Quicksand as a creature/being?

[cbqdbq]

As I have read quicksand stories over the years, I have seen phrases such as "the greedy quicksand". How can quicksand be "greedy"? Of course it is not alive, but in our fantasy of the stuff being able to swallow people, we could include the fantasy that the stuff is "alive" and can be greedy to take a person under and invade that person's body. Perhaps also "homicidal"? - willing to snuff out the life of a victim.

So, when we accept such phrases and such attitudes to quicksand, is that an agreeable theme? I guess I think it _is_ agreeable.

What other attitudes can we allow quicksand to have?

[ghostofmyeyes]

I think the quicksand fetish might be on a continuum with the vore and tentacle/"sex monster" fetishes. The thing that distinguishes quicksand, in my mind, is that it is on the completely mindless and volitionless end of the continuum, only doing what it does because of it's natural properties. Once you're getting into vore and tentacle monsters, no matter how simple-minded the creature is, it now has a motive; and if the creature has human-like intelligence, it's actions then become the moral equivalent of cannibalism and/or sexual assault. Which is hot to some people, but to me it's distracting.

With quicksand, everything it 'does' or 'wants' is a projection, an anthropomorphization. The counterintuitive consequences of struggling in quicksand sends the imagination into overdrive. It's "greedy suction" and "seductive touch" are all in the heads of the characters sinking, or the authors describing the events. The natural properties of the quicksand just happen the be compatible with the fulfillment of the fears and/or desires of the character, or the author, and hopefully the reader.

There are very good quicksand stories in which the image of the quicksand being basically a hungry/horny vore monster carry through the whole way, yet the events of the story could believably be explained by the victim just having stepped into soft deep earth of a certain consistency. But to my mind, once quicksand can move and shape itself deliberately, and has an agenda independent of human projections on it, we are no longer merely borrowing from the vore or tentacle fetishes, but have crossed into them. Which is fine, I can appreciate them too -- but quicksand will always be my home.

[bogbud]

Huh? Is that exclusivly from the point of the viewer?

I thought from the doers/sinkers point, the mud is not the monster but some kind of female, i (as a sinker) do get into
That sounds more like the complete opposite.

[sixgunzloaded]

I've pondered this a few times myself. Specifically, what if the qs was actually a villain? Either some sort of monster or perhaps a human villain with shape-shifting abilities. Kinda like the Sandman from Spiderman (I think he's in that universe?).
I've often toyed with the idea of doing a story along those lines - some kind of creature that can move through the ground and liquefy itself to dine on humans. Maybe not an evil entity, per se, but rather an other-worldly animal feeding. Would that be the best of both worlds - quicksand and vore?
As far as "evil" quicksand and intending to snuff out the victim, I sort of explored that a little in an indirect way with my "Christmas Magick" story, where the villain is a homicidal human with magical skills. The qs itself wasn't evil, just a tool of the bad guy. I guess that's the horror enthusiast in me coming out.
As far as it having other attributes, I've seen a number of stories written from the qs's perspective where the qs is a sentient and compassionate lover, seeking only to please and be pleased by the consenting sinker.
It's an interesting (and kind of sweet) take on the fetish/genre, whatever, but personally, I prefer more melodramatic encounters.

[quicksand3D]

STNG ep. "Skin of Evil" did this concept best

[Fred588]

About 20 years ago I did a short story that fits this discussion fairly well, although its ending was a little different. It was about a creature called a phobiovore that fed on fear in others. It took the form of a pit of quicksand and would feed when a victim blundered in, and could do a few things to ring humans closer when it sensed one. It had not fed in a very long time when it sensed a human female nearby. Desperate to feed it worked hard to bring her closer. The woman came closer, stepped in, and spent a good deal of time in the quicksand, but there was no fear. In the end, the creature used up it last stores of energy and died. The story was called The Phobiovore. I am not sure if it was ever filmed, but if it was it was not for Studio 588.

[cbqdbq]

While this contradict my first post, I guess quicksand does not have to be homicidal. It is unable to understand that the person sinking into it IS a person, IS alive in a biological way, and it is unable to understand that going under is a threat to that person that, if not reversed, will end that person's biological life.

When the person sinks in, that person is displacing the quicksand, but when the opportunity comes, the quicksand can reclaim some of that space by filling hollow areas inside the person in whatever way is possible, but the quicksand cannot be aware that doing so will end the person's biological life. All the quicksand "knows" is that something that was "from outside" displaced its form, was engulfed and then stopped moving, and perhaps even later was able to be "assimilated" by the quicksand, at least partly.

[cbqdbq]

About 20 years ago I did a short story that fits this discussion fairly well, although its ending was a little different. It was about a creature called a phobiovore that fed on fear in others.

Yep I have read this. Intriging.

[Theo]

Homicidal quicksand you say? Now there’s an idea!

I mean, the sky’s the limit. For all the talk of “realism” in story writing (myself included quite often) at the end of the day, it is a fantasy after all.

I generally tend to err more towards realism in my own writing, but I do often like and use common terms like “vicious,” “treacherous,” “insidious,” or even, “menacing,” despite the fact that quicksand can’t “technically” be that way, though it’s also very common to use such terms to describe the weather and the sea. However, I can’t deny that I also enjoy straying into the realm of complete fantasy every now and then. I have several such stories that are yet to be posted.

And really, it’s easy to make just about anything “believable.” You can make the character “think” that the quicksand is living or possessed, which in turn causes them to panic even more, which in reality only makes them sink deeper, perhaps even past the point of natural buoyancy. This is basically what I was implying in my Halloween story last year Shady Hollow.

Another easy way to get away with just about anything, is to make it a dream, though I prefer to not make that clear until the end. This was the premise of my first story A Backyard Experiment (and probably more to come).

I also like to think of quicksand as “enticing,” or seducing,” though as aforementioned, it’s easy for the character to think of it that way. One such story I like is The Truth About Quicksand by Black Squirrel. At first I wasn’t quite sure about it, but the more I thought about it, the more I liked it.

Another idea if you wanted to make it more natural and animal like, would be for it to feed, or perhaps provide for nearby vegetation. Or it could be territorial; an efficient method for getting rid of pesky trespassers that might endanger it's habitat

I've pondered this a few times myself. Specifically, what if the qs was actually a villain? Either some sort of monster or perhaps a human villain with shape-shifting abilities. Kinda like the Sandman from Spiderman (I think he's in that universe?).
I've often toyed with the idea of doing a story along those lines - some kind of creature that can move through the ground and liquefy itself to dine on humans. Maybe not an evil entity, per se, but rather an other-worldly animal feeding. Would that be the best of both worlds - quicksand and vore?
As far as "evil" quicksand and intending to snuff out the victim, I sort of explored that a little in an indirect way with my "Christmas Magick" story, where the villain is a homicidal human with magical skills. The qs itself wasn't evil, just a tool of the bad guy. I guess that's the horror enthusiast in me coming out.
As far as it having other attributes, I've seen a number of stories written from the qs's perspective where the qs is a sentient and compassionate lover, seeking only to please and be pleased by the consenting sinker.
It's an interesting (and kind of sweet) take on the fetish/genre, whatever, but personally, I prefer more melodramatic encounters.

Or kinda like The Blob, now that sounds interesting

[Boggy Man]

There can be a range of interpretations, with many points of view, with many overlaps. For me, I love to give it certain living attributes, where the ground comes alive and sucks down its prey like a starving animal, but on its own timetable. To me, "greedy" means that the mire won't give up its victim without a fight, as if the bog is saying "the meal's all mine and I won't let it get away, or be taken away"! I also like the terms "hungry", "starving", "voracious", "gulping", "sucking", "slurping" and other things related to eating, which appeals to the "vore" aspect of quicksand drama.

Regarding "homicidal", it really paints a picture of the quicksand as being like a living creature that is intentionally "deadly" or "lethal", unless the victim is rescued from its hungry grasp in time! That increases the sense of urgency for the victim to be rescued or find a way to self-rescue, if possible, before it is "too late"! So, those attributes and their synonyms, as well as things such as "unforgiving", and "merciless mire" are quite popular in dramatizing quicksand encounters!

The main thing that sets off this "living" aspect is the fact that when the victim finds him/her self in it, that person is slowly being consumed by ground that starts to quiver, heave, pulsate and undulate or ripple all around with that person's struggles, moving as if it has come to life! And it may also burp, fart, bubble or hiss swamp gas, which adds to the "living" aspect, as explained below!

In some way, mud IS alive, in the sense that it contains bacteria and other microbes (perhaps other things such as worms)! Also, you could look at the quagmire as a giant living STOMACH, where anything organic that gets sucked in, or is already present, undergoes the process of ANAEROBIC DIGESTION, basically an oxygen-free decomposition by bacteria and other microbes, which produces gas such as methane, carbon dioxide and other gases, such as hydrogen sulfide, which the mire then burps up, bubbling or hissing or farting out at the surface. Organic mud, unlike the mineral-based mud (sand, clay, silt), can constantly "digest" itself, and therefore will be able to produce many more swamp farts, whereas sand, silt and clay would have to wait for something organic to get inside it (sucked in, grown in as roots that eventually die, buried by mudslide, loose sediment deposited on top by water, etc.), to digest.

While technically, "quicksand" is supposed to be sand, and it is "quickclay" that is clay, and "quicksilt" that is silt, and just other bogs being peat, or other decomposed/ing organic matter, for the sake of sinking material, we tend to often lump it all into the "quicksand" category for dramatic effect, since they can all suck you down into the ground if they are deep enough!

The living aspect of quicksand really appeals to the "vore" enthusiasts, who have fantasies of being eaten alive. So, being sucked into quicksand that is being imagined as being alive, could be considered as "GEOVORE"! A number of years back, I created a video with that very theme, with lots of appropriate sound effects:

https://www.quicksandfans.com/bb/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=12937


So, basically, you have ground that sucks you in, tries to keep you from escaping, moves all around you, responding to your struggles, and digests stuff inside it using bacteria and other microbes, which will make it burp up (bubble, hiss, fart) gas! Easy to see why it can seem so alive!