THE HOUSE COMES ALIVE.

happy michael or something. idk i wanted to draw

The Fourth Closet actually does so much for her. I genuinely forgot how much agency Jen took over raising Charlie after rereading Henry's note to her. He said he had written out detailed instructions for her if need be, but ultimately asks her to close all the closets, essentially turning Charlie off. I now have so many thoughts on this letter that it needs a new post. But, Jen kept her and raised her. She wasn't prepared but she took that on knowing Charlie was all that's left of her brother, and was somehow a conscious being. It wasn't her Charlie, but it was his. Unfortunately, that meant having to detach them both from Henry to live. And I understand why she didn't tell Charlie she was a robot, because to acknowledge that would again tie back to Henry and she wants to detach and Charlie is clearly living just fine so why shake everything up again. But like,,,,,, Jenny tell this girl at some point!!!!

"The day Charlie moved in with her at the age of 7, Aunt Jen told her plainly that she was not a replacement for Charlie's parents. By now, Charlie was old enough to understand that Jen had meant it as a gesture of respect, a way to reassure Charlie that her father would not be forgotten, that she would always be his child. But at the time it had seemed like an admonishment. Don't expect parenting. Don't expect love. And so Charlie didn't". Telling that to a freshly orphaned child is crazy, but Jen has to be heavily dissociating through all of this just to not go INSANE, and she said she had to harden to the world around her to keep Charlie safe. But, I think she meant it in both ways. Because while she did care for Charlie, she wasn't parenting her. There was no comfort, no affection, no bond. I think that she was afraid if she opened herself up more as a parent, she'd become Henry. To build that bond would be to open herself up to his delusion. There has to be distance. That's why she taught Charlie how to be self sufficient so young. It's the best middle ground she can find to keep both of them safe. Jen tells Charlie she 'has to be stronger than- (her father)', but i think it's more of a projection. She has to be stronger than Henry, because she's all Charlie has left. And so Jen needs that distance, needs Charlie to be strong for herself, so that she doesn't break. But also, another big reason for instilling such independence has to be to counteract the major codependent bond that Henry created. I know it's a meme, but Jen literally wants Charlie to be strong, independent, and not need a man: her father.

Their fight is where everything boils over. Charlie says it was their first fight, which makes sense. They weren't close enough to clash, but there was too much boiling underneath. Charlie screams all of her pain at her and how she failed to prevent it and all Jen can yell back is how she only cared for her, "flinging reassuring words that somehow dripped with poison". This tension Jen created is too great and it's rubber banding back in her face. It makes sense that it hurts, that she's being so defensive, but she's the one who let it stretch this far. Rereading Charlie thinking "i need him more than I need you" (referring to going back to Hurricane for Sammy) made me bawl my eyes out because Charlie got so independent that she literally needs her dead-not-dead brother more than she needs Jen!!!!! This is such an impossible position Jen is never winning. All this time trying to keep Charlie away from Hurricane, only for her biggest lesson to be what drives Charlie back. Again, it's all rubber banding back. She needs Charlie away from Freddys, Fredbear's, and especially Henry's house if she's ever gonna be able to live a normal life. But, she's not opening herself up to Charlie to help her live that life, so she's defaulting back to her traumas. But Jen is also too traumatized to open herself up!!!! She cannot win I'm gonna cry!!!!!! Major side note but it's so interesting how important the house is to Charlie given she refuses to sleep or stay in it. It's like a time capsule for her.