This Game In A Nutshell. Pretty Much How It Went, Right? X’D

This game in a nutshell. Pretty much how it went, right? X’D

- THE CATERING -

All seemed normal in Night Raven College. Well, aside from the fact that it looks like time itself was stopped. Seemingly every student that attended this school remained motionless, stiff in one pose. It was as if they saw a glimpse of Medusa’s eyes and turned into stone. The root of this incident is eerily similar to that premise. But rather than making eye contact with the gorgon, they were caught in the sights of a certain Heartslabyul student.

The survivors called it “The Catering,” obviously named after the student, Cater Diamond. It’s quite a silly goofy title for such a horrifying event. I mean, it is a pun with his name.

This is a pretty long crackfic that was meant to be posted on halloween. I planned it to be a comic, but I had no time for that 🥲 Do let me know what you think!

(Click below for the full crackfic)

Idia Shroud remains to be one of the sole survivors of The Catering, staying hidden in his trademark hiding spot in Sam’s shop. He can’t help but stress over what was happening. It’s bad that the student population was slowly being converted into a dedicated recreation of the mannequin challenge, but it’s worse that the “mega extrovert” Cater Diamond was the source of this. If this was one of the apocalypse comics he read online, then this scenario was an S+ in difficulty.

Currently, Cater’s clones are running rampant throughout campus. Each one of them wielded a phone, seeking to take a photo of their next victim. One by one, these unfortunate students were forced to hold a plate and pose for the camera. Each snap and click lead to their eventual transformation, where they would remain stuck in the pose they were forced to take.

Now, how did this all happen?

It all started when Trey had just finished cooking a bunch of desserts in the Heartslabyul kitchen. Cater offered to serve and deliver the food, saying how he wanted to "cater" and let Trey take a break. Of course, Trey saw no problem with this, finding the idea of Cater doing the catering somewhat a funny concept, and let his buddy handle the food from there on. Thus, Cater invited his first victims in the kitchen, and they were the freshmen duo of the dorm: Ace Trappola and Deuce Spade.

The pair initially thought they'd be able to freely dig in with no cost. But no, Cater was insistent on snapping a few photos to commemorate this fine occasion. All they had to do was hold the plate full of food, smile for the camera, and remain as still as they could. This was so that Cater could snap a picture of the perfect shot. It sounded easy enough, so they were down for the task. Who says no to essentially free food after all?

Though, it became apparent that this simple task was much more difficult than they thought. For one, the plate was quite heavy. Not too heavy that it's hard to lift, but heavy in a sense that it puts a strain on your arms if you carry it for too long. Another thing was that Cater was adamant for that perfect shot.

A few photos turned into a bunch, evident with the clicking noise Cater’s phone made, and there was no sign of stopping at all. The shot had to be absolutely perfect according to Cater. This quick snapshot turned into a full blown photoshoot, which aggravated poor Ace and Deuce. Their smiles grew more weary with each passing photo.

They tried pleading with their upperclassman, yet he didn't seem to snap out of his trance. All Cater would do was snap, snap, snap. Good grief, all they just wanted was free food.

After a myriad of clicks and shots, they felt their muscles no longer cramping in pain. Rather, they felt at ease being in the pose they held for ages. Even the plate felt weightless, as if the food on it had disappeared into thin air. Little did they know that they were now undergoing the process of The Catering.

Cater was eventually satisfied with the shots he took, leading the pair to breathe out a sigh of relief. Except, they can't seem to do that. In a panic, Ace tried to move. No matter how much he tried to make himself move, he just couldn’t budge. It didn't even feel like his joints were glued in place, it was more like he forgot how to move. He tried not to panic, glancing over to Deuce if he was stuck like he was. Sure enough, the blue haired boy also had great difficulty moving a muscle. This was definitely the time to panic.

Deuce tried to call out to Cater, but not being able to move his jaw nor his lips made it somewhat of a challenge. Somehow he could still speak, so he began begging Cater for help. Yet such efforts were unrecognized, as Cater’s eyes were glued on the screen of his phone. A small grin plastered on his face as he basked at the perfect shot of the two. Keeping his eyes on his phone, he bid goodbye to the two, and made his way out of the kitchen, bringing a trolley that contained the rest of Trey’s desserts. Ace’s and Deuce’s screams eventually faded into obscurity, with their throats no longer being able to move like the rest of their bodies.

Following that, Cater managed to photograph the rest of the Heartslabyul dorm. Even the housewarden wasn't safe from The Catering. Apparently, he was believed to be the next victim following Ace and Deuce. Riddle tried to resist Cater, even finding his demands to be quite absurd. This was the first instance of when Cater used his unique magic to achieve his goals. With his clones, they all held on one of Riddle's limbs, having him pose in place for the camera. Riddle was about to use his own unique magic to subdue all the other Caters, but he found himself unable to speak. Not being able to cast his UM, Riddle eventually succumbed to The Catering.

Now, back to the present. Idia somehow survived all of this. Even he was in disbelief, thinking that he should've been cater’d at this point in the story already. Being alive in this stage is a curse for him. He's not swift enough to run away from the other Caters, nor would he be able to fend against them. Plus, the weapon they wielded was more terrifying: a smartphone camera. Idia has always dreaded being photographed, and it didn't help that it was an object of fear for a much worse reason.

Ortho wasn't there to help him. He had distracted the clones and shielded his brother from the Caters just so he wouldn't get photographed. A noble sacrifice indeed, but Idia really wished that he was the one who had to go. He's not fit for this kind of scenario at all, and all Ortho did was delay the inevitable. This was surely a living hell for him.

As if the gods had heard his complaints, Idia sees one of Cater’s clones on the camera feed. This would normally be fine, if it weren't for the fact that this clone was making his way to Sam’s shop. Well shit, ain’t that just unfortunate. He now has to pass the skill check just not to aggro the clone. It'll just be like the horror games he played before-

The clone was standing from a distance, staring right into the depths of his eyes. It’s mouth was curled into this one big smile that unsettled Idia to his core.

“Come out Idia! I gotta t̸̛̛̲̗̩̉̈͗̍̅a̸̖͉̭̩͚̫͛̄͗̈̆̽̋̿͂̂͊͗̈́͜͝k̸͈̝̱̻̬̱̠̺̈́͜ę̷͓͕̰͎̙̙̣̜͚̯̣̭̳͊͗̔̉̓̑͑̐͆̾̚ ̸̩̼̜͐͌́͑̓̀͛͂̔̓͌̾̓͜͝s̴̻̖̒̆̆̾͠o̸̱̜̪̫̜͇̊̌̍̄͌̈́̎̀̾̿̎̽͘ͅͅm̸̧̧̼͉̱͕̻̞̀̈̎̽̕͘͝ͅe̸̮̜͇͔̝̥̯͓̦͍̟̎̎̔̎͐ ̴̢̺̪͔̈p̵̝̀̊̚h̵̭͖͕͎̘͂̇͑̀̔̑̐̍͠o̸̢̟̹͙̭̰̻͐͒͊͊̌ͅt̷̡̧̝̗̪͕̀̔̍̌͆́̽͋̄͆͘ô̶̧͎͚͕̜̖͓͎̞̗͍͌͛́͑͗̔̈́̃̚͜͜ş̸͔̭̣̱͕̄͆̌͒́̓̈́͛͊͋̚͘ for my Magica!” The clone exclaimed cheerily, keeping his eerie smile whilst he spoke,

Idia didn't want to end up like those horror movie protagonists, so he did what he thought was smart; bolt and get the fuck out of there. He would rather die from exhaustion due to running than have a photo of him on the internet.

Based on what others have observed, The Catering comes in a couple of phases. Though, they all can't seem to agree on what they are exactly, nor how many steps there are exactly. The only thing they all have agreed upon is that the moment that Cater gets a hold of you, it’s already too late. So all Idia needed to do was keep running and never look back.

He ran and ran until he finally reached the main building, urging himself to hide in one of the classrooms. The poor guy tried to catch his breath and steady his heart rate. This smart decision of his was a really stupid one, as he now trapped himself in a room with no alternative routes of escape. It didn't help that he definitely aggro’d the clones, meaning they were after his ass now. His chances of survival were now as good as zero.

When he thought the coast was clear, the sudden buzzing of his tablet caused him to jolt. Idia immediately picks it over to put his notifications to damn silent, but immediately stops dead in his tracks. Apparently, Ortho managed to take down the wad of clones that attacked them previously, and now he reunited with the remaining survivors. Idia was overjoyed by this; his brother made it and would now be the savior of this apocalypse! Ortho adds on that he would make an attempt to rejoin his brother. For now, he should sit tight and wait for rescue.

This good news was suddenly met with a bad one; Idia heard Cater’s voice just outside the room he was in.

“Come out, come out wherever you are Idia! I need these photos #ASAP.”

Idia tried his best not to scream nor panic. There was a surge of adrenaline coursing through his body, urging him to do something. Yet he just can't seem to do anything.

Cater tried to open the door between them, but was unable to as Idia remembered to lock the door. However, this factor would lead to his unfortunate end. Cater now knew someone was in there, and it was most likely Idia. With his cleaver from the kitchen, he began hacking away the door that stood between them. Idia now couldn't help but scream as his eyes flooded with tears.

After hacking away a good chunk of the door, Cater peeked into it, glancing over to Idia. The expression he made was far too happy, extremely unfitting for this situation.

“HERE’S CAY-CAY!!!!”

The shrill of Idia's screams echoed throughout the building. Cater slid his arm in through the hole to unlock the door, and Idia remained backed into a corner, only capable of screaming his lungs out. This was it, the bad end of the story. Worst of all, his face covered in sweat, eyes puffy from all the tears, and the snot dripping from his nose would all be captured in the picture, immortalizing his frightened, non-photogenic state on the internet and in real life. What a nightmare it was. GG Idia.

Statement Ends.

Hi I totally didn't die crying while making this >:^))

[ Based on "Ivan the Terrible and His Son Ivan" by Ilya Repin. ]

BONUS workplace comedy shot below:

I'm not even sorry /j

6K notes View Post

sarrrrrrrrrrrrrr

2 years ago

So You Want to Tumbl?

There are lots of newcomers here these days, and I thought I’d spell out how to begin and what it means to ‘curate your own dash’ for folks who haven’t grown along with Tumblr for the past decade.

If you’re coming from a platform where content is fed to you, Tumblr can seem barren and intimidating in the beginning. But that’s actually a good thing! What it means is that you will see what you want to. If you’re in a fighting mood, go find political discourse. If you’re feeling fragile, make your dash nothing but art and nature.

How to begin?

You’ve made your blog and picked out your icon (seriously, choose an icon: otherwise you’re indistinguishable from bots). Feel free to be anonymous. Most of us are, and it’s wonderful to have a place that’s not tied to your Real Life. Here you can be a fandom freak (like me!) and no one judges you and your boss will never find out.

Now seek out tags that interest you. For example, I was just looking through #moss because I like peace and green things and old-growth forests. (And, apparently, beautifully naked fae-men, heh.)

Now you follow that tag (if it’s a popular tag, it’ll say how many followers the tag has, which is beneficial to know if you’re making a post that you want to reach all its interested audience) and posts with that tag automatically fill your dash. Voila, you have begun to curate your experience!

Do Follow: tags; blogs in that tag that you like; people who comment on posts in the blog/tag you follow that seem like they’re up your alley. The more people you follow, the more varied and nuanced your dash is.

Don’t Follow: people who make comments or posts that raise your blood pressure. Topics that upset you. Discourse that has you arguing in your head for the rest of the day. PLEASE avoid toxicity. Real Life is hard enough.

How to be Social and Interact

If you want to find your tribe and interact, it’s best to start following individual blogs. (If you follow a blog, they have an opportunity to follow you back. Simply following a tag is a passive, one-way street.) To Tumbl is to be in a vast cocktail party, and you need to mingle and eavesdrop to find the things that galvanize you.

How to be seen and heard

💬Comment on posts (please always stay positive and enthusiastic: we really try to avoid toxicity). You can read other comments (and reblogged comments) by clicking on the notes:

🔁Reblog posts you like, both to show your support and to show other people what kind of things get you excited. Reblogging is essential to the tumblr ecosystem, because it’s the only way posts move around and get seen. You can also “like” posts, but that’s a much more passive way to interact. Also, reblogs and your own original posts show up on your blog and prove that you’re not a bot.

Create your own posts and remember that the first 20 tags you use are essential, because that’s what gets you seen (and followed) by strangers. Tags 21-30 are good for searching and archiving on your own blog, but they don’t count on the dash. Instructions on how to Make A Post.

Participate! Once you find your crowd, you’ll discover that there are always things going on. For example, in fandoms, we’ve got writing events, art events, crafting and cons. The more you try to be involved, the more new friends you’ll discover. Tumblr allows for such an organic community. One person has a thought, and many others build on that thought, creating something far greater than the sum of its parts.

There is no real algorithm beyond using those first 20 tags. This may be discouraging to folks who are used to working an algorithm, but we like it fine here, because it keeps everyone real and keeps obnoxious social climbers/capitalists out of your face.

Be patient! Just like in real life, when you find yourself in a crowd of people you don’t know, it takes a while to form connections. Watch and listen, and learn to read the room. Honestly, the thing that will win you the most friends/followers is honest enthusiasm about your space.

Don’t aim for the big names to become your new buddies. You’re more likely to find a thriving coterie among other fresh faces. Don’t assume that because they’re small or new they have nothing to offer you. Often, this is the fire that keeps any given corner of Tumblr going.

Tumblr Etiquette

NEVER REPOST (without explicit permission). Reposting is when you cut and paste from someone else’s content and then make it into a brand new post under your own blog name. That is stealing and is very condemned. Reblogging is when you use 🔁and the OP (original poster) remains attached to their post and continues to see and be in charge of interactions.

Reblog in addition to Liking. A post that you ‘like’ is static. You are not helping it to get to a broader audience. If the post or poster is something/someone you support, then REBLOG that sucker: it deserves to fly!

Reblog and add your own content. One of the best parts of Tumblr is that you can comment on a post, or even add to it in your reblog (as long as you’re not being a dick, okay? Or changing the topic, which is known as ‘hijacking a post’). Here is a wonderful example of the Tumblr ecosystem at work, where someone had a thought, other people had thoughts about that thought, and then a bunch of artists jumped in. Tumblr posts BUILD COMMUNITY, and you can be a part of that conversation. (Do try to refrain from reblogging with vacuous comments just because you want people to notice you rather than because you actually have something to add, though. That’s just clutter.)

The most important part of “curating your experience” is learning to Block.

You can block individual blogs, Anons, people in the comments that you find upsetting. Here’s a post on How to Block.

Block entire tags or keywords if they are triggers for you. (Here is a post on how to do that.)

Blocking is self-care. It is not a platform to demonstrate to the community how much you hate someone and how they should, too. Usually the blocked person never even knows you’ve blocked them. If they do something egregious (like tell you or someone else to kill themselves), then ‘Report’ them.

You can block something (like #US Politics) if you can’t handle it at the moment, and then unblock it later. Block a friend if they’re spamming something you don’t like and then unblock them later. It’s all good! You are in control of what shows up on your dash.

But doesn’t this mean my dash will be single-topic and boring?

The simultaneous joy and pitfall in following individuals is that MANY blogs are not single-topic. You will be exposed to all kinds of reblogs/ideas/other people from the folks you chose to follow, and can decide for yourself if you (a) want to be involved in that topic, (b) are indifferent to that topic, or © want to run from it screaming.

Also, the blogs you follow will move from hobby/theme/passion over time, and you can move with them, appreciate their new topic without vibing with it, or drop them altogether.