undyingcourt | january tdm/event post

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january tdm/event post

JANUARY TDM - WINTER DREAMS

Welcome to the Undying Court's January Test Drive Meme! This post also functions as the January Event for existing characters, and continues the Winter Season, led by the Blue Court.

New characters may handwave or backdate the previous season's arrival prompt should they wish to, but you may otherwise assume they've been here the whole time! Additionally, all TDM threads can be taken as in-game canon if desired. And remember that apps open February 3-7, with invites opening on January 28, and reserves not long after!

Note that this post will contain: violence, enthrallment, torture, slavery, horror and potentially sexual content. Dreams come in many forms, after all.

This event also features another chance for characters to submit Regains, so make sure to submit after you've posted your top-level or reply to someone else's dream. For characters both new and old, feel free to brush up on the Premise, Vampire Powers, and head over to the FAQ/Game Info page if you have any questions!

Note that this event will be occurring throughout the month of January and into February, so characters are free to forward-date as desired!
For new characters please format your Top-level in this format: Character Name | Canon | Court | Youngblood/Novice | TDM
For existing characters please format your Top-level in this format: Character Name | Court | Youngblood/Novice
If you have any questions specific to the event, ask them in the Plotting Post Q&A section!

Top-Level Directory:

ONCE UPON A DREAM

A quiet falls over the Castle as a new day begins to break. As with every morning, this is a time when vampires must retreat to avoid the rays of the sun, pulling heavy curtains around their beds and windows to block out any light. However, this particular morning is abnormally quiet as the whole of the Castle seems to fall asleep all at once, and all together. After this enchanted sleep, and for the the next thirty days, the Castle's residents will start to experience strange phenomena within their dreams.

During this period, dreams become more vivid, so realistic it feels like the dreamer is awake. Dreamers can pass into each other's dreams without meaning to. Some of these dreams are in fact memories--either those from the lives the characters have lived in the Castle and the outlying lands, or the strange memories they've begun to gain back.

But be careful! For what starts as a regular memory might start to warp into something new. If you're lucky, it'll be something positive, like a dream of a home you've always wanted. But if you're unlucky, the memory might twist and turn into a nightmare, catching you in it and turning your worst fears against you.

Each nightfall, everyone will wake and return to normal. Or at least, most people will.

[Note: Any current characters who participate in the dream event by creating a top level or tagging someone else at least once in this prompt may be rewarded with a free impactful memory, which may be used in the dreamscape. Don't forget to submit for your Regains!]

A NIGHTMARISH CURSE

It turns out that not everyone wakes up. Those who stay in nightmares for too long may find themselves cursed, and unable to wake up. At first, the curse appears no different from regular sleep. But a few hours in the victim will start screaming uncontrollably. No touch will wake them, no amount of calling their name will break the spell. After too long, the victim will start to bleed, slowly at first, and then more and more as they remain afflicted. A victim left unattended will bleed out and die.

The Council works quickly to step in. Kashire (who is looking rather frayed this season) delivers the news that there's no need to panic, but everyone will need to do their part in locating and curing victims. In fact, the youngbloods seem to be taking this as the perfect opportunity for a teaching moment, and students are expected to try and find a cure with the skills that match their Court. Novices and youngbloods alike are encouraged to try and help lift the curse from anyone they can. (Get creative! Blood heals many wounds...) Any victims that have progressed too far will need to be seen to by Revar.

The nightmare curse, however, can spread quickly. Anyone who enters the nightmare of a victim will fall victim to the curse. Additionally, any attempt to reach out to the mind of a curse victim will also spread the curse. With the combined efforts of the students and teachers, the curse can be completely put out. But it will take time and care to ensure everyone is found in time, and cured safely.

ANYWAY, WINTER GAMES!

But a few curses aren't going to stop the Blue Court from making sure everyone has a good time. The days might be short, and weighed down by the threats of nightmares, but winter has hit Castle Courtsheart in full force, and the long nights and snow-covered grounds make for an excellent backdrop to the Inter-Court Winter Games!

There isn't really a reward for the winning house besides bragging rights and maybe a trophy that doubles as a chalice, but youngbloods and novices alike are invited to join in the festivities and compete against one another in the spirit of glory and the chance to lord over your Court's superiority. Even Council members and mature vampires of each court seem to enjoy cheering on their respective teams from the stands. Everything is fine! Forget your troubles and go play in the snow.

What kind of sports do vampires play? Feel free to get creative, but here are some examples:

Thrall-Curling: Since vampiric strength proves to be a little too much for this sport otherwise, teams of novices (or youngbloods) of the same Court can team up to gently compel their thralls to play the thrilling sport of curling. Coax that stone across the ice with care, and take out the opposing team! Or, well, the thralls will do that, assuming they're guided well. Try not to break them. (The thralls, that is.)

Figure skating: Practicing your pirouettes? For a vampire, a quadruple-axel is hardly worth breaking a sweat over. Favored for its beauty and almost seductive grace, the figure skating competition will be scored and judged by a multi-court panel. Participants might get extra points for incorporating bladework and masking into their sets, so these performances are sure to wow the judges.

Ice Hockey: Yes, the high-contact sport transcends time and space, but vampires don't need silly things like helmets or padded safety gear. Don your court's colors and hit the ice to toss the puck around and score as many points against the opposing team as you can before the time runs out. Violence is encouraged! Everyone likes to see a bit of blood on the ice this time of year. (Shadowstepping is considered cheating, but only if you get caught.)

And more! Snowball fighting may not be a sport, but there's no better time to enjoy the outdoors and stretch those growing fangs and muscles than the dead of winter. So whether you're cheering on your Court or watching from the sidelines, there's something here for everyone. Just because the castle is full of the the undead doesn't mean they can't have a little winter fun.

CLASS NOTES

Other notable happenings for the early winter season include:

Valentine's Day is just around the corner, and maybe it's time to find or make gifts for that special blood claim in your life. This season blood jewelry is the hot ticket item. These are pieces made from precious metal and glass, which hold the blood of a vampire in them. Carry a lover's blood to show how much you love them, or carry your own to force down the throat of your enemies so you can influence them.

Whispers around school start to say that Black Court lost a novice this month. Not murder this time! He simply unmade himself trying to mistwalk. Eh, these things happen.

As a result of a tie in last month's pumpkin carving contest, members of the Black and Red Courts will find small packages outside their doors. They are gifted silver letter openers, with the handle inlaid with pumpkins and leaves, and a note from Revar with a little drawing of a pumpkin and their signature. How nice!

Lady Whisperfangs is quiet for now, but her time is yet to come... This month's check-in will have a field to submit gossip about your characters! Vampires do so love their drama.

Once again, characters are free to talk to the NPCs as well: Revar & Kashire. For any questions regarding this month's prompts, please comment in the Plotting Post. For general game questions, please check the FAQ/Game Info. In the meantime, remember to submit your Regains for this month's free reward, and keep an eye out for our AC Check-in next week, starting on January 25-31.

The new year has brought us plenty of thirsty vampires, so we're glad you're here to share them with you!

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[Luckily, Yuri has loads of experience hanging around doctors. This actually feels pretty normal to him, watching a doctor work while having an in-depth discussion on societal structures.

'Outliers,' huh? If the Council is meant for collaboration, why is it the people willing to work together are the exceptions? He frowns faintly.]

Yeah, I do. [Bones can spare him the gory details. He's been given a rundown of the Black Court by his Maker, so he's got a pretty good idea of what he's talking about. Really, the Black Court is interesting in its own right thanks to how unusual it is.]

The one Court without a voice on the Council is the one that enforces their will.

[He's not saying that's a bit weird --

No, wait, that's exactly what he's saying. Bones seems pretty skeptical about the whole Council system, so after a moment of deliberation he decides to add:]

Sounds really fucking balanced and cooperative to me.

[It does not.]

[ Good, because it means she could assume that her attempt to have any concerns or worries dismissed had worked. If something this fantastical could happen with Kirk... Well, Eden knew she wasn't very creative, so it was easy enough to dismiss the idea. ]

'The girl purr?'

[ Well, whatever was going on in this scenario, it's given 'the captain' enough context to speak as if he fit in. So things like that didn't have to make sense- Though in imitating the purr sound she's heard in animals before (which she was oddly good at,) the confusion stayed because it didn't seem like a sound that a ship should make either.

There's a wince in trying to ignore the calls for help and people rushing. People could be panicking, but that was when they were more likely to end up hurt. ]

The best way to help them is to follow whatever your gut says will fix this all.

[ Because it was his dream, so some part of him knew what was meant to be done to fix it. Clearly he knew it as well, with refusing to pause and press on to these 'engine rooms.' All she could do was reassure the man. ]

You know about this Scotty and a lot of what's happening to the ship. Some part of you knows a lot, so we'll have to go off of that, even if it makes little sense to- well, I guess me. It makes sense to some part of you. With me asking if you knew why the engines were like this, does some part of you have an answer to that?

[ Shapes are important, aren't they? A whole field of vampirism is focused on changing them for a reason-

Personality is also important. To wit, Eden is a shameless avatar of debauchery in the making and needs a firm hand or else they will try and get away with anything! So of course he must bite back as good as he is getting and then some.

He can handle his own cock, he knows exactly what he likes on that front. Being challenged always has made him hot under the collar, and now that he's not trying to hold out, it's easy to lean into what he's feeling and let it surge under his skin. ]

Edited 2024-02-08 01:53 (UTC)

[ If this is what it took for Reyson to treat Eden the same, regardless of form, then they'll do it. Until it seems like this was going to override whatever else was going on in that blond-haired mind, she was going to keep up on being aggressive. Getting bitten back, aside from getting a soft moaned sound, will just get her to bite and tug a little harder. Anything to keep him engaged and ready to do what he wanted to maintain dominance like earlier.

Which will probably lead to a mess of gold and silver tainted blood against their lips, but they don't exactly have the teeth to make it anything extreme. Not yet, at least. ]

[the ice and snow surrounding them is still a pristine white, but Hazel's world has gone completely red. she can hear her own screams mirrored in the novice's, a sound that pricks at blood already running nuclear. this was her own weakness she was staring at, not someone else's. weakness of body, of soul, of will. it's not wonder that she can't stop pounding away at the poor sap, determined to smash everything she hated about herself into a bloody paste.

Yuri's entire existence has faded away alongside her rationality, so when a hand suddenly brushes against the nape of her neck on its way to her collar she reacts to memory rather than reality: her entire body stiffens and she lets out an awful, strangled noise that's equal parts terror and rage. for a brief moment it appears that she's going to contort herself in defiance of her companion's touch and turn all that instability around on him, but Yuri's words cut through the fog like a knife.

let's go. and just like that, the sting of winter returns to her bones. she's still resisting his urging for her to rise for a few moments, but there's clarity in Hazel's eyes when she stares up at him next. right. up. she had to get up, didn't she? there's no way things were going to end well if they didn't move quickly. and...she didn't want that, she'd realize with dll surprise. not yet.]

Yeah, yeah, I'm fucking coming.

[the sour note would be present as expected, but her retort was honestly toothless even before she allowed Yuri to help her haul herself to her feet. she'd look down at what she'd done to that novice and fight back the nausea rising in her stomach like an angry beast. it's a little late for squeamishness, isn't it?]

Don't start shit you're not willing to finish.

[she directs her final comment to the wide-eyed audience gaping at them both, team and spectator alike, before she wraps a hand gently around Yuri's arm and moves to depart. neither of them need the stability, but she's thinking to herself - if anyone is stupid enough to pursue a pair of psychopaths as they've both shown themselves to be, she could grab her companion and haul ass with his frail little body waving behind her like a flag this way. stupid as it was, she didn't want to ditch him either.]

They can investigate what happened to that dead Blue Court boy, or why people have been getting all these visions and dreams.

[With his fellow Silvers Elias is more comfortable voicing his work-related grievances, but boy is Bones bringing out the crotchety side of him.]

But I guess… if we get an oldblood on the losing side, that’ll be fun.

[He quirks a half-smile, amused if nothing else by the novelty of the idea.]

That sounds like a fine pool, if people bring their own thralls. I don’t want to shift schedules to accommodate our thralls being fuzzed out on shrooms. [Not having free will doesn’t make the thralls immune to productivity drops from hangovers.] I’d much rather make the shrooms smokable or provide some of our psychoactives if people want to get high that badly. [He flaps a hand.] Or something. Get one of our fast-growing vines to facilitate Spider Queen porn? I don't know, would people go for that?

[Don't worry Bones, Karma has your back. As long as she is still at Courtsheart, you'll be fine because she'll make sure you get the cure.

The ship lurches and turns, almost dislodging them both from where they cling, parts of the ship coming apart and hitting the railing as they hang on desperately. Soon though gravity seems to right itself as they can get their feet back under them again and run further down the halls. Kirk doesn't let go of Bones' hand.]

I don't know from where or how.. I-- [He shakes his head as they get into an area that's mostly abandoned.]

This is the warp core... She--[Kirk stops in front of a computer that says the warp core is misaligned, flashing with a mechanical female voice saying it too.. There seems to be a dawning realization on his face, like he's remembering something.]

Scotty would tell me that the core was misaligned, that the ship's dead because of it, that there's no way of fixing it.. [He sounds distant.] This is where I would get too scared and the dream would restart. Again and again.

[There's a tone of knowing, like he knows what he needs to do but has been too scared to do it.]

[Did Eden just purr? No, not the time. He ignores it for now to focus on the situation at hand. But he keeps it in mind to ask about later.

Follow his gut, well, he's done that his entire life and it's kept him alive this long, so that won't be a problem because that's all he's got to go on right now. Even as the ship groans and cracks as they run through the engineering, he has nothing to go off of but what he feels is instinctively the right thing to do.

He thinks about it and answers before he can really think too long about it, though his voice sounds a little far away, a little quiet, like he's trying to recall.]

Sp--We used his torpedoes against him, the explosion, it-- [He furrows his brow as if something is missing. Before shaking his head.

They run along metal bridges and walkways, surrounded by hulking metal canisters. Everything was massive and metal. Gravity is swept out from under them like a rug as he grabs Eden's wrist and holds on to her and the railings.]

Hang on!

I don't...I don't know. All the cures I read about involved plants.

[ But honestly his skills do not lie in plants.

He finds that it's strange, watching Xenk touching Kirk like that. He doesn't hate it, but there is a little bit of jealousy. Like he thinks Xenk would be better at it; jealous that he's not as good. ]

But we can try.

[ He pulls a knife from a holster on his belt and draws a cut across his palm, then brings his hand over so his unnaturally blue blood can drip into Kirk's mouth. ]

[ Thank the Founders for Karma, if nothing else they'd get him sorted out! Because if Leonard had anything in his stomach, he'd probably be throwing up right now. Thankfully, he is a vampire and not a human and he has better control than that.

He follows Jim and lets the man ramble. The details don't matter in dreams, so Bones just goes along with it. Wrap core, sure. That's a thing.

Kirk just sounds so... hesitant all of a sudden, that Bones crosses his arms, confused. He doesn't even know Jim all that well, but he knows this much. ]

You, getting scared? That don't sound right.

[ It's a dream, so sometimes what you need is a kick in the pants. At least that's what Bones is hoping. Anyway, he knows he's harsh, but he's doing this on purpose. ]

So what if you're scared? Do it scared, idiot. If you've been stuck in this dream before, then it sounds like the only thing holding you back is your damn self.

[ Xenk doesn't notice Edgin's jealousy at all. Xenk himself has been guilty of jealousy, with the simple fact that Jim has made it clear that his staying in Blue Court is due to Edgin.

That Kirk wants to involve Edgin. That he considered attempting his Becoming with dual makers so as not to lose the man. Xenk's feelings towards Edgin are complicated indeed, but his superiority in this field ("emotions") is clear. Xenk will surely try his hardest to grant Kirk passage through the end of his seasons, but it remains to be seen if Kirk will not simply cut off their bond the moment he is turned.

All Xenk can do is watch and observe. Powerless. If he were to enter Kirk's mind, he'd make it worse. Unfortunately for them, simple blood doesn't seem to help, either. It makes Xenk tense, to think they might simply have no choice but to take him to the infirmary.

He clenches his fist, expression cold and impassive. ]

He does not appear to be drinking. What remains as our alternative? What can we do?

I'm going to hold you to that.

[ he smiles--this is really nice? he feels relaxed around this woman in a way he doesn't often, at the castle. ]

Oatmeal cookies. It'll be fun.

[Bones wasn't wrong. Something was making him hesitate, making him not complete the dream. He knows what that something is... he's scared of dying again.

Again.

He doesn't even think about it deeply, just accepts that he's scared of going through that fear and pain again. He would do it, but every time before that he hesitated the dream started over before he could do anything about it. Like the curse was forcing him through the trauma over and over again, not letting him complete it.

But Bones was right, maybe it was him that was hesitating, that was holding himself back from his own cure.]

Not before.. I think since the curse took hold of me, it's just been repeating over and over again, in a loop I cannot escape. But you're right.

[Letting go of Bones, he runs to a door to the side, inputting codes he knows by heart.]

I have to do this alone.. stay here.

[He lets the door hiss shut between them, locking tight as he gives Bones a sad but determined look through the glass.]

[ Would that Xenk could give the boy an answer he wanted to hear. Alas, Xenk has never been good at lying, and to be dishonest to Kirk in his dreams would feel... disingenuous. But he has little time to worry when the monsters begin to descend upon them.

Under normal circumstances, Xenk would shift to better fight the creatures. His animal form, that of a lion, is better suited with its claws to fight inhuman beasts. But he cannot risk injuring Kirk -- the thought is rejected as soon as it strikes him. He promised to protect him, and protect him he shall.

Besides, this is a dream. If Xenk is suddenly wielding a sword and striking at any night terrors that approach him, then that's alright. He places himself between the monsters and Kirk, slashing and striking at too many wings and claws and eyes. The monsters strike him too, but even as gold blood drips from his wounds, he never falters. It would take far more than this to defeat Xenk Yendar.

Unfortunately, yeah, he's completely forgotten about the children in the cave. He has eyes for Kirk and Kirk alone. ]

Give me a second.

[ Look, he makes plans, but not while being demanded to make them you know? Genius takes time.

Well, he wouldn't call it genius, necessarily.

But plans take time.

Edgin tries to recall what he'd read, about the plants. There had to be something they could do that would be useful. Something a blue court or a gold court member could do without crying to Revar to make a potion for them, something like... ]

A good memory. We need something that'll spark a good memory, and smell is the strongest sense for that.

[ Bones nods. Damn right he's right. Dream logic is fucking annoying. ]

Sounds like the kind of thing a curse would do.

[ Some part of Bones is still a doctor -- a scientist at heart. It's interesting to hear the ways the nightmares work. Trapping victims in a loop of pain and suffering sounds about right.

Still, Bones lets Jim go, watching the door close behind him. Jim is walking taller now, but with such finality... Bones walks right up to the glass, eying him warily. ]

How are you... re-aligning the, whatever core?

[Unfortunately for Xenk, Kirk hasn't forgotten about the other children in the cave and even if he desperately wants to stay behind Xenk for his own protection, he can't--

He can't. It wouldn't be him if he did.]

Hold them off! I'll lead the others from the cave!

[With that, Kirk is off at a run, yelling for the night terrors heading for the cave to distract them, to pull them away and trying to make his way to the woods, but not before getting caught, grabbed by a clawed hand that bites into his skin--

Other night terrors go for the cave as the one holding him tightens it's grip.]

Xenk! The cave!

[ Xenk pauses, reining in his concern. What is he doing? This boy isn't even his novice. ]

A memory. This would be fitting of the Blue Court.

[ Now the question was, what was a good memory for Kirk? Xenk has to once again defer to Edgin in this, as... he has admittedly very little knowledge of Jim's life before arriving at Courtsheart. Nothing good, if the dreams were any indication. ]

Does he have a favored food? I may be able to trigger a sensory memory in his mind without interacting with the parts of his brain that are experiencing the nightmare.

[ I mean, could he? ]

[ She could only guess that these torpedoes were some kind of weapon. There was a moment that she'd been about to ask who this 'him' was, but there was that feeling like earlier. About at the same time that Jim was grabbing one of her wrists, her own and an ankle wrapped around the railing as well. Last time there was no expectations, but when having some kind of clue of what was about to happen, their reflexes could be quite good. (If they weren't, Vader would just make the next class absolute hell the moment he found out.)

While unsure of what was happening, Eden was smart enough to know better than to get away from the railings of this inside-bridge. Who this 'him' was probably didn't matter with this whole thing happening. ]

Keep focused! I've got myself if this is what's going to keep happening. We can move along the rails to where we need to be.

[ As long as they were ready, if this whole effect stopped happening again. ]

What did it do to the engines?

[ Edgin shakes his head quickly ]

No, food would be a bad idea.

[ All too easy for the nightmare to think about starvation. ]

I was thinking more along the lines of something we could go pick out the greenhouse.

James!

[ Of course it wouldn't be Jim Kirk if he didn't make a ridiculous move to save others. Xenk is too busy holding off another wave of attacks to stop Kirk from running, and so he is unable to turn around until the creatures have grabbed Kirk.

He says protect the cave, but Xenk wants to protect Kirk. He's suddenly faced with a choice, and not long to think on it. Even his heightened vampiric sense wouldn't grant him much time here.

He has to save Kirk. But Kirk is a good man, just like Edgin. He would hate to be saved, just as he would hate to know others got hurt because he was safe. Xenk can do nothing for it, then.

He blinks once, takes a breath he doesn't need, and acts. ]

Unhand him!

[ Xenk says that, but he throws his sword at the one holding Kirk and dashes to the cave to try and fend off the ones threatening to descend there. This is a really big deal for him and he's not going to think about it. He's just trying to do what's right for Kirk, not because it's the right thing to do or anything! ]

[ Xenk nods. He'd seen the nightmare about Kirk's youth, so it makes sense that food would be out. ]

Very well. A flower of some kind? Has he expressed any interest in any particular flower?

[ Xenk really is going to have to play 20 questions with Kirk if he ever ends up taking the guy on, because he is feeling worse and worse about how much he has to rely on Edgin for this. He's realizing suddenly that he doesn't stand a chance... but it ultimately won't matter, if they can't save him. ]

Not flowers, but...

[ Ok, think Edgin ]

Pine trees. Oh, and burning cedar.

[ not that that would be practical in a novice's room but ]

I need to physically force it back into position.. the core's radiation will--

[--kill me.

He shakes his head. Because this is a memory, he knows what's going to happen, he just doesn't want to relive it. Doesn't want to get trapped retelling the same story again. How he's so sure this is a memory and not some dream... he can't say, but it's real. It's so real..]

I'll make it back, just stay here. Let's end this and save my ship and crew.

[With that he turns away and opens the next door before climbing in...

He's gone for a while, but suddenly something seems to kick back on and the ship stops tossing and turning, it seems to stabilize and even out. Whatever Kirk did was successful as the ship no longer groans like its falling apart.

And then he's crawling back out of the first door, the door between them still fully locked, as Kirk struggles, in extreme pain and breathing labored. He manages to collapse by the door between them as he leans against it.]

Edited 2024-02-09 03:14 (UTC)

[There isn't much else that needs to be said, here. They beat the shit out of some random novice who absolutely didn't deserve it, and now they're skedaddling before the rest of the hockey team realizes they have numbers on their side.

This is probably not how either of them expected their afternoon to go. Yuri certainly didn't. He figured he'd watch a boring hockey game, then go write up an equally boring report, then go take a nap. He did not anticipate having to pull someone else out of a violent episode, let alone doing it willingly. He isn't sure how he feels about any of this, honestly. It's confusing, and that aggravates him.

At least Hazel is snapping out of it and willing to listen to him. Once she's on her feet he lets go of her, going to turn and leave the stands -

Aaand she's grabbing his arm. He reflexively tenses up but doesn't shove her off, instead just leading her down and away from the rink and to the castle. Getting inside seems like the safest bet, so he'll find the nearest door and head in. When they've walked through a corridor or two, he suddenly comes to a stop. He figures they're far enough into the castle that it's doubtful anyone will come after them right now. They should be okay for the moment.

So with that reassurance in his mind, he turns to face Hazel. Using his free hand, he proceeds to silently start chopping her (lightly) on the head.]

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Page 51 of 67

january tdm/event post

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this is the essence of her character so i'm sorry to say that feeling doesn't go away

cw: just more discussions about drug use and also monsterfucking?

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cw self-harm for healing

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poor girl!!