Doomscroll

cozyvibzz

A young woman, cozyvibzz, is filming in her bedroom. She wears a pink t-shirt with her own smiling face on it inside a heart outline. The colour scheme is primarily different shades of pink. A mound of squishy, brightly-coloured animal cushions is piled up on the bed. Fairy lights are wrapped around the bedframe.

Hey everyone! I hope you're all having a wonderful day! Tell me something, what are you grateful for right now? That's right, it's time for our daily gratitude! Today, I'm grateful for my cat, Sir Charles Huggington. Sir Charles, would you come over here for some cuddles? Come on, you know you love cuddles. Sir Charles!

cozyvibzz stands, leaves the frame, returns with a fluffy, white cat who does not look pleased to have been picked up.

Here he is! I love you, Sir Charles, I love you so much.

The cat wriggles to escape, eventually lashing out with a claw.

No! Bad Sir Charles!

cozyvibzz stands again. We hear a door open and slam shut. When she returns, she appears flustered, frowning. She takes a minute to compose herself.

Okay. Sir Charles doesn't want to play right now, but I'm still super grateful he's here. What are you grateful for?

Off-camera, a cat is meowing and scratching at the door.

Hold on a second.

cozyvibzz grabs a couple of the large, squishy animals from her bed then steps out of the frame. She returns seconds later. The scratching can still just about be heard, only muffled.

Where was I? Yes, gratitude. Let me know what you're grateful for in the comments. I'm also grateful for you guys! You're the reason I do this every day. I love seeing you and hearing about what you've got going on in your lives. Let me know, okay? I'm always here for you.

Now, a bunch of you have been asking me to try this new camera lens. It's like a filter, right? I don't know what to call it, in the app it's like one of those old-school emojis from, like, the 80s or something. It does something to your background, right? I watched a couple of my friends try it out, and it like turns your background into a haunted house? It sounds terrifying, I'm not good with scary stuff, but it is spooky season so let's give it a try.

cozyvibzz reaches towards the screen and taps it a couple of times with her finger. The background turns green for a moment, with a fuzzy outline around cozyvibzz.

Is that supposed to happen? I'll be straight with you guys, this isn't particularly creepy right now. Unless my phone is busted, which would be, like, the most terrifying thing ever.

Joking. Not really. Wait, I think it's working...

The green background is briefly replaced by the room behind again but with a write wire-frame model outlining the furniture and objects. The background fades to black.

So far, not impressed! This is the slowest filter I've ever used. Is this supposed to be scary? Everyone told me this was super-scary! It's just dark, I can handle the dark.

The background reveals itself, slowly. The dimensions of the room are the same, but instead of a pink bedroom, the walls are dark grey and lined with old, peeling wallpaper. The spaces visible beneath the wallpaper are stained with mould.

The bed is wooden-framed and rotten. Instead of squishy animals there is a pile of creepy, porcelain dolls wearing old, ragged clothes. The room is dark, lit by a dim, bare bulb hanging from the ceiling.

Oh wow, there it is. Wow. That is messed up, you guys! Check it out! I'm in like a haunted house or something! That's so creepy. Wait, can I pick these up?