History VisualNovel / TheMiskatonic

* DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu?: Done to the Abomination himself to the point where it becomes routine. Since in Lovecraft’s original ''Literature/TheCallOfCthulhu'' the titular character’s temporarily neutralized by being hit in the head by a ship, in this game it’s become regular naval practice to drive a ship through his damaged body to make sure he never fully regenerates. Parts of his skin are even collected and used as a sort of tracking device / compass, since the fact the body is always trying to pull itself back together means the tentacles are always pointing towards where he is at any time.

** Lizzy herself caused it to [[spoiler: the Ancient Ones, precursor to all life on Earth and creators of the primordial ooze. They arrived on the planet as a remnant of their former glory, and established themselves in Antarctica as they tried to rebuild. The University sent Lizzy of Dunwich to them as an emissary, the Ancient Ones drowned themselves in their own ooze so that they wouldn't have to behold her]].

* SkewedPriorities: Mindy in the Morning's anger in hearing that [[spoiler: there is a HiveMind in the basement that could cover the world in its fleshy glory]] is not about Charlotte's involvement in the whole affair or the inherent danger to the world; it's that Mindy just finally got tenure, and now Miskatonic's [[spoiler: a university with no staff]] and her paychecks are suddenly at risk.
* ScrewThisImOuttaHere: After leaving the [[spoiler: Living Heaven in the Sanitarium]], Charlotte decides to take up Annie's offer of leaving Miskatonic University with her and heading to England, where they can have a life together.

* WorldOfBuxom: Not limited to the humans: Many distinctly reptilian female characters are busty too. Sammy Kappuli even wears a high-neck sweater that is stretched transparent enough to show bra cups. A quick glance at his other work shows this is AuthorAppeal.

The Miskatonic is an English-language Horror Comedy written and illustrated by Jack Cayless through Creator/RapscallionGames. Not related to the Miskatonic University of ''VisualNovel/Demonbane''.

The Miskatonic is an English-language Horror Comedy written and illustrated by Jack Cayless through Creator/RapscallionGames.

* CrapsackWorld: Parodied. Human life has so little value in this version of the Franchise/CthulhuMythos that the deaths of seven faculty members in a day at a prestigious university is considered pleasantly low. Even Charlotte doesn’t work to solve the world’s ills, just solve a mystery.

* DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu?: Done to the Abomination himself to the point where it becomes routine. Since in Lovecraft’s original "Literature/TheCallOfCthulhu" the titular character’s temporarily neutralized by being hit in the head by a ship, in this game it’s become regular naval practice to drive a ship through his damaged body to make sure he never fully regenerates. Parts of his skin are even collected and used as a sort of tracking device since the fact the body is always trying to pull itself back together means the tentacles are always pointing towards where he is at any time.

* LighterAndSofter: While all the monstrous figures and concepts are taken from the Franchise/CthulhuMythos along with the dark atmosphere, the majority of the characters are too affable for the story to come anywhere near a Lovecraftian tone (or at least when Lovecraft was playing things straight.) [[spoiler:This is true even after it’s revealed that most of the characters have been performing a WellIntentionedExtremist (at best) plot all along.]]
* LovecraftianSuperpower: A few of the staff members. Pretty much the only one who uses any on-screen is Charlotte [=LeStrange=].

* NightmareFetishist: Common among the University, and Charlotte explicitly says that she's into witchcraft because she finds dark magic and eldritch beings to be cool. Charlotte [=LeStrange=] comes across a disembodied human nervous system with worms protruding from it and says “Look at this sick awesome thing!”

* ObfuscatingStupidity: [[spoiler:If it seems really dumb of the university to send Charlotte to New Orleans to knock on a door when Lizzy of Dunwich would be accompanying her anyway and thus could do it herself without risking Charlotte uncovering their scheme, it’s because the whole assignment was meant as the beginning of a test of how Charlotte would respond to their primordial ooze scheme.]]
* ThePiratesWhoDontDoAnything: Lampshaded by Charlotte [=LeStrange=]. When she gets praised for how she makes the staff feel safer since there hasn’t been a single accident since she started working, Charlotte irately says it's because everyone seemingly just stands in the hallways chatting.

* AdorableAbomination: Lizzy and Billy of Dunwich. Makes sense as their shadow appearance is actually a construct of the human mind to protect it from processing their madness-inducing true appearance. So if the mind is just making up how they look anyway, why not make them look cute?

The Miskatonic is an English-language Horror Comedy written and illustrated by Jack Cayless through Rapscallion Games.

** Lizzy herself caused it to [[spoiler: the Ancient Ones, precursor to all life on Earth and creators of the primordial ooze. They arrived on the planet as a remnant of their former glory, and established themselves in Antartica as they tried to rebuild. Once Lizzy of Dunwich tried to approach them, the Ancient Ones drowned themselves in their own ooze so that they wouldn't have to behold her]].

* LovecraftianSuperpower: A few of the staff members. Pretty much the only one who uses them is Charlotte [=LeStrange=].
* MagicMisfire: Faculty member Amelia Luceat tells Charlotte how there were grimoire authors who created spell books which were deliberately written so that the spells and curses within would befall the people who read the book instead of their intended target. She has extensive facial scars from learning this the hard way.

* TalkingTheMonsterToDeath: Played With. [[spoiler:During the climax, Charlotte confronts a hive mind called Living Heaven led by her old friend Rummin Fletcher. Rummin tries to convince Charlotte to merge with the collective because it’s such a euphoric experience and announces that their plan is to break out of the university and absorb every human. Charlotte gives a desperate plea that humans need their free will, even if they choose to be assholes. Rummin initially rejects that argument, but the rest of the collective realizes that inviting toxic personalities in could harsh their buzz, so they should only let nice people in. Ultimately they decide to let Charlotte go if she spreads the word there’s a pleasant hive mind to join beneath Miskatonic University, which surely some like-minded but lonely people will use their free will to join, so potentially win-win.]]

* TalkingTheMonsterToDeath: Played With. [[spoiler:During the climax, Charlotte confronts a hive mind called Living Heaven led by her old friend Rummin Fletcher. Rummin tries to convince Charlotte to merge with the collective because it’s such a euphoric experience and announces that their plan is to break out of the university and absorb every human. Charlotte gives a desperate plea that humans need their free will, even if they choose to be assholes. Rummin initially rejects that argument, but the rest of the collective realizes that inviting toxic personalities in could harsh their buzz, so they should only let nice people in. Ultimately they decide to let Charlotte go if she spreads the word there’s a pleasant hive mind to join beneath Miskatonic University, which surely some like-minded but lonely people will use their free will to join, so potentially win-win.]]
* ThePiratesWhoDontDoAnything: Lampshaded by Charlotte [=LeStrange=]. When she gets praised for how she makes the staff feel safer since there hasn’t been an accident since she started working, Charlotte irately says it's because everyone seemingly just stands in the hallways chatting.
* SkewedPriorities: Mindy in the Morning's anger in hearing that [[spoiler: there is a HiveMind in the basement that could cover the world in its fleshy glory]] is not about Charlotte's involvement in the whole affair; it's that Mindy just finally got tenure, and now Miskatonic's [[spoiler: a university with no staff]] and her paychecks are suddenly at risk.

[[https://www.patreon.com/user/overview?u=2490649 A full build was released in January 2018.]]

* ThePiratesWhoDontDoAnything: Lampshaded by Charlotte [=LeStrange=]. When she gets praised for how she makes the staff feel safer since there hasn’t been an accident since she started working, Charlotte irately says it because everyone seemingly just stands in the hallways chatting.

* WorldOfBuxom: Many distinctly non-human female characters are busty. Sammy Kappuli even wears a high-neck sweater that is somehow transparent enough to show bra cups. A quick glance at his other work shows this is AuthorAppeal.

* ScrewThisImOuttaHere: After leaving the [[spoiler: Living Heaven in the Sanitarium]], Charlotte decides to take up Anne's offer of leaving Miskatonic University with her and heading to England, where they can have a life together.

* CollegeRadio: Mindy in the Morning is a radio show that provides news for the University from dusk to dawn, making it hard for Charlotte to get enough sleep since she doesn’t seem to have a way to mute the broadcast in her room.

* HowIsThatEvenPossible?: Charlotte asks Nutty Annie how, as a regular human aside from being an insane cannibal, she’s able to effortlessly hang from ceilings and always appear near Charlotte anytime Annie wants to make a wisecrack. Nutty Annie admits she doesn’t know herself, but admits the constant switching from floor to ceiling plays hell on her breasts.

* MagicMisfire: Faculty member Amelia Luceat tells Charlotte how there were grimoire authors who created spell books which were deliberately written so that the spells and curses would befall the people who read the book instead of their intended target. She has extensive facial scars from learning this the hard way.

* NightmareFetishist: Common. Charlotte [=LeStrange=] comes across a disembodied human nervous system with worms protruding from it and says “Look at this sick awesome thing!”

Charlotte LeStrange is a witch from Maine who lives in a world where all H. P. Lovecraft’s monsters are not only real but accepted as a fact of life. She’s recently been hired as a security guard for Miskatonic University. Acquainting herself with the faculty, she comes across a conspiracy that’s nefarious even by the standards of her society. With a ragtag crew that includes a cannibal and a few Eldritch abominations, LeStrange is determined to get to the bottom of it. Even though we know she’ll end up ruining everything.

!!''TheMiskatonic' provides examples of:

* BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor: Averted. [[spoiler:The hivemind the students and faculty merge into is in a sense what the coven Charlotte LeStrange came from wanted: A utopia where everyone is blissfully connected, particularly in a sexual sense. Still, even before the hivemind existed Charlotte said that it would violate people’s free will to force them to join any such group, which was a deal breaker for her.]]
* BlackComedyCannibalism: Nutty Annie, which she uses primarily to tease Charlotte LeStrange.
* BlackEyesOfEvil: Inverted. Charlotte LeStrange’s LovecraftianSuperpower “magic eyes” makes them go black. It looks evil and creepy, but she only means to use it for benign or benevolent purposes such as freeing a character from a vat of malignant goo.

* ForegoneConclusion: It’s spoiled from the beginning that Charlotte LeStrange will ruin everything. [[spoiler:We also see from her appearance in the framing segments partway through the story that she’ll survive.]]

* HotWitch: Charlotte LeStrange and Rummin Fletcher. Since they’re said to be the type of witch that goes “Nekkid in the rain” and don’t know what swimsuits are, the author likely imagined the entire Chesuncook Coven is like that.

* LovecraftianSuperpower: A few of the staff members. Pretty much the only one who uses them is Charlotte LeStrange.

* MarshmallowHell: The first thing Rummin Fletcher does when reuniting with old friend Charlotte LeStrange. If you look closely, Charlotte is grinning.
* NightmareFetishist: Common. Charlotte LeStrange comes across a disembodied human nervous system with worms protruding from it and says “Look at this sick awesome thing!”
* NoodleIncident: Charlotte LeStrange looks at a map of the world and asks if it’s accurate because land masses are missing or have been added. Presumably this is related to alien gods taking over, but it’s not explained how or why.

* PowerDegeneration: Charlotte LeStrange is able to use her “Magic Eyes” to normalize a vat of primordial goo and free Billy of Dunwich, but the process is so painful her eyes bleed and take a long time to heal.

* ThePiratesWhoDontDoAnything: Lampshaded by Charlotte LeStrange. When she gets praised for how she makes the staff feel safer since there hasn’t been an accident since she started working, Charlotte irately says it because everyone seemingly just stands in the hallways chatting.

* UglyCute: Many of the abominations. Even a photo of a Deep One is a bit charming (it helps that his wife in the photo [[https://i.imgur.com/0ZEoxbb.png looks happy]] too.)

* WhatAnIdiot: After solving the mystery [[spoiler:and learning that Miskatonic is performing morally questionable acts, Charlotte LeStrange storms to her boss's office, quits on the spot, and says she’ll be contacting the police and siccing her coven on the university. She even dares the university to stop her. All this is done completely unarmed EVEN THOUGH SHE KNOWS SHE HAS A WEAPON IN HER QUARTERS! It’s explicitly pretty true to the character.]]

* CrapsackWorld: Parodied. Human life has so little value in this version of the CthulhuMythos that the deaths of seven faculty members in a day at a prestigious university is considered pleasantly low. Even Charlotte doesn’t work to solve the world’s ills, just solve a mystery.

* LighterAndSofter: While all the monstrous figures and concepts are taken from the CthulhuMythos along with the dark atmosphere, the majority of the characters are too affable for the story to come anywhere near a Lovecraftian tone (or at least when Lovecraft was playing things straight.) [[spoiler:This is true even after it’s revealed that most of the characters have been performing a WellIntentionedExtremist (at best) plot all along.]]

* DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu?: Done to the Abomination himself to the point where it becomes routine. Since in Lovecraft’s original CallOfCthulhu the titular character’s temporarily neutralized by being hit in the head by a ship, in this game it’s become regular naval practice to drive a ship through his damaged body to make sure he never fully regenerates. Parts of his skin are even collected and used as a sort of tracking device since the fact the body is always trying to pull itself back together means the tentacles are always pointing towards where he is at any time.

* PowerDegeneration: Charlotte LeStrange is able to use her “Magic Eyes” to normalize a vat of primordial goo and free Billy from Dunwich, but the process is so painful her eyes bleed and take a long time to heal.

* WellIntentionedExtremist: Miskatonic’s faculty spread a mutagen in the air to collect primordial ooze with the ultimate intention of creating a euphoric hivemind. They also tortured or killed at least a few people to extract primordial ooze, including friends.

* HorrifyingtheHorror: Even though her appearance is too frightening for a human mind to process, Lizzy of Dunwich is speechless with disgust to learn that Charlotte feels a romance between a human and a Deep One could possibly be sweet.

* WorldofBuxom: Many distinctly non-human female characters are busty. Sammy Kappuli even wears a high-neck sweater that is somehow transparent enough to show bra cups. A quick glance at his other work shows this is AuthorAppeal.

* Padding: Half the characters could be removed with no impact on the story. They seem to exist mostly so Jack Cayless can make the visual novel take longer and put more of his comedic exchanges and worldbuilding in.

* AuthorAppeal: Faculty member Victoria Reddler’s arms have been eaten by her pet worms. Given that in Jack Cayless’s previous project Redd the protagonist had no arms, it seems like Cayless just might have an amputee fetish. See also World of Buxom.

* DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu?: Done to the Abomination himself to the point where it becomes routine. Since in Lovecraft’s original CallofCthulhu the titular character’s temporarily neutralized by being hit in the head by a ship, in this game it’s become regular naval practice to drive a ship through his damaged body to make sure he never fully regenerates. Parts of his skin are even collected and used as a sort of tracking device since the fact the body is always trying to pull itself back together means the tentacles are always pointing towards where he is at any time.

* SofterandLighter: While all the monstrous figures and concepts are taken from the CthulhuMythos along with the dark atmosphere, the majority of the characters are too affable for the story to come anywhere near a Lovecraftian tone (or at least when Lovecraft was playing things straight.) [[spoiler:This is even after it’s revealed that most of the characters have been performing a WellIntentionedExtremist (at best) plot all along.]]
* TalkingtheMonstertoDeath: Played With. [[spoiler:During the climax, Charlotte confronts a hive mind called Living Heaven led by her old friend Rummin Fletcher. Rummin tries to convince Charlotte to merge with the collective because it’s such a euphoric experience and announces that their plan is to break out of the university and absorb every human. Charlotte gives a desperate plea that humans need their free will, even if they choose to be assholes. Rummin initially rejects that argument, but the rest of the collective realizes that inviting toxic personalities in could harsh their buzz, so they should only let nice people in. Ultimately they decide to let Charlotte go if she spreads the word there’s a pleasant hive mind to join beneath Miskatonic University, which surely some like-minded but lonely people will use their free will to join, so potentially win-win.]]

* Tsundere: Nutty Annie is Type B. She’s constantly joking with Charlotte LeStrange about eating her well past the point where Charlotte says it’s annoying and she blithely oversteps some boundaries like entering Charlotte’s quarters without permission while she’s away. But she also doesn’t hesitate to help Charlotte when asked. [[spoiler:She and Charlotte become a couple at the end, and when they’re in a relationship Annie still likes to push Charlotte’s buttons such as with an excessive scrub down.]]

* ObfuscastingStupidity: [[spoiler:If it seems really dumb of the university to send Charlotte to New Orleans to knock on a door when Lizzy of Dunwich would be accompanying her anyway and thus could do it herself without risking Charlotte uncovering their scheme, it’s because the whole assignment was meant as the beginning of a test of how Charlotte would respond to their primordial ooze scheme.]]

* DepartmentOfReundancyDepartment: The description for a Room of Goo is simply “There’s a lot of it.” If you click on the icon to investigate, Charlotte can’t think of anything beyond “That’s a lot of goo.”

[[https://www.patreon.com/user/overview?u=2490649A full build was released in January 2018.]]

The Miskatonic is an English-language Horror Comedy VisualNovel written and illustrated by Jack Cayless through Rapscallion Games. It was created after a February 2015 Kickstarter campaign with a £11,000 goal reached £17,847.

A full build was released in January 2018.

* BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor: Averted. [[spoiler[[*The hivemind the students and faculty merge into is in a sense what the coven Charlotte LeStrange came from wanted: A utopia where everyone is blissfully connected, particularly in a sexual sense. Still, even before the hivemind existed Charlotte said that it would violate people’s free will to force them to join any such group, which was a deal breaker for her.]]

* BlackEyesOfEvil: Inverted. Charlotte LeStrange’s LovecraftianSuperpower of “magic eyes” makes them go black. It looks evil and creepy, but she only means to use it for benevolent purposes such as freeing a character from a vat of malignant goo.

* Pajama-CladHero: Charlotte LeStrange spends a lot of the story in very grotty pajamas.

* TooManyMouths: All over the cast. Some have mouths in places of eyes, mouths on top of their heads, in place of arms, etc. [[spoiler:It turns out this is Miskatonic’s fault: They released primordial ooze into New England’s atmosphere.]] It’s treated as a mild inconvenience at most, though Charlotte gives herself a grime bath in the mornings to keep it from happening to her.
* TrademarkFavoriteFood: Lizzy of Dunwich really liked grilled cheese sandwiches, to the point she thinks the fact humans invented them was their best feature. [[spoiler:The story ends on a callback to it.]]

* UglyCute: Many of the abominations. Even a photo of a Deep One looks a bit charming (it helps that his wife in the photo [[https://i.imgur.com/0ZEoxbb.png looks happy]] too.)

* WhatAnIdiot: After solving the mystery [[spoiler:and learning that Miskatonic is performing morally questionable acts, Charlotte LeStrange storms to the office, quits, and says she’ll be contacting the police and siccing her coven on the university. She even dares the university to stop her. All this is done completely unarmed EVEN THOUGH SHE KNOWS SHE HAS A WEAPON IN HER QUARTERS! To be fair, it’s pretty true to the character.]]

* DepartmentofReundancyDepartment: The description for a Room of Goo is simply “There’s a lot of it.” If you click on the icon to investigate, Charlotte can’t think of anything beyond “That’s a lot of goo.”

* ForegoneConclusion: It’s spoiled from the beginning that Charlotte LeStrange will ruin everything. [[spoilerWe also see from her appearance in the framing segments partway through the story that she’ll survive.]]
* FramingDevice: Turns out Madame Peanutbutter has been telling the story of the game to [[spoilerLizzy and Billy of Dunwich to try and sell them on the idea of taking over Miskatonic University.]]

* ObfuscastingStupidity: [[spoiler:If it seems really dumb of the university to send Charlotte to New Orleans to knock on a door when Lizzy of Dunwich would be accompanying her anyway and thus could do it herself, it’s because the whole assignment was meant as the beginning of a test of how Charlotte would respond to their primordial ooze scheme.]]

* SofterandLighter: While all the monstrous figures and concepts are taken from the CthulhuMythos along with the dark atmosphere, the majority of the characters are too affable for the story to come anywhere near a Lovecraftian tone (or at least when Lovecraft was playing things straight.) [spoiler This is even after it’s revealed that most of the characters have been performing a WellIntentionedExtremist (at best) plot all along.]
* TalkingtheMonstertoDeath: Played With. [[spoiler: During the climax, Charlotte confronts a hive mind called Living Heaven led by her old friend Rummin Fletcher. Rummin tries to convince Charlotte to merge with the collective because it’s such a euphoric experience and announces that their plan is to break out of the university and absorb every human. Charlotte gives a desperate plea that humans need their free will, even if they choose to be assholes. Rummin initially rejects that argument, but the rest of the collective realizes that inviting toxic personalities in could harsh their buzz, so they should only let nice people in. Ultimately they decide to let Charlotte go if she spreads the word there’s a pleasant hive mind to join beneath Miskatonic University, which surely some likeminded but lonely people will use their free will to join, so potentially win-win.:]]

* TooManyMouths: All over the cast. Some have mouths in places of eyes, mouths on top of their heads, in place of arms, etc. [spoilerIt turns out this is Miskatonic’s fault: They released primordial ooze into New England’s atmosphere.] It’s treated as a mild inconvenience at most, though Charlotte gives herself a grime bath in the mornings to keep it from happening to her.
* TrademarkFavoriteFood: Lizzy of Dunwich really liked grilled cheese sandwiches, to the point she thinks the fact humans invented them was their best feature. [[spoiler The story ends on a callback to it.]]
* Tsundere: Nutty Annie is Type B. She’s constantly joking with Charlotte LeStrange about eating her well past the point where Charlotte says it’s annoying and she blithely oversteps some boundaries like entering Charlotte’s quarters without permission while she’s away. But she also doesn’t hesitate to help Charlotte when asked. [[spoilerShe and Charlotte become a couple at the end, and when they’re in a relationship Annie still likes to push Charlotte’s buttons such as with an excessive scrub down.]]
* UglyCute: Many of the abominations. Even a photo of a Deep One looks a bit charming (it helps that his wife in the photo looks happy too.)

* WhatAnIdiot: After solving the mystery [spoiler: and learning that Miskatonic is performing morally questionable acts, Charlotte LeStrange storms to the office, quits, and says she’ll be contacting the police and siccing her coven on the university. She even dares the university to stop her. All this is done completely unarmed EVEN THOUGH SHE KNOWS SHE HAS A WEAPON IN HER QUARTERS! To be fair, it’s pretty true to the character.]

[[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/the_miskatonic_header.jpg]]

[[spoiler[[* BittersweetEnding: Most of the faculty members and students, including at least a couple of Charlotte LeStrange’s friends, have merged into a ghastly hivemind. But Charlotte gets together with Nutty Annie and they go to England to marry and live happily ever after, or at least as happily as anyone can in such a hellish world.]]

* TalkingtheMonstertoDeath: Played With. [[spoilerDuring the climax, Charlotte confronts a hive mind called Living Heaven led by her old friend Rummin Fletcher. Rummin tries to convince Charlotte to merge with the collective because it’s such a euphoric experience and announces that their plan is to break out of the university and absorb every human. Charlotte gives a desperate plea that humans need their free will, even if they choose to be assholes. Rummin initially rejects that argument, but the rest of the collective realizes that inviting toxic personalities in could harsh their buzz, so they should only let nice people in. Ultimately they decide to let Charlotte go if she spreads the word there’s a pleasant hive mind to join beneath Miskatonic University, which surely some likeminded but lonely people will use their free will to join, so potentially win-win.:]]