
There are a lot of supplies on the desktop. Here is a little guide to help
you sort them out.
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Angus
Angus is one of the many pencils who make their home on the
desktop. He was originally a promotional tool for the “Angus
Steak House of Cityville USA”. His wooden shaft is painted
plaid and only his name “Angus” remains visible due to
having been sharpened over time.
Angus is aware of his continually “shortening” life and is
compelled to warn the other pencils about repeated use and
the subsequent sharpening which follows. Doodling and
tic-tac-toe may be fun pastimes; but these are activities
represent squandered and wasted lives.
Angus is an increasing existential struggle with the pencil
sharpener, which he does not blame for his circumstance, but
recognizes as a tool which creates opportunity for meaning,
utilitarianism, and creativity to the pencil population,
while conversely facilitating their inevitable demise.
Angus may be older and questionably wiser than other
pencils. His reminds us of the importance of living a
purposeful life. But, the age old question remains… Is it
better to live a short care free life of self-indulgence or
a long frugal life of purpose? Or is there a balance between
the two that is different for each of us?
Unfortunately most of the younger pencils view him as a
depressing dotard. On the other hand, the Blue Pens find his
ranting amusing. As a result of a lack of physical evidence
to back up his claims that their life spans are just as
vulnerable. |
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Black
Ballpoint Pens The Black Pens are the female pens of the desktop pen
universe. They share the buck-teeth and white shafts of
their male Blue Pen counterparts. But, that is where the
similarities end.
The Black Pens have unique names, personalities, goals, and
desires, making them easily identifiable at a glance by
everyone else on the desktop community except the Blue Pens.
When seeking out meaningful conversation, Black Pens
typically interact with other Black Pens.
Black Pens represent the “every-woman” and are most commonly
found in stories containing social commentary that
investigate the relationships. |
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Blue
Ballpoint Pens In contrast to the Black Pens, Blue Pens do not feel unique.
This is a result of all Blue Pens being identical in every
aspect; So much so that every Blue Pen on the desktop is
named “Blue”. The only spark of individuality that a Blue
has is the ability to tell each other apart; a feat that is
impossible for the other desktop characters. Fortunately,
Blue Pens are so exactly alike that they are interchangeable
and differentiating between them is fairly meaningless;
especially for the Black Pens, who have realized that “men
are all the same”.
Blue’s greatest flaw and best quality are one and the same:
naivety. Blues are filled with the best of intentions but
remain inevitably clueless. Blues often fall victim to their
own misguided whims while remaining pathetically endearing.
Blue Pens are social characters that that are completely
accepting of their life on the desktop and live from day to
day and moment to moment. Blues interact with the entirety
of desktop characters, but most frequently with other pens.
Blues represent the “every-man” as a catalyst for social
commentary. While Blues are involved in stories that
investigate the relationships between men and women, they
also represent mankind’s naïveté with the world around them. |
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Chewey
Chewey is a typical pencil with yellow painted body, pock
marked with dents and holes. He's been sharpened and used
over time, making him shorter than most other pencils.
Although the Pencils tend to be spiritual, Chewey’s thoughts
rarely exceed his concern for his own mortality and
attempting to fulfill his selfish desires. These are often
in direct contradiction to one another, leading to a
never-ending internal conflict. His fears tend to manifest themselves
as deceptive and sometimes fatal acts of aggression toward
other pencils in a misguided means of self-preservation,
believing that by removing the competition decreases the
probability of being discarded. In sharp contrast to Angus, Chewey will go out of his way to
put other pencils into perilous situations, such as
convincing them to toss themselves into the trash, sharpen
themselves to the point of uselessness, and rolling off the
back of the desk, causing “mysterious” disappearances.
Unfortunately for Chewey, there are lots of pencils and it
is unlikely that the seemingly endless influx of replacement
pencils will be discontinued. Each day remains the same as
the last; another day on the desktop is another good day on
the desktop.
The role of Chewey is twofold; to investigate man’s
increasing sense of his own mortality and purpose as he ages
and to investigate the pleasure derived from desires which
are commonly considered taboo. |
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Crayon,
Orange Orange, was a crayon that inadvertently left behind during a
“bring your child to work day”. He is out of place on the
desktop and struggles to be accepted. He overcompensates for
his insecurity by lashing out at those around him in an
attempt to prove that he has a superior intellect. He
usually sees things with a clarity that eludes the other
desktop characters and he cannot resist pointing out their
mistakes. As a result, he has difficulty making friends.
He regularly socializes with Chewey and other fellow desktop
misfits.
Orange is the voice of reason and common sense, while
highlighting the importance of humility over
self-importance. His relationship with Chewey illustrates
the value of friendship and the struggle of finding a place
in a diverse society after childhood. |
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Crayons,
The 63 Far away from the desktop and workplace, there are 63
Crayons. They live in a child’s bedroom, without their
brother, Orange. The 63 crayons appear in flashbacks and in
Orange’s dreams/nightmares. Like the child that they belong
to, each adorably and appropriately named crayon (Crimson,
Sky, Strawberry, Teal, Sunburst, etc.) has a big
imagination, but little “book learning”.
The 63 Crayons represent lost childhood, innocence, and
"childish things" to either be left behind or cherished,
depending on one’s point of view. |
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Dr.
Fountain Penn MD PhD PDQ
Dr. Penn is a high quality refillable fountain pen with gold
trim and a fancy calligraphy point. He is trained in
psychology and is a licensed therapist. He is the most
grounded desktop inhabitant and is completely aware of his
existence and purpose. His goal is to help each of the
writing instruments to live up to their potential.
While Dr. Penn tries to help everyone, he often finds
himself overwhelmed by the Blues’ problems, which are
ultimately shared by all of them at the same time.
Dr. Penn represents the sound psychological truths that so
many individuals fail to seek out or heed when observed. |

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Elmar
The tallest writing instrument on the desktop is known to
most of the inhabitants as Elmar.
His full name is blazon across his shaft, “Elmar Company
Permanent Marker”. However, after donning a small mask and
inverting his base, with his cap moved to the bottom of his
barrel, he uses his cape and other desktop objects to hide
the majority of the lettering on his body to become the
crime fighting superhero “El Marco” (Elmar Co), who
is sworn to rid the desktop of “evil”.
Ironically, there is no “evil” on the desktop for him to
fight. Misguidedly, he attributes his own vigilance as the
reason. He has no concept of the delusional world he has
created for himself. While he means well, he leaves large
black marks all over the desktop as he “swooshes” around
while he is on patrol.
Elmar and El Marco interact with all of the desktop
characters. The Blues think he’s a hero. The Blacks think
he’s dreamy. Everyone else thinks he’s crazy.
Elmar is the child in all of us, who wraps a towel around
his neck and runs thru the house pretending to fly until
he’s told by his mother to go play outside before he breaks
something. |
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Frenchie
Frenchie is a standard yellow pencil that has an eraser
which has been used so often that it has been worn into a
beret.
Frenchie is a political activist who stands on his “staple
box”, protesting and pontificating to whoever will listen.
He is neither conservative nor liberal, preaching against
both equally, in a brutally honest evaluation of all politic
views. He is a pure centralist who fights against the ugly
underbelly of politics and the extremes aligned with each
party affiliation.
He is also vested in targeting el Marco as an
unwarranted vigilante, who he views as doing more harm than
good. |
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Highlighter
Sergeant Major Floyd Clegg (Status - Active):
This wide
barreled pink highlighter is the leader of the Highlighter
Special Corps. He is a drill sergeant, who believes that the
“lawless frontier” that is “the desktop” requires martial
law as a governance until a more formal government can be
established. He feels that it is HIS responsibility
to teach new writing instruments the rules of the desktop
when they arrive. Those rules are HIS rules, because
believing you are right means YOU ARE RIGHT.
Sgt. Clegg shares Frenchie’s view that el Marco is a
lawless vigilante threat. This belief and the desire for an
orderly government are the only two values that he shares
with Frenchie. Sgt. Clegg knows that Elmar is el Marco,
having once offered him a position in the Highlighter
Special Corps, which was turned down. It is possible that he
doesn’t stop el Marco because he has no authority. It
is also possible that secrets of their shared past would be
revealed if he acted against him.
Sgt. Clegg’s represents the narrow obedience of those who
follow rules and laws without question.
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Highlighter Agent Orange (Status - Active)
Classified. |
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Highlighter Aqua-Marine (Status - Reserve)
Aqua-Marine is a gentle giant
who is generally used as the “muscle” of the Highlighter
Special Corps, due to his size. When called upon,
Aqua-Marine will follow Clegg's orders to the letter. This
frequently involves standing in particular places for
extended periods of time. |
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Highlighter Green Barret:
Private Detective Green,
formally Captain Green, is a large, wide barreled green
highlighter, who retired from the Highlighter Special Corps
and has moved into the private sector as law enforcement. He
was manufactured by the Star Marker Company. He has a black
star painted on this barrel. Using old timey police skills,
Detective Green uses reason, experience and observation as
the tools of his trade. |
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Highlighter Old Yella (Status - Retired):
Old Yella is a skinny
barrel highlighter about the size of a Blue pen. He is the
oldest inhabitant on the desktop and remembers how things
"used-to-be" before all of the young whippersnappers
arrived.
He is Sgt. Clegg’s great-uncle and “friends” with the
stapler, Stanley, who he believes is senile and has
developed multiple personalities. The staples that he once
knew are long gone and the new staples think he’s an old
"kook". To both their credits, they are both mostly correct.
Old Yella doesn’t believe things will be better than they
were in the “good old days”. He recognizes that he is old
and could be discarded at any time. Driven by the need to
pass on his years of wisdom and experience, he often tries
to offer advice to anyone that will listen. However, his
recollections of days past are fading and his
well-intentioned tales tend toward rambling nonsense.
Old Yella represents obsolescence and the knowledge and
wisdom which are generally ignored or unappreciated by
younger generations. |
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Invisio
Invisio is the only clear plastic barreled pen on the
desktop. He has run out of ink, leaving his barrel
transparent and causing him to believe that he can become
invisible by removing his cap. Of course, this is
impossible. The other desktop inhabitants believe that he is
insane and his attempts to use this "power" are typically
either humored or ignored.
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Mechanical
Pencil Mechanical Pencil is an off-screen character who is the
most book smart writing instrument on the desktop.
The Blues seek him out for assistance in designing and
building devices. While he provides them with very specific
plans for building exactly what they ask for, the Blues
inevitably miss critical elements, leading to disaster.
Mechanical Pencil represents the much sought after
"progress" that makes our lives more complex rather than
better. |
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Miss
Red Miss Red is the only red ballpoint pen on the desktop. The
Blues think she is the most beautiful pen on the desktop.
She is very distracting to the Blues, regardless of what
they’re doing. This, of course, infuriates most of the Black
pens, which can be understandably jealous of the attention
that she receives.
Miss Red is, as her name implies, is misread. Miss Red does
not want, solicit, or encourage the Blues’ affections, the
Blacks’ resentment, or any assumptions made by the desktop
community in general. If any of the others would take the
time to face their own biases and speak to her directly,
they would all discover that she is not what any of them
imagine.
Miss Red represents society’s unrealistic image of female
perfection and the struggle to overcome stereotypes through
open dialogue and substantive enlightenment. |
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The
Ones who came before
“The Ones who came before” are standard pencils who were
sharpened and thrown into the ceiling tiles, to remain as
trapped observers of the desktop for all time. They have the
limited amount of wisdom that could be attained as a result
of dangling above an office desk for several years.
Having existed in the office longer than most other office
supplies, “The Ones who came before” are considered to be
wise. They regularly receive visits from pencils that
journey across the desktop looking for sage wisdom. While
the advice they dispense often sounds credible it is usually
useless and underpinned with sarcasm and “in jokes”.
“The Ones who came before” have little meaning in their
lives and spend most of their time looking for ways to amuse
themselves.
The role of “The Ones who came before” is to illustrate the
inherent cruelty in man and similar to “The Oracle” to
highlight the importance of choosing credible advisers. |
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The
Oracle The Oracle is a black desk stapler which has no “life” on
the desktop. The Oracle’s combined consciousness is made up
of the sum of the staples which reside within its protective
casing, at any given time. The Oracle serves as a false
beacon of truth to the pencils who journey to ask it for
guidance and answers to questions of faith.
The Oracle’s biggest flaw is readily apparent in its
schizophrenic behavior which has gone unnoticed by the
pencils. The various personalities of the staples, who
inhabit it, are constantly in conflict with one another;
sometimes oblivious to, sometimes apathetic to, and
sometimes outright aggressive to one another and their
visitors.
Many of the staples, presumably the ones closer to the front
of The Oracle, are aware that they are collectively being
mistaken for a desktop fortune-telling device, happily
playing into the role, while trying to keep the newer
staples at the rear from blowing their collective cover.
Some disagreements over what advice to give to the pencils
will bring The Oracle to a complete impasse, while others
reach such volumes that they threaten to reveal The Oracle’s
secret. And they are rarely able to come to a consensus on
any given thought. There are simply “too many cooks in the
kitchen”.
Like “The Ones who came before” role of The Oracle is to
illustrate the controversies surrounding “blind faith” and
highlight the importance of wisely choosing qualified
spiritual advisers. |
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The
Pencils The Pencils that inhabit the desktop community are standard
pencils with yellow painted bodies. Most pencils look alike,
but may vary in appearance based on characteristics such as
sharpness, height, eraser usage, or other physical
markings.
The Pencils are spiritual characters, spending most of their
time seeking out the reasons behind existence and
investigating their own mortality. Pencils will often make a
pilgrimage to ask questions to and seek moral guidance from
"The Oracle” and “the Ones who came before”.
Pencils normally interact with other Pencils or with Blues.
Pencils represent mankind’s quest to understand the meaning
of life. They investigate faith, god, mortality, and
purpose. Pencils also investigate social issues that Pens
are not capable of understanding. |
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Phyllis
(Phyl) Phyl is a refillable pencil. Because she is refillable, she
has the potential to be the one of the longest living
writing instruments on the desktop. While this hard truth is
upsetting to Chewey, who is also smitten with her, no other
pencil is concerned that she could render all other pencils
obsolete.
Phyl is friends with everyone on the desktop; even the
Blues, who think she’s a boy because of her name and color.
Phyl represents the wholesome, candid, and confident girl
next door, who is completely comfortable with whom she is. |
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Push
Top Push Top is a promotional push button pen. Push Top is
motivated to bully the Blue Pens in an effort to impress
Miss Red with his physical strength. Push Top is feared by
the Blues, ignored by Miss Red, friendless and lonely,
releasing his frustration the only way that he knows,
violence.
Push Top represents the insecure bullies who turn to
physical violence as their only outlet. |
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Rainbow
Rainbow is the desktop’s gender fluid inhabitant. Most
of the female community love to be around them. Most of the
male community admires their fashion sense. Everyone thinks
they have great taste in music. Some desktop inhabitants
are accepting of them while others are simply confused.
Rainbow's purpose on the desktop is to examine society’s
struggle with the LGBTQ community, as well as their inverse
struggle with society. |
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Ralph
"The Pen Fairy"
Ralph is a green eraser-less miniature golf pencil. “Ralph’s
Pitch & Putt” is written on his barrel in white letters. He
is about the size of a crayon and the only pencil that
appears pencil tip up.
How Ralph became "The Pen Fairy" is a mystery, a topic he
will not discuss. He is fated to grant one wish to
every pen he encounters, a job he does with great
reluctance, as he is required by “Magical Law” to speak the
very specific Pen Fairy Poem (PFP) prior to granting any
wish. Much like a genie, Ralph will often twist the meaning
of words in the wishes he hears or otherwise grant wishes
based on the thoughts of the Pen making the wish rather than
the words that they say.
His motivation is to enjoy life, while avoiding contact with
pens (especially Blues) whenever possible.
Ralph represents wanting what we do not have and the
consequences of getting those things. Be careful what you
wish for.
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Sir
Reginald
Sir Reginald is a "handlebar" mustached, monocle wearing
permanent black marker with a black cap and gray/white body.
This snooty English big game hunter is obsessed with
capturing his long-time nemesis, the elusive Pink Eraser.
Reginald takes no time to reflect on himself and his blind
obsession. Loud and boisterous, he consistently recruits
pencils to assist him in his hunt, convincing them that by
capturing the Pink Eraser, they can prevent their work,
their very purpose, from being erased. The single-minded
Reginald will befriend anyone that might bring about the
realization of his dream.
The role of Reginald as a character is to examine the
futility of obsessive behaviors. |
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Animal
Spotlight
A-Tacks
"A-Tacks" are bulletin board pushpins which are often
used to secure paper, string, and other objects to cubicle
walls. They occasionally fall free, toward the desktop,
causing the office supplies to think that they are under
“A-Tack”.
A-Tacks represent our irrational fears and how we react when
faced with things that we do not understand.
Pinky
Pinky is a slightly used, sometimes amorphous, pink eraser,
who uses cunning to elude Sir Reginald in an ever-recurring
game of cat and mouse. Pinky is an animal whose only wants
in life are to eat the pencil trails which are left about by
the pencils’ daily activities, finding quiet places to nap,
and avoiding being captured by Sir Reginald and his band of
eraser hunting pencils, whom he has convinced, is
justifiable in order to protect their hard work from being
erased.
Pinky represents man’s desire to control nature, rather than
finding a way to live in harmony with it.
Sharpener
Dog
Sharpener Dog is a small plastic pencil sharpener. Sir
Reginald has used him in his quest to capture the Pink
Eraser. Unfortunately, Sharpener Dog is an animal whose
nature and instinct is to sharpen the very pencils that Sir
Reginald recruits.
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