#corrupted scratch theory

[chytag]

Wanted to try my hand at Corrupted Scratch since I was inspired by @the5n00k and @emositecc designs!

[bennydwight]

"... When did it s-stop…  hurting … to think about them…?"

 "... It didn't."

~

Drew this for @the5n00k‘s final chapter of “I Can’t Lose You” (hence why my usual review is taking so friggin long lol). This scene was so potent that I started this the moment I finished reading. I hope I did your vision justice, Snook! ❤

Experiments: Layer effects, bloom filter, liquefy tool,

[art-ificial-sweeteners]

Wanted to finish a background for this cause I think without it it just doesn’t communicate how BIG he’s supposed to be but I’m really proud of it and wanted to show you before The End so

[the5n00k]

How many stages did scratch have to fully become Corrupted if so could you show us each stage or progress of his corruption mutation

In my mind it was always a relatively quick mutation but I have drawn him in different stages for fun before (sadly I don't have a full transformation progression but I have described it in a fic before)

New corruption theory is more slow burn but likely won't result in mutation (until more evidence presents itself)

Old corruption theory, like what I used in I Can't Lose You, would entail the physical mutation but is relatively fast. Kind of like a werewolf transformation, it would start at the arms and creep its way up, affecting the head and mind last until the subject becomes an almost completely mindless animal with one goal in mind; relief. The obsession would overtake him until it was the only thing on his mind, something to take away the nagging itch of his unfinished business.

I'd say like four stages? Maybe? I'm unsure lol

[ilove2draw2008]

MOLLY I TOLD YOU NOT TO COME IN!!!!!

[emositecc]

Comic based on @adventuretimegurl123 's theory 👀

[tgammsideblog]

Scratch’s Corruption Theory Megapost

A very common theory/speculation that has been going around Tgamm fandom is the possibility of Scratch becoming corrupted. It has been an idea in the fandom since the episode ¨Howlin Harriet¨ (Season 1 Episode 2-A) aired back when the series was just starting. Fans have made their own fanart of corrupted Scratch designs, fanfics involving Scratch becoming corrupted, etc. It’s a popular concept to explore in the Tgamm fandom. The question is: Could Scratch become corrupted in this show? What could lead him to become corrupted?

In this post i’m going to talk about what we know about ghost corruption so far and why Scratch has a chance to become corrupted at some point during Season 2.

What is ghost corruption?

According to Libby’s guide in ¨The Unhaunting of Brighton Video¨ episode ghost corruption is the result of ¨A ghost that is so obsessed with their unfinished business that they get consumed by a single emotion¨. In this case Libby cites the example of Howlin Harriet, who became so obsessed with finding her missing toes that her form became very different from the one of a ¨normal¨ ghost. (Howlin Harriet episode)

Something that is interesting about the Howlin Harriet episode is how it was one of the first episodes of the series, episode 2-A, to be precise. Almost as if ghost corruption as a concept is going to gain importance later on in the show, such it has been the case of the episode ¨The Unhaunting of Brighton Video¨ diving further into how the process of corruption works.

Both creators of the show, Bill Motz and Bob Roth, have shared important information regarding ghost corruption around these last months. (Taken from a Discord AMA)

Link to Bob’s tweet:  https://twitter.com/automaticgravy/status/1659984445347348481

Based on this, ghosts can become corrupted by obsessing with their unfinished business or focusing on a single emotion like controlling others. They ¨become nothing more than their desires, losing all of their humanity¨. Ghost corruption varies depending of the ghost and what their unfinished business is. This explain why Howlin Harriet looked completely different from other ghosts while Blair looked normal but behave agressive in some ways. Ghost corruption could also depend on how long the ghost has been corrupted. Blair has been stuck in that video store for what would be around two decades while Harriet had been haunting the woods for probably hundred of years. Harriet probably was more in a ¨advanced¨ stage of corruption after being roaming in the woods for so long.

Blair could speak and communicate with the protagonists. Her corruption state manifested as her being on denial on her own situation and watching horror movies obsessively over and over again. She claimed to like staying in the video store, something that was later revealed to not be the case. Blair’s corruption came from not being able to return the tape of a horror movie she really liked before she died. She was consumed by the guilt of having kept the tape for so long. This showed that unfinished business doesn’t have to be ¨tragic¨ for a ghost to have one and the corruption is result of the ghost becoming obsessed by an specific emotion.

Another ghost that could be considered to had been corrupted is Sonia Davis, the Ice Princess, who was consumed by the obsession of doing a perfect triple jump she failed at doing when she was still a human. She was freed when Pete reminded her to have fun in ice skating instead of obsessing over past mistakes. (Ice Princess- Season 1 Episode 11-A). In this case Sonia’s ice powers seemed to have been distorted by years of haunting the lake and thus generating blizzards in Brighton every four years. Sonia didn’t look aware of the chaos her powers were creating in the city, probably because she was too consumed by her unfinished business to notice it.

Now that it has been clarified what ghost corruption is, where does Scratch fall into all this?

Possible hints of Scratch becoming corrupted

One of the things that Scratch needs to become corrupted is for him to have an unfinished business. Something he left from his human life and that he wasn’t able to complete before he died. It has to be something that it was important to him like an activity he loved doing or a person that was special to him... ...Ah What about that flashback he had about his childhood friend, Adia, saying goodbye and moving away? (A Soda to Remember-Season 3 Episode 3-B)

At the start of ¨A Soda to Remember¨ Scratch talked about how he wasn’t able to recall most of his past except for a memory related to Surly Sid’s strawberry soda. Near the end of the episode it was revealed this had to do with a promise he made to Adia, a childhood friend.

What if the reason of why this was the first thing that Scratch was able to recall was because he tried looking for Adia in his human life but he couldn’t find her? What if finding Adia is Scratch’s unfinished business and he doesn’t know it yet?

In addition to this, some fans have pointed out that what would Adia’s house from the flashback could be the same one Scratch was living at the start of the series and now it is the Mcgees’ home. If the Mcgees’ house used to be previous Adia’s home, this could would support more the idea that Scratch waiting/looking for Adia may be his unfinished business. While he wasn’t able to remember it, part of his subconscious must have told him to stay in this house because it was familiar to him.

A few days ago one tumblr mutual of mine @the5n00k​ made a video highlighting parallels between how Blair/Ollie were acting in ¨The Unhaunting of Brighton Video¨ and Scratch’s general behaviour when it comes to confronting his past.

During the episode Blair kept being in denial of her own past and unfinished business. She pretended that everything was fine and lashed out when the protagonists asked her what happened to her so they could help her. She would scare workers out of the video store, protecting the place she found herself ¨stuck¨ in.

Blair’s behaviour resembled a little too much Scratch’s in ¨A Soda to Remember¨ episode. In this episode Scratch did everything he could to avoid being reminded of his past, expressing fear of what could happen if he remembered and finding out that his human life wasn’t exactly a good one. He sabotaged Molly’s school heist to get him the surly sid’s soda and lied about a few things such as ghost not being able to go through safes. Almost as it was something he has been avoiding for years to be reminded of.

In ¨The Unhaunting of Brighton Video¨ hints that Scratch is still scared of confronting his own past. When Libby and Molly told him that they couldn’t leave Blair without helping her with her unfinished business first, Scratch didn’t think there was anything wrong with Blair not wishing to confront her own past. (¨What is so wrong with that?¨). Scratch thought it was okay to leave Blair being haunted by her own past, stuck and in denial of her situation instead of seeking help. Since the two characters share many parallels, it wouldn’t be surprising if Scratch was subconsciously his own personal issues in that conversation.

Expanding a bit more Scratch and Blair’s parallels, the way Blair haunted the store and kept workers away was much alike how Scratch acted towards the Mcgees when they first arrived in Brighton. Scratch would try to scare Molly and the rest of the Mcgees out of the house, almost as like he was protecting it. If that house was in indeed Adia’s, this could explain in part why Scratch was so grumpy about the Mcgees moving in. He didn’t want a place that reminded him of his unfinished business be invaded by others.

Another aspect worth of noting is the amount of time Scratch has been repressing and avoiding his memories. The creators and the show have both implied that Scratch was alive between 50′s-70′s. He know who Sonia Davis was (who participated in the Winter Games during the 50′s) and seems to be into old music like Jazz/Broadaway (Fried Food song)

Based on this, Scratch has been a ghost for around 50 years, if not more. It isn’t nearly as many as Harriet, who has been implied to be a ghost for hundred of years but it is still enough time for a ghost to become corrupted due to their unfinished business.

Scratch has been dealing with a lot of things in this season too. He has become the new chairman of the Ghost World, a role that really stresses him out because of the responsibilities that go with it. He is also dealing with a neighbour ghosthunter family that has been causing conflict in the Mcgee family and to clash with Molly more than one time. On top of that, he is now having more flashbacks related to his past and put in situations that remind him of this issue.

All of these problems are enough to push Scratch into a situation that could trigger his corruption, even if they have nothing to do with the moment this transformation takes place. It’s simply something that would lead to anyone to have a mental breakdown and Scratch isn’t exactly the best when it comes to dealing with so much stress.

What could trigger Scratch’s corruption?

If the corruption is going to take in some point during this season, for it to happen Scratch should have to go through a very emotional moment that is strong enough for him to trigger the transformation.

My speculation is that being reminded more of his past is what could cause it. Scratch brought up in ¨A Soda to Remember¨ that they could be a reason of why he forgot about his past. In general, he is scared of learning more about it, as something bad could happen if he does.

Maybe this is foreshadowing that once Scratch gets back most of his memories, he is going to remember Adia, and thus, remember how he was looking for her and didn’t found her. Being reminded of his unfinished business could ¨reactivate¨ his corruption and losing control trying to look for her childhood friend.

The second option could be him ¨losing¨ Molly, fearing the same thing that happened to Adia could repeat again. As it was stated in ¨Scaring is Caring¨ Scratch’s biggest fear is losing Molly, a fear so big that was enough for him to make him return to his normal form. If Molly gets taken away from Scratch for some reason with Scratch having his memories back, it could trigger the corruption, since the feeling of losing another friend would be too much for Scratch to deal with.

Conclusion

So far, many things hint that Scratch’s corruption is a event that is bound to happen sooner or later in Season 2. This season has been diving more into Scratch’s personal issues, his tendency to avoid his past and confront it. The concept of ghost corruption has been hinted more frequently both in the show and by the creators, giving more detailed descriptions about what causes it and what happens to the ghost when is during that state. It’s hard to pass this off as some lore and not an aspect that is going to gain importance later on.

Scratch getting corrupted is an interesting direction his character could take considering all the emotional baggage he has carrying all this years. It could be a good opportunity for him to realize he needs other people to help him and finally deal with these personal issues.

[antirepurp]

hey wanna see the kind of shit i need to neutralize to make the fur material behave nicely?

working theory is that the first one affects the way the second one is laid onto the mesh, therefore if the second is fully transparent the fur effect is eliminated. fingers crossed it's nothing more complex than that bc good lord im gonna be here for a minute otherwise

[etherealily]

​🇹​​🇭​​🇪​ ​🇱​​🇮​​🇳​​🇪​ // 𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘹𝘦𝘪 𝘷𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘬𝘺

Alexei Vronsky + fem!reader

Warnings : Cuss words.

You do NOT have permission to repost and/or translate any of my fics.

'Cross that line for me, sweetheart?'

Desc. : You are not a temptress, but he is tempted.

══════════════════ ⋆🍷⋆ ══════════════════

It was curious, to say the least, how land was divided. The conch next to you was half your property and half the Vronsky estate's property. It had remained that way for ages.

The waves lapped up the sand, like a heart reaching desperately for its other half as you sat watching the entire ordeal.

The Line - one drawn up every morning and marked by tiny flags as placeholders - had always pissed you off. Intrigued you. What would happen if you were to... just a finger? The hem of your dress. Would you immediately be shot at by concealed snipers? Perhaps you'd have to be tried in court.

You had never really noticed much about this Vronsky character before. Another handsome, manipulative bastard. Nothing much.

In turn, he'd also never noticed you. A face. One of many. Beautiful, of course, he was not blind, but never seen as worthy of his efforts. You were not rebellious. You were not adorably innocent. He could not entice you. He could not corrupt you.

In theory, your paths were never to cross. Different lives, same circles.

The key word : theory.

Because there are moments in life when you know that nothing will ever be the same again, when you know that your proverbial pathway is forever skewed and rerouted. These may appear to you embossed in calamities such as loss and grief, or these may be whispered in your ear by silent smiles, lovestruck looks across a ballroom, or the simple offer of champagne.

Or, in the case of you and Alexei Vronsky, all of the above.

And this was one of those torturous, life-altering moments.

"-And that's when I said, it was just a bloody goat !"

Booming, drunken laughter ensued from your left - the other side of the Line. Fuck. Keep drawing, shut up, keep drawing, shut up.

Your pencil made unintelligible sounds as it scratched out a somewhat passable depiction of the moonlit waves. The screams and guffaws grew louder, but the issue was that if you moved, he'd assume you did it because you were on his side. You were not, but it would look highly suspicious if you fled.

No. They'd quietened down. Meaning either they left - highly unlikely - or, they'd noticed you.

"Oi!"

Don't respond, don't respond.

"You! Pretty girl!"

Drunk men are terrifying. How could such kind words be said in a way that made your skin crawl?

"Mate, maybe she's a mute. Or deaf. Or both."

"I know for a fact she's not. She's got quite a mouth on her, as I can remember from last year- HEY! LADY WITH THE SKETCHBOOK!"

And that was Alexei Vronsky. His story with the goat had ended, apparently. Ugh.

You turned. "Uh, hello."

"ARE YOU A MUTE?" his companion yelled.

"Are you daft? She just answered! How could she be mute?"

Drunk men are also idiotic.

"WHY DON'T YOU COME ON OVER HERE, WE'LL GIVE YOU SOMETHING TO DRAW?"

Bellowing laughter followed.

For fuck's sake.

"I'm alright, THANKS!"

"OI, C'MON! WE DON'T BITE!"

From what you'd heard, he does.

"IS IT 'CAUSE OF THAT LINE?"

"Good night, Count Vronsky.", you called back, as you gathered up your things and stood, dusting the sand off your dress.

"HOLD ON! WAIT!"

"Let'r go, mate, c'mon, we've got a party to get back to."

"I WAS JUST BEING NEIGHBOURLY, YOU BITCH!"

FUCKING HELL.

"What did you just call me?!", you yelled, turning. He looked back at you in a swaying, inebriated haze, trying to focus those glaciers he called eyes on yours in the darkness.

"A witch. You've cast a spell on me, bewitched me, so to speak. You're magic."

Ugh. "Whatever."

"Just come over here, or I'll have to come there, and you wouldn't like that.", he slurred, his friends chortling and egging him on.

Buggering Christ.

"You can't. See?", you replied defiantly, pointing deliberately at the faint white outline of the line they renewed every morning with chalk powder. "That would be trespassing."

"I'm Alexei Vronsky."

What was that supposed to mean?

"So? It's still trespassing. My family's had it in for you for a long time - we'll take you to court."

"Then you come here.", he shrugged, taking an unstable stumble closer. "Cross that line for me, sweetheart? Yeah?"

"You're a creep. And you're drunk."

"You're a beauty. And you're technically trespassing, so I need to punish you."

"HOW am I-"

"Your pencil." Fuck. How is it he's sober enough to notice that, but not sober enough to know that his buddy said 'the coat storage' not 'the goat story'?

"It blew in the wind."

"Yes. To my estate."

"You can keep it."

"Are you sure? Isn't this your, uh, fabulous pencil from Paris you were talking of?"

"No." Yes.

"No?", he frowned, picking it up. NO! Not in his grimy, disgustingly delicate fingers. "Seems pretty French to me."

"Are you actually inebriated or do you simply enjoy pretending to be so that you can get away with things?"

He stopped swaying, pointing the pencil in your direction as he placed the other hand behind his back. "You're sharp."

"So you're sober?"

Drunk Vronsky could have been molded. Sober Vronsky was a cunt.

"More or less. My friends feel left out because they are unable to hold their liquor as well as I can, so I act for them.", he explained, with a small look behind him, at his comrades trying to jump over the waves as they came.

"You should be in theatre, then."

"Adding performer to my resume is just a smidge too over-accomplished.", he retorted, an amused glint in his eye.

Ugh.

"So you're going to hold on to my pencil, then, I'm guessing."

"What? No, I know how much this means to you."

Trap. You'd bet your entire estate it was a trap.

"I will give it back.", he continued as he paced, his hand still placed behind his back as though he were planning war strategies. "On one condition."

See? Trap.

"Dinner. With me. Tomorrow."

Did he think this was a smart way to secure an evening with a woman?

"I won't be here tomorrow." Bold-faced lie, and he could tell.

"Then tonight. Right now." You couldn't think of anything you were doing.

"And I'll get my pencil back."

"Yes."

"That can't be it. There's a catch."

"You are... remarkable. Yes. There is.", he whispered, softly, as though impressed that you caught on. "Champagne. I wish to see you drunk. Drunk, in denial and... ruined."

Lot of darkness for someone who'd just been talking about a goat.

"In denial?"

"Nothing. Just... join me for dinner and drink a little, and I promise you shall have your pencil back."

"I do not drink."

"Then I do not return fancy French pencils."

"I can always purchase another."

"You do not have sentimentality, then?"

"No." Yes.

"I see. Then you may be on your way."

"I don't have to go anywhere. I have every right to be here! This is still my side of The Line."

"Suit yourself, darling."

The silence that followed was torturous and unbearable. "I do not like steak."

"Then you shall have no steak."

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His eyes focused on you from across the table, his spoon paused midway above his plate. Eyes like the ocean in a storm. Terrifying but alluring.

"Enjoying your not-steak?"

You hid a smile. "Yes, I am."

He nodded, bringing his spoon up to his lips as he watched you do the same.

"You've left your friends out there?"

"They know not to cross The Line. They will be alright."

"Why is it you wanted to have dinner with me? To trap me into trespassing?"

"I've wanted to speak with you since I first saw you." Lie.

"And I you." Lie.

"What was it you wished to say?"

"Simply a greeting. You?"

"The same."

He set down his spoon, scrunching up his napkin as he stood up and walked the short distance across the table to you, resting his hands on the back of your chair. "You promised you'd drink."

"I did?"

"You did.", he whispers, accepting the newly-uncorked bottle the servant handed him, and pouring it into the glass next to your plate, smoothly. "And you're a good girl who keeps promises, yes?"

You'd heard he loved using such degrading language, but this was the first time you'd seen it firsthand.

"What gave you that idea?"

"I just figured you were of proper breeding and were raised right."

Good answer.

"Well, the words 'I promise' never left my mouth."

"Well-bred women do not look for loopholes. And they most certainly do not argue."

Lord knows where he'd worked up the audacity to brush some hair off your shoulder, but perhaps he was born with it imbibed in his blood.

He narrowed his eyes at your unchanging expression. "Drink."

"I am not done with my food."

He breathes out loudly, taking your plate and thrusting it into the hands of the nearest servant. "Yes, you are."

"I still have dessert."

"No, you don't. Drink."

"This is not champagne. You said champagne."

"And you said you'd drink. We both have uttered falsities. Drink."

"I fear you may be trying to-"

"Poison you? I am not. I would not like to see you die."

Was that supposed to be some form of assurance? Romantic? Caring? That did not have the intended effect.

"Drink, lovely."

It irked you how invested he was to see you drunk.

You wrapped your fingers around the glass, bringing it to your lips. Tilting it upwards, you let the liquor cascade down your throat, and echoes of your sputtering filled the room - it burned.

He laughed heartily, shaking his head as he stroked your shoulder from behind you. "Do you know what that was?"

"No. But I do know I will not take another sip."

"It was vodka, my dear, and in a few moments, you will want more. Trust me."

"I'm not taking another sip of that ghastly liquid!"

"Not even for me? Not even if I begged?"

"You think your begging has any effect on me?"

"Doesn't it? I'm known to be quite persuasive, and- besides, aren't you supposed to be the empathetic one in the family?"

"And where did you hear that?"

"Just about everywhere, really.", he huffed, resting his elbow on the table as he knelt down by your side. "'Y/N is the nicest one. She cares the most. Empathetic.' Surely you are not telling me those are lies?"

"Not lies, but exaggerations, perhaps."

"I am quite literally on my knees, Y/N, and you should realize how rare that is. Drink more or I will have to force you."

You frowned at him.

"I will do it. Force you. Don't think that because I have let you in my house so courteously that I will continue to be a gentleman with you."

"How could you be? You're nothing but a cad.", you scoffed, as you took another stingingly painful gulp.

He watched the glass, your tongue, your throat, almost mesmerized as he replied. "A cad?", he questioned softly, amused but still fascinated by your every movement.

"A cad.", you nodded, trying not to show how much you were gasping for breath. It hurt, satisfyingly.

"That's a first. No one has ever said 'oh, Alexei Vronsky, that cad'.", he murmured against his palm as he observed you meticulously.

"Then they have met a different person."

"You say this out of personal experience, do you?"

"I've met him. The Alexei Vronsky. He only thinks of one thing."

A lilt of his lips. "And that is?"

"Himself."

He concealed a grin.

"Or perhaps...", he mused, fingertips on the back of your neck as though he were playing your skin as one would a piano. "He is one who shows different versions of himself to different people."

"So he is deceitful."

"I'd say careful."

"Would you, now?"

"I think we put up far too many false pretences anyway. No point in fighting it - it is necessary, to be part of society."

"And what false pretences am I putting up, in your expert opinion?"

He smiled, one too pure to match the description you had so harshly delivered a moment before, but you knew more than most that it was a ruse. "Drink more."

"You're an incredibly demanding man, aren't you? Dine with me. Drink more. Not a single please, nor thank you.", you retorted, as though that could take away from the fact that you obeyed.

"When you are incredibly in demand, you learn to be incredibly demanding."

If ever a smoother talker existed, you'd wager he'd simply be Alexei Vronsky in disguise.

"So tell me, then. Are you a gentleman, a cad, or an opportunist, Count Vronsky?"

You had to steer the conversation back to him, because whatever this vilely beguiling liquor was, it was shooting through your veins at a rate too fast to risk talking about yourself, lest any family secrets spilled out.

"I am whatever you want me to be. And you? Are the rumours true? Are you a virgin, a temptress, or a genius?"

"I am whatever I want to be. For tonight."

"Come morning?", he murmured against your neck as he slipped a finger under a loose strand of hair, and twirled it with such dedication you would think that were his only purpose in life.

"A memory."

"Well, we can't have that.", he pouted, as he stood up, gently taking the glass away from you and finishing the last of it. "What does it take for a memory to stay in the present?"

"Vronsky-"

"A dance, perhaps, as they say you enjoy?"

If you weren't unsure of the functionality of your motor skills in your drunken haze, you'd have punched him right then and there.

"The rumours aren't true, you know?"

"What rumours?", he asked, feigning obliviousness.

He'd just spoken of them, but you were quite sure if you reminded him, he'd attribute it to the vodka. Tell you you were 'surely imagining things, dear one'.

"The ones that led you to come and have a go at me."

"Those? Oh, I didn't believe them for a second.", he grinned, his eyes examining the filthiest, most remote parts of your soul - ones that even you had never been privy to.

A moment washed over the both of you, tauntingly. You looked for any secrets in his eyes, and he looked for any in yours, albeit, more calmly than you.

"Come.", he mumbled, finally, offering his hand for you to get up out of his disgustingly well-crafted chair. "Let's get you back on your side of The Line."

══════════════════ ⋆🍷⋆ ══════════════════

"There. Oh, and here. I am of proper manners.", he added after you'd leapt over The Line, handing your pencil back over to you.

It felt oddly anticlimactic after the events of the evening.

His icy blue eyes - striking, so striking that they pierced you - fell onto your lips for just a moment before landing on the pencil in your hand. "You don't want it back."

"What? Of course I do."

He had you. He was onto you.

"Let me rephrase. You don't need it back."

"Sentimentality. Of course I do."

"You really don't want it to stay in my possession, instead?"

"No."

"Liar.", he smirked, his lips curving deliciously, and you just about lost it. "You know I'll take very good care of it, no? Like I took care of you, tonight. No complaints, yes?"

"Besides the aggressive persuasion to drink a fiery liquid that most probably burnt my throat off, no."

"You exaggerate. Tell me tonight was just another of your dull nights. Tell me I haven't been a source of reprieve from your tedious, mundane days of fakeness and gossip."

You scoffed, refusing to dignify that with a reply, although you already knew that any response- or lack thereof - would be all too telling.

"You cannot, can you?"

There was nothing you hated more than when men were right.

Especially men who were as captivating as Vronsky. It was unnecessary and dangerous.

He beamed, clearly so fucking proud of himself, as he looked out at the waves. "It is a lovely dress you are wearing."

No, it wasn't. It was the most commonplace of dresses one could wear. But he'd say it anyway. Because that was his play.

"Thank you."

"It is disgusting, though."

"In what way? A disgusting display of my wealth, or disgustingly lovely?"

He knelt down next to you from the other side, on the sand. "It is disgusting that such beauty and purity like yours can exist and people continue to slander its name."

Had you been a lesser woman, you'd have fallen for it.

It seemed, however, that he knew you wouldn't. It was confusing, to say the least, whether he was being genuine or being genuinely fake.

"It is how I live."

If you'd read him right, he should say something along the lines of...

"It shouldn't be."

There.

"However... the dress in itself is not disgusting?"

"No, it is spectacular- although, I must say, the woman wearing it is far more ravishing."

Games get boring when they are predictable.

"So. What is it you normally do after parties, since you cannot get drunk? Unless blackmailing women to dine with you and drink your vodka is your usual pastime."

He snickered, although a slight maliciousness infiltrated his gaze for a moment. "It isn't so much a pastime as... an unfortunately common occurence. Perhaps that's why you've got an opinion of me as a - how'd you put it?"

"A cad."

"Ah, yes, a cad. I wonder if your opinion has changed."

That was not hope in his eyes, no. That was a challenge. 'Go ahead, Y/N, say no. If you dare.', his look said.

"I wonder that, too. Perhaps it will if you keep your promise."

"Promise?", he repeated, raising a brow. He knew. He knew all too well what you were saying.

"False pretences.", you reminded, watching him as he watched the waves distort the light of the moon. "You said you would tell me what false pretences you think I put up."

He was far too close. The incredibly fragile, entirely imaginary Line wouldn't be able to stop him from reaching over and touching your shoulder once more.

"I think... do you want to know what I think?"

"I might."

"I think that you're lying when you brush off the rumours."

"You think I am a slut? A temptress?" Now, suddenly, the monotonous nature of everyday seemed far more interesting than the thousandth iteration of the same conversation.

"No, I think you brushing them off is the lie. They affect you far too much." Alright. That was... progress.

"Do they, now?"

"Very much. And there is one more, as well, although I doubt you will like to hear it. You crave to prove them right."

Congratulations, Alexei Vronsky, you've caught my attention.

"That is an extremely, extremely bold suggestion."

"Yet you are not denying it."

"I do not wish to have my virtue questioned, Vronsky, and us having dinner does not change that."

"But it pokes at it, does it not? A slight scratch, an itch, asking if that is what you really want. It blurred the lines, did it not?"

Shut up, shut up, shut up.

"You're an incredibly delusional man, Count Vronsky."

"A delusional cad."

"Precisely."

You didn't miss the amusement in his tone, the laughter, the way he knew how perfectly right he was.

"Well, this delusional cad did not lie, earlier. You truly have bewitched me, my dear, and I do not think I shall ever turn you down."

He stood up, dusting the sand off his gloves and pants. You stood up too, not out of respect, but out of the desire to relish his face once more.

"Turn me down?"

"When you inevitably ask for me when your marriage is dry, lifeless and torturous."

Good lord. How long had he been- how far ahead was he thinking?

"I will be right here. On this side."

"Why are you so adamant that my marriage will be-"

"Because I'm the one you need. You've broken quite literally every rule tonight. Crossed the line, fraternized with the enemy, drank unfamiliar alcohol that could so easily have been poisoned or used against you."

"How does that make you the one I-"

"I'm taking you out of your comfort zone. Freeing you. What more would one want from a lover?"

So casual with that word. Lover. As though that was all you two had been, since the beginning.

"Have I mentioned that you're-"

"Delusional? Yes, you have. But you have also yet to mean it."

Who the hell allowed this man to be so confident?

His thumb rubbed against your cheek in pure tenderness that you are well-prepared for - you've learnt over the years he's unpredictable, and since his mercurial nature was the only predictable thing about him, it was easy for you to guess his next move.

Or at least, figure out that it would be the exact opposite of the tone of his words.

"I can help you, you see?", he said, words so faint they were almost whisked away in the sea breeze. "Honest."

"Was that the point of tonight?"

"No, the point of tonight was to get you so utterly inebriated that you would tell me your family's secrets, and hence, your own."

That was the only thing that had come out of his mouth all night that you could guarantee was the truth.

"And since that did not happen, you are doing this?"

"No, I couldn't let that happen. Unwrapping you, figuring you out, it is far too intriguing a task to complete with a glass of vodka and enticing words. I want to spend years, decades, the rest of my life, performing this task, revealing you slowly and addictively, until I have lost myself or driven myself crazy trying to reach the core of your soul."

The silence kissed you two over and over until you couldn't take it anymore. "You are terrifyingly good at this."

He almost looked like he was about to say 'at what', but it seemed his mood had turned too serious to coax a half-hearted insult out of you.

"And you are terrifying. You are like the eye of a storm, intricately, almost... sinisterly drawing me closer."

"I'm not sure what you want me to-"

His lips devoured your words, and you could not help but think that this night had progressed far too rapidly to your liking. He was a stranger, a random man who you shared nothing but a flimsy little line with, but here you were, letting him kiss you, letting him ruin you, letting him convince you with his words that this was a good idea.

"Come on, darling.", he murmured against your lips, his eyes still half-lidded in a triumphant haze. "Cross the line. I promise, I'll take care of you."

You surrendered, and all you could do was hope that his beauty was simply angelic in nature, and was not designed for the sole purpose of ruining you and every iota of self-respect you had.

Hard to tell, but perhaps he had meant it that way.

[thewertsearch]

AA: there was another half by scourge in two parts AA: one part three symbols AA: and the other AA: five AA: why the scale was tipped in this way between sisters AA: i cannot say!

Well, Bec's code was originally implanted in a Seer, so maybe Terezi’s brain is just better-suited for carrying gene sequences. It is one of the most obviously cerebral classes.

Four codes, each born from a separate Vriska Incident.

This is why Scratch was egging Vriska on so much. He was contributing to his own creation.

AA: each fragment would be transcribed in our rulebooks AA: sealing the collaboration between rust bloods and blue bloods AA: completing the code for our sessions architect

I still can't tell if each code is a fragment of MEOW, or if MEOW is only one of the four sequences that created Scratch. I certainly hope it's the former, because if Scratch's MEOW has been tampered with, his abilities might differ from those of a normal First Guardian. We'll have no idea what he's truly capable of.

This isn't the first time I've been confused by Scratch's origins, either. There's a small discrepancy in the comic, concerning the nature of the cueball he was (presumably) spawned from. I haven't brought it up before, but since this scene appears to leading into Scratch's creation, it may be my last chance to speculate.

So - the cueball. The magical little orb that Scratch is a dead ringer for. Barring the surprise introduction of a second white sphere in this infodump, it's the only item in the comic which would create a cueball-headed First Guardian. Franky, if he's not made from the thing, it just raises further questions, and I think it's essentially confirmed.

And it makes sense, doesn't it? The cueball can answer any question, so it clearly has access to some wellspring of absolute knowledge. Clearly, it's the reason for Scratch's omniscience... right?

Well, no! That's the problem! The cueball's omniscience is completely redundant, because the MEOW code already contains an omniscience gene!

According to the Scratch loredump, any 'intelligent' host for the MEOW code will be granted near-omniscience. Scratch didn't need the cueball, provided his humanoid component was sufficiently clever. Considering Scratch's own analytical personality, this was obviously the case.

Like - you get what I'm saying, right? Scratch's omniscience has two completely independent origins. It's an extremely strange discrepancy, and I'm not sure what it could mean.

The best theory I currently have is that Scratch arranged this himself, to give himself an advantage. Maybe having two sources of omniscience makes him even more knowledgeable than his peers? It would be very Homestuck for some characters to be 'more omniscient' than others.

AA: there was another fragment […] AA: an additional eight symbols AA: from a wild card source i suppose AA: it came from a timeline not meant to happen

Wh- Gamzee interfered in the creation of Scratch?

...fuck.

This is why Scratch is so uniquely malevolent - because Gamzee injected some foreign DNA into his sequence, creating a mutant First Guardian, with motives transcending the planet he was ostensibly made for.

I suddenly understand jack shit - but there's one thing I am sure of, and that's who to blame. A powerful, neutral Sgrub NPC was corrupted into joining the cult of English, and he has to be the one pulling the strings here.

[tornrose24]

A ghostly theory that connects Gravity Falls and The Ghost and Molly Mcgee.

There’s a huge part of me that wants to believe that Gravity Falls and The Ghost and Molly Mcgee take place within the same universe, and I came upon some interesting ideas that support just how close that could be, as well as what could happen if Scratch (as a ghost) ever came to Gravity Falls.

So let’s get the obvious out of the way–the way ghosts are depicted in the shows are completely different. GF ghosts retain a somewhat human appearance, while TGAMM ghosts only have slight elements of their original human forms.

So there’s no way they could be in the same universe, correct?

Well, I want to add another factor into this–the Haunted Mansion.

The Haunted Mansion is not only confirmed to exist in TGAMM thanks to Ollie mentioning it in the season 2 premiere episode but in a Disney’s Random Rings short, Scratch is shown to be calling the residents in the mansion in an attempt to secure a place of residency.

But here’s the thing–HM ghosts don’t resemble the TGAMM ghosts. Much like the GF ghosts, they retain a human appearance (Constance) or at least keep a humanoid appearance (The Hat Box Ghost).

(Notice how Constance looks a tad closer to the ghostly couple from Gravity Falls in retaining a more human form, compared to Scratch. You only have a few clues to what he looked like as a human).

This begs the question as to why the hell is that possible.

So here is my theory.

Gravity Falls has already been established as a ‘weirdness magnet’ thanks to a history of paranormal events–a sort of gateway between dimensions even–and was a place that Bill Cipher (a very powerful, dangerous entity) was especially attracted to. Unsurprisingly, it would be a magnet for ghosts.

As for the Haunted Mansion, its main location (New Orleans, Louisiana) has had a long supernatural history to begin with. It’s likely that all the ghosts gathering at this one mansion (combined with its own history) turned it into a weirdness magnet, like Gravity Falls. However, the mansion is NOT as powerful as Gravity Falls given that the land around the town has been attracting a lot of strangeness ever since the time of the dinosaurs and a UFO crashed into the area.

Now recall when I said that the ghosts in that HM short and the GF ghosts retain a somewhat human appearance? Well here’s my theory–

The amount of paranormal energy in Gravity Falls and the Haunted Mansion is what allows their ghosts to keep a more human form, compared to the TGMM ghosts. Not even the Ghost World has whatever this energy is. It’s also likely that these places are safe havens from the Ghost World since having to work for The Chairman binds you to an eternal job that you cannot get out of due to the eternal consequence of getting sent to the Flow of Failed Phantoms if you screw up.

Furthering the connection, GF also has concepts of corrupted ghosts, unfinished business, and even wraiths. (By the way, this took a bit of rewatching and looking through the books to confirm some things).

The most obvious corrupted ghost with unfinished business? None other than the ghost lumberjack Archibald Courderoy (who may be Wendy’s ancestor). A ghost who (along with his men) was screwed over by the family they bought a house for and even placed a curse upon them that could only be lifted if one of their own allowed the common folk to enter the mansion during one of their parties. Does any of that sound slightly familiar? Especially the curse bit? Dipper categorized this kind of ghost as a Category 11: Demonic Vengeance Specter in Journal 3. Someone even more dangerous than a category 10 (where the Grim Reaper is placed).

The convenience store ghosts? Again, supernatural powers, the ability to curse people, etc. As for their unfinished business…. Did Dipper dancing in that costume count? I don’t know on this one. In one of the GF books, Dipper talks about the concept of unfinished business when discussing that incident and he does mention that this is when a ghost is obsessed with something that they were unable to accomplish in life. For a TGAMM fan, this makes the lumberjack ghost comparable to Howlin’ Harriet, (who was far into corruption and obsessed over getting new toes) or Blair and Sonya (who were obsessed over an unreturned video and practicing a routine).

Ok, now the big one–as my friend @jackie-gremlin-ghost  and I have discussed, the concept of wraiths (the ghost of a person who is still alive) also applies to GF because Dipper himself became a ghost-like being when Bill took over his still-living body and forced his soul out of it. Bill tells Dipper he’s ‘basically a ghost’ and Dipper himself confirms this in the collection of bedtime stories. And Bill was free to possess Dipper’s body–as well as Ford’s–much like Scratch possessed Molly’s body in the body swap episode of TGAMM.

(Bill posessing Dipper's body while Dipper is basically the GF version of a wraith. However, GF wraiths seem to retain their human coloration to a degree....)

(....Meanwhile, in TGAMM wraiths look no different than regular ghosts. There's no way to spot the difference.)

But wraiths in TGAMM are visible, so why isn’t Dipper? Because Bill didn’t WANT him to be visible and also Bill is far more powerful than a mere ghost. However, Dipper’s spirit is still able to take on a human appearance–more so than the actual ghosts of Gravity Falls. He’s still able to do things like possess objects, but it’s likely Bill would have depowered Dipper severely.

And of course, if Bill succeeded in his plans and killed Dipper’s body, its confirmed that Dipper’s soul would have been still wandering around in some form. Dipper could have also been prone to corruption (as hinted at for one timeline in The Book of Bill). But if Bill kept Dipper’s body alive, and the consequence of staying as a wraith for too long applied to Dipper? Oh Dipper would have been SCREWED big time. (And as shown in The Book of Bill, Ford could have ended up with those same fates too, given how toxic his relationship with Bill was getting).

So now back to Scratch.

My guess is that if he went to Gravity Falls (or the Haunted Mansion), then he’d be subjected to the weird energy that surrounds it. In turn, this could potentially change his appearance from resembling a floating blue ghost to taking on a more human–but still ghostly–appearance. And…. Well… let’s just say that he’d be in for one hell of a surprise if that happened.

[raayllum]

What do you think it means for corruption to overwhelm someone? Do you think Callum will die or will something else happen to him? Also I thoroughly enjoyed the podcast! (This is theinnermechanismsofmymindtdp but I refuse to link my main blog….)

That's a good question, and one I've spent time thinking about in terms of what a Corrupted S7 Callum would look like. (I lean towards something that directly changes his outward appearance during the possession, which is also a convenient short hand for stakes and thereby recovery when it fades.)

Part of the reason this is somewhat tricky is because there's roughly three Versions of what TDP considers to be 'Corruption,' and because the series makes all of these things regularly overlap with one another.

1) Emotional corruption

This is evidenced by someone who is changing for the worse, which is mostly tethered through Soren's dialogue. This can involve becoming a 'monster' (as seen through Viren and Runaan in S6) due to the weight of their 'sins'.

This of course ties into the series' most consistent form of corruption, which is Literal

2) Corruption through dark magic use.

Viren and Claudia get their literally corrupted faces (similar in nature to Runaan's in the life and death portal) and what made the turning point happen in Lissa and Viren's relationship. This is also symbolic of what scared Callum straight in 2x08 and what continues to scare him in 6x03 ("I did it, I'm ruined, it's too late for me, who cares?"). As Soren notes, continued and regular dark magic usage can change people, even if Claudia insists otherwise ("But I'm not evil, it's me, you know me. I'm still the same person"), but that Viren and most likely Claudia successfully come back from said corruption (and in Viren's case, that's not exclusive to never doing dark magic again, either).

I think it's worth noting that thus far the corrupted face (Viren's from coining Kpp'Ar, and Claudia's in killing Sir Sparklepuff) has come from using a combo of deep and dark magic through the staff, and directly out of acts of love (at least in theory for Viren).

Soren also asks for and/or sees his family members change away from this form of literal, physical corruption as well, and we see that Callum's love for Rayla literally helps heal this corruption in him in S6.

3) Dark magic corruption through infection.

This is arguably the one where the previous notions of corruption are brought together, as Janai explains in 5x03:

Nearly a year ago we tried to reclaim Lux Aurea, but the dark mage's corruption was worse than we realized. It is like a plague. Dark magic infests the city. What life remains there has been twisted into monstrosities. [To Callum and Rayla] You don't get it, do you? We had to kill the infected! Our own people.

There's a few things to unpack here.

Dark magic corruption is being compared to a sickness and plague that infects and festers within. We also see this compared to Kpp'Ar's arm wound and other old wounds ("It is a wound that has been festering for a thousand years" 5x04).

Emotional corruption, bolstered by dark magic use, and corruption through infection can both turn people into "monsters". Both forms strip you of your perceived free will: the corrupted through usage monsters increasingly don't perceive their choices as choices ("I did what I had to do" / "I had to save him, I had no choice!" / "Finnegrin was going to kill you, I didn't have a choice!"). The corrupted through infection monsters are seemingly mindless killers, as Zubeia describes an increasingly complete loss of self (which is also what possession is):

Tis a scratch. A mere nothing. Oh, but it festers. Corrupted. Infected. Oh! I can feel my very being shattering from the inside out. I fear I'm losing everything.

Her love for Avizandum (and Zym), signified by a glowing chest heart, also helps her come back to herself and leave the nightmare (Janai describing things as a nightmares, Aaravos using nightmares to manipulate Callum) behind.

Under duress, you can be forced to kill these monsters in order to protect yourself, even if that means killing your own people / people you know and love.

And last but not least, Amaya also tethers all this back to the idea of change (as we saw most prominently under emotional corruption).

Janai wanted so badly to cleanse Lux Aurea, but we failed. The shadow monsters are dangerous killers. But even worse, just a single scratch

The infected became corrupted shadows in a matter of days.

This consequence of "just one scratch and it's over" is now, of course, the exact same set of stakes Callum has been presented following the successful Star-light truth ritual if he ever does dark magic. If he uses it one more time, it's 'over,' and he knows that, in addition to knowing it'd open back up Aaravos' ability to possess him.

But beware, if you ever use dark magic again, the darkness and corruption will overwhelm you.

(Because I have followed a dark path. I had become a monster. I'm a monster. I fought you, I tried to kill you! He's leading an army of darkness. It's not every day you have an army of 10,000 monster soldiers. The human mage, already tainted by darkness. What if I'm on a path of darkness? Shadow monsters. What life remains there has been twisted into monstrosities. You keep calling it a monster.)

Much like how dark magic corruption through usage isn't exclusive from emotional corruption (they have a tendency to go hand in hand, but it's not synonymous because thus far Callum has been our exception), I don't think dark magic corruption through infection is exclusive from dark magic corruption through usage dark magic. All of them are associated with darkness; all of them can turn you into a monster; all of them are tied to losing your identity and your free will.

This is basically a very long winded way of saying I think Callum being overwhelmed with darkness and corruption may look like a combination of all three of them. While there could either be an instantaneous flip (which works well for drama and potential time crunch), there could also be a slow build (more similar to Zubeia, which could offer up more hope for a fix before it happens fully, even if I think the dragang would ultimately be too late because... it's more dramatic and we gotta get the possession fight, don't we?).

At the very least, physical appearance wise, I'm expecting a corrupted face, if not a fully corrupted form like the Banther. (Partially because it matches up with how the dark magic rune glows red, rather than purple, in Callum's dark magic 2x08 dreams).

Post-corruption / possession / ordeal, Rayla (and/or Ezran) will somehow find a way to get him out of it and bring him back to himself. This is bolstered by her literally being his light to Aaravos' darkness in 4x02 framing wise, 4x07 dialogue wise ("Then take another path, dummy"), and 6x06 literally wise.

If he does die / Rayla kills him, I think it'd be temporary at best as while it'd set his slate clean, I don't think they'd do that a second time, and given that Callum now has to Make a Choice in order to be possessed, that works perfectly fine as him turning himself over to metaphorical death (Aaravos stripping away his identity) and literal in his mind (banking on Rayla fulfilling his promise). I don't think he needs a literal, physical one on top of it, but who knows.

If dark magic is a wound, it can be healed.

If corruption is a sickness, it can be cured.

If possession is a lack of agency, it can be restored.

And if it's darkness, you can find the light.

After all:

(Looks pointedly at mutual salvation theory from Aug 2022)

[art-ificial-sweeteners]

They’re fine, don’t worry about it.

Everyone say thank you @the5n00k for breaking the spell of my art block.

This is fanart for the last part of their fic I Can’t Lose You. I love the corrupted scratch theory. So much angst potential. Go read it (if you’re caught up with season 2 because there are spoilers for A Soda to Remember).

[the5n00k]

2nd part of my last question

So if the old Corrupted theory is werewolf transformation that being 4 stages what did the 4 stages looked like

Sadly I'm not in a position where I could accurately illustrate it for you but I did describe it briefly in this fic towards the end of the first chapter

But if you don't wanna do that much reading then I always imagined it would start at the limbs, creep upward like an infection causing spines to grow and physical instability to start, then the body would start contorting and growing in size becoming darker and more unstable, and then finally the eyes and demeanor would change, becoming more hollow and animalistic in nature

Again sorry I can't really draw the process for you but I've been having my hands full lately 😅

[ilove2draw2008]

NO MOLLY DON'T COME IN!!!!!

[emositecc]

Girble burble corrupted Scratch theory