Somniphobia | Pressure | Cleithrophobia
Just squeeze a little bit more. I'm sure you'll fit.
“It’s the fear of being trapped,” Ronan explained. “People with claustrophobia don’t like small spaces, whether they’re trapped or not. People with cleithrophobia can tolerate small spaces as long as they know they can come and go. They’re afraid of being stuck.”
Tate raised an eyebrow. “How do you know all that?”
Ronan shrugged. “I read.”
“But why do you know that’s what Grady has?” Tate asked.
Ronan flicked a glance at Tate. “I listen.”
Grady, Ronan and Tate are running specs on Freddy Fazbear's Mega Pizzaplex, which is going to open soon. They have to test all of the attractions, make sure they're operating properly and safely. Ronan and Tate leave early, meaning Grady has to test Ballora's Fitness & Flex; a series of small, interconnected tubes that are meant for people to wiggle through. Grady has a severe fear of being trapped in small spaces, but the Ballora animatronic is supposed to be able to help him should he get stuck... right?
The ninth Tales from the Pizzaplex story, and the third of the third book, Somniphobia. The short will be adapted into the graphic novel series in 2025.
Tropes related to “Cleithrophobia”:
- Accidental Murder: Grady's coworkers for leaving him alone in the building, and Ballora for not understanding human limitations.
- A.I. Is a Crapshoot: First foreshadowed by Grady, at the carousel, thinking about how he doesn't like robots having "too much control." He then is stuck with Ballora, whose A.I. was never programmed with the ability to understand human pain.
- Anachronic Order: The opening for the story takes place five months later, at the opening, to show that Ballora's attraction is now permanently closed.
- And I Must Scream: By the end of the story, Grady has been too injured to even move his vocal chords, or show any sign of life.
- Babysitter from Hell: When Grady was five, his new babysitter, Francis, had brought her boyfriend over as soon as his parents were gone. The boyfriend, Boone, soon shoved Grady in a closet, locking him inside so he could "have some fun" with Francis. The two left him there for over six hours, with Grady soon getting his arm stuck upright as he tried to reach the knob and got his arm trapped between the wood shelf and the wall. When his parents came home early and found him, he wasn't able to speak for days. All he knows about what happened to Francis and Boone was that his parents were "pressing charges."
- Beast in the Maze: As Grady begins trying to avoid Ballora to avoid being ripped apart, she still is able to follow him through all of the tunnels and do her best to "help."
- Body Horror: Grady is slowly and torturously pulled apart by Ballora, reduced to a bony, paralyzed pulp by her attempts to help.
- Call-Back: The intro features some kids at the Pizzaplex's opening witnessing the AR booth fill with smoke as panicked employees try to break it open. This is clearly supposed to be a reference to and explanation for the first book's "Under Construction."
- Character Check: In Sister Location, it's mentioned that Ballora encourages kids to get fit. That trait is never referenced again in-game. This version of Ballora runs a tube maze which is intended to help kids become more flexible and get exercise, finally fulfilling that role.
- Claustrophobia: Or, as Ronan explains, the titular Cleithrophobia, a fear of being trapped in small spaces.
- Comfort Food: Following the Babysitter Incident, Grady developed a junk food addiction, as his guilty parents let him eat whatever he wanted. Even though they're not supposed to eat on the job, Grady still brings candy bars with him to work.
- Creepy Ballet: Even without feet, Ballora loves to spin around and twirl like a ballerina.
- Cruel and Unusual Death: Grady is slowly pulled apart by Ballora, with his limbs ripping from his sockets, pulling his tendons farther than survivable, turned into a shambling mess of blood and broken bones that is somehow still conscious enough to know when Ballora comes back to finish the job.
- A Day in the Limelight: For Ballora, who gets a Pizzaplex/Glamrock design and function... which is soon shut down after what happens to Grady.
- Downer Ending: Grady was hesitant about going into the tubes, and acknowledged that it was a poor idea from the beginning. He still goes, and still dies in just the way he feared.
- Dying Alone: Grady watches Ronan and Tate leave, and though he has no ill-will towards them for not risking their jobs, he wishes they would have stayed so he wouldn't be alone.
- Everyone Loves Blondes: Kim's mother says that Eric isn't good enough for her because she's a pretty blonde and he's not that good-looking.
- Gentle Giant: Ronan.
- Gone Horribly Right: Ballora is doing her job of getting stuck patrons out of the tubes. Unfortunately, she wasn't programmed to be able to understand human body limitations, and thus starts ripping the body apart.
- Hate Sink: Tate is an arrogant Jerkass who doesn't care much for other people, constantly makes fun of Grady, barely half-finishes his work (leaving Grady and Tate to pick up after him), and would rather let his coworker die horribly than get in trouble at work.
- Ironic Nursery Tune: Though it's different from her Sister Location song, Ballora still sings a nice little minor-key rhyme as she slowly kills Grady.
- Madness Mantra: Ballora's "You're stuck. I want to help."
- Monster of the Week: Pizzaplex Ballora, though she's only trying to help.
- Murderous Malfunctioning Machine: Grady is sure that Ballora's actions are due to a failure in the programming to understand human limitations.
- No Full Name Given: Much like the rest of the series, surnames are a rarity in this short.
- Non-Malicious Monster: Ballora is only trying to help the trapped Grady, but a combination of the too-tight climbing tunnels and her own strength causes her to tear him apart.
- Non-Standard Character Design: This version of Ballora lacks legs, instead having a long mechanism at her waist allowing her to move along the walls and through the tunnels.
- Plot Parallel: The end scene where Ronan and Tate decide to leave Grady behind is very similar to Devon and Mick's conversation about abandoning Kelsey in Fazbear Frights' "The New Kid."
- Puppy Love: In the intro, Kim thinks about how Eric's had a crush on her since they were in Kindergarten.
- Purple Is Powerful: Glamrock Ballora still has purple eyes, though they're open now rather than always shut, so they can be seen.
- Real Men Wear Pink: Ronan, a tall, muscular man who "looked like he could be an action movie star" hates violence of all kinds, has a soft heart, and likes to knit presents for people he likes.
- Retail Therapy: Alicia is described as a "shopaholic."
- Scary Teeth: Grady doesn't like that Ballora has more teeth than a normal human.
- Trapped-with-Monster Plot: As Grady goes through increasingly small tunnels, he knows that if he ends up stuck, Ballora will find him and tear him apart.
- True Blue Femininity: Ballora's Pizzaplex design is more blue than purple.
- You Remind Me of X: Grady really dislikes Tate due to how he reminds him of Boone.
