History Fanfic / HTFTheStranger

* DramaticIrony: When The Stranger is introduced, he spends the first few chapters learning the ins and outs of the VirtualReality he's trapped in. Meanwhile, anyone who has seen the original show or has read the prologue [[TheyKilledKennyAgain knows full well]] [[ResetButton what Stranger is in for]].

* VictoryIsBoring: [[spoiler: The Mad Man admits in a pre-recorded video that he has grown bored after playing God for over a decade, and was actually planning his own downfall at the hands of The Stranger as soon as he showed up. The Mad Man was planning to activate the virtual world's [[KillEmAll failsafe]], [[TrashTheSet destroy the facility housing it]], [[KarmaHoudini and disappear into the night]]. But when The Stranger, a literal uncontrolled variable, appeared, The Mad Man decided to give himself [[TheLastDance one last challenge]].]]

* SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome: All the motions [[FishOutOfWater The Stranger]] goes through quite sums up how anyone would react to being stuck in the world of WebAnimation/HappyTreeFriends without prior knowledge of the show.
** Early on, Stranger tries to warn everyone about the Mad Man's omnipresent powers, [[CassandraTruth but since he was the only one with self-awareness, everyone else thought he was insane]].

* RealityEnsues: All the motions [[FishOutOfWater The Stranger]] goes through quite sums up how anyone would react to being stuck in the world of WebAnimation/HappyTreeFriends without prior knowledge of the show.
** Early on, Stranger tries to warn everyone about the Mad Man's omnipresent powers, [[CassandraTruth but since he was the only one with self-awareness, everyone else thought he was insane]].

* PowerTrio: [[TheHero The Stranger]], [[TheHeart Flaky]], and later [[TheLancer Flippy]].

!! The Stranger contains examples of:

* [[spoiler:BigBadassBattleSequence]]: [[spoiler: The fic climaxes with an all-out war between The Stranger with his [[TookALevelInBadass army of militarized tree friends]] and The Mad Man [[MillionMookMarch with his army of shadows]].]]
* BigDamnHeroes: [[spoiler: Right as the Mad Man is about to deliver the finishing blow to The Stranger, Fliqpy barges in and distracts Mad Man long enough [[TheUsurper for Stranger to overtake his position as administrator]].]]
* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler: The Stranger successfully sets everyone free, but at the cost of his own life, and [[TheGreatestStoryNeverTold most of his efforts were forgotten after the captives were freed]]. [[KarmaHoudini The Mad Man is still alive in the real world, unpunished for his actions]], but it's implied that [[HeelRealization he learned his lesson]].]]

** The nightmare at the end of Chapter 8 not only foreshadows [[JekyllAndHyde Flippy's]] debut in the following chapter, but also [[spoiler: Flaky's cause of death in the FinalBattle, which includes her assailant and even the exact location.]]
* DwindlingParty: [[spoiler: The FinalBattle plays out like many Happy Tree Friends episodes, starting with a large cast of characters and ending with very few survivors. In this case, every unique tree friend, The Stranger, The Mad Man, 299 generic tree friends, and thousands of LivingShadows participate in the fight, but only Stranger and Flippy (technically just Fliqpy) survive to the end.]]
* FairPlayVillain: Despite having the ability to completely destroy the virtual world with a press of a button, The Mad Man decides to keep The Stranger on a level playing field, not really showing off the full extent of his power until his plans start to fall apart. [[spoiler: And right before their showdown, The Mad Man heals the injuries Stranger received over the course of TheWarSequence to ensure a fair fight.]]

* FantasyGunControl: Just like the original show, firearms don't show up anywhere in Happy Tree Town. [[spoiler: Subverted when Flippy [[SecretWeapon reveals that he was stashing a handgun]] just in time for the BigBadassBattleSequence.]]
* GivenNameReveal: The Stranger's name is revealed to be [[spoiler: Ezekiel Pearce]] after he [[spoiler: takes the ATC for himself and uses it to search for the server shutdown command.]]
* HappilyFailedSuicide: [[spoiler: After passing the DespairEventHorizon, The Stranger decides he has no option left but to die, planning to jump off the roof of a tall office building. At the last second, he notices an oil tanker crash into the base of the tower, the resulting explosion shakes the building off its foundation and start to collapse. The Stranger immediately rushes down [[ChronicHeroSyndrome in an attempt to save the people inside]] [[DefiantToTheEnd or at least go down fighting]]. He ends up successfully rescuing Flaky, not only gaining a new friend but in the process also discovered a loophole in the world's ResetButton properties, giving him the inspiration to make a plan and shut down the Mad Man's virtual reality for good.]] And given the Mad Man's ability to cause such a disaster on a whim, [[spoiler: outright saying he was responsible for it during his BreakingSpeech]], this could also qualify as a NiceJobFixingItVillain.

* HeelFaceTurn: [[spoiler: Fliqpy undergoes this when The Stranger reminds him of his fallen comrades and MissingMom, [[ArmorPiercingQuestion asking how would they react if they saw what Fliqpy was doing to avenge them]].]]

* [[spoiler: HumanityEnsues]]: [[spoiler: After taking the Mad Man's spot as administrator for himself, The Stranger changes everyone's avatars into to their human selves when the next reset occurs.]]

* [[spoiler: TheHeroDies]]: [[spoiler: When faced with a SadisticChoice, The Stranger [[HeroicSacrifice chooses to sacrifice himself]] to let everyone go.]]

** The Stranger has finally made it to the Mad Man's computer and is ready to activate the shutdown command... [[spoiler: only to be greeted with literal billions of files. [[YourPrincessIsInAnotherCastle Only one of these files holds the true shutdown program, and there's no search or sort tool to help him out]].]]
*** [[spoiler: And when Stranger finally does find the correct file, he's greeted with a pre-recorded video from the Mad Man telling him he has [[SadisticChoice one last trick up his sleeve...]]]]

The Stranger is an {{Adventure}}/SciFiHorror WebAnimation/HappyTreeFriends FanFic written by [[https://www.fanfiction.net/u/6567332/HTFan HTFan]]. The prologue chapter was published on March 24, 2015 on Website/FanFictionDotNet, and the whole story was completed exactly 9 months later, on Christmas Eve that same year.

* The full story can be read [[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11135710/1/The-Stranger here]].

** The tree friends [[ThemeTuneCameo sing the show's theme song]] [[spoiler: while marching off towards the FinalBattle.]]

* DreamingOfThingsToCome: Compounded with SelfFulfillingProphecy in Chapter 2: Reality. The chapter opens with The Stranger having a nightmare about Giggles dying with a slit throat and an evil doppelgänger of himself staring him down with a bloody knife. Bear in mind that at this point Stranger is unaware of the UnexplainedRecovery rules, and still thinks the tree friends are just humans in costumes. When Stranger comes across Giggles later in the chapter, [[SanitySlippage he attacks her under the impression that she and Cuddles faked their deaths just to screw with him]]. The Stranger then tries to cut open Giggles's "costume" with a knife, only to be greeted with a stream of HighPressureBlood, prompting a MassOhCrap ([[MyGodWhatHaveIDone including one from Stranger himself]]).

TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture, a MadScientist [[NoNameGiven known only as The Mad Man]] has offered [[CastOfSnowflakes 21 people of varying personalities]] to test out his new virtual reality machine. Little do the volunteers know that The Mad Man [[GodhoodSeeker plans to keep them as captives for his own personal entertainment]]. With his soon-to-be prisoners in place, the twisted scientist proceeds to completely alter their [[FakeMemories memories]] and [[{{Flanderization}} personalities]], before setting them in avatars resembling [[RidiculouslyCuteCritter cuddly forest critters]]. With the new virtual world, christened as “Happy Tree Friends”, finally complete, The Mad Man establishes himself as a MadGod, creating various [[DeadlyEuphemism “situations”]] which always end in the [[LudicrousGibs visceral demises]] [[CruelAndUnusualDeath of the innocent captives]], [[ResetButton just for them to wake up perfectly fine the day after with no recollection of the torture they went through]], [[HereWeGoAgain only to die again]]. [[AndIMustScream And the vicious cycle continued, unquestioned and uninterrupted, for just over a decade…]]

Until one day, someone else suddenly appeared in The Mad Man’s virtual world. Unlike the other humans trapped inside, the mysterious Stranger had his memories intact. When The Stranger recognized that [[CrapsaccharineWorld the fluffy-critter utopia he was lost in]] [[FateWorseThanDeath was actually a nightmarish hellscape in disguise]], he decided that he ''had'' to find a way for him and the other captives to escape, by any means possible. Can The Stranger win his fight against the unstoppable, godlike powers of The Mad Man?

* AGodAmI: The entire motivation behind The Mad Man’s plans. He created the Happy Tree Friends world to wreak all sorts of misery and destruction without repercussions.

* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler: The Stranger successfully sets everyone free, but at the cost of his own life, and [[TheGreatestStoryNeverTold most of his efforts were forgotten after the captives were freed]]. [[KarmaHoudini The Mad Man is still alive in the real world, unpunished for his actions]], but it’s implied that [[HeelRealization he learned his lesson]].]]

* BrokenBird: The Stranger, full stop. All he wants is to go home, but he’s forced to spend several months trapped in [[CrapsaccharineWorld a world where death lurks around every corner]], all the while [[TheCaligula The Mad Man controlling it]] [[BreakTheCutie constantly mocks his idealisms]]. [[spoiler: This goes deeper when it’s revealed that he used to be the apprentice of the Mad Man, [[YouCouldHaveUsedYourPowersForGood who wanted to use the virtual reality technology to make the world a better place]], only to have his brain forcibly wiped so the Mad Man can carry on with his plans. And we learn this ''after'' we learn that The Stranger’s [[HeroicSacrifice not gonna make it]].]]
* CardCarryingVillain: The Mad Man. He fully admits to being SickAndWrong for enjoying what he does, but keeps going anyways [[AGodAmI because it was his life’s goal to be able to play God]].
* CentralTheme: [[ScrewDestiny Free Will vs Fate]]. Our hero defiantly refuses to be involved in The Mad Man’s plans, scraping tooth and nail to free all the captives from their gruesome fates and help them develop into the independent, self-sufficient people they once were.
* ChekhovsGun: [[spoiler: One of Flaky’s quills gets stuck to The Stranger’s arm while trying to carry her to safety. He decides to hold on to the quill as its sharpness can make a very useful weapon. Sure enough, it proves very useful when The Stranger has his back against the wall by [[ClimaxBoss Shadow Evil]].]]

* CueTheRain: The Stranger is hiding in a dumpster to escape the police, and [[BigBad The Mad Man]] has just told told him the AwfulTruth about the world he’s stuck in. Right after The Mad Man leaves, it starts to rain, [[DarkestHour and all The Stranger can do is lie in fear]].

* DramaticIrony: When The Stranger is introduced, he spends the first few chapters learning the ins and outs of the VirtualReality he’s trapped in. Meanwhile, anyone who has seen the original show or has read the prologue [[TheyKilledKennyAgain knows full well]] [[ResetButton what Stranger is in for]].
* DreamingOfThingsToCome: Compounded with SelfFulfillingProphecy in Chapter 2: Reality. The chapter opens with The Stranger having a nightmare about Giggles dying with a slit throat and an evil doppelgänger of himself staring him down with a bloody knife. Bear in mind that at this point Stranger is unaware of the UnexplainedRecovery rules, and still thinks the tree friends are just humans in costumes. When Stranger comes across Giggles later in the chapter, [[SanitySlippage he attacks her under the impression that she and Cuddles faked their deaths just to screw with him]]. The Stranger then tries to cut open Giggles’s “costume” with a knife, only to be greeted with a stream of HighPressureBlood, prompting a MassOhCrap ([[MyGodWhatHaveIDone including one from Stranger himself]]).

** The nightmare at the end of Chapter 8 not only foreshadows [[JekyllAndHyde Flippy’s]] debut in the following chapter, but also [[spoiler: Flaky’s cause of death in the FinalBattle, which includes her assailant and even the exact location.]]

* FakeMemories: A “Host” within the virtual reality (in essence, the unique tree friends) can have their mentalities altered by the administrator (The Mad Man), giving them new memories that may or may not line up with the original host’s mindset. Since The Stranger wasn’t properly programmed in, he enters the HTF server with all of his memories unaltered.
* FantasyGunControl: Just like the original show, firearms don’t show up anywhere in Happy Tree Town. [[spoiler: Subverted when Flippy [[SecretWeapon reveals that he was stashing a handgun]] just in time for the BigBadassBattleSequence.]]
* GivenNameReveal: The Stranger’s name is revealed to be [[spoiler: Ezekiel Pearce]] after he [[spoiler: takes the ATC for himself and uses it to search for the server shutdown command.]]
* HappilyFailedSuicide: [[spoiler: After passing the DespairEventHorizon, The Stranger decides he has no option left but to die, planning to jump off the roof of a tall office building. At the last second, he notices an oil tanker crash into the base of the tower, the resulting explosion shakes the building off its foundation and start to collapse. The Stranger immediately rushes down [[ChronicHeroSyndrome in an attempt to save the people inside]] [[DefiantToTheEnd or at least go down fighting]]. He ends up successfully rescuing Flaky, not only gaining a new friend but in the process also discovered a loophole in the world’s ResetButton properties, giving him the inspiration to make a plan and shut down the Mad Man’s virtual reality for good.]] And given the Mad Man’s ability to cause such a disaster on a whim, [[spoiler: outright saying he was responsible for it during his BreakingSpeech]], this could also qualify as a NiceJobFixingItVillain.

* [[spoiler: HumanityEnsues]]: [[spoiler: After taking the Mad Man’s spot as administrator for himself, The Stranger changes everyone’s avatars into to their human selves when the next reset occurs.]]

* LoopholeAbuse: Stranger’s plan to free everyone involves this. [[ResetButton The virtual world resets back to normal every 24 hours, recovering all property damage and erasing all memory of those who died when they recover]]. However, if anyone survives the interval between resets, then they will remember what happened in the resets they lived through. So if The Stranger saves as many tree friends as he can, the more likely they are to notice [[UnexplainedRecovery the other tree friends and significant property damage inexplicably recovering the day after]], and will soon recognize the virtual world for what it is if their survival keeps up.

** Stranger suffers another one when he [[spoiler: stabs Cub’s dead body [[WhatHaveIBecome and realizes that the Mad Man nearly convinced him]] [[ImAHumanitarian to eat the burned remains]]]]. This time Stranger [[DrivenToSuicide almost resorts to suicide just to find a means to escape]].

* MythologyGag: The Stranger refers to Flaky with male pronouns until he is proven otherwise. This references Flaky’s [[FlameBait infamous]] ViewerGenderConfusion from the main show due to her lacking TertiarySexualCharacteristics.
** Speaking of which, Stranger finds out Flaky’s true gender after spotting a photo of her on a high school soccer team, referencing her brief stint as a goalie in ''A Change of Heart''.
** While The Stranger is looking for a situation he can safely intervene in, he sees events similar to the episodes ''False Alarm'' (Nutty running in to Lifty & Shifty in an alleyway) and ''In A Jam'' (The Mole running a blood drive). He settles on a situation that’s a shot-for-shot recreation of ''Stayin’ Alive''. The next chapters also have situations that mirror the openings of ''Chip Off The Ol’ Block'', ''A Bit of a Pickle'', and ''Double Whammy''.
** One of the kills in Fliqpy’s rampage at the carnival is a direct reference to Cuddles’s death in ''Mime to Five''.
** At one point, Stranger jokingly refers to Flippy as [[Recap/HTFPartyAnimal “a real party animal” and “the kind of guy who would use a cake slicer to cut someone’s face off”]], then laments that he is a [[Recap/HTFDoubleWhammy double whammy]].
** The tree friends [[ThemeTuneCameo sing the show’s theme song]] [[spoiler: while marching off towards the FinalBattle.]]
* NoNameGiven: Unlike The Stranger, who has his true name revealed at the tail-end of the story, The Mad Man’s name remains a mystery. [[spoiler: Same can also be said for the true human names of the captives, only going by their tree friend names in the narration.]]
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Normally, [[LovableCoward Flaky would want to stay as far away from danger as possible]]. But when [[spoiler: she notices that the woods are on fire, knowing full-well that [[TrueCompanions The Stranger]] and [[TheDreaded Fliqpy]] are still in there]], she immediately rushes over to Stranger’s rescue.

** Early on, Stranger tries to warn everyone about the Mad Man’s omnipresent powers, [[CassandraTruth but since he was the only one with self-awareness, everyone else thought he was insane]].
* RobbingTheDead: This is what The Stranger resorted to doing during the two month TimeSkip between chapters 2 & 3 in order to survive, [[TechnicalPacifist out of fear that he would cause another disaster if he had any extended interaction with anyone]]. [[IDidWhatIHadToDo It’s mentioned he was reluctant to do so at the start, but soon began to accept that he supposedly had no other options]].
* SadisticChoice: [[spoiler: When The Stranger activates the virtual world’s shutdown procedure, he finds a video of the Mad Man giving him one final choice: either [[EtTuBrute save himself and let everyone else die]], [[TheNeedsOfMany or sacrifice his life to let everyone else go]], [[ExactTimeToFailure and if he doesn’t choose within 24 hours]], [[AllForNothing everyone dies]]. After some long thought, The Stranger ultimately decides to [[HeroicSacrifice let himself die to free the Mad Man’s captives once and for all]].]]
* ScrewTheRulesImDoingWhatsRight: The Stranger’s motivation to free everyone inside the virtual world. The Mad Man sees no problem with the endless misery he puts on his captives since they wake up with no memory the day after. But Stranger sees this as completely sick and wrong, arguing that nobody deserves to be put in a situation like this.
* SnowMeansDeath: [[spoiler: The FinalBattle occurs during a cold winter’s day, complete with snow.]]
* SparedByTheAdaptation: The Stranger intervenes midway through a recreation of the episode ''Stayin’ Alive''; he saves Petunia [[TheReasonYouSuckSpeech and chastises Disco Bear for being a]] CasanovaWannabe LethalKlutz.
* TakeMeInstead: [[spoiler: With Flaky in Fliqpy’s clutches, The Stranger offers his life in exchange for hers. This gives Stranger the opportunity to talk down Fliqpy by reminding him of his DarkAndTroubledPast.]]
* TechnicalPacifist: The Stranger. While he isn’t afraid to use violence to make a point, he’s appalled at the prospect of killing someone.

--->'''The Stranger''': ”Dude, stop being a total dick and leave these women alone! If they did not want to dance with you in the first place, why in the actual fuck do you think they would want to do it if you forced them to? That's just harassment there, you dick! (…) Listen here, asshole! If I see you messing with these women again, trust me, there won't be anything left of you when I'm done. Now crawl back home you prick!”

* TookALevelInBadass: [[CharacterDevelopment Over the course of the story]], The Stranger and Flaky evolve from [[TheHermit a depressed hermit]] and TheParanoiac into an [[AllLovingHero All-Loving]] AntiHero and a [[HopeBringer Hope-Bringing]] PluckyGirl respectively. [[spoiler: And in the climax, just about every unique tree friend that isn’t [[TheAce Flippy]], [[FlyingBrick Splendid]], or [[TagalongKid Cub]] [[SignificantWardrobeSwitch don soldier gear]] and gain the capability to mow down dozens of the Mad Man’s {{Mooks}} at once.]]

* TroubledBackstoryFlashback: When The Stranger [[spoiler: starts reading Flippy’s diary]], we are treated to a flashback that explains [[spoiler: how Flippy’s SuperPoweredEvilSide came to be.]]
* VictoryIsBoring: [[spoiler: The Mad Man admits in a pre-recorded video that he has grown bored after playing God for over a decade, and was actually planning his own downfall at the hands of The Stranger as soon as he showed up. The Mad Man was planning to activate the virtual world’s [[KillEmAll failsafe]], [[TrashTheSet destroy the facility housing it]], [[KarmaHoudini and disappear into the night]]. But when The Stranger, a literal uncontrolled variable, appeared, The Mad Man decided to give himself [[TheLastDance one last challenge]].]]

* WeOnlyHaveOneChance: Unlike all the other tree friends, The Stranger was not properly programmed in, so if he dies, he’s KilledOffForReal.
* WhamLine: Ever since The Stranger rescued Flaky, he was acting like an overprotective parent to keep her safe. This all comes to a head in Chapter 14, [[spoiler: when Stranger wants Flaky to opt out of the upcoming BigBadassBattleSequence, she responds by repeating one simple word [[FreudianSlip until Stranger cracks from the pressure and admits his love for her…]]]]
--->'''[[spoiler: Flaky]]''': [[spoiler: [[ArmorPiercingQuestion “Why?!”]]]]

--->'''The Mad Man''': [[spoiler: ''(while taking the form of a generic tree friend)'' [[BigBrotherIsWatching “I was always there, every step of the way.”]]]]

** The Stranger has finally made it to the Mad Man’s computer and is ready to activate the shutdown command… [[spoiler: only to be greeted with literal billions of files. [[YourPrincessIsInAnotherCastle Only one of these files holds the true shutdown program, and there’s no search or sort tool to help him out]].]]
*** [[spoiler: And when Stranger finally does find the correct file, he’s greeted with a pre-recorded video from the Mad Man telling him he has [[SadisticChoice one last trick up his sleeve…]]]]
* WhatTheHellHero: The Mad Man is outright ''flabbergasted'' at the prospect of [[spoiler: [[TalkingTheMonsterToDeath The Stranger attempting to reason with]] [[TheDreaded Fli]][[TheJuggernaut qpy]]]]. From Mad Man’s perspective, [[TooDumbToLive such a thing would be a suicide mission at best]], [[BullyingADragon and for VERY good reasons]].

* BlitheSpirit: Despite not being as carefree and cheerful as other example, the titular Stranger is still one of these. He's a FishOutOfWater and the only human in the virtual world not under the Mad Man's control, and his overarching goal is to break this control from everyone else by [[EverybodyLives intervening in situations]] and making them more aware of the AwfulTruth.

* BlitheSpirit: The titular Stranger. He's a FishOutOfWater and the only human in the virtual world not under the Mad Man's control, and his overarching goal is to break this control from everyone else by intervening in situations and making them more aware of the AwfulTruth.

* TookALevelInBadass: [[CharacterDevelopment Over the course of the story]], The Stranger and Flaky evolve from [[The Hermit a depressed hermit]] and TheParanoiac into an [[AllLovingHero All-Loving]] AntiHero and a [[HopeBringer Hope-Bringing]] PluckyGirl respectively. [[spoiler: And in the climax, just about every unique tree friend that isn’t [[TheAce Flippy]], [[FlyingBrick Splendid]], or [[TagalongKid Cub]] [[SignificantWardrobeSwitch don soldier gear]] and gain the capability to mow down dozens of the Mad Man’s {{Mooks}} at once.]]

--->'''The Mad Man''': [[spoiler: ‘(while taking the form of a generic tree friend)’ [[BigBrotherIsWatching “I was always there, every step of the way.”]]]]

* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler: The Stranger successfully sets everyone free, but at the cost of his own life, and [[TheGreatestStoryNeverTold most of his efforts were forgotten after the captives were freed]]. [[KarmaHoudini The Mad Man is still alive in the real world, unpunished for his actions,]], but it’s implied that [[HeelRealization he learned his lesson]].]]

* WhatTheHellHero: The Mad Man is outright ‘flabbergasted’ at the prospect of [[spoiler: [[TalkingTheMonsterToDeath The Stranger attempting to reason with]] [[TheDreaded Fli]][[TheJuggernaut qpy]]]]. From Mad Man’s perspective, [[TooDumbToLive such a thing would be a suicide mission at best]], [[BullyingADragon and for VERY good reasons]].

* SparedByTheAdaption: The Stranger intervenes midway through a recreation of the episode ''Stayin’ Alive''; he saves Petunia [[TheReasonYouSuckSpeech and chastises Disco Bear for being a]] CasanovaWannabe LethalKlutz.

* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: The Stranger gives one directed at Disco Bear:
- > ”Dude, stop being a total dick and leave these women alone! If they did not want to dance with you in the first place, why in the actual fuck do you think they would want to do it if you forced them to? That's just harassment there, you dick! (…) Listen here, asshole! If I see you messing with these women again, trust me, there won't be anything left of you when I'm done. Now crawl back home you prick!”

->'''[[spoiler: Flaky]]''': [[spoiler: [[ArmorPiercingQuestion “Why?!”]]]]

->'''The Mad Man''': [[spoiler: ‘(while taking the form of a generic tree friend)’ [[BigBrotherIsWatching “I was always there, every step of the way.”]]]]

TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture, a MadScientist [[NoNameGiven known only as The Mad Man]] has offered [[CastOfSnowflakes 21 people of varying personalities]] to test out his new virtual reality machine. Little do the volunteers know that The Mad Man [[GodhoodSeeker plans to keep them as captives for his own personal entertainment]]. With his soon-to-be prisoners in place, the twisted scientist proceeds to completely alter their [[FakeMemories memories]] and {{Flanderization personalities}}, before setting them in avatars resembling [[RidiculouslyCuteCritter cuddly forest critters]]. With the new virtual world, christened as “Happy Tree Friends”, finally complete, The Mad Man establishes himself as a MadGod, creating various [[DeadlyEuphemism “situations”]] which always end in the [[LudicrousGibs visceral demises]] [[CruelAndUnusualDeath of the innocent captives]], [[ResetButton just for them to wake up perfectly fine the day after with no recollection of the torture they went through]], [[HereWeGoAgain only to die again]]. [[AndIMustScream And the vicious cycle continued, unquestioned and uninterrupted, for just over a decade…]]

* TroubledBackstoryFlashback: When The Stranger [[spoiler: starts reading Flippy’s diary]], we are treated to a flashback that explains [[how Flippy’s SuperPoweredEvilSide came to be.]]