You Know How Raph Is Afraid Of Puppets, Right? Well...

You know how Raph is afraid of puppets, right? Well...

I might do a full list of FNAF headcanons for the Mad Dogs, but I just had to draw this.

My upcoming astrophysics final ("upcoming" as in "literally four hours from now") is freaking me out, so I put on the Kahoot remix of One Winged Angel and drew this on my equation sheet.

Seriously, it's 4:00 a.m. I should probably at least try to get three hours of sleep, but there's a part of me that doesn't believe there's a point to it and just wants to commit to the all-nighter.

I just have to get through it. That's what I keep telling myself. Just one more day, and I get to spend time with my dogs for over a month. They're really cute. I'd ask if you want to see them, but just like in real life, I'm just going to show them to you anyway.

This is Max. I promise he has ears. They're just flipped inside-out. His favorite hobbies are sleeping, eating leaves off the road, and trying to lick everyone's faces off (if he likes them). He's scared of his own food bowl, but he won't hesitate to go near his brother's bowl. Speaking of...

Here's Timmy. He enjoys rolling around in blankets, taking his favorite toy for walks around the ground floor of our house, and begging my dad for snacks whenever he gets home from work. He actually is Max's brother; they were from the same litter. They just turned 12 in October.

So yeah. I may be screaming internally right now, but it will all be worth it tomorrow when I get to see them... :')

New Life, New Name

I just wanted to write a proper origin story for Regiomontanus. It won't be the best thing ever; I'm running on ~30 minutes of sleep, and fanfiction isn't my strong suit anyway. But hey, it sounds like fun. :)

~

It was supposed to be a fun day at the local aquarium. They had recently rescued an adorable green sea turtle, and it was finally being brought out on exhibit. They were even holding a little "meet and greet" so the children could get acquainted with it. Of course, the event didn't just appeal to children. People of all ages came to meet this turtle.

One such person was Grizzly, an awkward but ultimately innocuous local.

Grizzly had wished to bring their mother to the aquarium for this event, but she was occupied with tasks for work, so they went alone, promising to take pictures. They were ecstatic. They had always loved marine life; they were obsessed with dolphins as a child, but they'd eventually learned to appreciate all the creatures in the ocean. The zookeepers were allowing select guests to feed the turtle. Grizzly had never been chosen for these sorts of things, but perhaps today would be different.

Indeed, it was.

Of the five patrons chosen to feed the turtle, Grizzly was the fourth. They trembled with both excitement and fear. Their mind was racing. Holy crap, they picked me! But what if I mess up? That's stupid. You're just using tongs to move the seagrass from the bucket to the water. I'll probably find a way, though. Regardless of their worries, they would try their best to perform well. They had to. Dozens of people were watching.

Things went well at first. The grass stayed nicely in the tongs, and the turtle seemed enthusiastic to eat. However, its enthusiasm was a bit excessive; once it finished eating the grass, it went straight for Grizzly's hand. They didn't have time to react, so they received a nasty bite to the index finger. What did I tell you? WHAT DID I TELL YOU? Frightened and embarrassed, they sprinted away from the crowd, out the door, and into an empty alleyway. Finally out of the public eye, they allowed themself to break down crying. Their eyes burned as the tears streaked down their face. Their head pounded with a stress headache. They reflexively tugged at their jacket sleeve, unintentionally scratching their arm as if to fuel the pain. Even their neck ached with a sudden pinch. A sudden, searing pinch.

Wait, that wasn't right.

The blazing sensation in Grizzly's neck quickly spread throughout their entire body. They winced as their skin began to itch like the worst sunburn they'd ever had, especially around their scalp. They grunted with discomfort, then squeezed their eyes shut and screamed in agony as their fingers and toes tensed up uncontrollably. This strange attack on their body lasted only seconds, but it seemed to persist for years.

When they finally found the strength to open their eyes once more, they found that their skin had turned chartreuse. There were deep brown, oblong marks on their hands--their now webbed, three-fingered hands; a quick peek under their sleeve revealed more markings extending halfway up their arm. They glanced downward and saw their hair laying in piles around their feet. They screamed with terror, feeling their head to confirm that they were, indeed, bald. Despite their pure confusion and fear, they had only one instinct at this point.

Call Mom.

Thankfully, after a few rings, Grizzly's mother picked up.

"Hello?"

"Mom, I need help! I don't know what the heck is going on, but all my hair fell out, and my skin is green, and I only have three fingers now--!!"

"Wait, honey, slow down. What's going on? Are you hurt?"

"That's the thing! I don't know! I hurt really bad before, but I feel a little better now...! Except for, you know, LOOKING LIKE A FREAK!!!"

"Okay, okay. Well, come home so Dad and I can see what's going on. We'll take you to the hospital if it's really as bad as what you're saying."

"O-okay... I'll see you soon. I love you."

"I love you, too. Bye."

"Bye."

Grizzly dashed back to the aquarium parking lot, slipped into their car, and drove home. Their mother was shocked when she saw her poor child; their father was similarly devastated, yelling uncontrollably. They all immediately drove to the local hospital, only to be referred to a dermatologist in New York City. Great. New York wasn't far away in the grand scheme of things, but it was still inconvenient. Well, whatever. If that's what it takes to go back to normal, then so be it.

~

As Grizzly searched for the dermatologist's office, they bumped into someone. That was to be expected. It was crowded, and they weren't watching their step. They looked forward and went to apologize, only to choke on their words. The individual in front of them was huge--not as tall as their father, but beefy. To say that they were intimidated would be an understatement. However, the other person looked similarly surprised...and similarly green, if the arms poking out from his gray hoodie were anything to go off of.

"So, uh... Are you looking for the dermatologist, too?"

Great. Just great. You've done it again. Amazing social skills.

"No," he said with a chuckle. "I'm just out for a walk."

"Oh, okay. That sounds much more fun than what I'm doing. See, this happened to me, like, a week ago--" they explained, holding out a three-fingered hand.

The strange man gasped, then pulled them into a nearby alley.

"Hey, what gives?! Let me go!!"

"I think...we might have some stuff in common"

He pulled down his hood to reveal his face. Said face had a lime green complexion to match his arms, with a red bandana over his eyes that provided a nice contrast. He also had a sharp tooth sticking out from the right corner of his mouth.

"No way... No freakin' way...! I'm not alone! I'm not the only one with this crazy skin condition!!!"

"...Were you in close contact with any turtles lately?"

"...Yeah. Yeah, one bit me. Why?"

"And did you see any weird-looking bugs flying around you after that?"

"No...but it kind of felt like a mosquito bit me on the neck... and then immediately afterward, this whole mess happened... Do...do turtles and bugs cause this?"

"...Kind of. Hey, uh, I have some brothers who are also familiar with this sort of thing. Wanna meet up with them so we can all talk about this?"

"Sure. Just let me call my mom so she knows where I am."

"Got it. I'll call my brothers, too, so we can decide where to meet."

After quick phone calls on both ends, Grizzly and their new companion waited at a nearby pizzeria for his brothers. They were easily recognizable once they arrived--all with varying shades of green skin, all with different-colored bandanas on their faces. They placed an order for a large pepperoni pizza, then got down to business.

"Wow, Raph, you weren't kidding! That's the real deal, alright!" exclaimed the fellow in blue.

Grizzly winced with embarrassment.

The one clad in orange immediately turned to them with an expression of both comfort and concern. "Oh, no, he isn't making fun of you," he said. "We're just surprised that there's someone else like us!"

"Well, the doctors at home did say that they haven't seen a case like me before..."

The one donning purple glanced up from his phone. "That's because you aren't sick," he claimed boldly.

"...I'm sorry, what?"

The first of the brothers, presumably called "Raph," looked on guiltily and took a deep breath. "I'm really sorry I didn't tell you earlier," he said, "but you don't have a skin condition. None of us do. We're mutant turtles--and now, you're a turtle mutant, too. That's why I asked that one question earlier."

"...No. No. You're joking. That's literally impossible. That's not how mutation works. If my cells had been mutated that much, I'd have cancer or something. Or...or..."

The purple one piped up again. "You'd be horribly deformed? Like now? Though I'd call it less of a deformity and more of an upgrade..."

"Donnie, I swear to Pizza Supreme in the Sky, I'll--!!!" Raph shouted, just barely able to cut himself off before he could say something regrettable.

"...Yeah... I...I guess..." Grizzly slumped in their seat, clutching both sides of their head. "Hooooooly crap, what do I do...?! I can't ever show my face in school again...! And forget having a job! At least my parents still love me, but I'll be a freak forever to LITERALLY EVERYONE ELSE!!!!"

The petite turtle in orange gave them a gentle pat on the shoulder. "Hey, not everyone else. You aren't a freak to us. Maybe we can be your friends--maybe even your brothers, if you want!" he suggested with a smile. "Then you might not feel so alone. I mean, you'll fit right in," he added, gesturing to his deep evergreen face for emphasis.

Though a bit uncertain, none of the others seemed actively opposed to the idea.

"W-well, I can't be your friend--or sibling--if I don't know your names..."

"Then we'll introduce ourselves. I'm Raphael, but you can call me Raph."

"Donatello--Donnie for short."

"I'm Michelangelo, or Mikey, or Michael, or Angelo. Whatever you prefer."

"And I'm Leonardo, but please, call me Leo. And you are...?"

"Well, I'm Grizzly...but honestly, I don't feel like Grizzly anymore. That's who I used to be, who I was when I wasn't...this..."

Leo gave a sly smile. "Hey, new life, new name. Who do you feel like now?"

"I dunno... If I'm going to be your sibling, then I want my name to match the theme you've got going on--Renaissance artists and inventors."

Donnie nodded in approval.

After a few minutes of scrolling on their phone, the sea turtle mutant found a new name that stood out to them:

Regiomontanus.

With a new addition to the family, the turtle siblings happily dug in to the pepperoni pizza that just arrived at their table.

Casual Aro-spec and A-spec Erasure 🙃

So, I was visiting a gallery in my home city, and they had some interesting items for sale. One of them was a neat-looking postcard from 1920s France that said "Bonne Année" (French for "Happy New Year"), and I wanted to buy it. The seller made some remark about how it will "attract my lover to me," I guess since it has a romantic picture on it. When I said that I only really want dogs in my life, she said that I'd eventually change my mind.

Then she told the cashier. They joked about it a bit, then started to put everything together so I could pay for the postcard.

I tried to just stay quiet and move on; I didn't want to cause trouble, especially since the seller knows one of my aunts. We talked about other things for a while, but then she brought it up again, unprompted. She said that I'd meet a man who's interested in the same things I am, and we'd connect. I said that I'd ideally just be friends with this hypothetical man, but she laughed it off and said once again that I'd change my mind.

So yeah. That was annoying. I know she didn't mean serious harm; she was very sweet and friendly to me otherwise, and she even gave me a 44% discount on the postcard when I went to buy it just for the heck of it. But man, I wish romance and physical attraction weren't always assumed to be parts of everyone's lives.

FNAF Headcanons for the Rise Turtles (and April, of course) + My Own FNAF Opinions

Raph

Scariest game: FNAF 2, because of the Puppet

Scariest animatronic: The Puppet, because it's a ten-foot-tall puppet

Balloon Boy kind of freaks him out, too

Struggling with Night 3 because of Withered Bonnie and Withered Chica

Tends to forget about the other animatronics because he gets so focused on the music box

Thinks Toy Freddy is really cute and wants to hug him

An Easter egg magnet; has seen RWQFSFASXC, JJ, the endoskeleton in the Prize Corner, the eyeless Toy Bonnie screen, the eyeless Withered Freddy screen, and the Paper Pal in the office

Thinks Toy Chica looks like Pikachu

Doesn't even know there's lore; all he sees is a spooky game with a terrifying puppet man

Leo

Scariest game: FFPS, because of the tiny office and the tense salvage sequences

Scariest animatronic: Music Man, because look at his face

Buys stuff at discounts, then wonders why he's only had to salvage Molten Freddy

Has never accepted a sponsorship offer for the sake of his pride and integrity; still has no idea that this affects gameplay

Failing the ball pit minigame cracks him up every time

Once got Music Man from the mega ball pit minigame; fell out of his chair because he was startled that badly

Thinks all the Scrap animatronics look dumb, but especially Scraptrap

240 Bits per Mile is his jam

Only has a vague idea of what's happening with the lore; zones out whenever Donnie or April try to explain it more

Donnie

Scariest game: FNAF, because of the atmosphere and the especially uncanny animatronics

Scariest animatronic: Chica, because of her tendency to open her mouth super-wide and stare right at you

Always plays with the sound off so the jumpscares don't destroy his eardrums

Roasts Bonnie whenever he shows up. Just Bonnie, though.

Sings and dances along to Freddy's song whenever the power goes out, usually with bitter/sarcastic lyrics

Has yet to beat 4/20 mode, but they've been practicing. Obsessively.

Has a whole conspiracy corkboard dedicated to figuring out the lore

Considering starting a collection of FNAF Mystery Minis; he's particularly interested in Withered Bonnie

Loves watching FNAF let's plays

Mikey

Scariest game: Sister Location, because of the "abandoned warehouse" vibe

Scariest animatronic: Funtime Foxy, because of that freaking twitching

Hates the sections where you have to walk/crawl through the dark

One death away from raging at Night 4

Was kind of creeped out by Baby even from the beginning

Absolutely lost it at "Casual Bongos"

Loves "The Immortal and the Restless"

Has seen the "Minireena in the popcorn" Easter egg; it scared the crap out of him

Super confused about the overarching lore, but knows that stuff is haunted

Loves the Funtime Freddy plushie for all the wrong reasons (look it up if you haven't seen it already); wants one of his own

April

Scariest game: Help Wanted, because VR

Scariest animatronic: Springtrap, because he's a zombified child murderer

Favorite levels are Parts & Service (Freddy) and Vent Repair (Ennard)

Hates the Plushbabies with a burning passion

On a mission to get all the collectibles; has roughly half of them so far

Won Funtime Freddy's level the same way Markiplier did

Has intentionally triggered Foxy by stepping out of the FNAF 1 office, just to see if she could close the door on him in time

Roasts the animatronics whenever she counters/avoids them

Legitimately creeped out by Glitchtrap

Obsessed with the lore; keeps up with Game Theory's videos on it and regularly posts about it on discussion threads

As for me?

Scariest game: FNAF 4, because you have to stick your head out into pitch-black hallways and listen for stuff

Scariest animatronic: Nightmarionne, because WHY DOES IT NEED TEETH???

I downloaded the original mobile port of FNAF 4 onto my iPad when I was 13, and I don't think I've played past Night 2.

On the other hand, I have beaten Night 6 of the original mobile FNAF and every single Custom Night challenge on mobile FNAF 2.

I like Security Breach because of Glamrock Freddy, the memes, and the fact that I can play it without having to mute my TV out of sheer terror at all the noises.

I also like FNAF World. It's just goofy and fun.

I personally think the books and Sister Location are what kicked the lore off the deep end, but it's so ridiculous at this point, I'm just here for the ride.

Withered Freddy has my favorite design in the series.

I wish Freddy in general was more central to a franchise called Five Nights at Freddy's.

Yes!!! I'm lucky that my school is in the middle of Amish Town, Nowhereville, USA, so the areas surrounding campus have skies dark enough to see the Milky Way. On campus, though? Blue lights everywhere, all night. The dimmest thing you'll see is maybe Polaris. And forget trying to observe the night sky close to the city. The light pollution from one small college campus is nothing compared to the light emanating from a whole city.

Oh, and to heck with non-shaded street lights. Thanks to this stupid light right in front of my house (that shines right into my bedroom window, by the way), I can't even see the Pleiades Cluster when I'm at home.