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solalunar-eclipse · 5 months ago

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Sonic Boom - S3E20

Chapter title: Unknown From M.E. (Part Two)

Summary: Now that the team has found this strange "Master Crystal", there are a lot of questions that need answering. Unfortunately, they'll only have so much time to figure it out, because they've been followed to the island by somebody else…

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[This time, the episode starts with the intro sequence! Once again, the individual character introductions and team shot all stay the same.]

[After that, a series of red, glitchy squares appear, growing rapidly in number until they fill the screen alongside a static-filled droning noise.]

[Everything cuts out.]

[After a few moments of silence, the title of this week’s episode appears on the screen. Then, the episode begins.]

“Chaos,” Shadow swore. “It’s the Master Crystal!”

Everybody else immediately whirled around to stare at him. “The what?!”

Shadow’s eyes were wider than any of them had ever seen before. “The Master Crystal. An incredible force, existing to balance and control the eight Chaos Crystals. With it, someone could potentially neutralize their power, at least temporarily. It was presumed to have been lost for centuries, even back…in the past.”

“But that doesn’t explain why it’s sitting here, inside the island where Knuckles apparently grew up.” Amy put her hands on her hips, clearly demanding an explanation.

“I don’t have an answer to that.” Shadow folded his arms. “Like I just said, even the Ancients knew nothing about where this crystal might have been.”

Tails stared up at the android, eyes bright in an otherwise serious face. “Is this entire place—like the whole chamber—is all of that the Master Crystal?”

“I believe so, yes.” Shadow looked around the cavern once again, still mildly stunned himself at the sight of one of the few mysteries that had managed to stump even the most honed of Ancient minds. “But I am by no means an expert. Knuckles, do you know anything about this?”

The echidna shook his head, his shoulders sagging. “I never even knew my parents. I didn’t have anyone to explain this to me—I mean, I didn’t know this was here until just now!”

Sticks tapped Knuckles on the arm with their boomerang, drawing his attention. “Well, every ancient civilization has some kinda clues about what they were like, right? We just gotta look around and find ‘em!”

Sonic grinned, beginning to jog in place. “Sounds like a plan to me! Let’s see what this cave is hiding!”

The rest of the team gave each other a single nod in agreement, before spreading out to hunt for any potential clues. Once they actually started looking, it became clear that the cavern was a little more complex than they’d originally thought. There were various niches in the walls, some appearing more naturally formed than others. In addition to that, Tails soon discovered that the most massive stalactite of all pointed directly down to the center of the floor, which seemed…oddly intentional for a crystal. (Then again, this was no ordinary crystal.)

Before long, the others were all called away from their searches by Knuckles, who had begun exploring many of the niches in the walls. Once they’d all made it to the opening, located about a third of the way up the wall, they found a medium-sized room, large enough to fit about double their team comfortably. Nine spaces were worn away into the floor.

“These look like how the sand does when I’ve been sitting in it for a while.” Sonic mused aloud. “You guys think these are like, some sorta seats or something?”

“This could be a council’s meeting room, perhaps.” Amy studied them a little more closely, before her attention was drawn to the faceted walls of the space. “I think there might be some scratches on the walls, but it’s hard to make out with the way they’re glowing. Does anyone else see those?”

Tails squinted at the wall, running his hand along it lightly. “I can kind of see them, and I can definitely feel them. I could probably get my Miles Electric to give the wall a scan and then project the marks so we can see them more clearly!”

He motioned for everyone else to stand back, before hovering in the center of the room and slowly rotating his device as it scanned every inch of the walls. Once he had finished, his scanner beeped—and then proceeded to map out the markings in blue holographic light all around them.

They weren’t just scratches at all. They were pictures. Precise, geometrical lines marked out a series of images that were near-invisible to the eyes and almost impossible to understand via touch alone.

First came a picture of various different species living together in apparent harmony, in an area that resembled a massive yet technologically advanced garden. Shadow spoke up about this one, his voice quieter than normal, as though he would disturb the creator of these images were he to speak too loudly. “That looks like an Ancient garden that I learned about once. It was the first time that the early Ancient civilization had managed to create technology that worked with nature instead of against it…but as with many first attempts, it turned out to be a failure, and its ruins were left as a monument to the mistakes made. I never got to see it, of course, but there were photographs.”

The next image showed the garden growing larger…and larger…and larger, eventually close to covering an entire continent. And the leader of it all—the one with a shovel in one hand and a set of wires in the other—was an echidna.

In the third image, certain plants, the most beautiful and ornate, were being kept in the garden, while simpler wildflowers were being thrown out to the point where they risked vanishing altogether. Similar things were happening to the animals, now that some species were no longer necessary to maintain equilibrium in the ecosystem.

Then, two echidnas were depicted arguing. One was defending the unwanted plants and animals, while the other one stood in support of the garden. But suddenly, both of the echidnas fell, and were instead replaced by—

—something else.

It was growing out of the perfectly organized, perfectly ordered garden itself, but it wasn’t a plant or an animal. It was depicted as a simple square, which expanded and turned everything around it into more squares. A group of echidnas appeared, banding together to destroy their once-perfect garden and release the previously unwanted species back into the ecosystem. The echidnas built a massive device that sucked the square into the Master Crystal, but not before the square absorbed many of their own.

After that, the echidnas left the Ancient society and came to the island that the six heroes stood upon now, where their numbers slowly diminished as time went on. They watched over the Master Crystal despite this, which was depicted as containing the square.

And that was where the images ended.

“But…what does that all mean?” Tails asked, staring at the images his device showed.

Shadow rubbed at his face, sighing quietly. “In summation, the Ancients pushed too far. They tried to create a perfect world that suited their needs…but in doing so, they began to erase too much of the natural balance in favor of an artificial one. Chaos energy thrives on that natural balance, and it began to dissipate as the Ancients continued their terraforming. Some argued that the project was too dangerous and needed to stop, while others thought that the lack of Chaos energy was a small price to pay for a perfect world. But as Chaos faded…

“…something else clearly rose up to take its place.

“The echidna who had designed the garden was part of a tribe that had only recently attempted to join Ancient civilization. That tribe helped contribute to a great deal of advancements, but especially this garden—likely why most left together to guard against the evil. They must have banded together to stop the force released by their previous leader’s meddling, sealing it inside the Master Crystal at great cost to themselves. Then, they retreated from Ancient society and went to go watch over the Crystal in order to ensure that this power would never be unleashed upon the world again.”

Silence hung over the room for a long moment.

“Man, it sounds way too stuffy when you say things like ‘in summation’. Never do that again.”

Shadow’s gaze snapped over to Sonic so fast his face blurred. “Why in the name of all eight Chaos Crystals is that what you took away from this?!”

Knuckles grinned. “I appreciated it, the mood needed some lightening after all that.”

The android walked over to the nearest wall, leaning forward and pressing his forehead against it. “Just when I think I understand all of you…”

“Really, Knuckles, are you sure you’re okay?” Amy asked. “This seems like a lot to learn all at once.”

Knuckles shifted in place awkwardly, his eyes trained on the floor. “I mean, it’s a really sad story, and I’d always hoped I’d find other echidnas somewhere, but…at least now I know, y’know? It helps to know that my parents probably didn’t mean to leave me alone—even if the alternative is that apparently I’m part of an endangered species, I guess.”

Tails hid a small smile behind his hand. “Wait, does this mean that your house counts as a protected habitat now?”

“You have to get a certification for that kind of thing, Tails.” Amy facepalmed, but couldn’t quite manage to stifle her own amusement.

“Bold of you to assume I can’t forge a certification for a friend!” the engineer shot back.

“For-ger-y! Forgery! Forgery! Forgery!!” Sonic began to chant, Sticks joining in as well.

“Chaos, please have mercy and obliterate the pitiful dregs of my conscious mind.” Shadow pleaded, smirking despite his attempt at maintaining a serious tone.

At that, everybody laughed at least a little, and though none of them noticed, the Master Crystal seemed to glow just a little bit brighter in response.

Unfortunately, they were all interrupted when Knuckles abruptly began clutching at his head, grimacing slightly. “Knux? What’s wrong?” Sonic asked, dashing to his friend’s side.

“The Master Crystal’s freaking out—I think somebody else is on the island!” Knuckles gasped.

As soon as he’d finished speaking, one of the crystalline facets on the wall flickered briefly…before displaying an image of Eggman landing on the island. He appeared to have created some form of jet plane attachment to his Eggmobile (similar to the car he used in the village races), from which he released at least a hundred badniks, if not more.

The entire team turned to their echidna friend. “This is your home.” Sticks said, her eyes flashing with determination. “What do you want to do?”

Knuckles grinned and held up his fists. “We’re gonna smash his robots, and then we’re gonna get him off my island!”

All six of them yelled in agreement, before racing out of the chamber and back the way they’d come, following Knuckles’s lead just like last time. They burst out of the side of the mountain as it shut behind them, ready for battle in poses that honestly looked awesome in slow motion.

Tails grabbed his older brother’s hands, swinging him around and around into a top-speed spindash that tore through a good five badniks all on its own. Sonic uncurled, landing low to the ground in a fighting stance, and yelled, “Hey Egg-breath! You haven’t even conquered Seaside Island yet, whatcha doing all the way out here?”

“Ohoho, I could ask the same of you, Sonic!” the doctor declared. “Is there something interesting on this island that I should know about?”

The blue hedgehog swiped under his nose, smiling smugly. “Psh, and here I thought you were a genius. Is your brain too smooth to figure it out on your own?”

Tails abruptly burst out laughing at that—so hard he almost fell out of the air, as a matter of fact.

“Enough of this ridiculousness!” Eggman barked. “Robots, attaaaaaack!”

All six heroes charged into the fray, doing an excellent job of smashing badniks, as per usual. Sticks and Sonic had some fun passing the badger’s boomerang back and forth, while Shadow used his Chaos attacks to help Tails cover the rest of the team in the air. Amy’s hammer strikes left deep indents in the earth when she missed and piles of scrap when she didn’t, while Knuckles blew through entire groups of badniks with all the force of a freight train.

As a matter of fact, while Amy and Knuckles were usually at about the same power level when it came to heavy-hitting strikes, this time Knuckles was visibly dealing much more damage than the hammer-wielding hedgehog. It quickly escalated to the point where his punches were practically emitting explosions as he plowed through robot after robot. He felt perfectly in tune with the very island itself, its power surging through him in a way he had never noticed as a child, because back then, he’d never known a life without it.

When he first realized this, he simply beamed and redoubled his efforts, but then, as he jumped up to deliver a particularly devastating drop punch—

—a massive green shockwave exploded out around him, leaving an entire crater in its wake.

When the dust settled, Knuckles brushed his hands off proudly…only to hesitate when he saw the particular smile that Dr. Eggman was wearing.

“Oh.” he muttered. And for a moment, he could have sworn that he almost felt the Master Crystal have the exact same reaction.

“So there is something special on this island! I knew it!” the doctor cried, his smile so wide it practically stretched past his mustache. “Badniks, search the area!”

The team quickly set about smashing all of the robots they possibly could with a newly frantic energy, shouting to each other as they fought to keep any from traveling out of sight. Despite their best efforts, however, a group of Motobugs broke away from the rest, tearing towards the forest at top speed.

“Sonic!” Tails yelled, kicking a Buzz Bomber in the side and pointing frantically. “They’re getting away!”

“Ames, cover for me!” Sonic called, already dashing off into the undergrowth in pursuit.

Unfortunately for the team, however, the hole Sonic left in their defenses was just enough for one little badnik to escape their notice.

Double unfortunately, this particular badnik was a Burrobot.

Triple unfortunately, the Burrobot immediately set about digging into the ground on the side of the battlefield closest to the mountain.

Once it had fully drilled into the dirt, its hole no longer registered as a threat to the team, and so they simply fought around it. Even while Eggman panicked as his badnik supply began to run low (and screamed in an astonishingly high pitch when Sonic returned and roundhouse kicked the remnants of his Motobug force directly at him), it searched for the direction where the bewilderingly powerful energy source might be coming from, and dug towards it until it finally hit solid rock.

Then, it transmitted all of this information back to the Eggmobile.

By this point, Eggman had already been seriously considering just cutting his losses, fleeing back to his Jet Attachment (he was never letting Orbot name things again), and rattling off his usual “I’ll get you next time!” spiel. However, even as he began to inch warily away from the six heroes, he noticed that he’d received an information packet from a single stray Burrobot.

He tapped on the notification, blowing the data up to full size—and rapidly regained his grin once more.

“It would seem that you have failed to destroy all of my badniks!” he declared, before letting out a laugh that was more than worthy of the description ‘evil’. “So…how about I drill into this mountain and see what I find inside, hm?”

He immediately threw his hovercraft into full reverse, leaving the team yelling after him as he rushed back to his Jet Attachment. By the time Sonic and Shadow had recovered from their surprise and reached him, he had already morphed the attachment into a drill-car that he had, though he would never confess as much, gotten the idea for after playing a certain Tomatopotamus game.

Just as the two hedgehogs tore towards him, curling up into twin buzzsaws of metal-shredding power, Eggman stomped on the accelerator and blasted forwards into the mountain. He cackled with delight as rock flew all around him, forcing Sonic and Shadow backwards lest they get injured by the debris.

It was only then that the rest of the team appeared, letting out gasps of horror at the sight before them. Shadow snarled, attempting to throw a Chaos Spear after the doctor—but the energy infusing the island was much higher compared to what he was used to, and so the spear was rather more powerful than intended.

This would ordinarily be a good thing, but in this particular case, it just blew away more of the mountain in addition to the back plating of Eggman’s drill…which sadly did nothing to deter the front from pushing further into the rock.

“If we can’t stop him digging, we at least gotta protect the Master Crystal!” Knuckles cried, his voice audibly straining under the stress.

Shadow set his jaw, folding his arms so tightly it almost looked like he was hugging himself. “I can try to harness the energy from the Crystal to teleport all of us back inside it. That should ensure we can keep him from stealing any of its power.”

“Shads, that’s…that’s not gonna, like, hurt you or anything, right?” Sonic asked, for once more comfortable expressing his emotions than he was letting things slide.

“Does that really matter right now?” he shot back, raising one brow.

The resounding “YES!” from the team left him reeling backwards with its force, his expression showing just how visibly struck he was by their care.

“Very well. I’ll rest once we get there, but right now can we focus on stopping Eggman instead of my health?” Shadow held out his arms impatiently, urging the others to grab on.

“For now. Later, we’re having a talk.” Amy hissed, grabbing onto his forearm in a distinctly threatening way.

Once the rest of the team was in physical contact with him, Shadow closed his eyes, focused—

—and then they were in the cavern.

They were just in time, too, since the sound of the drill was already making its way into the heart of the Master Crystal. The team braced themselves for battle, preparing to destroy Eggman’s machinery the second it burst into the chamber.

Suddenly, the crystal cracked. Despite the drill’s relatively small size, the entire room shuddered violently, and Knuckles grunted with the exertion of feeling the distress of an ancient power.

And then, a lot of things happened very quickly one after the other.

Eggman burst through the crystal wall, shouting in triumph as he did so…

…only to yell in sudden terror as five of the six heroes slammed into his drill, warping the metal spiral and destroying several pieces of critical technology…

…and an ear-splitting, unholy howl echoed throughout the inside of the Master.

Slowly, everyone’s heads turned to face the newly created hole in the crystal. Around its jagged edges, oozing like oil into ocean water, dripped a steady stream of buzzing, glitching red squares.

As it pooled on the floor, forming into neat and perfectly edged shapes, Shadow hauled himself to his feet—only to freeze. “That’s…that’s the thing the echidnas sealed away! It’s reawakening now that the Master Crystal is damaged!”

“So how do we fix it?!” Sonic yelped.

Sticks looked up at Knuckles hesitantly. “You’re connected to this big ol’ crystal. You think you can heal it up if we get all those busted pieces over to where they oughta be?”

Knuckles nodded frantically. “Yeah, I can, but we gotta get that stuff back inside it first! I can’t put it back in there and heal the hole all at once, it’s taking energy already just to keep this place together!” At that, Sticks leapt into action, gathering up the shards and bringing them back to the gaping wound in the green gem.

“Shadow, this stuff is the opposite of Chaos energy, right?” Tails yelled over his shoulder, and received a sharp nod in response. “Maybe we just gotta use a lot of Chaos to push it back into the Master Crystal!”

“But Shadow’s already blown out his powers getting us down here!” Sonic gestured wildly over to the aforementioned android, who was still relying heavily on the crystal walls to maintain his upright position.

Amy stepped up to the hero’s side, putting a hand on his shoulder. “Aren’t you always talking about how you can match Shadow in everything, Sonic?”

“Yeah…?” the blue hedgehog replied, squinting at her suspiciously.

“Well, with a little guidance, I’m sure you could channel the energy on the island yourself!” Amy smiled at him encouragingly, even as his eyes widened in shock. He whirled to look at Shadow, who shot him a sly smile and stumbled closer, leaning on Sonic’s other side.

“I’ll show you how. You have incredible abilities, Sonic—your speed and resilience already suggest that you have a connection to Chaos.” he said, and blue ears perked up in response.

“Okay…okay! Let’s do this!” Sonic bounced on his toes, shaking himself out before grinning confidently. “And uh…maybe make it snappy? That stuff’s comin’ close…” he muttered, eyeing the red substance uncomfortably.

“Look down at the crystal beneath your feet. You can feel the power flowing through it, yes?” Shadow said, nudging Sonic’s feet apart into a slightly more stable stance.

“Yeah…”

“Now, open yourself, and feel the power flow into you as you do so.”

Sonic felt tense for a moment as he tried to ‘open up’, hesitantly waiting to see what would happen. When nothing occurred at first, he tried to shake off the nerves by taking a deep breath—

—and that was when he felt the Chaos, flowing up through the soles of his shoes and into the very center of his body.

He could distantly hear Shadow saying something, but he wasn’t sure what. All he could feel was the wild, free, untamed energy sparking in every single inch of his body.

And then he felt it.

It was cold, and sluggish, and everything it touched became more of it. It was, in essence, the exact opposite of him. He didn’t have to think, he just knew that this was wrong. This should not be here.

He could feel a cage already in existence, right there in front of him, but it was so slippery that it took a great deal out of him just to try and stuff it back in. It was only halfway inside by the time he found himself faltering, struggling to keep the thing from dripping back into existence. It may not have been as energetic as him, but it was persistent. So persistent, in fact, that he wasn’t sure if he could stop it…

“Sonic, you’re doing it! You’re actually doing it!”

“Sonic, you’re amazing! You’re doing great!”

“You got this, Sonic! I believe in you!”

“Don’t give up now, Sonic! You’re so close!”

“Come on, Sonic! Let’s finish this together!”

He yelled, gritting his teeth and clawing his fingers into the thing as he stomped into it with his own power, grinding it back into the crystal it had come from. He held it there, forcing it to stay as its own prison was rebuilt around it, piece by piece.

…his eyes opened.

For a moment, he saw a reflection on the newly healed crystal’s surface. Next to him was Knuckles, glowing with spirals of green light similar to the ones they’d seen on the drawings of the echidna clan and on the houses outside.

And Sonic himself—his quills flared upwards, his fur stained in gold as though he’d been dipped in molten light. His bandages had come partly unraveled, and floated around him in some kind of invisible breeze. Speaking of floating, his toes just barely brushed the floor, his body suspended by the power flowing through it.

At first, he and Knuckles stared at each other as the Chaos energy dissipated, receding back into the Crystal along with the thing they’d just defeated.

“Knux, that was amazing!” he yelled, launching himself across the space between them in order to shake his friend around excitedly. “You just did a superhero move, man!”

“Hey, what about you?” the echidna shot back, beaming with delight. “You were flying! That was so cool!”

Seconds later, the two of them were very nearly tackled by their friends, all dragging each other into a massive group hug.

“You both did it! Oh, I knew you could!” Amy cried, squeezing Knuckles and Sonic as tightly as she could.

Tails beamed up at the two of them. “That was SO COOL!”

“I can’t believe you crazy people actually managed to pull that off.” Sticks shook their head fondly, grinning as everyone else snickered at them calling anyone else crazy.

Meanwhile, Shadow hesitated for a moment before (in an extremely rare move) joining the group hug of his own volition. He didn’t say anything, but honestly, it wasn’t necessary. Everyone knew what he meant anyway.

After one more moment of basking in the relief of heading off a genuine disaster, Tails was the first to pull back, hovering over everyone else’s heads so he could be seen properly. “So, Eggman, you’re not gonna try messing around with this again, right?”

The rest of the team turned to face him warily, but there was no need for them to worry. “No! No no no, I deal in robots, not weird…godlike things!” the doctor exclaimed, shaking his head and waving his arms frantically. “Toying with forces I obviously can’t control would be just idiotic!”

[Cue barely-noticeable pause for interdimensional irony to hit.]

“And we can keep this between us, we don't need to tell anyone on Seaside Island about it, right?” Knuckles added.

The chorus of extremely vehement agreements that followed made him relax, even if only slightly.

“Welp! I’m ready to head home, how about you guys?” Sonic asked, lacing his hands together behind his head as he strolled towards the exit.

Sticks was the first one to notice Knuckles’s hesitation. “You okay?” they asked him plainly.

“I don’t know…my ancestors made this place their responsibility, and I don’t want that thing getting back out. So I feel like it’s my responsibility, too. But also…Seaside Island feels more like home to me…because you’re all there.” Knuckles explained, scuffing one foot against the ground as he struggled to meet the others’ eyes.

“Knux…” Sonic reached out towards his friend, his expression lined with concern.

Before he could say anything more, though, Tails interrupted. “Hey, that’s not an unsolvable problem! I can set up some sort of transportation mechanism to let you come check in here without having to move out! And in the meantime, I’ll fly you over here as often as you want!”

“Wait, really?!” Knuckles gasped, his eyes practically sparkling.

“Sure thing! You can even help me design the blueprints for the transport, if you want.” the engineer offered.

“Ohmygosh, can we start talking about it right now?” At last, Knuckles began following his friends towards the exit, beaming with excitement all the while.

[Closeup on Knuckles’s hand as it brushes briefly against the wall of the Master Crystal’s cavern. Fade to outside, where Knuckles, silhouetted against the forest in the background, looks over his shoulder at the abandoned village where he grew up, before the camera focuses on one of the pieces of knotted rope swaying in the breeze in the foreground.

Another silhouette, this time of the team all climbing onto the plane at sunset, then taking off and beginning their flight back to Seaside Island. The final shot is of the six of them talking happily amongst each other, all clearly outlined against the golden light of the setting sun, flying over the pink-and-orange tinted ocean.

Roll credits.]

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uss-echo-clangen · 3 months ago

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Moon 0 - Part Two.

He opened his eyes, taking a deep breath. Where was he? This place was beautiful, it was the first thing he noticed. He was reminded of home, of the caves of Trill and the tall arching trees and bushes of his childhood home.

Rally took a breath again, he'd never remembered lucid dreaming before. Is that what this was? A lucid dream? Maybe one of Q's tricks.

"You're the leader?" A pale figure in the shape of a cat lingered in the distance, her soft voice calling out in confusion. Almost like Rally wasn't supposed to be here.

He stood up tall, as tall as he could in this new form he'd taken. "My name is Captain Rally Hovu of the USS Echo--" The phrase spilled out of his mouth as it had hundreds of times before, a singular comfort in all this confusion.

The pale cat stepped forward, her features more visible now. "Captain?" Her green eyes narrowed, almost in confusion. "You're the leader then?"

"I am." Rally swept his tail underneath him, taking a few steps forward. "I'm the leader. Do you know what happened?"

She tilted her head, curiously sniffing the air. Her mouth opened for a moment, then closed again. Her pelt bristled, teeth bared in a snarl. "Why do you have nine lives? I can sense it--"

"Nine--?"

"Nine lives! You have not been touched by StarClan yet you have nine lives!"

Rally lifted a paw as he sat, pressing it to the familiar lump in his gut. She was right, he still had his symbiont, how did that work? He'd heard what happened to Trill who lived without them, the quick onset of death. Had Q spared him this fate intentionally? "I have a symbiont with eight former hosts--"

"What is this symbiont you speak of?" Her hackles stayed fluffed up, followed by a hesitant step back. "You have nine lives with no touch of StarClan."

Rally shifted his paws, pressing his body closer to the ground, maybe it would make the ghostly cat feel safe. "My apologies, I don't understand. My name is Rally, I mean you no harm."

The white cat's nose twitched, her paw lifting and then dropping back down, her fur coming to rest a bit. "Why do you come to my clan's territory, Rally?"

The blue cat raised his head a bit. "I'm sorry, we were brought here by another being, we had no choice." He shifted his body a bit, standing up more, but still keeping lower to the ground than the cat before him. "I didn't catch your name, if it's not rude of me to ask."

She flicked her ear, shifting her neck to peer at Rally closer. "Cresswhisker," she said, a weight behind her words Rally couldn't understand. "The last of the kin who lived on this land."

A ghost? Rally had heard of other officers having encounters with them, there were even legends back on Trill, but he'd never encountered one himself. "My apologies, Cresswhisker, we're wanderers. Our... Our home was destroyed and we wished to find a new one."

Cresswhisker turned and looked towards a crystal pool, flicking her tail to beckon Rally to it. He followed, his pawsteps feeling weightless beneath him. Approaching the pool, he gazed into it, the crystalline water seemed still but had a pale white color he'd only seen in the Caves of Mak'ala.

"My ancestors lived upon this land, now they are gone. Others like myself live among these lands, but I am the last of my clan." She raised her head, looking at Rally with curious eyes. "Will you bear the leadership of my clan?"

"Your clan? Cresswhisker I-- my ship--"

"Your ship can be the new clan. They have the strength in them."

Rally hesitated, feeling the heaviness of the Hovu symbiont in his gut. The previous hosts had gone quiet, it was unusual. He needed advice, to draw on his memories of past lives, but they were inaccessible. He blinked, looking back to Cresswhisker.

"Will you tell me more of your kin?"

"You shall meet them," she said, indicating towards the milky water. "This is your dream, but they shall grant you the blessing of StarClan."

Rally nodded, gently approaching the pool. "Do I... do I say something?"

"Just trust them, trust me." Cresswhisker said, her paws lifting off the ground a bit as she curled close to Rally, pressing her body to his. "Please. Accept our blessing. With this life, we give you strength, use it to overcome the challenges you will face, to be brave and strong."

Before Rally knew what was happening, fire shot through his veins, his eyes welling with tears. Every strand of fur seemed to stand on edge, his joints locking as the pain became overwhelming. He had been hurt before in many ways, but even still this was worse than the bat'leth to the gut he'd gotten as a young officer. Something filled his heart, but he knew he had to be brave for his crew.

"I now call you by your new name, Morningstar. You shed your past, yet use it to be a strong leader for those of EchoClan who you have sworn to protect and care for." Cresswhisker pressed hard into Morningstar's side, letting his weariness from receiving the life sink into her starry fur. "I wish you well, Rally Hovu. May StarClan bless you."

#uss echo clangen #moon 0 #rally morningstar #cresswhisker

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sagesilentfire · 1 year ago

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I FINISHED A SKETCHBOOK! Every page is drawn upon. It only took me... eight years. Wow. I only started working on it in earnest about six months ago, though, so... yeah.

TO CELEBRATE: I want to take one of these sketches and develop it into a full rendered digital painting. I will make a fun little quiz and we'll narrow it down to one drawing. Quiz and logistics coming later, but will be posted here.

A lot of this is me figuring out designs for characters I haven't even written about yet, so look out for that. I'll elaborate one every sketch if you're interested, so keep reading if you want to know who's who. The sketches are generally in reverse chronological order from top to bottom.

1. Alice, a new character in Star and Marcie and the Forces of Evil, my latest project. She's fighting. She's a fighter. She's a love interest, but I hope I make her interesting on her own.

2. Cinder, wearing a shirt Kowari and Kultarr got for her. He will never take it off.

3. Various faces for Iako, a character in my next project that I'm 90% sure on the design for. She lives in a world of kitsunes who accidentally got addicted to gaining their nine tails through murder. Also magic powers are cursed. Iako wants to make magic better, so she goes on a trip to a mysterious island that holds the key to ending the curses... and their lives. Also it's based on the original premise of Lightlark. Hehe. Prologue can be found here. It's part 2.

4. lorge Sílthéy and small derg.

5. Practicing SilkWings and playing around with dragon faces, plus their defining attributes.

6. ANCIENT Sílthéy expression practice. This is years before the eye redesign, but you can still get the essence of her character and how she's born out of my religious trauma.

7. ANCIENT Sílthéy expression practice cont.

8. SilkWing practice with face shapes.

9. Alice fullbody. My second drawing of her, getting her design down.

10. a. Evelyn, the protag of a story I'd like to tell someday. I can't say much more than that, except that it's a tragedy of epic proportions. b. Human Sílthéy

11. Alice and Shinjai. Shinjai is a main character in SAMATFOE, and she and Alice have an almost-thing going.

12. Iako and a still unnamed... side character? They're studying the book Iako gets in the prologue.

13. This is [NAME REDACTED]. They're from a universe inspired by Star Wars, but if it was animated and also deeply weird. [NAME REDACTED] is [TOP SECRET INFORMATION]

14. First drawing of Alice. Figuring out her cheekmarks, and what I wanted to keep in her show design (she's based on a one-off background character).

15. More Iako drawings. Left out her hair in a, can't remember if it was intentional or not.

16. A dragon from a Wings of Fire inspired sci-fi world.

17. RPG species. They're aliens who are eusocial, and females are split into four "genders"/roles in society. This gender is soldier, distinguished by their massive claws and size. Their job is everything that requires strength.

18. An early Tethalaos, and also an entirely plausible form for them to take.

19. Above mentioned RPG species. This gender is gatherer, distinguished by their small body and delicate hands.

20. Another dragon from above mentioned Wings of Fire inspired sci-fi.

21, 23-26. More sketches of [NAME REDACTED]. As you might guess, I quite like them. I just think they're neat, and I wanted to get their design down solidly.

22. Wasp friend :D

27. Shinjai's new crown, as seen in the latest chapter of SAMATFOE.

28. Funny Christmas Carol-inspired AU of SAMATFOE that I drew after being bludgeoned over the head with Christmas music for hours in a holiday sale I was working at.

29. Sílthéy being big mad.

30. RainWing. Not sure who this is.

31. Toffee's Mewberty wings.

32. More Evelyn.

33. LunarWings, but in my sci-fi world.

34. Yet another species in my sci-fi world.

35. Star and Marcie from SAMATFOE

36. Espina, a character from an urban-fantasy boarding school story about being bonded to animals people often find disgusting and repulsive. Espina controls wasps.

37. All the they/them nonbinary characters in SAMATFOE at the time of this drawing. From left to right: Nova, Toffee, Necahua, Dr. Edevane, Mayhem and Miette Maizley, Higgs, and of course, Tethalaos. Drawn at a nonbinary people meetup.

38. Sílthéy again

39. The oldest drawing in the book, Darkstalker from before we even knew what he looked like. An old doodle, but it proves how dedicated I was to Darkstalker being a good guy back in the day.

40. A design for an old idea I had of a hollow mountain filled with outcasts from society. Might revisit it, there's enough there to make at least a novella.

41. Toffee fashion sketches.

42. An old drawing of Sílthéy in her Wings of Fire dragon form, a hybrid named Liminal (nicknamed Lin). I'm pretty happy with how it turned out, honestly.

43. Sílthéy even BIGGER mad

44. More from the hollow mountain. The outcasts are protected by these guys, and in exchange they're cleaned and fed.

#queue queue #art #my art #wings of fire #other people's stories #samatfoe

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damien-wolfram-art · 1 year ago

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A Little Parting Gift

Menma had never really gotten along with Sasuke. Sasuke was all the things Menma wasn’t. He was charming, amiable, popular, and naturally gifted. Furthermore, Sasuke had the support of his family. That was what got to Menma the most, because no matter how hard Menma worked, no matter what jutsus he mastered, no matter how much control over his Nine Tailed Fox he demonstrated, he could never be more than a precious child.

Everyone in the damned Hidden Leaf Village treated him like he had no place as a shinobi. He was deprived of his dignity, but it would all end soon. He scratched his scalp; it was itchy from the dye he used to change his appearance. He always liked the look of black on himself. The new color, outfit change, and fox mask he got from a matsuri a while back would make him unrecognizable. He took one final glance back at his empty living room; his mother and father were away on a mission. Then, he left it like he intended to leave it all.

If only it were so easy. It was near midnight and most of the village was asleep. He was mere steps from the border at the A-Un gate when he heard him, “Awfully late for someone to be lurking about. You wouldn’t be up to no good, would you? Sorry to pry, but I don’t think I’ve seen you around before. Are you passing through?”

It just had to be him, Sasuke Uchiha. His very presence made his skin crawl. Sasuke’s usual posse of girls wasn’t with him. This made him wary. What was he doing up then? Curiosity got the better of him. He donned his mask and then turned to face his rival. The wind caught in his black fur collared blue cloak.

“Ominous,” Sasuke hummed. “I’ll have you know my father runs the police force around here and my brother is in the Akatsuki. I’d think twice about causing trouble.”

Menma laughed, focusing on keeping the pitch of his voice lowered, “Oh yeah?” It occurred to him that Sasuke might be useful for once so his aura suddenly became heavy and his shadow style chakra flared. “Y’know what? I don’t see either of them here.” He spread his arms wide and approached Sasuke. “In fact, all I see is an Uchiha runt– one who doesn’t even possess the mangekyo sharingan.”

“You sure seem to know a lot about me,” said Sasuke, feigning confidence. “But who exactly are you?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know?”

“Know your enemy, right?”

“It won’t matter soon enough. I’ve found a use for you.”

“Wait, what?”

The masked man levitated from the ground a bit and then, with blinding speed comparable to the Leaf’s Yellow Flash, he nearly teleported behind Sasuke. Before Sasuke could even think, “He’s fast!” Menma delivered a swift blow to the back of his neck, incapacitating him.

Sasuke woke to the clattering of gears and a blaring headache. He was tied to a post with some sort of sealing jutsu. He groaned, drawing the attention of this captor who was only a few meters away. “So, you’re finally awake?” Asked the masked man.

Sasuke now realized how serious this was. He tugged at his restraints, but they did not budge. “What’s going on? Where did you bring me?” He asked.

“This is The Training Cave. The very place Lord Jiraiya taught Minato Namikaze, The Yellow Flash,” Menma explained. Soon it would be his lair– a testament to how he would prove his worth and surpass his father. “It is also the place where I will gather up kekkei genkai. Just. Like. Yours.” With each word, he closed the distance between himself and Sasuke until he was crouched before him.

Eye to eye with this masked man, Sasuke felt fear creeping in on him, but stronger still, he sensed something. He knew him. He just needed more time to figure out who he was. “I thought my sharingan was worthless to you,” he prodded.

The masked man laughed again. Beneath his facade squeaked a slight falsetto, “That is true, but only if they remain as they are,” his tone darkened. “However, if I were to force you to awaken your mangekyo sharingan… heh you might be useful after all. I think I’d like one.”

Sasuke recoiled and croaked, “F-Force?” His eyes were wide in disbelief. To force the awakening of an Uchiha’s sharingan to any degree meant serious emotional and/or physical distress.

“Yes,” uttered the masked man, poised to inflict his harm.

Sasuke winced, but when his kidnapper made no move, he gazed at him in confusion. There was nothing moral stopping Menma, but it occurred to him that he had his rival completely and utterly at his mercy for the first time. He wanted to do something extravagant.

Catching his fist in his hand, Menma decided. “You…… you like women, don’t you?” He asked.

Sasuke was even more confused by this. Of course he did. He surrounded himself with them for a reason. It was fun to talk to them and to feel like he was valued, but why would this masked man ask about that? “Uh yeah?” He answered weakly.

“Perfect,” Menma growled. Finally, there was something he could take from Sasuke for all those times he made him feel like all his efforts were for naught. “Then, I will be your partner. I will make you come for me.”

“What?” Sasuke gasped, but the masked man did not hesitate. In mere moments, he was perched on Sasuke’s lap. His gloved hands made quick work brushing aside Sasuke’s purple button up and reaching under his black V-neck to grab a hold of his nipples. Rubbing them between his fingers made Sasuke let out a breathy moan.

This was not the only effect Menma had on Sasuke. He could feel his captive stiffening beneath him, so he rolled his hips hard on top of him. “Already? Sas-uke-kun?”

Sasuke grimaced uncomfortably and moaned again– this time, shamefully. How could he allow a man to make him feel such things? He shut his eyes tight and held his breath. If he could just block the masked man out, then maybe he could pull through.

Menma was never one to quit though. Seeing what his rival intended to do, he acted quickly. Putting himself between Sasuke’s legs, he groped at the bulge in his forest green pants. When Sasuke didn’t react, Menma got more aggressive. He undid his pants, reached into his boxers, and pulled out his member, scoffing in annoyance. Of course, Sasuke was longer than he was. What didn’t he beat him at?

Menma pushed the vexing thought aside. He would beat him now. That much was certain. He began to stroke him– at first gently with fingers. Sasuke’s plan wasn’t working. If anything, the sensory and breath deprivation was only pushing him further into ecstasy. When he panted to catch his breath, he hardened more and Menma moved quicker.

Sasuke began to squirm. His legs squeezed around Menma’s and when he felt him slow down occasionally, he throbbed to meet his unrelenting fingertips. Menma leaned the mouth of his mask close to Sasuke’s ear. “You have no idea how good it feels to finally beat you. I am so sick of being underestimated. And when I’m done with you, it’ll be the rest of that damned Leaf Village. My father… The Kage… And in time, the world will know the power of my amassed kekkei genkai. You can try to deny me, but like all the others who will try to stop me, you too will fail. They will come to acknowledge me. And you, Sasuke, will come for me!” His whisper worked up to a shrill yell and his hand from gentle stroking to pounding.

The voice was too familiar. “M-Menma?” Sasuke gasped, opening his eyes to see if he was right, but he couldn’t take it any longer. The tightness in his lower belly gathered and many of his muscles began to involuntarily contract. He came all over Menma’s glove and the belts that wrapped it.

Menma would’ve relished in this moment of Sasuke thrusting into his hand and the star pattern in his eyes if he hadn’t just been correctly identified. He sucked his teeth and stood up, grumbling, “You just had to stick your nose into a place it didn’t belong didn’t you…”

He would’ve killed him right then and taken his eyes if it weren’t for what Sasuke said next, “I’m so sorry, Menma. I-I didn’t know…”

He really was annoying.

Instead, Menma clasped his hands together with the index and middle fingers raised to form the sign of the tiger and channel his chakra. “Just shuddup! I don’t need any of your stupid apologies!” He screamed, making no attempt to mask his voice anymore and slamming his open right hand onto the ground. A bit of Sasuke’s seed spread from the site of impact and an eight-pronged seal continued further still until it encompassed Sasuke.

“W-what are you doing?”

“Suppress,” Menma choked out and Sasuke’s head fell limp. He carried him back to The Leaf and left him on a bench. He would wake up and remember nothing.

Menma had never really gotten along with Sasuke. Sasuke was all the things Menma wasn’t, but Sasuke had shown him empathy. For that, Menma would let him live. He would find his sharingan elsewhere.

@narutokinktober

@bitchbot3000

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arttheclown · 2 years ago

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alright. this is hopefully going to be the last time i post about the subject but i’d like to set the record straight about the “art is sienna’s dad” theory - most importantly, why it doesn’t hold any water due to extensive evidence that has already been presented to us both within the franchise itself and from behind-the-scenes material / social media stuff involving the cast & crew.

putting this under a cut because this is gonna get lengthy.

whether or not the 9th circle / all hallows’ eve films are still canon to the terrifier universe is debatable at this point, but it’s been confirmed that art’s cat of nine tails (flail) is made up of hair braids taken from previous victims. he had this weapon in the original terrifier, which reveals that the exterminators, the pizza guys, the cat lady, dawn, and tara were not his first victims. therefore, wouldn’t have sienna, jon and barb would have noticed the man of the house was going out in a clown suit and killing people?

the shaws would have surely noticed that art shared the same green eyes, height and build of their supposed father - especially jon, who is intensely observant and researches A Lot. if there were any real intentional ties there, he probably would have put those pieces together a lot sooner & brought it to the attention of his mother and sister.

jonathan appears to possess some degree of telepathic connection with art and/or the little pale girl & never mentions any sense of familiarity. all he says, quite blatantly, is that he doesn’t know what the clowns want beyond needing sienna in a certain location at a certain time.

we literally have a little girl running around who looks just like art (more about this on this post here). if they want a daughter figure for him, there is already one who intentionally resembles him and behaves as if she were his child, or at least pretending to be; not to mention that emily crane is explicitly mentioned to come from a family of mimes and clowns.

the cast and crew (damien, lauren and the producers) have all ship teased them multiple times and have been doing so since before the movie came out. any tension between art & sienna is not new or something imagined by fans. regardless of how seriously the terrifier team is taking that relationship, they’re aware there’s at least a twisted attraction on art’s side. they would not be doing this if these characters were related.

mr. shaw is implicated to have the power of foresight. why would he draw art if he Was art. mr. shaw was an ARTIST; ART is his unholy creation, if anything. someone (can no longer find the screencap, unfortunately) even pointed out that art’s black-and-white suit is reminiscent of a pencil or charcoal drawing, and that perhaps art doesn’t speak because drawings don’t talk.

furthermore, i doubt art would have left any clues behind for sienna to defeat him, or figure out her ultimate destiny, if he was mr. shaw. art has a lot of things wrong with him but self-sabotaging on purpose doesn’t sound like the guy. it seemed like mr. shaw was trying to help sienna on purposes; perhaps even guiding her from beyond the grave.

art would have recognized sienna’s sword. they made a point he was impressed by it because it was his first time seeing it. if she got that blade from her dad, why did art act so surprised and interested? lauren lavera has additionally gone on the record and shared her own opinion on this scene, suggesting that art knew that the dagger was significant to sienna but wasn’t sure how.

mr. shaw’s death is described almost word-for-word in terrifier 2: he drank an entire bottle of whiskey, crashed his car into a telephone pole and burned to death when the car caught fire. when recounting the story, brooke also mentions he died screaming, and art does not speak. furthermore, we have seen art’s naked body twice; there are no visible burns or scars on him.

brooke and allie know sienna’s parents. they both encounter art at separate points. allie, who has a lot more time to process what’s going on & spends a lot more time interacting with art, does not recognize him whatsoever.

on the topic of art’s first death, damien leone has stated verbatim that when art shot himself at the end of T1, he did not anticipate his return from the dead. david howard thornton has said about the same & intentionally played art as cockier for this reason - because he is only just becoming aware of his own immortality.

even if by some stretch of imagination mr. shaw faked his death and went onto become art, it requires an insane suspension of disbelief. it was a huge deal in terrifier 2 that art’s body disappeared from the morgue. if there was no body found at the sight of mr. shaw’s death, it would have been mentioned already and jonathan would likely be fixating on that mystery instead. sienna would not have let this rest either.

barbara clearly does not recognize art as her husband’s clown persona in any way. it is not out of the realm of possibility that maybe she knew art, or that her husband did - which would explain some of barb’s more bizarre reactions to things - but they were definitely not the same person.

i think that covers pretty much of all of it but yeah. art is not sienna and jonathan’s father. to this very small but very vocal minority, please stop jumping on the posts of random people & making this insistence. it’s weird.

#terrifier 2 #terrifier #art the clown #sienna shaw #jonathan shaw #sid's meta

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storms-path · 1 year ago

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FFXIV Write 2023 Day 12 - Dowdy

“Oh dear…” Tataru’s clearly sympathetic tone was almost as damning as her pitying sight that followed. Arashi couldn’t help the slump of her shoulders, looking down at the dress she had picked out. It wasn’t that bad, was it?

“No, this won’t do at all. It’s a terrible fit for your figure, and the colour’s all wrong besides. You want to wow her, right? Leave her breathless when she sees you? Well, you’ll achieve the latter, but only because she’ll be laughing so hard. I’m sorry, it has to go.”

Soon enough Arashi was being half led, half herded into the dressing room again, forced to disrobe and hand her selection back to the waiting lalafell. Then she was left to wait, tail smacking the wall impatiently for the fashion expert to pick out a better assortment. Really, it was her own fault. She knew what she’d invited as soon as she mentioned the anniversary dinner to the owner, founder and head of Tataru’s Boutique. It had taken a frighteningly short time for Tataru to arrange a trip to Kugane, free up some of her sizeable coffers and declare a girls’ night on the town. Too late for regrets now…

After an eternity of sitting around in her underwear Arashi was presented with a neatly folded selection of garments that was hastily pushed under the curtain. Arashi gathered them up and laid them out on the tiny shelf in front of her, weighing her options. They were certainly… daring. Was it even proper to be showing that much leg? To say nothing of how the neckline plunged and… well, kept plunging. Arashi looked down at her less-than-generous assets and decided against that particular dress. Perhaps Sanda could pull it off. With a little padding…

The next one was also a no-go. I’m an Au Ra, not a harpy. Far too many feathers. And the one after that was much too sparkly. I’ll have the adoration of spriggan-kind forevermore if I wear that thing.

Just as Arashi was about to despair of her friend’s fashion choices her eyes landed on the last one in the pile. A fetching blue number, not too immodest but also liable to draw the eye where it needed to go. Arashi slipped it on, fidgeting with scales and tail until the dress felt comfortable, then admired herself in the helpfully present mirror. Not bad. While it clung close to her form, it accentuated her form rather than trying to present it as something else entirely. Absent arms revealed her well-sculpted biceps, the sheer cut up one leg exposed her thigh and calf in a pleasing manner, and the red flower accents added a nice contrast to the deep, powerful blue of the fabric. And it felt comfortable. That was the most important part, really.

As Arashi spun and examined herself, another bundle was passed under the curtain. Accessories, it appeared, for the dress. You knew I’d go for this one, didn’t you? Arashi wasn’t sure whether to be annoyed at Tataru’s keen sense of Arashi’s taste or her own predictability. Instead she picked up the bundle, laying it out next to the discarded dresses. A fetching blue hat in the style of the ever-popular Songbirds, a pair of royal blue gloves, some deep purple boots with just enough heel to add a sense of power without feeling like she was walking on stilts, and… shorts. Very silky shorts, clearly designed to go under the dress, but shorts all the same.

Arashi picked up the undergarment, eyebrow raised, only to be surprised as the “shorts” unfolded to reveal a pattern of blues and greens running down the transparent fabric that began where the supposed shorts ended. Oh. A few more minutes and Arashi was dressed to the nines, once again forced to admit that Tataru was the expert for a reason. With a mock huff of frustration Arashi drew back the curtains, waiting to face the inevitable smug look of her friend.

“Oh…” This time Tataru’s tone was, if anything, awestruck. “I knew it would suit you, but I never… Goodness! Right, get out of all that and let’s get this all bought!” Before she could process it Arashi was bundled back into the dressing room, the curtains snapped shut behind her and closing off any chance of arguing. “Maybe I wanted to show off a little,” she muttered under her breath. Nonetheless, she did as she was told. Her travelling gear was a familiar friend after the dizzying array of dresses, but she had to admit it lacked a certain… something. Arashi folded up the garments as carefully as she could, clutching the apparent winners to her chest. She tried not to look at the price tags, flowing handwriting showing a few too many zeroes for her liking. Thank goodness Tataru’s paying.

Tataru, as it turned out, didn’t like that many zeroes either. Or she was simply just a more shrewd businesswoman than Arashi could dream of. Or both. Either way, several minutes of haggling convinced the merchant to reduce the items to a more reasonable price. Even if Arashi was a little embarrassed that Tataru felt the need to bring up her status as the Warrior of Light. Thankfully Tataru Taru felt no shame about using her friend’s status as a hero to earn a discount or two, and eventually a price was agreed upon that still made Arashi wince. Then they were off again, Tataru determined to find “some proper make-up to go with that ensemble!” Arashi, seeing no good outcome from arguing, trailed behind.

Then a sight just out of the corner of her eye brought her to a sudden stop. A brief flash of red trailing a familiar black dress and white tail, both headed in the direction of the shop Arashi and Tataru had just left. Surely not… When she turned to look again, the pair had disappeared into the crowds. Perhaps it was just her imagination. But thinking back on it, Y’shtola had mentioned a few errands to run in Kugane the other day, and while Lyse claimed she was busy with civil matters, M’naago had looked rather unconvinced.

Arashi would have to act surprised when the anniversary dinner came. Hopefully she picks a different dress.

#ff14 #ffxiv #final fantasy 14 #final fantasy xiv #ffxivwrite #ffxivwrite2023 #arashi washi #tataru taru #arashi's fashion sense is equal to my own: none #does it fit? does it do its job? perfect let's get it #thankfully arashi has a tataru to help her out #because lordy does she need it #and yes the dress is based on something in-game and yes it is a favourite of mine on the lizard #write what you know and all that

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moss-selfship · 1 year ago

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Day 7 Outfit Swap

On the cool new meridian night two people sat together in their apartment, the two of them resting on the couch watching a show together. The first figure was a Feline Feral woman and the last remaining member of the fishbone gang, the cat burglar Ms. Fortune. She sat cuddled up with her partner, a mysterious man that had appeared in new meridian seemingly overnight. This mysterious stranger eventually revealed himself to ms fortune as an avatar of the reaper himself and went by the name of mort. Over there shared journey the two of them grew close and got together, and once the skullheart was dealt with they got an apartment together. Where the two now sat on there couch enjoying the night before ms fortune spoke up. “Hey, i just had a Purr-illiant idea!” Ms fortune said smiling, turning her face to her partner who smiled back at her. “And what would that be?” He asked, raising an eyebrow and taking another sip of the drink he had sitting on the coffee table in front of them. “How about i try on your suit? I bet i would look snazzy in it.” She said standing up and putting her hands on her hips with a smile, Mort simply raised an eyebrow. “You do realize it won't fit you really well since I'm bigger than you?” He said already standing up, knowing she was dead set on this idea and he hated seeing her upset. “Yeah well..i'm sure it will be fine, i can look a bit small in it its fiiiiiine.” Ms fortune said waving her hand off to brush the issue aside, Mort could only chuckle as he started to head towards the bedroom with her. “Alright alright, though your not getting me in your outfit. It barely hides anything on you and with my…extra parts it won't hide anything on me.” His words drawing a laugh from the both of them as they got to the bedroom, ms fortune quickly changing out of her pajamas as she put on his normal outfit. “SOoo what do you think? Ain't i a stylish black cat?” Ms fortune said, turning around, giving mort a view of her. His black dress shoes clonked clumsily as she took her steps as they were much too big for her feet. The black dress pants were held tight in place with a belt pulled tight, the leg fabrics flopping as they were barely filled and a noticeable spot where she tucked her tail into was visible. The black and white shirt of his hung loosely over her body and reminded him much of how she looks with the nightshirts ms fortune would wear that were his shirts. His dress coat hung extremely loosely on her and the sleeves went over her hands, causing her to constantly adjust them so she could use her hands. “My my look at you, dressed to the nines and everything.” Mort said with a soft smile as he looked at his partner and admired herself in the mirror, turning around and rotating her head so she could see what it looked like. She had to admit even if the suit doesn't fit her she still thought she looked good, and reminded her of her old outfit before the incident. “I guess you could say i'm Dressed to kill?” Ms fortune joked with a grin, seeing the chance to make a pun about him being the grim reaper and her never being one to miss out on a pun. The two of them laughed loudly as they enjoyed this sweet and silly moment.

Prompt and credits here

#9 lives loving #my writing

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solasan · 1 year ago

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mollie can you please spare some facts about your bg3 ocs? they all seem so 🥺💖

aaaaaa sophie tysm 🥺 i would be HAPPY to spare some facts abt them (im still working on the ask meme u sent me im sowwy <333) buckle up tho bc theres.... four of them lol 🤪

so estrilda nerezac is my most recent tav. she's a draconic bloodline sorcerer from the noble house nerezac (descended from a gold dragon named solarien) and is, fittingly, the proudest of all my tavs with a nice little (big) superiority complex to boot. she has the thickest french accent which doesn't matter but i love. her family's flitted about a lot in the last few generations (sun elves amirite) but they returned from evermeet in the 1360s, when estie was about 10, and settled in silverymoon. that makes her roughly 140 years old by the time of bg3, so she's Lived A Life in that time. she'd just recently agreed to take a husband from one of the other sun elf noble houses in silverymoon and was on the road to everlund with her older brother valoran to look at wedding dresses when the nautiloid took them. valoran is successfully turned into a mindflayer while they're on-board 😔

she romances gale and they spend most of their time together by turns either competing with each other (my magic is better than your magic) or having some surprising moments of understanding & comfort lol. they end up married and settling down in waterdeep (which her family has their issues with) and having a couple of kids. estie unfortunately will outlive him but im trying not to think abt that haha.

then there's alarice silversong, who's a college of swords bard. she was raised by four "mothers" in a brothel (only 1 of them was her mother by blood, but they all looked after her) in the lower city of baldur's gate. birth name was alice. fell in love with music as a child bc she was expected to play the lute for the brothel's patrons on the main floor. after 3 of her moms died, she ended up on the streets, where she became quite the accomplished little pickpocket and eventually joined the guild. nine-fingers became a sort of mother figure to her — which is why she's so pissed that alarice ran off with loot from duke ravengard, blowing an operation wide open and getting multiple guild members killed before the nautiloid grabbed her. despite being selfish & greedy & an incorrigible liar, alarice is charismatic & fun, so she's good at drawing people in. lonely tho.

her and astarion have a lot of similar issues, so their romance is a lot of learning to recognise and love yourself through the other <3

next is callista lomarel, a cleric of selûne native to baldur's gate. she was abandoned on the steps of the house of the moonmaiden when she was only a couple of days old, bc her (noble) family were all human and she popped out purple with a tail, so. that's all she really knows about her past for the most part, which she pretends to be ok with, but curiosity and abandonment issues do haunt her a lot. she was raised in the faith, an acolyte in the same place she was abandoned at, and maybe she was never loved in the way that most children are loved by their parents, but she felt the love of selûne every day of her life and became a very dedicated cleric. she didn't really leave the house of the moonmaiden (making her very naive and ignorant to the ways of the world) until the day she was taken by the nautiloid. she's super sweet and gentle, very kind, looks after everyone around her. baby.

she romances shadowheart <333 while shadowheart goes into the romance trying to convert her to shar (lol SIKE for her), callista just... sees good in her and can't stop seeing it, no matter how much she wishes she could sometimes. they r very cute girlfriends by the end. shadowheart's callista's first lover ever so it's a learning curve for her but yeah. <3

and then the tav that i know the least about is izevel (no surname), who's a half-drow great old one warlock and my dark urge tav <3 i haven't played huge amounts of her and i dont want to spoil the durge for myself so i rly don't have much to say except that i think she's going to romance wyll and she tries very hard to be a good person despite her fucked up urges. cant wait to eventually get to her full playthrough LOL

#ch: estrilda nerezac #ch: alarice silversong #ch: callista lomarel #ch: izevel #bg3 spoilers /#bg3 posting /#answered #apologies for any lore inaccuracies i am relying solely on the wiki and making it up as i go for anything i cant find info on lol #sophie u r so sweet tysm for asking abt them i loooove talking abt them <333 mwah

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prowerprojects · 1 year ago

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I'm sure Rouge could, as with other characters. But it comes back to which ones and why? It is her style or required for her line of work? Does she draw the line with specific ones or isn't as skilled with one gadget compared to another?

It's a matter of what the gameplay calls for. (If Tails Adventure and Sky Patrol are anything to go by, a Tails focus game is likely not going to play the same as those who follow Sonic's main gamestyle. If flight the main aspect, the game will focus on that. If gadgets are, it will be on that. Both? A compromise would have to made, but I'm sure they could get it to work.) If you ever heard of "Rachet and Clank", it probably gives a better visual of what I mean for this hypothetical. Spyro too, though more flying than gadgets.

I would say Rouge mainly has experience and stamina over the youngsters; but coming down to what they use their flight capabilities for; Tails being air support and Charmy stated to be a tracker. Plus Charmy does use his stinger and Cream uses Cheese as a projectile. (The fox likely can't beat Rouge toe-to-toe, but I'm sure he'd cause enough trouble for her to not consider him easy pickings next time.) In fairness, we don't really get much time with Prime Tails. {Not the first time a Tails has used a RC device either} It mainly Nine and the other counterparts instead; who live in rather hostile places.

I checked to be sure, and yeah, there is one flight level: The first Speedy boss. There are places to land [in case you get hit], but the stamina bar is completely removed here, as the goal is to get to the top while avoiding Speedy.

Honestly, it's a concept that's not used enough. I can totally buy him coming from the grocery or tool shop, using his tails to carry as much bags and supplies as possible. (Although not techinally the fur, when Nine takes off with the shard; the one Sonic just got absorbed into, you can see it wrapped in his organic tails. So yeah, I say it stands a good chance of coming back.)

You are correct. (Hmm, well, Amy was already shown to throw hammers in Origins.{Which funnily enough again, was shown in X before. The episode Sonic finally comes back from Chris' world.} I say it has a fair shot of sticking. A little less certain with Tails, but I think it could work in Frontiers. Part of me feels that a tweaked version of the Avatar's Wispon gameplay from Forces would fit him well. We'll see what the DLC does for both.)

Hmm, I can buy Tails being interested in history. Especially if it helps him better understand of what's going on at the moment or could be applied later. (Also, I think he just likes learning new things. That being said, it doesn't mean he'll be an expert of something overnight. Hence why he consulted Professor Pickles during Unleashed.)

I feel like the Rouge conversation got a bit away from the point I was originally trying to make, haha =_=' (it's ok but I'm just gonna drop it here)

I heard of Ratchet and Clank but have never played it myself. I looked up some gameplay footage and it looks pretty cool! (Longing for a Tails solo game intensifies)

I know, I know, drones are just so... lame :( I'm still holding out hope that we'll get to see more flashbacks with Prime Tails, I really like him from what little we've seen of him even though he's written so differently from probably any version of Tails I've seen before (except for maybe in some fics haha)

Yep! I've noticed that thing with Nine! (Part of my headcanon is that Tails's ability to control his Tails like that helps him fly (a little bit); I don't have a clear idea of the details, but the basic one is that he's able to position the fur of his tails in such a way that it makes slightly easier for them to function as helicopter blades. At this point it's instinctual for him, but if you're not Tails you might have a bit of trouble figuring out how to do it)

Yeah, I guess we'll see.

Man you mentioned the wispons and it made me think – we haven't seen Tails actually inventing anything for a while, huh? Unless something completely slipped my mind, the last time he had a new invention was Unleashed (the Miles Electric), and it's also the last time we've seen him with a new vehicle (Tornado-1. Geez. The Sonic Boom tv show made fun of his inability to come up with names and I kinda see where they were coming from here lmao). Mannnn. We can talk forever about the loss of his fighting abilities, but he hasn't exactly been shining in other areas either.

Yeah, it definitely doesn't seem... ooc for him to be into history, it just doesn't seem as connected to his usual interests. (But I guess history is inescapable in any field of work) Though Tails also has his own interest in chaos emeralds. (And you know if Eggman keeps summoning ancient evils (and Shadow) it's nice to at least have a general idea of what's going on. Or at least who to ask haha)

#tails #sonic #sonic the hedgehog #project.txt #miles tails prower #tails the fox #project.ask

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thecreaturecodex · 2 years ago

Text

Lambton Worm

“The Serpent” © Rasmus Poulsen, accessed at his ArtStation here

[The Lambton Worm is a monster I have been considering off and on for literally a decade or more, and I’ve finally figured out how to do it mechanically. The legend of the Lambton Worm is one of the better known regional dragons in England, and one that I think is conventionally misinterpreted. A number of authors see it as a representation of the struggle between Christianity and paganism. I blame Bram Stoker for this take, as it appears in his atrocious The Lair of the White Worm. Yes, snakes and dragons do often represent the Devil, but the overarching theme in the story of the Lambton Worm is how much John Lambton sucks. He discovers the Worm when skipping church, throws it into a well, leaves his land for seven years, allowing the monster to grow up and start killing people, and finally fails in the sacrificial obligation to prevent his family line from being cursed for nine generations. So I interpret the Lambton Worm as more of a Fisher King style representation of the link between a lord and his land, and run with that interpretation in my flavor text below.]

Lambton Worm CR 17 LE Dragon This serpent is longer than a castle wall, with a horned head and bleary red eyes. It drools a foul liquid.

The Lambton Worm is a draconic serpent that punishes dereliction of duty. It emerges in lands where the local lords are callow and slothful, and ravages the land to make it represent its lord’s moral character. They eat livestock and children, damage farms and pollute water supplies, never enough to completely destroy a fiefdom but enough to make those living there miserable and sick. It then establishes itself as a surrogate lord, holding the people hostage in exchange for milk, meat and treasure. There is only one Lambton Worm, but it has said to have been born and reborn a dozen times in a dozen realms.

The Lambton Worm is large enough to level forests and buildings but can and does squeeze itself to fit into wells and caves. It enjoys drawing battles out in order to showcase its power, tearing a tree from the ground and wielding it like an enormous club in its prehensile tail. The beast’s jaws drip acidic venom, and it can vomit this out in lethal torrents. The worst quality of the Lambton Worm is its supernatural resilience; not only do they heal rapidly from wounds, they can even return to life once slain. Only by destroying or scattering the Worm’s body quickly can this rejuvenation be prevented.

The Lambton Worm is intelligent, but it rarely speaks—just enough to set the terms of its extortion. They may also boast that only those of noble heart and pure blood can slay them. This is a trap, as they delight in nothing else than to shatter social structures and delight in the death of kings and princes. Some scholars believe that the Lambton Worm owes its fealty to an archdevil, but the monster does not discuss its own origins.

Lambton Worm CR 17 XP 102,400 LE Colossal dragon (aquatic) Init +5; Senses blindsense 120 ft., darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision, Perception +24, scent Aura frightful presence (150 ft., Will DC 23) Defense AC 31, touch 3, flat-footed 30 (-8 size, +1 Dex, +2 natural) hp 280 (17d12+170); fast healing 17 Fort +20, Ref +13, Will +17 DR 15/magic; Immune acid, curses, disease, poison; Resist cold 10, electricity 10, fire 10; SR 28 Defensive Abilities ferocity, rejuvenation Offense Speed 40 ft., swim 60 ft. Melee greatclub +25/+20/+15/+10 (6d8+24), bite +23 (3d8+8 plus 2d8 acid plus poison) or bite +25 (3d8+16 plus 2d8 acid plus poison), tail slap +23 (4d6+24 plus grab) Space 30 ft.; Reach 30 ft. Special Attacks breath weapon (17d8 acid plus poison, 70 foot cone, Ref DC 28 half, 1d4 rounds), constrict (4d6+26), powerful blows (tail), smite nobility (6/day, +5 attack and AC, +17 damage) Statistics Str 42, Dex 13, Con 30, Int 10, Wis 25, Cha 21 Base Atk +17; CMB +41 (+45 grapple); CMD 52 (cannot be tripped) Feats Blind-Fight, Cleave, Combat Reflexes, Great Cleave, Improved Critical (bite), Improved Initiative, Lightning Reflexes, Multiattack (B), Power Attack, Stand Still Skills Climb +32, Diplomacy +22, Intimidate +22, Knowledge (nobility) +17, Perception +24, Sense Motive +24, Survival +24, Swim +32 Languages Common, Draconic, Infernal SQ amphibious, compression Ecology Environment any hills or aquatic Organization unique Treasure standard Special Abilities Breath Weapon (Su) Any creature that fails its save against the Lambton Worm’s breath weapon is exposed to the creature’s poison. Poison (Ex) Contact—bite or breath weapon; save Fort DC 28; duration 1/round for 4 rounds; effect 2d4 Con damage; cure 2 consecutive saves. The save DC is Constitution based. Rejuvenation (Su) When the Lambton Worm is slain, it gains the effects of a breath of life spell (CL 17th) 1 round later. This effect does not occur if the Lambton Worm’s body has been scattered apart. The Lambton Worm can only use this ability once per day. Smite Nobility (Su) This ability functions as a paladin’s smite evil class ability, except that it gains its benefits only for creatures that possess a noble title. The Lambton Worm’s class level is equal to its Hit Dice for this effect.

#lambton worm #dragon #british folklore #pathfinder 1e #world tour #bram stoker #lair of the white worm

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alrightberries · 4 years ago

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dante’s inferno

request: wassup homie could you maybe write a college au fic where levi and reader are rommies, then one day reader brings home an adopted cat without levi's prior knowledge? You could decide what happens next lol. Tysm 🥺

❈ pairing: levi ackerman x reader

❈ genre: fluff, semi-crack ❈ word count: 4k

❈ summary: college au. in which you bring a stray cat to your dorm and your neat freak roommate won’t let you keep it.

alternatively: a compilation of college shenanigans where you and levi are best friends who are bad with feelings (ft. an unamused cat named dante)

❈ trigger warnings: profanity. mentions of alcohol and smoking. implied smut.

a/n: this was supposed to be loosely based on the nine circles of hell according to inferno by dante alighieri— hence the title— but i did my research wrong so now it’s loosely based on the seven terraces of purgatory according to divine comedy. i’m keeping the title tho.

Inspired by this art by @ryuichirou on tumblr.

Permission to repost art was granted by the artist. Do not repost/edit the art without explicit permission from the artist.

─── ･｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

i. first terrace: pride

“We’re not keeping it.”

“But why?”

“We’re not keeping it.”

“But why.”

Levi’s tongue clicks in annoyance. His eyes glance next you where the offending creature lay on your bed; tail curling, paws kneading at his your favorite fleece blanket. Quite frankly he’s a little offended when the little shit has the audacity to glare at him back.

He’ll never admit it, but his ego’s a bit bruised because the cat’s glare was slightly better than his.

“I said no,” he firmly replies, looking back to you. “It’s bad enough I have to share a room with an anarchist who has no respect for boundaries—“

“One time, I forgot to use a coaster that one time!”

“—and now you expect me to share a room with a dirty fur ball who does nothing but eat, shit, and sleep?”

“He’s a cat, Levi.” You murmur, scooping the cat into your arms. “And he has a name,” you give a nervous smile when you see your rommate grit his teeth. He feels a headache coming.

“You named it?”

“Dante is not an ‘it’.”

Levi makes a move to step closer but immediately stops when the ‘Dante’ hisses at him.

“Aw, he likes you.” You coo.

“Clearly,” he replies unenthusiastically. “Listen,” he sighs. “I respect your cat’s pronouns but that doesn’t mean he’s allowed to stay. Or do I need to remind you of the mac and cheese incident?”

Okay, maybe he was on to something. If you got caught with a pet in the dorms you’d breach your third and final warning, and you’d be forced to dorm off-campus. The fact that you were still here after the mac and cheese incident was solely because Levi pulled some strings (aka asked Erwin, golden boy of the campus who owed him a favor, to pull some strings).

But you couldn’t just let Dante go. There was something about him that felt so familiar; something about his black fur, thin silver eyes, unamused snarl, and overall grumpy demeanor. Especially endearing was the way he’d grumble and pretend to be annoyed whenever you tried to cuddle him but would complain if you stopped.

You just couldn’t figure out who or what he reminded you of.

Maybe you would’ve figured it out too if you weren’t so distracted with watching Levi and Dante stare at each other. Your eyes dart back and forth between the grouchy cat sitting on your bed and your grouchy roommate sitting on his desk. Both were slightly crouched over with their heads tilted up in a show of dominance; they were engaged in what seemed to be a glaring contest, gunmetal irises unamused and mouths taut in a snarl as they protected their territory.

You sigh. You really, for the life of you, couldn’t figure out why Dante felt so familiar.

─── ･｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

ii. second terrace: envy

Levi is not jealous. He’s not.

At least that’s what he tells himself as he sulks alone on his bed. His arms are crossed and his lips are in a pout, eyebrows knitted in distaste, occasionally glancing to your side of the room where you sat up on your bed. He’s sure whatever movie you chose to watch together is interesting and all, but right now all he could pay attention to was that stupid cat. Sitting on your stupid lap. Getting its fur stroked by your stupid hand. Getting all the love and affection his stupid self should be receiving.

It was him you should be cuddling, not Dante. Saturday nights were reserved for him and you, not you and a cat while he happened to be in the room. He’s been trying to make a move on you since high school and he can’t fucking believe he’s losing your attention to a cat. Sure, he’s always been too chicken to make a move and had to suffer seeing you get together with assholes— as per your type during your emo high school days— but this was a new low. He can’t wrap his head around the concept that he’s losing his longterm crush to a motherfucking cat.

When you coo at how adorable the fleabag was for what felt like the 50th time that night, Levi decides he’s had enough of the cuddle-hogging piece of shit.

Wordlessly, he crosses to your side of the room and lifts the cat from its perch, ignoring your protests as he sets it down on the floor and tells it to ‘scram, you little fuck.’ He uses a hand to dust your lap free of any microscopic cat particles Dante probably left behind before lying down his head down once he was satisfied. He grabs your hand to put it on his hair.

“Stroke.” He orders, eyes closing.

“What? No! You pushed off Dante.”

“He was in my spot.”

“You couldn’t have given up your lap pillow for one night?”

“One night?” He scoffs and turns to look at you. “You’ve been abandoning me for two weeks. That disgusting, tic-infested, rabies-carrying slob has no business sitting on your lap.”

“He’s not disgusting, you gave him a shower before you agreed to let me keep him. And I took him the vet to make sure he had all his shots. He’s clean, Levi.”

“Tch, good. Now throw him out and let him find someone else to freeload from.”

“Okay, what’s going on?” You guffaw. “You’ve been grumpier than usual. And why’re you being such an ass to Dante? He’s just a cat.”

“Don’t think he’s special in some way. I’m an ass to everyone.”

“Then why does it feel like you’re always extra mean to him?”

He doesn’t reply. His lips are downturned into a frown when he looks away with a click of his tongue, and you realize with a sigh you won’t be getting an answer from your cryptic roommate soon. Your fingers start mindlessly stroking his undercut when you get lost in your thoughts— a habit you developed through years of Levi using your lap as a pillow. He always complained the first few times you did it but you knew it calmed both him and you, and that it put both your minds at ease. Moreso Levi right now, apparently.

You’re keenly aware of how he seems to curl up into you the more you keep going. You watch as his shoulders slump down when you stroke the side of his face, and his eyebrows relax slightly. From your angle, you could even see the way his eyes close in content. Maybe even a tiny smile if you were being delusional.

Your lip twitches upward.

“Oh my god, Levi, are you jealous of a cat?”

“Shut up and play with my hair.”

─── ･｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

iii. third terrace: wrath

“You owe me a new cravat.”

You blink up at your roommate. “What?”

“You owe me a new cravat.” He repeats. He pulls from his pocket a white piece of fabric— barely recognizable— torn into shreds, releases it mid-air. It gently lands on your open palm.

“Wait, did Dante do this?” You ask, eyeing the slik in your hands.

“Unless you went feral in the middle of the fucking night and decided to cut up my clothes, yes.”

“Oh my god, Levi, I’m so sorry. I swear Dante will never—“

“You actually owe me three cravats,” he interjects. “The first two I overlooked since they weren’t that expensive but I draw the line here.” His lips are downturned into a frown, eyes poorly concealing his clear distaste. “This one’s my favorite and it was made from silk.”

You eye the fabric in your hands once more before nodding in understanding, setting down the once beautiful cravat before taking out your wallet. It was only fair that you paid him back; he was being more than generous with letting your cat stay and keeping it a secret, and now you wonder how many bad things Dante’s done that Levi’s overlooked or simply never brought up with you.

“Sure, I’m really sorry. How much do I owe you?”

Levi doesn’t say anything. Instead he pulls out his phone and types something on what you could only assume was google, most likely looking for the same brand of the cravat your cat had just torn into shreds. You weren’t entirely sure how much those could cost, but surely you could afford—

“What the fuck!” You screech, eyeing the page with very, very hefty price tags listed. Holy fucking hell where did he even get the money to buy something so expensive. Gulping, you nervously look up at your unimpressed roommate. You already knew he was taking it easy on you; his aura was the only thing intimidating, at least he wasn’t giving you the murder eyes. And even though he was a man of his word, you were thankful he hasn’t reported Dante.

Still, it didn’t change the fact that Levi looked pissed beyond belief.

“Uhm... can I pay you with a check that’ll definitely bounce?”

“You will pay me in cash.”

“Fuck, fine!”

─── ･｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

iv. fourth terrace: sloth

Levi silently works on his desk. His laptop’s open in fromt of him, numerous notes from classes and books from the library surrounding him. The gentle sounds of clicking and clacking echoe throughout the room as fingers typed at the keyboard, eyes concentrated and lips pulled taught as he focuses on his task. He’s on a roll. He’s almost done with this part of his research, nothing could snap him out of this, he just needs to—

“Levi, when do you think Dante will come back to me?”

He stops typing and grits his teeth.

This is how it’s been the entire night. Ten minutes of peace before you ask him some stupid questions that could’ve been answered with common sense.

“Fuck if I care.”

“Do you think it was something I did?”

He resumes typing. “Yes.”

“Do you think he’ll come back?”

“No.”

“Even after all we’ve been through?”

“Still no.”

“I miss him,” you sigh. “I miss him so much.”

“Then you shouldn’t have left the door open.”

It’s been a week since Dante escaped the dorm and Levi doesn’t understand why you’re still so depressed about it. I mean, you only lost a cat that you loved and treasured and treated like family. Surely a week of moping around in your pajamas and eating nothing but chips and soda was catharsis enough.

He hears you shift in your burrito blanket, presumably to turn away from him so you can sulk into the wall next to your bed. Good. Now he can get back to working on—

“Levi do you think Dante-“

“Enough.” He grits, slamming his laptop shut.

“Where’re you going?” You ask, eyeing the way he hurriedly stuffs papers and books into his bag along with his laptop.

“Out.” He replies, grabbing his keys and his coat. “I can’t stand this shit anymore.”

Your head is burried in your blankets when he slams the door shut and all you could do was slump down because great. You lost Dante, and now you’ve royally pissed off Levi.

Great. Just fucking great.

Unlike your cat, however, your roommate comes back hours later, just before curfew. He doesn’t bother with a hello— he never does— and neither do you, opting to stay hidden underneath the sheets. Though suddenly, there’s a dip in the mattress followed by a pur next to your head.

Could it be?

“Dante?” You murmur, lifting your head from underneath your cocoon of fabric. Small black paws and silver eyes meet your gaze. “Dante!” Immediately sitting up, you pulled him to your lap, scratching his little head and cooing about how much you missed him as he purred and curled into to you.

Levi would never say it, but he missed seeing you smile at the little fleabag.

You turn to look at your roommate. “How’d you find him?”

“Asked around the campus. He wandered into another dorm building and probably thought it was ours.”

“Well yeah but... I thought you hated him?”

“I do.” He replies instantly.

“Then why’d you find him?”

“I hate him, not you.”

─── ･｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

v. fifth terrace: avarice

“I fucking hate both of you,” Levi grumbles, staring at the dorm.

Towers of boxes lined his supposed to be clean dorm room. He had a hard time prying the door open since it was blocked, and he wasn’t even sure how the boxes weren’t blocking out the light from how high they were piled. Dante’s sat on a stack of box directly next to the door, purring and flicking his tail around. Levi squints his eyes and glares at the little shit.

“You especially.”

“Mrow?”

Levi’s day had been, with no irony or sarcasm at all, amazing. He got a good grade on his research paper; the guy in front of him at the cafe accidentally ordered an extra serving of (coincidentally, Levi’s favorite) tea and gave it to him for free; and he got full marks for the presentation he’s been worrying about for weeks. His class even got dismissed early so he had an extra hour for lunch. He knew you didn’t have classes, so in honor of his great day he thought he’d do something nice and take you out for lunch. His treat, of course.

But any trace of his good mood vanished when he went back to the dorms and got greeted to a room that looked like it came from an episode of Hoarders.

This is what he gets for trying to be nice.

“Levi! Is that you?” You called out.

“What the fuck happened?”

You laugh sheepishly— at least Levi thinks you do. He couldn’t see you beyond the hundred boxes that took up your shared room. He hears some rustling and the sound of things being moved around before finally your head pops out from behind a wall of brown, smiling at him apologetically before walking towards him (and tripping a few times).

“Remember when I said I’d order some toys for Dante as a surprise?”

Levi’s eye twitches. “Don’t tell me—”

“I accidentally ordered 10,000 instead of 10. Online shopping struggles, am I right?” You nervously chuckle at his pissed off face. Levi was not in the mood.

Your smile widens as you make twinkly gestures with your hands. “So uh... surprise?”

─── ･｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

vi. sixth terrace: gluttony

The clinic is still when you first entered.

The harsh smell of alcohol and sterile metal makes your nose grimace, and the coldness of the thermostat brings goosebumps to your arms. Behind the wall, somewhete in the waiting room, cats are hissing, dogs are barking, and you could even hear the sound of birds angrily chirping and rattling their cages.

Dante cowers in fear on the silver table, and your heart aches. His ears are down and his fur’s standing on its ends, but you couldn’t comfort him. Not right now, at least. The veterinarian still needed to do a few more checks.

You gulp, “how’s... how’s Dante looking, doc?”

“Not good,” she murmurs. Her eyebrows are furrowed, and she takes a deep sigh as she eyes the information on the chart. “It’ll take months before he can walk properly again, possibly more if we don’t do anything about it soon.”

“Don’t tell me... is he—-”

“I’m sorry, my dear,” she sighs. “But your cat is heavily obese.”

The corners of your lips twitch down into a frown, and your palm is warm when you start to stroke Dante’s fur. He calms down a bit from your touch, less on edge but still guarded as he warily eyes the doctor’s gloved hands.

“But I don’t understand,” you reply. “I’ve been following the recommended diet you put him on, and I haven’t been feeding him anything other than the cat food and vitamins you recommended. How’s he still obese?”

“Well, we could look into other solutions, but for now I think we ought to look at whether or not Dante has an underlying health problem.”

Levi tunes out the chatter between you and the vet, bored eyes staring into nothing. He’s leaning against a wall and he’s watching the cat carrier. Your bag’s slung over his shoulders and your coat’s in his arms, and he was sure you didn’t even need him to be here for “moral support.”

He mentally scoffs. You probably just needed a chauffeur to drive you for free, and honestly, Levi would rather feel like a chauffeur than a coat rack.

His eyes make contact with Dante’s, and all the fear in the cat’s eyes is suddenly gone, replaced with a steely glare and bared teeth. A warning, one no one else notices but him.

Levi gives him a solitary nod, understanding what Dante wanted to say.

Don’t tell Y/N I’ve been sneaking to the neighbors.

─── ･｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

vii. seventh terrace: desire

There’s something about the buzz of alcohol and nicotine that makes Levi confident—- the liquid courage in his veins and the smoke in his lungs clouding his judgement. Perhaps that’s where he finally gets the balls to cross the room, drunken eyes on your equally intoxicated ones, before he pulls you in for a kiss.

The kiss starts slow, with lips just interlocking and lightly testing the waters. But then he feels your tongue make its way inside his mouth and your fingers weave into his hair to tug him closer, and Levi loses the last threads of inhibition he has. His tongue massages yours and one of his arm wraps around your waist, the other comes down to grope and knead your ass. He feels you walk backwards and your hand pulls at his tie, dragging him with you. Suddenly he’s trapping you against a wall, lifting one of your legs up to wrap around his hips so he could grind his crotch into yours.

Levi doesn’t expect his first kiss with you to be like this; messy and full of tongue and spit, full of fingers clawing at clothes and small grunts escaping your lips. He was hoping it’d be more romantic, with warm cheeks and fingers softly intertwining, shy kisses exchanged through little smiles.

But he’s not about to complain—- he’s wanted to be with you for years, and god he loved having you like this. Loved having you all hot and desperate, trapped between his firm chest and the wall. His cock is hard in his pants, and he just about growls when he feels you start to undo his belt, the fly of his pants coming down as you got on your knees and stared up at him with innocent eyes as you pull out his aching boner. There’s a cheeky grin your face when you pump at his length, and your tongue peaks out of your mouth before—

“Levi, are you okay?”

His eyes snap open, and he’s greeted to the sight of your worried face directly above his.

“Fuck!” he yells, and his forehead slams into yours when he flinches away. “Sorry, sorry” he quickly ammends when you yelp in pain.

He’s covered in sweat, he notices. Chest heaving, heart beating a little too loud for his liking, and he silently pulls the blankets over his cum stained boxers when you sit beside him.

God, he was really hoping you wouldn’t notice the fact that he came in his pants like a high schooler. And it was before dream you even got to suck him off. How much more pathetic could he be.

“Are you okay?” He asks, and you nod.

“Yeah, m’fine, it’s just...” your eyes are distracted, staring off into space. Fingers trace his thighs, and you sigh. “You were having a nightmare,”

Levi blinks. “What?”

“You were having a nightmare,” you repeat. “Kept tossing and turning and groaning in your sleep. And you kept making these... funny faces,”

“...right,” he nods. Sure, a nightmare. A nightmare he never wanted to wake up from.

It takes about ten minutes to reassure you that yes, he was fine, don’t mind the way his cheeks are flushed, he was just... shaken up from his nightmare, is all. Then you’re back to bed, sleeping the night away, and twenty minutes later he’s on his way back to bed too; this time with a fresh pair of boxers and a content look on his face, all thanks to him finishing off his fantasies in the communal bathroom during his shower.

The door makes a quiet click when he shuts it behind him, and he freezes when he catches sight of Dante sat up on your bed, tail flicking behind him as he gives Levi a knowing look.

Levi squints his eyes, and he threateningly whispers, “you tell no one.”

─── ･｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

epilogue

The half empty room brings a frown to your face, and all you could do was pout as you sealed up the last of the boxes.

“Why do you have to leave again?” you ask, and Levi turns around as he finishes folding the last of his clothes. He shrugs. “Cats aren’t allowed in the dorms.”

You owed him your entire college career, that much was sure. The RA’s found out about Dante, and Levi had taken the fall to spare you. He wasn’t required to move out since it was only his first strike, but he insisted on doing so so that Dante wouldn’t be alone, saying he already found an apartment nearby and he’ll never hear the end of it from you if he didn’t take Dante with him.

Bullshit. Levi had a soft spot for Dante, you knew that much. He wasn’t doing it for you, he was doing it for himself. Though normally you’d be overjoyed to know that Levi really did secretly like the cat he pretended to hate so much, this time, you were just pissed. You couldn’t believe a fucking cat was stealing away the guy you’ve been in love with since high school. Sure, you were too much of a coward to ask him out, but he was basically your boyfriend already—- the entire campus knew you inadvertently had dibs on each other.

“Yeah but... do you have to leave me alone?”

“I asked you to come with me, and you said no.” He points out. “I still don’t see why when we’ve been roommates since we were freshmen.”

“It’s different off-campus!”

“How?”

“Because it’s like... it’s like we’re moving in together, y’know?” you reply. “And it seemed wrong to move in with you when we’re not even dating.”

“Let’s do it, then.”

“What do you mean?”

He sighs, handing you a spare key to what you could only assume was his new apartment. You glance between him and the key in your hands, and he rolls his eyes when he realizes that you still don’t get it.

“I know we’re doing this backwards since couples don’t typically move in before the first date,” he says before gesturing to Dante. “But we already have a son, and I know you’re his favorite parent. We can share custody until you can move in with me.”

You blink. “What?” Your brain stopped working when Levi referred to you as a couple, and you’re pretty sure your heart stopped beating too. At this point, anything he said went in one ear and out the other. He flicks your forehead.

“Hey— ow! What was that for?”

“You weren’t listening.”

“And you’re being a prick!” you grumble. “It hurts, y’know.”

He scoffs. “What do you want me to do? Kiss it better?” he scoffs.

Your mouth moves faster than your brain, “I’d rather you kiss me.”

Wait. What?

Before you could go back on your words, Levi shrugs. Warm palms gently grab your cheeks, pulling your face closer to his. Your eyes widen and you momentarily freeze, brain definitely not working anymore. He hesitates when you don’t make a move, but then you’re shyly leaning forward, and that was all the confirmation Levi needs.

“If you insist,” he whispers, and suddenly your words die on your tongue when his lips interlock with yours.

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fluffi · 3 years ago

Text

SARCOLINE SUNSET I: WELCOME HOME, OUTSIDER :: SOOBIN

pairing: soobin x gn!reader, platonic!ot5 x gn!reader genre: fluff, some subjective angst, bits of humor, enemies-to-lovers, childhood friends word count: 4002 event: #summerscape for @kpopscape credit: @enha-woodzies for making the gfx for this series! show her some love <3 author’s note: i accidentally deleted this post so here is a rushed reupload. it might not be as good as the original because it isnt proof read as well but i still hope the algorithm picks it up, maybe this’ll be good for the post. Also, the second part will be coming out in 15 days. warnings: people disappearing, mentions of burning and fire (further warnings will be released in the next parts as the story gets darker)

THIS STORY IS PURELY A WORK OF FICTION AND DOES NOT DICTATE JAY OR NI-KI’S PERSONAL LIVES AND/OR FAMILY.

part two ->

The blonde stared up at an intricately designed structure in awe, walking forward to touch the sides of it and running his calloused hands up and down its rusted carved wedges. It seemed oddly cliche and unrealistic, but he could feel its story. Every touch of the ceramic pillar provided him with emotion that he couldn’t bring himself to explain.

The sun hadn’t set yet, but he could make out the faint reflection of it settling in the background. The huge pine trees around him were making conversation with each other; their faint whispers and rustles providing peace to his veins.

So entranced in the scenery of such a mystical place, he forgot to watch out for his younger peer. Kicking back into his senses, he nervously called out, “Riki! You there?” His voice, usually strong and boisterous, laced fear today.

“Don’t worry about me Jay, I’m right behind you. Just climbing this fence..and..there!” Riki let out a grunt as he jumped onto the soft grass, looking at his older friend with an innocent grin.

At the sight of his buddy, Jay visibly loosened. It was clear that he didn’t feel safe in this environment, yet felt entranced to it in some way. Riki caught up to him in a quick jog before standing next to Jay, in awe at the magnificent view that they were spectating for the first and possibly last time.

“Is this…the place you were talking about?” Riki was out of breath from running after his peer. He pats the grassy patch below him before slumping onto it, crossing his legs afterward.

Jay took a seat next to him, setting his canvas satchel and leather jacket next to him. “According to the maps and books, this is the right spot. I just want to see if the myth is true.”

Riki clapped his hands in excitement and turned to face Jay. “We’re staying till the sun sets right? I want to see what the carousel looks like at night! This structure is so fascinating. It must be beautiful out here at night.”

“No, we’re walking back as soon as the sun goes down. I do not want to risk being out here at night. People have disappeared from staying too long and I wouldn’t want to worry your mother.”

Riki visibly slumped and turned back in time to see the last drop of orange dip. It was quiet for a while. The singing birds stopped humming their soulful tunes, yet the whispering trees grew louder, their inaudible gossip echoing in the ears of the two boys.

At nine at night, Riki’s mother would call Jay, heeding no response. She would do the same for his parents and his friends. The only piece of information they could provide was that Jay had brought Riki, in his words, to “a magical place”. With no other vital details they could draw from their son’s peers, Jay and Riki’s family agree to call the local police, reporting two missing people: two minors, one last seen in a brown leather jacket, and a taller one tailing alongside him. Both their hairs were dyed in a striking shade of blonde.

Summer’s heat-blasted onto your skin as soon as you stepped out of your sleek white Toyota. It was good to be back, you supposed. Although it was something that not many people would fawn over, you were ecstatic to be home in town.

Leaving at the mere age of sixteen wasn’t easy. After your parents decided that you were too good for a mediocre high school where people cared more about their body count than grade count, they immediately sent you off to a prestigious boarding school in the big city. You were given three days to pack and say goodbye to your friends, the rest of your family, your world. As excited as you were to study in the evolutionary epicenter of technology, you didn’t like how you had almost no say in this decision.

You didn’t return home from high school even after four years of studying at that mentally draining institution. It wasn’t like you didn’t want to come back, you were just so accustomed to life in the big city that it seemed pointless to return to square one. With the rest of the world finally in your grip (or so you thought), you enrolled in a highly expensive university and received a full-ride scholarship.

Perhaps that was your breaking point. Piles of work that could never be cleared must’ve got to your head. No one out there seemed to care about your mental health and well-being. The only reason you were allowed to take a break from the university and return was because of your constant breakdowns that your lecturers called “distracting” and “unethical”. You were hoping that this drop-by in town would give you a physical and mental cleanse.

There was no place as hot as home, from where you had been. The blazing sun scorched onto the road. Carrying baggage by itself was already hard enough, but this heat was immensely torturing. You struggled to carry your belongings while trying to close the car boot at the same time. Oh, a pity. You had just returned home and you were slowly turning into a bundle of disorganization, unlike your previous methodical attitude.

“Need a hand?” A familiar suede voice behind your shoulder sounded like music to your ears as you dropped all of your luggage and turned back to see…

“Taehyun!” Child best friend number one. You were looking at a once-innocent boy with doe eyes who had matured into a fine young man. His hair was dyed platinum blonde and, although younger than you, possessed a flair that was completely unlike his past self. His facial features were more prominent than ever and you wondered if all of your friends had developed as well as he had.

You locked your arms around his neck and embraced him as he took your baggage from you.

“You’re so tall now!” You gasped in awe and looked him up and down.

“Of course I am! A boy has to grow, doesn’t he?”

Speak of the devil(s), four people tagged behind Taehyun, waiting for you to notice their presence. All of them were just as tall (if not taller) than your blonde friend and stood out like a sore thumb. It wasn’t just the height, their hair was also in very...exciting colors.

“Can’t believe you forgot about us just for Taehyun.” Ah, that nasal voice was so recognizable. Choi Yeonjun, second-best friend. You cherished him like he was your secret weapon, a power waiting to be unleashed into your industrial world. Although older than Taehyun, they seemed to be the same height now. You couldn’t tell because his new neon pink hair was waxed slick and puffy which made him look a teensy bit taller than his younger friend. You had seen him around on social media and he was a hair-changing chameleon.

Alongside Yeonjun was Hueningkai, better known as Kai in the friend group. He was the youngest one, constantly babied and spoiled, you could say. He was probably influenced by the rest of his friends too, his hair now in a mossy shade of blonde.

Poor Yeonjun, you completely disregarded his existence and dashed over to Kai instead, eagerly standing next to him to compare heights. The kid had grown so much, you couldn’t tell if you were contented that he was now taller than you or dejected that you had missed so much when you weren’t around.

“Hey, wait up!” Someone from behind called. With Hueningkai and Yeonjun blocking your view you couldn’t see who that one person walking next to Choi Beomgyu was.

Beomgyu, the last friend who joined the friend group. He was always a comedian and never failed to make your day. Although, he didn’t seem so smiley anymore. You figured that it was school stress and adulting getting the best of him. We all had those days; you regrettably knew them like you knew the back of your hand . Unlike the rest of his friends, Beomgyu’s hair was kept in a natural shade of ivory brown. He had never been swayed by the rest of the crowd.

There were so many things to do, so many people to see. You had missed out on most of your growing: having fun with friends, staying up late at night just to watch the stars, dancing on your balcony. You had missed the people too. The town felt different from when you had left it.

“Soobin! Don’t just stand behind, meet our friend! They just returned from the city, right?” Beomgyu ran over to you before giving you a little squeeze.

Who’s Soobin?

“Hey, I’m Choi Soobin. Twenty-one this year. I moved here a few years ago. You must have left before I showed up.” A simple and concise introduction from the blue-haired man. Maybe he was the root of this hair-dyeing trend in town (pun very much intended), as well as the height trend since he was just as tall, if not taller than the rest of the boys.

You briefly introduced yourself but that was about it. You didn’t know how to create small talk, nonetheless with someone completely unfamiliar to you.

Later that day, you wondered if he had replaced you, become another guardian in the friend group. As one of the oldest, you and Yeonjun were always known as the parents of your three “kids”, but Soobin seemed to take care of them equally well. Throughout the day, you watched his every action, how he helped Beomgyu with homework, how he styled Kai’s hair, how he treated Taehyun to his favorite meal, exactly like what you did when you were still around. For once, you felt like the outsider.

Marshmallow Night had always been a tradition here. It was a five-of-you kind of thing, well, the six-of-you now. It had always been the go-to celebration whenever one of you hit a milestone, or was just held for fun. The days of joy where the only thing you had to worry about was whether your smores were burnt.

It had changed a lot over the years, you guys would add some new events to it and remove the ones you guys outgrew, like hopscotch.

You had missed most of its evolution.

Instead of being the main catalyst for today’s event, you resorted to sitting at the side as Soobin took the lead, carrying tables back and forth as well as setting up the fire in a method that the five of you had never used.

Oh, how much you loathed him. You hated his innocent-looking face that spurred out words of authority and boastfulness. You couldn’t stand how he looked so obnoxious with his bright blue hair, his dark brown eyes that held an impeccable gleam. He looked so cheeky, so mean, and worst of all, he had made all of your friends convert to mini spawns of him. Even Yeonjun, the oldest member, no longer felt like the Choi Yeonjun you once knew.

If you could, you would throw him out of your hometown, except that you seemed to be the outsider here. Anyone who walked past would see five people sitting on a huge log, helping each other light marshmallows and biscuits. They would barely notice the one person hunched over on the other side, sitting on the ground, eyes dazed and uninterested.

Occasionally one of the boys would call out to you, either hand you a s’more or ask if you were alright, to which you responded, “I’m alright! Don’t worry about me, I’m having fun.”

Anyone could also see that you weren’t in the zone, but you didn’t want to ruin the moment and be a party pooper. You ended up spending most of the time scrolling on your phone, checking school emails, and such. It didn’t feel like you were back home, it felt like you were on a vacation, on your own.

The commotion had died down, for the most part. Everyone else was either discussing school gossip in hushed voices or making the most of use of their electronic device. You were tempted to join the little heated conversation that Soobin and Beomgyu were having, but you didn’t know who this ‘Chaeyeon’ girl was and either way, you wouldn’t want to voluntarily speak to Choi Soobin.

It wasn’t long before both of them went to do something else, the only sound prevalent being the wood crackling from the bonfire and the occasional chirp of evening birds.

It was a loud, sucked-in breath that drew the attention of everyone, eyes pinned onto the instigator.

Choi Soobin, once again disrupting the peace of this curated environment. He ducked his head in apology and you were about to return to your world when Kai’s curiosity got the best of him.

“Why did you just do that?” His booming voice resounded over everyone else.

You weren’t going to lie, you were curious too. It wasn’t every day you heard a gasp like that.

Soobin looked back up, eyes wide and awake. He was excited about something but seemed to be masking it for the sake of..suspense?

“Okay. You guys know Yongsam Park right?” He put his phone down and tapped his hands on his thighs in a state of urgency.

Now that statement got everyone’s attention. “It’s the flower place outside our town, everyone passes it when they enter. Of course we would know where the place is. Why are you so adamant about it?” Taehyun inquired.

“Well, have any of you gone inside the park? Or near the landmark in general?”

“No. Why would we? There’s nothing to do there than to take pictures of boring flower statues.” You stated.

“See. You guys don’t know anything about the place.” He smirked tilting his head upwards and proudly crossing his arms.

“Could you cut to the chase and tell us what it is already?” Thank Yeonjun for his smart, impatient mouth.

Soobin didn’t answer and merely flipped his phone so you could see whatever was on it. The only words you could make out were “Yongsam...missing...carnival” and something related to the park before he turned it back, away from your view.

“You can’t just say that we don’t know anything about this place then proceed to give us nothing about it.” You rolled your eyes, disinterested in the conversation once again.

“Fine. I’ll send it to you.” Soobin rolled his eyes back as four of the other boys snickered. They loved seeing the two of you bicker.

In courtesy of Beomgyu who gave Soobin your number (without your consent), you received a news article and skimmed through it with eager eyes:

[WHAT’S THE HYBE?]

YONGSAM PARK CURRENTLY UNDER INVESTIGATION, AUTHORITIES SAY 3 days ago

What’s the deal with Yongsam Park? Insiders say that, although bland and boring, Yongsam Park is currently under high-level investigation for the disappearance of a few citizens. The flower-decorated park is the perfect place to take Instagram-worthy pictures and is quite harmless in itself, so visitors were shocked to arrive at the park only to find it surrounded by heaps of yellow tape.

Yongsam Park was developed by Kim Yongsam, director of My Flowers, a multi-million florist franchise that has now spread to Japan and Taiwan. In a 2015 Interview with the millionaire, he mentioned that he had created the park in the inspiration of the rising ootd picture trend, also known as the outfit-of-the-day trend, which he had initially discovered from his teen daughter.

“I wanted to create a welcoming park for people of all ages, but I couldn’t find a suitable place to do it without the budget being drastically high. In the end, my team and I found an abandoned site and decided to build a simple structure with lower costs up there. Props to my team for the discovery of this landmark. The scenery there, especially in the evening, is stunning .” He stated in the 2015 interview with Soup Magazine.

What’s the abandoned site? With the evidence that is still standing, Yongsam Park is rumored to have previously been a carnival. Said evidence is a worn-down carousel in the back of the park, along with piles of other burnt carnival decoration and equipment. With research, Yongsam Park’s site may have once been an abandoned carnival that perished from an unknown wildfire. This may have been the primary cause of the drought that ensued in the 80s, leaving only a carousel and ashes behind. When questioned, Mr. Kim said that he had decided to leave the carousel standing behind the park due because he felt ‘drawn by its alluring glow’, as quoted.

Investigators and the local police have only enclosed the flower section of Yongsam Park because that was where the victims were spotted. They believe that disappearances took place there and are currently trying to find evidence to back up their stance. Most of this new information is not known to the public, however, Kim and his team are trying to keep it that way. The current disappearance count is seven people, the most recent case being two high-schoolers.

The carousel is still open and does not require a visitor ticket, but visitors are advised to take precautions and leave before the sun sets.

TWO MORE BOYS HAVE DISAPPEARED AT THE NOW INFAMOUS YONGSAM PARK 5 days ago

FAMILY OF TOURISTS DISAPPEAR AT YONGSAM PARK, INSIDERS SAY THIS IS THE SECOND CASE OF DISAPPEARANCE HERE 2 weeks ago

JAPANESE COUPLE DISAPPEAR AT FLOWER PARK, NETIZENS CALL THE NEWS A POLITICAL DISTRACTION 3 weeks ago

“Are you seriously...telling us...that we should visit a place where people have been kidnapped?” Yeonjun gawked. “Dude, that’s so stupid. What if we die or something?”

“Don’t say that! I was just curious if you guys wanted to go since it’s so near and since your old friend is back home.”

“It’s a dumb move. I’m not risking my life just so I can celebrate the return of my friend. Not worth it.” Beomgyu huffed.

“Hey! You’re worth it, right?” Soobin glanced at you, waiting for a response.

He was...defending you? His ulterior motives were questionable and you weren’t sure if he was protecting you because he cared about you (cue the puking) or solely because he wanted to go to Yongsam Park that bad.

You didn’t reply and chose to drown out the wailing and chaos that ensued with your friends. You clicked on a related article below, curious to learn more about this lesser-known part of the park.

[WHAT’S THE HYBE?]

TWO MORE BOYS HAVE DISAPPEARED AT THE NOW INFAMOUS YONGSAM PARK 5 days ago

Park Jongseong (20) and Nishimura Riki (15) mentioned to their friends that they would be heading to ‘a magical place’, before disappearing for around a week. They were last spotted walking through Yongsam Park, according to anonymous witnesses. This is the third case of disappearances at the park and both teens are the sixth and seventh people to go missing.

Both families reported their children missing just two days after their disappearance. With this case being the last straw, local authorities forcibly shut down Yongsam Park despite protests from staff and management.

Parents of the two minors refused to respond when called for an interview and HYBE reporters resorted to interviewing the victims’ friends instead.

“Jay’s never been a bad kid. Yeah, he might be late here and there, but he wouldn’t skip class or fly across the country for vacation during school. I just don’t understand why he’s not here with us. He wouldn’t voluntarily disappear.” Park Sunghoon (19), a friend and classmate of Jongseong (who is better known as Jay among his friends) said.

“Although I’m not close with Jay, I know Riki personally and I know for a fact that both of them wouldn’t run away like that. Why, Riki was gearing up for a dance competition that he’s been excited about all year, and now he’s just gone? Like that? Riki has always been like my little brother, and he’ll always be. I just want him back at my side.” A teary-eyed Lee Heeseung (20) says.

Netizens have been complaining about the lack of coverage on this issue.

“Maybe Mr. Kim spent all his money on covering this story up from the mainstream public. That’s why he had to build the stupid park on an abandoned sketchy site.” An anonymous netizen commented.

Regardless, we’ll be keeping our prayers for Jongseong and Riki, as well as the five other victims, to return home soon.

“...you guys are such wimps.” That was the first thing you heard Soobin say when you tuned in to the conversation again.

How dare he say that? How dare he have the courage to call you, someone who moved out on your own at 16 to live in the big, scary world, a..wimp?

“Look, Choi Soobin. I may be a lot of things, but I’m not a wimp. I didn’t say that I wasn’t interested on this trip.” You stand up and blurt out without thinking twice.

The rest of the boys are gawking at you, their mouths open wide in awe and shock. Yes, you weren’t a wimp, that was for sure, but they had known you all their life as someone who could not stand going out into the wilderness. Maybe the big city had really changed you.

“At least someone wants to go! Perfect. We can leave tomorrow at noon, bring your camping stuff!” Soobin grabbed his things and began walking away.

“Camping?” The five of you exclaimed in unison.

Taehyun, the rational member, gasped. “I, personally, wouldn’t mind going to the carousel thing..or whatever it is, but I am not staying the night. Dude, are you nuts?” The rest of you nodded your heads in agreement.

“It says in the article that we are advised to leave before the sun sets.” You point out, trying to keep your voice as steady as possible in fear of breaking this mask of false confidence, when in reality, you were terrified of this place.

Soobin turned back and eyed you down disinterestedly. “Conclusion is that we’ll bring a small backpack, or whatever you guys want to pack, and we’ll stay there until eight. Deal?”

“Seven.” Hueningkai timidly said.

“Whatever you guys want.”

You hadn’t been able to sleep last night. It wasn’t due to fear of the place you were going, rather, you weren’t too excited about having to spend half of your day around Soobin.

What were you going to say to him? You were definitely overthinking at this point.

You know, they always say that the person one hates the most is the one that they also love most. And when Soobin flipped his blue hair back or cheekily smiled, showing his endearing dimples, you couldn’t help but…

No! You loathe Choi Soobin. You couldn’t stand his smile, or his hair, or his height. That evil moonwitch.

“Hey, you ready to go?” Speak of the devil (or moonwitch), you spotted a fluff of blue hair in your peripheral vision.

You couldn’t even muster up the courage to look back at him, merely nodding your head while staring at the white wall.

“Why aren’t you looking at me? Are you...scared?” You could see him wiggle his eyebrows as he made that statement.

That was it. You turned back at him. “Yes I am. I’m absolute terrified. I can’t stand the fact that I have to forcibly spend my precious time around you. It’s like I’m about to voluntarily live a nightmare.”

Woah there, calm down. You had smoke spurting out of your ears at this point.

Soobin’s once excited face fell into one of disappointment. “Yeah, it’s a nightmare having to be around you too. Gosh, the immaturity.” He left the room in haste as your eyes shot lasers through his well-toned back.

Maybe you had gone too far with the insult. He hadn’t been mean to you at all, really.

Then again, he had been mean. He took your place when you weren’t around. Suddenly, you were determined to get it back.

“Hop on the magic school bus!”

“Shut up, Yeonjun.” You deadpanned before leaning your head on his shoulder. The two of you were finally falling back into routine and you couldn’t help but bask in this nostalgia.

You also couldn’t help but notice how Soobin kept on looking through the rearview mirror at the both of you, pupils darting away once you locked eyes with him.

Man, this was going to be a long ride.

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