[FELID_FACTOR]

[skinstealer]

Show Contentimage description:

a felid factor forum profile, decked out with a black, purple and teal background.

the profile icon is dark and features a camera in hand.

the profile text reads:

Username: [PICTURE_PERFECT]
Registered: 1-5-315
Pronouns: He/Him
Mood: Quiet
Status: Online
About Me

i take photos

end profile text.

there are no comments on the page, and no images in the gallery.

5/30/316- EDEN


[image description: a tiny of eden, a ghost type TCP featuring a beige, skeleton-print body and teal, purple and red accents]



Eden floats amidst the rubble, taking the scenery in around himself- it was a long since abandoned factory, and definitely not TCP scale. But…the ghost type had heard rumors that there were TCPs working here at some point, before TCP-specific labor laws had even been put in place here in Heirloom…

Solitude had been…slow on the uptake for that. People had been assured that surely TCPs could put in just as much effort as anyone else, neglecting the fact that certain machinery malfunctions could easily be fatal to TCPs where a complex would be perfectly fine, and having no regulations on ability usage. Hearth had policies ready to go thanks to Wax’s preparations for the species’ “release”, but many places chose not to adopt immediately, most likely based on the fact that no one expected them to truly be as widespread as they were, even when warned about spawning mechanics...

Eden shakes his head, trying to get out of his historical musings. It was so easy to think about this kind of stuff, especially when he was out exploring…but that just made it more dangerous, and it was a habit he was trying to curb.

The ghost type floats over a particularly large chunk of concrete, stopping for a moment to hold up his digital camera and take a picture of the twisted rebar and wires nearby. Thankfully, the display shows no distortion- not today.

Ever since he’d talked to that wizard, things had been going better. Slowly, bit by bit, his photos were distorting less. He wasn’t sure why they were getting better, and sure, it had impacted how many people were looking at his pictures, but…maybe this was for the better. No more “pseudo-ghosts” or whatever.

He keeps moving, looking up and around at the structures towering above him- old machinery and-

Eden doesn’t notice the floor ending, tumbling into what feels like a chasm before he’s able to stop himself. He does manage to catch himself and float before hitting the ground, thank god, but looking up at the distance to fly up there…

He could do it, but the idea of being that high up in the open air scares him more than the prospect of looking for some stairs.

The factory’s emptiness feels worse and worse the more he wanders around the lower floor- a grim thought passes through his mind, grateful that Morbitian TCPs don’t leave corpses…down in this basement, it felt like there’d be all kinds of bodies.

He shivers a little, and starts to pick up the pace. The longer he stays down here, the more he’s going to get anxious, and he is already freaked out.

Just when he thinks his nerves couldn’t get any worse, he finds stairs- complex sized ones, requiring quite a bit of floating to get up…but at this point, he’ll deal with it.

He goes up and up and up and up, hope building up in his chest-

-only for the stairwell to be blocked off by rubble, concrete chunks compacted in an almost unnatural wall.

The ghost type sinks down to the floor, his fabric skin flattening a bit as he presses his head into his hands.

EDEN: This can’t be happening…I just, I just…
 

His mind races, subjecting him to flashes of endless hallways, screaming, chains around his neck-

EDEN: I j-just want to go home-
 

His phone buzzes in his bag, the sound startling him and sending the poor ghost type tumbling back.

It’s MessiRoom.

[PARTYS_OVER]: hey
[PARTYS_OVER]: you around?
[PICTURE_PERFECT]: sort of
[PICTURE_PERFECT]: im out exploring but i got stuck
[PARTYS_OVER]: stuck? what do you mean, stuck?
[PARTYS_OVER]: can’t you fly over things? through things?
[PICTURE_PERFECT]: …yes, but
[PICTURE_PERFECT]: im
[PICTURE_PERFECT]: scared of heights
[PICTURE_PERFECT]: and going through things

 

There’s a pause before any more messages come through, Eden’s anxiety spiking at the lack of response.

[PARTYS_OVER]: well…you have a way to get out, right?
[PICTURE_PERFECT]: i found some stairs
[PICTURE_PERFECT]: but they’re blocked off and im scared to try phasing through them
[PICTURE_PERFECT]: so im just
[PICTURE_PERFECT]: kind of scared
[PICTURE_PERFECT]: and im having bad brain stuff
[PARTYS_OVER]: it’s gonna be okay…
[PARTYS_OVER]: i’m here for you, alright?
[PARTYS_OVER]: i love you, and we’re gonna get through this.
[PARTYS_OVER]: okay? you got that?
[PICTURE_PERFECT]: i love you too
[PICTURE_PERFECT]: are you ok?
[PICTURE_PERFECT]: you messaged me first
[PARTYS_OVER]: eh, same old, same old. im still fucking trapped here
[PARTYS_OVER]: but…talking to you makes me feel better.
[PICTURE_PERFECT]: even when im like this?
[PARTYS_OVER]: yeah, dude
[PARTYS_OVER]: you’re my rock.
[PICTURE_PERFECT]: ghosts are like
[PICTURE_PERFECT]: the opposites of rocks
[PICTURE_PERFECT]: you could literally pass through me if you hugged me too hard
[PARTYS_OVER]: then i’ll give you the most gentle, soft hug i can.
[PARTYS_OVER]: does that help?

 

Eden can’t help but make a little sniffling noise at that.

[PICTURE_PERFECT]: yeah
[PICTURE_PERFECT]: thank you
[PARTYS_OVER]: what about that bad brain stuff? what’s going on?
[PICTURE_PERFECT]: just
[PICTURE_PERFECT]: ive been trying not to think about what happened
[PICTURE_PERFECT]: with my old family
[PARTYS_OVER]: with the like…maze stuff?
[PICTURE_ PERFECT]: yeah
[PICTURE_PERFECT]: thinking about what it was like to just
[PICTURE_PERFECT]: be stuck in that place
[PICTURE_PERFECT]: not even phasing could get me through all the walls
[PICTURE_PERFECT]: i got scared of getting stuck and
[PICTURE_PERFECT]: idk
[PICTURE_PERFECT]: wandering around these places
[PICTURE_PERFECT]: getting stuck and needing to find ways out
[PICTURE_PERFECT]: never being sure what’s on the other side of a wall
[PICTURE_PERFECT]: it reminds me of it
[PARTYS_OVER]: then…why do you keep coming to places like that?
[PARTYS_OVER]: wouldn’t you want to stay AWAY from stuff that reminds you of the maze?

 

He isn’t sure what to say to that- the thought had crossed his mind many times, that he could just…stop. He could stick to taking pictures of nice places, forests, gardens, places that didn’t have chances of pseudo-ghosts showing up, or him getting trapped, or-

…But he doesn’t want to.

He takes a minute to gather his words.

[PICTURE_PERFECT]: if i keep coming to places like this
[PICTURE_PERFECT]: i dont know
[PICTURE_PERFECT]: maybe ill be able to face it better
[PICTURE_PERFECT]: because here i’m in control
[PARTYS_OVER]: …i don’t know if that’s the best idea, but…
[PARTYS_OVER]: i can’t…stop you, i guess.
[PARTYS_OVER]: if this is something you feel like you have to tackle on, then you should do that.
[PARTYS_OVER]: but please, find some kind of /safer/ way to do it, /please/.
[PICTURE_PERFECT]: ill try
[PARTYS_OVER]: okay…
[PARTYS_OVER]: you’re going to be okay, eden. i know you will be.

 

Before Eden can type a reply, there’s the sound of the rubble next to him moving. He’s immediately up in the air, scooting far away from the blockage- only for just enough of it to move for him to see a way through. …an almost perfectly shaped way through. He very quickly types a response to his partner before floating forward.

[PICTURE_PERFECT]: hold on
[PARTYS_OVER]: what?
[PARTYS_OVER]: what is it?

 

There’s a pair of eyes watching him from the other side of the rubble, burning into his own eyespots. There’s an immediate feeling of dread coursing through him as he does, and he almost recoils- but there’s…warmth, as well.

Relief.

Freedom.

EDEN: …what are you?

 

The eyes disappear as soon as they came, leaving the ghost type alone again.

EDEN: Wait-

 

He reaches through the passage, only getting unnaturally cold air that fades before he can even process it fully.

EDEN: …thank you.

 

The little ghost takes a moment to steel his nerves, and goes through the passageway. It’s a tense moment, but he fits right through without needing to phase through anything, and after going up the stairs…

He’s back in the main floor space, the door at the far end of the building open, inviting him to get the hell out of here.

He pauses for a moment, taking out his camera and aiming it at the empty space in front of him.

Eyes on the digital display, the same as earlier, just…watching amidst a shadowy body. Eden takes a few times to glance between the display and reality, and sure enough- it’s invisible, but very present.

He takes a picture, and gives a little wave, lingering just a few moments before making a beeline for the door.

He wouldn’t be coming back to this one anymore, but…

Maybe he’d see the ghost again.