#such is the nature of fear

[organised-disaster]

Did a bit of worldbuilding and felt like getting Adne Hardware involved

Yapping under cut

This is Trustworthy Human Manager in his actual form, not the fantastic human disguise he wears to avoid spooking customers

Our friend Trustworthy here is a monster that most folks would call a Walking Nightmare (not to be confused with waking nightmares, a temporary side effect of bumping into one of these shaky fellows)

Essentially, a Walking Nightmare is a spooky concept that decided to grow legs and walk away. Sometimes they're sleep paralysis demons, sometimes they're actual monsters seen in people's nightmares, sometimes they're the creatures pictured crawling out of the dark when the midnight paranoia sets in.

Our guy is fairly standard. Nothing too special or scary, just kind of a weird freak. He's based off of several descriptions of sleep paralysis demons (the staring kind, which is a thing apparently) because I've never actually had sleep paralysis myself and thus am guessing what the hell he looks like

Some of them are pretty scary, based on what they're made of. They can come in all shapes and sizes, depending on the concept they came from. None of them are malicious, though. It's not uncommon for small children to draw pictures of themselves receiving a flower from a figure made entirely with black crayon, or for the monster under the bed to delicately place a stuffed toy back with its owner.

They feed off of fear of any kind. People with generalised anxiety don't tend to be the only presence in their house. High schools and universities have one too many shadows around exam time, and classroom corners are a little darker than they should be. Sometimes they appear at funerals if the person being mourned was dependable enough.

[nipuni]

"Midnight" is one of my favourite episodes!!

A speedpaint video of this will be available at my Patreon on may 1st

[ruporas]

and together we set out on a journey to find treasure! (id in alt)

[neo--queen--serenity]

Lena losing her patience and furiously berating Gwen for potentially endangering the staff members of the OAIR is quite literally the opposite of how Elias ran the Archives.

Elias used the Archival staff—as well as his Archivist—as pawns that can be readily replaced as needed. His patron offered them minimal protections at best (the Archivist’s privileges notwithstanding), and even then, he would never actually intervene to save any of them if they were in danger, much less take precautions to protect them at their headquarters. They are used as bait, as sacrifices, as currency, as objects. The listener knows, eventually, how easily he could discard them if his plans called for it.

But Lena. This episode showed us that Lena keeps her entire organization running through keeping her subordinates hidden, safe, and unnoticed by the Externals. It’s quite clear through her conversation with Gwen that such a safety risk has never happened before.

As far as we know, Lena has successfully kept all of her employees alive, watched them come and go, bemoaned the turnover rate, and then got them to look the other way while they documented and dutifully filed the horrors.

But most impressive of all, she’s kept her real work hidden from her subordinates, and her subordinates hidden from her real work—a feat Elias had no interest or desire to accomplish.

[kylorenscar]

"...and I have to live with that. Forever."

[otiksimr]

Not my best work.

[koiinoborii]

Thinking abt Dink again

[faunandfloraas]

The A to Z of Bang Chan // I is for "Insect" 🐞🦗 "I think that insects are so diverse and amazing!" Chan's room ep. 198

[nitronine]

I don’t think they could ever make Dr who into a tv show. None of it would transfer well to the screen :(

[whumpypepsigal]

@whumpgifathon | Day 19 (alt. prompt): “Protective”

Tyler Owens in Twisters (2024)

[bloobydabloob]

Playing Ratchet & Clank

[fluffylord]

Look how far I went, for fear of losing you.

[hyakunana]

A Wizard and a Rogue walk into the Archive

[hivemindscape]

the buddy-buddy act ends now

[bonefall]

Big question cause I’m so mad about how they were used: any ideas on changing Berryheart and Curlfeather from this book?

I have ONE controversial opinion and you must allow me this;

Curlfeather not apologizing to Frostdawn kinda rocks as an idea.

Obviously it reads as insulting because of how they gave Berryheart a Tom the Wifebeater ass Redemption Death in this book, and the general way that they've not approached her with the nuance she deserves is frustrating. I agree.

But hold my hand and walk with me. Imagine Curlfeather, mauled and bloody before the daughter she died saving. Frostpaw's gone through so much fixing the damage she caused, furious at the state her mother's in, the mess she made of RiverClan, all the suffering everyone's gone through... and Curlfeather says,

"I don't regret anything."

"Really? REALLY? I go through all of that, I come ALL this way, and you won't even give me a rotten little sorry?"

She doesn't give her mother a chance to respond, lashing her tail towards the grimmace that hangs off the side of her shredded cheek, "You're not sorry for how you lead to yourself looking like THAT?"

Frostpaw shoves her scarred throat foward, "You're not sorry for THIS?"

She claws dig into the sodden black earth of the Dark Forest, "You're not sorry you're HERE?"

Curlfeather is quiet, her remaining eye stoic like a stone. Frostpaw begs furiously, "NOTHING?"

"I will vow on our blood that I will not lie to you anymore," the demon's tone is soft and honest, "and I hope that means more than the insincere apology I could offer you otherwise."

Just when it feels like Frostpaw has so much anger that her body can't handle it, pain stuffs itself inside her in equal measure. Her stomach is sick with love, throat choked with affection. It takes her a minute to form the word,

"Why?"

"When my father, Reedwhisker, was taken by the Kin, I saw how they broke him. His uncle, Stonefur, did not buckle under Tigerstar. My grandmother Mistyfoot quietly rescued the Clan from his accomplice, Leopardstar, while Mistystar willingly worked alongside a vicious impostor."

Now that Frostpaw is the one who's waiting quietly, Curlfeather's voice flutters hopefully, "I was willing to do anything to restore my Clan to greatness," the specter pads foward, touching her nose to her daughter's trembling forehead, "except sacrifice you."

She didn't expect to feel the harsh sting of her daughter's paw smacking her across the nose. She reels back.

"You don't get it! It's not about YOU! It's about everyone you hurt! Dont try to pretend it was all worth it, you didn't make anything great, you just broke it!"

"I had to break it so it could be set back stronger. I gave you the chance for the power, and now you are making it better than it was."

"That was in spite of you! You told me to trust no cat and I had to unlearn that!"

"I saved you when I could have escaped with my life."

"From a situation you caused in the first place!"

"It was a warrior's death!"

There is a silence that settles over them. Curlfeather is snarling in offense. Frostpaw looks, again, at her mother's fatal wounds, the defensive stance. She's reminded of how the cats of other cultures don't always see scars as rewards for a fight survived-- just reminders of pain you've gone through.

"...it was a warrior's death," she agrees, gently, watching tattered hackles smoothen out, "...and now you're dead, while I'm still alive."

The emotion in Curlfeather's face is solemn, but otherwise incomprehensible to her daughter. The expression on Frostpaw's is equally unreadable to her mother. This is the only thing they will ever understand about each other-- that there is an irreconcilable difference between them, steeper than the divide between sky and earth.

The last words the demon speaks to her daughter are, "I love you."

It's only years later that Frostdawn can say, "I love you too."

[jazzrazzberry]

hell yes mr mcgann eat that rat and have a mental breakdown i love that for you