#SOTM prototype Bonnie

[insertcleverblogname87]

SOTM Prototype Bonnie photos

Credit to: ☕️Mr. DaBois Official☕️ YT on sketchfab for porting these models! I decided to take pics of the rest of the characters (also apologies for doing these 1 character at a time, for some reason it’s not letting me put more than 10 pictures)

For some reason his face isn’t loading in.

[theautisticjedi]

Thoughts on a certain 'retcon' in SOTM under the cut

No, Edwin did not make the Spring Bonnie and Fredbear we know of. In the game files they are labeled as PROTOTYPES. Edwin says in an email that they'll be done soon, but when we see them, they're not even close to being done. And since they're still at the factory, William and Henry never got them. Edwin also says in that same email that the springlocks he made are resistant to water. But we know in game that William died via the springlock suit getting wet. So they clearly weren't using Edwin's designs.

Henry and William built their own versions. I understand this is still a change but not as big a change as some people thought.

[tenebraevesper]

Secret of the Mimic and The Story of Henry, William and Edwin

After having finished watching Dawko's playthrough of Five Nights at Freddy's: Secret of the Mimic, my first impression was that the game is awesome - basically what Five Nights at Freddy's: Security Breach was supposed to be - but there is also a huge issue with it, that being the lore.

There is a lot that I can talk about, like the fact that at the beginning of the game, it is made clear that SotM partially retcons Five Nights at Freddy's: Tales from the Pizzaplex, specifically The Storyteller from #5: The Bobbiedots Conclusion and The Mimic from #6: Nexie. I did some research, and while the initial impression was that it is canon to the main games, there was no direct confirmation coming from Scott Cawthon that they are canon. Still, the books confirm and/or explain the lore presented in the games, specifically Security Breach, meaning that, at best, TftPP is loosely tied to the games, albeit more actively than The Silver Eyes trilogy or Fazbear Frights.

That said, while I was dumbfounded by that retcon, I'm fine with it. They took a part of the story and made something grand out of it, not unlike Five Nights at Freddy's: Into The Pit.

No, what I actually want to focus on is the supposed implication of SotM seemingly ''retconning'' some long-established lore. I am here to offer my personal thoughts on the topic and how I interpret what we see in the game, so don't take anything I say for set in stone. I can still change my mind.

The lore I am talking about appears around the second half to the very end of the game, where we follow Arnold not only discovering the springlock suits but also what appear to be the prototypes of not only the Classic Animatronics from Five Nights at Freddy's, but also Fredbear and Spring Bonnie. We also discover several e-mails which establish that Edwin Murray knew Henry Emily and William Afton, and was even friends with the former (going by the fact that he calls Henry ''Hen'').

I have actually speculated in a conversation with a friend that Edwin might've known or was at least familiar with the co-founders of Fredbear's Family Diner and Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria since in TftPP, it was established that he was working for Fazbear Entertainment, and I am happy to get a confirmation.

But what baffled me, and probably many other people, is the implication that Henry and William didn't build Fredbear and Spring Bonnie nor the springlock suits (or any of the other characters we have known since the first game), and that Edwin was the one responsible for them. I suppose it could be described as a knee-jerk reaction because we still need to properly interpret this information in context of the story of the game, and while understandable, it doesn't feel less jarring.

As a matter of fact, after thinking about it, I have come to a understanding that there was no retcon in regards to Fredbear & Spring Bonnie and the springlock suits because of one simple point - the fact that Edwin was contracted by Fazbear Entertainment to work on their projects.

We know that Henry and William were brilliant engineers (it is confirmed directly that Henry built Lefty while William built the Funtime Animatronics and had his own robotics company) and every story about their past reinforces that they were the ones who built Fredbear's and Freddy's from ground up, came up with the Fredbear and Spring Bonnie animatronic and were directly involved in the creation of the springlock suits. Five Nights at Freddy's: The Silver Eyes, while not canon to the main games but still gives us context for the story behind the first three games, drives the idea that it was always these two were responsible for the creation of the animatronics we know and love (or hate) and I sincerely doubt Scott Cawthon would tell Steel Wool Studios to retcon that. Even if he left it to them to develop a new game, that doesn't mean that he still isn't involved or has the final say in what is added to the game.

So, what is the deal with Edwin?

My personal interpretation is that, while Henry and William were the ones who created the Fredbear and Spring Bonnie we know and that they were also behind the springlock suits, they did also collaborate with Edwin, either directly (which I believe to be the case with Henry) or as a representative of Fazbear Entertaiment using their shady business practices (which would obviously be William). The fact that Edwin seemed to be close to Henry and was under contract with Fazbear Entertainment makes it possible that ideas were exchanged (or stolen, as Edwin puts it). We know that the Spring Bonnie suit William used was extremely unsafe, while Edwin's springlock suits seemed to be water-resistant, which leads me to the belief that while Henry and William came up with the springlock suits and built their own variants, they and/or Fazbear Entertainment possibly comissioned Edwin to perfect them and/or mass produce them. Same goes for the Classic Animatronics.

I am sure I am missing a lot of details, since this is information I got from watching Dawko's playthrough and that more information will eventually surface, so feel free to correct me. Nevertheless, it would be baffling to remove Henry and William's involvement in the creation of the animatronics/springlock suits since that is something fundamental to the story of FNaF.

If you guys want me to talk about my interpretation of the other lore pieces from SotM, just send me an ask about which topic you want me to cover next.

[wilhelmina-afton]

Trying to piece together what exactly William did in SOTM which furthered the collapse of the MCM, and how many others were involved.

courtesy spoiler warning.

I made a whole post about how it irks me that people assume right off the bat that William stole everything off Edwin's blueprints and nothing the man created was original.

Firstly, in canon, it has long since been upheld that Henry and William designed Fredbear and Spring Bonnie, and later still the main animatronics (Freddy and Bonnie, example, based of the original two). Second, at the very opening of the game, it's also stated that Edwin signed a contract when he took on projects for Fazbear Ent that anything he made for them was the company's legal property - though most people will reasonably take said statement with a grain of salt, because it is Fazbear making it.

At no point in the game is it implied or stated that Edwin created the original raw blueprints for the endoskeletons, the springlocks, or even the animatronics (Fredbear, Spring Bonnie, Bonnie, etc). That's an assumption most people make seeing the springlock suits, and later the fazbear animatronics in the lower levels of the facility.

However, from the very beginning of the game, it is stated emphatically that everything in the Costume Manor was up to be leased or sold. Additionally, we know that Fazbear Ent had long since been outright buying characters from MCM, requesting manufacturing of both endos and costumes, as prototypes of the characters are found in the lower level.

For one, Chica, whose costume was designed by Fiona while she was still alive and well prior to Edwin's descent into his work as coping mechanism, was a commissioned character and sold to an unspecified buyer and was fairly popular - i.e. the right to her character belongs with whoever had her design comissioned (my best guess being that was still Fazbear Ent. They may have established Chica's Party World beings it's own location until it was subsumed under Freddy's later larger popularity - Foxy, also, was likely a character purchased by Fazbear Ent. We see puppets of him, plus Roxy, as part of a larger cast in the theater showroom.).

The MCM, and Edwin Murray by extension, was an animatronic and mascot manufacturer.

I have no doubt that Edwin likely did have the blueprints for the endos and springlocks, improved on said blueprints and made offers of alteration to Henry and William, and in fact made blueprints for his own original designs (ex: Mimic is his original creation, even if the endoskeleton is not), but at no point does it claim he created them, created them on his own - or that Fazbear Ent stole the concept.

My personal theory is that Henry and William still created the original characters (At the very least, the bear and bunny) and the engineering that went into them (Springlocks, endos), and then worked with Edwin to smooth out all the features and for a second opinion (Edwin very well could have improved upon the endoskeleton and springlock designs - case in point, Mimic), and he manufactured robots for them after (cheaper than producing them themselves).

It cheapens all three of their characters -> Edwin, William, and Henry's -> to assume that all feats of engineering were stolen from Edwin alone, or that Edwin alone created everything in the franchise (and also would be a major retcon from the rest of the series).

However, it is matter-of-fact that William bribed and cooerced workers to defect from the MCM by offering high-up managerial positions at new Fazbear locations in exchange for them collecting Edwin's blueprints and so on.

I have no arguments with the fact that he definitely exploited Edwin later on.

That raises the question of what William had the defecting employees actually stealing if Fazbear's already owned rights to several characters, were purchasing more, and even later bought the land the MCM was built on. My best guess is Mimic designs, as one of the data logs in his office is him wondering who leaked M2's existence, or unfinished/updated blueprints he hadn't sent over yet, and other potential characters that hadn't already been bought up.

(Note: I see it repeatedly mentioned that William stole Edwin's house after he died, so I have this to say in response. William did not buy the Murray Mansion outright, and it's unlikely he moved in or built his house on top of it. He explicitly states in an email that it still belongs to Edwin, even following William's purchase of the land it/the factory is on, and he even offers the position of Lead Engineer to the Edwin as part of Fazbears. Which is still so damn underhanded, considering that William had a hand in the MCM downfall as much as Edwin himself did.

Additionally, we have seen William's Afton's house in the past - the cutscenes in Fnaf 4 and SL. They had a fair amount of neighbors nearby, which would not make sense if William rebuilt his home atop the hill where Murray mansion stood alone, and the Afton househould as we saw in game was far smaller than the Murray Mansion was).

Also, William is not the sole face of Fazbear Entertainment. There are presumably multiple other people, including Henry, who Edwin mentions at least once - whether he was a worker at the MCM who defected or was a mutual friend of Will and Edwin - who would found the company. Additionally, William isn't the only man running the company - again, Henry and various unknown other persons would go into that.

While there's no doubt William was an advocate for gaining the MCM's work by any means necessary, as he was the one sending emails to the workers and Edwin himself, other people would have been involved.

[slooshee]

SOTM SPOILERS AHEAD!!

okay so I’ve seen a few questions about SOTM and how it effects previously established lore and I kinda wanna give my two cents on and try to clarify maybe theorize a little.

“So William and Henry didn’t make the original designs anymore?”

No. They did. At least the ones we know. It’s kind of complicated. Firstly, Fazbear Entertainment and by extension Fredbear’s Family Diner was already an established business when they collaborated with Edwin. So by that logic Fredbear and most likely Springbonnie probably already existed. The prototypes we see of them in the R&D section were supposed to be for the new establishment as this was pre-bite. Both would go on to be reworked/rebranded into new characters being Freddy and Bonnie. Chica and Foxy is where it starts to get a little more muddy. Chica was obviously designed by Fiona, at least her Chica’s party world version. But I think it’s also important to remember that for all of these the Murrays were contracted to make them. Meaning I imagine they were given some kind of description of what they were looking for, hence Chica at first being referred to as the design for the hen animatronic. I imagine that at least the basic idea of there being a chicken animatronic was commissioned by them. With Foxy it’s kind of unclear, we see the puppet version of Foxy and we know Fiona made puppets. We even see she made a pirate wolf/fox of some kind for David. So I see it either being, Foxy was Fiona’s original character but he was put for lease or sale and bought by Fazbearent. OR Foxy specifically and the Foxy pirate stage show we see was made for or in collaboration with FazbearEnt. But regardless of if William and Henry made the original designs or ideas or not they had final say on the versions we know today. They ended up not using Fiona’s designs for the first Freddy Fazbear’s location, which are described as ‘creepy’ by Edwin. Seeing as these animatronics go on to match the style of animatronics we know were designed by William and Henry I think it’s safe to say they had a hand in making the final versions we know from the other games. So yes I do still think the majority of the original gang that we know can still be attributed to Afton and Emily.

“So does this mean that Afton and Henry didn’t make the springlocks?”

As I said before I don’t think so. Fredbear’s was already an established brand. We know that location specifically used Springlocks. I think it’s more likely Henry and William came up with the idea, maybe had some kind of prototype, and worked with Edwin to improve upon the idea or use the technology for new suits that were planned to be at the next location. So it was more likely that all three (or at least Henry and Edwin) worked on the Springlock technology.

“Okay so then what was William Afton after in stealing from Edwin? If he didn’t want the characters or the springlocks what did he want?”

Well, I’m glad you asked. First of all, I believe William was after employees. He was poaching employees from Edwin, we see this implied a couple times throughout. Most likely because he was working on creating Afton robotics at the time and wanted workers for himself. Especially given that Edwin’s business was on a downward spiral and wouldn’t have lasted very long. Secondly, although it’s still debatable if Fazbear entertainment even was sending groups to the factory or if it was the mimic luring employees there the whole time. We know Arnold most likely was tricked and lured there by the mimic. But I think the way Edwin speaks about trying to keep things from them and being betrayed and the fact he puts all his plans so only he can access them does imply William was after something. That something? I believe was not the characters (although FazEnt would end up taking the majority of those too. Although I think that was through a buyout as most of them were for sale or lease and Edwin needed money) but I think he wanted the technology. Think about it. There’s so much stuff we see in Edwin’s factory that seems like it could’ve been used in a lot of the sister location’s technology specifically. 1. There’s the scooper. There’s just.. straight up the scooper. Right there. Edwin made the scooper. I don’t think there’s any debating that. 2. This one might be a bit of a stretch but I can’t help but feel the Tiger sections the mimic acts strikingly similar to how we see Funtime Foxy and Funtime Freddy function. It’s very reminiscent of the way Funtime Foxy reacts to light in the Funtime auditorium section. 3. The most important reason I believe is because of the mimic’s ability to copy voices. Which we see is an ability in some of the Funtime animatronics as well. I mean Funtime Freddy literally has the ability to mimic voices. They outright call it mimicry. Funtime Foxy also has an ability to “Parental voice sync and Replay” which to me sounds like it’s talking about a form of mimicking as well.

To give the TLTR version:

-Original Gang most likely still was William and Henry’s idea at least what animals they should be but they commissioned Fiona for the designs and never ended up using her designs (except for Chica during the Chica’s Party World Era but the Murray’s owned that). Switching to their own designs last minute.

-Springlocks still most likely were invented by Henry and/or William as Fredbear’s existed before Edwin’s partnership with them. The prototypes we see of Fredbear and SpringBonnie were supposed to be for the new location but most likely never got used because of the incident in 83.

-William Afton was still stealing ideas from Edwin even if it wasn’t the animatronics. I believe he was more so after the technology which can be reflected in his later inventions like the Funtime animatronics. He also was most likely poaching employees from Edwin’s dying business to work at Afton Robotics.

I hope this could help clear up or anything about it! I know this is a bit of a yapping fest but I hope it made some sense of things!

[williamafton2030]

SOTM SPOILERS!!!!!!!!!!!

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A theory just came to me after watching SOTM and a near-SOTM teaser in Ruin.

This is that Henry may have built Fnaf 6 on top of Murray's Costume Manor in an attempt to make up for his mistake. A mistake he'd been regretting for a long time. Dawko mentioned this about Henry regretting a past mistake in his great video:

Yesterday Dawko says that the decision to help William destroy MCM may have been the Henry's biggest regret. This undoubtedly makes Henry a much more morally gray character than we thought. We always saw Henry as a simpleton who, unfortunately, was too ignorant to see the truth about William. However, now in SOTM we see that he also seems to have helped William bring down MCM, and that's crazy, really.

Just as Dawko says, Henry wasn't the one who masterminded all of this; it was William who orchestrated it, and Henry seems to have helped him. Perhaps because William had manipulated him. I don't know, but what Dawko says is true; that wasn't right of Henry.

And even more so when you realize that Henry and Edwin seem to have been very close in the past and even close friends. Dawko mentions it in his video because Edwin doesn't call Henry "Henry" but instead calls him by a nickname: "Hen."

That said, we have to go to Ruin. In this DLC, we have several unused maps from the Sinkhole. One of them says "Something Cool That Maybe Foreshadows Carnival (Pending JTop's Thoughts)." We now know that "Carnival" refers to Secret of the Mimic, and even more so since these discarded maps feature the original Freddy, Chica, and Bonnie on the stage. Of course, the SOTM ones are more of a prototype and aren't even on the stage.

Or, well, the stage isn't exactly like that, since SOTM draws a parallel with Help Wanted 1 in one of its endings. In this one, Arnold ends up inside Freddy, replicating what Glitchtrap did in Help Wanted 1. And besides Mimic being present, watching the show with us inside (as Glitchtrap did many years later), we have that spectacle I mentioned. Here, the animatronics sing and dance like in Help Wanted 1 while on stage.

So, with that said, let's go back to that teaser we were going to get for SOTM. Remember that at the end of Ruin, we go to the Sinkhole and head to the bottom of Fnaf 6. Candy Cadet is there, and we can also go to Burntrap's part. So we're in that place. With that said, we can quickly piece together that Murray's Costume Manor (or what's left of it, to be more precise) is underneath Fnaf 6.

So, with that said, this theory came to mind: Henry building Fnaf 6 on top of what was left of Murray's Costume Manor as a way to somehow apologize to Edwin and make amends for his mistake.

Post that reminded me of that teaser that was cut from Ruin:

Here you can see what I said about that teaser of the original animatronics on stage 😉

Anyway, I don't know if this theory I've made could be canon, but I think if it were, Henry would become a much deeper character than we thought 🤔

Anyway, this is my theory, and if you have another one that's different or contrary to this one, that's fine, since all theories are completely valid until they're confirmed or disproved 😉😊

[royalmagicianmoogle]

SoTM spoilers

The only thing Henry did related to the Fazent requested changes (in canon) is request the Springlocks be removed from the proto-suits, presumably because he didn't think they were safe (unless there's yet another tape I've missed). Edwin throws him in with William's actions a lot, but it's shown "Fiona" was actively trying to turn him against them/isolate him ("You can't trust them. They won't understand.") Henry is not mentioned in any emails relating to people quitting the company or stealing anything. He also doesn't send any of the emails related to poaching employees. He and William are never said to work for Murray. Murray was commissioned to put together the prototype for the first Freddy Fazbear's location, and they presumably had the original Fredbear and Spring Bonnie costumes made by him (the one Glitchtrap uses, not the Springlock suits. Edwin's Springlocks for FazEnt never got past the Prototype stage). Henry is still not a good person, he obviously must have known something was up when a bunch of Murray's employees abruptly quit and joined their company, and as co-owner he'd have to sign-off on any of the Referral Bonuses that were mentioned. But there's no evidence he was an active, intentional participant in the destruction of Edwin's company and family. If anything, he's guilty of inaction, and was punished for that inaction when William used the exact same tactics against HIM years later.

[kokoro-kawasaki]

Random Thoughts About Fnaf SB/Ruin/SOTM and theories

×Theoretically thinking, is Monty still a child mentally just in the body of a Glamrock animatronic? (Referring to SB Ruin and that Monty Golf exhibit)

×(Spoiler for SOTM ig?) If the theory is that Ennard is a copy of Mimic, does that mean that Blob doesn't have souls and is just another Mimic? (Ennard =⟩ Scrap Baby and Molten Freddy → fire in FFPS + free Elizabeth and others souls = Blob)

×Is prototype Freddy under the control of Glitchtrap/Mimic and Vanny or is he a sentient animatronic?

×Why are there so many endoskeletons in Bonnie Bowl in Fnaf SB?

×(Another SOTM Spoiler) Did Arnold survive the car accident in the True Ending?

[whereismymonsterlover]

SPOILERS for FNAF: Secret of the Mimic

I believe that Edward and Fiona designed and produced the original Fazbear animatronics with some key design changes from William (ss stated in a voice recording by Edwin who described them as creepy). Given that there are posters of Fredbear's Family Diner with Spring Bonnie and Fredbear, it would seem Edwin was the one that produced those costumes however it's unclear whether William designed those himself. It would make me upset if he didn't at least design his fursona and just bought Bonnie off the rack but that's for a different discussion.

In the basement of Murry's Costume Manor there is a gigantic Freddy head. Inside is a projector/stage light. I wonder if it was set dressing for Fall Fest or something. Regardless it seems to hint to the Security Breach sinkhole before you reach the fnaf 6 location where there is a similar gigantic Freddy head. I think this was put here to connect the two places and, if it is following the books as closely as it is, Edwin is alive by the time the Mega Pizzaplex opens. To answer the question of who is running the business by the late 2020s, it would make sense that Edwin is working for Fazbear Entertainment. This would explain how the M.X.E.S. program is up and running as it seems it was never a finished project by the time SOTM is set (mentioned in a log presumably by the Mimic telling Edwin to finish the “cradle program”). I don't actually know when the Mimic became violent but I'll assume there were no schematics on this by the time Fazbear seized MCM’s property as the Mimic is advising Murray to build a protection software, suggesting this was before the Mimic program became violent meaning Murray had no reason to write it up. In the books, Edwin is put on the Creative Directors board at Fazbear Entertainment, giving him the power to finish Cradle/M.X.E.S. and get it in the Pizzaplex. One parallel I've noticed is that both Giant Freddy heads are deep below each establishment. In SOTM, it lives amongst Edwin’s own creations, the Fazbear animatronic protypes. In Security Breach, it is amongst the fnaf 6 location featuring the Mediocre Melody's, heavily hinted to also be Murray characters.

With this idea, I also wonder if Edwin was the one that destroyed Bonnie and promoted Monty to the star cast of Glamrocks. Given the way Afton bastardised Edwin’s original characters, particularly Bonnie, with redesigns, shady business dealings, and murders, it seems enough motivation for Edwin to destroy Bonnie or make Monty destroy him in this symbolic “reclaiming” of the MCM legacy since Monty belongs entirely to Edwin. I think this idea is stressed by Steel Wool in the SOTM basement. By pulling a lever, an old school Monty animatronic is revealed from behind a curtain in the Research & Development room where the Fazbear prototypes are. Also “Monty” and “Murray” - on the nose but FNAF loves to parallel names.

Edit: just saw another ending I am SO WRONG and SO CONFUSED. Like I'm not confused I'm just exhausted lmao steel wool this is good grub thank you

[cellophane-wasps]

Ok, so I've seen a lot of dissent regarding William and Henry presumably stealing everything. And like, I don't feel that way at all. For one, Henry has never been a truly good guy. He knew the myriad of issues with Fazbear and still ran it. Another is that it's clear that William and Henry were responsible for creating things. They simply stole designs and such and made them their own. They contracted MCM to build prototypes. They then used those prototypes and made them into the characters we all love.

Also, while Fazbear has been shown to commit extremely dubious or illegal acts, I don't think they could steal everything in the warehouse without facing ire from the other companies. Maybe they could handle one, but definitely not every company that contracted Murray. I personally think Fazbear monopolized the costume entertainment industry. We already see that they are tied to fredbears and circus babys pizza world. It's implied that they're owners of Chicas party world. And if they aren't, they become the owners in the future. I really think sister location onward has been trying to build Fazbear up to basically be Disney. And what has Disney done over the years? Monopolized children's entertainment.

Another thing I've noticed. I could be wrong, but I don't think there's any blue/indigo bunny in secret of the mimic aside from the silver eyes esque amalgamation. It seems like Bonnie is purely a fazbear creation. Which would explain why they mimic axed glamrock Bonnie. Mimic (either David, or an ai that thinks it's David) would be unfamiliar with Bonnie. Roxy and Monty were MCM characters. As is Chica. And glamrock freddy being closer in colour to fredbear than Freddy adds credence to this.

I don't think SOTM is trying to say fazbear did nothing but steal. And I personally feel like this reading of the game is surface level at best, and poor media literacy at worst.

[wilhelmina-afton]

Courtesy SOTM Spoiler Warning

still chewing on how badly William fucked Edwin over - like, regardless of whether you think he stole everything or not.

Though I hold the belief that he/henry didn't steal the fredbear/bonnie/endo/springlocks and they worked on them together, Fredbear's Diner apparently pre-existing judging from all the pizza boxes scattered around, William (and Fazbear Ent) still absolutely, undeniably screwed Edwin and the MCM over, and probably stole a ton of other stuff via daylight robbery (his contract with Fazbear Ent that allowed them ownership of all his creations mentioned at the start of the game).

William directly coerced employees to take updated blueprints and the like from Edwin in return for higher positions at varying Fazbear Ent locations, and possibly unfinished comissioned characters for both the company (questionably legally via unfair contract) and others (most definitely illegally if Fazbear ent didn't buy the rights), while other Fazbear Ent higher ups - still including William no doubt - were essentially dangling a carrot on a string in front of Edwin (repeatedly rejecting prototype designs for future fazbear projects, leading Ed into a cycle of taking loans and making more designs, and falling into deeper debt trying to produce something satisfactory), a promise that's not ever going to be fufilled.

Like, Edwin had to have been in such debt that he himself put up the land his home and factory were built on in order to keep the MCM running - or the lands may have been repossessed and sold without his input because his finances were just that bad.

Which is how Fazbear Ent (note: Not William himself, though have no doubt he was the deciding man on the issue) probably purchased the land in the first place, and in turn - made Edwin more desperate.

He left an audio log behind, saying as much: if he finished his projects, got the payout for them, everyone would come back and he'd fix things -> his fallen friendships, his employees, the lost land, the MCM reputation, etc.

In William's messages to Edwin himself (which we don't know if he ever read, also? As the mailboxes are emptied when Arnold uses the Data Diver on them, it kind of implies he never read said mail?), he mentions how the man is behind and likely overtaxing himself without any other employees (something Will himself encouraged, and even monopolized, even if he wasn't the start of), and - William mentions that Edwin can keep the Murray Mansion, although Fazbear Ent had since purchased the land and the MCM (I think? Or at the very right were legally allowed to evict him/demolish the buildings had they wished it), and even offers Murray the position of lead engineer, and it's -

So. Fucked up??? Because William is no doubt a large factor in the lack of employees, and probably the reason that Fazbear Ent probably hired most of them (again, Edwin helped Henry and William design and manufacture the animatronics - his secrets are also Fazbear secrets, so that's protecting Fazbear secrets in the same breath as ruining MCM), which in turn drives Edwin further and further into his spiral of overtaxing his mind, his body, his funds.

Yet he's also putting on this polite mask, and offering Edwin a position that, also demeaned from where he was stood, was a foothold for building himself back up - still has a home, still has a high ranking job for a company rapidly expanding and growing in power, and depending on how you read his character, it can also genuinely be him thinking he's in the right and trying to help, doing what's best for Edwin, while also capitalizing on a situation to further his own reputation, wealth, etc - or he just doesn't care at all, and either way it's just so so so toxic a relationship).

William is purposely worsening Edwin's own semi-self-induced decline into ruin for his own benefit - and I'm caught between him doing it as an uncaring asshole (i.e. William cares for no one but himself, not his family or henry or anything) or him doing it as an obsessive/posessive asshole who sees this as a prime way to get Edwin under his thumb (similarly to Henry, in ways).

Like, 'oh, what a terrible situation you've found yourself in - but I can help you fix it, dear', type deal. His friends, his family, they are his things and he knows best for them - they just have to do as he says, rely on him, etc, etc, etc (would not be above creating situations that drive to his side, such as murdering Charlie and comforting a grieving Henry-)

(Almost fucked up as the thought that M2 probably let Edwin die from his injuries from the office explosion, and - as M2 is an artifically created child, mimicking David - was probably not initially aware that the man would permanently die/could not be repaired later, and having been taught violence would perpetuate murder against all future workers who entered the MCM-)

[wilhelmina-afton]

Random SOTM thoughts

Caught between the possibility of William + Fazbear Entertainment actually stealing Edwin's work (via defecting employees from MCM or sending in employees of their own, because both William and Fazbear Ent are monstrous bitches by the time of canon across the worlds) vs actually having legally bought at least some of the designs, prior to Fiona's death and Edwin's spiral into...everything that went down in MCM.

I see most people in comments immediately assuming that Henry + William stole Edwin's designs - but I'm honestly not sure how much of that is the case, because while it wouldn't suprise me at all if theft occured near the end of Edwin's life, and especially following his death, considering they were friends for an unknown period of time, it makes sense to me that they would at least try to go down a legal route for reputation if nothing else?

(Also, I'm a sucker for any AU where William Afton does care for his loved ones, but depending on the choices he makes he can either be better or be cruel as in canon - His Empire of Dirt by @peariandpine has changed me forever. I want to think they were, at one time, genuine friends - and the three of them fuck it up, by being so devoted to the improvement of the work.)

Plus, Murray's Costume Manor is ultimately a warehouse designed to showcase animatronic and mascots suits one can either lease out or purchase outright.

It makes more sense to me that Edwin helped William + Henry get off their feet in the animatronic industry because his father was already a part of that industry, in part helping them design Fredbear and Springbonnie (creating the prototypes and storing them in the lower levels of the facility), and they all had a hand in character design plus the internal robotic engineering (ex: endos, springlocks), while Edwin manufactured them with additional input from the other two burgeoning engineers.

Maybe they were given a discount on the manufacturing price due to the fact that they were friends, but they still ultimately would have created the concept of Fredbear/Springbonnie together, having split ownership over them.

Then, when Fredbear's Diner was getting more popular, as were animatronic attractions in the 70's/80's in general, William and Henry wanted to open more restaurants, with new characters - such as Chica's Party World (I have no idea if CPW was originally comissioned by Fazbear or simply bought out from another company), and Freddy Fazbear's Pizza.

(Pretty sure that the Freddy Fazbear Pizza deal was the Fazbear Ent Restaurant project that fell through, with Edwin being behind in production and overbudget, with Fazbear Ent being displeased and rejecting the various designs he sent through - you can find busted down/unfinished Freddy, Bonnie, Chica, and Foxy around the workshops. I kind of figure that after the MCM collapsed, the project was put on hold until Henry/William/Fazbear had the funds/facility to produce the animatronics themselves after losing their biggest/sole manufacturer).

They looked to Edwin for working on improved robotics, and his wife Fiona for character designs (it's confirmed in SOTM that Fiona designed Chica, though one of the MCM workers, Milton, noted that Edwin's suit was slightly different to Fiona's original design and a fair bit scarier).

Even when Fazbear Ent purchased the land of Murray's house and stuff, and had the right to make him move, William expressly reached out (even if it was only an act of courtesy) to say, we won't take your house or anything, and we would still like for you to be lead engineer rather than just - kicking Murray out.

Though, I have no doubt that as Murray's mental health declined he and whoever else was in Fazbear Ent. definitely began attempting to monopolize the defecting MCM workers (which. r.i.p. to them, Fazbear is not any better than Murray was).

All that said, William would still be the absolute biggest bitch in this scenario, as he still holds all the power. He's a fairly smart man who uses said smarts for terrible things - even if he believes and thinks he knows best for his detoriating friend who is clearly overtaxing himself, so whether he genuinely cares for his friends/family or not, he would definitely be aware of the power incongruity.

Whether he cares or not, William is always a fairly condescending character to the people around him in my head, lol. Even if there's a world where he is not a murderer, he's still a bit (a lot) of a bastard.

(Also, I've seen comments theorizing that Henry was Edwin's friend first and William coerced him to defect, which - wow. W o W. It's terrible, but also wholly so William, especially if you look at the Restaurant Project as Fredbear's Diner, the flagship, rather than the latter Freddy's location).

Also, the idea that William stole Edwin's house is a wonderfully terrible idea (it's gonna give give me brainrot for days) - but also I don't think it checks out, as we see in the Sister Location post-scoop cutscene that the Afton household had plenty of neighbors and lays on a flat road - the Murray Mansion was high up on a hill and pretty isolated, same as the MCM.

Even if William rebuilt his home atop of the mansion's ruins, the house would still be isolated where it stoof atop atop the hill.

(I do have the crack headcanon, however, that Michael and David were around the same age and possibly played together whenever William and Edwin met in person pre-Fallfest and Fiona's death/F10NA's creation, the Fnaf 4 bedroom is modeled after David's because they were friends, and that it is Michael we play as in FNAF 4 - mainly because the layout of the bedroom in game doesn't match CC's in the 8-bit sections in-between the nights.

Also, though CC's name is cemented as 'Evan' for me, it would be so fucked up if William had named his youngest child David in remembrance of one of his friend's long deceased son).