Funtimes At Work!

“So now it’s just us two,” the caretaker pointed out.

“Don’t remind me,” Freddy began, “I’m only letting you sit next to me so you don’t annoy anyone else. Ballora’s giving her performance by now and I only have,” a pause as he checked his internal clock “forty-five minutes before I’m due for mine.”

“Right! And I do believe you’re to clear all of your acts with me?”

That was met with a glare that, if looks could kill, would result in a fine red mist being all that remained of the fleshy one.

“I already told you, we call the shots.”

“But you need my signature.”

His own words, used against him.

“Fine. It’s just a standard comedy routine with some slapstick with Bon-Bon moving over my body like a spider.”

“I think I can sign off on that.”

“But you haven’t heard how it ends! We get this little guy on stage, his name’s Diego, and we decapitate him!”

That was squealed out, once again highlighting the bear’s love of dark humor.

“Ouch, Freddy, ouch.”

“If it helps, the blade would be sharp! I don’t like rusty ones!”

“Well, aren’t you ever the professional? Alright. I’m just going to go pick up some chips, you don’t mind if I eat them near you right?”

“Why would I ever take offense to my enemy doing things that prolong his life?”

“Exactly! You’re the best, Freddy. I need to think of a cute nickname for you. Fred. Freedy Freddy. The Fredster!”

The unusual ursine could only posture an odd glare at the man who seemed entirely oblivious to just how deeply he was unwanted, and for that matter, unneeded. Freddy wasn’t sure why Corporate insisted on giving him a manger: Baby didn’t have one and she was just fine.

After a few blissfully quiet minutes, Diego returned with a pack of nacho-cheese flavored Doritos. Delicious! Opening the bag and taking some, Freddy glared at him.

“Did you want some?”

“No.”

“Why the staring?”

With a shrug that could only scream ‘eh, what the hell,’ Funtime Freddy decided that honesty was the best policy. Implicitly, he just wanted to be so honest he’d spook Diego off from continuing his ventures in employment here.

“I’m trying to decide how to kill you.”

“Go for poisoning my food. I can’t help it, I just love eating.”

“Well now that’s too obvious! Maybe I’ll stuff you inside my chest and let you starve. Do you know how fun that would be? Your filth being your own extinction…”

“But then you’d have my filth all in you! Don’t you deserve better?”

Freddy was growing increasingly frustrated at Diego’s apparent inability to be threatened. What was it with this guy?

“You’re really trying to die, aren’t you?”

“I have faith that you won’t actually kill me.”

“I’m a giant bear with a temper. Do you really think only faith will save you?”

“A question for theologians, Fred. I’m just a psych major trying to earn some extra cash.”

“Is that extra pocket change really worth having to deal with me,” he cooed out as if in love.

“It’s pocket change to you, but to me it’s a lot. Hard to argue with sixty thousand a year.”

“Salaried.”

“They’ll work me well over that, I’m sure, but it’s good for now.”

So, Freddy also had access to Diego’s pay-roll information. Lovely. The bear already knew where he lived, what harm could come from him knowing exactly how much he was paid?

“Sixty-two thousand, three hundred ninety-five dollars, and thirty-four cents a year.”

“Right on the dot, Fredster!”

“Don’t call me that.”

“Well, what’s your preferred nickname?”

“Freddy is all I want you to call me.”

“Can I at least call you ‘friend’?”

“He-,” it seemed the bear attempted to swear. He seemed frustrated with his inability to. “There aren’t even any kids nearby! But, the answer’s no.”

Diego took out his phone, just to check the time. Ten-twenty in the morning, just forty minutes until showtime!

“So, how do you warm up for the show?”

“We don’t. We just go and do it.”

“Signs of a true professional.”

“Diego, Bon-Bon and I have done this for thirty-five years. We know how to do this with our suits powered down.”

“That reminds me, Freddy! Are you the endoskeleton, or the suit?”

“Are you just the bones or the flesh?”

“Good point!”

The two sat in a, strangely comfortable, silence for a few more minutes. Freddy woke Bon-Bon up and placed him back on his hand. The time was ten-thirty, and he was ready to go.

“We should head back to the Auditorium.”

“Oh, we? Are you inviting me?”

Giving Diego one of his signature ‘I really want to kill you’ glares, the two entered the elevator. It was a short and quiet ride to floor one. Freddy took a deep breath in, and reactivated his entertainer mode. He took his place on his stage, standing perfectly still: it was as if he had no free will at this moment. The children entered the room, and Diego entered his office. He had a camera on his desktop pointing out the window: just so he could record this performance. 

It lasted two hours, which was much longer than Diego would’ve thought. From eleven to one, Freddy never broke character. He also didn’t threaten anyone, and everything went on without a hitch: truly, he was a master at his craft. Diego mused that, perhaps, thirty-five years and layers of programming would allow you to master anything. He checked Funtime Freddy’s schedule: his first show was from eleven to one, then three to four-forty five, then five to six and he was done for the evening.

The time was now one-fifteen, and Diego was in the auditorium helping the janitorial staff to clean up. He needed something to do, at least, and he figured it was always prudent to get in the good graces of the custodians. Freddy pitched in as best he could, which was surprising - maybe it was something he had to do? A facet of his entertainment mode, and nothing more. Perhaps just there to teach the kids to clean up.

Perhaps he was just doing this to have an excuse to get closer to Diego and remind him of just how much bigger, stronger, and smarter he was.

When the party was fully cleaned up, the caretaker went into his office. The bear followed. 

“You were excellent, Freddy!”

“I know I was! I’m an entertainer!”

“I won’t lie, it’s a little creepy how easy it is for you to switch between being independent and being bound to your programming.”

Oh, he was going to exploit that. He was going to exploit the utter hell out of that.

“Well, anything for the birthday boy! Bon-Bon, let’s make sure he has an extra-special birthday blast!”

The bear’s posture was straight, robotic, and a strange blend of janky, mechanical, and yet organic, and smooth. 

“Maybe I should not have told you that that was creepy. What if I said it was cute?”

He immediately snapped out of his programming.

“Now I never want to enter that mode again.”

“Well don’t let me be the cause of that.”

“Would it make you feel so guilty you quit if you were?”

“Not particularly.”

Freddy huffed out. Nothing ever was so simple with Diego, now, was it? He made his first caretaker quit only a week into it, and his second two months into it.

Was he losing his touch? Then again, he could be patient. He’d simply out-last Diego. Something would get him to leave, something always did.

At any rate, the two moved into Diego’s office. The caretaker huffed as he sat back down in his chair, happy to be able to relax - though in truth that wasn’t in short supply at this job.

“Hey, Freddy?”

The animatronic looked up, waiting for whatever it was the human had to say.

“Take this.”

Diego pulled out the taser from the drawer, keeping it in its pouch, and handing it to him.

“...What?”

“You heard me. Take it. I don’t want it. Do whatever you want with it. Toss it from the rooftop for all I care.”

“You realize this is the only way I’ll ever do anything you say, right?”

“I don’t care. It’s not right to just shock you into submission.”

Bon-Bon piped up: “see? I told you he was different!”

“This is just a play, Bon-Bon. He’ll say that we stole it and ask for an even bigger one.”

Diego’s heart nearly shattered into a million pieces. He was already quite the idealist, quite the bleeding heart, so this was entirely… heart-wrenching for him to hear.

“It’s not. Here,” Diego stated as he pulled out a sticky note-pad. He quickly scribbled a short message on it, “read it.”

Taking the note, Freddy read it out loud:

“I, Diego Vázquez, do not want this or any other electrical compliance device used on Funtime Freddy or Bon-Bon.”

Did he even have the authority to say that? This had to have just been some symbolic ploy at Freddy’s trust. It’d be broken, in due time. It always was. He took the note anyways, and the taser he simply held in his hand. He could turn this on Diego. He could make him feel as hurt as he did.

Yet he wasn’t heartless. He was not as evil and as uncaring as he’d like to think he was. It would be unjustifiable to use this on Diego. He simply put the taser back on Diego’s desk and got up. “Keep it. I don’t need your pity.”

“Freddy.”

He began to walk out of the room.

“Freddy?”

He stopped. Bon-Bon seemed to have told him to do so, in their sort of shared circuitry.

“What?”

Bon-Bon tried to assuage his concerns.

“Freddy…”

Diego got up and moved to him. Diego was five-eight to Freddy’s cool six-foot, not counting his hat.

He gave Freddy a tight hug, just rubbing the bear’s back.

“What… are you doing?”

“A hug, Freddy. You’ve been hugged before, right?”

“By children. Maybe a few parents.”

“And by employees?”

A pause. That was all Diego needed to hear, or rather, what he needed to not hear. Freddy didn’t try to return the hug, though, Bon-Bon did. Popping off of Freddy’s hand, he clinged to Diego’s shirt. “Even if he won’t say it, we are appreciative! We just aren’t used to being treated like people, Diego!”

“I guessed as much, Bon-Bon. It’s okay. You don’t have to trust me. You don’t have to love me. You don’t even have to like me. Just know that I won’t hurt you, okay?”

“I know you won’t Diego!”

Freddy remained silent. He just closed his eyes, daring to let himself feel okay for once.

Maybe he could allow himself the gall to dare to dream of a brighter future. He’d hate himself, however, if he opened his eyes to see Funtime Foxy, Ballora, and their caretakers watching from the entrance. Rock snuck a picture.

This, this was worth its weight in gold.

Eventually, the hug came to an end. Eventually. The three took their sweet time in pulling away from each other. 

“Are you okay, Freddy?”

The bear raised a hand and put it over Diego’s mouth, not intending to harm him, just keep him quiet. He was deep in the chambers of his mind, remembering everything. He remembers the first day he performed, the first day any of them performed: the eighth of December, 1986. It was a frigid Monday in Utah when the pizzeria had opened, and an even more frigid reception. They were state-of-the-art, sure, but the Fazbear Murders hadn’t exactly had time to fade from the public memory. He remembered his original purpose well: to murder children. That’s something he actually hated, despite his crass jokes about the subject. Though all the Funtimes had at least been complicit in murder, Funtime Freddy had actually taken a life himself. Circus Baby had too, or at least, had held a child until William was able to extract and finish the job himself.

He hated those memories.

But now? He could remember. He felt safe around Diego, in a strange way. Perhaps it was the man’s willingness to hand over the one weapon he had against him. Maybe it was the constant propaganda being pushed into him by Bon-Bon. Maybe it was something else entirely, but at any rate, he felt safe enough to remember.

Maybe he’d tell Diego one day. But that day was not today. He still wanted to be seen as a jerkass bear, at least, for a few days longer. 

He hated being seen as a mushy softy.

Diego could only stand there, noticing the others watching. He gave them a gentle wave, signaling with non-verbal cues that he had no idea what Freddy was doing. They seemed supportive, though. 

Diego held Bon-Bon in his hands, cradling him as if he were a baby of some sort. After a few more eternities of this, Funtime Freddy opened his eyes.

“This doesn’t leave this room.”

“I promise I won’t tell anyone.”

That was the truth. He wouldn’t tell anyone, they had all already seen it. Even Baby had stopped by to examine why four people were all gazing into Funtime Freddy’s area without calling for paramedics.

The group scampered once Funtime Freddy opened his eyes, though. Best not to be caught interrupting an intimate moment. 

Sooner, rather than later, it had turned into two o’clock. Just four and a half more hours and the day would be over: a rather unusually productive first day in the history of Circus Baby’s pizzeria. 

The two had decided to take a walk: this was the mid-day slump, when no one really came. Mornings and evenings are usually their busiest times on weekdays, though, Monday as a whole was a rather slump-y day. Not many people, apparently, celebrated on the first day of the business week.

Funtime Freddy and Diego walked about the area, Freddy himself taking a more active role. He was telling Diego about the history of the pizzeria, even what it used to look like before it was all extensively remodeled. 

“Huh. You know, I always thought the wall in the auditorium looked a little weird, but I had no idea this entire floor was something else.”

“The crews did an alright job. I don’t like how boxy the rooms are, but it’s efficient I guess.”

“I would guess so. Oh! Hi Sam!”

There she was: the manager extraordinaire, staring at the two of them as if she had seen a ghost.

“Is… is everything okay?”

“Am I going crazy, or is Funtime Freddy actually being nice to you?”

In response to that heinous accusation, Freddy (gently) elbowed Diego.

“It was nice while it lasted,” Diego chuckled. 

“Freddy, are you going to try and run Diego out of a job?”

Bon-Bon actually responded, Freddy more than happy to let him handle the softer side of the emotional spectrum: “maybe he’ll stay for a whole three months!”

“I think I’d like to stay longer.”

“Ah, excellent! Now, Freddy, do you mind if Diego and myself have a private conversation?”

“Not at all, Sam! I was getting tired of talking to this meat bag anyways!”

With that, he was off. Back to his usual, slightly unhinged, self.

“What on Earth have you done to make him not threaten your life, Diego?”

“Well, he still does, but it’s more playful. I think.”

“I’ll take that over the serious threats he’s made. What did you do to him?”

“I didn’t shock him.”

“Really? That’s it?”

“Apparently, when you treat people like people, they’re much more behaved.”

“Alright. Just… don’t be scared to use it, if you really have to. Sometimes he gets so riled up not even Bon-Bon can calm him down.”

“I’ll take my chances. Actually, if you don’t mind, I’d like it removed from my office. I read the protocol: it only states we need to have one available on request rather than in our offices, and I think he’d do better with it gone. I don’t want it near me, anyways. It just seems cruel.”

“It’s a sad fact that it is sometimes necessary. I don’t want it overused, but it's better than letting them kill. But, alright. Just turn it into my office and I’ll keep it on reserve for you.”

“Thanks, Sam. I think I’m really getting through to him. Oh, also, question. Can they eat?”

“They can, actually! They have a false digestive system. It’s a little too complex for you to work on for, probably your first week or two, but I do think you’ll eventually get trained on it. Why do you ask?”

“Just curious. I might wanna share a slice of pizza with him or something.”

“Oh! Speaking of, if you’d like you could take your lunch whenever you want. I don’t think I managed to tell you that, but, we don’t really have a set schedule - what with all the chaos of there being children here almost constantly.”

“That’d be nice!”

“Employees eat free! Our way of saying ‘thank you.’ And for you especially. Here, let’s walk,” Sam stated as she led Diego towards the break room, “I honestly thought Freddy would run you out before the day ended. Forgive me, but you're not the most imposing person. I wanted to pair Rock with Freddy, but he already had a manager at the time. They turned out to be amazing with Foxy, so, I suppose it was all fine in the end. Janice’s been here the longest, and, I can’t imagine separating her and Ballora. She’s gone through a lot in her life, I’m sure she’ll tell you about it. But as for you, well, as I said you’ll have to forgive me. I suppose looks are deceiving though. What did you say you were majoring in? I know you’re a college kid.”

“Psychology! I’m doing a minor in linguistics.”

“How’re you handling classes with a full-time job?”

“The classes are online, and if I’m honest, I like the time this job lets me have for them.”

“Smart thinking. You know, if you did get run out by him, I would’ve offered you the position of being Circus Baby’s manager. She’s been without one for two months now, but, in truth she doesn’t really need one. She’s always been very quiet and behaved, it was Freddy that needed one the most.”

“Bon-Bon seems to keep him in-line.”

“You’d think but, like I said, sometimes he just gets so antsy it’s horrifying. That’s the time when we have to shock him.”

“Do we have any idea what causes it?”

“I only wish we did. I think it’s some sort of deep-seated programming bug.”

“Hopefully I don’t see that.”

“Ah, but you might. Well, anyways, I think you probably have the best shot of either preventing that, or, getting him down from there. He usually enters that mode when one of his evaluations is coming up, that’s a full-body maintenance routine. It’s done every few months, just to keep them active and safe.” 

“I see. Weird, then. But, hey, I think he’ll be fine. My first day and I’m already connecting with him, I’m really liking it.”

“It’s nothing short of miraculous, what you’ve done here. We’ll just have to see if this holds or not: but I feel confident in saying that it will.”

The two were in the canteen by now, each taking some pizza. Might as well, since that was basically what everyone here lived off of. That and burgers, fries, and every other greasy food imaginable. They had healthy options, for sure, but most defaulted to the greasy goodness of the prepared food here. The healthy options probably weren’t actually FDA-approved for human consumption, either. They always had a weird smell to them.

“Can the animatronics eat with us?”

“In theory. In practice they either never have the appetite, or, don’t really want to.”

The two ate their pizza all while making the usual workplace small-talk.

“So, how long have you been here?”

“Six years. I started in 2016, actually, it’s kind of a funny story. I took this job on a dare. You know all the rumors about this company, and my friends are all true crime enthusiasts. Some of them are actually on the police force.”

“I imagine they’re sick and tired of all the prank calls this place gets, though.”

“Not as much as you’d think, actually. Especially with that Mega Pizzaplex now, you ever been?”

“Just once, to check it out. It’s… shockingly big. Especially for a town that doesn’t have that many people, I’m sure you could fit all of us into it with room to spare.”

“Hah! That’s what I’m saying. But it gets tourists here, so, who really cares at the end of the day? Certainly not the mayor.”

“So, what do we get? The Pizzaplex seems like they get all the fancy toys and funding.”

“You’d be right on that. We get… whatever’s left behind, actually. The budget’s really weird, but I won’t bore you with management deets.”

“Well, hey, if you have the will then I have the time,” Diego stated. He was rather interested in the finer details of management - call it his love of gossip, but he wanted to know how things worked ‘behind the curtains,’ as it were.

“You really are something special now, aren’t you? Alright, well, since you are working here I’ll let you in on it. So our budget is actually delivered on a ‘first-come first-serve’ basis. Means we have to fight against each other if we want anything.”

“Damn.”

“Damn is right. Pizzaplex has the larger staff so they, by default, get most of the money. We mostly sustain ourselves through our sales.”

“Would not have guessed that, hm. It just seems so unfair, I mean, this place might not be half as big as the Pizzaplex but we’re still here. And we’ve been around longer than… most of the Fazbear chain restaurants, actually. How haven’t we burned down yet?”

“A question I ask myself every single day I’m here,” Samantha stated while giggling. Honestly, it was miraculous all by itself that the place wasn’t in utter shambles at the end of every day.

The two had finished their lunch and were back up to the first floor. Diego found himself back in his office, having given Samantha the taser for safe-keeping. The time on Diego’s desktop read two-forty-five, with the first few children trickling in for Freddy’s three-o-clock show. 

It was rather uneventful, all things considered. Just a repeat of the earlier show, although with the names obviously replaced during the birthday song. How Freddy hadn’t gone mad from just doing this for three-and-a-half decades was entirely beyond the caretaker.

The show came and went, and the cleanup was frantic. Then came the five to six show, and with that, the day was over. It had all been a rather uneventful evening: Diego was mostly cooped up in his office replying to emails and finishing up some virtual trainings when he wasn’t taking stabs at his coursework. The time was six-fifteen, and his shift was over. Janice stepped into the auditorium, waving to Diego.

“Your first day is done, congratulations! How’d it go?”

“You know, I think it went pretty well. I think I got through to Freddy, so, I’m counting this as the most successful first day in the history of first days.”

She looked around, to make sure Freddy couldn’t hear. He was currently being looked over by maintenance personnel, throwing his usual fuss as Bon-Bon tried to calm him.

“That hug you two had was adorable! I don’t think I’ve ever seen him be so calm.”

“I surprised myself with that, actually. I think it was really Bon-Bon’s doing, without him I really do not think that would’ve ever happened.”

As if on cue, a gentler voice cut through them: “it was, as always, a pleasure to see. It’s rare to see such a careful personality get along with Freddy’s by any metric,” a line uttered by of course none-other than Ballora.

“Ballora! You two really do go together very well.”

“We could say the same for you and Freddy,” Ballora replied. In all truth, she was not at all wrong to say that. 

The day had come to a close, and now it was just a quick little post-first-day debriefing with everyone. Rock and Foxy had made their way into the auditorium, and Samantha wasn’t very far behind. Everyone took a seat at the tables, the animatronics included, as they all went over the day’s sales and such. Diego and Freddy were mostly quiet, just observing the others do it - Diego mostly for the sake of learning, Freddy for the sake of not liking to speak at these things. He wasn’t in this for the money, but, well it was his life’s purpose now wasn’t it?

The entire time, Diego had a very affectionate Bon-Bon resting a paw on his shoulder. Freddy seemed mostly okay with this. Mostly. He still didn’t exactly trust Diego, but he might see how Bon-Bon would. That rabbit was always too trusting, too eager to see the good in people even if it was just a façade. That had gotten them hurt a few times, but Bon-Bon seemed relentless in his optimism.

The meeting had drawn to a close, and Diego bid Funtime Freddy and Bon-Bon a very simple goodbye. He couldn’t wait to start his second day at the job, and quite frankly, Freddy might admit to himself, and only himself, that he would be counting the hours until Diego returned at six am. He would certainly have a nice little chat with the other animatronics about Diego, how sweet and incorrigible he was. How utterly, painfully, incorrigible he was. That’s what the animatronics liked to do, at night anyways.

They enjoyed their gossip. That’s how they bonded and passed the time as they waited for morning: night was a place of being worked on and being left alone. None of them particularly enjoyed the sensation of being left alone, or even of the man-handling the nightly maintenance crew were known for, but that was the simple fact of it. 

Freddy watched as Diego exited the building, got into his car, and left.

The building, from the outside, was rather unassuming. It was certainly a larger building, that much could be gleaned very easily, but it didn’t have a very distinctive architecture: it was simply one giant square. On the very front of the building, now bathed in the morning sunlight, there was a rather prominent sign right above the door that read in giant letters “Circus Baby’s Pizza World.” Above the text was a large image of the head-lining animatronic herself. 

Though the building itself was well-maintained, it simply seemed to be an object of yesteryear: that might, however, have been its saving grace in the face of the unapologetic retro-futurism of the Mega Pizzaplex.

Entering through the front-door, as was customary, a digital wall-clock read to be six in the morning on the dot - right on time! Diego was always a stickler for being on-time, and certainly, he looked the part of a put-together individual. He wore nice formal pants with spiffy black shoes that clacked as he walked about the checkered floor. He had a dressy white button-up covered by a wonderful little black vest - he looked very professional, making the best possible impression he could for his first day on the job! That was always the most important day of one’s job, or so, Diego figured. 

As he approached a kindly woman at the desk, he seemed to be instantly recognized.

“Oh! You must be Diego, and you’re here for your,” a quick sound of typing as she pulled up his system file, “ah! First day on the job! Well, let me be the first to welcome you to this job! I’m Samantha, but you can call me Sam! We don’t have very strict hierarchies here,” she explained with a chuckle. It, certainly, must have been refreshing to be treated with such kindness despite the awful stigma of this place. 

“Yes! I’m here to be Funtime Freddy’s care manager,” Diego replied very simply. He was taken somewhat back by Samantha’s reaction.

“Welc-, wait, Funtime Freddy?”

A few more keyboard clacks rang out as she checked and rechecked Diego’s file. There it was, clear as day, in plain-text:

DIEGO VÁZQUEZ

CARE MANAGER FOR [FUNTIME_FREDDY]

EMPLOYMENT BEGAN 7 MARCH

She checked the calendar app on her desktop: it was indeed the seventh of March, that fabulous little Monday.

She cleared her throat and adjusted her thick-framed glasses. It was now that Diego could get a proper look at her as he stood right in front of the desk. He estimated her age to be somewhere in her thirties. She wore a lovely little blouse with a heart-emblazoned cardigan pullover covering it. She had a black pencil-skirt on, and as for her shoes, Diego was unable to ascertain them for the moment. Her hair was luscious and styled in a humble beehive haircut, it not being too large or distracting: she was, altogether, a class act.

“Well I’m sure you two will get along just fine! He really is a nice bear, he just comes off a little… strong!”

More clacks of her keyboard reverberated outwards through the room as she pulled up today’s schedule. Right now it was six-o-three in the morning, and Funtime Freddy’s first party wasn’t scheduled to enter until eleven-in-the-morning: this would grant the two ample time to, hopefully, not kill each other.

But that wasn’t a concern! Funtime Freddy had never killed either of his previous caretakers. But he had made their working life so miserable that they both quit in less than three months each. Actually, if you put their combined time around him together it still wouldn’t add up to two and a half months. What joy!

“Well! Allow me to give you a quick little tour of this facility, it can be a little hard to get your bearings. By the way! Thank you for wearing such finery here, it really classes this place up. You’ll have your own office in the Funtime Auditorium, where Freddy is, so I do suspect you’ll find that to your liking.”

She stood up and began to walk through some double-doors into the restaurant, beckoning for Diego to follow after her.

The two entered into the main area, Diego’s shoes and Sam’s heels clicking their way throughout it all.

Pointing to her right, Samantha waved into an opened doorway: Ballora waved back. She entered the gallery with Diego following closely behind.

“This is the Ballora Gallery! Ballora, this is Diego! Diego, this is Ballora! He’s Funtime Freddy’s new care manager,” Samantha practically smiled out. That was the funny thing about her voice: she always spoke with such joy you could hear her smile!

“What a pleasure it is to meet you,” the ballerina stated as she took a bow. Throughout her stage, several mini-reenas practiced their dance: Ballora would be entertaining some children at ten in the morning today, and so, warm-ups were absolutely vital!

“And it’s a pleasure to meet you, Ballora! Lovely area here, it’s very calming.”

“Thank you, I try to ensure this environment is. You know how rambunctious the children can get, I would like to say that my room allows them a chance to calm down and simply dance: to spin, to fly away, one might say.”

The two had a quick conversation as Samantha walked over towards an enclosed office in the back of the room. Knocking on the door, she opened it and called Diego over.

“Oh, Diego! This is Janice, Janice Walker. She’ll be your mentor here throughout your time, she’s Ballora’s care manager. Janice, this is Diego! He’s the new care manager for Funtime Freddy.”

Diego’s mind fixated on that word: new. Was he replacing someone? 

“Let me get a good look at you sonny,” Janice stated as she walked up and towards Diego. Her office was filled with plants and books - a truly calming environment to match Ballora’s general vibe, though, with more of a flower-y focus.

Diego looked Janice over. She was a kindly woman of about sixty or seventy, and her clothing reflected it in all the ways except one. She had a bisexual flag pin pinned to her flower-themed blouse. She wore a long silk cardigan that reached her knees, it also had a flowery theme: each flower seemed to be individually stitched on in a most marvelous arrangement of floral expertise. Her shoes were dressy and refined, befitting a woman of her stature. 

“It’s good to meet you, Miss Walker,” Diego stated. 

Janice shared a quick giggle as she corrected him: “oh, please, that’s so formal! Janice or Jan will do. I think you and Funtime Freddy will get along just fine!”

That, probably, wasn’t a lie. She may well have truly thought that, though in truth whether or not she was right was not a decision that lay with her.

“Well, we’ll get out of your hair for now! He’ll be back after he’s finished his little tour,” Samantha stated. 

Janice moved back into her seat and waved off Diego before explaining that he must never hesitate to talk to her about anything, she’d enjoy the youthful company. Perhaps that’s why she took the job here? If he was entirely honest, she looked to be over the retirement age. That wasn’t meant as an insult, at any rate, there was nothing wrong with aging; in fact, it was very commendable that she kept a job at her age if she so desired.

The two moved back out of the gallery and into the main halls. She pointed out two storage closets and said that they were janitorial, and that it may occasionally be a fact that vomit winds up on the floor. If he was so inclined, though this wasn’t strictly required of him, he could access the closets with the code 4-4-0-0-0, the name number as how many pizzas they sold a year on average. A little over 12 a day!

Heading into the room opposite Ballora’s she took a quick peek inside: 

“Ah, darn! I think Funtime Foxy’s in maintenance at this time, and his care manager doesn’t get here until a little later. Their name is Rock Morris! They’re a very nice person, very strong actually.”

Moving into the auditorium, Diego noticed it was cut in half by a wall: the wall, though, seemed to not be a fan of doors as it simply had ribbons where doors should be instead. Cute!

Moving into the other area, Janice waved over at Funtime Freddy. Her posture seemed to straighten and her voice dripped with a stern confidence:

“Freddy! This is Diego. He’s your new care manager.”

Very simple, blunt, and matter-of-fact. That was odd.

She cleared her throat as the white-and-pink ursine glared at the both of them.

“Diego, this is Funtime Freddy. The rabbit on his hand is Bon-Bon, he’s a separate animatronic though the two are made to share one body during working hours. If he asks for his legs, they’re in the storage closet that’s right through that door. He’s allowed to have them as long as children aren’t nearby, or if it’s needed for an act. They should run their acts by you first, they’re a sort of comedy and acrobatics routine. He’s… a little rough around the edges, but, I’m sure you’ll be the one to crack that.”

She hoped and prayed that would be the case, at least.

Diego simply looked at the two. Bon-Bon offered a friendly smile and wave, to which Diego responded with his own. Funtime Freddy, however, seemed much less interested - or at least he did until he cracked a giant smile and moved all six of his face-plates as if ‘waking himself up.’ 

“Well hello there, Diego!”

The bear had a loud voice. Hadn’t he ever heard of an inside voice? 

His voice had a rising tone to it, as if everything was both a question and an exclamation. The tone of it was rather high-pitched and shrill, though, in a goofy manner rather than one that might be too offensive to the ears.

The bear’s footsteps reverberated throughout the room as he lowered himself from his stage to properly greet the two. Samantha seemed rather unimpressed with it, though Diego was rather intimidated. This was a massive metal bear of at least six feet, and one that certainly weighed several hundred pounds. Bon-Bon, however, seemed pretty harmless.

“Bon-Bon! Look at him! He’s so small! Why, I bet we could crush him with just one foot!”

So, the bear liked a darker sense of humor. Alright! That wasn’t too creepy, and it was probably true.

“Alright Freddy, that’s enough,” Samantha stated with an as-of-yet-unheard commanding overture.

“You’re such a party-pooper,” the bear practically shouted with a strange hint of, perhaps feigned, disappointment. 

“Everything’s alright, Freddy! Let’s just go back to our stage. I’m sure our new manager has things to do,” the diminutive hare hand-puppet stated. He seemed to be the most convincing of the three, as Funtime Freddy didn’t seem too invested in going against Bon-Bon’s words.

With that, the bear was off back to his stage. Diego finally managed to get a good look around the room: it was plastered about with posters that, in hindsight, were probably a little ominous. Images of the bear and hare accompanied by, in great big red text, phrases such as get ready and fun is forever. That was honestly quite creepy, and occupied the caretaker’s thoughts until they arrived at another office: this one, of course, was his! It even had his name already on it: Diego Vázquez, Care Manager! That was nice.

Once Samantha had opened the door and acquainted Diego with his office: it was well-furnished, and had some merchandise! Funtime Freddy plushies, complete with Bon-Bon sewn on, some t-shirts, even a baseball cap! It was pretty nice, all things considered. He had a lovely view of the outside from a window, and an even better view of the stage and Funtime Freddy’s half of the auditorium. 

He took his key from his desk and pocketed it, locking the door behind him as they made their way throughout more of the facility. Exiting Funtime Freddy’s auditorium, they were greeted with a short walk to the central stage - the Circus Gallery.

“This is the Circus Gallery, where Circus Baby and the Bidy-Babs are! She’s having evaluative maintenance done right now, but she'll be around shortly within the hour. Oh! Speaking of, that bay is in the basement. It’s just through this back room here, and down this elevator.”

The tour of the basement was brief, but informative. He was shown the animatronic lounge, where they could opt to relax between-shows, and the staff kitchen and lounge. The administrative offices, being nearby, were also shown to him. He didn’t get to see the maintenance rooms.

That was probably for the best, though. Maintenance this intense could get a little… well, it wasn’t for the faint of heart at any rate.

Moving back up into the main area, Diego was armed with knowledge. He was dismissed and able to do whatever he’d like by Samantha - she recommended getting to talk to Freddy and Bon-Bon, at the very least, some bonding would be nice.

Entering back into the Funtime Auditorium, he recalled all the information that had been dumped on him. He had the key to the storage room where Bon-Bon’s legs were held, as well as a scattering of other things. He also had the key to his office, and he decided that he might as well sit in there for the moment and log on to the computer. It’d take a few minutes for the desktop to get itself set up, so, it was probably prudent to get that done ahead of time.

Unlocking the door to his office, he glanced around the room as he took a breath out. He then stood up and rearranged some things on the shelves to his liking: he appreciated all the merch he had, honestly.

Then, he heard those familiar heavy footsteps making their way towards his office.

“Bon-Bon! I think our new friend is hiding from us!”

It wasn’t but a few seconds before Diego saw Funtime Freddy standing in his doorway.

“Oh, no! I’m sorry I gave you that impression, I just wanted to get all set up here before-”

“Bon-Bon! Our new friend is so polite!”

Somehow, that compliment seemed more disdainful than genuinely appreciative. He stepped further into the room, pulling a chair from in front of Diego’s desk and sitting in it. It seemed to be made especially for him, as it didn’t creak too much.

The bear was imposing even as he was seated. He had one hand on his lap, and the other holding Bon-Bon up. The hare detached himself and skedaddled about onto Diego’s desk.

“Woah! That’s really cool, Bon-Bon!”

“Alright, let’s talk,” Funtime Freddy stated. His voice was in stark contrast to his usual demeanor: it was calm, subdued, and in more of a tenor or a baritone register. “Thanks for joining the party, I’m sure you won’t disappoint, but you need to realize that I’m the one in charge here. All of us animatronics are the ones that call the real shots, you’re just here for a signature.”

Diego gulped a little bit. It was so… surreal, with no other real way to put it, to be talked down to by a giant robot bear. Looking down at his desk, Bon-Bon seemed to have curled up into a nap. Cute!

But also not cute considering Freddy seemed to respect his rabbit companion, and he was temporarily taking a break.

The time was six-fifty-eight, and Diego was starting to re-think his career.

“Well, Freddy, that’s… certainly a demand to make. Uh, I’m not sure I’ll be able to really comply? I don’t want you to change what you’ve been doing just since I’m here, but I am sort of here to look after you.”

“After me? What do you think I am? Some sort of overgrown child! I may ACT like one, but that’s just an act in front of the kids.”

The bear’s patience, already very low, seemed to be nearly-entirely depleted. He moved his hand onto the desk, tapping it in an oddly-threatening manner.

“Diego, is it? Don’t you live in a nice little apartment right down the street? Oh! And you’re not married!”

Diego gulped: “how do you..?”

“We have access to the employee files too! So, like I said, we call the shots. You aren’t the first they’ve hired to try and subdue me, but it won’t work. You’re just number three!”

Three?

So, the bear had two caretakers before Diego. That was not very reassuring to know.

“And do you know what I did to them, Diego?”

“Uh, treat them with kindness and respect?”

“OH-HO-HO! You’re so full of jokes! No, no, I made sure they didn’t stay very long.”

“Freddy, why are you so insistent on it? I just want to get to know you. I’m sure that you and I can learn to live with each other, it’ll be fine. I promise! We just have to give it a shot.”

“What makes you think you’re entitled to my and Bon-Bon’s patience?”

“The fact that I’m your caretaker, for one. Freddy, you don’t have to be in love with me: let’s just, I don’t know, get to know each other. I don’t want to be at your throat, or you at mine.”

The bear huffed out, seemingly unsatisfied with Diego’s pleas. He at least admired Diego for not immediately reaching for the electrical zapper that was right by his desk. He didn’t even seem to notice it existed, nor did Samantha point it out to him. Fair enough, it was tucked away in a small pouch with a single charging wire being snaked into it.

“We’ll see,” Freddy stated. He looked around the office, taking note of everything. The two just looked at each other for a while, before Diego looked at Bon-Bon. He raised his hand.

“May I?”

“Do what, exactly?”

“I don’t know. Caress him? He seems awfully soft.”

“No.”

Well, that went absolutely nowhere. He didn’t know what to really do, he just hated the awkward tension - but there was nothing Diego appreciated more than a challenge. Still, though, he could do with a more polite challenge.

Diego looked over to his computer and started typing away, responding to a litany of emails from Corporate. Funtime Freddy opened up his face plates to reveal a rather frightening endoskeletal countenance: he simply waited for Diego to look over, and when he did, he let out a startling scream. It woke Bon-Bon up, and certainly made Diego jump a few feet in the air.

“AHAHAHAH! Look at you! Do you really think you can handle me?”

Diego took a few heavy breaths in and out, hand on his rapidly-beating heart.

“Oh good lord, Freddy. You really are trying to scare me to death aren’t you?”

“Well, I can do things besides just scaring you that have the same outcome.”

“Are you threatening me?”

“Am I?”

Bon-Bon, now awoken from his nap, decided to interject: “maybe we shouldn’t be so hard! I don’t know, Freddy, but he seems nice! He hasn’t shocked us!”

Freddy looked down at Bon-Bon, grumbling in a begrudged acknowledgement.

“Wait, shock you guys? What do you mean, Bon-Bon?”

The hare pulled himself up by his arms and allowed himself to stand, as best he could, on Diego’s desk. He rubbed his hands together, knowing that he had just given Diego the answer to force their compliance. He gulped a little.

“You don’t know? It’s that thing in that pouch.” Funtime Freddy gave Bon-Bon a death glare: clearly, this information was not the sort that he wanted Diego to know. 

Diego moved his hand to the pouch, taking out a deceptively simplistic device. It was a simple black square with a yellow voltage hazard symbol on the top. It had a rather barbaric-appearing apparatus at the end, electrodes of a higher capacity than what one might think. Inside was a note, scribbled and scrawled: to my replacement, shock the bastard’s heart out.

He gulped.

“What… is this?”

He quickly turned back to the computer and typed in his emails, looking for any mention of it. There was one in a welcome and onboarding email from Corporate: a controlled shock device to motivate the animatronics into proper behavior.

“This… is. Uhm.”

He simply put the device back into its pouch, clearly uncomfortable around it. Funtime Freddy raised an eyebrow in a hesitant display of cautioned and tempered optimism. Could it be that he would be safe from those damnable ‘motivations’?

“I don’t think I’ll be using that. I’m… so sorry that you two have had to go through that.”

The bear stood up, grabbing Bon-Bon as he did.

“Let’s go, Bon-Bon. I think I hear a birthday boy down the hall that needs us!”

“Wait, Freddy-”

Diego didn’t and couldn’t get a third word out before Funtime Freddy was out the door. Had he offended the bear? Drawn up bad memories?

He took the taser back out, staring it over. He took in every detail, noting the absurdly high voltage it had. He gulped. He took a very brief online training on basic maintenance for these animatronics, and, whatever the voltage read was far higher than what the animatronics were rated to handle.

That was catastrophic.

He looked out his window, trying to find the bear and hare. The auditorium had been emptied out: perhaps Freddy went down to the lounge? At any rate, Diego had more emails to reply to. 

That was fine by him, at least. He put away the taser and shoved the pouch into a drawer, disconnecting it from its charging port.

What a horrible little device. Did all the animatronics have one? Was it just Freddy that did? He dared not think over the implications of that for too long. 

An hour, and some change, went by. It was now eight-ten in the morning, and Freddy was still nowhere in sight. Maybe he had been taken down to maintenance, or perhaps he just wanted to lounge around a bit. At any rate, Diego decided to go speak to Janice if she was around. He stood up from his office, closing and locking the door behind him.

His footsteps rang throughout the empty hallways. There were two hours until Ballora’s first group arrived, and that would start the day off strong.

A birthday celebration at ten in the morning on a Monday. What a weird set-up.

Entering back into the Ballora gallery, he noted Ballora’s absence. Weird. Maybe they all had meetings of some sort in the morning? It would make sense, at least. 

He moved into Janice’s office, knocking at the door. He was let in quickly and promptly.

“Hello again! Diego, right? It’s so good to see the youth take up such responsible positions. How are you liking it so far?”

He had many ways to answer that question, but, decided to be honest in a polite and diplomatic manner:

“I think Funtime Freddy and I are going to get along just fine. He just seems a little, oh, rough around the edges, that’s how he was described to me. Oh, uhm, I did want to ask you something though. Do you have a controlled-shock device? I found one in my office and I am not sure if I’m meant to have one.”

Janice moved into her drawer, pulling out hers. It seemed much smaller than Diego’s.

“I do, but I haven’t used it at all. I don’t see a reason to, and if you ask me, it’s a little cruel.”

“That’s what I was thinking, actually. I don’t know, these animatronics seem pretty, you know, personable. I don’t know if it’s just their programming-”

He was cut off before he could even finish his sentence.

“Oh believe you me it is not just that! I’ve worked as Ballora’s caretaker for a few months now, I started in October of last year, and I promise you they really are, what’s the term? Sentient? I think so, anyways, but I would agree. Ballora’s become a really good friend of mine, I hope it’ll be the same for you and Freddy. You know, I probably shouldn’t tell you, but you aren’t his first.”

“He told me that himself. Actually, he sort of hates my guts. I don’t think I blame him, though. The taser I have is… bigger than yours, let’s say.”

“I am aware. Your predecessor was very fond of it, I always thought it heartless.”

“I don’t think I’ll ever use mine. It just seems… well, is there a legal term? Abuse? That’s what I’d call it.”

“Right you would be. I don’t think Rock, you’ll meet them today I hope, has used theirs either. None of us like the idea, and it's very refreshing to see you don’t either. I may be old but I'm not a geezer. I know Freddy’s abrasive, but I think he just isn’t used to affection of any sort.”

“Oh, the poor bear…”

“Poor bear is right. Well, we don’t have to focus on such gloom if you want to change things! How are things besides that?”

“Rather well, honestly. I’m impressed with the offices they gave us, I didn’t even know we’d have them. I just sort of assumed we’d stand by their side or something.”

“You and me both, kid. You’ve seen their lounge, right?”

“Briefly. It seems a bit small for how large they are.”

“I don’t think they’re treated too well here. This is a heavy topic for your first day, but I think you deserve to know.”

“I think I agree.”

The two exchanged several more words regarding the treatment of the animatronics. All in all, another hour went by just from them talking.

The time was now nine-thirty, and Ballora was getting ready. The first few guests had arrived, and she was doing her pre-show. Diego had scuttled out of the gallery, on his way to try and find Funtime Freddy. No such luck in his own auditorium, so, perhaps he was in the lounge: that’s where he’d try and find him next, anyways.

He moved past the Circus Gallery, waving to Circus Baby who waved back. He entered the breaker room, then moved into the maintenance room: or, at latest, one of several in the facility. The service elevator to the basement was located here, and so, Diego took it.

Upon stepping out of it, he was greeted with Funtime Freddy and Bon-Bon on a bean bag chair, watching television.

Diego gently stepped towards him, though the bear seemed well-aware of his presence.

“Bon-Bon! Can’t we ever get a break from being looked after?”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to intrude.”

The bear sighed out, seemingly defeated. He dragged over a spare bean-bag chair. 

“Sit.”

Diego didn’t need to be told twice. He’d take any chance he could to bond with the unusual ursine! He simply plopped himself down on that bean bag and watched the television program: it was, actually, the news. How odd! He’d expect Freddy to be more of a ‘Monday-morning cartoons’ sort of guy, but, evidently that would be a mistaken impression.

“You… actually just sit here and watch the news?”

“What? I can’t be informed?”

“Huh. You are one surprising bear.”

Well, at least Freddy wasn’t insulting him.

“Only because you’re too dumb to notice anything!”

Well, there goes that briefly divine few seconds of not being insulted by the bear. At the very least, well, he best not even think about the lack of physical threats - else that might jinx it! 

It was always such a pleasurable thing, having good company. Even if the company was a six-foot-tall bear that really could crush you with just one step from his paw, it was still good company. Perhaps the relative, or rather, objective oddity of the situation was what made it so particularly memorable. 

“Do you like CNN or Fox more?”

“CBS,” Freddy responded, “why?”

“Oh, I just wanted to know your tastes. I can’t believe I’m going to ask this, but, are you a Democrat? A Republican?”

“I can’t vote, Diego.”

“But you can still have party values, now, can’t you?”

“I’m programmed not to.”

“I would also imagine that you’re programmed to do, or not do, a lot of things. I don’t think that stops you, though.”

Diego was, honestly, right. He was far more perceptive than Freddy would give him credit for, so he had that going for him. That was sort of the cute thing about the two: Diego enjoyed being seen as something that wasn’t threatening, it was always such a surprise when he came out on top in the end. Still, though, coming out on top of Freddy might be its own separate tier of difficulty. 

He looked over at Bon-Bon. The hare seemed rather intrigued and invested in the news, and utterly unaware of Diego’s presence, or at least, he wasn’t showing signs that he particularly cared that Diego was there. That was the good thing about Bon-Bon: he was the agreeable sort. Much more agreeable, at least, than the body he rested upon.

“So, Freddy,” Diego began much to the bear’s audible distaste, “where is Funt-”

“AND THE FOX MAKES HIS GRAND ENTRANCE!”

He hadn’t even heard the elevator ‘ding’ or open up, so, perhaps the vulpine vocalist had been there the entire time.

Diego jumped a few feet into the air, making Freddy laugh a hearty little chuckle. 

“OH! Hi there, uh, Funtime Foxy was it? It’s good to meet you!”

“And a pleasure to meet you as well! If my ears haven’t mistaken me, I’ve heard you’re assigned to care for this lug!”

Foxy’s ears were indeed unmistaken, but Diego’s ears would probably need some ice considering the sheer volume of Funtime Foxy announcing his presence. 

“You’ve got a flair for the dramatic, haven’t you?”

“Well, I am the premiere actor of this little entourage!”

Freddy rolled his eyes, once again making his distaste for the situation audible: “we know, Foxy. You were programmed with that.”

“But it doesn’t make it any less true, no, it only solidifies it as objective fact!”

The fox moved another bean bag chair to the group, making three chairs in total for three, technically four, individuals.

“It’s so very nice to meet you Diego! I’m sorry you had to get paired up with him and not me, the voluptuous fox with far too much talent for this little stage!”

Freddy groaned out, yet again.

“We. Know.”

Honestly, Diego was thoroughly entertained by the dynamic between the two. They were, in every way he supposed, siblings.

“Oh, Foxy! Do you know where your manager is? I haven’t had the chance to meet him yet.”

The fox tapped his chin for a moment.

“What a tragedy that is! They’re in the canteen right now. They’ll be by when they’re done snacking, I’m not due to give my first performance until noon so we’re taking this morning very easily!”

“An hour after mine. It seems I’m more popular!”

“You are merely the pre-show! I am the main act! You’ll be a good opener, but I’m the star of the show!”

And on, and on, the two went. They argued and bickered with all the intensity that siblings naturally had. In all honesty, Diego found it incredibly refreshing to just watch the two go at it - they were relaxed, this was their environment. This was, for all intents and purposes, their shared stage. He was a guest, he wouldn’t lose track of that. The two continued their little bickering until Rock made themselves known: they moved into the room and offered Diego an immediate fist-bump.

“Hey! Rock, they / them. Can’t say I’ve seen you around here before.”

“Diego! He / Him, if you please. I’m new here, today’s my first day actually.”

“Welcome to the team, then!”

Rock was, entirely, a surreal presence. A solid six-four and packed to the brim with as much beef as the human body could handle, they looked like they’d be more comfortable in a gym rather than hanging around robots that were both shorter than them.

“Thanks! It’s nice to be here.”

“Great to have another hand! So, are you with Freddy?”

“I am, actually! We’re just watching the news.”

“I didn’t invite you to watch with me, Diego,” Freddy protested.

“You don’t seem too bothered about it, Fred,” Rock simply replied. Rock had a look of sympathy about them with regards to Diego’s situation. Perhaps they knew the truth about the bear and his previous caretakers. They continued: “I just think it’s nice to see you two actually get along. I’m sure you’ve been talked your ear off about his previous managers, but, I can’t say I’ve ever seen him just sit down so calmly next to one of them.”

“You know, he’s really not so bad once you get past the, uhm, exterior. I don’t think I’ve totally made it past it yet, but it is certainly somewhere above the firmest edge of it.”

“Think it’s that way for everyone here. You’re lucky! You’re one of us, means you get to see the animatronics as they actually are rather than them in their showtime mode.”

Bon-Bon detached himself from Freddy’s hand once again, skedaddling and skittling about the bear. He came to rest on top of Freddy’s shoulder. He gave everyone in the room a friendly wave as he made his way up Funtime Freddy’s tophat, coming to rest on it. The rabbit curled up into a ball again, seemingly wanting another nap. Poor guy! So sleepy.

“D’awwh,” practically everyone in the room cooed out. It was a beautiful little moment of shared bonding.

Existing as a subsidiary and secondary company / complement to the Mega Pizzaplex, Circus Baby’s Entertainment and Rental is the ‘black sheep’ of the Fazbear family. Having been inherited from Afton Robotics, Circus Baby’s was kept in perpetual operation as it consistently made just enough money to make it worthy to keep around. In 2022, it is a rather sizable, though still largely unknown to those outside of Utah, company.

The Funtime Animatronics have been going strong since 1986, and have been maintained in their original forms since then. The animatronics have two main personality modes: “Entertainment” or “Working” mode, and an “After-Hours” or “Personable” mode. The Entertainment mode is activated when the Animatronics are in the presence of guests or upper management, or are otherwise preoccupied with acting as entertainers. The animatronics enter After-Hours mode when not in the presence of guests or upper management.

The staff are fully aware that the animatronics are personable and some may even consider them to be truly sentient, but the deplorable conditions of how they are treated are as-of-yet-unchanged. Electric shocks, though seen as brutal, are seen as the only way to ensure compliance from rather uppity and persnickety animatronics.

This story takes place as Circus Baby’s decides to try out a new profession to help keep the animatronics calm, a Care Manager. The point of this job is to have someone professionally trained in ‘animatronic psychology’ to keep them calm, i.e, a glorified robotic therapist. They are also trained in basic maintenance and technician-work.