#this is just a prologue

[theladybarnes]

“ Do you like scary movies?”

▸ summary: every story has a beginning, this one happened just one year before ▸ pairings: steve x reader ▸ word count: 4,968 ▸ warnings: stabbing, cursing, mentions of gore (MINORS DNI) ▸ series masterlist

It had been just another regular night down on the quiet street of Fier Road. Where each neighbor in the Northern California town had the distance of a living ten minutes away from each other. 

 For Chrissy Cunningham, she hated growing up in this home. Having spent most of her time with disdain towards the view of the tree farm that resided just outside her window. The feeling of always being watched through the large piece of glass never went away and since it was one of the few houses outside the city, she always felt the most disconnected from the world. 

 Thankfully, once she got into high school, things changed. Instead of having to worry about going into town to see people, eventually, people came to see her. With having such a large house with no noise pollution to her far off neighbors, her house instantly became a party spot. Especially towards Junior year when her parent’s jobs in the town began to have longer hours. 

 Like tonight. 

 “I’m telling you, Nancy! Once you get a little drink in you and that new kid Argyle plays some of his new CDs. The natural flow of the party will bring you and Jonathan back together!”

 “I don’t know, Chrissy. It was a pretty big fight this time..”

 The blonde had just finished setting up the kitchen counter of snacks when her friend Nancy had called. Trying to back out of the party tonight due a recent break up with her long term boyfriend. 

 “With you two it’s only big fights. Which means you guys don’t fight often enough to let this one fight tear you apart.” 

 “I wish I could see things as positively as you do.”

 Chrissy giggled into the phone, leaning against the counter as she played with the set of knives dismissively before she remembered she was cutting up limes for the tequila shots. “It’s called optimism and with it I’m very hopeful to finish the rest of my Junior year with all my friends happy and together.” 

 “..Well almost all your friends.” 

 The girl stood up straight at that. Knowing exactly who she’s talking about but afraid to approach that topic. Shaking her head she decides to move past it. “When you see the place, it’s gonna bring back all the little memories you and Jonathan had together and I’m sure you’ll be sneaking away to my parent’s room before the night is over.” 

 “Is Jason coming tonight?

 “Uh yeah,” the girl replied lamely. “The entire team is coming actually.” 

 “So you and your new beau will be out officially as a new couple.” 

 Chuckling a bit at that, Chrissy walked over towards the patio doors. Looking out into the pool as she mulled over Nancy’s words. “I guess..we’ve barely been official with each other for three weeks.”

 “But you and Eddie were together two weeks ago.” 

 A frown etched across Chrissy’s face. “Look, it’s complicated. We were off and on and finally off. I don’t wanna talk about that right now.” 

 “I know, I’m sorry! We’ve all known him since eighth grade and he’s loved you since day one. It’s just weird now to think that era is over.” 

 A flicker of light from the pool house caught Chrissy’s attention. Walking towards the patio doors, she reached for the light switch, flicking on the flood lights to help illuminate the backyard. Nothing seemed to be outside but she found herself shuddering anyway. “Things just ended..I can’t turn back time to it now.”

 “I know, I know, sorry. Suppose your good ol’ optimism rubbed off on me and I thought to ask in Eddie’s defense.”

 The relationship between the cheerleader and rocker had been bittersweet. No matter how much Chrissy had tried to keep things happy between them, the differences in their lifestyles pulled them apart. “I don’t have anything against Eddie..and if I knew that he could handle seeing me at a party with another guy then I’d invite him. But..”

 “..But it might just destroy him. I get it. Maybe when summer starts and we all go out, he’ll be open to the idea of you guys being just friends.” 

 “That’s what I’ve been thinking.” Sighed Chrissy as she finished setting up. “Anyway, are you guys going to be coming up soon? It’s already dark out.”

 “Yeah, us girls are hitching a ride with our little chauffeur.”

 The thought of their friend Steve going all across town to pick each girl up was enough to bring up Chrissy’s mood, causing a small giggle to bubble out. “You guys should tip this time.” 

 “I think one of us already gives him enough.” Nancy replied, referring to the friend they called Baby (poor girl revealed her interest in Dirty Dancing once and the group would not let it go). The two of them had been the group’s biggest will they won’t they for years and it was kind of sweet to have seen them together this whole year. 

 “Gosh those two are sweeter than caramel.” Chrissy laughed, moving away towards the phone stand. “I love it!” 

 “You should! They’d have never admitted to liking each other if it wasn’t for your birthday party.” The sound of a muffled honk perked into Chrissy’s ears through the phone. “Speaking of those two, I think they’re here now. We’ll see you soon!” 

 “See you soon!”

 After Nancy got off the line, the silence of the big empty house returned. It was always too quiet for her taste and unfortunately, Chrissy unplugged the tv and music area for the apparent DJ speakers that Argyle had promised to bring. 

 Right as she had plopped down on the couch to wait, the phone began to scream. 

 RRIIIING

 The blonde lazily laid across the cushion to reach over for the hand held before bringing the device up to her ear. “Hello?”

 “Hello?” the voice of a smooth deep voice echoed. “Who is this?”

 Chrissy chuckled a bit. “Yeah, who are you trying to reach?” There was an awkward pause. The man on the other line taking his time. 

 “What number is this?”

 “…What number are you trying to reach?”

 Again it’s another beat of awkward silence. “..I don’t know.” 

 Trying to remain kind, Chrissy calmly ended the call. “You must have the wrong number. But it happens, take it easy.” With that, she hung up and tried to ignore the feeling in her gut. She was getting tense for no reason. 

RRIIING RRIIING

 The phone went off again and she stared at the piece in her hand, debating just letting the call drop when she remembered her parents might check in. Pressing accept she pressed the phone again to her. “Hello?”

 “I’m sorry, I guess I did dial the wrong number.” 

 Scoffing at the caller simply confirming what she told him, Chrissy shook her head, laughing for a second. “So why did you dial it again?”

 “To apologize, of course.” 

 “You’re forgiven, okay? Now have a good-“

 “Wait, wait! I want to talk to you for a second..”

 Not believing the nerve of this mystery caller, Chrissy became mildly amused at the fact that he wanted to stay on the line. “Look, this is fun and all but I’m a bit too busy for casual chat at the moment.”

 “Too busy? What plans do you have tonight?”

 The girl huffed out some air before checking the watch on her wrist. “I have a party tonight. Guests I’ll have to tend to soon so-“

 “A party and you didn’t invite me?”

 The question threw her off for a second. Normally she’d hang up on someone pestering her like this but there was something casual and interesting about this person. 

 “Well..not everyone can come. You know what it’s like.” 

 “Do I? How would one know if they’re acceptable to join parties or not?”

 Chrissy frowned at that, not too sure how to answer kindly. “Well, there’s no way to define who can come and go..if you’re from school then you’d know who comes to these kinds of things.” 

 The caller let out an amused laugh. “I see, you mean, the cool kids get to go.” 

 “That’s not exactly true! But they are the ones who usually show up.” The girl moved to sit back at the couch again, tugging at the end of her sweater. 

 “So you’re saying you wouldn’t turn anyone else that might want to come?”

 “No, never! That’s so cruel!” The sound of the man’s laugh was a sort of relief to Chrissy as she wiped a hand over her brows.

 “With that knowledge, would you be interested in having me come over tonight?”

 “Yeah.” Chrissy drawed out, “You’re more than welcome to come!”  There was a pleasing hum on the other end making the young girl finally feel a little bit better about her poor word choices. Sometimes her nerves got the best of her and gave her a bad sense of word vomit.

 “I’m glad to hear that. I’ll be able to meet the girl I’m looking at.”

 As if suddenly hit with ice, Chrissy felt the smile drop from her face. Maybe she heard what he said wrong. “..what did you say?”

 “I said I’ll be able to meet the girl I’m talking to.”

 Taking a glance behind her, Chrissy glanced around the kitchen until her eyes landed back in the living room. The large patio doors that led to the pool gave a clear view of the inside of the house. “That’s not what you said..”

 Again the caller gave off a calm chuckle. “What did you think I said?”

 Moving to the patio doors, she flicked on the light switches again, trying to see if she could catch someone in the backyard if she turned the light on fast enough. Again she was met with nothing but the scenic sight of her pool and outdoor patio. Checking over the locks, she sighed to herself before she remembered she was still on the phone.

 “Did I lose you there?”

 “Look, I’m sorry. I have to go.” Chrissy mumbled into the receiver,  pulling her body away from the window. “People are coming and I should probably be ready.”

 “Come on, don’t go just yet. Don’t hang-”

 Not bothering to hear the rest, she hung up the phone and quickly checked the locks on both the back and front before the phone rang again. This time, she couldn’t find it in herself to pick it up. Her friends would come soon enough and she’d be able to deal with a creep on the phone.

 Five minutes passed and still no sign of her friends left Chrissy alone with the incessant ringing that built up of her anxiety. She thought about calling Jason but he already told her practice would run late and he’d show up later. 

 The small sting of tears pinched at her eyes and she felt like the beginning of a scary movie with how nervous she was getting. Getting fed up, she reached for the phone again, pressing the accept button before speaking finally. “Yes?” she asked timidly. 

 “You hung up on me…”

 The voice sounded colder, shocked with her actions. “I had to! P-please stop calling. I’m busy and I need to go!” Hanging up quickly, she looked down at the phone and prayed that the caller would give up on harassing her. But just like before, the phone rang again, sounding oddly angry in its blaring pitch. 

 “I’m going to call the pol-”

 “You hang up the phone on me again and I’ll cut your fucking head off, bitch!”

 The blood in her veins ran cold. Making the only sound out of her was a soft whimper. But that seemed to make the man on the other line happier. His chuckle itching inside the canal of her ear. “..please tell me this is a joke.”

 “Oh sweetheart, it’s more of a game now really. Do you think you can handle that, blondie?”

 For some reason, the question caused Chrissy to shrivel down to the ground. Crawling towards the island in the kitchen, she used the large space in the middle to conceal her body as she tried to calm herself down.

 “Oh Chrissy, I need you to answer me in order to start the game.”

 “Please..I don’t want to play anything.”

 “Well, hate to break it to you miss Queen of Hawkins High. But it’s either you play or Jason does.”

 The mention of her boyfriend caused the hair in the back of her neck to stand up. She gripped the phone tighter as she spoke again. “W-what do you mean?”

 “I’m surprised you didn’t notice, I just placed him out by the pool for you.”

 She’s surprised she’s able to get up from the floor, but she does. And when she reached the patio doors, she slowly inched her hand up to the lights. Praying to every God in existence that when she flicked the lights on, her friends would be on the other side and laugh at the vicious prank they just put her through. “Go ahead, sweetness..turn it on.” urged the voice.

 With a flick, she met with the horror of what was laid outside for her. Instead of the sight of an empty poolside, Chrissy’s green eyes met with the body of Jason. Knocked out and tied up to a chair. His usual green jersey stained with dark red spots as his head was leaning forward, casting his face downward to his lap.

 A bubbled up surge of fear poured out from within Chrissy as she suddenly began to yell at the sight, nearly dropping the phone on the floor. “What is this!?” she cried, reaching to unlock the doors, but at the turn of lock, Jason’s head snapped up. Giving Chrissy a view at the beat up appearance of his face. Whoever had taken him hostage had roughed up his face, enough so that blood trickled from the top of his head and nose. A tight strip of duct tape had been placed over his mouth to silence him. It took only a quick second for his eyes to land on hers, worry flickered over his blue eyes.

 “I wouldn’t step out if I were you.” 

 Tears pooled over her eyes, making his vision begin to turn blurry. Sounds of his panicked screaming were muffled by the tape as he tried to call out to her. “Why are you doing this?” she asked softly, hand still ready to push down on the handle. 

 “Well like I said, either you play or Jason does. And I'd decide quickly, I'm getting impatient here.” 

 Locking the door again, she took a step back, shaking her head to Jason as his muffled cries grew more intense. “Good girl. Now turn off the lights again and we can play.” Through her tears she slowly shut off the light, stepping fully away from the door as she returned to the kitchen island. Using it as coverage once more.

 “Let’s begin, shall we?”

 “How do I play?” Chrissy gritted, using the sleeve of her shirt to wipe off the tears that were beginning to block her vision. The sound of Jason calling out to her was nearly driving her crazy before the caller finally replied back.

 “I’ll keep it simple for you, pretty thing. It’s a good ol’ fashion game of truth or lie. Three rounds and then that’s it! You and the lover boy get to leave. Sound easy?”

“It’s not like I have any other choice..” she scoffed, sniffling a bit as she checked over towards the patio doors again. The light from outside still showed a shadow of Jason on the chair. “What’s the question?” 

 “Exactly, let’s start! Truth or lie, the three people closest to you are; Nancy, Robin, and that sweet, Baby.”

 It was clear to anyone who went to school with Chrissy that those three girls were the ones who were by her side from the start. No one could mess with her when she had them behind her. “Yes, Truth! They’re my best friends.” 

 “Correct! See? You’re doing so good, sweetness.”

 “Okay, so please let me go help Ja-”

 “Nuh uh! We’re still not done yet. Just two more.”

 Her stomach dropped. She knew it was too hopeful that the caller would release Jason but she couldn’t just leave him out there. It was killing her inside. 

 “Truth or lie,” the caller continued. “You’ve recently been appointed head cheerleader.”

 Again this was a true fact, something that Chrissy had been working hard on this whole year. When she was given the title after the recent game, she was beyond happy. But again, this was a fact that everyone knew. It was announced to the whole crowd. “Truth!”

 The caller chuckled at her reply, making her worried about where this was going if he was asking such type of questions. “Last one and if you get this right, you’re free to get Jason.”

 Chrissy gripped the phone tighter, determined now to get Jason inside. Maybe in some sick way this was still a prank and her boyfriend’s friends had set this up in some sort of hazing thing. It’s the only thing that would make sense now.

 “Truth or lie, you were cheating on Eddie Munson for two weeks before you broke up with him to date Jason.”

 “That’s a lie!” Chrissy cried quickly. Her shame and fear built up on her all at once. That piece of information was not public knowledge. Not even Eddie knew about that and here this stranger was using it to toy with her. “People spread that rumor to make me look like the bad guy.”

 The caller made a small sigh of disappointment. Tutting into the receiver tauntingly. “Oh Chrissy,” he cooed. “I thought you understood the rules. You have to get the answer right in order to win.”

 “That is the right answer! I didn’t cheat..I didn’t.”

 A familiar sound of a tape rewinding could be heard through the other end before it played back its audio. “I guess..we’ve barely been official with each other for three weeks…..But you and Eddie were together two weeks ago… Seems you’ve been up to an awful lot of no good fun.”

 “NO! Please don’t do this! Just give me one more chance. One more question.”

 “Sorry, sweets. I’ll give you a bonus round. But I'm afraid our dear Jason is out of the game.”

 At that, all the lights in the house turned off. Capturing Chrissy into the darkness. The only thing that echoed within the walls was the sound of the girl’s screaming as she watched a dark shadow cover over Jason’s body. The glint of metal flew in the air as it crisscrossed in front of Jason. 

 The noises had Chrissy frozen in fear as she could hear the sounds of cloth and something else being sliced. A muffled cry of agony following every slash. Without realizing, she had begun to crawl over, needing to see for sure that this was a reality and not some nightmare.

 In some sick twist of fate, the lights flickered back on to reveal the outside to her again. Still in the chair was Jason. Head back as he stared up in the sky, eyes gone and cold. The front of his shirt was torn open to reveal the gushing pieces of his intestines falling out slowly from his stomach. It was too real, the blood would not stop flowing out and Chrissy could barely let out a whimper as she stared at the horror before her.

 Jason was dead. And it was all her fault. 

 The chilling sound of laughter could be heard through the phone. The tears seemed to be endless as she crouched back down, staring blankly as the pool lights were being shut off again. Most likely now being controlled by the man on the phone. “I don’t want to play this anymore..” Chrissy whispered into the phone.

 Again the caller merely chuckled again. “Final question..are you ready?”

 “Please..”

 “TRUTH OR LIE,” he yelled, “You forgot to check one more door in your house.”

 The whole house grew deadly quiet until the only sounds were Chrissy’s panting. Her eyes wide as she went over everything she did before the calls got weird. She locked both doors. The windows weren’t open since no one had been home all day; it was all locked! She was safe!

 “LIE!” She yelled, getting up from her spot. He couldn’t get in, she was sure of it. Standing up, she walked over to the patio door again and confirmed that it was locked. That is until the sound of a door creaking open rolled down the hall.

 “Are you sure about that?”

 Gripping onto the phone tightly, Chrissy made the decision to arm herself with a knife from the island before she ventured out towards the rooms of the house. Any bit of comfort she had was gone out the window as she stepped forward.

 It wasn’t till she looked at the two rooms by the front entrance that she felt herself begin to panic. Her Father’s office door was always locked. She never in her whole time living there ever needed to go in. But that also made her forget the fact that it led out into the patio.

 The killer was in her house and finally making himself known

. 

Not risking the check, she immediately ran up the stairs to the second floor, catching just a glimpse of something reflective coming from the doorway. Once at the top, the mystery caller himself decided to shoot out of the room, causing the door to hit against the way as he raced to the end of the staircase.

 Chrissy gulped as her wide eyes stared down at the man. He was decked out in a black cloak that concealed his whole body, hands covered in matching gloves and covering his face, a haunting ghost mask. He looked up at Chrissy, tilting his head to the side as he took her in. 

 With the phone still clutched in her hand she took a step back and glanced towards the directions of rooms. “I thought you said I could come in for the party.” chuckled the voice from below. The sound of it was almost robotic in person now, making Chrissy realize it was a disguised voice. 

 “Y-you stay the hell away from me asshole! My friends are coming and the fucking cops are gonna give you the god damn chair!” she yelled, returning her gaze to the man. “You better just leave now!”

 He reached down into his cloak and pulled out a hunting knife. The blade glinting in the overhead lighting showed its long body before it was being pointed towards her. “If your friends are coming, I say we give them a good welcome present.” A step up and he waved the knife playfully. “From you and dear ol’ Jason.”

 Turning around, Chrissy dashed over towards her parents bedroom. The only thought being that if she locked herself in, she could find a way to get over the balcony that faced the front of her house and flag down her friends sooner. 

 But the killer was quick, it was barely when she pushed down the lock on the door of the bedroom that she heard the hard piercing sound of the knife being hit against the wood. “Open up, bitch!” the man yelled, causing Chrissy to let out a scream as she scrambled to push her Mother’s dresser against the door. 

 The man on the other side let out an enraged yell, banging possibly his body against the wood to try and get the door open. “STOP IT!” Chrissy yelled, picking back up her fallen weapon as she scrambled over to the balcony. 

 Looking down the road, she let out a happy cry when she noticed a pair of headlights coming down the long drive down. Her friends were here and their presence would scare off the man. Waving her hand out, she began to yell out towards them! “GUYS! PLEASE HURRY! PLEASE!”

 At the sound of her cry, the killer had burst through the door with all his might. Angrily pushing away the dresser that had held him back as he stormed over towards the balcony. Screaming, she reached for the handle of the sliding door, only to gasp at the killer stopping her. The grip of his hand tight as he pulled her inside the room.

Her other hand tried to hit him with the knife, attempting to stab at him when he pulled back enough to throw a punch against her cheek. 

 The hit was hard enough to have her vision go blurry. “W-wait!” she whimpered, attempting to push herself away. That’s when she felt the hard pressure of the knife going into her chest. A hot liquid trickled out of front of her chest, wetting the thin material of her sweater instantly. 

 No pain had ever felt like this. A mixture of throbbing pain and panic coarsed through Chrissy. But before her hand could even reach up to the wound, another stab was being pushed through her stomach. Again and again the killer dragged his knife through her. Making the pain worse with every push against her body.

 The light in the room was so dim, the sound of her heartbeat was up in her ears. Despite the feeling of her body growing weaker, Chrissy reached up the man’s mask. Letting her fingers glaze over the mask before she pulled it off, revealing the face looking down at her. She wanted to ask him why, get an answer, but all she mustered up was a small puff of air. 

 He reached for the mask back, slipping it back on before he dragged her body to the balcony again, the world was fading and Chrissy wished she could stay longer. See the people she cared about one more time. This wasn’t fair, this wasn’t right. 

 The sound of her friend’s car rolling down the driveway was the last she heard before the man tore the knife along the expanse of her stomach. Soon enough the world faded to black and Chrissy felt herself finally pull away into eternal sleep.

 Not wasting a second longer, the man began to pull out parts of her intestines, matching it up to look like Jason’s out back. The sounds of wet squelching noises were happy to the man’s ears. Reaching deep into the cloak’s pocket, he pulled out a long rope and quickly began to tie it around Chrissy’s body. Making sure every knot was tight before he pulled her up from the floor. 

 The stiffness of her body added a bit of a struggle, but he managed to push the blonde over and watch as her body hung against the balcony railing with a harsh drag. Just in time for the audience to arrive.

 “This morning I woke up with this feeling! I didn't know how to deal with it and so I just decided to myself. I'd hide it to myself and never talk about it. And did not go and shout it when you walked into the room! I think I love you-” Three familiar voices sang out. 

 “Will you three shut up!” Huffed the voice of a man below. 

 Peering over the balcony, the man noticed a group of four teens coming down the long driveway. Steve Harrington being the man in front who had his hands on his hips. “I’m really gonna have the song stuck in my head now.” 

 His eyes cast over to you, rushing to push past the girls so that you could catch up to the boy. “Sorry, Steve.” you smiled sweetly, lacing your hand into his. “Robin’s been singing it all day and we can’t help but get into it.”

 Steve’s glare turned slowly into a smile the longer he stared down at you, reaching up to place a loving hand against your cheek. “I like it when you sing, but Statler and Waldorf here are going to annoy me to death.” he chuckled. 

 The man watched as you coyly batted your lashes up at Steve, leaning up in your tippy toes to press a kiss against his lips. The knife in the man’s hands felt heavier than ever and he found himself gripping it tightly. His eyes watched the way Steve’s hands moved to wrap around the expanse of your lower back, pulling your body closer to his. 

 “Oooh!” Cooed the other two girls in the back. Making you turn suddenly shy as you part from Steve. The boy didn't seem upset that the kiss had ended, in fact, he looked over at the other two girls with a bigger grin now before he threw his head back. “I think I love you so what am I so afraid of?! I'm afraid that I'm not sure of a love there is no cure for!”

 The girls all laughed and began to join in the song again, finally going back to making their way towards the front entrance of the home. Taking that as his cue, the man rushed off the balcony towards the room now. Tonight wasn’t the plan he had hoped for, but soon enough he’d be able to see things through.

 “Omnes una manet nox (One night awaits everyone).” he chanted, running through the house till he was out the patio doors. The sight of Jason brought hope to him as he noticed the beginning of a black sludge slowly creep into the blood that coated Jason’s organs. 

 The last thing the man heard as he climbed over the back fence of the land was the echoing screams from the group of teens.

A/N: And we’ve officially begun this storyline! If its too graphic or uncomfortable I do apologize since it’s not my usual type of posting but this is specifically for Halloween so please understand that. I hope you guys enjoy the mini series!

[monkeymindscream]

Second bit of writing I’ve posted in two days, stop the fucking presses!!

I mean yeah, it’d be a lot more impressive if I were posting a continuation to the thing I posted two days ago, but it’s not, so let’s not get hung up on details.

No, instead what I’m doing is subjecting whatever poor sod who happens to stumble across this post to a weird-ass premise for a weird-ass ship. What ship, you might ask? Well, quoth- ...someone at some point in history, “fuck around and find out.”

[galaxyofender]

"[MARTYN]

Test, test. Is this working? Hello?

...

Well, this thing is working.

I really should introduce myself, should I? My name’s Martyn Littlewood, you spell that with a y. I’m one of the people working for the Eclipse Institute, an organization dedicated to the research of the paranormal."

or: i may have fallen to the hole of tma x mcyt aus? so, have an archivist martyn!

[ashleys-doodle-corner]

Oops, all Loops and Siffrin!Loops! Great for a balanced diet!

(these are all transparent, so feel free to use them for whatever. i'm letting them run out into the wild)

[heartorbit]

find another role, carry on the show

[sophfandoms53]

Shadow fans,,,, how are we possibly still alive right now like this is absolutely insane

[spiraling-trap]

happy valentine’s day :)

better quality here

the text is an L line from the L romance route in the ds game ↓

[godforbidfate]

FROM THE DESK OF TAYLOR SWIFT Chairman, The Tortured Poets Department (2006-2024)

[deimcs]

DRAGON AGE: ORIGINS (2009) + iconic lines [2/?]

[siffarooni]

(You just want to dance with someone! Anyone!)

[yonch]

you're fine staying the same person forever, anyways.

(a prequel to this thing.)

[son1c]

i got you

[fl00mie]

something i did when i saw a post of joku talking about this topic: it's an interesting concept but practically impossible because nothing stops artists from continuing to create (this is convenient for ink), based on this i tried to adjust the words of the creator of dreamtale herself to her characters under an objective truth— there is no limit to the multiverse

here's the post and the translation

[sicklyjelly]

a moment of comfort

warm-up based off an old doodle adrienne did bc my creativity has wandered off somewhere but I really wanted to draw isa and mira… fwiends… 🥺💕

[naswoop]

ahaha

[lucabyte]

Finally: The NoHats AU doodles. Plus some sprite edits.

Usually I'd let things speak for themselves and keep my chattering in the tags, but I'll ramble about my context thoughts...

So. First of all here's a link (x) to the Nohats Origin Post for those coming in and going ????.

Anyway. These doodles are not in any obvious chronological order, though Loop going from pilfered bandolier (my headcanon for how Siffrin has all those pockets) -> custom outfit made by Isabeau, is supposed to generally denote 'just after the ending' -> 'a few months down the line'.

And speaking of, Design & Characterisation notes:

Overall: NoHats is suppooooosed to have the range to not just be ULTIMATE MISERY ALL THE TIME (but if you're a major whump/angst fan. go fucking nuts.) so these are supposed to be. The steps toward overcoming and living with grief but. The Misery Is Kind Of The Punchiest Part.... Oops....

Mirabelle: Taking the lead, continuing to carry the weight of the world on her shoulders. In the game proper she's already shown to, while yes, be emotionally fragile at times, be prone to trying to hold the team together. I feel she'd do the same here. It also would help that she'd presumably be medicated again? But I can't imagine her chosen-one anxieities would be super ailed by the death of her friend. I wanted to try and give her more differences? She follows the change belief after all and is thus liable to switch up her style in general... But I didn't have a strong vision for this, so. The ball is in anyone's court. Her design changes here are keeping one of Sif's safety pins a la qpr bonding earring, and has the bell pendant at Loop's (oddly pushy) suggestion.

Isabeau: Taking it. Badly. Depression mullet and beard in tow. However, you best believe he is trying real badly to hide it. Loop very much does not reveal their identity to him because What The Fuck Would That Even Do. That's Scary. but they do try to comfort him while mentally regarding him "off limits". Backs themselves into some very unfortunate corners by alluding to their unfulfilled relationship with their Fighter as a point of common ground. I don't imagine this would go super great when recontextualised later after Loop is inevitably found out. Just in general oh good god what the fuck. this is like a radioactive pit of survivor's guilt.

Bonnie: Taking it probably The Worst. This is a child. Who was already feeling guilt. This is who everyone else is trying to keep it together for. Mirabelle and Isabeau would likely be putting up far less of a front without Bonnie around. They take the hat and take on Pocket Duty. They also have slightly more sif-y hairstyle but... Don't worry about it. They'd have Nille to fall back on once she's picked back up, and Loop almost certainly attempts to redouble efforts on making them feel better but seeing as how closed-off Bonnie can already be, it'd likely be difficult. However they would probably take Loop's identity reveal best...?

Odile: Odile's design.... ! Does not seem to have changed? How odd! Well. I'm sure she's dealing with things in a regular and non-cloistered manner. I already think that a regular Postcanon Activity for Odile could be her finding out about the potential for sif/loop to translate books and thus Knowledge in their native tongue assuming that ability sticks around postgame. Something something culture can never truly be wiped out etc etc. But putting it in this context. Makes it more desperate, more of a deflection for something else.

Loop: Helpful Loop. Well. They win! I feel like the entirety of ISAT being about Siffrin's mental state means I don't need to spill much ink here? You get it I think. I can't outdo the source material man. Anyway I imagine Loop is given clothes by Isabeau before they know who they are, but after they've become genuine friends. The outfit is in genuineness, on both sides from Loop and Isa, in having the cloak be a nod in respect to Siffrin, since Loop's "shared culture" would have to come up vis a vis cultural funerary traditions. Hard to avoid divulging that one...