Waffling about/hyper analyzing the characterization in Five Nights at Frickbear's 3 because I've become obsessed
Now I've played a decent amount of FNaF fangames here and there. Always had a lot of fun with them, seeing different creators have their own spin on the sit-and-survive formula with their own unique stories to tell is pretty cool stuff. A while ago, I'd say my favorite FNaF fangame would either be One Night at Flumpty's 3 or JR's. I love the gameplay mechanics and cartoony art style of the Flumpty games, and I adore JR's unnerving character designs and how experimental and fresh the gameplay was.
And then Frickbear's 3 comes out and completely blows those two out of the water. Many have been stating that this is the best FNaF fangame to be made and it's not hard to see why. The humor, artsyle, writing, fun yet challenging rougelike gameplay, the insane replayability and gameplay options, the custom night challenges, music, salvage sections, mods, everything is just so damn good. I genuinely don't think Frickbear's 3 can be topped. The bar has completely skyrocketed.
There is a lot that can be said about this game, but I want to touch on one thing specifically that I sadly haven't seen many comment on: how characterization is done in this game (spoilers for Frickbear's 3 from this point onwards).
The way that this game approaches how the characters are written is so interesting to me and it stood out when I first began playing it. Everyone still feels recognizable. Michael still feels like Michael, William still feels like William, Cassidy still feels like Cassidy, ect. But they have a few tweaks to them without coming across as too different to how they're usually seen in the fandom.
So what does this game have to offer in terms of characterization? Let's find out.
Of course, there's a lot of characters in this game, and the majority of them are voice acted with their own personalities! Now, I can't run through every single character here and give my thoughts on their dialogue and how they're characterized. The post would end up being way too long and take away the focus on other characters that I'll later be mentioning and go more in-depth with. Maybe going through all of the characters in the gallery can be its own separate post at a later time.
For now, I just want to go through some examples that I either simply find amusing and cool or intriguing.
Making Toy Chica a valley girl was simultaneously a fitting and hilarious choice. It instantly brought back memories of EthGoesBOOM's version of Toy Chica who was similar and I always loved. I don't know if this is a hot take, but I was never a fan of how Toy Chica was characterized in UCN and how that stuck. I find it odd how both Toy Freddy and Bonnie have such cartoony, over the top, and goofy personalities, meanwhile Toy Chica is this more quiet or seductive sadist. It doesn't fit or make sense from an in-universe standpoint. The valley girl angle however, fits with the other cartoony personalities of the toys, and you can easily see young kids loving a character like that and finding her hilarious.
I love how the withered animatronics aren't just older physically speaking, but also in their voices.
Withered Freddy sounds like a taunting old man, with one of my most favorite voicelines in the game: "They lied when they told you I was lifeless." Five More Nights reference aside, lot of the voicelines in this game are pretty comedic, so this one not having any comedic value to it just makes it hit a lot more. Something about the voice delivery makes it so chilling to me.
While regular Chica sounds like a friendly mid 20 to 30 year old woman, Withered Chica sounds like a granny with a humorous streak to her.
Regular Foxy sounds pompous and full of energy, while Withered Foxy sounds more depressed and pessimistic. This is especially apparent when you compare their lines having to do with walking the plank. Foxy's states this "Ah, the plank... she beckons your name." with this demeaning attitude to it. While Withered Foxy states this: "The plank... she calls for us both." which is said in a more sincere and somber tone. Pretty tragic actually.
Then there's Withered Bonnie speaking Spanish. It's nice to see the subtle Spanish accent that Withered Bonnie had in UCN be recognized and turned into a character trait of his. I like to headcanon that Jeremy, the kid possessing Bonnie, is of Hispanic descent because of how Withered Bonnie sounds in UCN. So this was satisfying for me.
I love how BB is a completely unhinged kleptomaniac in this game with great laughter to boot. JJ is more shy and calm, though it seems she's prone to having outbursts considering she swears in frustration whenever we death coin her, which is probably a funny reference to a cut line in FNaF World where she would've swore. Then we have Nightmare BB sounding like your average bully in a saturday morning cartoon, which is also funny and fitting.
Always was fond of the theory of Nightmarionne being a representation of death, so fully embracing that was very cool to see, especially with him being a cryptid in Hurricane. All of his voicelines are eerie and I especially love his introduction line. "Memento mori", which in Latin translates to "remember that you have to die" or "you must remember to die." A quote that serves as a reminder that everyone's time is finite and inevitable.
All of the Funtimes arguing with each other in Molten Freddy is perfect and has always been a funny concept. The switching between their voices also adds some spice to Molten Freddy that wouldn't be present if he spoke in Funtime Freddy's voice the whole time.
Scrap Baby being bit of an edgy goth girl was always how I saw her so seeing her being characterized as such was fun. "You're just a skater hater!" Love it. Liz you're so silly and cute.
Dreadbear is so endearing in this game. Bro's just a dumb and lovable zombie who wants a treat. He's precious. He deserves all the candy and hugs
Y'know, I don't think I ever thought about what Popgoes the Weasel would sound like. Nor have I have seen anyone try to interpret what Popgoes would sound like. The Australian accent is perfect for him nonetheless and the fact that his dialogue is just obnoxious references to the Popgoes franchise is great ("I suppose if there's a hell, you'll burn there for eternity." got a good laugh out of me).
Again, just a few examples. Now let's get into the more important characters.
Pretty much everyone knows how diabolically dirty Vanny has been treated in the FNaF franchise. 2 minutes of screentime, 3 lines of dialogue, goofy goober run cycle, no knife wielding, zero book appearances having ass. You could look up "wasted potential" in a dictionary and I bet you $20 Vanny will show up somewhere.
So how does Frickbear's 3 approach Vanny? Well for starters, it seems like this version of Vanny is supposed to be based off of some early theories that we had about her before Security Breach released. Vanny is completely separate from Vanessa, instead being someone named Vannabelle Dewlap (who's an awesome black queen 🤎), a demented fangirl of the Freddy's franchise and its tragedies, which was originally a common theory about her.
We're able to encounter her the moment we first salvage Springtrap, approaching us with curiosity at what we brought back to the pizzeria and assuming that we had done it purposefully with full knowledge as to what the moldy rabbit truly is. We tell her, to her surprise, that we have no idea what the rabbit is. She then gives a small "... Teehee." about it before telling us that she's a "collector" who has an interest in Freddy's memorabilia and that we found ourselves a one-of-a-kind collector's item. Expressing interest in seeing us collect 3 other animatronics to complete a full set.
Already from our first encounter, Vanny's character is clear. She's very bubbly and energetic, manipulative as seen in the form of her lies, flirty with all of the characters, and from what we learn on Night 4, very fond of Springtrap specifically. Describing him as the real backbone behind Fazbear Entertainment and how he "reshaped the world to his very own."
Additionally and interestingly, she has more unique dialogue with Vanessa compared to Jeremy and Mike. It's kept vague as to what their exact relationship is, but it's established that the two are familiar with each other, with it being heavily implied that Vanessa is fully aware that Vannabelle is up to no good and that the consequences for giving her what she wants will end in disaster. Collecting the animatronics not because she wants to actually help Vanny, but because she has her own goals.
Regardless, everyone goes along with Vanny's plan and we get to Night 6 to see that "reward". We realize our mistake too late when she shows up to tell us that now is our time to become apart of something greater with her, right before being killed by Salvaged.
As it turns out, Vannabelle was nothing more than a pawn that was used to carry out Afton's grand plan. Before the Mimic, a popular theory with Vanny was that she was apart of a cult that Afton himself created. She and some others were followers that would continue on Afton's legacy of murder and depravity, all through Afton digitally mind controlling them through Glitchtrap.
Here, something similar is done, with Springtrap having an influence on Vannabelle's mind. An influence that was beginning to loosen whenever she talked to us. Perhaps implying that she was genuinely fond of us to some twisted degree, especially with the "You know, the girl wouldn't shut up about you." line from Salvage, aww...
Also, considering Vannabelle's description states that she "was never quite the same ever since she visited that horror attraction..." it can be assumed that when she visited Fazbear's Frights, Afton, through paranormal means, began influencing her mind. Kinda similar to how Hudson starting hallucinating and experiencing past trauma just from physically touching Afton in What We Found.
Overall, Vanny is a very enjoyable, cute, and entertaining character! She's lovably demented and honestly pretty funny at times. This is the Vanny that many thought we were going to get in Security Breach and she does not disappoint. It's so nice for her to be given something to work with instead of just being a nothing burger.
William Afton. A pathetic, narcissistic, petty, spiteful, man child, who has been described as someone who fought like a "cornered rat" growing up and eventually took on sadism because he thought the world owed him for the unfulfilling and belittling life he went through. Presumably, going off of his experiments with remnant, he fears death greatly simply because he doesn't want to face any consequences for his actions.
So, Frickbear's 3 decided to take all those traits of Afton, and dial them up to 100, with the results being fantastic.
We can get a glimpse into Frickbear's Afton by listening to some of the lines that Springtrap has in this game. Similar to his voicelines in FFPS, AR, and Dead by Daylight, he's cruel and evil to the very core ("Your death was quick and painless... that was a mistake on my part."), indifferent to human life ("Just another to add to the tally."), with a noticeable air of arrogance ("Evil. Doesn't. Die." which is also referencing Another Five Nights). He even still has the gimmick of stealing voice lines from other characters and taking them as his own "No light can save you now" (Nightmare Freddy) and "The others are like animals. But I... am very aware." (Puppet).
Where his character really shines though is when we arrive to the fourth salvaging miningame, "William's Woods". Firstly, this is what we read when we go to the kitchen and look at the fridge: "There appears to be multiple children's drawings pinned up on the fridge, all drawn in sloppy crayon. Upon a closer look, all of them are signed "William".
His ego is definitely at its worst in this game. Either he made those drawings himself and pinned them on the fridge, or his children made those drawings, but he wrote his name on them so that they could fully be his. The supreme dickhead energy doesn't just end there though. Here's what he has to say about CC's death.
"Tragedy struck at the diner today, during the party. That rotten son of mine...
Always such a crybaby! Didn't he listen to me when I told him the springlocks were susceptible to water damage!? If he had only toughened up and stopped sobbing for once, none of this would have happened! And now, thanks to him, not only will the diner have to close down, but the company wants to retire the springlocks altogether. My greatest work, down the drain...
This is all HIS fault, I'm sure of it. He must've paid Michael off. He never liked the springlocks. He must've known that if he could create a scene, he could get my technology retired for good. Well, if he thinks he can take away my greatest creation so easily, we'll see how he likes a taste of his own medicine."
Then here's what he has to say about Elizabeth's death.
"As if enough hadn't been taken from me already, I lost my dearly beloved daughter today. Oh, my poor, sweet child... you were perfect, the light of my life, and yet you were too good for this cruel world...
My dear Circus Baby... if it wasn't for that good-for-nothing, blonde brat, those who doubted me would have finally seen your excellence. You were the culmination of all my research, all my brilliance, and yet all it took was one stupid, STUPID little girl to tarnish you. Time and time again, I've come to realize how little justice there is in the world."
And here's his thoughts on Michael.
"Despite everything, Michael STILL does nothing but laze around on the couch. I despise that boy. He does nothing. I leave for work and find him in the exact same place every single day. And when I do, he's never even watching anything good! It's always that melodramatic drivel they call a soap opera.
(I suppose there isn't anything good on TV anymore ever since they cancelled Win a Boat and a New Pair of Pants...)
The whole house reeks of him. I don't think he's even showered in days. What's wrong with him!? What, is he sad that he doesn't have Elizabeth or that crybaby around to terrorize anymore? I don't either, but you don't see me sulking about it! Perhaps I'll send him down to the bunker... Yes, that should whip him into shape."
William is absolutely awful to a comical degree. I love how the notes about CC and Elizabeth make you think that they're going in the direction of him being a tragic family man or caring about at least one of his children at first, only to pull the rug under you and reveal that he cares far more about his mechanical creations than his human children.
He has a horrid lack of basic sympathy or empathy. Thinking that CC purposefully got himself killed so that the springlocks would be put out of commission or not understanding that Michael is going through depression. He genuinely thinks that Michael is upset that he can't terrorize Elizabeth or CC anymore, instead of going for the natural assumption that he feels an immense amount of guilt for all that he did, and perhaps a great amount of loneliness, being the only surviving child of the family.
He becomes all the more heinous when you read the descriptions of Nightmare BB and Twisted Wolf, stating that he would mentally torture his children in the nightmare bunker, either for experimentation or just because of boredom. Then there's Plushtrap being made for "a child whose father did not like him very much", that being Michael. He has no humanity. Even with his own creations, which he cares more about than his children, his affection for them is limited. Going back on viewing Circus Baby as his beloved daughter and instead viewing her as yet another failed experiment that he quickly moved on from.
The only thing that he truly feels any love towards is Spring Bonnie. His "one pride and joy." We see this clearly when we put in the correct password for the locked box, which is supposed to be the name of his favorite child.
So... yeah. I mean, hey! At least he's an (accidental) ally of trans people!
"You could barely even tell Chica was voiced by a man! That dishwasher we had do it, whatever his name was... he absolutely loved doing the voice! So much that he began talking like that all the time! And started wearing skirts, and changed names...
See, that's the kind of dedication this company needs, but of course Henry wouldn't have the eye for work ethic that I do."
Aside from that, as mentioned earlier, he would later take control of Vannabelle's mind and use her to help with gathering all of the scrap animatronics, all to create one single body. A body fueled by all of the agony and tragedy behind Fazbear Entertainment. Turning him into a mechanized demigod. This being is Salvage.
With Vannabelle serving her purpose, he kills and discards her. Before focusing his attention on us and stating that he plans to reshape the world into his own and deliver "retribution". A bit similar to when Afton became a giant being called The Agony in Fazbear Frights, a body also made out of scrap metal and trash fueled by pained spirit energy, which I assume was part of the inspiration for Salvage.
Afton has now gained everything that he wanted most: Power. Superiority. Immortality. And he shows it all off in one hell of a chaotic and cool boss battle as he goes on his power trip. We do defeat him though, and as Afton shows off one last trick, breaking through the office window, gloating about how insignificant we are, he realizes to late that Michael had set the building on fire.
In typical Afton fashion, his hubris ends up being his downfall, with his recently gained god-like status being short lived and amounting to nothing in the end, as he gets burnt to a crisp.
I love this interpretation of Afton. It feels like it’s simultaneously poking fun at the fans who think he’s a tragic father figure AND the fans who think he absolutely despises his children and is comically evil for the sake of being comically evil. If there's one thing the FNaF fandom struggles a lot with: it's nuance.
In reality, considering Afton shows traits of Narcissistic Personality Disorder, at worst, he feels indifferent about his children and sees them more as trophies or extensions of himself than anything. At best, he does feel some sort of affection towards them, but it's a very twisted and warped sort of affection. Narcissistic parents can't love in a traditional sense, the Silver Eyes Trilogy even points this out about Afton if memory serves. He's still a human being. A disgusting, abusive, and awful human being, but still a human being. Not Satan incarnate or some woe is me figure.
Another thing that I love about Frickbear's Afton, is that although he has his comedic moments, he's still very much a threat to be taken seriously and is still an awful monster who manipulated and murdered children. There's everything about Salvage and the manipulation of Vannabelle, but there's also the cutscene in the ultimate ending where Vanny describes the MCI. Wonderfully done and chilling. I will always support the idea of the MCI being fully premeditated and Afton even personally knowing the children to some degree. It makes the event all the more tragic and disturbing.
Out of all the characters we talked about so far, Michael Afton is the closest to his canon counterpart. He was still a bully as a teen, he still killed his brother in a prank gone wrong, he still went to the bunker, got scooped, and turned into a zombie, and he still feels regret for his past actions.
We first encounter him by obtaining a Freddy mask in the first salvaging minigame. Despite his horrific appearance, he's pretty friendly, calm, and well mannered, especially compared to the manic Vanny. He questions us about the mask and what use we would need for it, we respond in confusion about why he cares so much about it, to which he then explains that he has a loose end to tie up and that he needs four masks in total to complete said end. Asking for our help with the task.
As expected, we learn in later nights that he has some knowledge and history with Fazbear Entertainment, along with knowing about the paranormal, such as the existence of agony, thanks to his father experimenting with such matters.
By the 6th night, using the spirit energy contained within the masks and a handheld game console, we're able to make contact with CC, the younger brother that Michael accidentally killed all those years ago. It took some harsh platforming and having to deal with the nightmares, but eventually, we're able to finally give Michael the chance to make it up to his younger bro by setting up a proper birthday for him.
Michael and the previous bullies give CC a cake. All for him. He's surprised that Michael came back for him, let alone remembered his existence, but Michael reassures that everyone deserves a happy ending, and that he deserves it the most.
With his unfinished business completed, Michael thanks us, and he and his brother move on to the afterlife.
Now here's one subtle but interesting difference between this Michael and the canon one. He's not a full on hero. It's agreed that (for the most part anyways) Michael in canon wants to make up for not just his past actions, but his fathers actions as well. Atoning for his brother, sister, and all of the children that Afton murdered, after he came back as a corpse and discovered how truly twisted his father is. Implied by the final cutscene of SL Custom Night, where he states that he's going to come find Afton in a threatening manner.
This Michael though? He just wants to make it up with his brother. His motives are still very noble, but he's laser focused on one thing only. His father and everything else concerning Freddy's doesn't concern him as much as his brother does. Only coming to step in when the situation is dire, such as when Afton turns into Salvage, leading to Michael burning the building down.
The Ultimate route gives us an answer as to why. Michael doesn't approve of us trying to meddle with everything we find and asks us what exactly we're trying to do. He then tells us about a "friend" he had once known on Night 3.
"...Listen. Let me tell you about this... friend I once knew. He was a bit rough around the edges, made plenty of mistakes... but he had a good heart. Always wanted to do the right thing, you know? And I liked that about him... Yet he was also horribly stubborn. He had this hare-brained plan, and he insisted he do it all himself. "His cross to bear", so he said.
He became obsessed. Fully submerged in his work. Maybe because he was in over his head, or maybe just to try and drown out his guilt... But soon, he began meddling with forces far outside his control. Do you want to know what happened to him?
...He turned up dead. His brains splattered across the walls of his study."
We later learn by reading the Talbert Files, that this "friend" was Henry. Michael and Henry were previously working together to help the spirits of the kids be laid to rest, with Michael being to one help Henry figure out how they can possibly be set free from their prisons, via burning the machines to ash. After that attempt failed though, Henry went on to tackle the problem by himself. Not wanting to burden his associate since "After all, this has always been my cross to bear." He found what the loose end was, Cassidy, and that resulted in his death.
Michael saw what happens when you try to play hero. When you try to do everything in your power to tie up everything. It's no wonder he's so concerned when you try satisfying everyone in the Ultimate route. It's just not possible. It's not only not possible, it's downright dangerous. Like how he saw Henry, he sees you have good intentions, but the forces you're meddling with will come to bite you eventually.
It's not that Michael has zero care about all of the tragic events associated with Freddy's, it's just that he doesn't see why he should try to fix it all. He did genuinely try to help the missing kids, and look how that turned out.
It makes sense that he only focuses on making contact with CC. The Bite of 83 was a very personal event that pained him the most after all. Accidentally killing your own sibling is a god awful thing to go through. The note in William's Woods describing Michael being so depressed that he barely moved from the couch and Nightmare Foxy's description are incredibly tragic.
"It knows no fear but from that it inflicts upon his victims, with fur as red as the devil himself and pointed ears to match. It's never a matter of "if" it will strike, only "when". It speaks not but lies through its serpent-like tongue, with a hook that could pierce the brightest of souls. If it knows remorse, we will never know, for none who faced it have lived to see it cry."
CC never saw how heart broken Michael felt after his death. He never saw his painful guilt and how it led to a path of sorrow. He died believing that his brother despised him, felt no remorse for killing him, and would go on to forget all about him.
I adore everything about Michael in this game. His dope design, his fitting dialogue, his voice acting, his morally grey character, his route with that adorable ending (an ending which I always dreamed of and wished that the official franchise could give us), everything. Michael got done right.
Let's get into that loose end that Henry was trying to tie. Cassidy. The way that Cassidy's character was written is so amazingly perfect to me, and it's because of how well done Cassidy is in this game, that this post was created.
After some time of playing Frickbear's 3, we will reach all four endings of the game. Slacker, Evil, Good, and Money. There's something about these endings though that make them feel... not as fulfilling as they could be. Slacker is not fulfilling for obvious reason, the Evil ending has both Vannabelle and us dying, the Good ending is cute, but the missing children are still trapped and unable to rest, and the Money ending gives a good challenge and chuckle with the Boss being revealed to be Wario, but doesn't offer much else besides that.
Each and every time, Psychic Friend Fredbear will appear before us after the credits. At first encouraging us to seek a different ending, but by the time we finish the fourth one we needed, he tells us that it's all futile, that it's impossible to make everyone happy. Someone will always get left behind and everything will just reset. He tries to console us on this realization, stating that there's something comforting about everything staying the same, and tells us to take it easy in the meantime, be content with our disappointment.
There is one last fifth ending, however. The Ultimate ending. Despite Psychic Friend Fredbear's words, we try to make everyone happy in this route. Vanny, Micheal, and the Boss. Things don't go exactly to plan, unfortunately. With the Night 5 cutscene having all three getting into a petty argument while we stand there, ignored. This is where we remember that we still have the Talbert Files on hand and decide to look inside them.
Now, throughout the game, you may have noticed that whenever the MCI is mentioned, only four kids are listed. Not five. Maybe that piqued your interest and curiosity. Maybe you just hand waved it by assuming that this AU only had four kids go missing instead of five. As we read through Henry's notes and he mentions "Someone we had forgotten about." and get to the very last page, we DO find out that there was a fifth kid that was completely forgotten.
As he reveals himself, we come to find that Psychic Friend Fredbear, an oddball character who seemingly had no relevance to the overall narrative aside from helping beginner players, IS Cassidy, and that he killed Henry before he could set everyone free.
Cassidy chastises us, stating that the spirits are happier this way, since they have many friends to make and games to play while they're stuck here, where they don't have to worry about passing on and facing the unknown. Wanting to put things into "perspective" for us, he turns into this thing and we engage in a boss battle with him.
To have played throughout this whole game, a game with such a cutesy and cartoonish artstyle and cheeky humor, a game that has been pretty lax on the horror overall, only to be greeted with THIS shit!?.. It's definitely quite the jumpscare. Talk about setting your expectations low.
It becomes all the more disturbing whenever you loose to this thing. You're met with a game over screen showing the night guard that you're playing as laying dead, having had... something done to their head. Considering what Michael said about Henry's brains being splattered all over the wall, your skull either exploded or was completely crushed under the force of Fredbear's jaws.
Then there's the scoreboard next to their corpse. Henry has the highest score at 20, which is what you need to achieve to bypass the WarioWare portion of the boss and get to the office section. This implies that Henry was actually able to get past the minigames Cassidy rapid fires at us, before getting killed in phase 2 of the fight. We're in an office with heavy metal doors that can fend against Fredbear. Henry was just in his work office when we he was killed. The idea of Henry having to see this thing burst through his door and come straight at him is horrifying.
The boss fight itself is chaotic and surreal, with Cassidy throwing everything that he can at you, the minigames, the animatronics, the mechanics from the other two boss fights, everything. All the while 2MUCH2BEAR, the only original soundtrack in this game, sets the mood as it plays. A soundtrack that is as funky as it is heart pumping and stressful. This is our final test.
By the end, it first seems like everything is over for us, with Fredbear getting ready to jumpscare, luckily 6 AM hits just in time, and we come out alive. Defeated and upset, Cassidy reveals his motives to us...
They're scared. Scared of passing on and what may come afterwards. A natural fear that many have when it comes to death, the unknown. The thought of there being no afterlife and instead just nonexistence, a void, completely losing everything that makes you... you is terrifying to him. He doesn't want to be left behind and forgotten. He wants to be with his friends. The only friends he has known. Afton did target the sad and lonely kids after all.
It's here where the night guard we're playing as comforts the poor boy, with the dialogue being different for each one (which we will later go more in-depth with).
Though in summary, each night guard tells Cassidy what they need to hear. Jeremy tells him that no matter how much life kicks you down, you can always get back up, bad things naturally happen in life and we all make mistakes, but that's part of being a human being.
Mike tells him that even if his friends hate him now, he should still do what's best for them and work on improving himself as a person in the afterlife. Maybe they'll come around. Maybe they won't. Regardless, it's the right thing to do.
Vanessa tells him that although having stability is nice, life is constantly changing no matter what. Change can be scary, but it's also natural. They can't keep living in this fantasy forever. It's not healthy for them.
And Cassidy listens. They understand. They let go. In the end? We succeed in satisfying everybody. Michael ties up loose ends with CC and burns down the pizzeria with his father inside, Vannabelle is free from Afton's control and goes back to being your average quirky fandom girl, the Boss secures a huge insurance payout, and Cassidy and his friends are laid to rest. Freddy's is finally gone for good and everyone is much happier as a result.
When I got to the Ultimate ending, I was afraid at first that they were going to make Cassidy a one-note, angry, and evil child with no other qualities to them like a lot of other fan interpretations.
Spoilers for the ending of JR's, but that game, for example, as much as I enjoyed it, took Cassidy's character in a direction that I did not like at all. The Ghost, who is heavily implied to be Cassidy, gets trapped in the Barrens "for the rest of her days" by the end of the game... and for some reason that's treated as something to celebrate? Like I get that she was the antagonist and did some fucked up things, but her punishment was just overkill. That's still a whole ass child. And her hatred for Paulbear, who is implied to be CC if I recall, just makes it even worse. Another interpretation of Cassidy that I don't like: Her hating CC despite evidence going against such an idea. It all just put a bad taste in my mouth. It's so lousy.
Here though? Cassidy is so tragic and easy to empathize with. You still have something akin to UCN and the theories surrounding it. Cassidy being this one soul behind everything that refuses to move on unlike the others. Creating this dimension of sorts that never ends and trapping the other spirits.
But while the (often theorized but not fully confirmed) vengeful spirit Cassidy is fueled by her seething rage against Afton and wanting to make him suffer for as long as possible, before Old Man Consequences convinces her to move on since all she's doing is hurting herself in a pointless act of revenge, Frickbear's Cassidy does something a bit different.
Cassidy isn't doing anything he's doing out of an act of spiteful revenge against Afton or anything of the sort. He's doing all of this because he's scared. You still have the overall idea, but there's a twist there that makes it feel fresh. The motive behind not wanting to move on due to fearing what comes after death? Not only makes sense, but also makes it easy to empathize with Cassidy since a lot of people have that fear.
I myself have been struggling with death anxiety. Although they don't pop into my mind as much as they did in the past, I still think about things like if there's an afterlife, if there's a god, how pointless our lives are and how this universe we live in doesn't make sense, and wondering how our universe came into existence, how can something come from nothing? There's no answers to these questions and that horrifies me. We like answers. We like putting things in categories or figuring out the science behind something. So when it's impossible to answer something... it's very off putting to our minds. I don't think nature intended us to think about death as deeply as we do. All we know is that we fear it because that's just what our brains are biologically programmed to fear. It really felt like Cassidy was taking some of those thoughts straight out of my mind.
Cassidy is one of my favorite characters in FNaF and a comfort character of mine. So it always pains me to see them often being flanderized or be made out to be very one-note in either theories or fan work. I'm so glad and thankful that this game decided to not do that and made Cassidy such an interesting character. I love him so much. He's a tragic skrunkly.
With each difficulty in the game, you can play as a different night guard. They aren't just difficulty options for the player though, they're also their own characters with their own quirks and flaws.
The life of Jeremy Fitzgerald, from an outsider's perspective, is pretty shitty. Having gone through several mishaps in his life having to do with his face and is now on his 13th job so he can pay his college tuition. Despite this, Jeremy is an optimistic sweetheart. He acts kind to everyone he talks to and genuinely tries his best to help everyone in the Ultimate ending out of the goodness of his heart. He's also pretty naive overall.
He has no suspicion about Vanny's motives and genuinely believes that he's putting a "family" back together by collecting all of the scrap animatronics. He doesn't recognize at first that Michael is holding the Freddy mask that he just got from the first salvaging minigame, nor does he question how Michael got the mask, and he thinks that the handheld that Michael gives him before the Nightmare boss is a gift. He doesn't even view the animatronics as much of a threat, describing them as being friendly, much to Michael's doubt. He knows the least about Freddy's and the true danger behind it all, but he breezes past nonetheless.
In his talk with Cassidy, he shows his kindhearted nature. Relating to Cassidy as they both have had it rough in life. Despite how bad Jeremy has had it, despite his friends telling him that if they were in his shoes they would've given up by now, Jeremy refuses to throw in the towel. He's fully aware that he doesn't have a good relationship with luck, but he's fine with that. Life isn't smooth sailing. It's rocky and chaotic. Bad things naturally happen, that's just a part of life. It may not be easy, but Jeremy makes the most of what little he has, because that's all he really can do.
Jeremy is the easy difficulty because he takes life easy. He's kind and naive to a dangerous degree, but that overly optimistic attitude is what gets him through life. Interestingly, this isn't too far off from what little we know about Jeremy Fitzgerald in canon FNaF, as he once stated this in the Survival Logbook.
"I'd only been on night shift for about a week, but I was so relieved to be switched over to the day shift. There's a lot of stress working 12 a.m.-6 a.m. My boss had told me the animatronics were acting strangely-almost aggressive towards the staff-but I wasn't about to let that scare me off."
Even in canon, although finding the job stressful, Jeremy breezes past it all, and doesn't see the animatronics as much of a threat when told about their odd behavior.
In the end, Jeremy's optimistic outlook pays off as he graduates college debt free thanks to being provided a scholarship by the Boss.
Mike Schmidt is another fella who hasn't had it easy. Having a terrible track record with jobs, even being called an "incompetent neanderthal" by his career counselor. Unlike Jeremy, he's more irritable, blunt, and indifferent.
He has more self awareness than Jeremy, being a bit more suspicious towards Vanny and Michael, although he still goes along with the former due to thinking he'll be rewarded with money. He does recognize that Michael stole the Freddy mask from him, but if Michael's words and what his career counselor previously said about him are anything to go by, Mike only does the bare minimum for his jobs.
He's willing to work the night shift and deal with dangerous animatronics, but he can't bother with simply locking the entrances after leaving, which is what allows Michael to sneak in. Hence his bad track record with jobs, being bit of a slacker who doesn't put in the full effort. Per his description, this is because he thinks he'll eventually be fired anyways. So why bother? This is further reinforced when Michael questions why he took on so much extra work during the argument in the Ultimate ending, regretting his actions and feeling frustrated. A very pessimistic view on things.
In his talk with Cassidy, there's heavy emphasis on friends and improving one's self. He tells Cassidy that he won't have to pass on alone, his friends will go with him too. Regardless of whether his friends will forgive him or not in the afterlife, he needs to work on himself. For them. As long as he has someone out there to keep fighting for, that's all he'll need.
Mike's description states his irritability and large size has made it difficult for him to make friends. If he ever did have friendships, if what was said to Cassidy are anything to go by, they didn't last long. Regardless, he continues on improving himself, either for their sake or Mary Schmidt's, as we see her and Mike sitting on the couch together eating popcorn in the Ultimate ending credits. It's not made clear what exactly Mike and Mary's relationship is, but I've seen the interpretation that Mary is Mike's sister in this AU, akin to how Abby is Mike's sister in the FNaF movies. It would add some weight behind the "And I sure as hell don’t know how to handle children…" line and why he was desperate for money in Vanny's route.
Similar to Jeremy, Mike takes value in what little he has in his life, more specifically, his relationship with his sister. He isn't a perfect person by any means. He doesn't put as much effort as he should into his jobs and he's pretty pessimistic overall. But he's trying. He wants to improve himself so he can continue supporting his sis. He isn't fighting for himself, he's fighting for her. Because she's what matters most to him. Mike is the normal difficulty because he doesn't breeze past everything with optimism like Jeremy, at the same time, he isn't overly ambitious with his goals either. He's just doing what he can. He maybe bit of a grump, but he has a genuine heart.
Vanessa Shelley has had a long history with Freddy Fazbear's and thus knows the most about its many tragedies and whispers of the paranormal going on within the brand.
As expected, she knows her stuff. She recognizes who Vanny is and instantly catches on that she's up to no good, stating that she's not collecting the scrap animatronics to help her, but because she wants them in her hands instead of Vanny's, later expecting everything Vanny is doing to blow up in her face. Unlike Mike, she actually locks the entrances after her shift, forcing Michael to crawl through one of the vents in order to reach and steal the Freddy mask. Michael's name also rings a bell when she first hears it.
With all said, Vanessa doesn't seem to be too interested in paranormal shenanigans or looking deeply into what's going on behind Freddy's. In Michael's route she states "It’d probably be wise to avoid this paranormal stuff altogether, but…" and "...Seems I ran from one paranormal mystery just to end up in another." The latter line being interesting since her introduction states that she moved to Frickbear's because the previous location had too much hustle and bustle, but maybe she moved because she tried solving a mystery and later regretted it.
The Ultimate route does support this with this line "The whole reason I came here was so I wouldn’t have to get involved with this stuff… But it’s also a security guard’s duty to protect, isn’t it? I’d better keep an eye out for more of these things. I’d hate for them to fall into the wrong hands." Vanessa is focused on keeping and continuing her career with this company despite how shady and unethical it is, we later learn why in her talk with Cassidy.
She tells Cassidy that they're going to have to accept change, that hanging onto stability and maintaining the status quo will not make them or anyone else happy. Freddy's is a miserable and tragic brand. Why would you stick with something like that?
Vanessa worked with Freddy's for so long because she was afraid of change. She's just here to do her job, whatever is going on with the brand is none of her business and most of it is probably in the past anyways. Except none of it is still in the past. The brand is still affected by those tragedies to this very day and it's very evident. The parents of the missing children still grieve and yearn for their babies to come back to them. That type of trauma never goes away. At best, it lays dormant for a while.
The Ultimate ending makes Vanessa finally come to this realization. She isn't going to support this scummy company anymore. It's not worth it. She can't work at Freddy's forever. Change is inevitable and now there's no better time to fully embrace it. She does what she should've done a long time ago and tells the public all about what has happened within Freddy's. Even going as far as to reach out to the parents of the missing children so they can have closure.
Vanessa is the hard difficulty not just because of her previous experience with Freddy's, but also because she eventually passes a great challenge within herself: Accepting change. Don't be a sheep that's too afraid to speak up or go against the status quo. Be the change you want to be.
There is one last night guard that I neglected. This lovable lunatic. Fritz Smith. At first glance, you may wonder what there is to analyze about Fritz. I mean, his introduction is literally just him saying "...I forgot my name." But he's actually quite interesting.
For starters, this guy is definitely mentally unhinged... but he's quite intelligent in a way. He finds the animatronics and their inner workings fascinating. He knows how to tinker with them, for sole purpose of making them worse to deal with, as he did in the FNaF 2 location before being fired, or creating an animatronic fighting ring. He brings Scrap Baby outside with him on Night 4 in the Evil route and begins examining her. Taking note of how strange her design is from a mechanical standpoint. Even Vanny is impressed by his knowledge of these machines.
He has knowledge about Freddy's and some of the paranormal akin to Vanessa. He recognizes what specific time period Michael's hoodie came from and he figures out that Michael is connected to the masks on Night 4 by confirming a theory of his, having Michael tell the difference between a regular Chica mask and the agony filled one. Michael questions how much Fritz knows about Freddy's to which Fritz responds with "More than others, less than you. I've done my fair share of research, but I've still only theories to my name."
His interactions with Vanny and Michael are unique. Vanny finds herself unable to match his freak and even awkwardly left while Fritz was rambling to himself on Night 4. Michael gets along with him very well meanwhile, to the point of laughing from some of the things Fritz says. In either route, Fritz doesn't need any convincing to go along with their plans.
He does recognize how dangerous the animatronics are, telling Michael to not make sneaking through the vents a habit, since the animatronics also reside there, yet he personally finds it thrilling to fend them off all the same. His knowledge of machinery and the ability to survive through the most the hellish conditions apparently stems from a "cerebral condition". Also, unlike all of the other night guards, he doesn't die in the Evil ending. Somehow he finds a way to escape, though he gets arrested and blamed for the fire. What is this dude's deal? Maybe the Ultimate ending can give us some clues.
In his talk with Cassidy, Fritz is... surprisingly profound and mature. Fritz understands why Cassidy is afraid. Time is scary thing. An unstoppable force that keeps marching on no matter what. At the same time, Fritz states that since time is forever in motion... why should we stop? Why should we sit in place, dwelling on all these fears and thought about what comes after death? Screw that! We should make time try to catch up with us! There's so much to be found and enjoy in life! So much to do! And when it all ends, what if discovery and enjoyment is also on the other side? What if there's more to be found there? To be in a completely new plane of existence... what would that be like? The possibilities are endless!
And if it hurts? If there's suffering? Not much different from the lives we're living in now? We'll let it hurt. Let it try to hurt. Fritz and Cassidy have both been through things and felt a lot of things, but as much as there is suffering and negativity, there's also relief and positivity.
There's an incredibly well made comment on this video by awesomemax-wd5lj that goes in-depth with this, but to summarize what they said, the other night guards words to Cassidy were helpful and supportive, but its obvious that they're all projecting onto him. All of their flaws and insecurities. They see themselves in Cassidy and it causes a moment of self reflection. It's why they don't stare directly at him, instead looking away. They see a mirror when they see Cassidy, and looking at a mirror depicting an incredibly flawed version of yourself can be hard. This doesn't mean that their words are hollow, but there is a sort of lack of commitment and weight behind their words. They lower themselves to his level.
Fritz, meanwhile, brings Cassidy up to his level. His speech is the only one that fully focuses on what Cassidy fears: The afterlife or lack thereof. Fritz holds no insecurities. As he said to Michael, he wears his freak of nature title with pride! He even makes fun of himself to get Cassidy to laugh and fully calm down, being the only night guard to do so. The other night guards speak with great sympathy and remorse, while Fritz beams with positivity and comfort.
Fritz knows how much of a weirdo he is. How others judge him. How his words fall on deaf ears. But he's okay with that, because that's just who he is. Even with all his intellect, he doesn't mind if nobody understands or grasps it. He's just as fine with being a weird cryptid, known as the Rat Man, in Hurricane, as seen in the credits of the Ultimate ending. He's found a way to be immortalized: Being himself. The lunatic difficultly is named as such since that's simply who Fritz and always will be. He wouldn't change anything about his life.
It adds some weight behind Afton recognizing who Fritz is when he turns into Salvage, calling him a "loathsome cretin". Both skinny, unhinged, men who are intelligent with robotics. Yet, they couldn't be more different. William is obsessed with his image. Obsessed with everyone being aware of just how smart and powerful he is. Obsessed with becoming a god. Fritz is just fine with who and where he is, and Afton couldn't hate him more for that. Fritz is satisfied, while Afton never will be.
This went on for longer than I thought it would, but I simply love this game that much. I can't think of a more blatant love letter to the FNaF franchise. SpookyRick and everyone else involved in this game did an amazing job. This is the definitive FNaF fangame, simply put.
I don't know how else to end this post so uhhhh have Charlie because this game made her such a cutie patootie :3
Thanks for reading and have a snazzy day!
