Live from Planet Frystar

5. Back to the Present: The Smoaklin Problem

Galek froze. Something was off.

A second ago, he was chasing a hyperactive soot-smoaklin, and now...

He was hearing himself.

Not just the usual, "I'm-tired-of-this-crap" internal monologue, but actual, full-on narration... in his own voice.

Galek's eye twitched.

"... Wait. WAIT. Did you just start another flashback?! Again?!"

"Ah, the mechanic notices something strange. He has become self-aware of the narrative flow, a rare but inevitable moment in any long-form storytelling structure."

"STOP IT."

"Galek protests, but the voice continues. It always continues."

"I swear, if this is another origin recap, I'm gonna-"

"And thus, we journey back to a time before the present chaos-"

"NO!"

Galek whipped off his work gloves and threw them at the air. "I don't NEED another flashback! I was THERE! I LIVED IT! I KNOW WHAT HAPPENED!"

Brivnor, still standing awkwardly in the background, cleared his throat. "Uh... are you okay, man?"

Galek whipped around. "NO. I'M NOT OKAY."

Brivnor squinted. "You sure? 'Cause you've been yelling at the ceiling for the past minute."

Galek threw his hands up. "You can't hear it, but this thing just REPEATED MY LIFE STORY. AGAIN. FOR NO REASON."

"Not for no reason. For depth. For dramatic tension. For-"

"FOR WASTING MY TIME!"

"-theatrical storytelling."

Galek dragged his hands down his face. "I'm in hell."