Work Text
"Stanley, I am leaving,"those are the words that started the Catalyst.The Narrator was coughing, sickly coughing into the microphone, or what Stanley presumed to be a microphone. The sound echoed a loud cough that almost blew up his eardrums. Stanley woke up, alert, and scrambled upright in his sleazy black office chair.After a while, The Narrator recovered his voice, as the sound of ruffling papers played. Stanley sighed; he had heard that sound so much that he had memorized each ruffle by now. Stanley doubted it was even real, but what even was real in this Parable, Stanley gave up on that answer long ago.
Fortunately, his line of thought was interrupted when he heard The Narrator's strained voice."Stanley."His voice sounded as if someone scraped his trachea using sandpaper. It scratched Stanley's ear, especially with the unwavering electronic glitches tuning in and out of the Parable's speakers.
Stanley looked up to the ceiling, assuming where The Narrator was, as he spun the chair around carelessly and aimlessly. Stanley was helpless to the Parable; he lost his care long, long ago.[my ears hurt, shut up]"Thanks, Stanley. for your much-needed input," The Narrator chimed in bitterly. Stanley bowed sarcastically, smirking pridefully in his spinning chair. After all this, the only way they could communicate was through signing. Stanley preferred it that way.After a quiet silence, occasionally interrupted by The Narrator's runny nose, Stanley's curiosity got the best of him as he signed cautiously, stopping the spinning chair.[Where are you going? Finally leaving]"Goodness Stanley, no! I haven't-"Stanley slumped over his chair, spinning once again. Of course, he didn't. Well, Stanley still wanted to know as he signed again, a lot less enthusiastically this time.
[Where are you going?]"To fix something," the narrator huffed.Stanley looked up, raising an eyebrow. He was about to sign in utter confusion until the narrator cut him off, sighing in frustration as he bellowed.
"Look Stanley, that is not important! What is important is that I want you to be here until I come back."Boring, Stanley thought as he opened up his monitor. After a second, the monitor breathed to life, with the brightly colored 2000s desktop Windows logo appearing. This was the only thing Stanley owned before and after the Parable. The device to push buttons all day as he pleased.The Narrator's line of monotonous speech stopped. He gasped. Then he roared into his microphone."No... No! You listen to me! I hold you responsible for this- Stanley... STANLEY!"Stanley didn't give a fuck; he leisurely pressed the buttons on his computer, leaning back as the screen glowed with funny-looking blocks. The title 'Tetris' was gleaming above. On the top of the screen, a score of 400080905 is displayed.
Stanley's eye bags made sense now."I am an idiot for trusting you, aren't I?" grumbled the narrator, defeated.[Bingo! Correct,] Stanley signed back, sarcastically. In the Parable, he relied on his body language to deliver his tone. If he had a microphone by now, God forbid the words the Narrator would have heard."Well... Stanley, tell me a deal, something to make you stay here for let's say... mmm... 4 days?" the Narrator was desperate by now.
And Stanley smugly smirked; he knew he had won. But for now, he decided to amp it up, playing this debatable game.[nothing] Stanley crossed his arms.‘’Come on Stanley, I am offering you anything! Anything at all!’’ The Narrator’s pleas only fed Stanley's ego more and more. This was Stanley’s moment, his moment to shine.Anything? Well then,[ I want my bucket back.., I want my freedom, I want to get out of the parable, I want-]
His hands were sighing so fast it was barely understandable.‘’Save your Christmas list for later.’’
Ok. well that shocked Stanley. It was plain rude! He said anything.
What a letdown[fine.]‘’Go on? enlighten me.’’Diving into each thought, assessing every covet, every need. What would get him the most choice? What would seriously piss The Narrator off?
This was it.[I want internet access]Silence, heavy silence.‘’Oh no, oh no Stanley, the internet is a dangerous place. Stanley?’’ his voice meekly coughed.
Stanley shot the Narrator a deadpan look.‘’Stanley I- ‘’ the Narrator fumbled over his words. Embarrassed he couldn’t keep a promise.Stanley Glared at the ceiling, his hands accentuating every word
[you. Said. anything.]‘’hmm, I suppose arrange something like this’’ the Narrator mumbled lost in thought.finally, Stanley thought, he got it. but of course, there was a catch. there was always a catch.
The Narrator hesitated for a moment before finally replying, "Alright, I'll make it happen. But you have to promise me that you won't use the internet to try and escape the Parable."
nodding, Stanley rolled his eyes, raising his middle finger at the ceiling. Oh, who was he kidding? Of course, he would have implications. nothing was easy with this Narrator.‘’Keep rolling your eyes Stanley, you might eventually find a brain…. buried somewhere in there.’’
grumbled the narrator.Ignoring the Narrator, Stanley was quick to find the wifi name on his monitor. It was the only one there anyway.
[ password?] he signed, eyes sucked into the screen.‘’How did you?! ‘’ the narrator was attacked by a coughing fit.[isolated place]
Signed back Stanley.‘’Right., it’s Fern’’ the Narrator responded hesitantly, he definitely made up that password on spot,[fern? Lame ass password]
Signed Stanley, he was still typing on the computer screen. He did even bother to look up. the Narrator didn't respond but he could sense the visible disappointment on his face. anyhow Stanley Furiously began writing it in. Let the Narrator be damned and his silly little stories, Stanley is sick of living in this everlasting cycle, where the end is never the end, at least now there was hope, something to shine him to the outside world. As he pressed the button to enter, a sense of excitement and nervousness took over his body, What would he find on the other side of this internet connection? Would there be a way out of this cycle of monotony and repetition? it was finally all there.‘’Very well now. I trust our deal. ‘’
The Narrator mumbled the sound of crunchy fabric and a squeaking seat was heard.Somewhere far away from his microphone, Stanley could hear The Narrator shout. in the worst French someone could possibly muster ‘’au revoir!’’.good riddance, Finally he has some peace of mind. With his newfound freedom, Stanley opened his browser mousing over the red-looking play button, transporting him to a website filled with rows and rows of content. As Stanley scrolled through the website, his eyes grew wider with amazement at the sheer amount of content available at his fingertips. He couldn't believe he had been missing out on so much of the world while trapped in that endless loop. One, in particular, caught his attention.‘’America’s got Talent?.. huh'' he whispered.
For hours, Stanley watched video after video, each one more captivating than the last. As the night wore on, Stanley couldn't help but feel a sense of gratitude for his newfound freedom. He had broken free from the monotony of his old life, and now the possibilities were endless. And down the youtube rabbit hole, he went.