I just got done reading The Breaking Wheel, and for all I can say, I enjoyed this story. I did think it was somewhat boring in the middle, but the ending did redeem itself. Even though there were some things I was confused about, I still enjoyed the story.

Let's talk about what I thought about The Breaking Wheel:

First, our main character, Reed. I really thought that the writers did a good job with writing Reed because I could understand his frustration and anger towards the bully Julius. Believe me, I've been bullied before, and let me tell you, I could relate to Reed in many ways, especially wanting to do something equally horrible back at the ones who bullied me. But I also liked how he felt guilty/nervous if Julius was being tortured in a way that would put medieval torture to shame. Point is, I understood Reed's reasoning and frustration, but I don't condone his actions, even if Julius was a big piece of shit.

Next up, we have our story's main antagonist, Julius. My, oh, my, this guy is such an asshole. (I remember a guy back in elementary school named Julius who was a total brainiac, by the way) He called Reed an ape because of his brow ridge and jutting jaw, and joked about making him his own personal servant with his new exosuit invention. Not to mention that he also punched Pickle right in the nose and made him bleed, and didn't seem to show the slightest bit of remorse for it. Was he an absolute jerk? Yes. Did he deserve what he got in the end? Despite all that he's done, NO ONE deserves to go through the kind of pain and suffering Julius did, even if he was an asshole.

You see, Julius gets trapped in his own invention: a springlock exosuit he designed himself to remote control its movement. This is already a red flag because literally any time springlocks are involved in a FNAF story, something almost always goes wrong in a bloody way. Reed locks him in the suit and lets him stay in the school overnight, paralyzed and unable to move. Later he goes through the same, if arguably, worse pain than someone who would go through the breaking wheel in medieval times (hence the title of the story).

Then it gets to the part that confused me. I know that since Julius's suit had very similar control design that Pickle's toy robot had, but I didn't know the remote control had THAT long of a range. And even so, how did Julius manage to break out the school and walk all the way to the Girard house all by himself if he was a walking mess of organs and twisted flesh? I mean, if it took him a few hours to find it, then I'd understand.

I'm also confused if Julius also killed Reed when Ory started playing with his toy robot again, or if Julius had already killed Reed by that point.

Plus, with the mention of the a-word (AGONY) in the story, I think this could possibly connect to the Stitchwraith. Not necessarily for the endoskeleton of the Stitchwraith's body, no, but because Dr. Taggart mentioned that torture devices were some of the best ways to get ahold of haunted objects possessed with agonized energy. And what better way of getting agony then by all of the bone-breaking, skin-tearing, horrific suffering that Julius faced in the exosuit? I'm just saying, it could be a possibility.

I also have a theory as to how Julius could be a slight parallel to William, but that's for another theory.

Overall, it's more disturbing than In The Flesh, and worth a read.

Around a 7.5/10 from me. Since it could've explained a few other things a little more clearly.