#kitkatkoncepts

[sticks-n-kitkats]

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Hero sighed as the level started. 3.. 2.. 1.. And right on cue, a horde of sticks rushed in. Enemy after enemy ran in, and enemy after enemy fell to their blade. The final wave came quickly enough, and soon enough so did the final enemy. Hero knocked them down, sword pointed right towards them, ready to end the level when.. something strange happened.

This enemy wasn't like the others. Instead of ignoring the sword and trying to keep fighting, they just.. lie there, shielding themselves with their arms in a defensive position. For the first time, an enemy was actually.. afraid. Hero hesitated, lowering their sword to see how they'd respond. Yet still, the enemy didn't try to fight, instead opting to just run away towards the side they'd come from. Hero dashed in front of them though, blocking their way.

"Oh come on- just make up your mind, will you?!" The stick figure shouted, still clearly frightened.

"You.. you talk?" asked Hero. The stick figure jolted, responding in a much more panicked tone than previously.

"Er- I- kinda- I-I'm not supposed to.." They shut their mouth immediately. Hero watched them for a few moments before speaking up again, trying to do so in as calm a tone as possible.

"Look, I'm not going to hurt you." They said, lowering their sword slightly. "I just want to talk. I've.. I've never encountered a stick like you before." They gave a small smile, trying to look as nonthreatening as possible. The enemy stick paused, still nervous but.. seeming to be a little less panicked. They awkwardly sat down on the ground, pulling their legs close to them and staring at the ground. Hero carefully walked over and sat beside them. "Why.. didn't you fight me?" they asked. The other stick looked towards them, a little surprised.

"Why would I? It's not like it would've done anything but get me killed. Only an idiot would attack while pinned under a sword."

"Plenty of your buddies have done exactly that."

"Oh. I.. I guess that makes sense. Most of them aren't that smart."

"So you're some kind of special enemy?"

"..Not really. I'm just a little more intelligent, I guess." The two continued to sit in silence for a few more minutes.

"What's.. what's it like being the Hero? It must be great to be so important."

"Not exactly.. Honestly, it's a ton of responsibility I never asked for. I wish I could just take a break.."

"Sounds better than being a generic enemy, at least. It's not exactly a fun existence when your sole purpose is to get killed by some stick you've never even seen, only to be immediately replaced by an exact copy of you. Most of the others seem to enjoy it a fair amount though.."

"I.. guess that's nice? I was kind of having a moral crisis for a minute here."

"Don't dwell on it; we're all just doing our jobs, you know?"

"Yeah.." Hero said, looking a little sad. The other stick tried to change the topic.

"..If you could be anyone other than the Hero, what would you be?"

"Hm.. I think I'd be an NPC."

"What!? But NPCs are so generic and bland!"

"I guess that's kind of the point. No need to fight; no stressing over some big destiny-fueled journey; just a nice, simple life. Plus, I'd kind of like to try painting. What about you?"

"Well.. there is one thing."

"Go on.."

"If I could be anybody else... I'd want to be the King."

"The final boss? Yowch."

"That's not what I- It's just- I didn't mean it like that!" The stick figure blushed in embarrassment as Hero giggled a little.

"Sorry, sorry- do go on though." They gave a small sigh before continuing.

"In the dark kingdom, the King is the only one that matters. The only one anybody cares about. Enemies like me.. everybody just treats us like nothing! It sucks! I don't even have a name..." Their face shifted into a sad smile as they continued. "But if I was the King, that would be different. I'd finally get all the respect I deserve! Everyone would love me, and I'd have all the power in the world. It'd be perfect! But life just doesn't work that way, I guess.."

Hero thought as the other stick turned to the side, facing away from them. An idea had begun to form, although they wondered whether or not this nameless enemy would want to follow it..

"What if you came with me?" Hero asked, a little awkwardly. The other stick turned back towards them, looking surprised.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, my whole goal is to defeat the King of Darkness to reclaim the kingdom in the name of the light and all. But.. that'd mean I'd probably have to take over the throne, and I am really not interested in all that responsibility. But what if you came with me? We could travel together, and once I beat the King you could take over instead. I wouldn't have to be the Hero anymore, you would get to be the leader you always wanted to be."

"Are.. are you serious?"

"Yeah! I mean.. if you want-"

"Y-yes! Yes!! I'd love that!"

"Oh! Great!! Why don't we get going then, Purp?"

"..Purp?"

"Oh, I'm used to people being named after their colors. The majority of NPCS are like that, with names like Turquoise or Lime or something like that. Purp, Purple. You get it?"

"Purple.. I like that name."

"Really? Well great then! My name's Hero, in case I haven't mentioned that already. A pleasure to properly meet you." They gave a little overdramatic bow.

"Likewise." Purple responded, tipping an imaginary hat their way. The two of them laughed together for a moment before heading onwards to the next level.

[sticks-n-kitkats]

So if Green is depression, which of the others apply to denial, anger and bargaining (plus reasons if you don’t mind)

R!Yellow was placed with Denial- Their unwavering optimism combined with their forgetfulness and very likely repression of a lot of the things they go through lead to them not really processing just how bad their situation is most of the time. They're just trying to stay positive through it all, even when that's far from a logical response.

R!Red we put with Anger- They're constantly in flight-or-fight mode, and are prone to lashing out at the other r!color crew members and even R!Second at times. They get in trouble a lot because of it.

R!Blue went alongside Bargaining- They cope through trying to find the most logical ways to lessen their pain by any means necessary. They're just doing everything they can to minimize their suffering, even if it means complying to R!Second's twisted desires.

And R!Green, as previously mentioned, goes with Depression due to them pretty much giving up on any sort of hope of things getting better for the sake of avoiding the added pain of getting their hopes up for nothing.

[sticks-n-kitkats]

Should I be concerned about the reverse AU?

Oh absolutely. We’ve got an orderly germaphobe and nature-hating Blue, an animal-fearing Red who’s constantly in fight-or-flight mode, a concerningly unconfident Green with terrible building and music-making skills, a forgetful and not-too-bright Yellow, and a sadistic Second that loves tormenting the four to tie it all together.

[sticks-n-kitkats]

curious about the reversal of green if you wanna elaborate

Ohoho! Yeah, I can go off about em. Basically, my pals and I kinda interpreted Green as a fairly confident person who loves friendly competition (even more than the others in the main crew), being shown to be the best at things like building and music making and such.

Sooo R!Green is much more cynical and self-doubting than their counterpart. When trouble arises, they just try to accept it instead of pushing for things to get better. They're not very good at things like building, they've absolutely no sense of rhythm, and they feel like trying to improve their skills would be a fruitless endeavor.

My friends and I actually realized a little while back that the reversed color crew kind of go along with the first 4 stages of grief, particularly with their coping mechanisms towards R!Second's torment of them all- R!Green was who we put with the fourth stage, Depression.

[sticks-n-kitkats]

Almost Over

Hero and Purple approached the border of a city encased in shadows. The Dark King's castle could be seen looming ahead in the distance, just beyond the eerie town. They both wore cloaks designed to make their colors appear darker, hopefully enough so to mask their identities as they travelled through the kingdom's capital.

"Well, here we are. Black City. Can't say I'm exactly glad to be back here." Purple began.

"..Wasn't this your home?"

"Exactly. We'll need to keep our hoods up; this place is crawling with guards."

"Since when did you become some sort of stealth expert?"

"Ha-ha. Come on, I know a place we can rest up before the castle."

Hero glanced around as they wandered through the city. Cloaks and hoods seemed to be common fashion here, conveniently enough. There was little to no color in the architecture, and even the stick citizens themselves seemed to have much more faded and dark coloring as opposed to the bright and varied colors Hero had seen throughout the rest of their journey. The only sticks that really stood out were the purple guards of varying shades, many wearing black pieces of armor. At least that made them easier to avoid. The sky was full of dark clouds that never seemed to move, and the air had a slight thickness to it. They could see why Purple hadn't liked this place.

The two continued wandering through the city until they reached a dead end in an alleyway.

"..Are you sure this is the right way, Purple?"

"Just watch." Purple gave a series of knocks on the wall, leading to a door becoming visible. "Neat, huh? It's enchanted. Come on!"

They opened the door, walking down a flight of stairs with Hero right behind them. Hero watched the door shut automatically once they both were through, once again retaining the appearance of a wall. When they reached the bottom, the two were greeted by a lively tavern, serving as a contrast to the melancholy city up above. Burning lanterns lit up the room. Citizens laughed and talked amongst themselves, and there were even a few lower-level minions like Purple mixed into the crowd. A musician sat in the corner, playing a tune as the bartender served a small group drinks. Purple took off their hood with a smile, encouraging Hero to do the same. A few people glanced over at the new arrivals before turning back to their own groups.

"What.. is this place?" asked Hero as they and Purple sat down at a table.

"Light's Lookout! I come here all the time. It used to be just a rebel base, but nowadays it's a great hangout spot too. Sure, it's still not technically legal, but then again neither are we. Nobody cares who you are here though, so long as you know the password!"

"So how do you know the password?"

"Well.."

"Don't tell me you've been doing rebel work this whole time? The enemy who couldn't fight?"

"I can fight fine, thank you very much!"

"Yeah, now that I've taught you." Hero chuckled as Purple rolled their eyes, changing the subject.

"But yeah, sort of. Just a couple small favors here and there. Most of the others are as loyal as guard dogs, so even a minor minion like me that's willing to talk can be pretty valuable. I just kept an ear out here and there while doing my normal job, and I got paid a little extra for it."

"I can't believe this. You betraying your kingdom for a rebel you've made a deal with? That's so out of character."

"Oh, shut up."

That got a laugh out of Hero. The two continued chatting for a while, the fires in the lanterns still burning bright. The crowd grew and shrunk, but never completely dispersed. Just as Purple was finishing up a story they'd started telling, the musician started playing a particular tune, and the room soon fell silent.

"Oh wow, it's been forever since I've heard this.." Purple said quietly. Hero listened as the musician started to sing, voices joining in bit by bit from the crowd.

Oh the sun keeps on burning

And the world keeps on turning

A-around and around again

As everythi-ing dies

Hero stared at those around them, watching as Purple joined in with the chorus for the next segment.

And we a-all start crying

But I've no time for sighing

I'll just keep o-on waiting

Till I see you again

The next segment seemed to be instrumental. The whole room continued listening peacefully, but curiosity overtook Hero.

"What song is this?" They whispered to Purple.

"Hm? Oh! It's just an old rebel song. Legend has it, it was written by one of the King's prisoners. No matter what was done to them, they didn't break, determined to keep singing that song until they could return to their family."

"What happened to them?"

"They were executed. None of the other prisoners even learned their name."

"Oh.."

"That's not where the story ends, though. It's said that on the day they died, every prisoner that'd known them was filled with hope, and they all sung this song together with the same determination their fallen companion had. From there, it grew and grew in popularity amongst those upset with the Dark King's rule."

"Wow.. we're really helping a lot of people here, aren't we?" Hero said, deep in thought as the song changed again. The room was starting to liven up again, and the two stopped whispering.

"Yeah, I guess so. I'm just gonna be glad to get some actual respect around here!"

"Well, it won't be long now. Promise you'll still visit me when you're ruling, okay?"

"I'm offended that you'd think I wouldn't." Purple said with an overdramatic look on their face. The two both laughed a little. "In all seriousness though, you're like my best friend, Hero. There's no way I'd just leave you after everything that's happened."

"..You really think of me like that?"

"I mean, yeah! You were supposed to kill me, yet here you are helping my near impossible dreams actually come true! That's what friends are, right? People who help each other out?"

"I.. guess so. I've never really had a friend before."

"What? You're the Hero of Legend, everybody loves you!"

"That's different. Most people just like me because I'm their Hero. Nobody ever really got to know me like you have before."

"You still have people who care about you, though. That's got to count for something, right?"

"Yeah, a little. Still though.. I can't help but want more. It's nice, being close to someone else. All my fans like me, sure, but they all feel so.. distant. It's lonely."

"..Huh. I never really thought of it like that. Maybe I'll get it better once I have fans of my own."

"..."

"Hey, don't worry about it. Soon enough I'll be king, you won't have to worry about being the hero anymore, we'll keep hanging out a bunch cause why wouldn't we, and everything will be awesome. Okay? It's simple as that!"

"..You really think all your problems can be solved with that crown?"

"I know it! Unlike you, I'm looking forward to the fame."

"Heh.."

The two sat in silence for a few minutes, the musicians tune playing in the background. Eventually Purple went up to the bartender and called in a favor in return for a place to stay the night. The two were directed to an area to the side, leading to a hallway with a couple of rooms in it. The room they were given wasn't the highest quality, but it had a couple of beds, and that was all that really mattered. Purple lie on their bed while Hero leaned against the wall next to their own, both of them deep in thought. Tomorrow, they'd head out to the castle. Tomorrow, their journey would finally end. Tomorrow, everything would change, and they wouldn't have to play these roles anymore.

Tomorrow, it would all be over.

[sticks-n-kitkats]

what’s r!tsc like they sound pretty wack

Ok soooo I've tried not to get tooo into detail, but it's still kinda messed up sooo if anybody wants me to tag this with anything just lemme know.

Ohhhh R!Second is fun. The whole concept with them mainly centers around how OG!Second is a generally nice dude who cares a ton about their friends. So of course, R!Second is a little shit. In the OG timeline, the group is kept together simply through their friendship. In the reverse AU, the color crew sticks around Second because they don't have any other choice. R!Second is constantly trying to find new ways to torment the four, enjoying nothing more than seeing the color crew absolutely miserable. The 'games' they play with the four are just fancy ways to torture them. They use their powers a lot more and have a lot more control over them than OG!Second, only resorting to direct combat if they're really desperate.

We've actually had some ideas with the main plot of the AU being along the lines of the OG!Crew ending up in the R!Crew's computer after another portal incident. They get split up and up encountering different members of the reverse crew, who are in the middle of a twisted game of hide and seek where you do not want to get found. It's fun, might talk more about it in another ask.

But long story short, this led to us thinking up the idea of the reverse crew's origins: Most reversals are just from alternate versions of their websites (Like say you and someone else are playing a video game. It may look the same on the surface, but every instance of the game is different, including the characters behind the scenes), but R!Second gets a little more complicated than that, with OG!Second being an individual drawing and all. The explanation we thought up is that R!Second is actually a creation of a very salty post-AvA 5 Dark Lord, intended to be a revenge weapon against OG!Second before being left to their own devices annnd forgotten about. This makes DL probably the only person on the entire internet that R!Second would actually view as an equal, rather than just someone to toy with.

[sticks-n-kitkats]

how would the reversals of TCO TDL and Purple work

We haven't quite figured out as much with them, sadly, but there are some vague ideas for Purple at the least. I imagine that R!Purple would be incredibly loyal- dude's literally never broken a promise. They also absolutely despise monarchies. Like they'd take one look at OG!Purple and immediately get into a fist fight.

[sticks-n-kitkats]

op what happened to Hero and Purple

They were so close. The castle doors open, the final boss just ahead. After all their hard work, it would finally be over.

At least, that's what they thought.

As the approached the King's chamber, something happened. Something they never could've predicted. Something that was never meant to be even a possibility. A hole in the world itself, the game's window broken by something going on in the world outside. Purple wanted to just pass it by- it was interesting, sure, but they were so close to their goal! So close to having their lives' dreams fulfilled! They didn't have time to explore some weird mystery dimension outside their world- not when they were so close to finally having some control over their life!

But Hero got curious. Hero was fascinated by the concept of a place outside the game. How could they have spent so long unaware, blind to the existence of an entirely new world all this time? How could they not resist the urge to take but a peek at a place unlike anything they'd ever seen?

And for the first time, Hero stepped outside their game. And as friends do, Purple followed.

Purple insisted they go back. This place was dangerous- (Something was happening to the computer; I've been defaulting to the idea of Dark Lord and Chosen attacking it during their whole rampage across the internet but that's not 100% set in stone)- and they didn't want to risk it. Not when they were so close to their goal. But Hero was fascinated by the desktop, by all the sites and game icons and things they'd never seen before, things they didn't yet understand. They just wanted to stay a few minutes longer, just wanted the chance to take it all in. Surely a few more minutes wouldn't hurt, right?

And then the game window closed.

And that's when everything fell apart.

Confusion and worry gave way to genuine panic as Purple watched their world, their life, their dream vanish in the blink of an eye. They didn't know what to do. They didn't know how to get back. Hero tried to stay calm, insisting they'd figure out a way back and everything would be alright in an attempt to quell their own building terror.

Purple lashed out at Hero in the midst of their spiraling emotions. And when they saw Hero's own hurt expression, in all their panic and anger and confusion, they ran. And as friends do, Hero followed.

Purple ran and ran, not knowing where or why they were running, only that they just wanted away from Hero.

Purple tripped over an icon.

Hero pleaded to just talk.

Purple made frantic, obsidian walls around them.

Hero tried to apologize.

A spark hit the blocks.

Purple hesitated.

And then they were gone.

Hero was left behind on a dying computer. They just barely made it out by escaping to the owners phone right before it was disconnected from the laptop.

Hero spent ages wandering aimlessly in search of Purple. After a little while, they started basing at a small village, which soon grew into Stick City as they encountered various sticks and programs along their travels. Search parties still go out to find other wandering people (usually fresh out of their websites) and provide them a place to stay, and part of Hero still hopes to find Purple again. They can't help but blame themself for what happened between the two.

As for Purple, I don't really have a solid idea of what their mindset would be after this point. I've had a few varying ideas: would they try to go back only to find themself unable to because the computer crashed, or would they be unaware of it's destruction? I imagine they'd remain bitter towards Hero, but for how long? Why? Would it be genuine frustration, or just a way of coping with what happened? If they realized the computer was destroyed, then would they think Hero died along with it? Would they blame themself? Hell, would their experiences with Hero possibly have influenced all the Mango Tango shit?

All are possible, really. Don't be surprised if stuff I create ends up contradicting itself; there are a lot of branching timelines and vague ideas here. It's all a big mess of headcanons and concepts.

This isn't all I have at the moment with Hero and Purple though! I have a ton of concepts with Hero's game and Stick City and even some vague ideas for what if Purple and Green ran into Stick City after The Ultimate Weapon. Feel free to ask more about it!

Absolutely amazing color drawing that I deeply adore by @samthecookielord (thank you so much Sam), pencil drawing's my own