Fanfic / One Way Left To Go

One Way Left To Go is a Sing fanfic written by MysteryWriter2187, sharing continuity with Porsha Crystal: Love And Pain, Pride And Shame.

Set three years after the events of Sing 2, the story follows the Moon Troupe as they collaborate on a new show with the Fletcher Foundation - led by a former protege of Nana's - while Buster struggles to comes to terms with an uncertain future.

One Way Left To Go provides examples of:

• An Aesop:
  • Change is inevitable, whether it be friends moving on to other things or loved ones dying, but it can lead to good things. It’s better to prepare for and appreciate what comes in the future instead of trying to stop it from coming.
  • What you love doesn't have to pull you away from who you love. While Florence did make the better choice prioritising her daughter over her singing career, she realizes in the present that she didn't have to make a binary choice between the two, and implores Meena not to do the same.
• Affectionate Nickname:
  • Carrying over from Love And Pain, Pride And Shame, Rosita still calls Porsha "sunshine", as Porsha's own mother used to do. Porsha also continues to call Suki and Buster her "Aunt" and "Uncle", respectively.
  • Buster frequently calls both Porsha and Meena "kiddo", and the opening flashback reveals that his father Baxter used to call him that too. The fact that Bernie also uses this same term is an early hint that Buster's relationship with his mother isn't as broken as either of them think.
• Arc Words: Carrying over from the two Sing films, Buster's mantra of "there's only one way left to go, and that's up!" comes back in full force in the second half. It's also revealed that he got this phrase from his mother.
• Armor-Piercing Response: During their second argument, Buster deals a particularly nasty blow to Bernie that takes them both off-guard.
  Bernie: Buster Keaton Moon, I am your mother and you will not speak to me like -!
  Buster: Oh come on, you were barely a mother! Face it, you're nothing more than a sad little old lady wallowing in misery! It's all you ever have been, and it's all you ever will be!
• Armor-Piercing Question: When Buster reveals that they can't put on the show after everything that's happened, particularly Nana's passing, Bernie tries to encourage her son by asking him the very same thing that Nana herself did in the second film.
  Bernie: You're still in one piece, aren't you?
• Ascended Extra:
  • Becky only had two scenes in the first film, mainly serving as a catalyst to split Ash and Lance apart. She returns here in a larger role, giving her a much more fleshed out personality, and she even joins Buster's new troupe in the epilogue.
  • In the context of MysteryWriter2187's fanfic series, Meena is once again promoted to a main cast member with her own subplot and character arc, after being relegated to a minor role in the previous stories.
• Bad Boss: When he's assigned to co-direct the production with Buster, Mike quickly lets the power go to his head. He's controlling, verbally abusive, and even resorts to physical violence when he feels his position is threatened.
• Aw, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other:
  • The Moon Troupe initially perceive Florence as a controlling perfectionist who's pressuring Audrey and trying to vicariously relive her own career through her daughter. It soon becomes apparent that this isn't the case at all.
  • While Buster and his mother Bernie frequently argue, there is a sense from the start that both genuinely want to reconnect. After Buster plays the piano and sings his parents' old wedding song, Bernie opens up to him and they finally reconcile for good.
• Bait-and-Switch:
  • After Audrey and Johnny perform their impromptu duet at the run-through, Florence beckons Audrey to her and points out that they didn't sing the song she was expecting. Rather than being angry or disappointed, Florence suddenly throws her arms around Audrey and gushes about how proud she is, throwing out all the troupe's preconceptions of Florence as a harsh, Jimmy-esque tyrant.
  • Buster believes that his mother Bernie resents him for selling a family heirloom when buying the theatre, but he doesn't even remember doing so. This is seemingly confirmed when Suki sees it still hanging in the pawn shop and learns that it was brought in by a koala. It's later revealed that Bernie herself sold it, wanting to help her son achieve his dream any way she could.
• Big Damn Heroes: Much like Rosita did when she saved Buster from falling in the second film, Porsha conquers her fear of water to save Mike from drowning.
• Book Ends:
  • The first chapter of Love And Pain, Pride And Shame had Porsha and Rosita performing a major scene together for the Moon Troupe's Romeo And Juliet production, with Porsha still hesitating to get close to Rosita. During the final show in this story, they once again work together to perform Porsha's stunt, with Porsha now having fully embraced Rosita as her Parental Substitute. Even the dialogue that they share backstage before going on is almost identical in both situations.
  • The first film began with a young Buster and his father seeing Nana in one of her shows, while the latter performed a rendition of "Golden Slumbers". After Nana's passing in this story, Florence and Meena conclude the climactic show by singing this same song, bringing the story full circle.
  • Ash was introduced in the first film performing with Lance, establishing upfront how uneven and unhealthy their relationship was. Ash's final scene in this story is performing in a similar venue with her new boyfriend, Johnny, and they sing in perfect harmony.
• Both Sides Have a Point: Buster's conflict with his mother Bernie ultimately boils down to this. While Buster is right that Bernie could have done more to encourage and support his dreams when he was growing up, Bernie is right to call Buster out for not appreciating the times that she did support him, and he's spent all these years solely crediting his father for his success without acknowledging or even mentioning her. Their reconciliation occurs when both realize and accept that they've made mistakes.
• The Bus Came Back: After being completely absent from Sing 2, Mike, Nancy, Becky and Eddie all return as main cast members.
• Career-Ending Injury: Florence Fletcher is stated early on to have broken her leg while falling off a platform during a performance years before the fic's events, forcing her to retire. She later reveals to Audrey that she didn't break her leg after all and that the incident and her supposed infirmity from then on was faked, noting that she pulled off that trick specifically so she could retire and raise Audrey.
• Central Theme: All of the major subplots revolve around the Moon Troupe, who have already fought for and achieved their dreams in the two films, mentoring new performers and teaching them how to find and fight for their own aspirations.
  • Johnny, with some eventual help from Ash, teaches Audrey to step out of her famous mother's shadow and form her own identity as a performer.
  • When Porsha is unable to perform her mother's stunt due to her aquaphobia, Rosita takes her under her wing and teaches her to overcome her fears, with the two eventually performing it as a duet.
  • Nooshy takes a liking to Tim, a shy, soft-spoken sound technician working on the show, and pushes him to embrace his blossoming talent as a DJ.
  • After Meena falls into a deep depression due to her botched run through, and subsequently learning that Buster sabotaged her, she's eventually snapped out of her funk due to a pep talk from Florence, who encourages her to go out for the big finale. This also inspires Florence herself to go onstage herself after a near two-decade-long hiatus, and the two finish the show with a duet.
• Chekhov's Gun:
  • In Caleb's introductory scene, he's shown looking at an old magician's box in the corner, which is later revealed to have been his own from his time performing at the theatre. He demonstrates some of his tricks for the younger cast members later, then in the climax uses his skills to create impromptu effects for the final show.
  • Early on, Rosita's piglets are playing with throat candies called "Silly Beans", that make the consumer's voice sound scratchier than usual. Buster has Porsha slip some into Meena's water before her run-through to sabotage her rehearsal.
  • When first visiting Bernie, Buster wonders if her missing necklace is still in her old jewellery box, but Bernie dismisses the idea before he can check. After getting the necklace back, Buster goes to put it into the box, where he finds all the tickets that Bernie bought to see his past shows.
  • Tim is shown early on buying old Tesla coils from a hardware stall, and later demonstrates how they work to Nooshy. During the final show, he uses them as the main setpiece for his and Nooshy's opening number.
  • When working on the updated, electrically-powered moon prop for the big show, Tim discovers an exposed wire and explicitly notes that there's a chance that Mike (who was going to use the prop for the show) could get hurt thanks to this flaw, but doesn't get the chance to fix it. This same wire is what thwarts Mike's attempt to kill Buster during the climactic show, when the mouse electrocutes himself by accidentally stepping on it.
• Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: After a prominent supporting role in Sing 2, Darius is not seen or mentioned at all here. His absence from the opening show in Redshore City is especially noticeable, as a major plot point in the second film involved him and Meena having to be scene partners for the Planet Of Love setpiece. Meena is shown completely alone in the "Out Of This World 2" show in the fic's opening, though as this performance is explicitly stated to be a sequel, it's possible that there may simply have been no need for a part for Darius during the show's production.
• Continuity Nod: The story features several references to both Sing films and MysteryWriter2187's other fanfics in this continuity, especially Porsha Crystal: Love And Pain, Pride And Shame.
  • The opening scene directly follows on from the prologue of the first film, showing a younger Buster and his father Baxter returning from Nana's show. It's also here that we see Baxter using some of the catchphrases and words of wisdom that his son later cites in the films.
  • When Florence threatens to "crush [Buster] like a grape" if he lets anything happen to Audrey, Ash reminds Buster of when Jimmy Crystal made a similar threat, and had fully intended to act on it, in the second film. Luckily for Buster, Florence was only being hyperbolic.
  • When the troupe learn that Buster's mother is still alive, Porsha mentions that he had previously told her this during a past conversation, which was shown in Love And Pain. The injury that Porsha had suffered during that story, and the traumatic effect that it had on Nooshy, is also alluded to here.
  • An old photograph of Nana's last troupe, which was used in Love And Pain to discover the whereabouts of Porsha's mother, appears a few times throughout the story.
  • During Becky's brief appearance in A Gift I Didn't Ask For, she casually mentioned that she was training to be a carer. Here, it's revealed that she specifically cares for children and young adults with special needs.
  • Johnny briefly confides in Audrey about the death of his mother, Mary, who was first mentioned in Still Standing. He also recalls that his mother taught him his first piano lesson when he was younger, which he'd previously told Porsha in Cute, But Very Clingy.
  • Just like the previous two movies, Buster decides to host an impromptu performance after disastrous circumstances cause everyone to nearly give up — but since the stage on the Catalonia Wharf where the show is planned to be hosted is Florence's property, the gorilla herself assists in the production of the final show from the start. She states that it'd be best if she was overseeing things to keep the troupe from getting arrested, alluding to the fact that the previous two movies had their respective climactic shows hosted without legal permission.
• Cool Uncle: Though not related by blood, Caleb is implied to fill this role for Audrey and Tim. He's good friends with both Audrey's mother and Tim's parents, having previously performed with all of them back in the old theatre, and while he occasionally embarrasses them, especially Tim, he's shown to be a very caring and supportive figure in their lives.
• Darkest Hour: Buster's big falling out with the cast, which results in the Calatonia Wharf's stage collapsing and puts the entire show on ice, directly coincidences with Nana's passing. For the next few chapters, most of the characters have nearly given up completely, and circumstances don't start improving again until Buster discovers Bernie's true feelings about his career and reconciles with her once and for all, which motivates him to gather all the rest back for a final performance.
• Deceased Parents Are the Best: Along with past character deaths that have already been established ^note Buster's father is shown to have passed away before the first film, while previous fanfics in this continuity have explained how both Johnny and Porsha's mothers died it's also mentioned that Audrey's father died before she was born. While the circumstances behind his death are not elaborated on, Florence mentions that he worked for Jimmy Crystal, implying that the latter had him killed.
• Defrosting Ice Queen:
  • Downplayed with Florence Fletcher. While not outright cruel or dismissive when first introduced, she does come off as distant and aloof towards the troupe, and Buster especially. After seeing how well the troupe has treated Audrey and Tim, she warms to them much quicker than Nana or even Clay Calloway did in the two films.
  • Bernie Moon, Buster's estranged, dementia-stricken mother, is introduced as a sour and passive-aggressive old woman, to the point where Buster outright dreads inviting her to the show. After some intense arguments, the two finally come to a better understanding, and Bernie reveals her much warmer true nature when she finally meets her son's friends.
• Disco Sucks: Downplayed, but still implied. Audrey reveals to Johnny that she doesn't like her mother's music - mainly comprised of songs by The Bee Gees - outright saying that she prefers songs "from this century". Later, she has no problem performing "You Really Got Me", confirming that it isn't necessarily the age of the songs, but the specific genre of Florence's past work that she dislikes.
• Establishing Character Moment: Florence Fletcher is introduced watching auditions, similar to Jimmy Crystal in the second film. But while Jimmy cut off every single one of his auditions without a second thought, Florence watches the performances all the way through and only interrupts the first one to offer genuine constructive criticism, immediately setting her up as Jimmy's Good Counterpart.
• Everyone Has Standards: While Nancy looks past most of Mike's cruelty towards the other performers, she finally has enough when he insults Porsha's late mother, furiously slapping him and not speaking to him for days afterwards.
• Exact Words: When Mike demands that Audrey and Johnny sing The Bee Gees' "If I Can't Have You" for Florence's inspection, Johnny instead has them sing the more recent song of the same name by Shawn Mendes, better fitting Audrey's singing style.
• Expy: The story's writer has said that Florence Fletcher was heavily inspired by Rebecca Welton, and they had even written the character with Rebecca's actress, Hannah Waddingham, in mind.
• Expy Coexistence: The character of Tim is heavily inspired by Avicii, performing his songs, wearing similar outfits and even sharing his first name. However, he later confides in Nooshy that the songs were originally written by a "Swedish DJ" who is all but said outright to have been Avicii himself, implying that Tim is actually taking inspiration from him in-universe.
• Foil: Multiple characters from the Fletcher Foundation serve as direct parallels to characters that were introduced in Sing 2.
  • Florence Fletcher herself serves as one to Jimmy Crystal, to the point where she could be seen as his Good Counterpart. Although introduced as an aloof and strict producer who even seems to threaten Buster's life (though it's clear from the start that she's being hyperbolic, which Crystal certainly wasn't) she gradually opens up to reveal a much kinder and more encouraging personality. Their contrast is especially apparent in how they treat their children, as while Jimmy only valued Porsha as an extension of himself and gladly dismissed her when she "embarrassed" him, Florence is a much more loving and attentive parent to Audrey, and even gave up a successful singing career to raise her.
  • Caleb Clark serves as one to both Suki and Jerry. While Suki was introduced as a stuck-up talent agent who initially dismissed the Moon Troupe but gradually grew more fond of them, Caleb actively seeks them out and is much friendlier from the start, likely due to his own experience in performing. And while Suki and Jerry both feared Jimmy Crystal, with the latter being a full on Sycophantic Servant, Caleb has a much more equal relationship with Florence, even being on a First-Name Basis with his employer.
  • Audrey serves as one to Porsha, being the daughter of a successful producer who is given a part in the Moon Troupe's show. While Porsha indiscreetly demanded the lead role and was too confident for her own good, Audrey is assigned by Mike without having a say and is more shy and insecure, needing the troupe's help to come out of her shell.
  • Porsha draws a direct parallel between Buster and Mike during a talk with the latter. Mike claims that he and Buster are both "little guys" that have to fight to make others take them seriously. But while Buster is a kindhearted, albeit flawed, Father to His Men who goes out of his way to elevate his friends and employees, Mike is an arrogant bully who spitefully belittles and distances himself from everyone around him.
  Porsha: (to Mike) All you ever do is bring everybody else down. Uncle Buster brings 'em up.
• Foreshadowing:
  • Caleb does a close-up card trick when introducing himself to Buster, and seems to be focused on an old magician's box in the corner when he first arrives. It's later revealed that he used to perform as a magician in the Theatre, and he later uses some of his tricks for the climactic show. This same fact also contributes to The Reveal that Florence faked her injury in order to retire, as she mentions some covert assistance on Caleb's part in that regard.
  • Though Becky claims to be "on duty" when Ash sees her at the Fletcher Foundation, she is never seen rehearsing or performing and spends most of her scenes interacting with Tim and Audrey. This is because her "duty" is actually to be their carer, because as Becky herself reveals after Johnny hurts Audrey's feelings, Audrey has special needs.
  • During the pool parties in both this story and Love And Pain, Pride And Shame, Porsha sits reading on a sunbed and never joins the group in the pool, and even makes up some far fetched excuses not to. It's eventually revealed that she never learned to swim.
  • Nooshy mentions in passing to Johnny that Audrey is "seventeen and three-fifths", while Florence later recalls during a conversation with Nana and Buster that she hasn't performed in public for "nearly eighteen years". It's later revealed that these events - Audrey's birth and Florence's "accident" and subsequent retirement - are in fact directly linked, as Florence faked her Career-Ending Injury to raise her then-newborn daughter.
  • After the party at the midpoint of the story, Buster bids Nana goodnight when the latter is leaving. Nana's hesitant reaction, followed by her saying goodbye, indicates that she knows this is the last time she'll see Buster before she passes away.
  • There are several scenes where Florence's limp switches legs or she outright drops her cane and can stand and walk without it. She later reveals that she faked her onstage injury so that she could retire and raise Audrey.
• Heel–Face Turn: While not an outright villain in the first film, Becky inadvertently played an antagonistic role in Ash's subplot due to breaking her and Lance apart, and she even dismissed Ash's final performance when watching it. When she's reintroduced here, Becky and Ash have both moved on from Lance and are on much better terms, and Becky remains a supportive ally to the troupe for the entire story.
• Hidden Depths:
  • While Caleb is initially introduced as an assistant to Florence, it's later revealed that he's a talented magician who used to perform with Nana's old troupe, and was even implied to have helped her fake her Career-Ending Injury using some of his tricks. His skills with stage magic come in handy for the final show, and he also joins Buster's new troupe in the epilogue.
  • Tim is introduced as a minor sound technician, but Nooshy soon discovers that he's an aspiring DJ, and eventually encourages him to perform in the final show.
• History Repeats:
  • Like in the first film, Buster's attempted deception is exposed, with the resulting argument leading to the cast's intended venue collapsing, only to be rebuilt for the final show. However, this time it isn't Buster's own theatre that gets destroyed, but Florence's stage on the Calatonia Wharf.
  • Florence reveals to Audrey that she faked her infamous onstage injury so that she could retire and raise her at the time newborn daughter. Audrey takes inspiration from this by pretending to hurt her ankle before she's meant to go onstage, allowing Ash to take her place in the duet with Johnny.
  • Once again, Buster finds himself being hoisted up on a rising platform with a vengeful former colleague intent on stopping the show, which results in a troupe member finally overcoming their fear in order to save one of them. Luckily, Buster himself is not the one who falls this time.
• Hollywood Autism: Audrey is explicitly stated to have Asperger's Syndrome, and Tim is also heavily implied to be on the autistic spectrum. This trope is ultimately downplayed as, while both show stereotypical traits of these conditions, such as struggling to interact with others and requiring a caretaker, neither are incapable of being independent, and their dilemmas are attributed more to general insecurities rather than directly implicating their disabilities.
• Hourglass Plot: Rosita and Porsha's storyline is a direct flip of how they first met in Sing 2, with Rosita being assigned a stunt meant for Porsha when the latter's fear makes her unable to perform it. Unlike the previous situation, Rosita goes out of her way to help Porsha overcome her fears and learn to swim, and the two ultimately perform the stunt as a duet.
• Ignored Epiphany: During their conversation in Buster's office, Florence goes on an emotional tangent about the bittersweet pride she feels in watching Audrey grow up, directly linking it to Buster's own insecurities about his original troupe potentially moving on to pursue their own careers. Unfortunately, Buster is too focused on an old photograph of Nana's troupe to really listen and process Florence's words, and he remains insistent on keeping his friends together no matter the cost.
• Informed Flaw: In both this story and Love And Pain, Buster implies that his mother Bernie has been suffering from dementia, claiming that she often forgets who he is when he visits her. When we finally meet Bernie here, she never displays that level of forgetfulness or senility, though it is implied that she has some fuzzier memories of her past that only become clearer later.
• Internal Reveal: It was previously established in Love And Pain, Pride And Shame that Porsha's late mother used to call her "sunshine" when she was younger, and Rosita unknowingly uses the same nickname for her in the present. Porsha finally tells Rosita this during their talk beside Eddie's pool, while also confirming that she sees Rosita as her new motherly figure.
• Irony:
  • At one point, Johnny, a gorilla, dives into a pool to save Porsha from drowning. In real life, gorillas cannot swim naturally, while wolves are known for being excellent swimmers.
  • In the second film, Porsha unintentionally kicked off the third act when she wrongly assumed that Buster was firing her, when he had simply asked her to switch roles with Rosita. After her aforementioned near-drowning in this story, Porsha actually is fired from her role by a furious Mike, and Rosita fills in for Porsha until Buster eventually gives the role back to the latter.
• I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: Buster eventually settles into the platonic version of this with his original troupe, especially Meena. He spends most of the story before this point desperately trying to keep them all together - even resorting to sabotaging Meena's run-through to prevent her from getting a solo deal - but he soon comes to realize that he's just hurting his friends after they call him out on this. So in the end, he accepts that his former troupe members are entitled to live out their own dreams, even if those dreams don't include him.
• Just Friends: Buster pairs Johnny with Audrey - another gorilla - to do a duet for the show. While Nooshy jokingly suggests early on that Audrey may have a crush on Johnny, this is quickly dismissed and the two remain on completely platonic terms, with their relationship eventually becoming more Like Brother and Sister. Audrey also fully supports Ash and Johnny getting together, and during the final show she even switches places with Ash so she can have the duet with Johnny instead.
• Kick the Dog: Mike has a habit of doing this, even more so than in the first film.
  • During a conversation discussing Porsha's stunt, Mike mockingly expresses relief that Rosita isn't performing it, and makes a particularly harsh jab at her weight while he leaves.
  Mike: Fletcher doesn't wanna comedy show, so we can't have some big lump of jello jiggling around up there in the sky.
  • After Porsha nearly drowns during the stunt practice due to her inability to swim, Mike makes no attempt to comfort her and instead dismisses her as useless and fires her from the production. During the final show, Mike sabotages the stunt by fusing all the spotlights, making Porsha unable to see the water below, though Tim is able to fix this afterwards.
  • When Nooshy suggests that they scrap Mike's opening number and let Tim perform with her instead, Mike destroys the latter's mixing desk - a custom device that Tim had spent years putting together - out of pure spite.
• Liar Revealed: Buster coerces Porsha into sabotaging Meena's run-through, fearing that Meena impressing Florence and getting a solo career would lead to the entire troupe going their separate ways. Porsha is ridden with guilt after doing this, and accidentally blurts it out during an conversation with Ash and Rosita. The following day, a furious Ash confronts Buster about this in front of the entire cast on the Calatonia Wharf, leading to an argument between Buster and Meena that results in the stage collapsing.
• Lighter and Softer: While it has its heavier moments, such as Nana's death, the stakes are significantly lower in comparison to Sing 2, leading to a much more laid-back tone. It also serves as this to many of MysteryWriter2187's other Sing stories, which discuss themes of trauma, abuse and abandonment, while One Way Left To Go mainly focuses on the troupe putting on a show again.
• Like Brother and Sister: Though there seems to be a mutual dislike to start off with, Johnny eventually makes more of an effort to look after Audrey while the latter is working with the troupe, very much like a protective older sibling. He encourages her to overcome her fears of performing, makes an effort to include her in the group's activities, and eventually stands up for Audrey after Mike insults her during his rant on the Wharf.
• Mama Bear:
  • Florence makes it abundantly clear from their first meeting that she won't be happy if Buster lets anything to happen to Audrey. Thankfully, she never has to resort to anything drastic.
  • Rosita fully cements her role as the Team Mom of the Moon Troupe by showing a notably more fierce protectiveness of the younger members. She scolds Mike when he gets angry at Porsha for messing up her stunt, and is later furious at Buster when she discovers that he tried to sabotage Meena.
• My Beloved Smother:
  • Following their first appearance in Love And Pain, Pride And Shame, Ash's parents, Larry and Susan, are still as overbearingly affectionate, though Ash herself is perfectly comfortable with this.
  • Downplayed with Florence. During a conversation with Buster, she admits that she's been overly sheltering of Audrey in the past, and often forgets that her daughter isn't an innocent little child anymore, but she otherwise fully supports Audrey's ambitions and encourages her to become more independent.
  • Tim's parents, especially his mother Jane, are shown to be very loving and overprotective of him, to his chagrin and embarrassment. Much like with Ash's parents, this is Played for Laughs.
• Named After Somebody Famous:
  • Tim is named as a tribute to the late Tim Bergling, better known as Avicii. He performs several of Avicii's songs throughout the story, and his outfit in the final show directly homages what Avicii often wore in his concerts.
  • Audrey is named after Audrey Hepburn.
  • Buster's middle name is revealed to be Keaton.
• Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: While it is ultimately self-serving, Buster convinces himself that sabotaging Meena's run-through and reworking her number into a duet with Porsha will be beneficial to them both. Instead, it completely shatters Meena's confidence and the added guilt of this only worsens Porsha's anxieties, and the eventual exposure of this plot results in a massive falling out with the entire troupe.
• Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: In a Call-Back to the second film, Mike's attempt to sabotage the show by attacking Buster leads to Porsha conquering her fear of water to save one of them — though this time, it's the mouse himself who gets electrocuted, falls into the pool, and nearly drowns.
• "Not So Different" Remark: When Johnny attempts to defend himself after his rant against Audrey - which upset the latter when she overheard - Meena tells him that he sounded just like Mike. This partially contributes to Johnny's realization at how cruel he was actually being, and motivates him to make amends with Audrey.
• Official Couple:
  • Meena and Alfonso are still together following the events of Sing 2. After three years of Meena regularly visiting him in Redshore, Alfonso finally comes to Calatonia to see Meena when she's given a big finale number for the show.
  • Following the events of Love And Pain, Pride And Shame, Buster and Suki are now an item, and their relationship remains strong throughout.
  • Thanks to Audrey's interference, Ash performs alongside Johnny in the climactic show, with their duet culminating in a Big Damn Kiss. In the epilogue they're shown performing together in Florence's venue, with both their parents and Clay Calloway present.
  • Subverted with Nooshy and Tim. While a mutual crush is established between them, after their performance Nooshy goes for a kiss, but Tim simply hugs her instead. Their subplot ends on platonic terms, but with the potential for a romance to blossom in the future.
• O.O.C. Is Serious Business: When even Miss Crawly, who has shown nothing but Undying Loyalty to Buster ever since the first film, won't condone or defend his sabotaging of Meena's rehearsal, it truly cements just how terrible this decision really was.
• Parental Substitute:
  • Carrying on from Love And Pain, Pride And Shame, Rosita continues to play this role in Porsha's life, which Porsha finally admits to her during a heart-to-heart talk. Porsha also considers Suki and Buster to be her honorary aunt and uncle, respectively.
  • It is heavily implied that Florence sees Nana as a motherly figure, due to the latter having mentored her. The whole reason she decides to work with the Moon Troupe is to make Nana proud, though Nana sadly passes away before she can see the show.
• Passing the Torch: In the epilogue, Ash, Johnny and Meena all leave the Moon Troupe to focus on their own careers, though they remain close to Buster and the others. Audrey, Tim, Becky and Caleb all join the troupe in their place, as a new generation of performers for Buster to mentor.
• Pet the Dog: When Porsha is shivering and wet after nearly drowning, Audrey doesn't hesitate to let her own jacket be used as a blanket and towel for her. This serves as the first major hint that Audrey is not the spoiled elitist that Mike is making her out to be.
• Poor Communication Kills:
  • When Buster gets the idea to have Porsha re-enact her mother's famed stunt, the troupe neglect to inform her and Suki until much later that it's a water-based trick involving a pool. Porsha is so afraid to let them and her late mother down that she likewise never points out that she can't swim, which the troupe don't learn until the stunt goes wrong and she nearly drowns.
  • While rehearsing together, Johnny is put off by Audrey's blunt and seemingly dismissive attitude towards him, which Mike doesn't help when he mentions her privileged upbringing and past attendance at a "special school". This eventually results in Johnny going on a furious rant insulting Audrey and hurting the latter's feelings, at which point Becky reveals that Audrey has special needs.
  • When Florence promises to get Meena a solo deal if she impresses in the show, Buster fears that Meena leaving the troupe will lead to the entire cast going their separate ways. Instead of simply speaking to Meena or Florence themselves to air his grievances, Buster resorts to sabotaging Meena's run through in a bid to make Florence reconsider, which inevitably leads to a massive argument with the entire cast when they find out what he did. Florence herself later admits that she could've prevented this mess before it began if she'd actually talked things over with Buster ahead of time.
  • For all these years, Bernie never told Buster that she'd been secretly going to all of his shows or that she was genuinely proud of him, which has led to Buster believing that his mother didn't approve of his career choice. And while she constantly complains about her necklace having to be sold to buy the theatre, something Buster doesn't remember doing but still deeply regrets, Bernie has never clarified that she sold it herself to support his dreams.
• Revisiting the Roots: After going to Redshore City and facing far greater - even life threatening - challenges in Sing 2, One Way Left To Go brings the Moon Troupe back to their hometown of Calatonia, and its story and conflicts are closer to the more mundane stakes of the first Sing film.
• Rule of Symbolism: The argument between Buster and Meena, when the latter learns that the former sabotaged her, ends with the wharf cracking in half immediately after she yells at him that her dreams have been ruined. The crack is stated to go right between the two, fitting for their having a massive falling out over Buster's short-sighted actions.
  • During Audrey's performance of "Born This Way", her custom outfit incorporates elements from the characters that have inspired and guided her the most throughout the story. She wears a blue dress, matching both her mother and Buster's signature colours, with Johnny's leather jacket over it. She also dons red makeup and styles her fur to match Ash's quills, with Becky's star-shaped sunglasses to complete the ensemble. All of these mentors have left a meaningful impact on Audrey, and thanks to them she's finally found the courage to stand up onstage and form her own identity.
• Scatterbrained Senior: Subverted. Bernie is implied to be this when Buster first mentions her to the troupe, but when she actually appears she seems completely aware of her surroundings and only occasionally forgetful, possibly implying that Buster was exaggerating about his mother's condition as an excuse to avoid going to see her.
• Shout-Out:
  • During the pool party, Porsha is reading Dune by Frank Herbivore.
  • Meena and Buster's argument, and the Wharf collapsing afterwards, resembles the destruction of Casita in Encanto.
  • Florence reveals that she grew up watching Breakfast at Tiffany's. This also explains why her daughter's name is Audrey.
  • In reference to another Sing fanfic writer, during one scene Suki is shown speaking over the phone to her brother Charlie, and mentions his wife Ellie and their daughter Cherry. These characters were originally created by UNCLE SAM THE MAN, and feature prominently in his Moon Family series.
• Stage Mom: Subverted. Florence initially seems to be a very controlling and militant parent to her teenage daughter Audrey, including reprimanding her for being late to her music lesson and telling her to stay an extra hour because of it. On Mike's insistence, Audrey is initially tasked with singing one of her mother's signature songs for her duet with Johnny, and she's clearly terrified of messing it up and letting Florence down. Johnny eventually convinced Audrey to sing a different song for the run through, and though they initially expect that this will disappoint Florence, she is instead completely thrilled that Audrey is coming out of her shadow and forming her own identity.
• Suspiciously Apropos Music: Like in the two films, the songs in the final show parallel the characters' arcs.
  • Tim and Nooshy open the show with a rendition of Avicii's "The Days". The song is about taking chances and not regretting the choices you make, fitting Tim finally facing his fears and performing in front of the entire town.
  • Johnny and Ash sing a duet of Sheppard's "Keep Me Crazy", a song about the spontaneous joy of falling in love, which they use to finally confess their long-held feelings for each other.
  • Audrey sings Lady Gaga's "Born This Way" as she finally lets go of all her doubts and insecurities and fully embraces who she is on the stage.
  • Porsha, Rosita and Gunter sing will.i.am's "#THATPOWER". The song's lyrics are about rolling with life's punches and coming back stronger from your experiences, reflecting Porsha recovering from the trauma of her near-drowning and finally facing her fears with Rosita's help.
  • Meena and Florence end the show with a duet of The Beatles' "Golden Slumbers". Along with it serving as a tribute to Nana, it's also a bittersweet song about looking back on happier memories with the people we love while still carrying onto the future, reflecting Buster's thoughts on his original troupe members.
  • The epilogue is set to "Make Your Own Kind Of Music" by Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil. The song's lyrics are an encouragement for one to live life as they want to, with the singer implicitly wishing them well even if they can't accompany them. This mirrors how Buster had to learn the lesson of letting Meena, Johnny, and Ash follow their own dreams, even if it means leaving the Moon troupe, which puts all of them in a much happier position with the latter three becoming successful singers and the former preparing to train a new generation of up and coming performers.
• Think of the Children!: Downplayed. Florence cites this when stopping one of her auditions, which involved three leopards removing their clothes while singing "S&M". While she praises the performance on its own, she points out that it wouldn't be appropriate for families and especially young children that will be coming to the festival.
• Time Skip: The story explicitly takes place three years after the events of Sing 2. The epilogue in the final chapter also skips ahead several months from the main narrative.
• Took a Level in Jerkass: Mike's experiences in the first film have surprisingly done very little to humble him. While he spares Meena from his mockery this time, he is even harsher towards the other troupe members and even the other employees from the Fletcher Foundation. When trying to interfere in the climactic show, the ensuing Humiliation Conga and near-death experience that he endures finally gives him a much needed slice of Humble Pie.
• Took a Level in Kindness:
  • After the events of Sing 2 and Love And Pain, Pride And Shame, being away from her father's influence has allowed Porsha to grow from a self-centred Spoiled Brat into a much more humble and gentle young woman, though she's still quite naive and lighthearted.
  • Likewise, Suki has also softened significantly from the cold, detached scout that she was in the second film, and is nothing but fully supportive of Buster and the troupe. The fact that she and Buster are now an item is at least part of the reason why.
  • While she only had a small role in the first film, Becky was shown to be Innocently Insensitive when Ash caught her and Lance together, and later dismissed Ash's final performance and left the room. When she returns here, Becky is shown to be a much more sensitive and friendlier character, and is also revealed to be a carer for children with special needs.
  • While he doesn't appear in person, Klaus Kickenklober is said to have taught a dance course that Audrey and Tim previously attended, and was a very supportive and encouraging mentor to them both. Nooshy and Johnny both note that this is a far cry from the arrogant Sadist Teacher that they know from the second film, though it's indicated that Johnny proving himself during their onstage duel in that film has prompted Klaus to turn over a new leaf.
  • At the very end, it's shown that Mike has mellowed out significantly after his near-death experience in the climactic show. He's last shown treating Nancy to a vacation to Gunter's hometown, explicitly stating that it's his way of making it up to her for everything else he's done.
• Truer to the Text: Most of MysteryWriter2187's other Sing fics, such as Porsha Crystal: Love And Pain, Pride And Shame, tell longer-term narratives about one particular character and generally aim for a harsher, more emotional tone. In contrast, One Way Left To Go intends to emulate the feel of the main Sing films, by shifting back to an ensemble focus - with Buster once again as the main protagonist - and increasing the musical and stage aspects of the story.
• Weight Woe: While she brushes it off in the moment, Rosita is genuinely hurt when Mike makes a nasty comment insulting her figure. The others notice this and go out of their way to comfort her, with Porsha in particular reassuring Rosita that she's beautiful just the way she is.