#mayhaps a little controversial but i would be sorely disappointed if he had no motive or plan and just killed because he could

[therealnotta]

one day i'm planning on making a full video but there's something i can't get out of my head and it's the Lucky Roomba with a Knife trope

It's playing on the "sexy lamp" deal, but it does have a use!! if your serial killer could be replaced by a SUPER lucky roomba that happens to have a knife strapped to it, then you don't have to worry about a motive, really. Like, the point of the serial killer isn't the serial killer, it's a threat to move the rest of the story along, and it's super common I've found! The second your serial killer has ANY sort of development, is connected to the plot in ANY way, though, you can't replace them with a lucky roomba anymore; they're a person now, and they should probably have some motivation.

Now! I'm sure there are also ways to have them NOT have motivation, but by and large it's a little disappointing to have a character that has a family or a business or friends or literally any connection and is also, for literally no reason, a serial killer. If they're the main character and it's a comedy then sure! I could see that working! But if it's a horror franchise and they're the villain, it gets weird.

What I'm getting at is a lot of people WANT William Afton of fnaf fame to be a lucky roomba with a knife. He was killing kids for no reason. He's scary to be scary. He's a threat to move the story along, and that's all there is to it. But canonically, he has several children, and ALL of them die at some point or another--and not by his hand (directly). He has a friend and business partner. He has his own robotics company. The first time we heard his voice, he was giving a sales pitch at a board meeting. Like, he's developed to the point where it's weird that this successful businessman and father of three would start inexplicably killing children. Maybe his motive is something small! But he's outgrown the "roomba with a knife" characterization, and honestly? I think he had by the time Foxy Go Go Go was a thing, when he sat back and waited to see how Foxy would react to an audience of dead children with a smile on his face. That was already different, already characterization. He wasn't just a threat to move the story along, he was a character in his own right.

Lots of villains can and should be roombas with knives!! They aren't the focus, they're the threat that pushes the plot along, no matter how recognizable they may be. I just don't think that works well for Afton at all.