The Red Dress Trend - Sabrina

Was told this one was hard to read, try opening in a new tab or reading below: 

 Well, here I am again. Back in my hometown, dolled up in an outfit with a note that reads "To Aidy, the best little Sister a girl could ask for! Have fun! - S.C." with a lipstick print I'm ashamed to admit I could tell you the exact shade, product line, and manufacturer of with 100% accuracy. Most guys, maybe not ones in their 30s like me, would be excited to have been mailed a kiss by one of the world's most famous and beautiful women, but most guys aren't that girls exact lookalike. I've spent so much time staring at her in the mirror that I've become entirely desensitized to her appearance. Maybe I was starting to look at her like a big Sister, she pushes me to do things I don't want to because she thinks they'd be good for me like a big Sister, which is why I'm wearing this red dress. To signal to the other Lookalikes that I'm one of them so we can network or commiserate. I didn't want to, I don't want people to know I'm a guy, I don't want them to know I'm in my 30s, I don't want them to know that these curves aren't padding anymore. 

When I started this job, I went years without ever interacting with Sabrina directly, but when I declined this, she actually called me and flew me out to meet her. She said it would be cute if all of us little Sisters got together and had sleepovers and talked about boys. Not wanting to risk my job I asked her how old she thought I was, what kind of stuff she thought I was into, and why the Hell she would ever think I'd be into boys. But I didn't want to put my job at risk, so I just nodded and told her she was so right and so smart. We were both in flats so she was a bit taller than me as she pulled me into the hug, she promised to send me the perfect outfit as she left, and its the one you see me in now. How did she do? 

What I didn't think of was that the date of the Trend was also the day I was booked for a party, Sabrina, thinking she was being a cool big Sis went along with my Mom's plan to let me attend some local birthday parties, that way I could make a little money on the side and "get socialized," which is something my Mom liked to say. So I would visit birthday parties, graduation parties, anything a celebrity appearance would make better. Everyone would sign NDAs to avoid conflicts with Sabrina's whereabouts and mine, people could take and share photos amongst themselves, but not post them on social media. We said it was for security and people understood. My Dad, after seeing his beer-drinking buddies ogling me and getting close to me, I thought he would step in and defend me, but he pulled me aside and proposed the idea of charging the adults 45 dollars for a photo together. Most of them had wandering hands, but luckily I was short enough that most of the Dads had to settle for the small of my back as going for my ass would make them hunch and I guess they didn't want to make their perviness too obvious.

This dress was actually a bit comforting, not comfortable, it's very tight and constricting, but it's form-fitting and engulfs most of my body. It's like a weighted blanket that makes my ass look great. As much as I dislike looking like this, its hard not to feel a sense of pride when I see how my hard work is paying off, well, hard work and hormones. Trading my ever-diminishing manhood that I have to painfully (though alarmingly less painful than it used to be) for a feminine but world-famous ass isn't a trade I'd make without any financial incentive, but a job well-done is a well-done. The breasts though, not as big as I imagine some of the other Lookalikes have to deal with (shout-out Sydney) are harder to hide. Guys can have girly butts, no big deal. Who would notice? But can you imagine trying to see a movie during the Summer and deciding between wearing a hoodie and sweating to death, or wearing a t-shirt with a visible bra, or wearing a t-shirt and having the girls poke out to say "hello" once you hit the air conditioned theater. So it is a bit of a relief to be in an outfit that was designed for the shape of my body. It makes me feel a bit more confident, which you'd have to feel to set up your phone in a hotel bar to film yourself dancing for a social media post, I had a few minutes before the party started but luckily the only person at the bar was my Mother, she gave me an enthusiastic cheer as I picked it up and pushed "send," putting myself out there to be hit up by the other girls. 

My Mom told me how proud she was, I find its best not to resist and just let her praise me until she tires herself out. I never asked her to be my manager but I guess she likes the chance to spend time with me. But it made it easier for this side-hustle, she didn't even take a cut, but she set up the party appearances whenever I'd visit home. She'd let me focus on getting pretty and would give me the details before I went in, I would sing a song, pose for some pictures, remind a few Dads that they're married and be on my way. So as we got toward the door that leads from the bar to the restaurant, I asked my Mom the name of the kid the party was for, "Donnell" was all she said. 

"A boy? Is he a little fruity?" I joked without an ounce of irony about what I was wearing.

"Oh no, not that I've noticed." She said with an odd inflection as she opened a door to reveal Donnell Green, someone I went to high school with and took it upon himself to make my life as hard as possible.

"Mom. What's going on?" I asked, reverting, making myself as small as possible and shrinking behind her to hide myself while he smiled at me.

"Well, Aidy, I talked to your Sister and she said you seemed excited about having sleepovers with the other girls but you were upset about not being able to participate in the boy talk, so she asked me to help arrange a date for you."

"Mom! He used to bully me!" I say as she swings an arm back to hook around my shoulders and push me back in front of her, me stumbling in the towering Sabrina heels I was wearing. 

"Sweetheart, that was 15 years ago. People can change and he was very happy to hear that you'd be willing to sit down with him after he saw the pictures of you." Mom went on to explain that Donnell was recently single and moved home to take care of his Father. I was so caught up in the disbelief of the situation that I didn't realize Mom was inching me closer and closer to the table throughout her explanation. Donnell got up, pulled my chair out, and sat me down with his big, strong hands. My Mom turned to leave.

"Mom! Wait! What would Dad say?" I squealed, grasping at anything to get me out of this situation. Donnell cleared his throat.

"I spoke to him, we came up with a price he was comfortable with, so that's your Mom, your Dad, and your big Sister's approval we have for our date. Nothing to worry about."

"What about my approval? You were always so mean to me, you used to pick me up in the hallway and put me on top of the lockers, not IN the lockers. On TOP OF, you know I'm afraid of heights."

"I figured you got over that since you're in those tall-ass heels. Besides, people can change. Or have you not looked in the mirror lately? Look, I'm just here to help you out, Sabrina seemed very excited about helping you with this experience and you don't want to let your meal ticket down, do you?"

"I guess not... What do I have to do?"

"Just be the girl and let me be the man. The night leads where the night leads."

"OK. But this is just a one-time thing for work. Don't expect this every weekend."

"That's not up to you, and your Dad told me that you have a party to perform for at the Dixon house next weekend. I mean, unless you have a good time and I outbid him."

"I didn't even know Mr. Dixon had kids..."

"He doesn't."

The Red Dress Trend - Olivia

I was hoping that the clip in question would suffice, even if I'm not technically wearing a dress, a video of me in a red outfit posted at the same time the Red Dress Trend was going down should be good enough, right? I'd like to reach out, talk to some people about how embarrassing this gig is, or at least maybe I could get some tips on how to be less anxious about it. Part of me thinks I shouldn't complain because I really don't have to do much compared to some other stories I've heard. I can't confirm all, or any, of them obviously, but I've heard Taylor Swift's Lookalike has it way worse than I do. Unfortunately, unlike the rest of them I can't just do my hair, throw on a red dress and suddenly become Olivia, this job is something I wouldn't be in any way qualified for in any way, most of the guys they get apparently have a strong resemblance to their celeb already, I can only look like Olivia with the heavy involvement of technology and I'm not working tonight, they offered a chance to get dolled up but I'm hanging with my girl tonight and as excited as she gets about having an exact clone of her favorite pop star around, I don't like the completely non-boyfriend way she looks at and speaks to me when I'm in my "uniform."

This actually started because of her, my name was Bayley back then, it still is, but so few people use it anymore. When it was announced that Olivia would be making a stop near us on her tour, my girlfriend flipped. I wanted to get a pair of tickets as a gift, she really is the best thing that ever happened to me. I saved and saved and sold a good chunk of my video game collection and when they finally went on sale, they sold out immediately. I managed to find a scalper willing to part with one of their tickets, but all of my saving only amounted to most of one ticket, had to pay the rest with my grocery money but I got it! My girlfriend was at first excited, then crestfallen to find out it was one ticket and I wouldn't be attending. There's no way I'd be able to afford another ticket so I figured I could bust out my IT skills and get myself in there, I scanned the ticket and tried to make another but the coding was tricky so I used an AI program to create a crew pass for myself. I could use it to get in, slip into the crowd, find my girl and enjoy the night. Maybe I'd be able to get some merch or an autograph and win boyfriend of the year. 

When we arrived, she got in the audience queue and I went to the staff entrance of the venue. I inhaled deeply, gathered all of my nerves, then scanned the pass. The light turned green on the terminal and it told me where to go, I didn't want to draw suspicion, so I'd just go to whatever room I was supposed to, act busy until nobody was looking, then slip out. As I entered the room I was directed to, it was a sterile, white room with a single chair and several panels on the wall. Another terminal asked to scan my pass, I did, and it lit up "welcome, Olivia" before the panels on the walls started to shift and several metal tentacle-like objects came out and restrained me as it got to work on me. I feared for my life but then I realized it was tearing m clothes off, I then feared for my everything else. It sprayed me with a chemical-scented liquid that burned at first, then sprayed me down with water. I realized my body hair had washed away. A large hourglass-shaped contraption approached me, then split in four and surrounded me, encasing my body save for my arms, neck, and head. I felt it squeezing and coating me in something. I then felt a tense, tight pressure on my crotch. It hurt. I tried to shout but a mask made of the same material as the hourglass dropped from the ceiling and encased my face. A tube shot down my throat to help me breathe. I tried to rock, writhe, and fight but I was powerless to move anything. I don't know how long I was there but I resigned myself to my fate until it opened and dropped me. Everything returned to the way it was and one of the panels shifted and there was Olivia Rodrigo or...

No. It was me. I was Olivia Rodrigo. Why was I Olivia Rodrigo? It had cinched my waist, added padding, hair extensions, make-up, compressed my face into her shape, added a supplement to freeze my face in place as an exact copy of Olivia's. It could still function but wouldn't return to my shape. I was wearing an outfit that consisted of a red bodysuit, black pantyhose, and some platform shoes. Then the panel shifted to reveal another mirror except I was, wait no. That's really Olivia Rodrigo. She looked entertained at the sight before her. She walked over and eyed me up and down without a word, picking up my personal belongings that the tentacles had placed on the seat. She opened my wallet, looked at the ID, then at me, then showed it to me. "You're a guy?" My hand subconsciously went between my legs to feel the smooth, pressed-in flat area under my outfit where the proof used to be. I nodded. She asked how I accessed her auto-dresser. The only thing I can assume happened is that when I asked the AI to make me a pass to the Olivia Rodrigo concert it somehow pulled the data from her actual ID and put it in the code of the pass, but that sounds mighty illegal so I just mumbled a response.

"I'm lost."

"I'd say you're found is more like it. They asked me to try this auto-dresser out tonight and it... Looks like it does a phenomenal job." Olivia said, circling and inspecting me. 

"I um... I can leave. I'm sorry it's..."

"No! Your voice isn't quite there yet, but I have an idea. Let's see if this auto-dresser is good enough to fool my adoring fans. If you can go onstage without anyone noticing, I won't tell anyone anything."

"I can't sing."

"You won't have to, just get me some time to relax between songs, we'll say there's an issue with the mic, just dance, tease, entertain them a little. When I'm ready to come back I'll relieve you of your duties, you can get out of here. Heck, you can keep the outfit." I didn't have much choice. I nodded. The concert went on, I texted my girlfriend and told her I was stuck backstage before I went on, Olivia sliding past me, slipping me the dead microphone, giving me a slap on the ass and wishing me luck. I scanned the audience for her, then realized I was just staring like a deer in the headlights, so I started doing random dance moves, lip-synching to the random playlist they played between songs as the band took their break. I'd finally spotted my girlfriend, pointed directly at her and smiled as she took a selfie of the both of us from a distance. That made quick work of the frown she'd been wearing at the fact I wasn't with her. 

Afterward, I went backstage to realize that the machine had destroyed my old clothes. Olivia offered me a trench coat to sneak out, not before a man in a suit told me he worked for a company called LALS and let me know that his company was purchasing an auto-dresser and would like to offer me work as Olivia's double. That was the quickest "no" I ever said. Then he told me how much I'd make and, well, my girlfriend and I had a lot to talk about on the way home after I got her to stop screaming at who she thought was Olivia Rodrigo approaching her to drive her home. So, that's what I've been doing for work since. My girlfriend loves the merch, the free tickets, she's even been able to meet Olivia a few times. I don't like how Olivia likes to tease me by picking especially feminine outfits for us on nights she knows my girlfriend will be there. That babydoll? Yep. Had to wear that our anniversary dinner. It's all well and good as long as she's happy, but I've noticed that when I'm in my work clothes, she doesn't view me as a boyfriend at all. She likes to gossip and play like we're two besties, I've even caught her accidentally beginning to vent about me to "Olivia." But I guess I can take solace in the fact that it really only had to do with her missing me. A bit odd to phrase it as "I miss having a man around," instead of "I miss having Bayley around," but hey, at least she still cares about the real me.

The Red Dress Trend - Taylor

 

The Red Dress Trend - Rachel + Upcoming Schedule

Scheduled this for PM instead of AM and just noticed, so here it is a little late! I wanted to have these spaced out a little more, but I had a hand joint issue that made it very draining to type. So I did a mad dash to have things ready for the final week now that I have some mobility back in it. So this week we'll have at the very least 3 captions. Taylor Swift tomorrow and Olivia Rodrigo after that! 

There won't be a new caption July 3rd, when I'll be posting the model poll to see what 4 beautiful ladies get captions in September. If you have any last minute suggestions please leave them in the comments!

 Subject to change, but the plan for now:

July 3rd - Model Poll

July 10th - Blackedmail sequel

July 17th - Hawkeye vs. Hot Guy sequel

July 24th - Assignment sequel

July 31st - Hell Week sequel

August 7th - WHAT!? sequel

August 14th - Hiding the Evidence sequel

August 21st - Group Costume sequel

August 28th - The Dress-Up Mess-Up sequel

September will be the 4 model poll winners, October will, I believe, be the Fake ID conclusion. Then I'm probably gonna sleep forever. 

As far as Lasspoint goes, I'm still posting the updates on DeviantArt, it seems to do really poorly on this blog, which I understand. It's not the usual content.  If anyone is missing the story, it's there and I'll post it on a different, more accessible story site if anyone has suggestions.

The Red Dress Trend - Xochitl

 Wanted to see a simple, happy one where everything works out. 

The Red Dress Trend - McKenna

 Guest cap by Jocelyn! Make sure to look at her blog! I thought it would be fun to have someone new to the world of caption-making to tell the story of the newest Looalike. 

The Red Dress Trend - Sydney

 Here's her red dress! Next week we have a guest cap from Jocelyn! Make sure to check out her amazing work, link to her blog in the sidebar. 

A Lookalike PR Crisis + Poll Results

 This is kicking off our event for the month, the Red Dress Trend. And yes, there's a caption with Sydney in the red dress coming up. The concept of our main character's condition was one that was requested a while back on Deviantart, but DA changed the way messages work so the request was lost, so I hope I remembered all of the details. 

We'll visit in with several celebrity lookalikes and hear their stories. After this month, we'll celebrate July with a sequel month! We'll catch up with Hawkeye Vs. Hot Guy, Assignment, and Hell Week. But July will kick off with the winner of the Sequel Poll we held. Speaking of...

After running away with the lead almost immediately and through over 600 total votes on the poll (wow guys!!) BlackedMail ran away with the win, so the sequel to that will be our first post in July. 

A congrats to the other members of our top 5. 

5. The Dress-Up Mess-Up 

4. Group Costume

3. Hiding the Evidence

2. WHAT!?

I'm very apprecative of the mix of old and new ones, makes me feel like I still got it! It makes me sad how much excitement there was for them to get no follow-up. Oh well. What are ya gonna do. Wonder what 4 captions we'll get in August though... 

Relapse

 I'm really proud of this one! That's why I saved it for last of the month. 

Lasspoint Chapter 9

 I saw bright lights, my assumption was that a guy like me made it to Heaven somehow, a guy who would proudly pick up a weapon and drop a body no-questions-asked for the powers that be. Funny how introspective you can get when you see your legs going in the opposite direction of the rest of you. But no, despite my belief that there was no way I was actually still alive after the fall, I wasn't dead. Little did I know, from that point I probably never would be. The heavenly voices I'd heard were actually those of my Sisters, only they weren't my Sisters yet, they were concerned onlookers that saw a woman in need and did everything in their power to help her. They dug up clay from the ground and set about rebuilding the 78% of my body that I'd lost on the way down, I remember them raving about the sky finally opening. I remembered the sorceress mentioning that she'd cut the island off from the view of the Gods. I heard a commanding voice, one with age, wisdom, and all the tenacity that centuries of leading a tribe of Warrior Women essentially exiled from the modern world. She called up to the skies, and it sounds like you've seen a lot Flash, so I'm not sure if this will be as unbelievable to you as the imaginary people I pictured myself explaining it to in my head, but the skies actually spoke back to her. She pled and demanded they help me and my tenuous connection to my mortal consciousness started to grow more clear and firm until I opened my eyes to see the women smiling down at me.

I would come to know these women as Hippolyta, my Mother, in the sense that I'd all but lost my life and she gave it back, Artemis, Nubia, the people who would grow to become my closest friends and family, but then, in that moment, they were a bunch of super powerful strangers who rebuilt the body I hadn't had the chance to get used to brought me back by directly petitioning the Gods to do so. I'd been brought up believing there was only one God and that he was pretty stern but hands-off, here I was being brought back to life by a whole handful of them. They'd wrapped me in bandages to help the new clay limbs bond then left me on the beach for fear of harming me before I was fully healed. I lied on the beach for days, feeling the loose clay forming my limbs harden, then loosen, then become flesh. A part of me. Or was I a part of it? I usually wouldn't get caught up in transcendent hokum like that, but I was immobile on a beach for a few days, so, "when in Themyscira" as they say.

When I could finally move on my own, I had been baking in the sun and I had no idea where the women had went. I found out later that they'd come looking for me but my dumb ass wandered into the woods and tried to fend for myself. I was aware of how I'd changed, but that didn't stop the existential crisis that hit me when I caught my reflection in a lake I'd stopped to drink from deep in the forest. I don't know if it's conceited to say that I'm the most beautiful woman I'd ever seen, I played no part in my appearance. I started to lose my sense of self, think about all I'd lost, but then, damndest thing, I saw a fucking kangaroo. Or at least, I thought it was a Kangaroo, its a divergent species native to Themyscira called a Kanga. They're actually capable of flying, well, more jumping really high and really far, kind of like Superman before he got the hang of it. Anyway, that really puts it into perspective, you're on a magical island with flying Kangaroos after a group of immortal women rebuilt your body out of clay and you're worried that you're pretty now? So I sucked it up and looked for civilization.

When I came upon them they were having a celebration. What of? Another day passed, they don't have work weeks or schedules. They train, they build, they celebrate. Wine by the barrel-full, the most elegant music I'd ever heard played live, laughter. No creeps lording over them, no worries of what's to come, no godsdamned war keeping them on edge. When they saw me, none of them had looks of concern, unease, or even pity for what I'd been through. One of them, I'm still not sure which, shouted "Sister!" And they all surrounded, embraced, greeeted me and supplied with the most delicious wine I'd ever had. I was never much of a wine guy, but I guess I wasn't any kind of guy anymore. In the moment I'd felt like I had no qualms with what I'd become, but when they started to treat me as one of them, talk about how excited they were to have a new woman amongst them, offer me some of their skirts and girly outfits, I started to feel a little upset about it. They understood, they'd been alone on an island for centuries, of course they'd be patient.

Back where I come from, if you threw a fit, the commanding officer would make sure that rebellion was beaten out of you. But they gave me my space, made sure I was fed, and constantly reminded me that I'd be welcome to join them as soon as I felt ready to do so. Eventually I'd had enough time to convince myself that my reservations were nonsense. I was a woman by every verifiable metric now, the fluidity of gender isn't something society was very aware of back then, but that's neither here or there. If I were a woman in every way that could be verified, why was I so adamant about drawing the line at a skirt? I apologized for my attitude and accepted my new attire. I'd be lying if I said I didn't have immediate reservations after seeing myself in them. My Sisters didn't really have mirrors, not that they didn't believe in them, they just had no reason to have them, so I had to borrow a reflective shield to get a look at myself. I was lost in the sight, until Artemis, one of my Sisters, challenged me to a sparring match. I got my ass kicked.

It took some effort to shake off the competitive streak I'd developed before but I think I handled it decently, that was when Hippolyta took me aside to talk to me about my place on the island. She asked who I was before, I told her that I was a pilot. After explaining what a pilot was and who I was a pilot for, she boiled it down to the simple concept, "So you were a soldier." After that, she explained to me that I had to take a role on this island to be seen as equal among my Sisters, she doesn't usually offer such counseling unsolicited, but since she gave me my new lease on my life, she felt responsible for me. Like I was her child, then she told me all about her yearning for a child, that she felt being a Mother was her purpose, but being on an island of all women and being cut off from the Gods who could grant such a thing, its like I was a Godsend, except she knew the Gods weren't sending help. So she felt my arrival was something greater, even above that. I thought it was silly at first, but as the memories of my old life and my old Mother faded, I started to consider her my Mother just as she considered me her Daughter.

It's hard to keep track of time without calendars or bills or obligations, but it did eventually seem apparent that I wasn't getting any older. I knew that they all looked great for their age but I hadn't, until then, considered that I was now one of them. Immortal. I'm glad the realization took me so long, because I think if I had known nothing bad could happen to me, I may not have tried so desperately during my training to avoid being hurt and probably wouldn't have been as effective in battle as a result. My old life and anything before that day I became Stefania, the name Hippolyta chose for me, was a distant blur. But I remembered the battle, there was a battle. There was a war. It wasn't over. I'd felt like I abandoned people I didn't remember to a fate I didn't understand.

A ceremony was held in which I'd officially take my place on the island as a warrior, I'd officially be declared Hippolyta's Daughter, and be sworn in as a Sister to all of the other women on the island. The only thing I had to do was tell them that that was who I was. They presented me with a golden, glowing lasso, the same one I used on you, they wrapped it around my wrists, and asked me who I was. The lasso compels me to tell the truth, based on the people I've seen try to resist, it begins to hurt, pushing every urge within you to truthfully answer the question being asked of you. But to my surprise, I felt nothing, "I am Stefania of Themyscira, Daughter of Hippolyta" rolled off my tongue just as natural as anything I'd ever said. There was much drinking and celebrating that night, not often that a new Sister joins their ranks. It would be a natural assumption that they fool around with each other, the only ones on the island, never having seen a man, spend all day sweating and sparring, and your assumption would be correct. I didn't partake because, well, even if I'd accepted the new person I was and the new place I belonged, I still hadn't grasped the concept of having a new body that was the opposite of everything I was before, so I politely declined their advances. I knew I was shorter, even though the only thing I had for reference was the seat of my old plane I'd found washed ashore. No matter how strong I got, stronger than a human could ever be, I felt soft. I would have to shave twice a day if I had work in the morning and a date at night, now I couldn't grow a thing under my eyebrows. Sweet benefit of being an Amazon I guess.

Things were great there, but I couldn't help think about the outside world, the people I left behind, the battle I checked out of early. So I told my Mother that I wanted to go back, not to stay, but to make sure I'd done everything I could to prevent loss of life. To make sure the witch that did this to me wasn't still out there, terrorizing anyone. The Amazons spoke legends of Circe, an immortal sorceress, but they could think of no reason she would hold a grudge against them. After a long back-and-forth she eventually agreed to grant my wish and allow me to return to Man's World. Given a boat and sent out into the open ocean on my own, I felt a sense of panic being out in the open water again, but I was determined to make it back to land, to see what fresh chaos this woman has brought to the world and put a stop to it. I wondered what I might see and wondered just how long I'd been gone.

---------------------

1944. Romania.

"Right this way. But remember, it's our secret." The witch smirked as she spoke to the teenage Arabic girl in her native tongue as she led her up the mountainside.

"If you are misleading me, my Father will parade the heads of your loved ones through this village." She replied, unamused but still curious enough to follow.

"If you trust me in regard to nothing else, trust that I don't have a single loved one in this village. I'm here for two reasons, to share this secret with you and because I just adore the castle." The leader of the village had lived in the castle until just about the time the red-haired woman arrived. Anybody who ventured up the hillside to question her about the disappearance disappeared just as mysteriously. She had promised them a plentiful harvest and livestock even in the dead of Winter. She delivered. The ground remained fertile and there were more pigs than the villagers knew what to do with, between that and the intimidation of being disappeared as well, everyone decided to leave well enough alone.

"Then just your head, it will save on pikes." The teenager quipped.

"Do you truly concern yourself with the amount of unoccupied pikes you have on hand? A beautiful young girl like you?" The witch asked, the young girl blushed and instinctively raised a hand to the large scar that took up half of her face, including through where her left eye used to be, running the few fingers she had left across it. Probably someone who had a score to settle against her Father. The source of her wounds were unimportant, to the witch at least. The winding path had led them to a cavernous opening with a tricky, long trek down to a natural pool with an unnatural purple glow, a pool that the girl instantly recognized.

"Why is it purple?" She asked, illuminated by waters.

"It's like the one you have back home, but with a few extra touches from yours truly. I thought we girls could not only de-age us and heal us, but make us look as pretty as possible. Go ahead." She motioned the girl toward it, their proximity seemed to make the pool bubble.

"Father says that-"

"Nobody cares." The witch interrupted as she shoved the young girl into the pool, she struggled and gasped. The witch laughed before reaching out and helping the girl out, she now looked a few years younger. She blinked, astonished that she was blinking, she could see out of both eyes. As she looked at her hand, realizing she had each digit back, she quickly touched her face, running her fingers along the area where her scar used to be. "I'll give you a moment. Careful climbing up, the pit makes you a little... hazy for a while."

The witch scaled back up to the entrance of the cave, where several men dressed in black ninja outfits, wielding swords. The witch smirked, as one stepped forward to issue a threat, he suddenly dropped to the ground and screamed in pain as his form shifted and altered to that of a pig, too panicked and mindless to comprehend the cruel fate that had just befallen it, it scampered away and started to sniff for food. She did the same thing to each of the remaining would-be assassins before sitting down, using one of the pigs as a footrest, conjuring an apple from nothing and eating it until the young girl was ready to join her. The girl tried to thank her, but the witch shushed her.

"No thanks necessary, Talia. Remember this location, use it as much as you'd like, if your Father asks, tell him you DON'T remember. All I ask in return. Run along now, I've got a few decades to kill."