#FUCKING LOVE THE ELDRITCH SEA TERRORS

[spending-life-pretending]

ok so I’m obsessed with Tiger Tiger

[landwriter]

Hi, hello,

I'd like to hear something about the skin wip

Hi, hello! Skin is my actual Lighthouse AU after someone sent me this super funny ask registering their displeasure with my choice of fandom for the Seventies SF AU, named Lighthouses. I'm very easily encouraged. Even when being discouraged for something I'm not actually doing. I laughed about doing one and then went and wrote in Untitled 1:

Lighthouse Keeper AU - Hob is lighthouse keeper, Dream is human or else eldritch sea creature - or SEEMS human but is a selkie/changeling who will return? Either star-crossed romance or like, gothic romance - lots of gay sex and desire and the sea, old-timey language, lanterns, etc, wailing wind, Forbidden Acts Isolation, alienation from other men, being Slightly Off, loneliness, exploring where you shouldn’t Hob fucks selkie who is also Dream?? Why would Dream be lighthouse keeper? Maybe he murders them but like, Hob found his skin or something and he has to pretend to be a human lighthouse keeper Hob finding journal entries suggesting imminent and terrifying demise of former keepers, can link them to Dream in some way

I also wrote 'all dialogue should be in iambic pentameter' but we'll pretend I didn't.

What can I say about it? I think it can be best described by the fact I scrolled through the WIP as it is now, a collection of scraps and research curios and a couple half-written scenes, and came across:

Beware the shore on haar and hoolan night, beware the sea of star-lost whalers’ plight

Which I have no, and I mean NO recollection of writing, but has no results when I google it. That's sort of the energy I want for the whole thing. Gothic horror fever dream. Claustrophobia and a locked-room mystery. Men driven to terror and mad loneliness and violence. Letters that arrive too late. Thievery and suspicion and revenge. Greed and possession. Becoming/loving the monstrous.

Some of the notes I evidently left myself that don't read as unhinged at allllll under the cut, if you want to read more about it still:

Smalls lighthouse - great oak stilts slime!!! rocks!! smoking! salt water wind, stabbing kind of rain, the way wind buffets first and moisture on it secondary, white waves, seabirds hanging in the air like mobile above a crib, carving with a knife, bleeding - nicking finger, dream looking over as he sucks it - is whittling the selkie/monster form alcohol maybe something weird where dream refuses alcohol and hob finds out something wrong with their water supply - dream is just drinking saltwater hob giving season of the mists style toast sailors have used tobacco pouches made from sealskin ‘where did you put my skin? where did you put my skin?’ bonding over lost sons hob sends pigeon or message otherwise thanking for relief, noting supply shortage, or smthn. days later gets message back being like, no relief sent. protean forms - changing easily - from god proteus - a protean selkie?? Fiddler's Green is an after-life where there is perpetual mirth, a fiddle that never stops playing, and dancers who never tire. In 19th-century English maritime folklore, it was a kind of after-life for sailors who had served at least fifty years at sea. important that lighthouse is decaying, used to be nice, now is not gothic theme of ascent/descent with ladder images of death etc claustrophobic, sunless environment, action at night or in fog - no sun imagination over reason

I've never done gothic before and I'm super excited to explore it with this story! I'm going for something like, old and musty smelling, sort of The Terror, lighthouse-edition, except with less death and more monster-fucking. A sluttier The Lighthouse (2019).

[ruvviks]

two weeks ago the rome edit u made at some point just appeared in my head for unknown reason and i was like "ough i hope casey gets his laptop soon maybe we'll hear more about it" NCNNCNCNCN

HEHE now that i have my laptop again and have sorted out my files (mostly) i finally have more to say about the universe >:^)

obscura is a project i'm working on together with @mojaves because we're insane and do everything together all the fucking time sorry about that. it takes place in a universe in which concepts like angels and demons exist, but as otherworldly beings rather than their religious counterparts :]

the world order consists of the three evils and the forces of good, though they've been labeled as such within the earthly realm because they don't really know the concepts of "good" and "evil" as we know it. they're also very much not good or evil but. well. humans love labeling things as good or evil. but looking at their actual portfolios you will notice they all have the same level of self-interest and care very little about humankind as a whole

the three evils are the brothers lucifer, behemoth, and leviathan, and the forces of good are known as the otherworldy entities we call angels. the brothers all rule over a domain, and angels fill in the gaps and spaces between these domains, to maintain the balance in the world. that is mainly what "forces of good" refers to; they do what needs to be done to keep the world from crumbling, but the domains they rule over can be anything and their methods are by no means pure

lucifer's domain consists of death, the veil, otherworldly corruption, and shadows. he rules over that what we cannot perceive directly, but know is there. lucifer leads an army of demons, who prey on humanity's weaknesses and desires to strike deals and/or gain access to the earthly realm. at the core, lucifer rules over desire

lucifer's influence is seen in life and death, ghosts, demons, hauntings, and possessions. he manifests in eclipses, red nights, and wildfires

lucifer's demons can be summoned to make deals with. alternatively, lower ranked demons lurk in the shadows on the earthly realm waiting for a chance to take control of a vessel or a host

behemoth's domain consists of pestilence, the lithosphere, and the geosphere. he rules over the earthly realm, the tangible. behemoth manifests in the eyes of the beast, takes root in that what can be corrupted, and corrupts until he consumes until only bones remain. at the core, behemoth rules over consumption

behemoth's influence is seen in disease, cannibalism, and night terrors. he manifests in traveling night hounds, and the final stages of transformation of a victim of noxbane

behemoth's night hounds travel the night sky, a bad omen for anyone who spots them. the fungus noxbane brings forth a terrible disease holding the same name, which can affect any living organism to the point of corruption and consumption

leviathan's domain consists of war, famine, the ocean, arctic regions, and outer space. he rules over the vastness of the universe, and all concepts too large for humanity to fully comprehend. leviathan lays dormant in outer space, but awakens within souls lost in the open, or lost within themselves. at the core, leviathan rules over oblivion

leviathan's influence is seen in warfare, power imbalance, space sickness, and eldritch madness. he manifests in extraterrestrial storms, and hallucinations caused by leviathan's madness

leviathan's visions and glimpses of the empty earth haunt the ones lost at sea, in space, or in war or madness. he spawns tangible visages through an individual's own paranoia, and collects the minds of those who let themselves be persuaded by the promise of answers

obviously people living in this universe do not know about all of this lore, but there are plenty of them who have either been exposed to any of these concepts or have dedicated their lives to trying to unravel the truth. it's set in the second half of the 20th century with an earthly realm that is similar to ours but with adjusted levels of technology and (priorities in) travel, and follows several separate but intertwined storylines to show some interesting cases of the influences of the three evils :] below a list of the current characters we have for the universe!

rome solomon is an astronomer and professor at the obscurus academy in crescent hill, washington. he is one of the brightest minds of his generation with several books to his name, and he is famous for his empty earth theory which he has so far spent his entire life trying to prove. the reason for this is that his sister, a world famous astronaut, went missing (not died; went missing) in outer space on a very important mission when rome was still young; the empty earth theory would prove that she and her crew are still out there, and looking for a way to get back into their own dimension

judah solomon is rome's older sister and was the world's youngest and brightest astronaut. she was only 24 when she and her crew went missing in outer space, and her current whereabouts remain unknown to this day, 18 years later

clyde morris (belongs to mojaves) is a repair technician who works at the obscurus academy and he is rome's best friend. since computers are still pretty rare but insanely powerful devices in this universe, it is very special that morris owns his own computer; and even more special that an angel has found its home within, and sometimes communicates with him

clarence rojas is a psychic operating in the south of the united states. she lost her vision in an encounter with an angel, the warning she received so powerful it robbed her of her eyesight; and in return, the angel granted her with her psychic powers, which she uses to assist people in dealing with ghost infestations, and sometimes even demonic cases

eleanor constantine (belongs to mojaves) is a preacher and demonologist active in the south and on the east coast of the united states, traveling around by train with her brother victor to help people in need. the spark of community she holds within is powerful enough to gift her near-psychic abilities and a strong intuition, which is essential in her line of work

victor constantine (belongs to mojaves) travels around with his sister as her assistant, operating all cameras and other technology needed for their investigations into demonic cases, and for exorcisms. where his sister found her voice speaking to the crowds to build a community, victor lost his own ability to speak, and he prefers to remain in the background letting his sister deal with public affairs

lazarus reeves is another world famous demonologist operating in saint-dominic, louisiana, who is trying to uphold the legacy of his late wife, who he used to hunt down demons with. without his wife's higher position in society to protect him, he is not as loved among the public as she was, coming from a family with a bad history; but he has not given up on what he does best, knowing that there are still folks out there who need his help

eve lynch is a nun and herbalist residing in a convent near saint-dominic. she is doing research into the fungus known as noxbane and its effects on living organisms, and through her research she is exposed to behemoth's domain and the terrible disease the fungus brings, which leads to an outbreak of ghouls within the walls of the convent

anatoly dorokhin is a cosmonaut sent into orbit around the moon with his crew to investigate a series of strange sightings on the moon's surface. something terrible happened on their ship, and anatoly ends up as only survivor of his own crew with what remains of the rescue crew in the obscurus academy to figure out what truly happened up there

quincy jackson (belongs to mojaves) is an astronaut who on his way back to earth ended up losing most of his crew in an emergency rescue mission, and ends up in the obscurus academy with anatoly dorokhin and two other survivors of quincy's own crew; however, the two others are alive but unresponsive, not reacting to any triggers from the outside world and seemingly trapped within their own mind. quincy and anatoly grow close over time while anatoly pushes everyone else away, and quincy soon seems to be the only one who can figure out what truly happened when they were in outer space

mary schlachter is a surgeon in the south of the united states, famous for his exceptionally precise work and portfolio of rather unusual cases. when clarence rojas' daughter grendel is born inside out, mary is the one to put her back together in the way she is meant to be, but the procedure leaves a mark on him that soon enough attracts the attention of otherworldly beings

[puppetmaster13u]

 *Vibrating*

So with Jarro (Legally “Jarrod” but no one bats an eye at the nickname, it’s Gotham) I was thinking like, what if the curse took an opposite effect-but-not? Like he goes from psychic starfish that can shift and change his size to similar to some sort of unholy starfish merfolk-taur thing? Like if the others look like uncanny valley eldritch things to atlanteans, then he looks like the deep sea edition. (Like Mandella Catalog Alternate vibes almost. No mouth on the face- a single eye but not in the center of the face, twitching/twisting in ways bones shouldn’t move, etc) 

 Honestly Damian being humane with any meat he has to eat for obligatory carnivore reasons is definitely right. Might even just stick to blood if he can. (Though obligatory carnivores for all of Gotham is… interesting, especially for the vibes they give off) 

 PFFT, real conversation Bruce had with Ollie some time after he learned he was cursed: “You know, you have like, perfectly mirrored freckles Bruce, you draw them on or something, lol” “...Those aren’t freckles Ollie, those are my electroreceptors. They don’t go away.” “Your. What-” 

LMAO Not Bruce putting Aquaman’s villain brother in one of the Batcave Aquariums! Probably half for kids’ terrorizing reasons and half because Gotham Water is Poisonous and Deadly as fuck if you aren’t used to it. Also, hilarious image of Bruce handing him over like a scruffed cat and it’s not until later the people who witness this realize he carried a grown ass atlantean with one hand. (He works out not for vigilante work, but so he can always carry his babies. All of them. At once. Even 200+lb Jason.) 

 Kate is canonically a lesbian, which good for her! Honestly I agree with most of those lol. 

If Bruce isn’t wearing a domino under his cowl just to cause psychic damage at those who thought they were going to see his face, he’d be missing out. He’s hiding his tiny smirk at GL and Flash’s exasperated shouting before it goes silent when he takes off the shirt. 

 Someone asking Bruce how many kids he has: Bruce, counting on his fingers and quickly running out: “Well there’s Dick of course, my eldest. There’s my twins Cass and Jason, Cass is older, she wants everyone to know. Stephanie and Tim who I am co-parenting with their respective parents with. Duke whose paperwork went through just this last week.” (“Um, do I count Barbara? Not like legally or anything but she spends the weeks the Commissioner is working at the Manor and I have a college fund for her and-”) "My two current foster kids Harper and Cullen. Oh and Carrie who we're still working on the paperwork for!" “Damian, who was my youngest for a while. Helena of course, she’s growing so big and strong. Alina, who I recently found out about, she’s so cute! Jarro, everyone knows him, he was the next youngest- I also have Terry and Matt now! They’re so small, I love them so much! And well, we don’t know the new baby’s gender yet, it’s going to be a surprise!” “So that’s… 17 or 18? Who knows, I might find another surprise baby haha-” 

 Oh my you’re so right about breastmilk (& probably the local formula) being different. I bet Terry & Matt are like, immuno-compromised almost. Like needs the Gotham vaccines stat because they didn’t get it naturally. Oh the poor Suicide Squad team lmao. There’s a giant eldritch sea abomination tilting the entire boat, it’s raining, the waters are choppy as fuck, it’s dark but they can see flashes of glow below the water from more creatures- And here comes Harley Quinn calm as can be walking across the deck (And is it just them or is she looking… Other as the water trails down her skin and hair) with the pair of infants. This girl went to school with Bruce- she’s seen his embarrassing baby photos and pictures of when he was a kid from going over to the manor! She’s his kids’ aunt Harley once she’s gotten (to Gotham’s standard at least) sane and healthy! She has seen Damian’s baby photos, and constantly visits tiny baby Helena! If these aren’t Bruce’s she’d eat her mallet! And you know like, someone tries to stop her, only to get launched into the water themself (Oh my god I bet this was a Harley rescue mission before they started hearing the crying pups) by an agitated Bat. Wheeze, Harley the moment Tim or Barbara or whoever informs her they’ve disabled the bomb in her neck/head just gives a salute & flops backwards into the water lmao. 

Bruce has so many bandages on his hands from holding the hungry babies and carrying them back to the Bat Tunnels lol. His teammates are definitely concerned when he comes in for the next meeting with those & he just tells them it’s not important. They are oblivious to the many, many chunks taken out from his arms. 

I am once more thinking about foods in Gotham. Blame being hungry and not being allowed to eat before a blood draw lol. Specifically thinking of like, there’s definitely like kids meals and such in restaurants that are an, ease your way into poison sort of thing. Stuff that might cause a bit of tingling or similar but isn’t truly like, deadly if a pup doesn’t have the poison tolerance yet. Or they might just find some poisons not to their liking. But oh my god, ice cream flavors in Gotham. (Freeze has an ice cream brand that everyone knows he uses to help fund his research, it’s another Open Secret in Gotham) You have your usual ones and your tea ones, but then you have the weird ones. There’s normal weird like Balsamic Strawberry or Lavender Ube or Cereal Milk (practically kept afloat as a flavor by Dick’s cereal addiction alone lol) but then there’s the Gotham flavors. Sweet Lobster, with varying types of poisonous berry swirls, Belladona’s Dream, nightshade ice cream of multiple nightshade plants & a dash of honey, Rosewater Hemlock, etc Not to mention! Places like Batburger that have Bat & Rogue themed foods. Now that is the shit that gets crazy. Like the Waffle Place that Spoiler adores and where you can ask to put older versions of stuff like Fear Gas that people have built up tolerance for in your Scarecrow chicken waffle. 

 Oh my gosh the reverse-drowning situation yeassss! It’s almost like Gotham has sunk Its claws into each who have offered themselves up in calling it home, a way to always drag them back. Because you don’t leave your home behind, do you? You may go out, but you always return to it. Magic users can tell the Bats are cursed, but hey everyone has known Gotham is cursed for years. (If they had actually investigated they’d have been horrified and fascinated how much a new curse melded with the ancient ones, shifting the entire city in a way that shouldn’t be possible yet has happened anyway) 

@puppetmaster13u

It was getting too long so...

Okay this was VERY long but I love it all. So much food, and very much alive when possible. And yeah they're very much venomous.

... oh gods you're making me hungry for food that isn't even safe even if it existed 😂

Also, I feel like Ivy's plants would, ah, sometimes move if they don't like where they're currently planted. If your neighbor is taking better care of your flowers then you might wake up and see them over there, you just learn to deal. 😅

Ooooo I love that. And I feel like, to Aquaman, it would be like speaking in Pig Latin + Esperanto mixed with the heaviest Scottish accent ever. He can tell it's words, but he can't really understand it.

Also, Bruce singing lullabies to the kids, just imagine. Jason or Dick or anyone shows up having a panic attack and Bruce starts calming them down. First in English, then aquatic, and slowly morphing into a lullaby.

Oh definitely, those other heroes will be struggling. Almost feel bad for them.

The medical professionals must be paid well, and Gotham University probably ends up with a very heavy metal degree that most people might assume is for vets not human doctors. 😂

Oh my gods Helena yes. Poor Supes, and I love the JL freaking out. Also, her bottle HAS to be a little pink, because of the blood that's probably in it. Also, I imagine they're born with weak venom, and drinking their parents' blood lets them process and produce stronger toxins.

I bet Dick and the other kids probably have the same weird food habits and their teammates aren't really sure what they're supposed to do. Sometimes Tim will fall asleep in the middle of lunch and whoever is in the same room will get to see his lunch run away. Probably a bit unnerving. 🤣

I like the idea they might do them for 'major holidays'. Not on the holiday, because Calendar Man (on the holidays is Gotham only, they fully expect him to show up, he's practically invited without saying anything outright), and that's the Outsider Galas. Not just one a year, but not like 20 of em either.

And yeah, aside from runaway food, Tim is pretty good with outsiders. He probably wouldn't eat 'normal' (normal for Gotham anyway) around his team if he didn't trust em or something either. This is probably another reason Bruce made him CEO. 😅

Yesss uncanny valley please. Everyone is freaking out internally, and yet at the same time they can tell they're safe... for now. Servers doing their job, and Gothamites not revealing anything, unless someone does something wrong.

Yesss the rogues. Honestly I just want an AU where the rogues are basically family.

||=====||=====||

"Oh yeah that's aunts Harley and Ivy, they can be fun but don't drink the wine."

Then (controversial I know but also heavily depends on the AU)

"That's Uncle J, we're on tense terms with him but he's got the best drinks if you don't mind letting a bit."

Maybe

"There's not-dad Harv-"

"he's Uncle T right now-"

"-that's Uncle T, don't gamble with him or ask about his coin collection unless you want to stay a while."

Or

"Don't mind Uncle Cobbles, he's a little competitive with B about their family histories, but other than that and birds he's pretty calm."

Even

"Yeah don't mind Uncle John, he's probably more nervous than you are, doing spook him and you'll be fine."

||=====||=====||

Yesss so many photos.

Also, there's two wedding photos. One he shows to outsiders, the other is up at the major as a painting and is the same wedding photo but underwater.

... Ras don't bother your son-in-law's friends please, they have enough on their plate. Seriously, stop. 😂😅

Bruce probably confuses everyone even more by knowing the assassins.

Oooo yes. Sharks, aquariums, oh my. I love all the animals you mentioned too.

... so I randomly looked up 'Victorian modern punk' because why not and...

This was the top result.

[yekokataa]

I don't think I have any unhinged opinions on DE but I think there must be some in universe equivalent to like. Pacific Rim type of fanboys but for the Pale. I think there is untapped potential for eldritch terror in the concept of the Pale and the expansion of it (and also how technology interacts with it). Idk. I'd have to think more, but I hope this made sense

i love this idea. one time someone proposed the concept of an ancient pale-aged lobster, and it's stuck in my head ever since. because the pale is out there past the water, right? all the sea creatures must get all fucked up if they go into it!

[absolutepokemontrash]

Beach Day!

Masterlist~

As requested by an anon, The Half Demon kids get to have their beach day! Please enjoy!

‘‘Twas a summer’s day in the Devildom, and school was out for the next couple of months, what else was there to do other than have a fun little beach vacation?

“Do we have towels?”

“Check.”

“Umbrellas?”

“Yep.”

“Beach toys?”

“Uh huh.”

L!MC and Lucifer were running through the long list of items as the rest of the family loaded everything into their (several) cars. Mammon grunted and shoved one of three umbrellas into a gap in the piles of luggage, they were all packing the rapidly filling car like they were playing a game of Tetris from hell.

“Ya know, you two can try and, I dunno, help a little?!”

Lucifer raised an eyebrow and looked up from his list. “I am helping, Mammon. I’m making sure this doesn’t end up like the last family vacation we took.”

“What happened last time?” The soft voice of A!MC piped up, they were carrying roughly four different carryon bags into one of the cars.

“Mammon forgot to pack sunscreen during our last little visit to a human world beach and we all got horrifically sunburned. That’s why this year we’ll be visiting a proper Devildom beach.” Lucifer explained.

“That stupid mistake nearly cost me my perfect skin.” Asmo grumbled, A!MC patted him on the shoulder.

“Don’t feel too bad, dad. You look great!”

“Oh little butterfly,” Asmo patted A!MC on their head, much to the kid’s delight. “Go on~.”

“Hey pop!” Mammon’s head whirled around as he looked for the source of the voice. “THINK FAST!”

A duffel bag slammed into the side of Mammon’s head, knocking him into the side of the car.

“What the hell M!MC?!”

The little culprit gave their dad a fanged megawatt smile and shrugged. “I said think fast.”

“M!MC, he can’t think fast, he doesn’t have a brain.” Asmo smirked over at Mammon, who not so graciously flipped him off. A blast of water from wiped both the smirk and some of the makeup off Asmo’s face.

“Whoops,” M!MC lowered their water gun. “Misfire.”

Lucifer massaged his temples as he watched this complete and utter chaos unfold. This was ridiculous, he turned to L!MC. “I refuse to subject you to this, I don’t was CPS to come knocking. You are riding with Lord Diavolo and I.”

“Wooop!” L!MC cheered, then paused. “Was I not riding with you two before now?”

——————

After arriving and unpacking, everyone set out to the beach, per Lucifer’s totally reasonable beach rules, no cameras within eight feet of the beach. Asmo had to compromise and take his Devilgram selfies at Diavolo’s villa in the five minute window of time before everyone set out for the beach.

While the group made their way to the beach, M!MC proudly presented their shiny new metal detector to the crowd of not too impressed family members. Well, everyone but Mammon, he was hyped as all hell to try and find buried treasure.

As M!MC and A!MC lagged behind and chattered aimlessly, something flew right into M!MC’s face. Reeling at the sudden loss of their sight, M!MC’s hands flew to their face and peeled the thing off of them. A…piece of paper..?

No, not a piece of paper, it was a map! Well, half of a map!

“Woah… Pop! Check it!” M!MC waved the piece of paper in the air. “What if we use this to find treasure or something?”

Mammon’s eyes practically sparkled as he swiped the map from M!MC. “Kid, we’re gonna be rich. Not the lame kinda rich either, we’ll be… multiple yacht rich!”

“Oh geez…” A!MC murmured.

By the time the entire group had gotten to the actual beach, Mammon and M!MC had already had the layout of their fabulous Hollywood mansion planned out and were busily describing the kinds of cars they wanted to own. Armed with only half a treasure map and a metal detector, the two set off down the beach.

L!MC, Belphie, and Satan snickered like a bunch of kids as they set up their new pink unicorn floaty. It was just perfect for just slightly ticking off Lucifer. A!MC hummed happily as they unpacked all their sand toys, perfect for making a sand-empire! The rest of the adults set up the umbrellas and beach chairs and practically deflated when all the work was finished.

Hang on- where was Levi- OH! There he was. He had ran right into the water and was petting Lotan. Man… Lotan was fucking massive.

“Hey, Luke,” L!MC called out. “Why are you wearing water wings? You know those things don’t work, right?”

“H-huh?” Luke tilted his head in confusion. Like a chihuahua- “What do you mean?”

“Well, water wings aren’t like life jackets, water wings only keep your arms out of water. If you start to drown, those aren’t helping.” L!MC dutifully explained. “There are documented cases in the human world of kids drowning with their arms still afloat because of the water wings.”

Luke was having such a good day forty five seconds prior, now he was petrified.

——————

“Ah, this is the life, right Sea Monster Levi?” L!MC leisurely floated around on their giant pink unicorn floatie as Levi swam around them.

Levi couldn’t exactly speak, but the terrifying eldritch shriek of delight was enough of an answer.

“See, you should go outside more often, the ocean is outside, fresh air is outside,” L!MC continued to list lovely things that just happened to be outside until Lotan poked four of his heads above water. “Lotan’s outside,”

Levi grumbled and slammed his tail into the water, sending a massive wave over to L!MC.

“Fuck.”

Those were L!MC’s last words before the wave crashed into them and tipped over the floatie, leaving them angrily starfish floating in the water. “You fucking hikikomori.”

—————

A!MC carefully placed their bucket full of sand onto the ground upside down and slowly pulled the bucket away. Perfect! That made a great castle tower! The sand-city that A!MC had concocted could put any city to shame, there was a town hall, a bank, a museum, and multiple construction projects headed by Luke. Well, the chihuahua wasn’t doing too well with his castle-building.

“Aww…” Luke pouted as his castle crumbled. “I ruined it…”

“You should add a bit of water to the sand, Luke.” A!MC said as they carefully placed some seashell decorations around their castle tower. “It’ll help stop your towers from crumbling.”

Luke vehemently shook his head. “There’s no way I’m going near that water. Not after what L!MC said…”

“Luke, L!MC’s just being a butt, you won’t drown-” A!MC was unceremoniously cut off by Lotan rising from the depths of the ocean and L!MC’s squawk of protest when he began to bat their unicorn floatie around.

“Y-yeah… I won’t drown, I’ll be eaten by a sea monster…” Luke shuddered.

“A!MC, I’m living here.” Belphie laid his towel out a little ways away from the sand-city and collapsed into a snoring heap on the sand.

“Great! A new citizen!” A!MC smiled and clapped their hands. “Beel, are you going to join us?”

Beel took a large bite out of a watermelon and sat down next to Belphie. “Yeah, I’m going to live here too.”

“We’ve got a real kingdom now!”

—————

The metal detector beeped for the thousandth time that day and M!MC and Mammon were beginning to get tired. They had found a total of 45 cents and a bottle cap, not the heaps of pirate treasure their map promised.

“Alright old man, dig.” M!MC lazily motioned towards the spot in the sand where the metal detector beeped.

“Why do I gotta dig?” Mammon whined. “You do it this time!”

“I’m holding the metal detector!” M!MC snapped. “Lookit! This shit’s heavy!”

“UUUUUUUUGGGGGGGGHHHHHHH.” Mammon dropped to his knees and began to dig, unearthing a second bottle cap.

“Have our intrepid treasure hunters struck gold yet?” The taunting voice of Satan wormed its way into M!MC and Mammon’s ears as they both rolled their eyes.

“Why do you care, Satan?” M!MC sneered. “Shouldn’t you be off waxing philosophical about the demon condition or some other pretentious shit right now?”

Satan scoffed and shook his head. “So you haven’t found anything, shocker.”

“Ya didn’t answer the question, Satan.”

“Fine, you two dumbasses forgot to bring water after you immediately ran to go find your treasure.” Satan chucked two metal water bottles at Mammon, both of which hit him in the face. “So where’s your little treasure map?”

M!MC grumbled and pulled the map out of their pocket. “Here.”

Satan raised an eyebrow as he looked over the map, then looked back up at Mammon and M!MC. “I’d expect this level of idiocy from Mammon, but not you, M!MC.”

“WHAT WAS THAT?!” M!MC and Mammon shouted in unison.

Satan flipped the map around so it was facing the pair, he pointed at the X. “You’re supposed to be going that way,” Satan pointed back towards where they had set up the towels and umbrellas.

“…shit.” Mammon murmured. “I swear if we just wasted two fuckin’ hours on this-”

“Don’t blame me! I’m a mathematician, not a fucking geographer!” M!MC hissed.

“Actually, cartographers are the ones that make maps-”

“SHUT UP SATAN!”

——————

“Ugh… I hate the ocean now…��� L!MC trudged over to Lucifer and plopped themselves down next to him. “0/10. Next year, can we go somewhere with significantly less seaweed?”

Lucifer wordlessly pulled a clump of sea-gunk out of L!MC’s hair and dropped it on the sand next to them. The fucking gunk-thing then began to MOVE-

“…is that alive?”

“Probably.”

L!MC grabbed the thing and threw it as hard as they could into the water. “I’m not allowing that eldritch terror the privilege of evolving.”

Lucifer chuckled and shook his head. “This is karma for the unicorn floaty.”

“That wasn’t even all my idea!” L!MC hugged their knees to their chest and grumbled. “Where’s Belphie, Satan and M!MC’s karma?!”

“I’m sure it’ll come soon.”

“Now would be nice…” L!MC growled.

“If you’re going to go sit and whine for the rest of the day you can walk back to the villa by yourself.”

“Ugh!” L!MC threw up their hands and walked away. “So Belphie can angst all he wants but I can’t?! This is bullshit!”

“LANGUAGE!”

—————

A!MC’s burgeoning kingdom had grown in population in the last few hours; Barbatos and Diavolo had moved in and were gleefully helping out with the construction projects (well, Dia was gleeful, Barbatos was standing off to the side holding lemonade), Simeon had joined in and was making a moat, and L!MC was designing the flag.

“Our walls will be impenetrable!” Diavolo proclaimed as he continued to reinforce the sand-walls. “No one would dare invade us!”

“Where’s our sand-army? I call dibs on being sand-general.” L!MC raised their hand. “Luke, you can be a sand soldier.”

“Huh?”

“Here’s your sand-sword.”

“L!MC this is driftwood…”

“Hit a bitch with it.”

“There will be no hitting of any bitches.” Simeon gently took the driftwood from Luke and chucked it into the ocean.

“Lame…” L!MC rolled their eyes.

A little while into the kingdom building, A!MC surveyed their land with a proud smile. Every little building was adorably decorated with shells and pebbles, the roads were laid out perfectly, the castle was stable… Ah. Perfection!

A familiar trio sauntered over looking down at their map and occasionally back up at the surrounding beach until they stopped right outside the moat outside of A!MC’s kingdom. Satan, Mammon, and M!MC looked up at the group and pointed their shovel and metal detector at them.

“Hey kiddos, and… not kiddos. We’re gonna need ya to move over. There’s treasure in the area and we gotta dig!” Mammon proclaimed, standing up straight and putting a hand on his hip.

“Uh… no?” A!MC sat down on their beach chair, but to them, it was more like a throne. “We spent forever building this, we aren’t just going to let you destroy it.”

“Can’t you build somewhere else?” M!MC waved their hand to a place farther down the beach that was just littered with holes from M!MC and Mammon’s treasure hunting. “Couldn’t have taken that long.”

“Are you stupid or just ignorant?” L!MC hissed, protectively moving in front of the sand-wall next to Diavolo. “This took literal hours. You three can piss off.”

“L!MC, don’t be dramatic.” Satan rolled his eyes, then looked to the adults. “Come on guys, this may actually lead to something historical. Can you guys move out?”

“Uh… fuck off?” Belphie sleepily looked up from his towel. “We were here first. Finders keepers.”

“Yeah,” Beel paused his job of helping clean up the toys and buckets. “Belphie napped here, this spots been claimed.”

Barbatos and Diavolo nodded in agreement.

“A!MC has claimed this land, therefore, it’s their kingdom.” Diavolo said.

“Guys, this ain’t a joke! There’s actual treasure here!” Mammon waved the map in the air.

“That doesn’t matter. our sandcastles, our rules.” Luke crossed his arms and huffed.

“Oh bullshit! Move over! Money and treasure is under your city and we’ll take it by force if we have to!” M!MC crossed his arms and glared.

“Really now~?” L!MC cooed, slamming their fist against their open palm. “Fucking try us.”

————

A fight would have broken out if it weren’t for Lucifer calling for everyone to eat. Everyone sat down on their towels and angrily munched on their macaroni salad and sandwiches.

Team Treasure hunter (it was generous to call them a team considering there was only three of them) were forming a plan to try and get passed the much larger Team Sandcastle. M!MC and Satan bounced ideas off of each other while Mammon stole everyone’s potato chips.

“So, we need to lure at least some of them away… but how?” M!MC stuck their hand into the much reduced bowl of chips and took out a fistful.

“Mmm…” Satan murmured. “Well, there’s a thief in our midst…”

M!MC knitted their eyebrows in confusion, then began to nod in understanding. “Ah… and we have someone very quick…”

Both Satan and M!MC turned to Mammon, who was polishing off the chips and counting their metal detector money. He stopped mid chew and tilted his head.

“What are ya lookin’ at?”

Over with Team Sandcastle, L!MC carefully traced Belphie’s hand onto a piece of paper with a vindictive smirk on both their faces.

“What are you doing?” Luke asked as he bit into his kebab.

“It’s an official declaration of war.” L!MC quickly finished up the tracing and proudly showed the picture of Belphie’s middle finger to the assembled team. “I think it’s very clear and concise.”

Simeon slapped a palm to his forehead as Luke let out a gasp.

“L!MC! That’s so vulgar and awful-” Luke’s irate yapping went completely ignored.

“It’s a very nice picture.” Beel calmly observed, turning over the paper in his hands.

“Enough about the declaration!” A!MC stood up and put their hands on their hips. “We need to take action immediately! I’m not letting our sand kingdom fall into their hands!”

“We know that A!MC, but we need to at least give them some kind of warning that we’re going to beat them into the ground.” L!MC said.

“They got their warning. Now is not the time for being polite, now is the time for curb stomping.”

“Is it just me,” Belphie leaned over to Beel and cartoonishly whispered. “Or is A!MC getting really intense about this?”

—————

Team Treasure Hunter’s battle plan did not go as well as they thought it would. Satan and M!MC did not factor the fact that Mammon would be stealing something and then running in sand, and next to no one can properly run in fluffy beach sand, what this poor narrator is trying to say is that Mammon got football tackled immediately because he couldn’t run after he stole something as a distraction. Oh well… at least the sand was soft…

Team Sandcastle’s superior numbers meant superior ideas, and one of their ideas was for A!MC to politely ask some of the beach dwelling creepy crawlies to attack the other team. Well uh… toes were pinched that day…

“Fools,” A!MC sat straighter in their beach chair. “All of them.”

“I’m loving the supervillain vibes, A!MC, but-”

“But nothing!” A!MC cut L!MC off with a huff. “I’m not a supervillain either!”

“Sounds like something a supervillain would say.” Belphie snickered, only to be blasted in the face with a water gun. A!MC was turning on their own people…

“Alright, everyone who dares to doubt me gets the water gun.” A!MC sneered. “My kingdom won’t fall!”

The kingdom fell.

One giant wave caused by Lotan and Levi playing in the water nearby crashed onto the beach and absolutely flattened the detailed sand kingdom. A!MC slowly moved their hair out of their eyes and turned to Lotan and Levi in the water.

“You… you…” A!MC growled, a tick forming in their right eye. “YOU SHUT-IN PIECE OF [Hello, this is the narrator, I’m very sorry but I cannot repeat what little A!MC said here. I hope you all can find it in your hearts to forgive them for this outburst, their kingdom just got destroyed after all.]”

Simeon vaulted forward and covered Luke’s ears while the rest of the group on the beach stared in wide eyed shock as their sweet little A!MC cussed out two giant sea monsters. This was… not what they expected from their beach trip…

Beel quickly recovered from his shock and scooped A!MC up into his arms. A!MC didn’t seem to care all that much as they continued to kick and scream profanity at the giant sea monsters. Beel lumbered over to Asmo and handed the screeching A!MC to him.

“This is yours.”

“…Beel dear,” Asmo looked at the practically feral child that had managed to shift into their demon form, then looked to Beel. “Are you sure?”

——————

Ever the opportunists, Team Treasure Hunter managed to dig in the area where the sand kingdom once stood. After roughly an hour of digging, Mammon struck something… wooden. Hmm…

“Hey I uh… think I found somethin’!”

“Really?” M!MC exclaimed. “Lemme see! Let’s get it out!”

“Allow me,” Diavolo motioned for everyone to move away and leaned in. He yanked a massive treasure chest out of the sand like it was nothing and plopped it onto the beach. “Oh! It is a treasure chest! How novel!”

Mammon jumped forward and yanked the chest open, inside was an absolute mess of glimmering gold and jewelry.

“DON’T TOUCH THAT.” Lucifer’s booming voice stopped Mammon dead in place. Everyone’s heads swivelled to look at him. “It’s probably cursed gold, you idiots.”

“As much as I hate to agree with Lucifer, we should at least check before we touch anything.” Satan crossed his arms and grumbled.

The gold was hella cursed and basically useless. No one went back to the villa happy.

———————

A!MC sulkily kicked off their shoes and flopped backwards onto their bed. They stared half-vacantly up at the ceiling, they were so tired despite the fact that they hadn’t even gone swimming… they had spent their entire day building that stupid sandcastle kingdom…

M!MC flopped down next to them and let out an explosive sigh. “Hey.”

“Hey.”

“Sorry about your sandcastle stuff…”

A!MC sighed and shrugged. “Yeah… sorry about your treasure…”

“Yeah… so far this trip blows.”

L!MC flopped down next to A!MC and practically deflated.

“What’s wrong with you?” M!MC asked, rolling over onto their side to look at their cousin.

“I’m in mourning…” L!MC grumbled, holding up a piece of pink stretchy plastic. “Lotan ate my unicorn floaty.”

“Aww… I’m sorry L!MC.” A!MC patted them on the shoulder. “Let’s go fight Lotan and Levi for revenge.”

“A!MC. I’m grieving, not suicidal.” L!MC said seriously, then their face melted into a grin as they began to giggle. “Dummy…”

“I’m not a dummy! I think we might have a chance!”

“Yeah, a chance of gettin’ eaten!” M!MC snickered.

“Okay… maybe…” A!MC giggled.

“Hey guys,” Simeon knocked on the door and poked his head in. “We’re making a fire for s’mores, you all better hurry up before Beel gets to everything.”

The three kids stuck their thumbs up and got ready to go. S’mores fix everything!

————

Author’s note: Okay, back in like… May, I promised I’d write a beach day episode for these characters, and it’s finally done!!

The whole sandcastle war is something that actually happened when I went to a summer camp ^.^

It was less about digging for treasure and more about who had the best sandcastles, and I shit you not, a wave slammed into the rival team’s sandcastle. It was funny as S H I T. HA! TAKE THAT RIVAL TEAM! MAYBE YOU SHOULDN’T HAVE MADE YOUR CITY SO CLOSE TO THE WATER!

[bestworstcase]

I think I remember reading a wonderful fic of yours where it's implied Zhan Tiri turned Royal Guards into an zombie army? I love that idea, makes me wonder what if the guards got mind trapped instead, since they don't do much to begin with. (Maybe Team Rapunzel will care about Stan and maybe Pete being brainwashed. Maybe.) It works out great because Cass gets her own personal battalion and the Brotherhood are used more effectively.

shdkdsfsh a good night for ghosts maybe?? i’ll be honest i wasn’t thinking Zombie Guards when i wrote that i was just thinking zhan tiri and her disciples massacred most of them but zombies is a fun idea too 👀

i’m not really a fan of the mind trap and how mind control is executed in canon, and i think if we’re talking canon-flavor it’s unlikely that rapunzel & co would take the corona guards being mind trapped any more seriously—perhaps even less, given the relative level of threat between stan and pete and, say, adira—because fundamentally the narrative didn’t want us to think too hard about the implications of cassandra mind controlling people. it’s not supposed to be a “yo cass what the fuck are you doing” moment, it’s supposed to be “oh no, cass has minions now!”

thaaaaat said, if i was gonna do a mind controlled / corrupted coronan guards plot, assuming complete separation from canon and the associated requirement for Disney Executive Approval i would go full bore eldritch abomination zhan tiri:

1. it begins after the horrible fight in cassandra’s revenge. nobody thinks anything much of it at first—after all the threats, the appearance of the massive tower in the distance, the terrible storm and the sounds of explosions that wracked the night, and the wild rumors of the beloved princess’s near-death that followed, it’s only natural that nightmares would ripple through corona. 

2. but the dreams... stay. haunting, fragmented, incomprehensible images of twisted forests and vast sprawling ruins of no human construction, reverberating with whispers and screams in a language no human tongue has ever spoken. they have a way of burrowing into the mind and lingering into the waking hours; eyes glazed with exhaustion or fear or fervor become a common sight in the streets. 

3. strange things begin to happen. people jolt awake out of their dreams to find themselves in their gardens with soil under their fingernails from their frantic digging; sleep-walkers wander the streets late at night, and the captain assigns a night watch around the harbor to prevent the sleepers from wandering into the sea. there is an... incident, late one night, when a guard rises mid-slumber and stabs several others before he is stopped; he awakes in a state of feverish delirium, raving incoherent nonsense.

4. nobody dies, but... none of the guards feel exactly comfortable sleeping in the barracks after that. and who could blame them? many of them retreat to their own homes rather than spend their nights in the palace, and a creeping sense of paranoia begins to infect the ranks. the guard who stabbed his fellow officers remains insensible in his cell, drifting in and out of sleep but never regaining his lucidity, and it makes everyone uneasy. 

5. a month or so after the battle of the tower, in response to provocations from cassandra—perhaps there have been reports of her attacking settlements on the fringes of corona, trying to incite a popular rebellion against the crown—rapunzel marshals the royal guards and returns to the tower, intent on putting a stop to this one way or another. and that’s when things really go wrong.

6. because zhan tiri is there, waiting for them like a spider on its web, and when she rises out of the ground to meet them the tense, frightened, exhausted ranks of the coronan guard shatter before the full, horrific reality of the thing that has been haunting their nightmares for weeks. some turn and flee, shrieking and wailing in pure, mindless terror; some freeze are are struck dead where they stand. and of those remaining... well.

7. the human mind can only take so much. and there is a certain relief in acceptance; at the bottom of all the horror there’s a kernel of a wild, ecstatic ferocity. and so when zhan tiri meets the full force of the coronan guard in the ravine beneath the tower, some of them—the ones who reached for her in their dreams, who awoke clutching fistfuls of soil or thrashing against the grip of their comrades at the edge of the sea, full of a nameless longing—some of them join her.

8. the battle is swift but shockingly bloody. were it not for the power of the sundrop, rapunzel and her few remaining allies would certainly not have made it out alive.

and that’s how the coronan royal guard gets corrupted into a bunch of feral zhan tiri cultists. perhaps the brotherhood—by dint of their connection with the moonstone, which is associated with protection—are better able to resist the insidious corruptive influence of zhan tiri’s power and are thus able to turn the tide of the war? or, alternatively, we go full edritch horror with this and corona gets the Bad Ending. either way.

[equiuszahhak]

equiuszahhak D --> How do you think I'm... Doing D --> Apologies, that is broad, but it is a vast sentiment

@indulgentarcher D ==> I mean, ye got yeself some sweet quads, nice style, ye seem happy enough?

equiuszahhak D --> I suppose

indulgentarcher D ==> As happy as our line can be ha

equiuszahhak D --> Perhaps. I just feel - empty, Dilwyn

indulgentarcher D ==> Almost like the void is in your blood D ==> Have you tried tapping that?

equiuszahhak D --> The void? In some ways

indulgentarcher D ==> A hollowness that stems from stagnation can be quickly changed by tapping your called on aspect D ==> Do ye wish to learn how we used the void before that game came along?

equiuszahhak D --> Yes

indulgentarcher D ==> B)c D ==> Ye live in the bubbles aye?

equiuszahhak D --> Yes, and i have felt the void within them

indulgentarcher D ==> Hear it call ye. I will find you in a quiet place D ==> I shall meet ye there, your mind will guide you B*

equiuszahhak D --> Okay [ He... Does that? ]

indulgentarcher >> It's true. His mind would guide him via the STRONG pull of Dilwyn's mayjiks in the void. It leads Equius to a deep, dark forest with bioluminescent mushrooms as the only light. Faint whispering is all around them. >> And going fourth in the clearing, there he sits on a stump, looking old and serene in an actual wizard's robe, arcane runes printed in a shimmery silver around the sleeves. He stands with his very-suspiciously-staff-like "walking stick" with a clear magical gem on it, to his full 8' 5". "Hello little one, are ye ready to hear the void's whispering call?"

equiuszahhak Equius gasped, eyes wide. What in the fresh bubbly hell? He rubbed his eyes, before shaking his head as he looked around. The sight of Dilwyn was something else, and he didn't know how to react until spoken to. "Hn. Yes." He nodded, standing just above two feet shorter than the large troll. "I am ready."

indulgentarcher >> The old fart gave him a warm smile, holding out his hand to him. "Step one, let your guard down. It's the hardest step of all usually ..."

equiuszahhak That really was. Equius took a deep breath, before sighing. He'd tapped into the void a little at a time, but not in the way this man obviously had. Sure, his guard could be let down. He'd try. Without a word, he takes his hand.

indulgentarcher Dil hummed softly as he took his hand, giving him a firm but gentle squeeze. It was a grip only a Zahhak could appreciate.   "Just breathe." He coaxed as he let a low thrum of void energy start to flow from his fingertips into his descendant's. It flowed up, up, up like a cold stream of water in his veins that was definitely *weird* but not inherently painful. It spread up the side of him up to where his mind was, a whisper of "let me in" ringing quietly inside.

equiuszahhak Equius already closed eyes squinted, the cold a tingle that felt... Familiar. The echo in his mind headed, as he shivered, squeezing tighter to Dilwyn's hand. Something in him shifted, though he didn't know what, and an odd sense of calm washed over him. "And?" He asked, internally.

indulgentarcher "And hear us..." The whisper spoke louder. Suddenly the whispering wasn't alone, many voices all at once. Different times but all.... Soft... Nothing in common either. All was Eldritch. "Do you hear me?" A deep voice asked, cutting through the chattering. "Do you hear your ancestry?"

equiuszahhak Equius brows raised, as he felt in another world, in the darkness. Floating serene, like adrift at sea. "Yes."

indulgentarcher "Such a good listener!" "What a good boy!" "Yes yesss! Fresh in the blood!" Various voices whispered in pleased tones, "Have ye ever felt the tinge of grimmness touch your bones?"

equiuszahhak Equius' brows rose at the praise, somehow cute and disturbing at once. But he smiled, shaking his head. "I have not."

indulgentarcher "Do ye- Do ye want a taste? I refuse to turn ye. Just a dose...." Oh that deep, deep voice? That was Dilwyn. Jeeze. That was barely a trollish voice.

equiuszahhak Equius laughed in the face of all of that, nothing but entertained by Dilwyn's tone. This was probably the best person to do something like this with, he figured. "Yes." He finally said, a smile on his face

indulgentarcher Dil felt the joy radiate off him. Had.. had he finally found one of his bloodline who would walk this path with him? There was a flutter of unknowable joy and excitement in his stomach as his hopes raised juuust a bit. "U̷m̸b̵r̶e̸y̶t̷a̸ ̷í̶ ̷s̴k̷u̸g̶g̸a̴..." And with that, the transformation of grimdarkness would begin and those whispers where about to get a WHOLE lot louder.

equiuszahhak And they did. A wash, inundating and many. His pan was assaulted by the heady calls, mysterious ringings, and low tones of the darkness. Was this the void he'd but only glimpsed in his death? His skin tinted, his eyes darkened, and he fell to his knees.

indulgentarcher Dil weant down with him, still holding his hand firmly he swooped his tail around to offer more support to his back and carefully pulled him in close. He'd let him lean against him if he was willing. "Breathe. Breathe. Focus on me. Focus on what's outside your head now."

equiuszahhak Equius did, curling into the touch that was offered to him. He'd never felt so simultaneously in danger and safe. He pressed into Dilwyn, an aura over taking him, black eyes, a gurgle in his throat before coughing up salt water, brine. Focus, focus. Feel his warmth, listen to his voice.

indulgentarcher Dilwyn knew exactly what he was going through. He held him tight, very tight. "You are out here. Your body has to adjust. Your mind has to change with it. Tap me if it's too much, I promise it's fine."

equiuszahhak Equius nodded, not knowing where the FUCK the tentacle spilling from his mouth came from. He gagged on it, gripping into the ground, before a whole ass octopus bulged from his throat and onto the ground. His skin glowed a bit, though still dark. Deep breaths, deep breaths. The water dribbled from the side of his face, and he looked wrecked in general. Though it was starting to fade, and the voices, stronger, were becoming orderly. Looking up to Dilwyn, he offered a weak smile, staggering to stand up,

indulgentarcher Dilwyn hissed sympathetically when he finally coughed out the beast from his soul, taking care to now lift it up too in his tail to cradle it. It wasn't uncommon for a miniterror to spawn but he can't say he expected it THIS time in particular. He had a rough one. "Hey... Hey no. Stay down... Shhhh... Don't try to stand yet.'" he cooed, moving to scoop the octopi into his arms. "Congratulations! It's an abomination." He teased, hoping to ease some of the tension with humor.

equiuszahhak Equius wasn't very amused, leaning into Dil. What was the point of this? Oh, to connect with the ~void~. He coughed again, though when he tried to speak, nothing would some at first. He merely looked over the miniterror, wondering what it meant. Hopefully, the look on his face would earn an answer.

indulgentarcher Dil let out a soft chuckle, "Don't worry ain't serious. Sometimes when ye first connect ye have one of these inside ye forever. Sometimes ye cough em up. It's a 50/50 chance really. Behold the birth of a minor horror terror, whom I shall now release to it's natural habitat *promptly.* " He explained before opening up a raw portal into the void, sliding the baby in and closing it right back up. "How ye feelin' love?"

equiuszahhak Equius nodded, and tried to speak again. This time, warbled, but surely Dil wound understand. "I feel strange. Though - Like my consciousness is expanding. Dissociative, yet present more than I have my entire existence."

indulgentarcher "Welcome to seeing the bigger picture. The terrors welcome you, child of my blood, child of the void." He cooed, his hand reaching up to both cup his cheek and brush the hair clinging away from it. "They want to teach you so many things. I do as well.... How to transport objects, beings and souls through the void. How to sense another user. How to speak festertounges.... How to slip your consciousness between existence and non-existence casually... There are so many things hidden in your mind. I am very excited to teach you if you'll let me."

equiuszahhak Equius leaned into the touch, intimate and reassuring. He nodded, silent, and closed his eyes. "Please teach me."

indulgentarcher "wonderful..... Ah- we could start by simple object displacement. I will warn ye there's still a chance of this form getting too much as you explore your power. Do tell me, because I know this form can be very hard on the newly awakened..." He cooed, thumbing his face so gently. He would take Precautions damnit. "... Ah but, before displacement actually ... First let's try this. Hold your hand out... Try to manifest a little blob of the void in your palm...." He coaxed, doing just that. A stable, swirling little blob of void hanging just above his palm.

equiuszahhak Equius squinted at the warbling mass, before nodding. He took a breath, steadying himself on his knees. He... thinks about it? Channels it?

It isn't immediate, but a tadpole-esque shape swims to life in his hand, circular. It flattens itself out over time, hazy at the edges and pitch black, looking almost like portal than what Dil had. "Is - is this it?"

equiuszahhak "What it should be?"

indulgentarcher He chuckled, shaking his head. "it doesn't have to be anything exactly. Just a form. Ye've done it here! Ye did very well for the first go too!" He chimed, tail thumping- oh yes. His tail wagged like a dog's. "When ye get more practice ye can do things like this...." He mused as he made the voidy blob in a ball that he played with almost like a waterbender as he swirling it in the air around his hands, keeping the shape ever moving like water. "You are learning to control chaos by giving it order."

equiuszahhak That... sounded lovely. Equius felt like he'd been trying to go that his whole live, unlife. Give order to things that didn't want it, control things that didn't need controlling safe for himself. But this... Yes, this was something he could do. By now, the form vanished from his hand. It took some energy, for sure. "You are right, this is tiring. One more time." He nodded, trying to bring the mass back. This time it sputtered like inverse fire flies, flitting around his hand,  dissipating. He slumps, breathing hard, tapping Di's leg. "I think I am spent."

indulgentarcher Dil chuckled softly, putting his hands on both of his cheeks and whispering, "V̵e̷r̸ð̷a̸ ̷h̷o̶l̴d̴ ̴a̸f̵t̴u̸r̷" The process in reverse was still a bit tiring but significantly less shitty. "Ye eat meat little one?"

equiuszahhak He shook his head, "I do not." Letting all his weight fall into the hands that held his face, exhausted and drained. It was like he couldn't move at all, not that he wanted to try anyway.

indulgentarcher What was it with his descendant's and not eating meat??? Damn herbivores. More for him. "I got granola in my syladex then, here...." He told him, plopping a clearly meant for children granola in his hand-" ah wait that's.... Uh. That's my kids snack ones.... Hold on hold on....." Watch this old man flip through the most cluttered syladex you'll ever see. Oh look adult food. "Ok here." There we go, adult troll sized Granola bar. With chocolate chips of course. "Ye need to eat something trust me."

equiuszahhak Equius laughed weakly at that, languid as he settled into the ground, opening the *correct* granola bar. "Thank you." He huffed, taking it in small bites. "How... Often do you think this will happen?" He shuddered at the thought of another venture, but hoped that another little beast wouldn't fall out of him. Oh, that was weird.

indulgentarcher "Mmm, as often as ye want it to. We can make it into a weekly training session if ye like? It gets easier with practice." He noted, scrolling back to pull out some jerky. Snap, snarfle, crunch the old man was DEFINITELY less civil than most folks.

equiuszahhak Equius didn't mind, not as much as he would have used to. Dil had certainly proved himself a force to recon with. Finishing his bar, sprawled on the ground, Equius didn't see why the fuck not. "Okay."

indulgentarcher "Wonderful!.... What the fuck day is it?? ....ahhhh... Oh! It's Wednesday, apparently. How about every Wednesday then ah? We can play by ear for the time I guess." He suggested, laying down right next to him. "Ye did really well this time little one. Ye show great promise."

equiuszahhak Equius nodded, burping as the last of the salt water in his system dribbled down his cheek. How embarrassing... "I am... Glad you think so." A pause, as he closed his eyes, fingers laced over his chest. "I believe it would be good to practice, yes." So he didn't end up on the ground like this every time

[gyeolsim]

hello team it’s 3 am and i have this au concept rapid fire don’t think too hard about it don’t question me just come along with me in this journey

we’re in a dangerous and gloomy megacity by the sea, sharp with skyscrapers and misty alleys, always dark, always damp, corroded by salt and blood, hiding something, violent and seedy, an elder, eldritch city that breathes and bleeds as alive as its citizens, populated by strange and unusual beings that slither and writhe through the streets with everyday normalcy, gangsters and saints, gods and monsters, a city where fighting and stealing are the norm, where every man is out for himself, where you could really picture some cool-ass noir-style neon shots with a mad cool lovecraftian twist

drop our kids in this city, rapid fire, all of them living through their worst, most violent, tragic timelines: daisy’s mom has been freshly murdered and daisy is coping poorly with the grief and meddling with dark forces, the sirens are mercenaries laundering money through a brothel, moire is a too-young hitwoman, nick’s enrolling in a corrupt police academy, reagan and aud are insatiable con artists, ai’s the isolated daughter of a crooked politician, arash is, like, a repo man or something, val’s auntie’s cursed servant, damian’s damian. you name it: none of them have ever known anything but the horrors and terrors and of the city and they’re jaded to it, come to embrace it, the city is all they know and all they will ever know, the city is home

ok are we following? yes? good, ok, rapid fire, hear me out: this is an idealized, dark-comedy, moulin rouge-esque over-the-top dramatics, musical about teenage growing pains 

like there’s clearly all this darkness and misery around them and our nebulous story doesn’t quite shy away from it but it also is never truly centered, all the storylines focus on the mundane teenage worries/dreams/aspirations of this ensemble, their crushes and feelings of belonging and like, stupid friendship drama: the juxtaposition of this innocence of youth that refuses to die even in the darkest circumstances

shh, shh, no questions, just follow along and ignore my lack of knowledge when it comes to variety in musical theatre:

ai escapes the suffocating constrict of her corrupt fathers’ watchful eye to ~experience~ the city, headscarf around her head, and ends up somewhere in the violent and brutal fight ring where moire is an indisputable champion, immediately is smitten, sings fight for me from heathers the musical. val, similarly under auntie’s command, has a tender moment as she makes a delivery and sings ring of keys from funhome.

I ACTUALLY don’t have a plot of any kind but rapid fire don’t think too hard about it  reagan of course sings freeze your brain, while aud robs whoever its distracting with its faux internal turmoil blind, nick sings there are worse things i could do from grease (kdgdkjgkdkdfkfljkdfd) fuck fuck i don’t know enough about musical theatre time to use crazy ex-girlfriend im sorry

arash sings i give good parent, while like, preparing to meet a date’s parents while also cleaning blood off his apartment, very american psycho. uhh im running out of ideas i’m giving damian you stupid bitch, i feel like oh my god i think i like you really fits in this musical but it’s super nsfw so i can’t think of anyone lmao. we change sex for violence so it’s actually this really silly and fun sequence of clea tagging along with daisy as daisy kills and maims her way through the city and them realizing they have a crush (but as he’s begging you to stop / writhing around on the floor / i feel somethin' deep inside I never felt before… oh my god i think i like you!)

olly gets research me obsessively of course, as someone is trying to investigate her disappearance, moire and daisy have a dead girl walking interlude (daisy is veronica, moire’s JD), misha sings about wanting to find love with waitres’s when he sees me, and he has a really bittersweet choreography with a bunch of guys a la florence  that teeters between romanticism and violence.

daisy and nick definitely sing seventeen which is actually the thesis statement of this musical au because i love them and this is my au

[mildterrorofthedeep]

— 8 PEOPLE I’D LIKE TO KNOW BETTER !

Tagged by: no one. i steal like a real man

Tagging: whoever sees this

ONE ( ALIAS / NAME )  Starly

TWO ( BIRTHDAY )  December 29th

THREE ( ZODIAC SIGN )  Capricorn

FOUR ( HEIGHT )  5′3″

FIVE ( HOBBIES )  drawing, writing, sculpting, watching streams, viddy gay

SIX ( FAVORITE COLOR(S) )  light blue, maroon, purples

SEVEN ( FAVORITE BOOKS )  The Artemis Fowl series

EIGHT ( LAST SONG LISTENED TO ) Murder on the Owl Express from A Hat in Time

NINE ( LAST FILM WATCHED )  Into the Spiderverse!

TEN ( INSPIRATION FOR MUSE )  Eldritch horror stuff is cool but u know what’s better? Being a creature of destruction and saying “fuck u dad, fuck my purpose” and raising a garden with your friends. Niko is my baby boy and I love him and his entire character, and I hope people love him too!

ELEVEN ( MEANING BEHIND YOUR URL )  Niko’s 70% deep sea terror, but he’s not really that scary though he has the capacity to be. So he’s a mild terror of the deep!