#tw skulk corruption

[arrowawsome]

cub why are you so angy? he has 2 eyebrows and now he looks like he's going >:[]

[jadienjaystoriesandart]

Spread The Darkness

Summary: Pix had hoped that he could save Cub from the skulk, but it seems this corruption is farther than he knew. He didn’t expect to be running from the other, heart racing in his chest... but here he was. The skulk on the ground sticking to his boots with the other hot on his heels. Notes: Cub/Pix... if you squint. I have ideas about this Skulk, might do one for DSMP later if you guys want. Warnings: Corruption, Possession, Mind Control, etc...  Mentions: @convexicalcrow

I low key read your Fog AU idea, and got inspired, so yeah... go read their work guys.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Fear was something common among all living beings. Fear of the unknown. Fear of the darkness. Fear of the things that go bump in the night. Pix was very familiar with the feeling of fear. Exploring ruins lost to time, threats of curses, of wings howling through abandoned corridors. But this, this was a new kind of fear, the fear of being hunted. 

The potion was suppose to work, splashing it on Cub to hopefully cure him of the Skulk clinging to his skin. Instead it server to slight piss off the corrupted researcher. Blue eyes swirled as he glared at Pix, then tsked lightly, “You’re much too bright.” was the last thing said before Cub gripped False. She didn’t even manage to get out a scream as the stuff on his hands started to spread.

It gripped her skin, and that was the last thing Pix needed to see. Turning tail and running quickly, fumbling to try and find his rockets. “Fool me once.” Cub’s voice said behind Pix as the other ran, “Shame on you.”  Where were his rockets?! Footsteps were quiet against the skulk ground, crunching over the ground. Each step spreading under his feet. “Fool me twice.” Cub’s voice was distorted over the sound of Pix’s over feet trying to pull out his boots. “Shame on me.”

This stuff was sticky, it smelled awful, it sounded awful too. Pix yanked up his boots from the stuff. He kept running, if he could get to a light source, he’d be safe. He just had to keep moving, Hermitopia was close by, he just had to keep moving. Even in the darkness he could faintly make out the lights ahead.

“Fool me three times... well.” Cub trailed off softly as Pix didn’t dare turn around. His lungs burned for air, ducking down into an alcove, trying to muffle his breathing. Everything hurt, it felt like he swallowed lava. Trying to catch his breath, maybe he’d be able to lose Cub here.  Pix covered his mouth, he felt his legs tremble a near jello like quality to them. His ears strained to listen over the disgusting sound of the skulk around him. He could make out the faint sounds of footsteps. 

A pause of breath, “I know you’re there...” Cub said softly outloud, “It tells me where you are Pix, and... they want you.” his voice slow, distorted, monotone. Step. Step. Step. “Spread the Skulk with me Pix, the darkness will guide us both.”

Fear. Fear. Fear. 

Was this was Fight. Flight. or Freeze was like? When your body goes into pure adrenal, to try and survive. He had just wanted to help the other... to try and safe the server, without having to kill Cub in the process.  Pix felt tears prick at the corner of his eyes, he couldn’t cry now, he couldn’t let it out. He had to be quiet, he tried to listen again. Could he make a break for it? Could he escape? Would he make it in time?

Faintly, if he listened closely, he could make out voices. Speaking. Whispering. Hissing in his right ear, right next to the wall where the...

A hand gripped him from behind, it went dark again. The scent was stronger again, the cold feeling on his face like moss after rain. It pressed to his skin, and seemed to spread. Pix tried to call out, but the stuff held fast, it seemed to glue his mouth shut. Running like thick water down his body.

And with it the voices grew louder than ever.

They were screaming, hissing... they wanted something. Freedom? Peace? More? 

~Spread the Darkness~

It rang in his head, slightly muffled, but there, as Pix felt his struggles fade slowly, he felt exhaustion take hold.

~Spread the Skulk~

Breath in. Breath out. Easy. Slowly the hand peeled away from his eyes, and Pix squinted. Light filtered through, as the sun was rising slowly. It was... to bright. But he could now see where he was, in a cave area. His hand pressed to the wall, the sponge like material that was the Skulk running against his fingers and palm. 

~Spread the Darkness~

It was clearer now. 

Everything felt different than before, Pix could faintly make out the soft breaths of another near him. He could... hear so much better. The faint whispers, the pulsing of a heartbeat above him, voices nearby.  It was still much too bright though as he took a step back into the darkness. The light hurt his eyes, he didn’t like it. Walking was easier now though, no longer did it stick to his feet and sink him down like quicksand or mud. 

~Spread the Skulk~

His eyes turned slowly to see the glowing blue ones looking back at him. Cub tilted his head to the side, and a slow, easy going smile spread over the lips. Unnatural, not human, but Pix found himself returning it. Looking down at his hands as they were now a blackish green color, sparkling slightly with eerie blue light. 

He lifted them to his face, running the clear fingers over the skin, to feel the texture of Skulk running down his cheek and forehead. Dripping down like water onto the ground. Creating small points of the fungus to grow outward. 

“Everything clearer now?’ Cub’s voice spoke, now sounding like it had before.

Pix turned to him fully, and nodded after a moment. “It... feels amazing.” he admits back, his voice distorted, monotone, barely a whisper. He felt... calm. The fear was fading, it was okay now.

~You are one of Us now.~ 

Yes, he was, he didn’t understand why he was trying to cure this. It was fine, they were fine, it was everyone else who wasn’t. Too bright, too calm, it was too living. “Welcome to the Darkness.” Cub told him as a hand gripped his own, spreading the Skulk up his hands and down his arm. Pix didn’t pull away, just watched it. “Our mission is simple,” eyes met his own.

“Spread the darkness.” Pix said back, “Spread the Skulk. Extinguish the light... the darkness will comfort us all.” he repeated the words in his head. 

The fog grew from the darkness, a hand held his own tightly, and it was...

Comforting

[thesopwithcamel]

My backstories and headcanons about the Hat Kiddos (TW: mentions of child abuse, neglect, child kidnapping and child murder, premeditated and otherwise

Caitlyn (1HT Hat Kid).

Had a pretty rough childhood, her parents divorced when she was about 78 years old (in her home planets time) her father would have custody and her mother would have to pay child support. Instead Caitlyn's mother took her and ran away to an isolated spacestation and turned possessive and abusive, eventually Caitlyn stole a recently decommisioned yacht to escape her mother's torment. Her father thinks she is dead and her mother went insane, what happened to her is unknown.

Caitlyn met Bow Kid in preschool and both became good friends and the two would keep in touch until Bow began her pilot training (around the same time Caitlyn was kidnapped) and the two would move on from each other, eventually though the two of them would reunite and they would have their shared adventure on Terra at the ages of 168 and 168 (about 12 in Terran years) respectively. Bow would perish in an interstellar accident delibrately caused by Caitlyn's mother known only as the incident of spaceport 63, Caitlyn wouldn't know of her passing until her final confrontation with 3HT Hat Kid.

Personality wise Caitlyn has mostly matured since her previous adventure and is now the alien equivelant of 15 Terran years old but has (mostly) retained her canon personality, she is experienced in her space faring shennanigans and engineering and is also really good at getting into places that she isn't allowed in.

Caitlyn is a selective mute and in her age she is more of a 'less talk and get shit done' then anything else. Caitlyn also has taken a liking to more brutish melee weapons like baseball bats, clubs and crowbars although guns are a close second as she can carry a ridiculous amount of weapons and ammunition on her person.

Caitlyn enjoys gaming, drawing, knitting and riding on her RUMBI unit, she also enjoys hitting the range and has a secret interest in military history. Caitlyn also has a Memory walking ability (explaining the events of Habboi's custom levels).

Caitlyn's physical strength is nearly immeasurable which not only allowed her to perform her feats of strength during her adventure but also allowed her to whoop Cavus so badly he became a black mass stuck in a jam jar in Caitlyn's freezer.

When the cataclysm occured it knocked Caitlyn's ship out of atmosphere and it ended up exploding due to the fuel tank cooking off (and unintentionally halting the Cataclysm), killing RUMBI and flinging Caitlyn and Jar Cavus out and into the sea where they washed up on the shore of 1HT Mafia Town (which had been melded with both the barbour and Calcite). Caitlyn was blamed for the whole Cataclysm and had to skulk around the area with gun and crowbar in hand before being pardoned by the town following a fight with the 2HT Mafia Boss and a corrupted Proto Kid.

Natalie (2HT Hat Kid) and Proto Kid.

Both have lived in Calcite for all their lives, Natalie was born to unknown parents and Proto was created by tim the CEO of Time in order to serve him. 2HT Bow moved here with her family when Natalie was around 3 and the two became good friends.

Natalie shares Caitlyn's personality minus a decently sized chunk of trauma.

Proto is more serious than Natalie and is generally more level headed, always focused on the task at hand. The problem is she is terrfied of failure since unlike Natalie she was created to serve, not born to a loving family.

It has been a few months since Tim's first meltdown.

Proto, Natalie and Bow had the privalidge of being under Tim's protection when the mafia arrived, 2HT Mustache Girl (or Mu) wasn't lucky. They also had the privalidge of being the first to explore 1HT Mafia Town just after the cataclysm.

Proto was the first to accuse Caitlyn of causing the cataclysm and caught up in pursuing her that Caitlyn literally shoved her in a freezer (alongside Jar Cavus) when the two forgave each other following Caitlyn's pardon.

Like Caitlyn, Natalie is really damn strong but like young Caitlyn her strength is RNG based. Proto isn't though and has to rely on agility.

Natalie does talk but is often shy, 2HT Bow does all the speaking and Proto never speaks (its kinda a 'I have no mouth and I must scream' situation).

3HT Hat Kid

her origins, real name and story are unknown but she is known to be 168 years old (or 12 in Terran years), meaning she shares Natalie's age. Unlike Natalie However 3HT Hat Kid is a huge piece of shit, forged by the world around her.

Singlehandedly abused the power of all the Time Pieces in order to make herself God, fuelled by years of repressed rage and anger she mashed three universes together and became a god in her quest to reset things to give herself a better life.

It is unknown how she ended up this way but due to 3HT Snatcher also surviving a rough guess can be made.

Following her defeat, 3HT Hat Kid layed low for a while before having the unfortunate exprience of encountering a certain thoroughly pissed off old Timeline keeper by the name of Lady Puella who proceeded to butcher the child in a manner so horrific that it would make death by Vita Carnis Harvester look tame in comparrision.

[kitlcuis]

[ mitch grassi, demiboy, flexible pronouns, 20 ] SEDATED by HOZIER? whenever i hear that song, it reminds me of CHRISTOPHER 'KIT' LOUIS. maybe because they’re ETHEREAL but also ABSTRACTED. they’ve been living at mulberry apartments since SEPTEMBER of 2018 in APARTMENT 203 and have 1 ROOMMATE.

tws – substance use/abuse, toxic relationships, & v brief mention of homophobia

here is darling kit. he’s slightly more of a mess than his sweet little face may give off and i hope you accept a bit of chaos here because… kit does not come quietly! anyways!! also this is a lot longer than i intended so skip to the bottom if you’d like a SUMMARY

hails from one of the northern states on the west coast. he grew up in a strict religious household which felt stifling and limiting from as early as age 4 when he had to wear a bowtie to easter mass when he wanted to wear one of the cute flowery bonnets the girls got to wear

christopher had a very rigid childhood for this reason. his family lived comfortably but it was only perfect on the surface. underneath the glamour of the picturesque family unit there were cracks – splintering shards that would eventually drive a wedge between the louis parents and their only child

kit knew pretty early on that he wasn’t straight – ironically enough, getting the idea from all the anti-gay rhetoric from the church. it gave him the keywords he needed to uncover things like homosexuality and genderfluidity. he also knew to keep it quiet and kept himself securely closeted

figured it was meant to be a secret – kind of like the secret affair his father was having! or the secret gambling problem his mother was so desperate to hide and blamed on faulty record keeping!

basically, the crux of kit’s childhood is that it sucked and he never felt like he got to be a kid. he was smothered.

kit’s first breaking point came at a young age. he had a childhood friend from church who he had gotten super close to. this friend was very whimsical and sweet – flamboyant some would say but hey! they were children!!! kit was very amazed by this friend’s ability to just BE HIMSELF!

his parents, however, were less amazed and especially as the two grew to be preteens and stayed just as close (maybe even sharing an innocent kiss as friends), they got more and more concerned. so concerned, in fact, that eventually, they insisted kit end the friendship. it was devastating, especially since this friend had been teaching kit so much about self expression and confidence and just :’(

but he listened and buried his anger, saving it for only a few short years later when it would all come to a head.

kit had his first “real” romantic kiss at age 14. the boy was older and cooler and kit knew he couldn’t go back into the closet after that. he brought that boy home a few more times, half hoping to get caught just so he wouldn’t have to come out. eventually things fizzled out but kit had had a taste and now he wanted MORE

more boys made their rounds through the louis residence and it wasn’t until kit was doing a little more than kissing that he was finally caught. it was as bad as he’d expected, the shouting match. what he HADN’T expected, though, was the ultimatum. stop this ‘gay business’ or move out. he was only a teen still? couldn’t they even do that, legally?

luckily – or unluckily as it would be – kit had met someone older who had a place of his own in california and he offered to let kit come and stay with him. they’d start dating and kit would even say this was his first love.

it wasn’t some fairytale though – it never was. showing his love for his new beau became sexual extremely fast and would start including doing favors for his friends and coworkers too. kit let it happen because at least he was free of his parents and living with someone who loved him

he put up with three years of increasingly toxic conditions in his relationship with his boyfriend essentially capitalizing on his willingness to please, not knowing that would soon run out.

if you stifle kit too completely, he breaks and that’s what happened.

one day, he snapped, he took his things and left. he was completely homeless and streetbound but he was living life according to his own choices for once and it came with a kind of thrill that kept kit motivated!

he turned to sex work of his own volition, finding it as a stable way of making money, despite the dangers involved. it was all he felt he was qualified for and he was good at it. without need of any authority over him, he made decent money at it and started skulking around seedy bars in the outer LA area for men who would take him home for a good time

that’s where he met his now-boyfriend, julian. before julian, kit would’ve sworn he’d never find someone, never get a crush, never fall in love. one night and kit was questioning everything. a few more and he was hooked harder than any drug could ever get him.

eventually, though, him and julian did fall in love and they’ve been dating ever since. he stopped his sex work entirely & the drugs julian enjoyed slowly became a part of their time together and that’s still very true today. they’re kind of as dependent on it as they are on each other.

kit knows most things about julian’s past and julian knows most things about kit’s past. they’re kindred spirits, both getting their starts way too young and both finding hardships along the way. kit has never smiled as much, laughed as much or loved as much as he has since finding julian so while jules will swear up and down that he’s ruined kit forever by getting him hooked on all kinds of substances, kit thinks julian’s saved his life

they were following one of kit’s elated impulses and taking a road trip from coast to coast and back again on all the money they had left in this run down little jeep station wagon thing when it broke down in north carolina

they got it up and running enough to make their way up to baltimore but then the jeep gave up completely. they sold it for parts and that + julian’s drug money was enough to pay a deposit on an apartment of their own

so now they’re here!!

they’re living on the bare minimum / mattress on the floor type of struggling but they are in love and that’s what matters right? 

SUMMARY – a rough childhood and an even rougher teendom eventually led to one toxic ex boyfriend and a life on the streets. kit found renewed purpose with his now-boyfriend julian who also happened to turn him into a gleeful little druggie along the way. living with no money but a whole lot of love. okay now

PERSONALITY – enigmatic might be a good way to describe kit. he’s fidgety and easily startled, a very frail little thing. he’s off in his own head a lot of the time and he genuinely has a hard time focusing on things. VERY guarded in that you won’t get a peep out of him and his personal life unless you want to talk about his boyfriend who he’ll wax poetic about for hours if you let him. otherwise, he’s social and chatty but about nothing of substance, flirty but with no intention of following through and impulsive to a fault. he’ll make you think you’re his best friend for the evening but not remember you in the morning. only those super close to him get to see a sweet vulnerable side to kit, the rest see this feigned alluring aura and nothing more

PLOTS

party friends – a MUST

some loose circle of friends in general for him and julian!

a good influence ( gonna be a song connection eventually )

protective friends ( though misguided bc he won’t really listen )

smoking buddies

honestly i think it’d be funny if someone didn’t like him bc he flirted with their boyfriend

and alternatively, the boyfriend he flirted with

someone with an instant crush / love at first sight bond with the very taken kit

someone who can develop into his best friend

aaaaaand people him nd julian kinda corrupt. they’re a chaotic force as a duo so rip

oh ig eventually he’s gonna try to make cash the only way he knows how so thats… a possibility

if YOU have any ideas, lemme know!

[illuminction-blog]

*  mitch grassi, age 21, he/they  | oh, them? that’s christopher ‘kit’ louis. they’ve lived in carina bay for, like, one week. last time i spoke to them they were unemployed, and if i remember correctly, they’re a gemini. seeing them around always makes me think of tattered sleeves pulled down over shaking hands, a coquettish cheshire cat’s grin, a mattress on the floor of an empty room with constellations of fairy lights strung overhead.

tws -- substance use/abuse, toxic relationships, & v brief mention of homophobia

four muses... what am i doin’ falling a little too in love with carina + writing intros, i guess??  but here is darling kit. he’s slightly more of a mess than his sweet little face may give off and i hope you accept a bit of chaos here in the sleepy town of carina bay because... kit does not come quietly! anyways!! also this is a lot longer than i intended so skip to the bottom if you’d like a SUMMARY

hails from one of the northern states on the west coast. he grew up in a strict religious household which felt stifling and limiting from as early as age 4 when he had to wear a bowtie to easter mass when he wanted to wear one of the cute flowery bonnets the girls got to wear

christopher had a very rigid childhood for this reason. his family lived comfortably but it was only perfect on the surface. underneath the glamour of the picturesque family unit there were cracks -- splintering shards that would eventually drive a wedge between the louis parents and their only child

kit knew pretty early on that he wasn’t straight -- ironically enough, getting the idea from all the anti-gay rhetoric from the church. it gave him the keywords he needed to uncover things like homosexuality and genderfluidity. he also knew to keep it quiet and kept himself securely closeted

figured it was meant to be a secret -- kind of like the secret affair his father was having! or the secret gambling problem his mother was so desperate to hide and blamed on faulty record keeping!

basically, the crux of kit’s childhood is that it sucked and he never felt like he got to be a kid. he was smothered. 

kit’s first breaking point came at a young age. he had a childhood friend from church who he had gotten super close to. this friend was very whimsical and sweet -- flamboyant some would say but hey! they were children!!! kit was very amazed by this friend’s ability to just BE HIMSELF! 

his parents, however, were less amazed and especially as the two grew to be preteens and stayed just as close, they got more and more concerned. so concerned, in fact, that eventually, they insisted kit end the friendship. it was devastating, especially since this friend had been teaching kit so much about self expression and confidence and just :’(

but he listened and buried his anger, saving it for only a few short years later when it would all come to a head.

kit had his first kiss at age 14. the boy was older and cooler and kit knew he couldn’t go back into the closet after that. he brought that boy home a few more times, half hoping to get caught just so he wouldn’t have to come out. eventually things fizzled out but kit had had a taste and now he wanted MORE

more boys made their rounds through the louis residence and it wasn’t until kit was doing a little more than kissing that he was finally caught. it was as bad as he’d expected, the shouting match. what he HADN’T expected, though, was the ultimatum. stop this ‘gay business’ or move out. he was only a teen still? couldn’t they even do that, legally?

luckily -- or unluckily as it would be -- kit had met someone older who had a place of his own in california and he offered to let kit come and stay with him. they’d start dating and kit would even say this was his first love. 

it wasn’t some fairytale though -- it never was. showing his love for his new beau became sexual extremely fast and would start including doing favors for his friends and coworkers too. kit let it happen because at least he was free of his parents and living with someone who loved him

he put up with three years of increasingly toxic conditions in his relationship with his boyfriend essentially capitalizing on his willingness to please, not knowing that would soon run out.

if you stifle kit too completely, he breaks and that’s what happened. 

one day, he snapped, he took his things and left. he was completely homeless and streetbound but he was living life according to his own choices for once and it came with a kind of thrill that kept kit motivated!

he turned to sex work of his own volition, finding it as a stable way of making money, despite the dangers involved. it was all he felt he was qualified for and he was good at it. without need of any authority over him, he made decent money at it and started skulking around seedy bars in the outer LA area for men who would take him home for a good time

that’s where he met his now-boyfriend, julian. before julian, kit would’ve sworn he’d never find someone, never get a crush, never fall in love. one night and kit was questioning everything. a few more and he was hooked harder than any drug could ever get him.

eventually, though, him and julian did fall in love and they’ve been dating ever since. he stopped his sex work entirely & drugs slowly became a part of their time together and that’s still very true today. they’re kind of as dependent on it as they are on each other.

kit knows about julian’s past and julian knows about kit’s past. their kindred spirits, both getting their starts way too young and both finding hardships along the way. kit has never smiled as much, laughed as much or loved as much as he has since finding julian so while jules will swear up and down that he’s ruined kit forever by getting him hooked on all kinds of substances, kit thinks julian’s saved his life

they were following one of kit’s elated impulses and taking a road trip from coast to coast and back again on all the money they had left in this run down little jeep station wagon thing when it broke down in carina bay

so now they’re here!! 

SUMMARY -- a rough childhood and an even rougher teendom eventually led to one toxic ex boyfriend and a life on the streets. kit found renewed purpose with his now-boyfriend julian who also happened to turn him into a gleeful little druggie along the way. living with no money but a whole lot of love. okay now

PERSONALITY -- enigmatic might be a good way to describe kit. he’s fidgety and easily startled, a very frail little thing. he’s off in his own head a lot of the time but not in a cutesy daydreamy way (like pip) and more he genuinely has a hard time focusing on things. VERY guarded in that you won’t get a peep out of him and his personal life unless you want to talk about his boyfriend who he’ll wax poetic about for hours if you let him. otherwise, he’s social and chatty but about nothing of substance, flirty but with no intention of following through and impulsive to a fault. he’ll make you think you’re his best friend for the evening but not remember you in the morning. only those super close to him get to see a sweet vulnerable side to kit, the rest see this feigned alluring aura and nothing more

PLOTS 

obviously he’s only been here a week so past plots depend on your muses time on the west coast BUT: 

party friends -- a MUST

some loose circle of friends in general for him and julian! 

a good influence

protective friends ( though misguided bc he won’t really listen ) 

smoking buddies

honestly i think it’d be funny if someone didn’t like him bc he flirted with their boyfriend

and alternatively, the boyfriend he flirted with

someone with an instant crush / love at first sight bond with the very taken kit

someone who can develop into his best friend

wait help them find a crummy apartment someone

aaaaaand people him nd julian kinda corrupt. they’re a chaotic force as a duo so rip

oh ig eventually he’s gonna try to make cash the only way he knows how so thats... a possibility

if YOU have any ideas, lemme know!