How William Ruined his Kids' Lives (His Favorite Toys)

Today we're going to be taking another look at William Afton and his relationship to his kids. Now, I went into how Henry was far from the perfect father, but is it possible that William was worse?... Well, yes. Leagues worse, and today we're going to go through everything he put his kids through, the possible inspiration for their relationship, and a surprising finding that came to me while I was studying retcons and changes.
0:00 Welcome to the Afton Family
1:12 The Aftons and the Narcissistic Family Unit
1:48 William is a Narcissist
3:07 What is a Golden Child?
3:54 What is a Scapegoat Child?
4:32 What is a Lost Child?
5:03 Elizabeth, the "Favorite", and Baby
7:56 Michael, the Unwanted Son
10:33 A crying, broken, lost toy...
11:04 The Nightmares are Real, Afton built them
11:50 Observation Room 1 & 2
12:46 Psychic "Friend" Fredbear
13:28 The True Nature of the "Friendly" Plush
15:48 Why Would Afton kill his Children?

[@notrealnamenotatall2476]

Just to let you know, about a week ago another Fnaf KZbinr named Ghost released a video that covers a topic I cover in this one. I only found out last night when it was recommended to me. I was afraid someone was going to think I was copying, so I wanted to address it and provide a link to at least somewhat show that this wasn’t the case. I haven’t watched the video myself, but it looks neat! Here’s the link: kzbin.info/www/bejne/opDSioOpZduUaqM

[@humbleebumblee]

Happens...a lot tbh

[@222daley]

Sources?

[@humbleebumblee]

@@222daley maybe the youtuber... named ghost?

[@spicymemer4792]

@@222daley what do you mean. what are you talking about. they gav a link to the video. you can just watch it and check the date it was posted.

[@mohammadtarek3842]

Hey It's really no surprise that William Afton is an awful father

[@TheInfiniteAmo]

FINALLY someone pinning William as a narcissist. It fits him perfectly - his jealousy of Henry, alternating neglect and possessiveness of his children, manipulating Michael to do his dirty work for him. Its perfect, and explains his steadily building motive to kill over the series instead of him just feeling kinda quirky one day.

[@notrealnamenotatall2476]

Oh yeah, that shoe fits perfectly.

[@Snakepit_Media]

Wow I'm feeling some kind of way My mom is a narcissist and damnnnn my emotions

[@juliabp6057]

Yeah. He is a narcissist, not a psychopath. He is afraid of death, and psychopaths don’t feel fear.

[@Alex-ky9xz]

No offense, but she/he weren't the first to point this out, this has been general knowledge hinted from Scott's games, and soon projected by the books. She/he is highlights the motives behind William. Nothing much diffrent from videos explaining Fnaf's Main Plot. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[@notrealnamenotatall2476]

@@Alex-ky9xz You would be surprised how many people genuinely believe the 'William just fell off the beaten path' idea. XD

[@churder6788]

the fandom: William is a good father, give him a chance William: bitch slaps liz

[@onlycows726]

and the way the fandom calls it "discipline" for what, showing him a fucking drawing, his simps are so downbad they excuse child abuse lmao

[@Duhgel]

*literally kills his colleague's kid out of jealousy presumably*

[@williamafton_1983]

@@Duhgel no regrets

[@sam.12_209]

@@williamafton_1983 💀

[@ch4rliegaming]

​@@Duhgel in the books If Im right He also Kills Sammy, charlies brother

[@BIRBdoctor]

he is not a good person he is not a good father. he is not a good husband But man he is a thunder when he drives lol

[@jakubpociecha8819]

One word, booze

[@j.a.m.m]

The man behind the vehicular manslaughter

[@doggosho3044]

He is an aubergine-man

[@avacadotoast5571]

He should have pursued a job as a racecar driver instead 😔

[@NIGHTBLOODUSAGI]

william is doing a getaway

[@thatonebonkchoyguy]

I never would have guessed that a child murderer with a tendency to stuff people in robots would be a bad father

[@lynishere]

U'd be surprised how many people saw him as good father that went mad crazy only after the loss of his children.

[@izuli]

exactly, you'd be surprised how many people try to justify his actions

[@TotalDramaHarold]

⁠@@lynishereWell that could be true, since I think FNAF 4 is the first one

[@oofyeet5935]

​@@izuliI think there young so they don't understand what the death of a child can do to a family as there a child themselves, the will probably understand later.

[@AFnEFHdfATower-wx6kb]

His kids literally died before MCI.. There was no reason to add the stuffing because it just dosent really matter and isn’t bad as you think because it was just to hide bodies

[@KingOfNothingLR]

Honestly, when people try to make excuses for William and paint him out as a troubled father canonically, it makes me laugh.

[@KingOfNothingLR]

@LlEUCU. BEAU× Oh god. I hate those THE ABSOLUTE MOST. It's so annoying!!

[@williammiller6330]

eh.

[@Panzystubbedtheirtoe]

@LlEUCU. BEAU× they’re what made me hate micheal lol I wouldn’t of cared if it weren’t like a majority of the gacha fnaf fandom

[@grandempressvicky6387]

@LlEUCU. BEAU× I've never heard of that. What did Michael do?

[@RoseyCakess]

@LlEUCU. BEAU× they're abusers themselves whatcha expect 😂

[@quememirai9262]

Everytime i learn more about William i'm more happy to imagine how painful the springlock failure must have been for him

[@ultmateragnarok8376]

Plus, he repossessed the suit and/or corpse. He had to deal with the deteriorating, already old suit which both was still trying to push parts through what was left of his body (something he might've been able to feel during the time his nerves remained intact, if he was actually the body and not just the suit), and with the springlock endoskeleton not coming together properly due to all the bones and flesh it would've had to crash through when closing, which doubtless damaged numerous pieces and bent some parts out of shape, and perhaps still remain between connecting points - make for loose, difficult to control joints; limbs which bend where they shouldn't; and misaligned joints that don't bend how they should. His animation in Help Wanted supports that - a pained, heavily limping shuffle, with parts locked in place and others swinging loose (most notably one arm). Deserved.

[@Satoru-Gojou]

@@ultmateragnarok8376 He possessed his own body, Springbonnie was a suit in that moment, he could not posses it

[@ultmateragnarok8376]

@@Satoru-Gojou Whether or not it was a suit doesn't mean much when it comes to possession - the body is a body either way, and metal is metal for whatever the remnant science goes on about with it. And he was killed directly by it switching out of suit mode.

[@ferretwithacathat292]

also complete isolation for decades

[@erickamakeeaina1649]

900th like

[@sweethistortea]

Honestly, Afton is beyond narcissistic and insane. That man was evil incarnate, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he put his children in harms way on purpose. He was so willing to hurt other peoples children, and I doubt he had any moral compass when it came to his own.

[@bestianegra3725]

I'm a narcissist and for my point of view, I just do bad things because I simply don't care enough to do anything else and plus it's funny

[@nekomancer4391]

@@bestianegra3725 Dude what-

[@juliabp6057]

Afton killed his best friends’s daughter just because of envy and jealousy. I repeat, he killed an innocent little girl just because Henry was happier and more recognized by Fredbear’s success than him. I hate him for killing Charlotte.

[@bestianegra3725]

@@nekomancer4391lol

[@bestianegra3725]

@@juliabp6057 Charlotte had to go

[@liviwaslost]

He definitely used that golden Freddy plush to watch, talk to, and manipulate the crying child. I wouldn’t be surprised if he created the crying child’s fear of the animatronics.

[@grenouillesupreme]

Yeah, i'm just co fused about how does it futs into the timeline ? The breaker room map and the private map implies sister location happens in 1983 but micheal was an adult during sister location, during fnaf 4 he was an adolescent

[@Satoru-Gojou]

@@grenouillesupreme No man, the Breaker Room and the private map doesn't confirmes that Sister Location happens in 1983, it confirmes that things of FNaF 4 are true, they happened, also Sister Location should happen after 1983 probably in 1986, because CBER (Circus Baby's Entertainment and Rental) was created after Freddy's failure and shutdown in 1985 and was said Sister Location was not much longer when Elizabeth died, also in 1985 (yes, she died after MCI probably in September, the books confirmes that) so, it makes sense happen in 1986. Also that room, it's from Afton Robotics that was placed in CBER

[@ZirconiaGacha]

@@Satoru-Gojou Oh nice some more lore dates, also what year was the springlock failure that killed William for the first time? I once joked that Mike might have been an orphan for a while but now that basically all the other dates line up with that theory I have suspicions it might be true-

[@Satoru-Gojou]

@@ZirconiaGacha Happened after FNaF 1, you can put that happened in the end of 1993 or 1994

[@finalfroggitapproaches6418]

@@Satoru-Gojou When did FNaF 1 take place? Phone Guy mentions The Bite of ‘87, so it’d have to be after 1987, right? I assumed it was always placed in 2014 or whenever the game released IRL, but your comment is throwing me off big time.

[@vaderlucid8802]

I still kind of like the “thoughtless father falls to madness after loosing his children" version of this story more but I like this take on this monster. A father who saw his children as decor for his ego and didn’t hesitate to be as brutal and uncaring to them for his own sick experiments.

[@TheActualJeffery]

I like a take on it that mixes both. A careless, thoughtless, irritable father who was too caught up in his work to truly care about his children who only spiraled further when he lost them.

[@maxwellattacks6645]

@@TheActualJeffery I agree

[@hineraable]

Yeah, I think it wouldn't be impossible to have both versions of William in some way. A thoughtless father, who may even be emotionally abusive (tho not necessarily physically abusive, i don't think that everything that's shown in the novels should be applied to the games) and that becomes a complete unrecognizable monster after losing what he somehow views as his property. I honestly don't understand why people act as if these concepts were mutually exclusive, they're not. There have been cases of people finding out that their parents, who were never abusive towards them, turned out to be literal serial killers. It's rare, most serial killers are abusive towards their family, but sometimes, some people would put a front even with their close ones. Personally, i think that that would be a more interesting approach for William. An horrible man who puts a front, even with his family, but then shows himself as the monster that he is after losing someone (someone that he may even view a his property).

[@WhyTho525]

​@@TheActualJeffery So from a bad person to an even worse one? Interesting.

[@Clemaglorine]

I like both of them, William is one of my favorite characters and it's interesting to see how other ppl see him you know

[@chickenelafsworld7105]

I think that the problem a lot of the fandom has with William is that they want the story and characters to be complex but for most people “complex” is synonymous with “redeemable” “misunderstood” “well-intentioned” or “corrupted” instead of being a bad person with complications. Sometimes people are bad people. They’re still people, they still have actual motivations and they care about others in some ways, but that doesn’t always explain or justify their behavior. We get caught up in the minutiae of how it escalates and how a “normal guy” got to that spot, we forget that “normal guys” can be abusive without/before being serial killers. William can still be driven by a childhood passion for bear-related entertainment. He can still be upset that his kids died. He can even want to recreate his family. But we can’t pretend he wasn’t clearly abusive. All his kids were seemingly neglected and emotionaly manipulated, and abuse between siblings was allowed in a tightly surfeited household. Plus the way they’re used as pawns after their (first?) deaths. Maybe he thought it was enough to talk to the crying child from afar. Maybe he thought it was caring and loving to meticulously watch him and experiment on him and “put him back together” and all that. But he was still neglectful and cruel. It’s abuse even if you can almost find a “reason” Maybe he sent Micheal down to the Funtimes as a form of penance for getting his other son killed, or maybe he tried him involved in “putting the family back together” but either way it was manipulative and abusive. Maybe he meant well by warning Elizabeth against seeing baby and keeping her in his basement. But he still didn’t prioritize her safety enough and manipulated her into his painful experiments. Maybe William thought that, no matter how much pain it took to get there, he could put his family back together and pretend his fuck-ups didn’t kill them all. But he’s still being selfish in doing that.

[@xxpandagalaxyxx5655]

This is exactly how I feel. Afton can still be interesting as a character with out having him be sympathetic or having a sympathetic motive. There is a lot of potential in exploring his motivations and how he justifies his actions to himself as well as how he views the other characters. Does he see himself as the villain or the victim? Does he think he is helping his kids by doing what he does or is that just the excuse he tells himself. Was he a serial killer before finding out about remnant and stumbled upon it or was discovering it was what started it? I honestly think exploring the inner workings of such and awful person and figuring out how they tick is infinitely more interesting then another generic, driven mad by grief plot.

[@synth-wave_steve]

Interpreting ‘Putting them back together’ not as some tragic, lost goal to bring back his children, but instead it being comparable to stitching broken toys back together is actually incredible

[@moon4236]

William afton watching Michael bully his brother through cameras right after hitting Elizabeth (he thinks it's cool cause he can put them back together) Anyways I actually think it would be interesting if William was actually a good dad (not in the "went mad with grieve" way but more the "evil except with his family") I think it would have been interesting but that's uh clearly not the case lmao

[@notrealnamenotatall2476]

I would've been totally cool with that route.

[@Yams-Hams7734]

Yeah, I think that would’ve also made his character feel more complex, and not as one dimensional. I mean, don’t get me wrong villains don’t always need to turn good, or have a redemption arc. But humans naturally have a good and a bad side, so the idea of someone just being good or evil, seems unrealistic and one dimensional.

[@oofyeet5935]

I think he was a decent husband but that's about it.

[@waltuhputyourdsawaywaltuh]

William: *kills his colleague's kid out of jealousy, builds animatronics that were made to kill, kills even more children with no regrets* Fandom: he might be a good dad tho

[@juliabp6057]

Yeah, lol

[@Khardi_Bombardi]

All thoughts I had about Afton being the good and sad father who went mad after his kids got killed by his own creation left when I saw that yellow fredbear plush with radio. I wont forget feeling gross after realising that Afton didn't care about his kids, he did not love them - they were puppets for his entertainment and experimentation. The cartoon in sister location confirms Aftons narcisim and feeling of greatness because he does not accept his children being his children and even human beings, only his puppets which he manipulates like vlad his girlfriend in cartoon.

[@ahmedjoycesneakattacksquad5003]

in my opinion we don't REALLY know whether William was a good father or not (canon William not the one from the books) were just speculating on what we have seen in the games and the books because for some reason people think their canon for some reason the only way for us to know is if Scott one day were to finally answer are questions one day about fnaf. (Which will probably never happen but hey there might be a chance)

[@fedyfabuh3100]

Something to add to this If it turns out Vanessa IS Elizabeth somehow then that means the Bill story is absolutely about the Aftons, meaning Afton also had no problem using his kids against his wife so she wouldn't be able to stop him when it came to his experiments with them. Just food for thought

[@notrealnamenotatall2476]

He's a real great guy, I tell ya.

[@themenacingsloth]

Whether she is or not I already know it’s about the Afton family, it’s too easy. The manipulative father named Bill (typically short for William for some reason) was one thing, but forcing the child to lie COULD have played a role in why Michael treated “Evan” the way he did if it turns out he was the one who had to do so, a “sins of the father” thing……somethin’ Michael would become FAR too familiar with

[@justice8718]

​@@themenacingsloth It's not like they could go after the mother without any evidence actually being on her. In fact, Vanasia is just as manipulative as her father and lured Vanny to the lost and found at the expense of Gregory's life. A child's lie could only provoke a serious investigation on the mother and maybe she was indeed a criminal, just like Vanny.

[@themenacingsloth]

@@justice8718 Honestly I don’t think there was an investigation. All we know is William got sole custody & it’s implied that she took herself out as a result (they censored the suicide part, but come on, we’re NOT stupid). Oddly enough it’s not the 1st time in any FNAF lore William took someone’s child from ‘em & it led to ‘em eventually committing’ suicide

[@justice8718]

​@@themenacingsloth What's funny is that Game William lost Freddy's and Elizabeth because of Fazbear's Entertainment. Notice how Afton Robotics is a name we only see from one of the oldest locations of fnaf, the Sister Location. And, that game told us Fazbear's Entertainment took advantage of Freddy's closing, so they couldn't have been the ones that got bankrupt.

[@Spinelsofficalwife]

The fact that people still defend William 😭

[@leavemealone7159]

Ikr

[@Deutsch18315]

William is cool!!!

[@AYBros2005]

@@Deutsch18315 no he isn't.

[@Deutsch18315]

@@AYBros2005 If it weren't for him, there would be no fnaf

[@thosecoolgamers235]

It really sucks that there are so many interesting and emotionally engaging stories that can be made from FNAF lore, but the constant retcons and spaghetti lore make most of it feel pointless. I love this telling of the Afton family though and I honestly think your analysis are some of the best and have come to enjoy them more than the theories. Your analysis genuinely made me feel sadness and empathy towards the characters, which is honestly better than most fully written stories I've read. I just wish FNAF would capitalize on it's story telling potential better than it has.

[@notrealnamenotatall2476]

Thank you so very much! And same.

[@xxpandagalaxyxx5655]

They feel the need to explain shit that doesn't need to be explained. We didn't need remnant or agony to explain how the animatronics move or how that shit works. I wish they would stop trying to explain shit that could just be labeled as supernatural and instead focus on the characters, particularly Micheal and Henry.

[@chasejensen4658]

​@@notrealnamenotatall2476Honestly, that's one of the biggest reasons why there SO. MANY. DIFFERENT. fan-mande stories and AUs stemming from this one series. Because there is SO MUCH STUFF that gets glossed over in the games.

[@cisnt9244]

I think Elizabeth and CC are switched. CC isn't directly left behind, and often gets Williams attention in the ways of trying to keep him home, trying to scare him away from the anims so he isn't hurt, being so awful to Michael after the bite etc. Elizabeth seems obsessed with getting his attention, and is left without it, punished for trying to find it. Very lost child of her.

[@onlycows726]

I can agree with this take

[@trialerrorsharer9398]

Well both of them are interchangeable really since they’re such young children but have potential to be golden children.

[@NIGHTBLOODUSAGI]

they are pretty interchangeable

[@joaovictornogueira323]

​@@trialerrorsharer9398CC quite literally became golden

[@trialerrorsharer9398]

@@joaovictornogueira323 lol

[@brawlstar1748]

I'm reminded of the Sister Location Intro cutscene, when Afton is talking with the shareholder about Circus Baby's design choices, where he absolutely skirts around the issues the shareholder wants to discuss regarding Baby's murder features. Even the small VR interactions with the Reluctant Follower shows off a lot of the personality points you brought up. Also HELL YEA VLAD AND CLARA LORE!!!

[@APlatypus]

Afton probably used CC’s death as an excuse to commit his murders.

[@juliabp6057]

He killed Charlotte before the bite and was abusive towards the crying child in the midnight motorist minigame, so i honestly don’t think that’s the case.

[@thesanss4671]

@@juliabp6057 He said as an excuse, as in not because it's true, but because "GuYs, My SoN dIeD, cUt Me SoMe SlAcK fOr KiLlInG cHiLdReN"

[@Ben7892]

I’m pretty sure William killed because he either just felt like it or he wanted to become immortal with remnant

[@APlatypus]

@@Ben7892 I meant that he would probably use CC’s death as an excuse as to why he did the first MCI

[@Ben7892]

@@APlatypus he would probably only use that excuse in court ngl. Of maybe to make someone feel bad for him so he could manipulate them

[@violetpencil9614]

I’m still shocked that anyone believes William was a good father even if he was nice to one of his kids, it was just because he could control them. That’s the problem with abusive parents they are sometimes nice and then you crave for those nice moments through all the painful ones. He was abusive and neglectful. There are some serial killers who have the capability of least loving a few people despite their evil but William is not one of those

[@onlycows726]

and it rubs me the wrong way when they make au's or stories where he's suddenly this perfect father figure who cares for his kids because there's so many people who can relate to characters like the Afton kids

[@AwwesomlyAwwwetumn]

@@onlycows726Oml sameeee

[@FoxesAndStrawberries]

ok Scott must have done a VERY good amount of research to portray a narcissistic parent (William) and their children (the Afton kids)

[@AMKmusic96]

Or its his own fantasy…plot twist

[@Duhgel]

or accidental good writing

[@swarple]

Thank you for this! It’s so bizarre how many people talk about William like he’s just a decent human being who slowly stepped onto the evil path and headed down. Like… the dude killed potentially dozens of children. And he never attempts to justify it to himself, only to others when he’s confronted. He feels no remorse. I have a hard time imagining ANYONE who was ever remotely normal doing that. To me, William seems like the kind of abuser who “loves” his kids. Not really, of course. But I think it’s possible that he saw his kids as extensions of himself, so even if he did mourn them… it would be because of how that affects HIM. Not because his children had their lives taken away so prematurely and would never experience the joys of other stages of life. He doesn’t care about that. No, they’re HIS. Like objects. So losing them may have hurt… just for the wrong reasons. If he did have some reason (not a good one, obviously, but a reason) to kill his kids though… oh yeah. No hesitation. Doesn’t he even say to Elizabeth in the books that her life is being used for a greater purpose or something? Like… wow.

[@buckethatboy8719]

"I have a hard time imagining ANYONE who was ever remotely normal doing that." This is said by pretty much every victim or victim-adjacent person of a serial killer. Yes, I do agree that William was a narcissist, but toned down enough that it wasn't apparent until there was a reason or "justification" for him to act on his urges and impulses. My son died because my eldest pulled a dangerous prank on him? Well, it seems like treating my eldest like shit even when he doesn't deserve it should make up for my younger son's death. Stuff like that.

[@GodzillaGachaGPT]

Well, to be honest, I personally thinking William doing everything he did just because he is evil is a boring story. The lore for the games has always been too nuanced for me to think that version of William Afton is the same as the book and movie iterations.

[@trollanlord85]

I've never understood the whole concept of a child murderer being a good dad. It was pretty obvious from the start that William Afton wasn't a good father. Down to FNAF 2 even, you can see him sadistically smiling at Foxy walking in the room with dead kids. It's pretty obvious he relishes in people's torment and the he wasn't a guy that just made a big mistake. Before it was confirmed that the bully kid was Michael Afton, I used to think that he killed his own son and made him Foxy

[@GodzillaGachaGPT]

My opinion on the matter is this: Who died first, Charlie or the Crying Child? If William murdered Charlie first, then yeah, he was always a piece of crap. But to me, the lore has always been much too nuanced for that to be the case, at least when it comes to the games. If the Crying Child dies first, then it comes off more as William blaming Henry for his son's death and murdering Charlie in retaliation in an alcohol-induced rage. But then, Charlie possesses the puppet, leading William to learn about Remnant, and somewhere in his messed-up head, he figures he can restore his son to life by getting his hands on enough Remnant, leading him to kill more kids. But with each kill, he descends further and further into madness, until he has completely forgotten about his son, and is only doing it for his own gratification. To me, that makes for a much better story than William doing what he does "for the evulz."

[@trollanlord85]

@@GodzillaGachaGPT And that order would be alright, if writers didn't ignore all the horrible things he did to his kids. I'm fine with the whole William wanting revenge, but they forget that he was a terrible person and just write him as a frantic father trying to frankenstein his kids so they'll have another chance. It'd be interesting to see a spin where William is the horrible father he is in canon, but he kills Charlie to get revenge like a kid breaking another kids action figure for accidentally breaking his

[@GodzillaGachaGPT]

@@trollanlord85 I'd argue BEFORE the bite, he was neglectful, but still cared, as there really is not that much evidence for him being abusive prior to that in the game. After, though, it seems he turned to drink to cope with the loss, which probably made him a lot nastier to be around. Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if he was drunk the night he killed Charlie.

[@trollanlord85]

@@GodzillaGachaGPT ...did you miss how in the video William literally beat Elizabeth because she was bothering him? There's also the fact that he'd put hallucinogenic gas into Crying child's room to give him nightmares(something Scott confirmed)

[@GodzillaGachaGPT]

@@trollanlord85 In the book. He hit Elizabeth in the BOOK. And Michael and Crying Child aren't even IN the book. So who knows what he was like in the games. And also, FNAF 4 could very well have been Michael Afton's nightmares, something the logbook seems to imply. So even if you want to make the argument William was using illusion discs testing illusion discs one of his kids, using it on Mike makes sense when you think he would've held Mike responsible for the Crying Child's death.

[@askerror1987]

We also know that Michael literally feels a kinship with Clara, because he claims she's his favorite fictional character in the survival logbook. That thing is a goldmine of weird Mike lore

[@cat-wl5jm]

idk how people can say that william could even have any sort of potential of being a good father. are we just gonna ignore that he literally murdered kids?? i feel like that’s ENOUGH explanation for why he would not be a competent parent 💀

[@glycon6828]

We're not saying he's a good father, we're asking people not to paint him as a purely evil narcissist. Granted he's still batshit insane and psycho, but if he truly didn't care, he would've killed all his kids himself. Funny because, in the games, Michael kills Evan (accident), and Elizabeth "kills" Michael (intentional). The only death (of his kids) on William's hands is Elizabeth's because he was apparently too lazy to monitor her around CB

[@onlycows726]

@@glycon6828 but it's possible he just kept his kids around to boost his ego / improve his image like this video explains, he was jealous of Henry and his family and thus he murdered Charlotte. Not to mention he never fails to pass up the chance to remind impostor Charlie how worthless of a daughter she is, literally all his interactions with his kids have been portrayed as exactly that and you think people aren't going to paint him that way?

[@trialerrorsharer9398]

You say this as if he was the one who did the killing. His inventions killed his children and while that’s still on him there’s a difference. He could’ve still cared for his children and had them die accidentally but we all know that’s not true.

[@onlycows726]

@@trialerrorsharer9398 They only said it was obvious he wasn't a competent father to begin with since he killed kids, there's no lie in that statement

[@sociallyineptsnapper]

I mean, I don’t think anyone is really saying he was a GOOD father. The thing is a lot of terrible people don’t believe theyre terrible people. A lot of terribly abusive parents still somehow think they’re doing what’s right for their children. Disgusting, but reality.

[@ja-vishaara]

I think Mrs Afton married Will because she "can fix him"

[@LuvHaebom]

I really appreciate that you explain that narcissism is “curable” in some situations. having a personality disorder does *not* automatically make someone a horrible person, as many tend to believe. this is a very different topic, but I have BPD and I often get clumped with some bad people, when in reality a lot of people with BPD are pretty average. I fall on the range of having very, very high emotional empathy. but in my natural state, I can have a hard time trying to put myself in others perspectives. with counseling, I’ve worked through this though!! the reason I brought up my BPD is because it’s another very stigmatized personality disorder. personality disorders are usually also caused by trauma, so immediately viewing someone with one as a bad person is just horrific. so I do really thank you for explaining that a bit, it’s very nice to hear. I do want to also add that it’s fair to say that narcissists who fall on a more dangerous range refusing to ever receive any treatment is not only dangerous, but can make them a pretty bad person in the long run.

[@ohsnapitsdiana]

Thank you for sharing your experience with bpd and your perspective!! I’ve dated someone with bpd that went untreated and it was exactly like you described, dangerous and he was not at all a good person (not due to his bpd, but his inability to want to feel better imo) I’m happy you sought treatment and it sounds like you feel way more yourself after it. I wish more people with bpd felt heard and seen, it is pretty sad how you guys get stigmatized so poorly

[@doltishiowa8577]

I’ve always had a weird theory that Michael was manipulated by William to help him in the murdering of children to find out more about remnant in hops of bringing his brother back to life. However, when the police start looking into the missing children he through a Michael under the bus an has him charged for the murders due to them looking similar. Once released, Micheal begins looking into what his father is doing which leads him to the plot of sister location. This would work well with the scap-goat concept for Micheal because William would need someone to frame when things go south.

[@Envy_May]

could this theoretically explain him being attacked by the toys tied into a criminal database too or

[@laurenutellaa]

god dammit you’re making me believe this

[@Minceraft69]

Damn. I thought he might try and pin it all on Henry if necessary, but this seems pretty believable. It explains why Michael wouldn't/couldn't get backup from anyone else eg. the police, and kept changing his name whenever he went back to the night shift. kinda don't want to believe it because it's even sadder

[@Minceraft69]

@@Envy_May if that was true, it would mean that jeremy and fritz were both his aliases - suggesting he picked the names of two of the missing kids to attract william's attention?

[@juliabp6057]

Don’t worry about using the Novel Trilogy to prove your point. Scott’s comment about the Novels not being made to fit with the game storyline was made when we only had the first four Five Nights at Freddy’s games, and by that time, the Dream Theory plot was probably canon by some reasons. But after Sister Location, many things from the Novels were introduced to the games, like the concept of Charlotte being William’s first victim (originally, the Puppet’s soul was supposed to be a random boy), Susie being Chica’s soul, William Afton and Henry Emily being the creators of the animatronics and the owners of Fredbear’s and Freddy’s and, of course, Afton being an abusive father (this is something shown both in The Fourth Closet and Midnight Motorist minigame). Freddy Fazbear’s Pizzaria Simulator seems to almost be an adaptation of The Fourth Closet, because there are many similarities.

[@j.a.m.m]

2:21 Ngl, William Afton making plans, failing to accomplish said plans, somehow getting away with it and pretending it was all part of his master plan is a pretty funny trpoe. Really interesting vid, as always!

[@jameshardy3181]

William, despite being portrayed as a Chessmaster and a cunning manipulator, seems to consistently show a lack of foresight, showing he's not as in control of these situations as he thinks he is. He can get cocky, which causes him to be unable to think things through and how this could be end badly for him. When he plans things out, such as the Missing Children murders, he gets away quite easily. His success, however, makes him more arrogant and confident, leading to riskier decisions he probably wouldn't have made before. Examples of this include his dismantling of the classic animatronics and impulsive flee into the springlock suit to escape the spirits of his victims and waltzing into the FNaF 6 location even though he knew it was a trap, because he thought he could escape. Spoiler: both of these decisions ended very, VERY badly for William.

[@majorghoul9017]

The circus baby thing was so stupid on William's part. He really just went "Hey Lizzie, you see that really cool robot I made for you that's made to look like you and makes your favourite treat whose establishment I brought you to for your birthday? Don't touch it."

[@Valentine--]

That's what I'm saying 😂 And she had to watch all the other random kids play with it not knowing why she was the only one who couldn't. She probably felt so left out and confused that her dad made something super high tech and advanced for her but is the only one who can't see it. Especially the fact she was so fascinated by her father's creations, you can even hear the genuine sorrow in her voicelines.

[@peronafanman]

THANK GOD, I'm so tired of people trying to justify William's killings or make him out to be sympathetic when explaining the timeline. Wendigoon did this and that really grinded my gears tbh, I don't know why it's so hard to grasp for people that villains can be evil for the sake of it.

[@Satoru-Gojou]

Maybe because, a villain with a true and a good point in his view is more fascinating then a villain who is evil because yes. Like Black Beard and Doflamingo from One Piece, everyone likes Teach more then Doflamingo because Teatch have a dream and wants to complete him and Doflamingo is evil because yes. But William is more than the two of them, he wishes to be immortal, it's a dream for him, and he don't care about being evil or doing wrong things to succeeded... Like i'm saying it's makes more sense put William in Black Beard's side

[@peronafanman]

@@Satoru-Gojou You say this when villains such as Joker from TDK, Lord Dominator from Wonder Over Yonder, Carnage, Dolores Umbrige are considered some of the most iconic villains in fiction despite not having much of a motivation for what they do. I also never really got why people seem to think William wants to be immortal, I don't know if this comes from the books or some other canon but I never got that impression from playing the games.

[@sociallyineptsnapper]

@@peronafanman it’s from the books, yes.

[@Satoru-Gojou]

@@peronafanman It was showed multiple times in franchise he wants to be immortal and wants to create life (maybe you never got the impression, because books explain more than games or movies).

[@Satoru-Gojou]

@@peronafanman Well, some of them were created in a time that they choices of being a villain was something new (like Joker or Carnage or even Red Skull that was Nazi).

[@ultmateragnarok8376]

These poor kids. The others may have had it bad, pulled away from lives they enjoyed and families they loved and who loved them in turn, but these kids had to live under the control and attention of the man responsible for so much of this pain. I have no doubt that, as the owner of the franchise, he was responsible for at least influencing the company to keep night guards and give them a _chance_ to make it through the night, so he could put them through all that pain meant for himself. He knew what he was doing. And Baby was _made_ for Elizabeth. There's a lot of ways to interpret that, though - did William make Baby for her but then, with what the Funtimes became, didn't intend her to get close? Did he really intend to keep her from what she'd wanted, despite how he promised it to be hers? Or did he know she'd eventually get to it, since the show so discreetly enticed all the other children to be out of the room when Elizabeth and Baby were finally together, so she could enact her true purpose? Based on it all, I think she was more of a test run. A way for him to see, with a controlled environment where he knows both the person and the machine well, what it takes to cause or at least allow a possession. A prototype, either for further living animatronics, capable of violence and feats beyond the machines they were in; or for himself in his quest for immortality. None of this was ever confirmed and likely never will be, but it all fits nicely into place. I appreciate this character study of why William ended up how he did. Obviously there were some clear major issues with the man, but it's good to see he does at least resemble real issues that actual people have and manage... even if he handled it about as badly as could be.

[@eobardthawne3333]

"aww he's a good father who was twisted by grief!" The first thing we knew about him was that he's the serial killer who caused the ghost story we are suffering through.

[@gmrgamingrm]

I always thought that Michael was going to all of the locations to undo his father's mistakes out of hatred for him or something as well as trying to make up for him bullying his brother. Great theory regardless!

[@darktooth4576]

It’s really a major shock how our perception of Afton has changed, starting with “he kills for no reason” to “manipulative and narcissistic parent with a god complex” over the course of what’s now 9 years since FNAF’s very first game. Like it or not, Afton for the longest time was a mysterious blank slate, anyone could say anything with a lot of detail and they’d believe that’s canon. And now, seeing him as this self absorbed serial killer immortality craving scientist is quite an interesting mix in my opinion. It fits with the paranormal aspect FNAF brings to the table.

[@GodzillaGachaGPT]

I think the game version of William Afton is STILL open to interpretation. The novels and movie may have made him out to be off his rocker from the very beginning, but those are their own versions of canon, and thus William can still be seen however you want. Honestly, I think the reason some people are so against William being considered anything besides human is because deep down, they're terrified of being able to relate to someone who committed such horrific acts.

[@GeekGirl-ub7ki]

Finally! Having taken some psychology I can agree with you that William, as portrayed in the game and books, as a Narcissist and most likely a Psychopath. The only clues we have of his parenting are abusive in nature. I also agree with the roles each of his children filled. Also, expanding on what you said about William killing because it felt good and then kept killing that fits the profile of a psychopathic serial killer. Psycopaths are born with low activity in the prefrontal cortex so they cannot empathize with others and lack emotional connection. They are typically superficially charming and their relationships with others are shallow. They chase the new and more thrilling. Serial Killers who are psycopaths report a triggering incident that destablizes them and they end up killing (often fantizing about killing before actually doing it). The thrill of the kill is the strongest emotion they ever felt so they keep on killing. In Afton's case the destablizing event was most likely either CC's death and/or martial issues (ie loosing control of his carefully crafted facade) leading to him killing Charlie (I think jealousy toward Henry as shown in the books made her a satisfying target) since it was opportunistic while the others were planned.

[@notrealnamenotatall2476]

Ooo! Very neat! 8D Thank you for your insight! I don't know how much of the books are taken as canon, but in there William seems to suggest that nearly dying in a suit accident might've been what triggered a change. I'm not sure if that's what could've tipped him over, but it is interesting to think about.

[@MalayDea]

All is -Well- Hell in the Afton family

[@StarWyvernHPB]

I prefer the theory that the Nightmares are indeed Nightmares, but nightmares Michael has, the hospital stuff appearing being his internal guilt for what happened to CC, but the similar layout to FNAF 1, and the idea that William Afton used the animatronics to attack/scare Michael Afton in the nights after CC's death as a mixture of punishment and making him too scared to get close to them.

[@onlycows726]

same here

[@ZirconiaGacha]

I honestly kinda see them as both. CC has to deal with them in an actual situation during a coma shortly before he died, and Mike happens to have the same thing happen but as just a nightmare: can't hurt him, but he doesn't know his brother is dealing with them in a way that's way scarier to anyone hearing about it.

[@sleepyhollowo]

ever since i read The Fourth Closet i had the vibe that Afton really only saw his children as possessions. regardless of if he favored Elizabeth or not, he didn’t love her unconditionally like a father should.

[@Shythalia]

I'm so glad that many in the fandom are simping over Michael now instead of Old Willy because I just can't believe people were horny for him when he was still known as Purple Guy. I'm also glad that most of us are just so tired of seeing him again.

[@onlycows726]

fr but the Michael simps still scare me

[@ExtraQuestionableContent]

Ah well a purple corpse is better than a child serial killer

[@funzore3894]

People shouldn’t simp for anyone at all

[@maas1208]

In My FNAF AU, Micheal's already been taken by Mary Schmidt

[@thekeeper1287]

I hope one day we learn about afton's younger years. Like his time as a kid which led to him being like this. And when he met his wife and had Michael (since he's the oldest. Most of the time the scapegoat kid is the first born. Liz is the second and CC is the last.) I wanna learn how their dynamic was with their wife and if they even loved each other originally

[@onlycows726]

Elizabeth and cc's ages aren't confirmed, there's no confirmation who's the youngest or oldest out of the two

[@SuperMonaLisaBros]

War-torn England.

[@Zemibear]

​@@onlycows726I think in the books Elizabeth is 5? So she's probably the youngest but I don't know for sure

[@coitlacooit5805]

I adore the way your channel covers a different point in the fnaf universe, instead of theories and what not (wich is the main content on youtube about fnaf) you cover more about the story itself, the characters etc. I love this video! I always see people say "ohh but he was prob a good father to x child" wich.. in every portray of William hes shown as an abusive parent/ person in general. Theres even more stuff, like how Vannessa is supposedly a paralel with Ellizabeth and the whole trial and how William used Elizabeth to win the trial, or a lot of books wich are lowkey made to be similar to Michael that show a lot of parental abuse in general.

[@notrealnamenotatall2476]

Oh, thank you! 8D

[@DraperStan23]

It seems like many, many fandoms love to romanticize awful characters that, in their own right it’s perfectly fine to like a villainous character, but going to the point of excuses for actions that harm others is a bit of an issue. This can then translate to real life, with the romanticism of serial killers.

[@Monstergaming-qm2tm]

Jeffrey Daughmer Netflix show: 👀

[@DraperStan23]

@@Monstergaming-qm2tm you said it, not me, and I thank you for that

[@Monstergaming-qm2tm]

@@DraperStan23 Lol yw

[@onlycows726]

couldn't have said it better myself

[@GreatRaijin]

Its not fandoms. It's just people in general. Ever heard of nevada-tan?

[@pilloeglade5463]

This is the main reason I sort of prefer the idea of Henry being the "better" dad. I liked the idea of them being thematic opposites. Even if Henry has a lot of flaws. Granted your video about Henry knocks him down...a lot. Maybe if I pretend the books don't exist I can keep my headcanon lol.

[@notrealnamenotatall2476]

Henry might have issues, but compared to William he is a way better father. XD

[@whatno3145]

Scott wanted to make the classic Macduff and Macbeth without really understanding the fact that those two weren't that much different at all.

[@lunaa143_]

Same here!

[@elciervoparaguayo3756]

There's something else. In Midnight Motorist, no matter which theory you follow (Michael runaway or CC runaway) William shows to be abusive towards his children, after returning from killing Charlie he goes to the room of his son to apparently torment him and says that he would regret it when he comes back, which is really scary. Reminds me of how in many households, a drunk parent would lash out on a child

[@FanDeBiteVictim1983]

That's not Afton. Just look at the house. I know the sprites are inexact, but MM doesn't even try looking like the Afton's house. The FNaF 4 house is located in a neighborhood, while the MM house is located in a forest. Yellow Guy needs to drive to his house, while Bite Victim can easily and quickly reach his house walking from Fredbear's. Also, William was ALWAYS purple. Why would his sprite's color change for no reason? The fact that Yellow Guy has a purple car isn't the big thing, every single car in MM is purple. Elizabeth's room isn't in MM, so it can't be the Afton's house, neither the Afton family. Then who is the protagonist of MM? I think it could be Andrew's father, Andrew Runaway Kid and Andrew's mom Couch Guy (or Couch Girl). Couch Guy seems protective and maternal towards Runaway Kid and Yellow Guy is someone who mistreats his child. Maybe MM is the night Andrew was kidnapped and murdered. It makes sense, because outside the house, there are huge bunny footsteps. S P R I N G B O N N I E, William. Also, why would the kid break his own window? Wouldn't it be easier just open it? It's broken, like if someone broke it. Afton. Now, how would William kidnap Andrew while it's raining? Easy. He kidnapped the little guy some hours before Yellow Guy or Couch Girl arrived. Breaking a window isn't something silent, and the rain would have triggered the springlocks, so William kidnapped Andrew hours before. That would explain Andrew's aggressive behavior, he learned it from his abusing father and negligent mother, and why he hates William that much, to the point he kept him 10 years suffering the UCN. Also, the Toy Chica High School Years cinematic is a parallel to William, his victims and how he killed them. In the Puppet's cinematic, Toy Chica says: "I'll just tell him to come home later. And, if he doesn't show up, then I'll go to his house. And, if he doesn't open the door, then I'll break the window" (or something like that). It reminds me of MM, so it could be a parallel to Andrew's death.

[@champe0n61]

Interestingly, though Elizabeth's character is completely changed between SL and PS, she continues to match being the Golden Child in every portrayal. SL Baby wants revenge on William, which is normal for an abused person who finds themselves having newfound power. Her ability to "pretend' perfectly describes an unhappy child behaving in a way to void abuse. Elizabeth is a survivor. PS Elizabeth seeks only to make her father proud. It's cringe compared to what we had before, but it's still very Golden Child behavior. Though this character development does go a little backwards, it's possible that she was just pretending here too. It could also be that after being rejected from Ennard (essentially her surrogate family) she regressed and went crawling back to and old abuser and readopts her unhealthy defensive mechanisms.

[@absoluteschmuck]

The fact that some people think William's misdeeds were the result of a bad day is pretty alarming

[@bartoszhallay6576]

"Maybe, ordinary people don't always crack. Maybe there isn't any need to crawl under a rock with all the *other* slimey things when trouble hits...Maybe it was just *YOU* all the time" -Batman, the Killing Joke

[@GodzillaGachaGPT]

Well, in the games, we don't really get an answer to that question. And honestly, I've always subscribed to the idea that William killed Charlie after his own son's passing as a big "F you" to Henry, only discover Remnant, and devolve further into insanity from there.

[@juliabp6057]

@@GodzillaGachaGPTthat’s not canon, dude. His canon character was already shown in the Novel Trilogy, you’re just coping to support your head canons.

[@GodzillaGachaGPT]

@@juliabp6057 What are you talking about? The novels are their own canon: yes, you can use them as to try and answer some of the lore questions, but not the lore as a whole. So no, this is not me justifying my head canon, this is me disregarding something that does not line up with the games.

[@BanzaiJimbo]

@@GodzillaGachaGPT The books are actually canon as a whole, Scott wouldn’t make any books if they didn’t mean anything inside the lore, The book trilogy is canon, even though it happens in a separate timeline, and some stories from the frights are 100% canon to the main timeline. So yes, the Silver Eyes trilogy can be used to explain most of the lore, because it happens in a separate timeline, not a separate universe.

[@mr.blackwhite7846]

Nice, though something I want to add that was also covered in Ghost’s video is that when plush Fredbear speaks the line “I will put you back together” in the end minigame the text color is different, signifying that whoever says it is not William. Ghost made a strong case for the Puppet being the one to say it since she fits the line perfectly, being the only character who can make the kids possess animatronics. Something that he didn’t say however was that in the teaser’s leading up to the Halloween update for fnaf 4 the don’t wake the baby teaser revealing Nightmarionne has it emerge from a Freddy plush that turns golden when lighting up the image. This also happened in another teaser that just had the Freddy plush in the center of the screen; you’d brighten the image, Feddy would become golden and this time strings would become visible above him, looking like they were holding him up. Now, this doesn’t mean that the Puppet was the one that always spoke through Fredbear, for most of the minigames it was Willy, but for that final scene the one that says that line is the Puppet. Definitely give Ghost’s video a watch if you have the time, it answers any questions you might have. Otherwise this was a great video! Awesome work!

[@notrealnamenotatall2476]

I double-checked, the text is definitely the same. The only text that changes color is the "I'm sorry" from Michael, but the rest is always yellow.

[@Satoru-Gojou]

@@notrealnamenotatall2476 Actually no, in Fredbear's texts during Mini game 1- 3, it's more darker and in Mini game 6 it's more lighter, meaning the voices that speek from him, one is darker and possibly evil and manipulative, that combines with William, he was manipulative and was a "friend" to C.C like he was gonna be to the kids, manipulating them with false promises and in the end he killed them for selfishs reasons. And the other one is trustful, that is not manipulating him, but talks about in some ironic way, like when he says "we are still your friends, do you still believe that?" like it was a lie, a manipulative way to trick C.C, then he says "I will put you back together", that makes sense with the Puppet/Charlotte, she was the one who really was a friend to the kids when they died from Afton in 1985, and shows that she was not tricking them like William did and then she put they back together in the Animatronics.

[@vigilantagate692]

"willlam afton is a good father and cared for his kids", which in reality, he isn't, and as painful for me to said it (because i'm one of the fandoms) but willlam afton is a pure evil villain who doesn't care about his kids at alls, and he abused them both phyically, and mentally, and also emotionally manpiaute them.

[@vigilantagate692]

I miss the old fnaf lore

[@arielruh7773]

@@vigilantagate692 yeah me too

[@superfan364]

​@@vigilantagate692the emotion in that reply

[@whoknowsbothersomeoneelse]

@@vigilantagate692 Yeah, the FNAF 1 to 4 game era would have been an accepting time of a "Father going insane because of his kid death" theory, but times changes and SL and 6 was later added. So William Afton is an "beyond evil" monster and It cannot be argued.

[@vigilantagate692]

@@whoknowsbothersomeoneelse yeah, fnaf 6 just ruined his potential of actually being a decent villain, and counted as "broken" villains. Nope he is just pure evil who wanted immortality for himself? Like ok afton you succeeded of being immortal but what are other goals you achieved...... nothing, he has no other plans after being immortal. And why you bothered having kids in the first place, in fact you killed them, and maybe you have been before you and Henry even Fredbears Family Dinner

[@slushiiix4287]

I see so many people for some reason try to prove he was a good father...which he wasn't, that was literally confirmed. William is not a good person and idk why people try to deny it

[@cinnamon12344]

Why are people trying to make him innocent? He ruined his family’s and friend’s life 💀

[@cameronhester6446]

Ok look trying to make him a more interesting character and and giving him a reason for why he is the way is not trying to make him innocent or justify his actions it's just attempting to give more depth to him make him more complex

[@arthutrrrrr]

​@cameronhester6446 you can make an interesting evil character without giving them a tragic backstory or something that ""justifies"" their actions lol

[@Pygargue00fr]

Please do: fnaf's 's wasted storyline: from a mysterious horror masterpiece to a frustrating scy-fy shell of what it was.

[@Pygargue00fr]

Also, finally someone that talks a about William's narcissistic tendencies. As much as the "broken good father aspect" as been into this community for as long as William was properly introduced since sister location. It just dosn't work in the canon universe, he just dosn't care for his kids. Or maybe he does, but not in a good way. Having a narcissist grandmother. I can tell you that despite her manipulative ways and vocaly abusive tendencies toward my mom, she does love us. But in a toxic, possesive, twisted way.

[@DumpDuke74]

You should do an analysis on Michael, I find him to be the most interesting character since he’s gone through so much

[@nerdydude1.882]

Imagine accidentally manslaughtering your way into the secret of immortality and your use it to build robots that sell pizza.

[@Sasu123456789x1]

Lmao 🤣 it is hilarious

[@youdontneedtoknow3025]

Love this video it finally shines light on the monster william truly is. One thing however that i never hear people talk about is that Baby has an emergency stop button on her blueprints. Now as the person who made these animatronics wouldn't all he have to do was press that button to save Liz. Also in the fazbear's frights story one of the girls press a button that ends up killing the other girl inside the suit. Meaning that someone had to have manually press that button in order to be killed by it. Since William was the only one who made the funtimes he was the only one who knew about these buttons and their functions. Now the whole line of "Didn't you make her just for me." Is a lot more sinister. Now i'm done with my nerdy rant sorry for wasting your time if anyone read this

[@R41nb0ww]

Kinda feel bad for the crying child…

[@ZirconiaGacha]

When it comes to characters I love with all my heart, he's on top (although the trolling potential with Lolbit's earrape makes some fierce competition). I can't really relate much to him now, but when I was younger I read a book with horror undertones and could have sworn I saw something move that night. Checked the closet, shelves, and everything. I eventually got to sleep again, but I never forgot it (I do have an older brother too, but he's actually pretty nice so that's not as important). Then I enter the FNaF fandom and realize "Holy shit, this is familiar!" when I see FNaF 4. Kind of a "I used to relate but can't say I do now" thing. Then seeing him treated like this just breaks my heart.

[@purplephonefan]

What’s really sad is that William being a narcissist didn’t surprise me. My father is a narcissist, so I could see the signs of it within William. My father was emotionally manipulative and abusive. He seemed to care about me at first, until I came out as non-binary. As soon as I wasn’t under his control, is when his true intentions were revealed. He had said he liked the “old me.” However, the old me was never happy. I felt lifeless. And when I finally started feeling happy, that’s when he started gaslighting me. He stated that his feelings were more important than my own life. There was a time when I was in a really dark place mentally, and I begged him to accept me, but he didn’t, because all that mattered to him was his feelings. He did the same thing to my siblings. I haven’t seen him for about a year now, and with some therapy, I have learned to let go of my thirst for revenge. Seeing this happen in a fictional world reminds me of my own life. I think it’s important that people are aware of narcissists, and avoid them at all costs. It doesn’t matter what William has gone through. He is a narcissist, and a horrible person.

[@TheCarboy2000]

Damn your dad seemed like a asshole. Sorry you had to go through that stuff:(

[@federalinvestigationbureau5814]

You use get a life (gacha life) so it means your father is right to treat you like this lfmao 😂🤣

[@purplephonefan]

@@federalinvestigationbureau5814 Friend, this was before I used Gacha-

[@purplephonefan]

@@TheCarboy2000 It’s okay, friend. I’m much better now…

[@NaddleSchidaddle]

​@@federalinvestigationbureau5814 bro is really hating that much on a dress up game 😭😭 Every community can suck, it's not just Gacha Life :') (...then again this could also just be a joke and I am overreacting, you tell me)

[@maggot4090]

It’s insane how much people are obsessed with the idea of William being somewhat sympathetic is so weird to me. The fun of his character is that he just completely sucks!! He’s an awful person and his motive is vague at best! And that’s fun to explore! I like your take on this a lot.

[@tapseymoth803]

Of course he’d be willing to kill his kids. He’s such a narcissist that when he makes copies of himself in ucn they all try to kill the original ^w^

[@ZirconiaGacha]

"There can only be one!"

[@unrandom9705]

Imagine william actually killed Henry's daughter and ruined fazbear entertainment to get his attention 😳

[@kingdanksta15]

I think you did a excellent job summarizing the Afton Family dynamic. Although, I would say while William was a narcissist, his killing sprees didn’t happen until after Evan and Elizabeth’s death. When he saw Evan took control of Fredbear, he built the Funtimes to perform remnant experiments and replicate the same phenomenon. When that lead to Elizabeth’s death he killed Charlie and later the MCI. He wanted to become immortal and inflict the same pain he had on others. He never cared about Michael which is why he gaslit his guilt to eliminate him and release his creations.

[@notrealnamenotatall2476]

I disagree. Specifically since the Crying Child was never confirmed to have possessed Fredbear, and since that would mean ANOTHER ghost was possessing the toy.

[@kingdanksta15]

@@notrealnamenotatall2476 Evan and Cassidy Possessing Fredbear/Golden Freddy is canon from the Fazbear Frights. The two lights inside Golden Freddy at the ending of FNaF 3 support this.

[@kingdanksta15]

@@notrealnamenotatall2476 I meant the real Fredbear and later Golden Freddy. Sorry.

[@Pygargue00fr]

@@notrealnamenotatall2476 lots of people think that the funtimes where builded after the first missing children incident. Here's why: how did afton discovered that the animatronics can be possesed? Is it by killing Charile, his first victim ("A wound first inflicted on me" as Henry said) no, she wasn't used as a test subject, so he must have killed her for a another reason. After Evan had died? He didn't care for him, besides how could he had discovered that his soul had somehow took refuge in the Fredbear suit after dying in a hospital bed? He probably never new about him being stuck inside a suit and never cared enough to find out. The only possible way for William to begin his lust for immortality would be to notice that the animatronics of the first Freddy's location began acting strange after killing the missing kids, wich means that he didn't kill them for Remnant either. Now, you may be asking, why did he kill them all then if it wasn't for Remnant? Here's a possible reason: Jealousy. William was Hella Jealous of Henry, he is a narcissist, cold, distant and depressed. While Henry, was supposely a happy man before Charlie died and (according to the Silver eyes graphic novel, before his Wife left him for not protecting their daughter) That would explain why he killed Charlie and the missing kid, to spite, Henry, to make him miserable, cause if William can't be happy then neither can he. Another idea was because he hates childrens. There could be a lot of different reasons, but it simply couldn't be Remnant for at least the first 6 victims, to know about something he needs to see it first. That's logic, the story couldn't just began with him already knowing everything.

[@APlatypus]

@@kingdanksta15 we also see two lights in Freddy’s and Bonnie’s eyes

[@samiloulalee]

Ah yes... Narcissistic fathers... What a joy... I can say from experience how positively great they are...🙄 Also, as I've discovered from this video and my own experience, a child with a narcissistic parent can be literally be every type of abused child on that list... I was the golden child when my father suddenly felt some odd connection to me, the scapegoat when there was some random problem where I was kinda involved, and the neglected child when my father had better things to do. Why? Because narcissists are 100% unpredictable and will change their mood and intentions on a whim.

[@lunaa143_]

I hope you're okay now 🫂🫂

[@Southparkfan598]

It's quite clear that William never cared about his children he never had plans for Elizabeth, her death I'm assuming is an accident, due to Elizabeth asking multiple times to see her, but he didn't care William had to get rid of Michael before he interfered majorly with his plan, which he couldn't have done earlier because Michael was (probably) grieving over CCs death CC was traumatized by William, I don't think I need to add anything more lol

[@SammieFazbear]

I agree 100% with this. William has never been a good person. He’s a terrible father, business partner, husband/boyfriend, and person in general. To add onto this video he murders Henry’s child most likely people he wanted to tear Henry down to be his business partner (I’m under the belief that Freddy’s was made when Henry finally accepted to be Williams partner and Fredbear’s was purely William’s). He probably murdered his own wife/girlfriend and turned her into Ballora when when she threatened to do something. He cared nothin for anyone’s misery by killing their kids so what makes anyone thing he’d feel misery at his own kids death? He has not empathy he is a psychopathic narcissist.

[@ultmateragnarok8376]

Fredbear's was not purely William's in the books, it was also a joint venture - Henry is the one who came up with springlocks, and also built the original Freddy, Bonnie and Chica entirely by himself. William's influence appears to be more on the company side of things, up until he learned from Henry - I find that to be the most likely reason as to why he ends up able to build his own animatronics despite Henry being the inventor. Of course, William's animatronics end up being horrific monstrosities, either outright or in disguise.

[@kaveyalt]

this seems similar to harmony and horror. there is an implication that mrs. afton possessed ballora in security breach, but there's nothing to say he killed her. i guess we'll find out at the fnaf movie or the ruin dlc, if scott actually feels like writing a coherent story

[@ultmateragnarok8376]

@@kaveyalt If he feels like writing a _good_ story, than the movie won't focus on the Afton family, it'll focus on the victims and the possessions - y'know, the reason FNaF 1 is such an atmospheric game.

[@kaveyalt]

@@ultmateragnarok8376 let's hope so. though with the amount of lore there's no saying what he will write. we're just getting the 'mike' variant of the original scripts

[@Ben7892]

We don’t even see Williams wife or Williams relationship with her. He could’ve been a ladies man for all we know

[@L-sillybrained]

William could’ve taken Elizabeth to see baby when he was there . Like ????

[@APlatypus]

And baby was only programmed to attack someone when all alone with them! Elizabeth would’ve been safe!

[@avacadotoast5571]

Exactly. A mechanical genius who PROGRAMMED the dang thing HIMSELF and actually cares about his children should know this 💀

[@tina-dr1vw]

the fact that william act just like my mom scare me

[@notrealnamenotatall2476]

I'm sorry to hear that.

[@Monstergaming-qm2tm]

damz

[@luh1294]

💀

[@GOD69_69]

The woman Behind the slaughter

[@thisisachannel.9727]

FINALLY, to be honest, I'm quite sick of people making William as a misunderstood character. He's not misunderstood, he's an evil sociopath who had a special plan for each of his kids. When his kids didn't pass the test, he disposed of them. He doesn't need a reason to act like this, he's just evil. I wouldn't be surprised that his kids deaths were at least indirectly orchestrated by him. He manipulated everyone since the very beginning.

[@whoknowsbothersomeoneelse]

Agreed, I'm glad to be matured out of that dumb idea of William being misunderstood.

[@B-LightWalker]

Okay, this is really good! And it's nice to see someone go into more depth about how much of an a-hole William is. Especially regarding his own kids. The Afton family is my favorite part of FNaF. (The rest of this is long and kind of repeats what you or others have said, but yeah. Sorry in advance. Look at the bright side, though, it could be longer, I like to ramble.) I was thinking about how horrible the implications of William being behind Plush Fredbear was a few days ago. Because it just feels so much worse when you actually think about it (then again, so does all of FNaF). William knew Michael locked Evan in the parts and service room, but he didn't do anything to actually help him. Instead, he just said, "Tomorrow is another day," and probably left him there 'til the end of his shift. And William made Circus Baby for Elizabeth, but he also made her to murder children, and yet he didn't put anything in place to prevent Elizabeth from being attacked. (From CB or the other Funtimes.) The biggest security system CB has is to not attack when there's more than 1 person in the room. No security bracelet like Charlie had or maybe some kind of facial recognition. Man's machinery was called state-of-the-art, he coulda made it. Doesn't help he also left his daughter to rot/be tortured in the Sister Location. And Michael being sacrificed (maybe even repeatedly) to the animatronics. I wouldn't put it past William to send Michael to the SL, or FNaF 1 or 2 locations, if he didn't believe that Michael getting killed would benefit him. Primarily the animatronics leaving him alone. If Charlotte and a hand full of others are the only ones who can actually recognize people, then who's to say that if the animatronics who can't got Michael, they wouldn't have just dipped--thinking they got their revenge--and William could have gone back to doing what he does. And then there's the wife, who I know isn't confirmed to be Ballora but I believe is, and that just makes the implications behind Ennard and Molten Freddy worse. (Honestly, just F in the chat for Michael.) Using Vanessa's therapy tapes as a base, her husband forced her children (who he didn't even care for) to lie about her so he could keep them, 'cause he can't stand the thought of not being in control, and then did something to her. Now, I like the idea that William does love/care for his children, but it only goes so far, and by the end of the day, they are still nothing more than a means to an end for him. A way to get things done. And I like to think that William is aware what he's doing is wrong/doesn't know what's wrong with him and regrets it, but it only lasts for, like, all of five minutes before he convinces himself that'd he do it all again just to make others suffer.

[@maas1208]

You know in My FNAF AU [which mainly follows FNAF 1-6 and also includes FNAC and Popgoes (Yes this sounds like a FanFic because it is technically speaking)] William Afton was Terrible Father, he had rough relationship with Micheal and was abusive towards Micheal, Micheal often would take his frustrations of William onto Evan, William would Treat Evan and Elizabeth fairly nicely however sometimes he does lash out on them and he does often neglects them especially Evan, and After Evan and Elizabeth's deaths, William's treatment towards Micheal only grew worse, he always hated whenever Micheal was with his Friends [Jack (Freddy mask), Jeremy Fitzgerald (Bonnie mask), Axel (Chica mask) and Mary, his Female Friend] especially when Micheal invites them over to their house and at one point William was so angry that he even broke a glass bottle onto Micheal's head and after Micheal recovered from that, his relationship with William was really bad, and When Micheal had a daughter with Mary (Marlyn), Micheal wanted be a Better Father to Marlyn than William was to him and when William got Springlocked in 1993, Micheal didn't care about his father dying and Micheal just continued on with his Life with his Wife Mary and his Daughter Marlyn and around this this time Micheal changed his last name to Schmidt so he could no longer be associated with his father.

[@B-LightWalker]

@@maas1208 Nice. We love endings where Michael can live his life. And Michael breaking the cycle of abuse and doing his best to be a good dad, love to see it.

[@maas1208]

@@B-LightWalker Well in my FNAF AU, Micheal still felt like he needed to undo his father's mistakes, Mary and Marlyn were actually supportive of Mike considering that Mary and Marlyn did a similar thing at the Old Rowbotics Corp factory. They helped him even when Mike became a Purple Corpse man and Mike did manage to get some remnant from the defunct Chica's Party World to restore his body to its normal self and Micheal did continue undoing his father's mistakes with some help from Mary and Marlyn, he also sacrificed his own life for Mary and Marlyn so they wouldn't burn with Mike.

[@B-LightWalker]

@@maas1208 Seems about right, with Michael sacrificing himself anyway, but it's nice that he was be happy for a while.

[@maas1208]

​@@B-LightWalker Also My AU is still a WIP tho, so somethings may change but the thing of Micheal still having a Family is still there.

[@ilikepigeons6101]

William directly killing his children was a thing after it was implied that Mike was the night guard in FNAF 3. So William throughout the entire game is trying to get into the office and kill his last living child

[@omnisystem6030]

7:44: makes it clear how terrifying William Afton is as a person

[@Doomzdeh]

William let Elizabeth play around murderous animatronics that he had designed to kill children. And all he gave were some vague warnings to stay away, effectively making it so that she would only approach Baby when no one else was around, sealing her fate. That in itself makes him a terrible father. He never should’ve let Elizabeth around the animatronics. And then he still allows Evan and Michael to go to the Pizzeria even after that, and allows FNAF Merch into his house. Did nothing about Michael mercilessly bullying Evan and kept allowing Michael to think that the animatronics were harmless. That ended in disaster and tragedy too. Then, he sent Michael down to the Sister Location with almost no info to help him survive against the Funtime Animatronics. Michael only survived because of Baby. And he would’ve died had it not been for remnant. Finally, as Springtrap, William stalked Michael and openly tried to kill him multiple times. He then attempted to do so again in Pizzeria Simulator. I have no idea how anyone could believe that he was a good father, even if he did half-heartedly try to protect his kids at first.

[@BergmitetheBlueandPointy0712]

Remember seeing some comments, and seeing how the book implied that William abuse Elizabeth, makes me think that “No wonder why William is still a monstrous villain despite his goal to put his family back together, even ignoring his twisted actions and sins. As well as why Baby is so loyal to him.” I guess assuming that the game and book have essentially the same William, Scott is trying to use the novels to give the message that William isn’t just a monstrous mad man with a sad origin, but a pure evil monstrous mad man who did EVERYTHING wrong, or essentially can’t do anything right or good. 🤔😓 Maybe it’s better that he never put anything back together, because he will never felt regret or any emotions aside from madness and anything evil, at least to our POV anyway. 😓 But in the end, what should I expect from the lore of a horror series ? They ALWAYS have the message of “Humans are the real monsters ! The monsters are never the monsters !” . It’s always our fault isn’t it ? Why humans has to be blamed for anything ? 😒 So basically, William Afton/the Purple Guy is basically like fanon’s depiction of Cirno (from Touhou) but far more murderous, intelligent, cruel and probably pure evil. Someone who literally can’t do ANYTHING right, except being a pure evil villain. 😓 Add: I guess there’s a reason why in The Sliver Eyes graphic novel he looks like a monkey gone crazy.

[@skycreeper0173]

Super awesome video. I really enjoyed the deep dive into how William hurt his children and how William is portrayed as a narcissist jerk.

[@BillyWiccanHex]

I've never thought of him as good, I still thought he was evil, he "Cared" about his kids, but not like in a loving father wholesome way.

[@Perdix64]

I do feel that William being a neglectful father and being a narcissist, but I can also see him being a caring figure turned mad by a “one bad day” Joker philosophy.

[@DaveMiller6042]

Not to mention, Baby's eye changed from Blue to Elizabeth's green. While subtle, it isn't completely unnoticeable.

[@warriorquacks8166]

Seeing how he acts to his kids william DEFINITELY abused his wife aswell

[@whoknowsbothersomeoneelse]

She likely divorce him as a result. But heck, I wouldn't even be surprised if William even killed his wife as well.

[@maas1208]

​​​@@whoknowsbothersomeoneelse In My FNAF AU, William hated Mike so much that he tried to Kill Mike's Wife, Mary and Mike's Daughter, Marlyn which essential means that William tried Killing his Daughter in-law and his OWN Granddaughter.

[@josephgrube]

Afton is the very definition of a neglectful parent

[@redjirachi1]

Another villain who fits the narcissistic parent well is Palpatine. OK he's not a father, but in terms of those he's a father figure too like Maul and Anakin he definitely fits it. It's one of the more realisticly evil traits of his

[@danielladuck3323]

I can’t tell you how much I appreciate and love this video essay, very well put together and said. Fnaf is my special interest (I’m autistic) and I love the franchise and I enjoy looking for fan content such as theories, fanart and analyses and seeing fanart where William is just depicted as a tragic or sympathetic character it just rubs me the wrong way, so I just enjoy this video a lot! Amazing work!!

[@317GUY]

I also think willam believes he’s invincible why else would he put on a dangerous suit

[@BearlyAwake13]

This was a cathartic video to watch, much appreciated OP

[@notrealnamenotatall2476]

Thank you! 83

[@Trebinhas]

That ending was chilling! Great work

[@mushroomlava3491]

Someone need to hug these children :'(

[@leavemealone7159]

Like *all* of them not just the kids he killed but his own kids

[@Chaosity_the_artist]

i appreciate that you audibly described the images that were on screen during one part for those not visually watching the vid this is a great video

[@epiclazerpie1630]

Thanks for including the bit explaining the image! I was just listening because i love your voice,but i feel appreciated now

[@SCP-469]

Funniest thing is, his motivation for kidnapping those kids wasn’t “ I wanna bring my son back” it was most likely him wanting the pleasure he felt from killing Charlie again,

[@vixjenn]

Not all villains are broken, some are just flat out evil. I think it's okay to like William as a character (as I do), but I don't understand why some people feel the need to make him seem broken or misunderstood. He's narcissistic, jealous and manipulative. That's it. And I think that's what makes him such a great and threatening antagonist.

[@maas1208]

You know in My FNAF AU [which mainly follows FNAF 1-6 and also includes FNAC and Popgoes (Yes this sounds like a FanFic because it is technically speaking)] William Afton was Terrible Father, he had rough relationship with Micheal and was abusive towards Micheal, Micheal often would take his frustrations of William onto Evan, William would Treat Evan and Elizabeth fairly nicely however sometimes he does lash out on them and he does often neglects them especially Evan, and After Evan and Elizabeth's deaths, William's treatment towards Micheal only grew worse, he always hated whenever Micheal was with his Friends [Jack (Freddy mask), Jeremy Fitzgerald (Bonnie mask), Axel (Chica mask) and Mary, his Female Friend] especially when Micheal invites them over to their and at one point William was so angry that he even broke a glass bottle onto Micheal's head and after Micheal recovered from that, his relationship with William was really bad, and When Micheal had a daughter with Mary (Marlyn), Micheal became a Better Father to Marlyn than William was to him and when William got Springlocked in 1993, Micheal didn't care about his father dying and Micheal just continued on with his Life with his Wife Mary and his Daughter Marlyn and around this this time Micheal changed his last name to Schmidt so he could no longer be associated with his father. However Micheal still felt like he needed to undo his father's mistakes, Mary and Marlyn were actually supportive of Mike considering that Mary and Marlyn did a similar thing at the Old Rowbotics Corp factory. They helped him even when Mike became a Purple Corpse man and Mike did manage to get some remnant from the defunct Chica's Party World to restore his body to its normal self and Micheal did continue undoing his father's mistakes with some help from Mary and Marlyn, he also sacrificed his own life for Mary and Marlyn so they wouldn't burn with Mike. Its still a WIP

[@felixmcscouty4587]

I fully believe Michael was the one who experienced the nightmare animatronics in fnaf 4. Hes the scapegoat, and theres a doodle of nightmare fredbear in mikes survival logbook. Itd make perfect sense for Michael to have gone through fnaf 4.

[@iscarlyxuwu]

This was an excellent video. And thank you for the bit where you acknowledged that people might just be listening and accommodated. I like to listen to these while i drive

[@jiyojiy6202]

Love this video. Your theories are great as always

[@kinglod2312]

I found a way some people think of Aften a little disgusting. I don't remember which KZbinr it was but there was someone who tried to say that William murdering more than 5 children was his way of getting back for bullying his son or something. It was clearly framed in a way to make it sound like William was doing the wrong thing for the right reasons or something like that. And watch it honestly make me feel a little sick

[@riskopalfi801]

Also video idea: How do Elizabeth and Circus Baby coexist in the same body? Is the programming influencing Elizabeth? Are they merged together? Was she aware from the beginning etc.?

[@notrealnamenotatall2476]

I might try to go into that in my Baby video, if I can.

[@riskopalfi801]

@@notrealnamenotatall2476 Looking forward to it.

[@jessie_daily]

12:55 “And beNèath Ît-“ girl just pulled out the british accent rq😂

[@seaveggies]

Thank you so much for describing the image at that one spot! I love to listen to your videos while drawing and that was awesome! ^^

[@notrealnamenotatall2476]

You're very welcome!

[@santino7470]

10:30 “more like sacrificial Lamb” Hahaaa then a Spirit in a Corpse…then burned to death…now in Glamrock Freddyyyy I’m still not sure on that last one.

[@I6AM1GOD6]

Dittophobia confirm some of THIS!!!