#they don't take the edge off of the other horror elements like that. it's interesting! i'm not totally sure how i feel about it | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

zero00o0 · 2 years ago

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Quiet pt 4

Cw: mcyt g/t, cursing, fear play, (major) horror elements, (major) character injury, blood, (major) angst, (major?) violence

Chapter 1 , Chapter 2 , Chapter 3

// OK, I am sorry for disappearing for so long. I should've said something, but to keep it short and simple bad life stuff happened, I had to get more jobs to keep myself up and just didn't have time for social media. Thankfully I'm really close to finishing school now and these past few days I've gotten sick so it gave me time to finally sit down and finish this. I'm not making any guaranteed future promises but I don't plan on staying away forever. At least until I can finish school and get my shit together properly! I'm so so sorry for staying AWOL for months. Please enjoy ^^ I tried to make it more lengthy than I anticipated to make up for the lost time. //

He’s sure that at some point, in his scrambled hyper-energetic mind, he noticed how fidgety and nervous George had been acting while he was in his shop. He’s sure that, even though he wasn’t centered on his clammy hands or sweat-soaked hairline, there was something in him - may that be human instinct or something more profound - that could tell something wasn’t right.

Because if he hadn’t been sure that everything was okay, would he have stopped frantically mopping the juice staining his floor, to make a call that he surely had no business making, because he felt, 'unusual'?

Who knows. Regardless, it was that feeling-driven phone call he made that led him to speak with the county’s entire police force not even half an hour later, regarding the case of a missing vacationer wanted for vandalism and the destruction of private property.

“Like I said, officer; George didn’t steal or threaten my life or anything like that. He just seemed … off. I don’t know how to put it?” Alex struggled to find his words as he shrugged at the big, burly officer towering above him, arms crossed with black shades covering his eyes.

The man hummed and shifted, standing more upright and increasing his height. “Course he seemed off,” he grumbled sternly, “boy just caused a few thousand dollars of damage. He outta be scared. Once we find him he’ll be working for years trying to pay that off.”

The officer glanced over his shoulder towards where his other officers stood around talking by their cars. Then he leaned down slightly, getting closer to Alex's face. "You better not be bullshitting us, Maldonado. I know your history." The clerk clenched his fingers into a fist behind his back. "Officer, I'm not..." he trailed off, frowning nervously. "I'm not trying to imply anything about... 'it'. I didn't even intend to call you, I was just concerned about George. I thought he was sick and called that lady at the resort to connect me to his friends. That's when I realized he was missing and called you to do the 'right thing'." There was an edge to his voice at the final two words. The officer stood back up straight and just nodded. "And it's good you finally have," He said.

"But officer-" Alex was cut off. "Son, I think it'd in yer best interest to stay out of this one. For yours and my station's own sake. Okay? Don't wanna have to take this place away from you, understand?"

Alex bit his tongue and nodded as the cop returned to his car. He disagreed with the man entirely. The officer clearly hadn’t met George in person or had seen him. It didn’t take years of a lasting friendship for the store clerk to know that a little guy like George couldn’t cause damage like that within the span of a few hours. George probably couldn’t do damage like that in a few days.

The sound of car doors shutting pulled Alex away from his thoughts, and he looked over at the source of the sounds. It was Sapnap and Karl, though they didn’t look as cheery nor as rested as they did the last time they met. It was almost intimidating, the manner of the way they approached Alex. If he didn’t know any better, he’d say Sapnap looked ready to beat somebody up.

“Hey, guys..” Alex greeted, raising a hand to give a small, awkward wave. Karl gave him a small smile and waved back, but Sapnap didn't bother with greetings as he bluntly said, “tell us what actually happened.” Alex frowned with confusion. “What do you mean? I haven’t lied to the cops about anything,” he said carefully. Karl stepped forward, his tone much more gentle than Sapnap’s as he said, “We don’t think you’ve lied about anything but..” He trailed off, “we think that there are some... elements you may have left out.”

Alex half-scoffed, half-gasped as he just slightly inched backward. “What? What could I have possibly left out? You haven’t even heard my story yet,” he exclaimed. “Then tell it,” Sapnap said, leaning closer to the clerk.

Alex told them everything that had happened from the moment George entered the shop, to him buying the chocolate for Karl, to him leaving in an odd, rushed manner.

“Alex,” Karl began. “I need you to think about everything you just told us. Yes, it was all very off and weird and whatnot.. but was there anything else that struck something in your mind? Something he did that.. maybe you have seen before? Or something you heard that.. maybe you’ve heard on other quiet nights that you try to explain away but.. you know isn’t right?”

Alex bit his cheek as his gaze refused to meet their eyes. “…No.”

“You’ve felt like something’s been off for years now, haven’t you?” Alex looked up at Sapnap with surprise. “That look in your eye, it’s the same as that woman’s.” Sapnap stepped forward and Alex looked away again. “One might think this place is a vacationer's dream, and you see it happen all the time. Happy tourists stopping by, telling you about their sweet, getaway cabins and going on and on, just like us, and you always wanna say something, but you can’t. You think they’ll think you’re crazy, don’t you? But.. you know something’s wrong. You’ve known it since you started working here, but you never admitted it.” Sapnap’s eyes softened for a moment as if he were reflecting his words on an experience of his own.

Alex frowned and turned his back to the Texan. “I’m sorry about your friend, but I don’t know anything.” He spat as he started to leave.

“Alex, please,” Karl cried, grabbing the clerk’s arm. “George is our best friend, he means everything to us, and his fate could be resting on whatever information you can give!” Alex turned to stare at Karl. “Please,” the man pleaded. “Anything.”

The warm hand left Alex’s arm and the clerk sighed. He glanced around a few times before leaning closer to the men. “My grandma told me to never, ever go into the woods alone, especially at night,” he murmured. "As a matter of fact, it was the last thing she told me." Sapnap and Karl glanced at each other.

“And it’s not like I ever wanted to,” he said slowly, his words shaky. “I always felt watched when I went out there.”

…

It took every ounce of willpower he had to keep himself from gagging. George turned his head and waved the giant’s hand away. “N-no, thank you,” he managed to say without lurching.

The monster, who’d been trying to offer George a bloody lump of raw flesh from god only knows what pushed the raw meat closer to the human. Using its other hand, it pointed to where its mouth was, trying to explain to George that, This is for you to eat.

George shook his head and finally gagged aloud, getting up from where he sat on the grassy ground to lean over a log, his face green with sickness.

It’s now officially been over a day since the monster - who George prefers to call, 'the giant' now, had kidnapped George from his cabin and taken him throughout the woods of this cabin resort he’d unenthusiastically agreed to go to with his two friends, Sapnap and Karl. For their first hours together, George was dead-set that this giant creature had malicious intentions for him, whether that be eating him alive, torturing him, or doing sadistic experiments. But after it had convinced the human to get chocolate and acted very appreciative and domestic towards him after he did, George wasn’t so sure his initial assumptions were correct.

He coughed a few times as he cleared his throat and tried to clear his mind of the thought of that meat. Behind him, the giant watched with interest and confusion as it took the hunk of bleeding flesh away from George and tossed it into the dark cavern of its own maw. A cold finger brushed up against George’s back, doing its best to rub up and down gently, soothingly. It would’ve felt nice if the giant had any body warmth at all.

The more time George spent with this creature, the more curious it was. Though it had a humanoid body, it lacked key details that, as result, made it very inhuman, like a normal mouth or a normal shade of skin. The tar-black color of its body reminded George of the blackness of looking down at a deep well during the night. It was spooky, yes, but very interesting. Things like these set it very clearly apart from people, but it had so many human-like qualities, that discrediting it as a homosapien all together felt wrong. Besides obvious physical similarities, it also displayed human-like intelligence as well as some sort of emotional intelligence. It had to understand emotion to some extent; if it didn’t, it wouldn’t be mocking a back-rub to George right now to calm him down.

George shrugged the finger away, rubbing his hands up and down his forearms to prevent himself from trembling; partly due to the cold and partly due to the intimidation of something of that size being anywhere near you, let alone touching you. Sure, it’s been over 24 hours now spent with the giant, but most of the time had been asleep and or shitting himself in fear. If he had to guess it’s only been an hour or so since he went to the shop. Just because it was showing George domesticity, didn’t mean he was in favor of showing it back. Quite the contrary. He wanted to go home.

He missed his friends.

The giant, who appeared to have grown bored of sitting around and staring at George, suddenly moved to grab the human and lift him, standing a bit too fast for George’s liking as the human hurried to grab onto its thumb for support. Yet again it was walking with purpose in a random direction, and yet again George was forced to tag along for the ride. Although this time George didn’t want to sit in silence.

He knew it couldn’t understand him, but he needed to hear someone’s voice right now, even if it was just his own.

“I hope you’re going somewhere that has food,” George said aloud, crossing his arms over his stomach. “I don’t know how long you can go without eating but I can’t last that long.” He heard a guttural grumble answer him from within the chest behind him. George sighed, “Maybe I should’ve smuggled one of those chocolate bars for myself,” he said airily, longingly. George sat up straighter. “You probably would’ve smelled it out, though. Wouldn’t you’ve?” He asked, glancing up where its head loomed just a few feet from where he sat. It didn’t answer this time. It was just enjoying listening to its human speak gibberish, George figured. “Where are we going, anyway?”

…

“When I was younger, I decided to come live with my grandma and work in her shop; this shop.”

Sapnap focused his sharp gaze on Alex, who was zoned out as he began his account of this place. Though he couldn’t see him, he could also tell that Karl was listening closely as well. (He definitely had that cute, scrunchy face he always made when he focused, Sapnap thought in the back of his mind.)

“I was about 17 when I made that decision,” Alex explained. “Well, the truth is I wanted to come here because I knew grandma couldn’t work much longer, and I wanted to make some easy money. This actually pays pretty well. You know, in one month I make-“ Sapnap cut him off, “Focus.” Alex gave him an apologetic look before continuing,

“Well.. it was after she died, and I inherited the business, that I started noticing weird things. Like, paranormal weirdness.” He rubbed his hands together as he thought for a moment. “But not the kind of paranormal like ghosts.. paranormal like… massive shadows appearing and disappearing faster than you can blink, a loud bird-filled forest becoming suddenly quiet, and.. people.. people going into those woods and never coming out."

Sapnap’s eyes widened. “People? As in… more than one?? Why haven’t we heard anything about other people!?” Alex frowned. “The cops used to try and investigate these cases. But after case after case… person after person, and nothing showing up? They gave up and dusted any new disturbance under the rug. The town has decided that these 'missing persons' are just people doing criminal shit in the woods and then 'disappearing.' The story's different depending on who you ask. The cops tell you that it's a human trafficking ring, while the politicians swear there's a drug empire somewhere out there, all while everyone in town thinks that people go out there to kill themselves in the abandoned lake. There haven't been enough people to come back out of the woods to confirm any of this, so every word is just lost in the whirlwind of conspiracies. The only reason your friend is getting any attention at all is because of the property damage.”

...

This place was untouched by man. Even though he was stories up in the air, George could tell that there wasn't even a single plastic wrapper to be found. It was lovely, of course, but... in a way... kind of offsetting. Litter was bad, obviously, but seeing litter was a telltale sign that humans had been present there at some point in time. So, seeing none now confirmed to George that he truly was alone out here. No one else would see him in the palm of this creature, and no one could call for help.

"You, uh, you keep it nice and clean around these parts, hm?" He said out loud. Of course, the giant didn't answer, but that didn't surprise him. Honestly, he'd be more surprised if it did answer. , 'Why yes, I do keep it quite clean around here, thanks for noticing!' George couldn't stifle an amused snicker at the thought of a British giant. How amazing would having tea with a giant with a British accent be?

A clicking sound from behind him took him away from his thoughts. "Yes?" George said in response. The giant looked down at him, its green gaze shimmered at him with excitement as it pointed ahead of them. George followed its pointed finger and gasped. They were standing right before a huge lake. It had to be the most beautiful body of water George had ever seen, shimmering water so clean you could almost see to the bottom. Fish splashed on the surface, and just a little ways away he could see some deer stopping by for a drink. Disney WISHES they could capture such beauty. This scene was the epitome of nature, no doubt.

"Oh my..." He gasped, fighting to find words to fit how he felt. He looked back up at the giant. It was looking down at George with a gleam in its gaze. It looked proud to show George this place. 'Look, look at what I have that no human has! Are you impressed?' And George would've said, "Yes! I'm impressed. This is amazing!"

"You're telling me that no one else is here? Why isn't the resort capitalizing on this?! It's amazing! I'm not even an outside guy and I would pay to come out here! You can't tell me that nobody else knows about this place!" George beamed, antsy to get down so he could see it up close. But instead of letting him down, the giant held onto George's tiny body as it walked forward, stepping into the water.

…

“You said that some people come out..” Karl’s voice made an appearance suddenly. "... so there are people who come out alive?”

“Yes,” Alex mumbled. “Well, no… I mean- My grandma. She’s- She was the only one." Sapnap cocked a brow. "You're telling me that your grandma - and I don't mean to be rude, but - your elderly grandmother went into those woods, encountered the…” He glanced at Karl in brief hesitation. “...whatever’s out there... and came back alive to tell the story, while no one else has gone in and made it out?" The Texan questioned. “I’m sorry but it sounds made up.” There was an odd tone of hopefulness in Sapnap’s words. A hope that, maybe, the giant wasn’t real. That the lady really was just crazy, and he hadn’t really seen green eyes watching from the trees their first day there.

The clerk bit his nails as his frown deepened in response to Sapnap's words. That sentence resonated with the clerk on a deeper level than the two boys currently understood.

Alex sighed, deep and long. "That's exactly what I told her up to the day she died," he said dryly. "Me and my entire family. It.." his voice ached with hurt, "it was like a family bonding activity to ridicule and make fun of her. Like belittling this little old lady made us superior. It always hurt her feelings, and we knew it."

…

George grasped onto the giant's fingers as they went deeper and deeper into the lake. The lake only reached the giant's waist, but that didn't seem to upset it at all as it bent down until its shoulders were submerged as well. It let go of George and let him gently float in the water. It kept its eyes fixed on the tiny human as he swam around, enjoying the warm water.

Geroge laughed as he held his breath and went under the water. All around them were fish swimming, surely confused about why there was suddenly a ginormous black mass in the center of their home. The gentle rays of sunshine illuminated the space nicely and presented a gorgeous scene for the human to behold.

He resurfaced seconds later and gasped for air. George was never the best at holding his breath. Last he checked he could hold it for about 25 seconds before he started struggling.

…

Karl raised his hand for a moment but put it back down. Seemingly deciding against his initial thought, which Sapnap assumed was to comfort Alex. "Hey," he said softly. "You don't have to go into so much detail if it's too much... we just need to know what's out there, and how she made it back out alive." Alex furrowed his brows and tightened his lips into a thin line. Then, the clerk shook his head slowly. "Karl. I-I…I… I swore I would never talk about it again.” He sharply inhaled a breath of air. “I'm sorry... you guys are cool and I wanna help but..." Alex clasped his hands together and blinked a few times like he was composing himself.

"I... want to help you, tell you what I know, but if those pigs down at the station heard that I was talking about 'it' again, they'd take the shop away from me. They already threatened me earlier." The clerk turned away sharply, his posture suddenly tense. "That's all I have left."

He began to walk away.

But he didn't get far.

Alex gasped in surprise as he was suddenly whipped around and facing Sapnap. He didn't have much time to look at his face before he was hit on the side of the head and staggering to the side, disoriented. Before Alex could stabilize himself, the boy grabbed the clerk by the collar of his shirt and lifted him with adrenaline-driven strength. "Now listen here you pussy," he hissed with venom. "Stop thinking about your own damn self and think about someone else for once!" He shook him a few times, Alex's head lolling back and forth violently. "George is my best fucking friend! He’s all WE have. And whatever you know about your grandma surviving could literally determine if he comes out alive or dead. You've sat by and watched all these other people, just like us, come into the resort and NEVER come back home because you were only concerned for YOURSELF! This is your chance to do the right thing for ONCE and save a goddamn life! What would your grandma say if she knew you were too scared to do anything to help these poor people?!?! What is WRONG WITH YOU??"

"SAPNAP quit that," Karl hissed, pulling his friend backward and away from the clerk, causing Sapnap to let go of his shirt. Once released, Alex fell to the floor with a dull thud, he was whimpering and sniffling, snot and tears running down his face. "Ridiculing him isn't going to help us, you idiot!" Karl snapped.

…

He looked up at the giant. It was just sitting there watching him carefully, content with just observing George's behavior. The human smirked at the giant, gaining a newfound feeling of confidence. "Well, c'mon! Are you just gonna sit there?" It blinked at him. Blank. Unreadable. George laughed as he used his entire arm to splash its chin. It leaned back, surprised by the action. George smiled endearingly at it. It could be so cute when it wasn't a potential threat to your life.

The giant lifted its arm and used it to gently stir the water a bit, making a mini water tornado. George yelped as he was pulled with it, though he quickly composed himself and started laughing. This seemed to spur the giant on, giving it confidence. It cooed at him as it stirred faster, clicking in a manner that reminded him of laughter. George tried to swim against the pull of the water, but as the giant's enthusiasm increased so did the speed of the water. George's laughter turned awkward, and a bit nervous as he was swept with the spinning waves against his will.

…

Alex sniffed and shuddered as he got back onto his feet. He was cowering away from the two now, his face an entourage of emotions, most of which seemed to be old and resurfacing from the protective shadow of his mind. Delirium, guilt, shame, fear. If the man had lost any more stability in the moment, there was no doubt in Sapnap's mind that he would've been screaming right now.

"If I w-would tell you, if I-I warn you about the demon in the woods, about the-the missing bodies, the screams I sometimes hear at night, would you believe me?! Would you REALLY have believed me earlier??" His voice shuddered and cracked with a growing weakness. "I've tried so many times," Alex whispered, "I've tried to warn people, I've tried to explain, to get SOMEBODY to believe me!!" He wiped the snot off of his face. "Eventually I just stopped trying. The cops told me I was inflicting terror onto, and harassing my customers." He bit his bottom lip so hard Sapnap was surprised no blood trickled down his chin. "Sometimes people come and leave without a problem.. so I just started to have wishful thinking. Maybe it's all my fault.. for not being convincing enough. For not following my gut instinct and stopping George before he could run back out there..."

…

The giant didn't seem to notice the human's change in behavior, though. It just made excited noises as it added its other arm into the mix, spinning George around like he was a pool toy. Nervousness turned to panic when George was caught in the waves with no way of escaping. He was losing strength and was becoming weaker and weaker as he was rag-dolled around in the water, unable to prevent himself from going under just to spin right back to the surface. "Wai- Wait," he cried, but his voice was muffled by the water. He could barely see it, but when he surfaced once again, he caught a glimpse of the wide, empty, sadistic glee in the giant's gaze as it toyed with the human, the being that had no power over it, that it could bend to its will and play with like he was nothing but a toy.

And then George went under.

The rays of sunlight illuminating the lake were gone.

And it was dark.

...

"Alex," Karl's voice was a nice calming interruption to Alex's stress and Sapnaps anger. Like a mourning dove sounding over a storm's wind. "We may not have believed you before, but we are here listening to you now and we do believe you. Maybe there is still hope. So please, just tell us what you know."

Alex choked out a whimper as his head fell, his hair falling over his eyes as he tried to calm himself. He sounded defeated.

"I don't know exactly what it is, but I do know that it's big. Really big. Big enough to cast down enormous shadows and tear apart two-story cabins. It has two arms and two legs. It's fast and deathly quiet. Though I’ve never seen them yet, my grandma always said... ‘You don't know it's there until you see its eyes,

And you don't see its green eyes unless it wants you to know that you've been found’."

Karl gasped and Sapnap grabbed his head in panic. Alex blinked in surprise at their unexpected reactions. “Wha-?”

“The old lady,” Karl explained frantically, “the one who you called at the resort. She told us that her wife was killed by a giant green-eyed monster. We believed her but-" “But to hear someone else say it,” Sapnap’s shaky voice interrupted. “To hear someone else say it just… makes it more real.”

For a heartbeat, they were all quiet. Each and everyone one of them was just beginning to truly feel, to truly realize the realness of all this. As if they'd been holding onto a logical blanket of comfort that told them, ‘Monsters aren’t real.’ Now their eyes were forcibly open. There were monsters.

Monsters are real.

Monsters are real, and it took George. It took tons of people like George. Stalked them, hunted them down, and took it for itself.

“Alex, you have to tell us how your grandma escaped.” Sapnap’s voice was as sudden as it was frantic. Once again his hands were clasped around the shirt collar of the store clerk as his pleading eyes stared into Alex’s very soul. “Please, please! Right now! We have to get going and find him before it’s too late!”

Alex clenched his teeth as he held onto Sapnap’s wrists. “The monster’s eyes!” The clerk trembled. “Its eyes are its biggest advantage and biggest weakness. It can’t catch you if it can’t see you. That night when she went in the back to put out the trash and saw them- she threw a can of cola at it and burned its eyes long enough to escape! It never messed with her again.”

The two boys nodded. “Ok,” Karl said. “We have to blind it. But- how and-and where are we even gonna find it, Sapnap??”

Sapnap didn’t answer as he grabbed Karl’s hand and ran back to the car, leaving Alex alone as he watched the two drive back towards their cabin.

Right back towards the heart of the woods.

...

A cold shock pulsed through his body, his heart jumped and he let out a half-gasp, half-scream as he jerked violently, his eyes wide open yet unfocused.

The last thing he remembered was being pulled into the dark abyss of water stirring around him violently, confident that it would be the last sensation he'd ever feel.

And yet... here he was. Breathing, albeit with some struggle.

George sat up and leaned over, coughing and choking as he spat out the water that filled his lungs, desperate to get a clear, uninterrupted breath.

After a few minutes of heaving, gagging, and sputtering the Brit was finally able to get a grip on himself and his surroundings. But he couldn’t say he was pleased with the first thing he saw once he looked around.

The giant - the monster - was there, sitting a few yards away from the boy. Its hand was closer to George than its body was, which indicated to him that it had definitely been the source of the cold shock that woke him up. It looked conflicted- surprised. Like it hadn’t expected George to start back to life. Iits haunting green gaze domineering over all other aspects of it, seizing George’s attention. In a way, it almost looked relieved.

But George didn’t care what the giant felt right now, it just tried to kill him.

His heart raced and his hands began to tremble as he found that he was once again struggling to breathe. He forced his eyes to peel away from the glowing green orbs and to his surroundings. He needed to run. He needed to get away. This… thing… was unstable. It had tricked him into trusting it, and what a fool he had been to feel comfortable around the monster that terrorized him for an entire night- no- that terrorized him since he got here. This thing had been hunting him since he got here! It made him lose his mind, lose his sanity, and make him think he was going insane.

They were back in the monster’s burrow. It looked like he was deeper inside now. He whipped his head around, studying the walls, moss, bramble, and all the different things that were growing inside. Wait, he wasn’t deeper inside. The burrow didn’t go any deeper. His breath came in short gasps as he tried to figure out why he felt different. Why were the surroundings off?

The giant made a move and George screamed, scrambling backward and looking for anything to hold onto for purchase. The giant froze as George moved away from it. It was making sounds reminiscent of the comforting rumbling it had been making hours ago when it saved him from the bobcat, but the Brit could barely hear it over the sound of his heart racing, causing blood to pump through his veins powerfully.

He didn’t stop trying to move away until he felt his hand come down on something hollow, breaking it and causing George to fall on his back. He winced in pain as his neck hit something hard and sharp, making his head spin. George was still holding onto the thing his hand had broken as he forced himself to sit upright, his vision spinning and out of focus. He lifted his hand to shake the thing off, but as he looked down, the only thing he could do was scream.

His hand had broken through a worn-down human skull. And as he turned to look around at where he was sitting, he realized that he had fallen right onto a spine.

His head was spinning, his eyes were unfocused, and his heart threatened to send him into cardiac arrest. He frantically looked around. There were more. Skulls, spines, arms, legs, piles piles PILES. He was sitting in piles of human remains. Dead bodies. People who went into these woods and NEVER came back out. People who saw the monster, and never lived to tell the tale. Dead. Gone. Thrown into a hole and forgotten about forever. Killed. MURDERED.

Cold fingers wrapped around his arms as he violently thrashed, kicking, screaming, biting. He was acting like a feral animal. He was hysterical. George didn’t know what he was doing anymore. It was inaccurate to say that George was even conscious at the moment.

This was nothing but primal human terror fighting to stay alive.

He saw another black hand reach under him and wipe dirt over the exposed graveyard of discarded bodies, covering it up. The hand seemed to shake as well. It had been caught, of course, it was nervous.

Before the monster had a chance to lift him up any higher George managed to reach a hand onto the ground and grab a fistful of dirt. As he was lifted towards its face, he hurled the dry dirt at its eyes with as much power as he could conjure.

The monster wailed as the earth hit its exposed pupils. It wailed so loud, so high pitched, George could feel warm blood trickling out of his ears. The pain distracted the monster long enough for George to struggle his way out of its iron fist, fall to the ground, and sprint around, out of the exit.

He didn’t know where he was going. But he knew that his best bet would be the opposite way that he tried before. It had to work. He HAD to find his way back to his friends. He’d run all the way to Florida if he had to.

He’d do anything just to hear Sapnap’s laugh.

His footsteps pounded on the forest floor, sticks and grass, and leaves were thrown behind him as his powerful steps dug up the ground. The wind felt like thousands of needles pinching his face as he ran through it, his lungs were ice cold with the freezing air.

He’d do anything just to feel one more hug from Karl.

George cried. He cried for warmth, he cried for rest, he cried for safety, he cried for his friends. He wanted to go home. He wanted this hellish nightmare to be over.

And suddenly the ground was gone. And in its place was concrete.

George gasped as he fell over trying to abruptly stop. His face hit the hard surface, and he heard a deep crack from his nose, but he didn’t care. He couldn’t even register the pain. A road. A road! The road to the cabin! To Sapnap and Karl! He laughed as he threw himself to his feet and stomped on the concrete with glee. His path home!

Or maybe home would come to him.

…

Sapnap drove the car as fast as it could go. It could barely make the sharp turns of the backroad at this speed, but they had to get to the cabin. They had to start somewhere. “Sapnap! Please- please just go a little bit slower!” Karl’s terrified voice shook with fear in the passenger seat as he clutched onto Sapnap’s shoulder. “We’re so close…” Sapnap would mumble back. His eyes were glued to the road before them, his thoughts however were miles away. Back in Florida where nothing was wrong. He should’ve just let George play his stupid games. He should’ve just joined him. He should’ve just-

“SAPNAP STOOOPPP! LOOK OUT!”

Karl’s scream snapped Sapnap back into reality as he realized he was racing right towards somebody walking in the road. “Fuck- Wait!”

…

George heard the roaring of an engine coming up from the road. His heart leaped as he turned to wait for it to come. But as he stood with his hands in the air, screaming for attention, he realized that the car was hurtling down the narrow road. He could hear the tires squeaking, the engine roaring with passion. The sounds make him feel scared all at once. Why would someone be driving so fast back here? Unless they saw something…

The Brit became ultra aware of the silence deafening his ringing ears.

His knees felt weak all at once, and he had to strain to keep himself standing. He looked around, his eyes desperately scanning the edge of the trees for that horrible green color, that all too eerie black shadowy form. That’s when the car came speeding down the road right toward him.

All his life he’d never understood why deers would stand so still while a car came right at them. He always assumed it was because they were animals, and animals were dumb.

But this week he’d realized that to that monster, he was an animal. An animal to be hunted. To be found as a prize. And at this moment, he and a deer weren’t really that different. Were they?

…

Deafening ringing filled his ears as Sapnap tried his best to steer the car out of the way, tried to avoid the man in the road, but wasn’t fast enough and still hit half of him. The car came to a screeching halt, all too late, and the men inside were left sitting in a fog of shock.

Red crimson painted the hood.

The body lay limp right on the edge of the road.

The car had stopped right next to a cliff, just feet away from rolling off.

Karl was the first to react. He gasped as if he was holding his breath like he had been drowning in the thick tension of the situation. It was the blonde who was strong enough to get himself out of the car, to walk down the road and toward the body. But it was Sapnap who, after following in pursuit at the sound of Karl’s horrified scream, was strong enough to say the word, “George-”

Karl’s wails became background noise to Sapnap. The Texan didn’t even realize that the blonde had fallen to his hands and knees and crawled over to George’s body and splayed himself over his friend. Hugging him and wailing out for help. The only thing Sapnap could focus on was the horrified look on his friend’s face. Like it was a picture printed right onto George’s face. It didn’t look real. He looked like a wax statue. His fingers ran through his hair as he watched red pour onto the green-turning-yellow grass of mid-autumn. He stared until he couldn’t take it anymore, turning around to look at the murder weapon - the car - with tears spilling from his eyes. It was barely damaged. The only thing wrong was that the trunk had popped open, and the shotgun he had packed had fallen onto the road. It was laying right in a pool of blood. The man trembled, losing balance suddenly as his own sobs threatened to escape his throat.

What. Had. He. Done.

Karl’s screams suddenly got earsplitting louder. So much louder, that it got Sapnap to turn around. His heart stopped beating as he looked up. Up. Up. Up. Up at those green, hollow, evil eyes that glared with a rage readable by any living thing at them. The shadowy body that the eyes belonged to lurched forwards at paranormal speed with inhumane movements. It came out from the trees’ edge and right towards Karl. The blonde wailed with fright as he moved away slightly, but not far enough. The monster put a giant hand over George’s body, blocking him off from the boys’ sight as it used another to hit Karl away.

If it were the size of a human, the slap would’ve been only just strong enough to send a small object a few inches away, but this monster had the strength of a hundred men, and what a flick of a wrist was to it was powerful enough to send Karl right into a trunk of a tree. A snap echoed until it reached Sapnap’s ears, making the boy cringe. A trembling wail escaped his throat as he watched Karl hit the trunk with awful force. It didn’t appear to kill the blonde, thankfully. But Karl definitely wasn’t getting up any time soon. Sapnap’s gaze traveled from Karl to the monster, who was hunched up into a tight ball and curling its fingers around George’s form. There was water spilling from the thing’s cheeks (tears?) that fell and landed on the ground around the unmoving human, staining the road.

There were a few long, drawn-out moments that passed where he just watched the thing coo and grumble at his friend, almost like it was trying to get a response out of him, to the monster finally noticing Sapnap watching it.

The boy breathed out a gasp as he tried to back away, trying to find his footing, but he wasn’t fast enough. The green-eyed monster got to its feet and pounced on him first. It stood over him for not even a moment before he felt the force of its foot kicking him towards where that cliff was by their car. He groaned in agonizing pain as the giant force flung his body like a dog toy. He landed awkwardly on his back, his head hanging over the edge of the cliff. At this angle, he could see how far down the fall was. It looked like a fall straight to the gate of hell. Maybe it was a foreshadow for him. His last sight on Earth would be his first sight in his afterlife. Ironic.

Sapnap didn’t have enough time to laugh cruelly at himself before a horrible force was placed on top of him. He yelled in pain as the giant dug its foot into his body, but not so much as to crush him at once. It did it slowly. It added pressure every second. The pressure changed, but its haunting gaze never did. It stared down at Sapnap with a quiet rage. Pure evil. He couldn’t breathe anymore. He could feel his life draining.. draining… draining.

He fucked everything up. He killed his best friends. Maybe he was the real monster.

“You…”

A weak voice made the pressure killing Sapnap stop. He was whimpering, his voice straining as he tried to call for help. Suddenly the monster moved away altogether. Sapnap choked in a breath, coughing hysterically as he sat up frantically looking around. It wasn’t until he followed the giant’s startled gaze that he saw what had been the source of the voice.

…

He felt no fear. For once in this whole experience, George felt fearless. Awaking to the sounds of his friends crying in pain because of that fucking monster triggered something deep within him. His legs had to be broken. Maybe even his arm. He was losing blood by the second, and there was no way he could be standing right now by every law of nature, no way he could’ve crawled over to the wrecked car. But here he was, standing upright, staring right at the monster as the monster started right at the eye of the shotgun he was aiming at its face.

Its green eyes sparkled when they saw him. Gleeful that he was alive. They made eye contact only for a moment before it realized what George was holding. It didn’t have enough time to react, to move, to do anything at all.

Fuck this monster.

“Go to hell.”

One shot rang and not even a moment later the monster was wailing as it clutched a cold, dark hand over its bleeding eyeball. It screamed and cried with sounds George had never heard it make before. It staggered with imbalance as it fought for purchase on something it could grab- but there was nothing around for it to take as it tripped and descended right off of the cliff's edge.

Relief washed over him as he finally succumbed to his injuries and fell to the ground. Not even a moment later did he feel hands supporting him, lifting him up. “George! George! Oh my god! Holy- I- George you’re alive!” It was muffled by his ears, but he knew it was Sapnap. After a minute he could feel another pair of arms wrap around him. Somehow Karl had managed to drag himself over to the two, as they all embraced with relief and joy.

George frowned as he held onto his friends tighter. He didn’t want to, but he thought about the monster. Why did it take him? Why did it treat him so nicely, only to try and drown him? George let tears wash over his red cheeks as he sobbed. Maybe it didn’t mean to drown him. It was trying to play- trying to make George happy. It wanted to make the old lady and her wife happy. It left gifts, it played pranks. But it got too enthusiastic and killed her. The monster was shunned and was left to be alone again.

George looked at Sapnap and Karl as they lay on the side of the road, not speaking quite yet but just taking in each other’s presence. He loved being around them, loved it more than even talking to them.

And he realized that that’s what it wanted. It wanted a presence to be around. Company. A nice warm body to hug when you felt lonely, someone to go to when you need something. Someone to have fun with.

But it wasn’t human. It was too big. It never realized its own strength. Never meant to have casualties. In a sense it was careless. It was greedy. Going back for more people despite knowing it couldn’t contain itself.

But George couldn’t help from feeling sympathetic. Because all that time away from his friends made him realize how much he missed them.

All it wanted was a friend.

#quiet mcyt g/t #mcyt gt #mcyt #g/t #giant/tiny #g/t au #g/t writing #g/t community #tiny!george #tiny!karl #tiny!sapnap #giant!dream #horror elements #fear play

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masonhawthorne · 7 months ago

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What I read in March

Hoo boy, it's taken me a while to get around to this again, huh? I want to say March was a busy month, but it's too much of a blur for me to remember what was going on. I feel like I was climbing a lot (I've taken up rock climbing, have I mentioned?) but otherwise, I have no clue where March went.

Anyways, I got some good reading done!

Edge of Infinity, ed. Jonathan Strahan ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Analysis & Critique: How to Engage and Write about Anything, Dorsey Armstrong ⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Will of the Many, James Islington ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

And Put Away Childish Things, Adrian Tchaikovsky ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Gold Coast, Kim Stanley Robinson ⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Best Science Fiction & Fantasy of the Year Vol 11, ed Jonathan Strahan ⭐️⭐️⭐️

New Rules & Guidelines From HR for Working with Humans (ss), Derin Edala ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Angel (ss), Derin Edala ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Martian: Lost Sols (ss), Andy Weir ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Forever Peace, Joe Haldeman ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Merciless Waters, Rae Knowles ⭐️⭐️

Dune Messiah, Frank Herbert ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Cursed Heart, Derin Edala⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Lair of the White Worm, Bram Stoker ⭐️

Pacific Edge, Kim Stanley Robinson ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Phytophthora Nosferatu (ss), J Corvine ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Minty Fresh, J Corvine⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Labyrinth of Dreams, Derin Edala ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Angels Before Man, Rafael Nicolás⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Lure, Tim McGregor ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Fascination, Essie Fox ❌❌❌

There were a couple of surprises for me this month, some were nice surprises, and some were...somewhat less than nice surprices. It's good, gotta have some surprises to keep you nimble.

The Will of the Many by James Islington was the first surprise, I had thought I'd like it well enough, the concept seemed interesting, and it turns out that it was actually fantastic. A smooth take on the dystopic genre, with a great attention to detail, and handling of social forces on the characters. The scifi elements might have come off as a bit silly if they'd been handled less skillfully, but over the course of the novel the real horror of the hierarchy becomes ever more apparent. Also it ends on a killer cliffhanger--where is the sequel??

A slight disappointment was that The Gold Coast and Pacific Edge, books two and three of Kim Stanley Robinson's The Three Californias Trilogy were...just not quite as good as the rest of his work that I've read. I found that TGC focussed too much on the 'futuristic party boy hedonist' archetype that I find stultifying in fiction, and while the surrounding worldbuilding was interesting I just could not stand any of the characters.

PE on the other hand was kind of...boring? Now don't get me wrong, I love boring books, but it was boring in the sense that I was reading it feeling like 'ok now when's the story going to happen?' there are only so many softball games which are metaphors for small town politics and romantic relationships that I can sit through. The other problem with PE, I think, is that it is aggressively middle of the road. In the other California novels, the protagonists have Forces to Push Against, but PE is set in a kind of idyllic postcapitalist cooperative, where small town politics is the biggest thing going on and the main conflict of the book can be solved with a strongly worded awareness campaign. Like I GET what was being done, but I also feel like this one could have been a third as long as it was and carried the same weight, but perhaps with fewer softball games.

Dune: Messiah was a nice surprise, I only read Dune last year, and I really enjoyed it, but I've only ever heard that the series goes downhill after the first one. Absolutely not! I'm really looking forward to reading the rest of Frank Herbert's Dune books!

The two real clunkers this month were The Lair of the White Worm by Bram Stoker, and The Fascination by Essie Fox. Both for similar reasons, actually. There was a whole lot of racism going on, in ways that were, y'know, disappointing but not surprising from a guy writing shock novels a hundred-and-something years ago, but really pretty upsetting from a novel that was published in 2023 and has lots of very positive reviews.

Having read several Stoker books now, I found that there was little of the sort of charm that I've come to expect from his writing. The characters were kind of flat and unpleasant, and the antagonists were evil for the sake of being evil. I'm actually surprised that this is one of his later works, because it reads as so much less sophisticated than the other things I've read.

The Fascination was the gift that kept on giving, if the kinds of gift you like are things like racism, ableism, and biphobia which seem bad at first, and then keep doubling down on themselves. The book also has an air of smug superiority, presenting sequence after sequence of exploitation dreck and then turning smirkingly to the reader like 'see I bet you assumed [something racist, ableist, biphobic, etc]'. The end of the novel hinges on a big reveal, which is that...one of the focalising characters has a disability. Which should, apparently, reframe how we've understood the character from the beginning, and which should shock us out of our assumptions that people with that disability couldn't be main characters. Or something.

I think it takes a lot of work to write something that makes the disability representation in Game of Thrones feel subtle and nuanced.

There was so much wrong with The Fascination that I could probably spend another several paragraphs listing them, but to be honest reading the book was unpleasant enough, I don't really feel like spending my evening reliving all that. My final criticism is that the book is insufferably twee and self satisfied. There was not one sentence that made me think that it was worthwhile to read.

To end on a positive note, all of the indie books and stories that I read were delightful! I've included links to most of them above, and it's really refreshing to read stuff that is smart, well written, and which actually has something interesting to say, even if that something is 'hey wouldn't it be super fucked up if there was a vampire in your flower bed?'

Anyways, that's enough for this month!

[hey wait, psst, did you know, I've got a novelette? It's available now: https://books2read.com/u/3kOvKn ]

Stars awarded at my whim

ss=short story

#what i read

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princesspastel8 · 8 months ago

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Chapter 25

Third POV

His words cut deep, sharper than any blade she owns. Sure, he's been cruel before, but this is different. He's never spoken to her in such a way, never tossed her like some ragdoll - looking down on her like gum stuck on the bottom of his shoe.

Not being able to take it, she runs - allowing her feet to take her where they wanted to go. She hears her name being called, but she ignores it. She ran and ran until she reaches the edge of the forest - her feet leading her to the direction of Jeff's old home that isn't too far from Eboni's. Of course they did. No matter how much pain and hurt he causes her, her mind, body, her very soul would still long for him.

She gave up for her life to be with him. To be just like him. Yet here he is, taking interest in some random girl who doesn't love him as much as she does - who doesn't appreciate every breath he takes like she does. No one could love her fellow smiling killer like she can. And she'll do anything to make sure no one gets in the way of that.

"You run...fast as hell.." the brunette said, heaving & panting to catch her breath.

"She's ri- why are we here?" The black-ette asks.

"Don't know....so this is where she lives.....its not even far from his old home." she seethes, fists clench- her nails digging into her palms.

"Why are we watching a rando's window? Slenderman gave y'all a mission I don't know about?"

"No....ask the one who ran all the way here."

"Jeff is seeing someone. Almost every time I run into him, he has this faint strawberry smell on him. But today it was way stronger....it has to be her. The one that's trying to take my Jeff away from me!" The woman shouts, scaring a few birds away.

The other two women share a look, the burnette speaking first. "Right....well, y'know, we can't just kill her. Slenderman would be -"

"He's been leaving our leashes a bit loose lately....think it's time we take advantage of that."

"Heh, so what's the plan then?" The black haired one asks.

"We watch her. Study her. And wait for the perfect moment to....STRIKE!" Right then, the woman pulls out her knife, throwing it in the brushes where a rabbit now lays lifeless-

Now, it's been a week of Eboni being stuck in the house. She's able to move better but still feels a bit sore in between her legs- but at least the limp is gone. The hickeys and buries are clearing up as well- much to her dismay.

The teen spends most of her days avoiding Iris and Taylor like the plague. They've shown up to her house a total of two times- Taylor always banging on the front door and demanding for Eboni to let them in. The only person that she allows to order her around is Jeff.

Eboni also has been on her best behavior, trying to avoid adding on to the punishment that Jeff won't stop bringing up - he's noticed this too and would tease her endlessly about it. She'd try to pry, wanting him to spare any details to her punishment. But the killer would always say, 'that ruins the element of surprise', which makes the teen whine.

Late into the evening, the sun setting and the sky darkening - Eboni texts her foster parents, letting them know all is well and that she'll be returning to school Monday. Neither of them bring up the police visit - which the teen is thankful for. Ironically enough, the murders still take place, a new one everyday- which is why Eboni hasn't been able to see Jeff.

Sighing heavily, she finishes the rest of her popcorn as the horror movie wraps up. Eboni decided to binge watch all the SAW movies, enjoying the gore. Once the movie is over, she turns the tv off, washing her bowel out and walks up the stares to her room. She takes a quick shower, using strawberry shea butter to moisturize. Eboni then brushes her teeth, washes her face, and braids her hair down using her curl cream.

Once done, she places on a silk pastel pink bonnet and pjs. The teen crawls into bed, resting on her stomach with her hands tucked under her pillow- pocket knife close but not in grip. Sighing softly, Eboni drifts into a light sleep- thoughts full of Jeff and the anticipation of what her punishment intels.

An hour passes. Maybe two or three - Eboni is in between that state of sleep yet awake. Something has her on high alert. She wants to sleep, but her gut, mind, and body won't allow her. Call it a sixth sense, but the teen is able to sense when there's a presence in her room. Maybe it has to do with the previous abuse of her past foster families that gave her this skill.

So the teen stays still, keeping her breathing even to seem like she's still sleeping - all of her senses on high alert. Breathing. Light, sallow breaths - uneven? No, there's more than one. Two? Maybe three? All breathing at different rates. When did they get in? How did they get in? How long have they've watched her sleep? One is getting closer, dangerously close - breath fanning her cheek until -

Swift!

"Son of a - !"

One fell, a woman. Eboni grips her knife tightly, quickly scanning her dark room for the other. There stands another woman, dark shadowy hair with a mask that seems to be life like- but the eyes are dark and soulless. Eboni looks at the woman on the ground, brown hair with...a clock for an eye- wait. One is missing. Eboni's hearing is never off. That's how she's been able to protect herself from predators among foster families. Where is the third -

Thump!

Eboni is tackled from behind, the wind knocking out of her as they roll around the ground. The teen heaves, taking a good look at the third woman on top of her. Pale white skin, sharp blue eyes, and a cut smile? Eboni doesn't know why, but the sight of this chick is pissing her off.

"Why is there a bitch that looks just like Jeff on top of me!?" She thinks to herself, struggling to move from under her.

The girl laughs, her craved smile stretching to unnatural lengths. She holds her rather large knife high in the air, ready to strike Eboni's throat. Eboni wiggles underneath the girl, trying to free any of her hands. Unfortunately, the only one she's able to free isn't the one holding her knife - her right hand.

It happens so quickly, surprising everyone - even Eboni herself. Just as the girl above her lowers her knife, Eboni raises her hand- allowing the knife to slice cleaning through her hand. The teen doesn't cry, she doesn't scream - she smiles. A smile more sick and twisted than the one above her.

Pain, bone chilling pain- that Eboni loves. Pain is what keeps her going. Pain is what keeps her living. Pain is what keeps her fighting -

With her trembling injured hand, she holds the base of the knife- pushing it forward as well as forcing the girl above her to loosen her hold. The three are in shock. She's fighting back - she's not even flinching at the knife through her hand. Noticing their stunned reactions, Eboni takes the opportunity to shove the girl off of her- ripping her hand out of the blade, stabbing her own knife through the pale girl's shoulder.

The two dash towards Eboni once she's off the ground. Eboni turns, punching the burnette in her clock eye and aims her elbow in between the other's soulless eyes, but the attack is blocked.

"Wow! You really do have some moves!" She laughs, punching Eboni in her stomach - moving to elbow the teen in the back of her head.

Eboni twists her body out of the way, raising her fist and holding her knife - punches Jane in her chin. The teen looks down at her bloody hand, the pain stinging her - but the adrenaline is blinding. Finally, having all three women on the ground, the teen has the chance to ask questions.

"Shit...I'm assuming you bitches work under that slenderman right? The faceless fucker? I think I have the right to know what you call yourselves." Eboni huffs, blood dripping from her fingertips.

The brunette frowns, clenching her watch eye in pain. "Clockwork." She said faintly, glaring daggers at Eboni.

"Jane. Jane, the killer." The one in the black dress groans, standing to her feet while holding her chin in pain. "And you... sure can fight."

"But there's no way you can win against us! It's three against one! After we get rid of you, then Jeff will be all mine!"

Eboni's eye twitches at that statement. Can this girl be a crazy fangirl? The thought makes the teen sigh heavily. Why can't she just let a serial killer mess around with her in peace?

"....bitch- I didn't ask all that. Just your name." Eboni demands, tone disturb.

"Nine the killer! Jeff's soon to be wife once you're out of the equation!" She shouts, readying to strike.

All three are suddenly back on their feet, charging at Eboni from all directions. Nina might be onto something. Three trained killers against an average girl - the odds are against her. Eboni is a lot of things, but she is no quitter. She will fight until her very last breath.

Swiftly, Eboni tries to move from the center of the floor- but the women are making the task near impossible. Seeing Nina about to kick her down, Eboni quickly switches the blade downward and stabs her in her thigh. Jane is behind her, her own knife in hand. She moves to slice down Eboni's back- but the teen dodges just in time, but is met with a powerful right hook to her jaw.

This knocks Eboni to the ground, her lip housing part of her scar split in two. Clockwork then kicks Eboni in her ribs, making a cry of pain finally release out of the teen - making the brunette laugh.

"Not so confident now h- fuck my foot!"

Eboni stabs clockwork in her foot, spitting blood out of her mouth. The teen quickly stabs Clockwork in her shoulders in hopes that would keep her from raising her arms. Out of the three, Clockwork is the strongest physically. One more solid punch from her and Eboni may be knocked out cold.

Eboni is about to strike again, but both Jane and Nina move to tackle her to the ground, their body weight overpowering her. The teen still trashes in their hold, biting at any limbs in range.

Jane hisses out, glaring at Eboni. "No wonder Jeff took interest in you - you'll result to biting just to win a fight, just like that animal!"

That statement pisses Nina off, so she grabs Eboni's ankle and begins to twist it until she hears a cracking out, laughing at Eboni's cries. "Jeff would never want a weak girl like you! Thought you had the upper hand, sucks for you! Hahaha!"

Clockwork glares down at Eboni, her fiery eyes staring back at the burnette killer. "I'll admit - you're strong, just not strong enough."

One swift kick to her jaw is enough to knock Eboni out cold. Once done, the three women fall back onto the floor, panting. They all share a look, a look of frustration. This was supposed to be easy. Though it did end in their favor, they didn't expect to have a full-out brawl. When was the last time they had a victim fight back to such huge lengths?

"Soooooo, what now, Nina? It's your call." Clockwork said, attempting to shrug but remembers the stab wounds given to her shoulders.

Jane stands, still rubbing her cheek. "Damn... she really can throw a punch - still stinks."

Nina stands, tilting her head at Eboni's limp form. She's mad, so are her two friends. They shouldn't have gotten any injuries, yet they did- which is Inferiorating. Maybe this teen should be taught more than staying away from Jeff.

"Let's wait on killing her. We should torture her a bit - payback for what she did to us."

"I'm down." Clockwork grins, placing her wounded foot on top of Eboni's head.

"Agreed... but here? Her screams could alert anyone."

Nina nods, taking that into consideration. She grins, turning to look at her friends with eyes of excitement. "Then to the mansion we go!"

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yandere-sins · 2 years ago

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I love your writing! Do you have any suggestions on how to write yanderes?

Uff, that's a good question I never really thought about that in depth if I'm honest :'D

I think it's good to have a general understanding of how to write fluff and to some degree also horror. As in, you want to create a sweet scenario and then turn it over and make it horrifying. (Example 1: Feeding someone can be super cute, affectionate, and a tender moment, full of cooing and innocent childish behavior. Stuffing the spoon down a darling's throat because they refuse to take it from their yandere or they are not happy enough for the yandere's taste, is horrifying. Them being too scared of the yandere, they can't eat and the food getting stuck in their throat, is horrifying. Example 2: It's sweet to have your lover comfort you and wipe the tears from their face, telling you everything will be okay and they got you as they gently hush you. Them smiling, covered in blood, declaring that they killed someone for you so you two can be together forever and it's okay now, they got you and the 'bad person' is gone, while smearing the blood on their hand on your face, is positively horrifying.)

What I learned from looking through the horror genre, is that a lot of horrifying things are very normal, every day things like being at home, eating, sharing a kiss. And as a yandere writer you just have to twist it in a way that is terrifying for yourself (I promise if you are scared of it then others are too). If you think about it, many people are afraid of clowns even though they are supposed to be funny and induce joy. But their features are twisted with the makeup which often scares children and their overexaggerated movements make them look strange and scary. Slenderman is literally a man in a suit, but his limbs are too long, the sounds he make are jarring and his non-existent face is off-putting. Abandon buildings are spooky because they are dark and uninhabitated despite them looking or supposed to be lived-in. And you never know what to expect around the corner. That's how yandere is. It's love but it's just not the right type of love. It's scary and weird, twisted, off-putting, disfigured, dark, unpredictable, over-the-top, strange (in terms of human understanding).

I think that's how you should treat your yandere and your scenario too. Make them be in love with all the cringy happiness and butterflies in their stomach that comes along with it and then twist them with the elements of horror. Decide their core yandere-ness (possessive or obsessive) and give them some additional weirdness befitting them (either a problem they have—like Katsuki Bakugou's need to be number one—or quirk they've always possessed—like Rook Hunt's hunting habits). Use the horror elements like above in your scenario's world and character, and establish some kind of power imbalance between yandere and darling (like restraints, positions, dependency) to make their relationship more interesting.

It's totally okay if you feel like your writing is on the edge between fluff and horror since that's what we want.

Try to understand your characters as non-yandere first and then work them out to fit the trope. The scene they are in is just as important as the yandere themselves and it should be enticing with a promise of sweet love but there should be a point where the yandere(ness) just snaps in place and twists an otherwise normal, nice thing around. That point doesn't have to be in the middle of the story, it can be there from the very beginning, the possibilities are endless, don't be shy to try around ^^

This is all a bit jumbled but I hope it helps! Thanks for asking ^^

#Admin #yandere #yandere talk #yandere writing #yandere scenarios #yandere imagines #yandere headcanons #yandere fanfiction #yandere stories #yandere oneshots #yandere oneshot #yandere drabble #yandere x reader #yandere x darling #Yandere TW

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notagamersdey · 3 years ago

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Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness Review! full spoilers ahead. Is kinda long...

I thought this movie was good but i cant help but feel a little disappointed. I might get attacked for not liking it because it "DidNt hAVe EnOUgH CAmeOS" but honestly, I could give a flying a fuck about that. What disappointed me most were how they handled the Characters, the magic and the overall story.

Lets go through what I liked first. First we see Dr. Strange and Star Girl getting attacked by a Demon while trying to obtain the book of vishanti. I liked the established relationship between strange and America Chavez. Their relationship, though seen briefly, sets up America's fear of betrayal for the rest of the movie. America Chavez as a character was also really interesting.

Next we see strange at Christine's wedding. This was the portion of the story meant to kick off his arc. I'm all for it. I'm glad he doesn't end up with Christine, and the reasons behind why they are not together make sense.

Wong is honestly perfect in my eyes. 10/10 recommend sorcerer supreme.

The parts where they really stick with the horror theme are very good. Especially the scene in Earth 838 where Wanda is chasing them through the tunnels actually brought me to the edge of my seat.

When Strange Dream walks into the corpse and makes the dark souls into his new cloak caused an eye-gasm. it was beautiful.

Now for what I didn't like. Everything else. I'm not even sure where to start but let's start with the magic. What the hell were those cringy animated monster hands he was conjuring?? I get not using the regular spells and wanting to try something different but good god. When he began to use those spells I immediately knew that this movie was going to disappoint me. Don't even get me started on Wanda. Just like Captain ship-Destroyer, Wanda is Scarlet Energy Blast. She is supposed to be OP as shit but it took her a whole 10 minutes to destroy the fucking kamar-taj??? and only a few seconds to obliterate the illuminati? I'm all for being OP but make it consistent. It's insane to me how they built up this epic take down of the kamar-taj with lines like "it was me being reasonable" only for her to barely do anything. Not everything was bad. There were some good elements from the magic like the iconic maestro battle with sinister strange or... no that's it. That was the best fight scene involving magic.

Next, the illuminati. This was lost potential. These characters are supposed to be established fighters. Smart characters. Best of the best. Honestly, during my first watch of the movie, I get why. This is Wanda being OP, but why didn't Wanda killing BlackBolt fucking kick everyone into fighting mode??? Why did she have to kill him and fucking spaghetti man only for the two women of the group to look at each other as if their assistant brought them the wrong coffee order?? Why didn't wanda give them the same brutal take down? There was potential to actually make a good fighting scene, or to use Wanda's manipulation powers to good use. If you're gonna kill them so easily, make the reactions of others believable.

The characters. As I mention before, Dr. Strange doesn't feel like Dr. Strange. There are a few reasons. So, we know that Dr Strange was a righteous asshole, only to be beat to the ground after his accident. He learned to let go, accept his pain and move onto something that is bigger than anybody. We see him in other movies such as Thor, Infinity War, Endgame and Spiderman No Way Home. Throughout, we establish that he has in fact become wise and has somewhat let go of what he used to be. He's grown and has let himself become the protector of his reality. He is still calculating, and very much understands the weight of his decisions and actions. We see this in infinity war. The problem with this movie is that instead of letting Strange deal with the aftermath of the past few years, the audience is told by other characters. Christine, his old co-worker, America Chavez, the illuminati, 838 christine, fucking wanda. Everyone, at some point, tells strange either that he is a control freak or that he's sad and isnt admitting to it. It's story telling 101, dont tell the audience, let us see his pain. Let us see his physical and moral struggles. That is what this character is based off of, how this character and many others grow. I think this story would have really benefitted if they didnt change how his sister died. In the comics, the sister was sick (I cant remember with what) but it was the reason he became a doctor. I think if they put more focus onto that aspect of the character, a lot of other story flaws wouldn't occur.

America Chavez. I actually think America Chavez was very interesting and good. But again. There are some things when it comes to her story and how it plays into Stranges story that could be reworked. As I said previously, her established relationship added an interesting relationship to our strange. She is untrustworthy of Strange, and frightened. Rightfully so, she's just a kid. I think by emphasizing stranges sister would've added a deeper layer to America and Stranges relationship. It would've been interesting to see him try to protect her and for her to be hesitant to trust him. Past relationships and experiences matter, and if it was utilized would've made for a more interesting story.

Wanda. I liked wanda for the most part. I liked that she has become a villain. I like her reasons and the mcguffins hold on her. However, I think her involvement in Stranges story was too much. She overtook the story. Didnt let the other characters breathe with her strong arc. I think she should've gotten her own movie, OR a season two of wanda vision and we could've seen how the darkhold takes a hold of people, how it manipulates and controls. Her involvement in Strange's story takes away from Strange and... I know that probably wasn't the goal, but it's what happened.

Lastly, another big disappointment for me was the music. Maybe the mouse was annoyed that the theme of Dr. Strange got overused over the past few years but what I missed most was the style. Micheal Giachinno used certain psychadelic elements in the music of Dr. Strange that it played a big role in the actual character. and again, I dont mean the main theme. Michael Giachinno has a way of drawing big emotions with simple music produced by big ensembles but Danny Elfman doesn't pull the same effect. Sometimes you can hear it in the movie but other times it sounded as if this movie was made in the early 2000's. The music itself is not bad by any means but again, doesn't fit the character or established style.

Overall, I DO NOT HATE THE MOVIE. It was good for what it was. I dont think I would put it at my top ten favorite marvel movies but it wasn't bad or horrible. Just a little disappointing. I also feel that there were too many strong characters if that makes sense. Like, stephen, america and wanda all kinda mix mashed together into a soup of random heroes. It didnt let the audience either learn about a new character enough, or experience what the characters are experiencing (i.e strange or wanda). A friend of mine had a good suggestion. Get rid of wanda and put her into her own movie, make sinister strange the main villain, and leave america for the end credit scene/3rd movie. Idk, maybe in another universe.

Rated 6/10

#dr strange spoilers #deysmoviereviews #doctor strange in the multiverse of madness #dr stephen strange #america chavez #star girl #benedict cumberbatch #benedict wong #xochitl gomez #wanda maximoff #elizabeth olsen #movies #films #movie review #filmmaking #wong

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comicreliefmorlock · 4 years ago

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#WomenInHorror - Relic - Oh, the Thoughts

I bet you thought @tlbodine would get to this first, huh? HAH!

So as part of our ongoing quest to inflict doctorate-level studies of horror film on ourselves for... the sake of doing it, Wuffie and I have been watching a lot of horror movies. Having finished our #HorrorThruTheDecades quest, we moved on to #WomenInHorror, focusing on horror films directed by women.

She's written quite a bit about the movies we've been watching. However, this last week, we watched a film that inspired me into a long-winded post-mortem after we finished it.

Relic is a 2020 Australian horror film directed by Natalie Erika James, focusing on a three-generation family struggle between a grandmother, a mother and a daughter.

Edna, the grandmother, has been missing for several days when her daughter Kay and granddaughter Sam arrive to check on her. We get a little from Kay hinting that her relationship with her mother has been strained, and alternatively, defense of Edna by her granddaughter Sam who has a completely different relationship with her. (As tends to happen with grandparents and grandchildren.) Clues are laid out to hint that Edna may be succumbing to Alzheimer's and quite honestly, the movie does a very good job in showing how absolutely difficult it is to deal with that. Especially in the family situation involving the shift in power dynamic that happens when a parental figure suddenly needs a lot of careful, supportive care.

And Robyn Nevin as Edna? Fantastic. Sympathetic and terrifying all at once.

I won't spoil the film's ending here--you've got to go below the cut for that--but it's at once poignant and plays fair emotionally with the film's overall tone.

Now, for what I went off at great length at Wuffie about... [#triggerwarning for child abuse discussion]

Relic is pretty clearly intended to be a film about grief, aging, the inevitability of death and how part of dealing with health issues in older generations involves facing that you yourself one day may be in that exact situation.

What it also does really, really well--albeit unintentionally but strongly enough that it hit me across the face with a shoe--is create a solid metaphor for intergenerational child abuse.

Fairly early on in the film, the granddaughter Sam discovers a black mold staining a wall inside of a cluttered closet. This black mold becomes a consistent visual element that shows in nightmares, in the house and on Edna herself, staining her skin like a bruise. This mold, through the nightmares, is visually tied to a now-demolished smaller house that'd once stood on the family grounds and was the home of a "great-grandfather" mentioned once directly and alluded to in several nightmare sequences.

This mold grows on stained glass windows that were transplanted from the former house, spreads across the interior of the house itself and spreads across Edna's skin.

Several visual cues tie the black mold to the "great-grandfather" who, in one nightmare sequence, is shown sitting on the edge of a narrow bed before collapsing forward, out of sight. When the camera pans over, a human figure is etched in black mold on the floor.

At the end of the film, after Edna's transformation--you really ought to watch the movie to know what I mean--and the joining of three generations of women in silence together, Sam spies a black spot on her mother Kay's back, hinting at that same mold that destroyed Edna.

Incestuous child abuse is insidious and yet, from the memoirs I've read, always seems to be something the family "knows about" and simply doesn't discuss. A grandparent, a cousin, an aunt or uncle is abusing the family children--sometimes singling out one child, sometimes abusing every child--and the family is aware of this, but no actual steps are taken to bring the abuser to justice.

The cycle of abuse is fairly commonly known, but the long-term effects of child sexual abuse aren't always as easily identified by the public. Alcohol and drug abuse are extremely common amongst child sexual abuse survivors, as well as an inability to develop healthy, trusting relationships with other adults. Difficulties in parenting can also arise as the person who suffered abuse may fear the same thing happening to their child or be struggling emotionally and not able to show their child the affection they need.

Much like the insidious spread of black mold in out-of-sight places, causing illnesses that can't be immediately identified and threatening the structural integrity of a house, incestuous child abuse absolutely threatens and even destroys lives. It's hard to spot at a glance, hides in plain sight--in closets, cupboards, under stairs, behind furniture--and causes illnesses that can be attributed to more "acceptable" causes.

With the clear visual tie to the once-mentioned "great-grandfather" that isn't mentioned between the family members again, it's not hard to go a bit further and consider him the unmentioned, unnamed family abuser. His actions tainted the house he lived in, the remnants brought from it--Edna says later in the film how much she hates the stained glass windows, how cold and scared she feels when she passes them--and spread not only through the house but through the family itself.

And this mold--and the effects of intergenerational incestuous abuse--hits all three women in this family differently.

Edna, theoretically the member of the family who suffered direct abuse, is physically tainted by the black mold to the point it literally degenerates her body. Aspects of her behavior--disliking having "help" or needing to ask for it, offering a token to her granddaughter one day, demanding it back the next, trying to save photo albums from 'the house' by burying them--seemed strikingly like a woman whose coping mechanisms are now failing her.

She mentions believing someone is breaking into her house, stating it only began after the death of her husband. Alone in a massive house with visual, physical ties to the location of her abuse, feeling vulnerable and struggling to push away memories, Edna's actions feel like a cry for help that she can't verbalize because to do so would be to admit not only the vulnerability she feels now, but the fact that it's equivalent to how vulnerable she was as a child, being abused.

Fairly early on in Relic, Kay makes it clear that she and her mother are not particularly close. She makes attempts to stay in contact, but isn't invested in her mother's day to day life and has actually distanced herself to a degree. Her daughter Sam has a closer and more openly affectionate relationship with Edna. Kay mentions her mother threatening to lock her in the old house "when she was a brat" and seems to want a comfortable distance between herself and her mother.

A parent who has endured abuse as a child can have profound difficulty in bonding with their own children. Healthy sexual intercourse and adult relationships are tainted by child abuse experiences, and some memoires have mentioned being pregnant making them feel "dirty" as if they'd committed some great sin. Bonding with an infant while struggling with those emotions can lead to distant parenting and leave a child with an insecure emotional attachment.

Sam, the granddaughter, is the least damaged by the intergenerational abuse at the beginning of the film. She has an affectionate relationship with her grandmother, seems actively interested in doing what she can to help Edna and scolds her mother for not taking a more prominent role. When Sam finds a sketchbook with a sketch of the 'great-grandfather's' house, she doesn't know what it is or to whom it belonged. The cycle of abuse has been broken; Sam isn't even aware that abuse happened.

What she does is learn of it through a visual metaphor for unearthing family history. Discovering the black mold in the closet and pursuing a ghostly figure into what becomes a nightmarish labyrinth that has echoes of the home she'd always felt safe in plays very well as the realization for an unabused member of a family learning about the abuse that happened. What was loving and familiar is suddenly alien and terrifying, threatening and tainted.

By the end of the film--rather an emotionally poignant moment--all three women have been hurt by this black mold (i.e. incestuous abuse) and have come together in a moment of quiet rest. Edna, completely altered into a shell of who she once was, with Kay, accepting that what happened is fact and had effects on her as well, and Sam, who now understands a great deal about her mother and grandmother.

Every generation in the family has been affected to some degree, even if the cycle of abuse was fortunately broken. The black mold not only completely transformed Edna internally, expressed in a striking visual moment, but also tainted her daughter. Even the granddaughter, although physically unharmed by the mold, has been permanently changed by learning about what happened in her family and feeling her perceptions twist (frighteningly so) from what she once held to what she now knows.

While I don't think the film intended to be such a great visual metaphor for the horrific effects of incestuous family abuse and the intergenerational damage it causes, it did an incredibly good job of being one.

#Relic #WomenInHorror #Film Theory #I guess?#Trigger Warnings Under the Cut

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