saltedsalmon_esoterica_esoterica= :saltedsalmon_esoterica_title:
saltedsalmon_esoterica= Esoterica Contest
DIA_ESOTERICA_DATE_A=
[DIALOG left normal]
{>> 0.66}
Madeline! Good to see you!
How's it been going? It's been awhile since you've been around here.
I kinda thought you might've up and died???
I've been a'ight, still single though.
Now that I've dumped my ex, I can finally get myself back out there.
Except, honestly being single... {1}kinda sucks.
{~}Shocker{/~}, I know...
Especially since the only way to find someone is these shitty {*}dating apps{/*}.
Seriously, I don't know how any woman can use these things.
Men are just too meek and afraid to talk to women in public.
It's a pretty good deal, being hit on in public less and all, {0.6}but it also feels pretty alienating.
{1}I guess that's just the way things are now.

DIA_ESOTERICA_DATE_B=
[DIALOG left normal]
{>> 0.66}
But seriously, {~}LOOK at these!{/~}
{>> 1}[NONE]
She hold up her phone, showing tens of direct messages from strange men. Some including photos you'd... rather not focus on.
[DIALOG left normal]
{>> 0.66}
It's  {>> 0.26}{*}miserable! {/*}
{>> 0.66}Most of these men are just so socially unappealing in so many ways.
Obviously, I hate all the random pictures of their dicks, or men threatening to assault me.
... but the {*}most annoying{/*} has to be the men who will...
I dunno, {1}{~}debase{/~} themselves and heap overwhelming praise on you.
I dunno, have you ever seen these?
Well, I suppose you haven't, considering...
{>> 4}er- anyways{>> 0.66}, some men will waltz up into my DMs and do this whole {>> 0.4}{~}theatrical{/~} performance.
{>> 0.66}They think it's cute or attractive to overperform this pathetic denigrating act, that I'm their {~}Queeeen{/~}.
{~}omg, you are so sexy and beautiful,,,, could i p-pwease get a cwumb of attention...{/~}.
I just dont understand how hard it is to act like an adult. {1}Like a normal god damn person.


DIA_ESOTERICA_DATE_C=
[DIALOG left normal]
{>> 0.3}{~}Hmm..{/~}
{>> 0.66I think the thing that bothers me is that I just know those men are as abusive and obnoxious as the most old school misogynist.
On the ground level, both of these types think that I am something other than a normal person.
Only... the former {~}pretends{/~} to be something they're not. {*}THOSE{/*} men think they're respecting me.
Both see me as some {~}delicate treasure{/~} that must be cherished and protected. 
And treasure is not {~}lived with{/~}, it's not {~}equal{/~}, and it's not {~}respected{/~}, it is collected and owned.
{1}{>> 0.33}That's not what I want at all.

DIA_ESOTERICA_WHEELCHAIR_A=
[DIALOG left normal]
{>> 0.66}
Oh, good afternoon, {#a8a8a8}Madeline{#}.
How are you today?
{1}...
Heh, yeah... I know.
Pretty surprising, isn't it?
{~}Ol' Melissa, in a wheelchair.{/~}
{>> 0.66}It's been awhile, a lot has happened since you were last over.
The... {1} The {>> 0.3}pregnancy{>> 0.66} didn't go too well.
The doctor told Jason and I pretty early on that I was going to have complications.
Something about my genes, I'm not too sure honestly.
I got pretty sick over winter, constant nausea and whatnot...
But early last month, I fell down to my knees one day and lost consciousness.
... and, by the time I came to...
{1} Sorry, give me one second.
{1}...
She was already gone.
They had to... force her out to save me... and it was too early.
She didn't make it.
{1}Not only that, but... Through all the disease and the surgeries, she rendered me paralyzed from waist-down.
...
And, that's how it all happened.


DIA_ESOTERICA_WHEELCHAIR_B=
[DIALOG left normal]
{1}{>> 0.66}Jason has been acting pretty strange about it.
He's been working a lot more, and more prone to angry outbursts.
Part of me wonders... if he blames me, for all of this.
We haven't been the same since it all happened.
Especially when I found out what he did.
When I came home from the hospital... I found a strange stitch that wasn't related to the surgery.
Apparently, he gave the surgeons permission- or maybe he asked them- to stitch me.
So I'd be more... {1} sexually pleasing.
My friends told me it's called a 'husband stitch'.
I just can't fathom the idea that he would think of such a thing, right as our baby died.
From the way he acts, I don't even think he's mad about our baby.
I haven't felt up for sleeping with him, given everything that happened.
I tried once, just to see if he would become less {*}frustrating{/*} if I just let him.
But... {1} it hurt {*}so{/*} bad. I couldn't take it.
I hate to say it out loud, but honestly? I'm glad he's working longer.
Although, I will say, he hasn't come home since yesterday.
I guess he stayed at the office? I don't know, I'm not too worried, he's done this a couple times.
Usually he let's me know, but I guess he's still feeling all weird.
I hope soon he'll come out of this haze and we can find each other again.
Anyway, enough about me... 

DIA_ESOTERICA_WHEELCHAIR_C=
[DIALOG left normal]
{>> 0.66}Of course, the worst part now is that, because of the stairs, I can't even sleep in my own bed.
We had to put up a bed downstairs. 
Some nights, I catch Jason sleeping in our real bed after I wake up in the middle of the night.
And I'm left all alone.
It makes me really lonely.
I'm utterly dependent upon him now.
I can't go to the bathroom without his help, I can barely eat without him making something for me...
I can't work for my own income anymore...
I can't do {~}anything.{/~}
I can't do... {1}anything now.
Honestly, it make's me feel like an angel that lost her wings.
I had so much power and joy...
and now, {1}I'm broken.


DIA_ESOTERICA_BILLBOARD_A=
{>> 0.75}A large billboard advertisement for an escort service.
Next to the phone number, the advertisement depicts two women...
doing{1}... something... {0.4}to each other.
...
Gross.
{1}
It's funny.
Despite featuring two women and no men, you can still tell.
{1}{>> 0.66}This isn't made for you.

DIA_ESOTERICA_GARDENSIGN_A=
East Central Garden Entrance

DIA_ESOTERICA_ROOF_A=
[DIALOG left normal]
{>> 0.75}Hey, Madeline.
You should probably get out of here.
I won't be up here much longer myself, probably.
...

DIA_ESOTERICA_ROOF_B=
[DIALOG left normal]
{>> 0.75}...{1} Did you talk to Melissa on the way up?
Yeah... so you know.
Did she... tell you about Jason...
What he did to her?
Yeah... {1}the stitch.
It makes me fucking sick, dude.
I always knew he was a sick asshole, but that {>> 0.2}really{>> 0.75} shocked me.
I remember when I first met Melissa, and I remember when Jason came along.
She never was the same, always tying her down, so-to-speak.
That was his baby, not hers.
He essentially cursed her, as far as I see it.
{1}And when I saw his face as she told me what happened...
It's like he didn't care at all, like he was mad that {~}she{/~} was upset over it.
I had to be the one that comforted her as she sobbed, and he just sat there.
Sick bastards.
What is it with {*}men{/*} taking and taking, and then acting so entitled.
Bunch of pigs, all of them.
Jason, those doctors, the surgeon that did it, all of 'em.
Sick from top-to-bottom.
All so self-interested, can't be bothered to give a {*}shit{/*} about his wife as she mourns her baby.
It's better that he's...
Well..

DIA_ESOTERICA_ROOF_C=
[DIALOG left normal]
Well, I'm going away, probably forever...
So I guess I'll tell you.
...{1} ...{1}
I killed him, dude.
I straight up, just killed him. Shot 'em dead.
... heh.
I can't say I'm happy I did it, but I know it was right.
I couldn't let that pig live, he was rotted to the core.
I knew Melissa wouldn't ever so much as lay a finger on him, she's too gentle.
I had to save her, I couldn't sleep knowing what the monsters had done to her.
I don't understand how she slept in that house, how she carried on, and never once even raised her tone with him.
I don't know how anyone does it with these men.
{1}{~}...{/~}
And that's why I'm up here.
I gave Melissa a couple of my things, and now I'm up here, just, waiting for... {1}anything.
Probably won't be too much longer before someone finds out.
So... yeah.
You should probably get out of here.

DIA_ESOTERICA_BASS_A=
This street busker is locked in on her bass guitar.
[DIALOG left normal]
{>> 0.75}Oh! {~}Hello,{/~} ma'am!
Sorry, I missed you there!
Enjoy the little show! If you have any spare change, I'd be happy to take it.
I'm mostly practicing, but it's still nice to get out here and talk to people, and have a little fun.
I'm not very good, but...
{1}Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to start goin' off!
Anyway, thanks for the chat! Enjoy!

DIA_ESOTERICA_BASS_B=
[DIALOG left normal]
{>> 0.75}You know, I gotta try to have more confidence in my playing.
It's just hard sometimes... especially since...
...
{*}Especially since my band just kicked me out.{/*}
Yeah! I know right? {~}MY{/~} band, they just kicked me out.
That band was like my baby, I founded it with my drummer.
Heh, they basically usurped me.
They're still keeping the band name too! Like, the fuck?
And get this, the reason they said they wanted me out?
{~}"No chicks in the band".{/~}
Ridiculous.
Boys, I tell ya.
It's not enough that they exclude us from their spaces.
They gotta come into my little corner and make sure I can't have it.

DIA_ESOTERICA_BASS_C=
[DIALOG left normal]
{>> 0.75} The crazy thing is, I don't think {~}we{/~} do this to them!
Never met a musician who was all like, {~}"Oh, I don't want any men in MY band!"{/~}
Because, like, that'd be kinda stupid, right?
But they feel their presence is a given, and ours is a privilege.
It really is like, we're not even really "people" to them, we're {~}women.{/~}
I swear, they think they can take everything...
{0.7}One day, they'll come begging for the rib, too, I bet.
{1.4}Haha, anyways. That's all a bummer. I'm gonna keep practicing.

DIA_ESOTERICA_DOOR_A=
[DIALOG left normal]
{>> 0.75}{~}Honey!{/~}
Please, just talk to me, sweetheart!
{*}Ugh{/*}, she's ignoring me too.
She's upset that her father and brother went on this big trip without her.
Usually they all go together, it's like a yearly thing for those three, it was sweet.
But this year, her father said he wanted to take his son on the trip alone.
Some male bonding kinda thing, a father and son thing.
I dunno, I guess it's kinda normal to want to have a boy's trip without any girls there.
My father was always close with my brothers, but never really close to me.
We're just so different, it's just normal.

DIA_ESOTERICA_DOOR_B=
[DIALOG left normal]
{>> 0.75}I did hope her father would be different, though.
And when him and her were so close early on, I thought he {~}would{/~} be.
That he could overcome the distance, somehow.
Still, now that she's grown up, daughters and fathers, they start to grow apart due to their differences.
{1}...
She's always been included in these kind of things, though.
She always like camping and hiking and fishing, those three loved doing those things together.
Heh,{0.3} we always joked that Sarah was one of the boys. That {~}I{/~} was the only lady in the house.
But she's a young lady now, and my son's a young man.
It's just the way it is.
{1}... Still, I did always want to be closer with my dad.
I can't say I'm not a little upset he did this to Sarah.

DIA_ESOTERICA_DOOR_C=
[DIALOG left normal]
{>> 0.75}Ever since her father told her, she's been so much more reclusive.
And now that he's actually gone and left without her, and it's just her and I, she's basically mute.
She's taking it real hard.
Still, I suppose it was time for her to learn.
This is part of growing up as a young lady.
You have to realize that sometimes, boys will be like this.
They're territorial, {0.5}I guess.
They like having their thing, and ladies like us, well...
They want us in their lives, but{0.5} they don't like to share. 
It was only a matter of time before she learned this.
I guess I just wish it wasn't her father that taught her...
... {0.5}that she'll never be the same as him.

DIA_ESOTERICA_BENCH_A=
[DIALOG left normal]
{>> 0.75}Oh, hello, dear.
How are you enjoying the garden?
It's a lovely place, isn't it?
Well, aside from of course...
{*}That statue.{/*}
Hideous thing, isn't it?
I'm old enough to remember this garden without it.
It was colorful, vibrant, people always lingered around.
Young dates on a blanket.
Old folks doing morning walks.
It was pleasant...
but now, I don't see much of that anymore.
{0.7} The timing was too sudden, I know it's because of that wretched thing.
Well, regardless of how I feel, I still hope you can find some peace around here.

DIA_ESOTERICA_BENCH_B=
[DIALOG left normal]
{>> 0.75} With my old age, I can remember a time that things weren't so...
er... {*}tense{/*}, between men and women.
A time where a statue like that wouldn't be built in a place like this.
I suppose there's always been conflict, but things are different now.
I remember how the men were back when I was young and dating.
They had a purpose, they had goals, and they had something to look forward to.
In this day and age, something to look forward to is hard to come by.
But women, we still have an identity.
I talk to men that wander through the garden, it seems as if they have {0.6}nothing.
Nowadays, the old archetype of what it meant to be a man... {1}is gone.
{0.5}A good thing, to be sure. 
I have my fair share of scars from those days, as do most women my age.
However, most young men's conception of themselves was based in that idea.
The tapestry of man, passed down from their fathers to them, is now worthless.
They don't even know what to {~}be{/~}, now.
Not all of the young men are suffering nowadays, but they seemingly all share the same sorrows.
They don't know where they're going.
And now, it seems they wish to return to the old status quo.
{0.4}...
For some, I'm sure it's because they want their wife to be barefoot, bruised and pregnant.
However, I don't think they {~}all{/~} internalize malicious intent.
I think some believe that they are righteous saviours of women, and that their little platititudes are our salvation.
But mostly, I think they just want something to look forward to. 
...
And of course, {~}we{/~} are the prize in this.
Whether intentional or not, the thing young men are chasing is the possession of a subordinate, an animal that they can dominate and domesticate.
And that's why things are so tense.
You can't put things back to the way they were without some violence.

DIA_ESOTERICA_BENCH_C=
[DIALOG left normal]
{>> 0.75}That's why the men built this statue, after all.
Beyond the self-aggrandizing, of course.
It's a signal to women.
They're taking it back.
...
It scares me to think that its possible...
That in my 30's,{0.7} {>> 0.5}I was freer than my grandaughter will be when she becomes that age.

DIA_ESOTERICA_STATUE_A=
{>> 0.6}A large statue reigns over this garden.
The statue is a rather flattering depiction of Adam, the first man.
He wears a calm face, with no discernable intent.
Wilted and dying flowers litter the ground surrounding the fountain.
In his outstretched hand, man's birthright. A single human rib.
{1.66}On the side of the fountain rests a plaque with tiny text engraved into it's golden facade.
The text is so small, you have to lean over the fountain to read it.
The plaque reads:

DIA_ESOTERICA_PLAQUE_A=
[PLAQUE left normal]
{#000000}{>> 0.33}N O    W O M A N    I S    A    W H O R E

