#like i don't think alan would do anything to hurt a stick if he knew they were people. BUT

[i3utterflyeffect]

but seriously i'm fascinated by this idea. i'm trying to make this compatible with the idea of victim because i'm thinking about victim trying to destroy the cursor/selkie skin. OR trying to make it usable for themself

you know, a selkie. a creature that can shift between human and seal form by putting on or taking off a seal skin. now instead of human and seal it's stick!alan and the cursor.

excuse me if i'm being incoherent it's quite late in my timezone.

NO I UNDERSTAND PERFECTLY......... THAT'S SUCH A COOL IDEA..............

it took me a minute to find this but i think this would actually work rlly well with @e-u-tva's cursor sticks but i. hrng. honestly i'm kind of fascinated with the thought either way

i have no idea how this'd work but this brings a lot of interesting questions i think. could other sticks use the cursor-skin? is alan the only one who's both a stick and a computer user? could he do this like. anywhere? including the outernet? imagine if the other hollowheads could do this. the whole thing where people steal selkie skin to trap a selkie as a human except trapping alan as a stick?????

i can't stop thinking about this. obsessed

[yuri-is-online]

Tokyo Debunker Intro Text/Notes

When the world is collapsing around you... Whose hand will you take?

It appears that whoever is asking this question is lighting a mesmer match, and blows it out just before we transition to the character select screen. The voice actor feels to me like the MC's, implying she could be asking this question of and using the match on herself.

Since Ancient times, humans have gathered around fires, fearing the fall of an eternal night. Yet they cannot help but peer into the shadows that hide in old places and pool in empty streets. Foolishly they yearn for it-- For the unknown that lies beyond the edge of darkness.

As this text plays the MC is running through a burning building that seems like it is the school's main hallway.

The following text does not change no matter what dialogue option you pick:

Frostheim

Luca

"I'm sorry... Yet again I have failed to protect the people most important to me... Please don't make that face. This is the only path left."

Jin

"We were just playing out a fixed match. And I was nothing but a figurehead all along... There's no time left. Get out of here. That's my final order to you."

Tohma

"Just look at the state of your hair. You really ought to go get tidied up. You simply cannot help but stick your nose in everywhere, can you?* I'm counting on you to handle the fallout."

*this is said fondly, he's not actually upset

Kaito

"I really was weak and useless all the way to the bitter end, huh? I'm sorry. I'm probably just delaying the inevitable, but... this is all a guy like me can do, you know?"

Vagastrom

Sho

"What're you doing here? Geez... What am I supposed to do, huh? I'm the only guy for the job. Pfft... what's with that face? At least send me off with a smile. Well... it's been a fun ride. Thanks for everything.*"

*Sho refers to the MC as senpai when addressing them

Alan

"Don't come any closer. I don't want to hurt you any more... Time's up. Sorry..."

Leo

"Life sucks and then you die, right? I just want to make the assholes responsible regret it. Gross, don't make that face at me. You think I'm suddenly pathetic enough to be moved by your ugly crying?"

Jabberwock

Towa

"Heh heh... ♪"*

Haru

"Gahaha! Why the long face? Head on back now. Everything's gonna be just fine.* I just couldn't do it in the end. Couldn't protect my home, or you guys, or anything at all..."

*this first part is said very upbeat before transitioning into a very defeated sounding, quieter tone. almost like he is talking to himself while still addressing mc

Ren

"This is exactly why I didn't want to do this! I knew this was how it was gonna end! What am I even doing here? This is all your fault..."

Sinostra

Ritsu

"I see you've guessed my intention. It's of little consequence. I suggest you get as far from here as you can. Father... I was unworthy to be your son. I hope you can forgive me."

Taiga

"Gyahaha! Time to cash in your chips! Guess this while thing was just a busted flush*, huh? Tell me something, would you? What could I have done different to change this outcome?"

*poker term, also slang for "a promising person or thing that turns out to be unsuccessful"

Romeo

"Tch. What do you want? Coming up here now... you're just getting in my way! I've got one last job for you. Tell everyone I looked flawless in my final moments."

Hotarubi

Haku

"Sorry. Guess I couldn't be the guy you wanted me to be. Ha. Ha... Don't look at me like that. Never lost faith in me, did you?*"

*it's brief, but I think I caught him thanking the MC. Also he's got some serious crazy eyes as he falls...

Subaru

"This is all my fault. I don't expect you to forgive me, but this is the least I can do... Please take this as my final act of good faith."

Zenji

"Ha ha... All the greatest literary masters departed this world before their time. I won't be leaving a masterpiece behind... but if I can save you, and our friends, I could ask for nothing more."

Obscuary

*this dorm is missing two students at the time of writing

Rui

"Ha ha... You found me! Geez, are you in love with me or something? Hey now. Don't think about trying to grab my hand. Just be happy enough for the both of us, ok?"

Mortranken

Yuri

"It's all going up in flames... all of my research... the fruit of my blood, sweat, and tears! Ha... HA HA! AH HA HA! AH HA HA HA!! Goodbye Mama..."

Jiro

"There's no coming back from this. I will struggle until it's over though. Dying always looks like it hurts. I hope I can save you at least, but don't get your hopes up. Bye."

at this point, the character will jump off the balcony the were standing on, some will reach out to the MC (Towa really looks like he is) other just kind of let the arm hang (Zenji committing to the noble sacrifice and Leo you fucking bitch-) The screen will then go black...

Please someone tell me... Where did we go wrong?

[bluecatwriter]

Hmmm, Director's Cut on Butcher-work?

Thanks so much for the ask! I have a lot of Feelings about this one. :)

(The fic in question.)

CW for description of blood/injury below:

-This fic was directly inspired by Re: Dracula, because the scene with Van Helsing staking the Weird Sisters was just. so horrifying. I loved the way that Alan Burgon voiced the part, as well as the sound design that emphasized just how gruesome it was. This is no triumphant killing; we believe Van Helsing when he says, "Oh, my friend John, but it was butcher-work." I listened to it, and had to take a break afterward, and my first thought was, "Oh man, he is gonna have some trauma about this," and this fic was born.

-As long as I was having Van Helsing deal with trauma, I figured that he should also have some deep lingering regrets about how he handled Lucy's situation. Although he doesn't admit to doing wrong, I think it's noteworthy that he treats Mina very differently than he does Lucy— there is no yeeting Jonathan away from Mina's side, for instance— which indicates to me that his attitude toward vampires changed as he gained more knowledge, and it just made sense that he would second-guess how he acted when he was first trying to aggregate all his fragments of knowledge about vampires.

-A dream sequence seemed the best way to explore his doubts and trauma in a vivid way, so I settled on the most dramatic setting possible. I was a bit inspired by fairerforafleck's excellent fic "There is Some Fascination," although their setting is even cooler than mine!

-The image of Lucy looking up at him innocently while he brushes aside her hair to place the stake over her heart was one of the earliest moments I thought of when brainstorming. I made myself very sad thinking about it. :(

-"She screamed. Blood hit him like the slap of an ocean wave, salty and bright, and in an instant blood welled up from the floor and rose, knocking him off his feet. He fell into the rising tide, drowning as he felt his own body flying apart, limbs rent from their sockets, chest cracking open, entrails spilling out. Blood in his throat, his guts, his eyes, blood dissolving the cells of his body like acid, blood so thick it was impossible to tell where sensation ended and the scream began." I figure that if you're gonna go with the nightmare imagery, you might as well go hard. When I write a paragraph like this, I draft it with the weirdest, most intense imagery I can think of, throwing together associations even if they don't make sense, and in a later draft I sort through them and pick out the ones that I like the most. Oftentimes phrases that seem nonsensical at first glance end up being the most evocative. (I am very much a "throw everything at the wall and see what sticks" writer.)

-Even though Jack/Van Helsing isn't the point of the fic, I knew that I wanted someone to be there for him when he woke up; I think there's nothing worse than waking up alone from a nightmare. So I put Jack in there; he can't fix anything or bring any closure, but he's still there, and that still counts for something.

-"Art gets these dreams too, John told him once. Perhaps it is just the price to pay for rescuing a soul in such a manner." Someday I am gonna write a Van Helsing & Arthur fic where they either bond or clash (not sure which) over the shared experience of staking a vampire. Meanwhile Jack is holding fast to his conviction that Van Helsing made the right decision, because he can't emotionally handle it if VH is wrong.

-In the end, Jack asks if there is not any peace for Van Helsing to find, and he answers, "There is not." I wanted to capture the feeling of being caught in a trauma that feels like it will never end; there is no way to find peace in the foreseeable future, and the trauma can only be borne in the meantime. Usually when I write hurt I write comfort to go along with it, but I left the ending a bit raw and unfinished.

-The last two lines are, "Moonlight bathing them in silver. His chest aching with tears he could not shed." I liked the play of visual and tactile detail and the unfinished feeling of it all, emphasized by the sentence fragments.

Thanks again for the ask, I really enjoyed picking this apart!

(Ask game here)

[adudelolwriting]

true hate's kiss for chodark mayhaps????? please????? i think it'd be hilarious?????

-✨

oh my GODS this one started kicking my ass at the end . its OKAYYY i dont think its the best but whatever they cant all be winners am i right chat (sitcom laughing) . anyways here you go sparkle anon, hope you enjoy !! (ask game here)

~~~~~~~~~~

Dark had a curse. 

Chosen knew this — the curse was to take Chosen's life. Chosen knew the risk of saving Dark, and then helping her. Chosen knew that, one day, the curse, the mission code, would act up, and Chosen would have to fight. 

So, the two fought. Dark always apologized once she snapped out of it (typically after getting the shit knocked out of her), and Chosen always was there to help dress her wounds. 

But… as the years went on, and as they retired, or settled down, or whatever you called it, Dark just got more and more antsy. Secretive. 

Dark revealed his plan on a regular Wednesday afternoon. "We can take revenge, Chosen! We can finally make Him hurt, like He hurt you!"

"...No. You don't want this, Dark. I don't want this."

"But I did this for you! We can attack the Cursor that hurt you!" Dark gestured to the massive laser machine in front of her.

Chosen shook Chosen's head. "No. We're done with this, with hurting sticks, remember? We agreed."

"But He's not a stick!" 

"No." Chosen's arms crossed, and Dark looked pissed. "I did this for you!" He repeated, and then he dove for the button. Chosen leaped to him, grabbing him and pulling him away from the button. The two fought, anger burning through Chosen.

How dare she, try and do this? Who does she think she is, trying to do this to them?

Dark wiggled out of Chosen's grasp, and hit the button. What looked like a nuke launched into the sky, breaking through the Outernet's sky and into an IP — One that Chosen knew too well. Before Chosen could think properly, Chosen blasted Dark through the wall in the house, and flew after the bomb. 

Chosen had to spend a few days on Alan's PC. The… Virabots hurt Chosen — much more than Chosen thought they could have. Deep, long wounds were littered on Chosen's body, and something was preventing Chosen from healing as quickly as Chosen should. 

Alan had some new sticks, apparently. Another hollowhead, named The Second Coming (of Chosen?), and a few regular sticks that looked like they came from Stick City, but more brighter. Noogai3 didn't tell them anything, because of course He wouldn't, but after just one look from Second, Noogai caved and told them everything.

Chosen has been spending most of Chosen's time in a weird, strangely blocky house on the PC. Noogia couldn't see Chosen from the inside, so it was better, even if He promised not to hurt Chosen and had apologized to Chosen.

But the thing was, Noogia shouldn't have to apologize, because He should have never done that to Chosen. The stick was bitter and spiteful towards the cursor. Chosen hated him. But there were also sticks here. 

(Innocent sticks that nearly died because of Dark's revenge. Revenge Chosen never wanted.)

Chosen wasn't healing. 

Yes, the bleeding stopped, but the wounds themselves would not heal. Blue, who was apparently the second oldest behind Second aerself, had put an IV into Chosen's arm as Chosen's presents turned the first level of this building into a makeshift infirmary. The kid explained that it's from a game, and it's supposed to help healing.

Chosen was grateful for these children helping Chosen. Tensions seemed tense — Chosen hopes it wasn't always like this, but who knows with Noogia. 

The past few days, they talked to Chosen. A lot. It seems they've never been off the PC before, and were curious about Chosen's life. Chosen willingly told them the non criminal things, mostly what Chosen did in retirement. 

Currently, Chosen was chatting to Blue, who was checking on Chosen's wounds, when a loud crash came from outside of the building. Chosen flinched — Chosen still wasn't used to all the noise the kids made — before screams rang through the room. Both Chosen and Blue froze. 

Blue rushed out, telling Chosen to stay where Chosen was. Rolling Chosen's eyes, the IV gets ripped out of Chosen's arm (Ow.) before Chosen walks out of the building.

"Dark?!" Chosen shouted, seeing the bright red stick flying in the air with flames surrounding her fists. "What the fuck?"

Dark, upon seeing the stick figure, dropped to the ground, charging at Chosen. Chosen let out an "oomph", unable to defend against Dark's attacks. Dark never really hurt Chosen before — not physically, not leaving welts or cuts or bruises. But the Virabots left every cut and scratch and scar on Chosen's body. 

The kids screamed in the background, trying to pull Dark off of Chosen, but it was no use. Dark was cursed. 

Dark was cursed, and Chosen was tired. Chosen was just able to keep Chosen's arms up, shielding Chosen's face. After a moment of debate, Chosen grabbed Dark's face. It startled her, as her face was pulled down, and Chosen kissed her. "I'm sorry," Chosen muttered, and Dark stayed still, frozen. "I'm sorry that I could never help you."

"I… what?" Dark asked, blinking his eyes. They… they were normal again. Not full of ones or zeros that overtook his eyes when the mission code took over his body. "Why…" Dark's voice trailed off, a hand reaching to his lips.

[scarycranegame]

so i watched that daisy brown arg that everyone was hootin and hollerin about a few years back and i made some observations, particularly about how daisy behaves towards alan/in general really

(warning: you probably aren't gonna like this post if you're in the "daisy never did anything wrong in her life and alan is pure evil" camp; also additional warning for mentions of physical and mental/emotional abuse and theft & death of an animal)

okay so first off, the way daisy treats alan when hes a baby seems a little fucked to me. like.. sorry but i think that using an infant creature to test your dollar store makeup and handling him in a way that looks like you're trying to snap his neck is a lil weird (seriously look at the way she holds him in some scenes from earlier episodes, how the FUCK did his head stay on)

actually let's talk about the fact that she's filming him and posting him online anyways!! yknow how everyone hates youtube "family channels" for broadcasting all their kids' formative years online for countless strangers to see? thats basically what daisy did to alan!!! since he was literally an infant!!! imagine having videos of you as a baby online!!! how wouldn't that fuck someone up!!!!!

this isn't even mentioning the fact that daisy sewed fabric into alan's flesh and it was confirmed once he could speak that it hurt him. yeah she was trying to make sure his head didn't fall off but who the hell sees a living being in pain and goes "oh!! i should stick a needle in it!! :D" (especially since. the needle likely was not sterilized. and also she started doing this when he was in a relatively juvenile stage. yeah)

okay moving onto later videos: i never see anyone talk about the fact that daisy likely stole strawberry.. she mentions in the video where strawberry is introduced that strawberry had a collar, and i mean. cats aren't just born with collars on. so either she stole a cat that escaped from a shelter or she stole a cat from her neighbors. nice. cool. very cool and good behavior definitely Smol Bean Activities™

oh speaking of strawberry! daisy already knew that alan was eating large quantities of meat (lmao)!! and she decided to steal someones cat and keep it in her house despite that!!! even if she adopted strawberry legitimately it would still be a massive irresponsible decision because. [gestures to everything about alan]

oneee more thing about strawberry: so she has this creature that she's taken care of for most of her life (if the captions are anything to go by). and then she sees this random-ass cat wander onto her property. and then she immediately decides that she cares more about this random cat that she's known for less than a day than the creature she's cared for like a mother since her own childhood? yeah i get it cats are cute and all but jesus christ. imagine caring about your pet more than your kid. what the fuck daisy

in defense of daisy:

she's very, very sheltered (if the captions are anything to go by), and thus she likely has no other reference for parenting or interacting with others besides her dad, and her dad was... not great. and it is good that she's at least trying to be better than he was at parenting, but it seems like she doesn't quite understand that baby dolls are not an accurate replica of actual babies

additionally, daisy's father himself introduces alan to her as just a creature. yes, a living creature, but still a creature. not a pet, not a family member, not even a friend, but a chore. "you and i are gonna have to take care of this thing, and yeah i know it's probably gonna suck, but otherwise everything will be fine, don't worry; it's like he's not even there". (if you don't know what i'm talking about here then rewatch the series and turn on the subtitles)

however...

alan also has no reference for basically any human behavior besides daisy, and daisy... basically just treated him like a toy. "human behavior" includes morality and empathy. daisy doesn't seem to have taught him anything besides "other people are toys" from a very, very early age. suddenly him getting a kick out of messing with her makes a little more sense.

some of the more caring things daisy did for alan in the earlier videos could be interpreted very differently through the eyes of an infant creature who can't communicate what they're feeling... specifically i'm talking about the "trying out different sources of sugar" video, where. from alan's point of view, she's basically force feeding him. and also in later videos when she basically ignores him because she's busy doing something else that doesn't involve him.. i think that he might've maybe seen things that weren't really there, so to speak

anyways tldr while daisy is nowhere near as obvious & cartoonishly abusive as alan is, she's still not a perfect person and might've been partially responsible for alan turning out Like That™ because she's been isolated from the entire world for her whole life and has no reference for how to parent correctly.. also justice for alan, he deserved therapy, not death, fuck you guys you guys are just mean/lh

[tsarisfanfiction]

I'm a little late, but i hope you don't mind. I got dehydration and train, and I want you to do Alan. XD

Homesick

Fandom: Thunderbirds Rating: Teen Genre: Hurt/Comfort/Family Characters: Alan, Scott

You’re not late at all!  Sorry about the delay in replying.  So, Alan?  I suppose he wasn’t going to escape forever, although he was doing a pretty good job of it up until now...  Certainly not a common target of mine, but I’ll see what I can do for him.

Small mention of a character throwing up - it doesn’t occur in the story, but they talk about it a little.

Spin the wheel of whump and give me a character!

(and as a reminder, there’s now a fluff prompt generator as well, if that’s more your speed)

Camping was supposed to be fun.  He remembered Scott’s stories, new ones every year as he went on his annual Rescue Scout camps and came back buzzing with excitement.  John, too, had loved them.  Virgil, and even Gordon, had all said how amazing camping was.

Every single one of them had neglected to mention that camping in the middle of nowhere meant two things.  Bugs and no internet.

Alan enjoyed the great outdoors.  He loved rock climbing, cycling, and even running with Scott when his long-legged big brother slowed his pace enough to let him come with him.  He did not enjoy being cut off from the world of technology - games, his family.

Sure, camping was still pretty okay.  There were songs around the fire at night, and marshmallows on sticks.  All the things his brothers had told him about, sure, but being away from them for two nights had made him homesick.

Not that he told anyone.  Tracys didn’t get homesick.  It wasn’t like Scott had sleepless nights missing them when he was away at camp, and any of John’s sleepless nights were entirely attributed to stargazing away from the light pollution.  Virgil slept soundly wherever he was, and even Gordon didn’t care about a couple of nights away, so Alan couldn’t say he’d missed them so much it had hurt.

Couldn’t say how much he was looking forwards to seeing them when he got off the train, knowing Scott would be there to pick him up because he’d promised he would be.  Couldn’t admit he’d felt too ill to eat or drink anything for the last twenty four hours, hiding it behind nibbles and food discarded when camp leaders weren’t looking.  Couldn’t admit he still felt ill, a headache pounding away inside his skull as he curled up tighter in his seat and ignored the other rescue scouts as they nattered away about the weekend and how awesome it had been.

“Alan?”

He ignored the camp leader checking up on him, squeezing his eyes shut against the headache and letting his head rest against the cool glass of the window.

“Alan, are you feeling alright?”

He was fine.  Scott would be at the station and then everything would be fine, and he wouldn’t tell anyone he’d missed them because he wasn’t that needy.  Not if his brothers weren’t.

“Kid, look at me.”

A hand rested on his shoulder, coaxing and insistent until he was unfurled and sat in the seat properly.  He kept his eyes closed, hoping they’d go away and leave him in peace.

He wanted Scott, not a camp leader.  He wanted his biggest brother, not some adult he barely knew.

“Alan!”

Something was pressed against his forehead, warm and unwelcome, and he tried to retreat away from it.  Voices muttered to each other, concern overlapping them all.

“Alan, drink this.”

A straw was poked between his lips, sharp and intrusive, and he wanted to spit it out but his body had other ideas.

It was water, but it was off.  He didn’t like it, wanted to spit it out, but his traitorous mouth swallowed it all the same.

How did we miss-

-dehydrated-

Scott’s going to-

He didn’t care about the conversation, except they said Scott.

“Scotty?” he mumbled around the straw.

“We’re calling your brother now,” the camp leader said.  “Think you can drink a little more, Alan?”

“Wan’ Scotty,” he pouted.

“He’ll be waiting for you when you get off the train,” they promised.

They were right.  Scott had said he’d be there, and he was, taking him from the camp leader that had carried him off the train and holding him close.

Alan heard him talking to the leaders, but didn’t bother to listen to what they were saying.  Scott was warm, and he clung to him tightly.

“What happened, Allie?”

Scott didn’t put him down.  He felt his brother start to walk away from the train, holding him securely.

He didn’t want to say it, didn’t want to admit he’d been homesick, but Scott asked again, that worried note in his voice that Alan hated, and he caved.

“Missed you,” he mumbled.  “I know it’s stupid.  I’m a big boy now.”

Scott’s laugh caught him by surprise, and he blinked up at him with a scowl.  What was so funny?  He hadn’t been as good as his brothers, couldn’t handle being away for two small nights, and-

“I’ll tell you a secret, Allie,” Scott said.  “My first camp I missed you guys so much I threw up.”

What?

“But-”  Scott had always called camp fun.  He’d never said he’d missed them, just that camp was amazing, and all the stories he’d come back with had fascinated Alan.

“Surprised?”  The arms holding him tightened slightly, like one of his squeezy hugs.  “It’s normal to miss each other when we’re gone, Allie.  There’s no shame in it.”

“You never said that.”  Alan knew he was pouting.  Scott’s next little laugh etched the pout further onto his face.

“I didn’t think you wanted to hear about it,” his brother said.  “I thought you’d want to hear about the fun bits, not me curled up by the bushes all night puking.”

“All night?”

“All night,” Scott confirmed.  “So don’t feel bad, okay?”

Well, if Scott had been homesick, too...  Maybe Alan wasn’t too needy after all.