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Story / Transformation
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The land - or is that the game world? - needs a hero. The forces of evil are eating away at the peace of the realm - and we know how stories of this sort go, of course. A hero, a true main character, must rise up to oppose them, his strength and skill elevating him above the faceless, rigidly-scripted masses and seeing him ascend to glory.
Kain is that hero. Or so he thinks - and he probably isn't wrong. He's never met anyone with more obvious potential than him. But there is one villager he's yet to meet... and perhaps their encounter will change things for the both of them.
4k words! A short story I quickly wrote up some time ago after seeing this tweet written by
erakir. I wasn't sure if it was substantial or broadly appealing enough to post and was considering holding off, at first, but discussing it with a friend of mine convinced me it's worthy enough for upload, so here it is! Hopefully you enjoy - consider leaving a comment if you do!
Kain is that hero. Or so he thinks - and he probably isn't wrong. He's never met anyone with more obvious potential than him. But there is one villager he's yet to meet... and perhaps their encounter will change things for the both of them.
4k words! A short story I quickly wrote up some time ago after seeing this tweet written by
erakir. I wasn't sure if it was substantial or broadly appealing enough to post and was considering holding off, at first, but discussing it with a friend of mine convinced me it's worthy enough for upload, so here it is! Hopefully you enjoy - consider leaving a comment if you do!
Category Story / Transformation
Species Red Fox
Size 120 x 120px
File Size 22.6 kB
Thank you so much! I'm really glad you enjoyed it. As soon as I read your tweet I knew there had to be some way I could make a story out of it; it satisfies me a lot that people feel this came out well.
The fox will have plenty of free time to read now, at least! Though the lack of animations might might be a problem.
The fox will have plenty of free time to read now, at least! Though the lack of animations might might be a problem.
I can't tell if its from me having been listening to a lot of Undertale theories and music recently, or just because of my pre-existing enjoyment of generification and the thought of stealing stats; traits and stuff for one's own use, but this story has been quite enjoyable to read. If harrowing at the end and at how folks in this setting, unlike Kain or Rowan, are incapable of developing further. Seems like the fact this is a game world is far more embedded into this setting than your usual RPG-Mechanics 'Verse.
And it is a bit tragic that, if Rowan is now the Hero due to stealing that spot, Kain (for lack of a better term) did meet the Hero, besides the general dread from the fact that Kain (again, still for lack of a better term) is unable to do anything besides repeat his lines and think solely on wanting to meet the Hero even past the end of the game's story. Although considering his own somewhat arrogant thoughts at the literal NPCs in this setting, it did at least feel a bit better in this case that Kain ended up becoming one of the most generic ones.
And it is a bit tragic that, if Rowan is now the Hero due to stealing that spot, Kain (for lack of a better term) did meet the Hero, besides the general dread from the fact that Kain (again, still for lack of a better term) is unable to do anything besides repeat his lines and think solely on wanting to meet the Hero even past the end of the game's story. Although considering his own somewhat arrogant thoughts at the literal NPCs in this setting, it did at least feel a bit better in this case that Kain ended up becoming one of the most generic ones.
This is definitely more of a world that exists within the constraints of a video game's limitations, than a genuine fantasy world that happens to incorporate RPG mechanics, as Undertale is. Taking Erakir's original tweet as a prompt, I feel like that kind of structure had to be necessary for the setting, you know? I feel like most of the characters in the setting probably have very limited interiority and limited self-awareness. But I'm sure there are always flukes from time to time, like Rowan.
And it's true - at the very least, Kain did have his brush with heroism and greatness! It may have been a briefer one than he anticipated, but I'm sure he won't mind, not anymore. And his condescension towards the more limited characters of the world, is one of my personal favorite aspects of the story, given how things turn out.
And it's true - at the very least, Kain did have his brush with heroism and greatness! It may have been a briefer one than he anticipated, but I'm sure he won't mind, not anymore. And his condescension towards the more limited characters of the world, is one of my personal favorite aspects of the story, given how things turn out.
I see, that's a good way of putting it in this scenario. And while I could bring up other ideas, this is the way you took the prompt and it did make for a pretty enjoyable; if dark; story, and I do understand how the conclusion leading to this tale came to be. And I see there, not much for me to elaborate on the facts of the matter, but I can certainly bring in some opinions: Like the fact that there are flukes is nifty; like emergent AI in some kind of sci-fi story or something, popping out of the 'code' with more self-awareness and internal lives than most others in this game-like world.
Yeah, and while a bit tragic, the karmic aspect did keep it from making the transformation and his fate too bitter. He kind of had it coming, then again, lots of questions and thoughts could be made on the value of the lives of literal NPCs in this world, if it really is unwarranted to see them as beneath a more self-aware being, the likelihood of others seeing NPCs similarly and more. But at least in this isolated instance, it felt kinda sweet to see Kain fall into becoming one of the most generic NPCs in this world.
Yeah, and while a bit tragic, the karmic aspect did keep it from making the transformation and his fate too bitter. He kind of had it coming, then again, lots of questions and thoughts could be made on the value of the lives of literal NPCs in this world, if it really is unwarranted to see them as beneath a more self-aware being, the likelihood of others seeing NPCs similarly and more. But at least in this isolated instance, it felt kinda sweet to see Kain fall into becoming one of the most generic NPCs in this world.
This is an incredibly good story, great work! The dedication to leaning into the RPG elements made it super interesting to read, you struck a really interesting balance with how Kain is so fully aware of the game elements and thinks in terms of "clicking through menus" and such, and yet is also still living in the world itself.
And of course, the ways you captured genericification were VERY good!
Thank you for delivering this story, hero! Here's your reward.
Exchanged Item: High-quality Story
Received: 500gp, 40 EXP, 2x Gemstones
And of course, the ways you captured genericification were VERY good!
Thank you for delivering this story, hero! Here's your reward.
Exchanged Item: High-quality Story
Received: 500gp, 40 EXP, 2x Gemstones
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