Graduation is supposed to be something wonderful. The happiest day of your life, people say. It’s that one point in your life where 4 years, or more, of hard work comes to pay off. It’s a time where you hold your loved ones close and rejoice in becoming an adult.
The happiest day of his life made one mistake. Just something small, unnoticeable if you aren’t looking for a reason to believe. Objects that changed colors, people who met your gaze and looked like they were analyzing every thought behind your skull, or even just the way that everything in Hawkins felt so safe and happy that made everything feel almost wrong. But what really got him, what really set his mind into gear to process every mistake he’s glanced over, was a phrase from somebody who had all eyes on him.
“we look ridiculous. What is this? We look like Roman senators. I mean, it's not who I am. I don’t think it's who any of us are.”
Roman senators are those who keep the peace in a town. They are initially controlled by a censor, then an emperor. They are controlled by a power who lives to block out and suppress information and rights such as free speech, art, religion, and, when deemed necessary, communication between others.
An emperor is at the top, often known to be a commander of military, a lawmaker…. And a builder.
The puzzle pieces click, and the shape it begins to form is a world that resembles nothing he has seen in over a year. It feels right to look at, and only then does he realize the horror of his situation. He can almost feel the eyes locked on him now.
———-
FALSE HYDRA: A False Hydra is a terrifying, parasitic aberration from tabletop RPGs, appearing as a pale, fleshy mass with multiple human-like heads that sprout from long, writhing necks, feeding on people while using a magical "Discordant Song" to make entire towns forget its existence and its victims, effectively gaslighting reality itself as it grows by consuming minds and memories.