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| This villain was proposed but was rejected by the community for not being heinous enough or lacks what is necessary to be a Pure Evil villain. Therefore, this villain shall be added to our "Never Again List", where proposed villains rejected by the community shall be placed to prevent future proposals of the same evil-doer. They can be proposed again (with the permission of an administrator) if new elements appear in their series that can change their status as non-PE villains. Any act of adding this villain to the Pure Evil category without a proposal or creating a proposal for this villain without the permission of an administrator will result in a ban. | ||
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| “ | Chauncey: You said you'd never leave him. You lied. Did you really think he'd let you go again? Jessica: Alice was just a bait. Chauncey: That's why he waited for you. Your imagination is too strong. It fed him. And now you will never leave. If you do, he'll come back for Taylor, for Alice. If you love them, this is how you save them. You could be happy here. Jessica: Okay. Okay. I'll stay. Just leave them alone. Let them live. Chauncey: You're mine, finally. Forever ever. |
„ |
| ~ Chauncey controls the fake family as he reveals his truth taunts Jessica and lets her decide if she should stay at Never-Ever. |
Chauncey the Bear, also known as Simon the Spider and Rufus, is the main antagonist of the 2024 supernatural horror film Imaginary. He also goes by the nick names Chauncey Bear and C.B. (initials for the former one).
He is a demonic entity that takes the form of a stuffed teddy bear who was believed to be an imaginary friend made up by Jessica. He eventually makes friends with Jessica's younger step-daughter Alice until the game between her and Chauncey slowly grows more sinister. Eventually, she is taken by him into an unknown location, forcing Jessica to delve into Chauncey's world, the Never Ever realm.
His demonic form is portrayed by Dane DiLiegro (who also played the Feral Predator in Prey) while his true form is portrayed by Michael Bekemeier.
Appearance[]
In his base form, Chauncey appears as a small, stuffed brown teddy bear with a red shirt and black beady eyes. In his demonic form, he takes the form of a large, muscular, demonic, monstrous-looking bear with orange eyes and long razor-sharp claws. He also has messed up proportions such as lanky arms as well as elongated, chipped fangs.
In another demonic form, Chauncey takes the appearance of Simon, a half-humanoid spider monster with a yellow shirt and many eyes. Simon was originally created by Jessica as a story book character, Chauncey mocks and terrorizes Jessica with his Simon-form.
Personality[]
When first approaching his future victims, Chauncey presents himself as a friendly, caring and loving bear until he quickly reveals himself to be severely manipulative and deceptive. He also proves cleverness by using a well layed-out strategy: He studies his future victims attentively, learning their desires and inner struggles. He then starts to adulate his victim and make him/her wish for things and play his/her favorite games. At the same time, he makes the victim use his/her imagination to create things, beings or even whole new worlds. Chauncey convinces his victims he was their true and only friend, promising him/her to lead his new friend into the Never Ever - a realm where fantasies come true and adults have none to say.
Chauncey shows his true nature as soon as something either doesn't go according to his plans and orders, or whenever his supposedly new friend questions the rightfulness of the demon's actions and orders. He skillfully guilt-trips his victim, making them feel responsible for any mishap - even if it was super-obvious that the victim was innocent. Chauncey doesn't hesitate to threaten his victims not only with physical abuse but also with harming the victim's family. Last, but not least, he also threatens to lock up the victim in the Never Ever if his will isn't followed.
Powers and Abilities[]
Physical[]
- Demonic origin: According to Gloria, Chauncey is an ancient demon who tethers to the young, feeds of their imaginary powers and souls and can become sinister if abandoned.
- Shapeshifting: Chauncey can change his body shape and appearance, from his teddy form to demon form, spider form and even possess people and may be another sentient teddy bear named Rufus.
- Teleportation: Chauncey has the ability to disappear and reappear wherever and whenever he wants to.
- Superhuman strength: As a demonic entity, Chauncey has superhuman strength.
Psychic[]
- Hypnosis and Mind Control: Chauncey can hypnotize his victims and severly damage their psyche, driving them insane in the process. Jessica's father Ben fell victim to this ability (which is why he is in a residal caring home now).
- Selective imperceptibility: Chauncey can decide who can see him, both in its original form or his illusory form of the plush bear.
- Manipulation: Chauncey can adulate and charm, but also skillfully guilt-trip and scold. He is highly talented in playing with minds and emotions.
Biography[]
Past[]
Jessica lost her mother to cancer, leaving her with no one else to play with - until she met a teddy bear named "Chauncey" and they became "best friends forever". She was having a great time with her imaginary friend. This, however, changed when Chauncey wanted to play with her at a "very special place", where they’d get to be "together forever". He called this place The Never Ever. Jessica opened the portal and went into the Never Ever with Chauncey. But her father Ben knew something was wrong, so he went to check in on her. He eventually found the portal to the Never Ever, went in and rescued Jessica. He tried to close the portal, only to be caught by Chauncey's hypnotic gaze, causing him to lose his sanity and his sight. He used his remaining strength to close the portal and used the paint to seal it. Chauncey, waiting for Jessica for years, slowly and angrily plotted revenge for his abandonment.
Present day[]
In the movie, Chauncey is first found by Alice in the basement of Jessica's childhood home. Quickly, Alice and Chauncey grow to be fast friends, which Jessica first views as wholesome. Eventually, Alice begins confiding in Chauncey, speaking with him at night, with Chauncey actually responding. Jessica, however, brushes it off as Alice talking for Chauncey, though noting that she once had a similar imaginary friend.
One night, Jessica heads up to Alice's room and sees her and Chauncey with tea. However, the fun quickly turns into terror as Jessica realizes there is another person in the room with the two. Suddenly, Samantha, Alice and Taylor's mentally unwell biological mother, attacks Jessica. After the incident, Samantha is arrested while Taylor admits to Jessica she had texted her, thinking she had gotten better. Jessica goes up to Alice's room to talk to her about the incident. However, Alice isn't fazed, admitting that she wasn't scared because Chauncey was there, and that Chauncey made Samantha look beautiful. Jessica, thinking this was some kind of coping mechanism, puts Alice to bed.
The next day, Alice becomes focused on a scavenger hunt, telling Jessica that Chauncey "had made it for her". It starts off wholesome, as the first item on the list is "Something happy". Jessica gives Alice a blue bouncy ball with a smiley face, allowing Alice to check off the first item. Although Jessica admits that Chauncey's presence in Alice's life had started to become obsessive, she allows herself to brush it off.
Later on, when Jessica is off to visit her father Ben (who himself lives in a care center now), Taylor walks up to a table Chauncey and Alice are at. Seeing Alice collecting bugs, Taylor asks Alice about this, and Alice reveals it to be on the list ("Something that scares you") and that Chauncey had told her that if she collected every item necessary, that he would take her to "the place that he's from". Although weirded out, Taylor uses this as an excuse to call Liam (a boy she had met when they had moved there) over to the house since Jessica is gone. Alice and Chauncey are shown to dislike Liam, who proves himself to be rather rude as the visit goes on. He insults Alice as "psycho”, then breaks an expensive whine bottle. Alice angrily states that Chauncey "should eat him, too."
Liam, using the bathroom while trying to find a towel, is suddenly startled by Chauncey, who is under Alice's blanket. As Liam regains his composure, he looks back again and Chauncey is gone, replaced by a pull string. The pull string suddenly begins to leave the bathroom, and Liam, now irritated, attempts to catch the pull string. It ends up going around most of the upstairs, before Liam catches it in a dim hallway. However, the stuffed bear suddenly rushes toward him before Chauncey reveals his demon form to Liam, traumatizing him and making him fall over, Alice's blanket on himself. Taylor comes upstairs and gets confused. Liam, however, doesn't say anything and is shown to be impacted for the rest of the film (as he is seen shutting the blinds as Taylor is looking for Alice).
Later, Jessica, as she's arguing with Taylor about Liam coming over, enters her painting room to discover that Alice had ripped the head off one of her drawings. Jessica enters Alice's room and, thinking Alice is under the blanket, states that she's not mad, but it's not okay to rip up other people's things. However, she is shocked to see Alice outside picking up a pole from the fence. Jessica looks to see who's under the covers, only to find Chauncey on the bed. Jessica ends up viewing the list Chauncey and Alice had been doing throughout the movie, revealing the initial wholesomeness had become slowly darker, with items such as "Something that you would get in BIG trouble for", "Something that makes you mad", and finally, the last, unchecked box of the list, "Something that HURTS."
Throughout this, Alice places the post on the table, revealing a pointed nail, and despite being nervous, Chauncey, seemingly subconsciously, promises her it won't hurt, which gives Alice motivation. Chauncey is revealed to have changed the nail into a sunflower to further motivate. Alice raises her hand up and is about to slam it on the nail. However, Jessica stops her from almost impaling herself, but Alice still receives a brutal cut on her arm. This motivates Jessica to call Dr. Sotos, a child psychiatrist. Dr. Sotos asks Jessica to be allowed to record the session and Jessica agrees. During the therapy session, Alice decides to confront Chauncey about the nail. Chauncey's demeanor quickly changes, as he becomes aggressive. He tells her that nobody loves her apart from him. He then proceeds by making threatening remarks about Jessica, causing Alice to burst into tears. Scared and shocked, she cuts off their friendship with Chauncey, which in turn infuriates the bear. Alice ends up running to her room crying, telling Taylor that Chauncey is angry at her.
Meanwhile, Dr. Sotos and Jessica talk and Dr. Sotos reveals that she's had patients similar to Alice. She shows a video of a little boy who had cut off his thumb. Jessica, seeing the similarities, decides that she has to destroy Chauncey Bear, but Dr. Sotos replies, "What bear?". Jessica is confused, but then it's revealed that only she and Alice (and presumably Liam) can actually see the bear. Jessica asks Taylor if she had seen the bear for confirmation, but Taylor says she hadn't seen any bear. Sotos then resumes the video, with the little boy stating similar things that Alice had said. But in the process, the boy mentions something called "The Never Ever". Jessica, a realization dawning upon her, goes into the basement and picks up her old stacks of drawings, revealing she had drawn the Never Ever when she was five-years old. During this, Alice apologizes to Chauncey, as she tells him that she hadn't meant to say those things. Chauncey, having successfully manipulated her, has Alice grab all the items and begin building the door to the Never Ever.
Taylor informs Jessica that Alice has disappeared. After failing to find her after searching the area, Taylor and Jessica have a falling out, as Taylor accuses Jessica of this being all her fault due to her intruding in on their lives. After angrily leaving, Taylor continues to look for Alice. Suddenly, she is taken in by Gloria, Jessica's now elderly former babysitter. Gloria reveals that Chauncey is part of a group of demons, aptly titled "Imaginary Friends", that tether to the young and become aggressive if they are abandoned. It's then revealed that Chauncey had originally been Jessica's imaginary friend, something Jessica had blocked from her mind due to her young age.
Meanwhile, Jessica continues searching through her history, before starting to repaint her old illustrations, figuring out the way into the Never Ever: Completing the scavenger hunt. Jessica reunites with Taylor, as well as Gloria, and the three team up to complete the scavenger hunt. Upon completion, they make their way into the Never Ever, a place where imagination reigns supreme and adults have none to say.
In the realm, Jessica's backstory is revealed and her memories are brought back to her. Before the events of the film, Chauncey had lured a 5-year old Jessica to the Never Ever due to her trying to "abandon" him, attempting to trap her forever, while Ben had saved her. Chauncey, however, had made Ben go mentally insane by showing him all the children the former has ever tormented (implied to be in the hundreds). This would drive Ben mentally insane and lead to his many issues as he covers up the door in black paint, while Jessica had left home with barely any memory of the event.
Upon this revelation, Gloria suddenly seals the way back home, much to the shock of Jessica and Taylor. She reveals that Chauncey had made her obsessed with the realm, due to the fact they can imagine whatever they wish in the Never Ever and that they will never grow old. Directly after this, Chauncey (now in his monstrous bear form), grabs Gloria from a door, pulls her inside and mauls her to death, revealing her to have simply been bait. Chauncey torments Jessica and Taylor repeatedly during their trip through the Never Ever. Taylor is almost being murdered by him when taking the form of a demented Alice who tells Taylor that it's too late to save her and that "[she's] been there for too long".
Once Jessica and Taylor find Alice, it's revealed Chauncey had given her a false "perfect" version of real life, including Alice's old apartment, a ton of gifts, a table with a bunch of cupcakes, and her biological mom (who is actually Chauncey in disguise). Once Jessica gains the idea on how to get out, she begins building a false blue door. Chauncey (still in mom form) attempts to manipulate Alice into not joining them by telling the girl that Jessica had bad intentions. However, once it's revealed to not work like it did before, Chauncey gets enraged and attempts to attack the three. However, Jessica pushes Chauncey into the gifts. Suddenly, Chauncey, reverting back to his bear form, rises and lets out a pissed roar. Taylor and Alice escape through the door while Jessica falls through the floor back to the Neverever, making Chauncey even angrier once she stabs him in the eye with scissors.
Chauncey tries to capture Jessica again as she attempts to enter the door back home. However, Jessica eventually escapes, much to Chauncey's rage. This is revealed to be a red herring as it is shown that Jessica was still trapped in the Neverever, just imagining her and her family visiting Ben. Jessica begins to realize that Alice was simply bait, and that Jessica was the true prize Chauncey wanted. With this, Chauncey himself speaks to Jessica through the bodies of the family members, telling her that to stay, and that if she leaves, he'll keep going for her family to keep luring her back. Jessica initially agrees, terrified, but Taylor suddenly comes in with a bat and saves Jessica.
As Jessica and Taylor rush to leave, the Entity turns into Simon the Spider, Jessica's character from her book. In a last resort, as Jessica and Taylor get through the door, Simon would attempt to make Jessica go mentally insane the same way as her father: Showing her the combined imaginations of all the children he had tormented. Luckily, Alice is able to light the creature on fire before Jessica goes mentally insane, allowing the three to escape the burning house. Jessica, Taylor and Alice enter a hotel the next day, only for it to be revealed that Chauncey had undertaken the name "Rufus" and had connected with a little boy using the same exact bear. Jessica and the girls decide to go to a different hotel. As they leave, the little boy says that Rufus isn't imaginary to his mother, who dismisses him, presumably allowing the cycle to continue.
Relationships[]
Allies[]
- Gloria † (pawn)
- Alice (formerly; pawn)
- Jessica (formerly)
- Luis (pawn; seemingly)
Enemies[]
- Jessica (archenemy)
- Alice
- Taylor
- Liam
- Ben
Quotes[]
| “ | Every culture has entities that tether to the young. We call them, imaginary friends. | „ |
| ~ Gloria describing Chauncey's species. |
| “ | Never touch Alice things. | „ |
| ~ Chauncey as Alice to Liam. |
| “ | Chauncey's coming for you~ | „ |
| ~ Chauncey as fake Alice, who prepares to switch on Chauncey's music box. |
| “ | Never ever. Never ever. Never ever... NEVER EVER!!! | „ |
| ~ Chauncey as fake Alice when he lunges to Taylor. |
| “ | You can't have her. She's mine. | „ |
| ~ Chauncey as Alice's mom, when Taylor and Jessica created a portal exit. |
| “ | Alice still... my friend? | „ |
| ~ Chauncey's last words before Alice sets him on fire. |
| “ | Chauncey, Chauncey, Pal that you are |
„ |
| ~ Chauncey's nursery rhyme. |
Trivia[]
- The name of his realm "Never Ever" could be a reference to the country Neverland from Peter Pan.
- In the film, Taylor draws parallels between Chauncey and Bing Bong from Inside Out, and although they are both imaginary friends, their intentions are very different.
- Chauncey appeared in the Dead Meat video, where he kills James and his partner Chelsea inside the basement.