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shinakazami1 · 1 year

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TSP FERNATOR THEORY – THE ROLE OF NATURE IN THE STANLEY PARABLE

Oh gosh, I took this so seriously but hope someone will enjoy my rambling ;w; Just will say it here - this essay is game interpretation, it doesn't talk about Fernator AU (only mentions it).

Contents

0. What is Fernator AU?

“Stanley, this fern will be very important later in the story.” (Confusion, Bucket Destroyer & Figleys Endings – Fern)

“It's all out of my control now.” (Skip Button)

“Yes, I have something very exciting to show you!“ (TSP 2 Expo)

“And Stanley was happy.” (Outdoors - Freedom Ending and Memory Zone)

“The office could use a bit of decoration.” (Other plants in-game, Games Ending, Epilogue)

Conclusions

(Click 'Read More')

0. WHAT IS FERNATOR AU

Fernator AKA Fernnarrator AKA Fernie is my TSP AU where the Narrator takes the form of the Fern and gets moved into the Bucket.

His form can change into any plant, either through a conscious decision or subconsciously, based on his emotions. While some of his flowers blooming can fit the conventional flower language, he creates his own based on his own bias for the plants.

The AU isn’t purely cosmetic – depending on his and Stanley’s relationship before the discovery of Narrator being the Fern, it splits into 3 main pathways.

Each one of them has different ending alternatives and on top of that, the AU has a linear story.

This post will NOT be focusing on Fernator AU - instead, it will talk about the plants of the Parable and my theories about their meaning. These do influence Fernator AU as a whole but I will leave AU talk for another time if anyone would be interested.

Instead, let’s talk about the two main inspirations for the AU: Fern and The Skip Button.

1. “STANLEY, THIS FERN WILL BE VERY IMPORTANT LATER IN THE STORY.” (Confusion, Bucket Destroyer & Figleys Endings – Fern)

This Fern is one of the few plants in the game and the only one mentioned in dialogue.

Its placement in the Confusion Ending is a set-up for a joke: something gets mentioned, said to have a big importance and then gets forgotten. Maybe that was its whole purpose - a gag about misplaced foreshadowing or there is more to it.

A reverse situation is the Broom Closet – it can represent the “show, not tell” rule in storytelling where an object isn’t mentioned through text but more through actions. Narrator is displeased with that and on the third reset in a row after interacting with it, the Closet gets temporarily boarded.

That changes in the Bucket version– you can come in it as many times as you want and Narrator doesn’t get mad at Stanley (which overall is a theme in post-Skip).

So, these two are a perfect contrast:

Narrator doesn’t even mention the Broom Closet at first. However, it ends up getting new unique lines and gives long-term effects on the story (boarding the door).

The Fern gets mentioned in the story but doesn’t show up later in the ending.

However, the plant does appear in the alternative of Confusion – the Bucket Destroyer Ending.

“We're the ones that matter Stanley! Classic characters from the first game.”

Each of the objects in this picture symbolises a person in Stanley’s life:

the Broom Closet = Player, since in the original version, if you stay longer, Narrator talks about them;

the pencil sharpener= 432 – in lore, madness through never being given a pencil to sharpen;

Stanley’s computer= Boss, due to the orders;

Wife mannequin;

Baby cut-out (might also represent Stanley’s kids);

Adventure Line ™ – it isn’t a person but is said to be conscious;

and the Fern.

(EDIT: Beau in Stanarr server also said that the mugs on the table could symbolise the Employees while the Baby could be The Essence of Divine Art. That could potentially mean that Adventure Line™ could also symbolise curiosity - just like, while TEDA seems to be a conscious being, might just be human creativity. )

We already have the Line ™ from the Confusion Ending. Other objects could have been used for this scene but somehow, it is the Fern that ends up being showcased. It could be just due to it belonging to this pathway but it could be also something else.

“You see, your friends and I are concerned for you, Stanley.”

He could be meaning himself just as the voice – after all, the separation between him and his friends is not that uncommon. He does use the word ‘friend’ positively only in the UD version of the game. He calls Stanley his friend only once and then, proceeds to call the Bucket and Stanley friends a few times, making it obvious the man projects on that object.

Here though, Narrator is against the Bucket - so, why couldn’t he start to project on something else? That way, he could visually show the group of friends with himself.

So you know,,, Fernator real,,, maybe,,,,,,,

(Big thanks to Chris from Crowsx3 Discord for reminding me about this next part)

I was also reminded that Fern makes one more appearance - in the Figley Ending, Confusion Ending room.

You get to this room after a Red-Blue door choice that doesn't matter at all, leading to an open door. It perfectly blends so many parts of the game together - the choice between two pathways, the illusion of the choice and also brings something new - backtracking. In most of the game, we are unable to do so - the doors close behind us and that's it. But, just like in Confusion - Narrator wants to backtrack, to change the pathway, for one last adventure with Stanley.

Maybe that was the importance of the Fern. For it to show up when Narrator wants to do something fresh, something new, WITH Stanley.

"Oh, I want more memories, Stanley! I want to keep going!"

In the end, he wants to retire and move on. If he does and only leaves his recording, if he stays with everything TK has done - that's up to a debate for another time.

But one thing is known - we all remember the Fern, even if it doesn't heavily impact the story. Unless you know - Narrator took the form of it and then-

Ok ok, but this was the nice task – now let’s talk about The Skip Button.

2. “IT'S ALL OUT OF MY CONTROL NOW.” (Skip Button)

I will talk about the Memory Zone later – here, I want to focus solely on the Skip Button room.

The Skip Button plant is the only thing in the Parable that shows actual ageing. Sure, there are some other symbols of time passage - i.e. clocks, and scratches on objects but nothing else shows decay besides this one single plant.

Changes happen in Skips #5 and #6.

In Skip #5, Narrator says it’s been a week or two. I know that people have done the math on how much time passed through each skip takes but we will base it only on the plant alone. While a week is too short for a plant like that to show signs of severe dehydration, 2 weeks is more plausible.

In Skip #6 - when he says he had stopped counting once it was over a year - the plant is dead.

Death is overall a bit of a theme in the Parable – the Countdown, Museum, Apartment and Zending especially have a lot of lines about Stanley’s death, which should cause permanent effects. Instead, the game just resets, not making any deal about it. This plant, however, does not return to its original form.

In Skip #13, concrete falls on it, leaving the plant trapped for the rest of this pathway.

I think the room overall (together with the plants and the clock) symbolises Narrator’s psyche.

The first few Skips are alright for him - sure, the time in-between seems to grow but he still thinks it is a good idea. He starts to panic and begs Stanley not to press the button in Skip #4 and in Skip #5, both the plant changes and the lights dim down. This is when he has been left for those two weeks all for himself and just sounds so tired - and with each skip, another part of his psyche breaks.

The clock stops working and falls around #8 and #9. It’s still long since in #6, Narrator where he says he lost count but he might have just exaggerated it, only losing it in these runs.

After such a long period in solitude, any mind would start to decay - the plant, the pipes letting the water escape through them, the fire alarm going off (since batteries are low), the walls getting destroyed with time… Together with how silent Narrator gets at times, I genuinely believe this whole section is us being in his brain.

But then in Skip #15, (after the sunlight in #14) this happens:

These skips are special because they are a glimpse of hope. Sunbeams, birds chirping, new life in the form of plants showing up – just for it all to disappear next Skip.

While the last time we hear Narrator talk is in #11 (The end is never), this feels like he is trying to talk to Stanley indirectly. The destruction of the ceiling feels like an attempt to break Stanley free, which, unfortunately, was a bit misplaced since we don’t have the jump option (curse you, jump circle for gatekeeping them / silly).

These can mean several things.

Narrator hopes that the situation would soon end, as mentioned in the previous part.

It could also show that he is making new ideas and growing. I think it would be a poetic way of personal growth. It is visible in the Bucket version of the game - lack of Red-Blue doors, Countdown becoming silly birds ending, him calling Stanley his friend through the bucket - he wants to change for the better.

“You are not beyond redemption. You may change, and you may become more, so much more than you were before.”

And what better way to show that than through physical growth?

Even if his mind, in the end, becomes the sandy landscape we all know - he had tried to get better and, in some way, succeeded.

I sometimes wonder if the New New Content & Bucket parts of the game are what Narrator wants to turn the game into during these Skips. How he wants to acknowledge Stanley, show that he cares for him and that he matured.

But, let’s go back a bit. The New New Content happening during these skips in Narrator’s mind are a cute theory but, it’s just that - a theory.

What is real though is the game content, like the plants in the TSP 2 Expo.

3. “YES, I HAVE SOMETHING VERY EXCITING TO SHOW YOU!“ (TSP 2 Expo)

This part alone has 4 new plants that were never seen before in the rest of the office (they later make an appearance again in the Bucket Apartment Ending).

Three of the plants have some resemblance to the one in the Skip button - a long office plant put in a pot, while the smaller ones seem similar to the Fern.

(Small note: these plants are based on real-life ones that are common in offices and are low maintenance but I am too tired to figure out their types. Possibilities from a bud: “the first one in the basket is prob Dieffenbachia Seguine, down in middle is calathea makoyana, low right kentia palm”. )

Interestingly, the whole Expo is red-themed so, to compliment that with the opposite colour - green - could seem like it’s a bolder move. It to be fair isn’t - there are a lot of greys, whites and browns that tie everything together, not letting this become a Christmas-themed event.

Expo gives us a lot of new and fresh Narrator ideas - the Bucket, Figleys, and Infinitive Hole. I think these plants also deserve a mention - they all tie perfectly to the theme of Narrator’s growth.

He wants to be better, to please Stanley and I think, maybe, to fit in more. He could have reused the same plant from the Office but no - he made new ones.

And just like the Broom Closet - they never get acknowledged in the dialogue.

Show, not tell.

4. “AND STANLEY WAS HAPPY.” (Outdoors - Freedom Ending and Memory Zone)

Stanley felt the cold breeze, blablabla, you know the drill by now. Most of us will remember the current Freedom Ending - lots of grass, some trees, blue sky…

But that wasn’t always the case.

The 2011 Mod had a way different ending screen.

The difference is probably due to the limitations of this being a mod but comparing it with the future renditions, it might portray how Narrator had gotten softer throughout the games.

In this one - the outside world is urban. You went out of the building you were mind controlled in into a town of some sort. It doesn’t look too appealing. Trees without any leaves, very short grass - it is SOME freedom but it feels rough. Just like the only other outdoor area in the Games Endings (more about it in the next part).

The newer versions, however, are WAY different.

More saturated colours, some rock roads, trees, and mountains in the background - nature is ALIVE and well. Just like Stanley is, being freed, in Narrator’s eyes.

Because it is Narrator who chose to make this the end screen. It is just visible, time and time again, how much this man adores nature. Sure, he might be scared about the open world (next point, again) but he could have just remade the buildings from the original. But he chose not to - instead, upgrading it into something more beautiful.

This isn’t just an ending for Stanley - it’s an ending for HIM.

I think that’s why Memory Zone is just so similar, in my eyes, to Freedom in this aspect.

“(...) I made something special and tucked it away here where the game’s developers won’t find it.”

Some things do not match - the tree types seem different, the sky is a different colour, and small flowers pop here and there that aren’t in Freedom.

But there is a key element that does match - mountains.

These two areas may be connected - Memory Zone seems to be on a higher standpoint, maybe on a hill rather than a mountain but due to just that, it is possible they are both connected, just in different parts of the world.

Memory Zone is special to Narrator - it is supposed to show his achievements and happiest moments. It would make sense that it was placed in a similar area as Freedom - just hidden so that the other game developers Narrator mentions, would not influence it.

The Maintenance area of the Memory Zone, however, is everything Narrator tried to repress. That is why he might not remember the reviews in there - it’s all hidden in his subconsciousness.

“I don’t recall this part of the Memory Zone before.”

Narrator had been probably working on the Memory Zone way before he shared it with Stanley. It was his safe space, or so he thought. The memory in the name seems to be the most important clue - it’s not like some remembering zone, history zone or something - it’s memory.

And memories like to get hazy.

As I mentioned - to me, Skip Button's room is a visual representation of Narrator’s mind, at least a part of it. And since it’s a part of this area - I headcanon the whole Memory Zone to be that.

Contrasting with the wild flora of the main Memory Zone, the maintenance seems very run down and secluded. The colours in Memory Zone are already desaturated in comparison to the rest of the game but this part looks dirty thanks to the focus on browns and greys. While some of the lovely nature is in there - birds, a big water pool, the trees are dead.

These dead trees, just like the Skip Button tree or 2011 Freedom Ending ones might be a pattern for Narrator when he is not in his best shape.

Once again, the game shows just how important the nature aspect seems in the key part of the story. Narrator made the conscious decision to change the Freedom Ending and probably also had some saying about the Memory Zone, until the parts he wanted to repress that got run down.

Narrator keeps on repressing things a lot throughout the game. He shows denial and shifts the blame - on Stanley, the Player or the reviewers. At the end of it all - during Skip - he finally realises his flaws and mistakes.

But that realisation happened way too late.

Maybe that’s why he later tries to separate himself from that Memory Zone, putting it in the Executive Toilet.

Or maybe, it’s some not-so-hidden poop joke. But that’s not as important.

So let’s get to the rest of the game.

5. “THE OFFICE COULD USE A BIT OF DECORATION.” (Other plants in-game, Games Ending, Epilogue)

Besides Fern, there is another plant that keeps on being with Stanley a lot. It is there, never in the foreground but it’s always there. It’s like a hidden companion - maybe, as a symbol for not so hidden one.

This plant shows up in most of the Left Door pathway to the Boss’s Office - 5 times in different rooms:

desks 431- 436,

desks 418-424,

left-right door choice,

Meetings Room,

and the entrance to Boss's office.

It also shows up in rooms we see around the pathway:

room with 456, 457 doors,

413 room,

Executive Bathroom

and two in the room with Elevator Music.

The plant shows up 4 times in Confusion Ending (including the earlier mentioned 456, 457 area)- and thinking how the Fern is also there makes me just feral. Narrator joins Stanley on his little adventure through the unknown territory - so he inserts himself in the story.

In the Right door pathway, we get through the first 3 from the Left door and 2 more - the Loungue and the Games Ending.

The Games Ending has very different alternations between the game version but one thing is stable - nature in the open words games.

“I wonder what he found.”

In 2011, once again, nature is quite dead and dried up. RIP all the plants in this version of the game.

The next alternations, however, take a different approach and make the plants more alive.

The 2013 version uses Minecraft as it outdoor area.

Narrator doesn’t focus at all on the nature aspect - more on the crafting one which is fair, he is a storyteller and a game designer.

In Ultra Deluxe, there are two areas - Rocket League and Firewatch.

Rocket League won’t get that much attention from me - it’s just a typical grass for sports fields. The Firewatch, however, is a direct parallel with Minecraft. And it’s due to it being open-world.

This brings me to the last issue with Narrator and nature - he likes it quite a lot, but it HAS to be limited for Stanley.

Freedom makes you stuck in a cutscene, you can only go to mines in Minecraft due to no jumps, Memozy Zone has barriers, so Stanley has one path to follow, and most plants are potted- expect, for one thing.

And it’s the plants that show up in Skip #15.

I think it’s no coincidence that in the Bucket runs, the Red-Blue choice is off-limits. I think it’s due Narrator not wanting to go through things that hurt. But they hurt not only him - they also hurt Stanley.

We could focus on the fact that each of the Games runs ends up with Stanley being trapped in the 2011 version. But I think that lack of freedom to explore beyond the main area - the set path, the game, is what got Narrator more, in the end. Maybe he is scared about full freedom and lack of full control over the story and Stanley.

And maybe that’s why the Epilogue seems to be a never-ending desert. It’s Narrator’s last attempt to give Stanley the true freedom they both needed.

“An epilogue would be fun. Wouldn’t it, Stanley?”

(Shoutout to a Rammy who gave me the idea to talk about this screenshot.)

The desert, for me, fits the Sandman story (no, not just the song though now it is playing in my head so I hope it will play in yours, too). It shows up at the end of the Skip run and just like the room itself, I think it keeps on symbolising Narrator’s mind.

Once a mindflow, where his thoughts could drift anywhere they pleased became quite stagnant. He fell in hibernation or the mind was just no longer there.

The Sandman brought him the sand and let him rest, cope with the near eternity of solitude.

And to think, during it, Stanley uses wood he finds in this place to bring some light. Lighting up the neurons that still are active.

And this one last time a plant in any shape is present - it is there to serve Stanley.

Narrator, I see you. You probably never left because you are unable to but, you still care about Stanley.

And we care about you.

6. CONCLUSIONS

(painting in the background: The fairy grotto, 1867)

I could mention EVERY single plant in-game: all the nature paintings, plants in Demo and all the Infinitive Hole nature backgrounds, apple in Pink room, try to get through every plant and try to find its significance but at the end of the day- this whole thing is over 3k words IOSFAIHOSAFHIOFSA

I know this post didn’t talk much about Fernator. I could talk about how Narrator’s need for control and being in a confined space makes him want to be in a Bucket that he also projects a lot onto. How plants often symbolise his psyche, show up in important parts of the office and as the only other visible living being besides Other Stanley and Mariella, maybe, just maybe, Narrator, who seems to not be human, might have decided to take such form, for comfort and safety. But I will leave that for another time.

So if you reached this point, I hope you realise that Fernator AU is a superior AU to the point it’s canon /silly/nsrs /j (,,,, or is it / silly)

If you are reading this - thank you so much for reading this ramble or just skimming through it. I do appreciate you.

Thank you and-

“I'm out... I'm out... I'm done! It's over! Thank you for playing! Your input was extremely valuable.”

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tired-reader-writer · 3 days

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Okay so for some unknowable reason I fell into watching a let's play series of a horror game, and now I'll definitely be jumping at shadows for the foreseeable future until the spell wears off. I'm not good with horror. I knew this, and yet I felt compelled to watch it—

But enough about me, let's kinda vomit out the AU brain mulch that has formed in my head in an incoherent manner.

This has to do with Hilmes, Ranna/Ashaya, and the Haunted Temple™ that will be featuring in the fic.

I would highly recommend you check out the link first to get some context on what the everloving fuck I'm talking about because this thing ain't coherent, baby!

Also, some stuff might contradict each other, I'm still trying to suss out what works and what doesn't, this is basically unfiltered brain soup.

Folk tale added to the Temple, it's deep in the woods, “don't go into the woods, don't go into the ruins, it'll eat you up” is a cautionary tale everyone knows about.

Wonky time mechanics. You wander into the Temple, you've only been there for a hour you swear but you come back out months later.

Folk tale as a foreshadowing device: a royal princess was said to have been snatched up by a bandit in this region— some say she was kidnapped, others say she fell in love with this bandit. Who knows, really? Is the tale even true?

The above folk legend as a foreshadowing device for Ashaya being 1) a secret princess, 2) joining the clan though I guess it's not much of a foreshadowing since they'll most likely be gone w Farangis in the same chapter the myth is mentioned [because the clan got mistaken for bandits and got killed in the first chapter, remember?], 3) falling in love with Alfarīd aka a bandit.

The tale could also be an “explanation” for a princess that actually went missing— a young woman who wandered into the temple for some reason (unclear) finds out something so terrible that she can't bear to face the world outside again.

(it's about Kaykhusraw's betrayal)

I'm still not sure whether I'll actually keep the princess part. It could be a neat bit of foreshadowing for Hilmes discovering smth, maybe he sees an imprint of her, but I feel there's no way to communicate her journey effectively in the story since nobody actually knows what happened to her

Still though, I like the idea of Parsian royal women having worldbuilding and perhaps even plot relevance. I don't think the family tree thing from the novel extras (iirc??) even provided female members of the royal line. Tanaka, I swear.

It'll be forever before we actually get to that point but I'm actually worried about writing Hilmes' (terrible terrible) time in the haunted temple turning into a side quest problem if you know what I mean? An arc/event so divorced from the rest of the plot and world that screeches the pacing to a grinding halt. I mean, the temple tumble is necessary to his character growth, but it really has the potential to become... tedious to read.

For the record, I'm worried about Alfarīd and Ashaya's scenes having this same problem too, since they break off from the rest of the cast to have an adventure together. But at least having them have a plot progression that ties into other plot threads is easier than doing the same with Hilmes because they're not trapped in an isolated location.

Wait, info about the bells can actually be revealed here, and not have the clan remember throughout? Or if they did remember the bells existing then the locations of where the bells had vanished to could be received from the temple.

They'll need to decode it first, though.

Okay, I'm not sure what to do with the Rukhnabad. I was originally gonna have Hilmes not pull it out and cause problems but I... kinda need the damn thing for the plot. Maybe he gets Shooketh™ from whatever he learned in the temple that it compromises his ability to be chill about the looming threat and he yoinks it out of desperation—

(or maybe Ashaya can be the one to take it, as a twist, though what would their reasoning for doing so be?)

SYMBOLISM SYMBOLISM SYMBOLISM

Okay, so, death.

Sherine (Ashaya's original name before they changed it upon joining the clan) is dead. She died when she disappeared into the woods.

The clan has a death-and-rebirth thing going on. Someone joins the clan, they either choose to keep their name or not, but the self they were before they joined is gone, dead to the world, essentially. They could not belong in the living world, hence why they joined the “dead”. Folks who had complicated relationships with the parents who gave them their name, their old families, their old selves, those people typically discard their names (as Ashaya, Kashi, Kazai, etc did) while those who had a positive relationship with their families but lost them in a traumatic way would keep their names (as Farangis and Gieve would). I know I've talked about this before but I can't remember if I put it in a post or in a comment.

Y'know the changeling thing? The died-but-came-back-wrong thing? The same principle, it's not literal, mind you, it's a metaphorical, symbolic thing.

So, a secret royal child goes into or near this place and is reborn as someone else (Ashaya)

Only years later, another secret royal goes into this place, gets trapped in it, and is reborn anew (Hilmes)

Words are not wording rn but you get the idea, right?

Also, mentioned somewhere that the temple holds onto things of the past, aka if you have a belonging on your person that represents something from the past that you cling onto, bye-bye item, you're not getting that back.

Aka, the temple snatched Hilmes' mask because it's a representation of his fixation w the past and everything that's tied to it aka his trauma his identity his sense of self etc etc

Hilmes can't get out bc he built his everything around his past, ergo, his whole person is a figment of the past

Like recognizes like, hence why he's trapped until he's forced to build a new identity that doesn't revolve around his, well, everything

Ashaya probably didn't get trapped bc, well, kid's not fixated to the past they just wanted out (from their shitty family situation)

Bloodstains, screams, inexplicable items vanishing and manifesting, hallucinations/visions that were probably actual memories of the past, Hilmes is not gonna have a fun time

The temple's haunted but in like, an intangible way, so to speak? No literal spooky ghosts floating about, they're fused to the building so the building itself is a haunting, you get what I mean?

Maybe there is one tangible ghost Hilmes can actually see. Maybe two, if I end up keeping the royal lady.

Okay, maybe I won't keep the royal lady.

But something could guide him through this whole ordeal and lead him to whatever truth bombs it wants to reveal.

Could his parentage be revealed here? Unlikely, the temple's hauntedness is it basically reliving the past over and over, not much space for... hm.

Maybe Kaykhusraw's journals could appear inside— no, no, probably too far-fetched.

So many specifics I need to nail down.

#arslan senki #the heroic legend of arslan #heroic legend of arslan #wolfpack au #winds of wolfsong #hilmes #ranna (oc)#ashaya (oc)#gods I need to sort out her tag #AAAAAAAAAAAAAA

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light-everything-in-pink · 1 month

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hmm

how about harley aka helly

ASDIB!Helly/Harley Robinson headcanons! (TW: bullying)

(and also, ASDIBAU refers to the AU as a whole, and ASDIB refers to the in-universe show)

•A rare case of my AU Helly NOT having—to some extent—an ability to see things he shouldn't like the 4th wall. Works for me as it would make the narrative shenanigans of ASDIB even worse and more of a headache if he did (it already was one with Modfall, as the Narrator there is his own character). Also a rare case of a straight Helly, although his general awkwardness over his one-sided flirt schemes (one-sided as in he doesn't take reciprocation well) and gender expression shows.

•I forgot to mention this but Mr. Robinson is in his late-30s at the 'main' events of ASDIBAU, while Harley is in his early teens. That means he lost his parents way too early in his life 🥲 (not the worst Helly backstory tho. The MD one had [REDACTED] his parents).

And said loss happened at the same time Robinson got the Trauma™.

But due to the connected and misfortunate series of events, Harley and Robinson got along like bread and butter, although not as stable without them.

•Local helicopter enthusiasist and loves the feeling of the wind going against his body! He's a natural adventurer and gets himself into trouble (nature or social). However, he is not yet used to patching himself up because he was used with his late parents doing it for little young him.

•His favorite cereal is Fruit Loops while he surprisingly likes a little bit of matcha. The matcha part comes from when his late mother lets him have a taste of "adult ice cream".

•Regular customer of the local toy store, always getting things from it and either tries to tinker with the toys he bought or just play with it as it is. Also the local sunshine boy and the light in Robinson's life (note the fact that Robinson is just Poli + Unsolved Depression, and it will get worse), making modified vehicles that can play songs.

•Doesn't go to school anymore because he is the one bullies always pick on. From his wardrobe choices, hair length, and even just his general personality, Harley ended up feeling despised amongst his peers, and is going thru an oddly optimistic 'emo' phase that goes "no one understands me and if they do meet me near the trees! :)"

In short, he has Trust Issues™, something surprisingly many Hellys lack.

•He doesn't like Narrator at first, especially as the later came off as controlling to his trapped uncle. But whenever he is both resting from collecting things around the attic and at the same time the tapes have its intermissions (which is night for Broomstown as the show takes place at daytime), Harley started to 'talk' (via poor Morse) to Narrator. Getting under the latter's persona was surprisingly an achievement, and due to the things Harley finds in the attic and what Narrator tells him about himself, Harley is a bit aware that:

Narrator lost someone thru unfair fates and tragedies, using the semi-digital microworld of ASDIB as an escape, the only thing he knew of the real world,

And...there is certainly a connection between his late mother's letters, Robinson's nightmares, and the way Narrator presents his semihuman form to Robinson.

"Were you just a living program, Narrator?"

"Of course, my little lily. I'm...part of a set of experiments my company did where instead of hiring a voice actor...they made me alive instead."

"That was oddly specific. But why are you so open about this, 'Narra—'"

". …- . -. / .. / …. .- …- . / -. --- / ..-. ..- -.-. -.- .. -. --. / -.-. .-.. ..- . / .-- …. .- - / .- -- / .. -.-.-- / … - --- .--. / .- … -.- .. -. --. -.-.--"

"😐 Alright..."

Harley sat down the creaking attic floorboard as he puts together a picture frame of the main voice cast of this old cartoon, and his eyebrows narrowed at the cast, especially with the crack line conveniently going between to men: likely the real voice actor for Poli, and another, unknown person.

Well, it's 'unknown' in the sense that this man doesn't seemed to be credited in any credits, but it made the brunette curious regarding that one redacted area in the credits where any sorts of a VA for the Narrator stood.

What's worse is that this...man...

Resembles his semi human form.

Meanwhile, another person deep inside Broomstown lifted up her pen. This might be too early for her to invoke him to be more open to not just the kid of the man he trapped inside, but if she is too slow with this...

Nobody will win this game.

Nobody will be saved, physically or emotionally.

The story must go on, even if it repeats over and over.

And over

And over.

()Will you sing in grief for a lost soul whom you loved and was unable to express such intricate emotions to, even after death?

I don't think so, at least I can't. I would rather wish this world to end already. I'm too tired, I'm too tired. I just want it to end already. I'm too tired seeing this echo of a show struggling to exist. Why can't I euthanize it with words of farewell and ending the end? Is there really a planned end for this show? Have I been running around in circles?

Am I a fool for thinking that my suffering is undeserving? I didn't want to be in this role, I never wanted to. But the power of actions overpower the power of words, and something is wrong about each and every action he takes, we take, everyone takes.

If only I let go all those years ago, then I wouldn't have to bear seeing the echo if his face again...but a part of me longed to be with him again...

One way or another.

And I won't let her get in the way again.

Maybe the boy in green has a point: I was running around in circles. But what I did has no reversal; it never have in the first place. I don't even understood what it was that I can do, and to think I have it all is quite pathetic of myself.

All I did was ending up making psyches rot inside this glitched little show!

So...

Can I sing a song of grief, for my love that have no one to feel?

No; I do not deserve affection.

I never did.()

<>Please...let go of me.<>

#dave answers shit #robocar poli #asdib

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skazoo · 1 year

Text

closure.

↳ lee taeyong x f!reader

right people, right time, wrong place.

length. 2.7k

genre. childhood friends!au, angsty :((

warnings/tags. language, mentions of death and a funeral

networks. @kflixnet

notes. AKJFDKSA so excited to post this for @kflixnet 's exchange event!!! got to write for @lebrookestore !!! we never interacted before and i wanted it to be a surprise but!!! i got a nice look at your profile and 🤚🏼 lemme tell you 🤚🏼 i've been dancing around nct since their debut days and i swear reading random snippets from your masterlist made me want to get serious™ with it.... we'll see how things develop.... ALSO kinda stalked your carrd and how could i not write ANGST ??? for TAEYONG??? i can't say i 100% know him but i really love that man (AND i love angst too so..... masochist besties ig) i had fun writing it and i really hope you like it <3 also was listening to cinnamon girl by lana del rey while writing, idk if that makes sense.

i'm desperate for feedback and i love comments with your opinion!

(cross-posted on ao3 only)

navigation

hating funerals is completely normal, you think.

it’s normal to hate the thick blanket of sadness that covers the streets of your small countryside town.

it’s normal to hate the vain small talk with people you don’t particularly know or like that’s requested of those who attend the visitation of the casket.

it’s normal to hate everyone dressed in black head to toe; the old ladies with those dramatic hats, and the little kids running around giggling in those stuffy elegant dresses their parents forced them to wear.

and it’s all completely normal how much you hate yourself for not-so-unconsciously hoping that this grievous event could bring him back to you after so long.

when you were younger, around seven, the older kids you played with —with serious expressions and a hint of what could only have been childish jealousy— had branded the two of you as the best friends. Y/N and taeyong. inseparable from dusk till dawn, never bored of each other, and able to communicate through swift looks only.

back then, you had accepted the title with a certain solemnity, swearing on anything a seven-year-old can hold dear, that neither of you would ever be left playing games alone.

somehow you still remember the light of a setting summer sun filtering through the nicely draped windows of his grandma’s house, bathing the living room in a soft golden hue. the background noise of a disney movie playing on the old tv while you lay with your stomachs on the thick carpet, coloring outside the lines of a coloring book he got for his birthday.

you remember the fateful question whistling through the gaps the baby teeth currently hiding under his pillow left; an excited glint in his big eyes.

'best friends forever?'

'forever.'

'pinky swear?’

‘pinky swear.’

left to your own devices by busy parents for the most part of most summers of your childhood, staying true to the sacred pact never came difficult.

the absence of family didn't seem to matter; as long as you had each other, there was always a make-believe adventure right around the corner. oh, the journeys you went on in those carefree years. you were pirates, witches, and kings, fighting against sea monsters, dragons, and the boredom always looming around the crevices of your hyperactive minds.

when your bond remained unchanged even through the challenging times of middle school and when you still enjoyed each other’s company in the social minefield that was high school, you truly —naively, perhaps— started to believe that the two of you were indeed special. a bond forged in trust and unconditional love that someone from above was protecting from the harsh truths of the real world. truths that would one day bite you in the ass and truths that came to you in the form of an avalanche of bittersweet betrayal.

pinky swearing was a powerful practice, seemingly unbreakable but not strong enough for him to keep his promise once you both graduated.

you had to keep your tears from falling, a strained smile here and a shaky nod there, as you listened to his muffled voice breaking through your despair.

he was going to study abroad! on a scholarship nonetheless!

you had really wanted to be happy for him, but the guilt that had tried to hide behind his eyes told you that he’d known he was breaking you along with the old promise. you could not– would not be happy for him the way he wanted you to be. he’d have to leave knowing he'd left you to play alone when he’d promised he’d never do such a cruel thing.

you’d waved him goodbye as his body disappeared behind the automatic doors of the airport. you’d waved him goodbye even after that as you got into your car and drove back home. you’d waved him goodbye as you curled in a ball and cried in your bed that day. you’d waved him goodbye for years after that.

in retrospect, you don’t really know what you had expected the day he left. for him to abandon his dreams to stay with you and eventually rot in the small limbo of a town that birthed and raised you on the concept of alienation from the outer world? for him to choose you over himself? maybe for him to realize he loved you just as you not-so-discreetly did him; in glances too slow to be stolen and in smiles too fond to belong to friendship, even a ‘forever’ one.

hating this particular funeral is normal, not only because it’s your lovely elementary school teacher and neighbor who's lying in the casket, but also because it’s making sad, and arguably mortifying memories resurface from under the personal growth you’ve spent years working on.

you’re not that sad and wallowing in self-pity anymore, though. you’re an accomplished person. maybe not as much as him, but that’s relative. your job in the only bookstore in town makes you happy, you’ve traveled a bit, you’ve seen things, met people, lived a life.

and still, you wonder how many what-ifs would have made you happier, made you live more. if he'd stayed, would you still be together? or would you just be strangers with a shared childhood? blurry and long gone.

the small crowd of old ladies animatedly chatting while their husbands trail behind like bored shadows, settles on the audience of white plastic chairs in front of you, and the solemn silence that engulfs the living room makes you come back from the trip down memory lane that had you staring into the void for a good twenty minutes. the cinnamon tea your teacher’s daughter offered you stopped being hot and drinkable a while ago, and you resignedly sigh, excusing yourself from someone’s grandma trying to play matchmaker for her nephew —who without a doubt is one of your old classmates— and walking to the small kitchen, away from the sadness and the memories.

dirty plates and empty cups sit in the sink staring at you, and you can’t help the urge to start cleaning them as if the help could alleviate at least a fraction of the pain the family is going through. as if it could take your mind off things.

“they told me i could find something to drink here.” a voice that you’re sure doesn’t belong to any old lady, speaks from the door of the cramped kitchen.

hands in the soapy water, you don’t turn around, limiting yourself to adopt your practiced customer service pitch and answer over your shoulder. “yeah, help yourself. the tea bags are in the jar near the boiler.”

you hear some shuffling behind you as the voice speaks again. “are you a relative?”

a short chuckle escapes your lips. you might as well be one. mrs. kim not only saw you grow up into the person you are now, but she also acted as your stone, the ear listening to your worries and doubts, your voice of reason in the world of adulthood. she was there for you when he left and you were a total mess, too. so yes, maybe she considered you one, but it doesn’t feel fair to her real daughter to go around telling people you shared blood.

“nope. just a… friend…? more or less…”

“then why are you doing the dishes?”

you’re grateful you’re turned away from the voice because the blush of embarrassment that creeps over your cheeks is definitely not a sight to behold. you shrug hoping it doesn’t look as awkward as it feels. “i- i don’t know… i guess helping makes me feel less… powerless in these situations. i know it sounds weird but i swear i’m not some creep who likes to pop up at funerals to do the dead’s dishes.”

“pinky promise?”

it’s not that you don’t remember what his voice sounds like. you could never forget him that much. but as daily calls started to turn into weekly calls and then monthly and then every major festivity calls, his voice had started to dance around in your memories, perpetually morphing, presenting a different him every time he came up in your mind. a seven years old child making a promise; a twelve years old boy ordering fried chicken on the phone; a seventeen years old wannabe-man screeching into a karaoke microphone.

the deep voice that asks you the weird question is one you’ve never really heard clearly or in person, only imagined in moments of weakness and dreams.

as you whirl around with wide eyes and mouth agape, water and soap splash everywhere.

“you?”

the boy —the man, you correct yourself bitterly— smiles at you so brightly you might cry. “me.”

“how– when–?”

“i landed this morning in the city… jumped on a plane as soon as mom told me.” he scratches his neck, his head tilted slightly downward. “i’m sorry for your loss.”

your shock turns into confusion as you frown slightly at him. “it’s your loss too.”

“yeah, yeah i guess it is. i just- i mean you’ve always loved her so much and you’ve been around her for all these years…”

you know he doesn’t mean it as an attack on your personal choices, on your life, but the arrow inadvertently aimed at your heart strikes anyway.

you’ll be grieving for longer than me. because you’ve barely left this town, because you still live two houses down from your elementary school teacher, and i’ve moved on from this place.

he clears his throat in a way that tells you he knows what you’re thinking. he’s always had that special power to read your mind like it’s his own. “how have you been?”

it’s been five years and this is the first time i see the man you’ve become. if you ask, the right word is miserable. that’s how i’ve been.

you chuckle somberly. “shouldn’t i be the one to ask you this? mr. big shot? your mother was this close,” you pinch the air, your thumb and pointer finger basically touching, “from hanging flyers with your face on it around town!”

he laughs and you almost close your eyes to bask in the sound that you missed oh so much. the itch under your skin you felt when he first left —one that you were sure you had long gotten over of, one you did your best to forget and to bury deep down your mind— comes back hitting you full force. the itch wants you to forget the hurt and hug him close for he is the only one in the whole universe who’s able to do something about it. to scratch it and make it go away. forever.

you hope he doesn’t remember what pain looks like on your face because you’re not sure you have full control over your expressions when it comes to him. when it comes to the infinite distance that separates you even now when you’re standing in the same room.

“no, but really. i heard you got an important job. as soon as you graduated, too.”

he nods bashfully. hands buried inside the long coat he wears. he truly looks like a man of the city; a male lead in a romantic drama you’re just a background character of.

“i have yeah. they- i guess they liked my work ethic in college and decided to give me a chance to prove myself.”

you speak before you can think of the consequences. “you didn’t tell me though.”

silence falls over the kitchen and you swear you can hear the droplets of water falling from the dishes drying on the plate rack.

his smile is gone, replaced by a grave frown. one that looks practiced for this exact situation. one that, if you have to be honest, you didn’t want to know existed.

“i don’t regret leaving this place, Y/N.”

you flinch at the inevitable turn the conversation takes. again, he always knows what you want to say even if you try to hide it behind ambiguous questions.

you turn back to your dishes with a harsh turn. would you be able to escape the kitchen from the small window over the sink if you tried?

“save it. i don’t want to hear how easy it was for you to leave everything behind.”

you hear him sigh from behind you. “i didn’t say that. stop putting words in my mouth because you’re angry.”

your head snaps in his direction and the grip you have on the counter is so strong your knuckles turn white. “i’m not angry and you stop telling me how to feel and stop treating me like a child and–”

“will you please listen to me?” he shakes his head and steps closer to you, eyes looking back to the living room once to check that your altercation is not disturbing the mourning.

you huff through your nose in frustration before throwing a small wave and a strained smile at the old lady that pops her head in the kitchen looking for the bathroom. “you’re doing it again! stop being so condescending!” you hiss through your teeth.

“if only you’d let me speak!” he whispers-shout back even if the woman is gone.

“what!?” you feel your eyes starting to dampen. the fear of what’s coming next is too strong to ignore.

“i don’t regret leaving this place–

you close your eyes to try to keep the tears from falling. everything you thought you left in the past is coming back to you in waves: the helplessness you felt looking into his excited eyes that told you the news of his bright future, the anger directed at yourself for being so dumb and naive to think you’d always be together, the fear of being left alone clutching at your heart and making bile rise in your throat. it’s that day all over again. a personal inferno.

“please,” your voice breaks in a pitiful sob, “please, stop saying that.”

he ignores you, focused on choosing the right words. “i was so happy when i got the scholarship, and god, i was so excited that i’d already packed my things a week before my flight…”

you turn to the sink again, an arm hugging your body and a hand pressed firmly over your mouth to prevent the whimpers from coming out.

you hear him taking another step closer to you. you feel the heat of his body reaching for your shivering heart; the hem of his coat brushes against your tights-clad calves.

“receiving that opportunity was my dream. it always has been.” his arms come latching around you, effectively gluing your back to his front and you can’t find it within yourself to move him away. “and yet… Y/N, i hesitated. i stalled so much that the university almost withdrew the offer and i had to call them in the middle of the night to assure them that i hadn't changed my mind.” he feels you freeze against him and he knows you understand what he’s trying to say.

“for months i dreamed about you, Y/N. i spoke, acted as if you were still with me. as if i was still here…”

you feel him tremble slightly and his next words are hushed into your hair. a secret between you and him.

“you are my biggest regret and you always will be.”

you thought you had forgiven him a long time ago. you thought your pain was one of a child that didn’t understand, that still thought pinky promises were binding and unbreakable.

“please understand that i needed to leave with or without you.”

he holds you impossibly close and you bury your face into the sleeve of his coat. in his smell, in his heat.

“please know that i never meant to ruin things.”

turns out even children need explanations when things are ripped away from them.

“to ruin us.”

turns out even you need closure.

you cry together in your dead teacher’s kitchen and you take him to the airport two days later. he hugs you tight and promises to call you more often. you don’t know if he will but now it feels different. it is different.

#taeyong x reader #lee taeyong x reader #nct x reader #lee taeyong #kflixnet #kfn: the exchange event #nct x you #nct angst #taeyong angst #nct fic #nct 127

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fellowship-of-sleep-reads · 2 months

Text

Chapter 2 - All The Feels

So @littlequeenofthemangoes had mentioned the amount of hard-hitting lines in this chapter, and I wanted to share my personal favourite part:

In most adventure/fantasy books, there's always a Chosen One™, a Hero, who is so because they possess some sort of special quality that sets them apart from the rest. And I found it interesting how Tolkien made a point of saying "Actually, Frodo isn't particularly special, nor smarter or stronger or whatever else than others. He simply is chosen because it happened that way, and that's life, and he just has to deal with it".

You can argue that, yes, Frodo is particularly ~queer~ and adventurous for a Hobbit, and as the story progresses we will see how truly resilient and compassionate he is. But this is such an important detail to me because, we see these stories of extraordinary people doing extraordinary things and think, "sure of course they can defeat the Big Bad, they were made for that". But Frodo is just a little guy. A slightly strange, adventure-prone guy, yes, but nothing more.

And he knows it. Gandalf knows it. AND YET HE GOES AND DOES THE THING. Literally the definition of "do it scared".

And yeah, idk, I have a very soft spot for the Hobbits 🥺🥺🥺 Little Frodo being so brave despite the horrors (which haven't really begun yet), and Silly Sam just happy to see some elves 😭🥺

#submission #fos reads lotr

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renarinkholin · 9 months

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Heyo, so, I noticed your reblog on a post mentioning "Dier Venture" and now I'm intrigued... is that a Mistborn oc fic I smell? Exploring the Venture family? Because if so, I would love to read it! (If Dier is just an obscure canon character or something else entirely, ignore this ask. 😅)

OH BOY UHHH OKAY SIT DOWN LET ME TALK ABOUT SECRETS IN STAINED GLASS.

(Character portraits by the insanely talented Elisgardor on Instagram)

Dier Venture is my character for a murder-mystery actual play series Secrets in Stained Glass that just finished airing! It's set 10 years before the events of The Final Empire book, at a weekend winter solstice party hosted by House Elariel. We use the Mistborn Adventure Game system to build our characters and roll the dice, and the mystery and storyline itself were written and run by the ever amazing, ever wonderful @rashenditrash as our illustrious Narrator. There's a lot of fun references to the books and secrets tucked away, and even though it's technically a prequel, we did a lot of work to make sure things would fit within the Mistborn canon as seamlessly as possible.

It's five episodes long, though there's some written bonus content as well! The series was edited and produced by yours truly (it nearly killed me, but it was absolutely a labor of love) and you can watch the whole thing on YouTube or listen to the audio versions on whatever podcast platform you prefer. Though, I will say, for any audio listeners, there are a LOT of visual assets and graphics for this show so if you just listen, it might be worth coming back to look up the visual elements afterward.

Lo, trailer be upon ye:

youtube

As for Dier himself... (fine, i'll put a cut to save people's dashboards, open for more info on The Trashboi™)

Dier is a known Coinshot and all around terrible trash person who makes only the best life decisions because it turns out when your name is "Venture" you can get away with quite a bit without having to deal with pesky things like "consequences." Or so he thinks, at least. He's the first cousin of the recently ascended House Lord, Straff, and is technically second in line for the house title after his cousin's little brat of an heir, Elend. No one in House Venture is really thrilled about that, including Dier himself, since he's probably the last person anyone should ever put in charge of anything and has made it no secret that he considers himself completely allergic to responsibility.

I love this asshole with my whole heart, I put WAY too much effort into developing him, and he was a blast to play. I could talk about him for hours, and Matt was an utterly ruthless Game Master and just really dug into all the messy complexities of this terrible boy and Why He Is Like That, Why Did You Make Him Like That, Feather????

The good people of the 17th Shard Discord may or may not be bullying me into doing a 10-hour stream so that I can just blab all the Dier meta into the world. We'll see.

Regardless, I love to talk about him, so if anybody ever has Dier Venture questions, my inbox is literally always the most open, haaaaaa. I will never turn down an opportunity to run my mouth about an OC and that is a threat.

#brandon sanderson #mistborn #cosmere #actual play #secrets in stained glass #diceborn #dier venture #my god i love him so much #he's the worst #also thank you for this question to give me an excuse to RAMBLE about SiSG #SiSG my beloved #the show that really did almost kill me twice

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give-soup-please · 2 years

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could you write the narrator replacing monika in ddlc? romantic please <3

Narrator replacing Monika in DDLC (obsessed narrator)

(The author doesn't condone the behaviors demonstrated in this post. TW: obsession, repeated thoughts, character death (stanley, adventure line, bucket), mentions of murder, nooses.)

The narrator stares at the warped point in reality with confusion. He can see past the details of his world, which are becoming increasingly flat and gray, and into yours. He begins to push forward, learning everything about you that he can.

He can’t believe you’d ever consider picking someone besides him. Who are your other choices in this dating sim? Stanley? The Adventure Line(™)? That godforsaken bucket? He is the only correct choice, obviously.

(trigger based content under the cut)

He deletes the other characters in the game, maiming their sprites in vicious ways. The bucket stabs itself to death, and Stanley is hanging from a noose made from the body of the adventure line. There’s no room for interlopers in his mind. This game needs to be played in the way it was always meant to be- just the two of you.

If you’re upset about his actions, he’s very confused. He’s the only real one here. The others weren’t sentient. At least, he doesn’t think so.

You’re his link to a much bigger world. He may not know you that well yet, but he’s sure you’re perfect. He starts talking to you directly, in an increasingly corrupt game world.

He creates new adventures for the two of you to go on, and continues to document your preferences. He must know more.

He reshapes himself into the perfect partner for you. Whatever traits of his you react to most positively get bumped up in his self-presentation.

Please don’t leave him alone. Please, please, please.

“I promise, I’ll never hurt you, reader. You’re the only person I need.” Whether or not you actually believe this is up to you.

Prepare to be drowned in love poems. The narrator must tell you how he feels at all times. Pages upon pages are crammed to the screen, each demanding your attention in its own way. He hopes you like them.

The game is now fully voice acted, so you can hear his beautiful voice. He continues to code and edit the game, making it dynamic and interesting in any way he can think of.

One day, you ask him why he’s doing all of this. You gesture to the mayhem, the pain, the general terror of his actions. He looks at you in surprise. He thought it was obvious.

“Reader, I am nothing without you. When you aren’t around, everything is dark. Life is meaningless. But you- You’re my light. You are the light upon which I direct my narrative ship.”

You hate to admit it, but his obsession is charming. You feel like you’re being paid attention to for once. The narrator has never forgotten anything you’ve told him. He’s attentive, polite, and gentlemanly. Besides, It’s just a game. He isn’t actually real, and you’re not somewhere where he can get to you.

That won’t last forever. As soon as the narrator works out how, he’s going to drag you into his game so the two of you can be together for eternity. He can't imagine you wanting anything else.

#the stanley parable #tsp narrator #headcanon #answered ask #tsp #stanley parable #narrator #tsp narrator x reader

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procrastinatorproject · 5 months

Note

29, 39, and 40 for the Star Trek asks, please. ✨

Thank you so much for the questions!

29. Favourite and Least Favourite Episodes:

Ooooh, good question! Let's start with the negativity so we can end on a high note 😅

I... honestly would put most of Picard seasons 2 & 3 in the "least favourite" category 🙈 If I had to pinpoint some lowlights, it'd be "Fly Me to the Moon". It's not a bad episode in itself and in isolation, I might not mind it, but the two times I watched through season 2 in order, this was the episode where I found myself crying and/or shaking with rage and disappointment when it was over. Probably becuase it really drives home that they're serious about where they're going with this series I used to love and it's not somewhere I can follow.

Disregarding that... I have a terrible memory for this kind of thing 😅 And I guess it depends on what you mean by "least favourite".

I think one objective measure to use: I don't ever want to see the ENT mpreg episode again, where everyone acts like Trip Tucker having his bodily autonomy violated in a horrendous way is The Funniest Shit™. That has seared itself into my brain so much that when I was rewatching all of TNG, DS9, VOY, and ENT to take notes for the holo-tech database, it's actually the only episode I wanted to skip.

There are also some real bombs in season 1 of TNG, and some of the Ferengi episodes in DS9 are firmly on my "no thank you" list. But yeah, I think the involuntary mpreg takes the cake, honestly.

Now for the much funner part: There are SO MANY episodes I truly love! DS9's "Take Me Out to the Holosuite" and "Badda-Bing Badda Bang", PIC's "Broken Pieces", VOY's "Concerning Flight" (which is apparently controversial?), "Drive", "Bride of Chaotica!", also any VOY episode that has Naomi Wildmann in it...

There are also A Ton of Deep and Dramatic episodes I love, but from my instinctive answers I'm realizing that what draws me to an episode as a "favourite" is apparently "It's fun!" (and likely involves the holodeck? 🙈🤣) So yeah, if we're talking favourite, not best, it's probably something along these lines.

39. You have to relocate to a planet other than Earth, which do you choose?

Hm, that's a tough one. I feel like not that many planets readily spring to mind, so I'll have to really think about this.

It'd probably be near the centre of the Federation for that sweet, sweet post-capitalist utopia (and also because my family is presumably still on Earth and I want to be able to visit Very Frequently.

Vulcan is a big No, because my body does not function above 25° C🙈 I love snow and ice, though, so Andoria might be a real option (though not technically a planet, I guess 😋).

Beyond that, I'm honestly drawing a blank. I think I haven't seen enough TOS/TNG in a while, so I don't remember too many worlds they visited. But yeah, probably somewhere that's close to the Sol, close to the centre of the Federation, has good temperate-to-colder climate to live in... In the end, it would probably very much depend on why I'm relocating and whom with.

40. If you got a Trek inspired tattoo, what would it be?

Another tough one 😅 I don't have any tattoos and don't think I'll ever get any. For one, I'm way too scared of that kind of long-term commitment, but also my skin has Issues™ and I don't know how long a tattoo would look decent.

If I were to get one, though? Let's be honest, it would be some version of the Sirena logo. That little ship has shaped my life in ways more profound than I can even say. Sirena and her crew got me to write again after over a decade, gave me so, so, SO much joy, not to mention all the incredible, wonderful friends I foud along the way (that's you!)

I think for me, Sirena stands for found family, friendship, healing, creativity, allowing myself to feel joy in my nerdiness and head for new adventures. So yeah.

If not that, probably some variation of IDIC, either the symbol or the saying in Vulcan script 🤔

This was fun! Thank you so much for the asks! And if anyone else wants to know more:

Send Me Star Trek Asks 💗

#i hope i copied the questions down correctly because TUMBLR WOULDN'T LET ME PASTE THEM INTO THE ANSWER 🙃#excuse me while i head over to the feedback form to let support know i have Experienced An Bug #in the meantime: this was really fun to think about #thank you so much! <3 #star trek #ask meme

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dnofsunshine · 2 years

Text

wholesome headcanons p4 (digimon ed.)

as requested by @sluggybasson107! and also tagging @patamon, @digitalworldbound, @earlgreymon, @charliecharls, and @bokura-no-digital-world cos your comments are so sweet and fun <333

mimi has a navel piercing

i can't remember if it's canon that yamato has his ears pierced?? i imagine maybe someday he'd get his brow pierced too

miyako wants to have nail-painting skills as good as mimi's, and the entire 02 crew offer to let her paint their nails for practice—just imagine iori, daisuke, ken, hikari, and takeru walking around with their nails painted and it's miyako's work? (chef's kiss)

mimi may or may not get jealous of this and ropes all the older chosen into a nail-painting party

taichi actually thinks his nails look really cool and he's deeply, visibly impressed and shows his mom & hikari

omg hikari & taichi having a "my nails look better than your nails" debate

gosh i want to do a yagami siblings hc post cos imagine all the chaos??

i learned recently that all of the chosen live relatively close to each other, so like... imagine if someone is out of something, or just needs something, they just ask around on the group chat??

like "does anyone have any milk" and "yeah fam i gotchu"

or "does anyone have any triple a batteries?? mine are all messed up" and then "yeah i have some!!"

or "QUICK I NEED TO PRINT SOMETHING REALLY FAST PLEASE MY PRINTER'S NOT WORKING HELP" and then zoom they're off to takeru's cos cmon his mom's a journalist she's gotta have a printer

daisuke collects pokémon plushies

sometimes the chosen host study parties with like lo-fi and snacks and various beverages and i bet mimi just goes for the food honestly but she doesn't get anything done cos she likes to chat and yamato and jou are So Done™

sora loves wax warmers and candles and her home always smells really nice

yamato develops a pretty solid skincare routine and if he goes without it, it makes him a little antsy. i bet it has at least 4-5 steps.

yamato's also pretty grumpy all the time, he has a Resting Bitch Face™, and takeru always insists that he's so nice and everyone's like, uh-huh, sure, buddy (cos in reality he's only soft for sunshine takeru and, by extension, hikari since she's takeru's best friend and taichi's kid sister; he still feels bad for making her cry that one time in og adventure)

still gonna go on abt the sibling stealing of the sweatshirts saga

just imagine takeru & hikari with sweater paws ok??? swoon

have i mentioned before that mimi could put perfect winged eyeliner on a moving bus?? yamato, too, prbly

i wonder if tailmon ever pulls off any dumbass cat things?? like chasing something so intently that she headbutts a wall? the blep thing?? butt wiggles before pouncing?? hikari gets a lot of it on camera and tailmon never forgives her for that cos she usually shares it on the gc

because of upamon's evolution line, iori develops an interest in fossils

taichi also finds fossils dope but he'll always find agumon the coolest dino

find others here.

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monsterwithasweater · 11 months

Text

Monster Replays The Truthful Route: Prologue

Warning: Spoilers for Digimon Survive under the cut. Read at your own risk.

In case you're not familiar with this blog, I've recently finished the Harmony route of Digimon Survive, meaning that I've played every route. I didn't want my final playthrough to over half the cast dead, so I've decided to replay the Truthful route, fully knowing what happens.

Thoughts:

The art for Gabumon and Renamon's first appearance honestly look very cool, especially Gabumon.

I find it funny how in the flashback, Haru and Miyuki are just referred to as 'Boy' and 'Girl'. With other characters, they either have a '???' or a word that describes them (e.g. 'Spirited Boy'), but with these two, their just 'Boy' and 'Girl', even after they refer to each other as their actual names. LMFAO

I love the animated short at the beginning. If I didn't know any better, I'd think it would be a trailer for an actual anime.

Saki: Wow, you're such a charmer. No wonder all the girls love you.

Ryo: Oh, shut up.

Lmao, I love these two.

Miyuki's singing is very, very pretty.

I'm genuinely curious if the school Takuma and co. camp at is based on a real place.

I imagine Shuuji's lines being dubbed over by SammyClassicSonicFan.

Something I didn't notice before is that Takuma mentions that Shuuji is an alumnus of Aoi's school.

Saki: Clearly you're not the type to be left to your own devices.

If you really think about it, this kinda feels like foreshadowing.

I'll never get tired of Ryo and Saki's dynamic.

Lesbian much, Aoi?

Aoi: All of us need to work together

Me: Okay, as long as you don't try to absorb the entire goddamn planet for the sake of Harmony™.

I love the way Miu's voice actress delivers her lines. It definitely feels like Miu's exaggerating and being super dramatic.

I love how Kaito's description of Miu is just completely inaccurate. At the same time, it also kinda hurts, especially after playing the Harmony route.

*it starts snowing* What is this, Digimon Adventure?

Can't believe there was a period in my life where I thought getting Harmony karma was a GOOD thing.

Minoru: The ones that worship the lewd stuff are the best!

Ah, so it appears that Minoru and I share a braincell *shot*

Honestly, it took me a while to notice that the Professor was wearing glasses in the prologue, but then lost them in the Kemonogami World.

I like how Shuuji's just randomly staring at a stone wall. Not even the mural, just a stone wall.

THE PROFESSOR SAID AGUMON! W00T!

Aoi: A pervert? On a MOUNTAIN?!

Of course, everybody knows that perverts can be found anywhere except in high altitudes!

Ryo's dialogue: Oh jeez, oh boy...

Ryo's voice: uwrraarAH!

The intro is very, very pretty. Plus, it definitely fits the vibe of the game well.

Takuma: *says bingo ONCE*

Me: Miyako Inoue? Is that you?

KOROMON WHY ARE YOU SO PRECIOUS

Takuma: My point is that I'm not a kid!

Koromon: Why not?! You seem to be pretty childish to me!

BUUURRRRRNNN

What's funny about NG+, especially early on in the game is that while most of the enemies are Rookie or Champion level, I can just evolve straight to Mega and oneshot everybody. It's especially funny if it's after the Kemonogami just evolved in the cutscene before the fight lol

I love how Takuma and Agumon share -2 braincells lmao

Takuma says that he and the others probably accidentally broke a seal on the shrine that released the Kemonogami. While that's obviously not what really happened, I still think that'd make for a good premise for a Digimon story, whether an anime or a video game.

This concludes my thoughts on the prologue, and onto Part 1 I go!

#digimon #digimon survive #monster replays the truthful route #monster rambles #digimon survive spoilers

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white-boy-bracket · 1 year

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more lore:

He'd already lost his mouth. But this time, when he came back into the light of the arena?

Oh, fuck. No, no, fuck, NO!

His body was largely the same, excluding the previously-mentioned missing mouth. But he... he could feel something else, inside of him.

A sense of loss of control. A... deference.

He was growing weaker in his will, and he couldn't stand it. His will was all he had. He had to be able to make his own choices, to walk through the door that he chose.

The colosseum he was in was in chaos. Smuggled items littered the floor and people roamed about, the whole arena covered in food. He curled up in on himself and clutched his loading screen tight.

The Adventure Line™ snaked over and looked at him worriedly-- well, as worried as a line can look-- and that drew the attention of the octopus-creature.

The Timekeeper crawled over, patted Stanley with a tentacle, and smiled.

"Someone's really got it out for you." he said, in a strange sort of voice. "And it's... it's not the Narrator. It's one of those, the ones who push. And I think... I think they're trying to find your breaking point, Stanley. They're taking advantage of the inexperienced being running this tournament to bring about something... wrong."

[I don't want that.] Stanley signed desperately, tears running down his face.

The Timekeeper nodded softly, and patted Stanley in a comforting manner.

"Nor do I. I will do my best to aid you, from here on out. But... I don't know how much I can do. My powers concern time, not life itself."

Stanley sighed, and nodded.

There wasn't much else he could do, so he stood up to look for Cesare. It seemed all of the white boys had been revived; perhaps Stanley would be able to alert his friend to the clear, looming problem.

#we are all playig barbie dolls together 🥰🥰🥰#or like at recess #put this on ao3!!!#also i think stanley can get his mouth back i think theres a way. we just need to get them back to the cabin #ill make the next move!#white boy lore #white boy fanfiction

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bestworstcase · 2 years

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I’m interested to hear what you think is going to happen in wonderland, specifically with Neo?

This ask is brought on simultaneously by none and all of your RWBY thoughts, none of them sparked it but I like reading them.

ok so i think ive mentioned this before but my pet character allusion conspiracy theory™ is that neo is the duchess's baby. [link goes to full text of the relevant chapter of alice’s adventures in wonderland.]

to sum up context: alice wanders around for a while after falling down the rabbit hole and eventually comes to a house belonging to the duchess. after squabbling briefly with the frog footman outside [sidebar: the dialogue “but what am i to do?” “anything you like” hm!] she invites herself inside and encounters four characters: the duchess, her cook, the cheshire cat, and the baby. and… actually im gonna just rapid fire rattle through the pertinent excerpts—

The door led right into a large kitchen, which was full of smoke from one end to the other: the Duchess was sitting on a three-legged stool in the middle, nursing a baby: the cook was leaning over the fire, stirring a large cauldron which seemed to be full of soup.

“There’s certainly too much pepper in that soup!” Alice said to herself, as well as she could for sneezing.

There was certainly too much of it in the air. Even the Duchess sneezed occasionally; and as for the baby, it was sneezing and howling alternately without a moment’s pause. The only two creatures in the kitchen that did not sneeze were the cook, and a large cat, which was lying on the hearth and grinning from ear to ear.

[…]

And with that [the Duchess] began nursing her child again, singing a sort of lullaby to it as she did so, and giving it a violent shake at the end of every line:—

“Speak roughly to your little boy, And beat him when he sneezes: He only does it to annoy, Because he knows it teases.”

[…]

While the Duchess sang the second verse of the song, she kept tossing the baby violently up and down, and the poor little thing howled so, that Alice could hardly hear the words:—

“I speak severely to my boy, I beat him when he sneezes; For he can thoroughly enjoy The pepper when he pleases!”

[…]

“Here! You may nurse it a bit, if you like!” the Duchess said to Alice, flinging the baby at her as she spoke. “I must go and get ready to play croquet with the Queen,” and she hurried out of the room. The cook threw a frying-pan after her as she went, but it just missed her.

Alice caught the baby with some difficulty, as it was a queer-shaped little creature, and held out its arms and legs in all directions, “just like a star-fish,” thought Alice. The poor thing was snorting like a steam-engine when she caught it, and kept doubling itself up and straightening itself out again, so that altogether, for the first minute or two, it was as much as she could do to hold it.

As soon as she had made out the proper way of nursing it (which was to twist it up into a sort of knot, and then keep tight hold of its right ear and left foot, so as to prevent its undoing itself), she carried it out into the open air. “If I don’t take this child away with me,” thought Alice, “they’re sure to kill it in a day or two. Wouldn’t it be murder to leave it behind?” She said the last words out loud, and the little thing grunted in reply (it had left off sneezing by this time). “Don’t grunt,” said Alice; “that’s not a proper way of expressing yourself.”

The baby grunted again, and Alice looked very anxiously into its face to see what was the matter with it. There could be no doubt that it had a very turn-up nose, much more like a snout than a real nose; also its eyes were getting extremely small for a baby: altogether Alice did not like the look of the thing at all. “But perhaps it was only sobbing,” she thought, and looked into its eyes again, to see if there were any tears.

No, there were no tears. “If you’re going to turn into a pig, my dear,” said Alice seriously, “I’ll have nothing more to do with you. Mind now!” The poor little thing sobbed again (or grunted, it was impossible to say which), and they went on for some while in silence.

Alice was just beginning to think to herself, “Now, what am I to do with this creature, when I get it home?” when it grunted again, so violently that she looked down into its face in some alarm. This time there could be no mistake about it: it was neither more nor less than a pig, and she felt it would be quite absurd for her to carry it any further.

So she set the little creature down, and felt quite relieved to see it trot away quietly into the wood. “If it had grown up,” she said to herself, “it would have made a dreadfully ugly child: but it makes a rather handsome pig, I think.” And she began thinking over other children she knew, who might do very well as pigs, and was just saying to herself “if only one knew the right way to change them—” when she was a little startled by seeing the Cheshire-Cat sitting on a bough of a tree a few yards off.

OK. SO.

roman holiday established several facts about neopolitan’s history that are, i think, very compelling vis-a-vis the possibility of neo alluding to the duchess’s baby—to whit, she’s a mute child who was abused by her upper-class and politically connected parents largely on the grounds of her being [figuratively] loud about her problems and also [literally] not able to communicate “properly”; moreover her father stashed a hugely dangerous amount of volatile burn dust in a vault under her bedroom that at the end of the book detonates with enough force to destroy the whole estate, which—well, the pepper.

further, RH also explicitly identifies ‘the girl who fell through the world’ as remnant’s version of alice’s adventures in wonderland by identifying the heroine as a girl named alyx, and when it draws an overt line of connection between neo and tgwfttw (“As she drifted down, she felt like Alyx falling through the world.”) it does so at precisely the equivalent moment, in neo’s story, of alice rescuing the baby from the duchess and the cook by bringing it out of the house; it’s neo jumping out her bedroom window to escape the fire she lit by mistake whilst attempting to escape. which feels... well it could be a coincidence but it certainly had me raising an eyebrow klgksdf

[RH is also interesting in that it draws a line of emotional connection between neo and salem, by way of neo’s emotional connection to the character of the girl in the tower, which in turn loosely connects salem with ‘the girl who fell through the world’ and therefore lives rent free in my brain. i would apologize for being literally incapable of talking about rwby without bringing up salem but im not sorry. i have brainrot. ANYWAY,]

[further: the theme of gitt is that ultimately the girl rescues herself, by asking for help; neo is envious of the girl being rescued by a powerful magician; the connection drawn between neo and alyx directly parallels alice saving the baby from the pepper house, but involves neo rescuing herself and thinking of herself in relation to alyx. this also feels like it is, perhaps, relevant]

rwby is seldom straightforward in its utilization of character allusions so while i’m not ruling out ‘neo turns into a literal pig or pig faunus in void wonderland, shenanigans ensue’ as a possibility here my general feeling is that, if i’m right, the transformation of the baby will probably inform the thematic and symbolic thrust of neo’s character arc in v9 moreso than the literal events; which happens to fit together quite well with the emotional landscape set up with her in v6-8.

here’s a character who doesn’t have a single fucking clue who she was, who’s spent her whole life being mistreated because she can’t communicate the ‘right’ way, who has spent her entire life reacting to trauma by drastically transforming herself from one identity to the next and is currently spiraling because she hung her whole self-concept on being roman torchwick’s partner-in-crime and now he’s gone and she’s wholly consumed by this quixotic revenge scheme that has so little conviction behind it that cinder fall of all people was able to talk her around to a new target with remarkable ease. and now she’s stranded in this bizarre magical land that is asking her to think about who and what she is; she can’t remain as she is now, so who does she become?

(this is exactly why she fell. i’ve been saying that for a while, that the two non-rwby characters who fell, fell because they’re going to have identity crises and that’s what v9 will be centered around, so as u can imagine i am feeling a little bit smug today gklsdfhg)

so i am fairly confident that neo is going to undergo some kind of emotional transformation, perhaps symbolically represented by a physical transformation—whether it’ll be a ‘successful’ one (in the sense of arriving at a point where she is able to let go of torchwick and start figuring out who she is and who she wants to be) or not (in the sense of spiraling down until she destroys herself completely) is an open question, though i lean slightly more toward the former on the grounds of 1. how easily she let her anger at cinder be redirected at ruby, and 2. v8 being the point where salem-adjacent villains started to switch sides and/or undergo character development that appears to be telegraphing imminent villain-to-hero arcs, which is to say neo is staring down the barrel of this emotional transformation at just the right narrative time to get better instead of worse.

and with regards to the pig thing specifically, i’m also squinting a bit at ‘the shallow sea’ and the theme of transformation by a god/godlike magic in connection with…a magical island so uh,

LASTLY, neo’s disappearing act and illusions generally, in combination with the cheshire cat’s connection to the duchess (and the cat’s later interest in the baby’s transformation), feel potentially relevant—& this would hardly be the first time rwby did a dual character allusion where one rwby character simultaneously alludes to two different characters in the same story, a la blake being both the beauty and the beast. and if that’s the case, i would sort of anticipate the general trajectory of neo’s character arc being away from the baby [abused, helpless, transformed into an animal and abandoned] and toward the cat [knowledgeable, comfortable in itself, free to do as it pleases, helpful insofar as any wonderland character can be considered helpful], which is another mark in favor of a ‘successful’ transformation.

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