Photography

Photography

Cedric Blythe (From: Mortiferum Aqua)

Cedric works with his partner, Andy Elliott, and their specialty is demolition. They were hired by a mining company to start a new mine for sapphires in Madagascar. In the partnership, he is the outspoken one and he pushed Andy into many situations. Where Andy is determined and pragmatic, Cedric is more carefree and flighty.

They met while growing up in an orphanage and have stuck together ever since. Because of Cedric’s past, he doesn’t like to care for anything deeply, since everything he has known has always been taken. However, he is very protective of Andy and always fought off the bullies that attacked Andy. Growing up, he was stronger and bolder than Andy and he always feels the need to watch over Andy.

Cedric is as tall as Andy (about 6’2’’) and just as muscular. He is always clean-shaven and his dark brown hair is cropped short. His smile is very playful and it reveals his dimples. He has clear blue eyes. Women find him very handsome and flock to him. He is somewhat of a playboy and can get any girl he wants.

Strengths: Spontaneous, Protective, Bold, Confident, Fighter

Weaknesses: Not trusting, Bitter, Arrogant, Rebellious, Craves Attention

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Andy Elliot (From: Mortiferum Aqua)

Andy works with his partner, Cedric Blythe, and their specialty is demolition. They were hired by a mining company to start a new mine for sapphires in Madagascar. He is fluent in French, which he learned before going to Madagascar, so he could communicate with some of the locals.

Orphaned as a child, Andy grew up in a poor orphanage. He met Cedric there and they weathered the storms brought on by the bullies in school and living in a run-down orphanage. Because of his poverty growing up, he is driven to succeed, so he would never experience such hardship again.

Andy has broad shoulders and is very muscular from labor-intensive jobs. He is tall (about 6’2’’). His chiseled jaw is always covered in a shadow of a beard and his dirty blonde hair seems to always look disheveled. He has striking green eyes that darken when he is angry.

Strengths: Compassionate, Hard Working, Protective, Loyal, Independent

Weaknesses: Not trusting, Pride, Bad Temper, Stubborn

Mortiferum Aqua (Part Two)

Andy covered his ears as the dynamite went off. Dirt rained down around him and he peeked around the boulders he hid behind. Cedric, his partner, slapped him on the back in celebration, a little too hard. He rubbed his sore shoulder as they both walked over to inspect their handy work.

“It looks like one more round should do the trick.” Cedric beamed. “That’s even better than last time!”

“Yeah, it looks like you are right. You ready to place the next batch?”

“I was born ready.” Cedric couldn’t contain his excitement.

They placed the explosives and wound the fuses. Andy click open his lighter and touched it to the string. The sizzle started immediately and both men ran for cover.

The boom reverberated through the valley and Andy eagerly went to the hole. He waved his hand to clear the smoke and gaped at the sight in front of him. The chasm they worked hard at creating was filling with water.

“We must have hit an underground reserve.” Cedric grunted in disappointment.

“This is just great. It will set us back days.” Andy growled.

The smoke continued to clear to reveal the disaster. Andy hung his head, wishing their work hadn’t just doubled.

“Hey, what’s that at the bottom?” Cedric pointed.

Andy took a closer look.

His eyes widened and panic raced up his spine. Without thinking, he raced down to the bottom of the hole. He splashed into the waste-deep water and scooped the unconscious girl into his arms. He waded out of the water and started to climb up the steep incline. His soaked boots made it difficult not to slip and he toppled to one knee. Pain radiated up his thigh and he gritted his teeth. Looking down, he checked to see if the fragile girl had stirred, but she hadn’t. He feared she might already be dead, but he kept climbing.

Confessions of a Fast Food Employee (Muffled Insanity)

Some people are just plain nasty sometimes. I really wish I could refuse service to those who just act noticeably mean, but I have to just smile and take it.

One day, this man drove up to the speaker box in the drive through. I said my customary greeting and waited for the order to start. When I didn’t immediately hear anything, I continued to help the customer at my window.

Sometimes there are too many cars, so the next car in line isn’t all the way to the speaker box. The headset will go off as if someone is there, but no one responds, so the best thing I’ve learned is to try again when the cars have pulled up.

So, I assumed something like that had happened. Just in case, I tried one more time because sometimes people are just slow to open their window and didn’t hear me the first time, but there was still no response. I went back to my work.

Very little time passed and the guy at the speaker box is obnoxiously honking his horn repeatedly. He yells at the speaker box, frustrated that no one had spoken up, when I had. I tried again. He yelled again.

One of my other co-workers tried and he managed to hear her and placed his order. As she tried to repeat his order back to confirm it was right, he sped up to my window and ignored her.

When I eventually opened my window to him, which I was not looking forward to at all, he promptly complained about how muffled our speaker box is. He demanded that we fix it and proceeded to complain at me. I just nodded and acted concerned, but I couldn’t wait till he shut up.

No one else has had problems. He was just one of those people that come through and have to find something to complain about. I don’t care how bad your day has been, there is no excuse to treat people poorly, especially when I am serving you. 

Photography

Gwen Clayton (From: Mortiferum Aqua)

Gwen has an uncontrollable curiosity that has gotten her in trouble many times. She is an archeologist that is widely criticized for her past failures and bad luck. No one will work with her and to recover her career, she finds herself in Madagascar, searching for anything that would give her acclaim in the archeological circles.

Her father was a great archeologist that Gwen looked up to. He took her on many of his trips and she learned everything from him. When she was nineteen and away at college, her father died from a cave collapse and she lost the only parent she had ever known. Her mother left when she was young, but she barely remembered her.

She has an athletic build and isn’t afraid to get her hands dirty. Her strawberry blonde hair is always tied back in a ponytail, but wisps constantly fall into her face and frustrate her. She has green eyes with brown hints and full lips.

Strengths: Curious, Risk Taker, Determined, Intelligent, Perceptive

Weaknesses: Bitter, Insecure, Impulsive

Mortiferum Aqua (Part One)

The water rushed into the tiny cavern. Its cold tentacles hungrily gripped Gwen in its tight embrace. The roar pieced her ears and her screams died on her lips.

The water slammed her against the sharp edges of the wall. She felt the deep gash in her back. Warmth drifted down her legs. She knew it was her blood draining out. It pulled her once more. She sped farther into the dark caves. Her head smashed against the end of the tunnel. Water pummeled her until her lungs had emptied.

She repeatedly gasped for breath, but couldn’t get enough air into her starved lungs. The empty space in the cavern continued to shrink. Before long, she would run out of air to breathe. Hot tears dripped down her cold cheeks. She knew she was about to die.

She took one last gulp of air as the water streamed over her head and utter darkness surrounded her.

Musings of the Smart Girl with Pink Hair and High Heels (Screaming Out)

Voices ring out in enjoyment. I am on the outside just listening. Their laughter mocks me and I wish I could scream until they would leave. I am so sick of them being around.

My ears feel close to bleeding. I can’t stand it.

They are all in the next room, oblivious to my hatred. I just want to be alone in a quiet house, but that is too much to ask. The noise is suffocating me and I need an escape.

Sometimes I wish I could claw off my ears, so I could have the silence I desire. Or I want to scream until my lungs pop. Sometimes I even wish I could bang on the wall until my hands break.

I just want them to go. 

Musings of the Smart Girl with Pink Hair and High Heels (My Plea)

Stop holding me to standards I once could meet. I’m not myself and the more you push me to do the things I once could, the more I will shut down. I hate myself for disappointing people, but I can’t meet your good-intentioned expectations. I’m sick and until I’m better, you are just making me worse.

I’m suffocating under the burden you have placed on me. The more you push me, the less air I have to breathe. The pressure is getting to me and I feel as if I am dying inside because of you.

I know you want to help. You want to fix me, so you give me your unwanted advice. I know your intentions are pure, but it just hurts me. I can’t help how I am. It’s a medical condition that I can change, but you act like there is a simple fix. There’s not.

So, please, just stop. I’m begging you.

Musings of the Smart Girl with Pink Hair and High Heels (Something's Wrong With Me)

Something happened to me.

I was diagnosed with a disease that messed with my hormones. This forced me to plummet into depression and it doused me with apathy. I wanted nothing more than to sleep the days away. A dark cloud clung to my back and I couldn’t get through the fog.

They gave me medication to normalize it, but I still feel its menacing claws digging into my spine. I try to be what people want me to be; what they know I can be, but it just weighs me down more. I can’t seem to overcome the monster devouring my life.

Something is very wrong with me and I don’t know what to do to prevent this trend of destruction. I feel like I can’t make myself be who I once was and it’s killing me.

The longer I stay like this, the more I will disappoint others and that hurts most of all.

Confessions of a Fast Food Employee (Pet Peeve 1)

Working in the fast food business, I have many pet peeves. One such irritation is how people try to garner my attention when they are parked at my window in the drive thru…

I have given them their food with the ketchup they requested in the bag. The window shuts and I am preparing for the next customer to pull up, which means I have turned away from the window. The person at the window honks their car horn obnoxiously, but I can’t hear it through the building. Their impatience grows and I return to the window, after only about a minute, and expect to see my next customer. The window opens and I glimpse the upset face of the first customer.

All they wanted was more ketchup.

I find it just so rude when customers honk their horn or tap impatiently at the window. The first I can’t even hear, so it is extremely pointless for them to do, and the second just gives the appearance that I am a bad employee that isn’t trying to take care of their needs. Both options are just plain rude in my opinion and they make me so angry every time I see a customer do them. In my mind, I see those forms of trying to get my attention as impatience, or that the customer thinks the world revolves around them.

I know that sometimes they are just innocent acts that the customer thinks are the only way to get my attention, but if they just patiently waited for a small amount of time, I will eventually be back at the window and happy to help them.

A harmless, unthreatening way to get someone’s attention would just be to wave, which people rarely ever do, probably since they are already coming through a drive thru and want everything handed to them as quickly as possible.

-The Girl in the Fast Food Uniform

Musings of the Smart Girl with Pink Hair and High Heels (She Admitted It)

She admitted it.

He has been interested in her for so long. I hoped he would overcome those feelings and finally see that I stood by waiting for him.

I had left for the summer, only to come back and see she had changed her mind again. She decided she wanted him, even after I informed her of my feelings and we both knew he would choose her.

Late into the night, we were talking about relationships. She found out that I am the type of girl who will probably only be in one relationship in my whole life and she admitted she couldn’t see herself as the same. She unintentionally admitted she most likely won’t stick with him.

I, so badly, want to warn him. He is plunging head-first into disaster and opening his heart to this friend of mine that says she’ll hurt him. I want to save him the trouble, but I can’t do such a wretched thing to a girl I called friend.

Now, I will just sit by and watch the sparks and explosions. By the time she is done with him, I shall have hopefully moved on. Poor love-struck boy: he never stood a chance.

Musings of the Smart Girl with Pink Hair and High Heels (Tonight)

Tonight’s the night. Our friendship will come down to the few hours we spend together this evening. It could either break apart completely, or mend.

Tonight I will see them together. Hopefully it won’t break my heart once more.

They will send each other secret looks and timid glances. They may hold hands, or sit close. They just might rip me apart without even trying.

Tonight, I will sit by my single self and long for what they have. They are beginning the long journey into love and all I can do is stand by to watch what I wanted so dearly.

She is the victor of a game she didn’t know she played. She couldn’t be happier with the prize that felt into her hands, as I feel the knife of betrayal sink into the soft skin of my neck.

Tonight will be the night when I find out if I can live with their budding relationship.

Musings of the Smart Girl with Pink Hail and High Heels (Near Collision)

Sometimes life can be like a near car crash.

You want to turn right. The light in front of you is a bright red and you check to see if the coast is clear. You glance left and scan the surrounding lanes of traffic. It appears to be clear. You push the gas.

As your car accelerates, you see a truck appear out of thin air, coming straight for you. It’s too late. You are already in the intersection and you just have to go. You pray the other car notices you in your blunder and slams on the breaks.

Your heart is racing, palms sweating. A crash could have just occurred. Your mind races through all the horrible possibilities and you slowly exhale.

In life, we make mistakes. We are rich in mistakes and, most of the time, we harm people when we make those failures. All we can ask for is forgiveness and all we need is to learn from our blunders.

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Musings of the Smart Girl with Pink Hair and High Heels (Nowhere To Go)

Every time I look in her eyes, all I think of is how she carelessly hurt me.

She is happy with her choices and unaware she did any wrong. I don’t want to be the person to ruin that, I was her friend. I just let the anger and pain simmer below the surface. It bubbles underneath my skin and I fear that it will one day burn into hate.

She is so ignorant, but I can’t bring her up to speed without needlessly hurting her, as she did to me. I have to be the better person, but that means my pain just grows in the dark places where I hide it.

There’s no easy fix. There’s no easy stream to glide down. No traffic-free highway.

All that’s left is for me so sit back and watch her joy. The joy she stole.

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Musings of the Smart Girl with Pink Hair and High Heels (Conundrum)

Look at my face. Do you think you can really see anything? You are only looking at what I choose to show you.

I don’t want you to care about me. I don’t want you to take an interest. I don’t want to care about you or your life. I just want to be blissfully alone.

Now, look into my eyes. Do you glimpse the girl crying behind those pupils? Do you see the broken human being screaming out for you to care?

I want you to care about me. I want you to take an interest, so much so that you see past the mask I’ve plastered to my face.

Notice my absence from your gatherings. Do you take a note?

I hate you people. I just loathe my kind for our selfishness. I hate how your needs will always be put before mine, even at the expense of harming me.

Take a look at how I stick to the outskirts of conversation. Do you imagine what is going on in my head?

I just want to escape. I want to leave all of y’all behind and run away. I just want to escape the suffocation of companionship.

Look once more at me. Do you even see anything?

Confessions of a Fast Food Employee (Intro)

About a year and a half ago, I got my first job. I hated every minute of the searching and I loathed my first few weeks. The early days were brutal because I constantly made mistakes, which is natural. However, I have always despised myself when I mess up, so I desired for nothing more than to quit.

Now, a year and a half later, I am looking towards a promotion and I have quite a few stories to tell. To give some brief background, I work in fast food and I can say first-hand how much this job stinks.

A month or so ago, I rewatched the movie, The Help, and I was inspired to try to create something similar, but in the perspective of a fast food employee. Our society greatly needs this. So many people come through our restaurant and have no common decency. They will treat me like an annoying gnat they wish they could squash!

So, I’m no longer going to sit by silently as they run right over me.

-Girl in the Fast Food Uniform

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Musings of the Smart Girl with Pink Hair and High Heels (Breaking Down)

Can a heart break even more, once it has been shattered? And when it finally does, can the pieces ever be salvaged?

Is there any hope for those who have had so many knocks that they just want to give into the evil? Can they be redeemed before they choose the wrong path? Do they want to?

Anger burns deep inside me. I know I have to forgive, but the fury wraps me in its warm embrace and beckons me to stay. I hear the whispers of hate and they are tempting me to never forgive.

My rational sense tries to feebly remind me that forgiveness will set me free. Once before, it saved me from an eternity of pain, but I can’t seem to get past the hurt that was carelessly inflicted.

The damage is done. A friendship may crumble and one day possibly be rebuilt, but it could never again rise to the glory it once had been.