#infestation survivor stories

[homunculus-argument]

Zombie/other post-apocalyptic story character concept: The unsettling optimist.

The protagonists of this story encounter an oddly formal loner who seems creepily happy-go-lucky to be wandering alone out there all alone, and assume that this poor fellow is just flat-out insane. A lot of people lost their minds when the world collapsed. An argument is had about whether they can spare the resources to take in somebody who might be a liability, but eventually a consensus is reached that if this mf has been surviving just fine all by themselves so far, surely they're not completely off their roller.

Besides, they don't seem to be out of touch with reality, just... Weirdly cheerful about it. Like wandering around a zombie-infested wasteland is the best thing that ever happened to them. Like it's a privilege to get to eat questionable canned food, to wander from half-collapsed building to another, to argue about where the group is supposed to be going. Like it's a pleasure to be there, and they don't mean it with sarcasm.

And one time when they manage to kill an animal for food, the newcomer volunteers to butcher it like that's a totally normal task that they're used to doing. And working with sure hands and a casual smile, they offhandedly remark how interestingly different it feels to butcher an animal. Full record scratch when everyone within earshot pauses to process what the fuck they just said. How exactly is someone who's clearly that familiar with taking apart meat from bones unaccustomed to butchering animals?

Well, you know how every post-apocalyptic/zombie story seems to have that one place that seems like a clean and tidy wonderful utopia on the surface, but turns out that they're cannibals that eat people? Yeah, that guy is from there. Escaped from there, in fact, and not long before the protagonists found them. And the reason why they've been over the moon about getting to be a part of the whole post-apocalyptic roving band of survivors is the freedom. They get to choose what miserable cans to eat, what miserable ruins to sleep in for the night, what hopeless direction they will miserably trek. And the zombies? The zombies are the best part.

Imagine the joy and luxury of knowing for sure for the first time, that there is absolutely zero overlap between the people who form the community that you rely on to survive, and the people who will kill and eat you if you make one single mistake.

[morbidology]

Juliane Koepcke was born in Lima, Peru, on October 10, 1954, to German parents who were both biologists. Raised in the lush environment of the Amazon rainforest, Juliane was familiar with the challenges and dangers posed by the wild, an experience that would later prove crucial to her survival.

On December 24, 1971, 17-year-old Juliane and her mother, Maria Koepcke, boarded LANSA Flight 508 in Lima, heading for Pucallpa, a city in the Peruvian Amazon. They were traveling to join Juliane's father for Christmas at the family’s research station. The flight, however, was doomed.

Midway through the journey, the plane encountered a severe thunderstorm. Lightning struck the aircraft, causing it to break apart in mid-air. Juliane, still strapped into her seat, plummeted approximately 10,000 feet into the dense Amazon jungle.

Amazingly, Juliane survived the fall, likely aided by the thick foliage that cushioned her descent. She awoke the next morning, disoriented and injured, but alive. Her right collarbone was broken, she had a deep cut on her leg, and her right eye was swollen shut. Alone in the vast and unforgiving Amazon, Juliane had to rely on her wits and the survival skills she had learned from her parents to stay alive.

Despite her injuries and the traumatic experience, Juliane remained calm and determined to survive. She had no food and only a small bag of candy that had fallen with her. Drawing on her knowledge of the rainforest, she sought out water, knowing that following a stream would eventually lead her to civilization. For the next 11 days, she trudged through the jungle, battling extreme heat, exhaustion, hunger, and the constant threat of predators.

Juliane’s knowledge of the rainforest played a crucial role in her survival. She knew not to drink stagnant water and avoided poisonous plants. Her injuries became infected, and maggots began to infest the wound on her arm, but she pressed on. Along the way, she encountered evidence of the crash, including other passengers who had not been as fortunate as her.

On the 11th day of her ordeal, Juliane stumbled upon a small boat moored near a makeshift shelter used by loggers. She used gasoline from the boat's fuel tank to clean her wounds, a painful but necessary measure to rid herself of the maggots. Exhausted and on the brink of collapse, she waited by the boat, hoping that its owners would return.

The next day, loggers arrived and found Juliane, amazed that she had survived such an ordeal. They took her to a nearby village and then to a local hospital, where she was treated for her injuries and dehydration. After her recovery, Juliane was reunited with her father, who had feared the worst after hearing about the crash.

Out of the 92 passengers and crew aboard LANSA Flight 508, Juliane was the sole survivor. The discovery of her survival was a miracle, and her story quickly became international news.

Her life after the crash was marked by a combination of fame and trauma. The media attention surrounding her survival was intense, but Juliane preferred to maintain a low profile, focusing on her studies and rebuilding her life. She went on to study biology, following in her parents' footsteps, and eventually earned a Ph.D. She dedicated her career to the study of mammals, particularly bats, and continued to work in the field of conservation in Peru.

In 1989, Juliane married and took the surname Diller. Despite the passage of time, she remained haunted by the memories of the crash and her mother’s death. It wasn't until many years later that she felt ready to speak publicly about her experience. In 2011, she published her memoir, When I Fell From the Sky in which she detailed her ordeal and reflected on the profound impact it had on her life.

[spotsupstuff]

(hii Spot been awhile) Something I think that's interesting about the observation about how Slugcats are getting so much attention nowadays is that its almost a 180 from how things were in the pre-downpour days, iirc.

Though I am glad we're getting an AU like yours it's so interesting compared to the usual

Im eating with a fork

Yeah, the fandom was not particularly strong back then, but I think there was more Iterator content. My suspicion as to why slugcats are so much more popular now is because the general "cat appeal"*. Downpour brought in wider audience which mostly consists of people that go wild over cat videos on the internet.

Not my intention to throw shade on it, because after all what does my opinion matter to anyone, but I find the whole "cuteness cult" of the internet annoying and, when applied to Rain World, frustrating. There's a whole silent worldbuilding in basically every screen of the game and the only thing that people seem to take away post-DP is "cute sluggy go wooo :3 the Ancients were such cultist pricks Dx". Which like alright, but expand a little on the latter please? Try? There is So much fun to it when one moves past the "religion only BAD" mindset.

DP also I think didn't care much about the Ancients and the culture they left behind (and therefore the root of Iterators). "But there's Saint!" Saint is almost everything new that wasn't heard of before, can be taken as another fact of monstroid mad religion and, of course, it Has to be wrapped in a fluffy cat package. The undergrowth Echo also feels like a spit in the face to the lore/religion than an addition, to me. My *guess* would be the original intention was showing an individual who failed to ascend because of the Fifth Hindrance but it doesn't *feel* like it. If that was the intention, I think the author didn't understand why a desire to live/survive could ever, in any form, be bad

It's interesting as well in the sense that when there was only Survivor, maybe up to Hunter- the slugcats felt like a vehicle that brings the player to the story. The player saw the world through their eyes and got to experience the world's rules, abiding them- the original campaigns were still subject to the lore/religion of the world.

DP made the slugcats characters, the main focus, in some cases a rebelion against the lore/religion (forever beef against new route for Survivor and Monk). So people had an easier time latching onto them.

That is my theory at least. Fact is also when I first watched RW I almost didn't get into it as a creator because I felt like I had nowhere to hook to and work with. Characters are great anchor points for people to latch on to and then work with/through, so it's not like I blame the fandom for quite literally getting slug infested. It's natural and logical and I'm well aware of it as someone who's trying to be a writer. Still frustrating.

Either way, at least there's a vacuum for me to fill with something I'm actively actually passionate about. It's kind of a sweet bonus that people are somewhat interested, too.

[badfictropes]

Savior Complex in Teen Mom Danny Dp x Dc

(Warning: I enjoy these type of fics and prompts just expressing some of my frustrations about certain things. No hate towards anyone.)

So I want to start by saying I love mom Danny who is the mom of Dani and Dan if they are deaged or not and Vlad as Dani and Dan’s father but I find when people mix in dc they tend to make Danny into some poor abused thing that needs the big bad bats to save him and his children. Which in itself wouldn’t be such a bad thing but add in the Batfam stalking and manipulating Danny and it just irritates me.

In these stories Danny and his kids are on the run from Vlad usually or his parents and they end up in Gotham, good so far. Then they somehow catch the attention of the bats which is where I stop, to be fair at least half the time Danny or the kids get mixed up with a rouge or are revealed to be metas(or at least dc characters think so) which is its own prejudice I’ll come back to. So catching the bats attention; now I don’t mean to be insensitive but I would bet cash money that a mom(young in Danny’s case) on the run and hiding out with his kids from an abusive baby daddy is a dime a dozen in Gotham, I just can’t believe that teen pregnancy or young parents let along someone on the run from an abuser is all that unusual in a city like Gotham that the bats would have their attention and pity so utterly caught by Danny.

This is usually where Danny, Dani and Dan being mistaken for metas come in and like making the bats so suspicious and curious of Danny and his kids because the bats think they’re metas and might be dangerous just gives me prejudice. Like I refuse to believe there isn’t a population of metas in Gotham, so the bats intense interest in the Dannie’s is just annoying. So what comes after that is the Batfam stalking Danny both researching him CIA extensively and inserting themselves in his life and trying to manipulate answers out of him. Now we all know in the real world researching and investigating an abuse survivor and escapee like people write Danny being in this way would be a sure fire way of his abuser finding him and his kids but we’re not taking about the real world so we’ll ignore this, we’ll focus on the fact that it’s just creepy and invasive especially since Danny usually doesn’t even do anything criminal which is what the bats should be focused on, you know crime.

Inserting their way into Danny and his kids life is the real thing that bothers me. The bats just come off to me as being invasive and manipulative by forcing their presence and help on someone who didn’t ask for it and doesn’t want it when it’s offered. The bats are purposeful in inserting themselves in his life and not even just in costume but as civilians to, poor Danny who just wants to be left alone and raise his kids can’t escape them. The Bats seemingly unstoppable desire to know Danny secrets and past as if he’s not entitled to have things he wants to forget or doesn’t want anyone to know. Like I said Danny story in this trope is sadly not exactly unique especially when you take the ghost stuff out it, Danny being a young mom who got caught up with an older rich man who took advantage of him and left him running with two children is not something I see being an unsual story in a crime infested corrupted city like Gotham. So the Bats intense interest in Danny and his kids should freak him the fuck out especially when you add him trying to hide his ghostly secrets into it.

What I’m trying to say is we need Danny being freaked out and scared of the Bats who for some reason will not leave him and his kids alone. Like Danny just wants to live an ordinary life with his kids and the Bats keep inserting themselves into it trying to help someone that doesn’t want their help like they’re intitled to do it. Now I love the Batfam but we all know that getting involved with them and heroes in general is just asking for trouble to invaded your life and I feel like this Danny has had enough trouble for a life time. Write a Danny going past fear into annoyance and anger at more people ignoring his no and not staying out of his and his kids lives when Danny tells them too. And instead of Danny putting up with the Bats shit he just uses his ability to create portals to leave to another dimension or world or into the ghost zone or just move into another city quickly and unnoticed.

And I know things with Danny and the kids and Vlad aren’t the misunderstandings(which I love) the Bats think it is but even if it was that doesn’t excuse their behavior. If I was Danny who just escaped a bad situation with my kids I wouldn’t want any of the drama and potential trauma being involved with the Bats and other heroes could bring. And the way that people write no hero in DC seemingly knows the meaning of no I don’t need your help and no you don’t have to save me, doesn’t help my annoyance. The last thing an abuse survivor raising two kids needs is a group of wealthy powerful men trying to play captain save a ho. After all drawing the attention of the Bats will draw the attention of their rouges and that’s the last thing Danny and his kids need.

All in all I just don’t like the stalking, breaking and ignoring of boundaries, lies and manipulation the Bats employ all under the guise of trying to save Danny, Dani and Dan. And this isn’t me dissing any stories just me ranting about some of my problems with this aspect of my favorite DP AU(mom Danny, dad Vlad and kids Dani and Dan).

[kaihuntrr]

The Sea Prince; Hide & Seek

I don’t think you should look behind you, Lizzie.

The sea was dangerous. 

It was no place for a human.

Sheer cold winds howled as the waves crashed against each other. The sky was pitch black, only illuminated by the bright crash of lightning overhead. The torrential rain pelted the ocean around her, driving the waves higher and making it harder to see. Warring sounds of nature were the only thing the survivor could hear as she kept as still as possible, clinging to floating pieces of driftwood and debris to hide her frail body from the terrors of the deep. 

The survivor was drenched in water, barely breathing as she pressed her body down against the wooden planks as she tried to make herself smaller than she already was. She shivered, the freezing air surrounded her. Thunder rumbled overhead, and her blue eyes narrowed as she adjusted her blurry vision from the chaos around her. She shouldn’t be here. She should be on the island with her friends. She should be safe. She was supposed to be safe. The survivor took in deep breaths, her hands covering her head as she tried her best not to scream in fear. 

Don’t let them find you.

A blinding flash of lightning struck the sinking, burning vessel in front of her. What was once the ship that she and her parents had boarded was now nothing more than a wooden plaything for those monsters. She strained her ears, listening for any screeches or roars that bellowed from the deep, but there were none. Only then did she dare to move. 

She couldn’t believe this was happening. Her eyes were glued to the destroyed ship, the only thing left that provided her a sick sense of relief. It was a reminder of how lonely she was. She hated being alone. She moved the messy pink hair away from her face as tears began to form. Her fingers ran pulled at her hair as her breathing quickened and her vision blurred. 

She could feel her heart pounding out of her chest and her stomach twisted in pain as her head hit the wood below her. She had to be strong. Her parents told her to be strong. She had to be. She was the unshakable Elizabeth Shadow, inheritor of the Shadow Pearl corporation, nothing should scare her. Nothing should scare her. She was a big girl. Big girls shouldn’t panic. This should all be over soon. 

How did this all happen? Just a few hours ago all she saw was the clear, sunny sky and peaceful waves. Lizzie closed her eyes as she took in another deep breath, casting her mind back to the once-calm waves and breezy chill that danced across the ships. She needed to calm down. 

Breathe in. Breathe out.

—————

The skies overhead were a beautiful baby blue, lazily hung with small specks of clouds and filled with the songs of migratory birds that passed by. How these birds flew across these long patches of ocean was baffling to her. Lizzie stood on the upper deck of a grand cruise ship, watching the birds fly in the distance. Her hands against the railing as the salty sea air blew through her hair as she cherished the view of the ocean. The ship was a fine white vessel used for transportation and leisure. It had several polished wooden floors with different levels to accommodate all the people on board. The ship rumbled with the vibrations of big engines propelling forward. The ship’s hull was lined in the typical metal plating meant to defend the ship from the sea monsters infesting the ocean. 

It was hard to believe this place was as scary as all the stories her friends had told her. She heard lots of stories of dangerous sea monsters, and while she did fear them as any kid did, the sea didn’t look like what she pictured in her mind. It was just a big pond filled with fish enough to feed the entire human race, all animalkind even! Ponds aren’t scary.

There was no storm. There were no tall sharp rocks to destroy ships. There was not even a hint of mist! Most importantly, there aren’t any vicious monsters coming for their ship. She didn’t think there would be any monster coming close to her ship. With their ship being a transportation boat, they were protected by several hunting ships that formed a circle around the big boat. No monsters would attack them, they’d be fine.

Hunters, Lizzie knew of the profession through Grian. His parents were hunters; trained and ready to kill any sea monster that comes their way. Grian described their ships as being covered in big weaponry and parts of the monsters they killed as trophies. Lizzie stared at the metal walls covered in spikes and harder material, showing some dents and bitemarks as they stuck to the passenger ship’s side. The hunter ships all had huge sails to carry them across the waters and an engine for a speedy getaway, all for the safety of fellow humans. 

Lizzie stared at the hunters’ ships as Grian’s words echoed through her mind. His parents were no longer in this world, but Grian was still excited about becoming a hunter. 

Lizzie could see the passion in Grian’s eyes as he spoke about hunting, full of wonder and amazement as he recollected what his birth parents had told him. Her friends all had different thoughts about hunters. She asked Martyn what being a hunter was like, given he was already training to be one, and he gave her a huge grin as he answered her: It was awesome.

 She remembered the look on Grian’s face as Martyn recounted all the cool tricks his parents had taught him, the sour expression on his face was priceless. He’d said, “How come you get to do all of that? Why can’t I?”

Lizzie visualized Martyn’s cocky smirk as he rustled with Grian’s hair, “That’s because my parents are actual hunters! Yours are smarty-pants hunters, you don’t do these sorts of stuff!”

When she asked Jimmy if he wanted to be a hunter too, his eyes had gotten big and he’d shook his head, “No way! That’s too much for me. I’d rather do what Mum and Dad do, it’s more my speed.”

Lizzie could practically hear the loud laugh Joel made when Jimmy had said that, causing a light chuckle to slip out of her. Joel had wrapped an arm around his taller brother, rolling his eyes, “He’s way too scared to do it. He thinks a monster is gonna come up to eat him or something. We’ll save him though!”

The memory of their shared laughter warmed her heart. She was excited to see them again.

Lizzie and her parents were on their way to meet with her friends and their parents, the adults planning on talking about some sort of deal she didn’t fully grasp yet. Eh, that was adult talk, she didn’t care for it. She wanted to be there to see her friends. 

Lizzie walked along the upper deck, one hand tracing the railing as she stared outward, passing small waves at hunters when they looked her way, smiling and laughing. She heard two voices up ahead, discussing something. There was nothing for her to do there other than to watch the ships go by, so Lizzie abruptly stopped walking to listen in. Two people were leaning by the wall, and to not look like she was eavesdropping Lizzie walked past them and ducked behind the wall. They wouldn’t notice her.

The two people were in a hushed conversation, one figure leaning towards the other as they spoke. It didn't seem to register to either stranger how loud they were being with their whispers. One of the voices was more frantic in their speech, stuttering, “What if they find us?” 

The other voice chuckled, soft thuds indicated they were patting their friend’s shoulder as they sighed, “They won’t. They’re not real.” 

What wasn’t real? 

The first voice spoke up again, their tone unchanging, “B-But they are! If not them, then–” 

The second voice sighed loudly, raising their voice and cutting the other off, “Then nothing, my friend. If monsters try to approach we’ll be protected.” 

The first voice spoke up again, much more quietly and less frantic. It didn’t seem like they were arguing anymore, “It’s not them I’m worried about, it’s–” If they weren’t arguing, Lizzie wanted to know why the first one was so scared.

The second one spoke up again, their tone in a low hiss, “The sea princes don’t exist, mate. They’re fairytales.”

Sea princes? Weren’t those the stories Grian and Martyn used to tell her? Her thoughts were interrupted as a low growl of thunder rumbled above, dark clouds began to form. Uh oh. Best to go downstairs with her parents. She didn’t want to get hit by the rain. Rain was scary. 

Her mind wandered back to the sea princes as she walked to her parents’ room, getting as far from the rain as possible. It was a popular story. As far as she knew, the sea princes were these big and ugly creatures who towered over all of the sea monsters. Mermaids fought them, which made Lizzie interested in the myths.

Lizzie walked down the staircase leading her down to her room. Which one was it? The third floor. It should be there. 

She shook her head, coming back to her thoughts. Mermaids, right. 

Mermaids were a beautiful mix of human and fish, guarding humanity from the evil sea princes as their sworn enemy. People sometimes caught sight of them as they stood on the edge of port towns or sailed on big ships. Lizzie gasped in realization. Big ships just like this one! Maybe she’d get to see a mermaid! Stories said seeing one was a blessing. It would be a magical moment for her to meet one on her very first ship ride!

The other thing was the treasures. The way Martyn described them made them sound so cool. There were ancient totems that could defy death, apples made of pure gold, even tomes and texts that could turn people into gods. Supposedly all those treasures existed somewhere in the ocean, surely giving anyone thoughts of what powers they could have with it. People could live forever, talk to fishes, make plants grow, anything was possible!

Lizzie visualized finding one of the treasures, a great and shiny orb that turned her into an axolotl mermaid queen that could fight off all sorts of danger to protect her friends. To her, it didn’t sound outlandish at all, it sounded cool. A lot of people wanted to find sea prince treasures, and she’d be lying if she said she didn’t want to find it too. All sorts of cool things could be under the ocean, they just needed to look. 

Lizzie peered through a big wall of glass looking in on one of the lower floors. She saw plenty of people sitting on couches and talking. Some of them were noticeably hunters, looking out towards the open sea with weapons hung on their belts and scars marked on their bodies. 

They were fine, they were safe. That one person from earlier was wrong, they were protected from whatever danger came their way. 

She turned away, continuing down the stairs and into the hallways, pulling out a key with a tag of her room number. Three-four-one. It was somewhere down the corridor. She looked at each of the plates by the doors before stopping at one. Three-four-one, that was it! Lizzie inserted the key into the keyhole and unlocked the door. She greeted her parents with a smile, “I’m back!”

Lizzie’s father turned and grinned, crouching as his daughter ran up to give him a hug, “How was your little exploration? Find anything cool?” She looked at him with her big eyes, shaking her head. 

The room was spacious, but maybe it was because she was still so small, her parents looked big in the room. They didn’t seem to fit on the bed together, as Lizzie remembered her father offering to sleep on the couch. At the end of the room was a window overlooking the sea, a big bed, and a couch beside it. There was a small sitting area with a couple of bookshelves and complimentary snacks left with a desk. The door to the bathroom was next to the entrance of the room, with a closet off to the side. 

Lizzie sat on the couch, swinging her feet, “Nothing much! I did hear two big kids talk about the sea princes though.” 

Her mother looked up from the bed, closing the book she was reading as her husband sat beside her. The couple shared an amused glance, smiling at each other before looking at their child. Her mother tilted her head, “And you don’t look scared at all! What a big girl you are, Lizzie.” Lizzie giggled, her feet kicking faster. 

Her father sighed loudly, striking a dramatic pose, “Honey, she’s getting so old! We’re getting old!” 

Her mother laughed, rolling her eyes, “Ay, that we are. She’s brave enough to be out on her own, exploring the ship and reporting her findings. I remember how scared you were when we first told you about them,” she sighed, glancing to the side as she chuckled, “You’re growing up so fast.” 

Lizzie stuck her tongue out, furrowing her eyebrows, “But I don’t wanna be old yet! I still–”

Loud, piercing bells began to ring in the distance as the ship made a loud creaking noise and nearly went sideways with a sudden push, sending them sprawling. Lizzie gripped the bed as her parents reoriented themselves. Lizzie’s father approached the window and stuck his head out as her mother motioned for her to come to her. Lizzie shifted on the bed. She didn’t want to move, she just got there! The bed felt comfortable.

Lizzie could hear a low trilling sound from the open window, echoing as glass windows began to crack. The noise vibrated the ship. The bells continued to ring as voices of the hunters rang through the air. There were loads of hunters around the ship. She should be fine. They all should be fine. 

Her father shut the window, turning to his wife and child. His eyes were wide, but he tried to stabilize his breathing, “We have to leave. Now.” 

Her mother nodded as she shot out of bed and hastily gathered her things. Lizzie sat on the bed, shifting around as her parents paced around the room in haste. “Why do we need to leave?” she questioned, “The hunters should be able to stop the monsters!” That was their job, wasn’t it? There were four hunting ships in the area, they should be enough. 

It didn’t stop her father from continuing, “I know they will, but we also need to be protected. We have to stay safe.” 

The waves continued to jostle the ship, the gentle swaying became harsher as some kind of noise escaped from the ocean. Lizzie could hear the muffled sounds of the hunters firing their weapons, but there was no sound of a creature getting hurt. Lizzie’s eyebrows furrowed, “But the hunters–” 

Her mother was the one to cut in this time, carrying bags with some of their clothes hanging loosely out of the top, “Lizzie, no buts. You’re a big girl, but even big girls get scared when the threat is very real.” 

No. Big kids don’t get scared. She won’t be scared. Stories about sea monsters used to frighten her, but not anymore. She’d be brave. 

Lizzie hit her fist against the cushiony bed. Her voice rose as she firmly declared, “I’m not scared!” The light from the window had cut off before either of her parents could say anything in return, tossing the family into the pitch black darkness. 

Lizzie saw her parents walking backwards in fear, staring at the window. Their faces were pale and their eyes widened as they took shaky steps. She watched her parents’ breathing quicken as they sank to their knees. Lizzie cocked her head, raising an eyebrow with a frown, “What’s wrong?” 

Her parents didn’t look at her, staring at the window instead, but her mother spoke, “Lizzie. Walk to us, slowly.” Lizzie had the gut feeling to turn back. She shifted her body, starting to turn, but her mother caught on. “Don’t look behind you. Look at us. Me.” Why not look behind her? What could possibly– another monstrous trill resonated in the air, shaking the ground.

Something was blocking the window. 

Now her mother was staring right at Lizzie, her eyes wide as her breathing became loud and uneven. Lizzie got off the bed, slowly taking small steps before her mother took one second to glance back at the window. 

Lizzie looked behind her.

An eye. A huge one. The white of the eye was a pitch black abyss with a piercing orange and blue iris staring directly at them. The creature’s pupil was large and ice white. A sound emitted from its throat as it rumbled through the structure of the ship. Lizzie could feel it shake the floor beneath her feet, her body shook along with it. 

Time seemed to stop around them as they were locked in a staring match with a monster that could so easily tear them apart. Lizzie’s body shook, her heart was pounding out of her chest as she shakily took a step backwards, away from the eye. The eye moved along with her, as if following Lizzie’s every movement. 

The eye moved in closer as the ship began to tilt. Lizzie and her parents lost their footing, sliding across the floor and hitting the door as the creature made another low trill before a sudden shriek, distant from the ship, broke the air of silence. The white pupil suddenly narrowed into a slit as the massive monster produced an unholy roar that shattered the window. 

The creaking wood of the ship crumbled and cracked, metal bending and twisting before snapping open as water rushed in. Horrified screams and gasps came from the other rooms and were drowned out as the echoing trill resounded through the deep. Lizzie’s parents grabbed her and swam out through the shattered window. The beast was no longer in sight.

Lizzie learned an important thing that day; she didn’t know how to swim. 

Don’t panic. Panicking will make things worse. 

Lizzie could feel her mother’s arm wrap around her, hurriedly placed on a wooden door. Lizzie’s heart pounded out of her chest. Her parents were there, close to her. They weren’t on the door like she was.

Everything became a blur after. 

Rain started to pour. Hunters screamed in fear, “What is that thing?!” before their ships snapped open and bodies fell into the salty sea water below. 

There were people in the water. So many people were in the water. 

Thunder and lightning raged in the sky as the creature’s long tail pierced out of the water from time to time, slowly but surely circling around them. Lizzie didn’t know where the ship was; she’d lost her parents. They’d become separated as chunks of different ships had begun to scatter and crash into the water as two different beasts roared and shrieked. 

Lizzie could hear her parents call out to her. She flailed her arms, “Mom?! Dad?! Where are you?!” She looked around her surroundings in hopes of finding them. Please. She needed to see them again. She looked at the direction she had heard her parents. Where were–

The monster let out a bellowing roar, rattling the water as a gigantic red fin shot up from the depths swiftly knocked Lizzie into the water as it swam past. She was disoriented– where were her parents? She called out to them again. She needed to find them.

“Mom?! Dad?!”

She couldn’t hear their voices anymore.

Lizzie didn’t know where to go. She flailed her arms aimlessly while the cold waters tried to consume her, eventually finding something to desperately latch onto as she struggled to remain afloat. She remembered she had grabbed a wooden wall and stuck to it for dear life. More and more voices were drowned out by the rain. The only thing she could hear over the sound of the burning ships and the angry weather were the monsters. She prayed to whatever god was out there to spare her. She didn’t want to die.

The monsters disappeared, but not for long. They were coming back for her, weren’t they?

Lizzie had been able to wedge herself between two pieces of debris to hide. The monsters didn’t seem to have noticed her. The waves that used to crash against her only pushed her slightly. Lizzie looked up to see the long finned tail of the creatures sink below. 

Why had it been staring at her? Her parents? Was it some kind of sick game? She did not want to play. 

She was alone. 

Everything had been fine until now. Maybe if she never boarded the ship, her parents would be okay. She wanted them here with her. Maybe it was better if her friends visited her instead of the other way around. 

The waves rocked her shelter, as if trying to calm her down. It wasn’t working. 

Lizzie looked up from the piece of wooden wall beneath her, her vision blurry with tears, and saw a lot of the floating debris moving in the same direction. Lizzie wiped the tears away from her eyes as she tried to focus. The… the debris weren’t moving because of the waves. They were moving because the creature was circling them! Lizzie covered her mouth from screaming as a small vortex was created, her head becoming light as she heard the beast roar. 

Stay calm. Inhale. Exhale. 

The spinning got faster, making Lizzie want to puke, but the motions came to an abrupt stop as she was gathered with the other floating debris. Her eyes widened as she heard other people crying out in fear. She wasn’t the only one! There were others who were still alive!

The rain made it hard to see the looming figure rising out of the water before her. She saw faint hints of blue, its chest had stripes of other colors glowed faintly in the darkness. Lizzie heard shouts over the ocean, but the storm and the crashing waves swallowed the noise. She heard a rumble in the water before a second figure appeared, something blurry white and red bursting up. The other beast. There was another one.

What if they were looking for her? 

Lizzie could hear the beasts ‘speak’, grunts and guttural echoes boomed above, she wished she could shut her eyes but they were fixed on the monsters. She didn’t even have a clear look at either one, just knowing one of them was red and the other was blue. She heard something rise from the water as the terrified shrieks of the other people filled the air between rolls of thunder, “P-Please! Spare us! We have families– children to come home to!” 

Lizzie heard a loud crash of water, likely the monster was angry at their response. Did they even understand human speech? She didn’t need to worry about that. 

The air hung silent as thunder echoed. One of the humans began to speak, “Y-Your eye… we apologize for–” The red beast growled. Its sounds were different from the blue one, a rumbling echo instead of a rattling thrill, yet carried the same booming volume. Its tail swished, jostling Lizzie’s hiding spot, unknowingly giving her a better view of the creatures. 

One of the beasts was covered in shiny, golden spikes. Its tail was armored, red with a blue-green tail fin. The other beast’s tail was blue with colorful splotches, its fins were a red sunset-like hue with patterns of flickering stars. She couldn’t see the end of its tail, likely underwater. 

Something that stuck out to her weren’t the colors or the shape of their tails though.

She could be seeing things, but they looked human.

The blue one’s colorful stripes almost looked like tattoos along its back, Lizzie could see red fins coming from its head and she swore it had long teal hair. The red one had pearlescent white hair with brown streaks coming from it, unable to see much else other than that.

Why did they look human?

The men’s screams were tossed upward, the beasts thrashing and moving the debris, along with Lizzie, around. She swore the beasts were laughing, their bellowing unholy roars boomed as Lizzie braced for something. Anything. She was expecting the monsters to end it, to just kill them and leave. 

Yet…

“HUNTERS…” 

Lizzie shut her eyes. There was no way this was real. She had to be dreaming. This was just one bad dream, right?

“...DON’T BELONG HERE.”

It spoke.

Those were human words.

No ordinary beast can just talk, right?

This was all a bad dream. Lizzie just needed to wake up. She covered her ears, blocking out the dozens of screams as they were silenced by the sound of jaws snapping. Her heart began pounding and with one final crash of lightning, she shut her eyes for a long, long time.

—————

“Lizzie?” 

Where was she?

“Lizzie, wake up.” 

Was she dead?

“Are you okay?”

Are her parents alive?

“Lizzie, are you there?” 

Was she back home?

“Please. Wake up, Lizzie.”

…Those were her friends calling her, weren’t they? 

Lizzie shot up, breathing heavily as she grasped her chest. This wasn’t the ocean. It was bright and sunny. She could hear birdsong outside and the gentle brush of leaves against the wind. Sunlight filtered through the window behind her, looking around, she could see the expressions her friends were giving her. 

Joel was right beside Lizzie, clenching his fists with hunched shoulders, his eyes glued on her. Jimmy was on the other side, one of his hands held onto his head, gripping his blonde hair as he leaned over. Grian was beside Jimmy, his wide eyes stared at her as his eyebrows furrowed, biting his lip. 

They were here. She was here with them. Her parents. 

Lizzie took in a deep breath, “Where are my parents?” 

The three brothers shared a glance, exchanging mini expressions until Joel nodded, placing his hand on the bed as an offering. Lizzie placed her hand on top of his. Joel glanced at the floor as he sighed, “They’re… they’re.. How do I phrase this?” Joel’s eyes couldn’t meet hers. They were what? What happened? 

Lizzie glanced at Grian and Jimmy, who kept their heads low. Why was everyone acting so weird? Lizzie’s grip on Joel tightened as an air of silence washed over them. 

“Everyone was-.” 

His voice trailed off. Silence. If it weren’t for the birdsong outside, the silence would have been deafening. He didn’t finish his sentence. That only meant one thing, right? They were gone. Dead. Not in this world anymore. The last thing she did was be a disobedient child. She was the worst. Lizzie felt tears begin to well up in her eyes, her hands covered her face as she screamed. She screamed so loudly the brothers flinched, Lizzie’s chest heaving as she sobbed.

She wanted her parents.

She needed her parents.

This wasn’t fair.

Lizzie’s hands slumped on her sides as she laid on the bed. This can’t be real. She felt Joel hold her hand as he looked at her.

Joel rubbed his thumb over Lizzie’s hand as she gripped it tight. “But you survived. It’s… a lot to take in, but I promise, we’ll be there for you.” Joel looked back at her with a smile, tilting his head. 

Grian stood up from his chair, slamming his hands on the sheets, “We’ll find out what beast did it, and tear its heart out!” Grian’s enthusiasm for being a hunter was strong, surprising her now with how intense his gaze was, affirming his resolve. Maybe it was because his birth parents died, he felt something new towards Lizzie. She decided not to think about it. 

Jimmy placed a hand on her shoulder, “You need time to calm down, Liz. However long it takes, we’ll be there.” Jimmy was always the butt of the joke, always made dumb little quips, but he was an amazing friend. She was glad she met all of them. They were her best friends. She couldn’t imagine facing life without them. All of them.

Lizzie smiled, looking at all three as tears formed in her eyes, not of sadness, but relief, “...Thank you.” 

—————

She never did find out what beasts took her parents that day, but she would learn it eventually. Lizzie breathed the fresh salty air, it was just as she remembered. The waves rippled past the ship, birds called in the open air. All she needed now was time. Time to recover, time to heal. Time to figure out the rest of her life. She held the steering wheel firmly as she exhaled, closing her eyes. She felt a tap on her shoulder, and opened her eyes to see Joel with his hand on her shoulder, their engagement ring glistening in the sunlight.

Lizzie raised an eyebrow, “Any attacks before we charter home?” She could see a glint in Joel’s eyes as he smirked.

Joel took his hand off of Lizzie’s shoulder and shoved it into his pocket, “Maybe. Let’s have one last hurrah before we head home, sounds good?” The mischievousness in his eyes faded as he tilted his head. Lizzie adored how much he cared about her. She’d be fine. She felt reassured with everyone on board supporting her recovery. She gave Joel a small kiss on the lips.

“Aye, captain. Love you.”

But maybe, maybe it was better to leave some mysteries unsolved.

[pinkscaped]

͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏͏ ͏ ͏ ͏𝆹 🌐. ˚ . . ࣪. CICADA was a seven-member boy group under ANGELICO ENTERTAINMENT. They were well known for their dark, apocalyptic, and mysterious concepts. The group was very popular domestically, always charting high within Korea. While garnering minor success internationally, they were wildly more successful within Asia.

CICADA was first introduced to public through a series of puzzles via the Angelico website in 2019. The website had appeared to be “hacked” with crypitc messages and instructions on it that varied randomly alongside ciadad imagery. After solving the randomized puzzle, it would redirect you to page with a profile of a “cicada” none of their names being revealed and most of their information being blacked out besides their birthday, position, and how they plan to defeat the “infestation”. While these puzzles confused the public at first, it was very interiguing and left the public curious.

Three months after this “hacking” occurred, an apocalyptic drama titled “CICADA” appeared on Netflix, starring a main cast of eight boys. The plot revolves around a group of survivors during an apocalypse caused by an infection of mutated cicadas. The series was praised for its unique plot line, horror elements, and surprisingly good performances performed by the soon-to-be idols. The group also recorded the soundtrack for the show. After the first season was aired, CICADA debuted in 2020 under the same name with the members ISSEI, MIDNIGHT, CHANSOL, ASH, DAEUL, JIHO, and HYO.

Despite their domestic success and the millions of dollars poured into them, Son Roan disbanded the group in 2023, not even a month after being appointed CEO. Their disbandment was shocking and sudden, resulting in protest trucks being sent to the company with Son Roan would pose mockingly in front of, showing no empathy or mercy for his decision to disband the once successful boy group.

͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏͏ ͏ ͏ ͏𝆹 🌐. ˚  . . ࣪. BASIC INFO ?!

DEBUT DATE: March 12th 2020.

FANDOM NAME: LOCUSTS.

YEARS ACTIVE: 2020 - 2023

DISCOGRAPHY:

͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏͏ ͏ ͏𝆹 🌐. ˚  . . ࣪. THE LINEUP ?!

TANAKA ISSEI. 1996. LEADER & MAIN VOCALIST.

JEON JIHO. 1997. MAIN VOCAL & LEAD DANCER.

LEE HYOJIN. 1997. MAIN DANCER & MAIN VOCALIST.

PARK DAEUL. 1997. MAIN VOCAL & LEAD RAPPER.

NA "SOL" CHANSOL. 1999. MAIN RAPPER.

ASH KIM. 2000. VISUAL & LEAD VOCAL.

SAMMY "MIDNIGHT" SON. 2002. MAIN DANCER & LEAD RAPPER.

͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏𝆹 🌐. ˚  . . ࣪. WHAT'S THE STORY ?!

TW // Mentions of Death, Murder, Domestic Abuse and Sexual Assault under the cut.

After Cicada's disbandment, Tanaka Issei returned to Japan with much love. He left music behind and became a highly sought-after actor, ignoring his idol past. He even seemingly had "Cicada" blocked from his Instagram comment section. The past is the past to Issei. He wants to let it die.

Jiho would leave the group before the official disbandment, sensing the ship was already sinking. He never liked being an idol, especially in Cicada. He's openly discussed how he disliked most of the members, calling them "entitled assholes" and saying how he is in contact with none of them. He is now the drummer of the band Bones N' All. He seems happier now.

Lee Hyojin was last seen on October 7th, 2023. He was the most popular member with a promising solo career ahead of him. No one is sure where he went or what he's up to, but there is no active investigation into his disappearance despite his fans' protests for the police to at least perform a wellness check on the idol. Their cries fall on deaf ears.

Park Daeul would leave the idol industry and become a creative director and producer. His fans insist he's been blacklisted due to his short-lived solo career being blocked from broadcasting by Angelico Entertainment for "copyright issues" that no one could find the logic behind. Daeul succumbed to his fate behind the scenes quite easily, primarily known for working with the up-and-coming group Brat Pack and being Amanda Summer's protege.

Na "Sol" Chansol would become a successful soloist, actor, and producer. Sol is very well known around the entertainment industry and is the only member who speaks neutrally about Cicada. He never said he hated it, but he never said he loved it. He just says he was there, and he's grateful for the musical growth. Sol is signed under Pursue Entertainment and is their highest performing artist though the bar wasn't high.

Ash Kim would become an actor and influencer, but he expressed interest in being an idol again and would need to be in a group. Ash talks pretty negatively about his time in Cicada, often saying he was picked on and outright bullied by the other members, but refuses to drop names. It doesn't matter now, though, that Ash is a wildly successful actor, specifically in the BL genre, which has garnered him a strong and dedicated fanbase.

Finally, Sammy "Midnight" Son would re-debut as a soloist under Angelico just a few months after this sudden disbandment. He's pretty sheltered, not allowed to speak about the group or how he feels about the disbandment. There's always a manager with Sammy, watching what he does and says, carefully protecting his image. No one knows Sammy's true thought but his eyes are sad.

So, what is the real story of Cicada? Most of the characters are evil, particularly Lee Hyojin, Park Daeul, and Tanaka Issei.

Lee Hyojin would begin dating Chloe Lee of the massive girl group, Venus. To put it bluntly, he was abusive. He often berated Chloe, talked down on her, pushed her around, and sexually assaulted her multiple times throughout their relationship. Chloe had never been in a relationship at that point; she thought it was normal until the night in the field.

Under the assumption they would be having sex in Hyojin's car in the field behind the Angelico dorm, a common hang-out place for Angelico artists, Chloe would go without much of a debate. She didn't know the actual plan Hyojin had crafted.

That night, Hyojin would make Chloe have sex with three other men that night, three men she didn't want to have sex with. The only two she knew were Daeul and Issei, but the other one still remains nameless. All of this was done for the men's enjoyment, Hyojin believing it would give Chloe "Stockholm syndrome" and keep her with him forever––Yeah, incredibly ass backwards but there's no logic in a mind like Hyojin's.

In a final act of cruelty, the men would leave Chloe in the field after the attack, leaving her to walk back to her dorm alone and in the dark. On her walk back, she bumped into Son Jinhwa, who immediately took her to the hospital due to her condition. Though she had a rape kit done and a police report, she would not name her assailants either to Jinhwa or to the police.

Still, it didn't take a rocket scenitist to figure out who was resposible.

Hyojin had never been right. He had an extensive record of harassing girls at his school and beating the shit out of any guy who disagreed with him. His mother died giving birth to him, and his father hated him because of it. You could say, from the start, he was born rotten. He was raised by his grandmother, who became bedridden when he was eleven, leaving him to take care of her. His life was tragic, but none of that mattered. An abuser is an abuser with a tragic backstory or not.

After Son Roan disbanded Cicada and effectively blacklisted Hyojin, Daeul, and Issei from working in the Korean entertainment industry ever again, Hyojin would storm to the Venus dorm at 2 in the morning in a rage. He would then not only beat the daylights out of Yoonah and Klara, but he would attempt to murder Chloe for "ruining his life" by choking her. This would result in him being struck upside the head with a frying pan by Sena Kim, effectively killing him.

Later, his body would be burned by Chloe Lee, Son Jinhwa, and Son Roan.

To read about the extent of Hyojin's crimes and further lore on Angelico's cover-ups, you can click anywhere to be redirected to a discontinued piece explaining all of it. While the lore surrounding Jinhwa has been completely altered, the scene where Hyojin and Daeul (pretend Issei is there as well lol) is unaltered.

[coldlesbians]

Gonna use this account to share my survivor version of the Clerk from IDV, this game has consumed my mind and infested my thoughts. And I rlly wanted to share it with the world, and tumblr let’s me type till I’m all out of things to say.

Since I THINK it was implied she is a survivor in the manor game, I thought it might be interesting to see her as one and I wanted to draw her in a pretty dress. Perhaps I thought wrong but I think a girl can dream.

Additionally attached are some of my design notes and thoughts

Incase u cannot read the image

I decided to only keep her scrolls as her usable item/prop and removed the cane, especially since this interpretation is of a younger Keigan. I specifically kept the scrolls bc I imagined her as a decoder, it just made sense in my head.

For the clothes I tried to make her seem like a sophisticated young woman. I kept the glasses and jabot that are in her hunter design but decided to go for a brighter palette, similar to her clothing in her background story video. I based the silhouette on 18th century clothing, modifying it a bit so it was more believable that she was running around in the dress.

Gave her a much friendlier appearance and made her body type more reminiscent of what is seen in the background video.

[athanasius-symposium-of-writings]

The Bird And The Man

Chapter Ten

Rated: Explicit | Warnings: None

Ao3

Chapter Nine | Chapter Eleven (coming soon)

The Baron of the Oletus Manor is an anonymous individual, an enigma, it only seems like Hastur has a connection to the Baron but cannot speak to how deep that connection is. He controls the games, rarely showing his hand when he deems fit, like the time Joseph had sent a letter requesting the game to permit permanent deaths. The Baron only allowed this because he knew the Photographer was not going to fulfill his own request.

Human hearts are fascinating, often capricious, and often selfish. Yet, there are moments like those and many other heartfelt bonding moments within the Oletus Manor, a story with no end, but with plenty of plot twists and on the edge of one’s seat scenarios.

The Baron is quiet, his posture different from others as he wears a blue suit, the color is warm instead of the dark colors the villain would wear in dramatic stories. He brushes off the bit of dust that landed on him as walked out of the Golden Cave exit gate to meet the raven monster lurking in Lakeside Village. The one called ‘Nightmare’ is standing there looking up at the clear starry sky when the Baron approaches in quick strides, he does not like the mud getting on his brown dress shoes.

The only hint of acknowledgment is the way Nightmare crosses his arms and stands up straight to his full height.

“Thinking of the ghostwriter while stargazing. Romantic.” The Baron breaks the silence while lighting his pipe to take a smoke, “You dreamt of them again.” Spoken as a matter of fact.

No response to that, Nightmare uncrosses his arms noting the way the tone is not harsh, cold but not a blizzard.

“You are aware we share dreams, correct?”

There is no response at first but then a slow nod, he is now waiting for the lecture one gets from a father for eating too many sweets or in this case: playing in the honey jar.

“You should know better than to have relations, creature.” Annoyed, a puff of smoke in the air was blown away by a little breeze.

“No. Rules. Broken.”

The Baron glares, a frown on his lips that is holding up the pipe, he takes the pipe out of his mouth as he replies once more, “The unspoken rule of Hunters and Huntees not having personal relations should not have to be explicitly said, Nightmare.” Shaking his head. “I have been too kind in allowing these connections to form.” Not just Nightmare. Miss Nightingale had fought the Baron for these events, the dressing up, and the different match settings. This is to allow the human mind to handle more than it can handle. The survivors were picked for a reason, a mix of various types of people put into a dangerous situation that seems impossible to escape一 Well, it is so long as the Baron wants them to be here.

“The. Heart. Wants. What. It. Wants.” Nightmare says as his head turns to the Baron, the purple eyes behind the plague doctor mask narrow, “I love them.” The Baron looks away when he hears those words, how easily those words come from the creature. The pain of speaking is something he can endure to state his case, “As. You. Will.”

“Orpheus has written enough doomed relationships with his novels for you to know better than assume that.” He refuses to believe he will fall for a Huntee, a person he is using for these games, “This will end tragically.”

The Baron looks up at the starry night sky, pinching the bridge of his nose, “I detest you.” Those words bitter and resentful, venom that could kill a snake. The nights of late have been infested with dreams of you rather than dreamless nights, no longer is it cold and empty. He can vividly see you, a smile that does not match the situation of the manor. Groaning as he shakes his head before smoking his pipe again.

“Detest. Yourself. As. You. Need.” A deep breath is taken in slowly and let out slowly, “We are fools.” A chill in the air is enough to get him moving towards the exit gate and leave back to the manor.

The Baron remains there until he finishes smoking his pipe.

The Baron allows for celebrations, New Year's and the Lunar New Year among them, but none of them specify a year. That is to keep the mystery of the manor, the timelessness, and endlessness going.

The celebration goes on, and the Baron is far away from the events but close enough to see all the participants from survivors to hunters partaking of the drinks and being civil. Miss Nightingale often complains about how well-behaved Jack is during events much to her annoyance.

The Baron allows Miss Nightingale to place judgment on who comes or does not come to join in these events.

A list drawn up and approved by the Baron upon review.

The banned ones due to how unstable they are: Smiley, Undead, Sculptor, Breaking Wheel, and a few others.

As watches close by but hidden, the gathering of the survivors and hunters, the main event soon to start.

As to be expected, no Nightmare.

The creature hates loud noises and this celebration is full of flashing with loud noises, plus a lot of people given no one misses events (Lady Nightingale can be demanding at times).

But there is no you, your first New Year here and you are nowhere to be found.

Orpheus may not be looking for you but the enigma that is the Baron is. Looking for the aspiring author who foolishly fell into his trap like many others here.

The countdown is starting, Orpheus is speaking with Jack while the others mingle with one another. The Lady Nightingale is there watching from the sidelines, her mask pointed toward the dark clear winter sky.

Another year, five years since the Oletus Manor opened its gate to the Nightingale’s song that fateful night.

The Baron looks with Orpheus towards the sky as the fireworks go off.

[spadesncrows]

ok so abt that au i was talking abt before,,, 🥺👉👈

To start off, this is something I’ve had in the back of my mind for quite a bit that I haven’t been able to fully express and show due to reasons I’ll mention later. This project has lowkey given me some brainrot so I hope my words don’t just sound like I’m going clinically insane LMAOO i swear I’m so definitely normal abt my aus guys (denial)

Dead Casino is a twst au I’ve had for a while but has been on the backburner for being very unfinished. However, since it’s a little (keyword: little) bit more fleshed out, I think I can at least give a general summary on the concept !! :D

First off, the concept behind it was a direct inspiration from mlp infection aus I’ve seen on insta. Since mlp was a large chunk of my childhood and certain variants of horror had become an interest of mine as of late, I liked the idea of mixing them together. But—of course—when I enjoy something just enough, it eventually becomes a feeling of “how can I forcefully throw it in with my current obsession into the mind equivalent of a blender” and Dead Casino was the smoothie that came out of it. Essentially, the resulting foundation is that NRC experiences a zombie apocalypse, but as with most things I obsess over, I wanted to build on that.

To get into the nitty gritty of it first, there’s a few core things abt the infection that basically effect not only what the characters face, but the story itself:

The infection is primarily based off of blot, and the concept of it using something/someone as a vessel to control and harm others

While blot zombies are the most common creature plaguing the school, blot has the capability to take over different objects as well when under specific circumstances, which leads to the creation of (mostly) nonhuman blot infested monsters

Over-accumulation of blot can lead to an increased vulnerability to the infection. This especially targets those that have overblotted prior to the outbreak, even if they had seemingly “fully recovered” :)

As for the story, I don’t wanna get super into it just bc yknow spoilers, but the general overview is relatively simple(ish). Basically, it folllows Ace and the rest of his group of survivors (mostly Cater, Trey and Jade) after the initial outbreak on campus. I wanna say anywhere from a month to a month and a half?? Basically enough time to be at least a little more accustomed to everything going on if that makes sense !!

Ace and co. take refuge in classrooms near the cafeteria, but just like everyone else, is not allowed to leave the safezone unless permitted. Surprise surprise, he leaves the safezone not permitted. In fact he does this multiple times through the first couple chapters alone. And the whole story.

But essentially, Ace manages to figure out two things the first time he leaves the safezone in the prologue:

That there are living survivors in Heartslabyul trapped there under the rule of their infected housewarden, which—by extension—likely means the situation may be the same in other dorms

That both Deuce Spade and Grim—who he hadn’t seen since the outbreak and assumed were dead—were actually alive and MIA.

And that basically kickstarts the rest of the story !! The main group infiltrates different dorms in the hopes of reconnecting with any survivors, all while trying to solve the mystery of their old friends’ whereabouts :)

Now the reason why a good chunk of this au was pretty much kept under wraps was for one main reason specifically: I had zero clue how to present it.

My initial thought was “oh!! Fanfic :3” and then it scrambled into “…comic? Animation? No?? Both?? Neither??”

…and then it kinda just sat there. I had the story, I had the idea, I had the biggest brainrot, but no way to properly explain or show it. And then I got the thought that plagues me every single time—at least once—I join a fandom: make it a video game.

At first, i wasn’t going to. But then it clicked into place just a bit too well and the ideas kept coming together and it wouldn’t stop and now we’re here :3

More specifically, Dead Casino is gonna be portrayed as a desktop game ^^ (i took like two game dev classes, sue me /j)

here’s some ideas for different mechanics I thought of including !! They’re all on my spam blog, but I have a third blog in the works rn where I’ll have all the info organized eventually :3

[1], [2], [3]

And here’s some irl doodles I’ve made for this!! These are beta designs and the like for different characters and stuff !! (Tw for body horror, knifes and guns, lmk if I need to add any more warnings ^^)

[just-here-with-my-thoughts]

The Bad Batch Short Story Collection

Assorted short stories written in response to prompt challenges. Titles are the prompts used. Almost all under 2k word count.

I've arranged this list in 'chronological order' ie/ Cadets -> S1 -> S2 -> S3. All links are to the Tumblr versions of the stories. Prefer to read the collection on AO3? It'll be in the order that prompts were released, but you can find it Here.

Looking for longer stories? To check out the round-up of my other fics, Click Here :)

Cadet Batch - as featured in my WIP fic 'Pieces Of The People We Love'

Unresponsive Tech loses his first batchmate. Lightning Strike Struggling with how a Kaminoan lightning storm affects his enhanced senses, a young enhanced clone cadet makes an unexpected friend. Injured / Lula Alone and recovering from an injury that might lead to his decommissioning, Wrecker gets an unexpected visitor, and an unexpected friend. Helpless Experimental Unit 99 are on a training exercise and struggling to shake down with their new member, CT-9931 ‘Hunter’. Blood-Stained Tiles / Ice Pack Wrecker finds Hunter in the freshers nursing a split lip. Getting a Haircut / Cadets / "Don't avoid the question" The enhanced cadets discuss the state of their newest addition's hair. Victim Blaming Crosshair is severe and unyielding when it comes to dealing with a headlice infestation.

TCW Era

"Help Them" / Compelling Voice Hunter is injured, but orders Crosshair to continue with the mission. "It's just a scratch" Hunter can still be a little shit, even when he's being a good brother.

S1

Obedience / Conditioning Imperial Officers and Kaminoans discuss enhancing the strength of Crosshair’s control chip. Crosshair deals with the effects of his chip enhancement. Suffering in Silence Omega wants to play, but all Wrecker wants is rest. Found Footage Tech discovers an old home video from their cadet days. Solitary Confinement After being captured on Daro, Hunter waits in the holding cell for Crosshair to come and confront him. "I love you" / Sole Survivor Crosshair considers many things.

S2

Too Weak To Move / Bundled Up In Blankets The Batch are camped out in Cid's Parlour in Ord Mantell, recuperating from the flu. Presumed Dead Hunter and Echo argue about the future. “I didn’t think I would get this far.” Tech and Phee debate the merits of lab-grown versus natural. Battle Scars Phee admires Tech's battle scars, prompting a comparison with his brothers. Left for Dead Hemlock recovers Tech's goggles on Eriadu. "No... not like this" Hunter and Phee receive some unwelcome news. Not Allowed To Die Tech still has a mission to complete.

Pre-S3

Time Loop Hunter feels trapped in an endless loop after losing Omega.

Post-S3

Water Gun Fight / "It's not what you think" The children of Pabu have a water gun fight "Get out of my room!" / "You're a bad liar" Teenage girl sleepovers should not be interrupted by well-meaning fathers. Human Weapon aka The Birthday Cake Fic Omega wants to celebrate her friend's birthday, and finds out Crosshair's thoughts on the subject. "Need a hand?" Crosshair struggles to manage a task one-handed. Wrecker is there to support him. "Forget I asked" Crosshair tells Hunter he wants to join the Resistance Light in the Darkness Crosshair considers his motivation. Comfort Zone Hunter is restless, and Shep invites him to take a walk. “Just when were you planning on telling us that?” Wrecker discovers that Hunter has been learning a new skill. “Stop touching me!” - “I’m not touching you!” After a lifetime fearing the roiling ocean dark of Kamino, Fives has his first encounter with the shallow, tropical sea of Pabu “Hold still.” / “Yeah, kid, we’re fine.” Mayday is relaxing on a pristine beach with a smoothie, and doesn't want to be bothered. But the beach is never free of drama. "You really think you're going without me? Not going to happen." Omega departs Pabu with an unexpected passenger

[moltensmusings]

Rwby au idea, has this been thought about? Maybe. But I offer

Au where there aren't Academies and instead all training is done by huntsmen either related to an apprentice or from the same town as.

Huntsmen were once considered noble heroes but with the death of Ozma centuries back, a darker Era was ushered in and the once revered fighters fell into greed. Largely they're mercenaries now that defend towns or make journeys across Grimm infested territories in exchange for a price.

Technology is far more limited with the most advanced society, atlas, being considered almost a myth among other kingdoms due to it closing itself off from all the others 2 centuries ago.

Faunus are a more reclusive group, a few appear in towns every so often and are met with awe and treated often like spirits, but they figured out ways to survive in Grimm territory and find humans far too dangerous to spend long periods with beyond simple trading.

Fairies and witches used to exist back when Ozma was alive but seemed to vanish following his death. Every now and then a new malevolent being crops up with some horrific magic power that they use to terrorize a town or two and while sometimes huntsmen get dispatched on dangerous missions to slay the villains, sometimes the threat will disappear on its own. No one is sure why yet.

The story would follow Ruby setting out to track down her uncle who went missing. She's an idealist who still believes in the honor of the old huntsmen. She's fascinated by the history of heroes and has a strong knack for dealing with Grimm. People not so much. She isn't exactly a skilled fighter but us tenacious and her spirit helps keep the group moving.

Taiyang runs the tavern in town and as such Ruby and Yang would hear a ton of conversation from huntsmen and few travelers with news of the outside world. This is where ruby hears of a fighter that sounds like Qrow who hasn't returned home in months and decides to set out to find him.

Yang joins the journey after noticing ruby missing and being unable to convince her to turn back.

Blake is the third to join when ruby and Yang get lost in a forested area trying to escape Grimm. Her plan is to initially lead them out of the woods and tell them to stop being a bother and return to safety, but hearing of one human that still believes in the honor of huntsmen and the power of Ozma she begrudgingly joins the group to try and make sure Ruby doesn't die.

Weiss would join after they've been to a town or two because she'd be the sole survivor of an envoy headed from atlas to the largest city in Vale as they'd attempted to escape Grimm attacks.

[holding-monsters-hands]

ayo can I have AM taking care of a child!reader that he found wandering inside himself?

AM taking care a child! reader

HOW THE HELL DID YOU GET IN HERE

Being AM, his first thoughts are violence- however, once you start to call out to him willingly, start conversations with him no matter how silly or meaningless the topics may seem, or even remotely show him a semblance of kindness?

Good job! You have an evil AI for a dad now, and he keeps you a secret in your very own room in one of his more secluded corridors.

He cannot risk anybody finding out about you, especially the survivors at first- he does not trust them to not use you against him.

You're literally his little ray of sunshine, he happily educates you about different things, feeds you, bathes you, reads you bedtime stories, learns to play different games with you, and just tries to raise you to be better than the horrible human beings who used to infest the earth.

Now I mentioned already that he literally adopts you as his own, but if you were to actually refer to him as your parent? He would cry, he won't tell you that but still.

He also does have some helicopter parent tendencies, as much as he tries to show an 'I believe my kid needs to be independent and tough' face, he would lose his shit if you got injured in some way.

"Woah kiddo! watch your step around those exposed wires, getting an electric shock is no fun."

(Me deciding he would be a good father bc it's cute and idc <3)

[kekeartzworld]

Nanoworm Infection AU

I’m always coming up with new ideas and I think some of you might be interested in this one

So I’ve seen the MLP infection AU things and gotten inspiration for a new AU

These are mainly placeholders until I can get artwork of more proper designs but these work for now

This mainly takes inspiration from “My Little Worms” which is where the ponies got infected by these worm-like parasites that ate them alive from the inside out

It’s basically a similar idea to what I am leaning towards with the nanoworm infection au but also mixing elements from “Pestraobia” in as well

Basically what I’ve got for the story so far is that these worm-like nanomachines infested the colony and are spreading a virus to the drones so N and Uzi, being 2 of the survivors go to find Tessa who is immune since she is a human as the trio heads back to Cabin Fever Labs to do more research on the nanoworms

They end up running into a badly injured but still very much alive V who was partially knocked offline after fighting off the sentinels (this whole AU is post episode six)

Tessa had remembered that before she, N, and Uzi arrived in the lab, they had found something that made them realize that this virus was powerful enough to affect not only worker drones but also disassembly drones as well

J had been the first to become infected, turning into a horrific beast with the nanoworms crawling all over her body as they have fully claimed her as their host

Ocs can be in this as well btw

I also need some better, less trashy artwork than what I already have which is literally just edited images xP

[enavstars]

More Cyberpunk au details + details of the RGB desings + earlier concept drawing

(Before that please let me know if you want more info on the au because I have a couple drawings planned but with school and stuff I can't draw much and Idk if I can stay motivated that long. So my next posts could be mostly au lore with maybe some sketches, tell me if you'd like that)

In general terms, to give the Cyberpunk aesthetic to all of their designs I try to avoid symmetry by adding belts or patterns to break it. And for the colors, I focused on darker hues and neon tones. This way, the designs have a “punk”/dystopian-ish vibe while representing the high-tech elements of their society (which is like Cyberpunk in a nutshell).

As for the young versions of RGB, each one has their own color palette: Kai's is Red and orange with shades of black; Nya's is Blue, pinkish red and light shades of gray; and Lloyd's is light Green and also dark blueish green. Kai and Nya get a few details (shoes, arm or jacket) of each other’s main color as a wink ;).

Kai's outfit is meant for moving around comfortably both in the city and outside, Nya's is like a mechanic uniform for tinkering, and Lloyd's is for running as fast as possible; he also has a puffy sleeve similar to Kai's (le wink again). All three of them have a letter of RGB in some part of their outfit and share a tech pattern, each positioned differently (Kai in his inside shirt, Lloyd in his sweatshirt and Nya in her leggins)

As for Kai's eye:

One day, when they were exploring around the danger zone of the outskirts of the city, Kai accidentally activated a trap set by one of the last survivors of the Outside that unexpectedly still lived there (a paranoid rancid sociopath). The violent trap had become infested with Red plants with time and made Kai get in contact with it too: it instantly dug its roots deep within his right eye socket and Kai was unable to pull it off. Since it was such a sensitive spot where the plant was sucking all the nutrients out of him, he was so weak that Nya had to slowly and painstakingly carry him back through the ruined suburbs to get help inside the city walls. After getting around the border control with the plant still stuck to Kai’s eye, all thanks to Echo’s help (who also carried the kid the rest of the way), they got to the doctor’s. Luckily, he was able to cure Kai, but he was forced to remove the affected area, which were his eye and part of the skin of his face; however, if he had waited any longer the plant's roots would have reached his brain and killed him.

Nya then started looking for a biomechanic while Kai rested with little Lloyd, who’d followed his sister all throughout the loaded trip back but could do nothing but keep her company due to his size. However, when the girl finally found one who agreed to make the prosthetic eye for them, a fellow demon named Ronin, he set them the condition to seek out a strange artifact for him as payment, giving them a total of eight years to find it. With no money and no choice, they were forced to accept, but Nya managed to get a picture of the prosthetic’s plans; this ensured that she’d be able to fix it and not depend on the guy too much, but four years later they were found out and their deadline was cut down to only another year.

In the end, Ronin will be Ronin, and the mysterious artifact was in fact a collectionist piece of

Garbage.

Apart from that incident though, as kids they don’t really spend that much time in the city, and they generally only come there to visit their friends/acquaintances and sell stuff Nya finds. For example, they do both of those things in Ed and Edna’s junkyard, where Nya trades her scraps for their more useful scraps while visiting their friend Jay. She and her siblings (who always need to stick together inside the city walls just in case) like telling stories about their adventures in the Outside to the oblivious inhabitants, so obviously Jay is no exception. The girl is very energetic and much more of a little unhinged rascal in this au, so her stories are usually really exciting and filled with funny acting for the little boy. Additionally, as they are both mechanics in the making, whenever the siblings come around his parent’s workshop, Nya and him show each other their latest creations and sometimes they even discuss how they could improve on their work.

But the one who most often talks to people, especially strangers, is Kai. Because even though they are feared as demons, the boy is much more chill and charismatic than his siblings, and is usually in charge of being the friendlier face (although he does like staring at the people who get scared of his dragon ears a little too hard hehe). In fact, they use that awkward fear to their own advantage: due to Lloyd’s much more obvious demon features (his ears are even pointier than the other two’s and his eyes are straight up red), he is often the distraction whenever they need to steal food, either in times of need or if they just wanna cause trouble. People just cannot stop staring nervously at the little boy, who is great at drawing the wrong kind of attention, and when the act is up, he’s so fast following his siblings that no one can ever catch him.

Overall, they don’t really give a single damn about society and think too many of them are just as parasitic as the plants in the Outside, so they don’t often bother as kids to get into the city. That, paired with the fact that they are just three tiny outcasts who somehow miraculously keep coming back from the “deadly” Outside, means that people in the city just tolerate and more or less respect them (out of being kinda spooked by them), so they tend to get away with their shenanigans without much repercussion.

But in the future, they do change their habits a little bit.

When it comes to their designs, they do keep the same purpose but with variations in their shapes. Kai still uses casual comfortable wear but his color palette changes a bit, with a more pinkish Red with blue highlights instead of orange, but he does keep the shades of black. His outfit now consists of a thin bodysuit cut at the chest and hips to make sort of a hexagonal fishnet pattern, trousers and boots, along with a ton of new accessories (more slutty in general).

Nya keeps the mechanic vibe but with more of the gray and blue colors and barely any red. She has huge trousers with bigger pockets and her tools attached under her belt, a sports bra (for the ladies ;)) and mech gloves. She keeps her goggles, which are a different color now.

Lloyd has a sports outfit similar to the previous one in the shorts and leggings. He keeps the puffy sleeve on his left arm, although it is now a standalone piece, and has bigger trainers. His color palette is black and white with neon/bright greens. He lost his arm in an accident with plants too: the affected area was on his upper arm so they had to remove the entire thing, and Jay made his prosthesis.

They all have more small details of their other siblings’ colors (for example Lloyd has the pins on his casual vest); also, and instead of having their respective RGB letters on a random part of their outfits they are now matching at the back of the three jackets. Some other details on them are the fire symbol in blue on Kai's bomber jacket and on Nya's military jacket, the label on the chest that reads "samurai", complete with its X on the arm sleeve.

Their more mature personalities make them live around more in the city, although practically nobody knows their true names still, while also not leaving behind the Outside or Echo (in fact, their expeditions tend to be longer now that they have more experience and overall strength and abilities).

Nya (still just known as “Blue”) actually works in her own workshop now, selling her works on her own. However, her stubborn, energetic and blunt personality has now matured into pure badass and she’s constantly looking for a fight, but nobody can touch her or at least seriously hurt her because she’s insanely strong.

Also, even if they do manage to actually harm her she has her brother Kai (“Red”) looking out for her, who can basically destroy anyone’s private life if they mess with any of their siblings through blackmail :). In fact, he’s usually seen hanging around in the Red district (they even mistake him for a prostitute sometimes lmao), which is where most of the juicy information is flung around, so he has no trouble getting sensitive information about anyone and anything in the city. In addition, he’s developed a calm and charismatic personality that lures people into their manipulative tactics to take advantage of virtually anyone he wants, but his temper can be frail sometimes, especially when his siblings are hurt in any way. But, when it comes to them, even though he is more protective of them as the older brother and can explode if they are treated badly, he still fully trusts them and their abilities and they all rely on and fiercely fight for each other like a team whenever necessary.

In contrast to his siblings, though, Lloyd tends to avoid conflict as much as he can: despite looking like a human neon sign with his jacket on, he always manages to scurry out of sight whenever he’s in trouble as the speedy, witty little monke he is. And the reason he gets caught up in so much drama is because he is extremely curious and, as they aren’t kids anymore, people now care about the demon trio’s meddling in their business quite a bit more.

In conclusion, as they grow, Kai, Nya and Lloyd become more intelligent and fleshed out in their own ways, and even though they still have no respect for society as a whole, they do keep some friends close to them. They love each other and Echo as the unique family they are, and always make sure they have each other’s backs no matter the situation.

Here is Kai's early design + scar (TW: gore)

[wildglitch]

Timeline for the Wiz!Au (Because I can)

Ok so recently I started ploting and writing the next instalment for the Wiz!Au and Have been looking back at the timeline I made for myself. I also realize that If you dont read every post for this au you might not get it

Which is fine, Its not really that important to understand the story, But I also put a lot of effort into in and more reaserch then I should have to get the results I got. So anyways here is the Comprehensive Timeline for the WIZ! X DC au.

Oct. 29th 2018: Hank Pym goes into the quantam realm and brings back the Zombie apocolyps

Oct. 30th 2018: The Avengers are called in to deal with the Zombie infestation. Since its spooky season, the U.S goverment has managed to keep the outbreak on the downlow, with only a few people (Like the Avengers) know about this.

They end up dying

Oct. 31st 2018 (Halloween): The whole day was weird in it of itself but everyone brushed it off as part of the holiday. The is when the breakout reaches New York.

Nov. 6th 2018: Exacally one week after the outbreak leaves 99.9% of New York undead. Peter is one of the Survivors and the few others are too hidden for him to find, leaving him all alone.

Dec. 1st 2018: Bucky Barnes arrives in New York and finds Peter.

Dec. 14th 2018: The rest of the surviving group find Peter and Bucky. With their arival, they are able to locate more survivors in the city that Peter was unable to find due to him not leaving Queens that much. They end up finding other Vigilantees (Other heros au)

May. 26th 2019: Bruce Banner arives on Earth and the events of the Episode happen. (Over a longer period of time)

May. 31st 2019: Peter and possible Co. Are sent to the DCU.

Jun. 1st 2006: Thrown into a diffrent universe Peter makes a deal with Loki to help him find his friends.

The timeline of this universe will be 2006 because of when I want the DCU timeline to sort of take place. The story takes place around a year after the events of UTRH give or take a few months (more take then give honestly). Jason (the character) was revived in 2005. Thats when the story happend so its the year the events of UTRH will take place. So the fic with take place one year later.

Jun. 4th 2006: Peter arrives in Gotham and finds a place to live

Jun. 18th 2006: Peter Meets his neighbor (Start of the fic Im currently working on)

Aug. 9th 2006 (Peters birthday) : turning point in the story and end of the first chunk of the story.

And thats all for now. Thats all that matters at least. It dosent really tell you everything but it dose sort of lays out dates and important events for anyone that was intrested.

Im probably going to make a few more posts for this au during this week so keep an eye out for that If you're intrested

[opinated-user]

i just have to laugh because this is so very obviously an overreaction and has nothing to do with what anon said. a probably well intended person: this is your blog, you should be able to talk about whatever you want here. LO: they're liars, liars, liars who lie! i didn't write CP! i didn't molest Courtney! i didn't, i did not!... hey, Brittany... someone was feeling a bit sensitive there, huh? was the stockholm ask that triggered it, LO? maybe if you tried to stop pretending to be above the issue by still bringing it up people wouldn't feel compelled to still ask you about it. but when has common sense and reason ever stopped your ego ride? for the record, LO, you were the one who said your buiding was infested with mice. you said that in one of the multiple posts you have talking about killing mice. i have the screenshots.

you said it, not us. i don't understand what do you think you gain by lying about it. it's not really your fault. nobody was saying that meant you live surrounded by trash or you did something to attract the mice. sometimes those things can happen even if you were as clean as humanly possible, so it's not like you're saving face either.

and indeed, you did multiple post about killing mice, not just one. even some tweets too. so many that it came a point in which i legitimately thought you were taking some kind of sick enjoyment out of it. you also do live in a basement. in a building. that has a mice infestation problem. this is all information you have given to the public. i'm sorry, but you truly only have yourself to blame on this one. "my viewership drops slightly" that's a very generous way of saying that your views have been below average for years and the only saving graces you have are when you managed to talk about a topical issue that brings people's attentions. mostly, SU as of late. i feel it's also important to bring up that we never accused LO of "traumadumping" on her own blog. the only time i have ever seen anyone bringing that at all was to mention how abrassive and rude you were when other survivors shared their own stories of trauma. your completely lack of compassion or any tact was the issue, not you sharing whatever stories you want about your life.