u/RazzyAxy

Most of the counter-arguments made by BVPostMCI believers hinge on the idea that the "1985" date given in the books and movies does not necessarily translate to the games, and that the MCI can still take place before the Bite of 83. But there is information inside the games only that can prove that the MCI takes place after the death of the Bite Victim.

The training tapes played in the FNAF 3 phone calls are implied to be played in order of when they get recorded, meaning the events that are implied in them is linearly organized chronologically. Night 2 and 3 talk about how to safely use the springlock suits, but suddenly, in Night 4, the springlock suits are now unfit for use by employees, due to "an unfortunate incident at the sister location involving multiple and simultaneous springlock failures". Because we know that Fredbear was a springlock suit, this means the banning of the springlock suits must happen after the death of the Bite Victim.

Night 5 is where things get interesting. The training tape played this night is reminding all employees about appropriately using the safe rooms, and it make sure to specify that "under no circumstance should a customer ever, be taken into this room, and out of the main show area". We also get clued into the fact "that the Spring Bonnie animatronic has been noticeably moved". With the added fact that Follow Me is likely paralleling the events of the MCI, we know that this tape must be referring to the events of the MCI, and that William likely lured the kids to the safe room before killing them. Night 6 then states that the safe rooms are being sealed, further reenforcing the narrative that these tapes are in chronological order. This means that the MCI has to take place after the banning of the springlock suits, and therefore must happen after the Bite of 83.

You might try to argue that MCISpan could fix this narrative, having William kidnap the first few kids before BV dies, and then using the Spring Bonnie suit for the last ones, but this is disprovable by looking at Susie. In Fruity Maze, we see Susie being lured to the back by William, wearing the Spring Bonnie suit. And because Withered Chica/Susie says "I was the first, I have seen everything" in UCN, this shows that Susie was the first victim of the MCI, possibly the first victim of William. But with the training tapes that we've discussed, we know that she cannot have been killed before BV dies.

All in all, the training tapes from FNAF 3 paint a pretty clear timeline for these events. The springlocks are used, BV dies along with other springlock failures, the springlocks get banned, the MCI happens, and then the safe rooms get sealed. This solidifies that BVPreMCI is the correct interpretation. What do you all think?

After Unwithered Truth put out his piece about CassidyExperiments, I ended up coming to a narrative about how FNAF 4 was formed through 3 different people who experienced Nightmares in their own way. BV experienced regular nightmares, Cassidy experienced the nightmare chamber, and Michael experienced Remnant fueled nightmares.

This isn't really a theory as it is just me stitching together a story using already existing theories, but what do you think?

I better not hear any of y'all say "Why did you list Cassidy twice?"

Think about it. We know that Michael uses fake aliases when working at the FNAF locations. "Mike Schmidt" at FNAF 1 and "Fritz Smith" at FNAF 2. But for years we had no answer to what name he used at the FNAF 3 location. People would make stuff up or just believe he didn't use one.

But then "What We Found" comes out, and places a character named "Hudson" into the Fazbear Frights location. Most people took this literally and started to believe that Mike wasn't in FNAF 3, and that Hudson was instead. But the logbook heavily suggests that Mike did indeed work at Fazbear Frights all 5 nights. So what if this book wasn't telling us *who* worked at Fazbear Frights, but instead what alias Michael used at the location?

This solves the issue of why Hudson is used in the books despite Michael pretty clearly working at the location in the games. "Hudson" is the fake name that he used.

ShadowVictim is a really old theory that most people know from those old Gacha Afton family videos, basically saying that Shadow Freddy is literally the Bite Victim, either as a ghostly apparition or a physical suit. Obviously this era of FNAF was really outdated and cringe (suggesting things like Willocent and Glitchtrap existing pre Help Wanted), but personally, I think this theory in particular is actually really accurate. ShadowVictim solves a lot of the lore (in my opinion), explaining multiple details that helps suggest what the deal with Shadow Freddy is. I'd like to take this moment to make a comprehensive defense to ShadowVictim and connect the dots to show how it solves the lore (again, in my opinion).

What evidence is there for ShadowVictim?

First of all, we can see there is a connection between Shadow Freddy and the Bite Victim already. Shadow Freddy appears as some sort of recolor of Golden Freddy, who we can pretty confidently say is Fredbear, the animatronic that killed BV. Meanwhile, In FNAF World, Shadow Freddy's loading screen description says "I will eat your soul". He also has a broken jaw just hanging loose. Both of these establish a connection between him and eating, linking back to the Bite of 83 and BV.

However, I think the most compelling evidence to suggest ShadowVictim comes from the first FNAF movie. In this film, a character named Maxine breaks into Freddy's and comes across Freddy. When getting closer, she is suddenly pulled into the mouth and bitten in half. But later down the line, the top of her corpse reappears in what appears to be a purple recolor of a Freddy suit. This movie suggests that a character that gets bitten by an animatronic ends up inside of Shadow Freddy. If this doesn't at least suggest a connection between Shadow Freddy and Bite Victim, I don't know what does. Me? I take this as genuine proof that these two characters are one in the same.

But what about GoldenVictim/GoldenDuo?

ShadowVictim is theoretically still possible if BV possesses Golden Freddy. Considering that Shadow Freddy looks like a recolor of Golden Freddy, it's not unreasonable to suggest that Shadow Freddy is some sort of projection from Golden Freddy, or that they literally are the same suit. However, I personally believe that this is not the case due to two issues.

1: "Cassidy" and BV are two different people

This one's pretty basic. But the name Cassidy seems more tied to the Faded text in the logbook than it does to the Altered text, and with Altered text being heavily implied to be BV, it makes sense that these are two different people, Cassidy being Faded, and BV being altered. BV's name is probably either Dave or Garrett, depending on how you think the Foxy Grid is utilized.

2: There is only one spirit inside Golden Freddy

This one is definitely controversial because I know how much the fandom loves the belief that Golden Freddy is controlled by multiple people. But the strongest evidence points to Golden Freddy being controlled by only one spirit.

- There is only one Golden Freddy memory doll in Help Wanted 2

- Golden Freddy always uses singular pronouns ("It's Me"), despite the fact that animatronics possessed by multiple spirits use plural pronouns (Porkchop from "Together Forever", explicity possessed by two spirits, say "It's us, your ladies in waiting".)

- The novels and the movies only have one entity possessing Golden Freddy

Not only that, the evidence that there are multiple spirits in Golden Freddy is weak at best.

- The FNAF 3 bad ending's supposed "double light" in Golden Freddy's head is actually just one singular light that ends up going out of both holes.

- The Stitchwraith being a parallel to Golden Freddy isn't very strong, considering the two animatronics are wildly different (one is a normal animatronic suit, the other is an amalgamation of parts more similar to Ennard. Plus, Andrew and Jake possess different parts of the Stitchwraith (which got possessed BEFORE the animatronic was put together), which wouldn't work with Golden Freddy)

- Just because Cassidy and BV both haunt the logbook doesn't mean they possess the same animatronic. If anything, the fact they have to talk to each other in the logbook instead of just directly to each other in the suit pokes holes in that theory.

You're free to disagree with me on any of this, but I do think that Golden Freddy is operated by only one spirit, that being Cassidy, and that BV is instead Shadow Freddy. I do think there is still a connection between these two though, but they're just not in the same suit.

With all the main pieces of evidence out of the way, we can finally get into why I think this theory helps put pieces together so well. How exactly does ShadowVictim solve the lore?

How does ShadowVictim solve FNAF 3?

There are two places where Shadow Freddy shows up in FNAF 3. The actual gameplay loop as an Easter Egg, and more importantly, the Follow Me minigames.

In the gameplay, there is a 1/10,000 chance that a crumpled Freddy suit appears in your office when you pull down the camera. This suit has been proven to be Shadow Freddy. Considering that we play as Michael ("Hudson" is just another Michael alias and I will DIE on that hill), it makes sense that Shadow Freddy, aka BV, can appear in the office. He's cautiously examining Mike, his brother, the person who killed him but is trying to make up for that mistake.

Meanwhile, in Follow Me, we see Shadow Freddy seemingly lure the core four animatronics over to the safe room to be dismantled by William. If Shadow Freddy was some other entity, this wouldn't make a lot of sense, but if it's BV, it fits perfectly. This isn't just William getting some paranormal entity to do his bidding somehow, this is William commanding his son to help him with his duties, which is perfectly in character for Will to do. I assume that William would tell BV that he could put him back together, just as he promised, if he does this favor for him. This could either be a fat manipulative lie, or the honest truth, depending on how you see William's morality.

Also, no, I don't believe that Shadow Freddy is helping the animatronics and not William. That idea never made a lot of sense to me.

How does ShadowVictim solve FNAF 4?

Just to get this out of the way: Michael is the dreamer. Straight up.

Another fairly controversial take considering everyone and their siblings believe you play as the same character in both the daytime and nighttime segments, but this can't be possible because of the distorted FNAF 1 phone call that can occur at any time during the main gameplay. We know Scott didn't throw random easter eggs into this game due to his steam post about the Halloween Update ("I guess most people assumed that I filled the game with random easter eggs this time. I didn't."), and because Dream Theory is not and was never canon, we can say for certain that it was never BV, it was always Michael.

It's arguable about whether or not BV has also experienced the nightmares too. I do believe DuoDreamer can be an acceptable answer, I just personally think it was just Mike.

But where does ShadowVictim fit into all of this? Well it all ties back to Nightmare. In the files of the game, Nightmare night is literally called "Shadow Freddy", making it pretty obvious that ShadowNightmare is true. This means that Nightmare and BV are the same too. This makes the last night a special one, as not only is Mike haunted by his guilt over killing his brother, he is literally facing his brother in a one on one. Once he overcomes this challenge, he is able to calm the spirit of his brother down, being forgiven by the time of FNAF 3.

I'm not sure how strong this point is, but FNAF 4 also fits Shadow Freddy in with the main cast of animatronics. Freddy, Bonnie, Chica, Foxy, Fredbear, and the Puppet. This core group of 6-7 characters fits much nicer if all of them are possessed by their own spirit: Gabriel, Jeremy, Susie, Fritz, Cassidy, Charlie, and of course, BV as Shadow Freddy. Considering theories such as RemnantDreamer, the nightmares could literally be all of these spirits attacking Mike in his head, the MCI because they think Mike is William, and BV in order to get revenge on him for causing his death. Michael has to overcome and console these spirits throughout the week, ending with the final boss of his brother.

Conclusion

I think that ShadowVictim actually paints a really compelling narrative for the story and what happens to BV after his death. It explains the weird nature of Shadow Freddy and why it does what it does. It explains what's happening in follow me, why he appears in FNAF 3's gameplay, and the nighttime segments of FNAF 4. All in all, I think it's a really strong and narratively sound theory. What do you think?

What are some theories you personally really like but don't believe are true? Here are mine:

GoldenTriad: I really like the idea of Phone Guy possessing Golden Freddy after his death. If I still believed that Golden Freddy housed multiple spirits, then this would be the theory I would roll with. However, I think Golden Freddy only has one spirit, that being Cassidy.

MikeTOYSNHK: Dual Process Theory's first FNAF video brings up a good argument to this theory, and I really like the idea of Mike finally getting revenge on his father. Unfortunately, I don't think Will ever intended for Mike to die, meaning that Mike being "The One You Should Not Have Killed" doesn't really work.

Charlie5th: Although I believe in the simple explanation that Cassidy is the 5th missing child, this theory would be a really good explanation to prove what's going on if Cassidy is actually BV or something. Fazbear tying in Charlie's death with the other 4 missing children in order to cover it up sounds in character for the company.

I've seen a lot of people complain about Cassidy not having a clear motive to be TOYSNHK, but if Andrew specifically stated that he doesn't know why he's so vengeful to William, then why does Cassidy not having a clear answer disqualify them from being TOYSNHK?

(To be clear, I believe in CassidySpringlock and CassidyWorldPlayer so I do think she has a reason, but it's not confirmed so canonically it's unclear.)

If there's anything that's inaccurate to this comparison lmk

My timeline hinges on the idea that Cassidy was putting BV back together in FNAF World, and that causes the formation of Shadow Freddy (I am a ShadowVictim truther)

But I also believe in MMPostCharlie and ShadowFootprints, meaning that if ShadowFreddy is already present before Charlie's death, Charlie's death has to take place after the MCI.

I was a Cassidy83 and CassidyPreMCI believer for so long, but now I have to rethink my timeline entirely-

The only reason this ship got so popular was because Rodger was viewed as a "traditionally masculine man" and Teagan as a "traditionally feminine woman" so naturally they have to be husband and wife (/s).

Their only interaction is one of the shortest in the games, being only 3 lines in total. Despite how lame this ship is, it got wildly popular, to the point that people would claim that characters like Glisten and Shrimpo were Rodger's literal children and that shipping them romantically was incestuous/pedophilic despite not being so.

This ship is the definition of hetslop. It is a nothing burger ship that is only popular because it was seen as "heteronormative". Its hetsloppiness only did more harm than good and I'm very glad this ship has been cast aside for yaoigems like ReflectiveDetective.

(Edit: Okay just to be clear I'm just stating my opinion. If you like TeaCase that's fine. That's your opinion. I just felt like stating my piece.

Also for all of you saying "ReflectiveDetective is just as bad!" You're all flat out wrong. They interact a ton more than Rodger and Teagan, to the point that their friendship is mentioned in separate conversations (Rodger + Eggson and Toodles + Glisten). There's even papers written by Glisten about his interactions with Rodger. Their ship has way more substance than TeaCase. Don't you dare drag it down to their level >:C)

(REPOST BECAUSE I HAD INCORRECTLY ORGANIZED THEIR TIMELINE. HAPPIEST DAY TAKES PLACE AFTER FNAF 1, NOT BEFORE SISTER LOCATION IN THEIR INTERPRETATION. WHOOPS)

My sibling is into FNAF but isn't big on theorizing so they're not well versed on a lot of the lore, but I wanted to see what their interpretations were anyway and see how we differ.

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Some extra stuff I didn't include:

We both agree that Cassidy is the only Golden Freddy spirit.

We both agree that Glitchtrap is a branch of the Mimic.

We both agree that Fazbear Entertainment was established before the 1970s.

We both agree that the Toys weren't possessed and it was just AI going on the fritz.

My sibling thinks FNAF 4 is BV's dying moments and that the Nightmares are his trauma manifested into monsters. I think FNAF 4 is Mike stuck in his mind while Ennard controls him with the Nightmares being the MCI + BV (Fredmare Cassidy and Nightmare Victim) stuck inside his head due to the remnant he was injected with.

My sibling thinks the Shadow animatronics are hallucinations. I don't know what RWQ is just yet but I'm almost positive that Shadow Freddy is BV.

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This was really fun to do with my sibling and I hope you all find this interesting

(MY SIBLING IS NON-BINARY BTW, THEY/THEM PRONOUNS ONLY WHEN REFERRING TO THEM)

(They also said they weren't positive that Elizabeth was first because they think one of the neighborhood kids might be Elizabeth, which would make BV first in their timeline, but for now they're sticking with Eliza)

My sibling is into FNAF but isn't big on theorizing so they're not well versed on a lot of the lore, but I wanted to see what their interpretations were anyway and see how we differ.

-

Some extra stuff I didn't include:

We both agree that Cassidy is the only Golden Freddy spirit.

We both agree that Glitchtrap is a branch of the Mimic.

We both agree that Fazbear Entertainment was established before the 1970s.

We both agree that the Toys weren't possessed and it was just AI going on the fritz.

My sibling thinks FNAF 4 is BV's dying moments and that the Nightmares are his trauma manifested into monsters. I think FNAF 4 is Mike stuck in his mind while Ennard controls him with the Nightmares being the MCI + BV (Fredmare Cassidy and Nightmare Victim) stuck inside his head due to the remnant he was injected with.

My sibling thinks the Shadow animatronics are hallucinations. I don't know what RWQ is just yet but I'm almost positive that Shadow Freddy is BV.

-

This was really fun to do with my sibling and I hope you all find this interesting

(MY SIBLING IS NON-BINARY BTW, THEY/THEM PRONOUNS ONLY WHEN REFERRING TO THEM)

This is a bit of a crackpot theory that I've had rattling in my mind ever since Matpat's most recent FNAF timeline. I'll probably sound really fucking crazy and make claims with little to no evidence, but hear me out.

Ever since Matpat's timeline I've absolutely loved the idea of Mrs. Afton being the CEO. It fits together pretty well in my opinion. Although Matpat was missing a lot of crucial information, I don't think the recent games have anything contradicting this theory. In fact, with the idea of Gregory being a replacement for David/BV (despite not being a robot) under theories like GodDavid, it actually fits together even better than before. And considering that Mrs. Afton likely knew about MCM and all its drama (assuming that Trisha from SOTM is Mrs. Afton), it's perfectly logical that she could be using the Mimic and studying it to figure out how to put her family back together.

However, one big problem with the theory that people often bring up whenever the discussion of MrsAftonCEO is brought up is her age. Depending on when Mrs. Afton was born and when Security Breach takes place, she's likely pretty elderly, at the bare minimum being around 70 years old. If she's already at the retirement age, it's unlikely that she would find herself in such a high ranking position, right?

But another thing that Matpat brought up that I think everyone missed was the usage of FNAF AR. In his theory, Matpat suggests that Mrs. Afton mass produced the animatronics from Special Delivery in order to collect remnant, in a process similar to Circus Baby's Entertainment and Rentals. These animatronics would be rented out to parties, find people to kidnap, before extracting their remnant using the scooper underneath the building. This ties into RemnantPlex, the theory that the Mega Pizzaplex is actually powered by the stuff. But remnant is not only a source of power, as it is mostly known for housing the essence of life.

The frights series describes remnant as being able to "make already living beings more powerful through the power of positive memories." The novels also see William Afton trying to use remnant as a means to gain immortality (see WillImmortality), with Dead by Daylight also describing remnant as "the key to immortality". The games also show us remnant in action, with Michael being brought back to life from a seemingly fatal injury due to being injected with remnant. This shows that remnant is a key factor across the entire series.

Tying this all together, suddenly the issue of Mrs. Afton's age is no longer an issue. Assuming that William Afton's work was enough to go off of, its entirely possibly that she could've used this remnant to extend her own lifespan, possibly de-ageing herself if RemnantHealing or RemnantRegen are anything to go off of. This means that despite her age, she can still end up becoming the current CEO of Fazbear Entertainment.

I hope my deranged ramblings didn't make too little sense. There's barely any CEO information to go off of as of right now and there's basically no evidence suggesting this actually happened, so we'll probably see this get debunked in the future idk.

TLDR: It's possible Mrs. Afton could've used FNAF AR to gather remnant and use it to stop her own aging