#and pix's skulk machine

[convexicalcrow]

I am continuing to have many thoughts about The Skulk as well. D:

Like, it's not surprising to use skulk for corruption now, bc it's just such a good material for it. And ofc it also can be cleared with a hoe, just like the s1 corruption was.

Pix having that skulk machine at the start of the season, the candles being retrieved from the Vigil, Shelby having skulk on her, Jimmy on the verge of a villain arc, e!False using it for building, fWhip has an ancient city near his cave, and ofc Cub spreading skulk literally everywhere, and Hermitopia is still very skulky. No one's bothered to clean that up.

I'd love to know how the skulk helped Bratwurst get through, like how was it used and what was it intended to help with? Why use it and include it, if it wasn't somehow helpful? ofc there was dark Bubbles as well, but he named the skulk too.

I always had a feeling, a hope, that skulk Cub was, or could become, part of a larger storyline, if they decided to run with it. And I think it's going to lead to some very interesting lore once this gets going.

[thecustomcosplayed]

oh boy

OH BOY I SAW A POST ABT THE SKULK STUFF AND THE DEEP DARK IS GONNA BE THIS SEASONS CORRUPTION AND IT FUCKING SENT ME like, mostly because Gem’s Empire (Dawn) is set above a City. Like, directly above it. she got drawn towards the wisps (also apart of the deep dark), so, either I’m looking into this too deep or we might get corrupted Gem this early?? *however* this is really early to start looking into corruption, it might not be in this season BUT there has to be something with the deep dark, right? i dont know if it’ll just be from Gem’s POV but there’s obviously something in these caves that the other Empires don’t really like. Fwhip doesn’t go near the skulk in his cave, Pix got all cryptid building The Machine, there was some on Sausage’s house after the whole End thing, and speaking of that- (haha smooth transition) what if that has to deal with something about the deep dark too? what if theres something, not one of the players, on the server, lurking, looking to lead somebody into the Deep Dark, like Gem, for some reason. Also, I really wanna see Gem name the city under her Dusk. Like.. really badly, seriously, it’d be such a cool parallel to Dawn, like I could make a whole post on why I want Gem to name it Dusk, also if the skulk = corruption stuff is true, Gem naming it Dusk might think the others think: ‘oh its probably just another building place in her Empire’ or whatever, but then somebody, like Jimmy or Sausage, go and there’s no new building from when they last saw it, and Gem casually just goes: Oh yeah, Dusk? That’s the Ancient City under my Empire! I could try to write something about it but it might be bad. I might try though, honestly. Also, if Gem did get corrupted, maybe the colors on her dress get darker slowly? Or her eyes turn black/dark teal?? And if she got fully “corrupted” her dress full changes and like a whole different outfit (kinda like Shubble’s Wolf Spirit clothes in s1). Anyways yeah I have a lot of thoughts now, thanks to @lonksadventures so thanks so much (/lh /nm) so would you guys like to see something more about this??? i know I asked abt the whole ‘should I open up to more fandoms’ thing but i’ve got esmp2 brainrot right now, haha.. sorry.

[lonksadventures]

I have a feeling that the Skulk/deep dark is gunna be this seasons corruption. There’s an aching city conveniently under Gem's base. Pix got all cryptic when building The Machine, Fwhip won’t go near the Skulk in his caves, there was a bit on Sausage's house after the ended an disappeared and the soul fire wisps that Gem saw are a similar colour to the Skulk. I’m probably reading into it way to much but it’d be cool at wise cus I'd be able to draw skulk corruption!

[peakdeer]

I got this idea from the empires hype discord server!

Pix had returned to the Machine to farm some more skulk. He only needed a few levels; just enough to enchant his new pickaxe. He hadn’t expected much excitement; maybe a zombie or creeper would stumble near him, but that was it.

He turned to leave, mumbling softly to himself– then abruptly turned his head. Squinting his eyes, he could just make out a silhouette hanging from one of the stalactites above the Machine. He blinked, rubbing his eyes to make sure he’d seen correctly. Yes, there was a human-like figure hanging from the stalactite. He stepped closer, hopping onto one of the hanging mineshafts to get a better look. Was that… yes, that was fWhip, the absolute fool. He marched to the edge of the Machine determinedly. fWhip noticed him too late, letting out a mewl of surprise when Pix picked him up by the scruff of his neck. He set a fast pace to the entrance of the cave, fWhip dangling from his hand and swinging from side to side.

He dropped him abruptly at the entrance to the cave. fWhip mewed softly, turning around to gaze guiltily at Pix. Pix put his hands on his hips, gazing contemptuously at him. “What,” Pix began, “have I told you about going near the Machine because it’s dangerous?” fWhip nervously clapped his paw-like hands together, avoiding his eyes.

“...not to do it?”

“Yes, so WHAT POSSESSED YOU TO HANG ABOVE IT LIKE A SPIDER?” Pix scolded. “You could’ve fallen, and the Machine is not a good place to die!”

“Sorry,” fWhip muttered sullenly. “I couldn't find you, and I was bored, and the sun was too bright.” Pix sighed, lifting a hand to pat fWhip’s head, eliciting a purr from him.

“Just don’t do that again, ok? That’s not smart.” He moved his hand away from fWhip’s head to reach into his pack, causing fWhip to grumble at him. “Here.” Pix dropped a gold nugget in fWhip’s paws. fWhip’s face lit up, and he moved the nugget closer to his chest, tail swinging wildly. “You should probably be heading home, yeah?” Pix asked the small gremlin goblin.

“Mhm, mhm, yes, thank you Pix!” He yowled excitedly, speeding off towards his home on his little goblin legs.

Pix sighed fondly, turning back to his work. It was always an adventure with that little goblin.

[rose-lizzzy]

Dude. DUDE.

I JUST REMEMBERED

So there's been like vaguely weird stuff going on with skulk and all right? Especially cub in falses latest episode

...The Machine. I could be wrong. But if I remember correctly, Pixs like. Second episode or so? He made. A skulk farm thing. And it hasn't been mentioned lately. What would happen if it just....spread out of control...and started...just...spreading underneath all of the empires.

I don't wanna say corrupting because they did corruption last season and I can't see them fully repeating the same concept but maybe just...similar.

I dunno I feel like it's just been hinted so much and cub was definitely weird with skulk (unless it was just a silly bit) and I just remembered Pix's skulk farm and how it hasn't been mentioned lately. Which could just be due to the lack of importance of it or could be due to it spreading over the world. Or something. I don't know.

[aura-bird]

Pix’s episode and the fact Joel called skulk a type of corruption has given me brainrot:

-

Many theories have been created about The Machine, some more morbid than others but all with the same core concept:

The ooze that it emits is the byproduct of dark magic and the souls of those sacrificed to the device; souls that shriek from within bone-white storage vessels when alerted by the hivemind of clicking tendrils that pick up vibrations and movement.

Regardless of how it came to exist and how it creates the substance in general, Pix believes that at its core it is simply a piece of technology to be used for whatever purpose one desires.

As he walks away from the ooze that pools in the tray at the foot of The Machine he pays no mind to the darkness that dances in rhythm to its mechanical heartbeat, nor fact the substance has stained his hands a deep cyan where it made contact with his skin in a way similar to ink.

He will return tomorrow to study it further, find out more about the primordial spark of energy that flowed through his veins when he crushed the ooze between his fingers.

He will not question it when the whispers of the fallen echo in his ears, nor will he question the knowledge they provide him with when he absentmindedly asks them.

After all, Pix is an archeologist at heart and his thirst for knowledge in a land with very little recorded history beyond the myths of its creation is unending.

[aura-bird]

Joel calls Skulk a type of corruption in his 2nd episode of Empires S2

The Machine produces Skulk and Pix is messing around with it