realized i haven't posted in a bit. uhm. go my random slenderverse idea thing
idea is that this is a universe where slenderman is a well known concept but there just so happens to be a real cryptid that shares a lot of likenesses with slenderman (by coincidence, or one inspired the other?)
Info under cut including the inspirations, and how this concept would work with the popular slender mythos, and the AU explanation (Long post)
Inspirations :
Dyer's polypore and fungus in general.
Fungi tend to be used as a basis for a lot of ecological horror, and that makes sense because it isn't a plant nor an animal, it mimics how plants function, the ingestion of fungi have a diverse range of effects and fungus reproduction can be extremely complex and eerily simple all at the same time.
I used dyer's polypore as the fungi of inspiration because it's a pathogenic fungus that causes rot in the roots of other plants that it shares a system with. The dyer's polyore is also a bright yellow when it's younger and turns a dark purple/brownish colour at the tops as the fruiting body age.
The main part of a fungus is its roots, the fruiting body is a very small part of the actual organism.
This is why in this design the mushroom part is small and really just to add some colour to the design.
Everything that isn't a mushroom is part of the root system, the idea is that Slender itself is an elongated skeleton, wrapped in roots, wrapped in a suit wrapped in another thin layer of roots.
Based off this post by @/fluffycreepynectarine.
💬 0 🔁 5 ❤️ 36 · Guess who got new focus medicine! >:D
How the sickness would work with this version of slender :
(Very similar to my addition to the linked post)
The sickness itself is spore inhalation from either a spore cloud from the Spawn Slender's Polypore or a person who has undergone late term metamorphosis into a Slender's Polypore.
Once a spore is inhaled, it takes root in the lungs and grows from there throughout the cardiovascular system.
For the first three months of infection there isn't a noticeable change in biology or psychology of the infected individual.
After about four months the psychological changes start, mainly being a form of psychosis, or other hallucinatory conditions.
These start off as a mild compulsion to isolate from society and head into forestry.
By the six month mark, these will develop into full scale paranoia that the infected individual is being stalked by the Spawn Slender's Polypore unless in dense forest, in which the individual will try to seek it out.
At seven months the internal roots start pushing outwards towards the skin, the process is extremely painful, however the roots induce a strong sedative that make the entire body numb, this can severely effect the individuals mental health.
At eight months the metamorphosis begins to make the individual a suitable host for the next Spawn Slender's Polypore. This begins by the roots covering the majority of the external skin, next the fruiting bodies start to grow.
The fungus take nutrients from the body and redistributes only enough to keep the host alive while the fungus itself takes the rest.
The individuals body will start lengthening, the roots start to replace bones by breaking them and filling in the gaps, it will do this slowly enough that muscle and sinew is able to heal and reattach to the new length.
If at nine months the individual has not been selected at the next host for the next Spawn Slender's Polypore. Then the metamorphosis stops, but doesn't reseed from it's current state, an individual may be anywhere from a centimeter to ten taller at this point.
The fruiting bodies start producing spores, so if the individual has not isolated themselves this is the earliest they become contagious.
At ten months a non spawn infected individual starts releasing spore clouds, that will infect other people.
It is likely they have still retained full sentience at this point and if they have this is when the hallucinations stop, however the compulsion to enter dense forest hasn't.
It is at this point that the fungus has entered the brain and they become part of the Spawn's system, this mean the Spawn can contact them at any point.
At the year mark, the roots have settled into the brain and the Spawn may be able to compel the infected to do actions and have thoughts that are not there own. It depends on their proximity to the Spawn.
At two years the Spawn can have full control over the individual regardless of where they are.
If the individual has survived the process up until this point, life expectancy depends on the individual and their ability to survive in such a state.
After the body dies, the fungus remains and turns all remaining energy into creating spores.
The spores themselves can remain fertile for approximately two months after release.
The spores are unable to pass through standard medical masks, but due to their fertile period if infected clothing isn't removed extremely carefully inhalation is still a large risk.
The Spawn.
If an individual is chosen to be a host of the next spawn they will be captured at the nine month mark by the current spawn.
They will be kept in a neglected building for several weeks as the metamorphosis takes place.
The roots will stop supplying the sedative unless they are in some way touching the Spawn's roots, then slowly will once again stop supplying the sedative until the roots are attached or entwined with the Spawn's.
This process can take up to several months depending on how resistant the individual is.
At some point the Spawn and the host are no longer considered separate entities as the minds and bodies mesh together. It is unclear whether the Spawn devours host, or the host devours spawn.
At the end of the process the single Spawn then emerges once more.
This transference only happens if the Spawn has been injured to an extent to justify the process.
The Spawn is able to continuously produce spores and spore clouds, anyone in direct contact with a spore cloud can fall under the Spawn's influence and is from that point infected.
There is no known anti-fungus, as it seems the fungus changes characteristics in each infected individual, this shows in how varied the fruiting bodies are once they sprout.
However the Spawn's fruiting bodies are always the same.
If a Spawn is killed and a host has not been selected, all infected individuals will start rapid metamorphosis and the first person to survive the pain and complete the transformation will become the next Spawn, but may need to find a new host quickly.
The Horror 1#: An Unstoppable Fungus :
The simple ecological horror of having a natural pathogen that can and will destroy everything in it's path.
It can be functionally immortal, you can't kill it in a way that matters.
It stalks through communities and leaves nothing but corpses in it's wake, loved ones go missing never to be seen again.
Infected individuals are compelled to stay in places their corpses will be found by many people.
The Horror 2#: A Sentient Rot :
This is if the Spawn itself is a fully sentient being in of itself, everything they touch is doomed to slowly rot and hollow out.
They might try to sooth the infected, help them survive, do the best they can to help those who seek them out, but there will always be that eternal guilt.
I imagine this version of the Spawn only selects a new host if the person has expressed they can't live with the infection any longer.
The Horror 3#: The Obvious Body Horror Metaphor :
This focuses on the individual, and the fungus can on it's own be the body horror at the forefront, but it's also extremely easy to use this concept as a launching point for something deeper.
(Abusive relationships, unwanted pregnancy, dysphoria, and many other those were just the ones I though of while writing this)
Do I plan on doing anything further with this?
No not really, this has just been an idea rotating in my head, however this version of Slender may cameo in a much larger project I'm doing in the background.
However if other people want to use this idea as a basis for an au or anything go ahead, that's the reason I've fleshed it out.
What is this AU called?
If I was doing anything further with it I would've just called it the Slender's Polypore AU because I'm bad at names, if someone has a better name use that.
