History Characters / MyFriendlyNeighborhood

* SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome; Gordon's bad attitude and short temper have been getting him into trouble on the job, to the point that by the time he gets to the studio, he's on the verge of being fired if he gets one last strike or complaint.

* HiddenDepths: Despite being a sock puppet, Ricky understands quite a lot more about human nature than one would expect [[spoiler:like knowing the wealthy only paid attention to the Neighborhood when it made them money... or wondering if maybe humans prefer being mean and dark, not wanting to emulate the friendly lessons the Neighborhood taught, because they hate facing just how cruel and dysfunctional their beliefs and behaviors really are.]]

* WellIntentionedExtremist: [[spoiler:Ricky truly believes that the world has gone too mean, and it needs My Friendly Neighborhood's guidance so that everyone can be happy and nice to each other again. This also explains why Ricky keeps telling Gordon to not disconnect the antenna. The GoldenEnding proves that TheExtremistWasRight; letting ''My Friendly Neighborhood'' broadcast is the only way for the studio to return to normal.]]

* FormerlyFit: Once he was [[spoiler:fit enough to fight in a war]], but in the modern day he's an out-of-shape asthmatic who tends to injure himself escaping from grabs.

A cast of Puppets left abandoned in their theatre. They wander around aimlessly as prominent obstacles who will manhandle Gordon in their desperation of having new friends. Others though, are more openly hostile due to their neglect...

** Mascot monsters are usually hostile by anger, vengeance, or outright madness and tend to be unreasonable. They also tend to have some kind of leader or driving force. [[spoiler:While the Puppets are certainly weird, they're more like children who don't know how to take care of themselves. They are aimless, but can learn if someone properly interacts with them. While they have a "leader", Ricky, he's [[OnlySaneMan the least hostile and sanest by far]] and his interactions with Gordon are largely trying to find a middle ground while explaining their goal is simply to get back on the air. Their violent ramblings and behavior are made-up and/or learned and re-enacted so they can be accepted by people again. Which is why they are rebroadcasting themselves over established showslots.]]
** Mascot Monsters tend to be an ImplacableMan and/or SuperPersistentPredator that will kill you in one shot. The Puppets are stoppable with ''duct tape'', take multiple hits to down you, and tend not to follow Gordon if he can get up out of reach/get into another room.

* KillerBearHug: The puppets' primary method of attack is to wrap their arms around Gordon and squeeze as if they are trying to crush him to death. However, the puppets aren't actually aware of what they're doing, they are so desperate and overexcited for human company that they've forgotten their own strength and how to respect personal space.
* MotorMouth: A consistent trait is that if a Puppet can speak, they will be blabbering for a bit until they're interrupted. It's not uncommon for rooms to be filled with their noise and encouraging players to knock them out in order to quiet them down.
* ObliviouslyEvil: Arguably their defining characteristic is that they don't realize how unsettling they act or how strong they are. Most of them are just trying to give Gordon a simple ''hug'' but are so rough about it that he has to fight them off and/or bind them. [[spoiler: It's implied that a lot of this because they are trying to be as relevant as the "mean" things they see on TV. The ones that embrace this completely avert this, and lurk in the Unfriendly Neighborhood.]]
* RevivingEnemy: Puppets will keep getting back up the next time Gordon enters the room unless they're taped up.

A blue sock puppet with red yarn hair and googly eyes. He seems to be the Mascot for The Neighborhood, having designated spaces to pop up from and welcoming Gordon when he arrives and rings the bell at the front desk of the studio. He's not hostile per say, but he's strongly passive-aggressive about not wanting Gordon to shut down the broadcast tower.

* AntiVillain: It's honestly very difficult to really ''call him'' a villain. Despite being one of the puppets and basically shifting between helping Gordon and obstructing him, he is entirely sane and is mostly just trying to convince Gordon to not shut down the tower [[spoiler: because he believes that the only way to even begin fixing the problems of the puppets and the outside world's cynicism is by getting their show back on the air. It's telling the ending where he gets everything he wants is the GoldenEnding.]]
* CastingGag: Who else to voice a blue puppet than [[WebVideo/{{Arlo}} someone who is a blue puppet?]]
* {{Expy}}: To Kermit the Frog, as the first of many Jim Henson Puppet expies in the game, it's suitable despite being a sock puppet. He's the ultimate Optimistic face of the franchise (appearing the most on posters), genuinely friendly, though passive aggressive and a DeadpanSnarker when frustrated, and has a love for his friends and performing.
* HiddenDepths: Despite being a sock puppet, Ricky understands quite a lot more about human nature than one would expect [[spoiler:like knowing the wealthy only paid attention to the Neighborhood when it made them money or wondering if maybe humans prefer being mean and dark, not wanting to emulate the friendly lessons the Neighborhood taught because they hate facing just how cruel and dysfunctional their beliefs and behaviors really are.]]
* InnocentlyInsensitive: While well meaning, Gordon's persistence at doing his job leads to Ricky getting more and more snarky, which reaches a tipping point in the Studios' Gardens when [[spoiler:he compares Gordon, a former participant in a horrific War, to a bloodthirsty G.I. looking for a village to attack while lambasting him for being a violent bully. Gordon rightfully loses his temper and shoots at Ricky for it.]] Even when on better terms, his childish way of speaking sometime makes Gordon think he's mocking him when he's really not.
* OnlySaneMan: He's childish in his dialog, and downplays how dangerous the Studio is constantly, but he's also the only Puppet that converses with people on a level other than chattering nonsense or indecipherable noises, and mostly is trying to reason with Gordon.
* WellIntentionedExtremist: [[spoiler:Ricky truly believes that the world has gone too mean and needs My Friendly Neighborhood's guidance so everyone can be happy and nice to each other again. This also explains why Ricky keeps telling Gordon to not disconnect the antenna. The GoldenEnding proves that TheExtremistWasRight; letting ''My Friendly Neighborhood'' broadcast is the only way for the studio to return to normal.]]

* IronButtMonkey: Since they are the most consistent obstacle, they are often the ones getting sent flying like ragdolls once knocked out... however, by the time you re-enter the room, they will be standing again no worse for wear. Normans and Leonards in particular get it the worst of the bunch, being the ones typically stuffed into lockers or otherwise left in pieces.

* PaletteSwap: They are more or less all the same kind of enemy, they share lines, animations and behavior, but have at least different voices and some unique dialogs.
* StepfordSmiler: Their most consistent trait is that as chipper as they are trying to be, the loneliness of being in the studio is eating away at them, and thus causes their aggression to burst out in what they say and do.
* UniqueEnemy: [[spoiler:Two particular, peculiar, variants of these puppets show up during the story. A Norman that walks into Ray's Workshop rips himself apart in a flurry of shadowy stuffing to split into a crowd of other Normans, the copies do not show up in the room again and nothing like that happens again. Once you make enough progress, just about to the Gardens, the seemingly inanimate Lenard statue in the entrance plaza comes to life with an electric trill to his voice; unlike the splitting Norman, the statue is there to stay. There's also a Norman statue holding a pair of bolt cutters in the sewers that comes to life on harder difficulties.]]

A giant pink puppet bird who lacks eyes, blindly wandering about and poking at the Neighborhood Set as her fellow Puppets blather around her. She is nonhostile, but is a constant hazard that will hurt Gordon while blind.

* BlindWithoutEm: {{Exaggerated}} and [[JustifiedTrope Justified]] as her glasses comes with her eyes.
* EyelessFace: Lacks these as her eyes are sealed in a vault within stage 4, and is thus blindly stumbling about the area.
* {{Expy}}: Of Big Bird, they are both sweetheart GentleGiant birds whose size and stumbling mean they're prone to cause unintentional damage. Her larger-than-life stature and digitigrade legs also make her one for the [[https://muppet.fandom.com/wiki/Gawky_Birds Gawky Birds]].
* {{Foreshadowing}}: The costume storage area reveals the Puppets have replacement noses and eyes, and she's a threat when her eyes are detached, [[spoiler: it also is utilized by the Unfriendly Neighbors as an intimidation tactic.]]
* GentleGiant: Is non hostile by default and while she wanders around feeling things, she's not drawn to your noise in particular, and does not attack Gordon on-sight. Even when Gordon accidentally upsets her a little, the most that happens is that she let's out an offended chirp before he apologizes for the remark.
* NonMaliciousMonster: Easily one of the largest puppets in the studio and quite intimidating despite her colorful appearance. It initially looks like she's deliberately patrolling Stage 4 for some reason and that she's aggressive if you get too close... but keep observing Pearl and it becomes clear that she's unable to see and is trying to find something. Once she gets her eyes back, she calms down and will not bother Gordon anymore.

A large grumpy red puppet who "worked" as host handyman on his portion of The Neighborhood. Tends to try and fix things by smacking them with his wrench, and his temper got him put down in the sewers after the show's cancelation.

* PercussiveMaintenance: His preferred method of trying to fix things is to whack them with his wrench. Notably the script for an episode that's supposed to teach him ''not to do this on everything'' is beside his stage, which means that it either went unaired, or he didn't learn the lesson. [[spoiler:Once Gordon gets the means to fix the pump for the sewer and turns the valve that washes away the nearby sewage, it seems Ray finally understands there are other ways to fix problems, contemplatively turning the valve handle.]]
* PsychologicalProjection: Implied that Gordon eventually [[spoiler:getting frustrated, yelling at and explaining that Ray can't just hit things to make them better has this element to it.]]

* FragileSpeedster: They are hard to hit, but one well placed shot will send them flying into the opposing walls.

* {{Expy}}: Of Cookie Monster, both being larger, googly-eyed puppets whose entire gimmick is a focusing on ravenous eating. With Gobblette, it's more of an in general hunger, and this, coupled with her larger frame, brings to mind the larger full-body Muppet monsters who also tended to eat other Muppets in their segments.
* HiddenDepths: Playing recent films lures her into the theatre but she doesn't seem interested until [[spoiler:Gordon plays an older film on the horrors of war, making her weep in the front row. When he goes down to the front row, he relays a film moment that was special to him, and helps her begin to process the impact it had on her.]]
* TertiarySexualCharacteristics: Averted, apart from her odd voice tone and name, she has no traditional indicators that she is female until Gordon confirms it with a line of dialog.

* AttackItsWeakPoint: Is defeated by shooting its many eyes.

* BigFriendlyDog: Their role based on context is to be an attraction in the outdoor park section of the Studio. In current day they act like feral wolves [[spoiler:until they're finally fed again.]]
* MixAndMatchCritter: Look like a cross between alligators, bugs and wolves.
* NoNameGiven: Averted, despite not being said aloud, their dog bowls list their names as Scraps (left doghouse), Flooper (middle) and Mahoney (right).

* StealthPun: Gordon calls them Pups, as in, they're ''PUP''-''PETS''

A monstrous looking red Puppet with a square shaped head and long arms, who hangs out at his odd-looking penthouse up higher in the Hotel. Apparently fancies himself a musician, crudely hammering tones of ''Fur Elise'' on the keys of his favorite piano.

** A kitchen with [[MindScrew ingredients that change from using a Cardboard knife, which also change to other things when you're not looking]] and eventually [[spoiler:become a false key for the puzzle.]]

* {{Expy}}: An unholy-looking [[CompositeCharacter cross between]] Animal of ''Franchise/TheMuppets'' (a guttural sounding, wild musician who can only exclaim single words and prefers to hammer at their instrument), and Elmo from ''Series/SesameStreet'' (a childlike sensibility, a piano player and lives in a space akin to the set of ''Elmo's World''). His legless nature, long arms and love of classical music in particular also brings to mind Rowlf the Dog.

* EasterEgg: Using free-Range Mode reveals them all over their version of the set, unmoving but positioned in ways the player will likely never notice. Such as in windows, clinging to cables, and strung up on clotheslines. Entering one of the doors up there also transitions to the normal version of said set. In another room, an Unfriendly Norman is hanging off the edge of the Map, making it look like ''he's trying to clamber in.''

* ItCanThink: They've seemingly developed more than the Puppets that live above them in any case, which is surprising considering they seem to be just as (if not more) isolated. Unlike other Puppets, the Unfriendly Neighbors chase Gordon as a group right off the bat towards a ramp, but stop just short of actually climbing up it. Meaning they ''want'' you to get into the arena with the Amalgam so they can watch. If they see Gordon lay the giant out in the dirt, they don't chase him any further; their biggest member couldn't take Gordon out, so they don't dare to attack him.

* JerkWithAHeartOfGold:

* {{Expy}}: Of Cookie Monster, both being larger, googly-eyed puppets whose entire gimmick is a focusing on ravenous eating. With Gobblette, it's more of an in general hunger, and this, coupled with her larger frame, brings to mind the larger "Grackle" full-body Muppet extras who also tended to eat other Muppets in their segments.

* {{Expy}}: Though he doesn't start out this way, the GoldenEnding sees him transform into the setting's equivalent of [[spoiler: [[Series/MisterRogersNeighborhood Mr. Rogers.]]]] Gordon is a [[spoiler: war veteran, which Mr. Rogers had an urban myth about being]], both are responsible and mature adults who help their puppet friends through difficult emotional issues, and Gordon ends the game [[spoiler: becoming the producer of ''My Friendly Neighborhood'' as Fred Rogers was for his own show.]]

* EasterEgg: Using free-Range Mode reveals them all over their version of the set, unmoving but positioned in ways the player will likely never notice. Such as in windows, clinging to cables, and strung up on clotheslines. Entering one of the doors up there also transitions to the normal version of said set. In another room, an Unfriendly Gordon is hanging off the edge of the Map, making it look like ''he's trying to clamber in.''

** Most Mascot monsters of the genre are animal-like predators who are deceptively cunning tactics. The Puppets, by contrast, tend to be pretty inattentive and simply run at and attack the player. While they sometimes enter rooms in unexpected ways and can successfully pull off a JumpScare, they are consistently UnskilledButStrong, with their main threat being their numbers and being able to get back up and reposition themselves when you leave a room.

* KickTheDog: Played With. It's obvious their treatment, and them leaving, had a profound impact on the Puppets, essentially treating them like living props.[[spoiler: But it does seem like some of them cared more for at least some of the Puppets, such as the Norman in the Shooting Gallery, who one of them didn't mind playing games with. They also didn't seem to have a much of a choice once the Higher-Ups stated that the Puppets were their property, and the cancelation forced them out very quickly, judging by just how much equipment, and leisure activities have been left behind. Them leaving also left the Puppets to see how Mean the rest of the world had become since the War, and that's what actually caused their new hostile behaviors. Played a little straighter in that not one of them cared to ever actually come back to check in on the Puppets in the intervening years...]]

* AntiVillain: He's one of the puppets, but he is entirely sane and is mostly just trying to convince Gordon to not shut down the tower. [[spoiler:It's telling the ending where he gets everything he wants is the GoldenEnding.]]

* HiddenDepths: Despite being a sock puppet, Ricky understands quite a lot more about human nature than one would expect [[spoiler:like knowing the wealthy only paid attention to the Neighborhood when it made them money or wondering if maybe humans prefer being mean and dark, not wanting to emulate the friendly lessons the Neighborhood taught because they hate the light.]]

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* KickTheDog: Played With. It's obvious their treatment, and them leaving, had a profound impact on the Puppets, essentially treating them like living props.[[spoiler: But it does seem like some of them cared more for at least some of the Puppets, such as the Norman in the Shooting Gallery, who one of them didn't mind playing games with. They also didn't seem to have a much of a choice once the Higher-Ups stated that the Puppets were their property, and the cancelation forced them out very quickly, judging by just how much equipment, and leisure activities have been left behind. Them leaving also left the Puppets to see how Mean the rest of the world had become since the War, and that's what actually caused their new hostile behaviors. Played a little straighter in that not one of them cared to ever actually come back to check in on the Puppets in the intervening years...]]

* {{Expy}}: Normans in particular look and sound akin to {{Series/Sesame Street}}'s Ernie.

* {{Foreshadowing}}: The costume storage area reveals the Puppets have replacement noses and eyes, and She's a threat when her eyes are detached, [[spoiler: it also is utilized by the Unfriendly Neighbors as an intimidation tactic.]]

* OralFixation: hard to notice, but he has a toothpick in his mouth, the artwork in the Garden give him multiple at once.

* AttackItsWeakPoint: Is defeated by shooting it's many eyes.

* EldritchAbomination: Even by the standards of the other Puppets, it's an absolute [[OurMonstersAreWeird bizarre]] monster with no practical purpose. A living stage curtain, studded haphazardly with eyes, which hacks and spits and sucks up a supply of seemingly dead Normans and Hand Puppets to fight and keep Gordon trapped despite not having the mass to store them otherwise.

* EasterEgg: Using free-Range Mode reveals them all over their version of the set, unmoving but positioned in ways the player will likely never notice. Such as in Windows, clinging to cables, and strung up on clotheslines. Entering one of the doors up there also transitions to the normal version of said set. In another room, an Unfriendly Gordon is hanging off the edge of the Map, making it look like ''he's trying to clamber in.''

* WellIntentionedExtremist: [[spoiler:Ricky truly believes that the world has gone too mean and needs My Friendly Neighborhood's guidance so everyone can be happy and nice to each other again. This also explains why Ricky keeps telling Gordon to not disconnect the antenna. The GoldenEnding proves that TheExtremistWasRight; letting ''My Friendly Neighborhood'' broadcast is the only way ]]

* WellIntentionedExtremist: [[spoiler:Ricky truly believes that the world has gone too mean and needs My Friendly Neighborhood's guidance so everyone can be happy and nice to each other again. This also explains why Ricky keeps telling Gordon to not disconnect the antenna.]]

* BloodKnight: downplayed, the only real reason they had to develop weapons was because The Puppets had no grasp of their own strength, and the weapons tend to only knock out the puppets temporarily. However it begins leaning into absurdity when they started developing ''shotguns, grenades and a chaingun.''

* BlindWithoutEm: {{Exaggerated}} and {{Justified}} as her glasses comes with her eyes.

* {{Expy}}: Of Big Bird, they are both sweetheart GentleGiant birds whose size and stumbling mean they're prone to cause unintentional damage.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: the costume storage area reveals the Puppets have replacement noses and eyes, and She's a threat when her eyes are detached, [[spoiler: it also is utilized by the Unfriendly Neighbors as an intimidation tactic.]]

* CastingGag: Who else to voice a blue puppet than [[WebVideom/{{Arlo}} Someone else who is a blue puppet?]]

* CastingGag: Who else to voice a blue puppet than [[WebVideom/{{ARlo}} Someone else who is a blue puppet?]]

* TakeThisJobAndShoveIt: [[spoiler:In the best ending, he's fired by his boss for having not only not torn down the antenna, but actively becoming the producer for the rebooted Neighborhood show. He couldn't care less.]]

* EyelessFace: Lacks these as her glasses (which comes with her eyes) are sealed in a vault within stage 4, and is thus blindly stumbling about the area.

* NonMaliciousMonster: Easily one of the largest puppets in the studio and quite intimidating despite her colorful appearance. It initially looks like she's deliberately patrolling Stage 4 for some reason and that she's aggressive if you get too close... but keep observing Pearl and it becomes clear that she's unable to see and is trying to find something. Once she receives her eyes, she calms down and will not bother Gordon anymore.

* UniqueEnemy: [[spoiler:Two particular, peculiar, variants of these puppets show up during the story. A Gordon that walks into Ray's Workshop rips himself apart in a flurry of shadowy stuffing to split into a crowd of other Gordons, the copies do not show up in the room again and nothing like that happens again. Once you make enough progress, just about to the Gardens, the seemingly inanimate Lenard statue in the entrance plaza comes to life with an electric trill to his voice; unlike the splitting Gordon, the statue is there to stay. There's also a Norman statue holding a pair of bolt cutters in the sewers that comes to life on harder difficulties.]]

* UniqueEnemy: [[spoiler:Two particular, peculiar, variants of these puppets show up during the story. A Gordon that walks into Ray's Workshop rips himself apart in a flurry of shadowy stuffing to split into a crowd of other Gordons, the copies do not show up in the room again and nothing like that happens again. Once you make enough progress, just about to the Gardens, the seemingly inanimate Lenard statue in the entrance plaza comes to life with an electric trill to his voice; unlike the splitting Gordon, the statue is there to stay.]]

* {{Forshadowing}}: the costume storage area reveals the Puppets have replacement noses and eyes, and She's a threat when her eyes are detached, [[spoiler: it also is utilized by the Unfriendly Neighbors as an intimidation tactic.]]