Chapter Text
Cater was someone who prided himself on having a consistent posting schedule. Rain or shine, he never missed a daily update.
So it came as somewhat of a surprise when nobody really noticed after he stopped posting as much.
Which, honestly, was a little embarrassing.
Not because he expected everyone to suddenly panic or anything.
He wasn't that important to anyone.
Probably.
And besides, it wasn’t like he completely went MIA, he just…updated once every 2 or 3 days instead of his once daily schedule of every morning, afternoon, and night.
Everyone had their own things going on. Their own lives to live. Besides, they'd already had to deal with three separate overblots.
Cater wasn't exactly the centre of everyone's world, and that was perfectly fine.
Cater honestly didn't know when it started.
When posting stopped being about sharing moments with people and quietly became something else.
Something he couldn't really explain.
It wasn't like he hated it.
He still liked taking pictures.
He still liked showing people interesting places.
And he still liked seeing his friends react to his posts.
But somewhere along the way, his way of thinking started to change.
A cafe wasn't just a cool new place anymore.
It was good lighting.
A funny moment wasn't just funny anymore.
It was whether it was worth posting. Whether anyone else would laugh too.
Even selfies weren't really just selfies anymore.
They needed good lighting. A composition interesting enough to stand out from every other selfie. A caption that fit seamlessly.
The annoying part was that he didn't even have to think about it anymore.
The thoughts just appeared. Automatically. Like a habit he ingrained into himself.
Like opening Magicam without even realising it.
Before he realised it, he started questioning why he even bothered posting anything in the first place.
His Magicam account had lost its original purpose. Was he truly satisfied chasing trends all the time?
Cater certainly didn't hate it.
But lately, he couldn't find a reason to keep posting as frequently as he used to.
Maybe it was just the so-called burnout that every influencer faced.
Or maybe he was just tired of being Cater.
He just wanted to get away for a bit. Get out and smell the roses a bit, y'know?
On the way out, a few students gave him a casual greeting.
"Hey Cater, I saw the new review you posted! Looks sick."
"Well y'know me, gotta keep up with the trends!"
Cater gave them a casual wave of his hand.
And continued wandering, without any real destination in mind.
Until he reached a place overgrown with shrubs and bushes, a place he had never even seen before.
A place that looked overlooked, abandoned.
So Cater laid down.
And stayed there.
No loud music. No footsteps or chatter of a crowd.
Just silence.
It was quiet. Peaceful.
...
Then he opened his eyes to the moon hanging in the sky.
It felt... calming. Like he could just exist without purpose, and that was completely fine.
His hand moved before he could think.
Click.
The moon framed between the branches. The wild shrubs surrounding him.
He opened Magicam.
Tapped his main account. Selected the photo. Stared at it for a moment.
...
It looked... wrong.
Cater frowned.
Cancelled the upload and hovered over another button.
...
Five minutes later, he had another account. He quickly posted the photo as it was. No filters. No captions.
Cater stared at the post for a few seconds afterwards.
Then closed the app again.
Then he just sat there.
Not thinking about anything.
The account sat untouched for a solid three days. Cater only remembered its existence when he was walking back to the dorms after the rain, looking at the windows still dripping with water and thinking, ‘Huh, this looks nice.’
It was similar to the last post, no filters whatsoever. But he did add a caption this time.
"The quiet ambience is really calming."
Short.
He didn't put any more thought into it.
And that was how it was every time he posted on his side account.
He found something he thought was nice, took a picture, decided it didn't fit his main account, and posted it on the side one instead.
A picture of a forgotten teacup after an unbirthday party.
The cloudy skies on a rainy day.
The emptiness of the school halls in the early morning.
There wasn't much thought put into it. Sometimes he added captions. Sometimes he left it blank.
Barely anyone saw it. He still kept posting anyway.
It wasn't until a month later that Cater noticed something odd.
His posts were still gaining minimal engagement, but there was one account that seemed to consistently give every one of them a like.
At first he dismissed it as the usual like from a random account that somehow stumbled upon his posts. And this account went on to like every single one of his other posts.
Okay, whatever. People find posts they really like and check out the creator to see what else they've posted. It was normal.
But Cater continued posting more. And that particular account continued liking every single one of them.
Hmm... strange.
Whatever, he didn't need to care that much about a stranger following his account. That was normal. He'd experienced it many times before.
So he continued on with his life.
Hung out with the Pop Music Club. Went to visit and review a new café that popped up. Normal Cater things.
Until one day. It was already quite late after class, and Cater was just wandering around the campus again, not really having any purpose.
He found himself going on more nighttime walks lately. Even Trey had noticed and raised an eyebrow before telling him to get back before Riddle took his head.
Ha.
Trey.
His friend.
Someone he probably wouldn't see again after graduation. Maybe even before then, depending on their internships.
He found himself at the gates of Ramshackle Dorm and stopped for a moment.
Then he took out his phone and snapped a photo. Opened up his Magicam and uploaded it on his other account.
It was quite... unique? Weird? The gargoyle looked extremely out of place with its surroundings, being so well maintained while its surroundings were... less so.
He captioned it with, "The gargoyle here must be really loved."
Clicked post.
Closed the app again and decided to wander around a bit more.
The next morning, he received a notification.
gargoyle_enthusiast98 has replied to your post.