Light yellow brown mucus

I'm not sure that it was even original, but I hope someone will recognize it if it is. A dog (spaniel or looks similiar), yellow/peach/brown, might have white parts. I remember it had a... Thing? Where I could put her. Like thick a plastic box barely her size in yellow + teal. (Looks like a coffin to be honest). Maybe on a string? Opened by pressing on a big button/symbol or on magents, I have trouble remembering. But I distinctly remember there being a card for her, with a name "chrysolite" or something that sounds similiar. I also remember the diamond shape, maybe the card was diamond/shaped. By the time period it's gen 2/3, maaaaaaybe 4. I like it so much I want to buy the same one again but I can't find it 🥲
Also I vaguely remember being surprised by it, so maybe it was a kind of surprise package? The memory is so fuzzy I'm 70% sure it's not what happened.

The stress of the last six months has nearly killed me. Besides the general cratering of the outside world—political strife, climate change, inflated rents, corporate greed, and the baffling resurgence of crew socks—my internal life was falling apart, too. I'm at the point where I can't see a way out of the darkness, and that feeling has only grown in the last few days.
My struggles ramped up exponentially in the last two weeks. It started when my long-term girlfriend and I called it quits after five years. There was no definitive relationship-altering fight or infidelity. It was simply the boring banality of the "roommate-ification" of our lives together. We both felt the shift but never talked about it. Turns out communication is important.
Truthfully, we'd stayed together for so long because we couldn't afford to live apart. Our rent had nearly doubled the last time we re-upped our lease but even that was a bargain compared to what was out there currently. We were trapped by our need to have a roof over our heads.
My job had stagnated, and I couldn't find anything better. I was stuck. Like me, she'd been job hunting as well. Unlike me, she had a master's, and her prospects should've been higher. They weren't. For five months, she applied to hundreds of jobs and couldn't break through. If she got a rejection email, it was a win. Most of the time, the companies never responded.
Finally, she found a great opportunity at a Fortune 500 company. It was an involved process. She nailed the five interviews, and her "test project" was well received. She was offered the position, and it came with a massive pay increase—double her current salary. I was proud of her—she needed a win. We celebrated with pizza and beer that night.
Two days later, she dropped the bomb that she was breaking things off. The relationship ending wasn't a surprise. The timing was. The discussion was brief, and there was zero chance of reconciliation. She declined when I asked if she could stay until the lease ended. Mentally, it would've been too much for her. Two days after that, she moved out, taking half the rent with her. I was stuck in a lease I couldn't afford on my salary for the next six months.
My free time evaporated as I took on two extra gigs to help make ends meet. In addition to my office nine to five, I drove for a delivery app on the weekends and took a part-time night job stocking shelves at a local grocery store. When I wasn't hustling for housing, I slept or ate. I did nothing beyond that. Nothing brings me joy. There is no spark.
This drudgery has become my daily routine, and it's killing me.
To help cover some cost gaps, I've started selling off some of my stuff online. It was just me here, and I decided that the Spartan lifestyle would have to work for now. Anything I could fetch a decent amount for went up for sale. My apartment is so empty now every noise causes an echo.
Before my shift at the grocery store, I agreed to meet someone who wanted to take a look at my kitchen table. It was a lovely table – my ex had obsessed over it – but I didn't see a need at the moment. Now that I was a bachelor, my TV trays became my default kitchen tables anyway. I wasn't planning on any dinner parties in the future anyway.
A couple showed up later than they said they would. It was a bored-looking guy and a fastidious young woman. She made friendly small talk as she looked over the table. Her boyfriend (I think) stayed quiet and played bodyguard. I gave him a friendly nod at one point, and he just looked away. She said they'd take it without trying to talk me down. I took the small win.
She asked if I could help carry it down to their truck. I was running late, but feeling helpful, even for a fleeting few seconds, was worth it. Her silent boyfriend and I hauled the table through the hallway and even managed to avoid hitting the walls the entire way down.
I placed it in their truck, got my money, and turned to leave. The girl said thanks, and the boyfriend finally returned the nod. I gave a weird half-wave to them both and started to walk away when I heard the passenger window being rolled down.
"Hey man," the boyfriend said, his voice higher pitched than I thought it would. "What was up with your brother giving us the evil eye in the lobby when we got here?"
I turned around, "Huh? I don't have a brother."
"A cousin then?"
"My family lives about a thousand miles away. What happened in the lobby?"
"A dude that looked just like you was hiding in a dark hallway in the lobby and staring at my girl's ass."
"Jacob, really," she said.
"I'm sorry that happened, but I had nothing to do with it. We do have the occasional homeless guy meander in. Maybe you saw one of them," I said. "Did he say or do anything bad?"
"Jacob, I asked you to not say something," the girl said, burying her head in her hands.
Jacob's frosty attitude to me made sense now. "He said something about running up that ass. I dunno, he was mumbling. I told him I'd beat his ass if he didn't stop staring. Seemed to shut him up."
"Oh. Well, congrats," I said. "I'll tell the manager. Thanks for letting me know."
"You should do a better job keeping jokers like that out of the building."
"Jacob, he's not a security guard."
"He should still be a man and protect his home."
"Have a good night," I said, ending the conversation and heading back up to my apartment. I had about five minutes to change and head out before I'd be late. Last thing my ego needed was to be fired from my backup job.
Thankfully, I was able to slip into work and not get spotted by my boss. That was the last of the good news, though. We had a massive weekly order come in, which meant I'd be there late, plus someone had called out. Worse, our hand truck had a flat tire, and I spent the next few hours torturing my muscles, schlepping heavy boxes around the store. I soldiered on, counting down the minutes until I left and fantasizing about going to bed for the night.
If wishing for sleep wasn't a sad statement to my mental well-being, nothing was.
I came home after my shift at the grocery store and plopped down on the couch. I had contemplated selling it, but it was an older Ikea number, and I didn't think the value would replace my desire to sit. I could feel my body sink into the cushions, and the day's tension seep out. I was beat and tired to the point that turning on the TV was a chore.
I picked up my phone and thought I'd doomscroll until sleep overtook me. I didn't expect it to be a long scroll, as even the methadone that is my phone has failed me lately. As I lowered myself from a slumped position to a supine one, I heard footsteps outside my apartment door. This was not unusual, but the noise I heard sounded like kid footsteps. That was unusual, as nobody on our floor had kids, and it was almost midnight.
Despite my body screaming at me to not move, my brain suggested I check it out. I rolled myself off the couch and eventually stood up. I listened again and heard the kid running down the hallway. I walked over to my door and looked out the peephole. I didn't see anyone.
"Maybe I'm dreaming," I said to myself. "Maybe I'm not staring out a peephole, expecting to see a kid running down the hall at midnight, but instead, I'm cuddled up in my bed, snoozing." I pinched my arm and felt the pain. I was definitely in the waking world.
I turned to head back to the couch when I heard the running again, this time louder. I opened my door and peeked out into the hallway. Nobody was there. The door from the apartment across me opened up, too. Gloria, a young at heart grandma who was friendly/constantly buzzed in a wine mom kind of way, gave me a once over.
"You heard that, too?" she asked.
"Kids?"
"No rugrats around. I assumed it was some drunk assholes stumbling home from the bar."
I laughed. Gloria was, as always, blunt. "I didn't see any assholes," I said.
"Then you're not watching the right kind of internet videos," she said with a wink and a hoarse cackle.
I blushed. How do you respond to that? I just kind of nodded in agreement and shrugged.
"Gotta get your jollies while you can," she said before adding, "You need some rest, dear. You look like hammered shit." She shut her door and went back inside.
She was right. I felt like hammered shit. Since I wasn't going to solve the case of the mysterious runner and was sure it wasn't some lost kid, I decided to call it a night. I went back inside, shut down the apartment, and crawled into bed.
I thought about watching one of the "right kind of internet videos" but fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.
***
"Your problem is you think the world owes you something."
John, my elderly coworker at the grocery store, was standing by while I unloaded a pallet of cereal. I liked John, and when I first started, we instantly clicked. He's quick with a joke and fun to talk to. He's also about thirty years older than me and speaks with the Boomer combination of accumulated wisdom, backhanded compliments, and fringe conspiracy nonsense. Still, regardless of how couched the kindness is in gobbledygook, he's usually coming from a good place.
"What?" I said, putting a box of Captain Crunch on the shelf.
"You're complaining about your situation, right? Saying it ain't fair. The world took a paddle to your hind quarters? Hey brother, that's the way the cookie crumbles. Gotta just pick yourself up and start over. You're smart enough – figured this job out right quick – you can do it."
The job was wheeling pallets around the store and stocking shelves. It wasn't much to figure out, but I understood his meaning. The other stuff wasn't necessary, though. "I'm just in a funk. I don't see a way forward."
"Hey, so you've bottomed out. No shame in that. Happens to us all. Silver lining, you can only go up," he said before adding, "Unless some other bad shit happens to you like your car dies or your apartment building burns down. But after that, it's only up."
"The apartment building burning down would be a blessing," I said, hoisting another little Captain on the shelf. "The rent is killing me."
"Have you tried negotiating a lower rent? They used to do that when I was your age."
"I think they'd evict me if I even asked."
"Hell, then you'd have at least thirty days, maybe forty, before they'd kick you out. Plenty of time to turn things around."
"Uh-huh," I said, "Any chance you could give me a hand here?"
"My back is screaming like a pretty young thing after prom," he said, holding his back for emphasis.
I didn't push. "Hey, I meant to tell you about some weird shit that happened the other night."
"Lay it on me. I love the strange."
"So, after my shift the other day, I got home around midnight and was flopped on the couch. I heard someone running down the hallway outside my apartment. I wasn't the only one. A few other neighbors heard it, too. When we checked, though, nobody was there."
"That ain't strange," John said, waving his hand, "that's a man who's plowing another man's wife running for his life."
I laughed. "That's not the weird part. So, for the next two nights, it's the same thing. Around midnight, someone runs down the hallway. Only this time, they're trying the door handles as they pass. So, I asked the front desk to check the security cameras, and they do."
"They see a man running away holding his clothes?"
"There wasn't anyone running down the hall," I said, "But the weird thing was, you could see the door handles turning on the video."
"Damn, that's a good one," John said, "You sure it wasn't just a camera glitch. These new ones from overseas aren't as reliable as they want you to think. Chinese probably using them to spy on you, too."
He continued as my brain tried to reconcile John's two opposing comments. "Weird shit happens at night, man. Before working here, I only worked the day shift. Even when they offered me more money to work nights, I turned it down. Even when they promised me a promotion, I turned them down."
In a previous life, John had worked as a paramedic. He came by it after serving in a medical unit in the army. He'd told me he loved the rush of the job, but after a while, the death and hurt in people's eyes got to be too much to handle. But he worked there for almost twenty years. So, the man had a tolerance for shenanigans and odd occurrences.
"Why'd you agree to work nights here?"
"Shit, we're home before the witching hour. This is like late afternoons, at best. But if it was overnights, hell no. Captain Crunch can anchor his own ship to the shelves. I'd take my ass to 7-11 for a day shift before agreeing to work an overnight."
"Something happen to you during the army?”
“I got the clap,” he offered.
I sighed. “What turned you off nights?"
"Oh. I heard enough stories from coworkers to know I didn't want to experience any of that hoo-doo shit," he said, "trying to save someone's life is hard enough without adding in demon kids and ghosts."
"Did your coworkers see demon kids?" I asked, moving on from the good Captain to the Trix rabbit.
He nodded, "They saw too much. I find it odd, even with all the surveillance we have now and all the science we know about these days, that the night still scares us. You ever know someone who worked a night shift?"
I had. My ex. During college, she worked the overnight desk at a hotel for a while. She quit because the job gave her bad vibes. I told John as much.
He pointed and laughed, "See! Don't you find it odd that every person who works at night always has a story of something eerie happening to them? Every person, buster. That's what they call an irrefutable fact."
"Maybe the ghost running down the hallway is an old employee still doing his rounds."
"In that case, keep that door double locked. I'd even wedge a towel under the door just in case."
"Maybe they're friendly? Casper-like in that way."
"You ever heard someone tell you about a friendly ghost outside the funny papers?"
"I'm sure it happens," I said, "The scary ghosts are more popular though."
“We think we know everything there is to know but we are just babes in the woods when it comes to night things.” John shook his head. "Imma tell you one or three things that happened to a guy I worked with back when I first got hired on to chase after corpses in the ambo. Guy's name was Gil. Quiet man, kept to himself. Didn't rock the boat or demand a bigger paddle. Just rowed with us. Good cat to learn under," John said, finally handing me a cereal box.
I took it, and he kept going, "Now, Gil, ya see, he had a little wifey that would pester him about working days. She was a cop and worked evenings at that time, so they never saw each other. When married people can't align their genitals every now and then, it spells doom."
"A little too much information but sure," I said, shelving another box of Trix.
"Probably part of what happened with you and yours," he said. He wasn't wrong, but that didn't mean I wanted to hear it.
John kept on, "Gil finally got approved to move to nights. Little pay boost and a happy, 'fulfilled' wife should've made that man happy. But it didn't. I saw him a few months later, and he had changed. He might've been quiet when he was working with me, but he'd talk to you if you engaged. When I saw him that time, though, oh boy. He looked sick."
"Wasn't a fan of working nights?"
"Wasn't a fan of living anymore is the feeling I got," John said, "After some prodding, he got to talking with me some. Told me he missed days because the nights were messing with him. I thought it had to do with the schedule change, but that wasn't the case. He said he saw things in the dark he couldn't explain. Things that would turn James Brown into James White, ya dig?"
"I...dig," I said.
"Told me they got a call to an abandoned apartment building one night, around three in the morning. Wasn't unusual. Old buildings in the city are where hop-heads congregate and share drugs. Sometimes, the drugs are too much. Sometimes, they find a person passed out or, worse, dead. When you work in the ambo, you aren't scared of death like a civilian. You've been around it. Probably seen a few folks take their last breaths. It doesn't bother you the way Mother Nature intended it should."
He handed me another box, continuing his assist streak, and kept going, "Ambo pulled up, Gil stepped out and looked for someone to talk to. Nobody there, though. Not uncommon. Some people want to help but not be involved. There's not a soul around. He calls out, but nothing comes back. Tells me he turns to get back in the ambulance when he hears a scream from inside the run-down building. They're calling for help. He's gotta go in the abandoned building in the dark."
"No thanks," I said.
"But it don't bother a medic like that. Gil's done a million of these calls. No big deal. He runs into that building but doesn't come back out until twenty minutes later. Just goes missing. After five, the crew heads in to back him up but can't find him. Gil tells me his crew called the cops. It was like he had vanished."
"What happened?"
"I asked him and he got real quiet. Said he fell into some place that looked like here but wasn't here. Said he felt their eyes on him. Judging him. Told me they followed him home and wouldn't leave him be."
"Who?"
John shrugged, "He didn't say. Shut down after that and left. Just walked past me like I was shit on the sidewalk. He quit about a week later. Heard he had a stroke a year later and was a tombstone owner three months after that. Good guy, though."
"Your aversion to overnights makes a little more sense."
"Never in a million years. You don't want something like that coming after you."
"In my case, could it get much worse?" I said with a half-smile.
"Man, I wouldn't even joke about that," he said, making the sign of the cross, "You don't want that shit attachin' itself to you. With your luck, you'd bring him in here, and it'd hop over to me. I can't have a ghost crimping my style."
After a bit, he got called away to sign off on a delivery. I finished out my shift and headed out to the parking lot. When I exited the building and spotted my car, I froze. My doors were all open, and the interior lights were on. Someone had broken in.
I glanced around the lot to see if the thief was still around, but there wasn't another person near me. I walked over to the car and peered inside. My glovebox had been ripped open, and my registration was pulled out, but nothing else was missing.
I found little hand prints in the dirt all along the body and the windows. I held mine up for comparison, and they were about half the size. It must've been some tweens or teens who did this. Maybe they were going to steal some things and got cold feet. I contemplated calling the cops, but since nothing had happened and they wouldn't do anything anyway, there was no reason to delay sleep any longer than I had to. I closed all the doors and climbed inside.
I started the car and heard something rattling in the AC vents. I pulled out my phone and shined the light at the vent. There was a small piece of paper inside. I looked around my car for some tool to pull it out and only found an ink pen and a bent-up paperclip. After McGuyvering the vent for a bit, the paper finally came out.
I held it up and unfolded it. There was a handwritten note. It simply read, "I know you're here. I know you're hiding him. I will find you both, and then it'll be your turn to run the race. We all have to run at some point."
I had no idea what that meant, but my body still provided goosebumps. Who was trying to find me? Who was the second person? Why leave a note in my AC vent? What the hell did run the race mean? I hadn't run a race since elementary school and wasn't planning to do so any time soon. Did they mean the rat race? Because I was basically marathoning that motherfucker already.
"Jesus Christ," I said, shaking my head. "What else, universe?"
As if it were a well-practiced comedy routine, the universe responded. My back passenger door swung open, and I heard footsteps running away from my car. I sprung up and scrambled to get out. There wasn't anyone else in the lot that I could see, but very clearly, someone had been hiding in my backseat.
My nerves were shot already, and this was not something I wanted to deal with at the moment. My brain decided that to avoid a breakdown, I needed to shift into automatic mode and just get back to the safety of my apartment. I'd be more prepared to deal with this – whatever it was – in the morning.
Either that or I'd jump in front of a bus. Both sounded satisfying, albeit in different ways.
***
"There he is," Gloria said as soon as I turned down the hallway. I looked up and noticed a small cabal of my neighbors standing in a semi-circle, waiting for me. They all look displeased.
"Hey guys," I said, confused. "I miss an invite for a block party?"
"What do you have to say for yourself?"
"About?"
"Don't play dumb," another neighbor said, jabbing their finger in my direction.
"I'm not playing," I said, realizing the self-burn only after the words escaped my lips.
Gloria showed me the screen on her phone. It was a static shot of her door from across the hall. She pressed play, and nothing happened for a beat until something darted across the screen. That was the whole thing. I looked up at her, my face twisted up in confusion.
"Well," she said, "What do you have to say?"
"What was that?" I asked.
"That was you!" the pointing neighbor said, pointing harder than I thought possible.
"What?" I said, laughing. "Are you all serious?" They didn't laugh, and I realized they weren't joking. "How can you even tell it's me? It's a blur. Never mind the fact I've been at work for the last five hours. Plus, this blur is half my size. I get we're all weirded out about the Phantom Runner, but it's not me. I swear to God. I don't even have the energy to think about running, let alone the physical desire to."
"Then explain this," Gloria said, slightly swaying from the half bottle of Pinot Noir coursing through her blood. She rewound the video and froze it on a specific frame. I couldn't believe my eyes, but I was looking at...me. Or, rather, something pretending to be me.
"What the fuck?" I said, my jaw dropping.
"Still think we're lying?" the pointer said smugly.
"No, but, guys, this isn't me. I... I've been at work. Wanna see my schedule?"
I reached into my phone and pulled it out. There was an email with my work schedule that confirmed what I was saying. They relaxed, and, for the first time, anger gave way to fear. Their very plausible explanation was suddenly invalid. It left two implausible answers floating in the ether: either I had a pint-sized doppelganger terrorizing the hallways of my apartment, or a ghost was haunting the building.
"I'm...gonna go inside," the pointer said, walking back to their home. Everyone else drifted away until it was just Gloria and I standing alone in the hallway.
She looked at me and sighed, "I feel like an asshole," she said. "Sorry I accused you of causing the racket."
"If I had seen the video, I would've thought the same thing," I said. "We're good."
"What do you think it is?" she asked.
I shrugged and let out an exhausted sigh. "Honestly, Gloria, I've had a screwed-up night already, and this is the cherry on top of the shit sundae; forgive my language. I don't have the mental bandwidth to even comprehend what's on the video at the moment."
"Think it's after you?" she asked, though I suspected the wine had forced her to put that idea out into the universe. As I had already seen, the universe seemed to take requests on my behalf.
"Maybe it's after you?" I said, coming off a little meaner than I intended, but I didn't care. I left her there to contemplate that scenario and went into my apartment.
As soon as the door shut behind me, I felt on edge. Just because I didn't have the mental bandwidth to discuss the doppelganger didn't mean it wasn't dominating my thoughts. I saw the frame of the video. The damn ghost looked exactly like me. What could that possibly mean? I know I had wished for death, but I was very still alive. I had rent due to prove that.
Did I happen to live in a place haunted by a ghost that looked strikingly like me? Was it some kid with a passing resemblance just causing chaos? Was it something else I couldn't even comprehend – an alien? A clone? A secret government project?
There was a thumping coming from the hallway. The mini Usain Bolt was at it again. I knew the neighbors would ignore it. Since they had all thought it was me, which was proven to be untrue, they would avoid the running man from now on. While curious and confused by the creature, they'd never put themselves in harm's way to discover what it was. They were not a brave lot.
Neither was I, but maybe my life crumbling around me had forced my hand. I walked over to my door and swung it open. I hit record on my phone, stuck it out like a periscope, and glanced around the hallway. Nobody was there. No neighbors were looking. No person was running.
"You gotta stop, man. I need to go to sleep," I said to the empty space. No response, not that I was expecting one.
I turned to walk back in, and I caught something out of the corner of my eye. A face at the end of the hallway peeked around the corner. For a quick second, we locked eyes, and it was like I was looking into a mirror. This thing was me. But...how?
I tried to get it on video, but it ducked back into the shadows. I took that as a cue to shut and lock my door. My heart was racing, and I didn't want to think about this anymore, but I couldn't help it. There was a me in the hallway who enjoyed pestering my neighbors. Worse, they liked to run for some ungodly reason.
I put my phone on the counter, the video still rolling, when there was a knock at my door. It echoed in my near-empty apartment. I tried to ignore it and convince myself it was something else, but it wasn't. The ghost was knocking on my door. Even with my brain paralyzed, I couldn't help but think that it was awfully polite to knock.
Another knock, this one more forceful. I wondered if the neighbors thought I was making this up?
"I know you're in there," a voice said. It sounded just like me. "This is about the race. We all have to run the race. It's your turn now."
I froze. My legs went wobbly like a boxer on the brink of a blackout, but I stayed tall. I opened my mouth to speak and found the words dying in my throat. I grabbed a nearby bottle of water and took a chug.
"We all have to run the race."
"What race?" I choked out, "What are you talking about?"
"Open up. They're in there already, and I need to get them."
I glanced all around my empty apartment. I didn't see anyone else in here. I didn't hear anything. Whatever this thing was, it was lying. I grabbed my phone and held it in my hand. I wanted to document this to prove that I wasn't crazy.
“Did you leave the note?”
“I know they’re in there with you,” it repeated.
"There's no one in here," I said.
"They're hiding. I think I know where. I can hear them."
"You've gotta get out of here," I said. "There's nothing here, and you're scaring people."
"I'm scared, and you should be! You have to run the race, man! Open up, and I can show you."
The handle started to shake. I peered through the keyhole and only saw the top of the other me's head. They began to shoulder the door, and it crunched against my nose. I screamed out in pain and stumbled back. I tripped over my feet and landed hard on my ass.
The thing slammed into the door two more times, shaking the walls. The strength seemed unnatural. On the third hit, the door burst open. I finally got a view of the thing. It was me. Scaled down by half, but it was me. We both seemed shocked.
"You're so much taller up close," the other me said.
"Who the fuck are you?"
I felt a buzzing in my feet that seemed to climb up my body until it reached my brain. There was an intense pain that rippled through the folds of my mind. Through the pain, I could hear a disembodied voice whisper, "We all must run the race. We all have to run. Chase it. Chase yourself." It felt like my skull was going to split in two. I clutched the sides of my head and let out a primal scream that hurt my own ears.
Then it was gone. But I could still feel the echoes in my mind. "We all have to run the race. We all have to run." The thought would waver between making no sense and making complete sense. One second, I was questioning what was happening to my mind, and the next, all I felt was the desire to continue the race.
"There he is!" the other me yelled, pointing at the hallway.
I glanced over and saw another version of me standing in the hallway. It was half the size of the other me that had broken into my place. When tiny me locked eyes with my intruder, he ran for the open hallway closet.
The other me followed, screaming that it would catch the little bastard if it was the last thing he'd do. I pushed myself up to my feet and felt queasy. I watched as the other me ran head-first into the closet without slowing. I expected to hear a loud thump as it hit the back wall but none came.
"We all have to run the race," the voice in my head said, soothing my nerves. "It's your time to run the race."
I moved down the hallway, each footfall echoing loudly in the empty apartment, each step bringing me closer to the closet door. Something was drawing me there. The voice's words echoed in my mind as well: "We all have to run the race. It's your turn now."
I grabbed the door and stopped. Something was compelling me to move forward. To go into the closet. To chase myself. To run the race.
"No," I whispered and yanked my hand from the door. I pulled out my still recording phone, and stared into the camera. My face was devoid of color, and you could see the fear etched into me. "I'm freaking out because...because…"
I stopped. I felt an invisible hand grab my body and tug. "Because...because if I don't run the race, something bad will happen. I have to chase it. I...I have to."
My phone dropped from my hand, and I didn’t care. The force pulling me forward stopped but my body kept going. I could feel the last strands of my rational mind splintering. My thoughts became focused on one thing: I had to catch myself, find out what was happening, and run the race. If I ran, maybe I'd win.
I needed a win.
I walked into the back of the closet and felt a door handle sticking out of the wall. I'd been in that closet a million times before and never had seen this. But a sense of calm washed over me. This….this was supposed to be here. This was perfectly fine.
I turned the handle and pulled open the invisible door. In front of me was a hallway that looked strikingly like the one outside my apartment. At the end of the hallway, I saw Gloria step out of their home to leave for the night. She was huge. Twice my size, easy.
Another door opened, and I saw...me—a giant version of me. The Hulk version of me was getting ready to go to the grocery store for work. I watched as the giant Gloria and giant me joked and laughed. I was stunned.
I stared, and a new thought came to me. I have to find the smaller me and talk to it. I needed to find out if there's a way out of this...this….
"It's your turn to run," the voice said.
Calm embraced me. "It's my turn to run," I repeated. As the giant me took off and the giant Gloria re-entered her apartment, the hallway beckoned.
"We all have to run the race," I said softly, "It's my turn now."
I started running.

I have very sensitive allergy prone dry eyes and I often have trouble with mascara hurting my eyes or just straight up leaving a rash. I am not sure if I’m allergic to the ingredients but the only one that doesn’t burn is the light camera lashes by tarte but it’s on the expensive end of mascaras. Is there any out there like it? I usually wear brown mascaras too because it’s more natural not as dramatic for everyday wear.
Also my eyelids get itchy from sunscreen. The super goop unseen one isn’t too bad. It’s just feels a little more oilier on my skin. I’ve tried many sunscreen but the Korean ones tend to be better for my eyes but I have to order from yesstyle. Any ideas?

I have get scammed: https://youtu.be/wg3Ea-To-vY?si=JF0lwFb810kIEde5
I have reported in every discord trading sub, I have roll a cigarette, and I have try to ask a free GSB here. Someone text me and offer me a GHB because he/she was get scammed too a few years ago. Isn’t the same mask, but is full of good will. Fasnacht is coming up soon he/she said, you will recover your mask. Repairing good will for a well cooked scam. I have returned the GHB, because I got blessed.
Literally first try after reporting, and this happen: https://youtu.be/K1IcRVoqcgM?si=TptskxyNbny_Murb
Red Asylum, in the first try after all the shit.
I want to return the good will. I’ll keep my Red Asylum, but I want to give a few Asylum dresses.
I have 2 Forest, 1 Yellow, and 1 brown to giveaway.
If you got scammed recently, and you have reported it, you got one. If no one has get scammed recently, or doesn’t post, the most comical nickname gets a dress. Or I don’t know, whoever needing it to wear or for his camp. Don’t get this to flip it. Or do it, today is karma day…

I'm new to learning about cross dressing. The only thing I am having difficulty with is finding clothes in the styles, colours and sizes I'm after. For example; I'm a size 18-20 however I'm struggling to find midi and maxi skirts and maxi dresses in satin fabric in plus sizes.
The colours I'm looking for are; light blue, cobalt blue, royal blue, yellow, white, silver, black with white polka dots, white with black polka dots, light blue with white polka dots and cobalt blue with white polka dots. The style for the skirts are bias cut with no splits and sleeveless and short sleeve maxi dresses with no splits either

Hi there! My name is Elliot, a 30-year-old British man with a cheeky sense of humor. I'm six feet tall, with brown hair, glasses, and a spare tire that I'm working on losing.
My friends would describe me as a funny person who can get himself out of situations with a quick wit and a big smirk. I believe laughter is the best medicine, and I love making people laugh.
I absolutely love movies, from old black and white classics to new theme park-like blockbusters. I'm currently going through a bunch of Alfred Hitchcock movies, and my new favorite is Under Capricorn. It would be perfect to find another movie lover to share a tub of popcorn with.
Who doesn't love a good video game? Playing Baldurs Gate 3 and TemTem From competitive games like CS:GO, Valorant, and Dota 2 to indie darlings like Fez or Project Zomboid, I'm always up for a challenge.
A good TV show with a cup of hot chocolate is the best. Currently, I'm watching The Sopranos for the first time, and it's blowing my mind.
Love going to watch stand-up comedy and also watching it at home. Some of my favorites include Norm Macdonald, Joey Diaz, Ronny Chieng, Dave Chappelle, and Jimmy Carr.
I used to read a book a month, but I'm finding it harder to keep at it, partly due to my ADHD. I wear tinted pink glasses due to my dyslexia and sensitivity to light, but I'm currently trying to get back into it
In my spare time, I enjoy painting, sketching, and 3D modeling. I did Video Game Art in university, I'm looking for a new job. My goal is to get a better-paying job, which will lead to getting a house with a potential family.
I have two cacti, one for eight years and a new one I got this year. I would love pets, but unfortunately, my landlord doesn't allow them.
Distance doesn't matter to me, but I do hope to meet up at some point. I'm looking for somebody who will watch movies with me and be my inspiration to get out of bed in the morning. Please be between 22-35 and single.
I'm hoping to build a life with somebody who has their own friends, hobbies, and obligations. I'm looking for a motivator since I struggle with concentration. A big personality to encourage me in my endeavors would be amazing.
What's your favorite movie? What's your go-to comedy special? What's the last book you read?
I'm looking for a potential relationship or friends. Let's chat and see where things go.

Hi there! My name is Elliot, a 30-year-old British man with a cheeky sense of humor. I'm six feet tall, with brown hair, glasses, and a spare tire that I'm working on losing.
My friends would describe me as a funny person who can get himself out of situations with a quick wit and a big smirk. I believe laughter is the best medicine, and I love making people laugh.
I absolutely love movies, from old black and white classics to new theme park-like blockbusters. I'm currently going through a bunch of Alfred Hitchcock movies, and my new favorite is Under Capricorn. It would be perfect to find another movie lover to share a tub of popcorn with.
Who doesn't love a good video game? Playing Baldurs Gate 3 and TemTem From competitive games like CS:GO, Valorant, and Dota 2 to indie darlings like Fez or Project Zomboid, I'm always up for a challenge.
A good TV show with a cup of hot chocolate is the best. Currently, I'm watching The Sopranos for the first time, and it's blowing my mind.
Love going to watch stand-up comedy and also watching it at home. Some of my favorites include Norm Macdonald, Joey Diaz, Ronny Chieng, Dave Chappelle, and Jimmy Carr.
I used to read a book a month, but I'm finding it harder to keep at it, partly due to my ADHD. I wear tinted pink glasses due to my dyslexia and sensitivity to light, but I'm currently trying to get back into it
In my spare time, I enjoy painting, sketching, and 3D modeling. I did Video Game Art in university, I'm looking for a new job. My goal is to get a better-paying job, which will lead to getting a house with a potential family.
I have two cacti, one for eight years and a new one I got this year. I would love pets, but unfortunately, my landlord doesn't allow them.
Distance doesn't matter to me, but I do hope to meet up at some point. I'm looking for somebody who will watch movies with me and be my inspiration to get out of bed in the morning. Please be between 22-35 and single.
I'm hoping to build a life with somebody who has their own friends, hobbies, and obligations. I'm looking for a motivator since I struggle with concentration. A big personality to encourage me in my endeavors would be amazing.
What's your favorite movie? What's your go-to comedy special? What's the last book you read?
I'm looking for a potential relationship or friends. Let's chat and see where things go.

Hi there! My name is Elliot, a 30-year-old British man with a cheeky sense of humor. I'm six feet tall, with brown hair, glasses, and a spare tire that I'm working on losing.
My friends would describe me as a funny person who can get himself out of situations with a quick wit and a big smirk. I believe laughter is the best medicine, and I love making people laugh.
I absolutely love movies, from old black and white classics to new theme park-like blockbusters. I'm currently going through a bunch of Alfred Hitchcock movies, and my new favorite is Under Capricorn. It would be perfect to find another movie lover to share a tub of popcorn with.
Who doesn't love a good video game? Playing Baldurs Gate 3 and TemTem From competitive games like CS:GO, Valorant, and Dota 2 to indie darlings like Fez or Project Zomboid, I'm always up for a challenge.
A good TV show with a cup of hot chocolate is the best. Currently, I'm watching The Sopranos for the first time, and it's blowing my mind.
Love going to watch stand-up comedy and also watching it at home. Some of my favorites include Norm Macdonald, Joey Diaz, Ronny Chieng, Dave Chappelle, and Jimmy Carr.
I used to read a book a month, but I'm finding it harder to keep at it, partly due to my ADHD. I wear tinted pink glasses due to my dyslexia and sensitivity to light, but I'm currently trying to get back into it
In my spare time, I enjoy painting, sketching, and 3D modeling. I did Video Game Art in university, I'm looking for a new job. My goal is to get a better-paying job, which will lead to getting a house with a potential family.
I have two cacti, one for eight years and a new one I got this year. I would love pets, but unfortunately, my landlord doesn't allow them.
Distance doesn't matter to me, but I do hope to meet up at some point. I'm looking for somebody who will watch movies with me and be my inspiration to get out of bed in the morning. Please be between 22-35 and single.
I'm hoping to build a life with somebody who has their own friends, hobbies, and obligations. I'm looking for a motivator since I struggle with concentration. A big personality to encourage me in my endeavors would be amazing.
What's your favorite movie? What's your go-to comedy special? What's the last book you read?
I'm looking for a potential relationship or friends. Let's chat and see where things go.

timestamp
Hi everyone, I'll be moving for college soon, so I'm trying to get rid of series I'm not particularly fond of. All are either unread or read once. Most volumes are priced at 30% off the price listed on the back. Bundles including the word shipped include media mail shipping in the price. I am also open to negotiations and can bundle volumes. Might split series, not sure.
Please note, I will be out of town after Thursday 5/23, so anything after then I will hold off on accepting payment until I return around the 20th of June (I'll PM to ask if you still want it).
Pricing is 30% off typical volumes and then larger discounts for more popular series and ones with slight damage (mentioned and pictured).
PM with questions, offers, and photo requests
Manga Sets:

• Chainsaw Man 1-11 pics
  • Notes: G4-5
  • $74 shipped
  • $6 each
• Komi Can't Communicate 1-5, 7 pics
  • Notes: G4, slight shelfware and slight yellowing on top
  • $48 shipped
  • $7 each
• Kaguya-same Love is War 1-6 pics
  • Notes: Essentially G5, barely visible shelfware on a couple
  • $48 shipped
  • $7 each
• Jujutsu Kaisen 1-5 pics
  • Notes: G4-5, almost perfect aside slightest crease on the top of vol. 3's spine
  • $35 shipped
  • $6 each
• Vinland Saga 1-2 pics
  • Notes: G4, almost perfect except vol. 1 has slight damage on the bottom of the spine as pictured and small peeled seam on bottom of vol. 2 (pictured)
  • $30 shipped
  • $12 each

Standalone / Single Manga Volumes

• Nana Kaoru 1 pics
  • Notes: Unread, G4 since the dustcover has a small rip that is taped (pictured)
  • $23 shipped
  • $18 without shipping
• Levius (standalone) pics
  • Notes: G5
  • $30 shipped
  • $25 without shipping
• 5 Centimeters Per Second (standalone) pics
  • Notes: G5, has Kinokuniya pricetag on back (pictured)
  • $17 shipped
  • $13 without shipping
• Burn the Witch (standalone) pics
  • Notes: G5
  • $17 shipped
  • $14 without shipping
• The Quintessential Quintuplets 1 pics
  • Notes: G4-5, slight yellowing on top
  • $10 shipped
  • $7 without shipping
• My Hero Academia 28 pics
  • Notes: G5
  • $8 shipped
  • $5 without shipping
  • Free if you have a larger purchase, just lmk

Light Novels

• Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny-Girl Senpai 1-5 pics
  • Notes: G4-5, minor shelfware, vol.5 has books a million tag
  • $58 shipped
  • $10.50 each
• Trapped in a Dating Sim: The World of Otome Games is Tough for Mobs 1-2 pics
  • Notes: G4, V1 has yellowing on top only from the bookstore, V2 has a little dent on upper right spine
  • $22 shipped
  • $8.50 each
• I'm In Love With the Villainess (Yuri) 1-4 pics
  • Notes: G4-5, Vol. 2 has yellowing on top from bookstore
  • $49 shipped
  • $10.50 each
• I Want to Eat Your Pancreas (standalone) pics
  • Notes: G5
  • $14 shipped
  • $10.50 alone
• The Devil is a Part-Timer! 1-2 pics
  • Notes: G4 - Might be slight yellowing on top or might be the page color?, a little wear on the sides of the spine on vol. 1, vol 2 is pristine and unread
  • $22 shipped
  • $9 each
• My Youth Romantic Comedy is Wrong, As I Expected 1 pics
  • Notes: G5, unread
  • $13 shipped
  • $10 without shipping

When it comes to shipping in Bleach, many fans of the anime will make really good ships, and also not so good ones. Take the UraYoru (Urahara x Yoruichi) ship for example (which is the main focus for this reddit post). I think it's really good. And I'll explain that right now.
We know that Urahara and Yoruichi are childhood friends. They grew up together. Although we don't know much, we could possibly get some flash back scenes to their childhood in the upcoming TYBW anime adaptation, as Kubo has been working with Studio Pierrot to include anime exclusive scenes. So there's a chance we'll definitely get flash backs of Yoruichi and Urahara's childhood together, which would also make their ship seem more agreeable.
Looking at their personalities, they are very similar in nature. Both characters often have teasing attitudes, and both Kisuke and Yoruichi like to mess around when in a battle or are apart of some type of training as well. For example, Yoruichi in the TYBW arc when she was fighting Askin. She was flirting with him at the beginning of their fight. Kisuke also was a bit teasing towards Ichigo in a playful voice when he was helping Ichigo regain his shinigami powers after Rukia was taken by Byakuya and Renji back to the Soul Society.
But both characters do get serious when it is necessary, like when both Urahara and Yoruichi fought against Aizen alongside Isshin. Even without Isshin, they are both a great duo overall. For example, when they saved Ichigo, Orihime, and Chad from Ulquiorra and Yammy. They were very well in sync, easily dominating Yammy on the battlefield.
Moving on, their appearance and clothing are also similar, in the sense that they have complementary colours. Kisuke's hair is blonde (a type of yellow). Yoruichi's hair is purple. Kisuke's eyes are grey. Yoruichi's eyes are gold. Kisuke's clothing is green. Yoruichi's clothing is typically orange. See where I'm going with this?
But like I mentioned in my last post (which was unfortunately removed from the Bleach reddit community), many Bleach fans who ship Yoruichi with Soi-Fon say that after TYBW, Yoruichi isn't talking to kisuke, after he forced her to enter the Shunryū Kokubyō Senki form in their fight against Askin. Again... its not true, because in the Can't Fear Your Own World light novels, Yoruichi meets up with Kisuke un her cat form, at the end of the 3'rd volume, where, after they talk about if Hisagi should know the truth about the Soul King, Kisuke mentioned how he's no better than Mayuri Kurotsuchi. Yoruichi then said afterwards that she would always be their for Kisuke, and if he were to ever go rouge and rebel against the soul society, she'd kill him herself. That's just a summary of what they said.
And let's also not forget... IF Kubo decides to continue the manga and start the Hell arc, there's no way Yoruichi wouldn't be talking to Kisuke, because the one-shot hell chapter we got is set 12 years after the TYBW arc. So that would be more than enough time for them to reconnect and strengthen their bond.
Now, I'm not saying that Yoruichi and Kisuke are gonna be a definite couple in the future. But with all the points I've just mentioned, it's clear that Yoruichi wouldn't end up with Soi-Fon. As I clearly stated in my last post, Yoruichi doesn't have feelings for Soi-Fon, even if Soi-Fon has feelings for her. Yoruichi isn't a lesbian either, because she wouldn't have teased Ichigo, not would she have flirted with Askin. Yoruichi literally threw away her royalty and status to save Kisuke from being convicted of Aizen's crimes. Soi-Fon eventually hated Yoruichi for over 100 years, when she left Soi-Fon behind. And finally... Soi-Fon was a literal CHILD when she first met yoruichi, making the YoruSoi ship very weird (like I mentioned last time). So in conclusion, Yoruichi is a better fit for Kisuke.
Let me know if I had missed anything out that could further support the UraYoru ship. And if anyone disagrees with what I say, feel free to comment.