The fluorescent lights of the courtroom hummed, a sickly98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyRNUeAXcO7
counterpoint to the judge's monotone pronouncements.98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyf0xpPiaw3
Joshua, twenty-four years old, felt the cheap wool of his98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAHAUT8cjrX
borrowed sweater prickle his skin. His usually vibrant,98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGKbmTVypWQ
brightly colored fursuit lay forgotten somewhere in his98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQM6J3hN0Sw
parents' house, a stark reminder of a life that felt impossibly98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWOtii9r06Y
distant. He'd worn a simple, grey sweater at his lawyer’s98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡggnht9hkQP
insistence, a desperate attempt to appear less… well, less98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUo02FRGtEC
him . Less furry. Less of a target. The strategy had clearly98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhdZNO3GTyr
failed.98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvq9GREiyxV
The gavel fell, a sharp crack echoing in the cavernous room,98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnPkk62MDU9
and the word “guilty” hung in the air, thick and suffocating.98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOZjTugDwbo
Fifteen years. Fifteen years for a Tumblr post. A post, he98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvTfD8A1EzL
reminded himself numbly, that had been a poorly worded,98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtRAj15XZtt
angry rant. A cry for help, lost in the vast, chaotic landscape98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5PxSjWu2L3
of the internet. A cry that had landed him here, surrounded98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGfPzIOsKdS
by the harsh reality of the legal system’s cold indifference.98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8EE1T4fO0b
The initial shock was a physical blow, a wave of nausea that98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsun2X3yoqT
left him weak and trembling. He’d expected a slap on the98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa5USzFby7m
wrist, maybe probation, community service. Anything but98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtGLsot8txM
this. This brutal, finality. He looked at his lawyer, a woman98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdnntkTm7OY
whose face was as devoid of expression as the cheap, plastic98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaZnFe5hFcZ
pen she held. She hadn’t even tried to fight harder, not really.98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGZTz7WgQ7q
He’d caught the weary resignation in her eyes, the unspoken98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjFrEV9ch5Q
understanding that the system, in this case, had already made98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtiyOYXCHSz
its decision. His lawyer hadn't even bothered to mention the98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeb7OPl0fgu
appeal process. It was as if she, too, believed that fifteen98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ27FcMkCPjf
years was a fair punishment for an online outburst.
The walk to the transport vehicle was a blur. The cold steel98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGN4gBI0iAc
of the van's floor bit into his thin socks. The air inside was98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg2sV7ZzAM2
stale and thick with the metallic tang of fear and despair. He98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlVaSBFuzsa
sat hunched, his head bowed, trying to disappear, to become98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGyZ7USO4xY
invisible. Around him, other prisoners – hardened criminals,98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ36o1MSW6OE
their faces etched with years of violence and regret –98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡALwiLGid3W
watched him with a mixture of apathy and something akin to98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa7ufTxwwOn
contempt. He was a new arrival, a lamb amongst wolves, and98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuxcSRj2osu
they knew it.98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTAtJkFCCzt
His naiveté was a crushing weight. The world he knew, the98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUODbe1gZYn
world of online communities, conventions, and the98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLshAL6duXn
comforting anonymity of the internet, seemed light years98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9nxuilHKI0
away. This was a different universe, a harsh, unforgiving98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpNlh4KfEqR
reality governed by brute force and unspoken rules. This was98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIh4xYrKCFp
Martin Correctional, and it was a place where apologies98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl3qEZZT27a
were meaningless and compassion was a luxury few could98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN0vHbo0DRL
afford.98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoqKL5OWKEw
The journey was punctuated by the rhythmic clang of the98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAuZBgkufIY
van's metal body, a relentless soundtrack to his plummeting98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCPYy36qbrc
despair. Every bump in the road felt like a hammer blow98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI3z5tVd8bv
against his already shattered confidence. He stared at his98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiVziDjKyqu
hands, noticing for the first time how shaky they were, how98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkYvr3Woqt7
pale his skin had become. The vibrant, life-affirming colors98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡze86L4Xgcf
that defined his online persona, the joyful chaos of his98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJz3Uet4DCc
fandom, seemed to fade into a dull, lifeless grey. The vibrant98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmlHfaGLvuc
colors were replaced by a sense of impending doom.98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxOQMqFum2Q
He tried to remember the words of his lawyer, but they were98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ951f6QG1kZ
already dissolving into a fog of fear and disbelief. He tried to98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3C3ClASsse
think about his parents, their faces etched with worry and98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIywToCIvpA
disappointment. He’d heard their voices in the courtroom,98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9aNScMZrD1
hushed whispers punctuated by occasional sobs. But the98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4ug1Q6FzI9
distance between them, the sheer physical and emotional98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrwdHwPTJan
chasm that separated him from his old life, felt insurmountable. He’d betrayed their trust, their hopes, their98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYd4EDUiumr
dreams. His own dreams.98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUQidL5Kkam
The van screeched to a halt, and the heavy metal doors98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlhVlivvKug
groaned open, releasing a wave of stale, suffocating air thick98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA8l7Zzy3cF
with the stench of sweat, mildew, and something else…98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡORb1Qn3AuT
something acrid and indefinably unsettling. It was the smell98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFbfDzAA8B7
of fear, he realized with a shudder, the smell of desperation98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNSUIidpRHF
and despair. It was the odor of Martin Correctional, and it98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaMMsE2oPMz
clung to everything, a suffocating blanket of hopelessness.98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAh2yQwRCON
The prison was a concrete labyrinth, a maze of corridors and98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsxkI1vVN2m
cells that seemed designed to disorient and demoralize. The98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1YVyhh2wXM
sounds were a cacophony – the rhythmic clang of metal98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT3b3m8rVaF
doors, the shouts and threats of inmates, the distant thud of98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5RPOrHWEXO
fists against flesh. The air hung heavy with the weight of98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCvvH76k48K
violence, both present and past, and every shadow seemed to98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnzNPQ8IXbv
conceal a potential threat. The fluorescent lights seemed dim98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMZmHm0jLXk
and incapable of penetrating the darkness that permeated98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3eSWOkOd03
every corner. It was a place where hope seemed to wither98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDwhAdne1wT
and die, where the only currency was violence and brutality.98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4zsygpMMJd
He was a stranger in this world. He didn't know the rules. He98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbeUfObwXtW
didn't know the players. He was alone.98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJtupG3qzma
He was stripped, searched, and processed, each step a further98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa0qCa5J17A
degradation, a stripping away of his identity, a reduction to98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwZBZS02zKq
the lowest common denominator: a number, a prisoner, a98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ680v0itU1X
potential victim. The guards were indifferent, their faces98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIiGuLRvy0B
hard and unreadable, their movements efficient and98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡes0K6Xt14k
emotionless. They were cogs in a machine, and he was98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqgmI7CQlsA
merely another piece of raw material being processed by the98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDzgdOaFFL8
system. He was stripped of his clothes and individuality.98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLkDn11gqfC
As he was led down a long, dimly lit corridor, the reality of98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQiyA3MlzOf
his situation began to sink in. The fifteen-year sentence98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlA1aNaJylx
wasn't just a number; it was a life sentence, a death sentence.
He felt like a puppet in a dark show of cruelty. This was the98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4HGQCoUEf4
grim beginning of his new existence in the abyss of Martin98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR2Url1uQLi
Correctional, a prison where survival was a constant98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJbOjNhIX1H
struggle, and where even the slightest misstep could prove98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXw0P4NJvwB
fatal. He was a newcomer to the game, and he had yet to98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiNnQEh0U7i
learn the rules, even to understand what the game actually98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1LGIUfwOFa
was. The future remained a dark, unknown road, where98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqZyNutGApg
every step felt dangerous and uncertain. The fear was real98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoQ5eXtLean
and visceral. He had no idea of the kind of transformation98Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8gD7V87fm4
this place was capable of fostering.
ns216.73.216.124da2
