My Earthbound AU

Porky is a main character and never betrays or turns on Ness. They also had a close bond from the beginning and have such a strong bond that even the adults in their lives comment on it. This is not something either of their families are thrilled about.

While initially I brainstormed them all as similarly aged to their game counterparts, around 13-ish, I decided to age them up a bit. Jeff is the yougest at 14, Ness is now 15, Porky and Paula are 16, and Pū is the oldest at 17. The story now also takes place in a timeframe of about a year, giving the characters a chance to age and mature as the story progresses.

You should notice by now that I'm using a couple of the Japanese names rather than the English names used. This is mostly because I thought the name Porky was more fitting for Porky, both as a character and for the storyline I wanted to explore with him, but with Pū, I thought that spelling it as "Poo" would be a bit disrespectful, especially as the character with the darkest skin colour. You could argue Porky is just as disrespectful, but unlike Pū's parents, who loved him wholeheartedly and gave him a name reminiscent of his culturally significant training, Porky's parents are famous for just how much they suck and how little they care for their kids, so it made sense to me that they would name their child something like that.

While Tracy is Ness' younger sister in the game canon, in this universe, she is older (around 17/18) and can drive. She can be a bit of a snobby teen at times, but she deeply loves and cares for Ness. As she is still a teen, she isn't influenced by the power of Giygas the same way the adults in their lives are.

I've almost completely overhauled each of the main character's characteristics and personalities. While we as fans often agree on general ideas of how a character acts, it's my opinion that RPGs, especially older ones, encourage you to interpret the characters however you see fit. Therefore, I exercise my right to write these characters in any way I please! Besides, I enjoy the overall narratives I have built for them all, and that requires a bit of tweaking. The power of AUs!

Each of the kids have something plaguing their minds and hearts throughout the story, which they are able to overcome through the support of their friends. Porky grapples with his complicated feelings towards his parents and his unresolved feelings for Ness. Paula struggles to accept the uncertain future she was unable to predict, as well as being unable to understand her own feelings for Ness, with her close-minded worldview being heavily challenged. Jeff struggles with feelings of abandonment, deeply hating his father for leaving him and struggles with intrusive thoughts as a result, all while dealing with feelings for his friend Tony. Pū struggles to find a sense of identity within his own culture, and also has to deal with the shock of experiencing a new culture so different from his own. Ness, burdened by a life of feeling unseen and unheard by most, now struggles with the spotlight of being the one prophesied to take down Giygas, unable to truly understand how to handle being in the eyes of everyone around him.

I've mentioned before that Porky is good in this AU. The major break from the game timeline happens when, after retrieving Picky and returning him to the Minch household, Ness talks Porky into running away from the house before he can be sent to his room, allowing Ness, Porky, AND their friend Buzz Buzz to escape to safety. That's right, Buzz Buzz lives in my AU! And he wasn't expecting it at all. Having forseen his own death, he was prepared to sacrifice himself for the greater good... and he isn't super sure what to do now. He settles on protecting Tracy while Ness and the other chosen kids run around doing their hero thing. This is the first major sign to all of the psionically inclined characters that perhaps this time, nothing is truly certain.

As implied in the previous point, all of the characters with the strongest PSI capabilities are all aware of how the story should be progressing. Some, like Buzz Buzz and Pū, take it relatively well, embracing the new possibilities and braving the new dangers. Others, like Paula, struggle deeply with being unable to predict what will happen next, and with being unsure of whether or not they can believe anything they've believed and taken comfort in thus far.

Unlike in the game, where Ness goes to Magicant and leaves the others behind, every one of the main heroes goes to their own Magicant, and even help each other out of their mental blocks. The main theme of this story, I would say, is connection and unity. Throughout the story the characters work through their differences together and find connection and comfort within each other, so it's important to me that the power to fight Giygas is within all of the children, not just the special one of the bunch.

Since Porky in the game plays a major role, you're probably wondering who takes his place. Well, that's easy; his father. Since all of the adults are heavily corrupted by Giygas' influence, with children getting much less attention, it's easy to convince Aloysius to abandon his remaining family and seek out the promised power that Giygas holds. Whereas Porky in the game is a young, abused child sadly corrupted by an evil force with no support system in place to protect him, Porky in my AU is surrounded by a love that Giygas cannot hope to tear down. So, he goes for the next best thing. It could have been Picky, but, to tell the truth, I just didn't wish that same fate to poor innocent Picky. Neither of these kids deserve the horrible fate Giygas and their parents both doom them to.

While the original game takes place in a nebulous time in the 90's, I decided it would be fun to make it take place in 1999 in my story; since the story takes place over the course of a year, it ends with the kids fighting and defeating Giygas just as the new millennium starts.

Giygas is defeated not through prayer in this story. I don't know if I want to spoil exactly how he is defeated though, or what happens as a result. I've gotta keep some secrets to get you invested, right?