Post by Vivienne Daniels on Jul 29, 2024 1:36:21 GMT
The camera comes on to Vivienne standing in an abandoned hospital.
"Anger... is the ultimate motivational force.”
“We live in a world full of hate, pain, and fear, swirling in a never-ending cycle of birth and consumption. By fearing something, humans will learn to hate it... and when you hate something enough, humans are willing to go to any lengths to make the object of their fear, their anger, their rage, leading to suffering. By inflicting that suffering, they become the feared... and are the object or rage. And so the cycle of agony continues, ever spiraling in upon itself... nature's finest infinite loop.”
“It can change you when you embrace it.”
Vivienne does a slow swirl of her black dress.
“And I have embraced it.”
“On one side I have friends. Maybe old friends, maybe ex-friends. I seem to be racking up a number of those categories lately. And on the other, hopeful lost lambs hoping to scramble for relevance.”
“Nether side is really a fan of who I’ve become. Each of them hates me. Each of them is feeling my anger is unjustified. That my methods are inexcusable. That my becoming is less than ideal.”
“But I don’t need their approval. I don’t need love from the masses anymore. Mai is part of my new family. She is part of the Murder. Despite what some might think, despite the fractures. We are ever strong. Our mission continues. Mai understands me and while we might disagree on somethings I know she has my back and I have hers. And my rage helps keep us on track.”
“Picture a lake inside you.” The voice on the app said calmly as she sat in the darkness of the bathroom with her hands on her knees as she tried to breathe evenly.
Vivienne used to find relaxation in meditation. She used to find relaxation in Yoga. She used to find her inner peace by cooking, gaming, or hanging out with her friends. She used to find some part of herself deep underneath that centered her, that kept her present and even.
“Picture the still water.”
Vivienne hadn’t found peace anywhere. She was angry everywhere. None of her old standards silenced her mind. Nothing was working. Not even prayer.
“Picture what it would feel like to float above it.”
She used to be able to find her inner child and the future version of herself that was at the end of her road. She used to find peace there and knew she was doing the right thing, making a life worth being proud of.
“Picture t̵͚̠̻̫̟̼͗͘͝o̸̦̾͑̉u̴̢̨̢͍̤̙̇̉̿͝c̴̳͒̊͝h̶͙̞̠͖͒͑̂́hing the water.”
But all she could picture how was darkness in her mind. Darkness, screaming, blood and fire. She didn’t dream anymore, at least not how she remembered. All she had left was rage. All she had left of hatred. All she had left was wanting to find every person who betrayed her, lied to her, used her, hurt her, robbed her of all she’d ever wanted, and show them exactly what it felt like to be on the other side of the pain.
“Feel the ̴͎̈́̍͜p̸̳̠̦̀ẽ̸̱̻̮̤͑̽̀ͅa̴̤̟͂͂̿̽c̸̥̙̱̜̜͐̾͂̈̍͠e̷̛̪̱̙̍̐̆ ̴̬͈̪̘̅̋͆͗̊f̷̼̬̘̀̍͐̇͊ř̸̨̧̹̗͚̇̿̄̑͜o̶̙̙̔m̵̬̓ ̸͙̙̐͝ț̷̛̳̗͙͈̼ẖ̸̹̠̰̇̀̈̚e̷͖̪̼̖͛̓͌͗̌͘ ̷͚̭̝̪̼̮̌͂̆w̵͉̓a̸͎̤͔̤͈͆̿̂̆̄͝ṫ̸̫̣͍̦͓̑e̶̤̺̗̓͗̕ͅř̸͓̲͓̫̭͐́͆.”
She had no peace. She had nothing left. It scared her sometimes. She felt a part of herself slipping away. She felt like she was losing herself.
“̶͚̐D̷̲͆r̶͚̅o̵̭͆w̵̍͜ṉ̵̄ ̸̗̍ỳ̷͕ö̷̱́u̷̻̽r̷͙̀ ̵̩́ḛ̶̾n̶̫̈́e̵͈̍m̵̨̔i̷͉͝e̶̲͆s̵̼̓ ̷̤̆i̷̼̇n̸̠̂ ̷͋ͅţ̸͊h̷̪͠ē̷̪ ̸͍́ṗ̸̰ǫ̶̋o̷̞͝l̴͉̋ ̶̨̇o̷̮͘f̵̺̿ ̷͇͋f̵̤̆i̸̞̓r̷̬̈́é̴̥.̵͈͑”̸̭̔
She also did not want peace. Someone had to keep things connected. Someone had to keep the faith. Someone had to understand what was at stake.
“Kill the girl so the ẉ̷̎̈́̾͘ǫ̷̦͙̘̈m̶͈̱̔̓͊͠à̶̮̹̬̱n̷̠̈́̈͜ ̴̩̺͑̔̈́lives.”
She saw eyes in her mind. Was it her voice?
“B̸̧̛̠͕͓͍͖̙͚̣̠̲̋̀͐̍̒̋́͘͝͝Ǔ̷̬̮̳̪̳̜̙͕̗͈̲̞̞̟̼̺͖̦̗̟͚̥̣̐̒̋̋͒́̀̎̍̚͝͠R̷̡̘̤͑̈̅́̓͊̈́̈̂̅̈́͒̉̚̕͠͝Ǹ̶̢̧̨̧͕̬͙̗̤̟̩̦̫̙̘̫̭̞̯̱̇̈́̄̆͌́̀̎̃̈́͗̎͑̽̑͆ ̵̧̨̛͔̟́͂͐̐̌̏͛̓̄̐̚̕̚͝T̴̢̺̪̤̯̹̰̟̬̹͙̰̙͔͗̍̿̂̉̋̃̀̓Ḩ̸̢̢̨̹̫̻̺̟̞̥̪͉̦̜̜̗͓̜͕͇̦̱͙̒̏̉͂͂̌͗͑̈̊̉̚͘͝͝͠E̸̡̧̫̪̜͎̹͔̣͈̪̥̫̰̦̟̭̣̦̰͌̅́̔̒́̈́͆̐̈́̀̆͂̾̄̈́̂͗̈́̔͊͗̕͝M̵̢̭͉̱͎̘̠̯̙̞̤̺̝̖̠̣̝͙̒̽͐͂̆͂̽̈́̽̏̀̈́͝ ̴͚͇͖͆̈͊́̅͠A̶̧̛̯̖̓̋̐̄̀͐̽̄̈́͛͘̚͝͝Ḽ̴̛̱̖̈́̔̿̍͌̎͑̎̅̂̊͋͑̓͘̕͜͠͝L̴̨͚̻͚̳̤̩͎͇̣̤̩̺͖̖̟̱͖̲̋́̓̒̐̏͗̂̽̾̅́̄̄̀̆͘̕̚̚͝”
A knock on the bathroom door caused her to open her eyes breathing hard.
"Kitten? Your meditation thing is on its third loop. Are you good in there?” Cyrus sounded concerned.
“...No progress…but yeah, I’m fine.”
“Let’s start with the Winstons. For they are often packaged as a unit. There’s a part of me, you know… albeit a very small one… that feels sorry for you. Trying so hard to be taken seriously. Trying to make a life for yourselves. I appreciate that. But you distress Mai. Mai is like the little sister I never had. You make her unhappy so I will bleed you dry. There is nothing more to be said about it.”
Vivienne walks down the hallways of the hospital.
“Abigail. You were very unhappy with me last we fought. You called down you would stop me from achieving my goal. And while my goal was disrupted, it was not you who did it. Your best was not enough. I know you. We were friends once. I know you to be a woman with the fire of a warrior burning in her belly, desperately fighting to become better than her peers. Not quite able to get back to the big leagues, but thinking that a single victory will turn your luck around. A shame that you had chosen to stand between me and my prey, Jennie. But if you thought I was ruthless before, you will see just how unprepared you are. You have already failed to stand against me before when I fought you alone ... Now I will enjoy the company of one who wants to prove herself.”
“Then we turn our attention to Eternity. Bested me once. I had fought a long year-long battle to get to win the world title and she got to just flounce in to take it from me. Eternity has crushed the dreams of many who put in hard work to get to the top only to simply appear, topple the hard work, and then leave again as soon as she loses again. Because That is who you are, and what you do. You might love Abby but that does not change.”
She turns towards the camera as she reaches what looks to be a morgue.
“Because in the end, this is all that becomes of madness, even when it is twisted to its most destructive – nothing but an empty, moldering monument of dust and nameless bones. People believe that this is a building to be feared because it housed such madness and cruelty, and believe that it is haunted by ghosts that will prey upon the living. They fear it because of its history, because of its appearance, and because of the myth that has built up around it… but now that I am here, walking within it, seeing it, and hearing it with my own eyes and ears… it is just a dilapidated building. There may well be ghosts in these walls, but if there are they don't protect it. Whatever else there might be about this building, there is nothing special about the bricks... and whatever else there might be about your mind, there's nothing special about your body.”
Her smile is thin.
“No matter the myth, no matter the madness, no matter the cruelty or the reputation, you are just another creature to be crushed. You are seen as something to be feared, but strip the haunting façade away and you will find tearable flesh and breakable bone. Be you a performer, a madwoman, a ghost, or a demon – it doesn’t matter. You bleed. You know pain. And now you’re going to know fear.”
"Anger... is the ultimate motivational force.”
“We live in a world full of hate, pain, and fear, swirling in a never-ending cycle of birth and consumption. By fearing something, humans will learn to hate it... and when you hate something enough, humans are willing to go to any lengths to make the object of their fear, their anger, their rage, leading to suffering. By inflicting that suffering, they become the feared... and are the object or rage. And so the cycle of agony continues, ever spiraling in upon itself... nature's finest infinite loop.”
“It can change you when you embrace it.”
Vivienne does a slow swirl of her black dress.
“And I have embraced it.”
“On one side I have friends. Maybe old friends, maybe ex-friends. I seem to be racking up a number of those categories lately. And on the other, hopeful lost lambs hoping to scramble for relevance.”
“Nether side is really a fan of who I’ve become. Each of them hates me. Each of them is feeling my anger is unjustified. That my methods are inexcusable. That my becoming is less than ideal.”
“But I don’t need their approval. I don’t need love from the masses anymore. Mai is part of my new family. She is part of the Murder. Despite what some might think, despite the fractures. We are ever strong. Our mission continues. Mai understands me and while we might disagree on somethings I know she has my back and I have hers. And my rage helps keep us on track.”
“Picture a lake inside you.” The voice on the app said calmly as she sat in the darkness of the bathroom with her hands on her knees as she tried to breathe evenly.
Vivienne used to find relaxation in meditation. She used to find relaxation in Yoga. She used to find her inner peace by cooking, gaming, or hanging out with her friends. She used to find some part of herself deep underneath that centered her, that kept her present and even.
“Picture the still water.”
Vivienne hadn’t found peace anywhere. She was angry everywhere. None of her old standards silenced her mind. Nothing was working. Not even prayer.
“Picture what it would feel like to float above it.”
She used to be able to find her inner child and the future version of herself that was at the end of her road. She used to find peace there and knew she was doing the right thing, making a life worth being proud of.
“Picture t̵͚̠̻̫̟̼͗͘͝o̸̦̾͑̉u̴̢̨̢͍̤̙̇̉̿͝c̴̳͒̊͝h̶͙̞̠͖͒͑̂́hing the water.”
But all she could picture how was darkness in her mind. Darkness, screaming, blood and fire. She didn’t dream anymore, at least not how she remembered. All she had left was rage. All she had left of hatred. All she had left was wanting to find every person who betrayed her, lied to her, used her, hurt her, robbed her of all she’d ever wanted, and show them exactly what it felt like to be on the other side of the pain.
“Feel the ̴͎̈́̍͜p̸̳̠̦̀ẽ̸̱̻̮̤͑̽̀ͅa̴̤̟͂͂̿̽c̸̥̙̱̜̜͐̾͂̈̍͠e̷̛̪̱̙̍̐̆ ̴̬͈̪̘̅̋͆͗̊f̷̼̬̘̀̍͐̇͊ř̸̨̧̹̗͚̇̿̄̑͜o̶̙̙̔m̵̬̓ ̸͙̙̐͝ț̷̛̳̗͙͈̼ẖ̸̹̠̰̇̀̈̚e̷͖̪̼̖͛̓͌͗̌͘ ̷͚̭̝̪̼̮̌͂̆w̵͉̓a̸͎̤͔̤͈͆̿̂̆̄͝ṫ̸̫̣͍̦͓̑e̶̤̺̗̓͗̕ͅř̸͓̲͓̫̭͐́͆.”
She had no peace. She had nothing left. It scared her sometimes. She felt a part of herself slipping away. She felt like she was losing herself.
“̶͚̐D̷̲͆r̶͚̅o̵̭͆w̵̍͜ṉ̵̄ ̸̗̍ỳ̷͕ö̷̱́u̷̻̽r̷͙̀ ̵̩́ḛ̶̾n̶̫̈́e̵͈̍m̵̨̔i̷͉͝e̶̲͆s̵̼̓ ̷̤̆i̷̼̇n̸̠̂ ̷͋ͅţ̸͊h̷̪͠ē̷̪ ̸͍́ṗ̸̰ǫ̶̋o̷̞͝l̴͉̋ ̶̨̇o̷̮͘f̵̺̿ ̷͇͋f̵̤̆i̸̞̓r̷̬̈́é̴̥.̵͈͑”̸̭̔
She also did not want peace. Someone had to keep things connected. Someone had to keep the faith. Someone had to understand what was at stake.
“Kill the girl so the ẉ̷̎̈́̾͘ǫ̷̦͙̘̈m̶͈̱̔̓͊͠à̶̮̹̬̱n̷̠̈́̈͜ ̴̩̺͑̔̈́lives.”
She saw eyes in her mind. Was it her voice?
“B̸̧̛̠͕͓͍͖̙͚̣̠̲̋̀͐̍̒̋́͘͝͝Ǔ̷̬̮̳̪̳̜̙͕̗͈̲̞̞̟̼̺͖̦̗̟͚̥̣̐̒̋̋͒́̀̎̍̚͝͠R̷̡̘̤͑̈̅́̓͊̈́̈̂̅̈́͒̉̚̕͠͝Ǹ̶̢̧̨̧͕̬͙̗̤̟̩̦̫̙̘̫̭̞̯̱̇̈́̄̆͌́̀̎̃̈́͗̎͑̽̑͆ ̵̧̨̛͔̟́͂͐̐̌̏͛̓̄̐̚̕̚͝T̴̢̺̪̤̯̹̰̟̬̹͙̰̙͔͗̍̿̂̉̋̃̀̓Ḩ̸̢̢̨̹̫̻̺̟̞̥̪͉̦̜̜̗͓̜͕͇̦̱͙̒̏̉͂͂̌͗͑̈̊̉̚͘͝͝͠E̸̡̧̫̪̜͎̹͔̣͈̪̥̫̰̦̟̭̣̦̰͌̅́̔̒́̈́͆̐̈́̀̆͂̾̄̈́̂͗̈́̔͊͗̕͝M̵̢̭͉̱͎̘̠̯̙̞̤̺̝̖̠̣̝͙̒̽͐͂̆͂̽̈́̽̏̀̈́͝ ̴͚͇͖͆̈͊́̅͠A̶̧̛̯̖̓̋̐̄̀͐̽̄̈́͛͘̚͝͝Ḽ̴̛̱̖̈́̔̿̍͌̎͑̎̅̂̊͋͑̓͘̕͜͠͝L̴̨͚̻͚̳̤̩͎͇̣̤̩̺͖̖̟̱͖̲̋́̓̒̐̏͗̂̽̾̅́̄̄̀̆͘̕̚̚͝”
A knock on the bathroom door caused her to open her eyes breathing hard.
"Kitten? Your meditation thing is on its third loop. Are you good in there?” Cyrus sounded concerned.
“...No progress…but yeah, I’m fine.”
“Let’s start with the Winstons. For they are often packaged as a unit. There’s a part of me, you know… albeit a very small one… that feels sorry for you. Trying so hard to be taken seriously. Trying to make a life for yourselves. I appreciate that. But you distress Mai. Mai is like the little sister I never had. You make her unhappy so I will bleed you dry. There is nothing more to be said about it.”
Vivienne walks down the hallways of the hospital.
“Abigail. You were very unhappy with me last we fought. You called down you would stop me from achieving my goal. And while my goal was disrupted, it was not you who did it. Your best was not enough. I know you. We were friends once. I know you to be a woman with the fire of a warrior burning in her belly, desperately fighting to become better than her peers. Not quite able to get back to the big leagues, but thinking that a single victory will turn your luck around. A shame that you had chosen to stand between me and my prey, Jennie. But if you thought I was ruthless before, you will see just how unprepared you are. You have already failed to stand against me before when I fought you alone ... Now I will enjoy the company of one who wants to prove herself.”
“Then we turn our attention to Eternity. Bested me once. I had fought a long year-long battle to get to win the world title and she got to just flounce in to take it from me. Eternity has crushed the dreams of many who put in hard work to get to the top only to simply appear, topple the hard work, and then leave again as soon as she loses again. Because That is who you are, and what you do. You might love Abby but that does not change.”
She turns towards the camera as she reaches what looks to be a morgue.
“Because in the end, this is all that becomes of madness, even when it is twisted to its most destructive – nothing but an empty, moldering monument of dust and nameless bones. People believe that this is a building to be feared because it housed such madness and cruelty, and believe that it is haunted by ghosts that will prey upon the living. They fear it because of its history, because of its appearance, and because of the myth that has built up around it… but now that I am here, walking within it, seeing it, and hearing it with my own eyes and ears… it is just a dilapidated building. There may well be ghosts in these walls, but if there are they don't protect it. Whatever else there might be about this building, there is nothing special about the bricks... and whatever else there might be about your mind, there's nothing special about your body.”
Her smile is thin.
“No matter the myth, no matter the madness, no matter the cruelty or the reputation, you are just another creature to be crushed. You are seen as something to be feared, but strip the haunting façade away and you will find tearable flesh and breakable bone. Be you a performer, a madwoman, a ghost, or a demon – it doesn’t matter. You bleed. You know pain. And now you’re going to know fear.”
Well howdy there pardner.