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spotlightstudios · 2 years ago

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Wow, look at this neat abandoned building. Robot? Idk what ur talking about.

Outside Upgrades Lore beyond the Cut! (A lot of writing, feel free to skip.)

Hi guys!!! This is a doodle for my new and improved Outside Upgrades! Ruin edition!

The characters (ocs) pictured are N (left) and Light (right)!

N is an urban explorer by trade, making and posting videos of her explorations online. (She has no self-preservation skills, which is why she's so popular.) Meanwhile, Light was a FazCo. employee back in the day, and currently they're unemployed.

The whole point of this AU when I first made it was that Light was there the night the Plex collapsed (and would've escaped with the help of Moon). They lost their leg in that injury, and FazCo basically paid Light off to not spill the secrets of the company, and they got to keep Sun/Moon. Eventually they'd discover Eclipse mode, which was their caretaking protocol.

This update? Light was close to the entrance when it collapsed and was eventually found by a rescue crew (they were searching for Vanessa) with their leg pinned under sone rubble. They've been in recovery for a few years by the time they return with N to the Plex. The pair arrive shortly before Cassie, but they shimmy under that gate where it looks like Monty shoved through and go a different direction before she can keep up.

Eventually, they find their way to Gator Grub where Maskbot is and N snags a mask, but a lot of obstacles they can brute force through better than Cassie could. And by the time they get to the daycare, Cassie's already been through. Eclipse is there.

Seeing Light kinda, snaps him out of that "clean up" mode, and after some sappy moments, Eclipse decides to join the two explorers in their adventure and eventual return to the real world.

I like to think that they *do* catch up with Cassie, whether that be after the elevator crashes or before she goes to the basement to confront the mimic, they find her by complete chance. And of course, this is a whole child? Who put her down here??

Eclipse feels terrible that he sent her on her way earlier, Light is dumbfounded as to how she got so deep, and N (who's piecing together what Helpi has been talking about this whole time) is ready to confidently just undo the hinges on the door Cassie needs through so that Roxy doesn't get deactivated. And it *works*.

They all face the mimic, and whether they scoop it, or Eclipse and Roxy are enough to overpower it, or they just get to the elevator safely, it doesn't matter. They get out.

And then soft AU that it originally was ensues, with Eclipse getting repairs done and sticking with Light as a Healthcare assistant robot.

(N also slowly but surely recovers the other animatronics, with Light's help, and gets them repaired and puts about 30 firewalls on their programming. Roxy's the first, with Freddy being the last to be recovered fully.)

And of course, Cassie is implied to at least have a dad, so I imagine she'd find her father, and since he was *also* implied to be a Faz-Technician, he'd fix up Roxy best he could, and when Cassie introduced N finally (Light was busy) her dad offered to repair anything else she brought him, so she brought the band.

I'm not sure how much I'll write/draw for this, but originally I abandoned the idea because it had a y/n. I wasn't sure how I'd write about chronic pain or the loss of a limb or ptsd for a wide enough audience, and it eventually drove me to not write it at all. (Why you see me post AEB the mermay au more than the original-)

I'm glad that I made the choice to drag this one into oc land. Outside Upgrades was always self-indulgent (I made Eclipse a soft-boy and actually put together and decidedly not a whore, and it was pure luck that Canon Eclipse matches up so well) and it will remain self-indulgent.

Of course, if anyone wants to use the design or drop their own character in rather than Light, not like I'll complain! Tho I'd like ppl to @ me if they do use this concept or design cuz I'd just love to see it! :D

Bonus: EYE STRAIN WARNING

The original ver is this obnoxious Bright Red. I was staring at this for like 3-4 hours straight tonight smh.

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starredblood · 2 months ago

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NOWHERE GIRL

PART TEN

kang sae-byeok x fem!reader

synopsis: just when you start to feel closer to Sae-byeok, she tries pushing you away after having doubts of her character.

wc. 3.8k

warnings: alcohol use and surprise surprise angst and comfort

(nowhere girl masterlist)

Recently, Sae-byeok has become quieter if that’s even possible. But this is a different type of quiet. It’s one filled with ease and content even. Although, her worry about not making enough money looms her mind every waking moment, right now she’s a tad less concerned. Maybe tomorrow she’ll have to regain focus, but once she gets off work she’ll have the entire afternoon to ease her anxiety ridden mind.

When you come back from a short shift at the art gallery, you stopped by the convenience store with a bag full of snacks for when you’re hungry at school and for you and Sae-byeok to share whenever you see her.

After last week, you noticed Sae-byeok’s ease towards you whenever you ran into each other as it began happening more often. She’d waved back to you through the window panes inside the bakery shop, subtly ask about your day, and yesterday morning she snuck a croissant that was meant for Yong-sun in your lunch bag while he wasn’t looking.

You eased into her reserved nature as well. Never pushing it when it came to asking her about personal details and accepting her silent responses.

“Got these bag of shrimp chips.” you say when you spot Sae-byeok sit crisscrossed on a plastic chair behind the bakery. You pull the chips out and toss them to her and pull up the astray chair across from her. “Also, soju but only for me—obviously.”

“Bad day?” Sae-byeok asks, opening the bag of chips and shoving a handful in her mouth.

“Guess so. I deal with a lot of high status clients and they’re so pretentious and out of touch I feel like an extraterrestrial whenever I have interact with them. Like today, this teenage child of a chaebol family demanded two of the same paintings and I had to explain to him for ten minutes straight that the artist passed away three years ago.” you sigh and take a swig of you soju before continuing to rant. “Not to mention my professor already assigned us a new big project right after we completed the last one. And I need to do extraordinary with this project after horribly losing the Hangaram prize.”

You never know what goes on in Sae-byeok’s mind whenever you ramble off. Or talk in general. She just keeps eating chips and nodding along to whatever you’re saying. You want to be careful when approaching her like walking on eggshells, however, you do wonder how far can you get to do something out of the ordinary in her routine life.

“You should help me it’ll be fun.” you suggest after careful consideration. A skeptical look expands across her face. “Only if you want to.”

“I’m not an artistic person. I don’t think I’ll be any use to you.” she says flatly.

“Have you ever tried?” you ask slowly, squinting your eyes hoping not to get a feisty reaction from her.

“I guess not.” she responds. “What are you planning on doing?”

You clear your throat hoping she didn’t catch the smile that was about to bloom your lips. But you couldn’t help the giddiness brewing in your stomach that she was actually going along with this.

“Um, well the project is called urban sketching. Basically, it’s painting a specific urban area. It sounds easy but it can get complicated since there are twenty of us in that class and the chances of us drawing a similar location is pretty high. I want to find the perfect unique place.”

Sae-byeok doesn’t seem convinced. “I doubt I can help you.”

You slouch on the chair in disappointment. “Awe. Come on, have you ever stumbled upon a place that you thought was cool?”

She stops digging in the bag of chips and thought to herself, before nodding no. That’s when you tell yourself not to prod her any further and let this conversation die out.

“Have you seen, Yen-ho, around your school lately?” she asks suddenly.

“No, actually.” you hum. “I think he got banned from the property from what I heard. I hope it’s true. Why?”

Sae-byeok puffs out a air of hesitation. She debated telling you the truth for a while, wondering if you’ll quickly rise to panic. But maybe the soju you were drowning on will ease your reaction. This worry has been eating Sae-byeok alive, she needed to tell someone.

“Him and his dad are looking for me.”

“What?” you murmur. “W—Why?”

“I used to work for his dad before I went rogue on him.” she explains and doesn’t think it’s wise to add further details.

“Do you think they’ll keep their word?” you ask and Sae-byeok nods. “Fuck.”

“Yeah. But hey—listen to me carefully.” she says in a threatening manner. You pause your drinking and look at her with wide frightened eyes. “Don’t tell another living soul I told you this. Especially not, Ji-yeong. Okay?”

“I won’t…” you say lowly.

She maintains a close eye on you, trying to read your body language until her phone alarm started ringing. It was time for her to go back to work. She claps her hands to wipe the chip crust on her fingers and throws you the half eaten bag before heading back to the kitchen.

You don’t know how much longer you can be around this mysterious girl anymore.

✿・・───・・✦・・───・・✿

After doing some research, you found a place called Ihwa mural village that you heard about a while back but never got the chance to see. To you, it sounds like the perfect and unique place to get inspiration for your upcoming project. So, you decide to check it out during sunset hours to get a picture perfect scenery.

You thrown on a light brown jacket you bought last week at a thrift shop and triple check to see if all the drawing utilities are in your tote bag before heading out the door. Luckily, the mural village is only a few train stops away from you and by the time you arrive, the number of tourist and visitors should dwindle.

After a ten minute walk, the first mural you came across was the koi fish staircases. You grab your phone and carefully snap pictures, trying to find a perfect angle that has the sunset reflecting down the koi fish stairs. As beautiful as it was, it felt wrong to step in them so you trudge forward hoping to find a hidden gem.

Most of the walls in this village were covered in mural art. And you particularly liked the simple animal murals as they resembled child drawings but clearly done by adults. There were also a lot murals that told a sequence of stories—one of them covered three buildings that will take you a longer time admiring and studying.

There were a few people admiring the large murals with you, but it felt like it was just you and the art alone.

Until your peace was disturbed when you spot someone staring straight at your profile a little too long. The sketchbook and pen on your hands dropped and your shoulders slumped when you meet face to face with, Park Yoon.

“Hey—“

“Fuck off, Yoon.” you groan, slamming your sketchbook hard and shove it back in your bag.

Just when you were getting an influx of inspiration, of course it had to be ruined by her. You used to be so good at hiding your disappointment and anger to appease the ones you wanted to keep close. But you are at a point in your life where you can’t hide your true intentions anymore. Your outburst clearly shocked Yoon since her eyes grew wide in bewilderment. You even shocked yourself for being so straightforward.

“Shit. You’re here for the next project too?” she asks, genuinely taken aback.

“Yeah, but you beat me to it…Just like that Hangaram prize.” you mutter the last sentence underneath your breath.

You toss over your hoodie and check the map on your phone to figure out how to get out of this mural labyrinth.

“Don’t leave because of me.” she says, lowering your phone so you can look at her. She smiles in her known poised fashion, her lip gloss blinding you. “Why don’t you hang out with us?”

“Us?”

“Yeah, Hyunji and Chaeun are on their way they’re just stopping to get soju. They’ll bring enough for us to have two bottles for ourselves and then we are going to have a little photoshoot. It’ll be fun!”

You press your lips into a thin line, putting thought into her invitation. If she asked you three months ago, you’d merrily tag along—probably go help the other girls buy more soju too. But now it feels wrong to be around the people you used to call friends.

If Yoon is inviting you though, could she have possibly overcome the disdains she felt towards your sexuality? You study her facial expression carefully, seeing if you can see any signs of ill-intent.

Maybe, deep down you’re so desperate to fit in with them again that your brain refuses to see the signs or she is actually being genuine towards you.

“Only because I made the journey here.” you say quietly.

Yoon claps cheerfully and starts leading you by the small of your back up a set of painted flowers staircases, claiming that she found a beautiful mural she wants to use for her project.

“It looks just like my living room I have that exact same couch!” she explains point at the painting of a living room with a long blue sofa and a bookshelf above it. “My ex—not Yen-ho the guy before remember?—he bought me the couch after his trip to Italy. I thought about throwing it out after breaking up but it’s a perfectly good couch I was just so—“

“What’s the deal with your recent ex?” you interrupt, your mind going back to earlier today when you spoke to Sae-byeok and her threat. It’s not like you will mention her to Yoon though…

“Uh…What?” she lets out a nervous laugh and slowly starts walking away.

“I’m not going to judge you. I just think his dad is going to be after…” you trail off. A shiver goes down your spine, it’s like you can feel Sae-byeok sharp eyes on you.

Yoon does the same thing you did to her earlier, study your face. Eventually, she just sighs in defeat because she knows you aren’t going to let this conversation die.

“I didn’t know about his past at first. He hid it all from me but not very well. Three months after dating I began seeing some signs. A lot of signs actually—he really sucked had hiding things. And he always mentioned how much he hated his dad especially when he got drunk.”

“Is his father a criminal or something?”

“He’s more than just a criminal. He is a leader of a gang. And Yen-ho was—no is a part of it.”

Your eyebrows furrow. Suddenly the pieces you collected of Sae-byeok’s life start forming into a solved puzzle.

“He won’t come looking for you anymore though.“ Yoon assures you.

“How can you be sure of that?”

“You don’t remember?” she frowns. “I went to stop him from hurting you the day I texted him to leave you alone. My father is a very big donor to the school so security is going to be extra vigilant on him.”

You pull on the strings of your hoodie, feeling extra vulnerable. “But security can’t protect me when I’m not on campus.” you murmur.

Silence hits you both. You don’t want to speak and Yoon is hesitant to find the right words to say as she knows she can’t help you beyond school property. She would’ve reached her hands to touch your shoulder if you both didn’t hear hysterical laughter at the end of the block.

Lee Hyunji and Im Chaeun, your other old friends, reveal themselves coming around the corner with a bag of soju bottles in their hands. They briefly exchange skeptical glances when they saw you before covering it with a cheery facade.

“Hey, I didn’t know you were coming?” Hyunji’s squeaky voice chimes beside you.

“She arrived here before I did we didn’t plan it out but now we are. Right?” Yoon says, nudging you.

“We got enough soju to pass around.” Chaeun shrugs and hands you a bottle.

What was going to be an enriching experience visiting the mural village became a drunken stupor with the girls that ditched you at your lowest period. After finishing half the bottle, you are filled with resentment and shame for even being around them.

While they skipped around and pointed out murals they found hilarious you followed behind them like a rag doll, a dreadful discarded one.

At some point, you’re sitting on a curb on the opposite end of where the girls are, who having a photo shoot behind an angel wing mural. That’s when you pop open your second bottle of soju. The you who was in denial of being a lesbian back then would have loved to join in with them.

At this time, the sun was long gone and all visitors besides the four of you have also left. The art was ideceptable in the darkness, so you had to basically stare at a dark wall while preparing yourself to drown in more alcohol.

Then the weird sensation of goosebumps trailing down your arms came and you wonder if it’s the alcohol in your system. That is when you hear footsteps, so you look up to see a tall hooded figure emerge from the top of the staircase. For some reason, you thought it was that familiar cold faced girl who happens to work at a bakery.

“This is so weird I think I’m seeing things.” you laugh to yourself and take your first sip of your second round of soju.

You expected the passerby to keep on walking, but instead they stood in front of you, their shadow casting darkness over you.

You throw yourself backwards, almost spilling contents of your alcohol when you saw it was Sae-byeok with her usual stoic demeanor.

“You’re actually here?” you gasp.

“Yong-sun mentioned you were going to be here. I always wanted to visit the Ihwa murals.” she says. “I’ll look around by myself since you got company.”

“No, I don’t—not really.” you admit, as shameful as it is. “I ran into them and I think they just want me to tag along because they look at me like I’m some wounded puppy.”

Sae-byeok’s tired eyes look between the distanced classmates and you then lets out a sigh. She sinks down beside you in the sidewalk, her hands classically stuffed in the pockets of her jacket.

“I told you to look after yourself and you’re here up late.” you say.

“I told Miss Ahn I’m taking the day off tomorrow.”

You give me a sincere smile, not expecting to hear “day off” come out of Sae-byeok’s mouth. “That’s good.”

She nervously shoots glances at you. “Do you have school tomorrow?” she asks after momentary silence.

“And work.” you add.

Although Sae-byeok went silent briefly as she normally does, it was the stillness in her body movement that spoke volumes. She felt regret.

“I shouldn’t have taken that money from you.” she whispers.

“Stop.” you whine, throwing your head back to face the night sky. “I can handle pity from those girls but not from you. Besides, I prefer being busy nowadays it keeps my mind at bay.”

“Didn’t you complain to me about your job earlier?”

“Everyone complains about their job.” you roll your eyes.

The girls roaring laughter died down just then. You watch them inspect each others pictures taken in their phones. Then Chaeun points to something in the distance and the rest all follow suit, forgetting that you were supposed to be there with them. Unknowingly, your face becomes crestfallen at the second silent betrayal from your classmates.

You should’ve known what you were risking being around them, but you can’t control the swelling in your chest by how hurt you felt. Maybe a small part of you hoped that things would’ve gotten better.

“Sae-byeok, are we friends?” you blurt out. You aren’t sure if it was the bit of alcohol in you system or the desire not to feel alone right now that spoke for you.

“I don’t know.” she admits plainly, fidgeting with her hands. “We barely know each other to consider each other friends.”

“Yeah.” you mutter. “I want to but…”

“But?”

“We have this sort of push and pull thing going on and I’m confused.”

She finally looks directly into your eyes and you can finally see her face underneath the street light that illuminated her. Your breath hitches by the proximity of her face close to yours.

“I know you wouldn’t want to be my friend if you knew everything.”

“I sort of do. Bits and pieces of them.” you say and she shakes her head in disbelief. “You and Cheol are defectors and you joined Yen-ho’s fathers gang to earn some income before you—“

Sae-byeok snatched your bottle of soju before you could finish talking.

“Hey, watch it, you drunk.” she spat. She gets up from the pavement ledge and you quickly follow suit.

You don’t know why you said it when you knew from the start that she wouldn’t like hearing it. Maybe you’re finally tired of receiving her mixed emotions. But you must’ve opened up a fresh wound, because she took a large swig from your drink.

“Sae-byeok—“

“You don’t get it do you? After you figured it out, you really don’t get it?” she removes her hoodie in a frustrated manner and gets closer to your face. So close that you can smell the alcohol she consumed. “I’m not the good person you credit me to be. And if you get too close to me bad things will start happening to you. I took your money when you clearly needed it and now you have a target on your back with a gang because you’re affiliated with me.”

“No, you don’t get it!” you retort, poking her roughly in the chest making her stumble back slightly. “There’s a difference between a bad person and a person who did bad things. If you were truly a bad person you wouldn’t have left that gang to overwork yourself at a fucking bakery to raise your little brother.”

Before you could see her reacting, you turn around to catch your breath. Sae-byeok’s enigmatic energy is something you don’t think you can handle anymore.

To make matters worse, Yoon’s horrible timing struck again when she leaps in front of you, her cheeks rosy from the alcohol. She grabs you by your shoulders to balance herself. “Found you! Oh, hey aren’t you that girl that fought off my ex?”

You didn’t Sae-byeok was still here, assuming she stormed off in a heat of rage. But you heard her scoffing.

“Woah, wait—did I interrupt something?” Yoon points at you and her, dumbstruck.

You slap her finger out of your face. “I’m leaving it’s getting late.” you announce, brushing past Yoon.

“No, I’m sorry if I did I’m seriously not judging whatsoever!”

“Bye, Yoona!” you say sarcastically, hoping she gets the hint to back off.

A part of you wishes to be alone to process the heated conversation you just had with Sae-byeok but another other part of you was hoping she was only a few feet away. When you got into the subway station, you whip your head back and saw Sae-byeok stand there—guarded as ever. Your cheeks dust a light pink at the heaviness of her stare on your figure.

When you slide your metro card to go through the turnstile, you were ready to hand over Sae-byeok your card until she swiftly pulls one out and passes through.

The rest of the journey home was quiet as it always is when Sae-byeok is around. Her stop is after yours, but she got off with you and there was no energy left in your body to question her behavior so you let her get her way.

It’s not until you walk up the stairs to your apartment when she stands still. Curiously, you peek to see if her eyes still had that tension in them but no. She just looks tired.

“Thanks for walking me home.” you say, still sulking. “Bye.”

“I know we did kind things for each other but other than that I don’t get why you want to get close to someone like me.” Sae-byeok admits in one breath. Like she was holding these thoughts the entire journey here.

You let go of the doorknob and face her fully. For once, you towered over her since she was still standing two stair flights away from you.

“Someone like you?” you question her, puzzled.

“At the end of the day, I’m still a criminal no matter how good my intentions are.”

Those words felt like a hit to your stomach. You don’t speak right away, thinking carefully of your word choices.

“Sae-byeok, there are people in this world who do cruel and inhumane things for money and power. They laugh and mock people like us while they do the same criminal acts. The only difference is they have the money to get away with it…You’re a good person, okay?”

Sae-byeok doesn’t look away from you this time. A small unsuspecting smile crept on her chapped lips. However, her intense gaze was too much for you and you peer down at your feet—your blush reaching up to your ears now.

A tiny folded piece of paper enters your field of view making your eyebrows furrow. “What’s this?”

“My phone number.” Sae-byeok says like it’s nothing. “You know, since we’re friends now.”

You slowly take the piece of paper, looking dumbfounded when you heard her say the word friends.

“Have a good night.”

“Night.” you mumble, hiding the smile that appeared soon after you unfolded the paper. You wait for her to leave the walk-up before entering your studio.

After removing your shoes by the door, the first thing you did was fall face first on your pillows and whine loudly. Your head was pounding, you still felt woozy from the alcohol, and you aren’t sure when will be a good time to text Sae-byeok if ever.

🏷️: @monroesturnns @knfthxv @jumpedthenfell-13 @peelover25 @karli6 @kissedberries @bitchybananaflower @laurenkenss @saebyeokbliss @everly-summers-solace

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