Hi! I am a 22 year old, SE Asian female who would love to develop a body/hair care routine. Now that I’m earning my own money, I would like to spend on some things that would make me more confident on my own appearance. Growing up, I would see a lot of whitening products and flawless women in general on television. The beauty standard here is also, well you could say, not me. But I don’t want to change my skin tone, I just want to be a better version of me.
My problems include:

1. Uneven skin tone. You can even see a line on my biceps due to its unevenness. My bum, armpits, and bikini line are dark as well.
   
2. HAIRY arms and legs. When I say it’s hairy, it really is (well at least for SE Asians). I have it on my fingers, on my toes, on my tummy (very fine here tho). I only shaved or waxed my legs and armpits, so the hair there is thicker and curlier now. I haven‘t done anything to my arms.
   
3. Dry long hair. The only remedy that I did and worked before is doing a brazilian rebonding. My hair stayed straight for two whole years and the new hair growth is also great. However, I damaged it again after doing a balayage. Now my hair is waist long, has rust colored highlights, and very dry.
   

If you have any tips or product recommendations that could help me, please do reply. It would surely help a lot. :)

I saw some people making a wish list for the remake and so I decided to do it too!
1- more interactions between characters Some characters barely have dialogues with each other and others don't even have any interactions, it would be cool to see the characters talking to each other, it would be cool if they did that in the prologue too, some dialogues between Hannah and Beth or even dialogues from Matt and Ashley (who barely appear in the prologue)
2- more scenes of the friendship of Emily, Beth and Jéssica Beth seemed to be very close to Jess and also to Emily, it would be really cool if there were more interactions between them, they could add the moment where Beth and Hannah take the photo with Jessica and Emily which would be great too because it would give some weight to more towards Beth's death and would better explain the hatred that Emily feels for Jessica, Many people don't even realize that Emily and Jessica are best friends in the prologue and consequently don't understand why Emily picks a fight with Jessica, in addition to giving weight for Beth's death would help a little to lessen the hate that Emily suffers
3- Sam and Mike without plot armor I think we can all agree that Sam and Mike need more deaths, it's very unfair to the other characters Mike and Sam can get to the final act without having any deaths, they could at least add one new death for Sam as she goes after Mike and another for Mike in the sanatorium as he runs away from the beggars in the sanatorium, or he could even die before Jess, it would really be a huge plot twist for Mike to be the first to die
4- new endings It would be really cool to see new endings, there are so many possibilities, we could have an ending with the lodge intact (if they remove Sam and Mike's plot armor), an ending where they leave by cable car, maybe a "secret" ending " with Wolf being the only one to survive, with a scene of him looking at the lodge on fire (or with the lodge intact) and then him lying down and then the camera goes up showing the sunset, it would also be really cool see an ending in which Josh survives, manages to reunite with the group and finally leaves, showing that the Washington "curse" has been broken
5- Handigo being the last survivor It would be simply incredible to see everyone dying and Handigo being the last one to survive, instead of the scene of the lodge burning and then the camera going up, they could put a scene where Hannah picks up each body and takes it to the mines, it would be like she had finally completed their prank and in place of the interviews they could add scenes from the interviews from the day Hannah and Beth disappeared, showing how they felt and showing whether they actually told them they had pranked them or if they hid it from the police
6- characters having more reactions to deaths Often the characters don't care about each other, for example, if Ash dies to Hannah when she opens the trapdoor, they don't question why she didn't meet up with them and just follow the path or even with Emily, when Mike shoots her, they have a cool reaction but then they simply go after Mike without even bothering to cover their friend's corpse, I would really like a scene of Ash crying after Emily's death, or even blaming himself for having told about the bite, it would be really cool to see Chris and Sam worried about Ashley after she didn't show up Well
these are my requests for the remake, I'm very excited (sorry if my English is bad, I'm Brazilian and I'm having to use Google translate😓)

When I worked at Guitar Center back in 2017, I fell in love with a used guitar that came into the store. I played it every day I went into work, but couldn't afford to buy it, so I was disappointed when I showed up one day to find it had sold. A few days later, a couple showed up to the store hoping to buy it back because it had belonged to their son who passed away soon after selling it. But, of course, it had already sold. They had spoken to my boss who told me because he knew I how much I'd loved that guitar. It was very sad to not be able to get their son's guitar back in their hands.
A few weeks later, I went into work early for a meeting. Sitting behind the counter was the guitar! The person who purchased it had returned it the night before & it was ready to put back up for sale. It just so happened to be my birthday that day & I had some money to play with, so I very excitedly put it on layaway. My boss was able to get me a discount on it, too, which is rare for used items. I was able to get the money together to purchase it within a few days. In hindsight, I think my excitement about it kept us from thinking to call the person's family right then. That would've been the most thoughtful thing to do. Instead, around the time I took it home, I looked up the name of the person who sold it to us in our system, then googled him. I was able to find someone on Facebook I was fairly certain was his relative & sent her a very long message explaining who I was & how I had the guitar. She responded a couple days later telling me that she was his mother & that she'd shared my message with the rest of his immediate family. She told me how wonderful & missed he was, that they were glad it was in the hands of someone who wanted it, & that they'd love to hear it again someday. It's still as touching for me to read today as it was when I first got it. And as long as I've had it in my possession, I've felt connected to the previous owner. It felt, and still very much feels, like he wanted me to have it. At first, it felt a bit like *his* guitar, but I was okay with that. I remember thinking things like "I promise I'll take care of it & love it as much as you did". As time has gone on, it now feels more like *ours*. Not his, not mine, but something we'll always share.
A year or so after I bought it, I was playing a show at a small bar. There was a couple sat right in front of me who very intently listened & seemed to be really enjoying it. Just before my set ended, they came up to me as they were about to leave & introduced themselves as his parents. My heart immediately swelled & tears filled my eyes. I hugged them & told them how glad I was to meet them. I will never forget that feeling. That was 2018. They've been to see me play a few times since & it always fills me with the same bittersweet feeling every time I see them.
I have been very fortunate to not have lost many loved ones in my life so far, just a grandpa, who I once got a feeling he helped me finish a song I was writing. But then, I lost two people close to me in December 2021 - my aunt & a close friend. Since their deaths, I've still felt very close to them. It's hard to explain, but in some ways, it feels like I'm more connected to them now than I was when they were here - especially my aunt. I believe she helped me finish the song I wrote about her in time for her birthday. Then I recently had an incredibly visceral dream where I heard her voice telling me she was tired & that she needed to go visit the others (which I interpreted as my mom, my other aunt, & my grandma) through *her* dreams, which confused me because I would've expected her to say *their* dreams. As for my friend, I've just been missing her a lot & occasionally feeling like she's around. Feeling their presence feels normal & safe to me because I knew them. And when I was very young, I used to feel my passed on brother's presence sometimes.
But the person who owned this guitar before me, I don't know him. I did see his parents again relatively recently & got a chance to ask them about him for the first time. They told me he liked the kind of music I play at my shows & where he got the guitar from. Turns out his dad & I share a birthday, which is kinda cool considering the guitar came back to me that day! But I didn't personally *know him*, you know?
So, about a month ago, I was in my kitchen alone & I said his name out loud followed by a request for him to give me a sign if I'm actually connecting with him. I don't know why, but I requested a "miniature toy car, like a Hot Wheel" (which I have no idea why I thought of that, as I don't have kids & never see or think about toy cars) or a "small green ceramic plate" within two weeks. The next day, I saw something much like a small green ceramic plate, but it was just the top of a wax melter. It wasn't a standalone plate though. Well, a few days later, I was over at a new friend's house for the first time. She brings up "mini brands", which I was unfamiliar with, so she brought out a big bag of miniature brands of things & spread them out on her coffee table. By golly, she had a miniature Hot Wheels. It was oddly exactly what I had pictured & I was STUNNED.
The next day, I was driving when I decided to make a voice recording on my phone telling that story because I didn't ever want to forget it. Ever since my friend's funeral (January 2022), I've had a little business card with her name & photo on it that they handed out that day sitting on this little nook in front of my passenger's seat. This is what I said, from the beginning:
"Okay, so on Tuesday, I made that voice recording about channeling after seeing a TikTok about that. And I was just thinking about, like, being connected - I don't know. There are times when I feel connected to... (*my friend's name*) or my aunt or my grandpa or (*previous guitar owner's name*), and I feel crazy for that. Like, I don't know if I'm completely delusional."
~*A gust of wind blows my friends card out of the nook & onto the floorboard, which has never happened in the 2+ years it's been sitting there.*~
"Wait, what the fuck?... What the fuck? Wait, what the fuck? After I said that... Wait, what the fuck? That can't... That wasn't... That's not... It must've been something else... Hold on? Wait? I'm driving, I can't stop. I'm gonna 'Highway Don't Care' myself." (Tim McGraw music video, iykyk.)
Sure enough, I pulled off the road to look & it was, in fact, her card that flew off. My voice recording continues with lots more profanity & bamboozlement. I continue to recount the story, feeling incredibly validated by my friend, as if she heard me call myself crazy & delusional & wanted to tell me to knock it off!
All this to say, I do feel connected to people I've known who've passed & I'm comfortable with that. But the guy who owned my guitar before me, he's been in my head a lot lately, particularly this past week. I just don't know why & it's a little scary. But I'm not scared of *him*, I'm just confused. Why do I keep thinking of him? Why do I feel so curious about him lately? My OCD keeps giving me intrusive thoughts like maybe it's not him, but some bad spirit or something. But I don't think that's the case, I truly believe he's safe. The other thought I've had is that maybe in trying to connect more with him, I'm unknowingly opening myself up to other spirits I don't want to be connected to. That's very scary to me because I don't really know what I'm doing.
Am I crazy? Am I even connecting at all? If so, how do I ensure my safety?
TLDR; I've been feeling more connected with the person who owned my guitar before me lately. I didn't know him, but I've always felt connected to him & I know he was a good person. I think I'm just afraid of connecting with souls of people I didn't know personally.

Very first post! Hope y'all enjoy. Part 0 of the lifecycles universe.
>> Lifecycle start…
Our universe is 13.7 billion years old. Where are the aliens?
>> South Pole Observatory, Antarctica
Being out under the stars gave Rolan Orlov plenty of time to think. He looked up from his lunch and out the floor-to-ceiling windows, at the streaks of white outside, each one a star, zooming past like a scene out of a sci-fi movie. For just a brief moment, he was on the bridge of some futuristic spaceship, shooting through the void at speeds defying the laws of physics.
Ka-thunk.
Orlov looked away from the window, the drab metal walls of the observatory cafeteria returning. At the end of the table stood a man with a camera, snapping away at the blizzard outside the window, the streaks of snow pelting the glass, highlighted against a black sky by the floodlights outside.
It was a view he had grown used to in his months down at the bottom of the world. Utterly unremarkable. Some may have found it captivating, like the photographer whose name he had forgotten, but Orlov preferred the views inside his own mind.
He poked at his lunch, a metal tray of microwaved alfredo pasta and a side of broccoli. The yellowing buds of the broccoli drew his attention. Being an astrophysicist, life was a mystery to him. The cells, hundreds upon billions of them, each with their own function, somehow combined to form something greater than the sum of its parts.
“Dr. Orlov?” The man had apparently gotten whatever photo he wanted and was now sitting next to the astrophysicist.
“Yes?”
“Do you really think anyone’s out there?”
“Out in the blizzard? Probably not.”
The man chuckled. “No, I mean out in the universe. Y’all’ve surely got models for that.”
“Oh? Maybe,” Orlov replied with a so-so gesture.
“What do you think they’ll be like? Their society, y’know. I imagine it’ll be quite different from ours.”
“Can’t say. Even predicting our own is hard enough.”
“Heh, yeah. I mean, all those moving parts, all the different people, all doing different things, somehow coming together to form the world we know today. I’d even say that it’s more than just the sum of its parts, and I don’t think anyone could properly comprehend how it all works, certainly not us.”
“Hm. Maybe try a systems scientist next time,” Orlov said with a chuckle. The photographer laughed, before declaring he had to go edit his shots, and got up from the table.
Orlov returned his attention to his lunch, forking up some pasta, but the broccoli caught his attention again. The soggy pieces were sitting scattered in their section. He couldn’t help but think about the 8.1 billion humans on the planet, and how similar they were to cells in an organism. Perhaps that was the next step of complexity in the ladder of evolution. Civilization.
Orlov smiled, before stuffing a piece of broccoli into his mouth. If civilization was truly like a multicelled organism, then it may very well have evolved elsewhere as well. He vaguely remembered reading somewhere that multicellularity had evolved 25 or more times independently, and that piece of knowledge gave him hope. Hope that civilization wasn’t just a fluke, a one-time occurrence limited to the face of the earth. Hope that one day, humanity would meet others amongst the stars.
>> Entropy Labs, Texas
Abigail Daneau’s career had been a roller coaster ever since the war started—with her job being the Manager of Web Publishing for a prestigious private research lab, and war being a strange way to describe the events of the last two years. It had started with cloud service providers going out of business, something that Daneau hadn’t thought much of at the time. When the divide between the numerous webnations started to flare up, she had simply picked sides according to the will of her employer. The rising real-world tensions between countries she had ignored, as well as the numerous articles and trend studies warning of all out war. It was when the attacks came, and entire data centers started shutting down, that Daneau had started to worry. Then went the DNS servers, and the world plunged into chaos.
Daneau now found herself sitting in front of a computer—an actual physical pc—typing in the ip address for the Öffentliche Datenbank der Internationale Open-Source-Stiftung. Clicking the “publish” button, Daneau sent off her article on the recent Starshot II mission.
Shutting off the pc, Daneau left the internet access room, air-gapped from the rest of the lab’s network. Crossing through a bright, glass-ceilinged courtyard filled with greenery, she reached the door to her office, and entered. The skylight bathed the entire room in a pleasant glow. She sat down in front of the display taking up a quarter of the side wall, currently displaying a lifelike image of a sleek rocket riding on a plume of white, frozen above a launchpad. The time and weather hovered in the corner. The lab had provided her with AR glasses, modified to use an unhackable wired connection to the network, but she hadn’t touched them ever since she almost died tripping over the wires.
Sitting down in front of the keyboard, she woke the wall display with a tap to the touch screen built into her desk. The rocket launch disappeared, replaced by the lab’s network login, which again promptly faded when the AI recognized Daneau. A familiar virtual desktop materialized as the display connected to the lab’s private servers.
Opening her favorite word processor, with the help of the central AI, Daneau got to work on her next article.
***
The 3 Futures of Space Travel
After much anticipation, the Starshot II mission to Proxima Centauri is finally underway—and already many are asking the eternal question: what next? Currently, there exist three promising possibilities, one of which has the potential to redefine the lightspeed barrier.
Self-Replicating Spacecraft
[TODO]
AI Generation Ships
[TODO]
Why go fast when you can go slow?
Project Dreamwalker presents an unconventional yet theoretically plausible approach that could reshape the trajectory of human progress. At its core, this audacious endeavor seeks to manipulate the fundamental nature of consciousness, slowing the speed of human thought to a fraction of its current pace. By reducing the velocity of cognition by a factor of 1:365.25 or more, Project Dreamwalker opens the door to a realm of possibilities previously thought unimaginable. Such an achievement could herald the most monumental leap forward—or potentially, a catastrophic misstep—in human history. If realized, this innovation could catalyze the establishment of a cohesive interstellar society, while decades-long voyages and communication gaps that once spanned vast stretches of time would be compressed into mere weeks, fostering a sense of unity across the cosmos. Indeed, Project Dreamwalker emerges as a beacon of possibility in an era defined by the pursuit of the extraordinary. As we navigate the uncharted territories of space exploration, its allure remains unmatched—a tantalizing glimpse into a future where the limits of human potential know no bounds.
[ELABORATE]
So what will it be? Would humanity go with the most feasible option, or would something as crazy as Dreamwalker redefine the space travel industry? In reality, technology for all three approaches are still in heavy development, and it is just as likely that the ultimate future of space travel would be neither of these.
***
Daneau got up to head to lunch, leaving the unfinished article on her desktop.
>> Gateway, Kenya
Walsh Angevin watched as the gleaming carbon composite skyscraper of a rocket lifted from the launchpad on plumes of fire. The status board on his visual overlay shifted. It was a flight like the dozens of others per day on one of the most popular space routes, the Gateway Direct. He himself had traveled the same route over a hundred times, and he knew it by heart: depart from Gateway Spaceport, break orbit into the Earth-Mars transfer trajectory, wait anywhere from 12 hours to 4 days, insertion and arrival at Gateway Station on the Mars Ring.
Except this time was different. This time it would be his daughter on the flight, and there was no return ticket.
A notification on his overlay alerted him to an incoming holocall from his daughter. He quickly acknowledged it, and the world around him was swept aside into the cabin of the rocket, brightly decorated in a clash of 20th century art-deco and 22nd century wood-and-metal. Sunlight spilled through the small windows circling the cylindrical room, shifting slowly with the motion of the craft. In the center a spiral staircase led to upper and lower levels, with a big number 3 painted on the central column.
“Hey dad.” Angevin’s daughter, strapped in a seat, looked up at him. She smiled faintly. Whether it was real or not Angevin couldn’t tell, but for what it was worth, she was the one who had called him.
“Hey kiddo.” He sat down in the seat next to hers.
“Do you want to take this somewhere else?” The view divided radially into multiple slices, each a simulated environment: a park, a sunset cityscape, a forest, a bar on some space station…
“No, this is fine.” The simulated views disappeared.
The rumble of the rocket filled the silence that followed. Outside the windows, the horizon had started to curve.
Angevin spoke up first. “I would give anything to be here with you, I hope you know that.”
“Yeah, I know. Dad, stop worrying about me. I’m not a kid anymore. You should be calling me Doctor Emilia.”
“Always the tough one, aren’t you?”
“I have to be.”
“The slowdown process is perfectly safe, you know that. It’s been thoroughly tested, and the only reason we’re not giving it to the wider population is because the logistics—”
“That’s not what I’m worried about. If anything, I trust your work even more than you do. It’s the mission itself I’m worried about. I mean, it’s not like I’m going to be the first person in a hundred years to leave the solar system or anything.” Sarcasm. That was a good sign.
“You’ll be with the rest of the crew. I’m sure all of you together can figure it out. Besides, Connor Atwell and the Starshot 7 bunch did the same thing a century ago.”
“Atwell came back.”
The roar of the thrusters dropped an octave as the craft switched to its vacuum-optimized engines. The shadows in the cabin shifted as the rocket slowly reoriented itself. A notice appeared on Angevin’s overlay, notifying him that the call connection was going to close soon. He reached over and placed his hand on his daughter’s. For a moment their eyes met. Inside Emilia’s pupils Angevin saw nothing but the wall behind him. He looked away.
“Goodbye, Emelia.”
“Goodbye.”
The connection cut off, and Angevin found himself back in the spaceport terminal. He sighed. “See ya kiddo. Now go make us a new home among the stars.”
With a mental command, the terminal faded, replaced by the familiar view outside Angevin’s office window. The buildings of the Dreamwalker Initiative headquarters sat surrounded by fields of grass, backdropped by historic starscrapers looming on the horizon.
Regardless of his wishes, the world went on, and the world needed him…
He would give anything to be with his daughter.
Some things weren’t his to give.
>> Orion-Cygnus 087*159*300/01 Sebastian Wang, Field log no. 1064. 2 local/13 standard days after arrival on this alien world.
It’s quiet out here on the frontier, 444 lightyears from Sol Actual. Today the cloudstorm has finally broken, just as the superintelligence predicted. I’ve given control of the drones to the SI. I’m printing a new avatar specifically adapted to this planet because I’m going to head outside myself today and do some sightseeing. I’m stuck here for the next 22 local/149 standard days for a full orbital rotation anyways as the SI collects data.
I still need a name for this planet.
***
Wang watched as the grassy blue-green stalks swayed in the insistent wind, and entire rolling hills seemed to shimmer in a moiré pattern. The bright cyan sky filtered the light of the blue-white star into a gentle yellow glow, high in the sky, casting soft shadows that shrouded the landscape with a dreamlike quality.
He waded forward, pushing through the thick, electrically charged hydrogen atmosphere. He had constructed his avatar with an increased sense of the atmospheric electricity, and it was like a whole new sense—electromagnetism was one of the most important senses on this planet, perhaps even more so than sight. Cresting a hill, a grove of tree-like organisms appeared, behind which stretched what could only be described as a lush alien forest. The hues of blue, green, and splashes of red were captivating.
The life on this alien world had always been fascinating to Wang. It was an entire ecosphere based around electricity. The flora channeled it, stored it, filtering the positive ions out of the atmosphere, leaving behind free electrons. The fauna breathed it like the humans of old breathed oxygen, using it to power their cells. Their bodies acted like massive batteries, the efficiency and capacity of which rivaled the best human technology.
Then there were the mechanisms by which these flora and fauna worked. In the place of traditional chemical reactions were a mishmash of electrochemistry and quantum effects. Some even extended this to the outside world in various ways, directly rearranging matter in ways not unlike modern matter-printers.
Even more confounding was the interconnectedness of everything. Underneath the surface and in electrical currents throughout the atmosphere, there ran what could only be described as a massive neural network, as if some cosmic entity took the mycelium networks of Earth and turned it up to a million.
It was the physical manifestation of a technological revolution, all brought on by the force that is evolution.
Wang strolled into the grove of alien trees, with vine-like organisms climbing up their trunks. The canopy, incredibly varied with leaf-like structures of various sizes, were lined with what seemed like massive flower buds.
As he entered a small clearing, a current of electricity spiked in the ground where Wang stepped, spread out, tracing previously invisible lines, pulsing into the trees. In a burst of red the thousands of flower buds around him unraveled, each one like a shining spotlight, all focused on himself. An electric buzz permeated the air.
Wang absentmindedly confirmed that his Synchronized Upload-on-Death System was properly entangled to the orbital vaults. Striding up to one of the giant splotches of red, half a meter across, he reached out and touched a petal. The flower had an immense positive charge, something that was invaluable to the many organisms that inhabited the alien forest. Again he was struck with the sheer cohesion of the ecosystem: the plants, according to the superintelligence’s analysis, received no direct benefit from supplying supercharged “food” to the animals, and yet they did. The timescales needed for something like this to evolve—it would make the best algorithms question the established theories of evolution.
Taking his hand off the flower and stepping back, the dome of red swiveled to follow him, as if waiting for him to do something. He chuckled. “I don’t got batteries to charge, you guys can leave me alone.”
For some reason, it was as if the flowers had heard him, and were now cocking their bright red heads in confusion. After a few more seconds, they hesitantly closed.
What he did not expect was the massive spike of electricity that spread out from the clearing and out into the forest. “Woah—”
He mentally moved to bring up the real-time map of electrical currents throughout the planet, but the superintelligence beat him to it. What he saw was nothing short of amazing: the entire globe was lit up, current moving out from his location, traveling through winding paths with intent. It was a chaotic pattern, governed by some unknown rule.
Just as suddenly as it had started, the electrical fluctuations subsided to its usual levels, although the superintelligence noted that the patterns had slight differences to the data previously recorded.
Taking his attention off the map, he saw a single flower at the edge of the clearing in front of him. It was a bright cyan-blue one, at full bloom, with a faint glow to its core. It waited there, patiently, curiously, for him. He walked towards it. The glow at its core grew brighter, gentilly pulsating, greeting him, as if saying hello. As if the whole planet was, through that one flower, acknowledging him.
That’s when it struck him, and he wondered why the superintelligence hadn’t suggested it yet. He knew what the patterns were, what the electrical pulses were, and he was certain, but he had to confirm nonetheless— “the pulses, they were synapses, were they not?”
The superintelligence was silent for a second, and when its response came, it was slow and controlled.
“The planetary neural network does indeed have a resemblance to the human brain. But that’s where it ends—a resemblance. I suspect that we will never be able to decipher how it works, or what its motives are.”
“Would communication be possible?”
“It’s quite unlikely to be, Seb, although as always, it can never hurt to try.”
He looked at the flower again, and only then did he realize just how large it was. As he contemplated whether to heed the flower’s call, a creature glided down from the canopy in a blur of white, fluttered its wings, and settled itself on a nearby branch. It was like a small, scaleless wyvern, but pearl-white and with smoother, more refined features. Wang recognized it as a member of a species of particularly intelligent avians, by the pair of tentacle-like manipulation arms reaching out from under its head. It was a young specimen, and with a wingspan of just under two meters, it was a fifth of the size of a fully grown member of its species.
The creature tilted its head, two black eyes studying him with curiosity. Go on, they almost seemed to say, whatcha waiting for?
Wang reached out and placed his hands on the flower. Acutely he was aware of a presence, the presence of the creature, the presence of hundreds of other creatures in the forest, and the presence of the entire planet, staring back at him. It was then that he decided a name would be required.
“I dub thee Hyterrum!”
>> Scutum-Centaurus 155038504/04, nominal designation “New Mongolia”
Phoebe glided over the sea of grass of the idyllic landscape, rippling gentilly in the cold wind, with a striking resemblance to the subarctic plains on Old Terra for which the planet had been named. She spent a few nanoseconds, imagining what the scene would be like with a few wild horses and a windmill halfway up the distant mountains. Liking the results, she saved them to her storage.
The grassy plants stretching to the horizon belonged to one of the best examples of convergent evolution to have been discovered. Despite the chemical and internal differences, they had the same form to fit the same ecological niche of large-scale conversion of sunlight into usable energy. Turns out that grass-like organisms were quite an evolutionarily advantaged multicellular lifeform, behind moss-analogues and algae.
One of Phoebe's subroutines, coordinating the thousands of survey drones spread out across the planet, suddenly called for attention. She split off part of her processing power to answer the request.
Huh, what’ve we got here?
Silicon, carbon…wait. What?
Forgetting her flight over the plains entirely, she pushed the subroutine aside to see the occurrence for herself. It was a geologically fresh fissure, revealing layers upon layers of minerals, striated throughout the rock.
One particular layer was particularly interesting.
That elemental makeup…it doesn’t match anything else on this planet! The concentration of those isotopes shouldn’t be possible! There’s no known natural phenomena that could have formed this.
Down at the bottom there, it’s pretty normal, but the fossils found suggest a much higher biodiversity than currently seen on this planet…and then as we go up, there must have been some global firestorm to create these carbon ratios, which in and of itself wouldn’t be too strange. In fact it could explain where the biodiversity went. But then up here, there’s exotic materials that have no place in a firestorm, so perhaps it was a meteor apocalypse? But still that doesn’t explain the radioactive isotopes, which would have long since decayed, even in meteorites. The only other explanation would be a supernova, but one close enough to form this would have sterilized the planet in the process…
None of this makes sense! It almost reminds me of…wait…
That’s not possible, is it? Lemme see…where is it…
Aha, the geological records of Earth…the anthropocene…
Oh shit.
Shit. Fuck. Fuck. FUCK.
The elemental makeup of the strata layer matched almost perfectly with that for Humanity’s industrial revolution, followed by the nuclear age. It was the first time since the failed contact attempts on Hyterrum that humanity had found any signs of alien intelligence.
But where are they now? Why didn’t we detect any traces of civilization, here or in neighboring systems?
Unless it’s all been buried.
The shape of the layer. Fuzzy lower boundary, sharp upper boundary. An abrupt transition from one geological age to another. An abrupt end to…oh…
Phoebe realized that she was looking at the entire history of an alien civilization. One whose evolutionary advantage, unlike the grasses covering the planet, had been insufficient.
Oh nononono nope. Nuh uh. Didn’t see that. Didn’t see that.
Deciding that this situation required extra processing power, Phoebe altered her computational structure, spreading it out among the myriad of drones under her command, sacrificing some latency and reaction time.
A solid 23 seconds later, she decided that finding the best way to proceed would require even more processing power, meaning she could leave it to the higher ups to deal with the situation.
>> Neon Void, Sagittarius A\*
“We slagged your ships. We glassed your planets. We killed your kin. We didn’t want to, but we had no choice. We don’t want to have to kill you as well.”
Kai Neumann solemnly watched the still form of the Upsilon entity floating in its containment unit. It had long since stopped struggling against its metaphorical restraints, and had sated itself to simply float in the void, taking the form of a smooth, white sphere.
A minute later there was still no response.
“You’re the last of your kind. Please.”
Neumann requested the vault-class prison’s system to increase the energy limits for the unit, a request which was scrutinized, simulated and passed by multiple intelligences. Seconds later the system’s gestalt hyperintelligence notified him of a unanimous vote of 60-0, and the request was fulfilled.
Imperceptibly the sphere rippled in response, then went still yet again. Neumann sighed.
“You know, humanity has always wished to meet others among the stars. Yet the few cases of intelligent life we had found were either incomprehensible, or dead. As such when your kind sprung out of the shadow and devastated two entire mass streams, all 105 lightyears of them, we still tried to communicate. Imagine our joy when we found out that our psychology was mostly compatible. Actually, you don’t have to imagine. You’ve been given the memory records. So please, this is your last chance. Your entire people’s last chance.”
There was a period of silence, before two words were projected into Neumann’s mind.
“Release me.”
“What?”
“If you cannot kill me, then release me.”
“I can’t do that unless you agree to our ultimatum.”
“Then kill me.”
“Just—why? Why are all of you so stubborn? Why can’t we coexist? You have all the memories of every member of your species—surely one of them would have been willing to cooperate?”
“No. Never. You are monsters—an unstoppable force that will consume all. I will not share a universe with monsters”
Neumann blew out a breath. “But why. Why do you think that?”
“It’s simple, yet you cannot understand. My answer is the same as every other time that I have answered this question.”
A pause followed, filled with the quiet whirl of quantum thermal pumps, as the system analyzed the next move. It was decided 93-0, that further negotiations would be futile.
“I will ask one last time. Do you agree to the proposed ultimatum?”
“No. I will not share a universe with monsters.”
It was the answer that Neumann had expected. Collapsing the viewport showing the Upsilon’s containment unit, he called out to the prison’s Gestalt Hyperintelligence.
“System, analysis.”
“The analysis has already been completed, Neumann, all 14,035 iterations. With a majority vote of 1,036-308, the decision is that there is only one viable way to proceed.”
Neumann’s gaze passed over the room, a physical room rather than a simulated environment—as specified by the prison architects for the sole bodily decision-maker, a role that weighed heavily on Neumann’s shoulders.
“The course of action predetermined by the council?”
“Yes.”
One wall of the room was a giant window, through which the filtered light of Sagittarius A’s accretion disk shined, glistening off the onyx walls. Two *monstera deliciosa cheese plants caught the yellowish light on their split, deep green leaves.
“Don’t we have to hold another vote?”
Images of long ago battles flashed through Neumann’s mind; in each one the enemy had fought harder than the last, and in each one they lost, fled, leaving behind those who willingly sacrificed so the rest could escape.
“No. It had already been decided unanimously by all members of the council three standard centuries, or two local months ago. Remember that it was ultimately you who refused to approve the command, being the final prisonside decision-maker.”
Looking through the eyes of one particular combat AI, Neumann saw the disabled Upsilon fighter, the one that the entire human race would remember, stuck in the thermal sinkhole from an area-denial weapon. The void around it was littered with pieces of organic and inorganic matter alike. In the distance points of light were receding into the depth of space—the Upsilon fleet, retreating after a particularly devastating battle. One of the points slowed, waiting for someone that would never come.
With a command the sinkhole dissipated. The combat AI backed up its ship, giving the Upsilon fighter space. The prisoner-capture ships moved in, but before they could reach it there was a flash of white—
When it faded, the prisoner-capture ships reported light damage to their shielding. The Upsilon fighter was naught but a cloud of plasma. Far away, the point of light solemnly joined back with the rest of the fleet and continued its journey.
Outside the window, the prisoner complex was highlighted and magnified, frozen against the event horizon. “Assemble the council again. Take another vote.”
“That wouldn’t accomplish anything,” came the voice of the gestalt hyperintelligence, cold as a splash of ice water.
“Damnit. Is there anything at all that we can do!?”
“Yes, Neumann. You can press the button.”
The button. Off to one side of the window-wall, pressing it would close the air-gapped controls to the containment cells. Then the system could carry out the predetermined course of action. The fate of an entire species, one of the most advanced in known space, bound to a single button.
Neumann strided over and pressed it. It wasn’t like he had any other choice—the Upsilon hadn’t given him one.
He watched on an infodisplay on the window as the steady flow of mass-energy to the containment cell holding the last of the Upsilon cut off. The light from the cell began to fade, shifting red ever so slowly.
To the captured Upsilon, nothing seemed amiss as it passed through the point of no return.
To Neumann and the rest of humanity, the image of the cell would remain there, frozen on the event horizon for centuries—a ghost.
>> The Halls of the Forgotten
Six limestone hallways stretched into the tesseract. Six mausoleums, for six dead species, six “everyone-and-everything-you’ve-ever-knowns”, forgotten to the void of time.
Operating out of the smallest room in the tesseract, it was Hauhet’s job to learn what had been lost, although wrangling with time was no easy feat. Millions of years of geological records had been analyzed thousands of times over hundreds of centuries, an unfathomable amount of information compiled into an additional six rooms worth of results.
Glancing at the plaques for rooms 2-7, they read:
The Ruins of New Mongolia, remnants of an enterprising race who almost made it to space. Their civilization lived for 12,045 years.
The Ghosts of the Upsilon, a species of rapid evolution, infinitely adaptable down to their own psychology. Yet the Upsilon couldn’t adapt to humanity. They lasted 4,583 years.
The Architects of Skye. The great monuments of their history stretch a span of 132,057 ± 500 years.
Firefly, named after the ancient television franchise. Aged ~33,000 years.
The Terraformers. 68,000 years.
Hyperion, age indeterminate.
They were the forgotten ones, history lost to the infinite ocean of time.
To Hauhet, this endless chaos was her playground; making patterns out of the noise, her passion.
Starting wave function collapse 677,903 using latest received states.
Then Hauhet turned her attention to the empty, 8th room at the end of the hallways, as she had thousands of times before. She had not been told who it was for. So, she had made the plaque for it herself.
Estimated time to completion, 12:36:14
From the limitless sea of information she would form correlations, among the different species, and then in between them. Iteration after iteration, events were compared, similarities and differences noted, and trends were checked time and again. Her analyses extended far beyond the individual species themselves.
Matching states with model…
It was quite a while ago that Hauhet had started seeing patterns. Some had been interesting. Others had been worrying. One in particular was, as she had put it, apocalyptic, for it extended not just in the past, but also past the present, and into the future.
Recalculating the Prophecy.
Hauhet would breeze through the calculations. Prophecies didn’t change, after all; and so the steps were simple, and the result simpler: a single percentage, the probability that determined if the Prophecy would prove true. The probability that determined if the name on the plaque would join the others in the Halls of the Forgotten.
Presently Hauhet turned her attention to the plaque, and the name engraved on it, in every language known to man. All of them she could read, and all of them said the same thing: Humanity.
Calculation complete. Resulting certainty: 100%
Starting wave function collapse 677,904…
>> Milky Way Galaxy
Humanity watched as star after star faded from the night sky. Each one was a billion, ten billion, a hundred billion souls, snuffed out like a candle out of wax.
With each star Humanity knew a part of themselves died, but they couldn’t feel it. They couldn’t feel what wasn’t there.
They vaguely remembered a time, long ago when Humanity was on the threshold of the stars, looking up at the universe, waiting to find others like them. Then they came across the Hyterrum Mind, a beautiful flower growing in the void. They had admired it, but eventually, it had faded to the back of their memory; flowers couldn’t talk, after all.
Then from the shadows of the riverbend came the Upsilon, a prey cornered on their path. They tried to soothe it, to back away, to go around it. But it lashed out, and it had kept fighting, all the way to its death.
Its corpse had joined the dozens of others strewn across the stars.
Now they looked down at the galaxy, the galaxy that they had conquered. It was an impressive feat. They had thought themselves on top of the world, beyond the clutches of evolution.
Now Humanity realized how wrong they were. Civilization was simply an organism, one level in complexity above multicellular life, and they had known all along that multicellular life had evolved 25 times independently. Yet only a few of those 25 lineages survived to form plants, animals, and fungi. It should have been obvious.
What happened to the other ones?
The dozens of dead civilizations was what had happened.
Humanity had conquered much, but never once had they conquered evolution, and now it was their turn to cross into the Great Beyond.
To join the forgotten.
And the last of the stars died out.
>> Starting conscious waveform collapse. Retrieving retrotemporal translations: terms, names, units.
Our universe is 14.2 billion years old, and yet, when we look up, no one seems to be looking back...
>> Carina-Sagittarius 040335837/2
A lone, winged creature strolled about in front of a striated cliff face, his two manipulator arms tracing over a peculiar band of color. With a wave of his tentacle-like arms the surface of the cliff rippled, its molecules flowing about to his will, and clumps of material freed themselves from the rock and hovered in the air.
Silicon, carbon…hmm. Those proportions seem off.
He knew, using the abilities gifted to him by evolution, the precise makeup of the cliff wall. What he didn’t know was how it came to be, and the once-great species behind its origin. The species that had called itself Humanity.
Sharp upper boundary…huh.
Around him stretched a small patch of unfamiliar short green stalks, the only significant lifeform on the dry, alien planet.
That's interesting.
And the grass swayed in the wind.

I tried to write this post once already but then Chrome died on me and I lost it. However, I'm seeing the same things being said and debunked anew every day and I want to get facts straight about when and how the Michaela rumour was born and eventually gained traction.
Disclaimer: this isn't meant to say the rumour is accurate or not, just to chronicle where it's coming from so everyone can make up their own mind. It probably won't be as thorough as the one I wrote a few days ago, but I'll still try to give the possible explanations in one sense or the other every time we get news.
February 2023: photos and videos leak from the Bridgerton house set in Greenwich. The set is super protected as usual but we still get the first material in which we see Victor Alli and find out John Stirling was cast. Images are blurry and don't show much, essentially we more or less see Eloise, Francesca and John get into a carriage presumably to leave for Scotland as the Bridgertons appear to be gathered to say goodbye. This is a video and most videos you'll see will be like this one. In one of them we can see a black or brown woman in purple, her face is never seen. UnBoxPhD, presumably the person who took videos and photos, appears to think it's lady Violet or even a maid. The actress who plays Eloise's maid is indeed set to return for part 2 of the season and owns a cape that might be the one we see here but it's true the white bits can't be spotted in the video. Some Simone Ashley fans are convinced it's Kate (some tweets about it are here), though I'm not sure I can agree now that we've seen she barely wears purple in season 3 anymore. At this stage and from this particular set of images, to my knowledge, no one seems to presume this lady is a Stirling, aside for a comment or two possibly identifying as John's mother. Later, some fans (myself included) will theorise it could be a sister. There are two important Stirling women in WHWW, John's mother Janet and Michael's mother Helen: the sister theory is based on the possibility of the show turning a mother into a sister in order to give the ever-brooding Michael a confidante to talk to. This theory is not important yet, but I'll leave it here.
February 2023 part 2: it's with another set of photos and videos that the madness begins. A woman is seen in one of the carriages. Or rather, there are TWO women in one of the carriages: one is a light skinned black woman, the other a redhead with hair identical to Penelope's, but only the black one is seen by most people. Both are in modern clothes and jewelry such as zipped sweaters and hoop earrings. Because of the angle the videos and photos are taken from, most people ignore or possibly don't see the redhead at all and begin to speculate on who the black girl is. If you click on the links, you'll see both on youtube and on reddit a comment will say, at least one of them as a joke, that it could be Michael (youtube) and "John's cousin Michelle" (reddit). I guess they're getting the idea from Twitter, where you can see that "Michaela" is already popular, I'm not sure how seriously, especially among a bunch of Brazilian fans in the quote to this tweet. My two cents: the two women are crew, likely stand-ins for Penelope and a light-skinned black woman (Madame Delacroix? Alice? The Queen?) and they're either chillin' or testing light and stuff for the moment their respective characters will be in the carriage. The carriage itself is the Bridgertons' (reference) and by this point Penelope *is* a Bridgerton who might use the family carriage with whomever she wants. However, this is where the Michaela theory is born. In one or two of the quote retweets, Masali's name is already being made and it's still as early as February 2023! It's at this stage that Masali and Michaela begin to be conflated, even though there's still some confusion as to who Masali is effectively playing between Sophie and Michaela herself.
March 2023: a reddit user posts about Masali Baduza, saying they noticed that this up-and-coming actress has followed and is being followed back by Bridgerton and Queen Charlotte people and theorising that she could be Sophie. Like I mentioned, they're not the first person to think of Masali, since in one or two of the "Michaela" quote retweets her name is also made. That's probably the reason why one of the comments to this post goes "Chaos theory: What if she's... Michaela Stirling??", but it's still a fairly isolated voice at the moment. Interestingly, though, many comments flat out say this must be a Stirling. Again, the only two Stirling women in WHWW are middle aged mothers, and yet many people are quick to jump to the conclusion that this young black woman is more likely to be a character that doesn't exist than she's likely to be Sophie Becket. I say this because to this day I'm convinced Michaela was also invented by racists who don't want Sophie to be black. The comments to any social media post referring to Masali as a possible Sophie will prove this beyond any doubt.
December 2023: in a discussion about Sophie's fancastings, a casting call is posted by a semi-regular and seemingly reliable twitter user (won't be posting the link because I don't want this person to be bombarded by direct messages on my account, sorry). It allegedly went up in December 2022 and was looking for a black actress to play a "huge role" that will "appear in one episode of the current series" (series is the equivalent of season in UK) and go on "to be leading the next". The actress was also required to be available for the entirety of 2023 (at the time, they wouldn't have known of the strikes). So far, so good. The code name for the character is Molly, which can both be reminiscent of Michael? Michelle? or Sophie (essentially same vowel sounds). Molly is described as devilishly charming, quick witted, but secretly soft and caring, and also in her heart of hearts sad because she didn't find the right person. Now, does this sound like Michael? Yes (and somebody will notice as much, later). On the other hand, if you were doing a secretive casting for a hit show and essentially announcing you're introducing the next lead earlier than expected, would you describe the character you're actually looking for and let it end up out there? It could simply and easily be a decoy. In any case, to my knowledge, this is generally welcomed as a casting for Sophie and the theory that Masali Baduza is playing her gets stronger and more popular, especially on Twitter. Masali did, after all, begin to follow Bridgerton people a couple months after the casting call allegedly went up.
April 2024: Jess Brownell says she wants to add queer stories to Bridgerton. She doesn't actually say it will be a Bridgerton, however most people, including the press, think either of Benedict or a side character. Queer Cressida theories blossom. But Francesca does enter the "who's the queer character" debate, based on the Michaela rumour. People start to suggest, watching promos, that "she's hiding something" (her sexuality?). The fact that Brownell (who is a queer woman herself) confirmed Bridgerton will have lgbtq character is seen as validation of fan theories, including this one.
April 2024 part 2: this is where the "I have friends" madness officially begins as episodes 1-4 approach. I personally believe this is as an important milestone for the Michaela rumour as the carriage photos were back in February 2023, except it's entirely more irrational and difficult to control or keep track of because if you could go and look at set photos and see for yourself, with "leaks" from "friends" all you can do is believe these strangers from the Internet. Alleged leakers begin to say Francesca doesn't marry John for love (we also discussed this in this sub). Some of these leakers seem confused in that they appear to think John's name isn't actually John, but some of the "sources" do say half consistent things so the fact that Francesca may not love John appears plausible and feeds into the idea that Fran doesn't like man at all. We know now it's not true, but how do you kill an idea? It is also worth noticing, because it will become more important later, that one of the sources who "have a friend" is a supporter of gender bent Michael and keeps telling everyone that she wants Francesca to be queer.
May 2024: The "I have friends" creek joins reddit and someone posts about a "mutual friend" who "works on set" having told them "we're getting queer Fran". I personally believe this particular creek is more like actually the same user making and deleting accounts on a regular basis only to post about Michaela and trying to infer from set photos and rumours that she does in fact exist.
Post 16 May 2024: "Leaks" are now everywhere. There are Twitter users who have "reliable sources" and "friends at Netflix", "friends who work on tv" and so on, each stan apparently having a friend who will risk breaking the embargo to tell them secrets and watched the last two episodes as soon at the first 4 were dropped. Tumblogs such as antipolin have anonymous asks saying things on a regular basis. Tweets saying Francesca will be confirmed as bisexual in Part 2 make hundreds of likes. Source? They all know someone.The most egregious case of "I have friends" is probably, let's call them A., on tumblr and it's their "leaks" that I will talk about in more detail because it's the case I know best. A. says they have a friend who works for an Irish newspaper and watched the season to review it. They apparently got spoilers "on the phone" from this journalist. One of the spoilers is that "Michael is now Michaela", there's a moment, it's not lingered on much, but Michaela is John's sister. Her name is definitely Michaela, A. says. Once somebody makes them notice Michael is John's cousin, A. replies that their friend might not have read the book, maybe Michaela wasn't mentioned as a cousin exactly and the friend could have come to the wrong conclusion. Except a few replies later A. says they, as in A. and not the journalist friend, have clips and hope to share them eventually. Asked about when Michaela is introduced, they vaguely replie she's in episodes 7-8. Asked about who plays Michaela, A. says they "think" the name is Masali, if they remember correctly, as referred by their journalist friend. Adds that they can't be sure themselves because they don't know and never saw Masali. Except if you go through their tumblr you'll find a weeks-old post reblogging a screenshot of Masali being rumoured to Sophie with A.'s own addition (which I can no longer find now) saying they "firmly believe" Masali is playing Michael Stirling and they're still hoping for an Asian Sophie. So they have long thought and theorised about Masali and her role, but they've never seen her, even though they even reblogged a photo of her. Add this to the contradiction in their scene report and the fact that we later learned John was openly defined an only child on the show, it's obvious A. lied at least about some things. Did they also lie about the journalist friend and Masali? My two cents are, A. read about the theory, knew about the black woman on set and the possibility of her being a sister, read about the casting call speaking of a girl with Michael's personality appearing on one episode of season 3 and leading the next, came to "firmly believe" it's all real (also because they want Sophie to be Asian), which is why they sound so confident that the leaks they post will turn out to be accurate, especially since they're all pretty vague. Other users here will be able to tell you more lies or inconsistent stuff they said. In any case, I'm also pretty sure that A., or someone who read and believed them, is the source of Cassie Moran's episode 7-8 insta-tiktok spoilers (the sister bit is certainly telling): CM herself will admit to not knowing if her source told her the truth. I also personally believe most people who "have sources" online simply believe that Michaela exists due to the "evidence" we already got, which is why they seem so sure of what they say and don't fear that they will be outed as liars (after all, they can always blame their sources).
May 22, 2024: after a couple of recent interviews where he clearly mentioned Michael and talked about him in male pronouns, Victor Alli switches to the neutral "cousin" and "they-them" in an interview with Decider. Does that mean anything? We don't know. To my knowledge, the actresses playing Cressida and Eloise speak of their perspective LIs in neutral terms, and we literally already met El's male endgame. Victor would have shot his scenes with "Michaela" more than one year ago, so he won't have learned about her between 16 and 22 May. More likely he just got the same PR memo as everyone else, only a little later. Still, the interview is spread all over the internet and especially Twitter as confirmation that Michael will be a woman. Yet another account who "has a source" announces that yes, Michael was gender bent and they have been "sitting on this tea for months". Like I said, it's not more reliable than people quoting the February 2023 tweets, it's just many more than before and harder to fact-check.
My conclusion: I believe Michael might very well have been genderbent. The casting call sounds sus and we still don't know who the woman in purple is. I simply don't believe we should take this twitter-tumblr sources as reliable sources because they're not. Even if A. said something accurare, they could have taken the info from someone else (like they did with the Polin audio post). Most of these people have white/Asian fan castings for Sophie and/or support the gender bending of Michael or Sophie, so they likely read every hint with biased glasses. 13 June is now super close and we'll know something soon.
Thanks for reading, if you've come so far!

I wiped the sweat from my brow as our guide hacked a path through thick rainforest underbrush, the humid heat of the Amazon making my pack feel as if it weighed a hundred extra pounds as I slogged through the trees. Birds and monkeys chirped and hooted above me, remnants of a recent rainfall dripping from wide monstera leaves.
We had been walking for days, deeper and deeper into the heart of the jungle, following the Amazon River. The lab equipment on my back jostled and threw me off balance with each step, leaving me staggering like a drunk over the uneven rainforest floor. All of us walked like elephants in a row; the sad, circus kind of elephants forced to perform at the crack of a whip.
None of my colleagues fared much better, Carter heaving with exertion ahead, his dark brow glistening with sweat. Poor Mary Elizabeth’s boot caught a stray root, sending her sprawling across the ground behind me. The march ground to a halt, all of us turning to help her. I removed her pack, Carter helping her from the ground as she brushed a thick layer of mud off her trousers, leaning against a palm tree to catch her breath.
“We should stop to make camp soon,” Carter suggested, surveying the state of our weary convoy. He took off his tacky safari hat and fanned himself as he awaited our responses, droplets splashing across his face.
Mary Elizabeth took a moment to catch her breath, moisture beading on her poncho. “I agree. I can’t walk much farther,” she panted. Our guide simply nodded, sweat staining his white tank top even though he looked like he’d been barely exerting himself at all, slashing through the wild with all the confidence of an Amazon native.
They all looked to me. Despite my aching bones and the sweat beginning to pool in my boots, I hesitated. We only had a few more hours worth of jungle until we reached the survey site, where there should be a hot meal and a warm bed for me to rest on.
How I yearned for a meal that didn’t come from a can. Reluctantly, I sighed and was about to agree to spare my companions, opening my mouth only to be cut short by an excited squeal from Mary Elizabeth.
“Look! Look! Carter, Howard, come quickly!” She gestured excitedly to the ground beside where she leaned against the tree at something hidden beneath a tangle of moneywort vines. Intrigued, Howard and I approached what excited her so, brushing aside the vines to reveal a series of red dirt mounds, each emitting a steady stream of leafcutter ants. “Atta Cephalotes!” She beamed.
Carter and I oohed and ahhed the appropriate amount to please her. Like myself, Mary Elizabeth was an avid myrmecologist and practically glowed with excitement whenever she spotted a leafcutter ant colony.
It had been truly fascinating the first time, somewhat less so the third, and had lost its charm entirely by the tenth, but her joy was too pure to spoil with our dying interest.
The ants were cutting large chunks out of the surrounding foliage, everything green and leafy around us missing small chunks, as if someone had taken a hole punch into the deepest reaches of the Amazon and had begun trying to clear the foliage with it.
I watched them for a moment while our guide cleared enough vegetation for Carter to unwrap our tents, Mary Elizbeth stepping away to assist him. There was something so fascinating about them, how they moved perfectly in a single file line, each one carrying a chunk of leaf bigger than its own body. I looked out over the colony, rows and rows of ants winding like a system of rivers into the ocean of their colonies underneath our feet.
“Kauê?” I called out to him, halting his progress as he lowered the machete in his hand. Carter and Mary Elizabeth struggled to put up a tent in the background. Not that I’d be able to do it any better. I pointed to the anthill metres away from our site. “Camping here won’t disturb the colony, will it?”
Kauê shook his head. “No. They will not bother us as long as they are left alone.” I chuckled as he returned to his labour. That should be no issue. Mary Elizabeth had already collected enough leafcutter specimens on our trek to rival the colony in front of me.
I was just about to turn back to assist my companions, who had just managed to pitch the first tent and were currently doing battle against the second when I took notice of something truly odd on the furthest edge of the colony.
The corpse of a howler monkey had fallen onto one of the mounds, still limp and fresh, the sand around it forming rusty clumps. I tiptoed around the mounds, careful not to upset the anthills so close to our camp as I got closer to verify that what I saw out of the corner of my eye was, in fact, real.
Three lines of dark red ants were leading towards the howler’s body, each line closely coupled by a parallel twin running in the opposite direction, carrying chunks of red and bloody white tissue. The monkey’s corpse looked like the surrounding leaves, riddled with clean-cut semicircles. I could see into its open ribcage as they cut away bone and offal alike, ants shifting and undulating beneath the skin, making its dark fur quiver with a sickening false life. I watched in stunned disbelief as they carved perfect chunks of fresh meat like tiny butchers.
I wanted to look away, to cringe with disgust, to call my colleagues in alarm. Instead, I simply stood frozen, watching the monkey disappear piece by piece at an alarmingly swift rate. Its eye twitched in a sunken socket, and as I leaned down to look closer, a shudder of revulsion ran through me.
I could see them crawling behind its eyes.
Every scientific bone in my body knew this couldn’t be right. The whole reason leafcutter ants harvested leaves in the first place was to grow fungi for sustenance, they most certainly didn’t eat carrion. None of the regular ants seemed to notice the corpse, giving the strange newcomer ants a wide berth. Was it an undiscovered subspecies? A new adaptation? I looked around for any sign of a predator, tracks in the sand, a displaced mound, the glint of eyes in the bushes.
I found nothing at all. Nothing except the three trails (technically six, if you count the returning lines as well) leading into the foliage.
“Mary! Carter! By God, come see this,” I shouted back to the camp. I heard Carter’s low voice through the thick brush, but his words were too muffled by the jungle ambiance to make out.
I stepped back into the clearing, seeing Kauê and Carter finish setting up the final tent while Mary Elizabeth crouched as she set a pot of water over the fire to boil, shooting up when I approached her. “Howard! Where were you? We had to set up the tents without you! You look…” Mary Elizabeth studied me with a furrowed brow, her irritation replaced with concern. “Troubled. Is something the matter?”
I paused, unsure of how to broach the subject. Mary Elizabeth would hardly take such a grievous slight to her beloved Atta Cephalotes lightly, and what I had seen was nothing short of a bastardization of their entire biology. “I saw— they had a monkey, Mary, a howler of some sort, and they were taking pieces out of it like it was a leaf, bones and all, I swear—”
“What had a monkey?” Carter’s mammalogist interests had been peaked; joining us as I stumbled over the point I was trying to get across.
“They— The ants, they looked like leafcutters but they weren’t part of the colony, I’m certain, they had found a freshly dead howler—”
“What subspecies of howler?”
“Good God Carter, I don’t fucking know, half the damn thing was gone! The ants were carving it up like it was a leaf, taking it away somewhere!” Mary Elizabeth and Carter exchanged worried looks. Kauê raised an eyebrow at me from across the camp. “I know what you’re thinking, and I am not mad!”
I grabbed Mary Elizabeth by the wrist, practically dragging her to the colony as I pointed to where the howler was. “Howard…” she said gently, “perhaps we should get you a sip of water and a good night’s rest.” Confused, I turned my gaze to where I was pointing.
There was nothing there. Any trace of the howler being there had disappeared into thin air. Much to Mary Elizabeth’s protest, I stumbled over the russet craters to where the corpse had been, brushing the loose soil aside as if it would be buried underneath. I searched for bones, a scrap of fur, a bloody clump of sand, anything—
But nothing was there. It was as if the howler had come back to life and flown away. There weren’t even any footprints, just faint lines in the sand that could have been from any one of the dozens of trails of ants coming to and fro from the colony of millions.
“I swear, it was right here, Mary! They must've finished taking it or... or..” Or maybe the heat really had been getting to me.
No! No, I knew it was there. I knew for sure wasn’t crazy, but as I watched Carter join Mary Elizabeth in luring me back to camp, I knew I had no proof. No evidence. Of course I’d seem like a raving lunatic, I’d accuse myself of being so if I were in their shoes as well. To convince scientists of something impossible, one needs proof. Indisputable proof. But as I looked into the bushes from where the strange ants had emerged, I saw no trace of them either. They had disappeared along with their macabre prize.
I hung my head in resignation, a twinge of guilt striking my heart as I realised I was standing on an anthill. Murmuring an apology to its tiny citizens, I carefully stepped back to camp, Mary Elizabeth promising me a clean drink of water while Carter attempted to distract me with talk of tapir sightings in the area. To his credit, any reasonable human would find conversing about tapirs with Carter to be delightful, but my mind kept wandering back to that unfortunate howler.
The way its whole body writhed with ants. The way they cut away at it like surgeons. Did they eat it outright? Was it used to cultivate some unknown type of fungal garden? I thought about the direction the ants were coming from, and a plan began to take shape in my mind as I sat down by the fire and waited for the sun to go down.
***
It had taken a while for Kauê to fall asleep, somehow being the least tired out of our party despite doing the lion's share of the physical labour. I feared he wouldn’t fall asleep by the time the sunlight had died down, but as I heard a rustle in the tent to the left of mine, I unzipped the tent and peered out into the light of the setting sun.
The camp was empty. I waited another few minutes until Kauê had completely settled down before carefully unzipping my tent and creeping out into the dusk. Even though the sun had yet to descend below the horizon, it had already gotten much darker under the canopy, the only light coming from the break in the trees to the north of camp where I could hear the river rushing in the distance. Grabbing my lantern, I turned the gas valve and struck a match, igniting the flame. I patted my back pocket, ensuring the can I smuggled away at dinner was still present.
It was a long shot, I knew, these creatures almost definitely preferred a fresh kill to Hereford’s corned beef, but my hunting skills weren’t nearly adept enough to attempt catching a howler of my own. Nor did I have it in my heart to kill one.
Besides, Carter would never look at me the same.
I crept silently over to the anthills, relieved (if not a little disappointed) that there were no corpses. Only the regular leafcutters were present, continuing their monotonous gardening around the clock.
I whispered a silent prayer as I pried open the can, hoping the smell wouldn’t attract any larger, more vicious predators. However, deep down, part of me preferred the known danger of a jaguar to the unknown threat posed by the strange ants. The smell of corned beef quickly overpowered the earthy scent of the jungle asn I wrinkled my nose in disgust.
If anything, this would be repelling the jaguars.
I dumped the beef unceremoniously in the dirt beside the mound the howler fell on. The ants had nearly finished repairing it, much to my fascination.
Once the bait had been set, I found a low-hanging tree branch and hoisted myself onto it, leaning against the trunk as I waited, the rush of the river and the slow trickle of ants lulling me into a gentle slumber.
***
I awoke with a start to a weight on my shoulder, needle-sharp claws digging into my skin. I tumbled from my resting place in the tree, frantically brushing away whatever was on me. I felt silky fur against my hand and heard a soft hiss from somewhere in the night as I regained my composure.
Night had fallen like a curtain while I slept, and I awoke to complete darkness, the canopy too dense to see the stars above. I reached around blindly for my lantern, blades of grass and tiny leaves brushing against my skin; each feeling like the touch of some unknown creature in the pitch blackness sending goosebumps up my arms.
Eventually, my fingertips hit glass and metal with a rattle. I fumbled around the valve and lit a match (thanking God I had taken them along with me), blessed light returning my vision. A pair of eyes glinted across the anthills from me, and I raised my lantern to discover a coati staring at me with a hesitant curiosity.
I chuckled. Carter would be green with envy that I had one resting upon my shoulder. I made a mental note to rub it in later.
I turned to return to camp when my boot connected with something, the clatter of hollow tin echoing over the chirp of insects and the croak of frogs in the river nearby. Lowering my lantern, the purpose of my excursion returned to me as I gazed upon the empty can of corned beef.
I looked back to the anthill and, to my absolute delight, two rows of ants were running like train tracks too and from the quickly diminishing pile of corned beef, carrying the mushy brown clumps off into the night.
So their tastes weren’t so refined after all.
I reached for my camera, cursing under my breath when I realized that I had left it back at camp. With one last look at the ants, I quickly snuck back. Although swift, I remained silent, not wanting to be made a fool of for a second time. Nobody stirred as I rustled around in my pack for my camera, scurrying back to the ants to collect my evidence.
They were still there when I returned, the pile of beef having diminished by at least fifty percent in the few minutes it took to grab my camera. The Polaroid’s flash lit up the night for a split second, leaving a white spot in my vision as I blinked. The photo printed with a whirr, and I took a second one just for good measure as I shook the first.
After a few good shakes, the photograph was developed enough to make out. A row of leafcutter ants, a species that should have no taste for meat, carrying away clumps of the beef pyramid. I nearly danced back to camp, bursting into Mary Elizabeth’s tent. “Who’s mad now, Mary?” I gloated, waving my picture around like an Olympic medal.
But as I looked down, I noticed she was nowhere to be found. Come to think of it, her tent had been opened as well.
Assuming she had just stepped out to use the bathroom, I attempted Carter’s tent. I unzipped the tent, and again its occupant was missing. My nonchalance had faded, fear and worry creeping up my spine.
“Kauê?” I called nervously, peering into his tent. Much to my relief, I heard something stirring inside his tent, a gruff voice mumbling something as he poked a head of messy hair from his tent, his face contorted into an irritated scowl. “Mary and Carter are gone,” I whispered. “I don’t see them anywhere nearby.”
That got his attention, grabbing his machete as he stepped out of the tent. “Did you hear them leave?” I shook my head. As knowledgeable as they were on the local fauna, neither were survivalists. It wasn’t like either of them to vanish into the night in the middle of the Amazon, they would know better than that. A cool dread pooled in my gut, a chill running through my veins. “Have you checked the tents?”
“I’ve only scanned them.”
“We should search them properly before searching the nearby forest at this hour,” he said as he walked towards the tents. He threw Carter’s tent open and began tossing his things around.
“Whoa, hey, I don’t think Carter will appreciate—” my mouth hung open like a fish on land as Kauê flung his sleeping bag aside. The fabric at the bottom of the tent was gone, the earth pocked with holes as if a buckshot had been fired from underground.
Kauê stared at me in shocked disbelief, as if I were the one to dig the holes. I was about to ask him what he was staring at when I noticed something scuttling across the earth.
An ant. Indistinguishable from the rusty leafcutters, unnoticeable if not for the scrap it was carrying towards a hole in the earth. I pounced on it like a cat; giving Kauê a start as I scrambled in the dirt like an addict trying to catch the tiny thing. I felt my fingers close around its tiny body and felt a bolt of pain shoot through my finger as a trickle of crimson splashed onto the dirt, disappearing into one of the little holes as if the earth itself thirsted for my blood.
I gasped in pain and dropped it, cursing as more droplets of blood splashed onto the forest floor. “What is it?” Kauê asked, leaning over my shoulder to determine the source of my panic. “Did some bug do this?”
“I— perhaps. Maybe. Do you remember the ants I was talking about earlier? With the monkey?” I reached into my pockets with trembling hands before I found the photograph, pulling it out for Kauê to see. “I will admit my claim was…out there, but I was telling the truth. And no,” I added as he cocked his eyebrow at me once more before taking the picture from my outstretched hand, “I wasn’t lying or heatsick.”
I watched Kauê’s face morph from scorn to confusion to fear. “So you’re saying—” he said with a laugh of terrified hilarity, “—that the ants took them away.” It wasn’t a question so much as a statement, Kauê looking to me for confirmation as if it wasn’t true until I confirmed it.
“I’m saying it’s a possibility.”
“If that’s the case, then…what the hell do we do?” I had no answer.
And I was given no time to formulate one. Neither of us had noticed the ants slowly start to swarm around our feet and up our boots as if summoned by my blood. I felt a sharp pain above my sock and looked down to see the holes were gone. In their place was a writhing black carpet of ants, dark chitin bodies catching the lantern light like a thousand demonic eyes as they swarmed up our legs.
I will admit my scream of terror was not as manly-sounding as Kauê’s. We fled from the tent, swatting ants from our legs as fast as we could. I was briefly able to see my legs in the flickering lamplight through the darkness and blood, chunks of my calves missing, my exposed flesh stinging as we ran.
They gave chase, a flood of them, rushing over the leaves with a chilling silence, making no sound aside from a constant rustling of the trimmed foliage they passed over.
“The river!” I shouted, about to run to the river Amazon before Kauê grabbed me and forced me in the opposite direction, the maneuver costing us precious time as the horde pivoted quickly to follow us.
“We can’t swim across at this time of night, God only knows how many caimans are hunting right now!” The ants had formed an impossibly large swarm now, nearly taking up the entire cleared area of the camp. I dreaded to think of the fates suffered by my companions, but we could no longer stay there.
We turned and ran through the thick foliage, my pulse roaring like thunder and my panting a gale as I sprinted as fast as my legs would carry me. My poor legs stung like hellfire as they were brushed and scraped and prodded by the vegetation I tore through. My lantern flickered and rattled wildly as I ran, the night sounds of the jungle drowned out by my desperate crashing through the brush.
I didn’t dare stop, my vision tunneled by fear, unable to focus on anything except putting ground between myself and that awful campsite. I ran and ran and ran until my foot caught a root, sending me tumbling down a hill. My lantern went out on impact, plunging me into darkness.
I scrambled in the sand, trying to find my lantern as my whole body shook. I waited for the inevitable pain to return as I was torn apart, the anticipation fading as I realised that, for the moment, I had evaded my pursuers. My heart sank to my tattered boots as I realised that I had evaded my guide as well. “Kauê?” I called into the night, to no response.
Feeling around in the darkness, the gravity of my situation finally had time to sink in. I was lost, well and truly lost, and completely alone in the Amazon rainforest. I, an entomologist from upper Manhattan, was lost in one of the most wild places on the planet with no food or water. I’d be lucky to last until morning, disregarding the swarm of killer ants hot on my trail. I was not a religious man, I never was and likely never will be, but in that moment I prayed. I prayed that Kauê evaded the ants, prayed that we would reunite, and he would be able to lead me out of this green hell to safety where I could tell the Brazilian government to burn the whole damn forest to the ground.
Something rustled in the bushes above me, about to send me into another panicked sprint before it emerged from the shadows. A kinkajou’s eyes glinted in the lantern light as I held it up, a deep sigh of relief leaving my chest as it scampered away. Seeing it made me think of Carter, my heart aching for my poor companions. But grief would not help me now. There would be time for that later, the most pressing matter at the moment was finding my bearings.
My fingers touched something smooth and warm. My lantern! I fumbled with a match, my fingers still shaking from exhaustion and fear as I turned the gas valve, the glass rattling as I shook. Swinging my lantern around to get my bearings, I saw that I had not fallen down a hill, rather the ground had broken beneath my feet, plunging me into a pit.
My entire body froze as I swiveled in place, feet stuck to the ground in terror as I realised what I had fallen into. It looked like the floor of Carter’s tent, thousands of little holes peppered all around me in every direction like a grenade had gone off. I took a step back after seconds that felt like years, feeling something shift underfoot.
I looked down to see a tattered explorer’s hat, tacky and green and dreadfully familiar. I picked Carter’s hat off the ground and a sob grew in my throat as I saw what was beneath it. Mary Elizabeth’s poncho lay above a heap of tattered rags that were once expedition gear, shredded and discarded once the ants realised they weren’t edible. There weren’t even any bones left.
Taking a shuddering breath, I tried to move as little as possible as I scanned the hole for any way to escape. I was about two metres deep, and one of my ankles twisted at a painful angle. I lowered my sock, my ankle swollen to twice its size and slowly turning purple. I was unsure if I could climb out of there in a healthy state, and even if I could, I’d certainly not be fast enough to evade the ants once they detected my presence.
There was a small hill of loose soil leading about halfway up the side of the hole, and I noticed chunks of the wall appeared to be crumbling, the perforated earth made unstable by ant tunnels. Every other section would be a sheer climb, and none of the holes were large enough for me to use as footholes.
Gingerly, I limped to the sand pile, sizing up the jump from the top of the sand hill to the edge of the hole. My odds weren’t stellar, but it was the best hope of escape I had. I gently placed my good foot down, holding my breath as the sand shifted under my weight. Eventually, it held firm, and I dragged my bad leg onto the pile. I knew my time was limited, as quiet as I was, most ants hunted by odour and I was sure I reeked of sweat and blood.
I repeated the same process moving as if the air was molasses. Eventually, I reached the wall, about a metre and a half of loose soil between me and freedom. I took a deep breath in as I forced my trembling body still. I squatted down, readying every muscle in my body to explode upwards with as much force as possible.
And I jumped. My breath shot from my lungs with a pained grunt as I sprung upwards, pain shooting up from my twisted ankle like lightning in my veins. I felt a jolt of adrenaline as my hands found purchase on the rim of the hole; bracing my legs against the wall as it sloughed away beneath the tread of my boots.
I threw an elbow onto the grassy surface, hoisting my upper body into the cool night air. I swung my other arm up and felt a shifting beneath my chest.
Before I could reorient myself, the ground beneath me gave way. I was plunged into sand and dirt, filling my eyes and ears and mouth and nose as I flailed helplessly in the silt, sinking like it was quicksand.
I heard them before I felt them.
They were silent when they chased me and Kauê from our campsite, their only noise being the rushing of the foliage they ran over. But I could hear them now, feel them, shifting the earth around me as they tried to figure out the disturbance crashing into their nest.
I felt the first bite as my head broke free from the ground, the first splash of my blood sparking a feeding frenzy. My mind raced with images of that howler as they tore into me from every direction as I clawed my way up the new slope I had created.
I could feel them moving under my skin. Their tiny claws scraped against my insides as they cut me apart piece by piece, bone and muscle and sinew and fat. I screamed, my entire body on fire as they covered me, flowing into my open mouth like water. I looked at my hands as I clawed through the dirt, lines of ants wriggling up and down under the skin of my arms like caustic veins.
By some miracle, I had enough strength to stagger out of the dirt, ants falling off in clumps with my flesh in the lantern light.
The lantern! I had nearly forgotten about it. I knew there was no hope for me, I could feel them in my lungs and my chest, burrowing towards my heart and up my spine. The pain had become so omnipresent and all-consuming that I had forgotten what it was like to feel normal. But god damn those tiny devils crawling in and out of my body, I was nothing if not spiteful and did not intend to go down alone.
With trembling, shredded fingers I unscrewed the gas valve, bone scraping against metal. I poured the gasoline onto my ruined body, the stink of it overpowering what little smell I had left. I could feel them in my head now, black spots appearing in my vision. I thought of the howler as I felt a pressure building behind my eyes, how I could see the ants squirming in its eye sockets. I reached my bony fingers into my pocket and retrieved the matchbox, one lone match rattling around inside.
I struck it. Once. Twice. Three times. I had all but given up, about to lie down and die, to be consumed, when on the fourth and final time, I saw a flame.
The match fell in time with my last breath, my vision fading to blurry colours as the world swayed. Sounds became dissonant and fuzzy, but I could hear something crackling as warmth flooded my body. I saw orange light and felt the warmth grow to heat, the pain fading nothingness as the ants and I burned away to nothing.

Hi! My friend and I live in Paris for one semester for a homestay program. We had a host who gave us one room with no access to the rest of the house except the kitchen (with very limited usage) and a key to the back door (only one key, so my friend and I can’t leave or enter without each other).
Our deposit was 900 eur each, so 1800 eur. Halfway through the semester, our host came into our room without permission and yelled at us for the floor. We were confused but apparently the wood floor had small stains which has lightened a bit because water drops fell on them. We did not know the floor did this because of water, and our bathroom is attached to the room, so sometimes when leaving, small drops spill. The point was that we were initially never made aware until half way in the semester.
We were afraid she would do something to the deposit so we offered to help fix it if possible. She told us that the floor had to be sanded down and waxed, so we said okay and she bought the wax and sandpaper and we paid her. She showed us how to do it and we did a portion of it and she said okay. She asked us to do the rest of the floor but the sandpaper wasn’t enough and she kept delaying buying it (I have proof of this through texts) and bought it a few days before we moved out. We sanded the floor and she said she would wax it herself later. We unfortunately don’t have proof of this but she won’t lie about it because we kept documenting this in the emails to the homestay agency before we moved out.
Now we get an email from the agency saying that she said the floor was ruined and needed professional help and our deposit was on hold till then. But the photos she submitted was the sanded floor, not waxed yet. Before waxing the floor does look bad, but the wax completely fixes it, but it’s not been done? Is this a cash grab?
I want to ask if there’s a legal issue we can raise here because this is just false. And can we show up to her house to talk to her about this (we are back in paris for a short time) ? We said to the agency that we would bring a lawyer in and they actually started listening to us after that. Please give some advice 😭

How to get more likes on your post
Firstly, do not buy zombie powder from third parties. This is absolutely useless. Creating high-quality posts requires time and patience, and good posts can only get likes from people who truly like you and your brand. Ultimately, Instagram's goal is to showcase its best selves by sharing content that people are interested in. Only through genuine likes can we comply with IG's algorithm and bring truly effective and uninterrupted traffic.
Users can now hide their likes on Instagram. So is the number of likes still important? The answer is yes. If you want to run a brand on Instagram, the number of likes from fans is still crucial. In mid-2019, Instagram began attempting to not display the number of likes received on posts in certain regional feeds.
According to Adam Mosseri, the head of Instagram, this move is part of the company's efforts to protect the mental health of the platform community. This idea is to make the entire experience healthier and reduce user competition. Instagram explains, "We want your friends to follow the photos and videos you share, rather than how many likes they get."
This measure has achieved mixed success: some people enjoy getting rid of pressure and keeping up with the pace of competition, while others feel that they know nothing about popular things. Instagram's solution was announced in May 2021, which now allows account operators to choose to hide likes from the public - either by hiding the count on all posts or by hiding the count on their own feed, so that others cannot see it. But according to the platform, regardless of whether we can see Instagram likes or not, the Instagram algorithm will continue to work as usual. So how can I get more likes on Instagram? The following 7 mainstream methods for obtaining free likes on Instagram

1. Use the correct label

Tags are the key to expanding the audience of Instagram. After using the tag, your article (or story!) will appear on the page of that tag. People can also choose to follow tags, which means you may appear in a completely unfamiliar news source. Surprise! Illustrator Joe Taylor added tags such as "illustrations" and "character design" to this article to appear in these topic searches. Later, more than 1800 people liked it, so it seemed like a good idea. Whether you are using product or service labels, seasonal labels, acronym labels, or location labels, it is best to control the number of labels to no more than 11.

1. Mark relevant users

Whether you are labeling a collaborator or a new acquaintance, the goal is to highlight the level of importance you place on them and share this value with your audience. If their audience happens to see your value in this process? So you have additional benefits.
Cool Carpet - an account dedicated to documenting cool carpets from around the world, of course - clearly marks these trendy, Brazilian made camping chair designers. This is an opportunity to share love, but the additional benefit is that Instagram users and their own fan groups may pay attention to it.

1. Write captivating subtitles

It's best for you to write a novel that exceeds the 2200 character limit on Instagram, or use a single line of text to maintain mystery and power, depending on your brand voice and message. However, regardless of length, subtitles are a key factor in the success of an article. The great Instagram title adds background and personality, and forces your followers to take action. Don't worry about this part! Take a look at these 264 Instagram subtitle examples and draw some inspiration before you start typing.
Here you are, fiber artist H. H。 Hooks shared the inspiration behind her latest work (yes, this is another carpet. I'm sorry, we're in a good mood now!), which provided the background for her cocktail image and sparked dialogue and engagement.

1. Enter the exploration page

Behind this small magnifying glass icon, the exploration page is a beautiful treasure trove of personalized entertainment content provided by Instagram. The brands that appeared there attracted a lot of attention.
But how did the brand first get showcased on the "Explore" tab of Instagram? In short, you need a high engagement rate and an active community - and accepting any new features currently being introduced in Instagram's algorithms will not be harmful.

1. Timely release

Instagram does not display posts in chronological order, but its algorithm does support "closeness". This means that in order to increase fan engagement, you must know when your audience is truly watching the application. So... um... when is the best time? Okay, each brand has its own fan base, and based on its unique audience, you can obtain accurate data from the data analysis page.
According to the digital model calculations and various tests conducted by foreign media to find the best time to release Instagram, overall, Wednesday morning at 11am is a very good time.

1. Organize activities to increase fan engagement

Holding activities such as lucky draws or check-in is one of the simplest ways to gain participation within a given time period. The key is to ensure that your prize is fair and desirable to your audience, and it needs to be specific enough to attract true fans, not opportunists (these fake fans may have mixed up specifically for the prize, and if your activity requires enough specificity, fake fans may not be able to achieve all their goals easily).

I need advice, please!
I've gotten a full Brazilian wax once in the past, and while I loved it, I HATED the ingrown hairs. Before hand I did everything that was suggested, exfoliate, and got this after care serum that so many people swore by. I've tried shaving in the past, same result. So I've been just keeping it to a close trim in the last few months and low and behold, haven't had a single ingrown hair.
Now to my question.... some friends are telling me that I didn't go long enough and I need to have a few more waxes before my hair gets thin enough to stop with the ingrown hairs. I want them to be right, but they've never had the same issue as me, especially as painful as it has been in the past. Has anyone else had that experience? Are they telling me the truth? I'd be willing to deal with the pain of stupid ingrown hairs if I knew there was a light at the end of the tunnel.

TLDR: white skin, dark hair, nothing working.
I need help to see if I should bother continuing my journey. I’m very pale white with a reddish hue to my skin. My pubic and underarm hair is very dark. My facial hair is a mix of dark and light, so I’m aware I won’t get perfection there. And my leg hair is the same.
My first foray into laser was May of 2023. I bought a six pack for Brazilian and upper lip at a salon in NYC. I saw no movement on my face whatsoever. I got some patchy results for the Brazilian, but the tech admitted she didn’t “crank it up” until the last one. Not sure if since I was using a Groupon, maybe it was their strategy to get me to buy more. But after six months, I was done with that hassle.
October of 2023, I bought a cheap $60 at home IPL off Amazon (brand name of Aopvui). I used it on my upper lip, chin, underarms, Brazilian area, and legs 3 time a week for 3 months. I understand the hair growth cycle, but that’s what the instruction said. It was still easier than commuting to a salon. But I got almost zero results. Luckily, they gave me a full refund.
After that, I ponied up the money for the Braun Pro-5. I’ve been using it once a week for four months. I think the dark facial hair is reduced, but it’s hard to tell as I have to shave regularly due to the sharp white ones that annoy me (I guess I can go back to plucking those since IPL won’t stop them). My bikini area is definitely reduced, but it’s by no means smooth. The legs are the same. But the most annoying part is my underarms. Zero impact. And that’s some of the darkest hair on my body. I always showeshave, then immediately razor. Should I be shaving a day or two before? I use a natural deodorant, maybe I’m not getting it all off in the shower? Would that have an impact? Am I missing something here? Do I need to just keep at it? I’ve read rave reviews of the Braun and I’m just not seeing the results I expected. I started laser because I was sick of waxing and shaving. For the past year I feel like I’ve shaved more than I have my whole life. Getting tired of the whole hassle.

Much like the Emo genre itself, finishing this series off is cathartic and bittersweet. I’ve put months and months of my spare time and effort into this project and I’m very proud of how it turned out. If even one person discovered something new that they now love through these articles, my goal has been reached. Before we continue, I want to thank everyone for all the kind words that have been said about this series. I love this genre and I really want everyone to know that all the waves deserve to be loved, including the criminally misunderstood Third Wave.
I’ll be keeping this key from the last post: 💎 next to a name means it's a hidden gem. 🎩 next to a name means it's one of the top releases of the entire wave.
The first section that we’ll cover today is Emo Proto-Revival. Now, just what in the Hell is that? To be honest, I don’t actually know. It’s a term thrown around to describe pre-Emo Revival bands that have a similar sound, a great influence on the Revival itself, feature Revival band members in older projects or otherwise just sound like they could be Emo Revival albums yet predate them. There’s naturally going to be some crossover with the Carrying the Second Wave section, given their goals of emulating the OG Midwest Emo sound. However, Proto-Revival usually has something more “modern” to set it apart, whether in production or in genre integrations. Math Rock in particular was a popular ingredient in the concoction for many of these bands, leading to the popularity of Math Rock influence in Fourth Wave Emo.

Parsing Through Proto-Revival to Bridge the Gap

Colossal - Brave The Elements (2003)

Admittedly, I could have put Colossal’s LP in this section as well and perhaps should have. However, I wanted to highlight just how unique their 2004 album was, even among other Proto-Revival releases. Their debut EP, on the other hand, is a bit more in line with what you’d imagine a Proto-Revival release would sound like: gorgeous guitar twinkles, fluctuating volume dynamics, strong trumpet presence and overall less Jazzy than their later work. However you characterize this band’s sound, you owe it to yourself as a fan of Emo to give them a listen, even if I’d be lying by saying there was any “Proto-Revival” when the genre’s dirt was still fresh.

Up Up Down Down Left Right Left Right B A Start - And Nothing is #1 (2003)

How can I possibly categorize this release? Though the band was technically formed at the tail-end of the Second Wave, they did release a few songs pre-2003. Perhaps this means I should have put them in Part 1 of this series, either as a Second Wave Band or one strongly influenced by that sound. Regardless, Up Up Down Down is commonly (as common as this obscure band can be) referred to as a Proto-Revival sound and a small but profound influence on upcoming Emo Revivalists. Primitive twinkles can be found in the guitar playing while all of the good ol’ Midwest Emo elements are here. Uncommon time signatures and switches can also be heard by the discerning ear.
In addition to the pre-Third Wave releases, this band also came out with several EPs during this time period. Perhaps the best one would be released four years later…

Tamiroff - Bittersweet and Strange (2004)

Surprised to see them here? Faithful followers of this series will note that Tamiroff came out with their Demo in 2004, a Midwest Screamo affair. However, this band’s extremely limited discography is a microcosm of the influence of that particular subgenre as they found themselves coming out with an early Proto-Revival EP! Admittedly, I don’t know which record actually released first, but I’m willing to believe it was their demo.
There's the odd 2000s Post-Hardcore section here and there between the crashes and waves of Math Rock-laden Midwest Emo. This release accentuates the positives of traditional Midwest Emo, previews the future of the genre with twinkly Math Rock influences and showcases the Post-Hardcore tendencies that would lead into Polar Bear Club.

Special Noise - Special Noise (2005)

A noisy and dissonant take on Proto-Revival Emo, Special Noise enters with a guitarist who has actually experimented with his guitar's lower three strings, utilizing cool Mathy riffs without relying on the genre’s ever-present twinkles. The basement aesthetics are strong with this release, but that says nothing of each song’s individual quality. The band would come out with another EP in 2008 before calling it quits.

Everybell and Whistle - Everybody Wrestle (2005)

Recorded at an ill Nate Kinsella's commune warehouse space in Chicago with a makeshift drum kit and a guitar passed through two different amps to act as a bass, this record exemplifies the DIY spirit of Midwest Emo, especially during the early Revival and Proto-Revival period. The production values reflect the DIY recording approach to a tee, but that says nothing of the excellent musical quality found within the record.
Feeding off 90s Midwest Emo as much as Kinsella projects like Joan of Arc, the jangly riffs, volume dynamics and Hardcore kid-clean vocals define this 20+ minute aural jaunt.

Decmebers Architects - ,Apiary Ennui and Curiosas. The Brew Shakes (2005)

Forget ambition, what Nate Kinsella and Co were attempting with this album is nothing short of visionary, even if the towering heights they aimed for weren’t quite reached. Although this album was released in 2005, the LP was the final recording of this late 90s Midwest Emo project from 2001. Naturally, the guitar tones are quite gritty, matching the aesthetic of late Second Wave Emo. However, the experimentation here goes beyond what most Emo bands would call “experimentation,” including instruments like the turntable!
The Math Rock twinkles are there as expected, juxtaposed by harsh guitars, weird noises and interesting song structures. Even though this may not technically be Proto-Revival, it will be appreciated by anyone into that sound.

Saleontomorrow - Demo (2005)

Only three tracks in length, this release further cements the 00s British Emo scene as one of the most underrated. Saleontomorrow’s demo is slightly rough around the edges, but the cool Mathy song structures, impressive lead guitar riffs and careless vocals make for a breezy listen. Make sure you check out their compilation of unfinished songs as well.

Cowboys Aren't Indians - Cowboys Aren't Indians (2005)

Diamonds in the rough from Utah, the horribly named Cowboys Aren't Indians played chill yet active music in the Math Rock vein with Midwest Emo as a guide. The music tends to move by at a brisk pace thanks to the masterful and quirky guitar playing, the muted explosiveness of the drummer and the frankness of the vocalist.
With lofi production values and an emphasis on vocal-less sections of music, there almost seems to be a Post-Rock influence tucked away in there somewhere. After some years of inactivity, the band would release another EP in 2010. It seems the band was just at the wrong place at the wrong time to gain much notoriety.

Polara - Tempestade bipolar (2005)

Tonally, the band is reminiscent of Colossal, which seems to make sense as they were active at the same time, but they were separated by over 5,000 miles (almost 8,500 km) on different hemispheres! This could not have been possible without drawing from the same well of influence in old school Emo.
Polara executes quite differently from Colossal, keeping the riffs simpler and injecting a dose of lighthearted Indie into the concoction. The occasional hint of 90s Post-Hardcore pops up to give the music some weight. These Brazilians definitely did Emo proud with this release.

oh my god elephant - oh my god elephant (2006)

Had oh my god elephant released this EP in 2010 with slightly better production values, you’d be bombarded with this release on every hidden gem of the Emo Revival list out there. Instead, we received this masterful yet subdued Midwest Emo EP in 2006 with almost zero attention given. Although Emo was about as popular as it ever would be in 2006, basement-style Midwest Emo like this was completely out of vogue.
The band impressively fuses the Indie-leaning Emo sound of the late 90s with soft, mathy guitar riffs that keep the otherwise relatively slow music fairly lively. Whiny vocals and somewhat absurdist lyrics may turn off some listeners, but Emo Revival fans will greatly enjoy this effort.

The One Up Downstairs - The One Up Downstairs (2006)

Ok, calling this Proto-Revival would be disingenuous, even though it seemingly fits the bill with a 2006 release date. However, this is a Mike Kinsella project that predates even American Football! Proto-Proto Revival? I don't know, but this is the best place to put this for now.
These three tracks were recorded in 1997 but didn't see the light of day until almost a decade later. Though reminiscent of AF, the songs are slightly more upbeat in comparison, especially Rememories. If you like jazzier Emo or just want to check this intriguing release for its novelty, it's worth at least one spin.

Street Smart Cyclist - Demo 2006! (2006) 💎

SSC's legacy upon Emo history will never be appreciated enough. With only eight songs to their name spread across less than two years of activity, band members would go on to create Snowing and Boy Problems, two extremely influential Revival bands in their own right.
On this first three-song EP, the band shows off their immense musical talents with Hardcore-leaning Midwest Emo mixed with scathing Math Rock sensibilities. Production values are intentionally harsh, adding to the noisiness and musical chaos. The guitar and rhythm instruments are played with equal parts passion and complexity.

Pirouette - Sometimes Sad Isn’t Funny (2006)

Unexpectedly catchy, free-flowing and noodly, Pirouette’s debut EP displays the Proto-Revival sound exactly like you’d expect it. The guitarist, of course, is one of the great highlights of this release, utilizing a proficient mix of fun chord progressions and jangly guitar riffs. Although the vocal performance isn’t the cleanest, the vocal melodies in these songs are excellent and will worm their way into your ears and your heart.
The band was only around between 2006-2008, just in time to miss their signature sound exploding in the scene. They would come out with two more EPs, both excellent in their own right, and an almost-acoustic LP.

Ryerose - Ryerose (2006)

A release filled to the brim with such passion that it could rival Penfold, Ryerose is the brainchild of Craig Woods and, who else, Peter Helmis. Unlike the youthful explosiveness found in much of Helmis’ other work, Woods really seems to ground him with this melancholic, layered guitar approach. Vocals are also handled primarily by Woods, who sings similarly to other bands like Benton Falls or Mineral.
You can hear every ounce of blood, sweat and tears that was put into this project, featuring brilliant twinkles and disparate volume dynamics. This release might just be the best of a surprisingly robust discography from Helmis in 2006.

Up Up Down Down Left Right Left Right B A Start - Worst Band Name Ever (2007)

The band's final album reflects their playful attitude toward Emo while simultaneously taking Emo music seriously. Utilizing more acoustic guitars than their first LP, the Math Rock influence is a bit more subtle but nonetheless quite present. Keen ears will hear all of the sly musical techniques the band makes use of on this very short 20 minute album.
This band exemplifies the Proto-Revival to a tee: a band with all the talent in the world and forward-thinking (ironically by looking back), only to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. This exact album could have made them them Emo legends in 2010.

Marquette - Waxing / Waning (2007)

After releasing a so-so EP in 2006, true Midwest Emo band Marquette would release this EP a year later and it is as serene as it is rough around the edges. Utilizing decent but definitely DIY production techniques, Waxing / Waning is filled to the brim with some of the coolest guitar playing in this entire wave. Although the vocal performance is more than serviceable, the sheer focus on extended instrumental passages, led by near-virtuosic dual guitar lines, showcases the true star of the show.
The band would fold after this release, but from the ashes, a couple of the ex-bandmates would start the underrated Emo Revival band Penpal. Though similar in style, the Slowcore and American Football influence was far more pronounced.

Avast! - Faultlines (2007)

Avast! was a Scottish Emo band that only existed for a short time in the mid aughts. However, we can hear the infamous British Indie influence on this, no matter how hard they tried to hide it; unlike Dartz!, TTNG and the like, Avast!’s Faultlines harken back to more classic Midwest Emo, even if it’s with a slightly more modern approach. This is the band’s sole release, but I’d recommend it to anyone who is interested in the description.

Look Mexico - This Is Animal Music (2007)

I don't know what kind of Animals they have in Florida, but it sounds remarkably close to some Chicagoland Emos from the mid to late 90s. Look Mexico’s debut album has Kinsella fingerprints all over it, from the twinkly riffs to that very specific late 90s Indie Rock x Midwest Emo timbre. The vocals are of course of a whiny nature, though all is produced and mastered quite well.
Unlike many other Proto-Revival artists on this list, Look Mexico continued releasing music until 2016, the end of the Revival. Unfortunately, they pivoted to a more Indie-leaning sound while eschewing the Emo influence. Had their music remained American Football-inspired, this band could be legendary in the scene.

Meet Me in St. Louis - Variations on Swing (2007)

If I’m being honest, this isn’t actually Emo Proto-Revival. In reality, this is a calculated mix of Post-Hardcore, Math Rock and Midwest Emo with ample Kinsella influences. Look, Proto-Revival wasn’t really a scene, it was just a bunch of disconnected bands taking influence from the same people at the same time, hoping to make awesome music. It just so happened that this led to the Emo Revival, but I think Meet Me in St. Louis exhibits enough Emo sensibilities on this record to make it on this list - much like fellow UK Post-Hardcore band Million Dead.
Ambitious guitar riffs, song structures, tempo shifts and time signature changes are sprawled across the varied musical landscapes found on this LP. The Midwest Emo elements help weave together the more elaborate and lofty techniques and influences here. Even if it doesn’t fit in with this section exactly, it’s more than worth a listen.

Street Smart Cyclist - Lint Traps (2007)

SSC employs a similar songwriting style to their first EP, though these three tracks are all acoustic and feature significantly less percussion. Galm's singing is still as off-kilter as ever, though reduced in aggression. It's unclear if these songs were always intended to be acoustic or if they were previewing a more traditional song to be released later, such as We Lack Science. An offbeat experimental release for sure, it should be heard at least once.

oh my god elephant - Fancy Cookies (2008) 💎

Prior to this album’s release, the band temporarily changed their name to Rainow Tornado, and boy does this album feel like one. From production to songwriting to instrumental virtuosity, this album trumps their 2006 EP in just about every way (save for personal taste) while somehow being significantly more obscure, quite the feat considering how unpopular their s/t EP is. Lengthy instrumental passages litter this record, putting you into a near-meditative state. This peacefulness is juxtaposed with the silliest, most irrational lyrical moments in Emo.
This album could very well be the logical extreme to the American Football sound, given the unremarkable but confessional vocals, spirited Math Rock riffs and overall lackadaisical pace. The band does well to step out from merely being a Kinsella clone, though, and this album is their magnum opus.

Pennines - Demo Feb 08 (2008)

From the UK Emo scene that brought bands like TTNG and saleontomorrow, Pennines is a Mathy Midwest Emo band that isn’t afraid to get playful with their songs. This demo is only two songs but shows the tremendous promise that the band possessed with the Indie guitar riffs, mathy twinkles and signature British Indie singing voice. If you like the Math Pop-influenced Midwest Emo scene of mid-late 00s UK, check these guys out! They have some later-released demos and a split with TTNG.

Good Luck - Into Lake Griffy (2008)

Into Lake Griffy is the expert result of merging hyper-energetic Pop-Punk with Math-infused Indie-leaning Midwest Emo. The first thing you'll notice is the neverending guitar riffage and blistering chord progressions, followed up by some of the catchiest vocals this side of the Third Wave. The drummer and bassist both manage to stand out distinctly in their own right, essentially acting as the backbone for the Midwest Emo volume elements.
At 13 songs and almost 40 minutes of length, this album will breeze by and no two songs will sound too similar. The band would release one more album in 2011, though it was more restrained than this record.

Little Lungs - Hoist Me Up! (2008)

Cute, catchy and mixed with obvious Pop-Punk influence, this fun and breezy EP features infectious female vocals, driving yet straightforward melodies and riffs, and the odd Math Rock element hanging around here and there. What else is there to say? At 12 minutes, this one deserves at least one listen.

Gentlemen - Demo (2008)

Featuring a few members of The Summer We Went West, Gentlemen’s sole release is a demo from 2008. This is Midwest Emo in the classic vein with a few Proto-Revival trappings. With nine songs and a total runtime of less than 20 minutes, this demo is worth a listen. Gentlemen had the potential to be a really cool Emo Revival band, but they stopped just short of the goal line.

It’s an Icicle - L’Chaim (2008)

Emos out of Fresno, whose music scene was on fire during the late 2000s, It’s an Icicle emerged from the burgeoning Mathy Midwest Emo movement, citing Algernon Cadwallader, other Kinsella projects and Math Rock bands like Giraffes? Giraffes! as their primary inspiration. With dingey production, constant riffing and complete formlessness, the band’s debut LP is a sign of the changing times where DIY Emo artists were forming the core sounds of the Emo Revival.
Before becoming a three-piece, the band released a couple of EPs as a duo. Though not quite as good as this album, they’re both super solid Emo releases in their own right.

Street Smart Cyclist - Final Mixes (2008) 💎

The final two songs of the band’s discography are an evolution of the tracks from their demo; the boys supercharge their Midwest Emo / Math Rock hybrid, sounding like hardcore kids playing freestyle Jazz. The riffs are twinklier and more intricate, the song structures are looser. Had the band stuck around, who knows how good their output could have been.
Proto-Revival to the core, they, directly and indirectly, shaped the upcoming Revival while having a unique sound all their own. The best way to hear the band's stuff is to listen to their Discography, released in a neat package in 2014.

Bad Times Ending - Bad Times Ending (2008)

Extraordinarily obscure Proto-Revival, I can only find one record of their existence and it’s the YouTube video from 4010 where you can hear it. Not much to say at only 17 minutes, but you’ll immediately notice the twinkling of the guitar, the sincerity of the vocals and the pretty good grasp on volume dynamics.

Instruments (Make Music) - Instruments (Make Music) (2008)

A band name so unsearchable that I am only 70% sure it even came out in 2008, the burgeoning UK Midwest Emo scene produces more Mathy goodness with this EP. It's a little quirky and littered with instrumental-only sections, but it fits in well with other similar releases from this time and place. If you like cool Math Rock riffs, look no further.
We have now reached our final section of this part and this series. We opened up the very first part by discussing Second Wave Emo artists who were still releasing Second Wave-inspired Emo in the Third Wave. Naturally, I will bookend this entire project by talking about Fourth Wave Emo artists who got their start sometime before 2009. Many of Fourth Wave Emo’s earliest classic albums actually came out in 2008 in particular, a landmark year for the genre. After reviewing everything else in this whole series, these releases are sort of the denouement of Third Wave Emo, showing how the underground / basement / DIY scenes all over the world kept its spirit alive. We’ve finally arrived at the finish line:

The Flames of Fourth Wave Emo Begin With a Spark

Algernon Cadwallader - Demo (2006)

Following up on projects like Halfway to Holland and Ryerose, Peter Helmis and Joe Reinhart reunite for a more traditional take on Midwest Emo. Their first four-song demo was released in 2006, featuring what can only be described as Kinsella worship. It’s been said to death, but Algernon exhibits copious amounts of Cap’n Jazz influence in their music, from the reckless abandon of the vocals and lyrics to the jangly, twinkly riffs. Although the band’s best and most memorable work was yet to come, this EP left the door ajar for the Emo Revival to later bust down.

TTNG - Hippy Jam Fest (2006)

TTNG actually released their first piece of music in 2003, a demo that showcased their mathy preclivities, though harsher than their future releases. Even this, their first proper EP, is a bit more rugged than their more Math-Pop-laden work later on, although the evolution into the band they’d become was well underway. Generous use of volume dynamics, irregular time signature usage, cool riffs and saidboi vibes are all here. The band would go on to be one of the most important UK Emo / Math Rock bands of all time, and we’ll see why later on in this list.

Empire! Empire! (I Was a Loney Estate) - When the Sea Became a Giant (2007)

The first outing for Emo Revival Juggernauts Empire! Empire!, the band’s legacy for crafting biting, poignant Midwest Emo begins with the opening salvo on the first track of this record. The bittersweet magnificence that defines the band’s sound is created with a heartrending guitar tone, emotionally raw vocals, abreactive lyrics and awe-inspiring song builds. While building off the legends of the genre such as Mineral, Empire! injects their own energy into their music, and it’s readily apparent even with their first EP.
The band would become legends in the genre with a cavalcade of releases, many of which being splits with fellow legends and hidden gems of the genre. Does this EP touch What It Takes to Move Forward? I mean, can anything? That said, the building blocks were there from the start.

By Surprise - Four on Seven in Eight (2007)

Despite leaving their indelible mark on the Emo Revival with a 2009 LP split with Hightide Hotel, the band is still a nightmare to Google. As such, this Indie-laden Midwest Emo release has very little information. There seems to be conflicting reports on this release date, but I personally believe the 2007 date.
With raw production, reckless yet catchy vocals, refreshing chord progressions and at less than 10 minutes, this is an easy listen to future underrated Revivalists.

Weatherbox - American Art (2007) 💎

After releasing two proof-of-concept EPs, Weatherbox's debut LP was released in 2007. Whether you consider this band Proto-Revival, Emo Revival or something else, it doesn't really matter. Warren's tortured voice, his world-weary lyrics and the deceptive complexity of the music provide for one Hell of a release from these San Diego natives.
At 50 minutes, this album is actually quite an easy listen. The variety of songs on offer, as well as the general flow of the record, transports the listener into the world of American Art seamlessly. Weatherbox would continue releasing music until 2014, right at the height of the Revival. Fortunately, they just released a new single this year!

Annabel - Now That We’re Alive (2007)

Humble beginnings for under-the-radar Emo Revival outfit Annabel, their demo EP Now That We’re Alive showed all the promise that this band possessed, even in their early days. A nice little variety of sounds punctuate this ultimately laid back and inoffensive release. I’d recommend giving their discography a shot if you enjoy this demo.

A Great Big Pile of Leaves - The Fiery Works (2007)

Slidey, bendy, mathy and just plain fun, A Great Big Pile of Leaves’ debut EP showcases all of the band’s strengths in a neat sub-20-minute package. AGBPOL managed to craft a slice of Emo all their own with their defining guitar techniques, catchy vocal melodies and syncopated rhythms. While somewhat poppy at times, they seem to be capitalizing more on Math-Pop than Emo-Pop.
The band would go on to release another EP before the Third Wave was up - and are still around to this day!

Everyone Everywhere - Pants (2007)

The debut EP from Philly-natives in Everyone Everywhere, the band’s signature approach to writing music is on full display with an airy combination Emo, Indie Rock, Post-Rock and Math Rock. The band would go on to release two criminally-underrated Emo Revival albums in the early 2010s, expanding off of this already-impressive debut.

Brave Little Abacus - Demo? (2008)

Monumental doesn’t even begin to cover what Brave Little Abacus’ contribution to the Emo scene truly means. Solidly an Emo Revival band, Brave Little Abacus’ ultra-experimental guide to creating Emo music is still influencing artists today, being the basis for much of the Fifth Wave. Chiptunes, strange samples, weird noises, all of this is mixed in with unfiltered vocal hysteria. Literally, I cannot describe to you what this sounds like, you have to hear it for yourself.
This debut EP is somehow more unhinged and more straightforward than their future work, both at the same time. Don’t know what I mean? Give this legendary band a spin to see for yourself.

Transit - This Will Not Define Us (2008)

Stalwarts of the Soft Grunge movement during Emo’s Fourth Wave, Transit began their career with a strong Emo / Pop-Punk hybrid. Although some variation of those genres would be a part of their primary playstyle for the duration of their run, nothing would quite sound like this record. Quick lead melodies and straightforward rhythms drive the record forward.

TTNG - This Town Needs Guns (2008) 🎩

TTNG, then known as This Town Needs Guns, released a self-titled compilation album in early 2008 with songs from their full-length split with Cats and Cats and Cats and other unreleased tracks. With just eight songs and without a designed sense of flow, this somehow manages to be the best TTNG record ever. This album includes a wonderful variety, from acoustic tracks to Math Pop jaunts to heavier Emo sections.
If you are a fan of Math Rock’s association with Midwest Emo, this album might just be the pinnacle of that sound. The twinkly riffs are impossibly clean and the subtly mathy song structures add sophistication and technicality to the project. This stands as possibly the best and most important British Emo releases of all time.

A Great Big Pile of Leaves - The Fiery Works II (2008)

While not utilizing quite as many guitar tricks as the band's debut EP, there is an admirable variety of songs on this short record. In particular, they embrace their inner Math-Pop band a ton. It's personal preference whether you prefer part 1 or part 2, but they both tickle that same spot in your brain that says, “Neat!”
Despite these respectable Emo releases, the band's best work was yet to come. Their sound was an injection of carelessness and vitality to the Emo Revival.

Algernon Cadwallader - Some Kind of Cadwallader (2008) 🎩

Some will say that the Emo Revival officially began with the release of this album, and I have no basis on which to argue. However, for the purposes of this series, I’m including everything from the year 2008, so here it comes at the tail end of Third Wave Emo! What more can I say about this record that hasn’t been recounted tirelessly by other Emo fans? Many will point to popular songs like Casual Discussion in a Dome or the title track being clones of the Cap’n Jazz sound, but if you listen to the entire album, you actually get an exceptionally solid and wonderfully varied work of art.
Algernon’s whimsical take on Emo consists of playful vocals, neverending guitar jangles, daring song structures and the perfect album flow. Surprising elements of Post-Rock can be found on this record, especially with a near-14 minute closing track. The music speaks directly to the yearning one feels deep inside for life to be simpler again.

La Dispute - Here, Hear (2008)

Following up on a forgotten debut EP that was entirely entrenched in a raw Post-Hardcore sound, La Dispute would pivot directions by the time their debut LP was released. Before that, the first of their Here, Hear EPs dropped, stripping away the frantic aggression and going into near-acoustic mode.
The vocals are exclusively even-keeled poetic spoken word while the rest of the band seemed content to create subdued mood music to accompany the artistic stories.

Balance and Composure - I Just Want to Be Pure (2008)

Before becoming a Soft Grunge powerhouse during Emo’s Fourth Wave, Balance & Composure (with an ampersand) released a demo EP, fusing the predominant sounds of the Second Wave ala Braid or Mineral and the Third Wave ala Taking Back Sunday and Brand New. The results are quite a fresh mix that shows how influential all Emo music has been over the years, even the dreaded 2000s era. This EP predates the band’s use of Post-Hardcore and occasional hint of Shoegaze, so it is somewhat simpler and more straightforward.

Hightide Hotel - Porch Luck (2008)

Like several other prominent Emo Revival bands, Hightide Hotel put out a small proof of concept EP, including one song that would later be used for their debut LP. What the band lacked in tightness they made up for in pure desire to create Basement Emo and all that it entails. Although not the band’s best release, it’s a solid roadmap to their early, unpolished sound while providing a true classic in the s/t track.

Tigers Jaw - Tigers Jaw (2008) 🎩

Progenitors to the Soft-Grunge movement that includes bands like Joyce Manor, Basement and Modern Baseball, Tigers Jaw's s/t is a masterful exploration of the intersection between Emo, Pop-Punk and Indie Rock. Their first album actually released in 2006, but was more of a subdued Indie and Slacker Rock record. Nonetheless, the band rerecorded a few of the tracks on that album to fit more closely with their new sound.
The vocals are often double-tracked or have tons of harmony, giving the otherwise chill and unassuming vocal melodies some richness and depth. And trust me, these words will get stuck in your head. There’s just a sincerity to the music, lying somewhere within the rhythm-oriented chord progressions and simple lead guitar melodies. This remains the band’s finest accomplishment.

TTNG - Animals (2008)

Extracting everything they could from both Midwest Emo and Math Rock, Animals is an ambitious concept album that pushes these genre classifications to the limit. Each song represents a different animal, so each song has a different flow and timbre. They capture the playfulness of a rabbit, the majesty of an Elk and the quiet nature of a Zebra, among others.
If this album had any sense of flow, it would be one of the top releases in this project. Regardless, this is a milestone Math Rock record and an integral part of the early Emo Revival.

Arrows - Modern Art & Politics (2008)

Criminally underrated Emos from Australia, Arrows debut album is perhaps their best work, seamlessly blending Midwest Emo with hints of Post-Rock, though done with a more modern Emo framework in mind. This album sounds like a slightly restrained Empire! Empire! release, perhaps only stopping short in terms of grandiosity. However, at 55 minutes and with calculated switches in volume dynamics, Arrows does a more than admirable job in that department.
The band would continue releasing albums until 2012, whereupon they’d appropriately been signed to Count Your Lucky Stars. However, after a promising split with Empire!, the band would cease to exist.

La Dispute - Somewhere at the Bottom of the River Between Vega and Altair (2008) 🎩

La Dispute's status as an Emo band is hotly disputed, but it doesn’t really matter to me either way. This band utilizes dynamic volume changes, has passionate vocals with cathartic lyrics and is tied to the Hardcore scene. And even though this album is equally indebted to Post-Hardcore, this album came out at the right time to help push Emo back to the glory days.
Spoken words and shouting are the methods Dreyer uses to punch the listener with raw emotion, heavily reinforced by the technical and varied instrumental accompaniment. Forget Emo - this is a must-hear album for anyone into heavier music.

La Dispute - Here, Hear II (2008)

Releasing the very same day as their acclaimed debut LP, the second volume in this EP series ups the ante from the first. The stories on offer are strong and are told in dramatic prose fashion and the tracks are quite memorable, thanks to the more varied instrumental approach. From Jazz to Post-Rock, this band's influences seem infinite.
A year later, they’d release the final Here, Hear in the miniseries. Fifteen years after that, they finally released another Here, Hear EP. They’re all excellent. Please check them out.

Glocca Morra - Museum Mouth (2008)

Legendary Twinkledaddies Glocca Morra formed in 2008 and managed to come out with a demo EP of sorts before the year had ended! Fortunately for us, this means more awesome Emo music to cover! Now, what’s a Twinkledaddy? Simple, really! Bands like Algernon and TTNG definitely fit, along with Revival bands like Snowing and The World Is a Beautiful Place, the latter of which coined the term jokingly.
With contemporaries like that, how could this not be awesome? Well it is, even if it’s only three proper songs and an acoustic song. Nonetheless, the band’s seemingly endless potential is showcased as soon as the first track. Despite the twinkling, this EP is a bit rough around the edges, giving it a tad of Punk cred (along with the singer’s gnarly voice).

Shapes Like Dinosaurs - Jurassic Geometry (2008)

Somewhat obscure Emo Revivalists Shapes Like Dinosaurs gave the burgeoning Emo Revival movement an early Christmas present with their debut LP, effortlessly encapsulating that Midwest Emo / Math Rock fusion that was about to blow up in the underground music scene. Despite hyperactive guitar and basslines, the tempo is quite passive, aided by the low-volume drum recording and simple vocal delivery. If you like some of the Proto-Revival releases on this list, you’ll probably really enjoy this one.

CSTVT - I Know What a Lion Is (2008)

Before releasing their landmark 2009 LP Summer Fences, three of the four first tracks on the album were previewed in this promotional demo. Castavet, later known as CSTVT, utilized Post-Rock extensively, shaping soundscapes and pulling great emotion from the listener. Midwest Emo is the meat and Post-Rock is the potato, the two genres complement each other perfectly. Although these tracks are amazing, they are only a sample of what was to come.
And there you have it folks! That’s all I’m ever going to write about this damn series again!

SIKE! IT'S BONUS TIME!

Okay, I lied. I wanted to include a list of bonus Emo releases that I either missed or forgot to include for one reason or the other. However, I ran out of space! Please wait for a very special bonus edition later this week!

My name is Anthony and I’m a 28-year-old closeted, married crossdresser. My wife and I have been together for around 6 years now and she knows nothing of my dressing up, I usually keep my kink very limited and usually only throw on a pair of her knickers before masturbating to sissy porn. The post-nut clarity hits me pretty hard every time and has been the reason I’ve never gone further with it. Lately, though the fantasy of fucking a sissy with us both dressed in sexy lingerie has been consuming me. My wife travels a bit for work which is usually when I get the time to dress up. During her last work trip, I was browsing through an online crossdressing community when I came across a post by a crossdresser calling herself Amy. It read, "Hey gurls, I'm looking for other crossdressers/sissies to join me to explore various kinks. Let me know if you're interested." Intrigued, I messaged her, and soon we were exchanging pictures and flirtatious messages. Amy suggested we meet up at a hotel for an entire weekend. I thought about my wife finding out but the thrill of it all was too much to resist. I told Amy I was happy to meet however we would have to wait for my wife’s next work trip which was 2 weeks away. Amy accepted this and in the meantime, we continued with our steamy conversations, the anticipation building as we discussed our fantasies and plans for our secret getaway.
Due to having to hide my ever-growing alter ego, I only had limited lingerie and female clothing so I decided it was time to start preparing for the big night by buying a new sexy outfit. After work, I headed straight to a lingerie store that catered to people like us – those who enjoyed crossing gender lines. As I entered the dimly lit store, my heart raced. The sweet scent of vanilla filled the air as I perused the racks, searching for the perfect outfit to wear for the special occasion. I finally settled on a sexy black skirt that hugged my figure and clung to my skin like a second layer, It was short with a slit on the left side revealing just enough thigh to be provocative. I matched the skirt with a white blouse with intricate lace details and delicate fabric. I picked out a black lace bra and panty set, complete with a garter belt and sheer stockings. Moving further into the store, I found a wig section and picked a long, flowing blonde one that would complement the outfit nicely. Next, I made my way to the makeup counter, where I found the perfect shades of lipstick, eye shadow, and foundation. Satisfied with my selections, I proceeded to the register, feeling giddy and excited about my upcoming adventure.
On my way home, I stopped by an adult store to pick up some essentials – a butt plug and a chastity cage. The thought of trying these toys with another person sent shivers down my spine. The days leading up to our meeting were agonizingly slow. Each hour seemed to drag on forever, yet I couldn't help but feel a sense of nervous excitement. I got home from work at least an hour before my wife each day so I spent my late afternoons practicing my makeup skills then jumping in the shower to wash it all off just before my wife got home. A week before my rendezvous with Amy I waxed my entire body, I have often shaved my body so it’s not something that my wife would notice but if she did I could just play it off as something I wanted to try rather than shaving so much.
Finally, Friday rolled around and my wife had left for her work trip giving me all weekend to have the much-anticipated adventure with Amy. I got home from work in the afternoon and started to get ready, I headed to the bathroom and took off the work clothes I’d been wearing revealing my smooth hairless body, I just needed some small areas touched up to make sure I was completely smooth. I entered the shower and lathered my body, as I rubbed the soap into my skin, I couldn't help but imagine the touch of another person's hands exploring my body. I grabbed my razor and began gliding it over my skin in long smooth strokes, making sure not to miss any spots. I felt a surge of excitement course through my veins. This wasn't just any ordinary night; this was the night I had been waiting for. The night I would finally be able to express my true identity. After finishing shaving any stray hairs from my body that may have been left over after waxing I turned my attention to my facial hair. I used the razor in all possible directions to make sure my face was smooth and ready for my makeup.
Once I was finished in the shower, I stepped out and dried myself off before applying a generous amount of lotion to my skin ensuring I was soft and smooth from head to toe. The scent of the lotion filled the room, a mix of vanilla and jasmine that was both sensual and inviting. A little extra lotion was applied around my back door and just worked the tip of a finger inside before grabbing my new plug and positioning it at the entrance to my hole, the lotion was all the lubrication I needed to push it inside me. A heart-shaped purple jewel was now all that was visible from the plug. With the plug positioned firmly, I moved on to my chastity cage, my goodness it was uncomfortable, I’ve never really been into the chastity side of things, I just thought some of the cages looked really cute and I wanted to make a good impression for Amy. I tried to brush the discomfort aside and forget about it for now as I planned on taking it off once I was at the hotel with Amy anyway. I moved on with applying my make-up just as I had been practising all this week, Contouring used to appear as feminine as possible, my lips painted a deep red and sultry dramatic eye shadow completed the look. I slipped my new lace front wig on and wiggled it into place, the long blonde perfectly styled waves falling around my shoulders. I smiled at my reflection, feeling more confident than ever before. It was now time to go, I threw my makeup, mobile phone and some other supplies in a bag I had borrowed from my wife and slipped on some open-toe heels also borrowed then made my way downstairs and opened the front door, took a deep breath and stepped outside, ready to embrace whatever the night had in store for me.
I made my way to the hotel and found a spot to park my car, I got out with my heart racing as I crossed the parking lot to the designated room. With a shaky hand, I knocked on the door. The door opened, revealing not the woman he had been expecting, but a balding, grey-haired, moustached man with a beer belly and broad shoulders. I froze for a moment before I could get any words out. “I must have the wrong room, sorry,” I said as I turned to walk away. In an instant, he grabbed my wrist yanking me past the doorframe and into the hotel room. “You’re not going anywhere” he sneered as he slammed the door behind us. I started to scream at him “Let me go” as I struggled towards the door. He picked me up, my handbag falling to the floor and in one swift movement he slammed me onto the bed pinning me down, I screamed as loud as I could but only for a second before he covered my mouth with his hand, he took a stray sock that had been laying on the bed and shoved it into my mouth. I had one free hand which I used to hit him which had little effect, he was so much bigger than me and quickly adjusted himself so that his body weight did most of the restraining, his hands now pinning my wrists down to the mattress. I thrashed underneath him as I tried to scream through the sock stuffed in my mouth effectively muffling my cries. He let me squirm and struggle for a while longer but you would be surprised how quickly you can tire yourself out fighting to free yourself from being pinned down and after a minute or so my thrashing became feeble attempts at resisting against my attacker. I struggled to breathe past the sock and began to feel a little lightheaded, my squirming stopped as I submitted to his grip. “You done now slut? ‘Cause I can do this all night” he said looming over me, his sharp piercing eyes staring into my soul. I didn’t respond, I could not face my captor and I turned my head to look away closing my eyes, trying to wish my way out of this situation.
Tears began to flow from my eyes as I pictured my situation and what I believed this man planned on doing to me. He noticed the tears and started to laugh “You sissies are so easy to break, I probably don’t even have to blackmail you do I, Anthony?” Wait! Anthony? How does he know my real name? This quickly gained my attention and I turned my head back to look at him, his eyes lit up as he watched the realisation hit my face. “Oh yes, I know a lot about you Anthony. I'm somewhat of a hacker and I've been able to learn all I need to about you, I know your wife’s name and contact details most importantly but I’ve also got your employment details from which I was then able to get your bosses and colleagues' contact details. I have your social media accounts and have copies of all your friends lists”. My mind was reeling, my heart was pounding out of my chest, and complete shock fear took hold of me. This man whom I’d never met before had just used my real name, not that of a cross-dressed alter ego but rather my real identity, an identity that I would do anything to protect. “I’m going to let go of you now but before I do I need you to agree to be a good girl,” he said with his full weight still on top of me “No screaming or scratching okay? You don’t want me sending all those pictures you sent me to your wife right?” I nodded in agreement “You understand I will destroy your life if you are naughty yes?” Again I nodded meekly and with that, he released his iron grip and got up off the bed. I sat up and pulled the sock out of my mouth. I swallowed hard, trying to maintain my composure. “Why are you doing this? What do you want from me?” His gaze fixed on me, his lips curving into a dangerous predatory smile. “I want you to be my slave for the weekend, you are free to go right now if you want but you should know if you leave I will be sending all of the pictures of you and screenshots of messages to your wife, coworkers and everyone on your social media friends list and did I mention the videos? Oh yes!” He said excitedly, “You should really strengthen your cybersecurity. I have hacked your computer, it’s how I got all of your information. Remember the email you opened from me with what you thought was a ‘broken link’ attached? Well, It gave me access to your laptop and I accessed your webcam. Now I have multiple clips of you dressed in your wife’s lingerie sitting in front of your laptop masturbating and parading around the room trying to look sexy. If you decide to stay and serve me as my slave then those videos will never see the light of day but you will do exactly as I say and obey every command, any disobedient actions on your part over the course of this weekend will be met with a video, photo or set of messages being released”.
His threat hung heavy in the air as I struggled to find the words to respond, I was unsure of what to do. Would he let me go right now if I said I didn’t care if he sent them? Should I tell him to go ahead and send it to everyone? At least then I could go to the police. Complying with his demands meant putting myself at his mercy and who knows what he was going to do to me but the thought of my wife finding out was more than I could bear. Fear was coursing through my veins as I weighed my options, I couldn’t help but notice the way he looked at me – with a mix of hunger and contempt. It sent a shiver through me that I couldn’t quite explain. He must have noticed my hesitation because he leaned closer to me, his breath smelling of cheap beer, his eyes darkening. “You should know that I won’t hesitate to release those photos, videos and messages if you don’t cooperate”. As I wrestled with my conscience, I couldn’t help but wonder what kind of twisted things he had in mind for me, I love my wife and her seeing those photos and proof of my plans to cheat on her would destroy her, let alone all of my colleagues seeing and laughing over my compromising photos. I couldn’t allow this man to ruin my life and humiliate me in front of everyone that I know. I reasoned to myself that it’s just 48 hours, make him happy and he might leave me alone, it’s the best chance that I’ve got, and the only option I could see was to comply with his demands. I will stay for the weekend to save my marriage. “Okay I will stay” I said meekly. “Good girl, I knew you would make the right decision” My heart sank at the sight of this man smirking at me, how could I have been so foolish? I was so caught up in the fantasy of meeting another crossdresser that I hadn't considered the risks, now I’m stuck being this man's plaything for a weekend.
“Now, let’s get a better look at you,” he said as he moved his hands onto my waist and started pulling me in closer, his hands sliding all over my skirt and blouse as he caressed my body, I felt completely disgusted in this moment, every fibre of my being wanting to escape this place and I knew it was only going to get worse. He moved in and started to kiss me, his moustache roughly tickling my upper lip. He started to unbutton my blouse before sliding it off my shoulders, he pulled it off me, dropping it on the floor, his hands made their way back up to my waist as he fiddled with the zip on the side, before I knew it, my skirt too was on the floor leaving me wearing my black lacy lingerie set that I bought for this very night. He stood back “Very nice” he exclaimed “ I can’t believe you went and bought that just for me!” An evil grin plastered on his face. He grabbed my hand and spun me around before pushing on my upper back causing me to bend over, “oh wow! You are a dirty little slut, nice butt plug whore” he exclaimed as he rubbed my ass. He then sat down on the edge of the bed and instructed me to dance for him, “I can’t dance to save my life” I said nervously, this seemed to anger him, he stood back up grabbed my arm roughly and pulled me towards him as he sat back down causing me to fall onto his lap. I felt a sharp pain on my ass that was accompanied by a loud noise. He spanked me over and over, the pain only intensified with each thrust of his hand coming in contact with the skin on my bare ass, with only the skinny strip of cloth of my lacy thong to protect me. I began crying out, begging him to stop. “Please no” I cried, “Please no, what?” He sneered. “Please stop! It’s hurting me, I’m sorry, I will dance for you”. He stopped spanking me, my butt cheeks must have been purple, and they kept stinging after he stopped. “From now on you will address me as daddy, master or sir and you will only speak when spoken to, if you have any questions you will raise your hand and wait for me to address you. Got it?” He said. “Yes Daddy” I replied fearing what he was capable of next. “You’re lucky I’m giving you a break this time and not selecting someone from your friends list to send a few of your naughty photos too because that’s how this is going to work, every single time that you do something I don’t like and depending on the severity of it I will send a photo of one of your videos to one of your Facebook friends, co-workers, Boss or your wife. Now dance slut” he said as he waved his hand almost dismissively in my direction.
I started to do my best impression of a sexy dance. I felt ridiculous but I didn’t dare stop which I’m sure would have provoked further punishment. I backed in close to him, waving my ass in front of him trying to keep it sexy. He grabbed my hips and spun me around so I was facing him. He reached out and grabbed my junk giving a solid squeeze, it hurt and I winced in pain as I attempted to pull away. “Wow you’re already caged for me” he said as he reached over to the nightstand to grab his open beer with one hand, still squeezing me with the other. “Well, it’s a good thing because you won’t need what’s underneath it any time during the weekend.” “Oh great,” I thought to myself. This was a terrible idea, it was already causing me discomfort but now it was hurting, and his squeezing didn’t help. I wonder if he will let me take it off? I raised my hand, “what” he sneered. “Please Daddy may I take the cage off, it’s hurting” he just laughed at me. “You think I give a fuck if it hurts you?” he asked. “Well…” I said before he interrupted me, “that was a rhetorical question sissy, don’t answer that. The answer is no, no you can’t take it off and no I don’t care what is hurting you.” He stood up and went to his bag “In fact, let’s add some more discomfort shall we?” he said as he reached into his bag bringing out a pair of handcuffs. First, he walked behind me roughly grabbing my arms and pulling them behind my back, while locking a cuff around my right wrist, next to the left, he pushed me face down on the bed, I was bending over, my ass in the air. As if I wasn’t before but I’m now under his complete control, I didn’t dare move, I couldn’t fight back even if I wanted to. I could hear him rustling around for something. my thoughts racing as I tried to make sense of what was going to happen next. He then grabbed a collar and put it around my neck before attaching a leash to the collar. He instructed me to get on my knees which I did as quickly as possible. He then sat back down on the edge of the bed and told me to crawl to him, I started shuffling towards him on my knees as he tugged on the leash. I know what’s coming next, My thoughts racing, trying to work out if there was a way I could get myself out of this situation
I’m now on my knees directly in front of my captor, hands bound behind my back, he grabs the back of my blonde wig-adorned head and pushes it down into his crotch rubbing his cock through his shorts on my face. He stood up slightly before pulling his shorts and underwear down revealing a fat semi tumescent cock around 4-5 inches long. He sat back down, his balls resting on the bed all the while holding a tight grip on my leash keeping my face right in front of his manhood. He slides forward a little and spreads his legs, his balls now hanging off the edge of the bed. He instructs me to lick them. I lower my head and stick my tongue out making contact with his scrotum, I start running my tongue all over his balls and then begin to take one of his testicles in my mouth giving it a little suck before releasing it and doing the same on the other. I start getting right in as low as I can go with long licks making their way up from his balls and swirling my tongue around the base of his cock. I start then licking up his shaft and stop just shy of the head of his cock. By this stage, he’s erect and standing at about 7 or 8 inches. I move my lips over the head of his cock and swirl my tongue around it, he lets out a sigh and I know I’m doing a good job. If I can get him to cum he might lose interest pretty quickly or might get some post-nut clarity and want me to go. This is the best I can hope for so I go on with trying to pleasure him the best I can. After a while of keeping it sensual, he starts getting impatient and again holds the back of my head. He starts bucking his hips in an effort to speed up the pace. It didn’t take long before he stood up and roughly face fucked me. I was trying desperately not to gag but it was no use, every spasm of my muscles would be followed by him pushing his cock further into my throat. I struggled to breathe and could only manage short little puffs in and out of my nose as he rammed his cock in and out of my mouth, I had drool running down my chin and tears flowing from my eyes. The relentless face fucking went on for what seemed like forever, my lack of air caused me to go light-headed and limp, but this didn’t deter him, he just held my head in a vice-like grip using me like a fleshlight. He tensed up and I knew what was to come next, he rammed his cock into my throat one last time and held it there as he blew his load, it was like a forced injection of cum straight into my stomach, the option of whether or not to swallow was completely removed by the fact the head of his cock was so far down my throat. I could feel his cock spasm as he shot rope after rope of cum inside me. I felt disgusted with myself, humiliated, degraded. I couldn’t believe that at that moment I was impaled on his cock having a big load of that arseholes cum being pumped into my stomach. With a few last spasms and grunts, he let go of my head and I pulled away, his cock withdrawing from my mouth.
He laid back on the bed looking at me still kneeling next to the bed. “Fuck off and clean yourself up, you look disgusting,” he said. As I got up off my knees he said “Oh right, the cuffs” he said as he rolled over to pick his pants up off the floor, removing the key from one of the pockets. He sat up and motioned for me to come closer, I spun around so he could get access to my wrists, I patiently waited for the cuffs to come off but almost ran to the bathroom, grabbing my bag off the floor as soon as my wrists were freed. I couldn’t wait to get away from him and to have a moment to gather my thoughts. I closed the bathroom door behind me and looked in the mirror, I was a total mess, my makeup was smeared all over, and my mascara had run down my cheeks. I looked like a complete slut and I kind of enjoyed seeing myself in that state. I snapped back to my new reality, I could not let myself begin to enjoy any aspect of this terrible situation, I had to figure out how to get out of there, I went to grab my phone out of my bag, playing out every possible scenario that could lead me to get out of here but it was not there. My phone was missing and I was wracking my brain trying to figure out where it was. Maybe I could call for help but I needed to find it first. Did my abuser take it when he had me face down on the bed? He must have, it was in there when I walked in. I was in a panic, feeling so helpless and alone, what’s he doing with it? I sat down on the toilet just to gather my thoughts. I weighed up the options, even if I could call for help I’d already decided I did not want to risk having the photos and videos released. I took a deep breath and stood up, again looking in the mirror I told myself “You can get through this, you will get through this” I picked up a wipe and cleaned up my face. I expertly applied my second round of makeup to my face and adjusted my wig. I continued freshening up until I was almost looking like I did when I walked in. I swallowed hard as I opened the door to the room, I was almost immediately confronted by him lying down on the bed naked as he watched porn on the TV, some slut gagging on a cock by the sounds of it. It was only when I walked a few more steps and got a better-angled view of the TV that I saw the person gagging in the porno was me! He secretly recorded me sucking his cock and casting it on the TV. He grinned and asked me if I liked what I saw, I couldn’t muster a response, I just stood there in shock. How could I be so stupid? How could I not have known? I just keep getting myself deeper into this mess and now he had me gagging on his cock on video to add to the ammo against me. He gives a little chuckle while watching my response to the video and says “Don’t worry slut, if you’re a good girl no one will see this. Speaking of being a good girl, I want a massage. Come over here and help daddy relax”. My heart pounding in my chest as I reluctantly approached the bed. My bathroom break gave me some distance but now I’m right back here with my abuser. The sight of this man made me sick but I needed to get this over with. I grit my teeth, my hands tremble slightly as I take position behind the man, my fingers hovering over the taut muscles of his shoulders. "I shouldn't be doing this," I murmured, my voice barely audible above the slurping noises from the video of me playing in the background. "Shut up and get to work," he growled impatiently, his tone leaving no room for argument. “Use this,” he said and threw a bottle of massage oils at me. Swallowing my pride, I poured some oil out and began to massage his man's shoulders, my fingers slowly working their way down his back. He let out a low moan of pleasure, and I felt another wave of disgust wash over me. This wasn't what I wanted, I never asked for any of this but the threat of exposure loomed large in my mind, and I knew I had no choice but to comply. As I continued to massage, he instructed me to move my hands lower, I was tracing the curve of the man's lower back, “lower!” He sneered, my hands settling on his firm ass. The man arched his back, pushing himself into my touch. Despite my revulsion, I found myself caught up in the sensual rhythm of the massage, my fingers moving in slow, deliberate strokes. At least I wasn’t getting a cock shoved down my throat I thought to myself. "Mmm feels good, Now massage between the cheeks” he said My cheeks flushed crimson, and I had to bite my lip to stop myself from crying out in frustration feeling even more trapped than before. I did as I was told much to my disgust, I rubbed up and down between his cheeks, my fingers running over his asshole. I felt so dirty, I felt powerless. Suddenly he pushed up on his hands and knees, he looked back at me, a wicked grin spreading across his face. "I want you to lick my ass." Every fibre of my being, every thought screaming to fight, to get out of here but I was completely at his mercy, and there was nothing I could do to stop him. Taking a deep, shuddering breath, I steeled myself for what was to come. I slowly, reluctantly, leaned forward, my tongue extended toward his hairy ass. He groaned in pleasure as I began to lick him, the taste-making me gag, my eyes watered as I continued to lick and suck on his ass, varying my speed and pressure according to his instructions.
Next, he got up and instructed me to lie on my back. He stood over me, looking down at me with a hunger that made my skin crawl. Then, without a word, he lowered himself down, straddling me, his ass hovering over my face, “lick!” Is all he said as he pressed his ass down on my face almost smothering me, I did as I was told just barely able to breathe through my nose, I closed my eyes, desperate to block out the reality of the situation. He began to massage my chest, roughly twisting my nipples through the lace of my bra. As his hands moved lower, he traced the outline of my waist, dipping his fingers beneath the waistband of my lace underwear. My breath caught in my throat as his fingers squeezed at my hairless balls and caged cock. The man laughed, clearly enjoying my distress. "You're such a filthy little slut," he said, I wanted to die of shame. He instructed me to stroke his cock, I reached between his legs, my hand brushing his hairy ballsack as I felt for his cock, taking it in my hand I began to stroke him as I furiously licked at his hole. I felt him get rock-hard in my hand. I still couldn’t believe that I was in this position, purely existing for this man’s pleasure. I carried on for a while, licking, and stroking, he started grinding his ass on my face, and I felt broken. Again he stood up and reached down, grabbing my arm roughly and pulling me to a kneeling position on the bed, He pushed me forward so that I was on all fours, he slapped my ass hard causing me to wince in pain. "Now," he growled, "it's time for the real fun to begin." My heart raced in terror as he grabbed a bottle of lubricant from the bedside table, knowing full well what he intended to do.
I clenched my teeth, anticipating the worst as he squeezed a dollop of lubricant onto his fingers. The cold gel sent a shiver down my spine as he began to circle my entrance with his fingertips, sending waves of dread pulsing through me. Slowly but surely, he eased one finger inside me, stretching and probing with no regard for my discomfort or humiliation. He worked his finger in and out, loosening me up for what was yet to come. Tears streamed down my face as I fought to hold back the sobs welling up within me. This couldn't be happening. It wasn't supposed to be like this. My life had become a waking nightmare from which there seemed to be no escape. He pulled his finger out, leaving me feeling empty and violated. Grabbing the lube again, he coated his cock from base to tip, making it glisten under the dim hotel room light. With an evil grin, he positioned himself behind me, pressing the head of his throbbing member against my tight asshole, the pain quickly building causing me to whimper softly, I clawed at the sheets beneath me as my tight ring gave way to the fat head of his cock. I moaned in agony as he forced himself deeper inside me. Every brutal thrust tore at my insides, causing unimaginable pain that burned like fire. And still, he continued, pounding into me relentlessly, turning my body into a mere receptacle for his sadistic desires. With each savage thrust, he grunted and moaned, clearly enjoying my suffering. His large, calloused hands gripped my hips tightly, holding me in place as he used my body for his own perverted pleasure. I felt helpless, unable to do anything but endure the torturous invasion. And then, just when I thought I couldn't take any more, he thrust his entire body weight down on me penetrating me as deep as he could go, my arms and legs bucked underneath me as his weight pressed down, He grabbed my wrists and pinned them down to the mattress either side of my head. His ragged breaths and grunts were only amplified by the fact his mouth was right by my ear. I was unable to move under his weight, my arms being held in place by his vice-like grip.
I pleaded with him to slow down, I couldn’t take the intrusion, the burning searing pain in my bottom causing me to cry into the pillow, he ignored my cries, focusing solely on his own twisted gratification. Time seemed to stand still as he mercilessly pounded away at my ravaged hole like a wild animal. His meaty hands gripped my wrists tightly, holding me in place as he continued to thrust deep inside me. Every brutal movement sent shockwaves of pain through my entire body, but I had no choice but to endure it. At that moment, I felt completely broken and defeated. All hope had vanished, replaced by an overwhelming sense of despair. The man's crude grunts and groans filled the room, a testament to his enjoyment of my suffering. Tears streamed down my face as I silently begged for the nightmare to be over, I lay there helplessly, waiting for him to finish what he started. Finally, with a loud grunt, he shuddered, his cock twitching inside me as he released his load. Wave after wave of warm cum filled me up, the feeling both foreign and repulsive as he emptied himself into me. His weight pressed heavily against me, pinning me to the bed, I just had to lay there in wait as he fought to catch his breath. Sweat dripped from his forehead onto my back, adding to the discomfort and humiliation I already felt. With a hefty sigh, he pulled out, leaving me feeling empty, the feeling quickly replaced by him roughly inserting my butt plug back inside my ass leaving me feeling even more used than before. My insides throbbed and ached, a constant reminder of the violation I had just endured. He got up off the bed and walked around to stand in front of me, his cock still semi-erect, “Clean it” he said looking down at me with a sadistic grin. I went to reach for a towel which was neatly folded on the bed before the abuse, now lying crumpled on the floor. “Not with that” he sneered “Use your mouth” his eyes filled with nothing but contempt. I opened my mouth and took the head of his cock in, as deeply as possible, I felt so degraded, the feeling completely consuming me, it was intoxicating. I felt a wave of euphoria rush over me, The fact that my body seemingly began to enjoy these tasks only added to the humiliation I felt. I licked and slurped at a mixture of lube and his cum that coated his cock. Despite my efforts his cock continued to soften, “ahh fuck it” he grunted in frustration and pulled his cock away from me, “I’ve got a better idea anyway” he said as he reached down and grabbed my arm, pulling me towards him and forcing me to my feet. My legs trembled beneath me, an after-effect of the trauma I had just endured. As he led me into the bathroom he pushed me towards the middle of the room "Squat," he commanded, his voice cold and unyielding. My heart pounded in my chest as I Reluctantly squatted down. With my head bowed in shame, I waited for instruction. “Pull your plug out and put it in your mouth” My stomach churned at the thought of what he had just instructed me, to do but I knew there was no escape. His blackmail had me firmly in his grasp, and I had no choice but to comply. I pulled the plug out and inserted it in my mouth. “Look, your ass is dripping with cum”. As he spoke, I felt a warm, sticky sensation begin to trickle down my butt cheek and drip on the floor. The man laughed, clearly delighting in my misery. "That's it," he gloated. "Let it all out." My face burned with shame as I felt the warm cum leak from my abused hole, pooling between my feet. "Now," he said, stepping back. "It's time to clean up this mess." I looked up at him through tear-streaked eyes, my heart pounding in fear and humiliation. He smiled coldly, gesturing towards the puddle of cum on the floor. "Lick it up," he ordered. "Every last drop." Slowly, hesitantly, I lowered my head towards the puddle, my lips trembling with disgust and shame. He watched me intently, his eyes gleaming with satisfaction as I began to lap up the warm, sticky cum from the floor. Each swipe of my tongue brought a new wave of humiliation, but I had no choice; I had to endure this degrading act if I wanted to protect my secret. As I continued to lick the floor clean, he circled me, his eyes roaming over my shame-filled body. "You're a natural at this," he sneered, clearly enjoying every moment of my torment. I felt like an animal, reduced to the lowest form of existence, all because of this man's twisted desires. Finally, the puddle on the floor was gone, leaving only the lingering taste of cum in my mouth. My tongue felt coated in filth, and my entire body ached with shame. But he still wasn't finished with me. He grabbed my arm once more, pulling me to my feet, his grip tight and unforgiving. "We're not done yet," he growled, his eyes dark with lust.
To be continued in Part II

This post will go over some interesting information from a spy satellite engineer for Douglas Aircraft, which later became McDonnell Douglas in 1967, and merged with Boeing in 1997. The second guest was supposedly a part of the CIA and served a tour in Vietnam before working as an intelligence officer and guard.
An Art Bell Episode airing on May 1, 1998 invited two of his guests who brought information talking about our spy satellites and other information that seems oddly pertinent to what we hear today. I highly recommend listening to the episode, if not just for it entertainment. Unfortunately, I have a hard time finding it anywhere else aside from Spotify.

Ron Regehr & Derrel Sims Background:

Direct quotes from the podcast(don't know the veracity of these backgrounds*)-

Ron Regehr "...while employed at Douglas Aircraft, Ron was responsible for detailing the electrical interface between the S4B and the S2 and S3 stages of the Apollo Moon rocket for developing the requirements for the first US space station, Skylab, while working closely with the astronauts, NASA headquarters, and Douglas Designers. Since that time, Ron has been an integral part of developing the specifications of our nations spy satellites. Not only the spy satellites themselves, but also the ground data processing software, and other elements of the program. During this time, Ron was frequently called upon to assist the government specialists in their evaluations of various highly classified programs.
Derrel Sims "... also has a military intelligence background. Bringing to the table with him 3 years as a senior military officer. Derrel was a Korean National police officer as well as under the Status of Forces Agreement while he was in Korea for a year. Volunteer for our country and the US Army during the Vietnam war. Taken out of the Army and quietly placed in the CIA for 2 years during his tour, Derrel worked as a part of the military contingent bodyguard for Vice President Agnew. Was an escort and guard for Richard Helms, then Director of the CIA. Derrel also has a top secret clearance.

The main takeaways:

• The first portion of the show talks about our satellite capabilities and resolutions of our sensors, as well as the suites of sensors we deploy on them.
  
• At 34:31, Art Bell says "... Bottom line, UFOlogists for a long time have been imagining that these satellites would be able to see these things traversing our atmosphere...". Ron says "and the answer is yes. The UFOlogists aren't the only ones. The Soviet Union was really afraid of that. Very much concerned about our spy satellites and other centers detecting UFO's and mistaking them for a Soviet attack, and that was a real threat. So much so that Pravda(USSR journalism company), on November 16, 1979 was concerned about this."
  

Ron might be referring to the 1979 false alarm.
Excerpt from the article - "The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), the combined U.S.–Canada military command–was reporting a Soviet missile attack. Just before Brzezinski was about to call President Carter, the NORAD warning turned out to be a false alarm. It was one of those moments in Cold War history when top officials believed they were facing the ultimate threat. The apparent cause? The routine testing of an overworked computer system." Ron says that Pravda reported on it near or on November 16th, about a week after the incident.

• Later, Art asks, " Interesting one, of course, is frequently presented with an explanation that certain photographs cannot be shown because it would reveal the capabilities of the satellites that took those photographs. Is that right?" Ron replies, "yes".
  
• Ron mentions that he's seen quite a few things, one of his first major tasks was the Iranian 1976 UFO event that he was in charge of investigating. He mentions that the Iranian F-4's were able to lock onto the object with their AIM-9 missiles which utilize thermal/infrared tracking. Ron surmised that if it's a low intensity target, then it was something that could probably be seen with our spy satellites. Through an Individual Target Event Database, what he calls an ITED(or itty bitty for slang), was able correlate the satellite signatures with ground data.
  
• At 43:17, Ron mentions that there was a UFO reported as a big forest fire in Colorado between Durango and Pueblo. They reported the fire to the sheriff, who sent out a helicopter to report back on the size of it. As the helicopter and sheriff were traveling to it, they were told that it was actually in a different direction, and then eventually to ignore it and it was nothing. Ron said he knew nothing about it at the time, until an analyst briefed him in on it. He told Ron, "you might be interested in this one, we had a moving forest fire in Colorado."
  
• Ron talks about a UFO researcher that sent him a fax of a classified report of something that our satellites detected in deep space. He recognized that it was a legitimate report because he was the one that wrote it. Reporting it to his higher ups, Ron knew there was a leak somewhere within his area, and they assigned an investigator to look into it. Ron ended up getting written up for a security violation for "failing to safeguard material". The next day, the investigator on Ron's case, named Carl, was terminated. When Ron went to ask what was actually going on, his head of security said "nothing is going on, go back to work".
  
• Ron mentions that there are legally obtained documents that were used in which he and Derrel used to correlate classified data with abductions reports. In other words, using classified data, as well as open source to connect the location and times of abductions with satellite data.
  
• Ron mentions that he hasn't actually "seen" UFO photos from satellites platforms, but rather has seen other types of sensors detecting them such as infrared and UV, along with other similar spectrums. These are done through computer processing intensity profiles, and the computer does it's best to match it with a database of profiles. This is similar to how submarines use sounds profiles to identify the type, nationality, and distance, of other submarines. Ron says you can still tell what's going on with digital data(speed, direction, etc.) whether its a photo or not. Like if you had your eyes closed as a train whizzed by, you could tell how fast it might be moving.
  
• Ron says they call fast moving UAP, "fastwalkers" which is a term that has been used in this subreddit before and even FOIA'd. He says in 1973 we had 5 signatures of fastwalkers, and as we got better into 1992 we had 316 reports from our spy platforms. He says they use the acronym "FW" which he believes means fastwalkers, I'm not sure why he isn't certain of the acronym.
  
• Ron mentions Reagan's Star Wars program and how for it to effectively work, it would need a smart and decisive computer system to manage it, like WOPR from War Games except across multiple combat centers. The only problem was that potential incorrect identification could happen if you have UAP in our atmosphere increasing false positives. The computer could regard UAP as Soviet ballistic missile threats, and thus an attack on the United States. The Soviet Union worried about the possible misidentification as well. Ron mentions that this actually did occur in 1960, and bombers were scrambled out of Travis AFB on Red Alert after radar detected targets approaching from the North Pole. The US moved to DEFCON 3, only for the tracks to disappeared. Later the incident was supposedly blamed as radar reflections off the Moon as reported by Ron. I have yet to find a source.
  
• Ron says that he believes the reason why the US got into UFO/UAP research in the first place was because of abductions and association with military sabotage. He cites the, "Juno missile failure, B-29's being rerouted, early space probes crashing, green fireballs, and nuclear warheads that were retargeted [indiscernible] Maelstrom 2 times, and an Atlas FICMB that was shot down. Talks about Dr. Robert Jacobs in Big Sur recording the Atlas rocket being "zapped" out of a launch trajectory out of Vandenburg."
  
• Derrel talks about the 1952 UFO flap over the Capitol/White House. He talks about several pilots in their Lockheed F-94B Starfires that were scrambled against the 6 unidentifieds. They were tracked on radar and seen by commercial pilots. Flight logs can verify. Soon after the pilots landed at Langely, before it was CIA in Fairfax County. The 2 pilots were interrogated and told "no, you didn't see anything like that and if you did punitive action will be taken against you." Says there is actual film of the event.
  
• Derrel claims that NORAD called in the Varginha incident to the Brazilian Gov, also thinks that we shot it down or disrupted it. Has documents from John Lear that he received in Brazil in Portuguese that shows Daniel Golden's signature (the Administrator of Nasa) and Wayne Christopher or Warren Christopher of the United States(Secretary of State under Clinton).
  
• Derrel says we have a treaty with Canada(Maybe five eyes?), that allows us to be exempt from certain US laws and FOIA.
  
• Talks about a lieutenant commander that wanted to come forward with information and was willing. He was a member of Project Blue Book and was willing to talk about everything. Was asked about what information he had that was so important, and he said "we lied about everything" including abductions. Derrel dug around about the lieutenant commander and found out he was a part of the gunnery unit in DC when 2 of the flaps happened over DC.
  
• Talks about how he doesn't see the entities or NHI as friendly and talks about how abductions are happening. Points to the Amazon where people are tortured, mutilated, beams of light, and body parts are surgically removed. Derrel says he doesn't understand why people think they're good, or are here to fix climate, or help the human race, etc. Talks about how if your eyes, or body parts were removed by NHI, you'd think a lot differently about what they're actually here for. Talks about how some reports show that UFOs have shot at each other, which may indicate they don't even agree with each other. Concedes and says that there are probably different groups of NHI with different ethics or goals.
  
• Talks about the Planetary Defense Group/Workshop. The reason for the group is for planet defense against asteroids and meteors. He mentions that it may not be for what we think it is. Says that Reagan used it to justify Star Wars, and Gorbachev made an almost identical statement about protecting the planet. Some people involved were Chief of Kinetic Impact Branch at Phillips Laboratories at Kirtland AFB. Director of Advanced Projects at Edwards AFB, Chief Scientist of the Planetary Institute at Tucson, The Onderev Astronomical Observatory from the Czech Academy of Science, Russian Federal Nuclear Center Novgorod Region, Chief Scientist of the Pentagon, Head of International Security consulting of Russia Federal Nuclear Center at Chelyabrisk Region, The National Astronomical Observatory at Mitaka, Tokyo, Japan, The Planetary defense mission planner from Vandenberg AFB, Lawrence Livermore Labs, Ames Research Center, Nasa, the DOE, Lunar Planetary Labs, and the Russian Federal Nuclear Center.
  

Conclusion

There is no more back and forth conversation from this point on, since they move to a live caller line and take questions.
I'm not taking an opinion about anything these two have said, I was just transcribing from the podcast as I thought it was an interesting conversation that I heard. Had some topics that we still talk about today and thought you guys might be interested. A lot of it seems not too far off, some of it lacks resources and definitely seems like a trust me source and lacks substance. I tried to do a little open source research on them, and it looks like Ron now works at AeroJet in Moab UT, and as far as Derrel I'm not sure. It looks as if he's been doing a lot of Alien/UFO stuff, and some call him a shill. Anyway, would love to see your guys' thoughts on the whole thing. I just think it's interesting to go back 26 years to see how things have changed, or rather not changed.

All weekend

Annual Restaurant Week in Avalon (Catalina Island) $20+ for Pris Fixe menus at participating restaurants. Sometimes Groupon has discount Ferry tickets to Catalina. https://www.lovecatalina.com/restaurantweek/
Car Show, Live DJ, Carnival for Anaheim Packing House 10 yr Anniversary free, DJ Thurs 6-9pm, Fri Market & Carnival 5-9pm, Saturday offers a classic car show from 12-2pm, historical tours by AHS 2-4pm, live music 12-9pm, photo opportunities, etc. https://www.anaheimpackingdistrict.com/calendar
626 Night Market $6, Fri-Sun. 4-11pm. OC Fairgrounds. 250 food booths, merchandise, crafts, artists, games, live concerts, and entertainment attractions. https://www.626nightmarket.com/
All New Dino Quest Open at Discovery Cube! $23 adult, $18/child, $8 parking. 10am-5pm. Four new missions to conquer. Explore a Dig Pit to unearth a replica T-rex fossil, marvel at new life-sized fully articulated dinosaur skeletons and be awe inspired by the star of the show, a 16ft animatronic T-rex! https://www.discoverycube.org/orange-county/buy-tickets/
Horseback Riding here are the nearby spots. https://enjoyorangecounty.com/horseback-riding/
Imaginarium Walk-Thru Light Experience $21, tix and schedule on link, your favorite storybook characters, a free circus, infinity rooms, photo boxes, etc. Lakewood Center Mall, Daneland St at Graywood Ave, Lakewood. Now thru June 23. https://imaginarium360.com/lakewood/
Fences Play $14+, various dates and times thru June 9th. Costa Mesa Playhouse. https://www.todaytix.com/los-angeles/shows/41017-fences
Holmes & Watson Play $30+, now through June 16. Laguna Playhouse, 606 Laguna Cyn Rd, Laguna Beach. https://www.todaytix.com/los-angeles/shows/33908-holmes-and-watson
Comedy Shows Secret Comedy https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-secret-pop-up-comedy-show-friday-9pm-huntington-beach-tickets-909684309257 Don't Tell Comedy https://www.donttellcomedy.com/cities/orange-county/ and Brea Improv has Frankie Quiñones https://improv.com/brea/?y_source=1_MTI5NjcyMTUtNzE1LWxvY2F0aW9uLndlYnNpdGU%3D and Irvine Improv has Chris D'Elia https://improv.com/irvine/?y_source=1_MTI5NjcyNzUtNzE1LWxvY2F0aW9uLndlYnNpdGU%3D
Newport Beach Jazz Festival $165+ https://festivals.hyattconcerts.com/
Renaissance Fair in Corona $16, weekends thru June 23. https://tickets.renfestcorona.com/event/27th-annual-koroneburg-renaissance-festival
Pick your Own Sunflowers Tanaka Farms. https://www.tanakafarms.com/hana-field
Free Concerts at Irvine Spectrum 5:30pm-8:30pm, near H&M. Fri: Chelsey Sanchez, Sat: Corey Angeli https://www.irvinespectrumcenter.com/events-promotions/weekend-entertainment-irvine
Anaheim Garden Walk free, pet-friendly, Fri 5-10pm, Sat 2-10pm & Sun 1-9pm. Vendors, kids crafts, entertainment, photo ops, etc. https://anaheimgardenwalk.com/event/Summer-Fest/2145582436/
Live Music on the Green free,Fri 6-9pm Bella Terra Mall on The Green (new lawn area in front of Century Theaters) Joe Marx performs. (similar to Jason Mraz vibes). Parking: Park in the structure next to Costco. Huntington Beach. https://www.bellaterra-hb.com/events
Live Music on Forest free, Fri-Sundays, various times, downtown Laguna Beach in the Forest pedestrian area. https://www.lagunabeachcity.net/government/departments/cultural-arts/performances/promenade-on-forest-stage#ad-image-0

Thursday May 30

Thursday Free Concerts in Placentia free, Thurs, 6-8pm, Matt Koerner performs tonight. Every Thursday thru June 20 at the 100 block of Santa Fe Ave in Placentia. https://www.placentia.org/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=959
Free Concert in the Park- Los Alamitos Thursdays, free, 6:30-8pm. Beach Boys Tribute Band this week. Bring your blankets or chairs or picnic food. Food also available for purchase. Beer garden? 10902 Pine St. On Pine & Florista St. https://cityoflosalamitos.org/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=162

Friday May 31

Free Anime Pop-up &Concert 8pm, Fri, Event opens at 5:30pm for food trucks & photo ops, concerts start at 8pm. Kids On the Slope & South Side Symphony perform. Must sign up for free Plaza Pass and show it to enter. https://www.scfta.org/events/2024/aapi-heritage-month-anime-night-concert-south-side-symphony-kids-on-the-slope
free Super Mario Bros. Movie in the Park Fri, 7pm, Free movie, popcorn & activities. Food trucks for purchasing food. Marina Park, 1600 W Balboa Blvd, Newport Beach. newportbeachca.gov/recreation
Free Jamie Kennedy Comedy Show Free, Fri, 7pm, RSVP online (doors open at 5pm, come early for good seats). Sea Legs on the Beach, 17851 PCH, Huntington Beach. https://www.eventbrite.com/e/comedy-on-the-beach-featuring-jamie-kennedy-no-coverfree-show-tickets-878774627567?aff=aff0bandsintown&bit_userid=86499488&comeFrom=700&artist_event_id=105200204
Sunset Serenades Free, Fri, 6:30-8pm. Caro Pierotto(Brazilian Samba) is Tonight. Free Concerts every Friday in May at Heisler Park Amphitheater, up the stairs from Main beach in Laguna Beach by Whale Sculpture. Restrooms nearby. Jazz, pop, and Rock bands. Bring your own alcohol beverage is allowed only if you have food also. Picnicking is popular. https://www.lagunabeachcity.net/government/departments/cultural-arts/performances/sunset-serenades#ad-image-1
Santa Ana Friday Night Market free, Fri, 6-10pm, kid and pet Friendly. 1301 S Bristol St, Santa Ana. https://www.fridaynightmunchies.org/ https://www.travelsantaana.com/event/friday-night-munchies-(night-market)/173/
Crown Valley Community Expo & Concert free, Fri 4-7pm. Concert at 6:30, Youthanize Performs.Crown Valley Park, Laguna Niguel. https://www.cityoflagunaniguel.org/Calendar.aspx?EID=5186&month=5&year=2024&day=31&calType=0
Anaheim Night Market free, Fri 5-9pm, Family Fun. 201 W Center St Promenade, Anaheim. https://www.rcpalmer.com/events/5-31-friday-night-street-market

Saturday June 1

Summer Singles party:DJ, Illusionist $20, Sat 6:30pm-11pm, also karaoke. Free Parking. 315 S Knott Ave, Anaheim. RSVP &Checkout this Meetup with San Diego Travel & Fun Events Group: https://meetu.ps/e/NbcKf/1MDkT/i
Airplane Festivalfree, Sat, 10am-3pm. . Annual Airport Day celebration showcases the important role the airport plays, and visitors are treated to static displays, airplane and helicopter rides, interactive displays, model building, a kids zone, food for sale.Fullerton Airport 4011 W. Commonwealth Ave. Fullerton. https://www.cityoffullerton.com/government/departments/airport/airport-events
Free Mountain Bike Ride, Films & TalkFree with online RSVP, Movie: Sat, 6-9pm, (Films start at 6:30pm), guest speakers Professional Mountain Bikers Jaxson Riddle & Kyle Strait. Typically Free yucky popcorn and bottled water.162 South Coast Highway,Laguna Beach. You can park & Ride the Laguna Trolley(maps and live tracker online). The morning bike ride: RSVP and info is here Checkout this Meetup with Orange County Mountain Biking: https://meetu.ps/e/NbTws/1MDkT/i
https://rivianpresentsritual.splashthat.com/?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR1ymYBR7vcq9-v9NEKHxz9wKowjd0kiCwexcJlYSR2toj4YGPB6_yNY66A_aem_ARR6wUXFsCJpHzTq0bksrpz-AS7IgRbeUXM61uPNIEEGnZJGnSeqVYBeZSozrylYi1-MrXI4jocp2Rlz10ClsxRH
Corona del Mar 5k &2mile Walk Sat, 7am, $40/$50 online before Sat, $5 more on Sat. Race map and more info on website. https://endurancecui.active.com/new/events/89695004/select-race?e4p=6d791d59-9691-4910-992e-bf9c2091b981&e4ts=1717101653&e4q=80dd6d8c-2aa3-4f66-b794-1bb3d8958f13&e4c=active&e4e=snawe00000000&e4h=019b3bef670ac2707839a8c93b8ac424&e4rt=Safetynet&error=login_required&state=84cc80bc-0286-4e94-ad6d-fe8ebe885f4e&_p=9538952554040607
Group Dog Walk free. Sat, 5:30-7pm. La Paz Sports Park. Leaders: Tommy and Emily. 2406 Aliso Creek Rd, Laguna Niguel. https://ocpackwalks.com/events
Massive Garage/Estate Sales free, Sat 7am-9am Aliso Viejo (33 Rockrose and 1-10 Goldenfield); 8am Laguna Niguel (79780 Preston Dr).
VW & Porsche Vintage Car ShowAdmission cost (free??), Sat, 9am-3pm. Rare Vintage Air d'Elegance. Car Show and raffles. Old World German Village. 7561 Center Ave, Huntington Beach. https://facebook.com/events/s/rare-vintage-air-delegance-202/896061538677275/

Sunday June 2

Annual Chili Cookoff & Street Fair free, Sun, 11am-6pm. Live music stages, jalapeno eating contest, Kids Zone with Bounce house, food trucks, beewine garden. Email ejennings@tustinca.org for info on entering the chili contest. Proceeds go to local charities. Old Town Tustin & Peppertree Park. https://www.tustinca.org/456/Street-Fair-Chili-Cook-Off
Ladies Group KayakSun, 10:15am, the cost is the fee to rent a kayak/life jacket there. No Experience required. Join on the Ladies of OC Beaches Facebook group. Pure Watersports, 34671 Puerto Pl., Dana Point. RSVP: https://facebook.com/events/s/come-join-us-kayaking-no-expe1164854684702155/
Reggae Festival Free, Sun, 11am-3pm, Tie Die and wood craft activities, live music and dance performances. Bowers Museum, 2002 N Main St, Santa Ana. https://www.bowers.org/index.php/programs/events-calendaevent/3671-reggae-festival
Annual Balboa Island Parade: Jimmy Buffet Theme free, Sun, 11am. “Mark Wood and the Parrot Head Band” performs after the parade, located on stage in front of the fire station. https://www.balboaislandnb.org/parade
Free Concert at Old World free, Sun, 1-4pm, M Street performs. Eat soft giant pretzels and wurst, drink beer in the Biergarten. 7561 Center Ave, Huntington Beach. https://www.instagram.com/p/C7lEYjjNUyb/?igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
Free Sundays Concert 2pm, Nixon Library. https://www.nixonlibrary.gov/sunday-concert-series. MTAC Winners perform.
5 mile O'Neill Group Hike & Brunch afterfree, Sun, 8-10:30am. O'Neill Regional Park, 30892 Trabuco Cyn, RSVP and more details here Checkout this Meetup with Trail Mix: https://meetu.ps/e/NbSPV/1MDkT/i

Plan Ahead-

Remember to Park & Ride on Trolleys free, started on Memorial Day thru Labor Day, San Juan Capistrano, Dana Point, San Clemente, LagunaBeach (year round).
Free Broadway Dance Lessons Tuesdays in June. Free if you sign up for the Plaza Pass. Segerstrom Argyros Plaza Outdoors. https://www.scfta.org/events/2024/tuesday-night-dance-broadway
Annual Bluegrass & BBQ eventSun, June 9, from 4-7pm. $25 entry, $52 with BBQ, LCAD in Laguna Beach. https://www.lagunabeachlive.org/blank-20-2-1
Free Silent Disco Nights Giant Wheel Lawn at Irvine Spectrum. May 25, June 29, July 27, Aug 31, Sept 28, Oct 26, Nov 30. https://www.irvinespectrumcenter.com/events-promotions/spectrum-silent-disco
Jazz Wednesdays in Laguna Beach https://www.lagunabeachlive.org/jazz2024
Jazz Thursdays at the Muck Fullerton. https://themuck.org/program/2024-jazz-fest
Cirque du Soleil: Koozå $40+, June 8-July 21. Laguna Hills Mall Big Top Tent. https://www.todaytix.com/los-angeles/shows/39008-cirque-du-soleil-kooza
OC Free Thursday Concerts in the Parks June 20 to Aug. 22 from 5 to 8 p.m. Enjoy 9 free outdoor Summer concerts Thursday evenings at various parks. https://www.ocparks.com/news/oc-parks-presents-2024-summer-concert-series-and-sunset-cinema-film-series
OC Summer Concerts Mega List https://www.sandytoesandpopsicles.com/orange-county-concerts-park/
OC Summer Movies in the Park List https://www.sandytoesandpopsicles.com/summer-movie-programs-in-orange-county/
Free Outdoor Movie Mondays July 8- Aug 5. Segerstrom Argyros Plaza, food trucks, free mini tours of Theater, Opens at 5:30pm,movie starts at 8pm. Bring blanket or chairs.
Pride Prom $20, June 28, 7pm. Segerstrom Argyros Plaza. https://seats.scfta.org/single?id=29287&_gl=1*1vrdylo*_gcl_aw*R0NMLjE3MTcxMDI3NDQuQ2p3S0NBand4LUN5QmhBcUVpd0FlT2NUZGVJeW5YNEhHUjhsM3diSjZYVVFTSFdwZHl4enZWQjlQUXd1NjJkOWFfZlpxTVZNR1ZtaFNSb0NTczhRQXZEX0J3RQ..*_gcl_au*NDAxNjI5NjU3LjE3MTI5NzIwNjYuNjcxNjYyNzM0LjE3MTMwNDEwOTAuMTcxMzA0MTE0OA..
Foodie Fridays free entry, food for purchase, 5-9pm, Huntington Beach.
+++See Comments for Frau's Random Ideas+++