Future Refused
starts off when Stack, a heavily tattooed, somewhat antisocial troper finds an odd message on an old VHS tape and decides to post it and find out which of his friends is playing a prank on him. Before long, he starts to realize that the tape seems to be legitimate, and the oddly worded warning seems to be referring to a certain urban legend.
This series provides examples of:
- Apocalyptic Log: As with most stories set in the Slender Man Mythos, things start out a bit odd and start going downhill from there.
- Bad Liar: Stack. When asked what the Slenderman dummy is for (trying to scare whoever made the tape), Stack's answers are "art... like, performance art." and "It's my new scarecrow!"
- Black Humor: "Scarecrow? What's it scare off? Neighborhood children?" Beat "Yeah, actually. I think you're technically right."
- The Blank: Slendy himself, of course. ...and whatever the hell replaces Stack during his sleep log.
- Cluster F-Bomb: Stack, bordering on Sir Swears-a-Lot.
- Don't Go in the Woods: Averted so far. The episode containing the creepy shack Stack and Mickey visit seems to be building to this, but they make it out without any problems. Proving that (at least in-universe) TV Tropes Will Enhance Your Life, Stack recommends Mickey grab anything within reach and "swing for the fences" should they see any tall guys in suits or weird dog-things. Or Malevolent Masked Men. Pretty much anything, really.
- Enemy Rising Behind: Stack states that he isn't afraid of The Rake. cue Stringy-Haired Ghost Girl stepping from the shadows behind him.
- Face Palm: When Stack is showing off his new jewelry, he describes the Hamsa as "that thing old-girl from Every Man Hybrid had..." before realizing that hers didn't seem to help. He may not physically Face Palm, but his face makes it clear he wants to.
- Humanoid Abomination: As is expected, Slenderman. In his first appearance, he's standing with one hand around waist-height resting on the roof of a shed.
- The warnings from the future imply that Slendy may be just a precursor or partial projection of an imprisoned, soon-to-escape Eldritch Abomination.
- Leaning on the Fourth Wall: Stack is familiar with the The Slender Man Mythos itself, and is trying to figure out which are really happening as opposed to fictional."It's like we're all dealing with the same thing, but worlds apart."
- Oh, Crap!: "Those weren't stilts."
- Our Monsters Are Different: Stack notes that, despite surface similarities, the various folks recording their encounters with Slendy seem to be facing different versions of the Slender Man, if not distinct creatures.
- Recurring Dreams: Stack mentions early on that he's suffered from night terrors for most of his life. After finding the tape, he starts having one of something chasing him through a forest. Until he trips to find himself face-to-face with a Creepy Child as the thing behind him starts straightening its tie and adjusting its lapels.
- Shout-Out: Due to the series Leaning on the Fourth Wall, they're all over the place.
- The title itself is a reference to the Game Over screen of Chrono Trigger.
- It's heavily implied that the "old cartoon" Stack was looking for when he found the first tape was none other than Candle Cove.
- Early in the series, both the titular ring and Operator symbol pop up frequently. In fact, their appearance on the tape that started the whole thing is the reason Stack assumes it's a just a prank.
- Stack has mentioned getting in touch with both Noah and Zytherys, both of whom he seems to consider dealing with the real deal.
- See Face Palm above.
- While the dream Stack describes to John is VERY similar to what Evan from Every Man Hybrid describes,
Word of God states that the child is actually a reference to one of the entries from SCP Foundation. - In one episode, he wears a Freddy Krueger sweater.
- True Companions: As the series goes on, it seems more and more like everyone we meet is a one of Stack's True Companions.
- Wham Line: "I have ghosts of my own."
