#fnaf speculation

I do not think we have the setup for Michael to be redeemed, nor for his behavior to not truly be his own (not only would Ennard kind of ruin what these movies have going on, but it's just lame as fuck). He is set up to be the opposite of Vanessa, someone who she will have to face as one of her final hurdles to being rid of her family. He is the Elizabeth to Vanessa's Michael.

So, okay, what do I think the third movie is going to go for? Well, my genuine answer is: God I don't know Scott could write anything and it could be the most disappointing, plot-ruining ending, and I wouldn't be surprised. BUT FOR THE SAKE OF THIS POST what do I want to happen? What do I think would be the most logical conclusions for these characters?

I think, ultimately, what would make sense for Vanessa is to be truly redeemed by the end of the third. Free of her family's pull on her and finally truly accepted by Mike (because the split at the end of the second movie seems to be a classic "characters split up so they can reunite by the climax of the finale" trope) so she can move on. Live a happy, relatively normal life.

On the other hand, I think the most interesting angle for Michael is for his dedication to his father to be his undoing. For him to die in some way due to what his father raised him to be. I think this could happen in many ways, though admittedly if anyone wants a really metal mental image:

Imagine Fazbear's Fright burning to the ground, William trapped within and ultimately defeated. Our characters are standing outside of it, Michael in front of the flaming doors of the horror attraction, and in front of him being Vanessa shadowed by Mike and Abby (and possibly Jeremy if he continues to have more relevance). Maybe Vanessa is calling out to him, trying to extend her hand in one final offer to be free of their father once and for all. Michael was part of her trauma, but that's still her brother. Still a victim of her father who has a chance to become better.

But Michael is broken. All his father worked for is gone. His purpose is gone. How does one carry on in a life they were not made for? Of course, there is always a way. As humans, we can always change. But to Michael, he can't. To him, without their father's work they are nothing. He has no reason to exist without it. And so he takes a step back, and another. And within the flames of Fazbear's Fright he disappears. Ultimately choosing to die by his beliefs. If he can't continue the role he was raised to fulfill, then he will simply die.

Of course, this isn't the only way it could go. He could die sooner, or we Could see him regret his actions before ultimately dying (this could be a good way to have him die at the hands of Springtrap), but I think the most interesting way to take his character is for him to ultimately die in some way. He is most interesting as a mirror to Vanessa. He would show what could have happened to her had she stuck so closely to her father as well. Cautionary tale and all that.

I don't quite have faith for them to have this level of depth in the third, but I'm holding out the smallest scrap of hope to be pleasantly surprised. Like how Afton burns in Pizzeria Sim, Elizabeth burns as well. The child who continued to blindly follow her father after death. This is what Michael is to me. He is not someone set up to be redeemed or become the good guy, that is Vanessa's role. Vanessa is the child who, given she isn't dead and therefore has no reason to "move on", won't die with the others. She is like if game Michael had the chance to move on and truly be free of everything his father did. She has a chance to live a normal life. I don't believe that to be the case for her brother.

Of course, the Puppet/ Charlotte's possession of Vanessa means this potential dynamic wont be the sole focus of the final movie, but that's where I believe the Schmidts' relevance can continue in the third. I think they'd have to get caught back up in everything again somehow (I have my theories, but this post is still meant to mostly be about Vanessa & Michael's characters), and I think their involvement would be what ultimately helps Vanessa be freed of Charlotte's possession to go on and be the hero in the end. I think her being the one to bring everything to an end would also be something to redeem her in Mike's eyes.

This rough piece can be taken as just your usual "save Cassie" AU, because it was kinda inspired by that- BUT it was made with some of the ideas left by Angel in mind, which were basically; What if Help Wanted 2 was split POV between Gregory n Nessa, and Cassie- where Cassie thinks she's the good guy and Gregory is the antagonist in her POV, only for it to be the complete opposite. It just,,, became way more disconnected from Help Wanted than it was supposed to- but it'll probably make more since if you read the thoughts I had to flesh out the idea, which are right below the line-

Honestly this whole piece was made as an excuse to ramble about the idea and my interpretation of how it could go as a (current)believer that HW2 is directly after Ruin, but then it got way too long to just add in a reblog- so now we're here with an original post instead!(hope that's alright,,!)

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Wrote all this at like 3am so cut me a little slack if some of it is incomprehensible- I tried cleaning it up but it's still late so I might not get some points across right

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Basic premise: Split POVs between 3 star fam and Cassie, where the 3 star fam has minigames much more grounded in reality as they venture through the ruined Pizzaplex in search of Cassie, while Cassie's minigames are much more VR/AR based as she finds herself wandering the underground of the Pizzaplex, just barely having made it out of the elevator crash alive, and now finding it hard to distinguish reality from VR/AR. -------

Gregory and Vanessa POV ideas

-Gregory and Vanessa's minigames are more Ruin based, little sections of them trying to survive the many threats of the ruined Pizzaplex. Though some fall into more classic Security Breach territory due to VR/AR shenanigans - -Their "Glitchtrap" is M.X.E.S, and their "tapes" are Parent Nodes. M.X.E.S is not a threat in the same way Glitchtrap was, just a looming figure trying to guide them down to the M.X.E.S room and getting stronger the more Parent Nodes they reactivate. - -Their POVs main hub and select screen area is probably a cam station near the entrance of the Pizzaplex - -We switch between playing as Nessa or Gregory depending on the level and the gameplay can switch up accordingly. Sometimes we're Vanessa trying to protect Gregory, sometimes we're Gregory trying to survive on his own, etc. Freddy might also affect gameplay, whether that be for the better like being the thing protecting us in the minigame, or for the worse- like somehow accidentally bringing more attention to us and making the minigame harder.

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Cassie's POV ideas

-Cassie's minigames are MUCH more VR/AR based, way more centered on the past games, specifically stuff like Sister Location and maybe Pizzeria Sim. - -She's having a hard time differentiating VR/AR from reality - -Her POVs main hub is probably either the room with the elevator or the Mimics lair where she first encounters him(speaking of which I have no clue where he went here but he's gone for now(physically at least)) - -Her "Glitchtrap" could be Gregory calling out to her, an illusion of him created by the VR world that's almost always there in the "main hub", while the voice is actually him- the echos of his calls just barely reaching her and repeating in her head, being embodied by the illusion of him creeping around in the "main hub". He's being genuine with a concerned tone asking where she is, but she thinks he's trying to trick her- probably back to finish her off after she survived the crash. - -Not sure what her "tapes" are… maybe things explaining patient 46/GGY/Rab that only further her thinking he's the antagonist? - -It's kind of hard to tell where Cassie is irl in the heavily VR/AR minigames, but if you look close enough in each level you can piece together where she is and how she's progressing through the undergrounds of the Pizzaplex

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The game has three endings; It ends with 3 star fam and Cassie meeting up in the M.X.E.S room, and branches from there.

We can see it from either POV depending on what POV we're in when activating the ending. 3 star fam enters M.X.E.S room and go to turn them back on, when Cassie ambushes them, jumping out of the Mimics lair and confronting them, starting a tussle with Gregory. There's no boss fight, just different outcomes to the confrontation depending on a few factors;

You 100% complete Gregory and Vanessa's POV and activate the ending before finishing Cassie's POV

You 100% complete Cassie's POV and activate the ending before finishing Gregory and Vanessa's POV

You 100% complete both POVs before activating the ending

Ending 1. Vanessa reactivates the M.X.E.S before something bad happens and M.X.E.S intervenes. Whatever "intervenes" means is up 2 you cause I can't decide - Ending 2. Cassie gets the upper hand(maybe literally if she has the Mimics severed hand as a weapon) and wins the fight. Again, whatever "wins the fight" means is up 2 you cause I can't decide - Ending 3. Gregory is somehow able to convince Cassie that he isn't the antagonist before something bad happens and they make up, turning the M.X.E.S back on and exiting the Pizzaplex

And honestly? I can't see any of these being canon- They're just kinda basic outcomes to the fight, but I can't imagine any of them being canon and where the next game would theoretically pick up from- Most likely it'd be something like "Gregory and Vanessa make it out almost unscathed, but aren't able to convince Cassie to come with them as she's still so stuck in the VR/AR world and the idea that Gregory is a bad guy, and she becomes the antagonist for the next game with this game being the build up to her next appearance and a deeper dive into her as an antagonist" That's what I think would make the most sense at least!

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ANYWAY!!! UHM-

If you're here then- thanks for reading my rambles!! Saw Angel's tags and immediately my brain started going crazy, and this was the result lmao

Don't really know what else to say other than credit to Angel for the initial idea, anybody else who's reading this should definitely go show them some love because her art is REALLY good!!!