Whisper says (2:37 PM):
Well, basically, the story starts out in a small bedroom. It’s occupied only by a bed and a desk, which in turn is empty save for a computer and a piece of scratch paper.
Whisper says (2:38 PM):
A teenage girl, the room’s sole occupant, sits down at her desk and begins drawing in pencil on the piece of scratch paper.
Whisper says (2:39 PM):
A sketch begins to emerge, a sketch of a yoshi. It’s very vague at first, just the overall shape. No details. However...
Whisper says (2:39 PM):
In the middle of drawing it, the sketch comes to life.
Whisper says (2:40 PM):
The odd thing is, the artist isn’t surprised in the least. It’s almost as if it’s normal for a paper drawn yoshi to suddenly open its eyes and start roaming the page.
Whisper says (2:42 PM):
The yoshi can even see outside the bounds of the paper. It can see her, and they do interact. It almost becomes a game, her trying to fill in detail, and him happily playing keep away. When I envision it, it’s a very cute scene.
Whisper says (2:43 PM):
They play for a while. She draws fruit which he subsequently eats, gives him an environment to explore, that sort of thing.
Whisper says (2:43 PM):
However, eventually, he notices the computer on the desk.
Whisper says (2:44 PM):
The program running on the computer is photoshop, and displayed is an image of your character, Pawy.
Whisper says (2:45 PM):
The sketch looks curiously at it, and the artist tells him he’s not ready for that yet, that he’s not complete.
Whisper says (2:46 PM):
After a few days of drawing and playing, the artist has to leave with her family to go on a trip. When she leaves, she leaves the yoshi plenty to play with on the page, and cautions him not to go anywhere.
Whisper says (2:46 PM):
What do you think so far?
Auriiku says (2:47 PM):
Sounds very interesting, actually. I really like the concept of her playing with something she created, in a sense, and how the yoshi is, for all intents and purposes, a real and thinking creature.
Whisper says (2:47 PM):
Do you want to hear more?
Auriiku says (2:47 PM):
I do.
Whisper says (2:47 PM):
Well...
Whisper says (2:48 PM):
As I’m sure you can guess, the yoshi entertains himself on his sketchpad for a while, but his eyes are always drawn back to the computer screen, to the world of wide open spaces and living color that is so close yet so far away.
Whisper says (2:49 PM):
He never intended to disobey the artist. He just doesn’t have a very developed attention span, and forgot all about her warning not to go anywhere.
Whisper says (2:49 PM):
He steps to the edge of the sheet of paper, the edge facing the computer...and outs his hand across.
Whisper says (2:50 PM):
The hand appears in the computer image...but it is not his hand. The hand itself is larger, with long slender fingers, and covered in short fur.
Whisper says (2:51 PM):
Frightened, he pulls his hand back, but it’s just the yoshi sketch hand again. Intrigued, he steps all the way through...
Whisper says (2:51 PM):
And emerges as the character in my avvy.
Whisper says (2:52 PM):
Not only is his body altered, but his mind to some extent as well. He remembers being a sketch, but it’s a lot like remembering a past life. He also becomes less actively playful, more quiet and subdued. In essence, when he entered the new world, he became almost a new person to match it.
Whisper says (2:52 PM):
Do you like the idea?
Auriiku says (2:53 PM):
Yeah, I really like what you have so far.
Whisper says (2:54 PM):
I actually have the complete story thought out, as well as the sequel, and I’m toying with ideas for the third...believe it or not. I’ve grown VERY attached to this character in the short time I’ve had him.
Auriiku says (2:54 PM):
Ah, yes, I can tell that. XD
Whisper says (2:54 PM):
So...
Whisper says (2:54 PM):
In due time, he finally meets the character from the photoshop image. He meets Pawy, and at the same time, Contention.
Whisper says (2:55 PM):
The two are surprised to see a new face in their stretch of the forest. They aren’t frightened of him though. I mean, just look at him. =3
Whisper says (2:55 PM):
So they ask his name. He opens his mouth to reply...
Whisper says (2:55 PM):
...nothing comes out.
Whisper says (2:56 PM):
The artist had failed to give him a voice. He’s mute.
Whisper says (2:56 PM):
So, after it becomes clear that he cannot speak, and needing to have something to call him, they choose a name for him. Whisper.
Whisper says (2:57 PM):
After meeting, the two go on about their business. Being unfamiliar with the world he’s found himself in and not knowing where else to go or what to do, he follows them. This makes them nervous at first, but in the end they decide to accept his presence.
Whisper says (2:59 PM):
When night falls and they finally return home, he makes his residence in the branches of a nearby tree and waits out the night. The artist also never gave him a need for sleep, so he merely sits in the branches and waits for the dawn.
Whisper says (3:00 PM):
As time passes, Pawy and Contention come to accept him as a friend, and consequently spend a lot more time with him. He is able to come with them on their little adventures, to be a part of their lives.
Whisper says (3:00 PM):
But then, something happens.
Whisper says (3:01 PM):
One sec. Have to help my grandma with something...
Auriiku says (3:01 PM):
A;; righty.
Whisper says (3:03 PM):
Okay, back.
Whisper says (3:04 PM):
On one of these long, lonely nights, he’s sitting in his customary branch in the tree. Where he sits, he has a view through a small open window to the room where Pawy sleeps. As he watches her breathing deeply, he realizes something.
Whisper says (3:04 PM):
He’s falling in love with her.
Whisper says (3:04 PM):
But...
Whisper says (3:04 PM):
Pawy’s already in love...with Contention. And he loves her in return. That was never a secret.
Whisper says (3:05 PM):
Any thoughts?
Whisper says (3:05 PM):
Sorry if I’m a little needy for input...
Auriiku says (3:06 PM):
Nope, don't have much of anything. It sounds very good, though. How's it supposed to end?
Whisper says (3:06 PM):
Well, it ends in much the same way it began, but I’ll explain when we get there.
Whisper says (3:07 PM):
Over time, as he spends more days with them both, he realizes that what he suspected on that night is true, He is falling in love with her, but he has no way to tell her that, being mute.
Whisper says (3:07 PM):
And to further complicate matters, he can see just how happy the two are together.
Whisper says (3:08 PM):
A part of him wants her to return his feelings, to love him instead. Another part of him wants her to be happy, and if Contention can make that happen, he doesn’t want to separate them.
Whisper says (3:08 PM):
To make things even worse...
Whisper says (3:09 PM):
Due to the fact that he can’t talk, and because of his ears, he makes an excellent listener. As he becomes closer to Pawy and Contention, they begin to see him as someone they can share their thoughts with, someone they can confide in. And quite often, these are their thoughts about each other.
Whisper says (3:10 PM):
All poor Whisper can do when this happens is wish that Pawy was talking about him, or Contention was talking about anyone else.
Whisper says (3:10 PM):
This is the scene for the bulk 9of the story. Most of the writing, in essence, centers around their daily lives, focusing on his feelings and the iuronic fact that they are completely unaware of them.
Whisper says (3:12 PM):
But then something happens. I haven’t determined what or how quite yet, but something begins to drive Pawy and Contention apart. Bitterness begins to come between them.
Whisper says (3:13 PM):
Whisper sees his chance, but he doesn’t act on it. He watches for a while, waiting to see what happens. During this time of trouble, both come to confide in him ever more, sharing their deepest thoughts and fears.
Whisper says (3:13 PM):
Whisper comes to realize that he has the power to break their now fragile relationship forever...
Whisper says (3:13 PM):
...but at the same time, he realizes that he also possesses the power to heal it, and after listening to a meaningful confession on Contention’s part, he brings them back together again.
Whisper says (3:14 PM):
This story is fraught with irony, is it not?
Whisper says (3:15 PM):
He threw away a chance at love so they could be happy.
Whisper says (3:15 PM):
*is desperate for input again*
Auriiku says (3:16 PM):
What? I don't really know what to say.
Whisper says (3:16 PM):
Well, just do you like it, or dislike it thus far?
Auriiku says (3:16 PM):
It's interesting. May I ask why you're compelled to write a story of this nature?
Whisper says (3:17 PM):
One, I like love stories. Two, I like irony. I also enjoy people dealing with multiple aspects of themselves that want different things. This seemed the perfect way to express it.
Auriiku says (3:18 PM):
Yes, but the plot, the characters, and the irony is a little interesting.
Whisper says (3:18 PM):
How so?
Auriiku says (3:19 PM):
It says a lot about how you feel.
Whisper says (3:19 PM):
Oh, you’re saying I might be using this as a metaphor for personal feelings?
Auriiku says (3:19 PM):
Oui.
Whisper says (3:22 PM):
Well, I’ll confess, when I saw how similar we are to each other, I did get my hopes up slightly. I’m assuming you’ve read my feelings toward sexuality and love, and the respective genders they apply to. I thought that, given time, something might have developed. When I found you already had someone, I was disappointed, but happy too. It seems to me that he’s a very good person. I’ll admit that, wh
Whisper says (3:22 PM):
while my feelings aren’t anywhere close to the feelings of my character, it was the inspiration.
Auriiku says (3:23 PM):
A'ight, that's what I thought.
Whisper says (3:23 PM):
I actually didn’t want you to know any of that, but you seem to have guessed...
Whisper says (3:23 PM):
For the record...
Auriiku says (3:23 PM):
I guessed a while back, actually, but didn't say anything.
Whisper says (3:24 PM):
I’m very interested in meeting him. He seems fun, and intelligent. I think we could be friends.
Auriiku says (3:24 PM):
Mayhaps. He's pretty busy, though.
Whisper says (3:25 PM):
Also, for the record, the entire story, ending included, is a metaphor for my feelings. I’ll share the rest, if you still want to hear it.
Auriiku says (3:25 PM):
Share it, if you wish.
Whisper says (3:27 PM):
After bringing them back together again, Whisper’s heart was broken. He couldn’t bear to see them every day, to see that he’d had a chance...and lost it. The last time he saw them before he left, they were embracing in a meadow. He looked at them with the sort of happy, sort of sad expression you drew in the original sketch of him. That sketch was also a factor in inspiring this story, as the whol
Whisper says (3:27 PM):
whole thing evolved from me trying to imagine what he was looking at that could make such an expression.
Whisper says (3:28 PM):
After watching for a moment, he turned...and as he turned away his body reverted back to the sketch he used to be.
Whisper says (3:29 PM):
He looked back one more time, as a yoshi, before returning to the sketchpad from whence he came. There, all he did was sit quietly and look at her picture, still displayed on the computer.
Whisper says (3:30 PM):
This was how the artist found him, when she returned.
Whisper says (3:30 PM):
She knew immediately that he’d gone somewhere, and asked him what happened. He, of course, couldn’t tell her, not having a voice.
Whisper says (3:30 PM):
So...
Whisper says (3:31 PM):
She took a quill, dipped it in ink, and let a single drop fall to the paper.
Whisper says (3:32 PM):
He put his finger in the ink, and it began to spread, forming lines that streamed across the page, making an image. It was Pawy, smiling happily. He totered across the page, spun on one foot, and fell in her hand, thus expressing his feelings.
Whisper says (3:32 PM):
The artist told him that she was happy for him, so he made a new image to explain. One of Contention and Pawy together in the meadow, as he remembered from his final look.
Whisper says (3:34 PM):
After thinking for a while, she asked him if he’d told them how he felt. He shook his head no. She told him to tell her why. At first, he refused, but she pressured him, and finally he put his finger to the ink again.
Whisper says (3:34 PM):
Keep in mind, what follows is the character’s deepest fears, irrational as they may be. It may be extreme, but it’s supposed to be.
Whisper says (3:35 PM):
A new image forms, but unlike the prior ones, it does not maintain its state. Instead, image after image appears in rapid sequence, creating the illusion of motiong.
Whisper says (3:36 PM):
Pawy is in a field. Whisper approaches her, arms outheld, speaking his mind.
Whisper says (3:36 PM):
Contention appears. He is angry. The two begin to fight.
Whisper says (3:37 PM):
Pawy watches with a growing expression of horror as her love and close friend become hateful to each other.
Whisper says (3:38 PM):
Not being able to take it anymore, she focuses on the one who started the fighting. She screams at contention, and he is driven away in Tears. After he leaves, Whisper tries to put a hand on her shoulder...but she pushes him away.
Whisper says (3:40 PM):
Contention sinks into depression and sadness. The image shows him laying down, then getting smaller and smaller until he is no longer there. Pawy is devastated. The next scene is of a funeral bier, with Contention on top, sinking into the earth. Pawy is crying. Whisper tries to comfort, but sahe won’t let him.
Whisper says (3:41 PM):
Whisper moves in, tries to be there for her, but nothing works. In the end, she follows the same fate as contention, and the last scene shows Whisper standing before two freshly dug graves, screaming.
Whisper says (3:41 PM):
Doesn’t make sense, I know, but those are his fears.
Whisper says (3:42 PM):
When the images finally stop flashing, the yoshi sketch makes a dash for the pencil, which the artist had dropped to the paper in her shock. He begins to erase himself, starting with one arm. Recovering, she stops him.
Whisper says (3:43 PM):
He is too scared, too hurt, to be reasoned with. He makes a dash for the other end of the page, the end which leads to nowhere, to throw himself off. she stops him with a line, but using 3D perspective he dodges around it. In response, she draws a 3D wall to stop him. The next few seconds are much like this, her trying to stop him until he calms down enough to be reasoned with.
Whisper says (3:44 PM):
Eventually, she captuures him in a little box, where he sits and weeps piteously.
Whisper says (3:44 PM):
When he is calmer, she asks him if he really thinks that would be how it happened.
Whisper says (3:44 PM):
He doesn’t answer, merely turns away. In response, the artist pouts her own pencil in the ink. A new image begins to spread.
Whisper says (3:45 PM):
It shows Whisper, with Pawy and Contention in tow, walking to the edge of a small cliff overlooking the ocean, during a sunset.
Whisper says (3:45 PM):
Whisper sits on the cliff’s edge, and the others stand behind, looking confused.
Whisper says (3:46 PM):
He begins to speak, looking out at thge water as if the ocean were his only audience. A look of shock gradually appears on the faces of both Pawy and Contention. As he continues, still talking to the water, they look at each other, wondering how the other will react.
Whisper says (3:47 PM):
After some time, both approach Whisper. Pawy sits beside him, and contention puts his hands on both their shoulders.
Whisper says (3:48 PM):
She speaks to him, and he listens. Tears appear in his eyes. Contention, too makes his peace, and Whisper looks sad, but grateful. It is understood that they told him, in soft terms, that he could not be a part of her heart.
Whisper says (3:49 PM):
After some time watching the sunset, Pawy and Contention rise and begin to return home. however, before disappearing from sight, Pawy looks back and calls for Whisper to follow. The scene ends.
Whisper says (3:49 PM):
The artist speaks to her sketch, and says “You can never be the center of her world...
Whisper says (3:49 PM):
...but you can be part of it.”
Whisper says (3:50 PM):
After she speaks, she brings the pencil to the sketch’s erased arm. He draws away at first, but she tells him not to be afraid, and he lets her draw. The arm that appears is more slender, with long fingers and fur. Holding it up to look at it, he starts crying again. The scene closes on her redrawing the rest of him.
Whisper says (3:50 PM):
As for the epilogue...
Whisper says (3:51 PM):
Pawy and Contetntion are still in the meadow, looking confused and wondering where Whisper has gone. Without warning, he flies in from the sky above and lands in the meadow. He beckons them over, and they come. And for the first time, he speaks.
Whisper says (3:51 PM):
He says, “Pawy...I...”
Whisper says (3:52 PM):
The voice is beautiful, deep but melodious. Despite this, he never finishes what he was going to say. Instead, he looks down to the ground, then raises his eyes and lifts his hand in a gesture of “hi”.
Whisper says (3:52 PM):
He never speaks again.
Whisper says (3:53 PM):
The final scene in the story shows the three walking off together, him resolved to his feelings, and them still completely unaware.
Auriiku says (3:53 PM):
Sounds very interesting. And sadly, I have to run now.