#Troupe of Shadows

[tempest-toss]

Ferris Wheel Frights

Matthias wasn't an idiot, even though the steam was a tantalizing smokescreen, it wouldn't work. So he did the smart thing and immediately ran left, where the lights of the stalls were weak. Crouching down he snuck his way past, smiling at the confused "Huh?" and "What?" and the "Damn it Tabitha if you hadn't pushed me!"

Matthias made his way to the Ferris Wheel but was stopped by a worker at a game station. It was one of those rigged carnival games where you throw the ball and hit the bottles down, but the bottles were stuck in place. Matthias rolled his eyes mentally before directing his attention to the worker, who had lavender hair and a knowing smirk.

"Hey there stranger, why don't ya take a moment and play a game, maybe win a prize if you're lucky?" She asked.

"Thanks but no thanks BYE!" Matthias stuttered out as he rushed past her. The worker was flabbergasted before growling in anger. She then proceeded to bend down and pull a wind up toy and began to crank the key, chuckling to herself as she did so.

As Matthias approached the large wheel he was struck by what he saw. A man sitting slouched over in the operator seat, dead. He wore casual clothes and had a ticket stub stapled into his forehead, with the words "FAILURE" scrawled on it. Under his hand was what seemed to be a flare gun. Matthias hesitantly took it (more like wrestled it) out of the corpse's hands. He checked the chamber, revealing a single flare. He considered using it signal for help, but having a chance to evade danger with a well-placed shot was much more favorable.

Matthias entered the gondola and waited for a few moments before remembering that the only person who maybe could operate it was dead. As he got up the ferris wheel hummed to life and he sat back down as the wheel began to move.

The Ferris Wheel stopped while he was at the top, and he was able to take in the view. It was a bit amazing, with most of the park illuminated for him, reminding him of the fair when he was a kid. He pulled out his journal and began sketching a new version of the map. He took interest in a few locations. There were the horse stables, which seemed to have just turned on their lights. There was a roller coaster and some bumper cars off to the other sides of the Big Top, which loomed ominously. There was a haunted house attraction off northeast, and a place where shooting came from, so perhaps a gun gallery as well? Matthias saw the tank from early next to a larger sign. Perhaps he should revisit the sideshow and hopefully meet the bunny boy again? As he finished sketching he frowned. There wasn't power to most of the Carnival, so he could only document what was visible. Perhaps he could restore power to the park.

The Ferris Wheel started up again before making a shuttering stop, with Matthias still in the air. The Ferris Wheel had been stopped. Suddenly a puppet appeared from over the edge!

"Hello Matty" The puppet sneered, only to be met with a yelp and a smack from Matthias' notebook. "AAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa" The puppet went as it fell down and cracked open it's p;astic skull on the girders. "get em fellas!" He could faintly hear the puppet call out. Upon looking closer he could see toys, plushies, and prizes from the booth he passed by all climbing up towards him. Some were normal while most had shifted their visage, appearing more monstrous then they were originally.

"Eat Him" "For Abby!" "I will hug you until your eyes burst!" came the jeers from the toys, the others wickedly laughing along. Soon Matthias was fighting tooth and nail to survive, as the toys began to spill in or jump towards him, and he had to fend them off using only his jacket and notebook. Thwack, Smack, Wallop went the toys as they fell over. Knock off Barbies, rubber ducks with spider legs, giant peep plushies with short-range teleportation and functioning mouths all came and went, and soon Matthias was being assaulted by those that climbed up higher to dive bomb him thanks to their stapled wings or crappy parachutes.

Looking over the side he saw the control panel by the body, and the lever needed to turn the wheel on again. Needing a clear shot, he began to rock the gondola back and forth, to shake off the toys. After a few swings he shook off the ones around where he was going to shoot. He then lined up his shot and fired the flare gun. The flare went between supports and hit the lever, pushing it down. The Wheel shuddered before rseuming operation. As soon as it hit the bottom Matthias dove out and hid.

The lavender haired lady appeared and looked out on the many defeated toys of her. "This is fucking unacceptable! You had him cornered, and you all mucked it up! I can't believe you are my toys, I should incinerate you for all of this!" She complained as she began picking some of them up. "I swear if I see that man I will knock him out!" As she proclaimed this she turned around and saw a flash of orange as Matthias appeared behind her and gripping the barrel, swung the flare gun into her head, disorienting her as she slipped on a toy and knocked herself out on the control panel. As she fell asleep, all the prizes stopped living, and those still on the Wheel unceremoniously fell off with a chorous of snaps, cracks, and shatters.

After checking and confirming that she was alive, Matthis sighed in relief before turning to face away from the park. With so many options to choose, where should he go next?

Threat Level: Increasing Remaining Survivors: 13/16 Injuries: Light scratches Mental state: More Disturbed. Key Items: Notebook with partial map sketch and Pencil

[honorrry]

Ghost copies Sonic

The best thing I've ever drew

[topios]

The second half of my Hollow Knight Major Arcana project - with a couple of bonus reversed cards! First part is here.

[barrel-crow-n]

Kaz is literally the funniest crow and I can't believe that in the show they made him have a stick up his butt

[leminy-sniket]

for some reason i thought it would be a swell idea to watch the wesper deleted scene before bed.

its been a hot second since ive yearned this much.

im going fucking insane.

remembering why im fucking obsessed with jack wolfe oh my god this man and his acting holy shit i need to rewarch shadow and bone

[ilikerosesalot]

Honestly out of all the things I am not surprised that pure vanilla to play a role into me returning back to cookie run. I was always fond of that cookie even before I knew of his lore

....I just didn't expect my return would happen through him getting his own toxic yaoi ship, is all.

[shadowthescarecrow]

I don't think I've ever posted this piece here, but here is a fusion of Shadow the Hedgehog and Troupe Master Grimm.

The context is: I like them and I like their colors.

I love his design and I've been considering turning him into an OC.

[vabam-fr]

Sophrosyne; the Silent Shroud

[messiambrandybuck]

Loving characters who look upon their world with wonder and joy until it's shattered and destroyed in front of them. Characters who turn into angry, bitter, irritated husks of themselves as they lash out on the society who took away their world, their home, the very love in their hearts- the sparkle in their eyes. Characters who are slowly taught how to become that loving person again, how to look at their new world with endearment and admiration, how to become more than a ghost of who they were, but never who they used to be.

[princemordecai]

open starter location: Aventia, Borderreach notes: for the combat thread girlies, limiting this to 4 + Agron.

A golden aura outlined the lionhearted prince, Leander had traveled to the far corners of Lysara and Ankhuria alike in his quest for power. Studied dragons, drank in the heat of the desert, and made pacts where needed. Wreathed in the draconic presence indicative of his training, a pair of gilded wings held him aloft as Leander's fists blazed with molten, raging flames. He wore the standard of the Lysaran army, a centurion, and Warrior of Mars, Leander proudly led the Olympians onto the field as he had countless times in Astoria.

The aura was not just for show, as the blighted blood splattered against him, it did not reach Leander's frame. Arrows fell casually to the side and the Hurlocks that swung against him with their blighted blades found a pair of raging, molten fists instead.

Politics bored him - and whatever sympathy that the Iskarans had managed to invoke as of late did nothing to quell the hatred that had burned within the prince for decades. This was where Leander thrived.

A Genlock rushed forward, its jagged blade raised to strike, but the moment it came within reach, the dragon's aura flared. Leander snarled as a pulse of energy threw the creature back, sending it skidding across the blood-soaked ground. Leander didn’t even turn to acknowledge it. His focus was absolute, his breath steady.

These creatures were meant to be impudent and stupid - while that remained true, they came equipped with war machines. They tacked on organized tactics that the Lysarans were only prepared for because of the caution that had spilled from Iskaran tongues. If any of the westerners expected gratitude from him though, they would need to look elsewhere.

A beat of his wings saw Leander lift into the air as he pulled air and fire into his lungs, weaving them together without the need for his hands. There at the center of his breast, the Warrior of Mars tethered it with threads of spirit before he opened his mouth and bequeathed a rush of golden flames onto the forces below. With it came a bestial roar, beyond human, the draconic burst of power echoed with the ego of the endlessly proud Prince of Lysara.

The creatures erupted in righteous flames, incinerated in a wide cone ahead of him before Leander took to hovering only a few feet off of the ground. As much fun as he was having, Leander opted to begin taking this seriously as his sword materialized in his hand - a blade of twisting draconic make that resonated with power.

"Hold the line!" Came the Prince's command, the Olympians had each been connected, and their power pooled together meant it was seemingly endless. No Astorian force had ever gotten past seven of them, now fifteen stood in defense of Aventia. An ogre shook the ground as the alpha stomped toward them, another horde swarmed about the creature, and Leander charged.

[tempest-toss]

Do not Touch the Glass

Matthias was not expecting his day to start like this. He was rudely awoken by his roommate Fred who promptly told him to pack his bags for a road trip. Matthias was a known push-over when it came to group activities, so he was soon in his roomate's truck along with three other "friends" of his. Natalie, Jordan, and Samantha were their names, and that was all Matthias really knew of them; they were Fred's friends, not his, so his knowledge was limited and he preferred it that way. At least it could net him some shut eye as the trip continued.

A few hours into the trip Matthias awoke to complaints from Natalie about being lost. He took the moment to look out the window and confirm that they were definitely not on their way to Yellowstone, in fact they were in someplace that could only be called Wilderness to a city boy like him. Evidence of past houses were passed by, but Matthias couldn't tell if this was a reassurance or a stressor.

Soon they parked the car and got out. What Matthias first saw was a field of thickets and dead grass, but after walking around the car to the others he saw it: The Calico Carnival. The entrance to a massive amusement park that had been burnt down a long time ago, but the entrance still stood up, looming ominously above the group, the wooden cat mascot mural leering down from its burnt view. Fred explained that he wanted to explore the place since it was abandoned, and that since he had the keys on him, they had no choice but to oblige.

As they approached the ticket counter, they were all surprised to see a woman, about age 67, working the till. With a croak in her voice she called out almost robotically, "5 per ticket." Natalie, a known prankster (at least from what Fred told Matthias), strolled up and handed a fake $25 bill, which the worker snatched and examined. After a tense moment she could be heard opening the register. "Submit bags for check. Entry ticket will be found attached to bag in your cubby to your immediate left." One by one the group submitted their backpacks and purses and entered; as Matthias was handing his over, the lady sharply grabbed his wrist. "Leave now young man, escape your fate while I am still here." Matthias faltered and the woman grumbled before takin his backpack. As Matthias entered he could hear the shutter of her til as it closed.

As Matthias fully stepped in he could see the park stutter to life. Lightbulbs flickered as the filament struggled to light, the wafting of carnival foods began to fill his nose, and the Ferris Wheel in the distance could be seen slowly starting up as the speakers groaned to life, playing discordant theme park music. His "friends" had already scattered, visiting the locals that interested them. Matthias found himself wandering around aimlessly, until he found the tank.

Off to the side of the park was a large glass tank, easily 8 ft by 8ft. The water was murky, and full of algae and moss. An old, tattered sign reading "See What Came From the Green Lagoon!" stood nearby, barely legible after going through the wringer of elements.

"Well look what the pussy found, an old tank. Of course you'd be wasting time looking in a mirror," came a sneering voice from behind. Matthias grimaced. Out of all of Fred's friends he loathed Jordan. Jordan was a piece of shit who knew how to manipulate people to get what he wanted, and Fred was oblivious to how he was consistently being taken advantage of by him. Jordan began tapping on the tank, and was about to crack off another joke.

"Sammy doesn't like being disturbed." The two men turned around to find a young male with white rabbit ears peering out from behind a stack of crates. "Please stop tapping on the glass."

"Oh yeah? Well I'm a paying customer," Jordan complained, eliciting a sigh from Matthias. "So I can do whatever the FUCK I want twerp. The rabbit-eared individual sighed before pulling his ears down to hide behind them.

"There's a latch at the top to stick your hand in," he mumbled. Jordan cheered before doing just that. As Matthias watched in disappointment, he heard the rabbit-guy speak up to him. "Did you know Tabitha poured a potion in Sammy's tank, and it restored his years? He stopped aging when he joined like all of us, but the potion gave him back the years, meaning I need to get a present for a 27-year-old... Do you know anything good?"

His question fell on deaf ears as Matthias stopped processing what he was asking or the nonsense said before. However, the age stuck with him. 27? But the guy on the poster looks barely in his young adulthood. Then the thing in the tank-

A scream from Jordan snapped him out of his thinking as Jordan began to scream that his fingers were gone. Then Jordan got pulled further, his whole arm stuck in the slot of the tank that the usagi talked about. Jordan screamed and shouted and cursed before managing to free himself and land on the ground, his left arm missing and spurting blood. Then the lid of the tank slammed open and he emerged.

A man, approximately of 27 years of age slowly climbed out. He had green, partially scaly skin covered in important areas by tattered clothing scraps. He was slightly hunched over but would have at least stood at an easy 6'5. His body radiated raw power, his muscles tensing and easing with each breath. His eyes practically glowed an eerie yet enchanting yellow, encapsulated by the kelp or algae stuck in his tangled hair. As he stepped forward with his webbed feet he snarled, revealing his sharp and bloodied mouth. Without giving Jordan a chance, he dove down and began to tear at his neck while his clawed hands tore into Jordan's chest, creating a cavity of gore.

Matthias stumbled before booking it, not wanting to see Sammy feast on someone he knew, even if the guy deserved it. Matthias ran back to the entrance just as the shutters began to finish lowering. "Thank you for purchasing your overnight stay tickets," the loudspeaker system crackled to life. "We hope you enjoy a happy and fun time with the other eleven who purchased their tickets prior." To add to this, the park's walls suddenly rose higher, making it near impossible to scale out. Matthias felt panic in his heart as he tried to think about what next. He came to the conclusion that maybe someone could help him out of here, like that bunny-eared guy! But of course, he didn't want to die like Jordan did. A quick scan of the trash near him allowed Matthias to fish out a moldy map of the park. Using the nearest street lamp he was able to make out a few locations to pick from.

Threat Level: Low Remaining Survivors: 15/16 Injuries: none Mental state: Disturbed.

[firestorm-fox]

Omega, about Andrews: CAN WE KILL HIM? Shadow: No! Omega: I CAN MAKE IT LOOK LIKE AN ACCIDENT... Shadow: ... Shadow: How? Rouge: Shadow! Shadow: Alright, no...

[stainedglassflowers5]

Is anyone else constantly confused by Worms existence in the hxh anime? I mean he feel really out of place in the show and the manga and it's kind of annoying me.

He's like the only weirdly mutated or altered character like this in the show. There's Beans from the hunter exam arc but his green skins seems like a creative liberty of the 2011 anime animators. In the 1999 show he has tan skin and the manga he has no color at all. He is still more humanoid than worm either way. The blue skinned gentleman from the prison is similar too odd colored but not really mutated and he also specialized in body modifications and probably did it to look intimidating. There's also the chimera ants, but they don't count they're ants with nen not humans so they're very strange apperance is irrelevant to my point.

There are no other cases, besides worm, I can think of where nen users that disfigure their body to this extent. Some take on strange characteristics, but Worms' entire body is completely changed in a bizarre way.

Don't even get me started on his nen ability either I could go on for hours about how stupid that it.

I'm rewatching the show and really can't get over how out of place his character feels in this show that mainly centers around slightly odd looking humans. I know the shadow beasts aren't particularly relevant to the show, but none of the others looked nearly as weird as Worm. Everytime I watch the show I get confused by his presence.

So weird looking.

[kazeofthemagun]

[ @distortedkilling Mahito choosing seat 6 just to mess with Herba is my favourite occurence of today]

[pannacottababy]

Shadow Milk Cookie reminds me SO much of Hisoka, the way he just doesn't give a fuck just screams Hisoka for me!

[itsachu]

[HxH] Pretty Eyes - Owl x Original Character (Chapter 1)

[Hunter x Hunter | Owl x OC | Dark Romance] Psychological | Thriller | Torture-turned-Tension | Slow Burn

⚠️ Content & Trigger Warnings

This story contains themes of psychological manipulation, captivity, interrogation, trauma responses, slow-burn tension, and dark romance. Please proceed with caution if you are sensitive to emotional coercion, threats of violence, or power imbalance dynamics.

---

Summary

Captured after the massacre of his comrades, Owl (once a proud member of the Shadow Beasts) finds himself in the hands of a woman who is not quite Troupe, not quite mafia, but undeniably dangerous. Aracnid doesn’t need brute force to break him. She’s patient. Calculating. And she wants answers for the Troupe whose partnered with her own group. But what begins as an interrogation slowly shifts into something more intricate... a web of curiosity, tension, and fascination.

And it all begins with his eyes.

---

Chapter 1: The First Thread

Darkness.

It pressed against him from all sides, thick and forever lasting, drowning out everything but the sound of his own breathing. His pulse drummed steadily in his ears-- it was slow, but not calm... Definitely not calm. The air was stagnant, carrying the faint scent of sweat, iron, and stone. A bag was over his head, rough fabric coarse against his skin, muffling even the faintest of noises beyond the suffocating stillness. His hands were bound behind him, the material tight against his wrists... but it wasn’t rope. Something smoother. Silk, maybe? Whatever it was, it wasn’t an amateur’s knot. There was no slack. No escape. He shifted slightly, testing the restraints, but the chair beneath him didn’t move. Metal. Bolted down. Whoever had done this knew what they were doing.

His mind flickered back.

It had happened in a blink... too fast, too clean. One moment, they were standing their ground, the last of the Shadow Beasts, facing the Phantom Troupe with the certainty-- he was the only one who had cautioned them. The next… nothing. A flash of silver. A spray of red. The wet, sickening sound of death as his comrades were torn apart in an instant. Dismembered. Shattered. There hadn’t even been time to fight back. And him? Caught. Wrapped in thread... literally. Bound by the strange conjured cloth of one of them. And then… a pink haired girl with braces had stepped forward, saying something about letting her people handle interrogations. That was the last clear moment. After that, it all blurred... his limbs went numb, and then the world faded out.

Now, all that remained was the ghost of that panic, echoing in his chest.

A soft sound snapped him back-- a step on stone. Not heavy. Just one person. The faint rustle of fabric, the shift of air. He kept still, straining to listen. Whoever it was wasn’t rushing. They weren’t afraid. They already had what they wanted.

The bag was yanked off.

Dim candlelight flooded his vision, making him blink hard. His sunglasses (miraculously) were still in place, hanging onto the bridge of his nose. As his sight adjusted, he took in his surroundings. Stone walls. No windows. Cold air that didn’t shift with breeze. This wasn’t a dungeon.. it was a tomb. Silent. Isolated.

And then… she appeared.

Black. That was his first impression. She was cloaked in it: lace, leather, silk.. woven together in sharp lines and intricate curves. A hood framed her face, casting shadows over skin that looked pale and smooth, but beneath the veil, her lips were dark and curved ever so faintly at the edges. Her eyes glowed gold, faintly, like molten metal, pinning him with a gaze that didn’t flinch or wander.

She was taller than most women he’d met. Poised. Confident in the way predators were-- never needing to show teeth to prove they could kill.

She was beautiful, in the way something out of reach always was. Untouchable. Other worldly. But there was something else… something inhumanly patient about the way she stood there, simply looking at him. Not rushed, not careless. Like she had all the time in the world to dissect him piece by piece.

Owl swallowed. Not the Troupe. Not a Mafia boss either.

So who the hell was she?

Her eyes traced over him, missing nothing. His posture, the tension in his shoulders, the twitch in his fingers, the way his chest barely moved with each breath. She took it all in, studying him like an object under glass, a puzzle with too few pieces. Her gaze flickered to his sunglasses, and he stiffened instinctively before he could stop himself. That was a mistake. She noticed. And worse… she looked amused by it.

Then, she spoke.

“I expected more.”

Her voice slid through the air, smooth yet unimpressed. A fact she had already decided before he even spoke. It sent something cold down his spine. Owl didn’t react… not outwardly anyway, at least he tried not to. He kept his fingers still, his mouth pressed into a firm line, his breathing steady. But she had already seen that first moment, the instinctive shift in his body language. His cover was already slipping, and he hated that she noticed.

"You’re going to tell me everything I want to know," she said, taking a step closer. The fabric of her cloak whispered against the stone floor, the flickering light catching against the lace detailing along her gloves. Her movements were smooth… not slow, but controlled, her presence filling the space without effort-- she was a woman in total control of herself. There was no force in the way she spoke, no anger, no cruelty… but there didn’t need to be. There was an inevitability to her tone, like a spider watching a fly that had already tangled itself too deep.

Owl exhaled through his nose, his fingers twitching once against the chair’s arms before going still again. He had to stay quiet. Had to think. He knew his own limits-- he knew how long he could hold out. But the moment he answered her, he was already losing. She took another step, close enough now that the glow of the candlelight caught against the sharp cut of her cheekbones, the faint shimmer of her lower lip. Close, but not touching. Not yet.

She tilted her head slightly, her voice dipping to something lower, something that barely disturbed the air between them.

“Tell me,” she murmured.

Owl stared at her.

His fingers curled tightly into his palms.

And the web began to tighten.