/re -- "A lot of people gloss over how six seems to have been in the tower for a length of time at least comparable to mono" | For me, there's a lot more to it than that.

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 It's a solid enough theory, do I believe it? Not entirely, but it is possible. I often ponder how Mono (while good in intentions) was better off leaving Six to relative peace (even if it was a violation of her agency) & perhaps remaining in the tower himself to possibly watch over her. (bizarre? Yes.) I always saw the monster form as just a consequence of her being brought to the tower by force without the resistance Mono possesses to the transmission radiation & or The Thin Mans penance upon her was that specific form. The flipside to that is: if The Thin Man really wanted to make her suffer, he wouldn't have granted her the music box in the first place. It makes more sense that she simply became just as much a consumer of media as the deformed residents with their TV's. And that's likely what deformed her in the first place, combined with her being in the tower itself & her somewhat unique direct exposure to The Thin Man, who provided her some kind of form of peaceful stasis. He simply wanted her away from Mono & that toy kept her still. He could've just killed her. If she was in the tower for an extended period of time, then it's actually leagues more interesting how compliant & relatively 'friendly' she was when Mono signaled her to move from the corner, let alone showing his face in her presence. She didn't show any bitterness or resentment to him for not helping her when was abducted (be it in the past for her/ or just recently in real time). When she moved at his request, she even put the music box down, while her hands rested beside the toy. She didn't clutch it from him, meaning zero defensiveness to someone she should reasonably hate. Either way, she didn't try to hurt him until he began hurting her by smashing her anchor. That's why she went nuts, if Mono touched her hand instead, or resigned to just remaining there with her, there wouldn't have been a fight. So in respect to op "This isn’t an excuse for her actions," her actions were a consequence of Mono 'helping' too damn late in the timeline. Because think about it, when The Thin Man showed up in the street, Mono has this energy of submission to the fight, to save her, abandoning his head wear and everything. But if he had that energy before she was taken, he wouldn't have had to rescue her from a place that wasn't hurting her in a conventional sense. So she reaches out to him, he cowers. She finds peace, but now he hurts her to save her. My take all these years prior was: "He spent most of the game looking out her but that one time & she's done with him? Psycho." But no, really absorb the timeline. For her it was just repeated pain, a repeat agony, destroying the one thing she loved after he failed her. She allowed him into her room & through violence on her toy, he betrayed her once more. Again, she didn't get hostile until he imposed his will on her safe space for the right reasons. Her actions don't need defense because it's pretty reasonable why she went berserk. It has less to do with her being broken or her glitch form being separated & had everything to do with her minding her business, until he showed up, she let him in, and he hurt her. It's a very nuanced, very interesting storytelling decision, even for a basic concept as "Little Nightmares". The writing is pretty good in particularly in the 2nd game, so much so it's a good inspiration. She wasn't a princess in a tower, she was a victim that was compliant to her prison, because what else did she have to look forward to outside? If she remains, she wouldn't have delt with the hunger pains, she wouldn't have killed The Runaway Kid, she wouldn't be wandering the planet as a WOMD. Now this isn't excusing his actions but The Thin Man: given his justifiable wrath & pre-meditated hatred so immense his power enslaves sentient life- still treated her better than one would expect. though in a way it could be/likely was a form of taunting, given he knows she won't leave the toy, thus he owns her. Otherwise he could've just merged her with a solid wall, in a pit, screaming in the dark, to suffer for eternity. But he granted her that one little totem that emulated the tune she imprinted on in that house & granted her enough cognizance to recognize people, to move around, to even enjoy the music. Her own room, a twisted safety. That's way more than the others got or will get. Fked up all around, a sentimental tormentor. solid topic, good post.