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
