There has been an influx of new fans and the sub has seen a lot of these people asking, “Where do I start?” So this is my attempt at answering that question somewhat objectively, as well as a chance to build in some career events for context (this will be light Lupe lore so you're not overwhelmed, sorry to my fellow stans that will see this as an injustice, haha).
First and foremost, the majority of Lupe fans recommend starting at the beginning and just going in order. They’re all important to understanding Lupe fully. I stand by that. However, I know people have preferences for the different styles of Lupe. So I’m providing a quick way to listen and as well as the (preferred) chronological order of the albums.
These are the 3 categories I can most easily define, with some of his biggest songs as representative entry points.

Category 1: Original Lupe

• This is the heart and soul of hip-hop, woven into stories and imagery that I just don’t think many artists can reach.
• If you like the songs Kick, Push, and Daydreamin’, you’ll appreciate the rest of Food & Liquor, The Cool, most of Food & Liquor Part II, and his mixtapes (Fahrenheit 1/15 Part I: The Truth is Among Us, Fahrenheit 1/15 Part II: Revenge of the Nerds, Part III: A Rhyming Ape, Enemy of the State, and Friend of the People)

Category 2: "Evolved" Lupe

• Abstract delivery with the most complex lyricism of his career. Everything is layered and nuanced. Often accompanied by jazzier beats
• If you like the song Mural, you’ll appreciate the rest of Tetsuo & Youth, Drogas Wave, Drill Music in Zion, the House EP, and the mixtapes Pharaoh Height 2/30, and the mini mixtape Lost in the Atlantic

Category 3: Radio Lupe

• This tends to be the least popular among Lupe’s core fanbase, and yet, these are what Lupe is known for to many. There’s some incredible commentary in these as well.
• If you like the song Battle Scars and Show Goes On, you’ll appreciate the sounds of Lasers, Drogas Light, and some of Food & Liquor Part II.

So that is the quick version. If you’re still curious, here is some context and commentary for each album that may help guide you and make your introduction to Lupe easier. This is as concise as I can get. After you’ve spent time here, explore the mixtapes, features, and countless loosies that Lupe loves to surprise us with!

Food & Liquor (2006)

This is soulful rap at its finest. The original version leaked, so Lupe and his team made changes, but as a debut album, this still stands out in hip-hop history. Lupe had built a buzz with his mixtapes (for more, see Lupe's early career), gotten the Jay-Z cosign, and he delivered with a culturally significant insight to the era. Every song tells its own story, but they’re also part of a larger story of overcoming. The optimism is what makes this album so timeless; it's something you hear in content and the beats and flow of the album. This is the epitome of backpack rap that bridged the gap between eras. The (notoriously awful) Pitchfork review of this album was positive in that they enjoyed the album, but the whole time the author likens Lupe to Kanye, the Neptunes, Nas, and Jay. And that was the misunderstanding. Lupe was finding his own lane here and this album solidified his status early in his career. In this era, hip-hop was changing and Lupe was at the core of that, regardless of relationships to his peers. Overwhelmingly a fan favorite, and certainly a classic of this era for the entire genre. I would be remiss if I did not also mention that this won Lupe a grammy (which he didn’t get until years later). Shoutout to Daydreamin.
https://preview.redd.it/pruvrr60vhxc1.png?width=1200&format=png&auto=webp&s=1afb4c41c943c52df51859f521fbcb6bab64a611

The Cool (2007)

At the time of recording this album, Lupe’s manager, Chilly, was sentenced to 44 years in prison and his career was on a different trajectory. A much darker album both in content and sound, this album is an expansion of the early lyricism and storytelling of Lupe. Even the main radio hit from this album, Superstar, is actually an interwoven story in the Michael Young saga. Lupe tells the Michael Young (aka “My Cool Young”) History throughout the album, as a dark and gritty street tale that also lets each track stand alone as it is. In terms of breaking down the meaning, this is one you can get without much guidance, and I think that's a huge part of the appeal. The personification of the Streets, the Cool, and the Game are a perfect introduction to Lupe’s layered narratives. The sound of this album is dark and leans into Lupe’s rock side at times (see his band Japanese Cartoon for more), but it’s got an upbeat focus to it. Lupe had fun on this one and still managed to work in another narrative that’s dark and revealing. The Cool is part of the paramount Lupe experience.
https://preview.redd.it/yo83a44wuhxc1.png?width=610&format=png&auto=webp&s=b1a394ea5653d0c6d71cf6808c14d0718c9eaef8

Lasers (2011)

It’s hard to be objective here because this album is loved outside the fanbase and hated within. The most important piece of information about this album is that Lupe’s label at the time, Atlantic, forced him to change his vision for the album to make a trendy rap-pop album (more on that relationship). And while he does do a great job of that, this album stands out in his discography as the black sheep. While I think this album includes some of Lupe’s most personal and introspective songs (Letting Go and Beautiful Lasers), they are still heavily 2010’s pop influenced. Lupe’s vision for this album had features from Chester Bennington, Eminem, and even Kid Cudi. It’s a crazy what if, but I think what we got is important too. The disconnect between fans is just the different sound and the fact that fans had to protest just to get this album. It may not be what everyone expected, but it is Lupe’s most commercially successful album for a reason.
https://preview.redd.it/z0tfe0qruhxc1.png?width=600&format=png&auto=webp&s=47b30ada77d2359f5abaadb56132fff329d39430

Food & Liquor Part II: The Great American Rap Album (2012)

In a way this is an extension of the first F&L, but really it is closer to the original idea Lupe had for Lasers and it has its own distinct sound. The album is split between some of the most direct social critiques of Lupe’s career (Strange Fruition, Around My Way, Audubon Ballroom, and most of the first half), and lighter radio songs like Battle Scars and Brave Heart that feel much more upbeat. I didn’t know what category to put it in because it’s got such a diverse range of sounds. It’s never listed as quintessential Lupe, but it is good insight to his beliefs and his range. It’s a transitional album to his new era. It represents his most politically charged era, even leading him to be taken off stage at an inaugural party for Obama (although the song he was performing was from Lasers).
https://preview.redd.it/xk2lvd1ouhxc1.png?width=3000&format=png&auto=webp&s=b78b00d07823ff170d3c8e8b7770625aaa2f06e7

Tetsuo & Youth (2015)

This album is our real introduction to the evolved era of Lupe, who is on many jazzier and complementing beats throughout. Not only are the lyrics more complex, the stories are as well. Lupe tells several different stories throughout the album, with brevity in balance of religion and the streets. This includes a narrative that comes from playing the album in reverse track order. It’s hard to be objective here because this is my favorite album of all time, but if you like working for the hidden meanings and layers of your music, this is the best you will get. Almost a decade later, people are still finding new things to share on this album. No fan protests or drama on this album’s rollout, just threats to the label from Anonymous…
https://preview.redd.it/hwlfaf9luhxc1.png?width=1200&format=png&auto=webp&s=8f375bcb8bc422266ab2c49ff8317d9f9eca66c7

Drogas Light (2017)

This is Lupe’s contract fulfillment album for Atlantic. It’s an assortment of random songs from the vault, trap Lupe, absolute gems that were instant fan favorites, more radio tracks, and some other things. This album is fun, not always a fan favorite. Drogas Light is not connected to Drogas Wave in any way, it just so happens to be in the “Evolved” Lupe era. Not much to say, there’s something for everyone but the project itself is not cohesive or in need of a breakdown. Listen to Tranquillo regardless.
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Drogas Wave (2018)

Whew, Lupe left Atlantic and immediately began working on releasing the hour and a half classic he’d been working on for years. Prior to its release, Lupe called this “an open world video game” of an album. This continues the sound and lyrical delivery of Tetsuo & Youth, but with new narratives. The first half of the album is about mythological “Longchains”, or formerly enslaved spirits who live in the ocean and help navigate the history of the Transatlantic Slave Trade. The later portion is about his career with Atlantic and the relationship he has with hip-hop. The stretch of songs from Imagine through Happy Timbuk2 Day feel like old school Lupe stories with his new school delivery. This is an immersive album in both narratives and I think it serves as Lupe’s most creatively ambitious project. He has spoken about wanting to create outside media (books and movies) regarding these stories. Lupe actually updated us on the album as he worked on it, found on The Wavelength. This was not a commercial hit, but the release night of this album was special; this became an instant classic.
https://preview.redd.it/ikw317tguhxc1.png?width=640&format=png&auto=webp&s=acce148913f32f71f7d2e660e4eeb5c3f7bc0341

Drill Music in Zion (2022)

T&Y, Drogas Wave, and DMIZ share more in common than just the fact that their album cover art was painted by Lupe. In this album, Lupe continues with the smooth beats and abstract delivery, but this might be the most accessible to the general audience. In 2021, Lupe was very open about his wiring process, sharing his thoughts and practices on live videos. The fans were interrupted and so he eventually challenged himself to make an album in 24 hours. He extended that to 72 hours, and with that, this album is born. A 3 day album recorded on an iPad turned into some of the most polished work of Lupe’s career. I think this is a great hybrid of old and new Lupe, with Ms. Mural being the greatest example of a passionate story told with complex delivery. This is the practice project that you’d expect a professor at MIT or Yale who taught rap theory and practice to make…which is exactly who Lupe is.
https://preview.redd.it/i4k8lyr8uhxc1.png?width=1824&format=png&auto=webp&s=4283ca39b4988f89d93b4c6297bf4dfc379dd72e
And with that, happy listening and welcome to LupeFiasco. For a list of Lupe’s full discography, complete with features, singles, and stuff you’ve never heard of, see this list (that I just updated). There is also a contextual guide to Lupe for some individual songs that might pique your interest.
Now that this exists, the mod team will be removing posts asking where to start and directing people here.

Was going through my drive archives and I read this and couldn't believe I wrote something like that. Pretty crazy, anyways here it is if anyone wanted to read this. I personally think it's pretty good.
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Hip Hop Essay Prompt 1 : To Pimp a Butterfly
When one thinks of Kendrick Lamar, rap artist born in Compton, California on June 17, 1987, many titles come to mind: perhaps a visionary, a voice for the voiceless, or simply another hip hop artist. From humble beginnings, he constantly attempts to bring change using his platform as an artist. This notion is ever so apparent in his, arguably, most notable album release, To Pimp a Butterfly (2015). By tactfully combining lyricism, instrumentals, and vivid thematic choices, he creates and evolves a metaphor that carries with it the story of his rise to fame, his home, and much larger than that, his people. Hip hop as a genre was birthed from an internal struggle and always faced this adversity since its conception. To that end, he uses his music to provide a beacon of awareness regarding the “systemic mass incarceration of black folk” by the music industry (Brooks 1). Through this metaphor of the butterfly, Lamar relies heavily on themes to achieve this goal. To Pimp a Butterfly masterfully chronicles the African American experience, navigating through the overwhelmingly exploitative system of capitalism, systematic racism and classism, and the personal impacts of living a new life through fame.
The first instance of the theme of capitalism being shown is within track one: Wesley’s Theory. Lamar introduces the metaphor of the caterpillar evolving representing the uncorrupted soul and sings “every n***a is a star,” signifying that everyone begins in the cocoon as equals. As the track progresses, Lamar uses a beat switch to begin his first verse which sees him as an ignorant artist on a come up, spending without care; the initial reaction to fame on a young mind is apparent here, as the artist doesn’t think about how to truly place their assets. Onto the second verse, the perspectives switch as the listener gets a glimpse of the bigger corporations speaking. Lamar embodies the persona of ‘Uncle Sam’, that demands high spending and cashing out as a “baller” with a “dollar” to keep the machine moving. The polarity that exists between these two perspectives shines a light on the inherent problem with an African American artists' growth through the industry: capitalistic demands.
The track, originally written about Wesley Snipes, an African American actor, who was caught for tax evasion speaks to the lack of education for those that come into wealth, especially young African Americans. This very concept elucidates Lamar’s point about the unrealistic demands of the free market. Spending on capital is an appreciated use of money as it only contributes to the consumption portion of the country’s GDP, hence why Uncle Sam constantly encourages Lamar throughout the second verse. This spending, as a consequence, often leads to the belief in a false future, a broken promise of the “American Dream.”
Additionally, in Christopher Holmes Smith’s article published in the Duke University Press titled, "I Don't Like to Dream about Getting Paid": Representations of Social Mobility and the Emergence of the Hip-Hop Mogul, he states that “Hip Hop Mogul” essentially serves as a connection between the public and immense wealth. This connection, he argues, is “symptomatic of a new paradigm in the nation’s long-standing consumptive ethos,” (Smith 71). Hip Hop in the current environment it is invested in, seemingly gives in to the stigma of this idealistic hip hop mogul to spend that immense wealth and show it off. In essence, this exploitation and desire often leads to young artists spending without realization or thought, the butterflies being pimped, and leads to complications later down the road as it did with Wesley Snipes.
To corroborate that notion of capitalistic exploitation, in For Free? (Interlude) Lamar raps about this relationship through the juxtaposition between him and Darlene Tibbs, who seeks a wealthier, more successful man to fit the mogul status. This only adds to the already existing stereotype around new up and coming artists, that, in some sense, they have to meet an image depicted by tradition. Lamar achieves this through the raw character conveyed in For Free? through the personification of “America” when he states: “Oh America, you bad b***h... I picked cotton that made you rich... now my d**k ain’t free.” Lamar compares the United States to the “b***h” he has made rich through years of slavery endured by African Americans. However, he still “ain’t free.” America is a society that acquires much of its riches through the exploitation of the working and lower classes. Predominantly, slavery was the structure that specifically oppressed black people permitting slave owners to profit and construct the substructure of the American capitalism we see today.
While Kendrick Lamar tackles political topics in terms of monetary spending, the album also battles systematic racism and classism that impact African Americans in the industry. From the earliest settlement of Hip Hop in Watts, California in 1920 when African Americans migrated and settled, they were faced with acts of segregation and neglect (Chang 307). Consequently, acts of hate crime became more frequent such as attacks from the Ku Klux Klan. During World War II African American migrated to Los Angeles and subsequently became more involved with the culture, setting a mark on the land. However, it was the August 11 incident in Watts that sparked outrage when Marquette Frye, a young African American was beaten with a baton by white police officers, an example of police brutality (Chang 309). While racism has calmed from earlier times, it still exists and Lamar argues and brings attention to the race for equality. In his track Hood Politics, he uses instrumentals ranging from police sirens to crackling noises to emulate the hostility that still exists in the hood, targeting modern day police brutality and violence. In Institutionalized, he points to the polarity between the impoverished disenfranchised and rich that dwell with differing issues. On one hand, the poor often combat racism and classism, whereas the rich deal with monetary concerns. The main verse, rapped from the perspective of Kendrick Lamar’s friend from the hood speaks on classicism as he compares the lavish lifestyle of the rich to his roots, “alluding to the industry being his form of imprisonment, where he is the harvest of the music industry,” (Salmons 36). Although it isn’t a black and white issue, it all stems from the idea of systematic class and the segregation of values brought upon as a result.
Furthermore, Lamar is a proponent for the more modern movement, #BlackLivesMatter, that took over the world’s social media in recent times. In her article featured in The Guardian, “How #BlackLivesMatter started a musical revolution,” Daphne A Brooks argues that protest music is as powerful as ever in today's hip hop world and Lamar is lighting the fuel that will push the next generation forward (Brooks 2). Although the album focuses on bringing awareness to the various issues that surround African American artists, Brooks’ inspiration is drawn upon from the track i, which works to deconstruct racism, especially in regards to the use of the “n word.” The line “N-E-G-U-S description: black emperor, king, ruler, now let me finish,” devalues the term as an insult and rather brings attention to its historical origin. Lamar further urges listeners to ignore the negative stigma attached to the term and change its meaning altogether. Similarly, the track King Kunta was named after a slave named Kunta. The title, “king” was given to juxtapose the two classes that exist combining both ends of the spectrum. In this sense, he desires to celebrate his race and class in society, hoping to inspire others to follow suit.
In addition to the broader discussion of class and race, another theme present in the album is Lamar’s personal experience with fame driving him away from his roots. From a poor boy living in Compton, he managed to prosper within the industry, yet still battled depression and loneliness throughout the experience. To Pimp a Butterfly utilizes the metaphor that he evolved from his caterpillar state and fell victim to the pimping that followed, leaving his less fortunate loved ones behind. Evan Goldstein, Boston College graduate and author of the academic journal, “Performing Redemption, Metzian Theology in the Art of Kendrick Lamar,” states that Lamar is simultaneously telling a story about himself through these broader topics and “thus, we cannot simply read this as a portrayal of gendered navigation of the ghetto, but must also ask where Lamar is situating himself in this narrative matrix,” (Goldstein 3). Goldstein brings attention to the idea of this dual story being told. This can be seen in the track Momma that utilizes the theme of home to signify Lamar returning to his roots, as well as Institutionalized, where he speaks from the perspective of his friends back in Compton showing the clear disconnect between the industry life and his origins. The personal demons that haunt him throughout require him to confront them at their core, and by visiting his home, whether it be his “momma” or Africa, he was able to achieve this.
In conclusion, the album skillfully manages to tackle various sensitive topics regarding capitalist society, racism and classism, as well as personal demons, yet utilizes the butterfly metaphor to signify these tribulations as an evolution. By bringing attention to these inherent issues in society today, Lamar uses this platform to inspire others to appreciate their origins and fight for what is right. Beginning from a humble cocoon trying to find its way unaffected by the industry, to morphing into a butterfly with the subsequent ‘pimping’ involved, artists go through a phase of change where they experience riches and downfalls, from racism, loneliness, depression, and braggadocio, oftentimes from an entity they cannot control. Perhaps Lamar may be alluding to the mysticism surrounding the “American Dream,” where an artist is promised a better life that they may not receive, or he may just be the visionary and voice of the voiceless for his fellow people, hoping to pimp the industry instead.
​
Word Count: 1656
Works Cited
Brooks, Daphne A. “How #BlackLivesMatter Started a Musical Revolution,” The Guardian,
Guardian News and Media Limited, 13 March. 2016,
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/ma13/black-lives-matter-beyonce-kendrick-lamar-protest. Accessed April 13, 2020.
Chang, Jeff. “Can’t Stop Won’t Stop…A History of the Hip Hop Generation,” St. Martins Press,
Jeff Chang, 2005, Accessed April 13, 2020.
Goldstein, Evan. “Performing Redemption. Metzian Theology in the Art of Kendrick Lamar,”
Boston College, Boston College, 2015, Accessed April 13, 2020.
Salmons, Patrick. “Hip hop voices in the era of Mass Incarceration: An examination of Kendrick
Lamar and The Black Lives Matter Movement,” Virginia Polytechnic Institute, Virginia
Polytechnic Institute, 28 April, 2018, Accessed April 13, 2020.
Smith, Christopher Holmes, “"I Don't Like to Dream about Getting Paid": Representations of
Social Mobility and the Emergence of the Hip-Hop Mogul” Duke University Press, Duke University Press, 2003, Accessed April 13, 2020.

Intro:
I see a few posts here every day about lonely men and their struggles in dating.
When I read these posts, the frustration, sadness, and despair are palpable. But since 63% of young men are single, and half of male university students are virgins, I can understand why these posters aren’t happy.
The majority of men are lonely.
While I cannot solve this very real societal phenomenon, I will try to put things into perspective.
After all, trite as it may sound, life is truly about much more than dating. We’ll talk about this later on.
Before we begin, I would like to sincerely dedicate this post to all of those people who carry a void in their hearts every day.
I truly hope that reading the following will bring you at least a little peace of mind.
This is something that you need to tell yourself every single day. Life coaches and toxic PUAs like Andrew Tate are telling you to run game on 5 women every day, but I'm telling you to tell yourself this 5 times a day:
It's not your fault.
This should be said and emphasized a lot more. I want you guys to completely digest this idea. It is important to keep reminding yourself of this truth. Once you truly understand this, you will have a much more peaceful mindset.
The situation you are in was forced upon you.
Genetic determinism is anathema to most people. You will always see the fortunate, the lucky people try to take credit for their living situations, but they won't acknowledge the opportunities they were given.
I want you to understand something: when people tell you "you can do it, you can do anything," they are not saying it for your benefit. They are saying it to gaslight you and feel better about themselves. It implies that if you fail, it was because of something you did wrong.
"You could've done it, but you didn't, so it's your fault."
Don't let people gaslight you.
You look at a guy like Jeremy Meeks, scum of the earth. This guy is the personification of luck. The guy made the wrong choices and decisions at every step of the way, and he still made it as a multimillionaire top model, all because of his looks.
He comes from a broken family, he's a criminal, robber, gangster, beat an underage kid to near death, drug dealer, weapons charges, you fucking name it. Yet, women are worshiping him, literally worshiping him.
I ask you this: how many mistakes is too many? 10? 20? 50?
When you are good-looking, no amount is too many. Anything is forgivable.
​
"Anything is possible. Never give up. God's got a plan for you." - Jeremy Meeks
​
Well, when you look like him, yeah, of course anything is gonna be possible.
​
You look at a guy like Hunter Biden, drug addict and porn actor. Still, he's a board member of a nine-figure international investment firm. All because of his dad. All because he was lucky enough to be born into the Biden family.
You look at Elon Musk, richest guy on earth. He in turn comes from a dirty rich family that makes bank with him off of the backs of literal child slaves. His 80-year-old father made a child with his 30-year-old stepdaughter. Think about it, this guy was fucking 50 years old when he adopted that child.
These are morally bankrupt people, and yet you see the lives they are living.
You look at a guy like Bill Gates, whose classmates' parents literally bought a computer room for his high school during a time when even top U.S. universities didn't have computer rooms. Bill got to spend unlimited time with the latest and greatest computers as a child in the 1960s.
I am not saying Bill is dumb. Of course, you also need brains, but even intelligence is luck.
It's brutal how lucky you have to be in life. Not only do you need the smarts, but you need to be born in the right time and location into the right family. You think a smart kid who was born in a war-torn third-world country stands any chance?
Never.
Fucking never.
You gotta be lucky in this life. The most important factor governing success in life is luck. Looks will directly influence how you are treated by others from the day you were born, before you could even remember. This in turn shapes your personality.
Your intelligence, the opportunities you were born into, your gender; they are all important.
Even in the job market, just your gender influences your chances majorly.
Everything in life comes down to luck.
"Anything is possible, you can do anything."
No, you cannot do anything you want to in life, and it's not your fault. Genetic determinism and luck rule every aspect of your life.
You did nothing wrong.
So don't let anybody gaslight you.
Instead, don't be a free agent in life. Let the blackpill guide you.

This album is the epitome of pop rock from the early 2000's. The features on this album are all over the place in the best way. I think it's incredible how Fall Out Boy was able to take artists from tons of different genres and make them all fit sonically on one. This entire record feels massive production wise. It sounds like the soundtrack of like a war video game or something. This album is absolutely incredible in its cohesiveness.
I would rate this album a 9.5/10
The Pheonix - 9/10
This song sounds straight out of a video game. I feel like I'm gearing up for battle listening to this song. I love the subtle orchestration through out this song. I LOVE the half time breakdown at this end of this song. It fits with the song sooo well.
My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark - 10/10
I've never met anyone that didn't know this song and that's for all the right reasons. Even though you can't really understand what Patrick Stump is singing, if you look at the lyrics, they actually are quite deep. I love how big this song feels.
Alone Together - 9/10
The only reason I gave this song a 9 and not a 10 is because of the "yeah"s in the chorus. They're a little questionable but I absolutely love how vulnerable the lyrics of this song are. It's a nice contrast on an album that feels so heavy.
Where Did The Party Go - 10/10
I am in love with this song. It's just makes you want to dance and it feels like the personification of a messy party. I love love love it.
Just One Yesterday - 10/10
This song features Foxes and I don't think anyone else would have had the same effect on the song as she did. Her voice just floats above Patrick's and they sound absolutely beautiful together. Not to mention the main hook of the song, "If heavens grief brings hells rain, then I'd trade all my tomorrows for just one yesterday", is GUT WRENCHING. It doesn't sound so in the song since it's more upbeat but that is such deep lyric and I love it.
The Mighty Fall - 10/10
This song features Big Sean and it feels MASSIVE. It's not very often that I enjoy a rap feature on a pop rock album but this one hits the nail on the head. This whole song feels like one big declaration. It really fits into the dark feel of the whole album and I would argue it actually shapes the sound of the album.
Miss Missing You - 9/10
This is another song that feels like a really nice break from all the heaviness of this album. Even though the lyrics on this song are quite sad, the overall feel of the song is really upbeat. It's a nice contrast to all the other songs on the record.
Death Valley - 8/10
This is just a fun song on the album. I don't have many feelings about it either way, it's a good song but it wasn't incredibly impressive nor underwhelming.
Young Volcanoes - 9/10
I really like this song being on this record. It doesn't sound like it would fit with the rest of the aesthetic of the album but it somehow does. It's just a super fun song that makes you want to move a bit.
Rat A Tat - 10/10
I love this song so much. It features Courtney Love and, again, I think that no one else could have made the song sound the way it does other than her. The concept of the song starting and ending with the same lyric, "Are you ready for another bad poem?", is absolutely perfect. The whole song creates this world where you feel like you're getting ready to fight someone, it gets you pumped up.
Save Rock and Roll - 10/10
What an absolutely perfect way to end an album. This song features Elton John which is an odd feature for Fall Out Boy, but again, it works so well. The track is another declaration song but more of ballad than any other song on this album. I love the outro of this song as well because it feels like it doesn't want to end; which is a BEAUTIFUL way to end this album.

Saturday, February 03 - Friday, February 09 2024

Top posts

score	comments	title & link
502	26 comments	1989: A young Nas pictured with two of his cousins in Queensbridge
335	50 comments	Im feeling silly today
239	128 comments	Kd 3 did not win…
215	89 comments	Nas is Coming (prod. Dr Dre)
160	33 comments	Hip Hop Is Dead
134	23 comments	😎
115	5 comments	Nas & Prodigy, 1995
75	126 comments	What nas song made you?
108	104 comments	If you could only choose 2 what would you take?
100	70 comments	Who's the best MC?

 

Most Commented

score	comments	title & link
76	68 comments	King's Disease 3 lost rap AOTY to Michael
23	59 comments	If you had one minute to meet Nas, what would you tell him?
84	30 comments	Untitled
98	30 comments	Life Is Good
83	24 comments	What do you guys think about this one?
75	21 comments	Distant Relatives
70	18 comments	When I saw Nas at the nightclub on Halloween and he was dressed as Scarface. Except I think he forgot what city he was in it wasn’t LA I think that’s what he was saying?
96	18 comments	"Meet Joe Black" is my favourite Nas song. What's the meaning behind the name?
91	16 comments	Stillmatic
51	10 comments	Original Photo shot by me. T-shirt designed by me.

 

Top Comments

score	comment
89	Patrick_Vieira said It's a reference to the Brad Pitt film Meet Joe Black. In the movie Pitt played a character named Joe Black who was the personification of death. Nas is saying if you come at him you'll meet death....
84	johnla said I waited on line for about an hour at the Virgin Megastore for the Untitled album for Nas to sign my album. There was a song on there called Project Roach. In one line he said “I got 8 legs”. When I...
59	Patrick_Vieira said There's one life, one love, so there can only be one King
53	Ok_Season5846 said He was definitely forced to be in this lol
42	Dchama86 said They just had to use the lips…
41	grimbo_13 said Nas Is Like.
38	Depressedgotfan said Get the fuck out of here
38	nim342 said Memory lane
34	GAMERS516 said Don’t bite folks 🎣🎣
31	SNKRSWAVY said Got that youngin version of what would become the QB chain on deck
29	twohourr said Still Dreaming up there with one of his best. Not too big on Black Republican
29	Extension-Novel-6841 said I never got the hate for this album. Nas is rapping his ass off as usual and the concept still holds up. Untitled is my favorite song in this album, I swear this album is Nas's most misunderstood in h...
28	Snak_The_Ripper said Mobb & Nas
27	-Younotdeadass- said The first time I heard you're da man as a youngin " Was suicidal, high, smoking so much lah I saw a dead bird flying through a broken sky"....one of my favorite Nas bars to this day.
25	Loptimisme186 said Jay Z wearing lip stick lol

 

Friday, February 02 - Thursday, February 08

Top posts

score	comments	title & link
488	26 comments	1989: A young Nas pictured with two of his cousins in Queensbridge
376	68 comments	It Ain’t Hard To Tell Who My Favourite MC Is!
333	50 comments	Im feeling silly today
238	128 comments	Kd 3 did not win…
212	86 comments	Nas is Coming (prod. Dr Dre)
156	33 comments	Hip Hop Is Dead
133	23 comments	😎
111	5 comments	Nas & Prodigy, 1995
92	17 comments	"Meet Joe Black" is my favourite Nas song. What's the meaning behind the name?
89	16 comments	Stillmatic

 

Most Commented

score	comments	title & link
66	113 comments	What nas song made you?
81	75 comments	If you could only choose 2 what would you take?
76	65 comments	King's Disease 3 lost rap AOTY to Michael
24	57 comments	If you had one minute to meet Nas, what would you tell him?
0	36 comments	Distant Relatives >>> Illmatic
84	30 comments	Untitled
82	24 comments	What do you guys think about this one?
68	20 comments	Distant Relatives
69	18 comments	When I saw Nas at the nightclub on Halloween and he was dressed as Scarface. Except I think he forgot what city he was in it wasn’t LA I think that’s what he was saying?
42	16 comments	Streets Disciple

 

Top Comments

score	comment
114	Street_Neck1441 said It's the grammys who cares
84	johnla said I waited on line for about an hour at the Virgin Megastore for the Untitled album for Nas to sign my album. There was a song on there called Project Roach. In one line he said “I got 8 legs”. When I...
83	Patrick_Vieira said It's a reference to the Brad Pitt film Meet Joe Black. In the movie Pitt played a character named Joe Black who was the personification of death. Nas is saying if you come at him you'll meet death....
75	Patrick_Vieira said Not surprised KD already won plus 2 and 3 were nominated and Nas performed in 2022 The Grammy board has shown Nas a lot of love lately so I wasn't expecting a win KD 3 was definitely the most Gra...
55	Ok_Season5846 said He was definitely forced to be in this lol
53	Awkward-Rent-2588 said Yeah I kinda figured it wasn’t going to Travis. I thought sure KD3 would have got it but at least Mike is finally getting some sort of flowers. Still fuck the Grammys
43	JeremyXVI said I’m glad mike won. It was either kd3 or michael for me both very powerful projects and the only rap albums nominated with any lyrical substance
37	Depressedgotfan said Get the fuck out of here
37	grimbo_13 said Nas Is Like.
36	nim342 said Memory lane
33	GAMERS516 said Don’t bite folks 🎣🎣
32	CoachLee_ said Michael wasn’t good enough to beat out kings disease 3.
32	MrSION_2 said “They argue KD1, KD2 or Magic, what's harder, when... KD3 go harder than all of them!”
31	SNKRSWAVY said Got that youngin version of what would become the QB chain on deck
30	twohourr said Still Dreaming up there with one of his best. Not too big on Black Republican

 

Many of us are struggling immensely in life and don't know what to do.
In this world, where most people under 30 will never be able to afford a house, it’s unfortunately all too easy to blame yourself for your failings in life.
So this post is dedicated to all of those people who carry a void in their hearts every day.
I truly hope that reading this will bring you at least a little peace of mind.
This is something that you need to tell yourself every single day. Life coaches and toxic PUAs like Andrew Tate are telling you to run game on 5 women every day, but I'm telling you to tell yourself this 5 times a day:
It's not your fault.
This should be said and emphasized a lot more. I want you guys to completely digest this idea. It is important to keep reminding yourself of this truth. Once you truly understand this, you will have a much more peaceful mindset.
The situation you are in was forced upon you.
Don't let normies gaslight you.
Genetic determinism is anathema to most people. You will always see the fortunate, the lucky people try to take credit for their living situations, but they won't acknowledge the opportunities they were given.
I want you to understand something: when people tell you "you can do it, you can do anything," they are not saying it for your benefit. They are saying it to gaslight you and feel better about themselves. It implies that if you fail, it was because of something you did wrong.
"You could've done it, but you didn't, so it's your fault."
You look at a guy like Jeremy Meeks, scum of the earth. This guy is the personification of luck. The guy made the wrong choices and decisions at every step of the way, and he still made it as a multimillionaire top model, all because of his looks.
He comes from a broken family, he's a criminal, robber, gangster, beat an underage kid to near death, drug dealer, weapons charges, you fucking name it. Yet, women are worshiping him, literally worshiping him.
I ask you this: how many mistakes is too many? 10? 20? 50?
When you are good-looking, no amount is too many. Anything is forgivable.
​
"Anything is possible. Never give up. God's got a plan for you." - Jeremy Meeks
​
Well, when you look like him, yeah, of course anything is gonna be possible.
​
You look at a guy like Hunter Biden, drug addict and porn actor. Still, he's a board member of a nine-figure international investment firm. All because of his dad. All because he was lucky enough to be born into the Biden family.
You look at Elon Musk, richest guy on earth. He comes from a dirty rich family that makes bank off of the backs of literal child slaves. His 80-year-old father made a child with his 30-year-old stepdaughter. Think about it, this guy was fucking 50 years old when he adopted that child.
These are morally bankrupt people, and yet you see the lives they are living.
You look at a guy like Bill Gates, whose classmates' parents literally bought a computer room for his high school during a time when even top U.S. universities didn't have computer rooms. Bill got to spend time with the latest and greatest computers as a child in the 1960s.
I am not saying Bill is dumb. Of course, you also need brains, but even intelligence is luck.
It's brutal how lucky you have to be in life. Not only do you need the smarts, but you need to be born in the right time and location into the right family. You think a smart kid who was born in a war-torn third-world country stands any chance?
Never.
Fucking never.
You gotta be lucky in this life. The most important factor governing success in life is luck. Looks will directly influence how you are treated by others from the day you were born, before you could even remember. This in turn shapes your personality.
Your intelligence, the opportunities you were born into, your gender; they are all important.
Even in the job market, just your gender influences your chances majorly.
Everything in life comes down to luck.
"Anything is possible, you can do anything."
No, you cannot do anything you want to in life, and it's not your fault. Genetic determinism and luck rule every aspect of your life.
You did nothing wrong.
So don't let anybody gaslight you.
Instead, don't be a free agent in life. Let the blackpill guide you.

I occasionally see posts where some of you guys think you did something to “deserve” your height, either in this life or a hypothetical past life. So this post is for you.
This is something that you need to tell yourself every single day. Life coaches and PUAs like 6’3 Andrew Tate are telling you to run game on 5 women every day, but I'm telling you to tell yourself this 5 times a day:
It's not your fault.
This should be said and emphasized a lot more. I need you guys to completely digest this idea. It is important to keep reminding yourself of this truth. Once you truly understand this, you will have a much more peaceful mindset.
The situation you are in was forced upon you.
Don't let normies gaslight you.
Genetic determinism is anathema to most people. You will always see the fortunate, the lucky people try to take credit for their living situations, but they won't acknowledge the opportunities they were given.
I want you to understand something: when people tell you "you can do it, you can do anything," they are not saying it for your benefit. They are saying it to gaslight you and feel better about themselves. It implies that if you fail, it was because of something you did wrong.
"You could've done it, but you didn't, so it's your fault."
You look at a guy like Jeremy Meeks, scum of the earth. This guy is the personification of luck. The guy made the wrong choices and decisions at every step of the way, and he still made it as a multimillionaire top model, all because of his looks and 6’ height.
He comes from a broken family, he's a criminal, robber, gangster, beat an underage kid to near death, drug dealer, weapons charges, you fucking name it. Yet, women are worshiping him, literally worshiping him.
I ask you this: how many mistakes is too many? 10? 20? 50?
When you are tall and good-looking, no amount is too many. Anything is forgivable.
​
"Anything is possible. Never give up. God's got a plan for you." - Jeremy Meeks
​
Well, when you look like him, yeah, of course anything is gonna be possible.
​
You look at a guy like Hunter Biden, drug addict and porn actor. Still, he's a board member of a nine-figure international company. All because of his dad. All because he was lucky enough to be born into the Biden family.
You look at Elon Musk, richest guy on earth. He comes from a dirty rich family that makes bank off of the backs of literal child slaves. His 80-year-old father made a child with his 30-year-old stepdaughter. Think about it, this guy was fucking 50 years old when he adopted that child.
These are morally bankrupt people, and yet you see the lives they are living.
You look at a guy like Bill Gates, whose classmates' parents literally bought a computer room for his high school during a time when even top U.S. universities didn't have computer rooms. Bill got to spend time with the latest and greatest computers as a child in the 1960s.
I am not saying Bill is dumb. Of course, you also need brains, but even intelligence is luck.
As an aside, notice how all of these people are also considerably above average height except for Bill Gates.
It's brutal how lucky you have to be in life. Not only do you need the smarts, but you need to be born in the right time and location into the right family. You think a smart kid who was born in a war-torn third-world country stands any chance?
Never.
Fucking never.
You gotta be lucky in this life. The most important factor governing success in life is luck. Looks will directly influence how you are treated by others from the day you were born, before you could even remember. This in turn shapes your personality.
Your intelligence, the opportunities you were born into, your gender; they are all important.
Even in the job market, just your gender influences your chances majorly.
Everything in life comes down to luck.
"Anything is possible, you can do anything."
No, you cannot do anything you want to in life, and it's not your fault. Genetic determinism and luck rule every aspect of your life.
You did nothing wrong.
So don't let anybody gaslight you.
Instead, don't be a free agent in life. Let the truth guide you.

About who Astafur is, be sure to read:
The virtual pseudonym is "Astafurov Nikolai Vladimirovich, born in 1932, Tambov city", named after a homeless man from a little-known video, who was allegedly poisoned (in fact, given sleeping pills); the founder of the banter "genre" Christian Gangsta Rap / Trance.
He was one of the first (even before it became "mainstream") who began to widely and obscurantically ridicule Russian folk values in tracks, touching on many topics that are an inviolable shrine for the Russian people of the God-bearer. At the initial stage, he worked within the framework of the project "JESUS CREW" (2008-11), and the first tracks were generally made on the go, pure freestyle, for the sake of banter over Russian subhumans, Christians, then specific topics began to be touched upon, the audience began to grow.
Frostbitten cynicism, a peculiar style, and the image itself – many people smile and approve, as well as find haters. The DJ ASTAFUR project initially has two sides, the first is social, because the image of Astafur, in itself, is the personification of 90% of the Russian population, thus, it shows all the degenerative sides of this subhuman "society" in all its glory, well, the second side is creative, where without it.
Of course, initially and to this day, Astafur's tracks are designed exclusively for adequate and thinking people, but at the same time, for cheerful and able to mock Russian degeneracy. After all, there is enough hatred in our lives, it's enough to go outside and take a look at our current reality. But living in constant tension and perplexity from the inferiority of this society is very difficult and sometimes even harmful. Therefore, it is necessary for any sane person who has the fate to be born, live or visit Russia to ridicule and spit on the "values" that the patriotic degenerates of Russia, Antifascists and other cocksuckers live. For some, Astafur's tracks are just entertainment for the sake of meaningless giggling, they really do not catch up with the message, true banter and cynicism, okay, no one forbids, but in the old days we in the Jesus Crew group sent such nonsense to the cockerel and sprayed with urea for Russia and Stalin!!

There's a big difference between writing this:
"I love you so much even with our fighting"
And then writing this:
"You're in my blood like holy wine, you taste so bitter and so sweet. I could drink a case of you and still be on my feet." -Joni Mitchell
Both are trying to express the same emotion, but one is much more powerful and not "boring." So how do you write like that? You learn what you didn't pay attention to in high school or college English class... the subject of rhetorical devices. Rhetorical devices, also called literary figures, are techniques and templates or "formulas" for making a phrase memorable and compelling. You’re probably already familiar with a few devices such as metaphor and simile, but they go much deeper than that. The example of Joni Mitchell is a technique called "catachresis," and many other songs use the same technique but with different words. Mark Forsyth’s book "The Elements of Eloquence" goes into great detail about how to use these techniques and the countless different song lyrics they appear in, as well as poetry, stories, slogans, and even historical speeches.
"From classic poetry to pop lyrics, from Charles Dickens to Dolly Parton, even from Jesus to James Bond, Mark Forsyth explains the secrets that make a phrase memorable."
All of the following lines below use different types of rhetorical devices, and the most memorable songs contain at least a dozen and sometimes more different types of devices. If your song doesn't contain any rhetorical devices, it's likely it won't be that memorable. See for yourself by comparing the most timeless songs to those of average forgettable songs. Once you learn and spot the different types of rhetorical devices, the evidence will be profound to you. Other examples of rhetorical devices:
"Dance me to the end of love" -another example of catachresis by Leonard Cohen
“I was so much older then, I'm younger than that now” -Bob Dylan uses antithesis and paradox
“You got to know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em.” -Kenny Rogers also uses antithesis
“People talking without speaking, people hearing without listening.” -Paul Simon uses another example of paradox
“Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene” -Dolly Parton uses epizeuxis
“Galileo, Galileo, Galileo, Galileo, Galileo Figaro…” -Queen uses epizeuxis as well
“Why do we scream at each other? This is what it sounds like when doves cry…” -Prince uses personification
There are dozens and dozens of different types that Mark talks about in his book so I highly recommend reading it and practicing it using your own word ideas. Rhetorical devices are the missing ingredient that spell the difference between boring or beautiful, classic or cringe, and memorable or mundane. Even the most memorable rap and hip hop songs contain them: https://ultracrepidarian.home.blog/2019/02/24/rhetorical-devices-in-hip-hop/
​
​
​

In one of my previous posts, I touched on the strangeness of the Ra'Zac. After doing some research on the topic, I found enough to split it out into its own post.
tl;dr

the four peaks of helgrind correspond with the four stages of the Ra'zac, which corresponds with the insect life cycle
Theres a fourth stage of ra'zac that lends to space-travel/space-hunting
Angvard, god of Death, is related to Fells Anvara (the name of the highest peak of Helgrind)
"The Great Dragon" mentioned in Urgal mythos is the fourth "Butterfly" stage of Ra'Zac
The "met but not in this form" antagonist for Book 5 is the butterfly stage (form) for the Ra'Zac
The blue gore from the Ra'Zac is hemocyanin, closely related to hemoglobin (blood) often found in crustaceans. This links together with this tweet from CP, in which exclaims that butterflies (Ra'Zac form four) are actually crustaceans. They may also be going through the process of Carcinization, given their age and different stages.

Let's dive in.
What are the Ra'Zac?
The Ra'Zac are a species shrouded in mystery. They are strange creatures with very different, almost unique characteristics from the other species in Alagaesia. They have multiple stages of life (more on that later). They transition from their bipedal stage (in which they are called the Ra'Zac) to a winged stage, the Lethrblaka, after ~20 years. The names can be confusing because their species as a whole (with multiple different stages) is called the "Ra'Zac", but the bi-pedal individual form is also referred to as the Ra'Zac. OK, cool, we understand them from a high-level. So, what are some of the characteristics that make them different? Let's take a look at the text. This passage is from Oromis, describing the Ra'Zac to Ergaon in Eldest:

"They can see on a cloudy night, track a scent like a bloodhound, jump higher, and move faster. However, bright light pains them and they have a morbid fear of deep water, for they cannot swim. Their greatest weapon is their evil breath, which fogs the minds of humans—incapacitating many—though it is less potent on dwarves, and elves are immune altogether" (Eldest p. 357).

So, here is a quick recap:

• They have multiple stages in their life cycle (More on this later)
  
• Paralyzing/Poisonous Breath
  
• Sensitivity to Light (Lidless eyes)
  
• Heightened sense of smell
  
• Fear of water
  

But that's not all that's unique. There's also:

• Mentally hidden/shielded

"What I didn’t find were the Ra’zac or the Lethrblaka. Even if I somehow overlooked the Ra’zac, their parents are so large, their life force should blaze like a thousand lanterns, even as Saphira’s does. Aside from Katrina and a few other dim specks of light, Helgrind is black, black, black" (Brisingr p. 7).
"Casting his mind outward, Eragon confirmed the presence of the two people whom he had discovered imprisoned within Helgrind the previous day, but he felt nothing of the slaves, and to his concern, he still could not locate the Ra’zac or the Lethrblaka" (Brisingr p. 28).
" And yet, Eragon still could not sense them or the Lethrblaka. Are they an illusion too? he wondered. But no, that was nonsense; the flesh Saphira tore at with her talons was real enough. Another explanation occurred to him: perhaps it was impossible to detect their presence. Perhaps the Ra’zac could conceal themselves from the minds of humans, their prey, just as spiders conceal themselves from flies" (Brisingr p. 29).

There is a common misconception that the mental shield is a function of wards placed around the Ra'Zac by Galbatorix, or some sort of wild magic around Helgrind. However, we can tell from this passage that the mental invisibility is not unique to these particular Ra'Zac, and it's not a function of Helgrind or wards Galbatorix placed around the Ra'Zac:

" As they sorted through Galbatorix’s great hoard of knowledge... However, the only mentions of the Lethrblaka or the Ra’zac he saw were in works by the elves and the Riders from ages past, where they discussed the dark menace of the night and wondered what was to be done about a foe that could not be detected with magic of any sort" (Inheritance p. 494).

Moving on with the different characteristics:

• Different colored Blood

"Something cracked inside the Ra’zac, and the creature went rolling across the cave for a dozen or more paces. It immediately popped up again, leaving a smear of blue gore on the uneven rock" (Brisingr p. 31).

• Extra joint in their legs

"Each leg had an extra backward-bending joint, something that Eragon had never seen before, but which accounted for the Ra’zac’s unsettling gait" (Inheritance p. 196).

• Ancient:

"I am the lassst of my race, Shadeslayer. We are ancient, and I would not have us forgotten" (Brisingr p. 43).

Based on all the above information, they sound almost... Alien. Not only alien to Alagaesia but Alien to that entire universe/dimension. They are physically very different from any species on Alagaesia, but beyond that, the inherent mental invisibility is something we don't really see anywhere else (naturally). It's a very unique characteristic.
CP may be hinting at it here:

"What manner of creature are they?
[Oromis] - Neither elf; man; dwarf; dragon; furred, finned, or feathered beast; reptile; insect; nor any other category of animal" (p. 357).

The Ra'Zac as a species are also known by several other names -

"You do not deserve such a great honor, but it will please the Old Ones, and in all things we strive to satisfy their desires. We are their faithful servants, and they our masters cruel and implacable: the three-faced god—the hunters of men, the eaters of flesh, and the drinkers of blood" (Inheritance p. 191).

The Old Ones (!), the Three-Faced God, the Hunters of Men, the Eaters of Flesh and the Drinkers of Blood.

"It is commonly believed that we worship Helgrind. That is a lie we tell others to conceal the true nature of our religion. It is not Helgrind that we revere—it is the Old Ones who made their lair within and to whom we sacrificed our flesh and blood. The Ra’zac are our gods, Dragon Rider—the Ra’zac and the Lethrblaka" (Inheritance p. 191).

It's mentioned that the Priests often debate/discuss the peaks of Helgrind. But taking the above quote into context, it means the priests aren't actually referring to the physical mountain Helgrind when they debate the peaks fo the mountain. If that's the case, what are they referring to? Let's dive in more.

"Of the four peaks, only three are named: Gorm, Ilda, and Fell Angvara and Brom mentioned that the mountain's priests spend a large amount of their time "arguing over which peak is the tallest and if the fourth deserves to be named".

I don't have the exact quote here since I don't have a digital copy of Eragon, but this is a direct quote from the Eragon Wiki.
So there are actually four peaks on Helgrind, but only three are named, the tallest of which is called "Fell Angvara." Interesting. And it's debated if the fourth peak is worth naming/worshipping at all. Interesting.
It's time to get into some headcanon. I believe each "peak" corresponds with the phases of the Ra'Zac's life cycle. And the "peaks" are merely euphemisms for the each stage so the Priests can talk/debate about them in the open. Religious debates between the breatest of the peaks isn't just discussion on the mountain itself, it's a discussion on the corresponding stage of the Ra'Zac lifecycle.
Wait a second - how can this be? There are three (four if you include the unnamed peak) peaks at Helgrind. But only two stages of Ra'Zac? Let's keep going.
They are called "the Three-Faced God" by the High Priest. This implies they have at least three "faces" or "stages" in their life cycle. Initially, when researching I brushed off the mention of the fourth peak. But after running across this tweet from CP back in 2017, the theory starts to make sense:

*Q: "Is there a third stage for Ra'zac/Lethrblaka? The Helgrind priest seemed to imply as such with his "three-faced god" line.
A: "They turn into giant butterflies and fly to the moon where they live in peace with the cannibalistic space elves. Why do you ask?"

This answer is intriguing in more ways than one.
Assuming CP is being genuine in his response (which I think he is, in his own way) the Ra'Zac DO have (at least) three stages. And it would imply the third stage (or FORM (!)) is something we haven't witnessed yet in the books (!). The third stage could also be characterized as the "fourth" stage if you classify the egg stage as a distinct from the larval stage. We know the Ra'Zac are birthed from eggs... so it fits.

"In front of them, the leftmost egg began to rock back and forth ever so slightly, and from it came a faint tapping, like the rapping of a tiny hammer." (Inheritance p. 192).

Following that line of logic, I postulate that the fourth stage (and corresponding fourth peak) is the egg stage. And as Eggs are not really formidable or significant, the priests don't name it or worship it. But it still does exist. And it's reflected in Helgrind.
There's some additional supporting (anecdotal) real-world evidence.
CP mentioned on Twitter that the Ra'Zac are inspired by Crickets, specifically the Jerusalem cricket.
CP also included a subtle nod to the crickets and their relation to Ra'Zac in Inheritance here:

"A huge, wingless cricket clung to his glove. The insect was hideous: black and bulbous, with barbed legs and a massive, skull-like head. Its carapace gleamed like oil" (Under Hill and Stone, Inheritance)

As you may or may not know, insects have a defined life cycle split up into FOUR stages:
Egg, Larva, Pupa, and Adult. So, let's map it out.
The insect Egg stage corresponds with Ra'Zac's egg stage, which corresponds with the fourth unnamed peak in Helgrind.
The insect Larval stage corresponds with the bi-pedal Ra'Zac stage, which corresponds with the first (named) peak of Helgrind, Gorm. Or Ilda - I'm not sure exactly which is which.
The Pupal stage corresponds with the Lethrblaka stage, which corresponds with the second (named) peak, Ilda. Or Gorm, I'm not sure which is which.
Lastly, the insect Adult stage corresponds with the aforementioned, unseen "Butterfly" stage, which corresponds with the third (and highest) named peak, Fell Angvara (! I'll come back to this name in a bit).
Now, this theory is not a perfect fit. There is some textual evidence to the contrary. In the books, the Bipedal Ra'Zac are referred to as the "pupa" stage by Oromis:

Oromis - "When they hatch, the young—or pupae—grow black exoskeletons that mimic the human form" (p. 357).

But, assuming CP is genuine in his answer on Twitter, the bipedal stage corresponding with the pupa stage doesn't make sense (assuming the fourth "butterfly" stage is real). If true, the Ra'Zac have two additional stages after Bipdeal (Lethrblaka and Butterfly), as the Pupal stage is the typically penultimate stage in the insect life cycle.
Note - The "four lifecycle stages" also somewhat lines up with the name "three-faced god," as the Helgrind religion does not name the fourth peak, and the corresponding stage (eggs) do not have a fully-formed face. It's not a perfect fit, but I'll favor to CP's answer on Twitter as the source of truth.
Shoutout to u/_ShadowFyre_ for his comment to tie this next part together
Cool. Next, Let's revisit the strange Blue blood/gore. Interesting. Where else do we see that in nature?
Hemocyanin.
Hemocyanin is a copper-containing protein chemically unlike hemoglobin found in some crustaceans. It serves a similar purpose to hemoglobin in the bodies of some invertebrates (especially crustaceans)
But... Crustacean? I thought the Ra'Zac were related to insects or crickets.
They are. But there's a really funny tweet from CP that ties everything together. Remember, if our theory above is correct, the fourth form of the Ra'Zac are butterflies. With that said, I'd like to call your attention to the tweet:

Huh. Apparently butterflies are crustaceans!

Now why would he be thinking about butterflies in relation to crustaceans... Very specific coincidence. :) This is another piece of evidence confirming the connection.
One last nugget here is the concept of Carcinization.
Carcinization is a form of convergent evolution in which non-crab crustaceans evolve a crab-like body plan. The term was introduced into evolutionary biology by L. A. Borradaile, who described it as "the many attempts of Nature to evolve a crab (Wikipedia).
Now, I know it's a long-shot, but if butterflies are crustaceans, and the Ra'Zac are ancient (and have multiple stages/forms), and evolution takes time - But maybe they are in the process of Carcinization.
Cool. Let's shift our focus here.
The name of the last peak is certainly interesting. Fell Angvara. Angvara. Interesting name.. it almost sounds like... no... It couldn't be... Angvard?
Hold on - Who or what is Angvard? Let's review a few passages. Angvard is not mentioned in Eldest (and I don't have a digital copy of Eragon to confirm if it's there). But the first mention I can find of the name is in Brisingr:

" [King Orin] - We answer to Angvard, in his realm of eternal twilight. We answer to the Gray Man on his gray horse. Death. We could be the worst tyrants in the whole of history, and given enough time, Angvard would bring us to heel. . . . But not you. Humans are a short-lived race, and we should not be governed by one of the Undying" (Brisingr p. 145).

There are a few other passages of note:

"[Dying Varden Solider] Ah, no, help me! They won’t die! Angvard take them, they won’t die!" (Brisingr p. 190).
"Nasuada expects us to end the siege within a few days, and by Angvard, I’ll see it done!" (Inheritance p. 88).

Using those clues, we can safely assume that Angvard was the human god of Death. Angvard is also present in the Dwarven religion, as Angvard is the personification of death. Note the terminology there - Personification, but not God. And there is no other named God of death in the Dwarven religion, just the "personification" of death. Interesting.
Before we get too ahead of ourselves, the likely answer here is that the Ra'Zac are deadly to humans, and as such, Humans/Priests of Helgrind labeled the peaks as the God/personification of death (since the Priests view Ra'Zac as Gods). While that explanation makes total sense, it's boring, so I want to discuss some more out-there theories.
Below this line are very low-fidelity theories with little textual evidence to support them. You have been warned - read at your own risk.
As I said earlier - There is no other named God of death in the Dwarven religion, just the "personification" of death. If some of my other theories are to be believed (namely, that there is a missing God from the Dwarven religion), could Angvard be the missing (or cast-down/exiled) God? And could that God relate with the creation of the Ra'zac (the creation of which is potentially why they were cast down to begin with), which is why the peak is named Fell Angvara ?!?
Maybe. Probably not. To be honest, I'm at a bit of a dead end at this point. There are a LOT of other interesting characteristics, but none of them seem to lead in one particular direction with high-fidelity evidence to support it.
Here's an interesting passage from Eldest:

Oromis - "Just as ospreys are designed to be the best possible hunters of fish, wolves are designed to be the best hunters of deer and other large game, and every animal is gifted to best suit its purpose. So too are the Ra’zac designed to prey upon humans"

That's certainly an interesting usage of the word "designed." Initially, I assumed the usage of the word "designed" to refer to scientific design, a la evolution. But what if it's not just evolution? What if they were, quite literally, designed (Maybe - By an Old One (who I think are the Dwarven gods), formemissing Dwarve Angvard)) to hunt humans? It's an interesting thought. But there's not a ton to go on. I want to take a different direction with my theory.
There are a few other curious things from that scene. The elves, explicitly Arya and Oromis, think the Ra'Zac are inherently evil. For a race that's so pragmatic, that's a strong stance to take.

"I have no love for Urgals, but neither do I hate them. Unlike the Ra’zac, they are not inherently evil, merely overfond of war" (Brisingr p. 120).

The Riders, too, are supposed to be a peacekeeping force. But as a whole, they decided to commit genocide against the Ra'Zac.

[Oromis] "When we, the Riders, became aware of the Ra’zac’s foul presence in Alagaësia, we did our best to eradicate them, as we would leaf blight. Unfortunately, we were only partially successful" (Eldest p. 359).

The Riders are not just humans; it includes Elves as well (who were not the favorite targets of the Ra'Zac). So, we have two examples of generally peaceful groups that see the Ra'Zac and think them inherently evil. It seems strange that the riders did not first try to parlay with them. That's pretty strange for a peacekeeping force. I think there's something below the surface here, an enmity older than the existence of the riders.

"and emerge as adults ready to hunt all creatures, not just humans" (Eldest p. 357).

The whole lifecycle seems a bit strange, doesn't it? If they were "designed" to hunt humans, why do they have another stage after that to hunt other creatures? And then potentially ANOTHER life stage after that? It hints at the possibility that they had another stage to hunt in space.

"The Old Ones have always nested on Helgrind" (Inheritance p. 192)"

Old Ones. We've heard that name somewhere else ;). I won't get into the details because I covered it in some previous posts. I don't believe the Ra'Zac ARE the Old Ones from Fractalverse, but the naming overlap is too significant to be a coincidence. And we know the Ra'Zac are ancient.
"[High Priest of Helgrind] You, too, we wish gone, Rider. The dragons were the Old Ones’ greatest enemies. Without them, and without Galbatorix, there would be no one to stop the Old Ones from feasting where and how they will."
So, it sounds like the Dragons and Lethrblaka have been foes for a long time - Potentially foes for longer than the existence of the Riders. But how did they clash with the Dragons if they only first arrived when following humans to Alagaesia? Let's run with that assumption for a bit.
We know the Ra'Zac are ancient, we know they hate dragons (likely because they cannot hunt/kill/eat them easily) and we know they did not exist in Alagaesia for some time before they followed the humans to the continent.
We also know the Riders tried to exterminate them once they became aware of them in Alagaesia without first attempting any peace efforts. This implies existing knowledge of the Ra'Zac, despite them having never been on the continent before. Or... had they?
Ladies and Gentlement, for the next part of our theory, I call your attention to the mythology of the Urgals. Specifically Rhana.
"Rahna is mother of us all, and it was she who invented weaving and farming and she who raised the Beor Mountains when she was fleeing the great dragon"
We know that Urgals have a different (internal) nomenclature for what we known as dragons. They can refer to them Worms, as seen in FWW.
So, I realize it's a long-shot, but I wonder - What if the great dragon in the the Urgal story is the FOURTH evolution of the Ra'Zac - The butterfly-like creature. And that the Dwarven gods and the Urgal gods overlap (at least partially).
Rahna has some similarities to the Dwarven god Sindri, goddess of the earth. Goddess of the Earth sounds a lot like Gaea. Who in turn sounds a lot like "Mother of us all". They overlap, at least partially.
What if that story involves the Old Ones (Dwarven/Urgal gods) fleeing from the butterfly Ra'Zac, landing in Alagaesia, then creating the Beor's to hide/protect themselves and The Great Beacon (see my other posts for context on that) while they worked to develop creatures that could fight the butterfly Ra'Zac.
And that's how/why Dragons (alongside the other races) were created. As an weapon to fight the Ra'Zac.
And then building on that (I know, I know):
We know that the Great Beacons (great hole) from the Fractalverse are a prison. Maybe they're a prison to keep the Ra'Zac confied within the world/dimension/universe of Alagaesia.
I have literally zero evidence to support that statement, it's just a fun thought I had when researching.
OK, back to reality. We're over the 20k character mark, so I'll leave the last few interesting tidbits I found and call it a night.
There are a lot of specific references to the moon in relation to the Ra'Zac, which, combined with the fact that they are ancient, supports the general notion that they are not of Alagaesia and hunted in space in the past:

"On the first full moon of their twentieth year, they shed their exoskeletons, spread their wings, and emerge as adults ready to hunt all creatures, not just humans" (p. 357).

and

"They turn into giant butterflies and fly to the moon where they live in peace with the cannibalistic space elves."

This is odd, isn't it? They are designed to hunt humans, and then go through another transformation that supports their ability to hunt a wider variety of creatures. But they can live in peace with cannibalistic space elves?
And we know that the moon (or what looks like some kind of eclipse) will be featured in some way related to the Book 5 antagonist. Not saying they're related, but it's a coincidence.
I searched high and low in Fractalverse and the Inheritance books for references to cannibalism, space elves, butterflies, the moon, etc. There's not a lot of evidence that points in any particular direction. There are a few loose connections.
Maybe there's a connection between the Helgrind religion/Ra'Zac to the worshippers in black on Vroengard? Due to their mental sheilding? Not sure.

" He saw seven dwarves garbed entirely in black... In their right hands, the dwarves held long, sharp daggers with pale blades that flickered with prismatic colors, while in their left, each carried a metal buckler with a sharpened spike protruding from the boss. Their minds, like those of the Ra’zac, were hidden from Eragon" (Brisingr p. 270).
" Eragon continued to study the valley, comparing it to what Glaedr had shown him, and he frowned when he saw a line of bobbing lights—lanterns, he thought—within the abandoned city. He whispered a spell to sharpen his sight and was able to make out a line of hooded figures in dark robes walking slowly through the ruins" (Inheritance p. 329).

This passage is so frustrating - He didn not reach out with his mind! I get it, he didn't want to alert them to his presence if they're dangerous. But I have a sneaking suspicion that he may not have found anything if he did. They may have been hidden. This is supported by the next passage:

"Since their first night on Vroengard, he had seen no sign of the strange, hooded figures whom he had watched wending their way through the city, nor had he felt any hint of their minds" (Inheritance p. 345).

Well - that's pretty much it folks. Sorry for the anti-climactic ending, I have to go do real-life stuff for the rest of today. I hope you all enjoy reading! Looking forward to hear y'alls responses.

Edgewalker's Identity & More

Alright, now that I have your attention (shameless clickbait is shameless), let us discuss, erm, "metalworking, copper salts, and Tiste origin myths." I promise you, this leads somewhere.

Chapter One: Metalworking in the Malazan World

In our world, the Bronze Age was one of the first metalworking ages humanity reached, in ca. 3500-3000 BCE. Bronze is an alloy of Copper (the Chalcolithic age began around the 5000 BCE range), a native metal (i.e. a metal whose pure elemental form can be found freely in nature, and not bound in ores) and tin, often extracted through its oxides. Ironworking was first perfected in and around 2000 BCE, and was widespread throughout the world by about 500 BCE. Cast iron was a later invention, first used in China in - approximately - the 6th century CE.
Before then, you have the "(Greek-rooted suffix)lithic" ages, dating back from the first usage of stone by Hominids to the Chalcolithic (Copper) age in 5000 BCE. In other words, copper was the first breakthrough in metalworking in humanity's history, and its alloys - bronze, brass, etc. - have seen use since.
In Malazan, alas, things are never quite that simple. Toc the Younger provides for us a baseline (though Envy seems to take great pleasure in tearing it down) in Memories of Ice:

The scout shrugged. 'Seems likely. According to some Malazan scholars, the discovery of iron occurred only half a thousand years ago – for the peoples of the Quon Tali continent, in any case. Before that, everyone used bronze. And before bronze we used unalloyed copper and tin. Before those, why not stone?'
'Ah, I knew you had been educated, Toc the Younger. Human scholars, alas, tend to think solely in terms of human accomplishments. Among the Elder Races, the forging of metals was quite sophisticated. Improvements on iron itself were known. My father's sword, for example.'

To follow up on this example, I invite you to search the Kharkanas Trilogy & take a shot for every race that has mastered ironworking to some extent. A non-exhaustive list would include at least the Jaghut & Tiste, as well as the Forulkan (whom warred with the Tiste for access to Hust iron) and possibly the Jheck. Even the Deniers have access to ironworks.
Hust Henarald gives us a brief timeline of events, which at least informs us of when the first extensive ironworks came to the Tiste - that is, with "the age of the Hust," possibly starting with him.

‘The forges are dying. The age of the Hust ends. We burned our way into a world of ash. Could you even imagine, my friend, how it felt? The day I walked a forest of stumps and holes, of ravaged ground, roots clawing the sky, and saw upon all sides the ledger of my enterprise, my sordid fever? Did I think the new vistas promised escape? Did I set my gaze upon distant hills, verdant with nature, and but lick my lips?’ He shuddered suddenly, and the wool slipped down to reveal the bones of his shoulders prominent beneath thin skin. The man was naked beneath the robe. ‘I might have. I might have. Mother bless me, but I might have.’

Indeed, most of the Tiste seem to have maintained their iron weaponry going into the Book of the Fallen. However, we do get a very interesting tidbit from Midnight Tides:

Hung from hooks on the crossbeams were scores of weapons, some from the earliest days, when the art of forging iron had been lost in the dark times immediately following Father Shadow's disappearance, the rough bronze of these weapons pitted and warped.

A lot of the Edur warriors do wear bronze armour & wield bronze weapons (though Trull's spear is iron-tipped) which is quite unlike the rest of the Tiste. Though, this is following Scabandari's disappearance & thereby after the Sundering.
One last thing that bears mentioning before we move on is the way such weapons & armour deteriorate throughout time. Iron, as I'm sure everyone reading this is aware, rusts. Rust is - more often than not - iron(III) oxides (i.e. Fe~2~O~3~) & sometimes iron oxide hydroxides (e.g. Fe(OH)~3~). In almost all cases, rust is of a reddish-brown colour, and is very obvious & unmistakeable.
Copper deterioration is often different (often dependant on environmental factors), though one of the main ways copper deteriorates is with the accumulation of verdigris, which - depending on interpretation - is a varying mix of carbonates, sulphates, sulfides, or chlorides (again depending on environmental factors). For our purposes, "verdigris" refers to copper salts of acetic acid (i.e. Cu(CH~3~CO~2~)).
Great. What does that have to do with anything, and - more so - what does that have to do with Edgewalker of all people?
Still with me? Great.

Chapter Two: Edgewalker's appearance & "attributes"

Our first encounter with Edgewalker (publication order wise) is actually in Night of Knives' prologue:

Across the plain, all directions stretching to a featureless horizon, identical, monotonous, a figure hitched a cripple’s slow limp.
Like a playful follower, a whirlwind lurched upon the figure, engulfing it in a swirling winding-sheet of umber dust. The figure walked on without flinching, without raising a hand or turning its head. The dust-dervish spun on and away, scudding an aimless spiral route. The figure tramped a straight path, its twisted right leg gouging the sand with every step.
It wore the tattered remains of what might have once been thick cloth over armour of leather and scale. Its naked arms hung desiccated and cured to little more than leather-clad bones. Within a bronze and verdigrised helm, its face disclosed only empty pits, nose a gaping cavern, lips dried and withdrawn from caried teeth. A rust-bitten sword hung across its back.

And, already, we get quite the detailed appearance. To sum up the details quickly: * Edgewalker has a hitching gait, probably indicating a past injury * His armour is leather on "scale" - unfortunately that's all we get, and scale armour could be made from a whole fuckton of things, from iron to bronze to boiled leather to seeds(!). * His helm is made of bronze & extensively verdigrised, hinting at extreme age * His sword is made of iron though it too has aged extensively
Edgewalker also seems to at least be proficient with his sword, hinting at the fact that it's not just ceremonial:

Temper poured every ounce of strength into his arm but now her greasy hair brushed at his face. His own blood dripped from her mouth onto his cheek and burned there as if turned to acid. A hiss gurgled from the creature’s throat. Temper wrenched his face away as far as humanly possible.
The thing snarled and whipped over him suddenly. Its hair was yanked from his face. Temper glanced back: a fist had gathered up a handhold of the creature’s hair and was pulling back its head. The thing hissed, writhed and spat wordlessly. Its neck was bent backwards to an impossible angle. Its eyes glared blackest fury. A long blade came down in front of the neck, rusted, its edges uneven, more like an ancient iron bar than a sword. It sawed into the pale flesh inches from Temper’s face. The neck parted with a wet, ragged scission like a rotten fruit split from its stem, and hot fetid blood gushed out onto Temper. The thing spasmed, pulled away, its arms beating at him, its snake limb lashing the stones.
Temper threw himself aside, slapped at his cheeks and eyes where the corrupt blood stung as if poison. ‘Gods! Aw, gods!’ On his knees he vomited, groaned, wiped his mouth and lay dragging in great lungfuls of welcome air. Whoever had rescued him stood over the butchered corpse. Headless, the body still twitched. Like a leech, Temper thought, and almost heaved again. Slowly he got to his feet and spat to clear his mouth. ‘My thanks, stranger.’
The man said nothing. In the shifting moonlight Temper now saw that perhaps things had got worse. Who or whatever his saviour was, it wasn’t alive. It was a walking cadaver, desiccated, wearing shredded armour, its dried flesh curled back from yellowed teeth, its eye sockets empty and dark. In one hand it held the head, blood dripping, black hair matted.
‘Disgusting parasites,’ the thing said in a voice as dry as sifting sand. It tossed the head aside where it rolled under an empty vendor’s cart.
Temper pulled his gaze from where the head had vanished. ‘Yeah. Damned disgusting all right.’
‘Please do not think they belong to Shadow. They are trespassers. Like you.’
‘Like me?’ Temper eyed the thing. It resembled an Imass warrior, though taller and slimmer. He wondered why it had stepped in. ‘Who do I thank for my life?’
The being inclined its head a fraction. Temper heard dry flesh creaking like leather. ‘Edgewalker.’
‘Temper. So, what now?’
Edgewalker gestured a skeletal hand to the shops and houses lining the way. ‘You’d best remain inside. The dwellings will be respected, mostly.’
‘Sorry, but I can’t do that.’
Edgewalker shrugged ever so slightly. ‘Then I wish you better luck.’

We also get a few tidbits from Cotillion about him:

As he strode into the clear, eyes fixed on a distant ring of standing stones, he felt a presence at his side, and turned to see a tall, skeletal creature, bedecked in rags, walking to match his pace. Not close enough to reach out and touch, but too close for Cotillion’s comfort nonetheless. ‘Edgewalker. It has been some time since I last saw you.’
‘I cannot say the same of you, Cotillion. I walk—’
‘Yes, I know,’ Cotillion cut in, ‘you walk paths unseen.’
‘By you. The Hounds do not share your failing.’
[...]
The skeletal face held a permanent grin, but in some way it seemed to broaden slightly. ‘There is no privacy in Shadow, Usurper.’
Usurper. I’d have long since killed this bastard if he wasn’t already dead. Long since.

Which, in case it wasn't obvious enough already, more or less confirms that Edgewalker is dead. Or, at least, close enough to death to where killing him (if such a thing would even be possible) wouldn't make a difference to Cotillion.
Moreover, we get a fairly oblique mention that Edgewalker is an Elder God:

‘Even when Darkness ruled alone,’ Ampelas replied, ‘there were elemental forces. Moving unseen until the coming of Light. Bound only to their own laws. It is the nature of Darkness that it but rules itself.’
[...]
‘What will you do now?’
‘Why should I tell you?’
Edgewalker did not immediately reply. They continued down the slope, strode out onto the plain. ‘You should tell me,’ the apparition finally said, ‘because I might be inclined to give you assistance.’
‘That would mean more to me if I knew who – what – you are.’
‘You may consider me … an elemental force.’

And lastly, Panek says one of the most cryptic things I've yet to decipher (though I'm not convinced it has anything to do with Edgewalker per se):

Panek swung to face him. ‘I miss him,’ he said.
‘Who?’
‘Edgewalker.’
‘Why? I doubt that sack of bones could fight his way out of a birch-bark coffin.’
‘Not to fight at our sides, Uncle. We will hold here. Mother worries too much.’
‘Which mother?’
A hideous, sharp-toothed smile. ‘Both.’
‘Why do you miss Edgewalker, then?’
‘For his stories.’
‘Oh, those.’
‘The dragons. The foolish ones, the wise ones, the living ones and the dead ones. If every world were but a place on the board, they would be the game pieces. Yet no single hand directs them. Each is wild, a will unto itself. And then there are the shadows – Edgewalker explained about those – the ones you can’t see.’
‘He explained, did he? Well, clearly the hoary bastard likes you more than he does me.’
‘They all cast shadows, Uncle,’ Panek said. ‘Into your realm. Every one of them. That’s why there’s so many…prisoners.’
Cotillion frowned, then, slowly, inexorably as comprehension dawned, the god’s eyes widened.

We move on to Edgewalker being present at least before the Sundering:

‘You are not welcome in Kurald Emurlahn,’ she said.
Anomandaris Purake settled cool eyes upon the monstrous creature. ‘Do you imagine I contemplate claiming the throne for myself?’
‘You would not be the first.’
He faced the rent again. ‘You are besieged, Kilmandaros, and Edgewalker is committed elsewhere. I offer you my help.’
‘With you, Tiste Andii, my trust is not easily earned.’
‘Unjustified,’ he replied. ‘Unlike many others of my kind, I accept that the rewards of betrayal are never sufficient to overwhelm the cost. There are Soletaken now, in addition to feral dragons, warring in Kurald Emurlahn.’

Which - I have to admit - could simply be down to myth (since just like many, many such interactions of eons-old creatures, it feels very disconnected from reality), but I think this much holds - Edgewalker's reputation as Guardian of Shadow must've been earned somehow.
We also get one more interesting detail about Edgewalker:

Approaching with a hitched gait was a tall figure, so desiccated that its limbs seemed little more than tree roots, its face naught but rotted, weathered skin stretched over bone. Long grey hair drifted out unbound from a pallid, peeling scalp.

He has long greying hair. Keep this in mind as we move on to his, er, exploits.

Chapter Three: Edgewalker's Exploits

It's at least tangentially known to most people that Edgewalker's capacity as Guardian of Shadow wasn't always the case. He does not seem to be a being that manifested of Shadow; indeed, he says as much in Night of Knives:

‘What of a ruler? If this is Shadow then does it have a throne?’ Edgewalker remained silent for a time, long enough for Kiska to lean closer. Had he died?
But at last he asked, ‘What of it?’
‘I was told someone would attempt to take it this night.’
‘Countless have tried. All have failed. Even those who succeeded for a time. Myself included, after a fashion. Now I walk its boundaries forever. And I fared better than most.’

Furthermore, Edgewalker is capable enough to terrify Elder Gods & Soletaken alike:

‘Come down here,’ she said in a rasp, ‘your death is long overdue.’
‘Others concur,’ he admitted. ‘In fact, it’s why I’m, uh, lingering here. Only one portal survives. No, not the one you came through—that one has since crumbled.’
‘And who waits for you there, Osserc?’
‘Edgewalker.’
Kilmandaros bared her massive fangs in a broad smile. And then threw a laugh back at him. She moved on.
His voice sounded surprised as he called out behind her. ‘What are you doing? He is angry. Do you not understand? He is angry!’

Though Kilmandaros herself admits that she has no memory of this meeting taking place, it is still evidence enough that Edgewalker could beat the snot out of Osserc with ease.
Moreover, Sechul Lath & company seem to treat Edgewalker as though he is indeed an Elder God, albeit he's never phrased as such:

‘Draconus is lost within Dragnipur. Nightchill’s soul is scattered to the winds. Grizzin Farl vanished millennia ago. And Edgewalker might well deny any compulsion out of sheer obstinacy or, possibly, a righteous claim to disassociation.’ Knuckles managed a twisted smile, and then shrugged. ‘If there is one presence I would find unwelcome above all others, Errastas, it is Olar Ethil.’
[...]
Olar Ethil, we cannot trust you. Errastas should never have invited you here. You are worse than K’rul. More of a threat to us than Draconus, or Edgewalker. You are Eleint and you are T’lan Imass, and both were ever beyond our control.

To conclude the section, Cotillion gives us the following:

‘How did you feel, Edgewalker, when everything you held fell to pieces in your hands? Did failure arrive like a wall of fire?’ He turned to regard the apparition. ‘Those tatters have the look of scorching, come to think of it. Do you remember that moment, when you lost everything? Did the world echo to your howl?’
‘If you seek to torment me, Cotillion—’
‘No, I would not do that. Forgive me.’
‘If these are your fears, however…’
‘No, not my fears. Not at all. They are my weapons.’

And... that's it. That's all we get from the Book of the Fallen, more or less. There's a couple things to mention from Deadhouse Landing & the Path to Ascendancy series - what with Edgewalker gauging the two "usurpers" and what not - but frankly, at that point, it's just reiterating what we've already said. The only relevant tidbit I can pull is that Nightchill recognizes Edgewalker; claims that he's potentially "the Creator of Shadow" (though she points out that it's apocrypha); and - unlike virtually every other Azathanai - does not name him as "kin." (Note that Nightchill considers even the Azath Houses to be "kin," but not Edgewalker).
Where does that leave us?

Chapter Four: Edgewalker's (Potential) Identity

Throughout time, a lot of theories regarding Edgewalker's identity have sprung up. A few have stuck since, but many came & went with little fanfare. I'll ennumerate some of them & then list my reasoning for discarding ("discarding" is a strong word since I think a few here are quite plausible) them. Do note that a lot of my reasoning hinges on para-textual evidence & not necessarily just what's in the text.

Theory One: Edgewalker is Narad

This is a big one that I've seen cited more than a few times. My reasoning for ruling this out hinges on the metalworking talk earlier - Narad wields a Legion sword & wears proper (iron) armour. Moreover, he seems much more affiliated with what will one day become the Shake than anything to do with Shadow per se, though the dividing line between "Shake" and "Edur" in Kharkanas is... muddled.
Also, part of my theory relies on the fact that Edgewalker far outdates the Sundering, and Narad simply does not (this is something of an assumption, however).
That said, Narad is probably the closest thing we have to "a Walker of Edges" thus far, and Yedan Derryg having the memories of Edgewalker would be metal.

Theory Two: Edgewalker is Grizzin Farl

Grizzin is fairly widely accepted to be the god of the Forkrul Assail (though this has not been confirmed). The fact that Sechul Lath lists them separately seems to shoot down this idea.
He is "dead" in the MBotF, though, as is Edgewalker (at least purportedly). So he has that going for him.

Theory Three: Edgewalker is Arathan

Arathan is generally accepted to be Ruthan Gudd & circumstantial evidence points to that identity much more strongly than it does to Edgewalker.
This theory does neatly circumvent both Arathan's absence from the MBotF as well as the fact that Edgewalker is apparently an "elemental force," (read: Azathanai) though.

Theory Four: Edgewalker is T'lan Imass

Shimmer asks him squarely if he is & he denies it.

‘You are dying,’ said the vision of death. ‘Despite your great vitality, it is draining away.’
‘Are you … Imass?’ she whispered, hoarse.
The dried flesh of the face could not express emotion but Shimmer had the impression of surprise. ‘No. I am Edgewalker.’

Moreover, Temper - who has seen T'lan Imass - thinks he's "taller and slimmer." There's also no mention of Tellann with Edgewalker. Though he does look the part, so I can see the confusion.

Theory Five: Edgewalker is Faror Hend

Yeah, that's real, and it's pretty damn hilarious. We can fairly safely say that Edgewalker probably isn't Faror Hend, but still - thinking outside the box. And when it comes to Edgewalker, that's kinda what we need.

Theory Six: Edgewalker is some random Azathanai

This is the one that's probably more likely & the one I personally dislike the most (okay maybe not but hear me out). Edgewalker does obliquely confess to being an Elder God (as shown above) though that entire conversation is riddled with double entendres & characters goading one another unto speaking by omitting certain truths.
Yes, it could very well be likely that Edgewalker is simply a random Azathanai. That'd work & make sense. It'd just be lame. And I don't like lame.

Theory Seven: Edgewalker is Kallor Ascended

This is the one that this here author has chosen to support, if nothing else because I found it hilarious at first & then - as research compounded - it seemed all the more fitting. Find the original post (which I accidentally stumbled across while writing this) here.
I tend to do this thing where I forget where I've read something before & just incorporate it as an original thought, but credit where credit is due.
On with the paratextual evidence.
For starters, Kallor has been namedropped in Walk in Shadow & has been at least tangentially referenced in the other two Kharkanas books. Moreover, Steve went on record saying that Edgewalker's identity will be revealed in Walk in Shadow, and a lot of the Azathanai seem to be aware of Kallor's existence (the "High Kingdom" has barred its borders from Azathanai entry which probably explains why Draconus is so pissed at the mention of his name).
Furthermore, Edgewalker's identity "makes perfect sense" (according to Erikson, mind you, so his perception might be skewed, lol). While I cannot in good faith say this theory "makes perfect sense," it is - to me - by far the most enticing theory thus far - Edgewalker being a random Tiste (Narad) or some random Azathanai doesn't do it for me.
Edgewalker (in Deadhouse Landing) also gazes upon the "Scarred Lands" and claims - to Koro - that "they are outside his purview." While this could simply be nothing, the Scarred Lands are the remnants of Kallor's Empire, and so this could be a nod to that. It'd be cheeky.
In the God is Not Willing, we also get this exchange:

‘What are you looking for?’
‘An answer.’
Stillwater rolled her eyes. ‘To what?’
‘The reason for our meaningless existence.’
Stillwater sat up, sheathing her knives. ‘Good luck with that. I’m Stillwater.’
‘You are anything but still.’
‘And I didn’t know you were in the habit of saving people’s lives, Edgewalker.’

And if that isn't the most Kallor thing to ever grace the page, then I don't know what is.
Alright, alright. I'll try & provide some actual, somewhat plausible analysis.

Chapter Five: Some evidence for Edgewalker being Kallor

First & foremost, Kallor being namedropped in Walk in Shadow is in a poem called "Gallan's Confession" (many parts omitted for length):

There will be peace.
There will be justice.
There will be truth.
Such laudable assertions.
[...]
Draconus builds his monuments to love, and I wander within them, every footfall unanswered echoing.
Anomander begins his tortured path of errors as into his wake I go, judgement mute and eyes unblinking.
Hood marches on death, proof that pride is the last warrior to fall, and I shall kneel in his shadow.
Kallor – ah, Kallor, leave him to his single witness, but me you will find, there in the swirling winds of ash and dust. Consider this.
I am in the last moments of living, be they a handful of breaths or a scattering of years.
[...]

Moreover, the cyclical nature of history in Kharkanas, as denoted both by Rise Herat & the Azathanai meddling (Telorast & Curdle, for instance, are already seeking the Throne of Shadow, before the Edur even came to being), seems to imply that this is far from the first time Shadow arose in the world. Thrones arise & subside, but never stick around for long.
Among the many, many people implicated in the Sundering, even Edgewalker seems to have taken a part:

Who is this guy? (Murk had) heard stories, of course. Garbled versions that circulated among the apprentices and equally absurd speculations in written legends. How it had been he who had slain the first king of Kurald Emurlahn, Elder Shadow, and how he was now cursed to wander it for ever. Or that he had shattered Emurlahn in the first place, damning himself in the process. And now Celeste says he makes her sad. No one knew the truth of all those events lost so far in the mists of the ancient past. And Edgewalker himself certainly wasn’t talking.

Interestingly, a lot of these accusations are levelled at Scabandari, but I'm not going to be the one that makes that point.
In any case, "the first king of Elder Shadow" needn't be the king who ruled it when the Sundering occured - per the dragons in tBH, Scabandari "murdered the royal line of the Edur" and became King (a claim which is somewhat disputed by the Shake later in the MBotF) before slaying a dragon and opening the "first, fatal wound upon that realm."
It is perhaps possible that "the first king" - at the rise of the Grey Shore - was not Edur at all. It's possible that the two described events both happened, with one being considerably further in the past than the former. Edgewalker (per the RG prologue) is "committed elsewhere" when the Sundering goes into full effect; and while it's technically possible that Edgewalker is a new entity that came into being during the Sundering (e.g. Narad), it's somewhat implausible given the context (Anomander holds him as a credible threat, and Osserc seemingly shits bricks at his mere presence).
Thus, it's theoretically plausible that some unknown claimant of the Throne of Shadow failed so catastrophically, that they became cursed to wander the Warren of Shadow forever, which does track with what we learn of Edgewalker & somewhat diminishes the veracity of the "Azathanai aspected to Shadow" theory.
Edgewalker himself treats his "aspecting" as a form of imprisonment (or, in NoK, "entombment"), and refers to himself as a "Slave to Shadow." Hardly a proper contrast with "the Suzerain of Night," I should think.
I would also like to bring up the theming of Edgewalker's story. Especially in Night of Knives, a lot of his inner monologue centers on both his failure at ruling Shadow & the failure of others to rule Shadow (and how they never learn). By his own admission, it's been so long since anything changed that "he almost missed it." To provide a few passages:

But this time what intrigued him most was something so rare he’d almost failed to recognize it . . . the coiled potential for change.

[...]

How many times, he wondered, had he heard that very same conceit from a claimant to the Throne? Would they never learn? How long, he wondered, would this one last? Why was it none of the long chain of hopefuls ever bothered to ask why the Throne should be empty in the first place? After all, perhaps there was a reason. Still, this one’s residence should bode new and interesting times for Shadow. He should be thankful to these men, for in the end the one thing their presence might bring to the enduring eternity of the Realm was the potential for change and thus, the continuing possibility of . . . progression.

Moreover, Edgewalker adopts a very "nothing changes and everything repeats" approach to history which seems - to others - like omniscience:

'I possess no such omniscience,' Edgewalker calmly replied, seeming to take no notice of Baran's attention. 'Although to one such as you, it might appear so. But I have existed ages beyond your reckoning, Cotillion. All patterns are known to me, for they have been played out countless times before. Given what approaches us all, it was not hard to predict. Especially given your uncanny prescience.'

And, lastly, Edgewalker's own "crime" that landed him as a Slave to Shadow was ambition:

'These are of the pure blood. Eleint. Ampelas, Kalse and Eloth. Their crime was…ambition. It is a common enough crime.' The creature turned back to Cotillion. 'Perhaps endemic.'
[...]
‘Countless have tried (to rule Shadow). All have failed. Even those who succeeded for a time. Myself included, after a fashion. Now I walk its boundaries forever. And I fared better than most.’

As you may imagine, Kallor is rather similar in this regard:

The grey-haired warrior grunted. ‘Nothing changes.’
‘Of course it changes,’ Skintick retorted without turning round. ‘It keeps getting worse.’
‘That is an illusion,’ Kallor replied. ‘You Tiste Andii should know that. Your sense of things getting worse comes from growing older. You see more, and what you see wars with your memories of how things used to be.’
‘Rubbish. Old farts like you say that because it suits you. You hope it freezes us in our tracks so we end up doing nothing, which means your precious status quo persists just that much longer – enough for you to live out your life in whatever comfort you think you’ve earned. You won’t accept culpability for anything, so you tell us that nothing ever changes.’
‘Ah, the fire of youth. Perhaps one day, pup, you’ll be old – assuming your stupidity doesn’t get you killed first – and I’ll find you, somewhere. You’ll be sitting on the stone steps of some abandoned temple or, worse, some dead king’s glorious monument. Watching the young people rush by. And I’ll settle down beside you and ask you: “What’s changed, old man?” And you will squint, chew your gums for a time, then spit on to the cobbles shaking your head.’
‘Plan on living for ever, Kallor?’
‘Yes, I do.’
‘What if your stupidity gets you killed?’
Kallor’s grin was feral. ‘It hasn’t yet.’
[...]
Kallor walked up to the entrance, drew off a scaled gauntlet and rapped it against the root-tracked frame. ‘Will you greet us?’ he demanded in a loud voice.
From within a faint shuffling sound, and then a thin, rasping reply: ‘Must I?’
‘The ice is long gone, Jaghut. The plains beyond are dry and empty. Even the dust of the T’lan Imass has blown away. Would you know something of the world you have ignored for so long?’
‘Why? Nothing changes.’

And perhaps one of the most iconic Kallor lines embodies this perfectly:

'Does it occur, to any of you, what these things do to me? No, of course not. The High King is cursed to fail, but never to fall. The High King is but…what? Oh, the physical manifestation of ambition. Walking proof of its inevitable price. Fine.' He readied his two-handed weapon. 'Fuck you, too.'

Great. All I've demonstrated is that two very different characters share similar themes, and have the same penchant for grandiose claims. Their characterization is very different, they don't seem to be connected in any other way, and all I've thrown at you is baseless speculation.
... when you put it that way, yeah. We don't have much to go on about Edgewalker; cut me some slack.
Another point I wish to bring up is why I believe Edgewalker is Kallor Ascended since Kallor is cursed to - you know - not ascend. The point made in the linked post (as well as here) is that Edgewalker is a split-off part of Kallor, akin to Dassem & Dessembrae. This would explain a few things:

• Why their characterisation feels so different (they would inherit different "traits" so to speak)
• Why Kallor isn't considered an ascendant (he already is, practically; and due to his penchant for "failing but never falling," he can never quite do it again)
• Why Kallor seems wholly unaware of Edgewalker's existence (Traveller doesn't seem aware of his god counterpart, albeit the inverse is true)
• Why Edgewalker is so keen on commentary about ambition (his "mortal" part is the "personification of ambition" & has suffered immensely because of it)
• Why Kallor never again made a bid for Shadow (it failed fucking catastrophically & he probably doesn't remember doing it)
• Why the Azathanai are so pissed at the mere mention of the High King's name (my alternative headcanon is that Serap Issgin was the first candidate for "Mother Dark" & Kallor stole Draconus' girl, but this is cooler)

Though the "how" and the "why" is a bit fast and loose and I have no theories.
Furthermore, Edgewalker has "long greying hair" which is one of Kallor's main attributes.
Edgewalker's armour & attire, however, barring the sword, don't line up with Kallor's chain armour, though this could be an indication of a past age. My proposition in bringing up metalworking is that whoever Edgewalker is, his bid for the Throne of Shadow was made prior to the advancement of ironworking in his respective realm; while his people could use iron (he does have an iron blade), ironworks were not as widely expanded (as they were with, say, the Tiste) to justify iron armour (at least, not plate armour; his scales could theoretically be iron), thereby hinting at a civilization which hadn't quite advanced into the iron age.
It's... possible... that the High Kingdom of Kharkanas hadn't quite advanced that far, leading to the possibility that - were Edgewalker this High King in question - his sword was secured via trading & was, therefore, quite important.

Chapter Six: Conclusion

Where does this all leave us? Well, let us take another look at the individual theories we tackled thus far.

Theory One: Edgewalker is Narad/FaroTiste

The Tiste - in general - seem to universally wield iron weapons & armour. Bronze seems to only be used for statues, and - as of yet - I've been unable to find any mention of "bronze helmets."
The "present day" Tiste also possibly wouldn't pre-exist the Sundering, as it could be an ongoing event facilitated by many factors (reminder that Icarium is also somehow involved, along with Scabandari, Osserc, Anomander, and so on). It's technically possible that Edgewalker is Tiste, though probably not likely.

Theory Two: Edgewalker is Grizzin Farl/Arathan/Some Azathanai

The general consensus of the most plausible theory thus far is that Edgewalker is some random Azathanai whom we've yet to meet (or have met but just not under that name). While I'd argue it's somewhat unlikely he's either Grizzin or Arathan (as Grizzin is purported to be "dead" within the MBotF & is kept separate from Edgewalker, and Arathan doesn't strike me as the person to make a bid for the Throne of Shadow), it's theoretically plausible he's just another Azathanai we've yet to meet - like, say, Vix, or Spingalle, or Skillen, or Cera, and so on. There's a lot of Azathanai out there, and by virtue of their unique attributes, it's plausible that one of them may just become Edgewalker one day.
I would like to point out, however, Edgewalker's dishevelled appearance in conjunction with his limping. Azathanai are capable of changing their appearance at will, and though it's not unheard of for Azathanai to embrace crippled and/or dishevelled bodies (e.g. Sechul Lath), it's certainly not common.

Theory Three: Edgewalker is T'lan Imass

We already rather extensively tackled this, but Edgewalker denies being Imass to Shimmer, has access to metal (the Dog-Runners & Imass don't), doesn't fit the proportions of Imass, and is not affiliated with Tellan.
Note that the only context in which this theory was raised (to my knowledge) was as a joke, but in the interest of being thorough...

Theory Four: Edgewalker is an aspect of Kalloother Ascendant

As supported above, this theory hinges on the fact that Edgewalker himself isn't a person per se, but rather a piece (or a Shadow? Ah?) of another Ascendant of some kind.
He looks vaguely humanoid, is unimaginably old, possibly and/or probably predates the Sundering of Emurlahn, and ostensibly made a bid for the Throne of Shadow that caused his "entombent."
The problem with this theory (beyond what was already highlighted above, and beyond the fact that it sounds ludicrous) is that it virtually has no evidence in support of it. We don't know what Edgewalker is, who he was, and what he even wants (beyond "the reason for our meaningless existence"). He seems to be the Guardian of Shadow because fate had it in for him, and he's embraced the role and all it portends, Yedan style.
Such aspecting is much more common amongst Azathanai rather than mortals (humans or otherwise), which is a weakness of this theory.
The theory also relies a lot on paratextual information, and not everything within the text squares up with the implication of Kallor (or some other ascendant) being Edgewalker.

In Conclusion

We don't know who Edgewalker is, and chances are we won't know who Edgewalker is until Walk in Shadow comes out. While I do think this "Shadow of Kallor" theory is fun, it's rather baseless, and the Azathanai theory is still much more likely.
The potential that he is a named character is high, but I doubt he is any of the named characters that are often brought up (the aforementioned trifecta of Narad, Grizzin & Arathan - albeit Arathan theorising has died down in later years due to FoL theories springing up).
This.. "essay," I suppose, was constructed as a means to consolidate - insofar as that's possible - as much as we know & can know about Edgewalker in a single post. There's still more (chiefly in the NotME & PtA, where there's no Search of the Fallen, and I don't have PtA on Calibre) but I think this much ought to be enough.
So what do you think about Edgewalker? Do you agree with any of the above stated theories? If so, why? If not, why not?
I'd be more than happy to hear any and all theories, as well as any holes that may be poked into my pet theory. Okay, maybe not that last one.

At the request of u/sososov I am posting what I have come up with for a series I am developing. To u/sososov sorry it took so long to follow up.
What I am still developing, while practicing and honing my drawing skills, is basically a long running serialized cyberpunk manga series aimed at a tern audience and written from a leftist perspective. What sets this series apart from contemporary works of cyberpunk is that it is a story about hope, about radical optimism, all during dark times, and the difficulties of such. While the setting is a dystopia the story and narrative work towards a happy ending, the kind of happy ending I hope we can achieve IRL.
The series title is Runner: The Circuit Breaker, when it's finally time to get the story out it will be distributed through a cyberpunk zine I was invited to contribute to.
The setting takes place in the late 21st century, the story opens in the year 2090, though the story is not speculative fiction, it's more symbolic, the setting is supposed to be our present reflected back at us through a dark mirror, the date is more for writing organization as well as providing a bit of symbolism for the ending. The setting is primarily set around a fictional American city called Reagan Prime, a megacity of vague geographical location regularly experiencing overcast and rainstorms, rarely are the clouds broken, it is a personification of everything wrong under late stage capitalism. The city is divided in two by a massive wall called The Curtain that separates the city into the North West and the South East. The North West part of the city is called Westside, this is the main residential and retail area where people live and do business, as well as where the towers of the megacorps reside. The South East side is called The Eastern Bloc, this is basically a giant industrial park, whatever hasn't been outsourced to poor nations occurs here: power plants, water treatment, warehouses, etc.
Westside is further divided, vertically set into three layers. The very bottom layer is where the majority of poverty is concentrated, incredibly dilapidated, filthy, trash everywhere, nothing but concrete and steel covered in whatever filth is washed down by the rain. From low quality apartment complexes to crappy convenient stores, car shops, whatever can be found in a poor city neighborhood it's here, and it's where most working class folks can be found. Up above there in the middle, bi-connector roads allowing for travel between the two, everything is saturated in neon colored LEDs and holograms, decent retail stores, restaurants, museums, public and private schools as well as a university, even the occasional suburban neighborhood this is home to well off ordinary people. A mix of land vehicles driving on roads suspended over the bottom layer and for those in the higher income brackets are lanes of hovercars flying throughout the top of this layer. The final layer is the wealthy district, obscenely wealthy people living in pristine penthouses situated beside upscale restaurants, music halls, the works, everyone from this layer travels about in hover vehicles from Ferrari and Lamborghini hovercars to limousine hovercars, if it's associated with wealth and luxury it's what defines the aesthetic of this layer. The megacorp towers spread throughout Westside are the tallest structures in the city, giant towers whose architecture resembles bacteriophages, the tops grazing the cloud layer, they impose the power of the megacorps upon everyone in the city. Westside is also home to a military base, which is shared with the police department, the police actually use the same armor as the military personnel as well as the sane equipment, the only different is the color scheme where the police are blue and the military are camo green.
The Eastern Bloc, the part of the city that keeps everything running, the most destitute find their home here, from immigrants to convicts, all living in company housing that makes the housing in the bottom layer of Westside look like the apartment from Friends. A mix of workers from the bottom layer of Westside and the destitute of the Bloc who might as well be classified as slaves, the city would screech to a halt without everything here, yet is looked down upon as the lowest of the low, especially by the ultra wealthy at the top.
A defining feature of this world is what's known as the Outernet, the internet essentially brought into the physical plane, sort of. Throughout the city, on all the buildings outside and in, is a matrix of essentially full range sensors, hologram projectors, and dynamic speakers, with these a person can pull up anything from the internet with nothing but hand gestures and voice commands. Waving the hand a certain way brings up a web page projected via hologram, or allows for use of 3D art software like using a paintbrush to create in real time all around the user, or a social media algorithm can be presented as a person that talks to the user and acts like a friend of romantic partner. But there's an insidious nature to all of this, privacy has essentially been eliminated with surveillance 24/7/365. Everything you do, everything you say, if the matrix sees and hears it then it us tracked and stored, so because of the omnipresence of the matrix you are always seen, and that is used by corporations to either make a profit by selling your data or to create personalized ads. Not all buyers are other businesses, even law enforcement has access to data being generated in real time, so if you say and/or do anything those in power don't like then law enforcement will intervene within 5 minutes. The only way around this is through a Virtual Private Field, or a VP Field, with use of a Walkman sized device carried on one's person connected to a VPN the user is essentially surrounded by a sphere of encryption that essentially makes said user invisible, all while still using the online features of the outernet. But the cost of service that VPNs charge is quite expensive, not to mention the cost of the devices used to generate VP Fields, so unfortunately it is only available to those who can afford the subscription fees.
The role of protagonist is shared between two characters, both of whom are essentially two sides of the same coin. First is Akira Rosenberg, 16 year old transmasc delinquent rebel and optimist, his dad is Jewish and his mom is from Japan. Akira may not be the brightest student but his streets smarts are quite impressive for someone raised in the middle layer, he has the biggest heart of anybody, always looking out for others ready to defend those who cannot not, he exudes positivity, optimism, and positive thinking. He's a big motorcycle enthusiast, frequently seen riding around on a motorcycle he fixed up on his own, he also possesses a katana named Cyber Yaiba, a blade he vows to use only to fight for others and to never use it to take the lives of others. Then there's Will, 15, cisgendered, son of a car dealership owner, lives in the burb, starts out terminally online before meeting Akira. He's generally pretty dour, regularly feeling despair and depression at how dystopian everything is and how those in power not only cause pain and suffering but actively refuse to do anything about it. His father is a very controlling person with a short temper, often demanding obedience and conformity, viewing any kind of stepping out of line as or request for improvement as being ungrateful and resorts to shouting profanity and threats and occasionally slapping his kids, doesn't help that his mother is not only passive about it but often defends his fathers actions. Where Akira is an only child Will is the oldest of three kids, so he regularly feels overwhelmed being expected to act like the older brother when his younger brother is more of an older brother than Will is, so in his desire for an older brother and Akira's desire for a sibling thet essentially become a found family, Akira being Will's found older brother, often affectionately referring to him as bro. Akira is always looking out for Will and constantly tries to lift his spirits and get him to be more hopeful, optimistic, and overall happier.
In our cast we have Jimmy Dougal, a sensitive and kind black teen from the lower layer, a big rap and hip hop aficionado and aspiring painter inspired by Bob Ross. At a young age his father was taken from him via police brutality, making ends meet was never easy for his parents, both of them had jobs, his father working multiple in particular. The stress his father underwent pushed him to do drugs in order to cope, mostly marijuana, as a result he had a pretty bad record. One day, when Jimmy was 9 in the car with his mom and dad, they were pulled over by a police officer for speeding, because of his fathers drug record the cop was giving him a lot of shit in the process. Despite being able to pull up his ID via the outernet he demands a physical ID, but as he reaches for his ID the cop panicked, assuming he was grabbing for a gun, and shot him multiple times, killing him. Jimmy was in the seat behind his mom, the passenger side, so he basically saw a cop commit manslaughter and kill his dad, the cop never faced repercussions. Ever since then he's been traumatized by the event, he has an emotional breakdown if he's even near a gun, breeding a deep hatred for guns. His mom being so busy trying to keep the family's head above water left her no time to find a new partner so she's essentially a single mother, which gets her a lot if vitriol from more conservative folks despite she didn't choose this nor did her husband abandon the family. Jimmy takes on a lot of responsibilities to help his mom now.
This next character I don't have a name for yet, I know this character is Palestinian but I don't know any Palestinian names so this character currently remains unnamed. This character is a girl from a Muslim family, one who came to the US just after she was born, her parent have internalized a bit of islamophobic rhetoric, viewing aspects of their culture to be particularly oppressive for women, a big reason for coming to the US. They still raised their children Muslim, and as such were rather protective of their kids fearing they might be led down a road of debauchery and sin. As an act of civil disobedience when she's of the right age she starts wearing a hijab, using what her parents have been convinced is a tool of oppression as one of empowerment. This gives her parents the impression that she is mature and trustworthy to lead a good life, and so let the reigns off her and grant her more independence. She takes this religious practice pretty seriously, commonly threatening anyone if they see so much as one strand of her hair. She exudes self confidence and self love, regularly boasting about her accomplishments, think Lizzo. She has made it a life mission to help everyone learn to love themselves, to proudly boast about what makes them awesome without shame. She is a hardcore hacker, while she may not be able to fight in the streets she can be counted on for any and all computer related jobs.
Other characters I have in mind and still in development range from a black lesbian feminist who's close friends with not only Akira but also a black trans girl who dresses in gothic lolita fashion, a baby boomer who was a part of the hippy movement before turning his back on it and becoming a Wall Street executive but later regrets it after seeing what his children and grandchildren have become only to get seriously injured in trying to improve things and be cryogenically suspended and brought back in the story's present, a 10 year old boy who's incredibly mad at the grown-ups for the state of the world and refuse to take responsibility and so he's frustrated that instead of getting to just be kids he and so many other young people have to clean up the mess, a megacorp CEO based on Elon Musk and other techbro billionaires named Eddie Cast, and many more.
Other details and aspects:
The namesake of the title, Runner, it comes from my observation that runner shows up in a lot of cyberpunk media. You have the og cyberpunk movie Blade Runner, the tabletop RPG Shadowrun every player is a shadow runner, the Matrix refers to those who don't go into the matrix as runner, there's the videogame Ghost Runner, etc. The other part of the title, Circuit Breaker, is not only about the technological advanceness of the genre but also a circuit is like a full loop, it's in reference to how this is just an endless cycle of capitalism and this is all about breaking that cycle.
In the story those who fight against the powers that be are referred to as runners, canonically it started as a slur against rebellious types, establishment figures called them that because they were "running away" from the real world, but like gay and queer those called runners took it for themselves and reinterpreted it as running towards a better world/future.
The technology that would lead to the outernet, when it was under development it was called Project Panopticon.
The city of Reagan Prime was actually designed and funded by a pair of billionaires promising a better kind of city, guess why a city conjured by narcissists with too much money went wrong.
Due to climate change the seas levels have risen to the point that the entirety of Hawaii is now underwater, from one of the former islands is an oceanic tower filled to the brim with Chinese cultural signifiers, it's for American megacorps to do business with Chinese corporations as well as maintain good relations with the Chinese government to retain access to the market.
Runners that have more authoritarian tendencies and prefer to beat back the megacorps through violent resurrection are referred to by other runners as durgies, the name comes from Tyler Durgan of Fight Club. One such group of durgies are called the Tank Bros.
Another faction is a biker gang and manosphere cult called the Red Capsules, an homage to the movie Akira, The Matrix, as well as pointing out the appropriation of the concept of the red pill by the manosphere despite coming from a movie created by two trans women. It is led by an Andrew Tate inspired creep named Tate Matthews, who wears a kind of armor that gives him the appearance of the ideal physique of the truly masculine man in contemporary culture.
Prior to the start of the story there's this runner from China, he and his allies have been targeted by the Chinese government for their rebellion, every one of them have been killed leaving him the only one left and a man on the run, ending up in the US, particularly the city of Reagan Prime. Several of the heroes we start with are inspired to become runners after befriending him. Sadly the Chinese agents finally catch up to him and manage to kill him. They dedicate their cause to their fallen comrade, the one who opened their eyes and got them to run.
And I believe that's everything I've come up with so far. There are two things I'm struggling to figure out, one is how to not encourage violence yet still succeed against the system as well as what kind of battle scenes to incorporate that also don't encourage violence, thankfully I'm working with someone as a writer's assistant for that. The other thing is the theme of hope during dark times, the more I try to figure out how the story will have a happy ending the more I struggle with hope for our situation which in turn makes it difficult to come up with anything that fulfills what I'm looking for for the narrative.

I've listened to this album all the way through several times now and I have so many thoughts and opinions that I wanted to try and consolidate here. I provided timestamps where applicable and just took notes as I was listening through it.
I think his Adam Young Scores albums really provided a new element to his music that shines on this album. It really feels like he learned a lot from those scores and incorporated it in clever ways.
Overall, I really enjoyed this album and the new direction Adam took is refreshing but familiar. He described the songs as "metaphorical", "autobiographical" and "odd" and I tried to identify the songs by each category.
Adam, Check Please

• The lyrics remind me a lot of the very literal style of Cinematic, but the instrumentation blew me away when I first heard it.
• The bassline at 0:58 is so groovy and the scream at 1:04 was such a cool inclusion
• The instrumentation at the chorus is fantastic. I love the guitar and drums here
• The 3/4 bridge derails the song for me a bit. The chorus has such momentum and it feels like it falls apart in this section. I'm curious how this song would feel if the bridge was removed. The production feels a lot like Ocean Eyes
• I like how he used a loudspeaker effect on the final "Adam, Check Please". The outro "help is on the way" vocals remind me a lot of Can't Live Without You
  
• Lyrically Similar to Cinematic (3/5)
  
  • "Autobiographical" song
• Musically Similar to Ultraviolet & Ocean Eyes (5/5)
  
  • This one was hard to nail down because the musical style felt very new for Owl City. The closest thing I could pick was Ultraviolet for the synth presence
• Replay Value (3/5)
  
  • I like 80% of this song, but the 3/4 bridges really disrupt my enjoyment
• Final score (11/15)
  

Under the Circus Lights

• I immediately noticed something different with the composition of this song and couldn't put my finger on it until a later replay. Time signature is 3/4
• Lyrical style is very ethereal, describing the girl with very dream-like qualities. "She was a light in a dark lullaby. That girl was raised by a butterfly".
• I caught 4 key changes @ 0:49, 1:37, 2:01, 2:47. I couldn't tell for sure if the key changed for the choruses or not. 4 so far
• Love the atmospheric crowds from the circus at 2:29 & 3:52 and what sounds like fireworks. String composition here reminds me of Adam Young Scores.
• Loved the inclusion of the crickets, crows and train sounds for the outro. Really felt like this kid was packing up with the circus and moving onto the next show.
  
• Lyrically Similar to All Things Bright and Beautiful (4/5)
  
  • The lyrics tell a loose story without an obvious deeper meaning. Very dream-like qualities, reminds me a bit of The Real World or Angels
  • "Odd" song
• Musically Similar to Adam Young Scores
  
  • This song did not remind me of anything released before. The composition and atmospheric effects felt like it was pulled out of one of his scores (4/5)
• Replay Value (3/5)
  
  • This song is great to listen to when I want to really dig into it, but I don't think I would have it on in the background
• Final Score (11/15)
  

Kelly Time

• Focus on the acoustic guitar is very reminiscent of Back Home
• Lyrics based on Castaway from the perspective of Wilson made me chuckle. Favorite line is "You were trying to light a fire and all you wanted was a match, but you knew I didn't have one, so it was odd that you should ask".
• The bubbly synth line is super catchy. I'm not sure what that is supposed to be but I like it.
• I realized here that Adam was using a lot more raw acoustic drum kit sounds compared to percussion pads.
• Sneaky steel drum @ 2:16
• Key Change at 3:00. 5 so far
• Rap verse was a surprise at 3:50, reminded me of All My Friends
  
• Lyrically similar to Cinematic (3/5)
  
  • This was a tricky one to compare to as well. The lyrical story is very specific but has deeper meanings
  • "Metaphorical" song
• Musically similar to Cinematic (3/5)
  
• Replay Value (2/5)
  
  • There's nothing really that stands out to me in this song. The verses and choruses blend together and it washes over you for the 5:27 run time
• Final Score (8/15)
  

Field Notes

• String and brass section really reminiscent of Adam Young Scores
• Rhythm of the melody reminded me of of Waving Through a Window. Cannot put my finger on why!
• I realized the song was based on the parable of the hidden treasure. Thought it was cool that the song was a retelling with the POV of the man from the parable.
• Key change at 2:40. 6 so far
• This song does not have a traditional structure. There is not a repeated lyrical chorus, rather it tells a freeform story instead.
• Adam uses a "summary" outro in a few of the narrative songs to reinforce the theme. This one begins at 3:40.
• The musical postlude totally took me for by surprise. Really reminded me of Mount Rushmore from Adam Young Scores
• 4:40 synth solo is a common theme throughout the album
  
• Lyrically similar to Cinematic (2/5)
  
  • Very literal and descriptive lyrics. Retells a parable so nothing surprising
  • "Metaphorical" song
• Musically similar to Adam Young Scores (4/5)
  
  • Orchestra composition is great. Really feels grand and colorful
• Replay value (2/5)
  
  • Feels like listening to an audio book. Nothing to really hook my ear
• Final Score (8/15)
  

Sons of Thunder

• Sparkle synths at 0:03 feel very magical. Pads at 0:05 remind me of another earlier Owl City song. I think it is On the Wing?
• Another song that has a 3/4 time signature
• Voice effect at 0:29 remind me of Kamikaze and raindrop synths are used in Tornado as well
• Love the "In the twinkling of an eye" at 1:30 overtop the "We'll fly"
• The post-chorus clean guitar riff that is buried in the distorted guitar and drums really makes the section sparkle and shine
• The drum beat at 3:12 feels very Blink-182
• Small synth solo at 3:48
• Love the voice cracking "We'll fly" at 4:35
  
• Lyrically similar to The Midsummer Station (4/5)
  
  • I think the lyrics are ethereal but are grounded Christian identity in Christ. "So take hear, wild one for there is a God who loves you to death no matter what you've done"
  • "Odd" song
• Musically Similar to The Midsummer Station (5/5)
  
  • Feels a lot like Dementia from 1:10 onward.
  • A bit long, but the most anthem-like Owl City song.
• Replay value (5/5)
  
• Final Score (14/15)
  

The Tornado

• I had heard some hype about this song before first listening to it so I had an idea where it was going to go, but I was absolutely surprised at points
• The calm piano at the beginning sets a peaceful expectation for the rest of the song.
• First mention of a "lark" of the album at 0:14
• I envision each verse builds with instrumental composition reflective of the increasing rain and wind.
• This song also does not have a stereotypical repeated chorus. The closet this is the "It's always Darkest Before the Dawn" that is heavily repeated
• Brass section coming in at 1:17 really makes you feel like the storm is getting dangerous. Adam's vocals really evoke the distress, especially at 1:54.
• The string progression starting at 1:35 is reminiscent of when the Wicked Witch is in the Tornado from Wizard of Oz.
• I don't understand music theory enough to understand why the instrumentation at 1:45 makes the section even more stressful but wow did it work
• At 2:05 the orchestra melts away to a simple piano and synth pad. This really paints a picture in my head like a movie scene where the storm noise all disappears as the wind is whipping around the main character finding hope in the storm. It then cuts away to flashbacks of his family at 2:16 finding warmth and light and courage at 2:38.
• Very Ocean Eyes synth sounds at 2:52 reminiscent of rain drops
• Key Change at 3:07. 7 so far
• Summary outro section starts at 3:44 and synth solo at 4:15
  
• Lyrically similar to All Things Bright and Beautiful (4/5)
  
  • Hospital Flowers is probably the closest lyrical style to this. The Tornado is more literal and narrative
  • "Autobiographical" song
• Musically Similar to Adam Young Scores (5/5)
  
  • The orchestra is the focal point of this song
• Replay value (3/5)
  
  • This is another song that feels like an audiobook and is harder to listen to passively but the composition is so impressive that I am still hearing new things in it
• Final Score (12/15)
  

Vitamin Sea

• When I heard the preview of this song I knew I was going to like it. When listening to the album straight-through I thought it was an odd choice to have directly after The Tornado.
• Love the wave (similar to the bridge of Umbrella Wave) to open the song with the synth pads
• Who is Nancy at 0:17?!
• The Marimba at 0:23 was such a fun inclusion here. I was expecting steel drums, so this was a great surprise.
• The chorus at 0:39 hits super hard with the guitar and drums. Love the female vocals at 0:57
• Rhythm guitar line starting at 1:30 is really great. Really adds momentum to the verse.
• Guitar solo at 2:17 is also really great. Not a huge focal point of the song, but a great transition to the bridge. You can hear seagulls here too.
• Love the stripped down chorus at 3:08 with the varied lyrics that explode into another awesome synth (keytar!) solo at 3:24.
  
• Lyrically similar to Ocean Eyes (5/5)
  
  • Very clever lyrics reminiscent of Dental Care & Bird and the Worm. "Sittin' on the beach is cheaper than therapy" made me laugh out loud
  • "Odd" song
• Musically Similar to All Things Bright and Beautiful (5/5)
  
  • The poppy bits remind me a lot of Yacht Club but the guitar and drums remind me of Deer in the Headlights
• Replay Value (5/5)
  
  • This song has a lot of potential to end up on the radio. I'm sure there can be a radio version that trims down the length, but I find myself listening to this in the car with the windows down a lot.
• Final Score (15/15)
  

Dinosaur Park

• The crickets on the 2 and 4 beats felt very similar to Corduroy Road.
• Reminiscent of the percussion of The Deep South at 0:09
• The opening lyrics immediately reminded me of Montana from Cinematic, but it transformed into the ethereal lyrics with the personification of the dinosaurs.
• On first listen I thought he was going to go into a Night at the Museum themed song during the first chorus. I was underwhelmed by the start of the chorus, but really captivated me at 1:10 with the drum roll beat. It felt very catchy and alive
• Not sure what happens with the piano chords at 1:58 and 2:08 but it feels dissonant. Would love to know why.
• The vocal reverb during the choruses reminds me of old-school Owl City.
• The woodwind instrument at 3:28 reminds me of Adam Young Scores but I cannot remember which song.
• Bridge at 3:33 is very catchy. Love the variance of the drum beat and tambourine
• I imagine the park at night under the stars until 4:43 when dawn begins to break and you hear the birds start to sing.
• Love the slight distorted vocal effect during the final bridge at 5:31
  
• Lyrically similar to Cinematic (4/5)
  
  • Song that describes a geographical location
  • "Metaphorical" song
• Musically similar to All Things Bright and Beautiful & Adam Young Scores (5/5)
  
  • The verses remind me of Corduroy Road but the chorus reminds me of Dreams Don't Turn to Dust
• Replay Value (4/5)
  
  • At a staggering 6:31 runtime, this is a long song. There is enough magic in it where it does not feel that long though,
• Final Score (13/15)
  

Learn How to Surf

• The opening and verse instrumentation feels like it was pulled out of a early 2000's skateboarding/surfing video game menu with the low sample-rate effects (0:01 & 0:05), DJ scratching (0:03) and horn section (0:09).
• The sampled voice clips remind me of 1977 from the Adam Young Scores Voyager album
• Verse lyrics were very reminiscent of Deer in the Headlights verses. Short, narrative and cute
• The drum beat is so jumpy and energetic.
• Chorus is a bop. The horn section is something that I cannot remember hearing on an Owl City track before. It is super catchy. There is shimmering synth pad that backs it all up that makes it feel bright
• Synth riff at 0:53& 1:58 has a similar beginning to other synth riffs from the album.
• Bridge at 2:18 provides a somber break that has some great lines about letting go of things that get you down.
• AMAZING electric saxophone (?!?!) solo at 2:35. 2:43 is my favorite part of the entire album.
• Synth riff on the chorus melody is a great callback.
  
• Lyrically similar to All Things Bright an Beautiful (5/5)
  
  • The meaning behind the song is great, an alternative to rolling with the punches and taking the good with the bad. Another song that references tides. Lots of quirky tattoos!
  • "Odd" song
• Musically similar to All Things Bright and Beautiful and The Midsummer Station (5/5)
  
  • It is the poppy parts of both albums and some.
• Replay Value (5/5)
  
  • I hope this song ends up on the radio. The length is appropriate and it is super catchy.
• Final Value (15/15)
  

The Meadow Lark

• Another reference to a Lark.
• This song also feels a lot like Country Hymn from Corduroy Road. The melody is very similar
• I imagined the soldiers from the Civil War. I've seen a few people's perspectives on this as well and I think it's interesting that it is never explicitly stated but commonly agreed upon.
• The lyrics feel very much like a hymn. I got very emotional at the "On wings arrived a tiny bird and troubled not by war or peace she sang for us a melody"
• Key changes after choruses at 1:37, 3:05 9 so far
• Clarinet (I think) acting as the Meadow Lark singing in the background at 2:00
• Interesting chord motion at 3:24. Wish I was smarter to understand what that was!
  
• Lyrically similar to Cinematic (3/5)
  
  • The literal story-telling is the only common characteristic. The lyrics read as a hymn. Very different style to what Adam has done before
  • "Metaphorical" song
• Musically similar to Adam Young Scores (3/5)
  
  • Specifically Country Hymn
• Replay Value (2/5)
  
• Final Score (8/15)
  

My Muse

• Most personally sincere song I think Adam has done. Instrumentation is stripped way down where it is mostly him and a piano
• I like the common structure with the slight changes in lyrics for the choruses
• I can see a lot of people wanting to use this song for their first dance at their wedding.
• Key changes at 1:12, 2:23 12 TOTAL
• I like how verse 1 is about the beginning of the relationship, verse 2 is about marriage and verse 3 is about eternal future. The song progresses through the relationship.
• Shortest song on the album
  
• Lyrically similar to Cinematic (4/5)
  
  • Specifically to Be Brave & The 5th of July
  • "Autobiographical" song
• Musically similar to The Midsummer Station (3/5)
  
  • Specifically to Silhouette
• Replay Value (3/5)
  
  • This is another song that I could see ending up on the radio. It feels a lot like All of You by John Legend.
• Final Score (10/15)
  

Common Themes:

• Lots of lyrics about the tide & waves. I picture different landscapes/environments for a lot of Owl City albums. Ocean Eyes is the deep ocean, ATB&B is the land and the sky, & TMS is space and the city. I picture Coco Moon to be the meadow forest and the shoreline.
• Heavy on the instrumental solos. It seems like Adam used a similar beginning riff to the melodies in the solos on most of the songs.
• Time signature variance with lots of songs using 3/4
• Key changes galore! (I counted 12)
• He really found a new form of songwriting during this album. I view Adam's writing as either ethereal dream-scape songs, like his earlier albums, or literal/personal stories like from Cinematic. I think Coco Moon has both but also adds a narrative story-telling style where he paints a picture of a story that is not necessarily about him (e.g. Kelly Time, Field Notes, The Tornado, The Meadow Lark)
• Some story-telling and autobiographical songs have an outro that summarizes the theme of the song. (Adam, Check Please, Field Notes, The Meadow Lark)
• Longer-form songs with the average track length being longer than 5 minutes. Excluding alternate songs this is the longest Owl City album
• I classified 4 of the songs to be metaphorical, 3 of the songs to be autobiographical and 4 of the songs to be odd.

Ranking (scores out of 15):

1. Learn How to Surf - 15
2. Vitamin Sea - 15
3. Sons of Thunder - 14
4. Dinosaur Park - 13
5. The Tornado - 12
6. Adam, Check Please - 11
7. Under the Circus Lights - 11
8. My Muse - 10
9. Kelly Time - 8
10. The Meadow Lark - 8
11. Field Notes - 8

ok now i understand what mr redacted wants. The article is very badly written and he knows it but his intention is not to convince any dggers or terminally online peope but normal people. He knows no actual allegation sticks and thats why he made the article a whole book with no sources. Beacuse a normal person would read one two or three of these allegetions and would be like hmm okay idk but with so many it's natural for someone to say probably this guy is an abuser or whatnot. The problem is mr redacted is a terminal schizo so he injected his own thoughts and feelings into it in a very obvious way that makes any normal person very hard to sympathise with him. Tbh kinda smart of him to go for the overwhelming volume but without the professional lens and writing the cracks start to open for any sane human being. I hope after this gets no traction from anyone outside the sphere he goes back to making banger pdfile rap instead of being obsessed with the personification of the straw man voice.

Wednesday, March 15, 2017

THE CHAD METHOD METHOD WRITING IN THE 22ND CENTURY 12/7/2016 David Xzavier Crichton

Qwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzx cvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmrtyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzx cvbn mqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmrtyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmrtyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmrtyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmrtyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmrtyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmrtyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnm THE CHAD METHOD METHOD WRITING IN THE 22ND CENTURY 12/7/2016 David Xzavier Crichton
23PAGES PEOPLE ARABIC TYPESETTING IS THE FONT USED AND 16 IS THE FONT SIZE.TRACK ONE –WHAT IS GOING ON EVERYBODY? IT IS 5:11PM EST TUESDAY DECEMBER 6TH, 2016. MY NAME IS CHAD XZAVIER HARRIS. MY PEN NAME IS DAVID X. CRICHTON. MY STREET NAME IS CHADFILMS. THIS CD WILL GO DOWN AS THE FIRST CD OFFICIALLY CREATED WITH THE IMMEDIATE INTENTION OF RELEASING IT ON CD AND IN PAPERBACK IN GREAT NUMBERS. THIS CD TURNED BOOK IS ABOUT HOW TO WRITE A BOOK. I AM GOING TO WALK YOU THRU THAT IN ABOUT ONE HOUR. THEN I AM GOING TO TYPE UP EVERYTHING SAID IN THE HOUR AND THEN PUT THOSE TWO PROJECTS OUT IN THOSE TWO FORMATS. THE ORIGINAL FORMAT BEING AUDIO. THAT IN ITSELF IS THE OTHER HALF OF THE FORMULA. WHAT I AM GOING TO GIVE YOU IS TWENTY YEARS OF EXPERIENCE. I AM GOING TO GIVE YOU IT RIGHT HERE AND RIGHT NOW. THOSE TWENTY YEARS OF EXPERIENCE CULMINATED INTO ONE MOMENT WHERE THE CREATIVE GENIUS OF AND IN ME WAS FOREVER UNLEASHED UPON THE WORLD AND WRITER’S BLOCK BECAME A THING OF THE PAST.I CAN WRITE WHENEVER I WANT TO AS LONG AS I FEEL LIKE IT. IF I CAN NOT AUTOMATICALLY GRASP EXACTLY WHAT I AM TRYING TO SAY AND PLACE IT ON THE PAPER THE WAY I WANT TO, I EVENTUALLY GET PAST IT AFTER A FEW SECONDS OF COUNTLESS THOUGHTS. MAYBE.. AFTER MY CREATIVE GENIUS WAS FOREVER UNLEASHED UPON THE WORLD I DISCOVERED MY CREATIVE FORMULA FOR ACHIEVEMENT.MY CREATIVE GENIUS AWAKENING INSIDE OF ME AND YOU KNOW EXTERNALIZING THESE INTANGIBLE IDEAS WE HAVE HAD INSIDE OF US AND EXTERNALIZING THOSE INTO THE PHYSICAL WORLD. THIS RESULTED IN THE BIRTH OF THE FORMULA BECAUSE THIS WAS HOW THE BOOK WAS DONE. ONCE I FOUND THE FORMULA, I USED THE FORMULA TO CONTINUE WRITING MORE BOOKS. SINCE JUNE 2015 I HAVE BEEN WRITING A BOOK A MONTH, PULL OUT A CALENDAR FOR 2015 AND 2016. EVERY MONTH FROM JUNE 2015 TO 2016 HAS IT’S OWN BOOK. EVENTUALLY,, AS YOU DELVE INTO MY CREATIVE EXPANSION MANSION MAYBE, YOU WILL FIND A BUNCH OF OVERLAPPING DATES.YOU WILL FIND THERE MAY BE ONE DAY ON THE CALENDAR WHERE I RECORDED SOMETHING ON THE RECORDER I AM USING NOW AS WELL AS WROTE A BOOK. IF YOU REALLY BECOME A REAL FAN OF MY ART AND ARE IN FULL MADE ACCESSIBLE TO MY ART IN FULL, INCLUDING ALL OF THE AUDIO ACCUMULATED OVER THE PAST YEAR AND A HALF THEN YOU WILL FIND I WAS WRITING MORE THAN ONE BOOK OR RECORDING AND WRITING DIFFERENT BOOKS SIMULTANEOUSLY. THIS IS THE JOY OF HAVING ALL OF THE WORKS OF YOUR FAVORITE ARTIST. YOU GET TO LEARN I WAS WRITING THE PHONE GIRL AND CFK BACK TO BACK. THE PHONE GIRL IS A NOVEL BUT IT IS AN AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL NOVEL. BECAUSE IT IS A NOVEL BECAUSE IT IS FICTION BUT IT ACTUALLY REALLY HAPPENED TO ME. EVERYTHING IN THE PHONE GIRL BOOK IS REAL. I AM NOT ABOUT TO WRITE AN AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL NOVEL CALLED I BOUGHT A GIRL A PHONE.NAH I AM GOING TO WRITE A NOVEL CALLED THE PHONE GIRL AND THIS GIRL KNOWS SHE IS THE PHONE GIRL BECAUSE I TOLD HER SHE IS THE PHONE GIRL AND SHE JUST MADE ME RICH. SHE BROKE MY HEART AND THEN GOT PLAYED RIGHT AFTER THAT. THEN SHE WANTS TO COME BACK TO ME LIKE IT IS ALL MILK AND COOKIES; HIM DOWNSTAIRS. SO THIS IS WHERE THE BOOK CAME FROM. IT IS A PART OF THE FORMULA BECAUSE I BROKE THROUGH WRITERS BLOCK. (A DOUBLE-DOUBLE OCCURRED) A DOUBLE-DOUBLE IS WHEN YOU ARE THINKING ABOUT SOMETHING AND THEN SOMETHING WEIRD HAPPENS IN YOUR ENVIRONMENT. TRACK TWO – THE OTHER PART OF THE FORMULA, THE KEY ELEMENT IS THE CONCEPT YOU ARE WRITING ABOUT; THE SUBJECT MATTER, THE MATERIAL, WHAT ARE YOU WRITING ABOUT? THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING TO FIGURE OUT. IF YOUR ANSWER TO THE QUESTION IS NOT WHAT I AM WRITING ABOUT IS SOMETHING I FEEL DEEPLY AND HEAVILY IN MY HEART THEN YOU HAVE A GREATER CHANCE OF FAILING AT YOUR OBJECTIVE. THE OBJECTIVE OF WRITING IS TO PURPOSELY IMPART AN EMOTION UPON THE READER DESIRED FROM THE WRITING PROCESS. THIS IS JUST MY OWN DEFINITION OF CREATIVE WRITING. IF I AM GOING TO WRITE A SCARY STORY THEN MY INTENTION MUST BE TO SCARE YOU AND MUST ACCOMPLISH THE OBJECTIVE BY ACTUALLY BEING SOMETHING ACTUALLY SCARING YOU. IF IT IS OF THE HORROR VARIETY THEN IT SHOULD SCARE YOU. IF IT IS A HORROR COMEDY THEN IT SHOULD MAKE YOU LAUGH IN A SUSPENDED MANNER MAYBE.YOU MAY BE MORE OUTRAGED AT HOW PREPOSTEROUS IT MAY SEEM OR YOU MAY BE DISGUSTED AT HOW GORY IT IS BECAUSE IT IS OF A MORE SATIRICAL AND SPOOF LIKE MATTER. SHAUN OF THE DEAD MAY GET AWAY WITH A LITTLE MORE BUT AN INTENDED HORROR MOVIE MAY HAVE MORE RESTRICTIONS ON GORE. IF YOU ARE NOT WRITING ABOUT WHAT IS THE MOST BURDENING ASPECT OF YOUR EMOTIONAL COMPLEXITY THEN IN MY OPINION YOU ARE GOING TO FAIL BECAUSE YOU ARE NOT BEING REAL TO YOURSELF.THE PHONE GIRL WAS A SITUATION REALLY HAPPENING TO ME SO WHILE THE SITUATION WAS HAPPENING TO ME I WAS WRITING POEMS ABOUT IT EVERY DAY IN THE FORM OF OF THE PHONE GIRL VERSE NOVEL. NOW THE TYPE OF POEMS I WROTE IN THE FIRST FOUR PARTS OF THE PHONE GIRL SAGA ARE AVAILABLE NOW. THE PHONE GUY WILL BE THE FIRST PART OF THE PHONE GIRL SAGA. THE LONE GIRL IS PART TWO AND THE PHONE GIRL IS PART THREE BUT TAKES PLACE IN THE SAME TIME FRAME AS THE PHONE GUY. IT IS JUST OF THE OPPOSITE PERSPECTIVE. I SUGGEST YOU WRITE OTHER THE CHARACTER’S PERSPECTIVE OF CERTAIN TIME FRAMES IN EVERY PROJECT. IF YOU WAIT UNTIL YOUR BOOK IS DROPPED AND SUCCESSFUL YOUR NEWLY ACCUMULATED FAN BASE MIGHT ROB YOUR ROUGH DRAFT MATERIAL OF YOUR NEW VERSIONS. OUT OF LOVE THEY WILL LOVINGLY COPY AND PASTE THE FILE AND LEAK IT TO ALL OF THE OTHERS CRAVING YOUR NEW MATERIAL. YOU WOULD BE BETTER OFF WRITING YOUR STORIES BACK TO BACK SO YOU CAN INCORPORATE FUTURE STORIES INTO THE FUTURE STORIES AND INCORPORATE THE FUTURE STORIES INTO THE PRESENT STORY. WITHOUT BEING CONFINED BY WHAT YOU WROTE A LONG TIME AGO. FOR EXAMPLE, THE LAST BOOK I WROTE WAS THE PRINCE WHO KNEW TOO MUCH. FROM NOVEMBER 13TH TO NOVEMBER 21ST, 2016 I WAS WRITING IT AND IT WAS PUBLISHED ON THE 21ST MAKING IT THE FASTEST IDEA I HAVE EVER TURNED AROUND. IT WAS PUBLISHED ON THE DAY IT WAS FINISHED. WHAT DOES THIS MEAN? IF I PUBLISHED IT ON THE DAY I FINISHED TYPING IT THEN IT MEANS I WAS TYPING IT FROM THE BEGINNING. I DIDN’T WRITE IT AND THEN TYPE IT UP OR TYPE IT ON MY TABLET AND THEN EMAIL IT TO MYSELF BEFORE COPYING IT AND PASTING IT INTO A WORD 2003 DOCUMENT AS I WOULD HAVE NORMALLY DONE. NO, AFTER THESE TEN BOOKS I HAVE DONE I HAVE REALIZED IT WOULD BE A LOT EASIER FOR YOU IF YOU WOULD JUST FORMAT EVERYTHING FROM THE BEGINNING.YOU ARE NOT ALWAYS GOING TO BE ABLE TO USE THE SAME TOOL. THE TABLET OR THE PHONE OR THE PAPER AND PEN WILL NOT ALWAYS BE AVAILABLE. AT LEAST YOU CAN FORMAT YOUR 2003 WORD DOCUMENT IF YOU USE WWW.LULU.COM. YOU CAN ADD A BORDER AND PAGE NUMBERS, EVEN A WATERMARK OF A CONCEPTUAL KEYWORD. HOLD ON, LET ME SWITCH TRACKS. TRACK THREE – OK, YOU WANT TO MAKE SURE YOU FORMAT FROM THE BEGINNING JUST SO IT DOES NOT SEEM AS OVERWHELMING AS IT MIGHT REALLY BE. IT IS GOING TO SEEM REALLY JOYOUS WHEN YOU KNOW, ON THE SAME DAY YOU FINISH TYPING UP THE LAST CHAPTER OF THE BOOK, ALL OF THE OTHER CHAPTERS ARE DONE ALREADY AND YOU JUST HAVE TO PROOFREAD OR ORDER A COPY TO PROOFREAD. I ORDER A COPY OF MY BOOKS TO PROOFREAD. NOW I PROOFREAD ON THE BLOG IMMEDIATELY BEFORE POSTING IT FOR FREE. I USE THE BOOK TO MAKE IT EASIER TO PROOFREAD IT AND CIRCLE ERRORS AND MAKE THE CORRECTIONS TO THE FILE. ON MY ADVANCE COPIES YOU GET TO SEE MY HUMANITY. HOW MUCH IT MAY APPEAR I KNOW ABOUT WRITING I STILL AM NOT PERFECT. SEEING THE PROFESSOR’S ERRORS MAY INSTILL CONFIDENCE IN THE STUDENTS. I WILL SHOW YOU HOW TO CRANK OUT A NOVEL IN THIRTY DAYS AND EVENTUALLY BREAK IT DOWN INTO ONE TO THREE DAYS IF YOU REALLY WANT TO. I GUESS THIS IS THE SECRET TO HOW I DID IT; I REALLY WANTED TO. I AM GIVING YOU ALL THE GAME RIGHT NOW IN A BOOK AND ON CD. AFTER TWENTY YEARS OF WRITING POEMS I GIVE THIS TO YOU. I WILL BE 27 YEARS OLD AT THE END OF THIS MONTH. I WAS SEVEN WHEN I WROTE MY FIRST POEM. I WAS TWELVE WHEN I DIRECTED MY FIRST SHORT FILM IN MY BACKYARD WITH NO FILM SCRIPT OR EDITING SOFTWARE. I SHOT EVERY SCENE IN ORDER. I WAS FIFTH-TEEN LIVING IN CONYERS, GEORGIA WHEN I WROTE MY FIRST POETRY JOURNAL. BETWEEN EIGHT-TEEN AND TWENTY-ONE I HAD ACCESS TO OTHER PEOPLE’S CAMERAS WHERE I WAS ABLE TO PRACTICE MY CINEMATOGRAPHY. THEN AT TWENTY-ONE I HAD RECEIVED MY FIRST CAMERA AS AN ADULT. THANK YOU GOD AND MY MOTHER. AT TWENTY I COMMITTED TO WRITING MY OWN MOVIES AND DIRECTING THEM. THE CAMERA AT TWENTY-ONE WAS A VALENTINE’S DAY PRESENT FROM GOD AND MY MOTHER. AT TWENTY-ONE CHADFILMS MADE HIS DEBUT. THE DEBUT OF CHADFILMS WAS KEVITV. WHEN YOU TYPE IT IN YOU MIGHT HAVE SOME TROUBLE FINDING IT DUE TO THE FACT SOME GROUP OF SCOUNDRELS STOLE OUR NAME. THEY CALL IT KEVITVONE. IF YOU LOOK AT BOTH OF THE CHANNELS YOU WILL SEE SIMILARITIES IN THEIR VIEWERSHIP. THEY HAVE SOME OF THE SAME VIEWS OUR VIDEOS HAD. KEVITV WAS THE START OF CHADFILMS. IT WAS JUST ME UTILIZING MY NIECE’S ACTING POTENTIAL; SHE DIDN’T WANT TO DO THIS. SHE HAD A REAL BIG FANBASE FOR IT BUT IT IS WHAT IT IS. ALL OF THESE YEARS LATER YOU KNOW I AM ON THE VERGE OF BUILDING A REAL BIG FANBASE FOR WHAT I AM DOING IN DEEP CREATIVE SOLITUDE. KEVITV IS GOING TO MAKE A CERTIFIED COMEBACK BECAUSE I HAVE ANOTHER NIECE NAMED MALIAH AND SHE LOVES ME SO MUCH. WE HAVE A LOT OF AUDIO OF US RAPPING TOGETHER OR I MIGHT BE RECORDING A BOOK AND SHE’LL BARGE IN AND TAKE OVER. SO KEVITV IS GOING TO MAKE A COME BACK WITH THAT. AFTER KEVITV I STARTED MY OWN CHANNEL SEEXZAVIERFILMS. IT WAS INTENDED AS A PUN, TO GO SEE XZAVIER’S FILMS. YOU WANT TO MAKE SURE YOUR CONTENT IS HEARTFELT BECAUSE THAT IS HOW THE PHONE GIRL WAS. THE PHONE GIRL WAS A REAL STORY AND I WROTE ABOUT HOW I FELT ON THE SITUATION EVERY DAY. THEN THIRTY DAYS LATER I HAD THE BOOK DONE. THIS IS WHEN I REALIZED I HAD CREATED AS FORMULA FOR IT. I HAD BEEN WRITING POEMS FOR YEARS BUT WHEN I DECIDED TO WRITE SCRIPTS I TRIED TO IMMEDIATELY JUMP INTO IT WITHOUT FULLY REALIZING WHAT A SCRIPT WAS. I NOW HAVE ENOUGH PERSISTENT FAITH AND INTELLECTUAL CONFIDENCE IN MY ABILITY TO VISUALLY INTERPRET THE STORY ON PAPER. OR ANY FORMAT AT THIS POINT.AS LONG AS YOU HAVE A SUPER CLEAR VISION OF HOW YOUR SCRIPT IS GOING TO GO YOU CAN JUST CLOSE YOUR EYES AND VISUALIZE EVERY SCENE OF A SIXTY SCENE FILM. WHERE EVERY ACT CONSISTS OF JUST TWENTY PURE SCENES. ALL OF THESE YEARS I WAS ATTEMPTING TO DO A NOVEL OR A FILM SCRIPT YET COULD NEVER FINISH THEM. I BROKE THEM UP INTO FORMATS AND SAID I WAS GOING TO HOLD ON TO THE IDEA UNTIL I PUSH IT OUT MYSELF.I AM GOING TO PUBLISH THIS MYSELF AND PUSH IT ON THE STREET MYSELF AND BUILD A FANBASE TO A MILLION. THEN HOLLYWOOD WILL COME KNOCKING ON THE DOOR LIKE SHOW ME YOURS AND I WILL SHOW YOU MINE.THE PHONE GIRL CAME FROM HEARTBREAK. IN THE SITUATION MY HEART HAD FELT LIKE A BLACK HOLE FOR CREATIVITY. I HAD SO MUCH PAIN IN MY HEART OVER THE SITUATION I WAS ABLE TO TAP INTO THE PAIN AND USE THE PAIN TO PULL OUT THE CREATIVITY NECESSARY TO FINISH THESE STORIES.I WAS SO HURT, I KNEW EXACTLY HOW I FELT. ONLY WHEN YOU KNOW EXACTLY HOW YOU FEEL CAN YOU PUT IT DOWN. IF YOU CAN ONLY PUT DOWN WHAT YOU FEEL THEN YOU SHOULD ONLY WRITE EXACTLY WHAT YOU FEEL ABOUT. WHATEVER IT IS, ALL OF MY NOVELS, THEY REALLY REPRESENT MY PERSONAL PHILOSOPHY. DESPITE THE GENRE, ALL OF MY NOVELS ARE ACTUALLY PHILOSOPHICAL NOVELS.THEY ARE NOVELS DERIVED FROM MY PHILOSOPHY. MY PHILO FOR THE PHONE GIRL MIGHT BE MY PHILO ON DATING AND THE TYPE YOU DATE. MY PHILO FOR THE BOOK WET CUTS MIGHT BE DATING PREMATURELY VS. A SOLITUDE, AMBITION STREAK WHERE YOU ACHIEVE ALL OF YOUR DREAMS FIRST. THEN YOU ARE DATING WITH MORE LEVERAGE AND LESS VULNERABILITY TO FINANCIAL CIRCUMSTANCES TIED IN WITH THE EMOTIONAL COMPLEXITIES OF A RELATIONSHIP.I FEEL A MILLIONAIRE COUPLE MIGHT ARGUE LESS OVER MONEY. THEY CAN TRAVEL WHEN THEY HAVE A DIFFERENCE INSTEAD OF JUST HAVING A DIFFERENCE OVER THE FACT THEY CAN NOT TRAVEL. WHO WANTS A BROKE DADDY? IT IS JUST THIS SIMPLE. TRACK FOUR – THE PHONE GIRL WAS DONE IN THIRTY DAYS. I WAS LIKE OK NOW I HAVE MY FIRST BOOK AND IT CAME IN THE FORM OF POETRY. I STARTED OFF WRITING A POEM ON HOW I FELT AND I KEPT DOING IT. NOW THIS IS MY FORMULA BECAUSE IT FLOWS FASTER, IT IS MORE DESCRIPTIVE AND I CAN DERIVE FROM IT THE OTHER FORMATS. I CAN TURN THE SOURCE MATERIAL INTO NARRATIVE, INTO PROSE, INTO EXPOSITORY, A FILM SCENE, A STAGE PLAY SCENE, A COMIC BOOK STRIP, A GRAPHIC NOVEL PAGE, A SONG. IT IS ABOUT FORMATS ALRIGHT? THIS IS HOW YOU CREATE A ONE HUNDRED MILLION DOLLAR FRANCHISE. FORMATS, YOU WANT YOUR PROJECT TO BE ON AUDIO BECAUSE SOME PEOPLE DO NOT LIKE TO READ OR HAVE TIME TO READ. PUT THE PROJECT ON AUDIO AND THEY CAN LISTEN TO IT EVEN IN SLEEP. I SUGGEST YOU PLAY THIS LOWLY WHILE YOU SLEEP. YOU SHOULD POP THE CD IN WHEN YOU ARE SLEEPING SO YOU CAN FIND YOURSELF USING SOME OF THE TACTICS UNKNOWINGLY. IF YOU REALLY WANT TO KNOW SOMETHING THEN YOU WANT TO PUT IT IN YOUR SUBCONSCIOUS MIND QUICKLY. FOR EXAMPLE, PHOTO READING AND LISTENING TO AUDIO BOOKS WHILE YOU SLEEP. YOUR CONSCIOUS MIND WILL NOT EVEN KNOW AND YOU WILL BE PLAYING INTELLIGENCE DÉJÀ VU. THE PHONE GIRL WAS DONE IN THIRTY DAYS. AFTER THIS I WAS LIKE OK I HAD JUST FINISHED MY FIRST BOOK AND I WAS SO EXCITED. I WAS LIKE WHAT AM I GOING TO DO NOW? KEEP THE MOMENTUM UP PLEASE, DO NOT EVER LOSE IT; THE BEST ADVICE SELF GIVEN. I TOOK THE ADVICE AND KEPT GOING. THAT WAS CFK. THE PHONE GIRL ONE, CFK ONE, THE LONE GIRL, CFK TWO, THE PHONE GUY, CFK THREE THRU SIX. THEN FROM HERE I STARTED THE UNFINISHED CFK MEMOIRS PRE 26 YEARS OLD. JANUARY I WAS WORKING ON A BLOG, THE RESTLESS WRITER, TALES OF AN ALL NIGHTER. CLEVERLAND AND CLEVERFIELD WAS WRITTEN IN FEBRUARY. THEN I MOVED AND FINISHED U.G.L.Y QUOTRY WHICH IS THE NAME OF MY MAIN BUSINESS INSTAGRAM. THEN I GOT MY JOB AT P AND G AND I WAS WRITING A 13 PAGE BOOK RANDOM QUIRKINESS. I PLACED IT AS A PREVIEW IN THE FIRST CFK SAGA BOOK. I WROTE A FEW SHORT STORIES AS MY FIRST ATTEMPT IN A NOTEBOOK I LEFT AT WORK FOR WRITING ON MY BREAK. THE NOTEBOOK DISAPPEARED. I LOST ALL OF MY FIRST SHORT STORY NOTEBOOK. THOSE MONTHS WENT DOWN THE DRAIN. SOME OF THOSE POEMS CONTAIN WHAT WOULD HAVE BEEN PUT INTO THE PHONE GIRL PART FOUR. THOSE WOULD HAVE BEEN NICE BUT IT IS WHAT IT IS WHATEVER, THE BOOK IS STILL OUT. AT THIS POINT I STARTED WRITING A BUNCH OF MATERIAL THAT STARTED DISAPPEARING WHETHER I LOST IT OR I GAVE IT AWAY FOR A SINGER TO MAKE IT INTO A SONG AND THEN I NEVER HEARD FROM THEM AGAIN. I MIGHT HAVE GIVEN OUT LIKE TWENTY PAGES AND THEN TWENTY MORE PAGES TO TWO DIFFERENT MUSIC ARTISTS WHO CAN’T WRITE LYRICS. AT THIS POINT I WAS REALLY JUST PAYING A DEBT TO THE UNIVERSE. IT IS WHAT IT IS. I AM NOT GOING TO TRIP FOR THIS IS WHAT I DO. I GAVE AWAY FORTY PAGES LIKE IT WAS NOTHING. I JUST POPPED IT OUT. I LOST THE FIRST FEW POEMS FOR THE STIPULATION KING IN THE LOST 2016 P AND G NOTEBOOK. I LOST NERDS IN THE HOOD AND IT WAS COMPLETE. I LOST 10-20 POEMS ON THE PHONE GIRL NUMBER TWO AS IN ANA THE 2ND PHONE GIRL SAGA. TRACK FIVE – ALRIGHT, SO LET ME TRY TO FLOW THRU THIS WORKBOOK REAL QUICK TO GIVE YOU THIS THING. ALRIGHT WRITER’S BLOCK STARTED TO GO AWAY WHEN MY CREATIVE WRITER CAME OUT AND I GOT THE FORMULA. I REALIZED AS LONG AS I WAS WRITING ABOUT SOMETHING THAT WAS HEAVY IN MY HEART, THERE IS NO WRITER’S BLOCK BECAUSE I FEEL SO DEEPLY ABOUT IT. NOW THERE IS GOING TO COME A TIME WHEN YOU READ BACK WHAT YOU WROTE OR YOU DON’T EVEN READ IT FOR YOU KNOW WHAT YOU WROTE BECAUSE IT IS MAKING YOU CRY, TREMBLE OR WHATEVER – WHATEVER. AT THAT POINT YOU’RE GOING TO ASK YOURSELF; DO I FEEL COMFORTABLE ENOUGH FOR ANYBODY, A PERSON CLOSE TO ME OR A COMPLETE STRANGER TO READ THIS AND KNOW IT IS ABOUT ME? DO I FEEL COMFORTABLE? WHETHER THE ANSWER IS YES OR NO YOU SHOULD GO AHEAD AND LET THEM READ IT. NOW, IF IT MAKES YOU REALLY UNCOMFORTABLE AND IT’S A REALLY DARK SECRET, DON’T DO IT. AS LONG AS IT IS NOT A REALLY DARK SECRET, DO IT. FEEL ME? JUST ONLY HOLD BACK YOUR REALLY DARK SECRET. AS LONG AS IT IS NOT YOUR REALLY DARK SECRET THEN THERE IS NOTHING TO BE ASHAMED ABOUT. AS LONG AS YOU ARE BEING HONEST ABOUT IT AND IT IS REALLY WHAT HAPPENED/HOW YOU FELT ABOUT IT. NOW AS LONG AS YOU LIVE BY THIS CRITERIA WHEN WRITING BOOM: YOU WILL NOT GET WRITER’S BLOCK ANYMORE. IF YOU HAVE WRITER’S BLOCK IT IS BECAUSE YOU ARE WRITING ABOUT SOMETHING YOU SHOULDN’T BE WRITING ABOUT. HOW ABOUT THAT? REAL WRITERS DON’T GET WRITER’S BLOCK. IF I WANT TO WRITE, THEN I AM GOING TO WRITE BECAUSE I AM A WRITER. THAT IS JUST HOW IT GOES. I’M SORRY BUT THAT’S JUST HOW IT GOES. RIGHT? WHEN YOU WANT TO EAT, YOU EAT. YOU DON’T GET STOMACH BLOCK DO YOU? I DON’T. I’M NOT SAYING WHEN I’M WRITING I DON’T EVER HAVE A STUMBLE WHERE I JUST PAUSE. IT IS ACTUALLY PRETTY ENTERTAINING BECAUSE I WOULD WRITE ON LUNCH BREAK AND THE OTHER BREAKS WE HAVE. IT WOULD BE A TEN MINUTE BREAK AND I WOULD SIT DOWN ON MY BREAK AND TIME THE PAPER BEFORE WRITING. ABOUT A TEN OR FIFTH-TEEN MINUTE BREAK FRIEND I AM WRITING NON STOP. MY HAND MIGHT STOP MOVING HALFWAY DOWN THE PAGE AND THEN YOU SEE ME PULL MY HAND ALL THE WAY BACK. YOU’LL HEAR A CRACK, IT’LL DO LIKE THAT AND I’LL BE LIKE OH THAT’S WHERE IT IS AT. RIGHT? BECAUSE I AM STRETCHING MY HAND BECAUSE IT HURTS BECAUSE I’VE BEEN HAVING IT CROUCHED IN THAT POSITION. THE HAND HELD HOSTAGE TO MY CONSTANT CREATIVITY.BOOM! SO THEN I FINISH THE OTHER HALF AND I MIGHT FINISH HALF THE PAGE OR THE WHOLE PAGE IN FIVE OR TEN MINUTES, IT DOES NOT MATTER. IT DEPENDS ON WHAT I’M WRITING ABOUT, IT DEPENDS ON WHAT I AM WRITING ABOUT. THAT’S WHY YOU WANT TO TIME EVERYTHING. ONCE YOU START TO TIME EVERYTHING THEN YOU START TO LOOK AT IT LIKE A SPORT. ONCE YOU LOOK AT IT LIKE A SPORT YOU REALIZE ONCE YOU TIME EVERYTHING IT IS THE STATISTICAL POINT OF NO RETURN.ANY READER OF YOUR MATERIAL MAY SEE THE TIMES, AND THEY CAN LEARN A LOT. HERE’S WHAT YOU LEARN FROM TIMING YOUR MATERIAL, HERE’S WHAT THE READER LEARNED FROM YOU TIMING YOUR MATERIAL. THEY KNOW WHEN YOU STARTED AND FINISHED IT. MEANING THE INDIVIDUAL PAGE OR POEM. THEY KNOW WHEN YOU STARTED AND FINISHED THE ENTIRE PROJECT. THEY KNOW WHEN YOU STARTED AND FINISHED ALL OF THE RELATED PROJECTS (SEQUELS, PREQUELS AND SPIN OFFS). THEY KNOW WHEN YOU STOPPED OR TOOK A BREAK. THEY KNOW WHAT OTHER PROJECTS YOU WORKING ON THE SAME DAYS AND THEY KNOW WHAT THEY WERE DOING ON THOSE SAME DAYS. SO IT IS MORE OF A CONNECTION, THEY KNOW MORE ABOUT IT AND IT IS UNSAID. IT IS ALL IN THE MATH. JUST BY YOU PUTTING THE TIME YOU MADE IT AND THEY LOOK AT IT THE DAYS THEY READ IT; THEY MADE THE MATH CONNECTION. IT IS A MATHEMATICAL EQUATION OF YOUR PRODUCTIVITY. WHEN YOU TIME YOUR MATERIAL, IT IS LIKE TIMING YOURSELF RUNNING A MILE. YOU’RE NOT GOING TO RUN A MILE WITHOUT TIMING IT OR DO 1000 PUSH UPS WITHOUT COUNTING THEM UNLESS YOU ARE JUST DOING TOO MUCH TO NEED TO TIME IT. UNTIL THEN JUST TIME IT BECAUSE IT MAKES EVERYTHING A LOT MORE LEGIT AND IT PRODUCES A SMILE ON THE READER’S FACE. I’VE SEEN IT MYSELF. YOU WANT THEM TO KNOW WHAT THEY WERE DOING WHEN YOU WERE WRITING YOUR MATERIAL AND THAT IS THE BASIC CONNECTION. THEY COULD HAVE BEEN GOING THRU SOME EXTRANEOUS EMOTIONS ON THE DAYS YOU WROTE IT. THEY COULD HAVE BEEN GETTING KICKED OUT. THEY COULD HAVE BEEN PUSHING A CAR. THEY COULD HAVE BEEN CLIMBING UP A TREE IN THE RAIN. YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT THEY WERE GOING THRU WHEN YOU WERE WORKING ON THE PROJECT AND THAT IS WHAT WILL PROVIDE THE CONNECTION. YOU HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH IT. ALL YOU DID WAS PROVIDE THE TIME YOU CREATED IT SO THEY COULD SEE THE CONNECTION. THE FIRST STEP IS TO BLEED ON THE PAGE. YOU HAVE TO BLEED ON THE PAGE. I CAN FILL UP AN ENTIRE PAGE IN TEN MINUTES BECAUSE I AM GOING TO BLEED ON THE PAGE. IT IS LIKE A TRICK; IT IS LIKE SOMEONE SAYING HEY CHAD HERE’S THIS PIECE OF PAPER NOW FILL IT UP. I’M LIKE OK, I TAKE IT AND PUT IT IN MY TRENCH COAT. I TAKE IT OUT OF MY TRENCH COAT AND ALL OF THE INK IS JUST BLEEDING AND DRYING UP ALL GLOSSY. THAT’S THE KEY, TO GETTING OVER THE WRITER’S BLOCK. THE SECOND KEY TO GETTING OVER THE WRITER’S BLOCK IS YOU ARE GOING TO KNOW WHAT TO DO TO PUMP UP YOUR INSPIRATION REAL QUICK. GO TO GOOGLE AND TYPE IN FORMS OF POETRY. GO TO GOOGLE AND TYPE IN LIST OF LITERARY TERMS ON. GO TO GOOGLE AND TYPE IN CHARACTER ARCHETYPES ON GOOGLE. GO TO GOOGLE AND TYPE IN ANYTHING SIMILAR TO THIS AREA OF LITERARY ELEMENTS OF A STORY. YOU USE STORY ELEMENTS IN CONJUNCTION WITH QUOTES RELATED TO YOUR STORY TO SOUP UP YOUR IDEAS. PICK A CONCEPT FOR YOUR STORY AND FIGURE OUT WHAT YOU HAVE TO READ OR WATCH TO RESEARCH YOUR STORY. FOR EXAMPLE, I AM WRITING A BOOK ABOUT THE MAFIA AND I HAVE TO STUDY THE MAFIA. ONCE I KNOW ENOUGH ABOUT THE MAFIA THEN I CAN FEEL COMFORTABLE WRITING A STORY ABOUT THE MAFIA. SO WHATEVER YOU ARE GOING TO WRITE ABOUT YOU WANT TO GET YOUR STUDYING TOGETHER FIRST. ONCE YOU HAVE STUDIED ENOUGH ABOUT YOUR STORY IF IT IS NOT A REAL LIFE SITUATION TURNED INTO A NOVEL. I WOULD SUGGEST AUTO-BIOGRAPHICAL NOVELS INSTEAD OF AUTO-BIOGRAPHY BOOKS. HAVE BOTH; I DO AUTO-BIOGRAPHICAL NOVELS BECAUSE A LOT THAT COMES FROM IT, I COULD MAKE IT AN AUTO-BIOGRAPHY BUT I DON’T NECESSARILY WANT ALL OF THOSE STORIES IN THE AUTO-BIOGRAPHICAL SECTION. I CAN INCLUDE ALL OF THE STORIES IN MY AUTO-BIOGRAPHY AND I WILL BUT CERTAIN THINGS HAPPENING TO ME IN REAL LIFE I WOULD RATHER MAKE IT INTO A NOVEL TO BE HONEST WITH YOU. THE PHONE GIRL BOOK WAS MY WRITING FORMULA FIRST EXTERNALIZED. IT TURNED INTO SOMETHING BIG BUT I DON’T WANT THE PHONE GIRL IN MY MEMOIRS. THE PHONE GIRL IS A REAL PERSON AND WAS A REAL SITUATION. SO, IF I PUT THE SITUATION ONLY IN AN AUTO-BIOGRAPHICAL PUBLICATION, THEN IT IS KIND OF LIKE I’M JUST SNITCHING. BUT IF I TAKE THIS THING THAT REALLY HAPPENED TO ME AND I SPRINKLE IT INTO A BOOK, MASKING IT INTO A NOVEL THEN IT IS LIKE PAYBACK. YES, THE PHONE GIRL IS REALLY OUT THERE BECAUSE SHE IS A REAL PERSON. YES, THAT’S SOME CREEPY PASTA FOR YOUR TAIL. TRACK SIX – ANYWAY, LET’S TRY TO GET THRU HERE. CAN I ACTUALLY FINISH RECORDING THIS ENTIRE BOOK IN ONE HOUR? I HAVE EIGHT MINUTES LEFT. GO ONLINE AND TYPE IN LITERARY TERMS. I KNOW I HAD SOME QUESTIONS TO ASK YOU TOO BUT ANYWAY HERE IS WHY YOU USE QUOTES. I STARTED USING QUOTES DURING CFK 5 AND 6. I DIDN’T PUT THE QUOTES IN THE BOOK BUT AFTER THIS POINT I STARTED USING QUOTES IN THE MAJORITY OF THE STORIES I WROTE. THE ONLY TIME I DON’T USE QUOTES IS WHEN I AM WRITING ABOUT SOMETHING I FEEL CONFIDENT ENOUGH TO EXPRESS WITHOUT THE USE OF QUOTES. IF I NEED TO SUPERCHARGE THE THOUGHT AND MAKE IT DEEPER THEN I GET THE QUOTE. I DID NOT COMPREHEND WHAT A QUOTE WAS UNTIL I STARTED USING THEM IN MY WRITING. A QUOTE IS A PHRASE, A SENTENCE OR A PARAGRAPH FROM A PERSON WHO HAS ACHIEVED SUCCESS IN THEIR OWN INDUSTRY AND THEY HAPPEN TO LAY DOWN THE QUOTE. WHEN YOU READ THE QUOTES YOU CAN READ THEM IN CATEGORIES LIKE HAPPINESS, LOVE, JOY, EARTH, HATE, FURY, BLISS, ANGER, RAGE, SOCIETY, POLITICS, THE PRESIDENT, THE PRESIDENCY, POLITICIANS, AMERICA, EUROPE, NORTH AMERICA, SOUTH AMERICA, ASIA. YOU WILL STUMBLE ACROSS SOMETHING SUPERCHARGING YOUR STORY. FIGURE OUT YOUR STORY CONCEPT. FIGURE OUT THE CONCEPTS THE STORY WILL BE TALKING ABOUT. WHATEVER THE STORY IS ABOUT THEN BREAK IT DOWN INTO THE EXPRESSED EMOTION. IF YOUR STORY IS ABOUT YOUR GRANDMOTHER DYING AND YOU BEING SAD ABOUT IT THEN BREAK DOWN THOSE EMOTIONS. FIND QUOTES ON THOSE EMOTIONS AND APPLY THOSE QUOTES TO WHAT YOU ARE ALREADY PLOTTING IN YOUR HEAD OR ON PAPER. GO TO WWW.BRAINYQUOTE.COM AND TYPE IN YOUR CONCEPT KEYWORDS. TAKE THE FIRST TEN OR TWENTY QUOTES AND THIS SHOULD GET YOU FAR ENOUGH UNTIL YOU DECIDE IF YOU ARE GOING TO USE THE SAME KEYWORD QUOTES OR SWITCH QUOTE TOPICS OR SWITCH AUTHORS. FOR EXAMPLE, THE LAST FRANCHISE I STARTED UNDER THE PEN NAME DAVID X. CRICHTON IS CALLED THE PRINCE WHO KNEW TOO MUCH. THE SEQUEL IS CALLED THE PRINCE’S PHILO. IN THE FIRST BOOK I USED QUOTES ON DESTINY. IN THE PRINCE’S PHILO I USED ALBERT CAMUS QUOTES WHERE EVERY CHAPTER USES AT LEAST ONE OF HIS QUOTES. IN THE PRINCE’S FATE I WILL USE QUOTES ON FATE. SOMETIMES I MIGHT READ A QUOTE THAT FLOODS MY BRAIN SO MUCH I CAN FILL UP A CHAPTER OR PAGE OR POEM USING IT. SOMETIMES A QUOTE ONLY GETS ME THROUGH A PARAGRAPH. SOMETHING ELSE I STARTED TO USE IN THE BOOK “WET CUTS” WAS STATISTICS. IT IS ALL ABOUT AMBITION AND GUYS MAKING THEIR AMBITION TOWARDS ACQUIRING SEX. ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS WATCH THEM BECAUSE THEY WON’T ADMIT IT.MY VERSION OF “WET CUTS” USES STATS LIKE TEENAGE PREGNANCY. 500,000 PREGRANCIES A YEAR. 4.6 MILLION KIDS BORN A YEAR. 1.2 MILLION ABORTIONS OR MISCARRIAGES. THE NUMBER OF ABORTIONS ALMOST MATCHED THE NUMBER OF MISCARRIAGES. WHY COULDN’T NATURE SWITCH THE MOTHERS INSTEAD? THAT IDEA IS A NARRATIVE IN ITSELF. LOOK OUT FOR THAT SPIN OFF. IT WAS JUST WILD LEARNING STATS AND AT THIS POINT I STARTED USING STATS. I WOULD WRITE ONE POEM OR PAGE BASED ON A STAT. YOU CAN EXPAND THE CATEGORIES TO SPARK YOUR BRAIN WITH. YOU CAN FIND OTHER CATEGORIES TO BOOST UP YOUR STORY DETAILS. PICK A SUBJECT TO WRITE ABOUT AND THEN PICK OUT QUOTES OR STATISTICS ON YOUR STORY. FIND THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF POEMS IF YOU CAN WRITE A POEM EASIER THAN YOU CAN WRITE A PAGE OF PROSE OR NARRATIVE.THEN YOU HAVE TO PICK OUT THE TYPE OF POEM AND THEN APPLY THE QUOTE OR STAT OR CASE STUDY. YOU ADD THE HEARTFELT CONCEPT TO THE QUOTES OR STATS ON THE HEARTFELT CONCEPT AND THEN YOU ADD IT TO THE TYPE OF POEM OR LITERARY ELEMENT OR DEVICE.(ALLITERATION, CONSONANT, ASSONANT, ENJAMBMENT, ADJECTIVE, ANTHOLOGY, COUPLET, ENVOI, ENVOY, CHORUS, FOOT, HYBERBOLE, IAMBIC PENTAMETER, KENNING, METAPHOR, ONAMOTEPIA, PERSONIFICATION, OXYMORON, CONUNDRUM, POETRY, POETRY SLAM, POWERFUL VERB, PROSE, RHYMING COUPLET, RHYME, SIMILE, QUATRAN, REPETITION, STANZA, SYLLABLE, TERCET, REFRAIN, RHYTHM, VERB, VERSE)IT IS NOTHING MORE THAN A LITERARY EQUATION. IT STARTS OFF WITH A STORY ABOUT THIS CONCEPT AND I AM GOING TO USE THESE QUOTES, THESE STATS, THESE LITERARY TERMS AND THESE CHARACTER ARCHETYPES. NOW YOU HAVE YOUR NOTES. YOUR NOTES INCLUDE ALL OF YOUR CASE STUDIES, ALL OF YOUR NARRATIVE JUICERS. AS LONG AS YOU GET THIS PART HERE OF THE EQUATION, THEN YOU GOT IT AND YOU CAN DO IT.LET’S SAY YOU GET IT, NOW LET US MOVE ON TO HOW THIS BOOK ITSELF WAS CREATED. THIS BOOK ON HOW TO WRITE A BOOK WAS NOT ORIGINALLY WRITTEN AT ALL. THIS BOOK IS A TRANSLATION OF A W.A.V. FILE THAT MUST BE CONVERTED TO MP3 BEFORE RELEASING THE AUDIO ONLINE AND ON CD FORMAT ON DATPIFF.COM UNDER THE D.X.C. PEN NAME.LET US SAY YOU DO NOT GET HOW TO WRITE A BOOK YET. I GET IT, EVEN FOR ME AS A WRITER, THE THOUGHT OF PRODUCING A NOVEL IS INTIMIDATING. DETAILS, CHARACTERIZATION, PUNCTUATION AND GRAMMAR IS SCARY TO MOST PEOPLE. YOU MAY NOT HAVE BEEN WRITING YOUR WHOLE LIFE BUT YOU HAVE BEEN TALKING FOR ALL OF YOUR LIFE.SO WHY NOT THINK IT WOULD BE EASIER TO TALK THE STORY OUT? YOU CAN BUY ANY RECORDER BUT THE ONE I AM USING IS A 70$ TASCAM DR RECORDER. BUY THE NEWEST VERSION. TURN THE DECIMAL LEVEL ALL OF THE WAY UP AND TURN THE VOLUME UP 50 TO 75%. NOW YOU HAVE THIS REALLY LOUD THING GOING ON. IT ALSO HAS EXTERNAL MICROPHONES SO YOU CAN DECIDE IF YOU WANT TO BE HEARD PRIMARILY ON THE LEFT OR RIGHT EAR.IT RUNS ON DOUBLE A BATTERIES SO BUY A FEW PACKS OF BATTERIES AND A RECHARGEABLE SET OF BATTERIES AND THE CHARGER SO YOU CAN BEGIN TO FILM YOUR LIFE. GET READY FOR THE TIME OF YOUR LIFE. I HAVE JUST STARTED TRANSCRIBING MY AUDIO SOURCE MATERIAL INTO PUBLICATIONS AND HERE IS WHAT I HAVE DEDUCED.EVERY TEN MINUTE RECORDING EQUALS 2-5 PAGES OF TRANSCRIBED MATERIAL DEPENDING ON HOW FAST OR SLOW I AM SPEAKING. I RECORD FOR ONE HOUR WHICH WOULD BE SIX TRACKS OR I WOULD GO TO TEN. I WOULD TYPE UP THE TEN TRACKS AS ONE BOOK. 20-50 PAGES ARE DERIVED FROM SOURCE MATERIAL AUDIO. I HAVE 50 HOURS OF UN TRANSCRIBED AUDIO SOURCE MATERIAL FROM MAY, 2015 TO 1-1-2017. THAT EQUATES TO 50 MORE BOOKS TO ADD TO THE ULTIMATE DAVID CRICHTON AUDIO TRANSLATION 2016 COLLECTION. TRACK SEVEN – ANOTHER THING, GET THE RECORDER, SIT DOWN AND CLOSE YOUR EYES. YOU CAN OPEN YOUR EYES, TAKE ALL OF YOUR NOTES, USE YOUR NOTES AND JUST FLOW THE STORY OUT. USE YOUR NOTES, YOU CAN EITHER FREESTYLE POEMS WITH RHYMEZONE.COM AND PICK OUT ALL OF THE WORDS YOU WANT TO USE AND THEN IT COMES UP WITH ALL OF THE RHYMES FOR THE WORD AND YOU JUST HAVE TO FREESTYLE IT. YOU HAVE TO PUT IT TOGETHER ON AUDIO, WITHOUT WRITING IT. ALL YOU HAVE IS THE LAST WORD YOU ARE GOING TO USE.YOU HAVE TO FILL IN THE BLANK. THIS IS WHAT I AM TRYING TO GIVE YOU. A FILL IN THE BLANK ON A BOOK. I AM GOING TO TAKE EVERYTHING I JUST SAID, TYPE IT ALL UP AND WHATEVER I DIDN’T INCLUDE IN IT THAT NEEDED TO BE INCLUDED I WILL ADD IT BUT REALLY HOPE THE AUDIO DOESN’T NEED ANYTHING ELSE I COULD SAY TO BE MORE EFFECTIVE IN HELPING YOU WRITERS.I REALLY WANT TO INCLUDE CHARTS AND THINGS I CAN NOT JUST SAY. IF IT IS SOMETHING I COULD SAY HERE AND I DIDN’T SAY IT I WOULD FEEL LIKE THIS AUDIO IS NOT AS COMPLETE AS A PROJECT INTENDED TO HELP WRITERS WOULD NEED TO BE. CHARACTERIZATION – THIS IS ANOTHER PART YOU SEE PEOPLE CRITICIZE IN MOVIES AND NOVELS. MY CHARACTERIZATION IS GETTING BETTER BUT I KNOW AT LEAST THIS MUCH. MY BOOK “THE PRINCE WHO KNEW TOO MUCH” IS MY FIRST OFFICIAL SHORT NOVEL, PROSE, AND NARRATIVE WRITTEN LIKE A DIARY ENTRY. EVERY CHAPTER IS A DIARY ENTRY USING QUOTES ON DESTINY. IT IS WRITTEN IN FIRST PERSON DIARY PERSPECTIVE FORMAT.I FIND THIS THE EASIEST WAY TO PUSH IT OUT BEFORE TRANSCRIPTION. MAYBE YOU SHOULD TRY THIS WAY AND JUST GIVE IT A SHOT. WRITE IT AS DIARY ENTRIES IN FIRST PERSON PERSPECTIVE. I READ A FEW ARTICLES. THE FIRST ARTICLE I READ WHEN I WAS 20-22, THE ARTICLE SAID TO PICK A SUBJECT YOU ARE PASSIONATE ABOUT, WRITE DOWN HOW YOU FEEL ABOUT THE SUBJECT AND THEN BOOM, GIVE THE FEELING TO A CHARACTER. IT IS THIS SIMPLE.WRITE DOWN HOW YOU FEEL ABOUT SOMETHING. EVEN IF IT IS NOT RELATED TO THE STORY, WRITE DOWN HOW YOU FEEL ABOUT YOUR FAVORITE CHIPS AND YOUR LEAST FAVORITE CHIPS AND GIVE THIS TO YOUR CHARACTER. NOW WHEN YOUR READERS READS THIS IT IS GOING TO MAKE YOUR CHARACTER MORE ACCESSIBLE TO THEM. YOU ARE YOUR CHARACTERS, YOUR CHARACTERS ARE AN EXTENSION OF YOURSELF. WRITE DOWN YOUR FAVORITE FRUIT OR FOOD AND YOUR LEAST FAVORITE FOOD AND FRUIT OR VEGETABLE.NOW YOUR READER’S KNOW YOUR CHARACTER’S FAVORITE CHIPS. I LOVE THE BOONDOCKS SO MY CHARACTERS LOVE THE BOONDOCKS. I AM OBSESSED WITH JFK/RFK AND THE PRESIDENCY AND I WILL HAVE CHARACTERS IN STORIES NOT RELATED TO CFK OR THE BLACK JFK WHO ARE JUST OBSESSED WITH THE KENNEDY PRESIDENCY.THIS IS THE BEAUTY OF BEING A WRITER; YOU CAN SPRINKLE YOURSELF INTO YOUR OWN IMAGINATIVE STORIES. SO WHAT ELSE? CHARACTERIZATION, DO THE DIARY FORMAT EVEN IF YOU DIDN’T WANT TO DO THIS FOR THE ENTIRE BOOK. YOU CAN EVEN WRITE THE DIARY FORMAT AS THE TREATMENT OF THE STORY AND THEN INDIVIDUALLY PUBLISH THE DIARY FOR THE CHARACTER. IT IS AN EXTENSION OF THE SERIES, IT IS A PART OF THE FRANCHISE.THE DIARY OF YOUR CHARACTER YOU CAN BE OFFERED AS AN ALTERNATIVE PURCHASE FOR YOUR FANS TO BUY ONCE YOUR STORY GETS POPPING. WHEN! A SIDE BOOK, “THE TWILIGHT SAGA” “THE SECOND SHORT LIFE OF BREE TANNER” “THE HUNGER GAMES” MAY NOT HAVE A SIDE BOOK. “INSURGENTS” HAS A SIDE BOOK. YOU HAVE TO PLOT THIS STUFF IN ADVANCE.ALL OF THESE PEOPLE, I DO NOT KNOW IF THE SIDE BOOKS WERE WRITTEN WITH THE ORIGINALS. WHETHER THEY DID OR NOT, SHE STILL DID IT AND I SAY YOU SHOULD STILL DO IT NOW. I ALSO SAY YOU SHOULD DO IT AT THE SAME MOMENT.FOR EXAMPLE, SHOUT OUT TO MY HOMIE CECE THE WRITER FROM NY. I SAW HER AT WORK, GAVE HER A COPY OF “THE PRINCE WHO KNEW TOO MUCH” AND TOLD HER THE SEQUEL IS ALREADY DONE. SHE WAS LIKE “WORD, THE SEQUEL IS ALREADY DONE? YOU ARE NOT WASTING ANYTIME? YOU ARE A BEAST WITH IT.” WHAT’S GOING ON?THIS IS WHY I AM MAKING THIS TAPE BOOK. I AM NOT MAKING THIS TAPE FOR ME BECAUSE I ALREADY KNOW HOW TO MAKE BOOKS. SO WHY I AM GIVING AWAY MY SECRET? (5SECOND PAUSE) THAT’S WHY I WAS GIVEN THE SECRET, TO GIVE IT OUT. GOD SHOWED ME THE FORMULA SO I CAN SHARE IT WITH THE WORLD. I MEET MANY PEOPLE WHO WANT TO WRITE BOOKS AND THEY SEEM TO HAVE MUCH MORE TROUBLE WITH IT THAN I DO. I FEEL I CAN BREAK IT DOWN ON A LEVEL SO THEY CAN REALLY TAKE OFF WITH IT.THIS CAN BE ONE OF MY MANY GIFTS AND CONTRIBUTIONS TO SOCIETY. A DOCUMENT ON HOW TO WRITE A BESTSELLER NOVEL IN A THIRTY DAY PERIOD AND THEN BREAK IT DOWN TO A 7 DAY AND A 3 DAY PERIOD IS A HELL OF A CONTRIBUTION TO THE LITERARY ARTS. I WOULD JUST HAVE INSPIRED AN ENTIRE GENERATION OF WRITERS ON HOW TO MASS PRODUCE AN EMPIRE OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY. A PUBLICATION EMPIRE OF NOVELS.I REALLY DO NOT WANT TO LISTEN BACK TO THIS HOUR AND TYPE UP WHAT I SAID AND KEEP PLAYING IT BACK. (TUPAC’S ALL EYEZ ON ME ALBUM PLAYS OVER AS I FINISH TYPING THIS LAST TRACK. THANK YOU DEAREST READER. PROOFREAD BY THE AUTHOR. PUBLISHED BY THE AUTHOR. COPYRIGHT OWNED BY THE AUTHOR. CHAD X. HARRIS UNDER DAVID X. CRICHTON PEN NAME.
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[F] Primarch Rap Battles: Horus Lupercal VS Corvus Corax (1/9)
I’m Warmaster, commander of the Great Crusade
From guardsmen to Astartes, they each pledged to me their blade
Who are you, Corax, but an assassin leading slaves
Cowardly striking from the shadows with the progenies of knaves?
You lack the vision, likely caused by a life spent without light,
To even consider committing rebellion, despite it being both feasible and right
Instead, you retain the illusion that you’re a freer of humanity
While at the same time swearing allegiance to the personification of tyranny
Horus, you deluded fool, you’ve let the power go to your head
Claiming to be saving our species by working with beings who want us dead
The Emperor has freed humanity from the horror of Old Night
We need not fear xenos oppression now that he’s secured our might
The legions aren’t meant to lead, only to serve the Imperium
Your traitor army has no right to force the people under its thumb
You’re just like the tech guilds who turned Deliverance into a prison
No matter how you justify it, despotism is your mission
Try hiding in the dark when muzzle flash lights you up
Stealth will do you nothing when a bolt round hits you like a tup
Your namesake runs away in fear of a lifeless effigy
But if we meet on the battlefield, you won’t get the chance to flee
You wear an eye on your armor as if it’ll improve your sight
You’ll still be caught unawares when your back feels my blade’s bite
Even after you renamed the Luna Wolves, you remained a savage cur
Despite being just one crow, I’ll teach you the meaning of murder

given that Nas is on mass appeal and the def jam sessions probably are vaulted outside of the leaks we had, https://www.reddit.com/nas/wiki/index nas has concepts for this album since 2004 for street's disciple that he finally released on untitled, but not as cohesive given the music industry backlash for the album title despite multiple support. this is just an attempt to piece together the track list if Nas had more creative control and more time to finish his album...every nas album could be arguably a double/triple album given so many loosies that either didn't fit his standard. I see many attempts of people trying to piece together the OG I am double disc but not really god's son or even stillmatic, etc given that nas scrapped album sessions to pursue something else on his mind https://www.reddit.com/nas/comments/mm8vs0/observation_a_lot_of_nas_albums_are_halfandhalf/

disc 1 - addressing the past

1. Album intro to It was written - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iX3974sH3KE - if you listen to it, Nas was indeed trying to make this album since 1996, cut off before the AZ skit
2. proclamation with beat - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lCmJ24MsI60 original
3. be a n too - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bxNH_jwk8mM this was the track listing order in which the music video was screened (note, this is where nas said this track is for the radio because the revolution will be televised for all to see)
4. slave and the master - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lpWVwyP4yVk - defines premise and thesis of album on track 4
5. you can't stop us now - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bv2JTooNVq0 - goes in the order of the untitled album
6. america (original) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5SnPjF9Y7rA - defines what america is
7. fear of mandingo - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2pdLcvuGJBI - with america comes irrational fear
8. colors - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1DCRoEahWdU - previous track ends "color doesn't matter when the lights are off"
9. letter to the king - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Elk7dpE5v48 - nas and game traded singles with untitled and LAX because untitled needed singles to push the album commercially. letter to the king was supposed to be on untitled and makes the world go round was supposed to be on LAX
10. louis Farrakhan - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a9FTrU4HtlQ - after King and Malcolm were assassinated, louis Farrakhan remains
11. fried chicken - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mG3dDwm1hoY - talks about soul food that transcends into the culture today, same as original track listing
12. these are our heroes (alternative version) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t65m22hOJ5s from street's disciple, but as nas said, he's been trying to create this album this whole time. goes into the sequencing of people doing the predictable stereotypes of fried chicken and project roach.
13. project roach - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ldkf8Vlss1E - same as original track listing, nas does a lot of personification in hip hop songs https://www.reddit.com/hiphopheads/comments/kbpyvo/list_of_personification_in_hip_hop_songs/
14. new york is killing me w/ mos def and gil scott heron https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TC17Y6_EvWo - mos def could have been on this album easily. the clapping of obesity and black plight always makes a silver lining of making art and humor
15. like me - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d1GGED-cdws song about the emergence of pimping from slavery ...more videos on this channel about it https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ByxzdX_2WZE
16. association ft stic.man - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aX_JATFlzwU goes with the 'like me' phrase that the past is a mind state except the powers that be keeps us occupied with stereotype reinforcements and distractions
17. y'all my n - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-mNjh2y_rM - grassroots music videos for nas album, breaking down the word to sterilize it. thesis song
18. be right - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j7JRXi9axu8 nas reused the same verse on make the world go round, but this hits harder. similar to jadakiss' kiss of death album, add a bunch of songs of him spazzing out at the back end of the album to show he still got it
19. livin it - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qahkd6jy9F8 leftover 2008 track, closer track about black community should have no drama and how things should be
20. (bonus) be a n too remix - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nPVCRMfAaXY another grassroots music video

disc 2 - addressing the present

1. queens get the money - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yMADeEfEB44 - intro track introducing modern day slavery
2. not for radio (no diddy) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p7wtVuvD0ho - from nasir album, but to establish a theme for the 2nd disc, this talks about the consolidation of media outlets controlled by a couple interest groups https://media.mercola.com/ImageServepublic/2021/June/blackrock-and-vanguard-own-the-media.jpg
3. testify - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aOCRtdgO1hk - nas indirectly talks about starting the revolution
4. gangsta rap made me do it (remix) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rjQB_gFxS84 - how media blames gangsta rap is not reporting but perpetuates violence trying to ban free speech
5. cops keep firing (remastered) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVkX4oPRR9g - original tracklisting of n mixtape, nas found the mix so fire that he wrote more verses than the demo DJ version
6. governmentalist (verse) - https://youtu.be/H_kUFh1MZhE?t=175 - as mentioned, there is a whole slew of unreleased tracks that never gets released per nas album but nas sometimes recycle his verses on features and later songs
7. sly fox - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T428MZ5yJO4 - another grassroots music video, album track details how media/gov/FDA/etc makes it harder for people to get real information above the noise and distractions
8. wake up it's africa calling - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=24ZuHVg3T0U another leftover track about media propaganda, transitioning to distant relatives
9. drama for dummies - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oMsyuSrkABM examines black on black violence
10. last real n alive pt 2/ power money p - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l6zk3KN1fcs - recycled parts from Hero, dichotomy of superficial present struggles
11. i have to - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3kun0XKDagQ - solo version before raekwon's rich and black, recycled parts from ghetto rich remix, braggadocios rap in the midst of knowing current struggles
12. who are you (original) ft david ranier & xin xin - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=argVhnCAqX4 - released on lost tapes 2 without the female vocals, education and rising above society's expectations is the way out but the stereotypes of the past keep people back and how distinguished people don't have any clout among average celebrity watchers. transition into r&b phase of album like street's disciple
13. we're not alone - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cVmqX5yhuvU - how the human race would unify and erase color boundaries once we realize there are other life out from the stars visiting us
14. help somebody (verse) - https://youtu.be/RQTBEzTUZyc?t=177 - how a bit of help goes a long way, ends with listen to start a new premise of a black president
15. black president - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Ca31S4hqtE - given 2008 album prior to elections, Nas on 'who are you' was wavering about how black leaders end up selling out but participation of elections is needed to uplift and change expectations in themselves to realize a higher self worth as a people
16. election night - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=unW86owsEWI - same beat as black president sequel of winning
17. my president is black - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bk4ggD_01E4 - add it in given that nas is on def jam and so is jay and jeezy
18. breathe - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SwEioJQiqiY - sounds like a closer track describing where do we go from here given the premise?
19. N tape outro w/ richard pryor - https://youtu.be/0mDoq-Sqexw?t=300 - epilogue of explaining the thesis of the album because "there aren't any"
20. (bonus) Hero (dirty original) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f2K5rNGO0h8 - similar to how it was written has "if i ruled the world" as the last song back when nas was on columbia, save the radio singles to be the last song to hook the consumer into buying the album and listening to the whole album that Nas rose up to do this album. includes the erased names of music executives initially supporting Nas

Artist: Rome Streetz
Album: Kiss the Ring
Release Date: September 30th, 2022
Listen: Spotify
Apple Music
Background:
The days of buying mixtapes out of someone’s trunk may be over, but that influence and sound of hip-hop is alive and well (albeit, not on the charts, but for those with their ears close to the ground), maintaining the hunger and grit that helped the genre float to its current prominence. Rome Streetz may not be Big L, or Jay-Z, or whatever rapper your cool uncle probably listened to; but he feels every bit as confident and motivated as the legends who represented New York City before him.
After years of proven consistency and quality in the underground scene, Rome saw an advancement in his career, in the form of signing with Griselda Records and the connections that come along with a deal of that caliber; the features on Kiss the Ring are particularly evident of this, with Benny the Butcher, Conway the Machine, Boldy James, Armani Caesar, Stove God Cooks, and Griselda’s founder, Westside Gunn, being littered throughout the tracklist.
An introduction to Rome for many, Kiss the Ring is a release that had to be done right; first impressions are very important in the streaming age, where anyone’s music can be discarded just as quickly as it was picked up. It seems that Rome realized this; as the release of Kiss the Ring was almost a full year after his 2nd most recent release, Coup De Grace, a collaboration with Ransom. Of course, 11 months isn’t much of a drought in a vacuum, but for Rome, an extremely prolific underground rapper who dropped four projects in 2021 and two in 2020, it’s quite the period to be working on one singular album.
This album feels like a celebration of that underground success with a combination of Rome’s signature confidence, almost forcing the listener to enjoy it with him. There is a tangible difference to Rome’s former works as well, as Westside Gunn’s executive production choices give Rome’s bars a much more luxurious soundscape to glide over; a full jump off the diving board into the much-acclaimed Griselda sound. There is one message that seems to be hammered home throughout the album, and that’s the title; “Kiss the Ring”, which has always been a way to give respect to someone and their authority. For Rome, the message is simple - I’ve made it this far, now give me the attention I deserve. Even from the first line of the album. “I need the power and respect, millions locked in the safe.”
Review:
The first thing that should strike a first time Rome Streetz listener is the way he raps. Like a machine gun, the bars come in rapid fire, with only momentary pauses to reload and recalibrate. The combination of Westside Gunn’s curation and Conductor Williams’ fearlessness behind the boards give Rome an extremely varied soundscape to work with on Kiss the Ring, with beats ranging from straight up avant-garde "Cry Champagne" to classic boom bap "Tyson Beckford", to a minimalist sample turned into a ballad type beat "Armed & Dangerous". Which, if you’re going for an introduction, it’s probably best to give the listener the broadest stroke of the artist’s genius as possible.
Kiss the Ring, like many albums out of the area, is a personification of walking through Brooklyn; the perfect balance between the polish and the pain, the highs & lows that come along with life. However, the big difference between Rome and a lot of the more recent output out of Brooklyn is that Rome is connecting with those he listened to when he was growing up, rather than making songs about doing drills or following newer trends (more power to those who do, just noting the difference in their priorities and aesthetics).
A standout for me personally on Kiss the Ring is "Long Story Short", the tale of a star basketball player, Derrick, turning into a drug addict after his hoop dreams are cut short by an injury, later resulting in his death from a pressed pill. Rome then focuses his attention on Jermaine, the dealer who sold Derrick the fake pill - Rome describes Jermaine’s motivation: “He got a daughter, he needs the change, plus he want a range, heartless, his mind on ‘i’ma get it regardless’”. Jermaine’s door gets kicked in by the NYPD and he gets a murder charge, presumably for selling the fake pill. The oft-rapped out unforgiving environment has resulted in two lives down the drain, one dead and one in prison. “Long Story Short” is aptly titled, being able to reduce two young men’s lives and experiences down to a few crucial moments, leading to their downfalls and displaying just how easy it is to fall into the traps surrounding them.
A point of contention I’ve seen after the album’s release is the way Conductor Williams uses his signature tag. Some may see Conductor Williams’ persistent usage of, “Conductor, we have a problem!”, as excessive, but I see it as Williams putting his undeniable stamp on this mark of success, an audial version of planting your flag at midfield. And while Conductor’s tag is present throughout most of the album, the only point where it feels like it gets near the point of ‘too much’ is right before the beat switch on "Reversible".
I would say despite all of the things Griselda does well for Rome on Kiss the Ring, providing him with beautiful beats and strong guest features, those aspects do feel like they take away from Rome’s original character just a little bit; Kiss the Ring has many aspects consistent with just about every Griselda Records drop - songs named after designer brands or small celebrities, brief skits at the end of songs about dealing dope, and Westside Gunn picking out beats. WSG does have a great taste in production, however; it’s beginning to get pretty easy to figure out he’s behind the art direction in that aspect.
One personal gripe I have with Kiss the Ring, and one of the only flaws I see in it, is that there isn’t a huge theme outside of Rome commanding respect from his listeners and peers. Not to say that isn’t anything at all, competitive spirit is part of what makes rappers so great, but for his next release, I’d love to hear Rome attack some greater topics with his signature rapid fire flow and relentless delivery. He shows the capability on “Long Story Short”, but largely, the album consists of Griselda type bars about fiends, expensive clothing, and being the best. Which I have no problem with on its own, but I know rappers of Rome's caliber can move onto bigger and better things.
Favorite Lyrics: “Heavy is the head that wear the crown, that's just how it is Stay woke, stupidity and power is a sour mix I built a castle out a pile of bricks I finesse, been stylin' on ya, bitch, like I'm Tyson Beck” -Tyson Beckford
“The one who last the longest in the jungle be the smartest” -Long Story Short
“Ayo, you bums minor, never Major League (Nah) Fuck my P.O., fuck the judge, fuck the D.A., fuck the agency (Fuck y'all) Started off with an eighth and E, small paper, now we racing AMG's”
Discussion Questions: How does this stack up in your personal Griselda ranking?
How would you rank it against Tana Talk 4, 10, and God Don’t Make Mistakes?
Would you have preferred a presence from a non-Griselda affiliated artist?
What 1990s rappers do you hear in Rome Streetz?

Start: Prologue #0: Facing the music
Previous: Lesson #1
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​
Daisy accepted the hand that was offered to her and was pulled up to a standing position. Looking at Alex, she waited for him to continue the lesson giving the nod to reassure him she was really fine to continue. But he seemed to be stuck in a glaring contest with Bea.
Observing this exchange, what impressed her the most was that Bea seemed actually to be winning. The girl, whom she assumed must have Gnomish blood if not a full-blooded gnome, was somehow getting Alex to back down. With a deep sigh, Alex gave a shrug.
“Fine, miss Blackgate, you win, and I am the personification of all that is wrong with this world. Now can we get on with the second lesson?” The class all shared a glance before nodding at him. With that affirmation, Alex slapped his hands together.
“Ok, so we will be going to the middle plateau,” he announced as he slapped his chest, revealing his ruined clothing and bedraggled appearance was a shimmer illusion.
“M-middle plateau sir?” Kline repeated, already shaking.
“Yes, why do you think I allotted for a sixth-period lesson? So we can go on adventurers in the city's various plateaus and have some fun without people wondering why you guys aren’t in school.”
“What could we possibly learn from such places?” Maxwell asked, pushing his glasses up his nose despite them not even slipping.
“Many things, I may have taught myself the basics of magic, but you’d be amazed what skills can be transferred from normal life. Like one of my attacks that actually got me noticed by the old fart was developed when I did a few jobs for a butcher and learnt about the structures of organs.”
“Interesting. My people do often say wisdom can be found in the most unlikeliest of places,” Tasha nodded in approval.
“So feel free to get changed into casual stuff, or we can go in uniforms as is. Either way is cool with me.”
“Where exactly are we going, sir?” Daisy asked.
“A tavern where Bards of great renown do battle without restraint.”
The students all paused in thought, trying to imagine what the weakest school of magic fighting would be like. But none of them could even fathom what the famous support mages could do. The class all huddled to discuss and finally came to a decision.
“We shall take you up on the offer to change,” Maxwell declared to which all the others nodded.
“Very well, I shall meet you at the front gates, don’t worry about being too long sixth period is in that magical space of school time as any lesson after school. If I was cruel, I could even make it last till ten minutes before the start of next week's first period," The class shuddered at the prospect of a weekend-long lesson—some with anticipation and joy and others with dread.
They gathered at the main gate after about half an hour of getting ready. There leaning casually, was Alex, who hadn’t changed out of his usual robe.
“We are ready, sir,” Daisy stepped up to him.
“Joy, first let me get a good look at all of you,” he gave a smile as he walked around each student, giving them a pat on the back when he gave words of approval.
“Great, though, Gunter, you don’t need to bring so many knives,” Alex said, turning to the wall of muscle who began to look bashful.
“You brought weapons?” Tasha asked.
“Yes, middle and lower plateaus can be dangerous at night. Thought it best to be prepared to defend myself.”
“Well, that is ridiculous. We have profes-” The man himself cut off Daisy’s words.
“Good idea; I’m not going to keep you guys safe unless it truly isn’t something you can’t handle.”
Daisy and Maxwell, who had both been so self-assured mere moments ago, both paled. They had assumed Alex would act as a bodyguard, much like he did for his kindergarten class. But him saying he wouldn’t made them reassess their plans.
“Come on guys, lock step one-two, one-two,” Alex ordered as he began marching like he was on a parade ground out the gate.
Awkwardly following him at a generous but not too far distance, they kept pace. Though they walked normally, Daisy couldn’t help but wonder how he could deal with all the weird stares he got for walking with his goose-step march.
Weaving through the upper plateau, it was what they all knew well. It was the most affluent part of Academy City. Order was well maintained, and guards frequented the areas on patrol.
“W-why aren’t the guards stopping him?” Kline stuttered to the group.
“Maybe they know him?” Bea offered.
“Must be; anyone else who did that would be taken to a very friendly hospital by the guards,” Tasha added.
“I’m starting to wonder if I have shackled myself to this fool for nothing more than a better grade,” Maxwell muttered with his own addition.
“That’s a point,” Daisy began getting the gang's attention. “Why did you guys stay? I know Maxwell, and I are honour students, so we did this as an optional. Maxwell just said he wanted a better than mere passing.”
The group all had contemplative looks on their faces. As they all looked unsure, Daisy decided to break the thin ice with her reason.
“Well, I myself wanted to learn from someone with such an over-the-top reputation. I was sure he could teach me a lot.”
“And has it paid off?” Maxwell asked with a smug grin, no doubt referencing her losing consciousness.
“Yes, I realised I was letting my ego push me.”
“You overcame such a flaw so quickly?” Maxwell pressed with a scoff.
“Oh no. I have no doubt I will fall prey to it many times. But you know first step to problems and all.”
“W-well I… I had no choice… B-but I wanted to get more confidence. Someone like him,” Kline gestured to the man ignoring the laughing around him. “Must have a trick or two I can learn.”
“Well, for me, it’s because my uncle told me stories about him. You think his academy stories are mad. I heard he and his sister were legends in the guild. Many suspected they were trying to die in a blaze of glory like some of the nordic tribesmen tend to do.”
The group continued as they began to ponder this new information.
“So you wanted to see if the stories were true?” Daisy asked to which Bea nodded.
“Kinda, more I want to see someone my uncle said was crazy. Like my family specialises in Demonological magicks. We tend to be a bit mad ourselves. So when one of our number calls someone crazy, it really means something.”
Again the group glanced at their teacher, who had stopped his goose step and was now skipping as if the market street they were now passing through was a field of flowers.
“He does have a way about him,” Tasha nodded. “Guess it’s my turn then. Well, he is engaged to my hero Lady Elissa. I wanted to get to know him and hopefully meet her.”
“So you don’t care about him but his missus?” Bea asked.
“Lady Elissa is the most perfect being. If I ever find he is lacking, I will personally eliminate him,” Tasha began to radiate an aura that caused the hairs on the group's necks to stand on end.
“Last you, Gunter?” Daisy asked, turning to their quiet companion.
“I’m straightforward. My teacher in smithing studies recommended I take his class,” he answered.
“So you are here by option?” Maxwell asked.
“Yes. I am ok with tests and learning, but the books are hard sometimes. My teacher, the new professor in my course, said Professor Alex is great at practical learning. So I stuck around because I wanted to be the best mage I could, and I hoped he could help," Daisy couldn’t help but feel great joy at another kindred spirit. Someone who was striving for better.
“You have fun with your little gossip?” Alex asked as they had just now noticed they had reached the gate to the middle plateau.
“I’ve never been to the middle plateau on foot before,” Maxwell said, stepping forwards to glance through the gate.
“Nothing too bad. Just be careful of pickpockets and muggers. The area we are going to is less patrolled.”
“We might get attacked?” Kline near squeaked.
“Yes, and like I said, I won't step in unless it gets really hairy.”
“Very well. Kline, you wished for confidence, right? You need to be able to take that first step. Don’t worry; we are here with you,” Gunter said as he gently pushed Kline in the back.
Staggering forwards, Kline landed on the other side of the gate, and no horrors or ne’er-do-wells descended upon him. Following through, the rest of the group stood around him.
“You know he won’t grow more confident if you shield him like that,” Alex observed, keeping closer to the group this time than he had been on the Upper Plateau.
“Small exposure is the best method,” Daisy said, shooting a glare at Alex.
“No deep end, then? Fair enough. We’re taking the next right down the alleyway,” he gestured to the turning ahead of them. Where a few hooded shady looking figures were leaning against the wall on either side of the alleyway.
“You sure, sir?” Bea asked.
“Sure, as I know how to count to ten on my natural fingers,” he smiled back, holding up his hands and showing off his metallic ones. Turning down the alleyway, they began to feel piercing gazes looking at them from the shadows.
“Ok, left ahead," Obeying his directions, the group came to an open area with a well in the middle. Behind the well was a building with a sign labelled the ‘Biting Remark’.
“That’s the place, kiddos. Go on in. I’m right behind you.”
Stepping through the threshold, they came into a tavern that was far larger than it appeared from the outside. In a lower area, squared off looked like a boxing ring.
“That where they duke it out, chief?” Gunter asked.
“It is indeed. They rotate the events to keep it fresh. Every Friday and Saturday, the fights happen. Sometimes a good ole fisticuffs. There’s also golem fights,” Alex grinned as he mentioned the golem event. “Though this week is my personal favourite. Bardic Battles.”
“And what will we learn from bards, sir?” Maxwell asked, uttering the word Bard the way one would an insult.
“Simple how to cast magic.”
“We already know how to cast magic?” Daisy said, tilting her head in confusion.
“You know, the boring way. Bards get a bad rap… heh, get it,” the group collectively cringed at Alex’s bad dad-level joke.
“But seriously, Bardic magic is one of the most versatile schools. Me and Sloth believe it to be one of the best schools," these words caused the group to pause in shock. If two top-tier mages believed that, then maybe reassessing Bards was in need.
“Ah, there’s a table,” Alex gestured to a booth with a plaque nailed on the wall behind it. Shuffling into the booth, Daisy read it. ‘Reserved for the Hammer and Mad Metal’.
“You sure we are allowed here, sir?” Daisy asked, worried they had stolen a regular’s table.
“Oh yeah, this is my and Yuu’s table. Those are our pseudonyms," We are the ones who created the golem fights.”
“W-W-W-WELCOME ONE AND ALL TO TONIGHTS BATTLE OF WORDS!!” An announcer declared, his voice being amplified by an item in his hand.
“TONIGHT, AS YOU KNOW, IS ROOKIE VERSUS TITANS NIGHT. ANYONE WHO WANTS TO PARTICIPATE CAN VOLUNTEER!!” The patrons around the tavern gave a cheer in response to these words.
“FIRST UP TO GET YOUR BLOOD PUMPING, WE HAVE IN THIS CORNER TOMTOM WORD SOUP!!” The announcer gestured to one corner where a bard in flamboyant feathered clothing walked out.
“AND IN THIS CORNER, WE HAVE A RETURNING CHAMP, THE GREAT WORDSMITH…” The announcer paused, and even the group were on the edge of their seat in anticipation.
“MISS KLOXO!!” The crowd went wild with this announcement. The group, however, were shocked at this name.
“Why is the language teacher here?” Bea asked.
“Easy money. School budgets don’t pay teachers as well as they should. She comes here every so often to get a boost. Hell, she’s the one that introduced Yuu and me to this place," Alex explained before putting his fingers in his mouth to give a loud wolf whistle.
“WE ALL KNOW THE RULES. BUT FOR YOU FIRST-TIMERS, HERE THEY ARE. YOU GET THREE VERSES TO BREAK YOUR OPPONENT. IF THEY DON’T BREAK, THE AUDIENCE DECIDES. OTHER THAN THAT, NO WORDS ARE OFF-LIMITS. BEGIN WHEN THE BEAT STARTS!!” The announcer then flipped a coin, and it was clear the contestants were picking. When it was decided, the announcer handed the device he had been using to Tomtom.
A deep beat and tune began to reverberate around the tavern as both contestants began bouncing with the tune. After a moment of thought, Tomtom held the device to his mouth.
“Yo Kloxo. You got fingers like a warthog and a voice like a slime; you're icky as a goblin who's just thrown up his wine," Miss Kloxo, in response to these words, looked unimpressed despite the crowd oohing and awing.
“I don’t know who you think is worse. But Your lessons bore kids into a hearse. So let me give you a little help with your next verse," the crowd again cheered. But Miss Kloxo was still unresponsive.
“He can’t talk to her like that!!” Maxwell angrily shouted as he tried to rise from his seat, only to be held back by Gunter.
“It’s the point, chief. Insult your opponent. If anything, some of these are weak.”
“I agree,” Alex nodded.
“Your getup fools, no ghouls, and you're desperate as the blight-covered thing you used in bed last night," with that final verse, Tomtom handed the device over to miss Kloxo.
“Ahem, is this thing on because I could’ve sworn you were gone. I’m a teacher, so let me give you a lesson right here. Though I’m not sure whether or not that empty brain of yours is near," The students watching this couldn’t contain their shock at her opening response.
“So when they hear your tune, I assure you no women swoon. I consider it a boon when your tune is through," The crowd was going wild for their teacher. Tomtom began to show signs of red on his cheeks and ears.
“The sheer amount of agony when you strike the strings is greater than the sappy trashy tragedy you sing. So do us all a favour and stop trying to weave words because you only weave turds,"
With this final verse, miss Kloxo handed the device back to the announcer. The crowd clearly were enjoying the show.
“So neither broke. Though Tomtom was clearly close. But close is still not breaking. All those for Tomtom cheer!!” the announcer declared, gesturing to the bard, to which a few in the crowd cheered.
“Now those in favour of Miss Kloxo,” a significantly larger portion of the crowd cheered.
“We have a clear winner. Miss Kloxo, you remain undefeated. We will now be taking a break to let the rookies apply.”
“So that was a bardic battle?” Tasha asked.
“Yes, a battle of words. But one of their greatest skills is being able to weave words on the fly and to do so rapidly. That is what I will have you learn. Miss Kloxo will help with this. But I expect you each to perform at least once tonight. It doesn’t matter if it sucks. Get your tongue used to rapid speech, and you will cast chant spells so fast your opponents will accuse you of cheating.”
The group was visibly reluctant to even consider entering this competition. They all knew they didn’t have the ability, let alone the stage presence. They all looked at Alex pleadingly for a few minutes before he caved.
“Fine. But I expect one of you to go up and give it a go. Otherwise, I shall leave you and let you guys make your own way back to the dorms,” Alex’s gaze told them he was deadly serious. He would abandon them in this unfamiliar part of town if they didn’t participate.
“How do we decide then?” Maxwell asked.
“How about lots?” Gunter offered, reaching into his pocket and taking out several sticks, one of which had a coloured tip.
“You just carry a set of lots with you?” Bea asked, looking at Gunter, who retreated back into his spot on the seat.
“Me and my buddies often have to decide stuff; it makes things fair,” was his weak explanation.
“Ok, the loser is the one who has to go up and do that humiliating performance,” Maxwell declared as he drew his lot. It was a plain stick. He exhaled a sigh of relief at the sight of it.
“Me next,” Tasha declared, beginning to draw one of the sticks before changing her mind and drawing a different one. This one was also clean.
“Few; my heart was pumping there.”
“Guess I’ll go next,” Bea reached out and grabbed her lot, and it was also clean.
“Just us three then,” Daisy observed as she paused to let Kline go before her.
“You s-sure?” Kline stuttered as he looked at Daisy, only to receive a reassuring nod.
“O-ok, t-this one then!!” Kline near shouted as he grabbed the one Tasha had almost picked.
The table was silent as they all looked at the distinctive red mark on the stick. Kline had already begun to shake as he gazed at the object that portended his doom.
“Hey, give it here, and I’ll go,” Daisy said, holding out her hand for the lot.
“N-NO!!” Kline retracted his hand quickly from her reach. “If I want to g-g-get more confident I-I Need to do this,” Kline’s lips became a thin straight line as he was obviously trying to contain his terror.
“Righto, come on, Kline, sign up is at the bar,” Alex declared as he shuffled out of the booth and stood up.
“Professor, why don’t you participate?” Daisy asked, shooting a glare at their teacher, who clearly was enjoying this too much.
“Oh, I would love to, but I am banned from playing.”
“May I ask why?” Tasha asked.
“I am too good at it. No one can last my first verse without breaking," With these final words, Alex wrapped his arm around Kline’s shoulder and began to guide him to the bar.
“I-i-is t-that true, sir?” Kline whispered as they weaved between patrons.
“Would I lie to you guys?”
“Thinking about it, sir. I imagine you would while gleefully giggling to yourself at our foolishness.”
“Wow, you are very sharp. But yes, I didn’t lie. I am banned from this game because I break my opponents with my first verse.”
Kline weakly nodded as they were now nearing the bar and his death warrant being signed. Looking at the patrons sitting at the bar, he was surprised to see miss Kloxo and Tomtom sharing a drink.
“Yo, barkeep, I need an application to participate!” Alex shouted over the din of the bar.
“Alex, you remember you’re banned for being too crap at it, right?” Kloxo asked.
“I beg your pudding? I won all my matches!” Alex shouted back indignantly.
“Only because they broke down laughing at your attempts to find a word that rhymes with orange,” Tomtom replied.
“Oh heavens, forgive him, for he hath sullied me,” Alex said dramatically, fanning his face. Before dropping the performance.
“Application, though, isn’t for me. It’s for this young stud,” Alex gestured to an already wilting Kline with his thumb.
“Kline?” Kloxo asked in surprise. “Never thought you’d leave your room or the library. I don’t mind being your opponent if it makes things easier," Just as Kline was about to nod his head shakily, Tomtom interjected.
“Come on, Maria. He is clearly in need of a gentle touch. You would snap his clearly already fragile heart.”
“I-I-I’ll have y-y-y-you know I will d-do fine.”
“Pfffttt. Gods above, are you sure you want to participate, kid? You have just shown the titans way too many openings.”
Kline bit his lip as he lowered his head in shame. He knew he was weak-willed. He knew he would fail at this. Just as his spiral of despair began, he felt a tight tug on his shoulder. Looking up, he saw Alex tightly holding him.
“Now Tomtom, mees thinks thems some fighting words. He is merely tricking you into a false sense of security. He will be more devastating than Kloxo,” Alex declared to a small stir amongst the surrounding patrons.
“Please, sir. D-don’t aggravate-”
“Listen, Kline. In life, there are going to be bullies like him. Your best bet is to knock them down a peg and make them realise you aren’t prey but a predator," Alex hastily whispered into Kline's ear. With a weak nod, Kline submitted.
“I will participate. C-can it be him I face?” Kline asked, pointing to Tomtom.
“Sure thing, kid, scribble your thing here and wait for them to call your name,” the bartender said, handing a sheet of paper to Kline. Which Alex promptly snatched and began filling it out for him.
“LISTEN UP SEVENTY TO ONE ODDS ON THE NEW KID TO WIN,” he shouted, to which a few patrons immediately began placing bets. Guiding Kline back to the table, Alex made sure he didn’t collapse.
“How’d registration go, chief?” Gunter asked the moment Kline collapsed in a seat.
“Terrible. I am set to fight Tomtom,” Kline held his head in his hands.
“You’re facing him?” Daisy exclaimed in shock, shooting a glare at Alex.
“You should’ve seen it, kids. Kline stood there at the bar. All heroic, not flinching at the patron's glares. He then called Tomtom a pea because he was clearly a dickless peacock. Now they’ll have a battle to end all battles.”
“SIR, PLEASE DON’T LIE!!” Kline begged.
“What’s better is there are some crazy good odds against him. I’m gonna drop a few coins on Kline here to win,” Alex grinned at the wowed students all staring at Kline.
“What are the odds, sir?” Maxwell asked.
“Seventy to one," Bea gave an amazed whistle at that number.
“Wow, they must think you won’t win at all.”
“I’m going to get a few drinks; you guys want any?”Daisy asked as she rose from the table.
“Booze for Kline here. As you are going up, can you place a bet on Young Kline to win for me,” Alex said, handing three small gold coins. Kline’s eyes went wide as saucers at the sight of this much money.
“Please, sir, don’t waste your money on a bad bet for me,” Kline was begging.
“You know what, a few on Kliney to win as well,” Tasha said, handing a few silvers to Daisy.
“I want in on this,” Bea said, handing a silver to Daisy.
“I shall show faith in my new companion and bet my month's earnings,” Gunter declared, handing a small pouch of coins to Daisy with the distinct jingle of many coins. The group all looked at Maxwell expectantly.
“What? I hope you don’t expect me to waste my money on a long shot. I shall place a silver of Tomtom,” Maxwell declared, ignoring the glares as he handed a coin to Daisy.
“Ok, I’ll get the drinks and betting slips sorted,” She smiled at Kline before heading off.
“The pressure is getting too much!” Kline cried out as he huddled into a fetal position and began rocking back and forth. As if on cue, Tomtom chose this moment to walk past.
“Gonna suck your thumb as well, baby?” he asked with a snort and chuckle as he continued on his way.
“Oh, gods, I can’t do this!!”
“Hey, Kline,” Alex stopped Kline’s rocking by holding his shoulders.
“If you really don’t think you can do this, it’s ok. I won’t think any less of you. They will cancel the bets and return the money.”
“A-aren’t you meant to say I can do this?”
“Only do mentors in storybooks say that crap. Kline, you are clearly too stressed. If this is too much, I won’t force you. I’m sorry if you felt I pushed you back there. I really thought it could help boost your confidence. If you don’t want to, I’ll head up and let them know you withdraw, and say it was a mean prank by me.”
Finishing his words, Alex rose from his seat. But before he could take another step, Kline grabbed him by his arm.
“Please don’t go, sir. I want to do this,” Kline was still visibly shaking, but his eyes now showed some resolve that wasn’t there previously.
“You sure?” Alex checked, to which Kline nodded.
“Just remember then if it gets too much break. The match will end sooner, and he won’t get a chance to be too mean. When this is all done, we will drink the night away,” Kline felt comforted by Alex’s hand on his shoulder and began to relax his posture.
“I’m back and got the drinks. Here are the slips,” Daisy declared, dropping a tray with mugs of ale and handing out little notes to the group.
“Oh, by the way, sir. Miss Kloxo told me the real reason you are banned.”
“I have no idea what lies she told you, but they are probably true.”
“Oh, and by the way, sir, they refused to honour your full bet. Something about you fixing too many fights and them not trusting you.”
“Damn, I was sure I’d make bank when Kline inevitably won.”
“W-WE ARE BACK TO CONTINUE ROOKIE NIGHT. WE HAVE A SPECIAL EVENT COMING UP NEXT. A FIRST-TIMER HAS CHALLENGED A VETERAN. WILL THIS BE A MASSACRE IN THE RING?” Kline instantly paled as he realised his time was running short.
“OUR CHALLENGED PARTY IS THE ONE THE ONLY TOMTOM WORDSOUP!!” The crowd cheered as Tomtom returned to the ring.
“AND OUR CHALLENGER, A BOY WITH AN UNKNOWN PAST. SOMEONE WHO MANY HAVE SUNK THEIR LIFE SAVINGS INTO WIN. KLINE THE THE WORDERER!!!”
“Kline the worderer?” Daisy repeated, confused.
“Thought a pun would help him fit in,” Alex explained as they watched Kline sheepishly make his way to the ring.
“AS THIS IS A VETERAN CHALLENGED BY A ROOKIE, THE RULES HAVE BEEN MIXED UP. RATHER THAN THREE VERSES IN A ROW, THEY WILL NOW HAVE A BACK AND FORTH TILL ONE OF THEM BREAKS!!”
“Predator, not prey. Predator, not prey,” Kline repeated what Alex had said to him at the bar. A mantra to keep his spirits high. Finally, Kline stepped into the ring. He could already feel countless eyes boring into him.
“AS THE CHALLENGED, YOU CAN DECIDE WHO GOES FIRST?” The announcer asked, turning to Tomtom
“I will go first. Give the kid a chance to break and g-g-g-go home to mommy,” Tomtom shot a vicious smile at Kline, which cause him to retreat half a step.
“READY, WAIT FOR THE BEAT TO BEGIN!” As he had before, the announcer handed Tomtom the device and left the ring. Soon enough, a beat began.
“Look here, kid, you best quit now. By the time I’m done with you, you’ll have to kowtow. You stammer and stutter like you’re a little thick. Please let me know if I’m going too quick," Kline just closed his eyes and kept repeating the mantra in his head, trying his best to ignore Tomtom. Finally opening his eyes, Kline took a deep breath and began.
“You mock my stutter; you mock my stammer. But my words will hit you like a hammer. You don’t even bother to know what I work for. But with that flashy appearance, I can only assume you must be a whore," there were ooh’s of amazement from the onlookers. Tomtom himself seemed genuinely shocked, but not enough for it to be classified as a break.
“I see now you were only faking. I’ll have you know it’s the winnings I’ll be taking. Do you think you’re a threat to me? Pah, I bet you still need your mom to help with your wee-wee," Kline maintained his composed expression all while a few in the crowd were shouting whoops and words of encouragement towards Kline.
“You think I was faking? But look at you, you’re breaking. It must be rookie night because I was told to expect a fight. But here I stand with you on the floor. By the way, you still look like a whore,” Kline finally felt like he was getting in the groove of things. Tomtom, however, now looked even closer to breaking.
“You insult my look. But you can’t insult my soul. Look at you shaking; I’m sure this is taking a toll. So let me give you some advice. Break soon while I’m still being nice," Kline just looked at Tomtom, no longer letting the moment hold him back.
“Wow, that hurt my feelings… not. I suffer so much worse than whatever you got. So try your best once more. Because I’ll be generous and let you verse count reach four," at these words, Tomtom finally broke down laughing while clapping and gesturing to Kline.
“Wow, kid, that was great; well done,” Tomtom patted Kline on the back.
“THERE WE HAVE IT, FOLKS, WHAT AN UPSET. KLINE THE WORDERER LIVES UP TO HIS NAME. A CHEER FOR SUCH AN AMAZING ROOKIE!!” The patrons all cheered for Kline. Especially a group seated around a specific booth.
Returning to the table, Kline now looked very sheepish.
“THAT WAS AMAZING!!” Bea said, beaming at him.
“Knew you had it in you, bud,” Alex said, handing Kline a mug of ale.
“I didn’t… but I kept repeating what you said to me.”
“What is that?”
“I am a predator, not prey,” Kline elaborated, to which Alex gave a hearty slap to Klines back.
“Mind if we join you?” the group looked up to see Miss Kloxo and Tomtom standing there holding two trays covered in drinks.
“Aren’t you angry?” Daisy asked, looking at Tomtom.
“Why would I be? This is all in good fun. You should see veterans night tomorrow. Woowee, they get vicious. But at the end of the day, we will all share a drink and laugh about what ridiculous idiots we were,” Tomtom laughed as he placed the tray on the table.
“A toast?” Gunter suggested holding a fresh mug up.
““TO KLINE THE WORDERER!!”” They all simultaneously cheered as they clinked cups together.

I love it when people want to talk about metal music like the s*** they listen to is the hardest s*** in the whole f****** world, like let The Bodies Hit The floor is going to be the soundtrack to the Antichrist rising or the beginning of world war III.. but thankfully every now and then somebody posts a black metal track that really embodies the atmospheric conditions of an unholy cataclysm being translated through guitar, drums, bass, keys, and vocals that are for f*** sake much more dynamic than the typical Cookie monster croak, and more akin to a rapacious ring wraith, plagued personification of a putrid purgatory plea, glorious and gruesome ghostly groans from the garden of the grotesque, avaricious apparatuses,and abhorrent aspirations, amplified and applied to the awesome assembly of afflicted anti-artistry. Musical murder of the messiah, and soundtrack to the end of empathy. Comparable to a demon crawling out of the depths of your heart and soul so that it may proclaim ownership over you and everything around you not for any reason relating to materialistic ownership, but more along the lines of claiming all to defile all. Claiming all to withhold all from any holy presence, or godliness. If there is any sound here on this plane of existence that resembling such as I have described, it is absolutely classified inbthe genre; black metal. So with that I will just say keep it up sport! Keep that s*** dark, and rap this up with a joke:
q: What's the hardest part about burning a church?
a: My dick.
Sauce