THE TOY BOX!!!

something fun is infecting hatchetfield... would you like to play along? || au ask blog set in a timeline where it's tinky's turn at an apocalypse. || run by @owlhari

[intheconflux]

teehee, welcome to the conflux!

a hatchetfield fan project set in a timeline where tinky causes his own apocalypse. discontinued, but still here.

about || taglist & content warnings || archive of previous episodes || written & drawn by @owlhari

ask box is currently OPEN for story inquiries & general comments. see this post for more information.

ooc posts talking about the conflux's story are tagged #opening the toybox

[intheconflux]

As promised in the last post, here is a summary of Tinky's plans my rambling text file that contained all my plot ideas for the Conflux.

(Please read this post first for an explanation, if you haven't already!)

Episode 2:

After the audience input on glitching and its rules, the gang would come up with their own list of "rules" for it

The rules wouldn't have to be correct— it'd depend on how well readers could figure things out!

Still trapped in the theatre, Max begins to shift between multiple timelines where he was murderous

Ideas for timelines included variations on NPMD, roleswap!Max having gone mad with the LIB's power like Grace in NPMD, infected Max from TGWDLM, and potentially a reference to the "Max is Lumber Axe" theory if I was feeling particularly self indulgent

The gang runs away to the sound/light booth, where they watch a Jekyll and Hyde-like argument between Conflux!Max and his NPMD ghost self. Ruth sets the theatre mics/speakers to a delay so they can hear each other despite the shifting messing with memories

I was listening to Confrontation on loop for a few days while planning this episode, you can probably tell (this is what the episode title is referencing!)

The argument would represent the doubt Conflux!Max still feels about being a bully— he hurt so many people, what if he does again? Hurtful things almost leave his mouth sometimes, he still feels the urge to be physical when he's upset. Does he deserve forgiveness, despite that? Would Grace still love him if she knew he thinks all these horrible things? What if he really is just a monster?

Grace is the first to intervene. She gets closer and closer as she talks to Max, trying to convince him he isn't a monster, and then—

Well. NPMD!Max glitches in and attacks her.

Readers would choose from a poll on what version of Grace would appear: "POWER" (post-NPMD), "PURITY" (Abstinence Camp), or "PASSION" (Roleswap, as a vengeful ghost)

Whichever version of Grace it was, she would find a reason to attempt to hurt Max, causing the rest of the gang to try and stop it

In the scuffle, Pete gets knocked out and the episode ends with a blank black panel

Episode 3:

While he's unconscious, Pete gets a vision from Tinky warning him to let the Conflux happen

At some point in the vision, he's standing in the school library. There's a book highlighted that he can't see the title of

Pete wakes up to everyone seeming normal. Richie tells him that Max glitched Ruth, Steph, and Grace and they turned all blue and "goopy" and started singing (TGWDLM)

The gang start the journey to the library. Various events and reader input opportunities as they encounter more people who have been glitched

Later on in the episode, Richie would glitch and it'd be revealed he lied back at the theatre— he was glitched by Max and Ruth wasn't. Keen-eyed readers would have noticed Richie's jacket and hair having more green than normal, hinting at a connection to Wiggly (and that version of Richie knowing what really happened, lying about it to save his own skin and/or cause chaos)

Episode 4:

The gang arrive at the library. Their guidance counselor, Miss Holiday, is there!

She lets them borrow the book, handwaving away Grace's insistence they should ask the librarian first, and ominously tells them to make sure they return it

You know what this is. It's the Black Book!

The glitching at the school has gotten so bad they don't want to stay. Pete decides that he needs to see if Ted is okay, so they set their sights for the CCRP office

As they head for the office, more polls and scary moments as they realize the glitching is happening all over Hatchetfield

Episode 5:

Ted is nowhere to be found at the office, and through a Big Dramatic Reveal, the gang finds out every single person in the building is glitched

The gang uses the Black Book to try and stop the Conflux

Ted is summoned as Tinky's puppet, glowing yellow eyes and an outfit similar to the blog's icon

Tinky offers up the Black Blade, and gives Pete a choice.

Kill Ted with it and the Conflux will end.

But Pete doesn't want that, does he? Wouldn't he much rather just play with Tinky forever? He can keep Ted, he can keep all his friends— any version of them that he could possibly imagine. He can have so many toys, and play with them however he pleases. Wouldn't that be amazing?

The readers are faced with a choice. KILL TED, or PLAY FOREVER.

The poll would last a single day. Whichever option was chosen for that poll, Pete would think about it in a comic, debating with himself and the readers. At the end, another day-long poll, with the same options

The result of the second poll would be the option Pete presents to his friends as his tentative decision. The gang would give their own opinions (and again, screenshots of reader comments that agreed with whoever was speaking)

Before Pete can decide for himself, Tinky butts in. Tick-tock, Petey. Time's up. What is your final answer?

A week-long poll this time. KILL TED, or PLAY FOREVER. The last chance.

What would have happened after the choice was made? Well... that's a story for another post.

After the main story ended, if I was up for it, I would have made a few self-contained episodes that focus on other characters and what they got up to during the Conflux. Based on whatever ideas I would've had, and reader requests for someone specific. And probably a few "what if readers had made X choice instead" comics.

And yeah, that's as far as my planning went. Some parts are vague, but I pretty much always knew what the ending conflict was going to be.

[intheconflux]

(TLDR at the bottom, for those who don't want to read my rambling)

So, it's been months since the last update to the Conflux. Oops. Turns out, being in your final year of college and then job hunting while also disabled is very demanding. Who knew!

To be completely honest, the reason I haven't posted an update sooner is because I've been so conflicted about officially declaring that I can't really work on the Conflux anymore.

Aside from my disabilities and my job, I've also lost some interest in Hatchetfield. It is still very much one of my favorite piece(s) of media, but my special interest has moved on to my own original stories. Even if I could physically continue the Conflux comic, my motivation wouldn't be all there, and I would hope no one wants to watch me struggle through that.

So yeah. The Conflux will not be continuing.

However! I still had vague plans for the story (they get more vague the further down the plot you go, due to the interactive nature of it) and I don't want to leave my dearest readers without the answers I was planning on giving them.

My next post will be an outline of where I was planning on taking the story. For the next few days I will be actively checking the inbox and answering any questions you have about the Conflux. There will be (almost) no secrets kept— ask anything! I'll still answer questions after next week, it just might take me a bit longer.

The blog will stay up, and the comic archive on my website will be moving to a new url (I've been working on a website revamp, so exact url is pending). If the mood strikes me I may even draw/write more Conflux-related stuff to post here someday, but I don't want to make any promises.

If YOU decide that you're still itching for more Conflux, this post is my blessing for anyone to create their own art & fics in the Conflux AU— as long as you tag this blog so I can check it out! If you post something off Tumblr (such as a fic to AO3) please link back to the blog.

Also, anyone is welcome to make their own AU/blog/comic/whatever inspired by the Conflux. It's not like I own the concept of "Tinky makes his own apocalypse" or "characters meet their AU selves" or "interactive Tumblr comic." I just ask that you write your own story with that concept, not make The Conflux 2.0. It'd just be kind of a bummer to see someone taking my plans for this story & these versions of the characters, and claiming it as their own, y'know?

If you like multiverse/timeline shenanigans and characters who are all a little fucked up in their own way, you can follow me on my main @owlhari for my original worldbuild, Syntheia. I'll be posting a lot more Syntheia stuff... soon-ish. Keep an eye out :]

TLDR: The Conflux will not be continuing due to my waning interest & real life commitments. I will be posting a summary of my plans for the future plot, and everyone is welcome to ask any questions they have about the story in the askbox.

Thank you for reading the Conflux and for all the love I've gotten in the notes & inbox in the time the comic has been active. This was honestly the best fan project I've worked on so far, and I learned so much both art and writing wise as I crafted this fucked-up story for you all.

<3

[intheconflux]

Oh, finally, my time to shine!

1) "Glitching" seems to shift a person or group of people into a version of themselves from a different timeline. Things happened differently there to shape them into much different people- e.g. Max being nice in our timeline and dead + vengeful in the one he glitched into

2) Given the nature of Hatchetfield, I have to guess that the phenomenon is localized on our little town. (Fuckin Clivesdale doesn't even have to deal with it, assholes.) The glitching seems to be spread via physical contact, like a disease.

Note: Pete touched Steph when she glitched. Does this mean he's already glitched or simply immune? More research is required.

3) Both Steph and Max have been disoriented and even felt sick when they reverted to normal, and were entirely unaware of what had just happened. So, no, people who are glitched don't seem to retain memories of that period of time. Possibly because it's not actually them, but a separate version of them.

4) We've so far seen different clothing on glitched people, so that'd be your easiest tell. To dig a bit deeper, ask your potentially glitched person a few questions about events that have recently transpired to see if your versions of events line up! e.g. what happened at the Waylon place, the status of the Starlight Theater or the Lakeside Mall, etc.

Always willing to help! -🪶

.

[intheconflux]

1: The glitching is causing people to become an alternative timeline version of themselves. Also it seems there are multiple timelines involved, Reese went from the NPMD timeline to this timeline then to what looks like an opposite AU.

2: Only some people are glitching. As stated before the difference between the glitched and not glitched can vary depending on the timeline they swap with. The main things that differ are clothing, personality and on rare occasions eye color.

As for what makes someone glitch, it probably spreads like a virus through physical contact but not every time. In the sketches of what would have happened if they chose to fight Steph clocked one of the others in the face and presumably fought the other two. When she met back up the main group she wasn't glitched. So like many viruses the spread isn't 100%.

One more thing, it looks like Pete and Ted might be asymptomatic carriers. When Pete and Steph kissed Steph glitched. When Reese hugged Pete she went back to normal. When Ted started talking to Paul he went back to normal.

3: No. When people glitch back into their normal selves they might realize that time has passed/there are gaps in their memory, but unless you tell them they won't know.

4: As stated before the difference between the glitched and not glitched is clothing, personality and sometimes eye color.

.

[intheconflux]

2) I think only certain people are glitching and that it is transmitted through touch. I think Pete might also be related to the glitching, since Reese started glitching after she hugged Pete, and Steph started after kissing Pete. And “Reese” was directly talking to Pete about letting them glitch the others. Pete might also have some subconscious control that he doesn’t know about yet.

.

[intheconflux]

1- Honestly, I think glitching is making the glitched character switch places with their counterpart from some alternative universe. I think for them switching the places is seamless and they lost all memories of it ever happening, like when you wake up from a dream - you might remember that you did something and that it wasn't really fitting to how you behave normally, but within a sec you lost all memory of it ever happening.

2- I think there are 2 possible ways to get glitched, you either get selected by Tinky himself or its just by touching someone whos already glitched. You don't need to be special, i think its more or so just a normal epidemic, where no one is save.

3- No they dont, because imo glitching to the person feels like when Duke talks to Ms. Holloway and losses all his memories and time awareness after that

4- Asking them something specific that both of the people lived through. Like, who won the football match :D

-Stardust✩

#time to think

.

[intheconflux]

Answering all 4!

1. I think glitching is when Tinky brings in people from other universes

2.I think everyone IN HATCHETFEILD is glitching. I do t think anyone outside of it is.

3.Id say no, Steph and max seemed confused when it happened to them

4. Ask them very specific questions, or ask them what the date is :p

.

[intheconflux]

1) I think the glitching is making them an alternate version of themselves. Like a different timeline or universe even.

2) I don’t think it’s EVERYONE per se. I do think it’s passed on. Maybe even by specific people. I hate to say it, but I think Steph is at least one person who’s causing some of these glitchings.

3) Nope. Idk about in the moment. Maybe as they’re glitched they subconsciously are aware?But after they glitch back, im pretty sure they don’t remember.

4) there are physical differences, most noticeably clothing. Those glitched also seem to have a yellow in their eyes. Easiest tell seems to be what they’re wearing though. Maybe you could make a check word? Something a glitched/alternate you wouldn’t know? History/memories could be similar.

Do your best to stay together! I know you guys can figure out what’s going on!

- 🐦‍⬛

.

[intheconflux]

2 - it seems to me like the way people are glitching are if they’re either chosen by a Lord in Black, or in the vicinity of those chosen by a Lord. We’ve seen that the glitching is all yellow, but the characters’ eyes differ to show their connection to a lord. Paul, Tom, and Max all had either blue or green eyes because they were specifically chosen or corrupted by those lords.

As for the vicinity part? I think Pete and Ted are convalescent carriers - they can’t get glitched, but their contact or vicinity can cause someone to get glitched. When we’ve seen someone get glitched with yellow eyes, they’ve either been touching someone who’s already been glitched OR they’ve been touching Pete (like Reese with the hug or Steph with the kiss).

There are some flaws with this theory, but that’s what I think!

.

[intheconflux]

What does glitching do?

I think glitching causes your current self to briefly switch places with a version of you from an alternate universe. From what we see of Steph and Max's glitching, the universe their alternate selves are from didn't have a happy ending at the Waylon place (so it's probably the canon timeline). It seems fairly tame right now - most of the glitches we've seen have been somewhat quick - but as time goes on, they could get longer and longer... which is definitely something to worry about

.

[intheconflux]

It's time to think!

Pete and the gang are trying to figure out what the hell is going on. They need your help!

Below is a list of numbered questions. Through either the replies or the ask box, send in your ideas, including the number(s) of what you're answering. You can answer as many or as few questions as you like, and you're always welcome to add more in further replies/asks.

Asks will be published (with no commentary from the author) in the tag #time to think, and discussion amongst users is heavily encouraged. If you believe you know what's going on, it's your job to convince everyone!

On August 31st, the event will end and an update will post the following day.

If enough people answer a question correctly, the gang will agree on the truth (although they may still have doubts). If not, they will stay confused or argue about it.

The questions:

What does "glitching" do?

Is everyone glitching, or only specific people? What makes them different? Or, what happens to make someone glitch?

Do people that glitch know that they're glitching?

What is the best way to check if someone isn't currently glitched?

[intheconflux]

In a cruel and ironic twist of fate befitting a Hatchetfield protagonist, I've had to deal with a pretty miserable health issue the past few days and can't keep up with the post schedule that I only just started :')

I'm fine, but I may not be able to draw for a bit while I recover. Next update coming when I'm up for it. Thanks for sticking around <3

[intheconflux]

STEPH: Eugh... I feel nauseous...

MAX: Steph—

PETE: We need to figure out what the FUCK is going on before I go completely insane!

[intheconflux]

STEPH: Max!

STEPH: Holy shit, you're back!

MAX: What? I didn't go anywhere. Get off—

[intheconflux]

Just got back from a trip and man I’m excited for what’s next! I’m glad you adjusted your rules and set a schedule, it’s good to prioritize yourself! Can’t wait to see the next installment!

-🐦‍⬛

Thank you!! I'm also excited for what's next >:)

[intheconflux]

new comic schedule!

As elaborated on in the last post, and after considering your feedback, I'm switching the comic to having a set update schedule.

From now on, there will be a new update every Sunday and Wednesday. This schedule will start next Sunday (August 4th).

In an ironic twist of fate, the day after I posted the poll, I started to get just sick enough that I couldn't draw for very long without getting lightheaded. Whoops. I'm fine now though! Just need a few extra days to talk with Tinky draw some panels.