#i wanted to preserve the tragic subtext goin' on between porky & picky in earthbound...

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so how's picky like in your intermission au? it's pretty obvious by now that porky's an immature slimey huckster who needs to be knocked down a peg in it but how does his 17 year old brother compare to him? he does seem to be aware of the nonsense porky tries to pull, so does he learn from his older brother on How To Not Act When You're An Adult?

Picky is literally just some kid who's trying his best, while his dearest relatives perpetually cannibalize each other around him, and it makes me so fucking emo on a primal level. The concept of One Decent Person caught up in a family of absolute ghouls, who loves his brother & parents unconditionally, but realizes with age that he cannot change who they are, much less save them from themselves?? Augh. God!!!!

Intermission Picky - who'd rather ya call him Peter - harbors a lot of increasingly bitter sentiments toward Porky. Learned to be meek and avoid trouble in his brother's shadow, only to end up an awkward avoidant people-pleaser by the time he's a teenager. Hates conflict, struggles to muster any self esteem, gets anxious whenever he's having a good time 'cause he still expects Porky or his folks will somehow ruin it for him. Peter's got a personality like a wet piece of cardboard, and now that he's old enough to recognize why, he absolutely hates it. He makes meager efforts to stand up for himself, which his family usually answers with mockery. He likes spending time with Tracy & Ness, and high school friends, but feels an awful gnawing jealousy in his guts when he recognizes how "normal" their families are by comparison. He learned from his brother that crypto schemes and reddit stocks won't earn him a living, yet given his shitty upbringing, he's kinda terrified he won't have the social skills to cut it at a "real job." Nonetheless, he's trying his desperate darnedest, 'cause he knows there's no other way out for him. Kid's having a very, very rough time being seventeen 😢

Deep down Peter wishes so achingly bad he could convince his family to see the error in their ways. He never wants to stoop to their level, and feels horrid whenever he catches himself thinking hurtful thoughts & repeating their behaviors. Aspires to be more like Ness - easygoing and selflessly kind - even though he lacks the emotional experience or support to do so. He keeps trying to give Porky & his folks second chances out of the sheer goodness of his heart, even though it keeps blowing up in his face. One of these days he'll have to give up, and try to figure out how to be a real person separate from all that trauma & drama. (Whenever I get around to it, the next Intermission AU fic is probably gonna be The Picky One 🥲)