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Description

Added the movieborders as I felt like it would benefit from it
This ended up being so much more detailed than initially intended but man I really like how it turned out overall. It's got the vibes I was going for, not perfectly but still pretty much like it and what I was imagining and I really like it.
It is quite a depressing scene despite its calm backdrop but I also couldn't miss this opportunity for leaving more breadcrumbs about Inga's backstory as bittersweet as it is. And it's very like her to spend her time like this
The beer aren't an irl brand though I did a mock-brand of the Danish Calsberg beer called Charlesberg, thanks to SilvesterVitale 's suggestion XD I just needed something on there for it to feel real~

Anyway I hope you all enjoy!

Extra Assignment for: The White December 2023 - Classic
Class: Extreme Endurance
Main Entries:
- Phase 1: - In-poo-ssibly unlucky - TWD Phase 1
- Phase 2: - Snowy Standstill - TWD Phase 2
- Transportation Phase: - Survival Instincts - TWD Transportation Phase
- Phase 3: - Something...About You - TWD Phase 3

Story:
__________________________________________________________________________

Start | Previous | Next

The day had almost come to an end as the sun slowly descended in the sky. The bright globe had been showing its rays throughout the day with fluffy clouds keeping it company. Compared to the biting temperatures in the previous parts of the route, the air was mild on the skin here. A nice day for the entrants to board the ferry in the next part of the transportation phase. It would take them over the North Sea from North Jutland to Southern Norway in a matter of about 4 hours time. In theory, this was a short trip, though in reality, it would undoubtedly feel longer for some. Seasickness wasn’t uncommon after all. Inga too begrudged the thought of getting seasick on this voyage, but the explanation for her current state of mind didn’t end with the prospect of nausea. As she walked around the ship dreading the moment she would sit alone in her thoughts without any tasks to keep her busy, she couldn’t avoid catching glimpses of the surrounding sea. Each glimpse ripped something fierce in her old memories, ones she had worked hard to suppress, leaving her heart aching and head spinning in a whirl of mixed emotions. Luckily a distraction quickly presented itself in the form of a strip poker event happening at the bar on the ferry. And it wasn’t the game itself she was interested in. On the contrary, she always meticulously covered most of her body whenever she was in the vicinity of other people, even when it was entirely too hot to wear long sleeves and pants. She was a private person inside and out and didn’t necessarily want stares for showing some of the more jarring features of her body, like the scarring on her right upper arm for instance. No, what piqued her interest was the three, free drinks all entrants could pick up at the bar. Thus, drinking and smoking became her new plan of action for the trip. She just had to get past the strip poker games first. A few of them had probably already started and the thought made her increasingly nervous.
As always Agni was head on her heels as she strode up towards the entrance of the bar. She entered with an averted gaze, her pulse rising slightly at the risk of stumbling into a barely dressed person or worse, someone completely undressed. She honestly wouldn't know what to do with herself if she did and certainly didn’t want to stay around long enough to find out. Her order of three pilsners was uttered quickly after she had bee-lined for the bar and got ahold of a bartender. The order was as simple as she could think of; three beers of the same kind, meaning she wouldn’t have to stay longer than necessary for any mixing or flashy moves from the bartender. And she didn’t have much preference for the alcohol she consumed so these pilsners would do nicely. As she waited, she tried her hardest to keep calm, stifling anything that might indicate how on edge and nervous she felt. But out of the corner of her eye, she could clearly see the games had progressed well into a few losing streaks. While she momentarily got lost in her peripheral vision that she totally wasn’t focusing on, a slight breeze swept against her, presumably generated by someone passing closely by. She immediately tensed, averting her eyes even more. Damn, this bar top really had some wear and tear. Must have seen hundreds if not thousands of customers. After an excruciating minute, the bartender finally handed her all the beers and a glass, and she hastily took them to a less populated seating area on the other side of the ferry albeit with some trial and error trying to hold it all. Thankfully, she didn’t knock into anything or anyone on the way.
A table on the far side of the area immediately called to her, its vacated surroundings drawing her in. When she reached it, she promptly put the beer and glass down before fishing a pack of cigarettes out of her pocket. The amount of smoking opportunities during this event had been awfully limited with the travelling and few ways of responsibly discarding the cigarette buds. Taking her substantial smoking habits down a notch wasn’t enough to elicit withdrawal symptoms but she wasn’t exactly thrilled about it either. And this cruise would serve as the remedy for her lack of nicotine. Her eyes stayed fixed on the table and chair, unable to make herself look towards the sea while letting her next course of action sink in. Agni too hesitated to take her place by the table. The beers were capped off and ready to be drunk, the cigarette packet laid ready to be opened and the cigarettes ready to be smoked and discarded on the similarly laid out ashtray. Everything was ready, except for one thing. Inga couldn’t avoid it any longer and sucked in a breath before her eyes drifted upwards. The sea confronted her head-on, almost taking her breath away. At that moment, she simultaneously felt glad but also regretful as a wave of flashbacks washed over her. The view locked her in place; A clear reflection of the near-sunset and painterly clouds bounced off the still water beneath. Truly a sight to behold. Eventually, she slowly broke out of her frozen state, deflating like a balloon losing its air, as she silently hung her long vest and jacket on the chair before her and sat down. The gloves, scarf and hat were similarly taken off and laid on the table, while Agni crept under the table. She sank further in her seat as she took the first beer and poured a glass for herself.

Seafaring always resurfaced bittersweet memories of when she was young and daring, taking her first passage overseas. It had been a rash, life-altering decision to leave her childhood home behind for America back then although, not one she had made alone or even suggested in the first place. Still, the consequences that had followed had embedded a bundle of guilt, regret and sorrow in her mind, persistently weighing on her for well over a lifetime. A person, in particular, was the subject to these feelings, her face a recurring feature in Inga’s dreams, not to mention her nightmares. It hadn’t been the first nor the last consequential decision she made but this one in particular stuck with her for better or worse; even now, as she sat here by her lonesome. By now, she had shifted in her seat with a leg tucked up and an arm resting on her knee. The beer hadn’t lasted long; the empty bottles and almost empty glass were all of what was left. Her hand laxly held a cigarette, one of many she had smoked by now. She had stopped tinkering with Agni’s visibility, her usual concern for the matter hanging by a thread as she stared at the sunset. The canine laid neatly tucked under the table, seemingly displaying a similar somberness while keeping an eye out for anyone entering the seating area. They stayed like this until the serene sky turned to dusk and the time to disembark approached.

Word count: 1215

__________________________________________________________________________

Refference(s) used: Show ressources, this for seating area and chair inspo but nothing heavily referenced, vaguerly Dog Stock 03 and YWDS 8 , Vecteezy.com for seat and floor textures (this and this )

Description

Added the movieborders as I felt like it would benefit from it
This ended up being so much more detailed than initially intended but man I really like how it turned out overall. It's got the vibes I was going for, not perfectly but still pretty much like it and what I was imagining and I really like it.
It is quite a depressing scene despite its calm backdrop but I also couldn't miss this opportunity for leaving more breadcrumbs about Inga's backstory as bittersweet as it is. And it's very like her to spend her time like this
The beer aren't an irl brand though I did a mock-brand of the Danish Calsberg beer called Charlesberg, thanks to SilvesterVitale 's suggestion XD I just needed something on there for it to feel real~

Anyway I hope you all enjoy!

Extra Assignment for: The White December 2023 - Classic
Class: Extreme Endurance
Main Entries:
- Phase 1: - In-poo-ssibly unlucky - TWD Phase 1
- Phase 2: - Snowy Standstill - TWD Phase 2
- Transportation Phase: - Survival Instincts - TWD Transportation Phase
- Phase 3: - Something...About You - TWD Phase 3

Story:
__________________________________________________________________________

Start | Previous | Next

The day had almost come to an end as the sun slowly descended in the sky. The bright globe had been showing its rays throughout the day with fluffy clouds keeping it company. Compared to the biting temperatures in the previous parts of the route, the air was mild on the skin here. A nice day for the entrants to board the ferry in the next part of the transportation phase. It would take them over the North Sea from North Jutland to Southern Norway in a matter of about 4 hours time. In theory, this was a short trip, though in reality, it would undoubtedly feel longer for some. Seasickness wasn’t uncommon after all. Inga too begrudged the thought of getting seasick on this voyage, but the explanation for her current state of mind didn’t end with the prospect of nausea. As she walked around the ship dreading the moment she would sit alone in her thoughts without any tasks to keep her busy, she couldn’t avoid catching glimpses of the surrounding sea. Each glimpse ripped something fierce in her old memories, ones she had worked hard to suppress, leaving her heart aching and head spinning in a whirl of mixed emotions. Luckily a distraction quickly presented itself in the form of a strip poker event happening at the bar on the ferry. And it wasn’t the game itself she was interested in. On the contrary, she always meticulously covered most of her body whenever she was in the vicinity of other people, even when it was entirely too hot to wear long sleeves and pants. She was a private person inside and out and didn’t necessarily want stares for showing some of the more jarring features of her body, like the scarring on her right upper arm for instance. No, what piqued her interest was the three, free drinks all entrants could pick up at the bar. Thus, drinking and smoking became her new plan of action for the trip. She just had to get past the strip poker games first. A few of them had probably already started and the thought made her increasingly nervous.
As always Agni was head on her heels as she strode up towards the entrance of the bar. She entered with an averted gaze, her pulse rising slightly at the risk of stumbling into a barely dressed person or worse, someone completely undressed. She honestly wouldn't know what to do with herself if she did and certainly didn’t want to stay around long enough to find out. Her order of three pilsners was uttered quickly after she had bee-lined for the bar and got ahold of a bartender. The order was as simple as she could think of; three beers of the same kind, meaning she wouldn’t have to stay longer than necessary for any mixing or flashy moves from the bartender. And she didn’t have much preference for the alcohol she consumed so these pilsners would do nicely. As she waited, she tried her hardest to keep calm, stifling anything that might indicate how on edge and nervous she felt. But out of the corner of her eye, she could clearly see the games had progressed well into a few losing streaks. While she momentarily got lost in her peripheral vision that she totally wasn’t focusing on, a slight breeze swept against her, presumably generated by someone passing closely by. She immediately tensed, averting her eyes even more. Damn, this bar top really had some wear and tear. Must have seen hundreds if not thousands of customers. After an excruciating minute, the bartender finally handed her all the beers and a glass, and she hastily took them to a less populated seating area on the other side of the ferry albeit with some trial and error trying to hold it all. Thankfully, she didn’t knock into anything or anyone on the way.
A table on the far side of the area immediately called to her, its vacated surroundings drawing her in. When she reached it, she promptly put the beer and glass down before fishing a pack of cigarettes out of her pocket. The amount of smoking opportunities during this event had been awfully limited with the travelling and few ways of responsibly discarding the cigarette buds. Taking her substantial smoking habits down a notch wasn’t enough to elicit withdrawal symptoms but she wasn’t exactly thrilled about it either. And this cruise would serve as the remedy for her lack of nicotine. Her eyes stayed fixed on the table and chair, unable to make herself look towards the sea while letting her next course of action sink in. Agni too hesitated to take her place by the table. The beers were capped off and ready to be drunk, the cigarette packet laid ready to be opened and the cigarettes ready to be smoked and discarded on the similarly laid out ashtray. Everything was ready, except for one thing. Inga couldn’t avoid it any longer and sucked in a breath before her eyes drifted upwards. The sea confronted her head-on, almost taking her breath away. At that moment, she simultaneously felt glad but also regretful as a wave of flashbacks washed over her. The view locked her in place; A clear reflection of the near-sunset and painterly clouds bounced off the still water beneath. Truly a sight to behold. Eventually, she slowly broke out of her frozen state, deflating like a balloon losing its air, as she silently hung her long vest and jacket on the chair before her and sat down. The gloves, scarf and hat were similarly taken off and laid on the table, while Agni crept under the table. She sank further in her seat as she took the first beer and poured a glass for herself.

Seafaring always resurfaced bittersweet memories of when she was young and daring, taking her first passage overseas. It had been a rash, life-altering decision to leave her childhood home behind for America back then although, not one she had made alone or even suggested in the first place. Still, the consequences that had followed had embedded a bundle of guilt, regret and sorrow in her mind, persistently weighing on her for well over a lifetime. A person, in particular, was the subject to these feelings, her face a recurring feature in Inga’s dreams, not to mention her nightmares. It hadn’t been the first nor the last consequential decision she made but this one in particular stuck with her for better or worse; even now, as she sat here by her lonesome. By now, she had shifted in her seat with a leg tucked up and an arm resting on her knee. The beer hadn’t lasted long; the empty bottles and almost empty glass were all of what was left. Her hand laxly held a cigarette, one of many she had smoked by now. She had stopped tinkering with Agni’s visibility, her usual concern for the matter hanging by a thread as she stared at the sunset. The canine laid neatly tucked under the table, seemingly displaying a similar somberness while keeping an eye out for anyone entering the seating area. They stayed like this until the serene sky turned to dusk and the time to disembark approached.

Word count: 1215

__________________________________________________________________________

Refference(s) used: Show ressources, this for seating area and chair inspo but nothing heavily referenced, vaguerly Dog Stock 03 and YWDS 8 , Vecteezy.com for seat and floor textures (this and this )