#anyway I think he (if he where to have a body in the parable) (or host a mannequin for a bit) would absolutely dress in drag for an ending

[gothic-mothic]

He is known to be put in a dress on the occasion

[can-i-see-your-passport-please]

ASKING YOU ABOUT YOUR STANLEY PARABLE/HLVRAI CROSSOVER. ELABORATE PLEASE??

more under the cut :3

So the basic concept goeth thusly:

Post HLVRAI canon, Gordon ends up in the Parable somehow. Stanley immediately mentally adopts him, while the Narrator is like "Oh we can ABSOLUTELY NOT have GORDON FREEMAN here" (nod to tsp originally being a hl2 mod!) and basically tries to boot Gordon out the Parable. He resets, and now Benrey is here.

So already not fun for the Narrator (though much fun for stanley, who loves seeing the narrator distressed because stanley is a bastard). Wrangling Stanley is already a nightmare, and now he has two other guys, one of which is an alien who can just noclip, which is very frustrating.

However, there's another twist to this: the role of narrator keeps being shuffled around. Sometimes, the Narrator is not the narrator, it's instead Gordon. Sometimes it's Benrey. Sometimes Stanley. Sometimes there's one player and the other three are narrators, and sometimes two of them are narrators and the other two are players.

So basically: we have Gordon (argumentative as shit), Benrey (benrey), Stanley (very glad to be talking to someone aside from the british man), and the Narrator (his phucking story)

I'll explain the symbolism I put in their narrator designs. So:

The Narrator is Stanley's shadow. That shadow can stretch and grow, but at the end of the day, he's tied to Stanley. He literally cannot do anything without him- when Stanley stops moving (eg: not stanley ending), the Narrator can do nothing.

Stanley's narrator form is inspired by one of my favorite interpretations of Stanley- one where he didn't really use ASL or writing or anything, but instead communicated through drawings. So while Stanley has no visible form, he's present through little drawings.

Gordon's design is far simpler in my mind- his arc in this is realizing he's not fully human either, he's an AI who was completely shaped by the player. So when he's the narrator, his visible form is confined to screens. This also ties into a lot of themes of control.

Benrey's entire body shifts colors in accordance with his emotions, specifically Sweet Voice colors. The exception is the spot of pink on his chest, the hearts on his face, and his eyes. His chest glows pink always, as do the hearts on his face (showing that even though he is a fucking nightmare, at his core is love. Benrey loves, and he wants to be loved). His eyes don't shift color with his body, but they change with his emotions as well- blue when he's calmer/happier, yellow when he's stressed out. This is true even when he's not in Narrator form.

Benrey's narrator form is a very intentional parallel to the Narrator's. The Narrator is a shadow, and Benrey's literally glowing bright light. The Narrator's mouth can be seen, Benrey's can't. The Narrator is literally tied to Stanley, but Benrey's not tied to anyone. (To make the symbolism there blatant: the Narrator really wants to have control, which paradoxically leads him to have less control. Meanwhile Benrey doesn't care how much control he has, which paradoxically leads him to having more.)

Additionally: while everyone can be pulled out of their narrator forms into their normal forms, they can't do it on their own, it has to be their (for lack of a better term) game partner. Gordon is the only one who can get Benrey into his normal form. Stanley is the only one who can get the Narrator into his normal form. Vice versa.

So: that's the general stuff, and the Narrator designs. I have written down in Discord what I think their arcs would be, and how they all parallel each other. Gordon-Narrator and Stanley-Benrey are the biggest parallels, but Stanley and Gordon parallel each other as well (same with Benrey and the Narrator). I'll explain if asked and welcome ideas :3 But first I'm gonna pass the fuck out it's 18 FUCKING DEGREES FARENHEIT WHEN DID IT GET SO COLD

Anyway. Take this exchange I wrote when I first came up with the idea of this AU that's basically a script of how I thought I would write this (I didn't have it be post-canon beforehand, and I really should've had Gordon actually talk more, but I got enraptured by writing the Narrator he was so fun to write but also so anxiety inducing but also I am cringe yet I am free)

[employee052]

little poster for a minicomic im working on thats half au / half backstory for virgil and the tsp gang in my universe called "la vie en jaune" (or life in yellow in french) (i think) (idk i live in canada)

for a full infodump on this au ill put it under the cut bc this au is an amalgamation of portal 2 (which takes from cave johnson, caroline, aperture, while also taking from a chelley fic i read) , simon from adventure time, kingsman, and floating megane's ted nivison comics on insta.

the plot:

Virgil works at a company called Ouroboros Technologies, whos goal is to make gadgets that automate the process of buisnesses (though they never go beyond that explanation, it pays hella money so ppl dont question it).

Anyways, Virgil's job is to hire and manage the new employees in his division. And at his 427th employee he hires Stanley Rider (also rider is stanleys canonical last name apparently so might as well use that instead of parable). A 26 year old whos fresh out of university n is working as an intern. Getting coffee, flowers for the office, making sure everyone has enough whiteboard markers since ppl use that up like crazy, etc

The two get close to the point that Stanley becomes Virgil's assistant. Which helps a bit since both Stanley and Virgil are struggling to keep up with their (seperate n now combined) workload.

The company makes a prototype product which is a set of yellow glasses, which gives the user access to the whole company's building, files, and technology in an AR form that they can access at the blink of an eye. The Prototype AR Accessible Biotech Launcher Enviroment (or pARable for short) They give it to Virgil to test, and research finds that it improves productivity 110%. However, the tech begins to backfire as it slowly begins to change Virgil's attitude and body. His mind starts to forget the people and names around him, he starts becoming increasingly more anxious and self conscious of his work when in the presence of an audience, his body begins to rapidly age and drain his life from him, and he begins to crave the control that he is given with these glasses.

Stanley notices this, and pleads with Virgil to stop, which he does. However, it causes them to fall behind on their workload, and the higherups dont like it.

Eventually, as the company threatens to dock their pay, Virgil is forced to use the glasses again in order to keep up with the workload and feed both him and Stanley. At which, Virgil begins to lose himself more and more. Forgetting his name and instead calling himself the Narrator.

The only person that he remembers is Stanley.

One night, Virgil doesn't come home, and after filing a missing persons case, Stanley doesn't find him. (Although the usual silence from Ouroboros seems more ominous than usual)

The company begins to export and send pARables en masse to all its employees, and the company reaches a terrifying peak in efficiency. And Stanley follows. Yet the only difference is that his pARable is different than his coworkers. Where everyone else starts off at a narration explaining the device followed by a room that is designed to look exactly like the user's own bedroom. Stanley's starts off with a story, in an office that looks suspiciously like his.

And concerningly, he can only vaguely remember of his life before the pARable.

And so the game plays out like normal, except both Stanley and The Narrator cant help but shake the fact that the other feels so familiar somehow.

---

ive got one page already done so i might do some more doodles with the designs i have for these two later, but im just glad i got to put this down since this is how i saw virgils origins to be subconsciously

which reminds me i need to share what ive got written for my tsp portal au f U C K

[give-soup-please]

hii could i ask for narrator with a reader who tends to dissociate? just really zones out and has to be kinda grounded back to reality? i think it’d be a scare for the first time the narrator sees it due to . (cough) . ultra deluxe events

Narrator with a Reader who Tends to Disassociate. 

The narrator doesn’t handle this well. He can sense your presence and how it shifts depending on your emotional state, and when you disassociate, you’re a little more distant than usual.

You’re still there. He knows you’re still alive and aware, even if it’s much less so than usual, but he can’t help but be on the verge of panic every time it happens. 

He has to keep reassuring himself that he’s still real, even if you don’t respond for a bit.

The first time it happens, he’s an absolute wreck. He doesn’t understand what’s going on, and you’re so far away all of a sudden, and it feels like the beginning of the skip button all over again.

“Reader. Reader, are you alright? Can you hear me? Reader!”

Your spirit is a little fainter when you’re in that state. Depending on how bad a situation it is, you may be able to hear him but can’t respond, or worse, might not register he’s speaking at all.

He’s filled with pure fear until you return to him. Even then, he’s on edge for the rest of the day, because he’s convinced he came very close to losing you. 

You’ll have to explain what disassociation is for him to understand and worry less. However, no matter how many times it happens, there’s always the niggling paranoia that this will be the time you don’t come back. 

He learns grounding techniques to help you get through these problems. His voice will come in handy, and he’s relieved there’s something he can do to keep you tethered. 

He’s happy to keep rambling away, because when he uses certain tones and inflections, you’re anchored again. You’re back with him, right where you should be. 

Minutes tick by, and eventually he begins to say to you things he wouldn’t if you were ‘aware’. 

“Everything is alright, Reader. You can’t hear me, but I’ll talk anyway. There are so many things I want to tell you, but I can’t. Mostly because they’re boring, and some things you already know. But what I can tell you is that I’m not going to leave you behind. It may destroy me. It’s already starting to. But I will not abandon you.”

As soon as he feels you start to settle down into your body again, he immediately changes what he’s talking about. Your senses shift back in place and he’s saying, “...And that’s why my decision to make The Stanley Parable about free choice, and the lack of choice thereof in contemporary video games, was the best possible option for the medium.”

It’s likely that the two of you take turns comforting each other after an extended attack. You’re exhausted, he’s exhausted, and you end up leaning for support on each other more than you would otherwise.

[fluffyhare]

Hey friend!

Maybe this has been asked before, but was Avery inspired by anyone? ( ·ิϖ·ิ)

I don't think anyone has ever asked me this on this blog! Honestly, I've tried many times to nail down exactly what inspired Avery, but... I never can, not completely.

This is going to get long, I'm sorry.

I turned 30 last year. It wasn't in a "midlife crisis" or depressive kind of way, but I started thinking a lot about how I wanted the rest of my life to go, and what I wanted out of life that I'd never had a chance to have. I decided that there were two things I really yearned to do -- make art, and make friends. I figured a good place to start dipping my toes in would be Tumblr, since I'd used it in the past and I knew there would be a lot of art here to inspire me. And I was inspired... massively. Especially after I started actually drawing, myself. I started getting more ideas at once than I'd ever had in my life, and it triggered a bout of insomnia I am still dealing with now, almost six months later.

The first time I can remember thinking about Avery was during one such sleepless night, desperately trying to coax myself to sleep. Laying in the dark, I'd close my eyes and imagine leaving my body, floating above my apartment complex. I'd wander around like a ghost, exploring places I'd seen, but which are normally inaccessible... private roads, fenced estates, etc. I'd imagine sitting on the edge of a skyscraper, watching the city move beneath me, imagining what people were doing, why they were up so late, etc.

I imagined this many nights... It became a pet fantasy. When I was a kid, I read a book called Billy the Bird by Dick King-Smith, maybe that's where I got the idea... I don't know. Along with the insomnia were vicious bouts of nostalgia, too, so... It's possible.

But, anyway... I'd get lonely.

I wanted someone to talk to, so I imagined someone sitting with me. Someone who could only come out at night, for fear of being seen. Someone for whom sitting on the edge of a skyscraper was no concern, and who could catch me if I fell. I imagined he was soft, gentle... a good listener, maybe even a bit shy. I imagined he was an intellectual, capable of being quite serious, but never dour. He was quick with a smile, and it was easy to make him laugh.

In some respects, I suppose, he was inspired by a friend of mine, who died many years ago. In most ways, he wasn't like Avery at all -- he was extremely blue-collar, the exact opposite of an intellectual, and very outgoing. He was not refined in any way, and could even be quite reckless, at times. But, he had a unique, gentle, innocent sort of kindness that I've found to be exceedingly rare. To know him was to love him, really; he was a hard worker and a fierce friend, someone who wanted nothing more than to love and be loved. My relationship with him and the way his passing affected me touches everything I make and everything I do, intentional or not.

When I was building Avery's character, I was very fascinated by object heads at the time (particularly Prince Robot from Saga), and I was also seeing a lot art for "doctor/scientist" type characters. Despite never playing the game, I liked TF2 fanart, especially of Medic. I thought about other characters I'd fixated on, too, and what exactly I liked about them... Milo Thatch from Atlantis, Data from Star Trek, John from Homestuck, Sans from Undertale, Stanley and the Narrator from The Stanley Parable, Pokemon professors both Oak and Elm, Nightcrawler from X-Men, Wilson from House, Dr. Bashir from DS9... The list goes on, really.

I know this is kind of a non-answer, and I'm sorry about that. It isn't really a clear answer for me, either. All I can really say for sure is this: Avery is the embodiment of everyone and everything I've ever loved, as well as the reflection of my own self-love. Relatively speaking, we just met, but I feel like he's been here the whole time. I've made so many wonderful friends because of him, too! Can't say what the exact moment was, only that now that he's here, I can't imagine life without him. 💙

[twistedwonderlandsimps]

Narrator!Yuu Mini AU

Narrator!Yuu where it’s kind of like some parts of Stanley Parable and some parts of Just More Doors are mooshed together. They occasionally get scripts or like an outline of what’s going to happen in the future but they aren’t allowed to specifically say what it is because that’s cheating.

Mayhaps Narrator!Yuu in this AU gets the ability to turn back time but it can only be used if something happens that shouldn’t be part of the story like someone dying. It’s kind of like Relive!Yuu except Yuu isn’t the one that keeps dying but the cast of the Twisted Wonderland and Yuu’s trying to guide them to an ending where none of them dies.

“Grim, Grim! Come on! Please, you have to go to Scarabia! This is very important! Grim! Damn it, I’ll tell Crowley to give you 5 tuna cans-- no, 10 tuna cans if you go and stay in Scarabia for a few days!”

Or…

“What makes you think the Headmaster’s going to listen to you, Yuu?”

“Oh, he will. He will if he doesn’t want this school to burn down in flames.”

Now this just somehow made me think of Padparadscha from Steven Universe. Padparadscha!Yuu, heh. That’ll probably be for another day but anyway, Yuu probably has multiple monitors to look at, each on the different dorms and various places around school to help with their narration so they’re well aware of the situations of each dorms.

Speaking of narration, anyone can hear them, assuming that they’re speaking into the microphone and picked a place to narrate. Like for example, if they decided to narrate in the Heartslabyul kitchens, then the narration will only stay in Heartslabyul kitchens and nowhere else. Technically it’s kind of like Mr. Voice but without the power to affect anything outside their screen aside from turning back time.

That being said, they can only narrate in places they know and are on their screen monitor. So asking for help from Deuce and Ace for Grim in the Scarabia arc is impossible because they don’t know where they are. Another thing that would likely stop Yuu from asking for help is because they’re the narrator. The narrator can only narrate, that was all there is to it. They can guide but not actively participate so this limits a lot of the ‘deus ex machina’ options they have.

And just like Mirror!Yuu, it’s a lonely life. Narrator!Yuu is most likely touch-starved and wants to interact with the others outside of just being a narrator, too.

“Yeah, well, you think I want to narrate everything I see while also being trapped in this room that has no windows or doors? There’s no food here or drinks here and I can’t even bring those in because I can’t get out! I haven’t even eaten food or drank water since a long, long time ago that I would’ve probably been dead and dust now but somehow, through magic or whatever, I’m still alive! And I don’t get paid! What else am I supposed to do?”

Narrator Yuu is just stuck in a small room with walls painted gray. The rules that they have to follow painted on one of the walls, almost mocking them. Aside from the monitors in front of them, the microphone, their chair and the scripts, they have nothing else. They can only watch in envy as others go on with their lives while they stay in their prison. Yuu never asked to be here. They didn’t want to be stuck here…

Well, anyway, just imagine Yuu noticing an extra teacup and an empty chair in one of Heartlabyul’s tea party. They ask about it and find out that it’s for them.

“Although you have no physical body, it would still be rude if we left you out just because of something like this. You’re always welcome to the Unbirthday parties, Yuu.”

Or something like that where each dorm tries to include Yuu even when they’re not physically there.

[robtopus]

Robert R. Sidian: Death of the Author. A Tragedy.

TW Death, animal death. Text after the cut.

The Greek playwright Aeschylus, it must be said, can count himself lucky. After all, he managed to survive fighting in the Battle of Salamis (where he undoubtedly was in dire straits) during the Persian Wars. His military career over, he casually invented Greek tragedy. Not only that, but he is the only playwright of antiquity where not just a few scattered plays are extant, but a whole trilogy. But despite Fate being kind to him in so many regards - surviving a bloody sea battle, inventing a new form of art - his death was decidedly silly:

An eagle, mistaking the playwright's bald head for a rock (proving that eagle eyes are worth absolutely nothing) dropped a tortoise he was holding in his claws onto Aeschylus. Of course, while this did achieve the Eagle's goal of opening the tortoise's shell, it also mostly opened up the head of the greatest living (up to this point, anyway) playwright. Aeschylus was killed instantly, leaving behind a mess of a corpse, a headstone only celebrating his military prowess and the ensuing ages who might hold him in high esteem yet only managed to record a fraction of his plays.

The fate of the tortoise remains unknown.

But I imagine her wandering the desert on that day, idly wondering whether she'd win a foot-race against Achilles, and if yes, how much of a head start she'd need. She's also thinking about her slow gait, living proof and metaphor for how sometimes a shell and a calm demeanor are the only things necessary to reach one's goals. She's just strolling along, maybe secretly wishing to inspire a poem or two, or maybe a parable, or a short story by a hack writer. She does, however, not waste a thought on what a tragedy is, how many actors are needed in the theatron or what fate befell the Tantalides, thoughts that, at this moment, might have gone through Aeschylus' bald head.

And then, all of a sudden, she is whisked away, higher and ever higher. Ripped from her surroundings, without rhyme nor reason, she is suddenly forced to cope with an entirely alien way of existence, and she soon finds that she doesn't have a leg to stand on.

Her horizons have, one might assume, expanded greatly, as have the heights of her reason - but she does not see any reason for that, nor does she know what to do with it, for her myopia does not allow her to even see that far. And the firm foundation all her reason was based on is rapidly disappearing, leaving her with nothing but empty, dead air. She does not even have a concept of up or down, but still she can feel herself ascend, like Icarus, ever closer to the sun (albeit not as willingly); and then, like for Icarus, gravity suddenly reverses, there is a whole different kind of pull to her body as the air and the ground both rush into her face and she is performing an action she found unthinkable, the word for which she can't remember (because she is too busy actually falling).

And then she hits, no, not the ground, but Aeschylus' blockhead, she is the last thing going through it, it feels like she hits a rock. Skull and shell both burst in a shower of blood, brain matter and scales, burst like over-ripe melons and with much the same colors. Incidentally, a sight like this would have never flown in the theater of Aeschylus.

And the eagle, the perpetrator of the whole disaster, just flies away, seemingly a symbol of freedom and leadership, when in reality his greed, stupidity and short-sightedness have led to a tragedy of previously unknown proportions.

What remains are the remains of man and tortoise, as not-quite-living proof of the fact that each tragedy needs a certain height for its protagonist to fall. 

© Robert R. Sidian 2021. Do not distribute. 

[disquiet-doll]

also, Beginner's Guide spoilers b/c I'm thinking about it again (seriously for real play it before reading this if you can)

Haaaaaaaaate how many people's takeaway from that game was "if you interpret things that's an attack on the sanctity of the author, fuck you"

The problem wasn't the interpretations! It was Davey reading into them so much that he thought Coda was not only his friend - when he really wasn't - but that he knew the work better than Coda did, to the point of editing his games to force what he wanted to be the interpretation to be there

Like, the reveal with the lampposts wouldn't be there if the interpretations alone were the issue. The problem was that Davey decided they were important and then added them where they weren't there. Which is y'know, just literalizing how a lot of bad interpretations of texts form, seeing things that aren't actually present.

Like, I've seen people make connections to Davey Wreden (the real human, not the character in the game) talking about e.g. people assuming the Stanley Parable was about depression, and therefore he had depression

And, ignoring the option of "you shouldn't include that at all from what the game says", I think a better way to look at it than "it's Bad and Wrong to interpret the game that way" is like...

Is the Stanley Parable about depression? I dunno. Could be! That's not a bad interpretation, from what I remember.

Just, you know, remember that it's an interpretation, not the interpretation. And if you're warping or ignoring other parts of the game for force that into being the One Big Idea behind it... Maybe it isn't actually the best one, eh?

And as for if that means Wreden himself had (or has) depression, well. I don't know. And I don't really want to, nor should you. That's none of our business, even if you do think the game is about that. It could be relevant if he's brought it up - interviews and such are part of the author's body of work, in a sense - but if that's personal information then it's, you know, personal.

(That + it's unnecessary anyway - even if he said he doesn't and also the game is in fact about nothing at all, who cares? If you played it and went "damn, this reminds me of how I feel when I'm depressed" you can just have that! You don't need anyone's permission.)

[thekingwhowouldhavebeen]

Looking For RP (Will delete Post Later)

Hey there!

Your friendly neighborhood biblically accurate angel here is obsessing over the Stanley Parable, and I am very interested in Roleplaying it! 

Interested so far? Good! I hope you are! Plot Ideas: First things first, plot ideas! I am happy with suggestions but I will also be providing a few here to just in case someone is interested in these ideas! -A dystopian Au, something we can build on (AKA for example, Stanley is in the Hunger Games, and maybe the Narrator is from the Capital) -A plot where somehow Stanley and the Narrator end up in Reality. Now Stanley has to adjust in being back to the life he once knew (maybe he has a family/real life before he was taken into the Parable) and The Narrator has to adjust having a body and being human. -An AU where Stanley is an SCP scientist, working on an SCP named The Narrator. Not realizing JUST how powerful this guy is.  -Skip ending, but what if it didn’t reset? Stanley finds the Narrator, and now the two of them have to survive in an almost post apocolyptic world that maybe isn’t JUST desert as Stanley had originally been led to believe. -Backrooms Au where Stanley gets trapped in the Backrooms, and The Narrator is an entity from it! -Streamer Au where the Narrator is a pretty popular Streamer, and Stanley is quite a big fan of him...and his voice. -Also happy with any cliché/normal au’s such as Royalty, Coffee Shop, or anything that falls into these categories! 

I am truly content with discussing any plot ideas you have as well!

Who Will Play Who? Due to personal preference (and wanting practice for this fanfic I am writing) I prefer to be playing the Narrator. However, if you truely wish a swap, I will be content into talking about it! Where will we RP? We will discuss basics in the Tumblr Dm’s, but main RP will be set Discord Chats! I am happy to discuss things out in discord though! Character Looks? That's something we can discuss and work on. This also includes any Headcannons, Fan Ideas, or just general concepts that we have for the characters!

How do I Roleplay? I prefer detailed roleplay, and do not wish to roleplay people who do script roleplay, or anything similar. 

EX: *he looks at him* Why aren’t you talking to me *he looks down* I prefer paragraphed roleplay! Here is an example of how I roleplay: "Stanley just stood there doing nothing at all. He seems to think I have nothing better to do with my ti-oh your moving now" The Narrator said, once he realized Stanley had started moving. "All of his co-workers were gone. What could it-Stanley please slow down-When Stanley came-"  The Narrator narrowed his eyes at Stanley, who was walking through much faster than he could keep up with the dialogue. "Really Stanley? A break? Why now? Weren't you just in the broom closet a few resets ago? Or was it more like-" The Narrator trailed off, grumbling to himself as he tried to remember if Stanley was in the Broom Closet only a few resets, or more like 50 resets. One loses track after a while, and it's not like he could really do anything but wait until Stanley decides to get up and start moving again. So he decided to get himself comfortable, since he figured he'd be waiting here for a while.  Even going so far as to revise the script a little bit, making little changes that he feels are necessary to the idea of this perfect story he so desired. Anyways, either comment or DM me if you are interested! Thanks so much for reading this post!

[labyrynth]

have i ever mentioned how fucking annoying wwx megastans are

(below cut bc salt is salt)

like i know that seems like a weird sentiment (he’s the main character! i sure HOPE ppl like him!!) but like. there’s a subset of ppl who like wwx that just take their opinions to an insane degree and like. completely flatten him to put him on a pedestal.

like they’re alarmingly wrapped up in protagonism and fucking obsessed with the idea of “the moral ideal” (as if mdzs is some kind of parable and we’re supposed to be taking notes)

they seem to believe that every single thing that wwx has done was either moral, justified, or both. they think that wwx has never made a single bad, or even “well intentioned but unfortunate consequences” decision.

and like i honestly have no idea how much of this moral whitewashing cql can even be blamed for when the most rabid stans also seem to fall in the canon anti jiang cheng camp which is mostly novel based

then again maybe it shouldn’t be surprising: if wwx is The Moral Ideal and everything he does is right, then it follows that not 100% agreeing with him or not abiding by every single one of wwx’s choices is Wrong and Immoral and Bad and Therefore characters like jgy and jc must be Evil

(and let’s throw in some buzzwords like “toxic” and “gaslighting” and “abusive” for good measure, to emphasize their Evil-ness)

and i really really never ever wanna see another take about how “well actually wwx foils jgy and jc and xy bc where jgy/jc/xy are Mean and Cruel and Resentful and Hold Grudges, wwx just lets bygones be bygones!! HE moved ON from resentment!!!”

(i want you to take a good long look at wwx. what is his total resentment-related body count?)

and then they proceed to explain why actually torturing hundreds of people (including non combatants!) to death is moral/justified/deserved or some such

and they will LITERALLY look at the scene where that guy shot wwx and wwx flung the arrow back and killed him and be like “umm well he tried to kill wwx so obviously wwx is allowed to try to kill him back. it’s not like it’s wwx’s fault that he actually succeeded uwu”

and then turn around and go “jgy was so horrible and cruel to kill nmj completely and entirely unprovoked!! how conniving and bloodthirsty and power hungry!!! he only did it because he would benefit!!!!!!” (idk maybe it’s just me, but if i’m looking for opportunities that benefit me, “you won’t be murdered” is kind of setting the bar real fuckin low)

anyway

[neverendingparable]

All Thursday could think about in the moments after waking up was that she was dying. She was dying, in pain, scared, alone. The parasite that lived in her blood was constricting her harder and harder until eventually it would squeeze the life out of her, and then... then it would consume her.

That's what was happening when she woke up. Her life was ending, she could feel her heart faltering and her lungs struggling for air. It was so visceral, so terrifying, she'd awakened screaming for help, help, somebody help, HELP, because she knew, she knew, that if she didn't get help, she was going to die.

Thankfully Maso was there to help calm her down, having worked herself up into a full blown panic attack, to the point where she really did feel like she was dying again.

That was last night. Now it's morning, they're both awake, and it's very awkward.

He wants to talk about it. She can tell, but she doesn't want to talk about it herself. It's uncomfortable, and she doesn't know if she can find the words for it, the unbridled terror of feeling your body shutting down and dying with you still in it while being fully aware of what's happening.

But he's got that look about him, the one that to her says he's about to ask about it anyway, and so she decides to step up. He's always the one stepping up; now she knows she needs to.

"Okay, so, ah... You clearly want to talk about things, and... I don't know what to say, so- and I really appreciate you as my friend, so I know we need to talk, but- Yeah, I don't know what to say except thank you for being here for me," is all she can manage for the moment.

@parables-for-days

Maso brought two cups of tea back to his room and has been hovering around Thursday, unsure of how to approach last night's situation. He really wanted to just come out and ask her about it, but he can't figure out a lighthearted way to say, 'so you're still having dreams about dying a slow painful death everyday huh? Yeah, me too, except I'm watching you die and watching you cry out for help and I can't get to you in time. Pretty nasty stuff, right?'

Fortunately she manages to bring it up first before he makes a fool out of himself and says exactly all of that. Maso glances into his tea, watching the steam rise as he tries to find his words.

"Of course. I uh…I'd do it all over again. In a heartbeat, Thursday. I'm glad I could be there for you."

But….

That's always the word which lingers in his mind. I'm glad I could help you but it hurt me too. But I can't get it out of my mind. But I wish we didn't have to experience this horrific, awful thing that brought us closer together as friends.

He can't figure out how to say it without sounding so selfish. He isn't the one who died. And he feels horrible for trying to make the conversation about him when Thursday suffered the worse parts.

"Do you...want to talk about your nightmares?"

[xandyprojects]

I'M BORED BUT HEYY I GOT MY LAPTOP BACK YIPEEE

SOO IMMA JUST DROP SUM FACTS/INFODUMPS ABOUT EM!

sorry in advance for the spelling and grammar mistake

Stanley / Bituin:

"Bituin" means Star in Tagalog based on his earrings in which are shaped like a star!

Stanley is non-binary and Asexual! (If I accidentally misgender them please tell me)

They has a bit of anger issues but they knows how to manage it

Like every other Stanley, their VERY stubborn

They have a weapon and will not hesitate to use it-

There used to be human a puppet

The inside of the body is made out of special crystals, and their skin is made out of special wood (kinda like Scaramouche)

they're the one who chooses clothes for violet sometimes because they actually have a fashion sense-

Narrator / Violet:

I named them Violet because I said so... plus stanley cant think of a creative name

He can go by any pronunce!

He's a shapeshifter (often used either shadow or demi-form)

Yes he can shapeshift to anything but there one feature that will always stay are the gem forehead

He wore heels with no heels instead because he cannot balance normal

He often HATES being touch especially stranger, if you try to approach him without permission or notifying he will either;

1. back off and glare

2.Make adventure line BITE your ankle

3. he WILL pull out a CHAINSAW

depending on the person

However if it's someone close especially if it Bituin is an exception

unlike other narrator who has somewhat a fashion sense his fashion sense is non-existent- it's like teru-ble :DD

OTHER FACTS!

They bully each other 24/7-

LIKE IF you interact with the two of them together they won't go one day without bullying each other

There are more than 1 adventure line snake. There just lurking in the parable

Bituin doesn't need to consume any food since their a puppet, however, Violet felt bad after the incident he coded for them to have a somewhat human features like taste, touch, etc.

They have what they called "BTS Room" Where it's just a safe room just in case there was something off and Violet wanted to put Bituin somewhere safe, he can just put them there. The safe room provide alot of necessity to either defend, repair, and especially protect. However, they usually chill or take just a break from the parable.

BTS room = Behind The Scene Room

Bituin is 6'5 feet while Violet is 5'4 (without heels-4'11)

I'll probably change sum stuff soon but anyways bAII have a good night/noon/day!

[theleingod]

Random-ass musing on Greek mythology that’s way longer than it needs to be because I’m a windbag who takes forever to get to the point:

So Zeus ate his first sister-wife, Metis, who was pregnant with Athena at the time, and that’s why Athena was born from Zeus’s head, right? The specifics of why he did that is that Metis was prophesied to give birth to powerful children; some sources specify children more powerful than their father, and others even more specifically say a daughter wiser than her mother and then a son more powerful than his father. Not wanting to be usurped by a son more powerful than himself, Zeus ate Metis whole while she was pregnant with their first child, not willing to risk that the son would come first.

This is a recurring theme in Greek mythology, of Zeus going out of his way to avert the rise of a son of his who would be powerful enough to do to Zeus what Zeus did to Cronus and what Cronus did to Uranus, sometimes by doing exactly what Cronus did to his own children (i.e. eating them). A similar prophecy is actually what led to Achilles being born according to the Bibliotheca, for example: The nymph Thetis was courted by both Zeus and Poseidon, but when it was prophesied that she would birth a son stronger than his father, she was married off to the mortal hero-king Peleus instead, and the two had Achilles.

Now, what am I getting at here? Hold on, let me digress even further. So, the name “Metis” means “wisdom/skill/craft,” and generally came to mean the combination of wisdom and cunning you see in guys like Odysseus. You can see why she’s the mother of Athena, right? Well, it’s also a recurring theme of Greek mythology that prophecies always come true somehow no matter what you do. And while there is no actual myth of Metis’s son, there is a mention of such a son out there.

Plato, in his Symposium, records a series of dialogues/speeches in praise of Eros given by Socrates and some other notable figures (or just puts his words in their mouths for legitimacy, depending on how generous you feel towards Plato). One of them involves an account of Poros, a name that means “resource” or “plenty” but generally can be understood as “creative ingenuity,” getting drunk on Aphrodite’s birthday and being seduced by Penia (”poverty”), which resulted in Eros, who was forever in need because of his mother and forever in pursuit because of his father. Poros, according to this account, is the son of Metis. Now, a father isn’t mentioned, and this was way past the point when anyone - least of all Plato - was really seriously interested in trying to square the circles of ancient Greek myths, which had started to seem ridiculous even by his day, and this is really all just philosophical parables.

But, isn’t it just so perfect for the more powerful son of Zeus who ends up overthrowing him to be - effectively - the personification of humanity’s creative ingenuity and resourcefulness? Think about it this way: What is Zeus, what are any gods really, but an entity born out of humanity’s ignorance of the world around them and attempting to make sense of it anyway? The Ancient Greeks simply didn’t have the accumulated body of knowledge to even begin to understand what the hell lightning is or why it strikes where it does, so they portrayed it as an all-powerful callous dickbag who’s easily offended and has to be appeased via worship. The unknowable was given the label of divinity until it was no longer unknowable, as generations of creative and resourceful minds brought us ever closer to being able to comprehend and study them.

So yeah. Poros, creative ingenuity, is the son of Zeus, the unknown and unknowable divine, and Metis, wisdom and cunning. Poros is greater and more powerful than Zeus, and overthrows him by rendering his “divine mysteries” a natural phenomena that can not only be studied but harnessed and controlled. We know what lightning is now, we know where it strikes and why, and we can even use it to make our lives easier; Zeus no longer has the power to lash out at us without warning.

I dunno, I just think that’s really neat, especially because there’s no way anyone in the ancient world was thinking about it that way.

[stanleyyyyyyy]

on my old posts I like to look back to all the way back to my blue narrator era and think:

"why has he evolved from twink to Twink but tall to blob to hunk and now some genderless thing with a body and wings"

anyways headcannons below if you wanna know more Abt my narry and curator and TK/432

SO anyways time to info dump!!!

My narrator is a fallen angel I like to imagine. With each death he has, he goes closer to his holiness. Though he does not want to really? Considering he already fell once and is fine with his life, he doesn't want to deal with his siblings rattling him about for being the middle child.

Also, quick note, touching water melts him! Or at least the part that is touched, but luckly he is self regenerating. Water kills him!

As for siblings, I headcannon curator and 432/TK are his siblings, with curayor being the oldest and TK/432 being the youngest

they all represent a stage in life kinda? Narrator is death as for the reason with his true name being Mori Momento. Fallen angel is angel of death kinda way.

Curator is life, she makes life, and gives life. Though as life sucks, so does she! Curator does not like narrator and is kinda shitty. like. I mean curator is really strict and serious about their positions, but she is lucky enough to still be an angel !

TK/432 is limbo, or the in-between. They are the in-between of life and death, deciding whether you reincarnate, go to the after life or whatever, really based on your religion there isn't just one place, they decide who goes where

so the system is like this: Curator brings life, narrator sends it to death, and TK/432 decides where it goes

however! of narrator chose to he could bring some people back, thought depends on how important one is ECT

important people stay DEAD

but! as for the parable? it was more or so his punishment to start with, as since being a being who is death and controls death is now a fallen angel, what do you do? so his older sibling curator decides to make the parable along with TK/432 and have narrator stay they're for eternity, but why let him get bored yk? so they choose an already dead human and tell him to bring him back (gets him into more trouble as it was Stanley and he was important and yk...) so now he is stuck in a parable with a guy who has fallen head over heels for narrator

also side facts: narrator is genderless but goes by he/they/it, he is gay (likes. men.), and his form always shifts about sometimes more feminine sometimes more masculine sometimes ambiguous depending on how he feels

Curator is also genderless and a lesbian (likes. women!!), going by she/they/it, and her form mostly stays more feminine looking as she dislikes trying to change her form

TK/432 is genderless as well, and goes by they/it but sometimes a sprinkle of he and a sprinkle of she if they feel bored, they are panromantic but asexual!! they always stay a very gender neutral state but sometimes like to jokingly become the body type of some wild west cowboy that works out 24/7

annnnd yeah hope that was scrumptious!!! if you ever have questions feel free to go into my ask box and ask me stuff, im fine with anything dw, like hell ask me to write a response my narrator would write to something you say I'll do it

[give-soup-please]

If it’s possible, can you do a drabble of Narrator and Autistic reader? Can be read as platonic or romantic. Reader’s special interest is stars and space, and they ask Narrator if they could look at stars in the game and to come down to stargaze with them. Narrator complies and listens as Reader happily infodumps everything they researched and know about stars and constellations(plus happy stimming).

Narrator and an autistic reader who’s special interest is space (platonic or romantic)

You’re in love with the starry room within the zending. You’ll stay there for as long as the narrator asks, which more or less means you never leave. Your body stims as you recline on the floor and take it all in.

The narrator is content. You’re the first player who really seems to get it. You understand what it’s all about.

You get to gaze up at the night sky, and watch as the lights drift by. It’s almost perfect.

The narrator sighs in contentment. You’ve been here for almost an hour now. Every time the game resets, you always end up back here eventually, and you’ve never taken the staircase. This cannot go unnoticed, even by someone as caught up in the story as he is.

“Reader, your dedication to making me happy- It’s wonderful. Is there anything I can do for you in return?”

You don’t hesitate. “Come look at the stars with me.”

He’s confused. “I… am. That’s what we’re doing right now. I don’t get this wistful and joyous by staring at a blank wall, after all. ”

You shake your head, and reach upwards, as if you can touch him. “No, come down here and be with me. Let’s stargaze together.”

“Oh- I-'' he's grimacing. “I’m not sure that’s a good idea. I think it would cause a narrative contradiction of some kind.” It’s a weak excuse, he just hopes you fall for it.

You don’t. “Come on, the view is probably better down here anyway. Besides, I know a lot about the subject. Aren’t you at least a little tempted by new knowledge? You could watch the stars, and I can tell you everything there is to know about them.”

It is true that his knowledge of what goes on outside the parable is fairly limited, and he is somewhat curious as to how in depth your information is. “Oh, alright. Just for a few minutes.” He sincerely hopes he doesn’t regret this.

Time passes. You hear footsteps. You glance over at the door you came through. The narrator has taken on human form. You give him a thumbs up. “Looking good!” He clears his throat, but looks smug.

He casually walks up to where you’re lying down, not at all acknowledging that he’s broken several rules by doing this. He cranes his neck up. It’s certainly a newer perspective, and a better one.

You pat the ground next to you, and he suspiciously lies down next to you. His eyes take in all the lights and stars, and he lets out a soft gasp. Everywhere he looks, there’s beauty. What a sight! No wonder you spend so much time in this room. He falls silent, completely entranced. 

You’re overjoyed he’s doing this. You gear yourself up for a ramble, and the narrator makes no move to stop you. 

He’s honestly impressed with your knowledge. Any question he can think to ask, you have a ready answer.

“Reader, I hear some stars in your world are different colors. Why is that?”

“Well, the color varies based on how hot the star is. So red stars are colder than blue ones. This is because different wavelengths are produced when…”

“Why does your moon have different phases?”

“Oh, that’s easy. When the moon orbits the earth, it doesn’t produce its own light. The light we see actually comes from the sun…”

No matter how far he pushes you, your knowledge matches up.

The two of you slowly inch closer to each other, the narrator enchanted by your voice, and you enjoying the ambient company.

You end up snuggled on his chest, both of you watching the night sky.

“Someday,” the narrator says. “I think I’d like to see the real thing. Not this projection.

You hum in agreement, not knowing that he’s being serious. He wants you to show him the things he can’t picture. The constellations, the sunsets, the meteor showers… He vows that one day, he’ll stand under the sky in your world.

[inventors-fair]

Toeing the Line - Balancing Act Runnners-Up

And here they are, in all their glory!

Dead on Revival by @masternexeon

One of these days, I’m going to receive a pun-based submission, and I’m not going to make it a winner. Someday. Eventually. This isn’t just about the pun, though, as good as it may be. This design begs the question of “how do I build around you?” Obviously, the answer is ETB/LTB effects, since you don’t have any priority to do anything else with the creature, but there are still so many interesting ways to take it. I would love to play around with this card and see what comes up, that’s for sure. As for the flavor, I love the point that you’re going for, and it’s delicious, but there’s a few qualms that kept this from the winner’s circle. Namely, this doesn’t feel like Tibalt. He’s a mostly red-aligned character who doesn’t have anything to do with reanimation, and while he appreciates some good torture, it doesn’t seem like he’d be particulalry intellectual about it like the flavor text implies. There are so many good sinister villains that this would work with, I just don’t think Tibalt is the best choice. Also, quote attributions are typically one line down, are still italicized (except for proper titles), and preceded by and emdash, which is the long one.

Offering to Belzenlok by @helloijustreadyourpost

I don’t know why I’m such a sucker for “the alternate cost is cheaper because in this case it’s actually a downside”, but you can make some really neat designs with it. Exhibit A: this card. The overall flavor is pretty generically creepy black card, but I do like the specificity of using the cabal, and even specifically calling out the Rite of Belzenlok. In limited, this is fairly similar to those Fleshbag Marauders we see at common every so often, but cheaper cause it doesn’t come with a fodder body. I think the versatility here is really nice, though I am curious about what this could imply about the set around it, apart from just “it has common black removal and is set on Dominaria”. It’s still a solid card though, and the flavor text is not too shabby either.

Valkas Intimidator by @snugz

So, ultimately on its own, this card is “when it attacks, target creature can’t block it this turn.” Which is fine! That’s functional, and not a bad spot to be for an uncommon. It gets really fun with the other intimidators, though, or anything else that can change creature types. Also, in warrior tribal the ability gets upgraded to a straight “can’t block this turn”, which is probably where it wants to be anyways. This card is not overly strong, but it does play nicely with some existing stuff, and I’d be happy to slot it in a mono red intimidators deck. That just sounds like fun. The flavor text is also pretty good. It’s very matter-of-fact, like you would find in an old fairy tale or parable, which honestly seems to fit with the general tone of Shandalar. Lots of good stuff to say about this card.

That’s all for this week! Stay tuned for commentary, I got a busy weekend of Jam-making ahead of me, but it’ll be out early next week.

~judge @naban-dean-of-irritation