#got to love eldritch horrors beyond comprehension

[k1ngrav]

watcher designs bc i needed to do their lineup and they're silly!

(close ups bc quality is BAD)

[daintev]

Today I present an eldritch horror beyond human comprehension as a silly goober

Finally got around to drawing Kwite, always love seeing how people interpret Kwite's legs and I'm a big fan of the idea they're like a void that also doubles as legs.

[vlly-of-despair]

Ghosts in the Computer? It’s not what you think…

Ok I have very little to back up most of this BUT (spoilers for The Magnus Protocol so far)

I don’t think John/Martin/Jonah are stuck in the computer at all. I think they are stuck in the FEAR WORLD. Think about it, when John got sucked into the rift with Martin, he already became the Pupil and was bound immeasurably to all of the Fears, which mind you, are simply ONE being which can be extended to different ‘categories’. By the end of TMA, John wasn’t human at all. Martin even asks him,

“How much of you is even left now?”

“It’s still me, Martin. I’m still here.”

Yeah, John. Your consciousness and personality are still your own, but make no mistake my sweet man, you are full Eldritch horror now.

This could be the only conceivable way John could have survived being stabbed, then sacrilegiously torn throughout time and space. I mean, the spooky happenings and Avatars are described as this ‘Somewhere Else’ (🤨) bleeding into our world. But nobody has ever entered this other world, it’s beyond the human comprehension. Unless… perhaps you were to be the closest thing to a Fears’ grubby little Jesus and entwined further through tapes that stretched itself within this realm then ripped you through this passage…

Here is my current suggestion. Perhaps John is in the Fears layer in reality, the ‘Somewhere Else’ as I shall call it, by virtue of himself being in a sense, an extension of the Fears. As the Fears were categorized as different vital organs as a whole being, John may be an extension of this said being. The fears made manifest in a human-ish form; the fears brought in a sentient avatar. But make no mistake, John literally is fear now.

And perhaps this is what [ERROR] is as well, this mysterious creature ‘cloaked in whispers’ is John just… kind of body hopping into people (or even past Archivists which didn’t go as far along as he did in his lovely little Becoming) and trying to communicate with others who could understand him, maybe why he has recorders with him. These whispers are literally fear, he is wearing fear. He IS FEAR. And when he tries to speak, or speaks through another’s voice, he compels others to vomit up all their fear in incoherent ramblings because that is ALL THEY CAN SEE. The fear.

Fr3d1, or ‘Freddie’, on the other hand, is a device connected to the Somewhere Else long before John arrived there. My theory is that objects bound by Alchemy can act as conduits to the Somewhere Else and the Fears, such as the Fr3d1 program, and other cursed objects found throughout the series. And just as John could know into the truth of his world through the Eye, the land of the Fears can touch the minds of all worldly beings of this layer of reality, like a vast ocean… one in which John is fully submerged in.

The Magnus Institute program may have also been a program designed to seek out children who can nurture an ability to psychologically enter the Somewhere Else (as Hans Burger did in Ep 22 in his dream). Sam is being specifically targeted because HE can possibly have that capability to tap into that world and speak to John. It could also be an explanation for the act of ‘meditation’ causing reality jumps, specifically close to the Magnus Institute. Your consciousness briefly enters the Somewhere Else, and because this place resides in a world outside of the material world, you may fall back into reality misplaced. Slightly off center from your reality, and usually this journey is deadly…

Freddie, by its ability to touch the Somewhere Else, was a program designed with supernatural abilities to garner intell tied to this outer dimension. But now that John is in this dimension, he can manipulate the system to try to steer it in a direction which can ‘speak’ to the OIAR crew, try to explain his situation. You know, without the compelling, drowning, or scaring away the closest thing to allies he could have.

Now why are Martin and Jonah there? Well, for Martin, he was dragged with John and is only been able to stay alive this long because of him. He is an extension of John, and John is trying his darndest to keep him alive. The only problem is that Martin is mortal, or at least a hell of a lot more human than John. He probably can’t psychologically take the ‘I am living in fear’ quite literally, and this may be why all of the statements in Norris’s voice are about lost love, being lost in liminal spaces, or in hearing your beloved, only to be terrified by them as they are irrevocably warped into a horrific phantom of themselves. Perhaps that is all that Martin can see; that he is somewhere where he can’t escape, and John is terrifying. So very very terrifying, and wrong. He is incapable of comprehending anything else, he may even be in the Lonely state much like in MAG 170: Recollection. John can bare the weight of all of that perception, of fear, or knowing and seeing. He wished it could be horrible, but it feels ‘right’. Not for Martin though.

As for Jonah, my best approximation is that by virtue of being the previous Pupil and also being connected to the Eye so prolifically, even when dying, small remnants of him remained in the Somewhere Else as a figure of Fear much like John. However, he is much weaker on account of John both defeating him in their original universe and plain of existence, and the fact that ‘the Eye chose John’. Nevertheless, he’s still kicking around, his evil embers also fighting to communicate, albeit less so (his statements being infrequent). Perhaps the JMJ errors are the boys fighting for supremacy in the horrors mindscape. Jonah is losing, but he won’t go down and let John win without a fight.

Where does that leave us? Well, my guess is that our lovely Son of Fears needs to rise again, be called back to the material world through some sort of Alchemical ritual. Maybe by a dangerously curious guy whose life went downhill ever since he was rejected from the Magnus Institute for having a little too much empathy, but always knew his calling to tap into that power…

Hopefully he can unleash his judgement day, smite a few less than pleasurable Externals. And while he’s at it, return his boyfriend to the living world, and get rid of an annoying old man who just refuses to die.

[chronicallyblyrie]

MAGNUS PROTOCOL SPOILERS YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED

ALRIGHT, its time to go off about these first 2 episodes Episode 1: -SAM AND ALICE MY LOVES

-Gwendolyn was either going to be the biggest win or the biggest loss for lesbians, SHE IS A WIN

-I still cannot get over everyone immediately going "Nah Sam, you touch grass, which means you CAN NOT work here" - So it seems all the audio is being recorded by the computers as opposed to tape recorders this time (except for the scenes like sam and alice at the bar which is somewhat confusing me but whatever) This is DEFINITELY falling into line with the technology theme still and I am loving it

-I really cannot tell if Lena is evil or not, I don't think Rusty Quill would be like "yeah this is just Elias all over again" but who knows, she still gives off the same icky evil person vibes so I could be totally wrong -Going back to eye imagery just immediately in the first episode with gory photos of eyes in a chat forum, welcome back ceaseless watcher we missed you so much

-THESE SNEAKY BASTARDS USING JON AND MARTINS VOICES TO TAUNT US I KNOW WHAT YOU'RE DOING JONNY SIMS

-Also 3rd voice is who??? we obviously know now that the 3rd redacted character is going to be a tts voice aswell but my question is who is this tts supposed to be? its a possibility that it is Jonah but I am not entirely convinced

-Sam mentioned that the talk of the institute was a "Blast from the past"? now THATS interesting

-Okay cool so Colin is just paranoid and does not trust anyone good to know

Episode 2:

-WOOO SHORT STORY TIME

-This sounds like some flesh shit ngl

-"Time isn't real" so true Alice so true

-The Alice and Gwen rivalry is so goofy I cant get over these two silly little gals

- Alice has a brother, lets hope this one doesn't pull a Danny Stoker

-Oh no Saaaaaaam don't go researching the creepy institute nooooooooooo, would be a shame if you got yourself tied up into some eldritch horrors

Anyways I think thats it cant wait for next thursday so I can giggle and kick my feet again while I listen to more horrors beyond my comprehension

[onmyyan]

Been playing so so much baldurs gate and wanted to submit DND considerations for your OCS, please share your thoughts on the vibes:

Caspian: cleric all the way baby. can hit things real hard AND won't let shit hurt a loved one, but if it does get past him, he'll patch you up <3 healing touch on darling so he can cradle their face all lovey dovey. Could also see a paladin, but maybe one with a very unique understanding of his oath to protect others. Maybe even secretly broke the oath but doesn't care; if he's sworn to protect life, surely the oath should understand that he WAS protecting darlings life by violently ending another one?

Gabe: barbarian, obvs. himbo energy, big and tall, flies into a rage when need be, likes and enjoys violence with as little armor as possible. Tries to drink everyone under the table in every town and usually wins, but also usually ends up in a bar fight when his drunk competition ends up a little too mouthy abt darling for his liking. Will throw darling over his shoulder when they need to run

Ricky: wizard pondering his orb but in the snarkiest way possible towards everyone but his darling. "Are you that fucking stupid??? Are you illiterate?? Why get in the direct and literal line of fire when I'm casting. You deserve that scar" vs "if I ever accidentally singe even a hair on your head, I'm going to throw myself off a cliff". Likes to read to you in your tent bc it's "easier to focus", but just thinks you're so cute when you're falling asleep listening to him <3

Marcos: rogue, baby!!! He's stealing shit off anyone that annoys him, pulling darling out of the way of traps and into cozy little nooks with him while the others scramble out of the way. The party gets stopped at a toll house and he pickpockets the guard, then undoes their trousers and ties their boot laces together for good measure.

Manny: warlock but some real freaky shit, eldritch horror type beat. He's flickering at the periphery of your vision and you SWEAR he's got tentacles coming out of his face but when you look directly at him he's all :3c . his patron doesn't come around too much, Manny picked one that specifically wouldn't be too intrusive, bc he's been planning this shit out since the moment Ricky first cast a spell. He's always wanted magic but didn't feel inclined towards the scholarly pursuit of it so much as the "deal with a devil" thing. Is trying to figure out ways to bend the deal to benefit him and darling through powers beyond mortal comprehension

Diego: druid, no question. Affinity for wolves over everything else but makes a very cuddly lap dog too when the need strikes. Probably hangs out with darling as a literal stray first and then accidentally shifts one day, ending up directly in the lap of a now very freaked out darling

Ash: long-suffering ranger in a party of city dwellers. "Put that down" "don't eat that" "for the love of- no, you cannot pet the owlbear". Secretly enjoys being the only one in the know when he gets to show off for his sweet pea and may let the others do stupid stuff knowingly if it means he looks better by comparison.

Darling could be some adventurer or innkeeper who crosses paths with one and then all of the party, who just has to go with them to finish their quest or stay safe from the town that's suddenly overwhelmed with monsters. Or maybe HER party was wiped out by some shadowy threat, and she never figures out that her new pals know more about that tragedy than they let on.

This is absolute perfection??? How did you know I been playing baulders gate huh?? How'd you know this would scratch my brain in a perfect way??

[dalesramblingsblog]

In honour of an episode that seems consciously about the construction of narratives around fundamentally meaningless aspects of the universe, a Twitter conversation with one of my last remaining mutuals to survive the Muskening, lightly repurposed to serve as a singular, narrativised Tumblr post in a way it was never designed for.

Who says art is dead?

73 Yards was strange and haunting and not entirely comprehensible in a way that Doctor Who seldom manages.

I suspect it's one where personal tolerance for that sort of thing will make or break the episode, but I certainly think that, knowing this was Gibson's first filmed episode, she did a phenomenal job.

It was also, for me at least, a more generally successful invocation of the kind of eldritch horror implied by the Toymaker or the Maestro, largely by virtue of it giving itself room to be ambiguous.

I've seen the complaints about stuff like the PM being a blank slate, but I do rather feel like that might be the point. It's an episode all about perception and projection and narrativisation of a universe that can be cold and hostile and incomprehensible.

(And frankly, I'm starting to suspect that the whole of RTD2 might be about that on some level. "We see something incomprehensible and invent the rules to make it work" and all that. It's audacious and bold in a way that Doctor Who hasn't been in half a decade.)

And as someone for whom those themes really hit home a lot of the time, yeah, I loved it. I know I probably sound like a broken record but I am genuinely just having a blast with this latest series.

The worst thing Doctor Who can ever feel like for me is an obligation that I only keep up with out of a need to stay relatively current in writing about it, and that was what the Chibnall Era often boiled down to for me.

Part of the reason, in hindsight, I poured so much of myself into my book reviews was that the show itself was simply failing to excite me with the level of regularity necessary to keep me engaged.

Knowing that I can put on Doctor Who on a Saturday night and be reasonably well-entertained and intrigued is, frankly, enough for me, but I do think there are enough aspects of genuine quality that I'm not just blindly worshipping at the altar of a false idol or w/e.

I dunno, I think at the end of the day I'm just a big sucker for TV that makes sense to me on an emotional rather than logical level. It's why I'm a big fan of Twin Peaks, or the second season of Millennium, or hell even Masks over on TNG.

The episode had the general feel of one that will be quite important to the overall themes of the season, so I can't imagine it will linger in *complete* ambiguity forever (though honestly if it did I would kind of love that).

Like I wouldn't be surprised if we're building up to a similar time loop reveal wrt Ruby's general existence. The fact that we've now got at least three instances of her timeline being haunted by mysterious old women cannot possibly be coincidence.

(Well, it can be, but that way lies goblins, as we know.)

IDK, there's a strangeness to Davies' acknowledgments of mediality here that goes even beyond Moffat's usual tricks. Casting a recurring actress by the name of Susan Twist while conspicuously mentioning Susan for the first time in forever feels so on the nose that while I initially suspected we might be building to the return of Susan, I now feel like we're instead headed for something much weirder.

There is so much going on and so much to unpack and frankly I don't have any idea how it could possibly tie together but I'm fascinated.

And again, the fact that this episode was almost explicitly about the process of fans theorising as to what the hell is going on with the season makes me further suspect a rebuttal of theory-focused cult fandom is in the offing.

When I first watched Once, Upon Time in 2021, I commented that it felt like Chris Chibnall's attempt to do a big, bold, incomprehensible piece of television, something almost in the vein of Twin Peaks: The Return, Part 8 but for Doctor Who.

But it's revealing that the only thing he could really think to do was dump a bunch of Doctor Who lore and simply edit things out. He's a mystery writer in the most tediously literal sense of the phrase, creating gaps that feel like they were made with a hacksaw rather than feeling like any sort of deliberate lacuna.

And I'm sorry Chibnall fans, there are some Thirteen episodes that I do like, but when I look at an episode like 73 Yards... whatever its faults may be, and I'm pretty confident I don't actually believe it to be perfect, it is bolder and weirder than anything Chibnall ever wrote. This is the kind of television I want to watch, and I make no apologies for that.

It's a rare piece of Doctor Who which comes close to capturing that sheer, terrible splendour I felt watching a slow zoom into an atom bomb explosion while being serenaded by the Threnody for the Victims of Hiroshima. And sure, it's still very far out from being quite that strange, but it retains a curious power nevertheless.

What a show.

[hannie-dul-set]

hiii!! tysm for feeding us suar well w those delicious writing 😵‍💫 can I request txt's yeonjun, with the monster x monster hunter trope?? u can add any elements you like, I js love the trope hehe

[monsters don’t hide under the bed]. you have run into a bit of a problem.

“uhm. mr. eldritch horror, sir.”

this morning, you received the alarm that one of the containment chambers got cracked open. level nine threat on the loose. exterminate on sight, said the memo. 

“it’s yeonjun,” it? he? says. “can you move over? i can’t see the screen.”

“oh, sorry.”

but how are you supposed to explain to your boss that the monster you’re supposed to be un-aliving is currently scrolling through your netflix catalog under your blankets?

he’s even wearing your fuzzy socks.

what.

what is this situation?

“hey, it was just getting good!” the television cord is now in your hands, unplugged from the socket. “turn it back on!” he slams a fist onto the comforter, knitted brows over two protesting eyes while the other two underneath them remain closed as the force causes the mattress to bounce. he’s still tucked in your bed, and what you assume are countless swirls of tentacles are hidden underneath the thick blankets.

you never know that otherworldly horrors can throw pouty tantrums like this. had you known, you might have steered yourself into a different career opportunity.

”i apologize, mr. yeonjun but i don’t think this is an appropriate time to be watching hospital playlist.” you let the wire drop onto the floor, walking closer to the foot of the bed with caution. you have a net gun stuffed underneath there somewhere. the problem is how to fish it out unnoticed. “would you like to have some breakfast first? i’m not sure if your diet consists of bacon and eggs, though.”

now, you’re the idiot for trying to fool a creature beyond human comprehension, because the moment you try to feel around with your foot for the trapping weapon, something latches onto your ankle and jerks you up and suspends you into the air.

“shouldn’t you be pretty familiar with the things i like to eat?”

it’s the first time you’re seeing their kind from up close.

it’s the first time you’re seeing them upside down as well.

“if you aren’t then you’re just bad at your job,” he clicks his tongue, a shade of purple and sharp canines peeking out when he does. yeonjun, as he introduced himself earlier, pulls out the gun you were trying you look for earlier with one of his many, many appendages, and tosses it to a corner in the room. he has his arms crossed and is sneering in disappointment. this is one grumpy being. “from what i’ve heard, i thought you’d be smarter than this.”

you blink away the nausea that’s starting to hit. “ah, i see you’re quite informed about me.”

“my friend is well acquainted with you. he doesn’t appreciate how you nearly blew off his head last year.” 

you’re not sure which friend he’s referring to. your annual work reports are usually quite lengthy. “please send them my apologies. it’s just work, nothing personal.”

”i can’t exactly send him a message with he’s trapped in one of your shitty little boxes.

“i can fix that.”

sick. you’re starting to feel sick, but despite this situation being relatively and incomprehensibly insane, there is one thing you are absolutely sure of—

“how about you put me down first and then we’ll talk, yeah?”

that you have zero intentions of dying by the hands of an eldritch monster that’s wearing your fuzzy socks.

[yourfavsasdragondescriptions]

hiiiii i LOVE hearing about dragons!!!!! may i request my good friend The Spot, from ATSV? :)

you got it boss

you also got the eldritch horror part of my brain tingling during the making of this so congrats here is a horror far beyond human comprehension

The best way I can describe this… thing appearance-wise is that it’s less of a dragon and more a being in the shape of a dragon. A living caricature in the shape of a dragon. Pure white, scaleless skin covered with black spots that move on their own accord as if they were separate organisms, a nigh-completely featureless head and bat-like wings with no wing membranes between the fingers. When it needs to fly, pitch-black holes in reality open between the wing fingers and the body itself. The only feature on the head is a single large spot that is the only spot that doesn’t change positions. This creature’s breath weapon, when needed, comes out of that spot. Its breath weapon is a pitch black smog that, while short-lived, is anathema to all other matter, erasing molecules on contact in an effect visually similar to two different colors of ink mixing in water. In large enough quantities, this smog can level whole cities.

[anns-works]

League Of Jay Tings (bc that right there? wasted potential)

The customizable character was a cool-ass feature and one of the best ideas Unagami had for the game. Even before Jay got sucked in, there were players running around with the ninjas as their skin.

(Scott got bored at one point and spent his time antagonizing the Red Visors in a Gold Ninja skin that was ridiculously expensive. Hw also lost a life. Totally worth it.)

On that note, I would like to point out that Jay and Scott's skins appear to be similar, so I'm guessing its one of the defaults that they ended up customizing (I imagine its like putting on a mustache or hat on minecraft Steve and calling it a day.

So, Jay's early days mainly included trailing around Scott cuz he was the only interaction he had with another person that wasn't just an NPC.

They finally encounter another another player but this one has a (surprise!) Blue Ninja skin. wat resulted was a ten minute long standoff between Jay and the other player which involved a lot of pointing and unintelligible noises.

The player bolted. Jay followed them screaming the entire time. Scott also followed cuz this was the most entertainment he's had in a long time. It's a miracle they haven't been discovered by any of the Visors yet.

The played leads them to a hideaway that had a LOT of people, all equipped with Blue Ninja skin.

Scott's previous amusement quickly turns into horror as he quietly goes what the fuck over and over again. Jay gets an idea like you know what, lets use this.

and basically thats how the League of Jay born in Scott's garage through Jay's ''diabolical" plan (he's making a safe hangout space for these kids and also letting them cause chaos)

(For convenience sake, lets just refer to og Jay as SRJ (after his gamer tag) ft. some of the other Jays from the league! w/ their nicknames. DeeJay777 is Dee. Jay22Walkin is Walker. BlueJay6669 is Blue. JayBird9000 is Birdy.)

Most of the things these gremlins do is mainly going around to vandalize stuff. Scott is apparently the "Master of Color" or whatever that may entail. It just basically means he can go around graffitiing "UNAGAM I UR MOMAS A HOE" or other stuff like that.

And back to the whole customizable skin bit, it was an instant hit cuz of the opportunities it presented. You could be a guy. You could be a girl. You could be as sexy as a kpop idol (is that in thing in ninjago?). You could be an eldritch creature beyond mortal comprehension if you're willing to spend up a few units.

Dee enjoys not having tits for a while. Birdy also loves the whole transmasc feeling. SRJ just updated his skin to be Like That™ to give everyone gender envy.

Unagami once released a feature in the game that would let you access different levels and mini-games based on your selected binary gender (back when that was still a thing). The League hated it and let him know dearly. So Unagami changed it into something else and threw in a couple units in the mix (a goddamn dance competition). This was an instant hit. They planed their next updates based on the League's reactions.

Unagami: I didn't realize it was you at first. But some of your actions proved to be quite educational.

SRJ, flashback to that one time he wrote "UNAGAMI I FUCKD U MAMA HERE" on a wall cuz he was feeling pissy: Sure man, don't mention it.

Also on that note, SRJ DEFINITELY founded the ninjago LGBTQA+ community. I meant ninjago in itself is a pretty non-heteronormative society and you can kiss whoever you want with no issue. But everyjay was trapped in the lair w/o Scott out nothing to do and he's bored out of his goddamn mind and just suddenly suggests coming up w/ names for different sexual orientations cuz why not? taxonomy is fucked but they're bored.

Walker has an anthropology degree and Birdy is studying gender so might as well begin.

After getting out they get awarded by the NU for their fantastic discovery.

SRJ gave up the mansion he inherited from Cliff Gordon to Scott and it sort of turned into a hangout spot for the League.

One League member said on Chirp (jokingly) that the League of Jay should have their own social media platform cuz they're too weird and are apparently freaking out people on Chirp. They get a reply from Blue who tells them she'll look into it, and two months later there's a new social media in town.

Lentils and beans of all sizes, I give to you TRip, ninjago tumblr. The buckwild experience ever. A huge hit among the serpentine immedietly.

Those iconic posts but ninjago style. Red floor at Darkley's. the three weed smoking ninjas. Don't you love the color of the gi. I like your shoelaces, thanks I stole them from samurai x. Garage ballpit.

[the-letterbox-archives]

Hiiii!!!

I’d love a little ramble about anything relating to the rockdove promise if you’re up for it! You got me really curious about it!

i would be honoured to ramble for you, thank you for the ask!!!

the rockdove promise came from a story that didn't pan out a while ago, but i've decided to revive it because i really like the concept :)

the prologue comes from the perspective of a vengeful god, and i wanted it to feel super personal so i used first person and increasingly violent language (honestly bbg needs to chill a bit), but the rest of the story will come from the perspective of another, human character.

the actual rockdove promise is a sort of agreement between humans and the old, eldritch gods, who demanded worship, land, sacrifices, and other tithes in exchange for their peacefulness and magical gifts for the lucky few who pledged themselves to the gods more personally. it's been that way since society existed, too, in and endless struggle to give the gods what they ask each year in a ceremony to honour the promise.

however, by the time the prologue begins, the humans are changing. they aren't as faithful as they once were, and the god speaking to us here is furious. they wish to act outside of what their divine peers are planning and retort against humanity with a more violent approach. but they're somewhat outside the planning, and it's not clear if the other gods even have a plan to begin with.

there are 10 (ten) gods, who are worshipped under epithets, as their true names are not to be spoken by humans, as it is superstition that a god's true name holds their power; and since these gods are eldritch horrors beyond comprehension that's a lot of power. i won't say which god gives the prologue, since they won't appear in the story for a while, but they're very... interesting.

i'd love to give more insight when i release more parts of this story, but i hope that's interesting thus far :)

[pastriibunz]

A GIRL, A GHOST, AND A GENERAL - EPISODE TWO: MY BEST FRIEND IS DEAD

Another playmate enters the scene, one that Kai strongly attaches to.

Max Jägerman was a Literal Monster.

And this time, they weren’t talking about his behavior.

A group of “Nerdy Prudes”, as he called them, had “accidentally” killed him with a prank gone wrong in The Waylon Place. 

It ended with Max skewered on a loose piece of wood, vowing his revenge in a simple statement: “Nerdy Prudes Must Die.”

When he woke, he was dead.

A ghost.

Terrifying.

Yet amazing. 

This meant he could hunt down, exterminate, every nerdy prude in Hatchetfield High.

It was fun, killing off the little nerds one by one.

However, his killing spree was short-lived.

He had gotten Ruth Fleming and Richie Lipschitz. 

They were part of the reason he died, he felt it was justified.

He was ready to get two more, Peter Spankoffski and Stephanie Lauter.

But then Grace Chasity, her girlish charm, and her rockin’ bod got involved.

He did some less than holy things with her behind the bleachers, and that was his downfall.

Thanks to some deal those nerds made, Max was taken, now being studied by five eldritch beings beyond his comprehension.

These horrors made the Literal Monster look like a kitten in comparison.

For what felt like the first time in his life, Max Jägerman was terrified.

And he couldn’t do anything other than sit there, paralyzed, as these beings giggled and chittered over what to do with him.

“I wanna eat him!” One called.

“Bo-ring! Let me put him in the box with Teddy-Bear! That’ll be fun to watch!” Another spoke up.

“For you, maybe. Can I just shut him up? His voice is annoying, I’d much rather have him be a part of my ensemble.” Another whined.

“Maybe we should just put him back. I liked watching him cause chaos.” One said.

The four beings argued until the fifth spoke. “No, no. Those won’t be any fun.”

The others quieted. Max could tell this one was the top dog. That kind of presence came with power.

He used to have that power.

“No, boys, I have the perfect thing for our new fwendy-wend.”

Max was scared for what came next as he was dragged off.

Max Jägerman was 18 years old. And he was terrified.

Kai Drew was 17 years old. And she was bored.

17 years in what was practically an empty void, and you’ll see whatever there was to see, ten times over.

The sniggles weren’t any fun to play with. They were far too good at following directions. There was no struggle, no challenge. It was boring.

Watcher World wasn’t as much fun, unlike when she was younger. At least then, she was a bit too small for some of the rides, so she had something to look forward to. Now, she was big enough for all of it, and she had ridden all there was to ride. Papa Blinky would try to add in new rides every so often for her, but each ride felt more sub-par than the last.

The Black, along with Drowsy Town, weren’t any fun to look through. She’s seen all there was to see: black void to your left, black void to your right.

She had once asked to go to The White, just for a chance to explore something new. Plus, she had whispers that her papas’ sister, Webby, lived there. She thought they’d like that. She’d get a new place to explore, plus maybe a mama. Or an auntie. She didn’t mind either way.

Her papas did not like that. 

They got all weird and angry, and The White and Webby entered on their ‘banned conversation topics’ list.

Other than that, her papas were fun, as they always were. But she knew her constant presence could be annoying. She didn’t want to annoy her papas. She loved them.

The only semi interesting thing was Uncle Mac.

She didn’t mind annoying him. He was her best friend, you’re supposed to annoy them!

He told her about the world beyond the veil. But she had to tell him about things from her life in The Black first.

That was their dynamic. Give some to get some. Kai tells him a story, he’ll tell her one. Kai gets him his old outfit back, he’ll play dress up with her, and so on and so forth.

It was strange, at first. He’d ask weird questions about her papas’ weaknesses, how she got to The Black and White, things that she didn’t know how to answer.

Once he realized that she didn’t know, it was nice. He asked about stories from her childhood, what her papas’ were like to her, what she did in her free time, and things like that.

In turn, she asked what he did before The Black, what life was like out there, who he was, and more. He wasn’t always willing to answer her questions, but he made sure she got a good story when she did get an answer.

She spent a lot of time with her Uncle Mac. He was a lot nicer to her than Uncle Wiley. Her papas weren’t very keen on this at first, but with a charming smile (plus some puppy dog eyes and a little begging), she managed to convince them it was fine.

So, here she was. Curled up, fiddling with her fingers, head lying in her Uncle Mac’s lap as he quietly read a book, listening to his breathing, and occasionally receiving a head scratch or two.

“Uncle Mac?” She spoke up eventually. He hummed in acknowledgment, a sign for her to go on.

She continued. “Can you tell me more stuff about your world?”

He nodded, looking down at her expectantly. She knew what that meant. Time for her to share. 

She nodded back. “Papa Pokey likes something called a ‘Paul Matthews’, Papa Tinky likes something called a ‘Ted Spankoffski’, he calls it his ‘Teddy-Bear’, and Papa Blinky likes something called a ‘Bill Woodward’. Papa Nibbly likes whatever is winning his Honey Festival, and last I remember it was something called a ‘Linda Monroe’. Papa Wiggly also liked the Linda, but he also likes Uncle Wiley.”

McNamara nodded. “Those are names of people, Kai.”

“Like how I’m Kai Drew and you’re Uncle Mac?” She asked.

McNamara hesitated for a bit before nodding. “…Yes. Like how you’re Kai and I’m Uncle Mac.”

Kai hummed. “So, wait, if Papas’ apparently like these humans, which still don’t exist, by the way. My papas told me I came from the Black like they did.”

“What am I, then?” McNamara asked, trying to help the girl realize.

“Dunno, but that’s not the point.” Kai said, quickly shutting him down. “If my papas like these humans, then why’d they tell me humans don’t exist?”

McNamara paused. He still didn’t know. What was the goal there? “…I don’t know, Kai.”

Kai sighed. Apparently, Uncle Mac didn’t have all the answers. 

He patted her head. “What did you want to know?”

Kai shifted excitedly. “What does PEIP do?”

“Kai, you know I can’t tell you that. It’s classified.”

“Boo.”

“I know, I know.”

“Then…tell me stories from the Great War or whatever!”

“I wasn’t alive then, Kai.”

“And I thought you were a general!”

“I…am. I just wasn’t alive then.”

“Could you’ve been alive then? Then you’d have stories to tell other than, ‘it’s classified’.”

“A lot of things we do in the military are classified, Kai.”

“Where’s the drama? The action?! Tell me something about yourself.”

“…I have a husband.”

“Ooh! Gimme the deets! Is there any marriage drama?! Did something happen with you two?!”

“No, it’s nice. We’re happy.”

Kai huffed and rolled over, cheeks puffed up in anger. “Do us all a favor and be less happy.”

McNamara simply chuckles quietly, a sound that goes unheard by Kai, and scratches her head. “Sorry I can’t be more entertaining, Kai.”

“It’s fine, I guess.” She mumbles, burrowing deeper into his lap.

A noise comes from the hall, and Kai perks up. She sits up, staring towards the door. Her behavior causes McNamara to look over as well. It opens soon after, revealing Kai’s five papas. She grins. McNamara hardens.

“Hi, princess!” Wiggly starts, before noticing McNamara. He stiffens. 

“Oh. Your…friend is here.” Wiggly mutters.

Pokey pushes past. “No matter, the show must go on. Songbird, we have a little surprise for you!”

Kai tilts her head. “What is it?”

“Well-” Pokey is quickly cut off by Tinky, who’s grinning wildly. “We got you a brand new playmate!”

Pokey glares and wacks his brother in the head. Tinky winces and rubs the spot, as Nibbly and Blinky usher Max out, dressed similarly to McNamara when he first arrived, except with a longer blouse, shorter slacks, and knee high socks.

Max gags. “Gross, I look like Spankoffski!”

His interjection goes ignored.

 “This is Maxwell Jägerman, you can call him Max. He’s gonna be a lot of fun to play with.” Blinky said, ruffling her hair. He then leaned down, whispering in her ear. “If you want, you can take him and Mac to Watcher World.”

Kai brightens at the prospect. Blinky smiles and plants a kiss on her forehead, going back with his brothers.

“Are you guys sure I can’t just taste him? Just a little bit?” Nibbly whines.

Wiggly glares. “No.” He shifts his gaze to Kai, immediately softening. “Have fun with your new friend, darling.”

Kai smiles. “I will, Papa Wiggly! Bye-bye!”

He waves before walking out, taking his brothers with him, leaving Max alone with Kai and McNamara. The ghost pounds on the door.

“Hey! HEY! Let me outta here! No way in hell am I going to be subjected to dress like fucking Spankoffski of all people!” Max shouts, pounding angrily. 

After nobody responds, Max huffs and whips around. He’s met with the sight of a mostly teal haired girl with pale skin and a scar on her cheek nose to nose with him. 

He yelps. “What the fu-?!” He’s cut off by the girl poking his nose.

“Hi!” She says, excited. Max stares down at her, confused. She continues poking him. “Why’s your skin so gray? Why are your eyes so dark? Why-”

“Kai.” McNamara speaks up. Kai freezes and retreats back to his side. Max blinks.

“Sorry about her, son. She’s excitable.” McNamara says.

“Who are you?! And who is she?! And who and what the hell were those things?!” Max shouts, pointing to the door.”

“My name is General John McNamara of the United States Military, special unit PEIP. We call it Peep.” McNamara says.

Kai then throws herself around him, hugging him tight. “And he’s my uncle! And my best friend!”

McNamara pats her head. Kai lets go and holds out her hand towards Max. “I’m Kai Drew! And those things were my papas.”

Max doesn’t take her hand, instead he just stares at her, mouth agape. “Those…freaks are your dads?!”

Kai scowls. “Hey, don’t call my papas freaks!”

“Easy, son. She doesn’t know what they do.” McNamara speaks up.

Max glares. “Whatever. What’s her deal? Why’s she so...” He said, pointing to Kai.

“I’m right here, y’know!” Kai interjected, pouting. She went ignored.

“The girl’s been raised here, she doesn’t know how to interact with people.” McNamara says.

Kai scoffs, laughing nervously. “I’m sure that’s not what he was talking about-”

“No, actually, that’s exactly what I was talking about. That explains everything.” Max says, cutting Kai off.

“Well- well- urgh!” Kai growls, defeated.

Max cackles. “That’s all you got?!”

“I am very bad at insults.” Kai mutters.

Max nods. “Clearly. You could’ve at least called me a dickhead.”

Kai tilts her head “What’s a dickhe-”

“Okay! That’s enough of that!” McNamara cuts her off.

Max snickers. “You’re a dork.”

Kai shrugs. “Can’t argue with that.”

Max smiles at her, before patting her head. Kai squeaks like a squeaky toy. He cackles and keeps it going, making Kai squeak more. Max laughs. 

McNamara, meanwhile, speeches. “Welcome to the Black and White, son. It’s a tough place for people like us. It takes a strong will and lots of persistence to even manage surviving in an environment such as this. But, I’m sure with time, you’ll make do with your situation.”

He looks over at Max and stops, stunned and confused at the sight before him: Kai, atop Max’s shoulders, giggling, as he holds her in place, smiling up at her.

“We’re best friends now!” Kai squeals, hugging him.

Max laughs. “Damn right we are!”

He looks at the stunned McNamara with a smile. “I think I’ll be fine.”

[goodluckdetective]

I am also playing a redeemed durge playthrough and yeah I can see why people like romancing Astarion besides the extra content.

“If I’m a monster who is terrified of losing control of myself and if you’re a monster who is terrified of someone controlling you, then who’s leading this party?”

(The answer is “who the fuck knows”)

(The other options are also very good don’t get me wrong. I think Laz and Shadowheart are good options for the dynamic of “what if we both left our cultish upbringing and also kissed.” Wyll you got the monster/monsterhunter dynamic, Gale is like “eldritch horrors beyond my comprehension? No they’re beyond your comprehension, I’m down to clown,” and meanwhile Karlach is here going to power of love away those demons)

[forevermoreamoron]

Malevolent makes me want to violently BITE at the air while also calmly recommending it to someone I care about.

I never knew one day I would say out loud, with complete seriousness: "Damn, poor little blind English boi ....having to try and understand eldritch horror beyond his comprehension."

"Damn, poor fragmented discarded piece of the Yellow King, not knowing who he is fully except yes he does and he's not sure if he can accept that because in some little almost insignificant way, Arthur's humanity rubbed off on him."

I mean oh my gosh, the literal King in yellow is one of the WORSE fictional eldritch beings ever put to paper. The king of madness and horror so foul...he can kill thousands with a whisper and he couldn't give less of a shit.

And yet...AND YET this mad lad of a podcaster has me in literal tears over his take on this yellow bastard and his English wet rat of a man. I would die for Arthur Lester and Jon friggen doe aka: "The yellow fellow".

Like, they went from the king literally threatening to hurt Arthur constantly to him being upset and pissy for days because Arthur wouldn't let him watch a movie....a god damned MOVIE.

And he was JEALOUS because Arthur was bringing Oscar into their little quest....like he was genuinely so upset he pretended he couldn't find some car keys. Yes I know there was also the pull and the guilt and what not but think about that for a second....he quite literally was willing to let Oscar be turned into a freaks vessel....because he was jealous and hurt.

Arthur is such a stupid bastard too...I love him. Bro was scared of the fucked up eldritch voice in his head at first. Then he really said "fuck it" told the voice off, threatened to off them both and said that Jon was his best friend forever now. Bro really said " I can't stand Jon but I will die for him at any moment because He is my best friend and I love him" .

Fucker was tossed in the kings domain because he wouldn't let Jon go....sliced his own throat, took multiple stabbings to the chest and died over and over....and still wouldn't let Jon go because he CARES.

You cannot be serious.....They are willing to go through so much pain and suffering because they care about each other. Jon fucks Arthur over so many times and Arthur the same. But they always find themselves back together trying to mend whatever is torn because they CARE about each other. They have a bond that is constantly strained and fraying, but they refuse to let it break.

What they have is either really sweet or a really fucked up trauma bond....probably the latter.

I love the other characters that show up too, Oscar was a sweetheart and I really loved the motif of him being a priest on the road of redemption through helping Arthur. I fucking LOVED the butcher and was sad when he got his head popped (Rip you psycho) and Detective N-....you know what? Nevermind.....I don't want to relive that again if I don't have to honestly.

Falling in love with the world and the story is so easy. The characters are written well, I found myself invested in everything and was intrigued in every mystery. I love this podcast so much....and everything was written by one guy?

Every voiceover is done by him too...wait a minute...

Jon, Arthur, Oscar, butcher ...fucking Everyone?

What. No really, what the fuck.

Harlan you wonderful bastard, I hope all your pillows are comfortable and cool to the touch. I also hope you bang your toe on a door.

Tldr version: Fuck Kane, Fuck Larson, Love you Yellow you bitch. Please tell Jon and Arthur that I said I'd love to go on a lunch date with them and terrorize them about what happens in 2021.

[gaunt-and-hungry]

OC Introduction: Heinrich (Nemesis) Cornelius Reiss

Nemesis -- Ancient Greek: Νέμεσις, The name is often connected with the Greek verb νέμειν némein which means "distribute, attribute". The name is also related to the Greek word némein, which means "to give what is due". Heinrich -- Name of Birth -- "Heinrich" Ruler of the Home. Home Ruler - composed of the Germanic elements "heim" and "ric". "Heim" means "home" and "ric" means "power, ruler."

Born in Salem, Massachusetts. Upper Class. Murdered his parents at thirteen. Has healthy sleeping habits. Possesses the largest occult library in England.

Occultist looking to study the unusual reaches of the world. Knows everything there is to know about the obscure and anomalytic.

Forty Years Old (Or so he says) -- He/Him -- Gay Might not even be human anymore...

A terrifyingly intelligent man with a charming demeanor. Polite, well spoken and well dressed if he does not charm his way through life then he is leaving behind a trail of blood. His aim is to document occult and ritual manners across the globe from very obscure places for his own personal record keeping. Archives forbidden and dark magics and myths. Best friend of Wilbur whom he gifted the name of "Erebus" to. The one person he could never bring himself to eliminate and is strangely fond of the younger man. The Price of Knowledge is invaluable. Knowledge must be sought no matter what the cost... No matter the blood shed.

People of Interest: Leftenant John Irving ~ Dr. Harry Goodsir ~ Thomas Blanky ~ Wilbur Flamel (OC is a character of dubious moral standing. Interactions accepted but engage at your own risk)

Atrocious. Abhorrent. Salacious. Felonious. Curious. Charming. "It would be crazy if I died! That would be a capital riot!"

Weakness: Ego. Thirst for knowledge. "Obviously it's a tragedy but boy oh boy is that a laugh riot!" Strengths: Knowledge. Incredibly patient. Nothing seems to phase him. Indominable in ways that are borderline horrific. Cold blooded in the face of any conflict. Unshakable and unfettered no matter the eldritch horror unfurling before him. Impassive to all danger. "You all will, in very likely chance, all perish. I do love that for you all. You deserve to die tragically and remind others why you should not have come."

"Friends murder each other all the time!" - "It doesn't take a killer to murder It only takes a reason to kill We've all got evidence of innocence, it's "everything's coincidence" The difference twixt fate and free will is whether you're singing" "You, could you take a look at me? (Man no more than animal is made of moral chemicals) Am I bad, am I bad, am I bad, am I really that bad? (Any form mechanical, thank you, God) We're singing, ooh (from the hordes of cannibals) Whatever you think of me (to psych wards of hospitals) If you were in my shoes (it's a small world, after all) You'd see I wear the same size as you Oh, oh, right!" - (Laplace's Angel - Will Wood)

"Yes I may be evil and yes I may be deranged and yes I may be abhorrent and beyond all rational comprehension. And yes I might practise dark magic and yes I may be guilty of atrocities and yes there might be no turning back from the horrors I have unleashed on the world. What of it?" - "I drank the blood of angels from a bottle Just to see if I could call the lightning down It hasn't struck me yet, and I would wage my soul to bet That there ain't no one throwing lightning anyhow" - (Blood of Angels - Brown Bird)

"Oh, don't get your filthy blood all over my coat now. We can't have that." - "Such a pure devotion to your skin Who'll absolve you from your sin You flee communion paranoid Now your cup is the void" - (It Tore Your Heart Out - Dirt Poor Robins) "Do not acknowledge me as a human being. It disgusts me."

"I do not like how he makes me feel. He makes me... He makes me feel, Wilbur. He makes me feel; and I do. Not. Like. It." - " "Angel" he calls me Does he know that I'm falling From the precipice that I tripped off long ago "You're so pure," he says Does he knows I'm forsaken The original sinner But soon he'll know For if I'm going down I guess I'll take you with me." - (the fruits - Paris Paloma)

"Names are power, love. Why do you think they call me Nemesis?" - "Kiss me you animal I need to take you in real slow Cause dying on your lips is how I wanna go Connect with the sound you're making Connect with my body whoa Kiss me you animal and don't ever let me go Kiss me animal" - (Kiss me you Animal - Burn the Ballroom)

"Brought to my knees. Oh how the mighty falls. Ironic, isn't it? A mortal man and I have crumbled like Babel." - "Let my hands be your chapel Treat my screams like your Bible I'll deny you of salvation I'll be the reason you repent Kiss me like I'm a conviction Beg for divinity in my breath Regret my touch So much that you Curse your baptism" - (salvation - Christabelle Marbun)

If there was such a thing as “evil” in the universe, Heinrich Cornelius Reiss would be the flesh and blood of it. If there was such a thing as “evil” in the world of man, Heinrich Cornelius Reiss would be its judge, jury and executioner. If there were such things, of course. To Heinrich, no such thing exists. No such fallacy and fantasy such as “Evil” were anything more than the pitiful cries of those fallen prey to the turbulent cruelty of the universe. If there was a God, then either he hides in fear of Heinrich Cornelius Reiss or he would have tried to cut this man down before he was born. If there was a God, Heinrich would have killed him long, long ago. Not, of course, out of malice or any particular reason thrust upon him. He simply, as he would put it, would like to see what would happen.

Heinrich Cornelius Reiss, above anything else, is a man of hard work, education, and cruelty. One would think he released moral compasses long ago in his life. This is simply not true at all, and instead he navigates with a device within his body and mind that simply cannot be read in any rational human language. It is simply put, not convenient to allow such paltry things to obscure his efforts of achieving a great collection of obscure and rare knowledge as well as accompanying artefacts. It pays to own land. It also pays to own an impressive private library in Central London where he may secure such knowledge.

The man with the power is the man with the knowledge, after all. Sometimes that knowledge must come with a smattering of blood and matted hair clenched in a tight fist with screams that cannot be heard this far underground. Thankfully, his hard work often paid off and yielded handsome results. If only such results could be acquired in the frozen arctic North. Perhaps, yet, he may walk away with something of value, even if it is the first and only thing in the universe to cripple his resolve. Now, to what lengths he will go to swallow his pride and keep these frozen men alive alongside Wilbur... That remains to be seen.

OC Introduction of Nemesis - AKA Heinrich Cornelius Reiss

[redbud-tree]

Some personal musings on horror and fear. tws in the tags.

I wasn't always a fan of horror. In fact, growing up, I was a dyed-in-the-wool coward. I'd flinch from from scary noises, cover my eyes during commercials for scary movies, leave the room during the tense parts of evening television, and outright refuse to touch anything that had horror marked as one of its genres. I remember there was this Rugrats game for the PlayStation--a Rugrats game! that had a mini-golf level with a pyramid inside it, and inside the pyramid was that robot clown from one of the more frightening episodes of the cartoon. It would chase you down like a monster from a resident evil game. I was terrified of this thing.

Mind you, I was born in the end of the 80s, and by the time I got this game the PlayStation was already nearing the end of its life, so I was probably about eleven or twelve? Eleven or twelve years old and scared to death of a monster in a Rugrats game.

Yeah, a bold and confident child I was not.

Now, though, I love horror. Not gory horror, mind you--that sort of thing doesn't frighten me so much as turns my stomach, and I'm here for a fright, not to be disgusted. If it's a part of the story, certainly, I don't mind it, but I'd rather it not be the main focus--I'm a fan of the cerebral type, or the slow, creeping dread, or the way horror and tragedy intertwined toward one's inevitable fate, of eldritch monstrosities beyond mankind's comprehension that simply don't care about humans and their tiny little problems. Slighted ghosts and horrors brought about by unjust treatment are also delightful, or things that should not be who have their attention drawn by someone's unwise actions... all of those give me a great deal of pleasure when I read them.

And yet, let me tell you a secret:

They don't scare me one bit.

Horror, as much as I love it these days, simply doesn't frighten me any longer. In truth, maybe it never really did.

You see, when I was a child and even into my early adulthood, I was so easily frightened because I was always on alert: always looking, listening, waiting for the monsters that I knew were out there, the danger I could sense lurking just out of my sight that kept me frightened from the moment I woke up in the morning to the moment I went to bed at night.

I thought those monsters were in the media that scared me so thoroughly, or in the news stories I couldn't comprehend, or the vast world outside my home that was surely full of terrors I was better off not exploring.

I looked everywhere, except where the monsters really were.

The monsters were my family. They were my mother's domination. My father's passivity. My older brother's disdain and rivalry in the same breath. My grandfather's temper. My grandmother's remoteness. My mother's neglect, her refusal of responsibility, her casual cruelty and objectification.

My mother.

My mother.

My mother.

After that realization, the monsters of fiction stopped looking so frightening. Now I even look at them as... not friends, one could never consider an unknowable evil a friend, but there's something comforting in the certainty that something is an unknowable evil because that's what it's meant to be.

There is nothing that I personally find more terrifying than realizing that someone that was supposed to love you never did--never could, not in the way that you needed them to.

[spark-lapis]

hey so idk if you remember but that one aita blorbo post you reblogged with the professor guy and the crystal where you called him a coward in the tags was mine and I just wanted to say that when I saw your tags it made me so happy because I've been working on the worldbuilding and plot development for that for four years now (the eldritch horror stuff is a newer development after I realized I was wasting so much story potential by just making it a fancy rock) and your tags made me feel very proud of myself because it showed that somebody appreciated it and thought it was cool.

Sorry for dumping this on you. Also J is the protagonist and I will give him as happy of an ending as I can. In case you were worried for him. I don't know much about portal but that cave Johnson fella seems very interesting so maybe I should try to find a decent letsplay (no ability to play myself)

i do in fact remember that one!!! and i really really did think it was cool!!! the eldritch horror and Messing With Forces Beyond Your Comprehension For Power vibes are some of my favorite so!!! yeah!!

the vibes overall were just VERY cool, it really felt like the asker was kind of subconsciously aware that he's in over his head and just kind of defaulted to the Dean's opinion on everything. unreliable narration and shaky conviction are ALSO things that i love in my stories!! and wow that worldbuilding and plot is VERY cool. moral atrocities in the name of pursuit of power & reckoning with supernatural forces much greater than the lives of any individual are so so awesome. beloved tropes and themes ✨

also don't be sorry for "dumping" something like this!! it always makes me super happy when i get excited about something someone made and then it's actually really meaningful to them because it's like wow!!! i got to read an awesome thing AND my commentary on it was encouraging to the original author??? like that's just awesome twice !!!

genuinely i am very invested in this story, it seems VERY cool and i would be absolutely interested to see how everything ends up!! the professor/asker seemed kind of deeply pathetic to me in a hubristic puppet sort of way so i am especially curious about whether he would end up breaking free of all that and deciding to do what's right, or meeting some kind of unfortunate end at the hands of the path he's passively chosen to follow!!

as for cave johnson, i did find this clip of all his voicelines in what i'm pretty sure is chronological order; the minute and a half between timestamps 8:51 to 10:22 should be pretty representative! includes his famous "lemon rant" too (though cw for aggressive yelling). basically the hubris is off the charts and after killing countless test subjects in dangerous experiments he ended up bankrupting his company, poisoning himself with moon rock dust, and becoming fatally ill as a result.

(entirely understandable not to play it yourself, it also took me ages to get through; it it is not a particularly easy game even if you have access to it!)