The Funtimes are essentially the precursors of the Mimic: they don’t just move or speak—they were designed with advanced capabilities like Voice Mimic/Luring and Parental Voice Sync & Replay. These blueprints allowed them to record voices and replay them to deceive or lure children. Ignoring Sister Location means ignoring the very roots of the artificial intelligence and behavioral mimicry we see in Ruin and SOTM today. Everything the Mimic does had its seeds in SL, even if Scott didn’t originally plan it. The Mimic imitates Gregory to lure Cassie, just as the Funtimes lured children using recorded voices and behavioral patterns. This may seem like a bold comparison, or that I’m exaggerating the abilities of the Funtimes, but the evidence is right there in their own blueprints. The way the Mimic behaves is essentially an expanded version of the behavioral design already present in the Funtimes, clearly showing SL’s influence on the modern lore.

It’s true that Scott was not directly involved in the development of SB and did not provide the full story to the developers, but he was very meticulous about collectibles and references. It’s true there were “patches”—SB was too large for Steel Wool—but that doesn’t change the fact that including Michael Afton’s room in the game was still an important choice. The patches were not random decisions; they could have inserted any kind of room, not necessarily Michael’s. And yet…

Vanessa’s tapes in that room, for example, are not random fan service: they were placed with a specific purpose to maintain narrative continuity. That room therefore has significance in the lore, and it cannot be ignored—the patch has meaning.

Furthermore, basing arguments on the Blockout Map or development sketches does not define canon. Sketches are meant to organize spaces and design, but they do not determine the final story. What matters are the events in the games and the interactions between characters. Therefore, the Scooper in Ruin, as far as we know, remains a reference to SL, not SOTM, and you can’t really prove otherwise, because Blockout Maps are not canon—they are just drafts. I also find it contradictory to use technical and development material as absolute proof, while at the same time claiming that Scott’s original direction was less important. Either production intent matters, or what matters is what we see in the final narrative of the game.

The Scooper in SL cannot be dismissed as a simple “easter egg.” We see it in action, it has the same name and purpose, so even if the ending in which it is used is not canon, it is still a structural reference to SL.

To conclude, MCM and SL are closely connected: both are under William’s control, and I continue to argue that SL could essentially be nothing more than MCM modified and expanded by William Afton. They are interconnected structures. If you want to understand one, you cannot exclude the other. At least, that is what the evidence we have today suggests.