#and insectoid body horror (hear me out)

[neptunesenceladus]

there are only three things i’m thinking about when staring into space and those are dc, star wars, and moths

[goldenponcho]

You Can Lead a Castellan to Water…

Another chapter! Can ya believe it?!

Chapter 10: The Silence

Ramon drained his glass.

The fuzzy numbness in his head surprised him as he discovered that he was indeed still susceptible to inebriation. A shake of the recently opened bottle of Gran Reserva produced a hollow slosh of the last few drops at the bottom. 

Dark lips stiffened, and he squeezed his eyes shut. Was his nerve so frail that he couldn’t handle a single troubling thought without seeking a way to sedate himself? Pathetic… The churning in his stomach and the pins and needles throughout his body only worsened, and he felt himself on the brink of vomiting.

Pushing the nausea down, he straightened himself. ‘CEASE this pitiful melancholy! Sniveling little weakling… You think yourself a SALAZAR?!’ The voice in his head took on the cadence of his father’s usual condescending tone. He had done away with the man long ago, but he had never quite had the decency to shut up.

Ramon felt a wash of heat prickle up the back of his neck. Why was he putting this off? He should speak with Lord Saddler now while he could still muster an ounce of dignity. Besides, did he not always quell his doubts? His true father had never failed him yet.

With a deep, steady breath, Ramon’s eyes settled shut as he reached incorporeal tendrils outward, slithering around the menagerie of simplistic thoughts broadcasting from hundreds of weaker souls in search of Lord Saddler’s consciousness. He was never difficult to find; his Lord’s metaphysical essence glowed so brightly, Ramon was convinced he could have sensed him if he were on the other side of the planet. One need only reach out and touch.

But as he reached out with grasping fingers, his breath hitched, and he felt his heart stop. He began to strain, and as he struggled to grasp for his Lord…for ANYTHING, he reached physical arms in front of him in his effort to feel something.

He quaked, before yellow eyes burst open, bulging frantically. Where WAS he?! He couldn’t feel him ANYWHERE!!

Ramon looked to the Verdugo to his right and was almost startled the two were there with him.

“Isidro…” his voice quivered, and the Verdugo gave a light trill that would normally come with thoughts, but there was nothing.

Ramon stood abruptly, his chair clattering to the floor behind him. He could only stare as the creature garbled incoherently in his direction.

The realization came with the deepest sense of dread he could ever recall having in his life. ‘I’m alone!’

“Isidro?!” Ramon ran to grasp at the Verdugo’s robes. “SPEAK to me!!” Ramon felt himself on the verge of hyperventilating. “PLEASE, ISIDRO!! SAY something!! DAMN YOU!! DON’T LEAVE ME ALONE!!”

Isidro draped long talons around his master’s small shoulders growling and roaring helplessly. Pesanta approached the two, screeching in desperation as well.

“WHY CAN’T I HEAR YOU?!!! WHY CAN’T I HEAR YOU?!!!” Ramon was on the verge of retching when suddenly, a flood of desperate voices rushed through his mind.

‘We are HERE, Master!! We are HERE!! Why can’t you hear us?!!’

He heaved with erratic breathe, still hyperventilating as the terror of being severed from the body prickled hotly under his skin. As he attempted to calm himself, he spoke with the newly mended link that almost throbbed as a physical severing and reattachment of a limb would have.

Ramon shook like a leaf, clinging to the two creatures’ robes, head buried in the silk fabric. “What WAS that?! You were GONE!! Why couldn’t I HEAR you?!”

‘We do not know, Master Ramon!! Such HORROR!! We could not FEEL, Master!’

Ramon clung to the two, his throat raspy, causing him to cough as he slowed his breathing. He wiped the tears that flowed down his cheeks onto Pesanta’s robes, all the more embarrassed at himself. The closeness of the insectoid creatures was not at all like that of a warm, pliant, human body, but they brought comfort all the same.

He finally backed from his loyal guards with another small cough, wiping his eyes again on the ruffle of his sleeve. What WAS that? It felt AWEFUL! Hollow. Empty. He was certain he had NEVER felt anything worse. Would it happen again?!

He caught his reflection in one of the silver pitchers set on the table and could see that his eyes were especially bloodshot. He would need to calm himself now before speaking with Lord Saddler. He couldn’t approach his hallowed leader in such disgrace.

Ramon thought for a moment he might open another bottle of wine before considering that perhaps the wine had been the culprit of his mental blockage. Yes! CERTAINLY it must have been! How foolish he was…

“Perhaps I have gone a bit overboard tonight…” He forced a nervous chuckle through steadily calming sobs with a weak shrug toward Isidro and Pesanta, “…that’s all.”

~*~*~*~

Gail groaned as she awoke to her door creaking open and the tap of footsteps against the stone floor. She forced her heavy lids open to see that a lady zealot had brought her a tray of the usual breakfast fare.

She cocked her head. “I’m guessing Ramon doesn’t feel like company this morning…”

She, of course, got no answer, but still assumed this must have been the case. Something REALLY must have been bothering him last night.

Gail had taken the tray of food onto her blanket covered lap, and as the zealot left, she felt a slight stinging in her ankle that reminded her of the bite she had sustained last night. Setting the platter aside, she uncovered her feet.

The color washed from her face at the sight of the bite. For a brief, horrifying moment, she thought the flesh was rotting, the greyed, crusted over flesh now about the size of a baseball. But pressing a cautious finger to it caused no pain, and other than creasing the dead layer of drying skin, the tissue resumed its shape as it should have.

She stared motionless at her leg as if it were foreign to her, and as she attempted to manage the maelstrom in her head, she sat unmoving for nearly four minutes. It was obvious that the venom had interacted with her DNA, but to what extent, there was no way to tell. Her appearance had never been affected by her cadou before. Was it even finished changing yet? Would it be permanent?

She was finally aware of the rest of the space around her again, noticing her limply cupped hand had been resting at her lips. She cleared her throat, shoulders stiff before slowly taking a cream puff from the platter.

She wasn’t dying; that was the major concern she could disregard.

After eating her fill, which happened to be the entire platter, she rotated the ankle a few times before standing. A bit stiff, but not at all impossible to walk on.

She already knew Ramon wasn’t close by, nor were Isidro or Pesanta. Her sense of them was so faint, it was clear they were in an entirely different area of the castle.

Not only that, but it was Saturday. She would have to find some way to entertain herself. Perhaps now that she had been introduced to the wolves she would take a walk in the garden. She would have plenty of time to find her way out if she got lost. Sure! It was as good a way to pass the time as any.

Luckily, she had been right about the canines being more acclimated to her. Arturo and Azùcar even greeted her, sticking nearby as she wandered through the labyrinth of greenery. She spent a bit of time by the fountain, a bit of time on the overlooking bridge in the center… She even repaired one of the kennel doors that had come off its hinges. As she explored she was quickly acclimating herself to navigating the twisting hedges.

When Gail had found the exit for the third time, she patted the wolves farewell, and set off for another activity to pass the time.

Sticking to the main halls, she wished she could have explored the castle freely. Certainly, she was resilient far beyond the average person, but she would sure feel stupid if she went traipsing to her doom on one of her days off. The fire chamber might have been fine to pop her head in and check out, but she was still unclear on EXACTLY what went on in that room, so it would probably be wise to wait on Ramon to show her that one on Monday…or tomorrow, if he decided to grace her with his presence.

She came to the balcony with the crumbling guardrails. Ramon was much closer now. Isidro and Pesanta, unsurprisingly, weren’t far from him, probably guarding the entrances to whatever room he was in. Whatever he was doing, it was clear he didn’t want to be bothered.

Gail spent the rest of the day meandering about the halls. Further exploring some if the rooms she had briefly gotten to see weeks ago more closely. She especially enjoyed the water hall and had made a note to ask Ramon if she could swim in the pools later.

But the day came and went with no Ramon to be seen. She wondered if she had said something wrong last night. Whether it was of her doing or not, it was clear that something had him out of sorts.

Whatever… She wasn’t a mind reader, and if he really had a problem, he would have to bring it to the table himself.

~*~*~*~

Ramon spent the entirety of the day desperately trying to distract himself. In the amount of time he had been in his library, he should have plowed through at least five novel-length books. He had not completed one. A pile of reading material had accumulated on the bed and next to him on the floor and on the tables nearby. He finally lied in a sprawl on the bed, practically catatonic, for a long while before finally dozing off. He rarely allowed himself sleep anymore. If he didn’t need it to stay alive, why waste the time? And he didn’t trust his dreams enough to attempt it often anymore. But his brain needed to be off now, and so he remained unconscious for nearly three hours.

Until gold eyes flashed open at the overwhelming presence making its way to him. Lord Saddler was in the castle. Quite near, in fact, and moving steadily closer.

Ramon scrambled from the bed, smoothing out the mussed coverlet before frantically preening himself, smoothing down the wild flyaways he knew were there, rubbing the sleep from his eyes, and straightening his vest and shirtsleeves. It was only seconds before he heard the door in the hall toward the other end of the study open.

The young Castellan rushed through the dividing archway to the other side of the large room, loathe to make his master walk further to meet him.

“Son.”

There was a warmth that permeated his frayed nerves, and he smiled up at the man before bowing. “My Lord!” The mixture of excitement to be host to his true father one on one and the anxieties of the day made his stomach squelch unpleasantly. “You cannot imagine how gracious I am for your visit, Lord Saddler! Had I known you were coming, I would have met with you in a more convenient part of the castle.”

“Nonsense, my boy!” Saddler placed a large hand onto the small man’s shoulder and gave the crown of his head a paternal stroke, “This is a fine, intimate place to converse with you, child. I confess I have missed our talks.”

Ramon beamed, momentarily forgetting his nausea before hugging the larger man tight at the waist, “As have I, my Master.” He felt his muscles relax as Saddler’s sheltering arms engulfed him. He savored the embrace for as long as he could before his Lord released him to look down into his golden eyes.

Bouncing lightly on his feet, the new flutter of happiness made him forget any of his doubts. Lord Saddler did always relieve his fears just by being near. No one else provided him the warmth and safety he longed for like his Master did.

Noticing the silence, Ramon nearly hopped to pull a chair out from the closest table, shoving aside a stack of books, “Please make yourself at home, my Lord! I do apologize for the clutter. I have spent much of the day studying.”

“Thank you, my boy!” He seated himself, propping his staff against the table. The slowness of the action belied the absolute power the man truly possessed.

Ramon grinned as he sat opposite the older man, sending a mental signal to the nearest zealot to bring them glasses and a pitcher of water. “I do hope God has blessed you this day, Master.”

Lord Saddler’s sharp features softened subtilely, “He has greatly, child! Plans are being carried out without resistance as of yet. The American mercenary has proved an essential asset. We have mere months before we will be ready to make our move.”

The younger man nodded, “I hope to prove myself useful when the time comes, my Lord.”

“You already have, my son!” Saddler chuckled, giving the young man’s chin a playful nudge with his knuckle.

“I am happy for that, Master.”

The zealot came quickly with their beverages, pouring them each a cool glass before leaving them alone again.

Saddler gestured toward Ramon with his glass, “And I have no doubt that you will again.”

The matter of fact statement reached his momentarily forgotten anxiety, and his stomach flipped again, before he caught himself, and raised his own glass politely to follow his Lord in taking a drink. The cool liquid did help...a little. He really should drink more water.

“If I am not mistaken…” Lord Saddler tapped the side of his glass with a barbed nail, “…the trolley in the Audience Hall has been recently renovated, has it not?”

Ramon was relieved at the transition to such a casual question, “It has! Gail made very quick work of it. She will be beginning another project for me this Monday.”

Saddler’s brow arched, “It seems your instinct was correct in regards to that girl,” he lifted his glass to thin lips again, “Such a shame she was ruined so needlessly.”

Ramon’s heart began to thud in his ears, “R…ruined?”

“She told you, did she not? Of the sickness that is the cause of her rejection of our holy body?”

Pounding heat squeezed his chest tight, and he thought perhaps his plaga had seized his heart, “She- …yes…she did.”

“You see, I thought I could save her as well,” Saddler’s face was grim, “I thought the plaga might overpower the growth inside her and create something exquisite. Alas, still the thought strikes me that there may be some way yet to reclaim her.”

“Surely there IS a way?” Ramon felt his fist clench, “You’ve said yourself that EVERYONE will one day receive God’s bounty. It isn’t fair that she should be exempt because of something that was forced upon her.”

“It is not, dear boy…” Saddler reached to cover the little fist on the table in front of him, “I too pray that salvation will be found for our lost lamb.” He squeezed Ramon’s balled hand, and looked intently into the young man’s eyes, “But I must implore you, my son, be wary of this wayward child. For many that attempt to urge lost souls toward the light are instead drawn further into the dark.”

Ramon felt his jaw quiver, and he quickly lowered his gaze before giving a week nod, “ Yes…I know, Master. I will not let any worldly affection impede my divine duty.”

The older man smiled, engulfing a small hand in two large ones and giving a light shake. “Good boy.”

Ramon swallowed hard as if trying to push down the flood of confusing emotions. There was hope, though, right? Saddler was praying for her; surely there couldn’t be a thing more powerful than that. Perhaps if he prayed as well…

“I thank you for your time, dear boy, though it be brief,” Lord Saddler stood from his chair, “I hope to have more in the future.”

“As do I!” Ramon rose to give a departing hug, “You give me strength, my Master…” he nuzzled into the luxurious fabric of the man’s robes, “…and I shall never disappoint you.”

A finger raised his chin as the two separated, “Such a brave child, my dear Ramon.” A hand feathered over his delicate jaw before leaving him to grab the staff that leaned against the table, “Remain vigilant, son. Soon, our worries will be naught but a distant memory.”

Ramon watched the man leave him, the presence growing steadily fainter. He hadn’t mentioned the terrifying silence he had experienced the night before, and he wasn’t sure he could have brought himself to.

‘Give it time,’ he told himself, ‘If it happens again, I will tell him.’

The crippling anxiety had dulled to an aching melancholy that he was much more accustomed to.

But still, he reminded himself, there was hope. There was always hope.

[deepestarbiterkid]

1.) Enjoying a hot beverage

It's a cold autumn like really cold enough that you need a very hot boiled shower but e.m.i.l and epithet squad and team defective drinking something that can feel relax and calm inside of body, a hot cocoa (aka the ultimate warm potion as trixie would say), the hot cocoa have a whipped cream with shredder chocolate and a heavy cream under the whipping and a wafer chocolate bar and a roast marshmallow that feel crispy outside while it's soft and creamy inside on the top of wafer chocolate bar and it's taste warm and delicious thank for indus who made those delicious chocolate bar but there's a six of them have a different beverage.

B.E: G dosen't like drink hot cocoa but he love drinking harm vodka (he just boiling the vodka)

B.E: C having uhhhhh too hot for everyone to drink it. B.E: C drinking a molted metal and everyone execpt epithet squad was shocked that how the hell he can drinking that melted metal and he say it's feel like drinking warm water and it's good but execpt that a little molted metal came out in his mouth and dropping the floor and start melting the floor until it's cools down and turned into a metal lump.

B.E: N drink just a apple juice and he say why everyone drinking hot cocoa? It dosen't so cold outside he said. Because he lived in wild north in one year and wild north was the most coldest in the earth and for him it's like a summer heat.

B.E: E dosen't drink Because he just a robot of course.

B.E: L drinking sometime hot cocoa but not anymore, he just drinking his favourite hot cocktail. A hot toddy was is favourite cocktail and drinking every cold day as autumn and winter.

Epithet? Well we are know what he drinking.

Meanwhile of epithet he start licking a blood on the floor like a vampire licking prey's blood and he pretty enjoying it because he slaughtering a family.

1 hour ago the father, the mother and a 11 year old child was inside the house and watching a horror movie until they heard a window glass breaking and the father and the mother who have is epithet but the child don't. The father is ready to use his epithet to defent his family and house but when he go up the second floor they hear a blood curling scream until the scream vanish and the mother was worried about it and she is about the protect her child until they heard a eerie noice that they never heard but yet terrified noice. It's sound like a tree creakling noice while they hear a tentacle noice and a creepy insectoid noice that sound like a very tall insect but the mother wasn't scared enough because her epithet is more powerful than her husband and the weird noice getting closer and closer and her mother start using her epithet to attack the creature but everything goes silence and she looking around until she heard her child start crying and the mother look at the child and she wss terrified. Her child crying and it saying help while a tall insectoid creature holding the child and the insectoid creature was epithet who holding the mother's child but someone isn't right. His body was covered by fleshy tentacle and his left face was covered of something else and it's looking like a alien looking parasite holding his left face and his left hand become a fleshy tentacle and holding the child really hard and he start grinning and smile sinisterly at the mother.

The mother, what are you and give me back my child now😡

Epithet say nothing but he keep smile.

The Mother, WHAT DO YOU WANT YOU BASTARD AND WHAT HAPPEN TO MY HUSBAND😡

Epithet keep smile until he say something.

Epithet, your epithet😈

The mother, what😰

Epithet, your husband was taste quite good but I was wonder how your epithet taste like😈 execpt your child😮‍💨 your child was pretty dissapointment😒

The mother, DON'T YOU DARE CALL MY CHILD A DISSAPOINTMENT���😡😡

The mother use her epithet to attack epithet but he just eat her attack and he was right because it's taste better than her husband and then he throw the child at the mother and he dissapered in the darkness and the mother hug the child but she was perparing to attack epithet again because she still her the noice and epithet's laugh and the mother told her child to stay behind her and focus the noice that epithet make. Her heart start to race of stress and fear until the noice stop and she's terrified now until she hear something rushing at her and she quickly look back but she was too late because she saw epithet's tail make a form of a sting and stab her back and then epithet grab the mother's right arm and ripping it and when she screaming of pain she see epithet's tail look at her and start drooling of hunger and it consume her and the child was terrified like her mother because the child see his mother consuming by epithet while epithet laughing of another victory and the mother scream because slowing and quietly until everyone goes silence and the child was terrified but epithet look at the child menacingly.

Epithet, poor mundie you😈 if you had epithet like your parent😈 you would be with your family inside of me but unfortunatly you don't have a epithet👿 so i'm going to do the fun way😈

Epithet start laughing and being to slaughtering the child and the child scream of pain and sorrow when it lost his parents and now everything goes silence and epithet lick all blood from the parent but when he is done licking it he open the cabinet and grab a wine glass and he start squeezing the mother's right arm like a lemon and then he sitting the couch and drinking like when he drinking a wine and watching his favourite serie in the tv and relaxing drinking it.

Meanwhile when e.m.i.l, epithet squad and team defective relaxing drinking beverage they hear a door open and when they see who is coming they was terrified that epithet was covered by blood and he look like he have a good time and everyone was quiet of fear and epithet was confused.

Epithet, what are you guys look at🤨

B.E: S, you have something in your uhhhh😟 everything😰

Epithet, oh this🤨 naaah it's just nothing😏 also what are you guys doing🤨

B.E: Q, uuh watching tv and drinking hot cocoa😰

Epithet look disgusted.

Epithet, ew😒 what kinda idiot who make those liquid shit😒 if I meet who made those "hot cocoa" I will kill that person and I will kill it family😡

Indus look down his hot cocoa he made and throwing it.

Lorelai, oh come on have you ever taste it😒

Epithet, no😑

Lorelai, then why not you can taste it😏

Epithet, ew😠 no😡 why would i commit suicide😒

Lorelai, what a matter😏 are you a chicken😏

Epithet, hay i don't know what gonna happen to me😠 but I refuse to drink this😡

Lorelai, please epithet🥺 can you taste a sip of this delicious warm hot cocoa🥹

Epithet was more disgusted when lorelai try to do bunny eyes so he take a cup of hot cocoa so that he don't want to see this disgusting eyes and he see a little bit of hot cocoa and his face is full of regret and feel he need to vomit.

Epithet in mind, ugh if I die i will come back as a ghost and haunt lorelai for good😡

Epithet is ready to drink it and he drink all hot cocoa without take a break till it's empty.

Epithet, there😠 are you happy now😡

Lorelai, and did you died😏

Epithet, I😡 don't know☹️ huh☹️ that's weird🤨 i thought something is going to happen to me🫤

Everyone look at epithet shocked that they saw someone died.

Epithet, what🙁 why everyone look at like at me again🤨

It's turn out that epithet flowing his eyes and mouth and his body start small opening and flowing out something brown and hot liquid if it look like a hot cocoa.

B.E: S, uhh sir😟 i think you have something in your face😰

Epithet touching his face and he see his finger that covered of brown hot liquid and smelling it and turns out that it is hot cocoa flowing out of his body.

Epithet, what the fu-

Epithet start feeling nausea and he start vomiting out a right arm.

The mother who try to escape epithet's mouth,

HELP US😫 SAVE US😫

Epithet, oh no you don't😠

Epithet summoning two fleshy tentacle try to stuff inside her arm back to his mouth and epithet try to swallow inside if it's look like trying to not vomit and then he swallowing it.

Everyone, 😨

Epithet, .................

That's it😑 i'm taking a shower😤😮‍💨😒

(The end)

[patchofhope]

pspssp let me hear about ur rewrites

Ok in honor of it being 413 im gonna actually sit down and share some of my personal changes that will be made to Homestuck Lore. One day I'll actually do an ENTIRE rewrite (because rewriting things, as in ACTUALLY writing them, makes me so goddamn happy u don’t even know) but heres some of the major changes. (Apologies for any grammar mistakes, my brains on full zoomies mode)

There are more than two fuschia bloods at a time, and traditionally, they're supposed to duke it out by a certain age to decide who becomes the heir(ess), but by the point the story takes place, it's more or less accepted that a lot of fuschia bloods just… don't want to do that? So they don’t. some hide out as anons, some just don't bother to turn up. The reason Fef's the heiress is bcus she basically turned off every fuschia blood in the area from fighting bcus of how sweet she is (and probably unintentionally stopping a couple assassination attempts in the process). It also helps since Gl'bgolyb is around, but that’s besides the point.

Vriska finally gets to be 'literal child in a really shitty situation with horrible influences doing what she thinks is right but is proved wrong later on and learns from her mistakes' instead of just 'hurr hurr vriska bad' bcus seriously I hate the way her character was handled

Gamzee is no longer just a haha funnie clown troll who go crazy and instead his mental wellbeing is taken seriously because it pisses me off endlessly that him 'snapping' is treated with the same amount of 'respect' as a serial killer in a shitty horror movie. No. Actual mental decline and recovery for you because attention to detail (even if it does nothing but make me, and maybe a few others, happy) is one of my beloveds.

I'm probably gonna change up the entire genetics for trolls too since the 'genetic behaviour' stuff that’s in canon just… That is Wrong and I shouldn’t have to explain why. Also just because I wanna throw in more spice to break up the monotony of grey, and actually paying attention to their biology instead of treating it like a joke is one way to do that. (seriously, what animals do you know are just. Grey. Like just one shade of grey with no features.) And bcus I get WAY into the actual internal biology of any species I make/touch to the point where I literally plot out how their organs rest in their body.

The dancestors actually get the respect they deserve as individual characters, instead of being walking stereotypes.

The carapacians get ACTUAL LOVE because HOOHOO INSECTOID PEOPLE??? ILL GLADLY WORK WITH THAT!!!

Midnight Crew + Felt get a better story (still time shenanigans, but I'll actually keep a fucking timeline of events, because it always loses me). Oh, and each one gets a proper personality instead of 4 of the Felt feeling like the same character copy pasted. (Its unfair. You will not do that to my squishes)

The kids get complete reworks, and along with it comes NEW potential points of conflict. And also Genderfluid!June who realizes it p early on because, while I may dislike HS2 greatly, June is… beloved to me. But I still love og John. So why not have both?

I will love each and every character in this goddamned webbed comic because the creator sure as fuck didn't. Stories for everyone. Everyone gets a resolution of some sort. EVEN DAVE. ESPECIALLY DAVE.

THE SPRITES WONT BE FORGOTTEN THE SECOND THEY STOP BEING USEFUL???? SERIOUSLY WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT.

And finally, because thinking of so many things at once causes space brain, the world will actually be built. Because above biology and character interactions, the thing I love most is fleshing out the areas around them. No more 'Lands getting mentioned once and not being relevant ever again'. Every single land will be visited at least once. It's a long enough story, there's plenty of time. (this mostly means a lot more time spent on the Troll's session, because I genuinely wanted to know what they were all up to before the meteor.) Theres a whole bunch more, but I can't just sit here and keep writing this forever so, I'm cutting it shorter than I want to. (infodumping go brrrr)

[celestias-right-hoof-mas-au]

WARNING: As I mentioned in the previous chapter, this story is based on an adult parody of MLP called The Mentally Advanced Series. I would encourage that if you had not watched it to do so to get a grasp of the world in which this takes place. Many of the jokes, lore, and otherwise are in reference to MAS, not just simply My Little Pony. I have also made a supercut that includes every reference and appearance of Celestia in the series. In case watching the entire MAS series maybe too time consuming. If you find Celestia, or other canon characters, used in crude and unpleasant depictions offensive, this is your warning. However, I would appreciate that you take a look anyway with an open mind.

Celestia Supercut Link

< Previous ☼ Next >

  Days passed with bootcamp still on the horizon. Valiance’s mind was evermore focused on the possibility of becoming one of Celestia’s finest. In preparation for her big day, and to calm her nerves, Valiance exercised vigorously. Not a morning passed where she didn’t run, strength trained, or practice the little amount of spells she knew.

   A blaring ringing stirred Valiance awake from her slumber. She groggily reached her hoof to tap the all too familiar alarm clock before rubbing the sleepiness away from her eyes. With a deep breath, and a small rocking of herself, she was up and out of bed in a jiffy. Any residual tiredness she might’ve felt was quickly washed away with an ice cold splash of water and the freshness one gets from brushing their teeth.  

   As Valiance stretched about her stiff muscles before her daily morning run, she halted to a stop. Her ears flicked back and forth when met with a low rumbling noise in the distance. The once peaceful silence of the cool early morning was violently shattered as a loud explosion rang between the buildings. The birds outside screeched and scattered away as the sky blackened with an ominous cloud. Valiance rushed towards the window and peered out to see what was happening.

   "What in Equestria was that?!" Valiance gasped. Had something gone wrong with the weather production? That thought was immediately thrown out the window when the storm cloud began to speed towards the castle, appearing sentient in nature. Squinting her eyes, Valiance's jaw dropped at her revelation.

   It wasn’t a cloud at all, it was a swarm made of thousands of invaders. Their porous chiton and glass wings left no room for doubt.

   “Changelings?! I thought Celestia had them all eradicated?!” Valiance exclaimed as she grabbed her helmet. After a brief moment to change into her armor, Valiance unsheathed her weapon, an ornamented halberd, and rushed outside. Chaos flooded the streets of Canterlot as ponies desperately attempted to evade the parasitic menace. The empty husks of what was once the good ponies of Canterlot were scattered in the streets.

   Valiance shuddered and cut through an alleyway. There, she witnessed the horror of the changeling's feeding habits. The creature huddled over an unconscious pony with its tongue like proboscis sucking the fluids out of its victim's neck. It has been said that the changelings could survive solely off of the emotion of love. However, there was no evidence of that as far as Valiance saw, and she had no intentions of finding out such rumors.  

   The amber glow of her magic slowly powered up and took possession of her halberd. The creature’s unblinking eyes snapped onto Valiance’s position, before the changeling soldier could even react, the long piercing thorn of Valiance’s weapon ripped into its skull like a hot fork stabbing into butter. Its back leg and wings twitched as the rest of its body slumped over and detached itself from the pony beneath it. Valiance rushed over towards the victim, who she could now see was a stallion, and looked him over to inspect the severity of his injuries.

    The pony wore heavy darkened bags underneath his eyes, protruding cheekbones and colorless cracked lips. Despite his gaunt appearance, Valiance noted his pulse was still relatively steady and his breathing wasn’t too faint. She concluded that the stallion would survive and hid him behind some trash bins so no other changeling would find him before he woke.

   In no time at all, Valiance had reached the castle grounds. The front gates were left open and unattended. The quietness in that moment was eerily contrasted by the screams in the distance. Without hesitation, Valiance sprinted into the grounds with a burning spirit and a molten heart.

   "Help! Anypony, please!" Shrieked a pink and raspberry pony as she was being roughly carried away by a pair of changelings.

   Higher and higher they climbed into the sky when suddenly, one of the changelings let out a guttural screech. Valiance's halberd embedded into the stomach of the changeling with a sickening crunch.

   With its comrade dead, the remaining changeling released the little unicorn from its weakened grip. The unicorn screamed and shut her eyes as she plummeted towards the ground, but instead of crashing to her death, her body came to a sudden stop. Slowly peeking through her glasses with persian blue eyes, she found herself encased in amber magic.

   But to her surprise, her gaze was not met by another carapaced equine, instead, she was met by an enormous pale mare. The stranger's body and face was obscured by a strikingly unique set of armor she had never seen from any of the castle staff, or Canterlot for that matter, and although intimidating, she felt comfort from the mysterious horse who was protectively holding her away from the monster with glazed compound eyes. Gently, the pony found her footing on the cool grass and the magic slowly faded away.

   “Go, I’ll keep him busy while you escape.” Valiance ordered.

   “W-well what about you?!” the pink unicorn replied in desperation.

   “There’s no time, get somewhere safe. I can handle this.” Valiance implored with a more stern tone. The small pony hesitated momentarily and adjusted her glasses. Then, she made a break for it, ashamed of abandoning her savior.

   The remaining changeling, knowingly outmatched, let out a piercing shriek. The familiar buzzing of changeling wings came from all directions as reinforcements surrounded Valiance. It did not matter, however, as Valiance made short work of them all.

   Once her adversaries had been disposed of, Valiance made her way to the front of the castle. Though she had no idea how the changelings accomplished it, they had blown a massive hole where the entrance to the castle would be. Inside wasn’t much better, with the changelings’ filthy webbing covering the walls and ceiling. Before she could continue onwards she noticed very subtle movement coming from the larger mountains of webbing. Using the spear tip of her weapon, she carefully cut open one of the mounds. When suddenly, a guard’s head popped out from inside. The royal guard let out a choking gasp, desperately coughing for air as he violently wriggled from the grotesque wrapping.

   “Oh thank Celestia, you found me! I couldn’t imagine the meal they’d make out of me if you hadn’t come!” The grey stallion cheered profusely as his body was hauled out of its confines by Valiance’s magic.

   “Are you alright? Can you stand on your own?” Valiance asked, offering a shoulder to lean on.

   The pony patted himself lightly and clicked his hooves on the floor, “Seems like I’m good to go!”

   “Great. Help me get everypony else out of these pods.” Valiance urged, pointing to the other pods in the room. With a quick nod, the stallion rushed over and began peeling his comrades out of their wrapping. Free from their binds, the soldiers pawed the ground aggressively, eager for a second chance against the parasites who had hit the heart of their home.

   “Thanks for saving our hides, soldier. Did you just roll into town?” asked the chief officer of the group.

   “Just signed up the other day, sir.” Valiance saluted, straightening her posture.

   “Well, hells bells, sorry to hear that, private. But at this point we need all the hooves we can get. Head over to the west wing where the castle staff have holed up. That’s where the rest of the new recruits are as well. The rest of us are gonna go exterminate these bugs, ain’t that right, boys?!” the officer commanded, his band cheering and war ready. No sooner did Valiance break apart from the team did she gallop away towards her destination. The further she headed west, the dimmer and more rotten the castle became. It was as if everything the changelings touched became corrupted. Eventually she came to a hall where the doors had been sealed shut. So corroded and splintered were the doors, that Valiance believed she had found what she was looking for. She pried the remains of the doors open, hoping some survivors were still within.

   However, there were none. Valiance’s heart dropped at what she found instead. Like flies on a rotting carcass, the room was full of changelings and podded victims lay scattered on every surface.

   The freshly made pods glowed with a luminescent green and were just bright enough to see what lay inside. Within them were ponies in various forms of digestion. Some had their innards pouring out of themselves and others were torn apart by changeling grubs who feasted upon them. Nopony was spared, for in the farthest corner of the room lay a much smaller pod than the rest. Inside, floated the curled up body of a filly. Just as Valiance had made her horrific discovery, so too did the changelings take notice of her presence.

   With barely enough time to draw her weapon, Valiance was bombarded by insectoid bodies. She cleaved her halbert into their shells and slashed at their soft underbellies. Yet even still, they kept coming and piling onto her. Her vision blurred from the shifting bodies and she felt them crawling everywhere attempting to pry her armor off. Desperately, Valiance stomped and kicked, but to no avail. Her legs began to buckle from their biting and stabbing, so much so, that the pain kept her from using any advanced spells to get away. Even teleportation was useless as the growing cloudiness in her mind prevented her from deciding on a direction.

   The changelings began to drag her into the ground. Valiance was exhausted and her vision tunneled to a pinpoint. Just when all hope was lost, a blinding light pierced through the skittering changelings, in the blink of an eye, their forms evaporated into dust. Through her helmet and darkening vision, she could faintly make out the silhouette of an ethereal equine. The large pony slowly came closer and closer before Valiance’s world went completely black.

[feastofcadavers]

"So... I know you like your sciences... but which one?" Mint was happy with the situation at hand was progressing. The two of them were talking for such a short time, but it was nice to see Aloe contented. Sure, they weren't smiling or anything, but at least they weren't grimacing or scoffing at his words as they usually did. "Well... I typically have kept myself in the realms of biology, though I have more skills in psychology due to past experiences..." Ah, 'past experiences'? Mint hesitated to press on this topic, but... He supposes curiosity got the best of him in this regard. "So what did spur you into taking up psychology?"

A single glare got him to shrink back in his seat. Right. Never ask about the past. "We are staying here and obtaining sustenance to avoid the past. I suggest you do not pry about me unless I begin the topic first. Asking such is akin to asking you what made you take up the violin."

"Well, uh, I-I can answer that if you want..." It wasn't that charged of a question for him, truly. "I see..." It wasn't a yes or no answer that the researcher gave, but it was one that would be enough for him to go on. After all, it lightened that glare into a curious gaze. Huh... With how little Aloe's expression typically changed, maybe he was getting used to the little quirks of expression they did give. They weren't the first time Mint dealt with a phlegmatic figure. "In that case, uh- I kind of picked it up after I tried playing the trumpet... Or was it the french horn?" It was some type of brass instrument, for sure, but the specifics slipped his mind. It's been so long... Even he couldn't recount the years he's been playing. "I knew I wanted to be a musician since I was little, but I never could figure out what type of music I wished to make... My parents wished for me to play in orchestras, but... I felt like I was blending in too much." There was a sigh, a sentimental one, as Mint paused. He... Wasn't sure if he wanted to recount his parents and their antics. "Let us just say that after a conversation turned sour, I unwillingly was made into a soloist... It was an unforgettable experience, playing on the streets and seeing the adoration I received from my work and mine alone... Honestly, I was quite proud to make a living after I-"

"Hold on a moment."

"Huh?"

It was with mild urgency that Aloe had caught his attention. The green-haired fellow gingerly waved their hand towards the 'STAFF ONLY' door, where there was a... Far more than simply a surprising sight. That doll- Spinny was it-? "It... It's walking..." Mint murmured, being as silent as he could while keeping his volume high enough for Aloe to hear. It was with bated breath that the two watched that little mess of stitching and fabric nudge open the door and waltz right through, with a small squeak of the door as it closed behind it- er- her? Though there was chatter, the two heard nothing more than silence from what they just saw. "What... How..." Mint couldn't process it entirely, turning back to the other with an expression that could only be described as absolutely bamboozled.

"There would be no logical way for such a thing to move... Dolls... Things such as those shouldn't be alive to d- Ah, Mint!" The analyst shot themself up as casually as they could make it out to be. The musician was already making his way towards the door, which wouldn't bode well for either of them. "What are you doing?!" Their voice was stern but whispered. Nevertheless, Mint shook out of their grip and looked back at them. "That doll means a lot to the owner, clearly, so wouldn't it be concerning if she suddenly saw that it was gone? Shouldn't we go get it for her?"

"As if she would not have known it could do such a thing..."

"Then we could search out of suspicion of dark forces! Or at least... to try and learn why it's going back there..."

As much as Aloe hated to agree with Mint's actions that could land them in far more trouble than the knowledge would be worth... The thirst to know more about practically anything did spur them onwards. "Fine," they gave in, standing up the rest of the way from their seat and following the other. They returned to their standard demeanor, though there was just the smallest tinge of worried irritation within them. "However, if something were to happen to either of us... The blame falls upon you."

"Yes, I understand that... Now come on, before the thing gets too far away for us to catch...!"

Thus, the two followed, trying to seem as casual as possible despite how hurried the violinist was. Aloe couldn't help but sigh to themself while the shorter of the two opened the door, hoping that they wouldn't be tried for any criminal charges like trespassing. They didn't know any legal jargon, which would only make things worse if they happened to- "OH MY TREE-" Mint exclaimed in horror, quickly covering his mouth to prevent his already startled voice from letting out any other sounds. The researcher squinted, following the musician in to find... Uh... Something that would certainly mark this as more gruesome than the mansion's kitchen.

This room, this butcher's shop of a room, left nothing to the imagination. The walls were lined with splatters of red, most of which was dried and darkened. Though the floors were... Not as lucky. Portions of the floor were soaked and coated in the dim crimson, some of which even brought to more of a blackened area where the tiled floor let the fluid seep into the crevices. The worst offender was beneath one of the tables set between boxes upon boxes of labeled body parts... Which beheld a seemingly fresh carcass upon it. Torn open, coated in that terrible red, organs exposed and draped out as if simply moved out of the way... "I-I... I think I'm g-going to be..." Mint easily lost his balance, though was kept standing by Aloe holding him in one arm as a support. The maze of gore that his mind couldn't process just... Churned his stomach into irritated mush. It took all of the will he had to not lose his lack of lunch. How the pungent scent in the air didn't get to him like the rest of this place was a mystery to him, but it... It was a sight Mint couldn't keep his eyes open much longer to see. His hand shifted from his mouth to his eyes, body trembling.

"It seems that this place is... Meant to be where the more gruesome food is prepped..." Aloe wasn't nearly as perturbed, though their stomach disliked this for... A different reason. It was a reminder to their body that they needed to eat. As painstaking as it was to ignore it with the surroundings, at least there was solace in the fact that... Oh, there's the doll. "There you are, miscreant," they snipped, "you have caused us enough trouble." They took a moment to nab up the doll, not caring all too much for how they held Spinny, and caring far more for holding Mint up. It was a slightly awkward process since they had to release the queasy musician for a moment and catch him before he fell, but leave it to Aloe to have surprising dexterity when it counts.

Giving the room another once-over, the researcher scanned the gore-stuffed boxes that lined the floor. "Hearts, intestines, bones, arm meats, leg meats..." Though they weren't the most specifically categorized, it was enough to show that there certainly was some experience in harvesting bodies for their parts. "Please-" A shy voice begged, which caught Aloe's attention. Mint was... Shaking. Worse than usual. "Stop- Stop reading them off... I can't-..." Ah, right, there were those more sensitive than the present. It was unusual, but the multi-eyed intellectual found their chest just a bit tight hearing the other barely holding themself together. "I... My apologies, let us get out of here before-"

"-Before what? You become the next delicious meal?"

The squeal that Mint gave with an already weakened heart was something that could pierce ears if it weren't for the fact that it was now Aloe covering his mouth. "That- That is highly not suggested." Aloe retorted, though their usual composure was slacked just a smidge by the surprise. There stood the sandwich maker, a wide grin on her face as she held the sandwiches- stacked by plate, sandwich, plate, sandwich- in one hand. The other rested on her hip, as if this was nothing more than a minor nuisance. "Really, huh? You waltz in and see what only I should see, and expect to just come out fine and dandy? Well, I guess you would be fine... Fine and delicious!" The twisted giggles of a madwoman rang in the two's ears, which only caused Aloe to flinch as Sandwich gave a quick little spin to snatch Spinny from the tallest's hand. "And don'tcha even think about running! This sweet little smile can make it look like you two were the crazy ones!"

"Please, if you would just listen-" Aloe tried to reason, though was caught off-guard by the sound of a butcher's knife being brought before them. Aimed towards their head. The only other attention they had was to the trembling form they still held close. "Wanna keep that mouth shut before I turn it into garnish?" Spoken with an everlasting grin, Sandwich clearly wasn't one to listen to easily. "No, I will not! Do you wish to become ill from cursed flesh?!" With a step back, Aloe let themself shift the musician behind their back. They even took off their cloak, draping it over Mint as they listened in on the laughter from the sandwich slicer. "Oh come on, you think I'm going to believe you? 'Cursed flesh'? What are you, some kinda researcher against the bloodsuckers? It's not like it's cure... a... ble?"

The buzzing of wings brought the somewhat pompous speech to a halt. Accompanied by a pained hiss from the one who spread their wings, Sandwich slowly came to realize what she was faced with. "Woah... So you weren't kidding?" The surprise soon turned to excitement as she processed the fact that this customer of her's had the insectoid wings that she was always glad to see, as if Sandwich's moods weren't already changing on a dime. "Oh! This is great! I can't believe you two are actually like me!! No wonder Spinny seemed so nervous, hehe!" With the confusing observation of the taller and worried staring from the shorter, the bread slicer paid no mind to either of their reactions as they set both the sandwich plates and the hulking knife down. She gave a bow to the two, grinning from ear to ear while the doll she'd nabbed up had somehow got itself upon and stuck to the redhead's shoulder. "Sorry about that! I just get super antsy when someone tries to find me out! Now, ah! I should probably make you two different sandwiches, huh?"

Though it was jarring, Aloe shook off what was the utter ridiculousness and sudden change in atmosphere. "Uh... I suppose? There is no need to do so, in all honesty. The most we'd like is to leave here and get back to normality since Mr. Choco here isn't very fond of-"

"Nonsense! Here, there's a door just to your right! It's all clean and spiffy for people like you two!" Sammy motioned in the specified direction, and if it was as she described, the other side would be quite jarring... "And don't worry about the costs, it's on the house! Just head on through, and we can talk later!"

"If you are sure of such..."

"Triple sure! Now go, go, go! I have fresh sandwiches to slice and dice up!"

[snappedsky]

Borderlands: Skies the Bodyguard 3

The Crimson Raiders finally catch up with Skies.

*Links to previous and next chapters in reblog*

--

Chapter 18

           Three buzzards fly across the ocean, carrying Lilith and the Crimson Raiders. She carefully watches the map on her ECHO device, making sure they’re going the right way, as they approach an island.

           “Look!” Mordecai exclaims, pointing to a flying vehicle parked on the coast. They land the buzzards nearby and examine it.

           “What a piece of junk,” Gaige comments.

           “It is empty,” Zer0 observes.      

           “They must be on the island,” Lilith says.

           “Wait, listen,” Axton orders.

           Everyone’s quiet for a moment and they hear gunfire in the distance.

           “Gunshots,” Maya states as everyone draws their weapons.

           “Sounds like we’re late for the party,” Salvador grins.

           “Meat,” Krieg chuckles darkly and everyone jogs into the trees. They only make it a short distance before they’re ambushed. Shock blasts hit the ground at their feet, narrowly missing them as everyone leaps backwards.

           “Guardians!” Maya exclaims as the insectoid creatures emerge from the shadows.

           “Some party,” Mordecai scoffs and they open fire.

           Meanwhile, not too far away, Skies, Timothy, August, Claptrap, and Gortys race around the trees and buildings. They dodge the guardians’ attacks while firing off some of their own, their bullets barely wounding the creatures.

           “Gah! What are these things?” August snaps.

           “Guardians! They guard the Vaults,” Claptrap replies.

           “This is the first time I’ve seen them in person,” Skies remarks.

           “Not me and I’m not a huge fan,” Timothy adds.

           “What do we do?” Gortys asks frantically.

           “Just keep moving!” Skies orders.

           They continue rushing around the abandoned facility but are forced to skid to a stop. Five guardians are standing in their way, blocking them off. They try to go back but four more jump down, surrounding them.

           “Aw, crapsicles,” Timothy squeaks.

           Skies snarls and starts to draw a grenade from her coat. But before she can throw it, the guardians attack. They all fire electrically charged blasts. Skies, Timothy, and August do their best to dodge but there’s nowhere to go and they’re all hit. They cry out in pain as the shocks travel through their bodies before collapsing.

           Claptrap and Gortys remain unharmed, the guardians seemingly uninterested in them. They just watch in horror as their friends pass out around them.

           The guardians chitter with satisfaction before approaching. Claptrap and Gortys look up at them in a panic as they get closer and closer. Then Claptrap spots the grenade Skies had in her hand.

           He quickly grabs it, pulls the pin, and shouts, “I’m a Vault Hunter too!” as he tosses it into one of the groups. It goes off, splitting into multiple smaller grenades which also explode.

           Most of the guardians are taken out in the blasts and the survivors are startled into backing away, giving the robots a chance to escape.

           “Grab August!” Claptrap orders as he pulls both Skies and Timothy onto his head.

           “Ah, o-okay!” Gortys squeaks and hoists Augusts onto her head.

           Together, the two robots make a break for it, dragging their unconscious friends away from the remaining guardians.

           “We need a place to hide,” Claptrap whimpers and spots a door with a glowing control panel. “Here!” He skids to a stop, pushes the button, and the door jerks open, dust falling away as it slides into the wall. “Inside!”

           Gortys follows him inside and he quickly closes the door.

           The building is small, just one room with no windows. There’s one large computer that appears to be on standby, the blank screen dimly illuminating the room.

           Claptrap and Gortys lay their friends on the metal floor. All three of them remain unconscious and unresponsive.

           “They’re not waking up,” Gortys points out.

           “I know,” Claptrap replies.

           “What do we do?”

           “I don’t know!”

           They both cry out in a panic and race around in circles, exclaiming, “what do we do? What do we do?”

           Suddenly, a compartment on the computer console opens up and something flies out. It hits Claptrap in the head, interrupting his fit. When he stops to look at it, he exclaims happily.

           “Insta-health!” he squeals and picks up three syringes.

           “Huh?” Gortys questions.

           “Here! Stab this into August’s neck,” Claptrap orders.

           “Wha-! But I don’t wanna hurt August,” she argues.

           “No, no, this will help him!” he insists, “just do it, hurry!”

           Gortys hesitates but obliges and jabs the syringe into August’s neck while Claptrap does the same for Timothy and Skies. Immediately, the three of them gasp awake and shoot up.

           “You’re okay!” Gortys cries happily, hugging August.        

           “Ugh, my head,” Skies groans and looks around. “Where are we?”

           “We saved you,” Claptrap states as he and Gortys stand proudly before them. The three of them stare at the robots with shock.

           “Really. Well, uh…good work, then,” Skies comments.

           “Thanks,” Gortys chimes.

           “Alright, what now?” August asks as they stand up.

           “We gotta find the others,” Skies replies.

           They all perk up at the sounds of gunshots just outside.

           “Oh, maybe that’s them,” Timothy says and opens the door. Outside they see the guardians getting shot at before Brick bursts out of the trees and punches one in the head. He turns towards the open door and spots them.

           “Found ya!” he exclaims.

           “Brick!” Skies squeals.

           He charges them, laughing victoriously.

           “Close it, close it!” Skies cries, frantically slapping at Timothy’s hand before hitting the control panel. The door slams shut just as Brick swings his fist. He hits the door, denting the metal inches from Timothy’s face.

           “Whoa,” he peeps.

           Before Brick can have a chance to open the door, Skies shoots the control panel with her pistol. They soon hear him cursing outside.

           “Who is that?” Timothy asks.

           “Let’s just say for now, he really doesn’t like us,” Skies replies, “well, me. Mostly me.”

           “How did they find us?” August asks.

           “I don’t know, I don’t know,” she says, panicked as she grips her head. “Argh, I don’t what to do! We’re trapped and Brick’ll smash through that door in no time.”

           As if to prove her point, Brick punches the door again, creating another dent and making everyone cry out in fear.

           “Oh, what did I get myself into,” Timothy whimpers as he backs away.

           “We’re gonna have to fight our way out,” August says.

           “I don’t like our chances but you’re right,” Skies nods.

           They ready their weapons and wait tensely for Brick to break through the door. But then they hear an odd scraping, like metal on metal.

           “What’s that?” Skies asks as they look around.

           “Look!” Gortys exclaims, pointing at the floor. A small section has shifted, revealing an open space beneath. It scrapes against the rest of the floor as it tries to open wider.

           “A secret door?” Skies questions as she and the boys quickly kneel down and pull it the rest of the way open. Beneath is a dark tunnel that goes straight underground.

           “I can’t see where it goes,” Timothy says, “what if it’s dangerous?”

           They all jump as Brick punches the door again.

           “I’d rather deal with whatever’s down there than Brick,” Skies declares.

           “Okay, so who’s first?” Claptrap asks.

           To answer, Skies pushes him into the hole. Then, with reckless abandon, everyone else jumps in after him and the door, seemingly on its own, slides close.

[ask-marcus-cally-and-ari]

Only Human

Chapter 8: Licking Their Wounds 

"What do you think happened to them?" 

“I don’t know. Are they dead?” 

“I don’t know. Check the boy’s pulse.” 

The first thing Marcus felt upon regaining consciousness was a cold hand on his neck, and given the events of the previous day, one could hardly blame him for freaking out. And opening his eyes to see someone in an oddly dressed face mask and a Sniper outfit? That just worsened his mood. He drove a foot into the man’s gut, rolled away, and drew his gun, pointing it at the man, who also had a very large companion wearing a pot. 

“My friends and I had a very bad day yesterday. If you don’t want me to take it out on you, you’ll tell me who you are, what you’re doing here, and why you were touching me,” he hissed, glaring. 

“Gah-!” The masked figure grunted, falling on his back. “F_cking OW! I was just checking your pulse, kid!” 

“Like hell you were!” came the reply. “You with them? You here to kill us, too?!” 

“What? No! We just stumbled across you a few minutes ago!” The man with a pot on his head exclaimed. 

Marcus looked at him. “Who are you two?” 

“I’m Spyper,” The masked man grunted, stumbling to his feet. “This is my friend, Intelligent Heavy.” 

“Let me guess. Freaks?” Marcus asked, keeping the gun trained on Spyper. 

“Yeah, we’re Freaks. Why?” 

Marcus took a step to the side, shielding Cally and Ari’s sleeping forms. “Wanna guess why we had a bad day yesterday?” 

“I can guess. Run in with hostile Freaks?” 

“Yeah. Tried to kill us and gassed a room full of choir girls. And apparently all this is over something that someone wrote or said would happen in the future.” 

Spyper and Intelligent Heavy glanced at each other, then back at the trio. 

“Ok, that just sounds bad. But look, we’re not here to hurt you,” Spyper said, raising his hands. 

Marcus opened his mouth to respond, but a quiet groan interrupted him. “Marcus? Who are you talking to? Where are we?” 

Marcus tensed. “Don’t worry about it, Ar.” 

Spyper frowned and leaned to look past Marcus to Cally and Ari, and then winced. “Your friend doesn’t look too good,” He grimaced, pointing out the wound on Callys head. 

“We fell off that,” Marcus replied, indicating the ledge. 

“I have bandages in my van,” Spyper said carefully. “I’m just going to get them. You stay here.” 

Marcus moved to shield Cally, then nodded, equally cautious. 

Ari, not cautious at all, approached Intelligent Heavy. “Hi! I’m Ari! What’s your name?” 

“I’m Intelligent Heavy,” The big Freak replied. 

“Nice to meet you!” Ari smiled and stuck their hand out. 

“Sounds like you three had a rough day yesterday,” Intelligent said, shaking his hand. 

“Oh, yeah. I got really bad superpowers that let me feel other people’s emotions, and the first time it was used, that Australian guy and his French buddy were putting gas in a room of choir girls to turn them into Freaks,” Ari whined, her eyes shimmering blue. “It hurt so much.” 

“That sounds awful - Wait, an Australian and a French man?”

“Yeah. The Australian guy tricked me into telling him where we were, and then he tried to kill us. And the weird thing is, apparently Marcus killed him earlier! Tricked him into lowering his guard and shot him twice.” 

Marcus nodded, grumbling. “And I’d do it again.” 

Intelligent turned pale, looking over the Trio with a sort of sickly concern. “Oh no...You three were attacked by Christian Brutal Sniper and Gentlespy, two of the most infamous Freaks around.” 

Ari hesitated. “Wait, he’s a Christian? But Cally is a Christian, and she’s a good person! She’d never try to kill one of us!” 

Marcus swore under his breath. “Most infamous Freaks, huh? I guess we really do have to be important if they came after us.” 

Intelligent rubbed his neck. “I don’t know why Brutal calls himself Christian. None of us do, actually. We think he just picked the name at random. Either that or he did it to mock one of our friends, Christian Pure Spy.” 

“Sounds like that kinda @sshole,” Marcus bit out. “So do you know anything about the turning people into Freaks deal?” 

“A little. We know Brutal’s been out with Freaks like Doc Jarate to create something that could do that, but we didn’t realize that he’d already started the process.” 

“Any idea why?” Marcus asked. “And how the three of us are supposed to make that not happen?” 

“I’m not entirely sure why. All Brutal ever said was that it was for payback or something.” 

“Payback? Did someone else, like, torture him to make him a Freak? I’d gladly help him find that guy if that was the case,” Marcus said, leaning back. “No need to take out three teenagers.” 

“Well...I mean his team left him to die in a fire before he became a Freak, but he never really showed any interest in getting revenge against them. I think he wants payback against all of humanity for… something.” 

Ari whimpered. “Aw. Whatever happened to him, it must have been real bad for him to hate the world over it.” 

“Team?” Marcus asked. “He play sports?” 

“No, he was a mercenary before becoming a Freak. His team was made up of other mercenaries.” 

“Mercenary? Like Deadpool?” Ari asked. 

“What? No, a contract killer.” 

A third voice joined the conversation. “Oh, great. A hitman. I- Augh, my head is killing me.” 

“Cally’s awake!” Ari exclaimed. He ran over and knelt down beside Cally. “You ok?” 

“We ran in a magic hamster ball off a cliff. I don’t think I’m- OH MY GOSH WHO ARE YOU?!” Cally jumped upon seeing Intelligent. 

“Don’t freak out! I’m not here to hurt you!” 

Ari giggled. “Heh, freak out.” 

“My friend Spyper went to get bandages for you. Just take it easy,” Intelligent said. 

“Spyper…” Cally thought. “Another Freak. You’re another one?” 

“I am, but we’re not here to cause trouble.” 

“That’s good. We could use a breather.” Cally sat up, hissing in pain, then put her hand to her forehead. The moment she felt the sticky, wet gash on her face, she gagged. “WHEN?!” 

Marcus shrugged. “Hell if I know.” 

Ari waved at Spyper as he came back. “Hi! I’m Ari!” 

“Hey, I’m Spyper,” he waved. He crouched down next to Cally and unpacked the medkit he had. “Now just hold still, this may sting a little.” 

***

Meanwhile, at the hotel, Gentlespy was on the phone, looking very uneasy. “Uh, yes, they got away, sir.” 

“How? You are a trained assassin, how did three teenagers with no grasp on their powers get away from you?” A demonic voice hissed on the other end of the line. 

Gentle hesitated. “Would you believe me if I said the boy formed a magic hamster ball around him and his friends?” 

“...You cannot be serious.” 

“I know that sounds crazy, but that’s what happened. And given his reaction, I believe his powers did that on their own.” Gentle sighed. “I’m as confused as you are. Brutal is just angry.” 

There was a moment of silence, and painful screams echoed somewhere in the background on the other end for several minutes before the archdemon was finally back on the line.

“Did you at least convert the choir?” 

“That we did. Brutal says he can tell it hurt by both the screams and how the Heart reacted. They’re probably going to wake up in a few minutes.” 

“Find the three. Get the choir acquainted with their situation, and then find the three. Get help if you have to.” 

“Understood.” 

The person hung up, leaving Gentle to get up and head to see how the choir girls were doing. 

Passing the lobby, the Freak allowed his mouth to twitch into an amused smile upon seeing the receptionist with his eyes gouged out, a smile carved into his face, and his heart cut out, chains and hooks coming out of the hole. “Brutal clearly didn’t take losing well, did he? Eh, you’ll wake up soon anyway.” 

Coming to the room the choir girls had been locked in, Gentle was greeted with a rather disturbing sight. Each of the girls were still unconscious, and their bodies were twisted and mangled into insectoid-like forms. Gentle came up to one of the girls and dragged her to her feet before attempting to shake her awake. 

“Wake up, you have work to do,” He ordered sharply. 

The girl opened her eyes, which now looked like insect eyes. Panicked, she moved so she was crouched and a fair distance away from him. “Who are you? Where am I?” her now-monstrous voice came out in a blend of horror and rage. 

“Now just calm down, no good in freaking out,” Gentle said smoothly, raising his hands. “Me and my friend just...Made a few tweaks to you are your little choir group here.” 

The girl looked at her friends and gagged. “You did this to them? To me?! They look like... they look horrible!” 

“You actually look quite normal. For Freaks, at least.” 

“Freaks? What are those?” 

“...Of course, the people we infect don’t even know what a Freak is,” Gentle sighed, throwing up his hands. 

Another voice came in from above them. “We’re superbeings, kid.” 

“Wait, who are you?!” the girl shouted, jumping back as Brutal dropped from the ceiling. 

“Christian Brutal Sniper. You?” The Australian asked, cracking his neck. 

“...Alicia. What did you do to us?” 

“Turned you all into Freaks. I thought that was obvious,” Brutal said, looking over the choir girls, who were now coming to. 

“Wh-” Alicia blinked, holding her head and stumbling back as the other girls sat up, groaning. “What am I hearing?” 

“What am I seeing?” another girl asked, speaking in unison with her. 

“What happened to us?!” a third joined in. 

Brutal peered at the girls, a glint of creepily gleeful curiosity flickering in his eyes. “A hivemind. That’s the best Freak development yet.” 

“Hive mind?!” the girls managed, blinking as their vision and senses returned. “What are you talking about? How did- why- when-” Questions rushed out of the girls’ mouths as they looked at themselves and each other. 

“We could use this,” Gentle said pointedly, pulling Brutal aside.

“You think that I don’t know that? Give Doc Jarate a call. He’ll know how to put these girls to use.” 

Gentle grabbed his phone. “Where’s the adult that came with them?” 

“Not sure. She must have ran out before we got here.” 

Gentle shrugged. “She’s probably gonna end up causing trouble. We can bring her in then.” 

Suddenly, a horrified scream reached everyone’s ears. 

“The chains were overkill, you know,” Gentle commented. 

“Just had to be safe. Bring him here.” 

There was the sound of crashing and fighting, and then the receptionist was pulled in by the chains coming from his chest, snarling like a vicious animal. 

“Seems like an intense little bugger. What do you think his powers are?” Brutal asked, looking the mangled receptionist over. 

“I don’t know. You’ve never gouged out someone’s eyes before.” 

The receptionist moved to bite Brutal’s hand, hissing as black slime dripped from the holes where his eyes had been, falling to the floor and burning through it. 

“Never seen that before…” Brutal mused, peering at the black ooze. 

“Neither have I. He attacked with these things,” Gentle informed, holding up the chains. “And if you get his mouth open the whole way, there are so many teeth in there. Ugh.” 

“Different forms of torture lead to different results...I like this new development,” Brutal chuckled, giving a wry, unhinged grin. 

The receptionist growled, then pulled at the chains as if asking to be let go. 

“Hurry up and give Doc Jarate a call. He’ll want to hear about this.” 

** 

At Spyper’s van, Marcus, Cally, and Ari were eating scrambled eggs. 

Marcus was still watching Spyper and Intelligent like a hawk, his sharp gaze warning them away. Ari was sewing some clothes Spyper had torn, whistling cheerfully. Cally was playing chess with Intelligent. “I still can’t believe you’re so good at chess. You know how many people there are at my school who can play?” 

“How many?” The pot wearing Freak asked, moving his Rook. 

“One,” Cally grumbled. “Just one. Her name is Cally.” 

“Must suck not having anyone to play with,” Intelligent chuckled. 

“Absolutely. I had to play with a computer. Marcus keeps promising to learn, but never does.” 

“Because it’s boring,” Marcus quipped. 

"It is not!" Cally shot back. 

“It’s an acquired hobby,” Intelligent shrugged. 

“I don’t see why you don’t just change out of this,” Ari complained after poking Spyper again. “Don’t you have another outfit?” 

“Why? I look good in this!” Spyper protested. 

“I’ve poked you 4 times.” 

“I can handle it,” Spyper replied. 

“And it smells like pee.” 

“That’s one of my weapons.” 

“You use pee as a weapon?” 

Spyper grinned. “I’ll explain on the way to… where do you want to go?” 

“Anywhere,” Marcus replied. “Anywhere we can get help.” 

“You got it,” Spyper replied, heading to the wheel once Ari was finished. 

** 

The receptionist watched with nonexistent eyes as the girls asked Brutal and Gentle, “So you want to do this to everyone else?” All of them looked at the two with an intrigued, uneasy look. It was as if it was one person. 

“Yes. When everyone’s like this, it means you can do whatever you want without consequences,” Gentle grinned, looking over the new Freaks with sadistic glee. 

“Like, go out late at night?” One asked, and they all tilted their heads. 

“You poor, sweet, innocent souls,” Brutal laughed, shaking his head. “No. We Freaks have had our fun ruined by organizations like HECU for too long. It's time we got rid of them and make this world a sandbox for Freaks like us to run amuck in.” 

“Fun?” 

“Like what?” 

The girls, as one, leaned in, curious. 

“Doing what we used to do. Destroy and maim whatever and whoever we want. To have that rush of adrenaline whenever we want!” Gentle grinned crazily. 

“You kill people?” the girls asked, matching looks of worry crossing their faces. 

The receptionist scoffed decisively, indicating himself. 

“Yes. But afterwards, they’ll wake up with their own superpowers. It’s a win-win situation.”

The receptionist grabbed a Sharpie and drew an eyeroll on a wall. 

The girls tensed. “So we’re dead?” 

The receptionist growled and stormed out of the room. 

“Basically,” Gentle shrugged. 

The girls paused and closed their eyes, as if talking amongst each other mentally, then decided, “You know what? This isn’t too bad. We’re in.” 

Gentle grinned. “Good. Now, here’s what you have to do…” 

As he talked, Brutal went out to get the receptionist and found him in another room sitting in a corner in silence. 

He growled lowly when he heard Brutal approach, and the chains slowly rose in warning. 

“Oh, don’t be like that,” Brutal leered. “It’s not all bad. You’ve got powers now. That’s gotta count for something.” 

The receptionist indicated the hole in his chest and his mouth, hissing. Then he stood up, angrily pointing to himself and out a window, at the town. 

“Now just calm down. Think about this for a second. You won’t be accepted by them anymore, but you’re perfectly welcome with us Freaks.” 

The receptionist tilted his head, snarling, then went back to looking outside. The chains formed the words: I belong out there. 

“Not anymore you don’t,” Brutal said sternly. “You belong here. With us Freaks.” 

You did this to me. How am I supposed to just go with you? 

“Where else are you supposed to go? The people out there will fear you, and they’ll run the moment they see you. Us Freaks are just about the only place you can go.” 

Why do you want to do this? What did I ever do to you? What do you want? 

“Didn’t you hear my friend out there? We want to turn everyone into a Freak, because when everyone’s a Freak, no one will be able to stop us from doing what we used to do. I don’t have to worry about my fun being ruined by HECU or some other organization that decides to pop up.” 

So, anarchy? And you expect me to not only be okay with this, but help you? 

“It is your only option now,” Brutal grinned. 

The receptionist growled, but bowed his head in a silent admission that the Freak who had stripped him of his humanity and turned him into this… thing was right. 

“It’s not all bad. You’ve got powers now,” Brutal assured slyly. “Come on. Let's get you acquainted with some of the Freaks that are helping me with this plan.” 

The receptionist nodded and approached, handing Brutal the chains like a dog handing his owner his leash. 

“Doc Jarate will find a job for you. Trust me, you’ll come to love this life.” 

The receptionist nodded. 

Outside a window, a hooded figure watched the scene with a scowl, then stormed away. “Son of a b@#$h,” she muttered as she headed to a motorcycle. With a pin and scissors, she hotwired it and started it up before driving away. 

[entoman-created-by-the-tallgreys]

fuck it ..... LET’s DO THE TIME WARp AGAIN !!! ⏱

aka rocky Horror ... the Movie ! 

N o w  u  See, if all of thsi Shit the G Ray’s Told me n i Told All. 

Doesn’t Happen. Maybe i’ll Get Lucky and find a Time Machine and Warp into the FAR FAR future .... just to say fuck it and see what Happen’s Next LIGHT !!! YEAR’S BEYOND Mu Life Span .....  

i don’t give a fuck if i don’t Belong there AND ! OR if i’m fucking up the field’s of Energy in the universe MY TIME ZONE ... SUCKED !!! 

If the Grays fucked it all Up, i Don’t Dear, life a Life of Horror, rot and decay. FUCK THAT .... i’ll do what i can see if i can fine any one on the earth look for test Subject to Try out time Device on .... and Maybe ... just maybe i’ll get lucky and get to Warp far, far ! into Earth’s future .... 

[ i Only, hope thay either Can or Speak English, of the 21 Century Version ] 

[ Other Wise, i’m fuck and i’ll be a Babbling Fool, A Unintelligible idiot Spewing Out a Dead Language ... So it would = Word Salad  ] 

[ Oh ! the fucking Horror ] 

Any, Way ... i f  t h e G r a y ’ s  A g e n d a .... fail’s .... I GOT !!!! to find, Some Way to Get either out of Earth or GET THE FUCK OFF OF THE TIEM ZONE !!! FUK THIS PLACE !!! 

no Age of fire, never going to find, My Kin and the agenda is dead and most people Won’t Notice a thing. .... Also Horror ... 

My Point is .... i to a Point See the Gray’s as royally fucked ... thay May Got Giant ship’s but thay also got 99% dead gene’s and most of There body is Robotic  and Undead, Cloned flesh. it Tis Insectoid .... but it’s Undead and that is One reason thay Stink ..... there flesh is not really “Alive” to a Point i Wonder if it is Synthetic ... 

And if Some one Want’s to Argue there not Undead .. ok them .... there Extremely, extremely ... just Very Extremely Unhealthy ! ... not Undead just Leading a World record for alive and wile being the most Unhealthy .... 

Any Way ..... i Hear C.E.R.N Has got a time Machine and so do the C.I.A at Area 51. Maybe i’ll be able to get there. 

it’s Either Cide ..... Sui 

or time Machine ... and i Rather go with the fucking time Machine .... oh FUCK YA ... 

... trust me, if there is a Will ... there is a Way. and i Swear to fucking god, i Don’t Just Want to throw my Life Away .... 

becuz the world in my time HAS !!! Nothing 4 me ... it is a Alien Shit hole full of fucking Idiot’s .... 

that Get Pissed at you alot no matter what u do ... so that = Bad temper .... 

Yah ! i Need to find Some one with a fucking, Way out of thsi world and i don’t Mean drug’s .... and if it dose happen i Wonder wtf the Year Earth 5000 would be like or 20′000 Year’s into the Future !!! 

OR HELL !!! FUCK 100′000′000  Year’s in the future !!! 

I’ll Go here .... i Wanna Kno wtf Happen’s ... 

No 1 Back in My Time will believe me what i see but fuck it ... if i Can get there and the agenda is a flop, i’ll just Stay in the future take my shit and Leave. 

[gyldenglor]

Humans are Space Orcs - Sadness

They thought they had heard a human scream.

They thought they had seen a human express sadness.

They thought they had seen humans come together to support one of their pack.

They had experienced nothing.

The light in the ship was dim, indicating that many of the 50 crew were close to ending their sleep cycles.

It was silent in the usually busy halls of the relatively small ship. The ship was big enough to comfortably house the crew and equipment, but small enough to ensure that, outside of each crew members' individual quarters (a luxury that set this ship apart from most), privacy was quite a commodity.

Only a few crew members wandered throughout the ship, either performing the odd maintenance, stopping by the restroom, or perhaps simply taking an early morning stroll - a calm morning, for which many of the life forms were relieved.

With ten humans aboard that can alter their sleep cycles at will - and apparently, not at will - a calm morning was something to treasure indeed.

Any pretenses of calm were shattered, however, by something the likes of which the 40 non-human crew members had never heard - a wail of unwavering strength, one that threatened to deafen the more sensitive inhuman life forms.

Within moments, every single one of the crew were awake, puzzled and afraid.

The wail split through the air again - all life forms rushed from wherever they were to the small meeting room, fear evident on their varied features.

Even the stoic captain, a logical and precise specimen of the Kral, seemed nervous.

They all exchanged clueless stares, wondering who on their ship could possibly make such a noise.

The wail came again, and all the crew flinched - all except the humans.

The humans exchanged glances, and immediately took off, practically sprinting to the source of the cry. Immediately the non human crew began to panic.

"Was it a war cry!?" One demanded. "It sounded so…aggressive." Many of the others follow suit with their own worries as the captain struggled to maintain control.

One human, hearing the dissent, turned back to explain the scream.

"I think that was Sophie - she's REALLY upset," the anxious human explained. "It sounds like she might be hurt - Xraxis, come on, we may need you!"

Startled by the demand, but relieved that it's not a sign of aggression, the Erqal medical officer spread their insectoid wings, the rapid beats lifting their diminutive form up and propelling them forwards much faster than they could run, and at a speed that could match that of the humans' sprinting.

A handful of crew, including the captain, rushed to follow, concerned both that a fellow crew member may be injured, and that the ship may be damaged in some way.

When they finally arrived, what they saw was not at all what they expected. The human Sophie was on her knees, her eyes leaking excess water, her body shaking with heaving breaths and wails, but she seemed unharmed.

Oddly, she was holding something in her arms, but it was obscured from view by the other humans that had crowded around her, each of them seemingly mimicking her behavior, but to lesser degrees.

"Sophie - are you hurt?" Xlaxis immediately inquired, bringing up a holographic diagnostic display, tapping into the ships' myriad of medical scanners to quickly check the status of the heaving human.

"N-No," Sophie managed to choke out, burying her face into the thing she was holding, sobbing harder and harder with each passing second.

Xlaxis, the crew that had come to investigate, and the captain all hesitated to ask what, exactly, was wrong - they had never seen a human act this way, let alone humans surround another human and mimic them.

Suddenly, one of the humans stood, and sprinted right at the crew watching!

"Move - fucking move!" The human shouted. The crew assembled in the doorway were quick to comply, watching in abject horror as the human barely made it to the bathroom before violently regurgitating.

Klaxons sounded immediately, and some of the crew rushed to get full biohazard containment suits on - when humans did this, the horrifically acidic contents of their stomach could eat right through some of the less armored crew, and possibly even the ship itself!

Xlaxis moved to check on the human that had regurgitated, considering enforcing a quarantine, in case it was contagious. However, he was distracted by a glimpse of what Sophie was holding.

Now that the human had left the huddle, Xlaxis could clearly see that Sophie was holding the body of a deceased predator - something the humans called a "dog". The medical officer was familiar with this specimen - Sophie cohabitated with it in a terrifying display of human dominance.

Xlaxis rushed over. "Human, you can't be near a corpse! It could carry infection!" They reached out to take the beast away from her, but recoiled when the human absolutely SCREAMED at them.

Xlaxis stepped back, barely able to understand what the human was saying beyond the sheer volume of the exclamation. She hugged it closer, and stood, turning away from the huddle and seemingly… Talking to it?

One of the humans gave Xlaxis a terrible glare, one that led them to believe they would die within a moment.

One of the humans shoved the one glaring at Xlaxis - Xlaxis knew this one, his name was Peter - he was part of the engineering crew, and frequently came in with various inexplicable injuries. "Don't give him that look - he doesn't know what's going on." Peter stood and began gently talking to Sophie. The other human quickly apologized to Xlaxis.

After accepting the apology per human customs, Xlaxis walked over to hear what was being said. They needed to know what was going on - how else could they do their job as medical officer?

"Sophie, he's gone. And look, Xlaxis is right, you can't hold onto him like this - look, just, give him to me, okay?" Sophie violently wretched herself away from the other human. "It's okay, it's okay - I'm just gonna him on his bed, make him comfortable, put a blanket over him - see?"

All that could be seen of the dog now was the lump under the blanket, and a little bit of tail.

Weary of angering Sophie again, Xlaxis tugged on Peter's sleeve, and informed him that they should bring Sophie to the medical ward immediately, to check for infection from the body.

"Yeah - we need to get her out of here, and it'd be good for her to be alone for a bit." Peter wrapped an arm around Sophie. "Come on, let's get you to the medical bay, okay? You can lay down there and be alone for a bit - let's just let Spot be alone for a bit, okay?"

Peter silently excused himself past the aliens in the doorway. Xlaxis spread his wings again, quickly following after the humans, his tail lightly dragging on the floor.

The other humans slowly filed out, closing the door behind them to ensure the body remained undisturbed. A member of the biohazard team that had just finished cleaning the stomach acid protested when he heard what was in there.

"Look, I know, it's a biohazard - we can put him in the morgue, okay? But we can't just dispose of him."

Confused, but relieved that they could remove the hazard from the area, they quickly assisted the human with moving the corpse to the morgue of the ship - a small room, betraying the hope of the designers that it would remain a safe ship.

When Sophie, Peter, and Xlaxis arrived in the medical ward, Peter gave Sophie some water and a blanket, then calmly explained everything to Xlaxis.

"That thing was a...pet?" Xlaxis asked in hushed tones, attempting to avoid offending Sophie.

"Yeah, and she loved him - a whole lot." Tears glistened in Peter's eyes, and his lips began to quiver. "I loved him, too - he was a good boy."

With that, Peter, who had tried so hard to keep it together for the sake of his friends and the crew, started to break down, immediately hugging Sophie as they cried together. Xlaxis sat there, dumbfounded by the turn of events.

After a moment, Xlaxis felt that they had nothing to offer, so they left - and immediately went to their quarters to update the Human Guide.

------------

Entry #2,532,127

Author - Xlaxis

Race - Erqal

Chief Medical Officer serving under Captain Ky'Veen

Subject: Pack Bonding and Sadness

BEGIN REPORT

Firstly, it turns out humans cohabitate with "dogs" out of desire to do so for happiness, not to display dominance due to being able to contain a vicious predator. Clearly, it is another instance if their bizarre "pack bonding".

Furthermore, when humans pack bond with something, this emotional and illogical bond does not stop at death. In fact, one can truly observe its strength in death.

A human crew member aboard my ship had one of these dogs as a companion. It died today, and the human was screaming as if she, herself, had been killed.

All the other humans gathered immediately, and even though some of them did not have much of a connection to the animal, they all shared in the sadness.

I don't believe sadness is accurate. This was something… More. Something… Horrible. I wish to never experience the profound depths of misery my crew mate experienced today.

Despite the animal being deceased, the human treated it with such reverence and care, so much so that one would think it could die again if she weren't careful.

Truly, pack bonding is an amazing phenomena - and if a human pack bonds with you, you can be rest assured that they will, in fact, remain loyal to you beyond your death - and at this rate, possibly even their own.

END REPORT

Thank you so much for reading! This is loosely based upon my own experience, in which I found my own dog of seventeen years passed away while home on my own.

It really is an absolutely horrible experience, and I realized after reading a lot of the humans are space orcs stories that aliens would be very, very confused by the behavior - after all, everything stops with death, so surely pack bonding must as well?

[alltimewhat]

BRO I REALLY THINK S3 IS BASED OFF THE THING LET ME BREAK IT DOWN FOR U

putting under a readmore bc this is probably gonna be long im so excited over this i hurt myself flapping lmao (also its gonna likely be a huge mess bc im so bad at organizing my thoughts  lmao) ((also also there ARE pictures of the alien from the thing, which are quite... body horror-ish, so if body horror makes you uncomfortable please dont read or just be safe reading!))

-the thing has been referenced a few times in st so far, but unlike most other references, there hasnt been much in the actual PLOT thats thing-related, but it seems kinda odd for them to include it twice (mikes poster, mr clarke and his gf watching it together) if it wasnt intentional (as we know, all things in media are included for a reason)

-which also means the thing’s release date is perfectly a-okay to line up with s3 (1982, if you were wondering, but i mean. its already in the show twice so lol)

-idk if yall remember very well but at the beginning of promo and stuff for this season the duffers (or maybe shawn i honestly dont remember) said that the season was based on a film! they may have said released in 1985, if they did totally disregard this point lmao

-okok so. the thing obviously is about an alien creature that spreads like a virus and can assimilate human and animal lifeforces into itself and create a perfect copy of the creature, which obviously creates a lot of tension in the original movie but im gonna bring this back up later so

-okay so the thing is a huge staple in body horror films, as its one of the first to do a very good job of it (to be followed a few years later by the fly, which i thought may have been what s3 was based around at first until i realized it was released in 86) and the effects are very well done for what they were and for a budget of 15mil which is honestly more than i expected lmao

-why does that matter? well, another thing the duffers/shawn have said is that this season has a big jump up in the amount of gore! you know what’s pretty gory? assimilating humans and other animals into your virus-like lifeform! and eating the fuck out of them!

-another thing- the duffers have said a major character will die this season, and billy could be considered a major character, as well as being an antagonist. being assimilated into a virus alien does, in fact, kill you

-also, an important thing about the thing and its form is that the thing itself, like, the actual alien from the original movie, looks like this:

so the main like, design element im trying to point out w this... weirdly HQ image is the little crab legs, which repeat a few times in the alien’s design in the movie. the reason i point those out is because if you look at the monster in the trailer...

hmm wow those sure look like insectoid and/or crustacean-like legs dont they

and this isnt the only time the creature has spider legs in the movie if im not mistaken, and while this is from the newer thing movie and likely wont be used as reference, here’s the ice-block creature from the new thing, with the same belly legs as the new s3 monster

but, like i said, its highly highly unlikely thisll appear in s3, as its from 2007 i believe?? maybe 2011. but its still a similarity!

-aj, i hear u saying, are visual similarities and vague references all you have? kind of! but heres some more stuff: okay so the way the thing turns into creatures is by a virus-like assimilation, although the thing has to assimilate through digestion or otherwise dissolving, and i dont think this will be lifted as straight as some other pieces may be. BUT, we do know

1. there is an episode titled the bite

2. this:

so, likely, instead of needing to be dissolved to become assimilated, like the original movie, one just needs to be bitten. by what, exactly? rats, most likely. i think the creature has been assimilating rats which is why its “feeding time” and there are so fucking many rats, but also rats are known to spread diseas :-) (even though thats a stereotype, wild rats can transmit disease like any other small creature with teeth and the ability to carry a contagious disease)

-okay so lets say billy gets assimilated, so what? he gets eaten, and hes dead? that seems pointless. but no, remember that a huge amount of the tension IN the original thing comes from the fact that the thing can create a perfect copy of any creature it’s assimilated. yeah, that’s pretty obvious, so... it creates a copy of billy. thats a convincing disguise, sure! what else?

karen is attracted to billy. yes, its gross, i know, but it may have real ebaring on the plot, as much as its getting thrown around as a joke. karen is mike’s mom, mike is jane’s girlfriend. the mindflayer knows jane is its enemy.

the mindflayer uses a disguise it can pull off perfectly to get karen to give it the location of the kids (she did it once in s2, remember?), “billy” finds the kids, “billy” finds jane. the mindflayer reveals itself and tries to kill them all (lmao)

okay, that’s basically all i have to say about this lmao

i know its a HUUGE shot in the dark, seeing as there are a bunch of plot elements i havent been able to incorporate into this (the antenna, the carnival, why?? the mayor?? is trying to kill people??, why jon is in the hospital when the monster shows up, etc), but theres also a lot of evidence that i think points towards this! also, why include two deliberate, obvious thing references if theyre never gonna touch on it again, right??

[achtung-attitude]

Kilo stands up and steps over Jerome. “Yeah...” There is a sound of clanging metal that causes Tarantula to turn. Clattering on the ground is the long blade from FEEL GOOD INC., dropped from SATURN BARZ’ left hand. In its right hand, is a long, icy javelin. From Jerome’s belly, a subtle plume of steam forms as the wound solidifies into a scar.

SATURN BARZ dives into an athlete’s stance and hurls the javelin at Tarantula. FEEL GOOD INC. quickly deflects it with its blade hand, but the instant it touches it, the javelin explodes into a shower of icy pellets, peppering his head with shrapnel.

“I made it unstable on the inside,” Kilo declares, the shards drawing blood from Tarantula’s head, “two of opposing impulses firing at the same time, so that when they met, the whole thing would blow. Now that didn’t do a lot of damage, but damn it felt good. I have you now, you evil bastard!!”

SATURN BARZ flexes and spreads its hands. The air around its palms condenses, forming a fog which floats downward. The tattooed man wipes blood out his eye with his thumb and licks it off. “Come on, then,” he says.

SATURN BARZ roars. The condensing air freezes and forms into pellets, which is hurls at the tattooed man with all the veracity of a Gatling gun. “URAH URAH URAH URAH URAH URAH URAH URAH URAAAAH!!!”

FEEL GOOD INC. takes a defensive position, and manages to repel many of the pellets, but the sheer quantity causes damage to appear in the Stand’s chitin. 

“I have you! I have you!” Kilo roars, almost incoherently, “I have you now! I’m not scared of you! You’re nothing, hear me?! NOTHING!!”

Vitriol spills out of him, his face is contorted with blind rage, a sight that makes even his allies shiver. Trish in particular watches him with worry. But there is a fight to be had, so she moves to his side. “Kilo, this isn’t enough! Pellets won’t be enough to stop him, we need a plan!”

“I got him pinned!” he shouts back, not turning to look at her. “He’s not going anywhere. I have him, I finally have him!”

“You’re not thinking straight! You need to calm down--”

“Just let me have this!!” he says, turns and roaring in her face, “LET ME ENJOY THIS!!!”

A momentary distraction, and SATURN BARZ’ assault stalls. It is all Tarantula needs. FEEL GOOD INC. raises its right hand to its mouth. Its mandibles open and it wheezes. Putrid gas emanates from its mouth, forming a visible ball in its hand. They notice, and the insectoid Stand throws the ball towards Kilo.

“SATURN BARZ!” Kilo commands, and his Stand reaches. The ball solidifies and falls to the ground as a puddle of gunk, but Tarantula is already lunging forward, a new ball of gas in his Stand’s hand. It succeeds in pushing into SATURN BARZ’ face. The effects take hold immediately, and Kilo’s perception of time slows dramatically, worse than even before. 

“Kkkkiiiiiiillllloooooooooooo……….!!!!” He hears the voice of his enemy calling to him, impossibly stretched out. But even slowed to a crawl, the rage still drives him. Tarantula is right in front of him, grinning, always grinning. SATURN BARZ reaches out, ready to destroy him once and for all, but it is too slow. Everything is too slow.

Before it can reach its target, SATURN BARZ is grabbed by the wrist, and the enemy Stand pushes it away and around, twisting its body to face its master. Kilo can feel the hand on his wrist, a grip like a vice. And in the slow world, he realizes with horror what he is going to do. 

FEEL GOOD INC. pushes SATURN BARZ’ strike away from itself, and towards Trish. Before Kilo can summon the strength to stop it, its claws are already burrowing into her flesh. The skin and the meat begin to bubble and froth. 

He hears a different voice, not Tarantula’s. It belongs to Shizuka. She calls Trish’s name in slow motion, “Tttttrriiiiiiiiiissshhhh!!!!!!” And only then does Kilo realize that he has killed another of his friends.

END of CHAPTER NINETEEN

[whumpster-in-a-dumpster]

Whumptober 5 - Gunpoint

Characters: Wesley Wyndham-Pryce, OC: Carrie Taylor

Fandom: Buffyverse

This one ended up going in a completely different direction than I intended, but I’m still pretty happy with it! It introduces another OC, Carrie Taylor, who I may have to make an introduction post for, since I have a sneaking suspicion she’s going to end up in a lot of these prompts...I love the Buffyverse for many many reasons, not least because of the potential to go completely off-the-rails weird in terms of plot, but also because of the exquisite examples of whump dispensed on almost every character. Anyway, this is a snippet from a story involving mind-controlling centipede demons that eat your spinal cord. Enjoy!

Thank you @violentgril for the inspiration

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“You don’t need to do this.”

Wesley tried to keep his voice calm, his hands half-raised defensively in front of him. As if that would help. That wouldn’t stop a Slayer, and it certainly wouldn’t stop the bullet if she fired the semi-automatic she was holding, now aimed squarely at his chest. Something wavered in Carrie’s expression, her aim faltering very slightly, and he decided to chance taking a step forward.

“Carrie –”

She jerked back and the gun twitched upwards, her grip tightening. Wesley froze, momentarily forgetting to breathe. Carrie’s expression flickered through one of near-panic, her cheeks and short black hair shiny with sweat. Her pupils were contracted almost to pinpoints, showing every shade in her frightened brown eyes.

“Don’t!” She managed to gasp out. Her jaw was tight, as if she were fighting to bite the words back. “Don’t, don’t come closer, I can’t stop myself.”

Wesley’s heart was hammering in his throat, but he managed to push it back down, get it back under control, so that when he spoke his tone was gentle, comforting.

“I understand.” He said quietly. “I know you feel out of control right now –”

“You – you don’t.” She cut him off, almost panting with the effort of speech. “You don’t know. It’s – it sounds like me.”

“But it’s not you. Whatever you’re hearing, it isn’t you, it isn’t what you want, and you can fight it.”

Her head turned, denying, and the barrel of the gun trembled just a little.

“Wes –”

“Carrie, I know you’re scared –”

BANG

Wesley fell back, one hand reaching out but failing to catch himself before his shoulder hit the wall. His side was on fire, and when he looked down his hand was already slick with blood. Carrie cried out, a short yelp of pain, the heel of her free hand going to her head. Wesley looked up, saw her cringing, paying no attention to him, the gun held loosely and pointed down. He launched himself at her, using force rather than finesse to push her to the floor, struggling awkwardly to pin the gun with his knee on her wrist. His hand fumbled for the back of her neck, searching for the demon’s insectoid body. He’d caught her off-guard, but he didn’t have long – the moment it regained control, Carrie would have the upper hand. She was stronger, faster, more skilled – she could kill him in seconds. His fingers scrabbled for purchase, and just as he finally found it, his hand closing around the cold hideous lump latched onto Carrie’s spine, she shuddered, looking back at him with an alien expression of malice. Her knees came up underneath him and she kicked, throwing him back and away from her, ripping the demon free in his grasp. Wesley came to a crashing halt against the wall of the basement, doubled over and retching, clutching at his stomach.

Carrie lay gasping for a moment, then suddenly rolled jerkily onto her knees, clawing at her back. Wesley tried to find the breath to reassure her, when she dragged the remains of a long black centipede-like body from underneath her t-shirt and flung it away from her in horror. Confused, Wesley looked down at the object in his hand, and found himself holding the head and around a quarter of the demon’s segmented trunk, now leaking something like a pale yellow pus. Disgusted, he threw it to one side, and collapsed back against the wall with a groan.

Carrie was there in a moment, on her knees beside him.

“Wes -! I’m…it’s okay, move – move your hands, let me see –”

He let his hand fall away, wincing as she quickly peeled back the layers of his shirt and jacket. She probed gently for a moment, and then let out a shaky breath. He closed his eyes and looked away, pressing his lips tightly together.

“It’s – it’s alright.” He choked out. “As long as you’re safe, I’m okay.”

“Wes…”

“Just…do what you can. Don’t blame yourself.”

“Wes.”

“I don’t know if – if I can hold on. Oh, god, don’t tell Angel I died in the basement -”

“Wes!”

He turned to see her looking back at him, exhausted but smiling.

“The bullet barely grazed you. Middle-sized dressing and a bit of tape, you’ll be fine.”

“Oh.” He blinked, perplexed. “Well, that does explain the relative lack of pain.”

She made an exasperated sound, somewhere between a snort and a growl, and flopped against him, headbutting his shoulder.

“I did think it was a lot more tolerable than the last time I got shot.”

“Shut up.”

[weareallfallengods]

Batter Up!

Sparks fell slowly from the blasted comm panel as the crimson emergency light strips dimly faded in and out

“We’ll this is a shit-show if ever I saw one, eh Tar'van?” Trey drawled in his strange Terran dialect known as “Southern”.

“Indeed Trey, I would concur with your assessment. If this attack were to be reproduced for entertainment, it would surely be filled with excrement,” Tar'van replied in a whisper. “We need to discover who is responsible for this assault on our ship and locate the crew, should they still live.”

“Since we’re close to the door, why don’t we just sneak around to the bridge from the outside? I mean if this is a raid, most of their guys are gonna be on the inside, right? At most they’ll have like 2 or 3 guards outside; I reckon we can take ‘em if we run into 'em,” Trey quipped.

“But what of weapons?” hissed Tar'van, “we have naught but these 'bats’ and 'balls’ you were demonstrating your Terran pastime with!”

“Yeah my Winchester’d be a sight more handy just about now, that’s fo’ sho’,” Trey said. “Guess we’ll just have ta make do.”

As usual, thought Tar'van to himself. Improvisation was not his strong suit.

They carefully made their way from the recreation hall entrance around the corner to the entrance hatch, stepping carefully to avoid making noise as they picked their way through the the remnants of the bulkhead littering the entrance hall.

Trey carefully leaned out of the still smoking hole that used to be the entrance hatch, checking for hidden guards.

“Coast is clear Tar'van, let’s git goin’,” Trey announced quietly. The bright sunlight was an ominously cheerful juxtaposition to the smouldering, deadly silence within the ship. As the headed around the port side of the cruiser, they both noted the blast holes and plasma burns on the exterior.

“How in Holy Christ’s name did we not hear that,” Trey muttered.

“As I informed you, the recreation hall is highly shielded from auditory intrusion,” Tar'van responded.

“Fuck me, you weren’t kidding.”

Just then, a group of 3 of the raiders rounded the corner of the landing gear Trey was leaning against. The heavily armored and apparently battle suited raiders gestured wildly at Tar'van and Trey, with much agitated clicking and beeping coming from their insectoid battle suits. Trey, taken by surprise, sprung into action instantaneously, as only a species with his advanced adrenal response system could.

“Batter up MUTHAFUCKAAAHHHS!”

Trey roared in a traditional battle cry of a Terran tribe known as “The Cardinals”, taking a mighty swing of the Louisville Slugger he’d been holding loosely just a split second previously. Tar'van watched in fascinated horror as this entertainment stick was suddenly accelerated towards the head of the closest of the two raiders by Trey. Time seemed to slow for Tar'van who could only stare as Trey effortlessly contorted his limbs to produce an incredibly smooth arc of power as he swung the bat. Tar'van could only marvel at the simultaneous rotation of shoulders and wrists while elbows dropped and suddenly straightened as Trey completed his swing, connecting with a sickening crunch against the head of the invader, striking it with such force that a chunk of the other aliens’ head was torn free in a mesmerizing fountain of black and grey gore. At the same time there was a loud crack, nearly as loud as Trey’s fabled Winchester as the bat snapped midway down the handle from the power of the impact.

As the body slowly crumpled to the ground, leaking black ichor all over the suit it was encased in, the other raider froze for a moment before turning to run as fast as its biomechanically enhanced limbs could race away from this bat wielding demon.

“Well shit!” Trey shouted, “there goes the other fucker!”

“Quickly my friend, stop him!” Tar'van exclaimed.

Trey barked a laugh as he casually cocked his arm impossibly far behind his head, in what Tar'van recalled he had described not an hour before as 'winding up’, and in what to Tar'van was an almost impossible display of joint dexterity, launched the handle of the bat at an even higher rate of speed than the bat had been swung. The broken piece of wood whistled through the air as it sped toward the fleeing raider. With a crunching thunk, it penetrated the back of it’s thoracic junction, felling the raider at the incredible distance of 50 feet.

Tar'van’s mouth had fallen open in disbelief. He had heard Trey speak of his time in the guild of the Minors, but had discounted the stories of throwing with such speed and accuracy as the embellishment that all Space Australians were known for. Trey had been demonstrating this thing called “baseball” earlier, but Tar'van had been so absorbed in the demonstration of “batting” that Trey had yet do demonstrate his throwing skills. The fact he could launch a projectile with his own extremities without some sort of mechanical assistance was astounding enough, but the fact he could do it with such casual elegance, power and accuracy was simply mind boggling.

“Trey…how…?” Tar'van was speechless.

“Ah that was nothin! Glad he wasn’t too far away, that handle was a bit light to huck it much further than that. Whatddya say we go see where the rest of these bastards are hiding?”

Tar'van simply bowed in respect. Terrans were constantly astonishing him. He fell into step alongside Trey.

“Now I understand the appeal of this leisure activity you called…baseball?”

[paladin-andric]

Blackheart, Chapter 19: Reunion

Charles moved with purpose as he strode through the streets of Palethorn, leading the rest of the group to the Palethorn University.

The dragonoid had been silent throughout the trip, but this time his silence was not born of anxiety or deferral, but stoic determination.

The group went north first, reaching that same wall they had vaulted over when they first traveled to the cave and met Tourthun.

Alexander thought that over with some regret. They had discovered the source of the demons. They had discovered the Citadel, the last bastion of life in the city, packed full of survivors waiting to be rescued. They even had a dragon for transportation...and they went back.

Of course, it had slipped the knight’s mind to report back to Geralthin first...but that wasn’t really his mission. He was here to destroy the source...and was expected to stay until it was done.

Still, he wished they could have evacuated the people of Palethorn...well, they were all stuck here now, until the abomination at the gates was gone.

He at least found comfort in the fact that things might have worked out for the best. Before knowing of the dangers of air travel, they might have been ON Tourthun when he was fired upon, and if they had been...none would have survived the fall.

Except maybe Leianna and whoever she could grab onto.

They moved forward, beginning to head East. The college was supposedly only an hour’s walk, according to Charles.

“Are you sure it’s that close?” Alexander asked, “An hour in something the size of this city...isn’t very far.”

“I LIVE here!” the magician answered angrily, “You think I’m lying?!”

“No, no, I uh...I’m just used to being disappointed, I suppose.”

The dragonoid rolled his eyes. “This hour walk is a calculation. Back before all of this madness, it certainly would take longer. Without crowded streets however, we move more quickly. Now as long as we don’t run into any of those fiends, it should only be about an hour. Hopeful estimates, but not impossible.”

The human nodded. “I see. Alright, than.”

He wasn’t quite comfortable with all of this yet. These strange creatures, with the shape of men. Even after they had proven themselves...some lingering questions remained.

He’d heard horror stories about half-dragons his whole life. Sure, Charles seemed normal enough, but how he just suddenly snapped, only to pull himself back...were the stories true?

Were all halfbreeds inherently evil? Was Charles just good at resisting it, or even worse, hiding it? Was he secretly-

The knight shook those ideas out of his head.

That was insane.

His outburst was incredibly mild. The magician had just gotten so slightly snippy with him...was that really worth questioning if he was secretly evil, after all the good things he had done? Charles was a good man...probably. The rest of these strange survivors seemed so as well. Their...eccentric nature was simply due to their strange living circumstances.

The knight thought back to the kobolds. They spent so much time being bloodthirsty little barbarians, living in squalid caves and worshiping dragons, and then...suddenly were forced to live like common citizens in an urban environment, all the while being preached the values of peace and kindness endlessly, if Greenbranch was to be believed.

It made sense they would come out of that a little...strange. They still carried their zealous and excitable natures, only those traits were now channeled towards social interactions and private life, instead of killing and pillaging. A life in the wild left them unfamiliar with urban etiquette and what was deemed acceptable in most other societies, yet they seemed willing to learn.

Greenbranch did say they were apparently some of the most well behaved citizens of Palethorn. Alexander wasn’t so sure about that...but with the wild and rowdy wolfmen, perhaps their competition wasn’t so fierce.

Alexander shook his head. There was nothing to worry about.

...well, that was wrong. There was SOMETHING to worry about, for sure. However, that very worry was proof of these beastmens’...humanity, for lack of a better word. They had been targeted, corrupted and massacred by the demons without mercy or bias.

They were all in the same boat. If they were to survive this, Alexander had to put these stray thoughts aside and trust them.

The corrupted seemed to be quite scarce in the Northwest. Seeing as most of the area here was occupied by storage and other mostly unimportant buildings, this part of the city was sparsely populated.

Still, they stuck to side streets as often as they could. They could worry about  clearing the city out once the portal was shut. Any casualties could be replaced as long as it stood.

They moved further East, eventually leaving the corner of the city behind and continuing to walk close to the edge of the Northern sectors, the large wall surrounding the city only occasionally leaving their sight as they ducked through alleys.

As more time passed and they got closer and closer to the academy, the group found themselves in yet another alleyway. Giving it no thought at first, Alexander walked down the path, following Charles, the rest of the group beside him.

For some reason, however, he felt a pit in the bottom of his stomach. Something about this...was wrong. He had no idea what, or why, but he just…felt it.

Just as he opened his mouth to say so, another voice cut through the silence.

“Found you.”

The voice was deep, unholy, and sent shivers up the spines of everyone who heard it. It had come from directly above them, and immediately after it spoke, Alexander heard...something, coming from where the voice had come from.

By instinct, he threw his shield up above him, and sure enough, just as he did, something slammed into him, knocking him to the ground. It was a powerful impact, but thanks to the cushioning from his shield, there didn’t appear to be any real damage.

The knight felt whatever had landed on him suddenly vanish, the weight on top of him lifting and leaving nothing behind.

The knight quickly rose to his feet, looking up and finding the culprit now blocking their path.

It was one of them.

It had four arms, and the appearance of a being of fire and brimstone. Its skin, or chitin in this case, was a deep red. It had a pincered mouth and six eyes, all black with white pupils. Its long claws on its arms and legs were hooked and wicked-looking. The knight doubted his armor could deflect it, as he learned from his last encounter with one of these beings.

Though it appeared similar to the insectoids, this was no mere corrupted. This was a demon.

The beings of hell were as diverse in species as the beings of the living world, it seemed.

The ungodly beast flashed a wicked grin at the group, eyes gleaming with devious intent.

Before anything was said or done, it raised its head to the sky and let out an ear-piercing screech. It was so painful to hear that Alexander reflexively went to cover his ears, only for his helmet to render that pointless.

There was a brief pause as everyone recovered, and the beast simply stood there, staring. For a moment, the knight wondered what it was waiting for.

The distant screams of other beasts responding to his cry answered that question.

The demon had just sounded an alarm for the corrupted.

The others seemed pick up on this as well, for as Alexander surged forward, Senci rushed alongside him, and Charles and Razorwing fired upon the beast. Flames and an arrow were sent right towards the creature, but it contorted its body in a bizarre dodge, causing the projectiles to sail harmlessly past it.

The demon spun to the left, then right as Alexander and Senci reached it and swung their swords. Its lithe body twirled about before reeling back and swiping at Alexander, missing by mere inches as the knight stumbled back.

Sensing his poor balance, the demon delivered a swift, sweeping kick to Alexander’s legs, knocking him over on the spot. Without hesitation, the moment he landed, the knight swung his sword towards the demon, forcing it to back off instead of finishing him off.

“Hehe!” the thing cackled, spinning to avoid yet another group of arrows and fireballs, “You’re quick! But how long can you keep up…?”

Its voice was shrill and alien, belonging to one whose vocal chords were nothing like an ordinary humans.

It spun to the side as another arrow flew straight through where he was a moment ago. “Hehehe! Are you really the greatest archer in the world? YOU are the best the mortals have to offer?! Come, try a little harder, Domnall!”

Alexander was confused for a moment.

Domnall? Who’s Domnall?

His confusion was answered by a disturbing realization; as soon as the demon spoke these words, the arrows stopped. Charles continued firing unsuccessfully at the demon, but while he did that and Alexander and Senci continued fighting, Razorwing ceased his attack.

It came to him in the heat of battle, a strange clarity settling over him. Razorwing must be his “handle”, a name or identity he made up. Domnall...was either his name, or the name of someone close to him.

He had frozen up in shock, most likely.

The battle continued, and oh, was it a special one. It was more like a dance routine, in reality. Move forward, slash, the demon swirls to the side, move back, up again, attack, dodge, attack, dodge, attack…

The three moved in what seemed like perfect synchronization, with Senci going to attack while the demon dodged Alexander, the demon ducking and moving out of the second blade’s way, and then the two warriors stepping and ducking as the demon retaliated.

They fell into a rhythm, performing this routine, all the while the demon would dodge fireballs in between their attacks.

“Razorwing!” Charles cried, “Back me up!”

“I…”

“HURRY!” the magician shouted, still keeping behind the two warriors for safety’s sake.

It seemed the hero had finally regained his composure as arrows came flying towards the demon once again.

“He’s too quick!” the koutu called back, firing another shot and watching the demon gracefully dodge it.

“Don’t shoot where he is, shoot where he’s going to be!” the dragonoid yelled.

“I’M DOING THAT!” the archer barked back, irritated, “What kind of second-rate bowman do you take me for?!”

Even as he complained, Razorwing fired and, amazingly, the demon dodged into the shot, everywhere around him surrounded by swinging blades and balls of fire.

As it moved, the demon saw the arrow and tried to dodge, but too late. The projectile dug itself into its shoulder, the insect-like hellbeast letting out a hiss of pain.

It looked up at the group, suddenly seeming much less cocky. Its eyes narrowed and darted between the members of the group as it looked for a weakness to exploit...

Finally, figures moved into the alleyway. They had arrived.

A horde of corrupted beasts began screaming, bolting down the alley and straight towards the group. The demon shot the heroes a smug grin before leaping back into the crowd, letting them surge into the group as he watched.

The group of four shifted their attack towards the crowd of beasts, Bracing as the monsters reached the two warriors. Both Alexander and Senci quickly began to retreat, backing off and avoiding claw swipes while stabbing back with their own weapons.

Razorwing launched up into the air and landed on a rooftop, beginning to fire down into the crowd, a hail of arrows embedding themselves into the skulls of several beasts.

A few corrupted koutu even took to the air and flew after him, only to be shot between the eyes each time, falling from the sky and collapsing to the ground one by one. Several landed on top of the ravenous horde, knocking a few over.

The mob was wild and numerous, but fell easily.

Alexander realized that things were changing. He remembered his very first encounter with one of these creatures. An entire group, unfamiliar with the enemy and one another struggled to take down a lone straggler. Now, they were cutting down dozens upon dozens of the fiends.

Experience with the enemy’s strengths, weaknesses and tactics, familiarity with them and becoming more adjusted to fighting such horrors, and the group now a skilled and cohesive team had made it all so much different.

It was proof of Alexander’s simple philosophy. Never give up and keep at something, and regardless of innate talent, and you will become VERY good at it...the only variable is how long that takes.

The knight roared out as he swung wildly to the side, slicing through a corrupted wolfman’s head and sending it sprawling to the ground. As he did so however, he noticed a figure leaping through air, past the swarm of monsters, and straight towards him.

He raised his shield in time, but the thing still slammed into him with such might that he was slammed to the floor again. This time he was knocked flat on his back, and his head hit the ground hard. His helmet absorbed most of the impact, but it still stunned him just long enough for the beast to take advantage.

It was the demon, and before the knight could react, it swung its claws wildly, tearing into his armor. Every strike was lightning fast, and worse, expertly targeted every conceivable weak point in the suit of armor. The shoulders, the elbows, the waist and knees...several times, the hit found its mark, and stabbed through the defensive gear underneath, sticking into the man’s flesh and sending shockwaves of pain through him.

A flurry of arrows and flames forced the fiend to back off, allowing Alexander to recover and get to his feet. All around him, dead beastmen lay motionless, the crowd of enemies now nearly gone.

Senci shoved his blade into a beast going for the knight, still taking a knee and getting back up.

Another creature ran forward, arms out and reaching to grab Alexander. Suddenly, a bolt nailed the beast, sending it tumbling down to the rest of the fallen.

A bolt, not an arrow.

Alexander looked behind him for a second, and sure enough, Crux was standing at the end of the alley, crossbow out and face obscured by his mask.

Charles, pulsing with energy, ran up and raised both hands outwards towards the remaining few. Boiling jets of flames poured from him and into the crowd, the fallen beasts screeching as they burned alive.

All too soon, only they and the demon remained. It stared at them with that same grin from earlier, standing among the carnage.

“I must say, I’m quite surprised. A few have taken down many before falling, others have escaped...but none have held their ground before.”

No one answered the buglike monster.

“Commendable...but futile. Still, I enjoyed it. No one has ever put up such a ferocious struggle...you even wounded me! I have never felt so alive in battle before...congratulations.”

The demon seemed to appraise each of them as it continued. “It would be such a waste to kill you. I want this hunt to continue. If anyone here can cure my boredom...it’s you.”

“Boredom?” Alexander answered, brow raised, “The hell are you on about?”

“About HELL, friend...why do you think us so eager to come here? Who wishes to burn and boil away in that foul pit? Not I. I came here for enjoyment. For the thrill of battle, for the freedom to do as I please.”

“You...want to have fun?” Senci asked, looking bewildered.

“Indeed. I only wish to battle someone worthy...and I have found someone worthy indeed...all of you. Now I have had a taste, I relish it again. Allow me to pose you this question; If I were to, say, not interfere with your...silly little quest, would you allow another battle? Let us call it...a sparring session. After all, I would not want to kill such a source of entertainment.”

“You want dueling partners,” Paul said knowingly, stepping up to the rest of the group.

“Crux! You followed us?” Razorwing said, hopping down off the rooftops and landing beside the others.

“Someone’s got to watch you fools,” he replied smugly, crossbow aimed at the demon.

“He is correct. I only wish to finally have a taste of battle,” the insect answered, “Slaying other demons is frowned upon, so existence in the underworld is...underwhelming. Come, I could even give you a few tips on how to combat my kin if you spar with me. I only wish for the thrill of facing you again...is that so wrong?”

“W-wrong? Wrong?!” Alexander shouted, enraged, “Look at this city, at what you’ve done! You slaughter and butcher and ruin and corrupt...all for a bit of fun, and then ask if that’s WRONG?!”

“Oh, I only tagged along,” the demon answered with a roll of its many eyes, “It was not my plan.”

“You still SLAUGHTERED people!” the knight screamed, shield-arm dangling and dripping with blood.

“Oh, only a couple, honest. It was boring, so I stopped.” The demon sounded quite blasé about the whole thing, seeming to shrug off any responsibility for it. “What fun is there in butchery? I want a challenge.”

“Well I’d say you’ve met your match,” Paul answered, voice cold and unwavering.

With that, he fired his crossbow. The demon spun, gracefully and effortlessly dodging the shot.

“Pathetic. Bring back the archer, he’s twice the shot you could ever be, whelp.”

Before the bounty hunter could respond, a figure suddenly leapt from the corner behind the demon. In a flash, it struck.

The monster opened its mouth as a blade tore through its midsection, driving him up off the ground as the figure behind him raised the sword.

The warrior behind him was wearing a heavy and intimidating set of silver armor, covering him head to toe. His helmet hid all his features, and a long, deep red cape hung from his back, flowing in the wind.

“Argh! You...how did you…?”

“A trivial matter,” the figure responded. His voice was deep and imposing, the voice of a hero and a leader.

An audible gasp from Senci was heard, but Alexander kept his attention on the demon and the man behind him.

The demon spat and writhed as blood began to pour from his stomach. “Y-you...got lucky...this time.”

It glared at the rest of the group with those beady, buglike eyes. “I’ll be back...I will have my rematch...I swear it…”

“Try as many times as you like,” the warrior responded, “You will be destroyed, time and again.”

“We’ll see about that…”

The figure shoved the demon off of his sword, the creature collapsing to the ground in a miserable state. The warrior raised his sword, and as he did so, the demon looked up at the group, on his hands and knees.

“Until our next battle,” he said quietly, that grin returning for one last time.

The warrior brought the sword down, the large weapon slicing through the demon without effort. Its head came off, and the fiend collapsed, now truly dead.

The armored figure stepped over the corpse and stared at the group, his demeanor immediately changing.

“Senci!” he called out.

“M...master!” the kobold squealed, sounding as if he was in disbelief.

Senci bolted forward, the other man moving towards him in response. As they reached one another, the man took a knee and placed his sword to the side.

Senci leaped into the man’s arms, seeming almost ready to cry.

“M-master, I was...oh, I missed you! I missed you so much!”

The man sighed in relief as Senci continued blubbering, the pair sharing a hug all the while. “Thank God you’re okay. I thought you might be...lost.”

“You know this guy?” Paul asked, hands on his hips.

“Andric,” Alexander said knowingly. The man nodded as he patted Senci on the back.

“...he was talking about me again, wasn’t he?”

“That’s right...I can’t believe you’re actually here. To run into us at such an opportune time…”

“I was searching the area for you and Senci, actually.”

“Me?” Andric nodded.

“My friend,” the paladin responded.

“Who?”

Alexander’s question was answered by another figure peeking around the corner.

It was another koutu. This one was blue and orange, unlike Razorwing’s white and brown coloration. It also appeared...daintier. Slimmer and...resembling a predatory bird less.

The koutu nervously stared for a moment before coming out and approaching.

“Goodness, your clothes!” Razorwing cried.

Alexander’s first reaction was to wonder if now was the time to care about such things...but it wasn’t such a strange reaction.

The koutu was wearing a filthy pile of tattered rags that really contrasted from the bird’s naturally elegant appearance. The scraps of cloth were tied around her waist, and several bits hung off the sides, ripped and shredded.

“Nevermind that,” Andric interjected, “Alexander...this is Fianna. She says she has you to thank for her survival.”

The knight was taken aback. “What?!”

“You saved her life...correct?”

“I think I’d remember her if I did,” he answered.

Finally, the koutu opened her mouth and spoke. “I-I was...I was the...one the demon was holding, remember?”

Alexander’s eyes widened. “You’re...that was YOU?!”

“Yes,” she said in a near-whisper, sounding embarrassed.

“But you’re...uncorrupted!”

Fianna quietly pointed at Andric. “H-he saved me.”

“But...that thing was...nearly one of them,” the knight retorted.

“I was,” she admitted, “But Andric...he tore the influence from me! It was...I can’t even begin to describe…”

Alexander nodded, a realization hitting him. “That’s right, you’re a paladin, aren’t you?”

“Indeed I am,” Andric said simply, “It wasn’t much trouble.”

“I TOLD you!” Senci cried, looking at Alexander excitedly and still clinging onto Andric, “He saved her, and destroyed the demon no problem, and came all the way here by himself! He’s the greatest, strongest hero ever!”

“Come on now,” Andric insisted, “I told you not to go around saying such things…”

“It’s not like I’m lying!” the kobold said happily, “Everyone knows it’s the truth!”

“May I ask what on earth is going on?” Charles asked.

Paul chuckled. “Counter-question: May I ask why you’re wearing that ridiculous hat?”

“H-hey! I quite like it, thank you very much!” the dragonoid said indignantly, adjusting the wide-brimmed hat with one hand.

“Err...actually, about Charles’ question…” Razorwing stepped forward. “What IS going on? Are you a new arrival, like Sir Alexander?”

Andric nodded. “I was...on campaign, up north. A dragon-tyrant ignored the edict, which...I don’t care about, but he was butchering folks. I hadn’t heard about all this madness until the army was on the way back. I made for Palethorn the moment I heard.”

“Well, I’m glad you’re here,” Razorwing said with a smile, “Someone of your standing would aid our mission greatly.”

“Trying to clean the place up?” the paladin asked, standing up and putting a hand on Senci’s head. The kobold looked elated at the gesture.

“Oh no, we’re trying to figure out a way to close the Blackheart!”

“The Blackheart?”

“The...portal the demons spew forth from,” Charles answered.

Andric paused at the remark. “I...am impressed. Not many would attempt such a thing, let alone even know to choose that over extermination.”

“Hey, speaking of the demons…” Alexander looked at the paladin seriously. “...what was that about? ‘I’ll be back’, and ‘You’ll be destroyed, time and again’?”

Andric sighed. “You, uh...don’t know, huh?”

The knight turned to the others. Razorwing, Charles and Paul all shrugged. He turned his gaze back to the paladin. “Know...what?”

“They’re immortal,” Andric answered.

Alexander looked to the decapitated corpse of the demon, then back at Andric, then back to the headless corpse once more.

“But, uhh...you kind of…”

“Temporary.”

The knight frowned. “Huh?”

“You can kill the body, but their souls, if you can call the wretched darkness such a thing, return to the underworld. Once their body is restored, they can come back.”

“Right,” Razorwing agreed, “Crux and I went back to the demon that...wounded you, Sir Alexander, and when we got there, its body was gone.”

“Damn it...is there no way to kill demons for good?” the knight asked, frustrated.

“There are ways...but we should not dwell on them, for they are lengthy, costly and painstaking processes. If we seal the link between our world and theirs, they will never been seen again. The sooner we do that, the fewer lives are lost.”

“Well, we were just heading to Palethorn University, for the Magical Arts,” Charles explained, “There was a sort of...study group being conducted by priests and sorcerers before the attack. We thought we might find the secret to the beast guarding the gates, and its immortality there.”

“That thing,” Andric spat, sounding infuriated, “That damned abomination…”

“If we discover how to kill it, we can evacuate the Citadel!” Senci finished, still holding onto Andric.

“The Citadel? You have a fort here of some kind?”

Razorwing shrugged. “Sort of. A...hideout, more like. A lot of people made it, many that can’t fight. We’d really like to see them safely brought out of here, and the army allowed in to aid us in our attack on the Blackheart.”

Andric nodded. “A good plan...and I am glad you are keeping these people in mind. They have lost so much...working to see every life saved is the least we could do.”

“Oh, Master Andric, would you like to come along with us? You could help!”

The paladin hesitated. “...how safe is this hideout of yours?”

“Completely!” Razorwing assured the man, “It’s like a village down there! The guards are always keeping watch and there’s plenty of people willing to lend a hand! We brought Charles’ friend there and he’s been resting comfortably since!”

“That’s right!” the magician agreed, “They treat him well.”

Andric nodded. “...I’d like to bring Fianna there, before I join you. She’s...been through a lot.”

“That’s a good idea!” the archer said happily, “She’d fit in perfectly! Plenty of other survivors from the city inside. Hey, maybe you’ll even find some people you knew there!”

Fianna’s eyes widened. “T-that...sounds wonderful. It would be very nice to see if any friends made it…”

“I’ll lead her,” Paul said, “You guys can go ahead without me.”

“Are you sure?” Razorwing asked, his smile fading.

“I caught up with you once, I’ll do it again. Besides...I’d like to keep that corrupted dope you brought back there in check.”

“Corrupted?” Andric looked at the group suspiciously. “What do you mean?”

“They brought one of the survivors there. He’s been touched by the demons. They assure me he’s safe, but it’s only a matter of time…”

“What?!” Andric got closer to the group. “You brought someone corrupted by the demons to where ALL the survivors are hiding out?!”

“Leianna and Lexius have it covered,” Alexander interrupted.

Paul glared at the knight. “They’re bedridden, you fool. If he snaps, he’ll have torn through half the camp by the time they’re up!”

“We need to go NOW,” Andric demanded, “Such a risk shouldn’t have been brought to-”

“Wait!”

The paladin turned to Senci, looking up at him with desperation.

“I-it’s...it’s Vok, mister Andric.”

“What?!”

The kobold nodded sadly. “T-the demons got him, sir...please...please don’t hurt him. Leianna and Lexius helped, but he’s still fighting it. Please save him. You can save him, right? You’re the greatest hero ever. You could save anyone!”

Andric put a hand to his helmet, leaning his head against it. “I...can’t believe they got to him…”

“Please! You’re...like family, right?”

Andric took a deep breath and nodded. “I’ll make sure he gets through this. I promise. This isn’t the first person I’ll have purified…”

Senci smiled. “You’ll do it, mister Andric! I know you will! That way we can all go home together with Vok when this is over!”

“Right...I suppose he can’t really live here anymore…” Andric looked over at Alexander, eyeing the bloodstains on his armor.

“Before I go...would you like me to help with that?”

“Please.”

The paladin nodded and walked up to Alexander. Making out all the points of injury, he began the healing spell, holding his hands over the affected areas as he went along.

It was over in seconds. In the blink of an eye, the pain faded, and Andric stood up. Though he couldn’t see with his armor in the way, Alexander had no doubt the wounds themselves were gone as well.

This man was obviously a cut above the other two healers. It seems Senci really wasn’t embellishing the details of his ‘master’...

“All better?”

“Just about,” Alexander answered, moving his arms to double check, “Thank you.”

“Not a problem. Senci! You be careful, now. Really. I’d prefer you come with us, actually, but...I trust you remember all the warnings I’ve given you. As for the rest of you...watch his back. Fianna and I will be off, now.”

“I’ll do my best!” the kobold cheered.

“Oh, erm...j-just a second,” Fianna pleaded. She hurried over to Alexander, smiling all the while. It was incredible to Alexander, to think that this vibrant, hopeful and kindly koutu was the jet-black corrupted he encountered alongside the demon that put him in the hospital tent.

“Ooh, sir knight...thank you so much. You...you’re a real hero.” she looked genuinely grateful, wings folded behind her back as she looked up at him with an expression a child would give a famous adventurer; adoration.

“Ahh...no problem. We’ve all got to work together at a time like this.”

“If there’s any way I could repay you…”

“Don’t worry about it,” Alexander assured her, “I’m just glad everything worked out the way it did. No big deal.”

“No big deal?!” Fianna nearly squawked, “Y-you saved my life, sir! Really, if there’s anything I could do to make it up, anything at all…”

It’s like she WANTED him to ask a favor of her! The knight, ever tactful, nodded. “...alright. I’ve got something I want you to do.”

“Whatever it is, I promise I’ll see it through!” she cried joyfully.

Alexander flipped open his visor and smiled at her. “...promise me you’ll make it out of here, okay? Stick to the Citadel and be careful.”

For a moment, she stared with wide eyes at the knight. After shooting him a huge grin, she nodded enthusiastically.

“Of course! Of course I’ll stay safe! Thank you so much! I’ll always remember this!”

“Glad to hear it. You take care, now.”

She hurried after Andric and Paul, who began to leave for the Citadel, following the bounty hunter.

“Alexander, right? His name is Alexander?” she sounded like she was trying to keep it down, but was so excited she didn’t realize she was easily heard by the rest of the group as she walked away.

There was no verbal response, but Alexander assumed one of the men nodded.

“Oh my goodness!” she swooned, “Have you SEEN his face?! What a dashing knight…”

Razorwing was grinning like mad as her voice faded away. “Sounds like our knight has found himself a damsel!”

“It’s not like that!” Alexander spoke defensively.

“Suuuuuure it isn’t. Why do you hide it? There is nothing wrong with love…”

“Now ISN’T the time for love,” the knight retorted, “There’s demons in the streets and death all around us. We can discuss petty romance once the gates of hell are shut.”

“...so you admit you wish to pursue your damsel once our mission concludes?” Razorwing asked with a cocky grin.

“Oh my God.”

“Relax, relax! I’m only teasing!” the koutu assured him, “...unless you really do like her, in which case I completely support you in your endeavors to court her.”

“Razorwing!”

“Really, her beauty is quite resplendent. You’re a lucky one, Alexander!”

The knight groaned as Razorwing laughed and laughed. Eventually, he simply dropped the subject and shook his head.

“Let’s just get to this damned academy.”

Beginning | Previous | Next

Tag list: @thereisnothingwrongwithbeingmad, @lady-redshield-writes, @paper-shield-and-wooden-sword, @sheralynnramsey, @tawnywrites, @writer-on-time, @oceanwriter, @zwergis-spilledink, @fluffpiggy, @elliewritesfantasy, @homesteadhorner,  @laurenwastestimewriting, @elaynab-writing, @the-ichor-of-ruination, @disheveledcorvid

[antialiasis]

Just a few days too late for Halloween, I had a nicely unsettling subtle horror dream that was very coherent.

I dreamt that there'd been some kind of mission in Undertale involving canvassing door to door. (This was all supposed to be part of Undertale, but of course, none of it actually looked or felt like a video game; I seemed to just be walking around in real life.) At one point, while doing this, I'd rung the doorbell at a house where a family lived, a couple with three children, I think. The mother answered the door. It turned out very quickly in our conversation that she was a member of a small religious sect I'd vaguely heard of, called something like Valthorians (that sounds very pagan, but I remember mentally having thought of it as in the same category as Jehova's Witnesses). They were known for going door to door to preach, and I think the woman sort of assumed I was there to hear about her religion, and was very flattered.

I sort of thought okay, sure, why not, could be interesting. So she invited me in to talk. Their house was... normal, but in a just slightly off way somehow. I remember some bizarre decorative statue of an eye with bulging veins or something like that. I kind of figured they were in this isolated sect so it didn't seem that odd for them to be a bit eccentric. Either way, we went into the kitchen, and I think she offered me some food that was also kind of weird but I politely ate it, and in the meantime we discussed her religion. I asked her some questions about her beliefs, and although I was polite and honestly curious and didn't feel like I was trying to challenge her or anything, I could sense her becoming defensive, that she kind of thought of this as a debate. Internally I shrugged; I wasn't really there to challenge her at all, but I found the discussion fascinating. Eventually, the discussion came to a close and I said goodbye and left and continued going door to door. (I actually really feel like this part was a dream I had a while ago, but dreams make you falsely feel that way all the time, so not banking on it.)

Later, there was some other mission in the game that involved the Valthorians. I immediately thought back to that family and just had a hunch that at this point it'd be a good idea to learn more. So, in the company of Shadey and some family members, I returned to their house and rang the doorbell. The couple both came to the door this time; the woman recognized me immediately and acted happy to see me but I could tell she was kind of tense, and I figured it was because she'd felt like I was challenging her last time. While the previous time everything had been very clean and orderly, now their home was chaos, with boxes and large plastic bags strewn randomly around the floor as the children ran around; for a moment I thought it was them being weird, but then I realized that oh, no, they're just getting ready to move.

I told them I was writing this essay about Valthorianism and I'd figured having another chat with the only Valthorians I knew would be prudent. The woman acted delighted that I wanted to hear more about her religion, though again, it didn't seem completely genuine; she actually said things like "It was lovely having such a vigorous debate!" and so on, still sounding friendly and welcoming but in a way that made it clear she actually thought I was toeing the line last time. Again, I came with her to the kitchen and we started talking, though now her husband sat with us, and again they gave us some food, this time a funny kind of noodle soup. Shadey sat with me but eventually went off to the bathroom or something. While I was talking to the woman, I noticed out of the corner of my eye the husband leaning down over Shadey's bowl and a dark liquid resembling soy sauce dripping from his glasses into the bowl. Needless to say, this was a little creepy. One way or another I managed to warn Shadey off the soup when he came back without the couple noticing.

As we stayed there, I noticed more little creepy things, including the husband making more discreet attempts to spike the food, and became slowly a bit more unsettled, but maintained a polite, friendly demeanor. Eventually the discussion came to a close, and we stood up. I told them good luck with their move, that I'd recently moved and it'd been hectic. They looked oddly confused for a moment, then the husband said oh, sorry, it was actually that they'd only just moved in. I nodded and exited; somehow, as I left, one of the children fell down on the floor by the door (I think they just slipped or something), and I considered helping, but since I was already out the door, I came down on the side of no, I'm not sure I want to spend any more time here than necessary. As we were leaving, though, I realized I'd forgotten something (a scarf or something like that?) and opened the door again. As I opened it, the door hit the limp body of the child, who was still lying there; I saw the husband and wife looking towards me from the kitchen, clearly not having lifted a finger to help them and in no hurry to do so. I grabbed the scarf and told them I'd just forgotten this and closed the door again.

I let out the breath I'd been holding when we were well and truly out of earshot and told my traveling companions about the neglected child and the soup. And also, I added, they said they'd just moved - but the only reason I knew where they lived was that they were still in the same house I'd accidentally stumbled upon months earlier.

All in all, I was deeply creeped out, and the rest of the mission turned out to involve the Valthorians actually being some kind of apocalyptic cult trying to bring about the end of the world, and the family turned out to be actively and overtly demonic and murderous, which actually sort of softened the impact of that slowly creeping offness. At some point here I stumbled upon the TV Tropes page for them (apparently this couple from this one game had their own page), where it was explained that they were actually insectoid aliens, but I closed it before reading much because I didn't want spoilers for the rest of the mission.