FNAF movie Vanessa loves the Vanny “animatronic”

Im interest in your Cult AU but I'm lost? Can you explain me, pliz?

You are most likely not the only one, so I’m using this ask as an explanation post! Hope you don’t mind lol!

I’m going to try and not ramble on and make this post miles long, but bare with me!

So, I guess I should start by saying that the Cult AU is technically an umbrella term for several little aus that I have that exist at the same time as each other. The first being the “crossover AU”, which is the events of the The Walten Files, FNAF, and eventually Harmony and Horror (possible Mandela Catalogue but I don’t want to force that into the writing and make this a “multiverse” because that’s just too much. So I’d need to sit with it for longer as a concept) happening at the same time and overlapping. William and Henry were familiar business partners with Jack and Felix. They wanted to do a lot of marketing and co- performances with Bon’s and FredBear’s. They may or may not help cover up each other’s murderers Their kids are all friends with each other! While Jack and Felix didn’t really want to get too involved, William was also entertaining the idea of a toy line for marketing Fredbears characters with Martin Greywhinder’s toy company. Without going to much into that (since I’m saving a lot of that content for the comics), there’s the cross over AU.

The second AU would be the “Evan is Gregory AU” I guess. I have an explanation for this one here if you want to read up on that!

And now finally we have the “Cult of Malhare AU”. So, I’m sure the fandom is familiar with the Vanny/ Reluctant follower concept with glitchtrap. Though, in this AU she is anything BUT reluctant. But I wanted to expand on that and make it feel a bit more “culty”, and bring in some more familiar faces. William was experimenting with remnant way back in college when he initially met Henry. Once they started getting closer Will shared his research with Henry and got him in on it. Later on when Will married Clara she learned about it by accident when she found some stuff she was not suppose to see in his office. While neither Henry nor Clara participated in the murders, they helped Will hide them, and Clara acted as an accomplice multiple times. It’s important to note also that back in the day, Jeremy, Fritz, and Sammy (yes Sammy from the books, he’s alive and older than Charlie here) were Michael’s 3 other friends in ‘83. Remember that for later. You fast forward a little bit to Henry and William having their super dramatic and messy break up with the business and Henry opening up his own diner with the Toy animatronics, where he hires Jeremy and Fritz as night guards. Henry knew Jeremy and Fritz were still friends with Michael in college and trusted them. After days of stalking, multiple break in attempts into the diner as scare tactics, and patience, William murders both Jeremy and Fritz and collected their remnant. This attracts the attention of young, private detective Sammy Emily, who wants to help his dad put William in prison and get revenge for Charlie’s death. How Sammy dies and has his remnant collected by William, that’s for a future comic 👀 After William dies, Jeremy and Fritz’s spirits are trapped with Will up until he makes contact with Vanessa and glitchtrap is able to form. Jeremy and Fritz are now able to materialize as well. Jeremy presents himself as living to Vanessa as a beta tester to help lure her closer and closer to Glitchtrap, and she only learns about Jeremy being dead this whole time when he finally allows her to see his “true” state. I.e. when Vanessa thinks Jeremy spilled ink on himself wearing a Halloween mask in the VR tapes. Vanessa has always been hiding some “dark secrets” and now with the exposure to the cult, and after a series of trials, she commits herself happily to Malhare. At this point, William has created a massive virtual space to keep his followers, including Henry and Clara, who’s souls he’s trapped in his own personal digital hell with him. Now skipping to the present, Michael and Charlie are back having survived the fire and having been in hiding, only coming to the plex when Charlie felt compelled to by the other spirits. They try to help Gregory and eventually the spirits of Evan and Elizabeth, but as they spend more time in the plex though, the old animatronics begin to come back as well. This includes Cassidy and some of the others, wanting to make sure William stays in his VR purgatory, but the Funtime animatronics have been rematerialized by Malhare, and they are fully invested in their creator’s daughter as they are given a second life and chance to do Afton’s bidding. Michael is also being haunted by Jeremy, Fritz, and Sammy as they try to get him, Gregory/ Evan, Elizabeth, and Charlie to join the cult and reunite with their family.

I have a reference post here for the “Malhare follower’s faces and masks, but they correlate with the masks that the boys wore in ‘83.

I’m still working out a real title for this mess of a series, but I’m running with the Cult Au for now, since they all sort of end up together again even after death with the Waltens, since Michael and Sophie are “really close friends” and inevitably make their families run into each other again.

Ok, I hope this helps! Please feel free to keep asking questions, it honestly helps me solidify concepts. And of course, let me know what you guys think!

You know what would be a fun idea? A version of the Princess Quest ending, except the Vanessa trapped in the game is able to communicate with Gregory and the two team up to bust her out of the game.

👀 👀 👀

When the Dead are All Living

Gregory held his breath as Vanny skipped past his hiding place, and he didn’t let it go until she passed through the doors at the other end of the room. She was almost harder to escape than the animatronics. 

“You okay, kid?” 

He looked down at his watch just in time to see the map displayed on the screen change to what any normal person would assume to be a video call. Vanessa leaned forward as if that would help her see him better; as if the watch had a camera at all. 

“I’m fine,” he whispered. “She’s not that fast.” 

“I can practically feel your pulse,” she replied. 

Cautiously emerging from the shadows, he took off in the opposite direction Vanny had come from. “Liar.” 

“Freddy would back me up. Speaking of, go find him, please. You’re giving me gray hair just watching you have to run around like this.” 

Gregory made sure to roll his eyes in full view of the screen. “Freddy can’t go in the west arcade, remember?” 

“Then screw the west arcade.” 

He paused at an intersection, checking that the coast was clear before looking down at his watch. “What? But that’s where the next game is.” 

And he had to find all three Princess Quest games and beat them to free her. He wasn’t exactly sure how a human could be uploaded into a video game, but he was sure that Vanessa was a person. A person who could worm her way into pretty much any electronic device connected to the pizzaplex’s systems, from the arcade machines to the security office monitors to his FazWatch. 

A person who thought she had died and had somehow possessed the pizzaplex right up until the moment Vanny spoke with her voice. Dead and alive all at once. 

“Forget about the games,” Vanessa said seriously. “Just find Freddy, stay alive, and as soon as it hits six, get out of here. I’m already gone, kid, your life isn’t worth a Hail Mary plan to try and bring me back.” 

“But you’re not gone! Just, someone else is in your body right now, so we gotta switch you back.” Gregory let his arm fall to the side to run down the hall and out onto one of the mezzanines, something upset and frustrated bubbling in his chest. 

“There’s no guarantee it’ll even work!” Vanessa shot back. “Vanny and the animatronics have been getting more aggressive. Running around on your own isn’t an option anymore.” 

He scoffed. “Yeah? And how’re you gonna stop me?” 

Her answer was the familiar beep of his watch calling for Freddy. “I’ll make him lock you inside his stomach if I have to,” she said. 

Shoving his way into an elevator, he smacked the button just as the sounds of Freddy’s footsteps approached. He caught a glimpse of his protector just before the doors closed. 

“You can’t stop me from helping you!” he yelled at the same time as she cried, “I won’t let you die for me!” 

They glared at each other as the elevator slowly trundled to its destination. 

Vanessa broke first, her shoulders sagging. “I can’t let them catch you, Gregory,” she whispered. “I… I don’t remember, exactly, what happened to me. All I know is that I was scared and alone and it’s so, so cold in here. I can’t let that happen to you, too.” 

“It’s not gonna.” He jutted his chin out. “They’re all real bad at chasing me. I’m gonna beat the next game, find the last one, and put you back in your body. And I’ll leave my watch here if I have to!” 

“No!” She raised her hands and pressed them forward, as if against the screen itself. “No,” she repeated, quiet. “Please don’t do that. I… I won’t make Freddy stop you, just… please don’t go off alone.” 

Gregory stared at her for a moment, trying to determine if she was telling the truth. “Okay,” he finally agreed. “Okay.” 

Vanessa slowly relaxed, remaining silent as the elevator doors opened and Gregory rushed out. A STAFF bot shrieked at the sight of him, but he moved on before they could find out who answered its summons. 

It wasn’t long before Gregory entered the west arcade. DJMM paid him no mind as he warily edged past him before taking off at a sprint through the maze of arcade machines and security bots. Monty roared a challenge from somewhere on the second floor. 

Gregory only paused to catch his breath once he reached the second Princess Quest game. 

“You’re really determined to do this? Risk your life for a stranger?” Vanessa asked. 

He sent her an unimpressed look. “Like you aren’t willing to give up your chance at life for a stranger.” 

“That’s different,” she insisted. “I’m an adult, you’re a kid. Children aren’t supposed to—” She waved her hand at the screen, encompassing him and the arcade game and the shadowy corners of the utility room he stood in. 

“It’s a little late for that,” he reminded her, turning to the game. “Besides, I’m used to running and being in danger and stuff.” 

“You shouldn’t have to be.” 

“Yeah?” he said, trying not to sound too smug. “You don’t like that I live on the streets? That I have to dig through dumpsters to find food sometimes? That I have to run away from real monsters?”

“Of course I don’t.” 

“Then, if you wanna do something about it—”

The arcade machine’s screen lit up as a little boot-up jingle sounded off. He settled his hands on the controls as the level began. 

“—you’re gonna have to let me save you.” 

Phantom of Death (1988) (AKA Off Balance)

Directed by Ruggero Deodato

Screenplay by Gianfranco Clerici, Vincenzo Mannino and Gigliola Battaglini

Story by Gianfranco Clerici and Vincenzo Mannino

Music by Pino Donnagio

Country: Italy

Running Time: 90 minutes

CAST

Michael York as Robert Dominici

Donald Pleasence as Inspector Datti

Edwige Fenech as Helene Martell

Mapi Galan as Susanna

Fabio Sortar as Davide

Renato Cortesi as Agent Marchi

Antonella Ponziani as Gloria Datti

Carola Stagnaro as Dr. Carla Pesenti

Daniele Brado as Dr. Vanni

Caterina Boratto as Robert's mother

Ruggero Deodato as man at train station who lights cigarette and then gets on the back of his girlfriend’s scooter

Phantom of Death is a giddily entertaining Italian horror muddle with far more serious themes than one might reasonably expect from director Ruggero Deodato, the man known as “The Cannibal King”. My legal advisers have urged me to specify that this isn’t because Ruggero Deodato is actually the ruler of a bunch of people eaters, but because he directed Last Cannibal World (1977) and Cannibal Holocaust (1980), both of which were hugely successful and are still cited today as significant influences on horror. (This doesn’t mean they are any good, mind.)  Phantom of Death takes on a far more universal horror than going into a jungle and being turned into pulled long pork by cannibals; the fear of ageing and also the horror of realising you’ve run out of time to stop being a dick and actually do something worthwhile with your life.

When the movie opens fantastic pianist Robert Dominici (Michael York) is definitely a dick. Robert revels in the adoration which comes with looking like Michael York and playing the piano by moving your shoulders and making intense faces while keeping your hands hidden. Unfortunately he revels in it to the detriment of his personal interactions. He’s a bit of a dick with the chicks, basically. Time is of the essence both in life and in Phantom of Death, so it doesn’t hang about; opening with Robert’s public tinkling of the ivories intercut with the stalking and slashing of a young woman. Yes, because this is a 1980’s Italian horror movie and so some maniac is going around slashing young women to death. Quicker than you can say “Liberace” the roster of victims expands to include Robert’s girlfriend. Unfortunately for Robert not only do the police led by Inspector Datti (Donald Pleasence) find him stood over her gory corpse, but earlier the pair had had a tiff. It seems pretty clear then that Phantom of Death will be a giallo, and Robert is odds on to be our typically ill-equipped sleuth. Yes, given the way Phantom of Death has gone thus far viewers could very well be forgiven for expecting a choppily edited, intrusively scored, minor giallo, notable mostly for the amount of blood it thinks a human neck can spurt and the presence of Michael York, Donald Pleasence and Edwige Fenech. Which would be fine by me, but Phantom of Death has other, higher ideas. If you’d rather be surprised by them then stop reading NOW.

It should be borne in mind at all times that any praise from hereonin is directed at a movie directed by someone called The Cannibal King; a movie that most normal people would dismiss as “godawful bloody nonsense” (as my Life Partner has opined of my viewing choices on numerous occasions). But if you are okay with the peculiar charms of the Italian horror movies of the 1970s and 1980s (or Christ-like in your tolerance for their failings) then Phantom of Death may be right up your (dimly lit) alley. Particularly impressive is the conviction with which it sets up the viewer to expect a giallo. The opening itself is a suave misdirection in the true giallo style; the two events, piano playing and lady slaying, are not occurring simultaneously, but you naturally assume they are. Then, and it’s quite ballsy this, Robert is given a personal reason to pursue the killer when he is found by the police at the scene of his girlfriend’s murder. He can’t possibly be the murder because it would be to obvious, you think. You think wrong. Admittedly Phantom of Death doesn’t let you think wrong for long, it soon makes it clear what’s going on, because it needs to start the real business of the movie; positioning Robert as a tragic killer, himself the victim of a killer, the disease progeria (AKA Hutchinson-Gilford progeria syndrome).

Now, I’m not a medical professional but I’m going to assume that Phantom of Death takes a little (cough!) artist licence and that progeria itself doesn’t usually cause irresistible homicidal impulses. It’s probably hard to tell since in the real world it manifests in children, who, sadly, usually fail to reach the age of 13. As well as the symptoms required by a 1980s Italian horror movie, Robert also experiences the more usual symptoms of progeria which resemble rapid aging, with death resulting from heart ailments or strokes. Robert’s basically got the real world equivalent of Methuselah Syndrome from Blade Runner (1982) but on fast forward. No wonder he goes a bit loopy. When he isn’t killing women and playing cat and mouse with an increasingly distraught Inspector Datti, Robert indulges in the maudlin activities familiar from many serious Oscar® winning Sad Disease movies. He visits his first love for a bittersweet reminiscence, mournfully watches from afar a child afflicted with the selfsame disease, adopts a stray dog and talks to it soulfully about how tragic is his fate to be trapped in this afflicted cage of flesh. Amusingly though, this isn’t a serious Oscar® winning Sad Disease movie, no, it’s a 1980s Italian horror movie and so his first love is a hooker who he visits while dressed as The Phantom of The Opera, and the reunion is ruined by her violent death at his hands; the stricken child is obviously a fully grown dwarf in shorts playing with a ball. The fact that any soulfulness at all is evident under all this silliness is entirely thanks to Michael York.

The (doubtful) success of Phantom of Death is aided no end by Deodata’s cast being  topped by two Legends; the insanely watchable Donald Pleasence and plummy voiced ‘70/’80s heart throb Michael York. York, normally cast as a bland lump,  is pretty great here; obviously relishing the chance to do some acting for once. He evidently recognises it’s a gift of a role; even if it is wrapped in the ostentatiously crazed genre trappings and poor editing of a 1980s Italian horror movie. As the young, handsome Robert, York is in his element wallowing in the feminine attention but surprisingly, as Robert gets older, more scared and ever madder York’s performance keeps pace. It’s possible he might be overdoing it, but since he’s acting from inside steadily accumulating layers of 1980s prosthetic face make-up and a pair of fake brown teeth any hamminess is muted, leaving only a bizarrely touching performance.

Donald Pleasence, as Inspector Datti, gets less to do but manfully struggles to forge a character from some pretty dull dialogue. He is a charmingly concerned father to his daughter and a determined hunter of the mystery killer. When Robert’s increasingly deranged telephonic harassment of the cop expands to include his beloved daughter, Datti’s compartmentalised roles collide and Pleasence revels in the slow burn to full blown mania. One of the finest cinematic sights of my life has been seeing Donald Pleasence spinning round a shopping plaza yelling “I kill you! I kill you! Bastard! Kill you! Fucking Bastard! Bastard!” Thank you, Phantom of Death. No thanks though for under-using Edwige Fenech. Yes, gialllo regular Edwige Fenech is also here, speaking English in her own voice for once; but she is more of a niche attraction as she doesn’t have much to do. Obviously, what she does do she does with the usual effortless Fenech panache. Regally sporting terrible, shoulder padded ‘80s styles is the bulk of her role, but she’s mostly there to get pregnant with Robert’s child and so give the climax some emotional resonance among all the screaming and stumbling about. Not many movies end with a savage fight between an arthritic old man and a heavily pregnant woman, but Phantom of Death dares to go there.

Despite initially looking like a run of the mill giallo, Phantom of Death opts instead to try an allegorical rumination on the inescapable nightmare of senescence that awaits those of us who don’t die young. Fret not though, all this high mindedness is done in a relentlessly tasteless fashion. And no serious fan of 1980s Italian horror movies would want it otherwise.