Let's Create a Surreal/Horror Setting Veeky Forums

>What a 'true face' is isn't really known, though most children believe it to mean that the agents of evil wish to express themselves within physical reality without any limits placed upon them.
>Thus, most children seek to prevent this.

>Adults not only lose the ability to see the in-between, they forget ever seeing it in the first place
>Or maybe they just get really good at ignoring it
>Who is really the one with the delusion?

>while unable to fully exert physical change in the true world, the darkness's agents can express change in the "In Between"
>often times, these changes are brief but they manifest themselves as strange objects and books coming into existence for a short span of time
>while rarely powerful, any unknowing adult who touches these objects is "tainted" or "marked" by the darkness

>Those "tainted" by evil are twisted into it's service, slowly but surely losing any ounce of empathy or compassion they may have once had
>Parents start to shout at, or even mistreat their children, men become mass murderers, people become pedophiles or rapists, etc.
>this is one of the reasons that many children will either keep close watch on their parents for signs of corruption, or if they have already been corrupted, simply kill them to put an end to their misery.

>In extremely rare cases, some adults maintain a partial ability to perceive the in-between
>those who do suffer consistent nightmares, mental illness, and paranoia over nonsensical things
>it is most likely an adult's tainted view/understanding of the world opens them to the true horrors of the in-between from which only a child's innocence protects them

>in truth, a child's imagination acts as a buffer against the horrors of the in-between, giving form to the formless, making it possible to comprehend the forces of the Darkness.
>A term that many children give to those adults who can glimpse the in-between is "Blind Seers".

>The Darkness's purpose in these cases seem to be creating negative emotions and experiences to "bleed" into the "skin" of the In-Between
>It is easier for the "agents" of the Darkness to manifest where negative emotion and suffering is plentiful as the "skin" becomes much more permeable
>Once manifested in this form, the agents can express much greater change in the world through either those they influenced or by their own hand
>The greatest issue though is the agents must "feed" upon continuous negative emotion and pain to keep the "skin" of the world permeable enough to sustain their existence

>The response that most children have to agents manifesting through the negativity their parents or other "tainted' adults is to usually kill or maim them in order to reduce the amount of pain and suffering the agent can feed off of to manifest. A sad thing yes, but one that must be done for their and the world's continued survival

>"Monsters?" my father asked. "Nonsense, there's no such thing."
>"Look, I'll show you." he said, getting me out of bed.
>"Now, if I was a monster, where would I hide?" he stroked his chin in faux-contemplation. "Out in the hall?"
>He led me to the door. He opened it and we looked up and down the hallway.
>"Nope, no monsters out there."
>Of course there aren't, nobody sleeps in the hall.
>"How about under the bed? That's a classic spot." he said as he took me to my bed. We prostrated ourselves to see what was underneath.
>I could see its red eyes, lips curled back, smiling a smile of rage. I could feel its hot breath on my face. It did not like being watched.
>"Huh, no monsters here either." my father feigned confusion. We both got up. My father scanned the room.
>"No monsters out in the hall, none under the bed. Where could they- aha!" he pointed. "The closet, of course."
>We made our way to the closet door, my father grasped the handle. He braced himself for a moment and then flung it open.
>It swung gently, as it always did. Some substance, it looked like mucus, formed a noose that kept it hung from the rack, though whether it hung by its neck or by its lower half was never clear.
>"Nothing in here but your mother's old coat." as if to prove his point, he caressed the thing with his hand, up and down.
>He must have seen that I was nonplussed, so he took me by the wrist and had me follow suit.
>Leathery skin covered in short, loosely spaced hairs. At some points it felt squishy, as if filled with liquid, at others the skin was pulled taut against bony structures.
>I knew then I would not sleep that night. They do not like it when you touch the Hanged One.
>"See, just a coat. Nothing to be afraid of."
>Why couldn't he see.
>He led me back to bed and tucked me in, and kissed my forehead.
>Why couldn't he see.
>"Goodnight, buddy." he made for the hall, turning out the light on his way out.
>Why couldn't he see.
>"I love you."

>while few of the Darkness's agents have any true names or consistent personalities as they fade in and out of the whole of the Darkness rather quickly, a few are consistent through the ages. These recurring creatures/agents are deemed "boogeymen"
>The one called the "Librarian", "Bookkeeper", "Cataloger" and many other names is considered the master of both the acquirement of knowledge and destruction of knowledge. His favored tactic of manipulation and influence is books and corruption of writings.
>While not the most dangerous, the "Librarian" is one of the most insidious and cunning of the "boogeymen" as he favors the hands of the scholar to do his work
>through this, the "Librarian" offers forbidden and powerful knowledge attainable only in the deepest depths of the In-Between
>it is said wherever a great assortment of books are gathered, there, in the In-Between, the "Librarian" can haunt

Why the fuck did you throw your candy on the floor you dumbass kid?

>implying the candy wasn't a means of luring the kid into the embrace of Darkness, so that he may be devoured
>implying the candy itself isn't an eldritch monstrosity.

>Children of particularly powerful imagination may manifest a being that exist as something beyond an imaginary friend
>These guardian spirits possess abilities as powerful and surreal as the monsters of the dark, yet they call upon the emotions of joy and hope for their strength
>Those who are separated from their child creators become strange things, not evil per-say, but most certainly not wholly good

>Those who are separated from their creators may not be wholly good, but they will try to protect other children, even if they do so in an extremely dubious or 'strange' manner
>Once reunited with their creators, the joy and hope that fuels them instantly rejuvenates them, and for a while it is said that they are ten time stronger than they were before.

Surprise Bump

Man, this is pretty depressing. Having to face demonic horrors night after night, all whilst your parents can't understand any of it.

...

>On one side of the boundary, life and Joy, on the other, unfathomable death and ruin
>Who shall win in this conflict? This battle between Light and Dark?

...

>Not all agents of the Darkness are as insidious and malevolent as one might expect.
>Some monsters, small little things that hide in the tightest corners and the smallest crevices to hide from both children and beasts alike, do not actively attempt to cause corruption to others.
>To the unknowing child, these beings are to be sympathized with, little beings forced into a dark world they never wished to be part of, just like the children themselves.
>Some may even go so far as to attempt befriending or using these little wretches as eyes on the inside, spies to help the children learn what the Darkness plans next
>The sad truth, however, is that all things The Darkness makes are meant to lead to the same goal, eating the story of life.
>These wretches must still feed on scraps of hope and joy, even if it is just the scraps larger beasts leave behind, to survive.
>Their presence, if given enough time, will attract those larger and more powerful than itself, both monster and human alike, to mistreat and abuse it and anyone who chooses to associate it.
>Some children believe that these poor little things were only made to lure children into a false sense of common ground, only for them to further lose the spark of light within them as greater forces are signaled.
>Perhaps they are just bait on a line created by The Darkness.

>it comes, that which is garbed in red, the ethereal terror, the Red Cloak
>It creeps, searching for all the little children, gnawing hungrily against reality to make itself known, spreading red miasma everywhere it treads
>Be prepared, warriors. For it comes for you when you least expect it.

>A child's imagination is a powerful thing, though not every child realizes the extent of their powers first hand.
>While some are lucky enough to form their own guardian spirits, others will never know that they were even capable of such a feat in the first place.
>Yet their power takes from in other ways.
>Hiding under the blanket? If the child believes enough, that blanket will very well be a barrier the Darkness cannot breach.
>Defense through the light? If the child clenches his flashlight hard enough, and truly believes that it will fend off evil, monsters will be burned at the light's touch.

>some adults maintain a partial ability to perceive the in-between

Parents might not be able to remember...but Grandma and Grandpa might.

>The Darkness knows that children pose a threat to its quest of consumption, and is constantly attempting to get rid of those who could stand against it.
>If fear does not subdue them, and they are too brave, clever, or lucky to be defeated by its agents, the Darkness will not hesitate to cheat, lie, and mislead in order to get rid of a child for good.
>Leading them through a waking dream, deep In Between, to realms so easy to enter yet so hard to ever escape.
>In our world, children go missing. Sometimes they are not found. Other times, they can never be found.

>Most children end up as criminals or killers from an early age. Whether it be by breaking into a store to gather supplies in order to survive the night, or by killing their tainted parents when they turn their maddened gazes upon them, many children end up on the run, desperately trying to evade the forces in society that would see them bound in chains, an easy meal for the Darkness and it's agents
>Thus they hide out, gathering in the abandoned spaces, places that the people have forgotten, perfect homes for those like them, the ones that everyone else has abandoned or forgotten about. The ones who are lost.

>The Darkness is an ever present force. It is in all places, in all things, always planning and always striking.
>It is at war all over the world, and it has the advantage of knowledge.
>For every group of children working together to fend of the Darkness' latest agent, there are thousands of other children, alone in the beds, quivering in the dark, who have no idea that they are not alone. And the Darkness takes pleasure in picking off these children before they can do anything about it.
>However, what the Darkness does not realize is that through its interference with the In Between, its ever presence has been shared.
>A mysterious voice. A shared dream. A glimpse of another child, in another bed, seeing the same things as himself.
>These moments, however brief, can show two children worlds apart that they are not alone in their fight.
>And for those children who know the truth of what the Darkness is? For those who are amassing as many as they can? Well, the Darkness' greatest asset might just turn out to be its downfall.

>Sometimes on rare occasions, when they finally sleep, children from all over are whisked into a realm of dream, a realm of life, of Joy. This is what has been called the Ethereal Dream.
>It is a realm where songs are always on the wind, where the trees are made of cotton candy and other sweet things, where the rivers and streams are made of bubbling, frothy liquids that warm the body and soul, where massive castles of gold stand out on the hilltops, and where laughter is joyous and filled with hope.
>This is a place where the children can gather and meet, to get to know each other, to talk and discuss amongst themselves. A place where they can learn about the others facing the Darkness all over the world.
>Meetings are held in this place, discussing what should be done against the agents of the Dark, these meetings usually being held by a council of sorts, a group wearing masks and robes of white.
>When all is said and done however, the children inevitably awake. But when they awake, they know that others are out there, fighting with them against the evil infesting the world.

The true origins of the Ethereal Dream are still unclear to many children.
>Some believe that it is the place where the Story of Life itself is held. The only place the Darkness cannot penetrate.
>Others believe that if there is a Darkness, there must also be a Light, and the Ethereal Dream is this Light's creation
>Others think that it is simply a shared creation of all the children, a place they made themselves to provide some respite from the Darkness.

>The monsters love to taint and corrupt the parents of children.
>If the parents kill their child, that is one less pest to worry about. If the child kills the parents, it will serve as an emotionally blow that can be fed on.
>However, some agents play a longer game.
>In towns where strong groups of children have formed, these agents corrupt the adults they are able to find, but do not send them out to attack immediatly.
>They let the corruption fester, both in body and spirit.
>While the corrupted becomes more and more vile, cruel, and heartless, their body release more and more darkness, completely invisible to other adults.
>This darkness spreads and infects the friends and family of the adult, and if left unchecked, the entire adult population of the town.
>It is a long strategy, but if it is ever pulled off, the fate of all knowing children is sealed.

>When a child grows up, they lose their ability to see the in between.
>There are rare exceptions, but for the most part this is a rule applies to everyone, even children who have dedicated themselves to fighting against the darkness.
>As they get older, and begin to enter their early tween years, it becomes harder and harder to see the monsters.
>It becomes harder to remember each adventure, each battle, each encounter.
>By their teenage years, they will have lost the gift, and if they even remember their years fighting the Darkness, they will dismiss it as nightmares or a long game of pretend.

>the children who manage to figure out this long con quickly realize that they don't have the time to take out that many infected adults without drowning in the tides themselves. Thus they gather things.
>Explosives, toxic chemicals, fireworks, any volatile or explosive substance or material is gathered by the children and spread out across the town, and once everything has been set up it is all rigged to explode at a singular moment to take out the entire infected town.
>Many towns have been left as little more than smoldering ruins, with burnt corpses and charred bones everywhere, with the bodies of the children never uncovered.

>Because of this, there are many children who fully delve into the powers of imagination, slowly loosing the ability to age and grow over time, committing themselves to the eternal fight
>These children who give themselves over to the Dream, to their imaginations, gain a power that few others have, easily able to weave the veil to their liking and possessing wills greater than most others.
>however, these children never age, they never grow, remaining as they are, unchanging. They inevitably see their friends grow up, loose their ability to see the In-Between, brush off their adventures as nothing more than mere nightmares or a long game of pretend, sometimes even watching them grow old and age into nothingness. As a result of this they come off as very much other, cold and distant, unwilling to make true connections with anyone they encounter.

Off topic, if this was made into a game, classes based on age would be a really neat concept.

>The younger the character, the most imagination and will power they have, but they are physically weaker and have the least amount of access to real world items of use.
>The older you are, the less will power you have and the harder time you'll have fighting monsters. But you can actually go out and get things from the real world that you couldn't as a little kid.

Like some kind of table top Persona game.

>These eternally youthful Dream Children are some of the greatest assets to the fight against the Darkness, the ultimate masters of imagination.
>Those who are able to achieve this state are few, but even with their small numbers, the Darkness knows that those little crusaders are some of its greatest threats.
>But the Darkness knows that anything can be corrupted with enough pressure, and these Dream Children are no different.
>Seeing their friends grow old, lose their memories, and die takes its toll on these children. Their distant personalities act as walls to defend their emotions, and sadly, potential festering grounds for The Darkness to take hold of.
>Of course, anyone willing to dedicate eternity to fight the Darkness would not give into corruption easily, but just like these children, The Darkness has eternity on its side too.
>And with enough time, anything is possible.
>A Dream Child who falls to the Darkness is one of the most terrifying threats to the defenders of the Story of Life, controlling both legions of monsters and the power of dream weaving.
>Pray for any child who comes face to face with these rare, but horrifying soldiers of evil.

>Hunter the Reckoning vs Changeling the Lost: the thread

Morning Bump.

Interesting

>The darkness...
>The Darkness...
>It's never consuming hatred filled my heart...
>I move my undermuscled maddened by a primordial hunger...
>"Must eat, Must feed."
>My claws flexed, Gifts from the darkness.
>I hear a high pitched sound and then lash out.
>My eyes taken, gifts to the Darkness
>My heat receptors open up.
>2 children, a 12 and 6 year old.
>The older, large child is holding a butcher knife and a what remains of the trash can lid.
>"Sally! my hand, ugh..."
>The blood gets within my nostrils.
>I feel the darkness bubble up and I creep closer.
>then the small one steps out infront of the larger one.
>"In brightest day,
>I step closer the words of the ancients whispering in my head.
>"in blackest night,
>My form trembles, the memories bubble up.
"No evil shall escape my sight."
>I reply back out of heart, the words bring back, emotions that were corrupted by the Darkness.
>"Let those who worship evil's might, Beware my power, Green Lantern's light!!!"
>I lunge forward and plunge my claws into the child's heart.
>The explosion that rocked my world was an unpleasant one.
>The corpse and other child were long gone.
>I clutch my hands in sorrow.
>So close yet so far.

>Sometimes, children see angels of the Light
>Sometimes, they see demons of the Dark
>And sometimes, they see...other things
>Everywhere has life; perhaps not life as we know it, but life all the same
>Something that keeps children awake at night isn't the fear of the Dark, but an age old question:
>"Where does the Light end and the Dark begin? There must some kind of line or border."
>The truth is that there are many borders between the Light and the Dark; the children calls these Ley Lines.
>All Lines are connected, yet separate; the concept is always the same, but the specifics are different depending on where they are.
>These lines surround small, almost unnoticeable ares; sovereign territories, outside the Light and the Dark
>If the Light has its guardians and children, and the Dark has its agents, then what do the Lines have?

>The concept of something in between light and dark can be hard for some children, particularly the younger ones, to understand.
>Sure, they can see the In Between, but that's just what grown ups can't see. Light is good and Darkness is bad, it should be simple.
>With such horrors these children face, the comfort of clear rules, black and white, good and evil, are necessary to keep sanity.
>This results in these border areas being feared and mistrusted by those who know of them.
>Not just for what hides within them, but what it may suggest.

So, I have decided to write something up for the Dream Children.

>The boy entered through the window of the building, going through the front would result in too many questions
>As the boy, or atleast what appeared to be a boy entered into the window, he saw a figure, lying still on the bed, hooked up to all manner of machinery trying desperately to delay the inevitable.
>Had he come to late? He had thought
>But then the figure had begun to move, had begun to stir, old weary eyes peeled upon to survey the room
>And that's when their gaze met his own
>"So, you came" the old man tried to crack a grin, but even that was to hard for him now
>"Of course I did. I would never abandon you, you know that.", the boy had said to the man, and if there as any doubt about him not being what he seemed, it could all be dismissed now.
>His voice was weary and aged, far too old for any boy of his apparent age. His voice sounded like it was the voice of one who had seen far too many things.
>"Hah. Leave it to you to get all-" The old man coughed, body racked with spasms for a moment, "Mopey on me."
>The boy went over to stand by the dying man's side, he knew this was coming. he had always known that this would be the price, the price for choosing to Dream.
>"Remember when we faced that army of ghouls in that one coastal town, so small and almost primitive, yet so dreamlike?" The boy said to the man, looking down at him with saddened eyes that seemed to gleam in the moonlight.
>"It's so hard to remember things from-" the old man coughed again, bits of blood falling onto the bedsheets as he did so. "From before, but that one is still as clear as rain for me."
>The boy smiled, a small thing but noticeable nonetheless, and began to converse with the old man in earnest about all of their old adventures.

Cont.

>The citizens of the borders are referred to as "Faeries"
>Of course, many children, being familiar with stories such as Peter Pan, would be delighted to learn that Faeries exist
>These children are fools, and many are never seen again
>The Faeries are unconcerned with the major conflicts between Light and Dark, but are involved with them in their own strange ways
>Some children have noticed similarities between these Faeries and guardians who have been separated from their creators
>Others see them as having the personalities of dead relatives or friends
>And still others see them as nothing they can truly understand
>Are they defective guardians?
>Are they ghosts?
>Are they something else?
>Are they all three?
>Neither possibility brings much comfort to those who consider them

>There are ways to defend against the Faeries, but not many make much sense
>One method is to turn your shirt inside-out
>This repels most Faeries
>As to why, some children theorize that Faeries are simply more connected to the natural order of the universe; what seems harmless to us could have disastrous consequences in the grand scheme of things
>Faeries believe that things are simply the way they are; the sky is blue, the sun shines, and clothes are worn properly
>To wear one's clothes improperly is a violation of how things are supposed to be, which greatly unsettles the Faeries
>Of course, this only works on some Faeries; others don't care for the universe and tear the child to shreds

>Other children simply bribe the Faeries; bread is a common bribe, but others use money
>A common practice is to place a tooth under your pillow for the Tooth Fairy
>The Tooth Fairy interprets this act as the child selling the tooth, and leaves money in exchange
>Most children don't know what the Tooth Fairy does with the teeth; others just don't want to know

Continue pls.

>"Samantha, be sure to put your tooth under your pillow so the Tooth Fairy can take it."
>The little girl nodded silently, before heading off to bed and placing down her tooth.
>She had heard stories from the other children about the importance of this transaction. Children who did not give up their teeth in exchange for this faery's payment would be placed in great peril.
>It would be as if the world itself had turned against them.
>So she waited, eyes shut, but she refused to sleep.
>And after hours, her father entered the room holding a shiny coin.
>Above him hanged the lanky body of the Tooth Fairy, moving him like a puppet on silver strings.
>The man's eyes were wide and blank, as if his soul was taken from him.
>The girl refused to budge.
>The possessed father snatched the tooth from under the girl's pillow, and it took all her might not to yelp in terror.
>He handed the tooth to the fairy, before placing the coin down on the bed.
>In an instant, the fairy vanished. The father's soul returned to him. He shook his head, trying to remember what had just happened.
>He saw his daughter, sleeping in her bed, and remembered that he had just taken her tooth.
>He always loved keeping his child's imagination lively with silly stories about things like the Tooth Fairy.

>and clothes are worn properly.
Those sloppy dressed and disheveled children are own as fae hunters, children that must wander the planes of the world alone, must take care that the fae's gaze does not come near them.

So at what age do children start to have trouble seeing the monsters, and what's the basic hard limit age when they officially can no longer see anything?

>The Faeries can also be fought and (seemingly) killed with cold iron, gold, or some third thing that the child almost never owns
>Other Faeries enjoy these metals; one example being Rumpelstiltskin, a German Faerie
>He appears as a small man who likes to hide in dark corners, with golden stitches forming a vertical line (holding his body together), and black charred feet
>Rumpelstiltskin's favorite thing in the world is jewelry; he doesn't sell or wear them, but has a vague concept of jewelry being valuable, so he likes it anyway
>A favorite pastime of his is making deals with people; he will make golden straw for that person in exchange for jewelry
>If the person has no jewelry, he will take their children (in order from oldest to youngest); of course, if the person refuses, Rumpelstiltskin will leave to find a new gold-loving "friend"
>Rumpelstiltskin eats children; he is so greedy that, if he was starving to death and was given the choice between a cheap ring and a child, he would take the ring without hesitation
>However, he is not without empathy; if the parent truly loves their child, he will give them three days to guess his name (oddly enough, he will be angry if they answer correctly, as it means he has to go another day without eating)
>He uses a spoon for transportation

>"And do you remember that time we-" The boy was cut off when the man started to cough again, a cough intermixed with a small bit of laughter. A small trickle of blood began to run down the mans chin, even as he looked up at the boy with a small smile.
>"Heh, didn't expect you to get all sentimental on me, old friend." The man chuckled a bit. "I'm usually the one to do that." The man looked over to the window, where the cardiac monitor was, and sighed deeply.
>They both knew what was coming.
>"Well, seems like my time is up." The man chuckled once more, which was intermixed with a bit of a wheeze near the end. "I've lived a good life, one that was not wasted, especially since I got to fight alongside you for most of it."
The man heaved a bit, coughing heavily s he did so. He looked up at his friend, their eyes meeting once more. The man's eyes whilst old and worn from age, still contained that same boundless warmth, optimism and youth. That same warmth and gleefulness that only a child could possess.
>"This is it, old friend." The man smiled up at the boy. "Take care of tom and Elisabeth for me, will you?" The man implored his friend. "tell them I lived a good life, a wholesome one. one with no regrets."
>"I will." The boy replied. he could atleast honor his friend's last wishes in these moments.
>"Heh, I guess that's the best I could ask for." the man chuckled a bit, before flashing a bright grin. That same grin he had always had back as a child. That grin filled with so much optimism and hope. That grin he had even when they where fighting for their lives. That grin....
>"See you around.", With those words, the wizened man leaned back and finally, after so long, after fighting for so long, after facing Darkness for so long, closed his eyes.
>The boy watched the cardiac monitor beep and dip and sighed, a single tear running down his cheek, before he left through the window.
>So many friends lost, and yet still he fights He must still protect their wish.

13 standard puberty age.

Good shit, user.

>The Darkness hates all life, but life in the modern world especially.
>It knows that a child's belief, when strong enough, can make anything true, and the most common belief is that light can hurt The Darkness and its minions, so it does.
>In older times, this was of no concern to the Darkness. When night came, there was little a child could do to get a proper source of defensive light in time.
>But now at a flick of a switch, or the dim glow of a plug in the wall, its agents are in danger.
>So The Darkness must be smarter
>Calculated, planned power outages.

Thanks. It was pretty difficult to get this out, and not just because of the restrictions this site imposes on how much you can write at any given moment.

And most importantly, the power of information.
>The most useful asset the Darkness

Surprise Bump.

>The biggest joke of all is the the sun is the True Darkness with a capital D.

>the Darkness sometimes masquerades as the warm light of the sun in order to lure children into a false sense of security, right before snatching that hope away.

The reason that children are the only ones that can see the monsters is because the more you believe in them, the more real they are for you.

This is a double edged sword. Most children only half-believe, seeing things but ultimately being easily convinced by parents that the monster was just a nightmare, remaining safe from real harm.

But the children that get the most scared can be physically hurt by what they see. Even taken.

This can result in what experts call a Nightmare Cascade. A child believes in the monsters, which allows them to hurt or kill the child. If this evidence causes others, such as the parents, to begin to believe that something is going on, now THEY can see the monsters.

This is often fatal. Adults believe their eyes more than children do. If an adult sees a monster, they will know monsters exist.

They can't unknow that. They will always believe that monsters exist after that. And as a result, be vulnerable tot he things that stalk them for the rest of their (often short) lives.

Eh, this slightly contradicts the lore we've already gotten where most adults are just incapable of seeing the in-between, period. Those who are more aged however might be able to recount their experiences with the Darkness and it's agents.

>Though each agent of Darkness works for the singular goal of serving their creator, not every monster is willing to work peacefully with one another.
>Some monsters believe that only their strategies and attempts at corruption are the legitimate ones, and any monster that tries to work differently is worth scorn.
>Others simply want to be seen as the Darkness' #1 agent, and will actively work against other agents to rise through the ranks.
>In that regard, some monsters can be just as childish as the children themselves.
>It is not uncommon for clever children to trick two dangerous monsters to fight one another, and then once one monster is slain, attack the survivor before it can recover.
>However, this is a dangerous strategy, for is one monster consumes the other, they will soon absorb the evil in that monster's body, and grow stronger because of it.

Only rarely do children and those who help them attempt to get rid of a stronger monster by diservison.
>The best and only true way to kill a monster is to face it down, and banish any and all fear of..Death from your being.
>Those who stare down death and live to tell are called the "Peerless".
>For all the good it does them, the title is often given postmortem to children who've died fighting, not running or cowering but on their feet, for the good of all childkind.
>It is said that those who've walk between the light and the darkness, are also said to be "peerless" but it's for another reason.

>Halloween is a strange time of the year in this world.
>One would think that a holiday dedicated to fear would be perfect for the Darkness and its agents to exploit and gain power from.
>Surprisingly, however, the opposite is the case.
>Halloween teaches children how to embrace their fears, and have fun by engaging in the creepiness.
>And with costumes acting as personas that fuel the imaginations of children, Halloween provides a shield of sorts that actively neuters the effectiveness that monsters would normally have.
>If children feel that they are still safe no matter what monsters are in the dark, how can The Darkness properly feed of their despair?
>For older children, this does not truly mean much. They have faced the Darkness enough to grow jaded. Their imaginations have become weaker, and what does and does not work against monsters has been established in their heads.
>But for the young heroes of Light, dressed as cowboys, knights, and superheroes, Halloween provides a moment of reprieve within Darkness.

But if the kid's still piss pants scared and can't have fun monsters can still have an easy time eating them so lel

>addendum: only children's eyes can see the darkness eating away the story of life

>No one has ever confronted the Darkness head on without falling to corruption or being consumed outright.
>Though generations of children have kept the world safe from The Darkness breaching through and consuming the Story of Life, that is only due to continued battles against monsters, and the slaying of those the monsters corrupt.
>If anyone were to ever find the true form of Darkness, they would find themselves in a blackness so thick and heavy that they would sink to the bottom of it, all lights extinguishing.

>Some say that if there is a Light to be found, it must work in an opposite, yet mirrored way.
>To enter the Light directly would be to have all darkness purged from you in a heat so blinding and intense that you would rise up and be burnt away.

>Some child scholars (or egg heads, if you go by some child colloquialisms) question why a force for good would destroy someone in such a similar fashion to the darkness they fight against, though these questions are often dismissed as dangerous thoughts that could lead to corruption.
>Either way, Darkness and Light are two forces of immense power, yet bound just outside of the realms they influence.
>Is it so farfetched to say that mankind as a whole act as the pawns of Light, just as the monsters serve as the pawns of Darkness?
>Perhaps, but some still wonder.

>It is true that an adult can no longer see the In Between as a child can, and a major part of this is due to their mind embracing the safety of reality instead of the dangers of dreams.
>That, and their imaginations generally get stunted.
>However, a child with a strong imagination who is able to continue to foster their creativity through the years may not completely lose touch with the world they knew when they were young.
>They may not see the In Between anymore, or even remember anything about it beyond brief fragments of dreams and nightmares they once had, but their experiences take form subconsciously, inspiring their works in the future.
>Whether this results in tales that inspire hope in children across the world and strengthen the fight for Life, or stories that foster fear, paranoia, and disappear, is up in the air.

>yfw you realize that Lovecraft was a kid who actually faced Cthulhu and others when he was young, then wrote about his adventures as an adult without really realizing what he was writing about.

How many famous people were actually child soldiers fighting eldritch abominations?

From what I know

>Abraham Lincoln
>Thomas Ligotti
>Bram Stoker
>Neil Gaiman
>H.R. Giger
>Darren Shan
>Edgar Allen Poe
>Likely countless others.

Ahhhhhhh

Bump before sleep.

Depressing? Nigga , you fucked made a more hopeful little fears baka

bump

Nightmarish bump.

Thematically, I feel like Lincoln's poem "My Childhood Home I see Again" works pretty well for the setting this thread is going for.

>There are tales of the children who walk alongside the wolves that hail from the moon, those hunters of Luna, but few have ever seen them. They have merely heard the howl of wolves, and seen the silver flames left in their wake.

Little Fears?

These fucking idiots ripped off Little Fears 2nd Ed, yeah. Little Fears and Toys, Monsters and other Childish Things or whatever.

gg no re Veeky Forums, gg no re

Nah man, this is going to be an original IP. Small Horrors.

Tiny Terrors?

Minuscule Dreads

>The Sun is obviously seen as a sign or symbol of Light, a force that defends the planet from The Darkness during the mornings.
>The Moon, however, is an anomaly
>The night is full of The Darkness' agents, and the moon does very little to fend them off.
>Yet if there truly are hunters from the moon, the must be doing something to fight the Darkness?
>But what is it?
>Why are they so secretive?

Smol Spooks

Midget Scares

>As you grow older, the darknesses presence begins to erode your mind even further.
>What few elders are not driven to madness by the creatures they had repressed attempt to assist the little warriors
>They know that eventually, their support will be noticed by the darkness, and must act subtally to prolong the inevitable madness that will be thrust upon them.

>The conglomerate is a group of adults who have made deals with the darkness for power, wealth or other means. Their main weapon is the spread of misinformation about the true nature of the Darkness. Anyone, adult or child trying to get close usually ends up disappearing into a van.