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 Posted: Sun Jun 22, 2025 4:14 pm
Quote: The Reservoir (4) : The Destiny City Reservoir opened about two years ago and is an easy escape from the big city. It's a five minute drive outside of the Eastern side of town and features clear water and sandy beaches--although, the sand here is notorious for squeaking when you step on it. It's a hot spot for all fun summer activities, but it's been in the news for mysterious reports of some strange, aquatic monster. Some accounts say they've spotted a twenty foot long, snake like creature capable of rearing a long neck high above the water. It's hard to tell if the videos are doctored, but there are too many rumors to dismiss easily. Something strange might be lurking deep in the water. Or it's just a hoax to get people out to the Reservoir! But…Sometimes, people feel like something is grabbing their ankle, even if they are just wading in the shallow end. In the deeper parts of the water, it gets a little more intense: something has been said to grab onto ankles and pull. People have been warned about dangerous pranks, but so far no one has been caught. In the shallow end, anyone unfortunate enough to be targeted may feel themselves being knocked off their feet and tugged into the water; anyone in deep water may feel a firm grip on their ankle, tugging them lower and lower. Somehow, anyone it targets is freed--either by wriggling and fighting, or because someone intervenes and pulls the would-be victim up. No one has drowned in the lake. Yet. It's impossible to see who, or what, is doing this, but it usually gives up after one failed attempt. Usually. While you may find yourself harassed by the supposed cryptid, or see something visibly odd in the distance, you cannot take any pictures of the creature. Who knows if you're even being attacked by the cryptid–or just another youma? When he’d asked Halia to have a beach day with him, this wasn’t quite what he had in mind, but - well, he’d take what he could get. No swimsuits for the two of them this time, but he did promise himself that once they sorted out whatever was happening here at the lake, they would actually come down and enjoy it properly. Maybe Khaz could come with them and they could make a day of it. Thinking of Khaz here made his stomach turn. He wanted to enjoy a beach day with his boyfriend, of course - but only when he was absolutely positive Cthulu or Nessie or whatever it was people were saying was down there was not, actually, down there. “It’s probably just a water youma, right?” Blarney asked Aruna, squinting out into the reservoir waters. It looked peaceful enough, but there’d been enough chatter that it seemed unlikely that its appearances were anything other than deceiving at this point. “They come in types, right? Like Pokemon? Maybe there’s some…I dunno, Poliwrath or Gyrados kinda thing down there somewhere and we just have to clear it out. Easy peasy lemon squeezy.” He was probably right - it probably was just (‘just’!) a youma - amazing how fast things could become normalized - but…he found it difficult to really believe what he was saying, and he couldn’t quite put his finger on why. It just… didn’t feel the way it did when there was a youma around. Besides, if it was a youma, wouldn’t they have really been going after people for dinner? Nobody had died or drowned. If it was a youma, people wouldn’t be talking about getting grabbed underwater - they’d be talking about getting bitten. There would be rumors of a shark, not rumors of a cryptid. Cryptids. Before awakening as Blarney, Mason had enjoyed the idea, the thought of cryptids. He was no cryptozoologist or anything, but he had considered himself a casual fan of Bigfoot, Mothman, and all the others. Now that he knew there were real monsters out there, though, he found himself hoping that they were just elaborate hoaxes (or, Madeline had pointed out when he voiced the concern to her, that cryptids were regular humans’ way of justifying youma spottings, which made a terrible sort of sense, actually). “Should we just…go in there?” Blarney asked, glancing dubiously down at his outfit. He didn’t know how waterproof his powered clothes were, and he didn’t know if he could take them off without powering down. Not that revealing his civilian identity in front of Aruna was a problem - she certainly knew him in both aspects of his life - but…well, she was a girl, and he didn’t exactly love the idea of stripping down to his boxers in front of her, even if they were here for purely professional reasons. And also, there was the fact that if he powered down, he would be far less capable of fighting off whatever Gyrados-youma-Nessie hybrid was lurking in the bottom of their beautiful, formerly-safe little reservoir.
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Posted: Wed Jul 02, 2025 7:56 pm
Lena Roze The Eternal senshi closed her eyes, trying to feel for any signs of Chaos. When nothing seemed to register, she shook her head. “It's possible it's either a rumor or just one of the odd creatures that manifest here and there. I told you about the Gargoyles and the Snowmen I encountered last year right? It's probably like that. Not a youma, just…. One of the strange things Destiny City produces.” She gave Blarney a reassuring smile, reaching over to squeeze his shoulder gently. She had grown quite fond of him the more time she had spent with him, and wanted to do what she could to give encouragement. That's what friends did, right? As he talked about Pokemon, she stared blankly at him. She knew next to nothing about it other than it was a thing that existed. “I….am going to pretend I understood absolutely any of that. But as far as I know, they're not sorted into any sort of type classification? Just that there are all kinds of them.” She wrinkled her nose at the notion of just diving into the water, shaking her head. “I could…. maybe wade out a bit? I know I can take my boots off without powering down, so maybe I can do that and hold my skirt up?” Because the idea of a creature dragging her down by her skirt was not only terrifying but humiliating. Juliette06 Blarney squinted dubiously at the concept, glancing at her and her incredibly voluminous skirt - since her upgrade, there sure was a lot…more of her, wasn’t there? “I don’t think so,” Blarney said, shaking his head. “That thing gets wet, you get weighted down and sink like a stone. You’ve seen Pirates of the Caribbean, right? You’ll be like Elizabeth Swanne, just…” he gestured with his hand like something going over an edge, and whistled the sound of something falling. “And I’d rather not take that risk. So…” Blarney looked back at the water, then to Aruna consideringly. “What if you did your magic on the lakebed? See what shook up when you shake ‘em up?” Then I can–” Blarney mimed whacking something with his stick, “and we’ll go from there?” Lena Roze Aruna had not, in fact, seen that movie. Thankfully she didn't have to though in order to get the idea. Drowning was decidedly not on her agenda for the night, so she sighed and relented. “Maybe that could work. I'll hit it with a light attack first and see if that does anything?” She glanced from Blarney to the water and then back. “I could still just wade out to my knees though and see if anything happens. The reports said the phenomenon had occurred even in the shallows.” As she spoke, she began carefully removing her boots and setting them aside. Juliette06 “Please don’t,” Blarney said, catching her arm lightly. “I mean, if you wanna feel the sand between your toes or whatever, sure, but really - that much fabric getting wet is a bad idea, and I don’t have magic to protect you yet,” he said, a plaintive edge creeping into his voice. “If you get yoinked under, I’d have to arm wrestle this thing into submission, and I’m not confident enough in my physical strength to bet your life on it. Please just wait on shore?” He released her arm - he knew she’d do whatever she felt she should, and asking her to stop was as far as he would go. She was more experienced than him, so if she said it would be fine, maybe it would be, but… Blarney got to work removing his own boots, then rolled up his pants until they were above knee-level - how had he never noticed how tight they were? They were plenty flexible, sure, but they were also all but glued to his skin, which made the whole ‘rolling’ concept more difficult than he’d expected. But he managed well enough, grabbed up his stick, and waded into the shallows, peering down at the water - nothing looked or felt off. Yet. “Go ahead,” Blarney said, nodding back to her. “Aim for like…” he gestured vaguely to the area in front of him, “this area, so if it runs, it runs toward me.” Blarney gave her a reassuring smile, and mentally crossed his fingers that this plan was a good one that wouldn’t result in anyone but the potential monster winding up dead. Lena Roze Aruna hadn't anticipated the hand on her arm or the protective tone in Blarney's voice, and it caught her off guard. Her cheeks colored slightly and her heart beat just a bit faster for some reason, leaving her mildly confused. Why did such a simple gesture have that sort of an effect? “I just figured I could hold my skirt over my arm….” But the protestation was quiet and lacking any conviction. “If you get pulled under, I'm coming in after you. End of discussion, okay?” She watched him carefully as he waded out and moved to position herself so he wouldn't be harmed by her attack. Giving him one more glance, her foot hit the ground as she channeled her magic. “Rocky Sweep!” It was the lesser of her attacks, but still enough to pack a punch should it hit something. Juliette06 Blarney would never get tired of watching magic happen. It was real magic, and some people acted like it was no big deal. That would never be him - he vowed to maintain his wonder ( haha) for as long as he could. Aruna’s attack swept out in front of him, creating an explosion of rocks, stones, and, critically, water. A lot of water, and a lot of water-dwelling creatures, too. Did he know there were fish in the reservoir? Seemed incorrect for a man-made lake to have living things in it, but whatever, they were certainly there, stunned and disoriented by their brief visit to the sky. Nothing strange, except– A shadow. “Did you see that?” Blarney said, narrowing his eyes slightly. “There’s something there. Something big. It had been disturbed by her attack, but not stunned or actually expelled from the water. “Can you do that again?” Blarney shifted slightly, following the direction of the shadow, a hunter on the prowl. “I think if you hit it again I can maybe make a grab for it.” Lena Roze Aruna raised her arm to protect her face from the spray of water and debris, though she still found herself drenched. The beautiful ruffles of her fuku flattened and stuck to her legs and she made a face. Gross. Her eyes caught sight of the movement that Blarney saw and she nodded. “Rocky Sweep!” The attack blasted towards the creature and she watched anxiously to see if she hit it, all the while keeping Blarney in her sights to make sure he was safe. Juliette06 He loved it when a plan came together. This time, he was ready for the explosion of debris that followed Aruna’s call, and he leapt through it, rather than ducking under it. He found purchase, barely - the thing was slimey and strange-feeling, so much so that Blarney almost let go out of sheer revulsion, but he managed to cling onto it, giving the thing a reverse bear hug as it reared up and gave a mighty, horrifying roar or screech. The thing was gigantic. Nessie’s much bigger, much meaner older cousin. Blarney had his hands around its neck - or its body, it was like a snake, it didn’t have a meaningful difference between neck and the rest of it - and his feet planted on either side of giant, spikey fins or scales or whatever they were called, jutting out from its body like so many knives. Blarney caught a frantic glimpse of the ground beneath him - oh it was very very far away now, Aruna looking small and stunned on the shore. “Don’t worry! I got it!” Blarney called, wishing he actually felt confident enough to know what ‘getting it’ might actually look like. The thing was shaking him back and forth like it had water in its ears, trying to snap at him when he was directly behind the thing’s mouth. That was good, because the thing’s teeth were almost as big as Blarney himself was; it was a miracle it hadn’t eaten or seriously attacked anyone else. Finally, the thing got the message that Blarney was unreachable in the current position, so it did the next logical step in its mission to disengage Blarney the Barnacle from its back: it let itself flop back into the water. Blarney didn’t even get a chance to yell. Or hold his breath. He was just - bam, colliding with the water, a million pounds of sea monster on top of him, pushing him down, down, down to the bottom of the reservoir. The collision with the water had stunned him enough for the monster to wriggle away, and with a mighty swoosh of its ginormous tail, Blarney was ricocheted back upwards, where he broke the surface with a fantastic splash and a lot of coughing. He was disoriented and half-blind from the water, his hair plastered to his skull as he tried to focus on breathing - harder than it should’ve been, his whole body hurt, worst belly-flop ever - and finding his way back to shore. Shore. Aruna. What if it had left him alone to go after her. “Runa? Are you okay? Where are you!” He pawed frantically at his eyes, the panic only making him more disoriented and turned around. “Aruna!” Lena Roze Pale brown eyes wide in shock and perhaps a little horror, Aruna watched helplessly as Blarney was tossed about like a rag doll. Serpentine things had quickly become her least favorite to deal with, and her hand went instinctively to her hip where the scar from the Hollow rested. s**t. s**t s**t s**t. And then Blarney was down. And the monster was dragging him further. s**t. She couldn't attack, not without worrying about hitting the Page. God, times like this she wished she had different powers, something more protective somehow. “Blarney!” S h i t. He was under water. And then her legs started moving on her own, racing towards the water to retrieve him. When he broke the surface, the tension in her shoulders eased. Thank whatever god might be listening. Hands finding purchase on his arm, she helped him up and back to shore. “It's okay, I'm right here. You're safe ….” Why did her heart twist in such a way at the thought of him getting hurt? More than it did for anyone else? She pushed the thought aside for now and helped him to a safe spot away from the water. “Stay here, okay? I've got it from here.” She smoothed his hair from his face, her touch ever so soft and gentle. “I'll be right back.” Juliette06 Blarney grabbed onto her, relief coursing through him. She hadn’t been swallowed whole by that oversized tunafish, thank God. He let her lead him to shore and collapsed willingly, willing his heart to return to its normal pace. Mostly to calm himself down, Blarney reached into his pouch - he’d picked up a sapphire StarCharm earlier, and he was relieved to find that it hadn’t gotten dislodged from his pouch in the back-n-forth or the bellyflop. Just when he was ready to carry on with drying out and thanking the stars that Aruna had been there, Aruna’s words actually processed. “Wait, what do you mean got it from here,” Blarney said, blinking blearily at her. “It’s gone. Leave it. No way can just the two of us take that thing down, it’s the size of like, eight school busses.” Blarney wheezed. “We’ll come back with like–” he paused to cough, lean away from her to spit up some water that had gotten lodged in his throat, “--a whole team of magically inclined people and we’ll take it down together. Don’t go after that thing by yourself, its teeth are like t-rex teeth.” He looked at her imploringly, eyes wide under his soaked, messy hair. “Don’t go, ‘Runa, please? Don’t try to take that thing out on your own. It’s–enough that we saw it, we know what’s there, we can warn people away. Set up, I dunno, a boundary line or something, keep people out ‘til we figure out how to get rid of it?” Lena Roze The way he looked at her, the way he pleaded, her heart stuttered for a moment and she stilled. “Okay. Okay, I won't go.” When had she become so easily swayed? What was this ache she felt in her chest at the way he looked at her? “I can reach out to some friends and we can come back. Let's get to safety.” She offered her hand to him, smiling softly.
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