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The video starts, and a young Korean girl appears on the screen, with glitter on her face, wearing a colorful tank top and a short skirt, lots of bracelets on her arm, and her hair tied up in a ponytail.

"Hey beautiful people, I'm Elaine here at the Rainbow Corner where you, I, and we can be whatever we want. In today's video, I'm going to do something many of you have been asking me to do for a long time, OMG, yes guys, a tour of my house. You'll now get to see the space of a muse, just kidding folks. Shall we begin? Come along with me."

"Thanks to my other videos, I believe you already know about the animal sanctuary my family takes care of. If not, a link will appear here in the upper right corner of the video for you to learn more and stay updated. My family has, like, a pack of dogs or whatever the correct term is. Here's the room where you can see my dear mother sitting. Hellooooo, say hi to the people, Mom."

The woman, realizing she was being filmed, started smiling and raised her hand in a shy hello to the cameras. She then stood up and joined her daughter for the tour. The house was huge, as expected from an internet celebrity like her. There were various types of rooms, even rooms for the dogs. The mother's room was simpler while Elaine's was extremely luxurious, filled with all the stereotypical things a rich girl would want, including the bathroom and the kitchen. They showed everything, and then moved on to another segment of the video. Only Elaine was now in the frame, her mother had left the video and returned to her tasks.

"Alright guys, now we're moving to the fun part where you ask questions and I try to answer them with the best of my abilities. I'll draw five questions randomly, always remember to like to support my work, subscribe, and hit the bell to receive notifications for new videos. We're almost reaching 10k beautiful people, I can hardly believe it, woohoooo. Without further ado, let the drums roll:"

[Drum sound effects in the background of the video.]

"First question is from Animeshipper, lol that's a cool nickname. 'Elaine, a really cool new anime was released on Bedflix, it would be great if you reacted to it on your other channel.' Oh, thank you so much, Shipper. For those who don't know, I also have a reaction channel, as well as a gameplay one. The links will be in the description of the video. Don't worry, as soon as there's a slot available in the channel's schedule, I'll put it up. The second question is from H0P3Lily, 'What's it like living surrounded by animals? It's my dream,' followed by several heart emojis. So, friend, it's like, really cool, they're like my best friends. When I don't have anyone to talk to, I talk to my dogs almost all the time. They're great listeners. It's... truly a dream..."

The girl paused briefly in her speech, so minutely that it was almost imperceptible. Elaine composed herself and returned to the questions.

"Question number 3, from Alfas Virtuosos: 'What's it like being a celebrity? You have such an extensive schedule with three channels, it must be quite tiring.' Oh, definitely, friend, this life isn't for everyone. But like, I'm not just anyone, duh. I do get tired sometimes, of course, but I love what I do, so it's not that bad, you know, bestie? Question number four is from Amanda Oliveira: 'You're so positive, I've followed you forever, you're the one who gives me strength to fight and move forward, thank you for existing, Elaine. What's your secret?' OMG, that was like, so sweet, I don't even know how to react. Now, the secret to my positivity? I have no idea, it's so natural that I can't put it into words. Now let's go to the last question from Eoso Otária: 'Hey Elaine, you're a very pretty girl, but don't you think...' The girl paused for a moment, her face expressionless, frozen and offended. She then remembered the video and finished reading the question, with none of the previous enthusiasm. '- ...But don't you think it's time for a nose job? I'm saying this to help you, take care of your skin too, you're going to get a pimple.' ...Well... L-L-Like... I-I-I-I-I..... I can't."

OFF

"MOM!" The girl said, breaking character with tears in her eyes. Now the video was over; let's view her life through human lenses. Her mother, who had left the video to return to her tasks, was actually revealed behind the camera, having been there all along. "Why did you choose that question?" the girl said, unable to contain her tears any longer. But before she could continue her objection, a slap from her mother silenced her immediately.

"Who allowed you to talk to me like that, huh? You ruined the whole video, you little piece of shit. I chose that question because it's true that you need to change that hideous face of yours, and people like to see your reactions to haters. They'll defend you no matter what, you ridiculous girl. Ugh, I hate this, now I'll have to edit this whole mess. And stop crying, you're ugly, accept it. Ugh."

Sadness OFF

"Now go get ready, you have a live stream soon." After giving this order, the mother left the room. Elaine's life had been this way for a while; her father had left the two of them. Her mother had always been harsh and rude, telling her how useless and disappointing Elaine was. Day and night, the girl was subjected to hateful comments and mistreatment. To distract herself, Elaine started vlogging about her studies and interests. For a long time, she had no viewers until one of her videos happened to feature a giraffe in the background, which caught people's curiosity.

Someone then appeared, and to satisfy their curiosity, Elaine began showing the sanctuary, along with all her animals. This new content made her channel grow. Soon after, she started doing more things that people requested, and it wasn't long before her mother noticed the activity and understood what it meant for them. She began managing her daughter's account and recordings, always analyzing what got the most views and what didn't, not just the content, but her daughter's behavior as well.

At this moment, Elaine cried holding her pillow; her hobby had now become her greatest prison. And she was alone, not attending school, but rather being taught at home. She had no friends. It was just her, the mother, and the animals. And she couldn't even say that they helped in any way; they only made things worse. She had to help take care of them when most of them didn't even care about her. Even the dogs came to play with her and never understood that she wasn't okay. Elaine didn't like animals, she never had.

Her life was sad and humiliating. How long had it been since she truly smiled? She had even forgotten what that feeling was like. She hated the way she acted in front of the cameras, but it was how her mother told her to act. And every time she acted differently from what her mother wanted, she was beaten. She had no escape; there was nothing she liked that she could do.

Joy OFF

And now Elaine had to take a shower, her tears mixing with the water from the shower. But water with water is just water, it doesn't change anything, it doesn't make any difference. It was as if it didn't exist, as insignificant as her desires. Off she went to do a live stream, having to perform while playing, talking to strangers, forcing herself to smile. The only moments she managed to vent were during some moments of anger in a game; it allowed her to cry and scream, even if those viewers were completely oblivious to the real reason for her anger. But no one saw, no one heard. Isn't it curious? Millions of people choose to watch that girl willingly, but no one sees anything. Even if a few did, so what? They would forget the next day; they aren't really close to her.

Tortured, she spent hours being recorded, and no one saw anything. The live stream ended a little before midnight, but she wouldn't sleep. No, her mother made her take care of the animals before bed, all of them, even if it completely exhausted the girl. But what does it matter if she's tired for the next day's recordings? Everyone loves a hard-working celebrity who strives for their fans. Every day, she has to record, play games she doesn't understand or like, watch shows and movies she has no interest in, and pretend to love them. She makes faces while her face is poker-straight and her mouth is silent.

She sleeps poorly because the dogs bark even at night. Be quiet; she just wants to sleep, she just wants to dream of a world where she could do what she wants. Oh, but she dreams so well, a world where she can breathe, cry openly, laugh genuinely, and people don't just watch her but truly see her. But her mother wakes her up early and makes her take another shower and prepare for another video, no matter what time she went to sleep or woke up. You better put on a cheerful face for the cameras or you'll get beaten. Eat quickly; you don't have time to savor your food because after the recording, you have to take care of the animals again, while your mother sit down and eat in peace. You work like a dog, never stopping. You don't sleep well. You don't eat well. You don't have anything.

Peace OFF

Your routine is like this, day and night: a trend here, a movie there, a blog here and a vlog there. "You are so beautiful, Elaine," that's what everyone says about your photos, which only makes you feel the need to stay beautiful. But the strange thing is, even if we turn the tables, the end is the same, because your mother calls you ugly, constantly nitpicking about your pimples, reminding you that your nose is crooked, how to treat body spores, which only makes you feel obligated to be beautiful. Compliments pressure you to stay perfect, and criticism pressures you to be perfect, but don't you think you should first decide for yourself what your standard of beauty is? Instead of being caught in this tug-of-war over other people's standards? If you become beautiful like your mother wants, you will stop being beautiful like your viewers want. And in this ping-pong, you will end up like a beast.

Oh my God, oh my God, OH MY GOD. A pimple? And right in the middle of your forehead, they'll see it. Your mother will endlessly nag you, reminding you of how ugly you are, how ridiculous you are, and how you are nothing. Your viewers will lose interest in you, you will stop being beautiful, and you will lose the admiration of everyone who loves you, or at least loves a part of you that isn't you. If someone loves a fake part of you, does that make it a fake love? Does it even matter, it's love, right? It's all you have, without it you're nothing but... your mother's daughter. A celebrity and a slave, you are two individuals in one, and neither of them is you. After all, who are you, Elaine?

Oh, why doesn't it come off? You press and press, it gets red and swollen, your skin starts to peel a little, but it won't pop, it won't come off. Is it a blackhead? Maybe you're doing it wrong. Grab a brush; it must be your oily finger that's stopping it from popping. Maybe an object will be easier. It won't come off. Please, it never asked for anything, just make it disappear, it has to go away before your mother sees and starts reminding you that you're ugly, before your fans see and start making you forget that you're beautiful.

You mess with it again and again, but it doesn't come off until you see your mother taking a photo of you laughing, and before you know it, the photos are on social media.

"Behind the cameras, everyone has their struggles #StayStrongElaine"

And the comments follow:

"LOL Guys, that's why your channel is called Rainbow Corner. You're a unicorn. #StayStrongElainecorn"

"OH MY GOD, HER FACE REALLY DOES LOOK LIKE A HORSE."

"Here we have a photo of a unicorn and Elaine, can you tell which is which?"

You know what's most interesting about the internet? It's largely information, without feelings or context, which means that most of the time, the feeling and interpretation of a phrase depend on our hearts, our insecurities and fears, our certainties and confidences. We'll never know if the writer of such a message is 12 years old or 30. We'll never know if they are a good person in real life or not; all we have are small pixels of words, and our mind creates the whole individual behind those pixels. Just like all the value behind their words.

Did she have a horse face? Was it her nose? Her mouth? What was it? What made her ugly? You can't cry, you can't smile, you can't relax. It's so unfair. The feeling is blooming, your anger is coming out, but don't worry, your anger won't overpower you, because a pruned flower has no thorns.

"WHAT'S WITH THAT FACE? HUH?" Your mother shouts seeing you glaring daggers, and your anger is taken over by fear until there's no more anger. See? Pruned thorns. Anger controlled.

Anger OFF.

Remember how Elaine doesn't go to school? Well, she doesn't learn at home either. It used to be because her mother didn't care, so the girl could still see a few things without interruption. Today? She can't learn anything because stupid people are more fun to follow. It's much more interesting to watch someone learning and be able to teach what they don't know through comments than to see them talk about something they already know and show themselves on camera. A reaction is more genuine if she's never seen it; a game with interesting themes is more fun when played by someone who knows nothing about the subject. It doesn't matter if you like to learn on your own, it doesn't matter if you feel dumb and humiliated every time you don't have a clue about what's in front of you.

Learning OFF.

She doesn't cry, doesn't laugh, doesn't get enraged, doesn't relax, and doesn't learn. What kind of person are you, Elaine? What a miserable and small existence you have. Well... at least that's how you feel inside yourself. Elaine can't see and decide for herself because she long ago handed over the wheel to others, but don't judge her; she's just a child. She is subjected to this kind of thing. There was still time for her to try to free herself and take the wheel again, but you know how this story ends, so I wouldn't start having too many hopes. Because when you deny and seal so many things inside a human being, a teenager on top of that, everything inside the person cries out for freedom and starts to overflow.

Madness ON.

She needs that freedom, so Elaine won't care if she can get rid of her mother. She will then go to the sanctuary looking for one of the snakes. If she knew how to use it, she could poison her and get rid of the one who torments her so much. She could finally be happy, cry, scream, sleep, eat, study, live, just needs to get that woman out of her life.

As soon as you step into the sanctuary, you hear a notification sound, and when you look, there's a phone lying on the ground. But that's strange; Elaine didn't have a phone. When she wasn't using the devices for her work, her mother took full control of it. So why was there a phone lying there?

The screen was on, in a messaging app. Someone had just sent a message to whoever owned the phone. The profile picture was a white sphere, and the nickname was H0P3Lily.

H0P3Lily: Hey?

How's it going?

What are you doing now, Elaine?

Elaine stared at the device in bewilderment. Was that message for her? Was the owner of the phone nearby?

Elaine: Who are you?

H0P3Lily: Hey

Hey

Are you planning to kill your mother?

Why?

How did that person know about it? Who were they? Should she stop talking to them? And if they contacted her mother? Should she lie?

So many questions, so many possibilities and fears of a poor child, that in the end, she doesn't run through any of them.

Elaine: How do you know? Who are you?

H0P3Lily: Why are you planning to do something so horrible?

Don't you have a heart, you bad girl?

Elaine: NO. I'm not bad, I just want to be free from her, I just want all this to end.

H0P3Lily: But you don't deserve to be free.

Elaine: I just want to be able to leave here.

Huh? What do you mean? I don't deserve to be free?

H0P3Lily: Elaine, a trained animal would never survive in the wild.

And that's what you are, a trained animal.

Elaine: I'm not.

H0P3Lily: No? But you're so well-trained, just acting the way others want. What makes you different from a dog?

The way you present yourself on camera seeking attention is just like a monkey at the zoo craving attention.

Though, from what I saw of your channel, animals are more interesting than you lol hahaha, it only started getting famous when it stopped being about yourself, didn't it? Maybe that's exactly because you're insignificant.

The girl had no words to describe what she was reading; it was true. No one ever cared about her, they cared about everything, EVERYTHING. The house, the animals, the mother, her appearance, the ungrateful and foolish even cared about that ridiculous persona she had. But no one ever cared about who she really was. Not her father who left her, not her mother who never loved her, not her fans who just watched her, and not the animals who were too slow and dumb to help her.

She had no identity, and she didn't even have anyone.

H0P3Lily: If you kill your mother now, you'll only lose the little appreciation people have for you. Is it fake? Yes. But at least they appreciate you, falsely.

You are nobody, Elaine, you're good for nothing except being a good girl.

Elaine then started to cry and scream. Her luck was that she was a bit far from home; her mother wouldn't hear her, but desperation was taking over her. Where would she go? What would she do? There was no solution, no escape, no hope...

H0P3Lily: Hey, hey, but there is still hope.

If you follow me, I guarantee you won't be worse than an animal, because there won't be any animals left to torment and substitute you.

Elaine: How? It's impossible to get rid of all the animals

H0P3Lily: LOL, Elaine, the impossible is possible, all you got to do is make it so. So? Am i your hope now?

Yes, it was the only chance of escape Elaine had, the only concrete solution that the poor girl could see. Elaine confirm reacting to the message with a thumbs up emoji.

H0P3Lily: I name you Elaine, The Diva, your despair is your slavery, and your hope is the destruction of animals. Come, you will be one of my generals, and in the future will grasp your hope. Now, Elaine, be a good girl, and play dead.

Hearing that, Elaine felt something moving between her feet, and before she could notice, one of the snakes had bite her on the heel. The creature had escape from it's cell.

The young lady fall to the ground and hit her head, becoming dizzy and lost, enough to get weaker and succumb to the poison.