Chapter Text
Stolen Solstice.
You knew the name well. A dating sim, made by Fazbear enterprises after their last restaurant closed down a few years ago due to the number of missing people. Fazbear’s characters still remained so beloved by the people despite how terrible the company was, so the line of video games got quite popular.
Especially the dating sims. There were several of them, all centered around a certain group of characters, usually by the model (there was a game with all the rabbits, bears, chickens, and canine or vulpine characters). In each game, there was the original cast from each location, along with plenty of new characters. You knew that in the one centered around the dog-like ones, there was a new character by the name of Fitzy that got quite popular.
Stolen Solstice was a peculiar one of the games, far less sought after as well. It focused on those two daycare bots from the old Pizzaplex that burnt down. You’d have thought it would have a much smaller cast of characters, but no, it actually had quite a large one. You didn’t even know all the characters, but you knew there was Sun and Moon, one named Eclipse, and a character you were pretty sure was a secret one by the name of Quasar.
The way the game worked was also a little peculiar. Each time you started a new game or a new run, the setting and storyline wouldn’t be the same. Sometimes a character was a bartender, other times they were a singer. You’d also start out in completely different points. Even still, you could easily guess which character was where. (You say that, but it’s truly a pain in the ass to figure out where certain characters will be. You’re just trying to cope with the insane amount of time you’ve wasted searching for certain characters)
As someone who played the game religiously, often holed up in the darkness of your room with the game lighting up the screen of your laptop, you were a bit ashamed to say you didn’t know much of the cast.
You were enamored with one character.
Eclipse.
The guy was the definition of ‘tall, dark, and broody’ and you were absolutely here for it. The guy was the very reason the word ‘cunty’ existed! He was the quintessential ‘bad boy’ with an ambiguous queer flair that made you want to sink your teeth into him. You wanted to consume him like a hungry dog to a piece of meat. You’d also want him to consume you, to be honest. He certainly had the teeth for it…
You were a total, pathetic little simp for Eclipse. Posters and art of him plastered your walls, and you’d gotten almost every ending with him you possibly could- well, all the good ones of course. You were too scared to try and get a bad ending with him, feeling as if it would forever tarnish your fictional, digital relationship.
You’d really only gone after Eclipse in the game, other than that one odd run. In that one, you had gone after Quasar.
Quasar was… weird. The very character sprite was so dark that it seemed to suck the light away from your real-world surroundings, the vantablack of its being was so ominous that it made the hair on the back of your neck stand up. Of course, then there were its eyes, and its mouth, and the crown of rays that floated around its head. All of those were so incredibly bright, burning into your eyes to the point that sometimes you’d get those little blue spots in your vision.
You couldn’t even finish the Quasar route before resetting and going right back to Eclipse.
Quasar had left a bad taste in your mouth.
But, aside from that, tonight was like any other, you pulled out your laptop, and opened up Stolen Solstice, expecting to start a new run to romance Eclipse once again. Maybe he’d be a bartender this time around, that would be fun!
Only, opening up the starting page, you felt.. Odd. You could feel your heart pounding in various points of your body, your hands, your stomach, your throat. Sensations felt too strong, too dull, everything and yet nothing all at once. Your head was throbbing and sweat began to bead on your forehead. Your eyes seemed to glide around in their sockets like marbles set to rolling, nothing able to hold your gaze
The darkness of the starting screen was hungry.
And it ate.
And it ate.
And it ate.
.
.
.
[WELCOME, PLAYER!]
What..?
You blinked. The world around you was naught but a haze of bright lights and… pixels?
You whipped your head around, trying to find out where you were. A soft music reached your ears, a familiar little upbeat tune that you knew damn well you had heard plenty of times.
The theme song for Stolen Solstice.
You looked back forward, only to see (or hear? You were having a difficult time telling what you were imagining and what was actually happening, what senses were being triggered and which ones were not) words in front of you.
[WELCOME TO STOLEN SOLSTICE!]
[YOUR JOB IS TO FIND ROMANCE AND SURVIVE ! IF YOU DIE, YOU WILL INITIATE A RESET, WHERE YOU ARE PUT INTO A DIFFERENT STORYLINE. IN THIS VERSION OF THE GAME, MANUAL RESETS ARE NOT AN OPTION.]
[THERE ARE SIX LOVE INTERESTS FOR YOU TO CHOOSE FROM. LOVE INTERESTS WILL HAVE STATS YOU CAN VIEW ON YOUR PHONE. STATS ARE ONLY VISIBLE TO YOU.]
[STATS ARE FORMATTED AS SUCH:]
[INTEREST NAME]
[LOVE - HOW MUCH ROMANTIC LOVE AN INTEREST HOLDS FOR YOU. 1-20 IS USUALLY FOR VERY CLOSE FRIENDS. THE INTEREST TRUSTS THE PLAYER, BUT IS NOT AWARE OF THEIR OWN ROMANTIC FEELINGS. 21-40 IS OFTEN WHEN A CHARACTER IS AWARE OF THEIR ROMANTIC FEELINGS FOR THE PLAYER, AND CAN BE DESCRIBED AS A CRUSH. THE INTEREST WILL TRY TO GET MORE OF THE PLAYER’S TIME, AND WILL WANT TO INITIATE MORE PHYSICAL AFFECTION. 41-60 IS OFTEN ASSOCIATED WITH AN ESTABLISHED RELATIONSHIP. THE INTEREST WILL BE RATHER DEVOTED AND WANT TO SPEND AS MUCH TIME AS THEY CAN WITH THE PLAYER. PHYSICAL AFFECTION IS ESTABLISHED AND USUALLY QUITE COMMON. 61-80, THE INTEREST IS INCREDIBLY DEVOTED, BUT COULD ALSO BE ON THE EDGE OF LOVESICKNESS. THEY ARE WILLING TO TRUST ALMOST EVERYTHING THE PLAYER SAYS IN THIS LEVEL, AND IF THE INTEREST IS NOT LOVESICK, THEY ARE OFTEN AT THE STAGE WHERE THEY ARE THINKING OF MARRIAGE. 81-100 IS WHERE THINGS GET DANGEROUS. THE INTEREST IS COMPLETELY ENAMORED WITH THE PLAYER TO THE POINT OF DELUSION. IT IS BEST THAT INTERESTS WHO HAVE REACHED THIS STATE ARE AVOIDED, IF POSSIBLE.]
[TRUST - HOW MUCH AN INTEREST IS WILLING TO BELIEVE THE PLAYER. 1-20 IS QUITE MINIMAL, AND THE INTEREST WILL LIKELY QUESTION ANY AND EVERYTHING THE PLAYER SAYS. THEY MAY GO OUT OF THEIR WAY TO FIND REASONS NOT TO TRUST THE PLAYER. 21-40 IS ENOUGH THAT AN INTEREST WONT AUTOMATICALLY QUESTION THE PLAYER, BUT WILL FACT-CHECK ANYTHING AND IS NOT LIKELY TO BELIEVE THE PLAYER ON CERTAIN MATTERS. 41-60 IS WHERE AN INTEREST IS A MORE NEUTRAL PARTY, THEY WILL BELIEVE THE PLAYER JUST AS MUCH AS ANYONE ELSE AND WILL NOT QUESTION THE PLAYER UNLESS THEY HAVE A REASON TO. 61-80, AN INTEREST IS MORE LIKELY TO BELIEVE THE PLAYER OVER OTHERS, BUT IT IS NOT QUITE TO THE POINT OF THE INTEREST BEING COMPLETELY UNREASONABLE. 81-100, AN INTEREST IS BEYOND REASON, AND WILL WHOLEHEARTEDLY TRUST THE PLAYER. THEY CANNOT BE SWAYED.]
[AFFECTION - THIS STAT COVERS A FEW BASES, AND USUALLY HAS TO DO WITH HOW MUCH AN INTEREST CARES ABOUT THE PLAYER, HOW FRIENDLY THEY ARE WITH THE PLAYER, BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY, HOW LIKELY THEY ARE TO INITIATE PHYSICAL OR VERBAL AFFECTION. 1-20, AN INTEREST IS NOT PARTICULARLY INTERESTED IN ANY SORT OF AFFECTION AND WILL NOT GIVE IT, AND MAY BE RELUCTANT TO ACCEPT AFFECTION (NOTE: SOME INTERESTS WILL ACCEPT AFFECTION AT ANY STAGE). 21-40, AN INTEREST IS MINIMALLY AFFECTIONATE, USUALLY JUST THINGS SUCH AS HUGS OR BASE COMPLIMENTS. THEY WILL BE MORE WILLING TO ACCEPT AFFECTION. 41-60, AN INTEREST CAN BE RATHER AFFECTIONATE AND MIGHT START TO SEEK OUT AFFECTION FROM THE PLAYER. VERBAL AFFECTIONS BECOME MORE COMMON AT THIS STAGE. 61-80, AN INTEREST IS OFTEN ROMANTICALLY AFFECTIONATE AND WILL SEEK OUT THE SAME AFFECTIONS. KISSES OFTEN BECOME PREVALENT AT THIS STAGE. THE INTEREST MAY START TO BECOME A BIT NEEDY. 81-100, AN INTEREST IS CONSTANTLY WANTING TO GIVE AND RECEIVE AFFECTION FROM THE PLAYER. THEY BECOME VERY NEEDY AND DESPERATE FOR TOUCH, ESPECIALLY.]
[POSSESSIVENESS - HOW MUCH AN INTEREST FEELS AS IF THEY OWN THE PLAYER. 1-20 IS THE MOST HEALTHY OF THE STAGES, WHERE AN INTEREST FEELS LITTLE TO NO OWNERSHIP OVER THE PLAYER, AND WILL NOT ACT ON ANY POSSESSIVENESS. 21-40, MOST INTERESTS AT THIS STAGE ARE NOT THAT BAD, AND OFTEN REACH THIS STAGE WHEN BECOMING CLOSE FRIENDS OR ROMANTICALLY INVOLVED WITH THE PLAYER. INTERESTS WILL FEEL A MILD CLAIM OVER THE PLAYER AND MAY BECOME PROTECTIVE. 41-60, AN INTEREST SEES A DEFINED CLAIM OVER THE PLAYER AND WILL BECOME AGITATED WHEN SEEMINGLY HAVING THEIR POSITION THREATENED. THEY FEEL AS IF THEY MIGHT NEED TO HAVE SOME CONTROL OVER THE PLAYER’S ACTIONS. 61-80, AN INTEREST WILL ACTIVELY TRY TO KEEP OTHERS AWAY FROM THE PLAYER, WHO THEY COMPLETELY DEEM AS THEIRS. CERTAIN INTERESTS WILL BE WILLING TO SHARE THE PLAYER WITH OTHERS, BUT WILL OFTEN TRY TO KEEP THE PLAYER FROM INTERACTING WITH ANYONE OTHER THAN THE APPROVED PEOPLE. 81-100, AN INTEREST WILL BECOME PRONE TO KIDNAPPING AND WILL OFTEN TRY TO MONOPOLIZE THE PLAYER’S SOCIAL LIFE. INTERESTS THAT HAVE REACHED THIS STAGE SHOULD BE AVOIDED.]
[OBSESSION - HOW FIXATED AN INTEREST IS ON THE PLAYER. 1-20 IS THE SAFEST STAGE, WHERE AN INTEREST IS NOT AT ALL FIXATED ON THE PLAYER. THEY MAY BE INTERESTED OR EVEN ROMANTICALLY INVOLVED, BUT THEY HAVE NOT STARTED TO OBSESS OVER THE PLAYER. 21-40 IS ALSO A RELATIVELY SAFE STAGE, WHERE AN INTEREST MAY WANT TO KNOW MORE ABOUT THE PLAYER OR OBSERVE THEIR EVERYDAY LIFE, BUT OFTEN TIMES THIS IS MERELY A CURIOSITY. 41-60, AN INTEREST MAY START TO SERIOUSLY CONTEMPLATE STALKING OR OTHER INTRUSIVE BEHAVIORS SO THAT THEY MAY FURTHER FIXATE ON THE PLAYER’S LIFE. THEY WANT TO KNOW EVERY LITTLE DETAIL OF THE PLAYER’S LIFE BUT ARE LIKELY TOO SCARED TO ACT ON IT. 61-80, AN INTEREST WILL START STALKING THE PLAYER. THEY MAY FOLLOW THEM EVERYWHERE OR FIND WAYS TO INSTALL HIDDEN CAMERAS TO WATCH THEM. AT THIS STAGE, THEY MAY ALSO START TO STEAL ITEMS THAT REMIND THEM OF THE PLAYER, USUALLY MEANING CLOTHES. 81-100, AN INTEREST IS ACTIVELY STALKING THE PLAYER AND MAY EITHER KIDNAP THEM OR START BREAKING INTO THEIR PLACE OF LIVING ON THE REGULAR. IF PAIRED WITH HIGH POSSESSIVENESS OR JEALOUSY, AN INTEREST MAY BECOME INCREDIBLY VIOLENT.
[JEALOUSY - HOW AGITATED AN INTEREST BECOMES IF THE PLAYER IS AROUND OTHERS. THIS STAT OFTEN GOES HAND-IN-HAND WITH POSSESSIVENESS. 1-20, AN INTEREST IS NOT PARTICULARLY JEALOUS AT ALL, THEY DO NOT CARE IF THE PLAYER INTERACTS WITH OTHER PEOPLE. 21-40, AN INTEREST BECOMES MILDLY JEALOUS BUT WILL NOT ACT ON THAT JEALOUSY. 41-60, AN INTEREST MAY BECOME SNIPPY WITH OTHERS THAT INTERACT WITH THE PLAYER, BUT ARE NOT MUCH OF A THREAT. THEY ARE OFTEN JUST RUDE TO PEOPLE THEY DO NOT WANT AROUND THE PLAYER. 61-80, AN INTEREST ACTIVELY TRIES TO KEEP OTHERS AWAY FROM THE PLAYER AND MAY START TO BECOME AGITATED WITH THE PLAYER AS WELL. THEY MAY BECOME VERY ACCUSATORY AND AGGRESSIVE. 81-100, AN INTEREST WILL BECOME VIOLENT TO KEEP OTHERS AWAY FROM THE PLAYER. AN INTEREST MAY BE WILLING TO KILL PEOPLE WHO THEY FEEL THREATENED BY.]
You gawked at the information before you. Your brain wasn’t processing it nearly as badly as you would have assumed, but the shock of everything was.. Well…. A lot. You were in the game Stolen Solstice, and for all you knew, you were probably just stuck here. And if things started to go poorly in the game your only way of resetting was by dying.
But… if you were to look at this in a more positive manner… You could actually get a love life, and with a hot robot for that matter! And you’re pretty sure that if you don’t look at this in a positive manner, you might die or something.
Once again, the words started to show up, so you decided to tune back in to whatever information you might be getting.
[AS THIS IS YOUR FIRST TIME PLAYING THIS EDITION, YOU WILL GET HELP STARTING YOUR FIRST RUN! INSTEAD OF HOPELESSLY SEARCHING FOR A JOB, YOU MAY CHOOSE ONE OF THE OPTIONS AND YOU WILL BE ALL SET TO WORK THERE! YOU WILL NOT BE GIVEN A HOUSE, THOUGH YOU WILL BE SET UP AT A HOTEL FOR THREE WEEKS.]
[EACH OF THIS JOBS WILL HELP YOU FURTHER PROGRESS IN THE GAME! ALL OPTIONS ARE GOOD OPTIONS!]
[OPTION 1 - BAKERY! YOU WILL LIKELY DO SMALLER, MORE MENIAL TASKS, AS THE BAKERY OWNERS ARE PLENTY CAPABLE WITH BIG TASKS, BUT MAY NEED HELP WITH THE SMALLER THINGS. THE PAY IS $10 AN HOUR]
[OPTION 2 - BARTENDER! PUT THAT REAL WORLD EXPERIENCE OF YOURS TO USE ONCE AGAIN! BEING A BARTENDER OFTEN INCLUDES DEALING WITH UNPLEASANT DRUNKARDS, BUT ALSO MEANS MEETING SOME INTERESTING PEOPLE! THE PAY IS $12 AN HOUR]
[OPTION 3 - ASSISTANT! YOU WOULD BE AN ASSISTANT TO A CELEBRITY, WHICH MEANS YOU’LL BE FIXING THEIR SCHEDULE, ANSWERING PHONES, AND OVERALL KEEPING AN EYE ON THEM WHILE DOING WHATEVER OTHER TASKS THEY MAY NEED FROM YOU. FRUSTRATINGLY, THEY CAN BE QUITE HIGH MAINTENANCE. THE PAY IS $35 AN HOUR]
[OPTION 4 - JANITOR! YOU WOULD BE ONE OF TWO JANITORS IN AN OFFICE BUILDING, CLEANING UP AT THE END OF THE DAY. YOUR HOURS ARE OFTEN LATE AT NIGHT, AND YOUR CO-WORKER MAY BE A LITTLE ODD. THE PAY IS $7 AN HOUR]
You huffed. You hadn’t a clue how a game knew you had been a bartender a few years back, but you supposed it was useful. You’d at least know how to do that job… but compared to the assistant job, the pay wasn’t great. For the life of you, you couldn’t figure out who the celebrity character might be, but to be fair, it was quite the gamble on who anyone would be. As much as you adored that piece of the game, that also made it frustrating. You had no idea who would be where or what job they would have or how you’d find them.
The janitor job, for whatever reason, seemed ominous. You’d never taken that job in the game before, so hey, maybe it was totally normal, but something about the idea of cleaning an empty office building in the middle of the night seemed almost.. Liminal? But it was a bit intriguing, overall. The bakery job didn’t seem that bad either, but you had no idea how to bake anything, so you were unsure if you’d be able to stay hired for long. But still, the bakery sounded like it would be cozy, at least.
Stars, what should you do?