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Everything Is All Right #4
New Faces, Old Bones
Five Nights at Freddy's Fanfiction
Located on Archiveofourown. org
Forth in a five part series
It’s true: Freddy Lives. And Ana Stark soon realizes that she can live with knowing that. The pizzeria has become her home, and Freddy and the other animatronics have become her family. But there are still plenty of other secrets left for Ana to discover, some of them buried below the pizzeria itself…and the worst of them wants to be found.
This is Part Four of a 5-Part Series.
For Part One, please read Girl on the Edge of Nowhere.
TRIGGER WARNING! This book contains strong adult themes, including adult language, drug and alcohol references, depictions of child abduction, violence towards children and adults, graphic gore violence and sexual content. You have been warned.
Words: 755885
Located on Archiveofourown. org
Forth in a five part series
It’s true: Freddy Lives. And Ana Stark soon realizes that she can live with knowing that. The pizzeria has become her home, and Freddy and the other animatronics have become her family. But there are still plenty of other secrets left for Ana to discover, some of them buried below the pizzeria itself…and the worst of them wants to be found.
This is Part Four of a 5-Part Series.
For Part One, please read Girl on the Edge of Nowhere.
TRIGGER WARNING! This book contains strong adult themes, including adult language, drug and alcohol references, depictions of child abduction, violence towards children and adults, graphic gore violence and sexual content. You have been warned.
Words: 755885
2481 pages, fanfic
First published June 2, 2018
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
November 17, 2022
Soon this will be the longest book I have ever read.
Before, my longest book ever has been Diana Gabaldon's The Fiery Cross, which has a over 500 k words spread over 1400 pages in the mass market paperback. It was huge. It was long. I wish it had been shorter.
I have read several behemoths in my life: The Dark Tower, The Count of Monte Cristo, although I am not a fan of long books. I find 1000-page long fantasy epics incredibly tedious and despiriting. If the first novel in a serious is more than 1000 pages, I find that prospect daunting and unnecessary. I am voracious reader, but somehow, long books intimidate me more than reading a whole entire series of 400-page novels (even though reading 5 of those is absolutely longer!).
There is no logic to my long-book-phobia.
Because the first 3 books in this series were shorter, it was easy for me to get into. Now I'm in the 'flow' and I will probably breeze right through this instalment, despite the ridiculous page count.
------
People will say stuff like "I'd read [insert favorite author's name] phone book/grocery list/drunk ramblings" and then slide into said authors DMs to harass them about the fanfics/passion projects/essays/haiku poetry they ended up writing.
R. Lee Smith wrote a ton of amazing books without ever getting the awards she deserves and her FNAF fanfiction is 1.4 million words long. And I'm grateful, because she didn't choose an internet pseudonym like "FluffyFreddy123" to upload the fic, because then I never would have found it.
Is it necessary to have played/enjoyed the actual games? Nah, I didn't and it's still a great story. I'm also pretty convinced the games never had this depth of characterization.
There are also a ton of original characters that aren't from the games at all but sprung clean and shiny from RLee's imagination.
I love Ana Stark as a character. She's gritty and pretends to be heartless, but she is actually still super hung up on her childhood best friend David disappearing, 20 years ago.
I'm nearly done with Book 1 and I am having a blast.
Before, my longest book ever has been Diana Gabaldon's The Fiery Cross, which has a over 500 k words spread over 1400 pages in the mass market paperback. It was huge. It was long. I wish it had been shorter.
I have read several behemoths in my life: The Dark Tower, The Count of Monte Cristo, although I am not a fan of long books. I find 1000-page long fantasy epics incredibly tedious and despiriting. If the first novel in a serious is more than 1000 pages, I find that prospect daunting and unnecessary. I am voracious reader, but somehow, long books intimidate me more than reading a whole entire series of 400-page novels (even though reading 5 of those is absolutely longer!).
There is no logic to my long-book-phobia.
Because the first 3 books in this series were shorter, it was easy for me to get into. Now I'm in the 'flow' and I will probably breeze right through this instalment, despite the ridiculous page count.
------
People will say stuff like "I'd read [insert favorite author's name] phone book/grocery list/drunk ramblings" and then slide into said authors DMs to harass them about the fanfics/passion projects/essays/haiku poetry they ended up writing.
R. Lee Smith wrote a ton of amazing books without ever getting the awards she deserves and her FNAF fanfiction is 1.4 million words long. And I'm grateful, because she didn't choose an internet pseudonym like "FluffyFreddy123" to upload the fic, because then I never would have found it.
Is it necessary to have played/enjoyed the actual games? Nah, I didn't and it's still a great story. I'm also pretty convinced the games never had this depth of characterization.
There are also a ton of original characters that aren't from the games at all but sprung clean and shiny from RLee's imagination.
I love Ana Stark as a character. She's gritty and pretends to be heartless, but she is actually still super hung up on her childhood best friend David disappearing, 20 years ago.
I'm nearly done with Book 1 and I am having a blast.
March 22, 2022
I love Freddy and Ana's relationship so much, And Faust too. Their fatherly need to protect is so perfectly done.
---
Smith writes the best villians I've ever read. They are so offputting, so alive and real and just the perfect amount of wrong. They are always just crazy enough, and their unpredictability is what keeps me unable to look away even when my skin is crawling. Blue was done so well, and holy shit, the purple man is going to be sickening. I can't wait for the chills.
Book is finished as of Jan 22nd. Smith said she will be taking a long break, to go back to writing books she can publish, before she starts writing the 5th and final work. which KILLS ME. But I still understand. I'm dying to know what happens though, its going to be so hard to wait.
https://archiveofourown.org/works/148...
"his paw swept in from behind and slammed it shut. She turned impatiently to face him “I don’t have time for this, Freddy.”
“Then don’t argue, You’d better come back with release papers.”
“Yeah, yeah.” Again, she tried to lift the door.
Again, he banged it down “Prove to me,” he said in a soft, ominous growl, “that you care about your safety, Ana. Or be prepared for the lengths to which I will go to keep you safe.”
---
Faust was still there, only somewhat less formally dressed, sitting beside her bed and watching her monitors.She didn’t think she said anything, but it was a dream and he looked at her anyway. “Are you awake?” he asked in that detached, distracted way of his. She nodded. “No,” he said, brushing the hair back from her brow. “No, you’re dreaming. I see you dreaming. You’re quite safe, you know, when you dream of me.” She nodded again, comforted, and drowsed to the feel of his thin, cool fingers tracing every line of hurt carved into her face.
“Ana, will you do something for me?” he inquired. “Here, in your dream, where it doesn’t really matter.” She mumbled something vaguely affirmative. Her throat hurt too much to form words.
He understood and suddenly his face swept in close as he leaned over her. His voice—Freddy’s voice—was a thunder in her skull, a whisper in her ear: “Tell me who did this to you.”
Smith writes the best villians I've ever read. They are so offputting, so alive and real and just the perfect amount of wrong. They are always just crazy enough, and their unpredictability is what keeps me unable to look away even when my skin is crawling. Blue was done so well, and holy shit, the purple man is going to be sickening. I can't wait for the chills.
Book is finished as of Jan 22nd. Smith said she will be taking a long break, to go back to writing books she can publish, before she starts writing the 5th and final work. which KILLS ME. But I still understand. I'm dying to know what happens though, its going to be so hard to wait.
https://archiveofourown.org/works/148...
February 28, 2026
4/4.5 Stars
This was a very, very long story! So much happened that I am genuinely curious as to how RLee's mind works because this type of writing is a talent that not many writers possess!
There was a lot I loved about this installment, but unfortunately there was also a lot of one thing that I didn't like.
The horror aspects and mystery is my favorite element of Everything Is All Right. RLee truly captivates me with her brand of horror. And because she does such a fine job at that, I was on the edge of my seat with all of the crazy bits and found myself being disinterested in the Love Triangle/Romance aspect heavily leaned on in this installment. I wanted to keep focused on the fun stuff for me.
Ana, eventually fizzled out for me unfortunately in this installment due to her really frustrating behaviors and fits. I also had a difficult time every time I had to read about how good looking she is, which I felt was a bit repetitive....in my opinion from what I read, I feel like Ana is supposed to be depicted like someone such as Angelina Jolie, but with how little she eats, little she sleeps, ALL of the poisons/toxins she inserts in her body, not to mention her aversion to bathing lol...let's just say that my image is not a great one. Yes, it is fiction...but, to some extent I like a little bit of that fiction to be slightly edible on what the Author serves up...sometimes things can just be a little too farfetched for me to go along with it. This specific installment, seemed to hammer in over and over how unbelievably good looking Ana was with a drool worthy body.
Then, there is the love triangle element that I felt turned some parts into a soap opera, that's not my cup of tea so it's definitely a personal issue. I felt that I could have gotten over it, but Ana's decisions were hard for me to understand. The two "guys", I had a lot of sympathy for and I think because I could understand where they were coming from, it made me team guys and less team Ana.
Other than that though, this story was phenomenal! The mystery was so juicy and FINALLY to get some answers (especially at the very end), chef's kiss muah! I am very curious as to see how the final installment will go and ultimately where this story ends at. I feel like things are going to be crazy and I will be sad to read the end of this series. It has been an incredible ride so far.
Also, I loved Yoshi and really hope to see more of him in the next installment. As for the rest of the gang, I continue to really, really love Freddy Fazbear. He stands out as my top favorite character I would say, followed closely by Chica, and then Bonnie. Foxy, he is a character I feel a lot for, but I feel like I have a complicated relationship with him. But, I do have a soft spot for him. Fred Faust is also a favorite, he is just the sweetest man and I really hope he gets the ending he deserves.
This was a very, very long story! So much happened that I am genuinely curious as to how RLee's mind works because this type of writing is a talent that not many writers possess!
There was a lot I loved about this installment, but unfortunately there was also a lot of one thing that I didn't like.
The horror aspects and mystery is my favorite element of Everything Is All Right. RLee truly captivates me with her brand of horror. And because she does such a fine job at that, I was on the edge of my seat with all of the crazy bits and found myself being disinterested in the Love Triangle/Romance aspect heavily leaned on in this installment. I wanted to keep focused on the fun stuff for me.
Ana, eventually fizzled out for me unfortunately in this installment due to her really frustrating behaviors and fits. I also had a difficult time every time I had to read about how good looking she is, which I felt was a bit repetitive....in my opinion from what I read, I feel like Ana is supposed to be depicted like someone such as Angelina Jolie, but with how little she eats, little she sleeps, ALL of the poisons/toxins she inserts in her body, not to mention her aversion to bathing lol...let's just say that my image is not a great one. Yes, it is fiction...but, to some extent I like a little bit of that fiction to be slightly edible on what the Author serves up...sometimes things can just be a little too farfetched for me to go along with it. This specific installment, seemed to hammer in over and over how unbelievably good looking Ana was with a drool worthy body.
Then, there is the love triangle element that I felt turned some parts into a soap opera, that's not my cup of tea so it's definitely a personal issue. I felt that I could have gotten over it, but Ana's decisions were hard for me to understand. The two "guys", I had a lot of sympathy for and I think because I could understand where they were coming from, it made me team guys and less team Ana.
Other than that though, this story was phenomenal! The mystery was so juicy and FINALLY to get some answers (especially at the very end), chef's kiss muah! I am very curious as to see how the final installment will go and ultimately where this story ends at. I feel like things are going to be crazy and I will be sad to read the end of this series. It has been an incredible ride so far.
Also, I loved Yoshi and really hope to see more of him in the next installment. As for the rest of the gang, I continue to really, really love Freddy Fazbear. He stands out as my top favorite character I would say, followed closely by Chica, and then Bonnie. Foxy, he is a character I feel a lot for, but I feel like I have a complicated relationship with him. But, I do have a soft spot for him. Fred Faust is also a favorite, he is just the sweetest man and I really hope he gets the ending he deserves.
March 24, 2026
Wow. 755,885 words later — in this instalment alone — and I’m still not ready to move on. 😩 I would jump into Five Nights at Springtrap's immediately if it was available.
This has been an incredible journey and I'll be on my knees indefinitely begging for the finale (respectfully). A part of my heart is forever stuck in the fictional town of Mammon, Utah, and another part will be stuck in my throat until I know that "everything is all right" because, damn, it really is not after that cliffhanger!!
Also, not to be dramatic but I would die for Fredrich Faust.
Please note: this is Part 4 in a five part series that must be read in order. It is available for free on AO3; start with Girl on the Edge of Nowhere.
This has been an incredible journey and I'll be on my knees indefinitely begging for the finale (respectfully). A part of my heart is forever stuck in the fictional town of Mammon, Utah, and another part will be stuck in my throat until I know that "everything is all right" because, damn, it really is not after that cliffhanger!!
Also, not to be dramatic but I would die for Fredrich Faust.
Please note: this is Part 4 in a five part series that must be read in order. It is available for free on AO3; start with Girl on the Edge of Nowhere.
July 16, 2026
4.75
As always, R Lee Smith's quality of writing is excellent. I do think this book suffers in comparison to the previous three in that it is simply too long and too much happens. This one book is the same length as the previous three combined, some ~756k words. That's something like 2.2-3k pages, depending on the formatting and font size.
It's not even necessarily that too much happens, but that too many repetitions of the same things happen. The characters are very flawed, and that's great. Smith does a great job of showing those flaws rather than talking about them. But we don't need the characters to have the same conversation about the same exact situation quite so many times to get the point across. Trimming maybe 10% of the repetitive stuff would have made this book more impactful. The previous three books were long, but every single page had something important happening on it. There was zero pointless fat in those ones. But this one suffers from just having too much, and parts of the story feel meandering and the pacing uneven because of it. Despite that, I still love the story and really want the next part to come out.
Mr. Faust remains my favorite character and he gets even more on-page time in this story, which is great.
Most surprisingly, Yoshi rocketed up to be one of my favorite (perhaps favorite) side characters.
Ana and Freddy's relationship really takes on a great quality in this one, particularly now that Freddy has a phone and has learned how to text. And Freddy finally shows how scary he can be when he's very angry.
Ana remains as relatable as ever as a deeply flawed, depressed, traumatized person.
And there are plenty of great little digs at Utah culture scattered through the book.
Also, takes the cake for one of the worst deaths I've read about in a book.
As always, R Lee Smith's quality of writing is excellent. I do think this book suffers in comparison to the previous three in that it is simply too long and too much happens. This one book is the same length as the previous three combined, some ~756k words. That's something like 2.2-3k pages, depending on the formatting and font size.
It's not even necessarily that too much happens, but that too many repetitions of the same things happen. The characters are very flawed, and that's great. Smith does a great job of showing those flaws rather than talking about them. But we don't need the characters to have the same conversation about the same exact situation quite so many times to get the point across. Trimming maybe 10% of the repetitive stuff would have made this book more impactful. The previous three books were long, but every single page had something important happening on it. There was zero pointless fat in those ones. But this one suffers from just having too much, and parts of the story feel meandering and the pacing uneven because of it. Despite that, I still love the story and really want the next part to come out.
Mr. Faust remains my favorite character and he gets even more on-page time in this story, which is great.
"I have a certain amount of experience with notoriety, myself, Miss Stark, and feel that I am uniquely qualified to advise you on the subject. Over the years, I have developed the philosophy that we do not build the pedestals of our own reputations. They are built for us, by those in whom we inspired the strongest feelings. Not the warmest, mind you, but the strongest. And strong feelings do not require facts to build upon. Where there is no brick, the architects of your reputation will grasp at whatever mud and straw they can find, for their intent is not to create a sound structure, but to see you fall. Therefore, if you would be revenged, do not fight them. Struggle only destabilizes your position and splatters the mud about. Ascend, stand tall, and compliment those who wallow in the muck of their own making on the glorious view they have provided you."
Most surprisingly, Yoshi rocketed up to be one of my favorite (perhaps favorite) side characters.
"I don't have issues," said Ana, genuinely surprised and a little irritated. "It is what it is. I don't have to be all choked up and neurotic for the rest of my fucking life just because my lousy childhood happened. Your mom sucked, too, but you're over it, right?"
"Um, I'm a socially-maladpative recovering addict with a recurrent panic disorder, low self-esteem, and a crippling fear of both success and failure, which as you can imagine made me super-employable and even better at running my own business, so obviously, yeah, I'm completely over it."
"You're fine," Ana snapped.
"I'm not fine," he laughed. "I'm aware I'm not fine, which I guess is a good start, and I work at it every day to try and be better, but I'm not fine. Even the best parents can mess up a kid when they're not trying to, and when they are?".
Yoshi squirmed uncomfortably, pulling a bottle of soda over between them like a shield. "I'm just a guy. But...before it all went bad for her, Grandma told me something. I'd been whining about how, you know... I'd squandered my genius and thrown away everything my folks worked for. All that crap. And she just had no time for that. Gave me a whap upside the head and told me everyone had the power to use what they had - no matter what they had - to do good, and as long as I was doing that, it didn't matter whether I worked as NASA or McDonald's. And she was right, you know. It's not just nurses and crimefighters and billionaire philanthropists that change the world, it's comic book artists and video game developers and the ordinary people who can be inspired by them."
Ana and Freddy's relationship really takes on a great quality in this one, particularly now that Freddy has a phone and has learned how to text. And Freddy finally shows how scary he can be when he's very angry.
Ana remains as relatable as ever as a deeply flawed, depressed, traumatized person.
If someone had offered to delete her from existence - not kill her, she didn't want to due, but just undo the Great Mistake of her birth - she'd have happily pushed the button herself.
And there are plenty of great little digs at Utah culture scattered through the book.
Away from mammon, city-traffic was full of commuters who were all convinced they were going to heaven and didn't mind who they took with them.
Also, takes the cake for one of the worst deaths I've read about in a book.
August 14, 2023
"But they can illicit an empathetic emotional response…and I guess that’s why I do it. Because a good story is really just a shared experience, whether it’s about having friends or going on adventures—” She looked at the TV with a wince. “—or being eaten by dinosaurs. The fact that they will never actually happen only makes the story more important, because some of us will never share those experiences any other way.”
Thanks, totally wanted my life explained to me by a robot chicken. Right in the feels with that one.
She lapsed into a short silence, cracked a thin smile and said, “Most people wouldn’t believe that. They hear the way he talks and think he expresses himself too much and at all the wrong times. They don’t understand him. He uses words because he can’t give feelings, you know? The way some people give flowers instead of tears at a funeral, because they can’t cry anymore or don’t want to be stared at, or just because it seems like the appropriate thing to do.” Another silence, longer than the first, and another smile, even smaller. “Freddy and his obsession with good manners. He knows he’s awkward, that’s the worst part. He knows, but he can’t understand how or why or what to change, but he knows, and he truly believes if he could just figure out the rules, he’d finally fit in. It’s so painful to see him trying, because he honestly thinks he’s succeeding and he never will. You think I’m making fun of him, don’t you?”
I'm just going to put a bunch of quotes in this review apparently. Either I'm just a sap this week or this one's extra heart wrenching.
He patted her like she was a child, the child so unhappy and desperate to be loved that she used to pretend a singing bear at a pizza parlor could save her,
Ok, so that's a wrap on part 4 of 5, and boy am I looking forward to seeing how it all pans out. Smith's endings on her novels never seem to land quite where I think they will and she's certainly not shy about not leaving everything hearts and roses. That's one thing I absolutely love about her work. Not to say there's anything wrong with happy endings, or that Smith's books don't have them. It's just that even when they're happy there's a good chance I'll be having a good cry before we get there.
Should you happen to see this review, thank you for what you do. You are brilliant, your stories are amazing, I love your stories and the characters you write. I read hundreds of books every year and if anyone ever asks about my favorite authors you are always mentioned.
Thanks, totally wanted my life explained to me by a robot chicken. Right in the feels with that one.
She lapsed into a short silence, cracked a thin smile and said, “Most people wouldn’t believe that. They hear the way he talks and think he expresses himself too much and at all the wrong times. They don’t understand him. He uses words because he can’t give feelings, you know? The way some people give flowers instead of tears at a funeral, because they can’t cry anymore or don’t want to be stared at, or just because it seems like the appropriate thing to do.” Another silence, longer than the first, and another smile, even smaller. “Freddy and his obsession with good manners. He knows he’s awkward, that’s the worst part. He knows, but he can’t understand how or why or what to change, but he knows, and he truly believes if he could just figure out the rules, he’d finally fit in. It’s so painful to see him trying, because he honestly thinks he’s succeeding and he never will. You think I’m making fun of him, don’t you?”
I'm just going to put a bunch of quotes in this review apparently. Either I'm just a sap this week or this one's extra heart wrenching.
He patted her like she was a child, the child so unhappy and desperate to be loved that she used to pretend a singing bear at a pizza parlor could save her,
Ok, so that's a wrap on part 4 of 5, and boy am I looking forward to seeing how it all pans out. Smith's endings on her novels never seem to land quite where I think they will and she's certainly not shy about not leaving everything hearts and roses. That's one thing I absolutely love about her work. Not to say there's anything wrong with happy endings, or that Smith's books don't have them. It's just that even when they're happy there's a good chance I'll be having a good cry before we get there.
Should you happen to see this review, thank you for what you do. You are brilliant, your stories are amazing, I love your stories and the characters you write. I read hundreds of books every year and if anyone ever asks about my favorite authors you are always mentioned.
July 10, 2023
I have read over a million words of this story and I still want more. If that doesn't tell you how much I love this series.... I don't know what will.
I just want to reiterate-- I am not a Five Nights at Freddy's fan. I don't know the lore. I don't really care about it. BUT I love the characters that Smith has created. They are based on the FNaF characters, but I can guarantee the game does not have the depth that Smith has created with Freddy, Bonnie, Foxy, and Chica. (And obv Faust, Ana, Rider, etc because those are completely from Smith's mind).
Anyway. I just think this was really good and if you already know that you are a R. Lee Smith fan, you will love it. That is all :-)
I just want to reiterate-- I am not a Five Nights at Freddy's fan. I don't know the lore. I don't really care about it. BUT I love the characters that Smith has created. They are based on the FNaF characters, but I can guarantee the game does not have the depth that Smith has created with Freddy, Bonnie, Foxy, and Chica. (And obv Faust, Ana, Rider, etc because those are completely from Smith's mind).
Anyway. I just think this was really good and if you already know that you are a R. Lee Smith fan, you will love it. That is all :-)
February 28, 2026
I liked the other ones, I loved this one. It took a little while to grow on me, but it's a 750,000 word monster of a book, so I had a while. Seriously, this is long. If it were a book, it would be too large to print. It's longer than the other three combined. So anyways, this is really good, better than it has any right to be. The last public comment by the author I've seen indicates they intend to finish the series with a fifth volume, but even if that never pans out this is worth reading. And I say that as someone who has zero interest or knowledge of Five Nights at Freddy's.
May 8, 2026
Stopped at 95% to save myself from the cliffhanger of doom. I haven’t felt this attached and connected to characters in years. I don’t know how R Lee Smith does it, but man can she write a moving, engaging story, even about sentient animatronics. This was obviously a passion project of hers and she deserves all the praise! Wish there was a way to thank her (financially) for such an incredible story! Now to wait for part five! Thanks R Lee Smith!
January 1, 2023
Phenomenal book, but ending on a cliffhanger - with the next book not even having a release date which really sucks …
July 9, 2023
Can't wait for the last part of this fanfic.
November 14, 2024
I've just finished my fifth...possibly sixth...readthrough of this series and am legit DYING for the last installment. Okay, so maybe I'm being a drama llama - but seriously, this is one of my all time favorite series. I've read everything R. Lee Smith has written...multiple times (to the point where I've lost count for some books). There's just something about her (his? their? idk) writing that speaks to my very soul. I never played the FNaF games before reading these books. This series actually prompted me to try playing the games - but I was all "pfft...the books are way better".
I probably shouldn't admit this because it's almost certainly a copyright violation - but I loved these books so much that I created my own epub file of each one by manually extracting & compiling the chapters from FanFiction so I could read them more conveniently on my Kindle. That's how much I love them. It kills me that this is fanfiction and the author isn't being paid for it. It's that phenomenal. I recommend it (and all the other books by this author) to everyone I know who loves to read (regardless of their preferred genre).
I probably shouldn't admit this because it's almost certainly a copyright violation - but I loved these books so much that I created my own epub file of each one by manually extracting & compiling the chapters from FanFiction so I could read them more conveniently on my Kindle. That's how much I love them. It kills me that this is fanfiction and the author isn't being paid for it. It's that phenomenal. I recommend it (and all the other books by this author) to everyone I know who loves to read (regardless of their preferred genre).
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews