{ "submission_id": "773576", "keywords": [ { "keyword_id": "33", "keyword_name": "fox", "contributed": "f", "submissions_count": "248940" }, { "keyword_id": "143547", "keyword_name": "gentle giant", "contributed": "f", "submissions_count": "301" }, { "keyword_id": "5684", "keyword_name": "macro/micro", "contributed": "f", "submissions_count": "1938" }, { "keyword_id": "165", "keyword_name": "male", "contributed": "f", "submissions_count": "1201055" }, { "keyword_id": "35504", "keyword_name": "salesman", "contributed": "f", "submissions_count": "46" } ], "hidden": "f", "scraps": "f", "favorite": "f", "favorites_count": "1", "create_datetime": "2015-01-18 11:18:30.518791+00", "create_datetime_usertime": "18 Jan 2015 12:18 CET", "last_file_update_datetime": "2015-01-18 11:16:10.229216+00", "last_file_update_datetime_usertime": "18 Jan 2015 12:16 CET", "username": "NochtisDragon", "user_id": "285603", "user_icon_file_name": "77837_NochtisDragon_1409062133.kheltari_leonloco.gif", "user_icon_url_large": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/usericons/large/77/77837_NochtisDragon_1409062133.kheltari_leonloco.gif", "user_icon_url_medium": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/usericons/medium/77/77837_NochtisDragon_1409062133.kheltari_leonloco.gif", "user_icon_url_small": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/usericons/small/77/77837_NochtisDragon_1409062133.kheltari_leonloco.gif", "file_name": "1045722_NochtisDragon_salespressure.rtf", "file_url_full": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/files/full/1045/1045722_NochtisDragon_salespressure.rtf", "file_url_screen": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/files/screen/1045/1045722_NochtisDragon_salespressure.rtf", "file_url_preview": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/files/preview/1045/1045722_NochtisDragon_salespressure.rtf", "files": [ { "file_id": "1045722", "file_name": "1045722_NochtisDragon_salespressure.rtf", "file_url_full": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/files/full/1045/1045722_NochtisDragon_salespressure.rtf", "file_url_screen": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/files/screen/1045/1045722_NochtisDragon_salespressure.rtf", "file_url_preview": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/files/preview/1045/1045722_NochtisDragon_salespressure.rtf", "mimetype": "text/rtf", "submission_id": "773576", "user_id": "285603", "submission_file_order": "0", "full_size_x": null, "full_size_y": null, "screen_size_x": null, "screen_size_y": null, "preview_size_x": null, "preview_size_y": null, "initial_file_md5": "58a1780d2e37cfb107f6e7e60c359f10", "full_file_md5": "58a1780d2e37cfb107f6e7e60c359f10", "large_file_md5": "", "small_file_md5": "", "thumbnail_md5": "", "deleted": "f", "create_datetime": "2015-01-18 11:16:10.229216+00", "create_datetime_usertime": "18 Jan 2015 12:16 CET" } ], "pools": [], "description": "Another story that I wrote before an audience. It is rather short, but good in my opinion. If you wish to watch me write, visit irc.bigfurs.com and join the channel #DragonsLair", "description_bbcode_parsed": "Another story that I wrote before an audience. It is rather short, but good in my opinion. If you wish to watch me write, visit irc.bigfurs.com and join the channel #DragonsLair", "writing": "Giovani yawned widely as he awoke for another day of work. He quickly donned his best \nsuit, grabbed his suitcase from the closet, and placed his fedora, which nestled perfectly \nbetween his pointed ears, onto his head from the rack by the front door. He had a feeling \nthat today would be a good day, bringing him that much closer to his performance bonus \nand possible promotion within the company. \n\nYou see, Giovani was a vacuum salesman, and just like any other salesman, he \ndreamed of being a successful business man and either advancing up the corporate ladder, \nor perhaps starting his own business one day. The fox stepped through his front door with a \nbounce in his step as he headed to an area that hadn't been visited yet.\n\nIt was a typical Wednesday morning. Many people were off on their own endeavors to \nmake money to live happy and well, while there were those who either did not work or \nstayed home while their significant others paid the bills. Mrs. Miller was one such person. \nShe had spent a great deal of the morning cleaning, interrupted with occasional breaks to \nwatch her favorite game shows on TV. As she sat on the couch watching Wheel of Fortune \nand wishing she were up there winning that money, she saw ripples in her glass of water as \ndust floated down from the ceiling fan overhead. She simply dismissed it as a slight draft \nfrom the open windows and paid no more heed to it. The TV station began to air its regular \ncommercials just as the winner was to be announced. \n\n\"So typical. Just when things were getting good,\" she spoke to herself, rising from the \ncouch to start the dishes before the show came back.\n\nAs she entered the kitchen, she knew something was off. The dishes in the cupboards \nwere rattling; was that thunder she heard in the distance? She drew the curtains in the \nwindow above the sink and briefly gazed outside, only to be met with blue skies and \nsunlight with not a single cloud in sight. \"Well that's rather odd.\" Suddenly, she heard her \nshow come back on the air and quickly shut off the water in the sink and hurried back so \nshe wouldn't miss the finale. Her eyes, glued to the TV, failed to notice the sky start to \nbecome darker slowly as a shadow passed over her house. \n\n\"I would like to solve the puzzle,\" announced the contestant on the screen. \"It's...\" \nBOOM! That was all Mrs. Miller heard as her world shook her to her knees. Thinking it was \nan earthquake; she crawled her way under the kitchen table and assumed the fetal position \nlike she was supposed to in such an event. She waited and waited, but felt and heard \nnothing else besides car alarms going off throughout the neighborhood. Uncurling, she \nbegan to extract herself from under the table, hoping she didn't miss the end of the show.\n\nUpon returning to the living room, the show had already reached its conclusion and the \nnext item in the daily programming had started. She silently cursed under her breath and \nbegan to walk back to the kitchen to finish her chores. There was suddenly a knock at the \ndoor and she froze in the middle of drying a plate to be put away. \n\n\"Coming!\" She yelled. Did they really need to knock so hard it sounded like they were \ngoing to break the door down? She opened the door and the next sound was shattering \nglass as the plate hit the floor. Before her was the largest eye she had ever seen. \n\n\"Howdy ma'am! I'm a representative of Wormhole vacuum cleaners. I'm sorry for \nstartling you, but it looks like you could use a vacuum if you don't already own one,\" he said, \nthat large pupil of his gazing downward at the shards around the woman's feet. \n\nMrs. Miller couldn't seem to extract any words. She'd heard that macros existed, but \nshe'd never actually seen one before. They were supposed to stay in their own sections of \nthe city.\n\nGiovani sat in a nearby park as he spoke. It was a place where he could easily access a \ngood portion of the neighborhood without causing any damage. \"Would you like a \ndemonstration of any of our products?\" he said while opening his briefcase. \"I can't really \ndemonstrate myself, but I can let you try one of our models out free of charge.\" \n\nMrs. Miller still seemed unable to speak. Her mouth opened and closed a few times, \nthough no sound emanated from between her lips. Giovani, as one of the best salesmen for \nthe company, instantly picked this up. \n\n\"I'm rather sorry for intruding and I know you probably aren't used to seeing people like \nme. If I'm bothering you, just say so and I'll be on my merry way.\" His features contorted at \nthe end of that statement, not unlike those of a sad puppy, ears drooping and eyes widening \nas he frowned. Mrs. Miller finally sighed. After all, who could refuse a face like that, even if it \ndid take up most of her view of the sky.\n\n\"Well alright, let me see what products you have,\" she said rather hesitantly.\n\nThe large fox suddenly seemed as if nothing had ever been amiss, ears shooting upright \nin the blink of an eye. \"Thank you, ma'am. You won't be disappointed!\" \n\nHe promptly reached into his briefcase and carefully plucked out several full size \nvacuums between the claws on his thumb and forefinger, placing them in a row on the \nsidewalk before Mrs. Miller's house. \"Go ahead, try out one that catches your fancy. Try all \nof them if you'd like. Not many salesmen let the customer try out the product after all.\" Mrs. \nMiller stood in her doorway for a moment, she still felt unsure of stepping out into the open \nwith this large ‘person’ standing outside. She did say she'd take a look at what he had to \noffer though, so she very slowly stepped up to one she felt may be within her price range \nand wheeled it inside to clean up the shattered plate just inside her front door.\n\nThe vacuum did as was expected; it cleaned up the mess from the dropped plate. She \ndid need a new one soon since the one she currently had was beginning to have issues. \n\"How much does a basic model like this cost anyway?\" she asked, poking her head out the \nfront door. \n\n\"For you, I'll let it go for $75.\" This time it was the woman's jaw that could be heard \nhitting the floor. Appliances were never that cheap. \n\n\"I-I'll take it,\" she mumbled, hardly believing her ears, or eyes. \n\n\"A wise choice. That is our most economical model,\" replied the giant fox as he carefully \ncollected the samples once more. He then very slowly extended a finger towards her with a \npiece of paper resting on the tip of his claw. \"Now if you'll just fill out this form, your new \nvacuum will arrive within the week. I apologize, but I'm sure you'll understand if I don't offer \nyou a pen.\"\n\nShe gingerly accepted the paper, absolutely baffled as to how he could so delicately \nbalance it there, and disappeared inside for several minutes to fill in all of the required \nfields. Her hand was trembling uncontrollably from the combination of anxiousness at the \ncreature sitting outside and the excitement for practically stealing a vacuum. Needless to \nsay, she found herself having to use whiteout several times to cover up some misspellings. \nOnce the form was completed, she emerged from the house once more to see the fox's \nclaw still hovering over her driveway. Unsure of how she was supposed to return the \nminiscule form to him, she simply set it on the claw tip since that was how he had lowered it \nto her, and sure enough, he lifted his had slowly upwards so the form was not lost. He put \nthe form in a very small pocket on the inside of his briefcase. \n\n\"I appreciate your time and sincerely hope that you enjoy your new vacuum. Have a \nwonderful day,\" he said, tipping his hat in her direction. She nodded her thanks before \nquickly returning to the interior of her home, heart still racing from the encounter. She \nflopped down onto the couch heavily to watch The Price is Right as she heard the same \nheavy tapping, undoubtedly from one of his claws, on her next door neighbor's house.", "writing_bbcode_parsed": "Giovani yawned widely as he awoke for another day of work. He quickly donned his best
suit, grabbed his suitcase from the closet, and placed his fedora, which nestled perfectly
between his pointed ears, onto his head from the rack by the front door. He had a feeling
that today would be a good day, bringing him that much closer to his performance bonus
and possible promotion within the company.

You see, Giovani was a vacuum salesman, and just like any other salesman, he
dreamed of being a successful business man and either advancing up the corporate ladder,
or perhaps starting his own business one day. The fox stepped through his front door with a
bounce in his step as he headed to an area that hadn't been visited yet.

It was a typical Wednesday morning. Many people were off on their own endeavors to
make money to live happy and well, while there were those who either did not work or
stayed home while their significant others paid the bills. Mrs. Miller was one such person.
She had spent a great deal of the morning cleaning, interrupted with occasional breaks to
watch her favorite game shows on TV. As she sat on the couch watching Wheel of Fortune
and wishing she were up there winning that money, she saw ripples in her glass of water as
dust floated down from the ceiling fan overhead. She simply dismissed it as a slight draft
from the open windows and paid no more heed to it. The TV station began to air its regular
commercials just as the winner was to be announced.

"So typical. Just when things were getting good," she spoke to herself, rising from the
couch to start the dishes before the show came back.

As she entered the kitchen, she knew something was off. The dishes in the cupboards
were rattling; was that thunder she heard in the distance? She drew the curtains in the
window above the sink and briefly gazed outside, only to be met with blue skies and
sunlight with not a single cloud in sight. "Well that's rather odd." Suddenly, she heard her
show come back on the air and quickly shut off the water in the sink and hurried back so
she wouldn't miss the finale. Her eyes, glued to the TV, failed to notice the sky start to
become darker slowly as a shadow passed over her house.

"I would like to solve the puzzle," announced the contestant on the screen. "It's..."
BOOM! That was all Mrs. Miller heard as her world shook her to her knees. Thinking it was
an earthquake; she crawled her way under the kitchen table and assumed the fetal position
like she was supposed to in such an event. She waited and waited, but felt and heard
nothing else besides car alarms going off throughout the neighborhood. Uncurling, she
began to extract herself from under the table, hoping she didn't miss the end of the show.

Upon returning to the living room, the show had already reached its conclusion and the
next item in the daily programming had started. She silently cursed under her breath and
began to walk back to the kitchen to finish her chores. There was suddenly a knock at the
door and she froze in the middle of drying a plate to be put away.

"Coming!" She yelled. Did they really need to knock so hard it sounded like they were
going to break the door down? She opened the door and the next sound was shattering
glass as the plate hit the floor. Before her was the largest eye she had ever seen.

"Howdy ma'am! I'm a representative of Wormhole vacuum cleaners. I'm sorry for
startling you, but it looks like you could use a vacuum if you don't already own one," he said,
that large pupil of his gazing downward at the shards around the woman's feet.

Mrs. Miller couldn't seem to extract any words. She'd heard that macros existed, but
she'd never actually seen one before. They were supposed to stay in their own sections of
the city.

Giovani sat in a nearby park as he spoke. It was a place where he could easily access a
good portion of the neighborhood without causing any damage. "Would you like a
demonstration of any of our products?" he said while opening his briefcase. "I can't really
demonstrate myself, but I can let you try one of our models out free of charge."

Mrs. Miller still seemed unable to speak. Her mouth opened and closed a few times,
though no sound emanated from between her lips. Giovani, as one of the best salesmen for
the company, instantly picked this up.

"I'm rather sorry for intruding and I know you probably aren't used to seeing people like
me. If I'm bothering you, just say so and I'll be on my merry way." His features contorted at
the end of that statement, not unlike those of a sad puppy, ears drooping and eyes widening
as he frowned. Mrs. Miller finally sighed. After all, who could refuse a face like that, even if it
did take up most of her view of the sky.

"Well alright, let me see what products you have," she said rather hesitantly.

The large fox suddenly seemed as if nothing had ever been amiss, ears shooting upright
in the blink of an eye. "Thank you, ma'am. You won't be disappointed!"

He promptly reached into his briefcase and carefully plucked out several full size
vacuums between the claws on his thumb and forefinger, placing them in a row on the
sidewalk before Mrs. Miller's house. "Go ahead, try out one that catches your fancy. Try all
of them if you'd like. Not many salesmen let the customer try out the product after all." Mrs.
Miller stood in her doorway for a moment, she still felt unsure of stepping out into the open
with this large ‘person’ standing outside. She did say she'd take a look at what he had to
offer though, so she very slowly stepped up to one she felt may be within her price range
and wheeled it inside to clean up the shattered plate just inside her front door.

The vacuum did as was expected; it cleaned up the mess from the dropped plate. She
did need a new one soon since the one she currently had was beginning to have issues.
"How much does a basic model like this cost anyway?" she asked, poking her head out the
front door.

"For you, I'll let it go for $75." This time it was the woman's jaw that could be heard
hitting the floor. Appliances were never that cheap.

"I-I'll take it," she mumbled, hardly believing her ears, or eyes.

"A wise choice. That is our most economical model," replied the giant fox as he carefully
collected the samples once more. He then very slowly extended a finger towards her with a
piece of paper resting on the tip of his claw. "Now if you'll just fill out this form, your new
vacuum will arrive within the week. I apologize, but I'm sure you'll understand if I don't offer
you a pen."

She gingerly accepted the paper, absolutely baffled as to how he could so delicately
balance it there, and disappeared inside for several minutes to fill in all of the required
fields. Her hand was trembling uncontrollably from the combination of anxiousness at the
creature sitting outside and the excitement for practically stealing a vacuum. Needless to
say, she found herself having to use whiteout several times to cover up some misspellings.
Once the form was completed, she emerged from the house once more to see the fox's
claw still hovering over her driveway. Unsure of how she was supposed to return the
miniscule form to him, she simply set it on the claw tip since that was how he had lowered it
to her, and sure enough, he lifted his had slowly upwards so the form was not lost. He put
the form in a very small pocket on the inside of his briefcase.

"I appreciate your time and sincerely hope that you enjoy your new vacuum. Have a
wonderful day," he said, tipping his hat in her direction. She nodded her thanks before
quickly returning to the interior of her home, heart still racing from the encounter. She
flopped down onto the couch heavily to watch The Price is Right as she heard the same
heavy tapping, undoubtedly from one of his claws, on her next door neighbor's house.", "pools_count": 0, "title": "Sales Pressure", "deleted": "f", "public": "t", "mimetype": "text/rtf", "pagecount": "1", "rating_id": "0", "rating_name": "General", "ratings": [], "submission_type_id": "12", "type_name": "Writing - Document", "guest_block": "f", "friends_only": "f", "comments_count": "0", "views": "52" }