Light pink short coffin acrylic nails
My uncontrollable little brother
2023.06.07 06:35 suficientea My uncontrollable little brother
my brother is 14m and i'm 22f.
when i was 7 and he was a newborn, my mom had to move states to escape domestic abuse and we were dirt poor. my mom was working so hard and i helped out as much as i could. over the years, my mom married and her and my step father worked late nights virtually everyday, and i became a second mother to him. i babysat him, fed him, and changed his diapers since i was in 5th grade. in middle school i was frustrated that he'd go out of his way to steal my toys and he always wanted whatever i had. he wanted my animal crossing before he could even read purely i had it. but we were just kids yknow? that's just what kids do.
we fought throughout my time in middle school over shit like that. we've gotten in our share of physical fights and i definitely left some kind of impression of him because of that. i was bullied a lot for being short and when we fought, i would bully him for the same thing. physical fights would be reoccurring up until i entered high school.
by now, my parent's economic status has improved greatly. my parents were able to buy a house, year or two later they put in a pool, and are able to afford brand new cars soon after. we definitely argued about nonsense still, but i can't remember any big huge particular fight. we were closer then than we are now though. i remember being sent to buy a pizza for him almost everyday, to the point that the lil cesears lady recognized me and we became friends LOL. i was always stuck at home because "someone needed to watch the boy" and my dad was just strict like that. i think it was during my junior year when it came out my dad was cheating on my mom and he was out of the house for two weeks. it's important to note that my dad has a kid in his home country and always felt guilty that he couldn't raise him. he met my brother as a baby and raised him like his own, while we have a strained relationship because we could never connect like that. i mention it because while he was out of the house, my brother stole $300 from my mom's purse and gave it out to his friends at the playground. i'm sure it was some kind of trauma response and he wanted to keep his friends around, but the stealing habit never left him. i remember my senior year when i wanted to stay afterschool for play rehearsal and i had to bring him because he couldn't be home by himself. i was staying home by myself AND watching over a toddler when i was his age, but regardless i still brought him with me to practice, and still got him a pizza after.
then i went off for college. it was great! got away from my parents and him and i only have to deal with them during short visits and summer vacations. me and him definitely grew apart. he entered middle school and got all preteen-y and shit. we argued, but just arguments that'd dissipate in the next day or two. he continued to steal my stuff though. he did the typical rummaging any younger sibling would do to an older one; there was always a fight over a hoodie, DS games, toys, whatever.
i was really into polymer clay shit in middle school and he'd always attempt to take my supplies but not make anything with them. when i went off to college, he went in my room and claimed any and all of the art stuff i left, including those old charms. i kept everything in a little box in my desk and he took it. mashed up, broken, cracked, colored over all of my work of a hobby i had for 4 years. i used polymer clay to prevent myself from the trichotillomania i developed as a result of the rape trial and trauma i was dealing with at that time. he's definitely taken a lot more, but that one really hurt.
i come back during one visit and i bought a shiny new usb-c charger. goes "missing" one day. immediately assume it's him, confront and he denies over and over again. it's been so long since i've seen it, i start to believe it. i leave, a month goes by, come back. found it in his room, of course.
during one summer vacation, i got really into spray painting and stencils and i spent weeks on this one fine-line stencil. i even took it to my summer job to work on. i went back to school and left it, and i come back and he put a pushpin through it and has it hanging on the wall! took my shit back immediately.
another time, i'm home for winter break. my mom gifts me new airpod pros for christmas and gifts him airpod 3rd gen. not good enough for him because i magically lose them like three weeks after getting them. felt guilty as fuuuuck. didn't tell my mom because i thought i genuinely lost them. i go back to school, months go by. i'm visiting regularly still. i see he's got his airpods and a new case for them. at this time, my grandma had been visiting us for a few months and it's a week before she goes back, so my parents decided to stay at a beach house. along with my family, my parents invite five of my brothers friends because there's a room of several bunk beds. it's a friend's place so my mom asked me to set the beds with our sheets to keep it clean. it's so much work to put bedding on bunk beds yall. made nine beds total for everyone. all of my brother's friends need rides to the beach house, which is an hour away with traffic. i have a small car so i have to take two trips. four hours of driving total, two of which i'm transporting a carful of loud-ass "mommy's little angels". and i'm still in a good mood because i'm gonna be chillin in a beach house! had a great time, no issues. it's monday and it's my last morning there, im in my bed scrolling on twitter. i get the fucking notification of MY airpods case being opened. after i've gone the extra miles for him. took my shit back as soon as he left the room to play. they were in terrible condition, all scratched up, dirty as fuck, and blown out because he listens to them too loud. i left right away for class that day. didn't confront him, but i found out from my mom that his whole trip was ruined and he blamed his friends lolz. i confronted him on the next visit and he apologized obviously, can't do much when you're caught red-handed.
now im back again for summer vacation. we haven't been hanging out but we haven't had a huge argument or anything either. today, my parents went out for an event so i ordered takeout for us. we both got a plate, a side order, and a drink. we eat and watch a movie. we finish and the movie ends so i tell him to feed the dogs. he says no at first but i tell him if i fed him, the least he can do is feed the dogs and he begrudgingly agrees. instead of getting up, he falls asleep for two hours. i tell him several more times to go feed them and he firmly says no. i pull his blanket (a gift from ME) off of him, and he gets so mad he starts to physically fight me. the boy has his ego up because now he's taller than me and has been working out so he thinks he's stronger too. he wrestles me down the couch, i overcome him, we cuss and argue, he walks away. he leaves with a bloody lip and i have a broken acrylic nail. happened at 9:30 and it's 11:50 now. i fed the dogs and i'm just waiting for my parents now.
i know he'll get in trouble, but i want him to change. i know he's got all those fuckass puberty hormones in him but it feels like he just doesn't learn. is there any resources i can read? what can i do differently? is this normal little brother stuff? i don't want to continue this weird strained relationship we have. i feel like i've given so much of my childhood to him and he's become a spoiled brat. i feel myself becoming bitter and i don't want to be
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when i was 7 and he was a newborn, my mom had to move states to escape domestic abuse and we were dirt poor. my mom was working so hard and i helped out as much as i could. over the years, my mom married and her and my step father worked late nights virtually everyday, and i became a second mother to him. i babysat him, fed him, and changed his diapers since i was in 5th grade. in middle school i was frustrated that he'd go out of his way to steal my toys and he always wanted whatever i had. he wanted my animal crossing before he could even read purely i had it. but we were just kids yknow? that's just what kids do.
we fought throughout my time in middle school over shit like that. we've gotten in our share of physical fights and i definitely left some kind of impression of him because of that. i was bullied a lot for being short and when we fought, i would bully him for the same thing. physical fights would be reoccurring up until i entered high school.
by now, my parent's economic status has improved greatly. my parents were able to buy a house, year or two later they put in a pool, and are able to afford brand new cars soon after. we definitely argued about nonsense still, but i can't remember any big huge particular fight. we were closer then than we are now though. i remember being sent to buy a pizza for him almost everyday, to the point that the lil cesears lady recognized me and we became friends LOL. i was always stuck at home because "someone needed to watch the boy" and my dad was just strict like that. i think it was during my junior year when it came out my dad was cheating on my mom and he was out of the house for two weeks. it's important to note that my dad has a kid in his home country and always felt guilty that he couldn't raise him. he met my brother as a baby and raised him like his own, while we have a strained relationship because we could never connect like that. i mention it because while he was out of the house, my brother stole $300 from my mom's purse and gave it out to his friends at the playground. i'm sure it was some kind of trauma response and he wanted to keep his friends around, but the stealing habit never left him. i remember my senior year when i wanted to stay afterschool for play rehearsal and i had to bring him because he couldn't be home by himself. i was staying home by myself AND watching over a toddler when i was his age, but regardless i still brought him with me to practice, and still got him a pizza after.
then i went off for college. it was great! got away from my parents and him and i only have to deal with them during short visits and summer vacations. me and him definitely grew apart. he entered middle school and got all preteen-y and shit. we argued, but just arguments that'd dissipate in the next day or two. he continued to steal my stuff though. he did the typical rummaging any younger sibling would do to an older one; there was always a fight over a hoodie, DS games, toys, whatever.
i was really into polymer clay shit in middle school and he'd always attempt to take my supplies but not make anything with them. when i went off to college, he went in my room and claimed any and all of the art stuff i left, including those old charms. i kept everything in a little box in my desk and he took it. mashed up, broken, cracked, colored over all of my work of a hobby i had for 4 years. i used polymer clay to prevent myself from the trichotillomania i developed as a result of the rape trial and trauma i was dealing with at that time. he's definitely taken a lot more, but that one really hurt.
i come back during one visit and i bought a shiny new usb-c charger. goes "missing" one day. immediately assume it's him, confront and he denies over and over again. it's been so long since i've seen it, i start to believe it. i leave, a month goes by, come back. found it in his room, of course.
during one summer vacation, i got really into spray painting and stencils and i spent weeks on this one fine-line stencil. i even took it to my summer job to work on. i went back to school and left it, and i come back and he put a pushpin through it and has it hanging on the wall! took my shit back immediately.
another time, i'm home for winter break. my mom gifts me new airpod pros for christmas and gifts him airpod 3rd gen. not good enough for him because i magically lose them like three weeks after getting them. felt guilty as fuuuuck. didn't tell my mom because i thought i genuinely lost them. i go back to school, months go by. i'm visiting regularly still. i see he's got his airpods and a new case for them. at this time, my grandma had been visiting us for a few months and it's a week before she goes back, so my parents decided to stay at a beach house. along with my family, my parents invite five of my brothers friends because there's a room of several bunk beds. it's a friend's place so my mom asked me to set the beds with our sheets to keep it clean. it's so much work to put bedding on bunk beds yall. made nine beds total for everyone. all of my brother's friends need rides to the beach house, which is an hour away with traffic. i have a small car so i have to take two trips. four hours of driving total, two of which i'm transporting a carful of loud-ass "mommy's little angels". and i'm still in a good mood because i'm gonna be chillin in a beach house! had a great time, no issues. it's monday and it's my last morning there, im in my bed scrolling on twitter. i get the fucking notification of MY airpods case being opened. after i've gone the extra miles for him. took my shit back as soon as he left the room to play. they were in terrible condition, all scratched up, dirty as fuck, and blown out because he listens to them too loud. i left right away for class that day. didn't confront him, but i found out from my mom that his whole trip was ruined and he blamed his friends lolz. i confronted him on the next visit and he apologized obviously, can't do much when you're caught red-handed.
now im back again for summer vacation. we haven't been hanging out but we haven't had a huge argument or anything either. today, my parents went out for an event so i ordered takeout for us. we both got a plate, a side order, and a drink. we eat and watch a movie. we finish and the movie ends so i tell him to feed the dogs. he says no at first but i tell him if i fed him, the least he can do is feed the dogs and he begrudgingly agrees. instead of getting up, he falls asleep for two hours. i tell him several more times to go feed them and he firmly says no. i pull his blanket (a gift from ME) off of him, and he gets so mad he starts to physically fight me. the boy has his ego up because now he's taller than me and has been working out so he thinks he's stronger too. he wrestles me down the couch, i overcome him, we cuss and argue, he walks away. he leaves with a bloody lip and i have a broken acrylic nail. happened at 9:30 and it's 11:50 now. i fed the dogs and i'm just waiting for my parents now.
i know he'll get in trouble, but i want him to change. i know he's got all those fuckass puberty hormones in him but it feels like he just doesn't learn. is there any resources i can read? what can i do differently? is this normal little brother stuff? i don't want to continue this weird strained relationship we have. i feel like i've given so much of my childhood to him and he's become a spoiled brat. i feel myself becoming bitter and i don't want to be
2023.06.07 05:33 Different_Mix9268 The setting about Sylveon’s hair & clothes
Hair style
Type one: pink、long、straightType two: pink、short
Type three: pink、long，with short twin tail
Original clothes
Spring (indoooutdoor): white、sleeveless dressSummer (indoooutdoor): white t-shirt + short jeans
Autumn (outdoor): white、long-sleeves shirt + pink、normal-sized skirt
Winter (indoor): four-colors of white、pink、light blue and light green striped sweater + white pants
Original accessories
Head-wear & neck-wear (all seasons): two pink and white bow with a pair of sharp-edge ribbons under each bowsHead-wear & neck-wear (winter): magenta and white wool hat + magenta and white scarf
Hand-wear: pink、short、thin、sharp-edge gloves
Socks (spring & autumn): white、knees-length socks
Socks (summer) : white、short socks
Socks (winter outdoor): white、thin tights
Socks (winter indoor): four-color of white、pink、blue and light blue、short、thick socks
Shoes (type one): pink、short、sharp-edge boots
Shoes (type two): pink sneakers
Special clothes
Halloween: white bandages (she dress up like a mummy)Christmas: short-sleeves Santa dress + Santa hat + red and white、furry mittens + red and white、short、furry boots
New year: pink kimono + white socks + Japanese wooden clogs
Swimsuit & beach accessories: pink bikini with a bow on each side of the pants + no head-wear or straw sunhat + bare hands + barefoot
2023.06.07 05:30 xtremexavier15 TSROTI 6 (pt 2)
"What do you mean I'm liable if the yeti eats Lindsay?" Chris asked frantically, his cellphone now against his ear while he continued to fan himself. "It's not my fault she's popular!" The camera zoomed out to show the host on the Dock of Shame, the two teams watching him intently a few feet away. "Gotta go," he quickly told the person he was talking to, quickly transitioning into a laugh as he turned his attention back to the campers.
"He-he-hey! For our next challenge, the two teams will...," he paused to think, "compete to rescue Lindsay!" he announced, causing the campers to share confused and disbelieving looks with one another. "Yup, that's it! Everyone grab a canoe and head to Boney Island!" The campers promptly ran off down the dock, leaving Chris to laugh nervously. "It's all good!" he reassured himself.
\
The scene flashed ahead to the two teams rowing across the lake, the Rats in a red canoe in the background with the Maggots in green in the fore.
"So it turns out the 6-way outfit we put on for the yeti did not suit his tastes," Anne Maria sighed.
"I'm sorry, guys," Katie apologized to her team. "Usually, my family and friends back home love my fashion tips. I thought it'd apply to the yeti as well."
"If it makes you feel any better, I enjoy your fashion tips," DJ comforted her.
"You do?" Katie's eyes lit up in anticipation.
"Absolutely. You just wanted us to feel involved in a way, even if it did backfire," DJ said. "It was almost, katchy, to say the least."
"You're too sweet," Katie cheered up.
Molly noticed a fog back. "Brace yourselves. We're about to enter Boney Island."
"That's good to know," Katie said as the fog moved away and cut to the island they were approaching, the skull-shaped mountain looming ominously as hollow, whooping cries echoed across the water.
\
A seamless cut ahead took the scene to Scarlett, Trent, and Scott running through the slightly-barren woods of Boney Island one right after the other. "Lindsay! Where are you?" Trent called, and the camera zoomed in on Scott's rather scheming face.
Confessional: Scott
"Chris is gonna merge the teams any day now," Scott said. "It's time to start getting serious. Trent is a nice guy, and I'll need someone like him to help with the votes."
Confessional Ends
Trent was shown panting as he ran along with worry in his eyes, and the camera panned back to Scott as he cleared his throat. "Trent, can I talk to you for a second?"
Hearing that one, Trent looked back and promptly slowed down as Scott ran up closer to him. "Could it wait? We have to rescue Lindsay from that sasquatch."
"I know that," Scott said. "I just wanted to say that I feel bad for Leshawna taking your guitar from you."
"I just don't get why she'd take my most prized possession," Trent sighed. "That guitar was given to me by my uncle, and I promised to never let anything happen to it."
Scott showed a bit of remorse after hearing that. "That's... really tragic," Scott responded. "But hey, Leshawna's gone, and even if we don't have B on our team, that doesn't make us stupid or weak."
Confessional: Trent
"So maybe Scott has a sensitive side to him," Trent confessed.
Confessional: Scott
Scott simply shrugged and let out an "eh" sound.
Confessional Ends
The scene skipped ahead again, showing Geoff coming to a halt. "Guys!" he called out panting, pointing up and ahead. "The sasquatch!" The camera panned up and ahead to a cliff with scaffolding set up on its face and Sasquatachanakwa sitting with Lindsay at the top.
"Aw, it's okay, yeti." Lindsay cooed, patting the purple sasquatch on the arm. "The world just isn't ready for beauty like yours." The sasquatch wiped a tear away from his eye. "You're like a snowflake, but like a lot bigger. Like, I mean, a lot."
"What's with all the scaffolding?" Scott asked, the camera cutting back to ground-level to show that the rest of the cast had arrived.
"I'm turning Boney Island into my personal resort," Chris explained as he and Chef arrived. "The Health Department said it was unfit for human life, but I sent in workers anyway," he continued, the cast giving each other incredulous looks. "Hmm...wonder where they went?" the host asked with an oddly sly smile.
\
A flash took the focus to a gruesome scene of human bones and workers' clothes scattered around some rocks in the forest. The camera panned to the right along gnawing sounds, and a trio of wooly beavers coming into view chewing on bones and wearing hard hats and pouring out a cup of hot coffee from a thermos.
\
"Don't hurt him!" Lindsay called down to the campers. "He just has big, hairy body issues!"
"Luckily, that's not a problem for me! We gotta take that yeti out!" Dave declared to his team.
"I know what to do!" Katie immediately declared. She threw her makeup bag and watched as it flew up and hit Sasquatchanakwa.
The bag exploded to reveal that he was now wearing Molly's headband, Scarlett's glasses, Anne Maria's blouse, DJ's shorts, Katie's socks, and Dave's sneakers, but they were colored all in pink unintentionally.
Everyone laughed at Sasquatchanakwa, but this only angered the sasquatch even more, causing him to jump up and down.
Confessional: Dave
"In retrospect, we probably should've double checked to see if there was any pink dye in our bag!" Dave confessed sheepishly.
Confessional: Katie
"I wasn't trying to make the sasquatch look bad. I was trying to stop him from kidnapping people," Katie told the viewers. "That sounds about right."
Confessional Ends
The raging ape-man jumped across the clifftop, his landings shaking through the stone and causing parts of the scaffolding to come lose – the right side of the top level, then the left side of the next, then right side of the level below that, and the left side of the very bottom level providing a convenient series of ramps up the side of the cliff. He then took off the clothes designed on him, rolled it into a ball, and chucked it at Katie, knocking her out.
The camera panned over to the Maggots, the members huddled together with the exception of Katie. "There are four poles holding up the scaffolding and five of us. Anne Maria, Molly, Dave, and I will climb the poles to draw the yeti's attention. As the strongest and most comparable to the yeti in size, DJ can run up the platforms and confront it directly," Scarlett told the plan to her team.
"I'll go up to the yeti, but I don't want to harm him," DJ said. "It's just not me."
"As long as we rescue Lindsay, I'm fine with what we're doing," Molly shrugged.
"And what about Katie?" Anne Maria pointed to the sleeping girl.
"Let her rest until she regains consciousness," DJ told his team. "She got hit pretty bad."
\
"How are we gonna rescue Lindsay before they do?" Scott asked as the focus cut over to the Rats watching their rivals put their plan into action.
"We could get someone prettier than Lindsay to lure the yeti away?" Geoff suggested.
"With me, Scott, and Geoff being males, there's no chance of the both of us charming him," Trent said.
"I have makeup, but without a mirror, I can't see what I'm doing," Sierra sighed.
Sammy saw everyone looking at her. "There is no getting out of this one."
Confessional: Sierra
"I know what I told Sammy before," Sierra confessed, "but she could develop her boldness here by stopping the yeti."
Confessional Ends
"Go Team Maggot!" Anne Maria called as she, Scarlett, DJ, Molly, and Dave were shown beginning their ascent, DJ taking the scaffolding itself while the other members climbed up the scaffolding's support beams. Sasquatchanakwa quickly noticed them and picked up a barrel from a nearby pile, then tossed a barrel at Dave, then DJ. Both boys let out pained grunts and the camera cut to the sasquatch as he threw more barrels, the girls letting out grunts of their own. The camera cut to Anne Maria, Molly, and Scarlett as they landed on top of their male teammates.
The camera focused on Katie as she woke up from her unconscious state. "What the?" she wondered as she saw her teammates on the ground in pain and looked up to see Sasquatchanakwa holding Lindsay captive. "So it seems they tried to do the challenge, but were unlucky. I could flirt with the sasquatch, but that's, like, gross." She let out a quick whimper at the sight of it.
"I'll just have to distract the yeti in some way," Katie concluded before running up the scaffolding.
The Maggots got up in time to see their perky teammate run up to Sasquatchanakwa. "Wow. Katie's going for it," Dave sighted her.
Katie saw the barrels coming her way and jumped above all of them.
"Katie, watch out," Scarlett warned her.
Katie saw a hammer in her path and picked it up. "Thanks for letting me know! Now I can distract him!" She continued to jump over the barrels.
\
"Are you sure this will make me look good?" Sammy asked with a hint of skepticism in her voice as the scene cut to the Rats, her back to the camera as Sierra got to work with a powder puff in one hand and a make-up brush in the other. The boys watched with variable interest behind Sierra.
"Of course," Sierra reassured her. "My mother used this makeup for parties and it usually attracts attention from everybody that's in the room."
"I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but the Maggots are already ahead of us," Trent looked at their direction.
Geoff was shocked to hear that and grabbed Sierra's puff and brush. "We gotta hurry or else we'll be on the biggest losing streak!" he yelped and quickly applied makeup to Sammy.
"Finally!" Sammy said in relief. Trent gasped in shock and DJ, who was merely passing by, took a look at her and shrieked and fainted in terror.
Sammy puffed up proudly. "So that's what Francesca means about drop dead gorgeous. Alright yeti!" she called out as the camera showed her from the neck down walking away. "Your princess is here!"
"Why'd you rush the makeup process?" Scott asked after Sammy had left.
"I didn't think the yeti would be shallow," Geoff answered.
\
Back at the top of the scaffolding, Katie had gotten tired from all the running she had to do and resorted to dragging her hammer on the floor. She took a leap when she saw an oncoming barrel and fell face first on the floor. "I really need to be motivated right now."
"You're almost there. Get up," Dave called out supportedly.
"Go take down that giant hairball!" Molly encouraged.
"Don't fall off the scaffolding, Katie!" DJ advised her loudly.
Katie heard their encouragement and got up. "They're counting on me. I'm not gonna let them down."
Picking up her hammer, she dashed bravely to Sasquatchanakwa and threw the hammer at him, but he caught it with zero effort. He then grabbed Katie's head and effortlessly tossed her off the scaffolding, resulting in her landing in front of the Maggots with a thud.
"Are you gonna be okay?" Anne Maria bent down to check on her friend.
Katie got her head up. "I'm fine-kay!" she mumbled goofily.
\
A flash took the focus back to the top just as Sammy ran on to the scene, finally revealing the new look Geoff had given her – which amounted to large amounts of blue crayon as eye shadow and the bottom half of her face a swirl of red and green lipstick.
"Uhh...hey there...big yeti...," Sammy said awkwardly. "How's it like being... tall?"
Lindsay and Sasquatchanakwa stared at the made-up girl. "See? That's another what not to do." the blonde said to the ape-man before they burst into fits of laughter.
"Okay. I'm done here!" Sammy scowled, running forward to the surprise of the two non-competitors. She suddenly and swiftly kicked Sasquatchanakwa between the legs, sending him flying off the scaffolding.
DJ helped Katie off the floor. "You did good up there on your own."
"I may not be using technology right now, but that doesn't mean I can rely on it forever," Katie quoted before Sasquatchanakwa fell down at the spot she was just in.
"Team Rat, you've got immunity," Chris announced as he flew up with his jetpack, and the Rats on the ground cheered.
"Aww!" Molly griped as the camera panned to the disappointed faces of her and the Maggots.
Lindsay was currently applying makeup to herself until Sammy snatched it from her. She gasped, and then looked down at Geoff. "I would be mad, but I'm just glad this is all over."
"Time to head back to camp," Chris said, "Maggots," the shot cut down to them as they shared a nervous look, "you've got some voting to do."
\
An owl hooted as the footage flashed ahead to a shot of the island at night then zooming in to the campfire pit. Unusually, both teams were present – the Rats on the left, and the Maggots on the right.
"Well that was a complete fiasco!" Chris opened, him and Chef standing ready with their respective marshmallows. "Scarlett, your plans kept blowing up in your face and the yeti's," he said, the brainiac in the front row looking unnerved. "And Katie," the camera moved behind Scarlett, "you dropped the barrel on this one." She started to look nervous.
"As a result," the host continued, picking up two marshmallows from his tray as the camera cut to his close-up, "the first two to get their marshmallows are Dave and Anne Maria."
They caught their treats with smiles. "Also safe is Molly and DJ."
Molly smiled when she caught her marshmallow, though DJ looked a bit concerned.
"Now then, the Toxic Marshmallow of Loserdom goes to," Chris said as Chef took out the toxic marshmallow. As the tension built, the camera cut to close-ups of Scarlett's wide-eyed gaze, then to Katie's tensed-up face, and finally to Chris's impish smile as he announced...
"Katie."
The Influencer looked down and groaned. The toxic marshmallow bounced off her head and she winced.
"Sorry I messed up the challenge for us," Katie said as she stood up. "I really should depend less on using my vlogging experiences in situations."
"I'm just glad you were able to not go crazy without talking to your tablet," Dave smiled at her.
"I am going to miss your fashion skills," Anne Maria said to Katie.
"I'll miss you too," Katie promised before being grabbed by the back of her white hoodie courtesy of Chef and taken to the Hurl of Shame.
"Thank you Chef," Chris said with a smile. "Now for something very special. Toxic Rats, you're probably wondering why I asked you to sit in on this elimination ceremony." The shot cut to the team of five, all of them watching the host with anxious suspicion. "I'll need a strong volunteer from each team," he told them.
"Right here," Geoff said, standing up proudly from the Rats' front row.
"I'll volunteer!" DJ added from his seat next to Anne Maria.
"Pack your baa~ags!" Chris told them impishly.
"You're hurling them, too?!" Sierra asked in shock.
"Nah," Chris dismissed, "I don't give people time to pack before they get hurled! These two are switching teams!"
Everyone gasped but the two guys in question, who just smiled and walked towards their 'new' teammates, exchanging high-fives as they passed each other.
Geoff sat next to Anne Maria, who smiled lightly. "Looks like we're teammates now," Anne Maria said happily.
"This is gonna be sweet!" Geoff cheered, to which Scarlett took notice.
The shot cut to DJ as he stood in front of his new team. "Glad to have you on our team," Trent welcomed the friendly giant.
"I appreciate it, but there's something I have to do before I settle in with you guys," DJ informed his new team before jogging away.
\
The scene flashed to the docks, Katie sitting sadly in the bucket of the Hurl of Shame as Chris approached her. "Any last words before your ride to loserdom?" he asked in a taunting manner.
"Yeah," Katie nodded, the camera panning out to show Chef playing a game on her tablet. "Since I'm out of the game, can I have my tablet back?"
Chef finished the last level he was on and tossed the tablet back to Katie, who hugged her electronic cheerfully before putting it inside her pocket.
"Don't launch the catapult yet!" DJ yelled off-screen before coming into view and in front of Katie's eye.
"Wow! You came to see me before I left?" Katie chinned up with delight.
"Sure I did," DJ nodded.
Katie pulled out her slip of paper from the first episode and gave it to him. "If you want to see more of me, head over to my channel, like, comment, and subscribe."
DJ chuckled a bit from her line and pulled out a necklace and two bracelets made out of last episode's breakfast. "I made this for you just to give you something to remember me by."
Katie put on the meat-like necklace and bracelets. "Great minds really do think alike. Before I go, I just want to let you know that I've always been into YOU!" she yelled as she was catapulted off into the night.
DJ watched her fly off into the night, then dawned a look of sadness while walking back to his team. "I've always been into you too."
Chris laughed. "Oops," he turned and told the camera as the series's capstone theme began to play. "Who will be the next loser hurled? How much can we humiliate them first? And how will Dave try to hold in his bladder for another hour?"
"Hey!" Dave was heard saying.
Chris ignored him and finished his outro. "Find out next time, on Total! Drama! Revenge, of the Island!"
(Roll the Credits)
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"He-he-hey! For our next challenge, the two teams will...," he paused to think, "compete to rescue Lindsay!" he announced, causing the campers to share confused and disbelieving looks with one another. "Yup, that's it! Everyone grab a canoe and head to Boney Island!" The campers promptly ran off down the dock, leaving Chris to laugh nervously. "It's all good!" he reassured himself.
\
The scene flashed ahead to the two teams rowing across the lake, the Rats in a red canoe in the background with the Maggots in green in the fore.
"So it turns out the 6-way outfit we put on for the yeti did not suit his tastes," Anne Maria sighed.
"I'm sorry, guys," Katie apologized to her team. "Usually, my family and friends back home love my fashion tips. I thought it'd apply to the yeti as well."
"If it makes you feel any better, I enjoy your fashion tips," DJ comforted her.
"You do?" Katie's eyes lit up in anticipation.
"Absolutely. You just wanted us to feel involved in a way, even if it did backfire," DJ said. "It was almost, katchy, to say the least."
"You're too sweet," Katie cheered up.
Molly noticed a fog back. "Brace yourselves. We're about to enter Boney Island."
"That's good to know," Katie said as the fog moved away and cut to the island they were approaching, the skull-shaped mountain looming ominously as hollow, whooping cries echoed across the water.
\
A seamless cut ahead took the scene to Scarlett, Trent, and Scott running through the slightly-barren woods of Boney Island one right after the other. "Lindsay! Where are you?" Trent called, and the camera zoomed in on Scott's rather scheming face.
Confessional: Scott
"Chris is gonna merge the teams any day now," Scott said. "It's time to start getting serious. Trent is a nice guy, and I'll need someone like him to help with the votes."
Confessional Ends
Trent was shown panting as he ran along with worry in his eyes, and the camera panned back to Scott as he cleared his throat. "Trent, can I talk to you for a second?"
Hearing that one, Trent looked back and promptly slowed down as Scott ran up closer to him. "Could it wait? We have to rescue Lindsay from that sasquatch."
"I know that," Scott said. "I just wanted to say that I feel bad for Leshawna taking your guitar from you."
"I just don't get why she'd take my most prized possession," Trent sighed. "That guitar was given to me by my uncle, and I promised to never let anything happen to it."
Scott showed a bit of remorse after hearing that. "That's... really tragic," Scott responded. "But hey, Leshawna's gone, and even if we don't have B on our team, that doesn't make us stupid or weak."
Confessional: Trent
"So maybe Scott has a sensitive side to him," Trent confessed.
Confessional: Scott
Scott simply shrugged and let out an "eh" sound.
Confessional Ends
The scene skipped ahead again, showing Geoff coming to a halt. "Guys!" he called out panting, pointing up and ahead. "The sasquatch!" The camera panned up and ahead to a cliff with scaffolding set up on its face and Sasquatachanakwa sitting with Lindsay at the top.
"Aw, it's okay, yeti." Lindsay cooed, patting the purple sasquatch on the arm. "The world just isn't ready for beauty like yours." The sasquatch wiped a tear away from his eye. "You're like a snowflake, but like a lot bigger. Like, I mean, a lot."
"What's with all the scaffolding?" Scott asked, the camera cutting back to ground-level to show that the rest of the cast had arrived.
"I'm turning Boney Island into my personal resort," Chris explained as he and Chef arrived. "The Health Department said it was unfit for human life, but I sent in workers anyway," he continued, the cast giving each other incredulous looks. "Hmm...wonder where they went?" the host asked with an oddly sly smile.
\
A flash took the focus to a gruesome scene of human bones and workers' clothes scattered around some rocks in the forest. The camera panned to the right along gnawing sounds, and a trio of wooly beavers coming into view chewing on bones and wearing hard hats and pouring out a cup of hot coffee from a thermos.
\
"Don't hurt him!" Lindsay called down to the campers. "He just has big, hairy body issues!"
"Luckily, that's not a problem for me! We gotta take that yeti out!" Dave declared to his team.
"I know what to do!" Katie immediately declared. She threw her makeup bag and watched as it flew up and hit Sasquatchanakwa.
The bag exploded to reveal that he was now wearing Molly's headband, Scarlett's glasses, Anne Maria's blouse, DJ's shorts, Katie's socks, and Dave's sneakers, but they were colored all in pink unintentionally.
Everyone laughed at Sasquatchanakwa, but this only angered the sasquatch even more, causing him to jump up and down.
Confessional: Dave
"In retrospect, we probably should've double checked to see if there was any pink dye in our bag!" Dave confessed sheepishly.
Confessional: Katie
"I wasn't trying to make the sasquatch look bad. I was trying to stop him from kidnapping people," Katie told the viewers. "That sounds about right."
Confessional Ends
The raging ape-man jumped across the clifftop, his landings shaking through the stone and causing parts of the scaffolding to come lose – the right side of the top level, then the left side of the next, then right side of the level below that, and the left side of the very bottom level providing a convenient series of ramps up the side of the cliff. He then took off the clothes designed on him, rolled it into a ball, and chucked it at Katie, knocking her out.
The camera panned over to the Maggots, the members huddled together with the exception of Katie. "There are four poles holding up the scaffolding and five of us. Anne Maria, Molly, Dave, and I will climb the poles to draw the yeti's attention. As the strongest and most comparable to the yeti in size, DJ can run up the platforms and confront it directly," Scarlett told the plan to her team.
"I'll go up to the yeti, but I don't want to harm him," DJ said. "It's just not me."
"As long as we rescue Lindsay, I'm fine with what we're doing," Molly shrugged.
"And what about Katie?" Anne Maria pointed to the sleeping girl.
"Let her rest until she regains consciousness," DJ told his team. "She got hit pretty bad."
\
"How are we gonna rescue Lindsay before they do?" Scott asked as the focus cut over to the Rats watching their rivals put their plan into action.
"We could get someone prettier than Lindsay to lure the yeti away?" Geoff suggested.
"With me, Scott, and Geoff being males, there's no chance of the both of us charming him," Trent said.
"I have makeup, but without a mirror, I can't see what I'm doing," Sierra sighed.
Sammy saw everyone looking at her. "There is no getting out of this one."
Confessional: Sierra
"I know what I told Sammy before," Sierra confessed, "but she could develop her boldness here by stopping the yeti."
Confessional Ends
"Go Team Maggot!" Anne Maria called as she, Scarlett, DJ, Molly, and Dave were shown beginning their ascent, DJ taking the scaffolding itself while the other members climbed up the scaffolding's support beams. Sasquatchanakwa quickly noticed them and picked up a barrel from a nearby pile, then tossed a barrel at Dave, then DJ. Both boys let out pained grunts and the camera cut to the sasquatch as he threw more barrels, the girls letting out grunts of their own. The camera cut to Anne Maria, Molly, and Scarlett as they landed on top of their male teammates.
The camera focused on Katie as she woke up from her unconscious state. "What the?" she wondered as she saw her teammates on the ground in pain and looked up to see Sasquatchanakwa holding Lindsay captive. "So it seems they tried to do the challenge, but were unlucky. I could flirt with the sasquatch, but that's, like, gross." She let out a quick whimper at the sight of it.
"I'll just have to distract the yeti in some way," Katie concluded before running up the scaffolding.
The Maggots got up in time to see their perky teammate run up to Sasquatchanakwa. "Wow. Katie's going for it," Dave sighted her.
Katie saw the barrels coming her way and jumped above all of them.
"Katie, watch out," Scarlett warned her.
Katie saw a hammer in her path and picked it up. "Thanks for letting me know! Now I can distract him!" She continued to jump over the barrels.
\
"Are you sure this will make me look good?" Sammy asked with a hint of skepticism in her voice as the scene cut to the Rats, her back to the camera as Sierra got to work with a powder puff in one hand and a make-up brush in the other. The boys watched with variable interest behind Sierra.
"Of course," Sierra reassured her. "My mother used this makeup for parties and it usually attracts attention from everybody that's in the room."
"I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but the Maggots are already ahead of us," Trent looked at their direction.
Geoff was shocked to hear that and grabbed Sierra's puff and brush. "We gotta hurry or else we'll be on the biggest losing streak!" he yelped and quickly applied makeup to Sammy.
"Finally!" Sammy said in relief. Trent gasped in shock and DJ, who was merely passing by, took a look at her and shrieked and fainted in terror.
Sammy puffed up proudly. "So that's what Francesca means about drop dead gorgeous. Alright yeti!" she called out as the camera showed her from the neck down walking away. "Your princess is here!"
"Why'd you rush the makeup process?" Scott asked after Sammy had left.
"I didn't think the yeti would be shallow," Geoff answered.
\
Back at the top of the scaffolding, Katie had gotten tired from all the running she had to do and resorted to dragging her hammer on the floor. She took a leap when she saw an oncoming barrel and fell face first on the floor. "I really need to be motivated right now."
"You're almost there. Get up," Dave called out supportedly.
"Go take down that giant hairball!" Molly encouraged.
"Don't fall off the scaffolding, Katie!" DJ advised her loudly.
Katie heard their encouragement and got up. "They're counting on me. I'm not gonna let them down."
Picking up her hammer, she dashed bravely to Sasquatchanakwa and threw the hammer at him, but he caught it with zero effort. He then grabbed Katie's head and effortlessly tossed her off the scaffolding, resulting in her landing in front of the Maggots with a thud.
"Are you gonna be okay?" Anne Maria bent down to check on her friend.
Katie got her head up. "I'm fine-kay!" she mumbled goofily.
\
A flash took the focus back to the top just as Sammy ran on to the scene, finally revealing the new look Geoff had given her – which amounted to large amounts of blue crayon as eye shadow and the bottom half of her face a swirl of red and green lipstick.
"Uhh...hey there...big yeti...," Sammy said awkwardly. "How's it like being... tall?"
Lindsay and Sasquatchanakwa stared at the made-up girl. "See? That's another what not to do." the blonde said to the ape-man before they burst into fits of laughter.
"Okay. I'm done here!" Sammy scowled, running forward to the surprise of the two non-competitors. She suddenly and swiftly kicked Sasquatchanakwa between the legs, sending him flying off the scaffolding.
DJ helped Katie off the floor. "You did good up there on your own."
"I may not be using technology right now, but that doesn't mean I can rely on it forever," Katie quoted before Sasquatchanakwa fell down at the spot she was just in.
"Team Rat, you've got immunity," Chris announced as he flew up with his jetpack, and the Rats on the ground cheered.
"Aww!" Molly griped as the camera panned to the disappointed faces of her and the Maggots.
Lindsay was currently applying makeup to herself until Sammy snatched it from her. She gasped, and then looked down at Geoff. "I would be mad, but I'm just glad this is all over."
"Time to head back to camp," Chris said, "Maggots," the shot cut down to them as they shared a nervous look, "you've got some voting to do."
\
An owl hooted as the footage flashed ahead to a shot of the island at night then zooming in to the campfire pit. Unusually, both teams were present – the Rats on the left, and the Maggots on the right.
"Well that was a complete fiasco!" Chris opened, him and Chef standing ready with their respective marshmallows. "Scarlett, your plans kept blowing up in your face and the yeti's," he said, the brainiac in the front row looking unnerved. "And Katie," the camera moved behind Scarlett, "you dropped the barrel on this one." She started to look nervous.
"As a result," the host continued, picking up two marshmallows from his tray as the camera cut to his close-up, "the first two to get their marshmallows are Dave and Anne Maria."
They caught their treats with smiles. "Also safe is Molly and DJ."
Molly smiled when she caught her marshmallow, though DJ looked a bit concerned.
"Now then, the Toxic Marshmallow of Loserdom goes to," Chris said as Chef took out the toxic marshmallow. As the tension built, the camera cut to close-ups of Scarlett's wide-eyed gaze, then to Katie's tensed-up face, and finally to Chris's impish smile as he announced...
"Katie."
The Influencer looked down and groaned. The toxic marshmallow bounced off her head and she winced.
"Sorry I messed up the challenge for us," Katie said as she stood up. "I really should depend less on using my vlogging experiences in situations."
"I'm just glad you were able to not go crazy without talking to your tablet," Dave smiled at her.
"I am going to miss your fashion skills," Anne Maria said to Katie.
"I'll miss you too," Katie promised before being grabbed by the back of her white hoodie courtesy of Chef and taken to the Hurl of Shame.
"Thank you Chef," Chris said with a smile. "Now for something very special. Toxic Rats, you're probably wondering why I asked you to sit in on this elimination ceremony." The shot cut to the team of five, all of them watching the host with anxious suspicion. "I'll need a strong volunteer from each team," he told them.
"Right here," Geoff said, standing up proudly from the Rats' front row.
"I'll volunteer!" DJ added from his seat next to Anne Maria.
"Pack your baa~ags!" Chris told them impishly.
"You're hurling them, too?!" Sierra asked in shock.
"Nah," Chris dismissed, "I don't give people time to pack before they get hurled! These two are switching teams!"
Everyone gasped but the two guys in question, who just smiled and walked towards their 'new' teammates, exchanging high-fives as they passed each other.
Geoff sat next to Anne Maria, who smiled lightly. "Looks like we're teammates now," Anne Maria said happily.
"This is gonna be sweet!" Geoff cheered, to which Scarlett took notice.
The shot cut to DJ as he stood in front of his new team. "Glad to have you on our team," Trent welcomed the friendly giant.
"I appreciate it, but there's something I have to do before I settle in with you guys," DJ informed his new team before jogging away.
\
The scene flashed to the docks, Katie sitting sadly in the bucket of the Hurl of Shame as Chris approached her. "Any last words before your ride to loserdom?" he asked in a taunting manner.
"Yeah," Katie nodded, the camera panning out to show Chef playing a game on her tablet. "Since I'm out of the game, can I have my tablet back?"
Chef finished the last level he was on and tossed the tablet back to Katie, who hugged her electronic cheerfully before putting it inside her pocket.
"Don't launch the catapult yet!" DJ yelled off-screen before coming into view and in front of Katie's eye.
"Wow! You came to see me before I left?" Katie chinned up with delight.
"Sure I did," DJ nodded.
Katie pulled out her slip of paper from the first episode and gave it to him. "If you want to see more of me, head over to my channel, like, comment, and subscribe."
DJ chuckled a bit from her line and pulled out a necklace and two bracelets made out of last episode's breakfast. "I made this for you just to give you something to remember me by."
Katie put on the meat-like necklace and bracelets. "Great minds really do think alike. Before I go, I just want to let you know that I've always been into YOU!" she yelled as she was catapulted off into the night.
DJ watched her fly off into the night, then dawned a look of sadness while walking back to his team. "I've always been into you too."
Chris laughed. "Oops," he turned and told the camera as the series's capstone theme began to play. "Who will be the next loser hurled? How much can we humiliate them first? And how will Dave try to hold in his bladder for another hour?"
"Hey!" Dave was heard saying.
Chris ignored him and finished his outro. "Find out next time, on Total! Drama! Revenge, of the Island!"
(Roll the Credits)
2023.06.07 05:29 xtremexavier15 TSROTI 6 (pt 1)
Toxic Rats: Geoff, Scott, Trent, Sammy, Sierra
Mutant Maggots: Anne Maria, Katie, Molly, Scarlett, Dave, DJ
Episode 06: Runaway Model
"Previously, on Total Drama Revenge of the Island!" Chris opened over a stock shot of Wawanakwa, the capstone theme starting up in the background. "The campers got deep," the recap montage opened with Sierra and Molly sinking to the lake bed in their antique diving suits, the former quickly getting held back by Fang, "in an underwater scavenger hunt."
"Sierra quickly got under her team's skin as soon as she came back," Sammy was shown upset with Sierra for taking a picture of her, "and Anne Maria and Geoff began to develop feelings for each other," the two were shown having a conversation with each other in the morning.
"In the end, Leshawna was tossed for swiping everybody's stuff," Sammy was shown tossing out everyone's belongings from the bag, "even though it was really Scott. Sneaky," the host added over Scott admitting his role in the confessional.
"It's now Team Maggot versus Team Rat," the host said, the Maggots' logo appearing on-screen against a radiant golden background. The logo rotated around into the Rats' logo, and a five-way split-screen of the Rats' remaining members rose up from the background – Trent in the upper left against a brownish-red backdrop; Geoff in the upper right against dark blue; Sierra in the middle top against orange; Sammy in the bottom left against turquoise; and Scott in the bottom right against yellow. "Will the Rats man up before they're a man down? Let's hope not," Chris said as the scene cut to him standing at the end of the dock with Chef. "There's nothing more entertaining than a man down."
As if on cue, the wood under Chef started to creak and crack, breaking away and sending Chef plunging into the lake with a startled scream. Chris laughed. "More where that came from, right now, on Total! Drama! Revenge of the Island!"
XXXXX
The sun was already high in the sky as the episode opened, and a loon cried out in the distance as the camera panned down onto DJ and Dave looking rather distressed outside the communal bathroom. The normal guy knocked on the door and asked "Is it our turn next?"
"Keep your panties on!" Anne Maria called out as the camera cut to the inside of the bathroom. The mirror on the back wall was too cracked and smudged to use, the trash can was grimy, and the strip of fly paper hanging in the corner was in need of a change, but nevertheless, Molly, Anne Maria, Katie, and Scarlett were still gathered along the countertop – Scarlett was sitting on the far left, Molly was plucking her unibrows, Katie was happily filing her nails, and Anne Maria was spraying her hair.
"Anne Maria?" Molly said. "Could I borrow some lipstick from you? I forgot it back at the cabin."
"You can help yourself, but don't go touching my hair spray," Anne Maria answered. She finished spraying her hair, and flicked it to show how bulletproof it was as it briefly shined. "Now that is how you do hair!"
"I prefer having a natural appearance," Scarlett clarified. "I'm mostly just here to wash my face and brush my teeth."
They later saw that Katie had pulled out a bag containing a makeup kit.
"What's that bag for?" Molly asked the influencer while brushing her hair.
"This is my portable makeup kit," Katie said. "If I need to get myself ready in the morning, this'll do the job in five minutes max."
"Do you carry that around with you at all times?" Anne Maria looked at the bag.
"Only when I'm traveling to places," Katie answered as she put on her lipstick. "I've done a lot of makeup tutorials with this thing, and they've skyrocketed my channel up to one million views."
"That's interesting to hear," Scarlett rolled her eyes. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'll be taking my leave."
Katie watched Scarlett and Anne Maria go, and turned to Molly. "By the way, you can borrow my lipstick too if you want."
Confessional: Katie
"Chris still has a hold of my tablet," Katie confessed. "I'm sure my subscribers are wondering why I'm inactive, but some of them will probably understand that I'm competing on a TV show."
Confessional: Molly
"Katie's been a lot more helpful to us with her device taken away, and now she wants to help me with fashion," Molly explained. "If that means she's not mad at me anymore, I'll take what I can get."
Confessional Ends
The scene flashed to the girls' side of the Rat cabin as Sammy said "I can't believe what happened last episode." The shot cut inside to show her sitting in her bunk bed. "Not only did people's belongings get taken, but Leshawna was pinned for it."
Sierra was using her phone until she heard Sammy. "What makes you so sure it wasn't Leshawna if the bag was under her bed?" the blogger emphasized.
"Someone else could've slipped it under there, and Leshawna's too respectful to touch our things!" Sammy enforced.
"I'll have to think about that more," Sierra said. "You know, this is the most I've ever heard you say."
"What do you mean?" Sammy asked.
"You're mostly silent, and also nervous most of the time," Sierra claimed.
"I just prefer keeping to myself," Sammy said. "I'm introverted."
"Have you managed to have any friends in your life?" Sierra wondered.
"I do, but I only have five friends," Sammy responded while holding her arm. "We make up the cheerleading team back home, and they really love and care about me, but they tend to forget about my own opinions."
"Have you ever told them it bothers you?" Sierra asked again.
"Not really. I don't want them to hate me," Sammy said sadly.
"I never had many friends, so I don't know how to help you there, but if you want to let them know something is wrong, just do it," Sierra shrugged. "I'm sure it can't hurt."
Confessional: Sammy
"Sierra may have a point. She's eccentric, but she definitely can be smart." Sammy admits. "My friends can drag me into activities I'm not interested in, although cheerleading is something I like to do."
Confessional Ends
The whining ring as the scene cut to a shot of one of the island's loudspeakers heralded a broadcast from Chris. "Iiiit's challenge time!" he began. "Campers~! Meet me on the other side of the island~!" he announced in an almost sing-song voice.
\
The footage immediately skipped ahead to the two teams already nearly assembled on two sets of low bleachers in a clearing lined with a handful of stage and spotlights. The five Rats were seated on the stands to the right of the camera, while DJ was just now filing in with his teammates on the left.
"Yo Katie," DJ greeted the girl. "Your hair is looking fantastic today.
"It's all thanks to this makeup kit," Katie showed her bag as DJ took his seat next to her. "It's really helpful for your looks."
The perspective inverted to reveal that the two teams had gathered before a large stage and runway, complete with a short catwalk and a large curtained-off backstage area. Chef was already waiting in the pink dress he'd worn to ceremonies back in season two, and Chris shortly joined him by way of descending from above with his jetpack. The host was wearing a sharp gray suit and fashionable glasses with tinted lens, but more noticeable were the changes to his hair – it was now pure white and long enough for him to sport a short ponytail.
Chef walked up as he landed and took the jetpack of his back, then walked away as Chris spread his arms and smiled. "Welcome to your challenge," he opened. "The Weird and Wild Fashion Spectacular!" He took a paper fan out of his breast pocket and waved it a bit as he spread his arms even wider.
"We're doing a fashion challenge? Awesome!" Molly cheered.
"Fashion? Now you're talkin'!" Anne Maria sprayed her hair about while complimenting Chris.
"You won't be walking the catwalk," Chris started to fan himself, "no-no-no-no. No amount of fashion can help you people."
"You don't say?" Dave mumbled to himself.
"Here's how it's gonna work," Chris continued. "Each team gets a wardrobe of clothes," the camera cut to a dresser, clothes rack, and several pieces of luggage on the side of the stage, "a make-up kit, and ten minutes to dress and make up a model." Chef held up an hourglass and glared mutely at the camera. "Which, you'll send down the runway," the shot zoomed in on the host's fan as he walked his fingers across it, "to be judged by myself, Chef, and today's Total Drama classic competitor, Lindsay!"
One of the suitcases on the side of the stage popped open, revealing the former contestant. "Yay! Don't you just love my new, special fashion boots?" Lindsay asked the campers, raising a leg to show off blue boots different from her regular brown ones.
"Wait, we get to dress an actual model!" Trent got excited.
"Uh-huh," Chris said, scraping some white powder off his shoulder with his fan. "Right after you catch one."
"Catch a model?" Geoff wondered. "Why would one even come to this island?"
"Did I say human models?" Chris corrected, fanning himself again as he walked across the stage. "Don't think so! No, your models are in there!" He thrust his finger off to the right, forcing Lindsay to duck under his arm. The camera quick-panned to the woods just as an earth-shattering roar shook the area.
"They're wild! They're mutated!" Chris told the campers, the camera moving behind his back. "And like me, they despise teenagers." The five Rats were shown looking shocked and concerned.
"Okay fashionistas," the host said in a campy accent, "go!" He blew his airhorn again, and the campers ran off.
\
The footage flashed ahead to a trail in the woods, Sierra and Geoff searching behind a rock and Sammy looking at a bush in the background while DJ walked by in the foreground. The camera panned to the right and stopped on Anne Maria and Scarlett, who were warily looking upwards.
Something croaked above them and the shot cut to a small frog, seemingly normal aside from an eye stalk on the top of its head, sitting on a branch. With a grunt of effort, Molly pounced on it from the right, and smiled when she opened her hands and saw she'd caught it. Unfortunately for her, the mutant frog produced an odd noise and flash of light, blinking out of sight but quickly reappearing on top of the confused young woman's head. With another noise and flash of light it disappeared, this time bringing Molly with it, and they blinked back into existence in mid-air a few yards away. Molly screamed as she started to fall, and the mutant frog teleported away to presumed safety before its failed assailant landed with a crash on the forest floor.
\
In another part of the forest, Trent was looking around absentmindedly while approaching what appeared to be a gigantic turtle shell, a short and spiky tail poking out of one end. The boy tapped the tail with his foot, but gasped when the tail suddenly wrapped around his leg and pulled him inside the shell. The beast inside growled and stood up, its stout legs and turtle head popping out of the shell's holes...along with Trent. With another growl, the mutant punched him away, and he landed in a heap with a pained groan.
\
The camera cut next to what appeared to be an ordinary beaver sitting perfectly still just at the edge of a bush. Dave rose, grinning from another bush in the background, then pounced upon it. His jubilation quickly faded into confusion as the unmoving beaver was somehow lifted up by its tail, taking Dave with it.
The shot cut outward to reveal the beaver has no more than a lure of a large bipedal anglerfish-like monster, which promptly roared. Katie, who was standing nearby, promptly ran away, and was soon followed by Dave and the angler mutant.
\
Another flash moved the focus to a close-up of a slice of pepperoni pizza, lying on the ground in the middle of a loop of rope that led off to the left. "Pizza? What's this doing here?" Scott said, the camera zooming out to show him looking down at it. He looked up and tilted his head, and the shot cut over to none other than Fang not quite hidden behind a tree, an axe in one hand and the anchored rope of his snare trap in the other.
Scott knew what was going to happen, but decided to have a little fun. "Too bad there's pepperoni on it, otherwise I'd totally eat that," he said loud enough for the shark to hear as he walked off.
Fang palmed his face and walked over to the slice and started picking the toppings off of it. Meanwhile, Scott used his shark tooth to cut the rope of the snare.
The effect was instant. Fang was hoisted up in the air by his wrist, and Scott came over to where the pizza was. "Oh perfect! No pepperoni!!" He picked up the pizza and ate it as he left, the shark growling at him as he was hung up.
\
The scene cut abruptly to a massive mutant brawl between a massive two-headed rabbit, two spiny woolly beavers, and a hairless squirrel zapping them with its eye-lasers from a nearby branch. The camera panned left as a giant hermit crab scuttled up and snapped its claws, with Trent, Sammy, and Geoff watching from behind a bush in the background with wide eyes.
"So which one do we use?" Geoff asked.
"Uh, maybe we should find something that can't eat us," Sammy replied.
A whine signaled the loudspeaker turning on once again, and soon enough Chris's announcement rang through the air. "Five minutes, people!"
"Hey, Rats!" Sierra quickly followed, directing her teammates' attention to their right. "Why don't we use that rat?" he asked, the shot cutting to a close-up of a small rat happily chewing on a leaf atop a fallen log. A large hairless rat jumped onto the log, quickly stuffed the rat into its mouth, then chittered and looked around.
"It'd be easy to catch and dress. It just needs a little more domestication," Trent proudly said.
"That's a good plan," Scott supported with a grin.
"Stand back," Geoff told everybody and went towards the rat's direction. "I have an idea for the fashion style."
\
"Don't give up yet! There's gotta be something on this island we can catch!" Molly told her teammates, the Maggots now hunkering down behind a bush.
"How about that critter?" DJ looked over the bush, and the shot cut to none other than Sasquatchanakwa walking into a cave, oblivious to the teens watching him.
"How are we gonna get him out of that cave?" Dave asked.
Scarlett smirked. "I've conducted a plan, but I need a bag for this," she told her teammates.
\
The Maggots were back on the stage watching Scarlett seated near Katie's makeup bag. She folded a few clothes together, squirted it with glue, and shook the bag together.
"This is what I call a "Detonating Duffel Bag," Scarlett talked about her creation. "It can and will dress any target within its sixty foot blast radius! With a mix of glue and clothes it'll be unremarkably simple to just launch the bag at the animal."
Confessional: Anne Maria
"I like her way of thinking," Anne Maria told the camera, "even if I don't understand what she's saying half the time."
Confessional Ends
Katie picked up her bag and looked at what was inside. "Puffy sweater vests? Plaid skirts? High knee socks? It seems you just put together an outfit that resembles yourself, Scarlett."
"Katie has a point," Dave told the brainiac. "You clearly made the outfit something you yourself would like instead of what everyone would like."
Scarlett was annoyed. "So what else should we use instead?"
"How about we compare our fashion styles and see what we'll all agree on," Katie suggested.
"That can work," DJ nodded. "To our cabins!"
\
The scene immediately flashed away to the Rats where their own rat has been dressed by Geoff.
"This rat looks ready to party and have fun!" Geoff described his choice as the rat was wearing a black collared shirt, a brown cap, a black chain necklace, and gray sneakers.
The rat expressed its dislike of the party style by ripping the clothes into shreds.
"Seems the rat isn't a big fan of the choice of fashion," Scott said.
A sudden ringing got the team's attention, and Chris announced "Three minutes remaining!" over an unseen loudspeaker.
"If you guys don't mind, I'll take a crack at it," Sammy offered.
\
The scene cut back to the Maggot cabin, where the team were inside the girls' side of the cabin.
"So these are what we normally wear," Katie said as she presented a row of clothes on the bunk bed. From left-to-right, it showed clothes belonging to Scarlett, Anne Maria, DJ, Dave, Molly, and Katie.
"That's correct," Anne Maria agreed, "but why are our clothes all lined up?"
"You know how some teams normally can't agree on anything, right?" Katie started her conversation.
"You're right about that," Molly said.
"So what if instead of arguing, we just combine our fashion styles into one big burrito?" Katie said extravagantly.
"A fashion mesh? That's a weird way to go, but I don't want to argue right now," Dave told them.
"If I had my sewing kit, I'd whip up a line of clothing suited to fit our animal, but since we're running out of time, let's just try to stuff all our clothes into the bag," Molly suggested.
"I'll add some dye colors inside just to make our colors clash," Katie said.
"I'll assist as well, but let's make sure to actually fold our clothes," Dave emphasized.
"Agreed," Scarlett said. "We want to make our outfit mash look as clean and fresh as possible."
"Now that we have a plan, let's get right to it," Molly encouraged the team.
Confessional: Dave
"I don't like to give away my clothes, but once I realized that I only have to give two pairs, I went along with the plan," Dave admitted.
Confessional Ends
The scene flashed back to the Rats, the camera positioned close to Sammy's face but focused on her four teammates behind her. The camera zoomed out as they watched her tighten a piece of cloth over their rat model.
"That should be about it," Sammy said. "Me and my friends tend to design clothes during our sleepovers."
"It's not bad, Sammy," Geoff started to say.
"I think you did a wonderful job," Trent critiqued.
Another ringing got their attention, and they looked up towards an unseen loudspeaker as Chris announced "One minute!"
"It's good enough," Scott declared. "Let's get back to Chris."
\
The scene flashed back to the Maggots hiding behind a rock near Sasquatchanakwa's cave.
"This DDD is ready for action," DJ held up the bag.
"What does it stand for exactly?" Anne Maria asked him.
"Detonating Duffel Bag," DJ made it more clear before tossing the bag over to Katie. "Go long!"
Katie ran towards the cave with the bag in hand as the scene cut to the inside. Sasquatchanakwa was sitting in a wooden armchair, drinking a can of soda and watching some jaunty-themed show on an old television set when Katie's bag landed in his lap. With a curious grunt he looked at the bag.
That's when the explosion happened, and when it did, the yeti let out a frightening roar, scaring the Maggots.
"That doesn't sound good!" Katie panicked.
Confessional: Katie
"I don't know if running away from Sasquatchanakwa is worse than hurting him," Katie said. "I'm not the fastest runner, but I'm not going to die."
Confessional Ends
The scene cut to a spotlight as it turned on; then a couple stage lights turning on as well; then a mutant squirrel hopping up next to a book-reading bear which lowered its book to reveal its three eyes, both animals looking at something curiously; then the stage and catwalk, Chris front and center with Chef and Lindsay – the former in sort of rapper-ish outfit with a red tracksuit and hat, earphones, and gold chains – sitting at the judge's table.
"It's freaky forest fashion time!" the host announced. "Rat-istas," he turned and pointed his fan backstage, "show me somethin' fierce." The five Rats walked out on stage, Geoff, Trent, and Sierra on the left with Sammy and Scott on the right.
"Chef, drop that needle!" Chris commanded next, the shot cutting to a close-up of a record turntable as the needle was dropped onto the spinning disc and a trendy tune began to play. The camera zoomed out, and Chef gave the host and campers a thumbs-up.
"This small rodent is wearing a fresh, popstar fashion style like no one else's," Sierra began smoothly, motioning to the gap between her and Sammy as their model reluctantly scurried out on all fours but continued down the runway on its hind legs. It was wearing a pink wig and a purple dress with white stripes. The camera followed it as it walked along looking both nervous and awkward, Sierra continuing her piece all the while. "Her pink hair matches well with her diva attitude and her dress screams fame." She finished with a grimace.
"A bit typical and overly glamorous," Chris said as the rat reached the end of the catwalk. "I give it an 8.5," the host announced as he held up a placard with his score.
The Rats shouted cheers of victory.
Chef held up an 8.0.
Lindsay held up a 1.8 to the uproar of the Rats. She realized her mistake and flipped her placard upside down, showing an 8.1. "Oops."
"Okay," Chris said tersely, looking back towards the catwalk. "Show me what you've got, Maggots!" he called out, the trendy music resuming as the shot cut back to the stage, showing it utterly empty. The camera zoomed in and the music kept playing, but for several more seconds there was still no movement backstage. "...Maggots?" Chris called out again and finally Katie ran out screaming at the top of her lungs.
"As you can see, the yeti is wearing a mix of several different styles based upon us," Katie said as her team quickly ran out to join her.
All six looked towards the backstage curtain, and the furious sasquatch growled and chased after them. His outfit consisted of several different styles – white sneakers resembling Katie's, long white socks resembling Scarlett's, pants resembling Anne Maria's, a blue and yellow collared shirt resembling Dave's, glasses resembling Molly's, and a hat resembling DJ's.
"The outfit consists of a variety of garments applied forcefully to random parts of his body," Katie said, cringing in terror as her team's model quickly tossed Scarlett, Dave, and Molly away again while DJ and Anne Maria quickly got off the stage. The ape-man grabbed her after she finished.
The music stopped, and Sasquatchanakwa finally noticed the three judges just as the first one spoke up. "That thing is huge," Lindsay gasped at the sight of the model before her, "but the outfit had too many themes. Maybe stick to just one next time."
"I agree with Lindsay," Chris admitted, fanning himself again. "It hardly complements the Yeti's husky physique."
Confessional: Katie
"Going with Scarlett's first idea for the yeti would have been boring," Katie groaned in disappointment, "but at least the yeti probably wouldn't have gotten as mad right now."
Confessional Ends
Still holding Katie, Sasquatchanakwa saw what he was wearing. Angry at the 6-way outfit put on him, he threw Katie away, took off the hat and glasses, kicked off the shoes and socks, and ripped off the pants and shirt.
"Chris is right. The team are too different-" Lindsay tried to say, but was cut off when the yeti suddenly reached forward and grabbed her by the head, yanking her out of her seat. The shot zoomed out as an engine whirred to life, revealing that Sasquatchanakwa had also commandeered Chris's jetpack. With the captive dumb princess in his arms, he took off into the air.
"Hey, he took my jetpack!" Chris quickly protested. The shot cut back to the ape-man and dumb blonde as Lindsay screamed, and Saquatchanakwa flew off to the foggy and ominous crags of Boney Island.
"Uh-huh...," Chris said blankly, still fanning himself. "Will Lindsay survive?" he asked the camera, lifting up his shades. "And am I legally liable if she doesn't? Find out, after the break."
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(Commercial Break)
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submitted by xtremexavier15 to u/xtremexavier15 [link] [comments]
Mutant Maggots: Anne Maria, Katie, Molly, Scarlett, Dave, DJ
Episode 06: Runaway Model
"Previously, on Total Drama Revenge of the Island!" Chris opened over a stock shot of Wawanakwa, the capstone theme starting up in the background. "The campers got deep," the recap montage opened with Sierra and Molly sinking to the lake bed in their antique diving suits, the former quickly getting held back by Fang, "in an underwater scavenger hunt."
"Sierra quickly got under her team's skin as soon as she came back," Sammy was shown upset with Sierra for taking a picture of her, "and Anne Maria and Geoff began to develop feelings for each other," the two were shown having a conversation with each other in the morning.
"In the end, Leshawna was tossed for swiping everybody's stuff," Sammy was shown tossing out everyone's belongings from the bag, "even though it was really Scott. Sneaky," the host added over Scott admitting his role in the confessional.
"It's now Team Maggot versus Team Rat," the host said, the Maggots' logo appearing on-screen against a radiant golden background. The logo rotated around into the Rats' logo, and a five-way split-screen of the Rats' remaining members rose up from the background – Trent in the upper left against a brownish-red backdrop; Geoff in the upper right against dark blue; Sierra in the middle top against orange; Sammy in the bottom left against turquoise; and Scott in the bottom right against yellow. "Will the Rats man up before they're a man down? Let's hope not," Chris said as the scene cut to him standing at the end of the dock with Chef. "There's nothing more entertaining than a man down."
As if on cue, the wood under Chef started to creak and crack, breaking away and sending Chef plunging into the lake with a startled scream. Chris laughed. "More where that came from, right now, on Total! Drama! Revenge of the Island!"
XXXXX
The sun was already high in the sky as the episode opened, and a loon cried out in the distance as the camera panned down onto DJ and Dave looking rather distressed outside the communal bathroom. The normal guy knocked on the door and asked "Is it our turn next?"
"Keep your panties on!" Anne Maria called out as the camera cut to the inside of the bathroom. The mirror on the back wall was too cracked and smudged to use, the trash can was grimy, and the strip of fly paper hanging in the corner was in need of a change, but nevertheless, Molly, Anne Maria, Katie, and Scarlett were still gathered along the countertop – Scarlett was sitting on the far left, Molly was plucking her unibrows, Katie was happily filing her nails, and Anne Maria was spraying her hair.
"Anne Maria?" Molly said. "Could I borrow some lipstick from you? I forgot it back at the cabin."
"You can help yourself, but don't go touching my hair spray," Anne Maria answered. She finished spraying her hair, and flicked it to show how bulletproof it was as it briefly shined. "Now that is how you do hair!"
"I prefer having a natural appearance," Scarlett clarified. "I'm mostly just here to wash my face and brush my teeth."
They later saw that Katie had pulled out a bag containing a makeup kit.
"What's that bag for?" Molly asked the influencer while brushing her hair.
"This is my portable makeup kit," Katie said. "If I need to get myself ready in the morning, this'll do the job in five minutes max."
"Do you carry that around with you at all times?" Anne Maria looked at the bag.
"Only when I'm traveling to places," Katie answered as she put on her lipstick. "I've done a lot of makeup tutorials with this thing, and they've skyrocketed my channel up to one million views."
"That's interesting to hear," Scarlett rolled her eyes. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'll be taking my leave."
Katie watched Scarlett and Anne Maria go, and turned to Molly. "By the way, you can borrow my lipstick too if you want."
Confessional: Katie
"Chris still has a hold of my tablet," Katie confessed. "I'm sure my subscribers are wondering why I'm inactive, but some of them will probably understand that I'm competing on a TV show."
Confessional: Molly
"Katie's been a lot more helpful to us with her device taken away, and now she wants to help me with fashion," Molly explained. "If that means she's not mad at me anymore, I'll take what I can get."
Confessional Ends
The scene flashed to the girls' side of the Rat cabin as Sammy said "I can't believe what happened last episode." The shot cut inside to show her sitting in her bunk bed. "Not only did people's belongings get taken, but Leshawna was pinned for it."
Sierra was using her phone until she heard Sammy. "What makes you so sure it wasn't Leshawna if the bag was under her bed?" the blogger emphasized.
"Someone else could've slipped it under there, and Leshawna's too respectful to touch our things!" Sammy enforced.
"I'll have to think about that more," Sierra said. "You know, this is the most I've ever heard you say."
"What do you mean?" Sammy asked.
"You're mostly silent, and also nervous most of the time," Sierra claimed.
"I just prefer keeping to myself," Sammy said. "I'm introverted."
"Have you managed to have any friends in your life?" Sierra wondered.
"I do, but I only have five friends," Sammy responded while holding her arm. "We make up the cheerleading team back home, and they really love and care about me, but they tend to forget about my own opinions."
"Have you ever told them it bothers you?" Sierra asked again.
"Not really. I don't want them to hate me," Sammy said sadly.
"I never had many friends, so I don't know how to help you there, but if you want to let them know something is wrong, just do it," Sierra shrugged. "I'm sure it can't hurt."
Confessional: Sammy
"Sierra may have a point. She's eccentric, but she definitely can be smart." Sammy admits. "My friends can drag me into activities I'm not interested in, although cheerleading is something I like to do."
Confessional Ends
The whining ring as the scene cut to a shot of one of the island's loudspeakers heralded a broadcast from Chris. "Iiiit's challenge time!" he began. "Campers~! Meet me on the other side of the island~!" he announced in an almost sing-song voice.
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The footage immediately skipped ahead to the two teams already nearly assembled on two sets of low bleachers in a clearing lined with a handful of stage and spotlights. The five Rats were seated on the stands to the right of the camera, while DJ was just now filing in with his teammates on the left.
"Yo Katie," DJ greeted the girl. "Your hair is looking fantastic today.
"It's all thanks to this makeup kit," Katie showed her bag as DJ took his seat next to her. "It's really helpful for your looks."
The perspective inverted to reveal that the two teams had gathered before a large stage and runway, complete with a short catwalk and a large curtained-off backstage area. Chef was already waiting in the pink dress he'd worn to ceremonies back in season two, and Chris shortly joined him by way of descending from above with his jetpack. The host was wearing a sharp gray suit and fashionable glasses with tinted lens, but more noticeable were the changes to his hair – it was now pure white and long enough for him to sport a short ponytail.
Chef walked up as he landed and took the jetpack of his back, then walked away as Chris spread his arms and smiled. "Welcome to your challenge," he opened. "The Weird and Wild Fashion Spectacular!" He took a paper fan out of his breast pocket and waved it a bit as he spread his arms even wider.
"We're doing a fashion challenge? Awesome!" Molly cheered.
"Fashion? Now you're talkin'!" Anne Maria sprayed her hair about while complimenting Chris.
"You won't be walking the catwalk," Chris started to fan himself, "no-no-no-no. No amount of fashion can help you people."
"You don't say?" Dave mumbled to himself.
"Here's how it's gonna work," Chris continued. "Each team gets a wardrobe of clothes," the camera cut to a dresser, clothes rack, and several pieces of luggage on the side of the stage, "a make-up kit, and ten minutes to dress and make up a model." Chef held up an hourglass and glared mutely at the camera. "Which, you'll send down the runway," the shot zoomed in on the host's fan as he walked his fingers across it, "to be judged by myself, Chef, and today's Total Drama classic competitor, Lindsay!"
One of the suitcases on the side of the stage popped open, revealing the former contestant. "Yay! Don't you just love my new, special fashion boots?" Lindsay asked the campers, raising a leg to show off blue boots different from her regular brown ones.
"Wait, we get to dress an actual model!" Trent got excited.
"Uh-huh," Chris said, scraping some white powder off his shoulder with his fan. "Right after you catch one."
"Catch a model?" Geoff wondered. "Why would one even come to this island?"
"Did I say human models?" Chris corrected, fanning himself again as he walked across the stage. "Don't think so! No, your models are in there!" He thrust his finger off to the right, forcing Lindsay to duck under his arm. The camera quick-panned to the woods just as an earth-shattering roar shook the area.
"They're wild! They're mutated!" Chris told the campers, the camera moving behind his back. "And like me, they despise teenagers." The five Rats were shown looking shocked and concerned.
"Okay fashionistas," the host said in a campy accent, "go!" He blew his airhorn again, and the campers ran off.
\
The footage flashed ahead to a trail in the woods, Sierra and Geoff searching behind a rock and Sammy looking at a bush in the background while DJ walked by in the foreground. The camera panned to the right and stopped on Anne Maria and Scarlett, who were warily looking upwards.
Something croaked above them and the shot cut to a small frog, seemingly normal aside from an eye stalk on the top of its head, sitting on a branch. With a grunt of effort, Molly pounced on it from the right, and smiled when she opened her hands and saw she'd caught it. Unfortunately for her, the mutant frog produced an odd noise and flash of light, blinking out of sight but quickly reappearing on top of the confused young woman's head. With another noise and flash of light it disappeared, this time bringing Molly with it, and they blinked back into existence in mid-air a few yards away. Molly screamed as she started to fall, and the mutant frog teleported away to presumed safety before its failed assailant landed with a crash on the forest floor.
\
In another part of the forest, Trent was looking around absentmindedly while approaching what appeared to be a gigantic turtle shell, a short and spiky tail poking out of one end. The boy tapped the tail with his foot, but gasped when the tail suddenly wrapped around his leg and pulled him inside the shell. The beast inside growled and stood up, its stout legs and turtle head popping out of the shell's holes...along with Trent. With another growl, the mutant punched him away, and he landed in a heap with a pained groan.
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The camera cut next to what appeared to be an ordinary beaver sitting perfectly still just at the edge of a bush. Dave rose, grinning from another bush in the background, then pounced upon it. His jubilation quickly faded into confusion as the unmoving beaver was somehow lifted up by its tail, taking Dave with it.
The shot cut outward to reveal the beaver has no more than a lure of a large bipedal anglerfish-like monster, which promptly roared. Katie, who was standing nearby, promptly ran away, and was soon followed by Dave and the angler mutant.
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Another flash moved the focus to a close-up of a slice of pepperoni pizza, lying on the ground in the middle of a loop of rope that led off to the left. "Pizza? What's this doing here?" Scott said, the camera zooming out to show him looking down at it. He looked up and tilted his head, and the shot cut over to none other than Fang not quite hidden behind a tree, an axe in one hand and the anchored rope of his snare trap in the other.
Scott knew what was going to happen, but decided to have a little fun. "Too bad there's pepperoni on it, otherwise I'd totally eat that," he said loud enough for the shark to hear as he walked off.
Fang palmed his face and walked over to the slice and started picking the toppings off of it. Meanwhile, Scott used his shark tooth to cut the rope of the snare.
The effect was instant. Fang was hoisted up in the air by his wrist, and Scott came over to where the pizza was. "Oh perfect! No pepperoni!!" He picked up the pizza and ate it as he left, the shark growling at him as he was hung up.
\
The scene cut abruptly to a massive mutant brawl between a massive two-headed rabbit, two spiny woolly beavers, and a hairless squirrel zapping them with its eye-lasers from a nearby branch. The camera panned left as a giant hermit crab scuttled up and snapped its claws, with Trent, Sammy, and Geoff watching from behind a bush in the background with wide eyes.
"So which one do we use?" Geoff asked.
"Uh, maybe we should find something that can't eat us," Sammy replied.
A whine signaled the loudspeaker turning on once again, and soon enough Chris's announcement rang through the air. "Five minutes, people!"
"Hey, Rats!" Sierra quickly followed, directing her teammates' attention to their right. "Why don't we use that rat?" he asked, the shot cutting to a close-up of a small rat happily chewing on a leaf atop a fallen log. A large hairless rat jumped onto the log, quickly stuffed the rat into its mouth, then chittered and looked around.
"It'd be easy to catch and dress. It just needs a little more domestication," Trent proudly said.
"That's a good plan," Scott supported with a grin.
"Stand back," Geoff told everybody and went towards the rat's direction. "I have an idea for the fashion style."
\
"Don't give up yet! There's gotta be something on this island we can catch!" Molly told her teammates, the Maggots now hunkering down behind a bush.
"How about that critter?" DJ looked over the bush, and the shot cut to none other than Sasquatchanakwa walking into a cave, oblivious to the teens watching him.
"How are we gonna get him out of that cave?" Dave asked.
Scarlett smirked. "I've conducted a plan, but I need a bag for this," she told her teammates.
\
The Maggots were back on the stage watching Scarlett seated near Katie's makeup bag. She folded a few clothes together, squirted it with glue, and shook the bag together.
"This is what I call a "Detonating Duffel Bag," Scarlett talked about her creation. "It can and will dress any target within its sixty foot blast radius! With a mix of glue and clothes it'll be unremarkably simple to just launch the bag at the animal."
Confessional: Anne Maria
"I like her way of thinking," Anne Maria told the camera, "even if I don't understand what she's saying half the time."
Confessional Ends
Katie picked up her bag and looked at what was inside. "Puffy sweater vests? Plaid skirts? High knee socks? It seems you just put together an outfit that resembles yourself, Scarlett."
"Katie has a point," Dave told the brainiac. "You clearly made the outfit something you yourself would like instead of what everyone would like."
Scarlett was annoyed. "So what else should we use instead?"
"How about we compare our fashion styles and see what we'll all agree on," Katie suggested.
"That can work," DJ nodded. "To our cabins!"
\
The scene immediately flashed away to the Rats where their own rat has been dressed by Geoff.
"This rat looks ready to party and have fun!" Geoff described his choice as the rat was wearing a black collared shirt, a brown cap, a black chain necklace, and gray sneakers.
The rat expressed its dislike of the party style by ripping the clothes into shreds.
"Seems the rat isn't a big fan of the choice of fashion," Scott said.
A sudden ringing got the team's attention, and Chris announced "Three minutes remaining!" over an unseen loudspeaker.
"If you guys don't mind, I'll take a crack at it," Sammy offered.
\
The scene cut back to the Maggot cabin, where the team were inside the girls' side of the cabin.
"So these are what we normally wear," Katie said as she presented a row of clothes on the bunk bed. From left-to-right, it showed clothes belonging to Scarlett, Anne Maria, DJ, Dave, Molly, and Katie.
"That's correct," Anne Maria agreed, "but why are our clothes all lined up?"
"You know how some teams normally can't agree on anything, right?" Katie started her conversation.
"You're right about that," Molly said.
"So what if instead of arguing, we just combine our fashion styles into one big burrito?" Katie said extravagantly.
"A fashion mesh? That's a weird way to go, but I don't want to argue right now," Dave told them.
"If I had my sewing kit, I'd whip up a line of clothing suited to fit our animal, but since we're running out of time, let's just try to stuff all our clothes into the bag," Molly suggested.
"I'll add some dye colors inside just to make our colors clash," Katie said.
"I'll assist as well, but let's make sure to actually fold our clothes," Dave emphasized.
"Agreed," Scarlett said. "We want to make our outfit mash look as clean and fresh as possible."
"Now that we have a plan, let's get right to it," Molly encouraged the team.
Confessional: Dave
"I don't like to give away my clothes, but once I realized that I only have to give two pairs, I went along with the plan," Dave admitted.
Confessional Ends
The scene flashed back to the Rats, the camera positioned close to Sammy's face but focused on her four teammates behind her. The camera zoomed out as they watched her tighten a piece of cloth over their rat model.
"That should be about it," Sammy said. "Me and my friends tend to design clothes during our sleepovers."
"It's not bad, Sammy," Geoff started to say.
"I think you did a wonderful job," Trent critiqued.
Another ringing got their attention, and they looked up towards an unseen loudspeaker as Chris announced "One minute!"
"It's good enough," Scott declared. "Let's get back to Chris."
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The scene flashed back to the Maggots hiding behind a rock near Sasquatchanakwa's cave.
"This DDD is ready for action," DJ held up the bag.
"What does it stand for exactly?" Anne Maria asked him.
"Detonating Duffel Bag," DJ made it more clear before tossing the bag over to Katie. "Go long!"
Katie ran towards the cave with the bag in hand as the scene cut to the inside. Sasquatchanakwa was sitting in a wooden armchair, drinking a can of soda and watching some jaunty-themed show on an old television set when Katie's bag landed in his lap. With a curious grunt he looked at the bag.
That's when the explosion happened, and when it did, the yeti let out a frightening roar, scaring the Maggots.
"That doesn't sound good!" Katie panicked.
Confessional: Katie
"I don't know if running away from Sasquatchanakwa is worse than hurting him," Katie said. "I'm not the fastest runner, but I'm not going to die."
Confessional Ends
The scene cut to a spotlight as it turned on; then a couple stage lights turning on as well; then a mutant squirrel hopping up next to a book-reading bear which lowered its book to reveal its three eyes, both animals looking at something curiously; then the stage and catwalk, Chris front and center with Chef and Lindsay – the former in sort of rapper-ish outfit with a red tracksuit and hat, earphones, and gold chains – sitting at the judge's table.
"It's freaky forest fashion time!" the host announced. "Rat-istas," he turned and pointed his fan backstage, "show me somethin' fierce." The five Rats walked out on stage, Geoff, Trent, and Sierra on the left with Sammy and Scott on the right.
"Chef, drop that needle!" Chris commanded next, the shot cutting to a close-up of a record turntable as the needle was dropped onto the spinning disc and a trendy tune began to play. The camera zoomed out, and Chef gave the host and campers a thumbs-up.
"This small rodent is wearing a fresh, popstar fashion style like no one else's," Sierra began smoothly, motioning to the gap between her and Sammy as their model reluctantly scurried out on all fours but continued down the runway on its hind legs. It was wearing a pink wig and a purple dress with white stripes. The camera followed it as it walked along looking both nervous and awkward, Sierra continuing her piece all the while. "Her pink hair matches well with her diva attitude and her dress screams fame." She finished with a grimace.
"A bit typical and overly glamorous," Chris said as the rat reached the end of the catwalk. "I give it an 8.5," the host announced as he held up a placard with his score.
The Rats shouted cheers of victory.
Chef held up an 8.0.
Lindsay held up a 1.8 to the uproar of the Rats. She realized her mistake and flipped her placard upside down, showing an 8.1. "Oops."
"Okay," Chris said tersely, looking back towards the catwalk. "Show me what you've got, Maggots!" he called out, the trendy music resuming as the shot cut back to the stage, showing it utterly empty. The camera zoomed in and the music kept playing, but for several more seconds there was still no movement backstage. "...Maggots?" Chris called out again and finally Katie ran out screaming at the top of her lungs.
"As you can see, the yeti is wearing a mix of several different styles based upon us," Katie said as her team quickly ran out to join her.
All six looked towards the backstage curtain, and the furious sasquatch growled and chased after them. His outfit consisted of several different styles – white sneakers resembling Katie's, long white socks resembling Scarlett's, pants resembling Anne Maria's, a blue and yellow collared shirt resembling Dave's, glasses resembling Molly's, and a hat resembling DJ's.
"The outfit consists of a variety of garments applied forcefully to random parts of his body," Katie said, cringing in terror as her team's model quickly tossed Scarlett, Dave, and Molly away again while DJ and Anne Maria quickly got off the stage. The ape-man grabbed her after she finished.
The music stopped, and Sasquatchanakwa finally noticed the three judges just as the first one spoke up. "That thing is huge," Lindsay gasped at the sight of the model before her, "but the outfit had too many themes. Maybe stick to just one next time."
"I agree with Lindsay," Chris admitted, fanning himself again. "It hardly complements the Yeti's husky physique."
Confessional: Katie
"Going with Scarlett's first idea for the yeti would have been boring," Katie groaned in disappointment, "but at least the yeti probably wouldn't have gotten as mad right now."
Confessional Ends
Still holding Katie, Sasquatchanakwa saw what he was wearing. Angry at the 6-way outfit put on him, he threw Katie away, took off the hat and glasses, kicked off the shoes and socks, and ripped off the pants and shirt.
"Chris is right. The team are too different-" Lindsay tried to say, but was cut off when the yeti suddenly reached forward and grabbed her by the head, yanking her out of her seat. The shot zoomed out as an engine whirred to life, revealing that Sasquatchanakwa had also commandeered Chris's jetpack. With the captive dumb princess in his arms, he took off into the air.
"Hey, he took my jetpack!" Chris quickly protested. The shot cut back to the ape-man and dumb blonde as Lindsay screamed, and Saquatchanakwa flew off to the foggy and ominous crags of Boney Island.
"Uh-huh...," Chris said blankly, still fanning himself. "Will Lindsay survive?" he asked the camera, lifting up his shades. "And am I legally liable if she doesn't? Find out, after the break."
\
(Commercial Break)
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2023.06.07 02:57 missjeanlouise12 [SELL][US to anywhere]$10 palette section includes indies and mainstream; other indie and mainstream palettes, nail polish, eye and lip products. Brands include Sugarpill, Sigma, MAC, Nars, Chanel, KimChi, Viseart and more
Hello, and welcome to my sale!
I go by timestamps in this thread, so please do not message me until we have come to an agreement about pricing. I accept PayPal Goods and Services and will cover associated fees. I’ll hold items for a couple of hours unless you request differently, and will then move on to the next interested party if there is one. Some items may be posted on multiple platforms and I will usually go by timestamps across all platforms, but do reserve the right to prioritize buyers who will be purchasing multiple items.
Shipping starts at $5.00 for light items within the continental US and will increase with weight and distance. Palettes and nail polish are likely to cost more. I'm happy to ship internationally as long as you understand that postage can be costly. I do look for the best rates, domestic or international, and I ship quickly. Unfortunately, postage rates have increased and there’s only so much I can do. No minimum purchase.
I have marked a lot of things down significantly, including many $10 palettes, indie shadows in the $2-$6 range, and cut prices on everything. I can’t say for sure how much more flexibility I can offer, but try making me an offer rather than closing out and moving on!
I’ve added swatch pictures that I found online for many of the products that have glimmer, shimmer or shifts. Hopefully this helps show how beautiful and unique these products are!
$10 palette section! All palettes in this section are marked down to $10
Ace Beaute Falling for You palette, BNNU,$15
Alamar Cosmetics Spanglish Pressed Pigment palette, 3 colors swatched,$15
bh Cosmetics Run Wild x Tina Yong, 3 eye colors swatched.$12 this is heavy and will require more postage to send
Beauty Bakerie Sugar Cookies palette, most colors used 2 or 3 times,$20
Colourpop Salvaje palette, some colors used 2 or 3 times,$15
Colourpop Semi Precious, some light use, one color chipped,$12
Estee Edit The Gritty Eye Palette, 3 colors swatched once,$12
Juvia’s Place The Magic Minis , BNNU,$15
Juvia’s Place The Zulu, 3 colors swatched,$12
Notoriously Morbid Aim With My Eye palette, 3 colors swatched.$16.00
Pretty Vulgar Pretty Birdie, light use,$36
Sigma Warm Neutrals Vol. 2, 4 colors swatched,$15
Sydney Grace Chase Your Dreams, 2 colors swatched,$14
Violet Voss Drenched Metal palette, swatched but one color has a chip missing,$18
Violet Voss Essentials 2, BNNU,$12
Other Eyeshadow Palettes
Dia & Noche Once Upon a Time palette, 4 colors swatched, $5
Fantasy Cosmetica Bard palette, Never used but arrived with middle shade shattered. Retails for $38.99. $20
Fenty Beauty Snap Shadows Mix & Match eyeshadow palette in Cadet, used 3-4 times at most, Retails for $30 . $18
Kat von D Serpentina palette, some light use, missing loose pigment. will need extra shipping $20
KimChi Chic Juicy Velvet palette; see swatch photos from Kimchi Site, BNNU, $12
Lethal Cosmetics Magnetic Pressed Powder Palette in Jolina, 3 or 4 colors swatched. $25
MAC Cosmetics Aaliyah eyeshadow palette, 4 colors swatched, $18
Peach Queen We’re All Mad Here, 3 colors swatched. Sold out on site $20
Pink Crush Cosmetics Nocturnal Garden palette, brand new, $22
Pinky Rose Cosmetics Sunflower palette, most shades swatched once, $12
Sigma x Beauty Bird Dream Palette, most colors swatched, comes with brush, $25
Sugarpill Capsule Collection in black and orange versions, each swatched or 4 times, $22 each; both for $40
Urban Decay Urban Spectrum palette, 5 colors swatched, will require a couple of dollars extra to ship due to weight, $25
Viseart Golden Hour, usage shown, $25
Eyeshadow Singles, Eyeliner, etc.
About Face Matte Fluid Eye Paint (l - r) in It’s a Blitz and Vertigo Flowers. Swatched with clean, disposable brush. $11 each or both for $20
bh Cosmetics x DojaCat Cascade liquid eyeshadow in top - bottom Berry and Royal Blue, used 3 or 4 times each. $8 each or both for $15
Glossier Lidstar in Fawn, hard to tell how much is left even though I only used a few times, $8
JD Glow cosmetics L-R: Galaxy liner in Nocturnal; glitter tube in Poise; galaxy liner in Facetime. Each used up to 3x with clean, disposable brush. Retail for $9-10. $4 each; all 3 for $10
Indie shadow large pans $3 each
JD Glow 37mm metallon shadow in Bestie, swatched,$7
JD Glow 37mm metallon shadow in Blue Avenue, swatched,$7
Give Me Glow foiled pigment in Anastasia, swatched,$6
Give Me Glow ultra matte pigment in Dramatic, BNNU,$6
Give Me Glow ultra matte pigment in Tan Lines, BNNU,$6
Moira Cosmetics Lucent Cream Eyeshadow, L-R Cosmos, Earth, Nimbus, each BNIB, $5 each or all 3 for $12
Lipstick
Benefit California Kissin’ Color Balm in Poppy, swatched once with brush, $12
Fenty Gloss Bomb in Fenty Glow, BNNU, $6
Gucci lipstick Agatha Orange, swatched once with clean lip brush, $25 15
Lime Crime Wet Cherry Gloss in Pumpkin Pie, BNNU, $10
MAC lipstick in Chili, BNIB, $10
Mally x RuPaul Discotheque Lip Topper in Condragulations, bnnu, $8
MBA Cosmetics Glossy Glaze in Miss Monroe, still sealed, seller image here. $7
Pat McGrath Labs Bronze Astral Vinyl Gloss, 0.34 fl oz, $14
Highlighter
Becca Shimmering Skin Protector liquid in Opal, BN/still sealed, $10
Becca Shimmering Skin Protector pressed in Burnished Copper, BNNU, $12
Miscellaneous
Pulp Riot Blank Canvas Hair Color Remover, Unopened, 1.5 oz packet of powder. $6
Nail Polish all full size/13-15 ml unless otherwise stared. Will require extra shipping costs
Chanel Le Vernis in Délicatesse, an opaque rose-brown. BNNU, $20. Swatch photo not mine.
Chanel Le Vernis in Paparazzi, described as a “plummy brown with copper pearl. BNNU, $20. Swatch photo from Temptalia website.
Chaos and Crocodiles in Wishing Star Sky, probably a few years old. Swatch photo. $6
LynB Designs Fishing With No Bait, golden peach linear holo, used for one mani, $6 photo from blogger Naked Without Polish.
LynB Designs, L - R Rustworthy, Gamboge You Don’t, all BNNU from Tonally Awesome collection. See pictures from site of Rustworthy, and Gamboge You Don’t. $7 each, will bundle.
Moon Shine Mani Nail Polish. Click on shade for swatch photos. And Then There Were None , The Geller Cup, The King of Bad Thanksgivings, North by Northwest. BNNU, $8 each; will bundle multiples
OPI Visions of Georgia Greens, shimmery green/pink duochrome. BNNU, $6. blogger swatch photo
All Sally Hansen BNNU, now $5 each
Sally Hansen Color Therapy in Plum Euphoria, Multichrome shifts purple-blue-green. Swatch photo not mine
Sally Hansen Miracle Gel in Combustealable. Swatch photo not mine.
Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Hyp-nautical, blue/purple/fuchsia multichrome, See stock photo here
Perfume
I have a spreadsheet of indie sample and full-size perfumes/other indie products here if you are interested.
submitted by missjeanlouise12 to makeupexchange [link] [comments]
I go by timestamps in this thread, so please do not message me until we have come to an agreement about pricing. I accept PayPal Goods and Services and will cover associated fees. I’ll hold items for a couple of hours unless you request differently, and will then move on to the next interested party if there is one. Some items may be posted on multiple platforms and I will usually go by timestamps across all platforms, but do reserve the right to prioritize buyers who will be purchasing multiple items.
Shipping starts at $5.00 for light items within the continental US and will increase with weight and distance. Palettes and nail polish are likely to cost more. I'm happy to ship internationally as long as you understand that postage can be costly. I do look for the best rates, domestic or international, and I ship quickly. Unfortunately, postage rates have increased and there’s only so much I can do. No minimum purchase.
I have marked a lot of things down significantly, including many $10 palettes, indie shadows in the $2-$6 range, and cut prices on everything. I can’t say for sure how much more flexibility I can offer, but try making me an offer rather than closing out and moving on!
I’ve added swatch pictures that I found online for many of the products that have glimmer, shimmer or shifts. Hopefully this helps show how beautiful and unique these products are!
$10 palette section! All palettes in this section are marked down to $10
Ace Beaute Falling for You palette, BNNU,
Alamar Cosmetics Spanglish Pressed Pigment palette, 3 colors swatched,
bh Cosmetics Run Wild x Tina Yong, 3 eye colors swatched.
Beauty Bakerie Sugar Cookies palette, most colors used 2 or 3 times,
Colourpop Salvaje palette, some colors used 2 or 3 times,
Colourpop Semi Precious, some light use, one color chipped,
Estee Edit The Gritty Eye Palette, 3 colors swatched once,
Juvia’s Place The Magic Minis , BNNU,
Juvia’s Place The Zulu, 3 colors swatched,
Notoriously Morbid Aim With My Eye palette, 3 colors swatched.
Pretty Vulgar Pretty Birdie, light use,
Sigma Warm Neutrals Vol. 2, 4 colors swatched,
Sydney Grace Chase Your Dreams, 2 colors swatched,
Violet Voss Drenched Metal palette, swatched but one color has a chip missing,
Violet Voss Essentials 2, BNNU,
Other Eyeshadow Palettes
Dia & Noche Once Upon a Time palette, 4 colors swatched, $5
Fantasy Cosmetica Bard palette, Never used but arrived with middle shade shattered. Retails for $38.99. $20
Fenty Beauty Snap Shadows Mix & Match eyeshadow palette in Cadet, used 3-4 times at most, Retails for $30 . $18
Kat von D Serpentina palette, some light use, missing loose pigment. will need extra shipping $20
KimChi Chic Juicy Velvet palette; see swatch photos from Kimchi Site, BNNU, $12
Lethal Cosmetics Magnetic Pressed Powder Palette in Jolina, 3 or 4 colors swatched. $25
MAC Cosmetics Aaliyah eyeshadow palette, 4 colors swatched, $18
Peach Queen We’re All Mad Here, 3 colors swatched. Sold out on site $20
Pink Crush Cosmetics Nocturnal Garden palette, brand new, $22
Pinky Rose Cosmetics Sunflower palette, most shades swatched once, $12
Sigma x Beauty Bird Dream Palette, most colors swatched, comes with brush, $25
Sugarpill Capsule Collection in black and orange versions, each swatched or 4 times, $22 each; both for $40
Urban Decay Urban Spectrum palette, 5 colors swatched, will require a couple of dollars extra to ship due to weight, $25
Viseart Golden Hour, usage shown, $25
Eyeshadow Singles, Eyeliner, etc.
About Face Matte Fluid Eye Paint (l - r) in It’s a Blitz and Vertigo Flowers. Swatched with clean, disposable brush. $11 each or both for $20
bh Cosmetics x DojaCat Cascade liquid eyeshadow in top - bottom Berry and Royal Blue, used 3 or 4 times each. $8 each or both for $15
Glossier Lidstar in Fawn, hard to tell how much is left even though I only used a few times, $8
JD Glow cosmetics L-R: Galaxy liner in Nocturnal; glitter tube in Poise; galaxy liner in Facetime. Each used up to 3x with clean, disposable brush. Retail for $9-10. $4 each; all 3 for $10
Indie shadow large pans $3 each
JD Glow 37mm metallon shadow in Bestie, swatched,
JD Glow 37mm metallon shadow in Blue Avenue, swatched,
Give Me Glow foiled pigment in Anastasia, swatched,
Give Me Glow ultra matte pigment in Dramatic, BNNU,
Give Me Glow ultra matte pigment in Tan Lines, BNNU,
Moira Cosmetics Lucent Cream Eyeshadow, L-R Cosmos, Earth, Nimbus, each BNIB, $5 each or all 3 for $12
Lipstick
Benefit California Kissin’ Color Balm in Poppy, swatched once with brush, $12
Fenty Gloss Bomb in Fenty Glow, BNNU, $6
Gucci lipstick Agatha Orange, swatched once with clean lip brush, $
Lime Crime Wet Cherry Gloss in Pumpkin Pie, BNNU, $10
MAC lipstick in Chili, BNIB, $10
Mally x RuPaul Discotheque Lip Topper in Condragulations, bnnu, $8
MBA Cosmetics Glossy Glaze in Miss Monroe, still sealed, seller image here. $7
Pat McGrath Labs Bronze Astral Vinyl Gloss, 0.34 fl oz, $14
Highlighter
Becca Shimmering Skin Protector liquid in Opal, BN/still sealed, $10
Becca Shimmering Skin Protector pressed in Burnished Copper, BNNU, $12
Miscellaneous
Pulp Riot Blank Canvas Hair Color Remover, Unopened, 1.5 oz packet of powder. $6
Nail Polish all full size/13-15 ml unless otherwise stared. Will require extra shipping costs
Chanel Le Vernis in Délicatesse, an opaque rose-brown. BNNU, $20. Swatch photo not mine.
Chanel Le Vernis in Paparazzi, described as a “plummy brown with copper pearl. BNNU, $20. Swatch photo from Temptalia website.
Chaos and Crocodiles in Wishing Star Sky, probably a few years old. Swatch photo. $6
LynB Designs Fishing With No Bait, golden peach linear holo, used for one mani, $6 photo from blogger Naked Without Polish.
LynB Designs, L - R Rustworthy, Gamboge You Don’t, all BNNU from Tonally Awesome collection. See pictures from site of Rustworthy, and Gamboge You Don’t. $7 each, will bundle.
Moon Shine Mani Nail Polish. Click on shade for swatch photos. And Then There Were None , The Geller Cup, The King of Bad Thanksgivings, North by Northwest. BNNU, $8 each; will bundle multiples
OPI Visions of Georgia Greens, shimmery green/pink duochrome. BNNU, $6. blogger swatch photo
All Sally Hansen BNNU, now $5 each
Sally Hansen Color Therapy in Plum Euphoria, Multichrome shifts purple-blue-green. Swatch photo not mine
Sally Hansen Miracle Gel in Combustealable. Swatch photo not mine.
Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Hyp-nautical, blue/purple/fuchsia multichrome, See stock photo here
Perfume
I have a spreadsheet of indie sample and full-size perfumes/other indie products here if you are interested.
2023.06.07 02:40 Zucena Seeking camera, lenses, lighting, etc recs for new filmmaker focused on stylized looks
 | Hey everyone! I’m a new filmmaker who wants to create low budget short films/features/web series that have a more stylized look with saturated colors (esp blue, red, purple, pink, and cyan), high contrast, and neon lighting (or similar). My inspiration comes from movies/TV like The Neon Demon, Atomic Blonde, Euphoria, and Spring Breakers (see pictures). While I would like to direct my own projects, I am also highly interested in cinematography and would like to gain the skills necessary to help other filmmakers with their low budget products as a DP, camera assistant, etc (I live in LA). I’m aware of the necessity of color grading to create this aesthetic and am also learning to use Davinci Resolve (I already have some video editing experience). submitted by Zucena to Filmmakers [link] [comments] I’ve been learning as much as I can about filmmaking recently and would like to buy some equipment to gain experience with my own gear and start making short projects/films to build up a reel. I have some money in savings that I can use for both gear and expenses related to short films - about $5-10k. I would prefer to buy gear that can grow with me as I gain experience and prefer to buy used whenever possible. I looked at the FAQ and was thinking maybe I should go with the Canon C100 mkII (or maybe the Canon C200?) and Canon L Series 24-70mm Zoom in EF Mount, but I’m unsure if I should start with a more basic/cheaper camera and use the extra money for other geasupplies. I want a camera/lens setup where I can practice all the concepts I’m learning in books and online that would be useful to small budget projects. When it comes to lighting, it has been pretty overwhelming to figure out what are the best lights to start with especially as color and light play such a big part of the aesthetic I’m going for. Would anyone have any advice on what cameras, lenses, lighting equipment, and other gear would be best for me to buy for my experience level, budget and desired aesthetic? I’m happy to answer any other questions on what my needs are if you need more information. |
2023.06.07 02:37 Ralts_Bloodthorne First Contact - Chapter 962 - The Shadows of Twilight
[first] [prev] [next] - [wiki]
There are some deeds, some crimes and horrors even our Mother, the Universe itself, loathes beyond all. And when this is the case, neither time, nor space, nor reality itself can deny her vengeance.
Because time is a flat circle... and we all dance on its twisting disk. - kwong879, Pukan philosopher, Post Second Precursor War Reconstruction Era
For three days and three nights did the Lady Lord of Hell, the Detainee herself, in all of her fearsome matronly glory, tempt the First Biological Disciple, Daxin Freeborn, Enraged Phillip.
And for three days and three nights did he deny her.
And thus did he pass into memory and legend. - The Book of Telkan
And before I took the lives of the damned, He did appear before us and commanded my hand still.
His glowing blue form a radiant mercy. For us.
For them. - Glory, Failure, Temptation, & Redemption, Magnus Oathsworn
There is no doubt of the fact of malevolence. The very universe itself reaches out to crush what she has birthed in an eternal struggle of hatred. There are, however, some sins which even in the face of annihilation cannot be countenanced. Some acts which even this malevolent universe will not tolerate. Protect the infants at all cost, for they are survival, and to sacrifice survival for the sake of survival shall bring only suffering and doom. - Wisdom of the Traveler, Tribulations, Chapter 5 Verse 1.
In the Age of Paranoia, Humanity's leadership ordered terrible things done. Not because they knew they were necessary, but because they might become necessary. Never realizing that the existence of those terrible things would drive them to find a reason to use them. — Prof. Kuruka N'anga, University of the Sacred Bough, Terra Nuevo
While many things enrage the Lady of Hell, in fact most things seem to, certain crimes and sins earn her personal wrath. The many men who took everything from her. The idiotic creatures who thought themselves masters of everything. And those who commit cruelties upon the innocent. For she sees all of mankind's many many sins and knows very few are clean of them. Wise beings fear when cold gray eyes turn upon them.
We were desperate, and in our desperation we reached for things that will haunt me for all eternity. We could have stopped at anytime, we should have stopped before it was too late. We ignored the warnings, in our hubris we were assured that what we were doing was necessary. We were right, but it was still wrong and there is not enough time in the universe to pay for what we did. We ignored all the warnings and applauded ourselves on our success...only moments later the shouts of joy and celebration became screams of terror as the gray-eyed one illustrated why the warnings of these dark sciences should be heeded. --Words found in a blood-soaked journal at dark site research station, this was the only document recovered. Site glassed and all traces of the research were redacted.
It was misty, with a little bit of rain. The anomaly was hidden behind artificially generated cloud cover so that it looked more like an overcast sun than the strange globe of psuedo-reality it was. The starwalk station was empty, no bones, no shades, no scars from the furious fighting that had taken place after the Glassing had driven the SUDS personnel insane.
Holos flickered, some advertising restaurants or stores, others with directions, some with safety warnings, and still others with just public service holograms. The mist made the holograms flicker and fade in and out as the focused laser systems were scattered by the tiny water droplets suspended in the air.
There was a beep and the gate opened, allowing Surscee to step from the starwalk to the platform. She was wearing revealing leathers, a bustier, a short skirt with copper strips for reinforcement, tight weave fishnet stockings, and polished black leather boots with silver buckles. Around her shoulders was a gauzy sheer cape that shed the moisture even as it gleamed and sparkled.
She stopped to examine a few of the public service announcements. Some making her smile, others making her shake her head.
"You are a window to the world of my ancestors, nine thousand years gone," she said softly, touching the base of the holo. She moved to another and watched it. "We are not so different, you and I," she said, her voice full of wonder. She watched a PSA to remind everyone not to bring plants from Earth in case of seed contamination. "Your lives were full of danger that eventually became mundane," she said softly.
"That's humanity in a nut shell," the voice from behind her was low, rough, a woman's whiskey and cigarettes voice.
"Although ever changing, thus, we are," Surscee said, straightening up. She turned around and looked over the short matron in her dark charcoal gray skirt and blouse. "Greetings, fearsome one."
"Greetings to you, sorceress," the Lady Lord of Hell said. She looked Surscee up and down slowly. "Huh."
Surscee raised an eyebrow.
"Nice to see the Great Value Red Sonja look isn't just an act," the Lady Lord of Hell said, turning and walking into the mist. "Magic, science, mysticism, technology, all the same to the ignorant." Her voice faded as she walked away.
Surscee watched the short woman walk away, then turned and went back to following the path.
She was startled to discover that the vending machines were not VI driven, but just mechanical with a few holograms.
One of the vending machines that normally dispensed energy drinks and fizzybrews was ripped open, like someone had hacked on it with a blade. Surscee noted that most of the Liquid Hate was gone.
She got a lemon-lime fizzypop and followed the softly glowing holographic line of the ground until she finally came to a small park.
She stopped at the playground, leaning against a cement post, and stared at it.
The swings moved slightly back and forth at the almost unfelt breeze that stirred the mist. Droplets of water ran down the slide. The swinging rings just rocked slightly in the air current. The seesaw and the spring horses, the jungle gym and the wooden playhouse all sat quietly, damp from the mist.
Surscee closed her eyes, cocking her head slightly, listening for any echoes of happiness gone by.
"I would bring them here to play, once I had soothed their trauma to where they could interact with one another, to the point they could do more than run and scream and claw at themselves," the voice of the gray eyed matron sounded behind Surscee.
The sorceress turned, seeing the darkly clothed matron standing under a tree, barely visible in the fog, lighting a cigarette.
"I recreated it in Hell, just for them. To let them be children again, to remember," her voice said. She took a drag off her cigarette and Surscee saw the stern planes of the smaller woman's face illuminated for a moment. When she exhaled smoke, Surscee could still see her gun-metal gray eyes.
"I set fallen angels to watch over the park with sword of burning sin and tridents of icy treachery," she said, then turned and walked into the mist.
Surscee frowned as the matron vanished into the mist.
She waited a moment, but the other woman was gone.
Surscee moved on, making no sign of effort as she brought up her defenses. Her fingernails twinkled slightly as the microscopic piezoelectric systems came online. The targeting reticles and the HUD elements appeared in her vision. She brought up the passive acoustic mapping and changed the hardness of the heels of her boots so that her boots clicked with each step.
The fog muffled the acoustic map slightly, the water droplets absorbing and redirecting sound, making the map fuzzy here and there.
She passed by a vending machine and smelled cigarette smoke. The onboard systems broke it down for her, putting it up in the tiny window beyond her left hand peripheral vision. No manufacturer signature, no trace elements from other worlds. Her onboards told her that it was Old Earth brand, the tobacco lacking any genetic engineering and the cigarette containing nothing but an asbestos filter, paper, and tobacco. No flavors, no genetic smoothing, no flavor enhancements. No record in the database she always carried loaded.
She frowned slightly.
"You are unmoved by human suffering, making you suitable for this task," a tired sounding man said from just past a set of benches. He was leaning against a fountain. He had shaggy cut dark hair, a simple pair of pants and shirt without decoration, and dark circles under his eyes.
Two steps and the figure vanished.
The echolocation acoustic mapping told her that there was a solid bipedal humaniod form there for a split second but it vanished just when she got in range of it.
Surscee followed the arc of the path, curiosity filling her.
She knew if the being that had manifested as a five meter tall demon with bat wings and a whip of burning warsteel links woven with barbed wire, or the short matron with the nasty steel knife, wanted to kill her, the being simply would.
Surscee was curious what the purpose of this was.
"Enemies never rest. That's why they're called the Enemy, you blithering morons. I swear, dealing with the two of you is like dealing with particularly naive and ignorant children who are shocked, shocked I tell you, that they can't ziptie a plastic bag around their head and dance in the middle of the Interstate during rush hour," the matron's voice was cruel and full of disdain. "Of course millions are dying, that's what happens when you act like atomic weapons are no more dangerous than sparklers."
Surscee didn't bother to look around, her onboard bioware systems letting her know that the point of origin for the voice kept moving and shifting.
A trivial trick with nanites and one she had used often to confuse and harry foes.
"Your weakness disgusts me," the woman's voice hissed from between two food vending machines. "If you spent less time crying and more time fixing the system you'd be done by now, you pathetic puling weakling."
Surscee smiled slightly.
The voice reminded Surscee of her mother mocking her lessers.
There was a small basket with berries and small fruits sitting on a bench and Surscee's smile got wider. She moved over and sat down, picking up the basket and setting it on her lap.
If the being wanted her dead, she would be dead, simple as that.
The berries were blackberries, strawberries, and raspberries. Clean, sweet and tart.
After a moment the matron came walking out of the fog, opening a breast pocket to remove a pack of cigarettes and a flint-steel lighter. The woman sat down, crossing her legs at the knee and smoothing her skirt. She then lit the cigarette, the flare of the lighter lighting her face with the warmth of the flame without making the face seem any warmer.
Surscee slowly chewed a blackberry as the cigarette was lit, puffed on, and the lighter clinked shut. The pack and the lighter went back into the top pocket, the matron's fingers nimbly buttoning up the pocket.
They sat there for a long moment.
"All of that power, all your knowledge and mastery of exotic and esoteric disciplines, and here you sit eating freshly picked berries and fruit," the matron said.
"I am a simple woman who enjoys simple pleasures," Surscee said, smiling.
"I could use someone like you on my team," the matron said, exhaling smoke. "Power, the will to dominate, the means to achieve the goals I set out for you."
"An enticing offer," Surscee said carefully. She picked up strawberry and bit off the tip, chewing slowly.
"With your brother as one of my Hell Knights, you would make an excellent Hell Storm," the matron said.
This time when she exhaled the smoke was tinged with a slight tang hot freshly spilled blood and a taint of brimstone.
"Acting as the agent of the Lady Lord of Hell herself," Surscee said. She picked up a black cherry and looked over it. "Empowered, strengthened, by the Lady Lord of Hell, to punish the wicked for their sins."
The matron nodded slowly.
"With you as the judge, myself as the jury, and my brother as the executioner," Surscee said, still smiling.
"At times," the matron said. She exhaled smoke and glared at the mist that surrounded them. "Do you know what sin mankind has fallen into?"
Surscee shook her head. "Pride, perhaps? My mother often spoke of sloth and gluttony, perhaps that?"
The matron shook her head. "No. Far far worse."
"I would hear your words, fearsome one," Surscee said, making sure her voice was respectful.
"An anecdote," the matron said. She sighed. "Later, in my life, as more and more people became enamored with being ethical, more for status than to be truly ethical, philosophers and those who called themselves ethecists began posing questions, providing answers, each of the seeking to be recognized as the pinnacle of ethics and morals that would guide humanity into a Golden Age."
"That smack of wickedness," Surscee said. "Of pride and arrogance."
The matron nodded. "One question, posed by academics to students, always enraged me. Asked by academics who had never traveled beyond their ivory towers or guarded enclaves, asked to pampered students who had spent their lives dwelling in luxuries beyond imagination to the people of my youth."
The matron reached down into the mist that covered her feet, lifting up a bottle of beer and popping the cap with a talon that immediately returned to a manicured nail.
"The question, put forth, involves a situation. I will explain it thusly: You are at a village in a war torn nation. A warlord arrives with his men, intending on killing the village. The reasons do not matter. However, the warlord makes you an offer, handing you a gun with a single bullet. Shoot one person, of your choice, and he will spare you and the survivors. Kill him, and his men will kill you, and allow the village to survive. Kill none, and he will order his men to kill all the villagers, man, woman, and child, but leave you to live," the matron said.
Surscee frowned. "A terrible choice."
The matron snorted. "The academics and ethical philosophers then asked their students: What is the most moral choice?" the matron looked at Surscee. "Care to make a guess?"
Surscee thought for a long moment. "Shoot one of his men. He did not say you had to kill a villager."
The matron laughed. "A choice fitting for a Great Value Red Sonja," she laughed. She shook her head. "But, you would be wrong. You see, you make the unethical choice to take a human life."
"Then what?" Surscee asked.
"To stand aside. That you do not make a choice. The philosophical correct answer was to stand aside, that the warlord and his men make their own decisions and it is not your responsibility nor your moral failing whatever they choose to do," the matron looked out at the mist, taking a swig of her beer. "Do nothing, let the trolley kill five, because for you to decide who lives and dies is unethical."
Surscee snorted. "Choosing to make no choice is a choice in and of itself. You should always seek to do the least harm and the greatest good."
The matron nodded.
"The cowardice disgusts me," the matron said. She took another swig of her beer and then a drag from her cigarette. She exhaled smoke tinged with blood and brimstone. "I need those who will not back down, who are willing to get in the mud and the blood and the beer to get the job done."
The matron held up a red apple. "Take the apple, accept my offer. Be my Hell Storm to your brother's Hell Knight."
"Your offer humbles me," Surscee said. "It does not matter if my brother took your offer, I am Oathsworn to Lady Nakteti the Traveler. My duty is clear, it lies with my sworn liege."
"But what of your duty to your people?" the matron asked. "What of your duty to humanity?"
"I represent humanity wherever I go. Shall my actions, my decisions, lead the people's of the galaxy to believe that humanity are oath breakers? That our word, our bond, our oath, carries no meaning other than to further our own aims and goals? That we will abandon them, no matter what oaths we swear?"
The matron was silent.
"I am tempted by your offer, but I must, respectfully, refuse," Surscee said.
"Very well," the matron said. She blew on her fingertips and the apple dissolved. She stood up, taking a moment to smooth her skirt and tug the cuffs of her sleeves.
"You would have made an excellent Hell Storm," the matron said, exhaling smoke.
When it cleared, she was gone.
Surscee closed her eyes and heaved a great breath.
"I have passed the test, I hope," she said softly.
Only the dripping of water in the mist answered her.
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There are some deeds, some crimes and horrors even our Mother, the Universe itself, loathes beyond all. And when this is the case, neither time, nor space, nor reality itself can deny her vengeance.
Because time is a flat circle... and we all dance on its twisting disk. - kwong879, Pukan philosopher, Post Second Precursor War Reconstruction Era
For three days and three nights did the Lady Lord of Hell, the Detainee herself, in all of her fearsome matronly glory, tempt the First Biological Disciple, Daxin Freeborn, Enraged Phillip.
And for three days and three nights did he deny her.
And thus did he pass into memory and legend. - The Book of Telkan
And before I took the lives of the damned, He did appear before us and commanded my hand still.
His glowing blue form a radiant mercy. For us.
For them. - Glory, Failure, Temptation, & Redemption, Magnus Oathsworn
There is no doubt of the fact of malevolence. The very universe itself reaches out to crush what she has birthed in an eternal struggle of hatred. There are, however, some sins which even in the face of annihilation cannot be countenanced. Some acts which even this malevolent universe will not tolerate. Protect the infants at all cost, for they are survival, and to sacrifice survival for the sake of survival shall bring only suffering and doom. - Wisdom of the Traveler, Tribulations, Chapter 5 Verse 1.
In the Age of Paranoia, Humanity's leadership ordered terrible things done. Not because they knew they were necessary, but because they might become necessary. Never realizing that the existence of those terrible things would drive them to find a reason to use them. — Prof. Kuruka N'anga, University of the Sacred Bough, Terra Nuevo
While many things enrage the Lady of Hell, in fact most things seem to, certain crimes and sins earn her personal wrath. The many men who took everything from her. The idiotic creatures who thought themselves masters of everything. And those who commit cruelties upon the innocent. For she sees all of mankind's many many sins and knows very few are clean of them. Wise beings fear when cold gray eyes turn upon them.
We were desperate, and in our desperation we reached for things that will haunt me for all eternity. We could have stopped at anytime, we should have stopped before it was too late. We ignored the warnings, in our hubris we were assured that what we were doing was necessary. We were right, but it was still wrong and there is not enough time in the universe to pay for what we did. We ignored all the warnings and applauded ourselves on our success...only moments later the shouts of joy and celebration became screams of terror as the gray-eyed one illustrated why the warnings of these dark sciences should be heeded. --Words found in a blood-soaked journal at dark site research station, this was the only document recovered. Site glassed and all traces of the research were redacted.
It was misty, with a little bit of rain. The anomaly was hidden behind artificially generated cloud cover so that it looked more like an overcast sun than the strange globe of psuedo-reality it was. The starwalk station was empty, no bones, no shades, no scars from the furious fighting that had taken place after the Glassing had driven the SUDS personnel insane.
Holos flickered, some advertising restaurants or stores, others with directions, some with safety warnings, and still others with just public service holograms. The mist made the holograms flicker and fade in and out as the focused laser systems were scattered by the tiny water droplets suspended in the air.
There was a beep and the gate opened, allowing Surscee to step from the starwalk to the platform. She was wearing revealing leathers, a bustier, a short skirt with copper strips for reinforcement, tight weave fishnet stockings, and polished black leather boots with silver buckles. Around her shoulders was a gauzy sheer cape that shed the moisture even as it gleamed and sparkled.
She stopped to examine a few of the public service announcements. Some making her smile, others making her shake her head.
"You are a window to the world of my ancestors, nine thousand years gone," she said softly, touching the base of the holo. She moved to another and watched it. "We are not so different, you and I," she said, her voice full of wonder. She watched a PSA to remind everyone not to bring plants from Earth in case of seed contamination. "Your lives were full of danger that eventually became mundane," she said softly.
"That's humanity in a nut shell," the voice from behind her was low, rough, a woman's whiskey and cigarettes voice.
"Although ever changing, thus, we are," Surscee said, straightening up. She turned around and looked over the short matron in her dark charcoal gray skirt and blouse. "Greetings, fearsome one."
"Greetings to you, sorceress," the Lady Lord of Hell said. She looked Surscee up and down slowly. "Huh."
Surscee raised an eyebrow.
"Nice to see the Great Value Red Sonja look isn't just an act," the Lady Lord of Hell said, turning and walking into the mist. "Magic, science, mysticism, technology, all the same to the ignorant." Her voice faded as she walked away.
Surscee watched the short woman walk away, then turned and went back to following the path.
She was startled to discover that the vending machines were not VI driven, but just mechanical with a few holograms.
One of the vending machines that normally dispensed energy drinks and fizzybrews was ripped open, like someone had hacked on it with a blade. Surscee noted that most of the Liquid Hate was gone.
She got a lemon-lime fizzypop and followed the softly glowing holographic line of the ground until she finally came to a small park.
She stopped at the playground, leaning against a cement post, and stared at it.
The swings moved slightly back and forth at the almost unfelt breeze that stirred the mist. Droplets of water ran down the slide. The swinging rings just rocked slightly in the air current. The seesaw and the spring horses, the jungle gym and the wooden playhouse all sat quietly, damp from the mist.
Surscee closed her eyes, cocking her head slightly, listening for any echoes of happiness gone by.
"I would bring them here to play, once I had soothed their trauma to where they could interact with one another, to the point they could do more than run and scream and claw at themselves," the voice of the gray eyed matron sounded behind Surscee.
The sorceress turned, seeing the darkly clothed matron standing under a tree, barely visible in the fog, lighting a cigarette.
"I recreated it in Hell, just for them. To let them be children again, to remember," her voice said. She took a drag off her cigarette and Surscee saw the stern planes of the smaller woman's face illuminated for a moment. When she exhaled smoke, Surscee could still see her gun-metal gray eyes.
"I set fallen angels to watch over the park with sword of burning sin and tridents of icy treachery," she said, then turned and walked into the mist.
Surscee frowned as the matron vanished into the mist.
She waited a moment, but the other woman was gone.
Surscee moved on, making no sign of effort as she brought up her defenses. Her fingernails twinkled slightly as the microscopic piezoelectric systems came online. The targeting reticles and the HUD elements appeared in her vision. She brought up the passive acoustic mapping and changed the hardness of the heels of her boots so that her boots clicked with each step.
The fog muffled the acoustic map slightly, the water droplets absorbing and redirecting sound, making the map fuzzy here and there.
She passed by a vending machine and smelled cigarette smoke. The onboard systems broke it down for her, putting it up in the tiny window beyond her left hand peripheral vision. No manufacturer signature, no trace elements from other worlds. Her onboards told her that it was Old Earth brand, the tobacco lacking any genetic engineering and the cigarette containing nothing but an asbestos filter, paper, and tobacco. No flavors, no genetic smoothing, no flavor enhancements. No record in the database she always carried loaded.
She frowned slightly.
"You are unmoved by human suffering, making you suitable for this task," a tired sounding man said from just past a set of benches. He was leaning against a fountain. He had shaggy cut dark hair, a simple pair of pants and shirt without decoration, and dark circles under his eyes.
Two steps and the figure vanished.
The echolocation acoustic mapping told her that there was a solid bipedal humaniod form there for a split second but it vanished just when she got in range of it.
Surscee followed the arc of the path, curiosity filling her.
She knew if the being that had manifested as a five meter tall demon with bat wings and a whip of burning warsteel links woven with barbed wire, or the short matron with the nasty steel knife, wanted to kill her, the being simply would.
Surscee was curious what the purpose of this was.
"Enemies never rest. That's why they're called the Enemy, you blithering morons. I swear, dealing with the two of you is like dealing with particularly naive and ignorant children who are shocked, shocked I tell you, that they can't ziptie a plastic bag around their head and dance in the middle of the Interstate during rush hour," the matron's voice was cruel and full of disdain. "Of course millions are dying, that's what happens when you act like atomic weapons are no more dangerous than sparklers."
Surscee didn't bother to look around, her onboard bioware systems letting her know that the point of origin for the voice kept moving and shifting.
A trivial trick with nanites and one she had used often to confuse and harry foes.
"Your weakness disgusts me," the woman's voice hissed from between two food vending machines. "If you spent less time crying and more time fixing the system you'd be done by now, you pathetic puling weakling."
Surscee smiled slightly.
The voice reminded Surscee of her mother mocking her lessers.
There was a small basket with berries and small fruits sitting on a bench and Surscee's smile got wider. She moved over and sat down, picking up the basket and setting it on her lap.
If the being wanted her dead, she would be dead, simple as that.
The berries were blackberries, strawberries, and raspberries. Clean, sweet and tart.
After a moment the matron came walking out of the fog, opening a breast pocket to remove a pack of cigarettes and a flint-steel lighter. The woman sat down, crossing her legs at the knee and smoothing her skirt. She then lit the cigarette, the flare of the lighter lighting her face with the warmth of the flame without making the face seem any warmer.
Surscee slowly chewed a blackberry as the cigarette was lit, puffed on, and the lighter clinked shut. The pack and the lighter went back into the top pocket, the matron's fingers nimbly buttoning up the pocket.
They sat there for a long moment.
"All of that power, all your knowledge and mastery of exotic and esoteric disciplines, and here you sit eating freshly picked berries and fruit," the matron said.
"I am a simple woman who enjoys simple pleasures," Surscee said, smiling.
"I could use someone like you on my team," the matron said, exhaling smoke. "Power, the will to dominate, the means to achieve the goals I set out for you."
"An enticing offer," Surscee said carefully. She picked up strawberry and bit off the tip, chewing slowly.
"With your brother as one of my Hell Knights, you would make an excellent Hell Storm," the matron said.
This time when she exhaled the smoke was tinged with a slight tang hot freshly spilled blood and a taint of brimstone.
"Acting as the agent of the Lady Lord of Hell herself," Surscee said. She picked up a black cherry and looked over it. "Empowered, strengthened, by the Lady Lord of Hell, to punish the wicked for their sins."
The matron nodded slowly.
"With you as the judge, myself as the jury, and my brother as the executioner," Surscee said, still smiling.
"At times," the matron said. She exhaled smoke and glared at the mist that surrounded them. "Do you know what sin mankind has fallen into?"
Surscee shook her head. "Pride, perhaps? My mother often spoke of sloth and gluttony, perhaps that?"
The matron shook her head. "No. Far far worse."
"I would hear your words, fearsome one," Surscee said, making sure her voice was respectful.
"An anecdote," the matron said. She sighed. "Later, in my life, as more and more people became enamored with being ethical, more for status than to be truly ethical, philosophers and those who called themselves ethecists began posing questions, providing answers, each of the seeking to be recognized as the pinnacle of ethics and morals that would guide humanity into a Golden Age."
"That smack of wickedness," Surscee said. "Of pride and arrogance."
The matron nodded. "One question, posed by academics to students, always enraged me. Asked by academics who had never traveled beyond their ivory towers or guarded enclaves, asked to pampered students who had spent their lives dwelling in luxuries beyond imagination to the people of my youth."
The matron reached down into the mist that covered her feet, lifting up a bottle of beer and popping the cap with a talon that immediately returned to a manicured nail.
"The question, put forth, involves a situation. I will explain it thusly: You are at a village in a war torn nation. A warlord arrives with his men, intending on killing the village. The reasons do not matter. However, the warlord makes you an offer, handing you a gun with a single bullet. Shoot one person, of your choice, and he will spare you and the survivors. Kill him, and his men will kill you, and allow the village to survive. Kill none, and he will order his men to kill all the villagers, man, woman, and child, but leave you to live," the matron said.
Surscee frowned. "A terrible choice."
The matron snorted. "The academics and ethical philosophers then asked their students: What is the most moral choice?" the matron looked at Surscee. "Care to make a guess?"
Surscee thought for a long moment. "Shoot one of his men. He did not say you had to kill a villager."
The matron laughed. "A choice fitting for a Great Value Red Sonja," she laughed. She shook her head. "But, you would be wrong. You see, you make the unethical choice to take a human life."
"Then what?" Surscee asked.
"To stand aside. That you do not make a choice. The philosophical correct answer was to stand aside, that the warlord and his men make their own decisions and it is not your responsibility nor your moral failing whatever they choose to do," the matron looked out at the mist, taking a swig of her beer. "Do nothing, let the trolley kill five, because for you to decide who lives and dies is unethical."
Surscee snorted. "Choosing to make no choice is a choice in and of itself. You should always seek to do the least harm and the greatest good."
The matron nodded.
"The cowardice disgusts me," the matron said. She took another swig of her beer and then a drag from her cigarette. She exhaled smoke tinged with blood and brimstone. "I need those who will not back down, who are willing to get in the mud and the blood and the beer to get the job done."
The matron held up a red apple. "Take the apple, accept my offer. Be my Hell Storm to your brother's Hell Knight."
"Your offer humbles me," Surscee said. "It does not matter if my brother took your offer, I am Oathsworn to Lady Nakteti the Traveler. My duty is clear, it lies with my sworn liege."
"But what of your duty to your people?" the matron asked. "What of your duty to humanity?"
"I represent humanity wherever I go. Shall my actions, my decisions, lead the people's of the galaxy to believe that humanity are oath breakers? That our word, our bond, our oath, carries no meaning other than to further our own aims and goals? That we will abandon them, no matter what oaths we swear?"
The matron was silent.
"I am tempted by your offer, but I must, respectfully, refuse," Surscee said.
"Very well," the matron said. She blew on her fingertips and the apple dissolved. She stood up, taking a moment to smooth her skirt and tug the cuffs of her sleeves.
"You would have made an excellent Hell Storm," the matron said, exhaling smoke.
When it cleared, she was gone.
Surscee closed her eyes and heaved a great breath.
"I have passed the test, I hope," she said softly.
Only the dripping of water in the mist answered her.
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2023.06.07 00:56 D0WNGR4D3 Beast World #45: Secrets & Misunderstandings
First Issue!
The perimeter walls of their small village have been reinforced by Runhar's earth molding magics. Rok and Brekda have been assisting him in keeping the perimeter watched at all times.
This precaution was necessary as a lot of the Tuskir village's able bodied fighters have been rendered less than optimally effective in combat. Although generally safe, a small tension filled thought gnawed at the back of their minds. The chance of a second assault was something the tribe considered.
Honestly, at a first glance this would be a most opportun time to assault the place, especially with their elder and most skilled healer, Urla, still mostly bed ridden due to exerting herself when healing others.
Still, they tried to go back to a normal state of operating as best as they could, having to make certain compromises. Discussing among themselves the whole group decided to give as best an aid as possible to the two wounded Hay-yen that they still found alive within their walls, asking their previous captives, the ones more willing to co-operate to take care of them. The procurement of constant supplies of food and water up to the present time made them quite willing to assist.
During this time Michael had been spending his time along Zurra and Woh. Zurra, having taken on the responsability to assist the, hopefully temporarily, crippled hooman, has been going about this task while giving aid in any other mundane endeavors like taking care of the children along side Runny, Brekda's wife.
At one such point did Michael find a moment to reflect upon the situation as he was left at the base of Spek's tree alongside Woh. Still, contemplation would have to wait as the human's amphoran companion seemed rather excited for chit-chat, indicated by repeating irregular and excited croaks leaving her throat.
"Michael! Michael! Its been a few days! Can you walk, yet?" Woh asked her question with such a light hearted and casual tone as if she expected Michael to grow back his legs if he actually lost them.
The young man, taking a moment to process the question, shook his head while arching an eyebrow. "Pfft. I'd wish, honestly. To be fair they hurt as all hell, but I am glad whatever herbs Zurra's been reapplying my bandages with have been numbing them. I don't know how well healing magic will work to help me if... at all, but I have been terrified that... I might not walk again. At least... not properly." Michael said choking a bit on his words.
Nervousness washed over him as he looked down at his wrapped up legs, faint blood stains covering them here and there. He only looked at his legs once when Zurra was changing the bandages, he was numbed up good, but the sight of them was something too visceral to not make his mind aware of the pain he should be in. Although suppressed, he could feel his legs burn in a muffled agony.
The mana burn had turned the young man's skin and toe nails to actual ashes that Zurra had to clean off, a rather painstakingly slow endeavor due to how caked in blood the ashes were. From bellow the knees the young man was akin to one of those skinless statues showing the human's body muscular fiber, only minor patches of actual skin hanging on here and there.
Woh kind of grew silent for a moment, before shaking her head as her big round eyes looked at Michael. "W-well don'tcha worry! Even if you can't walk we're here, s-so... we'll be able to help! If I was bigger I wouldn't mind lugging you about like a sack of timber! 'Cause you'd be the best sack of timber to ever be and 'cause we're friends." Woh said with a happy croak, trying her best to cheer up the young man.
Michael snickered and smirked and he shook his head, petting Woh's covered back. "Thanks. It'll be my honor to do my best interpretation of a heavy sack, but I'm hoping I can be fixed." After taking a moment to lean back against Spek's trunk and to look up at his crown of branches and leaves, the young man took in a deep breath. "Woh... I'm going to need your help with something. I know you might be not too happy about it, but if you'll allow it...I'd like us to make some vials of your poison, even if it is distilled with some water."
"O-oh... uhm... well... uhh... ya been sayin' that it doesn't do you much harm and... it has been helping you fight, so maybe I don't mind if we make a small bottle or two of it, but ya gotta promise to still be careful, ok?! Ribbit, last thing I want to do is hurt you with it." The tiny pink frog like woman said with a small croak of worry leaving her throat.
Michael sat silent a moment as he looked at his hands and forearms and at the slight yellowish hue they had. His skin has taken to the color just recently, bit by bit. His brown irises with eyes ever so faintly yellow as well, would look at Woh, a small smile accompanying it, although preceeded by the human sucking in his lips slightly. "Y-you won't be hurting me. You can trust that. Hell after what happened, you're the last person that could do that. So no need to be afraid. Whatever choices you make, you can do me no foul."
Woh looked at him, with an ease washing over her tiny form. "Fair enough then. Say. Since its been kinda borin' around 'ere, mind using your magic thingy, what ya called it... ah! Your phoon! To put on that one song you said it is about happiness and not worrying? I liked how it sounded."
"Hah. Gladly. We'll be around here a while, at least until Zurra wants to do my physical therapy. Still kind of regreting telling her about that when she asked about what my kind do to help maintain one's muscles when they can't train and how to deal with pain." Michael said with a small laugh, followed by a grunt of discomfort caused by a stab of his sore body at itself due to the contracting muscles. He'd soon go through his phone and put the tune in question to play on repeat.
"Hah~ there it is... I don't get why, but the song does make me happy. Thanks!" Woh said with a greatful ribbit as she laid down inbetween some of Spek's roots and using them like a lounging chair. She would look up at the tree for a moment too, mouthing a silent 'thank you' to it.
The day would go on to pass as calm as can be, until the late afternoon, when Runhar nearly had a scare for a moment, when he saw torch light coming from deeper within the woods. Still, with a sniff of the air and feeling the scents of Gharna, Oinna, Azhul and Yenna, the guard captain would calm down as he then asked Rok to prepare opening the gates.
When the group came within sight they could be seen pausing as they looked about, their heads clearly turing to examine the surrounding outskirts of their village on the outside.
"What in the name of The Hunt Father happened?!" Gharna yelled out eventually as they got closer, their pace having increased as they saw their home in shambles. "The wall is lookin' like a mess. Is everyone alright?"
"Most, aye!" Runhar yelled and after a moment paused. "Come, there's more to discuss!" The guard captain added as he descended from the watch tower he had climbed up on while on watch.
The group of four was eventually welcomed in and after a quick retelling of their journey and a quick stock of what they brought, which was pulled to storage, Runhar would recount the events that occured here. The whole endevour was burned upon his mind... he couldn't help himself to not go into details, some of which made him visibly look saddened or furious. He eventually even backtracked to what happened to Spek and... how it happened.
To say the least... it was a lot to process, and the news about Spek becoming a... tree... had a mix of reactions.
"Gah... the situation is shite, but I'm kinda pissed I missed ma' using the family technique. I still can't do it nowhere as good as her. Got the getting bigger part down somewhat though." Azhul said with a huff.
"S-seriously? That's yer first concern?!" Gharna added with a snort as she stared up at her bigger hunt sister.
"What do ya wan' me tha do?! Cry about it? I feel like shite, but I ain' gonna break apart over it. Not when we have tha keep things together." Azhul oinked back in retort.
"I-... I have to agree with Azhul. I will check on Urla and see to who's still wounded. If Michael is taken care of at least somewhat for now, I will see to make sure everyone else that can be dealt with quicker, is up on their two feet!" Oinna said with a determined huff as she excused herself and trotted off.
"I'mma be sleepin' a bit. Sleepin' on the road has been a pain." Yenna added with a half dozing off snort as he left. Although he was hit by the initial shock of the situation as well, it only added to the mental exhaustion that traveling has taken on him.
Azhul and Gharna were still lightly huffing at one another, until the latter's eyes sparked with a realization. Gharna's eyes would look at Runhar. "Say, cap'. Ya said Zurra's been takin' care of Michael. Thought we should talk with her, too. Where's she?" She asked very curious, a snort leaving her flat nose.
"Ah... think she might be in his shack with 'im. She said that she wanted to do- " Before Runhar could finish his sentence properly, Azhul seemed to be hit by panic.
It didn't take long to the large Tuskir woman to realize what Gharna was asking and partially hearing Runhar's reply, sent her in nearly a frenzy of embarrasment. "DO HIM?! MA! STOP!"
On the way here Azhul tried telling herself it wasn't possible for something like this to happen, but as her heart rate spiked she attempted to take off toward's Michael's hut.
The nearly stampede like charge though, would be prematurely stopped by Gharna, who wrapped her arms arounds Azhul's waist. While trying to not snort out of sheer amusement, she coughed trying to sound serious. "Wait a wee moment. If ya barge in there while she's doin' him, ya really want tha see that? Might be better to see what the situation... pft... ahem... is... quietly."
Runhar a bit surprised by this whole situation, wanted to finish his sentence, only to be interrupted by Gharna's clear gaze to not utter another word. He even took a moment to chuckle internally, appreciating the bit of amusement after the shit show they have been through.
"Y-yeah... Yeah. Yeah. Yeah... Don't wanna make it worse... oh... h-ho... Hunter Father... please don't let it be too late." Azhul muttered as she walked at a really fast, yet quiet pace.
Gharna would follow up after whispering some words of thanks to Runhar. "Ya kno' can't really blame her, if Michael faught like Runhar says he did. Yer mother did always... pft... ahem... a-appftt... preciate a... ahem... sturdy warrior type o' man."
"I will wrangle your throat if ye utter another bloody word." Azhul said to Gharna, without even looking back.
Still, as they approached Michael's hut and listened, Azhul's expression would only change to that of someone who has seen or heard the most disturbing of the secrets held by eldritch gods of the cosmos.
The sound of a creaking bed frame, the moans of Michael in a mix of pain and pleasure and the groans of Zurra as if she was riding a most unruly beast. The trifecta of trauma had fully hit Azhul into a silent stunned coma as he charge stopped to a full halt.
"Agh- god... you're working the knots out of me." Michael could be heard groaning in pain before letting a grunted moan of relief.
"Told ya boi. If we huff... just changed positions a bit and ye gave me a pointer or two... I could get ya done. Ya ain't so different from any ol' tuskir man. Huh... yer givin' me a bit o' a workout." The older smithy woman could be heard lightly panting.
Gharna got silent as well, feeling embarrased as all hell, but nowhere nearly as bad as Azhul, who seemed to have been shell shocked, her eyes staring into nothingness.
"O-oh! Oh no! Hah! That's sensitive t-take it easy on me a bit! Hah!" The young man groaned, which prompted Azhul to crumble to her knees.
The sudden sound of the short fall made the sound from the hut stop. Heavy steps would soon approach the door and open it, as Zurra looked out towards the two.
"Oh! Yer back! Glad to see ye two fine an' well. Uh... what are ya doin'?" The old Tuskir woman asked as she stretched herself a bit, then popping her knuckles.
The two younger women stood silent, until Gharna could finally utter something. "We-... uh... we're good. W-what... uhm... what were ya doin'?" She said nearly choking.
"Ah. Just givin' da boi a massage. After the fight we had he's in shambles if ya haven't 'eard. Gettin' a wee bit tired, so I could use a hand." Zurra said most casually.
To this reply, Azhul go on her palms as well and pressed her snout to the ground. "Thank ye, Hunt Father... oh huh... thank you..." she said whispered, in a slightly whimpering tone, with sighs of relief leaving her.
Gharna calming down too, nodded. "Ye. Gladly." As she passed by Azhul though, she snickered and whispered to her. "Nearly had tha call 'im daddy there, ay?" She asked before stepping up and inside.
Azhul took a moment to calm down, as she contemplated the repercussions of murder, before approaching the shack and talking with her mother. Glad to see one another, the two went into detail about all the events that happened, together with Michael, who was happy to see them both her and Gharna.
submitted by D0WNGR4D3 to HFY [link] [comments]
- Author's Note: So... its been 3 months. I still live and my writing gobo too. Also I just recently realized its been a bit over 1 years since the series has begun so.... HAPPY 1 YEAR ANNIVERSARY EVERYONE! I hope you'll enjoy the read and please let me know if you'd like me to do anything specific to celebrate 1 year of Beast World. You can support the series by donating my writing gobo a cookie here!
The perimeter walls of their small village have been reinforced by Runhar's earth molding magics. Rok and Brekda have been assisting him in keeping the perimeter watched at all times.
This precaution was necessary as a lot of the Tuskir village's able bodied fighters have been rendered less than optimally effective in combat. Although generally safe, a small tension filled thought gnawed at the back of their minds. The chance of a second assault was something the tribe considered.
Honestly, at a first glance this would be a most opportun time to assault the place, especially with their elder and most skilled healer, Urla, still mostly bed ridden due to exerting herself when healing others.
Still, they tried to go back to a normal state of operating as best as they could, having to make certain compromises. Discussing among themselves the whole group decided to give as best an aid as possible to the two wounded Hay-yen that they still found alive within their walls, asking their previous captives, the ones more willing to co-operate to take care of them. The procurement of constant supplies of food and water up to the present time made them quite willing to assist.
During this time Michael had been spending his time along Zurra and Woh. Zurra, having taken on the responsability to assist the, hopefully temporarily, crippled hooman, has been going about this task while giving aid in any other mundane endeavors like taking care of the children along side Runny, Brekda's wife.
At one such point did Michael find a moment to reflect upon the situation as he was left at the base of Spek's tree alongside Woh. Still, contemplation would have to wait as the human's amphoran companion seemed rather excited for chit-chat, indicated by repeating irregular and excited croaks leaving her throat.
"Michael! Michael! Its been a few days! Can you walk, yet?" Woh asked her question with such a light hearted and casual tone as if she expected Michael to grow back his legs if he actually lost them.
The young man, taking a moment to process the question, shook his head while arching an eyebrow. "Pfft. I'd wish, honestly. To be fair they hurt as all hell, but I am glad whatever herbs Zurra's been reapplying my bandages with have been numbing them. I don't know how well healing magic will work to help me if... at all, but I have been terrified that... I might not walk again. At least... not properly." Michael said choking a bit on his words.
Nervousness washed over him as he looked down at his wrapped up legs, faint blood stains covering them here and there. He only looked at his legs once when Zurra was changing the bandages, he was numbed up good, but the sight of them was something too visceral to not make his mind aware of the pain he should be in. Although suppressed, he could feel his legs burn in a muffled agony.
The mana burn had turned the young man's skin and toe nails to actual ashes that Zurra had to clean off, a rather painstakingly slow endeavor due to how caked in blood the ashes were. From bellow the knees the young man was akin to one of those skinless statues showing the human's body muscular fiber, only minor patches of actual skin hanging on here and there.
Woh kind of grew silent for a moment, before shaking her head as her big round eyes looked at Michael. "W-well don'tcha worry! Even if you can't walk we're here, s-so... we'll be able to help! If I was bigger I wouldn't mind lugging you about like a sack of timber! 'Cause you'd be the best sack of timber to ever be and 'cause we're friends." Woh said with a happy croak, trying her best to cheer up the young man.
Michael snickered and smirked and he shook his head, petting Woh's covered back. "Thanks. It'll be my honor to do my best interpretation of a heavy sack, but I'm hoping I can be fixed." After taking a moment to lean back against Spek's trunk and to look up at his crown of branches and leaves, the young man took in a deep breath. "Woh... I'm going to need your help with something. I know you might be not too happy about it, but if you'll allow it...I'd like us to make some vials of your poison, even if it is distilled with some water."
"O-oh... uhm... well... uhh... ya been sayin' that it doesn't do you much harm and... it has been helping you fight, so maybe I don't mind if we make a small bottle or two of it, but ya gotta promise to still be careful, ok?! Ribbit, last thing I want to do is hurt you with it." The tiny pink frog like woman said with a small croak of worry leaving her throat.
Michael sat silent a moment as he looked at his hands and forearms and at the slight yellowish hue they had. His skin has taken to the color just recently, bit by bit. His brown irises with eyes ever so faintly yellow as well, would look at Woh, a small smile accompanying it, although preceeded by the human sucking in his lips slightly. "Y-you won't be hurting me. You can trust that. Hell after what happened, you're the last person that could do that. So no need to be afraid. Whatever choices you make, you can do me no foul."
Woh looked at him, with an ease washing over her tiny form. "Fair enough then. Say. Since its been kinda borin' around 'ere, mind using your magic thingy, what ya called it... ah! Your phoon! To put on that one song you said it is about happiness and not worrying? I liked how it sounded."
"Hah. Gladly. We'll be around here a while, at least until Zurra wants to do my physical therapy. Still kind of regreting telling her about that when she asked about what my kind do to help maintain one's muscles when they can't train and how to deal with pain." Michael said with a small laugh, followed by a grunt of discomfort caused by a stab of his sore body at itself due to the contracting muscles. He'd soon go through his phone and put the tune in question to play on repeat.
"Hah~ there it is... I don't get why, but the song does make me happy. Thanks!" Woh said with a greatful ribbit as she laid down inbetween some of Spek's roots and using them like a lounging chair. She would look up at the tree for a moment too, mouthing a silent 'thank you' to it.
The day would go on to pass as calm as can be, until the late afternoon, when Runhar nearly had a scare for a moment, when he saw torch light coming from deeper within the woods. Still, with a sniff of the air and feeling the scents of Gharna, Oinna, Azhul and Yenna, the guard captain would calm down as he then asked Rok to prepare opening the gates.
When the group came within sight they could be seen pausing as they looked about, their heads clearly turing to examine the surrounding outskirts of their village on the outside.
"What in the name of The Hunt Father happened?!" Gharna yelled out eventually as they got closer, their pace having increased as they saw their home in shambles. "The wall is lookin' like a mess. Is everyone alright?"
"Most, aye!" Runhar yelled and after a moment paused. "Come, there's more to discuss!" The guard captain added as he descended from the watch tower he had climbed up on while on watch.
The group of four was eventually welcomed in and after a quick retelling of their journey and a quick stock of what they brought, which was pulled to storage, Runhar would recount the events that occured here. The whole endevour was burned upon his mind... he couldn't help himself to not go into details, some of which made him visibly look saddened or furious. He eventually even backtracked to what happened to Spek and... how it happened.
To say the least... it was a lot to process, and the news about Spek becoming a... tree... had a mix of reactions.
"Gah... the situation is shite, but I'm kinda pissed I missed ma' using the family technique. I still can't do it nowhere as good as her. Got the getting bigger part down somewhat though." Azhul said with a huff.
"S-seriously? That's yer first concern?!" Gharna added with a snort as she stared up at her bigger hunt sister.
"What do ya wan' me tha do?! Cry about it? I feel like shite, but I ain' gonna break apart over it. Not when we have tha keep things together." Azhul oinked back in retort.
"I-... I have to agree with Azhul. I will check on Urla and see to who's still wounded. If Michael is taken care of at least somewhat for now, I will see to make sure everyone else that can be dealt with quicker, is up on their two feet!" Oinna said with a determined huff as she excused herself and trotted off.
"I'mma be sleepin' a bit. Sleepin' on the road has been a pain." Yenna added with a half dozing off snort as he left. Although he was hit by the initial shock of the situation as well, it only added to the mental exhaustion that traveling has taken on him.
Azhul and Gharna were still lightly huffing at one another, until the latter's eyes sparked with a realization. Gharna's eyes would look at Runhar. "Say, cap'. Ya said Zurra's been takin' care of Michael. Thought we should talk with her, too. Where's she?" She asked very curious, a snort leaving her flat nose.
"Ah... think she might be in his shack with 'im. She said that she wanted to do- " Before Runhar could finish his sentence properly, Azhul seemed to be hit by panic.
It didn't take long to the large Tuskir woman to realize what Gharna was asking and partially hearing Runhar's reply, sent her in nearly a frenzy of embarrasment. "DO HIM?! MA! STOP!"
On the way here Azhul tried telling herself it wasn't possible for something like this to happen, but as her heart rate spiked she attempted to take off toward's Michael's hut.
The nearly stampede like charge though, would be prematurely stopped by Gharna, who wrapped her arms arounds Azhul's waist. While trying to not snort out of sheer amusement, she coughed trying to sound serious. "Wait a wee moment. If ya barge in there while she's doin' him, ya really want tha see that? Might be better to see what the situation... pft... ahem... is... quietly."
Runhar a bit surprised by this whole situation, wanted to finish his sentence, only to be interrupted by Gharna's clear gaze to not utter another word. He even took a moment to chuckle internally, appreciating the bit of amusement after the shit show they have been through.
"Y-yeah... Yeah. Yeah. Yeah... Don't wanna make it worse... oh... h-ho... Hunter Father... please don't let it be too late." Azhul muttered as she walked at a really fast, yet quiet pace.
Gharna would follow up after whispering some words of thanks to Runhar. "Ya kno' can't really blame her, if Michael faught like Runhar says he did. Yer mother did always... pft... ahem... a-appftt... preciate a... ahem... sturdy warrior type o' man."
"I will wrangle your throat if ye utter another bloody word." Azhul said to Gharna, without even looking back.
Still, as they approached Michael's hut and listened, Azhul's expression would only change to that of someone who has seen or heard the most disturbing of the secrets held by eldritch gods of the cosmos.
The sound of a creaking bed frame, the moans of Michael in a mix of pain and pleasure and the groans of Zurra as if she was riding a most unruly beast. The trifecta of trauma had fully hit Azhul into a silent stunned coma as he charge stopped to a full halt.
"Agh- god... you're working the knots out of me." Michael could be heard groaning in pain before letting a grunted moan of relief.
"Told ya boi. If we huff... just changed positions a bit and ye gave me a pointer or two... I could get ya done. Ya ain't so different from any ol' tuskir man. Huh... yer givin' me a bit o' a workout." The older smithy woman could be heard lightly panting.
Gharna got silent as well, feeling embarrased as all hell, but nowhere nearly as bad as Azhul, who seemed to have been shell shocked, her eyes staring into nothingness.
"O-oh! Oh no! Hah! That's sensitive t-take it easy on me a bit! Hah!" The young man groaned, which prompted Azhul to crumble to her knees.
The sudden sound of the short fall made the sound from the hut stop. Heavy steps would soon approach the door and open it, as Zurra looked out towards the two.
"Oh! Yer back! Glad to see ye two fine an' well. Uh... what are ya doin'?" The old Tuskir woman asked as she stretched herself a bit, then popping her knuckles.
The two younger women stood silent, until Gharna could finally utter something. "We-... uh... we're good. W-what... uhm... what were ya doin'?" She said nearly choking.
"Ah. Just givin' da boi a massage. After the fight we had he's in shambles if ya haven't 'eard. Gettin' a wee bit tired, so I could use a hand." Zurra said most casually.
To this reply, Azhul go on her palms as well and pressed her snout to the ground. "Thank ye, Hunt Father... oh huh... thank you..." she said whispered, in a slightly whimpering tone, with sighs of relief leaving her.
Gharna calming down too, nodded. "Ye. Gladly." As she passed by Azhul though, she snickered and whispered to her. "Nearly had tha call 'im daddy there, ay?" She asked before stepping up and inside.
Azhul took a moment to calm down, as she contemplated the repercussions of murder, before approaching the shack and talking with her mother. Glad to see one another, the two went into detail about all the events that happened, together with Michael, who was happy to see them both her and Gharna.
2023.06.07 00:56 Ok-Ad9188 Short story i cooked up about a World Eater who gets isekai'd into our world and somehow doesn't start immediately killing everything on his way
Koron the Cleaver tried to make sense of where he was. The World Eater champion had been drifted apart from his warband during a warp-storm that somehow did not bring any of his brothers along. His equipment, however, was still intact: His power sword (or power machete, some would say) "Flesh-Splitter" still crackled with the murderous, ever-hungry power field which had a reddish hue due to the weapon's perpetually blood-stained blade. It was broad and heavy with a sharp edge, perfect for hacking heads and limbs apart, and the flat of the blade ended in a protruding spike that was perfect to maim even the most heavily-armored foes. His Storm Bolter, the "Hatred's Roar", possessed by the spirit of a daemon which made every bolt be fired and fly faster producing the characteristic "roar" for which it was named, still laid by his side awaiting slaughter. The Cleaver then checked his blood-red armor, blessed by the Blood God with runes of strength and war, for damage, but found none. This was not a place he was familiar with. Ever since the days of the Horus Heresy and the Great Crusade to the modern campaigns against the corpse-worshippers he had never been to somewhere so disgustingly peaceful. The setting sun gave the streets a dreamy, calm appearance, and a gentle breeze swept through and made the green leaves of the trees dance. The houses were all neatly arranged, painted in tones of white, yellow and pink and surrounded by well-maintained short wooden fences. But Koron grew impatient. The Butcher's Nails pounded against his thoughts, demanding carnage. If there was no combat to be found on this world, then he would make it. Suddenly his thoughts were interrupted by a squeak, a sound he was barely able to register, but spoken with awe: "WOW DUDE, that's such a sick costume, did you make it yourself?" The Cleaver turned instinctively, but had to look around for some time until he detected the creature from which the words originated. A male mortal. Barely an adult too, by the looks of it. Black hair grew profusely from it's head, making the eyes only barely visible. It was frail in body, even for a mortal, but it seemed of average stature. It wore an unfamiliar garb, not from any of the planets of cultures Koron had know and slaughtered. It also carried a backpack, but the World Eater did not recognize it as being able to contain any sort of weaponry or ammunition. The Cleaver gripped his power sword and was ready to split the feeble mortal in two, but for some reason hesitated. This strange world, with strange people, intrigued him. He wished to know more of his prey. "What is your name, feeble creature?" The warrior spoke, startling the young man and almost making him fall to the ground upon hearing the snarl that came from the giant's throat. "What a pathetic display", Koron thought. "U-Uumm… M-M-My name's Kyle… dude." The mortal spoke in a frightened tone. Every word, every motion of this weakling insulted the World Eater, but he managed to restrain the screaming voices in his head which called for blood. Khorne cared not from where the blood flowed, but Koron felt that offering such a feeble creature as the first sacrifice to the Blood God on this new world would be shameful. There was no honor in staining his armor with the blood of such a wretch. "So uh… What's yours? Y-your name, i mean" The mortal once more spoke. Slightly impressed at the courage the creature managed to build to even dare speak to him, Koron answered: "You stand before Koron the Cleaver, mortal. Commander of the Gut Rippers Warband, slayer of a million foes, scourge of the corpse-worshippers, champion of the Blood God" "That's… so cool, man." the mortal spoke "I work at an electronics store-" Poor Kyle could not even finish his sentence before the hulking chaos marine grabbed him by the collar and raised him up to meet the eyes of his terrific helmet. "No. From this moment forward, you will work for me, mortal." The Cleaver spoke in a low growl that made Kyle shiver and made it clear to him that it was not by any means a request. "Jesus, okay, okay! My house isn't big but i guess you could stay there!" The young man said, averting his gaze. "That will do" The World Eater said, letting go of Kyle "Lead the way, mortal." After a short and very tense walk, they arrived at Kyle's house. The furniture was mortal-sized, unfit for an astartes, but the Cleaver judged it sufficient as a temporary base. "So uh, are you hungry?" Kyle asked his strange guest. "For battle. For carnage." The World Eater answered. "Yeah… i don't think there's any of that around, sorry" "Hrrr…" The Cleaver fumed "Hey hey, no problem, let's find you something to watch" the young man said, rushing for the TV Controller. Kyle switched between channels trying to find something that caught the attention of his companion, until he was interrupted with a resounding "WAIT". Kyle stopped. The channel was playing "Saving Private Ryan", specifically the starting D-Day scene. "This will do." The World Eater said with a hint of satisfaction as he observed the slaughter that unraveled before his eyes. Kyle was a bit disturbed at the childish glee with which his guest (or should it be said captor?) watched the scenes of horrifyingly graphic violence, but decided it was best to leave him to it. "So uh… Can i go to sleep?" He asked the hulking berserker. "Yes. I shall allow it." The Cleaver said in a direct manner. "...Really?" Kyle would soon regret these words as the World Eater's murderous gaze turned to him, freezing him with fear. "Do you take me for a liar, maggot? If i wanted you dead you would be so. Now go have your pathetic rest before i lose what little patience i have!" That was enough to make Kyle bolt toward his room. He didn't want to test what was going to happen if the pressed the monster further. As the youngster rolled around on his bed, praying that the strange warrior would find enough distraction in depictions of war and violence, one thought banged against his head as much as the Butcher's Nails did his companion: "Jesus Christ, what the hell have i gotten myself into?"
submitted by Ok-Ad9188 to Grimdank [link] [comments]
2023.06.06 23:29 EnCamp A hilarious developer diary penned by Greg Fulton, lead designer for HoMMIII, detailing NWO's final sprint to get the game published in working order at the deadline
Two weeks ago, I spoke on the phone with Tom Ono, the manual writer for Heroes of Might and Magic III. As usual, Tom asked how things were going. I said things were good... then proceeded to whine and complain for the next five minutes (much to Tom's amusement).12/05/98
When the conversation concluded, Tom said, "Don't complain too much. Some people would give their eyeteeth to be in the game industry." I responded, "Who are these people and why haven't they been beaten for their own good?"
My name is Gregory Fulton, game designer for Heroes of Might and Magic III (developed by New World Computing, published by 3DO). You may call me Greg. Like most game designers, I'm sure you'll find me a bitter and cynical man, aged beyond my years, full of sarcasm, and inexplicably drawn to the horrors of game production like a lobotomized moth to the "pretty" flame.
As I guide you through your weekly tour of my memories, I promise the recollected images will be truthful and sincere but written with a smirk and a wink.
Undoubtedly, we will interact with the following animals: artists, level builders, managers, producers, programmers, testers, and monkeys. To help ensure your safety, I request you fasten your seat belts, keep your hands to your sides at all times, and be sure to not make any quick and sudden movements. Remember... we will be passing through the game production process.
It's Saturday. I'm at work with three other members of the Heroes3 team. I'll be in again tomorrow.
Smells like "crunch time."
Everyone in the game industry knows the term "crunch time." Those not in the industry may ask, "What is crunch time?" Long hours: 10-18 each day. We're starting our fourth crunch month. We have at least one more after this.
Bad take-out food: Mexican and Chinese food are New World's favorites. Today we had Taco Bell and Domino's pizza as part of NWC's "work for food" program.
Social Life: To work in the game industry you must already have some form of social retardation. When crunch mode begins, you may only speak in code to coworkers. Immediate family and friends may be seen on brief occasions so they don't file a missing-persons report. I'm one of the lucky ones; I don't remember having any friends or family.
Hygiene: Haircuts and showers become optional in favor of more sleep time. For me, showers are a must, but my hair is sprouting wings and a tail. Pretty soon I'll look like the lead singer from Flock of Seagulls.
Stress: Anger and frustration are frequent companions. If bridges are burned, this is usually the time. Earlier this week morale was low. In a fit of anger concerning team interactions, I was heard shouting, "I feel like a kindergarten teacher. Can't everyone just keep their hands to themselves and play nice!"
Murphy's law: Any potential hazard will be encountered. I'm writing this diary from the NWC conference room. My computer refuses to function for more than five minutes without seizing up.
12/06/98
This weekend I'm taking care of my PR duties (hence this diary). Not the most exciting stuff, so I'll relate a short story from earlier this week.
David Mullich (producer), Mark Caldwell (NWC vice president and programmer), Jon Van Caneghem (NWC president, creator of all things Might and Magic, and company design visionary), and I found ourselves crowded into the sweltering office of Scott White.
Scott did all the town screens in Heroes III except the Rampart, Necropolis, and Fortress. Since he finished his 3D duties, he's turned his skills to the game's interface. Believe it or not, we were in Scott's office arguing about color: interface colors and player colors.
After much arguing about the interface colors, we decided to leave it virtually untouched. Player colors were a different subject.
Originally, we used light blue, dark blue, red, green, purple, brown, black, and white. These colors needed to change. Light blue looked like the blue used in the main menu. Brown clashed with the brown used in the general game interface. Game text disappeared against white. Black and green disappeared with the terrain colors shown on the game mini-map.
OK. We agreed some of the colors needed to change. After this, the agreements stopped. I don't know what is more ridiculous... arguing over what colors to use or the twisted logic behind the arguments. Red, blue, and dark green were safe choices. We still needed five other colors. The conversation went something like this....
"I don't want yellow. Yellow is the urine color."So it went. Fifteen minutes later everyone agreed to disagree, and Jon was made the final judge. Here are the final colors: red, blue, yellow, green, orange, purple, aqua, and rose (pink).
"What about brown?"
"I don't like brown."
"Brown is the s**t color."
"What about pink?"
"Pink is a sissy color."
"We won't call it pink. We'll call it 'rose'."
"Rose?"
"The rose player?"
"I don't know. If I saw a pink hero, I'd turn and run away. You know any hero secure enough to use pink as his color is bad ass."
"What about magenta?"
"What about cobalt? What about cadmium?"
"Have we accounted for all the fecal colors?"
"What about orange?"
"Phelan (our art lead) doesn't like orange. It looks bad."
"So. I don't think it looks bad."
"Fine. You tell her you want orange."
"She'll kick your ass."
"Oh. Fine. We won't use orange."
12/07/98
Today we stopped all map production. From here until we ship, I join the mapmakers and testers in playing maps and writing bugs... or so I thought.
Today, I had dropped into my lap the assignment of converting the 144-plus pages of the game manual into a help file. Anyone who has written a help file knows how huge this task can be. I could probably finish it in a day, but it requires no one bothering me for an extended period of time. Ha!
At this late stage of the production cycle, my entire day is spent meeting with people, making sure people are doing their work, and confirming that what is being done is correct. I don't have time for work. I've made the ugly evolution from game designer to middle manager.
It wasn't like this at the beginning of the project. At the beginning of the project the game designer is the screaming prophet, lost and alone in the desert (or the design process if you prefer).
In the middle of the production process the prophet is being screamed at by all his fellow coworkers who are wondering what to do because the design doc is behind schedule.
At the end of the project, everyone's a screaming prophet, and everyone is screaming at everyone else.
Sometime in the middle of all this screaming I've got to write this help file. Maybe I could give the assignment to Christian Vanover (H3 assistant director). Isn't it the job of a middle manager to delegate?
12/08/98
Yesterday I was wondering where I would find the time to write the game help file. Today I have the answer.... I think I have the flu. This doesn't feel like any 24-hour "see-ya-bye" flu either. This feels like "kneel before Zod!" flu.
All right. I've got a story for you.
Earlier today we "officially" stopped making maps. From here on out, we play, test, and polish the game. This could mean a little, or a lot. If the maps play well the first time out, revisions will be minor. If we end up chucking whole maps, we may find ourselves back to making maps. Thus, we started playing them today. JVC (Jon Van Caneghem, New World's president) ended up playing a notorious map named "Barbarian Breakout."
Ten minutes after he starts, JVC pages me over my phone intercom: "Hey Yoda." (He's been calling me Yoda lately. I don't know why. I'm not sure if I should be honored or offended. On one hand, Yoda is wise and he trains Jedi Knights. On the other hand, he is a short ugly green dude with big ears.) "Enemy hero with six behemoths (one of the highest-level creatures) knocked on my front door on week two, day one."
"Oops. I'll be right there."
As soon as I walked into JVC's office, the razzing began.
"What's with the six behemoths? Is this one of the balanced scenarios?"
"OK, OK. Something's wrong. Turn off the fog."
Jon restarts the scenario, turns off the fog of war, ends turn four times in a row, then right-clicks the enemy hero to see the extent of his forces. Aside from his other three stacks of creatures... he has one stack of six behemoths. Oops.
"All right. Open the map in the editor."
Jon opens the map in the editor. What do we discover? First, the enemy hero starts at level three, and the mapmaker (Dave Botan) has given him four stacks of creatures. In addition, the enemy hero's starting town has three of seven creature generators already prebuilt.
No wonder the enemy was able to recruit behemoths on day four.
Remember the story about the father who comes home from a bad day at work and yells at his wife? She in turn yells at her kid. The kid in turn kicks the dog.
At this point, I'm looking for a dog to kick. So, I hunt down Dave Botan. Immediately, Dave states his defense.
"Everyone says the map's too hard. It isn't. The AI's cheating." (Recently, we discovered the artificial intelligence was exploiting an undiscovered bug allowing it to recruit more creatures than were actually available.)
"The AI doesn't need to cheat. It's already got a huge advantage."
"There's a bug."
"Doesn't matter. Set all players to normal starting conditions."
At this point everyone begins to playfully dog-pile on Dave telling all the reasons why his maps suck. In the end he relented and fixed the map.
12/09/98
I'm not writing from work today. I'm writing from home. I have seven-way-straight-from-the-bottom-of-the-Amazon-flu.
With this kind of flu the logical course of action would be to rest, drink lots of fluids, watch lots of movies, maybe see a doctor. However, I am a game designer and unfamiliar with the ways of logic. A day at home with the flu means I have the opportunity to finish the H3 help file.
Wow.
How pathetic can you get? On my day off to rest and get better, I use the uninterrupted time to convert a 144+ page manual into a help file.
I should get sick more often. I get more work done.
12/10/98
I'm back at work today. Good news... I finished the help file. Bad news... I still have the flu, and because I was so efficient in writing the game help file... I've been given the task of writing the map editor help file. Oh yeah, finish it by Monday.
Monday? There's so much pressure in my head, when I sniff, my eyes want to flee their sockets. My voice has the auditory consistency of sandpaper. Monday? Sure, I'll have it done by Monday.
12/11/98
Well, it's Friday night, and I have yet to see Star Trek: Insurrection. Doubt I'll be seeing it anytime soon.
One of the unmentioned symptoms of crunch time is cultural unawareness. In my time at a previous company I almost missed the entire O.J. trial. I haven't seen a movie since Starship Troopers. I'm not kidding.
12/14/98
I shouldn't have come in to work Thursday and Friday. It really pushed me over the edge. For the past two days I've been laid up with fever and chills. Remarkably, it was the one thing to take my mind off work. Aside from a froggy throat, it seems to have passed.
Enough about my illness. From here on, assume I'm always ill with the flu.
12/15/98
Today NWC (New World Computing) took a brief pause from game development to listen to Trip Hawkins (president of 3DO, NWC's parent company).
Twice a year, Trip makes a formal visit to talk about the company and where we're going as a company. It's a nice break from things.
However, Trip wasn't half as exciting as David Richie (our tools programmer) who sat next to me. Turns out David is coming down with the flu.
Over the course of the meeting, the air conditioning didn't turn on. With over 50 people crammed into a room, it got hot very fast. As the minutes passed, I could see David slowly whither.
I thought he was going to vomit. So basically, for most of the meeting, I sat envisioning how I was going to get out of the way when the volcano erupted.
Luckily, the volcano did not erupt. David left in the middle of the lecture and I haven't seen him since.
12/17/98
Welcome to the end of another working day at NWC. There is still no sign of David Richey. Another one of our programmers, John Krause, called in sick today. David Mullich (the Heroes III director) was ready to take bets on who would call in sick next. Of course, everyone blames me for getting them ill.
As far as your average NWC workday goes, this one was hectic and full of revelation.
Revelation?
Yes. Revelation. Only today did I look at my calendar and realize Christmas was next Friday.
Hectic?
Yes. Hectic. Every now and then I need to wipe my desk clean. This means catching up on all the hand-scrolled notes and stray post-its littered about my desk. When my desk is clean, I'm caught up.
This very act of cleaning makes for a semi-chaotic day. There is much gear shifting and subject changing to close dangling issues.
Add to this my usual parade of visitors, and my first chance to test multiplayer, and it takes great effort to avoid turning into a screaming monkey. Yes, I said screaming monkey.
Frequently, I find myself held hostage in my own office as a line of visitors (testers, programmers, artists, producers, etc.) quickly assemble outside my office in a short period of time, all wanting a piece of my brain.
Today it happened to occur while I was in the middle of a multiplayer game with Jeff Leggett (H3 multiplayer programmer). Simultaneously, I had three people show up and cram themselves into my small office. Each began jockeying for position to ask a question. Meanwhile, Jeff waited on the phone intercom, with Heroes III continually chiming in the background, letting me know it was my turn to play.
At this point you may apply the screaming monkey metaphor.
Despite the great potential for chaos, I asked Jeff to wait, gave my three suitors a number, told them to wait in line, then answered each of their questions.
On the surface, everything looked under control. Little did these poor souls know there was a screaming monkey, trapped in my mind's steel cage, wildly thrashing about in a desperate attempt to escape and turn me into a volcano of anger and lunacy.
When it was over, I took a deep breath, noted the walls weren't sprayed with the blood of innocent coworkers, and returned to my multiplayer game with Jeff.
Heroes II multiplayer wasn't friendly in the least. When it wasn't your turn, all you could do was sit at the computer and stare at the screen like a moron.
Well, thanks to our wonderful network programmer, Jeff Leggett, a moron you will no longer be.
Jeff has finished implementing multiplayer support. Now we're on a bug hunt. So, today, Jeff and I played a multiplayer game in the background while we went about our work.
I must admit, I had a blast. Moments like this make me forget my job is serious work.
12/18/98 Friday
Today I actually managed to catch up on all my notes. Next up, International Translation Kit. It can wait until Sunday. I don't get to enjoy these moments of accomplishment very often.
Being a game designer is nothing more than a life of delayed gratification. You spend the first month of the project "being creative," then spend the next 17 as a bricklayer implementing low-level details and boot-strapping the game design when unforeseen consequences arise.
Tomorrow we have our annual company Christmas party. I won't be going. I see my coworkers every day at work. I don't want to see them in a social environment. It'd be too weird. They'd have, like, spouses and dates and stuff, and wear dress clothes.
We've been told we can dress formal or casual. To me this means torn jeans and a food-stained white T-shirt. To everyone else, this means dress formal, because no one wants to underdress.
I don't want to see any of my coworkers dressed up. The thought frightens me. We're a bunch of geeks. We don't look good in casual wear. Formal wear will only amplify our geekiness.
Only one thing could entice me to go to the Christmas party - seeing the wives go off on the management for working their husbands so hard. I'd pay to see that... provided I wasn't on the receiving end.
By the way... hello to Chris Cross and Brian Reed, two friends I made when I briefly worked at Dreamworks Interactive (I didn't work on Trespasser). They called me today. They'd read the first entry in the Designer Diary and called to tell me what they thought. They then tied me up on the phone for the next 30 minutes while simultaneously sending me e-mail with bizarre and obscene attachments.
01/02/99 Saturday
Well, I'm back at work. The Christmas break was needed. I spent the first three days drinking eggnog, sleeping in 12- and 16-hour shifts, and watching Clinton get impeached.
After I was well rested, the eggnog was all gone, and Clintion was impeached, I did what any game design loser would do... worked on the game while on vacation. Ugh. I'm so pathetic.
My initial goal was to play existing maps. After playing five maps, it was obvious the AI hadn't been fully tested. It tended to sit back and never struck out until it had enough forces to guarantee a win.
This made for very extreme game experiences. Either you never saw the AI, or it came storming out of nowhere, knocked on your door, and politely introduced itself as your doom.
When our AI programmer (Gus Smedstad) gets back from vacation, I'll need to share my findings with him.
Well, seeing as I couldn't really play the game, I turned my attention to our 144-page game manual... much to my horror.
It turns out our second draft of the manual was full of errors. So, with red pen in hand, I promoted myself from game designer to fact checker. Over the next three days, I proceeded to bloody the pages of our beautiful manual.
To say it was tedious would be an understatement. When it was all over, I couldn't read anything if it wasn't written in fine print.
01/04/99 Monday
Today was another screaming monkey day. Why? One word: programmers.
I won't say who, but one of our programmers came into my office and proceeded to yell at me over a feature request he'd been given to program.
Why was he yelling at me? On the surface, it was because I hadn't given him enough details, or I hadn't thought through its impact enough. Or it could have been because it was simply a stupid feature, I didn't know what I was doing, and I was ruining the game.
The real reason? He wasn't sure how to program the task he'd been given, and the specified time frame was short. Instead of calming down, thinking it through, and telling me whether it could or could not be done in the given time frame, he panicked, and chose to vent at me.
Programmers are a unique breed. Can't live with 'em, can't live without 'em. Some of my best friends are programmers.
I must admit I am fascinated. I've watched each of our team programmers code. It's very amusing. How they code gives me a unique insight to their personality. For instance...
John Bolton (lead programmer): When John programs, it looks like he's playing chess.Now take such individuals and do the unthinkable... Make them into a team. Worse yet, force them to have meetings in which they must interact on a social level and agree to work together. Worse yet, force them to interact with right-brained artists and game designers.
David Richey (tools programmer): David doesn't code. Beforehand, he thinks about his task in depth, like contemplating philosophy, then simply writes it up. Quite often you can look through David's office window and see him bent over in his chair, chin on fist, like The Thinker.
Mark Caldwell (NWC VP): You need to know Mark to really understand, but when Mark codes, it's like he's in a boxing ring, ducking shots, trading blows, and trash talking with the program.
It's a wonder any games ever get made.
Join designer Greg Fulton as gives us his very last Designer Diary entry, which tracks the last days of Heroes of Might and Magic III. In these last few days, the team waited anxiously to approve the gold candidate. But there is no rest for Greg, as he mentions a little something about the expansion disc. Join us as we count down the final development of Heroes III.
01/07/99
Ever heard the phrase "thousand tile stare"?
It's a phrase used by our mapmakers. You get the thousand tile stare from making H3 maps all day long.
Today I got the thousand tile stare after making a map for our eventual game demo.
It's a very simple, small map, letting players experience a portion of the game. Hopefully they'll experience enough and feel compelled to buy the game. I've been calling the map "Dead and Buried."
When I finished, I gave it to Chris Vanover (H3 assistant director) to play. Chris is an expert Heroes player. He's a good gauge of the map's difficulty.
Watching Chris play was a lot of fun. It allowed me to take a break from work and finally see the game in action. However, I am the worst person to have over your shoulder when you play.
Why? I'm a backseat driver. It's a bad habit from playing console games with friends.
Thus, I watched Chris play and second-guessed him all the way. We were like two old men spitting and complaining about the best strategy as Chris clicked his way through the game. It was rather humorous.
01/08/99
Today I gave the Dead and Buried map to a few select people to see if anyone could beat it in the allotted time frame of four game weeks.
One of my candidates was Jen Bullard. Jen is the only female tester in the QA area.
Upon entering the test area, I found Jennifer burning a candle at her desk. She wasn't afraid to comment aloud how everyone else in the test area doesn't wash their clothes often enough. She thinks they stink.
No sooner did I sit down to watch Jen play than the verbal bantering between the testers began.
Ryan Den, another one of our testers, was sure he found a bug and asked aloud if anyone had encountered the same bug. No one had. Immediately everyone began shouting "user error." Ryan thought they were all high... until he realized it was user error. Everyone then proceeded to playfully tear into Ryan yet again.
I must admit, our testers are pretty cool. Their interactions are quite amusing. They banter with the voracity of a knife fight, but it's rarely cruel.
01/14/99
Last night was my last chance to revise the game manual. Thus, I decided to pull an all-nighter to finish it. This was my first time being at NWC so late. I also experienced something completely new.
I had been drinking many free Cokes when my bladder reminded me who was really in charge. Without hesitation, I raced to the bathroom. I opened the door. It was dark. This is not unusual. The lights are hooked up to a motion sensor. To save energy, they turn on and off based on the presence of a moving body. Confident the lights would turn on, I strode into the bathroom.
The lights did not illuminate.
Fumbling around in the dark, I was able to find the light switch and flip it on.
Nothing.
Fumbling around some more, I found the door handle and exited the bathroom.
Moving quickly to Mark Caldwell's office (Mark and George were also working late), I told him, "The bathroom lights won't turn on." He said, "Yeah. The bathroom lights don't turn on after midnight." I asked, "How do you go to the bathroom with the lights off?" He answered, "Usually I just feel my way to the urinal."
"I need to take a crap."
"Hey, I wouldn't know anything about that. Get the flashlight from George."
"I need a flashlight?"
"Yeah."
So, I walked to George's office.
"I need the bathroom flashlight."
Giggling to himself under his breath, George reached into his desk and gave me a pocket flashlight. With flashlight in hand I returned to the bathroom where everything went according to plan.
I know game production has its odd moments, but... this one was really odd.
01/18/99
In the last days of a game's production, the game designer makes a desperate attempt to prevent features from being cut to make the deadline. However, if I got all the features I wanted, the game would never ship. Thus, there is always a tug of war between the game designer, management, programmers, and artists, to decide what gets into the game and what gets pushed back to the expansion or sequel.
Today I was doing my best to get a new hero into the game without too much additional programming or art. I realized I could get the results I needed by simply adding a new graphic and customizing an existing game hero. Even better, I could get the graphic from existing art in the intro movie. All the artist had to do was crop a freeze-frame from the movie and give it to our asset manager to be put into the game. I could customize the hero in the editor. All the programmers had to do was recognize the character's unique identification.
Well, we did.
I wonder how much longer I can push my luck.
01/19/99
I have become the Walmart floor manager.
No. I haven't quit my job.
Let me explain.
At this stage in the making of the game, I find myself spending most of my time walking the halls with my Notepad of Oppression waiting for people to call out my name.
The notepad is a list of issues needing resolution. Most people find the notepad humorous unless their name is on it. Ironically, I end up putting my name on the notepad more than anyone else's (I'm oppressing myself).
Regardless, when I am walking the halls and someone calls out my name, I duck into their office to answer their questions. Sometimes this means getting on their phone and calling someone else to clear up an issue. If I don't have the answer, I'm the intermediary.
Thus, I feel like the Walmart floor manager, roaming the isles, taking care of arising issues. All I really need is the blue vest.
01/20/99
For a moment, consider most game manuals. Usually, a manual details the game interface and introduces you to the various game elements. Rarely do these manuals give you true game statistics.
For Heroes III , we wanted to buck this trend. Using the Heroes II strategy guide as a model, we decided to make a big manual loaded with information. This is exactly what we did - 144 pages.
Today we signed off on the manual. Well, no sooner did the ink dry than we discovered some errors. It was terrifying. I literally sat at my desk, looking at the errors I had discovered, and heard the manual mocking me with the chittering of a wild hyena.
There was nothing I could do. It was carved in stone. Now understand, most manuals ship with some errors. This is what the Readme is for. However, several people had gone over this manual time and again, and still there were errors.
I'll never make a big manual again. It's too much upkeep considering the fluidity of game design.
I'm sure I'll lose some sleep over this.
1/25/99
Today the Coke machine caught fire.
Let me repeat this.
Today the Coke machine caught fire.
Since we started crunching, around 7:00pm each night, Mark Caldwell (NWC VP) has been unlocking the Coke machine for free drinks to go with our evening meal. We don't continue pressing the selection buttons for the various drinks. Instead, we literally open up the front half of this big, red, half-ton refrigerator, made to withstand the assaults of the most juvenile of delinquents.
Now, I'm not exactly clear on the details, but one of the testers pulled open the front door to grab a soda from inside. Apparently, some of the electrical wires were sheared, followed by fire and smoke.
Upon seeing the fire and smelling the smoke, the tester grabbed Ben Bent (NWC office manager and part-time game director). He then pointed out the fire in the Coke machine.
With perfect calm, Ben simply unplugged the Coke machine. Poof. The fire went away.
I must admit, I can't help but see the fire in the Coke machine as a metaphor for Heroes III in production. A fire starts, someone panics, and someone else calmly solves the problem.
Truthfully, it's the story of the game production process.
2/07/99 Sunday
Today could be the day.
We've decided to make a "final candidate" CD-ROM for 3DO approval. A final candidate is what we consider "ready to ship." We then send the final candidate to 3DO for them to do shrink-wrap testing.
Tonight, no one leaves the building until the game is finished.
2/08/99 Monday
It's 5:00am Monday morning.
We just started burning the final candidate.
About half the team is still here.
We've been crunching too long. Everyone's burnt.
About 15 minutes ago, Mark starting broadcasting Money For Nothing over everyone's speakerphone.
Ironic.
02/13/99
I am literally weak-kneed. Except for writing this entry, all I intend to do is just sit in my office chair and do everything I possibly can to do nothing.
As of 8:30 Saturday, February 13, we're calling it good Barring last-second crash bugs, the game is done.
It's 9:30, and with the realization the game is done, already I'm beginning to crash.
After crunching for so long, the crash is the aftereffect. This is the time when you finally realize you can relax and return to a somewhat normal life. This is also the flag signaling the release of all the pent-up stress and illness you've been holding off by sheer will for the past six months. Thus... crash.
Wow.
We're done.
02/14/99
Four days after announcing Heroes has gone gold, we're already talking about the expansion pack. Already, I've assembled my map makers. They're good people. With H3 under their belts they should make even better maps for the expansion.
The downside? Chris Vanover is moving onto a different project. Technically Chris was H3's assistant director, but I adopted him as my assistant designer. He was a big help in many of the grunt areas. I was hoping to hand the expansion off to Chris so I could concentrate on the next Heroes.
No such luck.
Ultimately, this means vacation must wait.
(whimper)
Where is a monkey boy when you need one?
02/19/99
David Mullich's (Heroes III director) wife was pregnant and expecting about the same time as E3 last year (Atlanta '98). So, he couldn't go and demonstrate the game.
I was the next logical choice. I know the game better than anyone else, and when needed, I can turn on the charm.
Now don't get me wrong, when I have demoed the game, it has been a delight. Yet, as a game, Heroes III doesn't demo well. It's a turn-based game. It's not a first-person shooter or real-time strategy game. There's no real immediate reward for your attention span to latch onto.
However, Heroes does have a very large, very dedicated following. Thus, most people who want to see Heroes are already fans. This was the case at E3.
At E3 I did the vast majority of the presentations. I did so many I ended up losing my voice. Almost all the people who saw the game were fans of Heroes and liked what they saw. We were so successful, people were taking chairs from the other game stations to sit in front of ours.
Well, the downside to my work at E3 was... I became the demo guy. The downside of being the demo guy is traveling.
I hate traveling.
Once I arrive at my destination, there's no problem. I'm just impatient by nature. I'm also 6'1" and hate sitting in supercramped airline seats.
So, today I got to fly up to 3DO with Peter Ryu (MM7 producer), Keith Francart (MM7 director), and Jeff Blatner (new Heroes producer) to give presentations on MM7 and Heroes III to our Ubi Soft partners and a smattering of European journalists.
As much as I hated getting up at 5:30am and traveling to San Francisco (less than one week after going gold), the trip was amusing for a number of reasons.
Since I have been at New World, Peter Ryu has always worn shorts and sandals. For the presentation, Pete was ordered to wear pants and shoes. Throughout the day, he was wincing as the shoes rubbed his feet raw.
The other amusing part was hanging out with the French chicks from Ubi Soft and the European press.
Last time I was at 3DO I did an H3 presentation to a number of European journalists. Not a French woman among them. It was different this time, and dare I say, worth the trip.
02/22/99
David Mullich (H3 director), George Ruof (H3 programmer), and I are the only members of the team in the building today. Everyone else is on vacation.
Over the weekend I began my self-rehabilitation for returning to the real world.
When you do nothing but work 12-14 hours a day, seven days a week, and then it all comes to an abrupt halt, you suddenly find you have all this spare time on your hands.
Ultimately, you become bored. You don't know what to do with yourself because your "normal" situation meant working on the game... but the game is finished. Normal has become different and no longer normal.
A logical assumption for curing this boredom would be a vacation. Not yet. I've got to write the design for the expansion disc. I've got two weeks before it is due. After hammering out the specs, everyone will be briefed, then I can go on vacation.
I've got it all planned out. I haven't seen my parents since Christmas of 1997. So, I'm going to go back home and sit in the rocking chair in front of my dad's big-screen TV and watch nothing but cable television for at least two weeks. You heard me. Nothing but CNN Headline News for two weeks. If by then I'm not properly vegetated, I'll watch it for another week. Then I'll track down my old high school girlfriend and see if she's still single.
I've set up an e-mail address for your feedback about the game when it hits the shelves. This e-mail is merely for player feedback and suggestions. I will be the one reading the e-mails, and most likely, I won't be answering any of them. So, don't flame me if I don't respond. [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected]).
I've enjoyed writing these diaries. I wish I had been able to dedicate more time to them.
My apologies to Elliott Chin (who made these diaries possible). Elliott wanted me to talk about the design philosophy behind H3. After practicing design philosophy 12-14 hours a day, I couldn't bring myself to write a diary about it. So, I thought I'd do "a day in the life." I hope you enjoyed my tongue-in-cheek account.
I leave you with the following words I once heard the great Jon Van Caneghem speak, "When it's all over you'll forget how hard it was and do it all over again."
He's right. We will.
2023.06.06 22:39 SPACE_LEM0N Final batch of albums from my revamped Custom Linkin Park Collection now available! – 11 albums comprising the Ziggurats Era, and The Phoenix
In redoing my extensive custom Linkin Park collection, I've decided to post about them in groups of 9 to 11 albums, as I complete them. This is the last of seven such posts. This batch of albums consists of 11, and covers the Ziggurats Era (including Cognition, Platonic Love, and the remaining CoronaJams as ShinodaJams) and The Phoenix.
The albums in my custom collections are designed to have seamless transitions between all tracks on albums, and a consistent number of tracks per album (16 tracks in the case of Linkin Park, but sometimes 20, 24, or even 32 tracks when most of the tracks are really short and there are many of them). These albums are also intended to be as complete as possibly, excluding only tracks that are redundant, or have been deemed... unworthy. These albums are primarily intended for my spouse and I to listen to (hence the exclusion of a few tracks that we find hard to listen to), but I also love sharing them with others.
I will not be posting download links here – please message me privately if you would like access to the albums (which I will happily grant you).
See below for the tracklist.
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First batch of albums
Second batch of albums
Third batch of albums
Fourth batch of albums
Fifth batch of albums
Sixth batch of albums
The collection for Linkin Park, and other Mike and Chester acts, consists of 73 albums total.
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Length: 39 minutes
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Length: 45 minutes
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Length: 41 minutes
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submitted by SPACE_LEM0N to LinkinPark [link] [comments]
The albums in my custom collections are designed to have seamless transitions between all tracks on albums, and a consistent number of tracks per album (16 tracks in the case of Linkin Park, but sometimes 20, 24, or even 32 tracks when most of the tracks are really short and there are many of them). These albums are also intended to be as complete as possibly, excluding only tracks that are redundant, or have been deemed... unworthy. These albums are primarily intended for my spouse and I to listen to (hence the exclusion of a few tracks that we find hard to listen to), but I also love sharing them with others.
I will not be posting download links here – please message me privately if you would like access to the albums (which I will happily grant you).
See below for the tracklist.
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List of Albums
[(Collage of cover art for the post thumbnail)]()- #63 – [!I] – Mike Shinoda – Cognition (Sleep For Students)
- #64 – [!I] – Mike Shinoda – Platonic Love
- #65 – [!M!] – Mike Shinoda – Ziggurats
- #66 – [!R] – Mike Shinoda – Ziggurats: Variations Vol. 1
- #67 – [!R] – Mike Shinoda – Ziggurats: Variations Vol. 2
- #68 – [!R] – Mike Shinoda – Ziggurats: Variations Vol. 3
- #69 – [!R] – Mike Shinoda – Ziggurats: Variations Vol. 4
- #70 – [ID] – Mike Shinoda – ShinodaJams 7.0
- #71 – [ID] – Mike Shinoda – ShinodaJams 8.0
- #72 – [ID] – Mike Shinoda – ShinodaJams 9.0
- #73 – [!M!] – Grey Daze – The Phoenix
First batch of albums
Second batch of albums
Third batch of albums
Fourth batch of albums
Fifth batch of albums
Sixth batch of albums
The collection for Linkin Park, and other Mike and Chester acts, consists of 73 albums total.
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Key
- [!M!] = Main studio album (including fake ones and extended EPs)
- [!B] = Bonus album (additional songs and miscellaneous material)
- [!R] = Remix album
- [!I] = Instrumental album
- [D] = Demo album
- [DR] = Demo remix album
- [ID] = Instrumental demo album
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[!I] Mike Shinoda – Cognition (Sleep For Students)
- 01 – In – [Partitioned]
- 02 – One
- 03 – Two
- 04 – Three
- 05 – Four
- 06 – Five
- 07 – Six
- 08 – Seven
- 09 – Eight
- 10 – Nine
- 11 – Ten
- 12 – Eleven
- 13 – Twelve
- 14 – Thirteen
- 15 – Fourteen
- 16 – Fifteen
- 17 – Sixteen
- 18 – Seventeen
- 19 – Eighteen
- 20 – Nineteen
- 21 – Twenty – [Partitioned]
- 22 – Twenty-one – [Originally part of Twenty]
- 23 – Twenty-two – [Originally Twenty-one]
- 24 – Twenty-three – [Originally Twenty-two]
- 25 – Twenty-four – [Originally Twenty-three]
- 26 – Twenty-five – [Originally Twenty-four]
- 27 – Twenty-six – [Originally Twenty-five]
- 28 – Twenty-seven – [Originally Twenty-six]
- 29 – Twenty-eight – [Originally Twenty-seven]
- 30 – Twenty-nine – [Originally Twenty-eight]
- 31 – Thirty – [Originally Twenty-nine]
- 32 – Out – [Originally Thirty]
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[!I] Mike Shinoda – Platonic Love
- 3D Test
- 01 – The Cornell Box
- 02 – The Stanford Bunny
- 03 – The Utah Teapot
- Five Platonics
- 04 – Thetra
- 05 – Hexa
- 06 – Octa
- 07 – Dodeca
- 08 – Icosa – ['A Lot of Platonic Love' Extended Edit]
- Open Editions
- 09 – On a Budget
- 10 – At the Frathouse
- 11 – With Honors
- Score Demos – [Twitch Demos]
- 12 – Score Demos
- 13 – Score Demos 2
- 14 – Score Demos 3.1
- 15 – Score Demos 4
- 16 – Score Demos 3.2
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[!M!] Mike Shinoda – Ziggurats
- 01 – Welcome – [Fort Minor]
- 02 – Prove You Wrong – [PT Bonus Track]
- 03 – What the Words Meant – [PT Bonus Track]
- 04 – Fine – [Non-album Single]
- 05 – May Loops – [ft. Dan Mayo] – [NFT]
- 06 – Waiting For Tomorrow – [with Martin Garrix & Pierce Fulton]
- 07 – Last One To Know – [with Steve Aoki, ft. LIGHTS]
- 08 – Open Door – [ft. Fans] – [Dropped Frames]
- 09 – Decasentry [Stem Mix 0000] – [NFT]
- 10 – Genius Bar – [Ziggurats EP]
- 11 – Richard Bachman – [Ziggurats EP]
- 12 – Cheat Codes – [Ziggurats EP]
- 13 – CTRL C CTRL V – [Ziggurats EP]
- 14 – Arthas, My Son [Mike Shinoda Remix]
- 15 – In My Head – [ft. Kailee Morgue]
- 16 – Happy Endings – [ft. iann dior & UPSAHL]
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[!R] Mike Shinoda – Ziggurats: Variations Vol. 1
- 01 – In My Head [Spooky Version] – [ft. Kailee Morgue]
- 02 – Decasentry [Stem Mix 2001]
- 03 – Ziggurats #101: Genius Bar [#101]
- 04 – Ziggurats #101: Richard Bachman [#101]
- 05 – Ziggurats #101: Cheat Codes [#101]
- 06 – Ziggurats #101: CTRL C CTRL V [#101]
- 07 – Ziggurats #475: Genius Bar [#475]
- 08 – Ziggurats #475: Richard Bachman [#475]
- 09 – Ziggurats #475: Cheat Codes [#475]
- 10 – Ziggurats #475: CTRL C CTRL V [#475]
- 11 – Ziggurats #849: Genius Bar [#849]
- 12 – Ziggurats #849: Richard Bachman [#849]
- 13 – Ziggurats #849: Cheat Codes [#849]
- 14 – Ziggurats #849: CTRL C CTRL V [#849]
- 15 – In My Head [Slowed and Reverbed] – [ft. Kailee Morgue]
- 16 – Decasentry [Stem Mix 0112]
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[!R] Mike Shinoda – Ziggurats: Variations Vol. 2
- 01 – Ziggurats #1234: Genius Bar [#1234]
- 02 – Ziggurats #1234: Richard Bachman [#1234]
- 03 – Ziggurats #1234: Cheat Codes [#1234]
- 04 – Ziggurats #1234: CTRL C CTRL V [#1234]
- 05 – Ziggurats #1600: Genius Bar [#1600]
- 06 – Ziggurats #1600: Richard Bachman [#1600]
- 07 – Ziggurats #1600: Cheat Codes [#1600]
- 08 – Ziggurats #1600: CTRL C CTRL V [#1600]
- 09 – Ziggurats #1971: Genius Bar [#1971]
- 10 – Ziggurats #1971: Richard Bachman [#1971]
- 11 – Ziggurats #1971: Cheat Codes [#1971]
- 12 – Ziggurats #1971: CTRL C CTRL V [#1971]
- 13 – Ziggurats #2358: Genius Bar [#2358]
- 14 – Ziggurats #2358: Richard Bachman [#2358]
- 15 – Ziggurats #2358: Cheat Codes [#2358]
- 16 – Ziggurats #2358: CTRL C CTRL V [#2358]
×=×=×=×=×
[!R] Mike Shinoda – Ziggurats: Variations Vol. 3
- 01 – In My Head [Sped Up] – [ft. Kailee Morgue]
- 02 – Decasentry [Stem Mix 1210] [AKA Version 2]
- 03 – Ziggurats #2764: Genius Bar [#2764]
- 04 – Ziggurats #2764: Richard Bachman [#2764]
- 05 – Ziggurats #2764: Cheat Codes [#2764]
- 06 – Ziggurats #2764: CTRL C CTRL V [#2764]
- 07 – Ziggurats #3107: Genius Bar [#3107]
- 08 – Ziggurats #3107: Richard Bachman [#3107]
- 09 – Ziggurats #3107: Cheat Codes [#3107]
- 10 – Ziggurats #3107: CTRL C CTRL V [#3107]
- 11 – Ziggurats #3435: Genius Bar [#3435]
- 12 – Ziggurats #3435: Richard Bachman [#3435]
- 13 – Ziggurats #3435: Cheat Codes [#3435]
- 14 – Ziggurats #3435: CTRL C CTRL V [#3435]
- 15 – Waiting For Tomorrow [Extended Version] – [with Martin Garrix & Pierce Fulton]
- 16 – Decasentry [Stem Mix 2221] [AKA Version 3]
×=×=×=×=×
[!R] Mike Shinoda – Ziggurats: Variations Vol. 4
- 01 – Ziggurats #3929: Genius Bar [#3929]
- 02 – Ziggurats #3929: Richard Bachman [#3929]
- 03 – Ziggurats #3929: Cheat Codes [#3929]
- 04 – Ziggurats #3929: CTRL C CTRL V [#3929]
- 05 – Ziggurats #4259: Genius Bar [#4259]
- 06 – Ziggurats #4259: Richard Bachman [#4259]
- 07 – Ziggurats #4259: Cheat Codes [#4259]
- 08 – Ziggurats #4259: CTRL C CTRL V [#4259]
- 09 – Ziggurats #4640: Genius Bar [#4640]
- 10 – Ziggurats #4640: Richard Bachman [#4640]
- 11 – Ziggurats #4640: Cheat Codes [#4640]
- 12 – Ziggurats #4640: CTRL C CTRL V [#4640]
- 13 – Ziggurats #4870: Genius Bar [#4870]
- 14 – Ziggurats #4870: Richard Bachman [#4870]
- 15 – Ziggurats #4870: Cheat Codes [#4870]
- 16 – Ziggurats #4870: CTRL C CTRL V [#4870]
×=×=×=×=×
[ID] Mike Shinoda – ShinodaJams 7.0
[Twitch Demos] * 01 – Freestyle 3.1.21 * 02 – Obon Papa Roach KMFDM Saw Weird Time Sig * 03 – Doors Strokes Silent Hill * 04 – Freestyle 1 - 3.17.21 * 05 – Freestyle 2 - 3.17.21 [Loop Edit] * 06 – Freestyle 4.5.21 * 07 – Rebel Bass 2 * 08 – Dinosaur Jr. Trigun Sound Collector * 09 – Freestyle 5.13.21 * 10 – Return of the Aliens – [NFT] * 11 – Reaper * 12 – RTN AI * 13 – Axel F Pink Floyd Anderson .Paak * 14 – Freestyle 6.17.21 * 15 – Freestyle 7.1.21 * 16 – Live Room JamLength: 39 minutes
×=×=×=×=×
[ID] Mike Shinoda – ShinodaJams 8.0
[Twitch Demos] * 01 – Maschine Freestyle * 02 – Redwoods Freestyle * 03 – Wonderguns * 04 – Brown Noise * 05 – Pop Punk Undertale Cell Phone Alarm * 06 – Random Stuff In the Room * 07 – New Jack Swing Volbeat * 08 – Freestyle Ooh Baba [Version 2] * 09 – Melatonin * 10 – Rings of Saturn * 11 – Bigfoot Freestyle * 12 – Jiujitsu * 13 – Long Live the Parrot * 14 – Line of Demarcation * 15 – Bowl Post Rock Blue Monday Mass Effect * 16 – Sea Cucumber [Version 2]Length: 45 minutes
×=×=×=×=×
[ID] Mike Shinoda – ShinodaJams 9.0
[Twitch Demos] * 01 – Freestyle 10.28.21 * 02 – Thunderdogs * 03 – Last Laugh – [NFT] * 04 – Rapology Throwback [Version 2] * 05 – Dolphin Cheeseburger Xmas * 06 – Happy Accident * 07 – Cathedral * 08 – Queso Fresco * 09 – Lava Totem w Live Drum * 10 – Integrity Tot * 11 – Bowl Tamp Impala Jon Bellion Living Things * 12 – Portal Sound Redeem * 13 – Timekeeper * 14 – Lucky Foot – [NFT] * 15 – Cold Storage * 16 – Windchime [Version 2]Length: 41 minutes
×=×=×=×=×
[!M!] Grey Daze – The Phoenix
- 01 – (The King) – [Partitioned]
- 02 – Saturation (Strange Love)
- 03 – Starting To Fly
- 04 – Be Your Man
- 05 – Holding You [ft. Dave Navarro]
- 06 – (Sailed Away) [ft. Lily & Lila Bennington] – [Partitioned]
- 07 – Hole
- 08 – Drag
- 09 – Believe Me [ft. Richard Patrick]
- 10 – Anything, Anything
- 11 – Spin
- 12 – Wake Me
- Amends: Stripped
- 13 – Sometimes [Stripped]
- 14 – Soul Song [Stripped]
- 15 – What's In the Eye [Stripped]
- 16 – Shouting Out [Stripped]
×=×=×=×=×
×=×=×=×=×
2023.06.06 21:56 junkyjenny123 need help for bar/club!
hi everyone. i’m a pale girl who, for some reason, was very skilled at makeup in 2015-16 but, lately, i just don’t know what i’m doing / what to do. i often go out to bars or clubbing with friends and, whenever i look back on photos, it seems like i have no makeup on - or my face looks too plain. i have done research in the past and i have a pink-ish undertone, light green eyes, light eyebrows and small lips. none of which i have a problem with, but i’ve learned what accentuates my features (lip stains and glosses over lipsticks, pink blush instead of gold-toned highlighter, dark purple mascara and liner). despite this, when applying makeup i always think it’s either too little or too much, and can’t seem to figure out a makeup look quite right for social events. i’m not afraid of looking like i’m wearing makeup (i don’t want to block my brows or have a noticeably orange face); i want to look like i’m wearing makeup, very pretty makeup!
long story short, how the heck do i do my makeup for the club??? does anyone have any tips or suggestions? thank you in advance :’)
submitted by junkyjenny123 to PaleMUA [link] [comments]
long story short, how the heck do i do my makeup for the club??? does anyone have any tips or suggestions? thank you in advance :’)
2023.06.06 21:52 traj250 [FS] [USA] RARE MASSIVE COLLECTION $ALE: Balenci Galore, SI, OW shirts/crew/backpack, Vetm shirts, YZY, Gal Dept, BPE, Haider Ack, BURB, DR x KAWS, VL0NE, GIV Hoodie, LV, MONCLR, J1, AM97, J6, Sacais, FOG 1s, J5 OW, CMN PROJ, TS AJ1/AJ4, Sean Cliver, D!OR B28, R!CK OWENS
WE BACK!!!
What's good fam, back with another gigantic post. Got a metric shit ton of clothes to sell as I have a problem (as you can tell from this post).Will be adding more clothes to this post in the week, stay tuned!
- I'm a vouched seller and have been around since 2015, so operating with Paypal gift
- Please hit me in PMs for questions.
- First come, first serve.
- Flakers get blocked.
Vouch History (since 2017)
- 2 year ago: https://www.reddit.com/RepVouch/comments/fucayf/traj250/
- 4 years ago: https://www.reddit.com/RepVouch/comments/7lk7ns/traj250/
- 5 year ago: https://www.reddit.com/RepVouch/comments/8t6ksq/traj250/
- 6 years ago: https://www.reddit.com/RepVouch/comments/60dx90/utraj250/
All my homies hate Imgur, Google Photos gang. Tag and timestamp in the first linked album.
CLOTHES: https://photos.app.goo.gl/R4qwWtCEFVYWhhjV7
SHOES: https://photos.app.goo.gl/hzXLXbFhpt7Qz6kZ7
ACCESSORIES: https://photos.app.goo.gl/9PYpQr8bwZ7yFDNN8
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SHIRTS
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RETAIL Rare Bape Hong Kong HK Camo 3rd Year Anniversarysize L (Japanese sizing so tts M-L depending on desired fit)
90 + ship
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Undercover shirt
size 2 (fits S - M)
From my ex, need gone
20 + ship
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RETAIL "Be True" ACG Logo Shirt
size L (fits oversized so more like XL)
45 + ship
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RETAIL Babylon x Off White Shirt
size XL
150 + ship
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VL0NE I Heart ATL Shirt
size XL
40 + ship
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VL0NE Playboy Shirt (green)
size XL (fits L-XL)
30 + ship
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VLNTO Shirt
size XL
40 + ship
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RETAIL Tyler Outsidelands CMIYGL Shirt
size L
100 + ship
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H3LMUT [email protected] Logo Shirt
size XL
35 + ship
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[email protected] [email protected] Blurred Logo Shirt
size XL
35 + ship
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Bape x Chrome Hearts Shirt
size XL (fits L-XL)
brand new, never worn
45 + ship
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V3TMENTS Ferrari Red Shirt
size L (tts or oversized M)
fire collab, rare shirt featuring the classic ferrari motif on front and back
60 + ship
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V3TMENTS The Pirate Bay Shirt
size XL (fits XL - XXL)
Never worn. Phenomenal shirt. Korean/hq chinese batch so print, material, spelling, etc is on point. No rush to sell this, will wear if doesn't sell. (listed for what i paid)
80 + ship
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K!TH Flowers Gardens of the Mind Emboridery Shirt
size XL (fits L-XL)
Nice emboridery and details on this shirt.
35 + ship
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[email protected] DEPT Porsche Shirt
size XL (fits XL-XXL)
65 + ship
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Number N!n(e) 9 Mickey Mouse Shirt
size 2 (fits M to slim L)
45 + ship
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Baby Milo Bape Shirt
size XL (fits L)
Might be retail. Bought from a user who was unsure of authenticity. Don't see a lot of baby milo reps often, so something unique to drip.
40 + ship
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RETAIL Polo College Logo Chest Shirt
size XL (tts)
Great casual drip or a solid present to a friend.
45 + ship
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Nike Real Eyes Realize Shirt
size L (fits L-XL)
Great quality blank and print. New nike product has that a1 sauce that reps haven't gotten yet.
35 + ship
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ENF RCH DEPR (ERD) Blue Judgement Day Shirt
fits M-L
ERD is such a dope brand, but heavily overpriced. This shirt is super nice quality and feels amazing to the touch, it's the high-quality batch. Bought off a user from qReps. Don't sleep on the true drip.
100 + ship
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Palm Angels Mermaid Shirt
size XL (fits XL-XXL)
High quality blank and print. Feels like retail, dont sleep
75 + ship
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Palm Angels Butterfly Button Up
size XL (fits XL-XXL no problem)
This is basically retail. HQ palm angels reps have nailed the designs and material quality that retail uses. Fire piece for summer. Not cheap quality batch that has sizing/print wrong.
85 + ship
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Rhud3 Flamingos Floral Silk Shirt (Green)
size L (fits XL or oversized L)
another summer staple. Will confirm 1:1 gf 2-3 days friend. Was expensive because its a silk and viscose blend which feels phenomenal to touch and fits awesome
90 + ship---
Rhud3 Floral Silk Shirt (Black)
size L (fits XL or oversized L)
Brand new. same as prev quality
100 + ship---
PANTS
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YZY Season 6 Sweatpantssize XL
65 + ship
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SI Sweatpants
grey XL
65 + ship
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R!CK OWNS Berlin Pants
fits XL
Great pair of versatile pants that fit either for lounging around or for fits. Bought off a user who copped off the pink elephant seller or something from qReps. Haven't had a lot of wear on these, but tempted to keep them.
85 + ship
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Haider Perth Sweatpants (Brown)
fits 36-38 (maybe smaller depending on if an oversized fit is desired)
These are amazing. Love the details on the garment. Has a great feel to the touch.
70 + ship
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Cactus JOR Warm-Up Track Pants
size XL
Great pair of pants to wear on top of shorts to go hoop, or even dressed up. Love the attention to detail on this piece too, like the zippered pockets, the tags, as well as a Nike logo and adjustment facilities on the foot cuff.
70 + ship
---RETAIL Nike Tech Fleece Shorts
size XL
These are hella nice utility shorts. Some summer classics.
25 + ship
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[email protected] Colored Camo Shorts
- blue (XXL, fits 36-38)
- purple (XXL, fits 36-38)
Incredibly difficult to find Bape without shark prints, even if looking for just camo or colored camo--haven't seen these for sale ever. These are OG reps that are actually high quality, and that's communicated through details like the tags from the inside of the shorts to the front as well. Don't sleep, these are some of my favorites.
75 + ship each
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[email protected] Reversible Pink Shorts (swimming trunk)
size XL brand new
60 + ship
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RETAIL Bravest Studio LV Camo Shorts
size XXL (fit tts)
Would keep if they were an XL but just a lil too big on me. These are retail and are amazing quality for wearing out or flexing at the gym/while hooping
85 + ship each
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RETAIL Nike ACG Technical Cargo Shorts
- Orange
- Black
- dark grey (mesh pocket)
All size L (adjustable waist) brand new w/tags
Amazing quality shorts. Collect a lot of ACG and these are so good for spring/summer. Lots of pockets and selling for a steal
75 + ship each
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RETAIL Polo Boat Knots Boat Shorts
size L (tts)
40 + ship
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RETAIL Nike ACG Color Essential Shorts (Orange)
size XL brand new w/tags
45 + ship
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Rhud3 Green Shorts
size XL (fits L - XL depending on fit)
Heavy high quality details on this jawn
65 + ship
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Rhud3 Reflective Shorts (Green and Red)
- green
- maroon/red
size XL (fits L-XL)
60 + ship (each)
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GUCC! Lightweight Jersey Material Shorts
size XL
65 + ship
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GUCC! Cloth Stripes Shorts (Stripes on side)
size L
85 + ship
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HOODIE / LONGSLEEVES
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RETAIL Babylon x Off White Longlseevesize XL
180 + ship
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SI Shadow Projects Crewneck
size XL (tts)
85 + ship
Great crewneck, basically brand new.
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RETAIL Supreme Nun Crewneck
size XL
A classic piece. Snag for a steal.
80 + ship
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Rare [email protected] Varsity Jacket
size L
Hard to find bape reps without the shark motif. But this jacket has it all, the details are phenomenal and the print is super unique.
150 + ship
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RETAIL Puma x Ader Anorak
fits XL
80 + ship
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RETAIL Nike ACG Vintage Pullover Anorak (new w/tags)
size XL
150 + ship
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SI Hooded Sweater
size XL (fits L-XL)
60 + ship
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BLCG Embroidery Black Hoodie
size L (fits XL)
100 + ship
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BLCG Maroon Logo Hoodie
size XL
27 in bust, 25 in shoulder and 30 in length
100 + ship
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BALENC!AGA Washed Hoodie
fits XL-XXL
Another amazing hoodie. Feels awesome and looks even better. Has an awesome fit, that layers well with jackets on top or can be worn by itself. I believe it's Amy batch iirc.
100 + ship
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K!TH x TOMMY H!LFIGER Reversible Jacket
size XL (tts)
150 + ship
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BURB3RRY Blue Anorak
size XL (tts)
150 + ship
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BLCG Elephant Windbreaker
fits XL - XXL
Nice color blocking with the grey, black and red highlights, this piece is of phenomenal quality. I believe the BTS user I bought off of said it was either reon or Amy batch, can't remember which, but it was one of the two as they were the one's making the high-quality reps of this. Haven't worn this at all, still brand new.
170 + ship
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SI 3M Hoodie
fits XL-XXL
Great hoodie, versatile and nice stone island detailing.
65 + ship
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BALENC!AGA ANORAK JACKET
size XL - XXL depending on desired fit
As worn by Travis Scott. Amazing older balenciaga piece, haven't seen around sub or anything for sale. Also very tempted to keep this.
200 + ship
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BALENC!AGA Padded Flannel
Size 52 (fits L-XL)
This is reon's 300$ batch, never worn by me. Just been posted in my closet. Details and feeling of materials are immaculate on this, the Koreans know what they are doing about reps fr.
300 + ship
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[email protected] G00SE Expedition Parka
size XXL (fits tts XL, or slimmer XXL depending on desired fit)
Amazing jacket. Get a lot of compliments on this piece. Tempted to keep it for this upcoming winter, but have too many jackets! Definitely a trooper of a jacket. Also, the attention to details on this replica parallels retail CG, from the fuzzy pockets to keep your hands warm when its cold as bricks
300 + ship
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GUCC! Tracksuit Jacket
size XL tts
80 + ship
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KAPITAL Sweater
size L (fits M-L)
Awesome knit pattern. Fits awesome
100 + ship
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Rhud3 Green Zip-up Hoodie
fits L
High quality zippers and quality of materials
85 + ship
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G!VENCHY Light Blue hoodie
size XL tts
100 + ship
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Human Mad3 x Lil Uzi Vert
size L (tts L - slim XL)
Brand new w/bag
75 + ship
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Arc'teryx Beta AR Jacket Maroon
size XL
85 + ship
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RETAIL Call me if You Get Lost Merch
- brown hoodie (100 + ship)
- brown workers jacket (150 + ship)
Brand new. Bought from Seattle tour
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Harley Davidson Zip Up Vintage hoodie
size L (fits L-XL)
65 + ship
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[email protected] Fleece Anorak
size L
75 + ship
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ACCESSORIES
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SUP x TNF Compass (new)25 + ship
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SUP Dollar Chain (new, mainly trade)
75 + ship
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Chrom3 Hearts Wallet Chain
Brand new, never worn. Listed for what I paid.
200 + ship
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Chrom3 Hearts Bead Bracelet
Real silver in this jawn. Nice ass piece.
70 + ship
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GUCC! Ghost Thick Ring
size 9 or so iirc
Great quality silver ring. Feels very solid and features iconic Gucci ghost print.
50 + ship
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[email protected] x Jam Home Made Ring
RARE and super dope piece. Haven't seen this around in sooooo long, bought off taobao circa 2017. From the deep vaults of my personal collection
80 + ship
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CH Ring 1 (listed in order on google photos)
50 + ship
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CH Ring 2 (listed in order on google photos)
50 + ship
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CH Ring 3 (listed in order on google photos)
50 + ship
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CH Ring 4 (listed in order on google photos)
50 + ship
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CH Safety Pin
45 + ship
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GCCI Ghost Chain
Ah, a classic staple piece. In phenomenal condition and can go with any fit, whether dressing up or regularly wearing.
85 + ship
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LUIV x Virgil Silver Bracelet
Great bracelet, wore it to a few parties, defo gets attention, esp under proper lighting. Still got a lot of wear left in it.
45 + ship
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LUIV x SUP Belt (New Darcy batch)
size 38
150 + ship
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LUIV Bandana/Scarf
60 + ship
---HERM3S Blanket
Great quality piece. Never used, only kept in storage. Was planning to give it as a gift to my ex (lol). Rare piece, hard to find. The stitching is awesome, the material feels good, and no visible flaws in the pattern.
200 + ship
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SI 3M Reflective Tactical Vest (new)
150 + ship
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OW Backpack (new)
Brand new, never used. Details on this are phenomenal. Had retail off white backpack and the rep does an amazing job from the zippers to the pockets and different storage facilities in the bag.
200 + ship
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D!OR Backpack (new)
Brand new and never worn.
70 + ship
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AM!RI Bandana Silk Keychain
Super nice quality keychain. This thing feels amazing!!! Love the silk on this. Perfect to add to an outfit as an accessory or to a satchel or backpack.
60 + ship
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OW Rubber Belt
O/S
35 + ship
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D!OR Bookbag
O/S
85 + ship
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LV Mini Soft Trunk Monogram Eclipse Black
Brand new w/all accessories.
180 + ship
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RETAIL Bape Pink Side Bag
100 + ship
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LV Fragment Apollo backpack
200 + ship
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Arc'teryx Collab Maka Bag
brand new w/tags
Copped off grailed for a trip but it arrived too late.
100 + ship
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LV Keepall Duffle 55
250 + ship
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RETAIL OVO x Klean Kanteen
Brand new. Copped from vancouver store and never used. Super nice quality bottle, KK makes great bottles
40 + ship
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SHOES
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RETAIL AM97size 13
120 + ship
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J0RDAN 1 Turbo Green
size 12
120 + ship
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[email protected] x NK LD Waffle (Grey)
size 13
130 + ship
---
J0RDAN 6 Maroon
size 12
90 + ship
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[email protected] N!KE LD Waffle (Grey)
size 12
85 + ship
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N!KE Dunk Low - Medium Curry
size 12
Great pair of shoes, go with a lot of different outfits. Very versatile and dope pair of shoes.
75 + ship
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N!KE Blazer OW Wolf Grey Serena Queen
size 13
85 + ship
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FOG Oatmeal 1s
size 12
have accessories bag, basically new
170 + ship
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D!OR STUS B27 (white and black)
size 45 (fits 11-12)
80 + ship
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UB Creme 1.0
size 12
65 + ship
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HR Hindi Core White NMD
size 12
65 + ship
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OW AF1 Volt
size 12
65 + ship
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J1 Mocha
size 13
100 + ship
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D!OR B27 (red)
size 45 (fits 11-12)
120 + ship
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C0MM0N PROJECT Achilles Heel
size 46 (12-13)
80 + ship
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J0RDAN 4 Laser Black Gum
size 12
80 + ship
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Kanye West [email protected]
size 12
300 + ship
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N!keCraft Mars Yard Tom Sachs
size 12
150 + ship
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R!CK Owens Ramones
size 45 (fits 11-11.5)
120 + ship
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R!CK OWENS Dunks Daft Batch - Dust Colorway
size 47 (US 12 - 13 depending on the desired fit)
Daft's batch, enough said. Haven't worn these, have too many shoes. Bought for 400 + shipping fees off a user on BST.
350 + ship
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RETAIL New Balance 2002R
size 12
Brand new, grab for a steal
120 + ship
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2023.06.06 20:39 pandaleee333 6/6/23 DROP THREAD
Happy Tuesday all! :) You know the drill, when posting links please post in this format and no affiliate links!
Align V Neck Bra in C/D (White, Dark Lavender) https://shop.lululemon.com/p/women-sports-bras/Align-V-Neck-Bra-CD-Cup?color=60714
Envital Bra *Medium Support B/C Cup (Utility Blue, Kelly Green) https://shop.lululemon.com/p/women-sports-bras/Envital-Bra?color=60997
Flow Y Strappy Bra Nulu *Light Support, A-C Cups (Black, Utility Blue) https://shop.lululemon.com/p/women-sports-bras/Flow-Y-Strappy-Bra-Nulu?color=36744
Free to Be Bra Wild Light Support, A/B Cup (Cyan Blue) https://shop.lululemon.com/p/women-sports-bras/Free-To-Be-Bra-Wild?color=49226
Like a Cloud Ribbed Longline Bra Light Support, B/C Cup (Cyan Blue) https://shop.lululemon.com/p/women-sports-bras/Like-a-Cloud-LL-Ribbed-BC?color=49226
TOPS:
Align™ High-Neck Tank Top (Dark Lavender, Kelly Green, Cyan Blue) https://shop.lululemon.com/p/women-tanks/lululemon-Align-High-Neck-Tank-Top?color=60714
Back In Action Short Sleeve Nulu (Dark Lavender) https://shop.lululemon.com/p/womens-t-shirts/Back-in-Action-Short-Sleeve-Nulu?color=60714
Cotton Blend Logo Training Tank Top (Bone, Twilight Rose) https://shop.lululemon.com/p/women-tanks/Cotton-Blend-Logo-Training-Tank-Top?color=27597
Ebb to Street Cropped Racerback Tank Top (Lilac Smoke, Flush Pink) https://shop.lululemon.com/p/women-tanks/Ebb-To-Street-RB-Crop-Tank?color=55325
Everlux Asymmetrical Tennis Tank Top (Utility Blue, Kohlrabi Green, Terrazzo Marble Silver Ice Multi) https://shop.lululemon.com/p/women-tanks/Everlux-Asymmetrical-Tennis-Tank-Top?color=61843
Quick Dry Short Sleeve Polo (Utility Blue, Crushed Granite Multi) https://shop.lululemon.com/p/tops-short-sleeve/Quick-Drying-Short-Sleeve-Polo-Shirt?color=36744
Swiftly Racerback (Dark Lavender, Fluid Wave Lip Gloss/Hot Heat, Kelly Green) https://shop.lululemon.com/p/women-tanks/Swiftly-Tech-Racerback-2?color=62255
Train to Be Tank Top (Hawaiian Blue) https://shop.lululemon.com/p/women-tanks/Train-to-Be-Tank-2?color=47900
OUTERWEAR:
Softstreme Perfectly Oversized Cropped Crew (Kohlrabi Green) https://shop.lululemon.com/p/womens-outerweaOversized-Crop-Crew-Softstreme?color=60300
Scuba Oversized Full-Zip (Java) https://shop.lululemon.com/p/womens-outerweaScuba-Oversized-Full-Zip?color=52868
SHORTS / SKIRTS:
Court Rival Skirt Long (Lilac Smoke, Kholrabi Green) https://shop.lululemon.com/p/skirts-and-dresses-skirts/Court-Rival-High-Rise-Skirt-Tall?color=60300
Inner Glow High-Rise Short 3" (Utility Blue) https://shop.lululemon.com/p/women-shorts/Inner-Glow-Short-3-French-Terry?color=36744
Pace Rival Mid Rise Skirt (Kohlrabi Green, Poolside) https://shop.lululemon.com/p/skirts-and-dresses-skirts/Pace-Rival-Skirt?color=54319
Speed Up High-Rise Lined Short 2.5" (Poolside) https://shop.lululemon.com/p/women-shorts/Speed-Up-Short-Hi-Rise-2-5?color=54319
Speed Up Low-Rise Lined Short 2.5" (Lip Gloss) https://shop.lululemon.com/p/women-shorts/Speed-Up-Short-Reg?color=28936
Stretch Woven Relaxed-Fit High-Rise Short 4" (flush pink) https://shop.lululemon.com/p/women-shorts/Stretch-Woven-Relaxed-Fit-HR-Short-4?color=56852
DRESSES / ROMPERS:
Grid Texture Sleeveless Tennis Dress (Kohlrabi Green) https://shop.lululemon.com/p/skirts-and-dresses-dresses/Grid-Texture-Sleeveless-Tennis-Dress?color=60300
Tiered Pleats Tennis Dress (White, Kohlrabi Green, Black) https://shop.lululemon.com/p/skirts-and-dresses-dresses/Tiered-Pleats-Tennis-Dress/_/prod11460535?color=60300
LEGGINGS:
Align High-Rise Pant 25" (Utility Blue) https://shop.lululemon.com/p/womens-leggings/Align-Pant-2?color=36744
Align™ High-Rise Pant 28" (Utility Blue) https://shop.lululemon.com/p/womens-leggings/Align-Pant-Full-Length-28?color=36744
Wunder Train High-Rise Tight (Twilight Rose) https://shop.lululemon.com/p/womens-leggings/Wunder-Train-HR-Tight-25?color=55138
Wunder Train High-Rise Tight with Pockets 25" (Twilight Rose) https://shop.lululemon.com/p/womens-leggings/Wunder-Train-HR-Tight-Pockets-25?color=55138
JOGGERS / PANTS:
Adapted State High-Rise Cropped Jogger (Velvet Dust, Kelly Green) https://shop.lululemon.com/p/womens-joggers/Adapted-State-Jogger-Crop?color=47780
Softstreme High-Rise Straight-Leg Cropped Pant (Pink Peony) https://shop.lululemon.com/p/womens-sweatpants/Softstreme-HR-Straight-Leg-Crop?color=56496
Stretch High Rise Cropped Pant 23” (Trench, Dark Terracotta) https://shop.lululemon.com/p/womens-trousers/Stretch-HR-Crop?color=40237
ACCESSORIES:
All Night Festival Bag *Micro 2L (Twilight Rose) https://shop.lululemon.com/p/bags/All-Night-Festival-Bag-Micro-2L?color=55138&sz=ONESIZE
All Night Festival Bag 5L (Twilight Rose) https://shop.lululemon.com/p/bags/All-Night-Festival-Bag-Magnet?color=55138&sz=ONESIZE
Daily Multi-Pocket Canvas Tote Bag 20L (Natural/True Navy) https://shop.lululemon.com/p/bags/Dly-Mlti-Pckt-Cnvs-Tote-Bag-20L/_/prod11480063?color=64485&sz=ONESIZE
Dual Pouch Wristlet (Powder Blue/Utility Blue) https://shop.lululemon.com/p/accessories/Dual-Pouch-Wristlet?sz=ONESIZE
Logo Bobby Pins (Kohlrabi Green, Flush Pink, Black, Dark Lavender) https://shop.lululemon.com/p/hair-accessories/Logo-Bobby-Pins-2-Pack/_/prod11460357?color=60300&sz=ONESIZE
RESTOCK:
Wunder Train Contour Fit High-Rise Tight 25" (Wild Indigo) https://shop.lululemon.com/p/womens-leggings/Wunder-Train-HR-Tight-25-Contour-MD?color=58292
MENS:
Pace Breaker Linerless Short 5” Updated (Soft Denim) https://shop.lululemon.com/p/men-shorts/Pace-Breaker-Linerless-Short-5-Update?color=52408
Pace Breaker Linerless Short 7" Updated (College Cobalt, College Crimson, College Purple) https://shop.lululemon.com/p/men-shorts/Pace-Breaker-Short-Linerless-7-Update?color=62328
Pool Short 5" (Atomic Purple, Blossom Silhouette Max Bronze Green Graphite Grey) https://shop.lululemon.com/p/mens-swim/Pool-Short-5/_/prod10950158
Pool Short 7" (Atomic Purple, Night Sea, Vintage Gold) https://shop.lululemon.com/p/mens-swim/Pool-Short-7/_/prod10950107
submitted by pandaleee333 to lululemon [link] [comments]
- Item Name (Color, Color) lululemon.com/
- Ex: Energy bra (Black, Blue) lululemon.com/
Align V Neck Bra in C/D (White, Dark Lavender) https://shop.lululemon.com/p/women-sports-bras/Align-V-Neck-Bra-CD-Cup?color=60714
Envital Bra *Medium Support B/C Cup (Utility Blue, Kelly Green) https://shop.lululemon.com/p/women-sports-bras/Envital-Bra?color=60997
Flow Y Strappy Bra Nulu *Light Support, A-C Cups (Black, Utility Blue) https://shop.lululemon.com/p/women-sports-bras/Flow-Y-Strappy-Bra-Nulu?color=36744
Free to Be Bra Wild Light Support, A/B Cup (Cyan Blue) https://shop.lululemon.com/p/women-sports-bras/Free-To-Be-Bra-Wild?color=49226
Like a Cloud Ribbed Longline Bra Light Support, B/C Cup (Cyan Blue) https://shop.lululemon.com/p/women-sports-bras/Like-a-Cloud-LL-Ribbed-BC?color=49226
TOPS:
Align™ High-Neck Tank Top (Dark Lavender, Kelly Green, Cyan Blue) https://shop.lululemon.com/p/women-tanks/lululemon-Align-High-Neck-Tank-Top?color=60714
Back In Action Short Sleeve Nulu (Dark Lavender) https://shop.lululemon.com/p/womens-t-shirts/Back-in-Action-Short-Sleeve-Nulu?color=60714
Cotton Blend Logo Training Tank Top (Bone, Twilight Rose) https://shop.lululemon.com/p/women-tanks/Cotton-Blend-Logo-Training-Tank-Top?color=27597
Ebb to Street Cropped Racerback Tank Top (Lilac Smoke, Flush Pink) https://shop.lululemon.com/p/women-tanks/Ebb-To-Street-RB-Crop-Tank?color=55325
Everlux Asymmetrical Tennis Tank Top (Utility Blue, Kohlrabi Green, Terrazzo Marble Silver Ice Multi) https://shop.lululemon.com/p/women-tanks/Everlux-Asymmetrical-Tennis-Tank-Top?color=61843
Quick Dry Short Sleeve Polo (Utility Blue, Crushed Granite Multi) https://shop.lululemon.com/p/tops-short-sleeve/Quick-Drying-Short-Sleeve-Polo-Shirt?color=36744
Swiftly Racerback (Dark Lavender, Fluid Wave Lip Gloss/Hot Heat, Kelly Green) https://shop.lululemon.com/p/women-tanks/Swiftly-Tech-Racerback-2?color=62255
Train to Be Tank Top (Hawaiian Blue) https://shop.lululemon.com/p/women-tanks/Train-to-Be-Tank-2?color=47900
OUTERWEAR:
Softstreme Perfectly Oversized Cropped Crew (Kohlrabi Green) https://shop.lululemon.com/p/womens-outerweaOversized-Crop-Crew-Softstreme?color=60300
Scuba Oversized Full-Zip (Java) https://shop.lululemon.com/p/womens-outerweaScuba-Oversized-Full-Zip?color=52868
SHORTS / SKIRTS:
Court Rival Skirt Long (Lilac Smoke, Kholrabi Green) https://shop.lululemon.com/p/skirts-and-dresses-skirts/Court-Rival-High-Rise-Skirt-Tall?color=60300
Inner Glow High-Rise Short 3" (Utility Blue) https://shop.lululemon.com/p/women-shorts/Inner-Glow-Short-3-French-Terry?color=36744
Pace Rival Mid Rise Skirt (Kohlrabi Green, Poolside) https://shop.lululemon.com/p/skirts-and-dresses-skirts/Pace-Rival-Skirt?color=54319
Speed Up High-Rise Lined Short 2.5" (Poolside) https://shop.lululemon.com/p/women-shorts/Speed-Up-Short-Hi-Rise-2-5?color=54319
Speed Up Low-Rise Lined Short 2.5" (Lip Gloss) https://shop.lululemon.com/p/women-shorts/Speed-Up-Short-Reg?color=28936
Stretch Woven Relaxed-Fit High-Rise Short 4" (flush pink) https://shop.lululemon.com/p/women-shorts/Stretch-Woven-Relaxed-Fit-HR-Short-4?color=56852
DRESSES / ROMPERS:
Grid Texture Sleeveless Tennis Dress (Kohlrabi Green) https://shop.lululemon.com/p/skirts-and-dresses-dresses/Grid-Texture-Sleeveless-Tennis-Dress?color=60300
Tiered Pleats Tennis Dress (White, Kohlrabi Green, Black) https://shop.lululemon.com/p/skirts-and-dresses-dresses/Tiered-Pleats-Tennis-Dress/_/prod11460535?color=60300
LEGGINGS:
Align High-Rise Pant 25" (Utility Blue) https://shop.lululemon.com/p/womens-leggings/Align-Pant-2?color=36744
Align™ High-Rise Pant 28" (Utility Blue) https://shop.lululemon.com/p/womens-leggings/Align-Pant-Full-Length-28?color=36744
Wunder Train High-Rise Tight (Twilight Rose) https://shop.lululemon.com/p/womens-leggings/Wunder-Train-HR-Tight-25?color=55138
Wunder Train High-Rise Tight with Pockets 25" (Twilight Rose) https://shop.lululemon.com/p/womens-leggings/Wunder-Train-HR-Tight-Pockets-25?color=55138
JOGGERS / PANTS:
Adapted State High-Rise Cropped Jogger (Velvet Dust, Kelly Green) https://shop.lululemon.com/p/womens-joggers/Adapted-State-Jogger-Crop?color=47780
Softstreme High-Rise Straight-Leg Cropped Pant (Pink Peony) https://shop.lululemon.com/p/womens-sweatpants/Softstreme-HR-Straight-Leg-Crop?color=56496
Stretch High Rise Cropped Pant 23” (Trench, Dark Terracotta) https://shop.lululemon.com/p/womens-trousers/Stretch-HR-Crop?color=40237
ACCESSORIES:
All Night Festival Bag *Micro 2L (Twilight Rose) https://shop.lululemon.com/p/bags/All-Night-Festival-Bag-Micro-2L?color=55138&sz=ONESIZE
All Night Festival Bag 5L (Twilight Rose) https://shop.lululemon.com/p/bags/All-Night-Festival-Bag-Magnet?color=55138&sz=ONESIZE
Daily Multi-Pocket Canvas Tote Bag 20L (Natural/True Navy) https://shop.lululemon.com/p/bags/Dly-Mlti-Pckt-Cnvs-Tote-Bag-20L/_/prod11480063?color=64485&sz=ONESIZE
Dual Pouch Wristlet (Powder Blue/Utility Blue) https://shop.lululemon.com/p/accessories/Dual-Pouch-Wristlet?sz=ONESIZE
Logo Bobby Pins (Kohlrabi Green, Flush Pink, Black, Dark Lavender) https://shop.lululemon.com/p/hair-accessories/Logo-Bobby-Pins-2-Pack/_/prod11460357?color=60300&sz=ONESIZE
RESTOCK:
Wunder Train Contour Fit High-Rise Tight 25" (Wild Indigo) https://shop.lululemon.com/p/womens-leggings/Wunder-Train-HR-Tight-25-Contour-MD?color=58292
MENS:
Pace Breaker Linerless Short 5” Updated (Soft Denim) https://shop.lululemon.com/p/men-shorts/Pace-Breaker-Linerless-Short-5-Update?color=52408
Pace Breaker Linerless Short 7" Updated (College Cobalt, College Crimson, College Purple) https://shop.lululemon.com/p/men-shorts/Pace-Breaker-Short-Linerless-7-Update?color=62328
Pool Short 5" (Atomic Purple, Blossom Silhouette Max Bronze Green Graphite Grey) https://shop.lululemon.com/p/mens-swim/Pool-Short-5/_/prod10950158
Pool Short 7" (Atomic Purple, Night Sea, Vintage Gold) https://shop.lululemon.com/p/mens-swim/Pool-Short-7/_/prod10950107
2023.06.06 20:19 Verrgasm On The Borders Of Madness
Lora Jones gazed blankly into the forest as she sat alone, knees hugged tightly to her chest, almost forgetting the uncomfortable flaking boards of the porch beneath her. The air was still and deathly quiet, and an indeterminable stirring had drawn the girl outside; cutting through the silence as if calling directly to her. Lora listened intently, intermittently escaping her daydreams to scan the treeline in hopes of encountering something unreal. Something different. Better.
The feeling of being watched was one Lora never found respite from, but as she sat there perched on the porch’s top step the understanding that this wasn’t of the usual malevolence that stalked her wherever she went seemed almost inherently undeniable. This presence was one of positive intent. Soothing, like the mother she’d never had but always longed for.
Lora tentatively got to her feet, the bare skin of her soles rubbing against the moist evening grass, still wet from the prior day's soft rain. As she was about to turn and go back inside, the forest cried out to her in an ethereal, desperate wail. But only ever so briefly. The girl froze, unsure of herself despite the deep, revelrous rays of affection pulsing and radiating from within the trees. She desperately wished to explore, to become one with it all, however her father had expressly forbade her from any such excursions beyond the property’s borders. Especially past the treeline, into those woods that may as well stretch on until the end of the universe. Lora knew what the consequences could be if she were to disobey.
The rusted hinges of the wooden front door creaked and with its closure disappeared anything resembling warmth or hope. Simply cold, fetid air; tainted by the stale musk of Lora’s father as he sat slumped, dozing in his chair. Lora crept across the floorboards, each squeaking almost as if to spite her. Her father stirred, but he didn’t open his eyes.
Lora gripped the knob of her bedroom door, twisting it ever so slowly so as to not make another sound, but it was too late. She turned, stifling a scream as she saw him swaying in the hallway towards her.
“Where do you think you’re going, girl?”
Lora’s father’s breath stank, and it was all she could do but to gag when he stuck his tongue down her throat. The bedroom door clicked behind them, and in her mind Lora went to the forest. She didn’t return until it was long over, but even then she was only half present. Her thoughts reduced to little more than grating static. Lora resolved through the fog that it was time to be free from all the nastiness of her homelife, even if it meant starvation or being ravaged by some sick wild animal. One with razor-sharp teeth and killer claws. Anything would be better than staying there, in that decrepit old cabin on the border of the ancient woods. That horrid, ramshackled shack on the cusp of the forest that breathes.
Lora awoke, tears streaming down her cheeks. When she caught her reflection in the grime-smudged bathroom mirror she couldn’t help but vomit, holding her long dark hair back with one hand while gripping the seat with the other; grasping onto it like someone on the verge of falling. Tight enough to make her fingers ache. She washed her face, then, trembling, crept down the hallway into the living room. Her father’s chair sat empty. The television, off. The fridge was devoid of alcohol, explaining his absence. Unfortunately the cupboards were barren as well, and the young girl’s stomach growled in its emptiness. She settled on the crumbs remaining in an old box of off-brand sugary cereal, the sweetness of which tasted strangely bitter.
As Lora looked absently through her wardrobe for something to wear, she remembered the vow she’d made to herself in the night. About how she’d be freed from this nightmare, one way or another. A flash of vengeful determination made its home in the depths of her gut and it spread until she was no longer acting with conscious thought, snatching a black trash bag and stuffing clothes and keepsakes inside. Lora’s eyes glistened as she rubbed the friendship bracelet between her fingers before sliding it onto her wrist, trying to recall the face of the friend that’d given it to her all those years ago. She couldn’t, and her desire to escape grew ten-fold. Anger was overtaken by remorse and then dread before coalescing into an anxiety-ridden desperation. Looking over the bottles of medication atop the dresser, Lora sent them rattling to the floor with a shriek. Just another set of cogs in the terrible machine that made her feel so awfully hollow. She wouldn’t need them anymore, Lora told herself. Not where she was going.
Her father had locked the front door behind him, a cruel attempt to keep his daughter captive. Luckily for her, Lora had learned many useful things during her confinement. Like how to pick the lock. She removed the pin from her hair before retrieving a thin sewing needle, getting to work. He could be back any minute. A long, increasingly tense struggle ensued as Lora strained to find her way through the locking mechanism; dark as it was inside with all the windows boarded up, allowing in only thin slivers of sunlight. Finally, she felt the click. But her joy was as short-lived as any other feeling considered to be good. Lora shivered with the rumble of her father’s truck as it rolled into the gravel driveway. When he found out what she’d done, anything could happen.
Without another thought or even a look over her shoulder, Lora flung the door open so hard that the wood splintered against the frame and she burst through the threshold, abandoning her bagged-up belongings on the filthy living room carpet. Her sneakers connected with the overgrown grass of the yard before meeting the somehow tamer undergrowth of the forest floor for the very first time. Lora kept running, and she didn’t stop until her father’s furious screams faded deep into the distance behind her. Then, she ran some more.
‘Lost’ was the wrong word, because as confused in her surroundings as she was, Lora felt her trepidations slowly recede into the background. Unseen birds chirped overhead amongst the treetops, welcoming her. Encouraging her to go on. So, she did. She walked for miles through that inviting brush, all laid bare before her as if the very spirit of the forest itself were parting every obstacle in her path, and yet her legs didn’t tire, not at all. A smile quite unlike any other she’d expressed in a long time found itself upon her face. Every breath felt like heaven. The air, sweet and intensely lovely; scented like fresh pine and whipped cream. Everything, Lora felt in that long, perfect stroll among the undulating swathes of greens and browns, everything was going to be alright. Afterall, with a feeling that good, how could anything possibly be bad?
The sun hung fixed above, beaming down from the center of the cloudless, blue sky. By the time Lora realized that it hadn’t and refused to move since the start of her escape, she had begun to notice other curious things about the forest as well. Like how the densely wooded landscape had steadily and subtly changed. The ambience seemed tinged, almost. A sepia-like tone washed over the plants and trees so that all appeared almost entirely brown, punctuated by the dark silhouetted blacks of branches and leaves. They writhed, indistinguishable from one another. Still, her joyous sense of adventurous freedom had hardly faltered and Lora continued on, becoming evermore aware that the path ahead was becoming increasingly treacherous. Thorn-covered thickets threatened to claw at her skin, penetrating the denim of her jeans and scratching at the pale flesh underneath. Lora grew timid in her steps, becoming disenchanted in the forest’s solitude.
For the first time since she’d stepped foot in those woods, Lora stopped, and knew instantly that she was utterly alone. It crushed her, sending the girl to the floor. She sobbed quietly to herself, feeling the pine needles dig into her hands as she grasped at the earth. As she was on the verge of giving up and simply laying down to die, she looked to her left and saw them a foot from her reddened, tear-streaked face. A bush, packed full of ripe blackberries, as appetizing as anything she’d ever seen. Lora ravenously wolfed down more than she could count, as quickly as she could pick them, and after a nourishing feast she lay with her back against the nearest tree where she slept like a baby. Someone uncorrupted.
When Lora opened her eyes, she saw to her surprise that the sun remained unmoved. The area around her had once again changed in hue though, from the sickening reddish-brown to one of a much more affable pink appearance. Sparkling particles danced and winked through the lush clearing ahead, leading the way. The air now tasted sugary, like Halloween candy. Lora couldn’t remember the last time she’d been allowed to go trick-or-treating. Maybe she never even had to begin with. Every sad recollection and vicious intrusive thought slid right off the young girl as she concentrated on the soft crunches her feet made and nothing else, unable to touch her. Eventually, when Lora had to stop once more to regain her bearings - having abandoned a linear path hours before - she realized to her stunned delight that the woods weren’t quite as empty as she’d previously thought.
Through a gap in the trees, past an impassable grouping of thorny thickets, Lora spied a congregation of creatures that she couldn’t quite explain. Even to herself, even though they inspired no fear, their nonsensical appearance left her paralyzed beyond reproach; completely frozen where she stood, and yet grinning ear-to-ear. Cooling themselves from the heat of the summer sun in the shade of a monolithic toadstool, fluttered a peaceful assortment of strange winged women surrounded by translucent stubby things whose jovial laughing mouths led to no innards. Frogs the size of cows croaked from the sidelines and other ineffable beasts hunched and clung to the taller branches above. Lora yearned to join the scene, to be among friendly faces, but she innately understood that were she to call out, they wouldn’t hear her. Let alone begin to understand. Crestfallen in her exclusion, but invigorated by the magical presence she now knew to truly exist, Lora went on her way. Hopeful of meeting someone or something that could take her pain away, if only for a little while.
The tinny brass screech of horns bellowed in the distance, but from which direction, she didn’t know. Contrary to everything she’d learned from books about wilderness survival, wandering aimlessly proved to be the correct approach, and Lora found herself looking in on another group. Who, this time, seemed much more humanoid in appearance, for the most part. Men and women, of over two dozen in number and all intricately clothed in ornate robes and dresses as if attending some grand ball and not just a clearing in the woods stood around, enjoying one another's company. Dwarves pottered about, shrilly chuckling with each other over the din as the brass players began to toot a song likely never before heard by mortal ears that even the sunflowers seemed to dance along to. It was beautiful. To Lora, at least. The partygoers seemed nonplussed by the sweet sounds, going about their conversations and business as if they’d heard them every day of their infinite lifespan. A sickly stream of opaque, swirling orange fog separated the two parties, and again Lora knew that her pleading shouts would have no effect on the beings should she try to call out to them. Distraught, she staggered away, crippled by the dreadful loneliness which was now very much unbearable.
She wandered as if in a daze; unthinking, unfeeling. Ready to perish. The air, once sweet and warm, had turned bitterly sour and in her terror Lora craned her neck to the sky, shivering, and saw that the sun had vanished. The perfect blue sea above had begun to degenerate, turning darker by the second. It exuded an implied emptiness, devoid of stars, as if everything she had felt and seen was all just some cruel joke played by no-one. A thick, miasmic fog began to form around her, and the trees grew less dense and full of audible life. The fetid stench rising up from the swamp was intoxicating. Sickening. Lora’s belly rumbled, begging for food as if it hadn’t ever been full, and she began to weep once more, imploring some vague altruistic force to save her from her torment. She screamed into the blackened sky until her bone-dry throat stung and she could scream no longer.
Then, as quickly as she’d entered, she was no longer among trees, surrounded by the vastness of an unending and desolate desert. Lora didn’t care. She didn’t even glance over her shoulder to see what she’d left behind, she simply continued forward; unable to go on any other way. A violent wind was picking up, carrying clouds of coarse gray dust which slashed at the girl’s eyes. The dunes stretched onto the horizon in patterns that seemed to repeat infinitely and they had nothing to offer except for slow and excruciating death; a suffocating abyss.
Lora’s knees were long since weary, buckling under her meager weight, but she didn’t stop. Even though the cold, dead sand looked like a fine enough place to fall asleep for the last time. As one leg gave out and she tumbled to the ashen desert floor, Lora stared glaringly into the distance; searching for something deadly that might have the courtesy to look her in the eyes before it killed her. She saw no great and hungry beast with razor-sharp teeth and killer claws ready to devour what was left of her, but an ocean instead. Black and unforgiving. Lora lurched in its direction, and found herself on the shore. Ahead, around an arched rock formation of inexplicable nature, danced a number of fairies, male and female; waving their sparkling wands freely as if entirely without inhibition with their pale white skin exposed for all to see. Cherubs writhed floating in a congealed mass above the figures atop the formation; a loving family, crowned in shining white light. The beings reveled soundlessly as Lora watched on, still observing with fascination even as her body gave in to her exhaustion and she collapsed onto the brittle, jagged rocks at her feet. The divine group seemed to take notice of her then, and some laughed at her misfortune. Others whispered mocking jeers which stabbed at Lora, at her very being, even worse than the inhospitable ground she’d fallen onto. The insults became less direct and softer, but still impossibly cruel. They said cryptic, confusing things like ‘This one’s still breathing.’ and ‘Get her out of here.’ Lora knew that she wasn’t wanted. Not there, or anywhere else. The entire world seemed to throb in and out in a deep wavering much like the ripples on the dark, impenetrable sea and the young girl felt hands on her. Picking her up. Delivering her.
Flashes became another place entirely, until finally Lora could see again. She was at home, being lifted out by strange men. Scorching blue lights streaked her vision through the slats of rotting wood nailed to the windows and a wailing enveloped the night, drawing closer. More sirens. As she passed through the living room, Lora saw her father. All sticky and red in the face. Crushed. Glued to his chair, and bashed in. In that sinking, numbed moment that seemed to stretch on into infinity, the girl knew that the overdose she’d taken hadn’t worked, and that she wouldn’t be free. That they were going to bring her back, so that she could pay for what she’d done. Empty pill bottles littered the carpet along with the stained-brown wraps of her father’s stash, mingling with the usual cluttered garbage. It hadn’t been enough, it could never be enough. But as the blinding white light of the ambulance's interior swallowed her, Lora felt herself slipping away. She fell backwards, forever, and while the paramedics hurried about their duty and their desperate pleas became less and less clear, Lora was glad that it was all finally over.
submitted by Verrgasm to libraryofshadows [link] [comments]
The feeling of being watched was one Lora never found respite from, but as she sat there perched on the porch’s top step the understanding that this wasn’t of the usual malevolence that stalked her wherever she went seemed almost inherently undeniable. This presence was one of positive intent. Soothing, like the mother she’d never had but always longed for.
Lora tentatively got to her feet, the bare skin of her soles rubbing against the moist evening grass, still wet from the prior day's soft rain. As she was about to turn and go back inside, the forest cried out to her in an ethereal, desperate wail. But only ever so briefly. The girl froze, unsure of herself despite the deep, revelrous rays of affection pulsing and radiating from within the trees. She desperately wished to explore, to become one with it all, however her father had expressly forbade her from any such excursions beyond the property’s borders. Especially past the treeline, into those woods that may as well stretch on until the end of the universe. Lora knew what the consequences could be if she were to disobey.
The rusted hinges of the wooden front door creaked and with its closure disappeared anything resembling warmth or hope. Simply cold, fetid air; tainted by the stale musk of Lora’s father as he sat slumped, dozing in his chair. Lora crept across the floorboards, each squeaking almost as if to spite her. Her father stirred, but he didn’t open his eyes.
Lora gripped the knob of her bedroom door, twisting it ever so slowly so as to not make another sound, but it was too late. She turned, stifling a scream as she saw him swaying in the hallway towards her.
“Where do you think you’re going, girl?”
Lora’s father’s breath stank, and it was all she could do but to gag when he stuck his tongue down her throat. The bedroom door clicked behind them, and in her mind Lora went to the forest. She didn’t return until it was long over, but even then she was only half present. Her thoughts reduced to little more than grating static. Lora resolved through the fog that it was time to be free from all the nastiness of her homelife, even if it meant starvation or being ravaged by some sick wild animal. One with razor-sharp teeth and killer claws. Anything would be better than staying there, in that decrepit old cabin on the border of the ancient woods. That horrid, ramshackled shack on the cusp of the forest that breathes.
Lora awoke, tears streaming down her cheeks. When she caught her reflection in the grime-smudged bathroom mirror she couldn’t help but vomit, holding her long dark hair back with one hand while gripping the seat with the other; grasping onto it like someone on the verge of falling. Tight enough to make her fingers ache. She washed her face, then, trembling, crept down the hallway into the living room. Her father’s chair sat empty. The television, off. The fridge was devoid of alcohol, explaining his absence. Unfortunately the cupboards were barren as well, and the young girl’s stomach growled in its emptiness. She settled on the crumbs remaining in an old box of off-brand sugary cereal, the sweetness of which tasted strangely bitter.
As Lora looked absently through her wardrobe for something to wear, she remembered the vow she’d made to herself in the night. About how she’d be freed from this nightmare, one way or another. A flash of vengeful determination made its home in the depths of her gut and it spread until she was no longer acting with conscious thought, snatching a black trash bag and stuffing clothes and keepsakes inside. Lora’s eyes glistened as she rubbed the friendship bracelet between her fingers before sliding it onto her wrist, trying to recall the face of the friend that’d given it to her all those years ago. She couldn’t, and her desire to escape grew ten-fold. Anger was overtaken by remorse and then dread before coalescing into an anxiety-ridden desperation. Looking over the bottles of medication atop the dresser, Lora sent them rattling to the floor with a shriek. Just another set of cogs in the terrible machine that made her feel so awfully hollow. She wouldn’t need them anymore, Lora told herself. Not where she was going.
Her father had locked the front door behind him, a cruel attempt to keep his daughter captive. Luckily for her, Lora had learned many useful things during her confinement. Like how to pick the lock. She removed the pin from her hair before retrieving a thin sewing needle, getting to work. He could be back any minute. A long, increasingly tense struggle ensued as Lora strained to find her way through the locking mechanism; dark as it was inside with all the windows boarded up, allowing in only thin slivers of sunlight. Finally, she felt the click. But her joy was as short-lived as any other feeling considered to be good. Lora shivered with the rumble of her father’s truck as it rolled into the gravel driveway. When he found out what she’d done, anything could happen.
Without another thought or even a look over her shoulder, Lora flung the door open so hard that the wood splintered against the frame and she burst through the threshold, abandoning her bagged-up belongings on the filthy living room carpet. Her sneakers connected with the overgrown grass of the yard before meeting the somehow tamer undergrowth of the forest floor for the very first time. Lora kept running, and she didn’t stop until her father’s furious screams faded deep into the distance behind her. Then, she ran some more.
‘Lost’ was the wrong word, because as confused in her surroundings as she was, Lora felt her trepidations slowly recede into the background. Unseen birds chirped overhead amongst the treetops, welcoming her. Encouraging her to go on. So, she did. She walked for miles through that inviting brush, all laid bare before her as if the very spirit of the forest itself were parting every obstacle in her path, and yet her legs didn’t tire, not at all. A smile quite unlike any other she’d expressed in a long time found itself upon her face. Every breath felt like heaven. The air, sweet and intensely lovely; scented like fresh pine and whipped cream. Everything, Lora felt in that long, perfect stroll among the undulating swathes of greens and browns, everything was going to be alright. Afterall, with a feeling that good, how could anything possibly be bad?
The sun hung fixed above, beaming down from the center of the cloudless, blue sky. By the time Lora realized that it hadn’t and refused to move since the start of her escape, she had begun to notice other curious things about the forest as well. Like how the densely wooded landscape had steadily and subtly changed. The ambience seemed tinged, almost. A sepia-like tone washed over the plants and trees so that all appeared almost entirely brown, punctuated by the dark silhouetted blacks of branches and leaves. They writhed, indistinguishable from one another. Still, her joyous sense of adventurous freedom had hardly faltered and Lora continued on, becoming evermore aware that the path ahead was becoming increasingly treacherous. Thorn-covered thickets threatened to claw at her skin, penetrating the denim of her jeans and scratching at the pale flesh underneath. Lora grew timid in her steps, becoming disenchanted in the forest’s solitude.
For the first time since she’d stepped foot in those woods, Lora stopped, and knew instantly that she was utterly alone. It crushed her, sending the girl to the floor. She sobbed quietly to herself, feeling the pine needles dig into her hands as she grasped at the earth. As she was on the verge of giving up and simply laying down to die, she looked to her left and saw them a foot from her reddened, tear-streaked face. A bush, packed full of ripe blackberries, as appetizing as anything she’d ever seen. Lora ravenously wolfed down more than she could count, as quickly as she could pick them, and after a nourishing feast she lay with her back against the nearest tree where she slept like a baby. Someone uncorrupted.
When Lora opened her eyes, she saw to her surprise that the sun remained unmoved. The area around her had once again changed in hue though, from the sickening reddish-brown to one of a much more affable pink appearance. Sparkling particles danced and winked through the lush clearing ahead, leading the way. The air now tasted sugary, like Halloween candy. Lora couldn’t remember the last time she’d been allowed to go trick-or-treating. Maybe she never even had to begin with. Every sad recollection and vicious intrusive thought slid right off the young girl as she concentrated on the soft crunches her feet made and nothing else, unable to touch her. Eventually, when Lora had to stop once more to regain her bearings - having abandoned a linear path hours before - she realized to her stunned delight that the woods weren’t quite as empty as she’d previously thought.
Through a gap in the trees, past an impassable grouping of thorny thickets, Lora spied a congregation of creatures that she couldn’t quite explain. Even to herself, even though they inspired no fear, their nonsensical appearance left her paralyzed beyond reproach; completely frozen where she stood, and yet grinning ear-to-ear. Cooling themselves from the heat of the summer sun in the shade of a monolithic toadstool, fluttered a peaceful assortment of strange winged women surrounded by translucent stubby things whose jovial laughing mouths led to no innards. Frogs the size of cows croaked from the sidelines and other ineffable beasts hunched and clung to the taller branches above. Lora yearned to join the scene, to be among friendly faces, but she innately understood that were she to call out, they wouldn’t hear her. Let alone begin to understand. Crestfallen in her exclusion, but invigorated by the magical presence she now knew to truly exist, Lora went on her way. Hopeful of meeting someone or something that could take her pain away, if only for a little while.
The tinny brass screech of horns bellowed in the distance, but from which direction, she didn’t know. Contrary to everything she’d learned from books about wilderness survival, wandering aimlessly proved to be the correct approach, and Lora found herself looking in on another group. Who, this time, seemed much more humanoid in appearance, for the most part. Men and women, of over two dozen in number and all intricately clothed in ornate robes and dresses as if attending some grand ball and not just a clearing in the woods stood around, enjoying one another's company. Dwarves pottered about, shrilly chuckling with each other over the din as the brass players began to toot a song likely never before heard by mortal ears that even the sunflowers seemed to dance along to. It was beautiful. To Lora, at least. The partygoers seemed nonplussed by the sweet sounds, going about their conversations and business as if they’d heard them every day of their infinite lifespan. A sickly stream of opaque, swirling orange fog separated the two parties, and again Lora knew that her pleading shouts would have no effect on the beings should she try to call out to them. Distraught, she staggered away, crippled by the dreadful loneliness which was now very much unbearable.
She wandered as if in a daze; unthinking, unfeeling. Ready to perish. The air, once sweet and warm, had turned bitterly sour and in her terror Lora craned her neck to the sky, shivering, and saw that the sun had vanished. The perfect blue sea above had begun to degenerate, turning darker by the second. It exuded an implied emptiness, devoid of stars, as if everything she had felt and seen was all just some cruel joke played by no-one. A thick, miasmic fog began to form around her, and the trees grew less dense and full of audible life. The fetid stench rising up from the swamp was intoxicating. Sickening. Lora’s belly rumbled, begging for food as if it hadn’t ever been full, and she began to weep once more, imploring some vague altruistic force to save her from her torment. She screamed into the blackened sky until her bone-dry throat stung and she could scream no longer.
Then, as quickly as she’d entered, she was no longer among trees, surrounded by the vastness of an unending and desolate desert. Lora didn’t care. She didn’t even glance over her shoulder to see what she’d left behind, she simply continued forward; unable to go on any other way. A violent wind was picking up, carrying clouds of coarse gray dust which slashed at the girl’s eyes. The dunes stretched onto the horizon in patterns that seemed to repeat infinitely and they had nothing to offer except for slow and excruciating death; a suffocating abyss.
Lora’s knees were long since weary, buckling under her meager weight, but she didn’t stop. Even though the cold, dead sand looked like a fine enough place to fall asleep for the last time. As one leg gave out and she tumbled to the ashen desert floor, Lora stared glaringly into the distance; searching for something deadly that might have the courtesy to look her in the eyes before it killed her. She saw no great and hungry beast with razor-sharp teeth and killer claws ready to devour what was left of her, but an ocean instead. Black and unforgiving. Lora lurched in its direction, and found herself on the shore. Ahead, around an arched rock formation of inexplicable nature, danced a number of fairies, male and female; waving their sparkling wands freely as if entirely without inhibition with their pale white skin exposed for all to see. Cherubs writhed floating in a congealed mass above the figures atop the formation; a loving family, crowned in shining white light. The beings reveled soundlessly as Lora watched on, still observing with fascination even as her body gave in to her exhaustion and she collapsed onto the brittle, jagged rocks at her feet. The divine group seemed to take notice of her then, and some laughed at her misfortune. Others whispered mocking jeers which stabbed at Lora, at her very being, even worse than the inhospitable ground she’d fallen onto. The insults became less direct and softer, but still impossibly cruel. They said cryptic, confusing things like ‘This one’s still breathing.’ and ‘Get her out of here.’ Lora knew that she wasn’t wanted. Not there, or anywhere else. The entire world seemed to throb in and out in a deep wavering much like the ripples on the dark, impenetrable sea and the young girl felt hands on her. Picking her up. Delivering her.
Flashes became another place entirely, until finally Lora could see again. She was at home, being lifted out by strange men. Scorching blue lights streaked her vision through the slats of rotting wood nailed to the windows and a wailing enveloped the night, drawing closer. More sirens. As she passed through the living room, Lora saw her father. All sticky and red in the face. Crushed. Glued to his chair, and bashed in. In that sinking, numbed moment that seemed to stretch on into infinity, the girl knew that the overdose she’d taken hadn’t worked, and that she wouldn’t be free. That they were going to bring her back, so that she could pay for what she’d done. Empty pill bottles littered the carpet along with the stained-brown wraps of her father’s stash, mingling with the usual cluttered garbage. It hadn’t been enough, it could never be enough. But as the blinding white light of the ambulance's interior swallowed her, Lora felt herself slipping away. She fell backwards, forever, and while the paramedics hurried about their duty and their desperate pleas became less and less clear, Lora was glad that it was all finally over.
2023.06.06 20:10 Verrgasm On The Borders Of Madness
Lora Jones gazed blankly into the forest as she sat alone, knees hugged tightly to her chest, almost forgetting the uncomfortable flaking boards of the porch beneath her. The air was still and deathly quiet, and an indeterminable stirring had drawn the girl outside; cutting through the silence as if calling directly to her. Lora listened intently, intermittently escaping her daydreams to scan the treeline in hopes of encountering something unreal. Something different. Better.
The feeling of being watched was one Lora never found respite from, but as she sat there perched on the porch’s top step the understanding that this wasn’t of the usual malevolence that stalked her wherever she went seemed almost inherently undeniable. This presence was one of positive intent. Soothing, like the mother she’d never had but always longed for.
Lora tentatively got to her feet, the bare skin of her soles rubbing against the moist evening grass, still wet from the prior day's soft rain. As she was about to turn and go back inside, the forest cried out to her in an ethereal, desperate wail. But only ever so briefly. The girl froze, unsure of herself despite the deep, revelrous rays of affection pulsing and radiating from within the trees. She desperately wished to explore, to become one with it all, however her father had expressly forbade her from any such excursions beyond the property’s borders. Especially past the treeline, into those woods that may as well stretch on until the end of the universe. Lora knew what the consequences could be if she were to disobey.
The rusted hinges of the wooden front door creaked and with its closure disappeared anything resembling warmth or hope. Simply cold, fetid air; tainted by the stale musk of Lora’s father as he sat slumped, dozing in his chair. Lora crept across the floorboards, each squeaking almost as if to spite her. Her father stirred, but he didn’t open his eyes.
Lora gripped the knob of her bedroom door, twisting it ever so slowly so as to not make another sound, but it was too late. She turned, stifling a scream as she saw him swaying in the hallway towards her.
“Where do you think you’re going, girl?”
Lora’s father’s breath stank, and it was all she could do but to gag when he stuck his tongue down her throat. The bedroom door clicked behind them, and in her mind Lora went to the forest. She didn’t return until it was long over, but even then she was only half present. Her thoughts reduced to little more than grating static. Lora resolved through the fog that it was time to be free from all the nastiness of her homelife, even if it meant starvation or being ravaged by some sick wild animal. One with razor-sharp teeth and killer claws. Anything would be better than staying there, in that decrepit old cabin on the border of the ancient woods. That horrid, ramshackled shack on the cusp of the forest that breathes.
Lora awoke, tears streaming down her cheeks. When she caught her reflection in the grime-smudged bathroom mirror she couldn’t help but vomit, holding her long dark hair back with one hand while gripping the seat with the other; grasping onto it like someone on the verge of falling. Tight enough to make her fingers ache. She washed her face, then, trembling, crept down the hallway into the living room. Her father’s chair sat empty. The television, off. The fridge was devoid of alcohol, explaining his absence. Unfortunately the cupboards were barren as well, and the young girl’s stomach growled in its emptiness. She settled on the crumbs remaining in an old box of off-brand sugary cereal, the sweetness of which tasted strangely bitter.
As Lora looked absently through her wardrobe for something to wear, she remembered the vow she’d made to herself in the night. About how she’d be freed from this nightmare, one way or another. A flash of vengeful determination made its home in the depths of her gut and it spread until she was no longer acting with conscious thought, snatching a black trash bag and stuffing clothes and keepsakes inside. Lora’s eyes glistened as she rubbed the friendship bracelet between her fingers before sliding it onto her wrist, trying to recall the face of the friend that’d given it to her all those years ago. She couldn’t, and her desire to escape grew ten-fold. Anger was overtaken by remorse and then dread before coalescing into an anxiety-ridden desperation. Looking over the bottles of medication atop the dresser, Lora sent them rattling to the floor with a shriek. Just another set of cogs in the terrible machine that made her feel so awfully hollow. She wouldn’t need them anymore, Lora told herself. Not where she was going.
Her father had locked the front door behind him, a cruel attempt to keep his daughter captive. Luckily for her, Lora had learned many useful things during her confinement. Like how to pick the lock. She removed the pin from her hair before retrieving a thin sewing needle, getting to work. He could be back any minute. A long, increasingly tense struggle ensued as Lora strained to find her way through the locking mechanism; dark as it was inside with all the windows boarded up, allowing in only thin slivers of sunlight. Finally, she felt the click. But her joy was as short-lived as any other feeling considered to be good. Lora shivered with the rumble of her father’s truck as it rolled into the gravel driveway. When he found out what she’d done, anything could happen.
Without another thought or even a look over her shoulder, Lora flung the door open so hard that the wood splintered against the frame and she burst through the threshold, abandoning her bagged-up belongings on the filthy living room carpet. Her sneakers connected with the overgrown grass of the yard before meeting the somehow tamer undergrowth of the forest floor for the very first time. Lora kept running, and she didn’t stop until her father’s furious screams faded deep into the distance behind her. Then, she ran some more.
‘Lost’ was the wrong word, because as confused in her surroundings as she was, Lora felt her trepidations slowly recede into the background. Unseen birds chirped overhead amongst the treetops, welcoming her. Encouraging her to go on. So, she did. She walked for miles through that inviting brush, all laid bare before her as if the very spirit of the forest itself were parting every obstacle in her path, and yet her legs didn’t tire, not at all. A smile quite unlike any other she’d expressed in a long time found itself upon her face. Every breath felt like heaven. The air, sweet and intensely lovely; scented like fresh pine and whipped cream. Everything, Lora felt in that long, perfect stroll among the undulating swathes of greens and browns, everything was going to be alright. Afterall, with a feeling that good, how could anything possibly be bad?
The sun hung fixed above, beaming down from the center of the cloudless, blue sky. By the time Lora realized that it hadn’t and refused to move since the start of her escape, she had begun to notice other curious things about the forest as well. Like how the densely wooded landscape had steadily and subtly changed. The ambience seemed tinged, almost. A sepia-like tone washed over the plants and trees so that all appeared almost entirely brown, punctuated by the dark silhouetted blacks of branches and leaves. They writhed, indistinguishable from one another. Still, her joyous sense of adventurous freedom had hardly faltered and Lora continued on, becoming evermore aware that the path ahead was becoming increasingly treacherous. Thorn-covered thickets threatened to claw at her skin, penetrating the denim of her jeans and scratching at the pale flesh underneath. Lora grew timid in her steps, becoming disenchanted in the forest’s solitude.
For the first time since she’d stepped foot in those woods, Lora stopped, and knew instantly that she was utterly alone. It crushed her, sending the girl to the floor. She sobbed quietly to herself, feeling the pine needles dig into her hands as she grasped at the earth. As she was on the verge of giving up and simply laying down to die, she looked to her left and saw them a foot from her reddened, tear-streaked face. A bush, packed full of ripe blackberries, as appetizing as anything she’d ever seen. Lora ravenously wolfed down more than she could count, as quickly as she could pick them, and after a nourishing feast she lay with her back against the nearest tree where she slept like a baby. Someone uncorrupted.
When Lora opened her eyes, she saw to her surprise that the sun remained unmoved. The area around her had once again changed in hue though, from the sickening reddish-brown to one of a much more affable pink appearance. Sparkling particles danced and winked through the lush clearing ahead, leading the way. The air now tasted sugary, like Halloween candy. Lora couldn’t remember the last time she’d been allowed to go trick-or-treating. Maybe she never even had to begin with. Every sad recollection and vicious intrusive thought slid right off the young girl as she concentrated on the soft crunches her feet made and nothing else, unable to touch her. Eventually, when Lora had to stop once more to regain her bearings - having abandoned a linear path hours before - she realized to her stunned delight that the woods weren’t quite as empty as she’d previously thought.
Through a gap in the trees, past an impassable grouping of thorny thickets, Lora spied a congregation of creatures that she couldn’t quite explain. Even to herself, even though they inspired no fear, their nonsensical appearance left her paralyzed beyond reproach; completely frozen where she stood, and yet grinning ear-to-ear. Cooling themselves from the heat of the summer sun in the shade of a monolithic toadstool, fluttered a peaceful assortment of strange winged women surrounded by translucent stubby things whose jovial laughing mouths led to no innards. Frogs the size of cows croaked from the sidelines and other ineffable beasts hunched and clung to the taller branches above. Lora yearned to join the scene, to be among friendly faces, but she innately understood that were she to call out, they wouldn’t hear her. Let alone begin to understand. Crestfallen in her exclusion, but invigorated by the magical presence she now knew to truly exist, Lora went on her way. Hopeful of meeting someone or something that could take her pain away, if only for a little while.
The tinny brass screech of horns bellowed in the distance, but from which direction, she didn’t know. Contrary to everything she’d learned from books about wilderness survival, wandering aimlessly proved to be the correct approach, and Lora found herself looking in on another group. Who, this time, seemed much more humanoid in appearance, for the most part. Men and women, of over two dozen in number and all intricately clothed in ornate robes and dresses as if attending some grand ball and not just a clearing in the woods stood around, enjoying one another's company. Dwarves pottered about, shrilly chuckling with each other over the din as the brass players began to toot a song likely never before heard by mortal ears that even the sunflowers seemed to dance along to. It was beautiful. To Lora, at least. The partygoers seemed nonplussed by the sweet sounds, going about their conversations and business as if they’d heard them every day of their infinite lifespan. A sickly stream of opaque, swirling orange fog separated the two parties, and again Lora knew that her pleading shouts would have no effect on the beings should she try to call out to them. Distraught, she staggered away, crippled by the dreadful loneliness which was now very much unbearable.
She wandered as if in a daze; unthinking, unfeeling. Ready to perish. The air, once sweet and warm, had turned bitterly sour and in her terror Lora craned her neck to the sky, shivering, and saw that the sun had vanished. The perfect blue sea above had begun to degenerate, turning darker by the second. It exuded an implied emptiness, devoid of stars, as if everything she had felt and seen was all just some cruel joke played by no-one. A thick, miasmic fog began to form around her, and the trees grew less dense and full of audible life. The fetid stench rising up from the swamp was intoxicating. Sickening. Lora’s belly rumbled, begging for food as if it hadn’t ever been full, and she began to weep once more, imploring some vague altruistic force to save her from her torment. She screamed into the blackened sky until her bone-dry throat stung and she could scream no longer.
Then, as quickly as she’d entered, she was no longer among trees, surrounded by the vastness of an unending and desolate desert. Lora didn’t care. She didn’t even glance over her shoulder to see what she’d left behind, she simply continued forward; unable to go on any other way. A violent wind was picking up, carrying clouds of coarse gray dust which slashed at the girl’s eyes. The dunes stretched onto the horizon in patterns that seemed to repeat infinitely and they had nothing to offer except for slow and excruciating death; a suffocating abyss.
Lora’s knees were long since weary, buckling under her meager weight, but she didn’t stop. Even though the cold, dead sand looked like a fine enough place to fall asleep for the last time. As one leg gave out and she tumbled to the ashen desert floor, Lora stared glaringly into the distance; searching for something deadly that might have the courtesy to look her in the eyes before it killed her. She saw no great and hungry beast with razor-sharp teeth and killer claws ready to devour what was left of her, but an ocean instead. Black and unforgiving. Lora lurched in its direction, and found herself on the shore. Ahead, around an arched rock formation of inexplicable nature, danced a number of fairies, male and female; waving their sparkling wands freely as if entirely without inhibition with their pale white skin exposed for all to see. Cherubs writhed floating in a congealed mass above the figures atop the formation; a loving family, crowned in shining white light. The beings reveled soundlessly as Lora watched on, still observing with fascination even as her body gave in to her exhaustion and she collapsed onto the brittle, jagged rocks at her feet. The divine group seemed to take notice of her then, and some laughed at her misfortune. Others whispered mocking jeers which stabbed at Lora, at her very being, even worse than the inhospitable ground she’d fallen onto. The insults became less direct and softer, but still impossibly cruel. They said cryptic, confusing things like ‘This one’s still breathing.’ and ‘Get her out of here.’ Lora knew that she wasn’t wanted. Not there, or anywhere else. The entire world seemed to throb in and out in a deep wavering much like the ripples on the dark, impenetrable sea and the young girl felt hands on her. Picking her up. Delivering her.
Flashes became another place entirely, until finally Lora could see again. She was at home, being lifted out by strange men. Scorching blue lights streaked her vision through the slats of rotting wood nailed to the windows and a wailing enveloped the night, drawing closer. More sirens. As she passed through the living room, Lora saw her father. All sticky and red in the face. Crushed. Glued to his chair, and bashed in. In that sinking, numbed moment that seemed to stretch on into infinity, the girl knew that the overdose she’d taken hadn’t worked, and that she wouldn’t be free. That they were going to bring her back, so that she could pay for what she’d done. Empty pill bottles littered the carpet along with the stained-brown wraps of her father’s stash, mingling with the usual cluttered garbage. It hadn’t been enough, it could never be enough. But as the blinding white light of the ambulance's interior swallowed her, Lora felt herself slipping away. She fell backwards, forever, and while the paramedics hurried about their duty and their desperate pleas became less and less clear, Lora was glad that it was all finally over.
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The feeling of being watched was one Lora never found respite from, but as she sat there perched on the porch’s top step the understanding that this wasn’t of the usual malevolence that stalked her wherever she went seemed almost inherently undeniable. This presence was one of positive intent. Soothing, like the mother she’d never had but always longed for.
Lora tentatively got to her feet, the bare skin of her soles rubbing against the moist evening grass, still wet from the prior day's soft rain. As she was about to turn and go back inside, the forest cried out to her in an ethereal, desperate wail. But only ever so briefly. The girl froze, unsure of herself despite the deep, revelrous rays of affection pulsing and radiating from within the trees. She desperately wished to explore, to become one with it all, however her father had expressly forbade her from any such excursions beyond the property’s borders. Especially past the treeline, into those woods that may as well stretch on until the end of the universe. Lora knew what the consequences could be if she were to disobey.
The rusted hinges of the wooden front door creaked and with its closure disappeared anything resembling warmth or hope. Simply cold, fetid air; tainted by the stale musk of Lora’s father as he sat slumped, dozing in his chair. Lora crept across the floorboards, each squeaking almost as if to spite her. Her father stirred, but he didn’t open his eyes.
Lora gripped the knob of her bedroom door, twisting it ever so slowly so as to not make another sound, but it was too late. She turned, stifling a scream as she saw him swaying in the hallway towards her.
“Where do you think you’re going, girl?”
Lora’s father’s breath stank, and it was all she could do but to gag when he stuck his tongue down her throat. The bedroom door clicked behind them, and in her mind Lora went to the forest. She didn’t return until it was long over, but even then she was only half present. Her thoughts reduced to little more than grating static. Lora resolved through the fog that it was time to be free from all the nastiness of her homelife, even if it meant starvation or being ravaged by some sick wild animal. One with razor-sharp teeth and killer claws. Anything would be better than staying there, in that decrepit old cabin on the border of the ancient woods. That horrid, ramshackled shack on the cusp of the forest that breathes.
Lora awoke, tears streaming down her cheeks. When she caught her reflection in the grime-smudged bathroom mirror she couldn’t help but vomit, holding her long dark hair back with one hand while gripping the seat with the other; grasping onto it like someone on the verge of falling. Tight enough to make her fingers ache. She washed her face, then, trembling, crept down the hallway into the living room. Her father’s chair sat empty. The television, off. The fridge was devoid of alcohol, explaining his absence. Unfortunately the cupboards were barren as well, and the young girl’s stomach growled in its emptiness. She settled on the crumbs remaining in an old box of off-brand sugary cereal, the sweetness of which tasted strangely bitter.
As Lora looked absently through her wardrobe for something to wear, she remembered the vow she’d made to herself in the night. About how she’d be freed from this nightmare, one way or another. A flash of vengeful determination made its home in the depths of her gut and it spread until she was no longer acting with conscious thought, snatching a black trash bag and stuffing clothes and keepsakes inside. Lora’s eyes glistened as she rubbed the friendship bracelet between her fingers before sliding it onto her wrist, trying to recall the face of the friend that’d given it to her all those years ago. She couldn’t, and her desire to escape grew ten-fold. Anger was overtaken by remorse and then dread before coalescing into an anxiety-ridden desperation. Looking over the bottles of medication atop the dresser, Lora sent them rattling to the floor with a shriek. Just another set of cogs in the terrible machine that made her feel so awfully hollow. She wouldn’t need them anymore, Lora told herself. Not where she was going.
Her father had locked the front door behind him, a cruel attempt to keep his daughter captive. Luckily for her, Lora had learned many useful things during her confinement. Like how to pick the lock. She removed the pin from her hair before retrieving a thin sewing needle, getting to work. He could be back any minute. A long, increasingly tense struggle ensued as Lora strained to find her way through the locking mechanism; dark as it was inside with all the windows boarded up, allowing in only thin slivers of sunlight. Finally, she felt the click. But her joy was as short-lived as any other feeling considered to be good. Lora shivered with the rumble of her father’s truck as it rolled into the gravel driveway. When he found out what she’d done, anything could happen.
Without another thought or even a look over her shoulder, Lora flung the door open so hard that the wood splintered against the frame and she burst through the threshold, abandoning her bagged-up belongings on the filthy living room carpet. Her sneakers connected with the overgrown grass of the yard before meeting the somehow tamer undergrowth of the forest floor for the very first time. Lora kept running, and she didn’t stop until her father’s furious screams faded deep into the distance behind her. Then, she ran some more.
‘Lost’ was the wrong word, because as confused in her surroundings as she was, Lora felt her trepidations slowly recede into the background. Unseen birds chirped overhead amongst the treetops, welcoming her. Encouraging her to go on. So, she did. She walked for miles through that inviting brush, all laid bare before her as if the very spirit of the forest itself were parting every obstacle in her path, and yet her legs didn’t tire, not at all. A smile quite unlike any other she’d expressed in a long time found itself upon her face. Every breath felt like heaven. The air, sweet and intensely lovely; scented like fresh pine and whipped cream. Everything, Lora felt in that long, perfect stroll among the undulating swathes of greens and browns, everything was going to be alright. Afterall, with a feeling that good, how could anything possibly be bad?
The sun hung fixed above, beaming down from the center of the cloudless, blue sky. By the time Lora realized that it hadn’t and refused to move since the start of her escape, she had begun to notice other curious things about the forest as well. Like how the densely wooded landscape had steadily and subtly changed. The ambience seemed tinged, almost. A sepia-like tone washed over the plants and trees so that all appeared almost entirely brown, punctuated by the dark silhouetted blacks of branches and leaves. They writhed, indistinguishable from one another. Still, her joyous sense of adventurous freedom had hardly faltered and Lora continued on, becoming evermore aware that the path ahead was becoming increasingly treacherous. Thorn-covered thickets threatened to claw at her skin, penetrating the denim of her jeans and scratching at the pale flesh underneath. Lora grew timid in her steps, becoming disenchanted in the forest’s solitude.
For the first time since she’d stepped foot in those woods, Lora stopped, and knew instantly that she was utterly alone. It crushed her, sending the girl to the floor. She sobbed quietly to herself, feeling the pine needles dig into her hands as she grasped at the earth. As she was on the verge of giving up and simply laying down to die, she looked to her left and saw them a foot from her reddened, tear-streaked face. A bush, packed full of ripe blackberries, as appetizing as anything she’d ever seen. Lora ravenously wolfed down more than she could count, as quickly as she could pick them, and after a nourishing feast she lay with her back against the nearest tree where she slept like a baby. Someone uncorrupted.
When Lora opened her eyes, she saw to her surprise that the sun remained unmoved. The area around her had once again changed in hue though, from the sickening reddish-brown to one of a much more affable pink appearance. Sparkling particles danced and winked through the lush clearing ahead, leading the way. The air now tasted sugary, like Halloween candy. Lora couldn’t remember the last time she’d been allowed to go trick-or-treating. Maybe she never even had to begin with. Every sad recollection and vicious intrusive thought slid right off the young girl as she concentrated on the soft crunches her feet made and nothing else, unable to touch her. Eventually, when Lora had to stop once more to regain her bearings - having abandoned a linear path hours before - she realized to her stunned delight that the woods weren’t quite as empty as she’d previously thought.
Through a gap in the trees, past an impassable grouping of thorny thickets, Lora spied a congregation of creatures that she couldn’t quite explain. Even to herself, even though they inspired no fear, their nonsensical appearance left her paralyzed beyond reproach; completely frozen where she stood, and yet grinning ear-to-ear. Cooling themselves from the heat of the summer sun in the shade of a monolithic toadstool, fluttered a peaceful assortment of strange winged women surrounded by translucent stubby things whose jovial laughing mouths led to no innards. Frogs the size of cows croaked from the sidelines and other ineffable beasts hunched and clung to the taller branches above. Lora yearned to join the scene, to be among friendly faces, but she innately understood that were she to call out, they wouldn’t hear her. Let alone begin to understand. Crestfallen in her exclusion, but invigorated by the magical presence she now knew to truly exist, Lora went on her way. Hopeful of meeting someone or something that could take her pain away, if only for a little while.
The tinny brass screech of horns bellowed in the distance, but from which direction, she didn’t know. Contrary to everything she’d learned from books about wilderness survival, wandering aimlessly proved to be the correct approach, and Lora found herself looking in on another group. Who, this time, seemed much more humanoid in appearance, for the most part. Men and women, of over two dozen in number and all intricately clothed in ornate robes and dresses as if attending some grand ball and not just a clearing in the woods stood around, enjoying one another's company. Dwarves pottered about, shrilly chuckling with each other over the din as the brass players began to toot a song likely never before heard by mortal ears that even the sunflowers seemed to dance along to. It was beautiful. To Lora, at least. The partygoers seemed nonplussed by the sweet sounds, going about their conversations and business as if they’d heard them every day of their infinite lifespan. A sickly stream of opaque, swirling orange fog separated the two parties, and again Lora knew that her pleading shouts would have no effect on the beings should she try to call out to them. Distraught, she staggered away, crippled by the dreadful loneliness which was now very much unbearable.
She wandered as if in a daze; unthinking, unfeeling. Ready to perish. The air, once sweet and warm, had turned bitterly sour and in her terror Lora craned her neck to the sky, shivering, and saw that the sun had vanished. The perfect blue sea above had begun to degenerate, turning darker by the second. It exuded an implied emptiness, devoid of stars, as if everything she had felt and seen was all just some cruel joke played by no-one. A thick, miasmic fog began to form around her, and the trees grew less dense and full of audible life. The fetid stench rising up from the swamp was intoxicating. Sickening. Lora’s belly rumbled, begging for food as if it hadn’t ever been full, and she began to weep once more, imploring some vague altruistic force to save her from her torment. She screamed into the blackened sky until her bone-dry throat stung and she could scream no longer.
Then, as quickly as she’d entered, she was no longer among trees, surrounded by the vastness of an unending and desolate desert. Lora didn’t care. She didn’t even glance over her shoulder to see what she’d left behind, she simply continued forward; unable to go on any other way. A violent wind was picking up, carrying clouds of coarse gray dust which slashed at the girl’s eyes. The dunes stretched onto the horizon in patterns that seemed to repeat infinitely and they had nothing to offer except for slow and excruciating death; a suffocating abyss.
Lora’s knees were long since weary, buckling under her meager weight, but she didn’t stop. Even though the cold, dead sand looked like a fine enough place to fall asleep for the last time. As one leg gave out and she tumbled to the ashen desert floor, Lora stared glaringly into the distance; searching for something deadly that might have the courtesy to look her in the eyes before it killed her. She saw no great and hungry beast with razor-sharp teeth and killer claws ready to devour what was left of her, but an ocean instead. Black and unforgiving. Lora lurched in its direction, and found herself on the shore. Ahead, around an arched rock formation of inexplicable nature, danced a number of fairies, male and female; waving their sparkling wands freely as if entirely without inhibition with their pale white skin exposed for all to see. Cherubs writhed floating in a congealed mass above the figures atop the formation; a loving family, crowned in shining white light. The beings reveled soundlessly as Lora watched on, still observing with fascination even as her body gave in to her exhaustion and she collapsed onto the brittle, jagged rocks at her feet. The divine group seemed to take notice of her then, and some laughed at her misfortune. Others whispered mocking jeers which stabbed at Lora, at her very being, even worse than the inhospitable ground she’d fallen onto. The insults became less direct and softer, but still impossibly cruel. They said cryptic, confusing things like ‘This one’s still breathing.’ and ‘Get her out of here.’ Lora knew that she wasn’t wanted. Not there, or anywhere else. The entire world seemed to throb in and out in a deep wavering much like the ripples on the dark, impenetrable sea and the young girl felt hands on her. Picking her up. Delivering her.
Flashes became another place entirely, until finally Lora could see again. She was at home, being lifted out by strange men. Scorching blue lights streaked her vision through the slats of rotting wood nailed to the windows and a wailing enveloped the night, drawing closer. More sirens. As she passed through the living room, Lora saw her father. All sticky and red in the face. Crushed. Glued to his chair, and bashed in. In that sinking, numbed moment that seemed to stretch on into infinity, the girl knew that the overdose she’d taken hadn’t worked, and that she wouldn’t be free. That they were going to bring her back, so that she could pay for what she’d done. Empty pill bottles littered the carpet along with the stained-brown wraps of her father’s stash, mingling with the usual cluttered garbage. It hadn’t been enough, it could never be enough. But as the blinding white light of the ambulance's interior swallowed her, Lora felt herself slipping away. She fell backwards, forever, and while the paramedics hurried about their duty and their desperate pleas became less and less clear, Lora was glad that it was all finally over.
2023.06.06 20:09 Verrgasm [HR] On The Borders Of Madness
Lora Jones gazed blankly into the forest as she sat alone, knees hugged tightly to her chest, almost forgetting the uncomfortable flaking boards of the porch beneath her. The air was still and deathly quiet, and an indeterminable stirring had drawn the girl outside; cutting through the silence as if calling directly to her. Lora listened intently, intermittently escaping her daydreams to scan the treeline in hopes of encountering something unreal. Something different. Better.
The feeling of being watched was one Lora never found respite from, but as she sat there perched on the porch’s top step the understanding that this wasn’t of the usual malevolence that stalked her wherever she went seemed almost inherently undeniable. This presence was one of positive intent. Soothing, like the mother she’d never had but always longed for.
Lora tentatively got to her feet, the bare skin of her soles rubbing against the moist evening grass, still wet from the prior day's soft rain. As she was about to turn and go back inside, the forest cried out to her in an ethereal, desperate wail. But only ever so briefly. The girl froze, unsure of herself despite the deep, revelrous rays of affection pulsing and radiating from within the trees. She desperately wished to explore, to become one with it all, however her father had expressly forbade her from any such excursions beyond the property’s borders. Especially past the treeline, into those woods that may as well stretch on until the end of the universe. Lora knew what the consequences could be if she were to disobey.
The rusted hinges of the wooden front door creaked and with its closure disappeared anything resembling warmth or hope. Simply cold, fetid air; tainted by the stale musk of Lora’s father as he sat slumped, dozing in his chair. Lora crept across the floorboards, each squeaking almost as if to spite her. Her father stirred, but he didn’t open his eyes.
Lora gripped the knob of her bedroom door, twisting it ever so slowly so as to not make another sound, but it was too late. She turned, stifling a scream as she saw him swaying in the hallway towards her.
“Where do you think you’re going, girl?”
Lora’s father’s breath stank, and it was all she could do but to gag when he stuck his tongue down her throat. The bedroom door clicked behind them, and in her mind Lora went to the forest. She didn’t return until it was long over, but even then she was only half present. Her thoughts reduced to little more than grating static. Lora resolved through the fog that it was time to be free from all the nastiness of her homelife, even if it meant starvation or being ravaged by some sick wild animal. One with razor-sharp teeth and killer claws. Anything would be better than staying there, in that decrepit old cabin on the border of the ancient woods. That horrid, ramshackled shack on the cusp of the forest that breathes.
Lora awoke, tears streaming down her cheeks. When she caught her reflection in the grime-smudged bathroom mirror she couldn’t help but vomit, holding her long dark hair back with one hand while gripping the seat with the other; grasping onto it like someone on the verge of falling. Tight enough to make her fingers ache. She washed her face, then, trembling, crept down the hallway into the living room. Her father’s chair sat empty. The television, off. The fridge was devoid of alcohol, explaining his absence. Unfortunately the cupboards were barren as well, and the young girl’s stomach growled in its emptiness. She settled on the crumbs remaining in an old box of off-brand sugary cereal, the sweetness of which tasted strangely bitter.
As Lora looked absently through her wardrobe for something to wear, she remembered the vow she’d made to herself in the night. About how she’d be freed from this nightmare, one way or another. A flash of vengeful determination made its home in the depths of her gut and it spread until she was no longer acting with conscious thought, snatching a black trash bag and stuffing clothes and keepsakes inside. Lora’s eyes glistened as she rubbed the friendship bracelet between her fingers before sliding it onto her wrist, trying to recall the face of the friend that’d given it to her all those years ago. She couldn’t, and her desire to escape grew ten-fold. Anger was overtaken by remorse and then dread before coalescing into an anxiety-ridden desperation. Looking over the bottles of medication atop the dresser, Lora sent them rattling to the floor with a shriek. Just another set of cogs in the terrible machine that made her feel so awfully hollow. She wouldn’t need them anymore, Lora told herself. Not where she was going.
Her father had locked the front door behind him, a cruel attempt to keep his daughter captive. Luckily for her, Lora had learned many useful things during her confinement. Like how to pick the lock. She removed the pin from her hair before retrieving a thin sewing needle, getting to work. He could be back any minute. A long, increasingly tense struggle ensued as Lora strained to find her way through the locking mechanism; dark as it was inside with all the windows boarded up, allowing in only thin slivers of sunlight. Finally, she felt the click. But her joy was as short-lived as any other feeling considered to be good. Lora shivered with the rumble of her father’s truck as it rolled into the gravel driveway. When he found out what she’d done, anything could happen.
Without another thought or even a look over her shoulder, Lora flung the door open so hard that the wood splintered against the frame and she burst through the threshold, abandoning her bagged-up belongings on the filthy living room carpet. Her sneakers connected with the overgrown grass of the yard before meeting the somehow tamer undergrowth of the forest floor for the very first time. Lora kept running, and she didn’t stop until her father’s furious screams faded deep into the distance behind her. Then, she ran some more.
‘Lost’ was the wrong word, because as confused in her surroundings as she was, Lora felt her trepidations slowly recede into the background. Unseen birds chirped overhead amongst the treetops, welcoming her. Encouraging her to go on. So, she did. She walked for miles through that inviting brush, all laid bare before her as if the very spirit of the forest itself were parting every obstacle in her path, and yet her legs didn’t tire, not at all. A smile quite unlike any other she’d expressed in a long time found itself upon her face. Every breath felt like heaven. The air, sweet and intensely lovely; scented like fresh pine and whipped cream. Everything, Lora felt in that long, perfect stroll among the undulating swathes of greens and browns, everything was going to be alright. Afterall, with a feeling that good, how could anything possibly be bad?
The sun hung fixed above, beaming down from the center of the cloudless, blue sky. By the time Lora realized that it hadn’t and refused to move since the start of her escape, she had begun to notice other curious things about the forest as well. Like how the densely wooded landscape had steadily and subtly changed. The ambience seemed tinged, almost. A sepia-like tone washed over the plants and trees so that all appeared almost entirely brown, punctuated by the dark silhouetted blacks of branches and leaves. They writhed, indistinguishable from one another. Still, her joyous sense of adventurous freedom had hardly faltered and Lora continued on, becoming evermore aware that the path ahead was becoming increasingly treacherous. Thorn-covered thickets threatened to claw at her skin, penetrating the denim of her jeans and scratching at the pale flesh underneath. Lora grew timid in her steps, becoming disenchanted in the forest’s solitude.
For the first time since she’d stepped foot in those woods, Lora stopped, and knew instantly that she was utterly alone. It crushed her, sending the girl to the floor. She sobbed quietly to herself, feeling the pine needles dig into her hands as she grasped at the earth. As she was on the verge of giving up and simply laying down to die, she looked to her left and saw them a foot from her reddened, tear-streaked face. A bush, packed full of ripe blackberries, as appetizing as anything she’d ever seen. Lora ravenously wolfed down more than she could count, as quickly as she could pick them, and after a nourishing feast she lay with her back against the nearest tree where she slept like a baby. Someone uncorrupted.
When Lora opened her eyes, she saw to her surprise that the sun remained unmoved. The area around her had once again changed in hue though, from the sickening reddish-brown to one of a much more affable pink appearance. Sparkling particles danced and winked through the lush clearing ahead, leading the way. The air now tasted sugary, like Halloween candy. Lora couldn’t remember the last time she’d been allowed to go trick-or-treating. Maybe she never even had to begin with. Every sad recollection and vicious intrusive thought slid right off the young girl as she concentrated on the soft crunches her feet made and nothing else, unable to touch her. Eventually, when Lora had to stop once more to regain her bearings - having abandoned a linear path hours before - she realized to her stunned delight that the woods weren’t quite as empty as she’d previously thought.
Through a gap in the trees, past an impassable grouping of thorny thickets, Lora spied a congregation of creatures that she couldn’t quite explain. Even to herself, even though they inspired no fear, their nonsensical appearance left her paralyzed beyond reproach; completely frozen where she stood, and yet grinning ear-to-ear. Cooling themselves from the heat of the summer sun in the shade of a monolithic toadstool, fluttered a peaceful assortment of strange winged women surrounded by translucent stubby things whose jovial laughing mouths led to no innards. Frogs the size of cows croaked from the sidelines and other ineffable beasts hunched and clung to the taller branches above. Lora yearned to join the scene, to be among friendly faces, but she innately understood that were she to call out, they wouldn’t hear her. Let alone begin to understand. Crestfallen in her exclusion, but invigorated by the magical presence she now knew to truly exist, Lora went on her way. Hopeful of meeting someone or something that could take her pain away, if only for a little while.
The tinny brass screech of horns bellowed in the distance, but from which direction, she didn’t know. Contrary to everything she’d learned from books about wilderness survival, wandering aimlessly proved to be the correct approach, and Lora found herself looking in on another group. Who, this time, seemed much more humanoid in appearance, for the most part. Men and women, of over two dozen in number and all intricately clothed in ornate robes and dresses as if attending some grand ball and not just a clearing in the woods stood around, enjoying one another's company. Dwarves pottered about, shrilly chuckling with each other over the din as the brass players began to toot a song likely never before heard by mortal ears that even the sunflowers seemed to dance along to. It was beautiful. To Lora, at least. The partygoers seemed nonplussed by the sweet sounds, going about their conversations and business as if they’d heard them every day of their infinite lifespan. A sickly stream of opaque, swirling orange fog separated the two parties, and again Lora knew that her pleading shouts would have no effect on the beings should she try to call out to them. Distraught, she staggered away, crippled by the dreadful loneliness which was now very much unbearable.
She wandered as if in a daze; unthinking, unfeeling. Ready to perish. The air, once sweet and warm, had turned bitterly sour and in her terror Lora craned her neck to the sky, shivering, and saw that the sun had vanished. The perfect blue sea above had begun to degenerate, turning darker by the second. It exuded an implied emptiness, devoid of stars, as if everything she had felt and seen was all just some cruel joke played by no-one. A thick, miasmic fog began to form around her, and the trees grew less dense and full of audible life. The fetid stench rising up from the swamp was intoxicating. Sickening. Lora’s belly rumbled, begging for food as if it hadn’t ever been full, and she began to weep once more, imploring some vague altruistic force to save her from her torment. She screamed into the blackened sky until her bone-dry throat stung and she could scream no longer.
Then, as quickly as she’d entered, she was no longer among trees, surrounded by the vastness of an unending and desolate desert. Lora didn’t care. She didn’t even glance over her shoulder to see what she’d left behind, she simply continued forward; unable to go on any other way. A violent wind was picking up, carrying clouds of coarse gray dust which slashed at the girl’s eyes. The dunes stretched onto the horizon in patterns that seemed to repeat infinitely and they had nothing to offer except for slow and excruciating death; a suffocating abyss.
Lora’s knees were long since weary, buckling under her meager weight, but she didn’t stop. Even though the cold, dead sand looked like a fine enough place to fall asleep for the last time. As one leg gave out and she tumbled to the ashen desert floor, Lora stared glaringly into the distance; searching for something deadly that might have the courtesy to look her in the eyes before it killed her. She saw no great and hungry beast with razor-sharp teeth and killer claws ready to devour what was left of her, but an ocean instead. Black and unforgiving. Lora lurched in its direction, and found herself on the shore. Ahead, around an arched rock formation of inexplicable nature, danced a number of fairies, male and female; waving their sparkling wands freely as if entirely without inhibition with their pale white skin exposed for all to see. Cherubs writhed floating in a congealed mass above the figures atop the formation; a loving family, crowned in shining white light. The beings reveled soundlessly as Lora watched on, still observing with fascination even as her body gave in to her exhaustion and she collapsed onto the brittle, jagged rocks at her feet. The divine group seemed to take notice of her then, and some laughed at her misfortune. Others whispered mocking jeers which stabbed at Lora, at her very being, even worse than the inhospitable ground she’d fallen onto. The insults became less direct and softer, but still impossibly cruel. They said cryptic, confusing things like ‘This one’s still breathing.’ and ‘Get her out of here.’ Lora knew that she wasn’t wanted. Not there, or anywhere else. The entire world seemed to throb in and out in a deep wavering much like the ripples on the dark, impenetrable sea and the young girl felt hands on her. Picking her up. Delivering her.
Flashes became another place entirely, until finally Lora could see again. She was at home, being lifted out by strange men. Scorching blue lights streaked her vision through the slats of rotting wood nailed to the windows and a wailing enveloped the night, drawing closer. More sirens. As she passed through the living room, Lora saw her father. All sticky and red in the face. Crushed. Glued to his chair, and bashed in. In that sinking, numbed moment that seemed to stretch on into infinity, the girl knew that the overdose she’d taken hadn’t worked, and that she wouldn’t be free. That they were going to bring her back, so that she could pay for what she’d done. Empty pill bottles littered the carpet along with the stained-brown wraps of her father’s stash, mingling with the usual cluttered garbage. It hadn’t been enough, it could never be enough. But as the blinding white light of the ambulance's interior swallowed her, Lora felt herself slipping away. She fell backwards, forever, and while the paramedics hurried about their duty and their desperate pleas became less and less clear, Lora was glad that it was all finally over.
submitted by Verrgasm to shortstories [link] [comments]
The feeling of being watched was one Lora never found respite from, but as she sat there perched on the porch’s top step the understanding that this wasn’t of the usual malevolence that stalked her wherever she went seemed almost inherently undeniable. This presence was one of positive intent. Soothing, like the mother she’d never had but always longed for.
Lora tentatively got to her feet, the bare skin of her soles rubbing against the moist evening grass, still wet from the prior day's soft rain. As she was about to turn and go back inside, the forest cried out to her in an ethereal, desperate wail. But only ever so briefly. The girl froze, unsure of herself despite the deep, revelrous rays of affection pulsing and radiating from within the trees. She desperately wished to explore, to become one with it all, however her father had expressly forbade her from any such excursions beyond the property’s borders. Especially past the treeline, into those woods that may as well stretch on until the end of the universe. Lora knew what the consequences could be if she were to disobey.
The rusted hinges of the wooden front door creaked and with its closure disappeared anything resembling warmth or hope. Simply cold, fetid air; tainted by the stale musk of Lora’s father as he sat slumped, dozing in his chair. Lora crept across the floorboards, each squeaking almost as if to spite her. Her father stirred, but he didn’t open his eyes.
Lora gripped the knob of her bedroom door, twisting it ever so slowly so as to not make another sound, but it was too late. She turned, stifling a scream as she saw him swaying in the hallway towards her.
“Where do you think you’re going, girl?”
Lora’s father’s breath stank, and it was all she could do but to gag when he stuck his tongue down her throat. The bedroom door clicked behind them, and in her mind Lora went to the forest. She didn’t return until it was long over, but even then she was only half present. Her thoughts reduced to little more than grating static. Lora resolved through the fog that it was time to be free from all the nastiness of her homelife, even if it meant starvation or being ravaged by some sick wild animal. One with razor-sharp teeth and killer claws. Anything would be better than staying there, in that decrepit old cabin on the border of the ancient woods. That horrid, ramshackled shack on the cusp of the forest that breathes.
Lora awoke, tears streaming down her cheeks. When she caught her reflection in the grime-smudged bathroom mirror she couldn’t help but vomit, holding her long dark hair back with one hand while gripping the seat with the other; grasping onto it like someone on the verge of falling. Tight enough to make her fingers ache. She washed her face, then, trembling, crept down the hallway into the living room. Her father’s chair sat empty. The television, off. The fridge was devoid of alcohol, explaining his absence. Unfortunately the cupboards were barren as well, and the young girl’s stomach growled in its emptiness. She settled on the crumbs remaining in an old box of off-brand sugary cereal, the sweetness of which tasted strangely bitter.
As Lora looked absently through her wardrobe for something to wear, she remembered the vow she’d made to herself in the night. About how she’d be freed from this nightmare, one way or another. A flash of vengeful determination made its home in the depths of her gut and it spread until she was no longer acting with conscious thought, snatching a black trash bag and stuffing clothes and keepsakes inside. Lora’s eyes glistened as she rubbed the friendship bracelet between her fingers before sliding it onto her wrist, trying to recall the face of the friend that’d given it to her all those years ago. She couldn’t, and her desire to escape grew ten-fold. Anger was overtaken by remorse and then dread before coalescing into an anxiety-ridden desperation. Looking over the bottles of medication atop the dresser, Lora sent them rattling to the floor with a shriek. Just another set of cogs in the terrible machine that made her feel so awfully hollow. She wouldn’t need them anymore, Lora told herself. Not where she was going.
Her father had locked the front door behind him, a cruel attempt to keep his daughter captive. Luckily for her, Lora had learned many useful things during her confinement. Like how to pick the lock. She removed the pin from her hair before retrieving a thin sewing needle, getting to work. He could be back any minute. A long, increasingly tense struggle ensued as Lora strained to find her way through the locking mechanism; dark as it was inside with all the windows boarded up, allowing in only thin slivers of sunlight. Finally, she felt the click. But her joy was as short-lived as any other feeling considered to be good. Lora shivered with the rumble of her father’s truck as it rolled into the gravel driveway. When he found out what she’d done, anything could happen.
Without another thought or even a look over her shoulder, Lora flung the door open so hard that the wood splintered against the frame and she burst through the threshold, abandoning her bagged-up belongings on the filthy living room carpet. Her sneakers connected with the overgrown grass of the yard before meeting the somehow tamer undergrowth of the forest floor for the very first time. Lora kept running, and she didn’t stop until her father’s furious screams faded deep into the distance behind her. Then, she ran some more.
‘Lost’ was the wrong word, because as confused in her surroundings as she was, Lora felt her trepidations slowly recede into the background. Unseen birds chirped overhead amongst the treetops, welcoming her. Encouraging her to go on. So, she did. She walked for miles through that inviting brush, all laid bare before her as if the very spirit of the forest itself were parting every obstacle in her path, and yet her legs didn’t tire, not at all. A smile quite unlike any other she’d expressed in a long time found itself upon her face. Every breath felt like heaven. The air, sweet and intensely lovely; scented like fresh pine and whipped cream. Everything, Lora felt in that long, perfect stroll among the undulating swathes of greens and browns, everything was going to be alright. Afterall, with a feeling that good, how could anything possibly be bad?
The sun hung fixed above, beaming down from the center of the cloudless, blue sky. By the time Lora realized that it hadn’t and refused to move since the start of her escape, she had begun to notice other curious things about the forest as well. Like how the densely wooded landscape had steadily and subtly changed. The ambience seemed tinged, almost. A sepia-like tone washed over the plants and trees so that all appeared almost entirely brown, punctuated by the dark silhouetted blacks of branches and leaves. They writhed, indistinguishable from one another. Still, her joyous sense of adventurous freedom had hardly faltered and Lora continued on, becoming evermore aware that the path ahead was becoming increasingly treacherous. Thorn-covered thickets threatened to claw at her skin, penetrating the denim of her jeans and scratching at the pale flesh underneath. Lora grew timid in her steps, becoming disenchanted in the forest’s solitude.
For the first time since she’d stepped foot in those woods, Lora stopped, and knew instantly that she was utterly alone. It crushed her, sending the girl to the floor. She sobbed quietly to herself, feeling the pine needles dig into her hands as she grasped at the earth. As she was on the verge of giving up and simply laying down to die, she looked to her left and saw them a foot from her reddened, tear-streaked face. A bush, packed full of ripe blackberries, as appetizing as anything she’d ever seen. Lora ravenously wolfed down more than she could count, as quickly as she could pick them, and after a nourishing feast she lay with her back against the nearest tree where she slept like a baby. Someone uncorrupted.
When Lora opened her eyes, she saw to her surprise that the sun remained unmoved. The area around her had once again changed in hue though, from the sickening reddish-brown to one of a much more affable pink appearance. Sparkling particles danced and winked through the lush clearing ahead, leading the way. The air now tasted sugary, like Halloween candy. Lora couldn’t remember the last time she’d been allowed to go trick-or-treating. Maybe she never even had to begin with. Every sad recollection and vicious intrusive thought slid right off the young girl as she concentrated on the soft crunches her feet made and nothing else, unable to touch her. Eventually, when Lora had to stop once more to regain her bearings - having abandoned a linear path hours before - she realized to her stunned delight that the woods weren’t quite as empty as she’d previously thought.
Through a gap in the trees, past an impassable grouping of thorny thickets, Lora spied a congregation of creatures that she couldn’t quite explain. Even to herself, even though they inspired no fear, their nonsensical appearance left her paralyzed beyond reproach; completely frozen where she stood, and yet grinning ear-to-ear. Cooling themselves from the heat of the summer sun in the shade of a monolithic toadstool, fluttered a peaceful assortment of strange winged women surrounded by translucent stubby things whose jovial laughing mouths led to no innards. Frogs the size of cows croaked from the sidelines and other ineffable beasts hunched and clung to the taller branches above. Lora yearned to join the scene, to be among friendly faces, but she innately understood that were she to call out, they wouldn’t hear her. Let alone begin to understand. Crestfallen in her exclusion, but invigorated by the magical presence she now knew to truly exist, Lora went on her way. Hopeful of meeting someone or something that could take her pain away, if only for a little while.
The tinny brass screech of horns bellowed in the distance, but from which direction, she didn’t know. Contrary to everything she’d learned from books about wilderness survival, wandering aimlessly proved to be the correct approach, and Lora found herself looking in on another group. Who, this time, seemed much more humanoid in appearance, for the most part. Men and women, of over two dozen in number and all intricately clothed in ornate robes and dresses as if attending some grand ball and not just a clearing in the woods stood around, enjoying one another's company. Dwarves pottered about, shrilly chuckling with each other over the din as the brass players began to toot a song likely never before heard by mortal ears that even the sunflowers seemed to dance along to. It was beautiful. To Lora, at least. The partygoers seemed nonplussed by the sweet sounds, going about their conversations and business as if they’d heard them every day of their infinite lifespan. A sickly stream of opaque, swirling orange fog separated the two parties, and again Lora knew that her pleading shouts would have no effect on the beings should she try to call out to them. Distraught, she staggered away, crippled by the dreadful loneliness which was now very much unbearable.
She wandered as if in a daze; unthinking, unfeeling. Ready to perish. The air, once sweet and warm, had turned bitterly sour and in her terror Lora craned her neck to the sky, shivering, and saw that the sun had vanished. The perfect blue sea above had begun to degenerate, turning darker by the second. It exuded an implied emptiness, devoid of stars, as if everything she had felt and seen was all just some cruel joke played by no-one. A thick, miasmic fog began to form around her, and the trees grew less dense and full of audible life. The fetid stench rising up from the swamp was intoxicating. Sickening. Lora’s belly rumbled, begging for food as if it hadn’t ever been full, and she began to weep once more, imploring some vague altruistic force to save her from her torment. She screamed into the blackened sky until her bone-dry throat stung and she could scream no longer.
Then, as quickly as she’d entered, she was no longer among trees, surrounded by the vastness of an unending and desolate desert. Lora didn’t care. She didn’t even glance over her shoulder to see what she’d left behind, she simply continued forward; unable to go on any other way. A violent wind was picking up, carrying clouds of coarse gray dust which slashed at the girl’s eyes. The dunes stretched onto the horizon in patterns that seemed to repeat infinitely and they had nothing to offer except for slow and excruciating death; a suffocating abyss.
Lora’s knees were long since weary, buckling under her meager weight, but she didn’t stop. Even though the cold, dead sand looked like a fine enough place to fall asleep for the last time. As one leg gave out and she tumbled to the ashen desert floor, Lora stared glaringly into the distance; searching for something deadly that might have the courtesy to look her in the eyes before it killed her. She saw no great and hungry beast with razor-sharp teeth and killer claws ready to devour what was left of her, but an ocean instead. Black and unforgiving. Lora lurched in its direction, and found herself on the shore. Ahead, around an arched rock formation of inexplicable nature, danced a number of fairies, male and female; waving their sparkling wands freely as if entirely without inhibition with their pale white skin exposed for all to see. Cherubs writhed floating in a congealed mass above the figures atop the formation; a loving family, crowned in shining white light. The beings reveled soundlessly as Lora watched on, still observing with fascination even as her body gave in to her exhaustion and she collapsed onto the brittle, jagged rocks at her feet. The divine group seemed to take notice of her then, and some laughed at her misfortune. Others whispered mocking jeers which stabbed at Lora, at her very being, even worse than the inhospitable ground she’d fallen onto. The insults became less direct and softer, but still impossibly cruel. They said cryptic, confusing things like ‘This one’s still breathing.’ and ‘Get her out of here.’ Lora knew that she wasn’t wanted. Not there, or anywhere else. The entire world seemed to throb in and out in a deep wavering much like the ripples on the dark, impenetrable sea and the young girl felt hands on her. Picking her up. Delivering her.
Flashes became another place entirely, until finally Lora could see again. She was at home, being lifted out by strange men. Scorching blue lights streaked her vision through the slats of rotting wood nailed to the windows and a wailing enveloped the night, drawing closer. More sirens. As she passed through the living room, Lora saw her father. All sticky and red in the face. Crushed. Glued to his chair, and bashed in. In that sinking, numbed moment that seemed to stretch on into infinity, the girl knew that the overdose she’d taken hadn’t worked, and that she wouldn’t be free. That they were going to bring her back, so that she could pay for what she’d done. Empty pill bottles littered the carpet along with the stained-brown wraps of her father’s stash, mingling with the usual cluttered garbage. It hadn’t been enough, it could never be enough. But as the blinding white light of the ambulance's interior swallowed her, Lora felt herself slipping away. She fell backwards, forever, and while the paramedics hurried about their duty and their desperate pleas became less and less clear, Lora was glad that it was all finally over.
2023.06.06 20:08 Verrgasm On The Borders Of Madness
Lora Jones gazed blankly into the forest as she sat alone, knees hugged tightly to her chest, almost forgetting the uncomfortable flaking boards of the porch beneath her. The air was still and deathly quiet, and an indeterminable stirring had drawn the girl outside; cutting through the silence as if calling directly to her. Lora listened intently, intermittently escaping her daydreams to scan the treeline in hopes of encountering something unreal. Something different. Better.
The feeling of being watched was one Lora never found respite from, but as she sat there perched on the porch’s top step the understanding that this wasn’t of the usual malevolence that stalked her wherever she went seemed almost inherently undeniable. This presence was one of positive intent. Soothing, like the mother she’d never had but always longed for.
Lora tentatively got to her feet, the bare skin of her soles rubbing against the moist evening grass, still wet from the prior day's soft rain. As she was about to turn and go back inside, the forest cried out to her in an ethereal, desperate wail. But only ever so briefly. The girl froze, unsure of herself despite the deep, revelrous rays of affection pulsing and radiating from within the trees. She desperately wished to explore, to become one with it all, however her father had expressly forbade her from any such excursions beyond the property’s borders. Especially past the treeline, into those woods that may as well stretch on until the end of the universe. Lora knew what the consequences could be if she were to disobey.
The rusted hinges of the wooden front door creaked and with its closure disappeared anything resembling warmth or hope. Simply cold, fetid air; tainted by the stale musk of Lora’s father as he sat slumped, dozing in his chair. Lora crept across the floorboards, each squeaking almost as if to spite her. Her father stirred, but he didn’t open his eyes.
Lora gripped the knob of her bedroom door, twisting it ever so slowly so as to not make another sound, but it was too late. She turned, stifling a scream as she saw him swaying in the hallway towards her.
“Where do you think you’re going, girl?”
Lora’s father’s breath stank, and it was all she could do but to gag when he stuck his tongue down her throat. The bedroom door clicked behind them, and in her mind Lora went to the forest. She didn’t return until it was long over, but even then she was only half present. Her thoughts reduced to little more than grating static. Lora resolved through the fog that it was time to be free from all the nastiness of her homelife, even if it meant starvation or being ravaged by some sick wild animal. One with razor-sharp teeth and killer claws. Anything would be better than staying there, in that decrepit old cabin on the border of the ancient woods. That horrid, ramshackled shack on the cusp of the forest that breathes.
Lora awoke, tears streaming down her cheeks. When she caught her reflection in the grime-smudged bathroom mirror she couldn’t help but vomit, holding her long dark hair back with one hand while gripping the seat with the other; grasping onto it like someone on the verge of falling. Tight enough to make her fingers ache. She washed her face, then, trembling, crept down the hallway into the living room. Her father’s chair sat empty. The television, off. The fridge was devoid of alcohol, explaining his absence. Unfortunately the cupboards were barren as well, and the young girl’s stomach growled in its emptiness. She settled on the crumbs remaining in an old box of off-brand sugary cereal, the sweetness of which tasted strangely bitter.
As Lora looked absently through her wardrobe for something to wear, she remembered the vow she’d made to herself in the night. About how she’d be freed from this nightmare, one way or another. A flash of vengeful determination made its home in the depths of her gut and it spread until she was no longer acting with conscious thought, snatching a black trash bag and stuffing clothes and keepsakes inside. Lora’s eyes glistened as she rubbed the friendship bracelet between her fingers before sliding it onto her wrist, trying to recall the face of the friend that’d given it to her all those years ago. She couldn’t, and her desire to escape grew ten-fold. Anger was overtaken by remorse and then dread before coalescing into an anxiety-ridden desperation. Looking over the bottles of medication atop the dresser, Lora sent them rattling to the floor with a shriek. Just another set of cogs in the terrible machine that made her feel so awfully hollow. She wouldn’t need them anymore, Lora told herself. Not where she was going.
Her father had locked the front door behind him, a cruel attempt to keep his daughter captive. Luckily for her, Lora had learned many useful things during her confinement. Like how to pick the lock. She removed the pin from her hair before retrieving a thin sewing needle, getting to work. He could be back any minute. A long, increasingly tense struggle ensued as Lora strained to find her way through the locking mechanism; dark as it was inside with all the windows boarded up, allowing in only thin slivers of sunlight. Finally, she felt the click. But her joy was as short-lived as any other feeling considered to be good. Lora shivered with the rumble of her father’s truck as it rolled into the gravel driveway. When he found out what she’d done, anything could happen.
Without another thought or even a look over her shoulder, Lora flung the door open so hard that the wood splintered against the frame and she burst through the threshold, abandoning her bagged-up belongings on the filthy living room carpet. Her sneakers connected with the overgrown grass of the yard before meeting the somehow tamer undergrowth of the forest floor for the very first time. Lora kept running, and she didn’t stop until her father’s furious screams faded deep into the distance behind her. Then, she ran some more.
‘Lost’ was the wrong word, because as confused in her surroundings as she was, Lora felt her trepidations slowly recede into the background. Unseen birds chirped overhead amongst the treetops, welcoming her. Encouraging her to go on. So, she did. She walked for miles through that inviting brush, all laid bare before her as if the very spirit of the forest itself were parting every obstacle in her path, and yet her legs didn’t tire, not at all. A smile quite unlike any other she’d expressed in a long time found itself upon her face. Every breath felt like heaven. The air, sweet and intensely lovely; scented like fresh pine and whipped cream. Everything, Lora felt in that long, perfect stroll among the undulating swathes of greens and browns, everything was going to be alright. Afterall, with a feeling that good, how could anything possibly be bad?
The sun hung fixed above, beaming down from the center of the cloudless, blue sky. By the time Lora realized that it hadn’t and refused to move since the start of her escape, she had begun to notice other curious things about the forest as well. Like how the densely wooded landscape had steadily and subtly changed. The ambience seemed tinged, almost. A sepia-like tone washed over the plants and trees so that all appeared almost entirely brown, punctuated by the dark silhouetted blacks of branches and leaves. They writhed, indistinguishable from one another. Still, her joyous sense of adventurous freedom had hardly faltered and Lora continued on, becoming evermore aware that the path ahead was becoming increasingly treacherous. Thorn-covered thickets threatened to claw at her skin, penetrating the denim of her jeans and scratching at the pale flesh underneath. Lora grew timid in her steps, becoming disenchanted in the forest’s solitude.
For the first time since she’d stepped foot in those woods, Lora stopped, and knew instantly that she was utterly alone. It crushed her, sending the girl to the floor. She sobbed quietly to herself, feeling the pine needles dig into her hands as she grasped at the earth. As she was on the verge of giving up and simply laying down to die, she looked to her left and saw them a foot from her reddened, tear-streaked face. A bush, packed full of ripe blackberries, as appetizing as anything she’d ever seen. Lora ravenously wolfed down more than she could count, as quickly as she could pick them, and after a nourishing feast she lay with her back against the nearest tree where she slept like a baby. Someone uncorrupted.
When Lora opened her eyes, she saw to her surprise that the sun remained unmoved. The area around her had once again changed in hue though, from the sickening reddish-brown to one of a much more affable pink appearance. Sparkling particles danced and winked through the lush clearing ahead, leading the way. The air now tasted sugary, like Halloween candy. Lora couldn’t remember the last time she’d been allowed to go trick-or-treating. Maybe she never even had to begin with. Every sad recollection and vicious intrusive thought slid right off the young girl as she concentrated on the soft crunches her feet made and nothing else, unable to touch her. Eventually, when Lora had to stop once more to regain her bearings - having abandoned a linear path hours before - she realized to her stunned delight that the woods weren’t quite as empty as she’d previously thought.
Through a gap in the trees, past an impassable grouping of thorny thickets, Lora spied a congregation of creatures that she couldn’t quite explain. Even to herself, even though they inspired no fear, their nonsensical appearance left her paralyzed beyond reproach; completely frozen where she stood, and yet grinning ear-to-ear. Cooling themselves from the heat of the summer sun in the shade of a monolithic toadstool, fluttered a peaceful assortment of strange winged women surrounded by translucent stubby things whose jovial laughing mouths led to no innards. Frogs the size of cows croaked from the sidelines and other ineffable beasts hunched and clung to the taller branches above. Lora yearned to join the scene, to be among friendly faces, but she innately understood that were she to call out, they wouldn’t hear her. Let alone begin to understand. Crestfallen in her exclusion, but invigorated by the magical presence she now knew to truly exist, Lora went on her way. Hopeful of meeting someone or something that could take her pain away, if only for a little while.
The tinny brass screech of horns bellowed in the distance, but from which direction, she didn’t know. Contrary to everything she’d learned from books about wilderness survival, wandering aimlessly proved to be the correct approach, and Lora found herself looking in on another group. Who, this time, seemed much more humanoid in appearance, for the most part. Men and women, of over two dozen in number and all intricately clothed in ornate robes and dresses as if attending some grand ball and not just a clearing in the woods stood around, enjoying one another's company. Dwarves pottered about, shrilly chuckling with each other over the din as the brass players began to toot a song likely never before heard by mortal ears that even the sunflowers seemed to dance along to. It was beautiful. To Lora, at least. The partygoers seemed nonplussed by the sweet sounds, going about their conversations and business as if they’d heard them every day of their infinite lifespan. A sickly stream of opaque, swirling orange fog separated the two parties, and again Lora knew that her pleading shouts would have no effect on the beings should she try to call out to them. Distraught, she staggered away, crippled by the dreadful loneliness which was now very much unbearable.
She wandered as if in a daze; unthinking, unfeeling. Ready to perish. The air, once sweet and warm, had turned bitterly sour and in her terror Lora craned her neck to the sky, shivering, and saw that the sun had vanished. The perfect blue sea above had begun to degenerate, turning darker by the second. It exuded an implied emptiness, devoid of stars, as if everything she had felt and seen was all just some cruel joke played by no-one. A thick, miasmic fog began to form around her, and the trees grew less dense and full of audible life. The fetid stench rising up from the swamp was intoxicating. Sickening. Lora’s belly rumbled, begging for food as if it hadn’t ever been full, and she began to weep once more, imploring some vague altruistic force to save her from her torment. She screamed into the blackened sky until her bone-dry throat stung and she could scream no longer.
Then, as quickly as she’d entered, she was no longer among trees, surrounded by the vastness of an unending and desolate desert. Lora didn’t care. She didn’t even glance over her shoulder to see what she’d left behind, she simply continued forward; unable to go on any other way. A violent wind was picking up, carrying clouds of coarse gray dust which slashed at the girl’s eyes. The dunes stretched onto the horizon in patterns that seemed to repeat infinitely and they had nothing to offer except for slow and excruciating death; a suffocating abyss.
Lora’s knees were long since weary, buckling under her meager weight, but she didn’t stop. Even though the cold, dead sand looked like a fine enough place to fall asleep for the last time. As one leg gave out and she tumbled to the ashen desert floor, Lora stared glaringly into the distance; searching for something deadly that might have the courtesy to look her in the eyes before it killed her. She saw no great and hungry beast with razor-sharp teeth and killer claws ready to devour what was left of her, but an ocean instead. Black and unforgiving. Lora lurched in its direction, and found herself on the shore. Ahead, around an arched rock formation of inexplicable nature, danced a number of fairies, male and female; waving their sparkling wands freely as if entirely without inhibition with their pale white skin exposed for all to see. Cherubs writhed floating in a congealed mass above the figures atop the formation; a loving family, crowned in shining white light. The beings reveled soundlessly as Lora watched on, still observing with fascination even as her body gave in to her exhaustion and she collapsed onto the brittle, jagged rocks at her feet. The divine group seemed to take notice of her then, and some laughed at her misfortune. Others whispered mocking jeers which stabbed at Lora, at her very being, even worse than the inhospitable ground she’d fallen onto. The insults became less direct and softer, but still impossibly cruel. They said cryptic, confusing things like ‘This one’s still breathing.’ and ‘Get her out of here.’ Lora knew that she wasn’t wanted. Not there, or anywhere else. The entire world seemed to throb in and out in a deep wavering much like the ripples on the dark, impenetrable sea and the young girl felt hands on her. Picking her up. Delivering her.
Flashes became another place entirely, until finally Lora could see again. She was at home, being lifted out by strange men. Scorching blue lights streaked her vision through the slats of rotting wood nailed to the windows and a wailing enveloped the night, drawing closer. More sirens. As she passed through the living room, Lora saw her father. All sticky and red in the face. Crushed. Glued to his chair, and bashed in. In that sinking, numbed moment that seemed to stretch on into infinity, the girl knew that the overdose she’d taken hadn’t worked, and that she wouldn’t be free. That they were going to bring her back, so that she could pay for what she’d done. Empty pill bottles littered the carpet along with the stained-brown wraps of her father’s stash, mingling with the usual cluttered garbage. It hadn’t been enough, it could never be enough. But as the blinding white light of the ambulance's interior swallowed her, Lora felt herself slipping away. She fell backwards, forever, and while the paramedics hurried about their duty and their desperate pleas became less and less clear, Lora was glad that it was all finally over.
submitted by Verrgasm to scarystories [link] [comments]
The feeling of being watched was one Lora never found respite from, but as she sat there perched on the porch’s top step the understanding that this wasn’t of the usual malevolence that stalked her wherever she went seemed almost inherently undeniable. This presence was one of positive intent. Soothing, like the mother she’d never had but always longed for.
Lora tentatively got to her feet, the bare skin of her soles rubbing against the moist evening grass, still wet from the prior day's soft rain. As she was about to turn and go back inside, the forest cried out to her in an ethereal, desperate wail. But only ever so briefly. The girl froze, unsure of herself despite the deep, revelrous rays of affection pulsing and radiating from within the trees. She desperately wished to explore, to become one with it all, however her father had expressly forbade her from any such excursions beyond the property’s borders. Especially past the treeline, into those woods that may as well stretch on until the end of the universe. Lora knew what the consequences could be if she were to disobey.
The rusted hinges of the wooden front door creaked and with its closure disappeared anything resembling warmth or hope. Simply cold, fetid air; tainted by the stale musk of Lora’s father as he sat slumped, dozing in his chair. Lora crept across the floorboards, each squeaking almost as if to spite her. Her father stirred, but he didn’t open his eyes.
Lora gripped the knob of her bedroom door, twisting it ever so slowly so as to not make another sound, but it was too late. She turned, stifling a scream as she saw him swaying in the hallway towards her.
“Where do you think you’re going, girl?”
Lora’s father’s breath stank, and it was all she could do but to gag when he stuck his tongue down her throat. The bedroom door clicked behind them, and in her mind Lora went to the forest. She didn’t return until it was long over, but even then she was only half present. Her thoughts reduced to little more than grating static. Lora resolved through the fog that it was time to be free from all the nastiness of her homelife, even if it meant starvation or being ravaged by some sick wild animal. One with razor-sharp teeth and killer claws. Anything would be better than staying there, in that decrepit old cabin on the border of the ancient woods. That horrid, ramshackled shack on the cusp of the forest that breathes.
Lora awoke, tears streaming down her cheeks. When she caught her reflection in the grime-smudged bathroom mirror she couldn’t help but vomit, holding her long dark hair back with one hand while gripping the seat with the other; grasping onto it like someone on the verge of falling. Tight enough to make her fingers ache. She washed her face, then, trembling, crept down the hallway into the living room. Her father’s chair sat empty. The television, off. The fridge was devoid of alcohol, explaining his absence. Unfortunately the cupboards were barren as well, and the young girl’s stomach growled in its emptiness. She settled on the crumbs remaining in an old box of off-brand sugary cereal, the sweetness of which tasted strangely bitter.
As Lora looked absently through her wardrobe for something to wear, she remembered the vow she’d made to herself in the night. About how she’d be freed from this nightmare, one way or another. A flash of vengeful determination made its home in the depths of her gut and it spread until she was no longer acting with conscious thought, snatching a black trash bag and stuffing clothes and keepsakes inside. Lora’s eyes glistened as she rubbed the friendship bracelet between her fingers before sliding it onto her wrist, trying to recall the face of the friend that’d given it to her all those years ago. She couldn’t, and her desire to escape grew ten-fold. Anger was overtaken by remorse and then dread before coalescing into an anxiety-ridden desperation. Looking over the bottles of medication atop the dresser, Lora sent them rattling to the floor with a shriek. Just another set of cogs in the terrible machine that made her feel so awfully hollow. She wouldn’t need them anymore, Lora told herself. Not where she was going.
Her father had locked the front door behind him, a cruel attempt to keep his daughter captive. Luckily for her, Lora had learned many useful things during her confinement. Like how to pick the lock. She removed the pin from her hair before retrieving a thin sewing needle, getting to work. He could be back any minute. A long, increasingly tense struggle ensued as Lora strained to find her way through the locking mechanism; dark as it was inside with all the windows boarded up, allowing in only thin slivers of sunlight. Finally, she felt the click. But her joy was as short-lived as any other feeling considered to be good. Lora shivered with the rumble of her father’s truck as it rolled into the gravel driveway. When he found out what she’d done, anything could happen.
Without another thought or even a look over her shoulder, Lora flung the door open so hard that the wood splintered against the frame and she burst through the threshold, abandoning her bagged-up belongings on the filthy living room carpet. Her sneakers connected with the overgrown grass of the yard before meeting the somehow tamer undergrowth of the forest floor for the very first time. Lora kept running, and she didn’t stop until her father’s furious screams faded deep into the distance behind her. Then, she ran some more.
‘Lost’ was the wrong word, because as confused in her surroundings as she was, Lora felt her trepidations slowly recede into the background. Unseen birds chirped overhead amongst the treetops, welcoming her. Encouraging her to go on. So, she did. She walked for miles through that inviting brush, all laid bare before her as if the very spirit of the forest itself were parting every obstacle in her path, and yet her legs didn’t tire, not at all. A smile quite unlike any other she’d expressed in a long time found itself upon her face. Every breath felt like heaven. The air, sweet and intensely lovely; scented like fresh pine and whipped cream. Everything, Lora felt in that long, perfect stroll among the undulating swathes of greens and browns, everything was going to be alright. Afterall, with a feeling that good, how could anything possibly be bad?
The sun hung fixed above, beaming down from the center of the cloudless, blue sky. By the time Lora realized that it hadn’t and refused to move since the start of her escape, she had begun to notice other curious things about the forest as well. Like how the densely wooded landscape had steadily and subtly changed. The ambience seemed tinged, almost. A sepia-like tone washed over the plants and trees so that all appeared almost entirely brown, punctuated by the dark silhouetted blacks of branches and leaves. They writhed, indistinguishable from one another. Still, her joyous sense of adventurous freedom had hardly faltered and Lora continued on, becoming evermore aware that the path ahead was becoming increasingly treacherous. Thorn-covered thickets threatened to claw at her skin, penetrating the denim of her jeans and scratching at the pale flesh underneath. Lora grew timid in her steps, becoming disenchanted in the forest’s solitude.
For the first time since she’d stepped foot in those woods, Lora stopped, and knew instantly that she was utterly alone. It crushed her, sending the girl to the floor. She sobbed quietly to herself, feeling the pine needles dig into her hands as she grasped at the earth. As she was on the verge of giving up and simply laying down to die, she looked to her left and saw them a foot from her reddened, tear-streaked face. A bush, packed full of ripe blackberries, as appetizing as anything she’d ever seen. Lora ravenously wolfed down more than she could count, as quickly as she could pick them, and after a nourishing feast she lay with her back against the nearest tree where she slept like a baby. Someone uncorrupted.
When Lora opened her eyes, she saw to her surprise that the sun remained unmoved. The area around her had once again changed in hue though, from the sickening reddish-brown to one of a much more affable pink appearance. Sparkling particles danced and winked through the lush clearing ahead, leading the way. The air now tasted sugary, like Halloween candy. Lora couldn’t remember the last time she’d been allowed to go trick-or-treating. Maybe she never even had to begin with. Every sad recollection and vicious intrusive thought slid right off the young girl as she concentrated on the soft crunches her feet made and nothing else, unable to touch her. Eventually, when Lora had to stop once more to regain her bearings - having abandoned a linear path hours before - she realized to her stunned delight that the woods weren’t quite as empty as she’d previously thought.
Through a gap in the trees, past an impassable grouping of thorny thickets, Lora spied a congregation of creatures that she couldn’t quite explain. Even to herself, even though they inspired no fear, their nonsensical appearance left her paralyzed beyond reproach; completely frozen where she stood, and yet grinning ear-to-ear. Cooling themselves from the heat of the summer sun in the shade of a monolithic toadstool, fluttered a peaceful assortment of strange winged women surrounded by translucent stubby things whose jovial laughing mouths led to no innards. Frogs the size of cows croaked from the sidelines and other ineffable beasts hunched and clung to the taller branches above. Lora yearned to join the scene, to be among friendly faces, but she innately understood that were she to call out, they wouldn’t hear her. Let alone begin to understand. Crestfallen in her exclusion, but invigorated by the magical presence she now knew to truly exist, Lora went on her way. Hopeful of meeting someone or something that could take her pain away, if only for a little while.
The tinny brass screech of horns bellowed in the distance, but from which direction, she didn’t know. Contrary to everything she’d learned from books about wilderness survival, wandering aimlessly proved to be the correct approach, and Lora found herself looking in on another group. Who, this time, seemed much more humanoid in appearance, for the most part. Men and women, of over two dozen in number and all intricately clothed in ornate robes and dresses as if attending some grand ball and not just a clearing in the woods stood around, enjoying one another's company. Dwarves pottered about, shrilly chuckling with each other over the din as the brass players began to toot a song likely never before heard by mortal ears that even the sunflowers seemed to dance along to. It was beautiful. To Lora, at least. The partygoers seemed nonplussed by the sweet sounds, going about their conversations and business as if they’d heard them every day of their infinite lifespan. A sickly stream of opaque, swirling orange fog separated the two parties, and again Lora knew that her pleading shouts would have no effect on the beings should she try to call out to them. Distraught, she staggered away, crippled by the dreadful loneliness which was now very much unbearable.
She wandered as if in a daze; unthinking, unfeeling. Ready to perish. The air, once sweet and warm, had turned bitterly sour and in her terror Lora craned her neck to the sky, shivering, and saw that the sun had vanished. The perfect blue sea above had begun to degenerate, turning darker by the second. It exuded an implied emptiness, devoid of stars, as if everything she had felt and seen was all just some cruel joke played by no-one. A thick, miasmic fog began to form around her, and the trees grew less dense and full of audible life. The fetid stench rising up from the swamp was intoxicating. Sickening. Lora’s belly rumbled, begging for food as if it hadn’t ever been full, and she began to weep once more, imploring some vague altruistic force to save her from her torment. She screamed into the blackened sky until her bone-dry throat stung and she could scream no longer.
Then, as quickly as she’d entered, she was no longer among trees, surrounded by the vastness of an unending and desolate desert. Lora didn’t care. She didn’t even glance over her shoulder to see what she’d left behind, she simply continued forward; unable to go on any other way. A violent wind was picking up, carrying clouds of coarse gray dust which slashed at the girl’s eyes. The dunes stretched onto the horizon in patterns that seemed to repeat infinitely and they had nothing to offer except for slow and excruciating death; a suffocating abyss.
Lora’s knees were long since weary, buckling under her meager weight, but she didn’t stop. Even though the cold, dead sand looked like a fine enough place to fall asleep for the last time. As one leg gave out and she tumbled to the ashen desert floor, Lora stared glaringly into the distance; searching for something deadly that might have the courtesy to look her in the eyes before it killed her. She saw no great and hungry beast with razor-sharp teeth and killer claws ready to devour what was left of her, but an ocean instead. Black and unforgiving. Lora lurched in its direction, and found herself on the shore. Ahead, around an arched rock formation of inexplicable nature, danced a number of fairies, male and female; waving their sparkling wands freely as if entirely without inhibition with their pale white skin exposed for all to see. Cherubs writhed floating in a congealed mass above the figures atop the formation; a loving family, crowned in shining white light. The beings reveled soundlessly as Lora watched on, still observing with fascination even as her body gave in to her exhaustion and she collapsed onto the brittle, jagged rocks at her feet. The divine group seemed to take notice of her then, and some laughed at her misfortune. Others whispered mocking jeers which stabbed at Lora, at her very being, even worse than the inhospitable ground she’d fallen onto. The insults became less direct and softer, but still impossibly cruel. They said cryptic, confusing things like ‘This one’s still breathing.’ and ‘Get her out of here.’ Lora knew that she wasn’t wanted. Not there, or anywhere else. The entire world seemed to throb in and out in a deep wavering much like the ripples on the dark, impenetrable sea and the young girl felt hands on her. Picking her up. Delivering her.
Flashes became another place entirely, until finally Lora could see again. She was at home, being lifted out by strange men. Scorching blue lights streaked her vision through the slats of rotting wood nailed to the windows and a wailing enveloped the night, drawing closer. More sirens. As she passed through the living room, Lora saw her father. All sticky and red in the face. Crushed. Glued to his chair, and bashed in. In that sinking, numbed moment that seemed to stretch on into infinity, the girl knew that the overdose she’d taken hadn’t worked, and that she wouldn’t be free. That they were going to bring her back, so that she could pay for what she’d done. Empty pill bottles littered the carpet along with the stained-brown wraps of her father’s stash, mingling with the usual cluttered garbage. It hadn’t been enough, it could never be enough. But as the blinding white light of the ambulance's interior swallowed her, Lora felt herself slipping away. She fell backwards, forever, and while the paramedics hurried about their duty and their desperate pleas became less and less clear, Lora was glad that it was all finally over.
2023.06.06 20:04 yournailsupplier THE 9 BEST LIGHT PINK GEL NAIL POWDERS TO BOOST YOUR GENERAL BEAUTY
 | Women love to dress stylishly, and why shouldn't they? While current clothing and cosmetic cosmetics boost their allure factor, their nails are crucial in elevating their inherent beauty to a whole new level. Girls typically enjoy dressing up for special events. They get their nails done as a result. submitted by yournailsupplier to u/yournailsupplier [link] [comments] Pink hues are among the colors that girls bulk nail supplies choose, if you look at their favorite color preferences. Additionally, pinks come in a variety of shades, each of which has a high level of attractiveness. The gentler nuances of pink are very popular, even though many women prefer the darker shades. The top light pink gel polishes are listed below. BELLA PINK LAVIS 110The LAVIS 110 Bella Pink is the perfect tint for teens to wear to dance balls for Christmas and the New Year since pink conveys innocence. These soft hues are also acceptable as nude neutrals, especially if your skin tone complements them. On fair-skinned ladies, the light bella pink looks wonderful and makes their nails stand out from the rest of the throng. The fact that this color is ideal for daily wear is its most fascinating feature.Pink Before You Leap, LDS 118Another lovely pink tint that can nail primer comfortably last 14 days without cracking or peeling is seen here. One of the healthiest gel paint manicures is the LDS 118 Pink Before You Leap since it uses no materials originating from animals. Second, these items are 9-free gel polish, which means they don't contain any potentially dangerous ingredients. Therefore, you can choose LDS 118 while keeping your eyes closed if you want to have the lovely light pink colour on your nails.Pink salmon, DND 586When it comes to balancing attractiveness with longevity, no color can rival the light pink gel polish tones. The DND 586 Pink Salmon gel polish is among the longest-lasting products, lasting comforably three weeks. The simplicity with which the gel paint may be removed is the nicest aspect of this lovely pink manicure. A soak-off gel polish like the DND 586 Pink Salmon just takes ten to fifteen minutes. To maintain their endurance, these gel polish hues must cure under UV or LED lamps.Pink Bubblegum, DND DC 017The versatility of light pink hues makes them ideal for a wide range of outfits and settings. They are appropriate for a wedding. You can also use these lovely colors for your business meetings. The DND DC 017 Pink Bubblegum is a pretty colour that looks wonderful on you and fits any festive occasion at home. You can wear the light pink because it is a flexible color on excursions to the beach or the mountains. The DND DC 017 Pink Bubblegum is the most sought-after light pink tint because of the innocent, childlike quality it exudes. yournailsupplier Hotter Than You Pink OPI N36While the paler pinks represent the picture of innocence, as you gradually travel towards the darker pinks, the allure of sensuality grows. The ideal shade to seduce your partner and keep him enchanted is OPI N36 Hotter Than You Pink. This recognizable color can help you look your most alluring on Valentine's Day. The simplicity of application makes gel polish superior to other manicures. Young women in their early 20s adore it since it is one of the most stunning colors.510 RURAL ST. PINK, KIARA SKYThe advantage of the light gel pink colour is that it is the perfect base color for floral nail art. It's the perfect setting for a lovely nail art manicure because of the delicate pink color. The pink color of the Kiara Sky 510 Rural St. is vibrant and flattering to women of all ages. The lavender undertone in the light pink colour makes it the ideal choice for a floral arrangement. Additionally, you can use this lovely hue for your gel extensions to get the greatest manicure in townPink League Chew SNS CS01During the summer, people frequently paint their nails with light hues. The nail surface stays cool because lighter colors better reflect sunlight. Because gel polish manicures are simple to maintain, most women prefer them in the summer. The nails only need to be touched up; they are in brand-new condition. Excellent light pink gel polish color that dries quickly when exposed to UV light is SNS CS01 Pink League Chew. By adding acrylic nail brush a few more topcoat applications, you may get a glossy sheen for this lovely colour. For your summer trip on the beach or in the mountains, this light colour is idealNU 020 TICKLE ME PINK by NUGENESISThe ideal hues for a French manicure are pinks. The light pink colour should match your skin tone as closely as possible. The advantage is that the French manicure's white edge stands out gorgeously as a natural improvement. Women with fair and tanned skin tones are most suited for the Nugenesis NU 020 Tickle Me Pink. Second, your wedding dress looks stunning with its wonderful pale pink tint. Therefore, this color is perfect for your wedding festivities.010 Gelixir Angel PinkBecause of its angelic characteristics, which enhance your general beauty appeal and make you look stunning, light pink is an alluring color. The Gelixir 010 Angel Pink is the perfect nail polish color for your evening celebrations thanks to its glossy texture. The floodlights' lovely reflection on the nail's surface will make you feel glittery. Additionally, this captivating light pink gel color ups the glamor factor to guarantee the most entrancing nail manicure.LAST THOUGHTSLight gel paint hues are best for raising pedicure kits the overall attractiveness of your nails. We've spoken about nine different, adaptable light pink gel polish alternatives that you can wear and display on your social media accounts. To purchase your preferred light pink gel polish. |
2023.06.06 19:42 Willing_4345 Real Cricket 22 Mod APK (All tournament unlocked)
https://peatix.com/use17578265/view
Download Real Cricket 22 MOD APK All tournament unlocked latest version for a super realistic cricket experience. It offers real stadiums, authentic commentary, and lively spectators.
If you desire a game that offers a real stadium feel, you should get this Real Cricket APK for android by Nautilus Mobile. It contains all the real cricket rules and regulations.
The gameplay is very similar to the actual cricket match. You can also create your players and teams. The commentaries are given by some of the well-known cricket commentators like Sanjay Manjrekar, Aakash Chopra, and Vivek Razdan
Even better, this game offers 3D full stadiums with vibrant and realistic graphics. The motion-captured animations make the players look real. The lighting and shadows further add to the realism of this game.
If you have cricketing basics, playing this game will be a breeze. When you begin, you will select your team and players. You can also create a team of 11 players. After that, you can proceed to the next level and start playing matches.
You can either play a friendly match or a tournament. The game offers many tournaments, including the World Cup, Champions Trophy, and IPL.
Real Cricket 22 also offers an immersive commentary experience. The commentators will guide you through the entire match. They will also provide insightful analysis and tips.
Overall, you will get an unforgettable experience with this game. Ensure that you keep unlocking new tournaments and challenges to keep the game interesting.
You can also use various power-ups to improve your batting and bowling. Use the power-ups wisely to get an edge over your opponents. Some of the variations of the multiplayer game include:
You can also use a variety of bowling and batting styles in the game. Some of the bowling styles include off-spin, leg-spin, and fast bowling. Similarly, you can use different batting styles, including front-foot and back-foot shots.
The game has outstanding features, such as high-quality graphics and realistic sound effects. You can also get the Real Cricket 22 MOD APK. This modded version includes all tournaments unlocked and no ads. You also get unlimited money.
submitted by Willing_4345 to goodtechnews [link] [comments]
Download Real Cricket 22 MOD APK All tournament unlocked latest version for a super realistic cricket experience. It offers real stadiums, authentic commentary, and lively spectators.
If you desire a game that offers a real stadium feel, you should get this Real Cricket APK for android by Nautilus Mobile. It contains all the real cricket rules and regulations.
The gameplay is very similar to the actual cricket match. You can also create your players and teams. The commentaries are given by some of the well-known cricket commentators like Sanjay Manjrekar, Aakash Chopra, and Vivek Razdan
Even better, this game offers 3D full stadiums with vibrant and realistic graphics. The motion-captured animations make the players look real. The lighting and shadows further add to the realism of this game.
Enjoy a Superior Cricket Experience
Real Cricket 22 is the ultimate cricket simulation game. It perfectly incorporates every aspect of a real cricket match. It has all the real cricketing shots, including the hook, pull, and drive. You can also enjoy running between the wickets and hitting boundaries.If you have cricketing basics, playing this game will be a breeze. When you begin, you will select your team and players. You can also create a team of 11 players. After that, you can proceed to the next level and start playing matches.
You can either play a friendly match or a tournament. The game offers many tournaments, including the World Cup, Champions Trophy, and IPL.
Real Cricket 22 also offers an immersive commentary experience. The commentators will guide you through the entire match. They will also provide insightful analysis and tips.
Overall, you will get an unforgettable experience with this game. Ensure that you keep unlocking new tournaments and challenges to keep the game interesting.
Real-Time Multiplayer Mode
This game allows you to play with your friends in real-time. The multiplayer mode is very competitive. You will have to bat and bowl well to win the match. The player who scores the most runs will be declared the winner.You can also use various power-ups to improve your batting and bowling. Use the power-ups wisely to get an edge over your opponents. Some of the variations of the multiplayer game include:
- 1P vs 1P. This game mode is for two teams. Your team will play against a rival in a one-on-one match. The first team to score the most runs will win the game. You can either use ranked or unranked teams in this mode.
- Dream Team Challenge. This game mode is similar to the 1P vs 1P mode. However, in this case, you will be playing against a team of legends. The Legends team will comprise some of the best cricket players in the world.
- Premier League. This is a team-based game mode. You will have to create a team of 11 players and compete against other teams in the Premier League. The team that scores the most runs in the league will be declared the winner.
- Pro Series. This is the ultimate test of your cricketing skills. You will be up against some of the best teams in the world. You have to showcase the best of your skills to win the Pro Series.
Competitive Matches at Real Cricket 22 APK
This game offers several matches to try out. Some of the matches you can play include:- T20 Matches. These are short and fast-paced matches. The duration of the match is 20 overs.
- One Day International (ODI) Matches. These are longer than T20 matches. The duration of the match is 50 overs.
- Test Matches. These are the longest matches. The duration of the match is 5 days. This game is played with a pink ball & under light and amazing commentaries.
You can also use a variety of bowling and batting styles in the game. Some of the bowling styles include off-spin, leg-spin, and fast bowling. Similarly, you can use different batting styles, including front-foot and back-foot shots.
Outstanding Features of Real Cricket 22 APK
- Customize Your Player. You will have unique jerseys and faces. You can also change your player’s hairstyle, accessories, and bat.
- High-Quality Graphics. This game offers excellent graphics. You will feel like you are playing an authentic cricket match.
- Simple Controls. The controls of the game are elementary. You will not have control problems with this game.
- Realistic Sound Effects. The sounds of a cheering crowd and bats hitting the ball will make you feel like you are in a real stadium.
- More than 500 New Batting Shots. The game offers diverse batting shots classified as Platinum and Gold shots.
- Realistic Shot Map. You can use the shot map to plan your shots. This way, you will know where the ball will go after you hit it.
- Manual Fielding. You can manually field in this game. You make every decision!
- Numerous Quests and Missions. The game offers numerous ways to win treasures and crucial points. You can use the rewards to unlock better gaming features.
Real Cricket 22 MOD APK Download
The Real Cricket 22 MOD APK for android is a modified/edited version of the original game. It includes exceptional features that make gaming more fun.- Real Cricket 22 MOD APK All Tournament Unlocked. This modded version allows access to all tournaments from the beginning. You do not have to play lower-level tournaments to unlock the higher ones.
- No Ads. The Real Cricket 22 MOD APK early access/ new versions comes with no ads. You will not see any pop-up ads while playing the game.
- Unlimited Money. This modded version gives you an infinite supply of game money. You can use this money to buy gaming items and unlock features.
Conclusion
Real Cricket 22 APK is an excellent cricket game that offers several matches and tour modes. It also has numerous customization options and simple controls. You can also use a variety of bowling and batting styles.The game has outstanding features, such as high-quality graphics and realistic sound effects. You can also get the Real Cricket 22 MOD APK. This modded version includes all tournaments unlocked and no ads. You also get unlimited money.
2023.06.06 18:26 muck_30 This new equity position reported by EP Wealth advisors yesterday and was opened in Q1 doesn't make sense to me...
 | https://fintel.io/so/us/ride submitted by muck_30 to lordstownmotors [link] [comments] https://preview.redd.it/m7ti67kp6f4b1.png?width=1828&format=png&auto=webp&s=2850b5274bf9b5e4ebd4783a8ccedd13f36ea08a A $237.7 average represents a $15.84 average pre split, but these guys never reported a position prior to this and the stock price hasn't been that high in 2 years around when Burns resigned...but how is that average possible without having previously shorted the stock? https://preview.redd.it/6mz3gpek6f4b1.png?width=1875&format=png&auto=webp&s=8df1a6f8834df0eb7ccf4554fce8bbbcec3d3609 When you look at the short info on fintel, that $237.7 average is exactly the same as a couple of other funds still shorting RIDE: https://preview.redd.it/rkpjp0f58f4b1.png?width=1836&format=png&auto=webp&s=13de08dc05723c14fe3d20688418e15e65f99829 but Blackstone and CRIHX both have a history of disclosures unlike EP Wealth advisors which enables you to figure out what they've been doing. For example, we see that CRIHX has been slowing accumulating their short position. While their recent filing shows a smaller short position than their prior filing, based of their history you can see a pattern, and if it continues they'll be adding to their short next. https://preview.redd.it/se5p612q9f4b1.png?width=1861&format=png&auto=webp&s=0292cbc9e272c1dd917512b43a9991d2e8c22e7a Blackstone's disclosures show a somewhat similar pattern but what's more important is that the averages are all the same here. https://preview.redd.it/l0vbntit9f4b1.png?width=1868&format=png&auto=webp&s=27ce014d434fd6d9f281e0b26d6c5794bceebe2b 3 separate funds, all working around the exact same price points. I find that hard to just be a coincidence. EDIT: something else I noticed looking at the short data on fintel: https://fintel.io/ss/us/ride https://preview.redd.it/qyxkycsk4g4b1.png?width=848&format=png&auto=webp&s=9d72ac6976cbfaaa7e1fc37f6c6e5553aac33153 That's interesting... Fintel posted that June 8, 2022. Almost exactly a year later Lordstown Motors will regain compliance after they reverse split and the above explanation will come to be where LMC becomes that first company in their example. ~25% of the float was shorted last year, but now it's under 15%? Why is that? Shouldn't the funds be pounding the nail in the coffin? Instead it appears they're exiting no? Here's what I speculate is going to happen next...If I'm LMC and if I had an OEM in the bag, I would announce discontinuing production of the Endurance and then provide some vague statement about not knowing if production will ever start again. This will cause retail shorts and wallstreeters not in the know to swarm the stock. >25% of the float will be shorted again pretty quickly and when the last of the paperwork was signed, I'd announce that partnership, buyout, takeover by a legacy OEM.... |
2023.06.06 17:49 swingerlover Free Love Spells That Work Fast #lovespells
Are you heartbroken and looking for free love spells that really work? If the answer is a resounding yes, you’re in the right place. Here is an all-inclusive guide on love spells that give instant results.
Simple love spell
https://preview.redd.it/x8lncyztn5i51.jpg?width=111&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d51e8afc020f3a42257f5726e622a2bb45e474cf
This spell is meant to attract love into your life. You need one red pen, a piece of paper, one red candle, and a handful of pink rose petals. First, light the candle and allow it to burn while focusing on the love of your life. Next, take a paper and draw your wish and what makes you happy. You may also draw the features you’re looking for in this person like black eyes, dark hair and more. While doing this, take place a few drops of melted wax on the picture and repeat out loud.
Wiccan love spell
The spell is meant to restore peace in your relationship. You need three bay leaves, one green pen, a green candle, one piece of paper, 1 incense stick, a picture of your partner, and one cup of water. To cast the spell, light the candle and draw a large pentagram. Bring your picture and that of your loved one and say `bring peace back in our hearts’. Now place the bay leaves on the picture and say `we’re the purity the heart desires’. After that, bury the paper near a tree for seven days. Once you’re done store the candle and don’t use it.
Honey Jar Spell
This spell is designed to sweeten the person you love. For this spell to work, you’ll need a jar with metal lid, honey, red ink pen, sugar, parchment, personal items, love oil, white chime candles, targets photo, and love herbs. First, place some rose oil inside the jar. Secondly, dress the target’s photo with the oil. Next, get your parchment or paper and write the full names of your intended person seven times. Turn the paper at 90 degrees and mention the targets name nine times.
If you have personal items like (hair, nail clippings, or saliva, place them in the jar too. After that, drop some sugar. The dark brown sugar should be used for people with dark complexions while the white sugar is for those with white complexion. Dress the candle with the oil from top to bottom. Light it and allow the wax to fall on the dressmaker’s pin. Let it burn for seven minutes every day until it’s done. That way your desire will manifest.
Full moons magic spell
full moon love spell
This is an easy spell for beginners. It’s supposed to call love into your life during a full moon. You need one moonstone, a piece of paper, and one red pen or pencil. Write your desire on the piece of paper. Fold it and take a moonstone. On the night of full moon, hold the paper with your left hand and say your wish out loud. For example, I want a generous person or I want to call a new lover into my life.
Let’s cut to the chase: the above love spells have the potential to solve any relationship issues. Whether you’re looking for true love or you need to get back your lost love, these spells will give you instant results. This is an ultimate free love spells page.
Want Izabael To Cast a Spell For You?
Visit My Magick Spell Shop
https://preview.redd.it/mo2e2ek1o5i51.jpg?width=314&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d3a92062ac2418054fed275102cc00770d514ea6
Magic Spells by Izabael DaJinn The World’s Premiere Spell-casting Genie ***Successful Spells Cast since 2007 ***
originally posted at: https://occultmagickbook.com/free-love-spells-that-work-fast/
submitted by swingerlover to occultspells [link] [comments]
Simple love spell
https://preview.redd.it/x8lncyztn5i51.jpg?width=111&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d51e8afc020f3a42257f5726e622a2bb45e474cf
This spell is meant to attract love into your life. You need one red pen, a piece of paper, one red candle, and a handful of pink rose petals. First, light the candle and allow it to burn while focusing on the love of your life. Next, take a paper and draw your wish and what makes you happy. You may also draw the features you’re looking for in this person like black eyes, dark hair and more. While doing this, take place a few drops of melted wax on the picture and repeat out loud.
Wiccan love spell
The spell is meant to restore peace in your relationship. You need three bay leaves, one green pen, a green candle, one piece of paper, 1 incense stick, a picture of your partner, and one cup of water. To cast the spell, light the candle and draw a large pentagram. Bring your picture and that of your loved one and say `bring peace back in our hearts’. Now place the bay leaves on the picture and say `we’re the purity the heart desires’. After that, bury the paper near a tree for seven days. Once you’re done store the candle and don’t use it.
Honey Jar Spell
This spell is designed to sweeten the person you love. For this spell to work, you’ll need a jar with metal lid, honey, red ink pen, sugar, parchment, personal items, love oil, white chime candles, targets photo, and love herbs. First, place some rose oil inside the jar. Secondly, dress the target’s photo with the oil. Next, get your parchment or paper and write the full names of your intended person seven times. Turn the paper at 90 degrees and mention the targets name nine times.
If you have personal items like (hair, nail clippings, or saliva, place them in the jar too. After that, drop some sugar. The dark brown sugar should be used for people with dark complexions while the white sugar is for those with white complexion. Dress the candle with the oil from top to bottom. Light it and allow the wax to fall on the dressmaker’s pin. Let it burn for seven minutes every day until it’s done. That way your desire will manifest.
Full moons magic spell
full moon love spell
This is an easy spell for beginners. It’s supposed to call love into your life during a full moon. You need one moonstone, a piece of paper, and one red pen or pencil. Write your desire on the piece of paper. Fold it and take a moonstone. On the night of full moon, hold the paper with your left hand and say your wish out loud. For example, I want a generous person or I want to call a new lover into my life.
Let’s cut to the chase: the above love spells have the potential to solve any relationship issues. Whether you’re looking for true love or you need to get back your lost love, these spells will give you instant results. This is an ultimate free love spells page.
Want Izabael To Cast a Spell For You?
Visit My Magick Spell Shop
https://preview.redd.it/mo2e2ek1o5i51.jpg?width=314&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d3a92062ac2418054fed275102cc00770d514ea6
Magic Spells by Izabael DaJinn The World’s Premiere Spell-casting Genie ***Successful Spells Cast since 2007 ***
originally posted at: https://occultmagickbook.com/free-love-spells-that-work-fast/