Announcing the rebel alliance, starring in: A Galaxy Far, Far Away: A Downtown Collaboration. Join us on Saturday May 4 from 4-10 PM and enjoy themed food and drink specials, activities, and limited edition merchandise from 11 local businesses downtown.
https://www.facebook.com/events/419000230758552?ref=newsfeed
Lick Homemade Ice Cream x MM Nutrition & Wellness. 4-9 pm. Ice cream so good it’ll have you saying, “I love you.” We know. Stop by your local artisan ice cream shop and treat yourself to a C-3POreo Sammie (Oreo ice cream sandwiched between two chocolate chip cookies) or a Dark Side Sammie (Chocolate brownie chip ice cream between two chocolate chip cookies). While you’re in, browse the Tattooine station for extended wear temp tatts for kids and adults, plus ltd edition stickers.
Meeker Mercantile. 4-7 pm. Chewie, we’re home: whether you’re on the hunt for traditional apparel or the collaboration of your dreams, this is the place.Tees for the light and dark side of the force? Check. The Taylor Swift/Princess Leia tee you didn’t know you needed? Check. Vader, starring in the eras tour? Double check.
Trackside Pizza. 5-8 pm. Join your favorite downtown pizzeria for the best slice buffet this side of the galaxy. Boarding May 4 only.
Crockett’s Public House. 4-10 pm. Grab a Han-Burger special (two patties, four slices of cheese, burger sauce) or sample a Margarita F-Light Saber. All the refreshment, none of the carbonite.
CaskCades x Lumberjack Popcorn Company. 4-10 pm. The Empire Strikes Snack: grab your ltd release popcorn from Lumberjack Popcorn Company (variety of flavors available) and play a round of pinball before you settle in for Star Wars bingo starting at 6 pm.Saber Sodas available in Skywalker or Vader (blue cream or strawberry soda + vanilla ice cream).
Nuestro Barrio. 4-6 pm. We’ve got a good feeling about this: welcome Puyallup’s newest retailer! Themed merchandise available.
puyallup Atomic Genius. 4-7 pm. Always in motion is the future: relive your childhood or treat your padawan to a vintage inspired Star Wars lunchbox or Funkopop figure as you browse new and used records!
The Coaster. 4-10 pm. Gold bikinis optional, gold bikini inspired cocktails a must. Indulge in a Rebel Princess or snack on a Starcuterie platter as you enjoy Star Wars Trivia starting at 4 pm. (21+)
Elements. 4-7 pm. Fuel up with sweet citrus and green tea concentrate in a Tatooine Sun tea bomb.
For those looking for events earlier in the day, N

I personally love how nice and genuine she is
She is also selfless and donates to charities when and if she can for example, in EVERY tour stop Taylor has donated to a food bank! Taylor also donated 4 eras tour tickets at Patrick Mahomes’s gala over the weekend
I also love how creative Taylor is! She truly is an amazing artist! All of her music is amazing whether it be about a breakup or her grandma Taylor finds a way to make her songs very relatable!
Edit: for clarification I am 100% aware this sub is meant for hating on Taylor and Travis this was a simple troll post LMAOO yall are fuckin obsessed with hating them eh?

This is a regular post that's scheduled to pop up and receive different types of writing as response. Since a few of these tools are incredibly time consuming I have them on rotation for new members and those who have missed them. I have started working on responses for examples but as busy as I have been and struggling, I again turned to ChatGPT and I am again, totally excited to see these NOT compete with the human writer in creativity.
So check out the results this week and let me know your thoughts!
It's all in fun and let's prove our worth with better!
🎄⛄🎁🎄⛄🎄🎄⛄⛄🎄🎁⛄⛄🎄🎄⛄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎁🎄🎁⛄🎄🎄🎄⛄🎄🎄⛄⛄ original post below followed by ChatGPT re
We have so many different ways to express our appreciation for things. This series is an expensive list of the subgenres you can use as a writer to describe the projects you are working with.
Respond with anything you think might be missing, or comments on whatever you have that may fit one, or more, of these awesome definitions of subgenres!
This is supposed to be fun, so no rude Dolphin hate!

1. Ergodic Literature: Requires effort from the reader beyond typical reading, often involving non-linear narratives or physical interaction with the book.
   
2. Bildungsroman: A novel that focuses on the psychological and moral growth of the protagonist from youth to adulthood.
   
3. Eco-Horror: Blends elements of horror and environmental issues, often featuring nature as a malevolent force.
   
4. Biopunk: Explores the impact of biotechnology, genetic engineering, and biometrics on society.
   
5. Cli-Fi (Climate Fiction): Focuses on climate change and its effects on the environment and humanity.
   
6. Chick Lit Noir: Merges elements of women's fiction, mystery, and noir, typically featuring a female protagonist.
   
7. Solarpunk: Envisions a future where renewable energy and sustainable living practices prevail.
   
8. Flintlock Fantasy: Features technology equivalent to the flintlock firearm era in a fantasy setting.
   
9. Transrealism: Blurs the line between reality and fiction, often incorporating real-life events and characters.
   
10. Splatstick: Combines slapstick comedy with elements of horror, often involving exaggerated and gory violence.
    
11. Crunchy Noir: A subversion of traditional noir with added elements of comedy and irreverence.
    
12. Kaiju Erotica: Involves giant monsters (kaiju) in explicit or erotic contexts.
    
13. Gastrofiction: Focuses on food and culinary experiences as a central theme in the narrative.
    
14. Biopunk: Explores the societal implications of biotechnology, genetic engineering, and biometrics.
    
15. Dieselpunk: Set in a world where diesel-based technology is prevalent, often in an alternate history.
    
16. Bugpunk: Blends steampunk aesthetics with insect-inspired technology.
    
17. Rural Noir: Noir fiction set in rural or small-town environments, often exploring dark themes.
    
18. Hopepunk: Emphasizes hope, optimism, and resilience in the face of adversity.
    
19. Mannerpunk: A subgenre of fantasy that focuses on manners, social hierarchies, and etiquette.
    
20. Clockpunk: Features clockwork mechanisms and Renaissance-era technology in a fantasy setting.
    
21. Atompunk: Centers around the aesthetics and technology inspired by the Atomic Age and mid-20th century.
    
22. Dreadpunk: A subgenre of gothic horror that emphasizes a sense of dread and unease.
    
23. Decopunk: Set in the Art Deco era, often with a focus on sleek design and glamour.
    
24. Dying Earth Subgenre: Takes place in the last days of a dying world, often with a sense of decay and decline.
    
25. Mannerpunk: Focuses on manners, social structures, and etiquette in a fantastical setting.
    
26. Slipstream: Blurs the boundaries between mainstream fiction and speculative fiction.
    
27. Cattlepunk: A western-inspired subgenre with advanced technology and cattle-centric themes.
    
28. Oceanpunk: Features maritime and underwater settings with a focus on oceanic technology.
    
29. Dolphin Poetry: Poetry inspired by or featuring dolphins as a prominent theme.
    
30. Cat Poetry: Poetry centered around cats as a significant subject.
    

🎁🎁🎁🎁🎁🎁🎁🎁🎁🎁🎁🎁🎁🎁🎁
Prompt 1: Ergodic Literature
Title: The Maze of Whispers
In a dimly lit room, there sat an old man named Professor Bartholomew, surrounded by books that seemed to teeter on the edge of chaos. He was known for his eccentricities and fascination with ancient tomes. The assignment for the day was a peculiar one - ergodic literature. He urged us to create a narrative that required effort beyond typical reading.
I closed my eyes, picturing a world where whispers held the secrets of existence. My protagonist, Lydia, stumbled upon an old, tattered book bound with a lock of silver. As she flipped through the pages, the words whispered to her in faint echoes, inviting her deeper into their labyrinthine secrets.
Lydia soon realized that reading wasn't enough; she had to engage with the text physically. The words wove a path, guiding her through an intricate maze of passages that twisted and turned with each decision. Every choice she made altered the narrative, leading to different outcomes, each branching into new, uncharted territories.
The book's world was alive, responding to Lydia's touch, her emotions, her doubts, and her courage. It demanded her presence, her active participation, pushing her beyond the boundaries of passive reading. The more she interacted, the more the story revealed its enigmatic nature, challenging her perception of reality.
As Lydia ventured deeper, the whispers intensified. They weren't just words anymore; they were living entities, shaping the very essence of her being. She found herself in a struggle to escape the maze of whispers that threatened to consume her entirely.
In the end, she discovered that the book was a reflection of her own soul, a manifestation of her inner struggles and desires. To break free, Lydia had to confront her fears and make peace with the cacophony of whispers that echoed within her mind.
The story unfolded as a journey of self-discovery, where the reader became an active participant, navigating the maze alongside Lydia, feeling the weight of each decision and experiencing the consequences firsthand.
Professor Bartholomew applauded the class for their imaginative takes on ergodic literature, emphasizing how our narratives required readers to engage beyond the surface, encouraging a deeper level of interaction with the text. The assignment opened doors to a realm where the act of reading transcended mere observation, transforming into a collaborative journey between the author, the characters, and the reader.
This exercise challenged my perceptions of storytelling, igniting a newfound appreciation for the intricate dance between the written word and the reader's participation, leaving me eager to explore more unconventional narrative styles in the future.

In the heart of West Africa, nestled amidst lush landscapes and bustling cities, Ghana's agricultural sector is witnessing a transformative wave with the integration of cutting-edge technology. One poultry farm, in particular, stands as a beacon of modernization, having recently completed the installation of an advanced automatic broiler chicken cage system designed to accommodate an impressive 30,000 birds. This bold step not only marks a significant leap in production capacity but also sets new standards for efficiency, sustainability, and animal welfare in the region.

Embracing Innovation for Enhanced Productivity

The newly installed system represents a quantum leap from traditional farming methods. Each cage is meticulously crafted to provide optimal living conditions for the broiler chickens, ensuring they thrive in a controlled environment. These state-of-the-art cages come equipped with features that automatically regulate feed supply, water distribution, and waste management, significantly reducing manual labor and enhancing overall productivity.

Precision Feeding and Watering: The Key to Rapid Growth

At the core of this innovation lies precision. The automated feeding mechanism ensures each bird receives a balanced diet tailored to its growth stage, promoting rapid yet healthy development. Similarly, the watering system guarantees a continuous supply of clean water, which is vital for maintaining good health and enhancing meat quality. This level of control translates into uniformity in growth rates, leading to more consistent yields and profitability.

Health Management and Disease Control

Health is paramount in any farming operation, and this automated system takes it seriously. By elevating the chickens off the ground, the risk of diseases spread through contaminated litter is vastly reduced. Coupled with an efficient waste disposal mechanism that keeps the environment clean, the likelihood of disease outbreaks is minimized. Regular monitoring further aids in early detection and intervention, safeguarding the flock’s wellbeing.

Environmental Sustainability and Resource Efficiency

In an era where environmental consciousness is crucial, this installation demonstrates a commitment to sustainability. The efficient use of resources such as water and feed minimizes waste, while the controlled environment reduces energy consumption compared to open-air systems. Furthermore, the collection and proper disposal of waste materials contribute to a cleaner, greener farming practice, aligning with global sustainability goals.

Economic Impact and Community Empowerment

Beyond the farm gates, this technological advancement has far-reaching economic implications. The increased productivity and efficiency promise higher returns for the farm owners, contributing to the local economy. It also creates employment opportunities, fostering skills development and economic empowerment within the community. Moreover, by enhancing food security and improving the quality of poultry products, it positively impacts consumer health and satisfaction.
In conclusion, the installation of automatic broiler chicken cages at this Ghanaian poultry farm embodies a progressive stride towards modern, sustainable agriculture. It exemplifies how technology can be harnessed to address challenges faced by the industry, ultimately benefiting farmers, consumers, and the environment alike. As Ghana continues to embrace such innovations, it paves the way for a brighter, more prosperous future in poultry farming.

TW: eating disorder
I'm a new mom in my toddler era. I've always struggled with my relationship to food but it's become out of control since becoming a parent. I was diagnosed with ADHD several years ago and only recently came to the realization that I have an eating disorder. While going through some therapy recently I learned that forgetting to eat is a huge problem being a binge eater...well I can't fix that until I help my ADHD.
Anyone struggle with this?
Bonus advice would be appreciated for any moms that have gone on medication while breastfeeding. Are there options for me? I will be talking to my psychiatrist about what medications to try soon.

Announcing the rebel alliance, starring in: A Galaxy Far, Far Away: A Downtown Collaboration. Join us on Saturday May 4 from 4-10 PM and enjoy themed food and drink specials, activities, and limited edition merchandise from 11 local businesses downtown.
https://www.facebook.com/events/419000230758552?ref=newsfeed
Lick Homemade Ice Cream x MM Nutrition & Wellness. 4-9 pm. Ice cream so good it’ll have you saying, “I love you.” We know. Stop by your local artisan ice cream shop and treat yourself to a C-3POreo Sammie (Oreo ice cream sandwiched between two chocolate chip cookies) or a Dark Side Sammie (Chocolate brownie chip ice cream between two chocolate chip cookies). While you’re in, browse the Tattooine station for extended wear temp tatts for kids and adults, plus ltd edition stickers.
Meeker Mercantile. 4-7 pm. Chewie, we’re home: whether you’re on the hunt for traditional apparel or the collaboration of your dreams, this is the place.Tees for the light and dark side of the force? Check. The Taylor Swift/Princess Leia tee you didn’t know you needed? Check. Vader, starring in the eras tour? Double check.
Trackside Pizza. 5-8 pm. Join your favorite downtown pizzeria for the best slice buffet this side of the galaxy. Boarding May 4 only.
Crockett’s Public House. 4-10 pm. Grab a Han-Burger special (two patties, four slices of cheese, burger sauce) or sample a Margarita F-Light Saber. All the refreshment, none of the carbonite.
CaskCades x Lumberjack Popcorn Company. 4-10 pm. The Empire Strikes Snack: grab your ltd release popcorn from Lumberjack Popcorn Company (variety of flavors available) and play a round of pinball before you settle in for Star Wars bingo starting at 6 pm.Saber Sodas available in Skywalker or Vader (blue cream or strawberry soda + vanilla ice cream).
Nuestro Barrio. 4-6 pm. We’ve got a good feeling about this: welcome Puyallup’s newest retailer! Themed merchandise available.
puyallup Atomic Genius. 4-7 pm. Always in motion is the future: relive your childhood or treat your padawan to a vintage inspired Star Wars lunchbox or Funkopop figure as you browse new and used records!
The Coaster. 4-10 pm. Gold bikinis optional, gold bikini inspired cocktails a must. Indulge in a Rebel Princess or snack on a Starcuterie platter as you enjoy Star Wars Trivia starting at 4 pm. (21+)
Elements. 4-7 pm. Fuel up with sweet citrus and green tea concentrate in a Tatooine Sun tea bomb.

Title: The Forgotten Haunting
Set in a dilapidated Victorian-era mansion buried deep in the heart of a secluded forest, the haunting begins with a sense of foreboding darkness that hangs heavy in the air.
Characters: 1. Sarah Williams: A curious and adventurous young woman who stumbles upon the mansion during her exploration of the forest. 2. Thomas Emerson: The enigmatic caretaker of the mansion, harboring a horrifying secret. 3. The Tormented Spirit: An otherworldly presence trapped within the mansion, seeking release from its eternal suffering.
Prologue: Legend had it that the mansion was cursed, once inhabited by the affluent Emerson family who met a gruesome end. Over the years, tales of inexplicable phenomena, disappearances, and eery whispers surrounding the mansion had spread like wildfire, keeping even the bravest souls at bay. Sarah, drawn to mysteries and thrill-seeking, couldn't resist the temptation to unlock the secrets lying dormant within the mansion's decaying walls.
Section 1: An Unearthly Encounter • Sarah, a lone explorer, weaves through dense foliage, feeling an inexplicable pull towards the forsaken mansion. • The mansion emerges from the mist, an imposing structure with cracked windows and overgrown ivy. • She approaches the front door, only to be greeted by Thomas, the secretive caretaker who reluctantly allows her inside.
Section 2: An Ancient Malevolence Awakens • Lit by flickering candlelight, the interior reeks of dampness and decay, where time seems to stand still. • Thomas reveals the mansion's dark history, recounting the grisly demise of the Emerson family, leaving Sarah haunted by a pervasive sense of dread. • Strange occurrences befall Sarah — whispers echo through the hallways, unseen hands brush against her skin, and unsettling visions torment her dreams.
Section 3: Descent into Madness • Sarah discovers a secret chamber hidden beneath the mansion, its walls adorned with haunting paintings of tortured souls. • The tormented spirit, enraged by Sarah's presence, reveals itself in the form of a spectral figure, desperate for release. • As the mansion becomes a labyrinth of fear, filled with apparitions and disembodied screams, Sarah battles against her own faltering sanity.
Section 4: Unveiling the Dark Truth • Sarah unearths a hidden diary, kept by Gabriel Emerson, the youngest of the family, detailing their descent into madness. • The diary reveals the Emersons' dark pact with malevolent forces, exchanging their mortality for enormous wealth and power. • Sarah realizes that she, unknowingly, becomes the final piece to the bloodstained puzzle, fated to relive the trauma of the past.
Section 5: The Edge of Destruction • Time blurs, and Sarah finds herself in a macabre dance with the tormented spirit, forced to confront her darkest fears. • She discovers a ritual to unravel the curse — a sacrifice to

1. Crunchy Noir:

Dear Writer,
Subvert traditional noir elements by infusing your narrative with comedy and irreverence within a letter. Explore the interplay between dark, mysterious themes and comedic elements, creating a unique and intriguing story that challenges the typical expectations of the noir genre.
Best Regards, [Your Name]

1. Kaiju Erotica:

Dear Writer,
Incorporate giant monsters (kaiju) in explicit or erotic contexts within a letter. Craft a narrative that explores intimate or romantic encounters intertwined with the immense scale and power of these monstrous beings, creating a unique blend of sensuality and colossal awe.
Best Regards, [Your Name]

1. Gastrofiction:

Dear Writer,
Focus on food and culinary experiences as a central theme within a letter. Describe the sensory richness of tastes, aromas, and cultural significance of food, integrating these elements into the characters' lives and interactions, making gastronomy an essential part of the narrative.
Best Regards, [Your Name]

1. Dieselpunk:

Dear Writer,
Set your narrative in a world dominated by diesel-based technology within a letter. Create an alternate history or a retro-futuristic setting where characters interact with technologies and aesthetics emblematic of the diesel era, shaping their lives and societal structures.
Best Regards, [Your Name]

1. Bugpunk:

Dear Writer,
Blend steampunk aesthetics with insect-inspired technology within a letter. Create a world where characters utilize mechanical devices, structures, or societal elements inspired by the intricate and fascinating world of insects.
Best Regards, [Your Name]

1. Rural Noir:

Dear Writer,
Set your noir narrative in a rural or small-town environment within a letter. Explore the darker aspects of these settings, weaving a tale of suspense, crime, or moral ambiguity against the backdrop of a quieter, yet equally menacing, rural landscape.
Best Regards, [Your Name]

1. Hopepunk:

Dear Writer,
Emphasize hope, resilience, and optimism within a letter. Create a narrative that celebrates the characters' unwavering spirit and determination in the face of adversity, inspiring a sense of hopefulness and empowerment throughout the story.
Best Regards, [Your Name]

1. Mannerpunk:

Dear Writer,
Focus on manners, social hierarchies, and etiquette within a fantastical setting within a letter. Craft a narrative that revolves around societal norms, manners, and the complexities of social structures, exploring how these elements shape characters' interactions and aspirations.
Best Regards, [Your Name]

1. Clockpunk:

Dear Writer,
Feature clockwork mechanisms and Renaissance-era technology within a fantasy setting within a letter. Transport characters to a world filled with intricate clockwork inventions and gadgets, exploring how these mechanisms impact their lives and adventures.
Best Regards, [Your Name]

1. Atompunk:

Dear Writer,
Explore the aesthetics and technology inspired by the Atomic Age and mid-20th century within a letter. Craft a narrative that vividly captures the cultural and technological nuances of this era, showcasing futuristic advancements and societal shifts influenced by atomic-themed elements.
Best Regards, [Your Name]
I

As I have lived here for 24 years, here are 24 things to do in Nagoya.

1. Visit Nagoya Castle and explore its historical exhibits and beautiful grounds.
2. Experience the Toyota Commemorative Museum of Industry and Technology to learn about Japan's automotive industry.
3. Stroll through the Atsuta Shrine, one of Japan’s most important Shinto shrines.
4. Discover the wonders of science at the Nagoya City Science Museum, featuring one of the largest planetariums in the world.
5. Enjoy a peaceful walk in Heiwa Park, famous for its cherry blossoms and serene pond.
6. Explore the Port of Nagoya Public Aquarium, which houses various marine life and spectacular dolphin shows.
7. Take a trip to the SCMAGLEV and Railway Park to see train simulators and historic trains.
8. Visit the Tokugawa Art Museum to view samurai armour, swords, and other artefacts from Japan's feudal era.
9. Shop and dine at the Osu Shopping District, known for its eclectic mix of shops and street food.
10. Relax in the Noritake Garden, where you can admire fine ceramics and beautifully landscaped gardens.
11. Visit the Higashiyama Zoo and Botanical Gardens, which features diverse animal species and extensive plant collections.
12. Shop in Sakae and check out the Nagoya TV Tower.
13. Explore the world of aviation at the Aichi Museum of Flight.
14. Enjoy traditional Japanese theatre at the Nagoya Noh Theatre.
15. Explore the history of automobiles at the Toyota Automobile Museum.
16. View modern art at the Aichi Arts Center.
17. Sample fresh seafood and local produce at the Yanagibashi Central Market.
18. Step back at the Meiji Mura Museum, an open-air museum featuring preserved buildings from Japan's Meiji and Taisho periods.
19. Have fun with family at Legoland Japan.
20. Admire the Nagoya City Art Museum collections focusing on modern and contemporary art.
21. Walk through Tsuruma Park, known for its stunning cherry blossoms.
22. Shop and dine in the skyscraper complex of JR Central Towers.
23. Play and relax at Moricoro Park, a large park with various recreational facilities.
24. Visit the Shirotori Garden, a tranquil Japanese garden ideal for a quiet walk.

We all know the call to action employed by many movements "reach out to your representative."
So of course I have. I reached out to mine following the exposure of the COVID lies from the burying over ivermectin to the denial of a lab (we funded). I check the box to send a response.
Here's his response:
"Thank you for contacting me with your thoughts on conducting oversight during the 118th Congress. I appreciate you taking the time to let me know your views on this issue.
Like you, I believe that all government agencies and programs benefit from periodic reviews, smart reforms, active oversight and appropriate transparency. I believe that the American people should be aware of how their hard-earned tax dollars spent. When it comes to federal spending, transparency must not be an afterthought. Instead, Congress and the American people must be aware of how funds will be spent prior to authorizing the funds on the House floor. That's why I am committed to ensuring that Congress not only provides rigorous oversight over executive agencies, but optimizes its yearly appropriations in a manner that is both fiscally responsible and efficient. Please be assured that I will keep your thoughts in mind should opportunities arise for oversight in the Judiciary or Natural Resources Committee.
Thank you again for taking the time to write to me. I appreciate you making me aware of your views. Your thoughts and recommendations are helpful as I work with my colleagues on the important challenges facing our nation."
It's a canned response that doesn't actually comment on anything I said. I heavily commented on concerns over the lies about ivermectin.
I've reached out again (different representative) about their vote in support of extending and expanding 9/11 era surveillance. Admittedly, this was recent, but I know I will never hear back.
Here's what I said:
"You have shown your allegiances lay not with the people but in the hands of an authoritarian surveillance state. Your vote against the Biggs amendment is morally reprehensible. There is no justification for such violations of civil liberties. And, no it does not help us stop terrorism nor would it possibly be a justified trade off. To quote a founding father cliche you seem to have forgotten: "Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety." Even this is a misrepresentation of the true callousness of your actions. If you truly asked your constituency if this is what they wanted, you know the answer you would get. To circle back, are Americans safer now than before the war on terror? Are they safer now because people like you have unilaterally given away rights? It's a resounding no. I would love to debate you on these issues; however, we both know you would never allow your treachery to be exposed.
No one can afford a house anymore. No one can afford rent anymore. We spent two decades fighting wars that did nothing but scar our men and line war profiteer pockets. And everyone is eating poisonous food that keeps getting more expensive and when it inevitably makes them sick they can't afford to be made well again. In spite of this, your priorities lay in stripping liberties and sending money to foreign wars that are slaughtering thousands. If you aren't going to represent us, at least have enough respect to stop boldly lying to our faces in a pitiful attempt to either convince us, or more likely, convince yourself."
We all know these politicians are bought and paid for so I just want to know how many of you have reached out with these blatent lies as your concern and what you've heard back. Has anyone had a real response? Or are our politicians just as unreachable as home ownership?

My last attempt, if anyone wants to discuss this or writing I'dI'dd love to talk to other writers.
Basic Information

1. What is your character's full name and any nicknames?
   
2. What is your character's age and date of birth?
   
3. What is your character's gender identity and sexual orientation?
   
4. What is your character's ethnicity, nationality, and race?
   
5. What is your character's occupation or role in the story?
   

Appearance & Mannerisms

1. Describe your character's physical appearance in detail.
   
2. What are your character's unique gestures, mannerisms, or speech patterns?
   
3. What is your character's personal style and fashion sense?
   
4. Does your character have any distinguishing features, scars, or tattoos?
   
5. How does your character feel about their appearance?
   

Personality & Emotions

1. What are your character's dominant personality traits?
   
2. Is your character an introvert or an extrovert?
   
3. What are your character's greatest strengths and weaknesses?
   
4. What is your character's biggest fear or phobia?
   
5. What is your character's deepest insecurity or self-doubt?
   
6. What is your character's love language?
   
7. How does your character handle stress and pressure?
   
8. What is your character's sense of humor like?
   
9. What is your character's temperament and how do they express anger?
   
10. What is your character's default emotional state?
    

Background & Upbringing

1. Where was your character born and raised?
   
2. What was your character's family life like growing up?
   
3. What is your character's relationship with their parents and siblings?
   
4. What is your character's most vivid childhood memory?
   
5. What was your character's education and school experience like?
   
6. What was your character's first job or early work experience?
   
7. What is your character's religious or spiritual background, if any?
   
8. What is your character's socioeconomic background and status?
   
9. What cultural traditions or values did your character grow up with?
   
10. What historical events has your character lived through?
    

Relationships & Influences

1. Who is your character's best friend and what is their relationship like?
   
2. Who is your character's love interest or significant other?
   
3. Who is your character's mentor, role model, or biggest influence?
   
4. Who is your character's rival or nemesis?
   
5. Who is your character's biggest ally or supporter?
   
6. What is your character's relationship with authority figures?
   
7. How does your character interact with strangers or acquaintances?
   
8. What is your character's attitude towards romantic relationships?
   
9. What is your character's relationship with technology and social media?
   
10. What is your character's relationship with nature and the environment?
    

Lifestyle & Habits

1. What is your character's daily routine and schedule?
   
2. What are your character's hobbies, interests, and leisure activities?
   
3. What is your character's diet and exercise regimen?
   
4. What is your character's sleep schedule and dream life?
   
5. What are your character's vices, bad habits, or guilty pleasures?
   
6. What is your character's living situation and home environment?
   
7. What is your character's financial situation and spending habits?
   
8. What is your character's travel history and dream destinations?
   
9. What is your character's relationship with alcohol and drugs?
   
10. What is your character's personal hygiene and grooming routine?
    

Beliefs, Values & Motivations

1. What are your character's core beliefs and values?
   
2. What is your character's moral compass and ethical code?
   
3. What are your character's political views and affiliations?
   
4. What social issues does your character care about most?
   
5. What is your character's life philosophy or mantra?
   
6. What is your character's biggest regret or mistake?
   
7. What is your character's greatest achievement or proudest moment?
   
8. What is your character's idea of success and happiness?
   
9. What motivates your character to take action and pursue their goals?
   
10. What is your character's purpose or mission in life?
    

Favorites Section

1. What is your character's favorite color and what does it represent to them?
   
2. What is your character's favorite food and why?
   
3. What is your character's favorite music genre and artist?
   
4. What is your character's favorite book or literary genre?
   
5. What is your character's favorite movie or TV show?
   
6. What is your character's favorite hobby or pastime?
   
7. What is your character's favorite word or catchphrase?
   
8. What is your character's favorite article of clothing or accessory?
   
9. What is your character's favorite season and type of weather?
   
10. What is your character's favorite holiday or special occasion?
    

Emotional Wounds & Challenges

1. What is your character's deepest emotional wound or trauma?
   
2. What is your character's biggest challenge or obstacle in life?
   
3. What is your character's greatest fear or phobia and how does it hold them back?
   
4. What is your character's most toxic or unhealthy relationship?
   
5. What is your character's biggest failure or disappointment?
   
6. What is your character's most painful loss or grief experience?
   
7. What is your character's biggest secret or source of shame?
   
8. What is your character's most self-destructive habit or behavior?
   
9. What is your character's biggest blind spot or area of ignorance?
   
10. What is your character's most challenging personality trait or quirk?
    

Goals, Dreams & Aspirations

1. What is your character's biggest dream or aspiration in life?
   
2. What is your character's short-term goal or next step?
   
3. What is your character's long-term goal or vision for the future?
   
4. What is your character's idea of a perfect day or ideal life?
   
5. What is your character's wildest fantasy or impossible dream?
   
6. What is your character's bucket list or top life experiences to have?
   
7. What is your character's legacy or impact they want to leave on the world?
   
8. What is your character's idea of a fulfilling career or calling?
   
9. What is your character's idea of a healthy and happy relationship?
   
10. What is your character's personal definition of success and happiness?
    

Outside-the-Box Thinking

1. If your character could have any superpower, what would it be and why?
   
2. If your character could time travel, what era would they visit and why?
   
3. If your character could switch lives with anyone for a day, who would it be?
   
4. If your character could have dinner with any historical figure, who would it be?
   
5. If your character could learn any skill instantly, what would it be?
   
6. If your character could change one thing about their past, what would it be?
   
7. If your character could invent anything, what would it be and why?
   
8. If your character could start a new life somewhere else, where would they go?
   
9. If your character could have any magical or mythical creature as a pet, what would it be?
   
10. If your character could solve any world problem or issue, what would it be?
    

This is not to diagnose her with anything- it is really hard to tell who someone really is through a screen, but I have to say I would not be surprised because she fits the description like a glove!
These are the symptoms and I tried to include some examples of how I think it fits Anna's behavior.
Feel underappreciated or depressed when they’re not the center of attention. In all her videos she shows attention seeking behavior when with others, like on that yacht trip. She talks over people, always has to be doing something big, walks around in a bikini- I think we can call agree she loves being center of attention. Another thing I noted on the yacht trip, was that Anna was really only happy when she was at the center of attention doing something outrageous. In the beginning clip when the girls were all introducing themselves, they asked her dead last, that must have hurt her in the main character because she was visibly irritated
Have rapidly shifting and shallow emotions. We've seen this with her mask drops
Be dramatic and extremely emotionally expressive, even to the point of embarrassing friends and family in public. I've seen on several videos Anna does this weird overly expressive thing with her face similar to the one amber heard did when she said her infamous "dog stepped on a bee" line (watch her novo nordisk interview for an example). Anna also does a lot of things that make you wonder if she is drunk
Have a “larger than life” presence. She literally says this lol
Be persistently charming and flirtatious. or she tries to be!
Be overly concerned with their physical appearance. Use their physical appearance to draw attention to themselves by wearing bright-colored clothing or revealing clothing. This is her for sure!
Act inappropriately sexual with most of the people they meet, even when they’re not sexually attracted to them. - I can't say if this fits her but she does constantly makes awkward dirty jokes so there's that
Speak dramatically and express strong opinions but with few facts or details to support their opinions. She has this way of saying a whole lot of motivational nothing in her videos, and she will pretend to be an expert in something she just started doing as in her "running" era
Be gullible and easily influenced by others, especially by the people they admire. - Does this fit her? Can't say tbh
Think that their relationships with others are closer than they usually are. Have difficulty maintaining relationships, often seeming fake or shallow in their interactions with others. Need instant gratification and become bored or frustrated very easily. Constantly seek reassurance or approval. Her weight/food addiction can be testament to this.
And then that high school story she shared in her book of her sending the popular girl a note detailing how hard her life was so that she would feel sorry for her and be her friend only for the girl to laugh at her. The most telling is that Anna wasn't even embarrassed recounting this cringe inducing disaster. Adult Anna thought the popular girl was the problem!
Sorry its a mess to read, I will be back to edit in a bit to make it a bit easier!

Most species only discover fire in their species' equivalent to the Renaissance. Essentially, experimenting with and finding uses for things that were considered too dangerous to mess with before, most notably including fire, is the catalyst that catapults societies into their industrial eras.
​
In contrast, humans have been harnessing fire since their prehistoric era because they wanted to eat hot food. Humans use fire inside in spite of its negative effect on air quality simply because they want to eat hot food. Humans created an adjustable electric food heater by abusing thermostats to control the duty cycle (called SimmerStats) so they didn't have to develop a much more technologically complex voltage adjuster like everyone else did to control electric heat (they only use it for scientific experiments because they're not maniacal "cooks" like the humans are).
​
The humans have created a rich variety of flavors using heat to process food. However, if a human ever serves you hot food, you better be careful to allow it to cool so you don't burn yourselves.
​
If you're ever on a planet survey with humans, do not be surprised if they clear an area to burn local foliage in to make hot food. Do not be alarmed at the primitiveness of their fire safety protocols. After all, they've been using fire since long before even those protocols were developed and they're still here.

Hi! I am looking for feminine historical fiction books about a woman's life. I like romance but am looking for books that are more than just romance and are focused on the female characters. For example, I loved City of Girls and The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo.
I am hoping for some books set in particular time periods like: the Victorian era, 1920s, 1940s, 1950s. Thank you!

THIS IS ROTHSCHILDS FUCKERY! ITS THEM. FUCKING THEM!
Earlier I was wondering what Benito Mussolini and others relationship to this was when by judging the 1947 periodic table - Titanium is mostly German.
It’s in the same box as Germanium. So I doubt Benito Mussolini was the main person behind it. No, Hitler was.
What does Titanium and Germanium have in common? ROTHSCHILDS.
What do Nazis and Zionists have in common? ROTHSCHILDS.
Even names like Frank. ROTHSCHILDS.
Rothschilds are in fact originating from one guy who sent 5 sons to build banking dynasties everywhere. But the original family is from Frankfurt, Germany.
Their emblem is also from 1822.
THEY WERE the leader of the Zionist movement as long back as 1917 when Balfour Declaration was signed. at the time, Lord Walter Lionel Rothschild was the richest man on the planet.
ALL the families would be repping Titanium and Germanium because that’s their roots. Whether in Italy or the UK.
No wonder the Nazi movement was still spearheaded by Germany.
The Nazi movement would fucking collapse in itself when people realise they fought for dumb stupid rich bankers to be able to own everything instead of the people.
Look at what they do in every country. They get some right winger to basically make every country right wing, anti immigration etc
Just by being on the right, you are still fighting for their cause.
Capitalism is HILARIOUS because by default, 70% of us should be communists. WHAT FUCKING AMERICAN DREAM DO WE HAVE ACCESS TO?
Rothschilds want to make sure nobody can ever take away their assets.
They weaponise things like antisemitism, right wing beliefs, whatever the fuck works.
No fucking shit communism is scary to these banking families.
What the fuck does a fast food worker benefit from capitalism to vote right?
They have truly brainwashed and deluded everybody.
Rich people should bend over backwards satisfying us to make sure we are happy, and continue to vote right!
Instead, they take away welfare, decrease taxes on the rich, give us inflation, make us poorer than ever, even education fucking paralyses us with student loans. WHAT THE FUCK.
The 1% has somehow tricked the whole world into accepting this HORSE SHIT.
The rich deluded us into thinking THEY should decide what our armies fight for. They create armies, sell us propaganda on how amazing it is to serve your country not knowing you’re a fucking pawn! And most wars were fought for reasons people kept secret!
It’s all fucking propaganda by the rich!
If capitalism should continue, they BETTER meet half way and start making education basically free for all (like Australia at least with our HELP loans that mean you never have to pay it back if your tax threshold ain’t high enough), health care for all etc
The LEAST you people could demand for is the socialism already working in other countries like UK and Australia. That should be your fucking right. Don’t let rich people tell you otherwise and try take away things like healthcare.
It is these things that increase social mobility - education, healthcare, and welfare. You see it in me. That’s how I was perhaps able to surpass my father. That is the BARE MINIMUM your country should provide for you if it wants to keep capitalism and sell you the American Dream.
And they have you BRAINWASHED. So many voters for the right are the very same people impacted the most! Uneducated etc
Stop letting politics revolve around petty bullshit and make it about economics again!
Tell all the Bush era conservatives, the neocons who many have evolved into MAGA’s to go fuck themselves because they aren’t making ANYTHING great except their morally bankrupt friends.
DEMOCRATS is how you make America great again, especially if you stop getting Republicans standing in the way of combatting wealth inequality.
These fucking assholes.. literally, they don’t even fucking try make it worth it for poor people to vote right. It’s revolving around just making policies that benefit THEM, not all of your country.
If you want safer communities, even senses of community, to lower crime and things like substance abuse, - your main problem is WEALTH INEQUALITY.
One of the problems in the way is religion. Start teaching the people that life is mostly deterministic then watch how fast Right wingers get fucked up the ass.
They want communism but only for themselves!
To me, THEY are the communists. We are just the god damn slaves. Apparently they don’t need chains to enslave us anymore.
There SHOULD be a wealth cap. Take for example a single man with no family has for example $100 billion. Wouldn’t you think he has more than enough?
The problem is you have so many of these people who have taken wealth out of circulation.
You know how economies combat recessions? They introduce surpluses and give money to people to make them spend, so people stop hoarding their money.
Your economy NEEDS money to keep circulating.
You shoot yourselves in the fucking foot whenever a company like Google enters a new market, is able to do everything at astronomically low prices, and basically like.. look at YouTube. That is the problem of capitalism.
IF you had an American dream, the category of video websites wouldn’t just get bought out by a large corporation.
When I used that NY Times example where no matter if you can put in 10000x the work, NY Times owns the newspaper monopoly in NY for fucking EVER
Now imagine the video content website.
NOT ONLY did Google create a king of search engines. They were able to go become the king of video websites.
Now even if you were to put in 100000x the work that the creators of YouTube did, you will NEVER replace them.
These monopolies get bigger & bigger.
If you want to bring back the American Dream, you HAVE to vote Democrat.
Just look at me! It is only because my amazing country has covered my healthcare, my education, my welfare, that I was even able to take my shot at the American Dream! In America, my hard work NEVER mattered. In America, I was dead the day I was born and apparently my destiny was to live the life of a slave for rich people.
The American election should have been an election between TWO leftist parties, where you debate on things such as puberty blockers.
It should NEVER be an election between Democrats and Republicans.
See, in Australia where I am even though it became 100x harder from when my dad got here, I BARELY was able to experience the American Dream. I have faith I’ll get there one day.
But if I never even had my periodic table chemistry to get me watched by the whole world, what fucking chance did I ever have? I was supposed to go work fruit and veg with my family or become some shitty accountant.
9.9 times out of 10, I was going to have a mediocre life. And that had NOTHING to do with the amount of hard work I’ve put in or any talent. I grinded my fucking ass off for the last few years, I don’t remember the last time I saw a friend or been to a party!
Some people like me make it in America. That’s NOT an American dream.
Even if I put in half the work to get here, I was STILL excelling compared to my age group but doomed to a life of mediocrity. Going against the million to one odds and winning is not a dream, it’s more like having won a lotto ticket jackpot. And we brainwash everybody by making it sound like it’s anything easier than a lottery ticket jackpot.
Anyway. Tell rich people to kiss your asses.
I’m not saying this shit for me - anybody can see that I’ll be able to make a living from just speaking about my experiences and I’d have a lifetime of comfort eventually.
This actually helps the vast majority of the world, more than me.
Remember, capitalism is zero sum. So as long as we are capitalistic, I AM losing money by tryna start this movement.
Still, I want everybody to have the same opportunities I had. I woulda been dead if I had to cover my medical expenses.
If the whole legal basis for having to pay taxes is that “you live in our country now” blablabla then tell them to spend your taxes on EVERYBODY’s healthcare.
It’s a fucking no brainer too. These rich people, WHO THE FUCK do you think is going to become sick along with the poor? Eventually, you. You might delay your arthritis by two decades but coming up for cures for the poor means you cure the rich.
If the rich cure the poor from ailments, you suddenly have poor people who can work on YOUR cures.
By making the American dream available to all, enabling as many people to becoming doctors, you are helping yourselves too.
The way you guys do everything is so selfish and backwards.
Give me a damn country and watch how we excel everything. No crime, no robberies, no murders, a community dedicating to life hacking, belief in empathy as the key to a perfect society, nobody left behind,
Seriously give me a few million people and watch how quickly we jump to the top of all the industries.
It’ll be socialism + capitalism that isn’t zero sum, and equitable as possible. Nobody allowed to hoard wealth if you want to live among us or do business among us. To be able to live in this perfect society, you have to have empathy and an interest in seeing everybody excel no matter their skin or religion.
In fact make my few million people mixed from different ethnicities so I prove to you all your identity politics is FUCKING STUPID and personality disorders are the category of life.
Bring me Israeli’s and Jews and lemme show you how they’ll rather live in my country than Israel.
It would have minimum government interference, we’d settle disputes like tribes did. Tribal law. Everybody would be an autodidact and a critical thinker
In fact our constitution would be: CRITICAL THINKING. LOGIC TO SOLVE ALL DISPUTES WITH EMPHASIS ON EMPATHY. Trauma-informed.
THAT is all we need. “Logic” implies like court sentences follow precedents.

In honor of our Messy Petty Potato Monarch, the Honorable Charlotte (and her baiiff, Sharklotte), I am here with a truly messy, petty vengeance tale, from the long-lost depths of my mother's memories. She's been gone almost 15 years, but this story is by far one of the funniest things I ever heard, and I think you'll like it.
My mom, as most teens in the late 70s and early 80s did, worked a fast food job for experience and a little spending money. My mom's first job was at Wendy's, and she absolutely LOVED her time there. The people she worked with were fun to be around, the benefits were great (definitely recommend supporting Dave Thomas Foundation with a Frosty Keytag whenever you can!), and leftover burgers and fries are always a plus!
Well, one of the ladies my mom worked with was pregnant; we'll call this shining example of petty vindictiveness, "Veronica" (I don't even know her real name, Mom was always careful not to dox her friends lol). Veronica, as a heavily pregnant lady in the southern US in the middle of summer, had absolutely zero F's to give at the end of a long shift, and most of the regular customers knew to play nice (or play dead) when she was working the registers up front.
Enter... "Tom".
Tom had become a recent regular drive-thru customer in the previous week, usually on shifts when Veronica wasn't in. But the stories had begun to make the rounds. Tom would speak loudly, slowly, and over-enunciate into the speaker: you know, like people do in movies when they're talking down to someone they think is either deaf or stupid?
Because that never happens in real life... But I digress...
Tom's order the first day, given in his soon-to-be trademark, haughty, ass-hatted way, was as follows:
"Yeah, Give. Me. A. Number. Two. With. Extra. Mustard. And a coke."
Now, here's where times have changed a bit. In the 70s and 80s, sauces and condiments came in large tubs, and each had a little metal spatula, about an inch wide, that would be pulled out of the tub, smeared across the buns, and then dumped back in the bin to await the next order. Each dip of a spatula into the sauce counted as one serving, so "Extra whatever" just meant an extra dip-and-smear. Nowadays, obviously to reduce cross-contamination and the like, most places have squirt bottles or pre-measured cups of sauce; this story could not have happened in the modern era lol
The line cooks made the order with an extra dip-and-smear of mustard, as they had been trained. But, apparently, that wasn't enough for Tom.
The next day, he doubled down with:
"Listen carefully. I want. A. Number. Two. With. Extra. Eeeextraaa. Mustard. And a coke. Large. Got that?"
The line cooks recognized his voice and order, so they made sure to dip-and-smear three times. The buns were thoroughly coated with mustard, and they figured that should be the end of it. No one in their right mind should want more mustard than that; any more, and it'd be dripping like melting ice cream.
But, alas, they were wrong. The day after that, he escalated to:
"I don't know. If you're stupid. Or what. But get it right this time. I want a number. Two. With. Extra. Eeeextraaa. Eeeextraaaaaa. Mustard. And a large coke! Jeeesus. Got it?!"
Rather than risk offending the condiment budget, they made Tom's sandwich with the normal two dip-and-smears of mustard. If he said anything to the manager, they'd be able to honestly say they'd given him extra mustard, as asked. But again, this wasn't enough for Tom.
The pattern continued, with Tom adding even more condescending ass-hattery and EEEEXXXTTTRRRAAAAAS each day he pulled through the drive through. He had been lucky until now, because he hadn't yet come through when Veronica in all her sweaty waddling glory was on shift.
Oh, but she'd heard about Tom. Oh yes indeed.
My mother was there, that fateful day, when an arrogant force met a pissed off pregnant unstoppable southern queen. Veronica was on the front registers, it was about 5 in the evening, and mom was working the fryers. The bell dinged for a drive-thru order, and Tom's peevish, guttural, garbled voice came over the speakers.
"Alright you dumb sons of b***ches, we're gonna try this ONE MORE TIME, and MAYBE you'll pull your heads out of your asses and get it right. I want. A number two. With. Extra. Extra. Extra. Extra. Extra...."
Everyone on the line looked toward Veronica. She had her eyes closed, and the fingers on her right hand were slowly moving up and down. Her lips were moving silently as well: one. two. three. four. five.
And on it went. Each time Tom near-screamed "extra" into the speaker, another finger on Veronica's hand moved up or folded down, and her lips framed another number.
"EEEEEXXXXTRAAAAA Mustard! Now, make that with a large Coke, so I can get on with my life!"
Veronica opened her eyes, left the register, and walked calmly back to the line. She bumped the cook out of the way with her hip, pulled on a pair of gloves, and withdrew a bun from the warmer.
She pulled the mustard spatula out of the tub, and began dip-and-smearing the buns.
"He said he wanted extry. extry. extry. extry. extry...."
On and on she went, dip after dip, smear after smear, until each time the spatula hit the bun there was an audible plap sound of gelatinous mutiny. The bread disappeared under a deluge of toxic yellow vengeance, a puddle of vitriol smothering the paper wrapper beneath. Veronica moved like a thing possessed, tolling out Tom's inevitable doom with each disgusting plap of mustard.
"extry. extry. EEEEEEEEEEEXXXXXXXXTTTTRRRRRRRRRYYYYYY! mustard."
She finished the lake-of-mustard-that-was-once-a-sandwich, adding the burger patties, lettuce, tomato, and other toppings. With careful hands, she folded the whole thing up and taped the soggy diaper of a wrapper closed so it could be slid into a bag with the fries. She took the bag to the window, and stared at the worker there until he backed away slowly.
With a glowing smile and narrowed eyes, Veronica handed Tom his bag of food. She said, venom-sweet, "I made sure it had your extry mustard, sir. You have a nice night."
Then she slammed the window shut and walked back to the front registers to take the next order. No one breathed. No one moved.
And Tom never again came to that Wendy's. Perhaps he drowned in the mustard.
If you'd like more stories of my mother's life of chaos, my sister has a Tumblr where she's chronicled a number of tales. It's called DeadMomJokes, because that sort of post-gallows humor was my mom's favorite and we know she's laughing.
Hope you enjoyed, and many dankes to Charlotte, our prettiest and pettyiest of reddit queens!

Recently got back from an incredible 19 days in Japan. I’m really feeling the post-Japan blues now, but writing about the trip and sharing what I learned feels like a nice way to honour the memories I made.
I (35M) travelled to Japan with my partner (41M) from Canada. We were there from March 26 to April 13 - these dates were “chosen” for us because we were attending a wedding in Tokyo. We got to wear hakamas, walk in the procession at Meiji Jingu, and observe a Shinto wedding ceremony first-hand.
We did the Golden Route + Kanazawa, however, many travelers have already written about this route so I’ll try to offer new stories to interested readers instead.

About us and high-level trip summary:

• Our entire itinerary consisted of: Tokyo (+ trip to Kawaguchiko), Hakone, Osaka (+ trips to Himeji and Nara), Kyoto (+ trip to Hiroshima), Kanazawa (+ trip to Shirakawa-go), and then Tokyo again for the final night in Kichijoji.
• Stayed at a total of 7 hotels and made good use of the luggage delivery service. Usually took 1 day, but sometimes 2, so plan ahead.
• We got the JR West All Area Pass, which let us go to Hiroshima, Himeji, and Kanazawa from Osaka/Kyoto (plus a few other small trips). Not only was this worth it for us in terms of monetary value, but the built-in flexibility came in clutch i.e taking the train at our leisure and feeling much less stress over seat reservations or waiting in line. I used this website to help me determine which pass to get: https://www.japan-guide.com/railpass/
• As mentioned earlier, we attended our close friends’ wedding in Tokyo, which took place at Meiji Jingu and Meiji Kinenkan. It was a truly special and once-in-a-lifetime event. Being photographed by the sightseers at Meiji Jingu was also an interesting experience!
• We went out on weekend nights and checked out the popular places in Shinjuku Nichome (i.e the gay village). While they were fun, you need to dig deeper to find the places that make Nichome stand out from other gaybourhoods around the world.
• Did not make a lot of food reservations because we read how easy it was to find good food around every corner. We found this to be largely true and ate well on our trip (including many konbini meals and bento boxes on the train), but we look forward to diving deeper into the culinary world on trip #2.
• One of my favourite phrases was: Nani ga oishii desu ka? It means ‘What is tasty here?’ and is like asking the restaurant for their recommendation. I never got a bad result with this question.
• The ryokan, onsen, and kaiseki from our 1 night stay in Hakone were all amazing. It was probably our favourite room and meal on the trip. We would certainly return to Hakone and stay 2 nights next time.
• Saw a geisha performance in Kanazawa that was geared towards visitors and it was so fun and fascinating. My partner got to play taiko drums with a geisha!
• The big tourist must-sees were nice, but I’ll fondly remember all the times we just wandered the streets, witnessing small slices of other people’s lives.
• Kichijoji ended up being our favourite area of Tokyo.
• I planned this trip meticulously, but many items still ended up falling through or needed to be re-arranged due to various reasons (fatigue, sickness, timing mistakes). I think you will need to make peace with this and be prepared to be flexible with your plans, outside of pre-booked reservations.

Detailed report:

Before the flight

There were a few things we did before the trip began to help us out:

• Picked up a Wise card, allowing us to withdraw cash without paying extra fees. The fees can really add up.
• Reserved a pocket wifi router for pick-up at Narita.
• Made reservations for popular activities, namely the Ghibli Museum and USJ Express Pass.
• Adjusted our bodies to the new timezone a few days before our flight using an app called Timeshifter.
• Installed the Japan Travel by NAVITIME app, which I preferred over Google Maps when it came to anything involving the shinkansen.
• Watched Perfect Days, a meditative film that follows a toilet cleaner in Tokyo. It got us even more excited for Japan, plus the washrooms featured in this film are real and inspired us to look out for them in real life!

Landing in Japan

• After passing through customs, we picked up the pocket wifi router we had reserved. There are multiple drop-off locations, so you can pick up at one location and drop off at another. We chose the plan that gave us unlimited data for 3 weeks and it was worth it.
• I wanted to get our IC cards, but the line at the JR ticket office was so long that we just opted to buy individual tickets to take the Keisei Access Express. If you are going to be staying near any major metro stations (Ueno, Tokyo, Shinjuku, a few others), you can go there for your tickets because the lines seem to be shorter and you’ll ideally be rested by then.
  • I got my IC card at Ueno Station. On the ground floor, at the JR travel centre, you can line up for the Suica. However, I really wanted the cute Pasmo Passport instead. It took some asking around, but we eventually found the ticket office in the metro station, which is underground and had no line at all. We showed our passports and picked up our Pasmo cards without issue. It’s cash only.
• I also purchased an eSIM from Airalo. It was my first time doing so and I found the process fairly straightforward. I only got 3 gigabytes of data, which was for situations where I might find myself separated from my partner (who held onto the pocket wifi). Ended the trip with over 1gb remaining.
• On our first night, we wandered and found some restaurants in the alleyways behind our train station; we ate delicious ramen for around ¥800. It’s true what they say about your first night being a write-off, however, so don’t expect to do much else.

A note about the trains and ticketing system

I loved taking the shinkansen, they were so comfortable and predictable. The ticketing system, however... that’s a different story entirely. I think everyone just has to go through it like a rite of passage. I also couldn’t get SmartEx to work, which would’ve saved us a lot of hassle.
Regarding the JR West pass, I learned that you can’t make online seat reservations with it after you pick up the physical pass. You must use a specific machine or visit a ticket desk. To use the machines, find the ones with the green head boards and then select the option that mentions using a ‘discount ticket’ or something like that. Insert your pass and choose the destination and train you want to take. You’ll then get your pass back along with the printed tickets. Fortunately, there’s usually an attendant there to help you out.
I will miss having bento on the train while watching the scenery pass by (and listening to Fujii Kaze, haha).

March 26 - 28: A gentle introduction to Japan.

Places: Asakusa, Akihabara, Ueno, Ginza, and Chiyoda
Hotel: Route-Inn Grand Tokyo Asakusabashi
We chose this area because it was budget-friendly and gave us easy access to all the places we planned on visiting. A lot of people recommend staying in Asakusa, but we found Asakusabashi to be even quieter and cheaper.
Highlights:

• Itoya Ginza is a stationary lover’s paradise. Each of the ten floors is immacuately curated, filled with beautiful things to look at and use. If that wasn’t enough, a nature-inspired soundtrack plays the entire time to really put you in the mood. I picked up a Shupatto bag and liked it so much (great design and durability) that I went back and bought a few more as gifts.
• I found a place called the Okuno Building and it felt like a hidden gem for anyone who’s into art and architecture. Try to time your visit with when Room 306 is open: https://room306project.tokyo/about-en/
• Stepping outside of Tokyo Station, you feel small and the grandeur of Tokyo really hits you. Across the station in the building with the Beams store, there’s an observation deck that offers a gorgeous nighttime view of the area. There’s also a food hall with a great energy and vibe.
• About 10-15 minutes walk north of Akihabara station is an artisanal market tucked away beneath the train tracks. It was quiet and cute with a lot of interesting shops. Many handmade giftable items to be found: https://www.cntraveler.com/shops/tokyo/aki-oka-artisan
• I had a reservation for the Final Fantasy Eorzea Cafe in Akihabara - it was something I had wanted to do for a long time, though it felt underwhelming in the end. The food and drinks were photogenic, but forgettable. There are a number of cafes like these around and I imagine the gimmick is similar in each (at least, the ones run by Pasela Resorts). Still, no regrets!

Notes:

• Most of the hotels we stayed at did not allow use of stairs except in emergencies. This was usually fine, but during one busy morning rush we waited a ludicrously long time to get down from the 4th floor! We became acquainted with a charming Japanese woman as a result of waiting for the elevator, so there was a silver lining.

March 29 - April 3: Unforgettable memories made over a weekend.

Places: Shinjuku, Shibuya, teamLab, Kawaguchiko, and the wedding
Hotel: Yuen Shinjuku
Atmospheric hotel. Situated on a quiet street in Shinjuku while remaining within walking distance to all the fun places. Onsen on the top floor with amazing city views.
Highlight: The wedding

• To prepare for the wedding, we had a fitting at a kimono rental shop (Vasara) along with some friends. The men in the group wore hakamas, which are like trousers reserved for very formal occasions. Wearing a kimono and hakama was interesting - there’s a lot of tucking and wrapping under those robes, forcing you to stand straight while also having your organs squeezed in. But damn did we feel and look good in them, haha.
• The wedding itself was one of the most gorgeous and well-organized weddings I’ve ever been to and I’m still in a bit of awe. It began in the early morning with a Shinto ceremony at Meiji Jingu. The ritualistic garments worn by the bride and groom as well as the attendants were beautiful. After conducting the tea ceremony in a semi-private reception area, we gathered into a two-column procession and slowly walked to the main ceremonial site deeper within Meiji Jingu, led by a priest and two shrine maidens. Everything was solemn and immaculate. You can read about what these ceremonies are like online, but there were a lot of rituals, rules, and even audience participation e.g. standing, sitting, clapping, and drinking sake. Being photographed by hundreds of people while walking to and from the ceremonial site was also something I didn’t think I’d ever get to experience - I imagine this is what a celebrity feels like!
• The reception afterwards was at Meiji Kinenkan and followed a more familiar Western reception format, with an MC, music, multi-course meal, and live performances (including mochi pounding and spectacular Japanese Bollywood dancers) - but no dancing for the participants, haha. There was also an after-party at an Indian restaurant in Shibuya and it was a much more casual and colourful affair.

Highlight: Nichome

• Nichome - one could easily miss this entire neighbourhood during the day, but boy does it come alive at night. We visited most of the major bars: Eagle, Eagle Blue, Dragon Men, Arty Farty, etc. What immediately struck me about those places was how similar they felt to bars back home i.e Toronto. There were lots of foreigners and the vibe and music reminded me of our own bars. It’s still a fun time and you can meet other travellers if you put yourself out there.
• When I said that one needs to dig deeper to find what makes Nichome stand out from other gaybourhoods, I was referring to the hundreds of tiny bars in the basements and upper levels of the buildings all around Nichome. To really get something out of this experience though, you need to either: i) speak Japanese, or ii) be accompanied by someone who can speak Japanese. I was lucky to fall into the latter group and had a few nights of uproarious karaoke, bantering with drag queens, and intimate conversations with bar staff.

Other highlights:

• teamLab Planets was mind-blowing and I highly recommend anyone go at least once. The less you know about it, the better. The area around teamLab Planets (which includes the famous Toyosu Market) was also pleasant to walk around. In fact, we had a picnic by the water with a clear view of the Tokyo skyline.
• I find malls in Asia to be on another level and the one we visited - Shibuya Parco - was no exception. There was a large terrace on the top floor with expansive views of the city and the basement housed an impressive food hall with a wide range of cuisines. The floors in-between had many unique offerings as well, even if only to window shop.
• We found one of the washrooms from the film Perfect Days, the one in Nabeshima Shoto Park. The exterior was incredibly designed, though the interiors were just fine. The park also houses a tranquil pond that was nice for a stroll around and the neighbourhood itself was enjoyable to walk through.
• Got my hair cut at a place called Assort Tokyo with English-speaking hair stylists - shout out to Yutsuki who gave me one of the best cuts I’ve ever had!
• Karaoke Manekineko is prevalent in Japan and we had the fortune of going to one with our Japanese friends. It was fun, affordable, and equipped with all our favourite songs (both Japanese and English). Indulge in the bottomless drink machines - their corn soup is a best seller and after trying it myself, I can see why!
• Seeing Mt. Fuji in person is an out-of-this-world experience - pictures don’t do it justice. However, the popular places we visited (Chureito Pagoda, northern shore of the lake) were extremely busy despite the lack of cherry blossoms e.g. the queue to access the observation deck at Chureito was 1 hour long. Getting around Kawaguchiko also wasn’t easy or cheap - the buses were packed and unpredictable and taking a taxi across town cost us a pretty penny. If I were to return, I’d get a private tour guide or just stick to the not-famous places and aim to be there in the early morning.

Notes:

• We switched hotels from Asakusabashi to Shinjuku and it was worthwhile to do so. We valued being able to walk to and from the bars, especially at night after the trains close
• I made the mistake of thinking we could get tickets on the express/direct train to Kawaguchiko the day before - nope. You should book these early. We took the shinkansen to Otsuki and then from there took a local train the rest of the way.

April 3 - 7: Embracing the calm after Tokyo.

Places: Hakone, Osaka, Himeji
Hotels: Mount View Hakone and Onyado Nono Osaka Yodoyabashi
The hotel in Hakone was itself the highlight. This one was a bit higher up in the mountains, but still easily accessible by bus. Top-notch hospitality and amenities. Our Osaka hotel was also comfortable and had an onsen and was located in a convenient area - not in the thick of things, but close to the important metro lines.
Highlights:

• I wish we stayed longer at our Hakone ryokan. Their kaiseki dinner and breakfast were exquisite. The private onsen consisted of two large basins for our exclusive use with a view of an illuminated bamboo grove. That said, I think you could choose any 3+ star ryokan in Hakone and have a stellar time. The town was calm and charming; it was especially haunting with the light rain and mist when we were there.
• We took a bus that went directly from our hotel all the way to Odawara, where we caught the shinkansen to Osaka. Unlike at home, where riding the bus feels like a chore, I felt that taking the various transport options in Japan was an experience unto itself - always something to see and admire outside the window.
• Osaka’s nightlife was vibrant, though we preferred Shinsekai over Dotonbori if only because the former was way less crowded. I also went out to Doyamacho (Osaka’s gay district) on my own, which seemed tiny in comparison to Nichome. I visited the newly opened Eagle Osaka and met a Canadian expat; it was fun to hear stories about being gay in Japan from people who’ve lived there for a long time.
• Sunset at Osaka Castle with all the sakura was magical. The crowds were minimal here. My favourite shot to take was a close-up of the flowers with the castle in the background.
• My partner was very keen on visiting USJ and getting the Express Pass - I’m glad we did that because we got to experience (almost) everything we wanted to. Super Nintendo World was the absolute gem of USJ: going there felt like going to another dimension.
• Right outside USJ is a large shopping and restaurant complex. There’s a place on the fourth floor called TAKOPA Takoyaki Park and what a joy it was - pick any of the restaurants here, order a combo meal, and let your taste buds soar.
• Himeji is an easy day trip from Osaka and the famous castle is a straight walk down from the station. It was very picturesque - definitely visit the gardens while you’re there.

Notes:

• My partner started to feel unwell at this point of the trip, so we had to slow down our pace and also reshuffle a few itinerary items.

April 7 - 10: Sakura, temples, and museums.

Places: Nara, Kyoto, Hiroshima
Hotel: TUNESTAY Kyoto
A modern hotel that also feels like a hostel with its communal amenities and young vibe. Rest assured, the rooms are private and include your own bathroom. Minutes away from Kyoto Station and situated on the same street as the sightseeing buses.
Highlights:

• The sakura were now in full bloom and made for magnificent strolls around Kyoto’s famous districts, but like all other famous sites, they are best enjoyed early. We got up early for Philosopher’s Path and it was breathtaking and tranquil, just as we imagined it to be. It started to get crowded i.e noisier after 9am.
• The 10th floor of the Isetan building at Kyoto Station is a dedicated food hall, with one side being just ramen shops. Very yummy and very short lines!
• I read about how emotional the Hiroshima Peace Museum made people feel, but I still wasn’t prepared for the sheer gravity of it once we were there. I can only describe the experience as powerful and poignant. Certainly take your time to go through and read the cards on the exhibits. It was one of the rare places we visited that was both busy and quiet.
• Visit Okonomi-mura for delicious Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki and good vibes. It’s another food hall, but one that feels much more down to earth and gritty.
• We happened to stumble upon a night market at Murayama Park in Kyoto. The cherry blossoms were at their peak; they looked especially splendid under the glow of the lanterns. There were food stalls aplenty and we ate to our heart’s content: grilled fish, fried yam rolls, bamboo on a stick, and barbequed meats. Several restaurants and tables were set up in the middle of the park so you could sit down for a meal and some drinks while partaking in hanami. People were in very good spirits and we ended up chatting to a young couple sat next to us, where we bonded over our shared love for Howl’s Moving Castle and all things Ghibli. I’ll remember this particular night very fondly.

Notes:

• It’s possible to visit Nara on route from Osaka to Kyoto or vice versa. That’s what we did and we just stored our luggage at the station in Nara.
• It makes more sense to go to Hiroshima from Osaka - not only is it closer, but our JR West Pass did not include shinkansen travel between Osaka and Kyoto (even if we were riding on the same train going from Osaka to Hiroshima). We only did it this way because our original plans were changed due to my partner’s change in health status.

April 10 - 12: Winding down and enjoying small city life.

Places: Kanazawa, Shirakawa-go
Hotel: Hotel Kanazawa Zoushi
Our second favourite hotel of the trip. We had the warmest reception here, with complimentary tea and dango provided at check-in. The room was very comfortable, while the bathrooms were surprisingly spacious.
Highlights:

• Everyone comes here for Kenrokuen and... yeah, it’s an absolutely stunning garden, dressed in wide swathes of pink thanks to the pretty cherry blossoms. Having said that, we noticed other areas of the garden weren’t as lively because the plants had not yet flowered. I think coming here when you know certain flora will be in season will make for a more memorable experience.
• Right next to the gardens are the Kanazawa Castle Ruins, also home to some gorgeous blossom-lined paths. It was way less busy here, as if people didn’t realize they could walk another few minutes to this beautiful location.
• On the surface, Higashi Chaya looked similar to the historic districts in Kyoto. We primarily went there for the Geisha Evenings in Kanazawa performance held at Kaikaro Tea House and it ended up being one of our favourite highlights of the entire trip. Lady Baba is a fabulous host and storyteller; the two hours we spent here flew by, filled with laughter, music, and cultural learnings.
• Omicho Market feels a lot more like a real food market than Nishiki and smells like the sea. We enjoyed some huge oysters here and grilled scallop and octopus skewers.
• We dined at Gen-zae-mon on the recommendation of a local who worked at Kaikaro. It’s a cozy izakaya in downtown Kanazawa serving plenty of scrumptious regional specialties. Try asking the service staff for their recommendations if you’re overwhelmed by the menu options.
• Shirakawa-go was quaint, almost like being transported to a different era. The entire village is easily traversable by foot and it’s worthwhile to visit at least one of the historic houses that have been converted into a museum. If you can climb to the top of the observation deck, you’ll be rewarded with a serene lookout of the entire village. That said, I don’t think spring is the optimal season for Shirakawa-go to shine; I think any other season would colour it better, because it was still grey and barren when we went.

Notes:

• I mistakenly thought we could get tickets for the highway express bus from Kanazawa to Shirakawa-go last minute... nope. Thankfully, our JR West pass let us ride the shinkansen at no additional cost to Toyama, where we caught the bus there - and that bus was mostly empty. It only added about 30 minutes more to our travel time.

April 12 - 13: One more outing in Tokyo’s most desirable neighbourhood.

Places: Kichijoji, Haneda
Hotel: Tokyu REI Kichijoji
Standard hotel with few frills, but great price and location. We chose it because it was a last minute decision to switch from Akihabara to Kichijoji for our last night.
Highlights:

• I’m glad we stayed in Kichijoji for the last day of our visit. Walking the streets of this neighbourhood was exactly what we envisioned a peaceful Tokyo to be like and there was much to please the senses. It just felt like the whole package - picturesque, relaxed, easy to get lost in, and bustling to a degree that felt exciting without being overwhelming. The Internet claims that Kichijoji is the most desirable neighbourhood in Tokyo; I definitely believe that now.
• Ghibli Museum was delightful and I’m a big fan of the “no indoor photography” rule. The attention to detail was incredible. Treat yourself to a walk in Inokashira Park before or after your visit. It was late afternoon when we went and the park was filled with young families and students playing after-school sports. It just felt like a pinnacle “slice of life” moment.
• My very fashionable friend (the one who got married) said Kichijoji is her favourite place for consignment shopping and we saw plenty of those stores here. A bit deeper into the residential parts of Kichijoji is an artisanal market and cafe called Sippo: it was filled with one-of-a-kind goods at reasonable prices and everything was made in Japan. I know there are a lot of great shops in Tokyo, but this one stood out to us and we would certainly return on future trips.
• We hopped on an airport shuttle bus from Kichijoji Station to Haneda. No reservations, but the bus was only a quarter full. We gave ourselves three hours at Haneda and still felt like we ran out of time - lots of great shops for last minute gifts (including an Itoya outpost!) Take note that the higher rated restaurants are located outside of the security gates.

Now that some time has passed since departing Japan, the emotions that swept over me in that country have left a deep impression. Like a reminder of what I’m chasing after in this life, Japan excited me, fulfilled me, and left me wanting more. I know that being Japanese in Japan is an entirely different experience, but I still yearn to experience even just a sliver of that life.
Thanks for reading and I hope you got something out of this trip report. If you’re interested in seeing some of the photos I took on this trip, I’ve shared them on my Instagram account, which is the same handle as my Reddit username.

You play through the tail end of the Victorian era in RDR2

I’m looking for a poster from some 2000s video game. This poster is IN-GAME, not a real promotional one.
Man I wish I had more to go off of. I remember seeing this as a meme, and while I think it was a real video game asset, it was so absurd I’d believe it if it wasn’t.
Low-poly video game (but higher poly than N64/PS1 era.) Poster is green and features a cat, I believe it’s to promote a cat food. In the right corner of the poster is a silly close up of that cat. The cat’s name starts with “M” and all my brain can come up with is “Mimo.” It feels close but I think it’s still off.
Please, I just want to see this image again. It’s so funny to me. Thank you.

General Content Warning for this entire write-up, so everyone can have a good time: - Extensive discussion of topics related to mental illness, including self-harm, suicidal ideation, mania / bipolar disorder, distortion of truth, medication, involuntary hospitalization, medical abuse in a hospital setting, and romanticization of mental illness. - Non-detailed mentions of domestic violence (implied abuse by intimate partner and parents) and sexual / gender-based violence (including rape, child sexual assault, grooming, sex trafficking and torture). These last few items feature prominently in one installment, pertaining to a work of fiction; descriptions may be a bit more specific/detailed in that segment, but not graphic. - Mentions and quotes of unchill bigoted behavior, including ableism (mental and physical), white nonsense / white fragility / racism, fatphobia, prejudice against drug users.
Additional CWs may be added at the beginning of specific segments when relevant. While these are heavy topics, the tone of this write-up is generally light-hearted and aims to entertain. If this approach sounds uncomfortable or trivializing, this may not be a good read for you; please trust your gut!
*
Picture this: it's the early 2010s, somewhere in the western world. Instagram is a novelty, Harvey Weinstein runs Hollywood, almost no one on Earth leans one way or the other about RNA vaccines, and Donald Trump is that one real estate guy you vaguely remember from Home Alone 2. New player Lady Gaga is the most interesting thing to have happened to pop since Madonna, and the whole industry is attempting to catch up; Miley Cyrus is the chick who used to be on Hannah Montana; Melanie Martinez hasn't hatched yet. The time of Oddball Concept Divas is dawning just below the horizon.
You're a Bowie-loving student who skipped goth night at the club to tag along with your art school friends for a very special evening. You're a giddy sixteen-year old rocking cat ears, purple Wet 'n Wild eyeliner, a polyester petticoat, and a coffin-shaped backpack. You're an effete theater kid who sewed his own waistcoat for the occasion, but won't dare wear it to school the next day. You're a buff, bearded dude in a Venom shirt who's trying not to look too excited, since your girlfriend supposedly had to drag you here. You're a slightly bemused parent leaning against the back wall of the venue, sipping a warm half-pint, wondering if this isn't all a bit dark for a tween. (“It's called 'Victoriandustrial', mom,” you've been told in the car, “and it's not dark, it's art.”)
On stage is a pink-haired woman, with red porcelain-doll lips and a heart painted on her cheek. Among a set of antique consoles, twee tchotchkes, teacups and plastic rats, she pounces and twirls in glittery platform boots, tattered striped stockings, and a tightly laced crystal-studded corset that looks like it's splattered in blood. This is ostensibly a concert, but there is no live band. Where one would expect a drum kit or a bass, three bedazzled burlesque vixens act as back-up singers and dancers, with the occasional vaudeville act – a fire-twirling number, a fan dance, throwing pastries and spitting tea into the audience. Lots of wholesome girl-on-girl kissing, too. The music on the backing track is a genre-bender of clanging beats and beeps, lofty orchestral strings, and the frantic hammering of a MIDI harpsichord, as the pink-haired frontlady sings of heartache and betrayal and drowning. Think if the Brontë sisters had invented industrial rock.
The audience gasps in excitement when the lady whips out a vamped-out wireless electric violin. With rockstar cool and virtuoso poise, she leans into the instrument, touches the bow to the strings, and tears out a single plaintive, impeccably distorted high note. Then her fingers go wild, and for a few seconds, everything is perfect suspended animation. Uncannily perfect, almost. Just behind you, you hear someone whisper: “Wait, is she miming it?”
*
Forgive the theatrical intro, but I had to set the stage for... the drama. And I do mean drama in the thespian sense of the term! This, ladies and gentlemen, is a Shakespeare play: wordy and confusing, but it's neat how the main character's opening lines foreshadow the tragic climax. It's a Greek tragedy for the digital age – if, instead of killing his dad and banging his mom, after becoming king, Oedipus was doomed to becoming uniquely obnoxious. It's The Rocky Horror Show under the grim direction of Samuel Beckett. Like all good theatre, this story is about how fiction bleeds into reality – through the stories we tell ourselves about ourselves, and how all the world's a stage and all that.

WHO IS EMILIE AUTUMN, AND WHAT'S THE DRAMA?

Here's the Broadway Weekly blurb, so you can decide whether the show is worth your time: Emilie Autumn, also known as EA, is a US-American alternative singer-songwriter, author, and actor. She became known in alt circles in the mid-2010s for her violin skills, unique fashion, outspoken stances on feminism and mental health advocacy, and the way she dramatized and sublimated her own life story in her art. In 2009, she self-published a semi-autobiographical book that became a sort of bible to her creative universe and fandom. She toured extensively and enjoyed niche, but considerable success until the mid-2010s – with hordes of devoted fans adopting her fashion sense and lingo, and crediting her music for getting them through dark times.
For the past twelve years or so, EA has mostly been focused on adapting her book into a stage musical, releasing two more albums of songs intended for the libretto. At the time of this write-up, it has been six years since the last album and a decade since the last live show. Although she still talks about the musical as an ongoing, Broadway-bound project, in recent years, she's often gone dark for months at a time on social media. There is no forum, no large Discord, no active community to speak of; comments are restricted on her currently-inactive Instagram and blog.
Who is she hiding from, you ask? Why, you've probably guessed it: the hordes of devoted fans whom she infuriates every time she does anything.
And what are they furious about? (Or frustrated, flummoxed, or plain ol' flabbergasted?) Well, it depends who you ask. For some, it's disappointment in her artistic and marketing choices (what are fans for?). Others cite unkept promises or absurd release delays. For others yet, it's the AliBaba merch sold at jaw-dropping markups with three paragraphs of purple prose in the product description.. Or maybe it was the angry rants on Twitter? Okay, it's the casual bigotry that she staunchly denies or dismisses. It's the criticism she can't take. It's the fact that she won't stop lying about her own life! Either way, I don't personally know of any fanbase that has been so consistently exasperated, for so many years, and for such a diverse array of reasons, by their favorite artist.
In truth, each individual mini-scandal isn't all that juicy or scandalous. Nobody died, no one got sued; nothing of significant value, other than time and sanity, was taken away from anyone. What I find interesting here is the years and years of bizarre parasocial codependency (and antagonism) between a fragile woman who became addicted to her own poppycock, and an obsessive fanbase who cared way too much not to take it personally.
Before we even get to EA's relationship with her fans, you're going to need some lore about EA herself. A “Hobby History” of sorts. Strap in! There's romance, tragedy, laughter, character development, variety numbers, numerous costume changes, (actual) celebrity cameos – and based on how long this OpenOffice doc already is at the time of my writing this, we're probably going to need several intermissions too. This write-up is link-heavy, both with receipts and with additional watching and listening material. Not all of them need to be clicked in order to understand the story; I'm merely providing the rabbit holes. I've tried to make things more easily navigable by including a little glossary about the nature of links; one emoji-indicator carries over the next link until I use a different one.
🪞 = picture / visual 🎵 = music 📺 = video 📝 = primary source / receipt 🔍 = press article / write-up / further reading 🎤 = song lyrics / spoken word audio 🐀 = anonymous fan confession 🦠 = reaction / meme

BAROQUE BEGINNINGS: THE VIOLIN YEARS

VampireFreaks: Do you ever smile to yourself knowing your old music teachers might be seeing your success? EA: I smile to myself knowing they might be dead. (Long-lost interview, late 2000s)

Born in Malibu in the late 70s, Emilie Autumn, often known as EA, was originally trained as a classical violinist.
By her account, she started playing the violin at age 4, and was homeschooled at age 9 so that she could focus on her instrument. After stints at various performing arts colleges, some rather prestigious, she dropped out of formal schooling in her mid-to-late teens to embark on a solo violin career.
In 2001, after disappointing experiences with major record companies, she created her own label, Traitor Records, and released a EP of chamber music, with minor success. The stuffy industry of classical music didn't “get” the twenty-something manic-pixie-fiddler, who played Bach just a bit too fast, but with electric stage presence – wearing period corsets, combat boots, and the occasional fairy wings. But EA evidently knew that there was an audience for that somewhere.
And that somewhere – drumroll – was Illinois.

VW: What do you most hope to accomplish? EA: Everything. (‘Virtual World Radio’ Interview, 2002 📝)

ENCHANT ERA: BRUSHES WITH FAME ON FAERIE WINGS

What if I'm an ocean, far too shallow, much too deep? (...) What if I'm a siren singing gentlemen to sleep? (“What If”, 2003 🎵)

Soon, EA relocated from her native California to Chicago. There, in between odd jobs, she veered away from baroque and began performing her own “fantasy rock” stylings at piano bars, holiday fairs and local venues – and building a decent following through her LiveJournal, website, and IRL friends. People loved the whole renegade genius thing, loved the violin, loved the nightingale voice, loved the fairy wings and costumes🪞, loved the handmade merch and general disdain for The Business, loved her deadpan humor and bookish nerdiness. In 2003, she released her first LP, Enchant 🎵 – an ethereal, introspective indie-pop joint, born under the sign of Imogen Heap, with a moon in Fiona Apple and Tori Amos rising.
Everything about EA's act was exquisitely DIY, personal, and intricate. For instance, the Enchant booklet folded out into a Masquerade-style puzzle of her own design.🪞 The first person to solve the puzzle would win “the Wings, Ruff, Fan and Scepter of the Faerie Queene herself” – all lovingly handmade by EA, and depicted in peak 2003 graphic design on the booklet. For months, YEARS after Enchant came out, people poured over the cryptic metaphors and literary references, the historical symbolism and visual puns of the artwork, looking for hints and patterns. They read every fan chat, every interview, every relevant Shakespeare play, hoping to decipher the inner workings of EA's mind and find new keys to the puzzle. Sure, it's been two decades now and no one's ever managed to crack the damn thing 🔍, which is by now widely assumed to be flawed and unsolvable; still, it's the kind of zany, brainy, immersive experience that tends to cultivate a niche but hyper-invested fanbase.
So it makes perfect sense that underground aficionada and internet frontierswoman Courtney Love (she haunted public AOL chatrooms as early as 1995! 🔍) would take an interest. Just a few months after releasing Enchant, EA was off to southern France to record violin and vocals for Courtney's new solo album; a few months after that, in early 2004, she joined Courtney's band on a brief tour to promote the record.
Alas, no cigar: America's Sweetheart flopped. Maybe because most of those summer recording sessions were ultimately lost to an engineering oopsie; maybe because Courtney was having an especially rough year – and going through all the “rock-bottom moments” that she would discuss in group therapy, later that fall, when she began her sobriety journey at court-ordered rehab. EA, a former homeschool kid who had never done drugs, seems to remember the tour as a generally terrifying experience; she later stated, with some bitterness, that the experience was not worth the time it had taken away from her own solo career.
But it was a good year for TV appearances! Here she is on the David Letterman Show in March 2004, rocking out on a perfectly inaudible violin as C-Love fades in and out of her own body. 📺 She also landed a cute tutorial segment on HGTV's Crafters: Coast to Coast, making sushi-shaped soap and fairy wings. In December, she accompanied Billy Corgan for a Christmas song on a Chicago station.
All of this was chronicled in quirky, wordy posts on her blog – interspersed with late-night musings about casual misogyny in the media 📝, including against Courtney, handmade crafts and clothing auctions, candid pictures of outings with friends in Chicago... as well as periodic updates on the progress of her next opus: Opheliac.

God, too much to even begin to tell right now, and I’m recording anyway, but I can give you this update: I just finished yesterday recording violin parts and backing vocals for B. Corgan’s first single (...) More later, recording piano for my new track “GOD HELP ME”…why do I torture myself with my own self-inflicted drama…or is it a way of exorcizing…yes, I’ll go with that one for now…☠ (“Whirlwind...”, December 2004)

By that point, EA was starting to be more open about her conflicted relationship with what would later be diagnosed as bipolar disorder. The galaxy-brain moments, the trance of creative frenzies, the liminal high of going three days without sleep, the magic... the crippling sensitivity, the restless anxiety, the Zoloft that one both needs and hates, the ever-lurking suicidal thoughts. As EA gradually revealed over the course of 2004, Opheliac would be an exploration of the “mad woman” archetype. The title was a medical neologism for “the syndrome of Ophelia”, as in the tragic character from Hamlet 🔍, driven to insanity and ultimate self-destruction by the fuckboys who rule her life. Here's EA explaining it in her own words. 🎤 The album would dive into how psychiatry and romantic relationships are governed by old misogynistic tropes, and how the “mentally ill” label is used to silence and downplay the justified anger and hurt of abused women.
In a striking case of life imitating art (are you picking up on the theme yet?), this concept was about to become more painfully relevant than ever to EA's personal existence.
CW: implied partner abuse, suicidal ideation.

DISENCHANTMENT: A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS

In the lake, you will find me Behind your house, behind your house (...) My ocean is bluer than the heart you had to break My sea is deeper than your lake (“In the Lake”, 2005 🎵)

Where were we? Ah yes, the Christmas song with Billy Corgan at the end of 2004. Around that time, EA was also recording violin parts and backing vocals for his upcoming solo album. 🎵 They had presumably connected through Courtney, they both lived in Chicago, I guess something clicked.
In January of 2005, EA abruptly went off of her meds, broke up with her live-in boyfriend-slash-bassist, packed up her violin and corsets, and moved into Corgan's mansion. In March of 2005, she posted very melancholy lyrics about drowning in a lake to haunt a deceitful lover. The post was entitled“In The Lake (The Zoloft is calling my name...)” 🎤📝. Later, after the song was released as a B-side, EA disclosed that it had been intended as a public suicide note 📝.
Blog entries from that time touched on a “whirlwind of action and emotion”, “changing residences” and feeling like “you're falling through the air, but you don't know if you'll hit the water or the rocks” 📝. But, EA being an expert vague-poster, her posts remained very elusive about what was going on, who was involved, and how it impacted her. (The specifics were pieced together years later, by fan-led forensic efforts – which, obviously, involved ascertaining the existence of an actual body of water in Billy Corgan's backyard 📝).
Whatever happened over the course of those months was never disclosed explicitly by EA, but is widely assumed to have inspired songs such as “Liar” 🎤, “Misery Loves Company”, “Let the Record Show”, and “I Know Where You Sleep”, , recorded that same spring. A solid quarter of the Opheliac tracklist – which was shaping out to be decidedly darker and grittier than Enchant.

You can lie to the papers, you can hide from the press (...) I know your tainted flesh, I know your filthy soul I know each trick you played, whore you laid, dream you stole I know the bed in the room in the wall in the house Where you got what you wanted and ruined it all I know the secrets that you keep I know where you sleep

Even as her personal blog posts grew more somber, nihilistic, and generally fed-up in the face of what she called “the worst breakdown of her young life”, even as the songwriting process had her rummage through traumatic memories [CW: CSA] 🎤, and even as the Corgan-adjacent trauma was compounded by various rushed moves and broken friendships over that summer and fall, EA remained remarkably (some might say frantically) prolific.
Other than progress on Opheliac, 2005 saw multiple violin collaborations with alternative bands, numerous auctions of, mh, visually strident “punktorian” fashion pieces 📝🪞 (“STRESS COUTURE!” 🦠📺), and an updated re-issue of her 2001 poetry collection, complete with audiobook. ("...The book has been selling like crack in a limo with Courtney Love (and believe me, I know)." - Ooooof, EA. Low-hanging fruit. 📝)
In October, she started recruiting:

WANTED: Hot goth bitch to join touring band of other hot goth bitches. (...) Must be able to: sing backing vocals in a wide range with excellent pitch, growl à la Kittie, handle minimal keyboard parts, push buttons/turn knobs with killer attitude, be extremely comfortable on stage in bloomers and a corset, reside in the Chicago area, know the difference between a crumpet and a scone, have at least one hidden talent. 📝

By winter, most of her blog post titles were written in THIS FORMAT!!!!!!!! In December, she announced that “Emilie Autumn and the Bloody Crumpets” would preview Opheliac live at the Double Door in Chicago, on Friday the 13th (ooh!) of the following month. “We are coming to destroy your world,” the post threatened enticingly. "Miss it and suffer. We really don't want to hurt you.” The flyer advertised a dress code:

Masquerade, Ophelias, green girls, Victorian insane asylum escapees, princes of Denmark, bloomered harlots and rogues – general burlesque ribaldry!

Exit diaphanous butterfly wings and elven tiaras 📺, enter the haunted murder-doll with the blood-red heart on her cheek; out with Elizabethan chamber-pop, in with Victoriandustrial. The fairy had to die to make way for the iconic, the sublime, the tragic, the ridiculous, the positively bananas...

OPHELIAC ERA: LET THE RECORD SHOW

EA: What's more interesting, and what's more fun to watch, than a crazy girl's self-destruction? Nothing. Nothing in the world. (The Opheliac Companion, 2008 🎤)
If I'm going down Then I'm going down good I'm going down Then I'm going down clean (...) The prettiest broken girl you've ever seen (“Let the Record Show”, 2006 🎵)

CW: mania, self-harm, abortion, suicidal ideation, hospitalization.
If you haven't gathered as much by now, what fans were witnessing in real time on EA's blog, without necessarily seeing it, was the ebb and flow of a months-long manic episode. That's not me armchair-diagnosing: EA herself has discussed penning and recording a lot of her best material in a trance-like rush, “when you're writing on the ceiling because there's not enough paper to contain your thoughts”.

...Once I became stable and healthy, I realized that I had no memory of how a great deal of my music had been created. I had written and even programmed most of my best work in a similar manic state, and, when stark raving sane, I didn’t know how to do it anymore, because the part of me that really composes never needed to know how to do it, it just did. (2019 Instagram post 📝)

It's not an uncommon experience for artists with bipolar disorder. Before you burn so hot that you wind up in the back of an ambulance, and/or before the pendulum swings back towards debilitating depression, the boundless energy, heightened sensitivity, and unexpected thought patterns associated with mania can lead to periods of prolific and effortless creation.
Mania also has the potential to lower your inhibitions, making you more bodacious, more quick-witted – more dazzling, more fun at parties, more dramatic. All traits that are valued in the entertainment industry, especially one that, with the rise of social media, was coming to rely increasingly on parasocial engagement and “personal branding”. Why would you refrain from oversharing, overreacting, overworking, overpromising, overcurating a fantasy image of yourself... when new industry models reward exactly that?
My point is that, in retrospect, “the end was built into the beginning”: all the things that would make fans go “What the hell, Emilie!” in subsequent years were brewing below the surface before the album even dropped.
In the summer of 2006, EA said goodbye to her Chicago friends and returned to California, where she moved in with her new beau, another Illinois-born guitarist with an impressive forehead: Brendon Small, of Dethklok/Metalocalypse quasi-fame. (If you're into that sort of thing: the orchestral strings on “Detharmonic”? Yep, that's EA! 🎵📺)
In September, Opheliac was released into the world. Expectations were high... And many sources agree it was a goddamn banger. It was ultrafemme, ultradark, unhinged, hilarious and deadly and brilliant. It had gnarly kitchen-sink drums layered under angelic string harmonies, fauxperatic swells, and guttural screaming. It had sarcastically self-aware double-entendres that were also literary references that were also musical notation jokes. You get the idea: it was the album that a small, but sizable demographic of tormented millennial teens had been waiting to obsess over. Some time in late 2005 or so, EA had signed with German label Trisol Records, which gave her access to better promotion, press coverage and touring opportunities in Europe when the album came out in the fall. By winter, she was on the cover of alternative mags, and the talk of the town on underground music webzines. Within a year, she was embarking on the first of three almost-back-to-back European tours.
It was around that time that EA started giving her fanbase a more defined, aesthetically on-brand identity. EA, funnily enough, disliked the term “fan” due to its proximity to “fanatic”, and started calling individual supporters “muffins” or the "Bloomer Brigade". (After The Book came out in 2009, they would become “Plague Rats”. You know how pets get weird if you re-name them too many times? I wonder if the same is true of fans.) Meanwhile, EA's fanbase as a collective – as well as her home, her recording studio, her online forum and her inner brainspace... – became canonically known as “The Asylum”. Cue infinite jokes about her fans being “committed.”
And they really were, in a slightly more intense way than your average indie-alternative fanbase. Many fans enthusiastically adopted facets of EA's mannerisms and lingo, which gave the fandom a definite LARP-ing bend; and the official forum did, in fact, offer a subforum for Asylum-themed role-play. (In a number of ways, the Asylum was basically Juggalos for socially anxious theater goths. Substitute the clown facepaint, Faygo, and hatchets for cheek-hearts, Earl Grey tea, and obsolete medical tools.) While there was always some side-eye at the embarrassingly candid, often very young Plague Rats who took the Asylum thing too seriously (always speaking in character and worshipping the ground Mistress Emilie walked on), a lot of people were quite thrilled to play romantic Victorian madhouse with their new favorite artist. Live shows were like costume balls. The forum thrived.
It was like Opheliac had opened a portal to this vibrant and inclusive alternate dimension, which the community was now bringing to life in the real world. And each tour brought more inmates (muffins, Plague Rats, you get it) to the Asylum. “Spread the Plague!” was the name of the game.
So, on paper, in the three years that followed Opheliac, EA kind of won the high-concept-indie-artist equivalent of the lottery. After going through her own personal hell of abuse, major upheavals and serious mental health crises, she had decided to gamble on a radically different tone and musical direction. She came out the other side with critical acclaim for her soul-baring record, tons of live shows with a badass girl squad, photoshoots so iconic they pop up on random Pinterest boards to this day, snazzy corporate sponsorships (including Manic Panic and RockLove Jewelry), and an exponentially growing fanbase who couldn't get enough of whatever she had to give. And she gave quite a lot!
Within those three years, in between tours, EA released A Bit O' This & That 🎵 (a compilation of demos and back-catalogue curiosities), Laced / Unlaced (a full-instrumental double album - one side was the baroque recordings from her late teens, the other was demented, distortion-heavy classical-prog), and three EPs packed with new songs, covers, remixes and bonus content. There was also a deluxe reissue of Enchant, without the puzzle, but with a brand new booklet of handwritten lyrics and marginalia. All came in lovely inter-matching digipaks that really made you want to collect them all – much like the handmade merch 📝🪞 that EA still sold on some legs of her tours. She spent time with the fans at most shows, eventually holding meet-and-greets and private showcases for VIP ticket-holders. She also released “The Opheliac Companion”, a kind of “director's commentary” of the album – roughly 10 hours worth of lyrical deep dives, microphone specs, tangents within tangents within tangents, and whacky (tipsy, sometimes unintelligible) banter between EA and her sound engineer🎤. On top of all that, she wrote, designed and self-published a fully illustrated 200-page coffee-table book, the first print of which sold out within a year. Not bad!
Of course, things that seem to good to be true usually are: at this stage in the story, EA is never as enthusiastically prolific as when her personal life is falling apart behind the scenes.
In the three years that followed Opheliac, along with soaring success, EA got to experience: more rapid-cycling between manic phases and the pits of depression, multiple harrowing medication adjustments, an very-much-unwanted pregnancy followed by a traumatic abortion, a suicide attempt, at least one inpatient stay, and a break-up in the aftermath of it all. There were also a few physical health scares that required hospitalization. On one occasion, she had to go off all her meds cold-turkey when they were confiscated at the EU border right before the start of a tour. In some pictures from her summer 2007 festival appearances, you can make out faint self-harm scars on her thigh through the layered stockings. (Obvious CW, for the morbidly curious.🪞(But if you weren't, would you still be reading?))
So yeah. EA was not doing great.
She didn't share any of these struggles with her fans in real time; her posts were all droll banter and updates on tours and releases. Most of what I just listed was disclosed in late 2009, in the autobiographical part of The Book. (The Book gets at least one instalment of its own. Bear with me, there's a LOT to unpack.) And The Book, while never specifying a timeline, kind of really made it sound like the Bad Stuff (the abortion, the suicide attempt, the hospital stay) had taken place a while back, before the release of Opheliac. In fact, EA plainly stated as much, citing “getting locked up and being put in the asylum" 📝 as the reason for the shift in sound between Enchant and Opheliac.
She repeatedly referred to herself as “stabilized” and “now properly medicated” in interviews. As far as the fanbase was concerned, she had triumphed over her abusers, turned trauma into beauty, and lived to pass on her story of survival. And now she had found balance and community and true acceptance of herself, all that good stuff – and all was fine and dandy within the Asylum. On stage, she sang about blind rage and all-consuming despair and general hopelessness, but she didn't actually feel like that – not anymore, right?
This narrative was both inspirational and quite convenient for the fans. We love our Mad Hatters 🎵📺, our Rainmen, our manic pixies. We love and celebrate “crazy” when it manifests as outside-the-box brilliance and/or bubbly eccentricity. But in my experience, even in spaces that ostensibly focus on "destigmatizing mental illness", positivity and support can quickly turn to rejection and awkwardness when your “quirks” manifest in more challenging ways – like through erratic decisions, aggressive or dishonest behavior, or increasingly untethered beliefs about yourself and the world. No matter how much people claim to “embrace the madness”, it just isn't that fun or in good taste for a large group to play-act ~ whimsical insanity ~ with someone who is for realsies mentally falling apart.
Before time has had time to do its thing, "revisiting your trauma" is just called ruminating. And it's rarely good for you, even when you commit some of greatest art in the process.
I think fans had to assume that there was some critical distance in EA's act, that these extreme negative emotions were all theater – because if they weren't, then the Asylum wasn't an empowering performance about healing from past hurt. It was more like a years-long reality show in which a woman picked at her wounds publicly, again and again, in real time, to the cheers of oblivious strangers who thought they were watching a play.
All I'm saying is that EA was essentially still in the thick of raw trauma when she became a poster-child for overcoming it; that the last thing a person needs, at such a vulnerable stage in their life, is an intense parasocial relationship with sad goth teenagers, let alone one centered around romanticized retellings of their own darkest moments; and that if more people had declined to actively engage in pretend-play that toed the line of self-harm... there is a chance that things might have turned out differently. Maybe EA would still be a successful musician whose career isn't plagued by conflict and mutual disappointment, and maybe some fans wouldn't have wasted years getting red in the face at an over-exposed mentally ill woman for not getting her shit together.
OKAY, THAT GOT HEAVY (and preachy), apologies and thank you for your patience. I will now quit my soapboxing, resume telling the story, and let you draw your own conclusion as our dark plot unravels.

EPILOGUE: DEAD IS THE NEW ALIVE

A quick taste of the poison A quick twist of the knife When the obsession with death, the obsession with death Becomes a way of life ("Dead is the New Alive", 2006 🎵)
I am still over-glorified My reasons to live Were my reasons to die But at least they were mine (“306”, 2006)

In summation: becoming an overnight success thanks to your darkest trauma will do things to person's mind.
As EA kept hyping up how much her fans meant to her, and what an amazing and inclusive and free-thinking motley crew the Asylum was, she was also growing more and more controlling of her increasingly large (and opinionated, and overall rather young) fanbase – and more generally, of the way people ought to talk to and about her.
It was during the Opheliac era that she started reveling in made-up stories about her own life. Then came the habit of losing her shit on fans that she perceived as ungrateful or disrespectful. It was also then that massive kerfuffles became routine on the merch and planning front, and EA's creative output started to routinely fall short of her promises. The more fans started raising legitimate complaints, the more defensive and uncompromising EA became in her public interactions. The more people expressed weariness of the Asylum theme, or started questioning EA's hot takes on mental health and feminism, the harder she doubled down on the Asylum lore and fictional universe. Which is where the drama really starts.
Alright, the time has come. Let's talk about The Book.
...Actually, let's not. I'm nearing my character limit, and you could probably use a break and a stretch after making it this far. This is our intermission, and we'll get to The Book in our next instalment.
Thank you for reading! Stay tuned if you're interested in how it all comes tumbling down.