#concept au

𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘 𝐃𝐄𝐒𝐂𝐑𝐈𝐏𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍:

In a world where cursors occupy everyday life, it's considered perfectly normal to treat their creations as disposable. But what happens when one cursor discovers that the animation he created was alive? What then?

And what if he was far too young to understand the consequences of what he had done?

𝐆𝐄𝐍𝐄𝐑𝐀𝐋 𝐈𝐍𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐌𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍:

Cursors are sentient beings who wear masks and look similar to hollow heads.

They possess their own civilization, complete with laws, traditions, and a governing Council of Elders.

Their equivalent of the Outernet is the Internet.

Cursors standardly have two names. One is their ‘True Name' and the other is their ‘User Name.’ Inspired by the whole “Names have power” in fairytales, and “Don’t tell your real name on the internet.” (More information for why this is important will be provided later.)

Cursors are tied to their computer. It acts as their life force. Each individual cursor has their own PC, and could be majorly affected if damaged. (Background shown above is how a Windows 10 wallpaper looks like from inside a PC.)

There are 3 variants of Gradation: Blend, Hatch and Stipple. (Alan has the Hatch variant.)

Alan uses sticky notes to talk to TSC and the Color Gang.

Alan is enormous compared to the gang. This created the confusion that he was an adult, but by Cursor Society’s standards, Alan is still a minor. (Adults are taller than him. If stickmen see Alan as a giant, then older cursors are colossal compared to him.)

Alan was 5-years-old when he was given access to the internet, and was 8-years-old when he created Victim.

𝐀𝐔𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐑’𝐒 𝐍𝐎𝐓𝐄𝐒:

I know that Alan being a child wouldn't excuse what he did (and I’m not really planning to excuse it), but it would definitely explain why he did what he did and his thought process the whole time.

Why is this being written? This is technically a reference to my previous post. But I'm mostly after one thing: Everyone’s realizations of just WHO created them, but by the time they realize it, it'd be too late because Alan would already be in his twenties, and he has TSC and the Color Gang even if it was late. (Better 16 than never, right?)

From what I'm aware, the fandom sees the relationship between Alan and the hollowheads (especially TSC) as father-and-son rather than brothers. So this idea may not all be that well-liked, but I can’t really do much since a sibling relationship works better for this AU.

I'll be revealing more of the world's lore over time. I don’t really want to dump everything in a single post.

I'm considering opening asks if people have questions about the worldbuilding!

After the disaster that followed the smiling critters line, Playtime scrambled to pick up the pieces and got to creating a new line in an attempt to distract people from the controversy

The line they made was called The Bigtops which had a very loose, circus theme. And like all the toy lines they made, bigger body versions were also created.

Caine in this AU is an AI assistant of sorts, possibly intended to work alongside Mrs. Gracie in conditioning toys, but he was never finished and never used, though it's likely he was later one of the inspirations for the Bigtops line

Caine doesn't fully understand the horrors that took place during The Hour Of Joy, he was deactivated for a majority of time prior to that event and his interactions with staff were extremely limited. He was mistakenly reactivated by another toy, several years after all the experiments revolted. As far as he knows, all the staff either left or they, as he calls it, "abstracted" and are lurking far below his chamber.

Due to the unfinished code, he is very buggy, leading to erratic behavior. His big ego, lack of understanding and accommodating ways have also led him to becoming almost unanimously hated before and after The Hour Of Joy, some of this hate could also have been from some toys realizing what his intended purpose was and word spreading.

So far, Kinger is the only one who has kept Caine stabilized and safe from deletion, but all the hate from other toys is starting to get to Caine and he's been glitching and lashing out more frequently. How long can Kinger keep his son the AI assistant ringmaster from corrupting, or "abstracting"

Kinger

This royal looking chess piece has been through a lot in his time. He used to be an employee himself along with his wife. He was fully aware of The Prototype when the factory was still in its prime.

Kinger unfortunately can't quite remember what happened before he became a toy so whether or not he had a hand in The Hour Of Joy is purely speculation, but it's possible since he was aware of the prototype and what he could do, he still treated the Prototype with respect. Maybe that's why the Prototype hasn't killed him or his wife.

One thing Kinger does remember surprisingly well is programming. Give him a computer and all those seemingly forgotten skills come back to him full force. He was the one to accidentally reactivate Caine, an unfinished AI assistant that he can't bring himself to delete.

Jax

This lanky, purple rabbit plush was supposed to encourage kids to play, but took the mischievous aspect of his character and cranked it up to eleven before removing the figurative handle and throwing it away.

He basically woke up as a toy and immediately started to mess with kids, staff and other toys, no one was spared.

They tried to condition him into behaving but all those tapes really did was further convince him that since he, and everyone around him is a toy, it doesn't really matter what he does. He even started teaching other kids and toys to misbehave as well, often getting them into trouble as well.

After an incident involving the red smoke containers breaking, Jax was removed from Playcare, separated from his only real friends and sent to a lower floor where his torment only increased, making employees more miserable.

Staff kept getting tired of his shit and so Jax kept getting sent to lower and lower floors until eventually he met the prototype

Pomni

Pomni used to be a human. She entered the now abandoned factory, having no idea of the horrors going on in its lower floors until it was far too late and she was captured. For whatever reason, the Prototype decided to turn her into a toy instead of killing her, using the unfinished plans Playtime CO had for an experiment with the name she now goes by.

Pomni, now a scared and traumatized jester-like toy with a surprising resemblance to The Prototype, must grapple with her new life as she navigates the facility, uncovering all the secrets while meeting various other toys along the way.

Gummigoo

He was one of the first toys to truly accept Pomni, knowing she had no part in the torture caused by the staff.

Now, there are two ways this could go for Dark

Firstly, he's his universe's Concept of Oblivion, with Actor Mark as the Concept of Infinity

Instead of balance, they're two Concepts at odds with each other

Constantly at war, constantly trying to destroy the other

Alternatively, he could be the Concept of Darkness, Shadows, Void

Not quite Oblivion, but an offshoot of it, something similar but not quite the same

Really, it depends on whether you want Creature Only Reader to exist, I would suppose

Either way, his 'true' form is a monstrous thing

Twisted limbs, exposed bone, dark, soulless eyes, perpetually bathed in shadowy smoke

A walking horror, really, better suited for lingering in dark corners and under beds

His voice is a whisper that creeps into your brain and digs its claws in

A whisper that crawls along every synapse and neuron and makes itself at home there

But despite his appearance, he's not evil; he just is

He cannot help what he represents

Light doesn't touch him; he's perpetually bathed in darkness

In fact, it bends around him to avoid him

And his Realm is an expanse of nothingness

Just infinite black stretched on forever

It's quiet in there, unnaturally so

No wind, no whispers, nothing but still, dead air

To most, it would be immensely unnerving

To Dark it is the only place he feels truly comfortable

If you could find comfort in there, too, that would make you a very special human indeed

But if you're the type of human that can look at him without feeling instinctive fear, then he already knew you were special

After all, most humans do not enjoy peering into the Void, for fear of how it might gaze back into you

He's a very still Concept, he enjoys sitting in the moment

He sees no need to wander or roam like Wilford or others

And if you would sit with him awhile... he would be immensely grateful for that

The Void can still get lonely after all

He enjoys the company, in his own way