Why the Frying Pan Tower Is the Most Dangerous Hotel in

In our last episode
He always found himself dreaming about snow. Snow filling the air as hundreds of boots marched across the ice in unison. Each echoing stomp accompanied by dozens of little crunching and crackling sounds. The blizzard conditions made it difficult to see his own hand in front of his face and yet they marched with unerring precision. Drawn towards a target that, despite the white out conditions, drew them onwards like a beacon. Calling to them an irresistible siren song. Stomp, crunch, crackle, stomp. Bitter winds tearing at him. Slicing at and through him. Penetrating deep, deep within him and freezing the very bones inside. Stomp, crunch, crackle. Each step drawing them ever closer and closer. In the distance he could hear the sharp report of gunfire.
"Wake up!"
The marshal's eyes fluttered open. He was confused for scarcely a moment before he was rolling to his feet to assess the situation.
He was in a dark room and sitting atop a wooden platform that rocked and swayed about him. He briefly considered if this was a sign of a head injury and it was he who was swaying. But, no, a few teeth rattling jarring bumps cleared any confusion up there. The room itself was moving. So, not a room. A wagon perhaps? It would explain the low walls and the cloth ceiling above him. Fine, a wagon. Personal effects? Missing. His pistols, rifle, and even his coat had been taken from him. His feet were bound together with what looked like hemp rope. His wrists were locked in electronic manacle arrangement similar to the cuffs used by the MPs of the Pan-Continental army. No one else seemed to be in the wagon with him. So who had spoken to him? He had only one guess.
"Are you there?" he subvocalized.
"Yes," the Oligarch responded, "Satellite imagery shows you are in a horse drawn cart of some sort and are entering the main square of a small town in the middle of the valley."
"How long have I been out?"
"Nine hours."
"Nine?" the marshal almost shouted as he stiffened, "And you are just now waking me?"
"I kept you under," the Oligarch clarified.
"You what?"
"You are unable to escape from your current setup," the Oligarch explained, "You are restrained and being transported. The damage to your chest was extensive and needed time to repair. You have also been without sleep for three days now and were being sustained by little more than massive stimulant input from your bioregulator. Your judgement is obviously impaired as you did not do a proper threat analysis of your contact with the person identified as Yacob."
He tested the restraints and found that even with his amplified strength they were able to hold him. The manacles were too strong and his legs lacked the leverage. Given time he may have been able to pick apart the fibers holding his legs but then what? Leap off a moving wagon in unknown territory with bound hands? No, the Oligarch was right. His odds of survival were best when the wagon slowed down and after giving him time to fully recuperate. Still, it was insulting to have the decision taken away from him and he resented the lost time he could have used to strategize.
"Did you at least find out anything useful while I was out?" he asked.
"After shooting you Yacob was joined by another man called Errol," the Oligarch explained, "I gather he may be a son but it is difficult to be certain as they moved in and out of range of the auditory pickup. They restrained you and placed you in a wagon. You were not sufficiently recovered at that point to attempt an escape so I could not initiate an emergency wake up protocol. They shot you again to delay your recovery and have been shooting you approximately once an hour since that time. They started moving you two hours ago and I have been monitoring you via satellite since that time."
The marshal grunted.
"So they tried to kill me, what, seven or eight times?" he asked, "Not exactly friendly, are they?"
"I believe they are operating under the assumption that lethal action cannot take place here," the Oligarch explained, "They are more than likely assuming you are recovering due to the same influences as the rest of the valley."
Okay, he was still a little fuzzy from getting shot. That made a lot of sense. If lethal force was impossible, there was no reason to exercise restraint. Simply shoot with deadly intent and ask questions once the bodies recover. It was a flip flop of the rules of engagement he was used to but, admittedly, it did make sense. Also, if true, then that meant that Kincaid had not shared some particularly relevant details of who the marshal was. It was not much to work with, but he held onto this for later just in case it proved useful.
"Any good news?" he asked.
"Your rifle, guns, and coat appear to be in the front of the wagon," the Oligarch explained simply.
He sat up even straighter.
"How the hell do you know that?" he asked, "You can see that much detail from orbit?"
"No," the Oligarch explained, "The items are placed under a bench seat so I could not see them regardless of the resolution. However, the badge is still in your coat pocket and I was able to activate its pickups as well."
The marshal grinned. He had a bug planted.
"Can you patch me in to what they are saying?" he asked.
"You could boost your own audio and hear them from where you sit," the Oligarch remarked, "But, yes, I can do that. The signal may be clearer anyway."
Nothing happened.
"Is there a problem?" the marshal asked.
"No," the Oligarch said, "This is a live transmission. They are not speaking. They have not been speaking for the last hour,"
An eye roll didn't seem like it would do much good with no one around to appreciate it, but he did one anyway.
"Can you at least summarize or give me highlights of what they were talking about?" he asked.
"Playback follows," the Oligarch replied and two voices were suddenly arguing in his head.
"I don't like this," a voice he did not recognize snapped, "Why is the Minister insisting we bring him to the middle of town? Wouldn't it make more sense to do this somewhere private?"
"You really expect a godhead to explain his motives to us?" Yacob's voice snapped, "We do as the MInister proclaims."
"But what if he makes a martyr out of him?"
"A martyr?" Yacob scoffed, "We're the only ones who know who he is! He'll be burned as a heretic or something. If they can find something that will actually burn around here. I had to cut twigs off the wagon wheels before they would turn. Everything tries to grow here!"
"Is that what he is planning? To burn him?"
"I just told you I don't know! What makes you think I know more than you do? We were told to wait for a stranger out there by the road. We did. This one came. We bagged him."
"After you made him clear a path for you," Errol noted.
"Never said I couldn't get a bit of work out of him," Yacob growled.
"Are you sure this is the right stranger?" Errol asked, "He never said anything about the Minister. Even when you tried baiting him."
"I'm sure," Yacob snapped. He didn't sound sure.
"Maybe he was telling the truth," Errol said, "He was just coming here because he's curious."
"He's got battle tech," Yacob said, "What else could he be? He said he ain't a deserter. So he's been sent here."
"Maybe," Errol said, "Or maybe he's just a former soldier. We don't know. It's not like the Minister told us who we were looking for."
"Then this fellow's good as any, isn't he?" Yacob said, "Just shut up unless you got something useful to say. Or do you not want Abby back?"
This was followed by a long silence. For a moment the marshal thought the recording had ended. Errol finally responded in a hushed tone.
"Of course I want Abby back," Errol said, "But do you think this will do it?"
"The Minister promised," Yacob said.
"The Minister promises a lot," Errol said, "But look at him! Have you ever seen anyone actually leave that harem of his?"
"Be quiet."
"Seriously! Think about it! Whatever he's done to them he just has to look at them and they start moaning with pleasure," Errol said, "You saw the look on Abby's face. Do you think she wants to leave?"
"I said be quiet!"
"That entire congregation! It's like he's done something to them! Ever notice how they all scream in pain when he is angry?"
"Last chance, boy!" Yacob was now yelling, "I said be quiet! If you can't say something useful don't say anything!"
"The recording ends there," the Oligarch interrupted.
"So Kincaid has set himself up as the messiah?" the marshal mused, "No wonder they're on edge. I wonder how he knew which road I would arrive on?"
"Likely there is a watchman placed on every road to apprehend strangers."
"Possibly," the marshal agreed, "Or maybe when I brought the dead horse in he made a call."
"If I understand context correctly," the Oligarch said, "That may not be true. It appears things are dying in this territory quite often only to be reborn. The presence of a transient death may have gone unnoticed by Kincaid. He may not have been able to tell there was active arcana in the horse as you stopped riding it at the boundary."
"What are you getting at?"
"Simply this," the Oligarch said, "If there are multiple watchmen snatching all strangers who enter as Kincaid did not give a description and, as the Keepers of the wall suggested, there really are pilgrims entering this place that may mean Kincaid does not know it is you, specifically, who is pursuing him. Only that I would have sent someone. He may have also responded to several false alarms by now."
"Which means he may not take this seriously and be lax in his response," the marshal nodded his agreement, "It's thin, but I can work with it. Those two already have doubts. About me. About Kincaid. Maybe I can confuse things a bit before he shows up."
"Perhaps," the Oligarch commented, "If you can get the badge near your manacles I can possibly unlock you as well. You are currently out of range."
"It's never simple," he muttered to himself and, lacking anything better to do to pass the time, bent over and started working on the fibers of the rope.
"Where is everyone?"
The voice caught him so by surprise tried to do a sitting jump. After a moment's thought, he realized the voice came from inside of his head and it was the now familiar voice of Errol. The men must have started talking again and the Oligarch was still transmitting.
"I don't know," Yacob admitted, "Whole town is deserted it seems. Gives me the creeps."
"Think we should leave him in there?"
"What?" Yacob asked, "And risk having the MInister confiscate the wagon too? No thank you. Pull over and help me unload him. If the Minister wants to drag him somewhere he'll need to find his own way."
The marshal quickly abandoned his fiddling with the rope and laid down once more with his eyes closed. The wagon jostled as someone leaped off of it and a moment later the tarp was pulled back and rough hands were grabbing him.
"Why isn't he awake?" Errol asked as he grunted from the strain.
"How the hell should I know?" Yacob countered, "Look at his chest! It's all healed over!"
"Maybe when you shot him it did something to his implants?"
"Haven't you ever talked to Big Viana?" Yacob asked, "She couldn't even feel her legs when she first came here. The nerves will fry before those implants do. She was walking around using just her implants."
"Until she healed," Errol mentioned.
"Until then," Yacob agreed.
The marshal was tossed unceremoniously onto the ground into a heap. He heard Yacob groaning and stretching while Errol panted.
"Why is he so heavy?"
"I don't know," Yacob said, "But he is. Get the rifle and hold it on him. I want him to know we mean business when he wakes up."
"We have a rifle?"
"Under the seat!"
"Oh," Errol, "You mean his rifle."
"Not any more," Yacob said, "It's ours. Now you watch him. I'm going to see if I can find the Minister."
Well, only one person would be holding him captive in just a moment. True, the man also had a gun and the marshal was restrained. But it was still the best odds he was likely to get. He boosted his hearing and waited until he no longer heard the sound of retreating footsteps. He opened his eyes slowly and tried to take in the situation.
He was propped up against a wagon wheel and had landed half sitting up. The road beneath him was bare earth and ahead of him he saw an empty square surrounded by rustic looking buildings. In the middle of the town square was a stone circle. Presumably the communal well. The well didn't seem to be in current use. A relic, then. A reminder of their not so recent past? Ahead of him and to one side were a pair of boots. He tried to look up without being too obvious about it and found himself staring at the business end of his own rifle. Above that was a younger looking version of Yacob staring off in the direction the boots had gone. He wasn't even watching the prisoner? Something about all this made him suspect Errol was not prone to especially deep thinking.
If his hands and legs were free this would be a good time to surge upwards and disarm his captor. A good plan save for the fact that, since he was bound, by the time he got his legs underneath him he probably would be shot a few dozen times. Not the worst idea, but even if he recovered from those shots what then? Errol would also heal from any injuries that could be inflicted. Plus he could shout or run to get more help. So what? Jump to his feet, get shot, tackle an armed gunman, and hope he could hop his way out of here? No, so time for plan B. Talking.
"He's not a god, you know," the marshal said.
Errol jumped and the marshal flung himself flat as the farmer fumbled with the rifle. It didn't go off, luckily, but the marshal's estimation of the man's intelligence continued to sink.
"Easy with that!" the marshal said.
"What did you say?"
"Easy with that."
"No!" Errol said while gesturing with the rifle, "About the Minister."
"He's not a god," the marshal said.
"You've not seen what he can do, so you just shut up."
The marshal scooted himself into a more comfortable pose and rested his back.
"Don't get me wrong," the marshal went on, "He's a powerful vitamancer. An Apex, in fact. But, still, just an arcane."
"A what?"
"A magic user," the marshal said slowly, "A person who can bend the laws of physics to his will? A user of the arcana? An arcane!"
"Right," Errol said and blinked, "Yeah, I knew that. One of them mutants from the wastes."
"That's a myth," the marshal explained with a shake of his head, "The arcanes appeared in the middle of the Luddite War."
"What?"
Oh for crying out loud. He forgot that for most people the Luddite war was something in the ancient past.
"They first showed up before the bombs were dropped," the marshal clarified, "Not afterwards. They aren't mutants. Just humans who can tap into power we don't understand."
"Hah," Errol said, "You're just talking. I've seen them . . . arcanes before. Got ourselves a witch up in Tall Brook. She can make water swirl in a glass without touching it. That ain't what the Minister can do."
"Sounds like she's a Class IV aquamancer," the marshal said, "Class IV's aren't that rare. Not a lot of power there but they can do a few neat tricks. But that's not the point. Different arcana, different abilities. Your so called Minister is a vitamancer named Kincaid."
"Vita what?"
"A healer! A very powerful healer."
Errol seemed to chew on this idea but then shook his head.
"He don't just heal people," he said, "He does more than that. I think you're lying."
"No," the marshal agreed, "I just said he's also an Apex."
"What's that mean?"
"It means he's off the classification chart," the marshal explained, "Able to use power to a degree thought to be beyond the abilities of the human mind. A master of his arcana who can even perform tangential powers."
Plus, the marshal thought to himself, there was the little matter of the box someone put inside his head.
"I don't follow you," Errol said, "You're just talking nonsense! The Minister is a god and was sent here to protect us!"
"Protect you from what?"
"From you for one!" Errol said and aimed the gun at the marshal's head, "I don't know what you are trying to do here, but it won't work."
"Fine," the marshal said, "Don't believe me. But don't you at least want to hear why I'm looking for him?"
"No."
"A job," the marshal said, pressing on, "He was supposed to hire some wealthy guy on the other side of the Waste. But he ran off before doing the job."
"I said shut up!"
"That's why he told you to catch me," the marshal went on, "He doesn't want to go back. He hates the man who hired me."
"I said-"
"What he doesn't know," the marshal interrupted, "Is that the boss authorized me to double his wages. I even brought the money with me to show he really meant it."
"What?"
The rifle faltered a bit.
"Money that Kincaid," the marshal said, "Sorry, I mean, the Minister doesn't know is here. It's right over there in my coat pocket."
Errol glanced in the direction of the wagon's seat.
"In the pocket you say?" he asked.
"Yeah," the marshal said with a nod, "Now, if you just cut me loose from here and let me run off you can keep it. The Minister will never know."
"Or," Errol said, a smirk forming on his lips, "I can take it now and just hand you over anyway."
"Wait!" the marshall protested, "We had a deal."
"No we didn't," Errol said, "And I told you to shut up. You talk too much."
Never taking his eyes off the marshal, the young man walked to the front of the wagon and began rummaging around blindly under the seat while keeping his eyes on his target. The marshal, for his part, closed his eyes and concentrated. He had to time this exactly right.
Errol froze for a moment and then stood up straight. A determined look came across his face as he marched towards the marshal while keeping the rifle leveled on him. The marshal never opened his eyes.
"Well," Yacob's voice called out as he reappeared, "I found them all at the saloon. Should have figured. The Minister is on his way now and . . . what's that you got in your hands there?"
Errol dropped the badge into the marshal's lap and then wheeled around on his father. The marshal's eyes sprang open as he grabbed the badge with his shackled hands. He didn't even have to voice the command. They sprang open before he could say anything. So he shoved the badge between the coils of the rope and yelled out a different command.
"Maximum discharge!" he ordered. His voice was almost drowned out by the sound of his own rifle firing rapidly.
It was difficult coordinating two bodies at the same time like this. If he relaxed his will for even a moment the town's saturated arcana would heal the idiot Errol and bring him back to life. It was only the self defense mechanism of the badge temporarily killing the fool that gave the marshal this much control as it was. Even then, he could feel it trying to slip away as the body fought to restart itself.
He fired upon Yacob three times. The first shot went wild but the next two bathed the cyborg farmer in blue corona. The man yelped as his skin smoldered and three of his limbs went into spasms. The mechanical arm, which the marshal could not help but notice had the skin cut off of it now leaving behind a mass of blood and steel, was unaffected by the electro rifle. The rifle was still set to stun, the marshal realized. Meaning Yacob would be up sooner rather than later. He really didn't have much time to think about it, however, as the badge chose that moment to release the electrical charge it had been building up.
His teeth clenched together as every muscle in his body attempted to spasm at once. Lights seemed to flash before his eyes and his nostrils filled with the smell of smoke. Smoke!
Even though it felt as if the current would kill him, he knew it wouldn't. Even if the badge had been directly on his chest, the discharge would only be painful. Not lethal. Yacob had that much right. The battle hardening his implants provided him would protect his heart and, to a lesser extent, his nervous system. What it did not do was block the pain.
It felt like an eternity, but actually lasted for only a few seconds. Long enough to stop the heart of a normal human. Not quite enough to stop the heart of a marshal. His head felt as if a hive of bees had moved into his skull and his legs had gone numb. He glanced down and saw that the dry rope had started to ignite before the healing arcana had caused the fires to go out. It didn't matter. The rope had been weakened and even the fibers that had tried to regrow were not all growing together. Digging his bare hands in between the weakened ropes - barely pausing to note that they had apparently taken his gloves while he was unconscious - he ripped outwards while spreading his legs at the same time. The rope fibers tore into his skin. He put the full weight of his amplified strength to the task and, finally, the ropes gave way. He leaped unsteadily to his feet.
His hands were bloody and he still felt a faint tingling in his extremities from the electric shock, but he was upright and moving. That was the good news. The bad news was he heard a crowd of people exiting the saloon ahead. He scooped up the fallen badge and pocketed it before running to Errol to remove the rifle from the man's unresisting fingers. Somehow, he had managed to keep control of Errol's body during the electric shock but he could feel his power waning. It was taking almost all his concentration just to keep Errol's body from coming back to life.
He ran forward and pulled the rifle from Errol's unresisting hands. He pulled the trigger at the same moment as he let go of his mental control. Errol's eyes blinked once before his head was engulfed in a blue corona. The younger man dropped just as Yacob groaned and began stirring. Never enough time!
The marshal spun on his heels and ran for the safety of the wagon. If he could leap onto the seat, grab the reins, and spur the horse into moving before Yacob got to his feet then -
"Hey you!"
A bolt of lightning narrowly missed the marshal's head only to strike the cart ahead of him and tear a chunk from the framework. The marshal ducked to oneside as he was bathed in a rain of splinters. All right. Plan B then.
He ran ahead of the horse while risking a glance over his shoulder. Yacob was clambering to his feet with his bloodied cybernetic arm thrust outwards. Sure enough, the marshal could just make out the barrel of a palm gun embedded in the artificial limb. Yacob must have done pretty well in the mines to be able to afford that particular upgrade on the stock unit.
As luck would have it. Yacob was apparently either inexperienced with the weapon or it was difficult to aim at a distance. Either way, the marshal avoided the next shot as well and was on the far side of the horse before Yacob was entirely on his feet. A groan let the marshal know that the stun was wearing off Errol now as well. That wasn't good.
The marshal ducked low to use the bulk of the horse to aid in concealment and glanced down at the rifle. The battery showed he only had a quarter of a charge left. Wide focused beams, even set to low power, were a heavy drain. Grimly, he twisted the barrel as he ran doubled over towards the nearest doorway. As an afterthought he flipped the switch to the kill range. It'd also drain the battery faster, but if he didn't figure out a way out of here soon it wouldn't matter.
He stood just long enough to kick open the door in front of him before ducking inside the building that he had been racing for. He learned three useful things upon entering. First, it was a dry goods store. His curiosity could not be satisfied with what the structure was. Secondly, he learned the shopkeeper was still inside and was now staring at him. Lastly, he learned the shopkeeper had a rifle of his own.
"Well, sh-" the marshal had time to say before the lightning bolt tore into his right shoulder. Warmth flared out along his chest and his skin tingled. He could no longer feel his right arm. Luckily, the implants were buried deep and the servos were still functioning and had maintained their grip on the rifle. So, while he could not feel his fingers moving, he was able to reposition the finger to the trigger and return fire without aiming. He had the satisfaction of seeing the wall behind the shopkeeper explode.
The shopkeeper ducked and the marshal used that as an excuse to resume running. A fire ignited in his dead shoulder and he felt as if ants were crawling inside the wound. He clamped down his jaw to prevent himself from howling in pain. The smell of cooked meat assaulted his nostrils and then went out. A moment later pins and needles shot up from his numb hand and his shoulder was aching all over again. He knew if he looked down he would see the wound closing up as the damage reversed itself. Except slower than when it was actually inflicted and with lots of added pain as nerves attempted to reattach themselves. He was suddenly grateful he had slept through his last recovery.
There was no other door in the dry goods store that he could see. But there was a rather good sized window. Using the butt of the rifle as a battering ram, he leaped and punched outwards at the same time. The shock rode through his reinforced bones and sent his teeth rattling. The glass, as he had hoped, had turned out to be just that. Ordinary glass. The rifle butt slammed through the pane and started forming the hole that inertia and the rest of his body were about to widen. He only just managed to cover his eyes with his free arm moments before hitting the breaking glass and plunging through.
The daggers of broken glass ripped at him like a rampaging wildcat. His arms, his scalp, and even his legs were sliced open. But before he even struck the dirt road outside he felt the fiery lines of arcanic healing reversing those injuries as well. He rolled to his knees and fired in the general direction of the square he had just vacated. He didn't hit anything but that wasn't the point. He was just trying to discourage anyone from running this way until he could get a head start.
He staggered to his feet and tried to run. The healing hadn't progressed far enough yet and his legs gave out from underneath him. He landed in a kneeling position just as the first person came around the corner of the building and ran straight for him. It was not Yacob or Errol or even the shopkeeper. This was someone new. A woman wearing loose fitting overalls that left her shoulders bare. She had the physique of a blacksmith and the squared jaw of a drill sergeant. He attempted to stand again, using his servos this time, and brought his rifle up to bear. Before he could aim if she was on top of him.
She gripped the barrel of the gun with one meaty hand and slugged him in the face with the other. To say she hit like a mule would be an understatement. She hit like a maglev train. He flew backwards and landed in a roll. He had barely stopped rolling before she was on top of him again. This time lifting a boot with the intention of stomping down. The marshal's head hurt from where she clocked him and it had taken all the strength of his amplified muscles to absorb as much of the blow as they had. But he was not looking forward to being hit again. Seeing that she was standing on only one leg - while also making certain there really was only one of her - he punched the back of her knee as hard as he could currently muster. It almost wasn't enough. Fortunately, physics was on his side.
The big woman fell and he scrambled to his feet. The fire was settling in his arms and legs and his head was clearing. The woman seemed to be more stunned than hurt and she was between him and the rifle. So, he ran over her.
She yelped in pain as his boot landed on her chest. She tried to reach up and grab him but he was already off of her and still moving. He bent low to grab the strap of the rifle as he ran and was around the corner of the building before he remembered that was the direction this new threat had come from. He saw the crowd waiting for him a moment before the lightning bolts started flying.
What happens next? Tune in next time!

Stuff I kept in mind when I was trying to lose weight

a short draft on my upcoming project (need your honest opinion on how its going so, feel free to give your feedbacks)

THE MOONSTALKERS
This is the tale of a small town, situated around center of the nation at state Chhattisgarh , populated by common people with their middle class common lifestyle, who has learned to compromise with their desire, who never dare to dream big as they know their limitations, current social standards has restricted him to go beyond, they are satisfied with whatever they had with their life. This town is called Deepak Nagar, a city of light, people live with light in their heart, living in simplicity as they have lived since they came here for the first time. But when the night falls, when source of all light goes down the horizon and city of light sleeps in the darkness, when moon is the only thing that illuminate the sky, when sleeping people ventures peacefully in their dreams, in the world where these people have no limitations. In night, city of light dreams big. The night when old moon lady starts her routine.
While whole town sleeps, when silence and mist of early winter covers the street, some awful things creep out from the corners of darkness to catch their prey, these night creatures often come out at the full moon, reigning light of old moon lady calls them out, the desire for her light makes them suffer a heavy pain as they are incapable in reaching her (Old moon lady remains a mystery). An unsatisfied desire makes them predator of the night, they feed on good memories of the dreamers and in same time infecting it so that that memory can never be as same as before, a peaceful memory, Gone! They follow the night, they follow the dream, they stalk the moon. The moon stalkers.
Only few can see them (or only one) the younglings chosen by old moon lady, why? No one knows, a boon that is worse than the curse.
6 years ago
It’s a furious night, rain is falling on ground as if it wants to go beyond the crust, storm is clashing with the sky, thunder is tearing the cloud, the rain is raging on, as if god is angry. The sound of terrifying weather is almost crystal clear inside the room, but it has been muted by another storm raging on, inside a common house with a common family.
Gates of open windows is hammering the wall violently, BAM! BAM! Curtains are waving like the flag of the ship midst storm, flashes of thunder clashing outside are coming through the open window which is the only light visible in the room along with a streetlamp outside the house. Besides the thunderous storm one can hear loud and clear some horrible and painful screams of a woman coming out of the house, a scream for help unheard by helpers, a scream for mercy ignored by wises, a scream for death rejected by the death itself.
A scared little girl age around 5 is standing next by the door at the corner of the room grabbing a curtain around her. She is wimping and crying, she is scared beyond her control like she is witnessing hell unleashes, she is shivering terribly, her face is horrified by the event happening in front of her, sweat and tears are drippling across her face, she is so scared that her words are stuck below her throat, she couldn’t speak up, even if she tries to speak up with her full strength she manage to mumble few words “NO! please no!” NO! Papa no!
Unable to intervene in the following events she just cries and cries a lot and witness helplessly a scene of human’s dark side which exist below the layer of known humanity. She is witnessing her 5 months pregnant mother beaten up by her father. A normal social drama which exist in very core of all existence, still goes unchecked and unmentioned. A man is everything in the house, the man is soul owner of the house, he is been granted a top place in food chain, it is what they say about it. Ugh! It’s just a normal night for common people, every family hold its dark secret which goes unheard through the time, as an unrepairable trauma for its victim, and every family has it, this is tale of one of those families.
A defenceless woman is laying on the floor at the centre of the room, she has been defeated by the orthodoxic truth of the society, that only men rules and women obey, a man is apparently hovering above her like vulture sitting next to its prey, he is grabbing her hair with his one hand and grabbing her face with the other, he has been drinking with his friends and as all men wishes as he wishes to have a good dinner at the home, but in fact he doesn’t get that, what he must do ? His eyes are filled with blood from his rage, jealousy and intoxication, as if a demon has come to bargain for soul of an innocent, his face is as hot as a frying pan on a stow, with every words he takes he humiliates her pride, her deeds and her existence, and whenever words ends woman get assaulted by slaps right on her face, right on her ego.
Woman is crying and pleading for help to his man, but it as good as a crying of an ant in front the elephant, her hair is scrambling around her face her kajal is bleeding with her tears and her sindoor is down from her forehead as if it is a blood streak, she tries to fight back the man at some point, but man’s masculinity is tough as a rock, she has suffering this humiliation since after their marriage, a five long years , she has been tolerating his acts.
But tonight she had enough of this humiliation, after watching for the perfect timing she launches her fist right to his jaw with all strength she had left, with a fist of frustration her bangles leaves an untreatable mark on the face of the man, a mark to remember him about tonight’s event, unable to balance himself man falls right to his back as he has a disabled leg, he couldn’t believe this, her wife has never done this before, he is stunned but the time bomb of humiliation by a female was ticking inside his head.
With seeing the opportunity, the little girl who was crying at the corner of the room came running towards her mother and embraces her, she embraces her too, she now looks at her daughter and smiles as she rubs girls tears and then she turns toward her husband , who was now standing there and as she looks at him a sudden fear and regret fills her whole consciousness, the man is even more enraged and he is looking at her wife as a predator gazes it prey, the woman than embraces her daughter more tightly and gets ready for what has to be come upon her.
CHAPTER 1
A boy is standing in an empty room, the room has nothing but cold wintery mist allover the place, room is dark and lightless and nothing can be seen properly, but the boy is continuously looking at one thing in that room that is visible. A black closet, it is not an ordinary closet, one can tell by its appearance, its made up of some exotic black wood, it appears to be an ancient relic, the closet have some unknown and strange symbols alongside a unique full moon engraved in it, and the design of the closet is like nothing one has ever seen on the planet as if an artist has created his artwork to near perfection.
Boy is standing still at his place as if he is scared of the closet, he can hear a fearsome scratching sound coming inside from the closet, a terrible sound that strike fear on his heart, the boy is breathing heavily as the fear of unknown starts embracing his heart, sound of scratching increases by the time and then it finally become silent, silence was there for few seconds, with silence embracing the room the boy attempts to go forward for intervene, just as he takes one step ahead the doors of closet opens very gently with creaking sound, boy stops that his position again fearing that something might jump of to him, as the doors opens a cold blow of air came through the door and touches the face of the little boy. The boy looks closely into the interior of closet, nothing can be seen there, only empty shelf in the darkness, boy finally put his fear aside after knowing that there is nothing to fear of, he then again proceeds to approach the closet very slowly and carefully but he still fears the unknown that might lark behind the darkness, just as he reached the closet his world gets upside down once more, the terror he has been fearing was once again strikes his heart, fear of unknown chokes his throat and paralyses his soul, fear and panic covers him as he lost his balance and fell right to his back onto the ground filled with cold water rushing from the corners of the room where once was cold mist of despair, rushing water was filling the room steadily but it has no effect on the attention of the boy, he was looking straight to the void inside the closet, his tears were rolling out of his frightened eyes.
From the void comes a strange humanoid looking long hand and starts to approach the boy, the hand was like human’s but was not human, its flesh was rotten and smelled centuries old, the fingers were stitched in strange way it only appears as if the hand has two huge fingers in place of five, some black slimy substance was rushing from the rotten flesh of the hand, the fear was so real for the boy this time, he was paralyzed in his position unable to move or do anything, he was just sobbing and looking straight to his worst fear, the hand then came close to the face of boy, his eyes stretched in amount of great fear, his mind stuns down as terror holds him by the spines, a chilling sensations rushed to his brain, his mind was about to explode, he must wake up. “Wake up, wake up, wake up”.
With the frightening shock boy wakes up on his bed, still sobbing but was relieved by the end of his great nightmare, he had peed himself and was ashamed of it, after wearing new pants and cleaning the evidence he went to his parents room and sleeps beside her mother, who then embraces him and the boy fells to the sleep once again after knowing his nightmare has ended. But fear is always there, we just hide from it.
The chilling pinching night become the warm kissing day and the boy woke from his dream, dreams about a world where there is no fear for him, no dark and cold room. It was the early days of winter season, a chilly morning with warm enough sunlight, a group of little sparrows were chirping outside the house, cold breeze with mildly warm sunlight was coming inside the room through the gate along with the fragrance of meadows, tiny dust particles were dancing in the wide sunray over the boy’s head, the boy was half awake and rubbing his sleep off of his eyes after having a clear vision he turns back and look outside the window, a chilly yet warm morning, a street full of small houses alongside few smaller huts, a peddler roaming the street selling his stocks, an old woman washing her doorstep, a loud speaker reciting prayers, a perfect early winter. He stays for a moment there to warm himself enough, last night was so cold for him he needs some time to shed off the cold, he turns back and look at the closet at the darkest corner of the room, he stares it for a second, he knows the nightmare has gone but he still fears that it will strike tonight again, with a deep breathe he gets up of his bed and goes to the main hall, where his father was reading a newspaper sitting on a wooden chair at the middle of the room, his sister was packing her bag for the school, he stays at doorway for a minute as he was hesitating to go and face them, he was ashamed for peeing on the bed as his father hates it, he then turn his eyes to his mother, a tall working lady, a thin yet beautiful lady wearing a dark blue cotton saree, she has long black hair and looks far younger then her age, she was preparing the tiffin for his children in the kitchen right next to hall, without any hesitation he goes to her and grabs her hand.
“so, you are awake my son” she says to him softly and petted his head, “Now! Now get yourself ready for the school and wash your self properly. Now go! I have prepared your favorite breakfast.”
He stays silent there and didn’t go to the bathroom as he was refusing to go school, he grabs her hand more tightly.
“Arey baba! go or you will be late for the school” she warned him gently. With those word his joy trips down again as he hated going to the school, the boy always struggles to find his way into the group of people as he always feel low around people and even worse around the mean kids, following last years since his birth the boy has some difficulties growing up in his life so far, as the environment of the house was never been suitable for child like him, he has been abused by his fellow relatives in his toddler years because he was the only dusky one around fairly skinned kin and he was the son to the man who everyone hated, when they were living as a joint family his father’s family hated his father as he was unemployed and irresponsible man and with a son he has claims in property. In those terrible years which he couldn’t remember his mind and body suffered a heavy toll and made him the boy he is today, a small 6 years old boy, thin and dusky with problem in communicating, his face is always seems like a dying flower with shaggy messy hair, he doesn’t speak much and keeps all things to himself, sometimes he weeps and sobs around the corner of the room for no reason, no one knows why he do that and he never tells, his parents have appointed him to several doctors and even to some creepy exorcist , but no one doesn’t seem to know about his behavior, all they say that this child is depressed.
Going to the school is always hard for him, his will dies all of a sudden whenever he thinks of school, but he has to go! there is no excuse to avoid that.
“I don’t wanna go!” he said to his mother in very dull voice and tear starts filling up his eyes.
“oh! You must go my boy, you must learn new thing and make new friends, that’s the school all about. Now go and take a bath”, with brimming eyes he walks out of the kitchen and stands still at doorstep of the main hall, he was sobbing very slowly and twisting his fingers, now his tears were dancing around his eyelids, a salty tsunami anytime! At the right corner of the hall his sister was done with her packing and was waiting for the breakfast but more likely she waiting for rickshaw and her classmates, unlike his brother she loves going to school and is very good at socializing with other people, she is a very bright student in his school and has pretty good set of talent and skills, a 11 years old energetic girl, she is as beautiful as her mother but fairer and more glowing but unlike her mother she doesn’t have long hair, instead has boyish haircut which sometimes makes her a little awkward, her father treats her like a doll , apart from all of her pros she has a terrible temperament unlike her brother, a silent weeping boy. “OYE! Chotu!” she shouted at his little brother who was standing nearby.
“we are gonna be late for the school! HURRY UP!” but it doesn’t affect the boy, he stays there as he was before. After getting irritated by his behavior, she screams again.
“PAPA! Chotu is doing it again!”, fear grips the boy once again as his tears vaporized from his eyes and he starts shivering again and he looks toward his father with the extreme hesitation, his father was a strict man and sometimes very abusive, he is a good father but a terrible husband, with no job to spare his time he stays at the home all time and to release his frustration he uses some extreme violence some time but not to his kids, the boy still fears his father, he is a man with bold personality, a typical “Thakur” with a broad forehead and a husky black mustache, he wears a glass which makes him look more dangerous when he is glaring at something, but dew to misfortune he has a polio in his right leg which makes his day more challenging. After hearing his daughter screaming for him, he slightly peeks out of the news paper and looks at his boy standing in front of him and then he folds his paper and put it aside and said in a very heavy and grumpy voice.
“GET YOUSELF READY”, wintery chills rush through the spine of the boy as he rushes down to the bathroom, with only one sentence from his father he got himself ready for the school.
Water was cool and chilly and so was the morning breeze but the boy has a thick skin, cold water doesn’t seem to have any effect on him.
Breakfast was set on the table for both him and his sister, it was the boy’s favorite dish as his mother was promised him.
“pakode and chataney” he loves it so much and was dying to have it, with every bite he takes he feel more relaxed and lesser tensed, but pleasure is a temporary thing it doesn’t run long enough and with that it takes away its beautiful illusion. After finishing their breakfast, they went outside the house and were waiting for the rickshaw to come, he was still in the grief for going to school again, he needs to escape this reality and find whole new other home for him and he does have this home, a beautiful home that he can access anytime he want, his mind a never ending place, whenever things become tough or horrible for him, he makes an escape from the reality and dives into the oceans of imagination. A time free zone where one can be many at once, where one’s inner most fantasies become apparent reality, where conscious and unconscious binds together as the old moon lady watches everything, a mystery.
CHAPTER 2
Human beings are very interesting species, a simple and mature lifeform yet very tough to understand (sometimes they couldn’t even understand themselves) and they are complicated as hell. Due to the millions of years of evolution human beings have been boned with very powerful yet very complicated brain by the life itself, we read many unbelievable and surprising thing about humans who were portrayed as gods in our ancient books, brain was a perfect tool which made human to control their boundaries and surrounding and ultimately rule the physical world, a world filled with illusion and deception. It took centuries for human to understand that whatever happened in this physical world whether it was birth of a sensible demigod or death of a cruel dictator it all happened in the surface of the vast and deep ocean. This vast and mysterious ocean exist nowhere but in the deep depth of human mind, ocean of consciousness and unconsciousness, whatever happens in surface lays in the consciousness and whatever that didn’t happen or failed to happen exist below the depths of unconsciousness.
Since the dawn of humanity, human always tried his best to make his life better and less complicated but there are few who made it, and few who drowned themselves in the purgatory between conscious and unconsciousness after suffering from defeat and self-regret and after that gravity of the depth absorbs them and make them zombie.
It’s a horrible place where one’s sweetest desire meets with his rotten despair, where one’s majestical dreams meets his wildest nightmares. It all seems normal when we look it from the outer physical world, peaceful and perfectly harmonized but with a closer and precise inspection one can see cracks in the surface and through that cracks one can see the void filled with depression, anxiety and anger beneath the layer of known humanity.
The way to the school seems like journey toward a depressing and intolerable desert, a concept of hell which human has created in his own mind, the boy is the prisoner of his own hell that he has created since he first stepped on the school, and he must face this hell that he has created, he must not abandon his all hope, he was sitting silently on the rickshaw and was looking toward the other kids who were busy in chitter-chatter, the rickshaw was moving steadily without any rush and school was about a half hour away, boy doesn’t like being around so many kids or people to be precise, instead he feels normal around one or two good friends, but he is lucky right now he has a companion with him his best buddy KV, both the kids are close friends and they both understand each other good enough, KV is much more talkative boy than him, he is more bulkier and well built boy, he has a dusky skin and has ill fitting uniform and he loves trouble unlike the boy.
“hey dude! Where are you lost buddy?.......hehe. Did you watch He-Man’s last night episode? It was so fun!” KV asked him enthusiastically.
“oh! yes dude it was great. He-Man was awesome last night and so was battle cat”. The boy gave the reply with great interest, not like the way he talks.
“yeah! Man! And did you see! Skeletor tried to lift He-Man’s sword! (both laughs out loud) What a prick”.
“how bad for him, battle cat kicked his butt very hard!
“oh man! It was a great show”
And boys got engaged in talking about He-Man and other popular cartoons and rickshaw was getting closer and closer to the school but for a moment the boy was feeling alive as if he has his control over his life. Since his childhood boy was always curious about different stories and different fantasies, involving huge dragon that can breathe atomic fire, a futuristic warrior that can turn into macho muscular man after lifting his sword, a normal man who can turn into giant warrior and of course aliens but most precise is story of old moon lady that his granny used to tell him. Every story he heard, every movie he saw and everything he imagines, it automatically becomes his secret domain which lies inside his brain. A perfect place to escape from reality, but not right now he is busy talking about his passion. “But buddy! Have you done your homework?”. KV asked him suddenly out of the blue, he was laughing as usual as he loves being the trouble but for the boy reality was upsetting once again, his enthusiasm dies all of a sudden. Fear grips him again. “Was there any homework?”. boy tries to assure himself.
“oh yes dude! Teacher had given essay writing on cow. Don’t you remember? He was very serious about it.”
“Have you done yours?” boy tries to assure himself again.
“Oh, hell no! Don’t you know me? I never do my homework” (evil laughter). KV seems all good even he had not completed his work, but for the boy, he was feeling little dizzy and terrified.
“don’t worry bro, he is gonna slap once and make us go outside the class. It’s a fun!”
KV assured him, boy nodded to his advice and then again, he got lost into his thoughts. Thoughts of his freedom, freedom from this suffering world, a world where innocence has no value, only value is how long does one survive and last long.
After a several minutes rickshaw reached its destiny and boy was standing Infront of a vast wasteland or to be more precise, the school. Boy has identified the terror that was waiting for him inside, he must escape this reality. “ESCAPE” “ESCAPE” ESCAPE!
Black sky was hovering all over the place, thunder was dancing like an insane spirit and huge vultures were gliding like death angels above the vast graveyard. It was a vast and huge desert a wasteland filled with thousands of tombstones and open graves, smell in the air was so rotten as if thousands of flesh were decaying, some vultures were fighting over the dead meat from the graves. Insects and maggots were creeping all-over the ground. A mild mist was leaking from the ground, suddenly a minor earthquake shook the place and the scavenging vultures went up the sky again leaving the dead carcasses behind. A loud thunder echoed the ground followed by a grim silence for a moment and then mist on the ground gets harsher and harsher. Everything went blurry and hazy while a strange movement can be seen at the position of the graves behind the wall of harsh mist. Dead bodies from the graves starts lifting up, it seems like a dead army of some awful creature as if they were preparing for a pending war but things often seem different just as they were little kids, little zombified kids. They stayed at their positions as if they were waiting for something, waiting for signal to leave their bed and then a scary and loud siren boomed the place. With the signal given the dead kids starts marching towards a long bridge. The graveyard was vast but it came to cliff end at one point, the bridge was the only way out of the desert, at the beginning of the bridge there was a strange gate made of flesh and bones, spider and insect were roaming like free citizen upon it, two torches were burning at the each side of the gate and above the gate there was strange moon symbol devouring by a giant snake, the gate was guarded by a strange and old creature, he seems like an ancient entity, he was holding a lantern in one hand and a sickle in other, watching a horde coming towards him he opens the gates and make the way for the army of his master, after crossing miles long bridge the horde of all zombified kids reached to their destination, the place that called them, the domain of their master, a tall and black castle standing on a flying platform. It seems like a gothic era building with huge spike on the above and scary arches below, each bricks of the castle are deep black in color, it seems like it was made out of a burned flesh of the living since it was delivering same rotten smell and slimy black substance. The castle was so tall that it was kissing the sky above, it might be fifty stories building or more, it was not clear due the harsh mist. Only thing that emitting light was the burning torches at every corner of the castle, thousands of bats were flying and hanging at the top of the castle, their screeching and sound was the only thing that can be heard, cold and chilly mist was creeping everywhere, so cold was their scars and so cold was the mist. At the center of the building a huge black wooden door was built as if the owner of the castle was a giant creature, some strange marking was engraved on the door with the majestic giant snake engraving, the snake seems very strange and soul tempting, a siren echoed again and door opens and the whole horde of dead kids went inside.
A futuristic phoenix looking spaceship came down tearing the stormy black clouds, thunder was chasing the ship as if it wants to get attach itself like a parasite while the ship was making a quick twist and turn to void getting hit by the snake like thunders. Sky was emitting the dance of the lighting and a small ship; it seems like a golden dragon was hunting the burning phoenix. After a short chase lighting finally hits the wing of the ship and the phoenix came crashing down to the ground accompanied by its red flames, with broken wing it falls down as fast as it enters the wasteland. Ship crash landed at the ground and momentum of the ship made it roll toward the outer gate made of bones and flesh. The force of crashed ship breaks down the gate and finally came to rest at the position, the ship was critically damaged and was unable to move further while heavy dark smoke was draining out of the ship, the smoke was to dark and easily visible from several distant, a long streak of black smoke was kissing the black sky while vultures were gliding around it in hopes of getting the fresh meat, every single creature around that place can see the long streak of the smoke coming out of the ship even the entity inside the castle as if it is anticipating the next move from his fallen visitor. Vultures were ripping the ship frequently, one by one, one by one they were taking the ships piece apart, it seems like there were no hopes for the fallen phoenix but its flames were still burning and with the precise moment it shot a burning beacon to the sky. With its last fire the beacon luminate the sky in red for a moment while the host was observing everything from his throne. With the radiance of the red beacon the scavenging birds starts falling from the sky, they were fainted or dead it was not clear but they were not the threat for the host inside the ship anymore.
Fallen ship was laying on the ground like burning scrap metal, no movement can be seen and anticipation of the host was getting higher and higher. Gates of the cockpit came smashing out of the ship as if someone has kicked it from within, the trapped smoke and steam released from the open cockpit, and from the smoke came a boy, a handsome and fair boy. His eyes were filled with confidence and sheer will to conquer anything, a fire was burning in his eyes, an eternal flame that cannot be extinguished, he was covered with shiny futuristic armor plates with many lethal arsenal and in one hand he held a strange power sword, it was so sharp that it can cut anyone who dare to gaze upon it. After coming out of the ship and putting his sword at his back he starts approaching toward the black castle without taking a closer look to his ship. After a few steps the ground beneath the ship cracked open and it went down below the void below the bridge, now there was no way out for the boy. He turns back and look at the broken land and find no ship there but this doesn’t quench his will, he stands there at the edge of broken bridge for a moment watching his ship falling to the void. Boy was too cunning and has quick reflexes which helped him detecting a sudden movement behind him and the movement was coming slowly toward him, boy grabs the hilt of his sword in attempt for slashing the enemy behind, just as he was about to slash the entity behind, a slow voice came from behind.
“you have no threats from me. I am not your enemy”. Entity behind the boy warns him without any threat.
“who are you?” boy asked the entity behind him without turning back but his hand was still grabbing his sword.
“if you want to cut me in half, then go ahead but it will make your way more difficult. Without me there is no bridge!”
Boy turns back and saw a human like figure holding a lantern in front of his face, he has no legs but was flying above his position, he was wearing a black robe and a moriya, his face was covered with bush and dry leaves. Boy leaves his sword hilt.
“I am the gate keeper of this castle, the castle you want to breach”. The gatekeeper told him in the decent yet cold voice.
“if you are what you said you are, then why didn’t you kill me when I was standing at the edge? State your true purpose”. Boy demands a fair answer.
Gatekeeper was silent for a moment; he took his lantern off of boy’s face and said.
“because I have been waiting for you, the moon lady had told me that you may come one day.”
“you know her? And why are you here?” the boy was puzzled before his answer,
“yes! I know her she is my true Master; I have trapped here by the dark lord sitting inside. But peril inside the castle is too high, you must be careful.”
Boy’s curiosity was getting higher and higher, he wanted to know the whole picture.
“why did he trapped you here and how can I set you free?”
“as I have said earlier, I am the gatekeeper and where I stand there’s a bridge. I was the gatekeeper of the moon lady once and I was the only bridge to her but long time ago dark lord trapped me here and made me his gatekeeper. Now there is no bridge to the moon lady and without the bridge there is no hope.”
“so, if I can set you free, then we can build the bridge to the moon again?”
“NO! the bridge can never be restored again and I can never be freed, only way to free me is to kill me but we are in the domain of the dark lord, whoever dies here will reborn as fear and I can’t let that happen. You must abandon me here; my purpose is to show you the way to the old moon lady.”
“and how should I get there?” boy asked the gatekeeper.
“you must face your fear with courage and forge a bridge with it. When there is no hope there is courage.”
“My blade will cut any kind of fear, even the one who is sitting on the throne inside the castle. No matter if I have never faced him or know him.”
“You will know him once you face him. I must not waste your time, my master is waiting for you he knows you are here, I must leave your way.”
After saying his last words, the gatekeeper leaves the way for the boy and gets back to his position where he must complete his duty for eternity.

Black Friday/Cyber Monday Sale Megathread part 2

With Black Friday sales ramping up, here is a fresh sale megathread as the cyber weekend nears. A HUGE thank you to Octoember for getting the BF festivities started with the Black Fri-Yay 2020 Sales Masterlist. Octoember opted for the mod team to post and maintain BF megathread pt 2, but a huge portion of the info here is taken from their post and collated by them - thank you!
This will be the dedicated thread for all Black Friday/Cyber Monday sales happening from now until next Tuesday. Please share any sale deals that you come across (including sale dates if possible) and let us know what you’re buying!
This post will be regularly updated to add deals shared within the comments. But please sort by “new” as well to see all the latest comments. :)
Thank you to everyone who has shared sale info with us so far! Other deals were also found on /MUAontheCheap, Temptalia, 9Honey, and OzBargain!
Apologies in advance for any errors - please be sure to check sites for exclusions, T&Cs etc., and do your research before purchasing. Again, please comment if you notice anything wrong and we'll fix it!
Multi-brand Stores

Adore Beauty (AU): Up to 40% off selected brands. 40% off Essie, L'Oreal Paris, Maybelline, Mirenesse, and theBalm. 30% off Iconic London, Cremorlab, Blinc, and Barry M. 25% off Cinch Skin, Face Halo, Heir Atelier, Garbo & Kelly, Nioxin, OPI, Pai Skincare, Real Techniques, Sebastian, and Wella SP. 20% off Alterna Haircare, Anitpodes, Avene, Biolage, Burt's Bees, Christophe Robin, Circa Home, Dermalist, Elizabeth Arden, Intraceuticals, Jane Iredale, Jurlique, Klorane, La Roche Posay, Lancome, MUFE, Nude by Nature, Redken, SALT by Hendrix, Sand & Sky, & more. 15% off Alpha-H, Benefit, Bioderma, Eye of Horus, Giorgio Armani, IT Cosmetics, Sachajuan, SkinCeuticals, YSL, & more. 10% off asap skin, Clarins, Dr Bronner's, innisfree, Kerastase, Medik8, ORIBE, & more. Full details here. Starts 27/11 12am AEDT and ends 30/11 11:59pm AEDT. Thanks to u/Kimmyonepilots for this info! See Coles "The Her Card" gift card deal at the bottom of this thread for extra savings. Also, CommBank is offering $10 cashback when you spend $50 at Adore Beauty (must activate via CommBank app), ends 02/12. Thank wherestherice!
Amuse Beauty (AU): Up to 50% off selected products. Buy 2 get 1 free on full-priced items with code B2G1F. End date unknown. Thanks u/Bargain-shoppee!
BeautyBay (UK): Up to 30% off. Discounts include: 30% off all Sample Beauty, By Beauty Bay, Revolution, Zoeva, bPerfect, BH Cosmetics, Melt Cosmetics, Ofra, Yes To, and Dose of Colours, and 20% off NYX. End date unknown.
Beautylish (US): Up to 50% off, free GWP, and some limited edition new releases from 50+ brands incl. Charlotte Tilbury, Wayne Goss, Natasha Denona, Oribe, and Good Molecules. Full details & info on GWP here. Starts 26/11 at 12pm PST (27/11 7am AEDT) and ends 30/11 11:59pm PST (1/12 6:59pm AEDT). Free shipping to Aus on $35+ orders. Up to 40% off Jeffree Star Cosmetics, starts 25/11 6pm PST.
Beserk (AU): 15-70% off everything. Ends midnight 30/11. Incl. brands such as Lethal Cosmetics, Lime Crime, Sugarpill, Lunatick, & Glamlite. Thanks u/thajane!
Black Swallow (AU): 50% off Jeffree Star, up to 40% off Revolution, up to 30% off PLouise, 20% off Olaplex and hair colour products, 10% off electricals, and up to 50% off fragrance. End date unknown. Thanks u/kel-w76!
Chemist Warehouse (AU/NZ): Extra 10% off storewide, valid online and in-store. Starts 27/11 and ends 29/11.
Coles (AU): 50% off cosmetics. Excludes Mode, Every Day, and clearance. Starts 25/11 and ends 1/12. See also Coles "The Her Card" gift card deal at the bottom of this thread.
Cult Beauty (UK): 20% off when you spend £20+ with code SPREE20. 25% off when you spend £100+ with code SPREE25. Thanks u/Visual_Responsible & u/poke-monica!
David Jones (AU): BEAUTY: 20% off Estée Lauder (ends 29/11), Lancôme, ~~Clinique (27/11 only), Kiehl's (27/11 only), Tom Ford (27/11 only)~~, M·A·C (excludes 'Viva Glam' Lipsticks, ends 28/11), Elizabeth Arden, Bobbi Brown (ends 29/11), Napoleon Perdis (excludes holiday gift sets), Makeup Forever. 40% off theBalm. 30% off Blinc. 30% off selected Givenchy. 20% off Giorgio Armani and YSL gift sets. 15% off beauty & fragrance from Giorgio Armani and YSL. 10% off Clarins (excludes gift sets). SKINCARE: 30-50% off on limited selection of L'Occitane products. Free gift with $90+ spend on full-priced L'Occitane. 30% off Natio, Philosophy, & Foreo (excludes UFO 2, Bear, and Bear Mini). 25% off Lano. 20% off Weleda (excludes packs and oral care), Vita Liberata, & Dr Bronner's. Buy 1 save 10%, buy 2 save 15% or buy 3 save 20% on Dermalogica. HAIR: 20% off Christophe Robin, Rock & Ruddle, and Aveda. 15% off Sachajuan, R+Co, and Louvelle. NAILS: 20% off OPI (excludes gift packs). FRAGRANCE: 40% off ~~Kenzo (27/11 only)~~, CK, & Davidoff. ~~30% off MOR, Givenchy, Jimmy Choo, Mont Blanc, & Coach (all 27/11 only)~~. 30% off selected fragrances & sets from Versace, Dunhill, Missoni, Moschino, Salvatore Ferragamo, & Roberto Cavalli. ~~20% off Creed, Penhaligons, Amouage, & Clive Christian (all 27/11 only)~~. 20% off DKNY, Zegna, Aramis, Michael Kors. 20% off selected Marc Jacobs, Guerlain, Narciso Rodriguez, Bvlgari, Issey Miyake, Balenciaga, Ralph Lauren, Hugo Boss, Dolce & Gabbana, Paco Rabanne, Jean Paul Gaultier & more. Use code BEAUTYEVENT, all offers valid on full-priced product only, exclusions apply. $150 off the Supersonic Hair dryer. Unless otherwise stated, offers should end midnight 30/11 AEDT. Full details & GWP info here. Thanks u/TheDefectiveAgency & u/da-n!
Discount Beauty Boutique (AU): Up to 30% off storewide: spend $50+ get 15% off with code BLK15, spend $199+ get 30% off with code BLK30. End date unknown.
FeelUnique (UK): Up to 33% off Black Friday Preview. Also 3 for 2 offers, daily deals and free gifts. End date unknown.
Flora & Fauna (AU): 20% off Ere Perez and Viva La Body. Up to 40% off Elate. Ends 30/11.
Glam Raider (AU): Up to 30% off selected products (incl. 30% off Made by Mitchell). Ends 30/11 midnight AEDT. Thanks u/coldfrz!
Hikoco (NZ): Up to 50% off. Ends 30/11. Free NZ shipping for orders over $50. Free AU shipping for orders over $150. Thanks u/HalfJapaneseDoll!
iHerb (Int): 12% off with code BFSALE12. Exclusions apply. Cannot be combined with other offers. Ends 1/12 at 10am PT.
Life Pharmacy (NZ): At least 15% off beauty & fragrance. 20% off Shiseido, Clinique, Benefit, Elizabeth Arden, Estée Lauder, Versace, Azzaro, Mugler, Paco Rabanne and Jean Paul Gaultier. 40% off Maybelline & L’Oréal. Free shipping and sample bag with every order. Ends 30/11. Thanks u/HalfJapaneseDoll!
Look Fantastic (AU): Up to 50% off. Offers include 40% off asap & Skinstitut, 30% off Dermalogica & Christophe Robin, 25% off Foreo, up to 25% off selected Olaplex, and up to $60 off ghd. End date unknown. Thanks u/Visual_Responsibleo!
Mecca (AU): 6 x exclusive Mecca sets curated for Black Friday. Mystery boxes launching on 27/11: AU$76/NZ$85 for AU$152/$170 value. more info/discussion here. Thanks to u/kel-w76 for this info! Mecca may also be offering a free lipgloss GWP with purchases over a certain value (please check with store staff for details!) - thanks u/Veterinarian-Worried! Cyber Monday offer: 3 deluxe samples with every order, and free express shipping on $25+ orders. Ends 30/11 11:59pm AEDT. Thanks u/Makeuplife179!
Myer (AU): 20% off Estee Lauder, Clinique, Tom Ford, Benefit, MAC, Lancome, Elizabeth Arden and more, including gift sets.
Net-A-Porter (Int): Up to 50% off selected beauty. End date unknown. Thanks u/Makeuplife179!
Nourished Life (AU): Up to 40% off. 50% off selected Black Chick Remedies. 25% off Pai Skincare. 20% off Ethique, Eco Minerals, and Foreo. 15% off Weleda and Acure. 10% off Dr Bronner's. List of all offers here. Ends 1/12 9am AEDT.
Oz Hair & Beauty (AU): Further 10% off with code BFCM. Excludes hair appliances. 15% off skincare with code 15BFCM. 25% off Kerastase with code KERA25. 20% off Kevin Murphy with code KEV20. Codes do not stack. Ends 1/12. Thanks u/aromatic_writing !
Priceline (AU): 50% off most makeup including Maybelline, L'Oreal, NYX, Rimmel, Revlon, Models Prefer, and Thin Lizzy. Excludes Essence, Luma and Opallac starter kit. 30% off Revolution, Milani, TheBalm, The Quick Flick, Barry M, ELF and Shea Moisture. 40% off Real Techniques, Freezeframe, and John Frieda. 50% off selected skincare, haircare and fragrance. Starts 26/11 and ends 30/11. Thanks u/kel-w76!
RY (AU): Extra 10% off with code CYBER10. Free Black Friday gift set with $115 spends (contents unknown). End date unknown. Thanks to u/aromatic_writing & u/Kimmyonepilotso!
Selfridges (UK): Up to 20% off with code SELFCCE. Ends 29/11. Thanks u/coldfrz!
Sephora (AU/NZ): 15% off purchases <$120. 20% off purchases $120+. Excludes Dyson and sale items. Ends 27/11 instore and 28/11 12pm AEDT online. Thanks to u/Makeuplife179 and u/ravenled for this info! Online end date extended due to technical issues at launch. See also: Woolworths $100 Swap Celebration card tip at the bottom of this post. Cyber Monday sale: Up to 50% off selected items, incl. Pat McGrath , Natasha Denona and ABH. 15% off Dyson Corrale. Online only. Starts 29/11 and ends 30/11. Thanks u/Makeuplife179!
Space NK (UK): Spend £100 get £25 off, £200 get £50, and so on. Starts 27/11 and ends 30/11. Free shipping to Aus on orders over £40. Early access from 11:59pm GMT 24/11 for Space NK’s N.dulge loyalty programme members. Receive up to three complimentary Charlotte Tilbury products when you spend £80+ on CT. Spend £80+: free CT Darling Easy Eye Palette. Spend £110+ free CT Darling Easy Eye Palette and CT Collagen Lip Bath in Peachy Plump. Spend £150+: free CT Darling Easy Eye Palette, CT Collagen Lip Bath in Peachy Plump, & Brightening Youth Glow. While stocks last. May be more worthwhile than purchasing direct from CT website. Note: Space NK removes 15% VAT at checkout, but shipping time is ~4 weeks. Thanks u/Makeuplife179, u/Margot_10enbaum & u/elpippi!
StyleVana (HK): 15% off $49+ orders or 18% off $140+ orders with code SVBF2020. Also doing % off brand offers, incl. 30% off Iunik & Sulwhasoo. Free shipping on $55+ orders. Thanks u/elpippi!
The Brand Outlet (NZ): Up to 70% off makeup and up to 40% off fragrances. End date unknown. Thanks u/yellowkittt!
YesStyle (HK): 15% off everything with code 2020BLACKFRI. Minimum spend US$35. Ends 28/11 11:59pm PST (6:59pm 29/11 AEDT).

Cosmetics

Ace Beaute (US): 45% off everything with code THANKS20. End date unknown. Thanks u/Octoember!
Adorn Cosmetics (AU): 15% off $99+ orders with code BFCM20. Ends 30/11. Thanks u/aromatic_writing!
Anastasia Beverly Hills (US): 30% off brow, palettes, blush & bronzer. 50% off lip, glow, contour, stick foundation & eyeshadow singles. Free glitter vault with purchase of any two 30% off palettes. Free shipping over US$50. Ends 6:59pm AEST on 30/11. Cyber Monday: 40% off Norvina collection, 24 hours only (exact end time unknown).
Armani Beauty (AU): 15% off sitewide, 20% off sitewide for members. Use code CYBER. Minimum spend $80 and excludes Prive purchases. Members who spend $250+ will receive a free full-size lipstick. Ends 11:59pm 1/12 AEDT. Thanks u/secondpea!
Australis (AU): 40% off everything. Excludes sale items and gift cards. Ends midnight 30/11.
Beauty Bakerie (US): 40% off sitewide. End date unknown.
Becca (US): 50% off holiday glow, up to 50% off selected items, free best-sellers kit with $65+ orders. End date unknown. Also, 25% off most items with code BECCAXOCTOLY25. Please note this is not a specifically BF sale, and Octoly may earn a commission on sales made using this code. Thanks u/anna_vee!
BH Cosmetics (US): Up to 75% off sitewide, some exclusions apply. End date unknown. Black Friday GWP: free beauty sponge with all purchases, & a free mini Stellar Lash mascara with $50+ orders.
Black Moon Cosmetics (US): Up to 40% off all single items and up to 25% off bundles and gift sets. No code is required. Ends 11.59pm 30/11 PST (6:59pm 1/12 AEDT). Thanks u/TheRealDrKak!
Bobbi Brown (AU): 20% off sitewide. On Cyber Monday all orders $80+ receive a free 3-piece ‘Prep Your Pretty Set’. Starts 27/11 and ends 29/11.
Charlotte Tilbury (UK): 40% off selected items and 2 of the same 12-shade eye palette for the price of one. 3 Black Friday mystery boxes available. Cyber Monday mystery item for $40. Full details here. Ends 30/11 11:59pm GMT. ~~Free Pillow Talk Palette of Pops Palette when you spend over $180. Ends 28/11 6:59am GMT.~~ Thanks u/emimillie, u/coldfrz & u/ThatFireAlchemist!
Clinique (AU): 20% off sitewide and a free 4-piece gift set with orders $100+. Starts 27/11 and ends 29/11.
Coloured Raine (US): 30-90% off sitewide. Free shipping on $100+. Ends 30/11. Thanks u/coldfrz!
Colourpop (US): 30% off sitewide + holiday vaults launch. Starts 5am AEST 24/11. Thanks to u/Octoember for this info! Offer changes to spend $30+, get 25% off your next order on 30/11.
Devinah (US): 35% off with code BLACKFRIDAY20. Excludes empty palettes/Aurorae Flare products. Starts 26/11 12pm PST and ends 30/11. New Star Chaser collection releasing on BF. It will be 50% off. Thanks u/CHarroJ23!
Dose of Colours (US): Daily offers -- 24/11 PST (25/11 Aus): BOGO Free single beauty sponges, foundations, concealers, highlighters, and face brushes. 25/11 PST (26/11 Aus): BOGO Free single eyeshadows, 5-pan eyeshadow palettes, Eyedeal Duos, eye brushes, eyeliners, and lashes. 26/11 PST (27/11 Aus): BOGO Free single liquid matte lipsticks, lip glosses, lip liners, and satin lipsticks. 27/11 to 30/11: 50% off sitewide including sale items, free Sunset Eyedeal Duo with $40+ USD purchase. Discount excludes bundles, sets & skincare. Full details here. Free international shipping for orders $60+. No promo codes required. Thanks u/kindrex89!
Elcie Cosmetics (US): 25% off $30+ orders, starts 25/11 and ends 30/11.
Em Cosmetics (US): ~~Black Friday (27/11) - one-day only 20% off your purchase with code BLACKFRIDAY. Excludes new Faded Clementine products.~~ Cyber Monday (30/11) - 15% off your purchase with the same exclusions - but exclusive lip bundles will be available. Thanks u/thiccbaobei!
Emme Cosmetics (CA): 20% off sitewide. Starts 26/11 and ends 30/11. Thanks u/CHarroJ23!
Enchanted Lustre Cosmetics (AU): 3 Mystery Prisms for $25, 5 Mystery Prisms for $35. Discounted grab bags will also be available. Starts 27/11 12am AEDT and ends 30/11 11:59pm AEDT. Thanks u/Octoember!
Estee Lauder (AU): 20% off sitewide, starts 27/11 and ends 29/11.
Eye of Horus (AU): 25% off storewide with code GODDESS25. Ends 30/11. Thanks u/aromatic_writing!
Fenty Beauty (US): 30% off Fenty Beauty, excludes CLF. Get a free Fenty Skin bag with any $75+ Fenty Skin order. Ends 30/11 11:59pm PT.
Give Me Glow Cosmetics (US): Juicy Olive Palette $24, Vintage Rose Palette: $26.80, Christmas Morning Palette: $26.80, Extra Spicy Palette: $30, Grunge Palette: $30, 9X Glow: $60, Summer Vibes Palette: $43.20 (all other palettes will be full price), all singles $5, loose highlighters $6, pressed highlighters/setting powders $12, 50% off magnetic palettes, lip products $5, Foil Primer $5, makeup bags $3 and 4pc brush set $1. Starts 28/11 at 8am EST. End date unknown. Thanks u/Octoember!
Glamvice (US): 40% off everything with code BFCM. Exclusions apply. Ends 30/11 11:59pm EST.
Haus Labs (US): Up to 50% off sitewide through 1/12. Free Glam Attack Liquid Shimmer Powder in Biker with any purchase, Black Friday weekend only. Free shipping to Aus with AU$100+ orders (pre GST). Thanks u/Samtown_!
Huda Beauty (UAE): Up to 50% off storewide. Deals include: 50% off eyeshadow palettes, highlighter palettes & more. 40% off liquid foundation, lips, lashes, KAYALI & more. 30% off melted shadows, complexion, brushes & more. 20% off wishful skincare. Four BF bundles will also be available. Full details here. Starts 24/11 PST (25/11 AEDT) and ends 27/11 (28/11 7am AEDT). Thanks u/thatderncoreytyler!
Illamasqua (UK): Up to 50% off deals + select a free mini on $50+ orders, starts 24/11 and ends 2/12. Flash daily deals on their Instagram also.
Inglot (AU): 30% off storewide with code BW30. Ends 29/11. Thanks to u/aromatic_writing, who also notes that Ingot often does 30% off sales!
Innisfree (AU): (Instore Only) - Up to 50% off selected products. Member early access 25/11 to 26/11. All customers 27/11 to 2/12. Full details here.
Innoxa (AU): 40% off sitewide, starts 24/11 and ends 30/11
JD Glow (US): 40% off storewide (excludes multichromes & palettes) with code PINKFRIDAY40. 20% off multichromes & palettes with code SPECIALEDITION. Start 26/11 12am CST (26/11 7pm AEDT) and ends 27/11 11:59pm CST. Thanks u/CHarroJ23 and u/Octoember!
Juvia's Place (US): 45% off all lip products, up to 50% off everything. Ships within 24 hours. Discount codes may also stack on top of this. End date unknown. Thanks u/coldfrz!
Juno & Co (US): Buy one, get one for US$1. Free international shipping on orders US$50+. Spend $40, get a $5 gift card. Ends 30/11. Thanks u/Sleepisbetter!
Kaleidos Makeup (CN): 25% off everything (except bundles). 40% off Cyber Broze palette and Kaleidos Lippies. All orders over $70 get a free hair bow. All orders over $180 get a free Fresh Fantasy Suitcase and Hair Bow, the Original Mars Melter, and a Kaleidos Sport Towel. Ends 30/11. Thanks u/Octoember!
Kevyn Aucoin (US): 35% off sitewide with code CYBER35. Ends 30/11 US time.
KKW Beauty (US): 30% off sitewide, some exclusions apply. Ends 30/11 11:59pm PT. Thanks u/Riiseandshine!
KVD Vegan Beauty (US): 30% off, starts 25/11 and ends 30/11.
Kylie Cosmetics (US): 40% off lips, 30% off eyes & face. 30% off Kylie Skin. Starts 25/11 12pm PST and ends 29/11 9:59am PST. Exclusions apply. Free international shipping on orders over $60. Thanks u/Riiseandshine!
Lancome (AU): Buy 2, get 3rd free. Lowest priced item free. Ends 30/11.
Lethal Cosmetics (EU): Up to 40% off selected items. €20 shipping to Aus, free for orders over €150. Ends 30/11 midnight CET. Thanks u/thajane!
Lime Crime (US): 30% off sitewide, 50% off holiday collection. Free shipping with orders US$50+. Free Remix Mini Lip Set with orders US$50+ (limited time only). End date unknown.
MAC (AU): ~~20% off sitewide. Free bronzer with orders over $100, offer ends midnight 27/11.~~ Cyber Monday offer: 20% off sitewide, online orders $65+ will receive a free five-piece gift set with code PINK20 or RED20 (for the lipstick shade option). Starts 29/11 and ends 30/11. See Coles "The Her Card" gift card deal at the bottom of this thread for extra savings.
Makeup by Mario (US): 25% off sitewide (includes limited edition sets), with code 25OFF. Exclude Master Eye Collection & gift cards. Free shipping to Aus with spends $129+. Ends date unknown. Thanks u/coldfrz!
MCo Beauty (AU): ~~Up to 50% off selected products, starts 20/11 and ends 27/11.~~
Melt Cosmetics (US): Up to 70% off selected items, excludes new collections. End date unknown.
Model Rock Lashes (AU): Various offers on selected products, up to 90% off. Ends 30/11.
Morphe (AU): 40% off Morphe with code FAB40. Excludes third-party products & bundles, sale items, and Lisa Frank. Online at morphe.com and at Morphe stores. Starts 26/11 and ends 29/11. On 30/11 Cyber Monday, 30% off almost everything. Free shipping on orders over $30. Thanks u/da-n!
Muse Beauty Pro (US): 20% off sitewide (some exclusions apply), starts 26/11, ends 30/11.
Natasha Denona (US): Buy one get one free on selected base products & accessories. Up to 50% off selected eye & cheek products. Up to 30% off selected lip products. Free shipping on orders over $150. Starts 26/11 8am EST (27/11 12am AEDT). End date unknown.
Natio (AU): 30% off sitewide. Starts 27/11 00:01am AEST and ends 30/11 11:59pm AEST. Thanks u/Tokatoya!
Nikkia Joy Cosmetics (AU): 30% off storewide with code BF30. Excludes brushes and pigments. End date unknown. Thanks u/coldfrz!
Nomad Cosmetics (US): ~~4/11 to 23/11: 60% off Around the World Palette. 24/11 to 26/11: Pre-BF Sale Buy More Get More off ($30/30% off - $90/50% off).~~ 27/11: Black Friday 50% off Orient Express Palette. 28/11: Small Biz Saturday - 70% off 4 pack of highlighters. 30/11: Cyber Monday 40% off site wide. Thanks u/CHarroJ23!
Nude by Nature (AU): 50% off with code BEAUTYDAY. Excludes sale and kids. Receive a free LED mirror with purchases $100+. Ends midnight 30/11.
Nudestix (US): 40% off sitewide with code CYBER40, excludes hand sanitiser, kits & sale items. End date unknown. Thanks u/ofavonlea
Oden's Eye (HK/SG): 40% off all products from 27/11 to 29/11 (European time). Also believed to have free shipping for spending over €50. Thanks u/coldfrz!
OFRA (US): $15 international shipping, 40% off sitewide, starts 11/26 and ends 11/26, $15 highlighters/blushes/bronzers, starts 11/27 and ends 11/27, ⁠$5 skincare, starts 11/28 and ends 11/28, 50% off palettes, starts 11/29 and ends 11/29, Super beauty busters, starts 11/30 and ends 11/30. Cyber Monday: 40% off everything with code BFCM20.
Pat McGrath (US): 25% off purchases u/da-n, u/nesswabbit & u/daisyduke92!
PLouise (UK): Up to 70% off everything. End date unknown.
Private Society Cosmetics (US): Up to 70% off sitewide. End date unknown. Thanks u/coldfrz!
Sample Beauty (UK): 40% off everything, check brand Instagram for codes for extra 5% off. End date unknown.
Scott Barnes (US): 30% off sitewide "all week long". Flat rate US$15 shipping. Thanks u/coldfrz!
Scotty's Makeup (AU): 20% off storewide with code BFCM20. Valid instore & online. Ends 30/11 11:59pm AEDT.
Skindinavia (AU): 30% off sitewide with code CYBER30. Free shipping in Aus on orders over $49. Ends 30/11.
Sigma Beauty (US): 40% off sitewide + up to 60% off selected items with code HOLIDAY2020. Free worldwide shipping no minimum ends 29/11 11:59pm AEDT. Spend $30+ and choose a free gift. More you spend, more free gifts you get in multiples of $30. 50% off Black Friday sets. Ends 1/12 at 11:59PM CST. Thanks u/Mostly-Relevant & u/iolanth!
Sportsgirl (AU): 20% off all beauty. Valid instore & online. Ends midnight 30/11.
Sydney Grace (US): 25% off starts 27/11 and ends 30/11. Free international shipping over US$150. Thanks to u/CHarroJ23 for this info!
Tarte (US): ~~30% off sitewide and 50% off holiday steals with code CYBER. End date unknown.~~ Cyber Monday: 40% off selected items (incl. Shape Tape range) with code OMG. Ends at approx 7pm AEDT 1/12. Free shipping on orders $80+. Free mascara & blush duo with purchase of 3+ items automatically applied at checkout. Thanks u/wherestherice & u/neuphss!
The Quick Flick (AU): Up to 70% off sitewide. End date unknown.
Thin Lizzy (AU): 50% off sitewide. Excludes bundles. Ends 30/11.
Touch of Glam Beauty (US): 40% off foiled eyeshadows, highlighters, multidimensional eyeshadows. 20% off selected items incl. new iridescent shapeshifters, pastel & jewelled multichromes, and shifting glitters. Use code: TOGB. 20% off bundles (already marked down). Starts 25/11 and ends 1/12. Thanks coldfrz!
Victoria Beckham Beauty (Int): 20% off storewide, applied at checkout. End date unknown. Thanks u/weisp!
WeMakeup (IT): Up to 40% off everything. End date unknown. Thanks u/coldfrz!
YSL (AU): 20% off for members with code MEMBER20, and bonus Rouge Volupte Shine Lipstick in shade 80 when you spend $200+. 15% off for non-members with code CYBER15. Only valid on $50+ spends. Ends 2/12.

Skincare

Alkira Skincare (AU): 30% off sitewide, starts 23/11 and ends 30/11.
Bangn Body (AU): ~~15% off sitewide, 27/11 only.~~
Black Leopard Skincare (AU): 35% off with code LEOPARD35. End date unknown. Thanks u/Visual-Responsible!
Boracay Skin (AU): 30% off sitewide, starts 26/11 and ends 30/11.
BreezeBalm (AU): Up to 80% off sitewide. Ends 3/12.
Deciem (AU): 23% off Deciem brands (incl. The Ordinary, NIOD, Hylamide). Ends 30/11.
Everyday Humans (AU): 30% off sitewide, starts 23/11 and ends 29/11.
Frank Body (AU): 20% off everything. Free shipping on orders $25+. Ends 1/12 9am AEDT.
Kiehl's (AU): 3 products for the price of 2. Spend $200 to receive a bonus 8-piece gift with code 8PIECE. Daily flash offer with every $60 spent. Full details [here](https://www.kiehls.com.au/offers. Ends 11.59pm AEDT 30/11/20. Note: 25% cashback via ShopBack -- thanks u/dog-coffee!
La Mer (AU): Select 3 samples with any $300 purchase. Your choice of sustainably crafted spa accessory and luxury sample with any $450 purchase. Ends 30/11 midnight AEDT.
Paula's Choice (AU): 20% off sitewide with code BESTSKIN. Free 4-piece gift on $125+ spends, bonus full-size gift on $150+. End date unknown. ~~27/11 only: 30% off Black Friday Kit.~~
Skin Republic (AU): 40% off sitewide (excluding value bundles), starts 24/11 and ends 30/11.
Stratia (US): ~~20% off sitewide. Free shipping over $150. End date unknown. Thanks u/yendingo!~~
Sukin (AU): 50% off sitewide with code BLACKFRIDAY50. Ends 30/11.
Tatcha (US): 20% off storewide, starts 26/11 and ends 28/11.
The Body Shop (AU): Up to 60% off on selected products. Offers include $5 shower gels and sheet masks, $2 bath lilies, $20 EDTs, $9 liquid lips, 3 for $40 jumbo haircare. ~~Ends midnight 29/11.~~ Black Friday offers extended, and free shipping on all orders until midnight 30/11. Thanks u/aromatic_writing!
Tribe Skincare (AU): ~~20% off site-wide and free express shipping, 27/11 only.~~
Weleda (AU): 20% off sitewide. End date unknown.

Hair Care

Arctic Fox (US): 25% off sitewide, end date unknown. Thanks u/cats_i_like!
Aveda (AU): Pre-Black Friday offer: Free full sized bottle of either Damage remedy daily hair repair, colour corrective daily colour protect, be curly style prep or smooth infusion style prep, with any purchase of $65+. Ends 26/11. Thanks to u/-GailTheSnail- for this info! Black Friday offer: 20% off and free shipping with any order over $50. Starts 27/11 and ends 29/11. See Coles "The Her Card" gift card deal at the bottom of this thread for extra savings.
Christophe Robin (US): Up to 40% off, secret flash sales, starts 24/11 and ends 2/12. Shipping to AU and NZ is $15.
Cloud Nine (AU): $40 off all electricals. End date unknown.
Dyson (AU): 2 free gifts with selected hair styler purchases. Excludes Airwrap Long. Ends 2/12. Thanks to u/bobot_ for this info! See also: David Jones offer under Multi-brand Stores.
Function of Beauty (AU): 30% off when you spend $90+. End date unknown.
GHD (AU): Up to $50 off stylers, dryers and curlers. Starts 21/11 and ends 4/12.
Hairhouse Warehouse (AU): Up to 20% off haircare and up to $50 off electrical. Get a free $15 voucher with any purchase between now and Cyber Monday. Thanks u/flora_dora!
Nature Lab Tokyo (US): 30% off shampoos and conditioners, starts 27/11 and ends 30/11.

Tools & Accessories

Beauty Fridge (AU): Up to 50% off sitewide. End date unknown.
Current Body (Int): Up to 55% off devices. End date unknown.
Etoile Collective (AU): Up to 30% off select styles. Complimentary monogramming throughout BF sale. Free pink handheld mirror with all orders $300+. End date unknown.
Face Halo (AU): 30% off sitewide with code CYBER30. Starts 23/11 and ends 30/11. Thanks u/cats_i_like!
Happy Skin Co (AU): 35-45% off sitewide. Starts 24/11 and ends 30/11.
Hot Tools (AU): 20% off everything. Free shipping in Aus. Ends 30/11.
Luvo Store (AU): Up to 60% off storewide. End date unknown. Thanks u/Riiseandshine!
Rephr Brushes (US): 20% off individual brushes. Core eye trio $39. Core face duo $56. Core collection $88. $100 off Holiday collection. End date unknown. Thanks u/samanthamoonshine!
Shaver Shop (AU): Up to 80% off. End date unknown.
The Beauty Fridge (AU): 10% off with code BFCM10. Ends 1/12. Thanks u/yanxyan!
Vanity Collections (AU): Black Friday/Cyber Monday sale now on, end date unknown. Thanks u/Riiseandshine!
Visage USA (US): 25% off orders $250+ with code BLACK25X. Ends 29/11 PST.

Nails

Emily de Molly (AU): 20% off orders $30+ with code 20off. 25% off orders $100+ with code 25off. Starts 28/11 at 10am AEST. Thanks u/chessemblem!
Holo Taco (US): Up to 20% off. Free one-coat black with any collection set or bundle. End date unknown. Thanks u/cynthia_101!
I Scream Nails (AU): Up to 75% off storewide. Free shipping on orders $50+. Starts 26/11. Thanks u/Mostly-Relevant!

Tanning

Bondi Sands (AU): 50% off selected bundles. Starts 27/11 and ends 28/11. 40% off on Cyber Monday, 30/11.
Loving Tan (AU): 20% off storewide with code VIPBF20. Ends 27/11 11:59pm PST. Thanks u/hurricaneamy!
ModelCo: ~~Up to 40% off selected products, starts 20/11 and ends 27/11.~~
Tanzee (AU): 25% off sitewide. End date unknown.

Fragrance

In Essence (AU): 30% off sitewide, starts 27/11 and ends 30/11.
Jo Malone (AU): Free 3-piece gift set when you spend $130+. Free travel pouch with $175+ spend. Full details here. Ends 30/11.
KKW Fragrance (US): 20% off sitewide, exclusions apply. Ends 30/11 11:59pm PT. Thanks u/Riiseandshine!
Libertine Parfumerie (AU): 20% off storewide with code FRIDAY20. Includes Amouage, Cire Trudon, Costume National, Creed, Frapin, Goldfield & Banks, Juliette Has A Gun, L'Artisan, Lubin, Memo, Penhaligons, etc. Excudes Fragonard, Nasomatto, Santa Maria Novella & masterclasses. Ends 30/11 midnight AEDT. Thanks u/da-n!

Please leave a comment with any other deals you come across and we’ll get this post updated asap!
Beside each brand/store name you'll notice a location (in brackets). u/aromatic_writing suggested below that we include where each store is located and shipping from so that users can better judge where to shop from, and how long shipping might take. If a brand is marked (Int)ernational it may be because the company has distribution centres in a number of countries, or we know it's not Aus, but aren't sure exactly which country it is! If this info is important to you please double-check or contact the brand before purchasing as it may not be totally correct!
OTHER MONEY-SAVING TIPS & OFFERS

You may be able to access discounted e-gift cards ranging from 3-10% for Myer, Sephora, DJs, Priceline and more through your union, insurance, or bank rewards platforms. Please see this table at Ozbargain for more info. Thanks to u/da-n for this tip!
Woolworths is offering 2000 Points (equivalent to $10) with $100 Swap Celebration/Entertainment Card spend that is redeemable on Sephora. More info here. Thanks to u/da-n for this info!
Consider using a browser extension like Honey to find coupon codes. Thanks to u/da-n for this tip!
Coles is doing 15% off certain gift cards (starts 25/11 and ends 1/12, or while stocks last). The Her Card ($50/$100) can be used at Adore Beauty (online), ASOS (online), Aveda (in store) and MAC (in store) beauty-wise. At Adore Beauty you can't use it in conjunction with any other gift card or promo code. Full details here. Thanks u/Margot_10enbaum for this info!
Check CashRewards and ShopBack for cash back offers and other deals while you do your Black Friday/Cyber Monday shopping. Thanks coldfrz for this info!

Has anyone been here? What exactly is it?

[PC] [2010s] Dreamlike short PC game with various scenes that is supposed to be played at night

I am 30 years old, make $135,000 a year, live outside NYC and work as a Senior Data Analyst.

Section One: Assets and Debt

Retirement Balance: $84,000 This is based on combined balances in my IRA accounts (Roth + Rollover). My current company, which I’ve been working at for 6 months, doesn't offer 401(k) matching until after the first year of work - so I’m waiting for that year mark to start contributing to one.
Equity: ~$550,000 This is the current market value estimate of my home, a small 2 BR condo just outside of Manhattan, from Zillow. I purchased my home in summer of 2015 at a closing price of $484K. I put down $284K for the down payment (from my savings and investments which I had slowly accumulated since I was 15. My dad helped me open my first brokerage account at the time and encouraged me to keep investing and diversifying my portfolio as I grew older; this proved invaluable when it came to having the funds for my down payment a decade later) and took on a 20 year mortgage for the remaining $200K. Just last summer (June of 2019), I paid off the remainder of the mortgage balance and am now debt-free. The timing of the payoff was mostly motivated by a city-wide property revaluation assessment last year which bumped up my property tax payment to almost 3X the previous amount.
Savings account balance: $139,000 I have this in cash in an online savings account with Ally. I normally would have invested some of this, but ever since March and with the ongoing uncertainty with the virus, the presidency, etc. I haven’t felt comfortable doing so. I am also considering buying a second condominium near where I am now that I could either rent out in the future, or move into myself and rent out my current place instead for rental income, so I want to keep funds liquid for the time being.
Checking account balance: $3,500 This amount is split across two banks - one with Ally and the other with Chase. I keep above the $1,500 minimum at Chase to avoid any fees to ensure I can withdraw cash at one of their ATMs if needed.
Credit card debt: $0 I place almost all of my purchases on one of two credit cards, but pay them off in full every month (and make sure to redeem the bonus points for cash back!) The total I’ll have charged across my two cards at any point in time usually ranges from $0 to $600 dollars.
Student loan debt (for what degree): $0 I have an undergraduate econ/business degree from an Ivy League that I’m so grateful my parents were able to help me achieve without having to worry about accumulating a huge student loan for. They started a 529 account for me a little later than ideal (when I was in middle school - I’ll go into more detail in the next paragraph) but saved aggressively leading up to when I graduated high school. They were able to cover the majority of my tuition + room and board this way, and I helped cover the rest through several scholarships and working on campus.
Mortgage: $0 Paid off last year! This was definitely one of my proudest recent accomplishments. I’ve always lived fairly frugally, due mostly to my childhood experiences and background. If there’s anything I could have done differently, it would have been to get a mortgage for a shorter term (versus the original 20 years) so that I could have gotten a lower rate and paid less in mortgage interest.

Section Two: Income

Income Progression: My first job was at McDonald’s when I was 15, and I started with the minimum wage rate of $5.25/hour. In high school, I switched to working retail at Kmart and then every summer of college, worked at various paid internships for the full summer in addition to working on campus at various jobs (from cashier to research assistant). My junior year summer internship was at a firm that I would eventually return to full time after I graduated. I've been working full time for 8 years now, and my starting salary was ~$60,000. I started off working in analytics for a financial service firm in NYC and have changed jobs every 2-3 years since then. I primarily stayed in finance up until last year, working my way through steady salary increases each year and with each job change. I had begun looking for a new job and industry right before the pandemic hit in March as I was getting bored and frustrated with my role at the time; I had actually interviewed for my current role right when interviews were all being changed to virtual and didn’t hear back until May as the company was dealing with the big shift to work from home and figuring out headcount for the future. Thankfully my role was kept and I officially started working at my current company in the media/tech space in mid-May. My current annual base salary is $110,000 with a 10% annual bonus ($121,000 all-in).
Main Job Monthly Take Home: $5,800 This is my final take home, which is paid out bi-weekly (my average paycheck amount is around $2,900). This is after deductions for health insurance (dental+vision), a healthcare HSA ($100 a month), and a pre-tax transit account ($100 a month). Retirement contributions are currently on pause until I hit my one year mark next May and qualify for matching contributions to a 401(k).
Side Gig Monthly Take Home: ~$890 I have a couple sources of income from Instagram, one of which is my dedicated food account (75K+ followers). For this account, I don’t have a steady stream of income but reap the benefits in various invitations to restaurants in NYC - I’m invited in for a meal (usually with a guest), and for posting photos and stories featuring the restaurants and dishes, have the cost of the meal covered. For sit down meals, however, my guest and I make sure to cover the tip for the service. I’m occasionally shipped food/drink items to share as well. If I do make any income, this is from infrequent brand or restaurant campaigns that I’m contacted for; depending on what’s required in deliverables, these can range anywhere from $300-$3,000. The pandemic definitely impacted this year, but for 2020, I’m on track to have earned ~$6,500 from these. I am also helping 2 friends of mine who started a small business in July with some photography and social media. I post on their social channels and do larger product shoots 1-2x a month, and get $350 a month for this work.
Any Other Monthly Income: $300 My property also has a gated parking spot included with the deed; so even though I don’t have a car, I’ve found a “tenant” for the spot since I bought my place five years ago. We sign an annual lease every October for $3,600 for the upcoming year, which comes to $300/month.

Section Three: Expenses

Property Tax: $767 (paid quarterly at ~$2,300, this amount changes quarter to quarter, so I’m using an average for the past year)
Homeowners Association (HOA) Fees: $434 (this covers water, garbage, and some building insurance)
Condominium Insurance: $54 (paid annually at $650, my HOA fees cover some initial property insurance, so this is specific to my unit).
Retirement Contribution: On pause for now as I wait to hit the year mark at my current job to get matching 401(k) contributions. I also want to keep some earnings liquid for a potential future real estate investment.
Debt payments: $0, aside from paying off my monthly CC balance
Electricity/Gas: ~$70 (depends on the season, spring and fall are in the low $40s while summer and winter can be in the high $90s)
WiFi: $40 (recently signed up for the introductory offer at Comcast)
Cellphone: $50 (I’m on the family plan still, but transfer this amount to my dad each month)
Credit Card Fee: $8.33 ($200 annual fees across the 2 cards I currently have. Next year I will cancel/downgrade from the Chase Sapphire Preferred as the benefits for Travel and Dining are pretty much moot.)
Subscriptions: Amazon Prime: $10 (annual subscription, I share with my family) Netflix: $0 (my parents cover this one) Hulu/Spotify: $11 Adobe Creative Cloud: $11 Apple Cloud: $1 OneDrive: $2 Causebox: $17 (quarterly subscription box that I pay the $200 annual cost for)
Donations: I don’t have a recurring donation organization or amount, but will donate where and when I see the need. So far this year, I’ve donated $500 to my local hospital, the NAACP, and City Harvest.
Savings Contribution: I will pretty much just transfer over money from my checking account to my savings account whenever it gets above the $1k or $1.5k threshold (I’ll keep more if it’s around the end of the month and monthly payments are coming up). I’m typically able to transfer over $2.5-3K each month, unless it happens to be one where quarterly property taxes are due.

Weekly Expenses:
Food + Drink: $78.70 (including tip)
Fun / Entertainment: $0
Home + Health: $72.33
Clothes + Beauty: $0
Transport: $0
Other: $189.24
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Day One (Monday)
8:45am: My alarm goes off and I hit snooze. One of the worst parts about the whole WFH situation has been how bad I’ve become with getting up on time, knowing that I can be at “work” in less than 15 steps. I scroll through social media a bit and catch up on some posts before getting out of bed.
9:15am: I’ve brushed my teeth, washed my face, and put on my skincare (toner, serums, and moisturizer) and am booting up my laptop. I changed jobs 6 months ago in the midst of the pandemic, leaving my previous role in financial services for a position in a large media/tech company, which has been a little crazy. It’s been tough doing everything remotely, and learning the new industry and programming/software has been especially difficult, but I feel like I’m getting my bearings. I start brewing some coffee.
9:30am: I hop on a Zoom for our weekly department huddle and listen as the different teams give updates on various initiatives as well as some background on company-wide kick offs and projects. Some of the projects I’m working on get brought up and it feels good to be doing what feels like actual work. After the call, I get to work on tackling work for some of the larger projects I have, which include scoping out source/logic details on a production report that we want to integrate in a new platform and QAing a table that I’m working on with data science.
12pm: I take a break to refill my coffee mug and make IG posts for my friends’ small business account and my own account (a food IG with 75K+ followers). I took on the first gig a few months ago when my friends, a couple in Brooklyn, launched their hand-crafted drinks business. I started the second, my personal account, over 3 years ago with a focus on restaurants in NYC. It stalled quite a bit over the last few months with the pandemic, but I’ve been dining out infrequently these days, and have limited myself to dining with only one friend at a time (out of a total of 3 friends since June, all of whom I know have tested negative and have been taking precautions since March).
3pm: I’ve wrapped up a touch base with a manager and a semi-stressful meeting where I had to present to some senior executives a dashboard we've been working on over the last few months. They have a few (mostly minor) tweaks that I note in a JIRA ticket before I grab my mask and take a quick break to stop by a local ice cream shop that’s invited me in to try their latest dessert special. There’s thankfully no one else there aside from one of the co-owners who recognizes me and gets my treats ready. I photograph them, thank her, and leave a $3 tip. $3
3:30pm: Back home, I get back to some Slack messages and try to prepare for another stressful call at 4:30pm that I have to lead. I finish eating the ice cream and call it lunch - but hey, that’s #adulting for you.
6pm: Wrap up some notes from the call and text my dad the address that I’m heading out to. I saw a 1BR condo listing pop up on Zillow over the weekend that looked promising, so I’m getting an in-person tour of it this evening. I get my mask on again and make the 5 minute walk to the building where the realtor is outside to meet me. We go inside to look at the condo for sale - the space definitely looks smaller in person than in the photos, and I note that a number of things need to be replaced or upgraded. I thank the realtor after the tour and give a call to my dad to let him know I’m okay and to give him my initial impressions of the space.
7pm: Back home! I wash my hands and change my clothes and get started on dinner; I’ve been craving soup these days so make a quick hot and sour soup on the stove with mushrooms, bamboo shoots, tofu, and some corn I have in the fridge. While I eat, I edit the photos from my DSLR from this afternoon, and check my IG account email to reply to about 7 emails that came in today about campaigns and invitations to restaurants; one of these includes signing a contract with a new app that’s offering a generous sign on payment and potential future income. I catch up on IG posts and comments and text a few friends.
11pm: I spend the rest of the evening catching up on some news, watching the latest episode of the Korean drama Start Up, and finally take a shower. While my hair is still drying in a hair tower, I do a quick Chloe Ting workout; I started doing some of her workouts a few months ago and while I’m not doing them super seriously, I’ve definitely noticed a difference in my abs and feel stronger overall. My Google Home plays some news snippets for me afterwards, and I roll my eyes at the continued attempts of our current president to try and derail the election results. On the plus side - the initial vaccine results from 2 firms have been super promising!
1am: I remember to take my daily multivitamins and then read a bit on my Kindle (I just finished Sex and Vanity, and start on Me Before You - another thing I picked up during quarantine, and I’ve already read over 30 books since March!). I then proceed to spend too much time on Instagram and reddit before turning out the lights.
Day One Total: $3
Day Two (Tuesday)
8:45am: Alarm goes off on the dot and I, the perpetual sleep procrastinator, snooze one too many times. I barely manage to make it out of bed in time to brush my teeth, wash my face, and chug some water before a 9:15am call. It’s a quick check in on projects within my business area so I summarize the work that’s been done and am grateful I don’t have to have my webcam on for this.
12pm: Unfortunately I need my webcam on for the next two meetings, so try to make myself look semi-presentable by combing through my hair and putting on a sweater, instead of my default hoodie. I get a little more clarification on some metrics and data sources in this upcoming platform integration and discussing my upcoming sprint priorities with my manager. At noon, I make a new post on my food IG and go through my feed. I pour my second mug of coffee and drink more water in preparation for the next batch of afternoon meetings.
3pm: Talk through more Zoom calls to the point that my throat is starting to hurt. I’m especially frustrated after the team huddle that just ended where one of the managers tells me my approach to building out the proposed data architecture is too limited in scope, and I should be more imaginative and proactive. The entire work from home situation has made it difficult to understand how to work with and collaborate with different people, so I try not to get too frustrated. I spend the rest of the afternoon making some minor adjustments to existing production reports and updating JIRA tickets.
5pm: I email over my dad a few of the more promising Zillow listings that landed in my inbox this morning. He jokingly complains that there’s too much to read and the words are too small before I realize that he’s been doing a lot of work on his laptop lately as he’s been WFH more. I take a look at a few computer monitors and opt for a larger (24”) version of what I currently have as it’s been working well for me for the last 6 months. I make sure it includes a HDMI cable and have it shipped my dad. $179.24
5:50pm: I grab my mask, bag, and camera and text my friend to let her know I’m en route to dinner; she’s one of the few friends I’ve seen in person since March and is also a food blogger with a separate full time job. She’s been quarantining in Long Island since the start of everything, and texts me that she’s driving in from her home, I head out to the PATH station, swipe in using my prepaid Smartlink card, and hop onto the next train.
6:35pm: I’m a few minutes late but make sure my friend knows I’m walking over, and meet her outside the restaurant. We get checked in, fill out our contact information on our phones, and get our temperatures taken; thankfully there’s only 2 other groups seated and the windows are open. Tonight’s dinner was an invitation that I already confirmed with the PR team, so the staff are expecting us and understand we’ll both be taking photos. We order a few apps and two mains, and spend the rest of the evening doing some quick photos and catching up on our lives, her plans to move into Manhattan or JC, and complaining about the ongoing election drama.
8:30pm: Dinner is done, and I realize I forgot to stop at an ATM and only have a dollar bill on me so ask if I can Venmo my friend my part of the gratuity. Thankfully she has $20 on her so I quickly Venmo her $10, making sure to use the adorable fries sticker to represent the copious amount that we ate tonight. $10
8:45pm: My friend and I walk out with our masks on, and I bid her goodbye and a happy Thanksgiving before stopping at the ATM to take out some cash, making sure to sanitize my hands after, and then head to my train. As I wait, I make some quick edits to the photos I took on my iPhone and add them with a few captions and tags to my IG stories; I manage to get through them all by the time the next train pulls up and leaves.
9:20pm: It’s always so nice to get back home! I wash my hands, change my clothes, and get started with transferring over the photos from my DSLR to my computer. I spend the next 20 or so minutes editing and saving the final versions in Adobe Lightroom and make sure to chug a glass of water to help balance out all the sodium I had. I check my messages and see that a restaurant in NJ confirmed a lunch delivery for tomorrow and see another contract in my inbox; I read the deliverables and ask the account manager if she can take out the clause requiring a Tiktok post because I don’t have an account.
11:30pm: I shower and put on my evening skincare, take my multivitamins, and do a quick ab workout with Chloe Ting (it still hurts lol). I take a look at my work calendar tomorrow and see that my first meeting starts at 9am, so I update my alarm to 15 minutes earlier. I take my vitamins and spend the rest of the evening catching up on some news, reddit, and IG.
1:30am: I blame Youtube vlogs for this one. Finally turn out the lights.
Day Two Total: $189.24
Day Three (Wednesday)
8:30am: Alarm goes off and I manage to get myself out of bed in a semi-reasonable fashion. Do my typical routine (brushing teeth, washing face, getting water and coffee ready) and log into my work laptop so I’m on the Zoom right at 9am. This is a belated overview session for one of the larger projects that I started working on quite late in the process, so it’s a useful business and data update that gives me a better understanding of the end goals.
12pm: Sit through one other department meeting where I don’t fully pay attention because I look into some minor report and code checks (oops). Once those wrap up, I’m able to take a break to do a post and stories for my friends’ business account and then make a post on my food account. I notice an email come in from a PR company about a new location opening for one of my favorite restaurants, so I check with one of my friends if he’s able to make the Tuesday after Thanksgiving and reply back to the email requesting it.
1:30pm: While I listen in on a company-wide speaker event on the topic of gender sensitivity and awareness, I also click through a recently assigned digital training course on sexual harassment and discrimination. I understand that the latter is a legally mandated item, but find it a bit sad (especially in the current day and age) that these are things that have to be spelled out for people. After I finish, I get a call for my lunch delivery; I grab my mask, keys, and wallet and meet the deliveryperson downstairs. I give him a $6 tip and take some photos of the items, which include chicken wings and a chicken sandwich. After I’m done with photos, I scarf down the food so I can make my next call which requires me to talk and have my webcam on. $6
4:30pm: I have a 1 on 1 with my manager and then a call with a business partner to scope out requirements for a new report. So glad to be done with calls! I get started putting together a project plan/roadmap for one of my projects and Slack one of the recently hired data engineers, who I found out grew up near me in suburban Philadelphia!
6pm: Get the shipping notification email that my dad’s monitor has shipped! I call it a day and close my work laptop and get started on my weekly apartment clean. I call my dad while I do so and let him know that his monitor should arrive on Friday; he thanks me and we catch up on work, COVID, and my potential future real estate investment. While I talk, I notice an alert from Mint that a large charge from Amazon hit my credit card; I’m a little worried until I log into my account and see that the annual prime membership has been renewed. Also tell my dad this as he heard me flip out thinking that someone had been making fraudulent charges on my card, as he and my mom are part of my “Prime household”. ($127, noted in my monthly expenses)
7pm: I’m done vacuuming and taking out the trash and am officially hungry. I make a quick tomato and egg soup with orzo and eat an apple while I wait for the orzo to cook. I wrap up some IG emails while I eat, including signing the updated contract with the Tiktok clause removed and politely declining some invitations to places that I’m not able to physically go to.
10pm: Wash the dishes, take a shower, brush my teeth and put on a clay face mask; while it dries, I do a quick 15 min workout on the mat and then wash off the clay mask before doing my skincare. I make sure to drink some more water and take my vitamins, and spend the rest of the evening in bed on my phone and working my way through Me Before You - it’s a slow start, but I’m starting to warm up to the protagonist.
1am: Lights out!
Day Three Total: $6
Day Four (Thursday)
8:30am: Forgot to change my weekday alarm back; oh well, I’ll survive. Crawl out of bed, and get ready for the day (you know the drill), and make sure I have plenty of coffee on hand. My period also just started, which is never a good sign.
12pm: The morning has just felt like an onslaught of meetings; followed by some impromptu Zoom calls. I’m starting to feel frazzled as various timelines and deliverables seem to have been shifted up and try to work with one of the other data engineers to specify possible business user requirements. This unintentionally gets shared with one of the project managers who sends an email en masse to the business users asking for sign off on this initial list. I don’t think it’s a big deal, but...
12:30pm: Make the post and stories on the small business account and my own account, finish the remainder of today’s coffee while I go through emails and minor JIRA tasks. I hop onto a share screen with one of my coworkers to transition over a project I’d been working on; I had built out a new dashboard and now that it’s “QA” state has been approved, he will now take over the more formal production process and maintenance.
3:30pm: During our second team stand up, I give my manager project updates and he immediately tells me I shouldn’t have let my list be shared with business users and other involved teams. I don’t fully get why; but after our team call he asks me to hop onto an impromptu Zoom with him where he tries to explain some of the complexities of company and team politics and how I should be very careful to give my stamp of approval, however formal or informal, unless I fully stand behind it. The conversation is a bit long, but I get a better sense of what's going on between teams and managers, and try not to cry as my manager tries to tell me it's not anything I did, but I need to be careful of my actions.
6pm: I manage to collect myself in time to meet a friend for the first time in months at an outdoor dine a few blocks away. He (and his girlfriend) was just recently re-tested as negative, which is always reassuring. While I get my belongings and my mask, my coworker Slacks me asking if I’m okay, apologizing for not messing earlier as she was on an afternoon call. She reassures me the same thing has happened to everyone else on the team, that a lot of these nuances I’m not aware of because I’ve never been in the office, and suggests putting on a one hour venting session with the other engineers in the team next week. I happily do so, and tell her I’ll catch up with her next week as I have off tomorrow.
6:30pm: My friend and I are seated near one of the heat lamps, and it’s so good to catch up with him after so long! He gives me some life updates, including the fact that he and his girlfriend are moving into a house they are waiting to close on, and the fact that he just put down a deposit for an engagement ring!! I’m so excited and barrage him with questions on timing, his plans, etc. and almost forget that we need to order food.
8pm: We have a delicious meal that includes burgers and a lobster roll (all of which I photograph) and he gets a few cocktails (I don’t drink). I leave a $10 tip, and my friend puts down $15 for his share, factoring in the alcohol. We mask up before heading out, and I tell him I want updates on everything for the next month as he goes through all those major life events! $10
8:30pm: After my short trip home, I wash my hands, change, and get started on editing photos from tonight. I definitely feel much better after the work “event” and take a longer shower tonight to decompress.
11pm: Decide to skip the workout tonight because I feel like it, and sit in bed doing some more administrative/scheduling tasks on my iPad in bed. I see a few updates from some of the team in India (yay international time zones - not) and debate if I should handle these tonight. Since I’m out tomorrow, I know it’ll be better if I do, so hop back onto the work laptop to wrap up some last minute code edits and JIRA updates. Once I’m done, I make sure my OOO notice and status in Slack are updated and eat a yogurt cup with some grapes because, yes, I’m hungry-ish again.
1am: Hair is dry, vitamins are taken, and it’s time for bed... or not? I’m already past the halfway point of Me Before You and cannot stop reading - it’s at the point where I’m now seriously invested in the relationship between the female and male protagonist and have to know how it ends (even though I already have my guesses). I speed through the rest of the book and shed a couple tears when I finish, which is past 3am. Thankfully I’m not working the next day! I make sure to set my alarm for later and finally go to bed.
Day Four Total: $10
Day Five (Friday)
11am: My alarm goes off and I actually feel semi-decent upon waking up - I don’t think I will ever not be a night owl! I get dressed and get ready to head out to try and get a COVID test; I last took one in June so want to have a more up-to-date status, especially as I’m potentially going home the next week for Thanksgiving. I haven’t seen my parents for over a year at this point and my dad has offered to drive down from Boston to pick me and my sister (in college, who is tested every week) up, but I’m still not feeling great about it given the fact that my parents are in their 60s. At the very least, I want to get a test to have more information before making any final decisions. I drink some water so I’m at least hydrated.
11:30am: I grab my Kindle, mask, and sanitizer and head out to the nearby mobile testing center that was set up. The line is about 15 people long - not terrible, especially as everyone is spacing out 6+ feet between each other - so I head to the end and spend the 2 hours or so in between my phone (making my daily IG post) and my Kindle (next up: Olive, Again) While I wait, I get an email about one of the campaigns I’ve been ironing out, and confirm I’m planning on visiting this weekend to get photos so I can send the content draft over for approval afterwards.
1:30pm: The process is pretty seamless; I fill out my information through my phone, upload a photo of my insurance card, and get my temperature and blood pressure taken before the nasal swab. It’s not that bad, I guess, but having anything put uncomfortably deep into your nasal passages is not fun. The doctor tells me I should get my results by the following Tuesday through the online patient portal; I thank him and head back out with my mask on.
2pm: Home and officially hungry, so after washing my hands and changing, I bowl a pot of water and put in a block of Shin Ramyun. I make it a little less like what I ate back in college by adding in some frozen corn, spinach, and an egg. I also eat an apple and catch up on some emails and go through IG before taking a fat nap.
6pm: I’m woken up by a text from my dad; it’s a picture of his new computer set up at home, and I’m glad to see everything’s working and should hopefully help his eyes. I take a second look at the photo and see that he’s using a tiny USB wire mouse - which he probably got as a work freebie. I sigh and find a wireless mouse on Amazon to have delivered to him the next day; I send him a text to watch out for that delivery as well tomorrow. $10
7pm: Time to head to the grocery store! I have a few options within walking distance of me, but like going to the Asian grocery store just given how unique and sometimes hard-to-find their selection is. I’m doing a virtual dinner swap with a friend tomorrow so I need to get ingredients for that, as well as my weekly grocery shop. I make sure I have my mask and reusable bag, and stock up on tofu, zucchini, mushrooms, bok choy, more apples (Fuji, but Honeycrisp is also a fav, ground pork, and some snacks, noodles, and yogurt. I struggle a bit to carry it home. #smallpeopleproblems $33.31
8pm: Once home, I unpack everything and get started on a (very butchered) version of soondubu with Napa cabbage, zucchini, and mushrooms with a spicy soup base (dwenjaeng paste, gochujang, soy sauce, gochugaru). I cook some rice on the side. While I eat, I load up Netflix and decide to start on The Queen’s Gambit.
11pm: Shower, skincare, and vitamins - and I end the evening with another quick mat workout. After I blow dry by hair, I climb into bed and spend far too much time on the phone as my brain wanders and gets in knots about Thanksgiving next week; my parents and I agreed not to make any decisions until I got my results back, but even if it’s negative, I know there’s still a risk if I were to let my dad pick me up and take me home. I know he and my mom really want to see me though, which makes me feel even more conflicted. I tell myself to stop thinking about it until next week and double check my schedule for tomorrow before opening up my Kindle to read.
2am: Finally decide to sleep after getting distracted by Youtube, again. Oops.
Day Five Total: $43.31
Day Six (Saturday)
10:40am: My weekly Saturday alarm goes off; my friends behind the small business and I have our recurring call every Saturday morning and while I would like to sleep in, I force myself to get up, brush my teeth, and do a quick face wash.
11am: I drink some water as we catch up on today’s agendas and tasks; we’re finalizing a seasonal holiday drink to be rolled out after Thanksgiving, so we go over the ingredients and timing, and figure out when I’ll be able to visit them in Brooklyn next month to get the photos for future posts and website updates. They also tell me they’d like to grab some photos of their new house (that they’ll be closing on soon) while I’m there, and I’m happy to do so. My friend tries to tell me that they’ll pay me extra for this, but I laugh and tell her she can just feed me.
12pm: Grab my mask, keys, and camera - Time to head out today! I have two stops near me to get photos for upcoming posts; one is for a bakery chain releasing a seasonal cake flavor and the other is for a newly opened location of a pizza franchise. My pick up order for the bakery was made in advance, so I stop inside, give them my name for the order, and after a little confusion that leads to them calling a manager, I have my cake ready to go. I take it outside to photograph; this campaign is offering a small payment but thankfully doesn’t need to review the content before I post.
12:30pm: I load up the app for the pizza place on my phone and use the pre-loaded credits to place my order in advance so it’ll be ready for pick up once I arrive. It’s a 15 minute walk or so over, but the pies are ready for me when I get there. The staff is nice enough to put them in a bag for me (they’re personal pies, so thankfully small enough) and I walk over to the waterfront to take some photos out there. I add some photos to my stories and walk home with my goodies; I’ll need to write up and submit the content for approval before posting, but this campaign is also offering a small payment.
1:30pm: Finally home! I wash up, transfer my photos to my laptop, and get started editing. In between, I make a post to my food account and the small business account, catch up on comments and friends’ posts, and try not to make a mess while eating some pizza and a slice of cake.
3:00pm: After putting the leftovers in the fridge, I’m ready for a nap. I set an alarm for 5pm just in case I oversleep since I need to make dinner late for my dinner swap!
5:00pm: Alarm goes off, and I struggle to get out of bed. I know I want as much time as possible to cook though, especially as bad things happen when I rush. I prep the food in advance by washing the bok choy, slicing the mushrooms, and mincing garlic and ginger. I do a bok choy and mushroom stir fry, and make mapo tofu and rice. I barely finish in time to package half of the meal into to-go containers for my friend, and text him; he tells me not to rush and that it’s cold enough so that the dessert won’t melt (lol).
6:40pm: I meet my friend outside halfway between our apartments outside of City Hall; of course we’re both masked. We do our meal swap; I give him the savory items I made while he hands over 2 small containers - and we both head to our separate homes. When I get back, I find out one has tiramisu and the other has a matcha oreo ice cream! I log onto Zoom for our virtual dinner hangout. Even though my friend is so close, he sees his parents regularly as well, so has been doing his best to be extra cautious. We’ve come up with this set up where we’ll each swap items for dinner (usually I’ll cook the savory and he’ll order dessert) and exchange them before enjoying dinner over Zoom later.
8:30pm: Call is over, so now it’s time to clean the kitchen - and it’s definitely a mess, especially as I was a bit frazzled. I wash the many utensils and pans I went through and do my best to dry them; washing up is definitely the least fun part of cooking.
11pm: Spend the rest of the night killing time between my phone, Netflix, and emails. I ask one of my friends (whom I saw earlier in the week) about some potential dates and places over the next few weeks, and send over calendar blocks while I wait to get reservations confirmed.
1am: By this point, I’ve showered, taken my vitamins, and am ready for bed. Read a little, watch some more videos, and eventually fall asleep sometime later.
Day Six Total: $0
Day Seven (Sunday)
12:30pm: It’s the one day this week that I don’t have an alarm, so I let myself sleep in for as long as I want to - which means that yes, I will sleep through the morning and into the afternoon. I dawdle in bed, posting on my food account and catching up on my feed, and just scrolling through various news articles and reddit threads.
1:30pm: After finally washing up and drinking some coffee, I grab my mask and bag to round out a few more groceries for the week; even though the Asian grocery store is great, they don’t have some staples so I’m heading to one of the more traditional stores near me today. I pick up some pasta, tomato sauce, oatmeal, peanut butter, and some more produce. $16.39
2:30pm: Once I’m back home and put everything away, I make a late lunch of oatmeal and apples with some Annie’s Mac & Cheese. While I eat, I start putting together the post and story captions, tags, and links for the pizza campaign, and submit them to the account managers for approval.
5:00pm: After some more dawdling on my phone and getting through more of The Queen’s Gambit (so good!), I hop onto a weekly Zoom with two of my good friends. We’ve known each other for over 8 years and while I do see one of them semi-regularly, the other has some health complications. We’ve kept this weekly Zoom call since mid-March and it helped me get through the rougher months.
7pm: After the call is over, I check my Amazon cart and take a look at anything that’s accumulated over the prior week. For non-essentials, I’ll add them to my cart and take a few days to think through if it’s something I really want/need and I’m usually able to pare down that list when I get back to it later. I decide to keep a saucepan and bath towels and order them for next week. $72.33
8pm: For dinner, I default to my tomato & egg soup with rice, and add in some zucchini for some more vegetables. I eat an apple and finish off the ice cream from yesterday as well.
11pm: Shower, do my skincare, and plop myself into bed. I continue binge-watching The Queen’s Gambit until the end - such a satisfying ending!
1am: Make sure my alarm is set for work before turning out the light.
Day Seven Total: $88.72

frying pan platform video

The Superior Bonk! 538 Downloads Last Updated: Dec 14, 2020 Game Version: 1.16.4 Discover Frying Pan Tower in Southport, North Carolina: This abandoned lighthouse looks like a rusting oil rig but is actually an adventurous bed and breakfast. Frying Pan market Size by Type: It includes analysis of value, product utility, market percentage, and production market share by type. Profiles of Manufacturers: Here, commanding players of the global Frying Pan market are studied based on sales area, key products, gross margin, revenue, price, and production. The 37-year-old New Bern, North Carolina, lawyer was in the process of boarding The Frying Pan Tower, a Coast-Guard-Light-House-turned-B&B 34 miles off the coast of North Carolina. After an hour Neal owns Frying Pan Tower, which is only reachable by boat. The platform is about 100 feet above the ocean, and there's no land in sight. (MORE: How to Help Matthew Victims) After the Coast Guard Restoration of Frying Pan Tower is managed by FPTower Inc., a nonprofit organization and 501(c)3 dedicated to restoring, protecting and preserving the former United States Coastguard (USCG) Frying Pan Light Station off the coast of North Carolina for future generations. FRYING PAN OCEAN PLATFORM WEBCAM. Frying Pan Ocean Platform Webcam - Off Shore Outer Banks. Location: Off Shore Outer Banks Views: 1,002,952 Likes: 36 Dislikes: 1. The Frying Pan webcam is located 35 miles off the coast of Cape Fear, North Carolina. Above water overlooking the Mid-Atlantic Ocean, this camera provides a bird’s eye view of the Frying Pan. The best frying pans are made out of good quality and robust material. Coated frying pans are for the gentle frying of egg dishes or fish or rice. Uncoated frying pans are great for searing of meat and creating a tasty gravy as the pans often create a light food residue which you can deglaze to make delicious sauces, soups, and gravies. A homeowner and his wife fend off a home invader with the help of a frying pan. FAYETTEVILLE (WTVD) — Glenn Tew used his favorite frying pan to fight off an intruder. “The fact that he would come in and invade our own home and just do the kind of damage he had done, no one should have to put up with that kind of mess.” Image via Frying Pan Tower. A former Coast Guard light station built on a modified oil platform in the middle of the ocean offers up accommodations for the daring.

frying pan platform top

The Most Terrifying B&B on Earth: The Frying Pan Tower ...

Look far out into the Atlantic ocean and watch the weather shift and the day come and go from 34 miles off the coast. Learn more about why this is called the... Join this channel to get access to perks:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxl_r-iP8mrfJ1bgqr7jzAw/joinfollow me on Twitterfollow me on Instagramfollow me on ... You can smack me with these https://amzn.to/3gXQGcF Discord https://discord.gg/FnkwTRa MERCH https://teespring.com/stores/mrslavs-hideout-----... Oven fries that are better than deep-fried? Maybe. Easier and cleaner? Definitely! Thanks to Squarespace for sponsoring this video. Go to Squarespace.com for... Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube. The Frying Pan Tower is a Coast Guard Light Station located 34 miles off the coast of North Carolina that is being restored with the assistance of people lik... Our underwater camera at the Frying Pan tower caught this sand tiger shark cruising by. It's an awesome sight to see this magnificent creatures up close in t... A helicopter ride out to the Frying Pan Tower to deliver some bird and bat measurement equipment and workers. Amazing weather with everything from 3' to 12' ...

Why the Frying Pan Tower Is the Most Dangerous Hotel in

frying pan platform

frying pan platform - win

Streaming tonight, Cross Platform Squad on PubG Frying Pan Fridays

Ocean Platform with Flag (Frying Pan Shoals)

Stuff I kept in mind when I was trying to lose weight

[GB] All That and Dim Sum Deskmat + Giveaway

All That and Dim Sum Deskmat

You can buy it here!

OCE Proxy, they open in 24 hours!

Here's the design!

And a render with our Sunsetter!

Giveaway

Giveaway over!

Overcooked 2 Free to play with Nintendo Switch Online for 1 week @ Nintendo eShop

[Nintendo Switch] Overcooked 2 £9.99, Overcooked Special Edition £4.49, Mary Skelter 2 £14.39 @ Nintendo eShop

Overcooked 2 Free to play with Nintendo Switch Online for 1 week @ Nintendo eShop

Overcooked 2 Free to play with Nintendo Switch Online for 1 week @ Nintendo eShop

Overcooked 2 Free to play with Nintendo Switch Online for 1 week @ Nintendo eShop

Upon a Dead Horse: Chapter Two

Stuff I kept in mind when I was trying to lose weight

a short draft on my upcoming project (need your honest opinion on how its going so, feel free to give your feedbacks)

Black Friday/Cyber Monday Sale Megathread part 2

Has anyone been here? What exactly is it?

[PC] [2010s] Dreamlike short PC game with various scenes that is supposed to be played at night

I am 30 years old, make $135,000 a year, live outside NYC and work as a Senior Data Analyst.

frying pan platform video

frying pan platform top

The Most Terrifying B&B on Earth: The Frying Pan Tower ...