r/talkingtalltales

I had far too much fun dreaming this bad boy up. I hope y'all enjoy!

Summary: After a few years of work as a marine biologist with a research company, you’re finally assigned to a highly classified project hidden deep within the facility. Expecting a breakthrough discovery, you instead come face-to-face with something impossible; your childhood best friend. A merfolk you weren’t entirely sure was real in the first place, trapped behind glass and treated like a specimen.

Hurt and furious, they believe you’re part of the group that captured them, and that somehow you have been involved in this from the start. Determined to earn back their trust and make things right, you find yourself caught between the career you’ve practically destroyed yourself to build and the person you can’t bear to lose again.

Usage guidance:

• 1307 words WITH stage directions
• Feel free to use on any platform, make small edits, and change genders if you want! 
• All SFX, voice direction and sounds are really just suggestions. If you want to change the delivery from what I’ve put in, please feel free!
• Please feel free to swap genders or remove them entirely!
• I do not consent to my writing being used to train AI or being put into AI in any way.
• Feedback and critiques welcome!
• Okay for monetization, I would just like to be able to access the final audio.
• If you use my script, please give me credits and send the link! Thank you!

LINK TO SCRIPT: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1NA8xBqCZywSGNwdkkBdnYlmLd_DgmU2_S3QSCxUqKrY/edit?usp=sharing

It's been a month since my last script, and I felt the itch to write again. So as motivation, I wrote something a little meta, little comedy/self deprecating to give myself the kick I needed to write again. I'll admit it's cheesy, but turned out to be just the thing I needed to write again!

As always, monetization, improv, gendering, and edits are all acceptable! Please just credit me as u/authorigas and send me a link! Paywalling is also totally cool, just again, would appreciate a link so I can listen! And if you have any feedback or like my script, feel free to let me know! And if you like my work, consider commissioning me on my Kofi!

Description: You are a script writer who hasn't uploaded in the past few months. Life has beaten you down, and you haven't had the energy to do anything beyond function at a basic level. One of the VA's who regularly fills your scripts has decided to remove you from the problematic parts of life.

[sfx]

(speaker tone)

*…*- listener speaking/tone of listener

________________________________________________________________________________Script Start

[footsteps, pacing left to right]

(nervously) Did I hit them too hard on the head? They’ve been sleeping for the past five hours… (rationalizing) No, no, with how stressed they’ve been, it’s probably insomnia… My poor baby is probably just catching up on the sleep they’ve been missing… I hope.

[ropes being pulled/strained]

(gasp) Darling! 

[footsteps, rushing over] 

(gentle, excited) How’s your head? Does it still hurt?

…*wincing*

(horrified) Oh no…my poet, I am so sorry, I didn’t mean to hit you that hard! I just meant to knock you out with a love tap. But I guess I underestimated how strong I am…I’m sorry. I didn’t want to hurt you. (trying to shift the topic) But the fact you're still okay despite the pain, you really are amazing, honey!

…*confused*

[toolkit opening, shuffling of items]

(gentle) I have my first aid kit right here. Just lay your head down, and let me apply some ointment. And a Tylenol for the pain too, please open up… You can trust me.

…*suspicious*

(scoffing) You can see right here, it’s a Tylenol pill. It looks like a Tylenol pill, it’s straight from the bottle. There’s nothing wrong with it, why are you so suspicious?

…*tense*

(sheepish) Well, yes I did knock you out, and drag you back to my house… but I only did it because I needed you to come with me my love. And the circumstances were dire enough that I didn’t have time to argue with you, so I took a shortcut. And knowing your scripts, I’m pretty sure you enjoyed it. (nervous laugh)

…*confused*

(hurt) Well we may not have met face to face, but surely you recognize my voice-right? (whispering, performative ASMR voice) The way I’m whispering to you, gentle words, loving nicknames…isn’t it familiar?

…*stunned*

(soft chuckle) That’s right~ (sing song) It’s me, (Channel name here)! ASMR VA, filler of your scripts, and your absolute biggest fan!~

… *confused*

[shuffling as the speaker pulls the listener close]

(affectionate, awkward cough) Oh I was a fan ever since I filled your first script, darling! I know you were nervous about it, but that Yandere script really was a cut above the rest. Sincere, dark, and romantic all at once! I followed you from there, and fell in love with each and every script you wrote. Eventually, I backtraced your IP address, and started watching you on social media too! Whether it’s a script, a poem, or just your ramblings about lunch, your words are like honey in my ears, darling.

…*flustered*

(gentle laugh) Oh please, don’t diminish yourself like that! We all tend to be judgmental of our own work, I shudder to go back and listen to the audio mixing on my first video. (longing) Your writing is so earnest and sincere, it’s a perfect snapshot of how you feel deep down. The anger in your bully scripts, the longing when you write a yandere, the joy when you write a romantic script… You have a way of connecting with me through your writing, on an emotional level.

(sadly) At least, until you stopped. It’s been two months since your last upload darling, I’ve been worried sick! Of course, I filled the void with other scripts, good scripts, but none of them spoke to me, not like yours did. Even with my backlog, all I wanted was to fill one of your scripts…

(gushing, delusional) Other scripts may be longer, more famous, or hell ‘better written’. But none of them touched me the way yours did. None of them made me laugh, cry, or love like I did when I read the words you wrote for me. 

You're a poet, and a hopeless romantic, just like me. I share my feelings through my voice, and you share them through the pen. Every keystroke when you type is part of a sympathy that plays my voice like a musical instrument. My voice and your words…they make the most beautiful music, darling… We were made for each other.

(sadly) After the first week, I was nervous but not scared. After two weeks, I started panicking and decided to head to your house. From that day onward, I made sure to watch you each and every day, to make sure you weren’t in any danger, but you weren’t…not conventionally, anyway. 

(angry, glum) What I saw was….you, just sleepwalking through life! (sadly) you looked so tired coming home everyday, like you couldn’t wait to get away from the world and crawl back into bed… You had so little energy that even sitting upright seems to exhaust you nowadays. 

Work was eating you alive, forcing you to put that beautiful brain of yours into meaningless drivel for people who don’t appreciate you! Your hobby nights were ruined by assholes who kept intruding on your joy. And don’t even get me started on all the problems you’ve had with rising costs and inattentive friends! It’s little wonder you stopped taking care of yourself, when there was so much burning you out!

(tearing up) You were so full of stress, it was killing you. Those beautiful words fell out of your head, and into a gutter. A nasty sewer built by an exhausted, weary soul who wasn’t taking care of themselves… Living in filth and starving themselves, you were like a corpse shambling through life… 

…*sheepish*

(softly) It’s okay my darling, I’m not blaming you for being burned out. Life has a way of piling up, and tearing us down when it gets to be too much. You have nothing to be sorry for, losing the energy to share your words with me.

(sadly) But, I have been miserable without your scripts to read, my dear. And seeing as you’ve been a victim of life… I figured I may as well cut out the middle man, and take all the stress of life away-by kidnapping you and locking you in my bedroom.

…*stunned*

(cheerful) I mean, really think about it! You don’t have to worry about rent or food, so you don’t need to go to work. My house is isolated, so you don’t need to go outside and risk getting hurt. Annddd… (shy, flustered) I’m here, so you don’t need to worry about dying alone, or being hurt by another human being.

…*confused*

(flustered) Well, if I’m your partner, you wouldn’t be alone…Romantically, I mean, not like a ‘voice acting and writing partner’. Although we are also that, I just mean, we’re that and also like, a couple, you know?

…*awkwardly*

(Shy, but irritated) N-no! I didn’t kidnap you just because of the scripts, well… I sort of did, but not just because I needed your scripts for content. Like I said, I have a LOT of scripts to fill, too many-even. I’ll fill them all one day…probably. 

(flustered) But it’s like I said, your scripts really spoke to me. Your Yandere’s reflect an earnest desire, deep inside. A lot of people in my audience love the Yandere trope because it’s all about obsession. The idea of loving someone so much, so intensely, that it’s all consuming. People really resonate with that… Like me.

(heartfelt) And that’s what I feel in your scripts when I read them, a genuine desire to be loved, obsessively. Some people may call it toxic, unhealthy, or lord forbid ‘dangerous’ but that earnestness is really sweet. As a hopeless, obsessive romantic myself, it spoke to me.

(longing) When you write, it feels like you understand me in a way no one else can. Another gentle artist yearning to be swallowed by an all consuming love. Like your words are my thoughts and feelings, expressed perfectly through text. I want to love someone like that…and be loved like that.

(gently) Not just loved as a fan of my voice, but a fan of…me. Plain, boring, reclusive me, whose only gift is their voice. You're the same, aren’t you, my darling script writer? A lonely soul whispering your words out into the world, hoping someone will understand you, and save you from the deep sadness inside.

(whispering ominously) I heard you, my dearest author. Your whispers may be fluff to most, passing through the ears of those looking to lull themselves to sleep…But I hear them, each and every syllable, blessed by your imagination. The want, the need for an obsessive love to save you from your depressive hiatus…to let your words spill free, for me.

(excited) You wanted so desperately to be loved by someone who understands obsession, and well…here I am! Ready to push away the darkness, and fill your life with all the love in my heart, aren’t you excited? 

…*terrified*

(concerned, hurt) No? W-what do you mean ‘no’? Darling, this is just like one of your scripts, the loving Yandere kidnapping their darling, showing love to the anxious… (trailing off)

…*hesitant pause*

(perking up) Oh!  I see now! You're just acting out the role of the reluctant listener!

[claps hands together in excitement]

(laughing, manic) Silly me, of course! You're so overwhelmed with joy that you want to roleplay with me! You're pretending to be scared because that’s what the listener is supposed to do in your scripts! 

…*denial*

(delusional) Oh don’t try to deny it my darling! I’ve read your scripts back to front, I know what you like. Seeing you squirm is cute, but you’d be even cuter in my arms, telling me all of your wonderful ideas!~

[thumping as listener tries to back off]

(sing song, irritated laugh) Oh my darling~ You shouldn’t scamper off like that. Acting shy and scared is one thing, but running away from me isn’t very nice! Hey-get back here!

[door swinging open, panicked running]

(out of breath, irritable) You know darling, I’m starting to think you aren’t roleplaying! Would you really rather be outside, suffering again from that burnout? A husk of a person so tired, they can’t think, create, or even take care of themselves?

[crash as the speaker catches the listener]

(whispering sweet, ominously) You hesitated~ And I caught you~

…*panicked*

(Whisper, half sweet, half threatening) That means you wanted me to catch you, right? So you fleeing was just a sneak preview of your next script. Where the listener escapes and has to be chased by their yandere right?

…*pause*

(Ominously, threatening) Right?

….*panicked agreement*

(sweetly) Ah! I knew it~ I knew being here with me would bring your spark back. I’m sure you’ve already got a great idea for a script now. Maybe about a writer who enacts their fantasy with a Yandere? Oh that’ll be so much fun! My audience will think it’s for them, but you’ll know I’m all yours, of course. 

(excited) Maybe in the future we can do more sessions like this? I’ve heard roleplay is a great way to spice up a relationship! Maybe one time you can be the Yandere, and I can be the scared VA who comes around?

(faking terror, performance) No, please stay back! When your so close, my heart starts beating so fast. You're dangerous, and yet…

[body lifting, listener being carried back to bed by listener] 

(exerting self) But there will be time for that later, my sweet author. For now, you need your rest. I’ll make sure to prepare a bath and some dinner, in the meantime you just stay in bed, and play some games, ok? I made sure to grab all your favorites from your apartment… Without an online connection of course, don’t want someone listening to our creative roleplay sessions and thinking they need to call the cops~

[listener being set down, handcuffs being placed] 

(grunting) Now, I know it seems like I’m restraining you in place…And that’s because I am! It’s all part of the creative roleplay experience, and keeping you safe n sound my dear. I don’t want you getting any ideas about sneaking out for some more inspiration! (nervous, uncomfortable laugh)

[the listener is forcibly kissed by the speaker]

Mwah! (sweetly) Enjoy yourself my love. Rest that beautiful, creative brain of yours….I’ll protect you from the nasty world that pulled you away from me…Because me, and my voice, are here to push away the darkness… Just trust me, and everything will be okay… I love you. And you love me, (ominously) right?

…*hesitantly*

(goading the listener to speak up) Hmm?~ Speak up a little more?~ 

…*says ‘I love you’*

Eee! (squeaks excitedly) You sound perfect when you say that! If I didn’t wanna hog you to myself, I’d suggest you give voice acting a try!

[a few more kiss sounds]

(laughing) It’s adorable how you squirm from my kisses darling…Now I’ll be downstairs, cooking your favorite meal. So just relax, and let your mind dream of more beautiful, romantic. I can’t wait to hear them, the words meant for me, and me alone… Forever. .

[speaker hums as the door shuts, audio ends]