In The Shuffling Madness



In The Shuffling Madness is a blog set in the Madverse, written by Foolamancer. It centers around an old man named Archibald Donald Sullivan, Junior, who takes up the pen name "Locomotive Breath" when he begins uploading transcripts of certain documents in his possession. Said documents, unsurprisingly, deal with the various Fears. But Locomotive Breath's actions have drawn the attention of the Fears. Aqualung is stalking him, devouring his archives and stealing his memories; The Cold Boy has left his mark; EAT has taken a personal interest in him; and The Rake has been leaving cryptic messages about The Archangel scratched onto the back sides of mirrors. It can be read here.

Mythos Alterations
In The Shuffling Madness has made multiple major alterations to the Mythos.

The Blind Man and The Quiet have been combined into one entity, which can be variously addressed by either title. The protagonist of the story refers to it as "Aqualung", after the character, Aqualung, from the Jethro Tull song "Aqualung" from their album Aqualung. This being is described as being alien and terrifying even to the rest of the Fears, due to its nature: Aqualung is the end of all things incarnate.

The Archangel, The Empty City, The Nightlanders, and The Plague Doctor have received the same treatment. Elements of all four beings, most prominently the City and the Archangel, are visible, but the being itself is referred to as The Archangel.

The Wooden Girl and The Cold Boy, while distinct entities, have been hinted to have some sort of connection with one another. The Rake may or may not be related to them as well.

In The Shuffling Madness takes much of its inspiration from the Cthulhu Mythos. In particular, the idea that too much knowledge of the nature of the Fears will drive one insane, and that it is impossible to fully understand them without being entirely mad, is one that was very prominent in the Cthulhu Mythos. The form of The Archangel shown in In The Shuffling Madness has several features in common with Yog-Sothoth, and EAT is similar in depiction to Shub-Niggurath.

Protagonists

 * Archibald Donald Sullivan, Junior - a.k.a. "Locomotive Breath". The blog's main protagonist, he's an old man with a bitter and spiteful personality. He's also apparently Indisen.
 * Christie Waterman - A woman who has been a Runner since she was fourteen years old. She is extremely skilled at avoiding the Fears, but appears prone to acts of extreme violence against Servants.
 * James - Another Runner, the group's medical "expert". He has apparently been infected with something referred to as "The Eleventh Plague".
 * Phil - A rather large man on the run from The Slender Man. He is largely clueless when it comes to the Fears, and has to trust in the others to lead him through safely.

Antagonists

 * Aqualung - One of the Fears, associated with the fear of loss. It is absolute destruction and nothingness incarnate, and has been stalking Locomotive Breath for some time.
 * EAT - Another Fear. According to Thaddeus, it is life given form.
 * The Archangel - Another Fear, described as being complete control and dominion.
 * Thaddeus River - A servant, or ex-servant, who has been stalking both Locomotive Breath and the other protagonists for several years. He has infected James with "The Eleventh Plague", which he claims to have been exposed to himself. He has no ability to feel pain, and appears to have more knowledge of the truths of the mythos than most. He claims that these stem from being exposed to the Plague.