It’s no secret that, among many of us somewhat eccentric arts kids, Five Nights at Freddy’s was and/or is a big part of our lives. Now, for those of you that don’t understand why that would be such a self explanatory thing, let me enlighten you on what exactly fnaf is. 

Five Night’s at Freddy’s is a series of point and click horror games centered around Freddy Fazbear’s pizza, an animatronic attraction oriented family pizzeria that just so happens to be the site of somewhere between five to a dozen murders. Typical horror game stuff. 

However, I don’t believe the actual game is where the “obsession” comes from. Now, make no mistake, as I live and breathe for Scott Cawthon’s games in the literal sense. His creative choices, from level design, to aesthetic, to character designs are nothing short of riveting. The games themselves are enough to warrant more than the reaction they’ve triggered since the first game’s release in August of 2014. (I’m ignoring how incredibly and inexplicably old that makes me feel.) 

I think that the reaction this game series triggered in us, as well as the incredibly unique circumstances that were set up for it to trigger said reaction, is the reason we are all still so incredibly attached. Because, stripped of all it’s horrifying glamour, all we really have is a click and point game with jumpscares. 

But, because of the lore and mystery and, more importantly, the community they’ve created, we have something far more substantial. We have a fandom. And that, readers, is the exact reason I have not, and likely will not ever grow out of my fnaf “phase”. 

This fandom is alive and well, as it should be, because Scott gave us a game series that does something very few pieces of media can: keeps us guessing. From Game Theory videos (admit it, you’ve watched more than a few), to gameplay vods, to timeline/event analysis and everything above, between, or beyond, this fandom has simply soared away with the series Cawthon has presented us with. The fnaf fandom, as Scott himself has admitted, has made this series what it is. In fact, the first fnaf game was meant to be Scott’s last ditch attempt at game design, his swan song. However, due to the overwhelming influx of fan favor, he decided to franchise. And, seven years later, here we are. 

Still swirling around in the world of missing kids, bites of 87′, purple guy identity theories, and timelines all set to the soundtrack of never ending fnaf themed songs while we read our fnaf novels and survival logbooks, holding our freddy plushies. Well, at least, I do. 

The point is, fnaf came into my life, as it did many others, I’m sure, during a time when I possessed a starved creative mind and nothing to feed it with. So, when I first discovered Mr. Fazbear and his gruesome world of nightmares, my mind latched onto it like a lifeline because it was engaging and stimulating in a way nothing else in my nine year old world. 

And I truly hope I never, ever grow out of it. Until next time. 

Sincerely, someone who still bops, unashamed, to “Join Us for a Bite” 

Hello everyone! For the sake of semi-realism here I will not be listing any weird creatures like the xenomorph from alien or paranormal villains like demons and ghosts and such. If they qualify as a human or were once human (like Freddy Krueger) they will be allowed on the list. As always, I will be biased in my opinion on the scale of difficulty! Lets just get into it then.

10. Hannibal Lecter (The Silence of the Lambs)

Let’s think about these scenarios as if we were in the movie ourselves. Hannibal Lector is a cannibal who canonically was a forensic psychiatrist which makes  him extremely dangerous to us, a person with no background knowledge in forensics. Luckily for us though, in the movie Hannibal Lecter is locked up in an extremely high security prison cell made just for him, so we are definitely safe from him unless he escapes or we become dumb enough to enter his range of attack. Just don’t live in the same area of this freak show. 

Chance of survival: More then 80%

9. Ghostface (Scream)

For this one I’m going to put us in the scenario of the main character of the series, Sydney, as well as the plot of the first movie.  Spoiler alert; you are the main target. There are two different Ghostface murderers in the movie. They are both regular humans so all we have to do is outsmart them. Both of the murderers are male and we are female. They have us beat in brute strength so we have to figure out a different way out of this. The two murderers are not that intelligent and are fairly cocky. They like to play around before going for the kill. We can take advantage of this. First, find something nearby that you can use as a weapon to protect yourself. All we have to do is stay calm and assess our surroundings for things that we can use. Another thing, don’t answer the phone. It is purely a distraction and meant for the murderer’s amusement.  Instead, pick it up and immediately call 911. It’s their fault for prioritizing entertainment rather than cutting the phone lines and leaving us without any way to contact help. One you do that, find a weapon and a corner to put your back against. Prepare yourself to fight for your life if it comes to it. Let’s say that you don’t get the chance to call 911 this time, the next thing to do is escape (you can try this even if you do call 911, but I don’t recommend it because of the riskiness). Since they didn’t cut the lines to the phone we can also assume that they did not slash the tires to our car outside. If you know where the keys are and where the murders are you are in a good position. If not, grasp your weapon and take a deep breath before carefully clearing each room until you find your keys. That’s one step down. Next, make sure the murderers are distracted by throwing something at the back door or window to make a loud noise.  They are dumb enough to go for that. Sometimes they tend to split up, so keep an eye out for that. Make sure you know where the both of them are before trying to leave. Then you wait (in hiding)  by the front door until you can see them both moving to that area. This is your chance to run to the car and get away. If you go without making sure you know where they both are, check the backseat and under the car before getting in. Then get in the car and lock the doors. Start it and get the heck out of there. Drive to the police station, not your moms house. You can call your mom there.

Chance of survival: Sydney did it for four movies, I can safely say that if you’re smart about it there is a 85%+ chance of survival. 

8. Cannibal Brothers (Wrong Turn)

Okay, imagine you’re stranded in a forest of west Virginia with a broken down car and you have no idea where you are. Your phone signal is jammed and you have no way to contact help. Before any enemies even know that you are there, DO NOT, go any further into the uncharted territory. Grab something from your car you can use as a weapon and turn your butt back around and run down the road you just came from until you find society again. If you’re dumb and decide to keep going into the woods, good luck, you are now the target of three deranged hillbilly cannibal brothers who are out for blood. We should assess our enemies first. They are not intelligent at all but they have us greatly outnumbered. They have incredible aim with a bow and are experienced with many weapons and are used to the hunt. This doesn’t look too good for you right now. Remember that weapon you got from the car? Yeah, hold onto that one. First things first, stray away from the open road. It gives them a clear view of you to shoot so if you stay to the side brush you can instantly have much more cover than before. They also can drive, which you now cannot. They already know you are in their area, so please just start running in one direction. Periodically check your phone to see if you are out of range of the jammer. Cell phone jammers average radius is only 9 meters. They could possibly have multiple so just keep checking. Don’t use your whole battery though, that is dumb. If you sense them gaining on you, run in zig zags so they cannot shoot you easily. The forests in West Virginia are HUGE so you will be there running for a while. They will not get tired and thirsty as easily as you so you HAVE to find a way to lose them so you can find a water source and some food. One you have that, keep running until you find a populated area where you can find help. If they end up catching you and bringing you to their cabin, you are mostly screwed. In the movie they do keep many weapons in the open and usually take a nap after they catch you because they are tired, so be careful and try to grab a small knife to cut the ropes without them seeing. Now, you have to kill them one by one quietly to make sure the others don’t wake up. No guns and no smothering, one is too loud and the other would wake them up. They are stronger than you, it will not work. If they are laying on their stomach, I recommend stabbing the back of the neck at the base of the skull. The intended goal of striking this area with a knife is to sever the spinal cord/brain stem. Once the spinal cord is severed, all body function ceases. Do this for every one that is laying on their stomach, if they are on their back, stab straight into the neck to the side of the larynx. Even if you don’t hit the artery this will put them out quickly. To put the nail in the coffin: gasoline is your new best friend. Light that cabin on fire with them inside and steal their car. Boom you are on your way.

Chance of survival: 50% (depending on how strong your will to live is)

7. Esther (Orphan)

For this scenario, you are a wife who is married to the most naïve man on Earth. Sorry, this was your choice. Due to the loss of your recent unborn baby, you decide it would be better to just adopt, which I don’t blame you for, but WHY would you choose the weirdest, most angsty kid in the orphanage. You can easily avoid the whole threat if you just choose a normal kid. For the sake of this blog, lets say that we felt bad for the little punk named Esther and adopted this creepy little girl. You don’t know this yet, but this little girl is not a little girl at all. She is a 33 year old woman who was diagnosed with a rare disease called hypopituitarism. She poses as a little girl  Over time you notice the violent habits, growing obsession with your husband and mysterious secrecy this little girl had been hiding. Your dumb husband does not  listen to you when you confide in him and accuses you of jealousy. I mean come on, obviously you should leave this guy if he is THAT dumb. If you choose to stay because you absolutely cannot leave this guy behind, the next thing to do is find a way to expose this kid without alerting her to get violent towards you or your husband. We do some research and find out about Esther’s past. PRINT EVERYTHING. Your husband obviously will not take your word for it so you have to get as much physical evidence as you can. On the off chance that he still doesn’t believe you, get in your car and leave. Let’s say that he finally believes you now okay? Use your joined strength and the aspect of surprise against this imposter and find a way to contain her. If she fights back, go ahead and stab her, or crush her tailbone with a bat. These options will both immobilize her so she cannot harm you or your husband. Call the police and let them handle her. This is probably the easiest situations to avoid.

Chance of survival: 90%+

 

6. The strangers (The Strangers) 

Let’s say that your boyfriend just proposed to you and you denied it because you were just not ready for that yet. The relationship isn’t that strong right now, but before you can fix things up at your secluded vacation home, you are now targeted by three mask wearing murderers who’s only motive to kill you is because you were home. They have nothing to lose and that makes them more dangerous. They are also intelligent with their movements and words. You will have to be extremely careful to make it out of this scenario with your life. As soon as you figure out something is wrong DO NOT split up. That’s the dumbest thing to do. If you split its now 1v3 instead of 2v3. These killers are not dumb. Even though they taunt you and play around, they do it in a strategic way where you cannot escape. They cut the phone lines and slashed your tires, what do you do now? If you can’t escape and you can’t call for help, there is only one option left. You fight back. In the movie, the male character (your boyfriend in this scenario) has mentioned that his father left a gun here. He remembers how to load it and pull the trigger, but he doesn’t remember where it is. Before you do anything, arm yourself with a knife from the kitchen. That’s a weapon that you DO know the location of. Then go room by room together and lock all the windows and make sure all of the curtains are closed as you look for the gun. As soon as you find it, get your boyfriend and sit in a corner of a room. A 90 degree attack area is better than a 360 degree one. You can also see where they could come from all at once. Load the gun and get ready to defend yourself. When they inevitably come for you, wait for them to get close enough and shoot them. In the movie, they have a shotgun, which as two rounds before you have to reload. That means its a 1v2 for the last enemy standing. You already have a knife in hand, so you can protect your boyfriend while he reloads and gets ready to finish off the last of them. If you are sitting in the corner, aim for the lower stomach, right behind their knee cap or slice their Achilles tendon, rendering them more immobile and easier to shoot. Make sure as soon as he reloads you move out of the way as quickly as possible. As always, make sure they are all dead before you move from the corner and go looking for help. The chances of you getting out unharmed are low, but as long as you survive is good enough don’t you think? 

Chances of survival: 20%-50% depending on if you can calming assess a situation before acting on anything and your pain tolerance. 65%+ if you follow these steps.

 

 

Thank you guys so much for reading this week! I truly appreciate it! Keep an eye out for part two next week! I think you’ll enjoy it if you enjoyed reading this one! See you next time and don’t be afraid to leave a comment telling me how YOU would survive! <3

   Welcome back to this weeks edition of The Different Voices of MSA! As you see by the title I am changing up my format a bit to add more flare to this blog, so I hope you all enjoy the changes and improvements that I’ve made.  This week I have my good friend Bea Aguilar here with me to do this interview! Lets get started.

Bea Aguilar

What is your discipline and why did you choose it?

” I am a visual artist. I chose this discipline because I want to do it as a living.”

If you could choose another art discipline which one would you choose?

“If I chose another art discipline it would be literary arts.”

What is your favorite style of art to create?

” my favorite style of art to create is graphic arts/comic arts. I love to create very visual artwork that also embodies a sense of horror.”

Who is your favorite artist?

“My favorite artist is Jhonen Vasquez, and he is a well known comic artist.”

How did you find out about MSA?

“I found out about MSA from my 7th grade art teacher.”

And that wraps up this interview thank you all for reading, I hope to see you again next week!

*Bea’s Artwork*

Though, many of the men in the rap industry aren’t comfortable enough to accept Lil Nas X’s sexuality, he shows us time and time again that he doesn’t care and he’s a prominent figure in rap. I personally think that people often get too caught up in his sexuality rather than paying attention to his artistry. His pen work and usage of different instruments is something that surpasses all the hate that he receives.  Welcome to Montero, here I will be analyzing some of my favorite songs from artist’s Lil Nas X new project. After all the hype around this album, I really want to get down to the root of these songs and why they are so controversial. 

INDUSTRY BABY FT. JACK HARLOW

Firstly, I want to bring attention to the amazing horns in this song. Supposedly, Lil Nas created all musical instrumentals on this album. It is not a frequent thing to see rap artist make their own instrumentals, and I would just like to show  my appreciation for his multitalented skills. What really grabs the attention of his audiences is his usage of bass. The beat is nice enough but the bass adds that extra flavor to the song. It gets your head moving and quickly becomes one of your favorite songs from this artists.

Let’s talk about this amazing feature with Jack Harlow. He is another rap artist that has recently blown up over the summer of 2020. His flow and voice is unique and he brings so much artistry to the rap industry. This collaboration was so unexpected for me, but it worked so well. The way Harlow always has a way to ride the beat for ANY song is so admirable. I would love to hear more songs from these two because they are so complementary.

This music video is so good!!! Lil Nas puts so much effort into his music videos. It has a story, it has texture, it has outfits, it has comedy. I would classify his music video style as a work of cinematic masterpiece. This isn’t something that is very common in the rap industry, the most you’ll ever see is a few men in a video just walking around lip syncing songs. He has really set the standard for men in the rap industry and I’m so excited to see more!

THATS WHAT I WANT

This song is my favorite from Montero. It really takes us back to Lil Nas’s country roots. If you’re unfamiliar with what I’m referring to, Lil Nas dropped the first ever trap country song titled Old Town Road featuring the country godfather himself, Billy Ray Cyrus. This was the song that really put him on the map, gaining attention from artists all across the world. There has been so many remixes of this song even a version featuring my favorite boy band BTS. But enough about the past, let’s get into this amazing track.

What stood out to me the most was the bridge. It was so catchy when I first heard it and it is the perfect lead way into the hook. One of the things that are most prominent in the track is the vocals it really complements the instrumental really well. As a country music hater, this really changed my mind about the genre. It has heavy country undertones but what is most prominent is the alternative and trap tones of the song. It really appeases to all audiences and I think he really hit the mark with this one.

Also Billy Porter is in the video!!!!

DEAD RIGHT NOW

Once again he brings in the horns!! I don’t know what it is about his incorporations of different instruments, but it really does something for me. Maybe that’s just the band kid in me talking, but I really love that so much.

I think this song is the best representation of this album. Through-out the album he has a really good way to sticking to the theme and I think this song is the best representation of that. The added horns and other instruments emphasize the ethereal and celestial feeling of the album. 

This is a really cocky song, and what’s an album without a bragging song?! It’s about cutting loses with someone and having the confidence to talk about it. He lists his accomplishments in the album all while celebrating his independency. He also let’s us know that he can see through the façade that people put up after his claim to fame. This song is definitely a 9/10. The softness of the bass helps to bring attention to the lyrics, and they are so relatable. I suggest listening to this song whenever you see an ex, ex-bestfriend, or anyone who ever doubted your success. This song is definitely the confidence boost you didn’t know you needed.

SCOOP FT. DOJA CAT

I know I’ve said this a lot, but this is my favorite song from the album <3.  This feature was one of the reasons I was so excited for this album to be released. I feel like these two were a cultural reset we didn’t know we needed. I love to see grossing artists collab with each other to make an amazing song and they really exceeded any expectations I had for this song.

Doja Cat is an icon when it comes to music and fashion. She really has made her way into the music industry and has become a household name for all. What I fear the most when big artists like Doja Cat collab with up and coming artists like Lil Nas, is over-shadowing. I see too frequently where one artists out raps or out sings the original artists on the track taking away from that artist’s work. This song was a perfect balance of both of their voices. You got to hear Doja Cat’s personality and pen work while also appreciating Lil Nas X’s. This is yet another complementary duo that I am excited to hear more from.

From his features, to his solo tracks, Lil Nas X has shown us yet again why he is an artist to look out for. His consistency in lyricism and musical production is what makes him such a valuable and unique artist and I believe it needs to be appreciated more. The way he pays attention and provide us with so much creativity and detail really shines through his work. I encourage you to set aside all the press and criticism and listen to this album with open ears and an open mind.

Since my arrival at MSA, I’ve encountered a practice that I’ve never seen, in any capacity, really, before my time here. That practice is the keeping of Quote Books. A quote book is self explanatory; it’s a document, usually a note on one’s phone, that keeps quotes people said that the owner finds humorous, memorable, special, etc. 

However, I’ve never been particularly fixated on the fact that people kept quote books. In fact, for such a mildly bizarre concept, I adapted to it fairly quickly, even beginning a quote book of my very own, which has grown substantially since my arrival on campus. Rather, I was always fixated on why it was that we quoted each other so frequently. I’ve developed a few different theories. 

Theory one is rather simple actually. We just find the things that make their way into our quote books funny and think it nice to remember them, be it for the likely reason of storing a serotonin boosting reference for later or another reason. Regardless, theory number one is the likely but simplistic and therefore, personally unsatisfying answer, as to why these books exist in such variety across campus. 

Theory two is a bit more complex, though not nearly so intricately argued a leap as theory three. The second theory is that people want a reference as to what MSA is like to show others. Quote books, with their somewhat chaotic and eccentric nature (context not provided), are honestly a decent reflection of life on campus. People here, and therefore the environment they cultivate, are indeed chaotic, eccentric, unpredictable, and even random. So, quote books come into being to capture the chaos and keep it to display to others and help them “understand” the MSA environment a little better. 

Theory three, however, is my personal logic for creating my quote book. It is a strange mixture of the former theories, as well as another factor yet to be mentioned. While it’s true that I do keep my quotes because they are funny, I do enjoy being able to look back on them, and they do help me to explain the MSA environment to “outsiders”, there is also another reason: I need something to remember this place by.

Sure, I’ll retain the general memories on my own. I’ll likely always recall at least a rough outline of my class schedule. Odds are at least a few literary assignments will stick with me. Specific events like the back to school dance or other smaller outings or gatherings with my classmates will definitely leave their marks. Undoubtedly, these blogs themselves will leave their imprint. 

But the quote book is what I leave myself as a reminder of the atmosphere I was immersed in here everyday at my first home. When I’m grown up, and I look back missing this place and these times so much it aches, I will look to this quote book. Sure, I may not hold within me the context for every entry, in fact I’ll likely loose the explanations behind many of them before graduation, knowing my memory. But I will always remember the people who spoke these lines, the relationships I had with them, and the impact they had on my life. I will never forget the subjects of my quote book, and therefore I can never forget this place and this environment that I live for. 

And taking comfort in something so seemingly trivial is something I never knew I needed to this day. 

Sincerely, someone who lives for the memories being made. 

I figured for the first installment of this blog, I should begin with my own lifeless sentimental attachments. As a person who loves to give names and personalities to almost every thing I own, I have quite a few that I could mention, but I will just stick to mentioning the main ones. 

The first object that I somehow formed an emotional attachment to is a slice of a walnut shell that I found while walking on campus one day. A few friends and I were heading to get pizza when I saw it on the sidewalk. The day I found the walnut shell was a day in which my anxiety was particularly high, so when I found it, I used it as a sort of grounding tool. I held it in my hand the whole walk to get pizza and back, and now, I keep it to remind myself to not be so caught up in my head that I forget that there are small pieces of the world waiting to be found.

Upon further research (aka MSA word of mouth), I found out that the slice of walnut shell was from a coaster of some sorts that fell apart. Even after finding out the uneventful past of the walnut shell, I still think it is one of the coolest things I have because I found it when I really needed it. 

Anyways, here is a picture of Wallace the Walnut Shell:

 

Hello everyone! If you have read my previous blogs you’ll know that I’m a huge horror movie fan. My love for horror does not stop there though! I also love horror games! One of which is the widely known Five Nights At Freddy’s franchise. I’m sure you’ve heard of it once or twice, but if not I’ll briefly explain it to you. The concept of the game is to survive fight nights at a pizzeria filled with animatronics that were meant for entertaining children. We play as the security guard who was hired to watch over the establishment. These animatronics are said to become vicious and murderous when the pizzeria closes. As the player of the game you have to use mechanics like closing doors, checking the security cameras, and using a flashlight to protect yourself while also conserving power at the same time to survive. Now, lets get into my ranking.  I will be excluding the spin off, mobile only, and upcoming games. Oh, and I probably will have two animatronics listed occasionally for my favorites because its just so hard to choose!

8.  Five Nights at Freddy’s 3

Okay I’m not gonna spend a lot of time on this game because it is EASILY the worst game out of the main series. If you don’t agree you obviously have not played the game. I’m not one to bash people for their opinions but please… just not this game. I mean, its not terrible lore wise, but the gameplay isn’t the best. Pretty much in this game you work as a security guard who must defend themselves from a rotting animatronic called Springtrap that William Afton has been trapped inside and inhabits the attraction, along with phantom animatronics that resemble the original ones. Other than the gameplay, the lore in this game is huge. Keep in mind that the lore of Fnaf is mostly theories from fans. Some have solid proof and others do not. I am not going to say much about the lore because I find it so complex and interesting that I think you should look into it yourself!

Favorite Animatronic(s): Phantom Balloon Boy or Phantom Mangle

7. Ultimate Custom Night

I actually haven’t played Ultimate Custom Night myself but I have watched multiple play-throughs on YouTube. The gameplay for this game is kind of like a choose your own difficulty type thing. You can choose how hard you would like the game and you can choose which animatronics to play against. The hardest mode is 20:20:20:20 mode. There is lore in all of the Fnaf games so I’m not going to continue to talk about it. 

Favorite Animatronic: Circus Baby

6.Five Nights at Freddy’s

This was the first game in the whole series. Five Nights at Freddy’s started a whole new era of horror games. This was the starting point. In the timeline of Fnaf, this game is not actually the first event. The gameplay includes the player as a security guard in a pizzeria. You as the player have to conserve energy all while having to use the doors, check security cameras to check the locations of all the animatronics, and turn on the lights when needed to protect yourself from the murderous animatronics. This game opened up so many doors for a lot of different groups of people. The biggest opportunities came to youtubers and other influencers. For example, Markiplier (aka the king of five nights at Freddy’s) and MatPat from Game Theory. They both benefitted greatly from this game.

Favorite Animatronic: Foxy

5. Freddy Fazbear’s Pizzeria Simulator

I played this one for a while. It was the second Fnaf game that gave a brand new aspect to the game. Instead of playing as a security guard we play as an entrepreneur opening our own pizzeria. We start off with some money and we earn it by how many customers we attract. The interesting part of this game is the scrap animatronics that you find out in the alleyway. You can choose to take them in or leave them out. The game was particularly fun to me because it was new. It had many different mini games inside of it which had SO MUCH lore included. It was just very entertaining to play, plus it was a free game.

Favorite animatronic(s):  Bonnet, Scrap Baby

4. Five Nights at Freddy’s 4

Some say that this is the scariest Fnaf game but I disagree. Okay yes the animatronics are definitely scarier in terms of intimidation and sharp teeth, but they’re fairly easy to avoid. The difference with this game is that you aren’t in a pizzeria with these blood thirsty animatronics. You are a child, sitting on your bed in your house. You carry a flashlight as usual, and you can run off your bed to close the closet and the two doors that lead to the hallways in your house. You also have to make sure to check the bed behind you when you sit down. This flashlight’s battery never dies though.  You can hear audio ques and other little hints that let you know which door to go to.  After each night, the player has to play a mini game including the animatronic named Plushtrap. It’s a dangerous game but its not too hard to complete.

Favorite animatronic: Fredbear

3. Five Nights at Freddy’s: Help Wanted

This is the most recent game from the franchise. This one actually dives into Virtual Reality. Of course if you don’t have a VR headset or anything you can play the version that is just on the screen of your computer. This game takes us on a whole different story as well. It includes forty different mini games you have to complete to win. This game honestly confused me at first but after I watched a few explanation videos I can see how meta this game can get. You as the player are a tester for an indie game that was created by the canon Freddy Fazbear Entertainment company. They created this game to make light of the damaging rumors surrounding the deaths and disappearances from the establishments. The story of this game is very complex but basically you find tapes around the minigames that you play that you can listen to. They are in random order so you have to figure it out yourself as the player. I won’t dive too deep into it, mostly because as most things I write about, I want you to either play it yourself or watch someone else on YouTube do it!

Favorite animatronic(s): Vanny  (does it even count as a animatronic? If not then lets just say Mangle)

2. Five Nights at Freddy’s 2

Funnily enough, this was the first Fnaf game that I bought and played myself. I absolutely loved this game, mostly because I had watched other people play the first game so I could see the improvements. Little did I know how big this franchise would get. It added a few new mechanics that the last game did not have. For example, the music box/marionette. You play as the security guard once again, and the thing with the marionette (aka puppet) is very anxiety inducing. It was for me at least. You have to check the camera in the prize corner that held the puppet’s music box. You have to keep it wound up at all times. If the song finishes, its an instant kill. Balloon Boy was also a new addition. This little punk steals your batteries. He makes cool sound effects though. 

Favorite animatronic(s): Mangle and Marionette

1. Five Nights at Freddy’s: Sister Location

I actually remember playing this game on my phone with all my friends watching me on the bus ride home. Good times. This one is my personal favorite for SO many reasons. Three of the main reasons is the comedy aspect, animatronic design, and gameplay. It features a mechanic where you can move between rooms and interreact with the animatronics without being jump-scared, which was first of its kind when this game was released.  Each room had its own objective you had to complete. After each night you are given a minigame including the main animatronic of this game, Circus Baby. The comedic aspect of this game is mainly in the commentary from HandUnit (an A.I. who assists Michael.) He provides most of the comedy. One of my favorite parts is where it changes its voice algorithm to match that of an “angsty teen.” The animatronics in this game have my favorite color scheme and design than any of the other games. Their main colors are white and pink, excluding Circus Baby whose colors are white, orange and green. In this game we play as Michael Afton, the son of the creator of these animatronics, William Afton. We are hired as a security guard for this underground facility hosting rental animatronics for kids birthday parties. We go through each night and complete all the tasks we have to do for the animatronics. Eventually we can hear “Baby” start speaking to us, leading us astray from the HandUnit’s instruction. Gosh I loved this game so much. I won’t go much further into it since I’ve already said so much. If you end up playing any of these games for yourself (if you already haven’t) I recommend this one the most!

Favorite animatronic(s): Bon Bon, Funtime Freddy, Circus Baby.

 

Thank you so much for reading this week! Let me know who your favorite animatronics are and which games you loved the most in the comments! Also, keep an eye on next week’s blog. Wink wink 😉

 

I can do this later. I can write this blog later. I have plenty of time to just write this whole thing later. I’m not even going to bother with it. Why should I have to do something now that I could just as easily do later? It’s not procrastination if the assignment doesn’t even cross your mind, right?

I have all the time in the world. But I’m sitting here writing a blog. I could be doing a million other things. I’m just lacking in motivation. I’m extremely demotivated right now. It’s not unhealthy to be demotivated. It’s a sign that you need to give your mind some rest. So I’m blogging. Blogging instead of doing any of the other things I need to do.

I wonder what this blog is even about. Is there some lesson that a reader could learn about life from reading this? If there isn’t, then I’ll give you this. Take a break. Do something you enjoy doing. Something due tomorrow can spare time for you to have a little bit of today. Work hard and rest easy. Whatever order you think is best for you. Take care of yourself. If you don’t have the energy to blog right now then that’s perfectly fine. Blog later.

howdy, y’all! i’m back with a new installment of my album series, and this one focuses on joni mitchell’s breathtaking record, blue.

#1 all i want

at its core, this song is a gorgeous anthem for the lonely and the longing. it’s a quiet, honest plea for something greater, something beyond the mundane. joni sings of wanting to feel alive and make others feel alive too, and there are few things more relatable than that. the song also has a gorgeous sense of warmth and protectiveness that envelops you as you listen, and i’d highly recommend this one for a muggy december day.

my favorite line: i wanna knit you a sweater, i wanna write you a love letter, i wanna make you feel better

#2 my old man

my old man, for me, is a song about a woman’s dedication to her partner in life as well as in love. it describes the man in a gentle, loving way that acknowledges the woman’s adoration for him. another detail of the song is that the people in it have a relationship so strong that marriage isn’t even needed to bind it, which i think is an interesting, necessary facet of their dynamic.

my favorite line: he’s a singer in the park, he’s a walker in the rain, he’s a dancer in the dark

#3 little green

little green is one of the best storytelling songs i’ve ever heard. joni tells the true story of giving up her daughter for adoption with tenderheartedness, charm, and whimsy. this song has inspired much of my own work and means a great deal to me.

my favorite line: call her green and the winters cannot fade her, call her green for the children who’ve made her

#4 carey

i think that my favorite thing about this song is that, in all honesty, i have no clue what it’s about. it speaks of travel and sets up scenes so vivid that each gentle chord brings forth the smell of the salty summer air. i actually have never looked up the origins and meaning of this song (a rare occurrence for me) because i like the ambiguity of simply feeling the song rather than knowing it.

my favorite line: my fingernails are filthy, i’ve got beach tar on my feet, and i miss my clean white linen and my fancy french cologne

#5 blue

perhaps the most fitting and beautiful title track ever, blue is a cry for help and a battle chant all at once. it’s absolutely one of my favorite songs of all time, and i cannot say enough about how much it means to me and how brilliant it truly is. joni’s vocal performance is flawless and pairs so beautifully with her lyricism here.

my favorite line: ink on a pen, underneath the skin, an empty space to fill in

#6 california

this song is essentially a simple and adoring love letter to the state of california. it details why the writer considers the state to be home and what makes it such a unique, beloved place. it’s a travel song that talks about visiting many places and seeing many things, but it always returns to it’s beacon- california.

my favorite lyrics: and i might have stayed on with him there, but my heart cried out for you, california

#7 this flight tonight

this song is like a parting gift to someone you don’t know anymore. it gives beautiful memories of a love lost and reconciles with a new beginning as the narrator takes flight. memories present themselves in a gloomy, nostalgic fashion as stars, both familiar and new.

my favorite line: it wasn’t the one that you gave to me that night down south between the trailers, not the early one that you can wish upon, not the northern one that guides the sailors

#8 river

another personal favorite of mine, river is a haunting ballad that feels both specific to its narrator and easily relatable to its listener. for me, the song captures depression, specifically seasonal depression, in an incredibly accurate way; but that doesn’t make the song itself depressing. i believe that this is a song filled with hope and honesty- both of which i often need.

my favorite line: i’m so hard to handle, i’m selfish and i’m sad

#9 a case of you

another unconventional love song, a case of you reminds me of trying to walk around in someone else’s mind and stumbling. it’s sort of like two people who can’t seem to get enough of each other, despite being opposites in nearly every way. one of the reasons i love this song so much is that it makes me think of one of my favorite tv couples- but that’s a story for another blog.

my favorite line: i am a lonely painter, i live in a box of paints, i’m frightened by the devil, and i’m drawn to those ones that ain’t afraid

#10 the last time i saw richard

i relate to this song on so many levels, and i’m not sure if that should make me sad, concerned, or both- but i won’t worry about that right this minute. it’s about wanting love so much that you shut down the very idea of having it for fear of it being unreachable. i honestly don’t know how to coherently express the mastery of joni’s lyricism here (and always), so this is the part where i give y’all perhaps the best advice you will get this week- listen to this album. please. you won’t regret it; and if you do, as joni would say, “i wish i had a river i could skate away on” because that’s pretty embarrassing for me. anyway, ’til next time 🙂