#danachan's rants

[dana-chan-the-control-brain]

TADC: Thoughts on Jax in Episode 2

Thoughts on Jax after Amazing Digital Circus Episode 2 Dropped.

Massive spoilers below the cut. Just watch the ep before you read.

Amazing Digital Circus had an amazing second episode as we're introduced more to what the adventures are like, and what NPCs are like and ofc the existential horror of being a living AI only created for a source of entertainment.

Also, I love the dream sequence at the beginning, because we actually get some deeper insight into Pomni's thoughts on Ragatha. Feeling like her helpfulness is the guise of like "man, you're not cut out for this like the rest of us" which is typically something a lot of people who have been bullied in highschool perceive genuine acts of kindness and engagement. (which I kind of suspect Pomni might have been, or at least, been a shut-in and didn't have a lot of friends in her human life. )

Jax wasn't really the main focus of the episode, but it wasn't really until the end of the episode I understood his behavior and what this episode is foreshadowing overall.

Since while Jax isn't the focus emotionally, he is definitely the plot device to push things forward. And I mean, a plot device in a very active and quite literal way. He's the one that causes Pomni to clip out of the map, takes advantage of everyone and is just... genuinely an unpleasant person.

I actually really like this.

As, I know the first episode in the digital circus, many people (me included) could perceive or analyze Jax's actions as someone who is "helping" in a roundabout asshole way. Episode Two has none of that here. He just wants Bloodshed, And I love that we're getting additional context on his character.

It's hard to tell how much fan reception Gooseworx saw of episode one before episode two hit production, so I don't know how much of the fandom perception of Jax had an influence on the writing process, but I can't deny that might have been a factor in assuring us "no he's not secretly helpful, he's just an asshole" But I'm just going to assume that this has been part of his characterization from the start and it becomes way more clear as the episode goes on.

But there was something in his behavior throughout this whole episode that seemed off to me. Like Jax was taking up a majority of the B-plot, while Pomni had the A-plot. So I was wondering why Jax seemed to be the protagonist with the B-plot when Pomni was the A-plot when they seemed to be so disconnected with eachother in motivations and telling us things about the characters.

But then it hit me when the episode ended and the two plots merged together.

"who... knows... what could happen..."

And then it hit me.

Pomni finds comfort in an NPC who is going through a similar experience to her and can emphasize, despite their being other humans who have gone through the same thing, due to her self-admitting to being a loner in her human life. Well, she didn't admit it outright, but from how she perceives Ragatha's kindness as an act, or patronizing, it seems like she doesn't have a lot of friends...

Meanwhile... Jax... He treats the adventure like a videogame. Why shouldn't he? He's trapped in a videogame, right? But it really goes beyond that.

The fellow humans that Jax is trapped with, he treats THEM like they're NPCs, while Pomni treats the NPC like they're human.

Jax says to Gangle "Aren't you supposed to be the suggestible one?" Which you wouldn't typically wouldn't say to a person, right? That's something you would say more about a character that you maxed out the dialogue trees in.

He calls Pomni "His Bridge" even.

They're his objects. His tools, his own npcs he's exhausted the dialogue options on.

Jax dehumanizes the players in a way that Pomni humanizes the NPCS.

These are two opposite ends of the spectrum but what really sold it for me was Jax's reaction to the funeral.

And Jax is the one member out of the cast who doesn't even show up to the funeral. (aside from Caine and Bubble but they are AI.)

He does NOT want to think about the Players as real people. And showing that opposite perspective compared to Pomni I think is much as important going forward.

Jax was the plot catalyst of this entire episode, and served the thematic theme of the episode quite well, even if it didn't look like it on first glance.

I absolutely loved this episode and I can't wait for more.

Also... Poor Pomni can't have shit in Detroit

[dana-chan-the-control-brain]

I was literally just thinking this.

Like it makes sense if he like was willing to risk it all if Alastor was a nobody back then Like "who's this smiley punk I'll teach him a thing or two"

Like it's just darn good story telling without outright saying everything. And is you've seen the pilot you're at least aware of Alastor's lore in this, even if the show hasn't explicitly stated it, we already know he's to be feared in his own respect but typically undetectable by those unfamiliar. Cus like, no one knew Alastor until Vox threw a tantrum. The Overlords seemed uninterested he was gone. When seen with Zestrial, folks were scared of Zestrial but not him. Just the little background things about Alastor paint a clearer picture

So.. If Husk was an overlord, and Alastor IS an overlord. Annd if Alastor's story is that he gained his power basically over night. What if he gained his power by gambling power with Husk? Just a theory. Please debate with me

[dana-chan-the-control-brain]

Okay, I actually really like this. And I can say why.

"But Dana isn't it hypocritical to Like Lunar's 'villain arc' while disliking Nexus's?"

Not really. Because what Lunar is doing is consistent with his character. Which is, entirely selfish motivations as he has always had before, and I'll explain Lunar's motivations and why he makes a better compelling villain arc. And who knows, maybe Lunar will rush back and say he's sorry after one or two episodes when Nexus didn't.

But Nexus/N!Moon grieving over someone he loved, everyone assuming he's evil and them making a heel turn into 'irredeemable evil' I didn't like because it was contradictory to the past year we spent with N!Moon and unintentionally felt like it villainized grieving in an ugly way. And I've expressed the dislike of All of Nexus's worst fears coming true. He believes his family doesn't understand, they treat him like villain immediately. He thinks he's easily replaceable and not as talented as the Old Moon. Old Moon comes back, replaces him, is accepted immediately and was proven to be intellectually superior to N!Moon. He thinks he's broken that he's beyond repair and can't be fixed. Earth gave up on him really quickly despite being aware of his coping mechanisms (lashing out) (even before the "collateral damage" thing) Ruin lied and manipulated him and killed Solar. Nexus never wanted to be manipulated again.... D!Sun put the plans in place that he was the perfect pawn in an interdimensional sacrifice to get the outcome he wanted. Nexus wanted his family to join him and understand him. No one understood him and he died at the hands of his own brother.

Nexus died with all his worst fears and nightmares confirmed true. It's honestly tragic and horrible.

NOw.... Lunar. Getting into this little bean. Has a far more compelling reason to be corrupted by Negative star power. That is consistent with his character and just doesn't replace Lunar with... Lexus or something.

So Lunar was just told recently by Taurus and Gemini, that he has reached the precipice of his training and neither will train him anymore. With his mental block on his trauma and Eclipse and just apathetic to everything, he can't tap into his emotions or power. Understandably, Lunar is frustrated by this and feels no one is listening to him and feels his partner is being demeaning (they're not. And it's not about him. But Lunar is to selfish to get that.)

People often don't understand that Gemini does not try to be intentionally demeaning to Lunar. They do not have human emotions like we do, or even the animatronics do. They operate at a different level beyond our human comprehension, So I don't place Astrals into mortality boxes. And Lunar, is still a very childish and selfish character, and seems to not understand their partner. Even if they do like them a whole lot. They just don't understand them at a fundamental level. It's hard to have an emotional connection to someone who doesn't have human emotions, (or who is just starting to feel emotions in small doses but that's just a theory) and Lunar does not have the patience or emotional maturity to deal with someone who operates like that.

So Rez puts it out there for Lunar to get stronger then they are willing to train him and SO OF COURSE Lunar would jump at that because he feels infantilized and has felt that way by his partner for a long time. Keep it in mind, Gemini does not do this intentionally, and makes this clear to Lunar MANY TIMES over the entire course of the year they have been interacting.

Not to mention, Sun killing Nexus disturbed something across dimensions. It's as I said when Nexus first turned to the dark side. It's like all Moon's destiny is to inherently be doomed by ambition. Lunar included in that. Lunar following in Nexus's footsteps. Because those who don't know their history are doomed to repeat it. And Lunar is the prime example. And this is horrible. Maybe it's hypocritical of me to like Lunar's heel turn into a Sasuke arc. But this is on a path of destiny that needs to break. And that's why I think I find it a bit more compelling from a character motivation and writing stand point. So. Yes. Lunar abandoning his family when they need him. Horray!!!

I think I just like it because it is consistent with all of Lunar's characterization up to this point. And because he did not care or know what was going on with Nexus, he will get corrupted by the NSP too. Who knows, maybe Lunar will gain a new found sympathy for Nexus knowing how Dark Star Power fucks with your head and insecurities.

[disperfectionzm]

how come u an danachan always bash yugakure? yes they pulled out of bein a shinobi village, but its not like they did it when there were wars going on, theyd have no choice but to fight. countries like switzerland, and canada (most of the time) do the same thing, where they stay impartial, and they aren't weak countries. yugakure wanted a more peaceful living where no on had to die and they could make esy money - whats wrong with that?

ups I just saw this after Dana ranted ^-^’ I think she basicly covered all the things I would say honestly :D

you can check it here. 

(but honestly I dont remember if I even bashed yuga,I only hate will of fire bs)

[dana-chan-the-control-brain]

I honestly don't think the Glamrocks are affected by the Glitch or the Mimics or MXES influence anymore in Ruin.

Just saying... Like if I suffered HALF of what the Glamrocks suffered through, I WOULD be angry and lashing out.

This is them actually being free of the glitch....

With Monty, every part of him is broken and his casing is stripped entirely. Only his anger remains and there's nothing left for him to think rationally but lash out at all around him.

Chica is walking on her last legs. We literally see her die twice. She only pursues us cause she fell into a charging station, and she's just trying to pursue her favorite comfort.... Food. Before she collapses in Roxy Raceway, as the charge doesn't last. Chica, when she eats, also rotates her head to look behind her occasionally. Paranoid someone will shove her in a trash compactor again.

Roxy is just desperate to get her eyes back and hunts at every little sound. Hoping to maul Gregory to death. But retreats when she comes across a child in her database she remembers from her voice.

The little music men are kinda minding their own business. As I noticed in my playthrough, the ones who are sleeping only wake up when you RUN by them or get close enough. They're sensitive to sound and they're just vibing. You make noise running by and annoying them, they'll eliminate the source of the noise.

All MXES is doing is sending a distress signal to the animatronics. And in their broken programing, they sense an intruder and go after it.

They're actually working as intended.

They're just suffering under severe trauma and are lashing out at anyone they come across.

[dana-chan-the-control-brain]

Interesting thoughts and evidence.

But a connection I always really liked, is that Bonnie has the same injuries as Monty falling from the catwalks. It would be poetic if he suffered the same injuries cause Monty pushed him off the catwalks, as we see a Bonnie cutout falling from the hurricane hole in one... Which is the giant bucket above the catwalks we know.

Also, that green in Bonnie's chest.... I believe that's not paint or his base color.

That's corrosion.

Something that would happen if he were to say.... Fall into the water river fountain in Gator golf.

He might have been there a while before he was moved to the back lanes of Bonnie bowl.

As there's Gator golf carpet underneath Bonnie. Suggesting he was smuggled and moved there.

Wether you think the Prototype is a new Freddy or the same Freddy (I lean on the same. Otherwise Vanessa wouldn't have Monty run the shows, or Glamrock Hippo wouldn't be the star in that one ending.... I think spares are hard to come by. Otherwise Vanessa wouldn't say she'd take off Freddy's casing and put it on a new Endo if they just had a secondary one lying around)

I don't think the Prototype would have knowledge to hide and smuggle Bonnie back to the back lanes of Bonnie bowl. If the prototype was a different animatronic, we might never know if it could rationally think with it's head....

But to hide the Body would imply some sense of guilt.

Which I don't think the Prototype would have had, as if it was another Freddy just being hidden away due to violent tendencies.

Monty has every reason to hide this crime. Especially if Bonnie was the last person he talked to and he died in HIS swamp.

So Monty tore off a chunk of spare carpet, and avoided the cameras by using the Security tunnels to drop him in Bonnie bowl and frame it like an accident.

Monty going to drop off Bonnie's body:

I do think the Prototype theory does have some weight. But I can't think of a concrete reason why the Prototype would hide the Body.

Monty didn’t attack Bonnie. Freddy did.

This post is not a joke: Ruin gives us enough clues to know that Bonnie was attacked by Freddy the day he disappeared, and Monty saw the attack.

Word count: 2457 words.

Yup, I wrote an entire essay with pictures to take the blame from a fictional gator that became my comfort character. If someone from Steel Wool is reading this: Yes, I’m ok, thanks for asking. If you want to send a cute Monty picture to my inbox, it is open and I’ll be all over the place if you do it.

Now, let me take you with me on this wild ride, because this theory fits the narrative of both Security Breach and Ruin so well that I have to clap at Steel Wool if it is actually correct and not me playing with the puzzle pieces incorrectly. So, here we go!

Bonnie, judging by the golden eyes and his travel pattern, was protecting someone like Freddy did with Gregory. Important damage was directed to the stomach hatch, where a kid could hide.

He has claw marks there, but Monty didn’t got his until the first was decommissioned and was then modified to play his bass.

The scratches in his hatch are green, but also the cracks over it. It looks like it is his base color instead of paint left by the attacker. The next video is from FazFriends, where they look at every single detail in the Ruin animatronic models. Their analysis are totally worth your attention if you like SB!

Monty has black nails, even before he was modified to play Bonnie’s bass. They also are kinda blunt, and the marks the attacker left seem more clean and sharp in the ends.

Now, there aren’t lots of animatronics that have claws. We have Roxy (and I’m guessing Foxy, if he ever existed as an animatronic different to her), The mimic/Burntrap, who doesn’t really seem an option because he’s slow and in life support in SB and sealed in Ruin, and… there’s Freddy. But, and here’s the twist, not normal Freddy, who couldn’t get through gates like Monty until he got his claws.

I’m talking about this thing.

Not only do we have environmental clues that confirm this attack, but also a key clue that wouldn’t make any sense otherwise.

Let’s start with the Prototype itself!

Check those claws. They are sturdy enough to survive all the damage this model has received, and extremely sharp at the end. Now compare Bonnie and its hand together…

It’s a perfect fit. The metal is a bit bent in the left, but if you could lower it, the finger length, the palm, even the distance and shape between the thumb and index are the same than the hole in Bonnie’s chest.

If that detail is true, all pieces of the narrative fit together. Here’s what happened, which I will explain further adding sources:

Monty saw Freddy’s prototype attacking Bonnie (who was in safe mode) in Gator Golf’s catwalks. The hurricane hole-in-one was activated, causing them both to fall. He could see the prototype losing its head and taking damage to its leg, but Bonnie was nowhere: he was either able to go back to Bonnie Bowl by himself using the distraction or the fall knocked him out and was dragged there, where he was heavily damaged.

This next part is not so clear, so I’ll give you my version of what I think happened that night: Bonnie alerted police that a kid was in danger. They show up, but Vanessa sent them away, claiming she was the only person there and it was a prank call (False Alarm message in SB). Vanny uses Bonnie’s trust on Freddy against him: she sends the prototype to go after the kid and him. He makes it to Monty’s, where the hurricane causes damage to the prototype, and is then finally attacked and disassembled behind his attraction to silence him and bury any clue or what happened (his parts are all over the place, one of his arms has weel marks, and Ruin follows the PQ ending where Freddy is disassembled. In SB, endos come out from the lines to attack us, and in Ruin we see the zone where his vanity is infested with STAFF robots, both in its normal version and in VR, where a giant STAFF robot is seen being dragged to a door while it leaves scratch marks on the floor).

Fazbear Entertainment pretended they actually looked for Bonnie and found nothing at all. As a final punishment for his disobedience he was actively being erased from existence: most of his art was removed, and some ask for a re-theme of his attraction (Re-theme SB message). They make Monty the main bassist, giving him his green room too.

These changes are being quickly pushed after his decommission: Bonnie still has power when we find him, Monty falls from the catwalks “a month ago” and snaps in half, a place where he goes every time he skips a performance (Monty Mischief SB message), people constantly ask for Bonnie and there isn’t an approved answer to give, the bowling alley still wasn’t given a re-theme after taking out most of Bonnie’s images.

Despite FazEnt efforts, Bonnie is remembered, specially by a depressed Monty.

His body was modified, he was given his bass, his glasses, his room, his role. The higher ups clapped thinking about the possibility of him being even more popular than Bonnie, his disappearance becoming yet another opportunity to make money.

And it was Freddy’s prototype’s fault. His normal life, the person he admired the most, his own body, were taken from him because of him.

From that day, and after getting new claws, his attitude becomes obsessive, endlessly searching for what was left of Bonnie after the rest gave up: destroying fences to explore the undergrounds, constantly missing shows and always being found in the catwalks, even after being snapped in half by the hole-in-one bucket, trying to guess where his body was. His last known location was his attraction, so he should still be there somewhere, isn’t it?

Let me repeat this: he prefers looking for Bonnie in the catwalks even at risk of his own integrity than performing.

There are more details that show us he does care for him: there are four official images left of Glamrock Bonnie in the PizzaPlex, three of them in Monty’s ride, the last one at the entrance of his own attraction, where some animations can still be seen. These cutouts are in perfect shape, while Freddy’s is light off.

There is also a headless Freddy statue that once you go to FazerBlast screams “prototype”.

It looks like it’s been decapitated by a hurricane, some “cables” coming out of its head like the prototype, which has cables coming out of its neck.

This damage couldn’t have been caused by the earthquake: the head should had fallen to the ground instead of being pinned on the hurricane. Plus, it doesn’t match the theme of the ride, based on cutouts, and while the rest of the elements are placed in scenarios and their composition is clearly studied, this statue breaks the symmetry of the hurricane’s eye element, that is supposed to give you the illusion that you are entering its eye and being pushed out to the main attraction.

What’s more, in a story exclusively about Monty’s past and how he became a solo bassist in the PizzaPlex thanks to Bonnie, attracting the same amount of people than the Glamrocks themselves, a Freddy statue at the end doesn’t make any sense sense at all… Unless it was put there with a very particular purpose.

I like to think it’s part of an environmental story telling from Steel Wool, specially when you read the rest of clues together.

There’s more to say about this statue than the lack of a head: look at its leg damage, and how it matches the prototype’s heavily damaged one, and how the hand that is visible reflects the light making it look like it has long claws despite Freddy having short ones like the rest of the band.

It also has two blue long lines through his chest that resemble the ones in Bonnie’s.

If you still have doubt about how it is part of a scene representing the night of the attack, then you should know there is an easter egg here: if you follow the part of the tornado that goes up, you can see a Bonnie cutout at the very top of it. He’s far away from the rest of the scene and he looks like if he was being knocked by the tornado. If you zoom to look at his face, you can see he has a worried expression.

Monty didn’t destroy any of the images of Bonnie or his previous iterations, not the cutouts, not this poster, not the bass that belonged to him, even after causing damage to his room.

There is a detail in Gator Golf that is easy to miss: An intact poster of the original Bonnie near a log he uses as a hideout in Ruin (we see him quickly going out of it when we approach it).

He looks similar to the illustration at the entrance of Bonnie Bowl, but this image is not very charming. He looks half dead, yeah...? If you then go to Bonnie’s, some big screens are still on and advertising pizza. When you wear the mask, they change to a glitched version of the Bonnie animation, where his eyes go blank in a similar way to this poster.

This spot couldn’t have been used by Vanny: it is decorated exactly like the rest of Gator Golf in the base game, which ends with us saving Vanessa and exiting the PizzaPlex together.

The poster also has a drawing of Freddy stuck on it. In this chapter you can also find the Bonnie’s piñata collectible, the first time we can see his Glamrock design and the first clue of him having suffered an attack (it has a big gash in his chest).

He could have easily taken it down if he wanted, specially when it is so close to his hideout and he’s in such a volatile state, but he keeps it right beside it.

But the real Freddy (or, at least, things that resemble him) seems to cause some kind of reaction even in the base game, yes?

The most common example in Security Breach is the arcade version of Monty’s Gator Golf. There are two possible readings for it, depending on if you think it represents Monty’s mind or if you think it has been hacked to change his behavior.

Hole 1 depicts Freddy separated from the group, a big distance between them. Hole 9 shows him in a dumpster, and Chica, Roxy and Monty playing together. He’s never part of the group, so either Monty hates him or he was hacked so he would hate him, right?

But the main show were he looks happily at him while playing, the fact that he never attacks him even after being hacked, the presence of images of him on other holes all perfectly light and ok like this balloon, and the eye color difference between Hole 1 and 9, make me think Steel Wool is trying to tell us a way different story.

The Freddy in the dumpster is the only one with golden eyes. Hole 9 represents what is happening the night we play as Gregory, the AR part of the AR-cade, and of the main reasons the Monty taking down theory was so popular.

That night, Roxy, Chica and him are working on finding the kid to the point that their cases crack and get dirty, while Freddy not only glitched at the start of the show hours before, but is now also walking around the PizzaPlex doing NOTHING instead of helping (apparently).

It’s the animatronic equivalent of a group project were one of the members does nothing, so you have to do their part and then they show up and are praised. It makes sense he would be angry at the situation and think he’s trash, but even so, there are no real confrontations between them.

But what about Hole 1, then? The answer is the fireflies. There are some fireflies at the left part, but the right, where Freddy is looking, has other set of lights. If you calculate the distance from Chica to him, the center is almost where the hole is, the part of the arcade that is supposed to drag your attention. Having an empty space there feels uncomfortable and a very questionable decision from whomever designed the scene, but if this one is a reflection from reality or Monty’s current mind state, why aren’t Freddy’s eyes gold?

Well, I don’t think he is separated from his band.

I think someone is missing from the picture instead.

Bonnie was erased from the Arcade.

As it was said, these changes were quick and non-planned: they deleted his model from the arcade, but had no time to move and reprogram the positions of the rest of the characters so the space between them was filled. As a consequence, when you play this level, your attention is taken from the hole to the distance between them.

It is void, awkward, it makes you uncomfortable. You know something is missing, but you can’t quite tell what it is yet. It makes you wish there was one more character there even before you knew there actually was.

Once you learn what happened, how his story ties to the place this scenario represents, the void he left in Freddy and Monty specifically, Hole 1 gains a new meaning, and it hits you. When you go back to the PizzaPlex as Cassie and play the arcade, there’s no joy left there. No fireflies, no Glamrocks, just ruins. Two pairs of red eyes and a pile of Nightmare STAFF bots. That’s all that’s left.

But if you still need one more clue to convince you that the prototype was the one that attacked Bonnie, then let me tell you there is a final one that wouldn’t make sense otherwise:

The AR collectibles dialogue.

Cassie always makes a commentary about the things she finds: Monty’s AR plushie being very glitchy, how she wants to add Roxy’s one to her collection, how the her father wouldn’t tell her why they replaced Bonnie and how he was his dad’s favorite…

But she also asks him what happened to him, and gets an answer when she gets the last collectible.

The AR Golden Bonnie is hidden in Bonnie Bowl, next to a Wet Floor Sign bot.

She hasn’t been to Fazer Blast yet.

But the description answers the question that she asked him: a prototype.

Bonnie was decommissioned by Freddy’s prototype.

And the only ones that know are a kid lead to her death that can hear his agony through the Wet Floor Bots and unreal collectibles, and an animatronic blamed for his death and told he’ll never be him, obsessed with his loss and with finding whatever is left of the person that he admired the most and helped him become the star he once was.

[dana-chan-the-control-brain]

FINALLY. CHATHARSIS.

Sweet CHATHARSIS.

(slurps it up like a dying man in a desert)

I know I haven't been the biggest fan of Earth lately. Especially with her hypocrisy and often twisting a lot of emotional therapy sessions to be about her.

But she was so real for this. I wish it came damn earlier. But this is one of the best god tier episodes in awhile.

They finally address the complaints that a lot of handful of fans.... (Okay. Me. Me. Its me.) Have had about Lunar and Moons behavior.

And that Earth also remembers the good that Nexus did do when he did care.

Someone FINALLY addresses how Sweet Nexus used to be and mourn the loss of what he became. He deserves to remembered in a charitable light.

And the feeling that the last time you ever saw someone, you had an argument with them. That's so real.

Calling out Lunar for doing the bare minimum with Dazzle then going back to watch his Nutella porn all day.

The apathy with the two Moons in this family is unnerving and simply uncompassionate.

Tsams however: I was not impressed by

Sure. Moon is being there.

But why is he acting like being there is a fucking chore?

Not to get to personal on a stupid Sun and Moon post, but when my dad died I had an online friend who drove for 8 hours from the next state over when we never met in person just to comfort me and be there and provide a welcome distraction from the oppressive atmosphere in the house.

Moon acts like being there for Sun is a huge inconvenience for him. And it sucks because we have N!Moon to directly compare it to when Sun killed Bloodmoon and was experiencing hallucinations. N!Moon prioritized Sun's wellbeing over his own so much to the point as Nexus he twisted and resented him for it.

But basically my point is, you aren't there for your loved ones because it's a chore.

You're there because you love them and want to be there for them.

Moon is doing the bare minimum. And it feels like the very act of loving his brother is a burden.

Tldr

Laes: god tier.

Tsams: nothing burger.

[dana-chan-the-control-brain]

The Nexus podcast episode was... Enlightening.

Yet also disappointing.

I dislike Solar ragging on Nexus for never telling anyone how he felt. But here's the problem, HE HAS. He told Sun he hated being compared to the old Moon, he told Earth in his two therapy sessions it's something he struggled with. He even said he'd be happy if he mediated a conversation between him and Sun.

He told Solar that he hates being compared to one of the dead ones. N!Moon legit told them at almost every opportunity and then he acted out when his needs weren't being met and left alone to grieve with no support.

Nexus also continued to honestly tell his family his issues even when he was corrupted, but everyone dismissed him as being manipulative or gaslighting. I feel like he was, no doubt, but he was also so desperately trying to be heard.

So I don't know where this "but you told nobody and had no one to blame but yourself" is coming from

Nexus is definitely made his own choices, but he was extremely manipulated and put in those situations by Dark Sun in the first place and it's not like the family lifted a finger to be there for him when he as N!Moon did everything to be there for them.

Yes. A lot of Nexus's pain is self inflicted... But not all of it was. And to say that Nexus never told anyone is disingenuous to the narrative.

Also Solar saying no at Nexus's desire to be his own person and calling Nexus's wants self pity????? WHAT.

Solar No??? NO? What do you mean No????? I think Nexus's desire to want time to learn who he is as a person is like... Fucking reasonable. I don't think it's realistic especially for what everyone was going through at the time. But like. Nexus just wanted a sense of identity and time to grow up. He just wanted to grow up. It's not a realistic want, but it's a reasonable and understandable one.

Do I think that a lot of what Nexus's pressure felt was self inflicted. Yes. Was it all self inflicted? No.

Like... I do agree that some of Nexus's pressure was self inflicted. But them saying it all was is very invalidating and infantalizing to him like... Saying his feelings don't matter. .....everyone's feelings are valid unless you're Nexus I guess.

[dana-chan-the-control-brain]

I am glad everyone is rightfully calling out Lunar and OMoon's behavior about Nexus's death and their reaction, or lack of reaction to it.

OMoon, I understand in a twisted way. Because he only knew Nexus as a villain and I doubt NO ONE Not Earth, nor Sun have told him of the good things he did all before. Likely because they didn't want to think about it cause it hurts. So to OMoon, Nexus was the villain that was the doubleganger that took his place for a year. And we know he's not depressed about Nexus at all (understandably)

Lunar just... doesn't care? And he of all people should know how it feels to still love someone who hurt you. If it's not Star Power, Gemini or Nutella he is just not interested. What happened to his character? This general lack of compassion is not cute.

But I don't see a lot of people talking about Earth, because she bothered me a lot too. Obviously. Lunar and Moon are the big outliars.

I don't think Earth did anything wrong....

Like, she at least feels bad about Nexus.... but.... it weirdly feels self-serving?

She acknowledges she feels bad. She acknowledges they grew up together.

Then she makes it about honesty and that she should be honest with Lunar since people are honest with her…. Then she is upset that Moon seems fine because she can't help him… and she wants to see if Moon needs help.... When she also acknowledges that Sun must be feeling bad? Then complains that she always receives bad news that people die in the daycare and it's really hard for her. Idk. That's just my interpretation. Feels like she's making the death a bit about her. I'm at least glad she felt bad about it I guess.

Earth has been so selfish and self-serving lately. I understand she had an arc about learning to do things for herself. But it feels like she over-corrected, and she want from Selfless to Selfish.

Earth helps because it's in her own self interest so she feels better about her self. Almost all of her past "Therapy" sessions turn into conversations about her. (no wonder N!Moon/Nexus didn't like them)

She feels sad about Nexus because she always hears bad news in the Daycare.

As a more extreme example:

Can you imagine a person at someone's funeral try to turn the conversation about their struggles with the virtues of honesty? and about them? I know that's a more extreme example and I don't think that was the intention. But yeah.

This was likely to move the Rez plot along, but it was ill-framed.

Obviously, OMoon and Lunar are far worse...

Props to my man Solar for actually giving a crap about Sun and Solar being flabbergasted by how Moon is acting.

I know N!Moon would have been there trying to hug and comfort Sun if he killed someone, and yeah, he did. When Sun killed Bloodmoon.

anyway, this ramble is all over the place... I'm just... disappointed in the family in different ways.

Also a reminder that this is the third brother Sun has killed. Sun felt responsible for OMoon's death. Sun also confessed he felt responsible for Lunar's death too.

Nexus was killed by his hands directly, and Sun felt guilt over how he treated him.

Sun is not okay and no one besides Solar cares.

[dana-chan-the-control-brain]

I love Nexus so much.

Well, I love the idea behind Nexus.

A Moon who cared so much he broke himself and forced himself to not care because caring brought him nothing but pain.

However, Nexus wanting to be God is a milk toast boring motivation. It's like saying "I'm evil because I'm evil." Do better tsams please I beg lol

[dana-chan-the-control-brain]

It's so fascinating the circus themed mini games in Helpwanted2.

It's fascinating that the FNAF4 house burns outside of the carousel mini game.

It's fascinating how Moon is the most reoccurring animatronic in this game as a whole, even playing a pivotal role in one of the endings.

It's also double fascinating that Sun seems to understand Fazbear Entertainment has scummy practices, like making children's art their international property if created on their property. He knows he's neglected, knows no one will fix him. (And only desperately approached Cassie in ruin cus she had the tools. )

Sun knows that Fazbear let's things fall by the wayside if they're not bringing money, like the carousel itself.

All of this new info has me thinking....

Maybe the Daycare Attendant wasn't even a theatre bot for Fazbear Entertainment in the first place.

I wonder if he was an animatronic designed for a Carnival or the Circus, and Fazbear Entertainment bought him out for their theatre.

Things like that are not unheard of in this universe. Especially when the books are concerned.

So it could be a possibility.

Consider that the balloon boy world minigame found in Sun and Moon's room, you play as a Balloon boy, who runs away from the circus to go on a journey past the mountains.

...I don't know. It's a thought.

I feel it gives Sun's passive agressiveness and self awareness of Fazbear's shitty practices a bit more sense. Cause he was never made for them to begin with.

[dana-chan-the-control-brain]

Things from the ruin dlc that keep me up at night.

Spoilers under the cut.

SERIOUSLY DO NOT READ IF YOU'RE AVOIDING SPOILERS.

Disclaimer: I wrote this before I had seen Everything the DLC has to offer or all the endings yet. I was on the wrong track, but I think my cooking before I knew everything was good cooking. I have more concrete theories now under #danachan's rants

Something that I was 100% right about that I was going to write into Lofi eventually.... But I guess I'll talk about it now since the dlc confirmed it.

But Balloon Boy world was literally Eclipses cage as I suspected. It was suppressing them. It wasn't an evil arcade or Eclipse was living in there. Eclipse's AI was being suppressed in the arcade cabinet.

Eclipse is how they talk to eachother, and Eclipse was asleep and completely blocked off from the Virus. So Sun and Moon had no communication with eachother anymore. Which is why they were both so stressed and lost.

I was astounded I got that completely correct in regards to what Eclipse is, and what the balloon boy game is.

(the dlc does not explain the Dcas weird connection to Vanessa and why the arcade cabinet was in Afton's boss fight room though)

Bonus points Moon talks exactly how I write him when speaking about the Sun and the Moon.

Another thing that has been mind-blowing me that all the comic book endings are scenarios that GREGORY DREW.

And according to the dlc....

The Afton Burntrap Blob ending is another one of those endings that he drew.

Which means Peepaw Afton and the Blob were never real in the first place.

Which is why no one could really figure out what the blob is.

It doesn't exist.

Princess Quest ending was the canon ending.

Vanessa leaving the Pizzaplex with Gregory is the canon ending.

The ending where you fight Afton in the basement.... Never happened and was just Gregory attempting to make sense of the FNAF lore that Vanessa probably explained to him. Since in the DLC, we do find a book about Fazbear History in Vanny's room.

I honestly don't know if Steel Wool retroactively made Burntrap non-canon due to everyone making fun of him, not taking him seriously and hating the blob, or if this was always the case. Because despite the Afton ending being the hardest to get.... It's still a two star ending.

So it's hard and too early for me to tell if I want to give them points for that soft retcon. I mean I don't blame them honestly.

But yeah. Skeleton man Afton in the basement and his best friend the Blob isn't actually real, and neither is Freddy's "I am not me" speech either.... Which honestly makes sense. Because it's all Gregory's comic book trying to make sense of FNAF Lore he doesn't understand.

Also, I can say definitively, and finally, Afton is not the Mimic. Glitchtrap exists as its own entity in this, and the Mimic seems to have its own agenda. It's unclear if Afton is possessing the Mimic via virus corruption, but for now, I believe the Mimic is acting of its own will.

And man oh man. I feel so sorry for people who haven't been keeping up with Tales of the Pizzaplex Books.

The ending of the dlc is just really "who's Henry???" From pizzasim all over again huh....

Anyways. Those are my thoughts. I will be streaming the dlc again tomorrow. Gonna try and get a better ending, but I have a suspicion they're all sad.

[dana-chan-the-control-brain]

No one wants their ships to be canon.

Like I like Solarmoon as Au and Au specific.

I am aware of what the canon says about their relationship. Where Nexus saw as a brother and that's fine and I am able to separate the two realities of dumb little headcanons and what is actually happening in the world of tsams.

Like I highly doubt Reed and Davis would act out a relationship with eachother considering they've worked with eachother for years and that would likely be ackward for them and I think ackward for the shippers as well. (I know people were joking about the Minecraft Moon and Sun show were lovers before Sun called them brothers today. This isn't anything new)

I know Matt acts out a romanic relationship with himself, via Puppet and Foxy but Davis never really expressed interest in doing that with his characters. I feel every actor has their own priorities with their characters and that's what makes the show so unique and special to a lot of people.

And honestly, no one wants to see that actually I feel.

I don't even want to see Eclipse and Earth canon (despite Davis and Kat voicing the characters and having a relationship in RL)

(a small handful of people get way too weird about this and ship the RL actors. Which makes me super uncomfortable. Like... Don't ship real people guys.)

I want to write aus, roleplay with my friends and take the concepts of the characters and stories to make something else in a different reality.

(Lord knows Nexus's story has compelled me for months and I think about him too much)

There's multiple dimensions in canon anyway.

I really don't want nor need to see the robots in the VR show kiss.

I can make my own takes on the characters and do that myself.

Ships are just for fun. I'm playing with my DCA dolls in my little playground for fun.

And tbf. The sun and moon show is an well produced au where the actors play with FNAF toys for fun. They're just playing in the action-adventure slice of life genre. And put it on YouTube for people to enjoy.

"your ship will never be canon give up"

bro if they make sun/eclipse canon im ripping my house apart dont they DARE touch my otp

​all my shit will never be canon and it should STAY like that

[dana-chan-the-control-brain]

Remember I first started to write Lofi Beats to Capture Children to, around two years ago based on the entire Concept that the Daycare Attendant was built with child napping, and nefarious purposes in mind?

Wondering who could have possibly made him and that I basically said the Daycare Attendant seems built with similar purposes that Circus Baby and the Funtime Animatronics have? That the Daycare Attendant is meant to be a death trap for the children outside of the Virus? A Child-napping, and Child-sleeping machine built to bring the Children to Vanny specifically and the Virus had very little to do with this???

That he was Meant to be Vanny's Puppet from the start? To do her bidding?

......

I'm feeling really good about myself and my headcanons right now.

[dana-chan-the-control-brain]

Been meaning to say this for awhile, but I hope more mascot horror going forward takes more pages from Amanda the Adventurer's Book.

Stop worrying about marketing to the children so much, and make an actual horrifying scenario based around a warped sense of Childhood Nostalgia. Amanda dealing with themes of abandonment, loss, and entrapment and can also be a deconstructive look at how some child actors get treated if you look deep on it. (and these are all my own opinions btw.. I haven't watched any game theory or whatever ppl are saying about it.)

Which is way more interesting to me then "evil science experiments, or a serial killer turned these mascots evil now."

I really loved this game since it's Beta premise and I'm glad it is gaining traction on youtube.

I hope that we haven't seen the last of Amanda. There's probably plans for a sequel, or even a whole franchise.

I just hope that the creators keep Amanda how it is, and try not to lean into that kids horror marketing. Not that there's nothing wrong with horror for kids, but I feel mascot horror is always stronger as a genre when it's appealing to "adults who remember growing up with this stuff" rather then "children who will buy our toys"

[dana-chan-the-control-brain]

I'm still saying Afton is not the Mimic

Spoilers for the Ruin DLC under the Cut. I wanted to include this in my mega post... but I know that the fandom is flooded with "the Mimic was Afton all along" theories right now actually.

There will be a lot under the cut, explaining some personal theories and the ending of the RUIN DLC so... be warned.

The Mimic, if you read the books, (but you probably haven't so I'll explain it in a few short sentences) is a character from the Tales of the Pizzaplex Books that was built by a Faz Engineer who made a robot to mimic his son to keep him company while he worked long hours while he lived in a factory. The child died in a car accident, and the Mimic kept miming his son's behavior. So in his grief, the engineer beat him to death in rage and grief. This infused rage in the machine.

So now the Mimic mimes behavior of a four year old, but it's corrupted and twisted. It will mime the action of 'scooping icecream' but will be scooping out your brains. It also has an adaptive learning AI so the violent pain it experienced, along with a four year old teaching it, it's a very dangerous thing.

It's also buried into the foundation of the Pizzaplex. And was reprogramed by some dumb lazy tech to clear the debris down there. By disassembling the robots and putting them in a pile. Which it did to all the human construction workers by disassembling them and putting them in a pile.

"This pile" I think is the Blob. Or as the game files refer to it.... "THE TANGLE."

(hard to see but take my word for it. that's him)

(cheating camera angle)

I think "The Tangle" is a infused pile of machinery, robots, and bodies that have all wound up down there.

So, we know that the blob is real. But I really think it's "The pile" that the Mimic has been stacking in the Book Epilogues. And it got out. Gregory/Mimic or Grimmick, says that something tunneled out of the building... And I believe this is 100% true. Because in Base Security Breach, we see this thing in the underground where Afton's room is.

But in RUIN.... This thing is on the top level??? HOw Did he get up here???

Easy..

He tunneled up.

So... the reason why RUIN looks like it does, and HOW it looks how it does...

Is because The Tangle got loose. And has been using the Pizzaplex as it's own series and network of tunnels like a burrowing snake or ant. Causing the entire building to fall in on itself. The Pizzaplex is it's ecosystem now. So that's why everything is falling apart how it is. He's breaking the very foundation and walls of everything.

So we do know the Blob IS real.

And let's assume that he's "the pile" that the Mimic has been building in the Tales of the Pizzaplex Epilouges. Just... sorting all the garbage, bodies, and endos into piles that he can find and stack.

So we know the Blob is real... but is Afton Burntrap real?

Forgive me I don't have the proper collectable screenshots so I'm pulling from the Wiki:

Throughout the game, you collect these real collectable comics that include all of the endings of Security Breach. And Cassie can recognize this as Gregory's art style, and has no idea when he had the time to make these or when he made them. EXCEPT Princess Quest. Which is pretty important I think. Which I think cements that Princess Quest is the definitive three star ending.

It's also worth noting that in Vanny's Room in the RUIN DLC... there is a book of "Fazbear History" by Vanny's Bed. So if Vanessa was freed and got out... we can assume she was talking to Gregory about the Fnaf lore as she knows it.

Also, it makes sense why some of these endings are a little insane now. cause it was just Gregory trying to process everything that happened to him at the Pizzaplex.

Gregory: So, I thought you had a twin sister for the longest time and-

Vanessa: Try again...

But anyway... if None of the previous endings were real.... Is Burntrap even real?

We collect this before we face the Mimic.... of Afton and the Blob. So we know The Blob/Tangle is real.... but was Afton ever real? Was Burntrap ever real? That's what we need to answer...

But if he isn't.... Why is his charging station down here in the furnace room all clouded up? ....As if it never was opened. As if he rotted inside with no more remnant to collect???

Cause here's the thing... I can accept the soft retconning of Afton. And if he was never real to begin with, and this is just Gregory's personal interpretation based on what Vanessa told them about what she was suffering through, I will take that. Or maybe Gregory saw the Mimic and interpreted it as this... I will take that as well.

However....

From what I said earlier... The Mimic... All his motivations in the game don't line up with Afton's.

He is doing exactly what he wants to do.

The Mimic is sealed in the back with Concrete... he's using Helpi and the VANNI Network to get Cassie to let him out. He just wants to get out of the basement and get Free.

Now... if Mimic is Afton the whole time...

and there is a case for it... they have almost the same idle animations as an endo, the Mimic does have Burntrap's claws on one hand. And he does have a similar pawed foot to Burntrap's design and they're practically identical height and pose.

And the Mimic is almost one-for-one linked with Hepi and the VANNI network. And I don't doubt that Vanny the person was using the VANNI network to get around the pizzaplex and become invisible to certain animatronics.

.....But...

here's a big But...

If the Mimic's goal is to kill people with his bare hands... and to get out of the concrete sealed basement, and break all the Security Nodes so he can get free???

WHY DOES THE PIZZAPLEX HAVE SO MANY MISSING PEOPLE/CHILDREN?

Why was the Human Staff all killed in the Pizzaplex?

Why are their children missing?

Why is Vanny hunting children and adults alike to kill in the first place?

This is not the Mimic's MO.

Because Vanny WAS working under influence of Glitchtrap and not the Mimic.

Because if the Mimic just wanted to get out... He would have told Vanny/Vanessa... head of Security.... To break all the Security Nodes A WHOLE LOT SOONER. Cause she literally has a VANNI Mask/suit and access to all of that.

The Mimic has no need for remnant or child killing or human killing if they aren't doing it themselves. The Mimic has always been very hands on with their kills.

But If Burntrap Afton is REAL... HE DOES have a reason for gathering this much Remenant.

He is growing in the charging station and trying to regrow his body.

And while the Mimic moves in a similar fashion to Burntrap, I think that's because he witnessed his behavior at one point and is copying it. But he never saw Afton in his prime. So he literally can't mimic the serial killer behaviors Afton is known for. Just likely his walk and how he breathes.

Because He literally can not copy Afton as a copy-cat killer, if there is NO Afton to Copy. There is no way that he could have learned who Afton was from all the way down below into the foundation. Especially with MXES keeping it hidden down there. And by "hidden" I'm sure it's hidden from Glitchtrap to even possess or check out that low.

People have to remember. The Mimic doesn't have access to illusion disc technology from the books. he can't replicate a corpse face. He's just a learning killer AI who has access to crappy mascot costumes. He can't look one-for-one like a person, even if he can sound like one.

So, there is a possibility that Burntrap Afton DID exist... He just rotted into dust once Vanny stopped collecting remnant for him.

Or there's also the possibility he was never real to begin with.

But.... Glitchtrap certainly was at one point. And Vanny was working with Glitchtrap to kill employees and children.

Not the Mimic.

Just their motivations and modus operandi don't add up if they are one in the same.

It wouldn't make sense for the Mimic to just tell Vanny to parade around in a bunny suit, kidnapping children and killing employees.

He would be telling her to disable the Security Nodes.

There is also the possibility that Vanessa sealed the Mimic in concrete after the events of Security Breach. But even then, I really don't think that she knew about it before hand until she went down to the basement to unplug Burntrap from his charging station.

Anyways... The only way I will see "Mimic is Afton" is that if Afton was using it's body. But then, it's not the Mimic anymore, it's just another Afton-clone.

And from everything from how I've seen the behavior of the Mimic in the DLC, it is operating completely divorced from Afton with it's own motivations and morals of it's own accord.

Oh, just to be clear, I'm not mad at this soft-retcon of burntrap. It's fine. Lol I actually prefer if he didn't exist.

And even if Burntrap was never real in the first place....

Then it means that Vanny was purely an agent of Glitchtrap.

Then when the Glitchtrap Virus got destroyed.... the Mimic hijacked the VANNI network and took it's place.