#macabre month

[therealmrpositive]

Macabre Month 6 Part III: Ted Bundy: American Boogeyman (2021)

In today's review, I find out what it takes to track down an American Boogeyman. As I attempt a #positive review of the 2021 film Ted Bundy: American Boogeyman #ChadMichaelMurray #HollandRoden #LinShaye #OliviaDeLaurentis #JakeHays #VictoriaDiGiorgio

True crime, the lurid recounting of often horrific murders shows no relenting, cases both from the highly infamous to the obscure, are picked apart and presented in detail. In 2021, with the rise of documentaries and dramas dedicated to these murders and justice, an infamous director turned his niche of alternative true crime examinations. Fuelled by the increasing passion, he examined the crimes…

[nataliedecorsair]

For this Halloween, I present you my MRI monster + a little bonus story about it >:) --

It’s the tail end of October, when the days shrink down to thin slices of cold sunlight. The late autumn air is sharp and crisp. It’s carrying the scent of wet, dying leaves; it stirs a strange feeling inside you, a mix of melancholy and restless hunger for something more. An adventure, perhaps... or something darker.

And why not? You’re young, curious and like everything weird and unusual. For you anything out there is a story, and this one could be a story about the unfortunate abandoned hospital at the end of a broken road. Folks say this place is haunted, but maybe no one’s ever dared to find out for sure. You're certain it is time for you to solve this mystery for good.

You ease your way inside. The door gives a long, miserable creak as it opens, as if it hasn’t been touched in decades. The paint, once green, is almost gray now; it hangs in shreds, peeling off the wood like dead skin. The air in the hallway hits you, stale and thick, smelling of dust and something sour. You pull out your flashlight, clicking it on with a soft snap, and the narrow beam cuts through the dark, scanning over pockmarked walls and the occasional room. But, of course, you don't see anything but empty beds, rusty buckets, piles of ragged fabric left to rot. No signs of ghosts or ghouls - or anything remotely interesting, for that matter.

You explore for ten minutes, maybe more, telling yourself you’ll see something any second now. But after the seventh empty room, you start to think there's no mystery at all. Pretty expectable, isn't it? Or what, did you really think you’d find anything but dust, broken glass, and busted syringes? With a sigh, you turn to go, shaking your head.

You take a step into the hallway, flashlight slicing through the shadows, and that’s when you hear it: a low, dry crrrk-crrrk. At first, you think it’s the old building settling. But then it comes again, irregular and jittery, like static: crick-crack, crick-crick-crack. The sound’s sharper now, that unmistakable staccato of a Geiger counter ticking.

Your heart beats faster. You swing the flashlight in the direction of the noise, but there’s nothing there, just the same hollow walls and chipped paint. Crick-crack-crick. Louder now, closer... For a sick, sinking moment, you wonder if there’s something radioactive buried here, and shake your head in disbelief.

"It doesn’t make any sense," you think. "I don’t even have a Geiger counter." But your mind, stubborn as a mule, wrestles to make sense of the nonsense, to catalog that weird crackle and shove it into some drawer that fits. Maybe you’re just hearing things? The building is old, there could be some pipes. It's always the pipes that make the most uncanny noises.

But the thing making that sound... it doesn’t care whether you understand or not.

You run forward, not watching where you're stepping, and a rusty bucket clatters across the floor. You fumble as your flashlight slips from your hand, the beam ricocheting off the walls and scattering shadows like startled birds. You crouch to retrieve it, fingers scrambling over the filthy, dusty tiles. And that’s when you see it, illuminated by the flashlight laying on the floor.

Feet.

They're human, but wrong. Slightly translucent - and shot through with slowly swirling masses of black and red liquid, twisting just under the skin. You look upward, and you make out the outline of a woman in a tattered, filthy hospital gown. Her body consists of that liquid, contained within the thin walls of her grayish skin. Everywhere but her head. It looks like an MRI scan, flickering between 2D and 3D, a nightmare too strange for your eyes to comprehend. Empty white orbs stare down at you, soulless and wide. She has no lips, but her mouth peels back, revealing a row of long, black teeth: it almost looks like a smile. She leans in, and before you can scream, rushes towards you - and the world plunges into darkness.

...You wake up in your own bed, the morning light spilling through the curtains. What a horrible nightmare you just had! Head feels so heavy, it hurts with this annoying, pulsating, throbbing pain deep within your brain. You feel feverish. You got sick, perhaps? It would explain the dream, so realistic - and so ephemeral at the same time.

With a sigh, you brush your palm through your hair, trying to shake off the remnants of sleep... but your fingers snag on something. A clump of hair. You pull it free, bewildered. Since when have you started balding? Confusion morphs into unease as you glance down at the skin of your hand, red and sunburn. Sunburn in October? In this area?

"I should definitely see a doctor," you think, an anxious knot tightening in your stomach. "But not in this abandoned hospital." Nervous chuckle escaped your lips, as you tried to calm yourself down with this silly joke. "I will never go there again, whether it's a dream or not."

…At least, you thought so. -- More spooky art here and here

[kyannnite]

danse macabre

(closeups below)

[koetjingwarrd]

Danse Macabre

[brokehorrorfan]

NECA is releasing an "Over the Rainbow" Elvira action figure for Pride Month. Priced at $37.99, the 8" scale toy will ship in June.

The Mistress of the Dark dons a sparkling rainbow fabric dress. It comes with two interchangeable faces, hands, Yours Cruelly, Elvira book, customizable flag with 10 pride stickers, and display stand. It's packaged in a window box.

[the-watcher-in-the-sky]

[ed13d1]

we will not leave you

[theumbralvampire]

Strange Scotsman 😆😆🖤🧛🏻‍♂️🖤🥀

[tsururoach]

happy birthday @funuya everyone right now drop what ur doing and send him gakuryuu pics. ok?

[okaydays22]

[vydia-killa]

Epidermal Macabre

“Indelicate is he who loathes

The aspect of his fleshy clothes, —

The flying fabric stitched on bone,

The vesture of the skeleton,

The garment neither fur nor hair,

The cloak of evil and despair,

The veil long violated by

Caresses of the hand and eye.

Yet such is my unseemliness:

I hate my epidermal dress,

The savage blood's obscenity,

The rags of my anatomy,

And willingly would I dispense

With false accouterments of sense,

To sleep immodestly, a most

Incarnadine and carnal ghost.”

-Theodore Roethke

One of my all time favorite macabre pieces and my favorite poem

[therealmrpositive]

Macabre Month 6 Part IV: Aileen Wuornos: American Boogeywoman (2021)

In today's review, I find that the bicentennial is the perfect place to start retelling a serial killer's story. As I attempt a #positive review of the 2021 Aileen Wuornos: American Boogeywoman #PeytonList #TobinBell #LydiaHearst

What drives someone to kill? The pursuit of Wealth? Power? Some twisted logic or belief that only makes sense in their head? Or just mere circumstances coupled with a rash, impulsive decision. Many will have their theories, but the end motivations may be unknowable, even for the big cases. In 2021, controversial director, Daniel Farrands hemmed another alternative look at the legacy of another…

[criminallyoverrated]

Posting a man I've been gay about this year for every day of pride month, day 22:

Wait- hold on...

IT'S A LADY TODAY??!?!?

That's right, and it's....

ELVIRA!!!!!

Now I pose the question: What's gayer than a gay dude having a crush on a gorgeous, goth, gay woman? Can't think of much. I love my girl SO much man I just- bajsbqkdbenfnwj. Happy pride Cassandra Peterson!!

[squiffer-salad]

needed to start posting my jsab AU

This has been in my drafts since April help me

anyways my bilxer and macabre (I still need to name her I’m strangling myself)

getting real silly I’m alive again

[caveroach]

Spider

[cyberaxolotl]

To Lose A Queen

The Amazing Digital Circus Angst/Sadfic

(AO3 Description) A headcanon induced fic about my interpretation of Queenie’s abstraction, how it happened, the immediate reaction, and when.

Important tags: Pre-canon, physical fight/violence, character death/abstraction, body horror/horror elements

Words: 5.3k

Illustrations: 0 in fic, 1 cover art

Read on AO3 instead? (More tags + Author’s notes)

Fic & Cover Art below the cut

April fifteenth, 19XX. One-hundred and fifty-two weeks before Pomni would arrive, and five days before Zooble. The circus was already full; It had all of its toys. A doll, a rubber rabbit, chess pieces, one toy for laughing at, one for crying at, and the toy that was silly to look at. Caine had all the ones he wanted right there.

Kinger was doing much better back then. He woke up in the “morning” that day, April fifteenth, with few worries in his mind. None that could be acted on, anyway, and none that could stress him out terribly.

There was a light knock on his door. “Kinger..?” A voice called out, gentle and sad, and not nearly reaching him.

“Oh, come on, you’re not knocking hard enough.” A different voice corrected her, followed by a much harder knock and call. “Heeey, Kinger! Get up!”

“Mhfg- huh-?” The chess piece picked himself up from his bed, looking at the door. “What is it, what’s happening-?” He called through the door.

“R-Ragatha wanted to make breakfast for everybody, and I think she’d really appreciate it if we all showed up to it…” The softer voice was severely muffled.

“Ragatha’s doing huh? Hold on a minute…” He tiredly picked himself up, walking up to his door. He opened it to be greeted by Gangle and Jax. “What’s going on?” He cleared his throat, barely awake.

“Ragatha decided that she wanted to make everybody breakfast and she’s somewhere, someplace, making it with Caine.” Jax explained, a hand on his hip. “Gangle wants everybody to show up for it.”

“I think- I think Ragatha would want everyone there too-!” Gangle squeaked, putting her ribbons together. “She’s making something for all of us…”

The rabbit rolled his eyes. “Yeah, whatever. Are you gonna grab Queenie and show up or do you just wanna sleep more?” He turned to Kinger, who was rubbing his eyes.

“I’m not too sure about breakfast… but I AM sure that Queenie would want us to be there.” He pulled his hands away, looking down the hallway. “We’ll be there in a few minutes.”

“I-I’m sure Ragatha will be happy about it-! That makes everyone, so long as, uh… Slinks shows up.” Gangle looked over her shoulder at a door behind her. It belonged to a green-and-orange worm-on-a-string, the goofiest looking member of the circus, and yet one of the more reserved as of lately.

“You know Slinks, they’ll show up an hour late and wonder where everyone is. I’m gonna go bother Kaufmo.” With that, Jax walked off, striding cockily.

“…I hope to see you two at breakfast.” The ribbon girl tried to smile at Kinger, then walked off.

Kinger took a deep breath, stepping out and closing his door behind him. He tried to pick himself up and energize himself as he reached the door next to his, knocking on it. “Queenie, sugarplum, are you awake?” He called out with a raised voice.

He heard a soft grumble, followed by shuffling. “Just a moment…” A slightly strained, sleepy voice called back to him, and then the door opened. “Good morning, sweetheart~” Queenie’s voice was mature and smooth, feeling like honey when he listened to it. She put her hands on his shoulders and leaned closer to him, “What’s on our schedule today?” She asked as she put their heads together. They couldn’t really kiss anymore, so they took the next best thing of getting close to each other and humming softly.

“Gangle woke me up, said that Ragatha’s making breakfast. Should we go?” He intertwined his hand with hers, picking it off of his shoulder. Having lost their real wedding rings during their transition to the digital world, they’d substituted gold and silver for silly looking pipe cleaner rings that they’d made for one another. They might not have shined, but they served as a symbol regardless.

“Oh, you know I can’t let Ragatha down, or Gangle.” She pulled away, “Is everybody going to be there?”

“She said that everyone is showing up so long as Slinks makes it. Everyone… including Jax.” He looked down the hallway, a little annoyed.

Queenie scoffed. “I suppose it’ll be worth it to gather around with everybody like that…” She stepped out and closed the door behind her, “But that boy has no respect for the queen~!” She motioned valiantly with her hands, puffing her chest out, and then pausing. After a moment, she giggled, then sighed. “Like I’d carry myself that way.”

“Come on,” He put his hand on her shoulder, smiling at her with his eyes. “Let’s go sit down.”

“Of course, sweetheart.” She took his hand off of her shoulder, holding it in her own as they went down the hallway.

As they reached the center of the tent, they could see their fellow performers already gathered at a large table. Jax was next to Kaufmo, evidently pestering him, while Gangle was sitting at the opposite end of the table, twiddling her ribbons.

“We’re here~!” Queenie announced their presence, coming up behind the table. “Where’s Ragatha?” She asked as the two took seats next to the ribbon girl.

“She’s still cooking, but it should be done soon… Bubble was the one who told us to get everyone.” Gangle explained, perking up at the sight of the chess couple. “How’d you sleep?”

“I slept wonderfully, sweetness. In fact, I had a little dream while I was asleep.” The black piece chuckled under her breath. “…But oh, I can’t remember a bit of it. It was something about the flowers and ladybugs in my room.”

“That’s okay. It’s nice to hear that you thought of something, I just… slept through the night.” The ribbons shrugged. “How about you, Kinger?”

“I slept very soundly! No dreams or noises, but soundly!” He said, smiling.

“Jeez, did you hear that sweetness?” The two pieces glared at the sudden obnoxious voice. Jax was leaning into the table, grinning cockily at them. “You two treat Gangle like she’s a kid or something.”

“I-I’m twenty-six…” Gangle said quietly, holding a ribbon up.

“Oh please, is it rude to be kind?” Queenie was glaring daggers at him, clenching her hands on the table. “We’ve not been treating anybody like a kid.”

Jax rolled his eyes. “Not like a kid, you’ve been treating her like your kid.” He sat back in his chair, “What are you two making up for acting like Gangle’s your daughter?”

“Jax!” Kinger glared at him, leaning past his wife. “It’s none of your concern if we’re making up for something, but we just care about her more than you do.”

Gangle stared for a few seconds, then looked down at the table. “…You do kind of remind me of my-“

“Food’s up!” Before she could finish, several voices interrupted them. Ragatha seemed to have appeared out of nowhere, carrying two large plates, and Caine was behind her doing the same. Bubble had a pot of coffee in her jaws, bobbing around happily, and spilling several swigs of it.

“I made pancakes, french toast, and homemade breakfast pastries for everyone!” Ragatha said happily, putting the platters down on the table. “I know we don’t need to eat, but I’m sure we’d all appreciate some routine, right? At least, I’d like to!” She pulled out a chair, sitting down.

“Thanks a BRUNCH for the meal, Raggy!” Kaufmo said, turning to her, “There’s MUFFIN I wouldn’t do for breakfast!”

“…” She stared blankly at him, blinking emptily. “…Ha, haha, that’s a good one, Kaufmo!” She tried to smile and laugh as she saw his face drop.

“…Snrk-“ Though, the silence was filled quickly by Queenie. “Ah- hahahaha~! I thought those puns were lovely, Kaufmo!” Her laugh was genuine and full, a smile reaching her eyes. She continued to giggle as she turned to her husband, “Thanks a brunch for the meal~! What a lovely line!”

Kinger felt his face heat up at her laughter, a fullness welling up in his heart at her voice. “It sure is, sugarplum.” He nodded, staring dreamily at her.

“Um- Caine!” The doll awkwardly looked up, “Will you be staying for breakfast?”

“I’m afraid not, doll, I have far too many things to do today!” He said loudly, motioning for Bubble to come to him. “It was a JO-OY to cook with you, but I have construction to do! Building! IMAGINATION!”

“We get it, you're busy.” Jax picked up a plate of pancakes, “What’s the new addition gonna be, huh?”

“Thaaaaat’s a secret, and a surprise!” He waggled his finger at the rabbit, then turned away. “Enjoy your delectable emulation, I will check back in a few hours!” Grabbing Bubble, the two disappeared.

“…Oookay then.” Kaufmo sat back, taking some french toast. “…Hey, where’s Slinks?”

“Oh, yeah, where are they? Gangle?” Ragatha noted the missing worm, turning to the ribbons.

“They, ah, they didn’t respond when I called for them. They might still be sleeping…” Gangle poked her ribbons together, looking away. “…I didn’t really, um, try to call for them very loudly…”

“I thought Jax was helping you get everyone?” Kinger asked, turning to face the dorms.

“Oh, no, I wasn’t there to help her. I just wanted to tag along.” He shook his head, smirking.

“Then how about YOU go get Slinks, huh?” Ragatha turned and glared at him, only to get a sour expression back.

“I’ve already got my food in front of me! What do you want me to do, let it get cold?” He motioned at his plate.

“It’ll take barely a minute knowing you. Be good for once and just do it, Jax.” Queenie glared at him as well. “Slinks wouldn’t want to miss out on this, would they?”

“…Well, actually, Slinks doesn’t really-“ Gangle started, only to be cut off.

“Fine, I’ll go get ‘em.” Jax pushed his chair back and stood up, starting to walk away. “I’m sure Slinks will REEAAALLY appreciate being woken up for cold food.”

Ragatha sighed as he walked away, turning back to the table. “I hope everyone likes what I made.” She said, trying to smile.

“It smells good!” Kinger said quickly, leaning onto his wife’s shoulder. “But I don’t think I’m hungry enough to have a plate for myself.” He eyed her plate with a dorky look in his eyes.

“REALLY, Kinger? We don’t even get hungry.” She turned to him, sounding and looking bothered. That quickly turned to amusement as she chuckled, putting the plate between them and speaking sweetly, “I suppose I can handle sharing with you~”

Gangle was grabbing a plate as well, trying to put on a slight smile, before realizing something. “Oh- I forgot to ask Caine about my replacement comedy mask…” She said to the group, looking around.

“He said he’d be back in a few hours, I'm sure you could ask him about it then!” Ragatha said, “…Though, you should probably ask him for a few? It’ll be easier to have replacements on hand, won’t it?” She proposed, getting a soft nod.

The ribbon girl sighed, “You always know good answers, Ragatha.”

“Well, thank you! I’m surprised nobody else-“

“GA-AAAH-!”

Everyone at the table jumped at the echoing scream, turning to look down the hall. “Wha- wha- what was that-?!” Gangle whined.

“It sounded like Jax!” Kaufmo exclaimed, getting up from his chair. Right as he said that, the rabbit himself turned the corner.

“Hey- everyone-!” He panted, running up to the table and yelling. He reached them and stopped, bending over, panting heavily.

“What happened?” Ragatha asked, standing up. “Where’s Slinks?”

“Oh- don’t worry- Slinks is… coming…” Jax took a deep breath and cleared his throat, standing tall. “He’s just-“

Before he could finish, they heard a monstrous growl from deeper in the circus tent. “GAH-!” Kinger jumped as a long, glitched out snake slinked around the corner, larger and more monstrous than their worm friend.

“Yeah, he’s here, he’s just abstracted.” The rabbit grinned as he put his hands on his hips, “At least he won’t be eating cold food.” With that, he ran away.

Everyone jumped up from their seats, turning and running in different directions. Ragatha quickly went to Kaufmo and ran alongside him, Gangle let out a horrified shriek and ran another way, and Queenie grabbed Kinger’s hand and pulled them both up, heading for a different side of the tent. What had just been a peaceful morning quickly came apart as Slinks’ abstracted form smashed the dining table, then sharply turned to bolt after Ragatha and Kaufmo.

The chess couple hurried down the hall, Queenie blindly running, and Kinger blindly following. When her eyes landed on a door with “broom closet” written on it in crayon, she turned and ripped it open, pulling them both inside and slamming the door behind them.

Her heart was racing as she fell into a corner, pulling her husband down with her. He ended up falling into her lap, putting his hands on his chest and breathing heavily. “Okay- we’re okay, we’re okay in here, we’re alright…” He started mumbling as they met each other's gaze.

She put her hand over where her mouth would be, motioning for silence, which she quickly got. She turned and put her “ear” against the wall, only faintly hearing growls and scampering. “They’re nowhere near here.” She turned to him and spoke in a hushed voice. With that, she took a deep breath, and let out a heaving, shaky sigh.

Kinger gulped as he looked into the room. “…There are a LOT of brooms in here.” He remarked.

Queenie looked up to see that the room was full of brooms, including the shelves, which were made of brooms and holding more brooms. “Oh.” She let out, disturbed. “So there are.” She turned with an unsure gaze to her husband, who looked equally unsteady.

“…What now?” He asked, putting his hand over hers.

“…” She listened quietly for a few moments, and then gulped. “We SHOULD be safe in here, I don’t think Slinks can open doors like that so long as they don’t know that we’re in here. I hope that everyone else is carrying themselves the same way.”

“Can we really just sit here and wait until Caine comes back?” He questioned.

“Kaufmo and Ragatha will be safer together, and Jax will probably find some obnoxious way to stay safe.” She rolled her eyes a little, then paused. “…But I did see Gangle running off on her own.” She turned to the door.

“Oh dear.” Kinger let out, picking himself up off of her lap and sitting next to her.

“…The moon can get Caine, can’t she?” Queenie realized, eyes widening. “If we get Gangle and make it outside, we can ask the moon to call for him, and end this mess early.” With that, she stood up.

“A-are you really sure we should be the ones doing this?” He stood up as well, grabbing her shoulder. “I’m sure someone else could end up having that idea and doing it instead.”

“Well if we’re going to get Gangle, we might as well make a break for the outside too.” She shook his hand off, “If you want to stay here then I’ll do it myself.”

“No- no, I’m not gonna let you go alone.” He stepped up next to her, getting a satisfied gaze back.

“I know you won’t, come on.” She leaned up to the door, listening through. “…Slinks is still far away. Gangle told me one time that she tries to go to the art rooms when she’s stressed, so we should try there first.” She told him, getting a nod. Opening up the door, the two stepped out, walking slowly through the hall.

The art hall wasn’t too far away from where they had ended up, but it was still a long walk, especially when they couldn’t make any noise.

Loud growls echoed through the tent randomly, never failing to make Kinger jump, or worry Queenie. “…I do hope our friends are okay.” She whispered, gazing down that part of the circus.

As they turned the corner down another hallway, a small noise made its way to them. “…Gangle?” Kinger whispered, looking around. There was faint whimpering coming from one of the rooms.

The chess couple continued down the hall, listening to every room they passed. The queen piece cleared her throat as they reached one of the furthest ones, barely able to hear the distant roaring, and hoping they were far enough. “Gangle?” She said firmly.

They heard a sharp gasp, followed by the sound of ribbons hitting tile. The door opened quietly, and Gangle’s mask poked around the door. “Queenie, Kinger-!” She looked a little happier to see them, but her expression quickly returned to fear. “What’s happening out there-?” She hissed.

“We’re not sure, but we have a plan. We need to go outside,” Queenie explained, holding her hand out, “If we get the moon, she can call Caine, and he can stop Slinks. We’ll also be safer out there.”

“B-but the way out is on the other side of the circus, with Slinks.” The ribbon girl stepped out, looking up at the two.

“I think Slinks is preoccupied by somebody else.” Kinger noted, “We’ve been hearing a lot of growling, so they might’ve found someone else to focus on.”

Queenie nodded in affirmation, “If we’re quick and quiet, we’ll be able to help them too. We need to go.” She stepped away from the door, “Will you be coming with us?”

“I… Sure-!” She stepped out of the room, standing next to Kinger. “I just don’t wanna be alone…”

“That’s fine, we’ll all stick together. Now, we need to hurry.” The queen piece turned around, motioning for them to follow her. The other two let themselves be led down the hall, anxiously listening as they got closer to the distant noises again.

Gangle was looking around anxiously, wincing at every loud roar. “…Do you think Ragatha is okay?” She asked in a hushed voice.

“Ragatha’s one of the most capable of us, I'm sure she thought of something, or she’s hiding.” Queenie assured, keeping her voice low. “If we’re lucky, Slinks went after Jax first.”

“Oh, that’s not nice, sugarplum.” Kinger mentioned, looking away.

“I was just having a lark, sweetheart.” She motioned vaguely with her hand, “…Though, Jax does seem to have a way of ALWAYS getting out of these situati- -!” She stopped suddenly, freezing up.

“..?” The other two looked at her, confused, and she pointed the way she was looking. “-!” Kinger stifled a gasp, and Gangle made the slightest squeak. Slinks’ morphed form was directly across from them, but facing away from them, looking like it was hunting.

There was a stillness in the air for a few seconds, the room turning cold with anxiety. Queenie took a moment to stare before turning to the other two, wide-eyed. The way out of the tent was still quite the run away.

Kinger shook his head at her, he didn’t know what to do, but he wasn’t going to talk. The queen piece took a deep breath, put her hands together, and then started side-stepping away. She motioned for the other two to follow her.

Gangle was desperately clinging onto the king piece, frozen in place. Kinger made the quick decision to pick her up in a way that was almost piggybacking, and she accepted it without a sound, holding onto him. The three carefully continued down the hall, all eyes glued to the abstracted worm, only shifting their gazes to see where they were going.

That part of the tent had become a disaster area. The tossed food from the shattered dining table littered the floor, and various other things had been thrown around and ended up in bugged out states. Queenie could see a flashing chair out of the corner of her eye, watching it flicker in and out of existence and phase through the floor, and she wondered for a moment how much it must’ve hurt to be that way. Was Slinks acting out of aggression, or fear? Were they desperate to find a way to ease their pain, or were they hunting for somebody? Somebody… Maybe Caine? The thoughts crossed Queenie’s mind in a flurry as she walked, not watching where she was going, but seeing Slinks slowly leave their vision.

“SQU-EAK-!”

“-!” She gasped in terror as she stepped on something, hearing it squeal beneath her heel. Looking down, it was a normal rubber duck, untouched by the spread of glitches.

A monstrous roar filled the room as they all turned to face Slinks. It had snapped its head over to look at them, its many eyes locking onto them. And its many eyes… locked onto Kinger and Gangle.

Then, it pounced, shooting across the floor at them.

“NO!” Queenie shrieked, whipping around. Her hands were on Kinger’s petrified shoulders in an instant, and he yelped as she shoved the two of them away, them falling to the floor and skidding.

He was disoriented as he looked up, eyes wide. Both him and Gangle had looked up just in time to see Queenie getting tackled in their place, grabbed by beast and flung across the hall. “QUEENIE!” He screamed, watching in horror.

Just as soon as she had landed, she was picked up and tossed again, slammed into the floor with enough force that the tile was cracking. She looked up just enough to meet his gaze, seeing stars in her vision, and feeling her body shifting and changing. “Y-y-you-“ She stuttered out, but could not finish as she was picked up and thrown again.

Kinger stood up with Gangle still wrapped around him, hearing her sobs right beside him, and the screams of his wife in front of him. She was thrown down in front of them again, and he ran up to her, kneeling down. “Sugar-“ He tried holding his hand out.

“D-d-don’t t-touch m-e-e-!” She cried out, pulling her hand away. The pain of feeling her physical form distort was not going to distract her from the objective. “G-g-go outs-i-i-de, NOW-!” She screamed at them, right as a shadow loomed over her. “RUN-!” With that, she was ripped away from him once more.

Kinger scrambled to a stand, turning around, his chest pounding with every distorted yelp of pain that echoed behind him. He felt Gangle’s wrap around him get tighter as he ran away, praying that he’d be quick enough, begging himself to move faster. He knew his wife, and knew her well; she was more resilient and stable than anyone else there. Surely she could hold on, could she not?

The light of “day” made its way to their eyes, coming in through the entrance. The warm light felt cold in that terrible desperation as they exited the tent, looking up at the sky. “MOON! MADAME MOON!” Kinger screamed up at the stars, his voice cracking in his throat.

“Oh-? Oh, oh my, if it isn’t Caine’s little performers.” The sun reacted first, looking down at them. “Madame Moon, they’re asking for you.”

“Hmm?” The moon turned around next, looking down at them. “Well, hello, folks. What do you need?”

Her calm tone was close to agonizing to the king piece’s desperate mind. “Slinks abstracted, he’s attacking Queenie, geT CAINE NOW-!!” He screamed at her, waving his hands.

“Another abstracted performer? Hm, how tragic… I’ll call him.” She picked up a phone-like object seemingly out of nowhere, dialing a number in, not at all rushing. “Hellooo, Caine~ Your performers are asking for you.” They couldn’t hear Caine’s side of the phone, “…Yes, the circus ones. It’s the chess piece and the theater girl. Something about abstracting.” After a few seconds of silence, she put the “phone” down. “He’ll be here in-“

With that, Caine manifested into existence with Bubble by his side, right by the two toys. “Hello, Kinger and Gangle! Has somebody abstra-“

“SLINKS! SLINKS ABSTRACTED!” Kinger cried desperately at him. “THEY’RE ATTACKING QUEENIE!”

“Slinks is attacking Queenie? What a royal mess!” Bubble hummed as Caine descended to the ground.

“Well, let’s get this over with! Take me to them.” He invited them to lead him, and the chess piece whipped around, running away.

Getting inside, Caine seemed like he could sense the glitched form. “There’s a big worm if I’ve ever felt one!” He held his hand out, and just like that, a snake-like amalgam was floating towards them. A hole opened up on the floor in front of him, and Slinks was lowered into it, sent down into the cold cellar. “Well, that’s that taken care of!”

Gangle suddenly dropped down to the floor, letting go of Kinger and sobbing. The emotions of the past forty minutes caught up to her all at once as she bawled loudly, and as much as he wished he could’ve, the chess piece could not stay. He ran away from her, up to the area where the disaster had happened, until he saw the cracks in the walls and tile.

“Queenie- Queenie!” He yelled out, looking desperately around. Everything that had been littered around was glitching violently, even some of the floor, and it worried him. He couldn’t see his wife anywhere. “Queenie!” He called out again, his eyes landing on an open, but glitched door. ‘She got away-!’ He thought upon seeing it, running over. Pushing it open by the unaffected handle, he looked inside. “Queenie- -!”

Queenie was laying down against the wall, her eyes barely open. He was horrified to see that she was not only distorting and dizzied, but morphing; part of her body had turned into black mass, eyes already faintly glowing in it.

“K-k-ki-in-g-e-er-?” Her voice was barely recognizable throughout stutters and distortions.

“Oh- oh god, oh god, Queenie!” He ran up and fell to his knees before her, terror and worry in his eyes. “Sugarplum, what happened to you?!”

“S-s-s-l-i-nk-s w-w-wa-as… Vi-vi-vic-io-o-us.” She let out, barely able to pick up her head from the floor.

He looked down at her, watching as the black amalgam enveloped her lower half. “No- no, no, no, this can’t be happening, I… I’ll get Caine, he’ll fix you, I-“ He jumped to a stand, only to be stopped.

“I-i-it w-o-n-n-t-t mat-at-atter.” Queenie let out, her voice straining terribly. “C-C-caine ca-a-n FIX-! Gl-gl-glit-t-ch-in-ing, b-bu-t-t I-I’m-m al-al-alr-e-a-d-d-dy a-a-ab-abst-ra-ra-cti-n-g.” As she spoke, the darkness crawled up her torso, and a small tear formed in her eye. “It-it-it hu-u-r-t-s-!” Her voice got more shrill at that sentence.

Kinger stared at her in horror, his face paling as she distorted right in front of him. “What do you- what should I do for you-?” He asked her, shaking.

She shut her eyes for a moment, taking a deep, and still chopped up breath. “…M-m-ma-k-k-e s-u-re-re nob-b-bod-d-y ge-t-t-s hu-hu-hur-t be-c-c-caus-s-e o-f-f-f m-me.” She let out, opening her eyes again. “G-g-ge-t-t C-C-a-ine-! T-to p-put m-me in-n th-the-the cell-ell-ar.”

“No-!” He blurted out, “I can’t- I can’t get him to do that to you, sugarplum, I love you, I-“

“K-k-kin-n-ge-r-!” She yelled at him, making him freeze up. She felt it crawl further up her body, looking up at him with desperate eyes. “L-l-i-st-ten t-to m-m-me, d-do it-t. I-I-I l-lov-e-e you-u t-to-o-o.”

“…Okay.” He let out, his voice shaking as he backed up.

She gave him the closest thing to a smile that she could. “…R-r-u-n.” The distortion climbed up enough to reach the base of her neck, and she shut her eyes.

“-!” He let out a quiet, fearful sound, and then turned away, running out of the room. “Caine- CAINE!” He ran back through the area that was struck by tragedy, past glitched objects. “CAINE!” He screamed out.

He found Caine with the others, who had gathered around now that Slinks was gone. “Kinger! Where’s the queen, eh?” Jax said, using Ragatha as an armrest.

The chess king completely ignored him. “Caine-!” He yelled desperately, now with everyone’s attention on him. “Queenie- she’s, she- I-“ He stuttered and panted, the vision of her appearing in his mind as he rested his hand on his head.

“Oh dear, DOOOON’T TELL ME! Someone else has abst-“

An otherworldly growl came down the hall. Kinger pulled his hand off of his face, turning around as everyone else did. “-!” There was a scream of fear from one of them as a door far away crashed open, as well as the wall around it. Out with it came her, an amalgamated form of darkness that barely resembled her beloved form anymore, with eyes on every place they shouldn’t have been, locking onto the group. Queenie, now abstracted.

“Aaaand that’s another person going STRAAAAIGHT TO THE CELLAR!” Caine announced, the pit opening up in front of him. The morphed queen piece was not able to get close to them before she was picked up, screaming desperately in the air, and then sent down below.

“That was… Queenie-?!” Ragatha gasped, putting her mitts over her mouth.

“What-?!” Gangle cried out, tears still pouring from her eyes. “Queenie abstracted?!”

“Very unfortunate, but now all of the abstracted forms are gone! I’ll find a replacement for Slinks soon.” Caine floated over everyone, standing in front of them. “By golly goodness, look at this mess!” He motioned at the sea of glitching objects and snapped his fingers, and in an instant, they were fixed.

Kinger was completely silent, staring emptily in front of him. Everything had happened horribly, achingly fast, and those around him barely acknowledged it. “…” He looked down at his hands, at the colorful pipe cleaner ring, feeling a deep-rooted heaviness inside him.

“Kinger..?” A soft voice was the first one to speak to him, and he felt everyone else’s gazes on him. “…I’m… sorry…” Gangle squeaked out slowly.

He didn’t turn to look at her, still staring at the ring. He’d lost her, all of her, in an instant. Something inside of him felt like it was breaking, and his eye twitched for a second, his body starting to tremble again. “I’d like to go back to my room now.” He said suddenly, looking up. Before anyone could say anything else, he turned away, walking slowly towards the dorms.

“…Wow, I expected a lot more from him.” Jax said after a bit of watching him walk away. “I mean, his wife dies, and he just leaves?” He turned to Ragatha, pointing away.

She didn’t respond, only giving him a serious look. Instead of entertaining him, she walked up to Gangle. “…Should we hold a funeral for her? I know she meant something to all of us.” She asked, looking at Caine. “CAN we hold a funeral for her?”

“In spirit, maybe! But in this digital world, in order to keep the place appropriate for all ages, we avoid depicting grim topics such as death, graveyards, and funerals!” He turned to her, speaking loudly.

Her face scrunched at him, frowning. “Yeah, yeah…” With that, she looked at Gangle. “…I’m sorry.” She tried putting a hand on her shoulder.

“Sh-she reminded me a lot of my mother…” The ribbon girl mumbled quietly, “And Kinger reminds me of my dad, I… I hope he ends up okay.” She looked down the nearby hallway.

“…Hey, wait, how do you remember your parents? I thought we all forgot about our-“ Jax started,

“Would you shut your mouth for once?” Kaufmo interrupted, getting an offended glare back.

“Hey, Caine!” Bubble floated up to its companion, holding a paper in its maw. “We oughta write this all down on their character sheets, shouldn’t we?” On the first page was a written guide for everything about Slinks, and another page behind it was for Queenie.

“Gadzooks, you’re right, Bubble!” He took the paper, looking for a specific section. “Now where is it… Ah, here!” He manifested a pen out of nowhere, holding the page closer to himself.

In the section labeled “date of abstraction,” he wrote April fifteenth, 19XX.