RE: Skin Deep (Finish The Story #61 Entry)
This is an incredible and powerful piece, Cal!
Right from your start we're given such a strong indication of this woman's self identity. She isn't Bonnie. She's @BluebellBonnie, a flawless public persona.
I love this for so many reasons. One is the consideration of a person's 'skin record'. The divets, scars, blemishes, lines, et al. upon our bodies largest organ portray some of our history. Bonnie's contemplation of her hands, the knick removed and the blemishes from the rope burns, brings up a great point. Many would choose to remove scars from unhappy events but what about those which carried a happier memory or a lesson from our youth? Personally I've many scars that aren't what anyone would call pretty but to me, they're a part of who I am. Proof of what I've been through. Would I be willing to trade them away in order to attain a more 'attractive' look? (Nope. 😉)
Secondly, your story hits deep on how the shallow actions and feelings of some can drag one's self esteem and sense of worth straight down into the gutter. Her (in my mind 'pathetic excuse of a') husband abandoning her following a horrific accident only to return once she'd had the injections and her (in my mind 'crappy') friend only care about the surface. Bonnie's turmoil roiling beneath doesn't matter to them, she doesn't matter to them.
Third, your additions of the supplemental product of SatisfactionGuaranteed (so on point and devious that the name deserves a shudder effect) and the tie in with SeeMee (really what pretty much every social media site could be named) tie in to enhance the feeling of the value this society places on appearance. It's about what matters to people and for as much as DermaTru touts revealing one's inner beauty, it's made obvious that this is FAR from the truth.
Bonnie's choice to end it all, her death while still appearing flawless ends with such a chilling and heartbreaking tone. Terribly thoughtful as there are mirrors to this scenario in our society today (not a stretch to draw lines between the nanites and plastic surgery).
Onward the cycle continues in your closing, with Arnav receiving his doses of SatisfactionGuaranteed. Considering his reasons for the injection, there's little hope for his story to end differently.