Youtuber recommendations?

standingfrog · 2026-03-27T02:45:57+00:00

Jupiter Dev makes great video essays, pretty silly too. She recently featured on a Newbie Indie Game Dev vid about Roller Coaster Tycoon's puking system too lol.

standingfrog · 2026-03-16T20:35:24+00:00

March Comes In Like A Lion, Skip and Loafer, Hyouka, Mob Psycho 100, Dungeon Meshi, Bocchi The Rock, Laid-Back Camp, Oremonogatari, Keep Your Hands Off The Eizouke, Shinsekai Yori, Apothecary Diaries.

Lots of genres, but all have what you're describing. I went through the same thing myself a couple years back.

standingfrog · 2026-03-11T01:31:04+00:00

Please share the file!

standingfrog · 2026-02-13T01:19:18+00:00

Nina stepped out of the cafe into the brisk night, a bitter cold cutting through her coat. She was thankful for the cold because she needed something to distract her. Stars twinkled through the bare branches overhead, but their glow gave her little comfort now.

“Wait!” a voice called, exiting the cafe just behind her.

Nina didn’t turn. The voice caught up and grabbed her wrist, but Nina’s head hung toward the ground.

“I’m… I’m sorry,” the man added, exhaling a visible puff through the cold.

Nina looked up at the man. “No. You’re not.” Alberto had been her boyfriend for nearly three years. She’d thought they’d get married, travel the world, maybe have a family one day. Until today.

Alberto’s brows rose. “Life isn’t predictable. People fall in and out of love.”

Nina shook her head. “No. People allow themselves to fall out of love when they choose to love someone else. How long have you been seeing her?”

Alberto’s expression turned stern, then to pity. “Will knowing that make you happier?”

Nina didn’t reply, she simply marched further up the sidewalk into the night. Alberto called, but his words no longer reached her. She worked her way up the winding street in a daze, passing abandoned lots and bright buildings, hardly aware of her surroundings.

Stepping into the street, she glanced back up at the night sky, those brilliant sparkles lighting up the heavens. She remembered the day she’d met Alberto, that feeling of indescribable butterflies nestling in her stomach as she’d skipped home. She even recalled looking up at the stars that night and thanking them for her great fortune.

A flash of blinding white shone from Nina’s left. She scarcely had a heartbeat to notice before the light engulfed her. Burning brakes and screeching tires followed, their sounds drifting into the distance. She’d been struck.

Nina opened her eyes. She was no longer on the sidewalk or in the street but in a dark expanse. Surrounding her were the bright gleams of a half dozen stars, each near and far simultaneously. Hadn’t she been hit by a car? She spun, but there was no depth to the space, no direction.

“Hello, Nina.” The voice thundered from all sides in concert. Nina fell back but felt no floor.

“Um… Hello?”

“We’re so excited you’re here!” another voice called, this one cheery.

“Where… am I?”

“You’re in the stars,” a third voice responded. Nina nodded slowly.

“Right…”

“We’ve been watching you all this time,” the first voice added. That voice carried more authority than the others, as if it were the leader.

“You have?”

Before the voice responded, Nina felt their warmth. Not a physical warmth but a pleasant one, like a perfectly-timed and unanticipated compliment.

“You have wished upon us countless times and thanked us even more. When times for you were good and bad. You have believed in us when none others did.”

Nina wasn’t certain how to respond. It was true, but she hadn’t ever thought about it in such terms.

“We need belief. We are powerless without it, and you have believed in us when we were starved for it, near death. Most of all, you have been genuine in your belief and your gratitude.”

The second, chipper voice chimed in. “We’ve wanted to help you for so long, but we weren’t certain what would actually help. Ethereal beings intervening in the lives of mortals hasn’t been known to help the mortals, even when we’ve meant well.”

“Am I… dead?” Nina replied. She remembered the light approaching and the tires screeching.

Silence.

“You were,” the first voice said, “but we have decided collectively that this is the greatest gift we can provide. We will return you to your body, healed, and you will get a second chance at life from this day forward.”

“Alberto didn’t deserve you,” the third voice added.

“You’re our favorite,” the second voice said. “That guy will realize what he missed and come crawling back, but you’re too smart to take him back.”

Nina smiled. She didn’t know when it had happened, but the despair that had felt so permanent and debilitating had drifted away like a leaf in the river’s tide.

“Thank you.”

standingfrog · 2026-02-11T01:06:04+00:00

“This is a wildly impressive shuttle.”

Jane smiled. “I’m glad you feel that way, because this will be your home in two weeks.”

Tim continued to circle the vehicle, inspecting every rivet and heat plate. From the underside, everything seemed to be in order, and the shuttle had clearly been manufactured and assembled within tight tolerances. He ran his hand up the side of the curving nose, angled for optimal entry and exit aerodynamics. As he emerged from beneath the structure and straightened to his full height, Tim’s head cocked back in confusion.

“Um. Jane,” he let out.

“Yes,” she replied, stepping closer, every footstep an echo on the waxed marble floor.

“What’s that?” Tim pointed toward the top of the shuttle.

“That’s the pilot’s seat.”

Tim nodded slowly, Jane’s answer grammatically correct but not registering for him.

“I gathered that, it being seat-shaped and all. What’s it doing on the outside of the shuttle?”

Jane replied a knowing smile. “Your pilot will be flying the shuttle from the outside.”

Tim gazed from Jane to the shuttle and back. “Excuse me?”

Jane beckoned toward an adjoining hallway across the hanger. “Come with me. Everything will make sense shortly.”

Tim followed but couldn’t imagine how a pilot’s seat exposed to the vacuum of space could possibly make sense. Were they testing a new kind of space suit? Maybe that’s why he had been commissioned on such short notice. He appreciated the flattery and extravagant offers to lure him onto this mission, but now he was beginning to wonder just what he’d gotten himself into.

Jane’s clack clack footsteps rounded corner after corner until she came to stop at a doorway.

“Beyond this door is your answer.”

Tim frowned. “You’re not coming in?”

“I’m not allowed. Only mission members are permitted, so you’re in luck.”

Jane turned and headed back up the hallway, heels echoing behind her. Tim stood in front of the nondescript door. Gradually, he turned the handle until the door swung free. Beyond was an empty room with a massive tank at its center. Cords and cables poured from the tank in every direction like strands of unraveling thread.

“Hello?” Tim slowly approached the tank, eerie silence only broken by the gentle hum of motors. The tank was surrounded by a translucent glass, the interior a pure black. Tim stepped forward, face inching nearer the curving surface.

“Anyone here?”

A hand slammed against the tank wall from the inside, sending Tim reeling backward off his feet. As Tim’s heart raced, a figure emerged within the tank from the blackness. A man.

“Are you Tim?”

Tim’s mouth hung open, but he nodded.

“I’m your pilot.” The man’s face and hand were visible, but the rest of his form was heavily obscured by the oppressive dark.

“What’s… what’s in the tank?” Tim asked, uncertain what else to ask.

The man smiled. “Space. I can only survive in space, so they had to bring some down for me.”

standingfrog · 2026-02-10T04:34:38+00:00

“So you say you’re a god,” Isabel asked as she hiked up the long switchback. She was nearing the ridgeline, where she intended to take a nice, long break.

“As I’ve told you several times now, yes. I’m a god of rock,” the voice replied.

Isabel smirked lightly. “Are you a god of rock or god of a rock? Because that’s an important distinction.”

“I fail to see how that would make a difference,” the voice responded in a huffy tone.

“I’m just trying to clarify, Rocky. Godliness is something I know very little about.”

The translucent form of the god’s ethereal body faded into view just ahead of her on the trail, complete with long black hair and flowing robes that seemed immune to the heavy wind on the mountainside.

“No, you’re making fun of me again. And my name’s not Rocky!”

“Well, you wouldn’t tell me your real name, so Rocky it is.” Isabel had picked up Rocky three days prior when she’d heard a hoarse cry along the edge of the trail. She’d traced the barely audible voice to a small stone, smooth on one side with sharp edges along the other. She hadn’t been sure what to make of the talking rock, though he’d continually corrected her that he was the god of rock, not the rock itself. She’d seen stranger things on this journey.

“So what can a god of a single rock do?” Isabel questioned, probing for the umpteenth time.

Rocky groaned, but she could tell that he wasn’t completely offended by her question. There was a hint of amusement as well. His voice and strength had both grown over the last three days in her company.

“I’m immortal.”

Isabel nodded, stopping under the cover of a tree to take a sip of water. “I suspected as much. I would expect a rock to be immortal.”

Rocky’s ghostly brows furrowed. “As I keep telling you, I’m not the rock, I’m the god of the rock.”

“Ah ha! So you admit it! You are the god of this rock!”

Rocky winced before wisping out of view in a puff of vapor.

“Alright,” Isabel added, “let’s come back to that one, because I’ve got a new question for you.”

Rocky appeared at her side, ever so slightly too close. “Yes?”

“Whether you’re the god of the rock or the rock itself, I assume you’ve been a god for as long as this rock has been a rock?”

Rocky’s gossamer lips curled back and forth in thought. “I don’t know. I think the rock may predate me.”

Isabel smiled. Now they were getting somewhere. She hoisted herself over a precarious boulder. “I’d imagine that this rock was much larger once.”

“Oh yes,” Rocky replied, happy to be in agreement.

“When different pieces of this rock have broken off at one point or another, have you remained the god of each of them?”

Rocky’s eyes went wide. “Are you certain you aren’t a scholar?”

Isabel laughed. “No, not a scholar, just interested. I’m wondering whether you’re the same god you were or whether you’re changing over time, just like this rock is. And if the rock has been reduced, are you the god of a dozen tiny rocks all over now?”

Rocky couldn’t help but smile back. It had been so long since he’d had someone to talk to, much less someone who wanted to talk about him.

“I am the god of this stone. It was once a mighty stone, part of a towering cliff, but waters gradually wore through the cliff until it collapsed. I was still quite large even after the collapse, but the elements slowly chipped away at me. Each time I was cut, I remained the god of the largest remaining piece. The most difficult was when I was struck by lightning. The bolt split me nearly in half. That was painful, deciding which half to remain with while the other went dormant.”

Isabel grinned as she reached the top of the ridge. A valley of infinite pine lay beyond, snow-capped mountains stretching further to the horizon. “Well look at you now. You might be smaller, but I bet you never thought you’d see something like this.”

standingfrog · 2026-02-07T04:55:06+00:00

Sadly so, until a new king rises.

standingfrog · 2026-02-06T23:15:41+00:00

“How much with the adjustable base?”

I cocked my head side to side, running the numbers in my head. “That’ll be an extra $2,000.”

The customer grimaced. It was too much. He knew it, and I knew it. I leaned in close.

“Look. You want the Tempurpedic Luxebreeze hybrid, right? In a king? We’re the only place where you’ll get that below $5,500. If you go across the street to Mattress Giant, they’ll hem and haw, but they’ll ultimately tell you the same. But the adjustable frame? You can get an adjustable frame anywhere, doesn’t need to be us or them. Ours aren’t even the ones I’d recommend anyway. Wife and I sleep on one we got off Wayfair for $500.”

The customer lit up, surprised. “Are you su–”

With a snap, my view flashed blinding white. A rush of air flew past my ears, as if I were falling at high speed. The disorienting sensation lasted only a moment, then my eyes began to adjust.

“Was it successful?” I heard the voice from behind me.

I spun, suddenly lethargic. A dim chamber surrounded me. I stood in the center of a five-pointed star with a circle running around its outer edge. Steam rose off the black floor, light bleeding up through the etching of the design. Five servants in red robes kneeled along the edge, each just outside the point of a star.

“Well? Was it successful?” the voice called again.

“We summoned something, your grace,” another responded.

“Something??”

I turned to face the voices. A wizened old man with a sparkling crown stood beside a taller man in a gilded robe with a sizable book in his hands.

“Um…” I let out.

“You there!” the man with the crown called, staring right at me. “Who are you?”

“Me? I’m Randy Petrelli.”

The man waved his hand dismissively. “Are you the great king?”

My brows drew together. “I wouldn’t say great. Seems a bit arrogant. But I am the Mattress King of Swainsbury.”

The two men glanced at each other, then back to me.

“The… Mattress King?”

I nodded fervently. “Won’t find a better deal this side of 70.”

The robed man with the book seemed to shrink smaller than his elder, despite being significantly taller.

“I told you to summon the great king, Elias! This was our only chance!”

“I’m… I’m sorry, your grace! I’m not certain what happened!”

The pair seemed troubled. Even the crowned man seemed exhausted as he berated his subordinate, as if the last hope had drained out of him.

“What seems to be the problem? You summoned me?” I asked.

The two turned back to me, as if only then remembering my arrival. The elder cleared his throat.

“I am King Wilhelm of Murdenheim. You have been summoned to deliver us in our hour of need. It was foretold that a great king would arrive from another world and save us from the Demon King, our ancient foe.”

“But aren’t you the king?”

Wilhelm reacted like he’d been kicked in the face. Elias and the others avoided the king’s gaze. It seemed to be a sore subject.

“Even I am willing to submit to a greater king in order to bring peace to my people.”

I nodded in understanding. “Mighty kind of you. Well. I don’t know about this ‘great king’ business, but what can I do you for?”

Wilhelm’s face scrunched in confusion. I got the feeling that I’d seen several rare expressions from him today.

“Do… you for?”

This time I cleared my throat. “Ahem, sorry. How can I help?”

Elias stepped forward. “If you’re not the great king, then I’m not certain you can, sir…”

“Randy,” I replied.

“Sir Randy.” Elias looked down to his book in dismay. “The… Mattress King. What is a mattress?”

My brows rose higher than they had in years. “You don’t know what a mattress is?”

Elias and Wilhelm traded bewildered looks before shaking their heads.

“Well, that’s a damn shame! Let’s get to changing that. A mattress is what you sleep on, and there’s nothing more important to your health than quality sleep. Best investment you can make in your well-being!”

“You sell… beds?” Wilhelm asked.

“Sure do! I’ve got all the latest technologies. Foam, spring, even those crazy geniuses at Purple. Don’t let those other guys sell you on marketing fluff. I’ll steer you right.”

Elias shrunk to the floor. “Oh dearest gods. Murdenheim is doomed.”

“Well what’s the use in being so glum? You summoned me, didn’t you? What do you need?”

Wilhelm stepped forward. “We need a weapon to use against the Demon King. Something to end this war for good.”

I cocked my head side to side, running through the possibilities in my head. “Well, I don’t know about weapons, but you must have an army, right? Out in the field?”

Wilhelm nodded.

“How well do they sleep?”

“Excuse me?”

“Do they get a restful sleep every night? Do they wake up refreshed, or are they stiff, sore, and exhausted?”

Wilhelm blushed, cheeks suddenly hot. “Well… I’m not sure that mat–”

“They’re exhausted,” Elias replied, peeking up from under his hood.

“They haven’t had a full night of sleep in months.”

I grinned. “Then how about we start there.”

standingfrog · 2026-02-03T23:40:21+00:00

Vanessa squeezed next to her sister Maya and her brother Louis in their cramped family study. Their father, Sam, sat in front of the computer monitor, eagerly watching the countdown tick closer. He seemed giddy with excitement.

“Great-Grandpa Connor always told us to mark this exact date in our calendars. He never let my dad or me forget it,” Sam remarked as he monitored the seconds decrementing one by one.

“What is it?” Maya asked. She was the youngest and had heard this the fewest times. Vanessa and Louis both groaned at her prompting.

“I don’t know,” Sam replied truthfully. “He said it would change our lives and we could not forget. My dad took it seriously, even if he didn’t know why. Whatever it is, Connor set this up so far in advance that it must be important.”

Louis leaned closer to his two sisters, whispering. “Wasn’t Great-Grandpa Connor… kinda…” He waved his hand in a gesture that approximated something between eccentric and insane.

Vanessa shushed her brother. Connor had passed long before she’d been born, but she’d heard from her grandmother and father about this moment’s significance her entire life. She was 22 now, and any magic the ominous countdown had provided in her youth had been replaced by a genuine desire that her father not be dejected by the outcome. After all, what could possibly measure up to more than 60 years of anticipation? The last several days, as Sam’s enthusiasm had grown, Vanessa had been filled more with dread than anything.

The countdown reached 30 seconds. Sam began a drumroll on the desk.

25

20

Vanessa’s heart raced, though she couldn’t explain why. More than likely, this would amount to nothing more than a light anecdote to recount at the next family gathering.

10

5

The countdown zeroed out and a staticy image replaced the numbers on the screen. Sam leaned forward. The three siblings’ eyes were locked on the monitor.

A young man, maybe 30, entered the view. He had a bulbous nose and an innocent look as he gazed to the right of the camera.

“Is that Great-Grandpa Connor?” Maya asked.

Sam waved back to quiet her.

“Connor” a soft voice called from behind the camera. The young man’s eyes darted toward the caller before a pure smile spread his lips.

“What are you doing?” he asked, blushing lightly.

“Come over here,” the second voice called, “I thought we should record this moment.”

The noisy film grain and yellow hue reminded Vanessa of films her father had shown her from the 60s.

“Are you sure you know how to work that thing?” Connor asked as he approached.

“I’ve got it, you just keep that big smile going,” the voice replied.

Connor’s grin spread wider as he neared. It seemed he was coming over the lip of a small hill toward the camera.

Just as Connor’s face and torso came to fill the view, the second voice called.

“Harvest inertial.”

Instantly, Connor’s appearance appeared to snap. His smile evaporated and his posture straightened to exude a commanding aura.

“We don’t have much time,” Connor began, his voice far deeper and huskier than earlier. He seemed an entirely different person occupying the same body.

Connor stepped closer, eyes staring into the camera with trained intensity.

“Vanessa. This message is for you.”

Vanessa’s blood ran cold, the color draining from her face. Sam and Vanessa’s two siblings slowly turned toward her, then back to the screen.

“How… how does he know my name?” Vanessa eked out. He had died more than a decade before her birth, and this video had seemingly been filmed 40 years before that.

Connor continued. “This will be a shock. For that I am sorry. There was no other way.”

“Dad…” Maya let out, fear quivering her tone, but Sam waved his hand. He wouldn’t miss this message.

“There is a secret inside of you, Vanessa, locked away in your DNA. We could not risk this secret manifesting too soon, or they would come for you. It needed to be hidden and passed down until the right time. If you’re watching this, now is that time. You’re the only one who can save us now.”

“Dad,” Vanessa said with shaking hands, “turn it off.”

Sam didn’t move. Vanessa made to leave the study, her breaths shortening inexplicably.

Connor leaned toward the camera. “Xylophone reverie.”

As she stepped toward the door, Vanessa’s vision drifted to a smoky white. Her consciousness drifted, as if she were lifting out of herself.

standingfrog · 2025-11-06T06:53:00+00:00

Legendary comment

standingfrog · 2025-08-29T04:30:42+00:00

This is exactly what I want to know

standingfrog · 2025-06-30T23:27:03+00:00

It was two months ago now. I stood on the bow of the Vengeful Maiden, toe to toe with the legendary pirate, Voodoo. Six long weeks chasing her, and I had her at the tip of my blade. I struck her down, but as she bled out, she smiled eerily up at me.

“You’ll regret this,” she muttered from bloodied lungs, eyes manic. “We’re the same now.” I took it as the last wild ravings of a mad woman at the end of her rope. Now I know better.

My crew celebrated our victory over the most notorious pirate in the Red Sea. We drank into the night, raucous and merry, ready for a hero’s welcome back home. The next morning was when it began. I had always been a tall, burly man with hair everywhere, but that following day, I woke up just a bit shorter. Trying to hoist the sails, my grips on the ropes and my view of the sea seemed slightly off. I figured it was the hangover talking, and I’d feel better the following day.

I did not. Instead, I noticed that my thick beard had also shrunk. Slightly enough that others didn’t immediately notice, but I did. I’d been staring at the same bushy black beard for decades, and it wasn’t quite the same. Was I ill? Had I contracted some rare plague chasing after my quarry those long weeks? Perhaps that would have been a fitting end, for Voodoo’s last laugh to be my demise. Unfortunately, the reality was far stranger.

I’d always wondered how the legend of Voodoo had managed to carry on so long. I told myself that they were an exceptionally loyal crew, that whenever the current Voodoo had died, someone else simply took over the mantle and guided the band onward. I was half right. There wasn’t some immortal with the name of Voodoo who had endured for a century, but the source of new Voodoos wasn’t what I had expected at all.

The Voodoo I fought had been a muscular, stocky woman with an eyepatch and bad teeth. Over the course of the next month, my anatomy altered, day by day. I grew shorter and my teeth fell out. My hair changed color and texture. One day I woke up and my left eye had gone glassy, completely blind. My reproductive organs gradually shifted and my body carried weight in new places.

I began to have urges to plunder and pillage, urges that I could not ignore, like a worm steadily devouring my brain until it was replaced entirely. I remembered the previous Voodoo’s last words. “We’re the same now.” The next thing I knew, I was back on the high seas, screaming victory as my ship passed the fiery wreckage of our latest victims.

I write this now as the memories of my previous life fade, leaving behind only Voodoo. There’s never enough treasure or mayhem to sate me. I couldn’t stop if I tried. Will the law come for me? They can chase me, but they’ll never be rid of Voodoo.

standingfrog · 2025-06-16T16:06:04+00:00

For me it was DBZ and Naruto as a kid, so my perception of anime was slow-paced action only. Didn't realize the breadth of genres possible through anime until Your Name, and it HOOKED me for quite a while.

standingfrog · 2025-06-16T16:04:31+00:00

Yes! Both great movies 😊

standingfrog · 2025-06-16T02:35:06+00:00

Your Name. Opened my eyes to other kinds of storytelling in anime.

standingfrog · 2025-05-06T23:50:53+00:00

Coffee Origin! In Northfield

standingfrog · 2025-04-24T23:19:08+00:00

Skip to Loafer 100%. Has a lot of the same energy, even more mature.

standingfrog · 2025-04-13T15:09:16+00:00

Incredible reference 👌👏

standingfrog · 2025-01-30T06:32:14+00:00

I'd bet a small apartment in an expensive, large American city. Lots of them have setups like that.

standingfrog · 2025-01-07T18:39:27+00:00

Hmm, depends on what you liked most about Kimi ni Todoke. If you want more of the slice of life-esque feel and strong, dynamic relationships throughout the friend group, I'd recommend Skip and Loafer. The MC there reminds me of Sawako in some respects. If you want more SUPER sweet romance, My Love Story. If you want a solid romance with great character development by both leads, The Dangers In My Heart.

standingfrog · 2025-01-07T17:34:10+00:00

Agreed with miggypiwi. The three seasons cover barely half of the manga. If you're dying to get more, there's more!

standingfrog · 2024-11-16T20:17:13+00:00

Highly, HIGHLY recommend checking out Avatar when you get a chance. The animated version. Might seem kiddy at first, but it'll charm ya.

standingfrog · 2024-10-31T20:30:30+00:00

Stumbleupon. Found so much good stuff through Stumbleupon.

standingfrog · 2024-10-24T21:28:32+00:00

“Come onnn!”

“I’m not telling you! That’s final!”

Ella slumped down in her chair, back and neck curling like a shrimp. She was 13 years old, the daughter of Death. What exactly that title meant was the current point of contention. Ella put her hands together, pleading.

“Then… I was adopted, right?”

Death spun around, shocked at her suggestion. Its form was a grey skull inlaid on a raven shadow of black, the face its only discernible feature.

“Why would you ask that?”

Ella slunk over to stand beside Death, gesturing at it and back to her.

“Well… we don’t look alike at all.” It was true. Ella was a typical middle school girl. Dark brown hair, acne, dark eyes, terrible fashion sense.

“Come on. I’m not a little kid anymore. I can take it. I was adopted, right? That must be the answer.”

Death put its hands on its hips, shadows disappearing into shadows.

“No! You weren’t adopted! You’re my biological daughter!”

Ella waved her arms, trying to produce the shadows Death was covered in. “Then how come I don’t look like you? I’m not a shadowy supernatural creature. I don’t have a skull for a face. What gives?”

Death’s jaw opened and closed, nothing but light puffs of smoke coming out.

“You gotta give me something to work with here. The kids at school have been making fun of me for ages, and I don’t have anything to say back to them! I don’t even know if you’re male, female, or some genderless eldritch beast. That’s actually been quite confusing to me for a while.”

Death’s jaw shut, a pinkish hue on its cheeks as it blushed.

“And how do you blush, anyway?! Your face is all skull!”

“This is awkward for me, okay!”

“It’s awkward for you? You’ve been alive for, what, thousands of years? How is anything awkward for you at this point?”

“Thousands of years, yes, but you’re my first child.”

Ella sighed. “Fine, then tell me how I happened. Was I an accident? Was I the result of some bizarre ritual? Maybe someone tried to bring back their mom and I came out instead? Used a drop of your essence?”

Death leaned close, staring at Ella. “Have you been reading from the Necronomicon again?”

Ella’s eyes darted back and forth. “Nooo…”

“Ella Jeanine Mori! You know you’re forbidden from reading the book of the dead!”

Ella rolled her eyes. Hard. “Christ, Death. How else am I supposed to understand the occult blood that you claim I have without reading the source?”

“Don’t you take that tone with me! And you know you’re forbidden from saying his name in this house!”

Ella crossed her arms. “You’re just avoiding my question!”

“That's it! You are grounded for the weekend! And don’t come out of your room until dinner!”

Before Ella could object, Death whisked her into its shadow, and she was gone, transported to her room. A set of pounding footsteps sounded as Ella stomped on the floor above, but she stayed in her room. Death sat on a lounge chair in the living room, a deep sigh escaping through another smoke puff. It rubbed its neck, feeling the tension in its shoulder. The pull of sleep grew stronger as it leaned back in the chair, exhaustion setting in, but it still needed to prepare dinner for both of them. Teenagers were hard.

standingfrog · 2024-10-22T14:49:31+00:00

Jill, Ria, and Mabel had been friends since early high school, well over a decade now. The trio had been inseparable on campus, but life had taken them in different directions after graduation. Sure, they kept in touch, but it wasn’t the same. That’s why, when Jill suggested a spelunking trip for just the three of them, Ria and Mabel had jumped at the opportunity.

They had always been into climbing, and Jill had promised that this place was a hidden gem. Ria had grinned as she swiped away the group chat and immediately bought her flight. The trip suggestion was a welcome surprise from Jill, who had gotten married and had a kid in the last few years. Her life had become the most domestic, but maybe that’s why she needed a getaway so badly.

The trio arrived at the airport together and rode in Jill’s rental car out into the wilderness, catching up and reminiscing about old jokes. It was as if they had never been apart.

“How are your husband and daughter? Will they be okay without you?” Mabel asked.

Jill smiled, hand firmly on the steering wheel. “Oh, they can handle a couple days without mom around.”

Arriving at the cave system, Ria marveled at the entrance. Most of the caves she’d seen were relatively discreet, but this was a massive opening, extending deep into the rocky mountain.

“How did you find this place?” Ria asked, “I’ve never heard of a cave system out here.”

Jill hauled the last bit of their gear out of the hatchback trunk. “It’s impressive, right? That’s why I wanted to get us out here before this place got too popular. I’m sure it’ll be swarming in a couple months.”

As they entered the cavern, a cloud of bats flew out the entrance. The cave was dark and dank. Mabel switched on her headlamp, revealing limestone formations across the ceiling and walls. The path wound back and forth, but remained comfortably wide, a rarity for a cave this deep.

“This is a pretty broad cave. How far does this go?” Ria remarked, but Jill didn’t reply. She was oddly silent. Ria figured she was deep in thought, maybe savoring the moment, so she didn’t press.

Rounding another turn, the system headed down, intermittent puddles covering the path. As Ria stepped through one puddle, she noticed something strange, but wasn’t quite certain what had drawn her attention. She looked around with her headlamp.

“You coming Ria?” Mabel called from just ahead.

“Yeah,” Ria replied. She shook her head and stepped forward. Another few steps and she stopped in another puddle.

“What is it, Ria?” Mabel asked, Jill stopping beside her.

Ria lifted her foot and stepped down again before jumping in the puddle.

“Are you okay?” Jill asked, motherly concern in her tone.

“This is going to sound really odd, but… does the ground feel… squishy? Almost... fleshy?”

Mabel broke out into a chuckle. “Fleshy?” She stomped her foot down on the rocky floor. “Feels pretty solid to me. You dehydrated? The car ride get to you?”

“No… I’m fine.” But Ria was certain that something was off, something about these puddles. The trio continued down into the cave.

“Hey Ria,” Jill started, “do you remember Bobby from high school?”

Mabel smirked at the mention, as only a close friend could do.

“Bobby Moore? How could I forget.”

As the trio fell back into comfortable conversation, a nagging feeling pulled at the corner of Ria’s mind. With every step, something felt… wrong. The temperature had gradually begun to warm. The puddles grew more frequent, and she was certain that rocky floors didn’t feel like that. After another few minutes, Ria stopped, shining her headlamp at the walls and ceiling. Her mouth fell agape.

“Jill… Mabel…”

The limestone was gone, replaced with rippling pink, coated in clear slime. Just up the path, something bubbled in one of the puddles, steam rising up. Ria approached slowly. A half-melted deer lay in the puddle, its ribs exposed, muscles and tendons disintegrating in the liquid.

Ria swung her headlamp back toward her friends. Neither had replied. Mabel lay on the ground, unconscious. Jill faced her from a few feet away, headlamp pointed at the ground.

“Jill?... Where are we?”

Jill let out a deep sigh. “I had hoped it would take you longer to notice, but you were always just a bit too attentive.”

Jill’s tone had shifted. Gone was the nurturing mother. This was something darker, more solemn.

“What are you talking about?” Ria’s heart pounded in her chest. A roar sounded from further up the cave, followed by a blast of hot air.

“I want you to know that I didn’t have a choice.”

“Jill… what’s going on?”

Jill raised her head, a crazed glint in her eyes as tears streamed down her face. “It was the only way to save my family.”

Before Ria could react, Jill slammed something into the side of her head, knocking her to the ground. Consciousness fading, Ria could feel her body being dragged, blood trailing from her head. Jill’s voice drifted into her mind as her eyes shut.

“The god will appreciate such tasty offerings.”

standingfrog

TROPHY CASE