I Don't Own Fnaf
Foxy was... having a tense day, it was mostly the same as any other, but there was something coming soon that he wasn't sure he'd be able to handle and it was getting on the pirate fox's mind more and more the closer the day approached. Still, he performed for the kids all the same to the best he could, and no one seemed to notice anything, something he was thankful for. After so long being the one who no one ever cared enough to repair fully, it was something he was always at least subconsciously worried about people seeing him as not worth the effort to listen to his performances.
It made him always put his best foot forward, but it also meant he was constantly dealing with a background noise of anxious nerves almost constantly right before and a bit after closing, while during the day he was mostly able to be lost in the performance without any issue. The character of Foxy was one he could most easily be lost in during the working hours. He still tried his best every other hour as well, but it wasn't always as easy.
Right now they had a party going on, Mari was going to be the one to bring in the gifts later on, but for right now they were waiting on the cake, which Mike had just come over towards the waiting fox, holding it out so he could take it. Foxy found himself focusing on the man for a long moment, mostly on the mask that he could see faint speckles of purple that was hidden beneath, before catching himself as he turned to collect the cake, it was chocolate with white frosting with a pink trim.
Foxy made sure to look it over, just to make sure it was perfect, it always was. Marionette refused anything less for anything he gave to kids, so the foxy quickly moved over to the side room that held the party of a medium sized family with a couple kids. The birthday was for a little girl, judging by the candles on the cake, she was turning eight. Foxy ignored the faint memories of his eighth birthday, the last birthday he got to celebrate, with a long practiced ease, as he moved into the room with a flare as he loudly proclaimed to his audience.
"Ahoy mateys! I be hearing that there be a lass in need of a sugary respite!" Foxy let himself soak in the natural reactions, the parents being shocked at the energy the pirate put out only long enough for the birthday girl, Rachel according to the name on the cake, to squeal in excitement, before they were saying something to match the energy, as the other kids all quickly burst out in their own chatter as Foxy moved closer, being careful given he had to balance the sheet cake on one hand given his hook, before going back into the act when the noise fell enough that he knew they would be able to listen.
"I figured it be a captain's duty to make sure my shipmates get all the energy they can before yeh have to go back to scrubbing ye ol homework floors!" He set the cake down then, right in front of the birthday girl, as she looked over the cake with stars in her eyes. Foxy found himself noting the foxy plush already sitting in her lap, it made his machinal heart squeeze, as he let himself continue on with the routine, going on maybe just for a bit longer than necessary, only realizing when Marionette had arrived to hand out the gifts that had been left with him when the party first arrived at the Cove, with another plushy, this one a different version of Foxy, as a free gift from the Cove for the birthday girl.
Taking that as the que he was spending to much time for the one party, he made to retreat, giving a long pirate's goodbye before finally exiting, making sure to move a bit more stiffly as he did, just in case any of the kids or adults happened to notice anything and think more about it than was worth considering.
That had been the only party for the day, so Foxy found himself setting up back on the main stage, his stage, and simply letting himself alternate between doing one of the numerous routines he had made or reused from his time at Freddy's and being behind the curtain to give the appearance of having to recharge or take breaks, depending on the age of the ones keeping an eye on him.
He would have loved to be able to be out all the time, but Foxy knew better than to be greedy about it, having learned his lesson of overreaching and not being careful enough more than long enough ago to never be able to forget that trained carefulness of potentially suspecting eyes. Of course, he still found himself indulging all the same without being able to help himself occasionally, but never overstepping the line was the key.
Foxy would rather step off his own plank than risk what he had now.
The thought came unbidden but without surprise, as he quickly pushed it away and down back to where the rest stayed as he decided to put on one last routine to make sure it wouldn't have the chance to resurface again. It was getting late, just the dinner crowd still out there, it would have to be more low key and less energy than he was suddenly feeling about doing, but a simple pirate joke routine would still get the laughs rolling in.
But soon enough it was time to close and once more Foxy was left with his thoughts. He ignored them of course, sitting on the stage, behind his curtain, listening to the sounds of the others working on getting everything in ship shape for the next day they'd be opening. Unfortunately for the fox, today had been the end of the week, meaning that tomorrow the Cove wouldn't be open at all, meaning he'd just be here, without a distraction to his most recent source of thoughts.
Finally though, he pulled himself from his stage, moving around and just watching the crew, his crew, moving about, Mike pulling Mari off to the side, the two had been arguing recently, Foxy hoped they sorted it out. Fritz was moving around, grumbling to himself about either a new leak or an old one, Foxy didn't mind it too much, though he did wish he didn't have to act like he had a programmed response to why the arcades occasionally messed up.
Then there was Jeremy, who... was approaching him, Foxy felt himself stiffen up a bit before letting himself relax. Jeremy had a bit of an awkward look on his face as he looked back for a moment, noting how the others weren't close enough to overhear anything, before saying.
"Hey Foxy, are you doing ok? I noticed you were a bit... more active than usual" Foxy felt his insides tense up before he said with a pep to his voice.
"Never better! Just wanting to get the week ended off strong" The man didn't seem particularly convinced, and while Foxy knew exactly that the man probably knew exactly what was going on in his head, Jeremy wasn't the type to pry, so Foxy continued to say, "It be nothing"
"If you're sure, just... If you ever want to talk, we're all here for you, me and Fritz that is, you know Mike wouldn't mind in the slightest" Foxy felt himself wince a bit at the latter most name without his own permission, as Jeremy's face shifted into a look of his own. "Unless you don't want to talk to Mike for some reason?" Foxy backtracked as fast as he could, waving a hand as dismissively as possible, but his voice gave away how panicked he was at the idea.
"N-no! Not at all, just... uh... Shoot" Foxy moved to scratch at the back of his head before having to stop himself before he accidently stabbed his head with is hook, before saying, "It be nothing, Mike just asked the captain to help with something and I'm worried about messing it up is all" Jeremy tilted his head to the side, before asking simply.
"If you don't mind me asking, what is it he asked you to do?"
"Ah, it's... It be Goldie's birthday soon, and given everything... He wanted me to go over there and spend the day with the bear, yah know, to keep company and everything, be a good distraction" Jeremy frowned before saying.
"Oh, I see. Do you not want to? I don't really remember the two of you talking much"
"No, no that's not it, we are friends, it's just... We haven't really talked in a long while, you be right about that, and I'm... I'm just worried about messing it up. It will be an important day but I only know how to make light of birthdays, not... not be consoling or anything on them. I don't want to mess it up and make a mess of it all, but I don't want to just run from it or anything else, it's just... I don't know" Jeremy seemed to find the words for the issue that Foxy had been having problems with for days now.
"You know that you want to be there for your friend, but you're worried about messing it up because it's been so long" Foxy gave an uncomfortable nod, unsure if he was enjoying his issues being just pulled out and laid bare before him, but that's just how Jeremy was, he could get to the heart of the matter in seconds when he felt it was important enough to address.
"I- I mean, yeah, I suppose" He was looking away, trying to not feel too awkward or embarrassed about it all, he was suppose to be the star of the show now, but his thoughts were interrupted as a hand reached up high and managed to place itself onto his shoulder, as Foxy looked back and down at the man who just gave him a simple smile.
"It's alright, you can be nervous, it's been a while, it's understandable and completely fine, just take it easy at first. I doubt the two of you ever really got the chance to really talk to each other, even if it is a bit awkward to begin with, you'll both manage to find something to talk about soon enough" It should have been more embarrassing, Jeremy was a smaller guy, Foxy was even taller than Mike, if not by a staggering amount, but the amount of stretching and reaching up for Jeremy to do such a simple gesture to comfort the fox shouldn't...
Well, it shouldn't have felt as validating and comforting as it was, Foxy had been a hunter, he was massive and he was dangerous, had been the most dangerous for a long time, but Foxy still felt himself lean down a bit, half to let the man not have to be on his tiptoes, and because it felt like something was stirring in his metal chest enough that his hand had to come up and hold it over his furred chest. After a moment, Jeremy said as well.
"Feeling better?" The fox let out a faint huff, slowly straightening up, now feeling a bit embarrassed, as he said in an almost reluctant tone.
"Yah know I do"
"Maybe, but I don't like speaking other people's emotions for them"
"Then what did you call that?"
"Just a bit of advice from something I noticed, if you ever want to talk about anything else, then I'm always here, same with the others, even if they all got their own things happening as well" Foxy snorted at that, glancing up in time to see Fritz getting fed up and kicking the side of one of the arcade machines.
"How it feel to be the one that knows what's happening all the time?" Jeremy gave a shrug and a lightly tense smile.
"Exhausting, playing secret keeper without people even knowing it can be a bit tiring, but I don't mind, because here I get to actually use that to be able to help in the little ways I can" Foxy wasn't sure he liked the faintly bittersweet way the man said those words, as he found himself saying before he could help it.
"Ain't nothing little about you expect your height" The man seemed a bit surprised and a tad confused, as Foxy quickly clarified, trying to not feel awkward again, just having gotten out of that the first time, "Er- I mean to say, you got a big heart, and it goes both ways yah know? We're here to listen, just cause we can't be fancy in knowing when there's a problem, don't mean we can't help any" Jeremy seemed even more surprised at that, before giving the fox a smile and a pat on the side before saying softly.
"Thanks Foxy, I appreciate that" The conversation ended out around there, the two moving around to do their own things, Jeremy apparently having stopped by to talk on his way to the back room to grab the mop because some kind had dumped what looked like a pint of ice cream in a bowl right behind the trash can instead of in it without noticing, meaning there was a large chocolate colored stain that had slowly been growing on the floor as the ice cream continued to melt.
Jeremy didn't spend a lot of time outside or around other people in the most recent years of his life.
It wasn't because he was some super introvert or that shy, though he could admit even before he started to work at Freddy's he hadn't been much of a socialite, he had friends, close ones, or at least he had thought so, but after his accident... Well, apparently he had the type of friends that weren't looking to hang around someone who needed a year and a half of time to recover from a life threatening injury.
After that, life outside... had been overwhelming, people were overwhelming, but that was a story for another time. Needless to say in less detail, he had preferred to keep to himself for the most part, it was easier, even if it was much more lonely, than having to deal with the difficulties that came from being around others, of being close to them.
Then Pirate's Cove happened, or well, a few things happened in between then, but those were unimportant to how he was now. Jeremy never thought he'd be much for work like this, he had been somewhat content to know he'd probably spend the rest of his life behind a desk looking at numbers that he didn't really care about, to work on things he couldn't care less about, until he found something to be content with.
That hadn't happened, and while getting here wasn't easy, it had been worth it. Jeremy didn't think much about the idea at first admittedly, in fact he had kind of been dreading it, the idea of working even more at anything related to Freddy's, but it hadn't been like that at all, because Mike wasn't like that at all. A silly thing for someone like him to forget, but Mike refused to be anything like what Freddy's had become.
He helped as much as he asked for help, and so Jeremy gave it, working alongside Fritz, the three spent weeks to months working together, pulling everything they had together, working through nights and the days whenever they had a moment of free time on the project that none of them really knew on if it would succeed or not. Jeremy hadn't been close to either man beforehand, not even Fritz who he technically had known for years.
But now? Jeremy learned about others quickly, he had been ok enough at reading people even before the empathy thing, now it was more like... reading an open book felt not like the right words, but the saying still felt like the best way to understand it. It hadn't always been like that, but he had years to adjust and learn what things meant, even with his attempts to avoid that.
So, yeah, he knew Fritz and Mike more than well now, and more than that, he trusted them both. It was the only good thing that came out of this, knowing explicitly who you could and couldn't trust. Even more than that though, he liked them, they were his friends, through and through. It wasn't just that they happened to work with each other on a business because none of them could escape, or, well, it didn't end up like that, even if it was a pretty good descriptor of how the Pirate's Cove started.
It was weird, having that again, having people he knew he could rely on without hesitation. It had been a long time, and he had been burned for thinking so more than once already, but here... Well, they all fought for their lives together, they were bonded over something more than just friendship as well, they weren't just here for themselves, but each other and the others that weren't a part of their little living trio. That was nice, to have that connection, to feel like he was a part of something, after so long of just watching the world go by, knowing more than he'd like to of the ones he could only watch step pass him, having this now was refreshing.
He hadn't thought it would be, he thought the pizzeria would be way too much, he hadn't known if he could have handled it, being in a room for so many hours a day, every day, with so many emotions running high all over the place. Kids weren't exactly known for their emotional control after all, and there was the occasional moment where it wasn't great, when it got a bit much, and it felt more like he was swimming his brain through a storm more than just enjoying the ocean breeze, which was about as accurate as a metaphor as to say an animatronic named Foxy was based off a wolf, which was not at all, but it got the point across.
But most of the time? It was good, great even, the atmosphere, the joy, the constant celebrations of life, in such a pure and unfiltered way that only kids could really have, just made Jeremy feel more connected and with the world than anything else had in a long time. It made it that he was often the only one that wasn't completely exhausted at the end of every shift like Mike and Fritz were. He loved it, he loved working at the pizzeria more than he thought he ever would.
It wasn't what he expected out of his life, but every moment he was working, knowing that he was working forwards and towards making that feeling, that he knew he was feeling from everyone else, stay with those customers, those kids, knowing exactly the joy and happiness they got out of something he helped build back up from the ruins it had once been it. It wasn't something he didn't know how to put into words, ironic given he was the one that was supposed to be good with his emotions.
Which meant that once the day was over, and Jeremy returned to his tiny apartment, the contrast to the emptiness was infinitely more noticeable.
Taking a deep breath to himself, he moved around, looking at the walls that had over time become more bare instead of filling up. His eyes drifted to the uncomfortable couch that he sort of despised, and the small box tv that he owned but hardly ever watched. Tv nowadays felt off to him because of the lack of emotions that the screen could convey compared to what he was used to. He'd say it was like watching a bunch of puppets perform a really realistic play, but he happened to know a puppet that was infinitely more animated.
So it mostly just sat there more than anything else, but he might as well do something with his free time before he went to sleep to speed up the process of getting to tomorrow where he could get back to work... Maybe he should have invited the two men back out again, it had only been a few days, but that night, as quietly pathetic as it was to admit to himself, was one of the highlights of his evenings in months.
He could ask tomorrow, but... Fritz was spending more time with Janet, he was incredibly obvious about it, and Jeremy remembered that the two would be trying out for dinner soon to see how it would go. He knew it would be well, but there was no reason to put any pressure on him to hang out with Jeremy when he was thinking about other things.
He could ask Mike, but the man had his own thing going on and a situation with Marionette that it was clear Mike would use as an escape from that, and it would be better if the two sorted it out. Now if only they could sort everything else out as well, that would be nice, but he wasn't holding out much hope, they were about as obvious as they were oblivious.
He could just spend another hour or two at the Cove with Foxy, but there was nearly a decade of age between the two, which given Jeremy was only twenty-five, he could admit to himself made him feel a bit weird just hanging around without purpose, and while Jeremy was fine with considering the fox a friend, that felt like it was stretching it a bit. Besides, the fox had his own things going on, even though Jeremy was sure the teen would appreciate the company, he couldn't find it in him to bring it up. Not right now, even as he remembered the words from the fox earlier in the day as his eyes caught on the hat he had just tossed onto the counter.
The thing was simple enough, just a baseball cap with the Pirate's Cove logo on the front, designed by the resident artist of the group. It was technically Foxy Merchandise that was supposed to be made more for kid sized heads, but Mike had given one that was much more adult sized to him without much in the way of explanation. Jeremy knew though of course, the blond man always wore hats when he could help it, and he made sure he could always help it.
He just appreciated that Mike had the tact in that moment to not make a joke about marketing, even if he really and deeply did appreciate the gesture. He had been making sure to wear it to work, and often just in general, like when he had to go out for his monthly grocery shopping. It was a small gesture, probably had some kind of symbolism to it that Mike himself hadn't really considered, but it did help prove a point that a certain fox had made...
He'd ask tomorrow during work, the worst that could happen was they would be busy and reschedule to another day.
...Right?
It was surprisingly awkward to share a bed with a person you were fighting with, but even if Marionette was being surprisingly childish, Mike wasn't going to make his friend suffer just because he was annoyed at the puppet. And apparently the puppet agreed with the sentiment at least in some way, given that the bedroom had somehow become something of a peace zone. Then again, that would imply that they were fighting, Marionette was still being weird, but as long as Charlie didn't come up in a conversation then they seemed to be fine.
Of course there were the other things that Mike had been noticing and dealing with when it came to Mari. He just seemed... Off, like, even when they were almost normal, it was never quite right because he always seemed to be thinking about something and deflecting it when Mike thought to bring it up. It was... kind of annoying to be honest, because whatever it was was obviously bugging the puppet, and he was very clearly nearly taking it out on Mike in his own way.
The cold shoulder being the most popular one, not that Mike really knew just what it was for or why he was being given it at all. He was pretty sure it was still about Charlie, even though Mike had made the effort to not actively bring her up, even if they did talk once every few days or so. She even showed back up at the pizzeria not too long ago again, just to chat for a while and to get lunch while she had a free period between her afternoon classes and her job.
When Mike had asked about that latter one, she just shrugged and said she was working at a repair shop part time so she had some extra cash on hand. Mike figured that made sense, but it did make him a bit more curious about her situation, she hadn't mentioned her mom yet, and he wasn't sure if he should mention it or not. But it was something he was thinking more and more about bringing up to the woman. Hence why he had mentioned the bedroom thing, sort of, Mike figured it would be best to let Marionette know he'd be spending tomorrow hanging out with Charlie, so the two could properly begin to catch up a bit more than just the stray phone call when either had the time, maybe open up a bit about himself so she would feel comfortable to do the same if he had to. Something about the silence on the subject made him nervous.
Needless to say, that idea didn't work out too well, as Marionette, who was sitting up already in the bed, simply just crossed his arms, and said.
"Are you sure you should? If you talk to her then you're going to have to open up about your own past" Mike frowned at that, as he moved over, sitting down on the bed as well and said back.
"And what's that supposed to mean?" The puppet just shrugged.
"Nothing, just, you haven't even really opened up to me about what your past was like, you know? And suddenly you're more than willing to talk about that kind of thing just so someone who knew years ago will talk to you a bit more. Are you sure you're not being a bit to invested in this woman?" Mike felt something ugly try to rear its head back in defensiveness at the way that was worded, as he said back, a bit snappy.
"I think you're making a lot of assumptions about what I'm planning on doing... I didn't know it that big of an issue that you didn't know much about my past" Mike had actually appreciated that, his past wasn't something he held in much high regard, to hear that might not have been the case put him more on the defensive than normal. Marionette on the other hand hesitated before saying more uncertainty than Mike was used to hearing.
"I-... I don't, I mean it would be nice to know more about you, but I don't need it, I know who you are and that's more important to me. I can still be curious though, and it makes me wonder just how much you care about this Charlie that you're willing to do that at all" Mike withheld a groan, it was the third time this was happening, though the fact it was a girl, again, made him instinctively snap out a joke instead of something more harsh.
"Mari, I know we share a bed, but I'm pretty sure we aren't married, so stop acting like a jealous housewife" Mike mostly said it because, well, ninety percent of the tv media that he consumed had in some way a jealous housewife... Maybe a hundred percent of them now that Mike was thinking about it. But the point was after he said it, Mike was suddenly struck with just how accurate what he said might have been just as Marionette pulled himself up and said with way to much fluster there was to his voice.
"I- I'm not jealous!" Mike spun around, up onto his feet as the realization really hit him as he felt himself let out a small laugh at just how amusing the conception of that was, as he said.
"No! No really are! How was I missing that!"
"You were missing it because there wasn't anything there to notice!" The puppet was absolutely on the defensive, shaking his hands wildly, like the movement would somehow convince Mike of that fact.
"Oh, so it's just completely a normal reaction that you get defensive every time I try to hang out with someone new?" Obviously Mike knew there was a pretty large portion of that which really came from Marionette's trust issues, but the jealous puppet concept made something in his chest feel warm, and it really was funny to think about that Marionette thought to be jealous at all.
"I don'-" It was either out of awareness of himself or the look Mike was already giving him that had the puppet pausing before looking away, "I'm not jealous! I'm just concerned is all, nothing wrong with that" Mike slowly felt his smile drift off his face, the almost cute level of defensiveness had shifted into something that sounded a whole lot more self-conscious.
And just like that Mike was the one concerned, as he glanced at the puppet for a short moment before asking.
"You're right, nothing wrong with being concerned... But what are you concerned about Mari? You know you don't have anything to worry about right?" The puppet just shrugged.
"I mean, I know, but it doesn't mean I can't worry" Mike frowned a bit, mostly out of confusion, as he moved over to where the puppet had sat back down on what had become his side of the bed, sitting down next to the animatronic as he asked.
"Worry about what though?" The puppet glanced at Mike for a long moment before letting out a quiet distressing dial tone before it was suddenly cut off, telling Mike the animatronic hadn't meant to let his feelings out in such a way, which also explained why he had his default smile on.
"I'm not sure, just... I've been worried about something happening for a bit now I guess. And with what happened at BBs, I just... I'm worried about you getting in over your head and leaving me behind, willingly or not" Mike felt something in his chest get twisted at, at the reminder of his stupid stunt. He had thought for a bit that maybe they had moved past it, but it was clear this was something that had been on the puppet's mind for a while now, more than that, something that had never left it like he had hoped.
"How does that relate to Charlie?" He wasn't sure what else to ask, he could promise he could be more careful, but that wouldn't address whatever the problem was right now. As the puppet fidgeted a bit for a long moment before finally quietly admitting.
"She's just.. Off.. But I don't know-... Maybe I am jealous" Mike was about to say something, maybe crack a joke or tease the puppet a bit to at least try and break the tension, but Marionette continued before he could, "N-no, not jealous... If I'm being honest, it's the same thing, I'm scared you're going to leave me behind for someone else, which is dumb, but... I worried about it, with Janet it went away quickly but Charlie... You've known her her whole life right?" Mike found himself answering before he could spend time thinking about the puppet's words.
"I meet her a week after she was born, I called her pudgy apparently even if I don't really remember it" He also called Sam ugly, but he had a feeling now wasn't the time to bring that up, as the puppet made some kind of gesture, like Mike just proved some kind of invisible point.
"How am I supposed to compete with that? You've known her your whole life, the second you saw her you picked her up and hugged the life out of her, I've never seen you like that. What happens when I get forgotten and moved to the side, what happens when you find you prefer the company of a real person you share a history with? Who you can go out and grab lunch with instead of some creepy puppet who can't even leave the house without having to act like I'm not real?"
Mike found himself being rendered speechless at the quiet admission from the puppet as he wrung his hands together from nerves, he knew he should say something, but somehow he just couldn't find the words, something that honestly never happened. For the most part he just felt like an idiot, not being able to see what was really going on, about why the puppet had been acting the way he had, or at least why he never asked further, something he was known for doing, to be able to figure out what the problem had been.
Eventually it seemed like he had been quiet for a bit too long as Marionette let out an uncomfortable chime as he said.
"See, it's a dumb thing to worry about... Sorr- Ah! Mike!" Mike still couldn't think of any words, so he just did the first thing that came to mind, as he reached over and promptly scooped up the puppet in his arms, pulling him in a surprise hug before up onto their feet as he pulled up a bit so he was holding the puppet in the air as he let out a confused chiming sound before his arms found themselves wrapping back around Mike if only to keep himself stabilized for the moment as Mike finally managed to say something.
"If I have to talk about my problems then you have to as well ok? That way I know when you need a hug" The confusion broke into a faintly embarrassed but mostly just warm trilling sound as the puppet hugged back a bit more actively for a long moment before saying.
"We're kind of a mess aren't we?" Mike snorted at that.
"Our lives have sucked pretty majorly Net, so I think we deserve to be a mess occasionally" That got another light chiming laughter out of the puppet and Mike was relieved to hear it, as he said once more, "And for you worrying about Charlie somehow replacing you" The puppet tensed up if only slightly, as Mike said, "Don't even think about it, I'm not going anywhere. We might be childhood friends, but you've been here for me during way more important moments of my life, and I'm never going to do anything to compromise our friendship ok? You'd have to kill me with a poisoned cupcake to get me to leave" That got the hug around him to tighten a bit harder, before the puppet said quietly.
"Thank you Mike"
"Never a problem Mari"
I liked this chapter, before I get into the individual break downs of the characters who were the highlights of this chapter, I do want to point out the interesting theme of self-coconscious uncertainty. Foxy, Jeremy, and Mari all clearly suffer on some level with pretty similar issues, even if it is presented in different ways, Foxy uncertain with what he can do, Jeremy uncertain of his own value, Mari being uncertain because of what he is. I don't really have much to mention about it, but I just like everyone supporting everyone through those thoughts, even if it doesn't stick instantly, it makes impacts and can lead to growth, and I like that. But, now onto the actual character notes.
So, we fed up with Mike and Marionette having, what, the third or so minor, kind of 'barely', fight in the last fifteen or so chapters yet? Cause, let's be real, I am. I mean, sure, it sounds like a lot, and it kind of is, especially when you're the one writing it, but when you think about it, that's, like, three small-ish fights they've had over the course of, like 100k words, that's fairly spread out, it's just these chapters are really dense, but worry not, we've finally exited the angst between them and it should be clear waters from here on out for other types of angst. The power of communication everyone! Make sure people know if you're having issues with something instead of just getting angry.
Speaking of no longer having Mike and Mari angst, for at least a moment, we're getting into the other characters and all their angst more fully now! Isn't that nice, we finally have had a Jeremy POV chapter for the first time in a pretty long time, and it was a real sad one isn't that nice! Yep, even our resident mentally healthy person isn't all that that perfectly in shape, trauma and supernatural abilities really put a dampener on things, what a bitch am I right? Jeremy's really fun but really difficult to write, because he's keeping everyone's tea not spilt and we love a loyal man like that, but dear god it makes writing for him feel like tap dancing on egg shells, because Jeremy should not be how the audience is being introduced to certain character aspects, thoughts, feelings, and personalities, of this cast of characters. That should be something that is discovered, not exposition dumped.
Then there was Foxy, oh Foxy, I think this is the first POV Foxy chapter which is pretty interesting, he's a very interesting character with a lot going on behind that starry curtain of his, but that's something we'll all get to experience together soon enough. I got a few more chapters in me for character interactions among the supporting cast before the big reveal plot twist thingy to end out this act of the story. Like how I mentioned ages back Act one was predicted to be about twenty chapters, this one I had at somewhere between twenty to thirty, with the probable ending being at twenty-five, and we're on chapter fifteen of act two right now so... Do the math while I scramble to plot chart out how I'm going to handle this. Anyways, See ya.