#{ this mimics (ha) the ending where cassie goes to that one poster and gets a fake happy ending }

[curseofbreadbear]

considering an au where cassie is the hw2 protagonist...

[idsfantasy]

I have a rough couple of theories, that I don't think many have considered (probably for good reason), but I think are fun to toy with: Cassy is taken back to the FNAF 6 location by the Mimic, possibly to have Glitchtrap consume her just like it did Vanessa (hence the name Helptrap in the ending files; this was his plan in Ruin). This is why we open up to it being a “training orientation” simulation, when Cassy Dad would have no need for it.

The games we play are actually from 3-4 different perspectives: William Afton (Fall Fest 1970-83 which is possibly where William was inspired and possibly the Sister Location), Cassy Dad (most of the Pizzaplex Technician Levels), and Cassy/Vanessa (Pizzaplex food and beverage levels and some of the rides).

To be clear, Cassy is the protagonist of the game, but the system is showing her the memories of her father and William (and maybe Vanessa) to try and goad her deeper into the game, to infect her. This is why some monitors show glitchtrap pop up on the screen in certain mini games.

This is why Vanny (the cut voicelines) mentions that Williams code is living on in memories (the plushies) and Cassy has to trade her VANNI mask to get the Glitchtrap Plushie, after she goes to the Virtual Realm/Afterlife/FNAF World of Princess Quest, after prompting from Vanny.

What this means for Cassy being trapped in the toy machine is unknown, but Vanny seems to have usurped Glitchtrap (possibly as the Mimic program) and Cassy now knows the fate of her father (or at least suspects it; he was victim to Burntrap and his control over the STAFF bots and they disassembled him into Maskbot, which is why we can see organs and brains). More confirmation is that Cassy somewhat recognizes a Bonnie mask, but there is no reason Cassy Dad would be confused, as he is Bonnie Bro.

We also get more confirmation that Glitchtrap is connected to Moon; Moon features prominently in Fall Fest, the Foxy Log Ride, and in the Princess Quest ending, the former two being corrupted by Glitchtrap and the latter having him be the one to deliver the Glitchtrap Plushie to Vanny while also showing a Moon plushie covered in purple right behind him.

Speaking of connections, Baby is everywhere. Literally from the opening, she is watching the player from behind. In the Fazerblast section, she openly mentions that the player was foolish to think she wouldn’t find them (though this could be a William memory as it takes place in Fall Fest), and the Sister Location room has her explain how safe she feels inside this place and that she is “safe forever” here.

She is the only animatronic that seems to have recognition of the player and have a conversation with them (or Cassy specifically). Furthermore, her plushies are literally crawling all over the game, around 5 if I counted correctly. I suspect Baby or Elizabeth is living inside the Network in some capacity, as a refuge for herself. Perhaps this is a connection to Nightmares Puppet

Things I have no answers for:

What happens when all the posters and collectibles are collected

What is the purpose of the Fazcam, Fazerblaster, and Dart Gun

What is behind the Left Steel Door, under the static tvs

Candy Cadet Story (we can assume the dead family is the Aftons which is soft confirmation of dead Mrs. Afton). The second story involves; A Witch, a woman, and a boy. The witch tries to cook the woman by disguising herself as friendly but she escapes, grows older, and tries to hunt down the witch, to which a boy offers his help but betrays her by revealing his house is secretly the witch oven.

Most people assume it’s Vanessa being a surviving victim of William, growing up and thinking she can face her fears, only for Gregory to trick her and turn her into Vanny.

This doesn’t work, for obvious reasons, as Vanny was captured due to being a play tester… right?

Hmmm. We know Tape Girl was a play tester, who was purposely trying to stop Glitchtrap, but Vanessa is not Tape Girl. We don’t know why or how she became involved, beyond it being a job. It could be she had been searching for William as a personal mission, and tape girl had already converted Gregory, and the two of them tricked her into playing the game (which does lead to the question of who is Tape Girl and what happened to her).

Which has its own problems, of course, as it still doesn’t fit 1:1. Why would Vanessa and Gregory be gendered correctly, but not William?

It’s so open ended, I almost considered the possibility that Mrs Afton was an accomplice to William (hence she is the Witch who tried to deceive her with a kind voice).

And of course, none of this answers who built the Afton family replica in SB or the origin of the Tangle.

It's an interesting idea, though as the days go on I lean more and more towards Cassie's dad being the protagonist, which I'll be talking about in my next video if all goes well!