🐑: “I don’t understand, I— what happened? I don’t understand!”
🌙: “I know you’re all confused, scared, and upset, but with the situation, we have to work with the little information we have.”
🍓: “What information?! That fucker won’t tell us anything! He killed seventy percent of us then dragged Dyle off to hide from responsibility with him! Do you even understand what’s happening? Do you even know what you’re talking about?”
🌙: “Sprout—“
🧃: “He was right behind me. I never took my eyes off of him. where’s my brother?”
🌼: “You always have made excuses for him, Astro. So, come on, entertain us. What’s the story this time?”
🍓: “Dandy’s right. I don’t understand what you gain from covering up for him. But if you’re hiding something, tell us, god damn it!”
🌙: “I’m not—“
🍓: “Your son is dead, Astro! Orion is gone because you can’t stop pretending to be the logical one whenever it comes to him! Hell, you’re even starting to sound like him! “Oh, I’ve got it all under control.” “Oh, just trust me.” “Oh, I can fix this.” But what is there to fucking fix?”
🍨: “Sprout, that’s enough.”
🍓: “Your best friend is missing, Mabel. She could be dead. She could be food for that *monster* by now. Is it really?”
🍨: “Can’t you see we’re all stressed? We’re just as desperate for answers as you are! Don’t act so entitled!”
🍓: “Someone has to wake you ignorant fuckers up!”
*(the TV screen crackles to life as the VHS is inserted.)
☀️: “Hello? Is it on? Let me—“
*(he straightens the camera’s angle.)
☀️: “There we are. Ahem— Hello. My name is Solaris. Today’s date is July 28th, 2010, three years since the unfortunate shutdown of Gardenview, and this is attempt #3 of the key to restoring our reputation.”
*(the camera shifts to the right, panning to a small clump of black cells floating in a large test tube, occasionally stretching and pressing against the glass.)
☀️: “Condition: stable. If my calculations are correct, due to the.. unfavorable conditions of its creation, it’ll need an excess amount of ichor to grow into a functional toon. My mistake last time, if I had to guess, was restricting its feeding. But, like always, I learn, I grow, I improve. Ah, what would Gardenview be without me?”
*(he reaches off screen to grab a syringe filled with a strange orange substance that clings to the tube and hardly moves unless prompted.)*
☀️: “This is life gel, one of the key components to creating a toon. I’ve only discovered it within the internal systems of toons, but extracting even a small amount weakens them greatly. Thank goodness it regenerates, otherwise I doubt my dear Dyle would still be breathing by now. Bless him for his sacrifice. Now, how many drops was it? Two, three..”
*(the cells react, nearly tripling in size and shifting form rapidly.)
☀️: “Hm. The response is good, but such an accelerated growth rate could lead to deformities during the maturing stage. I’ll have to be careful.. anywho, I should wrap this up. I only have so much time to spend vlogging.”
*(VHS end.)
about life gel in srm
what it is:
life gel is a thick, viscous, orange substance found within and around the “bone” structure of toons. it’s essential for functions such as motor coordination, muscle strength, walking, and breathing. attached to a toon’s “heart” lies a pouch of tissue containing more life gel than would be found anywhere else in the body, at the cost of being extremely dangerous and often fatal to sample if you’re not careful.
discovery:
Solaris first became curious about life gel and the idea of creating a new toon himself after discovering a slightly torn water damaged toon anatomy sheet in Arthur’s old office around six months after Gardenview’s shutdown.
extraction process:
toon anatomy may appear simple, but it is far more complex than humans. at least three years of surgical experience and clearance from delilah keen and arthur walton is necessary. this procedure is only to be performed in extreme situations where no other option is available.
the first step to removing life gel from a toon’s body is ensuring they are unconscious via heavy medication. next, make a 2.5 inch incision on the chest cavity just above the heart. cut through the ribs, and once the heart is in view, make a cut into the life gel pouch. remove no more than 0.5 ml of the substance. any more could lead to: a comatose state, permanent brain damage, or death.
consequences:
prolonged direct exposure to life gel can lead to detrimental effects for both toons and humans. while it is harmless inside the body, if removed and not stored properly in a warm, humid environment, it reacts to the air around it negatively and expands rapidly, spreading like a virus. it infects toons via forcing itself into their bodies and replacing up to 60% of the ichor inside. an excess amount of life gel leads to rapid growth spurts, increased strength, and loss of autonomy, and once mixed with ichor, creating abominations.
