#zombie infectee

[bloodsweatandpotato]

Day 26

“Why did you save me?”

Fandom: Original work (teeth marks and bubblegum)

Characters: Ethan, Liz

Tw: Discussed death, gore, mercy killing, and zombie-style-cannibalism (I swear this isn’t as bad as it sounds omg the warnings o-o)

Summary: Ethan finally asks Liz why she decided to save him that day. Angst ensues. Also this is an excuse for me to try out a super dialogue-heavy style for a drabble.

“Why?”

“Why what?” She turned to face hum, frowning slightly.

“Why did you save me?”

There was silence for a moment.

Liz spoke up. “Look, I’m only human. What am I supposed to do when I see a dying person?”

“I’m not.”

“What?”

“I’m not human.”

“Oh shut up. Just because you’ve got slightly worse impulse control and a taste for raw meat doesn’t mean you’re a biter.”

Ethan sighed. “Just call them zombies. There’s no need to be all dramatic with the naming.”

“Shut up.”

They lapsed into silence again, staring at the sunset form where they were perched on the rooftop. Liz’s dangled her legs over the edge of the building, unbothered by the fact that they were ten stories up.

Ethan turned to look at her.

“I would’ve died.”

“No shit.”

“I would’ve… become one of those.” He gestured to the street far below, where a small horde of zombies shambled aimlessly.

She sighed, realizing he wasn’t going to drop the conversation. “I know. Don’t you think I know? I knew the risks when I dragged you into that abandoned house, and I knew the risks when I dug into your fucking arm to cut away the infection. I’m not a doctor, okay, but I always wanted to be one.”

She paused for a moment.

“I wanted to be one so that I could help people. Generic, I know. I’ve never been particularly ‘gifted’ in school.” She continued, raising her hands in air quotes. “Which is why I didn’t exactly end up following through with the whole med-school dream. But… I’ve never stopped wanting to help.”

“I could’ve killed you.”

She laughed. “Oh really? If I remember correctly, you were weak as a kitten, and without any weapons, or shoes for that matter.”

“You know that’s not what I meant.”

“I know…” She quieted.

“Nobody would’ve blamed you if you left me to die there. I… I know what I looked like. Hell, my own group turned me away.”

“Shitty group. Don’t think I haven’t seen your scars.”

“I… Yeah…” He admitted. “But still, it doesn’t matter. I was bleeding out of my nose and mouth, and I’m pretty sure my tears went bloody at some point. I was delirious, missing a sizable chunk of my arm, and on death’s doorstep. You couldn’t have really known you could bring me back. I mean, the virus-“

She cut him off. “Okay, you need to shut up. I’m not sure why you’re trying to convince me I should’ve left you for dead. What’s done is done, and for all of the thanks you keep giving me, you don’t sound very grateful right now.”

“I…”

“No, stop. I’m talking. I’ve watched too many people die. Running the risk of sounding like a generic bleeding-heart-zombie-action-hero, I just couldn’t watch another person die in front of me. I’ve stood back, done nothing. I’ve mercy killed, watched the life drain out of the bloodshot eyes of my half-turned friends. I’ve run and killed and fucking ignored the problem until they tried to take a chunk of my face off. And nothing ever gets rid of the guilt. Of the fucking sickness I feel.”

She turned to look him straight in the eye, gaze hard and fire-hot even as tears pricked in the corners of her eyes.

“I couldn’t. Maybe I’m fucking selfish. Maybe it was stupid of me to drag you away and tie you up and force water down your throat and cut and cauterize your bite and boil and heat you until you had a goddamn seizure. Maybe I caused you more pain than your life’s worth. But I would do it again. And again. In a heartbeat I’d do it again.”

She wrenched her gaze away. “Shit.”

Ethan was silent for a moment.

“I… thank you. I don’t know what else to say. I just… you have to know that you didn’t ‘cause me more pain than my life’s worth’. I… to be honest, I don’t remember much of anything after I got bit and before I really woke up.”

He was lying, of course.

He remembered the pain.

The heat.

The terror, and the wishes for everything to end, for himself to just die.

He remembered the hunger and the delirium and the horrible, horrible thoughts that came with the virus, the virus that was being ripped form his mind by the heat of his own sweltering fever.

But he didn’t say any of that.

She hummed in acknowledgment.

He reached out a hand in a clear question.

She grasped his hand.

“Now,” He smiled weakly “if you don’t stop being all broody, I’ll eat your fingers off.”

She gave a tearful smile back. “Well, if you don’t stop trying to convince me I should’ve let you die, I’ll smash your head in with my bat.”

They both laughed.

@whumptober-archive

[bombawife]

horror may 2024

hallo this is a post the event horror may. in may you can write horror stories based on the prompts

prompt list

1 last man on earth

2 darkness

3 did you hear that?

4 happy birthday

5 make a deal with something

6 lies

7 blood

8 werewolf

9 photo

10 scream in the night

11 grave

12 kelpie

13 friday the 13th

14 evil

15 body horror

16 camp horror

17 slasher

18 you shouldn't have seen that

19 vampire

20 axe

21 urban legend

22 witch

23 he's here

24 scooby doo

25 doll

26 zombie infectee

27 black eyes

28 lost

29 horror movie

30 ghost

31 monster

rules

no incest or pedo stuf

you can write for fandom or a original story

you can as long or short as you want

tag with horrormay2024

if you are on archive of or own you can send it too horror may event

ask if you want to know something

[blinkpen]

I’ve also discovered this is another one of those updates that only slowly infects peoples accounts, like how DMing had to be spread like the fucking zombie plague at first back in the day. So, some of y’all aren’t seeing what I’m seeing, but I just logged into my nuhsuhfuhwuh to check and the page layout and user interface in that account is still fine!!!! It hasn’t turned into whatever the FUCK this is on my main (I’m on PC for both)

@staff if you were looking for feedback from your initial infectees: THIS. BLOWS.

[greatwyrmgold]

At one point, an idea of a zombie apocalypse congealed inside my head. One where the zombies didn't kill the world; they just brought it into an unnatural state where it couldn't heal from any damage dealt to it.

The outbreak started in what certain figures would lovingly call "shithole countries". Some corner of Africa ravaged by post-colonial civil war, perhaps. It could have been wiped out at this point, if the powers that be intervened. They did not; they saw no reason to. Sure, the odd zombie would escape the war zone and start mini-outbreaks, but most could be contained by local authorities, and it was easy to shut them down before they left the Global South. Maybe the occasional cruise ship has to deal with an unexpected infectee, but business shall continue as normal.

But when mini-outbreaks struck somewhere that couldn't contain the outbreak for one reason or another, they turned into full zombie outbreaks. A new problem, requiring locals to spend more resources on containing it. A new source of stray zombies, creating more mini-outbreaks. They stochastically spread across Africa, South Asia, Latin America (via an unfortunate plague ship).

Eventually, the problem couldn't be ignored, not even in the wealthiest parts of the world. But the response was terrible, focusing more on visibly doing something than solving the problem. Actions by police and military forces regularly killed more living humans than zombies, though the official statistics claimed otherwise. Life had to go on as normal; no disruptions to typical business would be allowed, even if it caused preventable outbreaks.

But this was unsustainable. They had ignored the problem, it festered, and by the time anyone took serious action—action that might disrupt trade or industry—it was too little and too late. The world slowly fell—not to undead violence, but to living apathy.

The idea came to me 2020. In case you couldn't guess. But it still seems relevant.

[anarcho-occultism]

Zombism

Zombism is a condition spread via various pathogens characterized primarily by rewiring the central nervous system in ways that weaken sensitivity to pain, remove higher cognitive functions and result in infected individuals targeting noninfected individuals with violence. Zombism has historically at times been used interchangeably with revenancy, the term used to refer to any circumstance where an individual has had all life functions cease yet remain animate. Clinically speaking, those who are reanimated via supernatural means are not considered zombies in the modern era, as though some examples of this act similarly to those infected by the range of diseases causing zombism, such as Inferi, others do not. The term ‘zombie’ is considered a slur when applied to individuals like the teenagers brought back during the Reanimation of 2008 or the members of Franchouchou, whom while clinically dead retain higher cognitive function and are no more predisposed to violence than the average person. The remainder of this article will thus focus on the conditions considered forms of zombism by medical professionals. For most strains of zombism there is no cure outside of supernatural methods (eg: resurrection rituals or use of healing potions), though a few can be defeated with vaccinations, antiviral drugs or alterations of temperature around the host.

The most baseline cause of zombism is the Solanum virus, which has existed for thousands of years. Solanum in nature is only capable of infecting humans in the present, though archaeological evidence suggests that now-largely-extinct species such as dinosaurs or mammoths may have acted as carriers of proto-Solanum viruses that made the jump to humans during the Ice Age. Solanum is universally infectious and transmitted via bites or deep scratches. Anyone infected this way will inevitably die and reanimate seeking to consume any living flesh within 24-48 hours, unless the infected area is amputated immediately. Over the centuries, there have been numerous small outbreaks of Solanum as well as at least one large-scale outbreak in Roman-occupied Britain. Solanum’s first known natural mutation was also in Britain in the 1800’s, where the ‘dreadfuls’ outbreak was sparked by corpses who rose from the graves despite being dead for years. However, Solanum is not the only natural cause of zombism. A plant known as the resurrection herb, native to the Korean Peninsula, is host to a parasitic worm that, if ingested by humans, will reproduce within their bodies and reanimate them, causing them to display behavior similar to Solanum infectees, albeit with some deviations. Those under the influence of the resurrection worms tend to have a low tolerance for warmth, functioning only in darkness or cold conditions. Additionally, the resurrection worms will be purged from the body if infectees are submerged in water, which was used to deal with a Joseon-era outbreak of zombism caused by the resurrection worm.

Both Solanum and the resurrection worm drew the interests of scientists researching biological warfare. The Darwinist Entente Powers of World War I considered using the resurrection worm as a bioweapon at the urging of the Japanese, whom had captured specimens of it from their occupation of Korea. This proposal ultimately was rejected and most of the specimens were destroyed (though the undeterred Dr. Herbert West would persist with his own experiments into the interwar period, which famously ended in disaster). However, it was the Second World War that would pave the way for zombism to become a more potent threat to humanity. Nazi Germany would begin research into Solanum as part of their broader Wunderwaffe efforts. Nazi research would ultimately lead to the creation of the original iteration of the compound known as Trioxin thanks to the efforts of Nazi scientist Edward Richtofen. Richtofen would ultimately have second thoughts about the bioweapon and would aid in destroying many of those infected with the prototype Trioxin alongside a trio of soldiers. However, samples were beyond Richtofen’s control, with a group of American soldiers participating in the D-Day landings having a vicious encounter with some Trioxin infectees during the invasion. This led to the compound being discovered by the Allies. Thanks to intelligence provided by defecting Nazi scientists Frederick Vought and Josef Merkwurdgliebe, the US would seize most samples of Trioxin in the closing days of the Second World War, taking them into American custody. A few were taken into Soviet custody or smuggled out by Hydra operatives.

In the era immediately following the end of the Second World War, it was an alien incursion that led to the first large-scale zombie outbreak. A race of aliens led by one Commander Eros attempted to raise the dead of the planet as part of a plan to prevent humanity from harnessing a universe-threatening element at some point in the future. To that end, the aliens made use of radiation to reanimate the dead to attack the living. The immediate aftermath of this saw the US government ramp up research into Trioxin, seeing the potential controlled reanimated corpses could have in warfare. However, the first containment breach on Trioxin occurred the same year, when a leak near the futurist town of Punchbowl, Pennsylvania reanimated a dead man in the graveyard, who triggered an outbreak that overran the town. Following a second containment breach not too far from the original site in Pennsylvania, President Esker Scott Anderson formally ordered an end to testing on Trioxin and that all samples of it in US custody be destroyed. This order, however, was not followed and several crates of the substance remained in secret warehouses until Richard Monckton assumed the presidency. Monckton, looking for a degree of plausible deniability, would decide to contract out research into zombism ot the private sector, settling on a company known as Umbrella Pharmaceuticals as the primary custodian of Trioxin research on behalf of the US government. Umbrella was already tasked with carrying out research into biowarfare, circumventing rules prohibiting such by also researching cures. Umbrella CEO Oswell Spencer was deeply interested in the potential bioweapon use of Trioxin.

One of the first breakthroughs Umbrella had was in removing the effect of Trioxin that rendered the host utterly unintelligent. After a number of experiments, a variant of Trioxin that allowed infectees to retain capacity for speech and strategy while maintaining a hunger for human brains was developed. It was this variant that was responsible for the Louisville zombie outbreak of 1983. Umbrella’s research would continue to develop a number of variants of Trioxin over the next several decades, each one varying significantly from baseline Solanum or earlier iterations of Trioxin. The most well-known version, the T-virus that overwhelmed Raccoon City in 1998. However, this was not the only outbreak caused by Umbrella’s meddling with Trioxin. The 2003 London outbreak, the 2006 Willamette outbreak and the 2011 Thousand Oaks and Banoi outbreaks just the confirmed outbreaks resulting from Umbrella’s actions. While never fully confirmed, it seems plausible a number of other undead outbreaks such as the 2009 Santiago outbreak, the 2011 Havana outbreak, the 2017 Little Haven outbreak and the 2019 Pleasant Valley outbreak were also the result of Umbrella’s action. The DC2 outbreak in rural Texas in 2007, while not caused by Umbrella directly, was also the result of research conducted by ex-Umbrella personnel on behalf of Biosyn. In the end, the 2021 fall of Las Vegas to a horde of zombies that escaped an Umbrella facility was the last straw and the US government forcefully dissolved the company the same year. However, the President’s Day Massacre and the assumption of power by David Jefferson Adams let key management officials off the hook for liability and allowed them to reconstitute themselves as the Randall Corporation. Only time will tell if the revamped company will continue on the path they already started upon.

While the path of Trioxin in Umbrella’s custody has led to the most notable zombie outbreaks and viruses, it is certainly not the only source of them over the decades. The most notable undead zombie strain not involving Solanum or Trioxin derived viruses in the modern era was the Kellis-Amberlee outbreak of 2014, sparked by an interaction between a cure developed for the common cold and a cure for the common cold mutating, though thankfully this outbreak was contained before it could get too widespread. Of note as well, however, is the existence of so-called ‘fast zombies.’ These are beings who possess a number of zombie traits (such as a loss of brain function and a tendency towards cannibalism and harm towards the uninfected) without becoming deceased. The Rage virus that breached containment in the United Kingdom in 2002 and hit Germany in 2010 is probably the most iconic example of this. Other similar viruses exist as well, however. In 2006, a variant of bird flu gave rise to a disease affecting prepubescent children, rendering them homicidally violent and cannibalistic. The bioweapon known as Trixie lacked the same age limits and ravaged the town of Evans City in 1973 and the town of Ogden Marsh in 2010. Variants of the rabies virus have also been documented that cause the general symptoms of zombism. Rabies variants are responsible for the 2008 Los Angeles apartment outbreak, among several others. Some zombies are the result of parasitic infection by alien races such as the Vodun or the ZQN. Other kinds of zombies are the result of demonic possession–the Deadites, the Stitched and Medeiros syndrome infectees all display the general behavior associated with zombism coupled with an explicit sort of malevolence owing to the source being demons.

The diverse array of zombie viruses out there naturally has stoked widespread fear of an apocalyptic zombie outbreak. While most outbreaks do not last long thanks to rapid governmental responses, some strains seem more likely to trigger apocalyptic consequences. The variant of the virus that hit South Korea for the first time in 2016 and again in 2019 showed the potential of a highly transmissible zombie virus, as it ravaged the country to the point it was forced to reunify with North Korea under the North’s authoritarian rule. Many have speculated that the virus was a bioweapon–perhaps engineered from the same parasitic worm that caused the Joseon outbreak–created specifically to make the Greater Korean Republic’s existence possible. A similar strain ravaged Japan in 2022, but eventually a cure was developed by Yuuko Sagami before it could wipe out civilization. The variant responsible for the Seattle outbreak-which rendered infected people hungry for human brains but retaining mental capacity so long as they could consume them-likewise was contained before it got too big. Another strain that very plausibly could threaten the world is the highly infectious Crossed virus, which couples many symptoms associated with Rage with an intense sense of sadism and a persistent ability to use tools. This virus, fortunately, is not native to our timeline and has only been encountered in extradimensional investigations (though the so-called ‘Taipei strain’ of the Alvin virus that broke out in 2021 has heavy overlap with the symptoms of the Crossed virus). Speaking of parallel timelines, others have been documented where Kellis-Amberlee or Trioxin largely overran the human race, reducing humanity to bands of survivors and petty warlords. There have even been documented worlds where Solanum pushed humanity towards the brink, though the limits of Solanum did allow humanity to overcome it after a long struggle. The specter of an actual, full-on zombie apocalypse remains dreaded, though it has been avoided.

References

Harry Potter, Generation Dead, Zombie Land Saga, Community (Epidemiology), The Zombie Survival Guide, Primal, The Reluctant Prometheus (David Dunwoody short story), The Zombie Survival Guide: Recorded Attacks, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, Kingdom, Leviathan, Herbert West: Re-Animator, Night of the Living Dead, Call of Duty: Nazi Zombies, Overlord, The Boys, Dr. Strangelove, Marvel Comics, Plan 9 From Outer Space, Stubbs the Zombie, The Company, Resident Evil, Return of the Living Dead, Shaun of the Dead, Dead Rising, Dead Island, Zombies en la Moneda, Juan of the Dead, Anna and the Apocalypse, Little Monsters, Planet Terror, Jurassic Park, Army of the Dead, The Handmaid’s Tale, School Live!, Newsflesh, 28 Days Later, Siege of the Undead, Cooties, The Crazies (1973 and 2010), Quarantine, Roswell Conspiracies (Comic Book), I Am a Hero, Evil Dead, Stitched, [REC], Train to Busan, #Alive, High School of the Dead, Apocalypse no Toride, iZombie, Crossed, The Sadness, Day/Dawn/Land of the Dead, The Walking Dead, World War Z

[heartbranches]

Dylan in the Quarry

How many of these will I make? Nobody knows!

I know Dylan is everyone's perfect marshmallow cupcake prince because he's both funny AND gay, but I'm seeing some fixating on the fact that he tells Kaitlyn to run in the scrapyard when he's infected and turning. That's not a sign of his Precious Marshmallow Cupcake Princeness, rather that's yet another really beloved horror trope.

Sorry y'all. He's still cool, I promise.

If you watch pretty much any movie where someone can get infected by a virus, be it a vampire movie like From Dusk til Dawn or John Carpenter's Vampires, or zombies, like 28 Days Later or The Living Dead series or, y'know, werewolf movies like say Dog Soldiers or the granddaddy of them all, An American Werewolf in London, there will be a sequence where the infectee is about to change and they start begging their friends or strangers to run away.

I know a lot of y'all aren't familiar with horror movies, but as a very queer, dark weird kid growing up in the 90's they were my happy place. It was where you went to find people who were your kinda weird. Now I get to do crazy shit like gore special effects in the film industry. So don't ever let anyone tell you your weird little hobby won't lead to anything.

If you want, I can start a recommendation list based off the Quarry on some horror movies y'all might love.

[aviculor]

The Sadness, a Taiwanese film that came out last year. A young couple gets stuck in the middle of a pandemic (which is totally NOT covid, it's the Alvin virus) that mutated into...not quite a zombie plague, but its victims become violent and sadistic and they actually aren't above eating people. Among other depravities. Outstanding effects, the visuals and cinematography are great. There is so much blood. It's shocking, it's creepy, it's dreadful, it's gruesome, it's tragic, it's abhorrent...it's got so many different moments to it and it keeps getting more horrific as it goes on. Top tier horror movie in all regards. Huge content warning though, the infectees are indeed raping people too. It's a whole Thing. The only punch being pulled here is that it's mostly offscreen. And it has one gut punch of an ending. I don't want to spoil anything because I actually like and recommend this one.

[redhatmeg]

Usopp is not allowed to come to doctor Hogback's mantion and the two things that come to mind as why is that are:

that he has zombie infection, since he was earlier bitten, or

that something he wear (for example - the garlic necklace) might work against doctor Hogback who is a vampire.

Given that earlier Hildon didn't have any objections to take Usopp alonside with Nami and Chopper, the second option seems unlikely. Therefore he really might be a zombie-infectee. Still, doctor Hogback makes an exception, so maybe it's something unrelated to zombies and vampires.

[namimikan]

CHAERIN EUN REALLY GRABS A CHAIR AND MURDERS A ZOMBIE INFECTEE NPC RIGHT IN FRONT OF HER SUPPOSED LOVE INTEREST IN HIS HOMEROOM CLASSROOM AND SAYS, SPLATTERED IN BLOOD, WE HAVE TO GET OUT OF HERE, THERE’S SOMETHING REALLY WEIRD GOING ON!

AND HER ML IS JUST. FROM HIS PERSPECTIVE THE ONLY WEIRD ONE IS HER????

[spicebiter]

Welcome to Raccoon City

I won't fucking lie Welcome to Raccoon City was pretty fuckin good. I wasn't sold on the entirety of it- the storyline and pacing is a little messy but compared to every installment of the original series it's an absolute godsend. I also enjoy that they give multiple characters just as much volume as they have in the games so no one person stands out as The Main Character, which is especially nice considering they made the honestly perfect move of sorta mixing the first two games into the plot. Because both games are very puzzle heavy and lengthy on their own it's a nice to have both stories touched on in tandem and even brought together for a new ending and it's done well enough I really don't give a damn that it's not true to the games completely.

This movie is also just funny which is something I didn't realize I missed so much from the original run. The cow at the end was a great touch both comedically and effect-wise; I've never really seen anything like it. The soundtrack adds to this immensely imo. The scene with things reaching the police station was so fantastic with the music coming and going to accentuate the content of the shot it's truly a masterful bit.

I also think it's really cool that they messed around with designs of both living and zombie characters. I'd assume the doctor near the end is a G-Virus infectee based on the highlights of his design and I kind of prefer his look to that of the ones in game (the giant eyeball wigs me out). Even if he's not it's still a good look and there's a lot of little touches both in his design and other small details along the way that lend to my opinion that people working on this movie just gave more of a shit than anyone working one the original movies. In addition the casting is just lovely and I like that they found someone who doesn't look anything like Leon Kennedy yet still has the exact same Vibe to his look (Avan Jogia is so cute and hot at the same time he's perfect for the part). As a side note I don't think he even has any lines but I noticed Nathan Dales was in the movie and I was so surprised to see him until I learned the movie was filmed in Canada, and it was delightful to see someone less Hollywood based that I could recognize.

Because of its numerous differences from both the tone and adherence to game material that the original series had I'm overall not surprised that this movie received such poor critical reception. Gamers really love to hate on video game movies mostly on the basis of them being movies and not being perfectly in line with the games (because that would be sooooo interesting to invest an hour or two in watching /sarcastic), and people that enjoyed the original series hate the fact that Mila Jovavich isn't in it and it's nothing like the original movies. Neither of these are really very valid critiques- A movie isn't a game and to bring it to a wider audience and keep run time down you have to sacrifice some detail/alter story to fit, and the Mila Jovavich Resident Evil series was boring and pandering and sucked overall.

As far as video game movies go this one's a win in my book, to be perfectly honest. While some critics give the movie shit for a lack of character development I would personally love to put them in a zombie apocalypse situation and see who well their character develops. Not only do I think they're just nitpicking I also think they're looking for something that can't form naturally from the script and to force some touching/growth filled scene into the mix would be more detrimental than just shutting the fuck up and watching the zombie movie as is.

It's not a perfect movie and I wouldn't claim it to be but the idea that it's worse than literally any installment of the original series is horseshit and those who hold the idea need better taste. I'm usually not so adamant in my opinion but fuck, man, I didn't sit through six Resident Evil movies bored out of my mind and angry at all the major fuck ups they make for the sake of looking cool just to not be honest and say they're shit.

[minis21]

Writing Prompt 324

You are infected.

There’s no secret. You know it, your companions, your friends, what’s left of your family, they all know it. They all know that yor time is running out and they will have to take you out when it’s time.

Still, you have no intention of going down quietly.

No, you will use all that’s left of you for the sake of the others. It’s the least you can do, it’s the last you can do. You will die, but your death will mean something for the others.

[bogleech]

My favorite “abstract” monster movies/horror movies that feel like really good SCP’s and a non-spoiler note about each! Let me know any more along these lines! Some were your suggestions the last time I talked “anomaly horror movies” so thanks!!

Pontypool is based on a wildly different novel and a lot of people liked it more, but I actually found the movie more fun with its subtler and more focused story (basically just a small piece of the book) It is adjacent to, but is not a “zombie movie.”

Rubber is more comedy than anything else and has a strange meta angle some find pretentious. I just like that it’s about a murderous tire.

Absentia is a pretty harrowing film that involves missing children and pregnancy in its horror but also a very unique paranormal element for modern cinema.

Await Further Instructions is one I just saw weeks ago on Netflix and some people hate the tonal shift of the climax, the “silly” ending and the admittedly questionable “technology bad” kind of angle (edit: I was right the first time and that isn’t its message) but this is really one of my favorite monsters in a movie ever, and the whole thing is written just fun as hell to me.

Oculus is not about a “haunted” or “demonically possessed” mirror like some reviewers seem to think.

Autopsy of Jane Doe is technically about a classic kind of supernatural being but it’s presented in such a creative way.

In The Tall Grass is an adaptation of a King short story and “confusing” according to a lot of reviews. I did not find it confusing. I don’t think you will either? I think they just didn’t understand a movie where the antagonist is a phenomenon or location.

Possum is the least explicitly supernatural one here; the “creature” is symbolic and the real subject matter might be extremely disturbing for people who just want a spooky film.

1408 is another Stephen King adaptation and like Oculus I’ve seen reviewers who think it’s about a “haunting.” It isn’t, and the movie even says so.

Deep Dark is the closest thing in this list to just a literal “creature movie” but it’s a highly original entity who’s also just a delightful villainous character!

And FULL SPOILER synopsis for each if you want that!

Pontypool is about the English language itself becoming an infection, your vocabulary breaking down as you’re driven to a berserk state. Taking some dialog as canon and the book at face value, language itself has always been a metaphysical “organism” and now English in particular is trying to escape the confines of what it is. For this reason, infectees behave like zombies because they want to “chew through the mouth” of other people who are speaking.

Rubber has a tire just wake up one day for no reason and make things explode by shaking at them. A group of people lead by the film’s director follow the tire around and comment on events as if they’re over-analyzing an art piece.

Absentia never fully shows more than a hand and overall outline of its monsters, which are described as resembling silverfish but actually seem to be some kind of sadistic, ancient fae connected with an underpass.

Await Further Instructions is about a toxic family suddenly trapped in their home by a metal barrier and ordered around by emergency messages on their TV. Towards the end it turns out that television itself has gained awareness and wants humans to acknowledge it as master.

Oculus is about a mirror that can warp your perception of reality and has a staggeringly sick, sadistic will. A woman whose parents were killed by the mirror has devoted her life to studying it and setting up an elaborate, scientifically controlled system to finally document and destroy it.

Autopsy of Jane Doe is about an unidentified dead woman who does not seem to decay, and fights back against being examined and embalmed through manipulation of reality. She is revealed to have been executed centuries ago as a witch, but it’s implied there was nothing supernatural about her until her wrongful torture left a hatred that transcends death.

In The Tall Grass features a field that bends time and space in order to keep people trapped. The hub of the phenomenon is a massive “stone” (a brief, bizarre shot implies that it is something very different) that can invade the minds of victims and enslave them to the field’s survival.

Possum is about a man with a very, very creepy marionette puppet, and we see it move a few times, but it’s hard to say what’s real within the narrative of this movie, except that the man was a victim of childhood abuse and neither he nor the puppet are its antagonists.

1408 is in a similar vein to Oculus and Jane Doe; it’s a hotel room that can do whatever it wants with reality or its victim’s perception of reality, and it seems to have a limitless love of inflicting agony. I also like the short story just as much, and it has some moments I wish had translated to the film.

Deep Dark is about a cheap, filthy apartment where a long line of world-famous artists and inventors are revealed to have secretly found inspiration. When an unknown artist tries it for himself, he ends up in an unhealthy intimate relationship with something that inhabits the walls, speaks in a woman’s voice and provides him slimy pheromone-laced spores that intoxicate and charm other humans.

[ashiemochi]

aphrotitty - 49☢

✠ Aphrotitty ↳ Don’t do anything stupid ↳↳ does something stupid

~~ pairing: OC x Leon S(exy) Kennedy. ~~ genre: fluff, a slice of life, angst, gore at some point, smut/suggestive themes ~~ word count: no

NOTE: ✠ = time skip ✠✠ = switching povs/characters

☢ Warning: zombies again, blood/gore, stitching a wound (shitty writing), maybe OOC Leon, Leon being flirty in the wrong time, lil cute moment with Leon and So Ah

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“Argh!”

So Ah jolted from her spot when Chris got tackled next to her, trying to push off a flower with teeth that kept attempting to bite his face off.

“Do I look like a fly to you?!” He snapped at the snappy plant – which she deduced was a Venus flytrap.

So, it wasn’t only the Pothos Ivy that was given – the GreenHouse HUB received enhanced infectees disguised as normal houseplants.

So Ah reached for her axe but found it flying above her with a vine wrapped around the handle and her heart dropped.

“Oh, shit!”

She jumped back when the vine brought down the axe, denting the walkway where So Ah once stood. Biting down on her nerves, she yanked the axe out of its grip and swung it, slicing the root.

She then faced the struggling soldier and slammed the axe down at the neck of the flytrap, enticing a screech as it moved back and away from Chris. Chris twisted his rifle – that he managed to grab during the fight – and shot the houseplant; killing it as it flopped down onto the ground.

Chris gave So Ah an impressed and grateful look, “Thanks.”

Her eyes visibly lit up at the acknowledgement and she smiled toothily, “No problem – a friend of Leon is a friend of mine.”

“Even if my mission’s to turn you in?” He asked light-heartedly, raising an eyebrow as he yanked the axe out of the plant and she pressed her lips into a thin line, clearly holding back a grin though she looked upset.

“I’m kind of hoping you won’t.” She smiled softly at him, taking the offered axe from his hand.

“Hey, Chris! Need a hand here!” Leon shouted, clearly getting overwhelmed with all the Venus flytraps.

So Ah and Chris looked over at Leon as an instinct before Chris returned his eyes on the girl, clearly conflicted with the mission and her; “Let’s just get the gate open.”

MCXCVIII?

INCORRECT.

���

“Shit, take cover!”

So Ah instantly followed the order, kneeling down and blinked at Leon who rolled to hide next to her, meaning Chris took cover behind one of the nearly crumbling pillars while Pothos shot rapid-fire of thorns – something it’s been doing for a while now.

“Hey, sweetheart.” Leon greeted, reloading his shotgun before nodding to the lock, “How’s it going so far?”

She shook her head with a frown, “I’m getting there... I think.”

Leon gave her a blank stare before nodding with pursed lips, “I can work with that.”

Leon peeked out from the fountain to check if the plant stopped its attack; and when he saw it was clear, he returned his attention to the girl.

“You wanna get dinner when this is all over?” Leon asked in a flirtatious tone, giving her a cheeky smirk and she rolled her eyes in incredulity.

“Seriously, now? Don’t you have a houseplant to take care of?”

“Hey, I didn’t say now. Also, I never was a plant person to begin with.”

So Ah clicked her tongue to hold back her giggles and Leon grinned at her flustered reaction. She went back to trying to unlock the gates, giving him a side-glance.

“As long as it’s not Italian, then sure.”

Leon furrowed his brows with an incredulous chuckle, “What’s wrong with Italian?”

“My ex took me to an Italian restaurant and ended up buying a dress like one of the waitresses and fuc–”

“Okay, okay.” Leon laughed, cocking his shotgun, “No Italian then.”

“Could you two stop flirting for one god damn second?!” Chris shouted from his spot; receiving a shy giggle from the girl and rolled eyes from the amused DSO agent.

“I’ll think of something else then.” Leon winked at So Ah then jumped out of his hiding spot – leaving her to her code.

CMXCVIII?

INCORRECT.

✠

A loud explosion caused everyone to stop and look at the source; it came from the research lab. A bright beam of electrical blue and yellow fire came through the wall of the lab, shooting through the plant and hitting the pillars along the way. The whole place began groaning and shaking, bits and pieces of cement crumbling from the pillars and ceiling.

So Ah panicked, typing a series of codes and internally cursing the person who chose Roman numbers for the lock.

Pothos screamed; having rubble crashing onto its deformed Venus flytraps while Chris and Leon kept shooting.

“What the hell was that?!” Chris shouted over the sound.

“You’re asking me?!” Leon shouted back; both of them taking steps back towards So Ah who was racking her mind for the right code.

“We’re running out of time, So Ah!”

“Any time now, sweetheart!”

It clicked in So Ah’s head – all those failed grades in Roman numbers were because of one stupid rule. You take M and subtract it with C to get nine hundred and so on.

Hastily, she typed in the code; MCMXCVIII.

APPROVED – STAND BY.

“I got it!” So Ah exclaimed out in achievement then stepped back when the fountain split in half and began slowly but surely opening; revealing stairs leading down to a corridor and the lights beginning to flicker on to illuminate the path.

“Come on!” Chris urged Leon, running to the entrance of the underground lab whilst shooting rapid-fire at the rouge plant and Leon steadily moved back to be nearby.

So Ah was going to get in first but her eyes caught a familiar white suit from her peripheral vision and she looked up to one of the floors that were unaffected by the rail-gun. Her heart stuttered a beat and her lungs grew heavy, nerves instantly freezing her on her spot.

The family doctor stared down at the trio with a look she could not recognize and her mind began running in questions.

What was he doing here?

I thought he said it was too dangerous; he said he was in the underground lab.

Why is he staring at me like that?

What’s going on?

Was what Leon said true? Is he... Is Frederic really the cause of all this?

“Let’s move!” Chris ordered out and they booked it to the entrance, leaving behind a dying Pothos, screaming and shaking about as the rubbles slammed its body before it began bubbling with spikes protruding from its body, alerting Chris.

“Take cover!”

So Ah wasn’t paying attention when Chris had jumped down the stairs as the gates began closing; visibly having an inner conflict at the sight of Frederic who only glowered down at them.

“You were really saving the best for last, weren’t you?” Leon scowled at Pothos, knowing the next move and his eyes turned sharp when it exploded, letting out an inescapable rapid spread of thorns and goo.

“So Ah!”

Leon covered So Ah with his body, pushing both of them down the stairs when the stream of thorns clanked around them. They rolled down the stairs before settling with Leon above her, one hand beneath her head and the other around her waist.

“What the hell was she standing there for?” Chris panted as Leon let out a pained groan, pulling himself up a little and breathing heavily at the close call – then the gates above them shut.

So Ah’s eyes were blinking in shock at the close proximity, staring up at Leon who practically has her pinned down; and his lips quirked up just a little in amusement.

“You okay?”

She could only nod and Leon sighed out in relief. As they were getting up onto their feet, Chris looked down the dim corridor that led to two pathways; one to the lift that goes down to the underground lab and the other most likely to an emergency exit that led outside the facility.

“Well, we’re here now...” Chris muttered, releasing a breath he was holding.

So Ah stumbled a little on her spot when Leon turned his back to her to scan the hallway and her brows furrowed at the slow-building pain. Her hand went down to her side but instantly removed it when her breath hitched inaudibly at the ache – then she froze.

Her eyes hesitantly trailed down only to see a thorn sunken deep into her flesh, blood gushing out minimally. Her breathing began getting laboured when she noticed the crimson on her hand.

“Leon...?” Her whisper came out confused and pained as she took a couple of steps towards him, catching both Leon’s and Chris’s attention – then the lights finally illuminated the hallway and the bloody hands.

Leon’s eyes widened at her side, heart dropping when her body almost fell but he caught her instantly, “Damn it – So Ah!”

Leon hurriedly sat her down against the wall and knelt beside her just as her chest began rapidly rising and falling. So Ah’s eyes were wide and teary, hands trembling as her voice came out strained but incoherent.

“Shit...” Chris muttered as he inspected the wound and noticed the green puss coming from the thorn.

“What?” Leon asked, eyeing down at the injury then back up to meet Chris’s pensive eyes.

“It’s infected.”

So Ah began burning up, sweat forming in a thin layer on her forehead and she let out a wheeze, clearly in pain as her body was reacting to the virus. Her trembling hand gripped Leon’s jacket to get his shocked eyes on her and she swallowed heavily, weakly pushing her bag towards him.

“Please, just please – help me – stop it – stop the pain.” She cried out at the end, eyes squeezing shut for a moment and her head fell back against the wall.

“I’ve got you, okay? You’re going to be fine – just stay awake.” Leon reassured her – or was he reassuring himself?

He nodded at Chris, “Take it out.”

Chris gave him an incredulous look, “If I do, she’ll bleed all over the god damn floor.”

“Just get it out!” So Ah yelled out in pain, her other shaking hand coming down to do it herself but Leon took her hand into his grasp to stop her impulsive action and she only cried.

“I might have to patch it up on the spot,” Chris advised, eyes settling on the trembling girl, watching how Leon seemed hesitant before he gave the BSAA operator a firm nod.

“Do it.”

“Alright.” Chris exhaled, opened her bag and pulled out the first aid box; checking the contents then he located the ones he needed to suture her wound and picked out the sharp scissors.

“Lay her down.”

So Ah held her breath at the burning ache as Leon gently pulled her down so her head was leaning on his thigh and his palm rested on her head, tenderly pushing her damp bangs away from her face.

She sighed, brows creasing at the discomfort but Leon’s thumb caressing her cheekbone as his fingers curled under her chin made her eyes meet up with his desperately.

Her chest trembled with every shaky breath as Chris cut open her shirt to get it out of the way, revealing the full nasty wound with blood oozing from around the swamp green spike.

So Ah’s breathing quickened, feeling one rough gloved hand pin her hip down and the other gripping onto the thorn – then in one swift move, Chris pulled it out.

And she screamed; Leon was unfazed by how her grip on his hand tightened and he only whispered soothing nothingness, thumb stroking her knuckles as a feeble attempt to calm her down.

“Shit.” Chris cursed, tossing it aside before ripping a bunch of cottoned gauze then he pressed it against the gushing injury. He applied pressure, eyes going up to check on So Ah. Her cries had died down but she was still awake, eyes half-lidded as she breathed heavily.

“Le – Leon, what’s – what’s going to happen to – me?” So Ah stammered, cringing when she felt something crawling beneath her skin and burning her along the way; the virus was spreading fast.

“You’re going to be okay.” Leon said with a determined but concerned glare, “Just hang in there, alright?”

So Ah swallowed heavily and weakly nodded; but then her head rolled to the side towards his hand, glassy eyes going in and out of focus – and Leon panicked, patting her cheek with his hand to get her back to him; “Chris, hurry up!”

“I’m trying!” Chris shouted back, hissing when her blood seeped through the gauze and he brought more, adding more pressure with one hand and the other pulled out the needle and suture threads.

“I’m gonna have to stitch it up now – no time to wait.”

Those words instantly brought So Ah back to the land of the living, though only faintly as her whimpers escaped her lips, eyelids fluttering open just a sliver to watch Leon let go of her hand momentarily to replace Chris’s as the BSAA operator fixed up and got the needle ready – disinfecting it with alcohol wipes before flicking his lighter on to practically set the needle’s tip on fire.

Everything around her was growing fuzzy with black spots teasing to engulf her blurred vision. Her nerves and veins felt like lava burning every single blood cell along the way and she could substantially sense the pathogen branching out up her throat and face.

Wailing for the umpteenth time, Leon’s hand returned back to her sweaty one and Chris put his weight on her thighs to stop her writhing then his hands were back to her stab wound.

With a pair of caramels going pale, her voice hitched in her throat as she tried to speak but with her mind going wild and her body burning inside out; it came out choppy.

“Why – why was h-he – Frederic, why was – he up watch – watching us?” So Ah stammered out and Leon’s brows furrowed at the mention of the family doctor’s name, “What’s – go – going on?”

“When did you see him?” Leon questioned, tightening his hold on her for a moment to keep her grounded, heart-clenching onto itself when he noticed the softness and warmth in her usually coloured eyes were gone – replaced by terror and sickness.

“So Ah, when did you see Frederic?” Leon repeated in a rushed tone when she was becoming unresponsive, eyes staring up into the distance then her lips moved.

“Before... Before we – got in.” So Ah whispered, head getting heavy on his hand.

“Leon, keep her still,” Chris warned, getting the needle close to her swollen skin with one hand and the other readying to remove the bloody gauze and reveal the punctured wound.

“Okay, sweetheart,” Leon gave her an apologetic gaze, letting go of her hand to hold onto her torso’s side down to the ground firmly, “This might hurt a little.”

Her arm fell down, petite tremor filled hand gripping onto his arm, fingers digging into the leather jacket in dreadful anticipation.

She knew this was going to hurt way more than the time he treated her scraped knees.

✠

It seemed like forever with each stitch hurting more and more, sending excruciating electrifying pain down her body.

With every soothing word from Leon, the thumb stroking her cheekbone and occasionally pushing her sweaty bangs away from her forehead, and Chris’s steady but rough suturing skills; it all took ten minutes – but by the end of it, she was too exhausted.

Her body was limp, only moving with Chris’s ministrations of wrapping the bandage around her side securely. With droopy eyes, her head went heavy against Leon’s open palm when it rolled towards him. Her orbs stung up at the DSO agent who trailed his warm blues down to her.

“I got you. It’s going to be okay,” Leon smiled tenderly, the tips of his fingers caressing the roots of her hair, receiving a weak smile in return, “You’re going to be okay.”

“I’m... Tired...” Her voice barely came out audible and that sounded the alarms in his ears; especially when her pale eyes were fluttering shut.

“No – no, no, So Ah – just hang on!”

The concerned ordered tone in his voice went ignored as So Ah’s breathing went quiet and from the pain; she fainted. Leon dropped her hand to press the pads of his pointer and middle finger just under her jaw and Chris looked up with expected eyes.

And Leon let out a relieved sigh, frowning deeply as his thumb wiped away a stray tear; she was still alive.

“She’s not going to wake up the same girl you know, Leon...” Chris reminded in a sympathetic tone but Leon was livid.

It was one thing to have her involved in this whole mess and murder the innocent glint in her soft kind eyes; but becoming infected was far, far worse. If anything, he’d rather have her fighting zombies left and right with that axe of hers than be in his arms, close to death.

And it was all because of Frederic.

“Chris.” Leon’s deep voice came out dark and intimidating, the type that most likely meant ‘you’re-fucking-dead’.

“Take her and get out.” He slipped off his jacket to cover her cold body, “I’ll finish up around here.”

Chris furrowed his brows at his friend-through-Claire who got So Ah to wear the warm clothing, “Are you sure?”

“Very.”

Chris knew there was no room for debate when it comes to Leon – especially when innocent people get hurt; specifically her – He unbuckled his bulletproof vest then shrugged it off.

“Here, you’re going to need this.”

Leon looked down at it before he took it and put it on, tightening the belts and began rolling up his sleeves; “Okay, thanks.”

As carefully as possible, Chris got So Ah onto his back in a piggyback position, feeling her weak breaths hitting his neck as she only let out a pained whimper and Leon glowered to himself at the sound, pocketing the LEVEL 5 ID card and some of the notes she had taken.

He ran up to the lift and Chris followed but didn’t enter.

“The BSAA will handle her – you keep your radio on,” Chris ordered gently and Leon nodded as Chris backed to head down the side to the emergency exit but Leon stopped him.

“Chris... I know you’ll do the right thing.” Leon empathized, recalling BSAA’s mission and Chris pressed his lips into a thin line, giving him a curt nod then left – ultimately convinced not to turn So Ah in to HQ and leaving Leon to press the button to take him down to the lab.

Leon’s grip tightened around his Lightning Hawk once he reached the entrance to the underground lab and he scowled at the size of it – without a doubt, it was twice the size of the facility upstairs. Making his way down the corridor, he coldly without hesitation shot any zombie or mutant that came his way.

“Come out, come out, wherever you are, Sonny,” Leon said darkly beneath his breath to Frederic – wherever he was. He recalled Hunnigan’s words about the vaccine and that was instantly his objective – to get So Ah the vaccine before it’s too late.

Rushing to the research laboratory, the zombies went down just as fast as they had gotten up – which was embarrassing to see – and Leon went to the vaccine synthesizer machine, eyes locking at the lone sample.

“Of course, the power’s down...” Leon grumbled when it wouldn’t open and he sighed; gotta get the generator’s running then.

✠

It’s been around twenty minutes since Leon had left to turn the generators on – having spent it fighting all zombies and spewing witty one-liners. Nothing was on his mind other than getting that vaccine and taking Frederic down for everything he has done.

Finally, Leon ran back to the lab and to the vaccine – the button was now lit up. He pressed it and the gears let out a smooth hiss before the glass window slid open and the vaccine was there for the taking.

He took it with a released breath, “Let’s hope this’ll be enough.”

The blue liquid in it swayed with the movement of the test tube and he shoved it into one of his vest’s many pockets. As soon as he walked out of the refrigerating room, the wide TV screen lit up and showed a middle-aged man with a tilted head and a sly smile.

“Welcome, Agent Kennedy, to my humble abode.”

“Sonny,” Leon growled, piercing eyes glaring through the screen itself.

“I’m impressed you’ve made it this far – usually no one does.” Frederic hummed, linking his fingers together, pressing them against his chin.

“You’re the one who did all this!”

“I didn’t do anything that a devote scientist wouldn’t do.”

“Can’t see how killing people is good for science!”

“Oh please.” Frederic spat, rolling his eyes.

“Those so-called scientists wouldn’t know their head from their toes considering I’ve got this whole laboratory built while they were up playing Farmville.” He sneered before clasping his hands together with a coy look.

“Of course with a little hand from Umbrella doesn’t really hurt anyone.”

Leon scowled at this, stepping closer to the screen as he threatened, “You’ll pay for this.”

Frederic laughed balefully and nodded in an amused way, “Yes, I will very much get a generous sum out of this.”

Then his eyes sharpened behind his specs, smirking at the DSO agent, “You’re in my territory, Agent Kennedy; we’ll see who’ll be getting out of here.”

[shepard-ram]

💐 OKAY SO LIKE. scu!Tommy. is he evil? yeah technically. is he also just a little guy? ABSOLUTELY. i want to take him to a baseball game and buy him popcorn and then punt him into the sun a little. but i can’t do any of those things due to obstacles such as the fact that he is a fictional character, therefore i will write headcanons for him instead.

so predictably, i would be like “yandere material” but like. how are you gonna be a yandere in the apocalypse. think abt it: you can’t kill people who look at your darling the wrong way or find a super secure safe place to hide them in because the world has literally ended and there are no people or safe places. SO INSTEAD WE GET A CLINGY LITTLE GUY!!!

(NOTE: this involves spoilers for the slimecicle 100 days in a hardcore apocalypse video, mentions of cannibalism + death, general zombie stuff, etc. etc.)

- there are two ways this could go: either you’re a zombie or someone who’s like immune to the zombie virus (like him maybe??) because we saw how he reacts to normal human survivors cbkdvdkdb

- so let’s start with zombie!reader!!

- maybe you were already his friend before the apocalypse, but then that happened, and you had an accidental brush with a zombie… or maybe he infected you on purpose? who knows??

- it’s 100% not an equal relationship, because i mean. you’re a zombie, you’re like, half conscious at best, but you’re his favorite zombie by far!

- he’ll gladly lead you to prey when you grow hungry, and even if you’re no longer capable of getting tired or feeling pain, he tries to keep you safe and comfortable because that’s what friends do, right? you don’t have the mind to take care of yourself anymore, so it’s his responsibility to do it for you.

- and if someone were to ever hurt you, or - god forbid - kill you, well… god have mercy on that poor soul, because Tommy sure won’t.

- so super funny story: this actually got really long so i think i’m gonna send it in in two bits so!! part two coming in a second!

💐 part two of scu!Tommy let’s gooooo

- on that note! things get a bit more complicated if you’re a human infectee; it’s not as simple as shambling around in a vaguely endearing manner.

- you’re not exactly “immune” to the virus, just the part of it that turns you into a mindless corpse, for starters, which you learned the hard way when you got bit by a zombie.

- it was the most stressful day in your life oh my GOD, you went to sleep thinking you were never going to wake up again and then you did?? and you were fine???? weird!!

- getting infected has a bunch of side effects, as it turns out: you’re stronger, faster, more resilient, zombies ignore you… oh, and you’re loosely connected to the zombie hivemind!

- you found out that last one when you were chilling, and suddenly felt a tug at the back of your brain, leading you towards… something.

- that “something” turned out to be the most pathetic looking boy you’ve ever seen in your life???? for some reason?????

- Tommy has nooo idea what to think of you at first. you’re clearly infected, but still human, and and you can’t talk to zombies the way he can.

- and he eats rotten flesh oh my god where are this kid’s parents.

- Tommy has nooo idea what to think of you at first. you’re clearly infected, but still human, and and you can’t talk to zombies the way he can.

- he even tried sending a few after you once, but they just walked past you! that’s super weird!

- eventually, you two grow used to each other’s presence - it’s nice to be able to talk to someone and know they won’t die, even if Tommy goes and disappears for days on end sometimes. probably just him being quirky?

- but you wait anyways. what else is there for you to do?

- until he leaves with a giant horde of zombies. you wait for him to come back like he always does, but days turn into weeks turn into months and there’s no sign of him.

oops i didn’t mean for that to get depressing! my bad!

YOOOOOOOO little rabid zombie controller Tommy!!

Rather you're actually a slightly more conscious zombie, or a strange half-infected this kid still latches onto any sort of companionship. It's hard to get your needed social interaction in a life threatening apocalypse. It's nice to have someone that's not trying to kill you around

[seaprofound]

The Effects of Zombification on Divine Physiology.

    I’ve been consuming a lot of zombie-related content lately and a new thought has just struck my mind: How would a zombie bite or scratch affect the gods? Popular culture tells us that the zombie virus is highly contagious. Once a normal human has been bitten or scratched, their days are numbered. Unless somebody grants them a mercy kill, the zombie infectee will turn into a member of the walking dead sooner or later (at the most, about a day or so). Undead humans with a hunger for brains are bad enough—now, imagine undead gods with that same appetite. Fortunately, the world doesn’t have to contend with such an idea because the reality of the matter is that the gods would be immune to zombification.

    Should a god ever be scratched or bitten by zombies, their immune system would destroy the zombie virus long before they could ever succumb to it should they have been human. While they may not become part of the undead, though, a zombie scratch or bite does come with its own unique side-effect. For unknown reasons, it activates a god's smite-or-flight response and turns them into feral, zombie-killing machines who will take zombies out by the most gruesome methods possible. While this can be cool to watch from afar (albeit in a morbid sort of way), humans that are currently masking themselves in a zombie's stench to avoid detection should exercise caution as a scratched or bitten god would not be able to discriminate between real zombies and fake ones while they are in this state. Thankfully, though, in just a few hours after being scratched or bitten, the infected god should return to normal.

    Add-On: In the event of a zombie apocalypse, scientists would (naturally) be trying to find a cure. Po is no exception. If she was once infected, she would take samples of her blood to see how she can safely use it in the creation of a cure. She can’t use her blood as is because it’s highly toxic to mortals and would just kill them (read more here). This would not deter her, however, and would, in fact, only encourage her to work harder.

[pero-fan]

As painful as seeing Tangle infected was, I'm not surprised it happened, considering her reckless nature. I figured her downfall would be caused by either that, or her long tail getting grabbed (I know that became a point later on in the issue, but let's face it. A long tail like Tangle's? Pretty much the equivalent of having long hair in a zombie apocalypse).

While it's upsetting enough that of all the zombots to infect her, it had to be Jewel (speaking of, why didn’t she just fly away when the virus spread to the village?), what really killed me was that we actually witness Tangle slowly succumbing to the virus! With all the other characters who got infected, we usually saw them either:

Almost at full infection before the next panel or page cuts to another character either witnessing it or doing something else, and then we see the infectees in zombot form (ie. Rough & Tumble, Charmy, the chao, Shadow)

Get infected, but have yet to be seen in zombot form (Vanilla and Vector)

With Tangle? Nuh-uh! We saw her very last moments of consciousness! Her trying to keep fighting, all the while the liquid metal spreading until it covers her whole body. We see her body starting to shine and turn completely gold, and then...she goes cold.

Stiff.

Mindless.

You can't get anymore horrifically heartbreaking.