Hello everyone! Welcome to my masterpost! Over here, you'll find a variety of information on myself on here, including my socials, my current WIPs, and more! This will be updated with time according to circumstances.
I have commissions now! If you want to know more about them or potentially start commissioning me, you can DM me on here (aka Tumblr) or on Discord! (My user on Discord is ornapink, just like it is here.)
Terms of Service
(COMMISSIONS CURRENTLY CLOSED)
Socials:
YouTube - ornapink (HASNT BEEN USED DUE TO BOYCOTT: NO LINK UNTIL BOYCOTT IS OVER)
Tumblr - You’re here!
Archive of Our Own (AO3) - ornapink
Discord (COMMISSION MATTERS ONLY) - ornapink [The Green Ornament is my display user!]
Artfight - ornapink
BOUNDARIES:
Please do not DM me at ALL unless you want to commission me, collab with me, tell me something important, or if you are one of my mutuals. If you request me to do art for you for free, you will be ignored. If you have something important to tell me/ask me, do NOT start your DM with “Hi”. State your business first, please.
Please do NOT DM me asking for donations! I do not have financial independence currently and will not be able to help you financially. The most I can currently do for you is spread the word.
DNI (Do NOT Interact) if you are:
A bigot (or someone who is against a marginalized group/a minority like people in the LGBTQ community, being racist, etc.)
homophobic or transphobic
supporter of anything heinous or anyone who engages in heinous things (like rape, murder, etc.)
Don’t be a jerk. Don’t say death threats, or slurs (even if you can reclaim them). I don’t want to hear it. And do NOT harass others!
Do not feed ANY of my art to AI. If you do this, and I find out about it, I will immediately block you from my blog.
Generally, just have common sense.
General Blog Tags:
asks and answers - my asks tag containing all of my asks (includes asks containing art and/or writing).
my art - my art tag containing all of my art (does not include reblogs)
reblog stuff - my reblog tag
my writing - my writing tag containing all of my writing stuff (does not apply if there’s also art)
Current Projects in Progress:
Blood Moon ARG (WIP)
Three players join a world that no one should have ever made.
The entity world is… quite interesting, to be frank. Entities live as if they are humans, and surprisingly, it seems almost… normal.
But a secret hides in The Eye Of The Storm that could explain everything. Will they be brave enough to endure the many obstacles that the entity world offers? Or will the ticking clock of the moon run out?
blog yet to be found.
tag: blood moon arg
Searching For A Person That Should Exist (ACT I)
(SFAWTDE AU WIP)
The King wasn’t meant to be. He was never meant to be made, but he was allowed to live. what a mistake that was.
Join Avery as he tries to save Derek with the help of the Queen. (ON AO3)
(NOTE: This AU contains some ARG elements where you will have to figure out things. The puzzles aren’t necessary to understand the scope of the story, but will add some more information. This AU also contains spoilers for Destroying A World That Doesn’t Exist.)
tag: searching for a person that should exist
The Elemental Quest (OC STORY WIP)
Audrey, a talented outcast, finds herself on a quest to find the other six Memory Stones to bring back the Elemental Sisters after discovering the first hidden Memory Stone. Once hailed as wise Immortals who maintained peace and harmony among the Immortals, now becoming more of a cautionary tale about how to not let your cause get to your head… Will she succeed in her mission? Or will the world come crumbling down… and her, with it? (WILL BE UPLOADED TO MY CHANNEL)
tag: the elemental quest
Miss Wanna Die (WIP)
Fix-A-Beast AU animatic that’s in progress. Currently in the sketching phase. Currently editing storyboard.
Baking Base AU (WIP)
When someone sends you a mysterious letter concerning the incident that happened 10 years ago at Baking Base, you decide to investigate. Along the way, you learn of the many crimes that have been committed at this maze of a place, with no surefire way on how to get out. Will you escape and live to tell the tale, or will you become another one of the place’s victims? A CRK crossover au with Poppy Playtime. (COMICS WILL BE ON HERE AND THIS MAY BE ON AO3)
tag: baking base au
STATUS: MWD will be put on hold. Fic has restarted. In the ArtFight trenches. Will be inactive.
I had meant to send this yesterday before i got busy bUT THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR KIND WORDS!!!!! i really appreciate it so very much ;w;!!!!!! it's always a joy for me when people are enjoying my analysis - i figured it would be more straightforward to thank you in an ask :3 one of your notes RE: Parrot in particular I thought was a very interesting addition, but it seems like it's something that occurs in season 2 - I am trying to avoid info on S2, so i will have to come back to it when I get there!!! I would LOVE to chew on it then!!! :3
:DDDD NO PROBLEM!!!! I love reading an analysis, especially with a series like Unstable which contains so many characters that are more so morally grey than anything- it makes it so that there’s a ton to analysis! like the protagonists’ primary motivations, their moral standings, etc.
yeah I do believe it occurs in season 2! I’ve been watching unstable since late June and im almost done (100/144 vids watched) so yeah- the episode where the example I mentioned occurs in is during the episode “Finding the Tomb of the Minecraft Mafia” so keep that in mind 👀
Analysis on Parrot and Friendship during "The First War" ep
Okay so, finally finished watching The First War episode all the way through and I feel so very glad??? That Odyssey Duo was able to work through their issues (mostly) - it verifies a few things for me too, which honestly? I feel so vindicated in my assessments about Parrot’s character so far.
For one: It really verifies that Parrot did not want to end his friendship with Wifies. The way he treats Wifies seems so much more volatile compared to how he gently treats Dean in both this and the Farlands episode, but these same heightened emotions really serve to highlight the differences in the two relationships.
First, Parrot does not see Dean as an equal. In some ways I’m not entirely sure he truly sees him as a friend either, despite him saying so often. It might be better to say he only thinks he does; Parrot’s actual idea of Dean feels much closer to an illusion of a person - which, incidentally, is likely how Parrot viewed Luigi too. It’s not that there isn’t any friendship between them, nor is it that he doesn’t care about them - Parrot cares A LOT. To his own detriment in fact, as if his value as a person depends on it.
Parrot, whether or not he realizes it, sees Dean (and by extension, Luigi) as something he needs to save, or protect; Someone that he is responsible for and therefore has a duty to, rather than another individual standing beside him. Parrot has always taken promises and commitments he makes very seriously - it’s a driving force behind a lot of his behaviour earlier on, and ties into his idealistic and naive nature. Unfortunately, it also ties into his tendency towards self-sacrifice and self-destruction.
Because of this, Parrot has up to this point continuously given his trust to people when they should not have been given it, sometimes in spite of the evidence that showed he could not trust them (ex. Wemmbu in his 1st episode, then Spoke, and now much later, Dean).
He wants to believe the best in people, wants to believe that he’s someone who can save people, save the server. Maybe even feels that he’s the only one who really sees the bigger picture - which, in some ways, he’s right about (though I’d love to see a Spoke reunion about this).
And while I’ll probably write a more in-depth analysis of Parrot’s character and his personal arc at some point (and actually have one started for Parrot pre-Proton!), all of that is to say that Dean is an extension of Parrot’s personal ideas about the world - more a symbol than a friend, which leads Parrot to project ideas of who Dean is onto him. It was the same way with Luigi, exacerbated by his death.
And this isn't malicious! It's something Parrot actively does not appear to be aware of in himself. He cares about Dean, but part of that care comes from how Dean symbolizes the concept of Hope to Parrot. He’s one of the first people Parrot saves from the mafia, who genuinely thanks him from the bottom of his heart at a time where Parrot is very low on hope. Dean becomes proof of the merit of his ideals in (minecraft) human shape. Proof that he can affect the server, maybe even save it.
There is a big imbalance in their friendship because of this however, and it’s also serves as an indicator of Parrot’s perception of the world, a perception sometimes clouded in the narrative by his selfless, justice-oriented outward persona. Like Spoke, Parrot can very much be another unreliable narrator in his own way.
So what does this mean when it comes to Wifies? Why does it matter if Parrot speaks harshly to Wifies for his betrayal, but not to Dean for his? Does Parrot not also give Wifies benefit of the doubt? Does he value him less than Dean?
To answer this, I’d like to point to something that Wifies said in the Farlands episode, when Parrot presses him about why he actually snapped at Parrot to stop reading Luigi’s diary and accuses him of not caring. Wifies’ response is very straightforward: “If I didn’t care, I wouldn’t care.”
I think Wifies really meant that when he said it - he does care, even if that care was centered more on how reading it was affecting Parrot than it was on his personal feelings about Luigi. It’s why he got so worked up in the first place; Why he continued to get worked up about it whenever Parrot opened the book (and I swear I can HEAR the tension sometimes even when he doesn’t say anything).
Wifies could see how Parrot was torturing himself by reading these entries, and how that grief was rippling out into more and more reckless behaviour in an already dangerous situation. It scared him. Made him feel helpless to protect his friend, because the danger wasn’t something he could just portal them away from. How do you stop your friend from doing something rash, never knowing when it’s coming?
And you may be saying, “Okay, but how does this relate to Parrot?”
Because just as Wifies cares about him, Parrot cares about Wifies. Not as a symbol, or an ideal, or as abstract hope. He cares about him as a person. Wifies is an equal, a friend - someone he is in partnership with, rather than someone he is responsible for. Someone who Parrot values the opinion of. Not just in the sense of “Oh I need advice”, because yes, that’s certainly there; Parrot asks for Wifies’ help quite often in fact! It’s a very sweet aspect of their dynamic!
But, he also values his opinion in the sense of “How do you see me as a person? Do I still measure up in your eyes?”
For better or for worse, Parrot’s self worth and need for connection is tied up in it. When Parrot is mulling over his plan to kill Branzy just to make Clownpierce angry, ALLLL the way back in the early days when he was getting hunted non-stop, he goes to Wifies about it. And Wifies disagrees with him about killing Branzy at every turn! Parrot isn’t thinking rationally - his ideals and morals are out the window. He’s too tired of being chased, of his and his friends' lives being put in danger, just dancing on the line of snapping.
And the one thing that makes the biggest difference, that matters the most to Parrot in that moment is Wifies’ opinion. If Wifies would still see him the same way. If he’d still want to be around him if he killed Branzy. Thankfully, Parrot doesn’t end up doing it in the end, but the fact that Wifies states he wouldn’t see Parrot the same, but also wouldn’t leave… that’s really important to the choice he makes then, and reflects how he feels about his and Wifies’ friendship going forward.
So when Parrot snaps at Wifies in the Farlands city, there’s so much venom - he’s biting Wifies’ head off just for agreeing with him at one point. He can either barely look at him, or can’t stop himself from staring. He’s trying to run away, but he can’t. Trying to ignore how easy it is to fall back into their familiar partnership during Capture the Flag, because the friendship comes easy, but so does the hurt. Parrot cares so much. And much like Wifies, he doesn’t handle it well. Parrot begins his story very isolated, and that comes part in parcel with his naivety. This is their first huge fight, which requires a certain level of emotional maturity to navigate. I don’t think either of them were prepared for it, because they are usually so in sync - they don’t know what to do when they’re unable to harmonize, and Parrot is frankly still very new to navigating deeper interpersonal relationships.
None of the vitriol he throws at Wifies is present with Dean - he handles it very calmly. He’s been betrayed certainly, and it clearly bothers him, but he’s still trying to have a dialogue with Dean and isn’t jumping down Dean’s throat like with Wifies. Unlike with Wifies however, he doesn’t give Dean back his trust so quickly.
It feels counter-intuitive really - on the one hand as the audience you are shown Parrot seeming to give more care and trust to Dean, willing to give him chances he won’t give Wifies. He even begs Dean to come back when he disappears on them in the Farlands, offering apologies! Something he very much does not do with Wifies.
When you break it down, Parrot is only as upset with Wifies as loudly as he is because of how much he cares about his friend, and how much it hurt to have that care seemingly tossed aside (whether or not it is fair to Wifies is a whole other discussion). Dean betrayed him sure, but to Parrot, Dean was a symbol, and someone that was his responsibility. For Parrot, Dean’s betrayal is a personal failing that he needs to come to terms with for his personal goals. Notably, Parrot doesn't come around to the idea of forgiving him until doing so came into clear narrative alignment with his ideals and overall goals (i.e uniting the farmers and the warriors for the good of the server).
But Wifies is Parrot’s equal. For him to burn the compass is like Wifies is saying he doesn’t feel the same; Doesn’t trust Parrot to keep being his equal. Burning the compass is an attempt to override Parrot’s decisions, a length to which Wifies never went before, even during some of their worst moments during the Farlands episode. Before this, they still would have had a discussion about it where Parrot is ultimately free to shut him down. Discussions which Dean notably is not given a say in by either of them, despite those conversations revolving around him.
All of this is why I really appreciate this episode honestly - Parrot and Wifies could have remained on bad terms after that fight very easily. But I think that would have been a mistake, and would have gone against not only the narrative, but Parrot’s character growth.
Instead the narrative very intentionally parallels the lapse in trust between the Warriors and the Farmers to the lapse in trust between Parrot and Wifies, and Parrot and Dean. The latter the narrative says outloud - Parrot goes from believing in hope, to unity instead, a concept that begins to allow him to see beyond Dean and the people around him as an ideal.
But the former, Wifies and Parrot, is quieter. It is guiding Parrot to learn a lesson he’s been struggling with since the start: that real trust, real unity, is something you have to work at. He needs to learn the lesson, which can only come from actually engaging with someone at a deep interpersonal level. It teaches that you cannot simply run away from your problems, from other people, and pretend they aren’t there (something Parrot literally tries to do when he first sees Wifies again after the Farlands). There’s no such thing as a perfect dynamic where you never argue, or fight or disagree. Conflict is inevitable. It hurts when it happens and can tear you both apart. Yet despite everything, if both sides are willing to make amends and actually see one another, it is possible for that damage to be overcome, and your friendship can come out the other side stronger for it.
That’s why the bow training scene is so special to me - that’s the first moment since their fight where Parrot really allows himself to lower his barriers again. He finally stops running away from Wifies, and instead messages him for help. It’s genuinely such a beautiful moment to see them harmonizing again, laughing during training and just…. Having fun together again. Wifies is clearly still protective, but he’s also showing respect for Parrot as an equal again (has been since he appeared in the Farlands really), not trying to prevent him from going off on what is essentially a suicide mission. In fact, he’s trying to train him to be prepared for the danger when it comes - a direct contrast to the Wifies that would choose to burn the compass.
It’s just a wonderful moment of growth, and there’s so many more like it interspersed throughout the rest of the episode. I am both,,, very excited and nervous to see how this either goes very very right…. Or very very wrong………………. :’) I don’t have a perfect bow to wrap this up with, but at the end of the day, they’ve made a lot of personal progress! Though… given Parrot’s tendencies and y’know!! The nature of war… I wonder where things will stand when this is all over. If the Mafia arc is only the end of season 1 well…. There’s still time for an anti-growth arc…. :’)
peak analysis… also I did notice that dean wasn’t really viewed as his own person, and neither was Luigi, and that they were more so seen as something to protect. And I always found that kind of strange and interesting because why would he see them that way? But like you put it PERFECTLY in words bro. peak analysis…
lmao oh my god Parrot - the lesson!!! the lesson!!!! kfjdhgklsjfkjhgskdj
watching the Doomsday episode now, and wow, reallly fascinating to watch Parrot fall into paranoid overprotective behaviours. love when his flaws tear him a part oh boy!!!! surely this will not end poorly for him :') Very much a role reversal of him and Wifies in the Farlands episode which is doubly fascinating to me so far.
This is a very big pattern with Parrot too though, not at all out of line with him, even if it looks different than usual - overconfidence, followed by putting all his hope in one basket/gambit, and the inevitable fall out of that decision when/if it fails, then the resulting IMMEDIATE intense self-doubt that follows. I think if Wifies was not there he would probably completely fall apart. Parrot is so smart and he can be a very compelling and good leader, but he is so very prone to giving into his shadow and time after time it leads him to become blind to the situation and people at hand - truly the master of getting in his own way :')
Fr… I think probably one of the most, if not the most apparent example of this characteristic is in the episode where we see the tomb of the mafia, where he plays the game 8 Fold. Parrot starts off confident from his practice round, and he doesn’t really think about playing it safe, going so far as to bet everything he has on the 96.5% chance that the other player doesn’t have a better deck than him-
Only to find out that the other player had a better deck than him- therefore losing everything he betted. From then on in the episode, he starts to doubt whether or not he should keep going and uncover the tomb.
Also I know I’ve already said this but AUGHHH once again a peak analysis 🥹🥹🥹
the more I think about it, the more I feel like Parrot and Wemmbu are each other's narrative foils - not gonna get fully into it here, but I really love how their different views of the server and just their views in general constantly chafe against and contrast one another. Wemmbu's nonchalance vs Parrot's deep investment, Parrot trying to save the server at great personal cost vs Wemmbu protecting only the things that directly matter to him, selflessness vs selfishness, etc. - they contrast each other's narratives in all these ways, but they're also so similar as people in the end, too.
UU Analysis: On exercises in trust falls and letting go of the need for control
so I was taking a bit of break from writing something else and re-watching "The First War" as a little refresher (also just really love that episode) and I have to say, I really love how Wifies' apology to Parrot is handled in this episode - especially the one that occurs right after Capture the Flag (though the first one in this episode is fun too).
Like, his apology is genuinely so sincere - A+++ apology, don't see that all the time in fiction! You can really tell that he listened to what Parrot was saying and reflected on his controlling behaviour from the Farlands episode, and I appreciate how natural it feels - not only in how the dialogue is written, but in how it feels like the natural next step for Wifies' character, given how intuitive and in touch with his emotions he is in comparison to Parrot.
Losing Parrot is clearly terrifying to Wifies, but he would rather be together and in danger than apart from one another, and unable to help Parrot at all (that instance in the end civ. where Parrot almost dies alone comes to mind). Wifies' apologies show that while his focus is still on Parrot, he does see the greater value of what Parrot is doing and recognizes that simply running away together will not solve the problem. While it does scare him (you can really hear his voice warbling as he speaks), he believes in the idea that unity is what will get them through it. That fighting one another and giving into fear hasn't helped anyone.
Not only that, he's very respectful of Parrot here; Of his autonomy and his choices, and is being proactive in making the decision that best empowers Parrot while also not compromising what Wifies himself wants (to protect him). It's a very mature way of approaching Parrot after their argument, and nice to see in that Wifies clearly doesn't make himself into a doormat for Parrot either. His apology isn't coming out of a place of desperation, but out of genuine regret and a want to repair the relationship. In previous conversations he very clearly does not put up with Parrot's angry projections, but doesn't cross lines either to retaliate. He recognizes his faults, but doesn't allow Parrot to put undue blame on him. Wifies has realized he can't change Parrot's self-sacrificial tendencies, but he can do his best, as he always has, to keep Parrot in balance. He can be the emotional rock that Parrot needs when he is unable to regulate himself.
And like that's the thing - Parrot is still angry in this conversation after capture the flag, but he hears Wifies out about why it (the war) matters to him, the answer clearly getting through to him, as evidenced by how Parrot is immediately more open and shares the problems he's facing with the Warriors to Wifies, falling into the familiar pattern of Parrot telling Wifies his troubles and Wifies offering sound advice. It's so natural I think it actually scares Parrot a little!! He's still thinking of the earlier betrayals, so to fall back into that familiar pattern so quickly? It's little wonder that when Wifies offers to help him train for the certain death mission, he is very quick to dismiss it angrily and declare he'll figure it out himself.
Ever the patient one though, Wifies recognizes where Parrot is at, and leaves the door open for him if he changes his mind. He makes sure to state that he trusts Parrot and his judgement, meaning he will respect Parrot's decision either way if he chooses not to ask Wifies for help, or if he does. It's a clear telegraph that he's not trying to control Parrot anymore - that he doesn't have to fear that from Wifies, and also that he doesn't have to fear that Wifies will abandon him again either. It's a gentle reassurance that Wifies won't leave him all alone, if Parrot doesn't want him to.
Shortly after, Parrot is having a miserable time prepping. In a delightful parallel to the moment where Parrot almost messages Wifies back when he's apologizing through msg in the Farlands episode, Parrot starts up a message to Wifies. He hesitates just like before, rewrites it a few times. When he finally gets it out, he's typed that he needs Wifies' help. I really wanna highlight that - Parrot doesn't ask him to come by, doesn't just ask him if he can help with practice. He specifically says he needs Wifies helps.
Which, the language here does make a difference! It shows that Parrot is recognizing the change in Wifies and is acknowledging his own wants in regard to their friendship. He is allowing himself to move on from the anger instead of holding tightly onto a grudge, admitting to himself that he can't do it alone like he told Wifies earlier. That's huge in and of itself tbh! Parrot has always had a problem with biting off more than he can chew and trying to shoulder the responsibility all by himself. Choosing to ask for help in this way, from someone he was angry and hurt by especially is a really great step forward! Parrot in this moment is choosing unity with Wifies - choosing to brave his fears about the possibility of Wifies hurting him again, and accepting the apology. It is Parrot allowing Wifies to share the burden with him - an incredibly vulnerable move from Parrot. He's extending a lot of trust Wifies' way here, which Wifies does not take for granted.
And like, I've said it before in another analysis, but I'll happily say again - this is why I really love the whole practice session, and that Parrotx2 chose to give them this healing arc instead of allowing the relationship to remain broken. The bow duel is so, so sweet - this too is a big leap of faith, by allowing Wifies the opportunity to physically harm him for training. That's not immediately obvious as a possibility, but it does matter that Parrot is okay with the duel - that he doesn't hesitate or voice any worries about Wifies potentially hurting him, despite accusing him of wanting to sabotage him earlier. At most, he wonders what the point is when his totem gets popped, but they're both laughing! It quickly turns into play. Wifies doesn't let Parrot just back out of it the first two times he's popped either - which, here's a healthy example of push back, frankly. He firmly insists they continue, gives Parrot sound reasons, and sets expectations for when they'll stop. Wifies gently encourages Parrot, making note of when he's improving, offering advice, and praising his victories. He helps Parrot prepare, but he also boosts Parrot's self-confidence.
The target practice has its own narrative purpose as well. In a way that is very cleverly staged, Wifies stands in the middle of the coliseum, no totem in hand. Parrot incorrectly hits the first target with slowfalling... but the next arrow he fires is a harming arrow. To make the shot from his current position, he has to fire directly over Wifies' head. Parrot takes aim, and fires a shot that threads very closely over Wifies' head. He hits the target.
This is a really significant moment. In my eyes, it is the exact moment Parrot is shown how much and how sincerely Wifies trusts Parrot in return. Wifies does not move, he does not equip a totem - Parrot's arrow could very easily have killed him, but Wifies trusts Parrot just that much. The entire training session is Wifies and Parrot communicating without words, showing each other the depth and sincerity of their trust. It's no mistake that Parrot and Wifies become very in sync with one another during target practice, Parrot becoming smoother and faster at following Wifies commands, and switching the arrows and hitting the targets more accurately.
The final touch is the last duel, which clinches it all together. It shows Wifies' commitment to preparing Parrot to survive, instead of encouraging him to run away, and it also shows the fruits of that effort - that through the healthy approach to ensuring Parrot's survival, Parrot actually improves! He has something he can do now, instead of always being forced to flee from stronger foes - a way to fight back and even win, considering he beats Wifies in the duel, when the goal was only to survive.
The practice session is not only an exercise in improving their ability to survive, it is an exercise in learning to trust and forgive. Like an extended trust fall! Through it, they are able to repair their bond to one another, restore the trust and respect that was lost.
You can tell it works, because right after this Parrot willingly and directly confronts Wifies about their argument, the root of the problem. Facing his problems directly is something Parrot really struggles with - I've said it many times before (and will probably continue to do so), but he is so very prone to running away when he is at his lowest. It is honestly an absolute guarantee to me that he will continue to make that mistake in the future, too.
But in this moment, right now, where Wifies and Parrot look out over the Farlands' city together, Parrot faces what happened between them head on and genuinely asks Wifies to explain himself. Parrot listens, finally hears him, and Wifies hands him the spyglass in turn, says, "It's like a promise that you won't die."
It's no mistake that Dean is the next thing on Parrot's mind as he thinks about forgiveness, about the bond he has just repaired. It is no mistake that he frames Dean's betrayal as "He betrayed us" instead of simply "He betrayed me.", or that he says this after Wifies hands him the spyglass. In this moment, they are truly friends again, trust repaired. They've finally come full circle again.
On that note though, there is one last thing that was of interest to me in this sequence too. Specifically, it is that Wifies wishes Parrot luck in this moment, and tells him not to die out there. Which is par for the course with Wifies- however! Very significant in that he does not offer to come with Parrot, and he does not sneak into the mission to be there with him either. Wifies has done this before against Parrot's wishes - shown up somewhere despite the danger to be there for Parrot. Which is sweet! Don't get me wrong by that.
But what's significant to me about it is that this is a very clear switch in attitude from Wifies. The mission has been framed to him as potentially lethal, with there being a very good chance Parrot will die. Considering the entirety of the last episode, it is shocking Wifies still doesn't do this, nor does he try to argue Parrot out of it. He doesn't even make a passing suggestion to Parrot about letting him tag along. Like that's absolutely massive.
Past Wifies would not only have argued against it, but he would not have let Parrot leave without him, regardless of who else would be there with Parrot. It's a subtle cue to us that Wifies really does mean it when he says he trusts Parrot, and that he's learned his lesson about giving into his fear. While I'm sure he does still fear for Parrot's safety, he has accepted that he must release his need to control the situation, and accept that while there may be risks, those risks are important, and he has done all he can to prepare Parrot to survive. Doing so is to treat Parrot as a proper equal in their friendship, and a show of trust. Not only trust in the sense that Parrot can trust him, but that he can trust Parrot, too. Trust that he will not try to control Parrot, that he respects his choices, and trust that Parrot will truly hear him, and not needlessly risk his life for no reason and leave Wifies all alone. His trust and his effort is rewarded - Parrot comes back alive because of their training session, and not only that, he doesn't take more risks on the mission than absolutely necessary, proof that he took Wifies' words to heart.
The entire practice session is just a really well done narrative sequence, and I really wanted to talk about it while I'm revisiting the episode - Parrotx2 is typically really good at show don't tell when it comes to his writing, and a lot of Parrot and Wifies' individual character arcs, as well as the arc around their friendship is really well handled. He really knows how to say something without saying it outright, and I really enjoy it! In part because I love being able to dissect individual scenes at this level AND be able to parallel it back to earlier moments in the plot because of the intentional narrative paralleling. It's just really cool, and I really love this scene and this episode <3
Not sure if anyone's talked about it before, but I was musing on this while rewatching the episode in Parrot's POV where Clownpierce is hunting him in season 1... that reference Wifies makes to the "I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream" short story just continues to be very, very relevant??? Way more than expected for a one off comment that doesn't get brought up again!
He brings it up to Parrot fairly early on in the episode as their hiding away in the vault waiting for Leowook and co. to deal with Clownpierce. It feels a little out of nowhere at first, but I remember being gobsmacked by it when I first watched the episode!!
Because what Wifies specifically talks about with it is how the supercomputer AM can think SO much, but it cannot act because it is trapped in wires and circuits. About how AM hates humanity so much as a result, with one of the five humans AM traps in the short story even being one of its human creators. It's a really appropriate anecdote for Wifies to bring up here given the trials Parrot faces over the course of the episode, and is absolutely meant to parallel Parrot's personal ordeals with AM's struggle in the short story.
Which is, uh... potentially a pretty goddamn grim outlook for Parrot's character arc, considering how vengeful and cruel AM is in its hatred!! AM lashes out at humanity for creating it, only for its existence to be a form a torture, resulting in AM destroying the world out of this hatred.
This little reference isn't just relevant to Parrot, however, and that's what I really love about it - it's stuck with me from the very first time I watched the episode honestly! And I think I'm finally starting to unravel for myself the why. While Parrot is the obvious parallel in this episode, the mention of AM actually simultaneously serves as a peek into Wifies and Clownpierce's characters as well (among other things)!
Just think about it! Wifies in this episode is consistently left on the sidelines by Parrot, who is too scared to involve him in the situation for fear he will die. Yet, this is explicitly against Wifies' wishes - he wants to be there for Parrot and help him. In his own words when he sneaks into the Vault, he "couldn't just let [Parrot] be here alone. I'm not trying to let you die."
But what can he do?
Wifies can think all he wants but he is still "trapped" by his personal limitations, his "wires and circuits". He cannot go beyond these limitations and act in order to effectively help Parrot. He is just as trapped as Parrot, albeit by a different sort of cage. Wifies isn't a brilliant fighter, and while he is a good thinker, his attempts throughout the episode to protect Parrot largely fail - he can't beat Clown, his escape tunnel doesn't work, and worse, he can't even be there for Parrot because Parrot is consistently trying to keep him at arms length and leaving him out of the plans, not trusting Wifies to be safe nor allowing him to help. How can he act if he isn't even allowed to be there? His hands are tied!
Not only that, Wifies even unintentionally becomes a detriment to Parrot at one point when he is taken hostage by Ferre, as if the narrative itself is trying to drive the point home further to Wifies regarding his own ineffectiveness. This all leads to frankly one of the most heartbreaking messages in Unstable for me, where he apologizes to Parrot for "being a liability".
Like damn - he even says he "wont let them trap me", which considering future plot events has me tearing my hair out!! One can only imagine the level of frustration Wifies must have felt here, especially since in the scene just prior to him being taken hostage, Parrot had told him not to get involved, and he had retorted by telling Parrot that he was going to get involved to help Parrot if he wanted to get involved. It's as if the narrative itself was slapping him back down to earth, saying, "Talk all you want, but this is the extent of what you can do."
Likewise, Parrot is similarly trapped by his limitations - he can think and think and think, but over the course of this episode, all that thinking fails as his best laid plans fall to pieces one after the other. Not only is Parrot bound by his own limitations, his one strength left to him, his intelligence, is rendered useless! Thwarted either by unpredictable elements, the presence of other people, or simply Clown's overwhelming strength. Parrot grows to hate the "Creator" of his situation, Clownpierce, and tries to direct the same (or worse) torment back at him, before realizing he is not the same person as Clown.
How does all that relate to Clownpierce though?
Well, beyond the ways mentioned above where Clown embodies the "humanity" that has forced Parrot (and by extension, Wifies) into an "existence of endless torment", a figure to be hated, Clown also fits into the role of AM in this scenario. He's framed by Branzy to Parrot as a "vengeful, murderous villain" - it's a very short characterization, but it contains very important information! How exactly? Well, out of all the words he could have chosen, Branzy specifically uses the word "vengeful" here. It's a really nice touch, and it's easy to miss, but its use has some pretty far-reaching implications. Because who does Clownpierce of all people need to be vengeful towards anyway, Branzy? Up to this point, a player like Clown has felt untouchable, after all - nothing done to him has seemed to faze him in the slightest. Yet Branzy's use of that word alone does a lot of heavy lifting by implying that something happened to Clownpierce in the past that he feels is deserving of revenge. That, if we follow the crumbs Branzy is leaving for us here, must have made Clown feel he needs to prove himself to be stronger than anyone else on the server.
Knowing what we know, it's not hard to make the leap of just what that "something" may have been either. In fact, we really only need to look as far as the lengths he'll go just to hunt Parrot down. Zam only hired him to kill Parrot, but Clownpierce goes the extra mile with Parrot, as if playing with his food - he intimidates him, threatens those around him, levels an entire base and at one point even the biome Parrot was hiding on, just in case he might still be there.
It is a monstrously excessive show of power meant to terrorize Parrot into submission, and it is also a form of control. Control over fear - the need for power in order to regain a greater sense of control, in the face of the helplessness that creates that same fear.
Clownpierce says twice in this episode that he and Parrot aren't so different. And while this seems targeted at only Parrot (and Parrot himself certainly takes it very personally), with the perspective I have now on season 1 I realize this statement is actually much more broad than that! Though Clownpierce sees himself in Parrot in this episode, the truth is, anyone on the server could be just the same. Anyone could be "Not-so-different" from Clownpierce, because the only line truly dividing Parrot from Clown in this episode is the line of "doing anything to protect themselves and the things they cherish, above and beyond what is actually required."
Because that's just the thing! All three characters here: Clownpierce, Wifies, Parrot - they all have something they want, need, to protect on the server. Someone for whom attachment is their Achilles' heel, a lethal poison in the wrong hands. In a server like Unstable, the threat that that precious person could be stolen away is very, very real. As simple as making the wrong enemy, hell, the wrong move, even once! And not having the power to stop it.
For Parrot in this episode, while he tries to frame it as about other people, the truth is very easy to sniff out. There's only one person he thinks of first, only one person he seeks out over and over again, and only one person he tries to hold at arms length... and that person is Wifies. If you really want me to drill the point home, we can even take a quick look at the jungle conversation! Wifies is trying to get Parrot to think about himself in this scene, to which Parrot responds:
"But it's not about me! It's not about me - it was never about me."
When Wifies prompts him to explain further, Parrot tells him it's "about everybody!", a deflection from the truth which is very quickly exposed when Wifies asks him, "What about everybody?"
". . .like, you, Wemmbu . . ." [shortened quote]
There's a few more instances of this in that conversation, but what's important here is the way this response showcases that the first person in Parrot's thoughts when it comes to "everybody" is actually just Wifies. Even though Wemmbu is included, he is almost an afterthought - someone Parrot does care about, but is also mostly just throwing in as a distraction from having given his real thoughts away, if anything. Like, Parrot full on rambles about Wemmbu's civ after noting Wifies first, as if he's embarrassed at having said more than he meant to, and is now trying to run away from having spoken the truth. In later instances, he can barely elaborate past "you", because of how much it matters to him.
Before anyone else, Parrot's greatest attachment, the thing he truly wants to protect... is Wifies. He struggles to admit it even to himself, because to focus on only one person? Probably feels very selfish to Parrot who, generally speaking, LOATHES asking for "selfish" things just for himself - he almost always has to couch them in generalities, or as favours for services rendered. Hell, if you want an even more explicit example, Parrot gives us a pitch perfect one earlier on in the very same episode even! Even though Clown is specifically a threat to his life, Parrot doesn't even mention that bit to Branzy in their first meeting - he asks him to get Clown to stop hunting him because it is, and I quote: ". . . beginning to affect other people on the server, who did not ask to be involved." Like Parrot, honey, come on!!
Try as Parrot might, through all his deflections of the truth, the fear is still there gnawing at him however, and Parrotx2 spares no expense in showing us very clearly the dark road this desire to protect leads Parrot down as he is consumed by his feelings of helplessness and desperation. When Parrot goes to see Wifies about killing Branzy, he's practically buzzing with a dangerous and malicious energy, giddy at having just blown up Clown's base - he's ready to jump with two feet onto the other side of that line, morals be damned. It's a taste of that power, that control that he's been missing - the feeling of finally being able to do something.
But, it's also just one part of a vicious cycle of revenge - of destruction for the sake of destruction. It's not play, or fun, or even purely about protection anymore - it's mutually assured self-destruction. And at the end of the road, when every threat is gone and there can be no more retaliations, what is left but the smoking crater that hatred and cruelty brought? Because that's all that's left at the end of this path - it doesn't matter what the intentions were setting out, who we sought to "protect", or why. Parrot isn't naturally the sort of person who would delight in destroying someone's base, in the very idea of taking a life just to get back at someone else. But those parts of him, the parts that are kind and moral, become twisted as he is slowly consumed by the cycle in his desperation to be free, to feel anything but the fear and the anger.
Within the context of Unstable, this endless cycle of revenge, analogous to AM's existence of torment, of AM's inability to act and its resulting hatred, is perpetuated by the players because of a never-ending need for more power. They take part in order to free themselves from the misery of their own helplessness, to regain some semblance of peace in the face of constant threats if you so much as step out of line with individuals on the server who are considered "Powerful", and in doing so at times become the new perpetrators of the same violence that was done to them.
Parrot, Wemmbu and Spoke (and by extension, their respective deuteragonists) all become targets because they refuse to submit to whoever that powerful individual happens to be at the time; From PrinceZam, to Clownpierce, and then to Ashswagg and his mafia. To a smaller degree, individuals with smaller roles like Purpled, Boosfer or, at times during season 1, even Flamefrags, fit into this role by perpetuating the cycle, often as a result of pressuring actions by the powerful players above them. They subject their targets to a torment the victims are often unable to act against, all in an attempt to maintain control for themselves (and perhaps grab more power), in whatever way that may manifest for them, robbing the other players of their freedom to simply enjoy themselves and exist on the server in peace.
While Parrot makes the right choice in this episode at the end by choosing not killing Branzy, the line that separates him from players like Clownpierce doesn't just go away. It will always be there, always licking at his heels as his challenges only increase. But Parrot's not the only one facing it - so is everyone else on the server, especially as the mafia starts to exert their control server-wide.
In parallel to Parrot for example, Wemmbu ends up in a back-and-forth of increasingly cruel retaliation with PrinceZam around the same time Parrot is dealing with Clown, all instigated by an offhand comment. By the time it is finally over, they are both left drained and powerless. Everything they had fought for is gone, both their empires in ruins; The only thing left to destroy is each other. And while they crucially do not choose to see this path to its ultimate conclusion here, they have both run out of "power"; Wemmbu and Zam are captured by Clownpierce, and the cycle continues in a different way, now with them both as the victims.
In Parrot's case, the thing that brings him back from the edge, that saves him and stops him from continuing the cycle, is his friendship with Wifies. Wifies, who reminds him not only of who he is, but the real reason he was fighting so hard in the first place; so they could be at peace and have fun together on the server. So that everyone else could, too. And, that Parrot doesn't have to do that alone, either.
Yet, the line exists. While he does not cross it in this episode, even Wifies teeters on the edge during their journey to the Farlands - anyone, can cross it after all, with the right motivation and enough desperation. We see it time and time again with different characters throughout the season.
And while I think this analogy is definitely useful to examining Spoke and Wemmbu's personal narratives as well (and can even think of some examples right off the top of my head), for the purposes of this particular ramble, I do have to linger on Parrot a little more. Because the discussion of AM comes up in his POV, and the cycle is very explicitly covered in this episode, focused around Parrot himself as both the victim and, should he cross the line... potentially yet another AM, vengeful and angry.
The thing is, the original short story does not have what one could call a "happy ending", at least not in a traditional sense. The trapped humans are only freed from the cycle when they are finally freed from AM's control through death. Well, except for one - Ted, the only survivor, remains trapped with AM forever, by the end in a state where he cannot even scream.
It's hard for me to speculate at this stage how much bearing the ending may have for Unstable in the long term, but I do think at the very least, it is a warning for how things could progress should the cycle of violence on the server be allowed to continue, and should the protagonists allow themselves to become the very perpetrators of the cycle that torments them. I don't doubt for a second that Spoke in particular may become especially susceptible to falling in line with this given everything that has happened to him in season 1, and Ashswagg's very uh, personalized warning.
I do very much wonder what will come for Parrot, however, who is now all alone. Wifies has always been his balancing half, there to bring him back to himself, away from the line - the ending of Doomsday says to me that Parrot may finally take his words to heart, but I do wonder... is what lies at the end of Parrot's road a Parrot at peace, finally able to be selfish, or the lone survivor trapped in his own personal hell, unable to even speak?
i want parrotx2 to upload but only whenever he is ready and comfortable and happy and healthy enough to
i want wemmbu to upload but only if he is sleeping well and not stressed out and is in a good mental place to do so
i want flamefrags to upload but only if he is satisfied with the content he is uploading and if he has talked to his friends outside of uu recently and ate something today
i DON’T want spokeishere to upload because he JUST uploaded a couple days ago 🙏🙏 its okay gang THEY ALL DESERVE A BREAK
I need to finish this lsw Theo fic that has been haunting me for weeks now, but I'm thinking about a high school au with Theo, Parrot, and Wifies.
Parrot and Wifies have been friends since they were young. Wifies father is very absent, so Parrot parents ended up half raising him. The only reason they haven't tried to take custody is because the man isn't abusive, just not there.
On one half day in school, odyssey are waiting for (their) Parrot's parents to pick them up and decide to play chess just to pass the time. Suddenly, they feel eyes on them. It's the new transfer student, Theobald Rex.
Theo isn't trying to hide. Perched on a nearby table and just watching them. As the minutes go by, he slowly moves closer to them playing. Still just watching, still not saying anything.
They know that the cockatial hybrid isn't the most social person in their school, but they didn't think he'd not even try and talk with them after staring down their chess game for the better part of 10 minutes.
The first words he says to them, having migrated over to the nearest table and is practically leaning over their game, is "check in three" and huh, Parrot hadn't seen that set up from Wifies yet.
The three of them hit it off after that. No one expects it from them, with Wifies and Parrot being some of the "smart" kids, and Theo being a part of the sports teams and also friendly with people like Flame and Sarge. Everyone but Odyssey underestimates Theo's intelligence. No one understands that he's not just there as muscle or that he's not using them, no one gets that he's a part of them now. The duo has evolved into a trio.
Parrot starts noticing things in Theo, the same things that he noticed in Wifies that made him take the other boys hand and bring him home with him that first day, but somehow so much worse. The bird is hyper vigilant all the time. The only time Parrot had seen him put his guard down was when the three of them had found a baby cat, and Theo had held it so gently, had whisper and cuddled it for hours until the little thing had finally calmed down.
The way that Theo looks to every noise, looks for every exit when he enters a room. The way he watches any adult, like he's expecting something from them, something terrible, but he never reacts physically. All the emotion, the fear and the pain, all of it is trapped inside Theo's eyes for no one but the two of them to see and care about.
Then Odyssey meets Theo's older brother, Billy Rex, for the first time, and things start to make a horrifying amount of sense.
It ends with Parrot sitting down with his parents for dinner. Wifies, in a rare occurrence, is at his own house for dinner, and Parrot knows that he needs to talk to them. He asks them, "Do you still have your emergency foster placement license?" They tell him yes, they do. They update it every year and make sure that they have everything just in case.
Very carefully, they ask why he wants to know. And he tells them that he thinks a friend is in trouble, and that he thinks they need to do something.
