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I promised fic recommendations like a week or two ago and I’m only getting it to it now but ayyooooooooo here we go! Here are my favorite Sun and Moon fics, asked for by @spama and then it was like well shit let me just dump all my Five Nights At Freddy’s recommendations here. They contain a mix of tropes, some of which contradict each other (I enjoy exploring different characterizations, but you’ll notice a lot of these have similarities that keep popping up because I am nothing if not predictable), and I’ll try to note prominent features and tropes in each one with minimal spoilers. So in no particular order!

Solar Lunacy by @bamsara

Reader insert, eventual romance with the daycare clowns. The protagonist has just been hired at Freddy Fazbear’s Mega Pizzaplex pre-Security Breach for general odd jobs that need to be done around the complex and quickly finds out how actually fucking weird their job is. They slowly meet the robots one by one and find themselves drawn to the first two they met, the daycare attendants, and the weird mystery surrounding them- in that Sun handles the daycare alone, when Moon is clearly meant to be his counterpart and partner. Why isn’t Moon helping in the daycare? What happened? Why is Moon so oddly feral; why does he play with them sometimes but try to hurt them other times? Something isn’t right here, and they’re gonna snoop until they find out what.

Features the other robots as prominent characters very early, but remains Sun and Moon central. Features Monty as a dick. So far no mentions of Bonnie or Foxy.

Celestial Omens (That Really Like Fishsticks) by @bamsara

This one gets its own separate category because it’s not part of the same story series and is in fact a non-fnaf au.

A mermay fic! Reader insert! Sun and Moon are sirens and you live on the shore. As a child you come across two siren children who are injured, exhausted, and trapped under netting, so of course you do the humane thing and rescue them. You take them back to your house and take care of them, giving them a safe place to sleep for the night. The next day you bring them back to the ocean and send them home, expecting to never see them again and eventually believing your elders about it all being a lonely child’s imaginative game.

Ten years later you nearly get yourself killed at sea, and your silent guardians, now as grown up as you are, finally get their chance to return the kindness you showed them all those years ago.

It’s only one chapter in but them as children is criminally adorable.

Lofi Beats To Capture Children To by @dana-the-control-brain Twin Animatronics With Too Much Time On Their Hands by @twinanimatronics

Lofi Beats follows Sun and Moon from their birth likely up to (maybe even including?) the events of Security Breach, detailing how these two got to where they are in present time- the circumstances of their creation, the abusive situations they were thrown into the deep end to deal with, and how that affected their relationship with one another. To say nothing of the actual child murders. Still ongoing!

Features the other robots as important characters, but takes a bit to meet them. DJ MM is encountered first early on. Yes, he’s adorable. Monty is once again a bully in this universe, so be mindful of that if you don’t like that characterization for Monty.

Twins is a reader insert that takes place after Lofi Beats and the events of Security Breach. The protagonist has known Sun and Moon for three months now and has grown used to them and their antics pretty quickly. The two are more bonded to one another now than they were three months ago, but they have a long way to go with their healing process and their relationship with each other… especially when neither have fully processed what happened to them, let alone how it affected them. This is further complicated with their feelings towards the protagonist, who remains clueless about all of this until one fateful encounter with Gregory after closing one day forces all three of them to examine themselves and their relationships with each other.

Is starting to feature the other robots, but also more slowly than Solar Lunacy. I’m guessing they and Gregory will be explored later on, as this fic is still a Sun and Moon centered fic. Monty has not been encountered yet at this point in the timeline but what we’ve heard of him indicates he’s still kind of a dick.

Romance with the daycare clowns! Also utilizes the ‘Sun and Moon were locked in the daycare and left there’ trope if you like that one.

This series features an extremely interesting take on their origins and initial relationship with each other that I’m kind of in love with tbh; just be sure you’re ready to watch them fight. A lot.

Copper Cogs Rusted Through by @paper-lilypie

Reader insert, future romance with the daycare clowns! The protagonist lives in an unassuming neighborhood and works two jobs to support their baby siblings. Life is full of love thanks to their family, but is also mundane and exhausting… until one day they find a ruined robot in the junkyard they work in. A break in the monotony! Being a former engineering student of course the only thing to do is rebuild the robot!

But what happens when that robot turns out to be sentient?

And traumatized.

And also not the only robot inhabiting the body.

Also the other one seems to be a bit murdery.

Whoops.

A post-fire ending where Sun and Moon did not escape the fire, and wake to find themselves being reassembled by a stranger in a strange house a year after the blaze (and maybe two years since they’ve had contact with people; I don’t know yet if this story is going with ‘Sun and Moon were abandoned in the daycare’ trope). Sun is just grateful to not be dead anymore and overjoyed to be around people again, but his and Moon’s second chance at life is not going to come easily…

Don’t Spare Your Gaze by @inazumaneko

Fun fact this is the first Sun and Moon fic that I ever read!

Sun and Moon encounter and survive the fire ending, but find themselves alone in the big wide world suddenly, injured and traumatized and without a purpose anymore. Now they must figure out how to survive a world they were never meant to fit into, with limited supplies and oh yeah the virus still kicking around in Moon’s head that activates anytime he encounters a human.

Surely this will go smoothly!

(It does not, in fact, go smoothly.)

Sun and Moon’s relationship in this is honestly just absolutely precious as in ‘I squealed aloud at a few points’ precious. If you prefer watching these daycare clowns not fight, this is the fic for you.

(That’s not to say that at some point in this long fic they won’t ever fight, just that their relationship starts from a better place in this one than previous stories on this list.)

Moon also isn’t a weird gremlin in this one. But he is adorable.

This one also has an interesting take on the what the virus is and how it operates!

And finally, NOT Sun and Moon centered, but far too good to not recommend:

To Fix What’s Broken of The Unconventional Series by @larxicana

Set during Security Breach, Gregory discovers that Freddy has a missing loved one and that the robots can be flushed of their murderous glitch with a good shock to their systems. Because he is the world’s tiniest juggernaut, naturally he decides the only thing to do about these discoveries is to find the missing rabbit release each of the others from the faulty programming compelling them to chase him.

But what starts as a mission to repair Bonnie and collect all of the other robots turns into a much darker mystery that needs solving as it begins to become apparent that something really bad is happening here, something beyond a simple glitch in the system…

Six parts so far, with most of them being one shots but a few being proper fics (though Sum Of Their Parts is short). The latest, To Fix What’s Lost, finally deals with the 'where’s Foxy’ question!

Monty is not a bully in this one, so rejoice if you prefer that characterization of him!

The og four are actually THE ogs, if you like that trope too!

Sun and Moon enjoyers may be disappointed that they’re not central characters, but they DO have a place in the family and are starting to feature a bit more.

Gregory is the pov character and he is a riot.

EVERYONE SAY THANK YOU TO THE AUTHORS FOR ALL THEIR WORK YOU PEOPLE HAVE GIVEN ME HOURS AND HOURS OF SERATONIN AND STORIES TO PICK APART FOR ANALYSIS AND THEORIES FOR FREE AND DESERVE ALL THE PRAISE

It’s literally the only movie I can think of that is based completely around the unheard of “FEMALE gaze.” Granted, while I’m a huge movie buff I’ve not seen every movie ever made. But even so, even if there’s another example of the “female gaze” in cinema that has escaped me it’s still damn impressive that a kids movie from 1997 based on a Jay Ward cartoon from the 60’s managed to turn gender representation in media on it’s fucking ass!

First things first, let’s look at our leading lady and love interest - Ursula, played by Leslie Mann.

Let me just say that while Leslie Mann is adorable and a talented actress, she does look a little less conventional and a little more plain compared to the bombshells that Hollywood likes to churn out. Leslie, in comparison, looks much more like a real women you’d meet on the street. She dresses pretty conservatively and plain throughout the film ; Wearing outfits that are more functional than fashionable for trekking through the jungle, pulling her hair back and so forth. Not that if she was dolled up and more scantily clad it would give her character any less integrity, but can we appreciate how RARE that is in the male dominated industry of film? Just think about all the roads a film about a woman in the jungle COULD have taken but didn’t - no scenes with her clothes strategically ripped or anything! You can say this is a kids movie, intended for children and that’s why the sensuality of the female lead is so downplayed but there are PLENTY of kids movies that handle women in a very objectifying and sexualized manner despite the target audience is pre-pubescent. Like, a disgusting amount. So I don’t think “it’s a kids movie” is why the film doesn’t take ANY, let alone EVERY, opportunity to showcase the main female character’s sex appeal…

…especially considering the sex appeal of the film rests squarely on the well defined shoulders of our male lead, George of the Jungle played by Brendan Fraser in the best god damn shape of his life!

*Homer Simpson Drooling Noises*

Whenever members of the reddit community try to compare the sexualization of women in fiction to the design of characters such as Batman and Superman, I always want to just sit them down and show them this movie. Because THIS is what the female sexual fantasy looks like, and Batman and Superman are male power-fantasies. Look at him - his big blue eyes, his soft hair, his lean, chiseled physique built for dexterity rather than power. He’s wild and free, but gentle. It’s like he fell right out of that steamy romance novel your mom tried to hide from you growing up.

Hell, the whole plot seems to be designed around how damn hot he is! First, for the majority of the film, he wears only a small strip of cloth to cover the dick balls and ass. Everything else is FAIR GAME to drool over for 40 minutes. Then, after he meets Ursula she takes him with her to San Francisco just so we can enjoy him in a well-tailored suit (as seen in the gif set), running around in an open and billowy shirt along side horses while Ursula and all of her friends literally crowd around and make sexual comments about him, and my personal favorite, ditch the loincloth entirely and have him walk around naked while covering his man-bits with various objects while one of Ursula’s very lucky friends oogles him and makes a joke along the lines of “So THAT’S why they call him the ‘KING of the Jungle’…”

And yes, it’s also a very cute and funny little movie. Out of all the movies based on Jay Ward cartoons, it was the most faithful to the fast-paced humor and wit of the original source material (yes even the new Peabody and Sherman movie which honestly I thought was too cutesy-poo.) But that’s not why this movie is popular with the gay community or why we all became women in 1997. It’s just really cool that there’s a film out there where the sensuality of the female form takes a back seat for the oiled up, chiseled, physique of Brendan Fraser (in his prime that is)

he’s non threatening

let’s take a look at his rival - Lyle is a cravat-wearing trust-fund kid (who, interestingly, is into Ursula’s fortune more than her, which kind of makes this a gender-swapped gold-digger thing too). He’s blonde and Ursula’s mom LOVES him. He’s more uncomfortable and less prepared to cope with the jungle than Ursula is, in his pastels and shiny shoes.

But he talks over Ursula, insists he knows what’s best for her, ignores her autonomy. In spite of the fact that Lyle Van de Groot is a rich, educated, social climber who cares deeply about his clothing and appearances he is a point-by-point checklist of unhealthy masculinity in a way that beefy, inarticulate, uneducated George could never be. Ursula is off on her own doing her own thing and Lyle hires two FUCKING POACHERS to track her down in the middle of the jungle while she’s working (or on vacation? It’s never made clear because he interrupts her before she can explain why she went on the expedition). Lyle ignores the local guides, claiming his experience with a bridge in Maui means the bridge they’re on is safe - which leads to a significant injury for one of the guides. He then tells Ursula the guides are conspiring against him, trying to make himself and his poachers seem safe and the Africans who make up the rest of their party seem dangerous.

Check that body language! A post above points out that we’re never worried about Ursula when she’s around George. That’s because Lyle talks to her like this. Look at his aggressive lean! Look at him literally looking down at her! She’s tilted away from him in the least threatening position possible and he’s so aggressive about whatever point he’s making. When he finds her after he pushed her toward a damned lion he kisses her and she pushes him away. Want a textbook example of gaslighting? Here you go: she says “don’t get all smoochy with me! I remember what happened with that lion” and he responds “What are you talking about? I was fighting that lion the whole time - you were just so terrified you don’t remember.”  Then he shoots George! And then he kidnaps Ursula and attempts to force her into marriage!

Now look at how George and Ursula interact (slightly NSFW):

Even though he’s a big strong dude and he thinks he’s doing what’s okay he lets her set the tone for their interactions. He accepts that he’s out of his wheelhouse and even if he doesn’t understand it he does what she says is culturally appropriate. He learns from her! He listens to her! Compare Lyle leaning into Ursula above to this image of George and Ursula talking:

He’s listening to her, all of his attention is on on her, but he’s totally nonthreatening. His torso is turned toward her but he’s not invading her space, his hands are clasped, he’s smiling, and she’s the one leaning into him. Look at that smile she has, look how happy she is to be listened to. Her posture in both images is vulnerable but in this one with George she’s vulnerable because she has chosen to share with him instead of because she feels threatened.

When George rescues Ursula from Lyle at the end of the film it isn’t a typical damsel situation - George doesn’t have a knock-down-drag-out fight with Lyle, he swings into a tree and offers Ursula a hand so she can reach up and save herself (and before he does it he acknowledges how much it’s going to hurt and *whimpers* and looks human and scared). And you’ve gotta remember that George rescues everybody. It’s not just Ursula - he also rescues a parasailer and gets shot rescuing Shep and Ape. He just likes helping, dammit!

AND this movie offers a perfect counter to the “nice guy” thing - Ursula starts engaged to a jerk who her mom thinks is a “nice guy” the moves on to actual nice man George who isn’t *just* nice - he’s also patient, listens to her, has his own skills and talents, is okay with being goofy, has his own social circle and isn’t totally dependent on Ursula, and looks amazing. Ursula doesn’t go with George just because he’s a *nice* guy who rescued her from an asshole, Ursula goes with George because he’s an interesting, fun person who is supportive of her different way of being an interesting, fun person. AND he’s emotionally available. Google image search George of the jungle and see how many smiles you can find, see how many open looks of confusion there are, see how much sadness you can see in George’s face. Now look for images of Lyle. His two expressions are a smirk and cartoonish fear. I know this is a cartoonish kid’s movie, but it is SO powerful that the hero shares his emotions while the villain masks every emotion but fear. Lyle doesn’t want to open up, he doesn’t want to be vulnerable, he wants CONTROL. George wants to learn, to protect people he cares about, to explore new places, to laugh when he’s happy and to be sad when he’s sad, and that he does that while being a broad-shouldered, physically powerful dude who is NOT totally self-involved is just…

Like, look, I didn’t sign on to tumblr dot com for George of the Jungle discourse, but I’m just now realizing that this movie may have done the most for destroying my conception of stoic masculinity and gender roles as a child.

Like

Please know we want to help and you are NOT alone.

This fucked me up for a good 20 minutes.

My anger was my own heart standing over the beaten-down part of me and saying "You may be too whipped to feel it completely right now, but this situation is not okay and how they are treating you is not okay, so I am going to watch your back until you can protect yourself again."

I've been told hanging on to my anger is like drinking poison and waiting for the other person to die.

No. It's me realizing I had the right to stand up from the table and not drink the poison I was being told was the only truth. It's me reclaiming the power I ceded to others in a desperate attempt to survive.

⭐ My Stars ⭐

Last week was incredibly busy, but I’m excited to share with you all my new line of star themed gear, including my new Large Adventure Packs!

Now in the shop while supplies last. ^^

https://www.etsy.com/shop/ArcherInventive

NO

B R E A T H E

ITS TIME

It even goes beyond that, like if I ever eat a raw vegetable for my own health I always get shit like “yeah but the dressing is super bad for you so you canceled it out by eating ranch with it” or “carrots have tons of carbs they’re basically sugar”

what they expect me to say: “well, no, actually, canon supports it, because if you look back as far as season three, she’s been training for–”

anybody else: may i also please… have some candy

what’s “sloppily made” or a “bad idea” about a trained girl assassin doing an assassination?

what’s “sloppily made” or a “bad idea” about a girl discovering she can use a quasi-magical force in a universe where quasi-magical forces exist?

what’s “sloppily made” or a “bad idea” about having a gay superhero in a story that takes place in a world where gay people exist?

what’s so hard to understand about my original post? is it not obvious that i’m making a joke? a joke about the way that gatekeepers expect us to be constantly proving the “quality” and “merits” of us getting any scraps of representation at all? when we should not have to fucking do that?

i’m tired of being forced to do fandom homework for gatekeepers. i shouldn’t have to write a dissertation on arya’s training with the faceless men to establish the validity of her actions to people who’ve been watching the fucking show all along but just have such misogyny-soaked brains that they can’t recognize the difference between “bad writing” and “my own shitty internal bias.” there is PLENTY of shitty writing on game of thrones: nearly all of it! but this was a logical plot development, and yet fandom still lost its collective shit, because skilled women are somehow the most fantastical element of a fucking ice zombie story.

that dude asking “well why should there be a gay avenger?” is a perfect example: he wants his homework done for him. he wants an essay in 12-point font with one-inch margins outlining Ten Solid Reasons for the inclusion of a gay avenger and their Relevance to the Plot, but i will tell you what he deserves, which is to be told to fuck off. there should be a fucking gay avenger because there are fucking gay people alive on earth and that is IT. we’re alive in the world, and so we deserve stories. stories about people like us. it’s that simple.

the point of my original post is that i am done politely providing footnoted essays on why there should be heroic lead characters that i identify with. “rey’s a mary sue” is not a statement that deserves to be refuted with evidence, it deserves to be fucking laughed at, and i was.

The more I thought about it the more I understood that holding minority representation to higher standards of subjective quality was unnecessary and childish in and of itself. If I wasn’t personally impressed by the movie, I didn’t have to watch it.

And I actually have no idea where I got the point that wanting something isn’t enough reason to want it. It doesn’t make any sense.

Furthermore, I see now that representation is uneven and it doesn’t add up that this would be because white, straight, male representation just happens to always be better. It was my own internalized bias that led me to believe this without logical support.

And above all, my refusal to understand simple concepts doesn’t place the onus on you to explain why you want something. It’s on me to think about different perspectives. That’s how we grow as people. Insisting on remaining stagnant stifles that intellectual growth.