#honestly the skeletons are pretty familiar with humans

[rosescries]

What if MC in the skeleboi house was an alien trying to pretend to be a human but failing miserably? But, the skelebois don't really notice cuz they don't have a lot of knowledge about humans. Just imagine the chaos .

Blue: Hello Human!

MC: *turns head 180 degrees to look at him with their back turned to him* Yes?

Blue: 0.0

They'd be really confused a lot. But the boys do talk to their human coworkers, especially Blue and Papyrus. So they'll figure out something's not quite right here pretty quickly and try to get to the bottom of it.

Black wouldn't be falling for it for a second though, he's spent enough time researching and observing Humans and the Surface that's he's going to be able to sniff her out like a bloodhound. Edge wouldn't be far behind him either.

Then it'd just be a case of figuring out why the hell she's there and what her intentions are. If they're good, then all's well. Just figure out how to be more convincing of a human. If they're less than pure, well there's plenty of well trained, violent skeletons in that house. Everything will be taken care of quite quickly.

[mars-file-name]

Something that stands out to be about how Murder Drones does horror, is its relationship to organic matter, especially in contrast to how machinery is portrayed.

The main characters are as the title would imply, drones- they live in a cold wasteland, trapped behind doors upon doors of mechanical creations. In a way Murder Drones establishes machinery and robots as its baseline, it's what's comfortable and familiar. Which I find interesting because we as humans are more familiar with the organic, what scares me is a future dystopia dominated by machines, where life struggles to survive.

However in Murder Drones- the moments I find the most freaky are always those where something looks.... Human... Or, alive.

This moment from episode 2 where J goes eldritch horror and Solver appears, the hand that crawls in to grab Thad looks human.

[image description: human looking hand crawling on the ground, but it's revealed to not be attached to an actual human, but instead a long mechanical wire]

This honestly was really freaky to me, because it's so... Wrong. Even when we see actual humans, it's as shadow thingies, or in the case of Tessa, completely covered up by clothing. We see skeletons too, but they're dead, which I feel doesn't really qualify for the horror of something looking... Alive.

I feel like it's mostly with Solver's portrayal that things look... Organic. For example whenever Uzi loses control of her quirky powers, a black hole thingy appears and leaves gooey flesh looking stuff- honestly very gross

[Image description: There's a hole in the wall, with the edges covered in organic looking goo, spreading across the wall. There's a black orb in the center of the hole]

It's also very apparent when comparing Solver Uzi's wing design to the disassembly drones' wing designs. Uzi's are bat-like, with tears and they look more reminiscent of something organically created.

[image description: Uzi looking silly with her bat wings]

Meanwhile Disassembly drone wings are 100% metallic and look like blades, there's a pretty big contrast. Especially when you think of how Uzi actually does start to develop average disassembly drone characteristics, like the mouth, burning in sunlight, and the X for eyes.

Might be besides the point but Uzi's wings look like hands, meanwhile the others' wings don't have that shape really built in anywhere.

Freaky little guy

Something something design language of Solver being completely different to other things in the show.

Anyways I've completely run out of brain juice, hopefully this makes sense

[gaylordscooter]

Log of the Multiverse: Blue (aka me, sans t. skeleton)

Originally this was supposed to be an entry on ink but he didn't really like the sound of he wanted to write his entry himself when he had the time to. so i decided to write about myself instead.

it's kinda funny, i should've made this the first entry maybe. it seems pretty self-centered to write an entry on yourself or would it be self-centered to not write an entry? it'd be like assuming everyone already knew who i was.

my name was sans. first name sans, last name, i shit you not, skeleton. pap my brother thought i was joking when i told him it was, in fact, our last name. of course i had to let that name go once i lost my home. i was given this nickname by ink even though it's not mine to have

i didn't lose my home to error, or any outcode for that matter. it destroyed itself, to put simply

according to ink, there were "too many plot holes" and "contradictions" that ended up breaking it. "unfinished" he said, like my world was just someone's drafted story.

it was.

speaking of ink, they're the reason im able to write this in the first place. he dragged me out of my universe right as it collapsed. honestly that whole series of events was a blur, i remember running away from temmie, who just got all six human souls and was trying to kill me along with the other stray monsters that managed to evade the human's murder-spree. i thought temmie was my friend. i question why ink rescued me

my universe was a "swap" universe, meaning in the original universe i was more like my brother and he was more like me, for example. but i've met the sans from "underswap" he's fairly different from me. i've also met versions of my brother when i went to the omega timeline and im still different from them too. like. more different than they are from each other

i assume that has to do with the instability of my universe, ink did nickname it "botchedswap" after all (flattering name, i know)

ever since ink rescued me from my universe i kinda just stuck by his side. i joke that he's my "universe taxi driver" but (i REALLY hope he doesn't read this) he's my best friend.

he's a better friend than temmie ever was. that's for sure

but sometimes i feel like when he looks at me, he's not thinking about me. it's like he pretends im someone else. i remember when he first called me "blue". they didn't say it like they just came up with that nickname, they said it with familiarity.

like it already belonged to someone else

and it did, it belonged to the guy before me, the guy im a replacement for. i was so mad. i was infuriated, at ink, for using me as a replacement. but then he explained his side

it was like his mask of ingenuity cracked as he told me. he was guilty. he's been guilty. and i was their solace

i'm his attempt at repentance

it made sense why dream and i aren't that close, he didn't want a replacement and i'm hardly a good one too i can't count the amount of times ink looked at me weirdly for saying something blue wouldn't. he misses blue, the real blue.

[the paper's damp here, as if drops of water was spilled onto it]

i haven't really been talking about myself, have i?

before my universe destroyed itself, i was in the process of studying to become apart of the royal science division, i was getting training from undyne alphys oh god which one was it someone. i, i think i got in? at one point. i remember celebrating getting in, but that doesn't sound right.

meanwhile my brother he [the writing afterwards is completely scribbled out and illegible, the paper's somewhat torn from how intense the scribbling was]

im forgetting.

[bethanythebogwitch]

Halloween Digimon

If you follow my blog you know I like Digimon and I like Halloween, so why not combine them and gush over Halloweeny Digimon. I'll be showcasing Digimon species that fall into classic Halloween archetypes.

What's spookier than ghosts? Digimon has lots of ghosts and the most recent and honestly probably the best is Ghostmon. That is such a good design and it's even a friendly ghost as it likes to help people, but turns invisible first because it's really shy. I love it so much!

The rest of the ghosts aren't as friendly. Meet Bakemon, a wicked creature that possesses and destroys computer systems. Nobody knows what's under the cloth it wears and while it isn't good in a fight, it can do really nasty stuff to enemies it catches by surprise. Its name comes from "bakemono" a type of Japanese mythical creature that is sometimes translates as "ghost". Bakemon has a variant called Soulmon who wears a witch's hat and is more powerful.

Combining ghosts with the grim reaper is Phantomon (JP: Fantomon). Its a common evolution of Bakemon that has the power of clairvoyance to foresee then others are about to die. The interior of its cloth body contains a portal to another dimension and its scythe can cut through souls. The weapon it carries is a mix of the grim reaper's scythe and a Japanese weapon called a kusarigama. Phantomon has a variant called MetalPhantomon which is an absolute beast. I love this design of a mechanical grim reaper. I have no idea why it isn't en evolution of Phantomon, they're the same level for some reason. MetalPhantomon is rumored to be controlled by something from another dimension.

Witches are another Halloweeen classic and Digimon has a great example in Witchmon. She is a classic witch, but her design makes her look a bit artificial, kind of like a doll. Of course she rides a flying broomstick and a black cat familiar. She's a counterpart and rival to Wizardmon and both come from Witchelny, the setting of another series of Bandai virtual pet games.

Skeletons are Halloweeeny and while there a few animal skeleton Digimon, the closest we have to a human skeleton Digimon is SkullSatamon. Its lore is pretty bland, just being a fallen angel, but hey, lookit the bones

Speaking of fallen angels, the big red devil with a pitchfork archetype is also represented in Digimon with Boogeymon and its evolution Phelesmon. Boogeymon is obviously named after the boogeyman (I love whwn they play around with the mon suffix) and has a pretty sick design. I love the tattoos and in the lore they let it cast dark spells. Phelesmon puts on some clothes and becomes a charming manipulator that convinces people to sell their souls in exchange for fulfilling their desires. Its name and behavior comes from Mephistopheles, the demon from the story of Faust from German legend who gets the title character to sell his soul in exchange for knowledge.

How about spiders? Digimon has a few spiders, but the best in terms of spookiness is Dokugumon. It was once a peaceful creature, but a virus turned it into a monster that corrupts the network by its very presence. It is a relentless predator that follows its prey no natter how far they flee and its very breath is toxic enough to kill. Just imagine being lost in the woods and seeing this nightmare coming after you

You better believe Digimon has a Frankenstein, and its story is a sad one. It was built as a cyborg Digimon at the same time as another named Andromon. However, the primarily mechanical Andromon was deemed a success while the primarily organic Boltmon was considered a failure due to it possessing emotions. Its creator rejected it and now Boltmon wanders around, consumed in sorrow. It is based on the movie version of the monster in appearance (green skin and lots of bolts), but its lore drawn more from the book version.

You want mummies? We got mummies! Mummymon and is evolution Pharaohmon are excellent Egyptian monsters. Mummymon is a necromancer that manipulates the souls (residual data) of deleted Digimon. I like how its not just a mummy but its design of using leg braces and its gun as a crutch implies that being a desiccated corpse has limited its mobility, maybe due to being stuck in rigor mortis. Pharaohmon is also a mummy, but the sarcophagus and death mask it wears are more specific references to ancient Egyptian funerary rites. It was the absolute ruler of the ancient Digital World and many ruins from its reign dot the land. It can produce a flesh-eating mist to attack and will only cure those affected if they swear eternal servitude to Pharaohmon. This is a clear reference to the idea of a mummy's curse.

Digimon has a lot of vampires, so many I'm only going to showcase one of them. If you want to see more, look for Dracmon, Grandracmon, Bastemon, and Sangloupmon. The one I'll cover here is the vampirest of vampires, Myotismon (JP: Vamdemon). He absolutely looks like a cheesy vampire Halloween costume, but do not let yourself think that he's not scary. Myotismon is immensely cruel and cunning, being a classic evil mastermind while also being very capable of throwing down in a fight by summoning swarms of bats and hypnotizing others into serving him. A testament to his skills at villainy is that he was the big bad of what most fans consider to be the best story arc of Digimon Adventure, the original and definitive Digimon anime, and returned as the big bad of the sequel. Mytoismon has several evolutions including VenomMyotismon, MaloMyotismon (BelialVamdemon), and NeoMyotismon, but the OG is the most Halloweeny of them all. His English names comes from a genus of bat while his original name is literally vampire + demon

Evil clowns are a newer Halloween icon, but are a great one and Digimon offers two: Jokermon and Piedmon. Jokermon is a newer Digimon that has been used as a preevo for Piedmon. It is an enigma that randomly appears on battlefiends, cutting down one side with no rhyme or reason and for its own unknown purposes. Piedmon (JP: Piemon) is also an enigma, a being that appeared from another dimension. Its origins and goals are a complete unknown, but it has incredible power and it thoroughly malicious. It served as a major villain in Digimon Adventure and was one of the most powerful Digimon in that setting, soloing almost all of the heroic Digimon at once. That show also emphasized its cruelty as it decided to sadistically chase and torment the youngest human characters instead of just finishing them off. Its english name comes from the pied piper while its original name comes from the pierrot character archetype form pantomime.

What happens when you merge two Halloween monsters? Well apparently when Myotismon and Piedmon merge they become Boltboutamon (JP: Voltobautamon), a vampiric pirate. It is a being with no will of its own that serve as the herald of an entity called the Grudgeful Hand, an evil intellect born from malicious data that seeks to drown the world in darkness. It or its master is a sadist that takes its time to kill its foes and revels in their suffering. Its original name comes from the volto and bauta, both venetian masks. Its English name appears to be a poor transliteration. There's a lot of that in Digimon.

Those are all great spooky Digimon, but is there a Digimon that is the Halloweeniest? Why yes there is: Pumkinmon and its evolution NoblePumpkinmon (JP: Pumpmon and NoblePumpmon). They were born from a computer virus created during Halloween, but are not malicious. Pumpkinmon is a mostly peaceful Digimon that is shy and wants friends. It is adorable and I love it. NoblePumpkinmon tries to befriend all Digimon and remains neutral between good and evil. It is charming and mischievous and gets along well with both heroic and villainous Digimon. It even makes pumpkin pie. Of all the Digimon showcased here, I think NoblePumpkinmon is the most appropriate for Halloween. This is a holiday of scares and horror, but it's all in good fun.

[dailycharacteroption]

Creature Corner: Vermin part 1

(art by TyhonArt on DeviantArt)

Overview

And here it is, the last creature type of Pathfinder First Edition. This will be the last special in this format, though I’ll probably do a couple of week-long specials on how the creature types developed in Starfinder as well as Pathfinder and Starfinder Second Edition as well, so we’re not quite done. I might even do a special on templates as well.

In any case, let’s get right into it.

Skittering, rustling sounds in abandoned tunnels, the humming flutter of wings carrying a rounded chitinous form, the sudden tugging on your ankle as a previously unseen tentacle drags you down, these are the sensations that often accompany the vermin type, mostly filled with giant bugs and other simple organisms.

But what exactly differentiates creatures of the “vermin” type from the animal type? Back when we did the entries on the animal type, I pointed out that the unifying features of that type were having either a spinal column or having relatively complex brains despite being boneless, but that would be defining vermin by what they are not.

The vermin type consists of insects, arachnids, crustaceans, most mollusks, cniderians, and echinoderms, creatures that range from complex and chitinous to entirely soft-bodied or possessing radial symmetry. It’s a pretty diverse group spanning entire branches of Kingdom Animalia with little to know relationship in some places. Pretty unusual to group them together, honestly.

The vermin type also is noted for usually having the “mindless” trait, meaning they are immune to most mind-affecting effects, including most enchantment spells and certain types of illusions. However, while it’s easy to assume that these creatures truly do act only on instinct, being too “simple” for mental manipulation, complex living things are considerably different than mindless constructs, giant-sized amoeba, and lesser undead. In fact, studies on insect and arachnid behavior has demonstrated many actually have really good memories, being able to recognize individual humans and even demonstrate personalities, so perhaps it’s best to interpret it as the vermin type are far too dissimilar to other minds to use even the broadest enchantments on them.

Perhaps the most unifying thing about the vermin type, however, is that the vermin type is composed of creatures that lack internal skeletons and would be highly unusual and frightening to encounter at massive size.

The idea of giant insects, arachnids, and other vermin has been with us for a very long time, with the first film involving the concept being THEM! In the 50’s, and the first science fiction story involving them being H. G. Wells’ Food of the Gods story back in the 1900’s.

Even before that, regular-sized vermin appear plenty of times in mythology and religion, so even these so-called lesser creatures have their place. It is interesting though that the concept of dialing up their size is so recent though.

Of course, having giant bugs and the like running around begs the question of “why and how”. After all, a lot of you are probably familiar with the “square-cube law”, which when applied to biology, states that the bigger a creature is, the more stress it’s body is under just to not collapse under it’s own weight.

Now obviously in a fantasy setting like Pathfinder, the square-cube law is thrown right out the window off the bat what with all those giant cosmic horrors and literal kaiju and other titanic monsters and literal giants running around, but some still find it a stretch too far without some sort of explanation.

The easiest answer is to say that such giant-sized vermin are just a normal, ubiquitous part of the world. Meanwhile, most science fiction involving them explain it as an extraordinary external factor (typically radiation or some superfood, but in a fantasy setting you can also say magic) that either made giants of that which was miniscule either all at once or generationally. Or maybe the laws of physics are just different in the setting and the square-cube law is more of a suggestion, which isn’t entirely implausible in a setting where “altering reality through sheer force of will” is a part of the metaphysics.

Of course, aquatic vermin like crabs, sea jellies, and the like have somewhat of an excuse with the buoyancy factor, but even they can only go so far before you bump up against and trample over the borders of possibility.

Another factor you run into with giant bugs, and well, any unusually massive creature, is how they affect the food web of their home environments, which also include all sorts of other fantastical beasts, but this is mostly handwaved because it’s fantasy, not a reality simulation.

Moving on from the question of how, let’s talk a bit about the themes that come up with the vermin type. Most are giant-sized versions of bugs and critters both familiar and exotic, while others are just swarms of the regular-sized ones, and others still are fantastical insectoids that don’t quite match any real species but aren’t quite unusual enough to warrant being a magical beast.

As such, the themes of the vermin type are often the horror of being in a situation where you are prey to a creature you’d probably not notice normally, whether they be massive or simply massive in number. While this is true of most, a few vermin also play into other horrific themes as well, such as the xenopterid, which actually mimic a cloaked human before they spread their wings and reveal their clawed legs and move in for the kill.

So while the vermin type does not quite have the variety of concepts beyond Earth’s biodiversity with the photoshop scaling tool applied to it, it still can be a source of fun in it’s own right, as we’ll see as we go through the week. I hope you’re looking forward to it.

[sin-cognito]

Kustard week 2023 day 5: Sleeping Beauty

Wordcount: 2307

~And the princess fell into a deep, deep slumber~

@kustardweek

READ ON AO3

Red stirred on the hospital bed, consciousness slowly coming back to him. His eyesockets fluttered open and he saw his brother, quietly reading a book by the bed.

"bro?" He called out weakly.

The tall skeleton startled before quickly closing his book and putting it back in his bag.

"BROTHER! HOW ARE YOU FEELING?" Edge asked, scooting closer to the bed.

Red assessed the situation. He had a migraine and his eyelights were killing him. His limbs felt like lead and his throat hurt from how dry it was. He was overly familiar with all these symptoms and knew exactly what had happened.

"how long has it been this time?" He asked instead of replying to his brother's question.

Edge sighed, annoyed to be ignored like that. "ABOUT THREE WEEKS. YOU MISSED MY GRADUATION CEREMONY."

"shit. sorry."

Edge seemed to panic and flailed his hands around.

"NO! IT'S NOT... NOT YOUR FAULT," Edge mumbled to the side.

As true as that statement was, it didn't stop the guilt that gripped Red's SOUL for having missed his baby brother's graduation. He really had wanted to be there.

Red suffered from a condition. It was rare and only affected monsters, though humans tended to compare it to narcolepsy. Simply put, monsters suffering from it would randomly enter into sleeping phases that would last from a couple days to several months, or even years in some rare cases. It was different than falling in a coma in that monsters who fell asleep would then stop producing any sort of magic during that period, which was what made it so dangerous and life threatening. Without a magical life supporting system, the monster would simply wilt away and dust in a couple hours, as magic was what kept monsters alive.

Red suffered from an aggressive form of the condition, and he had pretty much spent his entire life in the hospital. Sure, when he was awake he felt fine and could go around to stretch his legs, but as soon as the first signs of that particular sleepiness reared their head, he had to make sure he was in a hospital bed with all the right equipment hooked into his SOUL so he wouldn't dust stupidly on the sidewalk. Some could live relatively normal lives, but not Red since it happened so often.

He would say that he hated living that way, unable to go out freely and enjoy life, but honestly at this point Red was used to it and he focused on enjoying the simplicity of not having to stress over schoolwork or getting a job, or learning how to cook or drive or swim. He'd just spend his life in this hospital until he dusted of old age (hopefully) and he was fine with that.

Of course he had therapy.

Still that didn't mean that he didn't feel bad when missing important things. He always made promises to Edge that he'd be there to support him for big milestones, yet there he was, snoring away in a hospital bed while his brother was graduating... Logically Red knew that Edge couldn't be genuinely upset at him because Red had no control over the situation, but that didn't mean that Red couldn't understand the disappointment Edge could feel for going to his graduation ceremony without his big brother.

"I'VE DECIDED ON THE UNIVERSITY I WANT TO ATTEND," Edge told him once Red was done taking an overdue shower. "IT'S A BIT FAR BUT I RECEIVED A SCHOLARSHIP AND I CAN HAVE A GOOD PLACE ON CAMPUS. DAD SAYS I CAN MOVE THERE BY THE END OF AUGUST, HE'LL HELP ME."

Red listened and nodded with a smile. It stang that Edge was going to move away, he was literally Red's only friend, and not getting to see him every day while awake was going to be hard. But Red was so fucking proud of him for pursuing his dream and getting into a good university. He'd never want to become a dead weight for his brother and Edge knew that.

A knock on the door interrupted the brothers, and Edge got up to open the door when no nurse came in.

"hi, uhm, am i in red underfell's room? i'm here to visit him..." Red heard a soft, baritone voice ask and wondered who the fuck would want to visit him besides his brother or his father.

Edge turned his skull to Red and quirked a brow, silently asking for Red's permission. The skeleton shrugged and Edge let the visitor in.

The stranger was another skeleton monster, much smaller than Edge and with pale, ivory bones that reminded Red of the moon on a clear night. He wore a deep blue jacket with black shorts, and pink fuzzy slippers on his feet. His smile seemed tense and almost forced, though his eyelights were soft and full of emotions that Red didn't know how to interpret. Red also decided to place the info about the light blue blush on the other's face into the 'to analyze later' file in his brain.

Bottom line, Red had no idea who the fuck this cute little skeleton was.

As if on cue, the stranger introduced himself.

"hi, i'm sans. uhh, sans undertale," he said and then kept quiet as he looked at Red expectantly.

Red blinked a few times. "okay? well, i'm red underfell," he replied nonchalantly. "but you already knew that because you came here to visit me."

This caused Sans' blush to deepen, and he had to look to the side as he awkwardly shifted from one foot to the other.

"yeah uhh... welp, i guess i have my answer now," he said quietly like he was talking to himself, which made Red even more curious about what he wanted. "you uhh, don't remember me."

Red frowned. Was he supposed to know this guy? 

He took a moment to think but it was fast since besides his brother, father and the nurses, Red really had no visitors. Was this guy visiting him when he was asleep? If so, that was creepy as fuck.

"i really don't," Red said carefully, in case Sans was a psychopath.

Sans' smile suddenly looked very sad, but it only showed very briefly on his face as a second later he was pulling out a chair to sit next to the bed. Red sent a discreet glance to his brother and Edge nodded, ready to beat up the small skeleton, or more realistically call for someone if Sans did anything shady.

"let me introduce myself again, then," Sans said in a suddenly much more professional tone. "my name is sans undertale and i'm a scientist. i've been doing research around your condition, and a week ago my proposal for a treatment was approved by a committee of researchers and doctors. we're going to start trials next month and we need volunteers. testing on artificial subjects has shown an improvement of 93% of the symptoms with little to no side effects, and we estimate that after further research based on the trials results, we might be able to produce a complete cure by the end of the year."

By the end of Sans' tirade, Red's jaw was basically hanging on the floor.

He had heard of some lab looking up into a treatment for his condition, but it was so rare and only affected monsters so no one cared enough about it to donate any money to the cause, and it was considered a dead end.

And now this Sans guy was saying he was going to find a cure for it, not just a treatment, within the year?

Had Red fallen into another sleeping phase?

"ARE YOU SERIOUS?" Edge pressed the smaller skeleton, grabbing his shoulders. "IS THIS FOR REAL?!"

Oh no, if Edge started to get emotional, Red was going to cry too! He couldn't believe that this was real, yet Sans smiled again and nodded.

"it's real. i brought documentations about it if you want to read it to make sure," he said but Edge was already throwing himself at his big brother, the two laughing and crying and hugging.

It took a while for Red and Edge to calm down, and Sans waited patiently for them to pay attention again to his explanations. Edge left the room after a while as he wanted to let their father know about it, while Red listened to the rest of Sans' explanations. He didn't understand all the scientific terms, but he understood enough to know that this was real, this was happening.

"there's one more thing i need to let you know," Sans said as he glanced at the door. Red noticed the blush on the other's face was back. "as you can expect, i wouldn't normally come to visit all the potential volunteers for the trials, but it was important for me to be the one to tell you about my research. you said that you don't remember me, but i remember you."

"you sure you got the right guy though?" Red couldn't help but ask. "i really never get visitors, i think i would've known if a cute guy like you came by."

Red didn't mean to suddenly drop the c-adjective, but it was out before he realized what he was saying. Thankfully Sans didn't comment on it though he did blush deeper.

"i wasn't a visitor. i was a patient, here in this hospital. we were in the same room and we played games together. we were like 6 or 7 maybe so i guess it makes sense that you wouldn't remember..."

Red tried again to poke his memory with the new elements, and now that Sans was mentioning it, it did ring a bell. If they had been around 6 years old, then it meant that Edge was just a baby at the time, and Red's father didn't want to bring Edge to the hospital too often as an infant so they didn't visit much. Yet Red never felt like his childhood had been a lonely one.

It was starting to come back to him. Images of another skeleton boy, reading a book about bunnies while Red played video games. How they would talk late at night, until a nurse had to come to shush them and threaten to call their parents. The lonely days when Red would look over the other's sleeping form as he was in the middle of a sleeping phase that would last seemingly forever. Or the opposite happening, Red waking up after a sleeping phase and finding the boy singing him a lullaby.

That boy... It was Sans.

And now that boy had come back as a young adult to deliver the good news that Red was going to be cured.

Red got sentimental again and turned a wet smile at his old friend.

"oh man... i can't believe you're that boy."

Sans perked up at Red's words, his joy at being remembered impossible to hide.

They spent the next hour or so remembering old memories of them playing together and they got so engrossed in their stories that Red barely noticed his brother saying he was going home for the day. Sans explained how his condition improved as he grew up and that by the time he was 8, he hadn't had a sleeping phase that lasted longer than a couple hours, which virtually meant that he was cured. He wasn't the first patient to recover from the condition, or at least enough that it didn't hinder his day to day life, but it was still an uncommon occurrence. By 10, Sans was a monster kid like any other with no need to be cooped up in a hospital room, and his family moved away.

Over time, Sans had started to think more and more about Red and how he was doing, if he was still sleeping in the hospital. In middle school, Sans started to research more about that condition that had plagued his childhood, and in highschool, his grades in the more scientific subjects were through the roof, and he was encouraged by his teachers to pursue a grand career in a scientific field. He had always loved research and decided to dedicate his time to finding a cure to the condition, wondering if he'd ever cross paths again with Red.

"to be honest, i never forgot about you, i kept thinking of you all the time when i was working," Sans admitted with a blush. "your memory kept me motivated through medical school and then my masters. i just got the okay for the trials last week, and i rushed here to see if you were still around because i wanted you to be the first one to know. you were in the middle of a phase when i got here, but just hearing that you were still in this hospital and... well... alive, was such a relief. so i took a hotel room and waited for you to wake up. when i called this morning to check on you, the nurse said you were awake and i didn't even think about it and came here. sorry if that's weird?"

Sans chuckled awkwardly as he scratched the back of his neck, blushing again.

"dude, you just gave me the best news in my life," Red playfully poked him in the ribs. "i don't care if it's weird or what, i'm just so grateful right now!! and hey, you're my best childhood buddy, so thanks for bringing back those memories too! you need to let me know how i can repay you for everything, man!"

He was just joking around, but then Sans said, very seriously, "then go on a date with me. when you get better."

And well, there really was no way Red wouldn't accept.

[noahvivere]

my analysis of tarot in MeMe (and some other stuff) 🧵

(English is not my native language so please understand the language barrier, I did my best.)

warning: wall of text.

The card that represents bokumkt is also the card on mikoto's shirt - The Hanged Man (upright). There is also a The Fool card, but I will leave it out for later.

Through this card, it is quite clear that bokumkt is a person who is very patient and takes a lot of pressure (including ignoring common sense, losing himself?) to achieve success. But at the same time, THM is also referred to as a person who looks at the world with an inverted mindset which means what mkt thinks is right for many people turns out to be wrong and vice versa.

In addition, THM's story is hanging up on the tree for 9 days and everyone knows mkt is 009 already. So I want to say that the meaning of these numbers seems to be relevant, as the number 9 means the forgiveness and success (what mkt wants?) But also the negative meaning is "self righteous". This is quite like Kotoko vibe but there is a difference. 9 shows the completion but not the end result like 10 as well as showing that mkt is not really sure about his right, THM is also be described as a person hangs in the middle of the other world and the other world. Furthermore in all numbers, only 9 (and 6, but i don't think Mahiru relate to this since theories is just theories) upside down is another number, i'm sure everyone understands =))

THM is also a card that can go endlessly into (inner/spiritual world) - this is like the key connecting reality with the inner self of mkt: this includes tarot cards (The Fool and THM) and mirror. These two symbols are two things that are present in both reality and the inner world of mkt (if you pay attention to the scene where he takes off his shirt you can see behind there is a the picture of The Fool), as well as these two also appear in the album cover (broken mirror and human skeleton in The Fool card). But this article I'm only talking about tarot so I should skip the mirror.

In the inner world, the THM card is in reverse, next to the TF card, from the beginning of the mv to the end. THM in reverse refers to him working too hard, exhausted in both physically and mentally, but mkt continues to ignore himself without stopping. Even the image of the upside down THM in the mv is like being hanged (i mean suicide, idk how to explain in en). However, the THM card on the mkt shirt shows patience, waiting under pressure. Familiar right? Exactly mkt's case. Go along with the reversed THM is the TF card. I'm pretty sure if the reverse THM is bokumkt, TF is oremkt. If THM upright go with TF, they will be very positive, both are heading for a new transformation, but here it is reverse THM so it is very... The biggest difference here is that TF moves and THM is not (who is the one who kills the victim, only milgram knows, theory is still theory). The obvious thing in common is that both TF and THM see the world in a free-spirited way and don't care what other people think (honestly, it means distorted). If talking about the relationship of these two cards, it will be very long, so just understands that the bokumkt mentality is already unstable and then oremkt arises, which is even more unstable when the TF card have a friend to start the journey with but in the mv that friend in the card was replaced with a human skeleton (actually mkt's tarot deck is also abnormal with the tones are too chaotic + knives, baseball bat, the character in the cards are also a mannequin/marionette probably because it is related to mkt's work)

After reading the above paragraph, many people will probably think that oremkt is evil, but nope, since the fool's nature is still too naive and inexperienced (here may be about the way he thinks about "rightous"). TF doesn't know what's ahead of it but its only goal is to "move forward" (mkt keep on living) and, "stepping forward" (killing) is what it needs/must do to fulfill its "goal". And like I said, he's too free and probaly doesn't care what others think of its "journey" - "its goal" - "its walk". In other words, it doesn't matter right or wrong.

And why do I think TF could be oremkt (or the one who committed the crime)? Because the entire TF card is fully exposed (revealing skeletons) when the mkt's inner world turns red (crime). Many people say that TF is implying that mkt himself feels innocent, this is also true because like i said both TF and THM think they are right.

What I like about milgram is that they don't stereotype mkt's d.i.d system (well, what i mean is both boku and ore is not good and not bad at the same time). Through this card (as well as the mv), mkt is fully aware that he (here can be ore or boku, idk) has committed some crime. But he still turned a blind eye (he even said maybe this was just a bad dream). Because he thought he couldn't change or control the situation anymore, so he decided to give up and accept the temporary benefit that the crime brought. After this since, we can saw that the inner world of the mkt switch from green to red was extremely ez and he didn't panic like before, proving that mkt didn't just commit a crime once (yeah, but I don't think he is a 'serial killer', he doesn't kill a lots like some theories) and he gradually got used to it. This card is simply signaling to me that he has committed a crime and he (probaly) accepted it, that's all.

First of all, to talk about this spread, I am very sorry that I cannot read the whole thing. The reason is because this celtic cross spread has 4 cards lying around 2 overlapping cards in the middle, these 4 cards will change position depending on how the reader places these 4 cards, so if not the reader himself, I can't read these 4 cards. This spread confused me even more when the 2 Ace of Cups and The Wheel Of Fortune (reversed) changed positions after 2 blinks, so I'd like to skip these 4 cards, when I have time, I will learn more about it later. And this spread looks complicated, but for real it doesn't really dig into the character's inner world and it's already t2 so it's pretty predictable.

And of course, ignoring these 4 cards, it will be extremely lacking in information when these 4 cards talk about the situation and life of the questioner. But roughly speaking, I can see the friction between him and his co-workers (victims) has reached its climax, and mkt is in the position of the victim (or has such a mentality). This contradiction has not only arisen, but it can be seen that it has happened for a long time, but mkt has ignored this problem and it was only on the day of the crime that it really surfaced. That's why mkt fell into a state like the hanged man (upside down) as I said above.

But I saw in this spread that he is not only contradicting his co-workers but also with himself, I don't know how to explain it but it's like mkt is very skeptical about himself (maybe about his own actions right or wrong). But then mkt really traded everything for that favorable job (like how the hanged man hung on a tree for nine days to gain knowledge) so in the end he still chose to follow that path. Cross celtic has 10 cards, in this spread the 10th card (result card) is the devil card but in this picture we can't see it, so you have to look closely at the mv, you will see in 1 click there is a devil card. And the devil in this mv, I already analyzed above (bro really sell his soul for the devil).

In the mv there are two cross celtic spreads like this, one is this - when mkt's inner world is normal, all cards are shown in full, while the other spread - when mkt's inner world becomes red of evil, so there are only two cards are obvious in their positions (that two cards in the middle). In the first spread, the card that shows the questioner's status (the one below) is the reversed THM, and in the second, the card that shows the questioner's status is TF, my thoughts about these two cards are also above.

ok 👻 So looks like mkt really wants to reveal truth, so in the first spread he showed all the cards clearly to show the viewers how miserable he is, but unfortunately i think if he gave the morse code, maybe it's easier to solve. And after t2, the d.i.d of mkt is more obvious, but the theory The Fool is oremkt and THM is bokumkt, it's still just a theory. (this is all part 1, i wrote part 2 a few months later about the 2nd spread)

(I'm sorry, the image was in vietnamese but it is just i named the cards)

I can't sleep, so let's figure this out, I will relieve some stress tomorrow and find out more details later 😊 (unfortunately that tomorrow never come, i'm sorry but there would be no deltail version of this 2nd speard)

⚠️The position with the order of the cards is only relative because I only watched the mv and figured it out so I don't know the accuracy, moreover, I'm just an amateur for more than a decade without touching tarot so, depends all on my luck =))

For those who are wondering what order the cards are in, I take them in the order they appear in the mv, but like I said before, this spread is up to the order of the reader:

1. The Fool

2. Page of Pentacles

3. Two swords

4. Wheel of Fortune

5. Five swords

6. Ace cup

7. King of Cups (reversed)

8. Five strokes (reversed)

9. The Chariot

10. The Death

If the first spread was about bkmkt, then I'm sure this spread is about oremkt. Ugh I don't know but I feel like the two spreads have very different meanings (sorry but idk how to translate "ngụ ý" which is Vietnamese into English, But what I want to mention is the message the reader wants to reach us through these spreads). If the first spread is the way mkt cries ugly about how distress he is to get yrs, then this spread is very umm, i think it's from oremkt's personal perspective. In general, I actually solved this one late, so in t2 it also has a lot of things already appearing here.

Basically, like I said last time about oremkt being The Fool, this spread shows that quite clearly. It is quite extravagant and its perception of right and wrong is 0, just zero. The only thing he cares about is that mkt agreed and tolerated what he did 🗿 this guy is very saviour complex, so true to the song t2 trailer. He thinks he's the one needed for mkt to be successful, the one who will change his life and he will do anything to achieve it 😊 well and he seems to be satisfied, and yes, be proud. And still, the reason for letting it do that is still stress with the ambition of mkt's work forever (it is too common right? I feel like i don't need to talk about it anymore)

And in the end, oremkt is like a new door for a mkt's life, from deadlock and stress to dead end ️=)) (well but I'm still not sure which is ore and which is boku in this mv so it's up to you, let's see who the murderer is, but first of all i think they're both worst🗿). Anyway, before The Death is The Hanged Man card that I say represents that bokumkt so in my understanding, it is from the stress, ambition, and pressure of The Hanged Man that it led to The Death and gave birth to The Fool - a completely new mkt to solve the problem.

[violent-optimism]

Ranking every Ganon/Ganondorf based on Appearance

Hey folks!

Those who know me well know that Ganondorf is one of my all time favourite video game characters and I am SO excited to see him return in “Tears of the Kingdom”. In that spirit, I thought it would be fun to do a personal ranking of every major Ganon or Ganondorf appearance in a Zelda game.

Notice how I said “major”, because quite frankly there are a lot of smaller Zelda games out there and I don’t have time to look into every single one of them to see if the G man had a cameo or not. This won’t be a complete list, just complete in terms of my personal knowledge and the games I am most familiar with. Also, friendly reminder that this list is my opinion and I’m not trying to offend or change anyone’s mind.

Let’s go!

Ganon from the CD-I Zelda games - 1/10

I had to throw this one in here just for fun. It’s no secret that most of the characters in these games look absolutely god awful, not just Ganon himself. He looks like a weird, swamp monster that’s a cross between a dog and an ogre. Whenever I see this image all I can think of were those hilarious Youtube Poops from way back in the day. It is truly a silly design that fails to even remotely represent such an evil and intimidating character.

Calamity Ganon from Breath of the Wild - 3/10

Gosh, I just know I’m gonna piss people off with this one. I’m sorry, but I just don’t like this design at all. Like, what am I even looking at here? He looks like a Christmas tree crossed with a pirate skeleton or something. The only reason why I gave him a 3 is because at least he is somewhat intimidating, unlike the last entry on my list. I know I haven’t actually finished BOTW, but that doesn’t change the fact that I find his design to be pretty uninspired and confusing, at least from what I’ve seen.

Original Ganon from the Legend of Zelda -  5/10

Although I’ve always preferred Ganondorf to Ganon, I will say I actually dig this design quite a bit. It really gets the point across that he is a powerful baddie and will hurt you if he gets the chance. It’s a good look, it’s effective, and oddly cute in a weird way? Especially when you see him in the game as a bundle of sprites that resemble a bright blue pig. Ultimately it’s just not as threatening or aesthetically pleasing as some of his other reincarnations.

Ganondorf from The Wind Waker - 6/10

Now we’re getting somewhere! While this is far from my favourite design of his, you have to admit it goes in a pretty creative and unique art direction. This version of Ganondorf feels rather large and imposing, especially since he towers over the characters of Link and Zelda who are literal children. I love the small details like his brooch and sandals. When I look at this image, I’m left with only one burning question...why did they make him so god damn CHONKY?

Ganondorf from Ocarina of Time - 7/10

Honestly it’s really hard to find anything wrong with this design. This was the first time we ever saw a human version of Ganondorf, and it’s inspired all of the other versions since then to some degree. He’s imposing, he’s threatening, he’s powerful, and it shows. I love the brown tones mixed with the white/blue/red cloth that’s scattered over various points. I think the only problem I have with this is the weird cod-piece situation that’s going on. And why did they make his ears so big and goofy?

Ganondorf from Hyrule Warriors - 8/10

Now THIS is more like it! I never played Hyrule Warriors, but boy do I sure love this design of Ganondorf. The blue and gold tones, the giant boots, the luscious red mane that’s free to blow in the wind. This is a look that just screams power and strength, with a touch of grace added in for good measure. Ganondorf looks delightfully mean here, like he’s thinking about how much he’s going to enjoy smashing your face into the ground.

Ganondorf from Tears of the Kingdom - 8.5/10

This new look hasn’t even been out for a week and I’m already so in love with it. I’m really enjoying the Samurai inspired design, with the man bun, tattoos and more skin shown than any other version I can think of. I know it’s on trend to talk about the thirst factor, but it definitely is there. Ganondorf’s potential for sex appeal is long overdue, and judging by everyone’s reaction I think I’m correct in that. Similar to Link and Zelda’s designs, I feel like this look has taken a bold new turn without straying too far from the original design of the character. I can’t wait to see more of him!

Ganondorf from Twilight Princess - 10/10

Here he is; the man, the myth...the absolute GOAT. In my opinion, Ganondorf’s design PEAKED with Twilight Princess and no other design has even come close to this level of perfection. Part of this might be my nostalgia talking, or the fact that this is my favourite Zelda game. But according to some other folks online, it looks like I’m not the only one who is obsessed with this look. Just looking at this image you can feel the anger, the power, the dominance. I love the colour scheme, the hairstyle, the cape, the fingerless gloves. There was so much thought put into every detail and it really shows. Perhaps 11 year Sam was ahead of her time, but I thought this Ganondorf was sexy as fuck back in the day (and tbh I still kind of do). At the end of the day, this look has everything you’d want for the King of Evil.

Thanks for listening to my ramble, folks. I hope you got something out of it. What’s your favourite version of Ganon/Ganondorf? :)

[all-souls-matinee]

A Ghost Story for Christmas

Throughout the 1970s the BBC ran a holiday special that adapted the works of M.R. James into made-for-TV-movies; celebrating the ‘tradition’ of telling scary ghost stories at Christmastime. They later included a few exceptions to the James rule, and then rebooted it for limited releases in 2005. James is a horror staple; even if you haven’t read his stuff you would recognize the setups and themes of his stories because he was widely publicized in 1910s Cambridge and came to have a ton of influence on the genre. I’ve always been pretty indifferent towards his writing, only familiar with ‘Casting the Runes’ and ‘Rats’ (neither adapted here), but was so charmed by this thing’s existence that I picked out seven episodes that sounded the most interesting and watched in a randomly generated order. All of them are available for free on YouTube/Tubi and run from 30-60 minutes if you’d like to check it out for yourself.

A View from a Hill (2005), story by M.R. James

An archeologist visits a bankrupt squire at a country estate to assess his family’s collection of local archeological finds. Against the protests of his servant, the squire lends our protag a pair of binoculars from the collection.

The editing on this one sucks so hard. There’s a ton of potential in using binoculars as a kind of adder stone that allows you see both shadowy figures and an entire building that isn’t there, and it’s too bad that it’s just flashing images and jump-cut edits. We do get a taste of James’ penchant for stories within stories, usually conveyed by a wise old man, which I love. A certain je ne sais quoi in inviting the unpaid manservant to sit down and talk about how the local weird guy was gallows-robbing and boiling skeletons in a big pot and then went crazy, made a pair of magic binoculars, and got killed by ghosts. Respective reactions to this were to take a long drag on a cigarette say “that didn’t happen” and take a sip of wine and say “it’s an interesting story.” Thank you British people for my life.

The Ice House (1978), original teleplay by John Bowen

A man vacationing to cope with the death of his wife begins to suspect brother-and-sister resort owners are up to something when they show him a mysterious vine growing on their property.

The concept of gothic horror set at one of the country health clubs that were popular in 70s England is honestly very clever. A forbidden room, a mysterious object, the image of a middle aged man wandering around at night with a candle instead of a young woman, it all mostly works, but doesn’t ever quite get anywhere. These are simple stories intended for sharing around a hearth or at a sleepover so shouldn’t want for things like character development or complex filming, but because this one was so ambitious you can feel how lacking it is. Gothic horror also isn’t my thing even at its best, and here its definitely... not (tw for incest.) The biggest point in its favor is the ending, which is at least a natural resolution to the story Bowen was trying to tell.

The Ash Tree (1975), story by M.R. James

Squire Richard inherits a beautiful estate from his distant uncle Matthew, only to be troubled by the sins of Matthew’s past as a ruthless employer of witch hunters. 

The framing of Richard-as-Matthew was confusing, the lighting and editing off, and I really dislike the witch genre so was predisposed against this one. I did like the wise old man character (the mild affect he has while explaining that anyone who touched Matthew’s body was physically wounded in bizarre ways??), and will give it credit for going from the most boring to the most insane one of the bunch. All of these are pretty tame so it was kind of a shock to have them cut to a topless witch torture scene and then to have an ending where he’s mauled by, um, spiders made from human baby heads. The titular cursed tree does burn down at the end, so that’s all good then.

Whistle and I’ll Come to You (2010), story by M.R. James

Pressured to take space from his wife’s care home, an old man goes to stay at a seaside hotel and finds a mysterious object™ while beach combing.

John Hurt is putting in such a powerhouse performance that it almost feels unfair to compare this to the cheaper 70s stuff. Cinematography and set dressing convey a subtype of loneliness that feels like scum on glass, and tension is built up wonderfully with nasty audio, a scary statue, the image of a pillow slowly dragged under a door. A figure on the beach is made frightening only through film techniques. It also strays much further from the source material than other adaptations, but that’s not without purpose. Hurt’s aside that losing someone to dementia is the opposite of our concept of a ‘ghost’ is more chilling than any of these goofy little vignettes have a right to be; no wonder they replaced the whistle with a wedding ring.

Stigma (1977), original teleplay by Clive Exton

Katherine and her teenage daughter take a trip out to their summer cottage, stopping to watch a team of workers attempt to remove a boulder from the property. Katherine is exasperated with her family, distracted by the workmen, and while cooking dinner finds her hand covered in blood. Only problem is she hasn’t cut herself.

This one was so fucked up and bizarre and I really liked it. As a kid one of my favorite ‘true’ stories was about a house in the Southern U.S. that inexplicably dripped blood from its walls, and this reminded me of that with an added human element. There’s a lot packed into the runtime and characterization considering how simple the plot is. Something both very charming and very chilling about amateur acting and grainy film stock that’s then transformed by moments of pure pathos and truly beautiful shots. The image of blood welling from skin with no visible wounds made me physically shudder; my only issue is that it over-explains itself at the end. So close.

Lost Hearts (1973), story by M.R. James

A preteen named Steven is sent off to live with a distant relation, an eccentric, kindhearted old man obsessed with the occult, and keeps seeing mysterious children around the grounds of his estate.

This one surprised me because I can’t stand the premise, but it really grew on me with time. Even though there’s no mystery (’those children you’re seeing definitely Aren’t little dead ghost children, why, the old man loves kids he adopted two orphans that mysteriously vanished’), it had the best pacing out of any episode I watched. There are some truly arresting and memorable shots like Steven’s benefactor clipping a flower with garden shears and grazing over a cherub statue, or his untimely demise filmed entirely in silhouette. The ghost children’s makeup has them in grey body paint with long vampire fingernails (and, later, open rib cages), which would have terrified me as a child. Even as an adult the image of them tapping on glass windows and humming a leitmotif is memorably creepy.

The Mezzotint (2021), story by M.R. James

Curator Edward Williams comes into possession of a print, a mezzotint, depicting a country estate. When a friend takes a look at it there’s something ever-so-slightly different about the image. Maybe Williams simply missed the moon peeking between the clouds and the figure stepping onto the lawn (spoiler alert: he didn’t.)

The prosthetics that traumatized so many kids who watched The Witches in the 90s never bothered me growing up, but that painting in the beginning gave me nightmares for months, ergo The Mezzotint is the most compelling of any James story. A deep-seated fear of something moving when you can’t see it is just so deliciously scary; I wish it hadn’t had such an unimpressive filming style (Mark Gatiss wrote/directed, and you may remember him from another show), but the pacing, the acting, and the mezzotint itself were great. The wise old man in this one is even played by an old woman- #feminism!

[dogtoling]

Based on the limited information we have, tell me how you want the new DLC to go. Forget what Nintendo will probably do, just give us your dream story, level design, characters, etc.

Thanks!

Based on the limited information we have I think it's safe to say that Off the Hook and maybe even the NSS will be part of the story, which... I mean honestly, I just want them to make it WORK. It's probably going to take place in some sort of alternate world, so there's a lot of things they could do with that. All I ask for is if the main focus is going to be on self-reflection or anything of the sort, PLEASE OMG make the characters have PURPOSE. If they do 1 more story mode where there's celebrities inside your brain commentating the adventure for no reason just to do a little dance over the final boss i'm going to go insane

As for what I'd actually want Side Order to be. um, good question... the premise that we do have based on the really limited stuff we've seen is honestly not inspiring to me at all. The implication that it's not even taking place in the real world would mean that it's EXTREMELY character focused, and given that splatoon has a really bad track record with writing characters, that immediately made me zone out. I put up with Splatoon's stories in the hopes of learning more about the world, and the characters are just kind of there getting in the way of the good stuff. So if the DLC is completely alienating itself from the world, what's in it for me? Lol. Other than general world lore, Side Order looks like it might have callbacks to extinct animals and nuclear weapons and probably humans, but I would still much prefer to learn CURRENT world lore. I guess all I can hope for is that we get really good history lore and it DOES tie into current MAJOR worldbuilding.

Ignoring most of the stuff we have hints of: it's good to remember that we've pretty much only seen concept art so far. And like, with Octo Expansion's track record, concept art rarely reflects what we ACTUALLY get in the game. With the gameplay we do have with your player character in bleached Inkopolis Square, I think it would be cool if there were several of these hubs and doing levels (let's be real, there's probably going to be levels again... even though I'd be interested in them trying something new) would slowly recover color. It has something of a faded or unclear memory of something familiar -type of vibe going on, which is at least how I see it. And I could be wrong, but it would be really cool if we had a story of self-reflection and every hub world went deeper into the player's memories.

There's no confirmation that it will be based on memories at all, and if it is, then there's also no confirmation that it will be based on the PLAYER'S memories. What about other characters or maybe... O.R.C.A? I don't know how on earth the corals would tie to it, but O.R.C.A. left some pretty huge loose ends in RotM by not doing much of anything (on screen, at least), and it IS a computer AI that has seen humanity's extinction and the birth of the Mollusc Era. It would make sense for it to be able to pass on information about humanity's extinction in detail. I'm thinking about the nuclear architecture in the concept art and the presumably cetacean skeleton or fossil that flashes in the trailer, implying both of those are very important. What would stuff like that be doing in JUST the player's memories? O.R.C.A. being a part of it WOULD give a sensible reason for being in some kind of digital realm, too. There is the chance that it is a digital realm of some kind just based on also one of the concept art with Marina with random digital pixels around her.

Yeah this has turned into random theories and wishful thinking. Honestly I just want an interesting story that is relevant to the current setting of the game! End of the Human Era lore is always something I'm up for even though I'd prefer it didn't become the shock value number one plot point of all the story modes going forward (it's a game about the squid world, why are we still focusing on the human world...)

[flowerycoffin]

My last prompt on late @sasori-mini-bang​

Day 3

“Mythology AU”

Before we begin I want to add that it was very plesant experience to be a part of this event; thank you from the bottom of my heart for letting me take part in this. I truly appreciate that and I love all of the works other people did.

Going back to my work - it’s the longest one and in the same time the least unique text I wrote. I just hope I hadn’t written any of the characters too ooc. Hope you’ll have fun anyway (pic and pronounciation of one word at the end of the text).

“Deidara was sitting in his room covered in unidentified skulls and fallen off clay; working peacfully on another face near his desk until unexpected opening of the door.

- I’ve heard my pupils had problems with skeleton identification - familiar voice was hearable in a whole cabinet - I know your busy with another reconstruction, but do you know where can I find report showing how this skeleton lied?

- Sasori? Aren’t you still on your recovery?

- Even recovery have it’s day off, alas only a hour off in this case. I miss cutting those idiots open.

Only now old friend saw that recent patient was wearing one of his lazy days dresses.

-Hey now, it says someone who almost become this idiot themselves. - blonde said harshly.

- I didn’t said I’m not one of them.

Dei understood his mistake immediately.

- Sorry, I just- let me see where I can find those papers you ask for.

- Brat, - redhair chuckled - don’t treat me any special alright? Maybe I could even laugh if not your “uf uf sowy I didn’t mean too”.

- Okay now, don’t do that sowy thing again.

- So you start being chill near me again!

- Fine, fine. Let’s go for report already.

*several minutes later*

Deidara and Sasori found lots of pictures showing skeleton with pounded nails into various parts of the body, head down, grave away from village.

- And… - a skull reenactor started - what you can tell?

- It looks like our subject was believed to be a strzyga.

- A what? - Dei couldn’t comprehend even how to spell such an oriental word.

- A strzyga. It’s slavic mostly female demon who have mostly regular, human body but changes into owl-like creature eating blood at night. Actually a different regions have different interpretations of this myth - once it’s lifestyle is really close to vampire behauvior, once strzyga can use dark magic, once not only blood but also organs are eaten etcetera, etcetera. The one thing in common is having two souls, so when one dies second seeks revenge for a previous, miserable life and can for example drain emotions and strenght from it’s opressors. From where I come from it’s pronouced more like szciga which sounds a bit more acurate in my opinion.

-Wow, my man. I didn’t knew you’re into slavic mythology. Why you didn’t say anything before?

- Hah! Because the only myth I really know is szciga one. My parents used to call me their little szciga until… you know, hah. And I was curious what it really stands for.

- Your parents were kinda cruel calling you stri- sti- schtig- urgh

- No! Being little szciga means being a bit mischevious, well hiding this behaviour child.

- You’d be actually pretty good at being this stschchsc-

- I’ll learn you a pronounciation later because I can’t stand you trying to mimic those sounds alone. And no. Despite draining strenght from others and being an owl there’s not much fun living as strzyga.

- I understand you’ll stay for a small tea in my cave?

- Sure. Why not.”

It’s Sasori as strzyga. My artstyle went full anime this time and doing this piece took me really quick too so no wonder I’m not satisfied with results argh, the shading is so ugly. Why?

I was also thinking of biblical angel, but I could hurt some people religious feelings this way.

And yes. I’ll try to explain the pronounciation:

S and t are pretty easy to say because there’s no nuances there. Only said with a little bit more harshness

Rz - in this word is said as harder sch or sh in ‘hush’

Y - no idea how to explain honestly. Like in Ypsilon? It’s u in ugh but going more on w. Sorry I can’t explain this one

G is said like you were trying to say ‘gh’ in Ghibly with silent h

And a is really hard, like hArd or cAr

So in the end we get

STshugghA

This doesn’t make much sense but I hope it was at least fun to try this.

Oh there is also a szciga one

Sz is just sh. No revolution so far

Ci is ć but more ciii. I know you have no idea how to say ć, I’m just goofing. It’s harsher chi in chirp. Try to say cirp instead and the sound will be similar.

The rest is the same. We have

ShchighA

Thanks for staying till the end. Thank you once again.

[onceandfutureoshainspector]

- sneaking my way through the Vault, picking off the resident Gunners as i go. there are a Lot of skeletons holding narcotics lying around...

- found a place called the Vault 95 Detox Facility, which was locked up tight enough that i think it might have been intended as the end of the Vault whoops (emphasis on "was"). this seems like such an unquestionably helpful thing that it's giving me a really nasty feeling...

---- revised theory: Vault-Tec was experimenting with something to do with drugs, and using the Detox Facility to bring people back from the brink.

-------- maybe this was like their test subject reset machine - load up a patient with experimental superdrugs, do a bunch of tests, then wring 'em out so you can try a different batch on them tomorrow? this would be uncharacteristically frugal of Vault-Tec, the company that tended to treat human lives like disposable napkins, but it's a possibility.

-------- maybe they were trying to create a cure-all for toxins, poison the shit out of people and then try to bring them back from the brink, like a mirror to Vault 81's disease-oriented line of inquiry?

-------- knowing Vault-Tec, maybe they were even trying to create the reverse, a drug so addictive that its effects couldn't be washed away even by the most space-age of technology. after all, if they were trying to make the perfect super soldiers, they'd need a way to control them.

- explored a bit more, found more skeletons who apparently died of drug use. the drugs all seem to be regular inhalers of Jet and shit, not superdrugs (or more super than regular drugs in this game).

---- maybe the test subjects got addicted to Super-*insert drug here*, but got hung out to dry when it ran out/got destroyed/whatever, and the regular stuff wasn't enough to keep them alive?

- this... looks unsettlingly familiar...

Vault 95 Overseer Manifest The Overseer of Vault 95 is an elected individual chosen to run the daily meetings and ensure the other residents adhere to the rules of the Vault-Tec Rehabilitation Program. This is not to be considered a position of power, but rather a position of support and servitude. Infractions are to be dealt with using positive reinforcement and encouragement. The residents of Vault 95 are family, and share the same path. The position of Overseer should not prevent a resident from continuing their own personal journey. An election will be held once a year on October 30th. Residents are encouraged to inform their decision based on awarded merit points as laid out in the program guidelines.

- what the fuck is going on here. this is way too above-board for Vault-Tec, even before considering all the bodies. there's another shoe here somewhere, and i don't think i'm gonna like it.

Meeting Date: 10/23/2082 Overseer/Facilitator: Jane Meyers Format: Guided Discussion Discussion Topic: The usefulness of continued meetings *Resident Michael has expressed his desire to reduce the amount of meetings. **He believes chem dependence is no longer an issue. *Resident Randall reminded the group that adherence to The Program was a condition of living in the Vault. *Resident Patricia wondered if Vault Tec even existed any more. *Resident Randall reminded the group that we are all addicts. **We may pick up unhealthy habits without the Program. *I expressed agreement with Randall's sentiments. *Issue was put to vote. Vote to continue the Program was unanimous.

- usually the Overseer's Terminal holds at least some kind of clue as to what the hell went wrong, but this sounds... honestly, pretty great, considering the circumstances. five years into the apocalypse, and the support structures were still holding up. which begs the question: what the hell went wrong so quickly that nobody even made a note of it?.

[the-dragon-chronicler]

Response 03

Prompt: An archeologist accidentally unleashes an ancient curse during an excavation.

Response: Ya know, we always joked that this is how humanity would end. With deadly viruses, the deaths of beloved celebrities, and fire sprouting like weeds, I, at the very least, assumed we'd all be cleansed by a god or something by now. But no! We're all being damned by some sort of demon or something.

I blame my boss. An "American man," ya know? He's definitely an "American man," all right. He is the stupidest smart man I know! Of course, we told him to leave the stuff alone, but no. He wanted to dig up that tomb. He wanted all the 'untold riches'. Never mind the fact that the interpreter read the words "black," "annihilation," and "death" a good twenty times.

And of course, boss man had to desecrate the fossil by picking up both the talisman and the medallion and wearing them both.

Honestly, he looked ugly as shit.

Anyway, this all started a few days ago. We were sent to this "abandoned mine" deep in the Rocky Mountains and when I say deep, I mean deep. We had started near Santa Fe on Tuesday. It's now Wednesday of the next week and our outside team told boss man that we're still near Santa Fe. We had been walking for the majority of these passing days. We even took pictures of a lot of things as we walked. There were some pretty good ones. There was one of Sammy, a junior archeologist, pretending to trace some symbols on the wall; and another one of Johnson laying in an empty grave and us pretending to dig him up. Those were fun.

But back to the point! We questioned boss man a few times as to how we were going to know when we reached the fossil. He said that we'd know when we heard somebody singing.

Now, before you all ask, we all took this creepy ass job because they promised us two-hundred dollars for every hour it took us to find the fossil. I accepted because I'm a broke college graduate who decided to work for their uncle's company. Sammy has to pay for his sister's school. Johnson, compared to us, was just a greedy bastard. I wasn't all that close to the other crew so I couldn't tell you why they took the job.

It took us another two days to reach what we now know as a tomb. It wasn't anything special at first. It was a large, closed-off, room. The walls extended so far above us that the light of our flashlights couldn't hit anything. There were letters and symbols decorating damn near every inch of those walls. After a few minutes of getting more familiar with our surroundings. We set up a few different dig sites. All of us first found pieces of a stone tablet. Sammy had the smart idea of having our interpreter piece it together and translate it. Such a smart kid. After that, we all kept finding rat skeletons.

We didn't even question it at the time.

We honestly should've.

We ended up with five pretty big piles of them. After around five or so hours of digging, boss man struck gold. All we were supposed to do was document the existence of the damn thing.

And now, we're in present day. Only Sammy and I are still alive. This...thing keeps asking us questions. Wants to know about our aspirations and families and shit. Sammy has it distracted while I type out this distress message.

Please.

If you're getting this, please send the bastards who sent us down here. It's already killed people it deemed "unsatisfactory and unworthy" both inside and outside this mine. It showed us what it did...

God...no. There is no God if this thing could do that.

Damned thing kept mumbling about "Untouchables" too. I'm gonna assume those bastards are still alive. They constantly had all this tech stuff on.

Fuck. It's coming towards me. Please someone find them.

[astaroth1357]

Demigod MC Series: Hades

Demigod MC Series: Intro, Aphrodite, Hermes, Hades

Lucifer

Well… this is awkward…

He’s actually met Hades multiple times for business reasons (Underworld-Devildom relations are amiable if not a little odd. Hades was something of an uncle figure to Diavolo as a wee demon lad, which should speak for itself really). He’s a gloomy fellow and not much for chit-chat, but he never thought they’d end up taking one of his kids by accident…

He had to send a formal apology letter to the Lord of the Underworld immediately, but thankfully he didn’t seem very concerned for his offspring - if anything he appeared to think the Devildom would suit them nicely which was… concerning.

And he was not wrong. The darkness, demons, ghouls, and frights of the Devildom hardly seemed to faze the MC, if anything they fit right in. He’d dare say they were thriving if not for one thing…

They were So. Damn. Bleak.

Getting a smile out of this one AT ALL was rare. For once he felt the need to check up on someone constantly just to be sure they were alright... They’d keep assuring the House that they’re not actually as sad as they look but it’s hard not to assume…

He was a little mortified at first when they first met Cerberus cause… well they called him “Cerbi” and the massive demonic guard dog rolled over for them like a Golden Retriever! 

Apparently he and the Cerberus that they knew are from the same litter and they must have smelt familiar... He would have probably limited their interactions just to keep his dog on his side but after seeing the MC smile for once while they played with the big oaf well…

Cerberus got a new playmate and the MC got a massive, three-headed therapy animal. Win-win. 😌

Mammon

Do ya really gotta be such a downer all the time, MC…? 😔

He thinks they’re nice, like really nice. They’re always super concerned when his brothers attack him or when he gets injured, but he’s pretty sure it’s because they’ve seen people die before so…

At first, he had no idea why he had to be saddled with this depressing wisp of mortal but over time he started to understand that they weren’t all that sad. They had… Resting Gloom Face? Is that a thing? 

They also had a different way of seeing things. He could win the lottery and they’d tell him to stay inside so he wouldn’t get hit by lightning or if he pissed off the wrong people, they’d joke about him keeping his fingers and toes. Dark stuff, but not intended to be so… well morbid.

However, what he eventually found out that the REAL advantage to having a Hades kid in the Devildom was that nothing scared them. Literally nothing. Not even the ghosts - which to reiterate, are terrifying!

Cue Mammon getting dragged to horror movies nights with his brothers and pulling the MC along to be his personal security blanket. He’ll hold onto them for dear life as they just pat his head or something, watching and not even flinching at the jumpscares.

The first time the House had an unexpected power outage he clung onto the back of their shirt like a lost child while they calmly looked for the circuit-breaker...

If he could jump into their arms every time something scary happened like Scooby-Doo, he absolutely would. His brothers make fun of him, but after seeing the MC handle Cerberus like a puppy any time something frightens them they hide behind the mortal as well…

Leviathan

In some ways, he totally relates to their moodiness but come on! Who can still look so sad when watching The Magical Ruri Hanai: Demon Girl?? Ruri-chan can make anyone smile! 😠

When he first met the MC, he was a little confused about why they didn't find him intimidating at all. He even reverted to his demon form and showed his fangs but no dice! All they said was, "I've walked along the edge of Tartarus. You're gonna have to try a lot harder than that, buddy…" 

That was probably his first sign that the "human" wasn't normal…

After Mammon told him who their Dad was, things made a lot more sense. A child of Hades in the Devildom? That's ironic enough to be its own anime plot!! They certainly felt like an angsty protagonist at times. 🤷‍♀️

Truth be told, they could relate to each other in a lot of ways. You wouldn't think that an offspring of the Underworld and a demonic shut-in would have much in common but the one thing they share between them is that sense of never really fitting in.

Turns out that Hades kids are black sheep, even among other demigods, and Levi? Well, he's had trouble relating to others since his angel days. He and the mortal were like off-beat kindred spirits!

Which, I mean, you wouldn't get just by looking at them together. Levi being the impassioned super-otaku rambling their ear off while his somber companion would just go along with him quietly, but hey, there's more beneath the surface. Probably. 

Now if he could just get them to cosplay as the Lord of Emptiness with him… They'd be perfect! Perfect he says!!

Satan

Highly considered drugging their food with antidepressants for a while… 

This was before getting to know them better, of course, but for the first couple months he honestly couldn't shake the feeling that the mortal looked miserable! 

Now, he's one to particularly care for the comfort of strangers, but just looking at them like that every day would sour his own mood quite considerably. It was very irritating...

It was only on closer inspection that he realized there was something else at play, though.

The mortal was different - even for a demigod he imagined. They took to the Devildom easily and the realm almost accepted them right back!

The flora looked better in their presence, the hellish beasts that roamed the wilds would roll over for them, and they even seemed to be welcomed in by the never-ending shadows… 

It was fascinating. Like the effects of the Underworld were baked into their DNA and mingled with the environment around them… Two layers of darkness coexisting within one person.

I mean, what other creature - other than Lucifer - could ride Cerberus around like a pony??

Had they not been so kind, they'd probably scare him shit-less... Their potential power was too great to ignore. But after getting used to their gloom, at least they made for pleasant company. 🤷‍♀️

Satan likes them well enough, but even still he has to wonder just what they were capable of… you know?

Asmodeus

Oh. My. WORD. What a buzzkill!!!

Really, the new mortal was no good at parties or pictures for that matter!

Not because they looked bad, or even because he couldn't get them to smile, but because GHOSTS would always photobomb any pictures they were in!! 😫

One time he got a selfie with them on the couch and a creepy ghost child could be seen hiding behind the cushions so NOPE. No more photos with the mortal around!!

Aside from that, he couldn't say the mortal was all bad or anything…They were pretty friendly, despite their general look and feel. 

Though, personally, he thought they wore far too much black... Even in the Devildom, there's normally a pop of color, you know? Was that just the Hades dress code?

And you want to know the weirdest thing? Despite everything about them screaming "Doom and Gloom," they're straaaangely popular among the RAD dating scene…

Like. Not as some heartthrob, "Love'em and Leave'em"-type, but he's found that there's a LOT of his demonic classmates who think they're cute or have a crush on them in some way…

Naturally, he can see the appeal of the mysterious, moody demigod with a dark, troubled past. It's just the demigod in question is completely oblivious to it! 🤷‍♀️

He tried to give them dating tips or play matchmaker from time to time but eventually gave up when it was clear they weren't interested. Alas, students of RAD, this is one forbidden fruit that refuses to be shared…! Such a tragedy… 😔

Beelzebub

They remind him of Belphie… like. A lot.

The similarities were obvious. They had a similar feel, made similar jokes, and even the same somewhat dreary attitude about them...

If he were being honest, at the beginning there were times when he'd open up to them a lot more than he intended because he'd forget that he wasn't actually talking to Belphie…

Thankfully, he knew better than to try and treat them like his replacement or anything. They were two different people after all. But it didn't stop him from feeling extra protective around them for a while.

Besides, there was ONE thing that set them leagues apart from Belphie and that was the fact they were a shit cook. Not quite as bad as Solomon but uh… Actually no, that's a closer call than it has any right to be...

Apparently, Hades kids don't need to eat as much and when you hang out with shades and skeletons for most of your life, you don’t really worry about making food that's any better than… "Well, technically it's edible." 🤷‍♀️

Their food won't kill a person like Solomon's, but you WILL start seeing stuff you probably shouldn't. He tried their "soup" once and swore he saw the ghost of his mother… and he doesn't even have a mother!!!

He swears that if he ever sees the MC and Solomon working together in the same kitchen he's skipping town… Whatever culinary abomination the two of them could create would probably gain sentience and eat HIM instead. He's always figured he'd go out with Death by Food, but not like that!! 😫

Belphegor

Ever meet someone who’s like looking in a mirror? Yeah, he’s getting those vibes…

He never expected the "human" to be so similar to him, it was kind of uncanny.

Upon first laying eyes on each other there was a pause… then a squint… and then… a nod.

Honestly, their combined dry wit, dark humor, and pessimistic outlook played off of each other surprisingly well. Too well for him to hate, really.

Not that it mattered because they didn’t believe him for a second when he tried to trick them (they had dealt with loads of lying monsters before). He hated to admit it, but they had a good head on their shoulders and knew better than to trust a locked up demon…

And yet, they seemed to stick around with him anyway. Because of the good conversation or just empathizing with his loneliness was anyone's guess. 🤷‍♀️

Sometimes they'd come up and sit outside the door in comfortable silence… Or they'd talk about whatever:

MC: *sitting out by the attic with their back against the door* So what happens to demons when they die…?

Belphie: *laying on the floor on the other side, staring at the ceiling* Depends on the kind. If I die, I'll just reform later.

MC: Like a reincarnation?

Belphie: Eh. *shrugs* Maybe. Haven't died yet.

MC: You could die in there, you know.

Belphie: *throws a side glare* Well thanks for bringing that up…

MC: *shrugs* What? It's true. But don't worry, I won't let you. *small-ish smile*

Belphie: *stares at them wide-eyed and pink-cheeked before turning on his side quickly* Ugh… whatever…

They did their word, somehow. They eventually got the door open and let him out, but by that time the anger was gone and he was just happy to finally talk to them face-to-face...

And good thing too, because apparently it's not smart to fight a death-child in what is essentially their element - as he saw when they summoned an army of skeletons to kick Levi's ass when he cheated them in Devil Cart...

He would not have lasted in that fight... Dodged a bullet there. 

[strangeinternetwasteland]

Imprint- Werewolf Bakugo x Fem! Reader Pt 1

A/N: I wrote this for @chaoticyuna and her summerween event which can be found here …this probably will be a multipart series…

WC: 1.7k

Warnings: None really this part is pretty SFW

There were always stories about your college UA. The ghosts that moaned and haunted the hallways, the skeletons they found buried deep beneath the school, the vampires that roamed openly on campus at night. None were ever as exaggerated as the tale of the werewolf that runs through the forest at night.

Of course, you didn’t believe any of this. The closest thing to ghosts or vampires were the pale-faced, sleep-deprived students you attended the school with. The fact that wolves even lived in the forest around the school seemed absurd. So when you started your first year at UA, the seniors would try to scare the freshmen.

You never gave in nor did you believe the stories. So when you decided to join a sorority, of course your initiation was to spend a night in the forest. Honestly, it was pathetic that so many gave into the stories like this. You refused to do such an act and were not accepted into the Sorority.

You tried again with another sorority that seemed to align with your ideals concerning the “supernatural” existence of beings. Your initiation was similar to the other sorority, only you had to go to the forest on a full moon and spend the whole night there. To you it wasn’t anything, you’d been camping many times with your family since you were little. One night wouldn’t hurt.

So you packed your sleeping bag, a few snacks, water, and some extra clothes. The warmth of the fall day gave false hope. You had checked the weather and made sure that it wasn’t going to be raining that night or extraordinarily cold. Everything seemed to have been perfect.

After dinner, you took your stuff and ventured off into the forest. You found a nice clearing not too long after the sun had just set, just before it became too dark to see. You set up camp, built a fire, and let your thoughts take you wherever they pleased while looking under the starry sky. You had drifted off to sleep fairly quickly.

A few hours later, you were awoken by the sound of a low growl of a wolf. The sound meant danger, and even in your half-sleeping state, you knew something was wrong. You quietly, and quickly tried to pack your things without attracting too much attention, you backed up slowly and felt yourself press up against something soft. You held your breath as you slowly turned to face a massive carmel colored wolf with red eyes. The last thought you had before everything turned cold and dark was, ‘I am going to die here, but why does he look sort of humane?’

You woke up just after the sun rose, in a cold sweat. Unsure if you dreamt of the giant wolf, or if it really happened. You argued with yourself while you packed up your things, but a feeling of uneasiness settled over you, almost as if you were being watched. You shook it off and chalked it up to your imagination. You walked back to the sorority house and reported your finding of nothing.

The next two weeks passed quickly, without much of anything happening. You were part of the Sorority, participating in house parties, thinking of charity events, and of course school. It was almost two months into school when you got a new student in your business marketing class, which was normally not a thing that happened often. When he entered the room all the girls in class stared at him. He oozed confidence and cockiness. Whispers were murmured amongst the girls.

When you looked up to see the commotion, you saw him walking toward you. Something about his stance and aura made you not want to make eye contact with him.

“Is this seat taken?” He asked you gruffly while pointing to the one directly next to you. You shook your head no, and kept your head down and gaze averted.

“I’m Katsuki Bakugo.” He told you while holding his hand out to you. You really wanted to look at him, but everything inside you screamed not to. You ignored him as best as you could, but your interaction  made the whole classroom whisper again.

“Alright, everyone settle down. Today’s assignment and your homework is to create a business model that you think would have sustainable growth in a five year model. You will be working with a partner. You have two weeks to complete this and present it to the class.” You swore you saw all the girls' eyes glued to Bakugo as the professor spoke.

“Bakugo, since you’re new to this class, I will let you pick your partner first.” The Professor said, but all the girls sat up a little straighter trying to get Bakugo’s attention. “I advise you though, that just because you are starting so late, I won’t make any excuse for you not to get your work done. You have quite a bit to catch up on.” He continued.

You saw Bakugo give a sly grin when the Professor said this. He nodded his head curtly.

“I choose Y/N as my partner for this assignment.” Bakugo spoke aloud, and you saw all the girls in the room deflate a little bit. You didn’t know Bakugo so how did he know you? You thought to yourself.  When you looked at him after he spoke, for the first time since he entered the room, something about him seemed so familiar. His eyes softened a bit as you looked at one another before he tore his eyes away from you. You felt his whole mood shift from confident to anger. You couldn’t explain it, but you knew something was off with Bakugo.

After everyone was partnered up, and you heard a few quips from the other females about how unfair it was that Bakugo picked you, the two of you were set off to work. As uncomfortable as Bakugo seemed with you, or the classroom, he had a lot of ideas for the assignment. Just before class the two of you exchanged numbers and planned to meet at the library tomorrow night.

Every other night you and Bakugo spent time at the library together until close. He always seemed very tense when around you, and you thought perhaps, it was just your personality that he didn’t like. He’d walk you to your dorm or sorority house when needed. The night before your presentation to the class, you were supposed to meet him, but he never showed up.

You walked around the school looking for him. You caught up with one of his friends Kirishima, who told you that Bakugo wasn’t feeling well. You thanked Kirishima, and gave him a message for Bakugo. You noticed that it was a full moon, and a cool fall night. You walked toward the forest where you felt most at peace. As you felt the cool crisp air biting at your cheeks, and feel your troubles melt away, you walked aimlessly.

Suddenly, you were in the darkest part of the forest, where very little moonlight filtered through the trees. You felt that uneasiness once again, and realized you were lost. Behind you, you heard a branch crack and break. Your heartbeat raced and you realized that you heard a low, warning growl from a wolf. This time you knew you weren’t dreaming.

In front of you was a snarling shadow with the bluest eyes you’d ever seen. You were shaking from adrenaline and while you should have ran away, you heard the gruffest, “Don’t Move” inside your head. So you obeyed. From above you lept a lighter colored wolf, who placed himself in front of you.

The two snarled at one another for a bit, but seemed to be communicating somehow. The sight was incredible and unbelievable. When the other wolf left without your legs gave out and you fainted once again.

When you woke you were surrounded with the feeling of warm fur, and the smell of carmel that pulled you back into sleep. You didn’t dream of anything more, but hours later you woke up in a fit, and inside your dorm. When you exited your dorm to rush to class, you were greeted by Bakugo.

“Hey, Y/N. Are you okay?” You eyed him suspiciously, he wasn’t as tense as he normally was.

“I am fine. I’ve just had nightmares as of late.” You snapped at him.

“Alright.” He said nonchalantly. The truth was you had a million questions for him, but you knew you couldn’t ask him.

“I meant, last night, I found you passed out in front of your dorm when I was walking back from the store.” He told you. You opened your mouth and then closed it.

“You know what? I don’t need this fake sympathy from you. Let’s do this stupid presentation and then we will never have to speak again.” You shouted at him.

He fell behind you as you walked as quickly as you could to the classroom. You both gave your presentation and ignored Bakugo as best as you could for the rest of class.

After class, you were the first one out and ran straight back to your dorm. You turned off your phone and fell asleep for the rest of the day. Your dorm mates Momo, Mina, and Ochako came and went.  Mina, whom you shared a room with, asked you if you wanted to join them. You told her no, and she knew that sometimes all you needed was space, gave you a head pat and left.

When they all left you were able to sleep again and at one point you swore you heard a knock at the door, but ignored it and everyone for the rest of the day. When you turned your phone on the next day, you saw the 5 missed phone calls from Bakugo. You were angry looking at that. The long apologetic text message didn’t seem to help either, nor did the box of Flamin’ hot Cheetos, which you assumed was Mina. However, you spotted the little note scribbled on top from Bakugo, you sat down angrily on the couch in the common area between your room and the other one, and ate the chips angrily. You were determined to ignore Bakugo for as long as possible.

[bobateaboo]

eyo, the poll from a few days ago had a whopping one vote so guess who's getting a Cleaver oneshot!

Nightterror by @andizoidart

You don't know how long you've been here. It can't have been that long, but there was no way to tell down here. No windows. No clocks. One of your captors stopped by to leave a plate of food (surprisingly good, honestly) a few hours(? minutes? days???) ago, but that was your only way of marking passed time since you were thrown in the cell. You don't know what they're going to do with you. Honestly, you're not sure they know either. You heard something about you being a hostage, in case they needed leverage over someone named Daydream, but you don't think they know exactly what to do with a human in the mean time. so that's why you're not sure if it's an accident or looking for trouble when the skeleton passing by has a key ring "accidentally" slip out of his pocket, landing with a satisfying clink right outside the cell door. You'd stared at it, dumbfounded, before lunging forward, your arm between the bars to get it. Of course, it was a bit farther than anticipated, so you spent a little while awkwardly grasping at the air, but you managed it eventually. You have to try a few different keys before the lock settles open with a resounding thunk, creaking open into the hallway. You looked both ways, confirming that no one was coming, before dashing to the nearest stairway, opening the heavy wooden door at the top. There was a wide hallway, with pristine floors and dark walls, leading off to so many branching paths it made your heart drop. Luckily (but eerily), the place seemed… empty. So empty you could hear your footsteps echoing down the cooridor. Come to think of it, you have no idea how many people are in here. You know the one who commanded others to take you, a skeleton in a purple coat called Nightterror, and this place looks fit to comfortably house hundreds of people. But… no one seems to be here.

It's an awkward feeling, walking through the halls, peeking around for any sign of someone coming. It's like you're a guest at a house you're not familiar with, and you've had to get up in the middle of the night to try and find the bathroom. Except this time if you wake your hosts up they're liable to stab you. Lucky you. You shake your head out, trying to think. There's Nightterror, the one who sent shivers up your spine. And three guards had passed by at seperate points to make sure you were still in your cell, one with a hood over his head and miscolored eyelights, one with black running down his cheeks like tears, and a smaller skeleton in black and white. You vaguely remember there being a fifth skeleton somewhere nearby when you were captured, but they were out of your sight range, doing a different task. Maybe if they weren't sent to help capture you, it was because he was too weak to hold you down. That would be good. …. Eh, it's a nice thought at least. You had been walking down the endlessly long hallway for about ten minutes when you heard voices. No, not voices, Voice. Someone was talking to themself, coming down a path that would collide with yours, putting you in broad sight range. Ah. Fuck.

You banked left, into a doorway you hadn't even fully processed was there, shutting the door and backing up like it might explode, stumbling over your own feet in your haste. Aaand backing up into.. something… larger…. You turned to look up at it at roughly the same time it turned to look down at you. It towered over you, leaving you at barely chest height and several times your width, with large black gloves, one holding a butcher's knife in a fist as big as your skull, and a long apron stained with what you really hoped wasn't blood. Holes in it's sleeves revealed nicked and scarred bones, and you're pretty sure that it'd only take one bit of effort from this thing and you'd go squish. But none of that compared to it's face. It had the left side of it's jaw shattered into splinters, leaving a gap all the way into it's teeth and up to touch it's eyesocket, leaving the teeth around the jagged edges unruly and painful looking. On the same side of it's face, it's skull was cracked open like an egg, and one of it's eyesockets was dark. And in between all that, neatly slotten between jagged fractures and breaks no human could survive, was a crimson eyelight and black pupil, staring straight down at you. Before you can start to run more than just one step away, one hand has plunged down, grabbing you by the hood of your sweatshirt and yanking you easily off the floor. You kick and scream, the world whisking around you as this towering thing moves and you're- Set down, neatly in front of a sink. "In kitchen…. wash hands….." …. I'm sorry, what?

you looked up at him, trying to figure out if it was a joke, only to be nudged closer to the sink. after a moment of hesitation, you reach out, and wash your hands. That seems to please him. At least, he goes back to what he was doing, chopping up a bundle of scallions. You hesitate for a moment, with clean hands apparently detirmining that you're safe to be ignored in this space. You look around to see well stocked pantries, and several types of kitchen appliances you don't know how to use. Come to think about it, this might be a good opportunity to ask questions. you don't even know what this place is, for fuck's sake. "Where… are we?" The large skeleton looked up, cocking his head. "….Kitchen…." … That- that is not remotely what you're asking- okay, take two- "This place- er, the whole building, I mean, it's huge, right? So- where is everybody??" "somewhere… just the five of us… plus visitors sometimes, like you…." "what happened to the people who used to live here?" "Ran 'em out" "er.. why?" The large skeleton shrugged. "wanted it." Well at least he's not pretending to be the good guy, that's something. You paced around the kitchen, backing off when he passed to the other side to dump a cutting board full of neatly sliced veggies into a pot. You wonder if this is who made the meal the others brought you. "Who are you?" "…Cleaver…" This guy really didn't have a "fast" mode, huh But he didn't exactly seem evil, either. "The skeleton who took me, Nightterror- you don't seem like- well, you don't seem like the best person, but kidnapping doesn't seem like you're type- why are you working for him?" "Helped…" You tilted your head. Helped? It was hard to imagine Nightterror helping, or a beast like Cleaver needing help, for that matter. "With what?" "Hungry… plenty of food, here… can have all I want…."

He said the last bit like the idea dazed him slightly, adding spices to the pot with surprising tenderness for something that big. "You were.. hungry?" He nodded, setting a timer as a different one went off, taking a bowl of what looked to be bread dough out of the fridge to start kneading it. "Not enough… so hungry…" Were it not for the fact that bread and soup was clearly on the menu before you were, that tone would have been the scariest thing you could ever imagine. "Where… where did you come from?" He looked over at you for a second, before returning his cracked eyes to his dough. "Underground… never enough… everyone starving, needed…." You,,, may want to stop asking questions about where he came from. "So… after you escaped there, you just… went with him?" Cleaver nodded, adding more flour to his hands. "Warm… never go hungry…" Well, at least it wasn't a lust for human blood or anything like that. You looked into the pot of soup, where rich broth was bubbling around chunks of veggies and meat. It smelled amazing. A hand landed on the back of your hood, yanking you back. You had a split second to imagine what this skeleton in particular would do to you if he thought you were stealing his food, heart going so fast it's a wonder it didn't just burst. "Don't… do that…. steam burns… waft…." Was. Was that for a lecture on kitchen safety?? You watched him out of the corner of your eye, his eyes practically boring into your soul as he made sure you did it the correct way this time, nodding once you did and popping his bread in the oven. He took out a large ladle, starting to spoon the soup into a comically huge bowl. You were half sure it's only to be more polite than eating directly out of the pot rather than to share before he gets out one more reasonable sized, handing it to you. "For… me?" He nodded. "No… going hungry…"

You sit down at the table as he gestures for you to, sipping out of your spoon. Jeez, he may look scary, but bone boy can cook. Not that it gets rid of your questions though. "What-" "No going hungry." He said it more firmly this time. Apparently the soup took priority over questions like 'why was I kidnapped' or 'are you gonna kill me'. You obliged, though, sinking into the chair and breathing in the warmth of the soup. … You had never properly appreciated how sleepy a good meal left you, not until long after your bowl was empty, and your bread was baked and gone, and you were asleep at the table, with a large apron draped over you like a blanket.