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 Posted: Wed Oct 18, 2017 1:26 pm
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Posted: Wed Oct 18, 2017 1:36 pm
You've never known life outside of your secluded village. You've known peace, though -- ten years of it at a time. There had always been whispers of those who have escaped, but you either waved them off at just that -- rumors -- or perhaps decided it was foolish to ever want to leave paradise. Generations of your family have lived and died here; maybe even flourished. You were content to live out the rest of your days in the village -- after all, you've known nothing else -- but ever since... It has awoken... it seems as though a new opportunity has opened up before you, whether you realized it or not.
Somehow, some way, you have found yourself farther away from the village than you've ever been before... and nothing is stopping you. You've been presented with the choice: Leave or return.
Maybe the desire to leave has always been there, lurking in the back of your mind. Or maybe you've never considered the option before. Regardless, you were being presented with it now. You don't know what will happen to the village now that the... thing has become active. Maybe it's too dangerous to go back -- or maybe it's too dangerous to leave. Maybe it's time to take that chance and swim forward instead of backwards. There might even be time to gather your friends and family. You don't have to go alone -- or, maybe, you prefer it that way. Whatever your reasons, whatever you do next, is your story to tell. Why do you decide to leave? Do you take anything -- or anyone -- with you? What new things do you encounter now that you've left the only home you've ever known?
For the first time in your life, you may even see the surface of the ocean.
Sea Slug Mare!
Username:
Familiar Preference List: Only list the familiars! If you don't want any, just leave blank or put "re-roll."
Entry: Remember, only 500 words or less!
[size=14][color=#0c16a1][b]Sea Slug Mare![/b][/color][/size]
[b]Username:[/b]
[b]Familiar Preference List:[/b]
[b]Entry:[/b]
Clownfish Stallion!
Username:
Familiar Preference List: Only list the familiars! If you don't want any, just leave blank or put "re-roll."
Entry: Remember, only 500 words or less!
[size=14][color=#ee7230][b]Clownfish Stallion![/b][/color][/size]
[b]Username:[/b]
[b]Familiar Preference List:[/b]
[b]Entry:[/b]
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Posted: Wed Oct 18, 2017 1:41 pm
You can enter for both the mare and the stallion, but you can only win one.
Please stick to 500 words or less!
The familiars will be raffled between the remaining participants. Only one ticket per person.
You can only win one freebie Soquili and one freebie Familiar during the event.
You may co-own a Soquili prize, but the prize will count as both your and your co-owner's Soquili freebie for the event.
You may gift a specific person your prize, but the prize will count as both your and the other person's Soquili or Familiar freebie for the event.
Be sure to fill out the form in it's entirety. Please do not put "any" or "whatever is left" as your preferences. If you are not interested in the familiars, you may leave your preference list blank or simply state "re-roll."
You can only win one prize from this game.
As this is a judged contest, staff cannot enter.
No proxies allowed. Sorry!
All entered work must be your own.
You may edit your post until the time of closing.
Late entries will not be accepted. No exceptions!
Please do not delete your posts. Deleting posts will result in disqualification and may incur further punishment.
All other usual Soquili rules apply.
Feel free to PM me if there are any questions!
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Posted: Fri Oct 20, 2017 9:01 pm
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Posted: Fri Oct 20, 2017 10:12 pm
Sea Slug Mare!
Username: Ebonrune
Familiar Preference List: Octopus, Koi
Entry: Madness had surely infected her mind, for why else would she find herself so far from the safety and familiarity of her village? Not even when she'd been a filly had she swum so far, for why would she have wanted to? Even now the desire to turn around, risk running into whatever had awoken and try to convince her family and friends to flee with her was strong, but who was she kidding? They would never leave with her. Her own frantic flight out into the strangeness beyond the village had been born of a terror beyond knowing. If they fled, they would have to flee on their own. The very idea of her going back made her quiver.
But there was an upside to all of this, surely. There were unknown mysteries out there, things spoken of only in stories and whispers. Dangers yes, but also wonders and maybe, just maybe, she could find help. Some hero or heroes out there that would have what it took to make her home safe again so she could return to it. Then there was the silly dream she'd had, of seeing the surface of the ocean. It was a myth of course, and as an adult she knew that perfectly well. The sea had no 'surface', everyone knew that! Yet now that she was away from the village and had nothing holding her back, what did it hurt to try? Maybe she would find the heroes she needed if she sought out the mythical surface.
She pointed her body upward and began to swim.
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Posted: Sat Oct 21, 2017 12:00 am
Sea Slug Mare!
Username: elfstar89
Familiar Preference List: Cannot win a familiar, please reroll!
Entry: It had been so very easy, all in all, to spend her life drifting along the walls of the trench, moving slowly amidst the higher pressure. Thought came slowly to her, and simple pleasures easily.
But she was not one who enjoyed the chaos of the here and now in the village. Ordinarily, the sacrifice came and went relatively quickly, not borrowing someone as apparently lazy as she. She didn't mind all that much, so long as the Deep stayed the way it was. Now, the Deep One was awake. And that was not terribly appealing.
It was time for more peaceful climes beyond the village and beyond the trench.
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Posted: Sat Oct 21, 2017 12:07 am
Clownfish Stallion!
Username: elfstar89
Familiar Preference List: Cannot win a familiar, please reroll!
Entry:
Life was different here, above the Twilight Zone. The fish looked more uniform. Very colorful and splashy, less glowy. They seemed more worried about the errant shark than anything living in the trench. It felt...refreshing. More carefree.
OK, it probably wasn't more carefree, but it came off that way.
In the trench, things were very quiet for ten years at a stretch, no worries, but...there was a subtle tension. Up here, it sounded like things were faster-paced, more worried about the day-to-day, but less tense. Freer.
It was easy to have peace for ten years at a stretch.
But maybe it was worth giving the hurly-burly concerns up here a chance. Just until the Deep One drifted off again.
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Posted: Sat Oct 21, 2017 9:33 am
Sea Slug Mare!
Username: Eternal Xantara
Familiar Preference List: Octo, reroll
Entry: Out on her own, Galatea was scouring the seabed for shells, pieces of coral, various trinkets... maybe some food... Being out in the open was more liberating than being stuck in the crowded village. True, it was safe. True, her family had flourished there... once upon a time. Every ten years, someone had to be sacrificed. Her family had escaped notice for generations somehow. But now... the thing was stirring. She wasn't so sure her family would be safe this time. She doubted a sacrifice this year would do the village any good anyway, with the strange things going on. So she'd come out here, to get some space to think and breathe, far from the nervous crowds gathering to yammer at one another. A fleeting shadow passed overhead, making her look up in concern. Seeing it wasn't a shark, she almost sighed with relief when... What... what is that light..? Without knowing it, she'd swum so far from home that the light from the surface was visible for the first time. If I go up... will there be others out there..? Would they be willing to help my village..?
Without a backward glance, Galatea thrust her fins and propelled herself forward and upward. She'd try to find others who were willing to help save her village. Surely there were others out there who could and would, right..? Should she fail to find any aid... she shuddered at the thought. It would be too dangerous to return alone. The villagers would certainly offer her up to the beast below in a pitiful attempt to save their own hides. No... should there be no rescue in the future, she'd... just not return, as simple as that. Who knows? Perhaps... perhaps life away from the village would be rather liberating. Free from the false peace and smiles, from the crowds, faint praises... Yes. Should I fail, I shall not return. I shall simply be another one of those rumored to "vanish". I see now why those who left did so.
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Posted: Sat Oct 21, 2017 10:32 am
Sea Slug Mare!
Username: Porcelain Pinch
Familiar Preference List:Sunset Koi, Turquoise Octopus.
Entry:
It. It. It. It. It. It.
It didn’t have a name. It was it. A foreboding thing but a thing that wasn’t there. No one in the village knew of it’s whereabouts. Everyone quivered in fear of what it was capable of doing but didn’t know exactly how it happened. It was just……it
And It was pathetic.
Never before had she thought of leaving her comfortable village. Her home had everything she needed and gave her a reason to live. Well…used to.
But ever since It arrived; her family and friends had been changing. Cowering. Crying and submitting to the omnipresence. Her once proud and thriving fighting village had been turned into a pit of wallowing. She hated it. Her brothers and sisters talked in hushed whispers. Her friends? Had tried turning her in to it. Her mother and father were no better off. The ones who she used to admire for their bravado were now cowering in fear over it. Her friends and kin who were awarded so many medals for their skills in battle were either dead or succumbing to the fear of it.
She was tired of it.
So, when the opportunity to go out into the unknown presented itself; it was obvious what she was going to do. Go. Leave. Her friends that used to guard the village were no longer there to stop anyone from coming and going. Some may hesitate from leaving their loved ones behind---not her. It had changed them too much. Made them show their true spirit. And by god, she wasn’t going to linger for anyone who wasn’t true.
She set out into the unknown with only her battle jewelry adorned. Anything was better than the crumbling heap that her village had become.
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Posted: Sat Oct 21, 2017 12:55 pm
Clownfish Stallion!
Username: Fea Line
Familiar Preference List: Sunset Koi
Entry:
He couldn't say what drove him to swim so far away from his village. His home. The only thing he had ever known since shellhood, and here he was....leaving it. It was almost as if his fins moved with a mind of their own, urging him forward to something better. Or was it something far worse?
Was he really going to give time a chance to find out?
He had few friends and nothing of importance but the bobbles he wore about his mane. Gifts from a precious friend long since lost. So he had made his decision and fled alone, telling no one, taking nothing with him but his wits and desire to keep on surviving. Something he was only just now realizing might be questionable now that IT had appeared. Could he even go back to his home now?
No.
He couldn't.
He had to press forward. Start a new chapter of his life. In with the new and out with the old. A life above the darkness and the trenches. A life filled with vibrant colors and faces, all awaiting to be discovered. New sights, sounds, smells, even dangers. But dangers he was sure he'd welcome over IT. A life where he'd find peace, but new peace. Long lasting peace spent without worry, without fear. A place and a life where he could say...that he truly belonged.
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Posted: Sat Oct 21, 2017 3:54 pm
Clownfish Stallion!
Username: Wasteland Wyvern
Familiar Preference List: I am ineligible for a familiar prize! <3
Entry:
The bright orange seathi looked up suddenly startled by just how far he'd gotten from the village without even realizing it. His trip had just started as a quick swim to ease his troubled mind. A project he was working on, a new song for the village to sing and dance to in the good times in the times of peace, had him stumped. The lyrics just wouldn't come and he'd begun to get restless and angry, jumping down the throats of any who came to see him to the point that they'd stop coming around all together.
Finally when he could take it no more he left his home, a small cavern covered in deep sea anemones and swam as far as he could, so lost in thought that he hadn't truly felt the distance until he'd looked.
A gasp issued from his mouth as he stared back at the village, almost a speck in the distance by now and he stopped, indecision wracking his mind now.
Through the years he'd heard of a few others who had escaped from the village but he'd never taken the stories as anything but foal tales, something to be dismissed and forgotten. Now he began to wonder just how many of them were true... His mind was full of indecision all at once. He had a choice to make, and a choice like this wasn't so easy... The village a sparkling speck in the distance, his home, all he's ever known, and the great wide expanse before him.
He had few friends and even less people who actually cared about him, most of the ones he truly loved had been given to 'The Deep' and their screams haunted his dreams. "A choice..." He mused to no one in particular. To leave now and never look back? Or to return and while away the time until it was his turn to be fed to that... Thing!
In almost an instant he knew what he wanted to do, and so he did. He just kept swimming and he never looked back. Not once.
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Posted: Sat Oct 21, 2017 6:21 pm
Please note that I am no longer eligible for a soquili.
Clownfish Stallion!
Username: Mahogany Sunset
Familiar Preference List: Octopus, reroll
Entry:
Too much time had passed. Triton gazed back down at his village, a bright spot of coral, kelp, and relaxed, drifting aquatic figures flowing with the current. For years, the thing had let them have their peace, only to betray them with its hunger. Why not let them just live on, frozen in time as they seemed to be, without facing its gluttony? If the thing had to eat only once every ten years, surely it might not need to eat at all?
It just toyed with them until they gave up another of their kin in the false belief that this time - this time - they might damn well appease it.
Triton had had enough.
He would not live with this obligation any longer, not toward a beast that might as well be their captor. He would not entertain the idea that he might be next in this lottery. He would not allow the next generation of his family to be the ones to enter that cave, not when the only thing that was there to welcome them was likely a giant, bloody maw.
It did not matter, he supposed, since he was all that truly remained of his family. His mother had sworn him off the moment he had swum from the edge of the village. She was harsh like that, always had been. She worshiped that beast, awaiting its return every ten years. She had volunteered her children - even her grandchildren - for it, and at last, her youngest son was the only one to remain.
It was just as well. Even if Triton found someone to start a family with away from here, his mother had never approved of the girls he liked. He wouldn't have to worry about introducing them now. When he found the one, she'd never meet the sea witch who had given her own family up for fanaticism.
Satisfied, the seathi nodded and swam away, paddling for all his worth. Maybe next time, his wretched mother would volunteer to enter the cave, having no descendants left to offer up.
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Posted: Sat Oct 21, 2017 10:00 pm
Clownfish Stallion!
Username: irishgirl1017
Familiar Preference List: Koi
Entry: Fear, terror and the unknown were all he had ever known. For the tales of the "One whom slumbers" was just a myth, to scare the young ones into obeying or was it? He knew the time was nearing of the peace to be disrupted and one would be chosen to become the "Cherished". Those who became the "Cherished" never returned to the village, the elders refusing to speak of why or where they went.
As he went about his day doing his work his mind was drifting, his mind seized on the "One whom slumbers" with whom the "Cherished" was given. The elders were the ones who chose who the next "Cherished" would be, although some say those who disobey are on the list for consideration.
This day his mundane daily duties seemed automatic as he moved from area to area not paying attention he suddenly realized he was nowhere familiar. Panicking he twisted in circles, his head thrashing about which caused his dense coral horns to feel heavy as he was trying to find his way back home. As he moved and thrashed about he began to feel a prickle of unease down his spine. Ceasing all movements he concentrated on getting his heartbeat to slow, forcing himself to close his eyes and release all the tension from his body.
A sound assailed his ears, one that was terrifying. Afraid to open his eyes, his heart began to beat faster making him feel light headed. Forcing his eyes open he saw nothing, absolutely nothing. Yet the feeling of not being alone would not leave him, he knew something was there. Flee! Off he went into the great unknown swimming faster then he ever has before his life depended upon his skills. Moving through the water every sound, every bubble, every movement he awaited judgement.
As he swam towards the unknown a orb descended from behind him, tracking his every move. Unbeknownst to him he was being judged and it was not just his imagination.
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Posted: Sat Oct 21, 2017 10:02 pm
Clownfish Stallion!
Username: Azael_Rose
Familiar Preference List: n/a
Entry:
Yes, this was the time! Cobi mentally cheered as his eyes locked onto the opportunity. Him and his mate were so far from the village, so far from the ten year so-called peace. It had happened at random, or perhaps it was a subconscious move on his part, but here they were higher up the trench than they had been before and somehow stumbled upon an opening. A crevice that could lead to their freedom. All they had to do was swim, swim away.
The male pulled his mate closer and guided her gaze to his. "There," he told her, "That's where we can go - where we can keep our family safe."
Sylina turned to him, her eyes wary. "I don't know... We don't know what's out there..." She began.
The Seathi quickly interrupted her. This was no time for negative thoughts. He felt the need to reassure her. "We don't know who will be chosen next. It could, knock on coral, be me or you next! Or by some saving grace it isn't one of us, it could be one of our children next! We can't allow that!"
His mate didn't look entirely convinced. She looked back towards the direction of the village. Cobi saw his opportunity and grabbed her back fin firmly between his teeth. He had already made his mind, probably years ago, that he was going to leave - and there was no way he was going to leave his beloved behind.
He swam with all his strength through the tight crevice and into the light. He was certain she would eventually forgive him...eventually...
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Posted: Sun Oct 22, 2017 12:21 am
Sea Slug Mare!
Username: belloblossom
Familiar Preference List: Cannot win familiars
Entry: To begin, we must first get something straight: It, whatever it was, didn't scare her. Not one bit. No, Tsunami was tougher than that. Everyone in the village knew that she was as tough and scratchy as coral, which is why those who had enough sense in their skulls stayed away from her. She didn't appreciate the company of others, because they either chided her for being too naive or they called her bluff (not that she'd tell them that) and call her out on being scared.
Tsu wasn't scared! She was just interested in self-preservation. She fought with anyone who would've suggested her as a sacrifice and made sure she didn't make any connections with Soquili that ran too deep, because she wasn't ready to make a ten-year companion, only for them to get chosen like everyone seemed to be. The village only got smaller as the years went on and she wasn't going to stick around to see it destroyed.
So, when Tsu saw her chance to leave at last, she was ready to go... or so she thought. It was harder than she thought it would be. She had always planned on leaving, but the village was really the only place she truly knew as a home. She swallowed hard, she was scared to leave, she realized, finally admitting to having fears, but she was more scared of staying, now with it making more commotion than it had been in a while. So, she turned tail and swam off, taking her chance and leaving her world behind, because really, what other choice did she have, if she wanted to survive?
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