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Untitled Ennard Essay
[Date TBD]will post once i finish the video




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character designs
[4/2/24] I have so many cool ideas for character designs like fnaf designs for like my au but I CAN'T DRAW THEM. Like I really really really want to show people the ideas I have about these characters but every time I try to draw it it just comes out really bad like I have an entire lineup of Mike designs in my head like I've got one for 1983 I've got one for 1993 I've got one for 2023 I've got one for every major stage of his development and they're all thought out and have like meaningful design choices like the HAIR LENGTH AND COLOR and how it changes over time signifies his journey like OH MY GOD I NEED TO SHOW THIS TO PEOPLE and I kind of did I drew the final stage of my Mike design once but even then it wasn't perfect and it wasn't colored or anything and it was on paper and I like want to have a LINEUP OF THEM but I have a lot of trouble settling on an artstyle like it's hard to pick one like I just keep shifting so I don't know which one to draw my character designs in. Like let me just explain the hair thing rq let me give you the nickel version. So like 1983 teen Mike has short light brown hair, then after the bite and he starts working under his father he has longer, darker brown hair, in between SL and fnaf 3 he has long black hair, and by pizza sim he has short, white hair. So like when he starts getting darker, longer hair while working under his father it like represents not only how he's becoming similar to his father because William also has long dark brown hair but like it also shows how he's farther along in abandoning his Michael Afton identity and then like first stage zombie Mike having long black hair is like this is the farthest he's ever been from himself like the black hair represents darkness and he also goes after Henry in this au like he finds his house and grills him on where William is like he threatens him and stuff and like he's super far gone at this point and also ironically in trying to distance himself from his Afton name he becomes the most like his father he's ever been like that's cool right?! And then at the end he has short, white hair and it's short representing how he's accepting his identity as Michael Afton (because he had short hair in 1983) and it's white because not only is it lighter, tying himself back to his 1983 self, but also representing rebirth and purity. Maybe it doesn't sound as cool when I write it down but I really really like it. I honestly hope I get to write all of this again because I really really really want to show people my designs because like fnaf is such a good base for a story like it has everything it needs to tell a great story so I really enjoy just taking what it lays down and running with it like I'm not a storyteller by any means but I really do try with it like I try to put meaning into things like the character designs and I like developing these characters and how they relate to one another and what they mean for the story like IT'S SO FUN I really like it I really like it I like it A LOT.



FNAF: THE BUNKER
[3/30/24] so i tried my hand at making a choose-your-own-adventure style experience earlier. i was inspired by that new fnaf book coming out later this year. it was essentially a recreation of sister location, but there would be a bunch of different routes and endings and stuff. eventually i realized that recreating all of the gameplay of sister location would be more difficult than initially anticipated, and it already was taking like 9 webpages just for the start of night 1 alone. besides, making a choose-you-own-adventure thing for a preexisting story and with an actual character proved somewhat difficult. i ended up just scrapping the project as a whole. in any case, i had some fun endings planned (mike jumps through the scooper room window and tackles ennard; he dies in that one). i mainly just wanted it to be a fun little romp throughout sister location; i didn't want it to be too serious or anything. i didn't just want to let all that work go to waste though, so you can click here if you want to go check out what i managed to get done. there were originally supposed to be hand drawn pictures or maybe even gifs with a little line boil where the placeholders are. i think in the future i might make a different interactive thing instead, an original story and on a much smaller scale.



fnaf merch
[3/21/24] well i've been thinking about fnaf merch. mainly about how AWFUL IT ALL IS. look up fnaf shirts and find ONE, JUST ONE genuinely wearable piece of fnaf merch. it isn't possible. and i've been thinking about it even MORE recently because i've been getting back into mystery flesh pit and better call saul and stuff and going to their merch its PHENOMENAL. like there's this one flesh pit shirt where it's like "2007 4th of july concert and fireworks!" and it's so cool because its just ripped straight out of that world and it's so immersive and it would be so easy to do that for fnaf literally SO EASY like "i survived fazbear's fright!" and have like scorch marks on it like IT ISN'T HARD to make good merch. it's just the quality control is so bad and the worst part is that scott cawthon LIKES THE MERCH like he said HE LIKES IT. like WHAT???? literally what does he see in stuff like a shirt that LITERALLY just has freddy's face plastered on it in a generic repeating pattern, or some stretched, low quality jpeg of a pizza with the text "FREDDY FAZBEAR'S PIZZA" over it. like give me some grounded merch, give me some subtle merch, give me something classy, just give me something WEARABLE is literally all i'm asking. or i don't know like mugs and stickers and stuff like i saw this afton robotics sticker on etsy or somewhere and it's just like YES, THAT PLEASE. GIVE ME MORE OF THAT. i'm really hoping this scholastic whatever it is coming for the 10th anniversary is like that and not just a box of junk with "freddy's pizza" plastered on it. give me something like a brochure for investors of the cbear robots, outlining the capabilities and how state-of-the-art they are and stuff like give me some WORLDBUILDING here give me some newspaper clippings LITERALLY ANYTHING i will take anything at this point. part of me wants to blame everything on security breach, with the "marketable horror" and bright colorful mascots but honestly fnaf merch has always been bad. also NOTHING WRONG WITH LIKING SECURITY BREACH but i just personally prefer the original 6 games and think they had a super unique vibe that kind of got lost with the newer stuff. again the newer stuff definitely has some positives, i just like the older stuff more. anyways even when fnaf had that super unique vibe it was completely squandered with the merch which is just so disappointing because i really really like fnaf and i want to be able to own merch that reflects my actual love of it but all the merch is just so bad it's just so CHEAP okay?? fnaf merch is just so cheap like it's so low effort and just feels trashy it's just so TRASHY and that's just so upsetting to me because i think there's so so much good in fnaf but people will ALWAYS have a negative impression of it because of the fans and the MERCH. let me get something straight: there's nothing wrong with kids liking fnaf, and there's nothing wrong with fnaf having a lot of child fans but it just gets really upsetting because the merch is so clearly designed to prey on those clueless parents who just buy the thing with the main guy's face on it. and then that just discourages trying to make genuinely good or creative merch because why put effort into something when you can have people throwing their money at you for garbage? like to bring it back around to mystery flesh pit, i can buy like a hat or a bag or a shirt and it's subtle, it isn't immediately obvious what the reference is but upon inspection it's clear that something's up that's a CONVERSATION STARTER. compare this to fnaf merch, which when someone sees that you're INSTANTLY labeled, because fnaf fans are either idiots, or kids, or both, right?? it's not just shirts either like the books, posters, everything is just so trashy. like i can come up with a million ideas for quality fnaf posters: schematics for the endos, promotional material for cbear, fazbear's fright poster (again with scorch marks), ETC. whatever i need to wrap this post up. as you can tell i am QUITE disillusioned with official fnaf merch, which is why i've started looking to fan stuff. of course, fan made stuff is actually pretty good (sometimes). esty has some cool pins and buttons and stuff, and redbubble has fun stickers. there's also this one guy i found on twitter who does prints and they're actually really good pieces of art like ennard stuff mike stuff william stuff like actual quality drawings and posters. i was thinking about maybe getting some, because i have practially no fnaf merch due to aformentioned grievances. ok yeah.



mike essay cut content
[3/16/24] ok so i'm working on the mike essay and i had like this section where i talked about like biblical allegory stuff but the main essay like the actual analysis stuff is getting really long and also this doesn't really fit the vibe of the rest of the essay so i decided just to cut it but i still really like some of the stuff i talked about so instead of just wasting it i'm going to put it here. quick note though, this is literally just copy pasted from the essay doc, so there's like references to stuff from earlier in the essay so just ignore that. ok enjoy

"ONE WHO IS LIKE GOD"
Earlier, I mentioned how Michael is a Hebrew name meaning, "Who is like God?" and how it connects to William. That led me down the rabbit hole of looking at Mike, and even just FNAF in general, through this biblical lens. I ended up finding a few wacky connections that I kind of love, but this section is some real crackpot stuff, so if you're just here for the genuine Michael Afton analysis, feel free to end your read here. Alright, to jump right in we have to address the immediate connection of Mike to the story of Cain and Abel. For those unaware, the story of Cain and Abel goes like this: Cain and Abel are two brothers, the sons of Adam and Eve. One day, the two bring offerings to God, with Abel's offering being viewed more favorably. Cain grows resentful, and brings Abel out into a field and kills him. After this, God curses Cain to be a restless wanderer of the earth, and places a mark upon him that deters people from killing him. Straight away, we can connect the fratricides; Cain is Mike and Abel is the younger brother, the latter being killed by the former. Next, Cain is cursed to restlessly wander the earth after his murder. Similarly, Michael is also restless after his brother's death, working for his father and unable to move on. He also literally wanders the earth in the shadows after being scooped, as described in his monologue. Lastly, the mark of Cain, both protecting him from death and shaming him before others, can be likened to how Michael "can't die" after being scooped, with his rotting purple skin being a fairly good way to exclude him from others. Now, this is all very cool, but what could it mean? Well, it might give some insight into why he bullies his younger brother in the first place. Cain grows to resent Abel because he feels as though he is being unfairly praised by God; Cain is jealous of Abel. Likewise, it's possible that Mike was jealous of his younger brother. We can infer that William practiced favoritism with his children, considering he creates Baby "just for [Elizabeth]", while literally sending Michael to his death when he got the chance. Therefore, it is likely that Michael became jealous of the attention and love his younger brother was getting, and lashed out. I also think William's favoritism inadvertently being the cause of the entire story is interesting; the irony of misguided love being the root of so much evil is fun to think about. Also, I have to mention that this has always been a fairly popular theory, and I don't think we needed biblical analysis to figure it out, but it's a fun detail nonetheless.
Next up, I have to bring up something I've been playing around with in my mind for a while. Essentially, Michael Afton is the Christ. Kind of. Not really. Here's the deal; in Sister Location, Mike's journey somewhat parallels the sacrifice and resurrection of Jesus. Granted, Mike isn't exactly a teacher like Jesus was, but he definitely fits the "sacrificial lamb" role pretty well. To begin, Mike was sent by his father to go down into the bunker and save his sister. Likewise, Jesus was sent by God to go down to earth and save the sinners. Now, I know I just said Mike going to the bunker was a parallel to Jesus coming to earth, but honestly to me the elevator ride down to the sister location is more evocative of Jesus' descent into Hell/Purgatory to free the souls trapped there. Maybe it could be both, I dunno. Anyways, Michael is also obviously sacrificed so that the sinners (Ennard) can be saved. Those who were saved were called to live as Jesus did; Ennard very much lived like Michael did (at least for a while). Jesus was also resurrected, just as Mike was, with them both returning to their fathers in a way. Finally, the return of both Jesus and Michael signify the end times; the second coming of the Christ and the final fire for Mike. Now again, we have to ask, what does any of this even mean? Honestly, as far as I can tell, not much. Like I said, this is some real crackpot stuff, so other than those surface level comparisons I don't think Mike really works as a Christ allegory, especially when you consider literally every one of his appearances other than Sister Location. Either that or I've stumbled upon something amazing and I'm too stupid to realize it.
Finally, the last thing I noticed has to do with the timeline. If FNAF 6 really does take place in 2023, that means it is exactly 40 years after 1983; 40 years after the Bite. Immediately, those familiar with religious texts will take note of the number 40, most famously being the amount of years the Israelites wandered the desert as a punishment from God. This made me think of Michael's restlessness throughout his 40 years as well, as he too was forced to essentially wander, unable to take control of his own life, as discussed in an earlier section. This could also be seen as a sort of cosmic punishment for his actions, like how the Israelites were punished for disobeying God. It's only at the end of those 40 years that he reaches the promised land; Michael finally gets peace in the aftermath of the final fire. Believe me, I realize that this is a very surface level connection, and the whole "40 is significant in the bible" thing could be used to liken Michael's journey to so many other things but I have to admit I like the idea that Mike was sort of cursed from that day in 1983 forward. It adds this certain supernatural element of destiny to the story that I feel is really interesting and I haven't really thought about for FNAF before.
One last thing, I want to mention Elizabeth's name. This isn't an Elizabeth essay, I know, but this is actually a pretty neat detail and I didn't know where else to put it, so I'll address it here. Elizabeth is a Hebrew name meaning, "God is my oath" or "pledged to God." There exists a few different translations, but the main point is being devoted to or loving God. Elizabeth is obviously portrayed as William's loyal apprentice, willing to to anything to make her father proud, so her name literally meaning "pledged to God" is rather fitting, especially considering the whole William-God connection we discussed earlier. Alright, that just about ends my ramblings. Hope you enjoyed that.



mike afton rant
[3/6/24] i've been thinking about making a mike afton essay recently. i know i haven't even finished the ennard one but michael is just too good to not think about. he's the closest thing to an actually complex character in fnaf like motives and ethics wise and he's definitely a fan favorite. it's too bad scott cawthon HATES HIM because let's be real here SCOTT HATES MICHAEL AFTON like NO MERCH NO BOOK APPEARANCES NO DIRECT MENTION IN PIZZA SIM CUT FROM THE MOVIE (that one i get though) NO ENCYCLOPEDIA PAGE like whyyyyy. like a michael youtooz is literally the most easy money thing ever like it would be so easy and they just refuse like the only mike merch is the MOVIE VERSION WHICH ISN'T EVEN AN AFTON TECHNICALLY and that mcfarlane sprite thing from like fnaf 4 times but HE DIDN'T EVEN HAVE A NAME BACK THEN it's whatever. like am i the only one who thinks scott HATES mike and like HATES the post sister location story like i get fnaf 1 and 2 are like the faces of the franchise or whatever so they're the things that get merch but like seriously i wish sister location didn't get such backlash like IT WAS COOL and a good way to take the story introducing the afton family was the BEST CHOICE the series ever made and like making him the protagonist of the past 4 games was great too like it just made everything feel way more connected instead of just like 4 random guys working at these random places like there's purpose and motivation here. anyways it's just baffling to me how mike is consistently one of the fandom's favorite characters and his design (at least his corpse form) is super iconic and yet no one, not funko not youtooz not anyone, has capitalized on his popularity like do they just not know? do they literally just not know??? HOW??? like michael is literally the main character and protagonist (at least partially) of EVERY GAME IN THE ORIGINAL SERIES and yet mike fans get crumbs, CONSISTENTLY. it's outrageous, that's what it is, truly. whatever like literally whatever. like i literally don't even care. whatever.



epic animatic
[2/25/24]i finally began to work on my fnaf animatic again. this thing was conceptualized back in like june but i didn't start work on it until like july and then it went through like 3 different design iterations before now. i realized that by focusing on every small detail and trying to make every frame perfect i would never get it done. i'm trying to make it seem very amateur and i took inspiration from like early 2010's amvs and stuff because even though they don't look good in a technical sense they have a ton of charm and i think that's what i wanted the most for my animatic. i think trying to make it look actually nice would just make it look worse in the end so i'm embracing this very low quality aesthetic and i'm having a lot of fun with it. i am wondering though if i should use line boil for all the frames or not because i use it for like the title frames but the actual scenes don't have it and it makes it look nicer but it's also a lot more work. i'm just going to make the whole thing and then put it together and if i think it looks to flat i'm going to add line boil to all the frames i think. i have no idea when it's going to be finished honestly i wouldn't be surprised if it's out before the ennard video essay because i haven't even started the voice over for that X_X.



springlocks
[2/19/24]the idea of springlock suits might be one of the absolute best from fnaf. like the fact scott cawthon just came up with it out of NOWHERE is insane because it's so COOL like the springlock failure is one of the most iconic scenes in the ENTIRE SERIES and it's such a good way for purple guy to die like it just works so well. i know people had complaints about the movie version of it and it isn't perfect but i think it's still really cool like the general public got to see WILLIAM AFTON get SPRINGLOCKED in MOVIE THEATERS!! THAT'S INSANE that's still so insane to me like the SPRINGLOCK FAILURE is now a scene you can find on like fandango movie clips and stuff like HOW?! also i love how the movie springbonnie suit literally gives purple guy like MECH POWERS like AUGMENTED SPEED, STRENGTH, DURABILITY and stuff it's so funny and cool like i never thought about that like what if the animatronic parts don't just sit there when compressed but they like GIVE YOU COOL POWERS AND STUFF like i love how they're literally mech suits like afton should've been working for DARPA not making these things for some pizza joint i love it. i really like how hard afton power trips when he's in the suit like especially in the silver eyes like he NEEDS that thing he's so insecure without it he's such A LOSER like it could kill him at any time but he just HAS to be wearing it. i think the only problem i had with the movie version is that there wasn't any gargling like i'm fine without the screaming but like that last scene where he's in the kitchen he should've been like gargling blood and stuff instead of just whimpering. also i'm not sure if the springlocks are throughout the whole suit or just in the chest area cuz like you see the springlock endo earlier in the movie and it looks like its just those spikes which makes sense from a technical standpoint but also there's like electronic whirring and buzzing noises at the end when he raises his hand like there's robotic parts in there but i guess maybe they don't snap shut like they just stay there or something. it's a little confusing. anyways springlocks are awesome and i am SO EXCITED to see springtrap in the next movie i hope he becomes like a SEMI-MAINSTREAM HORROR MOVIE SLASHER like DBD SPRINGTRAP PLEASE and like make the springlocks and stuff EVEN MORE ICONIC because they're already super pervasive like it's one of the few things from fnaf that are just known by pretty much everyone on the internet but the movies could give them that push into MAINSTREAM POP CULTURE and i would love that so much.