#omniithe-deer

The different horn colors I do are tied to troll headcanons I have, and whether they're solid stripes or a plain gradient, heavily depends on my mood for the day, but solid colors aren't exclusive to mutants!

In reality, all trolls have yellow/orange horns since hatching, their blood color starts to "creep up" as they age, creating a gradient look. This leaves a problem for mutants, as you can see how vibrant their horns start to look, which makes them much more visible.

So my solution was to have some mutants paint their own horns for survival. (You can see early signs of this headcanon with looking up an old fantroll, Ichigo Kasfes. He was essentially Troll!Itchy depicted as a lime blood posing as olive.) Karkat does this, and since he's super antsy about others picking him out, he goes the extra mile to COVER his horns with a casual hat.

Ultimately, in a vacuum, this action would technically leave them open for targeting, as now ppl can simply point out the painted horned mutant. But this also means OTHER trolls catch on and also paint their horns, whether out of solidarity, rebellion, or just plain simple fun.

My guy is overwhelmed by the fact that there are now regular cookies who genuinely love and care about him for him and not his power (and is probably afraid that getting his souljam back would mean giving all that up for said power).

would the other beasts form similar bond in their own ancient's respective kingdoms and have their own emotional moments with them as well? **cough**cough** Mother-And-Son-Mystic-Choco-Duo **cough**cough**

wdym being stripped of overwhelming power and immortality made it much more easy to connect with others, with the world and everything else? and you lost the distance that isolated you, not letting you grow as a person and only made you stagnate? shadow milk found shocked

AAAA yes!! This speaks to me and my little goth heart :')

I'm just gonna do an description of what I think Eldritch Sero would be, but feel free to request something more specific!

Submitted for the approval of the Midnight Society, I call this story, "The Tale of Shadowman Eldritch Hanta"

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Hanta's form is hard to fully distinguish. Every time your eyes start to focus and recognize what you think must be his true silhouette, it warps and shifts into incomprehension again. What you can make out is inhuman height- he seems to stand at least eight feet tall as he looms in the shadows. It feels like he's staring at you, unmoving, unwavering. Not that you can really tell, you can't particularly spot any eyes of facial features.

He can feel your gaze though. Everytime you look at him, warm excitement courses through him, making his figure flicker slightly. You looked at him. You looked at him.

He doesn't interact with you at first. Hanta stays where he is for hours on end, just watching, just waiting for you to notice him again. It's understandably chilling to have him just lurking there. You adjust to it after a while though, surrendering to his gaze before simply continuing on with your daily life as if this curious mass wasn't constantly studying you wherever you go.

He can tell you've grown rather comfortable with his presence. It doesn't take long for him to grow comfortable with you too- this is when he starts to reach out to you. Small gestures begin to hint that he's trying to initiate more. Of course, small eldritch gestures aren't quite the same as human gestures. There are no flowers left on your doorstep or sweet letters of admiration, instead replaced with technological interference and a sheen of stickiness left on your doorknobs. He's more than relieved when you respond without anger or annoyance. Instead, you look for him again. You notice him again.

Hanta is a mischievous horror. Once he's sure you aren't going to run or fight him, his true demeanor starts to show. Things go missing only to return hours later to a place you're certain you looked, now covered in that now all too familiar stickiness. Startling you pleases him more than mere tricks though. He dares to leave his usual shadowy corner to stand right in front of you when you enter a dark room, only then revealing his seemingly disembodied orange eyes and a smile full of sickeningly sharp teeth. In that moment, he dares to reach for you physically and actually touch you. His touch feels impossibly cold, leaving you shivering in return. But to him, you feel just as soft as he knew you would.

The warmth you radiate, the silkiness of your skin, how soft and plush you feel compared to his incorporeal being- it draws him in even more. He longs to touch you again, to feel you again, to hold you. Would you ever want to hold him too?

Eldritch Hanta doesn't often take a more humanoid form. It hurts him both physically and mentally; it's as if he knows it just isn't how he's meant to be. If it means he could fully show himself to you though, it's a pain he's willing to bear. As long as you see him again.

Humanoid Hanta still doesn't look human. Sure he has all of the standard points of a human body- two arms, two legs, two eyes, one mouth- but he clearly isn't right. Oddly enough, he almost looks less human than when he's a mere shadowy silhouette lingering in the darkness. His limbs are thin and too long for even his tall height and he hunches over just slightly as if the weight of them hurts to carry. Orange eyes seem to glow as they bore into you. He works his jaw slightly as if his teeth don't quite fit in his mouth. Black stringy hair stays matted to his head, covered in the same sticky residue you'd begun to find around your house.

He doesn't speak; he can't speak. But there's something about his demeanor that let's you know he's waiting for reassurance. This more human form is just for you, after all, he does hope you like it. Do you like this better than the inky mist of his true form?

Also, do you know Caravan Palace? If you do, do you think he or any of the other beasts would like their music? Shadow Milk seems like the kind of guy that would listen to quirky niche popularity internet music before it becomes mainstream and even then he sticks to the weirder earlier albums that only the og fans would recognize.

considering the size of cookies, he would fit right in in a terrarium. dubious blue creature. DONT LICK HIM THO, HE TASTES NASTY.

and yeah i do! i dont really listen to it, only know two songs. but i do agree, he feels like someone who would be very open about liking niche stuff because he has such fine refined tastes that mainstream stuff is Basic. the horror when his Favorite Niche Thing suddenly gets popular. he would appear on the news the next day.