smiles saved only for court. His mother, lost to childbirth. The boy was alone, with not even the servants willing to care for him more than their duties demanded.

For weeks upon weeks, months upon months, the boy pleaded for a friend to any who would listen. He’d willingly go to every magic lesson with the cranky old wizard, would never refuse to eat another vegetable again, whatever it took. For just as long a time, his wishes fell on deaf ears. Until one day, the fates decided to grant his request.

The boy awoke to find that they had lost their best gardener in an unfortunate accident, killed while protecting his father. As a means to reward the man for his valiant service after death, the king appointed the man’s widow as the new royal nanny, providing both security and sustenance for his family, including that of his only child. A girl, of about the same age as the young prince.

He had his playmate at last.

From then on, the two spent every spare second of the day together. Playing. Exploring. Growing. Learning. The years passed quickly for the pair, though their time together dwindled as they grew older, pulled apart by their individual studies. Though the responsibilities of life kept them apart, the prince thought of her often, his heart always yearning to be by her side.

With the dawn of the prince’s 20th year, the time finally came where he’d mastered his studies, earning him the right to be considered of age, and the entire kingdom ran atwitter with excitement. The king sent invitations far and wide for all to come and celebrate the prince with a glorious ball. The servants decorated, the chefs cooked, and after months of preparation, the night of the ball arrived.

Family and honored guests of all kinds arrived in droves, all dressed in their finest in the hopes of attracting the eye of the newly eligible young royal, though none would be able to. The prince had his sights set on one person, and one person only. He searched the ballroom high and low for her, failing to find even a glimpse. That is, until the band started to play a new song, capturing the attention of all.

There she stood, the Gardener’s Daughter, singing alongside the band with a voice that stilled the entire ballroom, no longer a child but that of a beautiful young woman, as bright and inviting as any flower bloom. The prince, mesmerized, knew then and there who his future queen would be.

But as quickly as the fates could give, the fates could also take away.

Black smoke filled the room, pouring in from every window and doorway. All the guests choked, and the prince faltered, unable to see his beloved in the onyx haze. An evil chuckle resounded, and like the wind, the smoke disappeared, revealing to all that though everything appeared the same, something was very, very wrong.

The Gardener’s daughter had disappeared.

In a fit of rage, the prince—”

The sharp creak of the entrance gates cracking open disrupted the illusion, shattering the story. All eyes drawn to the front, two human staff-members entered the daycare, their uniforms identifying them as part of the Atrium’s food team. Any chance the new guests might have had of a warm welcome crumbled as the children registered what had happened, their shouts of disapproval instant.

“It’s alright my little sunspots, it’s alright! We can finish the story another time, I promise!”

Sun did his best to console the children, but they were having none of it. Chrys attempted to nudge Marigold off her lap in order to help him get the situation under control, but even she fought with her.

“No! I wanna hear what happens next! What is the prince gonna do, what happened to the gardener’s daughter?”

“Yeah! We were just getting to the good part with all the spooky stuff!”

A little boy shouted in support of Marigold, prompting others to follow suit. Sun sighed, and popped the microchip out from the back of his head, making it clear that the time for storytelling was done. A chorus of dejected “awww’s” rang out.

“Now kids, don’t you know that stories are meant to be read in bits and pieces! That’s why we have bookmarks, after all.” He stood, gesturing for everyone to stand. “Right now it’s time for pizza and cake, and presents! Aren’t you all getting hungry?” A few kids nodded their heads. “So, let’s all go put our shoes back on, and keep the fun going! I promise the story will still be here when you get back.”

At his word, the majority of the kids obeyed, their frowns slowly dissipating as they scuttled towards the cubicles by the front doors. Marigold gave one last pout before climbing out of Chrys’s lap and followed behind the others. Having had the extra weight sitting on her for some time, Chrys struggled to stand, grunting like an old lady as uncomfortable tingles flowed through her legs.

Sun stopped and reached a hand out, to which Chrys took eagerly. He pulled her to her feet with hardly any effort at all, another reminder of how much hidden strength those gangly limbs held.

“Thanks,” Chrys said, wiping the wrinkles from her pants. “Interesting uh, story there, Mr. Narrator. Can’t say I heard that one growing up.”

“I believe it! You know, I’ve read each and every book we have here dozens of times over, and this one is completely new to me! No idea where she found it.”

Chrys laughed. “Watch it be some creepy magic book or something, poofed here out of nowhere to haunt the daycare.” She wiggled her fingers and made a parody of a spooky sound.

“Oh, don’t put that extra responsibility on me. I don’t know how to count inventory for a book that can vanish at will.”

They followed behind the children’s trail, the majority having already gotten their shoes on and standing in a line by the door, likely a habit from school. The few who remained hurried to catch up, struggling to tie their laces. Chrys and Sun split, assisting all who needed it until everyone was ready to go.

“Alright my little sunbites! Off you go! Eat all the things! And when you come back, there will be a special surprise waiting for you all! Now have fun!”

The staff waiting at the entrance, arms crossed and faces painfully bored, slunk off the door frames they leaned on and started the line moving out of the daycare. Sun waved them all off before turning to face her.

“Chrys, why don’t you go with them? Get yourself something to eat too. I can handle the changeover here.”

She furrowed her brows. “Wait, you sure? I’m alright, I ate already, remember?”

Sun sighed, and cocked a single, swirly brow at her, his face and voice uncharacteristically deadpan. “A protein bar, a cheese stick, and a cup of fruit do not a meal make. You need something more substantial, and we won’t get another break before the party is over. So no butts!”

He booped her nose, a reflection of her tactic from earlier, and ended the conversation with a smug smile. She made a humorous, mouthy sound, and playfully batted his hand away, prompting an even cheekier grin to plaster Sun’s face. He wasn’t giving her an inch. She rolled her eyes with a smile, but still acquiesced to his demands without fuss. Truth be told, she wouldn’t have thought to deny him anyway, but he needn’t know that.

“Alright, alright. As you wish, good sir.” She walked backwards, giving him a spirited bow with a forehead salute before returning to a normal posture, and picked up her pace to catch up with everyone else as the last few kids rounded the corner.

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kelpan · 6 months

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This fic is now over 20,000 words long, and we're not even to the end of Act 1 yet. Hoo boy do I love torturing myself with massive projects that take full control of my life lol

Anyhoo! Please enjoy! Next chapter is shaping out to be a bit of a long one, so I'm shooting to try and get it out before the end of the month.

Credit for the OC Chrysanthemum Headshot goes to wwispie on Etsy/Instagram!

Ao3: Petals on a Stream of Stars

Act 1, Chapter 9: Marigold

Wednesday

1:30 pm

Chrysanthemum

“Yes ma’am…. N-No, I’m sorry, I…. It’ll never happen again, I promise…. Yes…. Thank you….. Yes, of course…. Goodbye.”

Chrys hung up the phone at the security desk, her heart hammering a mile a minute. She hadn’t been fired. How had she not been fired? Her second day, and she’s over four hours late. By all intents and purposes that should make her a no-call-no-show. Not exactly employee of the month kind of behavior. Officer Vanessa had been livid—who wouldn’t be?—but more than forgiving all things considered.

I should buy a lottery ticket with this kinda luck.

Sun cocked his head out from behind one of the support beams of the playplace, his worried eyes asking her what the verdict was. She replied with a wide grin and a thumbs up, to which he pantomimed clutching at his heart and breathing a sigh of relief, the jester. He scrunched his face then, and jabbed a pointer finger at the packed lunch sitting next to her on the desk. She laughed, and waved his instruction away, opening up the zippered lunchbox to prove she understood the assignment. Satisfied, he grinned wide, and returned to his task, tying off a banner hung off the edge of the structure which read “HAPPY BIRTHDAY” in colorful, excited letters.

She’d been smart to throw a little something together the night before. Given the frantic rush that turned out to be her morning, there’d have been no time to even consider trying to make food then. Neither did she have any intention of giving Sun yet another reason to worry over her; Given how he’d reacted yesterday, she could just imagine him calling for a full stop of all preparations until he was satisfied she’d eaten enough. That was the last thing either of them needed. Smiling at the absurd image, she grabbed a cheese stick out of the bag, and set to work on chewing it down.

With nothing else to do while she ate, Chrys watched Sun’s journey across the daycare, blowing up balloons, decorating areas with confetti and shiny cut pieces of tinsel, and wondered how this afternoon might go. It hadn’t occurred to her that hosting parties in the Daycare had even been an option. From all she knew, the daycare was just that—a daycare. Sun had mentioned they were few and far between before she’d gone to take Vanessa’s call, so perhaps she wasn’t all that far off in thinking that. One thing, however, was clear; Sun was tickled pink at the prospect. She hadn’t seen his rays stop moving since.

With the last of the streamers hung perfectly in place, Sun came bounding back over to the security desk, resting against the upper edge to lean overtop. His excitement was infectious, and she smiled, hiding the mouthful of food she’d just eaten behind her hand.

“Oh, this is gonna be so much fun, Chrys, just you wait! It’ll be freeplay the entire afternoon! Nothing but games, games, games! Oh, you’re gonna love it!”

With a wipe of her napkin, Chrys finished her lunch, and gathered all the trash together to be thrown out later. “Sounds like a blast. What about cake and presents? Do we do those here, too?”

“Oh, yes!” His face fell a twitch. “But… not this time. These parents bought the Ultra Deluxe Fazzerific package, which includes presents, pizza and cake with the entire Glamrock band over in the atrium. It’s one of our most top-tier offerings.”

“Oh. Sounds expensive.”

“Very!”

Coming out from behind the desk, Chrys took in the newly transformed Daycare. “So how will I be able to help? Is there an itinerary to follow?”

“Nope! Well, yes, but nothing you need to be concerned with, I’ll lead it all. Just help me keep an eye on the kids, make sure no one is hurting themselves or others, that sort of thing, and we’ll be all good! As long as everyone is safe and the birthday girl is having the best day of her life, that’s all that really matters.”

The clock rang twice, signaling the start of what would normally be the second shift. Sun jumped, and raced towards the gate, waving for Chrys to come join him.

“Ok,” he said, stationing her to stand opposite him on the other side of the door. “We’ll open the gate together, and yell “Welcome, new friends!” at the same time. Ready?” She nodded. “Great! Here we go!”

With that, the Daycare flung open its doors, and together they rang in the start to the party.

Peels of excitement ripped through the crowd, converging into their own miniature stampede as the children rushed past each other to disperse into the daycare, diving head-first into whatever caught their attention the most. Sun spared one encouraging glance to Chrys before running into the thick of it, matching their energy and then some.

Chrys laughed, but took the chance to look out into the waiting area, if only to make sure there were no stragglers left before moving on. She found she was glad she did; There was still one more friend yet to be welcomed inside.

Standing in the otherwise empty waiting area stood a young mother, dressed in affluent but feminine, neutral-toned business attire, with a little girl no older than six or seven years old clinging to her side, head full of strawberry blonde curls pressed as far into the side of the woman’s leg as was physically possible.

“Please, don’t worry too much about her. Give her some time, she should open right up.”

The woman spoke with a kind but firm tone, her words every bit as much a command as a reassurance. She put off the air of someone who was used to taking charge, despite the slight crack of fatigue which broke through. Kneeling down, she detangled herself from her daughter’s death grip on her skirt. “But, do be sure not to let her out of your sight. We’re going through a… a bit of a rough time, right now. You look away for one second and she’ll up and hide on you, I guarantee it.”

Switching between mother and child, Chrys could sense the underlying unease radiating off both of them. A mother who seemed drained, yet doing her best to hide it, and a child who looked like she wanted to be anywhere but here. Neither a good state of mind to be in before a party.

“Don’t worry, there will be supervision present the entire time, we’ll make sure of that.” She took hold of the little girl’s hand at her mother’s behest, and felt the tiny fingers squeeze her own. Without her mother close, the girl curled in as tight as she could, chin tucked to her chest.

“See to it that you do. Bye sweetie, please try to have fun, for me. I’ll be back to pick you up in a few hours. I love you.”

The child stirred, and looked up from the floor. Her bright blue eyes were full of tears, and she squeaked out a meek “Love you” back before her mother turned and walked away, a quick, air-blown kiss her last bit of encouragement before disappearing around a corner.

Hand in hand, Chrys walked the two of them inside, closing the gates behind her. She knelt down to be more at the child’s eye level, and spoke in a soft, soothing voice.

“Hey there, it’s ok. I know this is a lot. My name’s Miss Chrys. What’s yours?”

She sniffled, wiping her nose on the back of her hand. “… Marigold.”

“Marigold?” Chrys repeated, adding a bit of excitement to her voice. “What a lovely name! Did you know that’s the name of a flower?” The child nodded. “I think that’s super cool. Hey, wanna know a secret?” Another silent nod. “My name’s the name of a flower too! Have you ever heard of a Chrysanthemum?” This time a shake, the girl’s ringlets bouncing side to side. “It’s a fall flower, with lots of thin, yellow, white or red petals, like the color of my hair. Just like yours, too!”

Untucking a strand of her own hair, Chrys held it out, ushering Marigold to do the same. She tapped the two strands of hair together, similar to a drink toast. “Now we’re flower buddies! How does that sound?”

Chrys held her breath, waiting to see if her efforts had taken root. A quick double-take between her own hair and Chrys’s face, and the little girl repeated the gesture, tapping the strands together with intent, the tiniest of smiles peeking out underneath her drooping bangs. Chrys exhaled in triumph. If there was one thing she knew about childcare, it’s that if you could get a kid to smile once, you could do it again.

“There ya go! That’s it. Now, let’s figure out something to do. What do you say? Anything out there look like fun?”

Chrys watched as Marigold scanned the area, her face revealing nothing. Guess they’d have to figure this one out the old-fashioned way. But before she could brainstorm possible ways to keep this child engaged, she caught the tell-tale jingle of Sunny approaching, and internally relaxed. He’d know what to do here better than she.

“Oh my! What do we have over here? Did Miss Chrys find you, little star?”

He knelt down before them, his head extending unnaturally low in order to not tower over the two of them. The little girl looked to Chrys, her round eyes a mix of trust and uncertainty.

“Don’t worry, Mr. Sun is a friend of mine. He’ll help make sure today is lots of fun!”

“Absolutely!” He spun his rays fast enough to create a funny whizzing sound, earning a small giggle from the child. “We can’t have the birthday girl spend her special day stuck under a raincloud, now can we?”

Wait, birthday girl? The statement clicked in her head, and had there not been a child present, she would have smacked her own forehead in exasperation. How had she managed to miss that? She struggled to keep her face neutral. It wouldn’t do to let the very kid they were trying to cheer up in on her little fumble.

“Tell me,” Sun continued, taking the helm on guiding the conversation, much to Chrys’s relief. “Do you… like crawling through the tubes? Or we could make some sparkly crafts? Ooo! What about getting a game going with all your friends? I’m sure they’d be so excited to see you!”

“They’re not my friends.” Marigold said, her tiny voice cold. “They’re from my class at school. Mama told them to come. I don’t have any friends, except big brother. Is he here yet? I wanna see him.”

Chrys froze. She shot Sun a quick cursory glance, silently asking if he knew anything about this. With as little movement as possible, he shook his head no.

“Uh, sorry sunshine! No one here has arrived registered as your brother. But, uh, who knows! He might come later. W-Why don’t we all play a game in the meantime? We could play “Princesses and Gremlins”! Although… ah, nevermind. That wouldn’t work.”

He exaggerated the last of his words, going from excited to overly sad with ease, keeping a keen eye trained on Marigold through his dramatized antics, taking in her feedback and adjusting as needed.

“… Why not?” Marigold asked, hesitant but intrigued.

“Because we don’t have a princess, silly! Everyone knows those can only be played by birthday girls.”

“B-But…” she tugged at the hem of her cool blue, tailored dress. “I-I’m a birthday girl! I could be the princess!”

Sun gasped, hands to his cheeks. Chrys had to stifle a giggle of her own. “Well tie me to a kite and send me to the sky, you ARE indeed! So, how about it? Will you be our Princess today?”

Marigold puffed out her cheeks, the determination bringing a fire to her eyes that Chrys wouldn’t have thought possible five minutes ago. The little girl nodded with a purpose, hands balled into tight little fists.

“Great!” Sun morphed back into his standard, smiley state. “The game is simple; We’ll split everyone into two teams. One team sides with the princess, the brave knights.” He struck a dashing pose. “Everyone else are the gremlins, who will try to breach the knight’s defenses and kidnap the princess!” He made an attempt at a grotesque face, releasing it only once he’d earned a happy giggle from Marigold. “Whoever gets the most ribbons from the other team, or manages to get both of the princess’s ribbons, wins!”

If Marigold’s eyes could grow any bigger, Chrys would think they were saucers. There was no doubt Sun had nailed this one.

Oh, he’s good.

“And who will you be, Mr. Sun? You a knight, or a gremlin?” Chrys asked, teasing.

“Neither! I’ll be the mighty dragon, sworn to defend the princess till the end of days! All who threaten her will be tickled!!!” Ever the one for theatrics, he released a mighty “roar”, arms held above his head and cocked to turn his hands into pretend claws. Marigold squealed, ecstatic.

“Come, my princess! Your kingdom awaits!” Taking her laughter as permission, Sun picked the now beaming child up, rays shrinking inward and head dipping low to allow her to safely sit on his shoulders. She shrieked anew as he stood, thrilled at the newfound height. Chrys watched with a warm smile on her face, feeling a sense of pride to see him so masterfully bring out the best in such a nervous little girl, a feat not many could claim.

Hands holding Marigold safely in place, Sun rushed to the center of the daycare, calling all the children together as he went. Chrys made her way instead to the large toy box anchored against the wall, to grab all the accessories they could need for said game to commence. Sun had been right; Already she was enjoying herself. She’d missed this feeling, of helping others to find the joy she struggled to keep hold of, especially in ones as innocent as kids. Arms full of velcro ribbons and adjustable woven belts, she followed Sun’s lead, determined to do everything she could to make sure that this was the best dang birthday party these kids had ever seen.

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kelpan · 6 months

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Spending the afternoon playing the Sun and Moon fangame "After Hours" was JUST what the doctor ordered to cure this bout of writers block. The CG's are so freaking PRETTY

#fnaf fandom #moon fnaf #sun fnaf #fnaf sun and moon #fnaf fangame #Game was made by Snowrey #I dont think they have a tumblr #But I know they have a Tik Tok #The hidden ending was indeed... interesting #Very well done #Thank you for the inspiration!#fnaf

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kelpan · 6 months

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😳😳😳😳😳 hot DAMN this is incredible!!!

Satisfied Bleeding hearts seems fitting for a vampire moon @fieldofleurs i heard you also like @xitsensunmoon 'Biting the hand that feeds' AU so i made you another gift :)C

Process is down below

#reblog #fnaf fanart #fnaf fandom #moon fnaf #moondrop

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kelpan · 6 months

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Aight, the hand thing is super cute 😍

Uururggrgh i have plans that icannot share withyou right now (i have the bare bones of an idea and nothing more)

#fnaf daycare attendant #fnaf #reblog #fnaf sun #fnaf fanart

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kelpan · 6 months

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"Oh great and mighty Leader, what are you doing hanging out at a Wawa? There's a cult to run!" 😆

Such a cute little surprise while grabbing some lunch!

#A gamer was here #fandoms out in the wild #HIS HORNS ARE LITTLE PINECONES omg #cotl lamb #cotl #cult of the lamb #painted pumpkin

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kelpan · 6 months

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Another Sunny Chapter! Also, I must be finding a rhythm in my writing, as I've NEVER been able to get chapters finished as quickly as I have this month. Huzzah!

As always, credit for the Sundrop headshot goes to wwispie on Etsy/instagram!

May you all have a happy Halloween and a wonderful Samhain!!!

Enjoy!

Ao3: Petals on a Stream of Stars

Act 1, Chapter 8: A Gift to Remember

Wednesday

12:30pm

Sundrop

Sun fought to keep the smile on his face. He knew it. He knew it was too good to be true. The clock ticked well past twelve noon, and here he was, all alone in a big empty daycare. No assistant, no Chrysanthemum in sight. With arms full of plushies far cheerier than he, Sun continued to tidy up, dropping the irritatingly happy toys in a pile without a hint of concern as to how they landed.

His first thought had been that she’d gotten lost in the Pizzaplex somewhere. A probable guess, considering the common trend when mixing new staff with one convoluted building. But then, first shift had started. The kids came. Still no sign of hair redder than a sunset to come through that door. The odds grew slimmer by the minute, he knew, yet he still retained a modicum of hope. He’d keep looking, keep checking until he couldn’t anymore.

Though Officer Vanessa made sure that notion left him right quick, flying into the Daycare the moment morning dismissal ended, veins bulging as she had shouted. “Why can’t you do anything right?!? You had ONE. JOB. Why the Board hasn’t just scrapped you two already I’ll never know!”

Her cruel words stung, as they always did. But in the end… she was right. It was his fault Chrys wasn’t here right now, helping to clean and humming away as she’d been yesterday. How careless, how incredibly dumb he’d been! He should have known to check the lights before taking her anywhere outside the Daycare. Thinking ahead and circumnavigating problems was a part of his job, for fazz’s sake!

He groaned, and covered his face. He knew what the problem was. He’d been too preoccupied with making a good impression to think of the potential dangers. Distracted by her smiles, her laugh when he made a silly joke with the kids. For the first time in a long while, his smile hadn’t just been a part of his standard dress code. Not even that one small hiccup at the start of the morning could mar their working interactions. Although… did she think, since he cared for children and all their meltdowns, that soothing her was simply a part of his programming? That he didn’t actually care? Did she think him disingenuous, and that’s why she decided not to come back??

No, no, no, that hadn’t been what he’d meant at all! She looked so overwhelmed, that all he’d wanted to do was comfort and calm her down! Anxiety attacks were no joke, whether they were a child or an adult, it didn’t matter! Sure, his programming would have thrown a fit if he’d left her to her own devices, but that was besides the point! He wasn’t faking it, never!

He yanked at his rays, taking the surge of pain which shot through his head as penance. Stupid, stupid, stupid! The gears in his chest ground together, and an ache settled at his core. He stomped his foot, needing to release the distressed energy building up in his limbs. He’d messed up. He’d messed up, and he didn’t know what to do. If Moonie was here he’d know. He would’ve…

But Moon wasn’t here, was he? Not in a way that mattered.

His arms noodled at his sides, and he let loose a deep sigh. Things were different now, so very different. He could only imagine what all had happened once Moon came out in the storeroom. There’d been no time to catch him up on everything since his last turn with the body, no time to inform him of who Chrysanthemum was and why she was important.

Stars, when he’d told her she’d meet Moon eventually, he hadn’t meant in less than half-an-hour!

Yet, Chrys had seemed more or less fine, sloughing the whole situation off like it wasn’t a major deal. Did she even realize how bad that all could have gone? He’d half-expected to find her sobbing and scared out of her mind for goodness sakes! To instead find her so calm and collected, comparatively, and all in spite of being injured was… disconcerting. Something happened between her and Moon, that much was clear, but what exactly, it appeared he’d have to find out on his own. Didn’t seem like he’d get many answers out of either of them, given there wasn’t a single mention of the incident in Moon’s nightly report. How was he supposed to make things right if he didn’t know what went wrong??

Frustrating! Stubborn! Unhelpful!

Still, fixating on what was wasn’t going to change anything. The fact of the matter still remained. If she didn’t come back, then yesterday wouldn’t matter much anymore, would it? He was getting himself upset over nothing. Better to chin up, and get back at it. There were still duties to be done, after all.

With a forced vigor, Sun puffed up his chest, and marched his way over to the supply closet, grabbing a sticky broom to sweep up the remaining glitter littering the floors after arts and crafts time. Least there was something productive for him to take all these emotions out on.

He swept, and scrubbed, and scrubbed some more, losing focus of the world around him. With a head devoid of thoughts, he could relax some.

Be good to get rid of all this gunk stuck under the railing. I’ll have to mention to facilities to get me more solvent, this stuff is not coming off easy. Crud’s been here long enough to become as hard as a rock. Maybe a sign might help, or an extra trashcan, give the parents a place to throw their gum out…

“Sun? Sun! I am so, so sorry I’m so late, I overslept and I—”

“WAH-AH!”

He jerked, pivoting about like a startled cat. The solvent spray he held in one hand flew clear across the room, while the scraper he’d held in the other flew the opposite, hitting the wall with an echoing “clang”. His eyes shot open wide as he stared at Chrys, her face out of breath and looking just as scrambled as he felt.

“Chrys?” His processors lagged, struggling to comprehend the sight of her before him. “Chrys!!! Oh my warm summer days, it’s you!!!”

He surged forward, scooping her up and spinning them around and around before holding her close in an all-encompassing hug.

“Oof!” Chrys grunted, though she didn’t fight his embrace. “It’s uh—woah, dizzy—good to see you too, Sun! Ack, not so tight!!”

Realization dawned across his features as his mind caught back up to his actions, his demeanor turning sheepish as he relinquished his hold and set her back down on her feet.

“Ah, uh, s-sorry, about that!” He said, keeping his arms still for her to hold onto while she regained her balance. “Got a little ahead of myself there.”

Looking her over, it was clear she’d had a heck of a morning. Sweat-slicked skin, hair frizzing, heart rate still within normal range but higher than her baseline. Her face didn’t express any obvious distress, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t bothered on the inside. Humans frequently kept their emotions bottled up. Did she have another breakdown this morning? His worry reignited.

“Are you ok?? If this was because of yesterday, I promise today will be better, I’m so sorry yesterday even happened in the first place! Just tell me, and I’ll—”

“Sun!” Chrys smiled, reaching out in a reassuring manner. “What are you talking about? Yesterday was fine, you’re fine. Nothing is wrong.” She turned her head away, making a face to no one. “Well, me being this late is wrong, but it’s my own fault. I’m the one who managed to both oversleep AND miss every single bus that comes to my stop. Ended up having to walk all the way here. Least there’s a shortcut through the woods so it wasn’t too bad.”

“Walked?” He finally took notice of the multiple leaves that littered her hair. “Oh Sunshine, why didn’t you call? I’m sure someone could have come and picked you up! O-Or given you the ok to stay home. You should never walk around by yourself like that!”

She avoided facing him, and fiddled with a stray strand of hair.

“Well, uh, you see, that’s because I’m also a bit of a dingus and forgot to plug in my phone last night, so it’s… a little dead right now. Kinda the reason why I missed my alarm in the first place.” She flashed him an apologetic grin. “Stupid, I know. But I stayed up for a good reason, promise.” His eyes followed hers down to her hand, where she held a little white box, neat and tidy and tied together with a red ribbon bow. She held out the item. “It’s for you.”

“For… for me?” He hesitated, only taking the box from her once she re-offered it to him. “… Really?” he asked. Chrys nodded, smile certain. He turned it over in his hands, looking at it with thoughtful eyes. “I’ve… never been given a gift before.”

Shock filled her expression. “Wait, really? That’s… um, well.” She cleared her throat. “Uh, I guess I’ll be your first then. Thank you. For taking care of me yesterday after, ya know. It’s doing alot better than I thought it would after you made me get an ice pack on it so fast.” She pointed to her chin, where only a light sheen of purple could be seen, far kinder than how it had looked before.

“I… I don’t understand. That’s just basic first aid. Anyone should have done that.”

“Then you haven’t met “anyone.” Chrys laughed. “So, thank you. Now, come on! Open it.”

Her tone rose to a playful tease, a permission he hadn’t realized he’d needed. One last look, committing his first present to his memory bank before taking hold of the end of the ribbon between two fingers and giving it a gentle tug. The bow fell apart easily, and with bated breath, he removed the lid.

“Wha….?” His smile faltered at what he saw, reaching inside to take hold of its contents, the item dwarfed against the size of his palm.

It was a friendship bracelet.

An actual friendship bracelet. Not like the craft ones he made with the kids, full of dried macaroni and cheap clay. No, this one was made with skill, set with different stones all reflecting shades of gold and red, with a single metal charm in the shape of a Sun dangling at the center of the pattern.

“The kinda orangy-peachy looking ones are Sunstones, the red ones are Carnelian, and the gold, sparkly ones are Gold Sandstone. I thought they suited you.”

He couldn’t speak. The coils around his voicebox tightened, and the rubber tubes that supplied oil to his eye sockets swelled. He couldn’t take his eyes off the simple, homemade piece of jewelry.

“… Sun?” Chrys’s voice drifted in from the corners of his awareness. “You alright? If you don’t like it, I can make you another, however you’d want.”

Her voice, now small and timid, drew his attention like nothing else could. He looked to her, pausing before he spoke.

“Like it?” He put all the emotion he could into his next words, wholly serious and full of intent. “I love it.”

The relief that flooded her face, crinkling her eyes and tugging her cheeks into a full-bodied grin, was a secondary gift he doubted even she knew she was giving him. His internal regulator which sat deep in his chest jolted and beat out of sync, sending tiny spasms throughout his endoskeleton.

She really was prettiest when she smiled.

“Oh, good! Had me worried there for a second.” She clapped her hands together.

He slipped it onto his right wrist, stretching the elastic thread holding it together to fit his hand through. It dangled comfortably around the ball of his wrist-joint, the smooth beads rolling around without catching or hindering his movements.

“Thank you, Sunshine. Thank you so much. It’s perfect.”

They shared a moment of warm silence together, him admiring how the light caught against the stones, while she simply took in his appreciation. It was her to first break the reverie, eyebrows shooting up as if remembering something.

“Oh, I, uh… I also made one for Moon too. His is made out of Moonstone, Blue Sandstone, and Opalite. And, you know, a Moon charm. Wouldn’t make much sense to give him a Sun one too.” She reached around her backside to tug at the zipper of her backpack, and pulled out an identical box to his, wrapped instead with a blue ribbon.

“Oh, I…” For a rare second, he was without words. He reached for the gift with reverence, taking it from Chrys’s hands with the same tenderness as one would a priceless artifact. “… He’s never received a gift before, either.”

Her cheeks flushed a lite shade of pink, making her freckles darken ever so slightly. “I-I thought I should give it to you, rather than wait to give it to him myself. Who knows when that’ll be, right? At the very least, I didn’t want to come across like I was leaving him out or something.”

She refused to look in his eyes, but by the way she tugged at the bottom hem of her shirt reminded him so much of when the kids would show him their pieces of art, he couldn’t help but chuckle, her bashful energy endearing.

“The fact that you thought of him at all is gift enough. Don’t worry, I’ll be sure he gets it.”

Propping open one of the many pocket openings in his pants, he slid the box in, giving it a quick pat from the outside to ensure it settled in there nice and secure. Moon will be blown away when he wakes up to find this, he was sure. Shame he’d have to miss seeing the look on his face when he opened it.

A wave of relief washed over him, a balm to the tension he held throughout his joints, and he let the feeling settle into his limbs. This was something precious, something new. For one, blissful moment, nothing really was wrong. He wasn’t in trouble. And both he and his brother were remembered, thought of, appreciated. Thanks… to her.

This bracelet, at least for him, was more than just a token. It would be a reminder. A reminder that they existed to someone outside these walls. That they mattered. He couldn’t bear the thought of taking it off, and as he took a second glance at it, shining against his wrist, he determined he’d just have to be extra, extra careful with it whenever he was working. Maybe Moon would wear his on their other wrist, and they could both enjoy the gifts together! His rays spun, face lighting up as he imagined it.

A loud “ping” from his arm shattered his daydream, drawing both their attention. Startled, Sun accepted the incoming page before checking who it was that was calling.

“Sundrop.” The voice on the other end sounded terse, but not angry—a blessing, given whom the voice belonged to. He switched it to speaker mode, to include Chrys in as well.

“O-Officer Vanessa!” He forced a smile into his voice.

“Last minute scheduling change. We’ve got a Birthday party this afternoon. The Daycare’s PM shift has been canceled, and all parents of the regulars have been called. Start setting up for a level 3, access has been granted for the additional supplies. Guests will be arriving starting at two.”

He stared at his arm, processing, before exploding in a fit of joy.

A birthday party? In the Daycare?!? There hasn’t been one of those in months!

His hands flapped, and he jumped from one foot to the other. Oh, there was so much to do, so much to prepare! He’d have to rearrange the entire daycare, and pull out all the locked decorations from the storeroom! Blow up balloons, hang streamers. Oh! Grab the banner, that was paramount. They’d also need—

“Sundrop.”

“Oh!” He’d gotten distracted again. “Yes?”

“Is that Miss Chrysanthemum I see standing there with you?”

He froze. It was all too easy to forget about the cameras, given their relatively new installation. He turned, looking toward the multiple points on the ceiling from where they might be actively being watched from, knowing full well the answer was all of them. From the corner of his eye, he saw Chrys look and find the cameras too.

“Uh, yes, it is. She just got here!”

“Good. Before you get started, send her over to the security desk. She and I need to have a little chat.”

With a click of finality, the call ended.

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kelpan · 6 months

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Yeeeaaahhhh, I saw this and IMMEDIATELY bought him and Lunar from their Etsy. They're perfect 😍😍😍

ECLIPSE PINS UP IN SHOP! FINALLLLYYY!!!🎉

Don't you want a little guy? To look over you? To judge you? To take over the world with you??? Or maybe you want to scare your Lunar pin by adding him to your collection.

EITHER WAY find him at my shop HERE

#nekoyaki boutique #the sun and moon show #tsams #sun and moon show #reblogs #etsy

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kelpan · 6 months

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The executive dysfunction demons have released me for the time being, and I can now make this post which I've been meaning to since May. Whoopsie 😅

Seeing these decals everyday when I get into my car brings me a stupid amount of joy, and they've lasted all summer without losing a drop of color. @madcatscookiejar did a fantastic job on them, and I adore the extra art they threw in with my purchase, along with the personalized piece they made of my OC Chrysanthemum as an apology for the post office making a dumb.

Check out their Etsy shop should you want one of these bad boys for your car too! They've got other characters as well!

#fnaf fandom #fnaf fanart #fnaf sun and moon #fnaf security breach #etsy #fnaf original character #I just want to express how much I love this art ok #fnaf dca #moon fnaf #moondrop #sun fnaf #sundrop #Mcfreaking adore their style

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kelpan · 6 months

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I'm not gonna lie, I'm actually pretty proud of this chapter. With it, we're about halfway through what I would consider Act 1. Just a bit more to get set in place before we can dive into the thick of things.

Enjoy!

Credit for the OC Chrysanthemum headshot goes to wwispie on Etsy! (Instagram of the same name)

Ao3: Petals on a Stream of Stars

Act 1, Chapter 7: Dancing is Good for the Soul

Tuesday

10:30 PM

Chrysanthemum

With weight properly centered, Chrys bent her knees and lowered her body in a gradual descent towards the floor, keeping her feet flat and pointed out. Rising up, she trailed her fingertips up through the air in a lyrical arch, slow and steady and controlled. Once more, down low, back straight, fingers floating towards the ground before settling over her belly, held barely a breath apart.

Over and over again she repeated the warm-up, her aching muscles releasing stuck tension with every deliberate dip. She held firm to the bar beside her, something solid to keep her balanced and grounded as her mind slipped into comfortable muscle memory. While she was no stranger to exercise, it had been years since she tried to keep up with a dozen, over-energized kids for hours at a time, and they’d left her winded. She’d be stiff and sore come morning if she didn’t try to work out some of the kinks while she could.

Tipping forward, she trailed her fingers out in front of her, grazing along the floor, letting her non-dominant leg tilt in opposition towards the ceiling until it could go no higher, toes kept delicately pointed. Returning to center, she repeated the motion, this time facing the other direction, swiveling to switch onto the opposite arm and leg.

Ballet had always been a sturdy foundation for her. Something to keep her moving, when all she wanted to do was flop onto the couch and stay there for the rest of the evening. It may be a struggle for her to devote much effort to self-care nowadays, but ballet didn’t count. It was fun. Relaxing. A reliable escape.

She didn’t dare spare a glance to the music stand and electric piano tucked out of the way in the farthest corner. That form of escape had been… off limits for some time now.

In its absence, Dr. Libby had taught her breathing exercises, meditation techniques, the works. More “holistic” techniques than a New Age magazine could shove in its pages. They were all fine, she supposed, and sure to be helpful for some people. Just not her. If she spent too long with just her thoughts for company, they’d serve only to grow louder and threaten to break free. The last thing she needed were for those demons to be the ones running the show. Who knows what trouble she’d find herself in then.

No, what she needed was to get her lungs pumping, to work-up a thin sheen of sweat. Only by physically shaking off her thoughts did they actually start to feel more manageable, and less like a monster waiting in the dark.

Stepping out to the middle of the studio, her canvas ballet slippers skirted across the rubber padded floor soundlessly.

“Alexandra, play “No Thoughts, Head Empty” playlist”.

Chrys’s voice bounced around the empty, mirrored room, the acoustics amplified without any soft goods to absorb it. An automated voice confirmed her command, followed by sharp violin notes which shot through the surround sound speakers, cutting the air and settling in her chest. Once drums and a fast-paced brass orchestra joined in, jazzy and powerful, Chrys let go, and released herself to the music.

A side step. A kick. A twirl. Kneeling on the floor. Rolling over sideways. Standing upright. Arms thrown out in front of her, reaching. Back to her chest.

Her body knew what it needed. Which emotions lived where. All she had to do was let it work its own way out. She relished in the lack of control, in moving however felt right. Muscles flexing and relaxing in turn, it was in here that she felt strong. Safe. What she wouldn’t give to live every minute of the day in this quiet pocket of space and time, where real life didn’t exist. Just her, and the music.

But that would never be. Reality would inevitably rear its head, demanding she return to the world. Whether to eat, or sleep, or to attend to other needs, it didn’t matter. She’d have to leave her safe space one way or another. Pity that “socializing” was deemed as one of those basic human needs, according to her therapist. That woman would never stop urging her to get out more, no matter how little appeal the notion held.

Least she could now report that her “trouble” client finally got a job, and wasn’t a complete failure. Perhaps their next telehealth appointment might go better than the last. A small blessing, Chrys supposed.

But what would her well-intentioned doctor think of the new job, though? Would she approve? Funny how her little ploy to get her to “interact with more people” meant she’d be spending the majority of her time with an inorganic robot instead. Ironic, really.

Though, maybe it still counted. Be harder to convince her he wasn’t a person after spending the whole day with him. He walked, talked, acted like any other human being you’d encounter on the street. Well, maybe not any human. No one had as much exuberance and energy as he did, by far.

In fact, the more she thought about it, the more right it felt. In less than 24 hours he’d seen more of her inner vulnerability than she’d let her own therapist see over a span of twelve months, a feat Chrys would have never have seen coming. Something about him just felt so welcoming and… and genuine. Like being with a real friend again.

“Geez. I’m not that starved for attention… am I? Ugh.” She grunted to no one.

The heavy, aggressive song ended, switching to one more somber and sad, full of string instruments and piano. Chrys gave into the pulls of her body again, letting it move along to the rhythm without direct input on her part. Her mind floated to the more uncomfortable recesses of her mind as she danced languidly about the room.

She’d cried today. More than cried, she’d had a panic attack. Over something as stupid as thinking she’d get fired. What did she really stand to lose? She didn’t need the money, and it wasn’t like she’d become invested in the place yet. She scrunched her face as flashes of the moment forced their way to the forefront of her mind’s eye. How pathetic she must have looked, freaking out like that. Anyone else would have probably reported her to their supervisor then and there, getting her fired regardless. No one would want to put up with a blubbering mess, and she wouldn’t have blamed them.

Not Sun though.

Sun was calm with her. Spoke softly, kindly, bringing her back to earth without judging her. He just… cared. He helped.

And because of that, here she was, actually looking forward to going back to that place come tomorrow morning. A novel concept, really, though not an unpleasant one.

Was this what it was to start to heal? To move on? To remember how it was to actually laugh again, and mean it?

Guess the only way to find out would be to see this through.

Thoroughly out of breath, Chrys panted her words, instructing the music to stop and walked over towards the door where she’d left a cup of water on the top of a storage cabinet. She drank deep, enjoying the sensation of the cool water spreading through her stomach. Taking in the room, her eyes settled on her reflection multiplied across the mirrors lining one wall.

It was her mother who stared back.

Same shade of deep, dark red hair. Same long, slender limbs, centered around wide hips. Same oval face, and light skin sprinkled with freckles across her nose and cheekbones. The only feature she inherited from her father were her eyes–a bright, striking green. The last shred of evidence proving he ever existed.

Setting down the now empty glass, Chrys clicked off the light and left the room, walking down the hallway towards the bathroom. She’d need a shower before she turned in for the night.

What would they think about their little girl now, she wondered? Hard to say for her Dad. As the years passed, remembering his mannerisms, his voice, his face, became almost neigh-on impossible. The curse of creating memories when one was so young. But her mom… her mom would have been happy, clapping her hands together and simply proud of her for hitting a goal. She’d never been picky about when to celebrate her daughter; Any little thing that could be a win, was a win.

Too bad they’d never get to share in any of those wins together anymore.

Stepping into the bathroom, Chrys flicked on the overhead fan and light, illuminating the white tiled room. She stripped out of her well-worn dance attire, and went to the glass enclosed standing shower to get the water going. After a second or two to allow the temperature to rise, Chrys stepped into the shower, letting the hot water and steam wash away her earlier exertions.

In the hazy air, without the distraction of movement, Chrys’s mind drifted further. She wished she could tell her mother about her day, to talk about how crazy it was to be working with a robot, and how much she found she liked it. Coming home to this giant empty house, that had been far too big for just the two of them even when they’d first moved in, was the epitome of loneliness. The pervasive silence made it abundantly clear that this was not a home any longer, only a house. A single, oversized farmhouse with an equally large barn, on miles and miles of uninhabited, forested land. A single island of shelter in a sea of isolation.

If she’d had siblings, maybe things would be better. But Dad had passed before they’d had another, and Mom never remarried. For as long as she could remember, it was just her and Mama. And the children Mama nannied.

But for a while there, she thought she’d found a brother. Someone her age to grow up with, the son of a wealthy businessman. It didn’t matter to her that she got to stay in his family’s mansion while her mother looked after him. Spending time with him, exploring the gardens, staring up at the clouds and watching stars twinkle together without a care in the world, dreaming of what they were going to do once they grew up, were the highlights of her younger years.

And now even he had abandoned her too.

Chrys’s fingers worked through her tangled, wavy locks, lathering up the shampoo and washing it out under the waterfall shower-head. She closed her eyes and held her nose, lifting her face towards the falling droplets and letting them roll across her face.

Sun had mentioned having a brother, Chrys remembered, as she moved out from under the water and wiped clear her eyes. A twin, he’d said. She had a difficult time trying to imagine what a twin of Sun would look like. As a robot, wouldn’t a twin be an identical copy? Wasn’t that how mass producing things worked? But that didn’t fit the reputation of Fazbear Entertainment. Every commercial screamed how unique and advanced their animatronics were. Wouldn’t make much sense to invest all those resources into a basic carbon copy.

Not all twins are identical, though. What if this was more akin to a fraternal situation, where they were related, but still their own person? That seemed more likely. She grabbed the bottle of conditioner off the shelf and squeezed a dollop into her hand, rubbing it into the ends of her hair and working it up through the strands from the bottom. She’d let it sit and soak in while she washed the rest of her body.

What had Sun said his name was, again? Moondrop? How on the nose, to have a sun and a moon as a pair of siblings. Day and night, light and dark, yin and yang. Following that train of thought though, what might he be like? She tried to envision the polar opposite of Sun. If he was loud, playful, over-the-top; Would Moon be quiet and reserved then? Mysterious? Or mischievous? With the kids involved, she doubted Fazbear would make him too dark, despite his namesake. Kids loved tricks and treats, not monsters, especially when it came to trying to get them to go to sleep.

Turning off the faucet, the water falling from above slowed to barely a trickle, and Chrys exited the shower stall, careful to stand only on the mat so that she didn’t leave puddles everywhere as she dried off. She slipped into her cotton pajamas, grateful to her earlier self for having the good sense to put them there beforehand, and made her way to the kitchen for the last step in her nightly routine.

She found her electric kettle right where it always sat, in its place of honor at the kitchen counter. With a quick browse of her stock, she settled on a simple classic; Chamomile tea for easy sleep with honey. Soon, steam rose from the ceramic mug, too hot to attempt a sip, but not enough to keep from enjoying the warmth that seeped into her hands, comforting amidst the growing chill in the house. The cuckoo clock clicked away the seconds as the wind picked up, rattling the window panes outside. A storm was likely working its way in.

Chrys stared into the cooling liquid, as if the answers to her thoughts were hiding there, the answers she’d avoided seeking until the last minute. Who was that she’d met when the lights went out in the storeroom? He’d startled her, sure, but could she blame him? She’d been foolish to bolt in the dark like that. If it hadn’t been for him leaping to her rescue, no doubt she’d be in the hospital right now, if she even lived to make it that far. She shuddered to think of how badly that would have hurt, to be so unlucky as to have been caught under that avalanche of heavy paint cans.

Yet, at the crux of it, she knew who that was. Or, at least, her gut told her she did. Moon. It had to have been him. Why else would he seem so eerily similar, so like Sun? She’d managed to mistake the two of them for goodness sake. And as dim as it was, she knew what she saw, even if only for a moment—that crescent-moon face was undeniable.

But there were still too many unknowns for her to be confident in her conclusion. Why had he been there at all? Was it just because the power went out? Did that send some sort of signal throughout the building? It would make sense then that security would be sent to check it out. Though, if that was the case, why didn’t he say anything earlier? It was as if he was trying to remain unseen.

…Maybe he was.

Chrys chewed at her lip, sensing where her mind was going before she could, the answer waiting just on the tip of her tongue. Then, it all clicked, the epiphany ringing through her mind like a bell, causing her to sputter into her drink.

Their locations. They didn’t add up.

The last she’d seen, Sun had left to search the left side of the room.

He came back on the right.

The same direction Moon had left the room from seconds earlier, and hadn’t returned.

Chrys coughed up the liquid that had managed to fall down the wrong tube in her throat, setting the mug down onto the counter while she leaned against it for support. What did this mean? She saw the correlation clear as day, just not the causation. Sure, there was a chance there were connecting tunnels between the two, but that didn’t fit well into the time-frame, not to mention the fact that they should have run into the other along the way. So, unless there were some super secret robot abilities she was not privy to, moving to two different locations without intersecting in the middle shouldn’t be physically possible.

At least, not for two individual people.

No. No, this was crazy, even for a larger-than-life family entertainment center. Her imagination must be getting away from her. And yet… what if. What if this wasn’t a case of fraternal twins, like she’d first assumed. Or even identical. What if… they were conjoined?

She had no idea how that would be possible. Or ethical, given that they were technically made, rather than born. But, still… something told her she was onto something here.

There’d be no easy way to find out, of course, unless she decided to ask Sun about it point blank. With the nervous way in which he tip-toed around talking about the very subject of his brother, however, Chrys had a sneaking suspicion that doing so would be the wrong way to go about it. Still… she wasn’t without options. There were other ways to test her theory, though none as upfront or honest. She should just let it go, leave the thought be. It wasn’t that big of a deal if she knew their situation or not, nor was it really any of her business.

A terse voice flitted into the back of her mind, urging her to reconsider. The same voice that came to her whenever the nightmares visited, the one that always spoke to her in hushed, seething tones whenever she felt her lowest. Now, it whispered that she’d be a fool to accept such an uncertainty. That being so forgiving and trusting with someone she’d just met was far too dangerous to let slide. Didn’t she remember what happened last time? Didn’t she know all too well what dangers thrived through ignorance, no matter how innocent?

No, it… it was right. She had to know, if she were to continue in this job, that if she spoke to one, did she also speak to the other? Her heart ached at the idea of knowingly holding a secret motive towards an idea born originally out of thanks, especially towards someone who’d shown her such kindness, but the tension in her gut wouldn’t release until she gave in. For her own protection, she reassured herself, though the justification rang hollow even as she thought it. With a sigh, she consigned herself to another late night, leaving her mug of forgotten tea to grow tepid on the counter as she made her way down the hallway to her mother’s old craft room. One way or another, she’d have the answers she sought, one way or another.

There’s no way they could be one and the same….right?

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kelpan · 7 months

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Ao3: Petals on a Stream of Stars

Credit for the commissioned Chrysanthemum headshot goes to wwispie on Etsy! Check out their instagram page to see some of their other amazing works!

I'm having so much fun writing this, but I'd be lying if I said this chapter didn't give me a run for my money! Trying to describe shit in the dark is hard lol

As always, enjoy!

Act 1, Chapter 6: An Unintended Encounter

Tuesday

12:30 PM

Chrysanthemum

“Ahh!” Chrys gasped as the world around her plunged to black, her fingers pressing reflexively into the box she’d been digging through, creating crescent-shaped indents in the cardboard.

“SCcccrrrreeeeaaAAAAAGGGHHHH!!!”

A shrill scream ripped through the abyss, startling her to her core. That was Sun’s voice, she was sure, but it sounded as if he was in agony, struggling. His voice mingled and warped between octaves, rippling with a metallic grinding, though muffled with distance. A cold sweat broke out along her hairline, and her mind raced to come up with any sort of reasonable explanation as to what was happening.

“Sun? Sun, what’s going on?? Are you alright? Sun!!!”

His wailing continued, anguished and garbled, devoid of any discernible words, and too far away for her to offer any real help. She’d sure try though, even if there was ultimately nothing she could do. She was not going to leave someone to suffer alone in the dark, that was for damn sure. Ignoring the pleadings of the tiny voice in the back of her mind urging her to be cautious, she pushed off from the shelf she’d been clinging to as an anchor and reached her arms out blind, seeking anything to guide herself with.

“D-Don’t worry, I’m coming!”

The screaming faded then, to more of a distorted grumble, trailing off until she could no longer hear it at all. The air grew heavier with each passing second, the silence full of foreboding. She needed to hurry.

Steeling her nerves, she picked up the pace. Using touch alone, she maneuvered her way through rows of shelves, step by careful step, whacking a hip or a knee every so often against a shelf corner or wayward object on the floor. Her skin prickled at the minor abuse, but she paid it no mind.

“Sun?” she called out again, projecting her voice out as far as she could into the ether. “Sun, come on, say something! You’re really worrying me here!”

Nothing. She paused, and held her breath, trying to better hear even the most minuscule of sounds. Anything that might tell her he was alright. Or at least where he was. She was all thumbs here in the dark here and she knew it.

Wait—there! Her breathing hitched. She heard it; The soft clicking of gears. The tiny jingle of a bell. All sounds she’d come to associate as distinctly Sunny.

He wasn’t far, just ahead of her by the sounds of it. Without further hesitation, she took off, following in the direction they’d come from, until it was that the clicks sounded from behind her instead.

Wait, hold on. Where is he?

Turning around, she slowed down, and searched the area more thoroughly. Hard to discern much of anything when she felt nothing, but she couldn’t give up. With eyes closed, she attempted to let her ears lead her again.

Yet still, she couldn’t find him.

Brows knitting together, she double-checked herself a third time, certain that exactly where she stood were where the sounds were loudest. He had to be right here. So why couldn’t she find him? Another bell jingle sounded, this time almost purposeful… and directly above her.

Adrenaline spiking, freezing her in place, she tipped her head back, eyes inching to the ceiling. Dread filled her belly, churning with uncertainty. Still, she forced herself to look, if only just to know. And there, staring right back at her, were a pair of sharp, glowing red eyes, ominous in the blackness as they hung from above.

“Oh gods!”

She shrieked, a shrill and high-pitched sound, fear skyrocketing through her. There was no time to think, but her mind knew one thing absolute; Sun’s eyes were blue. Not red.

That wasn’t Sun.

Chrys bolted, any direction better than staying still, completely forgetting the dangers of her environment. Even with hands held in front, there was little she could do to stop herself from careening over a wayward tub, taking her out at the knees and sending her sprawling to the floor.

Her chin hit the concrete first with a painful “thud”, the rest of her body continuing on overtop, sending her backside into something hard and metal. Dazed on the cold concrete floor, Chrys could only register a slight creaking sound from behind, before a cacophony of sliding metal tins grew into a crescendo, an eruption of discord disorienting her further.

“Hey, watch it!”

A dark, synthetic voice shouted out amidst the din, followed by rapid, jingling footsteps, stopping only once they reached her. A hard force met a moving object, and the chorus of metal ended, with just the occasional small clangs of tins falling off to the side, away from her.

Her eyes creaked open, prepared to be met with blindness. But thanks to a red glow, Chrys could finally see—see the paint cans hovering precariously along the edge of a metal storage shelf, tipped and ready to fall right on top of her, if not for someone holding it back.

The very same someone whose eyes emitted the red glow.

He stood above and pushed the shelf back safely into place; the glow casting an almost negligible amount of light, but just enough. He straightened, and Chrys could hear multiple cans tumble off to the side, falling from his back. Being careful to step around her, he pulled away, and knelt above her head, the two orbs sweeping over her with precision.

“Injury detected. Superficial—acute swelling, possible minor contusion. Does it hurt anywhere else?”

The eyes blinked down at her as he spoke, his concerned voice blanketing over her, low and gravelly, and all-together new to her. She remained silent, too stunned to speak. As her eyes adjusted in the minimal light, she made out a vague but recognizable shape around one of his eyes, like that of a crescent…

“Staff unresponsive.” He spoke again, snapping her from her trance. “Wait here. I’ll get someone who can actually help. You’ll be alright.”

The eyes swung upwards and walked away, leaving her where she was. Whether the idea of being by herself once more in the dark rattled her, or curiosity towards her unknown savior took hold, she rolled over and raised her head, ignoring the throb of pain that shot through her jaw at the shift in gravity.

“Wait! I—”

The eyes stopped and swiveled to face her, and if she wasn’t seeing things, crinkled, giving a compassionate look to them.

“Just stay there, Starlight. Don’t want to risk you running off again. Who knows how you might try to get yourself killed next time.”

And then they were gone, the jingles and clicks fading into empty air.

Chrys remained on the floor, thoughts reeling. The cold concrete underneath her kept the flush from her skin while she caught her breath and calmed down. She checked her chin, feeling the growing puffiness and tenderness there. Didn’t think it was bad enough to cause any lasting damage, but she’d likely have a bruise come tomorrow morning.

Her mind replayed this new animatronic’s voice over in her head. At least, she imagined that’s who it was. Hard to believe anything other than a robot taking that kind of hit and walking away from it like it was nothing.

But something about him stood out to her. Something… familiar, yet different. She’d have to think about it more later, as the pain in her jaw grew into a pounding drumbeat which radiated through her jaw and bore into her skull. She let her head rest on the floor, grateful for the iciness of the concrete. After a few moments of peaceful quiet, the lights above blared to life, and she recoiled from the sudden brightness.

“Sunshine? Sunshine!?” Sun’s voice called out to her from the opposite end of the room, mirroring her own calls to him earlier. “Sunshi—Oh my stars, Chrys!” She spotted him bounding out from around a corner, rushing right for her the moment their eyes made contact.

“Oh, Sunshine, are you alright? Oh, look at you, you’re hurt! What happened? What is this mess? I—nevermind, it doesn’t matter, this never should have happened in the first place. I’m so, so sorry, this is all my fault, I should have been more careful, I should have—”

“Sun, it’s alright! I’m alright, I’m ok.”

She couldn’t listen to any more of his self-deprecating reassurances, his panicked face causing her chest to constrict almost painfully. His hands were frantic as they looked her over, stopping only once she attempted to pull herself into a sitting position, insistent on helping to support her.

“Careful, careful! Go slow, Sunshine.”

She let him gently hold up her back as her equilibrium adjusted. Her first instinct was to jump right into interrogating him, find out just what in the heck had happened to him when the lights turned off, her anxiety over his wellbeing coming back in a rush. But given that he was here, alive, well, and in one piece as far as she could tell, she decided against it. Something told her she wouldn’t be getting a direct answer out of him anytime soon.

“Just, uh, just me being a clutz and not looking where I was going. I should have been more careful.”

He raised a single, filigreed brow at her, disbelief written clear across his face.

“Really, that’s all. ” His gaze grew pointed. “I promise! Now, mind helping me up, please?”

“Oh! Yes, yes, of course.”

She gave him her hand, but he ignored it, reaching instead to slide his arms under her knees and around her shoulders, hoisting her up as if she weighed nothing at all. A rosy redness bloomed across her cheeks, unrelated to her injury, and she suppressed a squeak, too flustered to come up with something more eloquent to say.

“W-Woah, what are you doing?”

“Helping you up. This is my fault, and I’m going to take responsibility for it. Now come on, let’s get you to the Daycare’s first aid station.”

Without waiting for her to respond, he turned and marched towards the entrance, his hold on her allowing no room for protest. After a moment, she gave in, and relaxed into his arms, resting her head against his chest. His smooth frame emitted a slight warmth, different from the coolness she had expected, given what she knew he was made of. With her adrenaline waning, a new thought appeared, almost making her laugh aloud at the absurdity of it.

“Hey, Sun?” Chrys asked, with soft mirth.

“Hmm?” He replied, eyes trained ahead.

“Did you ever find the snacks?”

He dead stopped, staring at her as if she’d said the most ridiculous thing, before finally, his eyes relaxed some, and he chuckled awkwardly.

“Hope all this was worth it for some goldfish and PBJs.”

Their shared croak of laughter broke them free of any lingering tension in the air, leaving space for a growing ease to settle between them. An ease Chrys found both comforting and… surprisingly safe.

She smiled.

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kelpan · 7 months

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Our first Sundrop POV chapter!!! Enjoy this precious, handsome boi! :D

Credit for this commissioned Sundrop Headshot goes to wwispie on Etsy! As their shop is closed at the moment, check 'em out on Instagram by the same name! Their art is absolutely incredible!

Might be a little bit 'till we reach Moon's first POV chapter, but that headshot will be ready and waiting until then!

Ao3: Petals on a Stream of Stars

Act 1, Chapter 5: A Quest for Snacks

Tuesday

12:00 PM

Sundrop

Sun’s motors whirred as he waved goodbye to the last of his little sunspots, content to watch them all run off, giggling and screaming under the watchful eye of the two human staff members in charge of handling lunch today. He released a deep exhale, his body slumping forward, shoulders drooped and arms dangling. He loved his little sunspots, he really did—but he just did not have the battery to keep up with them all today!

Not like he ever seemed to have much of a full battery anymore, but still.

Turning about on his heel, he made his way over to the security desk, and grabbed a bottle of disinfectant spray stored there, along with a clean towel. No time to waste dragging feet; The Daycare wasn’t going to clean itself.

He’d start over at the gym mats, he decided, given how many running, sniffling noses he’d noticed during tumble-time today. Spring allergies must be hitting the kids pretty hard this season. He wouldn’t be surprised if a few of his regulars started calling out sick soon.

He sprayed and wiped down every tiny vinyl nook and cranny, refusing to allow even one speck of germ-riddled dirt to remain for the next group of kids to find. Humans were such fragile, susceptible things. A clean environment was crucial to ensure all his kids would grow up to be big and strong!

After he’d finished, he spared a glance to arts and crafts, and spotted his new coworker still hard at work re-organizing and cleaning her section, just like he’d asked her to. Already she’d done better than the others who Fazbear tried to shove in the position. Everyone else had been far more concerned with their phones to even consider interacting with the kids, and Sun knew upper management was getting tired of having to find new hires to fill the role. If there was ever a staff member he needed to ensure he made a good impression on, it was her.

A soft melody floated through the air from her direction, sweet and enticing for such simple notes, the sound commanding he stop and listen. She sang under her breath, too quiet for his audio detection system to make out clearly. The song was light, and cheery, but held a curious note of sadness to it. Wanting to hear more, he made his way over after putting away his cleaning supplies, careful to be soft-footed lest he interrupt.

He managed to walk right up to her from behind without her noticing. After waiting a minute, to avoid coming across as awkward, he attempted to announce his presence as subtly as he could.

“Why, don’t you have a pretty voice!” he said, injecting his voice in the space where she stopped to breathe.

Chrysanthemum jolted on the spot, her shoulders snapping up to attention. She whipped about to face him, her sharp, bright green eyes shooting daggers.

“Jiminy Crickets! God, Sun, don’t scare me like that!”

She clutched a hand to her chest, breathing hard. He flashed an apologetic smile, rays tilted backwards, and held his hands up in surrender.

“Sorry! Sorry!” He lowered his hands once she relaxed some. “Won’t happen again”. He gestured to the side with his thumb. “So, how goes it? Do you need any help?”

She gave him one more half-hearted, pointed stare before turning her focus back to the sea of tiny tables and chairs.

“No, not really, it’s all done. I just put the last of it away a second ago.”

“Ah, perfect! That’s wonderful.” He stood tall, with his hands on his hips, surveying the space with satisfaction. “I’d say it looks great! Thank you for helping. Why don’t you go ahead and take your lunch break now, get a couple of extra minutes of rest before the next shift rolls around. I’ll finish up the rest on my own.”

Her brows crinkled. “My lunch break? Oh, yeah. Right. Should probably eat something, that’d be smart.” She looked around the room, and tapped her arm. “Hey, are you sure you don’t need another hand? I’m happy to keep going, you know, if there are things that still need done.” Though she smiled, she appeared tense. Something was off.

“That’s very sweet of you.” He said, picking his words carefully. “But no, I’ve got this. Go take care of yourself. I insist.”

Her smile faded as she listened, and she looked aside. He waited for her to speak first. She’d tell him whatever was on her mind when she was ready.

“I… didn’t think to bring anything with me.” She mumbled, as if embarrassed. “Wasn’t thinking that far ahead.” Her voice rose in pitch. “B-But, it’s fine! I can just wait until I get back home later to eat. It’s no big deal.”

He recoiled. “And go that long without fuel? Oh no, no, no, I don’t think so! Kids forget their snacks all the time. Come on, come with me. We’ll find you something to eat!”

He reached straight for her wrist and tugged, guiding her towards the door. She squeaked in weak protest, but he held firm. Only once he saw she would follow of her own accord did he let go.

Out the Daycare and down the hall, he led them to the main crossroads on this side of the building. They walked in silence, the only sound to accompany their footsteps the jingle of the belled ribbons tied to his wrists. Sun watched Chrys stare at her surroundings with interest, and his features relaxed. To see an adult look at his world with eyes like that of a child was… refreshing.

Before long, they reached the first landmark, a large central staircase connecting multiple levels to the rest of the pizzaplex. Once they’d begun to climb the first few steps, a loud thudding noise echoed from out in the distance, each thud reverberating through to the floor. Chrys stopped in her tracks, head swiveling from side to side, stray strands of her red, wavy hair bouncing from the movement.

“Hey, don’t worry,” He chimed in, sensing her unease. “That’s just another animatronic. The others aren’t as, uh… light on their feet as I am. Have you met any of them yet?”

She shook her head no, her discomfort clear. He placed what he hoped was a reassuring hand behind her back, floating just a hair above to keep from actually touching, and kept them both moving until they reached the top of the stairs. Upon reaching the next level, he received an alert on his internal monitor, detecting movement approaching from the left. His rays fell the instant he saw who it was that stepped into the light.

Of course it had to be Monty.

“Well, well!” The Gator perked as he spotted them in turn. “Looky there! Vitamin D, I ain’t never seen you out the Daycare anymore! What’s it been, weeks? Months? Not that I blame ya, ya know, after all that uh… mess. Uh, so! How ya been? Kids recovering?”

Sun tensed, his fists tightening at his sides. This was not the time, nor the place to be talking about that day, especially with such nonchalance.

And in front of her.

Sun grit his teeth, doubling down on his composure as Monty clunked over, his green and yellow endo-skeleton shell polished to a shine.

“Our kids are just fine, thank you very much. I suggest you be more concerned with the kids in your own sector. Heard another fell into the river again. Didn’t they almost drown?”

“Ay now, not my fault if the pizzaplex didn’t install a safety railing!” He pointed a fat, clawed finger at his face. “Don’t you dare accuse me of being neglectful. Those kids are way safer with me than they are with you and your slash-happy brother over at the—”.

“Shut it!”

Sun darted, slapping Monty’s finger away and shoved his own towards Monty’s snout.

“You don’t get to talk about him like that, you hear me? Why don’t do us all a favor and go find some random display stand to destroy. Just as long as you leave us alone, we’re busy.”

Too little too late, Sun realized the error it was to reference Chrys in front of Monty the moment he saw those arrogant red eyes pan down to hers, shifting from rage to confusion to mischief. Sun sidled his hand slightly in front of her, a silent word of warning.

“Aye, wait a tic, who’s this? You steal a newbie or something, Sun? Heh, didn’t think you had it in you. What’s your name, cutie?”

Monty leaned down low, circumnavigating him. Sun kept his eyes trained on Monty’s every movement, ready to respond the moment Monty overstepped—which he always did.

From the corner of his eye, Chrys stiffened, her heart-rate rising enough to ping his monitor.

“Um, Chrys. My name is Chrys.” She said, voice shaky.

Monty flashed his bleached row of sharp, pointed teeth. “Chris? That’s funny. Is that a common human name or something? Seems we got a lot of those on staff. Can’t say it's my favorite, one of them is a righteous pain in my ass. Literally. Though you are the prettiest outta all of them here by far.” He took Chrys’s hand in his own without asking, and raised it to the tip of his snout, pressing to it a makeshift kiss. “Pleased to meet ya.”

That does it!!!

With force, he grabbed Monty’s wrist and squeezed, breaking his hold on Chrys’s fingers and shoved him away, sending the staggered gator backward a few steps.

“Hey! The fuck? What the hell is your problem???”

“Language, Montgomery. You know that kind of behavior isn’t appropriate”.

“Oh, come off it! Ain’t no kids here. I was just being polite with a lady. You got a problem with that?”

Sun stood firm in the face of Monty’s bared teeth. It paid to be one of the few animatronics in the ‘Plex with height advantage, especially given Monty’s reputation for acts of violence. “If being “polite” means harassing my assistant, then yes, I have a problem with it. Keep. Your. Hands. To. Yourself.”

Monty stared him down, before breaking the terse silence with a grunt and a roll of his eyes.

“I wasn’t… I was just… Gah. Whatever, Sun, have it your way. But you listen to me, filly,” He broke eye contact with him and looked at Chrys. “This one may look all brave now, but just you wait. When push comes to shove, he’ll freeze like a deer in headlights, leaving you all alone to drown. And ain’t nobody gonna come save you. ‘Specially not me.”

He emphasized his words with a sharp thumb jab, before shoving past the two of them, muttering “outta my way” under his breath.

Neither Chrys nor he moved until he had disappeared from sight, his heavy footsteps fading to a disturbed silence.

Arrogant lizard.

Sun took a deep breath, in an effort to reground himself. He couldn’t let Monty’s antics get any more of a rise out of him than they’d already had.

He turned to Chrys, examining her features for any lingering signs of distress. She looked him right in the eye, her cheeks dry and mouth set in a straight line. Not great, but better than the tears he’d anticipated.

“Miss Chrys? Are you alright?”

She refused to speak, instead continuing to stare at him with a blank expression. Her heart rate had fallen to a more appropriate level, but still remained higher than her baseline. She didn’t seem frightened, or upset, leaving Sun at a loss as to how to navigate this situation. Had he frightened her? Was she uncomfortable now? The gears in his gut clenched at the thought of her taking the Gator’s words to heart.

“I-I’m so sorry you had to see all that! Don’t let him get to you. Guy has no manners whatsoever.”

“Yeah. Thanks”. She said, arms held close to her, making her appear so small. She hooked a strand of hair with a single finger and fiddled with it. His rays drooped. The ease to which they’d interacted before seemed to be gone.

“Of course.” He said, reserved.

Sun gestured, and the two walked on in silence, him unable to resist looking over at her every few seconds. She kept her eyes to the floor, her face just as unreadable as before. Sun clamped a lid on his nerves, thinking it best to give her some space instead of forcing small talk.

Minutes passed, uncomfortable and drawn out, before Sun saw a light at the end of the tunnel; The marquee sign hanging above the entrance to the theater.

“Ah, h-here we are! It’s just a little further to the storeroom. Sorry for the bit of a walk, there’s no other way to go that has this much light.”

Chrys nodded her head, and ducked under his arm which held one of the heavy double doors open for her. It closed behind them with an unsettling click.

Chrys stood in the middle of the lobby, head tilted back as she took in the space. “Didn’t know the pizzaplex had a theater too.”

“Oh yes!” Sun said, guiding them down past the box office and into a red carpeted hallway littered with “staff only” signs on every door. “Plays, musicals, comedy, poetry readings, you name it! It’s catered more to the adults, but it’s been doing very well lately! It’s mostly just the staff who do the performances though. Saves money, apparently. Hey, maybe you could do something too! I heard that voice of yours, I bet you’d be fabulous at it!”

Chrys let out a conflicted chuckle, and turned away. “Uh, yeah. Sure.”

His shoulders dipped. He’d made a misstep again.

Following the carpet down the hall, they passed through a bare metal door, and entered out into a wide, concrete room, a stark contrast to the warm atmosphere of the theater.

“Welcome to the Storeroom!” Sun said, arms outstretched. They stood on a small, railed landing, connected to the center of the room by two small steps. An amalgamation of supplies sat littered about, some strewn across the floor, while some sat haphazard on the rows of shelving units filling the space. The fluorescent rod lights buzzed overhead.

“This space connects to multiple sectors of the Pizzaplex, so we all have to share it. All of the Daycare’s snacks should be right here!” Sun bounded off the railing and made a beeline for the leftmost corner. He popped open three different tubs, each causing him to frown once he’d looked inside.

“Ah. Seems as if someone has done some, uh, rearranging, since the last time I did a supply run. We might have to look a bit, but I’m sure all the snacks are still in here somewhere!”

With a nod of her head, Chrys stepped off to the side, peering around and into boxes without moving or jostling anything around too much. Her footsteps faded into the quiet of the room, her every movement gentle. Even with things that weren’t hers, she was careful, he noticed.

The sound of their individual shuffling filled the air, until his sensors picked up on the tiniest of voices.

“Hey, Sun?” Chrys asked, hands still on the flaps of a cardboard box.

“Y-yes?” He stopped what he was doing to devote his full attention to her, his coils wound tight in the seconds between.

“Who was Monty talking about? The one he called… slash-happy?”

Shoot.

He knew it was too much to hope that she’d forgotten that part. Sun chewed on his words for a moment, before releasing a sigh. Better to get this over with.

“Oh. Yes. Well, that would be… Moondrop. My uh, twin.”

He picked at his ball-joint knuckles. Her hands slid from the box to the shelf, where she let them rest, her brows furrowed as she looked at him.

“Your twin? I didn’t realize robots could have twins.”

He shrugged. “Built by the same person at the same time. Just like human twins.”

She nodded. “Guess that makes sense. Does he work in the daycare too, then?”

“Ah,” Sun tugged on one of his rays. “Yes and no. He’s in charge of naptime, but until the Midnight Garden is operational again, all naptimes have been suspended. He’s been… transferred to security for the time being.”

“Will I get to meet him?” She asked in a quiet voice.

He raised his gaze to hers, and hesitated before answering. In her he saw not a drop of judgment. No disgust. No fear. He matched her energy by letting his genuine emotions come through, without caring if he was being professional or not.

“I… imagine so. At some point.”

She smiled then, a widening of her lips that lit up her face. “If he’s anything like you, I think I’d like that.”

Sun’s own ever-present grin faltered, and his arms went limp. How can such a simple look hold such warmth and tenderness? He wanted to see it more, more than just this. She returned to the box she’d been originally rummaging through, as if she hadn’t just stunned him still.

With a hard shake of his head, he followed her lead and redirected his thoughts back to the task at hand. Focus! Based on the disorganized mess that was the Daycare’s shelves, he had little inclination to think that what they sought would be in any sort of logical spot. But the more he thought about it, the more he came to realize he might know of one plausible place to look; The lower dressing rooms. Perhaps the daycare’s food had been mistaken as a part of the theater’s concessions and moved there?

Checking to make sure Chrys would be alright before stepping out, Sun made his way through a series of shelves to the back half of the room, and found the connecting door to the basement-level dressing rooms propped open. Stepping inside, just as he suspected—and clearly labeled—were the boxes of snacks he used to help the kids stay energized between meals. Taking a quick perusal of his stock to ensure nothing was missing, he grabbed two strawberry uncrustable sandwiches and a bag of goldfish, tucking them securely in his pants pockets. Not the most nutritious meal, but better than nothing. He’d have to remember to come back after hours and return everything back to its proper locations.

As he turned around, the ripple of his reflection caught his eye, and he stopped to look at himself in the nearby vanity mirror. A hunched, rail thin, gangly figure in jester clothes stared back at him, the ruffled red and gold collar encircling his neck stuffy under such direct lighting. He’d never say it out loud, but he hated this outfit. Too fantastical, too outlandish, too… different. Sure, the kids like it, but often he’d wonder how bad it would be if he snuck some clothes from the gift shop, tried on something simple like a t-shirt, or sweatpants. Would some of the parents talk to him then, like a fellow adult? Or even some of the other staff members? As much as he hated to admit it, with Moon now… reassigned, he often found himself at a loss for company. Actual company. Where he could talk as himself. There were only so many safe topics he could share with the kids.

Least there was Chrys now. For however long she lasted before getting scared away, like had happened with all the others before her.

He’d just taken a step out of the room when his mind nagged at him to go back, that something wasn’t quite right. He shifted a half-step back, and looked around for anything off. It was then that it hit him; While he expected the main running lights overhead to be on, the room did appear far brighter than it usually did when not in use. The reason was easy to ascertain; Every single bare bulb circling the vanity mirrors was lit to full.

“Huh. That’s odd. Staff should know better than to leave those running. They’ll overheat and blow the fuse if left on too…”

Oh.

Oh no.

Oh nononononono!!

He dove for the table, fingers scrambling to find the light switch along the backside. Whether from the timing or his jostling, a low, ominous humming began to fill the room. The noise rose in volume, before climaxing into a booming CRACK that ricocheted and bounced off the walls.

The silence that followed was just as vast and endless as the darkness it brought.

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kelpan · 7 months

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Ao3: Petals on a Stream of Stars

Credit for the Chrysanthemum headshot goes to: wwispie on Etsy. Check 'em out on instagram by the same name!

Act 1, Chapter 4: A Sunny New Friend

Tuesday

07:00 AM

Chrysanthemum

…how I’ll fare?

Was that a threat? A joke? Didn’t sound like a joke. Didn’t sound like a joke at all.

“Miss Chrysanthemum?”

Of course they’d want her to start working immediately. Of course. How dumb of her to think otherwise. Should have known better. Should have thought ahead.

“Miss Chrysanthemum!”

What about training videos? Protocols? She could handle her way around kids, sure, but what was she supposed to do? Go at this cold turkey?!? A high-pitched ringing filled the entirety of her skull. Her lungs felt constricted, each intake of air forced and more desperate than the last. Her vision blurred.

I’m gonna mess up. I’m gonna mess up, and get fired, and sent home. Dumb little Chrys, messing everything up again. I’ll have deserved it. God, what if I accidentally hurt a kid? I can’t—

“MISS CHRYSANTHEMUM!”

“Ah—a!”

Sundrop’s loud shout broke through the overwhelming noise in her head, his hands holding her tight by the shoulders, the pressure acting as a grounding force. She blinked in rapid succession and gasped, taking in her surroundings.

“Miss Chrysanthemum, please calm down! Breathe! It’s alright!”

His face hovered close to hers, his lip and cheek panels tugged downward into a concerned frown, warping the lightened crescent-moon shape that split his face in two. She swallowed, mouth dry, her arms locked in a death grip on the uniforms pressed tight to her chest. She struggled to listen to his words amidst the frantic pounding of her heart.

“That’s it, good! You’re doing great. Breathe in… breathe out. Do as I do. Breathe in… breathe out.”

She followed his instructions, mirroring his movements, the whirring sound he made with each overemphasized exhale producing a calming effect.

“Good, that’s it… Just breathe for me.”

Her body shook in sporadic waves, every muscle and joint locked tight. If it weren’t for Sun’s iron hold on her, she’d be liable to crumple to her knees. Closing her eyes, she focused solely on her heart, willing it to slow down, to return to a normal pace. After a couple of tense seconds, once it felt as if her pulse wasn’t going to explode out of her veins anymore, she opened her eyes, and saw Sun was still there watching her—No. Scanning her. A blue laser line washed over her.

“Miss Chrysanthemum, you just had a panic attack, and a pretty bad one at that. Can you speak? Or do you need someplace quiet and dark? What about some water? I could get you—”

“No…” She shook her head and tried again, testing her voice after a thick swallow. “No, I’m… I’m fine.”

Shame weighed on her as her muscles relaxed, and the reality of what just happened sunk in.

What a wonderful first impression, real mature. Chrys groaned. She thought she’d gotten past these already, dang it! Nobody would want to put up with this nonsense. Hot, angry tears pricked at the edge of her vision, spilling over against her will.

“Oh no, no!”

Sun’s features softened, and he extended the back of a single finger to catch and wipe away her rolling tear. “No, no need to cry. I’m here, it’s alright. You’re safe.”

His fingers were of a soft, textured silicone rubber, giving his touch the illusion of skin-to-skin contact. The softness surprised her, and she admonished herself. She must be touch-starved if a robot’s fake skin could be as comforting as the real deal.

“There, that’s better! No rainy days allowed in this daycare, not on my watch!”

She laughed, an empty, defeated sound. Aware of how terrible she must look, she lifted her sleeve and rubbed it against her face, scrubbing at the wetness lingering there.

Sun stayed close, one arm propping himself up by the elbow on his knee, while the other hung relaxed at his side. The rays encircling his head twitched as he observed her, his expression concerned but pensive.

“I… would you like to talk about it?” He said. “I hope I didn’t…Did, did I do something?” His words came out soft and slow, tip-toeing around the question.

“What? No, no, you’re fine!” Chrys said. “I’m just, uh… a mess. I’m so sorry you had to see that.” She sniffed, and wiped her nose on the sleeve of her hoodie, like the immature child she was.

“Every petal once came from a bloom.” Sun said, his voice lowered and thoughtful, just below a whisper.

“I’m sorry. What?” She replied, having heard but failing to comprehend.

He cleared his throat with electrical intonation. “Just because you’re having a rough time now doesn’t mean you’ll always be. And besides, messes can always be cleaned up, right?” He stood, putting a breath of space between the two of them, his hand extended towards her in a welcoming manner. “Speaking of, we still need to make sure the Daycare is in tip-top condition before opening. Care to join me? I’d be delighted to show you around!”

She stared at his open palm before her, glancing up once to his face, searching. All she saw was kindness. Pure kindness.

“Ah,” she said, rubbing one last time at her face before placing her hand in his. “Sure. I’d like that.”

“Fantastic! Then we’re off!”

Time passed quickly with Sun leading the expedition. Like a king showing off his kingdom, he introduced her to all the different parts of the daycare. How things worked, what the protocols were, and tips to help her navigate once the kids arrived. Any fear that lingered in Chrys over what she was or was not to do was soon assuaged. Sun would handle the Daycare today as if he were on his own, allowing Chrys the opportunity to shadow him and learn at her own pace.

After having wandered the outer circumference first, the pair paused, their natural path ending in the back-most part of the daycare, at the edge of the ball-pit.

Gazing out across the sea of colorful plastic balls, she glanced over at her side, observing as Sun regaled her with the tale of a time when a child had somehow managed to throw up in the ball-pit without him knowing.

“And I just knew he wasn’t feeling well! He didn’t smell right, not at all! So now the ball-pit gets doused every night with disinfectant, just to be on the safe side.” He swiveled, hand on his small, ruffled hips, chest back in a proud stance. “But otherwise, I think that’s everything! So, what’cha think? Any questions? Comments? Concerns? Do you love it? Oh, tell me you love it!”

“It’s all pretty incredible, that’s for sure.” Chrys replied. “This has to be the best childcare facility I think I’ve ever seen, bar none.”

Sun’s eyes crinkled, and he flapped his hands. “Oh, that makes me so happy to hear! Alright then, how about we head on back to the front, where we can go over the—”

“Oh, hold on,” Chrys interjected before he could move too far. “What’s that place over there? Is it just decorative, or—?”

“What place?” Sun said. “I don’t think I missed—oh.”

She’d already begun moving towards the bridge which connected them to the opposite side of the pit, where the purple curtained opening awaited.

“Oh, hold on Miss Chrysanthemum! Wait!”

A vice-like grip latched onto her wrist, keeping her from moving another inch. Chrys looked first to her arm and then to Sun, brows furrowed.

“Sundrop? What’s wrong?” Chrys said.

She watched as he shifted between meeting her gaze and looking aside, the conflicting emotions flashing across his face too quick for her to discern.

“Oh, it’s just… you see, it’s really…” He sighed. “That’s the Midnight Garden. It’s… for naptime. But please, don’t go in there yet. It’s still, uh… out of order.”

Gaze downcast, he looked worried in thought, his smile nonexistent and swirled brows pursed. That same tightening in her chest returned, the same one that arose when Vanessa had spoken so dismissively of him.

“Hey,” She said, waiting until his eyes returned to hers before continuing. “If you say it’s off-limits, then it’s off-limits. I won’t go against your instructions..”

The tension around his eyes dispersed, and he brightened, relieved. The tightness in her chest released.

“Ah, good. Good.”

Awkward silence filled the space between them. Chrys looked off to the side and cleared her throat.

“Though, um… could you let go of me now, please?”

“Oh, right! Right, yes, yes, of course!”

Sun released her, almost jumping away, and went right to picking at the ball joints in his fingers as soon as he’d taken his hands back.

“Oh, and no need to call me by my full name.” Chrys added, uncomfortable with the silence. “It’s too long for most of the kids to say, anyway.”

Sun perked, receptive to her offering. “Gotcha! Miss Chrys it is, then.”

She laughed. “No, no, just Chrys. I prefer it that way. “Miss” is really just for the kids.”

Sun grew quiet, his expression thoughtful. A beat passed before he spoke.

“Alright,” he said, gaze softening. “Chrys”.

Hearing the lowered, purposeful way in which he said her name brought forth a series of weird, light flutters to the center of her belly. She smiled, a feeble attempt to dismiss the sensation, and readjusted her grip on her things.

“Oh! And you can call me Sun! Or Sundrop, Sunny, really anything you like.”

He turned and walked as he talked, heading towards the side of one of the massive play-structures, stopping only once he’d reached a bit of signage in apparent need of tuning, using his lengthy frame to reach well above his head.

“Good Golly, you’re a bit of a tree, aren’t ya?” Chrys blurted without thinking. She slapped her hands over her mouth a mere half-second after the words escaped her.

“A… tree?” He tilted his head to the side. Chrys’s eyes grew wide, mortified that she had said something so crude. “I’m afraid you are mistaken! If I were a tree, I’d have to have a bunch of leaves! And branches, and squirrels, and birds! Lots and lots of birds! That sing and fly around me all day, like the storybooks describe! Nope, no trees here! Just little ‘ol me!”

He struck a comical pose, and she relaxed, coming closer to join him.

“You’re hardly what I’d call “little”, Sun. You realize I barely even come up to your chest, right?”

He laughed, and tapped his fingers to said chest in emphasis.

“Of course I do! No human I’ve ever met has been eight feet and two inches tall! But, oh, wait…” He lowered himself down, knees and back bent, half-standing and half-squatting. “Does it bother you? Most of the other adult staff members seem to hate it if I stand up fully near them… I’m sorry! I hadn’t thought about it, but I-I can stay like this if it makes you more comfortable!”

Comfortable? Looking at him now, Chrys could only imagine how uncomfortable he must be, holding himself hunched at such awkward angles.

“What? No, please don’t do that! You’re not bothering me at all, really.”

He froze, the smile falling from his face, replaced by something more akin to awe. Hesitantly, he returned to his previous stature, joints clicking as he looked down at her with a contemplative expression.

“I—alright. If you say so. Um…thank you. Sunshine.”

“There’s really nothing to thank me for. Your comfort matters too.” She paused. “Still, I can only imagine how the world looks to you from up there. Must be wild.”

“Oh, it’s quite the view, or so the kids tell me. Would you like to see?” He motioned as if to pick her up under her arms, forcing Chrys to out-turn her palms in mock protest.

“N-No, no, no, there’s no need for that! I am perfectly fine right down here on the ground, thank you very much! Sun, no!”

The pair erupted into a fit of giggles as Sun continued, acting as if he were looking for an opening to scoop her up. Much to her disappointment, the clock hanging above the entrance blared, destroying their moment.

“Well, would you look at that?” Sun muttered. “How time flies when you’re having fun. All set to meet the kiddos?”

From afar, Chrys looked to the front, spying the opaque forms of others gathering on the other side of the windows. Her face paled, concern written plain across her face.

“Don’t worry, I’ll be with you every step of the way. Just follow my lead!”

As if on cue, the gates swung open, allowing the throngs of children to come bustling in, screaming and laughing in a cacophony of joy.

"Good morning my little Sunbites!!!"

Sun ran head-first into the fray, at home in his element. Chrys followed suit, not quite at his same pace, but enough to not get left behind. Her body at least remembered how this brand of organized chaos functioned, even if her brain did not.

She had barely made it a few steps, however, before something solid crackled beneath her foot, out of place amidst the joyous din. Curious, she looked to her feet, and discovered what she had stepped on; A nondescript, black flash-drive.

Wait, where did this come from? Did Sun drop this?

Chrys couldn't think of a moment where Sun had ever held anything like it, but she supposed it could have fallen out from his pocket. Those puffy harem pants of his could very well be a bottomless pit of storage.

Reaching down to retrieve the lost device, she turned it about in her hand, examining it for any kind of identifying mark. There, on the back, she found the letters “WCMEE” scratched into the surface in thin lines.

“WCMEE? Can’t say that rings a bell. Weird.”

She glanced at Sun, wanting to ask for his input, only to find him preoccupied, listening to a rather rambunctious little boy, jumping about and throwing his arms in an exuberant fashion.

Opting instead to hold on to it for now, she hustled behind the security desk, a place Sun had informed her of during their tour that was reserved just for staff, and tucked the lost flash-drive along with the rest of her things into an unclaimed employee locker, placing her personal garments in last after she switched into her uniform under the cover of her hoodie.

With the daycare already full of raucous and joyful shrieks, Chrys let the odd discovery slip into the outer recesses of her mind. There were more important matters to attend to. Foremost, like finding out what was happening in that little boy’s story to make Sun gasp in such mock horror like that.

With a smile that grew more comfortable by the second, Chrys made her way into the group, to be welcomed and introduced by Sun to the children the moment she approached. Perhaps this was a good sign. An indicator that things were finally starting to look up.

Well, She thought, scooping a smaller child onto her hip.

One can certainly hope.

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kelpan · 7 months

Text

I got art commissioned! Here's my OC Chrysanthemum! 💖

Credit to the artist for the headshot goes to wwispie on Etsy! Their shop seems to be closed at the moment, but you can check out their other works on instagram by the same name!

I'll be using this piece and other art I commisioned from them to help solidify the POV for each chapter. 'Cause if you're like me, visuals always help!

Enjoy!

Ao3 link: Petals on a Stream of Stars

Act 1, Chapter 3- A Warm Welcome?

Tuesday

6:45 AM

Chrysanthemum

Clang-clang, clang-clang. Clang-clang, clang-clang. Clang-clang, clang-clang.

The echo of their combined feet stepping across the sheet metal floor triggered her nerves, and made the hairs on the back of Chrys’s neck stand on end. Finding herself suddenly walking through near-pitch black darkness save for a couple of red safety lights that illuminated hardly anything at all was not exactly a great welcome wagon.

Vanessa had taken the lead, escorting her deeper through the inner passageways of the Pizzaplex, rather than back out into the main lobby as Chrys had expected. Had she spoken too soon? Was this all a ploy to lure her out of sight, a random victim caught up in a killer’s web? If this wasn’t such a popular business she might genuinely think so. Be that as it may, if she did scream down here, someone would be bound to hear her. There was nothing to fear.

Right?

“Um, is it normally this dark down here? Should I have grabbed a flashlight?” An empty question, sure, but anything was better than this oppressive silence.

“No need. I know the way.” Vanessa said. She kept her eyes forward, traversing through the darkness with perfect ease. “Besides, it’s mostly just the staff bots and animatronics who use these corridors. We might cause one to glitch out if we shine a light on them while their night vision is activated, and I for one don’t feel like dealing with all that.”

“Oh. Yeah. Right. Of course.” She cleared her throat. “But uh, then why are we here? Aren’t there other ways we could have taken?

“No. We need to make a stop before we get to where we’re going.”

“A pit-stop? For what?”

“You’ll see.”

Keeping close, they continued on, taking the occasional sharp turn that Chrys never would have seen coming on her own, before stopping at a nondescript steel service door.

“This is it.” Vanessa punched in a code into the nearby keypad, turning the light above the door green. It opened upward with a “whoosh”.

Inside, the darkness was even more pervasive, banished only once Vanessa flipped a switch on the wall. Fluorescent bulbs dangling from the ceiling lit up with a couple of clicks, humming as they warmed. Seeing the light chase away the shadows chased away the vice grip on her lungs as well.

Vanessa moved ahead, counting the rows until she found the one she wanted, and pulled a single box down from the middle shelf, placing it on the ground.

“Here we are. Go ahead and pick out a couple of shirts. They’ll serve as your uniform for now. And don’t worry, they’ve all been washed.”

Reaching in, Chrys rummaged through the tightly packed box, tugging a few out with an XL on the tag, and unfolded one to inspect its design. A simple, mass-produced t-shirt, yellow-bodied with two differently patterned sleeves, with the words “STAFF” printed along the back shoulders in bold font.

“It’s pretty,” Chrys murmured. Not bad, as far as uniforms went, she supposed.

Shirts in hand, Chrys hurried to rejoin Vanessa at the door, and the two reentered the tunnel, continuing on with no further distractions. The sight of another steel service door signaled the end of the hall, the glowing red “EXIT” sign a beacon in the dark.

“Watch your eyes,” Vanessa warned, hand on the bar. “Most find it a bit too bright outside after being in here.”

Pausing for a moment to see that Chrys had understood, Vanessa pushed the door open and flooded the area with light, washing every lingering ounce of the darkness away and revealing a sight which made her jaw drop.

This had to be a story-book.

Dead ahead, a makeshift castle stood, stretching upward towards the distant ceiling; Commanding yet fantastical. Twin spires, fake stone walls, and an arched, double-wide wooden doorway all added to the medieval aesthetic. With windows for viewing, and a netting that encircled the upper air space for safety, the design was clearly intended for younger audiences.

“Impressive, isn’t it?” Vanessa said beside her. “This is one of our newer attractions. Put in just a few years ago. Can’t say I predicted the addition of a daycare to the Pizzaplex’s future, but I must admit it is well-designed, and has been popular. Well, mostly.”

Chrys’s eyes went wide. “Wait, this is a daycare? Seriously?”

“Indeed. Shall we?”

“Please!”

Vanessa chuckled, and once again led the way, pulling an ID card out of her pants pocket to swipe through the card reader mounted beside the gated entrance doors. Thousands of gears all turning and rotating in tandem resounded from within the wood, and of its own volition, split down the center and swung outward, welcoming the two inside.

Warm, soft lighting cascaded down from above, giving the space an ethereal glow. The majority of the area held two of the largest play-structures Chrys had ever seen, their colorful tunnels weaving in and out over-top the other, creating the perfect labyrinth for rambunctious little ones to explore. The floor, covered in a durable, cushioned material, protested being walked over in shoes. The air held the scent of disinfectant and citrus, clean and sweet, pairing well with the lilting and cheerful melody that played through the speakers to create an enticing yet relaxing air.

“Whoa. This is… wow.” Chrys said.

“I take it you approve?” Vanessa said, from off to the side. Chrys turned to see her looking solely at her.

“Approve? This is incredible! Any kid would have a field day to get to play here. This is really where I’ll be working?”

Their eyes met, and Vanessa smiled, with a warmth that reached all the way to her eyes. “Possibly. Care to give being the Daycare Assistant a shot?”

“Absolutely!” Chrys exclaimed on reflex. When she’d first started applying to places, odds were she’d be stuck doing something mundane and simplistic, like stocking shelves or taking orders. That would have been fine, she’d been prepared for that outcome. It didn’t really matter what she did, as long as it produced a paycheck. To be given the opportunity to still make money while getting to be around kids all day sounded like a walk in the park. She repeated the title in her head, testing it with her internal voice.

“Hey, wait,” Chrys said, the gears of her mind turning. “You said “assistant”. Does that mean I’ll be working with someone else?”

Vanessa’s smile widened. “Aren’t you astute? Let’s get the two of you introduced.”

She raised her arm, wrist first, and tapped on the screen of her watch a few times before speaking into it with command.

“Connect to DA-1.”

Silence. She tried again.

“Connect. To. DA-1.”

Again. Nothing.

“Force connect to DA-1. Open communication channel.”

The frustration leaked out in her voice, and a vein in her neck pulsed once. Static blared until a sharp buzzing cut it off, replaced by a voice of someone grumbling to themselves.

“Couldn’t be bothered to clean up his own mess, nooo. Had to leave it for good ol’ Sunny to clean up. Taking me FOREVER to—”

“SUNDROP.”

“Eh, h-hi! Yes! Ah, good morning, Officer Vanessa! H-Hello!”

She pinched at the bridge of her nose.

“Next time when I call for you, you are to answer immediately. Is that clear?”

“I… yes, Officer Vanessa.”

“Good. Report to the entrance of the daycare.”

With that, Vanessa lowered her arm, cutting off the connection, and waited, looking with expectation towards the back of the room.

Chrys followed her eyes, leading to a rather pretty princess tower mounted high along the wall, the centerpiece of an unfinished, hand-brushed mural depicting a cloudy, but sunny sky. A ledge large enough for someone to stand on jutted out from the wall, topped by an arched opening hidden from sight by a red curtain.

Underneath, she saw an identical arched opening to the one above, painted this time to resemble more of an overgrown flower garden than the sky above. The dark purple curtain dangling from the arch jostled with an invisible breeze, abruptly parting way to allow a large, golden figure to come tumbling through, their long, lanky limbs flailing and tinkling about as whoever it was attempted to free its entangled foot from within the curtain’s folds.

“Don’t worry, I’m coming! I’m—ack, let go you stupid—uh, just, just a minute!”

It was the same voice as the one she heard moments prior over the watch’s radio; a youthful, boyish tenor with a digital overlay. He freed himself after a few beats of hurried struggling, and jogged his way to the front where they stood, able to cross the entire width in only a couple of strides.

“I’m here! I’m here, Officer Vanessa! What, uh, what did you need me to—Oh! I’m so sorry new friend, I didn’t see you there.”

His animated, oversized oval eyes swiveled down to her, LED lit pupils alight in a shade of bright blue. He spoke through an unseen speaker, his mouth shifting in shape only to adapt to his varying expressions, and always returning to a big, gap-toothed smile once he finished. Chrys craned her neck to face him full-on, overwhelmed by their sheer stature, even as they leaned their circular, disk-shaped head closer.

“Sundrop, this is Chrysanthemum. Chrysanthemum, this is the Daycare Animatronic. He acts as the Daycare Attendant.” Vanessa said.

Chrys looked him up and down, as if that would somehow help the reality solidify in her mind. A robot. Or rather, an animatronic… and acting as a lead in a childcare facility. Would wonders ever cease?

Never had she seen one in person before, either. He seemed to handle himself with a fluidity that befitted a gymnast, someone with more strength and flexibility than the average joe could ever aspire to; The exact opposite of what she’d imagine a creature made of bolts and steel to be.

“Ah!” Chrys said with a start. “Sorry, I know it’s rude to stare. It’s uh, nice to meet you.” She reached with her unoccupied arm out for a handshake, pleased when he reached to reciprocate, only for Vanessa to step in and interject before their hands could meet.

“No need for formalities, not with it. While they are tasked with the primary functioning and upkeep of the Daycare, and will act as your direct supervisor, you are the human element here. No need to treat it as you would others.”

Chrys glanced at Sundrop, and watched his face fall, the ring of triangular sun-rays encircling his faceplate drooping to the ground, the spitting image of a kicked puppy. Something in her chest tightened. This didn’t feel right. She gave a half-hearted nod to Vanessa’s expectant gaze, and kept her expression on lock-down.

“Good. Alternatively, should you need anything, don’t hesitate to ask it. It’ll do all it can to assist you, within reason. Isn’t that right, Sundrop?”

Vanessa’s tone turned sharp. She tilted her face to the side, and shot Sundrop a piercing glare. Chrys winced in response to his flinch.

“A-Ah, yes, of course! Always happy to help!”

“Good. Let’s keep it that way.” Vanessa glanced back at her watch. “Well, that about wraps up all the time I have to spare this morning. Sundrop can access the schedule, registry, and itinerary for the day through the server, so you should be fine getting through today on your own. But, do be cautious not to wander about the building unaccompanied. Without a staff pass, you’ll be stopped by the security bots. I’ll have a temporary one made and brought to you by the end of the day.”

Alarm bells rang out in her head as she processed her words. “Hold on, wait. I don’t think I can—”

Vanessa cocked an eyebrow. “You are working today, are you not?”

Her stomach dropped. This… wasn’t a part of the plan. Was it normal to start work the same day you interviewed? Should she have realized that? Her heart-rate picked up, and beads of sweat began to prickle her brow.

Vanessa stepped in close, close enough to snap her attention back squarely onto her. “Don’t tell me that on the very first day of your probationary period, you plan to skip out on work? Tsk. Can’t say that will look good at all. And here I was with such high hopes for you. Perhaps I was wrong…”

“No, no!” Chrys shook her head with gusto, pure reflex. “T-That’s not—I can work! I can work today just fine!”

Vanessa smiled, a quiet cruelness to the up-tick of the corners of her mouth. “Wonderful. Exactly what we like to hear.”

Chrys’s gaze drifted to the floor, the pounding of her pulse throbbing against her temples. Vanessa moved in close, leaning in to whisper into her ear.

“Don’t let me down, Chrysanthemum. Or who knows how you’ll fare.”

Then she left.

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