Tiffy Jones (2021)

Heya!

So like, I don’t know who I’m writing to exactly… my new bestie said it was someone called the internet, I think? Anyways, they suggested that I show you, the internet, this! It’s what I look like - I hope that you all like my new outfit I brought with them yesterday!

Sorry, I’d love to chat but I gotta dash now, but if you have any questions you would like to ask me Mr. Internet, ask away, and I’ll do my best to answer them when I get back! Hopefully my bestie can show me how to actually do that though… they’ve been acting kinda forgetful just now… it’s almost as if they’re forgetting about that Internet, huh? I think they’ll enjoy their summer here with me either way guys – though that’s our little secret! 😉

Aaaaaanyways, see ya around!!
Tiffy <3

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Tiffany Jones

or just Tiffy for short, is an anthropomorphic yellow-crested cockatoo, who lives only within the world contained inside of a cursed VHS tape. She is bubbly, kind, supportive, and very energetic, enjoying spending time shopping at her local mall, working out at the aerobics classes she runs there, and hanging out with all of her friends!

The cover of the aforementioned tape is blank, apart from the text ‘Summer ‘86’ handwritten upon its cover. The tape has no anomalous properties, that is until an individual puts it into a working VCR, where it shall start playing footage that is too garbled to decipher, seemingly having been worn out over time. The footage shall just come out as a mess of colours, with degraded 80’s pop music being played in the background. However, after a few seconds of this, anyone in the immediate area viewing the tape shall be magically sucked into the screen and enter the world that Tiffy resides in!

The ‘visitor’ shall find themselves somewhere in the fictional city of ‘Hollycroft’ after being sucked into the screen - this supposedly being located somewhere in southern England. Most notably, everyone inside of it is some type of anthropomorphic animal, and all are modelled after various 80’s media tropes, archetypes, and trends; generally colourful and bold 80’s fashion is all very plentiful here, and the same applies to the overall architecture of the city too. Should the visitor try to leave the city, they shall find that once they are on the outskirts, there is nothing but endless countryside stretching on forever, though all of the inhabitants of this world act as if this is not the case, and that Hollycroft is in fact a very real place. Finally, once inside of her world, it is only a matter of time before the visitor shall start being altered to better fit into it – specifically by being physically transformed.

Transformation will always occur to the visitor sometime during their first day in Hollycroft, with the process taking anywhere between 3 minutes to one hour to conclude. With each new visit to this world, the visitor will typically be transformed into a different being, though it is possible that they can become the same character they have been once before, with the likelihood of this being increased if that’s what they personally desire. However, in all cases, the visitor shall become someone who is connected to Tiffy in some capacity, such as a friend, relative, partner, or even Tiffy herself. Mental changes can also occur to the visitor during the transformation process, including memory and personality changes, as well as alterations in their abilities/skills. To what capacity this happens is seemingly random, whether that be no mental changes occurring at all, or an absolute overhaul of their mind.

The visitor cannot escape back into the real world by any means until enough time has passed. This time period ranges from approximately the end of May, through until the start of September 1986. At this point, the visitor shall be ejected back into the real world. Should they desire, they can renter Tiffy’s world at any time by reinserting the VHS tape into a VCR. Additionally, time passes much slower in the real world in comparison to the passage of time in Hollycroft – roughly one month in Hollycroft means only around an hour passes in the real world.

No matter how the visitor acts, everyone else in Hollycroft shall act as if they are the character that there are to become, or have already become no matter how they act, or how much they protest that they are not – the most the others shall react to this, is just commenting that they’re acting a bit weird. Additionally, no residents of Hollycroft shall remember the visitors previous visit either, with all of the inhabitants seemingly being stuck in a time loop that resets itself upon the visitor being ejected around the start of September.

Multiple copies of the VHS tape exist, and have been known to appear at numerous locations such as in pawn shops, in storage areas, or simply in the homes of random people. The tape is not anomalous in terms of its durability, and can be damaged or destroyed like any standard VHS tape. However, should that occur, after approximately 48 hours and when the damaged/destroyed tape isn’t being directly observed, an undamaged copy of the tape shall manifest around the general location of the old tape, replacing it. It is unknown exactly where the tape comes from, how many copies there are, nor how it is able to appear in these random locations, though it is likely that Tiffy is involved in this process, somehow.

Whilst she has never admitted this to any of her visitors thus far, Tiffy is aware that they are not actually the character that they have become, but rather a visitor from the real world - though they play along as if this is not the case. Truthfully, she is in control of the time they spend with her, ultimately wanting the visitor to have a fun time with her during their stay. If she notices that the visitor is struggling with something specific in their lives, she will often tailor their new temporary life around this thing. For example, maybe a shy, introverted girl enters Hollycroft and has low self-esteem? No problem – being Tiffy’s jacked, punk rocker boyfriend for the summer shall help out with that. What about a man who’s been feeling lethargic as of late? Him ending up as Tiffy’s enthusiastic, sporty mother could be just what the doctor ordered! She always shows up so her daughter’s classes when she can, bless her…

No matter what happens though, once inside, Tiffy will try and make sure that you have a real radical time in Hollycroft - have fun!