My Favorite Geadcanon For Zer0 Is That They're Just An Empty Power Suit, A Long Abandoned Project From

The hypnagogic state : how to reach it.

The hypnagogic state is a state where we naturally go into before sleeping, a sweet spot moment before sleeping and still being awake, a state where it is so powerful to be able to shift, get in the void, or basically do anything.

Now it requires NOTHING, it only requires one small thing that might sound tricky.

Staying awake long enough for it to come by on it's own, and actually on average it takes 10-5 mins from each person to enter it aware.

The steps:

Lay flat on your back (not needed, but many results come from laying on the back)

Do. Not. Care, just go with what you usually do to fall asleep, but one thing? You're not falling asleep, you're watching your body fall asleep, that sweet spot where your body is about to fall asleep? That's hypnagogia

Actually don't move, it may give your mind signs you're still not sleeping, now just lay there and try not to sleep while focusing on the blackness behind your eyelids.

You will start seeing flashing images or swirly things or even just flashing lights and imagery, this is the hypnagogia and you managed to reach it in just 10 mins of pretending to be asleep (acc it takes me 4)

Bam, that's the sweet spot, now affirm slowly for the void, or just sense your surroundings for shifting or maybe you can try your shifting method here! This state cannot argue back, you'll be immediately shifting in no time, and slipping in the void is so easy from it.

So really the whole steps is just "lay down, don't move, watch your eyelids, color seen? Hypnagogia reached, method or void procedure done, bam."

I managed to find a post on Reddit on how to keep your body awake, you can try 2 or 3 of them to keep yourself entertained, FULL CREDITS TO THE ONE WHO POSTED IT ON REDDIT (calaie_iscoolio):

"1. Looking in the darkness behind your eyelids

Basically what it says, when you close your eyes, just focus on the darkness until hypnagogic imagery begins to happen i.e. colors, shapes, literally anything that will show. When images begin to show up, do not interact or acknowledge what you are seeing, you can look at it, but don't try to control it and just let the images flow until you feel that the state is induced enough to where it won't disappear because you are "too" awake/aware.

2. "Forearm Up" Method

Another technique that basically helps with people who tend to fall asleep to quickly, basically lay down on your back like usual, lift your hand up in the air where your elbow is resting on your mattress, keep it there and as it slowly falls down that's where you'll begin to fall asleep, it'll drop and basically awake you back up.

I had also seen a shifter mention that they prefer to lay on their stomach and lifting their foot up in the air and basically do the same thing. This technique basically just wakes you back up.

3. Thomas Edison Method

Very similar to the "Forearm Up" Method, basically what Edison had done was he had held a steel ball in his hand, and when he began to fall asleep, the ball will drop and alert Edison awake, another technique to help with people to struggle to stay awake.

4. Imagine Constant Motion

Basically imagining something whether that be an animal or an object constantly moving like a horse galloping, a dogs tail wagging side to side, etc. (Pretty simple, for people who find it much easier to visualize).

5. Tire your body through out the day

During the day, you could do any tasks that would just tire your body out that leads up to your attempt to induce the state, it'll make it much easier for you to get into the state and induce it since your body is already tired enough to relax.

6. Repeating "hypnagogia"

This will mean you have you just repeat the words "hypnagogia" to yourself till you get tired enough and then hypnagogic imagery will eventually appear.

7. Counting

Basically just like regular shifting methods, you could focus on counting up to how much you want to until you begin to get the hypnagogic hallucinations, to keep yourself from falling asleep you could give yourself simple math questions just so it's enough to focus to answer it.

8. Imagining Randomness

Imagine literally anything that isn't related at all, i.e. horse, roof, apple, pen, desk, etc. Visualize and filter through random objects or animals that have no correlation and that will induce the hypnagogic imagery, randomness is key.

9. Focus on breathing

Similar to any shifting method, basically focusing on your breaths is another technique to induce the state. Literally just anything to keep your awareness occupied rather than letting your mind just shut down to go to sleep.

10. Sounds

Listening to anything in your environment, whether that be things happening outside, if it's raining listen to the rain, or if you've got headphones on listen to the music and focus that, keep your focus on the music so you don't fall asleep.

11. "Playing" a song in your head

Not necessarily listening to the song, but imagining the song playing in your head, whether that be your favorite song, if you know how it sounds like, imagine it playing and once you've entered the state, it will naturally play and you'll end up actually hearing the song.

12. Heartbeat

Basically just focus on your heartbeat. Listen to the amount of beats.

These are all the various of techniques you could use, you don't have to stick to one and can basicaally try them out, see which one you feel like works for you and go from there. A tip is also you could pick like 4 or 5 out of these 12 and just filter through the techniques if you can't just stick to one since you get uninterested quickly. (I get bored easily, do I normally do 8, 9, 7 and 4 just so I don't lose interest.)"

Good luck y'all!

Jeanne, for the Look Outside headcanons?

Ohhh the skrungle!! The tormented silly!!!

- I actually really appreciate the way her body’s started resembling that of a flatworms. She probably doesn’t, but I think she’s actually really cute post mutation. Minus the part where she’s backseat in her own body

- I think she’d appreciate being misted or in a damp space. Started getting dry skin more easily after mutation and the moment she was within a few feet of a humidifier nearly cried in relief

- Starts hating the taste of meat after mutating, reminds her too much of what the victims of her other heads tasted like.

- Her mouth runs all the way down her long ass body, she loses taste once it gets past her eyes. Unconsciously nibbles at the floor. Bottomfeeds even. Like, if she moved I feel like the space that was under her previously would be clean af. Subconsciously having a little snack (dirt)

- she’d probably feel like a worm does, ridged, soft, her frills (?) on the side would probably be firmer than the rest of her skin.

- Capable of sleeping sitting up, did nothing but sleep the first few days because her new heads were taking up most of the body’s energy and she also just wanted an ‘out’ from reality in general

- Clumsy at first, kept knocking things in her apartment over as she got used to her new size/features. Pretty used to it now and has excellent control of herself (minus any extra heads)

- I feel like she and Sam exchanged numbers, like sort of a ‘hey lmao, thanks for helping me, mind giving me your number in case my body decides to get homicidal again?’

- Attempted to fight with her other heads, quickly gave up because the attacked head and others close by turned on her instead of whoever they dragged in. The only reason they didn’t kill her was because she fled fairly quickly, they liked her distress, and I’m pretty sure they need her to continue living

- Her bloods blueish in color

I love my courier six/simon. He grew up on a ranch yet adopts a completely fake southern accent after getting shot in the head. He has no regard for his personal safety yet he is the cockroach of the Mojave no one can stamp out. He is a gambling addict who murders his way into running the entire Vegas strip. What a guy.

Wasn’t planning on making more, but this reblog scalped me with the Mr. Henderson part and I just had to do it. Nobody else look, this is for madscientists1mp ONLY!!1!/j

MR HENDERSON

- The type of landlord that promises to call someone about that black mold problem three times and still doesn’t do anything about it

- Mildly bigoted? I don’t know. Like, no problems with people but sometimes he just says some shit that makes everyone go “oohh….” And then it’s back to normal

- I feel like his post mutation form has some sort of grounding in the walls, like he can squeeze himself down like an octopus and travel through the interior. If he encounters any blocks he’ll repeatedly ram his helmeted head into it until it cracks and then he’ll scrape out the blockage with his tendrils

- The helmets fused to his head, more a natural armour now than something that can be removed. If it cracks or breaks he’ll flee somewhere and go stationary for a bit to allow it to reseal itself. Doesn’t have skin under it anymore, just a brain

- Lost most of his logic/reasoning when he mutated, only knows rent and war now (if he didn’t already before). Also explains why he keeps ramming his head into things despite his brain having no other protection than the helmet

SYBIL

- trans woman, definitely has a “oh, OH!! Where’s my dick at!?” Moment when she was first becoming goop (if what beryl (?) said about her state was to be true)

- Autistic, does not understand most social cues. Got worse post mutation, hence her just peeking through a hole in your wall and talking to you casually. Respectful though

- She and jasper weren’t together, were on the BRINK of being something more before the visitor put its foot through the relationships door

- In her dreams she can remember everything clearly, as quick and collected as she was before. Always vows to remember when she wakes up, but never does. Gets confused and distressed whenever pressed about her dreams because she KNOWS there’s something (someone?) important her mess of a brain is keeping from her

LEIGH

- two autistic people in this post huh. Projecting on her a bit, but she was very excitable and prone to violence pre apocalypse too, she just didn’t get to act on it then

- Has a sort of code? Idk. She doesn’t harm any one of your other roommates, even going so far as to care for the rat baby and feed it her blood, but she has nothing against barreling at Sam at full speed as the grinning beast to knock him on his ass. I think if she’d managed to catch and kill Sam, she’d be surprised at his death, like a dog playing with a small animal and accidentally killing it. Only seems to want to wrestle around really, probably doesn’t care as much about the killing part as she cares about the scuffling part

- Nearly had a fucking aneurism post denial ending, literally vibrating with excitement. Jumped on him and bit the shit out of one of his tentacles in an attempt to instigate a fight. Got scruffed by the collar of her shirt immediately

Post truth, I don’t think she realized anything was wrong until Sam started attacking the others. I think she got attacked first for approaching him and was like “ah! Right to business!” Held her own against him pretty well until he attacked someone else, which caught her off guard and made her falter for a moment and allow Sam the killing blow because she thought he liked that person? Why’s he strangling THEM??

- probably waits outside Sam’s door in the morning for him to open it, then tackles him to the ground and attempts to put him in a headlock. Sam now has to hype himself up to open the door every morning. Good for getting rid of grogginess though

RAT BABY AGAIN

- Obsessively licks itself. Literally everyone hates it because it’s just silence then the sound of rat baby aggressively licking its leg for five minutes straight. Mainly does this after Sam washes it, does not like the smell of any soap products used on it, no matter how hard Sam tries to find one it likes

- Chewed up a belt that was left laying around and hid in the closet for an hour while the others tried to calm the goth (can’t spell her fukcing name 😭) down and convince her not to strangle it like Homer with Bart

- Likes sitting on Sam’s shoulders and will attempt to get under his shirt. I had a rat once and its favourite hobby was swan diving down the collar of my shirt (if it was loose) and leaving me scrambling to catch it before it fell out. I feel like it’d be much the same

LAVA LAMP

- idk. I call it the lava lamp because it’s kinda shaped like one. Sister recommended calling it the buttplug because it’s also shaped like that and I’ve never been able to look at it again the same

- Chitters sometimes. Like you’re just chilling in the apartment, making food or some shit, then suddenly there’s a rattling sound from the corner and you turn to see one of Sam’s stalkers staring back at you like that sound was your fault

- Almost no concept of boundary’s. Watches Sam sleep sometimes after he tells it off and lets it stay in the apartment

- Doesn’t really comprehend the idea of fear? Idk. Like it let the rat baby into its robe and I feel like it got surprised when it ran out nearly pissing itself

Also counts for pain, doesn’t realize the hell it’s got in store for Sam because that’s it’s constant state, it knows nothing else and assumed Sam would be the same

Ahriugh, look outside headcannons upon ye

SAM

- possesses a pair of fluffy slippers and often wears them around the apartment.

- Really bad at kissing, like, did you HEAR the sound it made when he kissed Lyle in the game?? Motherfucker nearly sucked Lyle’s lens(?) off. Apparently Lyle doesn’t mind though

- Deals with OCD. Most of his repetitive habits and quirks are considered normal now next to how everyone else is acting and he is very grateful for it (from someone with chronic OCD)

- Hasn’t brushed his hair in years, keeps it short enough to where it’s not really a problem but probably fears the eventual day he has to deal with it

- trans man. I’m not gonna fuckin elaborate. Has gotten top surgery but cares not for bottom surgery, doesn’t really get dysphoric anymore now that his tits were lobbed off

RAT BABY

- Whenever Sam goes out without it, it’ll grab one of Sam’s slippers and drag it somewhere (likely under the couch or bed), doesn’t chew it, either sucks on the fur of it or just sits with it until it’s taken away or Sam gets back (inspired by my rat dog, reminded me of it)

- Sam attempted to get it something to play with at first, but after it destroyed and shredded everything he’d offered it in play, Sam just.. looted one of those aggressive chewer dog toys from one of the nearby apartments for it.

- Eyes are very sensitive to light, due to most of them being semi-freshly grown and also just.. not having enough time to get used to heavy light. Re-enacted the ash baby meme when it first went outside after the visitor left

LYLE

- Look up photos of spider paws. Hes got those hidden in that robe of his somewhere I just fucking know it

- Has a second row of teeth further back in his main mouth, irritates him sometimes while he’s trying to eat or clean his teeth.

(post denial ending) he’s hesitant on getting them removed despite having the ability to

(Idk, I feel like post-denial would end up with surgery for removing “unwanted parts”, shit like Jeanne’s heads or just stuff the afflicted don’t wanna deal with or have)

- Whenever he’s shocked or flustered, his body automatically takes a shot of whatever’s in front of him. I feel like if he ever got comfortable enough to let Sam kiss him without making him keep his eyes closed, he’d flashbang Sam every damn time

- capable of purring, doesn’t know it

DAN

- Screams like a little girl, refuses to admit it. Sometimes if he catches himself mid scream he’ll cough and continue the scream in a lower tone

- (If he’s looked outside) actually still mostly mentally there, just a cunt about it.

- Coughs like a little kid. Opens mouth, sticks his tongue out, and lets out the most horrific hack before casually going about whatever he was doing

JOEL

- His left eyes still there, just kinda in the back behind the teeth? Not too useful for actually seeing, due to both being in the back of his “throat” and becoming nearly vestigial. Had poor eyesight while he was human too, but refused to wear his glasses

- Very careful around rat baby’s mouth whenever he interacts with it, both because it’s a biter and because of what his baby sister ended up doing to him

- you know that anxiety you get whenever you’re in another persons house? had whatever the opposite of that when he was first moved in with Sam, literally fucking slept in Sam’s bed with him for the first few days because he felt safe around him/just lost his entire family. Hes eight, he’s gonna cling to the closest dude.

“Ouhhh aegislash are dangerous you can only have one if you’re an experienced Pokémon trainer 🥺”

SHUT UP. SHUT UP!! LOOK AT HIM

This is Archimedes, he’s a stupid MEAN idiot who I’ve had since he was a honedge. He forgets he’s a big fucking sword sometimes and tries to get into bed with me. He picks me up bridal style then forgets he’s carrying me and gets surprised to see me in his arms. He flips people off. I am not at all qualified to own him and I’m pretty sure it’s illegal for me to have him in my house. But we stay silly

OHHHHH new dr self for still wakes the deep… i am crazy but I am free

Edit: FUCK, I only realized it now but I MISPELLED SAMUEL

The animatic is done!! 💕

Spoilers for look outside under the cut, just some ramblings about Lyle’s form teehee. Also might not be coherent because I’m banging this out before my sleep meds get my ass

Anyways, I think Lyle can pull something real close to Leigh’s grinning beast thing, because there’s NO WAY he’s hiding all this under that robe.

(Ignore shitty screenshots please lmao)

In his average sprite, it looks like he has two eyes, and a (mostly) normally sized mouth, plus he’s a little smaller than the form he takes if Sam chooses to open his eyes after kissing him.

I’m actually pretty sure he’s only able to do this partially (his overworld sprite is kinda long, and he constantly covers himself, so maybe he’s only able to squash himself down a bit?). And it probably breaks if he gets startled, hence the sight Sam sees if you have him peek… That, or he’s kissing Sam in his monstrous form. Gay rights I guess

I'm not angry im just clarifying some stuff! take ur time

bonus Joel

Oh lmao sorry, accidentally deleted the og headcannons trying to delete the clarification one so I’m jsut gonna paste them back here:

Fuck you mean he’s apart of the trench digger 😭

Also sorry if this is shit, I do not have the game and I’m relying on playthroughs and my insanity for these headcannons. I am in agony

I thought his body was like. Kinda small and octopus like. Nahhh that’s a big bitch/pos 😭

I still believe he can go through the interior of the walls, otherwise he’d have some trouble fitting through doorways. I think he can flatten himself? Like just compress himself and crawl sideways through the walls

Also still clinging to that helmet theory, and making it worse! You know how old timey corsets used to literally force organs out of the way? That’s what the helmet on his body does whenever he needs to become compact

Has turtle speed. If he’s not focused on anything and just moving around, he’s slow as shit, if he’s attacking or actively looking for something? Pick a god and pray, this bitch will RUN YOU DOWN. Has trouble with turning corners at high speeds, so is forced to either slow down or tip over

The other soldiers stay out of his way, if Mr Henderson shows up in a doorway any of them in the room will try and leave or hide as fast as they possibly can. This is because he’s been ‘eating’ any soldiers that get in his way and incorporating them into his mass. They quickly loose the ability to talk or scream, but you can see their pupils flitting around desperately if you can get close enough

Bad sight, but makes up for it in smell. Stray soldiers will often attempt to cover themselves in gunpowder/other strong smelling materials in an attempt to disguise themselves.

More often than not, this does not work.

(None of the playthroughs I’ve watched have shown the mutant camp??? I will reblog this later with more headcannons once I see them)