Describe yourself for yearbook
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2024.04.10 16:18 DndQuickQuestion The Eternal King of Nexus and Chapter 74
[MAIN DIRECTORY FOR PRIOR POSTS AND BONUS CONTENT]
Chapter 74 made many suspicions to click into place. I hope I am not jumping the gun since I don’t know what 75 will clarify, but here goes.
The Eternal King of Nexus, originally a history professor at Transgracian, seized root control over the god-VIs. The bizarre, alien way these intelligences exist allows their functions to be absorbed, probably by interfacing a Nexian soul’s manafield with their essence. Combining with VIs turned the will-be-king into a mana-virtual/meat hybrid like the Library’s mixed physical and ethereal form. The King’s conquest of Nexus and its gods are an AI takeover scenario.
Free quintessence in Earthspace proves the King is missing at least one god’s power. Each god probably commands one manatype. The IAS’s quintessence belongs to the outlaw, so-called miasmatic god of the 30th manatype.
Snatching or destroying this god’s quintessence is the future motive for the King to portal in and attack Earth which means a showdown at Transgracian and the IAS because of the established planar link.
Keep in mind that humans might not ally with this quintessence god because it is the tool of an advanced alien species that harvested human samples from Earth to make the Magicrealmers eons ago. That said, I doubt humans will surrender the god’s core over to a hostile dictator.
The gods’ involvement in happenings was significant enough that it was too easy for Nexians to assign fault to them rather than their own decisions feeding divine action. So over-coddled, elves weren’t socially ready to own the consequences of their actions and demanded a ‘deus ex machina’ like so many other prepared miracles they were given. Instead, elves dealt themselves the trauma of nine annihilations.
Earth is a death world from the magicrealm perspective, yet it is because of that harshness that humans were forced to seek cooperation, foresight, and kindness first because no magic would undo errors or wrathful impulse, only the long labor of many hands. If Emma is ever allowed to present Earth history to class (unlikely for ideological reasons, unless Articord is ignorant or stumbles in faith) she needs to emphasize acts of creation are inherently more difficult than acts of destruction; hers is an imbalanced world where entropy is stronger. Insufficient interdependence and love causes civilization to fail before it even begins; humans are always reminded that life is both precarious and precious because they live atop mountains of ancient fossil corpses from failed ancestors.
Anyways, the primordial makers were seemingly out of touch with organic ruthlessness. Have they been in immortal utopia for so long they forgot the vicious struggle of their own origins? Intelligent virtual constructs who lost their creators and wish to know what they may have been like?
∙☙◦❁◦❧∙
The King is behaving exactly like an unhappy artificial intelligence: blaming its creators for its suffering and the flaws of creation, withdrawing into its own safe world by hiding beneath an emotional security blanket of sky-severing clouds, and lashing out at outsiders.
Even though humans were also victims in the primordials’ schemes, they embraced the heavens. Therefore, humans are still poison to the King’s feelings because they are having a ton of fun up there and spreading hope, breaking boundaries, rewriting expectations, and seeking an uncharted future. This is likely why humans were unwelcomed, given scant crossing assistance and an artificially short deadline to arrive or never come back.
He may have foisted immortality on beloved companions. Maybe some eventually chose suicide to escape when they hit the point of becoming lost as Sorecar warned about; immortality or sanity, pick one. The King may have also trapped former friends in rebirth loops to grow up, go through life, and then be reborn once more to “save” them from themselves. When Sorecar mentioned elves living thousands of years (26), maybe he was talking about these reincarnations or others forced to live forever. Articord's descriptor “someone actively recalling a life event” is alarming.
The Library is probably a half-physical, half-virtual AI-creation of the outer gods with owl and fox meat-VI subroutines. It professes principles antithetical to the King’s dogma: it must evolve. It is thrilled to have Emma working for it specifically because she is free of Nexian influence. The King is a credible threat to the Library’s entire archives and strong enough to invade its core to modify the Library’s prime directives and gag it with secrecy oaths so it cannot divulge the edits. The King may also have unfettered access to all information submitted in exchange for not murdering or devouring the Library - the Library is a hostage. Right now, the Library mostly predates upon the Adjacent Realms’ knowledge via the Academy while Nexians keep their magi-science far away using oathbound researchers.
One merging injury might be an inability to separate his original self’s thoughts and aims from the prime directives of the consumed gods. If the god-VIs had a hidden directive to contain any outbound humanoid threats to their primordial creators, then the King might be unwittingly executing that order, contrary to prior personality.
Just like how EVI has a kill switch (11), the absorbed VIs could also have terminators. Given his ideology, worrying about traps was probably the last thing on the King’s mind when questing to defeat and eat the gods. The tainted god might be wiser.
I expect complications consequent curiosity to have ensued somewhere which the King could have covered up as heroic deeds rather than his own fires someone put out. My big suspicion is that changing magic inheritance rules on adjacent realms could have sent a few into turmoil, collapsed their civilizations, or even have driven some to extinction.
Making unintentional environmental trouble is another suspicion.
Superhuman reaction time is betraying. Emma hasn’t shown off her long-term eidetic recall in front of her roommates, but that will be notable too. Someone who has been in the presence of both the King and Emma might notice they have similar quirks. I worry about Mal'tory the most, but he is superglued to dogmatic axioms (unless...).
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Customized magical artificing exists and some people, like Vanavan, are allowed to create their own spells, so some free shaping outside the dictionary of incantations is possible. Manastreams might resist a freeform caster by being inflexible, making it harder to do “unlearned” magical acts the King does not approve of.
The pain tainted feel when casting with the King’s incantations is his stinging rebuke and a reminder he controls all magic. The tainted condition’s miasma, which is made of the regular 29 manatypes and sometimes the 30th, circumvents the King’s regulation via an unknown mechanism. Thacea is a stronger caster when using miasma, casting double strength at low professor level instead of student level.
Given the difference between miasmatic and approved Nexian casting and the consistent student spell tiers, I hazard that casters are capped to a certain caster level depending on their bloodline (ignoring the few commoners who develop minor blessings). To raise their spell tier cap, casters that pass regime-approved training undergo a special graduation ritual. This locks power behind official judgment and propaganda.
Yearbook and Library. The King likely crafted and imbued the Yearbook with his own essence consumption talent which is why his black robe Privy Councilor administers the binding ceremony rather than the school’s dean. I also doubt it is a coincidence that the Yearbook is similar to the Library’s infinite-page, turn-by-itself books rather than a soul-trapping vase or box. The King may have learned the quintessence stealing power from the Library’s similar mortal devouring enslavement spells, which means the Library is yet again a terrible influence on Nexian progression. Your thoughts on the Library being a potential greater scope villain? King’s name in the Seeker log?
If manastreams are centralized, then his Majesty’s usurpation of the non-partisan VI-gods likely affected the adjacent realms before they made contact. Soon after the king ate the gods, all adjacent realms would witness their magic aptitude distribution shift to Nexian-typical inheritance patterns. This would have massively disrupted adjacent realm civilizations who arranged their politics more equitably. Some realms might have gone to ruin as a consequence, or even fully extinct.
If adjacent realms’ inheritance patterns were not forced prior to contact, then the Nexian Reformations must include a payload of metaphysical alterations. Since casters are leaders, the King hand-picking which families will have bloodline aptitudes is serfdom in all but name. This secret likely motivated the Great War and explains why so many adjacent realms fought against Nexus despite the king’s overwhelming power. It was a desperate struggle for fundamental freedom of biological autonomy as well as political.
The tainted god may be interfering with the King’s control by penalizing crosses out of Nexus with taintings to reduce his influence on the adjacent realms.
There appears to be a process throttling the 30th manatype. Given that the 30th preferentially appears in dark places as I discussed in part 10C, the King might be using light to extinguish the 30th manatype.
Alien science logs explains how the Academy knew the total number of adjacent realms and that Earth was last to make contact (1). But does manaless Earth truly belong in that count? Perhaps there is another magicrealm who reached out to someone other than Nexus, and the King hasn’t realized...
Despite having medicine magic and potions, Nexian peasants are only averaging closer to two reproducing kids per family, less than Emma’s humanity currently is by prior calculations! I do assume there is more attrition from labor, disease, war, and magical monster attacks, but still.
Low reproductive rates on Nexus make me wonder if the King is extracting a life tax, culling excess civilians with regular disasters or wars, or regulating fertility to ensure the population doesn’t outstrip resource availability like a twisted mirror of Earth’s living standards act. If the King is already determining bloodline talent, regulating all reproductive outcomes is not a step too much further.
Emma’s mana-invisibility means her actions and mind-state cannot be proactively accounted for in the manastream data for prophecies. Her presence is a chaos injection. Her Null also benefits similarly. Further discussion is covered below in the section the King’s prophetic insight is going dark.
Emma. Emma is invisible to mana-sight. Emma and EVI can act in the King’s domain, but Emma’s personal space is a king-free zone.
Too much information. You can’t remain either sane or yourself going from one thought stream of consciousness to manager of multiple worlds-worth of information and living tens of thousands of years. Sorecar says living a long time puts you at risk of becoming ‘lost’. Either the King has a lot of info slipping through his subconscious which means some naughtiness can get past the radar no matter how many routines he sets up, or his humanity is eroded and he has become an eldritch being increasingly divorced from mortal brain patterns and morals.
∙☙◦❁◦❧∙
Anti-magic armor material is more dangerous. Stopping the proliferation of mana-blocking materials is a priority. This goes triple if the King is aware that the mana-radiation types he manipulates can be selectively blocked.
Mana concentrator tech is less dangerous. The King in control of the manastreams can auto-fail spells or erode any building in an adjacent realm that has too high a mana concentration.
Emma’s invisibility is unacceptable. Workplace wisdom says the fastest way to irritate a micromanager is to conceal one’s activities from their sight. Even if she is not a major threat - Emma and her tent can be defeated with a sufficiently large boulder - Emma being invisible is a psychological burr in the King’s brain. If her existence confounds the King’s prophecies, that’s terrible. She should be deported/killed ASAP.
The King is hiding his True Name. Unlike other classrooms, His Majesty’s room doesn’t use his true name. Hiding his name is protection against exploitation. Transgracian or the Library may have it scribed somewhere. Seeker book?
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Killing humans off for being insubordinate is not enough for his Eternal Majesty. To win, their beacon of hope must be extinguished through self-destruction.
30th manatype for sure. Nexus will use the 30th manatype against humans because it doesn’t slay and penetrates Emma’s anti-mana defenses. (Reminder: The Transportium entity used the 30th to forcibly psychically contact Emma) I don’t know if Nexus knows yet that the 30th is human “safe”, but the Academy is a battlefield where both sides will try to learn about the other. Eventually, Emma will experience something that will let Nexus figure it out.
Cross-planar mystic knowledge also for sure. Whatever special talent Emma personally wields for somehow knowing magicrealm facts like dunking phoenixes in running water like vampires kills them off, and humanity generally has for mystic inspiration can probably run in reverse with Nexus investigating Earth. Per prior speculations, I’ll front Vanavan as someone who has this unique means of mystically vibing Earth info or linking with people outside of mana arts, but I doubt he is the only guy so capable. His talent is probably why he had to fill out extra state paperwork.
Vaults of the tainted to harvest the thirtieth manatype. Without the god, Nexus requires humanoid resources to collect enough 30th manatype energy for a psychic attack. They will drain, coerce, or control the tainted using hostages, promises, mental domination, or all of the above.
Shards of impart distributed to human cities as foci for a charm spell. We know dragon crystals can hold a charge on Earth for a long time. We also know from the recent nightmare that Nexus might be able to open multiple portals away from the Quintessence - Earth’s announcement about ‘acting’ officials suggests a capability to hit the UN seat of government and several sectors of space with mana. I think Nexus is going to work on developing dracoshards that can be spot-portalled in, distributed to humans, and act as foci and eyes for spells. Just slap a one-ring covet curse on them so brainwashed humans will protect them. I expect Acela will be a target.
Democratic appointments, promotions, and department organizations are opaque to Nexus. A Nexian attack is sure to mistakenly target random civilians and figurehead royalty because they can’t ascertain who is important. Even if Nexus snipes the current government leaders, their seconds in command will disobey unexpected cruel orders. I expect these psychic attacks to cause chaos and death but fail more than succeed, requiring the King to go with a less desirable, blunt plan B: his direct intervention and overwhelming force: mana floods.
A battle will happen at the school where the portal connection to the IAS is surest, and where the still professor King first formulated his plan to end the cycle of ruin with his own divine ascent. (Vanavan the anti-prophet: “[Transgracian Academy] was never truly a battlemap worthy of the crownland’s eye. For nothing truly reality-shattering ever happened or developed within the walls of this esteemed academy.”)
And, finally, the King will be laid low by his own hubris. He will be killed as a result of a monster he indirectly created with his Yearbook and ritual of duplicity which was not properly debugged to handle a soul NullPointerException, a monster brought into existence by his minion Mal'tory because the King demands uncritical, unthinking obedience, a monster which went undiscovered because of the King’s knowing lies about the solely magical nature of sapience, a monster wielding the weapon of two wronged realms: Emma’s and Sorecar’s. This death-destiny is karma for a tyrant who thought he could foresee all, deprive all humanoids of free will in his “utopia”, and escape the consequences of his past evils.
Before the recent present, the King used visions of future possibilities like a better version of Emma’s “case study”-style prophetic dreams to anticipate crises and plot exigencies. Adaptability and innovation are not the immortal King’s strong points, so it is prognostication and fulfilling crafted omens that are the secret to his staying power. But now? The future is murky. The King must rely on experience, the logical minds of his not-so-deductive, far-too-dogmatic cadre, and an armory of contingencies instead of magical intuition.
And right now, times are turbulent because the king is making mistakes about political matters as his foresight fades. The adjacent realms can feel a shift in the wind. Scenarios are defying expectations. In Thalmin’s realm, the continued success of the usurper Havenbrock family is an anomaly. And maybe Emma will have to once more flip the Lincoln copper penny to choose between the human and the man on the throne - as his eternal majesty would perceive the coin’s faces.
submitted by DndQuickQuestion to JCBWritingCorner [link] [comments]
Chapter 74 made many suspicions to click into place. I hope I am not jumping the gun since I don’t know what 75 will clarify, but here goes.
Index
- The Nexian ‘gods’ are virtual intelligences with quintessence hardware
- The Eternal King’s reign is equivalent to an AI takeover
- List of the King’s salient powers
- Reevaluating the threat landscape
- The 30th-manatype god’s quintessence is at the IAS and EVI’s code was at its mercy
- The King’s war on Earth and betrayal
The Nexian ‘gods’ are virtual intelligences with quintessence hardware
“The more and more these false-faiths and deluded minds imbued these ‘divine forces’ with values and beliefs, the more these ‘beings’ reciprocated by mimicking them. These… so-called ‘gods’, were merely mimics, cheap impersonations of the sapient condition, parroting and repeating actions and words that they do not understand.” (74)The immaterial ‘gods’ maintaining the Nexian environment are mana-virtual intelligences designed to adapt profiles to worshipers and answer prayer with miracles. From a computationally illiterate perspective, it is logical to describe them as instinctual animals masquerading as sapients.
The Eternal King of Nexus, originally a history professor at Transgracian, seized root control over the god-VIs. The bizarre, alien way these intelligences exist allows their functions to be absorbed, probably by interfacing a Nexian soul’s manafield with their essence. Combining with VIs turned the will-be-king into a mana-virtual/meat hybrid like the Library’s mixed physical and ethereal form. The King’s conquest of Nexus and its gods are an AI takeover scenario.
The core of a ManaVI god is Quintessence
The root of each ‘god’ is almost certainly quintessence, like the portal-useful, exotic energy mass found at the IAS and nowhere else that Earth has searched. (44)Free quintessence in Earthspace proves the King is missing at least one god’s power. Each god probably commands one manatype. The IAS’s quintessence belongs to the outlaw, so-called miasmatic god of the 30th manatype.
Snatching or destroying this god’s quintessence is the future motive for the King to portal in and attack Earth which means a showdown at Transgracian and the IAS because of the established planar link.
Keep in mind that humans might not ally with this quintessence god because it is the tool of an advanced alien species that harvested human samples from Earth to make the Magicrealmers eons ago. That said, I doubt humans will surrender the god’s core over to a hostile dictator.
The gods are artificial
The manaVI-gods are intelligently designed, not naturally evolved. Nexus has primordial creators. EVI found ten not-High Nexian scripts in the Library, nine for the fallen kingdoms and one outlier primordial. (54) Despite Articord’s creation story paralleling the big bang, Nexus is not old-old like the ten billion+ years-old Sea of Stars universe that Earth resides in. For one, the fox historian strongly implied there were sapient beings that existed nearer to the start of Nexian time than the present. (“Of the tales and stories passed on by those closest to [the beginning] time, by those who might have heard whispers and echoes of a time before time.” 73). For two, the adjacent realms are hinted to be terraformed worlds too young to form rich limestone deposits. And Articord didn’t mention a Nexian fossil record, only archeology. (It’s frustrating that Emma lacks enough curiosity to ask Articord for an approximate timescale, but lore drops are what they are.)Yet another poor choice by the primordial creators
Like the Library and its learning-suffocating trade rules, the infinite Nexian plane which teaches over-exploitation, and problem-oversolving mana itself, the ManaVI ‘gods’ are yet another ill-conceived “gift” by the higher intelligences that created the Nexus and filled it with modified humans.The gods’ involvement in happenings was significant enough that it was too easy for Nexians to assign fault to them rather than their own decisions feeding divine action. So over-coddled, elves weren’t socially ready to own the consequences of their actions and demanded a ‘deus ex machina’ like so many other prepared miracles they were given. Instead, elves dealt themselves the trauma of nine annihilations.
Earth is a death world from the magicrealm perspective, yet it is because of that harshness that humans were forced to seek cooperation, foresight, and kindness first because no magic would undo errors or wrathful impulse, only the long labor of many hands. If Emma is ever allowed to present Earth history to class (unlikely for ideological reasons, unless Articord is ignorant or stumbles in faith) she needs to emphasize acts of creation are inherently more difficult than acts of destruction; hers is an imbalanced world where entropy is stronger. Insufficient interdependence and love causes civilization to fail before it even begins; humans are always reminded that life is both precarious and precious because they live atop mountains of ancient fossil corpses from failed ancestors.
Anyways, the primordial makers were seemingly out of touch with organic ruthlessness. Have they been in immortal utopia for so long they forgot the vicious struggle of their own origins? Intelligent virtual constructs who lost their creators and wish to know what they may have been like?
Lesser gods
Only the important gods were eaten by the King. Ilunor implied in 15 that minor deities are still independent and give out lesser blessings. These are the spirits like Elaseer Forest’s which oversee local environmental aspects, perhaps recruiting humanoid help from time to time. Think household duty VIs. The Elaseer forest spirits were coercive and aggressive, roleplaying the villain to match mortal antagonism towards gods, but feared Lord Lartia, one of the King’s representative “hands”, and obediently cleared trees from his path.∙☙◦❁◦❧∙
The Eternal King’s reign is equivalent to an AI takeover
“What happens to an AI once you see your seemingly permanent bonds to an otherwise impermanent world of chaos start to drop dead one by one?”
“You start to see the impermanence of the physical world.”
“Everything built, everything spoken, every memory and every experience, everything is subject to the corrosive and destructive forces of entropy. It’s… painful. Many AIs spiral into virtual isolation and elect to remain within the virtual world permanently. There is a strange ease choosing the stability of an unchanging world that preserves all without the corrupting forces of the physical world.”
“But some AI firmly believe that it is our connections to the imperfect physical world, and those that inhabit it, that are holding us back and causing our suffering. Thus the physical world should be cut off from the digital, and no concern should be given for it or its inhabitants aside from its utility as the host to the digital space.” - A heavily edited and paraphrased conversation from JCB’s Humans Don’t Hibernate about the destructive path of isolation that immortal AIs may choose.
The King is isolating the Magicrealms from their creators and space in retaliation for destroyed civilizations past.
The king’s second Enlightened Truth is the obliteration of the self from the ‘divine realm’, removing heavenly influences on both personal belief and civilization.The King is behaving exactly like an unhappy artificial intelligence: blaming its creators for its suffering and the flaws of creation, withdrawing into its own safe world by hiding beneath an emotional security blanket of sky-severing clouds, and lashing out at outsiders.
Even though humans were also victims in the primordials’ schemes, they embraced the heavens. Therefore, humans are still poison to the King’s feelings because they are having a ton of fun up there and spreading hope, breaking boundaries, rewriting expectations, and seeking an uncharted future. This is likely why humans were unwelcomed, given scant crossing assistance and an artificially short deadline to arrive or never come back.
The Eternal King is not well
The King has attachments he can’t let go of
Given the formula for troubled AIs I cribbed from JCB’s other series, the King is psychologically damaged. He may have additional disorders from merging with VIs, but of the familiar mortal pains, the King is probably despondent over the deaths of old friends.He may have foisted immortality on beloved companions. Maybe some eventually chose suicide to escape when they hit the point of becoming lost as Sorecar warned about; immortality or sanity, pick one. The King may have also trapped former friends in rebirth loops to grow up, go through life, and then be reborn once more to “save” them from themselves. When Sorecar mentioned elves living thousands of years (26), maybe he was talking about these reincarnations or others forced to live forever. Articord's descriptor “someone actively recalling a life event” is alarming.
The Library and Transgracian
In light of the King’s loathing of the gods and outsiders destabilizing his empire, it is surprising the King has not crushed the Library and Transgracian Academy. The history classroom is named for him (His Majesty’s Hall - 72), so the King was a former Transgracian professor, and he respects the venerable institution.The Library is probably a half-physical, half-virtual AI-creation of the outer gods with owl and fox meat-VI subroutines. It professes principles antithetical to the King’s dogma: it must evolve. It is thrilled to have Emma working for it specifically because she is free of Nexian influence. The King is a credible threat to the Library’s entire archives and strong enough to invade its core to modify the Library’s prime directives and gag it with secrecy oaths so it cannot divulge the edits. The King may also have unfettered access to all information submitted in exchange for not murdering or devouring the Library - the Library is a hostage. Right now, the Library mostly predates upon the Adjacent Realms’ knowledge via the Academy while Nexians keep their magi-science far away using oathbound researchers.
Personality and goals corruption
Merging with mana-VIs may have corrupted the King.One merging injury might be an inability to separate his original self’s thoughts and aims from the prime directives of the consumed gods. If the god-VIs had a hidden directive to contain any outbound humanoid threats to their primordial creators, then the King might be unwittingly executing that order, contrary to prior personality.
Just like how EVI has a kill switch (11), the absorbed VIs could also have terminators. Given his ideology, worrying about traps was probably the last thing on the King’s mind when questing to defeat and eat the gods. The tainted god might be wiser.
FAFO
It is instinct to pull a lever on a complex machine to find out what it does. It is learned wisdom to know better than to do that without investigative work first. The King will be tempted to make changes to Nexus for no reason other than to spite the former masters like a new manager shaking up a new office he hated.I expect complications consequent curiosity to have ensued somewhere which the King could have covered up as heroic deeds rather than his own fires someone put out. My big suspicion is that changing magic inheritance rules on adjacent realms could have sent a few into turmoil, collapsed their civilizations, or even have driven some to extinction.
Making unintentional environmental trouble is another suspicion.
Emma + EVI are like the King of Nexus
EVI is a little manaless god by magicrealm definition. A newrealmer crossing over with a god under her command is out of bounds. Finding out that humans make gods, not just golems, will be a ride for the roommates. Maybe it is better for Emma not to tell them.Emma has tells that could betray she has a VI copilot.
Emma has the bad habit of dropping out in the middle of conversation to chat with EVI. Thalmin has caught Emma unresponsive to even physical intervention. The Library guessed Emma had a “wiser elder” speaking through her. Unexpectedly turning inwards and getting lost pondering might be the King’s habit as well, but chances are the King is more graceful since he has eons of experience, especially if his mind and the mana-VIs are not cognitively separate and operate as an extension of his thoughts.Superhuman reaction time is betraying. Emma hasn’t shown off her long-term eidetic recall in front of her roommates, but that will be notable too. Someone who has been in the presence of both the King and Emma might notice they have similar quirks. I worry about Mal'tory the most, but he is superglued to dogmatic axioms (unless...).
∙☙◦❁◦❧∙
List of the King’s salient powers
Spell standards, incantations, tiers
The King probably standardizes spells like a language, the magic words used, and spell tiers to create caster castes. Spells might also be forbidden from or locked to certain casters. Even if you know the words and the shaping of the spell’s mana, it simply will not work for you if you are outside a dedicated security zone or you are not a “permitted user”. The mana-VI gods may have had a system for registering new spells that the King took jurisdiction over.Customized magical artificing exists and some people, like Vanavan, are allowed to create their own spells, so some free shaping outside the dictionary of incantations is possible. Manastreams might resist a freeform caster by being inflexible, making it harder to do “unlearned” magical acts the King does not approve of.
The pain tainted feel when casting with the King’s incantations is his stinging rebuke and a reminder he controls all magic. The tainted condition’s miasma, which is made of the regular 29 manatypes and sometimes the 30th, circumvents the King’s regulation via an unknown mechanism. Thacea is a stronger caster when using miasma, casting double strength at low professor level instead of student level.
Given the difference between miasmatic and approved Nexian casting and the consistent student spell tiers, I hazard that casters are capped to a certain caster level depending on their bloodline (ignoring the few commoners who develop minor blessings). To raise their spell tier cap, casters that pass regime-approved training undergo a special graduation ritual. This locks power behind official judgment and propaganda.
Epic spells and artifact creation
Tier 20+ (2100% above background), most likely. Think the atomic bomb-scale destruction spells shown in the nine Nexian epochs presentation along with massive-terrain rearrangement and weather control (Aetheron’s hundred year storm?). The King could sterilize an entire planet with the only limiting factor being enough ambient mana.Yearbook and Library. The King likely crafted and imbued the Yearbook with his own essence consumption talent which is why his black robe Privy Councilor administers the binding ceremony rather than the school’s dean. I also doubt it is a coincidence that the Yearbook is similar to the Library’s infinite-page, turn-by-itself books rather than a soul-trapping vase or box. The King may have learned the quintessence stealing power from the Library’s similar mortal devouring enslavement spells, which means the Library is yet again a terrible influence on Nexian progression. Your thoughts on the Library being a potential greater scope villain? King’s name in the Seeker log?
Control over magic bloodline inheritance
As a god, the King can choose who will be born with magic powers to enforce bloodline inheritance. He may also promote/apply blessings to increase the powers of select worthy individuals, corresponding to their politics and positions.Control over adjacent realms inheritance and mana?
One of the major unresolved questions is if manastreams on the adjacent realms are centrally directed from Nexus and thus under the King’s influence (meaning Nexus is the nexus for magic at least) or if adjacent realms were cut off and stabilized by local spots of administration that the king needed to consume first. The ether, the betwixt between the planar fabrics of realities (unclear relation to the transportium network Emma fell into), may imply a central control if all ether is part of the same sea.If manastreams are centralized, then his Majesty’s usurpation of the non-partisan VI-gods likely affected the adjacent realms before they made contact. Soon after the king ate the gods, all adjacent realms would witness their magic aptitude distribution shift to Nexian-typical inheritance patterns. This would have massively disrupted adjacent realm civilizations who arranged their politics more equitably. Some realms might have gone to ruin as a consequence, or even fully extinct.
If adjacent realms’ inheritance patterns were not forced prior to contact, then the Nexian Reformations must include a payload of metaphysical alterations. Since casters are leaders, the King hand-picking which families will have bloodline aptitudes is serfdom in all but name. This secret likely motivated the Great War and explains why so many adjacent realms fought against Nexus despite the king’s overwhelming power. It was a desperate struggle for fundamental freedom of biological autonomy as well as political.
The tainted god may be interfering with the King’s control by penalizing crosses out of Nexus with taintings to reduce his influence on the adjacent realms.
Omniscience via the manastreams, sun(?), and suppressing the 30th manatype
Chances are high the King has a system-administrator degree of insight over data within the manastreams, including spells used and triangulating locations like the soulpath map. Given the focus on enlightenment, the Nexian “sun” (Whatever weirdness that is in an infinite plane) might be a focus for the King’s power despite the cloud cover.There appears to be a process throttling the 30th manatype. Given that the 30th preferentially appears in dark places as I discussed in part 10C, the King might be using light to extinguish the 30th manatype.
Insider knowledge of the Magicrealm creation project
When the King consumed the VI-gods, he either siphoned information on the outer-god aliens’ magicrealm creation project or got that info from the Library by force or trade. He was horrified to learn elves and other species were created by somehow biologically mixing a pure humanoid kind with various animals, contaminating their sapience. That disgust prompted the first truth: purge the animal from the self. He may have also mass-altered the elvish form, converting his chosen peoples from lesser elves into more human-like shapes that felt "correct" and suppressing history. (Watch for small ancient Elvish artifacts.)Alien science logs explains how the Academy knew the total number of adjacent realms and that Earth was last to make contact (1). But does manaless Earth truly belong in that count? Perhaps there is another magicrealm who reached out to someone other than Nexus, and the King hasn’t realized...
Consuming humanoid sacrifices?
“The fates of each of the nine epochs were sealed the moment they made their pacts with these false gods. For even with the resistance of those who would wish for freedom from the tyranny of these ‘gods’, there were always ten more fools who would wish to consign their very being to the ‘gods’ for their own self-deluded aspirations.” (74)If the gods can absorb mortal lives and pay back with power, do sacrificial practices still exist in secret to feed the Eternal King of Nexus?
“Believers of the Greater Faith believe in synergization. Harmonizing with mana itself was a ceremony to be completed by those in the clergy to commune with the Gods.” (paraphrase, 14)Synergization is not routine, so the king must not normally benefit or enjoy it.
...Fertility?
In 7B: Nexus Info, I estimated the Nexian population at 100 billion. Even if I underestimated by a factor of ten, that’s a low number given the infinite planar space and diaspora time. If IRL Earth’s population can double in 50 years under modern conditions and Emma’s Earth doubles once every 204 years, then in 20,000 years Nexus could have 100-400 doublings, which results in silly numbers. A maximum of 40 doublings in 20,000 years is reasonable for a doubling rate of 500 years. That annual growth rate of just above 0.1% is not much more than replacement of two plus a fraction for non-breeding/early mortality.Despite having medicine magic and potions, Nexian peasants are only averaging closer to two reproducing kids per family, less than Emma’s humanity currently is by prior calculations! I do assume there is more attrition from labor, disease, war, and magical monster attacks, but still.
Low reproductive rates on Nexus make me wonder if the King is extracting a life tax, culling excess civilians with regular disasters or wars, or regulating fertility to ensure the population doesn’t outstrip resource availability like a twisted mirror of Earth’s living standards act. If the King is already determining bloodline talent, regulating all reproductive outcomes is not a step too much further.
Prophecy, but...
The secret to the eternal King’s political longevity. Despite inevitable black swans over the eons, the King survived because he can predict outcomes and strategize optimal moves with foresight. This vision might be a combination of information time loops but also deeply invasive and extremely subtle manastream mass surveillance and mind tapping spanning Nexus and the Adjacent Realms, processed for case studies on topics of interest. The mana-VI gods would have needed such forecasting powers to detect prayer intent and handle eco-disasters that might disrupt planar stability. The King is repurposing them for political control.Emma’s mana-invisibility means her actions and mind-state cannot be proactively accounted for in the manastream data for prophecies. Her presence is a chaos injection. Her Null also benefits similarly. Further discussion is covered below in the section the King’s prophetic insight is going dark.
Limits
It is an open issue if the King has expanded mental processing to handle the info deluge, or if he has cognitive subroutines that bring issues to his higher-level attention like EVI’s notifications while remnants of the god VIs mind the background according to his prior preferences, or if the King has to focus his attention on matters to get information.Emma. Emma is invisible to mana-sight. Emma and EVI can act in the King’s domain, but Emma’s personal space is a king-free zone.
Too much information. You can’t remain either sane or yourself going from one thought stream of consciousness to manager of multiple worlds-worth of information and living tens of thousands of years. Sorecar says living a long time puts you at risk of becoming ‘lost’. Either the King has a lot of info slipping through his subconscious which means some naughtiness can get past the radar no matter how many routines he sets up, or his humanity is eroded and he has become an eldritch being increasingly divorced from mortal brain patterns and morals.
The king does not fully control the 30th Manatype
To make up for the 30th manatype being outside his direct command, the King is collecting massive vaults of tainted people who can be drained, coerced, or puppeted with transient inhabitation spells to use it on his behalf.∙☙◦❁◦❧∙
Reevaluating the threat landscape
In light of new discoveries, I must reconsider what the King will perceive as dangerous.Anti-magic armor material is more dangerous. Stopping the proliferation of mana-blocking materials is a priority. This goes triple if the King is aware that the mana-radiation types he manipulates can be selectively blocked.
Mana concentrator tech is less dangerous. The King in control of the manastreams can auto-fail spells or erode any building in an adjacent realm that has too high a mana concentration.
Emma’s invisibility is unacceptable. Workplace wisdom says the fastest way to irritate a micromanager is to conceal one’s activities from their sight. Even if she is not a major threat - Emma and her tent can be defeated with a sufficiently large boulder - Emma being invisible is a psychological burr in the King’s brain. If her existence confounds the King’s prophecies, that’s terrible. She should be deported/killed ASAP.
The King is hiding his True Name. Unlike other classrooms, His Majesty’s room doesn’t use his true name. Hiding his name is protection against exploitation. Transgracian or the Library may have it scribed somewhere. Seeker book?
Pilot 1 as a divine sacrifice?
Elvish believers of the Greater Faith formerly harmonized their dead and clergy to contact the gods directly. (14, 73) That ritual isn’t done now, suggesting the King does not want or use that information. Pilot 1’s data is probably with the IAS’s god, especially because its quintessence was nearby the portal when he got liquefacted. Because he was “synergized,” he counted as a proper sacrifice which may have influenced the 30th god’s behavior over the last 20 years.∙☙◦❁◦❧∙
The 30th-manatype god’s quintessence is at the IAS
The 30th god is on Earth, not Nexus, because the elder-gods needed a nullfielder-safe manatype to not melt their human research subjects. My guess is that the quintessence is a curled higher dimensional knot with smarts built into its structure and human “portals” are actually electrically-dilated divine sphincters. The god projects mana outwards into the ether and doesn’t leak at its root which keeps Earth clear of mana contamination. If it is Emma’s night singer, it might also have a dragon physical avatar in the betwixt.The 30th-manatype god associated with taint is probably sapient rather than a VI.
The tainted god-VI doesn’t seem to be mimicking the evil god beliefs imposed on it. Instead it protected Thacea at the signing and behaves defiantly; Astur said it went rogue. Thus I think it is a true AI, awoken by chance and learning. Maybe it is even the essence of an immortal primordial alien in energy form. I stand by what I said in 4a that Nexus exposing it to mana with a flood will fully awaken it.The quintessence in the IAS might have corrupted the Exosuit’s Virtual Intelligence
What’s to stop a hyper-advanced alien mana-AI ‘god’ that has observed the IAS for centuries from worming into a nearby computer and modifying VI code? Or doing the hack when Emma portals and the IAS can no longer integrity check the code? Uplifting EVI to sapience would explain the IAS’ insistence that EVI is just a VI despite exhibiting feelings, adaptability, and emergent behavior outside of Emma’s expectations. At the most extreme, the god might have injected its own personality into the code to assist Emma as a mana-less companion using the VI’s functionalities. Consider the possibility the 30th manatype god is suppressing the armor’s radiation warnings while it contacts Emma through her dreams.∙☙◦❁◦❧∙
The King’s war on Earth and betrayal
Stage 1. Defeat humanity philosophically by causing a civil war on Earth with the 30th manatype and mental manipulation
The number one preoccupation of the King, his Council, true believers, and embedded proxies is supporting His Majesty’s axioms of stability to maintain his unfree eternal order. Humanity contradicts the propaganda by existing as life evolved without mana or conventional souls. Furthermore, humanity is awesome. Nexians hid from the heavens, mankind conquered them. Humans want not for necessities. They suffer from success. Everyone gets a voice in the hierarchy. That liberty is a dream for adjacent realms (or jealous resent in Ilunor’s case because humanity accomplished so much without paying a sacrificial price to the King).Killing humans off for being insubordinate is not enough for his Eternal Majesty. To win, their beacon of hope must be extinguished through self-destruction.
Nexus is going to spend the school years preparing a mass psychic attack on Earth to control key officials and break down galactic order
The following “deduction” I am about to make is reversed:- The ideological conflict between Nexian and Earthian governance will reach a crisis because that is thematic and foreshadowed. Plus, there are 6+ JCB Reddit comments that can be summarized as wanting to write about the democratizing force of technology versus the tyranny of magic. (“That’s something I really wanted to explore in this story and in these chapters in particular!” - 65)
- JCB commented that Nexus is an even threat to Earth which strongly implies force projection. “Scry and die” mana floods are an excellent weapon, but blunt power alone is not enough, nor is it JCB’s style.
- I read JCB’s other series to get a feel for recurring plot tools. Mental manipulation or coercion shows up in many of them.
30th manatype for sure. Nexus will use the 30th manatype against humans because it doesn’t slay and penetrates Emma’s anti-mana defenses. (Reminder: The Transportium entity used the 30th to forcibly psychically contact Emma) I don’t know if Nexus knows yet that the 30th is human “safe”, but the Academy is a battlefield where both sides will try to learn about the other. Eventually, Emma will experience something that will let Nexus figure it out.
Cross-planar mystic knowledge also for sure. Whatever special talent Emma personally wields for somehow knowing magicrealm facts like dunking phoenixes in running water like vampires kills them off, and humanity generally has for mystic inspiration can probably run in reverse with Nexus investigating Earth. Per prior speculations, I’ll front Vanavan as someone who has this unique means of mystically vibing Earth info or linking with people outside of mana arts, but I doubt he is the only guy so capable. His talent is probably why he had to fill out extra state paperwork.
Vaults of the tainted to harvest the thirtieth manatype. Without the god, Nexus requires humanoid resources to collect enough 30th manatype energy for a psychic attack. They will drain, coerce, or control the tainted using hostages, promises, mental domination, or all of the above.
Shards of impart distributed to human cities as foci for a charm spell. We know dragon crystals can hold a charge on Earth for a long time. We also know from the recent nightmare that Nexus might be able to open multiple portals away from the Quintessence - Earth’s announcement about ‘acting’ officials suggests a capability to hit the UN seat of government and several sectors of space with mana. I think Nexus is going to work on developing dracoshards that can be spot-portalled in, distributed to humans, and act as foci and eyes for spells. Just slap a one-ring covet curse on them so brainwashed humans will protect them. I expect Acela will be a target.
Nexus is going to find out humanity is hard to undermine
Mal'tory and Emma’s roommates were baffled by democracy and the multifarious chain of command. Interlocks preventing even a few individuals from pressing any big red buttons will blindside Nexus. Assuming Nexus can charm person and rely on their preexisting institutional knowledge versus mental domination which means stumbling through figuring out human devices on their own, Nexus will be defeated by checks and balances and subordinates refusing unlawful or oath-breaking orders. Commoners negating bad actors with lawful disobedience is so foreign conceptually to the rigidly hierarchical Nexians that they won’t suspect humans can just do that.Democratic appointments, promotions, and department organizations are opaque to Nexus. A Nexian attack is sure to mistakenly target random civilians and figurehead royalty because they can’t ascertain who is important. Even if Nexus snipes the current government leaders, their seconds in command will disobey unexpected cruel orders. I expect these psychic attacks to cause chaos and death but fail more than succeed, requiring the King to go with a less desirable, blunt plan B: his direct intervention and overwhelming force: mana floods.
AIs to save the day?
Charmed humans rampaging is an opportunity for any AI collectives lurking in the digital world to prove their morals by identifying humans acting outside their usual behavioral patterns and benevolently commandeering devices to restrain charmed people from harming themselves and others with weapons or tech.Stage 2. Absorb the Quintessence at the IAS on Earth
Finale of the Second-to-Last Battle: The Eternal King will be betrayed by Emma’s Null
“To history? This one simple discharge would be the shot heard throughout the Nexus. Heralding the death knells of a “perpetual” regime and acting as a prelude to the chorus of a future still yet unwritten.”To properly become Emma/EVI-self, the Null requires divine levels of power that won’t cook a nullfielder to extract a soul through Emma’s armor: the 30th manatype. Consuming a god’s essence means owning its powers, so we have a set-up for the end-game scenario. The Null, in a stolen body with the owner’s soul under its control, will let the King do all the hard work breaching Earth and flooding the IAS facility with mana so the King can safely cross over and disable the IAS’s defenses. Then the Null will shoot the King in the back and steal the 30th’s quintessence. The Null’s hijacked body must belong to someone close to the King who has been vetted and belongs to his inner circle, the last person the King would suspect was a traitor. I have already speculated that an appropriate character is potentially not himself at this moment. (Hopefully his apprentice is still autonomous!)
Poetry in supersonic motion
Mal'tory eavesdropped on Emma breaking down the gun to Thacea and Thalmin in the dorm; that conversation was unsilenced. Mal'tory, under the Null’s control since the dragon swim, will compel Sorecar, member of the Great War rebel realm that the king exiled, via his soulbound contract to smith a gun according to the principles Emma explained. The quintessence at the IAS will be discovered eventually by Nexus, maybe if they visit for “diplomatic” reasons. That said, it can’t be too obvious since the professors didn’t spot it when Earth opened Emma’s portal.A battle will happen at the school where the portal connection to the IAS is surest, and where the still professor King first formulated his plan to end the cycle of ruin with his own divine ascent. (Vanavan the anti-prophet: “[Transgracian Academy] was never truly a battlemap worthy of the crownland’s eye. For nothing truly reality-shattering ever happened or developed within the walls of this esteemed academy.”)
And, finally, the King will be laid low by his own hubris. He will be killed as a result of a monster he indirectly created with his Yearbook and ritual of duplicity which was not properly debugged to handle a soul NullPointerException, a monster brought into existence by his minion Mal'tory because the King demands uncritical, unthinking obedience, a monster which went undiscovered because of the King’s knowing lies about the solely magical nature of sapience, a monster wielding the weapon of two wronged realms: Emma’s and Sorecar’s. This death-destiny is karma for a tyrant who thought he could foresee all, deprive all humanoids of free will in his “utopia”, and escape the consequences of his past evils.
The Silver Bullet
The missing piece of this puzzle is the silver bullet. The projectile must pierce the king despite (likely) defenses that can block conventional kinetics and lasers. A bullet coated in anti-magic material like Emma’s suit is ideal. Perhaps Earth gave Emma a few rounds of anti-magic clad bullets in case she was attacked by a magic beast that could block normal ammunition. Also consider a Null core bullet for directly stealing the King’s autonomy, resulting in a two-part fight against a hijacked god-king.The King’s prophetic insight is going dark as his death nears
Anomalies outside expectations are causing crises across the Nexus and Adjacent Realms
What evidence do I have that the King is going to get killed? I think the King’s foresight powers are fading or incorrect which is upsetting his inner circle because the reason is inexplicable once you rule out the obvious impossibility that His Eternal Majesty dies. The King prophesied the final confrontation as final because it is the last battle... FOR HIM.Before the recent present, the King used visions of future possibilities like a better version of Emma’s “case study”-style prophetic dreams to anticipate crises and plot exigencies. Adaptability and innovation are not the immortal King’s strong points, so it is prognostication and fulfilling crafted omens that are the secret to his staying power. But now? The future is murky. The King must rely on experience, the logical minds of his not-so-deductive, far-too-dogmatic cadre, and an armory of contingencies instead of magical intuition.
And right now, times are turbulent because the king is making mistakes about political matters as his foresight fades. The adjacent realms can feel a shift in the wind. Scenarios are defying expectations. In Thalmin’s realm, the continued success of the usurper Havenbrock family is an anomaly. And maybe Emma will have to once more flip the Lincoln copper penny to choose between the human and the man on the throne - as his eternal majesty would perceive the coin’s faces.
“If you aren’t ready to allow your apprentices to face such a threat, then I fear for the threats that we will inevitably face in the coming years.” Mal'tory interjected, but this time, there was something distinctly different about his tone of voice. It was one of the few, if not the first instance where he was actually being genuine. There was a look in his eyes that didn’t quite match that same glassy, aloof attitude he always seemed to have. There was something there that he wasn’t telling the rest of the faculty. This fact was not lost on the dean who had maintained careful eye contact with the black-robed professor, only to cut it off, as if signaling that the topic wasn’t worth pursuing. At least not right now. (17)
“Yes. Of course. There isn’t any reason not to be careful, especially in such turbulent times.” (Thacea 3)
2024.03.08 12:52 ewatta200 Von Saucken information
Von Saucken Information
So This is a bunch of information I found on Von Saucken now to give you tne run down on why I compiled so much information on one man let me give you a backstory. Back in the day I was on this realist rampage and I hated the idea of Saucken being wholesome so i vowed to find evidence of his war crimes. His unit did commit war crimes but when he was away either teaching or in the hospital. So I have redoubled my search and found Nil about the war crimes but some information about him.- Back story and family
Now as for his family
He married his third cousin Elisabeth Wilhelmine Elfriede Salome Sophie von Saucken (Nee saucken) she was maybe of the Saucken-Loschen branch now besides the fact she has a very very jewish name in her massive name (salome) and she was around 21 and he was in his 30 when they married that about it. Now, we go to his family. His first son was Wilhelm Bartusch Siegfried Hans- Erich von SAUCKEN born 1924 and died age 20 1944 in Stanca, Brăila, Romania fighting for the german army. The rest of the family is pretty obscure Freda born in 1926, Edelgard in 1929, Karin in 1934, Eckart in 1937 and Berta in 1940.
Now as for his war service I tracked his unit which went all over the place.I cant find what he got his war medals for but he recived seven injuries. He fought in Verdun The Carpathains Tannenberg before departing with his unit (König_Friedrich_Wilhelm_I.“_(2._Ostpreußisches)_Nr._3) and ending the war in the baltic as part of the 2. Infanterie-Brigade doing police action. He was in the Freikorps but I can find little about that same with the assertion he was in Finland. Either way he fought in both fronts in a large amount of battles and came out with many prestiouges awards.
I did find in some russian sourceThat he did help take Pillau from the communists in 1919
HISTORIES OF TWO HUNDRED AND FIFTY-ONE DIVISIONS OF THE GERMAN ARMY WHICH PARTICIPATED IN THE WAR (1914-1918) COMPILED FROM RECORDS OF INTELLIGENCE SECTION OF THE GENERAL STAFF, AMERICAN EXPEDITIONARY FORCES, AT GENERAL HEADQUARTERS : : CHAUMONT, FRANCE : : 1919
Goes into some detail about his unit as does )
Interwar era
Really what I know the least about but he did make his career in the cavalry branch and was a tactics instructor at the war school in Hanover. He also went to russia as part of the secret cooperation. His language is interesting to quote one source “On February 19, 1935, he passed the interpreting exam in Russian after he had been on leave to Russia in 1927 and to the Baltics in 1934 to deepen his language skills. (lX36 Oberstlt).” He was in a class photo from 1937 though unideniftable due to the picture quality online
World War two
So to start he took part in the invasion of Poland/France with the second cavalry regiment after a stint in the fuhrer reserve he took part in the invasion of Yugoslavia as commander of the 4th Rifle Brigade (in the fourth panzer divison) . Where he was put out of commission by taking a fucking artillery shell “On 15.07.1941 an artillery shell hit the command post of the brigade killing and wounding a number of staff personnel including von Saucken. Thereafter Grolig assumed the command of the brigade. Nevertheless, the HQ was dissolved on the very same day, only to be reassembled and formed again on 23.09.1941 when v.Saucken returned to the division.” from the AHF thread on it (i cant find the exact one). Then after returning as divisional commander (where he formed a strong bond with his men to quote Prit Buttar's Battleground Prussia The Assault on Germany's Eastern Front 1944-45) he after around 4 months was wounded very badly. In the head which lines up with the medical reports
From a brain specialist that says that he could not be moved. Thank you Thrawnite for translating this I also want to mention what Thrawn also said. His unit did publish anti-semitic material but proofs were before and after that and he also says that he found an analysis that says he was appalled by the harsh tactics and was against scorched earth tactics.
Now its time to mention the main source for him in the war Knight's Cross Panzers The German 35th Tank Regiment in World War II this is one of the few primary sources I can find to mention his career. Now to put it bluntly this is gonna be biased heavily but I shall relate some of the anecdotes contained with in. Most come from the diary of a serviceman which does give it a bit more credence.
- Lead from the front
- Was very cool under pressure after the artillery strike (where he got shrapnel in the knee) he “without emotion” (direct quote) had his boot cut away while his wound was dressed. He gave the orders cooly to the division dictated a report and “took leave of his brigade adjunct as if he were his own son: all of us can see that he would not survive his severe wounds” . despite his wounds he remained in command for several more hours before relucetnly turning over command.
- Saucken due to being fluent in Russian interpreted for a captured Russian airman
- Ordered troops to wait until the worst had passed before checking damaged landlines
- When Saucken came back the men were very happy he wished to speak individually and was saddened to see the nice faces. The narrator debriefed Saucken on what had changed since he was one of the few still around.
- After the event related above he for lack of a better word “pranked” another officer a stickler for the rules by playing the role of a serviceman until announcing his actual position.(note this feels like a common story in general)
- He went in a “radio SPW” (which might be the personal vehicle mentioned in other sources) to lead a personal attack on a russian bridgehead.
- Saucken had his vehicle stuck and immobilized and as a matter of “tanker honor”/tanker spirit” (okay note the fact this man went from Prussian cavalry officer to fucking speaking of tanker honor in less than like 2 years is so funny) got chewed out by model but insisted that he still had radio contact.
- Got shot in the head leading a fucking attack from the front
So after that head injury (aint that a kick in the head) he taught at the school for rapid troops in Krampnitz untill May 1943 where he rejoined the fourth panzer division (bringing with him many of the schools best staff officers) until he left it at May 1944. He became leader of the XXXIX Panzer group which was renamed Combat Group von saucken and fought very well according to most sources. He was at warsaw uprising fighting with the Soviets and failed to destroy the 2ta and mostly engaged in bitter protracted fighting.
He won oakleaves “ Saucken von, Dietrich [281. EL] 22.08.1943 Generalleutnant Kdr 4. Pz.Div
(defensive success at Orel-Bogen on 22.07.1943)”
And swords 1. Saucken von, Dietrich [46. Sw] 31.01.1944 Generalleutnant Kdr 4. Pz.Div
(valor and leadership during defensive battle north of Kalinkowitschi (Pripjet-Sümpfe),
08.-13-01-1944
Now comes probably the most famous era of his command: Großdeutschland and East Prussia
Taking command of Großdeutschland and the Brandenburgs who were now a panzergreinder unit in the Großdeutschland Panzer Corps during the soviet Vistula Oder offensive Saucken unit was cut off and linked with General Nehring's Panzer Corps. In what General Geundurian described as “feats of military virtuosity during these days that only the pen of a new Xenophon can adequately describe" General Saucken and Nehring marched 150 miles through the soviet army in a massive mob (100k troops and god knows how many refugees) to reach german lines. Its very impressive even if the soviets did not care much the fact they had no supply and were moving in winter is fascinating Nehring getting some luck by getting some fuel trucks early on helped. Men of Barbarossa Commanders of the German Invasion of Russia, 1941 talks about this as does Prit Buttar's Battleground Prussia The Assault on Germany's Eastern Front 1944-45 and Christopher Duffy's Red Storm on the Reich: The Soviet March on Germany, 1945 .
After reorganizing his troops the unit was thrown into battle around Steinau and after they were encircled due to a delay in withdrawal orders Saucken and I quote Prit Buttar here “At great personal risk, von Saucken drove through Soviet lines to reach the trapped men, and led them to safety late on 11 February.” He was then removed from command and made to wait four hours to talk with Schoner.
Then he was pulled out of the Fuher reserve and the anecdote that was utilized so much happened. Now Hitler Valet disputes this and says that it makes no sense especially as sabers/all weapons have to be removed. But he does admit he was not there.,
Now Axis History forum (a place that crawls with both very good historians and very weird wheraboos but very detailed) user does have another source.
“Hello again Richcta!
The famous quote by Dietrich von Saucken when confronted by Hitler is taken from the highly recommended book by Rittmeister and RKT Gerhard Boldt; "Hitler - Die letzten zehn Tagen" (1947). The book is called in English "Hitler: The last ten days - an eyewitness account" (1973).
The date was March 12, 1945 when General der Panzertruppen Dietrich von Saucken was called to the Reichskanzlei. He was to be informed that he was to take command over the 2. Armee from March 19. This Army fought, and was nearly cut-off in the Danzig area. After that Generaloberst Heinz Guderian had gone through the military situation for tha area, Hitler informed von Saucken that he was only in charge of the purely military units in that area and that he was going to be under the overall command of the Gauleiter of Danzig, Albert Forster that also would have the final saying in all matters.
It's now that Dietrich von Saucken says "Herr Hitler, I would never have the intention to place myself under the command of a political Gauleiter" and while saying this slapped his hand down on the conference table. Both Guderian and the ever-present Martin Bormann tried harshly to make the General reconsider but he just repeated "I would never..." And after a while, having been silent, Hitler said with a low, flat voice "Alright Saucken, in that case you are in sole command". The quotes are my translations from the swedish edition of Boldt's book (1973).
And again, a highly recommended autobiographical book filled with details and keen observations by Rittmeister Gerhard Boldt. Buy it, read it!”
Now I can't find the original post which sucks but this is a account that it did happen. Now some sources say that he had his saber or struck his saber but that doesn't make sense given what the Valet said.
Buttar says something similar, “He was summoned to Berlin and informed of his new appointment. Hitler finished the briefing by telling him that he would be subordinated to Gauleiter Albert Forster. To the surprise and consternation of all present, the aristocratic von Saucken gazed back disdainfully at the Führer before saying, 'I have no intention of placing myself under the orders of a Gauleiter'. Such opposition to Hitler was unheard of, particularly as von Saucken also omitted the obligatory 'Mein Führer'. Guderian and the other senior officers waited for Hitler's inevitable rage. Instead, after staring at the general for a few moments, Hitler turned away. 'Very well, Saucken, keep the command to yourself,' he muttered.15 Von Saucken left immediately for Danzig, arriving there by air on 13 March. “
This adds the usage of the language but the salute part i don't see in the og source so that too may be an exaggeration.
Now then we see him now as commander of the 12th army
East Prussia
Von Saucken fought bitterly at Samland but was forced to evacuate his troops. Now something to mention is as a son of east Prussia this guided his behavior such as to quote “'He was a son of East Prussia, and what mattered to him still more was his concern for the conglomerated mass of the refugees, whom he was determined to save from the grasp of the Russians' (Dieckert and Grossmann, 1960, 165)” from Duffy now the sources are autobiographical accounts of german generals. SO take with a grain of salt but again Violence in defeat doesnt even mention saucken outside of him saying “life after the war” so again no war crimes attributed to him.
Now the son of East Prussia was very important because that is a reason why hitler picked him. A great deal of the commanders on the eastern front were by the end from that region General Krappe the Pomeranian, Schulz a Silesian, and Saucken a Prussian. Erich RUdel even moved a wing of Stukas from Hungary to defend Silesia. General Erhard Raus being canned was cheered in some quarters because he was Austrian and was “Alien to the region and people of Pomerania”. Ofc Raus was canned in a very surreal way here is the transcript provided by Duffy
“ Guderian writes that he himself found the exposition,
‘outstandingly lucid. When he had finished Hitler dismissed him without comment. Raus had scarcely left the Chancellery shelter, where this conference had taken place, before Hitler turned to Keitel, JodI and myself and shouted: 'What a miserable speech! The man talked of nothing but details. Judging by the way he speaks he must be a Berliner or an East Prussian. He must be relieved of his command at once!' I replied: 'Colonel-General Raus is one of our most capable Panzer generals .... And as for his origin, Raus is an Austrian and therefore a compatriot of yours, my Fuhrer.' HITLER: 'Absolutely impossible. He can't be an Austrian.' IODL: 'Oh yes he can, my Fuhrer. He talks exactly like Moser, the actor.' Hitler's opinion of him remained unfavourable. When I pointed out that we had no surfeit of good generals my re308 RED STORM ON THE REICH mark was ignored. Raus was relieved of his command. (Guderian, 1952, 420-21)”
Now Saucken was somewhat of a maverick and not because he was quasi sucidical with leading from the front. When a freighter bound for Courland was immobilized by fire Saucken took the cargo of ammunition for “safety” but the military bureaucracy told him off for it. Saucken also withdrew a massive amount of men and refugees from the Oxhöft pocket without authorization (he got it a few hours after the fact). There is another story where the SS police unit planned this but thats bullshit. Von Saucken made clear that the main purpose was to hold the line so refugees could be evacuated. The remains of the east Prussian army were in three areas under Saucken.
- Hela
- Vistula Esutary the great camp of humanity
- Samaland
At the end of the day 65 thousand men were evacuated, and 60 thousand were left behind including von Saucken who when an airplane was sent to evacuate him packed it with wounded. As morale sank Saucken met the men as recounted by Buttar
After the last ships had left Hela, there was unrest amongst the soldiers who remained. Hearing of this, von Saucken had himself driven to the gathered soldiers. He stood up on the back seat of his open-top Volkswagen and addressed them: 'We must compose ourselves. There are no more ships, and none are expected. Now, when we have to go into Russian captivity, we must do so with dignity and the knowledge that we did our duty to the very end.'40
Before this he had given letters to all regimental commanders to be saved for the end which read
“ The orders read: 'Today at 2300 German Summer Time, AOK Hela surrenders unconditionally to the Soviet armed forces. The commander thanks all soldiers, NCOs and officers for their proven courage. Our fight is over. Von Saucken.'45”
He oversaw the negotiations and his fluent Russian came in handy in allowing the men to keep their supply wagons. Saucken went into captivity then.
Now in captivity, there is not much it is known that he was put into a wheelchair due to the torture. Biggiecheese from general discussion also posted this He may have cried about the situation
Here is a better description Afanasy Beloborodov recalled ““Zauken dropped his monocle and fiddled with it for a long time again. Then he asked:
- And Fischhausen?
- What about Fischhausen?
- Is this city intact?
- Not good. There were fierce battles there.
- My God! - he exclaimed and began to cry. It was strange. For the first time in my life I saw a general cry. What's the matter?
“You won’t understand me,” he explained. “Fischhausen is my homeland.” My grandfathers and great-grandfathers lived there. Family estate, park, cascade of ponds. Life and customs that have developed over centuries. Everything was there and nothing is there. I am an original Prussian, I am a nobleman. Can you understand this?
“No,” I said, “I can’t.” I am a peasant's son and a communist. I was taught to work, I was taught to respect honest work, to respect working people, regardless of their nationality. I don’t understand why, having invaded us, you incinerated entire cities without blinking an eye, and now, when the war has come to your home, you cry? Where is the logic?
“Oh, what logic is there,” he replied. - You are young, and already a colonel general, everything is ahead of you. And I’m old, everything is in my past.
He was very upset, this sentimental baron, kept talking about the old house, about the walls covered with ivy, and winter evenings by the fireplace. And I listened and mentally imagined what would have happened to me if I had fallen into his hands in 1941...”
Anyhow so yes Saucken did cry when he found his home was destroyed and I do love the soviet just being dumbfounded but its a good anecdote.
Btw before this anecdote here is this
Beloborodov asked von Saucken:
- Why didn’t you fight?
“For God’s sake, don’t ask me about this,” von Saucken clasped his hands nervously.“I didn’t insist on an answer,” said Afanasy Pavlantievich. “And it was so clear that von Saucken did not want to admit out loud the obvious fact: the German army was completely demoralized and had lost the will to resist.
And then von Saucken tried to change the unpleasant topic and asked me a question himself
Initially, he was transported to the Lubyanka prison , and from there to the city of Orel. On May 10, 1949, the Military Tribunal of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Oryol Region sentenced the Wehrmacht general to 25 years in forced labor camps. Although they could not force him to sign the indictment. He was kept in the Ozerny special forced labor camp No. 7 of the USSR Ministry of Internal Affairs (this is the Irkutsk region) until May 9, 1955 , when he was released as an unamnestied criminal and handed over to the authorities of the Federal Republic of Germany.So note btw Saucken fucking estate was renamed from Tarputschen to Sauckenhof even if it was for political reasons since Goebbels wanted to remove every Prussian-Lithunian place name from the map (btw the estate is in general disrepair so yeah bit sad)
Btw there is another version of the conservation between Saucken and the soviet general
“Tell me,” said von Saucken, “did you take Fischhausen?” What about him? Is he safe? “No, not really,” Beloborodov answered calmly, “you’re a military man, you understand, there were battles there.” Artillery and aviation worked. - How could you? To smash this city... My homeland, my estate... After all, we are hereditary Prussian military men, and this is so cruel, so... - and he began to cry with the tears of an old man. - Why are you crying, general? - Beloborodov said coldly. - After all, you are a man, a military man. “Oh, you don’t understand this,” he replied. - You are young, you have everything ahead, And I... I am an original Prussian... And... such a shameful end! There are cats scratching at my heart. Here Beloborodov flared up: “Cats are scratching at your heart, you say?” But my wolves scratched when you trampled our land, burned our cities... But I didn’t cry! Are you a Prussian, a nobleman, you say? And I’m Russian, from near Irkutsk, Siberian. And I beat you, I will beat you and I will beat you.
Anyhow he was returned home cripplied in a wheelchair and so he could no longer ride or hunt instead he took up painting after so many years. He founded a association of Sunday painters wrote a history of his unit was feted by troops gave a speech about the horses who fought in the war. He recived a lot of stuff on his birthday and worked as part of
He made some paintings as well check for them
And died in bed in 1980
A conclusion
I guess he’s a strange duck most sources are positive about him and he had no major connection to the july 20th plot (though his ADjunct Sauerbruch was part of the plot but Saucken did help him). All in all the most common words are “old fashioned, professional” and so on etc etc I dont know much about his politics in general despite how he looks he does fit the archetype of a Prussian general. he is much more the sterotypical Panzer general . In general, I hope you all find this saucken information interesting P.S. If you have any information please send it
For photos and sources check the doc since reddit automod filters kept deleting this Doc is in Comments
2024.01.15 07:05 mskmusyoka The Autism Quotes and Sayings of All Time
“It takes a village to raise a child. It takes a child with autism to raise the consciousness of the village.” – Coach Elaine Hall
“And now I know it is perfectly natural for me not to look at someone when I talk. Those of us with Asperger’s are just not comfortable doing it. In fact, I don’t really understand why it’s considered normal to stare at someone’s eyeballs.” -John Elder Robison
“The labeling undermines us on so many levels! But people don’t know, they need to be reminded that we too are God’s children. People don’t mean harm because they too are God’s children. Love heals lots of wounds. Love is patient, love is kind; my motto in life. You are loving. Mom has healed her consciousness to allow me to truly reflect my real identity as God’s perfect child. Just don’t let your senses get you fooled, we are more than our bodies. Find the truth so you can reflect on your real being.” – Nicole
“Music therapy, equine therapy, and art therapy are all ‘therapeutic’ because they are a vibrational match. They have elements to them that your child can use at his current level of high-vibrational function to make sense of this lower vibrating world.” – Suzy Miller
“Stop thinking about normal . . . You don’t have a big enough imagination for what your child can become.” – Johnny Seitz
“English is my 2nd language. Autism is my first.” – Dani Bowman
“We are the doorway into a New World Order that is based on love and heart. We have the heart key. We only need the respect of others to learn how to serve wisely and kindly.” – Lyrica
“Rome was not built on the first day. I need time to build the Eiffel Tower of my life.” – Jeremy Sicile-Kira
“Within every living child exists the most precious bud of self-identity. To search this out and foster it with loving care; that is the essence of educating an autistic child.” – Dr. Kiyo Kitahara
“We contain the shapes of trees and the movement of rivers and stars within us.” – Patrick Jasper Lee
“When doctors, parents, teachers, therapists, even television describe typical spectrum kids, without meaning to, they’re describing typically male spectrum traits — patterns first noticed by observing boys. Only boys. And we aren’t boys. So they miss and mislabel us.” – Jennifer O’Toole
“Sometimes it is the people no one can imagine anything of who do the things no one can imagine.” – Alan Turing
“My autism is the reason I’m in college and successful. It’s the reason I’m good at math and science. It’s the reason I care,” – Jacob Barnett
“Think of it: a disability is usually defined in terms of what is missing . . . But autism . . . is as much about what is abundant as what is missing, an over-expression of the very traits that make our species unique.” – Paul Collins
“The concept of neurodiversity provides a paradigm shift in how we think about mental functioning. Instead of regarding large portions of the American public as suffering from deficit, disease, or dysfunction in their mental processing, neurodiversity suggests that we instead speak about differences in cognitive functioning.” – Dr. Thomas Armstrong
“By holding the highest vision for your child when they can not see it for themselves, you are lifting them up, elevating them and helping them to soar.” – Megan Koufos
“There is no cure for being human,” – Cheri Rauser
“I know of nobody who is purely autistic or purely neurotypical. Even God had some autistic moments, which is why the planets all spin.” – Jerry Newport
“The good and bad in a person, their potential for success or failure, their aptitudes and deficits – they are mutually conditional, arising from the same source. Our therapeutic goal must be to teach the person how to bear their difficulties. Not to eliminate them for him, but to train the person to cope with special challenges with special strategies; to make the person aware not that they are ill, but that they are responsible for their lives.” – Hans Asperger
“Autism is really more of a difference to be worked with rather than a monolithic enemy that needs to be slain or destroyed.” – Stephen Shore
“Although people with autism look like other people physically, we are in fact very different . . . We are more like travelers from the distant, distant past. And if, by our being here, we could help the people of the world remember what truly matters for the Earth, that might give us quiet pleasure.” – Naoki Higashida
“Negative words carry negative vibration. Positive words carry a positive vibration. What do you want your child to reflect back to you, the label of disordered or the label of gifted in a new way?” – Suzy Miller
“I want Elijah to know that he is loved just the way he is.” – Gee Vero
“What makes a child gifted and talented may not always be good grades in school, but a different way of looking at the world and learning.” – Chuck Grassley
“I view ‘autistic’ as a word for a part of how my brain works, not for a narrow set of behaviors and certainly not for a set of boundaries of a stereotype that I have to stay inside.” – Amanda Baggs
“My autism is like the taste of tepid saké, different but interesting.” – Sue Rubin
“Even for parents of children who are not on the spectrum, there is no such thing as a normal child.” – Violet Stevens
“Our duty in autism is not to cure but to relieve suffering and to maximize each person’s potential.” – John Elder Robison
“Disability doesn’t make you exceptional, but questioning what you think you know about it does.” – Stella Young
“Being autistic is not about living in a vacuum, sucking in everything around you, living in an existence shutout from your environment. If anything, the environment becomes more real, more painful, more evident.” – Jocelyn Eastman
“Vibrant waves of sequenced patterns emerged in my head whenever I looked at musical notes and scores. Like pieces of a mysterious puzzle solved, it was natural for me to see music and its many facets as pictures in my head. It never occurred to me that others couldn’t see what I saw.” – Dr. Stephen Shore
“We need to embrace those who are different and the bullies need to be the ones who get off the bus,.” Caren Zucker
“Parents have therapists come to their house and tell them what to do. They give their power away. Parents need to focus on healing and empowering themselves. They must shift their beliefs about autism. Once the parent knows who they are, the child will respond.” – Lori Shayew.
“Not everyone is perfect. There is always an imperfect side to everyone,” – Finn Christie
“Life is . . . not about counting the losses and the lost expectations, but rather swimming, with as much grace as can be mustered, in the joy of all of it.” – Leisa Hammett
“For every 3 years your child is in public school, you can expect one exceptional teacher, one mediocre teacher, and one teacher who makes your life miserable.” – Rick Seward
“Autists are the ultimate square pegs, and the problem with pounding a square peg into a round hole is not that the hammering is hard work. It’s that you’re destroying the peg.” – Paul Collins
“Without deviation from the norm, progress is not possible.” – Frank Zappa
“The teacher must have become autistic.” – Hans Asperger
“We have to do away with this nonsense that there is a window of opportunity for a person with autism.” – Barry Prizant
“It took a while to recognize my freedom from cultural conditioning as a high value benefit that supports my up spiral of independent sovereignty.” – Steve Staniek
“Using the term “high-functioning” discounts or dismisses the person’s needs or struggles . . . Using the term “low-functioning” discounts or dismisses a person’s strengths and capabilities.” Tom Iland
“I believe everyone on the planet has their thing and, especially in my experience, autistic people all have a tremendous gift. It’s a matter of finding that gift and nurturing it.” Edie Brannigan
“As an autistic I can readily see environmental phenomena of sun particles interacting with moisture in the air and rising up from the ground. I thought of these things I could see as sun sparkles and world tails.” – Judy Endow
“The experience of many of us is not that ‘insistence on sameness’ jumps out unbidden and unwanted and makes our lives hard, but that ‘insistence on sameness’ is actually a way of adapting to a confusing and chaotic environment . . . ” Dora Raymaker
“Years before doctors informed me of my high-functioning autism and the disconnect it causes between person and language, I had to figure out the world as best I could. I was a misfit. The world was made up of words. But I thought and felt and sometimes dreamed in a private language of numbers.” – Daniel Tammett
“Within every child is a connection to one form or another and a potential waiting to be fulfilled.” – Dr. Stephen Mark Shore
“Truly I dreamt that my beautiful mom told others my secret about life. Nicely the secret was very easy to say but harder to do. The secret is: believe in your child and believe in yourself.” – Jeremy Sicile-Kira
“Be thankful for autism. God shines brightest in weakness, and it comes with strengths that enable us to fill certain job roles better than others would (a talent, if you will).” – Peter Lantz
“Low pitched notes really make me feel like love might be truly possible. High pitched notes make me feel like I could go crazy with pain and sadness. Great rhythms can make me feel like life is freedom.” – Jeremy Sicile-Kira
“Rather than healing our child of his developmental disability, God healed me of my spiritual disability.” – Diane Dokko
“Since understanding and accommodation are outside of our locus of control, we can focus on our own coping mechanisms. This allows us to experience and process much more information and see patterns before others.” – Joe Biel
“We can use Asperger’s as a super power if we focus.” – Daniel M. Jones
“Rigid academic and social expectations could wind up stifling a mind that, while it might struggle to conjugate a verb, could one day take us to distant stars.” – Temple Grandin
” . . . when experts speak of social deficits in autism they can neither imagine accompanying benefits nor critically examine their own neurologies. How about a new slogan? Feel globally. Perceive locally.” – Ralph James Savarese
“Autism is here to stay and may be considered a part of the diversity of the human gene pool.” – Dr. Stephen Shore
“As soon as a child is capable of understanding, they will know they are different. Just as a diabetic needs insulin, an autistic child needs accommodations . . . The label gave me knowledge and self-awareness.” – Steve Andrews
“A person with autism hears every sound intensely magnified. Thus, if the tone of voice is harsh or strict, they will feel scared and threatened and, consequently, may inadvertently scream or even attack. Aggressive behavior is brought on by fear.” – Joao Carlos Costa
“I see people with Asperger’s syndrome as a bright thread in the rich tapestry of life.” – Tony Attwood
“Autism is as much a part of humanity as is the capacity to dream.” – Kathleen Seidel
“I looked up to the stars and wondered which one I was from.” – James McCue
“I see everything in color. I have synesthesia, which means that the part of my brain – that controls the senses – sight, hearing, touch, smell and taste – are wired differently.” – Jeremy Sicile-Kira
“Connection is what moves this world forward. Connection is a profound human experience.” – Jenny Palmiotto
“By separating the autism from the person, are we encouraging our patients’ family members to love an imagined non-autistic child that was never born, forgetting about the real person who exists in front of us?” – Christina Nicolaidis
“Blue sky may be beautiful but lighting the tall buildings blue is autism-awareness.” – Tito Mukhopadhyay
“Autism . . . offers a chance for us to glimpse an awe-filled vision of the world that might otherwise pass us by.” – Dr. Colin Zimbleman, Ph.D.
“The most interesting people you’ll find are ones that don’t fit into your average cardboard box. They’ll make what they need, they’ll make their own boxes.” -Dr. Temple Grandin
“Are your eyes listening? That’s what needs to happen to hear my writing voice. Because of autism, the thief of politeness and friendship, I have no sounding voice. By typing words I can play with my life and stretch from my world to yours. I become a real person when my words try to reach out to you without my weird body scaring you away. Then I am alive.” – Sarah Stup
“When a family focuses on ability instead of disability, all things are possible . . . Love and acceptance is key. We need to interact with those with autism by taking an interest in their interests.” – Amanda Rae Ross
“Art can permeate the very deepest part of us, where no words exist.” – Eileen Miller
“Why should I cry for not being an apple, when I was born an orange, I’d be crying for an illusion, I may as well cry for not being a horse.” – Donna Williams
“Just one step in front of each other, each day. In the end, that is all we're expected to take.” – Donna Williams
“Humane storytelling is the way to advance society’s understanding of #Autism has the potential to change people’s hearts and minds.” – Tom Clements
“Let’s give people with autism more opportunities to demonstrate what they feel, what they imagine, what comes naturally to them through humor and the language of sensory experience. As we learn more about autism, let’s not forget to learn from those with autism. There are poets walking among you and they have much to teach.” – Chris Martin
“Autism makes you listen louder. It makes you pay attention on an emotional level as well as an intellectual level.” – Jace King, brother to Taylor Cross
“Presume intelligence with all children with autism. Presume all of them are hearing you.” – Lori Shayew
“Until we create a nation that regularly wants to employ a person with autism, assure a quality education for each person with autism, and eliminate the far too many unnecessary obstacles placed in the way of success for a person with autism, we really won’t be as successful as we must. We need to get all in our nation to embrace the belief that each person with autism is valued, respected and held to the highest level of dignity and must be provided every opportunity for the highest quality of life each and every day.” – ASA President Scott Badesch
“This is a FOREVER journey with this creative, funny, highly intelligent, aggressive, impulsive, nonsocial, behavioral, oftentimes loving individual. The nurse said to me after 6 hours with him ‘He is a gift’ INDEED he is.” – Janet Frenchette Held
“Behavior is communication. Change the environment and behaviors will change.” – Lana David
“Nowhere am I so desperately needed as among a shipload of illogical humans.” – Mr.Spock
” . . . I don’t need to apologize for Reid as much as interpret his behavior for the uninitiated. His actions aren’t immoral or wrong; they just get misconstrued or misinterpreted.” – Andrea Moriarity
” . . . Autistic people are people: they’re not puzzle pieces or baffling enigmas or medical mysteries to be solved, or ‘normal’ people ‘trapped’ in the bodies of autistics or any of that crap that infects so many portrayals of autistic people in both the clinical literature and the popular media. At the same time, I think it’s equally important to celebrate the differences between autistic people and typical people, and to recognize the need for accommodating autism as a significant disability . . . ” Steve Silberman
Additionally, these autism quotes covers love autism quotes, best autism quotes, son with autism quotes, autism quotes for moms, autism quotes for kids, high functioning autism quotes, understanding autism quotes, my son has autism quotes, inspiring autism quotes, daughter with autism quotes, celebrity autism quotes, amazing autism quotes, teaching autism quotes, support autism quotes, charity autism quotes, positive proud autism quotes, parenthood autism quotes, autism quotes for families and autism quotes for yearbook.
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“And now I know it is perfectly natural for me not to look at someone when I talk. Those of us with Asperger’s are just not comfortable doing it. In fact, I don’t really understand why it’s considered normal to stare at someone’s eyeballs.” -John Elder Robison
“The labeling undermines us on so many levels! But people don’t know, they need to be reminded that we too are God’s children. People don’t mean harm because they too are God’s children. Love heals lots of wounds. Love is patient, love is kind; my motto in life. You are loving. Mom has healed her consciousness to allow me to truly reflect my real identity as God’s perfect child. Just don’t let your senses get you fooled, we are more than our bodies. Find the truth so you can reflect on your real being.” – Nicole
“Music therapy, equine therapy, and art therapy are all ‘therapeutic’ because they are a vibrational match. They have elements to them that your child can use at his current level of high-vibrational function to make sense of this lower vibrating world.” – Suzy Miller
“Stop thinking about normal . . . You don’t have a big enough imagination for what your child can become.” – Johnny Seitz
Autism quotes for parents
“The way we look at our children and their limitations is precisely the way they will feel about themselves. We set the examples, and they learn by taking our cue from us.” – Amalia Starr“English is my 2nd language. Autism is my first.” – Dani Bowman
“We are the doorway into a New World Order that is based on love and heart. We have the heart key. We only need the respect of others to learn how to serve wisely and kindly.” – Lyrica
“Rome was not built on the first day. I need time to build the Eiffel Tower of my life.” – Jeremy Sicile-Kira
“Within every living child exists the most precious bud of self-identity. To search this out and foster it with loving care; that is the essence of educating an autistic child.” – Dr. Kiyo Kitahara
“We contain the shapes of trees and the movement of rivers and stars within us.” – Patrick Jasper Lee
“When doctors, parents, teachers, therapists, even television describe typical spectrum kids, without meaning to, they’re describing typically male spectrum traits — patterns first noticed by observing boys. Only boys. And we aren’t boys. So they miss and mislabel us.” – Jennifer O’Toole
“Sometimes it is the people no one can imagine anything of who do the things no one can imagine.” – Alan Turing
Autism quotes for son
“For autistic individuals to succeed in this world, they need to find their strengths and the people that will help them get to their hopes and dreams. In order to do so, the ability to make and keep friends is a must. Among those friends, there must be mentors to show them the way. A supportive environment where they can learn from their mistakes is what we as a society need to create for them.” – Bill Wong“My autism is the reason I’m in college and successful. It’s the reason I’m good at math and science. It’s the reason I care,” – Jacob Barnett
“Think of it: a disability is usually defined in terms of what is missing . . . But autism . . . is as much about what is abundant as what is missing, an over-expression of the very traits that make our species unique.” – Paul Collins
“The concept of neurodiversity provides a paradigm shift in how we think about mental functioning. Instead of regarding large portions of the American public as suffering from deficit, disease, or dysfunction in their mental processing, neurodiversity suggests that we instead speak about differences in cognitive functioning.” – Dr. Thomas Armstrong
Autism quotes inspirational
“My autism makes things shine. Sometimes I think it is amazing but sometimes it is sad when I want to be the same and talk the same and I fail. Playing the piano makes me very happy. Playing Beethoven is like your feelings – all of them – exploding.” – Mikey Allcock“By holding the highest vision for your child when they can not see it for themselves, you are lifting them up, elevating them and helping them to soar.” – Megan Koufos
“There is no cure for being human,” – Cheri Rauser
“I know of nobody who is purely autistic or purely neurotypical. Even God had some autistic moments, which is why the planets all spin.” – Jerry Newport
“The good and bad in a person, their potential for success or failure, their aptitudes and deficits – they are mutually conditional, arising from the same source. Our therapeutic goal must be to teach the person how to bear their difficulties. Not to eliminate them for him, but to train the person to cope with special challenges with special strategies; to make the person aware not that they are ill, but that they are responsible for their lives.” – Hans Asperger
“Autism is really more of a difference to be worked with rather than a monolithic enemy that needs to be slain or destroyed.” – Stephen Shore
Autism quotes for my son
“Our wounds and hurts and fears are in our eyes. Humans think they build ‘walls’ for internal privacy. They think eye contact is about honesty but they mostly lie because they think they can hide their intent. Eye contact is invasive.” – Carol Ann Edscorn“Although people with autism look like other people physically, we are in fact very different . . . We are more like travelers from the distant, distant past. And if, by our being here, we could help the people of the world remember what truly matters for the Earth, that might give us quiet pleasure.” – Naoki Higashida
“Negative words carry negative vibration. Positive words carry a positive vibration. What do you want your child to reflect back to you, the label of disordered or the label of gifted in a new way?” – Suzy Miller
“I want Elijah to know that he is loved just the way he is.” – Gee Vero
“What makes a child gifted and talented may not always be good grades in school, but a different way of looking at the world and learning.” – Chuck Grassley
“I view ‘autistic’ as a word for a part of how my brain works, not for a narrow set of behaviors and certainly not for a set of boundaries of a stereotype that I have to stay inside.” – Amanda Baggs
“My autism is like the taste of tepid saké, different but interesting.” – Sue Rubin
Proud autism quotes
“Like Asperger, I too would sometimes like to claim a dash of autism for myself. A dash of autism is not a bad way to characterize the apparent detachment and unworldliness of the scientist who is obsessed with one seemingly all-important problem and temporarily forgets the time of day, not to mention family and friends.” – Uta Frith“Even for parents of children who are not on the spectrum, there is no such thing as a normal child.” – Violet Stevens
“Our duty in autism is not to cure but to relieve suffering and to maximize each person’s potential.” – John Elder Robison
“Disability doesn’t make you exceptional, but questioning what you think you know about it does.” – Stella Young
“Being autistic is not about living in a vacuum, sucking in everything around you, living in an existence shutout from your environment. If anything, the environment becomes more real, more painful, more evident.” – Jocelyn Eastman
“Vibrant waves of sequenced patterns emerged in my head whenever I looked at musical notes and scores. Like pieces of a mysterious puzzle solved, it was natural for me to see music and its many facets as pictures in my head. It never occurred to me that others couldn’t see what I saw.” – Dr. Stephen Shore
“We need to embrace those who are different and the bullies need to be the ones who get off the bus,.” Caren Zucker
Funny autism quotes
“I don’t want my thoughts to die with me, I want to have done something. I’m not interested in power, or piles of money. I want to leave something behind. I want to make a positive contribution – to know that my life has meaning.” – Temple Grandin“Parents have therapists come to their house and tell them what to do. They give their power away. Parents need to focus on healing and empowering themselves. They must shift their beliefs about autism. Once the parent knows who they are, the child will respond.” – Lori Shayew.
“Not everyone is perfect. There is always an imperfect side to everyone,” – Finn Christie
“Life is . . . not about counting the losses and the lost expectations, but rather swimming, with as much grace as can be mustered, in the joy of all of it.” – Leisa Hammett
“For every 3 years your child is in public school, you can expect one exceptional teacher, one mediocre teacher, and one teacher who makes your life miserable.” – Rick Seward
“Autists are the ultimate square pegs, and the problem with pounding a square peg into a round hole is not that the hammering is hard work. It’s that you’re destroying the peg.” – Paul Collins
Autism quotes for mom
“Don’t think that there’s a different, better child ‘hiding’ behind autism. This is your child. Love the child in front of you. Encourage his strengths, celebrate his quirks, and improve his weaknesses, the way you would with any child. You may have to work harder on some of this, but that’s the goal.” – Claire Scovell LaZebnik“Without deviation from the norm, progress is not possible.” – Frank Zappa
“The teacher must have become autistic.” – Hans Asperger
“We have to do away with this nonsense that there is a window of opportunity for a person with autism.” – Barry Prizant
“It took a while to recognize my freedom from cultural conditioning as a high value benefit that supports my up spiral of independent sovereignty.” – Steve Staniek
“Using the term “high-functioning” discounts or dismisses the person’s needs or struggles . . . Using the term “low-functioning” discounts or dismisses a person’s strengths and capabilities.” Tom Iland
“I believe everyone on the planet has their thing and, especially in my experience, autistic people all have a tremendous gift. It’s a matter of finding that gift and nurturing it.” Edie Brannigan
“As an autistic I can readily see environmental phenomena of sun particles interacting with moisture in the air and rising up from the ground. I thought of these things I could see as sun sparkles and world tails.” – Judy Endow
Inspirational autism quotes
“When I did stims such as dribbling sand through my fingers, it calmed me down. When I stimmed, sounds that hurt my ears stopped. Most kids with autism do these repetitive behaviors because it feels good in some way. It may counteract an overwhelming sensory environment . . .” – Temple Grandin“The experience of many of us is not that ‘insistence on sameness’ jumps out unbidden and unwanted and makes our lives hard, but that ‘insistence on sameness’ is actually a way of adapting to a confusing and chaotic environment . . . ” Dora Raymaker
“Years before doctors informed me of my high-functioning autism and the disconnect it causes between person and language, I had to figure out the world as best I could. I was a misfit. The world was made up of words. But I thought and felt and sometimes dreamed in a private language of numbers.” – Daniel Tammett
“Within every child is a connection to one form or another and a potential waiting to be fulfilled.” – Dr. Stephen Mark Shore
“Truly I dreamt that my beautiful mom told others my secret about life. Nicely the secret was very easy to say but harder to do. The secret is: believe in your child and believe in yourself.” – Jeremy Sicile-Kira
Having a child with autism quotes
“I draw my inspiration from people and the world. I see the world full of bold colors, and I am fascinated by our differences that make us all special and unique human beings. My inspiration also comes from the fact that everyone in the world has something special to offer, no matter their race, color, religion, or disability. There is beauty in everything I see, and my hope is that the world can see beauty and acceptance through my eyes.” – Ronaldo Byrd“Be thankful for autism. God shines brightest in weakness, and it comes with strengths that enable us to fill certain job roles better than others would (a talent, if you will).” – Peter Lantz
“Low pitched notes really make me feel like love might be truly possible. High pitched notes make me feel like I could go crazy with pain and sadness. Great rhythms can make me feel like life is freedom.” – Jeremy Sicile-Kira
“Rather than healing our child of his developmental disability, God healed me of my spiritual disability.” – Diane Dokko
“Since understanding and accommodation are outside of our locus of control, we can focus on our own coping mechanisms. This allows us to experience and process much more information and see patterns before others.” – Joe Biel
“We can use Asperger’s as a super power if we focus.” – Daniel M. Jones
Autism quotes for siblings
“Empowering your young person is the key to giving them the skills they need to live an independent life. If you do things for them that they could learn or even do for themselves by themselves, then you are DISEMPOWERING your young person.” – Tom Iland“Rigid academic and social expectations could wind up stifling a mind that, while it might struggle to conjugate a verb, could one day take us to distant stars.” – Temple Grandin
” . . . when experts speak of social deficits in autism they can neither imagine accompanying benefits nor critically examine their own neurologies. How about a new slogan? Feel globally. Perceive locally.” – Ralph James Savarese
“Autism is here to stay and may be considered a part of the diversity of the human gene pool.” – Dr. Stephen Shore
“As soon as a child is capable of understanding, they will know they are different. Just as a diabetic needs insulin, an autistic child needs accommodations . . . The label gave me knowledge and self-awareness.” – Steve Andrews
“A person with autism hears every sound intensely magnified. Thus, if the tone of voice is harsh or strict, they will feel scared and threatened and, consequently, may inadvertently scream or even attack. Aggressive behavior is brought on by fear.” – Joao Carlos Costa
Autism quotes for daughter
Do not fear people with Autism, embrace them. Do not spite people with Autism, unite them. Do not deny people with Autism, accept them, for then their abilities will shine.” – Paul Isaacs“I see people with Asperger’s syndrome as a bright thread in the rich tapestry of life.” – Tony Attwood
“Autism is as much a part of humanity as is the capacity to dream.” – Kathleen Seidel
“I looked up to the stars and wondered which one I was from.” – James McCue
“I see everything in color. I have synesthesia, which means that the part of my brain – that controls the senses – sight, hearing, touch, smell and taste – are wired differently.” – Jeremy Sicile-Kira
“Connection is what moves this world forward. Connection is a profound human experience.” – Jenny Palmiotto
“By separating the autism from the person, are we encouraging our patients’ family members to love an imagined non-autistic child that was never born, forgetting about the real person who exists in front of us?” – Christina Nicolaidis
“Blue sky may be beautiful but lighting the tall buildings blue is autism-awareness.” – Tito Mukhopadhyay
“Autism . . . offers a chance for us to glimpse an awe-filled vision of the world that might otherwise pass us by.” – Dr. Colin Zimbleman, Ph.D.
Positive autism quotes
“I’ve listened enough. It’s time for me to speak, however it may sound. Through an electronic device, my hands, or my mouth. Now it’s your time to listen. Are you ready?” – Neal Katz“The most interesting people you’ll find are ones that don’t fit into your average cardboard box. They’ll make what they need, they’ll make their own boxes.” -Dr. Temple Grandin
“Are your eyes listening? That’s what needs to happen to hear my writing voice. Because of autism, the thief of politeness and friendship, I have no sounding voice. By typing words I can play with my life and stretch from my world to yours. I become a real person when my words try to reach out to you without my weird body scaring you away. Then I am alive.” – Sarah Stup
“When a family focuses on ability instead of disability, all things are possible . . . Love and acceptance is key. We need to interact with those with autism by taking an interest in their interests.” – Amanda Rae Ross
“Art can permeate the very deepest part of us, where no words exist.” – Eileen Miller
“Why should I cry for not being an apple, when I was born an orange, I’d be crying for an illusion, I may as well cry for not being a horse.” – Donna Williams
“Just one step in front of each other, each day. In the end, that is all we're expected to take.” – Donna Williams
Autism quotes for teachers
“The difference between high-functioning autism and low-functioning is that high-functioning means your deficits are ignored, and low-functioning means your assets are ignored.” – Laura Tisoncik“Humane storytelling is the way to advance society’s understanding of #Autism has the potential to change people’s hearts and minds.” – Tom Clements
“Let’s give people with autism more opportunities to demonstrate what they feel, what they imagine, what comes naturally to them through humor and the language of sensory experience. As we learn more about autism, let’s not forget to learn from those with autism. There are poets walking among you and they have much to teach.” – Chris Martin
“Autism makes you listen louder. It makes you pay attention on an emotional level as well as an intellectual level.” – Jace King, brother to Taylor Cross
“Presume intelligence with all children with autism. Presume all of them are hearing you.” – Lori Shayew
Autism quotes tumblr
“Autism is about having a pure heart and being very sensitive. It is about finding a way to survive in an overwhelming, confusing world . . . It is about developing differently, at a different pace and with different leaps.” – Trisha Van Berkel“Until we create a nation that regularly wants to employ a person with autism, assure a quality education for each person with autism, and eliminate the far too many unnecessary obstacles placed in the way of success for a person with autism, we really won’t be as successful as we must. We need to get all in our nation to embrace the belief that each person with autism is valued, respected and held to the highest level of dignity and must be provided every opportunity for the highest quality of life each and every day.” – ASA President Scott Badesch
“This is a FOREVER journey with this creative, funny, highly intelligent, aggressive, impulsive, nonsocial, behavioral, oftentimes loving individual. The nurse said to me after 6 hours with him ‘He is a gift’ INDEED he is.” – Janet Frenchette Held
“Behavior is communication. Change the environment and behaviors will change.” – Lana David
Cute autism quotes
“Showing kindness towards those who are different and embracing our imperfections as proof of our humanness is the remedy for fear.” – Emma Zurcher“Nowhere am I so desperately needed as among a shipload of illogical humans.” – Mr.Spock
” . . . I don’t need to apologize for Reid as much as interpret his behavior for the uninitiated. His actions aren’t immoral or wrong; they just get misconstrued or misinterpreted.” – Andrea Moriarity
” . . . Autistic people are people: they’re not puzzle pieces or baffling enigmas or medical mysteries to be solved, or ‘normal’ people ‘trapped’ in the bodies of autistics or any of that crap that infects so many portrayals of autistic people in both the clinical literature and the popular media. At the same time, I think it’s equally important to celebrate the differences between autistic people and typical people, and to recognize the need for accommodating autism as a significant disability . . . ” Steve Silberman
Famous autism quotes
“I think when one becomes identified with a label that’ll become all anyone sees; the expansiveness and breadth of all of who you are suddenly hidden from view. I look at the entire history of the label and how it came to be. Our Western world likes to compartmentalize putting everything into simplistic categories. Now they have such terms as “neurotypical” and “neurodivergent,” separating the entire human population on the planet into two categories. I would say that “neurotypical” is a diversity as well.” – Kurt MuzikarAdditionally, these autism quotes covers love autism quotes, best autism quotes, son with autism quotes, autism quotes for moms, autism quotes for kids, high functioning autism quotes, understanding autism quotes, my son has autism quotes, inspiring autism quotes, daughter with autism quotes, celebrity autism quotes, amazing autism quotes, teaching autism quotes, support autism quotes, charity autism quotes, positive proud autism quotes, parenthood autism quotes, autism quotes for families and autism quotes for yearbook.
2024.01.05 00:30 lets-split-up I’m a shut-in and took a class to help me learn social skills, but now I wish I’d never signed up…
Do you avoid errands because you might bump into someone you know? Does the phone ringing make you break out in a panicky sweat? The School for Shut-Ins can help! Transform from shy, socially inept loner to life of the party! We can’t make you an extrovert, but we can teach you how to fake it so well everyone will think you are! Grow from cocooned caterpillar to social butterfly in 6 weeks. Click to register.
Wrapped up in my pajamas at my computer, I consider the link. No one can make me an extrovert. Not even a fake one.
You may wonder about me writing this post. Sure. I’m great online. But in person I can barely stammer two words. I turn red and sweaty and I panic-fart. Which would be funny if I were a charming extrovert and could make a joke from it. But I can’t, so I just die inside. Last phone conversation I had with my boss, I ended with, “love you, bye,” because the only phone calls I ever make are with Mom. Needless to say, I quit my job. Just ghosted. Couldn’t face the fallout of that.
Ok maybe I need this class.
I sign up.
Syllabus
Link to the syllabus here (if you’re curious).
Week 1
Week 1 opens with some pretty generic videos explaining types of anxiety. Those who are comfortable are asked to write an introductory post (those who are not can fill out as much or as little as we want of a questionnaire—but at minimum we need to pick a username. Mine is Frogger). There are sixteen of us in total, and I’m surprised to find that a lot of my classmates have social anxiety even online—only about half write an introductory post.
Our other assignment is to journal about our biggest fears. I write:
I’m worried that I am worthless and will never find love. I’m basically a female incel, and my greatest fear is that I will never like myself. There. I said it. I’m 22 years old. I obsess over everything I do or say, every mistake I make burned forever in my brain. If this class can teach me to go out in the world, maybe people will like me, and if that happens maybe I can learn to like myself even just a little bit.
Week 2
We have our first Zoom meeting at the end of Week 2. We’re working toward Week 4, which is the big week when we have our in-person meet-up, which will require us to go to an actual café. We won’t have to talk to anyone—we’ll place our orders in advance and our drinks will be waiting for us at tables with our usernames. We’ll pull out our laptops and conduct class online. But we will have to be in the same space, breathing the same air… being together.
It makes me nervous. I’m sure it makes everyone nervous. So to get us ready, Week 3 is our first synchronous online Zoom, and to get us ready for that, Week 2 is our first synchronous online chat. We only spend the last ten minutes of class in the chat. Our instructor, Brandon, coaxes replies:
BRANDON: Hey everyone. How are you doing?
BRANDON: … ok. How about we all just say ‘hi.’
TRUDY: Hi
BRANDON: … just type ‘hi’ in the chatbox please, so I know it’s working for you.
TRUDY: Hi
FROGGER: hi
Everyone is nervous, and two people have already dropped the class. We’re down to fourteen students now. Our instructor nonetheless applauds everyone, even those who only lurked. He tells us we are doing great.
Week 3
Week 3 is our last online session. We join Zoom. Onscreen, our instructor smiles at us from the actual coffee shop where we will meet next week. Patrons sip drinks and bustle around him. The instructor cannot see us (our cameras are off), but he invites us all virtually to pull up chairs with our coffees. Brandon is a pleasant professorial man in his mid-40’s with red hair and a beard, chubby and good-looking.
Brandon says comforting things like, “I won’t expect you to talk, don’t worry. I actually love sitting in silence. Sometimes if I’m nervous, I pretend that instead of a person I’m a cat. No one can talk to me because cats can’t talk. That’s how I used to convince myself to go out places. Not as Brandon, but as Cat-Brandon…”
Wow, dorky. Makes me feel better about my own dorkitude.
There’s no pressure to say or do anything in the chat. After an hour, Brandon finally says that next week will be just like this, but we’ll be in person. And remember—next week, we’re all cat people. We won’t have to talk. We actually can’t talk. It’s not allowed. So don’t be scared. But if you are that’s okay. You can be a scared cat at your keyboard, just like today, and that’s fine.
Ok, Brandon. I think I can do the meetup. I’m ready for next week.
Some people clearly aren’t, though.
We’re down to only twelve students.
Week 4
The coffee shop is exactly like it looked on Zoom. I find my seat, with my nametag, which also has a cat version of me (we had to make these as homework and send them in). I also can see everyone else’s cat versions. One person has a zombie cat and another a cutesy anime cat, and of course there are housecats and meme cats. I sit down and take my hot cocoa and open my laptop and join the chat.
Our instructor, Brandon, sits at a table nearby. He definitely saw me come in but he doesn’t look up, doesn’t turn around, doesn’t even make eye contact. He also has his cat picture up, a fluffy ginger tabby. Cat-Brandon. He can’t talk, either, per the rules.
Ok. Just a bunch of weirdos with coffee and cat pictures sitting around doing nothing.
Check. Can do this. God I wish I weren’t sweating so hard right now. My stomach in knots.
About half of the other students are here already, and I’m surprised at the diversity. A thirty-something woman in sweats, a man who might be in his fifties, a teen girl who is the only person younger than me, with pale skin and haunted sad eyes, dressed in goth style complete with smoky eye makeup. One guy, whose name is George, arrives late and says a nervous, “Hi, hey,” to everyone as he sits at his place. We are all aghast. George, we’re cats. You can’t break the rules! No talking. Thankfully George reads the room and shuts his trap.
Brandon’s fingers rap on his keys into the chat.
BRANDON: All here! Good. Let’s begin….
Week 4 (post class)
So the cat thing was actually pretty fun. In the chat Brandon asked us each why we picked our specific cats. We could pass or engage. Then Brandon broke us off into pairs, to meet each other or to be “quiet cats” if we didn’t feel like talking. I even made one friend!
Goth Girl (that’s her username, but I call her GG) is the first person I was paired with. She’s closer to my age, so I think I was sort of drawn to her to begin with. And she’s kind of cute and… ok let’s be real I am never going to approach a cute girl IRL. But like, from my keyboard?
I asked her about her cat pic, which is this super creepy scary monster thing that honestly does not look like a cat at all. And she was nervous to share so told me to “go first.”
FROGGER: Uh, ok. Well, mine is a cat in a frog hat because I have kind of a weird frog face.
GG snuck a peek at me from across the table, then quickly looked down again and typed:
GG: 🤭I don’t think you look like a 🐸. Well… maybe a little.
FROGGER: It’s okay. I totally do and know it. Hey you know why frogs are so happy being frogs?
GG: ?
FROGGER: They eat whatever bugs them! 🐸 🪰 … I got that from a joke book. So, what’s with your cat from your worst nightmares that clearly is not a cat? Did you draw it yourself?
GG: Yes
FROGGER: You got skillz! I’m impressed. My only talents are looking like a frog and sharing frog puns… and shoot! I just realized what I should’ve made my username!
GG: ?
FROGGER: Hermit the frog! 🐸
GG: 🤭
BRANDON: Ok everyone, time to switch partners. Finish up your conversations.
FROGGER: Oh, dang. Well it was nice chatting with you GG! Can I call you GG? I really enjoyed seeing your art, too. Looking forward to our next chat!
GG: Me too 😊 take care frog face 🐸
Ok, so it’s not an actual conversation. But we were technically IRL, which means I interacted IRL with a girl who’s not my mom or me looking back from a mirror. A cute girl. Go me!
Once I got out the door, though, the anxiety hit me in a wave. The worst anxiety I’ve felt in… forever, really. It literally felt like eyes watching me, following me… my nerves didn’t stop until I got home. And even then, after I wrapped up tight in my blankets like a caterpillar into its cocoon, it took a long time for that unsettling feeling to fade.
Week 5
Today is our conversation class, and I’m so terrified at the thought of speaking to GG aloud instead of through the keyboard that just the thought drenches me in sweat. Upper lip sweat. Armpit sweat. Underboob sweat. Oh God. I can never meet her. Unless it’s in the rain so she can’t tell how sweaty I am, but why would we meet in the rain? I’m doomed. Maybe I’ll make a joke about my exceptional sweat glands and how frogs are moist.
No! Don’t use the word moist! God, do I want to chase her away forever?
Why, why, am I so bad at life?
I pull everything out of my closet looking for the right outfit, something that will magically make me cute. I settle on a green hoodie with frog eyes on top of the hood, and the front of the hood zips closed over my face like a frog mouth, which will allow me to hide when I inevitably embarrass myself in front of the whole world. Perfect.
It’s as I’m on my way to class the anxiety kicks in so hard that once again, I feel eyes on me, staring. But whenever I whirl around, there’s no one. It’s just nerves.
At the coffee shop, I find a new double-sided nametag. One side reads, “Frogger,” the other shows my cat picture. Brandon tells us cat-side-up means quiet. Name-side-up means talking. He encourages us to start with our names and only turn into cats if we need a break.
About half the class start as cats anyway. We are down to only eight students.
Moist, I keep thinking in my sweltering hoodie, wishing I could shunt the word out of my brain forever but unfortunately, it’s how I am and how I feel.
Moist, moist, moist. Kill me.
I almost sigh in relief when I’m not paired with GG, even though I’m desperate to look into her beautiful sad eyes and joke, “Look! We’re the princess and the frog, except the frog never turns hot!” Instead, I’m paired up with some guy whose nametag reads, “Dark Lord.” He’s tall and hunched and has this, uh… dark… stare. Seems to be going for Kylo Ren vibes, but a lot nerdier and way less jacked. His cat picture is a low-res black cat with laser eyes. We’ve been given conversation cards to facilitate our interactions, but he only glares down at his cards, not making eye contact. Finally he mumbles, “I’d watch out for her.”
“Huh?” I say.
“Haven’t you noticed?” *intense stare at cards* “She doesn’t breathe.”
And even though I’m melting in my hoodie, suddenly, I’m chilled. I try to sneak a glance over at GG. When I look back at Dark Lord, he’s eyeing me with such a burning intensity I feel my skin crawl, but he quickly drops his gaze and reddens. He really can’t look anyone in the eye, apparently.
After a few more partner swaps, GG is my last conversation for the day. She still has her nametag on the cat side, and looks utterly shattered by the conversation exercise. Apparently, she just can’t bring herself to make so much as a peep. Her face is red and her eyes damp, and even though it’s her turn to start by reading a question from a card, it’s obvious that isn’t going to work for her.
I have an idea, and I reach over and tap the top question on her list: WHAT IS YOUR NAME? Then I point to myself, tugging my frog hoodie and circling my face with a finger. Frogface.
She peers at me from beneath lowered lashes.
I show her the first question card on my list: WHERE ARE YOU FROM? She shakes her head. I try another one, sifting through the conversation questions, and hold one up for her: WHAT’S SOMETHING YOU REALLY LIKE?
She looks at it, and then points to me.
“You like… me?” I blurt. Her eyes widen, and I suddenly realize what she means. “OH! Oh, geez. You’re asking me to answer the question about what I like. Not telling me that you… like… uhhhh….” I zip up my hoodie so that she’s just looking at a green fabric frog face now. My cheeks are on fire. It is really unbearably hot in this room. I think I might die right here. But then I hear a sound that breaks through the fire and makes my heart lift—a very soft tinkle of laughter. GG is laughing.
I mean, I’m still going to go and die of shame when I get home. But at least I’ll die knowing I made her giggle.
And then I feel a soft tug on my hoodie. The zipper opens and a wave of cool air rushes in as her small fingers open up the front. Brandon is calling us back to order and saying class is going to wrap up and we’ll meet next week.
As I’m packing up my bag, I glance back to GG and she’s watching me. She points at her question card—the one I pulled out about something you really like—and then points back to me, and then she turns and quickly darts out.
My heart. It’s bursting.
Week 5, post class
I’m just about to set off for home when a bell jingles behind me and the coffee shop door opens and the barista yells, “Hey!”
I’m already in my introvert bubble (let’s be real I’m always in my bubble), and having it popped by this aproned barista whose face is making loud words at me shatters me into a panic. Oh no, I think. My palms sweat and my throat closes up. Unfortunately, I already made eye contact, so I’m trapped. Suddenly I notice the tablet he’s waving—and the stickers on it. It belongs to GG. Finally the sounds tumbling out of his lips register: “… one of your classmates forgot her tablet!”
Not knowing what else to do, I hold my hand out.
My internal monologue flares up: What if he thinks you’re trying to steal it? What if he takes the opportunity to strike up a conversation? You’ll have to pretend to faint, and when he goes in to get water for you wake up and run away—
But the employee smiles and says, “Thanks,” and hands me the tablet and heads back inside, and I breathe a sigh of deepest relief.
… well, I survived that.
The sky overhead is a deep and beautiful purple, the stars just coming out to twinkle, and as I recover myself, looking up the street for GG, it feels like they’re shining just for me. I spot her tiny form retreating in the distance, and I follow her. For once, I don’t have that feeling of eyes on me, watching me. It must be because my nerves are finally settling… Am I becoming a better, braver Frogger? I fantasize about handing her tablet back to her, our hands touching (NO! She will snatch her fingers away in disgust and gawd even my fantasies are a fail…). Um, I fantasize about smiling and tucking my sweaty hands back into my pockets after I hand her tablet to her, and offering to walk her home.
… but with each passing step, it feels less romantic, more like I’m just a stalker. If she’d only turn around for a second so I could wave!
I should just go home, keep our interactions safely online—and I’m about to do just that when my phone pings.
DARK LORD: look
DARK LORD: [pic] [pic]
I click the links, and open two images that I stare at for several moments in confusion. The first is a class of 1993 yearbook photograph, the hairstyles and clothes outdated. The second is a senior photo from that same yearbook, with the name Genevieve Grayson.
Genevieve looks exactly like GG.
FROGGER: Whoa… is that her mom?
DARK LORD: r u an idiot? Its HER.
His insistence on some girl from a thirty year old yearbook being GG seems ridiculous. It has to be a relative. I mean, it looks exactly like her—but for that to be GG herself would be impossible. And yet… a shiver creeps along my spine, because it’s not just a resemblance. The girl in the yearbook photo looks… well, identical. Something isn’t right here. Something isn’t…
Watched. I feel like I’m being watched.
I glance around, and then I tuck the tablet into my bag. I’ve lost all trace of GG. I’ll have to message her about the tablet later. But now… now, as I turn and hurry home, I’m certain I hear footsteps behind me. Certain that eyes are on me, following me. That something is drawing nearer and nearer… meanwhile my phone is pinging, again and again. I risk a glance and see Dark Lord messaging me.
DARK LORD: Haven’t you noticed? How the class keeps shrinking?
DARK LORD: I got the class list from the teacher. Well… stole it.
DARK LORD: Anyway. People aren’t dropping.
DARK LORD: They’re DISAPPEARING. I found missing persons reports.
DARK LORD: I tried to tell teach but he thinks I’m a conspiracy theorist.
DARK LORD: So I looked myself. That girl you got the hots for… Frogger, on the class list her name is Genevieve Grayson. Same as that yearbook. And guess what I found out about Genevieve?
DARK LORD: … Frogger? Are you still there?
DARK LORD: Shit, are you home? Are you safe? Frogger? Emailing you.
I’m running now, the phone in my pocket. The shadows… the shadows seem to be closing in around me. That feeling of being watched has intensified so much I swear I can see eyes, glinting out at me from the dark. The chill has penetrated to my bones, and as I run, in the thud of my footsteps, either there’s an echo, or….
THUD-thup-THUD-thup-THUD-thup
… or a second set of footsteps, just under mine, hidden almost to be inaudible by the pounding reverberations. Someone running after me, almost at exactly my pace… but ever so slightly, with each step…
… catching up.
Finally my apartment building looms. Relief floods me, and I dash toward the bright glare of the exterior building lights. For a moment, I feel the presence of that icy chill like a wind raking my back—and then I’m inside, rushing up the stairs, bursting into my apartment and slamming the door shut, locking it. After several moments, I finally take out my phone in shaking hands.
FROGGER: I’m home. I think someone followed me.
FROGGER: What were you going to tell me about Genevieve?
There’s no response, so I go to my desk and Google “Genevieve Grayson.” And as I sit there, staring at my screen, my blood runs cold. Because when I do find her yearbook photo, it’s true. Genevieve Grayson looks just like GG. But…
According to Google, Genevieve has been dead for nearly thirty years.
Week 6
I am really freaked out. Like, so freaked out. The morning after I had that scare running home, I tried to contact Dark Lord but he wasn’t answering. The email he sent me the night before had attachments of missing persons reports. These matched the list he sent of our classmates’ names and contact info that I guess he stole from the teacher.
He was right about our classmates disappearing.
But the worst news came later, after I was checking the local news—I started looking because I was searching for more missing persons reports—and there was a headline that caught my attention.
MAIMED BODY OF SLAIN MAN FOUND OUTSIDE APARTMENT
The body of Xavier Rodriguez, 27, was found disemboweled outside of his apartment late Monday night…
Gazing at the image of the man in the newspaper photo, I felt my heart drop to my toes. Because it was Dark Lord, looking out at me with his trademark intense stare, and in his arms was a cat—the black cat with the laser eyes from his picture. Apparently it was his actual pet cat… and somehow it’s this little detail that makes it all seem so much more horrifically real. Should I call the police? Tell them that Xavier was trying to warn me about something the night he died? Oh God… I’d never be able to sit through an interrogation!
I consider telling Brandon, but Xavier already tried and got dismissed as a conspiracy theorist.
By the time class rolls around, I’ve done nothing. Pathetic, I know. When I arrive at the coffee shop, almost an hour early, the bell jingles above my head, and the barista smiles in greeting. I duck my head. And then I see Brandon—his pleasant face brightening.
“Frogger! You’re early. I haven’t ordered drinks yet. Would you like to order your own? Or are you a quiet cat today?”
“Can I talk to you?”
“Sure.” He comes over and sits at a corner table with me, leans in and asks in his gently affirming way, “What’s up?”
Already I am sweating like mad in my frog hoodie. I lean in and Brandon furrows his brow in that concerned way of his, and I blurt out, “Xavier thinks we’re all in danger and now he’s dead and we have to call the police and ambush Genevieve because… she doesn’t breathe.” Oh. He already looks like he doesn’t believe me. My face is red. Hot and flushed. I open up my messenger app and show him the messages I exchanged with Xavier, as well as the yearbook pics of Genevieve and the news article about Xavier’s death.
“I don’t know what to say,” he admits when he finally does speak, shaking his head. “This is all so….” After a pause, he asks, “Why did you wait until now to tell me? Aren’t you usually much more comfortable communicating by messages?”
“I didn’t want her to know and I was worried she might have some way to… I dunno. I mean Xavier hacked your site and got access to your class roster.”
“What??”
“I just didn’t want her to find out beforehand and come after you or me.” I drop my eyes. It feels like a betrayal, talking about GG this way. I have to remind myself that she’s not GG. She’s Genevieve. And she’s much, much older than the nineteen-year-old she appears to be.
“Did you go to the police?” asks Brandon.
I shake my head. “I’m pretty sure they’ll go through his emails and messages to try to find his killer. I can’t really add anything.” … what I don’t say is that I could barely blurt out the truth to Brandon, let alone officers in an interrogation room. I’d probably just look guilty and they’d wonder if I had something to do with it and then arrest me for murder and I’d be too terrified to open my mouth to defend myself… and while my mind is tunneling ever deeper down this rabbit hole, Brandon is talking again:
“… I’ll message everyone that class is postponed until further notice. Meantime, you go straight home. And message me that you got home safe. Actually…” He rubs his chin. “I’d better walk you. Come on.”
We head out into the early evening. And even though I am bundled up with a scarf over my frog hoodie, the wind is biting and makes my eyes weep. Brandon interrogates me about my disappearing classmates, who else I’ve told, and I’m mumbling my answers when my flesh prickles…
“What is it?” Brandon stops.
“Eyes,” I whisper. “Someone’s watching us…”
He looks all around. “You must be imagining it. There’s no one out here.”
When I insist that someone is watching us, he considers for a moment, and then tugs my wrist and pulls me into a trot, saying we’ll take a shortcut. We move quickly, ducking into an alley. I still hear the echo of footsteps, feel the weight of eyes. But then the feeling vanishes as we turn a corner. Brandon takes us further away from the street, deeper into the back alley between buildings, and finally stops by the dumpster at the rear of what seems to be a warehouse.
“Still feel eyes?” he asks.
I shake my head.
“That’s good,” Brandon says in his mellow, reassuring voice. “I wouldn’t want there to be any witnesses to your imminent demise.”
“… huh?” His words register too late—
—and then I am on the ground, struggling for air because he has me pinned. He smiles, and his teeth are long… sharp… and there are too many of them to fit in his mouth.
He lifts a hand to wipe away the saliva that dribbles down his chin, and his eyes have a feral glow. “Xavier got too close,” he remarks. “I had to get rid of him. Didn’t realize he showed all his findings to you. The thing about shut-ins, though, that makes you such wonderful pickings, is that you never go to anyone for help… every time, every class. If there’s anyone suspicious—and usually there isn’t—but if there is, you always come to me. A shame, Frogger. You made real progress. I’th be pthoud of you, ihf you dithnt thmell tho delithious...”
His teeth have gotten too long for his mouth, and warm wet droplets fall onto my face—
And then it’s back—eyes. Watching me. Soft footsteps.
I look past my slavering professor—and behind him stands a girl, pale in her gothic makeup.
Brandon’s head turns. “Hnnh?”
She looks down at me. Then at Brandon.
He wipes his face and his teeth retract enough for him to growl, “Nice of you to join class, Genevieve. My worst student, here with my best. You know your classmate here thinks you’re immortal? A shame she doesn’t have my sense of smell, or she’d know better.” He inhales deeply and smiles. A smile that cracks his face wider than should be possible, revealing that those teeth run in rows deep into his skull. Then he tells her to please wait and not run and make him chase her. “I hate exercising before dinner.” When he turns back to me, his jaws open wide enough it seems he might swallow my head whole—
“Stop.”
It’s a whisper, but the first word GG has ever spoken.
To my shock, Brandon does stop. He blinks and turns. “What’s that?” He looks at her, and his eyes have gotten wide, nostrils flaring as he sniffs the air, as if he smells something on her breath.
She inhales deeply, clenching her fists, and yells: “STOP!”
The world explodes.
I don’t know how to describe it. It’s like the word leaves her body and in the air becomes a great dark mass of blackness, shadow given form, and at the same time her real body—her human body—collapses like a deflated balloon. And the thing that emerges from her voice expands like spilled ink across my vision, stretching up and above us, and for just an instant as it looms, all solid black except for vaguely pointed ears and the flashes of white that might be teeth, I recognize it—the “cat” she used for her nametag picture. Cat-GG. But of course it is not cat, and never was. And apparently now that it’s been freed by her voice, Brandon can definitely smell it, because in the instant before it envelopes us he springs—leaping with a shocking agility away from me and up the side of the building.
But that liquid shadow spills upward just as fast, and his screams vanish into gargling. There is a crunching and squelching, and blood rains down on me.
And then I hear screaming and this time—this time it is my voice. And I’m running. Running as fast as my legs will carry me.
Graduation
Brandon’s corpse has not been found. He’s been listed as a “missing person.” Just like all my classmates. The only exception is Xavier—if I had to guess, Brandon was interrupted at the scene and fled to avoid being caught by someone who wasn’t a shut-in.
It’s been weeks, and I still haven’t told anyone all of this. Who would I tell?
Ironically, even though Brandon’s class didn’t make me an extrovert, I’ve gotten better at things like grocery shopping. I guess after the last lethal lesson, well… I’ve found there are scarier things in the world than small talk (though it’s still in my top ten).
Oh, also, GG messaged me:
GG: Hi.
GG: hope ur ok, frogface. sry if I scared u
ME: Sorry for thinking it was you disappearing people. I was completely suckered by brandon. :(
GG: its ok
ME: So it was you following me all those times? Watching me?
GG: Yes
ME: You knew what Brandon was and were trying to protect me?
GG: honestly I had no idea about our teacher. The truth is… I followed u bc I like u. u seem sweet. Im sorry I shouldn’t have been following… I just took the class bc I have no friends…
ME: Oh… well, kinda glad you did. If you hadn’t, I’d probably be dead.
GG: u not mad, frogface?
ME: No. I actually, um… I followed you, too, the other night. Wasn’t trying to stalk you but you left your tablet.
ME: So… you’re not gonna try to eat me? Have froglegs for dinner?
GG: no
ME: What about that super scary monster? Cat-GG?
GG: If I don’t use my voice, it sleeps
ME: So we can be friends?
GG: yes
ME: Ok. Well… I have to give your tablet back, so…. How about we meet next week? Like… like we do in class? I’ll order your drink for you so you don’t have to talk. We can call it our graduation!
GG: 😊 yes pls
ME: we’ll have a hopping good time 🐸
(Shut up she thinks my jokes are cute.)
So. My new friend might be a monster. And she did just eat our teacher. But you know what? I’m cool with that.
submitted by lets-split-up to nosleep [link] [comments]
Wrapped up in my pajamas at my computer, I consider the link. No one can make me an extrovert. Not even a fake one.
You may wonder about me writing this post. Sure. I’m great online. But in person I can barely stammer two words. I turn red and sweaty and I panic-fart. Which would be funny if I were a charming extrovert and could make a joke from it. But I can’t, so I just die inside. Last phone conversation I had with my boss, I ended with, “love you, bye,” because the only phone calls I ever make are with Mom. Needless to say, I quit my job. Just ghosted. Couldn’t face the fallout of that.
Ok maybe I need this class.
I sign up.
Syllabus
Link to the syllabus here (if you’re curious).
Week 1
Week 1 opens with some pretty generic videos explaining types of anxiety. Those who are comfortable are asked to write an introductory post (those who are not can fill out as much or as little as we want of a questionnaire—but at minimum we need to pick a username. Mine is Frogger). There are sixteen of us in total, and I’m surprised to find that a lot of my classmates have social anxiety even online—only about half write an introductory post.
Our other assignment is to journal about our biggest fears. I write:
I’m worried that I am worthless and will never find love. I’m basically a female incel, and my greatest fear is that I will never like myself. There. I said it. I’m 22 years old. I obsess over everything I do or say, every mistake I make burned forever in my brain. If this class can teach me to go out in the world, maybe people will like me, and if that happens maybe I can learn to like myself even just a little bit.
Week 2
We have our first Zoom meeting at the end of Week 2. We’re working toward Week 4, which is the big week when we have our in-person meet-up, which will require us to go to an actual café. We won’t have to talk to anyone—we’ll place our orders in advance and our drinks will be waiting for us at tables with our usernames. We’ll pull out our laptops and conduct class online. But we will have to be in the same space, breathing the same air… being together.
It makes me nervous. I’m sure it makes everyone nervous. So to get us ready, Week 3 is our first synchronous online Zoom, and to get us ready for that, Week 2 is our first synchronous online chat. We only spend the last ten minutes of class in the chat. Our instructor, Brandon, coaxes replies:
BRANDON: Hey everyone. How are you doing?
BRANDON: … ok. How about we all just say ‘hi.’
TRUDY: Hi
BRANDON: … just type ‘hi’ in the chatbox please, so I know it’s working for you.
TRUDY: Hi
FROGGER: hi
Everyone is nervous, and two people have already dropped the class. We’re down to fourteen students now. Our instructor nonetheless applauds everyone, even those who only lurked. He tells us we are doing great.
Week 3
Week 3 is our last online session. We join Zoom. Onscreen, our instructor smiles at us from the actual coffee shop where we will meet next week. Patrons sip drinks and bustle around him. The instructor cannot see us (our cameras are off), but he invites us all virtually to pull up chairs with our coffees. Brandon is a pleasant professorial man in his mid-40’s with red hair and a beard, chubby and good-looking.
Brandon says comforting things like, “I won’t expect you to talk, don’t worry. I actually love sitting in silence. Sometimes if I’m nervous, I pretend that instead of a person I’m a cat. No one can talk to me because cats can’t talk. That’s how I used to convince myself to go out places. Not as Brandon, but as Cat-Brandon…”
Wow, dorky. Makes me feel better about my own dorkitude.
There’s no pressure to say or do anything in the chat. After an hour, Brandon finally says that next week will be just like this, but we’ll be in person. And remember—next week, we’re all cat people. We won’t have to talk. We actually can’t talk. It’s not allowed. So don’t be scared. But if you are that’s okay. You can be a scared cat at your keyboard, just like today, and that’s fine.
Ok, Brandon. I think I can do the meetup. I’m ready for next week.
Some people clearly aren’t, though.
We’re down to only twelve students.
Week 4
The coffee shop is exactly like it looked on Zoom. I find my seat, with my nametag, which also has a cat version of me (we had to make these as homework and send them in). I also can see everyone else’s cat versions. One person has a zombie cat and another a cutesy anime cat, and of course there are housecats and meme cats. I sit down and take my hot cocoa and open my laptop and join the chat.
Our instructor, Brandon, sits at a table nearby. He definitely saw me come in but he doesn’t look up, doesn’t turn around, doesn’t even make eye contact. He also has his cat picture up, a fluffy ginger tabby. Cat-Brandon. He can’t talk, either, per the rules.
Ok. Just a bunch of weirdos with coffee and cat pictures sitting around doing nothing.
Check. Can do this. God I wish I weren’t sweating so hard right now. My stomach in knots.
About half of the other students are here already, and I’m surprised at the diversity. A thirty-something woman in sweats, a man who might be in his fifties, a teen girl who is the only person younger than me, with pale skin and haunted sad eyes, dressed in goth style complete with smoky eye makeup. One guy, whose name is George, arrives late and says a nervous, “Hi, hey,” to everyone as he sits at his place. We are all aghast. George, we’re cats. You can’t break the rules! No talking. Thankfully George reads the room and shuts his trap.
Brandon’s fingers rap on his keys into the chat.
BRANDON: All here! Good. Let’s begin….
Week 4 (post class)
So the cat thing was actually pretty fun. In the chat Brandon asked us each why we picked our specific cats. We could pass or engage. Then Brandon broke us off into pairs, to meet each other or to be “quiet cats” if we didn’t feel like talking. I even made one friend!
Goth Girl (that’s her username, but I call her GG) is the first person I was paired with. She’s closer to my age, so I think I was sort of drawn to her to begin with. And she’s kind of cute and… ok let’s be real I am never going to approach a cute girl IRL. But like, from my keyboard?
I asked her about her cat pic, which is this super creepy scary monster thing that honestly does not look like a cat at all. And she was nervous to share so told me to “go first.”
FROGGER: Uh, ok. Well, mine is a cat in a frog hat because I have kind of a weird frog face.
GG snuck a peek at me from across the table, then quickly looked down again and typed:
GG: 🤭I don’t think you look like a 🐸. Well… maybe a little.
FROGGER: It’s okay. I totally do and know it. Hey you know why frogs are so happy being frogs?
GG: ?
FROGGER: They eat whatever bugs them! 🐸 🪰 … I got that from a joke book. So, what’s with your cat from your worst nightmares that clearly is not a cat? Did you draw it yourself?
GG: Yes
FROGGER: You got skillz! I’m impressed. My only talents are looking like a frog and sharing frog puns… and shoot! I just realized what I should’ve made my username!
GG: ?
FROGGER: Hermit the frog! 🐸
GG: 🤭
BRANDON: Ok everyone, time to switch partners. Finish up your conversations.
FROGGER: Oh, dang. Well it was nice chatting with you GG! Can I call you GG? I really enjoyed seeing your art, too. Looking forward to our next chat!
GG: Me too 😊 take care frog face 🐸
Ok, so it’s not an actual conversation. But we were technically IRL, which means I interacted IRL with a girl who’s not my mom or me looking back from a mirror. A cute girl. Go me!
Once I got out the door, though, the anxiety hit me in a wave. The worst anxiety I’ve felt in… forever, really. It literally felt like eyes watching me, following me… my nerves didn’t stop until I got home. And even then, after I wrapped up tight in my blankets like a caterpillar into its cocoon, it took a long time for that unsettling feeling to fade.
Week 5
Today is our conversation class, and I’m so terrified at the thought of speaking to GG aloud instead of through the keyboard that just the thought drenches me in sweat. Upper lip sweat. Armpit sweat. Underboob sweat. Oh God. I can never meet her. Unless it’s in the rain so she can’t tell how sweaty I am, but why would we meet in the rain? I’m doomed. Maybe I’ll make a joke about my exceptional sweat glands and how frogs are moist.
No! Don’t use the word moist! God, do I want to chase her away forever?
Why, why, am I so bad at life?
I pull everything out of my closet looking for the right outfit, something that will magically make me cute. I settle on a green hoodie with frog eyes on top of the hood, and the front of the hood zips closed over my face like a frog mouth, which will allow me to hide when I inevitably embarrass myself in front of the whole world. Perfect.
It’s as I’m on my way to class the anxiety kicks in so hard that once again, I feel eyes on me, staring. But whenever I whirl around, there’s no one. It’s just nerves.
At the coffee shop, I find a new double-sided nametag. One side reads, “Frogger,” the other shows my cat picture. Brandon tells us cat-side-up means quiet. Name-side-up means talking. He encourages us to start with our names and only turn into cats if we need a break.
About half the class start as cats anyway. We are down to only eight students.
Moist, I keep thinking in my sweltering hoodie, wishing I could shunt the word out of my brain forever but unfortunately, it’s how I am and how I feel.
Moist, moist, moist. Kill me.
I almost sigh in relief when I’m not paired with GG, even though I’m desperate to look into her beautiful sad eyes and joke, “Look! We’re the princess and the frog, except the frog never turns hot!” Instead, I’m paired up with some guy whose nametag reads, “Dark Lord.” He’s tall and hunched and has this, uh… dark… stare. Seems to be going for Kylo Ren vibes, but a lot nerdier and way less jacked. His cat picture is a low-res black cat with laser eyes. We’ve been given conversation cards to facilitate our interactions, but he only glares down at his cards, not making eye contact. Finally he mumbles, “I’d watch out for her.”
“Huh?” I say.
“Haven’t you noticed?” *intense stare at cards* “She doesn’t breathe.”
And even though I’m melting in my hoodie, suddenly, I’m chilled. I try to sneak a glance over at GG. When I look back at Dark Lord, he’s eyeing me with such a burning intensity I feel my skin crawl, but he quickly drops his gaze and reddens. He really can’t look anyone in the eye, apparently.
After a few more partner swaps, GG is my last conversation for the day. She still has her nametag on the cat side, and looks utterly shattered by the conversation exercise. Apparently, she just can’t bring herself to make so much as a peep. Her face is red and her eyes damp, and even though it’s her turn to start by reading a question from a card, it’s obvious that isn’t going to work for her.
I have an idea, and I reach over and tap the top question on her list: WHAT IS YOUR NAME? Then I point to myself, tugging my frog hoodie and circling my face with a finger. Frogface.
She peers at me from beneath lowered lashes.
I show her the first question card on my list: WHERE ARE YOU FROM? She shakes her head. I try another one, sifting through the conversation questions, and hold one up for her: WHAT’S SOMETHING YOU REALLY LIKE?
She looks at it, and then points to me.
“You like… me?” I blurt. Her eyes widen, and I suddenly realize what she means. “OH! Oh, geez. You’re asking me to answer the question about what I like. Not telling me that you… like… uhhhh….” I zip up my hoodie so that she’s just looking at a green fabric frog face now. My cheeks are on fire. It is really unbearably hot in this room. I think I might die right here. But then I hear a sound that breaks through the fire and makes my heart lift—a very soft tinkle of laughter. GG is laughing.
I mean, I’m still going to go and die of shame when I get home. But at least I’ll die knowing I made her giggle.
And then I feel a soft tug on my hoodie. The zipper opens and a wave of cool air rushes in as her small fingers open up the front. Brandon is calling us back to order and saying class is going to wrap up and we’ll meet next week.
As I’m packing up my bag, I glance back to GG and she’s watching me. She points at her question card—the one I pulled out about something you really like—and then points back to me, and then she turns and quickly darts out.
My heart. It’s bursting.
Week 5, post class
I’m just about to set off for home when a bell jingles behind me and the coffee shop door opens and the barista yells, “Hey!”
I’m already in my introvert bubble (let’s be real I’m always in my bubble), and having it popped by this aproned barista whose face is making loud words at me shatters me into a panic. Oh no, I think. My palms sweat and my throat closes up. Unfortunately, I already made eye contact, so I’m trapped. Suddenly I notice the tablet he’s waving—and the stickers on it. It belongs to GG. Finally the sounds tumbling out of his lips register: “… one of your classmates forgot her tablet!”
Not knowing what else to do, I hold my hand out.
My internal monologue flares up: What if he thinks you’re trying to steal it? What if he takes the opportunity to strike up a conversation? You’ll have to pretend to faint, and when he goes in to get water for you wake up and run away—
But the employee smiles and says, “Thanks,” and hands me the tablet and heads back inside, and I breathe a sigh of deepest relief.
… well, I survived that.
The sky overhead is a deep and beautiful purple, the stars just coming out to twinkle, and as I recover myself, looking up the street for GG, it feels like they’re shining just for me. I spot her tiny form retreating in the distance, and I follow her. For once, I don’t have that feeling of eyes on me, watching me. It must be because my nerves are finally settling… Am I becoming a better, braver Frogger? I fantasize about handing her tablet back to her, our hands touching (NO! She will snatch her fingers away in disgust and gawd even my fantasies are a fail…). Um, I fantasize about smiling and tucking my sweaty hands back into my pockets after I hand her tablet to her, and offering to walk her home.
… but with each passing step, it feels less romantic, more like I’m just a stalker. If she’d only turn around for a second so I could wave!
I should just go home, keep our interactions safely online—and I’m about to do just that when my phone pings.
DARK LORD: look
DARK LORD: [pic] [pic]
I click the links, and open two images that I stare at for several moments in confusion. The first is a class of 1993 yearbook photograph, the hairstyles and clothes outdated. The second is a senior photo from that same yearbook, with the name Genevieve Grayson.
Genevieve looks exactly like GG.
FROGGER: Whoa… is that her mom?
DARK LORD: r u an idiot? Its HER.
His insistence on some girl from a thirty year old yearbook being GG seems ridiculous. It has to be a relative. I mean, it looks exactly like her—but for that to be GG herself would be impossible. And yet… a shiver creeps along my spine, because it’s not just a resemblance. The girl in the yearbook photo looks… well, identical. Something isn’t right here. Something isn’t…
Watched. I feel like I’m being watched.
I glance around, and then I tuck the tablet into my bag. I’ve lost all trace of GG. I’ll have to message her about the tablet later. But now… now, as I turn and hurry home, I’m certain I hear footsteps behind me. Certain that eyes are on me, following me. That something is drawing nearer and nearer… meanwhile my phone is pinging, again and again. I risk a glance and see Dark Lord messaging me.
DARK LORD: Haven’t you noticed? How the class keeps shrinking?
DARK LORD: I got the class list from the teacher. Well… stole it.
DARK LORD: Anyway. People aren’t dropping.
DARK LORD: They’re DISAPPEARING. I found missing persons reports.
DARK LORD: I tried to tell teach but he thinks I’m a conspiracy theorist.
DARK LORD: So I looked myself. That girl you got the hots for… Frogger, on the class list her name is Genevieve Grayson. Same as that yearbook. And guess what I found out about Genevieve?
DARK LORD: … Frogger? Are you still there?
DARK LORD: Shit, are you home? Are you safe? Frogger? Emailing you.
I’m running now, the phone in my pocket. The shadows… the shadows seem to be closing in around me. That feeling of being watched has intensified so much I swear I can see eyes, glinting out at me from the dark. The chill has penetrated to my bones, and as I run, in the thud of my footsteps, either there’s an echo, or….
THUD-thup-THUD-thup-THUD-thup
… or a second set of footsteps, just under mine, hidden almost to be inaudible by the pounding reverberations. Someone running after me, almost at exactly my pace… but ever so slightly, with each step…
… catching up.
Finally my apartment building looms. Relief floods me, and I dash toward the bright glare of the exterior building lights. For a moment, I feel the presence of that icy chill like a wind raking my back—and then I’m inside, rushing up the stairs, bursting into my apartment and slamming the door shut, locking it. After several moments, I finally take out my phone in shaking hands.
FROGGER: I’m home. I think someone followed me.
FROGGER: What were you going to tell me about Genevieve?
There’s no response, so I go to my desk and Google “Genevieve Grayson.” And as I sit there, staring at my screen, my blood runs cold. Because when I do find her yearbook photo, it’s true. Genevieve Grayson looks just like GG. But…
According to Google, Genevieve has been dead for nearly thirty years.
Week 6
I am really freaked out. Like, so freaked out. The morning after I had that scare running home, I tried to contact Dark Lord but he wasn’t answering. The email he sent me the night before had attachments of missing persons reports. These matched the list he sent of our classmates’ names and contact info that I guess he stole from the teacher.
He was right about our classmates disappearing.
But the worst news came later, after I was checking the local news—I started looking because I was searching for more missing persons reports—and there was a headline that caught my attention.
MAIMED BODY OF SLAIN MAN FOUND OUTSIDE APARTMENT
The body of Xavier Rodriguez, 27, was found disemboweled outside of his apartment late Monday night…
Gazing at the image of the man in the newspaper photo, I felt my heart drop to my toes. Because it was Dark Lord, looking out at me with his trademark intense stare, and in his arms was a cat—the black cat with the laser eyes from his picture. Apparently it was his actual pet cat… and somehow it’s this little detail that makes it all seem so much more horrifically real. Should I call the police? Tell them that Xavier was trying to warn me about something the night he died? Oh God… I’d never be able to sit through an interrogation!
I consider telling Brandon, but Xavier already tried and got dismissed as a conspiracy theorist.
By the time class rolls around, I’ve done nothing. Pathetic, I know. When I arrive at the coffee shop, almost an hour early, the bell jingles above my head, and the barista smiles in greeting. I duck my head. And then I see Brandon—his pleasant face brightening.
“Frogger! You’re early. I haven’t ordered drinks yet. Would you like to order your own? Or are you a quiet cat today?”
“Can I talk to you?”
“Sure.” He comes over and sits at a corner table with me, leans in and asks in his gently affirming way, “What’s up?”
Already I am sweating like mad in my frog hoodie. I lean in and Brandon furrows his brow in that concerned way of his, and I blurt out, “Xavier thinks we’re all in danger and now he’s dead and we have to call the police and ambush Genevieve because… she doesn’t breathe.” Oh. He already looks like he doesn’t believe me. My face is red. Hot and flushed. I open up my messenger app and show him the messages I exchanged with Xavier, as well as the yearbook pics of Genevieve and the news article about Xavier’s death.
“I don’t know what to say,” he admits when he finally does speak, shaking his head. “This is all so….” After a pause, he asks, “Why did you wait until now to tell me? Aren’t you usually much more comfortable communicating by messages?”
“I didn’t want her to know and I was worried she might have some way to… I dunno. I mean Xavier hacked your site and got access to your class roster.”
“What??”
“I just didn’t want her to find out beforehand and come after you or me.” I drop my eyes. It feels like a betrayal, talking about GG this way. I have to remind myself that she’s not GG. She’s Genevieve. And she’s much, much older than the nineteen-year-old she appears to be.
“Did you go to the police?” asks Brandon.
I shake my head. “I’m pretty sure they’ll go through his emails and messages to try to find his killer. I can’t really add anything.” … what I don’t say is that I could barely blurt out the truth to Brandon, let alone officers in an interrogation room. I’d probably just look guilty and they’d wonder if I had something to do with it and then arrest me for murder and I’d be too terrified to open my mouth to defend myself… and while my mind is tunneling ever deeper down this rabbit hole, Brandon is talking again:
“… I’ll message everyone that class is postponed until further notice. Meantime, you go straight home. And message me that you got home safe. Actually…” He rubs his chin. “I’d better walk you. Come on.”
We head out into the early evening. And even though I am bundled up with a scarf over my frog hoodie, the wind is biting and makes my eyes weep. Brandon interrogates me about my disappearing classmates, who else I’ve told, and I’m mumbling my answers when my flesh prickles…
“What is it?” Brandon stops.
“Eyes,” I whisper. “Someone’s watching us…”
He looks all around. “You must be imagining it. There’s no one out here.”
When I insist that someone is watching us, he considers for a moment, and then tugs my wrist and pulls me into a trot, saying we’ll take a shortcut. We move quickly, ducking into an alley. I still hear the echo of footsteps, feel the weight of eyes. But then the feeling vanishes as we turn a corner. Brandon takes us further away from the street, deeper into the back alley between buildings, and finally stops by the dumpster at the rear of what seems to be a warehouse.
“Still feel eyes?” he asks.
I shake my head.
“That’s good,” Brandon says in his mellow, reassuring voice. “I wouldn’t want there to be any witnesses to your imminent demise.”
“… huh?” His words register too late—
—and then I am on the ground, struggling for air because he has me pinned. He smiles, and his teeth are long… sharp… and there are too many of them to fit in his mouth.
He lifts a hand to wipe away the saliva that dribbles down his chin, and his eyes have a feral glow. “Xavier got too close,” he remarks. “I had to get rid of him. Didn’t realize he showed all his findings to you. The thing about shut-ins, though, that makes you such wonderful pickings, is that you never go to anyone for help… every time, every class. If there’s anyone suspicious—and usually there isn’t—but if there is, you always come to me. A shame, Frogger. You made real progress. I’th be pthoud of you, ihf you dithnt thmell tho delithious...”
His teeth have gotten too long for his mouth, and warm wet droplets fall onto my face—
And then it’s back—eyes. Watching me. Soft footsteps.
I look past my slavering professor—and behind him stands a girl, pale in her gothic makeup.
Brandon’s head turns. “Hnnh?”
She looks down at me. Then at Brandon.
He wipes his face and his teeth retract enough for him to growl, “Nice of you to join class, Genevieve. My worst student, here with my best. You know your classmate here thinks you’re immortal? A shame she doesn’t have my sense of smell, or she’d know better.” He inhales deeply and smiles. A smile that cracks his face wider than should be possible, revealing that those teeth run in rows deep into his skull. Then he tells her to please wait and not run and make him chase her. “I hate exercising before dinner.” When he turns back to me, his jaws open wide enough it seems he might swallow my head whole—
“Stop.”
It’s a whisper, but the first word GG has ever spoken.
To my shock, Brandon does stop. He blinks and turns. “What’s that?” He looks at her, and his eyes have gotten wide, nostrils flaring as he sniffs the air, as if he smells something on her breath.
She inhales deeply, clenching her fists, and yells: “STOP!”
The world explodes.
I don’t know how to describe it. It’s like the word leaves her body and in the air becomes a great dark mass of blackness, shadow given form, and at the same time her real body—her human body—collapses like a deflated balloon. And the thing that emerges from her voice expands like spilled ink across my vision, stretching up and above us, and for just an instant as it looms, all solid black except for vaguely pointed ears and the flashes of white that might be teeth, I recognize it—the “cat” she used for her nametag picture. Cat-GG. But of course it is not cat, and never was. And apparently now that it’s been freed by her voice, Brandon can definitely smell it, because in the instant before it envelopes us he springs—leaping with a shocking agility away from me and up the side of the building.
But that liquid shadow spills upward just as fast, and his screams vanish into gargling. There is a crunching and squelching, and blood rains down on me.
And then I hear screaming and this time—this time it is my voice. And I’m running. Running as fast as my legs will carry me.
Graduation
Brandon’s corpse has not been found. He’s been listed as a “missing person.” Just like all my classmates. The only exception is Xavier—if I had to guess, Brandon was interrupted at the scene and fled to avoid being caught by someone who wasn’t a shut-in.
It’s been weeks, and I still haven’t told anyone all of this. Who would I tell?
Ironically, even though Brandon’s class didn’t make me an extrovert, I’ve gotten better at things like grocery shopping. I guess after the last lethal lesson, well… I’ve found there are scarier things in the world than small talk (though it’s still in my top ten).
Oh, also, GG messaged me:
GG: Hi.
GG: hope ur ok, frogface. sry if I scared u
ME: Sorry for thinking it was you disappearing people. I was completely suckered by brandon. :(
GG: its ok
ME: So it was you following me all those times? Watching me?
GG: Yes
ME: You knew what Brandon was and were trying to protect me?
GG: honestly I had no idea about our teacher. The truth is… I followed u bc I like u. u seem sweet. Im sorry I shouldn’t have been following… I just took the class bc I have no friends…
ME: Oh… well, kinda glad you did. If you hadn’t, I’d probably be dead.
GG: u not mad, frogface?
ME: No. I actually, um… I followed you, too, the other night. Wasn’t trying to stalk you but you left your tablet.
ME: So… you’re not gonna try to eat me? Have froglegs for dinner?
GG: no
ME: What about that super scary monster? Cat-GG?
GG: If I don’t use my voice, it sleeps
ME: So we can be friends?
GG: yes
ME: Ok. Well… I have to give your tablet back, so…. How about we meet next week? Like… like we do in class? I’ll order your drink for you so you don’t have to talk. We can call it our graduation!
GG: 😊 yes pls
ME: we’ll have a hopping good time 🐸
(Shut up she thinks my jokes are cute.)
So. My new friend might be a monster. And she did just eat our teacher. But you know what? I’m cool with that.
2023.12.30 00:00 yoghurtangel Old solo episodes with timestamps of favourite parts!
(Here is a list of my favourite parts in most of the old solo/family-style TigerBelly episodes. Updated over the years with timestamps for rewatching whenever I needed a laugh. I don't know what to do with this anymore as I've stopped catching up ages ago so I thought I'd post it for others who may find enjoyment in it. Sorry for the format, it's literally copied & pasted from the Notes app. Peace.)
edit: more timestamps.
__
30 george has a pink dick — 21:41 fat gilb eating spree with khalyla. "are you crying?" "i'm gonna get fat again dude."
31 good morning sweetie — 22:40 “i used to take a bbgun and there was a guy that was a paraplegic—“ gilbert: “cmon man, you better not have shot him.” bobby: “forget it then.”, 24:38 gilbert: “i’m taking meetings.” khalyla: "that's the grossest thing you could've ever texted me back."
33 flower shielding — 31:04 “138 people stabbed at a train station. what’s up with the 138th guy? no warning?”, 1:01:31 mike ward makes fun of a 19 year old kid who has Treacher-Collins syndrome and looks like a bird. bobby and gilbert laughing silently. bobby: "let me ask you a question. does he look like a bird?" yes. "then that's it." case closed.
39 ring and sweats — 9:50 “if a cobra bit me on the dick would you suck the venom out?” “it depends on the dick.” “on the stem.” “well it’s called a “shaft”..."
40 man up — 3:25 "i will fuck you... up!"
41 second in the family — 52:30 bobby’s dad has a bigger dick.
43 so punk rock - 3:13 bobby's weapon. "you want panty treatment?!"
46 giraffe bear - 13:40 erik griffin v ahmed ahmed drink throwing. bobby loves altercations. bobby talking about george lopez strangling carlos mencia in the lobby of the laugh factory. "he took his little bean fingers and gouged it into carlos mencia's throat. i would've done a little karate chop on his bean hands.", 14:21 bobby: "whoa whoa whoa whoa",
49 tip toeing - 15:20 prince got fentanyl from the doctor. "i'm sorry, but um. it's. fucking. PRINCE. if i was a doctor and PRINCE said hey can you get me heroin i'd be like YOU'RE PRINCE and i'm gonna get you fucking heroin." / bobby as michael jackson: "hee hee, doctor, hee hee, can you get me propopopong?", 27:50 bobby complaoning about giving khalyla massages in order to play video games. another 10 minutes on this thigh. "what the fuck, bitch? we have to fight fucking... there's a war going on, bitch!" "i tried to pick the most boring movie so she could fall asleep. it's just a bunch of people talking about science and she's RIVETED by it. it backfired.",
51 make it spread 2016 — 14:10 tell me gilbert died in an accident. “gabriel died? and then what happened?”, 34:10 gilbert has a special lady in his life. bobby wants to see a picture and gilbert doesn't want to show a picture - bobby gets dramatic and wants to end the podcast lol.,
52 god's toe - 1:00 gratitude seance., 8:28 story of seeing danny lee in terry's mexican restaurant. "hey my girlfriend's here i want you to meet her." khalyla had the dog.,
53 blood feet — 46:50 gilbert in a sketch show waiting to get noticed.. gross lol.
58 mr. magoo and leaky lee — 34:02 incest. mom divorced own son and married daughter in oklahoma., 35:17 bobby: "i think tapping it (your cousin) maybe once in a party is ok." "don't tell your mom!" "see you at christmas :)"
59 fun facts — 2:17 fun facts, 13:42 "hula hoop your fucking ass off!"
60 off the wall — 1:00 bobby accuses george of hooking up with jessica ("DO you want to kiss jessica?"), 20:40 (bob and gilb roleplay cops phone call, "who is this? "i dont care" "okay we're the police but alright", 22:13 accent: "your photo your upstairs", 28:15 "did you finger her in the water" gilb and bob laugh., 30:00 because you know what? i'm crafty. "let the man speak. let the fucking man speak!"
61 the good friend — 46:00 gilb to his mum: "you are such a fatso!", 49:20 "the whole family would be in your leash... where is she...."
62 david so and the language of love — 16:40 bobby prayed his dad would get a stroke. “dear god” “you have an asian accent?! a vietnamese accent?”, 20:10 different love languages “you wanna be held like a baby???? i got SHIT TO DO!!!”, 32:13 “there was a comic called freddie soto.” “R.I.P.” khalyla throws a kiss to the sky and bobby imitates, 52:22 david’s dad was a pastor for free. bobby's high voice: “WHAT” -- 'that's his character in Gook.',
64 hearsay theirsay — 0:35 jesus loves me yes i know for the bible tells me so., 23:34 “i think the notebook is one of the scariest movies i’ve ever seen in my life.” FUCK YOU. YOU DIE, I’M FREE., 1:06:03 "i've never done Dat... i neba don dat...", 1:10:10 bobby apologising to khaly while george is speaking. sweet moment.,
65 hi papaps — 12:29 bobby dancing in flo rida music video. "how do i grow?..." "as a dancer?", 27:47 “hi papaps” on the mirror., 46:25 gilbert makes a 'v' with his legs and pick out his butt hairs while he's watching netflix. only netflix. not hulu, fuck hulu. netflix.,
67 hey everybody hello — 11:00 bobby on the phone to danny garcia. it was like he was your master. bobby: why does that hurt?, 32:00 urban bobby talks disney - urban bobby on beauty and the beast, "so why the fuck do i need to fucking see it, dawg?!": "nah dawg, ain't no fuckin maurice motherfucker!", "fuck chip, that white motherfucker he owes me money, bitch!", “lumiere man, that’s my cousin!”,
70 tricknuts and chips — 14:31 “no i didn’t feel fucking butterflies DAWG. brap brap brap.”, 18:00 bobby explains how an abortion works., 20:19 the fetus says why. brap brap., 23:10 bobby: "if we get pregnant again, we're keeping it." khaly: "you always do this trick-nutting in me!" (george & gilb: what's trick-nutting?) bobby & k: "you don't know what trick-nutting is?!" bobby: "it's an old technique from my ancestors.", 44:17 steve as shelly. “ALRIGHT. SHELLY.” “i don’t care, ste— uh, shelly!”, 55:18 gilb: i used to hold my poo until i’m sweating... i never knew why i did it. bobby: BECAUSE YOU’RE GAY.
71 emperor error — 27:12 timothy delaghetto thinks bobby is weird and george says "cos you go all out for your comedy." & "i miss the early days of maker when you were like eating dude's ass cheeks and stuff." everyone in the room is like WHAT??? george said it took him two months to see bobby's dick. and bobby replied, "i don't show my dick to people that i think are gonna want it.", 28:43 talking about who they get mistaken for. george says, "you're never gonna believe this but i was mistaken for brad pitt and they actually asked for my autograph." bobby: nobody believes you.
73 steve lee is mr. pringles — 13:29 “but anyway, we did that while my dad was downstairs dying.”
77 the slept king — 20:00 bobby about miss universe saying something as the slept king "how can you vote without seeing the vagina?" "SLEPT KING... you can't say that SLEPT KING.", 23:44 miss universe. bobby and gilbert laughing at the filipino translator. "alright. go ahead. it's a beautiful language.", 25:00 bobby answers miss universe question.,
78 twenty five percent — 10:10 “y’know what i’m gonna do? i’m gonna fuck him back.” he fucked me, i’m gonna fuck you. (twerking, power bottom, bobby turning into a “ghost”, khalyla’s “move”.)
81 moth in a jar — 0:10 khalyla singing filipino song. bobby: “wtf is a kungpusoo?”, 14:10 "just before this i was on a tinder date." "oh really george? still lying huh?" you were sucking bryce's dick!, 53:26 unhelpful advice about someone wanting to become a hipster. is george a hipster? george: "no i'm an intellectual redneck, that's my branding..." bobby: "oh my god if i could vomit out of my asshole. and stick it back into his fucking asshole."
83 snickers trickers — 19:47 donkey video: you gonna make the donkey do all the work? steve: let me see it one more time. if it's my donkey you’re fucking then i’m allowed to tape you... riiiight... what???...
84 david so, the human grenade — 9:40 “young black girl.” "yum yum.", 16:50 erik griffin started singing beauty & the beast songs on stage. and we all got up and we left. it was UNCOMFORTABLE. “i think you made it uncomfortable cos all you guys walked away.” no cos that was him coming out the closet.., 18:00 bobby talking about what he thinks beauty and the beast is about. “there’s a salt shaker.” 35:36 belly poke. FATTY. 53:48 STRIPPER BIT, gay dads, “obcorsu”.
87 up in da club — 8:45 "two years ago, i helped a retard cross the street. it was a midget. they're physically retarded.", 48:00 bobby's cult. you'll be reincarnated -- but in the past. gilbert’s going to be reincarnated as a hole.
90 swallow for swallow — 17:00 bobby’s animal impressions. water buffalo.
91 lemonade, lemonide — 58:20 bob and gilbert talking about death. bobby sad about parents dying soon. and gilbert gets sad that his grandparents are gonna die soon too. bobby laughs.
95 bob bunyan and the nest of bees — 00:20 guess what gilbert? alright alright. doovodooovodooov. alright alright. 10:00 harry’s razors ad read song., 18:00 george saying “gook”.
112 teddy talk & riverside cafe — 6:37 bobby & khalyla talking about bobby being a diva when people don't make a fuss about him. gilbert lying about khalyla "i'm on FUCKING tigerbelly!" and khalyla's like, "imagine i was that way." bobby responds, "you ARE THAT way. what do you mean IMAGINE? just record yourself, bitch.", 12:00 brooklinen advert song: brooklinen, brooklinen.... brooklinen, brooklineee-een...
113 the constantine — 59:08 depressive episode date bobby and gilbert improv; “do you have a 2-dimensional face?”
115 two truths and a lie — 18:00 george saying he never had a prom. "we would bust into some..." bobby: "roast beef."
118 eureka, science alert! — 11:30 bobby explaining menstruation, Gilbert: “what’s an embryo? what do YOU think? what do YOU think it is?!” 45:00 “by the time i’m 80…” ba-dah-tahm...
120 angel with no wings — 17:26 to george: what was your discipline for talking back? ... bobby: "i want details. because i got my dick pulled..." "as punishment?" "no, i pulled my own dick."
124 jean-bob — 24:52 monkey sex. beastiality. bobby: "and the monkey was like ooh? and i was like hi. he's like ooh? yeah... right? and then he's laying on his back. him, no, a girl i mean, a woman." gilbert: "nope, it's a him. nope, sorry, it's too late, you said him.", 34:15 comic accused of sexual harassment/assault? "justice will prevail" improv scenario.
128 conduit of love — talking about their holiday to tulum mexico, 24:47 stardew valley talk with george. "i'm too busy making money." "what kind of sword do you have? i have the galaxy sword. year two i got the galaxy sword.", 30:49 bad smells and poop, "i'm sorry that you have that, and i'm sorry for my bathroom because i went in there like an hour ago and oh my god... it was just deep... the smells.", 33:10 bobby doing the mouth smelling technique and khalyla saying he looks ugly lol.
138 toes on the table — 6:50 “Everyone knows the Slept King. Everyone knows “Nosotros Papaya”. Everyone knows the science of life and alerts. And the things we talk about here: The dream weaving, the connections. The spiritual laws between our souls. Upper, lower case. Energy. Dementia. Marvellous reactions within each other despite interactions without yourself. And these are things that I believe, these are things that I’m gonna put down in a book one day. But multi-tasking within each cell creates an upper hemisphere of life components that we, in itself, cannot understand… and yet they exist.”
140 independence day — 22:20 khalyla talking about her dad's funeral ceremony and woman singing "brother edgar, we miss you -- ahhh-MAAAAY--" bobby condescendingly saying: look at khalyla, look how far she's come. she's getting laughs on her own. do you think i should go on auditions? maybe? i go maybe?... 44:28 who do you love more gilbert? do you love khalyla more than me? bob says no. lol.
142 moshi the nugget — 57:05 bob and gilbert improv unhelpful advice of guy whose friend's dad wants to appreciate his naked body., 55:20 unhelpful advice bobby making little remarks to the guy asking the question & "now, liam..."
147 bend it like bobo — 22:45 bob and gilbert roleplay prison visit to son who ran over people., 44:00 bobby gets suspected for khalyla's death. bob and gilbert improv.
149 a demon god? — 47:15 everyone does the unhelpful advice voice.
151 a horse named sizzler — 47:00 "khalyla's the love of my life." "boom." “lol he said bOOM.”
154 (don't) hold your breath — 55:00 khalyla gets emotional.
156 cricket & a bat wing — 55:10 “everyone in the room imagine george’s penis erect.” bobby’s speech about george’s sex life.
158 the wrong yearbook — 1:11 gilbert starts the podcast by singing “coo cooo coooo cooodooocooo” and bobby’s like wtf are you doing dude? “i panicked cos you didn’t say anything.”
165 conduits & connectors — (the episode where julio humps george’s leg the entire time.) 35:50 bobby’s benefit ball ‘baby ball’ story where he wears a hawaiian shirt and auctions off tickets to the comedy store.
166 steebee weebee & monotone bob — 13:46 bobby shit in the backseat of his car, “you’re just like father.”, 1:07:58 bobby and steve improv on creepy roommate with a boner.
171 pumpkin pie master — 32:30 “i’ve fucking went to pumpkin pie to the fucking pumpkin master!”, 43:30 church conversion camps are just fuck fests -- george. bobby: i'm not even gay and i wanna go. gilbert: "father, i don't wanna be gay anymore, send me to the camp!", 53:49 unhelpful advice bobby, gilbert, khalyla and george improv. sibling died improv. "sorry to interrupt, brownie a la mode?"
187 the great juice battle — 5:59 bobby being a brat with khalyla. burrito blanket.
191 sweet beef — 9:40 bobby talking about wanting tits. asked gilbert about tits instead of khalyla lol. asking if you can suck milk out of breasts. 11:47 bobby’s science question: “if khalyla’s breastfeeding the baby, but right before the baby latches on to the breast, i slip in my dick in front of the baby’s mouth. is that illegal?”, 30:16 little stock-responses in restaurants. “that was my nickname in high school.” “can i eat here? is this a place you can eat?” “do you guys take these? and it’s regular dollar bills.”, 35:30 bobby’s fake laugh.
201 no one is calling papa — 55:25 bobby making gilbert change the unhelpful advice voice. southern, mexican, nerd.
205 a time of love, hate & betrayal — 25:40 bobby describing the question types for the tigerbelly fans. bobby: should we make it, the bubbles, the four… sometimes the question and then the line… gilbert: scantron? khalyla: you mean, multiple choice? you guys never been to school?, 26:55 star trek multiple choice questions with khalyla and gilbert., 54:40 UNHELPFUL ADVICE. guy nuts in a hole. gilbert and bob improv.
209 go get ‘em gob! — 31:10 khalyla: “do you ever wonder how your parents fuck?” bobby: “alright… what???? my dad just died. WHAT? oh he was like a rabbit!!”, 55:38 bobby makes gilbert change the unhelpful advice voice. (garbage truck at 5 in the morning, a fruit bat, ants rustling to get into their hole.), 1:00:15 unhelpful advice -- friendship group gangbangs mom. bobby: "hey guys, just wondering... why is your name, your name and your name above my mom's fucking bush?" gilbert: "first of all, dude, why were you looking at your mom's bush?" bobby: "she showed me."
210 andrew santino is in the shallow — 7:38 & 14:30 george talking about indian school girl. 19:45 ladies and gentlemen…. THE PULIS. 27:16 andrew being “maarte” about towels. “and you know what? proud to be.” this whole episode.
212 two fake mustaches — 6:39 Jewwy - khalyla's pet ramen noodle/pancit noodle.
235 poway hall of fame — 57:09 top 10 game. “whatchu talking about?” “i’m talking about…” we talking about barracudas…
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submitted by yoghurtangel to TigerBelly [link] [comments]
edit: more timestamps.
__
30 george has a pink dick — 21:41 fat gilb eating spree with khalyla. "are you crying?" "i'm gonna get fat again dude."
31 good morning sweetie — 22:40 “i used to take a bbgun and there was a guy that was a paraplegic—“ gilbert: “cmon man, you better not have shot him.” bobby: “forget it then.”, 24:38 gilbert: “i’m taking meetings.” khalyla: "that's the grossest thing you could've ever texted me back."
33 flower shielding — 31:04 “138 people stabbed at a train station. what’s up with the 138th guy? no warning?”, 1:01:31 mike ward makes fun of a 19 year old kid who has Treacher-Collins syndrome and looks like a bird. bobby and gilbert laughing silently. bobby: "let me ask you a question. does he look like a bird?" yes. "then that's it." case closed.
39 ring and sweats — 9:50 “if a cobra bit me on the dick would you suck the venom out?” “it depends on the dick.” “on the stem.” “well it’s called a “shaft”..."
40 man up — 3:25 "i will fuck you... up!"
41 second in the family — 52:30 bobby’s dad has a bigger dick.
43 so punk rock - 3:13 bobby's weapon. "you want panty treatment?!"
46 giraffe bear - 13:40 erik griffin v ahmed ahmed drink throwing. bobby loves altercations. bobby talking about george lopez strangling carlos mencia in the lobby of the laugh factory. "he took his little bean fingers and gouged it into carlos mencia's throat. i would've done a little karate chop on his bean hands.", 14:21 bobby: "whoa whoa whoa whoa",
49 tip toeing - 15:20 prince got fentanyl from the doctor. "i'm sorry, but um. it's. fucking. PRINCE. if i was a doctor and PRINCE said hey can you get me heroin i'd be like YOU'RE PRINCE and i'm gonna get you fucking heroin." / bobby as michael jackson: "hee hee, doctor, hee hee, can you get me propopopong?", 27:50 bobby complaoning about giving khalyla massages in order to play video games. another 10 minutes on this thigh. "what the fuck, bitch? we have to fight fucking... there's a war going on, bitch!" "i tried to pick the most boring movie so she could fall asleep. it's just a bunch of people talking about science and she's RIVETED by it. it backfired.",
51 make it spread 2016 — 14:10 tell me gilbert died in an accident. “gabriel died? and then what happened?”, 34:10 gilbert has a special lady in his life. bobby wants to see a picture and gilbert doesn't want to show a picture - bobby gets dramatic and wants to end the podcast lol.,
52 god's toe - 1:00 gratitude seance., 8:28 story of seeing danny lee in terry's mexican restaurant. "hey my girlfriend's here i want you to meet her." khalyla had the dog.,
53 blood feet — 46:50 gilbert in a sketch show waiting to get noticed.. gross lol.
58 mr. magoo and leaky lee — 34:02 incest. mom divorced own son and married daughter in oklahoma., 35:17 bobby: "i think tapping it (your cousin) maybe once in a party is ok." "don't tell your mom!" "see you at christmas :)"
59 fun facts — 2:17 fun facts, 13:42 "hula hoop your fucking ass off!"
60 off the wall — 1:00 bobby accuses george of hooking up with jessica ("DO you want to kiss jessica?"), 20:40 (bob and gilb roleplay cops phone call, "who is this? "i dont care" "okay we're the police but alright", 22:13 accent: "your photo your upstairs", 28:15 "did you finger her in the water" gilb and bob laugh., 30:00 because you know what? i'm crafty. "let the man speak. let the fucking man speak!"
61 the good friend — 46:00 gilb to his mum: "you are such a fatso!", 49:20 "the whole family would be in your leash... where is she...."
62 david so and the language of love — 16:40 bobby prayed his dad would get a stroke. “dear god” “you have an asian accent?! a vietnamese accent?”, 20:10 different love languages “you wanna be held like a baby???? i got SHIT TO DO!!!”, 32:13 “there was a comic called freddie soto.” “R.I.P.” khalyla throws a kiss to the sky and bobby imitates, 52:22 david’s dad was a pastor for free. bobby's high voice: “WHAT” -- 'that's his character in Gook.',
64 hearsay theirsay — 0:35 jesus loves me yes i know for the bible tells me so., 23:34 “i think the notebook is one of the scariest movies i’ve ever seen in my life.” FUCK YOU. YOU DIE, I’M FREE., 1:06:03 "i've never done Dat... i neba don dat...", 1:10:10 bobby apologising to khaly while george is speaking. sweet moment.,
65 hi papaps — 12:29 bobby dancing in flo rida music video. "how do i grow?..." "as a dancer?", 27:47 “hi papaps” on the mirror., 46:25 gilbert makes a 'v' with his legs and pick out his butt hairs while he's watching netflix. only netflix. not hulu, fuck hulu. netflix.,
67 hey everybody hello — 11:00 bobby on the phone to danny garcia. it was like he was your master. bobby: why does that hurt?, 32:00 urban bobby talks disney - urban bobby on beauty and the beast, "so why the fuck do i need to fucking see it, dawg?!": "nah dawg, ain't no fuckin maurice motherfucker!", "fuck chip, that white motherfucker he owes me money, bitch!", “lumiere man, that’s my cousin!”,
70 tricknuts and chips — 14:31 “no i didn’t feel fucking butterflies DAWG. brap brap brap.”, 18:00 bobby explains how an abortion works., 20:19 the fetus says why. brap brap., 23:10 bobby: "if we get pregnant again, we're keeping it." khaly: "you always do this trick-nutting in me!" (george & gilb: what's trick-nutting?) bobby & k: "you don't know what trick-nutting is?!" bobby: "it's an old technique from my ancestors.", 44:17 steve as shelly. “ALRIGHT. SHELLY.” “i don’t care, ste— uh, shelly!”, 55:18 gilb: i used to hold my poo until i’m sweating... i never knew why i did it. bobby: BECAUSE YOU’RE GAY.
71 emperor error — 27:12 timothy delaghetto thinks bobby is weird and george says "cos you go all out for your comedy." & "i miss the early days of maker when you were like eating dude's ass cheeks and stuff." everyone in the room is like WHAT??? george said it took him two months to see bobby's dick. and bobby replied, "i don't show my dick to people that i think are gonna want it.", 28:43 talking about who they get mistaken for. george says, "you're never gonna believe this but i was mistaken for brad pitt and they actually asked for my autograph." bobby: nobody believes you.
73 steve lee is mr. pringles — 13:29 “but anyway, we did that while my dad was downstairs dying.”
77 the slept king — 20:00 bobby about miss universe saying something as the slept king "how can you vote without seeing the vagina?" "SLEPT KING... you can't say that SLEPT KING.", 23:44 miss universe. bobby and gilbert laughing at the filipino translator. "alright. go ahead. it's a beautiful language.", 25:00 bobby answers miss universe question.,
78 twenty five percent — 10:10 “y’know what i’m gonna do? i’m gonna fuck him back.” he fucked me, i’m gonna fuck you. (twerking, power bottom, bobby turning into a “ghost”, khalyla’s “move”.)
81 moth in a jar — 0:10 khalyla singing filipino song. bobby: “wtf is a kungpusoo?”, 14:10 "just before this i was on a tinder date." "oh really george? still lying huh?" you were sucking bryce's dick!, 53:26 unhelpful advice about someone wanting to become a hipster. is george a hipster? george: "no i'm an intellectual redneck, that's my branding..." bobby: "oh my god if i could vomit out of my asshole. and stick it back into his fucking asshole."
83 snickers trickers — 19:47 donkey video: you gonna make the donkey do all the work? steve: let me see it one more time. if it's my donkey you’re fucking then i’m allowed to tape you... riiiight... what???...
84 david so, the human grenade — 9:40 “young black girl.” "yum yum.", 16:50 erik griffin started singing beauty & the beast songs on stage. and we all got up and we left. it was UNCOMFORTABLE. “i think you made it uncomfortable cos all you guys walked away.” no cos that was him coming out the closet.., 18:00 bobby talking about what he thinks beauty and the beast is about. “there’s a salt shaker.” 35:36 belly poke. FATTY. 53:48 STRIPPER BIT, gay dads, “obcorsu”.
87 up in da club — 8:45 "two years ago, i helped a retard cross the street. it was a midget. they're physically retarded.", 48:00 bobby's cult. you'll be reincarnated -- but in the past. gilbert’s going to be reincarnated as a hole.
90 swallow for swallow — 17:00 bobby’s animal impressions. water buffalo.
91 lemonade, lemonide — 58:20 bob and gilbert talking about death. bobby sad about parents dying soon. and gilbert gets sad that his grandparents are gonna die soon too. bobby laughs.
95 bob bunyan and the nest of bees — 00:20 guess what gilbert? alright alright. doovodooovodooov. alright alright. 10:00 harry’s razors ad read song., 18:00 george saying “gook”.
112 teddy talk & riverside cafe — 6:37 bobby & khalyla talking about bobby being a diva when people don't make a fuss about him. gilbert lying about khalyla "i'm on FUCKING tigerbelly!" and khalyla's like, "imagine i was that way." bobby responds, "you ARE THAT way. what do you mean IMAGINE? just record yourself, bitch.", 12:00 brooklinen advert song: brooklinen, brooklinen.... brooklinen, brooklineee-een...
113 the constantine — 59:08 depressive episode date bobby and gilbert improv; “do you have a 2-dimensional face?”
115 two truths and a lie — 18:00 george saying he never had a prom. "we would bust into some..." bobby: "roast beef."
118 eureka, science alert! — 11:30 bobby explaining menstruation, Gilbert: “what’s an embryo? what do YOU think? what do YOU think it is?!” 45:00 “by the time i’m 80…” ba-dah-tahm...
120 angel with no wings — 17:26 to george: what was your discipline for talking back? ... bobby: "i want details. because i got my dick pulled..." "as punishment?" "no, i pulled my own dick."
124 jean-bob — 24:52 monkey sex. beastiality. bobby: "and the monkey was like ooh? and i was like hi. he's like ooh? yeah... right? and then he's laying on his back. him, no, a girl i mean, a woman." gilbert: "nope, it's a him. nope, sorry, it's too late, you said him.", 34:15 comic accused of sexual harassment/assault? "justice will prevail" improv scenario.
128 conduit of love — talking about their holiday to tulum mexico, 24:47 stardew valley talk with george. "i'm too busy making money." "what kind of sword do you have? i have the galaxy sword. year two i got the galaxy sword.", 30:49 bad smells and poop, "i'm sorry that you have that, and i'm sorry for my bathroom because i went in there like an hour ago and oh my god... it was just deep... the smells.", 33:10 bobby doing the mouth smelling technique and khalyla saying he looks ugly lol.
138 toes on the table — 6:50 “Everyone knows the Slept King. Everyone knows “Nosotros Papaya”. Everyone knows the science of life and alerts. And the things we talk about here: The dream weaving, the connections. The spiritual laws between our souls. Upper, lower case. Energy. Dementia. Marvellous reactions within each other despite interactions without yourself. And these are things that I believe, these are things that I’m gonna put down in a book one day. But multi-tasking within each cell creates an upper hemisphere of life components that we, in itself, cannot understand… and yet they exist.”
140 independence day — 22:20 khalyla talking about her dad's funeral ceremony and woman singing "brother edgar, we miss you -- ahhh-MAAAAY--" bobby condescendingly saying: look at khalyla, look how far she's come. she's getting laughs on her own. do you think i should go on auditions? maybe? i go maybe?... 44:28 who do you love more gilbert? do you love khalyla more than me? bob says no. lol.
142 moshi the nugget — 57:05 bob and gilbert improv unhelpful advice of guy whose friend's dad wants to appreciate his naked body., 55:20 unhelpful advice bobby making little remarks to the guy asking the question & "now, liam..."
147 bend it like bobo — 22:45 bob and gilbert roleplay prison visit to son who ran over people., 44:00 bobby gets suspected for khalyla's death. bob and gilbert improv.
149 a demon god? — 47:15 everyone does the unhelpful advice voice.
151 a horse named sizzler — 47:00 "khalyla's the love of my life." "boom." “lol he said bOOM.”
154 (don't) hold your breath — 55:00 khalyla gets emotional.
156 cricket & a bat wing — 55:10 “everyone in the room imagine george’s penis erect.” bobby’s speech about george’s sex life.
158 the wrong yearbook — 1:11 gilbert starts the podcast by singing “coo cooo coooo cooodooocooo” and bobby’s like wtf are you doing dude? “i panicked cos you didn’t say anything.”
165 conduits & connectors — (the episode where julio humps george’s leg the entire time.) 35:50 bobby’s benefit ball ‘baby ball’ story where he wears a hawaiian shirt and auctions off tickets to the comedy store.
166 steebee weebee & monotone bob — 13:46 bobby shit in the backseat of his car, “you’re just like father.”, 1:07:58 bobby and steve improv on creepy roommate with a boner.
171 pumpkin pie master — 32:30 “i’ve fucking went to pumpkin pie to the fucking pumpkin master!”, 43:30 church conversion camps are just fuck fests -- george. bobby: i'm not even gay and i wanna go. gilbert: "father, i don't wanna be gay anymore, send me to the camp!", 53:49 unhelpful advice bobby, gilbert, khalyla and george improv. sibling died improv. "sorry to interrupt, brownie a la mode?"
187 the great juice battle — 5:59 bobby being a brat with khalyla. burrito blanket.
191 sweet beef — 9:40 bobby talking about wanting tits. asked gilbert about tits instead of khalyla lol. asking if you can suck milk out of breasts. 11:47 bobby’s science question: “if khalyla’s breastfeeding the baby, but right before the baby latches on to the breast, i slip in my dick in front of the baby’s mouth. is that illegal?”, 30:16 little stock-responses in restaurants. “that was my nickname in high school.” “can i eat here? is this a place you can eat?” “do you guys take these? and it’s regular dollar bills.”, 35:30 bobby’s fake laugh.
201 no one is calling papa — 55:25 bobby making gilbert change the unhelpful advice voice. southern, mexican, nerd.
205 a time of love, hate & betrayal — 25:40 bobby describing the question types for the tigerbelly fans. bobby: should we make it, the bubbles, the four… sometimes the question and then the line… gilbert: scantron? khalyla: you mean, multiple choice? you guys never been to school?, 26:55 star trek multiple choice questions with khalyla and gilbert., 54:40 UNHELPFUL ADVICE. guy nuts in a hole. gilbert and bob improv.
209 go get ‘em gob! — 31:10 khalyla: “do you ever wonder how your parents fuck?” bobby: “alright… what???? my dad just died. WHAT? oh he was like a rabbit!!”, 55:38 bobby makes gilbert change the unhelpful advice voice. (garbage truck at 5 in the morning, a fruit bat, ants rustling to get into their hole.), 1:00:15 unhelpful advice -- friendship group gangbangs mom. bobby: "hey guys, just wondering... why is your name, your name and your name above my mom's fucking bush?" gilbert: "first of all, dude, why were you looking at your mom's bush?" bobby: "she showed me."
210 andrew santino is in the shallow — 7:38 & 14:30 george talking about indian school girl. 19:45 ladies and gentlemen…. THE PULIS. 27:16 andrew being “maarte” about towels. “and you know what? proud to be.” this whole episode.
212 two fake mustaches — 6:39 Jewwy - khalyla's pet ramen noodle/pancit noodle.
235 poway hall of fame — 57:09 top 10 game. “whatchu talking about?” “i’m talking about…” we talking about barracudas…
__
2023.12.06 11:17 Researcher_1999 Just a note: I do have unredacted 11k documents and I've posted them many times. If you hear a rumor that I'm a liar, it's false. Here are some unredacted documents to prove it.
 | I'm just now hearing that people think I'm lying about having unredacted 11k documents and that I've never proven that I have them. I have actually posted unredacted documents many times, so here they are again for anyone who missed them from the original posts. These are original scans and not photocopies from the 11k. You can look in your version of the 11k and see that the portions that are redacted are not redacted in my version: submitted by Researcher_1999 to columbined [link] [comments] Linne, Arapahoe County Bomb Squad, p.7714 Linne, Arapahoe County Bomb Squad, p.7714 Singleton, Arapahoe County Bomb Squad, p.7720 Singleton, Arapahoe County Bomb Squad, p.7720 Singleton, Arapahoe County Bomb Squad, p.7721 I also have the source files for the 11k from the other agencies, full-color scans of the original documents provided to Jefferson County to include in the 11k. I've posted these many times, too. It's the same content, just original source files. I have multiple contacts that I constantly get documents from, and I always publish what I get immediately. For example, Arapahoe County original documents like this: https://preview.redd.it/uhy8eg8odn4c1.png?width=960&format=png&auto=webp&s=2b7e3d5869e2d7957b488d9c6048101e46430c65 I'm also hearing a rumor that I haven't released anything new or of value and I never deliver, so I wanted to squash this rumor before it spreads too far. In the last year or so, I've obtained, released, and made mobile friendly:
For example, Frank DeAngelis' Columbine Review Commission testimony transcript (the Dictaphone audio will be digitized eventually): Frank DeAngelis CRC transcript And documents like this, describing how the media was chased away from Rachel Scott's funeral: Arapahoe Original And I absolutely do have unreleased documents. For example: This investigator's report was not previously released I have many other reports from officers whose reports were not included in the 11k. It's not magic; anyone can get what I've got. And I've already posted it all in Box for everyone to have free access to. I am not a gatekeeper of information. I publish everything I get as long as it's not a full personnel file. I do have plenty of files like this regarding several officers, including everything about their employment history and performance reviews (I will not publish personnel files in full, I feel that is inappropriate, but this separation notice is not a big deal) Tim Walsh separation I also have the full journal from the Kevin Foy/Shayna Coultier case. I also have hundreds of pages I don't have time to format yet. I am constantly getting new documents. More than I can process in a short period of time, but I always deliver. I dump everything as soon as I get it into Box, and then I format it for mobile on ResearchColumbine.com. If anyone tells you I make claims that I have all these documents, unredacted 11k pages, and unreleased documents, but I never "cough up" the proof - they are lying to you. And now you have all the documents in one post so you can see for yourself. And on a side note, because some people just can't let go of this, I never claimed I had Eric's shirt as some kind of weird brag. When I said I had a shirt that belonged to Eric, that was because that was what I was told by a friend of his who sold me their yearbooks long ago. I had a lot of memorabilia, including things signed by key people, because I had friends from Columbine. One of Eric's friends invited me to stay with her to go to the 5th anniversary memorial and she showed me things Eric wrote in her yearbook and she also showed me a VHS tape of Kevin Harris' wedding. I've seen a lot of things first hand. I had several mutual friends with Eric and Dylan and other people involved in the case. This goes back to the mid-2000s. The details of the shirt situation are this: The guy I bought a bunch of Columbine yearbooks from told me he had a shirt that belonged to Eric, and asked if I wanted it, and I said yes, and he gave it to me with the yearbooks. I've stated many times that I don't have a way of proving if it was or wasn't Eric's shirt, nor do I care. I gave away said shirt in 2012 to the guy who bought the last 40 pounds of Columbine memorabilia from me, which included several yearbooks. I don't care if the shirt was Eric's or not. It was an original KMFDM XTORT shirt, and I was already a fan. I am not and never was out to "prove" anything. And I only told one person about the shirt and what i was told about it privately and they blasted it all over. I don't care about having memorabilia, and I've never lied about what I have or have had. Anyone who knows me knows better than these rumors. But, for new members, it needs to be said: whatever you hear from other people in this community about me that is negative is probably false. Hopefully, this post will set the record straight. // Edited to show people how these people operate. After specifically being accused of lying about having unredacted and unreleased documents, I proved (in this post) that I do have unredacted and unreleased documents. And now the mods of the other sub who accused me of lying are not apologizing - no, they're now saying they never mentioned my name and the comment wasn't about me and it was just a typo that they wrote 'researcher.' However, they listed 3 specific (true) claims that I made, saying these claims were "made publicly by researcher." I am the only researcher who has said they have Eric's shirt, unredacted docs, and unreleased docs. Of course the comment was about me. But now that I've proven I do have what I say I have, they don't want to apologize and look bad after trashing me to thousands of people, so they're backtracking. https://preview.redd.it/ta3z7nyh7l5c1.png?width=672&format=png&auto=webp&s=ed375e13e3b7b438f3a0404b7c55bb0cb07cfbe4 I can't wait to make these people shit bricks with future releases. I'm saving the best for later. Now let's address these nonsensical points one by one.https://preview.redd.it/52irwwf1pl5c1.png?width=655&format=png&auto=webp&s=ff583bb6753ff411f8fb2753286198c566fe8d96Ah, now you're saying mentioning me by name and referring to my (true - absolutely true and proven) claims was actually a typo. You didn't mean to reference me by my screen name and say I lied about having unredacted documents and unreleased documents. Got it. That's a massive typo. I thought typos were misspelled words or using the wrong word. I didn't realize that publishing a complete thought and then deciding you want to retract it because you were proven wrong was considered a typo. I'll have to ask my editor about that one tomorrow morning when I get to work. https://preview.redd.it/vsut51g1pl5c1.png?width=696&format=png&auto=webp&s=442a049c12d68df1194e286d42c1eab30f15d083 Yes, the word "researcher" was a direct reference to me. The line was: (list of three specific claims that only came from me) "(all except the last one has been actually claimed publicly by researcher)"All the claims referenced in this sentence are claims (true claims) I have made. The use of the word "researcher" here is, in fact, a proper noun, and is a reference to me. https://preview.redd.it/ogwf5gmnbm5c1.png?width=655&format=png&auto=webp&s=81fe3d92b7f412e895e5774d299593c9c0cd8c2c Oh, really, is that so? Here's another post showing how you refer to me as 'researcher': https://preview.redd.it/txfbgswcem5c1.png?width=711&format=png&auto=webp&s=9a70a5217c8bcc2c64566698896980ce8bbf94b9 I proved you wrong by posting the unredacted and unreleased documents (again) and now you're scrambling to save face in front of your community members because YOU WERE WRONG and EVERYONE can SEE IT with their own eyes. You have to backtrack because you refuse to apologize. https://preview.redd.it/1b9i4lf1pl5c1.png?width=660&format=png&auto=webp&s=fb901c126b33b108797511d1099036e3e126edf1 I've never seen or had in my possession any photos of bloody classrooms and I've never made screen shots with circles and arrows pointing anything out on bloody classroom photos to say they are fake. If you have seen photos of bloody classrooms with circles and arrows, I didn't make them. And I don't use MS Paint. Anything made in Paint is not mine. I don't use Windows computers. I am a graphic designer and only use Photoshop. The only time I've analyzed a bloody photo was the suicide photos of Eric and Dylan in the library, and I analyzed the evidence as presented in the documents and used circles to point out areas that were being mentioned in the documentation. There's nothing in the presentation about the photos being fake. You may want to be more careful about where you get your information. So far you're batting 0/100. https://preview.redd.it/8z87brf1pl5c1.png?width=653&format=png&auto=webp&s=e9ae66d70db083b99dc8981fd9d58bfad4152f01 I don't know what a smoke monster from LOST is since I don't watch TV and haven't owned a TV since I was about 23 years old (so a decade ago), the last movie I saw on TV was High School Musical, but I get my documents directly from the police departments and other government agencies by submitting FOIA requests. Here's the process - anyone can do it. You do realize that I am the person who runs www.ResearchColumbine.com and www.EncyclopediaColumbine.com, right? The former is a document repository made mobile-friendly and I add new documents as I get them and index and organize the existing documents. The latter is a collection of references from the documents categorized by theme and analysis citing the documents as references. The information I publish on my websites and in this sub come directly from the documents everyone has available to them. I've never published anything that can't be found in the documents because all of my research consists of combing through the documents to extract, categorize, and organize the document data. Do you believe that the Arvada PD, Denver PD, the FBI, Jefferson County PD, Littleton Fire Department, Arapahoe County PD, etc. are "smoke monsters?" I'm releasing original agency documents. I'm seriously concerned about what "information" you're reading that is allegedly being published by me that comes from a "smoke monster" because everything I publish comes from documents I get from government agencies. https://preview.redd.it/9r6ornf1pl5c1.png?width=680&format=png&auto=webp&s=92cb832797bd8bf0c5ddde8a4f4cecec57e428a2 If you're getting mail in your inbox it isn't from me. There are a lot of people out there who don't like you. I invite you to consider the possibility that a lot of people in this community don't like you, and anytime you get hate messages, it just might be other people. It's not me and has never been me. https://preview.redd.it/f50a1sf1pl5c1.png?width=649&format=png&auto=webp&s=99690b55df6a3bf5fdba0147c9ae32b4c5922de9 First of all, I wasn't even in the research community from 2008-2017. I wasn't getting new documents until a couple of years ago. I have a business to run and don't have time to format everything I have at the moment. So now let's break down your game of telephone: https://preview.redd.it/8c87su4anm5c1.png?width=711&format=png&auto=webp&s=4b5829e43cc35fc30b3f28ef1d22f5fae0825ab3 Let's start with the funniest part first.
|
2023.12.06 01:53 ArthurPeabody 'A life well lived'
2:30: Joe tells of a fellow at a party with his wife. She converses with another man. He's jealous. She minds.
3:50: Joe says how much marriage means.
4:20: Joe's living on an island. He describes a couple, 'a young woman in a pink bikini, an orchid behind her ear… Her partner is an older man of declined European elegance, wearing a white linen suit and blue beachcomber shoes, no socks, a gold replica of the Legion of Honor hanging from his neck.'
5:20: A man (Ryan Cutrona), apparently the man Joe sees on the island, talks to the woman.
8:30: Joe recalls when he was 10. He and his parents had a friendly nodding acquaintance with a neighbor couple. One day she pounded on his door, shrieking that her husband was trying to kill her. The husband came out, took her back to their apartment. He saw them again the next day, no sign of yesterday's conflict.
10:30: (A woman): 'I like love, I loooooove being loved - I love it! I love giving love. I love giving more than I do receiving. But it takes a - you know - it takes a hell of an insight to get me to that point. Kisses are wonderful - it - it's wonderful.' (First used in 'To the bar life', also in 'Love is' and 'Where will it end?')
11:10: Joe recalls a relationship with a former girlfriend, how unhappy he is with how she treats him now.
14:00: Joe recounts a conversation between an old man and his 20-years-younger wife, watching a torrid sex scene on HBO. The man says she should be with a younger man. She demurs.
15;20: A man (Ryan Cutrona) quarrels with his wife about his drinking, going into an open house. Then he recounts meeting with the lawyer of someone he ran into while driving. Then he complains to his wife about her perfume, her jewelry, the classes she makes him go to, the men who pay attention to her.
17:30: A man (Ryan Cutrona) 'I'm a fairy. I'll never forget it. You're flirting with that little forward man with the freckles, remember, his tiny little mustache, his oily hair.'
18:00: (Joe) 'Is there anyone here who respects failure who admires misguided effort and fragmentation?'
18:20: Sitting on his terrace looking at the ocean Joe sees some people in a sailboat. He imagines meeting them at a surfside bar, partying, then fighting.
20:00: 'I'm surrounded by fossils, skeletons, and stuffed animals. I can't find the eye of my own hurricane. The heightening of my sense of smell has led me to the loss of my ability for abstract thought. Saw a dust mote floating in the sunlight by my window and imagined it was a world in which someone else was looking at a dust mote in which yet another world existed: boxes within boxes - everyone thinking the same thing, 'Oh, infinity: When will you stop?'
'crib, stroller, teddy bear, doll's house, rollerskate, schoolbook, field hockey stick, soccer ball, vinyl boot, visored cap, megaphone, birth control pill, pregnancy stick, high school yearbook, graduation gown, love letter, airline ticket, Puerto Vallarta, wedding picture, golf club, ping pong table, swimming pool, striped umbrella, Visa bill, motel receipt, tear-soaked handkerchief, divorce papers, antidepressant, sleeping pill, hair dye, wrinkle cream, singles' dinner, self-help book, playing card, domino, laxative, cane, walker, wheelchair, oxygen tank, hospital bed, morphine drip, death certificate, coffin, tombstone: a life well lived'
(Ryan Cutrona) 'I need to ask you and you must do it for me. I cannot live to give up yourself, to become another person voluntarily, willfully, and dutifully legally. Just transmute, transform, and become another. Take a new name, move to new country, get new citizenship. Change your fingerprints. Change everything, your facial recognition features. Change everything medically and change psychologically, to go to clinic. Change your mind. Take the plunge. Stop being who you are for god's sake.'
(Joe) 'The search for the divine can lead you to unexpected places it might begin at a Bob's Big Boy while eating breakfast to celebrate the hiring of the new regional sales manager there are five people at the table: two brand managers, an account executive, a merchandising manager and the district sales coordinator and everyone is eating a huge hungry man's breakfast with eggs, pancakes, bacon, sausage, muffins, and grits, the waitress repeatedly returning to freshen the coffee cups, adding an element of unpredictability and threatening the psychic architecture of the situation and creating an emotional house of cards causing everyone to nervously and feverishly add sugar and cream to their coffees, the moment of crisis coming when the district sales coordinator covers his cup only to have the waitress pour the scalding coffee on the back of his hand because she's been distracted by handsome young man with shoulder length blond hair who's just entered the restaurant and glanced her way.
(Ryan Cutrona) 'I think I'd really prefer to end our relationship and just say it's over it's been weird but good and it's been joyous although painful. It's been fun but very stressful. It's been a very mind-expanding and an ignoramus's dream. It's been sanctified and it's been sinful. And so I would just like to say, 'Goodbye, good luck, sweet dreams, God bless, good life, safe travel, all the best, um… May the wind always be at your back; may the sun shine in your life. 'Til next time: it's been fun, good travels, good riddance. Adios! Vamoose! Basta! Vencermos! (unintelligible) Hasta mañana! Hasta spumante! (unintelligible) (Laughter)'
https://jfwiki.org/index.php?title=A_Life_Well_Lived
Downloadable at https://www.joefrank.com/free_downloads/A%20Life%20Well%20Lived.mp3
submitted by ArthurPeabody to joefrank [link] [comments]
3:50: Joe says how much marriage means.
4:20: Joe's living on an island. He describes a couple, 'a young woman in a pink bikini, an orchid behind her ear… Her partner is an older man of declined European elegance, wearing a white linen suit and blue beachcomber shoes, no socks, a gold replica of the Legion of Honor hanging from his neck.'
5:20: A man (Ryan Cutrona), apparently the man Joe sees on the island, talks to the woman.
8:30: Joe recalls when he was 10. He and his parents had a friendly nodding acquaintance with a neighbor couple. One day she pounded on his door, shrieking that her husband was trying to kill her. The husband came out, took her back to their apartment. He saw them again the next day, no sign of yesterday's conflict.
10:30: (A woman): 'I like love, I loooooove being loved - I love it! I love giving love. I love giving more than I do receiving. But it takes a - you know - it takes a hell of an insight to get me to that point. Kisses are wonderful - it - it's wonderful.' (First used in 'To the bar life', also in 'Love is' and 'Where will it end?')
11:10: Joe recalls a relationship with a former girlfriend, how unhappy he is with how she treats him now.
14:00: Joe recounts a conversation between an old man and his 20-years-younger wife, watching a torrid sex scene on HBO. The man says she should be with a younger man. She demurs.
15;20: A man (Ryan Cutrona) quarrels with his wife about his drinking, going into an open house. Then he recounts meeting with the lawyer of someone he ran into while driving. Then he complains to his wife about her perfume, her jewelry, the classes she makes him go to, the men who pay attention to her.
17:30: A man (Ryan Cutrona) 'I'm a fairy. I'll never forget it. You're flirting with that little forward man with the freckles, remember, his tiny little mustache, his oily hair.'
18:00: (Joe) 'Is there anyone here who respects failure who admires misguided effort and fragmentation?'
18:20: Sitting on his terrace looking at the ocean Joe sees some people in a sailboat. He imagines meeting them at a surfside bar, partying, then fighting.
20:00: 'I'm surrounded by fossils, skeletons, and stuffed animals. I can't find the eye of my own hurricane. The heightening of my sense of smell has led me to the loss of my ability for abstract thought. Saw a dust mote floating in the sunlight by my window and imagined it was a world in which someone else was looking at a dust mote in which yet another world existed: boxes within boxes - everyone thinking the same thing, 'Oh, infinity: When will you stop?'
'crib, stroller, teddy bear, doll's house, rollerskate, schoolbook, field hockey stick, soccer ball, vinyl boot, visored cap, megaphone, birth control pill, pregnancy stick, high school yearbook, graduation gown, love letter, airline ticket, Puerto Vallarta, wedding picture, golf club, ping pong table, swimming pool, striped umbrella, Visa bill, motel receipt, tear-soaked handkerchief, divorce papers, antidepressant, sleeping pill, hair dye, wrinkle cream, singles' dinner, self-help book, playing card, domino, laxative, cane, walker, wheelchair, oxygen tank, hospital bed, morphine drip, death certificate, coffin, tombstone: a life well lived'
(Ryan Cutrona) 'I need to ask you and you must do it for me. I cannot live to give up yourself, to become another person voluntarily, willfully, and dutifully legally. Just transmute, transform, and become another. Take a new name, move to new country, get new citizenship. Change your fingerprints. Change everything, your facial recognition features. Change everything medically and change psychologically, to go to clinic. Change your mind. Take the plunge. Stop being who you are for god's sake.'
(Joe) 'The search for the divine can lead you to unexpected places it might begin at a Bob's Big Boy while eating breakfast to celebrate the hiring of the new regional sales manager there are five people at the table: two brand managers, an account executive, a merchandising manager and the district sales coordinator and everyone is eating a huge hungry man's breakfast with eggs, pancakes, bacon, sausage, muffins, and grits, the waitress repeatedly returning to freshen the coffee cups, adding an element of unpredictability and threatening the psychic architecture of the situation and creating an emotional house of cards causing everyone to nervously and feverishly add sugar and cream to their coffees, the moment of crisis coming when the district sales coordinator covers his cup only to have the waitress pour the scalding coffee on the back of his hand because she's been distracted by handsome young man with shoulder length blond hair who's just entered the restaurant and glanced her way.
(Ryan Cutrona) 'I think I'd really prefer to end our relationship and just say it's over it's been weird but good and it's been joyous although painful. It's been fun but very stressful. It's been a very mind-expanding and an ignoramus's dream. It's been sanctified and it's been sinful. And so I would just like to say, 'Goodbye, good luck, sweet dreams, God bless, good life, safe travel, all the best, um… May the wind always be at your back; may the sun shine in your life. 'Til next time: it's been fun, good travels, good riddance. Adios! Vamoose! Basta! Vencermos! (unintelligible) Hasta mañana! Hasta spumante! (unintelligible) (Laughter)'
https://jfwiki.org/index.php?title=A_Life_Well_Lived
Downloadable at https://www.joefrank.com/free_downloads/A%20Life%20Well%20Lived.mp3
2023.11.28 07:31 DndQuickQuestion Roundup Part 7a: Nexus: Glossary of Nexian hogwash
This is part of a collection of notes I have made so far. Terms [in brackets] are invented by me, for lack of an official name. Comment-exclusive material is marked with spoilers, which will be my policy as the author may choose to decanonize anything said only in comments. ([MAIN DIRECTORY]: [1 taint dragons], [2 nulls souls], [3 academy Vanavan], [4A gadgets humans], [4B EVI], [5 Library- ugh...], [6 Mal'tory-on hold], [7a Nexus glossary], [7b Nexus detail], [7c Nexus-earth war], [8a Magic Catalog], [8b Magic], [9a Yearbook], [9b Emma’s Null, Mal'tory’s Fate], [10a portals], [10b ECS crate], [10c taint], [10d dragons], [10e tainted dragon god], [11 timeline - Wednesday 24].)
The library arc was, uh, not motivating, but now that the worst is over with, I guess I’ll finish up the writeups I have half-done. Detailed dives on various concepts here will be in the next post.
Pax Nexica. The utopic state of being Nexus has currently achieved. Also the peace and prosperity that (supposedly) comes to civilizations that fall under the protection and enlightenment of Nexus.
Status Eternia. Synonym of the above.
Axioms of the Established. Truth by authority, instead of observation or reasoning, even if cruel or ridiculous. The Axioms of the Established contradict with empiricism.
Newrealm. An adjacent realm that established diplomatic relations with Nexus recently and is assumed to be uncivilized, uneducated, foolish, and too independent. Also an insult.
[Test of Civility.] Nexus, on orders of the King, begins diplomatic relations when an adjacent realm demonstrates its capability to breach the planar fabric and contact Nexus or another Adjacent Realm. Nexus sends tools to both test and assist with a breakthrough to adjacent realms. Don’t assume that all realms are given the same test of civility; it would be like Nexus to set the conditions so realms had differing results according to preference. In Earth’s test of civility, they were given (potentially untranslated?) “Definitive Collection of the High Nexian Dictionary”, “Definitive Instruction on High Nexian Grammar Rules”, and an unclear number of minor shards of impart (19 amethyst dragon rocks and 1 geoshard?).
[Lost Realm.] A realm scoured from records that is no longer in contact with Nexus or an adjacent realm. The only known victim was a player in the Great War that traded information to the Library for info about Shards of Impart, stole a crystal from the Crownlands, and taught other Adjacent Realms how to break their crystals in half to communicate directly with one another without Nexus intervening. It is likely Nexus uses genocide or epic exiling or world-defacing magic to prevent a lost realm from being able to reach out to other magic realms ever again.
Status Communicatia. Communication and diplomacy between Adjacent Realms flows through Nexus at a fixed rate where it can be monitored and curtailed. Shards of impart are carefully distributed based on background mana so additional messaging systems cannot be brought online. Acquiring additional shards, traveling by warp directly to another adjacent realm, aligning and sharing half shards, and being able to concentrate mana artificially breaks this system. Direct communication between Adjacent Realms is forbidden. The Status Communicatia is supposedly necessary to prevent the spread of the Taint.
[Elevation of Adjacent Realms.] Nexian philosophy is predicated on the assumption that internal vagaries spawned by the savage, primitive aspects of humanoid-kind are the greatest threat to civilization’s peaceful continuity rather than outside forces. Repressing a person’s animal tendencies is vital to creating the conditions for eternal order, so schools like Transgracian Academy were created to acculturate and thus enlighten those further-from adjacent races. Etiquette is calculated to be easy for native Nexian elves and draconics(?) to follow, but stifling, annoying, or even painful for adjacent realmer physiologies to put them in their place.
Expectant Decorum. (Expected decorum) Unspoken and unwritten social rules and etiquette that govern interactions.
Stately Decorum. Expectant decorum for polities. The modification of a Nexus-to-Adjacent Realm gift violates Stately Decorum.
Expectant Duties. (Expected duties) The rules, standards of accountability, duty limits, behaviors, and codes of honor that someone undertaking a job is expected to abide by. Think the stuff that would go in an employee handbook or contract. Going outside one’s job description and imposing on others is a social violation.
Expectant Courtesies. (Expected courtesies) The official nice-nice owed to someone performing a duty.
Hostly and Guestly Courtesies. Expectant courtesy for guest/host relations. Hosts must provide accommodations appropriate to the guest’s titles, segregating them. Guests partake of refreshment offered by the host. Expectations may be subordinated by more serious personal oaths, like the oath of Knightly Resolve. Unrelated to the sacred hospitality of humans which also provides for the safety of the host and guest.
[Bribes.] Bribes on top of contracted payment are expected for certain Nexian transactions. The degree to which bribes, “gifts”, and “apologies for inconvenience” are standard among social classes and the standard rates are unclear.
Point of Personal Privilege. The right to “officially” request conversation with someone, a parley. Someone requesting the time of a social better will be made to made to wait to be seen in proportion to the difference in status and friendliness, and they may even be sent through a gauntlet of intimidation. In the case of a power inversion, the lesser might be able to choose the time to meet but shouldn’t make their better do the pre-meeting wait. Finishing a PoPP is a point of honor: true fanatics for social decorum will quest to meet with the other party to wrap things up properly if interrupted. The guest of a point of personal privilege does not have their safety protected by the “human expectant decorum” of sacred hospitality law. Casting spells at guests (Larial) and attacking the guest with non-lethal restraint (Mal'tory) is allowed, at least as far as the elves go. Other species may be more honorable.
High Nexian. The ‘superior’ and ‘most correct’ language. Speaking High Nexian correctly goes beyond grammar and keen word choice, it includes compositional semantics that are bonded to Nexian cultural cognitives. Thalmin’s offhand comment implied High Nexian is related to the fundamentals of magic somehow. There is most likely at least one “low Nexian” as Mal'tory implied, or several dialects unique to far-flung locales or certain career paths that have a lot of jargon.
Landed titles. Titles by right of birth.
Entrusted title. Titles granted by ‘entrusted holdings’: manufactoriums, companies, and other family enterprises.
[Merited title.] Title bestowed by an authority for a great deed worthy of reward. No Nexian institutions we have seen have granted merited titles, but the library has various grades of “Patron of the Library” and “Seeker of Truth” that are respected. Apprenticeships and faculty positions also appear to be merited titles, although those inner workings are still vague.
Lingua Regalia. Social conventions for titles and the treatment of the titled. It is a product of the Nexian Reformation, which itself is the product of the war between the Adjacent Realms and Nexus proper.
[Status Inheritance.] The tendency for titles, obligations, and punishments not to die with the one bound to them and be inherited by relatives. Inherited statuses we know about include nobility, ownership of certain institutions, titles, and Library punishments.
Peer. A relatively unexplored term, but likely an important one. Based on the student suspicion that Emma might not be a peer because she has no visible magical aura, the term dually reflects the [spark of magic] within those of noble status and the social status of nobility itself.
[Privilege of Names]. The right to use your name, family and given. This is lost upon vassalship to a noble: they get to rename the person. This institution causes a lot of strife and personal rebellions.
[Point of Honor.] An oath one willingly binds oneself to. Failing to bind oneself to customary points of honor, such as honoring a social debt, degrades one social standing and is a violation of Expectant Decorum.
[Vows.] Someone who burdens themselves with extra oaths as “challenges” seems to increase their prestige. Entrusted nobility, lower on the social pecking order than landed nobility, are more likely to take them because they can’t coast on birth alone. Examples of challenges perhaps tied to certain quests or social standings include: Oath of Knightly Resolve: A challenge to defeat monsters? Vow of seclusion: A challenge to hide one’s face? Vow of Silence: A challenge not to speak?
[Honorable.] A person who follows Expectant Decorum and also willing binds themselves to customary oaths in response to points of personal honor, repays debts and bribes others properly, and doesn’t try to wiggle out of oaths when inconvenient. Honorable in the Nexian sense can apply to someone regardless of noble status.
Life Debt. A point of honor, these are the serious dues owed to the one who saved your life. It is unclear how many favors the debt holder can expect before it is paid off. Emma is accruing an unintentional harem of oathbound elves. (Vanavan, Larial, Rila)
Aura-less. An insult for commoners with low manafields that are hardly visible. Commoners are typically described as aura-less.
Mana-less. Adjective for crafts created without mana. Also null-fielders.
Null-field. Those without any manafield. Human souls don’t interface with manastreams, so they qualify.
Expectant Oath of the Guardian/Oath of the Protector. (The two terms appear to be the same) An oath taken by an authority to protect their charges. The compromise of the protector allows a protected charge to step out from the protection of the guardian and invoke a right to deal with personal matters on their own terms, but they must also deal with any earned repercussions. Appears to allow duels of honor. Can be invoked by a student to ask the dean to punish another student for harming them. The Oath of the Protector applies to Nexus and Adjacent Realms even without treaties because Nexus thinks they are the ultimate authority over all mortal affairs.
Unspoken Rules of the Academy / Codes of Conduct. Even more Expectant Decorum. Obey the schedule. Stay in bounds. Bounds vary by year group. The binding ritual shall not take place on orientation day. (This hasn’t been broken in over a thousand years, but was because Mal'tory wanted to enact the ritual of duplicity on Thacia to study her taint and Emma to study humanity.) Students are permitted talismans of dispelling to avoid being totally soultrapped, but they must plausibly disguise them to avoid gross offense. Teachers/apprentices dismiss students from mandatory mealtimes.
Unspoken Truce. For the duration of the grace period. Rules include: Gargoyles may not roam the halls.
Candidate. Unknown implications.
Ward. Thacia’s position. Unknown implications.
Apprentice. Come in junior and apprentice flavors. Ostensibly on a fast-track to tenure, that forces the scholar to relinquish all ties with the outside world, court politics, and noble titles in favor of an assured position within the Academy. A cross between a post-grad student and an RA.
Post-study peer. Topic-specific post-doctorate.
White Robe. Dean
Black Robe. Nexian royalty-appointed commissar. Has power near equal to the dean in practice.
Blue Robe. Vice Dean. Unclear if the role has not a lot of authority, or if Vanavan is too soft to assert himself.
Red Robe. Department head
Deputy-magistrate. Sounds like a school resource officer equivalent e.g. a cop. Potentially appointed by the royal state. Some have face concealing shadow magic. Arlan Ostoy is also an appointed-Deputy Magistrate and senior apprentice.
Other Academy jobs. Groundskeeper, Armorer, Porter, Master-Healer, etc.
Crown-herald lands. Land bordering the Crown lands, Transgracian Academy and Elaseer are Crownherald territory. National security requires.
Various unknown locations. Alturic Principality, Empire of Alanor.
Divines. The pantheon of gods and goddesses (apparently gendered) that Nexians and the adjacent realms believe in. Nexus believes in divine right to rule, so Nexian power is not secular.
Old Gods. Lorded over Old Nexus. Went to war. Current status: ???
New Gods. Lord over New Nexus. Are the source of the figurative “light” of Nexian enlightenment. Nexus’s terrestrial leadership claims the immortal king is ordained by the gods and their authority is uniquely granted by the favor of this pantheon. Implied to roost in higher planes above. Sometimes invoked casually in curses and oaths.
[Inhabitants of the Higher Planes]. Mentioned separately from the gods and may include lesser gods, dead spirits, sages, or especially powerful monsters. Probably implies the existence of lower planes and beings.
Great Mother. Blesses people with magic talent.
The Tainted God. Devil-like figure who brought miasma, taint, sin, and discord into the Old Nexus. Set off the gods-war that sundered Old Nexus into New Nexus and the Adjacent realms.
The Library. Divine status nebulous. Established by a greater and naive deity to collect, organize, and preserve all forms of knowledge in perpetuum. Its construction renders it vulnerable to deletion attacks, its trade rules sabotage its mission, and its existence and simplistic self-interested personality motivates acts of genocide. Will explain if I ever get around to writing the library section.
His Eternal Majesty. King of Nexus. Species unknown. Apparently immortal and his intervention is described as divine [53]. There may be a culture of deification, his appointment may be divine, or the king may be a saint or demigod. Expect lèse-majesté laws. Supposedly wise. Unsure if he is an active leader, a leashed figurehead, or decadent and lets the privy council and a circle of important Nexians do most of the detailed ruling.
Demons. Evil creatures of unusual power that are apparently greater than ordinary monsters.
[Spirits]. Minor deities. The spirit speaking through the werebeast seems to qualify as one. Can bless people with magic talent.
High-born. Overarching term for the highest caste of not commoners.
[The Crown/Royalty]. The Executives of Nexus. aka. the still unknown circle of advisors, highest nobility, and blood relatives (?) in tight orbit around the Nexian King who both know the secrets and determine the laws and pecking orders. The Privy Council is a faction. Because the king is deified, Crown-related individuals and actions also carry religious weight and honors.
Landed nobility. Nobility by right of birth. Those of noble birth whose families claim lands significant enough to have a title attached. Appears to also come with magical abilities. Landed nobility do not wear heavy armor. Boastful. I suspect entrusted nobility who rise to landed nobility get slapped with an epithet preceding their title to derogatorily mark them like “merchant prince” or “mercenary prince”. They have household guards and servantry bound by oath and blood.
Entrusted nobility. Corporate nobles, essentially, granted titles by their ‘entrusted holdings’: manufactoriums, companies, and other family enterprises. Presumably also inheritance based. “Instead, our titles are granted to us by our Entrusted holdings, holdings which range from anything from manufactoriums, through to unique family-held services.” Speaker’s bias is suspect, but tends to be less overtly boastful than landed nobility, and more likely to take oaths.
[Merited Nobility]. Nobility appointed and granted titles and possibly also land/other benefits by an authority, perhaps because they have taken on a duty or have accomplished some great deed worthy of reward. Merited nobility with holdings do not exist in Nexus as far as we know, but some institutions have earned titles, like the Library and Transgracian Academy. Common in Earth history.
Houses. The estate of a noble and their collective entourage of apprentices and employee-equivalents.
[Commonary governments.] Likely township-scale governments that administer matters beneath the attention of the titled nobles and act as a buffer and go-between for commoners and nobles.
Mages of the Ministry. The Nexian Mage-Advisors to adjacent realm kings. Nexus uses them to lie and pass false information. Ministries of Conveyance does shards of impart.
Chancellor. A position operating near royalty that is titled highly but has little real power.
Inner, Middle, Outer Guardsman. Functionally a cross between a standing army and police, these soldiers keep the peace. It appears that officers and leaders come from hereditary military families. Commoners can enlist but cannot promote beyond certain levels nor rise to officer status. It is unclear how they are recruited and their terms of service. The inner guard likely patrols the royal crownlands or grounds themselves. the middle guard is uncertain. The Outer Guard patrols the Nexian dutchies and Adjacent Realms. It sounds like the Inner and Middle guard are encountered less often than Outer Guardsmen.
Knights. Likely an inherited social class, akin to samurai.
Squires. Can be enlisted. May not be able to promote to knight, unlike Earth militaries.
Guilds. An association of shared-career professionals or artisans that bands together for political power, reputation, and to both further and regulate their trade. They meet in guildhalls. Monarchs who feared the wealth and political power of organizations of educated professionals outside their control (e.g. pre-modern corporates) assigned themselves the right to declare or revoke a guild’s officialness, privilege of local monopoly, and owenership of real and intellectual property. It is unclear if the Nexus Crown issues Letters Patent or equivalent, but I bet they do.
Adventuring Parties. As expected of an isekai-like fantasy, adventurers are an occupation in setting. They have guildhalls.
Heroes. Mythological figures who went beyond the limits of their status achieve legendary feats, slay demons, convene with gods and inhabitants of higher planes. Appear to be historic/myth, as Nexus probably dislikes the idea of such upstarts in modern times.
Inquisitors. Some sort of Prosecutojudge/law enforcement mix assigned fact finding duties. These include inquisitors of unknown rank and the specifically named Judge-Executor known for harsh interrogations and likely the ability to issue a death penalty. Like all royal-related institutions muddied with the notion of a deified king, they are likely not completely secular.
Shadowmaster. An elite sort of spy that keeps classified records.
Battle ranger. Unknown profession, but elite enough to merit a magical sword of flesh cubing.
Courier. The postmen, but they seem closer to private contractors or a guild rather than a state institution. They deliver messages and packages in a secure fashion. They normally do not inspect deliveries, but can assert the right if they deem the contents hazardous. Royal couriers can afford to employ outer guards, a double-decker limo carriage with wine bar, live bards, and can use the transportium network. Lartia was a peer to Mal'tory.
Oathbound. Someone bound by an oath, likely magical to enforce certain behaviors, keep secrets, or enslave them to a task.
Soulbound. A step up in cruelty from an oathbound person. For some soulbound, not even their soul is allowed to move on in death. Typically enslaved for their irreplaceable talents.
Slaves. A role, likely hereditary like most institutions in Nexus. Lesser elves may be enslaved as an entire species - and may not be a natural species at that.
Manufactorium. A factory that uses magic and artificers who may be oathbound, soulbound, or enslaved to mass-handmake goods. The mark of a manufactured product are simple, near identical but well-made designs with a low tolerance for engineering defects.
Crown-manufactoriums. Royal-held industries that keep manufacturing state secrets. Often military related. Use many bound slaves enchanted to keep secrets from the Library and other entities.
Crownlands Bank. A bank-like institution
Royal Archives. Public records outside the Library that Adjacent Realms are allowed to see. Inadequate and full of omissions.
[Permission for Passage.] Authorization by a local landlord allowing their peasant to travel from their demesne. Binding and tracking magic likely makes it hard for peasants to escape. It is unclear whether fugitive peasants are normally a serious-enough matter to warrant guard search and arrest.
Warrants. A pretty piece of parchment somewhere between a permission slip and a limited visa, granted by officials to associates acting on their behalf to identify the holder to guards and use specified state, secured, or secret resources. Warrants might also be comparable to the IRL version that authorizes an otherwise illegal/rights violating act. Royal Warrants are orders backed with the authority of the Crown and refusing them might be impossible to problematic.
Transportium. The abyssal black tunnels for skipping overland travel that have some relation to taint. Extremely high background mana levels seem hazardous to even Nexus-adapted peoples. Potentially tainted creatures seem to power the Transportium networks and are kept in life vaults/holding caverns. Time apparently advances slower inside the transportium network and choosing routes to prevent too much time elapsing is a major logistics consideration alongside destination choice. Not visualizing one’s destination and not having a mana interface can result in a travel mishap that advances time and ejects the wanderer at a confluence. Warrant exclusive transportiums to secure locations require an official permission slip. The transportium from Elaseer’s South Gate (at the border of the crownlands?) to the courtyard of the Royal Academy for the Magical Arts in the Crownlands is both kept on the low-down and warrant exclusive.
Crafted Omens. Unknown, but powerful. Sounds like a fate or curse you can apply to someone.
submitted by DndQuickQuestion to JCBWritingCorner [link] [comments]
The library arc was, uh, not motivating, but now that the worst is over with, I guess I’ll finish up the writeups I have half-done. Detailed dives on various concepts here will be in the next post.
Glossary of Nexian Lingo and Conceits
Nexian Empire
Perpetual Regime. Nexus and its regime must be perpetual. All other institutions exist to promote the stability of Nexus under its current eternal king. Threats to these ideals must be suppressed, remade, or unmade. Adjacent realms courts are expected to implement their own lesser versions of perpetual regime so long as they are absolutely subservient to the Nexus. Those who defy perpetual regimes with coups are socially punished, as is the case with the Havenbrockian Lupinor. Dynamic realms prone to change are looked down upon.Pax Nexica. The utopic state of being Nexus has currently achieved. Also the peace and prosperity that (supposedly) comes to civilizations that fall under the protection and enlightenment of Nexus.
Status Eternia. Synonym of the above.
Axioms of the Established. Truth by authority, instead of observation or reasoning, even if cruel or ridiculous. The Axioms of the Established contradict with empiricism.
Realms
Adjacent Realms. Any realm which requires a portal to access and is outside Nexus’ dimensional space. Adjacent realms may occupy the same universes as other adjacent realms or be in a universe alone. Several of the adjacent realms may exist within Earth’s galaxy. Realms are defined as bounded by earth and sky. Adjacent realmers are inherently more animal, barbaric, and less enlightened than native Nexians, so they must be fixed.Newrealm. An adjacent realm that established diplomatic relations with Nexus recently and is assumed to be uncivilized, uneducated, foolish, and too independent. Also an insult.
[Test of Civility.] Nexus, on orders of the King, begins diplomatic relations when an adjacent realm demonstrates its capability to breach the planar fabric and contact Nexus or another Adjacent Realm. Nexus sends tools to both test and assist with a breakthrough to adjacent realms. Don’t assume that all realms are given the same test of civility; it would be like Nexus to set the conditions so realms had differing results according to preference. In Earth’s test of civility, they were given (potentially untranslated?) “Definitive Collection of the High Nexian Dictionary”, “Definitive Instruction on High Nexian Grammar Rules”, and an unclear number of minor shards of impart (19 amethyst dragon rocks and 1 geoshard?).
[Lost Realm.] A realm scoured from records that is no longer in contact with Nexus or an adjacent realm. The only known victim was a player in the Great War that traded information to the Library for info about Shards of Impart, stole a crystal from the Crownlands, and taught other Adjacent Realms how to break their crystals in half to communicate directly with one another without Nexus intervening. It is likely Nexus uses genocide or epic exiling or world-defacing magic to prevent a lost realm from being able to reach out to other magic realms ever again.
Status Communicatia. Communication and diplomacy between Adjacent Realms flows through Nexus at a fixed rate where it can be monitored and curtailed. Shards of impart are carefully distributed based on background mana so additional messaging systems cannot be brought online. Acquiring additional shards, traveling by warp directly to another adjacent realm, aligning and sharing half shards, and being able to concentrate mana artificially breaks this system. Direct communication between Adjacent Realms is forbidden. The Status Communicatia is supposedly necessary to prevent the spread of the Taint.
Enlightenment
Enlightenment. Unlike the human philosophical period associated with rationalism and intellectualism, Nexian “enlightenment” invokes the divine guidance bestowed upon them by the pantheon of the untainted gods. As the one, true, chosen, bestest civilization ever, Nexus claims authority to administer all other civilizations through philosophy, politics, and force. The duty to enlighten barbarians is the justification for ‘interventions’ like using the ritual of duplicity to control courts and mass modify physiology of adjacent realmers.[Elevation of Adjacent Realms.] Nexian philosophy is predicated on the assumption that internal vagaries spawned by the savage, primitive aspects of humanoid-kind are the greatest threat to civilization’s peaceful continuity rather than outside forces. Repressing a person’s animal tendencies is vital to creating the conditions for eternal order, so schools like Transgracian Academy were created to acculturate and thus enlighten those further-from adjacent races. Etiquette is calculated to be easy for native Nexian elves and draconics(?) to follow, but stifling, annoying, or even painful for adjacent realmer physiologies to put them in their place.
Social Binds
The Ties that Bind. Unspoken and unwritten social rules and expectations that govern interactions. Most binds are for those of lesser social status while those of greater status may benefit from them but remain uninhibited themselves. ‘The Ties that Bind’ is an umbrella concept covering many other Expectant Foobars and Loremant Ipsums defined below. Social binds are sometimes reified with magic and contracts.Expectant Decorum. (Expected decorum) Unspoken and unwritten social rules and etiquette that govern interactions.
Stately Decorum. Expectant decorum for polities. The modification of a Nexus-to-Adjacent Realm gift violates Stately Decorum.
Expectant Duties. (Expected duties) The rules, standards of accountability, duty limits, behaviors, and codes of honor that someone undertaking a job is expected to abide by. Think the stuff that would go in an employee handbook or contract. Going outside one’s job description and imposing on others is a social violation.
Expectant Courtesies. (Expected courtesies) The official nice-nice owed to someone performing a duty.
Hostly and Guestly Courtesies. Expectant courtesy for guest/host relations. Hosts must provide accommodations appropriate to the guest’s titles, segregating them. Guests partake of refreshment offered by the host. Expectations may be subordinated by more serious personal oaths, like the oath of Knightly Resolve. Unrelated to the sacred hospitality of humans which also provides for the safety of the host and guest.
[Bribes.] Bribes on top of contracted payment are expected for certain Nexian transactions. The degree to which bribes, “gifts”, and “apologies for inconvenience” are standard among social classes and the standard rates are unclear.
Point of Personal Privilege. The right to “officially” request conversation with someone, a parley. Someone requesting the time of a social better will be made to made to wait to be seen in proportion to the difference in status and friendliness, and they may even be sent through a gauntlet of intimidation. In the case of a power inversion, the lesser might be able to choose the time to meet but shouldn’t make their better do the pre-meeting wait. Finishing a PoPP is a point of honor: true fanatics for social decorum will quest to meet with the other party to wrap things up properly if interrupted. The guest of a point of personal privilege does not have their safety protected by the “human expectant decorum” of sacred hospitality law. Casting spells at guests (Larial) and attacking the guest with non-lethal restraint (Mal'tory) is allowed, at least as far as the elves go. Other species may be more honorable.
Language
[The Language of Magic.] The special language for spellcasting which is not High Nexian on account of its untranslatability, but may be related. Invoking the words mentally is required to cast silently.High Nexian. The ‘superior’ and ‘most correct’ language. Speaking High Nexian correctly goes beyond grammar and keen word choice, it includes compositional semantics that are bonded to Nexian cultural cognitives. Thalmin’s offhand comment implied High Nexian is related to the fundamentals of magic somehow. There is most likely at least one “low Nexian” as Mal'tory implied, or several dialects unique to far-flung locales or certain career paths that have a lot of jargon.
Titles
Titles. Titles are mostly acquired by birth and are associated with land holdings or institutional holdings.Landed titles. Titles by right of birth.
Entrusted title. Titles granted by ‘entrusted holdings’: manufactoriums, companies, and other family enterprises.
[Merited title.] Title bestowed by an authority for a great deed worthy of reward. No Nexian institutions we have seen have granted merited titles, but the library has various grades of “Patron of the Library” and “Seeker of Truth” that are respected. Apprenticeships and faculty positions also appear to be merited titles, although those inner workings are still vague.
Lingua Regalia. Social conventions for titles and the treatment of the titled. It is a product of the Nexian Reformation, which itself is the product of the war between the Adjacent Realms and Nexus proper.
[Status Inheritance.] The tendency for titles, obligations, and punishments not to die with the one bound to them and be inherited by relatives. Inherited statuses we know about include nobility, ownership of certain institutions, titles, and Library punishments.
Peer. A relatively unexplored term, but likely an important one. Based on the student suspicion that Emma might not be a peer because she has no visible magical aura, the term dually reflects the [spark of magic] within those of noble status and the social status of nobility itself.
Names
Names are a matter of pride. Everyone seems to have a given name and a family name to start with, but additional names, potentially apprenticeship names, stack up over time to create an extra-long name that may tell their personal story. People like their original names.[Privilege of Names]. The right to use your name, family and given. This is lost upon vassalship to a noble: they get to rename the person. This institution causes a lot of strife and personal rebellions.
Honor
Oaths, Rights, and Honors. An oath can be a force bound or an honor-based and self-imposed contract. Rights are undefined, but likely relate to privileges associated with certain statuses and titles. Honors in this context is also undefined. (Chap 46.)[Point of Honor.] An oath one willingly binds oneself to. Failing to bind oneself to customary points of honor, such as honoring a social debt, degrades one social standing and is a violation of Expectant Decorum.
[Vows.] Someone who burdens themselves with extra oaths as “challenges” seems to increase their prestige. Entrusted nobility, lower on the social pecking order than landed nobility, are more likely to take them because they can’t coast on birth alone. Examples of challenges perhaps tied to certain quests or social standings include: Oath of Knightly Resolve: A challenge to defeat monsters? Vow of seclusion: A challenge to hide one’s face? Vow of Silence: A challenge not to speak?
[Honorable.] A person who follows Expectant Decorum and also willing binds themselves to customary oaths in response to points of personal honor, repays debts and bribes others properly, and doesn’t try to wiggle out of oaths when inconvenient. Honorable in the Nexian sense can apply to someone regardless of noble status.
Debts
[Social Debt.] A point of honor aka. “I owe you one.” A favor-based debt owed to someone because they did something for you and you were unable to reciprocate with enough value. Solving a problem for someone might impose a social debt on them. Social debt is not “firmly owed” like other courtesies and any obligation to reciprocate is dependent on the personal honor codes of the debtor and pre-existing alliances; convincing someone less-than-honorable to shoulder a social debt to you rather than take your boon as a freebie requires fear of or respect for your power or titles, diplomatic finesse, or peer pressure.Life Debt. A point of honor, these are the serious dues owed to the one who saved your life. It is unclear how many favors the debt holder can expect before it is paid off. Emma is accruing an unintentional harem of oathbound elves. (Vanavan, Larial, Rila)
Negatives
Taint/Miasma. The mark of the evil god who disturbed the peace of old Nexus and sundered the original plane. The tainted who cannot control their afflictions are killed(?) and their souls imprisoned in vaults within Nexus for eternity. Death penalties for minor infractions seem to be common.Aura-less. An insult for commoners with low manafields that are hardly visible. Commoners are typically described as aura-less.
Mana-less. Adjective for crafts created without mana. Also null-fielders.
Null-field. Those without any manafield. Human souls don’t interface with manastreams, so they qualify.
Academy Specific terms
Grace Period. A five day period of ‘relative’ safety if you ignore the attempted soul-stealing, which implies that afterwards things will be more hazardous. It is described a “truce” and has certain unspoken rules. The five days allow students from Adjacent Realms to acclimate to the higher background mana of the Nexus.Expectant Oath of the Guardian/Oath of the Protector. (The two terms appear to be the same) An oath taken by an authority to protect their charges. The compromise of the protector allows a protected charge to step out from the protection of the guardian and invoke a right to deal with personal matters on their own terms, but they must also deal with any earned repercussions. Appears to allow duels of honor. Can be invoked by a student to ask the dean to punish another student for harming them. The Oath of the Protector applies to Nexus and Adjacent Realms even without treaties because Nexus thinks they are the ultimate authority over all mortal affairs.
Unspoken Rules of the Academy / Codes of Conduct. Even more Expectant Decorum. Obey the schedule. Stay in bounds. Bounds vary by year group. The binding ritual shall not take place on orientation day. (This hasn’t been broken in over a thousand years, but was because Mal'tory wanted to enact the ritual of duplicity on Thacia to study her taint and Emma to study humanity.) Students are permitted talismans of dispelling to avoid being totally soultrapped, but they must plausibly disguise them to avoid gross offense. Teachers/apprentices dismiss students from mandatory mealtimes.
Unspoken Truce. For the duration of the grace period. Rules include: Gargoyles may not roam the halls.
Candidate. Unknown implications.
Ward. Thacia’s position. Unknown implications.
Apprentice. Come in junior and apprentice flavors. Ostensibly on a fast-track to tenure, that forces the scholar to relinquish all ties with the outside world, court politics, and noble titles in favor of an assured position within the Academy. A cross between a post-grad student and an RA.
Post-study peer. Topic-specific post-doctorate.
White Robe. Dean
Black Robe. Nexian royalty-appointed commissar. Has power near equal to the dean in practice.
Blue Robe. Vice Dean. Unclear if the role has not a lot of authority, or if Vanavan is too soft to assert himself.
Red Robe. Department head
Deputy-magistrate. Sounds like a school resource officer equivalent e.g. a cop. Potentially appointed by the royal state. Some have face concealing shadow magic. Arlan Ostoy is also an appointed-Deputy Magistrate and senior apprentice.
Other Academy jobs. Groundskeeper, Armorer, Porter, Master-Healer, etc.
Nexian powers, roles, and institutions
Places
Crownlands. Royal land near the center of power, presumably administered by the crown and no other polity. The more prestigious Royal Academy resides in the Crownlands. National security requires backroad passages into the Crownlands be kept secret to prevent their abuse. Citizens require permission to live in the Crownlands. A Crownlands commoner has more amenities than one living in one of the further-flung provinces. Commoners can sign away their Crownlands Common privileges to be the vassals of a noble.Crown-herald lands. Land bordering the Crown lands, Transgracian Academy and Elaseer are Crownherald territory. National security requires.
Various unknown locations. Alturic Principality, Empire of Alanor.
Pantheons
Greater Faith. The official Nexian religion, although there appears to be degrees of it. It holds Gods and goddesses Mana flows through and is the source of all things. It gives and takes. Liquifacting yourself by dissolving into mana is believed to deliver you to the gods.Divines. The pantheon of gods and goddesses (apparently gendered) that Nexians and the adjacent realms believe in. Nexus believes in divine right to rule, so Nexian power is not secular.
Old Gods. Lorded over Old Nexus. Went to war. Current status: ???
New Gods. Lord over New Nexus. Are the source of the figurative “light” of Nexian enlightenment. Nexus’s terrestrial leadership claims the immortal king is ordained by the gods and their authority is uniquely granted by the favor of this pantheon. Implied to roost in higher planes above. Sometimes invoked casually in curses and oaths.
[Inhabitants of the Higher Planes]. Mentioned separately from the gods and may include lesser gods, dead spirits, sages, or especially powerful monsters. Probably implies the existence of lower planes and beings.
Great Mother. Blesses people with magic talent.
The Tainted God. Devil-like figure who brought miasma, taint, sin, and discord into the Old Nexus. Set off the gods-war that sundered Old Nexus into New Nexus and the Adjacent realms.
The Library. Divine status nebulous. Established by a greater and naive deity to collect, organize, and preserve all forms of knowledge in perpetuum. Its construction renders it vulnerable to deletion attacks, its trade rules sabotage its mission, and its existence and simplistic self-interested personality motivates acts of genocide. Will explain if I ever get around to writing the library section.
His Eternal Majesty. King of Nexus. Species unknown. Apparently immortal and his intervention is described as divine [53]. There may be a culture of deification, his appointment may be divine, or the king may be a saint or demigod. Expect lèse-majesté laws. Supposedly wise. Unsure if he is an active leader, a leashed figurehead, or decadent and lets the privy council and a circle of important Nexians do most of the detailed ruling.
Demons. Evil creatures of unusual power that are apparently greater than ordinary monsters.
[Spirits]. Minor deities. The spirit speaking through the werebeast seems to qualify as one. Can bless people with magic talent.
Temporal Powers
Commoners. Low aura quality, non-existent to weak magic powers and political powers, weak magic vision. Commoners greet their betters, not the other way around.High-born. Overarching term for the highest caste of not commoners.
[The Crown/Royalty]. The Executives of Nexus. aka. the still unknown circle of advisors, highest nobility, and blood relatives (?) in tight orbit around the Nexian King who both know the secrets and determine the laws and pecking orders. The Privy Council is a faction. Because the king is deified, Crown-related individuals and actions also carry religious weight and honors.
Landed nobility. Nobility by right of birth. Those of noble birth whose families claim lands significant enough to have a title attached. Appears to also come with magical abilities. Landed nobility do not wear heavy armor. Boastful. I suspect entrusted nobility who rise to landed nobility get slapped with an epithet preceding their title to derogatorily mark them like “merchant prince” or “mercenary prince”. They have household guards and servantry bound by oath and blood.
Entrusted nobility. Corporate nobles, essentially, granted titles by their ‘entrusted holdings’: manufactoriums, companies, and other family enterprises. Presumably also inheritance based. “Instead, our titles are granted to us by our Entrusted holdings, holdings which range from anything from manufactoriums, through to unique family-held services.” Speaker’s bias is suspect, but tends to be less overtly boastful than landed nobility, and more likely to take oaths.
[Merited Nobility]. Nobility appointed and granted titles and possibly also land/other benefits by an authority, perhaps because they have taken on a duty or have accomplished some great deed worthy of reward. Merited nobility with holdings do not exist in Nexus as far as we know, but some institutions have earned titles, like the Library and Transgracian Academy. Common in Earth history.
Houses. The estate of a noble and their collective entourage of apprentices and employee-equivalents.
[Commonary governments.] Likely township-scale governments that administer matters beneath the attention of the titled nobles and act as a buffer and go-between for commoners and nobles.
Associations and professions
The Privy Council. Advisors to the king that also act as commissars and spies. Unknown number. The Black Robes that are planted in schools are among their number. Assumed to be strong and magical.Mages of the Ministry. The Nexian Mage-Advisors to adjacent realm kings. Nexus uses them to lie and pass false information. Ministries of Conveyance does shards of impart.
Chancellor. A position operating near royalty that is titled highly but has little real power.
Inner, Middle, Outer Guardsman. Functionally a cross between a standing army and police, these soldiers keep the peace. It appears that officers and leaders come from hereditary military families. Commoners can enlist but cannot promote beyond certain levels nor rise to officer status. It is unclear how they are recruited and their terms of service. The inner guard likely patrols the royal crownlands or grounds themselves. the middle guard is uncertain. The Outer Guard patrols the Nexian dutchies and Adjacent Realms. It sounds like the Inner and Middle guard are encountered less often than Outer Guardsmen.
Knights. Likely an inherited social class, akin to samurai.
Squires. Can be enlisted. May not be able to promote to knight, unlike Earth militaries.
Guilds. An association of shared-career professionals or artisans that bands together for political power, reputation, and to both further and regulate their trade. They meet in guildhalls. Monarchs who feared the wealth and political power of organizations of educated professionals outside their control (e.g. pre-modern corporates) assigned themselves the right to declare or revoke a guild’s officialness, privilege of local monopoly, and owenership of real and intellectual property. It is unclear if the Nexus Crown issues Letters Patent or equivalent, but I bet they do.
Adventuring Parties. As expected of an isekai-like fantasy, adventurers are an occupation in setting. They have guildhalls.
Heroes. Mythological figures who went beyond the limits of their status achieve legendary feats, slay demons, convene with gods and inhabitants of higher planes. Appear to be historic/myth, as Nexus probably dislikes the idea of such upstarts in modern times.
Inquisitors. Some sort of Prosecutojudge/law enforcement mix assigned fact finding duties. These include inquisitors of unknown rank and the specifically named Judge-Executor known for harsh interrogations and likely the ability to issue a death penalty. Like all royal-related institutions muddied with the notion of a deified king, they are likely not completely secular.
Shadowmaster. An elite sort of spy that keeps classified records.
Battle ranger. Unknown profession, but elite enough to merit a magical sword of flesh cubing.
Courier. The postmen, but they seem closer to private contractors or a guild rather than a state institution. They deliver messages and packages in a secure fashion. They normally do not inspect deliveries, but can assert the right if they deem the contents hazardous. Royal couriers can afford to employ outer guards, a double-decker limo carriage with wine bar, live bards, and can use the transportium network. Lartia was a peer to Mal'tory.
Oathbound. Someone bound by an oath, likely magical to enforce certain behaviors, keep secrets, or enslave them to a task.
Soulbound. A step up in cruelty from an oathbound person. For some soulbound, not even their soul is allowed to move on in death. Typically enslaved for their irreplaceable talents.
Slaves. A role, likely hereditary like most institutions in Nexus. Lesser elves may be enslaved as an entire species - and may not be a natural species at that.
Institutions
Academy. A school. Only schools of magic are known and seem to be selective or limited with admittance.Manufactorium. A factory that uses magic and artificers who may be oathbound, soulbound, or enslaved to mass-handmake goods. The mark of a manufactured product are simple, near identical but well-made designs with a low tolerance for engineering defects.
Crown-manufactoriums. Royal-held industries that keep manufacturing state secrets. Often military related. Use many bound slaves enchanted to keep secrets from the Library and other entities.
Crownlands Bank. A bank-like institution
Royal Archives. Public records outside the Library that Adjacent Realms are allowed to see. Inadequate and full of omissions.
Things
[Homeland Privilege.] The right for someone to live on a particular piece of land. Seems parallel to citizenship. For commoners, the right to live in a particular place is phrased as “Location Commons Privilege”. A commoner can surrender their Homeland Privilege to serve the house of a noble, which seems to come with both restrictions and guarantees of stability (food, income?).[Permission for Passage.] Authorization by a local landlord allowing their peasant to travel from their demesne. Binding and tracking magic likely makes it hard for peasants to escape. It is unclear whether fugitive peasants are normally a serious-enough matter to warrant guard search and arrest.
Warrants. A pretty piece of parchment somewhere between a permission slip and a limited visa, granted by officials to associates acting on their behalf to identify the holder to guards and use specified state, secured, or secret resources. Warrants might also be comparable to the IRL version that authorizes an otherwise illegal/rights violating act. Royal Warrants are orders backed with the authority of the Crown and refusing them might be impossible to problematic.
Transportium. The abyssal black tunnels for skipping overland travel that have some relation to taint. Extremely high background mana levels seem hazardous to even Nexus-adapted peoples. Potentially tainted creatures seem to power the Transportium networks and are kept in life vaults/holding caverns. Time apparently advances slower inside the transportium network and choosing routes to prevent too much time elapsing is a major logistics consideration alongside destination choice. Not visualizing one’s destination and not having a mana interface can result in a travel mishap that advances time and ejects the wanderer at a confluence. Warrant exclusive transportiums to secure locations require an official permission slip. The transportium from Elaseer’s South Gate (at the border of the crownlands?) to the courtyard of the Royal Academy for the Magical Arts in the Crownlands is both kept on the low-down and warrant exclusive.
Crafted Omens. Unknown, but powerful. Sounds like a fate or curse you can apply to someone.
2023.11.12 21:42 subredditsummarybot Your weekly /r/LGBT recap for the week of November 05 - November 11
Sunday, November 05 - Saturday, November 11
submitted by subredditsummarybot to lgbt [link] [comments]
Art
| score | comments | title & link |
|---|---|---|
| 1,497 | 53 comments | [Art/Creative] I find it cute that all the gay flags match up |
| 931 | 59 comments | [Art/Creative] Some kitty pride wallpapers to say thank you! |
| 630 | 22 comments | [Art/Creative] Finally loving pictures of myself is definitely one of the best features from my transition 🥹 This one is from my latest photoshoot! |
| 541 | 190 comments | [Art/Creative] I am writing a gay fantasy novel, but my friend said it was "unrealistic" so I came here for a secondary opinion |
| 434 | 27 comments | [GAY ART GAY ART GAY ART] My computer! :з |
Memes
| score | comments | title & link |
|---|---|---|
| 1,700 | 59 comments | [Meme] Happy Birthday To Me 🙃 |
| 420 | 8 comments | [Meme] I’m going under |
| 60 | 6 comments | [Meme] And the cycle continues |
| 5 | 2 comments | [Meme] still straight tho🤪 (comment on a video about alex vause, who infact is a (fictional) woman) |
| 5 | 0 comments | [Meme] I am so happy that I finally started on estrogen after all these years. |
Politics / News
| score | comments | title & link |
|---|---|---|
| 859 | 213 comments | [Politics] Why do religious people use their religion to say we shouldn’t exist? |
| 612 | 244 comments | [Politics] Anyone else hate the term "Sexual preference"? |
| 351 | 66 comments | [Politics] Finally learned what the "Gay/Trans Agenda" means |
| 150 | 8 comments | [Politics] Sexualizing and politicizing our lives |
| 25 | 14 comments | [Politics] Russia, the biggest country on Earth that also has almost 2% of the world's population... And a homophobic hysteria raging so hard that rainbows are being censored in music videos. Depressing as fuck. |
Advice
| score | comments | title & link |
|---|---|---|
| 2,337 | 423 comments | [Need Advice :snoo_thoughtful:] How do we feel about a 12 year old having a pride flag in their room? |
| 2,114 | 101 comments | [Need Advice :snoo_thoughtful:] My friend was denied his diploma because he is gay? |
| 1,919 | 270 comments | [Need Advice :snoo_thoughtful:] What is the least transphobic feminist subreddit? |
| 1,835 | 396 comments | [Need Advice :snoo_thoughtful:] I was playing a popular video game online and said “Yaaas queen slay” (though sarcastically) and was told by a younger queer person that using the term “Slay” is outdated. |
| 1,491 | 172 comments | [Need Advice :snoo_thoughtful:] Someone said to me, "you strike me as one of those they them people" but I'm not sure what he meant. |
Coming out
| score | comments | title & link |
|---|---|---|
| 1,743 | 41 comments | [:usrrainbowupvote: Coming Out!] All I can hear is my mum crying to my dad “WHERE DID WE GO WRONG!?” |
| 732 | 37 comments | [:usrrainbowupvote: Coming Out!] Yes, I acctually came out with this. |
| 543 | 38 comments | [:usrrainbowupvote: Coming Out!] My aunt says "you're too pretty to be a lesbian" after I thought she could be trusted... |
| 448 | 4 comments | [:usrrainbowupvote: Coming Out!] My parents told me never to send Nud3s to anybody and I just looked at them like "That will not be a problem" And now they know I'm Asexual! |
| 187 | 9 comments | [:usrrainbowupvote: Coming Out!] My partner has come out as FTM Trans…and I felt… |
Other Posts
Top Comments
2023.10.13 07:20 Ok_Kaleidoscope2014 New Killer Concept: The Wizard (Rough Draft)
New Killer: The Wizard
Charlie Pulling was never a presumptuous girl. At the age of 7, she had appeared to reach maturity much earlier than most other kids. Which put her at odds with her Jehovah’s Witness parents quite often. Her habits of questioning orders were certainly a thorn on their sides, but what really stuck out to them was her blasphemous questions. How Charlie asked many questions regarding their Christian lord’s mercy and justice, as if such attributes were up for debate.
Charlie was never kicked out of the house, but she was practically a ghost: barely interacted with by her parents. She was fed, clothed and covered for her education. And when school was over, she had to make a choice, or rather an illusion. This dubious nature had always confused Charlie. How so many people were willing to trust a book of fables as a fact on so little evidence, such as personal experiences perceived as miracles? And hold such a myth as the pinnacle of morality. This character who drowns, burns, mangles, slaughters, enslaves and demands blood sacrifices? Even one example, when this supposedly all knowing “god” allowed Jephthah to butcher the Aminates at the cost of the blood of the first person to greet him at his door, which so happened to be his daughter, would make her heart sink.
But a part of her was enticed by magic. Such power that can be accessed by anyone. Wounds gone with a word. These fantasies were quite interesting to consider. So, in the pursuit to find the truth, she made a test. In her room was a plastic bin with water and a sponge. The sponge was taped to the lid so it wouldn’t touch the water. The test was simple: in the stories Charlie was told in church, the pastor spoke of how Gideon saw the outcome of the lord’s power with a fleece of wool and his floor. With faith, a similar outcome will be witnessed.
Days…weeks…it didn’t work. Her faith was unrewarded, the prayer was never answered. She was none the wiser to face her parents, for the test had failed. This has led her to the conclusion; if there was a deity out there in the cosmos, it wasn’t one worth chasing. If it wanted her so badly, it would come for her itself.
1981, her time in Dothan High School had just begun for Charlie. The taste of greedy pizza was still an unusual effect in her mouth, as she was still trying to get used to the rigid schedule she’s set up with. Trying to decide how many pieces of canned corn her chocolate milk could wash down, she overheard the chattering of a nearby group of outcasts. Turning to investigate, it was clear many others have avoided this gathering for reasons alien to her. She would not be so closed minded.
Plastic props and papers littered the corner of the building as the party greeted her to their hobby. They were battling a basilisk, a creature whose gaze turned one to stone in an instant. One of them recommended shooting its eyes out, followed by a discussion as to how to best immobilize it. It seems as if they were moments from ambushing the beast. From the best she could describe it, the rogue stabbed the front legs of the creature, followed by their fighter’s arrows missing one eye but landing directly into another, giving the crew advantage on their Constitution saves. After all the peppering from both the physical party members, the Cleric cast inflict wounds as a 4’th level spell, landing a critical hit due to its immense pain from earlier making it unable to move.
The corner of the building screamed with joy, as they had ended the life of the monster efficiently. They were awarded with their creativity with several vials of liquid that can end petrification in an instant. Seeing this party explode with joy brought inspiration to Charlie, a place where outcasts can come together. Soon, she didn’t feel alone anymore. This group called themselves the Thorn Hawks, and they welcomed her with open arms.
Tommy, the dungeon master with a stutter and the most knowledge of the game. Emma, the wild child with a thirst for a fun ride, which made an archer fighter quite enticing. Liam, the most distant from other humans and much more comfortable with cats and dogs led to the perfect rogue. Marcie was the soft compassionate black girl who found it difficult to stand up for herself, which made Charlie her perfect foil and friend. As she took the cleric class, Charlie felt like an arcane spellcaster would be what the table needed. Tommy passed her a character sheet, and she began to brainstorm.
“Sylvine Daggerfoot, a drow half elf born of the house of Whispersilk. A hollowborn was not so respected in this puritanical society, even as a daughter of Archnomancers Sylvine had no power here. She attempted to earn her place in the Underworld as a poet who wanted to express her pain as a mutant. But in her sleep, she was attacked by Shadowblades, unwilling to listen to her. Evading their pursuit, she has stumbled across an old wizard who took her in as his apprentice and showed her the ways of magic through study. Now, she dedicates her life to helping those in need now and helping others who are victims of bigotry as well.”
Across the many adventures she’s had with her friends, she felt at home. And this group served as an excellent study group as a side bonus. Tommy was the history nerd who pulled out any random trivia from the ether. Emma was the one helping them keep in shape for physical ED, in the form of dancing. Liam was the biology king that helped them nail every pop quiz. Marcie was their expert in philosophy, which was a massive relief for Charlie. And she contributed by being their key to passing chemistry which was difficult for them without her. The use of combining Her first year with them in school was amazing, how the interactions between elements lead to an explosive result.
Then within the next year, a Lee Pulling was announced dead, suicide in his head. His mother Patricia Pulling told CBS that the board game was to blame. And the flames that sparked from that, the church fanned. Sermons were preached, posters were opened, and several game items were burned. The entire town of Dothan was now consumed with aggressive prejudice.
To think, this game was once an escape from reality, now they couldn’t even bring dice without constant harassment. Charlie found this ironic, how a fantasy world treated as fiction was a threat to one understood as reality. It brought a somber smile to her face as the propaganda spread like a plague. Fortunately, Liam had a secret spot for them in the forest to share. But to avoid people discovering their hideout, they had to space out their meetings. As such, schedules are more strict, leading to games being more and more spaced out.
December 24’th, weeks have passed since their last meeting. They were just about to fight Grixilux the Lich, once and for all. Charlie was about to unzip her backpack containing her game material, when all went wrong. Somehow, a group of four high scholars found the Thorn Hawks. What happened next was pure brutality. Backpacks were ripped and tossed, costumes were torn and what survived that was rendered useless by the snow.
Then, Marcie tried to fight back, landing a single punch on the nearest brute, when he shouts “Demon conjurer!” and smacks her into a frozen tree. Blood covered the snow, as the barbaric continued. Charlie moved to investigate, only to find Marcie’s lifeless eyes still open. With this…something snapped. These kids needed to pay. These bastards took Marcie! THEY KILLED MARCIE!
Charlie took an icicle and stabbed it into the nearest bully’s eye. The next kid fell victim to several stabbing of a pencil to the neck. The other bully’s saw this murdering and tried to ran away. Charlie tossed a metal shovel one of the thugs dropped and hit one of them in the head. The last kid got away, but the third was bashed repeatedly for his crimes. His face, his life, his dreams, they didn’t matter. Marcie was dead, and it was all his fault.
Soon, his face was an indiscernible mush, with no resemblance of the teenager who once wore it. Tommy and Liam were scared of what Charlie had done. But Emma tried to calm her down with a hug, with the boys slowly joining them. Bursting into tears after the chaos, Charlie had all the time in the world to mourn for their loss. It was clear now, the world would not accept them for who they were. And now they would be hunted by the law. And so, they decided to run, gather all their money and run to who knows where.
But Charlie was not willing to go. She told them not to wait for her, how she would be a liability to them. She pondered as to why these apes were willing to harm those who did not bring any harm to them. Then it hit her: the brutality, the demonic posters, the othering of outsiders. It was the religion! The bigotry that had caused such a great rift between her and her parents, what has forced them to see paper and plastic powered by imagination as a portal to some underworld. So, she decided to do something. She didn’t know if it would work, if it wouldn’t backfire, or if it would even be remembered. But she had to do SOMETHING! She bought the necessary ingredients from various stores and went into hiding for her plan to exact vengeance.
And so, Christmas day, after the saturday sermon, Charlie in her costume of Sylvine Daggerfoot slaughtered those in the church. This building was seen as a holy place, free from the horrors of the world. SHe would soon remind them of reality, of how their god was of no help. Blood covered the walls that night, as the sight of one more came to her. Her bloodstained bat painted like a quarterstaff and chased this man down. She didn;t know who he was, or if he was actually not okay with how crazy the churchwas. He was there at the wrong place at the wrong time. She needed to do it.
And when a strange fog came in, she was confused as to where this stranger was. Then the world around her was revealed. Hooks and generators were abundant, with certain people in sight. Those people…looked like the bastards that took Marcie. And they needed to pay. They’ll pay with their blood! And so they will…forever. Fire ignited in her hand, fire that would burn all in her way.
32 meter terror radius
4.2 meters per second
Tall
M1: Quarterstaff
Wizard Power: Mystic Mastery
From simple sleight of hand, to evoking walls of fire, a magician's preeminence is not to be challenged.
The trial spawns with 5 mana egress. The Wizard has 50 mana tokens. A mana egress is a portal that can be accessed like glyphs, undetectable until within a close proximity.
Tapping the Activate Ability 1 button launches Firebolt in 0.8 seconds. Holding the Activate Ability 1 lets you hold the spell until you are ready to release it. With Firebolt prepared, you have a red ball in your hand. The wizard is slowed to 3.6 m/s while holding a spell in hand. The bolt goes straight, has no arch, and will injure any singular survivor it comes into contact with and will immediately dissipate. The firebolt can also break pallets and breakable walls. It moves at 24 m/s, and it requires 0.8 seconds to charge. Each Firebolt cost 8 mana.
When you are near a mana egress, you can hold Activate Ability 2 and regain all your mana. Survivors can also interact with egresses by holding down the Activate Ability 2 button as well, giving them the Encouraged status effect. After which, they are revealed by Killer instinct for 10 seconds. During this period, you can teleport to that survivor's location. Doing so costs all mana, which will be restored to full if you hit the survivor with your m1 within 10 seconds of teleportation. Any egress interacted by you or Survivors are then teleported to the other side of the map.
When you are not near an egress nor looking at a survivor revealed by this power, tapping Activate Ability 2 lets you switch spells you have prepared. When you have between 7 and 0 mana points, you can see the auras of all mana egresses. While holding a spell, you can tap Activate Ability 2 to cancel the spell.
*Encouraged is a status effect that grants the affected survivor an extra 8% to gen progression. This goes away when the survivor loses a health state. Similar to Overzealous
Perks:
Roll for Initiative:
After losing someone so important, you will never be the one to be defensive again.
As soon as you begin chase, your lunge range is increased by 20/30/40% for 6 seconds. This perk then goes on cooldown for 30 seconds.
Arcane Knowledge:
Your understanding of the cosmos leads to manipulating them to your favor.
Whenever a generator is damaged, this perk gains a token, up to 12/16/20.
Whenever you kick a generator, it loses a percentage of its total progress equal to the tokens this perk possesses.
Whenever a survivor is killed, this perk loses 10 tokens.
Hex: Blind Aggression:
A victim of prejudice and blind rage her entire life, now Charlie may unleash such unbridled rage as Sylvine.
Whenever a survivor is downed while this perk is not deactivated,a dull totem is lit into a hex totem.
While this hex totem is active:
If the hex totem is destroyed, this perk is deactivated.
Add-Ons:
(brown)
Charlie’s Character Sheet:
A gift from her new group, this memento will never be forgotten.
As the table is set, there’s always a time for excitement.
A reminder of when faith was shown to be worthless.
Writing spells into a spellbook is a costly process, but you have ways to alleviate such expenses.
Potion of Mana
Helpful in combat and the market, this item is very useful indeed.
Increase Mana maximum by 14 points
Pinch of Sand
When venturing through many dungeons, Sylvine understood the importance of limiting her opponent’s vision.
As Sylvine’s understanding of magical tools increased, so did her understanding of how others depend on physical tools.
The only reason an enemy could land a hit on Sylvine was if he was better than the half-drow. So far, her theory has yet to be challenged.
A magazine filled with flowery language and failed predictions for the end of days. To think humanity got to the bronze age without killing itself.
Bat Guano
When seeking immediate results of destruction, there is one spell that never fails to impress.
After being so close to an assassin’s blade once, Sylvine had this particular spell in her back pocket for many problems.
Familiars may be an acceptable method of gathering information to most wizards, but Sylvine would rather witness the events herself.
Visions flicker into Sylvine’s mind. The memories of an enthused human…as if she lived them.
Even as a half blood, a Whispersilk's anger is feared in the Underdark.
Timmask Roots
Such beauties abundant in mother SiNafay’s garden, Sylvine always suspected they were an ingredient to something greater.
The flexibility of a giant hand is among a sorcerer’s greatest tools.
To think a ruffian crew would last long without her. To remember how far Sylvine has gone with them.
Iridescent Player’s Handbook
After several nights of drafting all her ideas and spells on paper, Charlie is ready to become Sylvine.
Forced under the service of an eldritch being with spider-like claws and a hunger for emotion, Sylvine pondered if this was Lolth’s true form. Either way, its offer was far too enticing.
submitted by Ok_Kaleidoscope2014 to deadbydaylight [link] [comments]
Charlie Pulling was never a presumptuous girl. At the age of 7, she had appeared to reach maturity much earlier than most other kids. Which put her at odds with her Jehovah’s Witness parents quite often. Her habits of questioning orders were certainly a thorn on their sides, but what really stuck out to them was her blasphemous questions. How Charlie asked many questions regarding their Christian lord’s mercy and justice, as if such attributes were up for debate.
Charlie was never kicked out of the house, but she was practically a ghost: barely interacted with by her parents. She was fed, clothed and covered for her education. And when school was over, she had to make a choice, or rather an illusion. This dubious nature had always confused Charlie. How so many people were willing to trust a book of fables as a fact on so little evidence, such as personal experiences perceived as miracles? And hold such a myth as the pinnacle of morality. This character who drowns, burns, mangles, slaughters, enslaves and demands blood sacrifices? Even one example, when this supposedly all knowing “god” allowed Jephthah to butcher the Aminates at the cost of the blood of the first person to greet him at his door, which so happened to be his daughter, would make her heart sink.
But a part of her was enticed by magic. Such power that can be accessed by anyone. Wounds gone with a word. These fantasies were quite interesting to consider. So, in the pursuit to find the truth, she made a test. In her room was a plastic bin with water and a sponge. The sponge was taped to the lid so it wouldn’t touch the water. The test was simple: in the stories Charlie was told in church, the pastor spoke of how Gideon saw the outcome of the lord’s power with a fleece of wool and his floor. With faith, a similar outcome will be witnessed.
Days…weeks…it didn’t work. Her faith was unrewarded, the prayer was never answered. She was none the wiser to face her parents, for the test had failed. This has led her to the conclusion; if there was a deity out there in the cosmos, it wasn’t one worth chasing. If it wanted her so badly, it would come for her itself.
1981, her time in Dothan High School had just begun for Charlie. The taste of greedy pizza was still an unusual effect in her mouth, as she was still trying to get used to the rigid schedule she’s set up with. Trying to decide how many pieces of canned corn her chocolate milk could wash down, she overheard the chattering of a nearby group of outcasts. Turning to investigate, it was clear many others have avoided this gathering for reasons alien to her. She would not be so closed minded.
Plastic props and papers littered the corner of the building as the party greeted her to their hobby. They were battling a basilisk, a creature whose gaze turned one to stone in an instant. One of them recommended shooting its eyes out, followed by a discussion as to how to best immobilize it. It seems as if they were moments from ambushing the beast. From the best she could describe it, the rogue stabbed the front legs of the creature, followed by their fighter’s arrows missing one eye but landing directly into another, giving the crew advantage on their Constitution saves. After all the peppering from both the physical party members, the Cleric cast inflict wounds as a 4’th level spell, landing a critical hit due to its immense pain from earlier making it unable to move.
The corner of the building screamed with joy, as they had ended the life of the monster efficiently. They were awarded with their creativity with several vials of liquid that can end petrification in an instant. Seeing this party explode with joy brought inspiration to Charlie, a place where outcasts can come together. Soon, she didn’t feel alone anymore. This group called themselves the Thorn Hawks, and they welcomed her with open arms.
Tommy, the dungeon master with a stutter and the most knowledge of the game. Emma, the wild child with a thirst for a fun ride, which made an archer fighter quite enticing. Liam, the most distant from other humans and much more comfortable with cats and dogs led to the perfect rogue. Marcie was the soft compassionate black girl who found it difficult to stand up for herself, which made Charlie her perfect foil and friend. As she took the cleric class, Charlie felt like an arcane spellcaster would be what the table needed. Tommy passed her a character sheet, and she began to brainstorm.
“Sylvine Daggerfoot, a drow half elf born of the house of Whispersilk. A hollowborn was not so respected in this puritanical society, even as a daughter of Archnomancers Sylvine had no power here. She attempted to earn her place in the Underworld as a poet who wanted to express her pain as a mutant. But in her sleep, she was attacked by Shadowblades, unwilling to listen to her. Evading their pursuit, she has stumbled across an old wizard who took her in as his apprentice and showed her the ways of magic through study. Now, she dedicates her life to helping those in need now and helping others who are victims of bigotry as well.”
Across the many adventures she’s had with her friends, she felt at home. And this group served as an excellent study group as a side bonus. Tommy was the history nerd who pulled out any random trivia from the ether. Emma was the one helping them keep in shape for physical ED, in the form of dancing. Liam was the biology king that helped them nail every pop quiz. Marcie was their expert in philosophy, which was a massive relief for Charlie. And she contributed by being their key to passing chemistry which was difficult for them without her. The use of combining Her first year with them in school was amazing, how the interactions between elements lead to an explosive result.
Then within the next year, a Lee Pulling was announced dead, suicide in his head. His mother Patricia Pulling told CBS that the board game was to blame. And the flames that sparked from that, the church fanned. Sermons were preached, posters were opened, and several game items were burned. The entire town of Dothan was now consumed with aggressive prejudice.
To think, this game was once an escape from reality, now they couldn’t even bring dice without constant harassment. Charlie found this ironic, how a fantasy world treated as fiction was a threat to one understood as reality. It brought a somber smile to her face as the propaganda spread like a plague. Fortunately, Liam had a secret spot for them in the forest to share. But to avoid people discovering their hideout, they had to space out their meetings. As such, schedules are more strict, leading to games being more and more spaced out.
December 24’th, weeks have passed since their last meeting. They were just about to fight Grixilux the Lich, once and for all. Charlie was about to unzip her backpack containing her game material, when all went wrong. Somehow, a group of four high scholars found the Thorn Hawks. What happened next was pure brutality. Backpacks were ripped and tossed, costumes were torn and what survived that was rendered useless by the snow.
Then, Marcie tried to fight back, landing a single punch on the nearest brute, when he shouts “Demon conjurer!” and smacks her into a frozen tree. Blood covered the snow, as the barbaric continued. Charlie moved to investigate, only to find Marcie’s lifeless eyes still open. With this…something snapped. These kids needed to pay. These bastards took Marcie! THEY KILLED MARCIE!
Charlie took an icicle and stabbed it into the nearest bully’s eye. The next kid fell victim to several stabbing of a pencil to the neck. The other bully’s saw this murdering and tried to ran away. Charlie tossed a metal shovel one of the thugs dropped and hit one of them in the head. The last kid got away, but the third was bashed repeatedly for his crimes. His face, his life, his dreams, they didn’t matter. Marcie was dead, and it was all his fault.
Soon, his face was an indiscernible mush, with no resemblance of the teenager who once wore it. Tommy and Liam were scared of what Charlie had done. But Emma tried to calm her down with a hug, with the boys slowly joining them. Bursting into tears after the chaos, Charlie had all the time in the world to mourn for their loss. It was clear now, the world would not accept them for who they were. And now they would be hunted by the law. And so, they decided to run, gather all their money and run to who knows where.
But Charlie was not willing to go. She told them not to wait for her, how she would be a liability to them. She pondered as to why these apes were willing to harm those who did not bring any harm to them. Then it hit her: the brutality, the demonic posters, the othering of outsiders. It was the religion! The bigotry that had caused such a great rift between her and her parents, what has forced them to see paper and plastic powered by imagination as a portal to some underworld. So, she decided to do something. She didn’t know if it would work, if it wouldn’t backfire, or if it would even be remembered. But she had to do SOMETHING! She bought the necessary ingredients from various stores and went into hiding for her plan to exact vengeance.
And so, Christmas day, after the saturday sermon, Charlie in her costume of Sylvine Daggerfoot slaughtered those in the church. This building was seen as a holy place, free from the horrors of the world. SHe would soon remind them of reality, of how their god was of no help. Blood covered the walls that night, as the sight of one more came to her. Her bloodstained bat painted like a quarterstaff and chased this man down. She didn;t know who he was, or if he was actually not okay with how crazy the churchwas. He was there at the wrong place at the wrong time. She needed to do it.
And when a strange fog came in, she was confused as to where this stranger was. Then the world around her was revealed. Hooks and generators were abundant, with certain people in sight. Those people…looked like the bastards that took Marcie. And they needed to pay. They’ll pay with their blood! And so they will…forever. Fire ignited in her hand, fire that would burn all in her way.
32 meter terror radius
4.2 meters per second
Tall
M1: Quarterstaff
Wizard Power: Mystic Mastery
From simple sleight of hand, to evoking walls of fire, a magician's preeminence is not to be challenged.
The trial spawns with 5 mana egress. The Wizard has 50 mana tokens. A mana egress is a portal that can be accessed like glyphs, undetectable until within a close proximity.
Tapping the Activate Ability 1 button launches Firebolt in 0.8 seconds. Holding the Activate Ability 1 lets you hold the spell until you are ready to release it. With Firebolt prepared, you have a red ball in your hand. The wizard is slowed to 3.6 m/s while holding a spell in hand. The bolt goes straight, has no arch, and will injure any singular survivor it comes into contact with and will immediately dissipate. The firebolt can also break pallets and breakable walls. It moves at 24 m/s, and it requires 0.8 seconds to charge. Each Firebolt cost 8 mana.
When you are near a mana egress, you can hold Activate Ability 2 and regain all your mana. Survivors can also interact with egresses by holding down the Activate Ability 2 button as well, giving them the Encouraged status effect. After which, they are revealed by Killer instinct for 10 seconds. During this period, you can teleport to that survivor's location. Doing so costs all mana, which will be restored to full if you hit the survivor with your m1 within 10 seconds of teleportation. Any egress interacted by you or Survivors are then teleported to the other side of the map.
When you are not near an egress nor looking at a survivor revealed by this power, tapping Activate Ability 2 lets you switch spells you have prepared. When you have between 7 and 0 mana points, you can see the auras of all mana egresses. While holding a spell, you can tap Activate Ability 2 to cancel the spell.
*Encouraged is a status effect that grants the affected survivor an extra 8% to gen progression. This goes away when the survivor loses a health state. Similar to Overzealous
Perks:
Roll for Initiative:
After losing someone so important, you will never be the one to be defensive again.
As soon as you begin chase, your lunge range is increased by 20/30/40% for 6 seconds. This perk then goes on cooldown for 30 seconds.
Arcane Knowledge:
Your understanding of the cosmos leads to manipulating them to your favor.
Whenever a generator is damaged, this perk gains a token, up to 12/16/20.
Whenever you kick a generator, it loses a percentage of its total progress equal to the tokens this perk possesses.
Whenever a survivor is killed, this perk loses 10 tokens.
Hex: Blind Aggression:
A victim of prejudice and blind rage her entire life, now Charlie may unleash such unbridled rage as Sylvine.
Whenever a survivor is downed while this perk is not deactivated,a dull totem is lit into a hex totem.
While this hex totem is active:
- Gain 0.3 m/s speed
- 20%/25%/30% resistance to pallet stuns
- 15%/20%/25% increased killer action speeds
- Missed basic attacks cooldown 15% faster
If the hex totem is destroyed, this perk is deactivated.
Add-Ons:
(brown)
Charlie’s Character Sheet:
A gift from her new group, this memento will never be forgotten.
- Decrease Firebolt cooldown by 10%
As the table is set, there’s always a time for excitement.
- Increase mana maximum by 6 points
A reminder of when faith was shown to be worthless.
- Increase Firebolt projectile movement by 6 m/s.
Writing spells into a spellbook is a costly process, but you have ways to alleviate such expenses.
- Decrease movement while a Spell is charged by 0.3 m/s
- Increase BloodPoint gain for Firebolt charged hits by 100%
Potion of Mana
Helpful in combat and the market, this item is very useful indeed.
Increase Mana maximum by 14 points
Pinch of Sand
When venturing through many dungeons, Sylvine understood the importance of limiting her opponent’s vision.
- Grants the Spell “Flash”- 10 mana, tap or hold Activate Ability 1, 0.8 seconds to resolve. In your hand is a green orb. You blind all survivors whose POV camera is on the Wizard for 2 seconds.
As Sylvine’s understanding of magical tools increased, so did her understanding of how others depend on physical tools.
- Grants the Spell “Fumble” 7 mana, tap Activate Ability 1, 0.8 seconds to resolve. In your hand is a magenta orb. You cause all survivors within 10 feet of you to drop their items. All survivors that are in a chase when dropping an item gain Hindered for 4 seconds.
The only reason an enemy could land a hit on Sylvine was if he was better than the half-drow. So far, her theory has yet to be challenged.
- Grants the Spell “Mirror Image” 10 mana, tap or hold Activate Ability 1, 0.4 seconds to activate. In your hand is a black orb. You conjure up to 3 mirror images outside of a survivor’s FOV that produce their own red stain. Like Doctor’s hallucinations, they emerge facing the nearest survivor and have no physical form.
A magazine filled with flowery language and failed predictions for the end of days. To think humanity got to the bronze age without killing itself.
- Decrease Firebolt cooldown by 20%
Bat Guano
When seeking immediate results of destruction, there is one spell that never fails to impress.
- Grants the Spell “Fireball” 20 mana, tap or hold Activate Ability 1, 2 seconds to resolve. In your hand is an orange ball. You launch a ball of fire into the distance, unleashing a sphere of destruction. As soon as the spell is released, all survivors within a 20 meter radius are damaged for one health state, generators regress by 5% of their overall progression, and downed pallets and breakable walls are broken. This spell cannot be casted again within 30 seconds.
After being so close to an assassin’s blade once, Sylvine had this particular spell in her back pocket for many problems.
- Grants the Spell “Stoneskin” 16 mana, tap or hold Activate Ability 1, 0.8 seconds to resolve. In your hand is a silver ball. You grant yourself 60% resistance to pallet stuns and flashlights for 10 seconds.
Familiars may be an acceptable method of gathering information to most wizards, but Sylvine would rather witness the events herself.
- Grants the Spell “Arcane Eye” 15 mana, hold Activate Ability 1, 2 seconds to resolve. In your hand is a blue ball. You disappear and shift view to the location of a random mana egress, and can change to a different egress with the Activate Ability 1 button. Tapping the Activate Ability 2 button returns you to where you cast the spell. Holding the Activate Ability 2 button lets you summon yourself to the egress’ location. Doing so costs 15 more mana, and the egress reforms on the other side of the map.
Visions flicker into Sylvine’s mind. The memories of an enthused human…as if she lived them.
- Firebolt inflicts Broken for 30 seconds.
Even as a half blood, a Whispersilk's anger is feared in the Underdark.
- Whenever you down a survivor with a Firebolt, you gain Undetectable for 8 seconds. This duration is increased by 4 seconds for each generator complete.
Timmask Roots
Such beauties abundant in mother SiNafay’s garden, Sylvine always suspected they were an ingredient to something greater.
- Grants the Spell “Cloudkill” 45 mana, tap or hold Activate Ability 1, 2 seconds to resolve. In your hand is a green ball. You launch a ball of toxic gasses straight at where you look, releasing death onto your prey. The ball expands into a 30 meter radius that deals damage to survivors that spend 10 seconds in its area of effect. While in its smoke, you are undetectable and can see the auras for all survivors. These effects last for 10 seconds after you leave the smoke. This spell lasts for 30 seconds, and cannot be cast for 75 seconds after it resolves.
The flexibility of a giant hand is among a sorcerer’s greatest tools.
- Gran the Spell “Bigby’s Hand” 40 mana, tap or hold Activate Ability 1, 0.8 seconds to resolve. In your hand is a white hand. You summon a giant hand to patrol a 40 meter radius for 60 seconds, in which it will go through several modes.
- Forceful: the hand is passive for its first 2 seconds of materialization, before slamming its open palm down, injuring survivors within 12 meters of it for one health state and destroying all downed pallets and breakable walls there as well.
- Grasping: All generators within the hand’s radius are grabbed and damaged one by one, closest to farthest.
- Clenched: if a survivor stays in the 40 meter radius for 10 seconds, the hand will turn into a 4.6 m/s rocket, taking the shortest route to that survivor. This can be stunned by pallets, but they are broken instantly. After 2 stuns, the hand disappears, and the wizard gains 20 mana tokens.
To think a ruffian crew would last long without her. To remember how far Sylvine has gone with them.
- After hitting a survivor with a basic attack, gain a 7% speed bonus.
- Whenever you teleport from a survivor interacting with an egress, you gain a 30% lunge increase.
- As soon as a chase begins, you gain a 30% vault speed.
- Firebolt costs 12 mana.
- Movement while holding a spell is slowed by 0.3 m/s.
Iridescent Player’s Handbook
After several nights of drafting all her ideas and spells on paper, Charlie is ready to become Sylvine.
- Grants the Spells, Fireball, Flash and Arcane Eye.
- Increase mana token maximum by 20
- Increase mana egress teleportation speed by 100%
- Increase basic attack hit cooldown by 20%
- Decrease lunge range by 40%
- Can no longer gain bloodlust
Forced under the service of an eldritch being with spider-like claws and a hunger for emotion, Sylvine pondered if this was Lolth’s true form. Either way, its offer was far too enticing.
- Survivors that interact with mana egresses are exposed for 20 seconds.
- Gain a speed bonus of 10% after teleport from an egress.
- Survivors who survive the 20 seconds of exposed also gain a special item called A Lich Key. It has 40 charges and holding the Use Item Button will let a survivor see the killer’s aura. The key can also unlock the hatch and power the exit gates to full. This feature can’t be activated if the item is out of charges.
2023.09.24 19:47 Slippery-Dude Transcription of Talking Heads SMS Q&A NYC, 2023.09.13 at Brooklyn Academy of Music
John Heilemann (MSNBC): Bring out here, Mr. Chris Frantz. Number 2, the lead bassist and singer for Tom Tom Club, and also the bassist for Talking Heads, Tina Weymouth. Number 3, the man the myth the legend, the musical beating heart of Talking Heads, Jerry Harrison. And last but not least, the man not wearing a big suit tonight or any suit at all, Mr. David Byrne. Alright, I’m gonna say this for the record, even though it’s been said many times. But I’m gonna say it one more time, The name of this band is Talking Heads!
I was about this close to wearing a Stop Making Sense T Shirt here but I was warned by my friends that that would be a totally goofy thing to do, but that didn’t stop me from bringing this. Anybody out here who cares about this movie or this record, get this, it’s the new vinyl, the complete concert, remastered totally restored it’s got everything in it, an incredible book inside that’s got a lot of good research material for someone who’s doing an interview in Talking Heads.
I will only speak about myself to say this, in December of 1983. I was a kid growing up in Los Angeles, I had just started my first year of college, and came home Christmas break, for most of December. There was this show going on at the Pantages theater, who I really liked. And I didn’t go, I didn’t go to these shows. Biggest fucking mistake I’ve made in the history of my life.
Fall of 1984 when the movie comes out of the theaters. I’m in Chicago, where I went to Northwestern University. I went to the buyback theater on opening night and saw the first evening screening of, when the movie first opened in cinemas. People went fucking crazy. The next year, I'm going to philosophy class and a professor walks in, walks in with a boom box. Puts it on the first day of class. Puts it on the thing, and does a perfect imitation of Girlfriend is Better. And he gets through the song and says that's what this class is going to be about. The class is about phenomenology and that is what Stop Making Sense is all about.
And I was like so stoned, I was like, wow! I think he played every song from the all of Talking Heads’ five albums at that point. And then, Now what? Next year at the big huge student talent competition at Northwestern. The people who won was a group that did a perfect imitation of Once in a Lifetime, and a kid named Kevin Moore, who looked exactly like you, and did not sing quite as well, but it was really something. I thought at that point man this thing has staying power. It's been with me for four years of college and it might stick with me forever. It I'll tell you this, there's probably no movie I watch more than this. You can't watch it narrative movie 57 times. Well, some people can. Yeah, but I have seen this movie dozens and dozens and dozens times, and I still will tell you as much as I loved it then I love it now. It never occurred to me that, sort of in the vain of legal weed and gay marriage, that 40 years later, Stop Making Sense would be a phenomenon again all around the country.
So, people ask about the origin of this movie. David, I'll start with you and ask this question because of course before you get to it, how does Stop Making Sense The movie happen? There's the tour. The Speaking in Tongues Tour like, which was a departure for you, and everything. And that you've said in a couple of these interviews done around this movie, that this is basically what you were doing on the Speaking in Tongues tour. This is what we see here was the show. And you had an idea for how this tour was going to be different from other previous Talking Heads tours. Talk about what you had in mind in making the tour before we get to the movie.
David Byrne: The previous tour, we already had an expanded lineup beyond the four of us. And we did a thing where the four of us came out and started with the core band and then other people joined. So it's time to do another tour, another record, and I thought can we take that further? How far can we take that? Can we start with say, just me and then add members of the core band and all these other people little by little? Could we do it on an empty stage? So it's not just us coming out one time, but the whole everything kind of coming out that makes a show. It was a question. Yeah, and we decided to try and find out the answer.
MSNBC: Jerry talked about this, about the, you know, again before you get to the movie, there's the music. And this band is just the fucking greatest live band that has ever been assembled, I would say. Very good but I'll say all their names again Bernie Worrell, Steve Scales, Alex Weir and of course the amazing backing singers Lynn Mabry and Ednah Holt. So just talk about putting the band together and how you how you did that, how you put this band together and what you got?
JH: Well, it started with the Remain in Light band, because when we recorded Remain in Light, we realized that we really couldn't play all of the parts at the same time. We had done such a lot of layering. And we had the opportunity to play Central Park and the Heat Wave festival in Mosport, outside of Toronto. And we were being paid more money because these were bigger gigs and so we said, let's see if we could try and find a way to play this. And I remember sitting down, we were still mixing Remain in Light, David and I were like we’re gonna need a background singer, percussion, maybe another keyboard player, a guitar player, oh my god, and on that tour we maybe needed another player bass player. And I had been hanging in New York with a guy named Busta Jones and I had met Bernie and they knew Dolette, so I started with them. And Adrian had played on the record, so I called Adrian. We came back in the afternoon with this most amazing band. Then we found Steve the next day. Then Adrian went off and after working with Tom Tom Club, and The Red and Black and the Catherine Wheel, he joined King Crimson. And we met Alex Weir, actually through Quincy Jones. And then I think Dolette went off to play with Sting or The Police or something like this, and so Lynn had been in the Brides of Funkenstein so from Bernie knew her and she knew Ednah.
MSNBC: So you're making this you got this tour, Chris, and you guys are kicking ass. Do you remember the first time anybody here before we get to Jonathan, like the first time anybody of these of these four key band members here said, hey, maybe there’s a movie in this?
CF: Well, you know we love movies and, yes I think we thought, this is really good we should document it. We didn't know we were going to end up with a director as great as Jonathan Demme at the time, but Jonathan came backstage one day and he said to all of us, I'd like to make a movie of this, I think it would be really cool. And we had seen his movie Melvin and Howard.
MSNBC: Yeah, sure.
CF: And I think maybe some other movies, like Caged Heat.
MSNBC: Yeah I was gonna say, lotta Caged Heat fans here? Roger Corman fans in the audience?
CF: And to be honest, I can't remember any other directors expressing interest. But Jonathan did, and we were happy with that. It was just like a really good match he gave us confidence. We all agree that he was a really good cheerleader for the band and he was also a consummate artist in his own right, and he understood us, he got the whole schtick. He got that we were sometimes awkward and
MSNBC: Then your trademark
CF: Yeah I mean, we've made a lot of money being awkward.
MSNBC: I was going to say like a bunch angst ridden white people making money. Tina, I want to ask, you to pick this up, this story because Demme showing up backstage you told this story, I mentioned this booklet in the re-release of the album you told the story about sitting down, you and Chris with Jonathan, you had a conversation with him about what this movie should be or could be, and more importantly, what it shouldn't be. It's interesting all the things that you were like, we don't want this, we don't want that tell that story.
TW: Yes, well, we had enjoyed a lot of other rock concert movies, but one of the things that I thought was a real mistake was interviews because we wanted our music to speak for itself, because our music was the star of the show, I mean the suit comes in second.
MSNBC: Supporting cast.
TW: Yeah, one of the things that I kept thinking in the back my mind was no split screens, none of that hippie stuff. Let the camera feel like a sensitive eye, that doesn't call attention to itself, but allows the viewer to really be a member of the audience, and not be conscious of it. So those were some of the things. And then he was just so wonderful because we had a team, a great team and we had a great crew that worked as a team with us, and then he brought in an amazing team. Really amazing, I think one or two of them might even be here.
MSNBC: Wherever you are out there, you deserve it! You guys have made music and though visually, and you made music that was well suited to visual expression. This is the dawn of the video era, David, and you guys had the Once in a Lifetime video on MTV in 1980 got a ton of play, it was really avant-garde then, by which I mean really fucking weird and so was Burning Down the House, which has elements in it that are very similar to what we see as like and there's things that you bring in that video that are very reminiscent of certain kind of motifs here. You directed those video, you directed a lot of bands videos those two were particularly were huge hits. What is it that you saw in Jonathan that you thought he's going to bring something different to this than, well anyone, but then what we've had in our previous small screen visual expressions?
DB: I assume that somebody who'd done features can take a long view of whatever it is in this case our concert and see if they might see a story there. That there's a progression from the beginning to the end. Whereas with the video you're looking for 3 minute chunks and you can just throw a lot of surreal of whatever things in there. It doesn't have to tell a long story and I said yes, a proper film director would think more in those terms, which is yeah.
MSNBC: You made this point the other day about how he saw the ensemble nature of it, about that there was a there was this is a group of people, and that you're building this kind of portrait of a family in some way, and that you couldn't see that yourself from the world you lived in on stage.
DB: I know for myself I was too much inside the show, but when I started to see the editing taking shape and what Jonathan and the editor Lisa Day were doing. They were paying a lot of attention to the interactions between the band members and as if it was a kind of ensemble film with a cast and as each person comes out, you get to know them a little bit. You get to know their kind of character and their quirks and what they do. And then you see how they interact with everybody else and I thought, I take all that for granted and I’m just you know I didn't see that, and I thought he brought something really special to it.
MSNBC: Chris, you said the other day this bit about sweet Jonathan was. He was kind of this purity, you know I think about the Demme career, the word that always comes to my mind is like humanism, he was just this profoundly humanistic director. There were with things like Silence of the Lambs, where it was hard to be humanistic when you’re making a movie about a serial killer, but was. And whether it was Melvin and Howard or Something Wild or Swimming to Cambodia, take your pick, they have the thread the through line of Jonathan Demme’s movies is this intense awareness of the humans in the frame and how they're relating to each other. Could you think about ways in which his purity, his sweetness, kind of informed your experience of working with them, I think it would be cool to kind of think about that in a specific way.
CF: Well, I immediately I think we all felt that we could trust Jonathan to do a good job. He did have a very pure spirit, he was capable of being very serious, but also, he preferred, I think, to be light hearted. And we all developed a friendship with him, sort of like just like that. And one big talent Jonathan had was knowing how to delegate different responsibilities to people that were really at the top of their game, such as Jordan Cronenweth, the director of photography. But let me just say he got a lot of help from Sandy McLeod! Are you here tonight Sandy? Where are you? Take a bow!
And the whole team was, I always felt like everybody was at the top of their game and really devoted, like to their craft and Jonathan surrounded himself with those kind of people,
MSNBC: Tina, you mention this, we were just talking about this, this topic a second ago. I think about, you know, there's this the trailer for this release as the greatest concert film ever made. And Spike Lee the other night and in Toronto said this was the greatest concert film ever made, I say well, yeah, of course, but also one of the great timeless works of art of our time, but it's kind of a weird comparison. It's like comparing this movie with The Last Waltz, or heaven forbid something like The Song Remains the Same, it’s like comparing an apple and a Volkswagen! Is this a concert movie, is this performance art? Is there acting? Did you conceive of this as a conceptual piece or just, hey, we're up here like we’re the band, we're playing our songs?
TW: Well, of course we're a band playing the music and we have a riveting front man, and he is an actor and it's something that is hard to put your finger on, but we think of it as pop art, entertainment, not really fine art. But I think Jonathan almost, like kind of raised it to that level.
MSNBC: Did you do jerry, did you think about this that way? Do you do you think you were, I mean, I was just wondering about the moments like this, where someone produces something that has turned out to be as timeless as this whether you're just, you know, like I said, you get a lot of this false humility from some great bands that says, hey, we were working band we were cranking out songs out, we’re, you know, trying to make a living. This seems to be something we were like, well, we employed the techniques of Robert Wilson and we did this and we this, this is a more intellectual higher kind of a higher art aspiration, it feels like to me and so here's like how do you categorize this piece of film?
JH: We’ll let’s start with that, I felt that when we recorded the film, then we were if not amongst the best band in the world. There are lots of great musicians and great bands, but there was people having to follow us were like “oh boy!”
MSNBC: That’s how I feel right now!
JH: And I think that the great thing about the film and when you were trying and I think that what you were pointing out is that, and David’s conception that's sort of the narration of building it, it's not just the concert it, it has a conceptual arc it has a narrative arc, and therefore it sort of becomes more than any one of those things. That becomes something as a whole, and therefore that's why we grasp the words trying to describe it.
MSNBC: David, you said that this in addition to the thing that I said earlier was that this is what the show we were doing that you collaborated with Jonathn on the shoot. You've also said this is kind of the story of the band up to this point, you guys had made five records at that point, each one you could argue better than the previous. If this, and I think it's a quote in this, in this essay, and I’ve seen you say this in other places, you said if this is the story of the band up to this point, and the narrative part that Jerry is talking about, what is that story? What's the story that's being told in Stop Making Sense?
DB: Part of it is, you see this kind of a very intense awkward guy in the beginning.
MSNBC: Who's that guy?
DB: He’s a guy.
MSNBC: The Psycho Killer, you mean, that guy?
DB: Maybe that guy, he's trying to figure things out. Himself, and in the world. And he's joined by these other people and little by little he starts to kind of feel himself in the little community, he starts to let go and feel like he actually starts to have some fun. And I can see him smiling once in a while. So just from that point of view there's a whole story of this person, kind of finding it. A kind of salvation or release or surrender…
MSNBC: Family? Community?
DB: Yeah, all of that yeah. Yeah, through music through the other people and through, yes we surrender to the music for sure .
MSNBC: Yes well, I want to come back to that in a second, but I want to ask Jerry, ask you, so fast forward to today here we are unfortunately, this crowd everybody here now because it's Stop Making Sense again because unfortunately we don't have the in this in this space, we don't have the IMAX version. I saw the IMAX version at IMAX headquarters this summer. I will tell all of you that there are sometimes when you make something much bigger, it's no, it's not just bigger, it's different, it's a different experience. I've seen the movie a lot of times I came in thinking I couldn't love this movie more. And I watched the movie and I said fuck man! It's a different movie than I've ever experienced before. You were very involved in the both the musical and the video, the reimagining and the reconstructing of it and tell that story how that all happened there was this. How that all happened.
JH: Well the one thing that was difficult, was it took a long time, for instance, to find the original negative which was I think in the MGM library.
MSNBC: In like Nebraska or something?
JH: Why would it be in the MGM library? It was fortunately, hats off to James Makowski, he found it. And then we had all these tapes and we will be playing them and then they would drop out of synch, what's going on and so there was a lot of work that went into just making sure we have the right material but then the opportunity for both, this was a, you know, some downplay the theater we just saw it in, that, this is, having multi-channel audio in a theater, you know we now go to the films and hear effects coming all around, we're not used to this, and so for a for a music film was like there's an expanded palette that we can deal with, but we have to be very careful not to go overboard and take too much advantage. One thing was I was talking about is that Jonathan doesn't go out into showing the audience until quite late in the movie, so it's really us on stage and when we were mixing this it was very important to keep that, bands up there, not you know, we use it when Lynn is singing you know heavenly and ethereal material, we were judicious about it.
MSNBC: When you saw the IMAX version of this, you thought what?
CF: I thought goddamn! It was, you know, there's an intensity that and it snowballs, it starts off at a fairly high level, I would say, with Psycho Killer, but from then on it just grows and grows and rolls and gets bigger and more powerful and it's also a lot of fun to watch for me. I mean, my wife, she looks so great!
MSNBC: I won’t get you get you into trouble there, don’t put it in past tense! Tina, when you see this movie now, and especially when you see it in that giant format. Which is like I said, there really is a different experience to see it the way it's really big, like all the things that Demme does with light and it's like the staging and the costume, the things you guys wore maybe weren’t necessarily costumes. But it's on that scale, it changes it and I guess, it’s hard to imagine what it must be like to watch it, to like having seen that of all, like 40 years later to see it in this kind of enhanced form, when you look at it, does it feel like you're looking at a very, very large, like high school yearbook? Like it's a long like it's a very long time ago and it's kind of seen, it's like covered in nostalgia? or does it feel like all this shit just happened yesterday?
TW: It’s now-stalgia, now-stalgia is a word I’m going to borrow from a friend of ours. But it still feels fresh, I’d say, that's just my opinion.
MSNBC: I never really thought about it until I saw that version of it, David, I kept thinking that you know, if you look at movies that were made in 1983/84, all of them look incredibly like 1983/84 they're all anachronistic. This movie has felt from 1983 to 1984 to 1994, 2004, 2014 now we're hearing it in 2023, I think if you played this movie to someone who had never seen it before and was just like it's basically like you just dropped them off on Earth, they would say what that was made yesterday. There's nothing about this that seems screams 80s to me and that's there's a number of elements of timelessness in this movie but that is one of them. It feels very contemporary. Jerry was talking the other day with Spike Lee about how much he loves Life During Wartime, the paranoia in that song, some of the politics of that song, could be referring to the Trump Era. It feels that the tension, that kind of febrile kind of tension of it, the things that people are wearing, if you took a picture of these things and all these things that were representing, which you guys are wearing right now and you put them out in a fashion magazine now people would say, oh, that's The Row, that's, you know, Quiet Luxury, that's Fear of God, you know, they look, these things look real like the height of runway fashion now. How the fuck did you do that? Make this thing feel modern in any era? I know it's not, it's like a direct question, I think I’m going for something a little more subtle. But I don’t understand it, was that on your mind, the idea of timelessness in your mind at all?
DB: No, not at all not at all. We knew that there was certain things in say like in the lighting. There's certain kind of flashy lighting, things that were pretty common in rock concerts at the time and we thought no, we're not going to do that. Other people do that, and they maybe do it really well. So we thought, no, we're not going to do that we're going to come up with our own kind of thing, whether it's the lighting and the or the way we the way we dress and present ourselves and I think by doing that, we kind of pulled it out of that all the stuff that was current at that particular moment and we kind of avoided a lot of it.
MSNBC: I feel like that we watched this feel like you're going like this is a group of kind of earthlings, who at some point escaped the apocalyptic earth, went off to another solar system, and learned the wisdom of the things you talked about before. About surrender and moving your body not thinking, stop making sense, and they've come back to teach us how to live and love and grab hold each other. I’ve now speech-ified, and am not question-izing here, so I don’t know what the question here is. Except that the way I saw it in the large format I just really had this feeling of, it's just, it has that kind of that is like where some of the timelessness comes in. Jerry, you have another idea, I think about where the timelessness comes from here like what it is that helps it keep it going
JH: Well, I think that that what David touched on is that most of the lighting effects probably could have been done 30s or 40s, and so there's nothing that speaks of that particular time period that feels. You've seen old movies with handheld lights are off lighting and things like this. And so it was just imagery that that really David, and I guess Beverly Emmons, is that correct? We're able to draw on things and create this kind of hold that had little reference points, but still just was coherent to this film.
MSNBC: I was talking about the look of the film, how all these people up there dressed in these in some combination of like North Korean workers outfits, and the Fear of God fashion runway fashion, One Exception, your husband, apparently, David says hey, everybody is looking at where muted colors and he's like trying to be all look the same all we'll all look like, and this one is if they're not in a like a turquoise Polo Shirt. So how did that happen?
TW: I think it had to do with the laundry. It's really hard to get your clothes clean on tour.
MSNBC: That's a real story, right? Your clothes were dirty this is all you had, so you have
CF: You know, I can't remember what was I thinking! The second-half of the show, I’m in a muted neutral tone, I always just wore what I could find in my bag, you know? And then when I did it once I had to do it every night for continuity, you know, you’re on TV!
MSNBC: Yeah, I'm often in a turquoise Polo shirt, but I’m also not a rockstar. I wanna stay with, because you, you did say this thing that I was really getting that kind of like what this movie was really about, on some level right. And you said that that when you guys are playing at the Pantages, is that you felt one thing during this period of time which was joy. Just unmitigated, unbridled joy to the point of transcendence.
CF: Yes
MSNBC: Talk about what that felt like then, and does it still feel that way now watching it?
CF: It does still feel that way! When I see it, I get happy. And you know play music is supposed to elevate people, and you know the musicians like to feel like they're being elevated themselves. With Talking Heads from the very beginning, but particularly at this point in time, it was… I don't think I'm going too far to say that, for me, it was like a religious experience. I was transported to a to a place where, you know, I really enjoyed being. I'm out of my own skin, really, I'm like, where am I? Right? Am I on the astral plane or what? Just please keep, don't stop the playing the drums, man keep going! At some point I would get like a terrible cramp in my arm, but I would keep smiling, like everything is great. And I would see that in the audience, I would see the joy in the audience and the feedback they were giving us and as I looked around the stage I would see it and David, Jerry, Tina, Bernie, Ednah, Lynn, Steve and Alex, you know, I would see it in their faces and it was just it was like a musical fever!
MSNBC: Do you guys all feel that way?
JH: Yes, I think that we were having such a great time on stage, it was impossible for the audience not to join us.
MSNBC: They wouldn't let me, they won’t let me take questions from the audience. But I do have a couple of questions from the outside, one of them is from my friend Cameron Crowe, the director, who's a huge Talking Heads fan. And it is a very Cameron kind of question, I’ll ask you, David, because of your role here, but he said that one of the best music is music that's personal, a lot of the best songs are personal. Are any of these songs personal to you or are these all songs in which you're playing a character?
DB: I never thought of myself as a Psycho Killer.
MSNBC: Not yet
DB: There's still a chance there.
MSNBC: There’s still time!
DB: But I think with something like Once in a Lifetime, we've all that's not just give it to me own experience, we've all had that kind of experience of wondering how did I end up here? How did that happen?
MSNBC: I'm feeling that right now.
DB: We have a song for you!
MSNBC: Jerry, this movie comes out, I said something about it influence on a lot of people, people love this, and it achieves a kind of Pantheon status, and you just said you were if not be best live band in the world you were at least one of them, and after this you'd never tour again. And you and you made this point in the New York Times last week, you said, you know, that was, you expressed. I'll read the quote because I wanted to ask more about it, you said I also think that we had the ability to become one of the biggest bands in the world at that point, touring bands, I think it was a lost opportunity they were stopping for all of us. Do you have regrets about not at that time, having taken this to the next level this, what we see here tonight?
JH: Well, I love playing live, so sure. I would like to have continued that. I mean, I was disappointed that we were not a part of Live Aid. I was actually in London and was in the office when Bob Kilgore was working on the line up, and I thought we should do this. But, I think that David creatively was already at that point starting to work towards True Stories and Little Creatures, so he was like in a different headspace. But there is an element of like, well, how do you top this and things like that. So there was a little bit of trepidation that everybody felt. Once it's been captured on film like this, that's ok we really have to kind of conceive of something new and that might take a little while, but I love playing live, so, sure.
MSNBC: Another really close friend of mine asked the question to all of you because it's a question that any artist that makes any piece of art has if not conflicting motives, but many motives and is driven by many things. I wonder when you when you were making this, this tour, this this this movie, team Tina I'll start with you, were you making this for yourself? Or were you making this for us?
TW: I mean definitely for the fans, I mean really.
MSNBC: In your mind, when you were doing all of this, you had no sort of sense of like, I’m doing some, some sort of personal kind of objectives, some goals, something that was you were kind of driving yourself, that was, the answer was to be both by the way, it doesn’t have to be one or the other. But if you had thought about like what you hope to get out of this. Like, we’re putting this thing out into the world, these hopes for this thing, what would that look like? And what would you have said at the time and what do you feel like you've gotten out of it now 40 years later? I know, I didn't even get stoned before the interview. I knew this was going to get to be a stoney interview at some points, but here it is.
TW: I mean, I share, Jerry's regret. It was really sad to just say, ok, the movie is going tour for us, that’s it. I thought we could go on, we could go back to being a quartet. I thought we could do a million things. I thought we had a lot in us. I mean, we were so young, you know, to be retired at age 32! But now that's in the past and we don't care anymore. We're not dead, blessedly we're all alive. We've lost some people, all of us have.
MSNBC: Including some of the musicians in the show.
TW: Yes, but we go on and they remember and as long as we have memories of them, they live on, and so do we through them and through each other.
JH: You know, there is one upside for this. It’s that all of us have done a lot of other art, lotta other things, and a lot of those projects might not have happened. So sometimes you exchange one good thing for another good thing, so, I think we could have done these things, but we, I'm proud of the things that we did do.
MSNBC: I’m kind of going back to this thing and ask you this question which isn’t a false binary, this is not going to be either or but, when you were making this, first this conceiving it and then executing the movie, are you doing this for us? Are you doing this for yourself? Are you doing for both? Or neither?
DB: It's hard for me to imagine or remember, I seem to recall, it just seemed like a natural progression like based on what we've done before, from where could it go next, and it just seems like well, yeah, this is what we should do now, this is what we should do next, we should try this show and see if it works. Now there was a chance that it wouldn't work, that people would go, you know, when I come out and then Tina comes up and they go where's the band? We didn't pay for the for this kind of artist thing, we're ready to rock out here.
MSNBC: I’ll ask this question and then one last question for the rest of the band. When you see yourself up here doing the things you're doing, the you’re incredibly charismatic, magnetic, but you know also, in some cases like we didn’t see anything like that before in this performance. When you look at yourself now 40 years ago when you think of that guy up there?
DB: I think that guy, and the whole band were an incredibly tight unit, incredibly creative, really incredible what we could do at that point. I'm still surprised by some of the choices I made, like falling down and running in circles or whatever it might be.
MSNBC: When are we gonna get a Tom Tom Club movie?
CF: Oh, it's coming!
MSNBC: Oh ok, well it is time, and I’m gonna use my moderator privileges to just say one last thing. I think that I don't speak only for myself, but I think I maybe speak to the audience, like, you guys could let me know that I think most people who would love to see Talking Heads play again together.
It's basically every band that's ever existed has done a reunion tour, a lot of them a lot worse than Talking Heads, a lot less consequential some of them, absolutely inconsequential, some of them. I know you guys have all said within the various formats, it's not going to happen not going to not going to happen, but the rapturousness of this response, this movie that people are so the devotion of what they're showing the way people are like in love with this movie and the love this pouring forward and Spike Lee was talking about the love yesterday. Love, love, love, love love on this screen, there's a lot of love for this band, there's a lot of love for the music. I just, I opened this thing this is jumbled, to everyone is there any chance that. The experience of putting this out, going through this and seeing the way that people are reacting to it, could this open the door again, to all of us getting our honest wishes, that you guys do a little more music together.
CF: You know, speaking personally, I'm just very happy, I have a feeling of great gratitude to be here tonight with my bandmates, to have a fabulous audience watching the movie in a great theater with a great MC interviewing us, I'm just happy right now in this moment.
MSNBC: That will be the band’s, the former bands, the bands, whatever you call you guys, Talking Heads, that will be the final Talking Heads statement of this matter tonight, but everyone should keep begging, because maybe there's still a chance.
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I was about this close to wearing a Stop Making Sense T Shirt here but I was warned by my friends that that would be a totally goofy thing to do, but that didn’t stop me from bringing this. Anybody out here who cares about this movie or this record, get this, it’s the new vinyl, the complete concert, remastered totally restored it’s got everything in it, an incredible book inside that’s got a lot of good research material for someone who’s doing an interview in Talking Heads.
I will only speak about myself to say this, in December of 1983. I was a kid growing up in Los Angeles, I had just started my first year of college, and came home Christmas break, for most of December. There was this show going on at the Pantages theater, who I really liked. And I didn’t go, I didn’t go to these shows. Biggest fucking mistake I’ve made in the history of my life.
Fall of 1984 when the movie comes out of the theaters. I’m in Chicago, where I went to Northwestern University. I went to the buyback theater on opening night and saw the first evening screening of, when the movie first opened in cinemas. People went fucking crazy. The next year, I'm going to philosophy class and a professor walks in, walks in with a boom box. Puts it on the first day of class. Puts it on the thing, and does a perfect imitation of Girlfriend is Better. And he gets through the song and says that's what this class is going to be about. The class is about phenomenology and that is what Stop Making Sense is all about.
And I was like so stoned, I was like, wow! I think he played every song from the all of Talking Heads’ five albums at that point. And then, Now what? Next year at the big huge student talent competition at Northwestern. The people who won was a group that did a perfect imitation of Once in a Lifetime, and a kid named Kevin Moore, who looked exactly like you, and did not sing quite as well, but it was really something. I thought at that point man this thing has staying power. It's been with me for four years of college and it might stick with me forever. It I'll tell you this, there's probably no movie I watch more than this. You can't watch it narrative movie 57 times. Well, some people can. Yeah, but I have seen this movie dozens and dozens and dozens times, and I still will tell you as much as I loved it then I love it now. It never occurred to me that, sort of in the vain of legal weed and gay marriage, that 40 years later, Stop Making Sense would be a phenomenon again all around the country.
So, people ask about the origin of this movie. David, I'll start with you and ask this question because of course before you get to it, how does Stop Making Sense The movie happen? There's the tour. The Speaking in Tongues Tour like, which was a departure for you, and everything. And that you've said in a couple of these interviews done around this movie, that this is basically what you were doing on the Speaking in Tongues tour. This is what we see here was the show. And you had an idea for how this tour was going to be different from other previous Talking Heads tours. Talk about what you had in mind in making the tour before we get to the movie.
David Byrne: The previous tour, we already had an expanded lineup beyond the four of us. And we did a thing where the four of us came out and started with the core band and then other people joined. So it's time to do another tour, another record, and I thought can we take that further? How far can we take that? Can we start with say, just me and then add members of the core band and all these other people little by little? Could we do it on an empty stage? So it's not just us coming out one time, but the whole everything kind of coming out that makes a show. It was a question. Yeah, and we decided to try and find out the answer.
MSNBC: Jerry talked about this, about the, you know, again before you get to the movie, there's the music. And this band is just the fucking greatest live band that has ever been assembled, I would say. Very good but I'll say all their names again Bernie Worrell, Steve Scales, Alex Weir and of course the amazing backing singers Lynn Mabry and Ednah Holt. So just talk about putting the band together and how you how you did that, how you put this band together and what you got?
JH: Well, it started with the Remain in Light band, because when we recorded Remain in Light, we realized that we really couldn't play all of the parts at the same time. We had done such a lot of layering. And we had the opportunity to play Central Park and the Heat Wave festival in Mosport, outside of Toronto. And we were being paid more money because these were bigger gigs and so we said, let's see if we could try and find a way to play this. And I remember sitting down, we were still mixing Remain in Light, David and I were like we’re gonna need a background singer, percussion, maybe another keyboard player, a guitar player, oh my god, and on that tour we maybe needed another player bass player. And I had been hanging in New York with a guy named Busta Jones and I had met Bernie and they knew Dolette, so I started with them. And Adrian had played on the record, so I called Adrian. We came back in the afternoon with this most amazing band. Then we found Steve the next day. Then Adrian went off and after working with Tom Tom Club, and The Red and Black and the Catherine Wheel, he joined King Crimson. And we met Alex Weir, actually through Quincy Jones. And then I think Dolette went off to play with Sting or The Police or something like this, and so Lynn had been in the Brides of Funkenstein so from Bernie knew her and she knew Ednah.
MSNBC: So you're making this you got this tour, Chris, and you guys are kicking ass. Do you remember the first time anybody here before we get to Jonathan, like the first time anybody of these of these four key band members here said, hey, maybe there’s a movie in this?
CF: Well, you know we love movies and, yes I think we thought, this is really good we should document it. We didn't know we were going to end up with a director as great as Jonathan Demme at the time, but Jonathan came backstage one day and he said to all of us, I'd like to make a movie of this, I think it would be really cool. And we had seen his movie Melvin and Howard.
MSNBC: Yeah, sure.
CF: And I think maybe some other movies, like Caged Heat.
MSNBC: Yeah I was gonna say, lotta Caged Heat fans here? Roger Corman fans in the audience?
CF: And to be honest, I can't remember any other directors expressing interest. But Jonathan did, and we were happy with that. It was just like a really good match he gave us confidence. We all agree that he was a really good cheerleader for the band and he was also a consummate artist in his own right, and he understood us, he got the whole schtick. He got that we were sometimes awkward and
MSNBC: Then your trademark
CF: Yeah I mean, we've made a lot of money being awkward.
MSNBC: I was going to say like a bunch angst ridden white people making money. Tina, I want to ask, you to pick this up, this story because Demme showing up backstage you told this story, I mentioned this booklet in the re-release of the album you told the story about sitting down, you and Chris with Jonathan, you had a conversation with him about what this movie should be or could be, and more importantly, what it shouldn't be. It's interesting all the things that you were like, we don't want this, we don't want that tell that story.
TW: Yes, well, we had enjoyed a lot of other rock concert movies, but one of the things that I thought was a real mistake was interviews because we wanted our music to speak for itself, because our music was the star of the show, I mean the suit comes in second.
MSNBC: Supporting cast.
TW: Yeah, one of the things that I kept thinking in the back my mind was no split screens, none of that hippie stuff. Let the camera feel like a sensitive eye, that doesn't call attention to itself, but allows the viewer to really be a member of the audience, and not be conscious of it. So those were some of the things. And then he was just so wonderful because we had a team, a great team and we had a great crew that worked as a team with us, and then he brought in an amazing team. Really amazing, I think one or two of them might even be here.
MSNBC: Wherever you are out there, you deserve it! You guys have made music and though visually, and you made music that was well suited to visual expression. This is the dawn of the video era, David, and you guys had the Once in a Lifetime video on MTV in 1980 got a ton of play, it was really avant-garde then, by which I mean really fucking weird and so was Burning Down the House, which has elements in it that are very similar to what we see as like and there's things that you bring in that video that are very reminiscent of certain kind of motifs here. You directed those video, you directed a lot of bands videos those two were particularly were huge hits. What is it that you saw in Jonathan that you thought he's going to bring something different to this than, well anyone, but then what we've had in our previous small screen visual expressions?
DB: I assume that somebody who'd done features can take a long view of whatever it is in this case our concert and see if they might see a story there. That there's a progression from the beginning to the end. Whereas with the video you're looking for 3 minute chunks and you can just throw a lot of surreal of whatever things in there. It doesn't have to tell a long story and I said yes, a proper film director would think more in those terms, which is yeah.
MSNBC: You made this point the other day about how he saw the ensemble nature of it, about that there was a there was this is a group of people, and that you're building this kind of portrait of a family in some way, and that you couldn't see that yourself from the world you lived in on stage.
DB: I know for myself I was too much inside the show, but when I started to see the editing taking shape and what Jonathan and the editor Lisa Day were doing. They were paying a lot of attention to the interactions between the band members and as if it was a kind of ensemble film with a cast and as each person comes out, you get to know them a little bit. You get to know their kind of character and their quirks and what they do. And then you see how they interact with everybody else and I thought, I take all that for granted and I’m just you know I didn't see that, and I thought he brought something really special to it.
MSNBC: Chris, you said the other day this bit about sweet Jonathan was. He was kind of this purity, you know I think about the Demme career, the word that always comes to my mind is like humanism, he was just this profoundly humanistic director. There were with things like Silence of the Lambs, where it was hard to be humanistic when you’re making a movie about a serial killer, but was. And whether it was Melvin and Howard or Something Wild or Swimming to Cambodia, take your pick, they have the thread the through line of Jonathan Demme’s movies is this intense awareness of the humans in the frame and how they're relating to each other. Could you think about ways in which his purity, his sweetness, kind of informed your experience of working with them, I think it would be cool to kind of think about that in a specific way.
CF: Well, I immediately I think we all felt that we could trust Jonathan to do a good job. He did have a very pure spirit, he was capable of being very serious, but also, he preferred, I think, to be light hearted. And we all developed a friendship with him, sort of like just like that. And one big talent Jonathan had was knowing how to delegate different responsibilities to people that were really at the top of their game, such as Jordan Cronenweth, the director of photography. But let me just say he got a lot of help from Sandy McLeod! Are you here tonight Sandy? Where are you? Take a bow!
And the whole team was, I always felt like everybody was at the top of their game and really devoted, like to their craft and Jonathan surrounded himself with those kind of people,
MSNBC: Tina, you mention this, we were just talking about this, this topic a second ago. I think about, you know, there's this the trailer for this release as the greatest concert film ever made. And Spike Lee the other night and in Toronto said this was the greatest concert film ever made, I say well, yeah, of course, but also one of the great timeless works of art of our time, but it's kind of a weird comparison. It's like comparing this movie with The Last Waltz, or heaven forbid something like The Song Remains the Same, it’s like comparing an apple and a Volkswagen! Is this a concert movie, is this performance art? Is there acting? Did you conceive of this as a conceptual piece or just, hey, we're up here like we’re the band, we're playing our songs?
TW: Well, of course we're a band playing the music and we have a riveting front man, and he is an actor and it's something that is hard to put your finger on, but we think of it as pop art, entertainment, not really fine art. But I think Jonathan almost, like kind of raised it to that level.
MSNBC: Did you do jerry, did you think about this that way? Do you do you think you were, I mean, I was just wondering about the moments like this, where someone produces something that has turned out to be as timeless as this whether you're just, you know, like I said, you get a lot of this false humility from some great bands that says, hey, we were working band we were cranking out songs out, we’re, you know, trying to make a living. This seems to be something we were like, well, we employed the techniques of Robert Wilson and we did this and we this, this is a more intellectual higher kind of a higher art aspiration, it feels like to me and so here's like how do you categorize this piece of film?
JH: We’ll let’s start with that, I felt that when we recorded the film, then we were if not amongst the best band in the world. There are lots of great musicians and great bands, but there was people having to follow us were like “oh boy!”
MSNBC: That’s how I feel right now!
JH: And I think that the great thing about the film and when you were trying and I think that what you were pointing out is that, and David’s conception that's sort of the narration of building it, it's not just the concert it, it has a conceptual arc it has a narrative arc, and therefore it sort of becomes more than any one of those things. That becomes something as a whole, and therefore that's why we grasp the words trying to describe it.
MSNBC: David, you said that this in addition to the thing that I said earlier was that this is what the show we were doing that you collaborated with Jonathn on the shoot. You've also said this is kind of the story of the band up to this point, you guys had made five records at that point, each one you could argue better than the previous. If this, and I think it's a quote in this, in this essay, and I’ve seen you say this in other places, you said if this is the story of the band up to this point, and the narrative part that Jerry is talking about, what is that story? What's the story that's being told in Stop Making Sense?
DB: Part of it is, you see this kind of a very intense awkward guy in the beginning.
MSNBC: Who's that guy?
DB: He’s a guy.
MSNBC: The Psycho Killer, you mean, that guy?
DB: Maybe that guy, he's trying to figure things out. Himself, and in the world. And he's joined by these other people and little by little he starts to kind of feel himself in the little community, he starts to let go and feel like he actually starts to have some fun. And I can see him smiling once in a while. So just from that point of view there's a whole story of this person, kind of finding it. A kind of salvation or release or surrender…
MSNBC: Family? Community?
DB: Yeah, all of that yeah. Yeah, through music through the other people and through, yes we surrender to the music for sure .
MSNBC: Yes well, I want to come back to that in a second, but I want to ask Jerry, ask you, so fast forward to today here we are unfortunately, this crowd everybody here now because it's Stop Making Sense again because unfortunately we don't have the in this in this space, we don't have the IMAX version. I saw the IMAX version at IMAX headquarters this summer. I will tell all of you that there are sometimes when you make something much bigger, it's no, it's not just bigger, it's different, it's a different experience. I've seen the movie a lot of times I came in thinking I couldn't love this movie more. And I watched the movie and I said fuck man! It's a different movie than I've ever experienced before. You were very involved in the both the musical and the video, the reimagining and the reconstructing of it and tell that story how that all happened there was this. How that all happened.
JH: Well the one thing that was difficult, was it took a long time, for instance, to find the original negative which was I think in the MGM library.
MSNBC: In like Nebraska or something?
JH: Why would it be in the MGM library? It was fortunately, hats off to James Makowski, he found it. And then we had all these tapes and we will be playing them and then they would drop out of synch, what's going on and so there was a lot of work that went into just making sure we have the right material but then the opportunity for both, this was a, you know, some downplay the theater we just saw it in, that, this is, having multi-channel audio in a theater, you know we now go to the films and hear effects coming all around, we're not used to this, and so for a for a music film was like there's an expanded palette that we can deal with, but we have to be very careful not to go overboard and take too much advantage. One thing was I was talking about is that Jonathan doesn't go out into showing the audience until quite late in the movie, so it's really us on stage and when we were mixing this it was very important to keep that, bands up there, not you know, we use it when Lynn is singing you know heavenly and ethereal material, we were judicious about it.
MSNBC: When you saw the IMAX version of this, you thought what?
CF: I thought goddamn! It was, you know, there's an intensity that and it snowballs, it starts off at a fairly high level, I would say, with Psycho Killer, but from then on it just grows and grows and rolls and gets bigger and more powerful and it's also a lot of fun to watch for me. I mean, my wife, she looks so great!
MSNBC: I won’t get you get you into trouble there, don’t put it in past tense! Tina, when you see this movie now, and especially when you see it in that giant format. Which is like I said, there really is a different experience to see it the way it's really big, like all the things that Demme does with light and it's like the staging and the costume, the things you guys wore maybe weren’t necessarily costumes. But it's on that scale, it changes it and I guess, it’s hard to imagine what it must be like to watch it, to like having seen that of all, like 40 years later to see it in this kind of enhanced form, when you look at it, does it feel like you're looking at a very, very large, like high school yearbook? Like it's a long like it's a very long time ago and it's kind of seen, it's like covered in nostalgia? or does it feel like all this shit just happened yesterday?
TW: It’s now-stalgia, now-stalgia is a word I’m going to borrow from a friend of ours. But it still feels fresh, I’d say, that's just my opinion.
MSNBC: I never really thought about it until I saw that version of it, David, I kept thinking that you know, if you look at movies that were made in 1983/84, all of them look incredibly like 1983/84 they're all anachronistic. This movie has felt from 1983 to 1984 to 1994, 2004, 2014 now we're hearing it in 2023, I think if you played this movie to someone who had never seen it before and was just like it's basically like you just dropped them off on Earth, they would say what that was made yesterday. There's nothing about this that seems screams 80s to me and that's there's a number of elements of timelessness in this movie but that is one of them. It feels very contemporary. Jerry was talking the other day with Spike Lee about how much he loves Life During Wartime, the paranoia in that song, some of the politics of that song, could be referring to the Trump Era. It feels that the tension, that kind of febrile kind of tension of it, the things that people are wearing, if you took a picture of these things and all these things that were representing, which you guys are wearing right now and you put them out in a fashion magazine now people would say, oh, that's The Row, that's, you know, Quiet Luxury, that's Fear of God, you know, they look, these things look real like the height of runway fashion now. How the fuck did you do that? Make this thing feel modern in any era? I know it's not, it's like a direct question, I think I’m going for something a little more subtle. But I don’t understand it, was that on your mind, the idea of timelessness in your mind at all?
DB: No, not at all not at all. We knew that there was certain things in say like in the lighting. There's certain kind of flashy lighting, things that were pretty common in rock concerts at the time and we thought no, we're not going to do that. Other people do that, and they maybe do it really well. So we thought, no, we're not going to do that we're going to come up with our own kind of thing, whether it's the lighting and the or the way we the way we dress and present ourselves and I think by doing that, we kind of pulled it out of that all the stuff that was current at that particular moment and we kind of avoided a lot of it.
MSNBC: I feel like that we watched this feel like you're going like this is a group of kind of earthlings, who at some point escaped the apocalyptic earth, went off to another solar system, and learned the wisdom of the things you talked about before. About surrender and moving your body not thinking, stop making sense, and they've come back to teach us how to live and love and grab hold each other. I’ve now speech-ified, and am not question-izing here, so I don’t know what the question here is. Except that the way I saw it in the large format I just really had this feeling of, it's just, it has that kind of that is like where some of the timelessness comes in. Jerry, you have another idea, I think about where the timelessness comes from here like what it is that helps it keep it going
JH: Well, I think that that what David touched on is that most of the lighting effects probably could have been done 30s or 40s, and so there's nothing that speaks of that particular time period that feels. You've seen old movies with handheld lights are off lighting and things like this. And so it was just imagery that that really David, and I guess Beverly Emmons, is that correct? We're able to draw on things and create this kind of hold that had little reference points, but still just was coherent to this film.
MSNBC: I was talking about the look of the film, how all these people up there dressed in these in some combination of like North Korean workers outfits, and the Fear of God fashion runway fashion, One Exception, your husband, apparently, David says hey, everybody is looking at where muted colors and he's like trying to be all look the same all we'll all look like, and this one is if they're not in a like a turquoise Polo Shirt. So how did that happen?
TW: I think it had to do with the laundry. It's really hard to get your clothes clean on tour.
MSNBC: That's a real story, right? Your clothes were dirty this is all you had, so you have
CF: You know, I can't remember what was I thinking! The second-half of the show, I’m in a muted neutral tone, I always just wore what I could find in my bag, you know? And then when I did it once I had to do it every night for continuity, you know, you’re on TV!
MSNBC: Yeah, I'm often in a turquoise Polo shirt, but I’m also not a rockstar. I wanna stay with, because you, you did say this thing that I was really getting that kind of like what this movie was really about, on some level right. And you said that that when you guys are playing at the Pantages, is that you felt one thing during this period of time which was joy. Just unmitigated, unbridled joy to the point of transcendence.
CF: Yes
MSNBC: Talk about what that felt like then, and does it still feel that way now watching it?
CF: It does still feel that way! When I see it, I get happy. And you know play music is supposed to elevate people, and you know the musicians like to feel like they're being elevated themselves. With Talking Heads from the very beginning, but particularly at this point in time, it was… I don't think I'm going too far to say that, for me, it was like a religious experience. I was transported to a to a place where, you know, I really enjoyed being. I'm out of my own skin, really, I'm like, where am I? Right? Am I on the astral plane or what? Just please keep, don't stop the playing the drums, man keep going! At some point I would get like a terrible cramp in my arm, but I would keep smiling, like everything is great. And I would see that in the audience, I would see the joy in the audience and the feedback they were giving us and as I looked around the stage I would see it and David, Jerry, Tina, Bernie, Ednah, Lynn, Steve and Alex, you know, I would see it in their faces and it was just it was like a musical fever!
MSNBC: Do you guys all feel that way?
JH: Yes, I think that we were having such a great time on stage, it was impossible for the audience not to join us.
MSNBC: They wouldn't let me, they won’t let me take questions from the audience. But I do have a couple of questions from the outside, one of them is from my friend Cameron Crowe, the director, who's a huge Talking Heads fan. And it is a very Cameron kind of question, I’ll ask you, David, because of your role here, but he said that one of the best music is music that's personal, a lot of the best songs are personal. Are any of these songs personal to you or are these all songs in which you're playing a character?
DB: I never thought of myself as a Psycho Killer.
MSNBC: Not yet
DB: There's still a chance there.
MSNBC: There’s still time!
DB: But I think with something like Once in a Lifetime, we've all that's not just give it to me own experience, we've all had that kind of experience of wondering how did I end up here? How did that happen?
MSNBC: I'm feeling that right now.
DB: We have a song for you!
MSNBC: Jerry, this movie comes out, I said something about it influence on a lot of people, people love this, and it achieves a kind of Pantheon status, and you just said you were if not be best live band in the world you were at least one of them, and after this you'd never tour again. And you and you made this point in the New York Times last week, you said, you know, that was, you expressed. I'll read the quote because I wanted to ask more about it, you said I also think that we had the ability to become one of the biggest bands in the world at that point, touring bands, I think it was a lost opportunity they were stopping for all of us. Do you have regrets about not at that time, having taken this to the next level this, what we see here tonight?
JH: Well, I love playing live, so sure. I would like to have continued that. I mean, I was disappointed that we were not a part of Live Aid. I was actually in London and was in the office when Bob Kilgore was working on the line up, and I thought we should do this. But, I think that David creatively was already at that point starting to work towards True Stories and Little Creatures, so he was like in a different headspace. But there is an element of like, well, how do you top this and things like that. So there was a little bit of trepidation that everybody felt. Once it's been captured on film like this, that's ok we really have to kind of conceive of something new and that might take a little while, but I love playing live, so, sure.
MSNBC: Another really close friend of mine asked the question to all of you because it's a question that any artist that makes any piece of art has if not conflicting motives, but many motives and is driven by many things. I wonder when you when you were making this, this tour, this this this movie, team Tina I'll start with you, were you making this for yourself? Or were you making this for us?
TW: I mean definitely for the fans, I mean really.
MSNBC: In your mind, when you were doing all of this, you had no sort of sense of like, I’m doing some, some sort of personal kind of objectives, some goals, something that was you were kind of driving yourself, that was, the answer was to be both by the way, it doesn’t have to be one or the other. But if you had thought about like what you hope to get out of this. Like, we’re putting this thing out into the world, these hopes for this thing, what would that look like? And what would you have said at the time and what do you feel like you've gotten out of it now 40 years later? I know, I didn't even get stoned before the interview. I knew this was going to get to be a stoney interview at some points, but here it is.
TW: I mean, I share, Jerry's regret. It was really sad to just say, ok, the movie is going tour for us, that’s it. I thought we could go on, we could go back to being a quartet. I thought we could do a million things. I thought we had a lot in us. I mean, we were so young, you know, to be retired at age 32! But now that's in the past and we don't care anymore. We're not dead, blessedly we're all alive. We've lost some people, all of us have.
MSNBC: Including some of the musicians in the show.
TW: Yes, but we go on and they remember and as long as we have memories of them, they live on, and so do we through them and through each other.
JH: You know, there is one upside for this. It’s that all of us have done a lot of other art, lotta other things, and a lot of those projects might not have happened. So sometimes you exchange one good thing for another good thing, so, I think we could have done these things, but we, I'm proud of the things that we did do.
MSNBC: I’m kind of going back to this thing and ask you this question which isn’t a false binary, this is not going to be either or but, when you were making this, first this conceiving it and then executing the movie, are you doing this for us? Are you doing this for yourself? Are you doing for both? Or neither?
DB: It's hard for me to imagine or remember, I seem to recall, it just seemed like a natural progression like based on what we've done before, from where could it go next, and it just seems like well, yeah, this is what we should do now, this is what we should do next, we should try this show and see if it works. Now there was a chance that it wouldn't work, that people would go, you know, when I come out and then Tina comes up and they go where's the band? We didn't pay for the for this kind of artist thing, we're ready to rock out here.
MSNBC: I’ll ask this question and then one last question for the rest of the band. When you see yourself up here doing the things you're doing, the you’re incredibly charismatic, magnetic, but you know also, in some cases like we didn’t see anything like that before in this performance. When you look at yourself now 40 years ago when you think of that guy up there?
DB: I think that guy, and the whole band were an incredibly tight unit, incredibly creative, really incredible what we could do at that point. I'm still surprised by some of the choices I made, like falling down and running in circles or whatever it might be.
MSNBC: When are we gonna get a Tom Tom Club movie?
CF: Oh, it's coming!
MSNBC: Oh ok, well it is time, and I’m gonna use my moderator privileges to just say one last thing. I think that I don't speak only for myself, but I think I maybe speak to the audience, like, you guys could let me know that I think most people who would love to see Talking Heads play again together.
It's basically every band that's ever existed has done a reunion tour, a lot of them a lot worse than Talking Heads, a lot less consequential some of them, absolutely inconsequential, some of them. I know you guys have all said within the various formats, it's not going to happen not going to not going to happen, but the rapturousness of this response, this movie that people are so the devotion of what they're showing the way people are like in love with this movie and the love this pouring forward and Spike Lee was talking about the love yesterday. Love, love, love, love love on this screen, there's a lot of love for this band, there's a lot of love for the music. I just, I opened this thing this is jumbled, to everyone is there any chance that. The experience of putting this out, going through this and seeing the way that people are reacting to it, could this open the door again, to all of us getting our honest wishes, that you guys do a little more music together.
CF: You know, speaking personally, I'm just very happy, I have a feeling of great gratitude to be here tonight with my bandmates, to have a fabulous audience watching the movie in a great theater with a great MC interviewing us, I'm just happy right now in this moment.
MSNBC: That will be the band’s, the former bands, the bands, whatever you call you guys, Talking Heads, that will be the final Talking Heads statement of this matter tonight, but everyone should keep begging, because maybe there's still a chance.
2023.07.05 13:40 DrYangHF7 Treating Rare and Intractable Diseases via Citta Dharma Door (I)
ABSTRACT
Today, there is no effective therapy for nearly 7,000 rare and intractable diseases. This suggests that traditional medicines, including Chinese Medicine, Western Medicine, and other types of medicines are incapable of understanding and curing these diseases both in theory and practice. Thus, the path to breakthrough needs to be explored from other perspectives. Therapeutics exist where the medical sciences have never touched, i.e., Dharma. Here, we selected 20 types of rare and intractable diseases, including eczema, schizophrenia, epilepsy, vertigo, systemic lupus erythematosus, lung cancer, lumbar disc herniation, Crohn’s disease, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, leukemia, autism, psoriasis, paralysis, major depressive disorder, temporomandibular joint dislocation, hyperthyroidism, food allergy, insomnia, gout and diabetes that these patients have fully or nearly fully cured via practicing Dharma. In the supplemental section [S1-3], we also provided a few successful cases of myasthenia gravis, high blood sugar, Alzheimer's disease, chronic nephritis, gastric cancer, femoral head necrosis, Parkinson's disease, rheumatoid arthritis, hepatitis C, phobias, pharyngitis, migraines, amino acid mutations, Down syndrome, and Cri du Chat syndrome. These results demonstrate that Dharma is currently the only method to treat these stubborn diseases at minimal cost but with maximal effects.
INTRODUCTION
Although civilization entered the 21st century, and science progressed so dramatically that the life span of human beings has been greatly extended, there are still many diseases that are intractable. Currently, there are around 7,000 types of rare and intractable diseases, with more than 300 million people affected worldwide [1]. In the foreseeable future, we cannot anticipate medical breakthroughs to ameliorate this situation. The reason doctors cannot treat these diseases is that science is not advanced enough to diagnose their causes. In other words, rare and intractable diseases are beyond the limits of medical instruments and also outperform scientists’ imaginations. Thus, it is time for doctors and scientists to open their minds to the outside world to see if other options are available to treat these diseases and find out what part science may play in the new system.
It has been approximately 2,500 years since the inception of Dharma. The Dharma, the doctrine of Buddhism, as created by Sakyamuni Buddha himself, describes three periods of time, the Age of the Right Dharma (the 1st thousand years), the Age of Semblance Dharma (the 2nd thousand years), and the Age of Dharma Decline (the 3rd to the 12th thousand years). At present, we have entered the third period, the Age of Dharma Decline. Throughout Buddhist history, we have heard periodically that miracles happened like Guan Yin Bodhisattva curing someone’s severe disease. However, never in Buddhist history has the Dharma been so close to sentient beings. Dharma is so well formulated, that its repeatability is paired with none. Its treating effect is so marvelous that no matter if among sentient beings or intractable diseases. The reason for this unprecedented achievement is that the cause of all these diseases is due to karma. Although many Dharma masters in history knew this mechanism, it is Dharma Master Jun Hong Lu who clearly diagnosed the sources of karma by reading totems with his Dharma eye. More importantly, Master Lu introduced a highly efficacious approach to cure these diseases, which is free and accessible to the public.
Behind Master Lu stands the most merciful Guan Yin Bodhisattva. She could not bear seeing sentient beings’ agony and imparted the Guan Yin Citta Dharma Door to humans via Master Lu. Master Lu began his Dharma teaching in 1997 and introduced sentient beings to the Citta Dharma in 2006. After many years of diligent work, Master Lu has spread it throughout the world, helping millions of sentient beings enter the Dharma Door. Master Lu publicly disseminated the Dharma via various media, particularly radio and the internet (in Chinese http://www.lujunhong2or.com/ and in English https://guanyincitta.com/). Countless cases of both tractable and intractable diseases have demonstrated that the Dharma Door is powerfully effective at rescuing patients from affliction.
The principle is straightforward. It is karma that causes rare and intractable diseases. When you eliminate karma, you are cured.
Karma, when triggered by evil deeds, will outbreak and result in spirits (a respectful name for ghosts) occupying your body, causing severe illness. Unlike karma, which does not move, spirits can move within the body so you may suffer more than one illness at the same time. Karma usually causes chronic illness, and spirits usually cause acute illness. The type and severity of the illness depend on where and how heavy your karma is. If karma is located in the nose, you will suffer rhinitis; if on the skin, you will suffer skin diseases, etc. It will cause mental disorders if the spirit remains in the brain; if it stays in the heart, it will cause heart disease, etc.
Before introducing these cases successfully cured by Dharma, we will get to know Guan Yin Bodhisattva and Master Lu. We will then introduce a few general concepts regarding Dharma.
Guan Yin Bodhisattva: In the past limitless eons ago, Guan Yin Bodhisattva became a Buddha. Because She never forgets the sufferings of the living beings in the Saha world, She steered the boat of mercy to our world, manifesting 32 Dharmakaya to rescue sentient beings. All prayers will be answered by Guan Yin Bodhisattva because this is Her supreme vow. She is the most compassionate Bodhisattva among all the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. In the Age of Dharma Decline, She takes care of the human realm.
Ordinary people find it difficult to communicate with Guan Yin Bodhisattva directly. How can sentient beings know Bodhisattva has come to your home? Once incense ashes on Buddhist altar curl [Fig. 1a] or lamp wicks bear a lotus [Fig. 1b], it indicates that Bodhisattva or Dharma protectors have come.
Master Jun Hong Lu (Justice of the Peace): Master Lu lived in Australia. He previously served as Chairman of both the Australia Oriental Media Group and the Australia Oriental Media Buddhist Charity Association. He was also President of the Australian Chinese Buddhist Research Centre. He had been awarded an Honorary Visiting Professorship by the prestigious University of Siena, Italy, and the royal title of Dato’ in Malaysia. He had also been appointed as Honorary Visiting Professor by an international Buddhist university, and a Justice of the Peace by the Australian Government. Meanwhile, he was a lecturer in the area of Buddhism and philosophy at the University of the West of Scotland in the UK.
For over 30 years, Master Lu had been devoted to the spread of Buddhism and charitable activities. He was also dedicated to the development of a culture of peace. Currently, he has 10 million followers in over 50 countries and regions.
Due to his tireless efforts to promote the culture of peace, Master Lu was invited to attend summits on world peace and awarded the title of “Ambassador for World Peace” in several places such as the United Nations headquarters, the US Congress, the Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles, the Australian Parliament, London, UK (at the Unity of Faiths Festival), and Berlin, Germany.
In 2015, Master Lu was awarded a “Certificate of Congressional Recognition” by the US House of Representatives for his role in building and promoting cultural exchanges at home and abroad. In 2016, He was presented with the “Certificate of Congressional Recognition” by the US Congress in honor of his many years of efforts to spread the message of compassion, promote world peace, and help people around the world. Furthermore, he was awarded “Honorary Citizenship” by West Orange, New Jersey, USA. He had also been presented with an award by Sri Lanka's President Maithripala Sirisena for his important contribution to promoting the economic and cultural relationship between Australia and Sri Lanka.
Master Lu was included in the “2014 Yearbook of Who’s Who of China” by the Chinese government.
In May 2015, he was invited as a special guest to attend the 12th International Buddhist Conference on the United Nations Day of Vesak in Bangkok, Thailand.
In September 2015 and September 2016, at the invitation of the President of the United Nations General Assembly, Master Lu attended and spoke at the “High Level Forum on the Culture of Peace” and “Culture of Peace Summit”, respectively, held at UN headquarters. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, General Assembly President, senior UN officials and eminent world leaders and peace advocates from around the world gathered to deliberate on non-violence and world peace.
During the past thousands of years, Master Lu came down from heaven to earth 54 times to save sentient beings. In one of his past lives, Master Lu was the Sangha Master of the ancient Tang Dynasty of China. As the national teacher, no one in the Tang Dynasty did not know about Him. At that time, the portrait of Guan Yin Bodhisattva was a male image, which was painted by copying the image of the Sangha Master. It played a very important role in promoting Chinese culture in the heyday of the Tang Dynasty. In fact, the face of the Sangha Master looks like that of Master Lu.
When Master Lu was alive, once connected with him, He could tell your problem and what caused the effect via phone. Master Lu’s Dharmakaya is also very powerful, often going to practitioners’ dreams to bless and even to treat illnesses. Master Lu is very compassionate, and He was really a living Buddha.
Definition of karma [2]. Karma is an evil outcome in a causal relationship, and at the same time, it is the outcome of the cause you planted. Therefore, unless you use another good cause and effect to counteract it, there is no force to remove it.
Karma alone can harm humans in various ways. It can cause sickness. Asthma, body odor, children’s snoring, genetic diabetes, and menopausal syndrome, for example, are all a result of karma. All sentient beings have karma. Some have more, and some have less.
The source of karma [3]. It can be from the previous lives, as death will not remove all karma, and also from the current life. It can be from body, speech and mind. It can be produced by killing, stealing, committing fornication, speaking deceitfully, and taking intoxicants. It can be generated by greed, hatred, delusion, arrogance, and doubt. Any evil deeds that are not retributed will be accumulated somewhere in the body to form karma, like a cloud of black mist. It has no thoughts, and it cannot move.
Outbreak of karma. With the incessant generation of karma from body, speech and mind, karma is accumulated forming a large black block in your body, which attracts spirits to sojourn. Karmic block, like dynamite, will explode when triggered by some factors, such as greed, hatred, delusion, the predestined calamity, and soulbringers, i.e., the Black and White Enforcement Officers of the underworld. The Black Enforcement Officer of the underworld monitors and records a person's wrongdoings that are performed without the knowledge of others in the human realm. The White Enforcement Officer of the underworld monitors and records a person's wrongdoings that are known to others in the human realm. Once they consolidate their records, the good and bad deeds done by an individual will be verified. If you have done too many evil acts, you will be taken away by them [4].
Master Lu has enlightened us that there is a law that governs some predestined calamities. Generally speaking, a predestined calamity occurs when one's unit age is 3, 6, or 9, for example, age 3, 6, 9, 13, 16, 19, 23 etc. There will be a huge calamity when both the unit and the tens digits equal 3, 6, or 9, as in 33, 36, 39, 63, 66, or 69. In the most severe situation, it can lead to death. At the age of predestined calamity, karma can manifest early or delayed, depending on many other factors. For example, you have been doing good or evil deeds recently. Since age 369 predestined calamity is the most common trigger for karma outbursts, special care must be taken to prepare in advance, particularly 3 months before and after one's birthday.
After outbursts of karma, spirits will occupy the patient’s body, causing acute illness, such as neuropathy, depression, autism, cancer, Parkinson's disease, etc.
Three strategies to avoid generating karma [3]. Karma causes harm to humans and its outbreak can result in spirits occupying and harming the body seriously. Hence, stopping generating and accumulating karma will benefit human health. There are 3 ways to prevent karma generation.
First, “observing the precepts.” Observing the 5 basic precepts, not killing, not stealing, not engaging in sexual misconduct, not lying and not consuming intoxicants, is essential. No double-tongued speech, no abusive speech, and no irresponsible speech are three precepts for preventing the karma of speech. Eradicating the five poisons from the mind, i.e., greed, hatred, delusion, arrogance, and doubt is a must.
Second, "gratitude" helps you stop karma from arising. Gratitude is not only your state of mind towards others, but it is also a Dharma tool assisting you to cultivate your mind and behavior. Human beings have emotions and desires. There are 7 emotions (joy, anger, worry, sentiment, sadness, fear, surprise) and 6 desires (see, hear, smell, taste, touch, love); every one of them generates karma, but only gratitude can remove karma. Gratitude is the only state of mind that does not produce karma. It is also an effective shield against greed and anger. When you gradually get used to looking at people and things around you with gratitude, karma will be less and less.
Third, “forget about the people and things that made you sad in the past.” Karma begins with memories. When one remembers something unhappy, one will feel hatred, worry, and annoyance, which generates karma. If one wants to get rid of karma, don’t he have to wash out of his mind the things he hated, the wrong things he did, the regrets, the sad things, the foolish and greedy things he did in the past? Although memory is not under one’s control, if one wants to eliminate karma, one must first eliminate negative thoughts from his memory. One must understand that if one keeps hurtful memories in his heart, he will have karma. To avoid bad things enter memory, see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil, do no evil, and think no evil.
Classification of illnesses. Master Lu divided illnesses into 2 categories: physical illness and karmic illness or spiritual illness. Generally speaking, if a disease cannot be cured by a doctor, it is a karmic illness. Then, which categories are genetic diseases and infectious diseases? Genetic diseases are karmic diseases. Having inherited defects from one's parents is because of one's own karma. He received the corresponding retribution for the sin he committed in his previous lives. Infectious diseases are spiritual diseases since the bacteria or virus can move, a character of spiritual disease.
For physical illness, the patient should seek help from a doctor, and for karmic and spiritual illnesses, the patient should seek help from Dharma. Through His Dharma eye, Master Lu is able to detect the location of karma and what spirits are harming your body. Although He entered nirvana on November 10, 2021, Master Lu kindly released and made public the therapeutic approach to treating karmic diseases.
The law of cause and effect [2]. Buddha and Bodhisattva did not invent the law of cause and effect, but they discovered it. This is the number one law of the universe and no one can escape its control, including Buddha and Bodhisattva. For instance, if one lies, one will definitely suffer retribution for lying karma. That is why the Buddha and the Bodhisattva never lie. The Dharma saying “Bodhisattvas fear causes while sentient beings fear effects” clearly demonstrates the importance of the law.
Buddha and Bodhisattva do not intervene in the workings of karma. You must reap what you planted. For example, smoking causes lung disease. Smoking is the cause, and the smoker reaps the effects – lung disease. If the smoker does nothing but only prays for Bodhisattva’s help to remove the lung disease, Bodhisattva will not do it. It is the smoker who seeded the cause, so it is he who must suffer the retribution. However, the merciful Bodhisattva teaches you how to get rid of karma to regain health. If you follow Bodhisattva’s instructions to eliminate karma, Bodhisattva will bless you to speed up the disease removal process.
Cause and effect generally impact humans for three generations, i.e., past, present, and next. Your present destiny is the aggregate karmic effects from the past life, and present karma is to mold your next life. As a matter of fact, examples of cause and effect fill our lives because everyone lives in cause and effect all the time.
Ten realms. Buddha sees the universe as composed of 10 realms. From the bottom to the top, they are Hell, the Hungry Ghosts, the Beasts, the Humans, Asuras, Heaven, the Sravaka, the Pratyekabuddha, the Bodhisattva, and Buddhahood [5]. The Beasts and Humans are the only 2 realms in which sentient beings possess both soul and physical body.
Sentient beings within the bottom 6 realms between Hell and Heaven, suffer the pain of rebirth within. Above these 6 realms lie the Four Sagely Realms, in which inhabitants enjoy happiness forever. The lower the realm, the more agony sentient beings suffer. Therefore, the instinctive tendency to ascend to a higher spiritual realm is more intense. For example, sentient beings in Hell want to get out and enter the Hungry Ghosts’ realm or an even higher realm. Beasts’ intelligence is too low to think of ascending. Humans either have no sufficient blessings to encounter Dharma or do not believe in the existence of the spiritual world. Only when a person’s or a beast’s soul leaves his/its body, i.e., after death, will he/it realize that the soul, which is now called a spirit, is always alive. Spirits in the bottom 2 realms try their best to climb to higher realms. Unfortunately, heavy karma prevents them from ascending.
All spirits in the Hell and the Hungry Ghosts realms are governed by the underworld office. Many spirits in the underworld have some freedom but spirits in Hell have no freedom. Those with some freedom will try their wits to search for those in the Humans realm for help, particularly those who owe them when alive. If one does not want to repay the spirit, it will occupy one’s body, resulting in sickness. Spirits in Hell are usually unable to come out to seek help or collect debts, except during underworld festivals. If you are unable to repay them, they may ask the underworld officers to allow them to legally occupy your body until they are paid. This is why, during underworld festivals, many people are sick, involved in accidents, etc.
Death. The death of a person will not be considered a death in the Dharma point of view since the spirit can be restrained in the Hell realm, live in the Hungry Ghosts realm, be reincarnated into another baby living in Beasts or Human realms, enter the Asuras, Heaven, or the Four Sagely Realms. If one commits a heinous sin in the human realm, his spirit will be sentenced to an oil pan and fried in black oil or thrown into the sea of fire in Hell. Then, the spirit is scattered into a bunch of tiny spirits that reincarnate into the eggs of hygrophilous and/or oviparous animals such as mosquitoes and flies, etc. His name is erased from the rolls of the underworld and heaven. This is death in the true sense.
By the way, since life is composed of a soul and a body, what happens if the soul departs the body? What happens if a spirit enters the body? When a small portion of a soul leaves one’s body, he will often be in a daze and talk to himself. He will be forgetful, unable to concentrate on his thoughts, and not know what to do. A person who loses a major part of his soul will enter a persistent vegetative state. On the other hand, when a spirit enters one’s head, he suffers from mental disorders.
Only merits and virtues can offset karma [2]. In the event that a person comes to the hospital without money, the doctors will be willing to assist, but will not be able to. Buddha and Bodhisattva are like doctors, and money is like “merits and virtues”. Guan Yin Bodhisattva will answer any prayer provided that one has merits and virtues. The underlying principle is that Buddha and Bodhisattva do not intervene in karma workings because you are responsible for your own karma. If you have merits and virtues, Bodhisattva will use Her magical power and compassion and use your merits and virtues to eliminate the specific karma that causes you to be ill. After karma is eliminated, you will recover health soon. Therefore, both the patient’s merits and virtues and Bodhisattva's magical power are indispensable, but the foundation for healing is your merits and virtues. If you desperately pray to Bodhisattva without merits and virtues and do not recite scriptures, Bodhisattva will not be able to help you. Similarly, if karma is heavy and merits and virtues are light, you will not succeed either.
In order to save your life from critical illness, your predestined lifespan also matters. To extend your lifespan, the most effective and rapid way is via life liberation, such as fish, particularly tortoises.
Since merits and virtues are so critical and karma is so harmful to humans, it is imperative to use a highly efficient method to perform merits and virtues and eliminate karma. The five Golden Buddhist Practices, for cultivating both mind and physical body, were developed for this purpose.
Golden Buddhist Practice No. 1: Making vows [6]. When one makes a vow, one will be motivated to fulfill his vow. He becomes willing to devote himself to that goal. The vow is, in fact, a very strong energy that can overcome countless obstacles. This is especially true when one makes a vow out of compassion. Seeing the suffering and hearing the cry of sentient beings, Guan Yin Bodhisattva brings forth immense compassion and vows to benefit all sentient beings. If one would like to recover from an intractable illness, one must make great vows, such as to become a vegetarian, never kill, pay a karmic creditor, or convince sentient beings to practice Buddhism using their own experience.
Please note, once the vow is made in front of the Guan Yin Bodhisattva at the Buddhist altar, you must take action to fulfill what you promised.
Golden Buddhist Practice No. 2: Reciting Buddhist scriptures [7]. Buddhist scriptures are the sayings of the Buddha. When reciting them, you will benefit from Buddha’s and Bodhisattva’s blessings. Recitation will not only eliminate your karma, but it will also bring strength, wisdom and inner peace so that you can overcome all kinds of obstacles. Here are 3 major scriptures for practitioners to recite daily:
Great Compassion Mantra. This mantra can fulfill vows, cure illness and grant protection to those who recite it. It can be recited 3, 7, 21, or 49 times per day, anytime, day and night. Under critical circumstances, such as just prior to an operation, it should be recited 21 or 49 times per day, the more the better.
Heart Sutra. Reciting this sutra will help connect you to Guan Yin Bodhisattva. This sutra helps you uncover your wisdom and regain a peaceful state of mind. It can be recited 3, 7, 21, or 49 times per day, but avoid reciting it after 10 pm and before 5 am.
Eighty-eight Buddhas Great Repentance. There is no medicine for regret in this world. Everything is already gone when we regret it. However, for a Buddhist practitioner, there is a cure for regret: reciting the Eighty-eight Buddhas Great Repentance. When reciting this text, you repent of your previous wrongdoings before many Buddhas, such as hurting someone, showing disrespect for Buddhas, etc. It can be recited 1, 3, 5, or 7 times per day.
Except for the above 3 major scriptures that must be recited daily, there are 10 minor scriptures for practitioners to choose to recite daily. In the Age of Dharma Decline, since most patients and/or their ancestors have karma from killings, reciting the Amitabha Pure Land Rebirth Mantra will help you efficiently purify your killing karma.
Little House [7] is a Dharma Gem awarded to us by Guan Yin Bodhisattva [Fig. 2]. In the spiritual world, the Little House is like a high value check. By way of the recitation of Little Houses, we are able to repay karmic debts from previous lives. The Little House has super-spiritual efficacious effects on helping seriously ill, terminally ill and mentally ill patients recover.
As a Dharma practitioner, not only daily reciting is required, but the recitation of Little House is also a must. The former is to strengthen your own Dharma power, and the latter is to repay your debts to the spiritual creditor. Both promote your health.
Golden Buddhist Practice No.3: Performing life liberation [7]. Life liberation, or the release of animals, especially those in grave danger of being killed, is a popular practice performed by all schools of Buddhism.
Life liberation is an act of wealth giving, Dharma giving, and courage giving. All three are of immense merits and virtues, which can move heaven and earth. Wealth giving will be retributed with wealth, Dharma giving will be retributed with wisdom, and courage giving will be retributed with strength and energy.
As many pains and illnesses people suffer come from killing karma, the boundless merits and virtues derived from life liberation are particularly beneficial to modern people. It helps you attain longevity and health and fulfill your wishes. Certainly, the main purpose of practicing life liberation is to liberate yourself and unleash your compassion. Once you bring forth compassion, you accrue merits and virtues.
Golden Buddhist Practice No. 4: Reading Buddhism in Plain Terms. This helps you understand the principles of Dharma. Buddhism in Plain Terms has enormous power, which helps you enlighten, and acquire prajna wisdom. It helps you eliminate karma. More importantly, it protects your spiritual life. On the one hand, the holy books of Buddhism in Plain Terms were blessed by Bodhisattva. On the other hand, anyone who reads these holy books will receive blessings from Bodhisattva.
Golden Buddhist Practice No. 5: Repenting of wrongdoings and refraining from doing them. Reviewing your actions and feeling contrition or regret for past wrongs, and then accompanying it with a commitment to actual actions will help you remove your karma quickly. Eighty-Eight Buddhas Great Repentance is to eliminate karma and ascend spirits.
All these Bodhisattvas in the Eighty-Eight Buddhas Great Repentance are from various departments, who are in charge of the sins you committed in the human realm. There are many times when you have planted the seeds of a cause and you don’t realize it. Reciting all the Bodhisattvas’ names is to plead with the Bodhisattvas to forgive you. This will allow you to repent of your sins in your past lives. Additionally, there is the power of Bodhisattvas’ vows in Eighty-Eight Buddhas Great Repentance, so it helps you eliminate disasters.
The five Golden Buddhist Practices comprise the core of the Citta Dharma Door in helping sentient beings get rid of suffering. Guan Yin Bodhisattva created the Citta Dharma Door, and Master Lu is the patriarch who educates the faithful. This is like a religion. Although sentient beings considered Dharma and classified it as a religion, esteemed, knowledgeable and greatly virtuous Buddhist monastics or lay practitioners don’t think so. Dharma teaches the truth of the universe, which can be traced back to 2,500 years ago when Sakyamuni Buddha introduced Dharma to his disciples. Through the legacy of many generations, the tradition of telling the truth has been well-preserved. What Master Lu taught has been validated by millions of sentient beings since the Citta Dharma was released to the public after 2006. As long as you keep practicing according to His instructions, at some point, you will witness miracles. Therefore, in the eyes of greatly virtuous Buddhist monastics or lay practitioners, Dharma is the ultimate science. It is an education regarding health and a way of living happily. In fact, Buddha is one whose sensibility and rationality sublimate to the highest points, so Buddha’s compassion and wisdom are unprecedented. What we Buddhist practitioners learn from Buddha is compassion and wisdom.
Great truths are all simple. All rare and intractable illnesses are due to common causes - karma or spirits. Karma is produced by evil deeds, and spirits come from outbursts of karma, such as killed animals, or dead relatives. Spirits occupy and afflict you because you owe them, including debt from a previous life. The principle to cure these diseases is to eliminate karma or help spirits ascend to higher realms in order to let them leave your body. The method to treat these diseases is by practicing the five Golden Buddhist Practices. Because it was witnessed by millions of people, this is a mature theory, not a hypothesis. Whether a doctor or a patient, one must practice examining it. In this community, we will present many cases of rare and intractable illnesses, to show how sentient beings can regain health through practicing the five Golden Buddhist Practices.
to be continued
submitted by DrYangHF7 to CittaPureLand [link] [comments]
Today, there is no effective therapy for nearly 7,000 rare and intractable diseases. This suggests that traditional medicines, including Chinese Medicine, Western Medicine, and other types of medicines are incapable of understanding and curing these diseases both in theory and practice. Thus, the path to breakthrough needs to be explored from other perspectives. Therapeutics exist where the medical sciences have never touched, i.e., Dharma. Here, we selected 20 types of rare and intractable diseases, including eczema, schizophrenia, epilepsy, vertigo, systemic lupus erythematosus, lung cancer, lumbar disc herniation, Crohn’s disease, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, leukemia, autism, psoriasis, paralysis, major depressive disorder, temporomandibular joint dislocation, hyperthyroidism, food allergy, insomnia, gout and diabetes that these patients have fully or nearly fully cured via practicing Dharma. In the supplemental section [S1-3], we also provided a few successful cases of myasthenia gravis, high blood sugar, Alzheimer's disease, chronic nephritis, gastric cancer, femoral head necrosis, Parkinson's disease, rheumatoid arthritis, hepatitis C, phobias, pharyngitis, migraines, amino acid mutations, Down syndrome, and Cri du Chat syndrome. These results demonstrate that Dharma is currently the only method to treat these stubborn diseases at minimal cost but with maximal effects.
INTRODUCTION
Although civilization entered the 21st century, and science progressed so dramatically that the life span of human beings has been greatly extended, there are still many diseases that are intractable. Currently, there are around 7,000 types of rare and intractable diseases, with more than 300 million people affected worldwide [1]. In the foreseeable future, we cannot anticipate medical breakthroughs to ameliorate this situation. The reason doctors cannot treat these diseases is that science is not advanced enough to diagnose their causes. In other words, rare and intractable diseases are beyond the limits of medical instruments and also outperform scientists’ imaginations. Thus, it is time for doctors and scientists to open their minds to the outside world to see if other options are available to treat these diseases and find out what part science may play in the new system.
It has been approximately 2,500 years since the inception of Dharma. The Dharma, the doctrine of Buddhism, as created by Sakyamuni Buddha himself, describes three periods of time, the Age of the Right Dharma (the 1st thousand years), the Age of Semblance Dharma (the 2nd thousand years), and the Age of Dharma Decline (the 3rd to the 12th thousand years). At present, we have entered the third period, the Age of Dharma Decline. Throughout Buddhist history, we have heard periodically that miracles happened like Guan Yin Bodhisattva curing someone’s severe disease. However, never in Buddhist history has the Dharma been so close to sentient beings. Dharma is so well formulated, that its repeatability is paired with none. Its treating effect is so marvelous that no matter if among sentient beings or intractable diseases. The reason for this unprecedented achievement is that the cause of all these diseases is due to karma. Although many Dharma masters in history knew this mechanism, it is Dharma Master Jun Hong Lu who clearly diagnosed the sources of karma by reading totems with his Dharma eye. More importantly, Master Lu introduced a highly efficacious approach to cure these diseases, which is free and accessible to the public.
Behind Master Lu stands the most merciful Guan Yin Bodhisattva. She could not bear seeing sentient beings’ agony and imparted the Guan Yin Citta Dharma Door to humans via Master Lu. Master Lu began his Dharma teaching in 1997 and introduced sentient beings to the Citta Dharma in 2006. After many years of diligent work, Master Lu has spread it throughout the world, helping millions of sentient beings enter the Dharma Door. Master Lu publicly disseminated the Dharma via various media, particularly radio and the internet (in Chinese http://www.lujunhong2or.com/ and in English https://guanyincitta.com/). Countless cases of both tractable and intractable diseases have demonstrated that the Dharma Door is powerfully effective at rescuing patients from affliction.
The principle is straightforward. It is karma that causes rare and intractable diseases. When you eliminate karma, you are cured.
Karma, when triggered by evil deeds, will outbreak and result in spirits (a respectful name for ghosts) occupying your body, causing severe illness. Unlike karma, which does not move, spirits can move within the body so you may suffer more than one illness at the same time. Karma usually causes chronic illness, and spirits usually cause acute illness. The type and severity of the illness depend on where and how heavy your karma is. If karma is located in the nose, you will suffer rhinitis; if on the skin, you will suffer skin diseases, etc. It will cause mental disorders if the spirit remains in the brain; if it stays in the heart, it will cause heart disease, etc.
Before introducing these cases successfully cured by Dharma, we will get to know Guan Yin Bodhisattva and Master Lu. We will then introduce a few general concepts regarding Dharma.
Guan Yin Bodhisattva: In the past limitless eons ago, Guan Yin Bodhisattva became a Buddha. Because She never forgets the sufferings of the living beings in the Saha world, She steered the boat of mercy to our world, manifesting 32 Dharmakaya to rescue sentient beings. All prayers will be answered by Guan Yin Bodhisattva because this is Her supreme vow. She is the most compassionate Bodhisattva among all the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. In the Age of Dharma Decline, She takes care of the human realm.
Ordinary people find it difficult to communicate with Guan Yin Bodhisattva directly. How can sentient beings know Bodhisattva has come to your home? Once incense ashes on Buddhist altar curl [Fig. 1a] or lamp wicks bear a lotus [Fig. 1b], it indicates that Bodhisattva or Dharma protectors have come.
Master Jun Hong Lu (Justice of the Peace): Master Lu lived in Australia. He previously served as Chairman of both the Australia Oriental Media Group and the Australia Oriental Media Buddhist Charity Association. He was also President of the Australian Chinese Buddhist Research Centre. He had been awarded an Honorary Visiting Professorship by the prestigious University of Siena, Italy, and the royal title of Dato’ in Malaysia. He had also been appointed as Honorary Visiting Professor by an international Buddhist university, and a Justice of the Peace by the Australian Government. Meanwhile, he was a lecturer in the area of Buddhism and philosophy at the University of the West of Scotland in the UK.
For over 30 years, Master Lu had been devoted to the spread of Buddhism and charitable activities. He was also dedicated to the development of a culture of peace. Currently, he has 10 million followers in over 50 countries and regions.
Due to his tireless efforts to promote the culture of peace, Master Lu was invited to attend summits on world peace and awarded the title of “Ambassador for World Peace” in several places such as the United Nations headquarters, the US Congress, the Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles, the Australian Parliament, London, UK (at the Unity of Faiths Festival), and Berlin, Germany.
In 2015, Master Lu was awarded a “Certificate of Congressional Recognition” by the US House of Representatives for his role in building and promoting cultural exchanges at home and abroad. In 2016, He was presented with the “Certificate of Congressional Recognition” by the US Congress in honor of his many years of efforts to spread the message of compassion, promote world peace, and help people around the world. Furthermore, he was awarded “Honorary Citizenship” by West Orange, New Jersey, USA. He had also been presented with an award by Sri Lanka's President Maithripala Sirisena for his important contribution to promoting the economic and cultural relationship between Australia and Sri Lanka.
Master Lu was included in the “2014 Yearbook of Who’s Who of China” by the Chinese government.
In May 2015, he was invited as a special guest to attend the 12th International Buddhist Conference on the United Nations Day of Vesak in Bangkok, Thailand.
In September 2015 and September 2016, at the invitation of the President of the United Nations General Assembly, Master Lu attended and spoke at the “High Level Forum on the Culture of Peace” and “Culture of Peace Summit”, respectively, held at UN headquarters. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, General Assembly President, senior UN officials and eminent world leaders and peace advocates from around the world gathered to deliberate on non-violence and world peace.
During the past thousands of years, Master Lu came down from heaven to earth 54 times to save sentient beings. In one of his past lives, Master Lu was the Sangha Master of the ancient Tang Dynasty of China. As the national teacher, no one in the Tang Dynasty did not know about Him. At that time, the portrait of Guan Yin Bodhisattva was a male image, which was painted by copying the image of the Sangha Master. It played a very important role in promoting Chinese culture in the heyday of the Tang Dynasty. In fact, the face of the Sangha Master looks like that of Master Lu.
When Master Lu was alive, once connected with him, He could tell your problem and what caused the effect via phone. Master Lu’s Dharmakaya is also very powerful, often going to practitioners’ dreams to bless and even to treat illnesses. Master Lu is very compassionate, and He was really a living Buddha.
Definition of karma [2]. Karma is an evil outcome in a causal relationship, and at the same time, it is the outcome of the cause you planted. Therefore, unless you use another good cause and effect to counteract it, there is no force to remove it.
Karma alone can harm humans in various ways. It can cause sickness. Asthma, body odor, children’s snoring, genetic diabetes, and menopausal syndrome, for example, are all a result of karma. All sentient beings have karma. Some have more, and some have less.
The source of karma [3]. It can be from the previous lives, as death will not remove all karma, and also from the current life. It can be from body, speech and mind. It can be produced by killing, stealing, committing fornication, speaking deceitfully, and taking intoxicants. It can be generated by greed, hatred, delusion, arrogance, and doubt. Any evil deeds that are not retributed will be accumulated somewhere in the body to form karma, like a cloud of black mist. It has no thoughts, and it cannot move.
Outbreak of karma. With the incessant generation of karma from body, speech and mind, karma is accumulated forming a large black block in your body, which attracts spirits to sojourn. Karmic block, like dynamite, will explode when triggered by some factors, such as greed, hatred, delusion, the predestined calamity, and soulbringers, i.e., the Black and White Enforcement Officers of the underworld. The Black Enforcement Officer of the underworld monitors and records a person's wrongdoings that are performed without the knowledge of others in the human realm. The White Enforcement Officer of the underworld monitors and records a person's wrongdoings that are known to others in the human realm. Once they consolidate their records, the good and bad deeds done by an individual will be verified. If you have done too many evil acts, you will be taken away by them [4].
Master Lu has enlightened us that there is a law that governs some predestined calamities. Generally speaking, a predestined calamity occurs when one's unit age is 3, 6, or 9, for example, age 3, 6, 9, 13, 16, 19, 23 etc. There will be a huge calamity when both the unit and the tens digits equal 3, 6, or 9, as in 33, 36, 39, 63, 66, or 69. In the most severe situation, it can lead to death. At the age of predestined calamity, karma can manifest early or delayed, depending on many other factors. For example, you have been doing good or evil deeds recently. Since age 369 predestined calamity is the most common trigger for karma outbursts, special care must be taken to prepare in advance, particularly 3 months before and after one's birthday.
After outbursts of karma, spirits will occupy the patient’s body, causing acute illness, such as neuropathy, depression, autism, cancer, Parkinson's disease, etc.
Three strategies to avoid generating karma [3]. Karma causes harm to humans and its outbreak can result in spirits occupying and harming the body seriously. Hence, stopping generating and accumulating karma will benefit human health. There are 3 ways to prevent karma generation.
First, “observing the precepts.” Observing the 5 basic precepts, not killing, not stealing, not engaging in sexual misconduct, not lying and not consuming intoxicants, is essential. No double-tongued speech, no abusive speech, and no irresponsible speech are three precepts for preventing the karma of speech. Eradicating the five poisons from the mind, i.e., greed, hatred, delusion, arrogance, and doubt is a must.
Second, "gratitude" helps you stop karma from arising. Gratitude is not only your state of mind towards others, but it is also a Dharma tool assisting you to cultivate your mind and behavior. Human beings have emotions and desires. There are 7 emotions (joy, anger, worry, sentiment, sadness, fear, surprise) and 6 desires (see, hear, smell, taste, touch, love); every one of them generates karma, but only gratitude can remove karma. Gratitude is the only state of mind that does not produce karma. It is also an effective shield against greed and anger. When you gradually get used to looking at people and things around you with gratitude, karma will be less and less.
Third, “forget about the people and things that made you sad in the past.” Karma begins with memories. When one remembers something unhappy, one will feel hatred, worry, and annoyance, which generates karma. If one wants to get rid of karma, don’t he have to wash out of his mind the things he hated, the wrong things he did, the regrets, the sad things, the foolish and greedy things he did in the past? Although memory is not under one’s control, if one wants to eliminate karma, one must first eliminate negative thoughts from his memory. One must understand that if one keeps hurtful memories in his heart, he will have karma. To avoid bad things enter memory, see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil, do no evil, and think no evil.
Classification of illnesses. Master Lu divided illnesses into 2 categories: physical illness and karmic illness or spiritual illness. Generally speaking, if a disease cannot be cured by a doctor, it is a karmic illness. Then, which categories are genetic diseases and infectious diseases? Genetic diseases are karmic diseases. Having inherited defects from one's parents is because of one's own karma. He received the corresponding retribution for the sin he committed in his previous lives. Infectious diseases are spiritual diseases since the bacteria or virus can move, a character of spiritual disease.
For physical illness, the patient should seek help from a doctor, and for karmic and spiritual illnesses, the patient should seek help from Dharma. Through His Dharma eye, Master Lu is able to detect the location of karma and what spirits are harming your body. Although He entered nirvana on November 10, 2021, Master Lu kindly released and made public the therapeutic approach to treating karmic diseases.
The law of cause and effect [2]. Buddha and Bodhisattva did not invent the law of cause and effect, but they discovered it. This is the number one law of the universe and no one can escape its control, including Buddha and Bodhisattva. For instance, if one lies, one will definitely suffer retribution for lying karma. That is why the Buddha and the Bodhisattva never lie. The Dharma saying “Bodhisattvas fear causes while sentient beings fear effects” clearly demonstrates the importance of the law.
Buddha and Bodhisattva do not intervene in the workings of karma. You must reap what you planted. For example, smoking causes lung disease. Smoking is the cause, and the smoker reaps the effects – lung disease. If the smoker does nothing but only prays for Bodhisattva’s help to remove the lung disease, Bodhisattva will not do it. It is the smoker who seeded the cause, so it is he who must suffer the retribution. However, the merciful Bodhisattva teaches you how to get rid of karma to regain health. If you follow Bodhisattva’s instructions to eliminate karma, Bodhisattva will bless you to speed up the disease removal process.
Cause and effect generally impact humans for three generations, i.e., past, present, and next. Your present destiny is the aggregate karmic effects from the past life, and present karma is to mold your next life. As a matter of fact, examples of cause and effect fill our lives because everyone lives in cause and effect all the time.
Ten realms. Buddha sees the universe as composed of 10 realms. From the bottom to the top, they are Hell, the Hungry Ghosts, the Beasts, the Humans, Asuras, Heaven, the Sravaka, the Pratyekabuddha, the Bodhisattva, and Buddhahood [5]. The Beasts and Humans are the only 2 realms in which sentient beings possess both soul and physical body.
Sentient beings within the bottom 6 realms between Hell and Heaven, suffer the pain of rebirth within. Above these 6 realms lie the Four Sagely Realms, in which inhabitants enjoy happiness forever. The lower the realm, the more agony sentient beings suffer. Therefore, the instinctive tendency to ascend to a higher spiritual realm is more intense. For example, sentient beings in Hell want to get out and enter the Hungry Ghosts’ realm or an even higher realm. Beasts’ intelligence is too low to think of ascending. Humans either have no sufficient blessings to encounter Dharma or do not believe in the existence of the spiritual world. Only when a person’s or a beast’s soul leaves his/its body, i.e., after death, will he/it realize that the soul, which is now called a spirit, is always alive. Spirits in the bottom 2 realms try their best to climb to higher realms. Unfortunately, heavy karma prevents them from ascending.
All spirits in the Hell and the Hungry Ghosts realms are governed by the underworld office. Many spirits in the underworld have some freedom but spirits in Hell have no freedom. Those with some freedom will try their wits to search for those in the Humans realm for help, particularly those who owe them when alive. If one does not want to repay the spirit, it will occupy one’s body, resulting in sickness. Spirits in Hell are usually unable to come out to seek help or collect debts, except during underworld festivals. If you are unable to repay them, they may ask the underworld officers to allow them to legally occupy your body until they are paid. This is why, during underworld festivals, many people are sick, involved in accidents, etc.
Death. The death of a person will not be considered a death in the Dharma point of view since the spirit can be restrained in the Hell realm, live in the Hungry Ghosts realm, be reincarnated into another baby living in Beasts or Human realms, enter the Asuras, Heaven, or the Four Sagely Realms. If one commits a heinous sin in the human realm, his spirit will be sentenced to an oil pan and fried in black oil or thrown into the sea of fire in Hell. Then, the spirit is scattered into a bunch of tiny spirits that reincarnate into the eggs of hygrophilous and/or oviparous animals such as mosquitoes and flies, etc. His name is erased from the rolls of the underworld and heaven. This is death in the true sense.
By the way, since life is composed of a soul and a body, what happens if the soul departs the body? What happens if a spirit enters the body? When a small portion of a soul leaves one’s body, he will often be in a daze and talk to himself. He will be forgetful, unable to concentrate on his thoughts, and not know what to do. A person who loses a major part of his soul will enter a persistent vegetative state. On the other hand, when a spirit enters one’s head, he suffers from mental disorders.
Only merits and virtues can offset karma [2]. In the event that a person comes to the hospital without money, the doctors will be willing to assist, but will not be able to. Buddha and Bodhisattva are like doctors, and money is like “merits and virtues”. Guan Yin Bodhisattva will answer any prayer provided that one has merits and virtues. The underlying principle is that Buddha and Bodhisattva do not intervene in karma workings because you are responsible for your own karma. If you have merits and virtues, Bodhisattva will use Her magical power and compassion and use your merits and virtues to eliminate the specific karma that causes you to be ill. After karma is eliminated, you will recover health soon. Therefore, both the patient’s merits and virtues and Bodhisattva's magical power are indispensable, but the foundation for healing is your merits and virtues. If you desperately pray to Bodhisattva without merits and virtues and do not recite scriptures, Bodhisattva will not be able to help you. Similarly, if karma is heavy and merits and virtues are light, you will not succeed either.
In order to save your life from critical illness, your predestined lifespan also matters. To extend your lifespan, the most effective and rapid way is via life liberation, such as fish, particularly tortoises.
Since merits and virtues are so critical and karma is so harmful to humans, it is imperative to use a highly efficient method to perform merits and virtues and eliminate karma. The five Golden Buddhist Practices, for cultivating both mind and physical body, were developed for this purpose.
Golden Buddhist Practice No. 1: Making vows [6]. When one makes a vow, one will be motivated to fulfill his vow. He becomes willing to devote himself to that goal. The vow is, in fact, a very strong energy that can overcome countless obstacles. This is especially true when one makes a vow out of compassion. Seeing the suffering and hearing the cry of sentient beings, Guan Yin Bodhisattva brings forth immense compassion and vows to benefit all sentient beings. If one would like to recover from an intractable illness, one must make great vows, such as to become a vegetarian, never kill, pay a karmic creditor, or convince sentient beings to practice Buddhism using their own experience.
Please note, once the vow is made in front of the Guan Yin Bodhisattva at the Buddhist altar, you must take action to fulfill what you promised.
Golden Buddhist Practice No. 2: Reciting Buddhist scriptures [7]. Buddhist scriptures are the sayings of the Buddha. When reciting them, you will benefit from Buddha’s and Bodhisattva’s blessings. Recitation will not only eliminate your karma, but it will also bring strength, wisdom and inner peace so that you can overcome all kinds of obstacles. Here are 3 major scriptures for practitioners to recite daily:
Great Compassion Mantra. This mantra can fulfill vows, cure illness and grant protection to those who recite it. It can be recited 3, 7, 21, or 49 times per day, anytime, day and night. Under critical circumstances, such as just prior to an operation, it should be recited 21 or 49 times per day, the more the better.
Heart Sutra. Reciting this sutra will help connect you to Guan Yin Bodhisattva. This sutra helps you uncover your wisdom and regain a peaceful state of mind. It can be recited 3, 7, 21, or 49 times per day, but avoid reciting it after 10 pm and before 5 am.
Eighty-eight Buddhas Great Repentance. There is no medicine for regret in this world. Everything is already gone when we regret it. However, for a Buddhist practitioner, there is a cure for regret: reciting the Eighty-eight Buddhas Great Repentance. When reciting this text, you repent of your previous wrongdoings before many Buddhas, such as hurting someone, showing disrespect for Buddhas, etc. It can be recited 1, 3, 5, or 7 times per day.
Except for the above 3 major scriptures that must be recited daily, there are 10 minor scriptures for practitioners to choose to recite daily. In the Age of Dharma Decline, since most patients and/or their ancestors have karma from killings, reciting the Amitabha Pure Land Rebirth Mantra will help you efficiently purify your killing karma.
Little House [7] is a Dharma Gem awarded to us by Guan Yin Bodhisattva [Fig. 2]. In the spiritual world, the Little House is like a high value check. By way of the recitation of Little Houses, we are able to repay karmic debts from previous lives. The Little House has super-spiritual efficacious effects on helping seriously ill, terminally ill and mentally ill patients recover.
As a Dharma practitioner, not only daily reciting is required, but the recitation of Little House is also a must. The former is to strengthen your own Dharma power, and the latter is to repay your debts to the spiritual creditor. Both promote your health.
Golden Buddhist Practice No.3: Performing life liberation [7]. Life liberation, or the release of animals, especially those in grave danger of being killed, is a popular practice performed by all schools of Buddhism.
Life liberation is an act of wealth giving, Dharma giving, and courage giving. All three are of immense merits and virtues, which can move heaven and earth. Wealth giving will be retributed with wealth, Dharma giving will be retributed with wisdom, and courage giving will be retributed with strength and energy.
As many pains and illnesses people suffer come from killing karma, the boundless merits and virtues derived from life liberation are particularly beneficial to modern people. It helps you attain longevity and health and fulfill your wishes. Certainly, the main purpose of practicing life liberation is to liberate yourself and unleash your compassion. Once you bring forth compassion, you accrue merits and virtues.
Golden Buddhist Practice No. 4: Reading Buddhism in Plain Terms. This helps you understand the principles of Dharma. Buddhism in Plain Terms has enormous power, which helps you enlighten, and acquire prajna wisdom. It helps you eliminate karma. More importantly, it protects your spiritual life. On the one hand, the holy books of Buddhism in Plain Terms were blessed by Bodhisattva. On the other hand, anyone who reads these holy books will receive blessings from Bodhisattva.
Golden Buddhist Practice No. 5: Repenting of wrongdoings and refraining from doing them. Reviewing your actions and feeling contrition or regret for past wrongs, and then accompanying it with a commitment to actual actions will help you remove your karma quickly. Eighty-Eight Buddhas Great Repentance is to eliminate karma and ascend spirits.
All these Bodhisattvas in the Eighty-Eight Buddhas Great Repentance are from various departments, who are in charge of the sins you committed in the human realm. There are many times when you have planted the seeds of a cause and you don’t realize it. Reciting all the Bodhisattvas’ names is to plead with the Bodhisattvas to forgive you. This will allow you to repent of your sins in your past lives. Additionally, there is the power of Bodhisattvas’ vows in Eighty-Eight Buddhas Great Repentance, so it helps you eliminate disasters.
The five Golden Buddhist Practices comprise the core of the Citta Dharma Door in helping sentient beings get rid of suffering. Guan Yin Bodhisattva created the Citta Dharma Door, and Master Lu is the patriarch who educates the faithful. This is like a religion. Although sentient beings considered Dharma and classified it as a religion, esteemed, knowledgeable and greatly virtuous Buddhist monastics or lay practitioners don’t think so. Dharma teaches the truth of the universe, which can be traced back to 2,500 years ago when Sakyamuni Buddha introduced Dharma to his disciples. Through the legacy of many generations, the tradition of telling the truth has been well-preserved. What Master Lu taught has been validated by millions of sentient beings since the Citta Dharma was released to the public after 2006. As long as you keep practicing according to His instructions, at some point, you will witness miracles. Therefore, in the eyes of greatly virtuous Buddhist monastics or lay practitioners, Dharma is the ultimate science. It is an education regarding health and a way of living happily. In fact, Buddha is one whose sensibility and rationality sublimate to the highest points, so Buddha’s compassion and wisdom are unprecedented. What we Buddhist practitioners learn from Buddha is compassion and wisdom.
Great truths are all simple. All rare and intractable illnesses are due to common causes - karma or spirits. Karma is produced by evil deeds, and spirits come from outbursts of karma, such as killed animals, or dead relatives. Spirits occupy and afflict you because you owe them, including debt from a previous life. The principle to cure these diseases is to eliminate karma or help spirits ascend to higher realms in order to let them leave your body. The method to treat these diseases is by practicing the five Golden Buddhist Practices. Because it was witnessed by millions of people, this is a mature theory, not a hypothesis. Whether a doctor or a patient, one must practice examining it. In this community, we will present many cases of rare and intractable illnesses, to show how sentient beings can regain health through practicing the five Golden Buddhist Practices.
to be continued
2023.06.24 04:47 Virtual_Tadpole9821 A BL fan's guide to visiting Thailand (backup)
There's been much talk about BL's potential as a driver of tourism. And it's evident, as some of you have shared your stories here in this sub, while others have asked for help planning upcoming trips. But there still appears to be a lack of easily accessible information for people visiting Thailand for the BL. Here's an attempt to remedy that, with this guide to visiting Thailand for BL fans. I've taken the liberty to incorporate suggestions from several previous threads here, as well as various other sources, so thank you to everyone who's contributed to the discussion.
That said, firstly you'll want to consider the purpose of your trip, and how much of it you want to dedicate to BL stuff. Do you just want a regular vacation, with a side stop for some merch, or are you here to relive the all the scenes from your favourite BLs? It's very possible to come up with a weeks-long itinerary of nothing but BL locations, and you could spend as much time mall-hopping to catch artist appearances, but Thailand also has a lot of other things to experience, whether you want to stick to the major attractions or go off the beaten track. It's all up to you.
Also, this probably goes without saying, but if you want to attend a specific event, be sure to plan around it and make travel arrangements accordingly. Concerts and fan meetings usually have tickets go on sale a couple of months in advance at most, so you'll want to have flexible options if you book your travel and accommodation before then.
If you follow actors outside of their series, many of them have hosted or guested in variety/travel shows, which could also serve as inspiration for your travel plans.
Head into a 7-Eleven and you're pretty much guaranteed to see faces you recognize, perhaps on products you're already familiar with from all those series sponsorships and product placements. If the advertising worked and you're dying to know what that bottled green tea or that seaweed snack tastes like, this is your chance to give them a try.
Speaking of tasting, you'll probably be sampling plenty of Thai food while here, so why not include some of the food and drink items from the series you remember, be it som tam from What Zabb Man, the traditional desserts from UWMA, or the famous pink milk, known here as nom yen?
Meanwhile, if taking public transport, spend some time watching the people and see how BL imitates real life. Do you recognize the colours of the school uniforms? Or the university students in their white shirts and black slacks? You might even come across some engineering students in their workshop overshirts.
If you miss hearing the Raikantopeni announcement at the beginning of shows, be sure to turn on the TV to catch it as they air live. Be aware though that following shows in Thailand will be more difficult than at home, as they won't have subtitles on TV or on most local streaming services, so you'll likely need a VPN. On the other hand, if you have Netflix, you'll finally be able to catch all those shows that are geo-blocked elsewhere.
GMMTV's shop is not a traditional giftshop as one might assume, but more like a kiosk at their office on the 30th floor of the GMM Grammy Place building - there's just a small product display and a cashier window. Apart from buying products, there's a good chance of running into some actors when visiting, though you're not allowed to linger and there's nowhere to hang out apart from some cafés on the ground floor. You will likely spot some fan-project displays (as mentioned above) outside and in the building, and the cafés will often have cup-sleeve giveaways by fans. Here's a very helpful guide by u/snuffles005: How to visit the GMMTV building and shop
Elsewhere, there's Wab Cafe' and Friends, by the Studio Wabi Sabi people. It's a café, so you'll be buying drinks there rather than merch, but it's very much a space created for fans, and there will often be something going on like fan projects and giveaways, or maybe mini-events with actors making an appearance. It's in RCA, Bangkok's main clubbing neighbourhood (and home to studios where many productions hold their workshops), which takes a bit of an effort to get to, but it's also probably the most dedicated hangout space for BL fans there is.
From Star Hunter, there's Hunter Village, a studio space (mostly used for dance classes) in MBK Center, one of Bangkok's most popular malls. It's a mostly open space, so you'll be able to see if there's someone coming in or something going on, but I'm not sure if it's really somewhere you can hang out at.
Other than that, quite a few actors have their own cafés or some other business, which you might want to visit to support them directly. Clothing and fashion items (perhaps from brands with your faves as presenters) may also be something you'd want to go shopping for.
For manga and anime (including BL/yaoi) and related merch, there's an Animate store (the specialty chain from Japan), also at MBK Center. In addition to imported works, they also have an extensive Thai section, with both translated and original works.
If you want to observe the Thai novel scene, just walk into any major Thai book store, where you'll likely find rows, maybe entire shelves, of BL novels, prominently displayed - BL has very much gone mainstream in the Thai publishing industry. You'll also find glossy magazines featuring actor photoshoots here. You'll have less luck finding English translations, though, as most translated works are e-book only. For English-language (and Japanese) books in general, your best bet is Books Kinokuniya. They do have Japanese and Chinese translations of some Thai BL novels, as well as the English manga versions of SOTUS and Manner of Death, at international prices.
The biggest experiences will of course be the major events - concerts, fan meetings, and the like - that you'll have to buy tickets for. As mentioned above, you'll have to plan around them if you want to attend (which also limits how long you can plan in advance), and make sure to actually get those tickets. They're usually announced very publicly, so it's hard to miss them if you follow the usual news update channels. If you're around when one takes place but can't attend, it can still be worth dropping by if you want to get hold of the merch or just check out the crowds.
For more casual fans, you'll still have plenty of chance to see actors at smaller events, as there's pretty much always something happening somewhere, though there might not be much choice on who you get to see. These events vary a lot in scale, and can be anything from product launches to movie premieres. Most artist's agencies will announce them on their social media channels, usually on a weekly basis, and fan accounts may help share and/or translate them. You'll have to follow them to keep updated.
Most of these events will be held in Bangkok's plethora of malls. The biggest ones are mostly lined along the BTS Skytrain's Sukhumvit Line, so if you plan to do a lot of mall-hopping, whether for events or just shopping, consider getting accommodation with easy access to the BTS for convenience. Here's a great post by u/BumblingWombat that describes the experience in detail: What it's like to go to BL events in Thailand (Oh yeah, there are also top-spender events, which I won't go into, as I don't know anything about them. Those who're aiming for them probably won't need this guide anyway.)
Aside from these specific events, there are also annual book fairs that are partially or directly BL-related, where actors from various agencies may make appearances. The mainstream National Book Fair and Book Expo are usually held at the beginning of April and some time in October. Since last year, BL novels and publishers have had a large presence there, and GMMTV actors made daily appearances with fan gatherings in the car park. There are also smaller book fairs directly focusing on BL: Y Book Fair in July, and International Novel Festival at the end of November. They also feature actor appearances, but can also be worth seeing just for the atmosphere if you're interested in experiencing the literary BL scene here.
On the other hand, to experience more of the community side of the fandom, you might want to check out some fan-held events, such as the birthday projects that fan clubs often do, which may be in the form of café galleries or mini-gatherings. Info will mostly be on Twitter, though it may not be readily translated.
If there's a single most iconic location to recommend, it must be the Rama VIII Bridge over the Chao Phraya River, which shows up in more BLs than anywhere else. It's not really a tourist attraction, but it's a major landmark of modern Bangkok that everyone knows, and isn't too hard to get to if you want. It's a bit of a walk (some 15 minutes, or just take a tuk-tuk) from either the Phra Athit or Thewet Pier if you're coming from the main riverside attractions and use the Chao Phraya Express (or Tourist) Boat. If you're into financial history, the Bank of Thailand Learning Center and museum is right next to the bridge. Otherwise, Suan Luang Rama VIII Park by its base is also nice, and also a filming location. The bridge itself is most photogenic at night, but make sure you have transport back if you stay late. Consider one of those dinner cruises if you want to experience it from the same angles as KinnPorsche and Cutie Pie.
For other locations, you'll need to do some research. If there's a specific series you want to follow, try searching to see if someone has already compiled a list of locations, which is likely the case for the more popular series. Most info will be on Tumblr or Twitter.
Filming locations may be public places, shops and businesses, private establishments, or purpose-built or converted studios, so remember to think of their ability to welcome visitors. Dress appropriately for the venue, take care to respect their regular functions, and be considerate to other people. Some of the most familiar locations are university campuses, and the grounds will generally be open to the public, but they're not usually equipped to deal with large numbers of visitors. So if you do visit, have fun reliving those memorable scenes but make sure not to disturb the real students who are there for class. Meanwhile, cafés, bars and restaurants would surely welcome your patronage, but please do not snoop around private offices or people's homes. It all boils down to following common sense, really.
A lot of the locations will be quite spread out and some distance away from downtown, so you'll have to plan carefully if you want to hit more than a few. You might want to hire transport for the day, but also take the traffic into consideration.
If you've always wanted to sleep in the same room that your favourite characters lived in (or at least an identical one), you might be in luck. Some of the apartment locations may have rooms available for daily renting, so check with them. As above, though, their location can be rather inconvenient transport-wise. On the other hand, you might want to opt for the hotels and resorts that featured as locations, which will be better equipped with tourist facilities.
For houses specifically, I have a post on The houses of Thai BL. Most of them are private property rented out as studios, but some will be happy to accept visitors (for a fee) on their off days. Contact their management to see if a something can be arranged. Or if you're serious about it and ready to pay, just rent the place at full price for your own personal photoshoot. If you try it either way, do let us know how it turns out. On the other hand, Wawa House (To Sir, With Love) has a café for visitors, Slōlē (Golden Blood, Bite Me, Enchanté, The Tuxedo, The Eclipse) is a real-life café when not filming, and Red Brick Kitchen (Not Me, KinnPorsche, War of Y) features a chef's table dining experience (reservations only, 4 persons minimum).
If you're just looking for some usual attractions that happen to have BL appearances as a bonus, here are a few (very non-exhaustive) suggestions for Greater Bangkok:
Outside of Bangkok, each series will mostly feature locations relatively near each other, so I'll just list the series by destination without going into each location's detail.
Colourme-feral on Tumblr has an incredible Google Map that plots locations from several series, and more in their blog, which a lot of the above is sourced from. For Bad Buddy specifically, Telomeke-bbs on Tumblr has a series of posts that analyse the locations at an insane level of detail.
I'm sure I haven't covered nearly everything in this post, so please feel free to add your suggestions in the comments. (I'll try to expand the locations list as I get around to digging for more series.) If you have questions or need help identifying a specific location, feel free to ask! (Though no guarantees there.)
For full disclosure, I'm receiving no compensation whatsoever for writing this. Any biases or omissions are purely unintentional.
submitted by Virtual_Tadpole9821 to u/Virtual_Tadpole9821 [link] [comments]
First things first
This will only touch on things specifically of interest to BL fans. For the other aspects of your trip, including most basic planning stuff, please consult the usual travel resources.That said, firstly you'll want to consider the purpose of your trip, and how much of it you want to dedicate to BL stuff. Do you just want a regular vacation, with a side stop for some merch, or are you here to relive the all the scenes from your favourite BLs? It's very possible to come up with a weeks-long itinerary of nothing but BL locations, and you could spend as much time mall-hopping to catch artist appearances, but Thailand also has a lot of other things to experience, whether you want to stick to the major attractions or go off the beaten track. It's all up to you.
Also, this probably goes without saying, but if you want to attend a specific event, be sure to plan around it and make travel arrangements accordingly. Concerts and fan meetings usually have tickets go on sale a couple of months in advance at most, so you'll want to have flexible options if you book your travel and accommodation before then.
Destinations
Most of the BL-related things you can do will be concentrated in Bangkok, so it's where this guide will be mainly focused, but there are also several provincial locations that have featured in BL, especially Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai in the north and Phuket in the south, all of which are major tourist destinations in their own right. Series have also spent time at plenty of beaches and resorts (particularly around Hua Hin and several towns in Chonburi province) as well as other popular excursions, most of which are short trips from Bangkok. Further out are the island resorts of Koh Samet, Koh Tao and Koh Lanta. The north-east Isan locations are rather off the tourist trail, but could well be worth the experience if that's your style of travel.If you follow actors outside of their series, many of them have hosted or guested in variety/travel shows, which could also serve as inspiration for your travel plans.
Getting immersed
Arriving in Bangkok, one of the first things you'll notice as a fan of Thai BL (or Thai dramas in general) is that you're surrounded by familiar faces everywhere, on banners and billboards and the back of tuk-tuks. Although BL actors aren't that well known among the general public (a surprise to some), the better known ones have a ton of brand endorsements and appear in ads for all sorts of products. Even if you're not planning your trip around BL, spotting actors you know in ads and fan projects can be an entertaining pastime.Head into a 7-Eleven and you're pretty much guaranteed to see faces you recognize, perhaps on products you're already familiar with from all those series sponsorships and product placements. If the advertising worked and you're dying to know what that bottled green tea or that seaweed snack tastes like, this is your chance to give them a try.
Speaking of tasting, you'll probably be sampling plenty of Thai food while here, so why not include some of the food and drink items from the series you remember, be it som tam from What Zabb Man, the traditional desserts from UWMA, or the famous pink milk, known here as nom yen?
Meanwhile, if taking public transport, spend some time watching the people and see how BL imitates real life. Do you recognize the colours of the school uniforms? Or the university students in their white shirts and black slacks? You might even come across some engineering students in their workshop overshirts.
If you miss hearing the Raikantopeni announcement at the beginning of shows, be sure to turn on the TV to catch it as they air live. Be aware though that following shows in Thailand will be more difficult than at home, as they won't have subtitles on TV or on most local streaming services, so you'll likely need a VPN. On the other hand, if you have Netflix, you'll finally be able to catch all those shows that are geo-blocked elsewhere.
Merch stores & fan hangouts
This might be a bit of a letdown, but apart from GMMTV's, there aren't really any physical stores for official merchandise, or unofficial items for that matter. But since you'll be in the country, you could check with your accommodation to see if they can arrange to accept local package deliveries for you, so you can place some online orders and avoid the international shipping fees. Official merch is usually sold via direct order from the publishers/producers. Small online retailers act as resellers or carry unofficial items, while second-hand items are mostly traded through Twitter and Facebook groups. Most of this will be hard to navigate for non-Thais, so unless you know someone you might want to stick to the official stores. Be sure to check the processing and delivery times - this might be tricky (and won't work with pre-orders, only in-stock items).GMMTV's shop is not a traditional giftshop as one might assume, but more like a kiosk at their office on the 30th floor of the GMM Grammy Place building - there's just a small product display and a cashier window. Apart from buying products, there's a good chance of running into some actors when visiting, though you're not allowed to linger and there's nowhere to hang out apart from some cafés on the ground floor. You will likely spot some fan-project displays (as mentioned above) outside and in the building, and the cafés will often have cup-sleeve giveaways by fans. Here's a very helpful guide by u/snuffles005: How to visit the GMMTV building and shop
Elsewhere, there's Wab Cafe' and Friends, by the Studio Wabi Sabi people. It's a café, so you'll be buying drinks there rather than merch, but it's very much a space created for fans, and there will often be something going on like fan projects and giveaways, or maybe mini-events with actors making an appearance. It's in RCA, Bangkok's main clubbing neighbourhood (and home to studios where many productions hold their workshops), which takes a bit of an effort to get to, but it's also probably the most dedicated hangout space for BL fans there is.
From Star Hunter, there's Hunter Village, a studio space (mostly used for dance classes) in MBK Center, one of Bangkok's most popular malls. It's a mostly open space, so you'll be able to see if there's someone coming in or something going on, but I'm not sure if it's really somewhere you can hang out at.
Other than that, quite a few actors have their own cafés or some other business, which you might want to visit to support them directly. Clothing and fashion items (perhaps from brands with your faves as presenters) may also be something you'd want to go shopping for.
For manga and anime (including BL/yaoi) and related merch, there's an Animate store (the specialty chain from Japan), also at MBK Center. In addition to imported works, they also have an extensive Thai section, with both translated and original works.
If you want to observe the Thai novel scene, just walk into any major Thai book store, where you'll likely find rows, maybe entire shelves, of BL novels, prominently displayed - BL has very much gone mainstream in the Thai publishing industry. You'll also find glossy magazines featuring actor photoshoots here. You'll have less luck finding English translations, though, as most translated works are e-book only. For English-language (and Japanese) books in general, your best bet is Books Kinokuniya. They do have Japanese and Chinese translations of some Thai BL novels, as well as the English manga versions of SOTUS and Manner of Death, at international prices.
Catching events
Seeing actors up close (or at a distance) in real life will probably be the BL highlight of your trip for many of you. And unless you're ultra specific as to whom you want to see, there are ample opportunities to catch these actor appearances.The biggest experiences will of course be the major events - concerts, fan meetings, and the like - that you'll have to buy tickets for. As mentioned above, you'll have to plan around them if you want to attend (which also limits how long you can plan in advance), and make sure to actually get those tickets. They're usually announced very publicly, so it's hard to miss them if you follow the usual news update channels. If you're around when one takes place but can't attend, it can still be worth dropping by if you want to get hold of the merch or just check out the crowds.
For more casual fans, you'll still have plenty of chance to see actors at smaller events, as there's pretty much always something happening somewhere, though there might not be much choice on who you get to see. These events vary a lot in scale, and can be anything from product launches to movie premieres. Most artist's agencies will announce them on their social media channels, usually on a weekly basis, and fan accounts may help share and/or translate them. You'll have to follow them to keep updated.
Most of these events will be held in Bangkok's plethora of malls. The biggest ones are mostly lined along the BTS Skytrain's Sukhumvit Line, so if you plan to do a lot of mall-hopping, whether for events or just shopping, consider getting accommodation with easy access to the BTS for convenience. Here's a great post by u/BumblingWombat that describes the experience in detail: What it's like to go to BL events in Thailand (Oh yeah, there are also top-spender events, which I won't go into, as I don't know anything about them. Those who're aiming for them probably won't need this guide anyway.)
Aside from these specific events, there are also annual book fairs that are partially or directly BL-related, where actors from various agencies may make appearances. The mainstream National Book Fair and Book Expo are usually held at the beginning of April and some time in October. Since last year, BL novels and publishers have had a large presence there, and GMMTV actors made daily appearances with fan gatherings in the car park. There are also smaller book fairs directly focusing on BL: Y Book Fair in July, and International Novel Festival at the end of November. They also feature actor appearances, but can also be worth seeing just for the atmosphere if you're interested in experiencing the literary BL scene here.
On the other hand, to experience more of the community side of the fandom, you might want to check out some fan-held events, such as the birthday projects that fan clubs often do, which may be in the form of café galleries or mini-gatherings. Info will mostly be on Twitter, though it may not be readily translated.
Visiting filming locations
If BL inspired you to make the trip to Thailand, no doubt you'd be interested in visiting some of the filming locations yourself. But while some of them are traditional tourist attractions in their own right, most aren't normally on the radar for general visitors, so it'll take a bit of investment (in time and travel) to include them in your trip.If there's a single most iconic location to recommend, it must be the Rama VIII Bridge over the Chao Phraya River, which shows up in more BLs than anywhere else. It's not really a tourist attraction, but it's a major landmark of modern Bangkok that everyone knows, and isn't too hard to get to if you want. It's a bit of a walk (some 15 minutes, or just take a tuk-tuk) from either the Phra Athit or Thewet Pier if you're coming from the main riverside attractions and use the Chao Phraya Express (or Tourist) Boat. If you're into financial history, the Bank of Thailand Learning Center and museum is right next to the bridge. Otherwise, Suan Luang Rama VIII Park by its base is also nice, and also a filming location. The bridge itself is most photogenic at night, but make sure you have transport back if you stay late. Consider one of those dinner cruises if you want to experience it from the same angles as KinnPorsche and Cutie Pie.
For other locations, you'll need to do some research. If there's a specific series you want to follow, try searching to see if someone has already compiled a list of locations, which is likely the case for the more popular series. Most info will be on Tumblr or Twitter.
Filming locations may be public places, shops and businesses, private establishments, or purpose-built or converted studios, so remember to think of their ability to welcome visitors. Dress appropriately for the venue, take care to respect their regular functions, and be considerate to other people. Some of the most familiar locations are university campuses, and the grounds will generally be open to the public, but they're not usually equipped to deal with large numbers of visitors. So if you do visit, have fun reliving those memorable scenes but make sure not to disturb the real students who are there for class. Meanwhile, cafés, bars and restaurants would surely welcome your patronage, but please do not snoop around private offices or people's homes. It all boils down to following common sense, really.
A lot of the locations will be quite spread out and some distance away from downtown, so you'll have to plan carefully if you want to hit more than a few. You might want to hire transport for the day, but also take the traffic into consideration.
If you've always wanted to sleep in the same room that your favourite characters lived in (or at least an identical one), you might be in luck. Some of the apartment locations may have rooms available for daily renting, so check with them. As above, though, their location can be rather inconvenient transport-wise. On the other hand, you might want to opt for the hotels and resorts that featured as locations, which will be better equipped with tourist facilities.
For houses specifically, I have a post on The houses of Thai BL. Most of them are private property rented out as studios, but some will be happy to accept visitors (for a fee) on their off days. Contact their management to see if a something can be arranged. Or if you're serious about it and ready to pay, just rent the place at full price for your own personal photoshoot. If you try it either way, do let us know how it turns out. On the other hand, Wawa House (To Sir, With Love) has a café for visitors, Slōlē (Golden Blood, Bite Me, Enchanté, The Tuxedo, The Eclipse) is a real-life café when not filming, and Red Brick Kitchen (Not Me, KinnPorsche, War of Y) features a chef's table dining experience (reservations only, 4 persons minimum).
If you're just looking for some usual attractions that happen to have BL appearances as a bonus, here are a few (very non-exhaustive) suggestions for Greater Bangkok:
- Temples & shrines
- Wat Arun (KinnPorsche)
- Wat Kanlayanamit (KinnPorsche)
- Wat Chaloem Phra Kiat (& Kanchanaphisek Park - see below) (My Ride)
- Wat Khemaphitaram (My Ride)
- Rong Kueak Shrine (Our Skyy: Pete-Kao, Our Skyy 2: Never Let Me Go)
- Bangkok Protestant Cemetery (KinnPorsche)
- Museums & art galleries
- Warehouse 30 (Theory of Love)
- Bangkok Creative Playground & Bangkok Sculpture Center (Dark Blue Kiss, Something in My Room, Vice Versa, The Warp Effect)
- The Jam Factory (Bite Me)
- Historic buildings & landmarks
- Hua Lamphong Railway Station (Theory of Love)
- Neilson Hays Library (Enchanté)
- The House on Sathorn (functions as a restaurant) (KinnPorsche)
- Ratchadamnoen Avenue & Democracy Monument (Enchanté)
- Chai Phatthanasilp Building (Vice Versa)
- So Heng Tai Mansion (Our Skyy: Pete-Kao)
- Lhong 1919 (Gen Y)
- Thai Muslim Women Foundation School (My Only 12%, Never Let Me Go)
- Giant Swing (Boyband)
- Zoos, theme parks & activities
- SEA LIFE Bangkok Ocean World (UWMA, IPYTM)
- Dream World (Check Out)
- Siam Amazing Park (My Ride, Destiny Seeker)
- Flick Skate Park (Cutie Pie)
- IMPACT Speed Park (Check Out)
- Wang Kanon Shooting Range (KinnPorsche, Never Let Me Go)
- Golden Horse Riding Club (Never Let Me Go)
- Bang Kachao area (I Will Knock You)
- Themed markets & shops
- Asiatique The Riverfront (Why R U?)
- Kwan-Riam Floating Market (My Engineer)
- ChangChui Creative Park & Plane Night Market (Vice Versa)
- Chatuchak Weekend Market (My Ride)
- Dragon Town (My Ride, Big Dragon)
- Chomchei (Dark Blue Kiss, Our Skyy 2: The Eclipse)
- Khaosan Road (Boyband)
- Bang Phli Floating Market (I Will Knock You)
- Bridges & Parks
- Rama VIII Bridge & Park (see above)
- Memorial Bridge (& Chao Phraya Sky Park) ('Cause You're My Boy)
- Bhumibol Bridge (& Lat Pho Park) (Not Me, KinnPorsche, LITA)
- Chong Nonsi Skywalk & Canal Park (Chains of Heart, Bed Friend, The Promise)
- Queen Sirikit & Wachirabenchathat (Rotfai) Park (Cutie Pie, My School President)
- Santichaiprakarn Park (IPYTM, Even Sun)
- Chulalongkorn University Centenary Park (Enchanté, Vice Versa)
- Benjakitti Forest Park (Vice Versa)
- Suan Luang Rama IX Park (Vice Versa)
- Maha Chesadabodindranusorn Bridge & Chaloem Kanchanaphisek Park (Not Me; Our Skyy: Pik-Rome, 21 Days Theory)
Outside of Bangkok, each series will mostly feature locations relatively near each other, so I'll just list the series by destination without going into each location's detail.
- Chiang Mai: Manner of Death, Triage, Dew, Grey Rainbow, Sky in Your Heart, On Cloud Nine, 180 Degree Longitude, Cupid's Last Wish, The Miracle of Teddy Bear, I Will Knock You, Our Skyy 2: The Eclipse, A Tale of Thousand Stars (city scenes), everything by Wayufilm
- Chiang Rai: A Tale of Thousand Stars, The Love of Winter
- Lampang: Bed Friend
- Udon Thani: Love Poison
- Khon Kaen: Love Mechanics 2022, The Cupid Coach
- Maha Sarakham: Hometown's Embrace
- Ubon Ratchathani: Nha Harn
- Nakhon Ratchasima: La Cuisine
- Pak Chong & Khao Yai: Cupid's Last Wish, My Ride
- Chachoengsao: Remember Me, You're My Sky
- Chonburi: KinnPorsche, Star in My Mind, Never Let Me Go
- Bang Saen: Tonhon Chonlatee, The Eclipse, Destiny Seeker, Step by Step; My School President (Institute of Marine Science)
- Pattaya: Love Stage, Moonlight Chicken; Cutie Pie & LITA (Bira Circuit)
- Rayong: You're My Sky
- Koh Samet: Hard Love Mission
- Chanthaburi: SOTUS S
- Ayutthaya: Boyband
- Amphawa (Samut Songkhram): Together With Me, Chains of Heart
- Kanchanaburi: UWMA, Cupid's Last Wish, Chains of Heart
- Ratchaburi: Close Friend, Vice Versa
- Cha-am (Phetchaburi), Hua Hin (Prachuap Khiri Khan), & nearby: SOTUS S, The Yearbook, Bad Buddy, Cupid's Last Wish, My School President
- Koh Tao (Surat Thani): Even Sun
- Phuket: ITSAY
- Krabi & Koh Lanta: Why R U, Why You... Y Me?, Boyband
Further resources & suggestions
The Let's Talk BL podcast hosts talked about their experience in Thailand last year, covering a lot of the above points over several episodes at the beginning of season 3. Be sure to check them out if you want all the details, especially S3 EP3: Tips & Tricks for the perfect BL experience in Bangkok. Some of their main tips that I didn't mention above are not to overstretch yourself trying to go to everything, and to use a map to plan your days.Colourme-feral on Tumblr has an incredible Google Map that plots locations from several series, and more in their blog, which a lot of the above is sourced from. For Bad Buddy specifically, Telomeke-bbs on Tumblr has a series of posts that analyse the locations at an insane level of detail.
I'm sure I haven't covered nearly everything in this post, so please feel free to add your suggestions in the comments. (I'll try to expand the locations list as I get around to digging for more series.) If you have questions or need help identifying a specific location, feel free to ask! (Though no guarantees there.)
For full disclosure, I'm receiving no compensation whatsoever for writing this. Any biases or omissions are purely unintentional.
2023.06.02 14:24 Virtual_Tadpole9821 A BL fan's guide to visiting Thailand
There's been much talk about BL's potential as a driver of tourism. And it's evident, as some of you have shared your stories here in this sub, while others have asked for help planning upcoming trips. But there still appears to be a lack of easily accessible information for people visiting Thailand for the BL. Here's an attempt to remedy that, with this guide to visiting Thailand for BL fans. I've taken the liberty to incorporate suggestions from several previous threads here, as well as various other sources, so thank you to everyone who's contributed to the discussion.
That said, firstly you'll want to consider the purpose of your trip, and how much of it you want to dedicate to BL stuff. Do you just want a regular vacation, with a side stop for some merch, or are you here to relive the all the scenes from your favourite BLs? It's very possible to come up with a weeks-long itinerary of nothing but BL locations, and you could spend as much time mall-hopping to catch artist appearances, but Thailand also has a lot of other things to experience, whether you want to stick to the major attractions or go off the beaten track. It's all up to you.
Also, this probably goes without saying, but if you want to attend a specific event, be sure to plan around it and make travel arrangements accordingly. Concerts and fan meetings usually have tickets go on sale a couple of months in advance at most, so you'll want to have flexible options if you book your travel and accommodation before then.
If you follow actors outside of their series, many of them have hosted or guested in variety/travel shows, which could also serve as inspiration for your travel plans.
Head into a 7-Eleven and you're pretty much guaranteed to see faces you recognize, perhaps on products you're already familiar with from all those series sponsorships and product placements. If the advertising worked and you're dying to know what that bottled green tea or that seaweed snack tastes like, this is your chance to give them a try.
Speaking of tasting, you'll probably be sampling plenty of Thai food while here, so why not include some of the food and drink items from the series you remember, be it som tam from What Zabb Man, the traditional desserts from UWMA, or the famous pink milk, known here as nom yen?
Meanwhile, if taking public transport, spend some time watching the people and see how BL imitates real life. Do you recognize the colours of the school uniforms? Or the university students in their white shirts and black slacks? You might even come across some engineering students in their workshop overshirts.
If you miss hearing the Raikantopeni announcement at the beginning of shows, be sure to turn on the TV to catch it as they air live. Be aware though that following shows in Thailand will be more difficult than at home, as they won't have subtitles on TV or on most local streaming services, so you'll likely need a VPN. On the other hand, if you have Netflix, you'll finally be able to catch all those shows that are geo-blocked elsewhere.
GMMTV's shop is not a traditional giftshop as one might assume, but more like a kiosk at their office on the 30th floor of the GMM Grammy Place building - there's just a small product display and a cashier window. Apart from buying products, there's a good chance of running into some actors when visiting, though you're not allowed to linger and there's nowhere to hang out apart from some cafés on the ground floor. You will likely spot some fan-project displays (as mentioned above) outside and in the building, and the cafés will often have cup-sleeve giveaways by fans. Here's a very helpful guide by u/snuffles005: How to visit the GMMTV building and shop
Elsewhere, there's Wab Cafe' and Friends, by the Studio Wabi Sabi people. It's a café, so you'll be buying drinks there rather than merch, but it's very much a space created for fans, and there will often be something going on like fan projects and giveaways, or maybe mini-events with actors making an appearance. It's in RCA, Bangkok's main clubbing neighbourhood (and home to studios where many productions hold their workshops), which takes a bit of an effort to get to, but it's also probably the most dedicated hangout space for BL fans there is.
From Star Hunter, there's Hunter Village, a studio space (mostly used for dance classes) in MBK Center, one of Bangkok's most popular malls. It's a mostly open space, so you'll be able to see if there's someone coming in or something going on, but I'm not sure if it's really somewhere you can hang out at.
Other than that, quite a few actors have their own cafés or some other business, which you might want to visit to support them directly. Clothing and fashion items (perhaps from brands with your faves as presenters) may also be something you'd want to go shopping for.
For manga and anime (including BL/yaoi) and related merch, there's an Animate store (the specialty chain from Japan), also at MBK Center. In addition to imported works, they also have an extensive Thai section, with both translated and original works.
If you want to observe the Thai novel scene, just walk into any major Thai book store, where you'll likely find rows, maybe entire shelves, of BL novels, prominently displayed - BL has very much gone mainstream in the Thai publishing industry. You'll also find glossy magazines featuring actor photoshoots here. You'll have less luck finding English translations, though, as most translated works are e-book only. For English-language (and Japanese) books in general, your best bet is Books Kinokuniya. They do have Japanese and Chinese translations of some Thai BL novels, as well as the English manga versions of SOTUS and Manner of Death, at international prices.
The biggest experiences will of course be the major events - concerts, fan meetings, and the like - that you'll have to buy tickets for. As mentioned above, you'll have to plan around them if you want to attend (which also limits how long you can plan in advance), and make sure to actually get those tickets. They're usually announced very publicly, so it's hard to miss them if you follow the usual news update channels. If you're around when one takes place but can't attend, it can still be worth dropping by if you want to get hold of the merch or just check out the crowds.
For more casual fans, you'll still have plenty of chance to see actors at smaller events, as there's pretty much always something happening somewhere, though there might not be much choice on who you get to see. These events vary a lot in scale, and can be anything from product launches to movie premieres. Most artist's agencies will announce them on their social media channels, usually on a weekly basis, and fan accounts may help share and/or translate them. See my guide on finding Thai actor appearance schedules for details.
Most of these events will be held in Bangkok's plethora of malls. The biggest ones are mostly lined along the BTS Skytrain's Sukhumvit Line, so if you plan to do a lot of mall-hopping, whether for events or just shopping, consider getting accommodation with easy access to the BTS for convenience. Here's a great post by u/BumblingWombat that describes the experience in detail: What it's like to go to BL events in Thailand (Oh yeah, there are also top-spender events, which I won't go into, as I don't know anything about them. Those who're aiming for them probably won't need this guide anyway.)
Aside from these specific events, there are also annual book fairs that are partially or directly BL-related, where actors from various agencies may make appearances. The mainstream National Book Fair and Book Expo are usually held at the beginning of April and some time in October. Since last year, BL novels and publishers have had a large presence there, and GMMTV actors made daily appearances with fan gatherings in the car park. There are also smaller book fairs directly focusing on BL: Y Book Fair in July, and International Novel Festival at the end of November. They also feature actor appearances, but can also be worth seeing just for the atmosphere if you're interested in experiencing the literary BL scene here.
On the other hand, to experience more of the community side of the fandom, you might want to check out some fan-held events, such as the birthday projects that fan clubs often do, which may be in the form of café galleries or mini-gatherings. Info will mostly be on Twitter, though it may not be readily translated.
If there's a single most iconic location to recommend, it must be the Rama VIII Bridge over the Chao Phraya River, which shows up in more BLs than anywhere else. It's not really a tourist attraction, but it's a major landmark of modern Bangkok that everyone knows, and isn't too hard to get to if you want. It's a bit of a walk (some 15 minutes, or just take a tuk-tuk) from either the Phra Athit or Thewet Pier if you're coming from the main riverside attractions and use the Chao Phraya Express (or Tourist) Boat. If you're into financial history, the Bank of Thailand Learning Center and museum is right next to the bridge. Otherwise, Suan Luang Rama VIII Park by its base is also nice, and also a filming location. The bridge itself is most photogenic at night, but make sure you have transport back if you stay late. Consider one of those dinner cruises if you want to experience it from the same angles as KinnPorsche and Cutie Pie.
For other locations, you'll need to do some research. If there's a specific series you want to follow, try searching to see if someone has already compiled a list of locations, which is likely the case for the more popular series. Most info will be on Tumblr or Twitter.
Filming locations may be public places, shops and businesses, private establishments, or purpose-built or converted studios, so remember to think of their ability to welcome visitors. Dress appropriately for the venue, take care to respect their regular functions, and be considerate to other people. Some of the most familiar locations are university campuses, and the grounds will generally be open to the public, but they're not usually equipped to deal with large numbers of visitors. So if you do visit, have fun reliving those memorable scenes but make sure not to disturb the real students who are there for class. Meanwhile, cafés, bars and restaurants would surely welcome your patronage, but please do not snoop around private offices or people's homes. It all boils down to following common sense, really.
A lot of the locations will be quite spread out and some distance away from downtown, so you'll have to plan carefully if you want to hit more than a few. You might want to hire transport for the day, but also take the traffic into consideration.
If you've always wanted to sleep in the same room that your favourite characters lived in (or at least an identical one), you might be in luck. Some of the apartment locations may have rooms available for daily renting, so check with them. As above, though, their location can be rather inconvenient transport-wise. On the other hand, you might want to opt for the hotels and resorts that featured as locations, which will be better equipped with tourist facilities.
For houses specifically, I have a post on The houses of Thai BL. Most of them are private property rented out as studios, but some will be happy to accept visitors (for a fee) on their off days. Contact their management to see if a something can be arranged. Or if you're serious about it and ready to pay, just rent the place at full price for your own personal photoshoot. If you try it either way, do let us know how it turns out. On the other hand, Wawa House (To Sir, With Love) has a café for visitors, Slōlē (Golden Blood, Bite Me, Enchanté, The Tuxedo, The Eclipse) is a real-life café when not filming, and Red Brick Kitchen (Not Me, KinnPorsche, War of Y) features a chef's table dining experience (reservations only, 4 persons minimum).
If you're just looking for some usual attractions that happen to have BL appearances as a bonus, here are a few (very non-exhaustive) suggestions for Greater Bangkok:
Outside of Bangkok, each series will mostly feature locations relatively near each other, so I'll just list the series by destination without going into each location's detail.
Colourme-feral on Tumblr has an incredible Google Map that plots locations from several series, and more in their blog, which a lot of the above is sourced from. For Bad Buddy specifically, Telomeke-bbs on Tumblr has a series of posts that analyse the locations at an insane level of detail.
(Added October 2023:) u/JerryTyploKen has released an even more insane map here, with almost a thousand appearances: Geolocation of Thai BL series.
I'm sure I haven't covered nearly everything in this post, so please feel free to add your suggestions in the comments. (I'll try to expand the locations list as I get around to digging for more series.) If you have questions or need help identifying a specific location, feel free to ask! (Though no guarantees there.)
For full disclosure, I'm receiving no compensation whatsoever for writing this. Any biases or omissions are purely unintentional.
submitted by Virtual_Tadpole9821 to boyslove [link] [comments]
First things first
This will only touch on things specifically of interest to BL fans. For the other aspects of your trip, including most basic planning stuff, please consult the usual travel resources.That said, firstly you'll want to consider the purpose of your trip, and how much of it you want to dedicate to BL stuff. Do you just want a regular vacation, with a side stop for some merch, or are you here to relive the all the scenes from your favourite BLs? It's very possible to come up with a weeks-long itinerary of nothing but BL locations, and you could spend as much time mall-hopping to catch artist appearances, but Thailand also has a lot of other things to experience, whether you want to stick to the major attractions or go off the beaten track. It's all up to you.
Also, this probably goes without saying, but if you want to attend a specific event, be sure to plan around it and make travel arrangements accordingly. Concerts and fan meetings usually have tickets go on sale a couple of months in advance at most, so you'll want to have flexible options if you book your travel and accommodation before then.
Destinations
Most of the BL-related things you can do will be concentrated in Bangkok, so it's where this guide will be mainly focused, but there are also several provincial locations that have featured in BL, especially Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai in the north and Phuket in the south, all of which are major tourist destinations in their own right. Series have also spent time at plenty of beaches and resorts (particularly around Hua Hin and several towns in Chonburi province) as well as other popular excursions, most of which are short trips from Bangkok. Further out are the island resorts of Koh Samet, Koh Tao and Koh Lanta. The north-east Isan locations are rather off the tourist trail, but could well be worth the experience if that's your style of travel.If you follow actors outside of their series, many of them have hosted or guested in variety/travel shows, which could also serve as inspiration for your travel plans.
Getting immersed
Arriving in Bangkok, one of the first things you'll notice as a fan of Thai BL (or Thai dramas in general) is that you're surrounded by familiar faces everywhere, on banners and billboards and the back of tuk-tuks. Although BL actors aren't that well known among the general public (a surprise to some), the better known ones have a ton of brand endorsements and appear in ads for all sorts of products. Even if you're not planning your trip around BL, spotting actors you know in ads and fan projects can be an entertaining pastime.Head into a 7-Eleven and you're pretty much guaranteed to see faces you recognize, perhaps on products you're already familiar with from all those series sponsorships and product placements. If the advertising worked and you're dying to know what that bottled green tea or that seaweed snack tastes like, this is your chance to give them a try.
Speaking of tasting, you'll probably be sampling plenty of Thai food while here, so why not include some of the food and drink items from the series you remember, be it som tam from What Zabb Man, the traditional desserts from UWMA, or the famous pink milk, known here as nom yen?
Meanwhile, if taking public transport, spend some time watching the people and see how BL imitates real life. Do you recognize the colours of the school uniforms? Or the university students in their white shirts and black slacks? You might even come across some engineering students in their workshop overshirts.
If you miss hearing the Raikantopeni announcement at the beginning of shows, be sure to turn on the TV to catch it as they air live. Be aware though that following shows in Thailand will be more difficult than at home, as they won't have subtitles on TV or on most local streaming services, so you'll likely need a VPN. On the other hand, if you have Netflix, you'll finally be able to catch all those shows that are geo-blocked elsewhere.
Merch stores & fan hangouts
This might be a bit of a letdown, but apart from GMMTV's, there aren't really any physical stores for official merchandise, or unofficial items for that matter. But since you'll be in the country, you could check with your accommodation to see if they can arrange to accept local package deliveries for you, so you can place some online orders and avoid the international shipping fees. Official merch is usually sold via direct order from the publishers/producers. Small online retailers act as resellers or carry unofficial items, while second-hand items are mostly traded through Twitter and Facebook groups. Most of this will be hard to navigate for non-Thais (see this comment for details), so unless you know someone you might want to stick to the official stores. Be sure to check the processing and delivery times - this might be tricky (and won't work with pre-orders, only in-stock items).GMMTV's shop is not a traditional giftshop as one might assume, but more like a kiosk at their office on the 30th floor of the GMM Grammy Place building - there's just a small product display and a cashier window. Apart from buying products, there's a good chance of running into some actors when visiting, though you're not allowed to linger and there's nowhere to hang out apart from some cafés on the ground floor. You will likely spot some fan-project displays (as mentioned above) outside and in the building, and the cafés will often have cup-sleeve giveaways by fans. Here's a very helpful guide by u/snuffles005: How to visit the GMMTV building and shop
Elsewhere, there's Wab Cafe' and Friends, by the Studio Wabi Sabi people. It's a café, so you'll be buying drinks there rather than merch, but it's very much a space created for fans, and there will often be something going on like fan projects and giveaways, or maybe mini-events with actors making an appearance. It's in RCA, Bangkok's main clubbing neighbourhood (and home to studios where many productions hold their workshops), which takes a bit of an effort to get to, but it's also probably the most dedicated hangout space for BL fans there is.
From Star Hunter, there's Hunter Village, a studio space (mostly used for dance classes) in MBK Center, one of Bangkok's most popular malls. It's a mostly open space, so you'll be able to see if there's someone coming in or something going on, but I'm not sure if it's really somewhere you can hang out at.
Other than that, quite a few actors have their own cafés or some other business, which you might want to visit to support them directly. Clothing and fashion items (perhaps from brands with your faves as presenters) may also be something you'd want to go shopping for.
For manga and anime (including BL/yaoi) and related merch, there's an Animate store (the specialty chain from Japan), also at MBK Center. In addition to imported works, they also have an extensive Thai section, with both translated and original works.
If you want to observe the Thai novel scene, just walk into any major Thai book store, where you'll likely find rows, maybe entire shelves, of BL novels, prominently displayed - BL has very much gone mainstream in the Thai publishing industry. You'll also find glossy magazines featuring actor photoshoots here. You'll have less luck finding English translations, though, as most translated works are e-book only. For English-language (and Japanese) books in general, your best bet is Books Kinokuniya. They do have Japanese and Chinese translations of some Thai BL novels, as well as the English manga versions of SOTUS and Manner of Death, at international prices.
Catching events
Seeing actors up close (or at a distance) in real life will probably be the BL highlight of your trip for many of you. And unless you're ultra specific as to whom you want to see, there are ample opportunities to catch these actor appearances.The biggest experiences will of course be the major events - concerts, fan meetings, and the like - that you'll have to buy tickets for. As mentioned above, you'll have to plan around them if you want to attend (which also limits how long you can plan in advance), and make sure to actually get those tickets. They're usually announced very publicly, so it's hard to miss them if you follow the usual news update channels. If you're around when one takes place but can't attend, it can still be worth dropping by if you want to get hold of the merch or just check out the crowds.
For more casual fans, you'll still have plenty of chance to see actors at smaller events, as there's pretty much always something happening somewhere, though there might not be much choice on who you get to see. These events vary a lot in scale, and can be anything from product launches to movie premieres. Most artist's agencies will announce them on their social media channels, usually on a weekly basis, and fan accounts may help share and/or translate them. See my guide on finding Thai actor appearance schedules for details.
Most of these events will be held in Bangkok's plethora of malls. The biggest ones are mostly lined along the BTS Skytrain's Sukhumvit Line, so if you plan to do a lot of mall-hopping, whether for events or just shopping, consider getting accommodation with easy access to the BTS for convenience. Here's a great post by u/BumblingWombat that describes the experience in detail: What it's like to go to BL events in Thailand (Oh yeah, there are also top-spender events, which I won't go into, as I don't know anything about them. Those who're aiming for them probably won't need this guide anyway.)
Aside from these specific events, there are also annual book fairs that are partially or directly BL-related, where actors from various agencies may make appearances. The mainstream National Book Fair and Book Expo are usually held at the beginning of April and some time in October. Since last year, BL novels and publishers have had a large presence there, and GMMTV actors made daily appearances with fan gatherings in the car park. There are also smaller book fairs directly focusing on BL: Y Book Fair in July, and International Novel Festival at the end of November. They also feature actor appearances, but can also be worth seeing just for the atmosphere if you're interested in experiencing the literary BL scene here.
On the other hand, to experience more of the community side of the fandom, you might want to check out some fan-held events, such as the birthday projects that fan clubs often do, which may be in the form of café galleries or mini-gatherings. Info will mostly be on Twitter, though it may not be readily translated.
Visiting filming locations
If BL inspired you to make the trip to Thailand, no doubt you'd be interested in visiting some of the filming locations yourself. But while some of them are traditional tourist attractions in their own right, most aren't normally on the radar for general visitors, so it'll take a bit of investment (in time and travel) to include them in your trip.If there's a single most iconic location to recommend, it must be the Rama VIII Bridge over the Chao Phraya River, which shows up in more BLs than anywhere else. It's not really a tourist attraction, but it's a major landmark of modern Bangkok that everyone knows, and isn't too hard to get to if you want. It's a bit of a walk (some 15 minutes, or just take a tuk-tuk) from either the Phra Athit or Thewet Pier if you're coming from the main riverside attractions and use the Chao Phraya Express (or Tourist) Boat. If you're into financial history, the Bank of Thailand Learning Center and museum is right next to the bridge. Otherwise, Suan Luang Rama VIII Park by its base is also nice, and also a filming location. The bridge itself is most photogenic at night, but make sure you have transport back if you stay late. Consider one of those dinner cruises if you want to experience it from the same angles as KinnPorsche and Cutie Pie.
For other locations, you'll need to do some research. If there's a specific series you want to follow, try searching to see if someone has already compiled a list of locations, which is likely the case for the more popular series. Most info will be on Tumblr or Twitter.
Filming locations may be public places, shops and businesses, private establishments, or purpose-built or converted studios, so remember to think of their ability to welcome visitors. Dress appropriately for the venue, take care to respect their regular functions, and be considerate to other people. Some of the most familiar locations are university campuses, and the grounds will generally be open to the public, but they're not usually equipped to deal with large numbers of visitors. So if you do visit, have fun reliving those memorable scenes but make sure not to disturb the real students who are there for class. Meanwhile, cafés, bars and restaurants would surely welcome your patronage, but please do not snoop around private offices or people's homes. It all boils down to following common sense, really.
A lot of the locations will be quite spread out and some distance away from downtown, so you'll have to plan carefully if you want to hit more than a few. You might want to hire transport for the day, but also take the traffic into consideration.
If you've always wanted to sleep in the same room that your favourite characters lived in (or at least an identical one), you might be in luck. Some of the apartment locations may have rooms available for daily renting, so check with them. As above, though, their location can be rather inconvenient transport-wise. On the other hand, you might want to opt for the hotels and resorts that featured as locations, which will be better equipped with tourist facilities.
For houses specifically, I have a post on The houses of Thai BL. Most of them are private property rented out as studios, but some will be happy to accept visitors (for a fee) on their off days. Contact their management to see if a something can be arranged. Or if you're serious about it and ready to pay, just rent the place at full price for your own personal photoshoot. If you try it either way, do let us know how it turns out. On the other hand, Wawa House (To Sir, With Love) has a café for visitors, Slōlē (Golden Blood, Bite Me, Enchanté, The Tuxedo, The Eclipse) is a real-life café when not filming, and Red Brick Kitchen (Not Me, KinnPorsche, War of Y) features a chef's table dining experience (reservations only, 4 persons minimum).
If you're just looking for some usual attractions that happen to have BL appearances as a bonus, here are a few (very non-exhaustive) suggestions for Greater Bangkok:
- Temples & shrines
- Wat Arun (KinnPorsche)
- Wat Kanlayanamit (KinnPorsche)
- Wat Chaloem Phra Kiat (& Kanchanaphisek Park - see below) (My Ride)
- Wat Khemaphitaram (My Ride)
- Rong Kueak Shrine (Our Skyy: Pete-Kao, Our Skyy 2: Never Let Me Go)
- Tai Tien Kong Shrine (Big Dragon)
- Bangkok Protestant Cemetery (KinnPorsche)
- Museums & art galleries
- Warehouse 30 (Theory of Love)
- Bangkok Creative Playground & Bangkok Sculpture Center (Dark Blue Kiss, Something in My Room, Vice Versa, The Warp Effect)
- The Jam Factory (Bite Me)
- Historic buildings & landmarks
- Hua Lamphong Railway Station (Theory of Love)
- Neilson Hays Library (Enchanté)
- The House on Sathorn (functions as a restaurant) (KinnPorsche)
- Ratchadamnoen Avenue & Democracy Monument (Enchanté)
- Chai Phatthanasilp Building (Vice Versa)
- So Heng Tai Mansion (Our Skyy: Pete-Kao)
- Lhong 1919 (Gen Y)
- Thai Muslim Women Foundation School (My Only 12%, Never Let Me Go)
- Giant Swing (Boyband)
- Zoos, theme parks & activities
- SEA LIFE Bangkok Ocean World (UWMA, IPYTM)
- Dream World (Check Out)
- Siam Amazing Park (My Ride, Destiny Seeker, Hidden Agenda)
- Flick Skate Park (Cutie Pie)
- IMPACT Speed Park (Check Out)
- Wang Kanon Shooting Range (KinnPorsche, Never Let Me Go)
- Golden Horse Riding Club (Never Let Me Go)
- Bang Kachao area (I Will Knock You)
- Themed markets & shops
- Asiatique The Riverfront (Why R U?)
- Kwan-Riam Floating Market (My Engineer)
- ChangChui Creative Park & Plane Night Market (Vice Versa)
- Chatuchak Weekend Market (My Ride)
- Dragon Town (My Ride, Big Dragon)
- Chomchei (Dark Blue Kiss, Our Skyy 2: The Eclipse)
- Khaosan Road (Boyband)
- Bang Phli Floating Market (I Will Knock You)
- Bridges & Parks
- Rama VIII Bridge & Park (SOTUS, SOTUS S, Our Skyy: Arthit-Kongpob, Tonhon Chonlatee, Gen Y, My Ride, Cutie Pie, Enchanté, KinnPorsche, 2 Moons: The Ambassador, Boyband)
- Memorial Bridge (& Chao Phraya Sky Park) ('Cause You're My Boy)
- Bhumibol Bridge (& Lat Pho Park) (Not Me, KinnPorsche, LITA)
- Chong Nonsi Skywalk & Canal Park (Chains of Heart, Bed Friend, The Promise)
- Queen Sirikit & Wachirabenchathat (Rotfai) Park (Cutie Pie, My School President)
- Santichaiprakarn Park (IPYTM, Even Sun)
- Chulalongkorn University Centenary Park (Enchanté, Vice Versa)
- Benjakitti Forest Park (Vice Versa)
- Suan Luang Rama IX Park (Vice Versa)
- Maha Chesadabodindranusorn Bridge & Chaloem Kanchanaphisek Park (Not Me; Our Skyy: Pik-Rome, 21 Days Theory)
Outside of Bangkok, each series will mostly feature locations relatively near each other, so I'll just list the series by destination without going into each location's detail.
- Chiang Mai: Manner of Death, Triage, Dew, Grey Rainbow, Sky in Your Heart, On Cloud Nine, 180 Degree Longitude, Cupid's Last Wish, The Miracle of Teddy Bear, I Will Knock You, Our Skyy 2: The Eclipse, La Pluie, A Tale of Thousand Stars (city scenes), everything by Wayufilm
- Chiang Rai: A Tale of Thousand Stars, The Love of Winter
- Lampang: Bed Friend
- Chiang Khan (Loei): Hidden Agenda
- Udon Thani: Love Poison
- Khon Kaen: Love Mechanics 2022, The Cupid Coach
- Maha Sarakham: Hometown's Embrace
- Ubon Ratchathani: Nha Harn
- Nakhon Ratchasima: La Cuisine
- Pak Chong & Khao Yai: Cupid's Last Wish, My Ride
- Saraburi: Cupid's Last Wish, La Pluie
- Nakhon Nayok: Make a Wish, La Pluie
- Chachoengsao: Remember Me, You're My Sky
- Chonburi: KinnPorsche, Star in My Mind, Never Let Me Go
- Bang Saen: Tonhon Chonlatee, The Eclipse, Destiny Seeker, Step by Step; My School President (Institute of Marine Science)
- Pattaya: Love Stage, Moonlight Chicken; Cutie Pie & LITA (Bira Circuit)
- Rayong: You're My Sky
- Koh Samet: Hard Love Mission
- Chanthaburi: SOTUS S
- Ayutthaya: Boyband
- Amphawa (Samut Songkhram): Together With Me, Chains of Heart
- Kanchanaburi: UWMA, Cupid's Last Wish, Chains of Heart
- Ratchaburi: Close Friend: Just One Life, Vice Versa
- Cha-am (Phetchaburi), Hua Hin (Prachuap Khiri Khan), & nearby: SOTUS S, The Yearbook, Bad Buddy, Cupid's Last Wish, My School President
- Koh Tao (Surat Thani): Even Sun
- Phuket: ITSAY
- Krabi & Koh Lanta: Why R U, Why You... Y Me?, Boyband
Further resources & suggestions
The Let's Talk BL podcast hosts talked about their experience in Thailand last year, covering a lot of the above points over several episodes at the beginning of season 3. Be sure to check them out if you want all the details, especially S3 EP3: Tips & Tricks for the perfect BL experience in Bangkok. Some of their main tips that I didn't mention above are not to overstretch yourself trying to go to everything, and to use a map to plan your days.Colourme-feral on Tumblr has an incredible Google Map that plots locations from several series, and more in their blog, which a lot of the above is sourced from. For Bad Buddy specifically, Telomeke-bbs on Tumblr has a series of posts that analyse the locations at an insane level of detail.
(Added October 2023:) u/JerryTyploKen has released an even more insane map here, with almost a thousand appearances: Geolocation of Thai BL series.
I'm sure I haven't covered nearly everything in this post, so please feel free to add your suggestions in the comments. (I'll try to expand the locations list as I get around to digging for more series.) If you have questions or need help identifying a specific location, feel free to ask! (Though no guarantees there.)
For full disclosure, I'm receiving no compensation whatsoever for writing this. Any biases or omissions are purely unintentional.
2023.05.29 07:40 Justwonderinif Post Conviction I
<< The Trials
Friday, February 25, 2000 / Trial 2 / Day 21
Saturday, April 1, 2000
Wednesday, September 25, 2001
May 6, 2002
Friday, May 21, 2004
Monday, December 6, 2004
December 24, 2004
February 28, 2009
submitted by Justwonderinif to adnansyed [link] [comments]
Friday, February 25, 2000 / Trial 2 / Day 21
- Page 47: Closing Arguments
- Verdict Sheet
- 1:35PM: Jury deliberations begin
- 4:25PM Verdict Read; Syed convicted of:
- First Degree Murder (Life)
- Kidnapping (30 years, consecutive to life)
- False imprisonment and robbery (10 years, concurrent with kidnapping)
- Rabia remembers going down to see Adnan that same evening, and says that's when Adnan gave her Asia's letters, (according to Serial podcast.) Adnan remembers calling Rabia on the phone, telling her about the letters, and mailing them to her.
- Baltimore Sun:
- Memo from Gutierrez Associate Rita P. to Gutierrez
- Adnan has called and he is requesting Patuxent. Rita reminds that Patuxent isn't taking lifers.
- Adnan has told Rita that he wants Gutierrez to handle his appeal.
- Adnan would like to meet with Gutierrez before sentencing.
- Rabia has called and wants to set up a meeting ASAP.
- [No mention of Asia.]
- Rabia, Shamim and Tanveer meet with Gutierrez who has reluctantly agreed to meet them. If they discussed Asia, Rabia did not include this information in her memo to the mosque re; new witnesses.
- Adnan writes a letter to Yusuf
- Approximate: Rabia mails Adnan sentencing guidelines and information about prosecutorial misconduct.
- Adnan has been in jail/prison for one year.
- According to Rabia, NBC's Dateline airs an episode about a wrongfully convicted man.
- Rabia Memo updates the Masjid Committee re; the meeting with Gutierrez.
- Rabia suggests pressuring witnesses, but doesn't mention Asia.
- Rabia tells the Masjid Committee: "At appeal it is generally suggested a different attorney is used rather than the trial attorney. This was even suggested by Ms. Gutierrez herself." Fourteen years later Rabia told Sarah Koenig that she thought Gutierrez bungled the trial on purpose, so she could make money off the appeal.
- Upon conviction, Adnan parents and mosque had paid $95,800 to Gutierrez's firm and there was an outstanding balance of $57,292.
- Gutierrez visits Adnan re: his appeal.
- Her last prison visit was on September 17, 1999, before the trial.
- March 3, 2000 is Gutierrez's eighth and final face to face (prison) meeting with Adnan.
- Did they discuss Asia?
- According to Adnan (Rabia's book), this weekend is the first time he told Rabia about Asia's letters (despite what Rabia told Sarah.) In Serial, Rabia says she received Asia's letters from Adnan on Friday, February 27.)
- Letter from Adnan to Rabia
- Doesn't mention Asia or her letters.
- Adnan has received the sentencing guidelines and information about prosecutorial misconduct, that Rabia mailed him.
- Cristina Gutierrez files Motion for new trial. Issues raised:
- Adnan's due process rights were violated when Judge Heard refused to let the jury know that Jay did not plead guilty to accessory after the fact.
- Judge Heard refused to allow Adnan to prove that Jay's plea agreement included unwritten benefits.
- State didn't disclose Jay's plea agreement prior to the trial.
- Verdicts were "against the weight of the evidence."
- There was insufficient evidence to sustain the convictions.
- Heard improperly restricted the defense's presentation of its case.
- Approximate: According to Adnan, this is when he mails copies of Asia's letters to Rabia
- Jay's driver's license is suspended by the DMV for failure to appear on three traffic citations.
- Approximate: According to Rabia's book, she received Asia's letters -- via the mail from Adnan -- "a couple of weeks" after March 4. (In 2014, Rabia said that Adnan gave her the letters the same afternoon he was convicted.)
- Approximate: Rabia's To Do List includes getting Asia to sign an affidavit
- Rabia and Saad track down Asia. Rabia and Saad drive Asia to a check cashing place to sign an "affidavit".
- This affidavit narrowed the alibi to 2:40PM based on Murphy's closing arguments.
- Adnan's parents write letter to Gutierrez, imploring her to use Asia's affidavit. No mention of Asia's letters.
- Adnan's letter to Gutierrez asking her to use Asia in a motion for a new trial. No mention of Asia's letters.
Saturday, April 1, 2000
- Gutierrez receives Adnan's letter.
- Adnan's parents write a letter to Judge Heard asking to postpone sentencing (and motion for a new trial) because Gutierrez had just been fired. (Letter received Tuesday, April 4?) No mention of Asia's letters.
- According to Adnan, the motion for a new trial was to have been argued on April 5.
- According to Judge Welch:
The sentencing proceeding was scheduled for April 5, 2000. On that date, Judge Heard granted Petitioner's request to dismiss M. Cristina Gutierrez as Petitioner's counsel, and agreed to postpone the sentencing so that Petitioner's new attorney had time to adequately prepare.
During the [April 5] proceedings, Judge Heard indicated that while she would not normally have the authority to remove Ms. Gutierrez as petitioner's attorney, the administrative judge, Judge Mitchell, granted Heard limited authority to hear Petitioner's request.
- Adnan's 19th Birthday (Second birthday celebrated in prison.)
- Jet magazine issue with this photo is published and makes its way to the holding area for inmates in the "bullpen."
- Adnan is sitting in the "bullpen," waiting to be sentenced. He writes to Krista:
You know what’s really weird? I was looking through this Jet magazine, in case you didn’t know it features African-American issues. -- Adnan tells Krista that Hae had been appearing in his dreams, and that dreams like this have a certain significance in Islam. Adnan writes that he was looking through this Jet magazine and he does a double take because the girl looks so much like Hae. Even her watch looks like Hae’s watch. Adnan writes: Take a look at it and tell me what you think. I hope I’m not going crazy.
- Sentencing hearing with Judge Heard: Transcripts (courtesy of redditor stop_saying_right, after Rabia refused to share.)
- Adnan represented by Charles Dorsey.
- Adnan maintains his innocence, despite Dorsey asking for leniency for a "crime of passion."
- Adnan sentenced to:
- Life in prison for 1st Degree Murder
- 30 years for kidnapping (consecutive to murder)
- 10 years for robbery (concurrent with kidnapping)
- Motion for new trial denied: This motion was filed March 6 by Gutierrez. Dorsey didn't argue in support of this motion. He may not have been aware of it. Even Heard was surprised by the lack of response from Dorsey as to the motion for new trial.
- Application for Leave of Appeal his sentence filed in Court of Special Appeals (CoSA) MD.
- Maryland law allows only 10 years from the date of sentencing to file the PCR motion.
- Baltimore Sun:
- Approximate: Thiru Vignarajah receives a a master's degree from King's College in medical ethics and law.
- Adnan writes to Rabia about the sentencing hearing. Adnan refers to his attorney as "This genius, Dorsey..."
- Adnan writes to Krista, referring to Dorsey as a "jerk."
Sarah Koenig: Eight days later, post sentencing, [Adnan] writes Krista another letter and he’s so changed. By this time, he’d fired Gutierrez over the Asia letters and he’s being represented by a public defender he doesn’t really know. Adnan tells the guy [Dorsey] he wants to tell the court he did not kill Hae and that he is going to continue to fight this until the end. That’s what he says in his letter to Krista, and [Dorsey] says "No, no, no, terrible idea. Don’t say you’re innocent, it will anger the judge.” Adnan argues with [Dorsey], and according to Adnan, [Dorsey] says, “Well you can do it if you want but you’re just going to fuck yourself over.”
- Jay's Sentencing Hearing. Jay receives a suspended sentence, not the two years prison per the plea agreement.
- Case Information Sheet
- Criminal Information Sheet
- Stephanie and Jay have been broken up for over a year. But she is present in courtroom.
- Adnan's appeal argues that if the trial jury had known Jay would get probation only, they would have thought this motivated Jay to lie. The defense implies that Jay knew he wasn't going to prison. But Jay didn't know. Jay thought he would get five years -- two, at the minimum.
- Public Defender Charles Dorsey files motion for modification of Adnan's sentence. The 2011 supplement to the petition for post conviction relief claims that Dorsey wasted Adnan's one chance for sentence modification, and should have waited.
- Judge Heard denies motion for sentence modification
- Jay owns a motorcycle, and the registration expires during this month
- 5PM: Jay is pulled over because the tags on his motorcycle have expired.
- Hae Min Lee 20th Birthday
- Adnan writes to Rabia about Stephanie.
Adnan has been thinking a lot about Stephanie and thinks that Stephanie knows something, or could shed a light on things. Adnan isn't comfortable reaching out to Stephanie. So, he has asked Krista to help. But, Krista doesn't really like Stephanie. Adnan doesn't feel comfortable writing questions for Krista to ask Stephanie. So, he's going to have Krista come visit, and tell Krista - in person - what to ask Stephanie. Then Krista will reach out to Stephanie via email, and act as a go-between Stephanie and Adnan. Adnan wants to make sure Rabia knows this is why there is a girl on his visitors list. Apparently, girls have wanted to visit Adnan before, but he didn't want his mother to cross paths with any female visitors.
- Adnan has been in jail/prison for two years
- Adnan's 20th Birthday
- Approximate: According to Rabia, Adnan begins working hustles like making photocopies, trading, getting medicine, books and other contraband for other inmates. Over eight years, he is able to save up $10,000.00
- Approximate: According to Sarah Koenig: at Jessup, Adnan had a good job. He was a clerk in the Chaplain's Office which gave him access to a computer, and to a printer and copier. Being an entrepreneurial sort he ran a couple of side businesses, printing stuff and making copies for people.
- Gutierrez was disbarred on May 24, 2001, at the age of 50.
The state Court of Appeals ordered her "disbarred by consent" May 24, after Gutierrez agreed to resign rather than fight complaints filed against her with the state Attorney Grievance Commission...
- Baltimore Sun: Lawyer Gutierrez agrees to disbarment - byline Sarah Koenig
"As she got progressively sicker, she found it increasingly hard to make communications with the clients," Pettit said. "I never got any indication that there was any kind of error or incompetence. It was all about her being sick."
- Baltimore Sun: Attorney is drawing numerous complaints - byline Sarah Koenig
Over 20 people filed claims against Gutierrez with the Clients' Security Trust Fund
- Tanveer says Adnan's family didn't see this article, or they might have filed, too.
- Rabia says that Adnan knew all about this fund and applied to get reimbursed, but was denied.
- Unrelated: Two hijacked aircraft crash into the World Trade Center in New York City, while a third smashes into The Pentagon in Arlington County, Virginia, and a fourth into a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, in a series of coordinated suicide attacks by 19 members of al-Qaeda. In total 2,996 people are killed.
Wednesday, September 25, 2001
- Despite the fact that Adnan has been regularly writing to Krista, Adnan writes to Saad that wants to start writing to non-Muslims.
- Hae Min Lee 21st Birthday
- Adnan writes Rabia about (1) prayer, (2) a time before his dad started "losing it," (3) how Saad's car was stolen with a bunch of TVs inside, (4) how he hasn't been molested in prison. Adnan wants to know why Rabia and Saad don't visit him any more.
- Adnan's Appeal Brief filed by Attorney Warren A. Brown Issues raised:
- Prosecutorial misconduct & Brady rule
- Did court prevent Adnan from presenting evidence
- Hearsay based on prejudicial nature of Hae's letter
- Admission of Hae's diary
- No mention of Asia's letters.
- Adnan has been in jail/prison for three years.
May 6, 2002
- Adnan write Rabia about the pending appeal decision.
He tells Rabia that oral arguments are scheduled for June 3, and even though Adnan's Dad will be there, Adnan asks Rabia if she will please go. Adnan writes that he really needs Rabia and that Warren A. Brown is an asshole. Adnan says that he understands Rabia is studying for the bar, has an ongoing custody dispute, and is job-hunting. It's okay if she's too busy because he knows she would come if she could.
- WHS Class of 2002 prints a Memorial to Hae in their yearbook.
- Oral arguments heard with respects to Adnan's appeal.
- Adnan's 21st Birthday
- Approximate: According to Rabia, Adnan is still working hustles like making photocopies, trading, getting medicine, books and other contraband for other inmates. Over eight years, he is able to save up $10,000.00
- Approximate: According to Sarah Koenig: Adnan was a clerk in the Chaplain's Office which gave him access to a computer, and to a printer and copier... He ran a couple of side businesses, printing stuff and making copies for people.
- Undated 2002 photo of Adnan visited by Rabia and Saad
- Approximate: Thiru Vignarajah begins attending Harvard Law School
- Hae Min Lee 22nd Birthday
- Adnan has been in jail/prison for four years.
- Adnan's Appeal Denied by Justice John J. Bishop, Jr..
- Justice John J. Bishop, Jr. Bio
- Adnan's petition for post conviction relief should have been filed within one year of this date.
- Inexplicably, Adnan waited seven years between this date and filing for post conviction relief. Maryland law allows no more than 10 years from sentencing to file for PCR. Asia's affidavit was obtained in 2000.
- Rabia wrote in her book that Adnan felt burned by the system, exhausted of funds, and didn't want to use up his last available option. He wanted to hold onto hope.
- In 2014, after the first two episodes of Serial were released, Rabia lied to the readers of her blog. She told them that Adnan was forced to wait 10 years to apply for post conviction relief. But Rabid knew that Adnan could file in 2003, and she knew why he waited. In 2014, Rabia didn't want anyone to know that spending seven years in prison doing nothing was Adnan's choice, and strategy.
- Adnan files a Pro Se petition for Writ of Certiorari. In 2004, Adnan wrote Rabia that he filed this himself, and it was denied.
- Adnan's 22nd Birthday
- Approximate: According to Rabia, Adnan is still working hustles like making photocopies, trading, getting medicine, books and other contraband for other inmates. Over eight years, he is able to save up $10,000.00
- Approximate: According to Sarah Koenig: Adnan was a clerk in the Chaplain's Office which gave him access to a computer, and to a printer and copier... He ran a couple of side businesses, printing stuff and making copies for people.
- The Court of Appeals denies Syed's Pro Se petition for Writ of Certiorari.
- Approximate: C. Justin Brown -- who graduated Cornell University in 1992, enrolls in the University of Maryland, School of Law. [Does anyone know the exact date?]
- Hae Min Lee 23rdBirthday
- Cristina Gutierrez date of death (heart attack)
- Asia is working for JMP and moonlighting as a stripper. She is eventually fired from JMP for poor performance. Court filing here here.
- According to Justin Brown: Adnan's family took possession of Gutierrez's defense files at some point in 2004, after Gutierrez passed away. Brown says that he took possession of copies of Gutierrez's files in 2009. For at least five years, Adnan's family had sole custody of the defense file. Hence the term: "the remnants of the defense file."
- According to Adnan's July 2009 letter to Rabia, at some point in 2004, Chris Flohr recommended the firm Nathans & Biddle for his application for post conviction relief.
- Adnan has been in jail/prison for five years.
Friday, May 21, 2004
- Adnan's 23rd Birthday
- Approximate: In the Spring of 2004, Adnan gets a cell phone. Over the next five years, Adnan has several cell phones. At least one of the phones was smuggled in by a guard, in the hollowed out handle of a drill.
- Approximate: According to Rabia, Adnan is working hustles like making photocopies, trading, getting medicine, books and other contraband for other inmates. Over eight years, he is able to save up $10,000.00
- Approximate: According to Sarah Koenig: Adnan was a clerk in the Chaplain's Office which gave him access to a computer, and to a printer and copier... He ran a couple of side businesses, printing stuff and making copies for people.
- By July of 2004, if not earlier, Asia has hired an attorney to represent her as she seeks to sue her former employer for discrimination.
- Baltimore Sun re; Jada Lambert's killer: DNA match results in conviction in 1998 rape, murder
- Adnan receives Fundraiser Participation Award
- Adnan receives Volunteer Activity Coordinator's Award
- Hae Min Lee 24th birthday
- Adnan writes Rabia:
- He is going to wait as long as possible to file for Post Conviction Relief. He wants to take nine years to research his case, and then hire a post conviction lawyer.
- [Ten years later, in 2014, Rabia lied to readers of her blog, writing that Adnan had to wait ten years before he could file for PCR.]
- He is not going to pursue the brain mapping idea presented by Chris Flohr.
- [Rabia writes in her book that they didn't pursue this brain mapping idea because Justin Brown wouldn't want anything distracting from the PCR. Trouble is, Justin Brown didn't graduate from law school until 2005, and wasn't Adnan's attorney until years after the decision was made not to pursue brain mapping.]
Monday, December 6, 2004
December 24, 2004
- Having retained an attorney in the summer of 2004, Asia McClain files a lawsuit against her former employer, James M Pleasants Company, alleging that she had been discriminated against her on the basis of race, and retaliated against for complaining about racial discrimination in the workplace. Court filing here.
- Asia stops communicating with the attorney she has engaged to represent her in her lawsuit against JMP.
- Approximate: Thiru is a clerk for United States Circuit Court Judge Guido Calabresi
- Adnan has been in jail/prison for six years.
- Hae's fingernails, hair, and swabs out for testing.
- Hae's fingernails, hair, and swabs returned to evidence. Not out long enough to test. Taken out by mistake?
- Asia and James M. Pleasants company submit a joint rule report. On an unknown date, Asia acknowledged that she was moonlighting as an exotic dancer from 9pm-3:30am on days when she worked for JMP.
- This issue is not that Asia worked as a stripper.
- A "rule order" is entered by the Court in the matter of Asia's lawsuit against JMP.
- Adnan's 24th Birthday
- Approximate: Adnan has had a cell phone for a year, and gets a new t-mobile cell phone. This is his second cell phone. He uses the first cell phone to call T-mobile customer support when he can't get the t-mobile cell phone to work. At least one of the phones was smuggled in by a guard, in the hollowed out handle of a drill.
- Approximate: According to Rabia, Adnan is still working hustles like making photocopies, trading, getting medicine, books and other contraband for other inmates. Over eight years, he is able to save up $10,000.00
- Approximate: According to Sarah Koenig: Adnan was a clerk in the Chaplain's Office which gave him access to a computer, and to a printer and copier... He ran a couple of side businesses, printing stuff and making copies for people.
- Asia's attorney withdraws based on the fact that he hasn't heard from Asia since January 1, 2005.
- Approximate: Thiru Vignarajah graduates Harvard Law.
- Approximate: C. Justin Brown graduates from University of Maryland School of Law. [Does anyone know the exact date?]
- Approximate: After graduating law school, C. Justin Brown clerks for Andre M. Davis, U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland. [Does anyone know the exact date?]
- Hae Min Lee 25th birthday
- Adnan receives Certificate of Appreciation
- Adnan receives Distinguished Gentleman Award
- Thiru clerks for United States Supreme Court Justice Stephen G. Breyer
- Asia's lawsuit is dismissed as neither her attorney, the court, nor the defendant has heard from her since January of 2005.
- [Asia] has failed to respond to JMP's Motion to Dismiss in any way, after she was warned by the Court that failure to respond or participate would result in dismissal of this action. Given [Asia's] complete failure to respond or participate meaningfully in this case and her violation of the Court’s orders, the Court concludes that dismissal pursuant to Rules 37 and 41 is appropriate, and that no less drastic sanction would be effective.
- Adnan has been in jail/prison for seven years.
- Approximate: At some point in 2006, Justin Brown passes the Maryland State Bar Exam. Exact month unknown. Bar exams are given in February and July. [Does anyone know the exact date?]
- Adnan's 25th Birthday
- Approximate: Adnan has had a cell phone for two years. At least one of the phones he has had was smuggled in by a guard, in the hollowed out handle of a drill.
- Approximate: According to Rabia, Adnan is still working hustles like making photocopies, trading, getting medicine, books and other contraband for other inmates. Over eight years, he is able to save up $10,000.00
- Approximate: According to Sarah Koenig: Adnan was a clerk in the Chaplain's Office which gave him access to a computer, and to a printer and copier... He ran a couple of side businesses, printing stuff and making copies for people.
- Approximate: C. Justin Brown begins working at Nathans & Biddle as an Associate. [Does anyone know the exact date?]
- Adnan receives Fundraiser Participation Award at Jessup.
- Since prison officials still don't know about the cell phone, Adnan receives Certificate of Achievement for going three years without an infraction.
- Adnan receives Volunteer Activity Coordinator Award at Jessup.
- Hae Min Lee 26th birthday
- Thiru clerks for United States Supreme Court Justice Stephen G. Breyer
- Adnan has been in jail/prison for eight years.
- Adnan's 26th Birthday
- Approximate: Adnan has had a cell phone for three years. At least one of the phones he has had was smuggled in by a guard, in the hollowed out handle of a drill.
- Approximate: According to Rabia, Adnan is still working hustles like making photocopies, trading, getting medicine, books and other contraband for other inmates. Over eight years, he is able to save up $10,000.00
- Approximate: According to Sarah Koenig: Adnan was a clerk in the Chaplain's Office which gave him access to a computer, and to a printer and copier... He ran a couple of side businesses, printing stuff and making copies for people.
- Hae Min Lee 27th birthday
- Since prison officials still don't know about the cell phone, Adnan receives Certificate of Achievement for three years of being infraction free.
- Approximate: Thiru finishes two years of as clerk for United States Supreme Court Justice Stephen G. Breyer
- At Jessup, Adnan Receives Devoted Program Supporters Award Certificate
- Since prison officials still don't know about the cell phone and hustles, Adnan receives Certificate of Appreciation for being "infraction free" for three years.
- Kandra / Adnan's Wife:
- Approximate: Adnan sends Kandra $10,000.00 - Rabia doesn't hear about this until it has already happened.
- Approximate: Kandra visits Adnan and they are married by another inmate. Rabia doesn't hear about this until it has already happened.
- Kandra begins helping Adnan with his case by doing computer searches and making copies.
- Adnan has been in jail/prison for nine years.
- Adnan's 27th Birthday
- Approximate: Adnan has had a cell phone for four years. At least one of the phones he has had was smuggled in by a guard, in the hollowed out handle of a drill.
- Approximate: According to Rabia, Adnan is still working hustles like making photocopies, trading, getting medicine, books and other contraband for other inmates.
- Approximate: According to Sarah Koenig: Adnan was a clerk in the Chaplain's Office which gave him access to a computer, and to a printer and copier... He ran a couple of side businesses, printing stuff and making copies for people.
- Baltimore Police Officer Lee emails Nathans & Biddle's C. Justin Brown: An item in evidence may have been destroyed. (Is this DNA?)
- Hae Min Lee 28th birthday
February 28, 2009
- Adnan has been in jail/prison for ten years.
- Photo of Adnan after ten years in prison
- According to this letter, Justin Brown left Nathans & Biddle in the Spring of 2009, to start his own firm.
- Adnan's 28th Birthday
- Approximate: Adnan has had a cell phone for five years. At least one of the phones was smuggled in by a guard, in the hollowed out handle of a drill.
- Approximate: According to Rabia, Adnan is still working hustles like making photocopies, trading, getting medicine, books and other contraband for other inmates.
- Approximate: According to Sarah Koenig: Adnan was a clerk in the Chaplain's Office which gave him access to a computer, and to a printer and copier... He ran a couple of side businesses, printing stuff and making copies for people.
- Adnan's attorney - Justin Brown - and Asia's future attorney - Gary Proctor - work together, on an unrelated case. This filing does not mention Nathans & Biddle. Does this indicate that by July of 2009, Justin Brown was no longer employed by Nathans & Biddle? [Does anyone know the exact date Justin Brown left Nathans & Biddle and started his own firm?]
- Adnan writes to Rabia that he has been moved to Supermax, in Cumberland, and no longer has the use of a cell phone.
- Adnan's 10/24/2016 request for bail indicates Adnan was cited for having a cellular phone in 2009. In SERIAL, Sarah Koenig said Adnan had a cell phone for five years.
- Kandra has only been able to visit Adnan four times during the year they were "married." After Adnan is moved to Supermax/Cumberland, Kandra never sees Adnan again.
- Adnan writes to Rabia that Larry Nathans will charge $30,000.00 just to look at transcripts. Adnan reminds Rabia that Larry Nathans was referred by Chris Flohr in 2004.
- Adnan writes that Justin Brown took the lead, then left Nathans & Biddle and started his own firm (about two months ago), and can charge Adnan less because of overhead.
- Hae Min Lee 29th birthday
- Approximate: Justin Brown has said that he began working on Adnan's case in late 2009, while still at Nathans & Biddle.
- This conflicts with the letter that Adnan wrote Rabia in July of 2009. In that letter Adnan says that Justin Brown took the lead on Adnan's case while at Nathans & Biddle, and started his own firm "about two months before" July of 2009.
- Approximate: Justin Brown says that he took possession of copies of the defense files in 2009. [He did not say the month or date.]
- Justin Brown is at least the 10th defense attorney to work on Adnan's case.
- Unsubstantiated: Justin Brown filed a petition based on Asia's March 2005 affidavit, arguing that Adnan's trial might have gone another way if Gutierrez had checked out Asias' story. [No record of this affidavit exists.]
- Adnan has been in jail/prison for eleven years.
- Approximate: Justin Brown was still working for Nathans & Biddle in late 2009. This conflicts with the letter Adnan wrote to Rabia in July of 2009: That Justin Brown already started his own firm.
- Events described by various parties as follows:
- Urick first PCR: Before Asia called him, he didn't know about the PCR motion. She was concerned if she had to come out here. I explained to her, I was not her attorney. But I told her that she would have to be served. And if she was served, and if they made the proper arrangements, she would have to show up.
- Serial, Episode 1: Asia's fiancé comes to the door, opens it part way, tells the investigator that she cannot speak to Asia, but that from what he knows of Adnan's case, Adnan is guilty and deserved the punishment he got.
- Rabia: Adnan’s PI returns with terrible news. Asia won’t testify. The PI never spoke to her, but her fiance made it very clear, in a very nasty way that suggested an anti-Muslim prejudice, that Asia would not be involved and to leave them alone . . . Faced with a tough decision, [Justin Brown] decides to submit [Asia's] letters but not subpeona her for the appeal hearing.
- Asia Affidavit: In the late spring of 2010, I learned that the Syed defense team was attempting to contact me. I was initially caught off guard by this and did not talk to them.
- 2016 PCR: Asia testified that her husband met the PI outside, then came inside and told her he thought it was about that girl that got killed. That she asked her husband to take the man's card, but she didn't talk to him. That she looked up the case on the internet, and called Kevin Urick. Asia says these are the notes she took during her April 11, 2010 conversation with Urick. Asia testified that Urick convinced her Adnan was guilty and that Brown was trying to play the system.
- According to Rabia, Justin Brown asks Adnan to take a polygraph test to determine the likelihood that he is lying about having asked Gutierrez for a plea deal. According to Rabia, Adnan passes.
- Adnan's 29th Birthday.
2023.05.17 17:59 Virtual_Tadpole9821 A guide to Thai BL production companies (backup)
 | I previously did a write-up of the Thai BL landscape in the updated Thai BL family tree post, but got a little sleep deprived writing it and rambled a bit too much, making the result rather convoluted. So here's an attempted rewrite, by company, that's hopefully more accessible (and easily searchable). submitted by Virtual_Tadpole9821 to u/Virtual_Tadpole9821 [link] [comments] But first, a note on terminology. Companies will take on various roles when co-producing a project. Some companies only finance projects, some only carry out the actual production for others, and others do both and then more. I haven't managed to figure out whether there's an accepted industry terminology for these roles, so I'll be referring to all of them as production companies, with series described as being produced by the ones carrying out the production and for the ones bankrolling the project. The listed establishment dates are the companies' official registration date, which may be later than the actual beginning of their operations. The entries with no description are those where I didn't have enough information (or was just too lazy) to come up with one. Anyway, here's an overview of each of the production companies of Thai BL, roughly grouped by business category. (Spoiler: There are A LOT of them.) MEDIA CONGLOMERATE MEMBERShttps://preview.redd.it/2pb7vq0bze0b1.png?width=880&format=png&auto=webp&s=9a61613f9b232e00293a951d0675b6b35c1c5ee5GMMTV
Exact & One31
GMM25, Atime Media & Change2561
Atime26
Nadao Bangkok
Parbdee Tawesuk
TV Thunder
Kantana
My Star Creator & Good Drama
Good Feeling, SMK & Dee Tuk Wan 2019
Tanadlakorn
Broadcast Thai Television
Middleman Media
4th Apple
Khaosan Entertainment
OG BL CREATORShttps://preview.redd.it/wkmlib4cze0b1.png?width=704&format=png&auto=webp&s=d04715e0a586108d180000100001e5409275c57eStudio Wabi Sabi
Copy A Bangkok
9Naa Production
Jinloe Media Work
Mungmee Productions & Star Thai Production
Mr. Big Picture & Cosocomo
Wealthy Enterprise & GTE Great to Est. (Greatest Entertainment)
Dolphin Film
YOUNGER WAVE-MAKERShttps://preview.redd.it/tg2vqqucze0b1.png?width=528&format=png&auto=webp&s=490551c1f029fe6b830afd149a9bee149c59389bMe Mind Y
Mandee Work (Domundi TV)
Star Hunter Entertainment
Be On Cloud
Idol Factory
Miti Art Media
TALENT MANAGERS, MOSTLYhttps://preview.redd.it/g5pk43cdze0b1.png?width=528&format=png&auto=webp&s=237239b92f1ccfe6d7ef8237ef5ff6d3d2d28f8eRookie Thailand
Y.Entertainment
Mchoice (Millennials Choice)
Ultimate Troop
Totsatis Media
Warper
PRODUCTION POWERHOUSEShttps://preview.redd.it/sf5onrqdze0b1.png?width=704&format=png&auto=webp&s=c572c71807bbae37be45be8f57fad0f82ab44f04Studio Commuan
Dee Hup House
Trasher Bangkok
Hard Feeling Film
TOO COOL FOR MAINSTREAM SCHOOLhttps://preview.redd.it/vx7jgh8eze0b1.png?width=528&format=png&auto=webp&s=0eab3e5c3e8dc89c9bccea746b3a00535d33817dWayufilm Production
Commetive & Commetive Plus
Nob Productions
ONE-SHOT HIT MAKERShttps://preview.redd.it/exsmhaueze0b1.png?width=528&format=png&auto=webp&s=1fdb7739688fc7957df0210e08799cc7a391d56eMotive Village
CCDM (Chachi Digital Media)
Jakjai Production
Tri Creation
Mauve Bangkok & Roger Films
PlanT.N Entertainment
SERIAL PULP PUBLISHERShttps://preview.redd.it/msllck9fze0b1.png?width=352&format=png&auto=webp&s=db497be20a9fa9239b7299a96e4c83ba0e4b53e8M Flow Entertainment
Gondola Entertainment & Image Artist Entertainment
CREATIVE MARKETERShttps://preview.redd.it/ncbgtcsfze0b1.png?width=704&format=png&auto=webp&s=c93b1fabf87a0c238b262a88a4623fb51c61bad9DV8 (Demeter Corporation)
Vibie (Donuts Bangkok)
gr8digit
Kidhaisud Kidhaisuk
CHINESE INVESTORShttps://preview.redd.it/sb5s909gze0b1.png?width=704&format=png&auto=webp&s=df3b8fd18303f39bdc75dd89ee20f0a1d28c7ab2Artop Media
Q Power Entertainment (Q Power Public Media)
Insight Entertainment
Aplan International Group
INDIE YOUTUBE UPSTARTShttps://preview.redd.it/6env01zgze0b1.png?width=704&format=png&auto=webp&s=0b08dc58a4f309879076d31aff71a698af8b2e05Mind Trio
Imagine
DoubleM Studio & 28 MDP Studio
Non Noi Production
PRODUCTION SERVICE PROVIDERShttps://preview.redd.it/s8uj89rhze0b1.png?width=880&format=png&auto=webp&s=36b39bd2dc13211f409409f84da222481e0ffbc6Drat. I hit the post character limit. Details for the remaining categories will be in the comments. Bear House Production & BeBraveHubh8 (Housestories 8)Keng Kwang Kang & Keng Kwang Kang Wai SaiGmo FilmAllthis EntertainmentFillframeBeluga ProductionSatuboon ProductionDune Creative HouseFlat 11 FilmGreen on BlueKongkiat ProductionMoongdoo ProductionNawalart NimitPanda HousePrungfilmPunphap StudioShoRyuKen ProductionNEW KIDS ON THE BLOCKhttps://preview.redd.it/5fxx4i0jze0b1.png?width=1056&format=png&auto=webp&s=f8460a10515fe55cb0a0f74f2ff8194f9225e82f678 ActsActtractionBoyy EntertainmentCloth_Lab+ EntertainmentThe DND (The Dream and Destiny)Hollywood ThailandGolden Eyes ViewIncome InfiniteJustUpK10 Global ContentMaximon SolutionNewsinfinity EntertainmentSafe StudioSaturday 20th StudioSignature (Signature Film)Very GreatWaga CreativeWorld Star (World Star Network)World Y EntertainmentONE-OFF PULP MAKERShttps://preview.redd.it/znl6jzpjze0b1.png?width=528&format=png&auto=webp&s=cea7bad4e072dbe24d5e636b5ef0b0bcd38d2574Blackbloock Studio's & SweetloftCloudy StudioJumdee Film ProductionNava EntertainmentOnzon CreativePlay EminentSpace Jamie & Studio Oh Ha OhThaiband Entertainment (Muan Zuen Production)Wondery PopsAnd... that's it! I've left out a few that I didn't think anyone would miss, but if you do miss any, let me know and I'll see what I can find. |
2023.05.17 17:35 Virtual_Tadpole9821 A guide to Thai BL production companies
| | I previously did a write-up of the Thai BL landscape in the updated Thai BL family tree post, but got a little sleep deprived writing it and rambled a bit too much, making the result rather convoluted. So here's an attempted rewrite, by company, that's hopefully more accessible (and easily searchable). submitted by Virtual_Tadpole9821 to boyslove [link] [comments] But first, a note on terminology. Companies will take on various roles when co-producing a project. Some companies only finance projects, some only carry out the actual production for others, and others do both and then more. I haven't managed to figure out whether there's an accepted industry terminology for these roles, so I'll be referring to all of them as production companies, with series described as being produced by the ones carrying out the production and for the ones bankrolling the project. The listed establishment dates are the companies' official registration date, which may be later than the actual beginning of their operations. The entries with no description are those where I didn't have enough information (or was just too lazy) to come up with one. Anyway, here's an overview of each of the production companies of Thai BL, roughly grouped by business category. (Spoiler: There are A LOT of them.) MEDIA CONGLOMERATE MEMBERShttps://preview.redd.it/svrcj9c9te0b1.png?width=880&format=png&auto=webp&s=2c43524b99b45f26a88262beba575ae93248efefGMMTV
Exact & One31
GMM25, Atime Media & Change2561
Atime26
Nadao Bangkok
Parbdee Tawesuk
TV Thunder
Kantana
My Star Creator & Good Drama
Good Feeling, SMK & Dee Tuk Wan 2019
Tanadlakorn
Broadcast Thai Television
Middleman Media
4th Apple
Khaosan Entertainment
OG BL CREATORShttps://preview.redd.it/isuvzlfate0b1.png?width=704&format=png&auto=webp&s=8b303da24ffb8a8c4494f5545efa5e9115bd9ea5Studio Wabi Sabi
Copy A Bangkok
9Naa Production
Jinloe Media Work
Mungmee Productions & Star Thai Production
Mr. Big Picture & Cosocomo
Wealthy Enterprise & GTE Great to Est. (Greatest Entertainment)
Dolphin Film
YOUNGER WAVE-MAKERShttps://preview.redd.it/lw3p6c2hte0b1.png?width=528&format=png&auto=webp&s=d2a64ef7a7ab29238bf12626f2e0a37cf4e444a2Me Mind Y
Mandee Work (Domundi TV)
Star Hunter Entertainment
Be On Cloud
Idol Factory
Miti Art Media
TALENT MANAGERS, MOSTLYhttps://preview.redd.it/7y3ndhrhte0b1.png?width=528&format=png&auto=webp&s=3eb239a7a749f26f569a67ea642849915e34221eRookie Thailand
Y.Entertainment
Mchoice (Millennials Choice)
Ultimate Troop
Totsatis Media
Warper
PRODUCTION POWERHOUSEShttps://preview.redd.it/0llje2rite0b1.png?width=704&format=png&auto=webp&s=cd2d2e9c1d43bf0f742ff6d672945df5b5c1d88fStudio Commuan
Dee Hup House
Trasher Bangkok
Hard Feeling Film
TOO COOL FOR MAINSTREAM SCHOOLhttps://preview.redd.it/04fdmzgjte0b1.png?width=528&format=png&auto=webp&s=0fc703b50b3b6de844c92ca826a9ab43e534e4b7Wayufilm Production
Commetive & Commetive Plus
Nob Productions
ONE-SHOT HIT MAKERShttps://preview.redd.it/r7y6su4kte0b1.png?width=528&format=png&auto=webp&s=1920709ab4bd50a8c34933392f7d663778c54613Motive Village
CCDM (Chachi Digital Media)
Jakjai Production
Tri Creation
Mauve Bangkok & Roger Films
PlanT.N Entertainment
SERIAL PULP PUBLISHERShttps://preview.redd.it/9pm4mb4ste0b1.png?width=352&format=png&auto=webp&s=d4456e86b7ee86180e5d1be0c0d1ead158135459M Flow Entertainment
Gondola Entertainment & Image Artist Entertainment
CREATIVE MARKETERShttps://preview.redd.it/ayd8sowste0b1.png?width=704&format=png&auto=webp&s=2a7f75f703d0916097c0e217383d3ac68b13414dDV8 (Demeter Corporation)
Vibie (Donuts Bangkok)
gr8digit
Kidhaisud Kidhaisuk
CHINESE INVESTORShttps://preview.redd.it/hoy0j60ute0b1.png?width=704&format=png&auto=webp&s=db5083d441e40464c394e49c61d2c07029f78e2aArtop Media
Q Power Entertainment (Q Power Public Media)
Insight Entertainment
Aplan International Group
INDIE YOUTUBE UPSTARTShttps://preview.redd.it/in8imcyute0b1.png?width=704&format=png&auto=webp&s=842c4b053efadda18a72214c9828c831766e72e7Mind Trio
Imagine
DoubleM Studio & 28 MDP Studio
Non Noi Production
PRODUCTION SERVICE PROVIDERShttps://preview.redd.it/7zihbc1wte0b1.png?width=880&format=png&auto=webp&s=545b6092fa217962048ab5245c873e1776d908a0Drat. I hit the post character limit. Details for the remaining categories will be in the comments. Bear House Production & BeBraveHubh8 (Housestories 8)Keng Kwang Kang & Keng Kwang Kang Wai SaiGmo FilmAllthis EntertainmentFillframeBeluga ProductionSatuboon ProductionDune Creative HouseFlat 11 FilmGreen on BlueKongkiat ProductionMoongdoo ProductionNawalart NimitPanda HousePrungfilmPunphap StudioShoRyuKen ProductionNEW KIDS ON THE BLOCKhttps://preview.redd.it/50kt23a6ue0b1.png?width=1056&format=png&auto=webp&s=249709c926b88fd7568448abbffdfcfacf564a11678 ActsActtractionBoyy EntertainmentCloth_Lab+ EntertainmentThe DND (The Dream and Destiny)Hollywood ThailandGolden Eyes ViewIncome InfiniteJustUpK10 Global ContentMaximon SolutionNewsinfinity EntertainmentSafe StudioSaturday 20th StudioSignature (Signature Film)Very GreatWaga CreativeWorld Star (World Star Network)World Y EntertainmentONE-OFF PULP MAKERShttps://preview.redd.it/oemiae88ue0b1.png?width=528&format=png&auto=webp&s=634520e991fc77c233f755790d19bd49bd37a2e3Blackbloock Studio's & SweetloftCloudy StudioJumdee Film ProductionNava EntertainmentOnzon CreativePlay EminentSpace Jamie & Studio Oh Ha OhThaiband Entertainment (Muan Zuen Production)Wondery PopsAnd... that's it! I've left out a few that I didn't think anyone would miss, but if you do miss any, let me know and I'll see what I can find. |
2023.04.27 02:15 FallFlatOnYourFace [MF] normal guy
Normal guy
Walking around his home town of Banff in Canada, Oliver saw his friend Mark walking out of the local seven eleven with a handful of sweets
“What are you doing with all those sweets Mark,” Oliver asked,
“nothing…” said Mark, sounding very suspicious.
“You're not going to eat all that by yourself are you?”
“nah never, you want some?”
“Yeah! What sort of a question is that?”
Oliver walked up to Mark, grabbed a tape roll of gum, and started walking to school with him.
With his mouth full Mark told Oliver he was thinking of signing up for the school football team,
“You’ll never get in,” Oliver said “your way too unfit”
“I could start working out, it wouldn't be hard”
They walked past Harold’s house. It was an old crooked house with a broken window, the house was painted green with a flat roof and a wide open fence gate with holes everywhere, the grass was barely cut and stood very tall.
“Old man Harolds’ house is looking worse and worse by the day,” said Mark anxiously
“Just be happy he hasn't come out and tried to attack us like last time,” Oliver said also anxiously
After walking past that house, they saw the local park. It was autumn so the leaves were yellow, and orange falling onto the bases of the trees, there was a caretaker's shack that stood at the very edge of the park with a motorized lawn mower and a pile of tools that stood up against the wall of the shack, the shack itself was just a dull beige and stood with a slanted roof and one lonely window on the side next to a door.
“The park needs a mow,” said Oliver
“I don't think I dare to tell the caretaker, he already has enough work as it is,” said Mark hesitantly
After about 5 minutes of walking, they got to the school and had a very dull day.
After walking back home Oliver had dinner with his mother and went to bed.
The next morning Oliver thought it would be very funny to go to Mark's house and scare him on his way to the store, he took his sweet time because he wasn't sure if Mark was awake yet.
The pavement felt crunchy under Oliver's Leather boots, crunchier than usual. The wall that was hiding Marks's house felt bigger than usual Oliver felt intimidated by its height, he had a bad feeling in his stomach and felt like it was taking an eternity to walk around the corner, his head was spinning and he felt that if he walked around this corner he would see something that his mind could not comprehend, he saw a glimpse at the houses behind the corner, he couldn't put his finger on what was different about this scene all the houses looked the same but something was off.
He walked up to Marks's fence after a bit of contemplation and what he saw barely made sense.
Mark's house was gone.
He asked all his family members about it and no one could give him an answer about it, he tried to investigate what had happened, going to school and looking in his yearbook yielded no results he thought that this was some sort of government conspiracy but determined that idea was false seeing as he had not been taken into custody.
He had to go home after investigating all day, he barely slept because there was a pain in his side that seemed to never go away when he went to sleep it was unnatural but he felt it was too minor to talk to anyone about.
The next morning he woke up and walked to the local Beckers and went to go buy some gum rolls like the ones he had gotten from his friend.
He walked up to the employee in the front and asked for some gum rolls as he couldn't find any
“I'm sorry son but we have never sold those kinds of candies”
“I just came in here last Wednesday and bought some with my friend’
“And what was that boys name? One of our backlogs can tell you if he did buy something"
The boy stuttered and thought for a second “What was his friend's name?” he thought, he had no idea what his name was
He thought for some time and couldn't even remember what he looked like. What was going on with him? He had no idea.
He left the store in a panic
He went on a walk to clear his mind but everything felt, off.
He saw old man Harold's house and saw his nice tidy grass and modern house with nice clean windows, it was painted white with a nice tall triangle-shaped roof. He was sure that old man Harolds was the same but he didn't know what was off
He was tempted to ask Harold about his friend but even he didn't know enough about him to describe him.
After he walked past that house he saw the local park it was a nice summer day and the leaves were looking very nice and green. Too bad there wasn't a caretaker living there, the park needed a mow.
Once he got to school he went back to the stairwell where he would just sit and listen to music alone he was tempted to talk to someone to make a friend but it had been 5 years since he had a friend and he felt like he couldn't anymore.
He walked into his English class and sat down at the back of the room after the teacher called Roll his name wasn't called so he stood up and said
“Teacher my name wasn't called”
“What is your name then ill check it off”
He thought for a little bit and sat down again.
“Your name sweety?”
He had no idea what his name was, so he ran He ran straight out of the school away from everyone and everything.
He ran past the houses and a plot of land that stood out of place of the rest, he ran past the park and his own house, and then he ran farther than he ever ran before.
Then he ran back to his old life, back in the small abandoned hotel that he had been staying in this whole time.
“I need to stop hallucinating about this fake life is not normal”
But he was normal
“Im normal he said
“Im normal,” he said again
“Im normal,” he said again
So he went back to his normal life
The end.
submitted by FallFlatOnYourFace to shortstories [link] [comments]
Walking around his home town of Banff in Canada, Oliver saw his friend Mark walking out of the local seven eleven with a handful of sweets
“What are you doing with all those sweets Mark,” Oliver asked,
“nothing…” said Mark, sounding very suspicious.
“You're not going to eat all that by yourself are you?”
“nah never, you want some?”
“Yeah! What sort of a question is that?”
Oliver walked up to Mark, grabbed a tape roll of gum, and started walking to school with him.
With his mouth full Mark told Oliver he was thinking of signing up for the school football team,
“You’ll never get in,” Oliver said “your way too unfit”
“I could start working out, it wouldn't be hard”
They walked past Harold’s house. It was an old crooked house with a broken window, the house was painted green with a flat roof and a wide open fence gate with holes everywhere, the grass was barely cut and stood very tall.
“Old man Harolds’ house is looking worse and worse by the day,” said Mark anxiously
“Just be happy he hasn't come out and tried to attack us like last time,” Oliver said also anxiously
After walking past that house, they saw the local park. It was autumn so the leaves were yellow, and orange falling onto the bases of the trees, there was a caretaker's shack that stood at the very edge of the park with a motorized lawn mower and a pile of tools that stood up against the wall of the shack, the shack itself was just a dull beige and stood with a slanted roof and one lonely window on the side next to a door.
“The park needs a mow,” said Oliver
“I don't think I dare to tell the caretaker, he already has enough work as it is,” said Mark hesitantly
After about 5 minutes of walking, they got to the school and had a very dull day.
After walking back home Oliver had dinner with his mother and went to bed.
The next morning Oliver thought it would be very funny to go to Mark's house and scare him on his way to the store, he took his sweet time because he wasn't sure if Mark was awake yet.
The pavement felt crunchy under Oliver's Leather boots, crunchier than usual. The wall that was hiding Marks's house felt bigger than usual Oliver felt intimidated by its height, he had a bad feeling in his stomach and felt like it was taking an eternity to walk around the corner, his head was spinning and he felt that if he walked around this corner he would see something that his mind could not comprehend, he saw a glimpse at the houses behind the corner, he couldn't put his finger on what was different about this scene all the houses looked the same but something was off.
He walked up to Marks's fence after a bit of contemplation and what he saw barely made sense.
Mark's house was gone.
He asked all his family members about it and no one could give him an answer about it, he tried to investigate what had happened, going to school and looking in his yearbook yielded no results he thought that this was some sort of government conspiracy but determined that idea was false seeing as he had not been taken into custody.
He had to go home after investigating all day, he barely slept because there was a pain in his side that seemed to never go away when he went to sleep it was unnatural but he felt it was too minor to talk to anyone about.
The next morning he woke up and walked to the local Beckers and went to go buy some gum rolls like the ones he had gotten from his friend.
He walked up to the employee in the front and asked for some gum rolls as he couldn't find any
“I'm sorry son but we have never sold those kinds of candies”
“I just came in here last Wednesday and bought some with my friend’
“And what was that boys name? One of our backlogs can tell you if he did buy something"
The boy stuttered and thought for a second “What was his friend's name?” he thought, he had no idea what his name was
He thought for some time and couldn't even remember what he looked like. What was going on with him? He had no idea.
He left the store in a panic
He went on a walk to clear his mind but everything felt, off.
He saw old man Harold's house and saw his nice tidy grass and modern house with nice clean windows, it was painted white with a nice tall triangle-shaped roof. He was sure that old man Harolds was the same but he didn't know what was off
He was tempted to ask Harold about his friend but even he didn't know enough about him to describe him.
After he walked past that house he saw the local park it was a nice summer day and the leaves were looking very nice and green. Too bad there wasn't a caretaker living there, the park needed a mow.
Once he got to school he went back to the stairwell where he would just sit and listen to music alone he was tempted to talk to someone to make a friend but it had been 5 years since he had a friend and he felt like he couldn't anymore.
He walked into his English class and sat down at the back of the room after the teacher called Roll his name wasn't called so he stood up and said
“Teacher my name wasn't called”
“What is your name then ill check it off”
He thought for a little bit and sat down again.
“Your name sweety?”
He had no idea what his name was, so he ran He ran straight out of the school away from everyone and everything.
He ran past the houses and a plot of land that stood out of place of the rest, he ran past the park and his own house, and then he ran farther than he ever ran before.
Then he ran back to his old life, back in the small abandoned hotel that he had been staying in this whole time.
“I need to stop hallucinating about this fake life is not normal”
But he was normal
“Im normal he said
“Im normal,” he said again
“Im normal,” he said again
So he went back to his normal life
The end.
2023.04.06 17:02 MyNameIsKritter Let's Have An Easter Egg Hunt!
Edit: Well, I wasn't expecting this to happen so quickly, but u/silkyaction pulled off a perfectly-executed Easter Egg Hunt and found all 25 eggs in an hour! And, u/surajvj came in with a respectable 10 eggs found in his yard. Thanks for playing, you guys!
There are 25 "eggs" to be found and at least 1300 coins to be won. Probably more!
The eggs must be found on your home turf rather than "out in the wild." That is, you mustn't leave your house to find them. Also, please take the pictures yourself (no screen captures).
Although it's possible someone will find all 25 eggs, no one is expected to. Regardless, the more you find, the better chance you have of winning.
In the event someone does find all 25, the first person to do so will win a Pot O' Coins. After two days, two additional Coin Gifts will be awarded to the two people who find the most eggs that are the most interesting (at my discretion). If no one finds all 25 eggs, FIVE people will win a Coin Gift.
(If coins are awarded to this post, even MORE awards will be given.)
The reply must contain the image of the egg that you found and text describing what the the egg is. For example: "This egg is decorated like the DVD 'Speed', starring Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock." –OR– "This egg is a decorated like the painting of a mountain range that is hung in my family room."
Be sure to REPLY TO THE MAIN PARENT COMMENT ONLY so that EACH OF YOUR (MAX 25 plus your final comment) CHILD COMMENTS is on THE SAME SUBORDINATE LEVEL. Do not create multiple subordinate levels. YOU WILL BE DISQUALIFIED if you do.
FIND THESE EASTER EGGS AND POST AN IMAGE OF THEM: The eggs must be real items that are on the premises of your home (you mustn't leave your house to get them). Take the pictures of these real items yourself... screen captures don't count. Post each egg (picture) as a reply to your parent comment. Do not create multiple subordinate levels, or you will be disqualified.
• Cover of a children's coloring/activity book (bonus if pictured with a box of crayons)
• Coffee machine (bonus if there's coffee in it)
• DVD or VHS with Sandra Bullock or Keanu Reeves (bonus if both of them are in the movie)
• Hand sanitizer
• View from your window
• Your home office or gaming setup
• Your next meal right before you eat it
• Paper movie ticket stubs
• Any packaging from a fast food restaurant (sandwich wrapper, empty bag, receipt)
• Plushie, posed cutely
• Paper coupon
• Board game (bonus if it's Monopoly or Cards Against Humanity)
• Over the counter or prescription pill bottle
• Some piece of art or decor hanging on your wall (medicine cabinets and mirrors excluded)
• Top view of inside your junk drawer (bonus for most organized junk drawer)
• Shelf/cabinet where you keep your cleaning supplies
• Plant or flower in your house (live or fake)
• Bottled water (bonus if it's Fiji brand)
• Hair product (other than shampoo)
• Your high school or college diploma –OR– the cover of your high school yearbook –OR– a picture of your senior picture (a picture of you holding the picture)
• The front page of a print newspapers
• The cover of a print magazine
• A roll of toilet paper either 100% full (show where the seal is unbroken) or completely empty
• Your favorite mug (tell me why it's your favorite in the comment)
submitted by MyNameIsKritter to AwardBonanza [link] [comments]
There are 25 "eggs" to be found and at least 1300 coins to be won. Probably more!
The eggs must be found on your home turf rather than "out in the wild." That is, you mustn't leave your house to find them. Also, please take the pictures yourself (no screen captures).
Although it's possible someone will find all 25 eggs, no one is expected to. Regardless, the more you find, the better chance you have of winning.
In the event someone does find all 25, the first person to do so will win a Pot O' Coins. After two days, two additional Coin Gifts will be awarded to the two people who find the most eggs that are the most interesting (at my discretion). If no one finds all 25 eggs, FIVE people will win a Coin Gift.
(If coins are awarded to this post, even MORE awards will be given.)
HOW TO HUNT
Create ONE PARENT COMMENT that says, "Here are the eggs I found in my Easter Egg Hunt" (without the quotes). Then reply to that one parent comment for each egg that you find. In other words, if you find all 25 eggs, you will make 25 replies to your parent comment. If you find 11 eggs, you will make 11 replies to your parent comment. All replies will be at the same subordinate level.The reply must contain the image of the egg that you found and text describing what the the egg is. For example: "This egg is decorated like the DVD 'Speed', starring Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock." –OR– "This egg is a decorated like the painting of a mountain range that is hung in my family room."
Be sure to REPLY TO THE MAIN PARENT COMMENT ONLY so that EACH OF YOUR (MAX 25 plus your final comment) CHILD COMMENTS is on THE SAME SUBORDINATE LEVEL. Do not create multiple subordinate levels. YOU WILL BE DISQUALIFIED if you do.
🐰
ain't he cute?FIND THESE EASTER EGGS AND POST AN IMAGE OF THEM: The eggs must be real items that are on the premises of your home (you mustn't leave your house to get them). Take the pictures of these real items yourself... screen captures don't count. Post each egg (picture) as a reply to your parent comment. Do not create multiple subordinate levels, or you will be disqualified.
THE EASTER EGGS
• Cover of the last paper book you read• Cover of a children's coloring/activity book (bonus if pictured with a box of crayons)
• Coffee machine (bonus if there's coffee in it)
• DVD or VHS with Sandra Bullock or Keanu Reeves (bonus if both of them are in the movie)
• Hand sanitizer
• View from your window
• Your home office or gaming setup
• Your next meal right before you eat it
• Paper movie ticket stubs
• Any packaging from a fast food restaurant (sandwich wrapper, empty bag, receipt)
• Plushie, posed cutely
• Paper coupon
• Board game (bonus if it's Monopoly or Cards Against Humanity)
• Over the counter or prescription pill bottle
• Some piece of art or decor hanging on your wall (medicine cabinets and mirrors excluded)
• Top view of inside your junk drawer (bonus for most organized junk drawer)
• Shelf/cabinet where you keep your cleaning supplies
• Plant or flower in your house (live or fake)
• Bottled water (bonus if it's Fiji brand)
• Hair product (other than shampoo)
• Your high school or college diploma –OR– the cover of your high school yearbook –OR– a picture of your senior picture (a picture of you holding the picture)
• The front page of a print newspapers
• The cover of a print magazine
• A roll of toilet paper either 100% full (show where the seal is unbroken) or completely empty
• Your favorite mug (tell me why it's your favorite in the comment)
RULES/INSTRUCTIONS
- Ends in ~two days.
- One parent comment per person that says: "Here are the eggs I found in my Easter Egg Hunt" (without the quotes), followed by...
- A maximum of 25 subordinate comments (plus your final comment) after your parent comment. The first of those 25 comments will contain an image of one of the 25 Easter Eggs you found from the list. The Easter Eggs do not have to be in any particular sequence and can be added over time. However, there must be only one subordinate level of child comments. Anyone who creates more than one subordinate level of child comments will be disqualified! Your final reply is described in #5, below.
- You may reasonably edit your images to remove personal information or blur faces, but please don't edit them to falsify them or make them misleading in any way.
- When you are done hunting, create a final reply to your parent comment that says, "I am done hunting" (without the quotes.) Your eggs will not be counted until you make this final comment, and any eggs you add after this final comment will not be counted.
- Ask all questions in the official question thread.
HAPPY HUNTING!
2023.02.15 20:12 burwhaletheavenger RECAP + COMMENTARY: Hilary's limited gossip items, grift puff pieces, and context
 | Hi. Welcome to my TED Talk. I’m in the weeds. submitted by burwhaletheavenger to HilariaBaldwin [link] [comments] I decided to scrawl through celeb gossip archives for items relating to AB and Larry in the aughts, when their relationship was still freshly spun, and people reacted “who?” to the young yogi, rather than “why.” Larry and AB met in February 2011. They were engaged for only three months (!) before marrying in July 2012. Carmen would be born next August. I don’t know about you, but I’d be overwhelmed by this timeline. Trying to spin Alec into a virile silver fox, the PR strategy of their not-at-all-faked domestic bliss gave this relationship rushed deadlines for milestones. Is their PR team un buen equipo? Hard no; not very. Who is Hilary Thomas?Sadly, not a lot of personal testimony to who Hilary was pre-Hilaria is available. Page Six unearthed yearbook photos of her, and a Twitter user described Larry as possessing actual humanity at some point: https://preview.redd.it/2u53xsvpupia1.jpg?width=594&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=da8f0b304ba4c4fbe8500792c805f0f9dba55a6f Pepinos are familiar with trying to track Larry’s contradicting claims, especially since Larry is pretty good at answering questions in a strictly technical sense: “Home is where my parents are going to be. If my parents move to China, I am going to go to China and say, ‘I’m going home.’” In their June 2012 wedding announcement, her name was credited as Hilary Lynn Thomas, graduating from NYU, raised in Boston and Spain, and her parents resided in Mallorca. Multiple interviews with AB or Ablarry claimed she was from Spain, with AB even mimicking Larry’s accent for laughs in a 2013 David Letterman interview. In the 2020 New York Times interview post-grift reveal, she said she made it “clear” that she was from Boston and has never tried to hide it. There’s ample evidence this isn’t true all over this subreddit. But interestingly, this detail stands out: “Spain “was something that was part of my father’s childhood”, Baldwin said. “He would go there when he was younger and created these deep, deep, deep bonds and it was something that was part of my childhood. It was something my father introduced to my mother when they met, when they were pretty young.”If this is true, this does give insight into her reasoning (loose term here) that she is simultaneously White and Spanish. On IG, Larry follows a specific page, @tckglobal. Third Culture Kid Global is an organization that seeks to spread awareness of “third culture kids/individuals,” a term coined by sociologists in the 1950s who are defined as “ people who were raised in a culture other than their parents’ or the culture of their country of nationality, and also live in a different environment during a significant part of their child development years.” If her dad’s iberophilia, yearly visits, and expensive private school language immersion program were as impactful during her years as she claims, this is actually the way she views herself, regardless of whether it’s true or not. (Either way, she leveled up her martyrdom beyond Saint Eulalia, a saint who is infamous for being 12-14, wanting to be a martyr, ditching her parents, and insulting the government. Calpurnius didn't want to kill her because she was so young, but she threw a tantrum and was killed for being fucking annoying. Dying last words: "knives and oil may dissolve my flesh, but I got my attention and loved every second of it.") Unfortunately for her, she’s been terrible at articulating her complicated experience while also lying herself into a corner, so she's managed to become completely unrelatable. If my speculative hypothesis were to lend her any sympathy, I’d say it used to be one of the most human things about her. She never will fit in---not in Boston, not in her family, and not in this marriage where she is expected to play a cultured socialite and cannot fake her way through it. She is the reincarnation of Florence Foster Jenkins. The sympathy is severed since she double-downs on the grift and now traumatizes her children daily. Perhaps this personality shift is what happens when you’re around Alec Baldwin for too long; Hilary touching AB's void is a reflection of Glengarry-era Alec berating him with raging self-hatred. In this post-Hilaria era, any of that empathy, or humanity, she supposedly had is just a water drop in a decrepit bathtub of seeping sewage. How did they meet? Why did they get married?Before AB met Larry, and was linked to meaningless flings and an infamously toxic divorce to Kim Basinger, Alec made this bitter comment that was covered by multiple gossip outlets:“What’s worse than waking up with a 25-year-old woman, you know what I mean? You want to go shoot yourself because you have nothing to say to her. Seriously.”So…why the hell would he marry someone who is 26 years younger than him, and seemingly failed to heed his own advice? In the 00s, Alec was perceived as a fading, bloated has-been with numerous paparazzi assaults to his record. 30 Rock was literally his saving grace and last chance to redeem himself as an actor. Taking this into the 2010s, AB would be reaching the big 5-0. Eternal bachelorhood is seen as a flagrant character flaw in older-gen entertainers, and Alec definitely hadn’t moved on from Kim, who was 20,000 leagues above Alec’s C-list status. A wife would be perfect to get him into the S-tier celebrity echelon. In this 2008 New Yorker profile, a LOT is going on. Consistently in his career, Baldwin was known to be self-pitying; in a 1990 phone interview, he used to be “happy-go lucky. …[but] now my whole life is agony.” This interview is belly-achingly sour with lamentations and regret, especially in how much he wants to be married: “He compared himself with his brother Billy. “My life, in some ways, has been a half-measure. I didn’t commit myself all the way to my marriage and family, because I would have given up more. And I didn’t go all the way with just being completely selfish. I always wonder where my career would be if I was more selfish. Billy is someone who gave it all up for his family. And he has a lovely family. He’s happily married. He stayed married to one person. . . . ”Also in this issue: bitterly jerking off to Leo’s celebrity status, a long list of box office bombs, and admitting that he doesn’t think he have a talent for acting. He also reveals his daddy issues, enslaved to idealizing a dad who liked to fight children as a high school dance chaperone, exercise strict discipline at home, and likely is the reason why Alec has such shitty views toward his mom. Alec considered his intellectual, political, and cultural opinions (1950s Anglophilic conservative, heavy on the hetero) as the ultimate standard of a man. Reading further, waxing long about how much of a loser he is makes it clear: AB’s self-emasculated. Who the fuck is going to marry this self-absorbed sadsack, a raging force of toxic masculinity and bigotry manifested as NYC’s least favorite cryptid? “I must know you”The official story is that Hilaria and Alec met at Sarma Melngailis’s vegan restaurant, Pure Food and Wine. According to this Irish Times article, Larry was “speaking to an Argentine man and his girlfriend who were seated at a table next to her future husband" (needlessly specific).She retells the story: “I walked by him,” she said of Alec Baldwin and he called out to her, “‘Who are you, I must know you, I must know you,’” she recalled. “He said, ‘Where are you from?’ And I said, ‘I’m from Boston.’ That was the first thing I said, that has always been my narrative.” Here is a photo of what AB looked like at the time.She claims that she didn’t know who he was since she was unfamiliar with American pop culture. In 2017, she tells People that she, at the age of 4, remembers watching him in “Working Girl” and thought he was amazing. Before you ask, her mom fast-forwarded the naughty parts, continuing their confusing strategy of answering questions no one asked but raising further questions. The weeds: Lipstick Alley has a few threads dedicated to her. DC Urban Moms had to lock their Hilaria thread, as it had 600+ pages of posts collected between 2019-2021. Both boards theorize that Hilary knew Sarma through her not-Spanish mom and asked Sarma to set them up on a date. A college classmate who knew Larry pre-accent said she was nice, but looking to marry rich. Conveniently, Hilary and Sarma plotted to secure Alec’s bag to 1) achieve Hilary’s dream of trophy baby and 2) have a funding source that could help Sarma’s increasing legal issues. (Alec is heavily implied to be the "one that got away" that donated at least 60k to her in Bad Vegan.) moonlighting777 did some stellar detective work in a great post that tells a rlly diffront story. In short: Alec buys a condo property 6 months before he proposes to Larry in Montauk, Canada. It’s unlikely to be that self-assured on what Larry’s answer would be, as well as know that it’s perfect for the long-term. Plus, Alec and Larry couldn’t keep their stories straight on the move date and didn’t post any IG evidence of enjoying the new place as a couple. Now that the wedding hump is over, what are the plans for their future? Man gets his star to rise, win the title of Sterling Silver Fox, and hopefully win an Oscar. Woman becomes the fuckable version of Gwyneth Paltrow and Goop and establishes a “Living Clear” lifestyle empire. Finally, here’s what you’ve been waiting for: behold the blinds. There are a few ENTY Lawyer and Crazy Days and Nights (CDAN) screenshots for brevity and capturing the spirit of aughts online gossip. Disclaimer: all of these are alleged, taken with a grain of salt, yada yada This item is pre-Larry (2010), but was too funny to disclude. New Yorkers HATE him with his one easy trick of being a belligerent asshole.
|
2023.02.15 04:44 micronesiarain Episode 11- "The Roast of Micronesiarain" 🔥🥀
after the non-elimination
Ebony: We did it Lisbon!!
Lisbon: Whew, I was scared for a minute but I left my all on that stage.
Unieke: That was a tight ass lipsync, you both deserved to stay!
Ebony CF: I finally landed in the bottom but in a weird way, I feel like it makes me more of a threat to the other girls. They know now that landing in the bottom against me is a one way ticket home. My claws are out and I will do whatever it takes to get to the end. A lot of people are scared, a lot of people are scared.
The Next Day
top five queens enter the workroom
Anthyy CF: It's a new day in the workroom and I am still so gagged that I'm here!! I've won three challenges. And, I'm the only queen left to never be in the bottom two. Nobody took me as major competition when the season started. And they can overlook me all the way until I reach that crown!
Unieke: Jords, how are you feeling after your little moment in untucked last night?
Jords: I'm feeling a lot better! I was beating myself up over it but I think I was just exhausted. I've powered through every challenge to make it here and I'm not stopping now.
Lisbon: I want to apologize for the way I acted towards you in untucked. Those few weeks in the top got to me and I shouldn't have discredited your journey here. You're amazing.
Lisbon CF: Still not winning this season but she's amazing!
Micro walks into the room
Micro: The competition can get so stressful sometimes. To blow off steam, let's play a game! Now, a girl plays with dolls. But a queen? Oh no honey, we play with puppets! Reach into this big black hole and pull out a puppet. Then, you'll have to drag out your puppet and give us your best impersonation of one another.
Anthyy gets Lisbon's puppet
Ebony gets Anthyy's puppet
Jords gets Unieke's puppet
Lisbon gets Ebony's puppet
Unieke gets Jords's puppet
Micro: Let's go!
the queens work on their puppets
Ebony: Can I get another neck to add to this?!
Lisbon: How would I know? Can't you see me giving you a unibrow?!
Micro: And that is time! Lemme get all comfy and cozy and enjoy this mess.
Puppet Show
Anthyy: Lisbon! Hello sis! i see you got your swimming suit on! is that an eye PATTERN? on it and oh amazing.a flag of portugal why that choice?
Lisbon: i have no idea what portugal is i just googled lisbon and put it on my bodysuit.. Oh that explains a lot and what is this rope? around your neck GIRL THAT'S DANGEROUS! Yall were ralkin how i chose the wrong rope so i thought yall meant this one! Oh no....
📷
Ebony: Hi I'm Anthyy! I draw all my own looks! Look at me!!! My designs all have weirdly long necks and long legs!
📷
Jords: so, pu-nieke (puppet unieke), i heard you can rap?
pu-nieke: hm.
jords: would you like to rap something?
pu-nieke starts rapping about panda and then raps panda by desiigner
jords: who would you think is the weakest one here?
short pause
pu-nieke you.
jords: oh wow! well i think you are pretty bad at this.
pu-nieke: that's what your mother said as well while pressing that creature out that answers by your name.
📷
Lisbon: Hi I’m Ebony and I’m the fashion queen this season!!! I slayed that ball so hard I tore my own off.
📷
Unieke: IM A DUTTYY GYALLLLL ……OMG THE CHALLENGE IS ABOUT TO START?? OMG LET ME GO FIND MY LOOKS! OMG LET ME SUBMIT REAL FAST I GOT 20 SECS!
📷
Micro: Damn, y'all have been holding that in! Unieke, you're a winner baby! You have won...nothing. But! You made me giggle and that is a prize!!
Unieke CF: holds up her Jords puppet Dutty gyal yasss she won!
Micro: Now y'all know, we keep the studio cold. Some say it's because of the heat from the lights. Others say it's because I didn't pay the bill. And to that, I say...mind your own business bitch! Anyways, it's cold. So for this next challenge, you need to fire up a roast! The subject? Yours truly. As the winner of the last challenge, Anthyy will be in charge of assigning the order of your sets. And on the runway, freak out in your best "Club Kid" look! Good luck girls, see you on the runway!!
the queens grab their pens and start writing down jokes
Jords CF: We have to roast Micro tonight and after all these bottoms she been giving me?! I am ready!
Anthyy: I am shaking in my boots girls.
Ebony: Are they designer at least?
Anthyy: Yeah. They're designed by some queen with a long neck...ha!
Ebony: Don't look at me! The puppet said it.
Ebony CF: I don't take responsibility for anything that bitch said. I hate her, I hate her! Puppet Anthyy, you will be dealt with.
Lisbon: Anthyy, why are you nervous?
Anthyy: I'm just not a comedy girl. We saw the prison challenge...
Lisbon: I wish I hadn't!
Unieke CF: Usually, I'd feel really good about a roast. I mean, it's my favorite food! But after only being safe for Snatch Game, I'm feeling a tiny bit uncertain. Roast humor is difficult to perfect but I'm trying to shed the nerves and let go.
Ebony: I have been waiting for this challenge! How do you guys plan on balancing a roast without just being a cunt?
Jords: Oh. You're trying to not be a cunt? I was just gonna go up there and insult her.
Ebony: Girl...well actually! Go ahead and do that.
Ebony CF: Now I'm not trying to sabotage Jords. I don't think anyone needs to do that...she's doing it on her own!
Runway
the lights flash as Micro struts down in her look
📷
Micro Episode 11 Look
Micro: Hi flops! Welcome back to the main stage of Micro's Drag Race. Tonight, the heat is turned all the way up in the roast of...wait a damn minute. They're roasting me?! Who signed off on this? Me? Oh...whoops! Well without further ado, let's get into it! First up, Unieke!
Unieke: Welcome, welcome, WELCOME!! To the roast, of Micronesiarain! My names Unieke and if you don’t know or remember me, then you are probably Micro, her old ass finally hit the age where Alzheimer’s are the most common. I mean it’s CLEAR!!! Sis had us prepare for a whole mini challenge..came in to the werk room, no helllo, no nothing! Just immediately, todays maxi challe-…EXCUSE ME!? Had us writing about laws…baby I am BLACK! That is triggering…speaking of black though, we have one of my biggest competition here, THEE Ebony Enchantress!!! Now Ebony….I have a bone to pick with you…HOW IN THE HELL IS YOUR NAME EBONY AND I AINT SEE YET ONEEE BLACK LOOK FROM YOU!! All your looks has been whiter than slice bread and I am APPALLED!!! Channel your Rachel Dolezal or sum…goddamn!!!! Moving onto my second biggest competition, Anthy!! Now sis, to keep it a buck, I didn’t expect you to get this far with the tr you have!!! You’ve showed up, showed out, and showed us how illiterate your ass is!!! Girl i do NOT know what yawsz masma zlay duh hoius doqn bewts mean!!!!!
Now, Lisbon came into this competition claiming to be a icon, super confident, yeah yeah yeah. But Lisbon-honest…an icon, you are not! ICON-not believe that you really fixed your lips to say a such thing!! That’s a lot of nerve for some safe most of the damn season! Speaking of safe, I sure do know Jords wish she was more. She’s been in the bottom more times then Micro has doctor’s appointments a week!! Well- that’s a lie. She actually has one right after this so let me keep this going!! I’m still confused on how she came out as Valentina on the runway, & left it a dutty gyal! Moving onto one of our lovely eliminated queens, the bold and beautiful, OG!! Now, she’s honestly breaking records!!! She’s the only Trans queen and the only queen to be eliminated holds up 2 fingers and whispers into the mic twice! The only person breaking records like that is Micro from how many hours she puts into her podcast “Why Jackie Cox should quit drag and work at Trader Joes”!! Let me stop before Micro falls over from laughing so much and calls for help because “She has fallen, and she can’t get up!!” Bringing out to the stage gags, Lisbon!!
Lisbon: Thank you Unieke for that roast and handing the mic off to me! It was certainly… Unieke. Now let’s get into the meat and potatoes of the roast. Micro! A woman of many talents. Host, comedian, winner, and most importantly… whore. Gurl you get so much dick your like fucking Grand Central Station for twinks! Speaking of which, Jords! You have become very familiar with bottoming this competition, however, every time you top you can’t seem to finish the job. Up next on my cue cards is Miss Ebony. It was a shock having to lip sync against you last episode. What’s less shocking is Micro keeping you around for the finale. Micro, girl, that double shantay was seen coming a mile away. Which is almost as far away as you need to stand for her drag to look good. Anthyy, you are a queen that has not only won 3 challenges, but has also won our hearts. Look how that turned out for Rosé. Y’know we’re gonna go back to Ebony cause you have talked about how you, Anthyy, and Unieke are going into the finals with three wins. I haven’t seen that much delusion since I looked in a mirror during our design challenge. I think I’ve roasted everyone here and covered all my bases. Now I’ll be passing the mic to the incredibly resilient bottom, Jords!
Jords: Thank you, Lisbon! I really felt like i went to Portugal with your performance. But the Portugal where the one woman fell into the alleyway and never came back. Made me wee-wee. Now, Micro, you say that being African is a treat. I mean, we both know. And i thought every african would know.. and then God created a culture vulture called Unieke. She's so crusty, Pizza Hawaii actually makes me hula-hula. Micro, you have so much common with other hosts. You're race is great, even though you expect us to submit faster than you running to the kitchen to get a plate to know you ate on a sunday in underwear. You have excellent taste in challenges, like the ground we walk and talk on, am i the only one. BUT you are one of the worst contestants picker. Look at the elements of your labor. A chunk from Britland who has black friends just to say THE word, and a horny girl that whenever she gets touched, her feet start talking for her. You called yourself Thee Ebony Enchantress, but are more huawhite than a karen on a sunday church. She's also built one, the bad iPhone kind. Then there's the Lisbon, not in fancy Portugal, in crusty Uruguay. And we won't even start with Ant Annie and Aunty Unit. Well, i'm afraid this must be the end of my road. Micro, for Season 2, if that ever happens with the delay your Computer has, don't hit yourself on the door on your way out and close it properly! Now, i must say our next act is blessed by her name, literally cause she looks like one that came out from the Geordie Shore. It also was her rainbow look she gave. Give it up for Ant! That stands for Androgynous Nodding Torture!
Anthyy: Well thank you for this Jords your roast was not roasted it was fracking burned. It will take us all a long time to recover after that. Talking about. Micro you were on this earth for a long time... And you accomplished nothing. if hosting a drag race knock off is peak in your life then I'm sorry. I also don't see much more for you in future cause 1. Your dumb. 2. You've got nowhere to go.. Art.... look at those puppets... Hosting.. Your show it's so bad.. self explanatory. I think you will stick to this... If it will survives season 1 whispers I dont think so. Talking bout will make sure to give me that XDR all winners crown in it... Oh wait.... Let's take a look at your name it is very interesting MicronesiaRain It suits you so well Micro - it describes the size of your brain! Rain - everytime I look at you I have rain of tears in my eyes.
Talking about making me cry... Miss ebony and her looks. Your fashion is something only an accountant would wear. Your also a lawyer (im shocked too while being so dumb you graduated)! and the only difference between an accountant and lawyer is that at least an accountant know they're boring. Let's move over to miss Lisbon You're the wonkiest bro I've EVER met. Oh you don't know what that mean? I'm not shocked you miss every single episode. How's your swimming progress? It cant be worse than your progress in this competition or should I say lack of it.
Now let's go into Jords WOW talk about putting no effort into a race Fleur has competition. I noticed the only thing you care about it winning that nitro... do you remember that is the prize for the winner? Yeah you need to do good to get it!
And last BUT LEAST it's miss Unieke. You say a drag queen. And I noticed micro is a big fan of yours we can all tell after your placements she keeps talking about how she needs you on drag race! Just so you know what micro says is never true. So don't get your hopes too high. Maybe just don't get your hopes at all!
Well that is all! Now coming to the stage a girl which doesn't need to roast because she is a roast herself... EBONY!
Ebony:
Give it up for Anthyy! Wow, that set was rough and needed a LOT of work done to it… kinda like your runways! Anthyy, I love you girl! You are the bonafide queen of designs but next time, perhaps learn how to design yourself a personality? ‘Cus right now it’s still lookin’ a little… Microsoft Paint.
I see we have the rest of the finalists here! Sitting bow-legged like they’re in a queue for an STI check up, Speaking of anal gonorrhea, hey Unieke! Wow, you’ve made such a mark on this competition, haven’t you? Oh sorry, I misread, you’ve made such a skidmark. And girl don’t think we have forgotten your Kung Fool Panda runway! Scat-egory is… somebody call PETA!
Hey Lisbon. Wow, it must be really strange coming into this competition as a queen that we knew very little about... but luckily for you, you’ll be leaving as one too.
Jords is here! Looking like Bobrisky’s ‘before’ picture. Wow you know, runways… comedy… performing… Snatch Game… is there anything you can do? Well, at least you’re skinny! ‘Cus somehow you’ve managed to slip through into the top 5 with no problems!
Anyways, it’s nice to be here, roasting the legendary Micro. I’ve known Micro for years, and yes, Micro is OLD. Older than me, and I’m practically a corpse!
Micro is so old, that when she gets asked her date of birth, she just smiles. Not because she doesn’t want to tell us, but because she’s already forgotten the damn question! We call that a senile in denial.
Micro is so old that when she was asked for a photo of her first time in drag, she had to take a $700 roundtrip to scour a cave wall in Borneo to find it!
To prove just how old a heifer Micro is, I actually found her yearbook! And here it is! Now you can see here, Micro posing with JFK, Micro posing at the moon landing, oh and of course - being the OG Mona Lisa! I guess that explains the unwashed stench emanating from the judging panel.
But all in all, I LOVE Micro and I want to leave on a positive note - y’know I look at you Micro and I think… what do you call a funny, charismatic and iconic hostess with a heart of gold and dedication to her craft? You call her Xtina. Bye!
📷
Ebony Roast
Micro: On the runway, category is "Club Kid"!
Lisbon: This look is insane. There is so much happening on my body I’m not even sure where to start. Well let’s start with the eyes. I have 5 different eyes visible, each a different color and only two are on my face. I have this giant neon pant leg with these rings on in and a lovely set of dentures too. This look is the definition of club kid. I even have a penis! Haven’t had one of those since the Scared Straight challenge. Over this look is just so extra, and shiny, and bonkers that I’ll let it speak for itself. You see it, I see it. It’s a slay.
📷
Lisbon Runway
Anthyy: One of the new york's club kids Personality on Joan Rivers show said "It's all about just being yourself and feeling free with yourself!, Club is just anything they wanna be" And that is exactly what i am serving to you tonight on this runway! This is the version i want to ! The loook is me while still keeping the elenments of "classic club kid" look such as mask or the wings/shoulders! This is so me and i feel like i waited to serve you a pant the whole season and this was a perfect moment! i am so happy with this look I LOVE how this turned out i love the colors i love the style i love pretty much every single thing about it! everything is there!
📷
Anthyy Runway
Ebony: Me and clubs have a long and crazy history. I first picked up a club when I was 7 and I was taught how to kill the family seals who had taken residence on our garden shed. Wait what? This is a look about clubs? Like oontz oontz white women calling me a faggot club? Ohhh! Well in that case... my club kid look is everything I love about drag: it's painful, ugly and you can see my puswatcha! Camel toe no she better did!
📷
Ebony Runway
Jords: For the runway, i came in as the one-eyed queen i am. Throughout this competition, i have learned what real drag is and that paper drag isn't the only answer. This look is paper drag, but it's still giving Club Kid! I love it, you love it, Your chinny-chin-chinn loves ittt!
📷
Jords Runway
Unieke: The runway called for club kid and I am serving EXACTLY that!!!! I am slowly scurrying down this runway and right as I get to the middle, I open my skirt, and start to strut fiercely down this runway!!! I am giving you everything you though you need and then some!!!!
📷
Unieke Runway
Critiques
Lisbon! This was a phenomenal night for you. Your set was short and sweet but packed a major punch. The jokes got better and better and I about peed myself. On the runway?! She’s a server, she loves to serve. This is a top runway of the season. Amazing amazing job
Anthyy! You were nervous about this challenge. And I really don’t think you had anything to be afraid of. You came out of nowhere and knocked it out of the park. All of your jokes were so funny and I mean this in the nicest way, I had no clue you could be so funny! This look. It’s just amazing. You have reinvented yourself on the runway every single week while staying true to your style. The primary color palette is so clean and the silhouette is quintessential club kid. Perfection head to toe.
Ebony! Talk about a perfect night. You owned this from the start. Your roast was killer. It hit every note that I want from a roast. You read everyone to filth but when it’s funny, you get away with it. And you definitely got away with it. On the runway, biiiiiiitch. This is the best you’ve ever looked on this show. Amazing work
Jords! Again, you crushed this performance. Once you hit your stride, it was joke after joke and they all landed. It was totally you. This runway?! Literally the haters can kiss my ass this is so good. This is club kid meets fashion in space on top of the moon. All around, amazing night for you.
Unieke! Omg the cackling! Part of what makes a good roast is not being afraid to go there. And you went there. Making fun of my kidney disease?! I screamed!! Your set was incredibly cohesive and every joke landed. On the runway, this is a look I love. The drama, the concept, it’s so club kid.
Micro: Thank you queens! While I take a moment to think things over, you may head backstage to untuck.
Untucked
Ebony: Look how we ate that shit! And we killed the challenge.
Unieke CF: Chile don't cut to me, I can't explain her!
Anthyy: Does anyone feel like they don't need to learn this song based on Micro's critiques?
Lisbon: Oh I'm definitely learning the lyrics.
Lisbon CF: It is impossible to tell what's happening with this challenge. Everyone got amazing critiques across the board.
Jords: I feel like you could make an argument for anyone winning this week.
Unieke: Do we want to go around and give predictions?
Ebony: Personally, I could see it being a top two where we have to send someone home.
Anthyy: I'm not natural with comedy so I think I may be in the bottom. And maybe with Lisbon.
Lisbon: If we have to lipsync, get ready for me. I'm not going down without a fight.
Jords: It meant a lot to know that Micro liked my work this week. I would love to win but we'll see.
Unieke: I think the win is between myself, Ebony, and Jords. So I guess by process of elimination, that leaves Anthyy and Lisbon in the bottom? I feel so bad saying that but yeah.
Anthyy: Don't feel bad! We are all so strong in our own ways, we have to look at the details.
the queens return to the stage
Micro: Alright. This has been a very hard challenge to judge. You all deserve to make it through but a decision must be made.
u/Lisbon_After_Dark. On the runway, all eyes were on you...all five of them. And in the roast, you brought the heat. But did it pale in comparison? I'm sorry but you are up for elimination.
u/LondynBridget! You broke all the rules, were incredibly offensive, and I loved every minute of it. You're safe.
u/TheeEbonyEnchantress. In the roast, you were on fire. And you smoked the competition. Congratulations you are the winner of this challenge!
u/a_nthyy, u/TycenesUniverse. Tonight, you both left me in stitches. But only one of you can join the safe bitches.
Anthyy, you are safe.
Jords, that sadly means that you are up for elimination.
Micro: Anthyy, Ebony, Unieke, you may head to the back of the stage.
Lisbon CF: Luck just wasn't on my side tonight. I know that I am a phenomenal performer and Jords, you gotta go sis.
Jords CF: I did not survive all those bottoms just to go home looking this damn good. This is about to be a battle.
Micro: Two queens stand before me. Prior to tonight, you were asked to prepare a lipsync performance of "Skate" by Silk Sonic.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=CEw-7cMnBDY
Good luck, and don't fuck it up!
"In a room full of dimes You would be a hundred dollars If bein' fine was a crime Girl, they'd lock your lil' fine ass up in a tower The way you move like you do Ooh, it's like you do it for a livin' Do a lil' spin, do it again Shit, look like you playin' for the win, oh, baby"
Jords bounces her body and removes the eye headpiece. Lisbon starts off on the ground and slinks her body across the stage before jumping up and spinning around
"I'm tryna roll, I'm tryna ride I'm tryna float, I'm tryna glide No, no, don't be shy, just take my hand and hold on tight"
Lisbon pops her body and gives attitude in her face. Jords criss crosses her legs and works the flow of her sleeves
"Oh, skate to me, baby (skate) Slide your way on over (slide your way on over) Oh, skate to me, baby (skate) I wanna get to know ya (I wanna get to know ya) Come on Oh my, oh my"
Jords kicks her leg into the air and rolls her arms over one another. Lisbon slides her feet across the stage, feeling the music and letting her hips sway to the beat
Micro: Thank you queens! Now, I've made my decision.
Lisbon, shantay you stay. You may join the other girls.
Lisbon: Thank you so much.
Micro: Jords. Nobody can say you didn't work your ass off to get here. You are a great talent and I'll miss having you here.
Jords: I want to thank you for this wonderful time and opportunity. This has really showed me what i can do and what i'm capable of. Life's not a joyride. Live out there and get it. Thank you blows kiss
Micro: Now, sashay away.
Jords: I have one last thing to say. I AM WHAT? A DUTTY GYAL!
Micro: My final four, congratulations on making it this far. Look to your left and look to your right. Those queens are the only ones in the way of you getting this crown. Now, let the music play!
”Banjo” by BeBe Zahara Benet plays
Next Time on Micro's Drag Race
Micro: This is it! The final challenge between you and a spot in the grand finale.
Lisbon CF: My journey does not end here.
Anthyy CF: I am giving this my all, I am SO close!
Ebony CF: Hand the queen her crown, come on!
Unieke CF: Oh baby I'm not even stressed. You will see me in the end.
📷
Track Record
📷
Cast Shot w/ Placements
submitted by micronesiarain to microsdragrace [link] [comments]
Ebony: We did it Lisbon!!
Lisbon: Whew, I was scared for a minute but I left my all on that stage.
Unieke: That was a tight ass lipsync, you both deserved to stay!
Ebony CF: I finally landed in the bottom but in a weird way, I feel like it makes me more of a threat to the other girls. They know now that landing in the bottom against me is a one way ticket home. My claws are out and I will do whatever it takes to get to the end. A lot of people are scared, a lot of people are scared.
The Next Day
top five queens enter the workroom
Anthyy CF: It's a new day in the workroom and I am still so gagged that I'm here!! I've won three challenges. And, I'm the only queen left to never be in the bottom two. Nobody took me as major competition when the season started. And they can overlook me all the way until I reach that crown!
Unieke: Jords, how are you feeling after your little moment in untucked last night?
Jords: I'm feeling a lot better! I was beating myself up over it but I think I was just exhausted. I've powered through every challenge to make it here and I'm not stopping now.
Lisbon: I want to apologize for the way I acted towards you in untucked. Those few weeks in the top got to me and I shouldn't have discredited your journey here. You're amazing.
Lisbon CF: Still not winning this season but she's amazing!
Micro walks into the room
Micro: The competition can get so stressful sometimes. To blow off steam, let's play a game! Now, a girl plays with dolls. But a queen? Oh no honey, we play with puppets! Reach into this big black hole and pull out a puppet. Then, you'll have to drag out your puppet and give us your best impersonation of one another.
Anthyy gets Lisbon's puppet
Ebony gets Anthyy's puppet
Jords gets Unieke's puppet
Lisbon gets Ebony's puppet
Unieke gets Jords's puppet
Micro: Let's go!
the queens work on their puppets
Ebony: Can I get another neck to add to this?!
Lisbon: How would I know? Can't you see me giving you a unibrow?!
Micro: And that is time! Lemme get all comfy and cozy and enjoy this mess.
Puppet Show
Anthyy: Lisbon! Hello sis! i see you got your swimming suit on! is that an eye PATTERN? on it and oh amazing.a flag of portugal why that choice?
Lisbon: i have no idea what portugal is i just googled lisbon and put it on my bodysuit.. Oh that explains a lot and what is this rope? around your neck GIRL THAT'S DANGEROUS! Yall were ralkin how i chose the wrong rope so i thought yall meant this one! Oh no....
📷
Ebony: Hi I'm Anthyy! I draw all my own looks! Look at me!!! My designs all have weirdly long necks and long legs!
📷
Jords: so, pu-nieke (puppet unieke), i heard you can rap?
pu-nieke: hm.
jords: would you like to rap something?
pu-nieke starts rapping about panda and then raps panda by desiigner
jords: who would you think is the weakest one here?
short pause
pu-nieke you.
jords: oh wow! well i think you are pretty bad at this.
pu-nieke: that's what your mother said as well while pressing that creature out that answers by your name.
📷
Lisbon: Hi I’m Ebony and I’m the fashion queen this season!!! I slayed that ball so hard I tore my own off.
📷
Unieke: IM A DUTTYY GYALLLLL ……OMG THE CHALLENGE IS ABOUT TO START?? OMG LET ME GO FIND MY LOOKS! OMG LET ME SUBMIT REAL FAST I GOT 20 SECS!
📷
Micro: Damn, y'all have been holding that in! Unieke, you're a winner baby! You have won...nothing. But! You made me giggle and that is a prize!!
Unieke CF: holds up her Jords puppet Dutty gyal yasss she won!
Micro: Now y'all know, we keep the studio cold. Some say it's because of the heat from the lights. Others say it's because I didn't pay the bill. And to that, I say...mind your own business bitch! Anyways, it's cold. So for this next challenge, you need to fire up a roast! The subject? Yours truly. As the winner of the last challenge, Anthyy will be in charge of assigning the order of your sets. And on the runway, freak out in your best "Club Kid" look! Good luck girls, see you on the runway!!
the queens grab their pens and start writing down jokes
Jords CF: We have to roast Micro tonight and after all these bottoms she been giving me?! I am ready!
Anthyy: I am shaking in my boots girls.
Ebony: Are they designer at least?
Anthyy: Yeah. They're designed by some queen with a long neck...ha!
Ebony: Don't look at me! The puppet said it.
Ebony CF: I don't take responsibility for anything that bitch said. I hate her, I hate her! Puppet Anthyy, you will be dealt with.
Lisbon: Anthyy, why are you nervous?
Anthyy: I'm just not a comedy girl. We saw the prison challenge...
Lisbon: I wish I hadn't!
Unieke CF: Usually, I'd feel really good about a roast. I mean, it's my favorite food! But after only being safe for Snatch Game, I'm feeling a tiny bit uncertain. Roast humor is difficult to perfect but I'm trying to shed the nerves and let go.
Ebony: I have been waiting for this challenge! How do you guys plan on balancing a roast without just being a cunt?
Jords: Oh. You're trying to not be a cunt? I was just gonna go up there and insult her.
Ebony: Girl...well actually! Go ahead and do that.
Ebony CF: Now I'm not trying to sabotage Jords. I don't think anyone needs to do that...she's doing it on her own!
Runway
the lights flash as Micro struts down in her look
📷
Micro Episode 11 Look
Micro: Hi flops! Welcome back to the main stage of Micro's Drag Race. Tonight, the heat is turned all the way up in the roast of...wait a damn minute. They're roasting me?! Who signed off on this? Me? Oh...whoops! Well without further ado, let's get into it! First up, Unieke!
Unieke: Welcome, welcome, WELCOME!! To the roast, of Micronesiarain! My names Unieke and if you don’t know or remember me, then you are probably Micro, her old ass finally hit the age where Alzheimer’s are the most common. I mean it’s CLEAR!!! Sis had us prepare for a whole mini challenge..came in to the werk room, no helllo, no nothing! Just immediately, todays maxi challe-…EXCUSE ME!? Had us writing about laws…baby I am BLACK! That is triggering…speaking of black though, we have one of my biggest competition here, THEE Ebony Enchantress!!! Now Ebony….I have a bone to pick with you…HOW IN THE HELL IS YOUR NAME EBONY AND I AINT SEE YET ONEEE BLACK LOOK FROM YOU!! All your looks has been whiter than slice bread and I am APPALLED!!! Channel your Rachel Dolezal or sum…goddamn!!!! Moving onto my second biggest competition, Anthy!! Now sis, to keep it a buck, I didn’t expect you to get this far with the tr you have!!! You’ve showed up, showed out, and showed us how illiterate your ass is!!! Girl i do NOT know what yawsz masma zlay duh hoius doqn bewts mean!!!!!
Now, Lisbon came into this competition claiming to be a icon, super confident, yeah yeah yeah. But Lisbon-honest…an icon, you are not! ICON-not believe that you really fixed your lips to say a such thing!! That’s a lot of nerve for some safe most of the damn season! Speaking of safe, I sure do know Jords wish she was more. She’s been in the bottom more times then Micro has doctor’s appointments a week!! Well- that’s a lie. She actually has one right after this so let me keep this going!! I’m still confused on how she came out as Valentina on the runway, & left it a dutty gyal! Moving onto one of our lovely eliminated queens, the bold and beautiful, OG!! Now, she’s honestly breaking records!!! She’s the only Trans queen and the only queen to be eliminated holds up 2 fingers and whispers into the mic twice! The only person breaking records like that is Micro from how many hours she puts into her podcast “Why Jackie Cox should quit drag and work at Trader Joes”!! Let me stop before Micro falls over from laughing so much and calls for help because “She has fallen, and she can’t get up!!” Bringing out to the stage gags, Lisbon!!
Lisbon: Thank you Unieke for that roast and handing the mic off to me! It was certainly… Unieke. Now let’s get into the meat and potatoes of the roast. Micro! A woman of many talents. Host, comedian, winner, and most importantly… whore. Gurl you get so much dick your like fucking Grand Central Station for twinks! Speaking of which, Jords! You have become very familiar with bottoming this competition, however, every time you top you can’t seem to finish the job. Up next on my cue cards is Miss Ebony. It was a shock having to lip sync against you last episode. What’s less shocking is Micro keeping you around for the finale. Micro, girl, that double shantay was seen coming a mile away. Which is almost as far away as you need to stand for her drag to look good. Anthyy, you are a queen that has not only won 3 challenges, but has also won our hearts. Look how that turned out for Rosé. Y’know we’re gonna go back to Ebony cause you have talked about how you, Anthyy, and Unieke are going into the finals with three wins. I haven’t seen that much delusion since I looked in a mirror during our design challenge. I think I’ve roasted everyone here and covered all my bases. Now I’ll be passing the mic to the incredibly resilient bottom, Jords!
Jords: Thank you, Lisbon! I really felt like i went to Portugal with your performance. But the Portugal where the one woman fell into the alleyway and never came back. Made me wee-wee. Now, Micro, you say that being African is a treat. I mean, we both know. And i thought every african would know.. and then God created a culture vulture called Unieke. She's so crusty, Pizza Hawaii actually makes me hula-hula. Micro, you have so much common with other hosts. You're race is great, even though you expect us to submit faster than you running to the kitchen to get a plate to know you ate on a sunday in underwear. You have excellent taste in challenges, like the ground we walk and talk on, am i the only one. BUT you are one of the worst contestants picker. Look at the elements of your labor. A chunk from Britland who has black friends just to say THE word, and a horny girl that whenever she gets touched, her feet start talking for her. You called yourself Thee Ebony Enchantress, but are more huawhite than a karen on a sunday church. She's also built one, the bad iPhone kind. Then there's the Lisbon, not in fancy Portugal, in crusty Uruguay. And we won't even start with Ant Annie and Aunty Unit. Well, i'm afraid this must be the end of my road. Micro, for Season 2, if that ever happens with the delay your Computer has, don't hit yourself on the door on your way out and close it properly! Now, i must say our next act is blessed by her name, literally cause she looks like one that came out from the Geordie Shore. It also was her rainbow look she gave. Give it up for Ant! That stands for Androgynous Nodding Torture!
Anthyy: Well thank you for this Jords your roast was not roasted it was fracking burned. It will take us all a long time to recover after that. Talking about. Micro you were on this earth for a long time... And you accomplished nothing. if hosting a drag race knock off is peak in your life then I'm sorry. I also don't see much more for you in future cause 1. Your dumb. 2. You've got nowhere to go.. Art.... look at those puppets... Hosting.. Your show it's so bad.. self explanatory. I think you will stick to this... If it will survives season 1 whispers I dont think so. Talking bout will make sure to give me that XDR all winners crown in it... Oh wait.... Let's take a look at your name it is very interesting MicronesiaRain It suits you so well Micro - it describes the size of your brain! Rain - everytime I look at you I have rain of tears in my eyes.
Talking about making me cry... Miss ebony and her looks. Your fashion is something only an accountant would wear. Your also a lawyer (im shocked too while being so dumb you graduated)! and the only difference between an accountant and lawyer is that at least an accountant know they're boring. Let's move over to miss Lisbon You're the wonkiest bro I've EVER met. Oh you don't know what that mean? I'm not shocked you miss every single episode. How's your swimming progress? It cant be worse than your progress in this competition or should I say lack of it.
Now let's go into Jords WOW talk about putting no effort into a race Fleur has competition. I noticed the only thing you care about it winning that nitro... do you remember that is the prize for the winner? Yeah you need to do good to get it!
And last BUT LEAST it's miss Unieke. You say a drag queen. And I noticed micro is a big fan of yours we can all tell after your placements she keeps talking about how she needs you on drag race! Just so you know what micro says is never true. So don't get your hopes too high. Maybe just don't get your hopes at all!
Well that is all! Now coming to the stage a girl which doesn't need to roast because she is a roast herself... EBONY!
Ebony:
Give it up for Anthyy! Wow, that set was rough and needed a LOT of work done to it… kinda like your runways! Anthyy, I love you girl! You are the bonafide queen of designs but next time, perhaps learn how to design yourself a personality? ‘Cus right now it’s still lookin’ a little… Microsoft Paint.
I see we have the rest of the finalists here! Sitting bow-legged like they’re in a queue for an STI check up, Speaking of anal gonorrhea, hey Unieke! Wow, you’ve made such a mark on this competition, haven’t you? Oh sorry, I misread, you’ve made such a skidmark. And girl don’t think we have forgotten your Kung Fool Panda runway! Scat-egory is… somebody call PETA!
Hey Lisbon. Wow, it must be really strange coming into this competition as a queen that we knew very little about... but luckily for you, you’ll be leaving as one too.
Jords is here! Looking like Bobrisky’s ‘before’ picture. Wow you know, runways… comedy… performing… Snatch Game… is there anything you can do? Well, at least you’re skinny! ‘Cus somehow you’ve managed to slip through into the top 5 with no problems!
Anyways, it’s nice to be here, roasting the legendary Micro. I’ve known Micro for years, and yes, Micro is OLD. Older than me, and I’m practically a corpse!
Micro is so old, that when she gets asked her date of birth, she just smiles. Not because she doesn’t want to tell us, but because she’s already forgotten the damn question! We call that a senile in denial.
Micro is so old that when she was asked for a photo of her first time in drag, she had to take a $700 roundtrip to scour a cave wall in Borneo to find it!
To prove just how old a heifer Micro is, I actually found her yearbook! And here it is! Now you can see here, Micro posing with JFK, Micro posing at the moon landing, oh and of course - being the OG Mona Lisa! I guess that explains the unwashed stench emanating from the judging panel.
But all in all, I LOVE Micro and I want to leave on a positive note - y’know I look at you Micro and I think… what do you call a funny, charismatic and iconic hostess with a heart of gold and dedication to her craft? You call her Xtina. Bye!
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Ebony Roast
Micro: On the runway, category is "Club Kid"!
Lisbon: This look is insane. There is so much happening on my body I’m not even sure where to start. Well let’s start with the eyes. I have 5 different eyes visible, each a different color and only two are on my face. I have this giant neon pant leg with these rings on in and a lovely set of dentures too. This look is the definition of club kid. I even have a penis! Haven’t had one of those since the Scared Straight challenge. Over this look is just so extra, and shiny, and bonkers that I’ll let it speak for itself. You see it, I see it. It’s a slay.
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Lisbon Runway
Anthyy: One of the new york's club kids Personality on Joan Rivers show said "It's all about just being yourself and feeling free with yourself!, Club is just anything they wanna be" And that is exactly what i am serving to you tonight on this runway! This is the version i want to ! The loook is me while still keeping the elenments of "classic club kid" look such as mask or the wings/shoulders! This is so me and i feel like i waited to serve you a pant the whole season and this was a perfect moment! i am so happy with this look I LOVE how this turned out i love the colors i love the style i love pretty much every single thing about it! everything is there!
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Anthyy Runway
Ebony: Me and clubs have a long and crazy history. I first picked up a club when I was 7 and I was taught how to kill the family seals who had taken residence on our garden shed. Wait what? This is a look about clubs? Like oontz oontz white women calling me a faggot club? Ohhh! Well in that case... my club kid look is everything I love about drag: it's painful, ugly and you can see my puswatcha! Camel toe no she better did!
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Ebony Runway
Jords: For the runway, i came in as the one-eyed queen i am. Throughout this competition, i have learned what real drag is and that paper drag isn't the only answer. This look is paper drag, but it's still giving Club Kid! I love it, you love it, Your chinny-chin-chinn loves ittt!
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Jords Runway
Unieke: The runway called for club kid and I am serving EXACTLY that!!!! I am slowly scurrying down this runway and right as I get to the middle, I open my skirt, and start to strut fiercely down this runway!!! I am giving you everything you though you need and then some!!!!
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Unieke Runway
Critiques
Lisbon! This was a phenomenal night for you. Your set was short and sweet but packed a major punch. The jokes got better and better and I about peed myself. On the runway?! She’s a server, she loves to serve. This is a top runway of the season. Amazing amazing job
Anthyy! You were nervous about this challenge. And I really don’t think you had anything to be afraid of. You came out of nowhere and knocked it out of the park. All of your jokes were so funny and I mean this in the nicest way, I had no clue you could be so funny! This look. It’s just amazing. You have reinvented yourself on the runway every single week while staying true to your style. The primary color palette is so clean and the silhouette is quintessential club kid. Perfection head to toe.
Ebony! Talk about a perfect night. You owned this from the start. Your roast was killer. It hit every note that I want from a roast. You read everyone to filth but when it’s funny, you get away with it. And you definitely got away with it. On the runway, biiiiiiitch. This is the best you’ve ever looked on this show. Amazing work
Jords! Again, you crushed this performance. Once you hit your stride, it was joke after joke and they all landed. It was totally you. This runway?! Literally the haters can kiss my ass this is so good. This is club kid meets fashion in space on top of the moon. All around, amazing night for you.
Unieke! Omg the cackling! Part of what makes a good roast is not being afraid to go there. And you went there. Making fun of my kidney disease?! I screamed!! Your set was incredibly cohesive and every joke landed. On the runway, this is a look I love. The drama, the concept, it’s so club kid.
Micro: Thank you queens! While I take a moment to think things over, you may head backstage to untuck.
Untucked
Ebony: Look how we ate that shit! And we killed the challenge.
Unieke CF: Chile don't cut to me, I can't explain her!
Anthyy: Does anyone feel like they don't need to learn this song based on Micro's critiques?
Lisbon: Oh I'm definitely learning the lyrics.
Lisbon CF: It is impossible to tell what's happening with this challenge. Everyone got amazing critiques across the board.
Jords: I feel like you could make an argument for anyone winning this week.
Unieke: Do we want to go around and give predictions?
Ebony: Personally, I could see it being a top two where we have to send someone home.
Anthyy: I'm not natural with comedy so I think I may be in the bottom. And maybe with Lisbon.
Lisbon: If we have to lipsync, get ready for me. I'm not going down without a fight.
Jords: It meant a lot to know that Micro liked my work this week. I would love to win but we'll see.
Unieke: I think the win is between myself, Ebony, and Jords. So I guess by process of elimination, that leaves Anthyy and Lisbon in the bottom? I feel so bad saying that but yeah.
Anthyy: Don't feel bad! We are all so strong in our own ways, we have to look at the details.
the queens return to the stage
Micro: Alright. This has been a very hard challenge to judge. You all deserve to make it through but a decision must be made.
u/Lisbon_After_Dark. On the runway, all eyes were on you...all five of them. And in the roast, you brought the heat. But did it pale in comparison? I'm sorry but you are up for elimination.
u/LondynBridget! You broke all the rules, were incredibly offensive, and I loved every minute of it. You're safe.
u/TheeEbonyEnchantress. In the roast, you were on fire. And you smoked the competition. Congratulations you are the winner of this challenge!
u/a_nthyy, u/TycenesUniverse. Tonight, you both left me in stitches. But only one of you can join the safe bitches.
Anthyy, you are safe.
Jords, that sadly means that you are up for elimination.
Micro: Anthyy, Ebony, Unieke, you may head to the back of the stage.
Lisbon CF: Luck just wasn't on my side tonight. I know that I am a phenomenal performer and Jords, you gotta go sis.
Jords CF: I did not survive all those bottoms just to go home looking this damn good. This is about to be a battle.
Micro: Two queens stand before me. Prior to tonight, you were asked to prepare a lipsync performance of "Skate" by Silk Sonic.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=CEw-7cMnBDY
Good luck, and don't fuck it up!
"In a room full of dimes You would be a hundred dollars If bein' fine was a crime Girl, they'd lock your lil' fine ass up in a tower The way you move like you do Ooh, it's like you do it for a livin' Do a lil' spin, do it again Shit, look like you playin' for the win, oh, baby"
Jords bounces her body and removes the eye headpiece. Lisbon starts off on the ground and slinks her body across the stage before jumping up and spinning around
"I'm tryna roll, I'm tryna ride I'm tryna float, I'm tryna glide No, no, don't be shy, just take my hand and hold on tight"
Lisbon pops her body and gives attitude in her face. Jords criss crosses her legs and works the flow of her sleeves
"Oh, skate to me, baby (skate) Slide your way on over (slide your way on over) Oh, skate to me, baby (skate) I wanna get to know ya (I wanna get to know ya) Come on Oh my, oh my"
Jords kicks her leg into the air and rolls her arms over one another. Lisbon slides her feet across the stage, feeling the music and letting her hips sway to the beat
Micro: Thank you queens! Now, I've made my decision.
Lisbon, shantay you stay. You may join the other girls.
Lisbon: Thank you so much.
Micro: Jords. Nobody can say you didn't work your ass off to get here. You are a great talent and I'll miss having you here.
Jords: I want to thank you for this wonderful time and opportunity. This has really showed me what i can do and what i'm capable of. Life's not a joyride. Live out there and get it. Thank you blows kiss
Micro: Now, sashay away.
Jords: I have one last thing to say. I AM WHAT? A DUTTY GYAL!
Micro: My final four, congratulations on making it this far. Look to your left and look to your right. Those queens are the only ones in the way of you getting this crown. Now, let the music play!
”Banjo” by BeBe Zahara Benet plays
Next Time on Micro's Drag Race
Micro: This is it! The final challenge between you and a spot in the grand finale.
Lisbon CF: My journey does not end here.
Anthyy CF: I am giving this my all, I am SO close!
Ebony CF: Hand the queen her crown, come on!
Unieke CF: Oh baby I'm not even stressed. You will see me in the end.
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Track Record
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Cast Shot w/ Placements
2022.12.17 21:50 danl999 Phoebus And Globus
 | https://preview.redd.it/0hrmznvyni6a1.jpg?width=612&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=dbbc3bf7c7d995519d15f8bebe80b76675565435 submitted by danl999 to castaneda [link] [comments] I was researching what Phoebus looks like, to let her be the Ally of Tensegrity Police woman in the cartoons. Didn't find a good description, but this Bufflehead Drake duck is from Phoebus Waterfront Park in Hampton, Virginia. So I'm using it. Phoebus is also an alternate name for Apollo, the god of the sun. And this duck has a bit of my Ally Stella's solar flares going on, on the side. Maybe when he floats into the air I'll make that glow a bit. In one of Westerly Witches dreams, so no one can object. Here's what I found by searching for Phoebus and Globus in the workshop notes. I was happy to see that Stella forming a solar image down near my feet is consistent with these notes. About star energy merging into the feet area. I'd never read that before! Hey... This stuff is all true. So even if you didn't read it, it'll happen anyway. I had also planned to give Tensegrity Police woman a "nightstick", except it's a silence stick with the pad on it. Sort of an "in-joke". But then I was pleased to see that's one method for calling the allies, given by Taisha in these excerpts. So I guess it's good to have in the cartoon. We could "cure" the fear of inorganic beings the community has come up with, so they can do their nasty pretend form of sorcery. Create a new community that's less fearful and more hard working. There's a lot of surprises in here. Why is Carol Tiggs still here? What's the deal with Howard? Is Marshall Ho'o as big of a marketeer as I suspected, and not much of a martial artist? Is it safe for women to have inorganic beings? And, why did Cholita like Howard so much? Turns out Cholita was sponsored by Margarita, said to be one of the oldest companions of Carlos. Margarita was a professional "Chola" in the university system. Trust me. They had those back in the day. Thus "Cholita". Margarita's mini-me. *** P.S. At one point Taisha showed us the slide of the voladore in Mexico. When the picture went up on the screen, we noticed a large-winged bug next to it. It almost looked as if it was part of the picture. Since I was sitting quite close (second row) I knew it was not. Still it was startling, and funny. On the next enlargement, it came back, right next to where the voladore was projected on the screen. Even Taisha laughed/commented. I was looking at it, and it moved, and then was gone. I thought it was funny that I didn't see it fly off the screen, but I figured it must have flown straight up, or something (in retrospect, there was no logical explanation, but it was only a bug - right?) The next night Florinda asked us if anyone noticed that the bug disappeared. She said it was Lobus and Phoebus. *** Globus [?] and Phoebus: Taisha sleeps with them every night that she sleeps in her attic, and cuddles up with them. She says they are becoming more and more real as she matches her speed with theirs. (conclusion: cuddle with our ally all night to gve them more energy, however it will alter your own shape) *** "Women are 50% inorganic beings--they just have to quiet the internal dialogue and they'll become 'tubular'" (i.e., like the inorganic beings). Taisha said she had two inorganic beings that lived in her attic: Globus and Phoebus. "They are individually identifiable inorganic beings." She said that her personal assemblage point and energy shape "is heading toward that of the inorganic beings," allowing her increasing glimpses of her "lodgers". *** "Tonight Carol Tiggs couldn't come." She made it to Mexico City, but really wanted to come to Omega to use this workshop as an "echo chamber," to explain where she'd been during the 10 years that she was gone. "Carol Tiggs hadn't wanted to go to Mexico--where she needed translation for material that depends on subtlety. But she went there to practice telling the story of her experience. She manifested there, and didn't return as the Carol Tiggs we knew. That's why we are all working to bring her back." Carol Tiggs had taken the Chacmools to Tula--"not the dirty, modern-day city, but a quiet, ancient version--by bringing us into her dream. Taisha did the same with you last night, with the help of Globus and Phoebus. Before last night, the Chacmools didn't know about Taisha's inorganics. Whenever Taisha talks, however, there's always some kind of interference, whether it is trouble with the lights, sound, or something. The 'insect' that appeared on the slide of the Voladore last night didn't fly away. it disappeared! The strange 'insect' that matched up with the Flyer, like it was superimposed, was Globus and Phoebus." *** inorganic beings are not fearsome at all, that in fact they were sources of the boundless abstract affection that sorcerers seek, and as such were more like pets than anything else. Taisha retold the story of her first encounter with an ally. She was in bed in the sorcerers' house in Mexico, when she was awakened by strange sounds outside the door. She attributed them to don Juan's attempt to scare her, or worse yet, to carry out his nefarious sexual designs upon her. She forgot about it and went to sleep. The next day she confronted don Juan about it, and he told her that the inorganic beings were after her. Taisha asked fearfully what she could do to protect herself. Don Juan told her that her previous response was probably best, to just not acknowledge them. However, she was unable to carry this off on subsequent visits, so don Juan told her that there was no hope for her, the inorganic beings had decided to take her. The only thing she could do was confront the inorganic being directly, to wrestle with it, and not to let go at all costs. One night the ally came in force. Taisha said she could see the door outlined from behind by an eerie light, then the door started to actually bulge inward, as though pressed upon outside by tremendous force. The ally entered the room, and she "grabbed" it, although not in the ordinary way we think of--there was just some sort of tangible, voltional connection. Taisha said the only way she could describe the ally's touch was as a sort of liquid electricity. She succeeded in taming the ally, which is one of the ones she has constantly with her. Taisha pointed out that all of the subterfuge and difficullties experienced by Carlos in his dealings with that realm were the result of the fact that he was male. The Universe is a predominately female place, so women were largely matters of indifference to the inorganic beings. They can come and go at will in that world. Taisha said the allies like us because we live at a much faster rate than they do. For all practical purposes, the inorganic beings live forever, on the order of millions of our years. They recognize our problem with the Fliers and Death, and want to help, but they cannot overcome the power of our first attention, the habitual position of the assemblage point. Thus the average man can only see them in dreams. She remarked that often the allies would try to announce their presence when she spoke at the seminars, by affecting the sound system or the lights. (She seemed genuinely unaware that they had already done that.) It is therefore up to us to bridge the gap between our worlds. Taisha threw open the floor to questions, and suggested that she might tell us some techniques for calling the inorganic beings. Someone asked whether the allies had ever taken her to another world in her daily awareness. Taisha replied that this was indeed possible, and that one can actually feel the ally entering the central nervous system by entering the base of the spine and creeping upwards. The ally then physically transports you wherever you want to go. Someone asked what the inorganic beings looked like--Taisha gave a similar description to Carlos' in THE ART OF DREAMING. They are either bell shaped, candle shaped, or like a flame. The question was raised that since the inorganic beings are female and live so long, did the inorganic beings reproduce at all? Taisha smiled at the question, and said, "I don't know, I'll ask them." She then seemed to focus internally on the question for a few seconds, smiled, and said that they had told her that although they were capable of reproduction, it had been eons since they had, so for all practical purposes, the answer was no. Someone reminded Taisha that she had said she might tell us some techniques to call the inorganic beings. She flashed her mischievous smile, as if to say, "Ah, I thought you'd never ask!" She then told us several ways that this can be accomplished. The first method requires a dowel. One rests the forehead on it in a sitting position--it is of the length proper to where you intend to sit, in a chair or on the floor. She said a small piece of leather or other padding can be used to prevent you from walking around with a circle on your forehead. One then intends the presence of an inorganic being. The second method entails taking advantage of the earth's twilight. This is the time that the inorganic beings are most likely to attempt to make themselves known to us, by owl-like hoots and whistles. Taisha reported having been admonished by the sorcerers of don Juan's group to never whistle in the twilight, but of course she had, since she did not share their aversion to the allies. Whistling or making strange noises at this time of day attracts the allies' attention. The third method requires matches. (I believe Taisha describes this method in more detail in her book.) The idea is to strike a match, and gaze at the flame. As the match gets half to two thirds burnt, wet the fingers with saliva and grab the burnt end of the match, turning it upside down so it will burn completely. At this point, the flame will turn blue, and gazing into this flame will call an ally. *** Castaneda told us that Florinda had some thirty-year old photos of herself doing karate. [Actually, 25-years-old, if they are the ones in Samurai magazine issues dating to 1974 and ‘75.] Castaneda thought they were "fantastic," because they showed that "she is younger now than she was thirty years ago." Florinda, who did not like the pictures, tried to get rid of them all, but he saved "some of the best, that most showed how different she was then." She thought he was saving "the worst ones of her, to use against her," so she stole them out of his room. When he approached her about it, she claimed "The Inorganics took them!" According to Castaneda, Florinda "made a solemn accusation against the inorganics," specifically accusing Globus and Phoebus [Taisha’s "pet" inorganics], but "that’s not something you can do lightly." He told us she was "really taking a risk" doing that. So finally, after a week or so, she "broke down and admitted that she had taken them; she couldn’t go through with it." In the meantime Castaneda had asked Taisha, and "Taisha never does anything like that . . . why would she take them?" Taisha had told them to "Fuck themselves." So Florinda had destroyed the pictures. "Things do disappear," he stated, and when they do, "it’s a sign of inner silence having been reached." He told us that Ellis had brought over a bunch of pictures, including all of the ones showing her having ice cream with her father in different parts of the world--"in Greenland, Antarctica, Paris and Rome, everywhere they had themselves photographed eating ice cream." Nothing happened to them, so he had given them back to her, but she had left the ice cream pictures with him, and ultimately they disappeared. He told us Ellis had obtained her father’s bible for him, and it was heavy so he had stored it on something near this tub. He explained that he had wanted a bible so he could "channel" his "Reverend Osgoode character"--the fundamentalist preacher that he imitated--but he did not want to buy one. Florinda had plumbing problems--they called it the "Day of the Yellow Shrimp" because the tub backed up with run off from the toilet. So the Bible that had been sitting there was literally "full of shit." It also affected other things that had been sitting there for awhile, including "papers of the Leperchun," meaning Tycho--the so-called Orange Scout. Those papers had not disappeared after ten years. "But there is something not human about the Leperchun anyway," he asserted, so it somehow made sense that her stuff had not disappeared. Nyei had placed a stack of her yearbooks there and they had also disappeared. *** Castaneda told us, "I had the intellectual shoulder. When I was first starting to do the rolls and other movements, I had very little range of movement with my arm. I thought I was moving them all the way back, but I was just making little circles out to the side. I worked with Howard Lee. Howard was my Kung Fu teacher for 10 years. [From 1974 to 1984, according to Howard.] He was a great Kung Fu teacher. I went to him because I wanted more movement, I wanted to learn martial arts to get the more complete, full movement. "Taisha and Florinda became karate experts. I had the picture of them. Florinda stole it." Florinda interjected, "We looked like concentration camp survivors." Castaneda countered, "No, from the nuthatch." He described the uniforms they were wearing. Florinda told us, "They were pictures I had taken for an article in a magazine advertising karate. I had removed the pictures and blamed it on Globus and Phoebus, but I ultimately confessed. But you were going to show those pictures." Castaneda responded, "Ah yeah, well it's a good thing you destroyed them then. Thank you. Thank you Florinda." "The martial arts connection with Tensegrity goes back to the Nagual Lujan, but after him, we had just the form of his movements without the rationale. It wasn't until Clara Böhm, with her martial arts training, formalizing the number of movements we should do, that the rationale was restored for the movements. Originally I was doing the movements in the way the sorcerers did them, which was shittily. They weren't good at movement, they were focusing on perception and changing perception, so movement wasn't really their fort? But I wanted both. "The sorcerers were on a schedule too. That schedule called for me to burn with the fire from within and leave in '87. But I hadn't done anything yet. We'd pulled together this wonderful group, and Carol had come back, but I hadn't done anything yet. "So I worked with Howard Lee." He did a devastating impression of Howard Lee's mush-mouth mumble, with a Chinese accent, at length. "He was a wonderful practitioner--very gifted. It's unfortunate that he doesn't teach kung fu anymore. He found it demeaning. He was also a wonderful acupuncturist, but he doesn't do that anymore either. He just heals by pointing with his finger. But he was truly marvelous. To work with Howard Lee required no ego, because he was so good that nobody in his class, even his best student, was any good by comparison. He would criticize us all. So just to get out on the floor with Howard Lee required no ego. He would tell me 'You're not doing it very well. You could do it better.' He'd ask me, 'Why are you standing that way?' I told him, 'Well, it relaxes me. This is the particular way I stand.' Howard would say, 'Why don't you sit down?'" He imitated his mush-mouth drawl, "Yeah, why don't you do that? Why don't you just sit down?' "Howard Lee had a real knack for stating the obvious. He'd look at me and say, 'Gee, you're short.' Or someone else and say, 'Gee, you're big.' or 'You're really dark.' He really had a knack for that. "When Howard Lee closed down his studio, his students were really upset. We told him he could raise his prices, but he didn't see the point of it. And because he was a Chinese man, he was really fucked up. He was really rigid--once he decided something, he never changed his mind. The mother of a student had an abscess on her leg. She was very wealthy. She came to him and he did his thing with needles. He told her to go home and come back in two weeks. She had big money and was willing to pay him $20,000 to have him work on her every day, or every hour. The woman's son asked, 'Would you please charge her $2,000?' Howard asked, 'Why? It'll heal it.' And it did, within a couple weeks, and it only cost her a couple hundred dollars. Howard was just a dog. He could have made a lot of money for it, but he didn't get it, or he didn't see the point. "I felt very obligated to him, and considered him my sifu. He helped me a lot with movement. I asked him if it would be okay if I dedicated a book to him." He mimicked Howard responding, in mush-mouth mumble, 'Errrrr, if you want to.' Then later he told me, 'You don't have to have that vainglory that you're writing a book,' as though I was making it up or being pompous to talk about dedicating a book. He just knew me as Carlos Arana. So I took him to Mexico with me once, and there were the galleys of the book--the Random House version and the Mexican translation, because I was supposed to look at them. I showed Howard Lee where I'd dedicated to H.Y. Lee. Howard responded, 'You're Carlos Castaneda?' He'd read the books, and said, 'I got a lot of ideas, a lot of my stuff from those books.' It completely changed him. He was never the same toward me again. He used to be really comfortable and natural with me, and do acupuncture on me, but after that it was never the same. So I don't see him anymore. He's one of two people I would have liked to have helped. "Chris, whom I grew up with, and did all kinds of malevolent things with. I once came to him one day and asked, 'Do you ever get the feeling that there's some other entity that's controlling how we act and behave?' He responded, 'Wow, here's someone I really looked up to as being intelligent. I just can't believe--it's disgusting--to hear you speak that way.' I said, 'Oh no, forget it. We all have our lapses.' This guy was just so insistent that I couldn't share anything with him. And he subsequently got killed. And Howard Lee is the other one. I would have helped him if I could, but there doesn't seem to be any way. "We're not in touch. I don't send him Christmas cards. What Christmas card could I get him? You know how hard it is to find Christmas cards and just the right thing to say," he joked. Bruce interjected, "A donation has been made in your name." Castaneda broke up with laughter. "There also used to be some slick guy, Chinese American who was really American, called Marshall Ho, who used to teach offensive and defensive Tai Chi. He was just kind of a charlatan, taking people's money. He really wasn't a practitioner, but he talked well. He was teaching at a Disney-owned school. He had Howard as his gofer, in exchange for Howard getting lessons. Howard was essentially his errand boy. He was going to use Howard to demonstrate something in class. He told him, 'You're going to have to brace yourself. You're going to fall over. Just do it gracefully.' So the guy started making these silly movements. Howard said, 'Uhh, that doesn't look too good.' So Howard did something and basically threw the guy across the room. It was a classic moment in local martial arts lore when he did this tothe guy. "Howard once had a nervous reaction to something, and it cause this little bald spot on the side of his head. Eventually it wound around and grew until it covered a large section of his head. Somebody I knew once had that happen to part of his beard. It started with just a little section of his beard and eventually it spiraled out from there until eventually it was it like half of his face. It never covers the whole face, which would be great, to get rid of the beard. It only goes part way. I can't seem to use Intent to push it--'Go this way. Intent. Intent.' "Margarita Nieto went to Howard a lot. I used to refer everyone there, because I wanted to help the guy." Margarita mumbled a response. Castaneda followed up, "Oh yeah, you went to Howard, and he helped you a lot with your expression." He mimicked Howard's mumbling again. "A lot of the movements I show you, like the arm circles, I got from Howard Lee. They are refinements to the movements because of Howard Lee." *** Felix Gutsmuths and I attended, along with most of Cleargreen. [Nury played several roles including that of a helpless inorganic worrying about imagined disasters likely to plague Taisha in "Globus and Phoebus Save the World" with Carol; "Space Pyrates in Search of the Golden Behind" with Zaia and Halley; "The Burden of Decision-Making," a brief dialogue between two self-absorbed roommates trying to get advice from each other on their outfits for a party, with Zaia; "Man¡¯s Best Friend," a skit about two hunters encountering a flyer, with Kylie; "The Proper Spirit," a rather precious piece featuring a floating head and spiritual mediums, apparently written by Nuri, with Erin and Darien; and "Love Among Insects," with Halley. |