#implied reader

[ducklinglucifer]

Paint The Town Red

⊹ Error!Sans + Child!Implied?Reader

⊹ OOC

Icon: Jakei/Underverse

Error was a great caregiver to the little child, perhaps better than the child's actual parents. He may be a destroyer but deep down, he does have a soul. And this little squirt has broke down his walls and now Error promises himself to keep this little one safe.

No, Error refuses to allow the child to go off and join him on sprees of destroying worlds. He is not ready for his little one to see what his job is, more or less, has the fear of them becoming just like him.

He would do anything for them, but if someone were to hurt them then they better say goodbye to their world and their own soul. No one has the right to hurt or damage his little one.

He doesn't care. He will and can paint the whole town red and dusty with the power of his strings. You can say what you wanna say but if you say the wrong thing towards the little one, it'll take a lot for Error to settle down after that.

The little one is Error's pride and joy even outside of that, he may not act like it though deep in his soul, he is an overprotective father to this little squirt.

Ink isn't allowed to see the little one. Error is afraid that Ink would take them away if he got the wrong idea that Error kidnapped them. He would never risk it and makes sure before he leaves that the little one is safe within the arms of Swap.

Error will protect his child.

[e-eh]

Drabble #6

I can remember each and every one. To my first to my last with Hydra. Every damn bullet, every throw and slash of my blades followed by the ominous splash of blood.

One face seems to stand out more than the other ashen features. She was young, probably around twenty four. She’s the one that haunts me the most. I remember her scream. The tears slicing down her grimy, red face. I remember where I shot her too. Right in the stomach.

“Buck?”

I’m torn from my thoughts to Steve with a mother hen, concerned look. I blink slowly and for a moment, the wails fade away. Steve had that knowing frown that makes me clench my teeth.

“What?” I finally ask, clearing my throat after I hear the grumbly sound.

“I was wondering if you wanted to come grab the pizza with me.” Steve repeated patiently. He was used to having to pull me out of my own head.

“Sure.” I stuff my hands in my pockets and follow him out. The silence makes me turn and enter my fucked up mind again as my feet walk. I know Steve is talking, it’s as if I’m on autopilot. I nod and mhm to his conversation mindlessly.

The first guy I killed under Hydras sick reign was probably forty or so. He had a rather large nose with a balding head. He had been on the plump side. If I remembered his file correctly he had been a past Hydra representative. Apparently after he had grabbed some cash he had gone into hiding. He was like a loaded gun with all of that information stocked in his head. He must’ve felt pretty comfortable, safe, that’s why it was so easy to find him. I remember hesitating. The voice in my head asking if I was really up to this.

Hail Hydra.

And his brains painted the wall.

Uh oh.

Steve’s voice had just pitched into a question. I glanced over, shrugged, and resumed staring at my feet. I hope that was a sufficient answer.

Steve tilted his head,“Well I think I’m going to. I’ve always liked it.”

Liked what?

I nodded and followed him into the shop. I lingered in the back pulling my cap snug over my head. I flexed my left hand as I grew uncomfortable, it was gloved of course. I don’t know what urges me to pick up my gaze and glance out the window. All I know is what I saw was like a punch to the gut. It was her. She was there, smiling, talking, living.

I made a choked sound as my eyes followed her. Her hair had grown out. She looked a little older, more experienced weighing down her slim shoulders.

It wasn’t till I got home that the shaky feeling started wobbling my knees. All at once, the happiness, relief, and shock slammed into me.

She was out there.

Heart still beating.

I smiled.

[froborr]

So, who exactly is the implied viewer of Friendship Is Magic?

First, I want to reemphasize that implied viewer and target audience are not the same thing. Target audience is a marketing thing, and the best way to identify them is to look at the ads. Implied viewer is a critical and creative thing, and the best way to identify them is to look at the work itself.

So, looking at Friendship Is Magic, what do we see? Certainly there is evidence for a compelling case that the implied viewer is the target audience. We have bright colors, simple, iconic shapes, and funny-yet-mostly-gentle stories for the kiddies, and a few gags thrown in for the adults that whizz right over the kids' heads. On the surface, it's the Aladdin technique.

But.

But Ditzy Doo.

But Rainbow Dash having a fan club and tribble invasions and Q voicing Discord and Doctor Whooves and chocolate rain and...

These are not the same as the gags targeting the parents. Those are more mainstream: The Big Lebowski, Star Wars, Mr. Cake nervously asking for confirmation that two Earth ponies can have non-Earth pony foals.

References to Internet memes, though? No, that's not for the kids or their parents. There's a third viewer here. Someone relatively young--20-something, early 30s at the most, maybe as young as a teenager. Maybe a really cool 40-ish. Technically savvy by the standards of anyone over 40, but not necessarily by the standards of those younger. Fairly creative, though, and with enough of a craving for sincerity to embrace candy-colored magic ponies.

Which, to be fair, 20- and 30-somethings (plus the occasional 40-ish), technically savvy creative types with a sincerity craving? Pretty good description of most of the people making Friendship Is Magic. These are, most likely, things the staff are putting in for themselves.

But the result, as I said, is to create a third implied reader: Us.

So the next time anyone suggests we shouldn't treat this show like it's for us, well... challenge them to a game of Where's Ditzy Doo.