#eldritchmare

No time. Nightmare sensed arrogance approaching, automatically shifting into something more inconspicuous. Somehow that ended up being a horse when the stables were empty. He hadn't realized inhabiting gave them the ability to take the form of something as well. He thought that only happened with creatures they consumed, but apparently not.

The human paused upon seeing them, and Nightmare stared back with contained rage. He didn't like what he sensed from this man, who was distantly confused over his presence before moving on.

Without really thinking about it, Nightmare quietly undid the latch, stepping into the main hall of the stable. It went unnoticed until he dared speak. "Look at me."

The knight jolted, freezing in place in a jarring spike of terror. But worse? Nightmare caught recognition threaded into it. This was one of the men he'd originally encountered, before they split to return or to slaughter his family. That was the only way he could be recognized.

"I warned you." Nightmare rumbled, ice laced into his voice as he stepped closer. His false hooves sounded similar to footsteps on the packed earth, a different material from that of true hooves. "You invade my home and not only ignore my warnings, but you come and slaughter what is mine?" There was a depth there, one Nightmare hadn't known he was capable of. A forceful sound that couldn't be described. Unnatural. Heavy. Angry. It was wrath made audible.

He was so close to just ripping off that head from those trembling shoulders, but Nightmare paused. He had nothing to lose anymore. He only had this one Soul that he wanted to.. he wanted to rip the human to pieces, shred apart the Soul he knew resided there, but.. he wanted him afraid. And there would be no more fear if the man was dead. And no one would know how he died. Not for sure. They might suspect it, but.. wouldn't it be all the more terrifying if they had blatant confirmation? They had no idea what he could do. It would still take a while for word to spread. He didn't even need to leave the man intact.

Nightmare shifted openly, contorting back into an upright stance, a tentacle of black curled softly against the human's chin, brushing up against stubble. Then it wrenched, forcing eyes towards him and a whimper out of the man. Gentle. Careful. It was too easy to snap a neck. That would be counterintuitive. He wanted this man to run, to scream. He would still die, but later, when he'd served his purpose.

"I will have my vengeance." Nightmare hissed, finding himself enjoying the feeling of tremors against the limbs. A tip hardened, somewhat curious as it poked into a shoulder from behind, feeling the shoulderblade beneath. He was familiar with skeletal anatomy. He used to have it, even if it was shaped differently from human proportions. He still remembered.

The man gasped as the sharp point pressed deeper. "Please-! W- we left! I wasn't there! The king ordered-" "You know what you have done. I am out of mercy." Nightmare snapped, driving the point through. The human cried out in agony as it went soft again, end emerging on the other side beneath the clavicle, cutting directly through the muscle around it, pressing against the rib beneath. The human writhed, fully restrained, fully lifted off the ground.

Nightmare yanked upwards. There was a violent tearing sound as the cries shot up in pitch and volume, flat out screaming. He knew people heard it when elsewhere, there picked up a sense of alarm, concern and a little bit of fear. This was a man screaming for his life in agony. So he sped up.

He slammed now clawed phalanges into the man's side, aware of some of the organs and muscles there- if only loosely through assumption and familiarity with other bodies. His arm rooted through a surprisingly small slit as the flesh writhed around it, looking for a familiar shape that could be lost as more tentacles impaled the limbs, burrowing like worms.

Finally, Nightmare tore out what he was looking for with a startlingly dense snap, tentacles moving as one held out an arm, tip sharpening into an edge. The man blubbered nonsensically, begging in rasping breaths as people came running to the terrible sounds. He felt.. oddly indifferent to it as the makeshift blade sawed through the wrist. Impassive to the piercing screams and desperate attempts to yank free.

He had his prize just as pounding footsteps slid to a stop at the other end of the stable, quickly joined by another pair. They had frozen in shock and horror at the scene. Nightmare took a moment to soak it in, before revulsion shot through him at it and he dropped the sobbing and bloody mess on the floor, face carefully neutral.

Nightmare turned slightly, tentacles twitching aside so that they could all bear witness to the kidney he gripped in his hand, already starting to squeeze. He dared to speak again, rage curling inside just as the tentacles coiled outwardly. "Tell your king that he has made a terrible lapse in judgement." He paused as his victim let out a louder sob, still bleeding. He didn't bother looking at it. "He knows what he has done. He knows his men are dead. He will follow. But he will only join them when I have finished unmaking him." His hand trembled, the twitch sending claws stabbing into the organ as it squirted. One of the now small group of horrified onlookers bolted away in terror.

Marbol's animation, which is more recent than a lot of these but still encapsulates his relationship with Dream (obviously later on in the timeline) REALLY well! Absolutely LOVE it!

And this art, too! Really encapsulates his vibes later on in SBD despite how he treats Dream!

And then this. This fucking video. Holy shit it's terrifying. And yet, it influences my boy. Highly recommend Marcus Yu in general, his take on turning Minecraft into horror is genuinely chilling and sticks with you! This is actually one of my favorite videos from him! Horrific take on the Witherstorm and a bonafide influence on Eldritchmare as a concept when he's older!

There's also this post! Minor but fun to share regardless!