Happy 10th Anniversary Five Nights At Freddy's~!!

Where has the time gone?

I had a lot of ideas that I wanted to do for an anniversary pic, but lately it's been getting harder to find motivation to draw with my struggles in finding a job and being an adult. And it's been very discouraging when it seems like other people in my life have their stuff handled better than I do...

But when I went to my DeviantArt page to find my original FNAF art, I realized that ten years ago I'm in a better mental state than back then:

I was 19. I didn't have a clue what I wanted to do after high school; I struggled to maintain friendships both close to home and long distance; I struggled to process the grief of a relative who had recently died; and I had gender dysphoria before realizing it was gender dysphoria.

And in the darkest moment, FNAF was there.

I didn't expect to be suddenly a part of a community, but people were engaging with me for my fanart; and the next thing I knew we were theorizing what was going to happen in the games; other people were making beautiful music; some of us went to make their own fangames and a few others went off and reshaped horror games and indie animation as a whole.

And when I felt isolated from the world during a pandemic, the FNAF community found me again on Tumblr when I made a Michael Afton who was (and has always been) a projection of the kind of guy I wanted to be

And then FNAF showed me I was trans (sorry, Steven Universe showed me I was gay)

I may be struggling financially, but I'm so much happier with myself physically and mentally thanks to a man who made a game out of pure fucking sprite. And if he could make a literal multi million dollar franchise from his struggles, then I can too; I just need to keep pushing forward.

I am eternally grateful, Scott Cawthon. Just as I am eternally grateful to everyone in this community :)

Soldered Wires: 1960s Youths

2 Years BM (Before Michael)

"I am drowning

There is no sign of land

You are coming down with me

Hand in unlovable hand

And I hope you die

I hope we both die..."

-No Children by The Mountain Goats

Soldered Wires: Smoke Break

"I suppose I ought to pay you back somehow for helping me with my cigarette", said the Ballerina.

The Clown smirked as he twirled his lighter around his fingers. "That seems only fair~ I don't know about you Americans, but we British have a tendency of keeping our favors."

"And if you're much like all the other British men I've encountered, I suppose you'll be asking for a kiss then? Lord forbid a *gentleman clown such as yourself* would ask for something much too risqué that requires a private room~" she asked.

"Such *lewd* thoughts you have~ Your father must've had a few strokes listening to you~", he laughed.

The Ballerina snorted and laughed, trying to muffle the sound behind her hand to avoid attention from the rest of the crew in the tent nearby. "I can admit one of the reasons I came here was because I pushed his buttons a little *too* much..."

The Clown smiled. He slowly rested his elbow on the barrel next to the two, and leaned over the Ballerina. Though this rabbit-masked clown had been nothing but a charming and funny fellow the whole time she worked here, the Ballerina had almost forgotten how much taller he was.

"Let me be the first British man to deny you a kiss and take you on a personal tour of London then"

There was just something about his smile and his piercing blue eyes that intrigued the Ballerina, pushing thoughts of her personal safety out of her mind.

"Alright then" she agreed, raising her hand to gesture a handshake, "You can call me Clara. Clara Schmidt, if you want to be proper~"

The Clown gently grabbed the hand and laid a kiss on her wrist, leaving behind a stain of the rouge makeup he had on his lips.

"William. William Afton..."

A Soldered Wires 4th of July

Initially made this comic in between sick induced naps on 4th of July. Didn't want to continue it further, but I liked Henry and William's parenting and history in this :)

A very rough Soldered Wires 4th of July comic is now on Patreon! See it a week early for as little as $1!

When you’re flying with a layover to your sister’s wedding, you’re sleep deprived to get on an early morning flight but you can’t sleep on a plane, and the first flight is just enough time for one movie:

Michael came to find Sammy in the living room of their apartment, staring intently at the "ye ol' conspiracy board" they had set up in the living room. He wasn't surprised of course; he wasn't expecting Sammy to be sleeping in today of all days, as his past few years of experience had taught him. Hell, Mike wouldn't been surprised if Sammy had a wink of sleep since he left the apartment, judging by the cold pot of coffee in the kitchen and the burnt cigarettes in the ash tray. Though his eyes looked tired and his fingernails were bitten a little too hard, given the few fingers with small bite marks and dried blood, Sammy looked like his rage was keeping him going past his normal limits of insomnia. Mike could describe his boyfriend's gaze to the thing was as if he could move the photographs and strings with his eyes like a Roald Dahl character.

Sammy was looking desperately for a clue; something to connect everything together; something to find HIM...

Mike sighed. He grabbed the blanket off from the sofa and wrapped it around Sammy's shoulders, before finding a seat next to him on the coffee table. He took a small present from the pocket hidden in his jacket and carefully inserted it between Sammy's hands...

"Your sister said Happy Birthday..."

Sammy's eyes closed; he could still hear the sounds of the kids playing around them, the arcade machines making noise, the mascot band playing Gloria Gaynor in the background.

He could still hear her voice; he could still feel her hand holding his; he could still see the green wristband...

Until she wasn't there...

Tears ran down his cheek and Sammy lost his composure, burying his exhausted face into Mike's shoulder...