DOOMSCROLL - TIMELINE #8581312

(Timeline Tuesday #100)

Doomscrolls are a bizarre, paper-thin species that defy the traditional animal kingdoms of this timeline. They’re approximately the size and shape of a rolled up parchment, as wide as a standard sheet of paper and up to twenty feet long when unfurled. Their skin has the appearance of a weathered scroll, however it is much tougher than one might expect. If a doomscroll is held up to a light source and closely inspected, viewers can faintly make out the appearance of small veins coursing through their bodies.

Typically, however, those who discover doomscrolls mistake them for a strange, unexpected parchment. This is by design, as the creatures are generally slow and uncoordinated when they roll around. Instead of using physical dexterity to hunt, doomscrolls draw on the natural curiosity of humans.

When no one is around, doomscrolls will slip into position where a human could discover them, typically a place where their presence is intriguing, but not entirely out of place. Specifically, doomscrolls enjoy hunting libraries, offices, or other paper archives.

A human who is familiar with doomscrolls should immediately capture the creatures, but those unfortunate enough to open one up and curiously start reading will find themselves subject to a terrible fate.

The writing on doomscrolls is constantly changing, though not when someone is looking at it. They accomplish this by shifting around their dark, black blood, arranging it to appear as ink on the page. Doomscrolls use their psychic abilities to draw on gossip and negative energy from nearby, regurgitating this information and spinning tales that will immediately feed into the worst impulses of potential readers.

Ninety percent of those who open a doomscroll will be unable to pull away. As readers sit with the creature, their psychic energy will be consumed, providing sustenance to the doomscroll and harming the prey in turn. Readers will continue on this path until their psychic energy has been fully consumed, left to ride the lonesome train while the doomscroll continues on to their next meal.