#GlitchParker

[mindblindbard]

hi jo :D how would you describe the ROs voices?

Sally: Emphatic and effusive, tone and volume indicative of her mood. Bright and energetic with undercurrents of restrained laughter, as if she's in on some grand joke of which no one else is aware.

Gray: Gentle yet gravelly, with posh pronunciation suitable to recording audio books. Gray's voice is warm and welcoming, deepening to the lowest registers when he's serious.

Kent/Kenna: Melodic and rich, the voice of a singer. Despite K's deliberate effort to keep their voice flat and collected, there's still a natural musicality to what few words they speak.

Glitch: Smooth and soft, the remnant of a Southern drawl fading their "t"s and blurring the pauses between words. There's a sort of rhythmic sway to their words, each sentence spoken to a different beat.

Rosy: Sharp and authoritative, a voice that demands others listen. Harshly unemotive, but saved from grating abrasiveness by an underlying husky note.

[cuddlyscaryhead]

Been obsessing over Mind Blind (by @mindblindbard) for some time now and I just can’t get Glitch out of my head. For a short animation of the drawings, you may click the imgur link below. TW: flashing lights and glitchy visual effect  Click here!

[kajasartspace]

Taliaferro Parker your hand in marriage please 🤲

Mind Blind and it’s characters belong to @mindblindbard

[dwead-piwate-meggers]

Thinking about how Glitch Parker looked at K Zarneki and Button Wiseman and said “is anyone going to befriend these traumatized rich kids?” and then didn’t wait for an answer.

[harlow-cas]

Me every time after I read a Mind Blind update :

[mindblindbard]

GLITCH!! I love his piercings and the smiley face! Your art is too gorgeous for words!

(In my backstory for Glitch, they have more piercings than Button sees, which is why their description on the COG forum mentions numerous piercings that they take out when visiting their mom. A lot of the holes have closed up since Glitch only wears their earrings at Aeon. They'll probably get them re-pierced once they become an official MIV and no longer have to abide by the academy dress code.)

:) him!

[mindblindbard]

Hello! I've really been enjoying the game. Though I was surprised (in a good way) when Glitch told MC that they're vegan (This is the first COG/HG I've seen that has a vegan character.) I have some questions though. Why did Glitch go vegan? And how long have they been vegan? Also, are there any other vegan characters in the game? Like K, maybe? From what I've seen, it looks like K likes animals a lot, or do they mostly just like "pet" animals?

Kenzie does love animals (not just pets), but they're not vegan or vegetarian.

Glitch, interestingly enough, isn't a huge animal person. They like animals well enough, but animal activism (while a contributing factor to their diet) isn't the main reason why they went vegan. Glitch's veganism derives primarily from their futurist outlook--they envision a world where MIVs get credit, where Norms become AMOs, and where meat-free and animal-produce-free food is easily sustainable, better for the environment , and has become mankind's default diet in their ongoing colonization of space.

Someone needs to be an early adapter of this lifestyle, and Glitch considers themself to be something of a dietary pioneer.

Long story short: Glitch is someone with their eyes set several decades into the future, and their veganism reflects that. Noncoincidentally, they became vegan in high school . . . around the same time they got into Star Trek.

[mindblindbard]

Hey sweetie! I hope you're doing well! I was wondering how often would ROs tell their partner that they love them? Who would only say it on special occasions? Who would not say it but show it? Who would spam it whenever they could? Who would confess often but only using romantic terms like "You are the light of my life/I belong to you/You complete me"? 👀Thank you for your time! 💕

Sally: It takes a while to get used to those words in her mouth, but once Sally gets comfortable the phrase, she says “I love you” all the time. Written across Button’s napkin after she sets the table, whispered into Button’s ear at work, murmured sleepily into their shoulder at the end of the day. Sally can be lazy, however. As time goes by, she drops the “I”. Next to go is the “you”. Eventually, all Sally says is the word “Love!” and Button automatically knows what she means.

Grayson: “I love you” isn’t a simple phrase to Gray. It’s an intense declaration, and remains thus for the rest of his life. Grayson says "I love you” frequently, but never casually. “I love you” isn’t thrown back over his shoulder on his way to work. No, Gray holds Button’s hands, gazes deep into their eyes, and announces the words with heartfelt reverence--every time. He can hear Button’s thoughts, and wants to make sure that Button knows how sincere his feelings for them are, even though they can’t read Gray’s mind in turn.

K: Says “I love you” maybe twice total in the first couple years of dating Button. They’ll try to say it more if Button makes it a thing, but they’ll never be someone who’s fully comfortable with verbal declarations of emotions. Instead, K shows how much they care for Button with a thousand and twelve overlookable gestures: buying Button’s favorite ice cream after a stressful day, letting them sleep on their preferred side of the bed, suggesting that the two of them go away for a weekend because Button mentioned wanting to visit Bali . . . K’s love is quieter, but evident in their every action.

Glitch: Button better like Byron, Angelou, and Neruda, because Glitch has been waiting to quote love poetry at someone for their entire life. Glitch’s love for Button is beautiful, and thus deserves all the most beautiful words. Why express their feelings with a mundane phrase when they can instead recite:

“I lean into the rhythm of your heart to see where it will take us.” (For Keeps by Joy Harjo)

Button also receives love poems written by Glitch, although Glitch is a bit shyer about quoting themself  aloud. “I love you” is a phrase reserved for when Glitch is extremely tired and can’t draw upon a verse.

Rosy: “I love you?” The first time Rosy ever utters the words, it’s more a question than confession. Yet every time Rosy says those three words after, they become more and more certain of the statement’s veracity. They do love Button. Completely, unexpectedly, and irreversibly. Rosy would save their “I love you”s for special occasions, however, since those words are not to be taken lightly--nor does Rosy want anyone other than Button to witness the vulnerability on their face when they say it.

[mindblindbard]

😂 Very accurately fits the relationship between those two.

Glitch: A note? You sneak out and leave me a note?

K: I knew you would just argue with me.

Glitch: It wasn’t even a good note. “If you are reading this, I am probably dead.” What sort of a note is that?

[mindblindbard]

I just finished the demo and I'm absolutely in love with this story! My sarcastic Button had immediate heart eyes for Glitch and 100% would be the O-bee-lia to Glitch's bee Hamlet at Halloween ❤

So for fun, how would the ROs react to finding Button hanging out in a super elaborate pillow/blanket fort after being missing all day?

O-bee-lia 😂😂😂 I love it, anon. 

Pillow fort reactions are too fun not to write, especially since the weather in Seattle has most definitely been pillow-fort worthy this past week. Each response assumes that the RO and Button are in a relationship.

Sally: Demands to be let in. How dare Button build a pillow fort without her? Pillow forts are something Button and Sally have been doing together since childhood--curling inside with a bag of gummy worms and a flashlight, and whispering and giggling until they fell asleep curled in each other’s arms (Nick or their parents had to cart them to bed). Of course, now that they’re older, Sally can think of other things to do inside the fort . . .

Grayson: Is quiet for a moment, because this is the most adorable thing he’s ever witnessed in his life and he has no words. Eventually squeezes himself inside join Button, although he’s tall and broad enough that he knocks down the fort on his way in. Uses telekinesis to keep the blankets from falling on their heads, and gently kisses Button beneath what has essentially become a flying-magic-carpet-fort.

Kent/Kenna: Assumes that Button made the fort for Antigone and Cassandra, and promptly leaves to fetch both the dogs and their phone. Snaps numerous pictures of Button cuddling with the shih tzus in the fort (one of which ends up as K’s phone background). Eventually, both dogs and humans fall asleep inside the fort, a tangle of limbs and paws.

Glitch: Immediately begins speaking in Shakespearian dialect, pretending to be a knight come to rescue the fair Lady/Lord/Noble Button. Feigns fighting a dragon with an imaginary sword that Glitch for some reason gives lightsaber sound effects. Glitch defeats the dragon, of course, and claims a kiss from Button as their prize.

Rosy: Is annoyed. Button disappears for an entire day and skips class only for Rosy to find them hiding inside a child’s makeshift clubhouse? The audacity of this brat. No, Rosy will not come inside. They have no desire to . . . release their arm, damn it!

. . . Fine. Rosy will enter the pillow fort for a minute if it’ll really make Button happy.

. . . Rosy admits, it is cozy in here.

. . . Maybe Button deserves one kiss. But just the one.

. . . Fine, maybe two.

[mindblindbard]

When do/did the Ros get that first hint of acknowledged "oh no I might be romantically to button" feelings? Glitch is obviously pretty early in the chapters but what about the others?

Depends on the Button!

In general:

For K, it’s the moment that Button rakes them over the coals for animal abuse (which is part of the reason why K’s route is now locked behind that path).

Sally’s and Gray’s points both occur before the game even begins.

Rosy is the slowest to pick up on the fact that they might be catching, ugh, feelings. For a student who is Nick Wiseman’s sibling.

. . . Rosy does not respond well to this realization.

[mindblindbard]

How would the ROs react to surprise kisses? Button grabbing their shirt or tie or hand and pulling them in for a quick peck before continuing on their way with a grin.

Sally: Giggles and returns the favor with a sneak attack of her own at a later time.

Grayson: Doesn’t let Button walk away. Early in their relationship, Gray develops a habit when he kisses Button: since he hears their thoughts whenever they touch him, he considers it only fair to vocalize his own stream on consciousness, which becomes pretty passionate whenever Button kisses him first.

K: Doesn’t react until later, when Button and K are alone at home. Then returns the show of affection with K’s usual, ahem, intensity.

Glitch: Chases after Button to cover their face with kisses. Glitch is the ultimate sneaky kisser, and they’re delighted that Button’s borrowed the move.

Rosy: Admonishes Button for acting unprofessional if the kiss is on Unity grounds. If in public but not at work, kisses Button senseless. If at home, picks Button up and carries them to the bedroom.

[mindblindbard]

W-wait a minute, you can break up with Glitch in Chapter 8?!!! Oh no, I'm scared now 😭😭😭

I wonder what ✨wonderful✨ revelations will be made.

(Btw you've made me pretty much take up permanent residence in the MB discord theories channel, so whatever this bombshell is, I'm READY. I just want answers 😭😂)

You can indeed break up with Glitch! But the reason has already been revealed in Chapter 7, so it’s not a new development. I’m actually rewriting the Glitch breakup scene right now, because I had some insight while recoding things this morning--which makes this the fifth version of the break-up that I’ve written, but I felt like all the prior versions had issues.

One of the most difficult things about writing interactive fiction is that I personally don’t agree with a lot of choices that Button can make. I understand the choice, which is why I write it, but it wouldn’t be the one I’d choose for the MC. In the case of Glitch’s breakup, my bias was slanting the scene, and this made Button come across as jerkish and unreasonable when in fact it’s perfectly understandable that, given Button’s personal history, they’d be upset by what Glitch did. I’m reworking the breakup to focus on Button’s hurt instead of their anger, and it’s turning out infinitely better.

It feels odd to confess, but writing IF can be emotionally draining. When writing, I need to deeply empathize with every variation of Button . . . otherwise, the character interactions become shallow, and the narrative turns preachy. Which is zero fun to read.

[mindblindbard]

So my MC and Glitch shared a kiss and I guess are dating now, which apparently means the flirt-options with other characters disappear? The crush on Gray-stat lowered (which I can assure you - it's not!). Does that mean I've chosen Glitch and can't flirt with/pursue Gray, Kent or Rosy? It's not that I don't like Glitch, it's just that I like all your amazing characters and can't choose (yet at least)...

The kiss locks in Glitch's romance route, yes! It's possible to break up with Glitch in Chapter 8, but most the other ROs won't take you seriously if you go around kissing your other coworkers (Sally and Gray can be persuaded if you pursue them post break-up with Glitch, but not Rosy or K). Also, Gray's crush stat indicates Button's intention/desire to pursue those long-term feelings--not emotional intensity.

There will still be some flirt options available with others even if you're romancing someone else (like telling Rosy they have lovely eyes), but the ROs will interpret it as Button having a flirty personality rather than being genuinely into them.

[mindblindbard]

quick question! does glitch like the sound of silence?

Sure, Glitch has an appreciation for Simon and Garfunkel. Who doesn’t?

But if what you really mean: “Is Glitch somehow related to Noh?”, then I’m going to smile cryptically and slowly walk away.

[mindblindbard]

Since 'tis is the season, what would the characters dress as for halloween? And everyone WILL dress up as something, Button's forcing them to!

Sally: Sally likes to show off her artistic side during Halloween, usually through body paint and making her own costumes. She’d probably slip on a black bodysuit, paint it with stars, mousse her red hair until it explodes with curls, and go as a supernova.

Grayson: Can he get away with putting on a demi mask and claiming to be Zorro? No? Fine, Gray will wear whatever Button makes him wear (but he genuinely does like the idea of going as Zorro).

Kent/Kenna: Glitch usually forces K to wear a paired costume with them. Otherwise, K would skip the whole charade (although Annie and Cass both have adorable vampire capes). If forced to pick out their own costume by Button, K would probably drape a bedsheet around their torso and call it a toga.

Glitch: Glitch adores Halloween. It’s their favorite holiday (sugar and deception, what’s not to like?). Glitch tries to outdo themself each year, but their fallback plan in case of a costume emergency is their tried-and-true Bumblebee-Hamlet costume (”To bee or not to bee, bzzzzz.”)

Rosy: Not. Happening. Maybe a pair of devil horns, but only if Button agrees to dress up as an angel.

Bonus Nick: Every year, Nick dresses up as a different skimpily-clad professional, much to Button’s unending chagrin. He’s been everything from a (slutty) fire fighter to a (slutty) cheerleader. He once went as a (slutty) lifeguard, but that involved so little fabric that his costume was lost in translation and a bachelorette party mistook him for their stripper.