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I’m 18+ and all characters and participants must be 18+
It's well known by now that a labyrinth can be found in the woods past the last village on the road. Tales tell of great riches within, though these tales rarely seem to agree on even the simplest details, and they're the only thing most people know about this place, and none have successfully returned to set the record straight.
There is a little more known about the labyrinth, known to a select few, a group which includes myself. The labyrinth is a maze of ever shifting connections. No map could ever be created, and anyone who finds themselves within would never be able to retrace their steps. Contained within the endless chambers are all sorts of environments, from the most expected, to the most out of place and fantastical areas. And all of this has been strung together by Talaghan, the goddess of depravity. See, the twisted catacombs aren't designed to protect a treasure by killing adventurers, they're designed to keep them there forever, bouncing between an infinite number of chambers which will have them committing a myriad of perverse acts, all for her pleasure.
And how do I know this? I am part of Talaghan's church, a worshiper of hers, and a follower of her beliefs. To us, this labyrinth isn't something to be feared, or a fortune to be won, it's a place of pilgrimage, to head into its depths is the ultimate act of worship, to dedicate oneself to perpetual acts of depravity to please Talaghan. And a pilgrimage I have decided to take.
I sit in the quaint tavern in the village at the end of the road, dressed in my religious garb. A black hooded robe that covers my entire body, but hugs much of it tightly, stretching over it as it is designed to do, showing off to anyone who looks on, and able to be removed very quickly indeed, by simply pulling it over one's head. I finish my drink, and tip the barmaid generously, since I doubt I'll have much use for the gold where I'm headed. The path into the woods is well trodden, with plenty of less informed individuals ready to try their luck, but I know what I'm walking into, and I couldn't be more excited.
Hopefully that has given you an idea of what I'm looking for here. The idea is that I'll be playing the woman who is headed into the labyrinth, with the express goal of worshipping her goddess by submitting to everything that goes on in their. As for you, well naturally you'll be in charge of whatever might be found in the labyrinth!
Kinks: cum, cum eating, cum food, cum play, cream pie,bdsm, bondage, forced, body writing, spanking, cuddling, degradation, rough partners, sizeplay, dominant partners, toys, multiple partners, spit roasting, mating press, full Nelson,frenching,rimming,body oil,bestiality,monsters,tentacles,water sports,wax play,sex machines,being filmed,cosplay,NTR,petplay,exhibitionism and biting and pretty much anything that isn’t my limits
Limits:
Scat,gore,vore,hyper sizes,necro and vomit
If that's of interest to you, please get in touch at Demondork on Kik and come with any questions you have, clarifications you need and ideas you'd like to share. Just please do more than just tell me you're interested. Don't worry about responding slowly/late, I still want to hear from you. Finally, please no chat requests, I will simply ignore them.

I’m 19F.
I had a day out planned, and was waiting at the train station. There weren’t many people on the platform, so I noticed when a man, maybe fifty or sixty years old, came and stood a few metres away from me. I didn’t think much of it until he started asking me if the next train was going to [destination]; I told him no, although the one after that would make a stop there.
I assumed that the conversation was finished, and a couple of minutes passed. Out of nowhere, he turned to me and said he liked my dress. It was a new dress that I was wearing for the first time: a really pretty summer dress that I’d just treated myself to, and was looking forward to wearing. Immediately, my creep meter was set off, but I thanked him regardless.
He began attempting to engage me in conversation, telling me that he liked the pattern and the fit of the dress, even telling me that my Converse didn’t go well with it, and I should wear some other shoes. I laughed it off because I wasn’t sure what else to do, but was eventually able to shut down the conversation.
A couple more minutes passed. I was feeling increasingly uneasy at this point because I thought I could see him looking at me out of the corner of his eye, but brushed it off as paranoia.
Before I could even process it fully, he turned to me again, this time poised with phone in hand, and asked if he could take a photo of me. Immediately, the adrenaline started pumping, because I could tell there was something very wrong with the situation. I was able to stammer out a question - asking him why he wanted to take my picture - and he responded by telling me he just liked my dress. I said no, no thank you.
He then proceeded to attempt to reason with me, telling me he didn’t have bad intentions, he wasn’t some paparazzi, and his phone camera was terrible anyway. I laughed it off because, again, I didn’t know what else to do, and he seemed to put his phone away.
I spotted the train slowly pulling into the station and started moving towards it, thankful for an escape from this guy. As I moved forward, I noticed him standing with his back to me, his phone open on the camera app as if about to take a selfie, but with it pointing in my direction. I quickly moved back so as to be out of frame, undertook him and ran onto the train. I happened to be meeting my boyfriend, who was waiting in a different carriage, and told him everything. I was thoroughly spooked.
I've been wracking my brain thinking about what I should have said or done. I know I'm not responsible for his behaviour, but I still wish I had reacted differently. Maybe I could've called him out. Maybe I could've encouraged my boyfriend to call him out, although he wasn't present when it happened and would've needed to have gone to the next carriage to confront this guy. I wish I at least had some smart quip I could've delivered to him.
I still feel a bit paranoid he managed to take a picture of me without me noticing. I feel like I'm on high alert for this shit constantly, and I still can't prevent it from happening to me. Does anyone else feel this way?

Hello I hope I can get into civilised conversation about this topic please do not get me wrong .
Anyway I come from mixed culture greek- Albania-iraq ... I was studying mechanical engineering in Korea 🇰🇷 for almost 5 years then moved to USA 🇺🇸 for further my study anyway as women it was cultural shock for me to come to Korea especially the reason why I made this post , is Korean men trying to look feminine look like teens and wear makeup lipstick even older men follow this type of style this gets me to think that they all lgbt excessive femininity among them is annoys me why do they do this ? Is it cultural thing ? When I went to China in shanghai I noticed difference where Chinese me more manly less makeup and surgeries they dress casually sometimes plain. 😅 I don't compare please don't get me wrong thank you .

Hello. I know just from reading the title you are likely seething with rage and hate for Alexee. Likely you have already down voted this post. I am appalled by the number of people having already convicted Alexee and now want her lynched.
I am equally appalled by the amount of video the public has access too. This has tainted public opinion and makes it almost impossible she will be afforded a fair and unbiased trial based on actual evidence introduced in court. All of the surveillance video from inside the hospital should never have been released. This violates Hippa Laws and a patient's Right to Privacy. "When you use security cameras in a healthcare environment, the video footage that you record qualifies as PHI. As PHI, video surveillance footage must be protected according to HIPAA regulations.Jun 10, 2021"
Alexee was experiencing an acute medical and mental health emergency and the release / leak of hospital video violates her right to doctor patient confidentiality. For those whose blood is boiling what if this was inside an abortion clinic and a teenager was violated by the release of videos in a patient treatment area? Protesters would be enraged and demand action--where is the outrage here?
Based on the facts as currently known (no discovery yet just what is in public domain and can be verified) this is how I would defend Alexee during a trial. I ask you to consider all of the following:
--Innocence until proven guilty in a court of law--the cornerstone of our legal system and society.
I strenuously argue and expect the following be inadmissible and excluded from trial:
>All video of Alexee inside the patient treatment areas of the hospital--both security cameras and police body cameras excluded .
>Police bodycam footage from inside Alexee's treatment room should be Hippa protected. She has the expectation of doctor patient confidentiality. Police knew there was no crime actively happening inside the hospital room at the moment they entered. The question of IF a crime was committed already occurred in the toilet room previous to police arrival and there was no flight risk from Alexee in a hospital room with one way in and out.
Police violated her civil rights by entering her medical treatment room while Alexee was in a hospital bed. Further police by entering her hospital room delayed urgent medical care Alexee required and placed undue stressors on her during a critical moment when per the statements of the doctor she was hemorrhaging.
>At no point was she read her Miranda Rights. Any statements made during an acute medical and mental health crisis inside a treatment room without her being advised of her Miranda Rights cannot be used against her at trial.
--During all video of her in her treatment room and patient hallway areas--as has been so far illegally released to the public violating her Hippa rights-- Alexee was under the influence of pain medicine administered by the hospital.
Pain medicine alters how Alexee feels, her body's sensations, perception of said sensations, mental acuity, mental state, memory and cognitive ability--this is the whole purpose of pain medications. These are indisputable and known scientific facts for decades which have proven pain medications cause all of these reactions which is why every single pain med has strict warnings not to operate machinery, not to drive Et cetera, Et cetera, Et cetera........ (For those attacking Alexee as mentally deficient, "slow", retarded, "mentally off" and / or view her reactions as not appropriate the hospital had her hopped up on pain medications before she even went to the bathroom. I say shame on anyone convicting her in the court of public opinion under the influence of medication(s) and during an acute medical and mental health crisis.
>Purported pictures of Alexee with her cheer leading team in the grey shirt and holding the megaphone in her uniform. These pictures are all over the internet and have not been verified as authentic. I believe there is a high likelihood these particular pictures have been photo-shopped making them altered fakes. There are multiple indicators of the two most widely distributed photos showing they are not authentic.
The person who took said pictures, origin of the pictures, original metadata and chain of custody of these photos must be discovered and questioned. Once the absolute original files have been discovered, if they even exist, they need to be independently analyzed by a digital photography expert.
I ask everyone to please put the videos you have seen out of your mind as well as it should and will likely be for the jury during the trial. I ask you to consider the following facts as we understand them at this juncture. Use only the following facts to determine if there is any reasonable doubt concerning Alexee and what happened. Even a scintilla of doubt or uncertainty means Alexee should be adjudicated not guilty by a court.
During a trial I argue the following in defense of Alexee:
>Alexee is a teenager. She only recently turned 19. She is inexperienced in life, sex and relationships. Although technically an adult by a few weeks the law is contradictory. She is still in high school due to when she was born and started kindergarten. At 19 she cannot smoke cigarettes, vape or buy or drink alcohol. Society and the law has decided 19 is not old enough to make an informed decision on smoking and alcohol. Her mother treats her as a child.
>Alexee has been treated in such a way by her mother to be ashamed of teen sex and its possible consequences. Her mother despite good intentions created a relationship of shame regarding sex and loosing her virginity. Most teens and even young adults do not share intimate sexual details with theirs parents for many reasons. Consider the added stress the mother has created for years in a misguided attempt to protect her daughter.
People in general but especially children and teenagers deny they did something wrong when accused. A child is observed breaking an item and even though said child knows the parent saw her break the item often will deny they broke it when questioned. There are decades of child psychiatry and doctors to testify regarding this. Those young children grow up to be teenagers and if the parent(s) have not properly handled these learning opportunities at young ages the teenager will have--in this case 19 years--of improper responses of how to handle life.
>Alexee's mother was beaten and abused by her father so badly Alexee was born preterm with hip and spinal problems causing pain on and off her entire life. Imagine the unhealthy relationship regarding sex, men and pregnancy her mother--despite good intentions--during Alexee's life imprinted on a child and then a teen.
>Alexee was taking hormonal birth control pills. We do not know if these were prescribed for acne, menstrual problems or birth control reasons. If prescribed for acne or menstrual problems and Alexee's mom knew she was taking them this combined with her mom's many years worth of admonishment, forbidding and shaming of teen sex and her mother feeling confident her daughter was a virgin--this would create a mental assurance for her mother she could never possible be pregnant.
Likewise, regardless if Alexee was taking hormonal bc with or without her mom's knowledge she would be assured she was preventing any possibility of pregnancy and being safe. Hormonal bc is widely regarded as virtually 100% effective and the best non-surgical option for preventing an unwanted pregnancy. The Pill is the gold standard for being safe and responsible to the point it's common knowledge providing a false sense of security.
The pill is so ubiquitous as infallible even in pornographic videos it is commonplace for the teen or woman to state "pull out I'm not on the pill"--as if she was on the pill it would be 100% guaranteed safe. Teens and even adults are indoctrinated to commonly believe the pill is infallible--even in porn.
We know sex education is lacking in all public schools, her fundamentalist church certainly wasn't providing sex ed, her mom used fear, shame and abstinence as the only approach and her father was a scumbag abuser not even in her life in a meaningful way. Media targeted to teens promotes "safe sex" rarely making a point any bc can fail. It's promoted and considered as an absolute.
No matter how you consider the above facts both Alexee and her mom were very confident there was no way she could be pregnant. Taking the bc pill to Alexee was an assurance she could not become pregnant, she could not disappoint her mom--she was being safe with no risks and in a committed long term relationship. She wasn't "one of those girls" or the school slutt.
>Alexee gained some weight. Everyone knows the Pill can cause weight gain. Its the number one reason teenagers and young women state they don't want to take the pill. There is so much pressure on being thin--especially for a teenager and a high school student going to prom ect. When she noticed she gained some weight of course it was because of the bc pill. She can't be pregnant--of course not--because she's on the pill. How could she be? A quick Google search "can the pill make me gain weight" confirms its common.
If her mom knew about her being on BC this causes no alarms for her mom because not only does she believe her daughter is a virgin she's on the pill and the pill makes many women gain weight.
>Maybe--and we don't know--Alexee was on BC because of menstrual issues. If that was the case then any period irregularities would be explained by known period issues, the pill can make periods light or non-existent in many women so nothing to be worried about if she's irregular, besides irregular periods are common in teens--especially athletes, as a medical fact. It is well known many women bleed during pregnancy at the time when they expect to be having a period so think they are regularly menstruating.
There are even entire TV shows based on the woman not knowing she is pregnant--many are adults in their 30s, experienced in life and many even had previous children!! Plenty of incidents making this fairly common and plenty of respected medical doctors will testify in court to this phenomenon.
>Alexee was treated in the emergency room in December--one month prior--for back pain. The same back pain she experienced on and off her whole life--and the same back pain that would bring her to the ER the night she delivered. She would have been around 32 to 36 weeks pregnant (pregnancy full term is 40 weeks gestation even though everyone commonly thinks 9 months) and at the end of December when seen in the ER. No one, not a single medical professional noticed she was very pregnant while in the hospital four weeks prior to delivering a baby.
>Alexee tells her mom she is in pain in January and needs to go to the ER for treatment. This is significant. If Alexee knew she was pregnant and premeditated killing and hiding the baby from her mom, boyfriend and the world it makes absolutely no sense she would tell her mother she was in pain and needed to go to the hospital. If she premeditated murder and secrecy then she would not have presented herself to her mom in pain and needing medical help. Everyone has seen TV births--although not realistic--there is almost always pain and pushing and then a baby. So Alexee who has premeditated and purposely hidden 40 weeks or pregnancy fooling everyone--her mom, peers, boyfriend, coaches, teachers, nurses and doctors decides to tell her mom she needs to go to the hospital when IF she had realized she was pregnant and consciously hidden and schemed everything!?!?! This makes no sense.
We know for a fact she knew how to do things herself on the "down low". Afterall she wasn't having sex infront of her mom--she went somewhere private to do the deed. If her premeditated plan all along was to knowingly conceal........see where this is going?
>January ER visit considerations:
--Alexee's mom had three kids--makes her very experienced at pregnancy--and has no idea Alexee is pregnant.
>Alexee is seen by and triaged by a registered nurse. She does not notice she is full term and in active labor. The duty of and sole purpose of the triage nurse to identify acute medical conditions needing immediate and emergency treatment--like say heart attacks or active labor.
>Alexee is taken to a hospital exam room and seen by the intake nurse--another registered nurse-- who's duty is and is trained to takes vitals, acquire pertinent information, makes trained medical observations and prepares the patient for possible required exams for when the doctor arrives--all of this on behalf of the doctor.
This nurse does not notice she is full term pregnant and in active labor. Remember that part above "prepares the patient for possible required exams" if the nurse has any indications the issue was in anyway related to female reproductive organs or involved the vagina the nurse would have the patient--Alexee--change into a gown for a possible pelvic exam.
She does not do this--Alexee is not in a hospital gown so another registered nurse experienced in emergency medicine--nurse number two--is completely oblivious to a full term pregnancy and active labor.
>The doctor comes into the exam room. This is a licensed and trained medical doctor specializing in emergency medicine. She speaks with and presumably examines Alexee for her back pain--to do anything less is malpractice. This medical doctor, certified and practicing emergency medicine orders pain medicine administered to Alexee.
We have a trained and experienced MEDICAL DOCTOR that does not realize Alexee is full term pregnant and in active labor. Remember those photos on the internet I discussed earlier and believe them to be faked and photo-shopped? If they were real and she was that visibly pregnant tell me two registered nurses and a licensed medical doctor given the symptoms displayed, age of the patient and the obvious dynamic between mom and daughter about keeping her virginity and you still don't this she is full term pregnant and in active labor.
The dynamic observed between Alexee and her mom the doctor had the DUTY as a standard of car to ask the mother to leave the exam room so she could privately discuss things with Alexee.
>We have all been in the hospital and ER so we all know how this goes. We know another nurse came to administer the pain meds and to administer test(s) order by the doctor. (we also know this by the police interviews of all medical personal involved)
This is nurse number three not noticing a teenage girl is full term and in active labor!!! Not just any registered nurse but the Emergency Room CHARGE NURSE--the head of the nurses in the ER at that time. (he's the male nurse in the videos wearing a skull cap).
>We know one of the tests ordered by the doctor and administered was a pregnancy test. A pregnancy test that results POSITIVE. We have a teen girl patient in extreme pain who is sure she isn't pregnant and is adamant she is not pregnant because I don't believe she thought she was. This patient is in an exam room and you the medical staff and especially the doctor DO NOT immediately return to the exam room to conduct a simple and quick pelvic exam (which doesn't even require a doctor a nurse can do and routinely do pelvic exams).
>Instead the doctor orders an ultrasound. So time passes when a quick pelvic could have been done but wasn't and in comes the ultrasound tech. She DOES NOT HAVE THE PROPER WAND ATTACHMENT TO CONDUCT A PREGNANCY ULTRASOUND. On top of this she is an Ultrasound tech--certified and trained--and even after attempting an unsuccessful ultrasound doesn't realize Alexee is full term pregnant with a baby literally in the birth canal in active labor.
Keep in mind the certified and trained ultrasound tech who has done presumably dozens, if not hundreds, if not thousands of ultrasounds on pregnant women in labor--because ultrasounds are common in virtually every pregnancy--this tech doesn't realize Alexee is full term and in active labor.
We KNOW the ultrasound tech had to pull up Alexee's shirt to expose the skin on her stomach to attempt the ultrasound (because you can't do an ultrasound without skin to wand contact via some snot-like medical grade jelly).
IF the tech thought Alexee was in active labor, full term and close to delivering does anyone not think she wouldn't tell a nurse or the doctor?? "Hey you better check on this girl right now?"
>None of the medical staff even tells Alexee her pregnancy test was positive. Alexee and her mom still have no idea Alexee is pregnant.
>Alexee feels like she needs to use the bathroom--to have a bowel movement. The nurses and doctor allow her to get up, unaccompanied and waddle / run holding her bottom all the way down the hall. Alexee has NO IDEA she is pregnant--has never been told by any medical staff and didn't see the baby on the ultrasound because the tech botched the procedure not having the correct wand.
>Common knowledge to most people--lay people--as a baby enters the birth canal and crowns the woman feels an overwhelming urge to have a bowel movement. We expect even at the lowest and most minimal level of care by registered nurses and licensed doctors to know a woman in labor experiences a sensation of needing to have a BM before the baby is born. Medical facts and training teaches nurses and doctors to instruct the woman to push the baby out as if she was pushing to have a BM. We know virtually every woman has a BM at some point while pushing.
Alexee and her mom still have no idea she is pregnant at this point despite being seen by three registered nurses, an ultrasound tech and a licensed MEDICAL DOCTOR.
The medical staff KNOWS 100% Alexee is pregnant-and has known long enough to send in an ultrasound tech perform a botched ultrasound--and yet the medical staff knowing all of this allows Alexee to waddle-run down a hall holding her bottom, ALONE and be in a bathroom over 20 minutes.
We are so far past medical malpractice on so many levels to the point of gross negligence and blatant disregard for Alexee-the patient. I've seen a lot of cases of malpractice at busy hospitals but nothing has ever come close to the malpractice and willful disregard for patient care and safety as I have learned in this case.
>Alexee, doesn't know shes pregnant, feels like she needs to have an urgent BM. She's on the toilet, shes in pain, pushing feels good because that is what her body is telling her and everyone knows if you feel super constipated with a huge and heavy poop that's stuck as soon as you get it out you will feel better.
At some point Alexee's body takes over--humans are animals--and like animals a body will birth a baby as an automatic process regardless if the mom is ready or not. Regardless if the mom is even conscious or not--after all comatose patients have delivered babies spontaneously.
This is that time.
I know everyone is going to shout but she should have called for help ect ect.
Really think about this and consider:
>Alexee is a teenager, young and inexperienced with her body and womanhood. She only just barely meets the legal definition as an adult buy mere weeks and can't even buy vape or a pack of smokes and she's still in high school. An adult by technicality only she is in high school, acts very immature and has not had any life experiences as an adult.
>Alexee has been to the ER twice in 30 days time and is in the ER at this very moment sitting on a toilet with an incredible urge to poop, she's seen by half a dozen trained medical professionals even just moments ago and she knows they gave her a pregnancy test "just in case" and no one has told her she's pregnant, she's scared to death but in her mind she's on the birth control pill and not a single person at the hospital during two visits has told her she's pregnant. She has NO idea a baby is about to come out. It's not possible to her and based on all we know she has confirmation in her mind time and time and time again she is NOT PREGNANT. In fact, she is on her period she thinks, she sees blood--yes confirmation of period, cramps, pain, nausea--all valid, legitimate and known period indicators. She can't be pregnant as we have established and since she is at the hospital they would have told her if she was. She has back problems, thinks she is on or starting her period and is constipated worse than she has ever been--of course combined these are the cramps and pain from the pitts of hell.
>Experts will testify at some point in that toilet room she disassociates with her body. Now she is in fear, overwhelming pain, anxiety, young with limited life experience. She has been drugged by the doctors with pain medicine which affects her sensations and cognitive abilities and decision making. She wants to yell for help but she can't. There is no voice, no words and no actual realization as to what is happening to her.
>This is NOT unheard of. Fear is a power controller. Every person responds differently. Many people do nothing and totally freeze and are oblivious to external stimuli. History is full of people--aged and experienced adults who are trained professionals in life and death situations who freeze and cannot function or function in a totally illogical way.
--The airline pilot who despite thousands of hours of flight experience suddenly forgets how to fly or simply does nothing. Or does something so incredibly stupid and so contradictory to every bit of training and flying instinct makes the wrong response causing the plane to crash. (Atlas Air B767 / Continental Express Q400 / UPS A300)
--Trained soldiers in battle firing on their own fellow soldiers wearing the same uniform right in front of them but in that moment they kill their friends.
--A veteran police officer responding to a school shooting in Florida so overcome with fear he cannot enter the building to do the job he has trained, practiced and done for 25 plus years of his career resulting in dozens of children dying or injured.
--A respected gray-haired "old salt" ship captain who has crossed the Atlantic hundreds of times in his 50 year career--actually the admiral of the fleet-- who becomes impotent when his ship hits an iceberg and after giving the orders to evacuate disappears from leadership. (Titanic)
The recent Idaho murders the downstairs roommate, who has experienced actual adult experiences living on her own in college, comes FACE-TO-FACE with the killer while her four friends and roommates are bleeding out locks herself into her room, goes to bed and does NOTHING for hours until the net day. This is despite her admitting she heard a pained / muffled scream, moaning, an unknown voice and came face-to-face with the killer POTENTIALLY while the victims could have been saved with immediate medical care. She is defended by society as bearing no burden or negligence because she was young, scared and had been partying so was under the influence of substances.
Wait a minute........so was Alexee. Ironically some of the same people in this very forum who defended the Idaho roommate for being completely without burden by ignoring and going back to bed want to lynch Alexee or lock her up for her entire life.
Can we under all of these circumstances expect a teenage girl who has every legitimate reason to be sure she is NOT pregnant and not in labor expect her to be rational in this moment?
If Alexee herself didn't know she was pregnant, had no reason to expect she was pregnant, was on birth control, her mom who has had three pregnancies doesn't notice, her peers don't notice, her teachers don't notice, her coaches, her church, her boyfriend AND....
TWO VISITS TO THE ER / HOSPITAL 30 DAYS APART
the visit where the birth occurred:
THREE REGISTERED NURSES
ULTRASOUND TECH
EMERGENCY ROOM DOCTOR / LICENSED MD
If ALL of the people in Alexee's life and ESPECIALLY TRAINED MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS did not notice or realize she was not only pregnant but in active labor HOW CAN WE EXPECT ALEXEE--a teenager--TO REALIZE THIS WHEN SHE TOOK HERSELF TO A HOSPITAL WANTING HELP?
The hospital and its staff disgust me. They acted with total disregard to Alexee and human life. Not a single nurse or doctor even bothered to try and resuscitate the baby when it was found. Most likely the baby was beyond resuscitation but for medical professionals in a hospital to not even attempt to save the baby after totally botching the standard of care for Alexee up to this point shows how criminally negligent everyone who treated Alexee that night is culpable for the death of a child.
The state has WAY overcharged Alexee. At most she should be facing abuse of a corpse. She needs mental help not jail. She is not likely to ever re-offend.
The ER doctor should be charged with manslaughter and negligence resulting in a death as her level of care was grossly negligent.
My heart goes out to the little boy who is not live--stillborn or otherwise. All life is precious.
So is Alexee and her life. This is beyond horrible for all involved. Every single person in Alexee's life failed her time and time again.
Do not as a jury pr society fail her again and sentence her to life in prison. There is so much reasonable double of premeditation and medical negligence / indifference in this case it would be criminal for a jury to convict her of Premeditated Murder in the 1sr degree.
I pray for everyone involved on so many levels. This case has no winners--only losers . Every single person in contact at any point with Alexee--but especially on the night in question-- and Alexee herself has a heavy cross to bear for the rest of their lives.
The nurses and ultrasound tech should be retrained, put on probation to be monitored making sure they have the skills and judgements needed to care for patients and the medical doctor should lose her license.
Alexee especially as well as her mother and boyfriend need education and counseling.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
​

Have not been using Aventus as much and I still still have some holiest of holy grails 11Z01 and 13Z01 so want to sell this 120ml (4oz) bottle of 16m01.
Bought brand new from Nordstrom but I threw out the box.
I tried to find what price ranges the 16 batches were going for but it's hard to find any at all being sold. I saw there was a full bottle for $1200 of a different, less popular batch from 2016. As this is 85% full I'll ask $900 OBO shipped (please don't send lowball offers hundreds off ask etc.) See photo for level (85% full) and also the batch number: https://imgur.com/a/NycIUHB

Timestamps
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Boards:
Keycult No. 1/60
A-stock Rev. 1. White/Red. From OG (S-tier) manufacturer. Built with Inks and UHMWPE stems, lubed with 205g0, 105 on springs. Durock stabs. Soldered pcb. Used for less than an hour then put into case.
Comes with Keycult wrist rest (brand new) and extra solderable pcb (brand new)
$1,799 $1,699 with wrist rest
​
TGR Singa Unikorn
Grey. Sealed.
2 sealed pcbs, brass plate, 2 o-rings. All brand new, never touched. First run of Unikorns, piece of history
Ships in original box or can substitute with one of my extra hard shell cases (no charge)
$1,888
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Kei
HHKB, everything brand new opened only for timestamp
Half plate (Silver, Aluminium)
Sealed pcb (solderable), o-ring, daughterboard, all original hardware, stickers/cards, all original packaging including boxes and Monokei cloth
Comes with:
extra PC full plate (brand new)
extra solderable pcb (brand new)
$379 OBO SOLD
​
Artisans:
Montage Keypora - Alpha Keycaps, opened only for photo, $139 OBO
​
Switches:
71 NovelKeys Dry Series Black (x2, 2 bags of 71), brand new never used, $13 per bag (like Alpacas and other recolors, retail is $0.55 a switch)
68 NovelKeys Dry Series Red, brand new never used, $12
64 NovelKeys NK Dry Series Yellow, brand new never used, $12 SOLD
76 clear-top pcb-mount Greetech Browns, brand new never used, $9
​
Lubed Switches:
115 full black Gateron Yellows. Meticulously lubed with 205g0 and 105 on the springs, $59
70 NOS vintage blacks from Eunbu. Meticulously lubed with 205g0 and 105 on the springs, 60g TX springs. $150
​
Please PM with Paypal email and Paypal zip code. I will update the post when something is no longer available. Mechmarket rules. I can only ship to the address on your PayPal. Prices do not include shipping. Must post in thread before PMing. Prices are firm unless I note OBO. I cannot respond to all PMs. I'm sorry! Not always FCFS, priority to people I know, previous buyers, and those who send a PM with Paypal email and Paypal zip code. Thanks!

This isn’t the usual vent you’d get on here, but I don’t really have anyone to talk to about it. It’s too much to talk about to my friends and peers, and my parents aren’t even aware of the relationship.
As the title states, I love my girlfriend. I love the colour she dyed her hair, I love the way she dresses, I love it when we hold hands, I love all of her little interests even though I have no idea what they’re about, I’m just absolutely head over heels.
We’ve only been together for less than a week but I’ve been friends with her for well over a year now, and it just feels so right.

You can check my profile history for my sales history if necessary. Sold a couple things before
Timestamp/tagged photos: https://imgur.com/a/Zwt8I8f
Sennheiser HD650 $170 comes with 3.5mm cable (new revision version) Great condition, no obvious defects or anything. https://imgur.com/a/X5fikLh
Letshuoer S12 Pro $120 (includes spinfit W1): Less than a hour. Heard spinfit w1 works well with the s12 so that will be included. https://imgur.com/a/HTHVMNs

My mum has three sisters. We were invited to a wedding. I (20f at the time) really wanted to wear a dress but I was extremely hesitant because I hadn't wore one for years. I hated my body back then and I thought every dress looked bad. I found a beautiful red dress and gave it a chance. The saleswomen gave me all sorts of compliments but I was hesitant. But given the enthusiasm and the affordable price I bought it. My aunts were the first to see it and found it nice. I was ecstatic until I tried it in front of mum who said it didn't fit me. I didn't believe her at first. She put me in front of the mirror and shown me where it looked bad. She also took a picture of me wearing it and zoomed on the photo to emphasize her points. By the end I realized the dress was not flattering at all. When my aunts payed a visit she made me wear the dress again and told them how bad it looked. She shown them the photo as well. They said it really wasn't good and they wondered how they didn't notice it at first.
To say I was disappointed will be an understatement. On top of it my mum kept bringing it up. Every time a photo of a dress would pop up on Facebook she would comment things like "Look how good that dress fits her, not like the one you bought", "Your dress should have been like this in order to look good on you", "That dress was made to only fit thin people" etc. She would also show my the photo she took to point out its flaws.
One day I had enough and demanded to not talk about it again. Every time she would bring it up I would stop her. Every time she complained because I wasn't letting her express herself and give me advice. One day of me refusing to speak about it again she snapped and ranted about me not being hostile with my aunts for it. She asked why I didn't believe her but immediately believed them when they said the same. She accused me of favouriting them over her because I always listen to them without complaining.
I ended up going shopping with my mum to find a new dres. We eventually found the perfect dress for the wedding. My mum told the saleswoman about the dress situation too. I got annoyed but didn't say anything. Until the day of the wedding she kept accusing me of favouritism. My mum might be a pain in the ass sometimes but I think I was the asshole for forbidding her to express her opinion. She didn't have ill intentions and she was right. I think I made a big deal out of it especially since the dress truly looked bad on me. So, once again, AITA?

All the Nuggets are doing is getting the ball to the middle of the zone and getting layups off of back cuts. Every possession the Nuggets role players are cutting to the basket and getting great looks as outlets for Murray or Jokic, how else do you think Murray’s assist numbers are so high rn?
It was actually infuriating watching our guys settle for long threes against the zone instead of doing stuff they teach back in high school. Off ball movement needs to be a major emphasis next year. I get Joe is all about analytics and getting up as many threes as possible but that’s just not a winning strategy in the playoffs. It’s so enlightening watching the Nuggets play compared to the dumb stuff we did. They have better three point shooters than us yet are content to shoot way less of them and actually take what the defense is giving them. They have a major size advantage on Miami like we did, except they’re actually using it to dominate them in the paint. We have in my opinion still the most talented roster in the league yet so rarely play to our strengths as a team.
I hope to see some major growth from obviously the players but the coaching staff too. I really don’t want to watch another season of chucking threes

Why, can anyone explain, would anyone want to wear all black hoodie, tracksuit and mask in 30 degrees today? (Didn’t take a photo).
The more I live in London, the less trusting I become. To me this kind of outfit raises red flags. I understand people can have different heat/cold tolerances and personal preferences but seriously, its more likely these people are up to no good and covering face for a reason.

I'm under the impression that my 'sisters' do not like me.
For some insight, the sorority is seemingly split into cliques of their own, in which each clique hardly interacts with the other. Our sorority is united, but it's clearly split into groups and pairs which bothers me. We advocate to be a tight, strongly-bonded sisterhood, but we clearly aren't, and those looking at us from the outside are starting to notice. Several of our members have bad reputations, ranging from the nastiness of their attitudes towards others, to the way they mess around with the fraternities on campus. I recall one night, an older member that I wasn't familiar with, picked an argument with me about how I accidentally interrupted her sentence, and other small things I had did that night which I hadn't picked up on. Instead of confronting me in a quiet space, she proceeded to slap my drink out of my hand and continued to cause a scene in front of a good 20 people.
That altercation alone was further confirmation that my sorority isn't the one for me. She would've never done that if we were the 'sisters' we're supposed to be. As far as my pledge class goes, it consists of about thirty girls, and that's where I feel the most excluded. They don't respond when I offer to ride together to save money, they exclude me from their inner group chats where they plan trips and such, and they act like sitting next to me during chapter is a burden. I'm sick of these attitudes. Sure, I'm not white, as rich, or blonde, or have the whole tall-skinny combo going on, but if I'm busting my ass to pay dues, living paycheck to paycheck just to even have a seat in chapter, I deserve fair treatment.
When we're at mixers or parties, they'll literally shove me to the side for the attention of the same frat dudes they complain about. They ignore me and skip over me without saying 'Hi' or 'It's nice to see you'. I'm not included in their group photos or trips to, let's say Florida. I've witnessed them whispering in front of my face while looking directly at me and laughing hysterically. Only time they've ever, EVER privately messaged me for something is to borrow my clothes for a night out. They even let me go to clubs all alone and tell me they're on their way before arriving like 2-3 hours after. They simply don't care.
There are EIGHTY women in my sorority and only two of them are one's I feel safe with. There's even a clique in my PC and I'm tired of it. Why can't we all hang out and be close? I feel that there is extra avoidance to me because, like I said, I'm black, and they subconsciously discriminate against me. I've told a couple of my white friends about the vast amount of situation's I have had with the girls in a span of just 2 months and they say it's not normal.
They've never seen anything like me before; I talk like them, I dress like them, my makeup is done like their little 'clean girl aesthetic' stuff (it's just white girl makeup) and I still don't fit in.
Lastly, we have favorites in our sisterhood. We have girls who receive special treatment just because they are loud and have that 'Idgaf' attitude. And while the act is funny sometimes, I think it's childish. They refer to themselves as 'ratchet' and 'down-bad'. And I'm just thrown off by that even when I try not to be. Seriously. And it kills me how they think I'm introverted and quiet. IM NOT. I'm hella extroverted. I'm in several leadership positions and I call the shots in all of em' But when they're visibly excluding me, I simply have NO WORDS.
I think I'm going to drop if I don't like it after fall semester. Maybe I'm reaching guys, but this isn't for me. I'm a party girl and I love to be crazy and network around all at once, but this is next level BS. I should've joined the divine nine like my sister did. This just isn't it.

Reddit Account: u/MevilMevil
Discord Tag: Mevil#7118
Name and House: Wulfgor, Father of Thousands
Age: 56
Cultural Group: Free Folk
Appearance: He has a face hollowed out and marked by several wounds, long gray hair, an unkempt beard, and a mustache gathered in two braids. His physique is sculpted despite his age, forged by years of fighting and night running. His hands are large and his attitude is that of an inflexible leader with little inclination to forgive
Trait: Inspiring
Skill(s): THW (e), Tactician, Vanguard (e), Outrider, Footwork (e)
Talent(s): Standing in the cold with light clothes, Staring menacingly, Fathering Sons
Negative Trait(s): N/A
Starting Title(s): Chieftain of the Nightrunners
Starting Location: With the rest of the Free folk
Alternate Characters: Eden Oakheart, Gynir Greyjoy, Morgan Uller, Ilyn Crakehall, Luceon Lipps
Family Tree:
8 wives - 3 alive / 5 dead 52 sons - 31 males/21 females 39 alive/13 dead
BIOGRAPHY
We run in the night
For life, for death, for the Gods
Wulfgor was born during a storm, amid the glacial cold and heavy snowfall.
He was the son of a Nightrunner among the less fortunate and valiant in his village, who had managed to gain a wife after years and years of night runs.
Nevertheless, Wulfgor survived and grew up admiring and respecting the fastest and most tireless runners.
He ran in broken and ruined shoes, quickly worn out by the rough terrain he explored daily.
Running for the Gods
He was taught the way of his people, and Wulfgor diligently and inflexibly learned the dictates and mysteries of the Nightrunners.
He learned that by day one had to walk, one had to be strong and sure in the light; but as soon as dusk came one had to run, take with the spear what was necessary, and run away.
The demons of the night were dangerous, and those who did not run were caught.
These legends remained imprinted like fire in the mind of Wulfgor, who from that moment decided that he would become the best among his people.
His trust in the Old Gods was deep, and the first reason he ran was for them.
Running for Death
Years went by, and on turning 18 Wulfgor managed to win his first wife, who by tradition was left to the most powerful warrior.
Immediately she bore him a son, who was named Brogg in honor of the Chieftain who instructed Wulfgor and commanded the night runs.
He ran even faster than the others, and before long the number of wives and children increased.
A turning point in his life was the War of Ice and Fire, in which Chieftain Brogg was killed.
Taking up the axe of his late mentor, he faced in a duel a man who was standing out as one of the most powerful in the battle, Jeor Forrester.
Wulfgor managed to wound that Black Crow's eye, but they were interrupted before the fight was over.
Since that day he has held tightly in his heart the desire to face him again, to have a definite ending.
Wulfgor ran again for many years, carrying his axe and raids against all the peoples of the Free Folk.
His power was unstoppable, the second reason to run was death.
Running for Life
Wulfgor quickly became the new Chieftain, continuing his usual life and instructing his sons in the way of the Nightrunners.
In time he came to forget even their number, along with details of his past life.
His mind began to be less clear, and his bursting strength became less fulminant.
His daughter Seryn began to help him because of her formidable memory, standing by his side and learning to lead the Nightrunners' raids along with him.
Quickly his children grew in age, and many of them distinguished themselves by their prodigious abilities.
Holly for her healing talents, Brogg for his strength, Arrow with the bow, Dan for his charisma, Lancia for her accuracy and agility with the spear, Robb for his hand speed, and Yogg...
He loved even Yogg, although he was unable to do anything.
The last of his wives was Yarsa, who gave birth to the last of his children recently.
Wulfgor is now a different man, running for his people and his family to keep everyone safe.
The last reason he ran was for life.
TIMELINE
144 AC - Wulfgor is born, only son of Vekkon
150 AC - He starts running in impervious places, wearing out all his shoes and hurting himself several times
152/162 - Chieftain Brogg teaches him the way of the Nightrunners, preparing him to become his successor
165 - The War of Ice and Fire, Wulfgor obtains his mighty two-handed axe and maims Jeor Forrester in combat
167 - Wulfgor becomes the Chieftain of the Nightrunners and he continues fathering a new generation of strong sons
173/185 - Twelve years of night runs increase his prestige and combat experience, but cause the resentment of the majority of the people beyond the Wall
190 - Wulfgor begins to forget details of his life, such as the names of his sons or wives; the only memories that do not slowly disappear are those related to his night runs and the war
195 - Seryn begins to stand by his side, helping him remember details of his life
200 - His newest daughter is born, and he vows on the memory of his missing children to fight against the ice demons
NPCS

• Brogg / Warrior 38

First son of Wulfgor, strong and authoritative.
He is most loyal to his father and follows religiously whatever Wulgor says; the loss of his mother during his childhood is a wound he has not been able to overcome

• Seryn / General 19

Endowed with the finest intelligence and a memory bordering on perfection, Seryn has earned Wulfgor's trust and respect over time.
She has a bitter rivalry with Brogg, who is convinced that she manipulates her father by deceiving him and creating false memories in him.

• Holly / Medic 23

A pure and unspoiled soul, she loves nature and helping others with all her heart.
With her herbs and knowledge she is a key figure within her people, healing the wounded and assisting women about to give birth.

• Freccia / Marksman 19

Fire-red hair and a devilish mind, the uncontrollable daughter of Wulfgor prides herself on being the best with the bow.
Her words are venomous and she is convinced that being Wulfgor's daughter makes her worthy of unconditional admiration

• Dan / General 32

Soft eyes and warm words, Dan has always been able to convince minds with impressive ease.
Along with Brogg, he is one of the leading candidates to be his father's successor, although he prefers freedom to the narrow responsibilities of his path.

• Lancia / Warrior 18

"Should I be afraid of her?"
person naively walking toward his death
Lancia's prowess with any kind of weapon is uncanny, despite her inoffensive appearance her brothers quickly learned to fear and respect her.
She is the newest addition to their army, and a threat on the battlefield

• Robb / Bandit 34

Treacherous and untrustworthy, Robb is easily corruptible and despised by his brothers.
His plundering skills have often been useful, but he is always watched closely because of his treachery-prone nature.

To start, I have to say I Am autistic. I struggle with nonverbal signals. So I was on a train to the town where I work, wearing elf ears, summer dress and leginns. I was listening to music and playing with Snapchat filters, when a guy approached me. He asked if he could sit with me, I agreed and we started Talking. As he was talking, he was showing me photos on his phone So he leaned closer to me. He touched me with his knee, but I was telling myself it was just my paranoia. He told me a station where he was supposed to leave, but he did not and he drove with me to my station. He touched me even on the train, hold my hand and I didnt know what to do. As I was getting of the train, he kissed me and I froze, and now I hate myself for not slapping him or screaming, but I was just shocked. He then went to work with me, where I work alone. He kissed me again, he touched me and I just froze. I have history of being SA, and it all flashed In front of my eyes. I managed to make him leave, but that was the moment where he told me I was looking at him like I wanted it. That I was flirting with him. I managed to Call my dad, but I feel dirty and used and I Am scared I Am flirting with people around me without knowing it…I feel like a slut.

I’m a rising junior in Uni and I’m home for a month this summer. I am doing an academic program in a different state for the rest of summer. So, I’m home with my nmom, a situation I desperately wanted to avoid. I just wanted to ask a couple of questions about her current behavior. Is this normal or narcissistic behavior? What motivates her to act like this?
Because I’m only home for a month(less than), no one would hire me for a summer job. So, I’m doing babysitting a few times a week and walking dogs but they really don’t constitute a real job with hours and stuff. Because I’m home a lot, my nmom has taken this as an opportunity to basically terrorize me. Every time I come downstairs or into the kitchen, she has something to complain about or remind me of, basically screaming at me. She constantly makes snide comments about how I don’t have a real summer job (even tho both my parents r so happy I got into this academic program), and how I “do nothing”. This is her favorite insult. In my free time I am literally studying for my other classes and reading (for my major).
She often gets hooked on one or two minor things I’m “doing wrong” and will scream about them for hours. For example, I need more summer clothes bc my Uni is in the north. I say I’ll get them before the academic program starts, which is in a while. Bc I didn’t do it immediately, she will remind me from the moment I wake up in the morning to the time I go to sleep. She will constantly call me or text me wherever I am to remind me that I need to buy clothes. She will often use the fact that im not buying clothes 2 seconds after she told me to to make comments about my personal character. She will say that it’s a sign I’m not a real adult because I don’t want to wear dresses and clothes that “fit in”. In her bouts of yelling she will often insult me multiple times, calling me antisocial, lazy, or imply that something is wrong with me. I just don’t dress femininely- it’s not that I’m wearing anything crazy. I’m not exaggerating, she will remind me for hours. And then when I tell her to stop reminding me, I will do it before I go to the program, she just goes “im not reminding you!” Or “then do it!”.
She then will send me clothes or shoes that she wants me to get (constantly) along with a paragraph of text messages saying that I need to wear this because as an adult it matters how you look. and when I say I don’t like them, she will throw a fit and devolve into insults again. Every single item of clothing is a 10 minute argument.
She often comes into my room at 7am and literally tells me my schedule for the day. She just really needs to control my life. She also comes to wherever I am often it seems with the purpose to start a fight, or does things she knows make me upset.
This happens with a bunch of other things. Of course the answer would be to just do theings - and I have. I’ve gotten the clothes. But she finds something new and even more trivial every time
I mean, I know it would be great to have a summer job but it was literally impossible. Is this normal? Why does she act this way? And also, how can I stop it?

Used to love projects/longer form work and the ego boost that came with it - more real estate in the paper (and online), my own byline, plaudits from other pjs etc. Maybe it's the age (I just stepped into my mid 30s) but nowadays I much prefer being 'just' an assignment photographer. Less mentally taxing, much better work-life boundaries, no need to worry about projects in my time off, much more varied compared to working on the same project for weeks/months/years. Show up, do my best to make a kick ass photo, file, and onto the next - simple and straightforward.

Hi,
First, I apologize for the wall of text.
I’ve have been building my own PC for 25 years, but the last one was the i7-4770K platform from 10 years ago, so I’m out of the loop of how things are going. I use the PC for CAD software, some photo and video editing and gaming.
CPU: I’ve been comparing the i7-13700K to the 7900X.
The i7-13700K is slightly faster, has a more mature/stable platform, the down side is that it’s an oven and needs a substantial thermal solution. It’s slightly more expensive, and needs an additional 18USD contact frame, and an additional 10USD for a Retrofit Upgrade Kit for my Corsair AIO.
The 7900X is slightly slower, the platform is buggy and problematic at the moment, the upside is that it has an upgrade future for the platform (which to be honest I don’t care too much about), less heat and more efficient. And the most important thing is that it’s cheaper. Was 361USD on amazon 2 days ago. And won’t need neither a frame nor a retrofit kit.
So, the 7900X seems to be the way to go for now, unless prices change.
Motherboard: After reading here for a bit, the consensuses seem to be:
1- Avoid the ASUS board due to the latest scandal
2- Avoid the Gigabyte boards due to the coil whine.
3- Go with the B650 over X670
Which leaves the ASrock and MSI. I have nothing against ASrock, my 10-year board is an ASrock and it didn’t give me too much grief. So, the ASRock B650E PG RIPTIDE WIFI seems the logical choice, it’s the only board in this price range that has PCI5 on both the PCI and NVME slots, I know that’s not important at the moment, but it’s nice to have. It’s power delivery seems similar to that of X670E boards.
RAM: The cheapest 6000MHZ, preferably CL30 available that is supported by the motherboard, if there is a better criteria for choosing, please add your thoughts. I don’t know if there is a difference between SK Hynix chips vs Samsung memory chips.
Storage: I’m going with either the WD SN850X 1tb or the Samsung 980 Pro. The cheaper I can find at the time of buying.
GPU: I’m going with either the 6700XT or the 6750XT depending on the price. The 3060ti and 3070 with its 8gb is not an attractive option.
Case, PSU, CPU cooler: I’m keeping my 10 years old stuff. The Coolermaster HAFX case looks abysmal by today’s standards, but I like it, and it has a good airflow. With a new front 5.25” USB3.2/Type C panel it will be good enough for me.
The NZXT HALE 90 850 W 80+ Gold is old, but it’s still a 850W capable one, I’m planning to disassemble it sometime in the future and replace all the CAPS with new better ones as a means of prolonging its life.
The Corsair H100i V1 is 10 years old, but 2 years ago I disassembled it, cleaned all the gunk buildup on the plate, and changed the fluid which made its performance like a brand new one. So, I’m planning of doing the same again, if it’s thermal capacity can’t keep up with the new processor, I can always buy a new one.
I need a critical eye to look on these choices, so please roast my choices. Thank you in Advance.
https://pcpartpicker.com/list/qcRMqm

Looking for some newer releases! Enjoyed Ross' book on Wagnerism tremendously and would love some books that include analysis and history on whatever topic (though ideally something less covered; need a pause from Mozart, Bach and Beethoven).
Any recent favourites?

Parts 1, 2, and 3 can be found in this same subreddit at the links attached. Hopefully this part will live up to the insanity that inspired me to write about it!
There are…so many things that happen between 1988 and 1994 in one discipline of figure skating it is near comical. With Soviet domination of ice dance near assured during this era, the focus shifts from who will win to instead question how fast the Soviet dynasty can fall apart. The answer? Well…I guess you’ll have to see.
With Bestemianova/Bukin and Wilson/McCall opting to go to the pro ranks after their Olympic medals in 1988, Klimova/Ponomarenko seemed the de facto leaders of ice dance. Natalia Dubova now not only coached Klimova/Ponomarenko but also a married couple making their international debut in Maya Usova/Alexander Zhulin. The new rink situation pit the 2 couples against each other as each aimed to become the top couple in the world.
No one could deny Klimova/Ponomarenko in 1989 though. Skating to “Mack the Knife,” Klimova/Ponomarenko skated to victory with a more humorous and friendly free dance to expand their horizons. According to the media of the time though, this new styling for them wasn’t as beloved as their previous work. However, no one could deny their technical ability as they took the ice.
Their countrymates Usova/Zhulin nabbed the silver medal with a free dance skated to dramatic classical music. Usova/Zhulin were a team that felt like they encapsulated everything Dubova had ever aimed to bring to the ice. They floated across the ice in ways that only Klimova/Ponomarenko could sometimes achieve. They also had brilliant matching lines that Dubova liked to emphasize through her choreography. They tended to skate in a hold that had Usova in front with Zhulin wrapped behind her, consistently close together. Their gentle, lyrical skating made them a quick favorite for fans of the sport.
The Duchesnays improved from 8th at the Olympics to grab the bronze in 1989 on home ice in Paris. The Duchesnays were…the best way to describe them is that they’re the proto-French ice dance team. Their free dance was set to an instrumental version of Eleanor Rigby, and told the story of dreams and reality, where Isabelle represented dreams constantly being brought down to Paul’s reality. The Christopher Dean choreographed program was…noticeably easier in difficulty compared with the Soviets, featuring less holds overall and more lifts that took Isabelle off the ice. However, their eccentric concepts made them another crowd favorite in these years.
In 1989, Dubova also put together another Soviet team to compete against her top 2 skaters. Evgeni Platov, a 3-time World Junior champion, had just placed fifth in the world with his former partner before their split. Oksana Grishuk, coming off a World Junior title herself, moved from Natalia Linichuk’s school to pair with Platov after she split from her partner. The 2 began skating together in the summer of 1989, making Dubova the sole coach of the top 3 Soviet teams. What could possibly go wrong?
The 1990 season saw all 3 Soviet teams compete for the podium alongside the Duchesnays and, surprisingly, an American team who slipped up to 4th: Susan Wynne/Joseph Druar. For Wynne/Druar, it was the highest place finish for an American team since Blumberg/Seibert were still skating. Their free dance to “Hit the Road Jack” was a tribute to tap dance. Their style was distinctly North American, similar in style to that of Wilson/McCall, in that the woman appeared stronger on ice rather than the dainty appearance of women like Marina Klimova and Maya Usova (think Madi Hubbell compared with Gabi Papadakis for a more recent example). This style, wherein the woman was an equal on ice to her partner, was not popular with the judges of the time, so acted more as a precursor to the North American style than as a legitimate podium threat.
Klimova/Ponomarenko earned a second World title in 1990 skating to “My Fair Lady,” now fully bought into the idea of the one concept free dance but still maintaining the classical switching of rhythms within that one concept, marrying the traditions of ice dance with the post-Torvill/Dean landscape. Best described by the commentary of the time, Klimova/Ponomarenko were technically unmatched by their peers, even as their free featured less holds than had been their norm. However, their prowess still took the cake as they walked away with a second title.
The Duchesnays improved on their 1989 placement by earning silver in 1990. Skating to their first iteration of “Missing,” Isabelle and Paul truly embraced the avant garde. Dean gave his now girlfriend and her brother choreography that was simpler and easier to perform but striking in its repeated poses and lifts to make an unbreakable impression on the audience and judges, earning them first in the free dance. On a more…aesthetic note, this is the first time in my write up that I’ve seen a dress that looks like the skirt was shredded, which is just a fine precursor to the horrors of costuming to come.
Usova/Zhulin grabbed the bronze with a sophisticated tango to Piazzolla selections (naturally). Usova/Zhulin improved on their lyrical style to incorporate more speed and sharpness to their movements, which drew more attention to their matching body lines. However, the tango was far easier than their free dance the previous year, featuring more side by side skating rather than close holds. And in their senior debut as a pair, Grishuk/Platov earned 5th place with a free dance using music from “Zorba the Greek” (I truly wish I was joking). But regardless of the odd music choice, Grishuk/Platov were known for their skating skills, arguably the strongest of the next 8 years. While this free dance certainly didn’t show that off, the promise of the senior pair was apparent from the moment they stepped on the ice.
All good training rinks must carry with it insane amounts of drama though, for this is ice dance. And stuffing the top Soviet teams under one coach was bound to implode at some point. It was during this time that Dubova started to favor Usova/Zhulin for the Olympic gold in Albertville 1992. And with it, better program ideas. This came to a head when Klimova/Ponomarenko slipped to a silver medal in 1991, behind the Duchesnays. And that’s truly where the bubble burst.
The Duchesnays had an interesting season, debuting their Reflections FD which was actually a program originally meant for Torvill/Dean’s professional career before being scrapped and given to the Duchesnays…which should tell you all a lot about both Dean and the insanity that was this FD, where Isabelle and Paul were made to look like mirror images of each other. The free dance received a lukewarm reception, causing them to scrap the FD for the amateur ranks and instead opt for a second iteration of their “Missing” FD, aptly titled Missing II. Outrage from fans on behalf of Klimova/Ponomarenko was apparent, as the Duchesnays’ repeated lifts and tricks were inherently easier than the skating that Klimova/Ponomarenko were doing. But the lack of Dubova faith and the judges’ love of Christopher Dean worked in the Duchesnays’ favor.
Klimova/Ponomarenko skated to “Lawrence of Arabia,” entering the free dance in a surprising 3rd place after the original dance (OD), which had by now supplanted the OSP. After being behind Usova/Zhulin in the compulsories and behind both the Duchesnays and Usova/Zhulin in the OD, Klimova/Ponomarenko needed near perfect scores to retain their title. They would not get it. The pair attempted to expand their horizons even further with a more dramatic piece of music; Klimova/Ponomarenko put more emphasis on their lifts, which were vastly improved. But some media felt that they had lost their inherent qualities that identified them in favor of trying to prove their range. This would become a major sticking point in the Olympic year.
Usova/Zhulin meanwhile earned bronze at these Worlds, elegantly skating to “Variations” from Andrew Lloyd Webber. The couple’s lyrical and emotional interpretation entranced the audience in watching the leaders after the OD. Of course, Usova/Zhulin couldn’t hang onto their lead in the end, which really should’ve acted as effective foreshadowing of not only their competitive careers but also what was happening behind the scenes with their rinkmates Grishuk/Platov, who had placed 4th in the same event.
The summer of 1991 was absolute ice dance chaos. In a span of a few short months, all of this happened at once:
· Klimova finds out Dubova is giving preferential treatment to Usova/Zhulin. She cries in front of a Russian sports journalist.
· Andrei Bukin goes to Tarasova, begging her to take on Klimova/Ponomarenko so that they aren’t shut out of a gold. Tarasova agrees, and Klimova/Ponomarenko flee Dubova.
· Christopher Dean gets married to Isabelle Duchesnay and vows to choreograph them to Olympic glory (they later divorce in ’93)
· Alexander Zhulin, 28, begins his infamous affair with Oksana Grishuk, 19, putting a strain on the Usova/Zhulin partnership on and off ice. The affair becomes Grishuk’s fault in the media.
· The Soviet Union falls, leaving the Soviet skaters without a country to represent for a year
And those are just the heavy hitters boys and girls! Truly, an offseason to remember.
Tarasova took on Klimova/Ponomarenko and attempted to steer them toward gold amid heavy competition from Dean’s Duchesnays and Dubova’s Usova/Zhulin. A strong polka OD had Klimova/Ponomarenko in a comfortable lead going into the free dance, where they performed a lyrical and transcendent program to “Air” by Bach. The pair looked statuesque as they floated over the ice. Granted, the program had about as much substance as your average show program. But man if the couple didn’t make it look good. It was a return to form in a lot of ways for the pair, returning to their more classical roots but now with the experience of having done more dramatic works and being able to incorporate that emotion back into a lyrical program. Tarasova had her second Olympic gold medal winning team in the span of 2 Olympics, adding to her already storied career in ice dance (having led a pair to an Olympic medal in 4 of the 5 competed events at this point).
The Duchesnays settled for silver in a home Olympics in Albertville. Their free dance was set to the music of “West Side Story,” with the pair portraying the sibling duo of Tony and Maria (thank God). In a lot of ways, it was a call back to Dean’s past World title winning free dances based around Broadway musicals. And the choreography was meant to call to mind the intricate choreography of the musical, including some of the first instances of the reverse lifts naturally. However, the easier skating choreography caught up to the Duchesnays and their free program placement suffered for it. Hard to consider it a skating program if most of the dance was spent in the air or side by side.
Usova/Zhulin entered the ’92 Olympics incredibly strained. This was only exacerbated when Zhulin gave Grishuk his wedding ring for her to wear during the compulsories, to which Usova understandably lost her cool. With that in the back of their minds, it’s truly a wonder that they pulled through for a bronze medal. Their “Four Seasons” free dance was meant to tell the stories of two statues coming to life. Which seems apt for a couple whose chemistry had about as much warmth as two statues. Grishuk/Platov earned 4th place with a more modern free dance. It’s…very 80s, I don’t know how to describe it. But it was obvious that their partnership was finally flourishing in a way that their promise had predicted. Which is naturally the perfect time for more insanity to come between them.
After a Soviet podium sweep at Worlds, the summer of ’92 saw Zhulin and Grishuk’s affair escalate during the show season. Everything really hit the fan when Usova caught Zhulin and Grishuk at a restaurant together and “saw Grishuk sipping a margherita at a bar, came up behind her, grabbed her hair and smashed her head against the counter.” And although Usova later apologized, Dubova had had enough and expelled Grishuk from her camp for getting involved with Zhulin. While Grishuk headed back to Moscow, Dubova attempted to pair Platov with a young Tatiana Navka, who would’ve been around 17 and representing Belarus following the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Ultimately though, Grishuk returned to former coach Natalia Linichuk and Platov followed, restoring their partnership before the 92-93 season.
The Soviets, now officially representing the newly reformed country of Russia, maintained their absolute stranglehold on the discipline. With Klimova/Ponomarenko retiring to focus on the pro circuit and starting a family as well as the Duchesnays’ retirement, all medalists slid up the rankings, with Usova/Zhulin finally earning their gold medal on the backs of a sultry blues free dance that kept the audience spellbound and where they pretended that they were into each other for 4 minutes.
As if to contrast the gold medalists, Grishuk/Platov skated to a more violent blues, which is admittedly one of my guilty pleasure skates. The free dance told the story of toxic lovers, even incorporating choreography where it looked like Platov was choking Grishuk. Their skating earned them their first medal at Worlds, a silver. And they also started to find that their strength was in the dramatic, even if they don’t go back to it for several years. It is at this time that the media picks up on the former Grishuk/Zhulin affair, but only mentions it during Grishuk/Platov’s programs.
Inter-country politics began early when Alla Shekhovtsova advocated to the judges for Anjelika Krylova and her former partner Vladmir Fedorov, coached by Linichuk, to be sent to Worlds in 93, threatening their judging careers if they put their competitors Elena Kustarova/Oleg Ovsiannikov in front. Naturally. Krylova/Fedorov were sent by one judge’s vote and earned a bronze at Worlds. Krylova was known for her amazing leg line, but this free dance doesn’t really do them justice on that end. After Krylova/Fedorov earned a medal in their debut, American and Canadian media started to become frustrated with lack of results from their ice dancers, insinuating that their lack of results was strictly because of the flag next to their names. In the ‘94 offseason, Krylova/Fedorov would break up and Ovsiannikov would be lured by Linichuk to pair with Krylova.
A little further down the standings, Susanna Rahkamo/Petri Kokko dazzled with a free dance to Valse Triste. The fourth place finishers were crowd favorites known primarily for their slow, methodical, lyrical dances. An innovative couple, their choreography featured harder lifts as well as well placed switching in height. However, their programs were often not as technically difficult as the Russians even as the passion on ice touched the audience.
In the 1993 offseason, a change was made to the rules for professional skaters, stating that those who took money from doing shows could still compete at the amateur ranks. The news was huge, allowing many of the skaters who had been held to professional competitions to compete again for an Olympic title. The biggest name to return to the ice, of course, were Torvill/Dean. Just about 10 years after their win in Sarajevo, Torvill/Dean were determined to earn another Olympic gold. But in the 10-year interval, a lot had changed about ice dance.
After Dubova refused to allow RusFed to see Usova/Zhulin’s programs ahead of the Olympic season, Russia silently started to get behind Grishuk/Platov. On top of that, Usova found out about Zhulin’s affair with a 19-year-old Navka around the Olympics. Navka’s then-partner found out and beat Navka for the affair, before Usova and Zhulin’s mothers started beating each other. So, Maya Usova was distracted to say the very least.
The competition also disallowed classical music for the free dance that year, instead opting to go more modern to appeal more to the audience. Torvill/Dean publicly worried about whether their routines would be suited to more modern music.
With all that happening, the Grishuk/Platov, Usova/Zhulin, Torvill/Dean showdown started in full swing at the European championships, when Usova/Zhulin won the compulsories, Torvill/Dean won the OD, and Grishuk/Platov won the free dance. It was the closest ice dance competition in history at that point and left many wondering who would ultimately take home the Olympic gold, even as Torvill/Dean came home with the European title.
The event lived up to the hype. The first compulsory, the Starlight Waltz, was won by Usova/Zhulin before Grishuk/Platov won the blues compulsory (which is absolutely gorgeous by the way, please watch it) and began to build their reputation as the best compulsory skaters of their generation. Torvill/Dean, unfortunately, looked a bit like their age in the compulsories that Olympics, coming up third in both. However, their rhumba OD was sensational and encapsulated the best of them, including their obvious chemistry on the ice. The original dance placed first in the segment, with Usova/Zhulin in second and Grishuk/Platov in third. The final placements would come down to the free dance.
Torvill/Dean would perform a free dance to “Let’s Face the Music,” which read a bit like a greatest hits free dance, incorporating choreography from some of their more famous programs. While the program did feature closed holds when skating, there was also a ton of lifts and tricks incorporated into the choreography, which seemed controversial among the judges. Usova/Zhulin competed with a free dance based on circus acts. A more humorous routine than their past entries, the free incorporated technical difficulty effectively but was a tad bland, which is truly a feat given what the program was supposed to be emulating. Ultimately, it came up short in their final Olympic competition.
Grishuk/Platov carried away the gold with a controversial free dance to “Rock Around the Clock” (also, side note, the spelling of Grishuk’s name as Grichtchuk in the video I’m looking at is just so obscene it needs to be mentioned). What was the controversial part of this free dance you ask? According to the rules of the time, all dance couples needed to be in hold for a certain amount of time during the free dance. Many media outlets and Torvill/Dean themselves felt that Grishuk/Platov did not meet the required amount of time in hold, to the point where Torvill is attributed to saying that “if the judges wanted a show program, we could’ve given them a show program.” The judges, however, loved the free dance, even giving the team four 5.9s in technical merit and a 6.0 in artistic impression. And so the team that nearly split just two years prior were walking home from Lillehammer with gold medals in their hands. And Linichuk finally earned a second gold medal, this time as a coach.
At Worlds that year, Rahkamo/Kokko earned a long-awaited bronze after 8 senior seasons at Worlds. A French couple, Sophia Moniotte/Pascal Lavanchy earned the silver. And so ended an overwhelming era of ice dance. But as skaters like Shae-Lynn Bourne/Victor Kraatz, Tatiana Navka, Margarita Drobiazko/Povilas Vanagas, and Elizabeth Punsalan/Jerod Swallow waited in the wings while Canadian and American media lamented the lack of variety at the top, only 1 thing could be stated for certain: the chaos that is ice dance was sure to continue far past 1994.