1 men an a hammer
im14andthisisdeep
2013.04.25 10:25 KennethFresno im14andthisisdeep
A place to talk about stupid 'deep and meaningful' philosophy found on blogs, tumblr, facebook, reddit, or anywhere else. Insights that people should have outgrown by the time they were 14. Jaden Smith is our patron saint, along with many deep twitter posts.
2011.01.03 08:45 thepinkmask Questions about Anarchism
For questions and well-informed anarchist answers regarding the theory, practice and history of anarchist movements and ideas. No question is too basic (or advanced!) to ask, so don't be shy :)
2019.01.24 07:46 KsbjA Im15AndThisIsYeet
When you are 15 years old, and something is yeet
2024.05.19 15:21 Woodstovia [Day of Ascension] The beginning of an uprising
For some context, a tech-priest has discovered a Genestealer Cult on a Mechanicus world and has decided to use them for his own ends. He tells them that he will wipe them out unless they perform an uprising during the national "Ascension Day" celebrations, where he will use the chaos they create to seize power for himself.
The Magus of the cult Claress is old and decrepit, she feels that they missed the time they were actually meant to rise up decades ago and the cult has atrophied since then. Worse, after a series of failed raids their best fighters were killed or imprisoned. She knows they have no chance against the crack Mechanicus troops who have pressed the world for generations but facing no other option the Cult begins its preparations and sends messages to the uncorrupted workers unions and factories that have pledged their support if an uprising against the Mechanicus happens (not knowing that they're dealing with a cult).
I like this section as while it falls into the modern 40k novel habit of listing a bunch of codex units and describing how they fight, I think that it does a good job of portraying the awkward beginnings of an uprising, where nobody actually knows what will happen that spirals into the Genestealer Cult suddenly realising that if they work together they might have a chance.
submitted by Woodstovia to 40kLore [link] [comments]
The Magus of the cult Claress is old and decrepit, she feels that they missed the time they were actually meant to rise up decades ago and the cult has atrophied since then. Worse, after a series of failed raids their best fighters were killed or imprisoned. She knows they have no chance against the crack Mechanicus troops who have pressed the world for generations but facing no other option the Cult begins its preparations and sends messages to the uncorrupted workers unions and factories that have pledged their support if an uprising against the Mechanicus happens (not knowing that they're dealing with a cult).
I like this section as while it falls into the modern 40k novel habit of listing a bunch of codex units and describing how they fight, I think that it does a good job of portraying the awkward beginnings of an uprising, where nobody actually knows what will happen that spirals into the Genestealer Cult suddenly realising that if they work together they might have a chance.
‘This is the end of us,’ she hissed. ‘The priest will use us, and then he will destroy us. Or imprison us in his jars and make us his experiments. All our ways, our traditions, our faith. He will melt it out of us. There will be nothing left but his science.’
‘Child…’ Claress repeated.
‘We should flee,’ Davien almost shouted at her. ‘All of us, each to a different hole. We should abandon this city. We should carry our words and our blood to other places. We’re finished here! I’m sorry, magus, I’m sorry.’ And she was simultaneously weeping and incandescent with rage. At herself, at Triskellian, at Claress. ‘I have ruined us! I’m a traitor. Punish me, magus. Destroy me.’
‘You have listened to the lies of the enemy, it is true,’ Claress said softly. Her hand fell on Davien’s shoulder, a husk of a thing, no weight to it. ‘And you may be punished in time, that is also true. But for now, you are one of us, and you must play your part in what is to come.’
‘But it’s a sham!’ Davien exclaimed. ‘It’s some Taskmaster plan, some infighting between them. It isn’t the time!’ Struck by a sudden hope, she searched the old woman’s face. ‘Is it? Is all this… the Emperor’s plan for us? Can it be?’ And before she could hear any empty comforts, she rushed on. ‘Tell me truly, magus. Please tell me.’
The sad calm on Claress’ face was heartbreaking. ‘I don’t know, child. I wish I could give you all the grand certainties in the world. I wish I could give you the words of fire and faith I’d speak in the chapel, of the Many-Handed Emperor and His angels. But that is what faith is for, Davien.’ She sagged, sinking in on herself a little more. ‘Take me to my chamber. I must rest before tomorrow.’
‘You can’t take to the streets, magus. Not you.’
‘I must. We all shall play our part. We shall triumph together, or we shall fall. I do not want to be left alone if my kin are taken from me.’
Davien led her deeper into the maze of cellars. All around, the Congregation were in a frenzy of preparation. The building was haemorrhaging the faithful as they rushed out to carry the magus’ words across all the poor districts of the city. Out there, all Davien’s distant kin would be arming themselves. And the others, all those who weren’t blood but who had suffered beneath the crushing iron boot of the tech-priests, they’d be gathering too. All of them cast against the iron walls of the Hollow Men.
When she had Claress back to the old woman’s bed, she helped her lie down, hearing joints click and crack. The magus lay there, staring at the low ceiling, then shifted her head to look at the painting of the Emperor on the far wall. It was flaking now, half-obscured with grime. A depiction from the time of the Great-Aunts and Uncles, when the blood of the Emperor was stronger in them, so that none of the Congregation could show their faces for fear of being known for what they were. A figure with four arms: two human hands and two with radiant claws like crescent moons. An elliptical head split by a great benevolent smile that was all teeth. The eyes were beatific, murderous, inhuman. Davien had stared at the image often, feeling out its contradictions, letting them speak to the human and the inhuman within her. It frightened her; it inspired her.
‘I hear them singing to me.’ Claress’ dry voice rose to her. ‘The angels. They throng the cold void. And I sing back. I tell them, We are here. We are faithful. We’re waiting for you. And their great wings carry them across the freezing spaces, through the perilous labyrinth of the warp. They are coming, Davien. They tell me, We hear you. We come for you. Only have faith, and you shall become part of us. The Blessed Union, child. Our destiny.’ She laughed softly, coughed, shuddering with each dry convulsion. ‘They came from the stars, our ancestors. The first on Morod to bear our blood was an angel’s child, and so we are children of angels. But weaker, each generation. I lack the strength of the Aunts, the might of the Great-Aunts. I am too human to be truly strong. But I hear them, Davien. They are so beautiful. There is nothing on this ugly world to compare to them. I need to see them with my own eyes, before I grow too old.’
And Davien, one of the diminished survivors of a younger generation still, thought about how thin her own blood was, how little of the angel remained. ‘Do you think the priests’ Ascension Day will be our ascension too? Or will all our blood just end up on the streets and in that priest’s laboratory?’
Claress’ yellow gaze switched to her. ‘Faith is all that we have, when the machinery of this world comes to crush us. I hear the angels. They come to us, but space is vast and the warp is a trickster. All we can do is believe that the Many-Handed Emperor will not abandon His faithful in their time of need. That He is a true divinity, beyond the enthroned corpse the machine-priests worship. Our god lives, Davien. Our god is life, life in all its many forms and guises. Theirs is dust and ancient mechanisms. We must prevail, or we give the universe over to entropy and death. Only by our truths can life eternal survive and spread throughout the cosmos. Do you understand me, child? Do you have faith?’
And Davien thought, We are going to die tomorrow, on the streets and in their arena. This is not the true uprising we were promised, it is some priest’s gambit. But she couldn’t hold to those thoughts against the old woman’s rustle of a voice. It got under her skin. It spoke to all those services in the buried chapel. It spoke to her blood.
Easy to have faith when you were strong, after all. And what was the value of it, then? But they stood under the steel hammer of the tech-priests, and they would rise up nonetheless. Let Triskellian think it was all to his plan. The Congregation would rise because it was their time. Who said that he was using them? And even though, intellectually, she knew the truth, she still felt that fire in her, that burned away all doubt.
‘I believe, magus,’ she said fiercely. ‘Tell me what I must do.’
The next dawn, even as the tech-priests were attending their early Ascension Day devotions, the streets of the South Chasm districts erupted into armed uprising.
Davien saw it from the rooftops, crossing from building to building by the gantries, bridges and ropes that the skitarii periodically brought down but the locals always strung up again. All night the Congregation’s messengers had been running like sparks through the poorer districts of the city, seeing which claves would catch their fires. All of the true faithful rose up without question, of course. Right now she could only see the more inarguably human of them, those marked only by a pallidity of skin, patches of chitinous scales, unblinking yellow eyes perhaps. No unusual traits on as poisonous a world as this. Behind and within the walls of the tenements, though, the older generations of the god-touched would be stirring; would be eager. They had waited all their long lives, after all. They had hidden away as their younger offspring had busied themselves in the world, unable to show their distorted faces. They had known only the burning fire of their faith, and now that faith told them, Rise!
The streets were thronging with people, just ordinary people. And yet, not ordinary, for in many of those bodies a few drops of divine blood ran. But they were not the superhuman figures of Imperial myth. Not the Adeptus Astartes that had been made into little gods; not the tech-priests, elevated by machinery until they had forgotten what it was like to have two living feet on the ground. People, with nothing but their faith, and what tools and weapons they could scavenge or make themselves. And today they would attempt to wrest control of their destiny from those who had ordered and limited their whole lives.
And they would die, she knew. Heavy-hearted she watched them muster, factorum workers clapping each other on the shoulder, hard greetings called across the crowd. There were banners there, and some were of the Many-Handed Emperor Scattering His Angels Upon the Faithful, but there were others, too. Crude standards celebrating this ward or that factorum, this mining crew, even one for the staff of a workers’ refectory. There was an air of festival, just as if they were celebrating the damned Ascension Day after all.
And then the first skitarii came into sight. Davien knew she should be away by now, off on the errand that Claress had given her, but she couldn’t. She had to see if the whole venture would collapse into tragedy.
A wedge of red-clad cybernetic soldiers ordered itself precisely across the street ahead of the gathering mob. Behind them, a pair of dragoons stalked in, towering over the soldiers’ heads. Their riders couched forked lances snapping with sparks, even as the servitor beneath them, merged with the workings of the machine, directed the Ironstrider’s jerky motions. The crowd stilled, seeing all those carbines levelled at them, knowing more would be on the way.
The skitarii alpha called out, voice amplified until it rattled Davien’s skull like thunder. ‘By the order of the Fabricator General, you are required to disperse. There will be no second warning.’
And Claress stepped forwards from the ranks of the crowd, standing ahead of them, raising her staff. Somehow her high, clear voice carried even to Davien. ‘Faith and freedom! Faith for the true Emperor’s blood! Freedom from the yoke!’
The skitarii opened fire.
Davien screamed when they did it, curled away from the blaze and heat of it, knowing this was surely the end even as the uprising began. But in the echo of the shots she dared look, and saw Claress somehow untouched, standing with bodies to her left and right, the faithful who had put themselves in harm’s way. And not so many bodies, even, not compared to the vast mass of humanity that was packing the street. Angry humanity, crammed with grievances.
Claress’ voice called out again, and now she was sounding the charge. Davien saw members of the Congregation break into a run on either side of her, funnelling through the streets in a great rush, wielding hammers and prybars and power-cutters, emptying their shotguns and automatics into the skitarii wedge. The dragoons were in motion instantly, striding over the heads of their human-sized allies, accelerating into a counter-charge with lances lowered. Davien saw the first connect, its huge iron feet sending insurgents flying even as the lance swept an arc through the crowd, charring and burning. Then an eye-rending beam of light seared into it. One of the mining crews had a rock laser set up on the rooftop across from Davien and they drew lines of molten steel across the dragoon’s chassis before striking something vital.
In an instant the walking machine flashed incandescently and exploded, laying waste to the nearest fighters in a horrible toll of shrapnel and shredded flesh. For everyone left standing, though, that was the signal to rush forwards. Moments later the skitarii were giving ground, shooting and falling back. Or just falling, dragged down by the crowd who saw them as nothing more than the tools of their oppressors.
And then Davien was off, roof to roof, eyes open for when the tech-priests’ more subtle instruments decided the higher reaches were their territory. There would be rangers up here sniping down at the crowd soon enough. There would be the murderous rust-stalkers trying to flank the Congregation to bring down its leaders with their blades and claws. She had to be ahead of all of that. She had work to do, a task entrusted to her by the magus herself.
She shadowed the forerunners of the mob until they exploded out before Nilhetum Square, where the rail depot was. More of the Palatium’s troops were disembarking even as everyone arrived, hurriedly evacuating the train and taking up position to defend it. And if the Congregation wished to reach the Palatium, they needed to control the train line, and they needed to take it swiftly before the tech-priests began destroying their own infrastructure to deny it to the rebels.
There were more than just skitarii out there. She saw the low, trundling shapes of Kataphron servitors grinding down ramps from flatbed carriages, armoured human head, torso and arms set into a mechanised assault vehicle that was also their lower body. Davien felt a flare of rage at the tech-priests and their meddling. They took the divine flesh and carved it and pared it down, merged it with their devices. Nothing could be left alone. Nothing had any value until it was incorporated into their machines. And, on a grander scale, no individual lives had worth unless they were components of the wider priestly engine that spanned the human universe and enslaved everything it touched to their cold metal vision.
The Kataphron were terrors, nigh invulnerable to the weapons the foot-soldiers of the Congregation had brought, but by now the rioters had been given the chance to bring in their own big guns. With a choking roar and a belch of smoke one of the big quarry trucks raced out of a side street, already up to its lumbering top speed. It was a heavily armoured Goliath model, its entire front given over to rock-grinding blades that would chew hungrily on skitarii machine-flesh or the armour of the Kataphron. And, in its wake, a flurry of robed figures bearing a banner showing that familiar many-armed figure. The Aunts and the Uncles had come out from their cellars and holes, from their forgotten wall-spaces where they had waited for generations. Even as the Goliath powered forwards, meeting the lead Kataphron head-on and making a jagged mess of its armour, the elders were leaping around and over it, brandishing knives, pistols, or just their own hooked talons. And there was more. Davien felt a voice in her head, then. A singing so pure and beautiful that she thought it must be the angels, come at last. All the Congregation must have heard it, from the way they redoubled their pace and closed joyously with the skitarii and the machines.
A great figure, head and shoulders over the rank and file, had come into the square – a Great-Aunt, one of the true elders, shrouded in streamers and rags of cloth that could not hide the divinity of her form. She sang, and the Congregation echoed her, voices upraised in prayer and praise. In one of her three hands was a banner, not the crude handmade things the crowd had spent last night creating but something ancient, preserved for this day over generations. It showed not the expected Imperial visage, but an emblem with that same long-jawed head and a trailing cog-backed body; a serpentine shape curled in upon itself, one end a hooked claw, the other hungering jaws ready to devour the tech-priests and all their works.
The skitarii turned their weapons on her, blasting away, but the banner had electrified the Congregation so that they were swarming the lines, clambering over the Kataphron, braving the massed fire of their foes. Davien saw explosives go off, mining charges devastating bodies on both sides. She saw brutal knots of knife-work and bayonets and the bludgeoning butts of carbines, no quarter given.
2024.05.19 15:09 Hold_Me_Bro_ A Rant about how I am tired of being treated like a stereotype
I hate how women treat me, it drives me fucking crazy.
I am a masculine gay man 22, I’m not flamboyant or anything of the sort, but I am very short (5’3 or 1.6 meters) but I work out like it’s may job. Anyways older women treat me like I’m their stereotypical gay best friend and young girls ( 16-25) treat me like I’m a lil soft cute twink. They are the same kinds of girls who read shit like heart stopper and think that that is how gay men work, one must be masculine and the other must be a uwu soft boy ( threw up in my mouth just writing that ) because how dare I be attracted to masculine men and be masculine myself, one of us must be the twink.
I’m just tired of high-school aged girls (my little sisters friends) asking me questions like if I have have ever worn a skirt or if I like to wear makeup. And women older than me wanting me to be their mystical gay friend who can answer all questions about men.
And don’t even get me started on bisexual girls my age. I don’t know what it is but they have a strange obsession with femboys and yuoi ( I think that’s how you spell it) They get mad when I don’t act the why they think I should act. Apparently a cute lil femboy twink is not supposed to dress like he’s homeless. There are even worse situations where they try to ask me out and then get mad when I say I’m into men. I’ve once had a girl say that she would wear a strap on, I just kinda looked at her like she was insane.
Older women (30-40)see me as just their gay friend not an actual person. They will just complain to me about men and how it is so hard to find a “good guy” or they will try to set me up on dates. And I can see how that is a nice gesture but I’m pretty sure they just see another gay man and set me up. I don’t think there is any other criteria other than gay.
I have more male friends than female friends for this reason they don’t seem to give a shit that I am gay and they just treat me like a regular dude not some cute delicate flower that need to be protected.
And the final point of this rant is women asking me about the men I have been with and then being disappointed by how low the number is and then bringing up hookup culture. I feel like I am a broken record when I have to explain I don’t have time for that. I am juggling to many things to have time for hookups. Also I have a think were I can only enjoy sleeping with someone on the condition I have known them for a long while. Let’s just say dating is a nightmare.
I’m not sure if I’m just surrounded by crazy people or this is a common occurrence amongst gay bros. Also sorry about any grammar errors or spelling I was writing this on my phone.
submitted by Hold_Me_Bro_ to gaybros [link] [comments]
I am a masculine gay man 22, I’m not flamboyant or anything of the sort, but I am very short (5’3 or 1.6 meters) but I work out like it’s may job. Anyways older women treat me like I’m their stereotypical gay best friend and young girls ( 16-25) treat me like I’m a lil soft cute twink. They are the same kinds of girls who read shit like heart stopper and think that that is how gay men work, one must be masculine and the other must be a uwu soft boy ( threw up in my mouth just writing that ) because how dare I be attracted to masculine men and be masculine myself, one of us must be the twink.
I’m just tired of high-school aged girls (my little sisters friends) asking me questions like if I have have ever worn a skirt or if I like to wear makeup. And women older than me wanting me to be their mystical gay friend who can answer all questions about men.
And don’t even get me started on bisexual girls my age. I don’t know what it is but they have a strange obsession with femboys and yuoi ( I think that’s how you spell it) They get mad when I don’t act the why they think I should act. Apparently a cute lil femboy twink is not supposed to dress like he’s homeless. There are even worse situations where they try to ask me out and then get mad when I say I’m into men. I’ve once had a girl say that she would wear a strap on, I just kinda looked at her like she was insane.
Older women (30-40)see me as just their gay friend not an actual person. They will just complain to me about men and how it is so hard to find a “good guy” or they will try to set me up on dates. And I can see how that is a nice gesture but I’m pretty sure they just see another gay man and set me up. I don’t think there is any other criteria other than gay.
I have more male friends than female friends for this reason they don’t seem to give a shit that I am gay and they just treat me like a regular dude not some cute delicate flower that need to be protected.
And the final point of this rant is women asking me about the men I have been with and then being disappointed by how low the number is and then bringing up hookup culture. I feel like I am a broken record when I have to explain I don’t have time for that. I am juggling to many things to have time for hookups. Also I have a think were I can only enjoy sleeping with someone on the condition I have known them for a long while. Let’s just say dating is a nightmare.
I’m not sure if I’m just surrounded by crazy people or this is a common occurrence amongst gay bros. Also sorry about any grammar errors or spelling I was writing this on my phone.
2024.05.19 15:04 x0xiarx0010 I need a dad.
I'm not a good writer and I dont normally make posts like this, but I'm at a crossroads and busy losing the battle. I'm a proud person, I dont talk about my feelings or put my shit on other people, even if I had family I would figure it out myself, not burden them with my issues, but you reach a point where you give more than you can give and it's not enough and nothing you do seems to work. And right now I need to talk to a mom or a dad to figure out something or get some advice or just vent becuase I feel broken.
3 months ago I finally got off the streets, it was insufferable hell to live there. I was repeatedly mugged, I was constantly treated like a cheap whore, everyone I met that I thought could help only treated me like a whore, I was raped, everything I tried to get (like the cheapest cellphone) was repeatedly stolen / mugged from me. Many nights I was freezing and 3 nights I almost froze to de.a@,th, waking up with an ambu.@,lance in my face because I had pas@sed out from the cold and people found me in the morning. 10 to 15 days at a time I don't e,@.at and when I do the only issues I had was not being able to find a bathroom or nobody that would allow me to use theirs. It got to a point where eating fuck@@ed up my body worse than not eating because my body wasn't used to it. Every day I spent the whole day just trying to sur.,@vive, I wake up and search for a place to charge my phone (2km walk), I spend 6 hours trying to find a place I can get some food (10kms), I spend 4 hours trying to find a safe place to sleep where it's public and where nobody can do anything to me while I'm asleep. I spent 3 hours a day at the library (4kms) to try find a job or create a resume. I spent day after day finding a place that I can try have a shower and sometimes i couldnt shower for a week or two because nobody would allow me to shower there. I tried going for jobs but I looked so bad that the security stormed me and asked me to leave the store before I could even ask that I need a job. Everywhere I went people treatred me like I was inferior human garbage, waiting for me to just d.@i,.e so they can wi@pe me off the streets.
When I got some money and got off the street. I finally managed to pay for a place to stay. It has a broken roof and rats and the mattress has fleas that bite me at night and it's not the best but I had wifi and a shower and clean water and a roof and a door I can lock. I then tried to find any job I can, anything, I tried to create a linked in account and I got banned from it because I didn't have a government ID, it takes 8 months to get one. I got banned from upwork because I didnt have a legal ID. The wifi at my place keeps failing so I lost some jobs because for some hours I couldnt be online. I tried to go to the local banks or libraries to get wifi but when i didnt immediately respond to people they throught I wasnt serious about the job. I didnt have enough money for shampoo so I just kept showering with clean water but my hair falls out. I look so bad already. People take one look at me and refuse me the job beacuse they judge me on how I look, especially when I intervierw men they judge me like complete garbage because I'm not good looking any more. But I dont have the money to look better right now. I spent a little money I had on one pair of jeans and 3 shirts so I had at least something nice to wear, but it's not good clothes. The pair of shoes I bought is so fuck@ecd up already it's starting to create worms running up my legs, but I dont have money to buy new ones.
I have tried everything to get a job or get anything I can do. The last week I tried reddit for jobs and I contacted many people and tried posting in many places. Today I posted in some subreddits for freelance work, then I struggled with a post topic, they had strict rules for it like "make a point at the end of a title" and "show country in brackets" and other things, I kept getting it wrong 4 times then reddit ba,.@nned me entire account for spam, they deleted all my posts and chats and I wasnt able to post anythign any more. It was like the nail in the c,@.offin that the universe told me to fuck myself. But the universe never just hits one nail in the co,@.ffin, it hits them in slowly one after another till you know that final nail leaves you with nothing but de.@,th.
The past two weeks I lost hope because in 1 month I will again be put on the street. And I can't do it again. I tried everything I can think of to just pay one more month rent or anything I can do but nothing I try seems to work out. The past two weeks I keep thinking what will be the best way to d,@.ie, if I should w@alk into the ocean and just dive deep and start inhaling to di,@.e, or if I should just stop drink@ing water and d,.@e over the next 8 days (but then I'm scared my landlord finds me before I can do it and puts me on the street before I can di,@.e). There is a gu.,@n sh.@,oting range close to me, I can find out if they would let me pay to sh@,.oot and just s,@.hoot myself, with the money I have left. I keep thinkning what is the best way to g.@,o because I can not go back to the streets. And still I'm busy doing everything I can to try find anythign possible to just pay the rent of $200 so I can l.,ive another month trying something.
Please dont report my acount for suic,@.idal bullshit. I'm not intereted in some "profess@ional" psychotic and delusional advice from a privileged person with everythign perfect in their life telling me about "life", what the fuc@@k do they know. The post already got flagged for su.c,@ide and I had to struggle to get it posted, deleting it will just accelerate my de.a@,th evne more. They will not be the one to get raped and beaten, they will not be the one that slowly starves to de.a,@th and freezes to d.e,@ath over night after night. They will not live the extreme suffering they can never comprehend, I dont need their stupid "advice" when they know nothign of life. You're not helping me by doing that, you're just causing me more problems and isolating me further and contributing to my de.@@ath even more. This post is one of the last ways I'm reahching out for help or advice. If you want to help me give me real advice that would actually work.
What I need is a mom or a dad's advice, My own mom d,@.ied 6 years ago. My father 14 years ago. I would never have contacted them if I needed help or advice. I was too proud. But now I am desperate to try anything and. Right now. I keep thinking of spending the rest I had to just get really drunk and go wa,@.lk to the ocean. Or something. I feel like I have no op,.@tions left and I dont know what to do any more and I have no emotional energy left to t@ry, i have given more than I thought I could give to just keep going. I dont know what to do any more.
submitted by x0xiarx0010 to DadForAMinute [link] [comments]
3 months ago I finally got off the streets, it was insufferable hell to live there. I was repeatedly mugged, I was constantly treated like a cheap whore, everyone I met that I thought could help only treated me like a whore, I was raped, everything I tried to get (like the cheapest cellphone) was repeatedly stolen / mugged from me. Many nights I was freezing and 3 nights I almost froze to de.a@,th, waking up with an ambu.@,lance in my face because I had pas@sed out from the cold and people found me in the morning. 10 to 15 days at a time I don't e,@.at and when I do the only issues I had was not being able to find a bathroom or nobody that would allow me to use theirs. It got to a point where eating fuck@@ed up my body worse than not eating because my body wasn't used to it. Every day I spent the whole day just trying to sur.,@vive, I wake up and search for a place to charge my phone (2km walk), I spend 6 hours trying to find a place I can get some food (10kms), I spend 4 hours trying to find a safe place to sleep where it's public and where nobody can do anything to me while I'm asleep. I spent 3 hours a day at the library (4kms) to try find a job or create a resume. I spent day after day finding a place that I can try have a shower and sometimes i couldnt shower for a week or two because nobody would allow me to shower there. I tried going for jobs but I looked so bad that the security stormed me and asked me to leave the store before I could even ask that I need a job. Everywhere I went people treatred me like I was inferior human garbage, waiting for me to just d.@i,.e so they can wi@pe me off the streets.
When I got some money and got off the street. I finally managed to pay for a place to stay. It has a broken roof and rats and the mattress has fleas that bite me at night and it's not the best but I had wifi and a shower and clean water and a roof and a door I can lock. I then tried to find any job I can, anything, I tried to create a linked in account and I got banned from it because I didn't have a government ID, it takes 8 months to get one. I got banned from upwork because I didnt have a legal ID. The wifi at my place keeps failing so I lost some jobs because for some hours I couldnt be online. I tried to go to the local banks or libraries to get wifi but when i didnt immediately respond to people they throught I wasnt serious about the job. I didnt have enough money for shampoo so I just kept showering with clean water but my hair falls out. I look so bad already. People take one look at me and refuse me the job beacuse they judge me on how I look, especially when I intervierw men they judge me like complete garbage because I'm not good looking any more. But I dont have the money to look better right now. I spent a little money I had on one pair of jeans and 3 shirts so I had at least something nice to wear, but it's not good clothes. The pair of shoes I bought is so fuck@ecd up already it's starting to create worms running up my legs, but I dont have money to buy new ones.
I have tried everything to get a job or get anything I can do. The last week I tried reddit for jobs and I contacted many people and tried posting in many places. Today I posted in some subreddits for freelance work, then I struggled with a post topic, they had strict rules for it like "make a point at the end of a title" and "show country in brackets" and other things, I kept getting it wrong 4 times then reddit ba,.@nned me entire account for spam, they deleted all my posts and chats and I wasnt able to post anythign any more. It was like the nail in the c,@.offin that the universe told me to fuck myself. But the universe never just hits one nail in the co,@.ffin, it hits them in slowly one after another till you know that final nail leaves you with nothing but de.@,th.
The past two weeks I lost hope because in 1 month I will again be put on the street. And I can't do it again. I tried everything I can think of to just pay one more month rent or anything I can do but nothing I try seems to work out. The past two weeks I keep thinking what will be the best way to d,@.ie, if I should w@alk into the ocean and just dive deep and start inhaling to di,@.e, or if I should just stop drink@ing water and d,.@e over the next 8 days (but then I'm scared my landlord finds me before I can do it and puts me on the street before I can di,@.e). There is a gu.,@n sh.@,oting range close to me, I can find out if they would let me pay to sh@,.oot and just s,@.hoot myself, with the money I have left. I keep thinkning what is the best way to g.@,o because I can not go back to the streets. And still I'm busy doing everything I can to try find anythign possible to just pay the rent of $200 so I can l.,ive another month trying something.
Please dont report my acount for suic,@.idal bullshit. I'm not intereted in some "profess@ional" psychotic and delusional advice from a privileged person with everythign perfect in their life telling me about "life", what the fuc@@k do they know. The post already got flagged for su.c,@ide and I had to struggle to get it posted, deleting it will just accelerate my de.a@,th evne more. They will not be the one to get raped and beaten, they will not be the one that slowly starves to de.a,@th and freezes to d.e,@ath over night after night. They will not live the extreme suffering they can never comprehend, I dont need their stupid "advice" when they know nothign of life. You're not helping me by doing that, you're just causing me more problems and isolating me further and contributing to my de.@@ath even more. This post is one of the last ways I'm reahching out for help or advice. If you want to help me give me real advice that would actually work.
What I need is a mom or a dad's advice, My own mom d,@.ied 6 years ago. My father 14 years ago. I would never have contacted them if I needed help or advice. I was too proud. But now I am desperate to try anything and. Right now. I keep thinking of spending the rest I had to just get really drunk and go wa,@.lk to the ocean. Or something. I feel like I have no op,.@tions left and I dont know what to do any more and I have no emotional energy left to t@ry, i have given more than I thought I could give to just keep going. I dont know what to do any more.
2024.05.19 14:55 Axenfonklatismrek Do you have Expy characters in your settings?
FIRST OF ALL MUSIC
My inspiration came from u/SpartanSpock post on Worldbuilding, who did the same thing, but i'm gonna copy my comment i posted there with changes
For those who don't know, EXPY is a character, who the author based on someone, either real, fictional or historical, but since my world is one big expy(Lornhemal's cultures are copies of real world cultures with some tweaks), i'm gonna go wiht some of my favorites and the most obvious
I HAVE A LOT OF EXPIES, so i'm gonna get some of my favorites, from easiest to guess to probably the hardest. So I'm gonna lay down their basic descriptions
Göts, A Mercenary Swordsman, who became famous for besting very tough knight in a combat, known for wearing black armor and carrying largest sword in the world, then becomes one of Erika's lackeys, who helped her gain more power(by defeating bandits and stuff like that) and obtain her lordship of Gradsko
Wlad I. An Eastern Batrianic's Empire's warlord, master of the Black Wolves(Knightly order originally founded to repell Eastern Tribesmen), who decided to become his own king, famous for his cruelty and savagery. He was successful for a while, then heart attack killed him and half of his army got destroyed by earthquake.
Sir Loxley, a nobleman, who goes against all law and seeks to keep the corrupt and greedy officials in line, very strong bowman, taught Vigviid I.(Main Protagonist of 2nd crisis saga, soon to be Tsar, who was sent to Western empire by his uncle to be raised while he went to end Civil war(Also known as 2nd Crisis of the 16th century)) how to plan battles. Friendly but not nice, harsh but careful, strict but with reason to be.
Kiš Zabaru, a mad king who slaughtered every slave child in his kingdom in order to avoid destiny fulfilling some nonsensical destiny, for which Thorik(Main villain of 2nd crisis saga: Batrian IV's story, and the man who started it) razed the entire city of Kish became punished for his crimes.
Erika Keszek, a vengeful lady, who was seeking a way to get revenge on her mother for her crimes and thus was willing to do everything, even literally bathing in blood of the innocents. She found her hideout in form of abandoned castle of Gradsko, where she practiced all sorts of blood sorcery to discover her mother, only to find out her mother is gonna be executed. When she returned, her reign of terror continued, this time she became obsessed with eternal youth, then she was killed by 3 of her men(2 didn't make it out, 3rd one was her lover Ion, who then died of rusty nail poisoning him), who realized she's gone mad
Ó Sterey, Gallowglass warrior, Ó Belay's best friend, man of average stature, blonde hair and moustache, very clever fighter, his favorite weapons are javelins and Sword, very friendly and like his friend, very good company when near children, taught Vigviid how to fence and fight with sword
Ó Belay, Another Gallowglass warrior, Ó Sterey's best mate, tall man, who carries large sword, red moustache, big belly but very strong, even in melee hes dangerous, but overall very friendly, especially towards Children. Taught Vigviid how to fight against other weapons like Axes, maces or shields
Hugo the Shadowhair, an assassin who was hired to kill Vigviid,only to kill Loxley and 15 other men, while he almost killed Vigviid and his remaining friends, he bled to death before doing a striking final blow at one of them(Specifically Mabyn, Vigviid's older tomboy cousin), wears black leather armor, armed to the teeth(Has 2 swords, 3 daggers, 1 long sharp chain, and carries drugs that nullify his pain), fast in attacks, brutal in combat, has no mercy towards anyone who draws a sword against him. His first appearance is him sitting in the pub, some drunk disturbs him, and Hugo slams Drunk's face to the table, killing him. Rest of the Drunk's friends come in and want to kill him, when guard steps in, Hugo pays the Barkeep, and leaves behind 8 brutally mutilated men.
Morhun Van Hausern. Son of a former king of central Batrianic empire, then prime minister, and then Tsar Batrian IV. Brown curly hair, very handsome man, Very good company to be around, ace in horseriding, fencing is his poetry, very charismatic, even the ladies want him, but he has one secret that may have caused his doom: Hes a Homosexual, which resulted in his rival, Thorsenn Knärsen(Spoiled son of the villain Thorik Knärsen), who shot him in the back due to a petty revenge(Morhun insulted his pride), and because LGBT people are considered "Freaks" by the Batrianics(yes, Batrian IV was bit of a homophobe(IE. may criticize you for your Sexuality, but won't be hostile unless theres a reason, besides, Morhun was his son, and if theres one thing Batrian IV can't stand, its the thought that someone might hurt his family, which is why his morality was slowly dropping after his son's death)).
submitted by Axenfonklatismrek to fantasywriters [link] [comments]
My inspiration came from u/SpartanSpock post on Worldbuilding, who did the same thing, but i'm gonna copy my comment i posted there with changes
For those who don't know, EXPY is a character, who the author based on someone, either real, fictional or historical, but since my world is one big expy(Lornhemal's cultures are copies of real world cultures with some tweaks), i'm gonna go wiht some of my favorites and the most obvious
I HAVE A LOT OF EXPIES, so i'm gonna get some of my favorites, from easiest to guess to probably the hardest. So I'm gonna lay down their basic descriptions
Göts, A Mercenary Swordsman, who became famous for besting very tough knight in a combat, known for wearing black armor and carrying largest sword in the world, then becomes one of Erika's lackeys, who helped her gain more power(by defeating bandits and stuff like that) and obtain her lordship of Gradsko
Wlad I. An Eastern Batrianic's Empire's warlord, master of the Black Wolves(Knightly order originally founded to repell Eastern Tribesmen), who decided to become his own king, famous for his cruelty and savagery. He was successful for a while, then heart attack killed him and half of his army got destroyed by earthquake.
Sir Loxley, a nobleman, who goes against all law and seeks to keep the corrupt and greedy officials in line, very strong bowman, taught Vigviid I.(Main Protagonist of 2nd crisis saga, soon to be Tsar, who was sent to Western empire by his uncle to be raised while he went to end Civil war(Also known as 2nd Crisis of the 16th century)) how to plan battles. Friendly but not nice, harsh but careful, strict but with reason to be.
Kiš Zabaru, a mad king who slaughtered every slave child in his kingdom in order to avoid destiny fulfilling some nonsensical destiny, for which Thorik(Main villain of 2nd crisis saga: Batrian IV's story, and the man who started it) razed the entire city of Kish became punished for his crimes.
Erika Keszek, a vengeful lady, who was seeking a way to get revenge on her mother for her crimes and thus was willing to do everything, even literally bathing in blood of the innocents. She found her hideout in form of abandoned castle of Gradsko, where she practiced all sorts of blood sorcery to discover her mother, only to find out her mother is gonna be executed. When she returned, her reign of terror continued, this time she became obsessed with eternal youth, then she was killed by 3 of her men(2 didn't make it out, 3rd one was her lover Ion, who then died of rusty nail poisoning him), who realized she's gone mad
Ó Sterey, Gallowglass warrior, Ó Belay's best friend, man of average stature, blonde hair and moustache, very clever fighter, his favorite weapons are javelins and Sword, very friendly and like his friend, very good company when near children, taught Vigviid how to fence and fight with sword
Ó Belay, Another Gallowglass warrior, Ó Sterey's best mate, tall man, who carries large sword, red moustache, big belly but very strong, even in melee hes dangerous, but overall very friendly, especially towards Children. Taught Vigviid how to fight against other weapons like Axes, maces or shields
Hugo the Shadowhair, an assassin who was hired to kill Vigviid,only to kill Loxley and 15 other men, while he almost killed Vigviid and his remaining friends, he bled to death before doing a striking final blow at one of them(Specifically Mabyn, Vigviid's older tomboy cousin), wears black leather armor, armed to the teeth(Has 2 swords, 3 daggers, 1 long sharp chain, and carries drugs that nullify his pain), fast in attacks, brutal in combat, has no mercy towards anyone who draws a sword against him. His first appearance is him sitting in the pub, some drunk disturbs him, and Hugo slams Drunk's face to the table, killing him. Rest of the Drunk's friends come in and want to kill him, when guard steps in, Hugo pays the Barkeep, and leaves behind 8 brutally mutilated men.
Morhun Van Hausern. Son of a former king of central Batrianic empire, then prime minister, and then Tsar Batrian IV. Brown curly hair, very handsome man, Very good company to be around, ace in horseriding, fencing is his poetry, very charismatic, even the ladies want him, but he has one secret that may have caused his doom: Hes a Homosexual, which resulted in his rival, Thorsenn Knärsen(Spoiled son of the villain Thorik Knärsen), who shot him in the back due to a petty revenge(Morhun insulted his pride), and because LGBT people are considered "Freaks" by the Batrianics(yes, Batrian IV was bit of a homophobe(IE. may criticize you for your Sexuality, but won't be hostile unless theres a reason, besides, Morhun was his son, and if theres one thing Batrian IV can't stand, its the thought that someone might hurt his family, which is why his morality was slowly dropping after his son's death)).
2024.05.19 14:50 theswillmerchant The Great Serpent, The Formless Mother, and The Blood Star
The Great Serpent, The Formless Mother, and The Blood Star
I believe that the Great Serpent of Mt. Gelmir and The Formless Mother are related through Red Glintstone and The Blood Star. The nature of their relationship is unclear at this time, and although I have a theory I will not make any claim of certainty. Still, I think there is strong evidence that they share some significant ties to one another, and these connections lead to some interesting questions/observations about the nature of the Outer Gods.
Before I start I should acknowledge that:
With that out of the way, let’s begin by talking about Red Glintstone. Most of the information about it comes from a few items, The Staff of the Guilty and Alberich’s Set. The Staff of the Guilty is a staff wielded by Thorn Sorcerers, found in certain areas of Liurnia and the Mountaintops of the Giants. The Thorn Sorcerers are criminals who have been punitively blinded with briars, and placed into servitude as soldiers under the Fire Monks. An excellent video by SmoughTown (which I will reference heavily from this point on) goes into much greater detail on the nature of these aberrant mages.
Alberich’s Set is the clothing of Mad Tongue Alberich, a former servant of the Roundtable Hold and heretical sorcerer. Most players will encounter him when he invades on the ground floor of the Roundtable, however his set is acquired from the Roundtable’s physical counterpart, the Fortified Manor in Leyndell.
The Staff of the Guilty reads:
The beginnings of an explanation for this come from the descriptions of two spells, namely those used by the Thorn Sorcerers and Alberich himself. These spells are called Briars of Sin and Briars of Punishment which read:
Another possible mention of the Blood Star, though less direct, comes from the description of the Great Stars weapon:
The Formless Mother
A logical leap that many people have taken when researching these topics is to assume that the Blood Star is in some way related to The Formless Mother, the Outer God that bestows blood-related power to Mohg and his followers. At the risk of sounding repetitive, SmoughTown again explores this relationship, noting their similarities mechanically (the fact that magic from these sources causes the Hemorrhage/Blood Loss status effect) and thematically (the fact that both of these entities seem to seek bloodshed, demanding sacrifices explicitly or wounds generally). He does however say that there are enough differences in the information known about these figures to cast some doubt on them being one and the same. I agree with this, however I do still believe they are related in a way that I will discuss after mentioning the other source of Red Glintstone present in the game.
The Great Serpent of Mt. Gelmir
In the war ravaged landscape of Mt. Gelmir stands Volcano Manor, home of Praetor Rykard. Within this fortified castle’s prison town are the Man-Serpents, the results of a blasphemous breeding process who patrol and defend against intruders. And one particular man-serpent wields a staff, the Gelmir Glintstone Staff.
Magma Shot reads:
In addition, the practices of the Gelmir Pagans provide another tie between Red Glintstone and ritual sacrifice. The Serpent-God’s Curved Sword says:
The Connections
Red Glintstone therefore ties together the Thorn Sorceries, and by extension the Blood Star, with the Gelmir magics. If you agree with the idea that the Blood Star and the Formless Mother are also related, then this also bridges together the followers of Rykard and Mohg. But Red Glintstone is not the only commonality between these factions and practices.
In no particular order:
Both Gelmir Sorceries and the Staff of the Guilty mention “Hex Magic”. Along with this being a nod to Dark Souls 2’s magic system, this language seems to distinguish these schools of magic from other Sorceries or Incantations. In particular, it groups both of these into a class of magic deemed heretical by current magic practitioners.
As mentioned above, both the Gelmir Religion and the Blood Star explicitly mention sacrifices as a source of their power.
Both Thorn Sorceries and many of the skills of the Formless Mother require a tithe of the user’s blood to be paid. Thorn Sorceries and the skills Seppuku, Bloody Slash, and Blood Blade deal damage to the caster in addition to their enemies, incorporating the thematic idea of sacrifice into gameplay mechanics.
Again speaking mechanically, both the Formless Mother and the Great Serpent offer their adherents methods of healing via combat. The Blasphemous Blade, Serpent-God’s Curved Sword, Devourer’s Scepter, Taker’s Cameo, and Rykard’s Great Rune are all holy artifacts of the Gelmir Religion, either from the ancient era or from Rykard’s. Critically, they all confer the power of healing by defeating enemies, or simply by attacking them in the case of the Blasphemous Blade and Devourer’s Scepter weapon skills. While there are a few other methods of achieving this effect scattered amongst the factions of the Lands Between, one of the most notable practitioners is Mohg, who uses his Sacred Spear to heal himself with his Bloodboon Ritual. It is worth noting that one of the only other ways to achieve the effect of healing via combat is with the Great Stars, providing another possible tie between these groups. Here I will acknowledge that this line of reasoning does not include the Greathorn Hammer, Butchering Knife, Assassin’s Crimson Dagger, or Malenia’s Great Rune, the other notable examples of this type of mechanic. For those curious, I believe that Malenia’s healing is at least partially explained by VaatiVidya in his video on the topic. Vaati is a small up-and-coming lore channel and I’m sure the little guy could really use a like and a sub!
Perhaps most significantly though are the Recusant Finger and Bloody Finger items. These items, bestowed to the player after joining the ranks of Rykard and Mohg’s cults respectively, are functionally identical tools that allow invasions of other players’ worlds. Both are used for the express purpose of spilling Tarnished blood, and I do not believe it is a coincidence that they are related to the two demigods in question.
Bringing It Together
Given these threads connecting The Formless Mother, the Blood Star, and the Gelmir religion, what is the nature of their relationship? There seems to be a developing theme of "Similar but Different". There is, in my opinion, a sense that these cultures and practices share some kind of common ancestry. Again, while I don’t feel confident enough to state it with certainty, I will provide a possible explanation informed, ironically, by the Greater Will.
Most mentions of stars in the game’s text come from sources that are associated with the Glintstone, the Astrologers, Raya Lucaria, Astel, etc. However there is at least one mention of a star that sheds some light on their relationship to Outer Gods, the description of Elden Stars:
Still, if we take this description at face value then it seems to imply that stars, along with being entities themselves, are within the dominion of Outer Gods and can be sent to the Lands Between “bearing beasts”. Another item that relates ephemeral Outer Gods to corporeal creatures is the Twinbird Kite Shield:
The Theory
The Formless Mother, an Outer God, controled the Blood Star. This star was sent long before the current age to deliver a beast to the Lands Between, and this beast was the Great Serpent. Whether simply due to great expanses of time, the dominance of the Greater Will and the subsequent shunning of other Outer Gods, or some other reason that is left undiscovered, the link connecting these entities became faded, if not severed entirely. As a result, their once cohesive goals and principles diverged. The wounds craved by the Formless Mother became the sacrifices of sinners offered to the Blood Star, and the sacrificial practices of the Gelmir worshippers no longer satisfied the Serpent, now driven by world consuming avarice. These once cohesive forces were now fragmented, fated to fade into relative obscurity. Each sought new adherents in the sewers below the Erdtree, in the mountains overlooking it, and in the sinners exiled from it. The faithful of each deity created their own manner of worship, similar but different. This process can be observed in countless real world cultures who share common ancestry but diverge into discrete civilizations or religions. I believe that this explains the overlap between these seemingly disparate factions, while also accounting for their clear separation. Fromsoft has proven time and time again to be a team obsessed with the layering of culture and the echos of half-forgotten history, and I feel that this is yet another example of this theme.
I will say again that I am far from certain of this, as obviously there is no direct evidence of the Blood Star being "sent", but I believe strongly that some relationship of this type exists between these groups. I hope that with the DLC looming we may be given more information about the ancient era of the Lands Between and the various religions and cultures that existed prior to the dominance of Marika's Golden Order, but knowing Fromsoft I think it’s likely we’ll get more questions than answers.
Epilogue
If you’ve read this entire thing then the toilet seat is likely cutting off the circulation to your legs and you should stand up, but I greatly appreciate your time. Please let me know what you think of this theory, or if there’s anything you think I’ve misinterpreted or left out entirely.
submitted by theswillmerchant to Eldenring [link] [comments]
I believe that the Great Serpent of Mt. Gelmir and The Formless Mother are related through Red Glintstone and The Blood Star. The nature of their relationship is unclear at this time, and although I have a theory I will not make any claim of certainty. Still, I think there is strong evidence that they share some significant ties to one another, and these connections lead to some interesting questions/observations about the nature of the Outer Gods.
Before I start I should acknowledge that:
- This game’s lore is often purposefully obtuse and it’s extremely difficult to say anything concrete.
- While mechanics and lore interact really well in Fromsoft games, sometimes a mechanic exists because it’s fun and cool, and not because it reveals some deeper truth about the story.
- I am not an Elden Ring Lore expert. I am also not a real life anthropologist, historian, writer, or anything else that would give me any real insight into these games and their lore or themes. I just think this stuff is neat.
With that out of the way, let’s begin by talking about Red Glintstone. Most of the information about it comes from a few items, The Staff of the Guilty and Alberich’s Set. The Staff of the Guilty is a staff wielded by Thorn Sorcerers, found in certain areas of Liurnia and the Mountaintops of the Giants. The Thorn Sorcerers are criminals who have been punitively blinded with briars, and placed into servitude as soldiers under the Fire Monks. An excellent video by SmoughTown (which I will reference heavily from this point on) goes into much greater detail on the nature of these aberrant mages.
Alberich’s Set is the clothing of Mad Tongue Alberich, a former servant of the Roundtable Hold and heretical sorcerer. Most players will encounter him when he invades on the ground floor of the Roundtable, however his set is acquired from the Roundtable’s physical counterpart, the Fortified Manor in Leyndell.
The Staff of the Guilty reads:
“A heretical staff fashioned from a smoldering, withered sapling that turns the blood of sacrifices pierced by it into glintstone. Similar to hex magic.Alberich’s Set (specifically the robe) reads:
Sorceries are scaled with faith rather than intelligence when wielding this staff which enhances Thorn sorceries in particular.”
“Mad Tongue Alberich's robe.What we learn from these items is that Red Glintstone is a form of Glintstone created from the blood of sacrifices. This is an odd property for any type of Glintstone to possess, since all other sources of information surrounding Glintstone imply that it is heavily related to the Stars and the Primeval Current, not something as terrestrial as blood.
Set with red glintstones said to be formed by the blood of sacrifices. Strengthens thorn sorcery.
Alberich was an aloof yet disturbed heretical sorcerer said to have been driven mad by jeering tongues during his service to the Roundtable Hold long ago.”
The beginnings of an explanation for this come from the descriptions of two spells, namely those used by the Thorn Sorcerers and Alberich himself. These spells are called Briars of Sin and Briars of Punishment which read:
“An aberrant sorcery discovered by exiled criminals. Theirs are the sorceries most reviled by the academy.So the Blood Star seems to be a celestial body that appears to the guilty after they are blinded. Again, SmoughTown’s video goes into great detail on this topic, but the brief summary is that it is an entity in and of itself, as many stars appear to be within Elden Ring’s cosmology. It is also the source of the astral properties necessary for a stone formed of blood to function as Glintstone. Through a combination of faith in this entity, bodily sacrifice, and this specific variant of Glintstone, aberrant magic can be wielded.
Wounds the caster with thorns of punishment, sending a trail of bloodthorns running over the ground to impale enemies from below…
The guilty, their eyes gouged by thorns, lived in eternal darkness. There, they discovered the blood star.”
Another possible mention of the Blood Star, though less direct, comes from the description of the Great Stars weapon:
“Huge bludgeon with three stars at the striking end. Though primarily a striking weapon, the stars' spikes cause blood loss.The phrasing of this “ill omen”, along with its ability to restore HP, will become relevant later.
A blood-stained star is an ill omen, a fact not lost upon those against whom this weapon is brought to bear. Landing attacks slightly restores HP.”
The Formless Mother
A logical leap that many people have taken when researching these topics is to assume that the Blood Star is in some way related to The Formless Mother, the Outer God that bestows blood-related power to Mohg and his followers. At the risk of sounding repetitive, SmoughTown again explores this relationship, noting their similarities mechanically (the fact that magic from these sources causes the Hemorrhage/Blood Loss status effect) and thematically (the fact that both of these entities seem to seek bloodshed, demanding sacrifices explicitly or wounds generally). He does however say that there are enough differences in the information known about these figures to cast some doubt on them being one and the same. I agree with this, however I do still believe they are related in a way that I will discuss after mentioning the other source of Red Glintstone present in the game.
The Great Serpent of Mt. Gelmir
In the war ravaged landscape of Mt. Gelmir stands Volcano Manor, home of Praetor Rykard. Within this fortified castle’s prison town are the Man-Serpents, the results of a blasphemous breeding process who patrol and defend against intruders. And one particular man-serpent wields a staff, the Gelmir Glintstone Staff.
“Staff with a forked tip, embedded with red glintstones. Enhances lava sorceries.Once again we see Red Glintstone used in a spell catalyst, and again it imbues this tool with properties reliant on faith. For further detail, we need to look at some of the aforementioned Lava Sorceries that are enhanced by this staff.
The Man-Serpents of Mt. Gelmir draw from faith in addition to intelligence to enhance the potency of their sorcery.”
Magma Shot reads:
“One of the sorceries developed from the magma of Mt. Gelmir. …These sorceries are ancient, originally practiced by the adherents of a pagan religion that worshiped the Great Serpent of Mt. Gelmir. The timeline of events is not explicit, but it is a reasonable assumption that Rykard's incorporation of these hexes into modern sorcery was a component of his adoption of the ancient Gelmir religion, and his worship and great sacrifice to the Serpent.
After discovering the ancient hexes of Gelmir, Rykard, son of Queen Rennala, brought them back into practical use as new forms of sorcery.”
In addition, the practices of the Gelmir Pagans provide another tie between Red Glintstone and ritual sacrifice. The Serpent-God’s Curved Sword says:
“Curved sword fashioned in the image of an ancient serpent deity and tool of a forgotten religion practiced on Mt. Gelmir.These sacrifices are likely the source of the Red Glintstone used to channel the magic of Mt. Gelmir.
Formerly used to offer up sacrifices, this sword restores HP upon slaying an enemy.”
The Connections
Red Glintstone therefore ties together the Thorn Sorceries, and by extension the Blood Star, with the Gelmir magics. If you agree with the idea that the Blood Star and the Formless Mother are also related, then this also bridges together the followers of Rykard and Mohg. But Red Glintstone is not the only commonality between these factions and practices.
In no particular order:
Both Gelmir Sorceries and the Staff of the Guilty mention “Hex Magic”. Along with this being a nod to Dark Souls 2’s magic system, this language seems to distinguish these schools of magic from other Sorceries or Incantations. In particular, it groups both of these into a class of magic deemed heretical by current magic practitioners.
As mentioned above, both the Gelmir Religion and the Blood Star explicitly mention sacrifices as a source of their power.
Both Thorn Sorceries and many of the skills of the Formless Mother require a tithe of the user’s blood to be paid. Thorn Sorceries and the skills Seppuku, Bloody Slash, and Blood Blade deal damage to the caster in addition to their enemies, incorporating the thematic idea of sacrifice into gameplay mechanics.
Again speaking mechanically, both the Formless Mother and the Great Serpent offer their adherents methods of healing via combat. The Blasphemous Blade, Serpent-God’s Curved Sword, Devourer’s Scepter, Taker’s Cameo, and Rykard’s Great Rune are all holy artifacts of the Gelmir Religion, either from the ancient era or from Rykard’s. Critically, they all confer the power of healing by defeating enemies, or simply by attacking them in the case of the Blasphemous Blade and Devourer’s Scepter weapon skills. While there are a few other methods of achieving this effect scattered amongst the factions of the Lands Between, one of the most notable practitioners is Mohg, who uses his Sacred Spear to heal himself with his Bloodboon Ritual. It is worth noting that one of the only other ways to achieve the effect of healing via combat is with the Great Stars, providing another possible tie between these groups. Here I will acknowledge that this line of reasoning does not include the Greathorn Hammer, Butchering Knife, Assassin’s Crimson Dagger, or Malenia’s Great Rune, the other notable examples of this type of mechanic. For those curious, I believe that Malenia’s healing is at least partially explained by VaatiVidya in his video on the topic. Vaati is a small up-and-coming lore channel and I’m sure the little guy could really use a like and a sub!
Perhaps most significantly though are the Recusant Finger and Bloody Finger items. These items, bestowed to the player after joining the ranks of Rykard and Mohg’s cults respectively, are functionally identical tools that allow invasions of other players’ worlds. Both are used for the express purpose of spilling Tarnished blood, and I do not believe it is a coincidence that they are related to the two demigods in question.
Bringing It Together
Given these threads connecting The Formless Mother, the Blood Star, and the Gelmir religion, what is the nature of their relationship? There seems to be a developing theme of "Similar but Different". There is, in my opinion, a sense that these cultures and practices share some kind of common ancestry. Again, while I don’t feel confident enough to state it with certainty, I will provide a possible explanation informed, ironically, by the Greater Will.
Most mentions of stars in the game’s text come from sources that are associated with the Glintstone, the Astrologers, Raya Lucaria, Astel, etc. However there is at least one mention of a star that sheds some light on their relationship to Outer Gods, the description of Elden Stars:
“This legendary incantation is the most ancient of those that derive from the Erdtree.It’s worth noting here that a topic often discussed by lore enthusiasts is the voice of the narrator in item descriptions, and the fact that it seems to change between items and vary in its reliability. For instance, rather than saying anything with concrete certainty here, it reads “It is said…” implying there is something apocryphal about the information. It is also worth mentioning that this description in particular is infamous in the community for muddying the waters on the nature of the Elden Ring, inscriptions found in Farum Azula, the timeline of the Lands Between, and many other topics.
…
It is said that long ago, the Greater Will sent a golden star bearing a beast into the Lands Between, which would later become the Elden Ring.”
Still, if we take this description at face value then it seems to imply that stars, along with being entities themselves, are within the dominion of Outer Gods and can be sent to the Lands Between “bearing beasts”. Another item that relates ephemeral Outer Gods to corporeal creatures is the Twinbird Kite Shield:
“Shield featuring a vividly painted twinbird.Once again a presumably physical beast, the Twinbird, is said to be the envoy of an unnamed Outer God. If these two items represent a trend, then we can assume that Outer Gods have the ability to install “Beasts” in the Lands Between. The reason for this is unclear. They may be sent as sentient weapons to fight in proxy wars. It’s also possible that they are intended to be physical manifestations of the Outer Gods to spur worship. Thanks to the existence of the Two and Three Fingers, the Fire Giant, and Malenia, there is no shortage of evidence that the Outer Gods either require avatars in the Lands Between to communicate for them and exert their will, or at the very least prefer an indirect relationship for unknowable reasons. Regardless, it leads me to propose a theory:
The twinbird is said to be the envoy of an outer god, and mother of the Deathbirds...”
The Theory
The Formless Mother, an Outer God, controled the Blood Star. This star was sent long before the current age to deliver a beast to the Lands Between, and this beast was the Great Serpent. Whether simply due to great expanses of time, the dominance of the Greater Will and the subsequent shunning of other Outer Gods, or some other reason that is left undiscovered, the link connecting these entities became faded, if not severed entirely. As a result, their once cohesive goals and principles diverged. The wounds craved by the Formless Mother became the sacrifices of sinners offered to the Blood Star, and the sacrificial practices of the Gelmir worshippers no longer satisfied the Serpent, now driven by world consuming avarice. These once cohesive forces were now fragmented, fated to fade into relative obscurity. Each sought new adherents in the sewers below the Erdtree, in the mountains overlooking it, and in the sinners exiled from it. The faithful of each deity created their own manner of worship, similar but different. This process can be observed in countless real world cultures who share common ancestry but diverge into discrete civilizations or religions. I believe that this explains the overlap between these seemingly disparate factions, while also accounting for their clear separation. Fromsoft has proven time and time again to be a team obsessed with the layering of culture and the echos of half-forgotten history, and I feel that this is yet another example of this theme.
I will say again that I am far from certain of this, as obviously there is no direct evidence of the Blood Star being "sent", but I believe strongly that some relationship of this type exists between these groups. I hope that with the DLC looming we may be given more information about the ancient era of the Lands Between and the various religions and cultures that existed prior to the dominance of Marika's Golden Order, but knowing Fromsoft I think it’s likely we’ll get more questions than answers.
Epilogue
If you’ve read this entire thing then the toilet seat is likely cutting off the circulation to your legs and you should stand up, but I greatly appreciate your time. Please let me know what you think of this theory, or if there’s anything you think I’ve misinterpreted or left out entirely.
2024.05.19 14:44 RegularIncident4260 Please help out of an abusive situation
I'm an autistic grad student who struggles with cPTSD, the university hasn't paid my salary for 3+ months (for the third time in the past 1.5 year), basically a human trafficking/modern slavery scheme. I don't even have money for groceries or necessities or for a flight back home (I'm in a foreign country) which has led to further abuse and blackmail from other staff members, and men "indecently propositioning" me. It's a really crap situation and I just want it to end. This situation has exacerbated my mental illness and left me feeling helpless and powerless. I have been no contact with my abusive family. And I have been trying to find an online job but with the way the job market is right now it's been very difficult. If you can help by sending any money or helping me find an online job (that would be the ideal & more sustainable solution). But please don't further my humiliation with unkind comments.
submitted by RegularIncident4260 to Assistance [link] [comments]
2024.05.19 14:41 SubstantialCreme7748 Howie Carr in Canton Townies and the Karen Read Case
https://www.bostonherald.com/2024/05/18/howie-carr-karen-read-trial-is-a-corrupt-canton-townie-sideshow/
POSTED: Howie Carr: Karen Read trial is a corrupt Canton townie sideshow
PUBLISHED: May 18, 2024 at 4:25 p.m. UPDATED: May 18, 2024 at 4:27 p.m.
Paul Revere used to summer every year in Canton, but he wouldn’t recognize the place today.
One thing, though, hasn’t changed since the 18th of April in ’75 — the locals still love their midnight rides, but with one big difference.
Paul Revere wasn’t hammered out of his mind when he was on horseback, spreading the alarm to every Middlesex village and farm.
Through the first 14 days of the Karen Read murder trial in Dedham, we have learned much about life in the Town of Canton, post-Paul Revere.
As you know, Read is accused of murdering her boyfriend, BPD cop John O’Keefe, by drunkenly running him over in a snowstorm in January 2022.
His body was found outside the home of another BPD officer, who has since sold the house, gotten rid of his phone and dog and abruptly retired from the job, not that there’s anything wrong with that.
How screwed up is this case? Well, the feds are all over it like white on rice.
Read’s defense attorneys have said the G-men’s accident-reconstruction experts have concluded that O’Keefe couldn’t possibly have been killed by a car.
Then there are all those texts that haven’t been “mistakenly” deleted…
The state’s lead investigator is thisclose to the Hibernian hillbillies who are up to their eyeballs in this mess.
According to opening statements, State Trooper Michael Proctor’s first thought when he was assigned the case was to text his Canton high-school buddies. He told them he was already searching online for nude photos of Karen Read.
Proctor is now under investigation by MSP Internal Affairs — if only because it’s the feds who discovered his texts, rather than the corrupt Staties themselves.
How will Proctor do on cross-examination? Do you remember an LAPD detective by the name of Mark Fuhrman?
Back on the stand Tuesday will be Jen McCabe. She’s the one who’s missing one of her front teeth.
Don’t confuse Toothy McCabe with Julie Albert. Julie is the one who chews gum while testifying. Her father’s name is/was Jack Daniels — coincidence?
Julie is married to Chris Albert. He did a six-month state bit in 1995 after killing a Hungarian exchange student in a hit-and-run accident.
His public defender was one John Prescott, whose sister is the judge in the case — Beverly Cannone. She’s a lifelong payroll patriot from Quincy, like the rotund district attorney, Meatball Mike Morrissey.
If you want to hide something real good, just stick it in one of Judge Cannone’s law books.
From her courtroom rulings, Cannone seems to believe that the synonym for “exculpatory” is “excluded,” as in, if the evidence is exculpatory for Karen Read, it’s excluded.
Chris Albert, by the way, is a Canton selectman. As the only jailbird in the fight, he was elected in a landslide. Forget it Jake — it’s Canton.
Even if you haven’t been paying close attention, there are easy ways to figure out who’s who. The townies — which is everyone except the defendant — all pronounce their hometown not as “Canton” but as “Can-UHN.”
Here’s how the examination begins after each witness is sworn in.
Where do you live? Can-UHN. Where were you born? Can-UHN. Where did you go to high school? Can-UHN High.
Have you ever been anywhere else? Yes, once I drove to a packy… in Stough-UHN.
Selectman Albert owns the local pizza parlor. On the night John O’Keefe died outside his brother’s house, he closed his shop, then walked across the street to a local dive where he ordered “appetizers.” That’s how good his own restaurant is.
Then, meeting up with the rest of the Can-UHN townies, the selectman ordered the usual — a round of Fireballs. How Canton is it?
After last call, he offered to take the crapulous crew back to his pizzeria for some free eats. Everybody said… nah.
Almost all these people live, or did live, in the same houses they grew up in, bought by their parents 50 years ago as they fled Boston after the start of busing.
Lucky for them they inherited these tear-downs, because otherwise most of them would have already fled back to their natural habitat — trailer parks.
See, Canton’s on the commuter-rail line, so housing prices have been going up, up and away. It’s only a matter of time until all these low-rent losers are priced out.
So resentment is simmering among the old Can-UHN crowd. They don’t like what’s happening — just last year, their favorite hang-out, Big D’s Neponset Grill, went out of business.
It was the last place in town where you could get a fried-baloney sandwich. Now that was some really fine Can-UHN cuisine.
What must the U.S. attorney be thinking as he watches this legal lynching unfold in deepest, darkest Dedham? The defense has said in open court that the feds already have a proffer — a deal — with the only witness who didn’t go to Can-UHN High.
The hack prosecutor did not dispute the statement.
Judge Cannone has instructed all the parties not to mention that federal grand jury, where at least three cops have apparently told conflicting stories from what they testified before Meatball’s state grand jury.
But the other day, one of the younger witnesses was asked who’s questioned him about O’Keefe’s death.
“The feds,” he blurted out in front of the jury.
Well, what could you expect? He went to Can-UHN High.
This trial is drawing a huge audience. Unlike Trump’s kangaroo-court case in New York, there are cameras in the Dedham courtroom. Live streaming coverage.
And Karen Read is not guilty. Tensions are running high. There have been fights and restraining orders — and that’s just among the reporters.
Aidan “Turtleboy” Kearney is the blogger who’s made the case into a national story. He’s been barred from the courtroom for certain witnesses — the “McAlberts,” as he calls the Alberts and the McCabes.
The McAlbert witnesses begin weeping when they talk about Turtleboy. He makes them want to spit out their chewing gum and order another round of Fireballs.
How dare he call their hero Jailbird Chris Albert “Chicken Parm Charlie?”
I have Turtleboy on my radio show most afternoons. On Friday, he said Jen McCabe has a worse set of teeth than George Washington did.
The most appealing thing about this case is that you can watch it and feel better about your own hometown. In Holbrook, they listen to Chicken Parm Charlie and realize that he makes their ex-selectman Daniel Lee look like Daniel Webster.
In Methuen, they see Canton’s Keystone Cops and think, you know, maybe Chief Solomon wasn’t that bad after all…
If Paul Revere could only see what’s become of Canton, he’d put the spurs to Brown Beauty and keep riding. Only instead of “The British are coming!” he’d be yelling something different. “The white trash are coming!”
submitted by SubstantialCreme7748 to justiceforKarenRead [link] [comments]
POSTED: Howie Carr: Karen Read trial is a corrupt Canton townie sideshow
PUBLISHED: May 18, 2024 at 4:25 p.m. UPDATED: May 18, 2024 at 4:27 p.m.
Paul Revere used to summer every year in Canton, but he wouldn’t recognize the place today.
One thing, though, hasn’t changed since the 18th of April in ’75 — the locals still love their midnight rides, but with one big difference.
Paul Revere wasn’t hammered out of his mind when he was on horseback, spreading the alarm to every Middlesex village and farm.
Through the first 14 days of the Karen Read murder trial in Dedham, we have learned much about life in the Town of Canton, post-Paul Revere.
As you know, Read is accused of murdering her boyfriend, BPD cop John O’Keefe, by drunkenly running him over in a snowstorm in January 2022.
His body was found outside the home of another BPD officer, who has since sold the house, gotten rid of his phone and dog and abruptly retired from the job, not that there’s anything wrong with that.
How screwed up is this case? Well, the feds are all over it like white on rice.
Read’s defense attorneys have said the G-men’s accident-reconstruction experts have concluded that O’Keefe couldn’t possibly have been killed by a car.
Then there are all those texts that haven’t been “mistakenly” deleted…
The state’s lead investigator is thisclose to the Hibernian hillbillies who are up to their eyeballs in this mess.
According to opening statements, State Trooper Michael Proctor’s first thought when he was assigned the case was to text his Canton high-school buddies. He told them he was already searching online for nude photos of Karen Read.
Proctor is now under investigation by MSP Internal Affairs — if only because it’s the feds who discovered his texts, rather than the corrupt Staties themselves.
How will Proctor do on cross-examination? Do you remember an LAPD detective by the name of Mark Fuhrman?
Back on the stand Tuesday will be Jen McCabe. She’s the one who’s missing one of her front teeth.
Don’t confuse Toothy McCabe with Julie Albert. Julie is the one who chews gum while testifying. Her father’s name is/was Jack Daniels — coincidence?
Julie is married to Chris Albert. He did a six-month state bit in 1995 after killing a Hungarian exchange student in a hit-and-run accident.
His public defender was one John Prescott, whose sister is the judge in the case — Beverly Cannone. She’s a lifelong payroll patriot from Quincy, like the rotund district attorney, Meatball Mike Morrissey.
If you want to hide something real good, just stick it in one of Judge Cannone’s law books.
From her courtroom rulings, Cannone seems to believe that the synonym for “exculpatory” is “excluded,” as in, if the evidence is exculpatory for Karen Read, it’s excluded.
Chris Albert, by the way, is a Canton selectman. As the only jailbird in the fight, he was elected in a landslide. Forget it Jake — it’s Canton.
Even if you haven’t been paying close attention, there are easy ways to figure out who’s who. The townies — which is everyone except the defendant — all pronounce their hometown not as “Canton” but as “Can-UHN.”
Here’s how the examination begins after each witness is sworn in.
Where do you live? Can-UHN. Where were you born? Can-UHN. Where did you go to high school? Can-UHN High.
Have you ever been anywhere else? Yes, once I drove to a packy… in Stough-UHN.
Selectman Albert owns the local pizza parlor. On the night John O’Keefe died outside his brother’s house, he closed his shop, then walked across the street to a local dive where he ordered “appetizers.” That’s how good his own restaurant is.
Then, meeting up with the rest of the Can-UHN townies, the selectman ordered the usual — a round of Fireballs. How Canton is it?
After last call, he offered to take the crapulous crew back to his pizzeria for some free eats. Everybody said… nah.
Almost all these people live, or did live, in the same houses they grew up in, bought by their parents 50 years ago as they fled Boston after the start of busing.
Lucky for them they inherited these tear-downs, because otherwise most of them would have already fled back to their natural habitat — trailer parks.
See, Canton’s on the commuter-rail line, so housing prices have been going up, up and away. It’s only a matter of time until all these low-rent losers are priced out.
So resentment is simmering among the old Can-UHN crowd. They don’t like what’s happening — just last year, their favorite hang-out, Big D’s Neponset Grill, went out of business.
It was the last place in town where you could get a fried-baloney sandwich. Now that was some really fine Can-UHN cuisine.
What must the U.S. attorney be thinking as he watches this legal lynching unfold in deepest, darkest Dedham? The defense has said in open court that the feds already have a proffer — a deal — with the only witness who didn’t go to Can-UHN High.
The hack prosecutor did not dispute the statement.
Judge Cannone has instructed all the parties not to mention that federal grand jury, where at least three cops have apparently told conflicting stories from what they testified before Meatball’s state grand jury.
But the other day, one of the younger witnesses was asked who’s questioned him about O’Keefe’s death.
“The feds,” he blurted out in front of the jury.
Well, what could you expect? He went to Can-UHN High.
This trial is drawing a huge audience. Unlike Trump’s kangaroo-court case in New York, there are cameras in the Dedham courtroom. Live streaming coverage.
And Karen Read is not guilty. Tensions are running high. There have been fights and restraining orders — and that’s just among the reporters.
Aidan “Turtleboy” Kearney is the blogger who’s made the case into a national story. He’s been barred from the courtroom for certain witnesses — the “McAlberts,” as he calls the Alberts and the McCabes.
The McAlbert witnesses begin weeping when they talk about Turtleboy. He makes them want to spit out their chewing gum and order another round of Fireballs.
How dare he call their hero Jailbird Chris Albert “Chicken Parm Charlie?”
I have Turtleboy on my radio show most afternoons. On Friday, he said Jen McCabe has a worse set of teeth than George Washington did.
The most appealing thing about this case is that you can watch it and feel better about your own hometown. In Holbrook, they listen to Chicken Parm Charlie and realize that he makes their ex-selectman Daniel Lee look like Daniel Webster.
In Methuen, they see Canton’s Keystone Cops and think, you know, maybe Chief Solomon wasn’t that bad after all…
If Paul Revere could only see what’s become of Canton, he’d put the spurs to Brown Beauty and keep riding. Only instead of “The British are coming!” he’d be yelling something different. “The white trash are coming!”
2024.05.19 14:32 Bagzbannco Need Advice on situation regarding warranty repair.
Hi everyone,
I wanted to hear the unbiased opinion of people that know a thing or two about guitars because in this situation I don’t know if I am in the right or not.
I don’t think I will be able to be concise, no TLDR because the details matter, sorry.
Here’s the deal:
Bought a 7 string in February (ESP LTD H3 1007 baritone, €1200).
At first I didn’t have access to my recording equipment and only played it either acoustically or with an old Zoom pedalboard and headphones. Everything seemed fine but didn’t spend much time with it. Action was too high and lowering it introduced too much fret buzz.
In the first days of March I finally had the chance to record with it and noticed heavy fret buzz in the output sound (even using a reasonable distortion created a mess, no crazy high-gain) and some choked notes higher on the fretboard. The action was noticeably higher than my other guitars. It was almost impossible for me to play cleanly.
(note that for some days I thought that I was the problem, since I haven’t been playing for a couple of months and that was my first 7 string)
Inspecting the guitar closely, I noticed that the nut was cut very high, partially explaining my inability to play cleanly. Plus I didn’t quite like the factory 10-59 string set that came with it: too little tension on the bottom strings and too much for the top ones (the high E broke the first few days with a simple full tone bending around the 15th fret, not the right gauge for a 27” scale length imo).
Nothing that a nice professional setup can’t fix, I thought.
(Unfortunately, not anticipating the issue that was about to arise, I didn’t save any recordings documenting the state of the guitar before going to the luthier. Lesson learnt)
So, I brought it to a luthier. We decided that it was best to approach the problem step by step, instead of doing everything at once.
1- First he would change the strings (I opted for a 9.5-64 set) and do a basic setup WITHOUT making changes to the nut, just in case I didn’t like the new set of strings. If the buzzing remains, then we go to the more expensive step 2.
2- Nut filing and fret height adjustment.
After step 1 everything was the same: very noticeable fret buzz and choked notes.
I decided to contact Thomann’s assistance before step 2.
Why? I realised that the root of the problem was more serious than I originally thought. The luthier told me that he couldn’t guarantee that the additional work would fix everything so he advised me to contact Thomann before spending €200 on fret leveling.
For a €1200 guitar you would expect that the fretwork would be good, am I wrong?
I explained the situation to the assistance team in detail with the original state of the guitar in mind, thus forgetting to mention the work done by the professional (I know, my bad. I specified it after their first response from them) and included a recording of the fret buzz (direct input from a Focusrite scarlett straight to pro tools, with and without distortion).
Upon hearing the recording (that was done after the luthier setup) they reached out to confirm that, indeed, the fret buzz was intrusive.
When they received the guitar (March 22nd and it's still with them to this day) they told me the following (translated in English by me):
“Our relevant department informed us that the string gauge was changed to 10-65/66 from 10-59 without doing a bridge setup*. This caused the neck to warp and damage to the nut slots. In this case there is no warranty coverage […]”*
I was very disappointed whit this response.
So having just the strings changed by a professional is enough to void the 2 year legal warranty?
I contacted a lawyer friend of mine to help me write a legally solid answer.
In short, we stated that the setup has been done by a professional, the (plastic) nut was left untouched and the truss rod and bridge were set properly; having done everything in good will and within what is considered standard maintenance, I claim to be entitled to have the guitar fixed under the 2 year Legal Warranty.
Eventually they sent some photos that only proved that the nut was damaged (I was very surprised to see it) but nothing to assess the neck warp. (I will include the photo in this post).
Although the nut slot on the 7th string was proven to be damaged, I claim that it is only a minor aesthetic issue because it does not interfere with its function. If the damage was significant enough it would lead to some buzzing on the open string, right? However, the open 7th string sounded clean even after the visit to the luthier. I also never claimed that I had problems with open string buzzing in my support request, only with fretted notes, and never asked for a nut repaisubstitution. Regarding the neck warp, isn't it completely reversibile ? Why is it mentioned as if it was a warranty-voiding condition? I would get it if it had been shaped into a noodle with a hammer, but when I had it in my hands it was almost straight.
I believe that the ideal way to fix the guitar is a PLEK setup to level the frets and adjust the action because everything suggests that the root of all these problems are the uneven frets. Unfortunately, in their last email they still maintain their first opinion (reported above in this post) and told me this:
“We can offer you a setup at your expense or we can send the guitar back. There is no way that you can get a free plek setup […]. We ask you to be concise and definitive in the next email. Further emails that do not offer a definitive answer will be ignored and the guitar will be sent back in the current conditions.”
Basically, they made it impossible for me to keep defending my case after only 2 emails of mine (one addressing their initial report and one after they disappointingly responded repeting the same things). It also feels like they didn’t even bother to fully read those emails since they never elaborated on my lawyer’s valid points.
I honestly don’t know what to do and feel hopeless.
I’d like to hear your opinions; I genuinely can’t tell if I messed up. I feel like I have done everything correctly, I doubt that the nut slot damage is the luthier’s fault. Here are a few questions for you now that you know the whole situation.
- Do you think I’m in the wrong?
- Do you think that a plastic nut can get damaged like that by the strings alone?
- Do you think that asking for a setup under warranty to fix bad fretwork for a €1200 guitar is arrogant and that uneven frets are to be expected ?
Thank you for your time and patience, sorry again for the lengthy post.
https://preview.redd.it/oyv5drqsnd1d1.jpg?width=640&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=58d75555efff7e349327ebf8aca7fb7db622aad0
Edit: for some reason the photo was not uploaded with the post
submitted by Bagzbannco to Guitar [link] [comments]
I wanted to hear the unbiased opinion of people that know a thing or two about guitars because in this situation I don’t know if I am in the right or not.
I don’t think I will be able to be concise, no TLDR because the details matter, sorry.
Here’s the deal:
Bought a 7 string in February (ESP LTD H3 1007 baritone, €1200).
At first I didn’t have access to my recording equipment and only played it either acoustically or with an old Zoom pedalboard and headphones. Everything seemed fine but didn’t spend much time with it. Action was too high and lowering it introduced too much fret buzz.
In the first days of March I finally had the chance to record with it and noticed heavy fret buzz in the output sound (even using a reasonable distortion created a mess, no crazy high-gain) and some choked notes higher on the fretboard. The action was noticeably higher than my other guitars. It was almost impossible for me to play cleanly.
(note that for some days I thought that I was the problem, since I haven’t been playing for a couple of months and that was my first 7 string)
Inspecting the guitar closely, I noticed that the nut was cut very high, partially explaining my inability to play cleanly. Plus I didn’t quite like the factory 10-59 string set that came with it: too little tension on the bottom strings and too much for the top ones (the high E broke the first few days with a simple full tone bending around the 15th fret, not the right gauge for a 27” scale length imo).
Nothing that a nice professional setup can’t fix, I thought.
(Unfortunately, not anticipating the issue that was about to arise, I didn’t save any recordings documenting the state of the guitar before going to the luthier. Lesson learnt)
So, I brought it to a luthier. We decided that it was best to approach the problem step by step, instead of doing everything at once.
1- First he would change the strings (I opted for a 9.5-64 set) and do a basic setup WITHOUT making changes to the nut, just in case I didn’t like the new set of strings. If the buzzing remains, then we go to the more expensive step 2.
2- Nut filing and fret height adjustment.
After step 1 everything was the same: very noticeable fret buzz and choked notes.
I decided to contact Thomann’s assistance before step 2.
Why? I realised that the root of the problem was more serious than I originally thought. The luthier told me that he couldn’t guarantee that the additional work would fix everything so he advised me to contact Thomann before spending €200 on fret leveling.
For a €1200 guitar you would expect that the fretwork would be good, am I wrong?
I explained the situation to the assistance team in detail with the original state of the guitar in mind, thus forgetting to mention the work done by the professional (I know, my bad. I specified it after their first response from them) and included a recording of the fret buzz (direct input from a Focusrite scarlett straight to pro tools, with and without distortion).
Upon hearing the recording (that was done after the luthier setup) they reached out to confirm that, indeed, the fret buzz was intrusive.
When they received the guitar (March 22nd and it's still with them to this day) they told me the following (translated in English by me):
“Our relevant department informed us that the string gauge was changed to 10-65/66 from 10-59 without doing a bridge setup*. This caused the neck to warp and damage to the nut slots. In this case there is no warranty coverage […]”*
I was very disappointed whit this response.
So having just the strings changed by a professional is enough to void the 2 year legal warranty?
I contacted a lawyer friend of mine to help me write a legally solid answer.
In short, we stated that the setup has been done by a professional, the (plastic) nut was left untouched and the truss rod and bridge were set properly; having done everything in good will and within what is considered standard maintenance, I claim to be entitled to have the guitar fixed under the 2 year Legal Warranty.
Eventually they sent some photos that only proved that the nut was damaged (I was very surprised to see it) but nothing to assess the neck warp. (I will include the photo in this post).
Although the nut slot on the 7th string was proven to be damaged, I claim that it is only a minor aesthetic issue because it does not interfere with its function. If the damage was significant enough it would lead to some buzzing on the open string, right? However, the open 7th string sounded clean even after the visit to the luthier. I also never claimed that I had problems with open string buzzing in my support request, only with fretted notes, and never asked for a nut repaisubstitution. Regarding the neck warp, isn't it completely reversibile ? Why is it mentioned as if it was a warranty-voiding condition? I would get it if it had been shaped into a noodle with a hammer, but when I had it in my hands it was almost straight.
I believe that the ideal way to fix the guitar is a PLEK setup to level the frets and adjust the action because everything suggests that the root of all these problems are the uneven frets. Unfortunately, in their last email they still maintain their first opinion (reported above in this post) and told me this:
“We can offer you a setup at your expense or we can send the guitar back. There is no way that you can get a free plek setup […]. We ask you to be concise and definitive in the next email. Further emails that do not offer a definitive answer will be ignored and the guitar will be sent back in the current conditions.”
Basically, they made it impossible for me to keep defending my case after only 2 emails of mine (one addressing their initial report and one after they disappointingly responded repeting the same things). It also feels like they didn’t even bother to fully read those emails since they never elaborated on my lawyer’s valid points.
I honestly don’t know what to do and feel hopeless.
I’d like to hear your opinions; I genuinely can’t tell if I messed up. I feel like I have done everything correctly, I doubt that the nut slot damage is the luthier’s fault. Here are a few questions for you now that you know the whole situation.
- Do you think I’m in the wrong?
- Do you think that a plastic nut can get damaged like that by the strings alone?
- Do you think that asking for a setup under warranty to fix bad fretwork for a €1200 guitar is arrogant and that uneven frets are to be expected ?
Thank you for your time and patience, sorry again for the lengthy post.
https://preview.redd.it/oyv5drqsnd1d1.jpg?width=640&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=58d75555efff7e349327ebf8aca7fb7db622aad0
Edit: for some reason the photo was not uploaded with the post
2024.05.19 14:31 Invenblocker Archer's Guild quests don't do too good of a job removing NPCs that are supposed to be absent
 | submitted by Invenblocker to ffxiv [link] [comments] |
2024.05.19 14:25 shroomsimp Dream interpretation?
Me, my mom and 2 other people I don’t know ( another women and child) we’re on an elevator. It was ascending. (Also details obviously in dreams don’t add up so heights were weird too) I don’t remember all the details, but I think we were going to the top floor and it opened, but it kept going higher than the last possible door and we knew we would get crushed and not be able to get out. So from the other side of the elevator we somehow I managed to jump out and land on a metal pad that was attached to the top of the building. It was an insecure pad and would swing around. I would say it 4 meters by 2 meters and then 1-2 feet inches tall but the strings to attach it were flimsier. I basically jumped without thinking and then I told the rest to jump and they did. A few seconds after the elevator went into flames. I had no WiFi to call for help and we were on these unstable platforms. This is a giant but empty room. Looks like a blown up, old basement. We had to make these large jumps, hold on to these metal things that unstable climbed up the walls and somehow we finally descended onto some other cushion like things on the floor. I did warn anyone to get off afraid to get electrocuted. The other family did just get off and nothing happened to them. For some reason I assumed that the door would be locked, but since they got off and nothing happened to them, I went to the bottom door and we managed to escape. We went all the way up the stairs and outside and it was on the TV that an elevator had fell and two people actually passed away (not us I believe another couple using another elevator on the opposite side of the building). There was an immense amount of police and then another group next to them that weren’t wearing police attire, but for some reason, we thought it was police because we were in another country. we told the men what happened I may told something to us that I didn’t understand but as we were walking away, my mom was crying, and she basically said that it wasn’t a good idea to say anything. I don’t know who these men were but then I got the idea that if we said anything that they were going to do something bad to us. Maybe they were the reason behind it. Then I woke up.
submitted by shroomsimp to Dreams [link] [comments]
2024.05.19 14:23 shroomsimp Can I please get a dream interpretation
Me, my mom and 2 other people I don’t know ( another women and child) we’re on an elevator. It was ascending. (Also details obviously in dreams don’t add up so heights were weird too) I don’t remember all the details, but I think we were going to the top floor and it opened, but it kept going higher than the last possible door and we knew we would get crushed and not be able to get out. So from the other side of the elevator we somehow I managed to jump out and land on a metal pad that was attached to the top of the building. It was an insecure pad and would swing around. I would say it 4 meters by 2 meters and then 1-2 feet inches tall but the strings to attach it were flimsier. I basically jumped without thinking and then I told the rest to jump and they did. A few seconds after the elevator went into flames. I had no WiFi to call for help and we were on these unstable platforms. This is a giant but empty room. Looks like a blown up, old basement. We had to make these large jumps, hold on to these metal things that unstable climbed up the walls and somehow we finally descended onto some other cushion like things on the floor. I did warn anyone to get off afraid to get electrocuted. The other family did just get off and nothing happened to them. For some reason I assumed that the door would be locked, but since they got off and nothing happened to them, I went to the bottom door and we managed to escape. We went all the way up the stairs and outside and it was on the TV that an elevator had fell and two people actually passed away (not us I believe another couple using another elevator on the opposite side of the building). There was an immense amount of police and then another group next to them that weren’t wearing police attire, but for some reason, we thought it was police because we were in another country. we told the men what happened I may told something to us that I didn’t understand but as we were walking away, my mom was crying, and she basically said that it wasn’t a good idea to say anything. I don’t know who these men were but then I got the idea that if we said anything that they were going to do something bad to us. Maybe they were the reason behind it. Then I woke up.
submitted by shroomsimp to DreamInterpretation [link] [comments]
2024.05.19 14:21 Famous-Slice1843 Current News Regarding Erythritol Safety
(Excerpt from "Nature Medicine". Official study title: "The artificial sweetener erythritol and cardiovascular even trisk".)
There's been a lot of discussion recently regarding the potentially unsafe use of a very popular artificial sweetener known as "Erythritol". As humans, we typically dislike any information which may require us to change our habits/behaviors or stop using products we enjoy. As a result, it is very common to immediately dismiss a report containing negative or dangerous findings about the use of such products. When it was announced that tobacco may be causing heart attacks/strokes/artery disease, MILLIONS of people refused the results because they really enjoyed smoking (myself included). I have been using Erythritol for a few years. I love how potent it is, how it tastes, and how it has no effect on diabetes-related issues. To stop using Erythritol would be a major inconvenience for me, so I do not enjoy discovering the product may actually be very dangerous. I've provided the opening paragraph to the ACTUAL study that was recently conducted on the effects of Erythritol. PLEASE -- disregard the incredibly irresponsible reports that the study only consisted of 8 people or that it only included obese, old men. There were a few thousand participants involved in the study of all ages and body types/status. The full article could not be published here but seems to be available through various sites (the actual article requires access to "nature medicine", and the official name of the study is "The artificial sweetener erythritol and cardiovascular event risk". It's a long, boring read, but it contains the actual facts of the study. The main point of the finding is: Our bodies reaction to the product Erythritol is causing SUBSTANTIALLY increased platelet production (blood clots).These clots are flowing to the brain/heart and immediately triggering a stroke or heart attack. These reactions are NOT a result of age or physical condition. Anyone at any age with narrow arteries/capillaries or a reduced circulatory system can suffer one of these clots. It is a fact that, those in poor physical condition or those individuals over the age of 50 are more likely to experience adverse reactions to blood clots. However, not every blood clot results in a stroke or heart attack. Young people with poor eating habits or pre-diabetes (1 in 3 Americans) can simply suffer a loss of circulation to a limb or organ. At any rate, blood clots are very dangerous and deserve our attention.
(Abbreviated using "...." for length only)
"Artificial sweeteners are widely used sugar substitutes, but little is known about their long-term effects on cardiometabolic disease risks. Here we examined the commonly used sugar substitute erythritol and atherothrombotic disease risk. In initial....studies in patients undergoing cardiac risk assessment (1,157) circulating levels of multiple polyol sweeteners, especially erythritol, were associated with incident (3 year) risk for major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE; includes death or nonfatal myocardial infarction or stroke). Subsequent targeted metabolomics analyses in independent US (2,149) and European (833) validation cohorts of stable patients undergoing elective cardiac evaluation confirmed this association......(with 95% confidence). At physiological levels, erythritol enhances platelet reactivity.....blood clotting. Finally, in a prospective pilot intervention study..... erythritol ingestion in healthy volunteers (8) induced marked and sustained (>2 d) increases in plasma erythritol levels well above thresholds associated with heightened platelet reactivity and thrombosis potential in in vitro and in vivo studies. <---(This is the group of "8" people which are constantly being mentioned---it was just an "on the way out the door" test to quickly study one final means of comparison, but is obviously NOT a significant part of the study) Our findings reveal that erythritol is both associated with incident Major Adverse Cardiac Event risk and fosters enhanced.... thrombosis (blood clotting). Studies assessing the long-term safety of Erythritol are warranted".
submitted by Famous-Slice1843 to ErythritolNews [link] [comments]
There's been a lot of discussion recently regarding the potentially unsafe use of a very popular artificial sweetener known as "Erythritol". As humans, we typically dislike any information which may require us to change our habits/behaviors or stop using products we enjoy. As a result, it is very common to immediately dismiss a report containing negative or dangerous findings about the use of such products. When it was announced that tobacco may be causing heart attacks/strokes/artery disease, MILLIONS of people refused the results because they really enjoyed smoking (myself included). I have been using Erythritol for a few years. I love how potent it is, how it tastes, and how it has no effect on diabetes-related issues. To stop using Erythritol would be a major inconvenience for me, so I do not enjoy discovering the product may actually be very dangerous. I've provided the opening paragraph to the ACTUAL study that was recently conducted on the effects of Erythritol. PLEASE -- disregard the incredibly irresponsible reports that the study only consisted of 8 people or that it only included obese, old men. There were a few thousand participants involved in the study of all ages and body types/status. The full article could not be published here but seems to be available through various sites (the actual article requires access to "nature medicine", and the official name of the study is "The artificial sweetener erythritol and cardiovascular event risk". It's a long, boring read, but it contains the actual facts of the study. The main point of the finding is: Our bodies reaction to the product Erythritol is causing SUBSTANTIALLY increased platelet production (blood clots).These clots are flowing to the brain/heart and immediately triggering a stroke or heart attack. These reactions are NOT a result of age or physical condition. Anyone at any age with narrow arteries/capillaries or a reduced circulatory system can suffer one of these clots. It is a fact that, those in poor physical condition or those individuals over the age of 50 are more likely to experience adverse reactions to blood clots. However, not every blood clot results in a stroke or heart attack. Young people with poor eating habits or pre-diabetes (1 in 3 Americans) can simply suffer a loss of circulation to a limb or organ. At any rate, blood clots are very dangerous and deserve our attention.
(Abbreviated using "...." for length only)
"Artificial sweeteners are widely used sugar substitutes, but little is known about their long-term effects on cardiometabolic disease risks. Here we examined the commonly used sugar substitute erythritol and atherothrombotic disease risk. In initial....studies in patients undergoing cardiac risk assessment (1,157) circulating levels of multiple polyol sweeteners, especially erythritol, were associated with incident (3 year) risk for major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE; includes death or nonfatal myocardial infarction or stroke). Subsequent targeted metabolomics analyses in independent US (2,149) and European (833) validation cohorts of stable patients undergoing elective cardiac evaluation confirmed this association......(with 95% confidence). At physiological levels, erythritol enhances platelet reactivity.....blood clotting. Finally, in a prospective pilot intervention study..... erythritol ingestion in healthy volunteers (8) induced marked and sustained (>2 d) increases in plasma erythritol levels well above thresholds associated with heightened platelet reactivity and thrombosis potential in in vitro and in vivo studies. <---(This is the group of "8" people which are constantly being mentioned---it was just an "on the way out the door" test to quickly study one final means of comparison, but is obviously NOT a significant part of the study) Our findings reveal that erythritol is both associated with incident Major Adverse Cardiac Event risk and fosters enhanced.... thrombosis (blood clotting). Studies assessing the long-term safety of Erythritol are warranted".
2024.05.19 14:08 Yurii_S_Kh Monotheism, Part 3: Islam
 | Islam: Origins submitted by Yurii_S_Kh to SophiaWisdomOfGod [link] [comments] Jibril (Gabriel) appears before Mohammed, drawing The religion of the Law, which for 15 centuries prepared the chosen people for the coming into the world of the its Savior, the Incarnate Lord Jesus Christ, preceded New Testament religion. According to the Holy Apostle Paul, "the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ" (Gal. 3:24). It was all in all only "a shadow of good things to come" (Heb. 10:1). When the Savior came into the world, Old Testament religion had fulfilled its purpose. Our Lord Jesus Christ revealed to us the mystery of the Heavenly Kingdom and established the New Covenant, which was foretold by the prophet Jeremiah. "Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the Lord: But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people" (Jer. 31:31-33). Man was redeemed from original sin and its consequences by the voluntary death on the Cross of Jesus Christ as Savior of the World. He entered into an entirely new period in terms of his relationship with God in comparison with the Old Testament: instead of the law, there was a free condition of sonship and grace. Man received new means for achieving the ideal set for him of moral perfection as a necessary condition for salvation. Islam, having arisen in Arabia in the seventh century, appeared as the religion of the law six centuries after the God of the chosen people of the religion of the Law fulfilled its purpose. The difference between the Old Testament religion of the Law and Islam is not only that the latter emerged more than two thousand years after God gave on Mount Sinai the Ten Commandments and other precepts that governed life for the chosen people. The most important difference is that the Law of Moses has a Divine source. The book of Exodus gives a narrative of the majestic Epiphany. "And Moses brought forth the people out of the camp to meet with God; and they stood at the nether part of the mount. And mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke, because the Lord descended upon it in fire: and the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mount quaked greatly. And when the voice of the trumpet sounded long, and waxed louder and louder, Moses spake, and God answered him by a voice. And the Lord came down upon mount Sinai, on the top of the mount: and the Lord called Moses up to the top of the mount; and Moses went up" (Exod. 19:17-20). The founder of Islam, however, did not have a Divine revelation. How did Islam arise? We read about this in the Hadith “Al-Jamii al-Sahih”. A mysterious being began to visit Mohammed. He slept in a cave on the slope of Mount Hira. On the night of the 24th of the month of Ramadan in year 610 someone appeared to him in human form. This event is considered the beginning of Islam. This story about it is from the Sunnah: “[A]n angel appeared to him and bade him 'READ!' 'I am no reader!' Mohammed replied in great trepidation, whereon the angel shook him violently and again bade him read. This was repeated three times, when the angel uttered the five verses that commence the 96th chapter: 'READ! in the name of thy Lord, who did create—who did create man from congealed blood. READ! for thy Lord is the most generous.’” Mohammed puzzled over whether a demon or angel visited him. He confided his experiences in his wife Khadijah. I will introduce more of the story of Mohammed's biography, generally accepted by Muslims: “She said to the messenger of God, ‘O son of my uncle, are you able to tell me about your visitant, when he comes to you?’ He replied that he could, and she asked him to tell her when he came. So when Gabriel came to him, as he was wont the apostle said to Khadija, ‘This is Gabriel who has just come to me.’ ‘Get up, O son of my uncle,’ she said, ‘and sit by my left thigh.’ The apostle did so, and she said, ‘Can you see him?’ ‘Yes,’ he said. She said, ‘Then turn round and sit on my right thigh.’ He did so, and she said, ‘Can you see him?’ When he said that he could she asked him to move and sit in her lap. When he had done this she again asked if he could see him, and when he said yes, she disclosed her form and cast aside her veil while the apostle was sitting in her lap. Then she said, ‘Can you see him?’ And he replied, ‘No.’ She said, ‘O son of my uncle, rejoice and be of good heart, by God he is an angel and not a satan’” (Ibn Hisham, Biography of the Prophet Muhammad). It is surprising how easily and, gently speaking, naively this question, which in the spiritual realm is a question of life or death, had been answered with the help of a woman. Before all else, an Angel is a bodiless being, and for his sight there are no actual barriers: one can see through even clothes. Clothes hide nudity only from the eyes of man. Even so, the body of man in and of itself is not something perverse or shameful. It is a creation of God. The lust of man is sinful as well as is carnal desire, but not the body. In paradise the progenitors were naked and were not ashamed (see Gen. 2:25). The nature of an Angel is inviolate. They are alien to passions of man. But if this was a demon, then he could easily resort to trickery. Knowing how they tested him, he especially would be able to take leave of himself, so that they would take him for an Angel. The attitude of Islam towards the Bible Islam emerged as something syncretic out of several sources: ancient Arabic cults, Judaism, Christianity, Hanifism (a pre-Islamic monotheistic movement in Arabia) and Mazdaism (an ancient Iranian religion). There is no doubt that the Old Testament holy books and the Gospel had an influence on the formation of Islam. In the Quran many people and events from biblical history are mentioned. However, these stories are presented completely arbitrarily and inaccurately. According to the Quran, man was created from water. "It is He Who has created man from water: Then has He established relationships of lineage and marriage: for thy Lord has power (over all things)" (25:54). In another surah, it says: "Proclaim! (or read!) in the name of thy Lord and Cherisher, Who created man, out of a (mere) clot of congealed blood" (96:1-2). In another part it speaks about clay, "He created man from sounding clay like unto pottery" (55:14). In contrast to the Bible, the Quran does not say that man was created in the image and likeness of God. This discrepancy is most profound. With God's image and likeness, man is summoned to commune directly with his Creator. He can become one with the Lord. This is not so in Islam. The book of Genesis tells the story of how the entire family of the patriarch Noah (in Arabic, Nuh) was saved in the Ark. The Quran speaks about the death of Noah's son: "So the Ark floated with them on the waves (towering) like mountains, and Noah called out to his son, who had separated himself (from the rest): ‘O my son! Embark with us, and be not with the unbelievers!’ The son replied: ‘I will betake myself to some mountain: it will save me from the water.’ Noah said: ‘This day nothing can save, from the command of Allah, any but those on whom He hath mercy!’ And the waves came between them, and the son was among those overwhelmed in the Flood" (11:42-43). Another surah tells it somewhat differently: "(Remember) Noah, when he cried (to Us) aforetime: We listened to his (prayer) and delivered him and his family from great distress" (21:76). There is no need to provide more examples. In the Quran, things are especially distorted when discussing New Testament events. Here the differences are purely fundamental. The Incarnation, the Crucifixion on Golgotha, and the Resurrection are all denied. Even the event of the Nativity of Christ, known to the whole world, is described very strangely. It is alleged that Maryam retreated to a faraway place and gave birth to a Son under palms (19:23). In this surah, called Maryam, She is called the "sister of Harun," i.e. Aaron. He indeed had a sister named Miriam, but she lived 15 centuries before the Nativity of Christ. Probably due to so great a number of errors and distortions, many representatives of Islam, in order to escape from this quandary, allege that the modern Holy Scripture of Christians has been distorted (a circumstance known as tahrif). Immediately, the question arises: what evidence do they provide? There is no evidence. Characteristically, the view of Muslims toward the Bible has undergone significant change over the course of several centuries. Early Islamic writers such as al-Tabari and ar-Razi believed that the distortion comes down to tahrif bi'al ma'ni, i.e. the corruption of the meaning without changing the text. However, later authors such as Ibn Hazm and Al-Biruni introduced the idea of tahrif bi’al-lafz, i.e. the corruption of the text itself. At that, both of these positions have been preserved to the present day. Thus, the level of acceptance among Muslims of the Bible depends on one's understanding of tahrif. The very existence of these fundamentally different positions indicates that there is no concrete evidence. It is impossible to ignore one interesting feature of the attitude that representatives of Islam have toward the Biblical text. In that they do not have their own "undistorted" biblical text, they cite our canonical text as undistorted. However, when they need to support a point, for example, negative examples from the life of Banu Isra'il (the children of Israel) with a reference to parts that do not conform to Islam, they proclaim the text to be distorted. Muslims allege that the New Testament (Injil), which the Quran refers to positively, is not in fact the current four Gospels. We have already said that they do not provide any evidence. The falsehood of the accusation that Christians distorted the Scriptures stems from the internal inconsistencies of the very Islamic authors who wrote on this theme. According to the Quran, the New Testament was originally a true, sacred text. "And in their footsteps We sent Jesus the son of Mary, confirming the Law that had come before him: We sent him the Gospel: therein was guidance and light, and confirmation of the Law that had come before him: a guidance and an admonition to those who fear Allah" (5:46). In another section: "Say: ‘O People of the Book! ye have no ground to stand upon unless ye stand fast by the Law, the Gospel, and all the revelation that has come to you from your Lord.’ It is the revelation that cometh to thee from thy Lord, that increaseth in most of them their obstinate rebellion and blasphemy" (5:68). This excerpt clearly demonstrates that the Quran itself does not speak of the distorted Scripture, but about "rebellion and blasphemy" related to misunderstanding. There is one part of the Quran (10:94) which is very problematic for Islamic commentators: "If thou wert in doubt as to what We have revealed unto thee, then ask those who have been reading the Book from before thee: the Truth hath indeed come to thee from thy Lord: so be in no wise of those in doubt." This ayat refers the Muslim "in doubt" to the authority of the biblical Holy Scripture. Abdul-Haqq writes: “The learned doctors of Islam are sadly embarrassed by this verse, referring the prophet as it does to the people of the Book who would solve his doubts” (Abdul-Haqq, A. A. (1980). Sharing Your Faith With A Muslim. Minneapolis, MN: Bethany House Publishers. As cited in Geisler, N.L. (1999). Baker Encyclopedia of Christian Apologetics. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Publishing Group). According to the logic of this verse, the biblical Scripture was undistorted in the 7th century at the time of the Quran's creation. Then one must recognize that the current text is also correct, since we use manuscripts written over several centuries prior to the Quran. Textual criticism of the New Testament has achieved outstanding breakthroughs in the 20th century. Currently, there are over 2,328 manuscripts and manuscript fragments in Greek, coming to us from the first three centuries of Christianity. The most ancient New Testament manuscript, a part of the Gospel of John 18:31-33, 37-38, is the Rylands Library Papyrus P52, dated 117-138 in the era of the reign of emperor Hadrian. Adolf Deissmann acknowledges the possibility of the emergence of this papyrus even under the reign of Emperor Trajan (98-117). It is preserved in Manchester. Another ancient New Testament manuscript is the Papyrus Bodmer, P75. The 102 surviving pages contain the texts of the Gospels of Luke and John. "The editors, Victor Martin and Rodolphe Kasser, date this copy to between 175 and 225 A.D. It is thus the earliest surviving known copy of the Gospel according to Luke available today and one of the earliest of the Gospel according to John" (Bruce M. Metzger. The Text of the New Testament. p. 58). This precious manuscript is located in Geneva. Uncial script on parchment: leather codices with uncial script, (in Latin uncia means inch) letters without sharp corners and broken lines. This script is distinguished by its great refinement and precision. Each letter is disconnected. There are 362 uncial manuscripts of the New Testament. The most ancient of these codices (Codex Sinaiticus, Vaticanus, and Alexandrinus) have already been mentioned. Scholars complemented this impressive collection of ancient New Testament manuscripts with the New Testament text, which consisted of 36,286 excerpts of the Holy Scripture of the New Testament found in the works of the holy fathers and teachers of the Church from the first through fourth centuries. This text is lacking only 11 verses. Scholars of textual criticism in the 20th century did a tremendous job on the collation of all—several thousands of—New Testament manuscripts and identified all textual discrepancies caused by scribal error. An evaluation and typologization was performed. Precise criteria for determining a correct variant were established. For those familiar with this rigorous scientific work, it is obvious that allegations of the distortion of the current holy text of the New Testament are unfounded. In terms of the number of ancient manuscripts and the brevity of time separating the earliest surviving text from the original, no one work of antiquity can be compared with the New Testament. Accusations that the Bible's text is distorted are puzzling. How could it actually have been done? How could Christians and Hebrews have come together to do this? Everyone knows the degree of their mutual [doctrinal—Ed.] alienation. And yet both Christians and Jews use one and the same canonical text of the Old Testament. Furthermore, the entire New Testament was preserved in the Chester Beatty Papyri, composed in approximately 250 A.D. It is inconceivable to accept that under the conditions that existed in Christian society, hundreds of exemplars of the New Testament text were miscopied for the purpose of distortion. On the Monotheism of Islam Historians and religious scholars regard the three "Abrahamic" religions, Christianity, Judaism, and Islam, as monotheistic religions. For the researcher, the doctrinal principles that representatives of each of these three religions formulate are sufficient. However, on a theological level, the insufficiency of such a formal approach becomes clear. Monotheism is a necessary but not sufficient condition for true religion. Only a religion that has Divine revelation as a source has the true and spiritually accurate doctrine concerning God. Christianity not only maintains that God is the living, absolute source, "the only true God" (John 17:3; 1 Thes. 1:9; cf. John 5:20), but also teaches thoroughly and in depth of the nature of God as without beginning, without end, and of a perfect Spirit. The chief characteristic of the Divine nature is love. "God is love" (1 John 4:16). These words of the apostle contain the principal idea of the New Testament as the good news of salvation. The ineffable goodness of God created the world. The Lord housed man in paradise. Even after the Fall, God continued to love mankind. The greatness of God's love was revealed when the incarnate God died a most agonizing death for us. Christians know from not only the Holy Scripture, but also through the power of spiritual experience, that God is all-knowing and all-wise. The apostle says: "Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do" (Heb. 4:13). God knows not only all that has happened, and all that is, but he has also perfect knowledge of the future. The mirror of the supreme Wisdom of God is the universe which He created, astounding man with its extraordinary complexity, beauty, and harmony. God demonstrates his ineffable Wisdom also in the dispensation of our salvation. "O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out" (Rom. 11:33). True religion is not limited by the demand of worship for the Creator. Its ultimate goal is the spiritual unity of man with God. The Savior speaks about this in a prayer to his Father before his suffering on the cross: "That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us" (John 17:21). From the aforementioned characteristics of the Divine follows the concept of true, Christian monotheism. There can be only one all-powerful and all-just God. The concept of God in Islam does not have a source of divine revelation. It developed on the basis of ancient Arabic religion. The word “Allah” was used in the polytheistic pantheon of Arabs to denote “God”: Allah (al - the definite article; ilah - god). Among the pagan Arabs, prior to their adoption of Islam, Allah was the supreme lunar deity, worshipped in north and central Arabia. The father of Muhammed, who was a pagan, was named Abdullah ("Servant of Allah"). In pre-Islamic times, the crescent moon was the symbol of the worship of the moon-god among the Arabs. This is confirmed by archeological evidence. The crescent moon was carried over as the main symbol of Islam. Arabs of the Syrian desert called the wife of Allah as Al-lāt, and in the south of central Arabia, Al-‘Uzzá. In other areas of Arabia, they, along with Manat, were worshipped as the daughters of Allah. This genetic trail was preserved in the Quran. There is mention of this in the 53rd surah: "Have ye seen Lāt, and ‘Uzzā, and another, the third (goddess), Manāt? What! For you the male sex, and for Him, the female? Behold, such would be indeed a division most unfair!" (53:19-22). In Islam, Allah is a created religious image by the human consciousness. He does not express the real almighty divine personhood. Consequently, monotheism in Islam is imagined. In a number of places in the Quran, he is endowed with intrinsically human characteristics and traits. Allah says:
The idea of monotheism, (tawhid, from the verb wahhada—to reckon something as one) was formulated in the Quran in several surahs. For example, in the 16th surah, "The Bee": "For We assuredly sent amongst every people an apostle, (with the Command), "serve God, and eschew evil" (16:36). In the terminology of the sharia, anything people worship except for Allah is "taghut". Since Islam does not know of direct revelation, nor the holy Manifestation of God to the world, nor the unification of man with God on the foundation of love, its monotheism is imagined, formalistic and abstract, requiring not that man change himself or his way of life, but only worship and daily prayer. Hieromonk Job (Gumerov) |
2024.05.19 14:07 space_farmer_luke The Yaire exile to earth chapter-8 parts 1 and 2
The Yaire exile to earth chapter-8 parts 1 and 2
What was I thinking after all those years without a drink? I didn’t even have so much as a drop when Monica passed and now, now I dropped myself into a bottle and I have to crawl back out.
Those were the thoughts running through my mind. I hated myself for it. I pissed away so many years, I couldn’t work cows unless I had a flask. I couldn’t make hay or hell coach Joshua’s baseball games if I didn’t have a half rack in the truck. I hid it from her and the kids. I was a useless drunk. Until one day Monica took the kids and left. That’s what it took to kick me in the ass. I started AA, started going to church with them, and tried my best to be a better man. All these years without the destruction that I caused. And this event, us finding these poor abandon people in the brush, trying to get them help in whatever way we could and I cracked.
I needed to leave. I needed to do something, even if it was wrong. If I didn’t try to abandon these demons, they would most definitely grab me again.
The light was just starting to grow in the distance; my head was splitting me in two. The very act of walking to the barn causes me to vomit twice.
It took a long minute for me to gather my strength as the waves of sick, washed over me. Leaning against the wooden gate that leads to the horse pen was all I could do to stand and be present. Wave after dizzy wave nearly takes my feet out from under me.
Kicking my tongue to the pair of horses in the round pen next to the barn, I hoped I could manage to saddle one and go find some of my still abandoned cows. “Ha girls, I know it was a rough night.” The gray mare snorted her offense at my still drunk odder. The scent of cheap whiskey was obviously drifting to the pair of horses and they didn’t appreciate it. After a lot of effort, I was able to call the gray horse over. Reaching up to scratch her cheek, I realized in my haze that all my tack was in the trailer. “Shit!” I muttered to myself in extreme irritation.
Hanging my throbbing head, I managed to make the short distance to the trailer that I had left half parked in the yard. As I reached the trailers tail gate and slowly opened it, a distant voice reaches me. “Rough night?” I gazed up to the porch to see Joshua with a thermos of coffee, standing outside the front door.
“It wasn’t a fun one,” I muttered, as I could see an out cold Mic propped up on the porch swing. “At least it was too cold out here last night.”
“It wasn’t cold because we brought you two a couple of blankets.” Josh stated as frankly as he could. “You want something to eat before you get knocked off a horse?”
“No, food will just make me sick. I just need to work the poison out of my system.” I said, trying to keep the spins down as a fresh round of dizziness begins.
“So you’re going up the hill. Do you want help?”
Josh asked, sounding concerned. “No, I need to help with..” my voice trailed as I couldn't think through the fog.
.“Yaire”, Joshua interrupted as I searched my hazy mind for the right words.
“Yep, you’re on top of it. Best of luck, boy.” I grunted as I bent to pick up the saddle and tack for my spare horse.
Straining to hold on to my leather implements, I turned to make the trudge back to the round pen. Joshua called over my shoulder. “Just like that?”
“Yes, son, just like that.” A muttered back as I made the short walk back to the horses.
Dropping my saddle so the saddle horn was helping to prop the assembly out of the dirt. I reached out for one of the mares to begin the procedure to saddle up, only to be jerked backwards.
“Wait one fucking minute!” Josh all but spit.
“You help save these people, but now that you’re drunk, you’re going off to ride to the sunset like it’s some shitty western?” He barked.
I reached up and hit him full in his face. “You think I know what to do?” I yelled back. “Some galactic despot has been dropping these people all over the hell and gone leaving them in the sage to die!”
I hated myself for what I was doing; my mind was screaming at my body and mouth to stop. I couldn’t. “I’ll fail these people, Iv already failed you and your sister. I’m a cosmic fuck up without your mother.” Now my tears started to well. I couldn’t stand there anymore. Reaching down, I scooped up my saddle and gear and walked into the corral.
Chapter 8 part 2
Joshua’s personal perspective
It’s been a few hours since dad left. I was sitting on the front porch steps, still stewing in my irritation.
“The eye, better?” A female voice asked from the front porch doorway.
“It’s a little black, but it’s….. ok,” I said, the last word stalling out as the voice came into view when I turned my head. There, standing in the doorway, was Lis, her straight grey hair cut short at an angle, letting the light from the house shine on her angler right cheek. She had on my old ac/dc shirt from high school and a pair of Becky’s “cowgirl jeans”.
Trying hard not to stare, I whipped my head back out to overlooking the farmyard. “You’re picking up English really fast. Another week or two and you’ll be better at it than me.” I stammer out.
The tired wooden floor boards begin to creak with her footsteps as she walks up and sets down next to me on the steps.
“Thank you,” she says with some effort. The words were still being practiced.
“For what?” I said, trying my best to sound cool.
She looked confused, then Mic’s voice interrupted with their native language. A flurry of sounds and vowels later. Lis stood up and turned to go back inside. Stopping long enough at the doorway to turn and look back, “you people saved us.” She said in near perfect English, and with that she turned and walked back into the house.
Still looking over the yard, it was hard to keep a small grin off my face. Flicking a small piece of gravel off the steps, I could hear a fresh set of footsteps walking up to me. With a plop mic flopped himself next to me.
Looking out at the yard with a thousand mile stare, he took a long breath in. After a moment of uncomfortable silence, he began. “What happens now?” He managed, trying hard to wrap his mouth around the words.
“I don’t know, we’ll keep working on your English and you guys can decide. Maybe your people will come back for you.” I said.
“No one comes, Zeen prison word.” He said while pointing to the ground in front of us and shaking his head.
“That’s, that’s not good.” I replied, while not understanding what a Zeen is.
We sat there in silence for a moment longer. Until I finally got up to stretch my legs and headed back inside. About half of the Yaire were seated in the living room, watching the first Hangover and giving their constant commentary. I guess if you have to learn a language from a movie, it should at least be a good one.
Becky was standing in the kitchen, while on the phone, with a troubled look on her face.
“What’s going on?” I whispered. Her response was to hold a single finger up in a just a minute manner.
“Thanks for checking, ya they had it out this morning and dad left in a huff. Ok we’ll look for him tomorrow. Thanks Mary,” Becky set her cell phone down before she acknowledged me. Looking down as she let out a tired sigh.
“So that was Mary. She told me dad went to her and Dave’s after he left here. Dave will give him a hand getting the cows down to his winter feed lot so we can truck them back.” Becky said. “She also said dad was pretty hammered, she thinks he was drinking on the way. Apparently, he was stinking of buzz and babbling about aliens. They're letting him sober up in their spare room before they head up the hill.”
“That’s no good.” I said, still upset about this morning.
“No, it’s not. Do you want to tell me what happened, for dad to get drunk and kick your ass?” she asked, a slight chuckle in her voice at the last part.
“I guess it’s the stress from all of this. But he was going on about being a failure and that someone dumped here the Yaire, I don’t know.” I stated
She just frowned at my explanation. “Well, we’re just in, autopilot around here this afternoon. Can I get you to head to town for some groceries?”
“I guess, are you sure you’ll be ok alone?” I asked, not sure if that was the smartest things to do. Leaving my little sister with a house full of aliens.
“I’ll be fine. The guys are having a hangover marathon and some girls are in my bedroom using your laptop to practice English.” She said dismissively.
“Wait, my laptop?” Embarrassing concern running through my mind.
I all but ran to Becky’s room. The sound coming from there confirmed my worst fears. On the bed Sofia, Ava, and Mia, all I would guess in the early to mid twenties started giggling at my approach, which made this even more awkward. As I entered the doorway, they all reached for the screen and closed the laptop. Our collective embarrassment set the trio to giggling again as now both Lis and Becky walked up behind me. From the bed, Sofia started speaking to Lis in their own language and holding her hands apart giving a literal scale for their conversation.
I was red faced with shame and embarrassment as the giggling picked back up.
“You didn’t delete your search history, did you?” Becky chuckled as I passed her in the door way
“What do you want from the store?”
This story was brought to you in large part due to u/Fit-Capital1536. A big thank you for the collaboration and story ideas.
submitted by space_farmer_luke to HFY [link] [comments]
What was I thinking after all those years without a drink? I didn’t even have so much as a drop when Monica passed and now, now I dropped myself into a bottle and I have to crawl back out.
Those were the thoughts running through my mind. I hated myself for it. I pissed away so many years, I couldn’t work cows unless I had a flask. I couldn’t make hay or hell coach Joshua’s baseball games if I didn’t have a half rack in the truck. I hid it from her and the kids. I was a useless drunk. Until one day Monica took the kids and left. That’s what it took to kick me in the ass. I started AA, started going to church with them, and tried my best to be a better man. All these years without the destruction that I caused. And this event, us finding these poor abandon people in the brush, trying to get them help in whatever way we could and I cracked.
I needed to leave. I needed to do something, even if it was wrong. If I didn’t try to abandon these demons, they would most definitely grab me again.
The light was just starting to grow in the distance; my head was splitting me in two. The very act of walking to the barn causes me to vomit twice.
It took a long minute for me to gather my strength as the waves of sick, washed over me. Leaning against the wooden gate that leads to the horse pen was all I could do to stand and be present. Wave after dizzy wave nearly takes my feet out from under me.
Kicking my tongue to the pair of horses in the round pen next to the barn, I hoped I could manage to saddle one and go find some of my still abandoned cows. “Ha girls, I know it was a rough night.” The gray mare snorted her offense at my still drunk odder. The scent of cheap whiskey was obviously drifting to the pair of horses and they didn’t appreciate it. After a lot of effort, I was able to call the gray horse over. Reaching up to scratch her cheek, I realized in my haze that all my tack was in the trailer. “Shit!” I muttered to myself in extreme irritation.
Hanging my throbbing head, I managed to make the short distance to the trailer that I had left half parked in the yard. As I reached the trailers tail gate and slowly opened it, a distant voice reaches me. “Rough night?” I gazed up to the porch to see Joshua with a thermos of coffee, standing outside the front door.
“It wasn’t a fun one,” I muttered, as I could see an out cold Mic propped up on the porch swing. “At least it was too cold out here last night.”
“It wasn’t cold because we brought you two a couple of blankets.” Josh stated as frankly as he could. “You want something to eat before you get knocked off a horse?”
“No, food will just make me sick. I just need to work the poison out of my system.” I said, trying to keep the spins down as a fresh round of dizziness begins.
“So you’re going up the hill. Do you want help?”
Josh asked, sounding concerned. “No, I need to help with..” my voice trailed as I couldn't think through the fog.
.“Yaire”, Joshua interrupted as I searched my hazy mind for the right words.
“Yep, you’re on top of it. Best of luck, boy.” I grunted as I bent to pick up the saddle and tack for my spare horse.
Straining to hold on to my leather implements, I turned to make the trudge back to the round pen. Joshua called over my shoulder. “Just like that?”
“Yes, son, just like that.” A muttered back as I made the short walk back to the horses.
Dropping my saddle so the saddle horn was helping to prop the assembly out of the dirt. I reached out for one of the mares to begin the procedure to saddle up, only to be jerked backwards.
“Wait one fucking minute!” Josh all but spit.
“You help save these people, but now that you’re drunk, you’re going off to ride to the sunset like it’s some shitty western?” He barked.
I reached up and hit him full in his face. “You think I know what to do?” I yelled back. “Some galactic despot has been dropping these people all over the hell and gone leaving them in the sage to die!”
I hated myself for what I was doing; my mind was screaming at my body and mouth to stop. I couldn’t. “I’ll fail these people, Iv already failed you and your sister. I’m a cosmic fuck up without your mother.” Now my tears started to well. I couldn’t stand there anymore. Reaching down, I scooped up my saddle and gear and walked into the corral.
Chapter 8 part 2
Joshua’s personal perspective
It’s been a few hours since dad left. I was sitting on the front porch steps, still stewing in my irritation.
“The eye, better?” A female voice asked from the front porch doorway.
“It’s a little black, but it’s….. ok,” I said, the last word stalling out as the voice came into view when I turned my head. There, standing in the doorway, was Lis, her straight grey hair cut short at an angle, letting the light from the house shine on her angler right cheek. She had on my old ac/dc shirt from high school and a pair of Becky’s “cowgirl jeans”.
Trying hard not to stare, I whipped my head back out to overlooking the farmyard. “You’re picking up English really fast. Another week or two and you’ll be better at it than me.” I stammer out.
The tired wooden floor boards begin to creak with her footsteps as she walks up and sets down next to me on the steps.
“Thank you,” she says with some effort. The words were still being practiced.
“For what?” I said, trying my best to sound cool.
She looked confused, then Mic’s voice interrupted with their native language. A flurry of sounds and vowels later. Lis stood up and turned to go back inside. Stopping long enough at the doorway to turn and look back, “you people saved us.” She said in near perfect English, and with that she turned and walked back into the house.
Still looking over the yard, it was hard to keep a small grin off my face. Flicking a small piece of gravel off the steps, I could hear a fresh set of footsteps walking up to me. With a plop mic flopped himself next to me.
Looking out at the yard with a thousand mile stare, he took a long breath in. After a moment of uncomfortable silence, he began. “What happens now?” He managed, trying hard to wrap his mouth around the words.
“I don’t know, we’ll keep working on your English and you guys can decide. Maybe your people will come back for you.” I said.
“No one comes, Zeen prison word.” He said while pointing to the ground in front of us and shaking his head.
“That’s, that’s not good.” I replied, while not understanding what a Zeen is.
We sat there in silence for a moment longer. Until I finally got up to stretch my legs and headed back inside. About half of the Yaire were seated in the living room, watching the first Hangover and giving their constant commentary. I guess if you have to learn a language from a movie, it should at least be a good one.
Becky was standing in the kitchen, while on the phone, with a troubled look on her face.
“What’s going on?” I whispered. Her response was to hold a single finger up in a just a minute manner.
“Thanks for checking, ya they had it out this morning and dad left in a huff. Ok we’ll look for him tomorrow. Thanks Mary,” Becky set her cell phone down before she acknowledged me. Looking down as she let out a tired sigh.
“So that was Mary. She told me dad went to her and Dave’s after he left here. Dave will give him a hand getting the cows down to his winter feed lot so we can truck them back.” Becky said. “She also said dad was pretty hammered, she thinks he was drinking on the way. Apparently, he was stinking of buzz and babbling about aliens. They're letting him sober up in their spare room before they head up the hill.”
“That’s no good.” I said, still upset about this morning.
“No, it’s not. Do you want to tell me what happened, for dad to get drunk and kick your ass?” she asked, a slight chuckle in her voice at the last part.
“I guess it’s the stress from all of this. But he was going on about being a failure and that someone dumped here the Yaire, I don’t know.” I stated
She just frowned at my explanation. “Well, we’re just in, autopilot around here this afternoon. Can I get you to head to town for some groceries?”
“I guess, are you sure you’ll be ok alone?” I asked, not sure if that was the smartest things to do. Leaving my little sister with a house full of aliens.
“I’ll be fine. The guys are having a hangover marathon and some girls are in my bedroom using your laptop to practice English.” She said dismissively.
“Wait, my laptop?” Embarrassing concern running through my mind.
I all but ran to Becky’s room. The sound coming from there confirmed my worst fears. On the bed Sofia, Ava, and Mia, all I would guess in the early to mid twenties started giggling at my approach, which made this even more awkward. As I entered the doorway, they all reached for the screen and closed the laptop. Our collective embarrassment set the trio to giggling again as now both Lis and Becky walked up behind me. From the bed, Sofia started speaking to Lis in their own language and holding her hands apart giving a literal scale for their conversation.
I was red faced with shame and embarrassment as the giggling picked back up.
“You didn’t delete your search history, did you?” Becky chuckled as I passed her in the door way
“What do you want from the store?”
This story was brought to you in large part due to u/Fit-Capital1536. A big thank you for the collaboration and story ideas.
2024.05.19 14:01 FelicitySmoak_ Thursday, May 19, 2005 - People v. Jackson Day 56
 | Trial Day 56 submitted by FelicitySmoak_ to WhereWasMJToday [link] [comments] Michael goes to court with Katherine. Judge Melville ruled that the jury would be unable to hear the testimonies of CNN talk show host Larry King & publisher Michael Viner as impeachment material against civil attorney Larry Feldman. Melville's ruling effectively handicapped the ability of Jackson's defense team to counter testimony offered by Feldman under oath. Feldman represented Gavin Arvizo some time between March 2003 and June 2004. The attorney also represented Jordan Chandler, the first boy who brought accusations against Jackson in 1993 During direct examination on 4/1/05, DA Thomas Sneddon used Feldman to drive home the notion that the accusing family was not out for money, as the defense contends. Feldman stated that the family was not seeking to file a lawsuit, and that he had never been asked to file a suit against Jackson on behalf of the family. On cross-examination, lead defense attorney Thomas Mesereau attempted to undermine Feldman's credibility by asking him about a conversation that allegedly transpired between himself, King, and Viner. Feldman repeatedly denied ever meeting with King and Viner at an eatery in Beverly Hills some time in 2004, where he purportedly relayed to the two men his belief that Janet Arvizo was fabricating the allegations against Jackson. He also denied even personally knowing who Viner was, claiming that he had "never had a meeting with Michael Viner in [his] life." However, according to a memo attached with a defense motion, Viner recalled Feldman stating that he didn't believe Gavin and referred to the boy's mother as a "flake." Feldman had also allegedly stated that both mother and son were sent out to "another expert and they failed the smell test," and felt they were into the case solely for "money." When asked by defense investigator Scott Ross if this was a statement actually made by Feldman, Viner replied, "Absolutely." Upon being told by Ross that Feldman had testified that he didn't know who Viner was, Viner stated that was untrue, that they had met many times. Viner added that he was clueless as to why Feldman would deny knowing him. In a hearing outside of the jury, King stated that Feldman had told him during this lunch that the accuser's mother was "wacko," was "in it for the money," and that the accusations against Jackson "didn't hold water." King added that Feldman met with the mother and "didn't want to represent her," advising that she contact authorities with the allegations. The civil attorney did end up representing the woman and her family, but later withdrew as counsel for reasons unknown. Viner testified that he "walked away believing that [Feldman] did not believe the allegations." When cross-examined, Viner could not recall Feldman directly quoting anything the accuser's mother may have told him, which would have been a violation of the attorney-client privilege. After listening to the proposed testimonies, Judge Melville declared them to be "irrelevant," stating that it was unclear if Feldman was sharing an opinion or if he was quoting the accuser's mother. Depending on the media slant, various reasons have been given as to why King and Viner were rejected, including references to the testimony as "hearsay" and an inability to "verify" the statements as "fact." There have been a number of statements offered during the course of this trial that were allowed in, but not "for the fact of the matter" be it "verifiable" or not. The judge could have allowed both King and Viner to testify to having met Feldman for lunch and to state that the attorney had in fact expressed negative opinions about Janet Arvizo. That would not have been hearsay, and it would have been enough to impeach at least a portion of Feldman's testimony, particularly since King and Viner's statements seemed to corroborate one another. Given this recent ruling, it seems that there is a differential application of law in the case, one that puts Michael at a disadvantage. Statements offered by any number of prosecution witnesses, particularly those of Gavin and his family, are not in a different category than the testimonies of King and Viner. It should be clear by now that there seems to be two sets of standards operating here: one set favoring the prosecution, and one that appears to impair Michael's constitutional right to a fair trial. The highlight from the day was Azja Pryor, a Hollywood casting assistant & the girlfriend of Chris Tucker. Early in her testimony, Pryor broke down and cried when about the family. “It’s hard for me because I really do love the kids a lot,” she said in an apparent reference to her reluctance to testify against them.Pryor became friends with the Arvizo family after she was introduced to them through Tucker when Gavin was battling cancer & a number of celebrities became involved in efforts to help them. Pryor testified that she met the family at the Laugh Factory club in Hollywood in 2001. Pryor said she and Tucker began taking the children places. Tucker took them by private jet to an Oakland Raiders game and invited them to his brother's wedding, she said. Under questioning from Mesereau, Pryor said Janet Arvizo had asked her to take the family back to Neverland in February 2003, just after the family met with a social worker investigating possible child abuse. On that trip, Gavin & Starr spent the day playing at Neverland & even asked the ranch manager to be allowed to stay in Michael's bedroom at a time when he was away. She told the jury that Janet Arvizo complained to her in early March 2003 that two German associates of Jackson had stepped in to keep her family away. "I asked, "Does Michael know anything about this?' She said, "They won't let us around him because they know the children tug at his heart strings' ", Pryor testified.The time period she cited is critical because prosecutors allege the abuse happened between Feb. 20 & March 12, 2003. When Janet testified in the trial, she spoke out against "the Germans" and said they were conspiring with Jackson to hold her family captive. Pryor testified she and Janet would talk for hours on the phone, but the mother never complained to her about Michael. Pryor said that she never spoke critically of Jackson and praised him in lavish terms. “It was something to the effect (of) what a great man he is. He is an angel. His love is great,” Pryor said.The woman also talked with excitement about heading to Brazil for Carnival, Pryor said. That countered prosecution claims Jackson had planned to spirit the boy’s family away to head off trouble Janet's participation in a “rebuttal video” in Jackson’s defense was voluntary, Pryor said. “She was very anxious to tell the world that this beautiful friendship was nothing more than they saw -- a beautiful friendship,” Pryor said.Court Transcript Trial Reenactment US talk show host Larry King leaves court after answering questions from the judge. He was not required to testify Waving as he arrives at court Arriving at court Talk show host Larry King & his entourage arrive at court Talk show host Larry King leaves court after the judge ruled he would not be allowed to testify for the defense Talk show host Larry King leaves court Defense witness Larry Nimmer arrives at court Leaving court Leaving court Leaving court Lead defense attorney Thomas Mesereau Jr. smiles as he leaves court Waving as he arrives at court Arriving at court Waving as he leaves court Defense witness Aja Pryor arrives arrives at court Katherine Jackson returns to court after a break Defense witness Aja Pryor returns to court after a break Defense witness Aja Pryor leaves the courtroom during a break Larry King passes through security as he arrives at court |
2024.05.19 13:56 shroomsimp Can someone please share dream interpretation?
Me, my mom and 2 other people I don’t know ( another women and child) we’re on an elevator. It was ascending. (Also details obviously in dreams don’t add up so heights were weird too) I don’t remember all the details, but I think we were going to the top floor and it opened, but it kept going higher than the last possible door and we knew we would get crushed and not be able to get out. So from the other side of the elevator we somehow I managed to jump out and land on a metal pad that was attached to the top of the building. It was an insecure pad and would swing around. I would say it 4 meters by 2 meters and then 1-2 feet inches tall but the strings to attach it were flimsier. I basically jumped without thinking and then I told the rest to jump and they did. A few seconds after the elevator went into flames. I had no WiFi to call for help and we were on these unstable platforms. This is a giant but empty room. Looks like a blown up, old basement. We had to make these large jumps, hold on to these metal things that unstable climbed up the walls and somehow we finally descended onto some other cushion like things on the floor. I did warn anyone to get off afraid to get electrocuted. The other family did just get off and nothing happened to them. For some reason I assumed that the door would be locked, but since they got off and nothing happened to them, I went to the bottom door and we managed to escape. We went all the way up the stairs and outside and it was on the TV that an elevator had fell and two people actually passed away (not us I believe another couple using another elevator on the opposite side of the building). There was an immense amount of police and then another group next to them that weren’t wearing police attire, but for some reason, we thought it was police because we were in another country. we told the men what happened I may told something to us that I didn’t understand but as we were walking away, my mom was crying, and she basically said that it wasn’t a good idea to say anything. I don’t know who these men were but then I got the idea that if we said anything that they were going to do something bad to us. Maybe they were the reason behind it. Then I woke up.
submitted by shroomsimp to Dream [link] [comments]
2024.05.19 13:42 Hopandream Est-ce que je revends ou laisse en locatif ?
Bonjour,
Bon, je suis face à un gros dilemme. Pour vous résumer la situation, j'ai du partir à l'étranger suite à une offre d'emploi fin d'année dernière (l'opportunité de faire autre chose), ça s'est fait très rapidement (en 3 semaines). Je suis propriétaire de ma maison (100m2, deux chambres, jardin clos, terrasse, etc.) que j'ai acheté il y a deux ans à un taux de 1.2%.
Dans la précipitation, j'ai décidé de la mettre dans les mains d'une agence de gestion locative au lieu de AirBnB (qui aurait cartonné 5 mois de l'année, à 25 min de la mer) avec un service de conciergerie. Je suis actuellement en recherche de locataire, sachant que je suis parti vite, elle est à louer "meublée". Elle est atypique (en pierre) avec beaucoup de charme, rénovée entièrement il y a 7 ans, j'ai même inclus dans les charges Starlink que j'avais avant mon départ, mais il se trouve qu'elle est "trop chère" en location selon l'agence, qui me demande de la passer de 850 euros à 750 voir 700 euros...
J'ai fait pleins de calculs par rapport à mon prêt que je rembourse à hauteur de 730 euros par mois, en y incluant toutes les charges en plus que ça va me coûter à l'année (taxe foncière, impôts sur les revenus locatifs en tant que non résident, frais de gestion locative, assurances, etc.) et clairement si je lisse le tout à l'année, en louant à 750 euros, je dois de ma poche 300 euros par mois en plus pour couvrir tous les frais annexes !
Je trouve ça énorme, sachant qu'on m'a toujours dit que du locatif qui ne rapporte rien, ce n'est pas rentable et ça ne sert à rien. Mon but n'est clairement pas de "gagner de l'argent" dessus, mais au moins d'y amortir le prêt et les dépenses annuelles annexes. Là avec 300 euros de ma poche tous les mois qui partiraient (encore une fois, c'est un calcul lissé à l'année avec tous les frais), je me demande si ça vaut le coup de la garder ou pas...
Alors oui, je peux me le permettre vis à vis de mon salaire actuel à l'étranger (et encore, je suis dans la classe moyenne basse ici...), mais ça représente quand même pas loin de 3 000 euros à l'année, ce qui est énorme. Et encore que, j'ai pas inclus les éventuels frais d'entretien qui peuvent vite grimper également...
Bref, que pouvez-vous me conseiller ? La conserver même si je perds de l'argent dessus actuellement, ce ne sera que gagner plus tard ? M'en débarrasser rapidement car si ça n'amorti rien du tout ce n'est pas valable ? N'en faire que de la location saisonnière ? Persister au prix de 850 euros et attendre encore un peu (ça ne fait que 3 semaines) ?
PS : Désolé si je parais crédule et imbécile dans mes choix et ma façon de faire, je n'ai pas du tout l'âme d'un investisseur ou autre. C'est d'ailleurs la raison pour laquelle je suis ici...
Merci !
submitted by Hopandream to vosfinances [link] [comments]
Bon, je suis face à un gros dilemme. Pour vous résumer la situation, j'ai du partir à l'étranger suite à une offre d'emploi fin d'année dernière (l'opportunité de faire autre chose), ça s'est fait très rapidement (en 3 semaines). Je suis propriétaire de ma maison (100m2, deux chambres, jardin clos, terrasse, etc.) que j'ai acheté il y a deux ans à un taux de 1.2%.
Dans la précipitation, j'ai décidé de la mettre dans les mains d'une agence de gestion locative au lieu de AirBnB (qui aurait cartonné 5 mois de l'année, à 25 min de la mer) avec un service de conciergerie. Je suis actuellement en recherche de locataire, sachant que je suis parti vite, elle est à louer "meublée". Elle est atypique (en pierre) avec beaucoup de charme, rénovée entièrement il y a 7 ans, j'ai même inclus dans les charges Starlink que j'avais avant mon départ, mais il se trouve qu'elle est "trop chère" en location selon l'agence, qui me demande de la passer de 850 euros à 750 voir 700 euros...
J'ai fait pleins de calculs par rapport à mon prêt que je rembourse à hauteur de 730 euros par mois, en y incluant toutes les charges en plus que ça va me coûter à l'année (taxe foncière, impôts sur les revenus locatifs en tant que non résident, frais de gestion locative, assurances, etc.) et clairement si je lisse le tout à l'année, en louant à 750 euros, je dois de ma poche 300 euros par mois en plus pour couvrir tous les frais annexes !
Je trouve ça énorme, sachant qu'on m'a toujours dit que du locatif qui ne rapporte rien, ce n'est pas rentable et ça ne sert à rien. Mon but n'est clairement pas de "gagner de l'argent" dessus, mais au moins d'y amortir le prêt et les dépenses annuelles annexes. Là avec 300 euros de ma poche tous les mois qui partiraient (encore une fois, c'est un calcul lissé à l'année avec tous les frais), je me demande si ça vaut le coup de la garder ou pas...
Alors oui, je peux me le permettre vis à vis de mon salaire actuel à l'étranger (et encore, je suis dans la classe moyenne basse ici...), mais ça représente quand même pas loin de 3 000 euros à l'année, ce qui est énorme. Et encore que, j'ai pas inclus les éventuels frais d'entretien qui peuvent vite grimper également...
Bref, que pouvez-vous me conseiller ? La conserver même si je perds de l'argent dessus actuellement, ce ne sera que gagner plus tard ? M'en débarrasser rapidement car si ça n'amorti rien du tout ce n'est pas valable ? N'en faire que de la location saisonnière ? Persister au prix de 850 euros et attendre encore un peu (ça ne fait que 3 semaines) ?
PS : Désolé si je parais crédule et imbécile dans mes choix et ma façon de faire, je n'ai pas du tout l'âme d'un investisseur ou autre. C'est d'ailleurs la raison pour laquelle je suis ici...
Merci !
2024.05.19 13:42 SuddenBag7701 Introduction / Vent / Fear
Hello.. So I’m 33 now back in 2018 I found out that I had literally 0 sperm in my ejaculate and man it was devastating, I also had low T , normal LH and slightly elevated FSH. I also had an ultrasound that showed I had vericoceles that were high grade , because my right testicle is normal size and left is slightly atrophied. The doctor did the operation on them and gave me clomid for 3 months to recheck and I did and nothing came back so I was fed up and upset. I wasn’t even with anyone at the time but it was frustrating that I felt I wasn’t getting answers to the why ! Like why! You would know looking at me I’m 6 1 , good build , my parts are good shape like not to brag but I’m a solid 7 … but It consumed me I went to Penn and was told I’d have a 60% for FNA or mtese .. but said to come back when I’m with someone serious / wife .. I dated rounds for years since then but nothing worked out I eventually moved back home for a bit to save money to buy a home I kinda felt like oh she won’t wanna be with me for my fertility issues so I kinda focused on myself and other passions like my dog , saving for house . I have a lot of friends some are married with kids or on way , some still single like me and I have a beautiful niece and nephew and a god son form another friend. Then recently I went back to urologist cause I wanted to know where I was at again so they did an ultrasound and my nuts grew ! Which is great they are normal size now Alberto lefty still smaller … but the ultrasound also found a new 2-3 mm intratesticilar avascular hypoechoic cyst very small so my doctors want to keep an eye on it but I’m constantly freaking out that it will be cancer I had 2 ultrasounds a month apart that showed no signs of changes or malignancy I even had tumor markers done and a CT scan cause I have bad health anxiety, even did xray on chest and heat and all sorts of urine and bloodwork . Only thing I have is kidney stone. I’m still scared that this will turn into cancer or that it’s some rare cancer I have a recheck in August and I’m scared I don’t want to lose what I’ve been trying to fix best I can. I also don’t want Cancer so .. I can’t keep thinking it will metastasize .. I don’t have any Klinefelters they checked while bloood and no Y deletion im 46xy.. it’s just like idk what to do I have goals and stuff and I can’t help but think I can’t live my life cause I catastrophize thinking oh because I got this rare thing then I’ll get a terrible incurable cancer and I’m toast. I kept reading articles about increased risk for cancers or cysts / nodules for infertile men / azo men and I’m thinking oh fuck here we go .. my doctor told me don’t do that and I never had underfunded testes. / klinefelters or Y deletion either But my doctors say it’s a cyst I’m a healthy young individual , I wanna buy a housei want to date again. I regret feeling inadequate a few years back and wish I manned up to my GF at the time and just did whatever it took to have kids and I feel left out sometimes when I’m with my friend a at their house and they are getting married or ave kids and then there is me and it sucks and I w ant to be able to live and have that for my own no matter what it takes with some one I love and this cyst in my testicle have been a real mind fuck for past 2 months like idk how long I’ve even had this in the past 6 years … I’m glad I found it and I’ve been told it’s super common random population you’d find it but then again with my fertility issues I’m scared it’s tied to that and I’m going insane .. not sleeping , worrying , can’t enjoy things I used to….. advice , help please , I was atleast ok with my circumstances but now I’m afraid I lose all that too cause of this cyst that I think is cancer even though the doctors tell me it looks like a. Cyst and there is no concern for malignancy.. my therapist says to focus on the facts but I like to think long term and this is getting hard for me and I just want to know I’ll be okay and not have to constantly worry about this like I have been
submitted by SuddenBag7701 to maleinfertility [link] [comments]
2024.05.19 13:42 Professional-Baby604 Will you buy this?
From the past 1-2 years, I haven't got morning wood and few weeks back I watched a video about how lower testosterone can cause erectile dysfunction and other problems in men. I used to have different symptoms which are a sign of low testosterone like low libido, not stronger erections like I used to have when I was 13 years old, lower motivation, sleeping more and lower semen volume.
So, I was very worried that I have low testosterone at such a young age, I am 18 btw. So, I read multiple books (over 35 books) on testosterone, endocrine disruptors, fertility and watched several podcast on this topic and read multiple articles and research papers.
I had spent over 450 hours on learning on this topic and created an eBook that has all the important lessons and facts and doesn't contain any useless information. I just want to know and get your feedback that if I would sell this eBook, will you guys pay $10 to buy this eBook or not.
I just want to get your feedback. So, please leave a reply.
submitted by Professional-Baby604 to Testosterone [link] [comments]
So, I was very worried that I have low testosterone at such a young age, I am 18 btw. So, I read multiple books (over 35 books) on testosterone, endocrine disruptors, fertility and watched several podcast on this topic and read multiple articles and research papers.
I had spent over 450 hours on learning on this topic and created an eBook that has all the important lessons and facts and doesn't contain any useless information. I just want to know and get your feedback that if I would sell this eBook, will you guys pay $10 to buy this eBook or not.
I just want to get your feedback. So, please leave a reply.
2024.05.19 13:40 SoupBrief174 Staying Sensitive & Empathetic to Victims of Sexual Violence
Gentle reminder: We are discussing sex crimes that involve fellow human beings that have been hurt and traumatized by people with serious power. This is about advocacy and justice NOT a playground to play speculation and conspiracy maker with no serious backing. Sexual assault is not a joke or something to be taken lightly. If you do not have empathy or sensitivity for victims and stay mindful of what you post, you are simply damaging and hurting innocent people. They do not deserve that
I care so deeply because I'm tired of this cycle of pain we keep passing down. This is not the world I want to leave for my children or my grandchildren or any of the future children of the human species. We need to stick together and protect one another, NO ONE should ever have to go through this
Facts about SA
Im tired of all the suffering. We deserve a better world
More Reading:
Sexual Violence Myths & Facts: https://www.ourresilience.org/what-you-need-to-know/myths-and-facts/#_edn13
Your Role in Preventing Sexual Assault: https://rainn.org/articles/your-role-preventing-sexual-assault
Persistent Suffering: The Serious Consequences of Sexual Violence against Women and Girls, Their Search for Inner Healing and the Significance of the #MeToo Movement: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7918207/
Sources:
(RAINN) https://www.rainn.org/statistics/scope-problem
(Darkness to Light) https://www.d2l.org/child-sexual-abuse/prevalence/
submitted by SoupBrief174 to DarkKenny [link] [comments]
I care so deeply because I'm tired of this cycle of pain we keep passing down. This is not the world I want to leave for my children or my grandchildren or any of the future children of the human species. We need to stick together and protect one another, NO ONE should ever have to go through this
Facts about SA
- Every 68 seconds, an American is sexually assaulted (RAINN)
- 1 out of every 6 American women has been the victim of an attempted or completed rape in her lifetime (RAINN)
- About 3% of American men—or 1 in 33—have experienced an attempted or completed rape in their lifetime (RAINN)
- Just over four million babies are born in the U.S. annually. Assuming that child sexual abuse rates remain constant over the next 17 years, about 400,000 babies born this year (10% of all babies born) will become victims of sexual abuse before they turn 18. (Darkness to Light)
Im tired of all the suffering. We deserve a better world
More Reading:
Sexual Violence Myths & Facts: https://www.ourresilience.org/what-you-need-to-know/myths-and-facts/#_edn13
Your Role in Preventing Sexual Assault: https://rainn.org/articles/your-role-preventing-sexual-assault
Persistent Suffering: The Serious Consequences of Sexual Violence against Women and Girls, Their Search for Inner Healing and the Significance of the #MeToo Movement: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7918207/
Sources:
(RAINN) https://www.rainn.org/statistics/scope-problem
(Darkness to Light) https://www.d2l.org/child-sexual-abuse/prevalence/
2024.05.19 13:26 Orange_Menace1 Randyll Tarly - Blackfyre Supporter (my first theory)
 | Note: I started writing this and it got away from me. Rather than fill in the unfinished points, I've just left them there for everyone to consider submitted by Orange_Menace1 to asoiaf [link] [comments] PrefaceRandyll Tarly on a first read through is a jerk. He tortures Sam, insults Brienne, implements draconian justice and downplays the golden company threat. Prima-Facie, he is a violent commander with little political cunning.Except for his results. By the end of ADWD · He receives accolades for every battle fought (I hold fire on the term won) · He holds the queen in his custody. · He has a voice at council · He secured his chosen heir in defiance of westrosi customs If we assume these things didn’t happen by chance, we can re-examine some of his older achievements, actions, and then try to sort out his motives. Randyll Tarly as a CommanderRoberts RebellionBattle of AshfordContext: The battle of Ashford was Roberts one defeat in his rebellion. Tarly’s van sailed forward and defeated Roberts host, but the battle was inconclusive. Robert retreated to the stony sept, recovered, regrouped, and when his allies arrived and consolidated forces, used this new army to win the war.Relevant Sections – directly on point paragraphs:A Storm of Swords - Tyrion IIITyrion had to bite his tongue at that. Robb Stark had won more battles in a year than the Lord of Highgarden had in twenty. ~Tyrell's reputation rested on one indecisive victory over Robert Baratheon at Ashford, in a battle largely won by Lord Tarly's van before the main host had even arrived.~A Storm of Swords - Davos V"Edric, you ought not boast," Maester Pylos said. "King Robert suffered defeats like any other man. Lord Tyrell bested him at Ashford, and he lost many a tourney tilt as well."A Storm of Swords - Samwell V"Your father is an able soldier," King Stannis said. "He defeated my brother once, at Ashford. Mace Tyrell has been pleased to claim the honors for that victory, but Lord Randyll had decided matters before Tyrell ever found the battlefield. He slew Lord Cafferen with that great Valyrian sword of his and sent his head to Aerys." The king rubbed his jaw with a finger. "You are not the sort of son I would expect such a man to have."A Dance with Dragons - The Griffin Reborn~He had lost it all at Stoney Sept, in his arrogance.~~Robert Baratheon had been hiding somewhere in the town, wounded and alone. Jon Connington had known that, and he had also known that Robert's head upon a spear would have put an end to the rebellion, then and there~. He was young and full of pride. How not? King Aerys had named him Hand and given him an army, and he meant to prove himself worthy of that trust, of Rhaegar's love. He would slay the rebel lord himself and carve a place out for himself in all the histories of the Seven Kingdoms. Other information gleaned from context· Tarly did not inflict substantial casualties· Robert won the battle of the trident within a year – Ashford is 282AC and the trident is 283 · Robert fled to and was sheltered in the stony sept, where Jon Connington failed to flush him out. The battle of the bells occurred in 283AC, as did the battle of the trident shortly after AnalysisRandyll leads the van some distance ahead of the main force, gets into a battle with the rebels, and inflicts minor to moderate casualties before they escape. Tyrell takes the credit.From a military point of view, if the battle had not been decided before the main force arrived, the war would have likely ended. A much larger force (with assumedly many more horsemen) would have won the battle both more conclusively, and been able to pursue. By all rights, the strategy enforced by Mace Tyrell should have won the war (this theme will come in later in this theory), but for the fact only a fraction of his army engaged far ahead of the main host. As an aside and jumping ahead a little – Tarly avoids doing this after the blackwater, closing off escape routes and slaughtering everyone. This hints at the fact that Ashford was a tactical mistake. The first three viewpoints we receive on the battle are of note. · Tyrion points out the battle was indecisive, and ~decided before the main host arrived~. He focuses on the victory in ‘battle’ as opposed to war. · Stannis points out how able Randyll is by defeating his brother once at Ashford. Although unable to ascribe any special military strategy to Randyll, he calls him ‘able’ and decided matters before Tyrell arrived. He also flags that Mace Tyrell claimed the honours for the victory and he thinks this undeserved. It’s interesting as it’s Maces host at Ashford, a host that by all rights should have crushed Roberts army in a single battle – given the van alone defeated him. He also ascribes the only kill of note as lord Cafferen · Maester Pylos points out that Robert lost battles at Ashford and flags it was Tyrell who bested him. The battle by all appearances, was a farce. Ashford could have ended the war. Arguably, even with the van alone deciding the fight, it very nearly did. Instead, the battle is determined indecisive, there is no ‘impressive kill and capture list’ indicating the host was not captured or killed (as opposed to routed), and Mace has this massive potentially war-ending host not doing much because Robert is in retreat before it arrives. Furthermore despite all this, Tarly very nearly won the day at Ashford. Robert suffered a serious – but nonfatal wound that seemingly took months (and at least weeks) to recover. The fact that a seriously wounded Robert was able to escape despite distinctive armour and weaponry raises questions of its own. Finally, when Robert was wounded and hidden in the aftermath whilst he recovered, narratively it allowed JonCon to lay siege to the stony sept. As a parallel, one of the themes I will later touch on is how Tarly changes after this battle, and we know JonCon swears to kill more and become Tywin 2.0. as a direct result of the events at the sept. We see a similar change in Tarly. It’s also of note that Tarly and Tyrell at this point were on the Targaryen side. This crops up later when we look into other motivations and goals. Aftermath So we know that Robert suffers wounds and is somewhat detached from his host (be it they left him in the stoney sept or he scattered off from the main host). We know this as he ends up wounded in the Stoney Sept. After this, the battle of the bells and all the great victories that ended the war occur. Notably, Tarly has no major military achievements after this battle. Since Mace Tyrell was invested in the siege of Storms end, it can be presumed Tarly was positioned with the main force. The next time we see him is in the battle of 5 kings – Discussion with Renly – The Siege of Stannis
Battle of the BlackwaterA Clash of Kings - Sansa VIIThey came up the roseroad and along the riverbank, through all the fields Stannis had burned, the ashes puffing up around their boots and turning all their armor grey, but oh! the banners must have been bright, the golden rose and golden lion and all the others, the Marbrand tree and the Rowan~, Tarly's huntsman~ and Redwyne's grapes and Lady Oakheart's leaf. All the westermen, all the power of Highgarden and Casterly Rock! ~Lord Tywin himself had their right wing~ on the north side of the river, with Randyll Tarly commanding the center and ~Mace Tyrell the left,~ but the vanguard won the fight. They plunged through Stannis like a lance through a pumpkin, every man of them howling like some demon in steel. And do you know who led the vanguard? Do you? Do you? Do you?"A Storm of Swords - Catelyn II"I told you to hold Riverrun," said Robb. "What part of that command did you fail to comprehend?""When you stopped Lord Tywin on the Red Fork," said the Blackfish, "you delayed him just long enough for riders out of Bitterbridge to reach him with word of what was happening to the east. ~Lord Tywin turned his host at once, joined up with Matthis Rowan and Randyll Tarly~ near the headwaters of the Blackwater, and made a forced march to Tumbler's Falls, ~where he found Mace Tyrell and two of his sons waiting with a huge host and a fleet of barges~. They floated down the river, disembarked half a day's ride from the city, and took Stannis in the rear." We know tywin likes to put his strength on his flanks and in the reserveInterestingly, Mace is there too, and it’s a tyrell van this time, not tarlyLord Tywin himself had their right wing on the north side of the river, with Randyll Tarly commanding the center and Mace Tyrell the left, but the vanguard won the fight. They plunged through Stannis like a lance through a pumpkin, every man of them howling like some demon in steel. ACOK 62: SANSA VII AnalysisFirst the parallels. Mace Tyrell is paralleled to Tywin on the two flanks. It is a tyrell in the van who decides the day. Randyll commands the center.Logistically, the battle is won by Mace Tyrell (whom I love as a character) with a fleet of barges and a huge host already in position (allowing the army to cross quickly enough to intercept the battle of the blackwater). Also the messenger that draws in Tywin’s host comes from Bitterbridge – Tyrell Lands. Given the van wins the battle, there’s a fair argument that Mace could have won the battle alone, albeit with all the support he wins a crushing victory instead. So Randyll is relegated to an important, but ultimately ancillary position. Whether the battle is won by Tywin or Mace (and by all logistical accounts, it’s Mace), is another question, but the ‘finest soldier in the seven kingdoms’ is once again, somewhat ineffectual. He still commands the center in such a battle, but he displays no logistical or battle prowess in this fight either, just being a renowned commander in the right place at the right time. Battle of Duskendale· Lord Randyll defeats a northern army. The army is mostly foot and misplaced· This time, few excape – XXXX cuts off the retreat. · Some theories say he was tipped off by Roose Bolton. · This time he gets the commander · Figth occurs in FIELDS AND FARMS. Bad terrain for a retreat. Glover TRAPPED against blackwater bay · Note that Glover had to be captured lest bolton treachery be revealed. Cannot be allowed to send raven. · Strong implication of a trap and tipoff A Storm of Swords - Catelyn IVWhen they brought him word of the battle at Duskendale, where Lord Randyll Tarly had shattered Robett Glover and Ser Helman Tallhart, he might have been expected to rage.A Storm of Swords - Tyrion VIIIBut who would be mad enough to contest Joffrey's rule now, after what had befallen Stannis Baratheon and Robb Stark? There was still fighting in the riverlands, but everywhere the coils were tightening. Ser Gregor Clegane had crossed the Trident and seized the ruby ford, then captured Harrenhal almost effortlessly. Seagard had yielded to Black Walder Frey, ~Lord Randyll Tarly held Maidenpool, Duskendale, and the kingsroad.~A Storm of Swords - Tyrion III"No," their father said. "With the war. Varys."The eunuch smiled a silken smile. "I have such delicious tidings for you all, my lords. Yesterday at dawn our ~brave Lord Randyll caught Robett Glover outside Duskendale and trapped him against the sea. Losses were heavy on both sides, but in the end our loyal men prevailed. Ser Helman Tallhart is reported dead, with a thousand others. Robett Glover leads the survivors back toward Harrenhal in bloody disarray, little dreaming he will find valiant Ser Gregor and his stalwarts athwart his path."~ A Storm of Swords - Tyrion I"Until Lord Redwyne brings his fleet up, we lack the ships to assail Dragonstone. It makes no matter. Stannis Baratheon's sun set on the Blackwater. ~As for Stark, the boy is still in the west, but a large force of northmen under Helman Tallhart and Robett Glover are descending toward Duskendale. I've sent Lord Tarly to meet them, while Ser Gregor drives up the kingsroad to cut off their retreat.~ Tallhart and Glover will be caught between them, with a third of Stark's strength."A Storm of Swords - Catelyn IVWhen they brought him word of the battle at Duskendale, where ~Lord Randyll Tarly had shattered Robett Glover and Ser Helman Tallhart,~ he might have been expected to rage. Instead he'd stared in dumb disbelief and said, "Duskendale, on the narrow sea? Why would they go to Duskendale?" He'd shook his head, bewildered. "A third of my foot, lost for Duskendale?""The ironmen have my castle and now the Lannisters hold my brother," Galbart Glover said, in a voice thick with despair. Robett Glover had survived the battle, but had been captured near the kingsroad not long after. A Feast for Crows - Brienne IILord Randyll Tarly had commanded Joffrey's army, made up of westermen and stormlanders and knights from the Reach. Those men of his who had died here had been carried back inside the walls, to rest in heroes' tombs beneath the septs of Duskendale. The northern dead, far more numerous, were buried in a common grave beside the sea. Above the cairn that marked their resting place, the victors had raised a rough-hewn wooden marker. HERE LIE THE WOLVES was all it said. Brienne stopped beside it and said a silent prayer for them, and for Catelyn Stark and her son Robb and all the men who'd died with them as well.AnalysisFirstly we start with the obvious comparison. Tarly lets Robert escape when Mace otherwise very nearly won the war. Given another chance, Randyll pins his enemy against the sea and plans to not let a man escape. Having somewhat surrounded the opponent on known land, with reinforcements (Clegane) behind him, he still manages to suffer heavy casualties, and the target (XXXX) escapes.What a colossal mistake. The only good news is he intercepted enough of the force that it seems no ravens got sent off showing exactly what happened, as if one message got back, the whole red wedding could have been undone. Now prior posts have analyzed duskendale about allowing paths of retreat, and number of losses, but I think there are three key takeaways 1) The stark contrast between this and his tactics at Ashford 2) The fact that he failed to capture the host and Gregor Clegane had to clean up the mess 3) The fact he suffered heavy losses when by all rights he had every advantage (and still failed to capture the army) Interestingly, the message that gets to Robb is that Tarly shattered glover. The actual message from Varys is only 1000 were killed, with Tallhart. Now its difficult to say how many foot there were, but it’s not unreasonable to assume that 1000 is less than to around half the force. Clegane captures Glover in the aftermath (thankfully), and Robb gets the report that Tarly shattered the force, when in actuality a good chunk of it was Clegane. As a sidenote- this is indicative that Clegane actually isn’t a bad commander, and in turn this makes the fact that Edmure Tully threw him back more impressive. We also don’t hear of any captives other than the ones taken by Clegane. It appears Tarly is putting men to the sword (SEE EARLIER). Now before we get into conspiracy theories, we see Glover in ADWD conspiring with Madderly to help the starks and Stannis, so it seems this was not some cunning scheme where he secretly got himself captured. Interestingly, the graves Brienne sees seem to indicate a crushing victory for Tarly, like the one described by Robb. This however is at odds with the report of Varys, and the fact Clegane had to mop up the leftover army. Now there are a few possibilities for this. Varys could be wrong/lying, heavy losses is being thrown around as a relative term (but that seems suspect), or the total of Tarly dead and Clegane’s role is being hidden. The last seems the most likely, Robb hears of a crushing defeat led by Tarly not Clegane (which we know is at least partially false), the dead he kills don’t add up, and there’s no mention of Clegane whom definitely did some of the work. Also even assuming the whole situation is true and Tarly killed men at a 2/1 ratio, this assumes there are 500 heroes tombs under the septs at Duskendale. Simply put, there may not be that many. The whole aftermath stinks of a coverup. Tarly is getting Cleganes credit (and interestingly, it’s around now that Tywin decides not to give Clegane to oberyn). Finally we get to the tinfoily bit. Helman garrisoned with Walder Frey to make sure he kept peace. Of the two lords, Helman is arguably more problematic, he knows more of Frey habits (when Tywin is scheming a betrayal) and his nephew is a possible hornwood claimant (cough Roose cough). If there was a conspiracy to kill one and ransom the other – I can see a world where Talhart is the one to be killed. In all reality though, this is a bit too ambitious, and in reality one just died and one escaped – without some super scheme that Tarly was involved in. So in summary – once again Tarly fails his mission. At best, he bloodies an out of position army whilst taking heavy casualties, with his reinforcements on the way, and half the army breaks free (admittedly into Clegane). This is not a great display of prowess. We also know its possible to capture these men as hostages, as Clegane successfully does so – and Tarly fails to once again. Now it’s not catastrophic as the Northerners are bleeding men and trading troops tit for tat is beneficial, but the battle itself (the thing Randyll is in charge of) is highly unimpressive. The strategic victory goes to Tywin, whom in truth entrusts it as much to Gregor Clegane as to Tarly. As it so happens, Clegane delivers and Tarly doesn’t. A summary as a commanderTalk about failing upwards· Charging ahead, he is able to turn a crushing win into an indecisive one which ultimately leads to Roberts Rebellion succeeding · He gives counsel to Renly about the sun when renly knows that the sheer strength of his cavalry makes the issue moot. Renly all but ignores him. · He doesn’t appear to do much during the battle of the blackwater · He manages to mess up essentially an ambush at Duskendale despite reinforcements being on the way · As a result of the 4 above points, he is given, lands, titles, honors and a position on the small council. Upon actually reviewing his achievements and each individual battle, I’ve 180’d on Tarly. George RR Martin does a great job building him up, and having everyone describe him as a great commander, but actually unpacking his battles, he looks pretty underwhelming. The most important battle he won was Ashford, but that was a strategic catastrophe which otherwise could have potentially let Mace Tyrell win the war. Afterwards he’s carefully managed, with Renly outright dismissing him, Mace keeping the key positions of command in other people’s hands and Tywin going so far as to dispatch a trusted force behind him in the event he fails again – WHICH HE DOES. Politicks, Loyalties and ConspiraciesThere’s a lot to get through so I’m not going to source everything here. Rather, I’ll list dot points, and we will be collecting everything under theories. In time it may be worth sourcing this all, but for now, I want to get something out – so it’ll be shortform· Historically house is blackfyre · Renly Sworn NOT STANNIS · Joined at bitterbridge to Renly · Shadowbaby and killing others · VIEWS ON MAESTERS · Killing Stannis supporters at bitterbridge · Saving Brienne · Helping Brienne / Bewilderment · Views on Women and Strongmen · Sam, Maesters, the Marches and Strength · Maidenpool Rulership · Renown amonst common men · Downplaying the Golden Company · Bravosi Debts · Taking the QUEEN ahead of Mace Tyrell Theoreis Stemming off Data The Blackfyre TheoryLet’s assume that Randyll supported the Blackfyres because his house traditionally were Blackfyre Loyalists. This is a little thin on evidence, but quite a few of his actions also support this, lending some credence to the theory1) He swore to Renly not Stannis. a. Stannis was 17 or 18 when he held storms end. He is approximately 13 years older than Renly, making Renly 5 at the time. This means that during Roberts Rebellion, for all relevant purposes, Renly was a non-participant, whilst Stannis actively fought against the dragons. If Randyll is a dragon supporter, his repulsion at joining Stannis is apparent. b. In fact, he goes as far as to kill stannis supporters at bitterbridge to consolidate the reach forces. This is interesting as it contrasts stannis whom takes pains to not kill the karstarks to a man once he realizes their treason. 2) He downplays the golden company a. At the end of AFWC, Randyll is downplaying the golden company as much as he can. If we assume he is pro-dragon, this gives time for the blackfyre cause to swell, as he delays Kevan Lannister to the best of his ability 3) He hates the Maesters a. Between the Grand Maester Conspiracy [LINK], lady Dustin’s general hatred of Maesters and Marwyn’s comments about Maesters and Dragons, it seems credible that dragon supporters may have cause to mistrust Maesters. Indeed, we get hints of this from Doran, and a general mistrust of Maesters by some of the lesser lords. i. "I would need a bucket, with this pain. Thank you, but no. I want my wits about me. I'll have no more need of you tonight." b. This explains also why he is so determined Sam will not become a Maester and why he drives him to the nights watch. If he is a loyalist, he’s never going to let a member of his family into an enemy order. If Sam is given any sort of free reign in a role other than lord, he’s going to end up a Maester (indeed even at the nights watch he ends up there, despite his protests and fears of his fathers wroth). 4) Do we actually see any trouble in the marches. I don’t think we do and it’s only STANNIS who fears dorne through the marches, not Tarly or Tyrell. In fact, this area is left undefended when they march on the blackwater. a. I have a sub-theory that despite complaining a lot, we don’t see any real antagonism between Dorne and the reach throughout the series, just some loud complaining that makes us think of antagonism. Oberyn hints at this to Tyrion. 5) Killing Florents a. Florents have ties to Stannis b. Florents are Tyrell rivals c. Florents instantly defect to stannis. Note they were set aside by dragons over highgarden d. Their protests were denied by King Aegon I, perhaps because the Florents had fought House Targaryen when the Tyrells did not. e. https://www.reddit.com/asoiaf/comments/3tr6gx/spoilers_all_house_of_the_week_house_florent/ i. Theories florents Green 6) This is of course also consistent with him racing Ahead of Mace Tyrell’s army and having the Tyrell queen taken into his personal custody. Unfortunately, this bodes badly for our lovely doe-eyed Margery. Oh well. 7) ~If it were up to me, I would send them all to the Night's Watch, and Connington with them. The Wall is where such scum belong."~ He’s setting it up so the only legitimate claimant of JonCon’s lands is in fact, JonCon. Obviously a new lord can be appointed, but this suggested move adds legitimacy to the blackfyre cause, removing the heir apparent and putting JonCon back in his ancestral lands without a real challenger. 1) The ‘show of strength / toxic masculinity theory’ a. This theory has to do with Tarly appearing competent millirarily rather than being competent. He doles harsh justice and havy discipline, which in some ways hides his lackluster results as a commander. I should note this is the weakest of the three theories, but it sort of feeds into the other two. b. This would be indicative of his hatred for Sam. The moment the ‘veil’ of masculinity and strength is lifted, his actual achievements are lackluster c. After ashford he appears much more brutal than before. We have no indication he was brutal pre Ashford, and post ashford he’s executing enemies, cornering and murdering northmen to a man (as best he can at least) and doling out harsher justice than his peers d. Every character who speaks of Tarly speaks of his millirary accolades. I think his ‘larger than life’ persona has played at least a part in this, and Tarly looks the part as the veteran commander. e. I ought to note this theory doesn’t stop Tarly from playing the game of thrones, it just suggests he isn’t an exceptional tactical commander. Logistically, he has always been with the winning side as a vassal, he’s been able to spin every battle to gain honors and accolades, and he has a knack for being in the right place at the right time (declaring for renly early, being in the van at ashford etc.) f. All that aside, this theory also doesn’t stop Tarly from being a jerk. Given how he acts to Sam and both towards and around Brienne, we are naturally inclined to mislike him as a harsh leader. 2) Not as dumb as he looks theory a. He’s taken the queen into his personal Custody. We literally heard from Renly back in book 1 – he who holds the XXXX holds the crown. With all the chaos in the recent books, it’s easy to miss, but this is a huge move in the game of thrones. The Tyrells do not have the queen. Tarly does. b. As far as I can tell, he’s never been at real risk in a battle since Ashford. He had backup and numbers at duskendale, a massive host at the blackwater, The Siege of Storms End was just a great big preservation of army by Mace whilst Roberts rebellion raged, and the Siege on Stannis was totally lopsided but for magic shadow-baby. c. Dorne does not seem to have acted against him once nor demanded concessions. [CHECK]. For a lord in the Dornish Marches which have been tumultuous for years, this is somewhat of a big deal. He also seems to be unafraid of moving his forced forward – we have no indication he left levies to protect himself from Dorne, hinting that he wasn’t afraid of Dorne misbehaving (even if only to harry border towns, a bit like Bolton grabbing up the hornwood lands). d. He sucks up to the bravosi Banker when all the debts are being called in. We have this picture of this strong, just, military man, but the banker scene shows he’s not just a sword arm, and he knows when to suck up. This is important as it shows he is at least considering the wider world and the future outside of the battles, as opposed to a certain dwarf whom never actually meets the bankers. e. He has turned a bunch of mediocre achievements into being renowned as the greatest soldier in the realm. By all rights, Stannis and Robb are much better commanders (with the caveat that Robb was only good tactically). If we want to get nasty, Mace Tyrell has only won crushing victories – with the exception of ashford (messed up by Tarly) and storms end (where he lost no troops in a rebellion that depleted most of the realm). i. The most competent appearing thing he said was to not charge into the sun, which was largely irrelevant when plated heavy cavalry is charging into boiled leather. As Renly said to Stannis, his force wouldn’t survive first impact, so this whole sun business is a bit silly. ii. Arguably the most competent thing was executing all the soldiers considering going over to Stannis, but I’m not sure if this is truly competent or just brutality – Stannis did not do the same with the Karstarks in a similar position. f. He’s bypassed succession laws. By getting rid of Sam he has set himself up with his chosen heir. Look at the thorny knot Tywin tied himself with Tyrion, whom still arguably is the rightful heir to Castelry Rock (which he made full use of with the Second Suns). We know Maesters can be kicked out of the order (see our favourite necromancer), and can be used to play with succession (Aemon is a good example, albeit he said no) and I don’t really see Sam as a priest. i. There’s actually a good question as to whether he would have killed Sam. The gods hate kinslayers, and the threat sufficed. If we assume tarly isn’t an idiot, he would have realized the threat likely sufficient. g. Given how he sets himself up at Maidenpool, its hinted that the Maidenpool land is part of his reward for the blackwater. We never hear of exactly ‘what’ Tarly’s reward is, except in the aftermath he’s patrolling Duskendale (still seemingly with house Rykker),, Maidenpool and the kings road, and seems to be setting himself up in Maidenpool for the long haul. In AFFC, Tarly’s heir is married off to Eleanor Mooton (the seeming heiress to maidenpool) and Tommen pardons Moonton. Maidenpool is a major port in the world of Ice and Fire, which would make it a fine reward[[1]](#_ftn1). 1. Other key takeawaysBRIENNE THINGA Feast for Crows - Brienne IIIRandyll Tarly solved the mystery the day he sent two of his men-at-arms to summon her to his pavilion. His young son Dickon had overheard four knights laughing as they saddled up their horses, and had told his lord father what they said.… "The gods made men to fight, and women to bear children," said Randyll Tarly. "A woman's war is in the birthing bed." Someone was coming down the cellar steps. Brienne pushed her wine aside as a ragged, scrawny, sharp-faced man with dirty brown hair stepped into the Goose. He gave the Tyroshi sailors a quick look and Brienne a longer one, then went up to the plank. "Wine," he said, "and none o' your horse piss in it, thank'e." JUSTICE THINGBattle of the Blackwater – a step SidewaysIn short Randyll Tarly is a shrewd Blackfyre loyalist who now has custody of the queen, a position on the small council and whom is not considered a political threat. He’s not half the commander he’s made out to be, probably has anti-maester sentiment and is possibly friendly with Doran Martell. And he has an army. This has been quite a ride and I’m sure I got many details wrong so let’s end on a high note. Given all this, I expect Randyll to sacrifice Margery and prove ser pounce’s lineage to the age of conquest. Tommen will blindly stamp a document marrying himself to the cat, the white walkers will be appeased (their problem is only humans), and everyone lives happily ever after except for Danerys who dies. Maidenpool https://preview.redd.it/4gfx1jxsbd1d1.png?width=217&format=png&auto=webp&s=a6c648fe2853a80f249aeae5546a21b38b4123e9 |
2024.05.19 13:18 pillowcase-of-eels [Music] Emilie Autumn's Asylum, pt. 6 – High-concept musician responds to online criticism by waging successful attrition war against her own fanbase
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Welcome back to the Asylum write-up, where we explore the decade-long slow-motion car crash that is the Emilie Autumn fandom.
Sorry this installment took so long to upload! Just a heads-up, I may take some time to deliver the last one too – these posts take forever to format on Reddit's finicky-ass editor, and my dumb real life is currently keeping me from precious Internet time. Thank you for your patience! You have my word that everyone who pre-ordered the final installment will receive a PERSONAL, HANDWRITTEN letter autographed and illustrated by me, a list of the snacks I consumed while composing this write-up, some exclusive behind-the-scenes secrets, and a pony.
Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4.1 – Part 4.2 Part 5
This created a sort of primordial rift within the fanbase, between those who supported EA's right to speak her mind and regulate her own fan spaces however she pleased – and those who thought that her reactions were rude and inappropriate (at best), and that even fan spaces should allow for reasonable, non-abusive criticism of the artist.
Between a poorly-handled book release (see Part 3), the controversial (Part 2) or dubiously true (Part 4) contents of said book, and serious shade from various former collaborators (Part 5), more and more fans had pressing thoughts about EA's work ethic and choices. EA attempted damage control through drastic forum rules that made it virtually impossible to voice any “serious” critical opinion. It didn't work, of course: instead of squashing the mutiny, she created a schism.
Critical fans and active haters started congregating on unofficial platforms.
Either way, through these blogs, a number of potential drama bombs that had mostly flown under the radar were dredged up from over the years – some of which were hard to ignore, even for supportive fans. Where to begin?
There was that nonsense in-joke song, captured twice on camera during the 2009 tour (to very little outrage, at the time), crassly called “Manatee Retard”📺. Or EA's scathing response, in print, to a wheelchair user who found it insensitive that she used a bedazzled wheelchair as a prop to do sexy acrobatics on stage. (“Your offence taken at my hard-won self-acceptance proves that I indeed have something to fight against”, she wrote). Spoken word tracks where she made trivializing knock-knock jokes about serious mental illnesses she didn't have, like schizophrenia and OCD. Multiple instances of calling Britney Spears a “bimbo” and a “Hollywood fucked-up”, resentfully claiming that she only shaved her head because she was “hopped up on drugs” and certainly not because she was “bipolar”, a word the press liked to wield as an insult anyway. (“That's almost like calling someone a retard!” Yeah, heaven forbid.) The meanest, most distasteful paragraphs in the book. Basically everything problematic EA had ever said or written.📝 In retrospect, it had been a long time coming, but it was a lot to take in – and certainly more off-putting, even to less emotionally invested fans, than silly lies about her age and last name.
In another wing of Asylum Tumblr, some fans had had it up to here and just wanted to have fun. 🎵 If Plague Rats had learned one valuable lesson from EA, it was how to crack a joke in the face of absurd tragedy – and the general state of the EA fandom certainly warranted a few.
In 2012, Fight Like a Girl was released. After six long years, three of which had been peaceful, the Opheliac era was officially over. The new album and ensuing tour confirmed that the Asylum had entered a process of glamorous Broadway-style militarization. 🎵📺
The mood board was “Roman general meets Vegas showgirl meets Victorian street urchin”.🪞 The color palette was, to naysayers, “musty pink and rotten, stale piss yellow”. 🐀 The keyword was “REVENGE” (through the power of... self-expression! sorority! brutal assault with rusty medical implements!). The chorus of the title song had an intriguing run-on line about getting “revenge on the world, or at least 49% of the people in it” 🎵 – which seemed like an awful lot, and was widely interpreted (to cheers, boos, or uncomfortable sighs) as a misandrist jab at literally all men on Earth.
The show was essentially a demo version of the musical, in that the setlist vaguely reflected the order of events in the story – but prior reading was essential in order to get what the hell was going on on stage. This one Broadway reviewer had not perused the literature before seeing the show 🔍, and hated: the set, the choreography, the skits, the plot, the lyrics, the music, the concept. (Seriously, you should read the review. It's not even my show and I feel like quitting show business.)
Pre-show VIP encounters, now violin-free, were lorded over by EA's new manager🐀, whose official title was “Asylum Headmistress”. (Interesting choice – she sounds fun!) The swag bags were less substantial than before, and the “greet” part of the meet-and-greet was rarely more than a quick hug and photo op.
On Twitter, EA continued to embrace her “I am very badass” fronting attitude...
Spurred on by EA's rallying cries and “us vs them” mentality, loyalists turned the white-knighting up to 11. On Twitter, some Plague Rats got into cat fights with Lady Gaga's Little Monsters (what a time to be alive). Others tried to balance out the Tumblr negativity with initiatives like “Spreading a Plague of Love” – a “positive-only” confession blog, whose extreme fangirling, comically drastic rules and hyper-defensive tone📝 did not debunk the increasingly popular notion that “true Plague Rats” were a bunch of authoritarian and hopelessly brainwashed fanatics.
EA truthers and other anti-fans started lashing out at anyone who dared express any positive opinion of EA, solidifying claims that the backlash against EA was just a conspiracy of bitter, hysterical bullies.
All this to say: every passing day brought new reasons for fans to get mad at EA and each other, and everyone in the Asylum was in need of a laugh. It's not easy having a good time.🦠
Leading up to Fight Like a Girl and in the years that followed, user-submission-based meme blogs took off, most notably “Spreading a Plague of Lulz / Troll Like a Girl”. A lot of the early submissions were absurdist humor and toothless, cheezburger-Impact memes (a style that was, oddly, already dated at the time). Those often originated in good fun, and from loyal fans, on the official forum. But there was also true snark, satirizing EA's questionable ethics, outrageous claims, and easily spoofed artistic gimmicks. A new slang of Asylumspeak emerged: Glittertits (slight NSFW), GAGA!!, EA Gusta and all its memeface variants, Get outta mah house!, Are You Suffering?, Fight Like A Goat, [Random celebrity] copied EA (a subgenre in its own right), ...
Most of the “trolling” was directed at unrepentant bootlickers and, to a lesser extent, red-in-the-face haters and creeps. Meme blogs would post joke comments under “serious” or gushing submissions on Wayward Victorian Confessions, and taunt loyalist accounts by tagging them in their posts. When a few people complained on WVC that almost all of the Bloody Crumpets to date had been thin white able-bodied women, and a few fans responded by sharing their dream-casts for a more diverse line-up, the blog was flooded for days with confessions that “X should be a Crumpet” (candidates included RuPaul, Mitt Romney, Nicki Minaj, EA's therapist, and the WVC admins). Farcical shenanigans like that.
Ah, but some people will always cross the line, won't they. EA threads popped up on merciless, bully-friendly snark platforms like Lolcow, Pretty Ugly Little Liar, and Encyclopedia Dramatica. Snarkers with a mean streak and obsessive haters mingled in some of the more aggressive, 4-chan-spirited retaliation against EA – which would be called “brigading” in modern parlance. This included flooding EA's Goodreads page with one-star reviews (see part 4), repeatedly editing her Wikipedia page to include her legal name and birth year, and ensuring that Googling said name would bring up current pictures of her.
All of this compounded agitation fragmented the once-united fandom beyond recognition.🦠 Through substantial disagreements among fans, personal bickerings, layers upon layers of inscrutable in-jokes, and cross-platform telephone games, the Asylum morphed into a booby-trapped Escher room.
Satire blogs were taken in earnest. Earnest fan blogs scanned as satire. Memes would get called out as abuse. Appreciation without attached criticism would get mocked as bootlicking. Obvious jokes made by EA would be taken at face value. One divisive confession could trigger days and days of debate, to the point that WVC eventually banned confessions in response to other confessions. New waves of infighting created a confusing web of rival sub-factions🐀, each accusing the others of being toxic, cliquish, and delusional.
The shared fantasy was broken, the collective vision had crumbled, no onez was speaking the same language anymore. Fans would jump down the throat of other fans who held almost identical views about EA, except for that one thing she said or did that one time. Everyone had differing thoughts on what should or shouldn't acceptable to discuss, question, excuse, make fun of.
War is hell.
That's not entirely fair: unlike EA, the czar only did it that once.
By early 2013, as EA was gearing up for her third Fight Like a Girl tour at the end of the year, the official forum was... not as lively as it once had been. Not just because of the stifling rules and disgruntlement towards EA, or because EA herself hadn't really posted anything on there in years; the Internet was also changing, and forums in general were fast becoming passé.
This made it difficult for EA to create a safe space where she could talk to fans, and fans could talk to and about her, in a way she deemed suitable (ie, a space she could gate-keep and regulate enough to keep it completely free from negative criticism). Social media was a minefield; she still posted regularly, but didn't interact very much. So EA and the Headmistress came up with a way to filter out the unbelievers: an official fan club📝, aptly called the “Asylum Army”, with a $100 entry price.
Joining the AA came with a dog tag, a sew-on patch, and a lifetime membership certificate signed by EA and – for some reason – the Headmistress. (Unlike EA's best friend and sound engineer back in the forum's heyday, I don't think fans ever really embraced the FLAG-era manager as part of the Asylum in-group. She came across more as a coordinator / businessperson / adult chaperone, at best.🐀) So, slightly better goodies than you'd get by joining the other AA 🔍 ... but not by much. The main appeal was that members would have access to exclusive content, special merch, giveaways, early bird tickets for future shows, and regular video chats with EA.
The concept itself drew a fair amount of criticism, as you can imagine. Between the name🐀, the price, and the inherent gatekeeping of a pay-to-join fanclub, many balked at the monetizing of a concept that had once (like, three years back) been significantly more DIY, grassroots, and inclusive. 📝🐀
Then again, many also longed for a positive, drama-free space where fans could just be fans. And while the creation of the AA was generally recognized as a quick cashgrab, a lot of people were surprisingly cool with it. EA was trying to finance her dream musical, after all – although a number of fans wished she had gone about raising funds in a less sketchy way.
So around 400 fans shelled out (which, according to the Headmistress📝, “basically cover[ed] the cost of running the fanclub itself – keeping the database up, website, etc.”). Enough for a close-knit, but sizable community. But already, there was a conflict of interest: a high fanclub entry fee essentially demands that you pledge loyalty to the artist over loyalty to your fellow fans, who wish to join but can't afford to. Sharing, caring, and ensuring no one felt left out were some of the more positive values cultivated in the fandom... but leaking exclusive content would surely piss off other paying members🐀, and make EA feel betrayed all over again. (And she had barely just started to mellow out on social media!)
...But then again, this is the internet. After the first month of secret AA drops (lyric sheets, some photoshoot outtakes – nothing too juicy, really), there were, yes, some leaks. EA was predictably miffed, and retaliated by... ghosting the fanclub for weeks at a time in its first few months of existence (great look!). She eventually found the “solution” to her problem, by providing something you couldn't right-click-save (and which had been part of the promised perks to begin with): live interaction.
Over webcam, she was her usual in-person bubbly, charming, funny self. Everyone seemingly had a good time during the fanclub video chat, and this gave people faith and hope.
There were a few more events, giveaways, etc. As promised, ahead of the fall 2013 tour (the last one to date, it would turn out), AA members got priority access to show tickets and VIP bundles. The latter were much pricier than before, and only included soundcheck, a photo-op, and three goodies: a tin of loose-leaf tea, a signed printer-paper setlist, and a small flag that said “F.L.A.G.”.🔍 Some stuff continued to leak – but, as some of the outlaws pointed out (scroll down to the Disqus comments), they were mostly relaying information that was relevant to the entire fanbase, such as updates about ongoing projects (the dragged-out recording of the audiobook, for one).
In early 2014, lifetime memberships were closed, and replaced with monthly, quarterly and yearly subscription tiers. Bizarrely, you ended up paying $3 more per month if you bought a $99 yearly subscription📝 – but it did include the patch, dog tag, and piece of paper!
For the still-too-poor or still-undecided, there was always the forum! It wasn't as active as it used to be, but a few die-hards still managed to keep the lights on... until, inevitably, Someone Did Something and Ruined Everything. (Once again: EA's wrath is spectacular, but rarely completely unprovoked.) The incident features one notable figure in the Asylum community. Let's call him the Collector.
OK, so maybe you remember the meme I linked to in Part 4, with Christian Grey and the ginormous EA hoard. Well, that's the Collector's collection. The “Violin” promo that I called the "Holy Grail of the fandom" in the same paragraph? Also his. The handwritten lyrics that went for $940? Guess who won that auction. Over the years, the Collector had probably spent five figures on EA merch and shows, and although that fact was a little unsettling, he was a very active, easy-going, and generally well-liked fixture of the fandom.
One day in 2012, shortly after the Headmistress had replaced EA's old Chicago BFF as main forum admin, the Collector's account got banned or restricted over something dumb. When the ban wasn't lifted as quickly as he hoped, he took it... the way one takes things when one is unhealthily invested: he started spamming Headmistress and the mod team with increasingly rambling and abusive emails (lost to time, probably for the best). When that didn't work quickly enough, he tried a different route.
One of the many auctions that the Collector had won, some years prior, was EA's old iPod Touch📝 – which contained all of her favorite tunes and, buried somewhere in the data cache... a phone number. Which the Collector tried calling. And wouldn't you know it: EA picked up. She congratulated him on his sleuthing skills, listened patiently as he made his case, apologized for any distress caused by the unfair account restriction, and then they got married.
Kidding! She freaked the fuck out, hung up, and banned him for life from the forum and all EA shows and events.
After his ban, the Collector allegedly still tried to attend at least one VIP pre-show (one source in the comments says he was allowed to buy some merch, refunded for his ticket, and escorted out). He joined the Reform forum to bitch about EA and try to rally people to his cause, possibly made revenge posts about her on darker snark forums, and continued to hound the Asylum mod team. So in June 2014, EA came up with a radical and unexpected fix to the Collector problem.
The obliteration of the forum took everyone by surprise...
...Well, no point in living in the past. For those who could afford it, and still wanted to talk to/about EA after that (not everyone did 🐀), there was always the Asylum Army fanclub!
Over the summer of 2014, EA held regular live chats and Q&A's, and... many attendees really enjoyed them, and thought the AA was well worth the money after all. She also quietly parted ways with the much poo-pooed Headmistress around that time.
Turns out the fanclub had been the Headmistress' idea all along. EA had been reluctant from the start, and although she really enjoyed the live chats with a safe community of people “who are there for the right reasons”, she couldn't overcome her fundamental discomfort with the concept. Lifetime and regular members would receive a bunch of digital downloads and a -35% coupon on the Asylum Emporium for their troubles. EA said she would definitely pop back once in a while for live chats, for free, just for fun, but to my knowledge, she never did.
And so the most devoted fans were left standing in the rain...
But there were no chats or live shows anymore. There was only social media, where she ignored questions and vague-posted about overdue projects – and the newsletter📝, which was all saccharine love-bombing to promote bland dropshipped trinkets. For fans who remembered the handcrafted merch (and two-way communication) of the early years, it was a bitter pill to swallow.
submitted by pillowcase-of-eels to HobbyDrama [link] [comments]
Welcome back to the Asylum write-up, where we explore the decade-long slow-motion car crash that is the Emilie Autumn fandom.
Sorry this installment took so long to upload! Just a heads-up, I may take some time to deliver the last one too – these posts take forever to format on Reddit's finicky-ass editor, and my dumb real life is currently keeping me from precious Internet time. Thank you for your patience! You have my word that everyone who pre-ordered the final installment will receive a PERSONAL, HANDWRITTEN letter autographed and illustrated by me, a list of the snacks I consumed while composing this write-up, some exclusive behind-the-scenes secrets, and a pony.
Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4.1 – Part 4.2 Part 5
Places, everyone This is a test Throw your stones Do your damage Your worst, and your best (...) And if I had a dollar For every time I repented the sin And commit the same crime I'd be sitting on top of the world today (“God Help Me”, 2006🎵)Quick recap of where we left off. First, there were five to ten halcyon years of pleasant and meaningful interactions between EA and her blossoming fanbase, prominently by way of her official forum. Then, circa 2009-2010, EA's online presence shifted towards sudden anger outbursts, ban-hammering, and an increasingly top-down communication style.
This created a sort of primordial rift within the fanbase, between those who supported EA's right to speak her mind and regulate her own fan spaces however she pleased – and those who thought that her reactions were rude and inappropriate (at best), and that even fan spaces should allow for reasonable, non-abusive criticism of the artist.
Between a poorly-handled book release (see Part 3), the controversial (Part 2) or dubiously true (Part 4) contents of said book, and serious shade from various former collaborators (Part 5), more and more fans had pressing thoughts about EA's work ethic and choices. EA attempted damage control through drastic forum rules that made it virtually impossible to voice any “serious” critical opinion. It didn't work, of course: instead of squashing the mutiny, she created a schism.
Critical fans and active haters started congregating on unofficial platforms.
“WITH MUFFINS LIKE THIS, WHO NEEDS ENEMIES?”: TROLL LIKE A GIRL
So here we were, the early 2010s. The official forum (which had about 700 members in 2006, if you recall) was now thousands-strong, reaching just over 12,000 registered users in 2012 – not all of them active, but still. In terms of sheer numbers and content creation, the party was POPPIN'... but increasingly in parts of the Asylum that escaped EA's jurisdiction, such as Tumblr, where they could speak their mind freely.You play the victim very well You've built your self-indulgent hell You wanted someone to understand you Well, be careful what you wish for, because I do (“I Know Where You Sleep”, 2006🎵)In one wing of Asylum Tumblr, a smattering of call-out blogs emerged, which laid out EA's various lies, faux pas, shitty takes, and general deep-seated terribleness in detailed timelines and screenshots (or, short of that, long-winded bullet points). While many such blogs framed it as “serious” whistleblowing and did their best to remain as fact-based and neutral as they could, there was some genuine disgust, animosity and creepiness towards EA on that side of Tumblr; for some ex-fans, “exposing the truth” was mostly justify obsessive hatred, prying and verbal abuse. Some, for instance, felt the bizarre need to side with EA's mother in their estrangement. (One user, with the URL “emilyautumnfischkopf”, argued in a serious and down-to-earth tone - but with zero sources - that EA's upbringing had been nothing but peaceful and supportive until she ungratefully kicked her loving family to the curb for no reason at all. They were later revealed 🔍 to have an alternate handle as “eaisalyingcunt”.)
Either way, through these blogs, a number of potential drama bombs that had mostly flown under the radar were dredged up from over the years – some of which were hard to ignore, even for supportive fans. Where to begin?
There was that nonsense in-joke song, captured twice on camera during the 2009 tour (to very little outrage, at the time), crassly called “Manatee Retard”📺. Or EA's scathing response, in print, to a wheelchair user who found it insensitive that she used a bedazzled wheelchair as a prop to do sexy acrobatics on stage. (“Your offence taken at my hard-won self-acceptance proves that I indeed have something to fight against”, she wrote). Spoken word tracks where she made trivializing knock-knock jokes about serious mental illnesses she didn't have, like schizophrenia and OCD. Multiple instances of calling Britney Spears a “bimbo” and a “Hollywood fucked-up”, resentfully claiming that she only shaved her head because she was “hopped up on drugs” and certainly not because she was “bipolar”, a word the press liked to wield as an insult anyway. (“That's almost like calling someone a retard!” Yeah, heaven forbid.) The meanest, most distasteful paragraphs in the book. Basically everything problematic EA had ever said or written.📝 In retrospect, it had been a long time coming, but it was a lot to take in – and certainly more off-putting, even to less emotionally invested fans, than silly lies about her age and last name.
In another wing of Asylum Tumblr, some fans had had it up to here and just wanted to have fun. 🎵 If Plague Rats had learned one valuable lesson from EA, it was how to crack a joke in the face of absurd tragedy – and the general state of the EA fandom certainly warranted a few.
In 2012, Fight Like a Girl was released. After six long years, three of which had been peaceful, the Opheliac era was officially over. The new album and ensuing tour confirmed that the Asylum had entered a process of glamorous Broadway-style militarization. 🎵📺
The mood board was “Roman general meets Vegas showgirl meets Victorian street urchin”.🪞 The color palette was, to naysayers, “musty pink and rotten, stale piss yellow”. 🐀 The keyword was “REVENGE” (through the power of... self-expression! sorority! brutal assault with rusty medical implements!). The chorus of the title song had an intriguing run-on line about getting “revenge on the world, or at least 49% of the people in it” 🎵 – which seemed like an awful lot, and was widely interpreted (to cheers, boos, or uncomfortable sighs) as a misandrist jab at literally all men on Earth.
The show was essentially a demo version of the musical, in that the setlist vaguely reflected the order of events in the story – but prior reading was essential in order to get what the hell was going on on stage. This one Broadway reviewer had not perused the literature before seeing the show 🔍, and hated: the set, the choreography, the skits, the plot, the lyrics, the music, the concept. (Seriously, you should read the review. It's not even my show and I feel like quitting show business.)
Pre-show VIP encounters, now violin-free, were lorded over by EA's new manager🐀, whose official title was “Asylum Headmistress”. (Interesting choice – she sounds fun!) The swag bags were less substantial than before, and the “greet” part of the meet-and-greet was rarely more than a quick hug and photo op.
On Twitter, EA continued to embrace her “I am very badass” fronting attitude...
Often wonder if cyberbullies r aware they’re fucking w/ a girl who’s BFs w/ maker of the SAW films & is marrying a knife-throwing scorpion. (🐀📝)...and her taste for needlessly inflammatory statements. About an aisle sign in a supermarket:
If this does not infuriate you, then you're a fucking potato.(Again with the confounding crypto-ableism, EA! 🔍) She also went through a phase of raging against Lady Gaga 📝, who had stolen her idea of using a wheelchair on stage as an able-bodied woman. 🔍 That failed to convince anyone that she wasn't the histrionic diva that haters made her out to be.
Spurred on by EA's rallying cries and “us vs them” mentality, loyalists turned the white-knighting up to 11. On Twitter, some Plague Rats got into cat fights with Lady Gaga's Little Monsters (what a time to be alive). Others tried to balance out the Tumblr negativity with initiatives like “Spreading a Plague of Love” – a “positive-only” confession blog, whose extreme fangirling, comically drastic rules and hyper-defensive tone📝 did not debunk the increasingly popular notion that “true Plague Rats” were a bunch of authoritarian and hopelessly brainwashed fanatics.
EA truthers and other anti-fans started lashing out at anyone who dared express any positive opinion of EA, solidifying claims that the backlash against EA was just a conspiracy of bitter, hysterical bullies.
All this to say: every passing day brought new reasons for fans to get mad at EA and each other, and everyone in the Asylum was in need of a laugh. It's not easy having a good time.🦠
Leading up to Fight Like a Girl and in the years that followed, user-submission-based meme blogs took off, most notably “Spreading a Plague of Lulz / Troll Like a Girl”. A lot of the early submissions were absurdist humor and toothless, cheezburger-Impact memes (a style that was, oddly, already dated at the time). Those often originated in good fun, and from loyal fans, on the official forum. But there was also true snark, satirizing EA's questionable ethics, outrageous claims, and easily spoofed artistic gimmicks. A new slang of Asylumspeak emerged: Glittertits (slight NSFW), GAGA!!, EA Gusta and all its memeface variants, Get outta mah house!, Are You Suffering?, Fight Like A Goat, [Random celebrity] copied EA (a subgenre in its own right), ...
Most of the “trolling” was directed at unrepentant bootlickers and, to a lesser extent, red-in-the-face haters and creeps. Meme blogs would post joke comments under “serious” or gushing submissions on Wayward Victorian Confessions, and taunt loyalist accounts by tagging them in their posts. When a few people complained on WVC that almost all of the Bloody Crumpets to date had been thin white able-bodied women, and a few fans responded by sharing their dream-casts for a more diverse line-up, the blog was flooded for days with confessions that “X should be a Crumpet” (candidates included RuPaul, Mitt Romney, Nicki Minaj, EA's therapist, and the WVC admins). Farcical shenanigans like that.
Ah, but some people will always cross the line, won't they. EA threads popped up on merciless, bully-friendly snark platforms like Lolcow, Pretty Ugly Little Liar, and Encyclopedia Dramatica. Snarkers with a mean streak and obsessive haters mingled in some of the more aggressive, 4-chan-spirited retaliation against EA – which would be called “brigading” in modern parlance. This included flooding EA's Goodreads page with one-star reviews (see part 4), repeatedly editing her Wikipedia page to include her legal name and birth year, and ensuring that Googling said name would bring up current pictures of her.
All of this compounded agitation fragmented the once-united fandom beyond recognition.🦠 Through substantial disagreements among fans, personal bickerings, layers upon layers of inscrutable in-jokes, and cross-platform telephone games, the Asylum morphed into a booby-trapped Escher room.
Satire blogs were taken in earnest. Earnest fan blogs scanned as satire. Memes would get called out as abuse. Appreciation without attached criticism would get mocked as bootlicking. Obvious jokes made by EA would be taken at face value. One divisive confession could trigger days and days of debate, to the point that WVC eventually banned confessions in response to other confessions. New waves of infighting created a confusing web of rival sub-factions🐀, each accusing the others of being toxic, cliquish, and delusional.
The shared fantasy was broken, the collective vision had crumbled, no onez was speaking the same language anymore. Fans would jump down the throat of other fans who held almost identical views about EA, except for that one thing she said or did that one time. Everyone had differing thoughts on what should or shouldn't acceptable to discuss, question, excuse, make fun of.
War is hell.
SCORCHED EARTH SHENANIGANS: HONEY, I SHRUNK THE ASYLUM
Would you tear my castle down Stone by stone And let the wind run through my windows Till there was nothing left But a battered rose? (“Castle Down”, 2003🎵)Haters vs sycophants is not really the kind of conflict where one side can come out on top (if you're participating, you've already lost). But in the long tug-of-war between “grassroots” and “EA-sponsored” fan spaces, the ultimate winner is obvious – in that the former is gasping in agony, a shriveled husk of its former glory, while the latter... is non-existent. This is due in no small part to EA's tendency, like the Czars of old, to settle conflicts by setting Moscow on fire.🔍)
That's not entirely fair: unlike EA, the czar only did it that once.
By early 2013, as EA was gearing up for her third Fight Like a Girl tour at the end of the year, the official forum was... not as lively as it once had been. Not just because of the stifling rules and disgruntlement towards EA, or because EA herself hadn't really posted anything on there in years; the Internet was also changing, and forums in general were fast becoming passé.
This made it difficult for EA to create a safe space where she could talk to fans, and fans could talk to and about her, in a way she deemed suitable (ie, a space she could gate-keep and regulate enough to keep it completely free from negative criticism). Social media was a minefield; she still posted regularly, but didn't interact very much. So EA and the Headmistress came up with a way to filter out the unbelievers: an official fan club📝, aptly called the “Asylum Army”, with a $100 entry price.
Joining the AA came with a dog tag, a sew-on patch, and a lifetime membership certificate signed by EA and – for some reason – the Headmistress. (Unlike EA's best friend and sound engineer back in the forum's heyday, I don't think fans ever really embraced the FLAG-era manager as part of the Asylum in-group. She came across more as a coordinator / businessperson / adult chaperone, at best.🐀) So, slightly better goodies than you'd get by joining the other AA 🔍 ... but not by much. The main appeal was that members would have access to exclusive content, special merch, giveaways, early bird tickets for future shows, and regular video chats with EA.
The concept itself drew a fair amount of criticism, as you can imagine. Between the name🐀, the price, and the inherent gatekeeping of a pay-to-join fanclub, many balked at the monetizing of a concept that had once (like, three years back) been significantly more DIY, grassroots, and inclusive. 📝🐀
Then again, many also longed for a positive, drama-free space where fans could just be fans. And while the creation of the AA was generally recognized as a quick cashgrab, a lot of people were surprisingly cool with it. EA was trying to finance her dream musical, after all – although a number of fans wished she had gone about raising funds in a less sketchy way.
So around 400 fans shelled out (which, according to the Headmistress📝, “basically cover[ed] the cost of running the fanclub itself – keeping the database up, website, etc.”). Enough for a close-knit, but sizable community. But already, there was a conflict of interest: a high fanclub entry fee essentially demands that you pledge loyalty to the artist over loyalty to your fellow fans, who wish to join but can't afford to. Sharing, caring, and ensuring no one felt left out were some of the more positive values cultivated in the fandom... but leaking exclusive content would surely piss off other paying members🐀, and make EA feel betrayed all over again. (And she had barely just started to mellow out on social media!)
...But then again, this is the internet. After the first month of secret AA drops (lyric sheets, some photoshoot outtakes – nothing too juicy, really), there were, yes, some leaks. EA was predictably miffed, and retaliated by... ghosting the fanclub for weeks at a time in its first few months of existence (great look!). She eventually found the “solution” to her problem, by providing something you couldn't right-click-save (and which had been part of the promised perks to begin with): live interaction.
Over webcam, she was her usual in-person bubbly, charming, funny self. Everyone seemingly had a good time during the fanclub video chat, and this gave people faith and hope.
There were a few more events, giveaways, etc. As promised, ahead of the fall 2013 tour (the last one to date, it would turn out), AA members got priority access to show tickets and VIP bundles. The latter were much pricier than before, and only included soundcheck, a photo-op, and three goodies: a tin of loose-leaf tea, a signed printer-paper setlist, and a small flag that said “F.L.A.G.”.🔍 Some stuff continued to leak – but, as some of the outlaws pointed out (scroll down to the Disqus comments), they were mostly relaying information that was relevant to the entire fanbase, such as updates about ongoing projects (the dragged-out recording of the audiobook, for one).
In early 2014, lifetime memberships were closed, and replaced with monthly, quarterly and yearly subscription tiers. Bizarrely, you ended up paying $3 more per month if you bought a $99 yearly subscription📝 – but it did include the patch, dog tag, and piece of paper!
Sometimes I kind of want to be part of the cool kids and register to the Asylum Army. Then I remember how it came about, what you could get for the same price a couple years ago, how the whole thing was and is handled, and that I won’t support any of this bullshit. (And then I roll around naked in all the money I’m saving.) (🐀)Still, a number of fans rejoiced at the affordable monthly option, and joined – if not for the exclusive content and merch (which were... okay, but not much to write home about), then for the friendly, drama-free exchanges with an artist they actually did love, in spite of all the frustration.
For the still-too-poor or still-undecided, there was always the forum! It wasn't as active as it used to be, but a few die-hards still managed to keep the lights on... until, inevitably, Someone Did Something and Ruined Everything. (Once again: EA's wrath is spectacular, but rarely completely unprovoked.) The incident features one notable figure in the Asylum community. Let's call him the Collector.
OK, so maybe you remember the meme I linked to in Part 4, with Christian Grey and the ginormous EA hoard. Well, that's the Collector's collection. The “Violin” promo that I called the "Holy Grail of the fandom" in the same paragraph? Also his. The handwritten lyrics that went for $940? Guess who won that auction. Over the years, the Collector had probably spent five figures on EA merch and shows, and although that fact was a little unsettling, he was a very active, easy-going, and generally well-liked fixture of the fandom.
One day in 2012, shortly after the Headmistress had replaced EA's old Chicago BFF as main forum admin, the Collector's account got banned or restricted over something dumb. When the ban wasn't lifted as quickly as he hoped, he took it... the way one takes things when one is unhealthily invested: he started spamming Headmistress and the mod team with increasingly rambling and abusive emails (lost to time, probably for the best). When that didn't work quickly enough, he tried a different route.
One of the many auctions that the Collector had won, some years prior, was EA's old iPod Touch📝 – which contained all of her favorite tunes and, buried somewhere in the data cache... a phone number. Which the Collector tried calling. And wouldn't you know it: EA picked up. She congratulated him on his sleuthing skills, listened patiently as he made his case, apologized for any distress caused by the unfair account restriction, and then they got married.
Kidding! She freaked the fuck out, hung up, and banned him for life from the forum and all EA shows and events.
After his ban, the Collector allegedly still tried to attend at least one VIP pre-show (one source in the comments says he was allowed to buy some merch, refunded for his ticket, and escorted out). He joined the Reform forum to bitch about EA and try to rally people to his cause, possibly made revenge posts about her on darker snark forums, and continued to hound the Asylum mod team. So in June 2014, EA came up with a radical and unexpected fix to the Collector problem.
The official Asylum Fan Forum has been shut down permanently. I have personally paid thousands of dollars each year to keep the forum safe and secure for you ... Unfortunately, the forum has not been kept safe and secure for me, a truth which disappoints me greatly, instead becoming a place where people who have physically threatened myself and my staff prey upon forum members, pressuring them to contact me and my staff on their behalf. If the gullible wish to humor my stalkers (who live in their parent’s basement at age 30 something) and thus put me in danger, they may do it on their own dime. They may also fuck off, because stupidity can kill, and I won’t be your victim. To those who enjoyed the forum, you know who to thank for its closure. (“On the closing of the Asylum Forum”)Voilà! This is how a decade-long archive of shared history ends: not with a bang, but with a dirty delete and a sod-off communiqué.
The obliteration of the forum took everyone by surprise...
I was actually on the forum when it was taken down. I was navigating between posts and when I went to click on a different board, an error message came up. I honestly cried a little, I'm not ashamed to say. (WVC admin on Reddit, 2024)...and I do mean everyone:
Chicago BFF / ex-admin, the next morning: Whoa, EA forum shut down? Ex-mod: It turns out that if someone spends enough years actively “waging war” to destroy what they can’t have, eventually they’ll be successful. * eye roll * Not even mods got prior warning. Just all the sudden, poof, gone. BFF: Really? She did not let the moderators know?! This is sounding worse and worse. Uggh. I’m so sorry. Such a loss. (...) Ok, threats are serious, but why not just put it in archive mode so no one can post? (...) Sad. I shall light a candle in the forum's honor. (Facebook posts; scroll down for screenshots)It was a gut punch, especially for people who had poured countless hours into the community, or could have used some prior warning to save years of their own writing from the role-playing threads. One last chance to take a look around the place that had meant so much to so many.
From the wording of the announcement of closing the forum and a number of other things, it sometimes seems like EA doesn't like her fans much. :/ (🐀)Three months after the forum was nuked, Battered Rose (a venerable EA fansite, which had been around since the Enchant era and had one of the most complete EA galleries online) announced that it was shutting down too.📝 The admin, who had also been a long-time forum mod, cited a lack of “time, energy, passion, or money” to keep the website going... and being upset at the sudden disappearance of the forum. It was, truly, the end of an era for the Asylum.
...Well, no point in living in the past. For those who could afford it, and still wanted to talk to/about EA after that (not everyone did 🐀), there was always the Asylum Army fanclub!
Over the summer of 2014, EA held regular live chats and Q&A's, and... many attendees really enjoyed them, and thought the AA was well worth the money after all. She also quietly parted ways with the much poo-pooed Headmistress around that time.
Just spent over 4 hours giggling, drinking tea and playing guessing games in chat with EA and other Asylum Army members ... No griping, no downers, just lots of fun. I think I like the way the ‘new fandom’ is going and now I’m really glad I finally decided to join the Army. (September 4, 2014🐀; Battered Rose had closed the day before)The forum was lost forever, but perhaps that was a chance for a fresh start. Could this fanclub thing really be the Asylum Renaissance that fans had been longing for?
...I have come today to a very difficult but necessary decision, and that is to discontinue the Emilie Autumn Official Fanclub. The site itself, and the community chatroom, will remain open to you indefinitely, but I will no longer be making updates to the site. (Newsletter, September 8, 2014📝)...Never mind, then.
Turns out the fanclub had been the Headmistress' idea all along. EA had been reluctant from the start, and although she really enjoyed the live chats with a safe community of people “who are there for the right reasons”, she couldn't overcome her fundamental discomfort with the concept. Lifetime and regular members would receive a bunch of digital downloads and a -35% coupon on the Asylum Emporium for their troubles. EA said she would definitely pop back once in a while for live chats, for free, just for fun, but to my knowledge, she never did.
And so the most devoted fans were left standing in the rain...
She is happy, she made it. She is fulfilling her dreams, found love and happiness after all the pain. I understand that she now doesn’t need “us” anymore ... That doesn’t change the fact she broke my heart with taking the Asylum Army and the forum from me. Yet, I am happy for her. (🐀)...while naysayers pointed and laughed, Nelson-style.🦠
I don’t feel sorry at all for the people that paid for the Asylum Army fan club. Most of them knew that EA is an atrocious business woman and has broken many promises before. In fact, I laugh at them. They seriously thought that EA would actually stay consistent with this? (🐀)
EVERYTHING MUST GO: THE ASYLUM WHOLESALE
EA fans were left without an “official” home for about three years. This gave them plenty of time to be annoyed at EA for: not releasing the audiobook on time, not materializing any new project for a while... and the new sin of peddling random, ridiculously marked-up AliBaba jewelry as “merch” on her official store. Think faux-antique cameo pendants and $30 Big Ben rings (...because the Asylum story is set in London, get it?).The whole accessories section looks like a tacky overpriced English souvenir shop. (🐀)The fanbase lost a lost of steam in those in-between years, because there wasn't much to stick around for. As evidenced by the positive reception of the AA live chats, even in the midst of unresolved drama, out-loud interactions in a friendly environment have always been EA's saving grace. Considering the amount of online hate, there are shockingly few accounts of bad IRL encounters with EA: most people say that in live conversation, she comes across as a fun, warm, and genuinely sweet person. Some report that their negative opinion shifted after meeting her.
But there were no chats or live shows anymore. There was only social media, where she ignored questions and vague-posted about overdue projects – and the newsletter📝, which was all saccharine love-bombing to promote bland dropshipped trinkets. For fans who remembered the handcrafted merch (and two-way communication) of the early years, it was a bitter pill to swallow.