Step Closer | Dance With Me | Coming Home
Don't mind the ballerina getting closer... and closer... and closer...
"You seem like a young lady who’s running away from something. In my experience, sometimes if you try to run away from your problems, those problems just end up following you. Does that make sense? It's better to build bridges than to burn 'em, honey. You remember that."
Kasey is a young woman who's been a street thief ever since her mother kicked her out of the house. Living with two other thieves, they plan their purse-snatchings carefully and split the earnings between themselves. One night, Kasey grabs a purse from a young mother outside of Circus Baby's Pizza World, and finds the daughter's winnings from the restaurant inside, including a special pair of novelty glasses. When putting them on, Kasey sees the ballerina animatronic Ballora dancing in the distance. Except every time she puts them on, Ballora gets closer, and things in real life start to react to the animatronic's movements. Almost as if Ballora is really there, and she's really coming for Kasey.
The eleventh Five Nights at Freddy's: Fazbear Frights story, and the second of the fourth book.
Tropes related to “Dance With Me”:
- Abandoned Warehouse: Where Kasey and her gang sleep.
- Abusive Parents: Kasey's mother was neglectful at best, and threw her out of the house at the suggestion of her new boyfriend.
- Ambiguously Brown: Kasey's appearance is never described, but when she enters the Memphis hotel, it's specifically described that she washes her braids, rather than undoing them and re-braiding her hair when it's dry, which implies that she may have boxer braids, cornrows, or some other African protective-style. The deleted illustration shows her as white and blonde, but it also shows her with hair that's too short to braid.
- Anti-Villain: Really, Ballora just wants Kasey to give back the glasses.
- Big Guy, Little Guy: AJ and Jack, respectively.
- Braids of Action: The only physical descriptor that Kasey gets is that she has braids, which she likely wears to keep her hair from being caught in anything as she runs.
- Caper Crew: Kasey is part of one with Jack and AJ, as they each plan and execute purse-snatchings while keeping each other somewhat safe.
- Cheerful Child: Isabella Avery, who's extremely excited about Circus Baby's, dancing and candy.
- Contrasting Sequel Setting: While the only times Five Nights at Freddy's has had a confirmed location has put it in the state of Utah, this short definitively takes place in Tennessee. This probably explains why there's a working Circus Baby's Pizza World, when we know the one in the games shut down after one day.
- Creepy Ballet: Ballora, as always.
- Dark and Troubled Past: Kasey was frequently neglected by her mother, who spent all their money on partying. Her mother then kicked her out at 16 in favor of her new boyfriend, resulting in Kasey dropping out of high school and living on the streets.
- Disappeared Dad: Kasey's father is never directly mentioned, but as her mother is referenced as having a string of boyfriends, it's likely that Kasey's dad was just one of these men. In addition, Isabella and her brother's father is never mentioned or seen.
- Easily Forgiven: When Kasey returns Sarah's purse and apologizes to her at the end, Sarah not only forgives her, but invites her in for coffee. She says she can tell that Kasey is genuinely sorry and is impressed at her taking responsibility.
- Fangirl: Isabella's a huge fan of Circus Baby's, and is first seen a t-shirt promoting the brand's mascots.
- Five-Finger Discount: One of the main ways Kasey gets her money is by swiping it from people who aren't looking, whether it be from purses or restaurant tips.
- Girlish Pigtails: Isabella specifically requests to have her hair put up like Circus Baby's.
- Good Samaritan: When Kasey is finally caught stealing and breaks down, a kind old lady offers to pay for her dress, simply out of kindness. Kasey is absolutely astonished, and offers to pay her back when she has a job, but the lady tells her only to pay the kindness forward.
- Grand Theft Me: Possibly. The story ends with Kasey returning the glasses to the girl that she stole them from, at which point the girl starts dancing. Depending on your perspective, she's either
thrilled to have her toy back, or has been possessed by Ballora. - Homeless Hero: Kasey and her gang live in an abandoned building, and when she leaves, she has to hop from place to place. She's been living like this since she was sixteen years old.
- Honor Among Thieves: Kasey and her crew are loyal to each other, and even when Kasey leaves, she won't steal from them as she still cares about them. Kasey also tells the boys she doesn't like stealing from kids.
- Jerkass Has a Point: Brenda is a complete asshole to Kasey the entire time she works at the diner... but she is correct that Kasey is stealing her tips.
- Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane:
- Considering the glasses make Kasey dizzy, it's possible they're fitted with illusion discs, which would make an illusion of Ballora. However, this doesn't explain how Ballora could interact with the real world.
- It's also possible that Ballora is a real animatronic using Special Delivery's invisibility mode, which the glasses have the ability to see through. This does beg the question, though, of why the animatronic is stalking Kasey rather than doing deliveries.
- The eleventh epilogue has Kasey's warehouse in one of Eleanor's memories, implying she may have been connected to whatever was going on with Ballora.
- Monster of the Week: Ballora.
- Noble Shoplifter: Kasey tries to justify stealing a dress to herself by paying for shoes and telling herself it's the last thing she'll steal... but Ballora forces her to actually face her actions.
- No Full Name Given: For everyone but the Avery family; even then, the son goes unnamed.
- Parental Abandonment: Kasey's mother kicked her out of the house because her new boyfriend didn't want kids. If her dad is alive, he had no contact with her.
- Parental Neglect: Kasey remembers that when she lived with her mother, her mom was rarely home and sometimes was surprised to remember she even had a daughter.
- Penny Shaving: Kasey's main go-to when working as a waitress is just stealing part of tips and not the whole thing in hopes nobody will notice.
- Shouldn't You Stop Stealing?: Seems to be the reason Ballora is following Kasey, getting closer to her the more she steals and refusing to leave her alone until she returns the glasses.
- Sticky Fingers: Though it's mainly to keep herself alive, Kasey's instincts always default to thievery when given the opportunity.
- The Unblinking: Unlike her game counterpart, who always has her eyes shut, this Ballora remains unblinking.
- Working-Class Hero: Even when Kasey isn't sleeping on the street, she's living in motels that she can barely afford and working low-paying jobs to get enough money to live.
- World-Weary Waitress: Brenda, who immediately judges Kasey as a suspicious person.
- Wouldn't Hurt a Child: While Kasey is fine literally stealing candy from a baby at first, after thinking about Isabella's reaction to the thievery, she tells the boys that she doesn't want to involve children.
