ᴵⁿᵗʰⁱˢ ​🇭​​🇴​​🇺​​🇸​​🇪

ᶜᵃⁿ ʷᵉ ʷᵃᵗᶜʰ ˢᵒᵐᵉᵗʰⁱⁿᵍ ¿ʎddɐɥ

[skincmrinks]

🏠 SKINCMRINKS : indie , private , semi-selective , canon & oc multimuse blog surrounding nostalgia-horror media . 🇻​​🇮​​🇪​​🇼​​🇪​​🇷​ ​🇩​​🇮​​🇸​​🇨​​🇷​​🇪​​🇹​​🇮​​🇴​​🇳​ ​🇮​​🇸​ ​🇦​​🇩​​🇻​​🇮​​🇸​​🇪​​🇩​ . remembered by jamface .

🄲🄾🄽🅃🄰🄸🄽🅂 : the terror of being a child . forgotten things given a second chance but remembered incorrectly . the things that go bump in the night . the horrors vs. the indomitable human spirit .

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current google docs . // blogroll. // icons. // psd. // header. // 18+ .

canon muses : courage ( courage the cowardly dog ) enoch ( otgw ) , king boo ( mario / luigi's mansion ) , scp- 2295 / kairos the bear ( scp foundation ) , julius / cartoon cat ( the alice comedies / trevor henderson ) , sophie & teddy ( out of sight game ) , pianosaurus ( poppy playtime ) oc muses : "flower kid , " ( smile for me game ) playtime reaper ( poppy playtime ) test muses : angel chick , ken the butcher (the gaslight district) , the bride (the haunted mansion ride) , gwen ( knights of guinevere ) , bubble/able ( the amazing digital circus ) , knowhere ( the island of doctor morose )

[busyw0man]

⋆｡‧˚ʚ💋ɞ˚‧｡⋆ 𝐢 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐧’𝐭 𝐬𝐥𝐞𝐩𝐭

❝ i’m fine. just... blurry. ❞

❝ how long have i been awake? ❞

❝ i’m not even tired anymore. that’s the scary part. ❞

❝ sorry, what were you saying? i spaced out. ❞

❝ do my eyes look as bad as they feel? ❞

❝ i swear i just blinked. was that a nap? ❞

❝ i think my thoughts are melting. ❞

❝ caffeine is basically my blood type at this point. ❞

❝ i can’t tell if i’m hallucinating or dreaming with my eyes open. ❞

❝ i should sleep. but if i stop, i’m afraid i won’t start again. ❞

❝ don’t let me fall asleep here. seriously. ❞

❝ i’m running on fumes and bad decisions. ❞

❝ every time i close my eyes, it feels like i’m falling. ❞

❝ i forgot what rested feels like. ❞

❝ if i sleep, i’ll miss everything. ❞

❝ i’m too tired to be mad… so congrats, i guess. ❞

❝ i can’t think straight. not with this fog in my head. ❞

❝ my body’s here, but the rest of me checked out hours ago. ❞

❝ sleep is a luxury i can’t afford right now. ❞

❝ i think i’m dreaming. wait... am i dreaming? ❞

❝ my nightmares are waiting for me. i’d rather stay awake. ❞

❝ i need to rest, but resting feels like surrender. ❞

❝ there’s no peace when i close my eyes. ❞

❝ i’m scared to sleep. i’m scared of what’s waiting in the dark. ❞

❝ i can’t stop. if i do, everything falls apart. ❞

❝ don’t ask if i’m okay—just lie with me for a little while. ❞

❝ i didn’t mean to snap. i’m just... so tired. ❞

❝ sleep doesn’t help anymore. it just delays the crash. ❞

❝ the world feels louder when you haven’t slept. ❞

❝ i’m unraveling, thread by thread. ❞

❝ every second awake feels like it’s clawing at my brain. ❞

❝ i’m afraid if i close my eyes, you’ll be gone when i wake up. ❞

❝ i’ve been running on survival mode for too long. ❞

❝ this isn’t living, this is drifting. ❞

❝ sometimes being awake hurts less than the dreams. ❞

❝ i don’t know if i’m tired or if i’m just... done. ❞

❝ my thoughts keep looping like a broken record. ❞

❝ i keep thinking maybe i’ll rest when it’s all over. ❞

❝ i can’t sleep. not when you’re still hurting. ❞

❝ i keep waiting for morning, but it never comes. ❞

❝ my body aches like grief. ❞

❝ i’m holding on. barely. ❞

❝ i’m so tired, i forgot why i started this. ❞

[visual-oddities]

[whatevcr-us]

Howard can't help it, he goes and he huffs, ready to fall into all his rebuffs - then the tail pokes and he lets out a squeal, and down goes the gun to clatter at his feet, though his hands momentarily scramble for it. It's true he cannot be trusted with anything worse than a rubber-stick slingshot.

"If making me wish to beat your game is your aim, then I guess you'll succeed." Cause he's going to show this cat! Philip will be freed. He doesn't rightly know what he's going to show him. Just that he can eventually have something to be smug about, too! He'll save Philip, how about that!

Doesn't matter that his face is beet-red. The gun is...slippery! His hands are sweating. But the tears are gone, stopped in their tracks. Why does his chest suddenly twist in a...laugh?

So the cat admits he might crash and burn! That's nice to know. "Please do not titter when the monsters say It's my turn."

If I get eaten, I'm blaming you, cat. He knows that's not fair, but that's where we're at!

[skincmrinks]

“ how i'll shudder at the sight . ”

this kid is IMPOSSIBLE to NOT tease .

knowhere doesn't laugh aloud . it stays rumbling deep inside his chest , but his golden eyes reveal everything : all shiny & squinty at the flustered boy as they slowly blink . less meanspirited & far more playful , almost like a wink .

“ break a leg , bub ! fight the good fight ! tick tock , cinderella , you've only got till midnight . ”

& stick with slingshots , texas red .

[pomnieranians]

It’s starting to dawn on him, why he gravitates to this place. Why he won’t leave it, why the dark is suddenly intoxicating instead of his worst fear?

I could have someone.

Maybe he does want to be one of them. Weightless, suspended in nothing. Nary a purpose, just a large hive mind. At least in death he can see all the faces that have shaped his existence in some way. Scratch. Mother…

I could be out of the way.

It doesn’t hurt, dying…. It’s so peaceful. They’re so peaceful. And they gather around him every time he comes down. Maybe….maybe…

I can fade away, not be anyone’s problem anymore.

His eyes have barely become hypnotic swirls when he feels himself wrenched backwards by strong hands. Hands? It finally dawns on him. “Bubble what—!? When did you-?!”

The words die on his tongue as his eyes take in the projection inside his friend’s mouth.

The words wash over him, his attempt to jerk away futile in Bubble’s iron grip. And everything he hears next distracts his future attempts.

He watches them, his precious little humans and every mishap they have, every time they fall and fall again, and how they’re always there for each other. Something he’ll never get. He’ll always have to be an observer outside looking in.

‘Do you hate yourself? I hated myself.’

‘I try too hard to get on their good side and then I just end up pushing them away! Then they end up hating me!’

The tears return, trembling at his eyelids as his fingers grip the other’s fangs like handlebars to brace himself as he leans further into the other’s mouth. (How ironic, the position they find themselves in. And he’ll never know.)

Why can they find this sympathy and love for each other but they can’t find it for me?!

‘I don’t want you to feel like you’re nothing. I don’t want anyone to feel like that.’

Nothing is all he feels like. All he wants to be. Why can’t they comfort him, and love him? Why will this never apply to him?

He doesn’t acknowledge in the moment that he’s never made himself an easy person to love, never tried to speak up, share their communal living space or join on an adventure. He’s made all kinds of effort in his programmed life, but not the right kind.

Caine finally just sobs, sagging into Bubble and gripping onto him as the tears pour down his brother’s reflective surface. He sobs and he sobs and he sobs, but…the edges of his gums curl up in watery gratitude.

”…I love you.”

Maybe something has gotten through.

[skincmrinks]

thank GOD . not referring to the bawling mess before him , clinging to his face like a lost little thing . able has only been on the receiving end of abstractions , never the preventor , & there's no way he's sharing that secret space with THIS character .

what would even happen to them ? after all , they're still conjoined at the code .

“ .... ”

still , there must be a sense of relief , even if the bubble's expression changes little . in the dark , perhaps , maybe something is holding caine in turn . stout hands to rub his back . a soft , round chest to weep into . maybe he could have cried with him . sometimes he wonders what could have been ... if things were different .

“ ...kdkfsdfgh. ”

well . you know what he means , caine .

[skincmrinks]

vibration intensifies

[skincmrinks]

big win for the cat because he beats the " silly character from a children's book means he can't withstand the brutality of this world's reality " sentiment & i think that's great .

like it absolutely weighs on his soul & literally required him to physically alter into something else , but at the core he's still VERY much himself . knowhere isn't the cat's "evil self" as it is his " locking in & fueled by spite " self .

that being said , it'd be very funny in a north shvizelton vs. south shvizelton scenario where it's haha silly cat & then boom . entity .

[yardsards]

but i stay silly! *←said in the most world-weary voice you ever did hear*

[fizzlepop-frog]

“but I stay silly!”

[sensiblereblogifposts]

Reblog you stay silly

[weaselle]

on it boss

[aviscranio]

Alice: Madness Returns (2011)

[skincmrinks]

if you're howard , you've got the right to find knowhere's methodology frustrating , even callous . but there's actual well-planned reasons in how he operates , & it's not for a trickster's entertainment .

it's all malicious compliance . even a friendly being can't just help , there are rules at bay . for their power to be lent , a price he must pay .

going off the cosmic horror narrative , it's old religion rules : everything HAS to be a bargain . fine . he'll play along . so the cat kills two birds with one stone : retrieve something from your past , something you'll have to confront again , something that will help strengthen your resolve , & i'll give you material aid in turn .

& even so , the cures are simple . a little this , a little that . he gives howie deeper pockets , stronger lungs , less knobbier knees... but all this is within the confines of what the human body can perform with proper preparation . why not just give him a huge power boost ? a sure-way to kick eldritch hindquarters ?

because that's exactly what the ancient ones sell : to be human is weak , to be human is rough . to only be human is never enough .

yeah , tiddly-tuff . that's what it is .

the cat firmly stands against that sentiment , & he'll prove it , too ! & even so , no amount of physical strength he could give our unlikely hero will be enough to overpower the elder . it's never about the material , despite what the ancient ones preach . he may be giving howie some physical aid , but it's training his human spirit that's the true help he gave .

[whatevcr-us]

not trying to bring him down. not trying to hurt you. He hears Philip, the words not exact but the meaning behind them true. And he'd known it, deep down. Philip didn't take the job to hurt him. His mother didn't die to punish him. They had their own lives and choices and it wasn't about him.

safety on, the gun's no more than a long, hunk of metal, like a broken pipe. Or perhaps a telescope, hugged in the arms of a skinny, wide-eyed boy that didn't know any better. What kid doesn't beg for new toys? He didn't know. it's not my fault!

The cat doesn't go all the way to gentle, all the way to comforting, but that smarmy, jazzy twirl in his voice is gone, replaced by something so grounding that Harold's heart aches to hear it. When was the last time someone spoke to him like that?

So maybe. Maybe he can accept the cat isn't his enemy. He can frame it in some...selfish way. For profit! For deals, for entertainment. But to want to see him succeed? Nobody wants that! The universe clearly doesn't want him to be happy.

A large sniff; disguised as an inhale. He doesn't cry. He's a grown man, a scientist, a man of logic.

"...And what if I fail?" One misstep, and it's an end to the tale. "What if your effort is wasted? what if you're putting your money on a defeat waiting to be tasted?"

[skincmrinks]

yes , he is grown . still with much ahead of him & so many places to go , but he is grown . too grown for the feline's nursery rhymes & whimsillious games . too grown to believe that goodwill exists just to exist , just as much as the ill . too grown to believe in friendship & the belief in oneself . too grown to cry . too grown to " just try . "

so ol' knowhere-to-look must be crafty in the way he teaches , if he's ever to wrangle this hard-heart whom he reaches . howard's all grown & he shall be treated as such .

well ... as much as knowhere's capable of treating him , anyway . sometimes he just can't help himself .

“ well , ” the cat chuckles , that familiar , insufferable grin upon his whiskered face .

“ that's all part of the ' game , ' isn't it lad ? to care is a gamble , a loss to be had . ”

like stealing a boat to rescue a friend , perhaps ? & maybe the whole world beyond the vast ? that's what those dusty , robed bums down there don't , won't , can't understand . the losses are devast-wasting , but a winnings ? oh , the winnings are all so , so grand .

“ —& all the more reason to be a brickle in your britch . ”

knowhere's tail elongates around howard like a devious snake to deliver a little poke right at the side of his stomach before retracting . for emphasis . he really can't help himself .

“ you wouldn't last half-a-minute lest i put you in this sitch . ”

[skincmrinks]

gotta good cat line-up , so here's a debriefing on their purring types . for science .

enoch's a small cat , & in turn has a very soft , very demure purr . he's just a little guy . it's often accompanied by happy trills .

julius' purr is rather labored , sounding less like a continuous sound & more cyclical with each breath he takes . still oddly pleasant ? even though him purring is more often than not done from stress .

knowhere sounds like a rocket engine . the kind you'd feel reverberate all in his chest , & yours to an extent . very low & smooth despite his habit of smoking .

bubble sounds like an old pc .

[xxthesmittenkittenxx--2]

Visit Original Link

“Togetherness I” -  Little Nightmares 2

[learnosaurus]

hug?

[skincmrinks]

you got it , bub . pat pat pat .

[skincmrinks]

y'know , i could put sophie in greatmaw .

[skincmrinks]

in relation to this post , but i got a feeling that after howard saw " all that there was & will be " after conking out cthulhu & somehow had a run-in with knowhere again , he'd see him for who he truly is .

[whatevcr-us]

a moment ago the gun was brandished like some hero from an old western flick, or perhaps the poor imitation of one. Now he's holding it vertical, clutched to his chest.

He's right, of course, there's really no point. Real, imaginary, a trick or a truth, this will all end. One way or another. He'll escape with Philip in his arms, or he'll die here, some grisly fate. And none of this will matter.

He hates this thing! And yet when he says he will leave, some panicked part of Howard's heart goes to seize. He's so familiar, though he can't place why.

Now those eyes are all shiny with unshed, angry tears; headless of the way the cat's have softened, how there's no attack in his words, at least, not in the way he thinks.

"don't do that - talk about them like they're tools you can use! So you can send me to find all your clues."

Howard loves them, endlessly it's true, but still in a selfish way, a way like he's yanking them away from others, no they're mine you can't do that!

"You can't tell me how you know, or whether you're a haunt," his voice is less demanding, more like a plead, "but can you at least tell me...what you want?"

[skincmrinks]

he was making a point . attempting to , anyway . but there his reluctant pupil goes again , jumping the gun— in a manner of speaking . again , the tail reaches to click on the safety this time , so howard doesn't blow his head off . honestly , he trusts that weapon in inexperienced hands more than he does the unhostile cat .

“ howard , ” knowhere says gently , almost a murmur . “ i've already told you that . ‘ to help you reach ' the end , ' ’ so said the odd blue cat . ”

but of course , the young man doesn't believe him . everything's out to get him , everyone's plotting a ruse , don't you see ? even away from the island's madness , it's all about what's best for me , me , me ! he won't get far with where his head's at .

but the cat sees the tear's threat & his innate nature threatens to bleed through . heavens , boy . what am i to do with you ?

“ ... i'm not trying to bring you down . ” he'll give him that . not judging , but something far more patient . an appreciative sort of pity , like careful hands trying to convince a frightened , trapped animal to be still ; but holding no blame for them continuing to struggling . terrified for their little life . a little life that those terrifying hands also finds to be of great value .

“ you don't understand now , but i bet you'll come around . ”

howard simply does what he knows . he just needs to learn , is all .