[SELL][CANADA to USA & Canada][PERFUME]

$15 Minimum Please!
TAT 3 calendar days or less
SHIPPING TO USA:$11 without tracking and $15.75 with tracking. I'm shipping from Canada.
SHIPPING TO CANADA:For samples only, $4. With tracking, it starts at $15. Tracked shipping price in Canada varies by region.
All samples or decants, unless marked as FS.
All purchased new, unless marked as RIS.
ALL PRICES ARE IN USD. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ASTRID

• ALCHEMY & SURF, Ajevie Slonk (cute screw-top vials), $4.25: Aquatic ozone, metallic gold accord, vetiver, rosemary, benzoin, fig, and moss.
• AQUAMARINE, Ajevie Slonk (cute screw-top vials), $4.25: Peach blossom, cucumber, water lily, green cognac, a blend of citrus, blue musk, Japanese peppermint, and sunny sea water accord.
• COVER, 1/4 Bottle, RIS, $6: An enveloping blanket of rice flower, sandalwood, cream, and a touch of cooling bergamot mint.
• FLOATING ON THE WAVES FOREVER AND EVER, Ajevie Slonk (cute screw-top vials), $4.25: Honeydew melon, aquatic ozone, jasmine, lemon, and wild lilies.
• MERCI #27, decant in a thick vial, $2.75, RIS: Lotus, orchid, banana, tropical ivy, and torrential rain accord
• RAIN ON THE OCEAN, Ajevie Slonk (cute screw-top vials), $4.25: Aloe, salt water accord, juniper, pale patchouli, white musk, eucalyptus, and a whisper of spearmint.
• SPELLCASTING ON THE ROCK, Ajevie Slonk (cute screw-top vials), $4.25: Sun-warmed wood, sand, amber, rose geranium, and patchouli.

BPAL (all purchased new)

• A WINTER'S WALK IN THE CEMETERY, Ajevie Slonk (cute screw-top vials), $5.5: Lilith’s lavender and my Dorian on a rambling walk through soft, sweet grass, cypress trees, piles of maple leaves, and bright bouquets of lilies and roses.
• CYCLING FOR PLEASURE, Ajevie Slonk (cute screw-top vials), $5.5: Sea water, sea salt-dusted cypress, pink carnation, oakmoss, and white vetiver.
• O HUSHED OCTOBER MORNING MILD, Ajevie Slonk (cute screw-top vials), $5.5: Dried forest pansy leaves, grape vine, grass, lavender buds, thyme, creeping fig, paw-squished soil, and a whiff of coffee drifting down from the kitchen.
• RING OF LIGHT, Ajevie Slonk (cute screw-top vials), $5.5: Radiant pale musk, artemisia, white lavender, neroli, white pepper, and zingy white aldehydes.
• SKATE PUNKS, Ajevie Slonk (cute screw-top vials), $5.5: Crabgrass, dandelion sap, white clover, purslane, and soil unsettled by skateboard wheels.
• SURPRISE EJACULATION, Ajevie Slonk (cute screw-top vials), $5.5: White pear, white champaca, pink grapefruit, and effervescent white musk.
• THE LAST SYLLABLE, Ajevie Slonk (cute screw-top vials), $5.5: Photos pinned to cool plaster walls, discarded papers, a web of strings, a mirror, a doll, singed straw, scattered books, and unfurled magnetic tape.
• UPSLOPE FOG, Ajevie Slonk (cute screw-top vials), $5.5: Moist clouds rolling lazily up and down low hills of wild grasses, sagebrush, and wildflowers, curling gently around gnarled oaks, majestic pines, and craggy stones.
• URBAN UNDINE, Ajevie Slonk (cute screw-top vials), $5.5: Ocean spray, sea salt, ambergris accord, and lavender.
• WATER OF NOTRE DAME direct , $3.5: Aquatic

DECONSTRUCTING EDEN (all purchased brand new)

• AD ASTRA, $2.5: Sunflowers in a field, under a night sky, gentle wind, softest earth, and wheat.
• ADAM $2: Cedar, balsam, warm skin musks, teak, bergamot, coriander, pepper, tonka bean, and earth.
• ALCUIN, $2.75: White musks and white amber, the pale greens and grays of his marque, with moss and a chypre accord and a base of soft wood.
• AQUARIUS $2: a blend of air with an undercurrent of water, topped with sparkling aldehydes.
• HOMESICK, $2.75: Dogwood, wisteria, tulips, sunflowers ocean air.
• INSOMNIAC, $2.75: white nightgowns, clean sheets, lavender buds, a drop of chamomile, wood floors, skin musks
• JEUNE SAINTE AU LYS $2: pale skin, muted notes of polar, pine, and wood, pale white lilies
• MASTER OF THE STRAITS, $2.75: Stormy sea water, driftwood, bay rum, oakmoss and a couple of drops of hyacinth.
• MOULIN ROUGE, $2.75: a frou-frou of red satin, a frisson of velvet, wooden floorboards, blonde tobacco, red wine, and a drop of absinthe.
• MY GIRLFRIEND’S GIRLFRIEND, $2.75: white musk forms the base. Heart notes of jasmine, soft rose, freesia, lily and black currant. Top notes of pink grapefruit, bergamot and mandarin orange.
• NERVE, $2.75: Blue musk, green clover, soft grey suede, jet fuel, and, white peach tea
• OCTOBER RUST, $2.75: "Cool rusting metal, the last of the maple leaves, black agarwood, crisp air, incense, bonfire smoke, blonde woods, and dark amber."
• SECOND SKIN, $10 (almost half left in 15 mL Bottle): Cold skin, fog, combat boots, cashmeran, metal accord, raindrops, wet stone
• SEVEN STARS, $2.75: Midnight blue sky, sparkling stars, rice, white cedar, and, Buddha’s Hand Citrus
• SILKWORM, $2.75: Silk threads, mulberry leaves, fruit, and branches, salt tears
• SNOW WHITE, $2.75: Clean white musk, blood-red roses, ebony wood, and a touch of the forest, and that infamous apple.
• TALENT, $2.75: Crisp linen, beeswax coated silken threads, Alban rose, and Earl Grey tea.
• WATER ME, $2.75: coconut, dark amber, skin musks, clean water, and satin sheets

FANTOME (all purchased new) $5.5 each

• BUNE: Damp subterranean air, nagarmotha, smooth cave walls, davana, a cold marble altar, & glittering green dragon scales
• COYOCAN, $2: Desert wind, sweet nectar, cool stone, Mexican vanilla, creosote, hibiscus, sage
• KUPALA: Morning dew, davana, fern flower, bonfire smoke, birch leaves, warm summer air
• STOLAS: Bluebells, an unburnt cedar offering, cool night air, lavender, soft owl feathers, blueberries, & a hint of dark chocolate

NAVA

• COUNT CHOCO, Ajevie Slink, $4: Count ChocoCocoa Absolute of Persia, India and the West Indies, Cocoa liquor, Wheat, Cocoa Powder, Vanilla Powder, Mallow and Chocolate Soy Milk.

NUI COBALT DESIGNS (all purchased new)

• DEEP HEALING, 1.15 ml, $3.5: Deep ocean water, bracing wind, cold clary sage, and fresh rain-drenched greens.
• DENDROPHILIA - THE LOVE OF TREES, 1.15 ml, $3.5: The love of Trees.Moss-covered deadfall, birchwood and pine, lingering resins and sunlight through the leaves, a trace of woodsmoke, the memory of vetiver and cedar.
• FROST GIANT , 1.15 ml, $3.5: Himalayan cedar, towering oak, nagarmotha, frozen sage, moss-covered stone, cucumber, and fog.
• GREY WOLF, 1.15 ml, $3.5: White sandalwood, black amber, icy sage, cashmere, stone musk, lichen, softly smoked birchwood, grey suede, mountain springwater, and white peppercorn.
• MERFOLK, Ajevie Slonk (cute screw-top vials), $3.75: The mineral scent of sand, salt, and shells upon the mist, ambergris accord, turquoise musk, warm orris, olive trees, and neroli.
• ORNITHOPHILIA - THE LOVE OF BIRDS, 1.15 ml, $3.5: A wistful effusion of angelica, kava kava, elderflower, linden, mugwort, saffron, acacia wood, purple heliotrope, and mugwort.

POSSETS (ALL PURCHASED NEW; unless marked as FS, all are samples from direct or decant from Ajevie that are $2.5 each)

• 4 SEASONS OF SUMMER: Bamboo, silk, Japanese incense, a hint of water, and fresh green shoots, and a small introduction of sandalwood in the mix to send a cooling breeze your way.
• ALASKA: the chill in the air, but also the perfume of the riot of summer blossoms as they race the sun every year.
• ARC OF VENUS, FS, Brand New Never Used, $16: Sexy sandalwood base, black lavender, calendula, “abstract” musk, sharp grey musk
• BERENICE: Champagne musk, pink grapefruit, a dash of lemon zest, a veil of dragons' blood
• BIRTH OF VENUS: jasmine, aquatic blend, light citrus blend
• BRIDAL CHORUS, FS, Brand New Never Used, $16: a lot of Hawthorne here, a very sugary musk, a kiss of a ""silky musk"" and it's all about silky skin
• DANCE WITH ME, FS, Brand New Never Used, $16: A classy variation of everyone's favorite lavender vanilla but substituting grapefruit for lavender and under-girding it with white musk.
• FASCINATOR: sparkling, very high-key bright crystalline musk, emollient backup musk, sandalwood, cedar and rosewood.
• FLYING HORSE: Bamboo, grated ginger, green tea, luan wood, white floral note
• FROG PRINCESS: To an aquatic base, subtle hints of coconut and mint are added.
• HATSHEPSUT: Bitter beautiful galbanum pairs with the smoothness of labdanum, a bit of oude gum, and a very small amount of the best skin amber.
• HEATHCLIFFE AND CATHERINE EARNSHAW: Heather of the moors, lavender of English, a drop of wildness, oude
• HYLAS AND THE NYMPH: pooled water, lush vegetation, and sneaking scent of sex
• ISABELLA: rose are combined with a light resin, white tea leaf and a rare honey/milky/cream musk. A light dusting of familiar spices.
• LOLA MONTEZ: green of Irish grass accord, deeply green aquatic note, dark and thick labdenum, tonka infusion, animalic musk.
• LOTUS OF THE NILE: The lotus is the prime fragrance in the bouquet, but it is followed by bits of roseate beauty, a sort of dark incense which has been winnowed through the air, and faint aquatic background scent.
• SHIP OF FOOLS: tang of the sea and added a bit of refined leather to get things started, a roll of key lime zest and a goodly portion of faux ambergris.
• SWAN: cool with a light kiss of olive leaf, a blend of three blue musks (from light to dark and a mid tone one), a bit of cork (!) extract, a small amount of osmanthus.
• TERRA NOCTURNA: violet, vetiver, leather, ozone, pepper, sugar, and a crystal musk
• THE WATER BURNS: The essence of earth and high greenery--a hint of smoke but smelled from far away, boxwood, galbanum, and a light hint of Mysore sandalwood.
• XUONG CUONG: A cold green leaf bats against a ghost wood, a lash of green chlorophyll and crystal musk, a bit of luan wood, and a soft ambient earth scent, finished off with sandalwood and yuzu, the latter adds an air of almost black walnut and nutwood-like nuance to the whole.

SIXTEEN92 (all purchased new unless marked as RIS)

• ALL IS BRIGHT Ajevie Slonk (cute screw-top vials). $4: Quiet snowfall, brisk winter ozone, warm peppermint tea, tightly laced ice skates on a glistening frozen pond
• ALL IS BRIGHT, $5: Quiet snowfall, brisk winter ozone, warm peppermint tea, tightly laced ice skates on a glistening frozen pond
• ANDROCTONUS AUSTRALIS, $5: Rum, wild fig, dry papyrus, sweet tobacco, oud
• AQUILA, $5: Juniper, chilld white tea, mountain laurel, soft cotton, airy musks
• AQUILA, $5: Juniper, chilld white tea, mountain laurel, soft cotton, airy musks
• AQUILA, $5: Juniper, chilld white tea, mountain laurel, soft cotton, airy musks
• BEAUTIFUL. POPULAR. LOVED. FEARED. Ajevie 2020 Half Slink, $1.5: Moonflower, tiare, bitter almond, blond woods, heat lightning, asphalt
• BEFANA, $3.5 (decanted into a thicker vial that’s approximately 2/3 full but measured to be around 1/5 of a bottle): Black currant and dried fig, black pepper, forest berries, pressed flower petals, creamy amber, winter spices
• BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR, Ajevie Slonk (cute screw-top vials). $4: Dusty magic shop shelves, dried sage leaf, crystal ball, darkened amber musks, a puff of smoke
• BOOK OF STARS, $3 (decanted into a thicker vial that’s approximately 1/4 full): The smell of space (meteor dust, ozone, metal, ethyl formate) blended with grounding white sandalwood, papyrus, & earthy musks.
• CHILLED CHAMPAGNE, $3.5 (decanted into a thicker vial that’s approximately 2/3 full but measured to be around 1/5 of a bottle)
• CHIROMANCY, $5: Orris, worn leather, ink, porcelain, black truffle
• COCONUT FLAN, FREE (original bottle with a few drops left) - just ask!
• FOOL FOR LOVE, $5: Leather jacket, chipped black nail polish, burning roses, bad poetry
• GRETA, $5: Frosted glass, chilly aldehydes, citrus blossom, elderflower, snow accord
• GRASS HARP, $3.5 (decanted into a thicker vial that’s approximately 2/3 full but measured to be around 1/5 of a bottle): Orange blossom, clover, hyacinth, ruby red grapefruit, sweet basil
• HELIOPHOBIA, decant in chonky vial, $3: Climbing ivy, faded magnolia blooms, moonlit vines, cracked solarium glass, splintered wood, peeling wallpaper, humid air, fog & shadow, feral musk
• I AM ATREYU!, $5: The hopes of all Fantasia: Luck dragon fur, glimmering gold and worn suede, sumac, fire, equine musk
• I AM ATREYU!, $5: The hopes of all Fantasia: Luck dragon fur, glimmering gold and worn suede, sumac, fire, equine musk
• LOUISE, Direct, $5: Sultry amber, red ink, black kohl, night blooms, Tonkin musk (synthetic), wormwood, soft suede, glistening strands of pearls
• LYCANTHROPE, Direct, $5: Monkshood, warm fur, tuber, elm bark, artemisia, galbanum, weathered rock, silver moonlight
• LYCANTHROPE, Direct, $5: Monkshood, warm fur, tuber, elm bark, artemisia, galbanum, weathered rock, silver moonlight
• LYRA, $5: Misty aldehydes, mandora blossom, spring hyacinth, forsythia, new leaves, melted snow
• MIDWINTER DUSK, $5: Chilled evergreen boughs and bunches of mistletoe, a blanket of evening frost, distant sleigh bells, the soft glow of gas lamps on snowy cobblestone streets
• MIDWINTER DUSK, $5: Chilled evergreen boughs and bunches of mistletoe, a blanket of evening frost, distant sleigh bells, the soft glow of gas lamps on snowy cobblestone streets
• SAVE FERRIS, Ajevie Slink, $3.5: "Funnel cakes & lemonade from Wrigley field, salted pretzels, bright blue skies, cool Lake Michigan breeze, Bueller… Bueller… "
• SINTERKLAAS, $3.5 (decanted into a thicker vial that’s approximately 2/3 full but measured to be around 1/5 of a bottle): Cake flour and sugared dough, royal icing, mulled wine, foil-wrapped candies, speculaas cookies, a cozy hearth
• SOLSTICE BONFIRE, $5: Dark rum, grey ash, black amber, firewood bales, pine needle, charcoal, cedar, & billowing smoke on crisp winter air
• TALIA, $5: Vanilla, moss, ivy, soft musk, stone
• THE HEART IS A LONELY HUNTER, RES BATCH, half decant in a thicker vial, $3.5 (decanted into a thicker vial that’s approximately 2/3 full but measured to be around 1/5 of a bottle): Tuberose absolute, soft skin musk, oakmoss, fresh earth, vanilla, iris
• THE NOTHING, $5: The emptiness that’s left: Black clouds, stormy winds, broken mirrors, deep water, rock dust, I will just sit here and let it take me away too
• TO ALL A GOOD NIGHT, $5: Swirls of tranquil incense, flickering farolitos, piñon and juniper wood, far-off carols drifting on desert wind
• TURTLE DOVES, Ajevie Slink, $3.5: Frasier fir, frozen sidewalks, snowy park benches, twinkling fairy lights and silver bells, a flurry of soft feathers, warm mittens, a wooden toy chest, delicate porcelain musk
• VILLAINS, $5: Candle soot, pine rosin, blood red pomegranate, howling forest winds, darkened crystals, sacred herbs
• VULPECULA, $5: Pools of rainwater, soaked pebbles, tomato leaf, decaying tree bark, wild brambles, dusty fur
• WAKING IN WINTER, half decant in a thicker vial, $3.5 (decanted into a thicker vial that’s approximately 2/3 full but measured to be around 1/5 of a bottle): fir needle, hemlock, soft snow, pale woods, delicate mint, frost-blanketed leaves, cold metal, distant hearthsmoke

SORCELLERIE all Sorcellerie are RIS (some cheaper than others to account for fill level differences)

• A PARTY OR SOMETHING, $1: Marigolds, yellow cake, white chocolate, pistachio buttercream, Iso E Super, Cashmeran
• WHAT BIG EYES YOU HAVE, $2.75: Immortelle absolute, lemon meringue pie, pearlescent vanilla musk

STEREOPLASM

• ENCHANTED DEW DROPS, 4.5 mL Roller, $9.5: (dew/jade/light smoke/stone moss) - A glowing vial containing healing dew from the misty peak of treacherous Mount Eumedes (will appear in rain during spring equinox if an acceptable offering of fire is made).
• KING MOONRACER, Doll Size, $3: Oceanic musk, cool night air, sea salt, pu-erh tea and night-blooming jasmine.
• OGOPOGO, Doll Size, $3: Cool Rippling lake, water lily, seaweed and snake skin.
• OPALINE, Mini Roller, $3: Iridescent and heavy stones of opalized amber, birds of paradise, frozen yucca and lacquered teak[pearl-stone/opal-amber accord/birds of paradise/cold yucca/camphorous teak]
• PÊCHE IMMORTELLE, 4.5 mL Roller, $9.5: Saturn peach and aged cognac enclosed in humid jade glass, unearthed after midnight alongside dewy blooms of star jasmine and clary sage
• PEEL, Mini Roller, $3: Spiraled peels of heaven scent Valencia orange, lumia lemon and perfectly ripe strawberries and banana[orange/strawberry/banana/fruity ozone/lemon]
• PICKEREL FROG (LITHOBATES PALUSTRIS), 4.5 mL Roller, $9.5: Night blooming jasmine, wet grass, algae, and tomato leaf.
• POTTED CHIPTUNIA, YellingCat Decant, $1.5: (petunia/leaf/fresh soil/clay/static) - A refreshing, inhibiting flower, grown and engineered in Chiptown.
• REVERIE, Doll Size, $3: Frozen pollen, prickly gooseberry vine, raw cashmere wool and midnight blooming primrose[aldehydic-powdery floral musk/gooseberry fougere/cashmere/wild primrose]
• SCAREDY CATS, 4.5 mL Roller, $9.5: Sheet white marshmallow, midnight sugar cookies and an extinguished candle squares on a hot rainy day.
• SOLAR CROAKUS, Mini Roller, $3: An inner effervescence heightened by notes of warm patchouli, bronze crocus, dry sandalwood, sun flare ozone and warm skin musk[patchouli/sandalwood/bronze crocus/warm ozone/skin musk]
• TOTALLY IN LOVE 4.5 mL Roller, $9.5: Soft purple and glowing from within; raspberry cotton candy with a delicate bouquet of jasmine, rose and heliotrope while shadows dance at sunset.
• UNHOLY WATER, Mini Roller, $3: Barbed wire and rust, sacrificial blood orange, cursed saffron licked by flames of a burning chapel.

Currently
33 years old
1,68m 70,5 kg (A1C): 7,4 % 165,7 mg/dL
Breakfast: 2 cupts of coffee (4, 5 drops of stevia sweetener each) and whole cream crackers
Lunch / dinner = brown rice, cooked chicken, plenty of salad , just a small portion of beans (maybe)
Dessert: Strained yogurt, apple or pear
Sometimes: cooked egg (no salt)
Exercises 3 times a week at least
Walk on the beach at least twice a week
Every time I have a cup of black coffee, drink it with stevia sweetener
------------
NOT EATING ANYTIME SOON (in at least 3 months)
Sfiha, pizza, mini cakes, shoestring potatoes, "normal rice", french fries

🍨 COOKIE BUTTER ICE CREAM FT. BISCOFF® A smooth and delicious brown sugar cookie topped with buttercream made with Biscoff® cookie butter and crumbly cookie pieces.
🎊 CONFETTI CAKE A burst of confetti sprinkles in a fluffy sugar cookie topped with a swirl of pink vanilla cream cheese frosting.
🫐 TRIPLE BERRY COBBLER An oaty trio of strawberry, blueberry, and raspberry swirled with delicious cinnamon cream cheese frosting and decorated with a dash of cinnamon streusel.
🥜 PEANUT BUTTER BROWNIE A thick chocolate cookie stuffed with peanut butter dough, then topped with a swirl of melted milk chocolate and creamy peanut butter.
⁉️ MYSTERY COOKIE Is it one of your favorites, or something you haven’t tried yet? Check the Crumbl App to see what cookie your local store is offering!
🍭 CLASSIC PINK SUGAR An all-time favorite—a vanilla sugar cookie topped with a perfect pink swoop of real almond frosting (now containing real almond extract).
🍪 MILK CHOCOLATE CHIP The classic—you can’t go wrong. Thick, soft, and packed with milk chocolate chips.

In hindsight, I should have listened to the kill-bill alarm bells in my head when eight-year-old Cassie announced she and her cabin mates were going to skip out on camp activities and play Operation instead.
Though it’s not like I didn’t have things on my mind. Seven counsellors had gone missing—along with our head counsellor who was supposed to be taking care of us.
It started out fairly normal. I mean, one or two counselors wasn’t bad, right?
Lily and Joey had been drowning in sexual tension for a while, so nobody was surprised when they sneaked into the woods for what I could only guess was the most uncomfortable sex ever. But then they didn’t come back.
Teddy and Yuri went to look for them, and then they too also disappeared. It was almost like a wild animal was lying in wait for another unsuspecting teenager to cross its path.
With six of us left, I was definitely freaking out.
I wasn’t expecting summer camp to be like this. I did consider working in my local Sephora, but mom had a preference—and whether I was eighteen years old or not, she was getting her way. So, it was goodbye civilization, and hello Canadian wilderness.
There were fifteen kids queued up in front of me for lunch, and I was having a hard time keeping that optimistic Camp Redwood smile.
I couldn’t help constantly counting how many hours it had been since the latest disappearance, Connor.
He was supposed to be helping with getting the emergency generator going, after the electricity sizzled out.
The boy was gone an hour later. This was happening fast. Whatever was going on with the counsellors was burning through all of us. Would it happen to me?
I had seen so many TV shows and movies set in a summer camp where every camper and counsellor was doomed to die in the grossest way possible. Was that going to happen to us?
I tightened my grip around the stupid ladle I had found myself stirring, a giant pot of chocolate syrup. Watching watery chocolate drip from the edge, I felt nauseous. Of all the summer camp’s mom had to send me to, it had to be the one with vanishing counsellors and zero adult authority. Which meant we were the authority. Twelve teenagers who came to relax and babysit a bunch of little kids before college.
We had to put on brave faces and pretend everything was absolutely fine—and we weren’t all terrified out of our fucking minds.
At the corner of my eye, I glimpsed Harry offering piggybacks to a bunch of little kids, with one of the littles, Eleanor, wrapping her arms around his neck and squealing.
From the look on the boy’s face, he wanted to stop. It was hard to keep a façade when reality was becoming harder and harder to bear. Abandoning his hat completely, Harry was dripping with sweat, trying to twist his lips into the Camp Redwood grin. But looking closer, as he galloped across the cabin with Eleanor holding on for dear life, the guy was ready to collapse. I didn’t blame him.
Entertaining the kids was supposed to be Teddy’s assignment—and he was who knows where. I had taken over lunch duties for Lily, who had joined the long list of the missing.
Harry was supposed to be joining the search party for the missing councellors, but had ended up becoming the little’s personal punching bag.
When I first met him, Harry Carlisle had been the kid who sat on the side-lines and offered sarcastic remarks and crude jokes. Now, he had been reduced to a playground ride the kids pretended didn’t have an off switch.
He had enjoyed maybe the first two rides to raise morale, but now I could see the strain in his eyes. “Ow!” Harry winced when the little girl’s fingers prodded at his eyes. “Hey! Eleanor, not my eyes!” He was dangerously close to toppling over, though managed to catch his footing, ordering all of them off of his back. “Horse Rides are over!” He cupped his mouth, shouting across the cabin when a group of kids surrounded him with equally terrifying faces. Harry backed away and threw his hands up. “Come on, guys, my back isn’t built for all of you!”
“Horsey!” The kids shouted back in a cacophony of giggles.
It was 10 against one.
Against two, if I got involved. Which wasn’t going to happen. There was no way I was putting effort into play-fighting a bunch of eight-year-olds. Harry shot me a hopeful look, though I pretended not to see, busying myself with slightly burned nuggets.
Running his fingers through thick strands of sandy colored hair, Harry pulled a face when a little girl, Phoebe, was brave enough to step forward.
“No.” Harry shook his head, squeezing the front of his counsellor shirt practically glued to him. The temperature still hadn’t let up, and it was heading towards 8PM. Night-time, I thought dizzily. It was almost bedtime, and still no adults. “I refuse to surrender,” He told her. “Phoebe, I am not joking around when I’m saying my back is hurting. We’ve been playing horsey’s for two hours.”
“So?”
“So!” Harry couldn’t yell or hiss, or swear at them. That was a big no-no with kids.
However, I could see he was coming close to breaking that rule. “Because I’m tired,” he said through a Camp Redwood grin, which was quickly twitching into a grimace.
I think all of us had given up with the fake enthusiasm when our colleagues started to vanish. Now, we were just shells of our former happy selves. “And… uh… did you know that if you ride a horsey at this time, the ghosts will come and get you?”
When a boy opened his mouth, his eyes widening with fright, Harry realized his mistake.
“I mean the nice ghosts! Yeah! The uh, the nice ghosts who haunt..I mean play in these woods? It’s a well-known Camp Redwood legend that ghosts don’t like horse rides. In fact,” his lips curved into a devilish smile now he had several faces staring at him. The kids dropped onto the ground to listen, their hands clasped in their laps. This was the quietest they had been all day. I could understand though. Harry had taken the reins around the campfire telling ghost stories for three nights in a row, and the guy was a damn good storyteller.
With every eye on him, Harry lowered his voice into a whisper. “Do you guys want to know what they do?”
The kids nodded with wide eyes.
“They sneak into unsuspecting cabin’s…”
“Harry.”
Rowan’s voice came from outside in a warning. The window was open, and the guy was standing watch to see if any counsellors came back. Since the only adult had disappeared, he had been appointed leader—and the guy was taking himself a little too seriously.
His warning was valid though. Sometimes Harry’s ghost stories were a little too scary for little kids, who’s Imaginations tended to run wild—especially at night. Olive, my cabin-mate, had to give up her bed for a little girl who was convinced Harry’s depiction of Slenderman, “The tree boy” was going to sneak into her bed and turn her into an apple seed.
“Did I say sneak into cabin’s? I meant dance around the woods…” Harry corrected himself. “And they look for their next unsuspecting victim…”
“Harry!”
“Friend.” Harry swallowed his words when a little boy’s eyes went wide. “I mean they are looking for a friend! So, the point of my story is…”
“Horsey rides get us new friends?” Phoebe wasn’t buying it. I could tell from the slight arch of her brow and her widening smile.
The girl shook dark curls out of her face, smirking. I think it was her pleading eyes which won him over. Because, with a sigh which definitely wasn’t joking around, the guy dropped onto his knees and practically spat at her to climb on his back—and she did, plonking one sparkling shoe on top of the boy’s spine with enough force to send him onto his stomach. I might have been imagining it, but since when were these littles so outlandishly spiteful?
The little girl was grinning. Not because she could ride her “horsey” but because Harry looked like he was going to either wring her neck, or wring his own. Mom had a “talk” before I started here, and she made sure to tell me that if adult authority is nowhere to be seen, little kids will start to act out.
I could definitely call it acting out, but I had spent all day with her several days earlier playing with dolls and having a teddy bear picnic when she admitted she didn’t want to swim in the lake with the other kids. Phoebe had been shy and only spoke to me through her teddy bear, so what had changed?
Could the lack of adults really be scaring the kids that much?
“Miss Josie?”
I wasn’t paying attention, half noticing some kids had just helped themselves, piling chicken nuggets and cookies on plastic plates and hurrying to their seats like I couldn’t see them.
Blinking away brain fog, I found myself face to face with Eli, who was probably my favorite camper.
You’re not supposed to have personal preferences when working with little kids, because your opinions could upset them.
However, it was incredibly hard not to like Eli.
Hiding behind a mop of brown curls, the boy was one of the more vocal kids in the group. Eli said he wanted to be an inventor when he was older, and he wanted to make robots. The kid had asked me if I wanted to see his robot collection, but I was too busy with setting up camp activities. Standing in front of me and clutching his tray, the boy was frowning.
“Josie, I just saw some kids steal chicken nuggets.”
I shrugged, shovelling a large portion on his tray. “Well, you can have some extra too.”
Eli’s smile wasn’t as big as usual. “Where’s Teddy?”
I pretended to be oblivious, hastily adding more nuggets to his tray as if I could keep his mouth shut with extra food. “He’ll be back soon! Teddy is just playing in the woods.”
“No, he’s not.”
At first, I thought I’d heard the boy wrong. The kid wasn’t looking at me, counting his nuggets as usual with the prongs of his plastic fork.
I leaned forward with my best smile. “I’m sorry, what was that, Eli?”
The kid lifted his head with a wide grin. “Can I borrow a knife, Josie?”
“Why do you need a knife?”
Leaning forward, the boy shrugged. “There’s a squirrel caught in a trap,” he said. “I want to put it out of its misery, Miss Josie. It’s in a lot of pain.”
That was… dark.
“Well, I can’t give you a knife…” I trailed off, my gaze finding Harry and the growing line of kids awaiting a horse-ride. “But! How about you go and ask Harry for a piggy-back ride?” I pointed to myself with a forced grin. “I’ll save the squirrel!” And when the boy’s eyes filled with tears and he shook his head, I reached out, grasped his hand, and squeezed it as tight as I could. “Eli, we don’t need to do that, okay? I’m sure the squirrel can be saved and I’ll make sure to take it to the vet, okay?”
“But what if it doesn’t need saving?”
I squeezed tighter. “I’ll save it, Eli. I promise.”
Eli didn’t look convinced, but he nodded with a grumble. “Okay.” He said, before twisting around and joining the other kids torturing Harry. Immediately, I left my station—whether Rowan liked it or not—and headed outside to look for this supposedly dying squirrel. That was something we didn’t need. The sky was darkening when I made it into the woods, cotton candy clouds blurring through the thick canopy of trees. Eli said it was near the sign pointing towards the lake. Though I couldn’t see anything. Odd. That thought retracted in my head, however, when I stepped forward, and a squelching sound cut through the silence of my own heavy breaths mixing with insect chitters and nightlife buzzing above me and beneath me. The wet sounding squelch twisted my gut, and when I stared down at the ground, I didn't know what I was expecting.
A squashed squirrel, perhaps? In Eli’s words, the poor thing had been on the edge of death. Though, when I was thinking about it, there were no animal traps around camp. That was basic health and safety. So, what the fuck was I looking at? The bottom of my shoe was caked in dried blood, but it was the thing which was stamped into the dirt which sent my heart into my throat. It looked like an eye.
But looking closer as I lowered myself to the ground, I glimpsed something metallic, something glistening around the pupil. I picked up a stick and prodded it, though the thing didn’t move. It was definitely an eye—the eye of some kind of animal, judging from the pigmentation and the color of the iris.
But it was the metallic pieces around the eye which was throwing me off. Part of a trap, maybe? It wouldn’t be out of the realm of possibility that a poor critter had been ripped apart, and a wild bear had dropped its dinner near the camp—and the metal encasing its eye was most likely pieces of trap.
Peering closer, though, I glimpsed silver slithers in what appeared to be the destroyed nerve caked to my shoe. After scraping most of it off, I caught glistening pieces of blood stained metal catching the late-setting sun. This time, I pinched a piece between my forefinger and thumb. It didn’t look like a bear-trap. The metal itself wasn’t serrated or old. In fact, it was new.
Which begged the question: What was this thing?
Whatever it was, it had started converting what looked like a critter’s eye, before stopping. Was it a virus? When that thought slammed into me, I fell back with a hiss, swiping my hands on my shirt.
“What are you doing?”
I almost jumped out of my skin, diving to my feet.
Carmel was standing behind me, grasping what looked like her sixth or seventh coffee. The girl had been running to and from the coffee machine all day, and I had been silently counting how much caffeine she was consuming. Carmel had been a well put together and fairly popular girl when camp started. She immediately had everyone following her beck and call, all of the boy’s (and girl’s) following her around.
Carmel wasn't straight. She made that clear on the bus to camp, announcing she wasn’t interested in guy’s, and that she had a girlfriend back home. Still though, the guy’s still followed her because... well, she was pretty.
Carmel was my bunk-mate and had woken me up on three separate occasions at 6am to go through the exact same hair and makeup routine. Now though, there was no sign of makeup or even that she had brushed her hair.
Instead of its usual tidy blonde ponytail, Carmel’s curls were tied into raggedy pigtails with ribbons I was sure she had stolen from a camper’s doll. I think what was keeping her going was coffee.
Carmel regarded me with too-wide eyes and a Camp Redwood smile we all knew was fake. She was grasping onto her coffee cup for dear life. “Josie!” she jumped when I jumped, which almost made me laugh. “Rowan’s having an emergency meeting in his cabin,” she said.
“So, whatever you’re doing can wait.”
Her gaze flicked to the ground. “What… are you doing?”
For a brief moment, I considered telling Carmel I may have found what looked like a virus which turned flesh and blood to metal—before I remembered her reaction when a spider had crept into our cabin.
Whatever this thing was, keeping it a secret for now was probably what was best. Making sure I was standing on the thing, I shrugged. “I was looking for the others.”
Carmel cocked her head, before resting her coffee on the ground. “In the dirt?”
“Footprints, Carmel.”
The girl looked confused before shaking her head. “Okay, whatever. Tell the others I’ll be there in a sec, I just need to make sure the kids are okay. We’re putting a movie on for them in the lunch hall, so that will hopefully distract them for maybe two hours.”
I nodded. “Did anyone find a phone?”
“Not with signal.”
“Carmel.” I had to fight back the urge to yell at her to keep her voice down. Kids were curious, and I wouldn’t be surprised if we had some littles peeking into our conversation. “You’re okay.” I said softly.
“I mean, we’re not okay, because yes, things are very.. screwed up right now, but we need to be… optimistic.” I exhaled out a breath, searching for eyes in the dark. I tried to smile, tried to keep up that Camp Redwood façade we were all held hostage by until the last day of camp (According to rule 5 in the Camp Redwood counsellor handbook, all counsellors must retain a smile and a positive attitude. If any counselor is caught making a frowny face, or spreading what we call “unhappiness” we will be forced to send the counselor home).
At this point, I didn’t give a fuck—but part of me didn’t want to scare the little kids.
“No, Josie.” The girl grasped hold of my shoulders with a grin rivalling the joker. “I am so sick of being told to keep smiling, because what is that doing? Three of my cabin-mates are missing! I’m the one left, and Rowan and co expect me to keep up this act? We are fucked!"
She cupped her mouth. “F. U. C. K. E. D. We have zero adults, an unexplainable loss of power every few hours which makes no sense in the middle of nowhere—I mean what the fuck is out there which is sucking that much power, huh? There is no explanation! There should be an explanation. I should be able to think, “oh, yeah! That’s why! But no. Things are happening, and I don’t know why they’re happening. Rowan is trying to force us to act like things are okay —but in reality? He is shitting himself, Josie! We are ALL shitting ourselves!”
I took a step back, keeping hold of her hand. Carmel was trembling, her hands clammy and slimy entangled in mine. “He's just trying to keep the kids from freaking out."
She groaned, tears glistening in her eyes. “Okay, yeah! I’m blaming them because they keep acting like everything is okay—”
“Everything IS okay.” I turned to her with what I hoped was a reassuring smile—knowing damn well about the thing I’d found in the dirt. If that thing could spread, it would have a field day in an enclosed space like a summer camp.
I noticed my own hands which had been touching the thing making contact with Carmel, and dropped my hands, inwardly squirming.
If that thing was a virus, I was already fucked.
Maybe Carmel too.
If it was fast acting, it could explain the counsellor disappearances. I was already putting together a plan in my head as we headed back to the main cabin. We had to put together a search party. Some of us would stay with the kids, while a small group would venture into the woods to try and look for traces of the missing. If I was right, we would find a horror scene in the woods, and yes, that would be the time to panic.
If I was wrong, however, there was still hope.
“Are we going to be okay?”
Carmel’s voice sliced into my thoughts, and I took a moment to drink in the camp around us.
Usually, when the sky was turning twilight, it would be bustling with campers and counselors toasting marshmallows on the fire and gathering around to fall asleep to Harry’s ghost stories. Carmel would be knelt with a bunch of kids, watching a YouTube video they had all insisted on her watching, while Rowan would be hiding behind his book with his knees to his chest, his gaze glued to every page he flicked through, ignoring everyone.
Teddy, making funny faces for kids who were scared, and Connor, handing out plates of burgers and hot dogs. I remembered feeling safe and at home, cosy around the flickering orange of the fire as chatter turned to laughter and white-noise in my head. After the kids went back to their cabins, the group of us would resume positions around the fire, but this time it was more… intimate. With Allison in her cabin, we kind of ignored her rules all together.
Making out happened, because of course it did. Beers stolen from Allison’s mini fridge and raging hormones, as well as late-night skinny dipping in the lake did that. Couples went off into the woods, and we all felt completely comfortable and at home with each other.
Looking around at that moment, I felt sick to my stomach. That feeling was gone.
The feeling of family and familiarity and friendship. What I was looking at now was that same log we had all sat on, now turned on its side—hot dog buns and candy wrappers littering the ground. It was a ghost camp.
I could still see Connor’s jacket slung on the ground, and Lili’s bright pink ray bans sitting on a beer can. Because there were no adults to yell at us to clean up after ourselves. I was frowning at the skeleton of the fire when Carmel nudged me. “Hey.” Her voice was shaking slightly. “Josie? You didn’t answer my question.” Carmel wanted me to be the voice of reason, and I wasn’t that. I was just as scared as her.
There was only so much I could sugar-coat, and I gave up doing that after the third counsellor disappeared. All I could offer her was forced optimism.
“Yes.” I said. “Just keep the kids busy, alright?”
“Right.”
When I was twisting around and power-walking to Rowan’s cabin, I shouted over my shoulder, “Give them some of those animal crackers!”
“What animal crackers?”
I turned to elaborate, but Carmel was gone.
When I finally got to Rowan’s cabin, I was sweating through my shirt, and had an idea of what I was going to tell the others. It was… a thing. Which could be considered a disease or a virus—so it was vital that we split into two groups; half of us would search for the others, while the others would look for anything to get in contact with the outside world. An emergency landline, laptop, or cell phone.
I did have one problem, which was lack of evidence. All which was left from the thing I’d found was stuck to my foot. The rest of it was buried in the dirt. It was too dark to search for it, and we would be wasting time doing so.
All of that was in my mind and tangled on my tongue, one single string of incomprehensible gibberish I wasn’t even sure was English, when I stepped into Rowan’s cabin, where four sets of eyes met mine. Olive, cross legged on the floor with her arms folded, Harry, pacing up and down with a brand new bruise blooming under his eye, courtesy of Eleanor almost poking his eyes out—and Rowan himself sitting on top bunk, his legs swinging off of the side.
The guy wasn’t built to be our leader, originally being the laziest of our group, opting for sitting in a tree with a book, rather than helping set up camp activities. Yet he had become our default guy in charge because he so happened to be wearing the head counsellor hat when Allison disappeared. Admittedly, it suited him, the bright red of the cap contrasted his dark curls under a late setting sun through the back window, setting strands of straying hair on fire.
The hat was a little too big for his head, though, slipping over his eyes.
Rowan looked like a divorced father of two, dark circles bruising his eyes, and a very “dad-like” scowl curling on his lips.
With a clipboard pressed to his chest, and a pen he was chewing on, the boy resembled a grown man who had just caught his daughter coming in after curfew. “Josie.” Spitting the pen’s lid out of his mouth, he scribbled something down. I had no doubt he was tracking my attendance for these stupid crisis meetings. His eyes were wild, scanning me for answers. “Where the fuck is Carmel?”
I shut the door behind me, leaning against it with my arms folded. “So, we can swear now?”
“Yes.” Rowan rolled his eyes. “There are no kids here, so go crazy,” he pointed at me with the pen. “Carmel. Where is she?”
“Keeping the kids busy,” Callan’s muffled voice came from the bottom bunk. I could barely see the guy lying on his stomach, his face stuffed into a pillow. “It was my idea to play Shrek for them, but the little shits said they haven’t seen it,” the boy lifted his head, his lips carved into a scowl. “I’m sorry, am I tripping? Everyone’s seen Shrek! Do these kids expect the Minecraft movie?”
“They don’t like that, either,” Harry stopped pacing the cabin. “Eleanor looked at me like I was crazy when I asked if she liked it."
“Fortnite, too.” Olive said, a cushion pressed to her chest. “I suggested playing it a few days ago, and like, zero kids knew what it was.”
“Six counsellors are missing,” Rowan raised his voice over the other’s chatter. “And you’re questioning what games they like?” His eyes found mine once more. “So, Carmel is with the kids? You’re absolutely sure of it?”
I nodded. “Yeah. I mean, I just saw her five minutes ago.”
“Great.” Rowan said, sarcastically. “I’m sure she won’t go missing under mysterious circumstances.”
“Stop.” Olive shot him a glare, throwing a cushion in his face. “I told you. They’re probably lost—- or maybe they went to get help?”
“We’ve all been trained to know every inch of these woods,” Rowan catapulted the cushion right back at her. “They’re not lost.”
“Well, where are they?!” Callan sat up, bringing his knees to his chest. I had never seen the guy looked this vulnerable. “Allison made sense. She probably had other duties, and left us to look after the kids. But six counselors? All of them disappearing—- our phone signal completely cutting out, electricity cutting off, not once, but twice? What is even sucking all of our power?”
“I got the emergency generator working,” Olive raised her arm. “Connor and I managed it before…” she trailed off.
“Before Connor disappeared.” Callan finished for her. “And before him, it was Joey, Lily, Mira, Yuri, Noah, and Teddy. Which isn’t a fucking coincidence,” he shot Rowan a look, who glared down at his lap. I could tell the boy didn’t want to lead all of us, come up with plans and answer questions we desperately needed answering. His job was to look after us, as well as the littles, and so far, he was doing a pretty good job. I could tell by his expression that he thought the opposite, but he had managed to keep the kids from finding out about something as sinister as someone actively kidnapping counsellors.
He made sure they were fed, entertained, and safe watching a movie—while we were scared for our lives. Rowan was keeping up the façade no matter how scared he was. The boy dropped his head into his lap with a sigh. It looked like he might fall asleep before he slammed the clipboard into his face to wake himself up.
Nobody wanted to admit what Callan was saying, but we were all definitely thinking it. “This was planned.” Callan continued.
“Someone out here is fucking with us, very clearly trying to freak us out. Now they've got six of us. ” He spread out his arms. “How long until one of the littles gets taken, huh? A bunch of 18 year olds aren’t going to satisfy them, so what about when they start taking campers? We are in the middle of fuckin’ nowhere with a serial kidnapper on the loose, and did we really just leave fifteen kids in the care of a girl who thought Australia was in England?”
“In Carmel’s defence, she was black-out drunk when she said that,” Olive murmured.
“Voice down!” Rowan hissed. “Do you want to scare them?!” His gaze flicked to me. “Did you do a headcount during dinner?”
I nodded. “Fifteen kids all accounted for. Ten are in the lunch hall, and five girls are in Cassie’s cabin playing Operation.”
“All day?” Olive spoke up. “Weren’t they playing that this morning? I tried to get into their cabin to give them breakfast, but they just shooed me away and locked the door.”
“Fuck.” Rowan ran his fingers down his face. “Alright, I’ll go and see what’s going on with them. Knowing Cassie and her friends, they’re probably zonked out on stolen candy. When all of the kids are accounted for in the lunch cabin, we gather outside.”
I swallowed, speaking up. “I actually wanted to talk to you guys about something.”
Rowan lifted his head, jutting the edge of the clipboard into his chin. “Go on…”
“I found something?” I pulled a face. “I mean, think I’ve found something?”
I wasn't sure how to explain to a dwindling group of exhausted teenagers that there may be something even more terrifying than potential kidnappers out there. Four blank faces started back at me, and Rowan leaned forward with a frown. “Like, in general? Josie, we don’t have time to go foraging.”
“You could call it a lead,” I said. “But I need your eyes to find it.”
“Uh-huh. But what is it?”
Thinking back to what exactly I had seen, I had no idea how to describe it. “It’s better if I just… showed you.”
Rowan looked sceptical, but nodded. “Alright. Josie comes with me. We’ll check out Allison’s cabin again to look for an emergency line, and you can show me whatever this ‘thing’ is you’ve found. Then we’ll escort Cassie and the other girl’s to the lunch cabin. Every camper needs an escort from now on. The rest of you? Act normal. If the kids see you freaking out, they will also freak out—and we need to keep up morale.” The boy pointed to Olive. “Olive, you sit in with the kids and look after them. Callan, check out the emergency generator. Harry, the kids see you as a playground ride, so use that to your advantage. Offer them horse rides if they’re scared. And with the ghost stories, it’s making it worse. Give them piggybacks.”
Harry rolled his eyes. “Do I have a choice?”
“No.”
Rowan cleared his throat. “We all keep up appearances. If the others turn up, after getting high or… I don’t know, having an orgy in the woods—- I will fucking kill them.” The way he smiled through his teeth, jumping off the bunk, his toes primed like a wild animal, I knew he wasn’t joking. If this was a well-constructed prank the other counselors were playing, I had no doubt Rowan would rip them apart for leaving him as a reluctant leader. To my surprise, the others wandered off with their tasks.
I watched Rowan lift up his pillow and pull out a pack of animal crackers, ripping open the bag and pouring the contents into his mouth. He caught my eye, crunching through mini animal crackers. “I didn’t have lunch,” he said through a mouthful.
I couldn’t help feeling a sense of relief as we headed across camp, Rowan in front of me, while I lagged behind.
“So, what’s the plan?” I caught up to him, almost tripping over a log.
The guy didn’t turn around. “I am completely winging it,” he said through a choked laugh. “I have no idea what I’m doing, and if I’m honest? I just want to go home, dude. I haven’t looked after this many kids in my life, and if I have to smile one more time as a little brat, I am going to fucking lose my mind.” He heaved out a breath. “I am making this up as I go along.”
I laughed that time. “That’s… comforting.”
“Yeah?” He turned to shoot me a grin. “Well, rest assured I am just about as scared—if not more scared than you,” as we stopped in front of Cassie’s cabin, his gaze found mine. “Is it me…” he said softly, “Or does the lunch cabin seem quiet.”
He was right. The windows were dark when they should have been illuminated by the TV screen. Instead of answering, I stepped in front of him, grasping hold of the cabin door. “Cassie?” I knocked three times. “Girl’s, are you okay in there? It’s Josie and Rowan.” I tried the door, and it slid open. Shooting a look at the boy behind me, I turned back to the door. “We’re coming in, okay?”
“Wait!”
Cassie squeaked from inside. “But he’s not finished!”
Ignoring the coil of dread unravelling in my gut, I forced the door open and stepped into unusually milky white light which flooded the cabin. The first thing I saw was eight-year-old Cassie, sitting cross legged with her back to me. She was sitting in a circle with the other girls, no doubt playing their game.
When I stepped closer, however, I noticed something pooling across the wooden floor. It must have been juice or water that they had spilled. I took another step, but this time, clammy fingers wrapped around my wrist and yanked me back. Rowan didn't speak, but his eyes were elsewhere. Initially, they had been drinking in the cabin before they found oblivion entirely. I heard his breath start to accelerate, his grip tightening on my wrist.
I had half a mind to pull away, before I saw the body shaped carcass the girls were sitting around. In the dim light of the cabin, it used to be a person. Teddy. I could still see parts of an identity, freckled cheeks and eyes which were still open, still staring at the sky.
But that was where the similarities to the missing counsellor ended. The thing which used to be Teddy was more of a shell, a scooped out thing resembling a human body. What sent me stumbling backwards, my mouth open in a silent scream, was the almost surgical efficiency of each organ's removal, like it really was a game of operation. His heart, lungs, and intestines were in one pile-- while his brain was cupped between little Cassie's bloody hands— and when my gaze found the little girl, Nina, hiding behind dark curly hair, I was seeing what looked like a toy robot’s head in her hands. In my head, I was thinking about the eye with the metallic pieces glittering around its pupil, and something turned in my gut.
Did I find a human eye?
I was staring at the crevice inside the boy's skull, and the boxes of surgical equipment piled on the girl's bunks, when Rowan finally pulled me back, and I was stumbling straight onto my ass. "We need to go." Rowan spoke through a croak. Cassie’s words rattled in my head. Teddy, I thought.
Teddy wasn’t finished.
"Josie. Get up. Now!" My head was spinning, and I was sure I'd thrown up. I didn’t even realize we had managed to stumble from the girl’s cabin before cool air grazed my face, tickling my cheeks. Something wet and warm, and lumpy was spattering the front of my shirt.
Before I could coerce words, the boy was pulling me to my feet, and I was seeing stars in my eyes, blinking brightly. When the two of us started forwards in a run, Rowan stopped abruptly. I followed his gaze to find several kids surrounding his cabin, where Harry, Olive and Callan were. Maybe I was hallucinating, but Eleanor and Phoebe, both of whom wielding weapons where I had no idea where they had gotten them—looked… taller? Rowan didn’t waste time, dragging me back. “Allison’s cabin.” He spoke in cry which became a sob, pulling me across camp, stumbling over rocky ground.
“We need a phone. Fuck, we need a phone. We need a phone.” Rowan was struggling to stand, occasionally bending over and choking up dust.
“They were playing Operation."
Literal operation.
“But they’re just kids!” I choked out.
Little kids, who had surgically removed every organ inside Teddy’s body.
Little kids, who were hunting the other counsellors down, and would surely be coming for us.
Allison’s cabin was thankfully further into the woods. When we were safe inside and Rowan was locking the door, I dry heaved several times, unable to get the sight of glistening gore splattering the cabin floor from my mind. “Josie.” Rowan was already tearing apart the cabin. “Work with me here, okay? We don’t… we don’t have fucking time to freak out, or to barf—we need to help. Now.” Rowan was almost in tears, and when he hit the ground on his knees, I took over. I searched Allison’s desk first. Nothing of importance, just documents and invoices. Digging through her draw, there was still nothing. We were running out of time.
Abandoning the desk, I went through her suitcase and bags. When I was crawling under her bed to try and find a weapon, Rowan hissed out. “Wait.” When I turned to him, he was still kneeling, but his foot was clamping down on a loose plank. The guy didn’t hesitate, pulling at the loose plank, which, to my confusion, revealed what looked to me like a trap door.
Rowan turned to me. “You’re kidding.”
I could only stare at the trap door revealing stone steps. He peered down, his voice echoing. “Allison has a fucking secret bunker?”
His lips curved into a surprisingly childish grin which took me off guard. “Oh, wow, that’s so cooooool!”
Lifting my head at the sound of loud squealing, I glimpsed a group of littles led by Eleanor stalking towards us. Eleanor had a hostage. Harry. And with the way she was sticking the blade of a scary looking knife to his throat, I figured she meant business.
Their height difference was almost comical. The eighteen year old guy had to hunch over so the little girl could successfully keep him prisoner. Behind them in the trees, I could see something illuminating the dark, an electric blue light bathing their faces.
So, that was there the power was going.
But what the fuck were these eight-year-old’s doing?
“Josie!” Rowan hissed from down below. He had already climbed down.
I joined him, struggling down the stone steps, before replacing the loose plank. If these kids were as smart as I thought, it wouldn’t take them long to realize the loose plank—also a trap door. Allison’s bunker was more of a control room. There were multiple screens lit up, a chair in front of a working MacBook. The phone-line was cut. But that didn’t make sense.
The kids were unaware of the bunker, so who cut the phone lines? Rowan was on the laptop, struggling to get through the password protection, so I turned my attention to piles of cardboard boxes.
When I opened them, I found myself staring at animal crackers.
There were hundreds of them, packed on top of each other. Looking further, digging through the boxes, I found a piece of old crumpled paper which looked ancient.
REGARDING PROJECT SPEARHEAD SUBJECTS:
PLEASE DO NOT INGEST UNLESS ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY. IF MULTIPLE SUBJECTS INGEST, PLEASE USE SELF DESTRUCT.
ONLY USE IN CASES SUCH AS IMMINENT DESTRUCTION TO THE PLANET/THREAT OF NUCLEAR WAR.
(PLEASE CONTACT FAMILIES IN ADVANCE. MAKE SURE TO INGEST WITH WATER TO AVOID NEUROLOGICAL SYMPTOMS SUCH AS PSYCHOSIS, EXTREME VIOLENCE. PLEASE APPROACH SUBJECTS WITH CAUTION.
Something ice cold slithered down my spine.
Abandoning the boxes, I searched through a cabinet filled with files which were crumbling apart from age. I picked one at random and flicked through it.
Eleanor Summer’s.
Sex: Female.
DOB: 08/05/1977.
Initially, I thought I was reading the dates wrong. But then, with my heart in my throat, I was grasping for other files.
Eli Evermore.
Sex: Male.
'DOB: 08/03/1979.
“Rowan.” I managed to get out through a breath.
“Mm?”
“They’re not children.”
The boy rubbed his eyes, frowning. His eyes were half lidded, almost confused. “Huh?”
“Eleanor.” I whispered. “Is forty five years old.”
He nodded slowly, turning back to the laptop. “How do you spell… documents? I’m looking for digital versions but I can’t find any.”
“You don’t know how to spell documents?”
“It’s been a hard day.” The boy whined, tipping his head back and blowing a raspberry.
Whatever I was going to say was choked in the back of my throat, when a loud bang sounded from above, the sounds of childish giggling coming through the floorboards. But the laughter didn’t sound like little kids. No, it sounded like teenager’s who were acting like little kids. I stared at the boxes of animal crackers, and then at the file confirming Eleanor’s real age.
My own words shuddered through me, and I remembered finding Teddy’s dismembered carcass in Cassie’s cabin. When I had caught her gaze, the little girl didn’t look scared, and somehow, her fingers wrapped around the scalpel looked just right.
Like the little bitch knew exactly what she was doing.
“Helloooo?” Harry’s voice was a hysterical giggle. “Olly, Olly, Oxen freeee!”
“Are you in heeeeeeere?” Carmel joined in. I could hear their footsteps above, dancing across the room.
Clamping my hand over my mouth, I dragged my knees to my chest and prayed they weren’t smart enough to figure out we were right underneath them.
Knowing the truth about them, though? I wasn’t counting on it.
….
That was an hour ago.
We’re still stuck down here, and I can get a connection here—thank god. For some reason, Alison has blocked all social media. We need help. We’re at Camp Redwood, and these kids ARE NOT KIDS.
Whatever Project Spearhead is was designed to keep them here.
The phone-line is cut so we can’t get help from whoever was helping Allison. I am counting on you guys.
Get us out of here!

Bold is new/changed info in V55.0

• Emojis are in the order they appear in the collection screen. The post was getting too long, so when adjacent emojis have the same recommendations they are combined
• Designations are reported based on what is in the config (except the more detailed blitz descriptions)
• See a version of this info sorted by power type

=====================================.

By Emojis

Mickey Mouse

• All Levels: Create lightning

Donald Duck, Pluto

• All Levels: Clears

Minnie Mouse

• All Levels: Generate coins

Daisy Duck

• All Levels: Clears

Goofy

• All Levels: Rearranges

Ariel (cartoon), Flounder

• All Levels: Clears

Sebastian, Prince Eric

• All Levels: Generate score

Sulley, Mike

• All Levels: Clears

Randall

• All Levels: Transforms

Celia

• All Levels: Add time

Roz

• All Levels: Clears

Boo

• All Levels: Create lightning

Simba, Timon, Pumbaa

• All Levels: Clears

Rafiki

• All Levels: Rearranges

Nala

• All Levels: Clears
• Level 1: Create lightning
• Level 2: Create lightning & suns
• Level 3: Create suns

Zazu

• All Levels: Drop items, Create lightning, Create suns

Bambi, Thumper

• All Levels: Clears

Marie

• All Levels: Generate score

Winnie the Pooh, Piglet, Eeyore, Tigger

• All Levels: Clears

Rabbit

• All Levels: Clears & Create suns

Jiminy Cricket

• All Levels: Create stars

Pinocchio, Figaro, Dumbo, Timothy Mouse, Perdita

• All Levels: Clears

Patch

• All Levels: Clears & Drop items

8-Bit Mickey

• All Levels: Clears

Tinker Bell

• All Levels: Create lightning, suns, & stars

Peter Pan

• All Levels: Clears

Wendy

• All Levels: Clears & Create stars

Nana

• All Levels: Clears & Rearranges

Smee

• All Levels: Clears & Create suns

John Darling

• All Levels: Transforms & Create lightning

Slightly

• All Levels: Clears

The Genie

• All Levels: Transforms

Aladdin

• All Levels
  • Create lightning, suns, & stars
  • Add time
  • Generate coins

Jasmine

• All Levels: Clears

Abu

• All Levels: Create lightning, suns, & stars

Iago, Rajah, Alice, Cheshire Cat

• All Levels: Clears

White Rabbit

• All Levels: Add time

The Mad Hatter

• All Levels: Rearranges

The Caterpillar

• All Levels: Transforms

Little Oysters

• All Levels: Clears & Rearranges

Rose

• All Levels: Clears

March Hare

• All Levels: Clears & Bombbles

Woody, Buzz Lightyear, Alien, Bullseye, Jessie, Bo Peep

• All Levels: Clears

Forky

• All Levels: Clears & Generate score

Rex

• All Levels: Clears

Duke Caboom

• All Levels: Clears & Create lightning

Hamm

• All Levels: Clears & Generate coins

Bunny, Kermit the Frog, Fozzie Bear, Swedish Chef

• All Levels: Clears

Miss Piggy

• All Levels: Clears & Create stars

Gonzo

• All Levels: Clears

Cinderella

• All Levels: Create suns

Prince Charming

• All Levels: Clears

Gus

• All Levels: Clears & Drop items

Jaq

• All Levels: Rearranges

Anastasia, Drizella, Elsa, Anna

• All Levels: Clears

Olaf

• All Levels: Create suns

Sven, Kristoff, Grand Pabbie, Marshmallow, WALL-E, EVE

• All Levels: Clears

Lilo

• All Levels: Clears & Create suns

Stitch, Jumba

• All Levels: Clears

Scrump

• All Levels: Clears & Create stars

Angel

• All Levels: Clears & Blitz (blitz meter fill bonus)

Nick Wilde, Judy Hopps

• All Levels: Clears

Clawhauser

• All Levels: Transforms & Rearranges

Finnick

• All Levels: Clears & Generate coins

Flash

• All Levels: Add time & Create lightning

Nemo

• All Levels: Transforms

Dory, Crush

• All Levels: Clears

Bruce

• All Levels: Clears & Generate score

Hank, Destiny

• All Levels: Clears

Bailey

• All Levels: Clears
• Level 1: Create lightning
• Level 2: Create lightning & suns
• Level 3: Create suns
• Levels 4 and 5: Create suns & stars

Pearl

• All Levels: Transforms & Rearranges

Baby Dory

• All Levels: Clears & Generate score

The Beast, Belle, Lumière

• All Levels: Clears

Cogsworth

• All Levels: Add time

Mrs. Potts

• All Levels: Generate score

Chip (BatB), Moana, Maui, Pua, Hei Hei, Mulan, Mushu

• All Levels: Clears

Cri-Kee

• All Levels: Clears & Generate coins

Li Shang, Rapunzel

• All Levels: Clears

Pascal

• All Levels: Transforms

Flynn Rider, Maximus

• All Levels: Clears

Lightning McQueen

• All Levels: Clears & Create lightning

Cruz Ramirez, Jackson Storm

• All Levels: Clears

Mater

• All Levels: Clears & Create lightning

Joy

• All Levels: Create suns & Transforms

Sadness, Anger, Disgust, Fear

• All Levels: Clears

Bing Bong

• All Levels: Transforms & Create lightning
• Level 2: Create suns
• Levels 3 thru 5: Create stars & Generate coins

Steamboat Willie Mickey, Retro Minnie, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit

• All Levels: Clears

Princess Aurora

• All Levels
  • Clears
  • Transforms
  • Generate score

Prince Phillip

• All Levels: Clears

Flora

• All Levels
  • Create lightning, suns, & stars
  • Generate coins

Fauna, Merryweather

• All Levels: Clears

Pocahontas

• All Levels: Transforms

Flit, Meeko, Percy

• All Levels: Clears

Baloo

• All Levels: Create lightning & suns
• Levels 4 and 5: Create stars

Kaa, King Louie, Mowgli, Jack Skellington

• All Levels: Clears

Sally

• All Levels: Transforms

Zero

• All Levels: Clears

Dr. Finkelstein

• All Levels: Clears & Create lightning

The Mayor

• All Levels: Clears, Generate score, & Create lightning

Miguel

• All Levels: Transforms

Héctor, Dante

• All Levels: Clears

Imelda

• All Levels: Rearranges

Hiro, Baymax, Vanellope, Ralph, Yesss

• All Levels: Clears

Fix-It Felix, Jr.

• All Levels: Create suns
• Levels 2 thru 5: Create lightning & stars

Calhoun

• All Levels: Clears

Tiana

• All Levels: Transforms

Louis

• All Levels: Clears

Ray

• All Levels: Create stars
• Levels 2 thru 5: Create lightning & suns

Lady

• All Levels: Generate score

Tramp, Hercules, Meg, Pegasus, Phil, Merida, Remy

• All Levels: Clears

Kuzco

• All Levels: Clears & Transforms

Kronk

• All Levels
  • Clears
  • Create lightning, suns, & stars

Pacha

• All Levels: Clears & Adds Time

Flik, Princes Atta, Heimlich, Mr. Incredible, Elastigirl, Jack-Jack, Violet, Dash

• All Levels: Clears

Snow White

• All Levels: Create suns

Dopey, Grumpy, Sleepy

• All Levels: Clears

Doc

• All Levels
  • Drop items
  • Create lightning
  • Create suns
• Levels 2 thru 5: Create stars

The Prince

• All Levels: Clears & Generate coins

Bernard

• All Levels: Transforms & Generate coins

Bianca

• All Levels: Clears

Robin Hood

• All Levels: Clears & Generate coins

Maid Marian

• All Levels: Create suns & stars
• Levels 1 and 2: Create lightning

Lady Kluck

• All Levels: Clears

Little John

• All Levels: Clears & Generate coins

Sir Hiss, Esmeralda, Quasimodo, Hugo, Russell

• All Levels: Clears

Carl

• All Levels: Clears
• Level 1: Create lightning
• Level 2: Create suns
• Level 3: Create lightning & suns
• Level 4: Create suns
• Level 5: Create lightning & suns

Arthur

• All Levels: Create lightning & suns
• Level 5: Create stars

Archimedes

• All Levels: Clears

Sugar Bowl

• All Levels: Transforms

Ian

• All Levels: Clears & Transforms

Barley

• All Levels: Blitz (blitz meter fill bonus; extends blitz)

The Manticore

• All Levels: Clears

Max

• All Levels: Generate score & Clears

Joe

• All Levels: Clears

22

• All Levels: Clears & Drop items

Raya, Tuk Tuk

• All Levels: Clears

Namaari

• All Levels: Clears & Drop items

Jose

• All Levels: Clears

Panchito, Luca

• All Levels: Transforms

Alberto

• All Levels: Clears & Create lightning

Mirabel

• All Levels: Generate coins
• Levels 1 thru 2: Create lightning
• Levels 3 thru 4: Create suns
• Level 5: Create stars

Antonio

• All Levels: Transforms

Alma Madrigal

• All Levels: Transforms, Blitz (triggers), Coins

Ron

• All Levels: Create lightning & suns
• Levels 2 thru 5: Create stars

Barney, Penny Proud, Meilin Lee

• All Levels: Clears

Abby Park

• All Levels: Clears & Bombbles

Captain Lightyear

• All Levels: Add time & Blitz (triggers)

Sox

• All Levels: Clears

Tod

• All Levels: Adds time
• Level 1: Create lightning
• Levels 2 and 3: Create suns
• Levels 4 and 5: Create stars

Cooper

• All Levels: Drops item & Create lightning
• Levels 3 and 4: Create suns
• Level 5: Create suns & stars

Sid

• All Levels: Clears & Drops item

Anastasia Romanov

• All Levels: Clears

Silvermist

• All Levels: Transforms & Drop items

Iridessa

• All Levels: Create suns & Generate score

Scrooge McDuck

• All Levels: Clears & Generate coins

Webby, Launchpad McQuack

• All Levels: Clears

Gizmoduck

• All Levels: Clears & Generate coins

Darkwing Duck

• All Levels: Transforms

Chip (RR)

• All Levels: Drop items & Create lightning
• Levels 2 thru 5: Create suns

Dale, Gadget, Monterey Jack, Goliath, Bronx

• All Levels: Clears

Hatbox Ghost

• All Levels: Transforms

Hitchhiker Ghost Phineas, Madame Leota, The Bride, Abominable Snowman, Mr. Toad

• All Levels: Clears

Captain Jack Sparrow

• All Levels: Generate coins

Barbossa, Davy Jones

• All Levels: Clears

Elizabeth Swann

• All Levels: Clears & Generate coins

Prison Dog

• All Levels: Clears, Generate coins, & Add time

Rey, Finn, BB-8

• All Levels: Clears

Poe Dameron

• All Levels
  • Create suns
  • Create lightning
  • Rearrange emojis
• Levels 4 and 5: Create stars

Luke Skywalker

• All Levels: Clears
• Level 1: Create suns
• Levels 2 thru 4: Create suns & stars
• Level 5: Create stars

Princess Leia, Chewbacca

• All Levels: Clears

Han Solo

• All Levels
  • Clears
  • Create lightning
  • Create stars

R2-D2

• All Levels: Transforms & Rearranges

C-3PO

• All Levels: Clears

Boba Fett

• All Levels: Clears
• Level 5: Create suns

The Mandalorian

• All Levels: Clears

Hondo

• All Levels
  • Clears
  • Create suns
  • Create stars
• Levels 1 thru 4: Create lightning

Cara Dune

• All Levels
  • Generate coins
  • Create lightning
  • Create suns
• Levels 2 thru 5: Create stars

Fennec Shand

• All Levels: Clears & Drop items

Lando Calrissian

• All Levels: Clears

K-2SO

• All Levels: Clears & Bombbles

Jyn Erso

• All Levels: Create lightning & suns
• Levels 2 thru 5: Create stars

Cassian Andor, Mal

• All Levels: Clears

Wicket

• All Levels: Creates suns
• Level 5: Creates stars

Bo-Katan

• All Levels: Clears & Creates lightning
• Levels 2 thru 5: Creates suns

Salacious Crumb

• All Levels: Rearranges & Score Bonus

Winifred Sanderson

• All Levels: Create lightning, suns, & stars

Mary Sanderson

• All Levels: Clears & Add time

Sarah Sanderson

• All Levels: Rearranges & Generate coins

Binx

• All Levels: Transforms

Billy Butcherson

• All Levels: Clears & Drop items

Bert

• All Levels: Clears

Giselle

• All Levels: Clears & Generate score

Frank

• All Levels: Clears

Dr. Lily Houghton

• All Levels: Add time
• Levels 2 thru 5: Create suns

Indiana Jones

• All Levels: Clears & Create stars

Marion Ravenwood, Sora, Aqua, Captain Goofy

• All Levels: Clears

Royal Magician Donald

• All Levels: Clears
• Levels 1 and 2: Create lightning
• Levels 3 thru 5: Create suns

Kit

• All Levels: Rearranges

Rose (DeWitt)

• All Levels: Clears, Drop items, & Generate coins

Jack

• All Levels: Create suns & Add time

Spirit Mufasa

• All Levels: Clears

Baby Simba

• All Levels: Create suns & Blitz (blitz meter fill bonus; extends blitz)

Adult Simba

• All Levels: Transforms

Santa Jack

• All Levels: Clears & Create lightning

Winter Belle

• All Levels: Clears & Add time

Fancy Beast

• All Levels: Transforms

Bookworm Belle

• All Levels: Drop items & Create lightning
• Levels 1 thru 4: Create suns
• Levels 2 thru 5: Create stars

Magical Enchantress

• All Levels: Transforms & Create suns

Yzma Kitty

• All Levels: Clears & Rearranges

Ping

• All Levels: Clears
• Level 1: Create lightning
• Level 2 and 3: Create suns
• Levels 4 and 5: Create stars

Reflection Mulan

• All Levels: Transforms & Drop Items

Tiara Rapunzel

• All Levels: Clears & Generate score

Wedding Maximus

• All Levels: Clears
• Level 1: Create lightning
• Level 2: Create lightning & suns
• Level 3: Create suns
• Levels 4 and 5: Create suns & stars

Baby Rapunzel

• All Levels: Drop items & Create stars
• Level 1: Create lightning
• Level 2 thru 4: Create lightning & suns
• Level 5: Create suns

Mrs. Nesbit

• All Levels: Clears

Vacation Goofy

• All Levels: Clears & Create suns
• Level 1: Create lightning
• Levels 2 thru 4: Create lightning & stars
• Level 5: Create stars

Alebrije Dante

• All Levels: Transforms & Rearranges

Disguised Miguel

• All Levels: Clears

Disguised Jasmine

• All Levels: Clears

Vacation Genie

• All Levels: Clears & Blitz (triggers)

Snake Jafar

• All Levels: Clears & Create stars

Prince Ali

• All Levels: Clears & Generate coins

Elephant Abu

• All Levels: Clears

Baby Rajah

• All Levels: Transforms

Genie Jafar

• All Levels: Rearranges & Create lightning
• Levels 3 thru 5: Create suns
• Level 5: Create stars

Wedding Ariel

• All Levels: Create stars & Blitz (blitz meter fill bonus)

Vanessa

• All Levels: Clears & Create lightning

Wedding Cinderella

• All Levels: Clears & Add time

Pink Dress Cinderella

• All Levels: Drop items & Transforms

Baby Moana

• All Levels: Clears & Drop items

Te Ka

• All Levels: Clears

Caballero Donald

• All Levels: Create suns & Drop items
• Levels 1 and 2: Create lightning
• Levels 4 and 5: Create stars

Almost There Tiana

• All Levels: Generate coins & Blitz (triggers)

Prince Naveen

• All Levels: Create lightning, sun, and stars

Baby Pegasus

• All Levels: Transforms

Headphones Dug

• All Levels: Transforms & Blitz (blitz meter fill bonus; extends blitz)

Young Mim

• All Levels: Clears & Add time

Elsa the Snow Queen

• All Levels: Clears & Transforms

Queen Anna

• All Levels: Generate score & Create stars

Young Anna

• All Levels: Clears & Create suns
• Levels 1 thru 3: Create Lightning
• Level 5: Create stars

Winter Cruella

• All Levels: Clears

Young Merida

• All Levels: Clears & Drops Items

Queen Elinor

• All Levels: Clears, Transform, & Blitz (blitz meter fill bonus; extends blitz)

House Alice

• All Levels: Clears & Transforms

Red Panda Mei, Red Panda Ming Lee

• All Levels: Clears

Pretty Flower

• All Levels: Clears & Add time

The Witch

• All Levels: Transforms & Bombbles

Dragon Maleficent

• All Levels: Clears & Create stars

Briar Rose

• All Levels: Clears & Adds Time

Human Sisu

• All Levels: Transforms

Spring Flute Mickey

• All Levels: Clears, Create suns, & Bombbles

Captain Pan

• All Levels: Clears & Add time

Constance

• All Levels: Clears & Generate coins

Wedding Giselle

• All Levels: Clears

Anakin Skywalker

• All Levels: Clears

Jedi Anakin

• All Levels:
  • Clears
  • Drop items
  • Create lightning, suns, & stars
  • Blitz (blitz meter fill bonus; extends blitz)

Queen Amidala

• All Levels: Transforms

Boushh Disguise Leia

• All Levels: Generate coins
• Level 1: Create lightning
• Levels 2 thru 4: Create lightning & suns
• Levels 3 thru 5: Create suns & stars

Jolly Holiday Mary Poppins

• All Levels: Drop items & Create suns

Young Winifred

• All Levels: Clears & Create lightning

Madame Pigota

• All Levels:
  • Create lightning
  • Create suns
  • Generate score

Gauzey the Hatbox Bear

• All Levels: Create lightning & Create suns
• Level 5: Create stars

Holiday Mickey

• All Levels: Drop items
• Levels 2 thru 5: Create lightning & suns

Holiday Minnie

• All Levels: Create lightning
• Level 1: Create suns
• Level 2: Create stars
• Levels 3 thru 5: Create suns & stars

Holiday Pluto

• All Levels: Create lightning

Christmas Clarabelle Cow

• All Levels: Clears

Santa Goofy

• Level 1: Create lightning
• Level 2 thru 4: Create lightning & suns
• Level 5: Create suns & stars

Dug

• All Levels: Generate coins

Kevin, Sorcerer's Apprentice Mickey, Yen Sid

• All Levels: Clears

The Fairy Godmother

• All Levels: Create lightning, suns, & stars

Holiday Cinderella

• All Levels
  • Drop items
  • Create stars
  • Generate coins

King Triton (cartoon)

• All Levels: Clears

King Triton (live-action)

• All Levels: Transforms & Bombbles

Ariel (live-action)

• All Levels: Transforms & Bombbles

Rose Gold Minnie

• All Levels: Clears

Magic Mirror

• All Levels
  • Transforms
  • Drop items
  • Create lightning, suns, & stars

Rainbow Mickey

• All Levels: Blitz (triggers) & Create stars
• Levels 2 thru 5: Create lightning & suns

Blue Fairy

• All Levels: Clears & Create stars

Frozone

• All Levels: Add time & Generate score

Edna

• All Levels: Clears

Magic Carpet

• All Levels: Clears
• Level 1: Create lightning
• Level 2: Create lightning & suns
• Levels 3 thru 5: Create suns

Sultan

• All Levels: Generate coins

Red Carpet Genie

• All Levels: Transforms & Drop items

Cave of Wonders

• All Levels: Blitz (triggers), Create lightning, & Generate coins

Rainbow Unicorn

• All Levels: Clears & Create stars

Merlin

• All Levels: Transforms

Gramma Tala

• All Levels: Rearranges

Te Fiti

• All Levels: Blitz (blitz meter fill bonus; extends blitz)
• Level 1: Create lightning
• Level 2: Create lightning & suns
• Level 3: Create suns
• Level 4: Create lightning & suns
• Level 5: Create suns

Figment

• All Levels: Random

Sketch Figment

• All Levels: Transforms

Vampire Mickey

• All Levels: Drop items & Clears
• Level 1: Create suns & stars
• Levels 2 thru 5: Create lightning, suns, &stars

Witch Minnie

• All Levels
  • Clears
  • Generate score
  • Add time
  • Generate coins
• Level 1: Create suns
• Level 2: Create lightning & suns
• Level 3: Create suns
• Level 4: Create lightning & suns
• Level 5: Create suns & stars

Pumpkin Mickey

• All Levels: Clears
• Levels 1 and 2: Create lightning
• Levels 3 and 4: Create suns
• Level 5: Create stars

Pumpkin Minnie

• All Levels: Transforms

Enchantress

• All Levels
  • Create suns
  • Create stars
  • Add time
  • Generate coins
  • Generate score

Pepita

• All Levels: Clears & Create stars

Mama Coco

• All Levels: Create suns & Blitz (blitz meter fill bonus; extends blitz)

The Fire Spirit

• All Levels: Clears

Bob Cratchit Mickey

• All Levels
  • Clears
  • Drop items
  • Create suns
• Levels 3 thru 5: Create stars

Ghost of Jacob Marley

• All Levels: Generate coins & Clears

Ebenezer Scrooge McDuck

• All Levels
  • Add time
  • Clears
  • Create lightning, suns, & stars
  • Drop items

Tiny Tim

• All Levels: Add time & Drop items

Emily Cratchit Minnie

• All Levels: Generate coins & Create stars

Ghost of Christmas Future Pete

• All Levels: Create suns
• Levels 1 thru 3: Create lightning
• Levels 4 and 5: Create stars

Honey Bee Pooh

• All Levels: Clears

Flower Piglet

• Levels 1 and 2: Create lightning
• Level 3: Create lightning & suns
• Level 4: Create suns
• Level 5: Create stars

Bunny Tigger

• All Levels: Clears

Baby Chick Eeyore

• All Levels: Create suns & Generate coins

Mermaid Minnie

• All Levels: Rearranges

Deep Sea Mickey

• All Levels: Clears & Generate score
• Level 1: Create lightning
• Level 2: Create lightning & suns
• Levels 3 thru 5: Create suns & stars

Crab Donald

• All Levels: Clears

Seashell Daisy

• All Levels: Clears
• Levels 2 and 3: Create lightning
• Levels 4 and 5: Create suns

Sea Creature Goofy

• All Levels
  • Drops items
  • Create lightning
  • Create suns
• Levels 2 thru 5: Create stars

Fairy Minnie

• All Levels: Create lightning
• Level 2: Create suns
• Level 3: Create suns & stars

Zeus

• All Levels: Create lightning & Generate coins

Powerline

• All Levels: Create lightning & Clears

Birthday Baby Pluto

• All Levels: Clears

Devil Dale

• All Levels
  • Drop items
  • Create lightning, suns, & stars

Angel Chip

• All Levels: Clears & Add time

Peppermint Minnie

• All Levels: Transforms & Create suns
• Levels 4 and 5: Create stars

Gingerbread Mickey

• All Levels: Create suns
• Levels 1 thru 3: Create lightning
• Levels 3 thru 5: Create stars

Doorknob

• All Levels: Clears
• Level 1: Create lightning
• Level 2: Create suns
• Level 3: Create lightning & suns
• Level 4: Create suns
• Level 5: Create lightning & suns

King of Hearts

• All Levels: Clears & Create stars

Gardener Mickey

• All Levels
  • Clears
  • Create lightning, suns, & stars

Flower Minnie

• All Levels: Transforms

Rainy Day Donald

• All Levels: Transforms & Generate score

Sisu

• All Levels: Create lightning
• Level 2 thru 5: Create stars

Watermelon Minnie

• All Levels: Clears & Drop items

Ice Cream Mickey

• All Levels: Create lightning, suns, & stars

Soft Serve Donald

• All Levels: Transforms

Shaved Ice Stitch

• All Levels: Clears

Rainbow Stitch

• All Levels: Clears & Create lightning, suns, & stars

Grandmother Willow

• All Levels: Add time & Drop items
• Level 1: Create lightning
• Level 2: Create lightning & suns
• Level 3: Create suns
• Level 4: Create lightning & stars
• Level 5: Create suns & stars

Christmas Sally, Man-Eating Wreath

• All Levels: Clears

Holiday Tinker Bell

• All Levels
  • Blitz (triggers)
  • Create suns
  • Create stars
• Levels 1 thru 4: Create lightning

Winter Aurora

• All Levels: Generate score

Winter Snow White

• All Levels: Clears

The Emperor

• All Levels: Blitz (triggers) & Create suns

Suga Mama

• All Levels
  • Create lightning
  • Drop items (does not actually drop items despite coding)
• Levels 2 thru 4: Create suns
• Level 5: Create suns & stars

Pixel Ralph

• All Levels: Blitz (triggers) & Clears

April Shower Bambi

• All Levels: Create lightning & stars
• Levels 2 thru 5: Create suns

Floral Miss Bunny, Bolt, Astronaut Mickey, Alien Pluto, Bagheera

• All Levels: Clears

Luisa

• All Levels: Clears & Drops items

Bruno

• All Levels: Transforms & Adds time

Isabela

• All Levels: Clears

Honey Cake Pooh

• All Levels: Transforms & Create stars

Pine Cone Pluto

• All Levels: Clears & Bombbles

Pancake Goofy

• All Levels: Clears & Create stars

Blueberry Muffin Donald

• All Levels: Transforms

Scrat

• All Levels: Clears & Drop items
• Level 1: Create lightning
• Levels 2 and 3: Create lightning & suns
• Level 4: Create lightning, suns, & stars
• Level 5: Create suns & stars

Fashion Minnie

• All Levels: Transforms & Generate coins

Mufasa, Bao

• All Levels: Clears & Drop items

Electrical Parade Elliott

• All Levels: Create lightning & Drop items
• Levels 2 thru 4: Create suns
• Level 5: Create suns & Create stars

Electrical Parade Minnie

• All Levels
  • Add time
  • Create stars (code error; really sun L1-L3 and star L4-L5; D.R. - I'd code it "right" in DEBWizard)

Electrical Parade Tinker Bell

• All Levels: Transforms

Mary Poppins

• All Levels: Clears

The Child

• All Levels: Clears & Generate score

Ahsoka Tano

• All Levels: Clears

Yoda

• All Levels: Clears
• Level 1: Create lightning
• Level 2: Create lightning & suns
• Level 3: Create suns
• Level 4: Create suns & stars
• Level 5: Create stars

Ob-Wan Kenobi

• All Levels: Rearranges

Jedi Master Luke, Rancor

• All Levels: Clears & Drop items

Tia Dalma, Bob Cratchit Kermit, Miss Piggy Emily Cratchit

• All Levels: Clears

The Book

• All Levels:
  • Clears
  • Create lightning
  • Create suns
  • Transforms

Willow

• All Levels: Clears & Blitz (blitz meter fill bonus; extends blitz)

Ursula, Flotsam, Maleficent, Jafar, Captain Hook, Scar, Shenzi, Cruella de Vil, Queen of Hears, Hades, The Evil Queen

• All Levels: Clears

Magica de Spell

• All Levels: Generate coins
• Level 1: Create lightning
• Level 2: Create lightning & suns
• Level 3: Create suns
• Level 4: Create lightning & suns
• Level 5: Create suns

Oogie Boogie

• All Levels: Clears & Generate coins

Gaston

• All Levels: Clears & Generate score

Dr. Facilier

• All Level: Transforms

Madam Mim

• All Levels: Clears & Transforms

Tamatoa

• All Levels: Generate coins & Create lightning
• Levels 2 and 3: Create suns
• Levels 4 and 5: Create suns & stars

King Candy

• All Levels: Transforms
• Level 1: Create lightning
• Level 2: Create lightning & suns
• Level 3: Create suns
• Level 4: Create lightning & suns
• Level 5: Create suns

Alpha

• All Levels: Clears
• Levels 1 thru 3: Create lightning
• Level 4: Create lightning & suns
• Level 5: Create suns

Yzma

• All Levels: Clears & Transforms

Shan Yu

• All Levels: Clears

Lucifer

• All Levels: Drop items & Create suns
• Levels 1 and 2: Create lightning
• Level 5: Create stars

Mother Gothel

• All Levels: Clears & Create suns

Lady Tremaine

• All Levels: Transforms

Zurg

• All Levels: Clears & Create lightning
• Levels 3 thru 5: Create suns

Lotso

• All Levels: Clears

Stinky Pete

• All Levels: Clears & Drops item
• Level 1: Create lightning
• Level 2 thru 4: Create suns
• Level 5: Create stars

Pirate Peg-Leg Pete

• All Levels: Clears

Winter Pete

• Clears & Transforms

Demona

• All Levels: Clears

Ernesto

• All Levels: Clears & Generate coins

Prince John

• All Levels: Generate coins

Syndrome

• All Levels: Rearranges

Madame Medusa, Kakamora Chief

• All Levels: Clears

Governor Ratcliffe

• All Levels
  • Generate coins
  • Create lightning
  • Create suns
  • Create stars

Shere Khan

• All Levels: Clears & Rearranges

Chernabog

• All Levels: Clears & Blitz (triggers)

Waternoose

• All Levels: Clears & Create lightning
• Levels 3 thru 5: Create suns & stars

Professor Ratigan

• All Levels: Clears

Anton Ego

• All Levels:
  • Drop Items
  • Create lightning
  • Create suns
• Levels 3 thru 5: Create stars

Rasputin, Darla, Kylo Ren

• All Levels: Clears

Darth Vader

• All Levels: Clears & Create stars

Jabba the Hutt

• All Levels: Clears & Generate coins

First Order Stormtrooper

• All Levels: Transforms

Moff Gideon, Death Trooper

• All Levels: Clears

Darth Maul

• All Levels: Clears
• Level 1: Create suns
• Levels 2 thru 4: Create lightning & suns
• Level 5: Create lightning, suns, & stars

General Grievous

• All Levels: Clears

Emperor Palpatine

• All Levels: Clears & Create lightning

Grand Moff Tarkin, Grand Inquisitor, Imperial Stormtrooper

• All Levels: Clears

Cad Bane

• All Levels: Clears & Drop items

Garnet Minnie

• All Levels: Create suns
• Level 2 thru 4: Create lightning
• Level 5: Create lightning & stars

Amethyst Ursula

• All Levels:
  • Clears
  • Drop items
  • Create lightning, suns, & stars

Aquamarine Jasmine

• All Levels: Generates coins & Adds time
• Levels 1 and 2: Create lightning
• Levels 3 and 4: Create lightning & suns
• Level 5: Create suns

Diamond Elsa

• All Levels: Transform & Bombbles

Peridot Maleficent

• All Levels: Clears & Transforms

Topaz Tinker Bell

• All Levels: Transforms & Bombbles

Sapphire Joy

• All Levels:
  • Create lightning, suns, & stars
  • Overcharges

Platinum Mickey

• All Levels:
  • Clears
  • Generate coins
  • Blitz (triggers)
  • Bombbles

Platinum Mirabel

• All Levels: Create lightning
• Levels 1 thru 4: Create suns
• Levels 3 thru 5: Create stars

Platinum Woody

• All Levels: Clears & Create lightning, suns, and stars

Platinum Simba

• All Levels: Clears & Overcharges

Platinum Grogu

• All Levels:
  • Clears
  • Transforms
  • Drops items
  • Adds time

Platinum Nemo

• All Levels: Transforms & Blitz (TBD Subtype)

Bold is new/changed info in V55.0

• Emojis are in the order they appear in the collection screen. The post was getting too long, so when adjacent emojis have the same recommendations they are combined
• Designations are reported based on what is in the config (except the more detailed blitz descriptions)
• See a version of this info sorted by emoji

=====================================.
By Power Type
The power type occurs at ALL levels.....unless specific levels are noted!

Add time

Aladdin, Angel Chip, Briar Rose, Bruno, Captain Lightyear, Captain Pan, Celia, Cogsworth, Dr. Lily Houghton, Ebenezer Scrooge McDuck, Electrical Parade Minnie, Enchantress, Flash, Frozone, Grandmother Willow, Jack, Mary Sanderson, Pacha, Pink Dress Cinderella, Platinum Grogu, Pretty Flower, Prison Dog, Tiny Tim, Tod, Wedding Cinderella, White Rabbit, Winter Belle, Witch Minnie, Young Mim

Blitz

Alma Madrigal (triggers), Almost There Tiana (triggers), Angel (blitz meter fill bonus), Baby Simba (blitz meter fill bonus; extends blitz), Barley (blitz meter fill bonus; extends blitz), Captain Lightyear (triggers), Chernabog (triggers); Cave of Wonders (triggers); Headphones Dug (blitz meter fill bonus; extends blitz), Holiday Tinker Bell (triggers), Jedi Anakin (blitz meter fill bonus; extends blitz), Mama Coco (blitz meter fill bonus; extends blitz), Pixel Ralph (triggers), Platinum Mickey (triggers), Platinum Nemo (TBD), Queen Elinor (blitz meter fill bonus), Rainbow Mickey (triggers), Te Fiti (blitz meter fill bonus; extends blitz), The Emperor (triggers), Vacation Genie (triggers), Wedding Ariel (blitz meter fill bonus), Willow (blitz meter fill bonus; extends blitz)

Bombbles

Abby Park, Ariel (live-action), Diamond Elsa, March Hare, K-2SO, King Triton (live-action), Pine Cone Pluto, Platinum Mickey, Spring Flute Mickey, The Witch, Topaz Tinker Bell

Clear emoji (A-G)

22, 8-Bit Mickey, Abby Park, Abominable Snowman, Alberto, Alice, Alien, Alien Pluto, Alpha, Amethyst Ursula, Anakin Skywalker, Anastasia, Anastasia Romanov, Angel, Angel Chip, Anger, Anna, Aqua, Archimedes, Ariel (cartoon), Ashoka Tano, Astronaut Mickey, Baby Dory, Baby Moana, Bagheera, Bailey, Bambi, Bao, Barbossa, Barney, Baymax, BB-8, Belle, Bert, Bianca, Billy Butcherson, Birthday Baby Pluto, Blue Fairy, Bo Peep, Bo-Katan, Bob Cratchit Kermit, Bob Cratchit Mickey, Boba Fett, Bolt, Briar Rose, Bronx, Bruce, Bullseye, Bunny, Bunny Tigger, Buzz Lightyear, C-3PO, Cad Bane, Calhoun, Cassian Andor, Captain Goofy, Captain Hook, Captain Pan, Carl, Chernabog, Cheshire Cat, Chewbacca, Chip (BatB), Christmas Clarabelle Cow, Christmas Sally, Constance, Crab Donald, Cri-Kee, Cruella de Vil, Crush, Cruz Ramirez, Daisy Duck, Dale, Dante, Darla, Darth Maul, Darth Vader, Dash, Davy Jones, Death Trooper, Deep Sea Mickey, Demona, Destiny, Disguised Jasmine, Disguised Miguel, Disgust, Donald Duck, Doorknob, Dopey, Dory, Dr. Finkelstein, Dragon Maleficent, Drizella, Duke Caboom, Dumbo, Ebenezer Scrooge McDuck, Edna, Eeyore, Elastigirl, Elephant Abu, Elizabeth Swann, Elsa, Elsa the Snow Queen, Emperor Palpatine, Ernesto, Esmeralda, EVE, Fauna, Fear, Fennec Shand, Figaro, Finn, Finnick, Flik, Flit, Floral Miss Bunny, Flotsam, Flounder, Flynn Rider, Frank, Forky, Fozzie Bear, Gadget, Gardener Mickey, Gaston, General Grievous, Ghost of Jacob Marley, Giselle, Gizmoduck, Goliath, Gonzo, Grand Inquisitor, Grand Moff Tarkin, Grand Pabbie, Grumpy, Gus

Clear emoji (H-O)

Hades, Hamm, Han Solo, Hank, Héctor, Hei Hei, Heimlich, Hercules, Hiro, Hitchhiker Ghost Phineas, Hondo, Honey Bee Pooh, House Alice, Hugo, Iago, Ian, Imperial Stormtooper, Indiana Jones, Isabela, Jabba the Hutt, Jack Skellington, Jack-Jack, Jackson Storm, Jafar, Jasmine, Jedi Anakin, Jedi Master Luke, Jessie, Joe, Jose, Judy Hopps, Jumba, K-2SO, Kaa, Kakamora Chief, Kermit the Frog, Kevin, King of Hearts, King Louie, King Triton (cartoon), King Triton (live-action), Kristoff, Kronk, Kuzco, Kylo Ren, Lady Kluck, Lando Calrissian, Launchpad McQuack, Lightning McQueen, Li Shang, Lilo, Little John, Little Oysters, Lotso, Louis, Luisa, Luke Skywalker, Lumière, Madam Mim, Madame Leota, Madame Medusa, Magic Carpet, Mal, Maleficent, Man-Eating Wreath, March Hare, Marion Ravenwood, Marshmallow, Mary Poppins, Mary Sanderson, Mater, Maui, Max, Maximus, Meeko, Meg, Meilin Lee, Merida, Merryweather, Mike, Miss Piggy, Miss Piggy Emily Cratchit, Moana, Moff Gideon, Monterey Jack, Mother Gothel, Mowgli, Mr. Incredible, Mr. Toad, Mrs. Nesbit, Mufasa, Mulan, Mushu, Nala, Namaari, Nana, Nick Wilde, Oogie Boogie, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit

Clear emoji (P-Z)

Pacha, Pancake Goofy, Patch, Pegasus, Penny Proud, Pepita, Percy, Perdita, Peridot Maleficent, Peter Pan, Phil, Piglet, Ping, Pine Cone Pluto, Pinocchio, Pirate Peg-Leg Pete, Pixel Ralph, Platinum Grogu, Platinum Mickey, Platinum Simba, Platinum Woody, Pluto, Powerline, Pretty Flower, Prince Ali, Prince Charming, Prince Phillip, Princess Atta, Princess Aurora, Princess Leia, Prison Dog, Professor Ratigan, Pua, Pumbaa, Pumpkin Mickey, Quasimodo, Queen Elinor, Rabbit, Rainbow Stitch, Rainbow Unicorn, Rajah, Ralph, Rancor, Rapunzel, Rasputin, Raya, Red Panda Mei, Red Panda Ming Lee, Remy, Retro Minnie, Rex, Rey, Robin Hood, Rose, Rose (DeWitt), Rose Gold Minnie, Royal Magician Donald, Roz, Russell, Sadness, Santa Jack, Scar, Scrat, Scrooge McDuck, Scrump, Seashell Daisy, Shan Yu, Shaved Ice Stitch, Shenzi, Shere Khan, Sid, Simba, Sir Hiss, Sleepy, Slightly, Smee, Snake Jafar, Sora, Sorcerer's Apprentice Mickey, Sox, Spirit Mufasa, Spring Flute Mickey, Steamboat Willie Mickey, Stinky Pete, Stitch, Sulley, Sven, Swedish Chef, Te Ka, The Beast, The Book, The Bride, The Child, The Evil Queen, The Fire Spirit, The Mandalorian, The Manticore, The Mayor, The Prince, The Queen of Hearts, Thumper, Tia Dalma, Tiara Rapunzel, Tigger, Timon, Timothy Mouse, Tramp, Tuk Tuk, Ursula, Vacation Genie, Vacation Goofy, Vampire Mickey, Vanellope, Vanessa, Violet, Watermelon Minnie, Waternoose, WALL-E, Webby, Wedding Cinderella, Wedding Giselle, Wedding Maximus, Wendy, Willow, Winnie the Pooh, Winter Belle, Winter Cruella, Winter Snow White, Winter Pete, Witch Minnie, Woody, Yen Sid, Yesss, Yoda, Young Anna, Young Merida, Young Mim, Young Winifred, Yzma Kitty, Yzma, Zero, Zurg

Create lightning (A to L)

Abu, Aladdin, Alberto, Alpha (1, 2, 3, 4), Amethyst Ursula, Anton Ego, April Shower Bambi, Aquamarine Jasmine (1, 2, 3, 4), Arthur, Baby Rapunzel (1, 2, 3, 4), Bailey (1, 2), Baloo, Bing Bong, Bo-Katan, Boo, Bookworm Belle (1, 2, 3, 4), Boushh Disguise Leia (1, 2, 3, 4), Caballero Donald (1, 2), Cara Dune, Carl (1, 3, 5), Cave of Wonders, Chip (RR), Copper, Darth Maul (2, 3, 4, 5), Deep Sea Mickey (1, 2), Devil Dale, Doc, Doorknob (1, 3, 5), Dr. Finkelstein, Duke Caboom, Ebenezer Scrooge McDuck, Electrical Parade Elliott, Emperor Palpatine, Fairy Minnie, Fix-It Felix, Jr. (2, 3, 4, 5), Flash, Flora, Flower Piglet (1, 2, 3), Gardener Mickey, Garnet Minnie, Gauzey the Hatbox Bear, Genie Jafar, Ghost of Christmas Future Pete (1, 2, 3), Gingerbread Mickey (1, 2, 3), Governor Ratcliffe, Grandmother Willow (1, 2, 4), Han Solo, Holiday Mickey (2, 3, 4, 5), Holiday Minnie, Holiday Pluto, Holiday Tinker Bell (1, 2, 3, 4), Hondo (1, 2, 3, 4), Ice Cream Mickey, Jedi Anakin, John Darling, Jyn Erso, King Candy (1, 2, 4), Kronk, Lightning McQueen, Lucifer (1, 2),

Create lightning (M to Z)

Madame Pigota, Magic Carpet (1, 2), Magic Mirror, Magica de Spell (1, 2, 4), Maid Marian (1, 2), Mater, Mickey Mouse, Mirabel (1,2), Nala (1, 2), Ping (1), Platinum Mirabel, Platinum Woody, Prince Naveen, Poe Dameron, Powerline, Pumpkin Mickey (1, 2), Rainbow Mickey (2, 3, 4, 5), Rainbow Stitch, Ray (2, 3, 4, 5), Ron, Royal Magician Donald (1, 2), Santa Goofy (1, 2, 3, 4), Santa Jack, Sapphire Joy, Scrat (1, 2, 3, 4), Seashell Daisy (2, 3), Sea Creature Goofy, Sisu, Stinky Pete (1), Suga Mama, Tamatoa, Te Fiti (1, 2, 4), The Book, The Fairy Godmother, The Mayor, Tinker Bell, Tod (1), Vacation Goofy (1, 2, 3, 4), Vampire Mickey (2, 3, 4, 5), Vanessa, Waternoose, Wedding Maximus (1, 2), Winifred Sanderson, Witch Minnie (2, 4), Yoda (1, 2), Young Anna (1, 2, 3), Young Winifred, Zazu, Zeus, Zurg

Create stars (A to L)

Abu, Aladdin, Amethyst Ursula, Anton Ego (3, 4, 5), April Shower Bambi, Arthur (5), Baby Rapunzel (2, 3, 4, 5), Bailey (4, 5), Baloo (4, 5), Bing Bong (3, 4, 5), Blue Fairy, Bob Cratchit Mickey (3, 4, 5), Bookworm Belle (2, 3, 4, 5), Boushh Disguise Leia (5), Caballero Donald (4, 5), Cara Dune (2, 3, 4, 5), Copper (5), Darth Maul (5), Darth Vader, Deep Sea Mickey (3, 4, 5), Devil Dale, Doc (2, 3, 4, 5), Dragon Maleficent, Ebenezer Scrooge McDuck, Electrical Parade Elliott (5), Electrical Parade Minnie (4, 5), Emily Cratchit Minnie, Enchantress, Fairy Minnie (3), Fix-It Felix, Jr. (2, 3, 4, 5), Flora, Flower Piglet (5), Gardener Mickey, Garnet Minnie (5), Gauzey the Hatbox Bear (5), Genie Jafar (5), Ghost of Christmas Future Pete (4, 5), Gingerbread Mickey (3, 4, 5), Governor Ratcliffe, Grandmother Willow (4, 5), Han Solo, Holiday Cinderella, Holiday Minnie (2, 3, 4, 5), Holiday Tinker Bell, Hondo, Honey Cake Pooh, Ice Cream Mickey, Indiana Jones, Jedi Anakin, Jiminy Cricket, Jyn Erso (2, 3, 4, 5), King of Hearts, Kronk, Lucifer (5), Luke Skywalker (2, 3, 4, 5)

Create stars (M to Z)

Magic Mirror, Maid Marian, Mirabel (3,4), Miss Piggy, Pancake Goofy, Pepita, Peppermint Minnie (4, 5), Ping (4, 5), Platinum Mirabel (3, 4, 5), Platinum Woody, Poe Dameron (4, 5), Prince Naveen, Pumpkin Mickey (5), Queen Anna, Rainbow Mickey, Rainbow Stitch, Rainbow Unicorn, Ray, Ron (2, 3, 4, 5), Santa Goofy (5), Sapphire Joy, Scrat (4, 5), Scrump, Sea Creature Goofy (2, 3, 4, 5), Sisu (2, 3, 4, 5), Snake Jafar, Stinky Pete (5), Suga Mama (5), Tamatoa (4, 5), The Fairy Godmother, Tinker Bell, Tod (4, 5), Vacation Goofy (2, 3, 4, 5), Vampire Mickey, Waternoose (3, 4, 5), Wedding Ariel, Wedding Maximus (4, 5), Wendy, Wicket (5), Winifred Sanderson, Witch Minnie (5), Yoda (4, 5), Young Anna (5)

Create suns (A to M)

Abu, Aladdin, Alpha (4, 5), Amethyst Ursula, Anton Ego, April Shower Bambi (2, 3, 4, 5), Aquamarine Jasmine (3, 4, 5), Arthur, Baby Chick Eeyore, Baby Rapunzel, Baby Simba, Bailey (2, 3, 4, 5), Baloo, Bing Bong (2), Bo-Katan (2, 3, 4, 5), Bob Cratchit Mickey, Boba Fett (5), Bookworm Belle, Boushh Disguise Leia (2, 3, 4), Caballero Donald, Cara Dune, Carl (2, 3, 4, 5), Chip (RR) (2, 3, 4, 5), Cinderella, Copper (3, 4, 5), Darth Maul, Deep Sea Mickey (2, 3, 4, 5), Devil Dale, Doc, Doorknob (2, 3, 4, 5), Dr. Lily Houghton (2, 3, 4, 5), Ebenezer Scrooge McDuck, Electrical Parade Elliott (2, 3, 4, 5), Electrical Parade Minnie (1, 2, 3), Enchantress, Fairy Minnie (2, 3), Fix-It Felix, Jr., Flora, Flower Piglet (3, 4), Gardener Mickey, Garnet Minnie, Gauzey the Hatbox Bear, Genie Jafar (3, 4, 5), Ghost of Christmas Future Pete, Gingerbread Mickey, Governor Ratcliffe, Grandmother Willow (2, 3, 5), Holiday Mickey (2, 3, 4, 5), Holiday Minnie (1, 3, 4, 5), Holiday Tinker Bell, Hondo, Ice Cream Mickey, Iridessa, Jack, Jedi Anakin, Jolly Holiday Mary Poppins, Joy, Jyn Erso, King Candy (2, 3, 4, 5), Kronk, Lilo, Lucifer, Luke Skywalker (1, 2, 3, 4), Madame Pigota, Magic Carpet (2, 3, 4, 5), Magic Mirror, Magica de Spell (2, 3, 4, 5), Magical Enchantress, Maid Marian, Mama Coco, Mirabel (5), Mother Gothel,

Create suns (N to Z)

Nala (2, 3), Olaf, Peppermint Minnie, Ping (2, 3), Platinum Mirabel (1, 2, 3, 4), Platinum Woody, Poe Dameron, Prince Naveen, Pumpkin Mickey (3, 4), Rabbit, Rainbow Mickey (2, 3, 4, 5), Rainbow Stitch, Ray (2, 3, 4, 5), Ron, Royal Magician Donald (3, 4, 5), Santa Goofy (2, 3, 4, 5), Sapphire Joy, Scrat (2, 3, 4, 5), Sea Creature Goofy, Seashell Daisy (4, 5), Smee, Snow White, Spring Flute Mickey, Stinky Pete (2, 3, 4), Suga Mama (2, 3, 4, 5), Tamatoa (2, 3, 4, 5), Te Fiti (2, 3, 4, 5), The Book, The Emperor, The Fairy Godmother, Tinker Bell, Tod (2, 3), Vacation Goofy, Vampire Mickey, Waternoose (3, 4, 5), Wedding Maximus (2, 3, 4, 5), Wicket, Winifred Sanderson, Witch Minnie, Yoda (2, 3, 4), Young Anna, Zazu, Zurg (3, 4, 5)

Drop items

22, Amethyst Ursula, Anton Ego, Baby Moana, Baby Rapunzel, Bao, Billy Butcherson, Bob Cratchit Mickey, Bookworm Belle, Caballero Donald, Cad Bane, Chip (RR), Copper, Devil Dale, Doc, Ebenezer Scrooge McDuck, Electrical Parade Elliott, Fennec Shand, Grandmother Willow, Gus, Holiday Cinderella, Holiday Mickey, Jedi Anakin, Jedi Master Luke, Jolly Holiday Mary Poppins, Lucifer, Luisa, Magic Mirror, Mufasa, Namaari, Patch, Pink Dress Cinderella, Platinum Grogu, Rancor, Red Carpet Genie, Reflection Mulan, Rose (DeWitt), Scrat, Sid, Silvermist, Sea Creature Goofy, Stinky Pete, Suga Mama (All - however, she doesn't actually drop items), Tiny Tim, Vampire Mickey, Watermelon Minnie, Young Merida, Zazu

Generate coins

Aladdin, Alma Madrigal, Almost There Tiana, Aquamarine Jasmine, Baby Chick Eeyore, Bernard, Bing Bong (3, 4, 5), Boushh Disguise Leia, Captain Jack Sparrow, Cara Dune, Cave of Wonders, Constance, Cri-Kee, Dug, Elizabeth Swann, Emily Cratchit Minnie, Enchantress, Ernesto, Fashion Minnie, Finnick, Flora, Ghost of Jacob Marley, Giselle, Gizmoduck, Governor Ratcliffe, Hamm, Holiday Cinderella, Jabba the Hutt, Little John, Magica de Spell, Minnie Mouse, Mirabel, Oogie Boogie, Platinum Mickey, Prince Ali, Prince John, Prison Dog, Robin Hood, Rose (DeWitt), Sarah Sanderson, Scrooge McDuck, Sultan, Tamatoa, The Prince, Witch Minnie, Zeus

Generate score

Baby Dory, Bruce, Deep Sea Mickey, Enchantress, Forky, Frozone, Gaston, Iridessa, Lady, Madame Pigota, Marie, Max, Mrs. Potts, Prince Eric, Princess Aurora, Queen Anna, Rainy Day Donald, Salacious Crumb, Sebastian, The Child, The Mayor, Tiara Rapunzel, Winter Aurora, Witch Minnie

Overcharge

Platinum Simba, Sapphire Joy

Random emoji

Figment

Rearrange emoji

Alebrije Dante, Clawhauser, Genie Jafar, Goofy, Gramma Tala, Imelda, Jaq, Kit, Little Oysters, Mermaid Minnie, Nana, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Pearl, Poe Dameron, R2-D2, Rafiki, Salacious Crumb, Sarah Sanderson, Shere Khan, Syndrome, The Mad Hatter, Yzma Kitty

Transform emoji

Adult Simba, Alebrije Dante, Alma Madrigal, Antonio, Ariel (live-action), Baby Pegasus, Baby Rajah, Bernard, Bing Bong, Binx, Blueberry Muffin Donald, Bruno, Clawhauser, Darkwing Duck, Diamond Elsa, Dr. Facilier, Electrical Parade Tinker Bell, Elsa the Snow Queen, Fashion Minnie, Fancy Beast, First Order Stormtrooper, Flower Minnie, Hatbox Ghost, Headphones Dug, Honey Cake Pooh, House Alice, Human Sisu, Ian, John Darling, Joy, King Candy, Kuzco, Lady Tremaine, Luca, Madam Mim, Magic Mirror, Magical Enchantress, Merlin, Miguel, Nemo, Panchito, Pascal, Pearl, Peppermint Minnie, Peridot Maleficent, Pink Dress Cinderella, Platinum Grogu, Platinum Nemo, Pocahontas, Princess Aurora, Pumpkin Minnie, Queen Amidala, Queen Elinor, R2-D2, Rainy Day Donald, Randall, Red Carpet Genie, Reflection Mulan, Sally, Silvermist, Soft Serve Donald, Sketch Figment, Sugar Bowl, The Book, The Caterpillar, The Genie, The Witch, Tiana, Topaz Tinker Bell, Winter Pete, Yzma

Highgarden

11th Moon, 200 AC
Mander Cake. The unique occasion to come had demanded something special from Lady Aurola Tyrell's cooks. Highgarden's kitchens were at work all morning long - attempting to create a concoction worthy of being served. In the end, they created something unique for the day.
It was cake - but not any old cake. It was bread cake which had been soaked in wine and topped with custard - which in turn was a result of sweetened milk, white cheese and a unique cream cooked with egg yolks to harden it enough to be spread across the top of the cake. Strawberries would end up topping the cake - mashed and cooked strawberry "icing" had also been spread across sections of the cake.
Aurola Tyrell had demanded something soft and sweet - and in turn Highgarden's cooks worked to deliver. The unique cake concoction would in turn be presented to the woman - the cooks affectionately named it the Three Milks Cake.
It wasn't intended for her - even if she did long to taste it. Instead Lady Aurola left the cake and wine aside, her guards sent off to fetch a man by the name of Lucantine Redwyne.
It wasn't long before that Lucantine Redwyne was identified and brought to Lady Aurola's solar. He was brought as willingly as any man could be brought - flanked by tall Tyrell guards at both sides and led into the chambers without much option. Of course, upon his actual arrival - the mysterious and hurried tone of the occasion would soften up.
"Good morning, Ser Lucantine Redwyne. May I interest you in some sort of cake?" She'd soon approach - a noticeable slice of the cake in hand. "Three Milks Cake, my cooks call it. It is bread cake dipped in wine and soaked up to soften it…I have no doubt you'll find some enjoyment in it."
The masked woman soon set the cake aside though - beckoning the man to sit. Then she'd present the cake up again - placing it upon his lap once he'd settled down. Up until now she'd done all the talking and took all the actions - she would do so for one last time.
"The reason I brought you here is to offer you something. How would you like to be freed from your taxation duties for the entire coming year? Zero taxes sent to Highgarden. In turn I need something from you…"

In hindsight, I should have listened to the kill-bill alarm bells in my head when eight-year-old Cassie announced she and her cabin mates were going to skip out on camp activities and play Operation instead.
Though it’s not like I didn’t have things on my mind. Seven counsellors had gone missing—along with our head counsellor who was supposed to be taking care of us.
It started out fairly normal. I mean, one or two counselors wasn’t bad, right?
Lily and Joey had been drowning in sexual tension for a while, so nobody was surprised when they sneaked into the woods for what I could only guess was the most uncomfortable sex ever. But then they didn’t come back.
Teddy and Yuri went to look for them, and then they too also disappeared. It was almost like a wild animal was lying in wait for another unsuspecting teenager to cross its path.
With six of us left, I was definitely freaking out.
I wasn’t expecting summer camp to be like this. I did consider working in my local Sephora, but mom had a preference—and whether I was eighteen years old or not, she was getting her way. So, it was goodbye civilization, and hello Canadian wilderness.
There were fifteen kids queued up in front of me for lunch, and I was having a hard time keeping that optimistic Camp Redwood smile.
I couldn’t help constantly counting how many hours it had been since the latest disappearance, Connor.
He was supposed to be helping with getting the emergency generator going, after the electricity sizzled out.
The boy was gone an hour later. This was happening fast. Whatever was going on with the counsellors was burning through all of us. Would it happen to me?
I had seen so many TV shows and movies set in a summer camp where every camper and counsellor was doomed to die in the grossest way possible. Was that going to happen to us?
I tightened my grip around the stupid ladle I had found myself stirring, a giant pot of chocolate syrup. Watching watery chocolate drip from the edge, I felt nauseous. Of all the summer camp’s mom had to send me to, it had to be the one with vanishing counsellors and zero adult authority. Which meant we were the authority. Twelve teenagers who came to relax and babysit a bunch of little kids before college.
We had to put on brave faces and pretend everything was absolutely fine—and we weren’t all terrified out of our fucking minds.
At the corner of my eye, I glimpsed Harry offering piggybacks to a bunch of little kids, with one of the littles, Eleanor, wrapping her arms around his neck and squealing.
From the look on the boy’s face, he wanted to stop. It was hard to keep a façade when reality was becoming harder and harder to bear. Abandoning his hat completely, Harry was dripping with sweat, trying to twist his lips into the Camp Redwood grin. But looking closer, as he galloped across the cabin with Eleanor holding on for dear life, the guy was ready to collapse. I didn’t blame him.
Entertaining the kids was supposed to be Teddy’s assignment—and he was who knows where. I had taken over lunch duties for Lily, who had joined the long list of the missing.
Harry was supposed to be joining the search party for the missing councellors, but had ended up becoming the little’s personal punching bag.
When I first met him, Harry Carlisle had been the kid who sat on the side-lines and offered sarcastic remarks and crude jokes. Now, he had been reduced to a playground ride the kids pretended didn’t have an off switch.
He had enjoyed maybe the first two rides to raise morale, but now I could see the strain in his eyes. “Ow!” Harry winced when the little girl’s fingers prodded at his eyes. “Hey! Eleanor, not my eyes!” He was dangerously close to toppling over, though managed to catch his footing, ordering all of them off of his back. “Horse Rides are over!” He cupped his mouth, shouting across the cabin when a group of kids surrounded him with equally terrifying faces. Harry backed away and threw his hands up. “Come on, guys, my back isn’t built for all of you!”
“Horsey!” The kids shouted back in a cacophony of giggles.
It was 10 against one.
Against two, if I got involved. Which wasn’t going to happen. There was no way I was putting effort into play-fighting a bunch of eight-year-olds. Harry shot me a hopeful look, though I pretended not to see, busying myself with slightly burned nuggets.
Running his fingers through thick strands of sandy colored hair, Harry pulled a face when a little girl, Phoebe, was brave enough to step forward.
“No.” Harry shook his head, squeezing the front of his counsellor shirt practically glued to him. The temperature still hadn’t let up, and it was heading towards 8PM. Night-time, I thought dizzily. It was almost bedtime, and still no adults. “I refuse to surrender,” He told her. “Phoebe, I am not joking around when I’m saying my back is hurting. We’ve been playing horsey’s for two hours.”
“So?”
“So!” Harry couldn’t yell or hiss, or swear at them. That was a big no-no with kids.
However, I could see he was coming close to breaking that rule. “Because I’m tired,” he said through a Camp Redwood grin, which was quickly twitching into a grimace.
I think all of us had given up with the fake enthusiasm when our colleagues started to vanish. Now, we were just shells of our former happy selves. “And… uh… did you know that if you ride a horsey at this time, the ghosts will come and get you?”
When a boy opened his mouth, his eyes widening with fright, Harry realized his mistake.
“I mean the nice ghosts! Yeah! The uh, the nice ghosts who haunt..I mean play in these woods? It’s a well-known Camp Redwood legend that ghosts don’t like horse rides. In fact,” his lips curved into a devilish smile now he had several faces staring at him. The kids dropped onto the ground to listen, their hands clasped in their laps. This was the quietest they had been all day. I could understand though. Harry had taken the reins around the campfire telling ghost stories for three nights in a row, and the guy was a damn good storyteller.
With every eye on him, Harry lowered his voice into a whisper. “Do you guys want to know what they do?”
The kids nodded with wide eyes.
“They sneak into unsuspecting cabin’s…”
“Harry.”
Rowan’s voice came from outside in a warning. The window was open, and the guy was standing watch to see if any counsellors came back. Since the only adult had disappeared, he had been appointed leader—and the guy was taking himself a little too seriously.
His warning was valid though. Sometimes Harry’s ghost stories were a little too scary for little kids, who’s Imaginations tended to run wild—especially at night. Olive, my cabin-mate, had to give up her bed for a little girl who was convinced Harry’s depiction of Slenderman, “The tree boy” was going to sneak into her bed and turn her into an apple seed.
“Did I say sneak into cabin’s? I meant dance around the woods…” Harry corrected himself. “And they look for their next unsuspecting victim…”
“Harry!”
“Friend.” Harry swallowed his words when a little boy’s eyes went wide. “I mean they are looking for a friend! So, the point of my story is…”
“Horsey rides get us new friends?” Phoebe wasn’t buying it. I could tell from the slight arch of her brow and her widening smile.
The girl shook dark curls out of her face, smirking. I think it was her pleading eyes which won him over. Because, with a sigh which definitely wasn’t joking around, the guy dropped onto his knees and practically spat at her to climb on his back—and she did, plonking one sparkling shoe on top of the boy’s spine with enough force to send him onto his stomach. I might have been imagining it, but since when were these littles so outlandishly spiteful?
The little girl was grinning. Not because she could ride her “horsey” but because Harry looked like he was going to either wring her neck, or wring his own. Mom had a “talk” before I started here, and she made sure to tell me that if adult authority is nowhere to be seen, little kids will start to act out.
I could definitely call it acting out, but I had spent all day with her several days earlier playing with dolls and having a teddy bear picnic when she admitted she didn’t want to swim in the lake with the other kids. Phoebe had been shy and only spoke to me through her teddy bear, so what had changed?
Could the lack of adults really be scaring the kids that much?
“Miss Josie?”
I wasn’t paying attention, half noticing some kids had just helped themselves, piling chicken nuggets and cookies on plastic plates and hurrying to their seats like I couldn’t see them.
Blinking away brain fog, I found myself face to face with Eli, who was probably my favorite camper.
You’re not supposed to have personal preferences when working with little kids, because your opinions could upset them.
However, it was incredibly hard not to like Eli.
Hiding behind a mop of brown curls, the boy was one of the more vocal kids in the group. Eli said he wanted to be an inventor when he was older, and he wanted to make robots. The kid had asked me if I wanted to see his robot collection, but I was too busy with setting up camp activities. Standing in front of me and clutching his tray, the boy was frowning.
“Josie, I just saw some kids steal chicken nuggets.”
I shrugged, shovelling a large portion on his tray. “Well, you can have some extra too.”
Eli’s smile wasn’t as big as usual. “Where’s Teddy?”
I pretended to be oblivious, hastily adding more nuggets to his tray as if I could keep his mouth shut with extra food. “He’ll be back soon! Teddy is just playing in the woods.”
“No, he’s not.”
At first, I thought I’d heard the boy wrong. The kid wasn’t looking at me, counting his nuggets as usual with the prongs of his plastic fork.
I leaned forward with my best smile. “I’m sorry, what was that, Eli?”
The kid lifted his head with a wide grin. “Can I borrow a knife, Josie?”
“Why do you need a knife?”
Leaning forward, the boy shrugged. “There’s a squirrel caught in a trap,” he said. “I want to put it out of its misery, Miss Josie. It’s in a lot of pain.”
That was… dark.
“Well, I can’t give you a knife…” I trailed off, my gaze finding Harry and the growing line of kids awaiting a horse-ride. “But! How about you go and ask Harry for a piggy-back ride?” I pointed to myself with a forced grin. “I’ll save the squirrel!” And when the boy’s eyes filled with tears and he shook his head, I reached out, grasped his hand, and squeezed it as tight as I could. “Eli, we don’t need to do that, okay? I’m sure the squirrel can be saved and I’ll make sure to take it to the vet, okay?”
“But what if it doesn’t need saving?”
I squeezed tighter. “I’ll save it, Eli. I promise.”
Eli didn’t look convinced, but he nodded with a grumble. “Okay.” He said, before twisting around and joining the other kids torturing Harry. Immediately, I left my station—whether Rowan liked it or not—and headed outside to look for this supposedly dying squirrel. That was something we didn’t need. The sky was darkening when I made it into the woods, cotton candy clouds blurring through the thick canopy of trees. Eli said it was near the sign pointing towards the lake. Though I couldn’t see anything. Odd. That thought retracted in my head, however, when I stepped forward, and a squelching sound cut through the silence of my own heavy breaths mixing with insect chitters and nightlife buzzing above me and beneath me. The wet sounding squelch twisted my gut, and when I stared down at the ground, I didn't know what I was expecting.
A squashed squirrel, perhaps? In Eli’s words, the poor thing had been on the edge of death. Though, when I was thinking about it, there were no animal traps around camp. That was basic health and safety. So, what the fuck was I looking at? The bottom of my shoe was caked in dried blood, but it was the thing which was stamped into the dirt which sent my heart into my throat. It looked like an eye.
But looking closer as I lowered myself to the ground, I glimpsed something metallic, something glistening around the pupil. I picked up a stick and prodded it, though the thing didn’t move. It was definitely an eye—the eye of some kind of animal, judging from the pigmentation and the color of the iris.
But it was the metallic pieces around the eye which was throwing me off. Part of a trap, maybe? It wouldn’t be out of the realm of possibility that a poor critter had been ripped apart, and a wild bear had dropped its dinner near the camp—and the metal encasing its eye was most likely pieces of trap.
Peering closer, though, I glimpsed silver slithers in what appeared to be the destroyed nerve caked to my shoe. After scraping most of it off, I caught glistening pieces of blood stained metal catching the late-setting sun. This time, I pinched a piece between my forefinger and thumb. It didn’t look like a bear-trap. The metal itself wasn’t serrated or old. In fact, it was new.
Which begged the question: What was this thing?
Whatever it was, it had started converting what looked like a critter’s eye, before stopping. Was it a virus? When that thought slammed into me, I fell back with a hiss, swiping my hands on my shirt.
“What are you doing?”
I almost jumped out of my skin, diving to my feet.
Carmel was standing behind me, grasping what looked like her sixth or seventh coffee. The girl had been running to and from the coffee machine all day, and I had been silently counting how much caffeine she was consuming. Carmel had been a well put together and fairly popular girl when camp started. She immediately had everyone following her beck and call, all of the boy’s (and girl’s) following her around.
Carmel wasn't straight. She made that clear on the bus to camp, announcing she wasn’t interested in guy’s, and that she had a girlfriend back home. Still though, the guy’s still followed her because... well, she was pretty.
Carmel was my bunk-mate and had woken me up on three separate occasions at 6am to go through the exact same hair and makeup routine. Now though, there was no sign of makeup or even that she had brushed her hair.
Instead of its usual tidy blonde ponytail, Carmel’s curls were tied into raggedy pigtails with ribbons I was sure she had stolen from a camper’s doll. I think what was keeping her going was coffee.
Carmel regarded me with too-wide eyes and a Camp Redwood smile we all knew was fake. She was grasping onto her coffee cup for dear life. “Josie!” she jumped when I jumped, which almost made me laugh. “Rowan’s having an emergency meeting in his cabin,” she said.
“So, whatever you’re doing can wait.”
Her gaze flicked to the ground. “What… are you doing?”
For a brief moment, I considered telling Carmel I may have found what looked like a virus which turned flesh and blood to metal—before I remembered her reaction when a spider had crept into our cabin.
Whatever this thing was, keeping it a secret for now was probably what was best. Making sure I was standing on the thing, I shrugged. “I was looking for the others.”
Carmel cocked her head, before resting her coffee on the ground. “In the dirt?”
“Footprints, Carmel.”
The girl looked confused before shaking her head. “Okay, whatever. Tell the others I’ll be there in a sec, I just need to make sure the kids are okay. We’re putting a movie on for them in the lunch hall, so that will hopefully distract them for maybe two hours.”
I nodded. “Did anyone find a phone?”
“Not with signal!”
“Carmel.” I had to fight back the urge to yell at her to keep her voice down. Kids were curious, and I wouldn’t be surprised if we had some littles peeking into our conversation. “You’re okay.” I said softly.
“I mean, we’re not okay, because yes, things are very.. screwed up right now, but we need to be… optimistic.” I exhaled out a breath, searching for eyes in the dark. I tried to smile, tried to keep up that Camp Redwood façade we were all held hostage by until the last day of camp (According to rule 5 in the Camp Redwood counsellor handbook, all counsellors must retain a smile and a positive attitude. If any counselor is caught making a frowny face, or spreading what we call “unhappiness” we will be forced to send the counselor home).
At this point, I didn’t give a fuck—but part of me didn’t want to scare the little kids.
“No, Josie.” The girl grasped hold of my shoulders with a grin rivalling the joker. “I am so sick of being told to keep smiling, because what is that doing? Three of my cabin-mates are missing! I’m the only one left, and Rowan and co expect me to keep up this act? We are fucked!"
She cupped her mouth. “F. U. C. K. E. D. We have zero adults, an unexplainable loss of power every few hours which makes no sense in the middle of nowhere—I mean what the fuck is out there which is sucking that much power, huh? There is no explanation! There should be an explanation. I should be able to think, “oh, yeah! That’s why! But no. Things are happening, and I don’t know why they’re happening. Rowan is trying to force us to act like things are okay —but in reality? He is shitting himself, Josie! We are ALL shitting ourselves!”
I took a step back, keeping hold of her hand. Carmel was trembling, her hands clammy and slimy entangled in mine. “He's just trying to keep the kids from freaking out."
She groaned, tears glistening in her eyes. “Okay, yeah! I’m blaming them because they keep acting like everything is okay—”
“Everything IS okay.” I turned to her with what I hoped was a reassuring smile—knowing damn well about the thing I’d found in the dirt. If that thing could spread, it would have a field day in an enclosed space like a summer camp.
I noticed my own hands which had been touching the thing making contact with Carmel, and dropped my hands, inwardly squirming.
If that thing was a virus, I was already fucked.
Maybe Carmel too.
If it was fast acting, it could explain the counsellor disappearances. I was already putting together a plan in my head as we headed back to the main cabin. We had to put together a search party. Some of us would stay with the kids, while a small group would venture into the woods to try and look for traces of the missing. If I was right, we would find a horror scene in the woods, and yes, that would be the time to panic.
If I was wrong, however, there was still hope.
“Are we going to be okay?”
Carmel’s voice sliced into my thoughts, and I took a moment to drink in the camp around us.
Usually, when the sky was turning twilight, it would be bustling with campers and counselors toasting marshmallows on the fire and gathering around to fall asleep to Harry’s ghost stories. Carmel would be knelt with a bunch of kids, watching a YouTube video they had all insisted on her watching, while Rowan would be hiding behind his book with his knees to his chest, his gaze glued to every page he flicked through, ignoring everyone.
Teddy, making funny faces for kids who were scared, and Connor, handing out plates of burgers and hot dogs. I remembered feeling safe and at home, cosy around the flickering orange of the fire as chatter turned to laughter and white-noise in my head. After the kids went back to their cabins, the group of us would resume positions around the fire, but this time it was more… intimate. With Allison in her cabin, we kind of ignored her rules all together.
Making out happened, because of course it did. Beers stolen from Allison’s mini fridge and raging hormones, as well as late-night skinny dipping in the lake did that. Couples went off into the woods, and we all felt completely comfortable and at home with each other.
Looking around at that moment, I felt sick to my stomach. That feeling was gone.
The feeling of family and familiarity and friendship. What I was looking at now was that same log we had all sat on, now turned on its side—hot dog buns and candy wrappers littering the ground. It was a ghost camp.
I could still see Connor’s jacket slung on the ground, and Lili’s bright pink ray bans sitting on a beer can. Because there were no adults to yell at us to clean up after ourselves. I was frowning at the skeleton of the fire when Carmel nudged me. “Hey.” Her voice was shaking slightly. “Josie? You didn’t answer my question.” Carmel wanted me to be the voice of reason, and I wasn’t that. I was just as scared as her.
There was only so much I could sugar-coat, and I gave up doing that after the third counsellor disappeared. All I could offer her was forced optimism.
“Yes.” I said. “Just keep the kids busy, alright?”
“Right.”
When I was twisting around and power-walking to Rowan’s cabin, I shouted over my shoulder, “Give them some of those animal crackers!”
“What animal crackers?”
I turned to elaborate, but Carmel was gone.
When I finally got to Rowan’s cabin, I was sweating through my shirt, and had an idea of what I was going to tell the others. It was… a thing. Which could be considered a disease or a virus—so it was vital that we split into two groups; half of us would search for the others, while the others would look for anything to get in contact with the outside world. An emergency landline, laptop, or cell phone.
I did have one problem, which was lack of evidence. All which was left from the thing I’d found was stuck to my foot. The rest of it was buried in the dirt. It was too dark to search for it, and we would be wasting time doing so.
All of that was in my mind and tangled on my tongue, one single string of incomprehensible gibberish I wasn’t even sure was English, when I stepped into Rowan’s cabin, where four sets of eyes met mine. Olive, cross legged on the floor with her arms folded, Harry, pacing up and down with a brand new bruise blooming under his eye, courtesy of Eleanor almost poking his eyes out—and Rowan himself sitting on top bunk, his legs swinging off of the side.
The guy wasn’t built to be our leader, originally being the laziest of our group, opting for sitting in a tree with a book, rather than helping set up camp activities. Yet he had become our default guy in charge because he so happened to be wearing the head counsellor hat when Allison disappeared. Admittedly, it suited him, the bright red of the cap contrasted his dark curls under a late setting sun through the back window, setting strands of straying hair on fire.
The hat was a little too big for his head, though, slipping over his eyes.
Rowan looked like a divorced father of two, dark circles bruising his eyes, and a very “dad-like” scowl curling on his lips.
With a clipboard pressed to his chest, and a pen he was chewing on, the boy resembled a grown man who had just caught his daughter coming in after curfew. “Josie.” Spitting the pen’s lid out of his mouth, he scribbled something down. I had no doubt he was tracking my attendance for these stupid crisis meetings. His eyes were wild, scanning me for answers. “Where the fuck is Carmel?”
I shut the door behind me, leaning against it with my arms folded. “So, we can swear now?”
“Yes.” Rowan rolled his eyes. “There are no kids here, so go crazy,” he pointed at me with the pen. “Carmel. Where is she?”
“Keeping the kids busy,” Callan’s muffled voice came from the bottom bunk. I could barely see the guy lying on his stomach, his face stuffed into a pillow. “It was my idea to play Shrek for them, but the little shits said they haven’t seen it,” the boy lifted his head, his lips carved into a scowl. “I’m sorry, am I tripping? Everyone’s seen Shrek! Do these kids expect the Minecraft movie?”
“They don’t like that, either,” Harry stopped pacing the cabin. “Eleanor looked at me like I was crazy when I asked if she liked it."
“Fortnite, too.” Olive said, a cushion pressed to her chest. “I suggested playing it a few days ago, and like, zero kids knew what it was.”
“Six counsellors are missing,” Rowan raised his voice over the other’s chatter. “And you’re questioning what games they like?” His eyes found mine once more. “So, Carmel is with the kids? You’re absolutely sure of it?”
I nodded. “Yeah. I mean, I just saw her five minutes ago.”
“Great.” Rowan said, sarcastically. “I’m sure she won’t go missing under mysterious circumstances.”
“Stop.” Olive shot him a glare, throwing a cushion in his face. “I told you. They’re probably lost—- or maybe they went to get help?”
“We’ve all been trained to know every inch of these woods,” Rowan catapulted the cushion right back at her. “They’re not lost.”
“Well, where are they?!” Callan sat up, bringing his knees to his chest. I had never seen the guy looked this vulnerable. “Allison made sense. She probably had other duties, and left us to look after the kids. But six counselors? All of them disappearing—- our phone signal completely cutting out, electricity cutting off, not once, but twice? What is even sucking all of our power?”
“I got the emergency generator working,” Olive raised her arm. “Connor and I managed it before…” she trailed off.
“Before Connor disappeared.” Callan finished for her. “And before him, it was Joey, Lily, Mira, Yuri, Noah, and Teddy. Which isn’t a fucking coincidence,” he shot Rowan a look, who glared down at his lap. I could tell the boy didn’t want to lead all of us, come up with plans and answer questions we desperately needed answering. His job was to look after us, as well as the littles, and so far, he was doing a pretty good job. I could tell by his expression that he thought the opposite, but he had managed to keep the kids from finding out about something as sinister as someone actively kidnapping counsellors.
He made sure they were fed, entertained, and safe watching a movie—while we were scared for our lives. Rowan was keeping up the façade no matter how scared he was. The boy dropped his head into his lap with a sigh. It looked like he might fall asleep before he slammed the clipboard into his face to wake himself up.
Nobody wanted to admit what Callan was saying, but we were all definitely thinking it. “This was planned.” Callan continued.
“Someone out here is fucking with us, very clearly trying to freak us out. Now they've got six of us. ” He spread out his arms. “How long until one of the littles gets taken, huh? A bunch of 18 year olds aren’t going to satisfy them, so what about when they start taking campers? We are in the middle of fuckin’ nowhere with a serial kidnapper on the loose, and did we really just leave fifteen kids in the care of a girl who thought Australia was in England?”
“In Carmel’s defence, she was black-out drunk when she said that,” Olive murmured.
“Voice down!” Rowan hissed. “Do you want to scare them?!” His gaze flicked to me. “Did you do a headcount during dinner?”
I nodded. “Fifteen kids all accounted for. Ten are in the lunch hall, and five girls are in Cassie’s cabin playing Operation.”
“All day?” Olive spoke up. “Weren’t they playing that this morning? I tried to get into their cabin to give them breakfast, but they just shooed me away and locked the door.”
“Fuck.” Rowan ran his fingers down his face. “Alright, I’ll go and see what’s going on with them. Knowing Cassie and her friends, they’re probably zonked out on stolen candy. When all of the kids are accounted for in the lunch cabin, we gather outside.”
I swallowed, speaking up. “I actually wanted to talk to you guys about something.”
Rowan lifted his head, jutting the edge of the clipboard into his chin. “Go on…”
“I found something?” I pulled a face. “I mean, think I’ve found something?”
I wasn't sure how to explain to a dwindling group of exhausted teenagers that there may be something even more terrifying than potential kidnappers out there. Four blank faces started back at me, and Rowan leaned forward with a frown. “Like, in general? Josie, we don’t have time to go foraging.”
“You could call it a lead,” I said. “But I need your eyes to find it.”
“Uh-huh. But what is it?”
Thinking back to what exactly I had seen, I had no idea how to describe it. “It’s better if I just… showed you.”
Rowan looked sceptical, but nodded. “Alright. Josie comes with me. We’ll check out Allison’s cabin again to look for an emergency line, and you can show me whatever this ‘thing’ is you’ve found. Then we’ll escort Cassie and the other girl’s to the lunch cabin. Every camper needs an escort from now on. The rest of you? Act normal. If the kids see you freaking out, they will also freak out—and we need to keep up morale.” The boy pointed to Olive. “Olive, you sit in with the kids and look after them. Callan, check out the emergency generator. Harry, the kids see you as a playground ride, so use that to your advantage. Offer them horse rides if they’re scared. And stop with the ghost stories, it’s making it worse. Give them piggybacks.”
Harry rolled his eyes. “Do I have a choice?”
“No.”
Rowan cleared his throat. “We all keep up appearances. If the others turn up, after getting high or… I don’t know, having an orgy in the woods—- I will fucking kill them.” The way he smiled through his teeth, jumping off the bunk, his toes primed like a wild animal, I knew he wasn’t joking. If this was a well-constructed prank the other counselors were playing, I had no doubt Rowan would rip them apart for leaving him as a reluctant leader. To my surprise, the others wandered off with their tasks.
I watched Rowan lift up his pillow and pull out a pack of animal crackers, ripping open the bag and pouring the contents into his mouth. He caught my eye, crunching through mini animal crackers. “I didn’t have lunch,” he said through a mouthful.
I couldn’t help feeling a sense of relief as we headed across camp, Rowan in front of me, while I lagged behind.
“So, what’s the plan?” I caught up to him, almost tripping over a log.
The guy didn’t turn around. “I am completely winging it,” he said through a choked laugh. “I have no idea what I’m doing, and if I’m honest? I just want to go home, dude. I haven’t looked after this many kids in my life, and if I have to smile one more time as a little brat, I am going to fucking lose my mind.” He heaved out a breath. “I am making this up as I go along.”
I laughed that time. “That’s… comforting.”
“Yeah?” He turned to shoot me a grin. “Well, rest assured I am just about as scared—if not more scared than you,” as we stopped in front of Cassie’s cabin, his gaze found mine. “Is it me…” he said softly, “Or does the lunch cabin seem quiet.”
He was right. The windows were dark when they should have been illuminated by the TV screen. Instead of answering, I stepped in front of him, grasping hold of the cabin door. “Cassie?” I knocked three times. “Girl’s, are you okay in there? It’s Josie and Rowan.” I tried the door, and it slid open. Shooting a look at the boy behind me, I turned back to the door.
“We’re coming in, okay?”
“Wait!”
Cassie squeaked from inside. “But he’s not finished!”
Ignoring the coil of dread unravelling in my gut, I forced the door open and stepped into unusually milky white light which flooded the cabin. The first thing I saw was eight-year-old Cassie, sitting cross legged with her back to me. She was sitting in a circle with the other girls, no doubt playing their game.
When I stepped closer, however, I noticed something pooling across the wooden floor. It must have been juice or water that they had spilled. I took another step, but this time, clammy fingers wrapped around my wrist and yanked me back. Rowan didn't speak, but his eyes were elsewhere. Initially, they had been drinking in the cabin before they found oblivion entirely. I heard his breath start to accelerate, his grip tightening on my wrist.
I had half a mind to pull away, before I saw the body shaped carcass the girls were sitting around. In the dim light of the cabin, it used to be a person. Teddy. I could still see parts of an identity, freckled cheeks and eyes which were still open, still staring at the sky.
But that was where the similarities to the missing counsellor ended. The thing which used to be Teddy was more of a shell, a scooped out thing resembling a human body. What sent me stumbling backwards, my mouth open in a silent scream, was the almost surgical efficiency of each organ's removal, like it really was a game of operation. His heart, lungs, and intestines were in one pile-- while his brain was cupped between little Cassie's bloody hands— and when my gaze found the little girl, Nina, hiding behind dark curly hair, I was seeing what looked like a toy robot’s head in her hands. In my head, I was thinking about the eye with the metallic pieces glittering around its pupil, and something turned in my gut.
Did I find a human eye?
I was staring at the crevice inside the boy's skull, and the boxes of surgical equipment piled on the girl's bunks, when Rowan finally pulled me back, and I was stumbling straight onto my ass. "We need to go." Rowan spoke through a croak. Cassie’s words rattled in my head. Teddy, I thought.
Teddy wasn’t finished.
"Josie. Get up. Now!" My head was spinning, and I was sure I'd thrown up. I didn’t even realize we had managed to stumble from the girl’s cabin before cool air grazed my face, tickling my cheeks. Something wet and warm, and lumpy was spattering the front of my shirt.
Before I could coerce words, the boy was pulling me to my feet, and I was seeing stars in my eyes, blinking brightly. When the two of us started forwards in a run, Rowan stopped abruptly. I followed his gaze to find several kids surrounding his cabin, where Harry, Olive and Callan were. Maybe I was hallucinating, but Eleanor and Phoebe, both of whom wielding weapons where I had no idea where they had gotten them—looked… taller? Rowan didn’t waste time, dragging me back. “Allison’s cabin.” He spoke in cry which became a sob, pulling me across camp, stumbling over rocky ground.
“We need a phone. Fuck, we need a phone. We need a phone.” Rowan was struggling to stand, occasionally bending over and choking up dust.
“They were playing Operation."
Literal operation.
“But they’re just kids!” I choked out.
Little kids, who had surgically removed every organ inside Teddy’s body.
Little kids, who were hunting the other counsellors down, and would surely be coming for us.
Allison’s cabin was thankfully further into the woods. When we were safe inside and Rowan was locking the door, I dry heaved several times, unable to get the sight of glistening gore splattering the cabin floor from my mind. “Josie.” Rowan was already tearing apart the cabin. “Work with me here, okay? We don’t… we don’t have fucking time to freak out, or to barf—we need to get help. Now.” Rowan was freaking out, and when he hit the ground on his knees, I took over. I searched Allison’s desk first.
Nothing of importance, just documents and invoices. Digging through her draw, there was still nothing. We were running out of time.
Abandoning the desk, I went through her suitcase and bags. When I was crawling under her bed to try and find a weapon, Rowan hissed out. “Wait.” When I turned to him, he was still kneeling, but his foot was clamping down on a loose plank. The guy didn’t hesitate, pulling at the loose plank, which, to my confusion, revealed what looked to me like a trap door.
Rowan turned to me. “You’re kidding.”
I could only stare at the trap door revealing stone steps. He peered down, his voice echoing. “Allison has a fucking secret bunker?”
His lips curved into a surprisingly childish grin which took me off guard. “Oh, wow, that’s so cooooool!”
Lifting my head at the sound of loud squealing, I glimpsed a group of littles led by Eleanor stalking towards us. Eleanor had a hostage. Harry. And with the way she was sticking the blade of a scary looking knife to his throat, I figured she meant business.
Their height difference was almost comical. The eighteen year old guy had to hunch over so the little girl could successfully keep him prisoner. Behind them in the trees, I could see something illuminating the dark, an electric blue light bathing their faces.
So, that was there the power was going.
But what the fuck were these eight-year-old’s doing?
“Josie!” Rowan hissed from down below. He had already climbed down.
I joined him, struggling down the stone steps, before replacing the loose plank. If these kids were as smart as I thought, it wouldn’t take them long to realize the loose plank—also a trap door. Allison’s bunker was more of a control room. There were multiple screens lit up, a chair in front of a working MacBook. The phone-line was cut. But that didn’t make sense.
The kids were unaware of the bunker, so who cut the phone lines? Rowan was on the laptop, struggling to get through the password protection, so I turned my attention to piles of cardboard boxes.
When I opened them, I found myself staring at animal crackers.
There were hundreds of them, packed on top of each other. Looking further, digging through the boxes, I found a piece of old crumpled paper which looked ancient.
REGARDING PROJECT SPEARHEAD SUBJECTS:
PLEASE DO NOT INGEST UNLESS ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY. IF MULTIPLE SUBJECTS INGEST, PLEASE USE SELF DESTRUCT.
ONLY USE IN CASES SUCH AS IMMINENT DESTRUCTION TO THE PLANET/THREAT OF NUCLEAR WAR.
(PLEASE CONTACT FAMILIES IN ADVANCE. MAKE SURE TO INGEST WITH WATER TO AVOID NEUROLOGICAL SYMPTOMS SUCH AS PSYCHOSIS, EXTREME VIOLENCE. PLEASE APPROACH SUBJECTS WITH CAUTION.
Something ice cold slithered down my spine.
Abandoning the boxes, I searched through a cabinet filled with files which were crumbling apart from age. I picked one at random and flicked through it.
Eleanor Summer’s.
Sex: Female.
DOB: 08/05/1977.
Initially, I thought I was reading the dates wrong. But then, with my heart in my throat, I was grasping for other files.
Eli Evermore.
Sex: Male.
'DOB: 08/03/1979.
“Rowan.” I managed to get out through a breath.
“Mm?”
“They’re not children.”
The boy rubbed his eyes, frowning. His eyes were half lidded, almost confused. “Huh?”
“Eleanor.” I whispered. “Is forty five years old.”
He nodded slowly, turning back to the laptop. “How do you spell… documents? I’m looking for digital versions but I can’t find any.”
“You don’t know how to spell documents?”
“It’s been a hard day.” The boy whined, tipping his head back and blowing a raspberry.
Whatever I was going to say was choked in the back of my throat, when a loud bang sounded from above, the sounds of childish giggling coming through the floorboards. But the laughter didn’t sound like little kids. No, it sounded like teenager’s who were acting like little kids. I stared at the boxes of animal crackers, and then at the file confirming Eleanor’s real age.
My own words shuddered through me, and I remembered finding Teddy’s dismembered carcass in Cassie’s cabin. When I had caught her gaze, the little girl didn’t look scared, and somehow, her fingers wrapped around the scalpel looked just right.
Like the little bitch knew exactly what she was doing.
“Helloooo?” Harry’s voice was a hysterical giggle. “Olly, Olly, Oxen freeee!”
“Are you in heeeeeeere?” Carmel joined in. I could hear their footsteps above, dancing across the room.
Clamping my hand over my mouth, I dragged my knees to my chest and prayed they weren’t smart enough to figure out we were right underneath them.
Knowing the truth about them, though? I wasn’t counting on it.
….
That was an hour ago.
We’re still stuck down here, and I can get a connection here—thank god. For some reason, Alison has blocked all social media. We need help. We’re at Camp Redwood, and these kids ARE NOT KIDS.
Whatever Project Spearhead is was designed to keep them here.
The phone-line is cut so we can’t get help from whoever was helping Allison. I am counting on you guys.
Get us out of here!

So per a previous post, I agree my old menu was too long. The nine courses would certainly take too long, and I want people who aren't huge eaters/ foodies to really enjoy as well. We're shortening our nine course menu to six. I was wondering what all of you would prefer.
Confirmed 4 courses: sea bass (main), Guinea fowl or duck (guest choice main), cake, and several mini-desserts
Choose your favorite 2 out of the following: amuse-bouche (four tiny appetizer bites as the first course), oysters (appetizer), celery root soup (appetizer), salad (served French style after the main course. On the sweeter side with poached pears), or a selection of French cheeses (after mains and before dessert)
Also, thoughts on our wedding cake flavors? We're having one cake that we'll cut, but are offering two flavors as an option to our guests.
Cake - Tahitian vanilla, bilberry, yuzu, lavender, and Cuban tobacco
and
"Gâteau de L'équateur" - Ecuadorean chocolate, cocoa nibs, espresso cream, bourbon gelato

Section One: Assets and Debt
Retirement Balance- old 401k- $21,704 and IRA- $27,218 I don’t currently have a 401k through my employer and I’m totally fine with that, I max out my IRA in January of every year.
Savings account balance-$24,042
Checking account balance-$6,445, this is pretty high for me, I transfer $5,000 to my brokerage account anytime this hits $7,000
Brokerage account- $214,695
Credit card debt- just my current monthly balance, right now it’s $900
Total Net Worth- $293,204
Section Two: Income
Income Progression:
So I have been posting diaries every year for several years now so feel free to go back and check those for a detailed income progression. Last time I wrote a diary I was a nanny in DC. Shortly after I interviewed for my current job, the family and I meshed perfectly. It was the perfect situation for me so I pounced on it. I have no intention of leaving my current job anytime soon, I love the whole family and the kids love to say that they have three parents and that warms my heart. My year anniversary at my job is coming up and the parents and I spoke and they really want me to stay so in a few weeks I will be getting a raise to be making $121,000 a year.
Main Job Monthly Take Home:
I get paid weekly and if it is a 4 Friday month I make $5,600 a month and if it is a five Friday month I get $7,000 a month. Once in a while I work overtime and then that gets added in. There are no deductions here other than taxes, I don’t have a 401k and I’m still on my parents health insurance.
Side Gig Monthly Take Home
I occasionally babysit for the family I nanny for, and they pay me in cash for that. I also occasionally babysit for other people or dog sit and I also get paid cash for both of those. I probably make less than $2,000 total a year from this though, it is incredibly infrequent.
Section Three: Expenses
Rent- I don’t pay rent since I live with the family I work for, they obviously don’t charge me anything in terms of rent or utilities and they pay for almost all my food.
Retirement contribution- Maxed out at the beginning of the year.
Donations- I donate to libraries often by paying them extra when I go to book sales. I also donate to planned parenthood and food banks semi-regularly. I probably donate between $3,000- $5,000 a year, but I don’t keep track.
Cellphone- I pay my mother $55 a month for my phone.
Subscriptions- Spotify duo for my boyfriend and me, $12.99.
Car payment / insurance- I own my car and bought it cash and then I pay $106 a month for insurance. I have a work car that I use for everything during the week so I’ve been thinking about just getting rid of my personal car because I use it so infrequently.
Cast of main characters-
A- 9 yr boy I nanny
B- 6 yr girl I nanny
C- 18 month baby I nanny
L- my boyfriend
Day 1
6:15am- I wake up and find A coloring so I sit with him and start a new book, Pineapple Street, while he colors.
7:30am- Coffee and breakfast time, I have an iced latte and some oatmeal today. I say goodbye to the big kids before school and then go off to shower and get ready. I notice I am running low on Nespresso pods and shoot L a text asking if he wants anything, he requests two sleeves he has been meaning to pick up, so I place an order from the Nespresso site for 5 sleeves total plus I got a free sleeve. ($56)
9am- time to start work! During the day it is just me and C. Almost every day we have some form of a mommy and me class and today is no exception. I make us green smoothies to take and then we head out to class.
10am- Class is over and we head to the park for a bit. It is pretty nice out and we love picnics so I pick up lunch for us on the way there. I got tuna salad and a veggie wrap for us to share. I asked for ½ a pound of tuna but they gave us a whole pound of tuna and I was too shy to say anything, oh well. Ok also this might be an unpopular opinion but whenever baby and I go out to lunch I put it on my personal card. We have food at home and I don’t think the parents should pay for mainly me wanting to go out for lunch, even though they would be totally fine with me putting it on their card. ($23)
11:30am - We have our picnic lunch and play for a little longer before we head home for nap time which is at 12:30. On our way home I swing through H&M and get B a cute dress since her birthday is coming up soon. ($24.03)
12:40pm- C is napping which means I get to enjoy a nice quiet house. I throw a load of laundry in and read my book on the couch for a few hours and finish Pineapple Street and I loved it. I also do some light online shopping and place an order from Old Navy for some long summer dresses to wear for work. I order several with the intention to only keep a few. ($83.85)
3:30pm- C wakes up from their nap and A and B get home from school. We do a quick snack and then have to head out to drop A at basketball. We come home and play for a bit before I finish working.
5pm- I am done for the day! I head out to go to a library book sale. I have dinner plans that I am running late for so I do a quick look around and get 15 books. Library book sales are often super cheap and charge max $2 for books, this one said that they were charging me $10 for all these books but I gave them a $20 and told them to keep the rest as a donation. ($20)
6:30pm- I arrive at my mothers house for dinner, my aunt and some cousins are visiting from out of town and I am very excited to see them and catch up. We have chicken, burgers, and veggies on the grill for dinner.
9pm- My cousins and aunt head out and I help my parents clean up a bit before I head to bed. I try to start Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes and fall asleep after a few pages.
Day 1 total- $206.88
Day 2
6am- I wake up and scroll tiktok for a bit before deciding to finally get up and make myself a latte. I take my latte outside and read Giver of Stars while I drink my coffee.
8am- I shower and get ready and have half a cream cheese mini bagel and a banana for breakfast.
10am- I head out for another library book sale and there is a line out the door before the sale even starts. I get in and realize that more than half the people here are book resellers who are grabbing everything in sight and scanning all the barcodes and just being pushy and rude. Book resellers at library book sales really frustrate me because I feel like that is not what book sales are about, in my opinion. This made me think about all the other possibilities for these books and it sparked an idea in my mind to set up a bookshelf at a women's shelter or a hospital near me with a large variety of free books for people there to take as they please. They wanted to charge me $7 for over 20 books, so I gave them $20. ($20)
11am- I meet L at a different nearby library. He is studying for the bar right now so I decide to use this time to teach myself how to code. I find a course that I want to take on coursera and sign up for it. It’s $50 a month but I get a 7 day free trial for now.
1pm- I get hungry and talk L into going with me to Whole Foods for lunch. I loveeee the Whole Foods hot bar and we each get a box and in mine I get the kale salad, roasted chicken, and some pasta salad and L gets roasted veggies and chicken. Somehow the price always surprises me, I pay for both of us. ($46.05)
3pm- I finish my work and head home. I hang outside in the hammock and read Giver of Stars for a bit before my brother tracks me down for some family game time. We decide on Catan and in the middle of the game L shows up and goes to the home office to finish up his bar prep for the day. I win Catan and some people are a little salty about it.
6:30pm- For dinner my parents get a pizza and salad for all of us since no one feels like cooking.
8pm- L and I are tired from all the work today so we head to bed and watch The Fosters for a bit before falling asleep.
Day 2 total- $66.05
Day 3
6am- I wake up early and decide to be productive so I go organize some cabinets in the kitchen before L wakes up.
7:30am- Everyone is up and my parents are a little confused by my random early morning mass reorganization. I make my latte and head outside to drink it while I finish Giver of Stars.
9am- We have crepes and french omelets for breakfast, L and I go on a 3 mile walk around the neighborhood before he heads out to study for a bit before his graduation ceremony later. I impulsively make an offer of $85 on some lightly used Veja sneakers on poshmark and it gets accepted, with tax and shipping it ends up being more than I planned to spend. ($97.27)
11am- My brother builds model rockets and launching them is a family affair. We head over to a local park with huge fields to launch the rocket. I get to launch the rocket today (woohoo!) Everyone else has the job of tracking the rocket to figure out where it lands so that it can hopefully be retrieved. After 5 minutes of looking for it we find it in the middle of the road and it remarkably is almost in perfect condition.
12:30pm- I keep seeing pasta salads all over my tiktok feed so I head to the grocery store to get the ingredients for one. I get radicchio, pasta, basil, anchovies, a lemon, roasted red peppers, and shallots. ($28.16)
3pm- The pasta salad was very delicious, I get ready for L’s law school graduation tonight and head out with my family. We meet his family there and sit through a very normal graduation ceremony.
8pm- After some pictures and hugs we head to his parents house for some light food and cake. Which is sweet and fun. After I head back to my nanny family's home and get ready for the week ahead. While laying in bed I start regretting my sneaker purchase and dm the poshmark seller and ask if I can cancel my order. I then scroll tiktok until I fall asleep.
Day 3 total- $125.43
Day 4
6:30am- I don’t know why I keep waking up so early this week, it is starting to get annoying. I pick out a new book, Cleopatra and Frankenstein, and sit on the couch and read for a while. I get a dm back from the poshmark seller saying she already dropped them off at the post office this morning (I’m calling bs but whatever).
8am- Starting work a little earlier today, I put the big kids on the bus and then take C with me to my room to get ready for the day. I let them pick out my outfit and then they hang out with me while I brush my teeth and all that jazz.
9am- I throw some laundry in before we head out for the day. Today we go to a new playground and play for a while and I meet some nice moms. We exchange numbers to get the kids together some time. Making work friends is often hard for me, many mothers don’t want to be friends with nannies for some reason and many nannies around here are older and don’t want to be friends with me.
12pm- We head home and do lunch. Hummus with nutritional yeast, cucumbers, and pita for C. Leftover chicken, melon, and cucumber for me.
2pm- I’m craving a smoothie but C is still sleeping so I take the blender outside and make a green smoothie and save some for C when they wake up. My go to is Kale, spinach, mango, pineapple, almond milk, greek yogurt, ginger, chia, flax, and collagen powder. I leave the collagen powder out of C’s smoothie because I don’t think toddlers should be having that (not sure on this though and now I’m going to be doing some research.)
4pm- Big kids came home, did snacks and homework and we headed out to drop them off at their after school activities. C and I head to whole foods to pick up food for the house. We get milk, chicken, kale, berries, eggs, and a few other random things. The total is $63 but I put it on the parents card. I also was running low on collagen powder and I obviously had to facetime my gym rat brother so he could decide for me, he picked one for me and that I paid for myself. ($35.90)
6pm- Dinner time, we have leftover pasta and meatballs with broccoli and the parents come home and we catch up about the day.
7pm- I take a shower and finish Cleopatra and Frankenstein and do some more work on the coursera course that I signed up for before I go to bed at 9:30.
Day 4 total- $35.90
Day 5
6:20am- I’m officially annoyed that I haven’t slept in once this week but whatever.
7am- Coffee, start a new book, this one is The Way I Used To Be.
8am- Put the big kids on the bus and take C with me to shower and get ready. Then I throw a load of my laundry in. They are extra cranky today for some reason and throwing themself on the ground crying over everything. I quickly make some spinach scrambled eggs for myself for breakfast before starting the dishwasher and running out the door hoping fresh air will calm them down.
10am- We just finished a 3 mile stroller walk and now we have a library mommy and me class today. C is a little less cranky but still not their normal chipper self. After library class we hang out in the library and play with other kids until it’s lunch time.
12pm- I’m craving a bagel again so we go out for bagels and I get my normal whole wheat bagel with cream cheese and C gets a mini bagel with cream cheese, I pay. ($6.22)
12:30pm- C is napping so I pop my airpods in to listen to my book on libby. I make another outside green smoothie, fold my laundry, unload the dishwasher, and make chicken and carrots for dinner. Then I sit outside and work on my coursera course until the big kids get home from school.
4pm- More homework, reading and then rushing to after school activities. It is my personal opinion that kids these days are way too overbooked and if I have children I am signing them up for one after school activity a week and that is it. C and I go to a local library until we have to pick up A and B.
5:30pm- Dinner of chicken and carrots and leftover wild rice and then we all had leftover chocolate cake for dessert. Parents get home and I dip out quickly tonight and go to my own space. The amount we hang out after I’m done working varies drastically day to day, sometimes we all hang out and other days I disappear almost as soon as the parents are home, depending on how overstimulating the day was.
6pm- I do a face mask and unwind while I scroll tiktok and reddit. Once in a while I feel a desire to delete all social media but I never actually follow through. I don’t post on social media at all though, other than an occasional reddit post, so I kind of have that going for me.
7:30pm- I read until I finish my book and then I scroll on tiktok until I fall asleep around 10pm.
Day 5 total- $6.22
Day 6
6:45am- Slightly better wake up time. I move to the couch and start The Housemaids Secret. At 7 I make my coffee and then shower and get ready.
8:30am- I grab C and we hang out in the kitchen while I make breakfast for myself. Today I do toast with jam and cream cheese. I then make our green smoothies and we head out.
9:15am- We take a nice 2 mile long stroller walk to a friend's house. They have a music teacher come over once a week and hold a music class in the backyard for about 15 of us.
11am- Class is over and we head to the playground for a bit and we were going to have a picnic lunch but C is in a mood. So we go to the grocery store and all C wants to eat are raw green beans so they snack on those while I shop. I pick up some random ingredients to make a variation of the pasta salad that I made earlier this week that maybe the kids will eat. I get mozzarella, artichoke, tomatoes, roasted red peppers, and olives and put it on the parents card. Mid shopping I realize that my period just came on fast and heavy and I am bleeding through my light blue shorts in the grocery store. We check out quickly and run home.
12:30pm- Very fun dealing with a period mess while having a curious toddler in the bathroom with you. C is napping and I listen to my audiobook while I make pasta salad.
4pm- Once again homework, snack, reading time, and then rushing out the door for afterschool activities. C and I go to the playground between dropping off the big kids at their different activities.
6pm- I have plans with four friends today so I head out to a bar to meet them. I don’t drink but my friends always want to go to bars so I just go to have fun. On the way there I want a sweet treat and swing through Wendy’s for a small frosty. ($2.49)
10pm- I get home and instantly crash.
Day 6 total- $2.49
Day 7
7am- Finally I am awoken by my alarm. Coffee and then a shower and finishing The Housemaids Secret.
8:30am- I start working and C hangs out with me while I make breakfast. Today an omelet with kale, tomatoes, and spinach. Of course we then make a green smoothie to share.
9am- We head out for a stroller walk before our mommy and me class of the day. We get a good 3 miles in and then go to class.
11:45am- class wraps up and we head to Whole Foods to get everything I forgot yesterday. We get salmon, spinach, berries, bread, and a few other random things. I put it on the parents card. I get the notification from poshmark that the sneakers got delivered and I’m reminded of how stupid of a purchase that was.
12pm- We do a quick lunch of pb and j with flax and chia, and pineapple before an overtired C goes down for their nap. During nap I make salmon for dinner and fold A’s laundry and put it away. I then do a little more of my course and realize it is not as extensive as I thought it was and I am not going to learn much from it at all and withdrew from the course.
4pm- What a surprise; time for homework, snack, reading, and then dashing off to after school activities. Today B doesn’t have anything so after we drop A and a friend off we come home and play outside before dinner.
5pm- A gets dropped off by his friends mother and we have salmon and leftover pasta for dinner. I then hang out with everyone until the kids go to bed.
7pm- I facetime L and we chat for a while until he has to go have dinner. Then I finish Housemaids Secret and scroll tiktok until I fall asleep.
Day 7 total- $0
Weekly total- $442.97
Clothes and beauty- $205.15
Food and beverage- $197.82
Books- $40
Reflection: Other than those very regrettable sneakers, this was a very standard spend week for me, maybe slightly on the higher side. I put everything on my credit card normally and my bill is normally right around $1,000 a month. I love my job and I love that my expenses are so low that I don’t need to worry too much about budgeting because I’m always saving around 80% of my monthly income every month. I know my living situation is very unique so if anyone has any questions I would love to answer them in the comments!

Apologies this is late, I completely lost track of the date/time difference!
Disclaimer: I am very grateful to have had a lot of parental assistance over the years and also have serious mental health diagnosis, both of these flavour my money choices heavily (e.g. private healthcare and lack of car loan/insurance)
I am also heavily pregnant so please excuse any baby brain related errors!
​
START SCENE
Retirement Balance: $62,000
Equity: $35k of a $680k property, we bought our 3 bedroom apartment last year using my parents’ equity, so no deposit was required.
Savings account balance: 20k - a lot of health/baby related costs have come out of it lately!
Credit card debt (and how you accumulated it): $800 which I pay off each monthly pay, if it wasn’t for the grocery rebates I’d consider getting rid of it.
Student loan debt (HECS): BA in passion/fun area, then IT/Accounting degree, very proud to say I am down to my final $19k!
My husband P earns around $90,000 in healthcare but can be more with overtime, he has around $30k in super and his HECS debt is due to be wiped out following our recent election so won’t be including that.
Section Two: Income
Income Progression: I had been working in retail full time after loving full time work instead of uni, until my transition to IT so started as a retail casual worker on $30k 10 years ago and changed to IT 6 years ago, jumping from $55k to $95k in that time, mostly through promotions, 1 company merger and 2 company changes.
Main Job Monthly Take Home: I am paid $5200 monthly and P is paid fortnightly at $2400 to $3000 depending on his shifts. Both our pay excludes tax, HECS payment and medicare levy, his pay includes salary packaging.
Section Three: Expenses
Mortgage: 3150 (locked rate until next year, pending interest rise)
Savings contribution: $500
Donations: $25-75 a month mostly to various MH organisations
Electric/Council/Water: 400 (we’re currently overpaying ahead of Mat leave)
Internet/our mobile phones: $320 (we’re currently overpaying ahead of Mat leave)
Subscriptions (Newspapers (NYT, SMH), Youtube, Xbox, online backups/cloud, VPN, pregnancy app, Amazon Prime, Netflix, Bitlocker, UberOne, Spotify Duo): $110
Private Health insurance: $420 for Top CoveTop Extras + pregnancy
Car insurance: covered in my parents plan, our car was a gift from my parents
Regular therapy: Psychologist $220/fortnight and psychiatrist $280/quarter
Transfer to P for things like fuel: $500
7 Day Money diary:
Thursday:
5am
I’m staring at the ceiling while the baby kicks my kidney, P snoring next to me, contemplating my existence. I’m trying not to start ‘the list’ run through in my head (buy milk, have I booked my next blood test, where is my winter coat, etc).
5.30am
Give up on sleep and get up for the day, I make a weak coffee for me and a regular coffee for P (I like the taste of coffee, weak lets me have 2-3 cups throughout the day without hitting my pregnant caffeine limit) and start packing up my lunch and bags for work. It’s OB day so I won’t be in the office until 10am today.
9am
After a dance party in the car we’re at the OB, all good news and another list of final scans and tests, we’re now in the downhill run! I pay for my last half of (private) OB management fee since we’re passed 28 weeks now. ($2500 (Medicare rebate soon: $580))
Stop at a bakery to treat myself before work, danishes are the breakfast of champions! ($12.00)
2pm
Last vendor meeting of the day, and i’m ready to take a nap. I’ve decided to spend the rest of the afternoon working on my handover document, I’ve only got 8 weeks to go before Mat leave!
3pm
Text my psych to convert our Saturday afternoon to a Zoom call, I’m not up for extra waddling to the train this week.
5pm
Spend the train ride home working on my crackhead baby spreadsheet (colour-coded, multi tabbed, shopping list, meal prep list, etc) and researching baby items.
P meets me at the station to grab my bags and we walk home, well he walks ahead and I move at a more stately pace.
7pm
Crawl into bed with a bowl of pasta and Ambulance UK on the iPad, kitten at my feet, older cat at my hip. Eventually P awkwardly maneuvers around blankets, my pregnancy pillow and cats.
11pm
Spontaneously adding to my online chemist wishlist of things I need for post birth and hospital bag. Cats and P grumble when I once again get up to pee, pregnancy feels so glamorous now.
Total: 2512.00 (pending MR)
Friday:
6am
Wander around the apartment with coffee in hand and contemplate the nursery layout options, I’ll measure it all tonight and make a floor plan so I can visualise it better. After boarding the train, I scroll through my due date Bump Group on Discord and catch up on the topics, many of the mum’s are NA based so the chat pops off 12am - 4am my time. I message a few friends and my bestie spams me with tiktoks. We tell a few dark MH jokes and I try not to laugh on the train.
8am
Arrive at the office, coffee number 2 in hand and I jump into a few Teams chats with various groups, including my manager and counterparts in another city’s office. They’re in a different time zone ahead of us so they flag any issues that started earlier our time and I’m grateful.
1.30pm
Where the hell did today go? I’ve barely left my desk and can’t believe the amount of firefighting I’ve been doing today, following up vendors, coordinating fallback solutions for outages, soothing ruffled feathers and talking team off the ledge in stressful situations.
I’ve definitely not eaten enough today and decide to place an ubereats order instead of raiding my mini fridge stash - Subway it is! ($18.97)
I spend my lunch break reading my latest pregnancy/birth book (The Complete Australian Guide to Pregnancy and Birth) and it’s honestly my favourite one I’ve read so far. I’m also a big fan of the podcast the authors run. I have queued up this week’s episode for the trip home as the mum featured has a similar mental health issue to me and I’m excited to hear her journey, also to get ideas for things to raise with my care team.
5pm
Security protocols kick us out of the office building and I am thrilled to escape! P picks me up from work since he’s off today, and my hips and feet are very grateful. There’s a quick stop in at Coles for pizza ingredients, milk and the very essential choc chip waffles. ($46.94)
Once we’re home P feeds the cats and unpacks while I get started on the bases, my birthday present last month was a KitchenAid and at the rate I’m going the cost per use is coming out pretty damn good! I leave the base to rise, pop my feet up and do my nightly blood pressure (127/82) which I log into my health app. I also add my weight from yesterday’s OB appointment and I'm thrilled to say I’ve stopped losing weight now the suspected HG has finally settled.
7pm
Take several brag photos of my pizzas #homemade and settled in front of the TV with blankets, footrest and P. I do send P back to the kitchen twice for serviettes and my water bottle, but once I’m settled, I’m not bloody moving.
I queue up the latest Top Chef (International All Stars Season 20) on Plex and get ready to support my fellow Aussie! P grumbles about my fixation with Top Chef, but all he gets is side eye in response. It’s a great episode for creativity, he even admits the winning dish is impressive. He vanishes the second the episode’s over for his office and a rewatch of the extended, super, mega, special edition of The Hobbit. I move on to Ambulance UK and annoy him over text with questions about the medical terminology being used.
8pm
Bedtime with a heat pack as my back is killing me! I try to convince P to come to bed and hold it against me since bubs is not allowing stomach laying anymore.
8.30pm
Success! P is helpfully holding it against me while I finish the episode and scroll the Iconic. Oh no! There’s now Stanley cups on there, I add it to my wishlist and promise myself I’ll think about it first. I want to also be a chic put together Stanley cup girlie!
Total: 65.91
Saturday:
3am
Back scrolling the Iconic and on a hunch check my credits (after rage returning maternity clothes a few weeks ago) and bingo there’s a credit there. I play around with wishlist items and stacking discounts, there’s a pale pink theme developing between the pink pregnancy overalls and the Stanley cup.
3.30am
Screw it, I’m ordering (10 points if you can guess what room of the apartment I made this order from) and it’s all due this afternoon except the pregnancy belt I've been grumbling about wanting. ($14.95)
9am
P brings me coffee, the kitten and the statement that he’s approved our Medicare Safety Net balance (he’s our primary family member) which means the rest of our refunds will be great going forward!! I’m very excited for 90% back on out of pocket costs for most medical things from now until December. Between my mental health and pregnancy I’ve beaten my normal record of September for the max you can pay OOP.
12pm
I’m sitting on the floor in the nursery trying to sort out piles of tiny clothes and remember to get P to help me off the floor before he heads to work. I head to the kitchen and start the bread process, I make our bread from scratch every weekend and the KitchenAid has made this sooo much easier. I decide one x1 wholemeal seed bread for P and x1 rosemary focaccia for me. Once they’re rising I head off to bed for a nap before therapy this afternoon.
3pm
I made myself some tea and washed my face to prepare for therapy as I woke up from my nap feeling like I was on another planet. I head into my office, no no now the nursery, damn I slightly tear up at the thought of my nice office now being a small desk in the corner. Well that can be another topic for my session today!
3.30pm
My psych and I go over all of the last 3 weeks worth of appointments with my health team and what my next steps are. I need to sort out my postpartum stay referral and lock in when I’m starting my top up meds. We talk through some of my work frustrations (not clear cut sexism but a level of obliviousness some of male managers are showing) and how I’m tracking mood/symptoms wise across the pregnancy. We’re both very aware that the final few weeks of pregnancy and the accompanying hormones can cause serious issues, so we go over warning signs and coping mechanisms. We go over the difference between ‘normal pregnancy feelings’ and my mental health condition feelings.($220)
4.30pm
Session done and my bread has all risen nicely despite the cold weather, I start the baking process and contemplate dinner. P is at work until 10pm so I’m on my own, which means all the Top Chef reruns and Ambulance UK my heart desires! I have a craving for spätzl so dig that out of the cupboard and defrost the schnitzel.
Iconic delivery!! I am officially a Stanley cup owner! I ordered the original, not the soft matte because Tiktok told me to, so I’m hoping I’ve made the right choice. Something about cold water through a straw just hits the spot. My glittery Starbucks cup looks on in disgust.
10pm
P finds me at my desk working on my spreadsheet of crazy, I mean baby, and is impressed but also too tired to focus on it now. I hear him calmly explain to the kitten that he can’t join him in the shower but he isn’t entirely successful.
We get into bed and P puts headphones in so I can drift off faster (or because I threatened more Ambulance UK? We’ll never know!).
Total: $234.95 (pending MR)
Sunday:
4am
And I’m up early again, my passenger is apparently an early riser these days which leads to me looking down and asking for more sleep “pleeeeease!” I try 37 positions and try to get comfy before finally drifting off again.
8am
I steal P’s dressing gown (mine’s now got an awkward gap due to the bump) and start the coffee process, the kitten joins me after finding a piece of plastic to pinball around the kitchen with, I am not coordinated enough these days to dodge him so I remove him and plastic to the living room.
I’m craving an egg muffin so I cook some sausages, eggs and toast english muffins and enjoy a mindless tiktok scroll while I eat.
12pm
I’m surprisingly tired after doing nothing all morning and head back to bed for a nap. I really hope the tiredness isn’t a sign my illness from last week is back! I’ve got a support group meeting in a few hours so I set an alarm.
2pm
I join the support group Zoom and immediately hear about how many people are sick or recovering from some flu or cold thing. There’s a lot of bugs going around at the moment! I meet some new people who have the same disorder or same ‘family’ of disorders as me and I update the group on my pregnancy journey. I really bond with 2 of the new ladies and I offer my email up to both to keep in touch before next week’s meeting.
5pm
I’m happily browsing Facebook Marketplace for baby things when Mum calls, she’s been shopping for baby (uh oh) and is excited to tell me about it. Amazingly she’s bought a bedside bassinet very similar to the one I was planning on buying secondhand and a safari themed lamp for the nursery. She’s also ended up with a high chair for their house on the coast and a bunch of themed fabric for swaddles, pillows, etc.
Total: 0.00 thanks Mum!
Monday
7am
I wake with my alarm for once, which would be odd except for how awful I feel. I end up deciding to call in sick, the flu thing that knocked me around until early last week appears to be back. Pregnancy means lots of cold/flu meds etc are not an option so I can’t soldier on. I alert my manager, set my team up with urgent tasks, chuck my OOO on and crawl back into bed.
A few things debit like SMH and Youtube (accounted for in monthly expenses above)
10am
I open my phone to a flurry of emails on my personal account, OH! It’s healthcare cover day! We have finished all our waiting periods and the beacons are lit! Let the floodgates of services and information begin! Our hospital and health fund both email to welcome me to their online learning platforms.
11am
A nice lady from our health fund calls to give me the spiel. I'd normally be wary about what all these amazing services are going to cost, but it’s all covered! She tells me about the learning platform (Nourish), the sleep clinic calls I’ll get after the baby's arrival and the welcome pack I’m going to be mailed. I get my login details as soon as we hangup, another fun thing to explore tonight once I’m feeling human again.
P is amused by how excited I am for all this information, he does caution me against over planning/over researching which is something I’ve been working on with my psych. I struggle to find a good balance between planning for problems and over planning to the point of stress. It’s a work in progress. I suspect I’ll always have issues with control/over planning.
4pm
I’ve napped most of the day, dealt with 1 urgent work issue and am now getting access to the hospital’s learning platform (Cradle). I'm grateful they’re short 5-7 minute long videos so put some on the iPad while I make tea and toast before deciding to tackle the nursery again.
7pm
Mum calls about more baby things - they’ve bought me a change table!? I’m slightly annoyed then I’m thrilled - it’s a brand I like that’s normally $400 ish for $30 at auction yesterday (a Sunday afternoon family hobby). They've just collected it, they’re going to sand and paint it for me in a nice green for the safari nursery. Another thing ticked off the baby spreadsheet.
Dinner tonight was heated up leftovers, I’m too tired for cooking.
Hmm blood pressure is high, I hope this is just sickness related and log it in my app.
8pm
Bed time! Despite sleeping all day I am exhausted and pass out almost immediately.
Total: 0.00 thanks again Mum!
Tuesday
11am
I’m in the office however I cannot tell you what I’ve done today, it’s all a blur and when I sit down with my ipad to make notes for this money diary my brain goes blank. I scroll through my sent emails and can see I’ve sent 26 emails (herding a difficult vendor, setting up meetings for later in the week, submitting my sick leave for yesterday and setting up a new starter orientation). I make another coffee and realise the mini fridge hasn’t been restocked (because I am the one that stocks it each week sigh). I jump online and do a grocery order - yogurt, cheese, salami, tomato paste, sliced bread, babybel cheese, apples and several juices) (52.00) it’s due in next 2 hours.
1pm
I make myself toasted sandwiches and try not to eat the entire packet of babybel. My work lunch group tells hilarious stories from their level of the office and it’s a nice escape from my level’s workload.
2pm
I send off my psychiatrist's referral for my private postpartum care stay (1-3 weeks long) and check it’s all covered with my health care fund (it is!). The private place I’ll be staying at calls me to check in, advise me of next steps and to give me my tentative booking date of 1 week after birth. I’ve got a spare 20 mins so do my intake assessment with them over the phone and get the all clear to be accepted in a few weeks. I’ll get another assessment 2-4 days after I give birth just to make sure I’m still a good candidate. I look over the welcome pack, what to bring lists and advice on partner overnight stays that all hit my email when I hang up. I forward the relevant bits to P and jump back into work.
5pm
An afternoon of meetings meant I did no deep/focus work or work on my handover, but I accept that and move on. I top up my Opal card for the week (50.00) via the app and it’s loaded by the time I’m tapping on the train. I’d normally account for this in the expenses up top but my train trips are very sporadic right now due to pregnancy waddle, so I’ve been carpooling with coworkers and P has been collecting me if his shifts line up along with the occasional UbeShebah.
5.15pm
I’m pinged regarding a site issue and it looks like the site is down. I jump on via my phone and iPad while on the train, I also start my time tracker for out of hours work. I scrap the conference call between my team and the vendor at 6pm and instruct the site to rollover to fallback mode, my team member gets them online again. I email my manager a quick update and switch back to tiktok scrolling. I’m really enjoying not having to fight for a seat most train trips now since I’m so visibly pregnant!
6.30pm
P meets me at the station again, is horrified that I’m dragging 3 books, several cups to wash, my coat (I overheated on the train) and my iPad around in multiple bags, he snatches it all and we start the walk home.
He’s made bolognese and it is the best smell to walk into after a cold day! I smother mine in cheese and prop my feet up to depuff. Then I puppy dog eyes at him and he agrees to Ambulance UK, we’re now in the London seasons and I’m loving the big city vibes. He still cringes at the medical sounds, but takes the time to explain how these patients would be treated at his hospital after their ambulance trips. I enjoy his commentary and it adds a background I would never normally know about.
8pm
I take my blood pressure and it’s high for the 2nd night, I’m a bit concerned but trying not to stress. It’s not 160/100 aka get your butt to ED but it’s still over normal. I log it in my health app and make a note to monitor it and call the OB if it’s up again tomorrow.
I message a friend about his opinion of epidurals (since he does them all day) and ask for the dumbed down reality check, he’s been an amazing support this pregnancy so I know he’ll give me a great answer, and he replies back with all the pros/cons as well as the common issues and how they get fixed. He reminds me to ask my OB since I’ve got pregnancy hypertension, it’s likely I would almost benefit from that common side effect and I make a note in my phone to ask at the next appointment.
Total: $102.00
Wednesday
5am
Coffee, kitten pats, older cat snuggles and then a small cry because I forgot to wash my preferred pregnancy leggings. I thankfully remember I’ve got an onsite vendor meeting today so don’t dress like a potato! I still wear Stan Smith’s but a cute knit dress and scarf up top so I look presentable. I bathe in embryolisse cream after washing my face (fun pregnancy fact - you can develop dry skin patches that make you look like a lizard!) and actually put some makeup on (Charlotte Tilbury base, YSL touche elcat, innisfree powder, lancome mascara and CT blush) followed by Replica’s By the Fireplace perfume. Ready for battle!
7am
On the train scrolling through the morning reports, I’m relieved to see all systems are reporting green after a few small hiccups yesterday. I move onto discord and catch up the overnight conversations in bump group.
9am
Quick catchup with my team and then I spend the morning preparing for the big cross time zone/country catch up with all IT team leads also updating my WIP tracker. I obviously then forget to save it and rage stomp off to the kitchen to make conciliation coffee.
I rage shop for KitchenAid accessories but don’t actually buy anything and my manager comforts me over teams.
12pm
I’m wrapping up in person site meetings to see a bunch of messages from P, he’s grocery shopping and querying baby wipe brands. (One of the best tips I got was to buy a pack of nappies and wipes each grocery trip to build your stockpile so it’s not such a shock, since newborns go through 10 nappies a day!). I reply but I’m a bit late and he finishes in Aldi, Coles and the butchers for the next fortnight (389.23). I’m getting very over this cost of living price increase on basic things like milk. He’s a smart shopper so I know that he didn’t overdo it.
3pm
I’ve taken my blood pressure a few times today and it keeps coming back high. I ring the OB’s office and book in for tomorrow morning (spoiler: my blood pressure meds are increased and I’m asked to check in with my pregnancy nephrologist sooner)
4pm
What the hell is this debit? Oh it’s the meal delivery service I forgot to suspend this week, guess we’re going to be a bit overstocked on food this week. I’m just going to class this as idiot/baby brain tax. (69.95)
5pm
P collects me and I have a small cry in the carpark, he’s had the baby capsule installed and driven to collect me with it so I can see it. Things are starting to feel very real now! I practice removing it and carrying it up to the apartment when we get home.
Leftover bolognese for dinner and we do separate screen time. I head to my computer after a bit to review my spreadsheet, since P has smashed out a bunch of things today in Baby Bunting. Nappy bin, capsule + install and baby bath are all ticked off! I get the receipts off our emails to log the costs (375.16)
7pm
Mexican bowls for dinner and we decide to try out the new RPA reboot that’s recently come back to TV (from the 90s!). I honestly hate every minute of it, the talking heads are really cringe and after the gritty realism of Ambulance UK (and Nurses Down Under) I can’t cope with it. We switch over to Ambulance UK after 1 episode and discuss deleting the rest. I was also really disappointed by how “doctor focussed” it was to the point where the nurses and allied health professionals (physios, ambos, etc) were cut out of certain shots, but you could still see their hands or shoes, that’s just not reality in Australian healthcare they’re the people patients see 90% of the time! Okay getting off my soapbox now.
8pm
I start my out of hours tracker and handle an issue for a site 3 hours behind me, in the end the onsite team and I get our part done, one of the vendors does not. We decide to tackle it tomorrow and a flick off a complaint to our account manage regarding this vendor rep. I notice a few of my counterparts are all in a teams call in their timezone and realise they must be cutting over a new system since it’s so late their time. I make a note to not bother them first thing tomorrow since they’ll likely all be start late.
9pm
Yep blood pressure is still high, so I’m glad I’ve got the appointment booked for the first thing tomorrow. P takes it for me twice just in case I’m doing something wrong with the cuff but unfortunately it’s still high. I’ve finished my new pregnancy book and I would recommend it to any Aussie mums or dads to be out there, P even flicks through it.
Why are both cats trying to sit on me? Oh we forgot to feed them! I sort them out and all is well again in their world.
10pm
My glorious bed calls me to me and I bundle myself up in the blankets, scroll through tiktok and happy cry at birth videos.
Total: 834.34
END SCENE
Weekly Total: $3749.20
Food + Drink: 589.09
Fun / Entertainment: 0.00
Home + Health: 2720.00
Clothes + Beauty: 14.95
Transport: 50.00
Other (Baby): 375.16
REFLECTION:
Besides the health care costs, this is a pretty normal week for me! I’m obviously thrilled to hit the Medicare max as this makes things so much easier with health care costs. I feel really relieved to know all my future costs are being covered by private health or what isn't is at a higher rebate now. Seeing my hospital estimate last week (before private health covers 95%) was really confronting and made me briefly reconsider my choice to go private, but the things that are now covered by health fund are amazing and worth nearly $30k over the first 3 months of the baby's life (especially if we end up needing special care nursery).
I’m pretty impressed about how many wtf and ffs I say in real life that I’ve removed from this diary. I find the Aussie approach to swearing can be a bit relaxed haha, so I did my best for you guys!
The impact of the baby brain is very real, aside from mental blanks at work, I had to check things like my subscriptions and ask P a few times, since so much of it is bpay and auto-debit, I don’t pay attention to it! There’s a few charges we have always had historically like tolls and ubereats that we’ve cut way back over the past few months.
I'm also considering a "what it costs to have a private baby in Aus" as well as a follow up in a few months once I've settled into Maternity Leave life (minimum wage, not my current salary) because tracking was fascinating and I'm a data hoarder.
Happy to answer any questions in the comments if I've explained something poorly.

So per a previous post, I agree my old menu was too long. The nine courses would certainly take too long, and I want people who aren’t huge eaters/foodies to really enjoy as well. We’re shortening our nine course menu to six. I was wondering what all of you would prefer.
Confirmed 4 courses: sea bass (main), Guinea fowl or duck (guest choice main), cake, and several mini-desserts
Choose your favorite 2 out of the following: amuse-bouche (four tiny appetizer bites as the first course), oysters (appetizer), celery root soup (appetizer), salad (served French style after the main course. On the sweeter side with poached pears), or a selection of French cheeses (after mains and before dessert)
Also, thoughts on our wedding cake flavors? We’re having one cake that we’ll cut, but are offering two flavors as an option to our guests.
Cake - Tahitian vanilla, bilberry, yuzu, lavender, and Cuban tobacco
or
“Gâteau de L'équateur” - Ecuadorean chocolate, cocoa nibs, espresso cream, bourbon gelato

Hello everyone, thank you for looking! Shipping is $5 flat. All products unused. Open to offers
https://imgur.com/gallery/TaqHzHF

1. Sunday Riley Ceramic Slip Cleanser Mini (30 mL) - $6
2. Laneige Cream Skin Toner and Moisturizer - $20
3. Tatcha Texture Tonic Mini (25 mL) - $5
4. Estée Lauder Mini Bundle (Advanced night repair serum/ eye cream, Revitalizing Supreme Youth Power Crème, Nutritious cleanse melting soft crème) - SOLD
5. Sunday Riley Saturn Sulfur Spot Treatment Mask - $5
6. Purlisse Pineapple Bright Cleansing Gel Mini x 2 - $5 each
7. Clinique Take the Day off Makeup Remover Mini (50 mL) - $5
8. St. Tropez Luxe Tan Tonic Drops x 2 - $10 each
9. First Aid Beauty KP Body Scrub (1 oz) - $5
10. Kopari KP Bumps Be Gone Mini - $3
11. Well People Juice Cleanse - $8
12. Dermalogica Daily microfoliant mini bundle - $6
13. Purlisse Vitamin K and Kale moisturizer - $10
14. Rael Beauty Miracle Patch (6) - $3

Hello everyone, thank you for looking! Shipping is $5 flat. All products unused. Open to offers
Make up
https://imgur.com/gallery/urco6y4

1. Lancôme Cilis Booster XL (full size) - SOLD
2. Kulfi Zari Eyes Eyeshadow in Sitara Sparkles - SOLD
3. Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Freeze Mini (2.5 g) - $5
4. Natasha Denona Rose Cheek Duo - $8
5. Grande Lash Enhancing Serum Mini - $3
6. MAC Dazzle Shadow Liquid in Not Afraid to Sparkle - $5
7. Maybelline Superstay Matte Ink in Artist - $1
8. Love Craft Beauty Gloss in Dream Pop - $1
9. Complex Culture Sun Bath Baked Bronzer Let’s Glow - $1
10. Purlisse Perfect Glow BB Concealer (Tan) - $4
11. Lawless Conseal The Deal Concealer (Coconut Sugar) - $10
12. Huda Beauty Fauxfilter Matte Concealer in Peanut Butter 6.7 R - $10
13. GloWish Bright Light Sheer Concealer in Deep Tan - $10
14. One Size Lip Snatcher Lip Liner in O/S Red - $5
15. One Size Lip Snatcher Lip Liner in Rent Due- $5
16. Misha Beauty Lip Liner in Madam - $2
17. Uoma Beauty Lip Liner in Ross - $5

Skincare
https://imgur.com/gallery/TaqHzHF

1. Sunday Riley Ceramic Slip Cleanser Mini (30 mL) - $6
2. Laneige Cream Skin Toner and Moisturizer - $20
3. Tatcha Texture Tonic Mini (25 mL) - $5
4. Estée Lauder Mini Bundle (Advanced night repair serum/ eye cream, Revitalizing Supreme Youth Power Crème, Nutritious cleanse melting soft crème) - SOLD
5. Sunday Riley Saturn Sulfur Spot Treatment Mask - $5
6. Purlisse Pineapple Bright Cleansing Gel Mini x 2 - $5 each
7. Clinique Take the Day off Makeup Remover Mini (50 mL) - $5
8. St. Tropez Luxe Tan Tonic Drops x 2 - $10 each
9. First Aid Beauty KP Body Scrub (1 oz) - $5
10. Kopari KP Bumps Be Gone Mini - $3
11. Well People Juice Cleanse - $8
12. Dermalogica Daily microfoliant mini bundle - $6
13. Purlisse Vitamin K and Kale moisturizer - $10
14. Rael Beauty Miracle Patch (6) - $3

What is Doodles?

Doodles mission is to inspire belief in the idea that doodling has the power to ignite our imagination and transport us to new realities.
From live events and music streaming to toys and social content, the Doodles collectible ecosystem is integrated into the many entertainment and consumer experiences we create.
At Doodles, world class visual storytelling is the heartbeat of the Doodles experience and we believe that visual storytelling can capture hearts and minds to transport you to a different reality. From whimsical doodles to intricate illustrations, our storytelling magic is at the core of the Doodles experience.

Official Collections

OG Doodles - At the center of it all is the original 10,000 digital collectibles on Ethereum, made up of hundreds of exciting visual traits designed by Burnt Toast. Hand-drawn Doodles include skellys, cats, aliens, apes and mascots. The Doodles collection also includes dozens of rare heads, costumes, and colorways of the artist's palette.
Space Doodles - Space Doodles are spaceships for your Doodle. Each Doodle in the original collection of 10,000 can launch their own personal spaceship that is generated from over 200 audio-visual traits and on-chain stats. Space Doodles are a new way to experience your Doodles and a stepping stone for what's to come. You can swap back and forth between your doodle and space doodle but selling one also sells the other.
Dooplicator - Dooplicators are an evolving, functional NFT with perpetual utility throughout the Doodles ecosystem. Their first use case will allow you to duplicate Doodles traits into Doodles 2 as wearables and grant you a Beta Key, giving you early access to Doodles 2.
Doodles 2 - A Doodle for everyone. Doodles 2 is on the Flow blockchain and lets anyone create a uniquely personalized and endlessly customizable doodles characters. Choose generic traits like skin tone and hair color, then customize your doodle with wearables. You can build your own doodles 2 in the stoodio which is currently in beta and requires a beta pass to access.
Genesis Boxes - The Genesis Box contains 2 Wearables and a Beta Pass for Doodles 2. The Wearables are a randomized mix of items including headwear, accessories, tops, bottoms and footwear.
Pharrell Pack - The Pharrell Pack is a limited edition (300 total) box curated by Pharrell, filled with Wearables for doodles 2 – and redeemables for physical items from some of his favorite brands.

Experiences

SXSW 2022
South-by-south-west is a huge arts festival and conference for creators, that attracts about 150,000 attendants each year. Doodles hosted an interactive exhibit, with free access granted to Doodles holders, and access also available to SXSW 2022 ticket holders, though with some parts available exclusively to Doodles holders
Their instillation featured Doodles art display and other interactive and immersive installations, and Doodle themed food and refreshments such as Doodle Coffee, Noodle Bar (hosted by Noodles) and Doodle Popsicle bar along side a fireside chat with founders and an afterparty featuring special guests.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NkOqzSEaf70
NFTNYC 2022
Over 3 days of events including a Doodles product trailer premiere and keynote, a brand new IRL experience at the Genesis Factory, and exclusive holder-only lounge

• Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sv9TaQ5z9jw
  
• Keynote: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hkw7Y0fMb0s
  
• Genesis Factory: https://awards.design/nyc22/project.asp?ID=25735
  

DoodlePutt @ Miami Art Basel 2022
A 2-day immersive activation located within a 20,000 sq ft complex in the heart of Wynwood, DoodlePutt featured a 9-hole mini-putt course that brings to life the Doodles universe. Combined with an outdoor lounge, beverages, snacks, entertainment, and brand new Doodles gear.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C7DpkT8d8UQ
NFT Paris 2023
An intimate, limited capacity cocktail dinner for Doodle holders and guests on a private rooftop terrace overlooking the Eiffel Tower with Doodles CEO Julian Holguin .
Doodle Beach @ SITW Music Festival 2023
Doodles took over Something in the Water (a multi-day music festival, art and cultural experience in Pharrell's hometown of Virginia Beach) with a Doodle Beach pop up, complete with FREE ice cream, a capsule collab with BBC Ice Cream & a preview of their digital Wearable collection with Pharrell!

DoodleBank

A year and a half ago, three friends launched Doodles on Ethereum as an NFT project. Together we’ve reached hundreds of millions of people, deployed our technology on multiple blockchains, and made Doodles one of the most colorful and joyful brands in the world.
The original Doodlebank objectives were to fund both the growth of the Doodles team and the growth of the Doodles brand via community experiments. As a small team without outside investments, this was incredibly helpful.
420 ETH was initially deposited into the Doodlebank and to date, half of royalties paid from secondary sales of the OG Doodles collection on Opensea have been deposited in the Doodlebank. Today, the Doodlebank holds Ether with a present value of ~$5 million USD, that awaits deployment!
As Doodles has evolved since we embarked on this journey together, so must the Doodlebank. We are incredibly excited about the changes outlined here for the Doodlebank. Together, these new and refreshed Doodlebank practices look to meet the needs of our collectors and the broader Doodles community and facilitate our ambitious long-term vision.
https://forum.doodles.app/t/the-doodlebank-amendment/2386