My five random words for today’s exercise are pin, mosquito, arch, film, and porch.

Chosen word for free association: film
movie, thin layer, protective, false, obscuring, veneer

Exercise:
Of his former self, only a thin surface layer still remained. The transformation had taken years, and now the only recognizable thing tying him to the past was an invisible veneer of guilt, clinging to the surface of his skin like living armor.