Fear locked away in the basement of your mind

At least one post a week. Whenever I have time. Inbox: 3

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The monster under your bed exists only if you believe in it.

It begs for you to remember it.

This is a tiny place where one overworked person shares headcanons about Pitch Black. I base all my assumtions on movie version of him. Headcanons posted here don't pretend to be true canon or anyhting. It's just thoughts spoken outloud.

So, the end goal to sketch for 40 days at least.

There will be uncomfortable themes.

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Ancient manifestation of horror cannot be frightened by ao3. Disturbed, however...

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Day 9: Mutualism Okay, I told I'd show my OC x Canon thing sooner or later, so here it is. Maybe I should turn it into separate AU or something.

The Author & The Muse: Fear cannot be killed nor cannot be truly contained. However, when it breaks out, it will be too late - too many generations have passed for anyone to remember it. Yet, there are those in this world who can see spirits even as adults. Or hypothetical scenario where Pitch somehow got out of his underground prison only to find he's fading even faster than before. Weakened by years of torture, he roams the world aimlessly until he stumbles on a human that was blessed- or cursed- by the Moon with vision. So he's made a plan to revive his influence, this time with the aim of humans themselves, something Guardians can't fight against. Nuance is that precious human is overworked stressed person with little to no free time. They strike a deal - he makes her famous writer of horror novels and she makes him known to people again. ...Anyway, they are forced to start with ao3 and fanfics. Yeah.

If you don't want to see this block this tag -> #The Author & The Muse

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Day 8: Claws Big oversight not to give him claws in canon! How is he supposed to scratch furniture at night to make scary noises without it?

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Do you ship Blacksand?

Nah, I don't ship anyone in rotg. I see relationship between Sandy and Pitch more like... Old fight between siblings. An unresolved family conflict between non-human entities. In my vision they're both different from the rest of the cast as they are both concepts given form. And that very thing makes them similar to each other in nature. Pitch sees it as an insult, at the same time acknowledging only Sandy out of everyone. Sandy saw it as an opportunity to become, if not friends, then at least colleagues, before Pitch ruined potential relationship with his selfishness. So now Sandy's reaction is "not this guy again" when Pitch does something stupid and dangerous to everyone. At the very best, if Pitch stopped being mean, they could at least tolerate each other. Something like this I tried to write in this headcanon about Halloween. Anyway! To answer the question with all my heart - I do have a silly OC x Canon thing going on... Which I didn't show yet. But I will. Probably soon enough.

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Day 7: Companionship

What could be better than a companion created by your own hand?

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Day 6: Halloween

Halloween is a bittersweet time for our beloved shadow. Perhaps the only time he's allowed to do anything he wants without consequences. Doesn't mean he won't dramatically complain about modern view on fear though.

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Day 6: Halloween

(All pages under the cut)

Halloween is a bittersweet time for our beloved shadow. Perhaps the only time he's allowed to do anything he wants without consequences.

Doesn't mean he won't dramatically complain about modern view on fear though.

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I can totally see both scenarios! But, to be honest, I don't think Pitch physically eats. His source of sustenance is fear and anxiety, and he doesn't need to literally consume anything. Moreover, he loves himself too much to put anything physical in his mouth, let alone swallow it. I'd say he finds eating repulsive. It's below him to eat like a human, not to mention his construction won't allow him taste things. However! It's doesn't mean he wouldn't imitate eating as an act of intimidation or mockery. I can imagine Pitch eating the cookies kids left for Santa, just to mock North and elfs. And then spitting everything afterwards when no one is looking. xD Human food? Inside him? Disgusting!

Unlike him Nightmares are wiling to swallow everything that gets into their maw without a second thought. They'd even beg for it like a puppy, be it sweets, meat, tiny fairies or literally anything. ...Though things was very different in ancient times. In this headcanon I called Pitch "a mouth in a mouth in a mouth, willing only to consume" for a reason. He was consuming everything and anything he could reach, including other lower spirits or entire species.

There's still that old hunger in his mind, but now it's hunger for power instead of... Well, flesh and spirit.

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Day 5: Shared joy

I like the idea that these magical beings love horses. For no particular reason.

[sweetsparkle03]

Evening Stock (Matthiola longipetala)

Symbolizes lasting beauty, enduring affection, contentment, and joy.

Blooms during the night releasing a fresh perfume scent.

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Day 4: Betrayal Nevermind him, he's just a little jealous.

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You know, the reason I like the movie is how strange and... Cruel movie's world system is.

There is a god-like creature in the world - Man in the Moon or MIM or just the Moon. It gives life to spirits who must perform certain tasks and embody certain ideas in order for people, mostly children, to become better versions of themselves (?). However, the Moon is unable or unwilling to communicate directly with his creations. The only known method of communication is at the North's base through some device. So spirits were previously unable to communicate with their creator at all?

At the same time, spirit's own existence is heavily dependent on people's belief in the idea they represent and in spirit's name specifically, otherwise spirits will become invisible or completely disappear as time passes. (It's going to be somewhat long speculation, so the rest is hidden under the cut)

Jack hadn't received any instructions for 300 YEARS. He didn't understand his purpose, what he was supposed to do so children could see and interact with him. The Moon hadn't explained anything to him and hadn't informed the Tooth Fairy that Jack needed to regain his memories. The Moon hadn't even told the Guardians why exactly Jack was chosen. I'm going to assume Jack's desire to hang out with children is instilled in him by the Moon, and this desire is shared by all the spirits, including Pitch. All of them are bound to this system. Due to Pitch's actions in the movie the fairies fail to perform their duties for some short (!) time and lack of belief reaches the point where Tooth's palace begins to crumble. This means that Tooth must perform her duties flawlessly FOREVER just to ensure her survival. The same goes to Sandy and Pitch, as the night on the planet never ends, they must move along with it and craft dreams/nightmares to survive. The Guardians are so busy with their work that they can't hang out with the children properly, so the Moon had to summon Jack, who is the only one who knows the children's current interests. So let me summarize my vision: in life or after death you can get into a system that requires you to work forever in order to exist. You can't compete with other spirits for attention of kids, it's impolite or even dangerous. If children's opinions change or more promising spirits emerge, you must accept it and disappear.

It's such a horryfying and amazing world state that I'd like to see it develop in a hypothetical sequel. It was easy with Pitch, he is selfish and cruel, spreads fear, fights with other spirits, but what if the Moon decides that there's too much... Fun, for example? That children grow reckless, forgetting other important things? Also, it's implied it took some time for Pitch to learn how to create nightmares. And the Moon was probably aware of that, yet chose to do nothing until Pitch was powerful enough to do actual damage. The most frustrating part is that no one truly understands what the Moon even wants from them. Maybe he wanted Pitch to be redeemed? Or killed? Well, he seems to be fine seeing his possibly first creation being trapped and tortured by the nightmares for eternity. I guess that works out. So, I headcanon the Moon to be benevolent presence that cares about balance and humans. He either sees the future or presents to be all-seeing judge keeping the scales in checks for human evolution. Spirits are created only for this purpose. They are attached to the system of belief and love for humans, so that they have the motivation to do their work and share their ideals with the world. If one spirit decides to shift the balance Guardians must kick them out. You either sing along with the Moon or slowly perish. It's not like the Moon doesn't love his creations. He just prioritizes humans more. I don't want to make this already long post even longer, so I'll discuss Pitch and his place in this system another time. Anyway The Moon when one spirit shifts the balance a little too much:

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Day 3: Evolution

Fear had to come from somewhere, right?

Primordial fear

Inherent feeling in all living creatures. No shape, no mind, no identity, only a presence manifested by moonlight.

Beastly fear

The distant ancestors of humans form the first tribes out of fear of being consumed by bigger predators.

The first shape reflects that - a mouth in a mouth in a mouth, willing only to consume. Deep dread with no self-awareness.

A spark of an idea

Memories appear in dreams, giving rise to ideas. First human dreams of comfort.

Tribal fear

More complex tribes, language, culture, and most importantly, legends have been formed. Adults warned children not to go into the pitch black darkness, as something cunning awaits them there. Or so humans imagined.

Changes in people have led to changes in form, he resembles a human more than a beast. First name is given, self-awareness and intelligence comes with it.

He pushes humans to evolve further, making them imagine good and bad spirits. Unknowingly he makes soil for new spirits and his own demise in far future.

Wish woven into a dream

All people wish for comfort and new knowledge. Their imagination is limitless, which can be realized in their dreams. Unconscious threads of golden sand gift people what they need the most in times of desperation.

Modern fear

Full self-awareness has been gained, and with it, emotional intelligence and conscious desires. A personality with it's own (annoying) character has been formed. He no longer remembers how to be that old dread or how to change his form, ultimately reduced to the monster under the bed. The only things he can do is manipulate shadows and his own size and, much later, poison dreamsand with fear.

Emotional intelligence had terrible consequences - embodiment of fear became afraid himself.

Modern dream

Sandy's influence has replaced fear with hope, wonder and creativity for many centuries. To this day he is the most powerful spirit. Even if defeated he'll find a way to return, as human imagination has no limits.

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@victoriadeyheris Good question 🤔 In his current weak state, Pitch amplifies existing fears, even if he doesn't understand them. What he can't describe in words, he will show/let child hear/let child feel by manipulating their senses. After all, he is the personification of an inner feeling. Eldritch horror, in a way. It's humans who strive to find a rational explanation for their inner feelings, but he unravels their minds, brings out what they fear and simply shows it to them with some performance. It doesn't matter to him where the fear of holes (trypophobia) comes from, for example. If it scares some sensetive folks, it works and he's fine with it. I can guess Sandy's powers work on the same principle, but in reverse, focusing on things that make people comfortable, even if he personally finds some comfortable things disturbing. I believe this could lead to awkward-comical situations between manifestation of fear and manifestation of dreams.

Man, he would have made a great therapist if he hadn't been feeding on fear(

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Day 2: Everyday fears

I think Pitch rarely interacts with adults directly, as their fears are very mundane. This doesn't mean he doesn't send nightmares or feed on their nervousness, it just kinda offends him that fear of shadows and monsters has been replaced by fear of an open faucet or rent prices.

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Day 1: Inspiration

His whispers can provoke people to act, but he never commands directly. On the contrary, he has learned all the variations of cruelty from humans over the centuries, using the inspiration he received in future whispers and nightmares. In a sense, he learns along with civilizations.