#lost guide

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Quick, before the month is over and (more importantly) before my brain jumps to a different fixation, I wanted to post a ref for at least one more character for that weird mutant-jellyfish universe thing I was going on about:

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Meet Susie, a young choir girl turned hostage due to her invaluable ability to heal decaying souls with her singing. Despite years of being exploited and disfigured Susie refused to let her own spirits be broken and was eventually able to mastermind her own escape.

Shortly after evading her captors, Susie happens upon an unusual hatted child in the skeletal remains of an old city. Seeing them as a kindred spirit who has also been exploited to the benefit of others, she ends up befriending the so-called Guide and the set off in search of a save haven far from any mutants or inorganic husks.

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I was gonna post the usual wall-of-text and go a bit more in-depth on Susie's character, but honestly I'm having some bad writer's block and I really don't want to withhold posting this any longer just because of that (it's literally been over a week since I finished the actual drawings man), so I'll spare y'all for now (I'll most likely come back to this and add a full bio once I can remember what words are again).

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So here's a random sorta-original character that was heavily inspired by the Little Nightmares games (haven't played the 2nd game yet but it's recent release rekindled my interest in the franchise). This was initially supposed to be a one-off character design and that's it (just wanted to create a funky little lighthouse-shaped child) but I ended up kinda sorta pouring just a little bit of thought into the world that this spooky kid lives in:

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After a plague of strange jellyfish-like creatures known as the psydaria overruns the world and begins warping any meat creatures they can get their tentacles on into bizarre cnidarian mutants, the majority of the remaining humans haphazardly replaced their flesh with whatever inorganic parts they could get their hands on to save themselves from a fate as a bunch of walking polyps. Unfortunately, these poorly-constructed bodies caused the human spirits within them to quickly decay, dooming them to an equally tragic fate as unfeeling husks with an insatiable need to "feast" on other spirits in order to experience any kind of emotion whatsoever.

To sate these spiritless husks, as well cleanse the world of the vile psydarian plague, a zealous character known only as the Father converted a number of formerly-human children into the Guides, believing their young spirits to be the only kind strong enough to remain optimistic in the wake of the tragedy that surrounds them. These disfigured and deluded children now carry the burden of braving the psydarian-infested depths, siphoning the "lost souls" off the infected and regurgitating them as fuel for the human husks.

But one Guide has gone astray and rejected the Father's plan, aware of their cursed existence and determined to free themselves by reclaiming what once belonged to them.

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Not much to say with regards to the Lost Guide themself, but here's a few bits of trivia I forgot to include:

- Has a rather polarized personality based on the state of their spirit; normally bubbly and playful, the Guide's mood takes a substantial shift to depressed and temperamental when their spirit is on the verge of decay.

- Despite needing to absorb spirits to sustain themself, the Guide seems to deliberatly fasting, even sparing hostile entities unless they are truly desperate or enraged.

- Likes to name the bizarre psydarian denizens they encounter, usually with poor pronunciation (examples include "Mister Pop-Lip" and "The Scoober Diver").

- Loves gazing at the stars in the night sky

[shortstoriesbyebonyxflo-blog]

Psychosis Unleashed - The Hospital

I awoke to find Dad, my aunt, Siobhan, and Suzi standing over me. I looked to Suzi.

*shh. I'm not really here, remember? You can just see me.*

I blinked my understanding.

"Ki, my sweet girl, say something."

"Something." I smiled at my own sarcasm.

My aunt stroked my hair, "Oh Lou, she's fine. That dose of sass straight out means she'll be out of here in no time."

"Hi Auntie."

"Baby girl what the hell were you thinking? Why would you--"

"Louis! Not yet."

"No," I did my best to sit up, "it's alright. Daddy deserves an explanation."

I looked at my father's bloodshot eyes, painted within a dark circle frame of exhaustion. I had confirmed his worst fear. His fear of losing me and not being able to get to me to assist me.

"I lost control of my social situation . . . and I let it get the better of me, but I am better now. I won't be doing anything stupid like this again."

My eyes had wandered, but I decided to make sure I stayed with his gaze as I reassured, "I will go for help with my depression from here on out so this doesn't happen again. You have my word."

My father shut his eyes and sighed relief.

"That's what I wanted to hear," he slumped into his chair,"that statement right there assures me she will get past this."

Siobhan looked back and forth between us real quick before expressing her confusion,"Did I miss something here?" Shock welled up in her face as she slowly turned towards me, eyes flaming, "Have you attempted suicide before?!"

"And yet I am the one who was supposedly being insensitive."

Suzi blinked down at me from the curtain rod in curiosity.

"When I had first started high school, I started cutting. Hence my permanent Tom Boy stage . . ." I hesitated. It was harder to talk about it to my aunt, because I could see the betrayal she felt.

"During my sophomore year I decided to cut down the tracks because Tatum Daniels broke up with me."

The realization crossed her face. "The year you said you had bad carpal tunnel? That was . . . "

I shook my head in consent. Suzi floated down, confused as to why she didn't know this.

"The first week of my senior year I overdosed on Carmela's mother's oxycodone . . . I was just under the limit that they could successful pump my stomach and revive me without inducing a full blown rejection in my body."

My aunt sat at the end of my bed, watching me closely. "And I guess that Michael bullying you caused that?"

"Yes. Which is why it is easier for me to let this go, because it is no different than the previous extreme I took when dealing with him."

My aunt looked at my father with question, "Why-"

"We shielded you because I didn't want to seem fragile to the rest of the world."

Suzi looked behind me and I knew that she wasn't the only one here, that I was no longer the only one explaining.

"It was something that I had to fight on my own and fortunately enough for me the ancestors have praised my continued existence."

"She means it Bhan. I am sure that this is the last time we will have this happen."

"My promise isn't just to Dad. It's to you as well," my aunt turned her gaze towards me, "I will seek help and assistance and I will not let this happen again. You have my word."

My aunt smiled. A weak smile, but enough for me to know that she understood now and trusted me.

Exhaustion overcame me and I laid back. My aunt stroked my hair out of my face. "I think that's enough truth for today. Get some rest."

I closed my eyes. Listening. Missing the look that my aunt exchanged with my father and instead tuning in on the conversation between Suzume and a Lost Guide.

I listened as a familiar voice that I had never met spoke.

-*I shielded this from you and your Mother so as to fulfill the fate that is meant for your sister. This doesn't make her weaker. This makes her stronger. This builds her so she is ready when the time comes to fight the demon that seeks to create unrest in the balance. 

Know that we will meet again. For as their is much to teach you and your sister about who and what we are and what we face.*-

. . . That was when I remembered that night. The night that I took a blade to my wrist and decided to pay back Tatum with my death. The night I met a voice in the darkness. A voice that gave me a message.

~* I'll save you this time, and the next. However, the third time will be your last. It will be someone else to guide you back to the light. You may not remember this until it is truly helpful, but know that you are meant for something greater. 

. . . You are meant to help us.*~