Does rick ross own belaire rose
Magic Traditions. Night Wedding.
2023.06.05 05:25 CornerCornea Magic Traditions. Night Wedding.
I recently came across a post about an expat who participated in a night wedding. After reading the accounts I began to do research on my own. Not because I believe in any of that stuff. I'm a magician after all. Illusion is my bread and butter. And I can detect trickery better than most. Which in my line of work has its benefits. But old traditions are the best places to pick up new techniques. Old ways that are new to others that delight and even scare people. Because, if I can make them afraid. Make them look away. For even a second. I can pull off some astounding magic.
My gig at the cruise line was coming to an end as we neared the port of Shanghai. And for my last several shows, where I'd normally start to include my greatest tricks in order to leave a lasting impression. I developed a new act that I called "The Sneaky Bride", it involved a mannequin in a wedding dress, a beautiful train, veil, flowers on the ground - the whole nine yards some would say. The trick was that the bride would sneak bites as my assistants who are dressed as servers pass by with their trays.
I begin the trick by placing a mannequin center stage for all to see so that they know it's a dummy. I show them there are no holes, and the entire thing is solid. Then we dress it up and set the stage for a wedding. And with a bit of lighting, another assistant switches places with the mannequin and is being fed under the veil. We later changed it to more slight of hand techniques as the assistant complained she wasn't able to chew fast enough as the items of course have to get larger and larger for comedic effect as the guests were wowed by the disappearing act as the fake wedding progressed.
At the end we even invited the unmarried men up to the stage and then threw out a fake bouquet, and watched them clamber over each other in good fun to catch it. The act was an instant hit and had the crowd roaring every night. Which was why I decided to take a firsthand look at the original, and see if there were any other staging techniques I could learn from this old tradition.
With some help from Bing and its ChatGPT features I was able to get a relatively good idea of where it was practiced. So I booked the next flight out to begin my quest for a real night wedding.
Upon arrival at my hotel, I asked the concierge for information about the local practice.
"Yes. I know of this one. We practice it often for children who were taken too early."
"But they are all scams?"
The concierge smiled, "In most cases the pouches mean no harm, and they're simply for families who want to provide peace for themselves and to complete a lasting tradition. Sometimes the dowries are quite lucrative as well, and it is the families who are scammed by those who go and collect these ghost wives as concubines. We call it a blue procession for the trail of ghosts the husband leaves behind wherever he goes." He leans in, "But between you and me? They're mostly all scams."
I laughed, and I can't stress this next part enough, tip your concierge! Which I did. "Thank you, and also. Do you know where I could get a good start on finding more information about these ghost dowries? Or even find one of these pouches myself?"
"The temple down this first street to the left, about half a kilometer, would be a good place to start. But finding a pouch is a bit more difficult as they pop up sporadically. However, if traditions are to be believed it is the pouch who chooses the spouse."
I thanked him again and began to make my way through the early morning rush toward the temple. The streets were lined with open markets full of food from local farmers, which were common in the morning in this part of the world. They would disappear before the afternoon and then return again to sell wares at night when it was cooler. It made the city feel as if it were breathing as the locals rose and ebbed outside with day and night.
On my way, I searched the ground and around alleys for loose pouches. But I had no such luck by the time I arrived at the temple. Large red pillars that were thicker than any tree I've personally had the pleasure of meeting held up the high ceiling. Inside, the locals were already starting to disperse as the work hours were amongst us. Which left me nearly alone in this temple at about 8:00 in the morning.
A monk or priest was kneeling on a mat in front of a wooden shrine, throwing pieces of wood in the shape of dumplings on the floor. I waited patiently for him to finish. Taking in the sights and the delicate features of the temple. When he rose I approached him.
"You don't speak English by any chance do you?"
He smiled.
"What about the middle tongue?" I asked in Mandarin.
"Oh," he seemed surprised. "Yes. How may I be of assistance?"
"What were you doing just now?"
He held out his hand and showed me two red wooden pieces that were, with closer inspection, in the shape of moons. "Jiaobei," he told me. "We use these to seek divine guidance."
"How does it work?"
The monk shows me the two sides, one was smooth and flat, the other side rounded. "You ask a question and then throw it on the ground. One block flat and one block round, means yes. Both blocks showing round means no. Or depending on the question. Anger from the Gods. Or crying in sadness as it is commonly known. And finally, both blocks showing flat means laughter. Which could mean a number of things." He hands them to me, "You throw it three times to get a better answer."
"I'm guessing if it's the same all three times, the answer is definitive?"
The monk nodded.
"Will I..."
"Ah ah ah, in silence."
I didn't want my first question to be too convoluted or difficult. So I kept it simple and asked if I was a good magician. Then I threw the Jiaobei on the floor. It clattered and rolled on its rounded back, showing two flat sides.
The monk smiled.
"That usually happens the first time anyone tries Jiaobei. But in my experience, it generally means you asked a pure question."
"What happens if I didn't ask a pure question and it came back as angry?"
"The gods will remember it. They will remember you."
"No bad first impression then huh," I whispered under my breath. "Okay. Do I need to throw it two more times or can I ask a different question?"
"You may ask a different question or throw it twice more."
"What is my name?" I threw it on the floor. And to my surprise, as the ends are pointed and difficult to balance, one of the damn things stood tall and erect.
The monk bowed to the pieces. "Truly you have been picked by the gods to be answered. Lijiao or a standing answer like this is uncommonly rare. The gods generally choose to laugh at a nonsensical question. And often get angry if you throw it two more times. And rarely do they ever answer ones asked aloud."
I bent forward, skeptical, though a temple this was, at how the thing worked. In my head I could only think that the switchboard guy was quick on his feet. But looking around I couldn't find any cameras. Though in this day an age, they're made smaller than a fly. So it was difficult to tell. I picked up the pieces, feeling for any sense of magnetism, but there were none.
I asked one last question before I left that day. I asked their gods, would I find the real deal? And I threw it on the ground three times. All three times it came up yes. But for two months I scoured the city, and the country side. And I did chance upon several pouches. Some were obviously scams as I watched each bag carefully before approaching. Especially noticeable are the ones in the city which would be laying on the sidewalk, filled with bills for people passing by. But I observed that if a local went to go pick it up, two or three men from around the corner would come and threaten him to put it back. But if a foreigner picked it up, an old man or woman would come and start calling them son before leading them away.
There were of course others that were genuinely following tradition. I chanced upon several of them and was married several times. But each one was playful almost. And performed by their parents in the day. Leaving me with several small bags of pocket change, a good dinner, as I went on my way.
During one of these fake night weddings I even saw a child playfully munching on a corn cob in the corner under one of the tables as I fed the effigy they constructed of my fake bride. Which was when I think I decided to call it quits. Believing that I'd never find the real deal. Although I did learn a lot as tradition can be translated by me into performance. Which helped me ground 'The Sneaky Bride' act further. All in all, this was time well spent.
My visa was coming to an end and I had mostly been enjoying the sights, the city, and their way of life. When on one the last day, as I was leaving from a faraway eatery that the concierge had recommended, that I saw a red pouch made of silk with a thick yarn around its throat, stuffed full of money. I looked around and didn't see a single person there, nothing except flat farmland and water gullies for miles.
Odd, I thought to myself, as it looked truly abandoned.
For a second I played with the idea of picking it up. Wondering if somehow a relative of the deceased would pop up magically next to me and I could change the world of magic by studying their technique. But I didn't want to spend my few hours chasing ghosts. I wanted to enjoy my time. So I kept walking.
I got back to the city and spent the remainder of my day eating and drinking, meeting new friends at the bar, newfound lads who I invited a hundred times to visit me in Melbourne one day. Who all agreed that if fate ever brought us back together we would drink until the sun rose. So yeah, I was fairly drunk when I got back to my hotel room, and didn't believe what I saw when I opened the door. It was a red pouch sitting on my coffee table.
"Someone's trying to play a trick on me," I mused. "They must have heard me talking at the bar." I circled the table studying the pouch. Any magician worth his smoke, likes a good bag. So there was no doubt to me that this was the same one I saw earlier. Which made me start putting two and two together. "It must be the concierge. He's the one who sent me out that far." I laughed and picked up the bag, even though I knew the rules. I opened it and thumbed through the bills. "It's much more than what I tipped him. Much more." Curious, I wondered what he would have done if I didn't return this to him. It must have been quite a few months worth of wages. I threw the bag up in the air and caught it as if I were juggling before I tossed it on my nightstand. "I'm going to let him sweat for a little bit and pretend I didn't find it tomorrow as I check out," I mused as I went to go take a shower.
I opened the door and felt the words stick to the roof of my mouth as the bag appeared on the counter next to the sink. I shot a glance back to the nightstand and indeed the bag I had just thrown on there was missing.
"This is a good fucking trick. That, or I'm drunker than I thought." I started questioning did I somehow fall asleep beforehand? Or walked into the bathroom and put it there as I mused my little scheme of making the concierge nervous at the lost pouch? Had I somehow in my drunken state done something without realizing it? No. That couldn't be it. I touched my chest to check my heart rate and put my fingers on my face. A bit flushed, but heart rate adequate. I was fine for the most part. Just drunk.
I looked at the pouch on the counter, and peered gingerly into the bathroom as if I've never stepped foot in one, before deciding to grab the bag and close the door. "Okay," I said loudly. "Whoever's doing this. Come on out." Of course no one appeared, not that I expected them to because the credo I lived by is that a good magician never reveals his trick.
"Okay, let's see how good you guys really are," I mused. Going over to my closet and placed the pouch on the shelf. Closing the door. Then I went back to the bathroom and opened the door. It was empty. I checked the nightstand drawer, mpty. I looked all over, and it was still mty. I breathed a sigh and went over to the closet door, "I guess you're just a bag after all." Except when I looked inside. MT. I couldn't find the bag behind any other nook or cranny. I know, I checked them all. And they were all .
I stumbled backwards and looked around, glancing at the ceiling corners in case someone had crawled up there. And even looked under the bed. But there was no one else here. I felt my chest tighten as I tried to make sense of what was happening. "Its got to be the walls I reasoned." And so for the next half hour I scoured the entire room with my hands, pushing, pressing, pulling anywhere and everywhere I could. Using all my years of experience to figure out what was going on. But there was nothing.
I couldn't stay in that room another minute so I rushed outside and nearly stepped on it! The bag! It was right at the foot of my doorstep.
My mind tried to wrap around how that was possible, "It's got to be a dupe. They've got more than one bag. I've been had, that has to be it. And the furniture inside, they have secret compartments. God, they really put a lot of effort into this," I laughed. "I have to know how this trick is done." So I opened the pouch and pulled out the note inside.
The notes generally contained their name, their current would-be age (she was 20 this year, older than most), what time they were born (8:07), a picture if they had one (she did), and how old they when they died (5). If the deceased were a bit older, perhaps a tidbit from their family is included about their personality. But most importantly, it always contained their address.
I looked at my watch, it was late and my flight was in the morning but perhaps I could still make it. So I gathered the rest of my things, my luggage, the mannequin for my act, and other bag of tricks in case I needed to go to the airport right after. "Come on," I yelled out loud to my pranksters. "Let's go see what other tricks you have up your sleeve."
I went down to the lobby and had the front desk call me a cab. I looked around for the concierge but he was nowhere to be found. So I left a note for him. And then left.
The cab drove until the city faded away. We were practically on the other side of the island by the time its tires skipped to a stop. I got out and knocked on the giant half circle doors of the address. I noticed that we were deep in the countryside. There were hardly any lights dotting the night.
I knocked several more times before I heard shuffling behind the door. And then it opened. An old man stood in front of me in his drawers.
"What do you want," he asked angrily. "Do you know what time it is?"
"I'm sorry for disturbing you at such a late hour. But," I pulled out the pouch. And his eyes widened up.
"Meju-eh. You're back." He looked at me up and down. "What are you supposed to be," he asked but then shook his head. "No, no. Come in. Come in, please."
"I don't have much time," I told him. "I have to leave in the morning."
"Sit, sit." He ushered me to a chair in the courtyard.
I placed the bag on the table next to it, "I have a flight in the morning, so if we're going to do this. We have to do it now."
Instead of fighting me, he nodded, "Yes. I agree. I don't have much time either. And Meju-eh is older than most ghost brides. The bull demon might not let her through his gets if she gets any older. And then she'll be a husbandless spinster for eternity." He ushered around, "We don't have many living relatives either. So it shouldn't be too troublesome to hurry this along." He called into the house and a young woman came out, "This is my granddaughter. Ah-ahn. Meju-eh's older sister. They were close as children."
Ah-ahn was quite beautiful. I almost couldn't take my eyes off of her.
"Go and start preparations and rouse anyone you can get a hold of. We must have the wedding tonight. Even if it isn't grand as I would like."
"Will we make it in time," I asked. "It's a lot of work for one person. Perhaps I could help?"
The old man nodded, "That's a good idea. But forgive me, I must retire for now. Or else have no energy for the wedding." He turned to his granddaughter, "Fetch me when the preparations are ready." As he left us alone in the courtyard.
"What can I do," I asked her.
"We're going to need flowers for decoration."
I pulled a rose out from behind her ear, "I happen to have a case of these on hand at all times." I put the flower in her hair.
She smiled, "Thank you."
"What else?"
"Um, we already have tables for family gatherings. There should be enough food in the freezers that we can just heat up. I need to call my aunt to come help. And wake up some of the kids. Also...we kind of need a statue of some sort, as a stand-in for my sister."
"Statue? I think I have just the thing."
Hours went by and it was the dead of the night, but watching all the people bustling around the courtyard, the kids in excited whispers, you'd never guess that all of us should have been sleeping. Soon the tables were set, the food was hot, even the decorations were strung, and I had procured my mannequin from my luggage and a few of the menfolk were putting it together inside the main living room.
Several times I found myself laughing and having a good time with the others, although chasing that hen made me look quite ridiculous, and several times I bumped into Ah-ahn and we would talk and exchange a few words. In the beginning she talked mostly about her sister. How she was troublesome as a child. Always hiding things. I told her about the pouch appearing and disappearing in my hotel. And we both had a good laugh. Eventually we talked about ourselves. I learned she wanted to get away from here, "To see the world," she told me. The more we talked the closer we got. I could feel it. Soon we were bumping into each other just to feel our bodies touch. But before anything else transpired the wedding preparations were complete.
The old man was retrieved from his bedroom and everyone gathered outside in the courtyard, looking into the main living room. There was a wooden shrine in the back of the room and the mannequin had been traditionally dressed. From an old box the grandfather retrieved several personal items that belonged to Meju. And I was then asked to enter the living room.
The grandfather said a few words, and then gave us his blessing. Ah-ahn handed me a bowl of sticky rice ball soup. I had been through this process before and knew what to do. I ate one of the pink balls and then went to go feed my new bride.
Now I've traveled with this mannequin for some time. Seen it at a dozen of my own shows. Slept with it in the room. Knew that it was in fact a dummy for all intents and purposes. However, as I started moving my spoon toward it. I swear I saw it's chest rise as if it were breathing.
I couldn't tell if it was from the alcohol ebbing away from earlier or a trick of the light. But even its shoulders looked softer than usual. My hand started shaking as it got closer to her mouth. It was like watching an out of body experience as the spoon inched under her veil. And then the CRUNCH. It scared the fucking shit out of me. I looked around hoping to see some kid in the corner playing a dumb joke. But there were none. And I didn't believe what I was seeing even as the veil started moving as her jaws chewed the sticky material back and forth.
"No way," I shook. "There's just no way." My hand was so close to the veil. "Oh God. Please. I have to know how this is done." I ripped off the veil.
Meju looked very much like her picture. But older. And then older. And older. As if her face was starting to rot away as it contorted. People behind me screamed. The lightbulbs we had strung popped. Kids were running around and the grandfather fell to the floor clutching his heart.
I backed away, the spoon clattering to the ground as I watched the mannequin crick and crack as its arms and legs bent in a tangled mess until it was walking on all fours!
The thing grabbed the bent down to the grandfather and started chewing!
I turned around and saw the other guests were piling out of the courtyard. The tables were upturned and only the dim crescent light of the moon bore down on us. Everyone was screaming trying to get out. I ran and bumped into Ah-ahn. She whirled terrified and then realized it was me. She yelled, "You never! Look at the bride before it's time!"
"I'm so sorry! I didn't know. I thought it was a trick!"
She grabbed her face, her nails leaving streaks behind as she clawed at her skin, "Now she's going to kill every living blood relative. And then you." Ah-ahn laughed manically. "She's going to torture you!"
The people kept pushing around us until we got separated. Her final words still ringing in my ears as I took to the dirt road outside and started running. I ran for nearly a mile before I spotted a cab sitting outside of someone's house. I banged on their door and then begged them to take me to the airport. Throwing at them all the money from the dowry.
When I arrived at the airport I hurried through the TSA. Relieved at the lights and normal looking people. I boarded my flight. Tapping my foot nervously the entire time, staring out the small squarish window as we prepared to take off. The sun was starting to rise as the engine roared. I took one last look at the island as we flew away. Still trying to catch my breath at what I had just caused.
My mind was reeling as I heard two knocking noises, they sounded oddly familiar, and for a second I thought that Meju had finished with her family and had somehow come boarded. But then I realized the noise was coming from my carry-on. I reached inside and pulled out two red shaped crescents that the Monk at the temple had given to me. And I realized that if I ever needed any form of divine guidance this was it.
So right there in the tiny aisle. I asked the gods if I had escaped and threw the Jiaobei.
No.
I asked the gods if I would be safe.
No.
I asked them would Meju kill me.
Both flat.
Both flat.
Both flat.
s
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My gig at the cruise line was coming to an end as we neared the port of Shanghai. And for my last several shows, where I'd normally start to include my greatest tricks in order to leave a lasting impression. I developed a new act that I called "The Sneaky Bride", it involved a mannequin in a wedding dress, a beautiful train, veil, flowers on the ground - the whole nine yards some would say. The trick was that the bride would sneak bites as my assistants who are dressed as servers pass by with their trays.
I begin the trick by placing a mannequin center stage for all to see so that they know it's a dummy. I show them there are no holes, and the entire thing is solid. Then we dress it up and set the stage for a wedding. And with a bit of lighting, another assistant switches places with the mannequin and is being fed under the veil. We later changed it to more slight of hand techniques as the assistant complained she wasn't able to chew fast enough as the items of course have to get larger and larger for comedic effect as the guests were wowed by the disappearing act as the fake wedding progressed.
At the end we even invited the unmarried men up to the stage and then threw out a fake bouquet, and watched them clamber over each other in good fun to catch it. The act was an instant hit and had the crowd roaring every night. Which was why I decided to take a firsthand look at the original, and see if there were any other staging techniques I could learn from this old tradition.
With some help from Bing and its ChatGPT features I was able to get a relatively good idea of where it was practiced. So I booked the next flight out to begin my quest for a real night wedding.
Upon arrival at my hotel, I asked the concierge for information about the local practice.
"Yes. I know of this one. We practice it often for children who were taken too early."
"But they are all scams?"
The concierge smiled, "In most cases the pouches mean no harm, and they're simply for families who want to provide peace for themselves and to complete a lasting tradition. Sometimes the dowries are quite lucrative as well, and it is the families who are scammed by those who go and collect these ghost wives as concubines. We call it a blue procession for the trail of ghosts the husband leaves behind wherever he goes." He leans in, "But between you and me? They're mostly all scams."
I laughed, and I can't stress this next part enough, tip your concierge! Which I did. "Thank you, and also. Do you know where I could get a good start on finding more information about these ghost dowries? Or even find one of these pouches myself?"
"The temple down this first street to the left, about half a kilometer, would be a good place to start. But finding a pouch is a bit more difficult as they pop up sporadically. However, if traditions are to be believed it is the pouch who chooses the spouse."
I thanked him again and began to make my way through the early morning rush toward the temple. The streets were lined with open markets full of food from local farmers, which were common in the morning in this part of the world. They would disappear before the afternoon and then return again to sell wares at night when it was cooler. It made the city feel as if it were breathing as the locals rose and ebbed outside with day and night.
On my way, I searched the ground and around alleys for loose pouches. But I had no such luck by the time I arrived at the temple. Large red pillars that were thicker than any tree I've personally had the pleasure of meeting held up the high ceiling. Inside, the locals were already starting to disperse as the work hours were amongst us. Which left me nearly alone in this temple at about 8:00 in the morning.
A monk or priest was kneeling on a mat in front of a wooden shrine, throwing pieces of wood in the shape of dumplings on the floor. I waited patiently for him to finish. Taking in the sights and the delicate features of the temple. When he rose I approached him.
"You don't speak English by any chance do you?"
He smiled.
"What about the middle tongue?" I asked in Mandarin.
"Oh," he seemed surprised. "Yes. How may I be of assistance?"
"What were you doing just now?"
He held out his hand and showed me two red wooden pieces that were, with closer inspection, in the shape of moons. "Jiaobei," he told me. "We use these to seek divine guidance."
"How does it work?"
The monk shows me the two sides, one was smooth and flat, the other side rounded. "You ask a question and then throw it on the ground. One block flat and one block round, means yes. Both blocks showing round means no. Or depending on the question. Anger from the Gods. Or crying in sadness as it is commonly known. And finally, both blocks showing flat means laughter. Which could mean a number of things." He hands them to me, "You throw it three times to get a better answer."
"I'm guessing if it's the same all three times, the answer is definitive?"
The monk nodded.
"Will I..."
"Ah ah ah, in silence."
I didn't want my first question to be too convoluted or difficult. So I kept it simple and asked if I was a good magician. Then I threw the Jiaobei on the floor. It clattered and rolled on its rounded back, showing two flat sides.
The monk smiled.
"That usually happens the first time anyone tries Jiaobei. But in my experience, it generally means you asked a pure question."
"What happens if I didn't ask a pure question and it came back as angry?"
"The gods will remember it. They will remember you."
"No bad first impression then huh," I whispered under my breath. "Okay. Do I need to throw it two more times or can I ask a different question?"
"You may ask a different question or throw it twice more."
"What is my name?" I threw it on the floor. And to my surprise, as the ends are pointed and difficult to balance, one of the damn things stood tall and erect.
The monk bowed to the pieces. "Truly you have been picked by the gods to be answered. Lijiao or a standing answer like this is uncommonly rare. The gods generally choose to laugh at a nonsensical question. And often get angry if you throw it two more times. And rarely do they ever answer ones asked aloud."
I bent forward, skeptical, though a temple this was, at how the thing worked. In my head I could only think that the switchboard guy was quick on his feet. But looking around I couldn't find any cameras. Though in this day an age, they're made smaller than a fly. So it was difficult to tell. I picked up the pieces, feeling for any sense of magnetism, but there were none.
I asked one last question before I left that day. I asked their gods, would I find the real deal? And I threw it on the ground three times. All three times it came up yes. But for two months I scoured the city, and the country side. And I did chance upon several pouches. Some were obviously scams as I watched each bag carefully before approaching. Especially noticeable are the ones in the city which would be laying on the sidewalk, filled with bills for people passing by. But I observed that if a local went to go pick it up, two or three men from around the corner would come and threaten him to put it back. But if a foreigner picked it up, an old man or woman would come and start calling them son before leading them away.
There were of course others that were genuinely following tradition. I chanced upon several of them and was married several times. But each one was playful almost. And performed by their parents in the day. Leaving me with several small bags of pocket change, a good dinner, as I went on my way.
During one of these fake night weddings I even saw a child playfully munching on a corn cob in the corner under one of the tables as I fed the effigy they constructed of my fake bride. Which was when I think I decided to call it quits. Believing that I'd never find the real deal. Although I did learn a lot as tradition can be translated by me into performance. Which helped me ground 'The Sneaky Bride' act further. All in all, this was time well spent.
My visa was coming to an end and I had mostly been enjoying the sights, the city, and their way of life. When on one the last day, as I was leaving from a faraway eatery that the concierge had recommended, that I saw a red pouch made of silk with a thick yarn around its throat, stuffed full of money. I looked around and didn't see a single person there, nothing except flat farmland and water gullies for miles.
Odd, I thought to myself, as it looked truly abandoned.
For a second I played with the idea of picking it up. Wondering if somehow a relative of the deceased would pop up magically next to me and I could change the world of magic by studying their technique. But I didn't want to spend my few hours chasing ghosts. I wanted to enjoy my time. So I kept walking.
I got back to the city and spent the remainder of my day eating and drinking, meeting new friends at the bar, newfound lads who I invited a hundred times to visit me in Melbourne one day. Who all agreed that if fate ever brought us back together we would drink until the sun rose. So yeah, I was fairly drunk when I got back to my hotel room, and didn't believe what I saw when I opened the door. It was a red pouch sitting on my coffee table.
"Someone's trying to play a trick on me," I mused. "They must have heard me talking at the bar." I circled the table studying the pouch. Any magician worth his smoke, likes a good bag. So there was no doubt to me that this was the same one I saw earlier. Which made me start putting two and two together. "It must be the concierge. He's the one who sent me out that far." I laughed and picked up the bag, even though I knew the rules. I opened it and thumbed through the bills. "It's much more than what I tipped him. Much more." Curious, I wondered what he would have done if I didn't return this to him. It must have been quite a few months worth of wages. I threw the bag up in the air and caught it as if I were juggling before I tossed it on my nightstand. "I'm going to let him sweat for a little bit and pretend I didn't find it tomorrow as I check out," I mused as I went to go take a shower.
I opened the door and felt the words stick to the roof of my mouth as the bag appeared on the counter next to the sink. I shot a glance back to the nightstand and indeed the bag I had just thrown on there was missing.
"This is a good fucking trick. That, or I'm drunker than I thought." I started questioning did I somehow fall asleep beforehand? Or walked into the bathroom and put it there as I mused my little scheme of making the concierge nervous at the lost pouch? Had I somehow in my drunken state done something without realizing it? No. That couldn't be it. I touched my chest to check my heart rate and put my fingers on my face. A bit flushed, but heart rate adequate. I was fine for the most part. Just drunk.
I looked at the pouch on the counter, and peered gingerly into the bathroom as if I've never stepped foot in one, before deciding to grab the bag and close the door. "Okay," I said loudly. "Whoever's doing this. Come on out." Of course no one appeared, not that I expected them to because the credo I lived by is that a good magician never reveals his trick.
"Okay, let's see how good you guys really are," I mused. Going over to my closet and placed the pouch on the shelf. Closing the door. Then I went back to the bathroom and opened the door. It was empty. I checked the nightstand drawer, mpty. I looked all over, and it was still mty. I breathed a sigh and went over to the closet door, "I guess you're just a bag after all." Except when I looked inside. MT. I couldn't find the bag behind any other nook or cranny. I know, I checked them all. And they were all .
I stumbled backwards and looked around, glancing at the ceiling corners in case someone had crawled up there. And even looked under the bed. But there was no one else here. I felt my chest tighten as I tried to make sense of what was happening. "Its got to be the walls I reasoned." And so for the next half hour I scoured the entire room with my hands, pushing, pressing, pulling anywhere and everywhere I could. Using all my years of experience to figure out what was going on. But there was nothing.
I couldn't stay in that room another minute so I rushed outside and nearly stepped on it! The bag! It was right at the foot of my doorstep.
My mind tried to wrap around how that was possible, "It's got to be a dupe. They've got more than one bag. I've been had, that has to be it. And the furniture inside, they have secret compartments. God, they really put a lot of effort into this," I laughed. "I have to know how this trick is done." So I opened the pouch and pulled out the note inside.
The notes generally contained their name, their current would-be age (she was 20 this year, older than most), what time they were born (8:07), a picture if they had one (she did), and how old they when they died (5). If the deceased were a bit older, perhaps a tidbit from their family is included about their personality. But most importantly, it always contained their address.
I looked at my watch, it was late and my flight was in the morning but perhaps I could still make it. So I gathered the rest of my things, my luggage, the mannequin for my act, and other bag of tricks in case I needed to go to the airport right after. "Come on," I yelled out loud to my pranksters. "Let's go see what other tricks you have up your sleeve."
I went down to the lobby and had the front desk call me a cab. I looked around for the concierge but he was nowhere to be found. So I left a note for him. And then left.
The cab drove until the city faded away. We were practically on the other side of the island by the time its tires skipped to a stop. I got out and knocked on the giant half circle doors of the address. I noticed that we were deep in the countryside. There were hardly any lights dotting the night.
I knocked several more times before I heard shuffling behind the door. And then it opened. An old man stood in front of me in his drawers.
"What do you want," he asked angrily. "Do you know what time it is?"
"I'm sorry for disturbing you at such a late hour. But," I pulled out the pouch. And his eyes widened up.
"Meju-eh. You're back." He looked at me up and down. "What are you supposed to be," he asked but then shook his head. "No, no. Come in. Come in, please."
"I don't have much time," I told him. "I have to leave in the morning."
"Sit, sit." He ushered me to a chair in the courtyard.
I placed the bag on the table next to it, "I have a flight in the morning, so if we're going to do this. We have to do it now."
Instead of fighting me, he nodded, "Yes. I agree. I don't have much time either. And Meju-eh is older than most ghost brides. The bull demon might not let her through his gets if she gets any older. And then she'll be a husbandless spinster for eternity." He ushered around, "We don't have many living relatives either. So it shouldn't be too troublesome to hurry this along." He called into the house and a young woman came out, "This is my granddaughter. Ah-ahn. Meju-eh's older sister. They were close as children."
Ah-ahn was quite beautiful. I almost couldn't take my eyes off of her.
"Go and start preparations and rouse anyone you can get a hold of. We must have the wedding tonight. Even if it isn't grand as I would like."
"Will we make it in time," I asked. "It's a lot of work for one person. Perhaps I could help?"
The old man nodded, "That's a good idea. But forgive me, I must retire for now. Or else have no energy for the wedding." He turned to his granddaughter, "Fetch me when the preparations are ready." As he left us alone in the courtyard.
"What can I do," I asked her.
"We're going to need flowers for decoration."
I pulled a rose out from behind her ear, "I happen to have a case of these on hand at all times." I put the flower in her hair.
She smiled, "Thank you."
"What else?"
"Um, we already have tables for family gatherings. There should be enough food in the freezers that we can just heat up. I need to call my aunt to come help. And wake up some of the kids. Also...we kind of need a statue of some sort, as a stand-in for my sister."
"Statue? I think I have just the thing."
Hours went by and it was the dead of the night, but watching all the people bustling around the courtyard, the kids in excited whispers, you'd never guess that all of us should have been sleeping. Soon the tables were set, the food was hot, even the decorations were strung, and I had procured my mannequin from my luggage and a few of the menfolk were putting it together inside the main living room.
Several times I found myself laughing and having a good time with the others, although chasing that hen made me look quite ridiculous, and several times I bumped into Ah-ahn and we would talk and exchange a few words. In the beginning she talked mostly about her sister. How she was troublesome as a child. Always hiding things. I told her about the pouch appearing and disappearing in my hotel. And we both had a good laugh. Eventually we talked about ourselves. I learned she wanted to get away from here, "To see the world," she told me. The more we talked the closer we got. I could feel it. Soon we were bumping into each other just to feel our bodies touch. But before anything else transpired the wedding preparations were complete.
The old man was retrieved from his bedroom and everyone gathered outside in the courtyard, looking into the main living room. There was a wooden shrine in the back of the room and the mannequin had been traditionally dressed. From an old box the grandfather retrieved several personal items that belonged to Meju. And I was then asked to enter the living room.
The grandfather said a few words, and then gave us his blessing. Ah-ahn handed me a bowl of sticky rice ball soup. I had been through this process before and knew what to do. I ate one of the pink balls and then went to go feed my new bride.
Now I've traveled with this mannequin for some time. Seen it at a dozen of my own shows. Slept with it in the room. Knew that it was in fact a dummy for all intents and purposes. However, as I started moving my spoon toward it. I swear I saw it's chest rise as if it were breathing.
I couldn't tell if it was from the alcohol ebbing away from earlier or a trick of the light. But even its shoulders looked softer than usual. My hand started shaking as it got closer to her mouth. It was like watching an out of body experience as the spoon inched under her veil. And then the CRUNCH. It scared the fucking shit out of me. I looked around hoping to see some kid in the corner playing a dumb joke. But there were none. And I didn't believe what I was seeing even as the veil started moving as her jaws chewed the sticky material back and forth.
"No way," I shook. "There's just no way." My hand was so close to the veil. "Oh God. Please. I have to know how this is done." I ripped off the veil.
Meju looked very much like her picture. But older. And then older. And older. As if her face was starting to rot away as it contorted. People behind me screamed. The lightbulbs we had strung popped. Kids were running around and the grandfather fell to the floor clutching his heart.
I backed away, the spoon clattering to the ground as I watched the mannequin crick and crack as its arms and legs bent in a tangled mess until it was walking on all fours!
The thing grabbed the bent down to the grandfather and started chewing!
I turned around and saw the other guests were piling out of the courtyard. The tables were upturned and only the dim crescent light of the moon bore down on us. Everyone was screaming trying to get out. I ran and bumped into Ah-ahn. She whirled terrified and then realized it was me. She yelled, "You never! Look at the bride before it's time!"
"I'm so sorry! I didn't know. I thought it was a trick!"
She grabbed her face, her nails leaving streaks behind as she clawed at her skin, "Now she's going to kill every living blood relative. And then you." Ah-ahn laughed manically. "She's going to torture you!"
The people kept pushing around us until we got separated. Her final words still ringing in my ears as I took to the dirt road outside and started running. I ran for nearly a mile before I spotted a cab sitting outside of someone's house. I banged on their door and then begged them to take me to the airport. Throwing at them all the money from the dowry.
When I arrived at the airport I hurried through the TSA. Relieved at the lights and normal looking people. I boarded my flight. Tapping my foot nervously the entire time, staring out the small squarish window as we prepared to take off. The sun was starting to rise as the engine roared. I took one last look at the island as we flew away. Still trying to catch my breath at what I had just caused.
My mind was reeling as I heard two knocking noises, they sounded oddly familiar, and for a second I thought that Meju had finished with her family and had somehow come boarded. But then I realized the noise was coming from my carry-on. I reached inside and pulled out two red shaped crescents that the Monk at the temple had given to me. And I realized that if I ever needed any form of divine guidance this was it.
So right there in the tiny aisle. I asked the gods if I had escaped and threw the Jiaobei.
No.
I asked the gods if I would be safe.
No.
I asked them would Meju kill me.
Both flat.
Both flat.
Both flat.
s
2023.06.05 04:33 smolcrackheadenergy TWICE's Between 1&2 đ 11th Mini Album Review
Hello, kpopthoughts! Originally this was posted in twice but one of my friends said I should crosspost it here â so here this album review is.
And yes, this is 9 months late đ I'm not sorry â when I find an album review online it's always around a paragraph per song or even shorter. It makes sense from a journalistic perspective, but I want to do this album justice, hence taking 7 months to write out all my thoughts.
This shit is comprehensive and definitely overanalyzed, especially in Talk that Talk and Trouble. Each song review will compose of my commentary, noting the details I noticed through months of listening, then a conclusion. Also, mild swearing warning, I like implementing a touch of "French" when I'm very emotional about something. Anyway, onto the review!
TELL ME WHAT YOU WANT
TELL ME WHAT YOU NEED
One of the most perfect TWICE songs.
I think this is one of TWICEâs best-sounding title tracks. Warm modulated synths, a thrumming bass line, distant bells, shimmering synths â the purpose of this song is to be fun and my god is it excellent at it, like, Sana and Chaeyoung are saying knock-knock-knock and beep-beep-beep as if theyâre some kind of car. So much fun.
Further along in the verse, Dahyunâs voice sounds so full and smooth with that layered harmony. Tzuyu coming with the Yes or Yes, Push & Pull, and 1 to 10 references â these are 5 years of song references. And Jeongyeon closes the pre-chorus accompanied by a rising synth to drop into chorus one. Jeongyeon slays pre-choruses.
The drums accelerate, the synths start blasting, and Jihyo opens to that party of a chorus with her godly vocals,
During Sana's Talk that Talk~ lines thereâs this gentle ascending synth bell that rings with the descending melody and it sounds absolutely gorgeous. And the choreography during that part of the chorus is so so so so fun: the talking hands bit, spelling L-O-V-E, concluding with the deullyeojweo ooh! Oh my Jihyo the deullyeojweo oohâŚ
Have I mentioned this song is fun?
Speeding through verse 2; Chaeyoungâs part with the cat ears popping in the music video is adorable; Momo her stretching her arms out looks so damn cool; and Dahyun with her replay part sounds so lovely â although I think it sonically sounds a touch random, it makes sense thematically.
And now for this pre-chorus. Mina and Jihyo leading into it sound great BUT JEONGYEON⌠Now, she is my ult bias, and this pre-chorus sounds almost identical to the first one, but the way she holds that final note, inflecting and holding that now~ for one more beat before the chorus drops sounds so perfect â the song teeters on a cliff edge. Jeongyeon slays pre-choruses.
Dropping into the second chorus and man the way Nayeon delivers it just hits different. She has this indescribable âpopâ voice (I promise this wasn't on purpose) that shouts out loud that this is THE chorus. This is especially apparent in how both lead their choruses where Jihyo starts at 120% power while Nayeon waits until [Tell me] WHAT YOU WANT to full-send it. The production also helps with this effect, cutting out during what you to emphasize Nayeon's voice before crashing back down, double the pause at Jihyo's intro.
Another deullyeojweo ooh! Nayeon travels to Narnia, and Mina the engineer strikes again in this heavenly, underwater-esque bridge,
The word âloveâ is said for the first time in the song. Thereâs a funky keyboard instrument behind Chaeyoungâs part. Jihyo, Chaeyoung, and Nayeon take the initiative in their lyrics, professing their love before closing the bridge.
And now for the pièce-de-rĂŠsistance: this final double chorus is exceptional â 40 seconds of crack-laced euphoria; Jihyo switches up the chorus and the choreo, Dahyun chimes in with her fluttery Talk that Talk, Momo comes out of nowhere with oh yeah it sounds so good! â youâre damn right it does, and this is where the song SOARS.
Nayeon outright shouts Tell me what you need and then Jeongyeon sings the above lines in such an ethereal, warm way where the first line ascends while the second descends, causing a lull in the song before the finale with Tzuyu and Nayeon, finishing off the song with the final deullyeojweo ooh!
What a party. What a song.
THE GOOD
Lyrics and theme-wise, if this were to have been TWICEâs last comeback, theyâve once again built upon the theme they've been doing since debut: a Bildungsroman, a coming-of-age story.
This songâs chorus is honest yet simple; it asks the listener, in this case, the other half of the relationship, to be more upfront and open with their love (never be scared of love), that before the relationship can continue and flourish, there has to be a foundation and commitment of love between each other.
TWICE debuted with a song about making your crush go ooh ahh. Years later, they started pondering What is Love? and imagining their crush responding with Yes when asking them out â and now concluding with the phrase Talk that Talk, [Talk that] L-O-V-E, being upfront with the relationship, wishing their partner to also be happy, to commit to them, to feel the love that they want to impart on them. From gawking like ooh-ahh to talking out your shared love like adults â to having a true relationship between (one and) two.
And can I just say before finishing off Talk that Talk's review that this is such a fun and repeatable song with many little intricacies hidden in the nonetâs vocals and the song's production. This is the third draft Iâm writing about Talk that Talk and its original word count pretty much quadrupled.
Harkening back to TWICEâs roots by combining mature thinking with youthful character, an incredible ending to look forward to, and just simply being a club-banger thatâs easy to listen to, TTT is an easy 10/10.
WATCH ME GO WATCH ME GO
RULE THE WORLD
If there was one B-side to promote in a live clip, this was a solid choice.
Helmed by LDN Noise going headlong into the Western boy-group rock-band aesthetic, Queen of Hearts is a boom-boom-clap song through and through. The drums are very prominent throughout the song, only giving room to riffs of electric guitar in the chorus to drive and continue the momentum of the music.
And speaking of the chorus, vocal line each got a chorus to flex and they did not fuck around,
Cymbals crashing, drums booming, and 3MIX belting all just so sound so good.
These long, held-out notes performed by Jihyo and Nayeon are simply exquisite. Along with the shredding guitar, the drum set coming in full, and the interludes by Dahyun, Momo, and Chaeyoung, this is the part of the song that always, always, gives me goosebumps â it sounds so visceral, so energetic, so fun, so triumphant. Boom-boom-clap songs can be hit or miss with people, but there's no denying the payoff from the first part of the chorus to the second part is worth the wait.
The theme of the song so far has been kind of spread around the song. The chorus alludes to it with the line And itâs all because of you. But Mina shows more sides of it in the second verse, especially with the phrase,
It sounds really lovely â in a very cheesy and affectionate kind of way, as it rightfully should â the song is about the girls and their fans. But the bridge is where the song indeed shows its colours
This is a song CONCEIVED TO BE PERFORMED FOR THE FANS. Itâs meant to be loud. Itâs meant to be unapologetic. Itâs meant to be sappy. And itâs all the more wonderful for it.
This is the TWICEiest shit ever.
Like Talk that Talk, Queen of Hearts also has a killer closer. The production already started to grow from the bridge, but now the guitarist finally went Super Saiyan and instead of supporting the drums, they both take the centre stage in tandem.
Then finally, the closing moments of the song even manage to squeeze in some more sappiness.
I still canât believe that this banger is a FAN SONG out of all things. Truly, the TWICEiest shit ever.
THE GOOD
I love these types of rock songs with how grunge and head-bang-able they are, there is just a certain nostalgic and cheesy quality to them that feels so cozy. I donât love putting them on repeat, because in this case, I do believe there is such a thing as too much of a good thing. Perhaps more shredding, maybe a guitar solo to rock out to, or an accompaniment(!) of ad-libs from 3MIX to support Jihyoâs final chorus? A ONCE can dream of a truly bombastic rock song from TWICE. But then again that distracts from the core of what this song is: a fan song disguised as a rock song.
Queen of Hearts has so much sweetness in its lyrics and message that it's overflowing. The drums, guitar, and vocals can be as loud and intricate as they can, but the theme of this song is what makes it special from TWICEâs other rock songs â itâs a 9/10 for me.
I WANNA WANNA WANNA
TAKE YOU TO THE BASICS
Quite possibly the jammiest (pun intended) song of the album.
A song written by the Strawberry Princess herself â an event similar in frequency to other artists' releases with her last song being 2020âs silky Handle It â Basics first starts with an understated and dreamy delivery. After the first stanza, however, a bouncy Miami bass line emerges, revealing the true nature of the song: this is a classic summer bop! Especially in the first rap,
Syllables are pronounced in a relaxed nature, bars often starting with an "ah" sound, flirty lines in English â this rap features a production full of pop with R&B flourishes and, in my opinion, this is Chaeyoungâs bag. Also, the line rainbow bubblegum is so adorable and so Chaeyoung.
That chorus is pure pop with a Miami bass backing; you better be bopping your head to the melody, if not booty poppin' to the bassline. Chaeyoung loves rhyming in the first half of the chorus to enhance its catchiness and it's damn incredible: wanna, weonhae, and ppeonhae all create these imperfect rhymes that continue momentum without feeling repetitive.
After the very Boy With Luv-sounding ah yeah ah yeah, ah yeah ah yeah comes an 8-bar split half and half between Chaeyoung and Momo. Coming from the chorus, the production completely cuts out for the first 2 bars. This adds tension; the song yearns to have that bass beat thumping again and all we have in the audio space in those 2 bars is Chaeyoung spittin' and she delivered.
Translating to:
The rap feels slick, effortless, and confident. Her diction remains sharp when enunciating each syllable but she doesnât let the flow of her rap waver or build as her 4 bars go by, itâs just smooth consistency throughout. Even the lyrics possess an aura of laid-back collectedness that is just so her. The things Chaeyoung can do when given her pen.
THE GOOD
This song is summer bliss distilled into 2:56. Itâs dreamy, the raps are satisfying, and the ending is charming. I will say that although the second half of the song adds the stunning spaceship post-choruses and a floaty bridge with an incredible drumbeat drop into the final chorus, the raps of the song make it feel a bit front-loaded. And in an album stacked with awesome finishers, it feels more apparent.
With that said, itâs an 8/10 bop for me. This song is so easy to put on and it feels exactly what Chaeyoung would make if given the reins to produce a pop song all on her own. The lyrics are nonchalant but full of conviction, the wordplay is intricate, and the production playful but not too bombastic â it's just a nice vibe. Songs like Basics are the standard for good, simple, repeatable pop music and Iâm happy that Chaeyoung got to test her pen in this genre.
BABY WEâRE IN
TROUBLE TROUBLE
Produced by Jihyo and earattack
One of the most enjoyable songs Iâve heard in a while.
There is an underlying tension within the first 4 bars of the song, Jihyo and Nayeon confidently open it to a nondescript array of synths and then the stanza ends, Momo announces Letâs go, the beat drops and it hits you: this is a club song.
Dahyun's relaxed delivery contrasting with Jeongyeon's staccato flow, the wobbly synth beat mixed with a sprinkle of house piano, Sana dramatically slowing down the song only for Tzuyu to build it back up until the chorus drops,
This chorus is perfect. Torontoâs residential market needs this song injected into its veins because god damn this song has SO much house in it. And then, ANOTHER KILLING PART: this rap fucking slaps.
During the first 2 bars, Chaeyoung is keeping it calm because that trip of a chorus just ended and the song needs a breather, but I don't think anyone expected her to SNAP this hard afterwards:
Below is the structure of her this portion of the rap, Iâm not that well versed in this technical aspect of music theory but I digress, this is all in the span of around 5 seconds where itâs:
Now, 25/5 = 5 syllables per second isnât groundbreaking, but goddamn it these 2 bars sound so nice â if there is one part in this album that I always repeat, itâs this. The addition of that first quadruplet for cannot miss this in the midst of the triplets sticks out and accelerates the flow of the rap while the following doublets and quadruplets destabilize and slow the rap down as the verse closes. And can I just point out:
THE MAIN VOCALIST WROTE, DIRECTED, AND COMPOSED THIS SONG âź
Chaeyoung of course delivered the fuck out of her verse but THIS is what you get when you have a member not only write the words theyâre saying but also the melody and flow with which they sing it, when that member knows the others so well that when they write a song they know how to make the group exceed. This is what you get when the artists you stan love doing artist shit.
And. AND. That's not all â with how much I mentioned I love a good outro to close a song, this outro slaps as well:
Like, come on, Nayeonâs imitating a police siren for crying out loud. And this is all after her ad-libs in the final post-chorus; after the pianist going full tilt and playing that piano as if it was their last chance to ever play; after that final T W I C E chant by all the members come these blissful 20 seconds at the very end. What a song.
THE GOOD
Need I say more, easy 9/10. The only reason I place Talk that Talk above Trouble is because of what that song represents but besides that, this is one of the best âinternationalâ sounds theyâve put out. Actually, I havenât listened to Eyes wide open in a while but this song is up there with one of the most sonically pleasing pieces of work theyâve done.
Clubbing TWICE has always been a thing since TT was birthed in 2016, and has been a staple of their discography since 2019âs Fancy You and Feel Special mini albums, but Trouble unapologetically dives into and fits the house genre so well youâd think that this is TWICEâs bread and butter sound.
Trouble is Jihyoâs magnum opus. What a song.
BRAVE BRAVE BRAVE
FOR YOU
I first thought this was just a good song, then I read the lyrics.
Gentle guitar plucks, shimmering synths, a distant keyboard in the right ear, in the left a glockenspiel, the melodic oohs from the members â this song is PRETTY.
Mina and Chaeyoung open the song with how they feel lonely, that it's hard to breathe and now suddenly the song feels bittersweet â I was not expecting the song to become this emotional. Brave describes a situation where the singer is in a darker place in life and it isn't until another person gives them hope by calling them Brave that they find the drive to keep going.
Once the chorus hits, the melodies pick up, more guitars get added â thereâs even an electric guitar hidden in the mix somewhere, and the song drops the emotional front to reveal a mid-tempo pop song to dance to while crying in the club. The song as a whole still carries this melancholy feeling, but now with the added support of the chorus, acting as a light amongst the gloom.
Continuing on in the second verse there's this gorgeous, well-placed break in the song that just lets it settle after that chorus. Only a seasoned producer would risk this much empty space in a song and Slow Rabbit went to fill those shoes.
Back to the chorus, I'll take this moment to once again commend Slow Rabbit with the mixing of the song, because 4MIX undoubtedly sounds good in the chorus, and the interludes from Dahyun, Chaeyoung, and Mina also sound really good, but the clear highlight of the choruses are these lines:
Momo, Sana, and Tzuyu form this beautiful, surprisingly catchy, second half of the chorus accompanied by a guitar drop. It should not turn out this well with how conflicting the "na"s are with the guitar melody but it creates this gentle bopping ebb and flow that feels so lush and mellow.
Diving into the bridge reveals that the listener of the song is revealed not only capable of supporting the singer through direct words but also through their thoughts and dreams. As can be discerned, this can be a song interpreted to be about ONCEs, about how they push TWICE to be their best selves despite the breathless hardships they face. It's a very sweet and touching song.
THE GOOD
Iâm actually spoiled with the TWICE membersâ easy-to-understand songwriting that when a song like this pops up where it's not written by a member and the thematic bits are mostly in Korean, I tend to put it aside in favour of the other songs on the album. And, especially for a song focusing on a theme like this where the English phrases donât do the Korean lyrics enough justice, it does place a bit of a barrier on the listening experience, dropping it down to a 7/10 from an 8/10.
With that anecdote out of the way, this song is just such a vibe, man. I know that sounds super hippy to say but Brave is so mellow and smooth that I canât help but sway a little when that chorus hits. And then I remember what the lyrics say and I tear up a bit on the inside. This song is so pure, raw, and full of heart â we need more songs like these where they just reminisce about life while putting up an upbeat front. Don't mind me just crying while dancing the night away.
With that said, this isn't the first time this theme has been sung by TWICE either, they've long trodden this path of supportive, confiding, up-lifting songs with Young & Wild, Rainbow, Queen, Go Hard, Depend on You, even this album's Queen of Hearts, and, of course, Feel Special. Brave just adds another on top of an already stacked lineup, unique with its mellow somberness.
Also now feels like a good time to get into my rating system:
I SEE THE LIES
ON THE TIP OF YOUR TONGUE
Who the fuck pissed off Dubu this time??
Itâs getting quite rare to see TWICE pull off brand new sounds because, with now 190 original songs under their belt as of this review, theyâve done so many genres and sub-genres varying from hyper pop, to bossa nova, to whatever 2020âs Go Hard is. So itâs surprising to see theyâve still got tricks up their sleeves and Gone is one of them.
The song starts with strings swinging back and forth and vocal chops dancing from ear to ear, teasing whatâs yet to come. Jihyo enters the song with a whisper and the song sets its pace. A stagnant drum pad moves the song along and typical song progression would have Mina continue the build, but â it doesnât. The song simmers, adding a hint of high hat to the pot. And then Sana and Tzuyu come on and surely the buildup must boil over right?
Silence, untilâŚ
The strings emerge again on full blast, the simmer rolls to a boil, and the anger of the song is revealed,
The singer is so scorned and burned from this relationship that they reminisce about all the effort theyâve put in since the beginning, but their âpartnerâ is so unconcerned that theyâve just about had enough of the relationship altogether.
This has been Dahyunâs thing since 2020âs Bring It Back, 2021âs Cruel, 2022âs Thatâs all Iâm saying, and even 2023's Don't Blame It On Me â emotionally charged breakup songs that make you feel as if sheâs survived through a dozen bad relationships. Dispatch, do try to do your job better.
Another highlight of the song is the post-chorus going into the bridge. This segment reiterates the structure from the first post-chorus â a barrage of drums supported by the rhythmic strumming of a bass guitar along with a consistent synth filling out the soundscape. But this time, itâs Dahyun and Chaeyoung on the rap:
Building upon the disrespected theme of the song, Dahyun notes that sheâs finally had enough with Chaeyoung adding that thereâs no point salvaging what love was once there. Momo and Dahyun round it off by telling the listener that thereâs no point trying to reason with them or playing naive, they fucked up and thereâs no coming back.
Can I just say, it's a bit of a shame that Chaeyoungâs rapping popped off in this album while Dahyun only has this one verse that she shares with Chaeyoung, but it just sounds so good how Dahyun eases in after the chorus with her light rapping tone transitioning into her singing. She even holds the Gone in a little crescendo for some added pizzazz.
And, thereâs no way Iâm not going to talk about Momoâs vocals in this bridge. Damned if she only got 1 line to use it in, her lower register is incredible. She sounds so smooth singing in this tone. All of TWICE do in particular and there is nary a weak vocal performance in this album.
To close the song off, a wash of synths gets to have their shine in the spotlight, showered with Nayeonâs belting, signifying the dramatic and drawn-out conclusion of this partnership.
THE GOOD
Going back to that point about the first post-chorus as a whole; songs that have the production continue unchanged into the post-chorus/2nd verse are very hit or miss for me â see TWICE's Don't Call Me Again for an overbearing example. The post-chorus going into the bridge contrasts Dahyunâs light tone nicely with the hard-hitting production, continuing the energy until it slowly fades into silence at the end of the bridge.
Back to the song as a whole, as much as TWICE has been experimenting with their sound for the past 4 years now, Iâm happy theyâre still finding new ways to explore what theyâre capable of. And for that alone, even though Iâm not a big fan of songs like these where they rely on sounding âbigâ, Dahyunâs lyricism and the thrill I receive every time I indulge myself in this song elevates it to an 8/10. Keep on breaking hearts, Dubu.
INVINCIBLE
SUPERHEROES
Press play to reminisce, pull up lyrics to cry.
This song is so beautiful. Iâm totally not writing this song review, crying on the bus reminiscing about my childhood, while just having turned 21. I donât know if these are happy or sad tears but this song is so beautiful either way.
Warm synths, muted piano, a gentle high hat, the younger members starting off the song â this has to be up there for one of the softest TWICE songs ever. And as it should, itâs one of the TWICEiest songs ever. And then Nayeon comes in:
The chords start swelling, the high hat keeps pace, and the harmonies pour in.
Jihyo takes up the second half of the chorus as it drops, trading the strings for an almost R&B synth production â if choir R&B takes off, this song started it. The song relishes in this cacophony of warm sounds until returning to its sparse and peaceful verses.
This time, the hints of piano are louder, little twinkling synths begin to shimmer, the drum buildup comes and Jeongyeon drives the song straight into the chorus. No time for the strings to build like in Nayeonâs â this song loves its chorus so much.
And I'll just take this time to appreciate the amount and range of Jeongyeon vocals in this album. Her voice is so textured, stable, and projected â but also more tender and soft compared to the more pronounced tones of Nayeon and Jihyo.
The bridge comes in, repeating the phrase:
Giving the song time to rest, before building back up to the last chorus â this time led by Jihyo, completing the 3MIX trifecta. And interestingly enough, Chaeyoung follows up in the second half of the chorus, rather than another member of the vocal line. She really did pop off in this album.
As the last chorus begins to close, the percussion at its strongest, the harmonies on blast, the background vocals cranked up to their Sunday best, is the song going to end? Of course not! This is an album full of banger endings as if the songs donât want to end, and When We Were Kids being the album closer very much indulges in that feeling.
After a brief refrain, accented by Nayeonâs high note with a touch of vibrato, the song almost dives back into a fourth chorus. Nayeon and Jeongyeon harmonize â a rare and heavenly moment. And the song repeats the bridge, reiterating that they want to meet their younger selves, this time with the lush chorus production before closing with silence, a few piano notes, and Tzuyu singing the last line of the song:
Reflection, acceptance, hope. What a song.
THE GOOD
I wrote the first part of this review in November 2022. Then university, life, and other things got in the way of my headspace for me to feel confident about wrapping all of this up. In a way, I felt like I just didnât want this review to end because of the joy that writing gives me â I didnât want the happiness to end. And then it hit me, after watching a YouTuber rank animated movies and them placing Spirited Away at the top and explaining 'why' reminded me of just how important growing up is, and by extension this song.
This theme is important for both the rookie TWICE members in 2015 and the teenagers who would follow their journey and grow up with them, facing lifeâs obstacles along the way. Hardships that used to only involve family, crushes, and social media, evolve into work, commitments and all the struggles that adult life brings. Being a kid and enjoying the simple things in life is one of the most sought-after moments we want to relive because we took growing up for granted. The only thing we can do now is look back on ourselves with fondness and rose-tinted lenses.
TWICEâs original meaning was to resonate with people through their senses and their hearts. That was during their debut, and I think it still holds up today. In my opinion, touching people through their emotions is what TWICE does best and makes them one of K-popâs all-time greats. It was never about having the best numbers â it was about being the best idols. And to think that this journey of maturation and growth would occur from 2015 all the way to this song, being a fitting nod to TWICEâs 7th anniversary, I donât think anyone at the company nor the group would ever imagine that they would get this far. Itâs these nine women or none â 9/10.
This song honestly deserves a 10/10 with how much I noticed other people reminiscing their childhoods after I heard this song, it is such a widely-relatable message, but I am determined to limit myself to one 10/10 song per album and if I were to pick between TTT and WWWK, I'd give it to the one's that's more repeatable â Talk that Talk just has this electric energy about it.
I love this album. It got me through some important parts of my life, both good and bad, and it's just a wonderful listen throughout. Reliving this album again before finally completing the review has been an exciting journey. Brave hit me harder this time, after being overshadowed by the other gems of this album, and WWWK finally got me to tear up and not just be emotionally satisfied.
I feel like there's something for everyone on this album. From the exhilarating thrills of TTT to the anthemic euphoria of QoH, the clubbing dichotomy of Trouble and Brave to the blissful glee of Basics, and the sweet reminiscence of WWWK to the thundering anger that is Gone. Like Eyes wide open, I liken Between 1&2 to a pop music taste platter â there's such an eclectic mix of pop music in this album that there's bound to be a song that someone will love, like, and dislike.
Is this album perfect? I don't think so, but it's close â it was certainly my 2022 AOTY. Was this review biased? Absolutely. I've been a fan since 2019 and with the themes in this album, I also feel like it was biased towards me as a ONCE. And how would I rank the album in TWICE's catalogue? It's honestly at the top, at least with EPs â I also felt that way towards Feel Special but then this album was birthed so I'm excited for TWICE's future.
Ready To Be was also a stunning album and Eyes wide open frankly also deserved the spotlight that Formula of Love received so I might hit those next but no promises; this album took long enough to bake.
As for the performances, I've only seen Twitter clips (no fancams to not spoil myself) and I am SO EXCITED to finally see them in July. QoH was as glorious as expected, Brave was a delightful surprise, and WWWK, while not being the concert closer everyone expected it to be, paired up nicely with Crazy Stupid Love. And of course the bombastic addition of the dance break to TTT. But, this is not a concert review, and here is where this album review ends.
Feel free to comment with any thoughts regarding the album, other TWICE albums, and any suggestions for my writing in general. Congrats again on making it this far!
God, I love this album.
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Intro
To preface the review, I just need to say that this is going to be a very long read. Going through it myself for the fun of it takes around 30 minutes â it's almost 7k words, including lyrical references. So for the best experience, listen to the album beforehand to understand what the hell I was thinking when I wrote this, play the album while reading, and set a good amount of time aside.And yes, this is 9 months late đ I'm not sorry â when I find an album review online it's always around a paragraph per song or even shorter. It makes sense from a journalistic perspective, but I want to do this album justice, hence taking 7 months to write out all my thoughts.
This shit is comprehensive and definitely overanalyzed, especially in Talk that Talk and Trouble. Each song review will compose of my commentary, noting the details I noticed through months of listening, then a conclusion. Also, mild swearing warning, I like implementing a touch of "French" when I'm very emotional about something. Anyway, onto the review!
Between 1&2 đ
Album Review
TELL ME WHAT YOU WANT
TELL ME WHAT YOU NEED
Talk that Talk đ
Producers by collapsedone and MRCH
One of the most perfect TWICE songs.
I think this is one of TWICEâs best-sounding title tracks. Warm modulated synths, a thrumming bass line, distant bells, shimmering synths â the purpose of this song is to be fun and my god is it excellent at it, like, Sana and Chaeyoung are saying knock-knock-knock and beep-beep-beep as if theyâre some kind of car. So much fun.
Further along in the verse, Dahyunâs voice sounds so full and smooth with that layered harmony. Tzuyu coming with the Yes or Yes, Push & Pull, and 1 to 10 references â these are 5 years of song references. And Jeongyeon closes the pre-chorus accompanied by a rising synth to drop into chorus one. Jeongyeon slays pre-choruses.
The drums accelerate, the synths start blasting, and Jihyo opens to that party of a chorus with her godly vocals,
Tell me what you want
Tell me what you need
A to Z da malhaebwa
But shijageun ireoke have
Talk that Talk ttak han madi
Talk that Talk L-O-V-E
deullyeojweo ooh
Now now now now now yeah~
During Sana's Talk that Talk~ lines thereâs this gentle ascending synth bell that rings with the descending melody and it sounds absolutely gorgeous. And the choreography during that part of the chorus is so so so so fun: the talking hands bit, spelling L-O-V-E, concluding with the deullyeojweo ooh! Oh my Jihyo the deullyeojweo oohâŚ
Have I mentioned this song is fun?
Speeding through verse 2; Chaeyoungâs part with the cat ears popping in the music video is adorable; Momo her stretching her arms out looks so damn cool; and Dahyun with her replay part sounds so lovely â although I think it sonically sounds a touch random, it makes sense thematically.
And now for this pre-chorus. Mina and Jihyo leading into it sound great BUT JEONGYEON⌠Now, she is my ult bias, and this pre-chorus sounds almost identical to the first one, but the way she holds that final note, inflecting and holding that now~ for one more beat before the chorus drops sounds so perfect â the song teeters on a cliff edge. Jeongyeon slays pre-choruses.
Dropping into the second chorus and man the way Nayeon delivers it just hits different. She has this indescribable âpopâ voice (I promise this wasn't on purpose) that shouts out loud that this is THE chorus. This is especially apparent in how both lead their choruses where Jihyo starts at 120% power while Nayeon waits until [Tell me] WHAT YOU WANT to full-send it. The production also helps with this effect, cutting out during what you to emphasize Nayeon's voice before crashing back down, double the pause at Jihyo's intro.
Another deullyeojweo ooh! Nayeon travels to Narnia, and Mina the engineer strikes again in this heavenly, underwater-esque bridge,
The simple words âI love youâ
Thatâs all I wanna hear
Without hesitation, Iâll go up to you
Iâll make it simple
And just tell you I love you
The word âloveâ is said for the first time in the song. Thereâs a funky keyboard instrument behind Chaeyoungâs part. Jihyo, Chaeyoung, and Nayeon take the initiative in their lyrics, professing their love before closing the bridge.
And now for the pièce-de-rĂŠsistance: this final double chorus is exceptional â 40 seconds of crack-laced euphoria; Jihyo switches up the chorus and the choreo, Dahyun chimes in with her fluttery Talk that Talk, Momo comes out of nowhere with oh yeah it sounds so good! â youâre damn right it does, and this is where the song SOARS.
han beon deo~ haejweo
geurae banggeum geu mal~
Nayeon outright shouts Tell me what you need and then Jeongyeon sings the above lines in such an ethereal, warm way where the first line ascends while the second descends, causing a lull in the song before the finale with Tzuyu and Nayeon, finishing off the song with the final deullyeojweo ooh!
What a party. What a song.
THE GOOD
- The synths of all time
- The chimes during Talk-that-talk~
- Jeongyeonâs pre-chorus going into Nayeonâs chorus
- Rich harmonies and fun ad-libs
- The entirety of that magical final chorus and outro
- The opening hook (Tell me what you want) and accompanying choreography could be âcatchierâ
- Singing (and dancing) my heart out when this song played at a K-pop club
Lyrics and theme-wise, if this were to have been TWICEâs last comeback, theyâve once again built upon the theme they've been doing since debut: a Bildungsroman, a coming-of-age story.
This songâs chorus is honest yet simple; it asks the listener, in this case, the other half of the relationship, to be more upfront and open with their love (never be scared of love), that before the relationship can continue and flourish, there has to be a foundation and commitment of love between each other.
TWICE debuted with a song about making your crush go ooh ahh. Years later, they started pondering What is Love? and imagining their crush responding with Yes when asking them out â and now concluding with the phrase Talk that Talk, [Talk that] L-O-V-E, being upfront with the relationship, wishing their partner to also be happy, to commit to them, to feel the love that they want to impart on them. From gawking like ooh-ahh to talking out your shared love like adults â to having a true relationship between (one and) two.
And can I just say before finishing off Talk that Talk's review that this is such a fun and repeatable song with many little intricacies hidden in the nonetâs vocals and the song's production. This is the third draft Iâm writing about Talk that Talk and its original word count pretty much quadrupled.
Harkening back to TWICEâs roots by combining mature thinking with youthful character, an incredible ending to look forward to, and just simply being a club-banger thatâs easy to listen to, TTT is an easy 10/10.
WATCH ME GO WATCH ME GO
RULE THE WORLD
Queen of Hearts đ
Produced by LDN Noise
If there was one B-side to promote in a live clip, this was a solid choice.
Helmed by LDN Noise going headlong into the Western boy-group rock-band aesthetic, Queen of Hearts is a boom-boom-clap song through and through. The drums are very prominent throughout the song, only giving room to riffs of electric guitar in the chorus to drive and continue the momentum of the music.
And speaking of the chorus, vocal line each got a chorus to flex and they did not fuck around,
You ainât ready for it
Watch me go~ watch me go~
Rule the world
Know you never doubted baby
Iâmma go run the whole universe~
Cymbals crashing, drums booming, and 3MIX belting all just so sound so good.
Baby I was born to rule~~
Yeah Iâm the Queen, Iâm the Queen
And itâs all because of you~~
That Iâm the Queen of Hearts
These long, held-out notes performed by Jihyo and Nayeon are simply exquisite. Along with the shredding guitar, the drum set coming in full, and the interludes by Dahyun, Momo, and Chaeyoung, this is the part of the song that always, always, gives me goosebumps â it sounds so visceral, so energetic, so fun, so triumphant. Boom-boom-clap songs can be hit or miss with people, but there's no denying the payoff from the first part of the chorus to the second part is worth the wait.
The theme of the song so far has been kind of spread around the song. The chorus alludes to it with the line And itâs all because of you. But Mina shows more sides of it in the second verse, especially with the phrase,
And now that Iâm surrounded by all my girls
We be shining bright like diamonds and pearls
It sounds really lovely â in a very cheesy and affectionate kind of way, as it rightfully should â the song is about the girls and their fans. But the bridge is where the song indeed shows its colours
Screaming out my name
See it in the stage lights
Feel so lucky just to have ya
Cause I know deep down I was meant for something bigger! Greater!
I know youâre seeing what I see
Yeah Iâll be everything you need
I know Iâm gonna walk the walk
And talk the talk to be~ [the Queen of Hearts]
This is a song CONCEIVED TO BE PERFORMED FOR THE FANS. Itâs meant to be loud. Itâs meant to be unapologetic. Itâs meant to be sappy. And itâs all the more wonderful for it.
This is the TWICEiest shit ever.
Like Talk that Talk, Queen of Hearts also has a killer closer. The production already started to grow from the bridge, but now the guitarist finally went Super Saiyan and instead of supporting the drums, they both take the centre stage in tandem.
Then finally, the closing moments of the song even manage to squeeze in some more sappiness.
So thank you for the memories
Youâre all the ones who made me~
So thank you for the memories
That Iâm the Queen of Hearts
I still canât believe that this banger is a FAN SONG out of all things. Truly, the TWICEiest shit ever.
THE GOOD
- Adorable fucking lyrics
- Unrelenting, roaring chorus
- English and vocal flex
- Intoxicating guitar riffs
- Chaeyoung rapping in English in their Korean songs somehow slaps harder than her English rapping in their English songs, nonetheless, in QoH, it fits with the sound of the song
- Walking home from a K-pop festival with this song playing, felt like a Queen of Hearts
I love these types of rock songs with how grunge and head-bang-able they are, there is just a certain nostalgic and cheesy quality to them that feels so cozy. I donât love putting them on repeat, because in this case, I do believe there is such a thing as too much of a good thing. Perhaps more shredding, maybe a guitar solo to rock out to, or an accompaniment(!) of ad-libs from 3MIX to support Jihyoâs final chorus? A ONCE can dream of a truly bombastic rock song from TWICE. But then again that distracts from the core of what this song is: a fan song disguised as a rock song.
Queen of Hearts has so much sweetness in its lyrics and message that it's overflowing. The drums, guitar, and vocals can be as loud and intricate as they can, but the theme of this song is what makes it special from TWICEâs other rock songs â itâs a 9/10 for me.
I WANNA WANNA WANNA
TAKE YOU TO THE BASICS
Basics đ
Lyrics by Chaeyoung
Quite possibly the jammiest (pun intended) song of the album.
A song written by the Strawberry Princess herself â an event similar in frequency to other artists' releases with her last song being 2020âs silky Handle It â Basics first starts with an understated and dreamy delivery. After the first stanza, however, a bouncy Miami bass line emerges, revealing the true nature of the song: this is a classic summer bop! Especially in the first rap,
dareun aedeulgwaneun dalla
Ainât begginâ for love
nappeun geon anijana ige naraseo
eodiro twilji molla
Like rainbow bubble gum
geureoni nal kkwak butjabadweo
Syllables are pronounced in a relaxed nature, bars often starting with an "ah" sound, flirty lines in English â this rap features a production full of pop with R&B flourishes and, in my opinion, this is Chaeyoungâs bag. Also, the line rainbow bubblegum is so adorable and so Chaeyoung.
I wanna wanna wanna take it to the Basics
da weonhae weonhae weonhae? seodureuji ma Baby
ppeonhae ppeonhae malhae mweohae da al tende
Ah yeah ah yeah ah yeah ah yeah
That chorus is pure pop with a Miami bass backing; you better be bopping your head to the melody, if not booty poppin' to the bassline. Chaeyoung loves rhyming in the first half of the chorus to enhance its catchiness and it's damn incredible: wanna, weonhae, and ppeonhae all create these imperfect rhymes that continue momentum without feeling repetitive.
After the very Boy With Luv-sounding ah yeah ah yeah, ah yeah ah yeah comes an 8-bar split half and half between Chaeyoung and Momo. Coming from the chorus, the production completely cuts out for the first 2 bars. This adds tension; the song yearns to have that bass beat thumping again and all we have in the audio space in those 2 bars is Chaeyoung spittin' and she delivered.
taneun deut tteugeoun samak wie
yeppeuge pieonan jangmi gata
joshimseure naege dagaol ttae
nado moreuge jjilleobeoril tende
Translating to:
Above the hot, burning desert
Itâs like a rose that bloomed beautifully
When you come to me slowly
I will prick you unconsciously
The rap feels slick, effortless, and confident. Her diction remains sharp when enunciating each syllable but she doesnât let the flow of her rap waver or build as her 4 bars go by, itâs just smooth consistency throughout. Even the lyrics possess an aura of laid-back collectedness that is just so her. The things Chaeyoung can do when given her pen.
THE GOOD
- That sweet summer vibe of a chorus
- The spaceship post-chorus is killer
- Chaeyoung devoured this song
- Sure-footed, confident lyrics
- Perhaps an alteration of that ah yeah ah yeah line
- The way Jihyo did her pre-chorus line is good, but Minaâs is great
- After donating my hair, walking down the rainbow-coloured areas of downtown Toronto with this song playing was very⌠fitting
This song is summer bliss distilled into 2:56. Itâs dreamy, the raps are satisfying, and the ending is charming. I will say that although the second half of the song adds the stunning spaceship post-choruses and a floaty bridge with an incredible drumbeat drop into the final chorus, the raps of the song make it feel a bit front-loaded. And in an album stacked with awesome finishers, it feels more apparent.
With that said, itâs an 8/10 bop for me. This song is so easy to put on and it feels exactly what Chaeyoung would make if given the reins to produce a pop song all on her own. The lyrics are nonchalant but full of conviction, the wordplay is intricate, and the production playful but not too bombastic â it's just a nice vibe. Songs like Basics are the standard for good, simple, repeatable pop music and Iâm happy that Chaeyoung got to test her pen in this genre.
BABY WEâRE IN
TROUBLE TROUBLE
Trouble đ
Lyrics, vocal direction, and background vocals by JihyoProduced by Jihyo and earattack
One of the most enjoyable songs Iâve heard in a while.
There is an underlying tension within the first 4 bars of the song, Jihyo and Nayeon confidently open it to a nondescript array of synths and then the stanza ends, Momo announces Letâs go, the beat drops and it hits you: this is a club song.
Dahyun's relaxed delivery contrasting with Jeongyeon's staccato flow, the wobbly synth beat mixed with a sprinkle of house piano, Sana dramatically slowing down the song only for Tzuyu to build it back up until the chorus drops,
- Nayeon opens it using a breathy tone, with vocal chops serving as harmonies
- The blooming of the house piano takes centre stage and the song ascends into euphoria
- A random drum roll capped off by a cymbal crash
- Jeongyeonâs growling pronunciation of the word Trouble
- Chaeyoung slyly admitting I like this Trouble
- The entirety of Tzuyuâs tro~oh~oh~ouble yeah~
- Sana using her deep voice for the na~na~na~na
- Jihyo leading the vocals during the synchronized T W I C E chant
This chorus is perfect. Torontoâs residential market needs this song injected into its veins because god damn this song has SO much house in it. And then, ANOTHER KILLING PART: this rap fucking slaps.
gamchweo bwatja geugeon Fake
ppajin hamjeongeun Sweet cake
During the first 2 bars, Chaeyoung is keeping it calm because that trip of a chorus just ended and the song needs a breather, but I don't think anyone expected her to SNAP this hard afterwards:
You cannot resist this
Cannot miss this, such a bliss
Ima put it down down
Oh yeah, better kiss kiss
Below is the structure of her this portion of the rap, Iâm not that well versed in this technical aspect of music theory but I digress, this is all in the span of around 5 seconds where itâs:
Triplet-triplet
Quadruplet-triplet
Quadruplet-doublet
Doublet-quadruplet
Now, 25/5 = 5 syllables per second isnât groundbreaking, but goddamn it these 2 bars sound so nice â if there is one part in this album that I always repeat, itâs this. The addition of that first quadruplet for cannot miss this in the midst of the triplets sticks out and accelerates the flow of the rap while the following doublets and quadruplets destabilize and slow the rap down as the verse closes. And can I just point out:
THE MAIN VOCALIST WROTE, DIRECTED, AND COMPOSED THIS SONG âź
Chaeyoung of course delivered the fuck out of her verse but THIS is what you get when you have a member not only write the words theyâre saying but also the melody and flow with which they sing it, when that member knows the others so well that when they write a song they know how to make the group exceed. This is what you get when the artists you stan love doing artist shit.
And. AND. That's not all â with how much I mentioned I love a good outro to close a song, this outro slaps as well:
Woo wee woo wee woo
I like this Trouble be-be
Woo wee woo wee woo
I like this Trouble bay-be
Woo wee woo wee woo
I like this Trouble bay-beh
Woo wee woo wee woo
I like this Trou-ble
Like, come on, Nayeonâs imitating a police siren for crying out loud. And this is all after her ad-libs in the final post-chorus; after the pianist going full tilt and playing that piano as if it was their last chance to ever play; after that final T W I C E chant by all the members come these blissful 20 seconds at the very end. What a song.
THE GOOD
- The theme of relishing in an uncontrolled love
- Sana and Minaâs melody in the pre-chorus
- Whole neighbourhoods full of house
- You cannot resist this, cannot miss this, such a bliss
- Wees and woos
- Minaâs line of falling down, falling down, falling down low in verse 2 feels a bit too abrupt of a change
- While writing Trouble's review I had this song on repeat for my whole subway commute and I must've been so distracting, just head-bopping and being so invested in my enjoyment
Need I say more, easy 9/10. The only reason I place Talk that Talk above Trouble is because of what that song represents but besides that, this is one of the best âinternationalâ sounds theyâve put out. Actually, I havenât listened to Eyes wide open in a while but this song is up there with one of the most sonically pleasing pieces of work theyâve done.
Clubbing TWICE has always been a thing since TT was birthed in 2016, and has been a staple of their discography since 2019âs Fancy You and Feel Special mini albums, but Trouble unapologetically dives into and fits the house genre so well youâd think that this is TWICEâs bread and butter sound.
Trouble is Jihyoâs magnum opus. What a song.
BRAVE BRAVE BRAVE
FOR YOU
Brave đ
Produced by Slow Rabbit
I first thought this was just a good song, then I read the lyrics.
Gentle guitar plucks, shimmering synths, a distant keyboard in the right ear, in the left a glockenspiel, the melodic oohs from the members â this song is PRETTY.
The night that was unusually dark
Above this terrifying world, felt so lonely
The world has grown in the time of wandering
So hard to breathe
Mina and Chaeyoung open the song with how they feel lonely, that it's hard to breathe and now suddenly the song feels bittersweet â I was not expecting the song to become this emotional. Brave describes a situation where the singer is in a darker place in life and it isn't until another person gives them hope by calling them Brave that they find the drive to keep going.
Once the chorus hits, the melodies pick up, more guitars get added â thereâs even an electric guitar hidden in the mix somewhere, and the song drops the emotional front to reveal a mid-tempo pop song to dance to while crying in the club. The song as a whole still carries this melancholy feeling, but now with the added support of the chorus, acting as a light amongst the gloom.
Continuing on in the second verse there's this gorgeous, well-placed break in the song that just lets it settle after that chorus. Only a seasoned producer would risk this much empty space in a song and Slow Rabbit went to fill those shoes.
Back to the chorus, I'll take this moment to once again commend Slow Rabbit with the mixing of the song, because 4MIX undoubtedly sounds good in the chorus, and the interludes from Dahyun, Chaeyoung, and Mina also sound really good, but the clear highlight of the choruses are these lines:
Oh na na na neon nal naige hae
On and on and on
Brave Brave Brave for ya
Oh na na na neon nal sum shwige hae
On and on and on oh trust me babe
Momo, Sana, and Tzuyu form this beautiful, surprisingly catchy, second half of the chorus accompanied by a guitar drop. It should not turn out this well with how conflicting the "na"s are with the guitar melody but it creates this gentle bopping ebb and flow that feels so lush and mellow.
Diving into the bridge reveals that the listener of the song is revealed not only capable of supporting the singer through direct words but also through their thoughts and dreams. As can be discerned, this can be a song interpreted to be about ONCEs, about how they push TWICE to be their best selves despite the breathless hardships they face. It's a very sweet and touching song.
THE GOOD
- Special lyrics
- Pleasant sound to vibe out to
- That gentle break after the first chorus
- 3MIX poppin' off at the end
- Just very pretty vocals throughout
- Potentially hard to comprehend without translating the Korean lyrics
- Form of Therapyâs life motto revolves around the word âbraveâ â I donât know where I got that from, but I remembered it right before watching his album reaction (yes, this is very random)
Iâm actually spoiled with the TWICE membersâ easy-to-understand songwriting that when a song like this pops up where it's not written by a member and the thematic bits are mostly in Korean, I tend to put it aside in favour of the other songs on the album. And, especially for a song focusing on a theme like this where the English phrases donât do the Korean lyrics enough justice, it does place a bit of a barrier on the listening experience, dropping it down to a 7/10 from an 8/10.
With that anecdote out of the way, this song is just such a vibe, man. I know that sounds super hippy to say but Brave is so mellow and smooth that I canât help but sway a little when that chorus hits. And then I remember what the lyrics say and I tear up a bit on the inside. This song is so pure, raw, and full of heart â we need more songs like these where they just reminisce about life while putting up an upbeat front. Don't mind me just crying while dancing the night away.
With that said, this isn't the first time this theme has been sung by TWICE either, they've long trodden this path of supportive, confiding, up-lifting songs with Young & Wild, Rainbow, Queen, Go Hard, Depend on You, even this album's Queen of Hearts, and, of course, Feel Special. Brave just adds another on top of an already stacked lineup, unique with its mellow somberness.
Also now feels like a good time to get into my rating system:
- 7/10s are songs are ones that are simply good throughout or great songs with apparent flaws
- 8/10s are great songs with distinct killing parts
- 9/10s are borderline perfect songs where I sometimes can't comprehend how great they are
- And 10/10s are the best of an artist's discography, songs that encapsulate their ethos perfectly or expand upon them in a meaningful way
I SEE THE LIES
ON THE TIP OF YOUR TONGUE
Gone đ¨
Lyrics by Dahyun
Who the fuck pissed off Dubu this time??
Itâs getting quite rare to see TWICE pull off brand new sounds because, with now 190 original songs under their belt as of this review, theyâve done so many genres and sub-genres varying from hyper pop, to bossa nova, to whatever 2020âs Go Hard is. So itâs surprising to see theyâve still got tricks up their sleeves and Gone is one of them.
The song starts with strings swinging back and forth and vocal chops dancing from ear to ear, teasing whatâs yet to come. Jihyo enters the song with a whisper and the song sets its pace. A stagnant drum pad moves the song along and typical song progression would have Mina continue the build, but â it doesnât. The song simmers, adding a hint of high hat to the pot. And then Sana and Tzuyu come on and surely the buildup must boil over right?
Silence, untilâŚ
I see the LIES on the top of your tongue
The strings emerge again on full blast, the simmer rolls to a boil, and the anger of the song is revealed,
All the fate I had towards you
Fades like a fog, Gone, Gone
Your flipping mind of doing this and that
Iâm tired of it, itâs meaningless
In the beginning, it was hard to believe
With that, hatred increases
The singer is so scorned and burned from this relationship that they reminisce about all the effort theyâve put in since the beginning, but their âpartnerâ is so unconcerned that theyâve just about had enough of the relationship altogether.
This has been Dahyunâs thing since 2020âs Bring It Back, 2021âs Cruel, 2022âs Thatâs all Iâm saying, and even 2023's Don't Blame It On Me â emotionally charged breakup songs that make you feel as if sheâs survived through a dozen bad relationships. Dispatch, do try to do your job better.
Another highlight of the song is the post-chorus going into the bridge. This segment reiterates the structure from the first post-chorus â a barrage of drums supported by the rhythmic strumming of a bass guitar along with a consistent synth filling out the soundscape. But this time, itâs Dahyun and Chaeyoung on the rap:
I canât stand it anymore
My patience, invisible
I canât find it, itâs all Gone
Even if I try to turn back, itâs too late
Thereâs no use anymore
It has left, itâs long Gone
You, with flipping mind, you are out
I know that you know what Iâm talking about
Nothing you could say that could turn this around
Iâm Gone
Building upon the disrespected theme of the song, Dahyun notes that sheâs finally had enough with Chaeyoung adding that thereâs no point salvaging what love was once there. Momo and Dahyun round it off by telling the listener that thereâs no point trying to reason with them or playing naive, they fucked up and thereâs no coming back.
Can I just say, it's a bit of a shame that Chaeyoungâs rapping popped off in this album while Dahyun only has this one verse that she shares with Chaeyoung, but it just sounds so good how Dahyun eases in after the chorus with her light rapping tone transitioning into her singing. She even holds the Gone in a little crescendo for some added pizzazz.
And, thereâs no way Iâm not going to talk about Momoâs vocals in this bridge. Damned if she only got 1 line to use it in, her lower register is incredible. She sounds so smooth singing in this tone. All of TWICE do in particular and there is nary a weak vocal performance in this album.
To close the song off, a wash of synths gets to have their shine in the spotlight, showered with Nayeonâs belting, signifying the dramatic and drawn-out conclusion of this partnership.
THE GOOD
- Theyâve still got their surprises
- Thundering chorus
- 2nd rap and bridge combo
- A bitter, crumbling relationship theme
- Iâm not a huge fan of the mixing during the first post-chorus, where Momo's vocals were fighting with the production, which is disappointing because Momo is capable of an insane flow
- The post-chorus in general, specifically the first one, can be a bit tiring on repeat listens
- Actually, I think this song sounds like a mix between GOT7's Not By The Moon, BLACKPINKâs Love To Hate Me, and Dahyunâs Bring It Back. I donât know where I got this thought came from, but it stuck
Going back to that point about the first post-chorus as a whole; songs that have the production continue unchanged into the post-chorus/2nd verse are very hit or miss for me â see TWICE's Don't Call Me Again for an overbearing example. The post-chorus going into the bridge contrasts Dahyunâs light tone nicely with the hard-hitting production, continuing the energy until it slowly fades into silence at the end of the bridge.
Back to the song as a whole, as much as TWICE has been experimenting with their sound for the past 4 years now, Iâm happy theyâre still finding new ways to explore what theyâre capable of. And for that alone, even though Iâm not a big fan of songs like these where they rely on sounding âbigâ, Dahyunâs lyricism and the thrill I receive every time I indulge myself in this song elevates it to an 8/10. Keep on breaking hearts, Dubu.
INVINCIBLE
SUPERHEROES
When We Were Kids đ§¸
Lyrics by Dahyun
Press play to reminisce, pull up lyrics to cry.
This song is so beautiful. Iâm totally not writing this song review, crying on the bus reminiscing about my childhood, while just having turned 21. I donât know if these are happy or sad tears but this song is so beautiful either way.
Warm synths, muted piano, a gentle high hat, the younger members starting off the song â this has to be up there for one of the softest TWICE songs ever. And as it should, itâs one of the TWICEiest songs ever. And then Nayeon comes in:
Invincible superheroes, we wanted to be adults
To the higher, clearer world
The chords start swelling, the high hat keeps pace, and the harmonies pour in.
Remember When We Were Kids
When We Were Kids, we didnât know
If we could go back
I will love it even more
Remember When We Were Kids
Jihyo takes up the second half of the chorus as it drops, trading the strings for an almost R&B synth production â if choir R&B takes off, this song started it. The song relishes in this cacophony of warm sounds until returning to its sparse and peaceful verses.
This time, the hints of piano are louder, little twinkling synths begin to shimmer, the drum buildup comes and Jeongyeon drives the song straight into the chorus. No time for the strings to build like in Nayeonâs â this song loves its chorus so much.
And I'll just take this time to appreciate the amount and range of Jeongyeon vocals in this album. Her voice is so textured, stable, and projected â but also more tender and soft compared to the more pronounced tones of Nayeon and Jihyo.
The bridge comes in, repeating the phrase:
I wish that I could meet
Could meet the younger me
Giving the song time to rest, before building back up to the last chorus â this time led by Jihyo, completing the 3MIX trifecta. And interestingly enough, Chaeyoung follows up in the second half of the chorus, rather than another member of the vocal line. She really did pop off in this album.
As the last chorus begins to close, the percussion at its strongest, the harmonies on blast, the background vocals cranked up to their Sunday best, is the song going to end? Of course not! This is an album full of banger endings as if the songs donât want to end, and When We Were Kids being the album closer very much indulges in that feeling.
After a brief refrain, accented by Nayeonâs high note with a touch of vibrato, the song almost dives back into a fourth chorus. Nayeon and Jeongyeon harmonize â a rare and heavenly moment. And the song repeats the bridge, reiterating that they want to meet their younger selves, this time with the lush chorus production before closing with silence, a few piano notes, and Tzuyu singing the last line of the song:
Oh, we were kids
Reflection, acceptance, hope. What a song.
THE GOOD
- Heavenly vocals throughout
- Relatable, heartfelt lyrics
- Euphoric chorus
- Great closer to the album
- Refrain after the last chorus, Back When We Were Kids, couldâve been executed better
- For an album titled Between 1&2, I donât think anything hits harder than finishing the song reviews, with this song in particular, during your 21st birthday
I wrote the first part of this review in November 2022. Then university, life, and other things got in the way of my headspace for me to feel confident about wrapping all of this up. In a way, I felt like I just didnât want this review to end because of the joy that writing gives me â I didnât want the happiness to end. And then it hit me, after watching a YouTuber rank animated movies and them placing Spirited Away at the top and explaining 'why' reminded me of just how important growing up is, and by extension this song.
This theme is important for both the rookie TWICE members in 2015 and the teenagers who would follow their journey and grow up with them, facing lifeâs obstacles along the way. Hardships that used to only involve family, crushes, and social media, evolve into work, commitments and all the struggles that adult life brings. Being a kid and enjoying the simple things in life is one of the most sought-after moments we want to relive because we took growing up for granted. The only thing we can do now is look back on ourselves with fondness and rose-tinted lenses.
TWICEâs original meaning was to resonate with people through their senses and their hearts. That was during their debut, and I think it still holds up today. In my opinion, touching people through their emotions is what TWICE does best and makes them one of K-popâs all-time greats. It was never about having the best numbers â it was about being the best idols. And to think that this journey of maturation and growth would occur from 2015 all the way to this song, being a fitting nod to TWICEâs 7th anniversary, I donât think anyone at the company nor the group would ever imagine that they would get this far. Itâs these nine women or none â 9/10.
This song honestly deserves a 10/10 with how much I noticed other people reminiscing their childhoods after I heard this song, it is such a widely-relatable message, but I am determined to limit myself to one 10/10 song per album and if I were to pick between TTT and WWWK, I'd give it to the one's that's more repeatable â Talk that Talk just has this electric energy about it.
Epilogue
And finally here is the end. If you made it in one sitting then I commend you, because I could not write this mess in one sitting. As alluded to, I started writing this album review sometime in October, after a series of edits the first draft was finished in March, and now here's the final draft in June.I love this album. It got me through some important parts of my life, both good and bad, and it's just a wonderful listen throughout. Reliving this album again before finally completing the review has been an exciting journey. Brave hit me harder this time, after being overshadowed by the other gems of this album, and WWWK finally got me to tear up and not just be emotionally satisfied.
I feel like there's something for everyone on this album. From the exhilarating thrills of TTT to the anthemic euphoria of QoH, the clubbing dichotomy of Trouble and Brave to the blissful glee of Basics, and the sweet reminiscence of WWWK to the thundering anger that is Gone. Like Eyes wide open, I liken Between 1&2 to a pop music taste platter â there's such an eclectic mix of pop music in this album that there's bound to be a song that someone will love, like, and dislike.
Is this album perfect? I don't think so, but it's close â it was certainly my 2022 AOTY. Was this review biased? Absolutely. I've been a fan since 2019 and with the themes in this album, I also feel like it was biased towards me as a ONCE. And how would I rank the album in TWICE's catalogue? It's honestly at the top, at least with EPs â I also felt that way towards Feel Special but then this album was birthed so I'm excited for TWICE's future.
Ready To Be was also a stunning album and Eyes wide open frankly also deserved the spotlight that Formula of Love received so I might hit those next but no promises; this album took long enough to bake.
As for the performances, I've only seen Twitter clips (no fancams to not spoil myself) and I am SO EXCITED to finally see them in July. QoH was as glorious as expected, Brave was a delightful surprise, and WWWK, while not being the concert closer everyone expected it to be, paired up nicely with Crazy Stupid Love. And of course the bombastic addition of the dance break to TTT. But, this is not a concert review, and here is where this album review ends.
Feel free to comment with any thoughts regarding the album, other TWICE albums, and any suggestions for my writing in general. Congrats again on making it this far!
God, I love this album.
2023.06.05 04:13 Iworkformycat27 90-Day Fiance: Before the 90-Days, Moonstruck, An Episode Review
In Sharp Entertainemntâs latest prod-uction, the only show with less self-control and more unrequited trauma than Gary Busey with a flamethrower, 90-Day Fiance: Before the 90-Days, we see our protagonists, introducing themselves to the world, and making a tri-, a return, will their love last, is it real, or, wait, are they talking to this person?
Amanda and Razvan
Amanda is a widow, her husband died of cancer, her children are half-orphans- and she is dating a year after losing her husband, she is fine, she is ready. Does Sharp Entertainment take Shriners Kids to bars and give them Cocaine because thatâs what this, the death stuff is very sad, and the children but this.
Did Matt Sharp murder somebody, they are really trying to distract us with sympathy, you sociopath, the children's tears, I know, I know, but do you trust this, from Sharp Entertainment? I trust a raccoon in a whorehouse more than I do Sharp Entertainment eliciting sympathy.
Oh, they met on TikTok well, that, see, and heâs an actor and model, actors and models have a great track record, roll that beautiful disaster footage! Yep, theyâre going to- stop beating up on a widow, Iâm not, Iâm beating up on the world.
Amanda goes to get a spray tan so she doesnât get off the plane and look like a ghost, which honestly is a good idea, people kill ghosts in Romania, they are vampires. Amandaâs sister is also smart, she thinks Amanda is moving too fast and this relationship is a trainwreck, they are no Jack and Sally. Sheâs just trying to cover a void- she is totally being a Darcey, which makes her- where is her Florian? Is he also a wealth of wisdom and memes?
Amanda takes her two children to the park, to ignore them like Darcey, Aniko is currently climbing the trees with raccoons, her true family, mother abandoned me for two weeks, look that one is going for three, when are we going to raid a dumpster and film it for a Tiktok?
Amanda calls Ravan, and he has big romantic plans- that include shooting his music video, for his song, about her, also he did a porn, how many 90-Day Fiance Bingo categories does this cover?
Not David Murphey: Bawkawk!
Cultural Appropriation Crickets: My board needs to go to rehab.
Not David Murphey: Bawakawk!
Cultural Appropriation Crickets: Jump on that square, we need that toaster.
Signature bathtub toaster, enjoy breakfast and bathing in the most popular room- Natalie Wood commemorative life raft.
Cultural Appropriation Crickets: Come on Possessed Nespresso Machine!
Amanda buys her children some presents to bribe-
Not David Murphey: Bawkwak!
Cortney: Whatâs an asexual vibrator?
Amandaâs children have questions, along with the dad box which is a touching gesture but might become a meme, if it was the mom box it would beâŚmother boxes would be worse, trust me. Do they bring it everywhere? When theyâre teenagers and, doing activities will they still have the dad box around? Serious question, I miss grandma but I donât have a grandma box that I take into the bathroom with me, youâd be so proud of me grandpa, I had Taco Bell, Iâm losing 10 pounds, so anyway how was your day?
Still dead? Youâve gotta get out more.
Gino and Jasmine
Jasmine has needs- $350 needs, $1750, Gino isnât a gift guy but he likes sex. Which sex slave did these extensions come off of? Thatâs not funny, youâre right, itâs probably true. Want to know where the sparkles come from in makeup? Child labor. Iâm sorry, I donât know why I said that, I, people need to have real problems man. If Darcey enlisted in the army she would grow as a person.
Gino is going to go visit Jasmine in Panama, and show off his new clothes, and hats, and argue about sex and money. That Jasmine is spending at the doctor, for a tighter p****, did you know that Gino also has sex problems doctor? Iâm going to tell the world about it! Iâd like to teach Gino to c**, inside of me! This trip is their last chance, to get a pay raise, plastic surgery isnât cheap. Is my rose chilled yet?
Sheâs getting drunk and doing a 90-Day Fiance review? Trust me, most people do. Most people also work, which upsets Jasmine, because she canât talk to Gino as much, and spy on him, and hear his lies of approval, why wonât the US government let them be together?
Do they not believe in our love, or did Gino, who did the Visa Application by himself- Jasmineâs not stupid that might be it, she deserves a nice apartment, with their own bedroom, for sex, which starts a really sexy argument about fighting, and sex, and- I understand why the US Government doesnât want them to be together.
This rose was not chilled yet, if you want to get drunk with me I am drinking Love Drunk Rose by Garage DâOr, Oregone, âWhen reality is better than your dreams!â, itâs quite good and very appropriate for the occasion.
Jasmine meets her totally platonic friend Dane at Coffee Max, she surprises him with the news that sheâs hsi new neighbor, also, they used to date, you canât bring enough autistic neurodivergent trans women into this to make this- might have just spoiled something for you, the violin is growing.
Jasmine and Ginoâs trust issues definitely wonât- flash forwards to my favorite promo, itâll be fine, if not, Dane and his muscular, good advice, is here, for you, in the same apartment building.
Riley and Violet
Riley is a big Jazz fan, and Elton John, also, heâs an elderly Luke Cage, who canât dance, and is paranoid about life! Which is understandable given his history, is Elton John single? Heâs very pretty, and rich. Is Riley the problem? A woman literally ran away from him.
Riley specifically downloaded a Vietnamese dating app, and found the youngest looking 43 year old woman in the world. Who is also smart, and clever, and so good Riley learned SOME Vietnamese, also, if you flip on your woman in Vietnam that means you love her, this is fine. Violet understands him.
Riley goes to help his friends with their Juneteenth celebration, where they will.
A Bless this relationship
B Sit around a campfire and sing Kumbaya
C Sell some Boombod
D Doubt this entire relationship and bring up evidence supporting their case
Did you pick D? How did you know, heâs bringing a ring, are they done doubting this, no, Violet does sound a little sus, they might- are they having food? God I love cornbread, itâs better to learn that your fiance is Evil Rose over cornbread. My grandma could die, again, but if you told me that over Honey Cake, I, I might be a sociopath, or hungry.
Tyray and Carmella
Is he playing an instrument and singing, this is his first, oh no, at least he isnât on a boat. Tyray take care of his sick mother, his father was murdered- how many people did Matt Sharp kill? When will the tables turn on this one? Tyray is in love with Carmella, a woman who is real, whose face he has- the table just yeeted itself into a wall, yep, this, and his family doesnât-
Satan: When did we get train tracks?
When- dodge! Ah, there it, I canât stop looking at it, is that a car? No, that was Not David Murpheyâs Taco Bell dinner- who gave him Taco Bell?
The producers also have bad news, and they tell Tyray in person, which-
Archangel Gabriel: Let me the f*** in your house!
Get off my lawn!
Archangel Gabriel: You are witnessing a miracle, one of your solar-powered lights is out.
Tyray has been messaging a man. So thatâs-
Archangel Gabriel: Iâm watering your flowers, youâre welcome!
This is going to be fun next week.
David and Sheila
A deaf guy, Matt Sharp is just a serial killer now, and he has multiple minimum-wage jobs? Subbed anime is really the best. Boarding school, and not being able to connect with people- is David Matt Sharpâs accomplice? Thereâs the music, here comes the wom- nope, itâs his ex-wah-man, here comes the new one, who is learning sign language!
What a- and heâs sending her money, which she does need, and $3,000 isnât much, Caesar pocket change. But someone has to be suspicious.
I give this episode â stars, the highlight was Gino and Jasmine sticking to the traditional script, theyâre not doing any of this sympathy bullshit, no, they, how many people did Matt Sharp murder? More representation and tragedy is coming next week, was Matt Sharp Jack the Ripper?
At least they'll start arguing next week, the one thing theyâre supposed to be doing, and banginâ, that is also, sometimes itâs their job. Is that possessed Nespresso machine still up there? I never go swimming, I wouldnât use the life raft.
submitted by Iworkformycat27 to 90DayFianceFanFiction [link] [comments]
Amanda and Razvan
Amanda is a widow, her husband died of cancer, her children are half-orphans- and she is dating a year after losing her husband, she is fine, she is ready. Does Sharp Entertainment take Shriners Kids to bars and give them Cocaine because thatâs what this, the death stuff is very sad, and the children but this.
Did Matt Sharp murder somebody, they are really trying to distract us with sympathy, you sociopath, the children's tears, I know, I know, but do you trust this, from Sharp Entertainment? I trust a raccoon in a whorehouse more than I do Sharp Entertainment eliciting sympathy.
Oh, they met on TikTok well, that, see, and heâs an actor and model, actors and models have a great track record, roll that beautiful disaster footage! Yep, theyâre going to- stop beating up on a widow, Iâm not, Iâm beating up on the world.
Amanda goes to get a spray tan so she doesnât get off the plane and look like a ghost, which honestly is a good idea, people kill ghosts in Romania, they are vampires. Amandaâs sister is also smart, she thinks Amanda is moving too fast and this relationship is a trainwreck, they are no Jack and Sally. Sheâs just trying to cover a void- she is totally being a Darcey, which makes her- where is her Florian? Is he also a wealth of wisdom and memes?
Amanda takes her two children to the park, to ignore them like Darcey, Aniko is currently climbing the trees with raccoons, her true family, mother abandoned me for two weeks, look that one is going for three, when are we going to raid a dumpster and film it for a Tiktok?
Amanda calls Ravan, and he has big romantic plans- that include shooting his music video, for his song, about her, also he did a porn, how many 90-Day Fiance Bingo categories does this cover?
Not David Murphey: Bawkawk!
Cultural Appropriation Crickets: My board needs to go to rehab.
Not David Murphey: Bawakawk!
Cultural Appropriation Crickets: Jump on that square, we need that toaster.
Signature bathtub toaster, enjoy breakfast and bathing in the most popular room- Natalie Wood commemorative life raft.
Cultural Appropriation Crickets: Come on Possessed Nespresso Machine!
Amanda buys her children some presents to bribe-
Not David Murphey: Bawkwak!
Cortney: Whatâs an asexual vibrator?
Amandaâs children have questions, along with the dad box which is a touching gesture but might become a meme, if it was the mom box it would beâŚmother boxes would be worse, trust me. Do they bring it everywhere? When theyâre teenagers and, doing activities will they still have the dad box around? Serious question, I miss grandma but I donât have a grandma box that I take into the bathroom with me, youâd be so proud of me grandpa, I had Taco Bell, Iâm losing 10 pounds, so anyway how was your day?
Still dead? Youâve gotta get out more.
Gino and Jasmine
Jasmine has needs- $350 needs, $1750, Gino isnât a gift guy but he likes sex. Which sex slave did these extensions come off of? Thatâs not funny, youâre right, itâs probably true. Want to know where the sparkles come from in makeup? Child labor. Iâm sorry, I donât know why I said that, I, people need to have real problems man. If Darcey enlisted in the army she would grow as a person.
Gino is going to go visit Jasmine in Panama, and show off his new clothes, and hats, and argue about sex and money. That Jasmine is spending at the doctor, for a tighter p****, did you know that Gino also has sex problems doctor? Iâm going to tell the world about it! Iâd like to teach Gino to c**, inside of me! This trip is their last chance, to get a pay raise, plastic surgery isnât cheap. Is my rose chilled yet?
Sheâs getting drunk and doing a 90-Day Fiance review? Trust me, most people do. Most people also work, which upsets Jasmine, because she canât talk to Gino as much, and spy on him, and hear his lies of approval, why wonât the US government let them be together?
Do they not believe in our love, or did Gino, who did the Visa Application by himself- Jasmineâs not stupid that might be it, she deserves a nice apartment, with their own bedroom, for sex, which starts a really sexy argument about fighting, and sex, and- I understand why the US Government doesnât want them to be together.
This rose was not chilled yet, if you want to get drunk with me I am drinking Love Drunk Rose by Garage DâOr, Oregone, âWhen reality is better than your dreams!â, itâs quite good and very appropriate for the occasion.
Jasmine meets her totally platonic friend Dane at Coffee Max, she surprises him with the news that sheâs hsi new neighbor, also, they used to date, you canât bring enough autistic neurodivergent trans women into this to make this- might have just spoiled something for you, the violin is growing.
Jasmine and Ginoâs trust issues definitely wonât- flash forwards to my favorite promo, itâll be fine, if not, Dane and his muscular, good advice, is here, for you, in the same apartment building.
Riley and Violet
Riley is a big Jazz fan, and Elton John, also, heâs an elderly Luke Cage, who canât dance, and is paranoid about life! Which is understandable given his history, is Elton John single? Heâs very pretty, and rich. Is Riley the problem? A woman literally ran away from him.
Riley specifically downloaded a Vietnamese dating app, and found the youngest looking 43 year old woman in the world. Who is also smart, and clever, and so good Riley learned SOME Vietnamese, also, if you flip on your woman in Vietnam that means you love her, this is fine. Violet understands him.
Riley goes to help his friends with their Juneteenth celebration, where they will.
A Bless this relationship
B Sit around a campfire and sing Kumbaya
C Sell some Boombod
D Doubt this entire relationship and bring up evidence supporting their case
Did you pick D? How did you know, heâs bringing a ring, are they done doubting this, no, Violet does sound a little sus, they might- are they having food? God I love cornbread, itâs better to learn that your fiance is Evil Rose over cornbread. My grandma could die, again, but if you told me that over Honey Cake, I, I might be a sociopath, or hungry.
Tyray and Carmella
Is he playing an instrument and singing, this is his first, oh no, at least he isnât on a boat. Tyray take care of his sick mother, his father was murdered- how many people did Matt Sharp kill? When will the tables turn on this one? Tyray is in love with Carmella, a woman who is real, whose face he has- the table just yeeted itself into a wall, yep, this, and his family doesnât-
Satan: When did we get train tracks?
When- dodge! Ah, there it, I canât stop looking at it, is that a car? No, that was Not David Murpheyâs Taco Bell dinner- who gave him Taco Bell?
The producers also have bad news, and they tell Tyray in person, which-
Archangel Gabriel: Let me the f*** in your house!
Get off my lawn!
Archangel Gabriel: You are witnessing a miracle, one of your solar-powered lights is out.
Tyray has been messaging a man. So thatâs-
Archangel Gabriel: Iâm watering your flowers, youâre welcome!
This is going to be fun next week.
David and Sheila
A deaf guy, Matt Sharp is just a serial killer now, and he has multiple minimum-wage jobs? Subbed anime is really the best. Boarding school, and not being able to connect with people- is David Matt Sharpâs accomplice? Thereâs the music, here comes the wom- nope, itâs his ex-wah-man, here comes the new one, who is learning sign language!
What a- and heâs sending her money, which she does need, and $3,000 isnât much, Caesar pocket change. But someone has to be suspicious.
I give this episode â stars, the highlight was Gino and Jasmine sticking to the traditional script, theyâre not doing any of this sympathy bullshit, no, they, how many people did Matt Sharp murder? More representation and tragedy is coming next week, was Matt Sharp Jack the Ripper?
At least they'll start arguing next week, the one thing theyâre supposed to be doing, and banginâ, that is also, sometimes itâs their job. Is that possessed Nespresso machine still up there? I never go swimming, I wouldnât use the life raft.
2023.06.04 23:46 External_Factor2516 Yugen Glyph
this is a prototype Yugen Glyph (hunt for my previous post lol or my medium article here ). Magic is not yet ready, this is just a prototype for capturing full concepts, I think instead of making it it's own language, it should act as a wrapper for all existing languages.
Put numbers where the text in the example is, put that numbered up version of the graph, on the front page of a document or sub-document, and then use bulleted paragraphs, or bulleted hyperlinks to parallel documents, and in each paragraph or parallel document: be as detailed or vague as is your accurate impression of the subject.
for example someone who really loves mathematics, will have a very detailed and huge document tree centered around this graph about their impression of math, and what is the opposite of math? for some folks the opposite is literal Nothingness with a capital N because math is Everything with a capital E. For others, the opposite of math is social studies, or art (people who think math and art are opposites, I mean I'd like to have a word with them, and would like to impress upon you that I think they are WRONG!! because perspective and symmetry and even the chemistry of the optics of our perceptions and neurochemistry of our impressions- all of art, is just layers... and layers... of math, but at the same time I feel why they may be misguided into that perception, because math not as a subject but as discipline is rather rigid whereas art is like Bob Ross' TV persona, it embraces mistakes as a part of the process whereas math as a discipline sternly rejects them! but math the subject and math the discipline are two different animals, math the subject is just pattern recognition and construction taken into the furthest reaches of human capacity as an elevated artform. so math the discipline is a bit like professor Snape from Terfy/Harry Potter, math the subject is a friggin kaleidoscopic rainbow of infinite imagination and possibilities, math professors create worlds with the best of em man. Like portraits of possibility written out like the rules to an otherwise inconceivable game! I love math! I hate being taught it, but I LOVE exploring it!!!! Just as much as I love a good anime or trip to the art museum or a fun creative novel or cool visual patterns on cute clothing Math Art what's the difference really, art is just math with fun inaccuracies, math with wiggle room, but they'll always be two heads attached to the same Demogorgon)
I rambled... where was I.... Yes, I may disagree with someone who thinks art and math are opposites but disagreement, truckloads of it, all of the disagreement that is physically capable of existing in the same place at once without collapsing into a blackhole, none of it will invalidate their experience and that's what this linguistic wrapper is about. It's about...
...Dreams Nightmares The Holy Spirit, Trips to the depths of Hell, good days and bad days, weird experiences that last only a fleeting instant and leave a deep impression. All of that.
Doesn't matter if you believe in it or not, because the it as it was perceived may not exist, whilst at the same time (and read this maybe a few times) the it as a perception is irrefutable.
Peoples WRONG >-( feelings are still valid man... I mean you may think drinking your own pee kept you hydrated in the desert and drinking alcohol kept you warm in the tundra, you'd be oh so very wrong (to the point of nearly killing yourself) but that comfort you felt when you thought you were surviving in the wilderness like a pro, that was real, the way misinformation was munched on by your brain like it was the good stuff, that was also very real and you, yourself are valid no matter what.
Like what is reality? that's a linguistic question more than a scientific one.
If you define it as what is felt to be real, then hey, people who remember shit vividly, even when it's factually incorrect, like how myself among many others remember the Bearenstein Bears, whom according to all outside stimuli I generally trust, were actually historically always the Bearenstain Bears, and likely because of the cartoon introduction pronouncing it with a thick accent, and me reading them when my trained mental optical character recognition skills for the english language were at a fledging capacity because I was very very VERY young, my ears hear the woman with the thick accent call them Bearenstein, my eyes were not yet trained to strongly discriminate between "a" and "e". I can safely conclude I remembered it wrong and was the victim of multimodal confusion.
However a good deal of people have come to a much cooler set of conclusions; ready?!
They believe that either A) they are from a parallel history that was destroyed by something and their souls migrated here; B) that a bunch of very skilled book ninjas replaced every book with an identically weathered copy of itself except for small changes to the print, or C) that God did like the ninjas in the previous example did, and either physically changed history but left some of us with a spiritual memory of our alternate history for whatever reason, or to the same effect God just did as the ninjas in the previous example did and used God power to rearrange the ink on every page of the books.
Hey those conclusions are wild, and sometimes when I'm feeling fanciful I do indeed like to imagine or even convince myself I am from a parallel earth where minor details about things are definitely different because I remember them "wrongly" so vividly, it would be MORE fair of a world if my memory was flawless and thus proof that I am a world wrangler of some kind. I don't believe that. that's not my reality.
But that's my point, from an evidentiary perspective trying to prove you are from a parallel universe is like trying help Sisyphus take a break, or trying to reconstruct the 'original' ship of Theseus even whilst the ship is still arguably here. it's not impossible per se, but what does it even mean man? is it even possible? does it even make sense to say outloud? ...or is it just some gnome chopsky meaninful gibberish type stuff?
mind-blown... but whilst they might not be from a alternate universe, because that would imply that evidentiarily there would be some kind of coordinate to visit where they come from... is it really wrong to say they're from an alternate reality? I'd argue no, reality is a word that linguists bitch about, because in English we use the same word and spread it over a couple of separate concepts, the physical present as the arithmetic mean of measurers' consensus has it, and then present internal personal experience. both are reality.
I mean if you stick something friggin cold on my skin, I might experience an internal reality of paradoxical heat, whilst someone peeping through a thermal imaging cam would experience a physical external measurement of me being exposed to extreme cold.
which one is "true"?
well for us, "us" the cold is true, but for me, myself, I, alone; the hot was what I felt most vividly, that's "my truth" as the south of the USA annoyingly puts it. (the idea that truth isn't singular still annoys me).
(TRUTH is singular, but I'd argue TRUTH is also beyond the perceptual capacity of mortals)
we don't converge on truth we converge on measurable contemporary consensus about our perceived external reality, which as luck would have it is practically the same as truth but slightly different. We'll never know if the universal constants we take for granted are just one click away from some cosmic teenager tweaking a couple setting on their screensaver and erasing us from existence, and since we can't measure this cosmic teenager, we don't bother about them, but hey, maybe someday they'll get bored of their current screensaver, we'll all just kind of disintegrate like when Thanos Snapped in the Marvel End Game event.
Just minding our own business and then atoms all over the world turn to jelly when exposed to sunlight or something. not likely according to what we know, but we know we can't know everything, so just be grateful it isn't our current reality and continue taking thing for what they appear to be for now I guess.
As for internal reality, that's what's driving me to write this. that's what drove you here for whatever reason. we have more direct contact with internal reality, external reality is just some consistent pattern pattern we or you or I feel internally as if we have less control over it than we do over our thoughts, so it feels external, whether or not reality warpers that can bend reality just as easily as you can choose to compose a naughty joke in your head exist, that's a matter for science fiction writers and philosophers and fringe bio-physics researchers.
And subtractively some people have more intrusive thoughts than controlled thoughts, some people have and other people don't have inner voices; some people have high resolution internal imaging software for pictures and sounds that they vividly hallucinate at will, other people have very delicate and subtle to no imagination capacity, if we can subtract from inner reality it makes sense to imagine that adding to it is not out of the question.
is control and perception of your limbs inner reality? yes, but does it have some small interference effect on this external reality we feel exposed to... (rather than as familiar with as a bodily or mental sensation) ...sometimes, not if you're percieving the movement of a severed or paralyzed limb though.
what about dreams, they can feel just as external as the waking world, but with this weird capacity to exist on a scale of externality to internality, a lucid dream, is basically what the external world would be like if your thoughts could reshape it at will. I find that depressing, so maybe my soul if you believe in that sort of thing cordoned off its godlike powers to enter a simulation (this place) willing so that it could feel the comfort of a world that is managed by relatively firm seeming laws, rather than one where my intrusive thoughts might erase things from history or change the people I love without their consent, maybe this "external"/"physical" universe is like a mental hospital for reality warpers who have intrusive thoughts, and we belong to some hive mind species from an external universe, but we're in therapy right now, to learn to tell the difference between concepts that are important to our ilk, and or to just be allowed to safely be ourselves without accidentally committing super powered crimes against our ilk unintentionally.
for most people under most circumstances in this world a thought does not immediately cause an action, our mind subconsciously proposes several possible actions and we analyze them come to a few conclusions pit those conclusions against eachother, and then let the winner lead us to the most victorious action/behavior chain, and then immediately after doing all of that subconsciously we become consciously aware of our behaviors, make up some random likely rationale for why we chose those behaviors, and then we sit back and enjoy the show as the consequences of our conscious and subconscious choices roll in, which we consciously and subconsciously react to and mull over to lead to hopefully better decisions in the future, or atleast that's my understanding of the gist of it.
now what if that whole automatic suggestion of possible actions we could take, which we you know, think of as a good thing, is actually a mental illness in some culture we don't know we belong to, and when combined with our mental reflexive power to warp reality, makes us basically their cultures version of violently reactive psychopaths, but because they can read minds they don't harbor ill will towards us, they just know we're not put together correctly, so they've made us a new type of external reality that neutralizes our bad nature and allows us to live with this incurable mental illness in a safe environment with the opportunity to seize happy lives for ourselves?
If our minds were wiped after the simulation box was activated around us, I mean it's just a scifi twist on the allegory of the cave, and the matrix did pretty much it similarly.
but what this does illustrate besides my urge to do creative writing, is that internal and external reality are separated by a fuzzy line, if there's even a line there at all.
Yet whilst on one hand the boundary is so ill defined it looks more like a continuum.
On the other hand the boundary is night and day.
I don't live in your fricken head, and if you live in mine you've been really respectful cos I haven't noticed ya.
and people get hurt because the way they think things works is proven wrong the hard way and it sends them to the hospital all the time.
Like oh, petting this bear is a smart decision... ...3 hours later, wakes up on the hospital bed feeling drowsy and with strange sensations in random parts of the body, nurse leans over face: "your lucky to be alive" says the nurse.
because guess what, weirdly it's obvious what's part of your reality and what's part of our reality, until you try to give a fuck, then it's nonobvious again.
circling back around, are people whom genuinely feel as though they are from alternate realities crazy? maybe.
Are they actually experiencing what it is like to be from an alternate reality? yes, absolutely, they know how strange it feels, to them it is real, their experience is valid, and their feelings matter!!
No I speculated about meta-realities a couple times here (realities that are outside "the matrix" as the kids say). but I haven't like vividly experienced a meta-reality, infact most people want "out" I want in deeper, I'm a gamer and a dreamer, I want more of the good stuff, and for me that's a machine of my own making within the machine we all call home, If I were Plato in the cave, and I escaped my shackles, I'd go spelunking for a deeper cave and a better fire, I wouldn't worry about what the sun was on about or how fresh feels superior to grimey cave air, I'd be ALL about my shadow puppets man, and differently colored fires, pretty much the only way that I'd be bothered to leave the cave, would be to get supplies to pimp out my cave. That's just my perception of myself, and it's valid.
You wanna leave, well, don't kill yourself illegally, but when you die of natural causes, for find a legally sanctioned way to off yourself under the supervision of the law and behind a lot of red tape to ensure that you are just clinically depressed and trying to fix temporary problems with permanent solutions... ...like, leave, you're not my hostage. I care. I want you to be happy. but my cave's not for everybody and I respect if you've had enough of this ride man. #love by the way please really don't kill yourself without asking your local family and municipalities for permission, suicide is like vigilante justice mixed with self harm, it might seem cool if you're emotionally stunted in some way, but Pheonix Jones ("the only real life superhero" look him up.) allegedly (and I use that word mostly to avoid being sued) allegedly turned out to be a drug dealer, that's how he got money for his cool hero cave and his bullet proof armor and stun sticks and fancy form fitting outfit and probably a lot of the stuff that made him seem cool... drug dealer... "I'm gonna save people can't swim" he says, jumping into the pool, without knowing how to swim.
Beating up people for the minor crime of being drunken assholes, meanwhile secretly a hardcore drug dealer.
Don't idolize the people who beat people up for fame, idolize the people who give food to homeless people and money to shelter programs.
Likewise don't idolize suicide, your valuable, and I know you don't know anymore about the afterlife than I do, nobody has measured it thus far so your playing bingo and Russian roulette at the same time when you die, is Shiva the master of all things? Is Santa clause? AM I GONNA BECOME AN ELF WHEN I DIE!? Who the fuck knows, it's a bad idea to fuck around and find out. So step back from that ledge my friend. maybe we're all just shopping mall mannequins who dream of being alive and each time we die we wake up paralyzed and faceless and powerless trapped in our own bodies and ignored by everyone save those whom want to vandalize us and dress us up in clothes we're not allowed to pick for ourselves, and maybe we're even telepathically subjected to the thoughts of every soul in the mall from the others like us to the selfish shoppers to the rats in the ventilation shafts, and then these moments of fleeting life our the most precious things to our existence until our plastic bodies gradually get buried beneath the earth or overgrown of abandoned malls and country dumps and thousands of years later we enter the geological cycle and are crushed and melted by the powers of the earth into unrecognizable forms and our minds will be set back to the carefree lives of amorphous inorganic formless chemical floating across the universe as we once were before some chemist in a lab trapped us into the form of a plastic press fit human sculpture... ...you don't know man... you may only get to live like us in your dreams and who knows what schedule a mannequin dreams on... most people think you're inanimate and you only get to feel the pleasures and pains of life for yourself when you have blessed dreams like these. So don't throw this dream way.
If you are in a dark place, and want to kill yourself to fix it, I find that to be a kind of paradoxical optimism. you really think that it'll be better on the outside? when has anyone ever said, "man I am so glad I have to go to work and stop playing my favorite videogame." NEVER (unless they meant in hindsight because they met their future romantic partner during an otherwise normal work day, but aside from uncommon exceptions nobody says that!) life is a game, you're stuck on a hard part right now, don't press the quit button, because the haters are invading, and the world needs more good people like you alive in it, so that other good people can live comfortable lives, and possible share that happiness with you down the road once they find out what a cool person you are!!
Now that I've gotten the "who knows what's out" the "are they really crazy" and the "please don't commit suicide willy nilly" out of the way, let's get back to wrapping things up, this is a quasi-conlang, it's like a framework that any written language can squeeze into to augment itself.
It's a graph that you can put pictures numbers petroglyphs or ideograms on, whatever is your speed.
If you write really small you can fit all of the information on the graph and then just use A FRIGGIN MAGNIFYING GLASS (or microscope honestly) to read back what you wrote to yourself, alternatively you can make citations that lead elsewhere wherehaps there is more writing space :-)
then you fill out the glyph with your maximum literary capacity, take a break, comeback, read everything again and internalize it and mentally partition it to each aspect of the Yugen Glyph, then you stand back and look at the Yugen Glyph one last time fully appreciating it by picturing all of the aspects of this particular version of the glyph, in simultaneity and symmetric juxtaposition. this isn't just the concept in some idealized platonic form, this is much much cooler than that; it's your inner world's platonic atomic unit of that concept, albeit, you're now able to reflect and express full perception that your past self had...
....and sadly as a state cannot fully observe itself without changing and thus getting caught in one of those nasty infinite polymorphic loops, the moment you fill this graph out in whatever languages of your choice... (I'm gonna mix english with my emoglyphs with this graph/wrapper because english is my native language and my emoglyphs depict other important aspects of the inner reality in great detail) ...is the moment you confront this concept in its truest form as you are currently capable of perceiving it. Some things like to change the moment you observe them. You may go, "oh wait I can add more details now..." or "oh wait, it suddenly feels different to me now that I've gotten a good look at the way I'm looking at it". and that's okay, this sort of pulls the concept out of your body.
I forgot whether it was Sophie's world (a book I read a long time ago) or an actual philosopher who gave this example, but basically rivers are always flowing, their only constant is change, humans are much the same way. When a person is standing in a river they are in sync with the river they are closely acquainted with this river, they are one with the flow and the flow has become one with them. Then when that same person steps out of the river to go dry off and get a snack, they are obviously no longer one, but when that person eventually comes back to that river, even if they stand in the same map coordinate as before, them and the river have to get reacquainted, as they have fallen out of sync, it's a new river, there are new grains of sand under this person's feet, and this person isn't quiet as young as the last person, even if they are technically "the same person" according to the memory and experiences of this new person.
These concepts are like people standing in the river of your mind, and my Yugen Glyph is like some mystical force that can eject them from you, so that you can get reacquainted with them in your own right, or distribute them to other rivers to help you propagate and introduce some concepts native to you into the public zeitgeist.
Some of these concepts are like people who have entered you by force and then become one with your flow, others are like the local wildlife that has been a part of your flow in a flowing away eversince your flow first formed, either way the intent of these Yugen Glyphs is to empower you to control the ecosystem of your flow and the flows around you better, because everything is connected and power of concepts is itself a powerful concept.
The YugenGlyph filled with placeholder text that you might need to zoom in on super closely to read in some parts... lol XD.
The Blank conceptogram for you to save and print out and draw on. If you ask me nicely, I'll make a printer friendly version, but you have to beg and make me feel like royalty XD JK lol, nah, if any body is interested in printer friendly just ask I'll simplify the design add some patterns to compensate for the lack of color (black and white no gray) and then I'll be like \"K, here, you can play with it now.\" :-)
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the end that's it you made it
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postamble: remember this is a prototype I may adopt more than one thing as my "Yugen Glyphs" before I settle on a final design.
This is MK1 of an unknown incoming number of Yugen glyphs, please offer creative stirrings to me.
I'm not really open to criticism at the moment as I'm, just doing this to get steam out and hence don't care for advice on how to do it right, it's an energy sponge project, it's here to capture my excess energy and channel it into something non-destructive and it is doing its job very well I can attest to that. if it bothers you that I don't care, no one is making you hang out with me, just leave, stop torturing yourself it encourages my evil side to laugh at you. (rightfully so since you coming here to complain would be self inflicted psychic slapstick comedy in a way)
submitted by External_Factor2516 to u/External_Factor2516 [link] [comments]
Put numbers where the text in the example is, put that numbered up version of the graph, on the front page of a document or sub-document, and then use bulleted paragraphs, or bulleted hyperlinks to parallel documents, and in each paragraph or parallel document: be as detailed or vague as is your accurate impression of the subject.
for example someone who really loves mathematics, will have a very detailed and huge document tree centered around this graph about their impression of math, and what is the opposite of math? for some folks the opposite is literal Nothingness with a capital N because math is Everything with a capital E. For others, the opposite of math is social studies, or art (people who think math and art are opposites, I mean I'd like to have a word with them, and would like to impress upon you that I think they are WRONG!! because perspective and symmetry and even the chemistry of the optics of our perceptions and neurochemistry of our impressions- all of art, is just layers... and layers... of math, but at the same time I feel why they may be misguided into that perception, because math not as a subject but as discipline is rather rigid whereas art is like Bob Ross' TV persona, it embraces mistakes as a part of the process whereas math as a discipline sternly rejects them! but math the subject and math the discipline are two different animals, math the subject is just pattern recognition and construction taken into the furthest reaches of human capacity as an elevated artform. so math the discipline is a bit like professor Snape from Terfy/Harry Potter, math the subject is a friggin kaleidoscopic rainbow of infinite imagination and possibilities, math professors create worlds with the best of em man. Like portraits of possibility written out like the rules to an otherwise inconceivable game! I love math! I hate being taught it, but I LOVE exploring it!!!! Just as much as I love a good anime or trip to the art museum or a fun creative novel or cool visual patterns on cute clothing Math Art what's the difference really, art is just math with fun inaccuracies, math with wiggle room, but they'll always be two heads attached to the same Demogorgon)
I rambled... where was I.... Yes, I may disagree with someone who thinks art and math are opposites but disagreement, truckloads of it, all of the disagreement that is physically capable of existing in the same place at once without collapsing into a blackhole, none of it will invalidate their experience and that's what this linguistic wrapper is about. It's about...
...Dreams Nightmares The Holy Spirit, Trips to the depths of Hell, good days and bad days, weird experiences that last only a fleeting instant and leave a deep impression. All of that.
Doesn't matter if you believe in it or not, because the it as it was perceived may not exist, whilst at the same time (and read this maybe a few times) the it as a perception is irrefutable.
Peoples WRONG >-( feelings are still valid man... I mean you may think drinking your own pee kept you hydrated in the desert and drinking alcohol kept you warm in the tundra, you'd be oh so very wrong (to the point of nearly killing yourself) but that comfort you felt when you thought you were surviving in the wilderness like a pro, that was real, the way misinformation was munched on by your brain like it was the good stuff, that was also very real and you, yourself are valid no matter what.
Like what is reality? that's a linguistic question more than a scientific one.
If you define it as what is felt to be real, then hey, people who remember shit vividly, even when it's factually incorrect, like how myself among many others remember the Bearenstein Bears, whom according to all outside stimuli I generally trust, were actually historically always the Bearenstain Bears, and likely because of the cartoon introduction pronouncing it with a thick accent, and me reading them when my trained mental optical character recognition skills for the english language were at a fledging capacity because I was very very VERY young, my ears hear the woman with the thick accent call them Bearenstein, my eyes were not yet trained to strongly discriminate between "a" and "e". I can safely conclude I remembered it wrong and was the victim of multimodal confusion.
However a good deal of people have come to a much cooler set of conclusions; ready?!
They believe that either A) they are from a parallel history that was destroyed by something and their souls migrated here; B) that a bunch of very skilled book ninjas replaced every book with an identically weathered copy of itself except for small changes to the print, or C) that God did like the ninjas in the previous example did, and either physically changed history but left some of us with a spiritual memory of our alternate history for whatever reason, or to the same effect God just did as the ninjas in the previous example did and used God power to rearrange the ink on every page of the books.
Hey those conclusions are wild, and sometimes when I'm feeling fanciful I do indeed like to imagine or even convince myself I am from a parallel earth where minor details about things are definitely different because I remember them "wrongly" so vividly, it would be MORE fair of a world if my memory was flawless and thus proof that I am a world wrangler of some kind. I don't believe that. that's not my reality.
But that's my point, from an evidentiary perspective trying to prove you are from a parallel universe is like trying help Sisyphus take a break, or trying to reconstruct the 'original' ship of Theseus even whilst the ship is still arguably here. it's not impossible per se, but what does it even mean man? is it even possible? does it even make sense to say outloud? ...or is it just some gnome chopsky meaninful gibberish type stuff?
mind-blown... but whilst they might not be from a alternate universe, because that would imply that evidentiarily there would be some kind of coordinate to visit where they come from... is it really wrong to say they're from an alternate reality? I'd argue no, reality is a word that linguists bitch about, because in English we use the same word and spread it over a couple of separate concepts, the physical present as the arithmetic mean of measurers' consensus has it, and then present internal personal experience. both are reality.
I mean if you stick something friggin cold on my skin, I might experience an internal reality of paradoxical heat, whilst someone peeping through a thermal imaging cam would experience a physical external measurement of me being exposed to extreme cold.
which one is "true"?
well for us, "us" the cold is true, but for me, myself, I, alone; the hot was what I felt most vividly, that's "my truth" as the south of the USA annoyingly puts it. (the idea that truth isn't singular still annoys me).
(TRUTH is singular, but I'd argue TRUTH is also beyond the perceptual capacity of mortals)
we don't converge on truth we converge on measurable contemporary consensus about our perceived external reality, which as luck would have it is practically the same as truth but slightly different. We'll never know if the universal constants we take for granted are just one click away from some cosmic teenager tweaking a couple setting on their screensaver and erasing us from existence, and since we can't measure this cosmic teenager, we don't bother about them, but hey, maybe someday they'll get bored of their current screensaver, we'll all just kind of disintegrate like when Thanos Snapped in the Marvel End Game event.
Just minding our own business and then atoms all over the world turn to jelly when exposed to sunlight or something. not likely according to what we know, but we know we can't know everything, so just be grateful it isn't our current reality and continue taking thing for what they appear to be for now I guess.
As for internal reality, that's what's driving me to write this. that's what drove you here for whatever reason. we have more direct contact with internal reality, external reality is just some consistent pattern pattern we or you or I feel internally as if we have less control over it than we do over our thoughts, so it feels external, whether or not reality warpers that can bend reality just as easily as you can choose to compose a naughty joke in your head exist, that's a matter for science fiction writers and philosophers and fringe bio-physics researchers.
And subtractively some people have more intrusive thoughts than controlled thoughts, some people have and other people don't have inner voices; some people have high resolution internal imaging software for pictures and sounds that they vividly hallucinate at will, other people have very delicate and subtle to no imagination capacity, if we can subtract from inner reality it makes sense to imagine that adding to it is not out of the question.
is control and perception of your limbs inner reality? yes, but does it have some small interference effect on this external reality we feel exposed to... (rather than as familiar with as a bodily or mental sensation) ...sometimes, not if you're percieving the movement of a severed or paralyzed limb though.
what about dreams, they can feel just as external as the waking world, but with this weird capacity to exist on a scale of externality to internality, a lucid dream, is basically what the external world would be like if your thoughts could reshape it at will. I find that depressing, so maybe my soul if you believe in that sort of thing cordoned off its godlike powers to enter a simulation (this place) willing so that it could feel the comfort of a world that is managed by relatively firm seeming laws, rather than one where my intrusive thoughts might erase things from history or change the people I love without their consent, maybe this "external"/"physical" universe is like a mental hospital for reality warpers who have intrusive thoughts, and we belong to some hive mind species from an external universe, but we're in therapy right now, to learn to tell the difference between concepts that are important to our ilk, and or to just be allowed to safely be ourselves without accidentally committing super powered crimes against our ilk unintentionally.
for most people under most circumstances in this world a thought does not immediately cause an action, our mind subconsciously proposes several possible actions and we analyze them come to a few conclusions pit those conclusions against eachother, and then let the winner lead us to the most victorious action/behavior chain, and then immediately after doing all of that subconsciously we become consciously aware of our behaviors, make up some random likely rationale for why we chose those behaviors, and then we sit back and enjoy the show as the consequences of our conscious and subconscious choices roll in, which we consciously and subconsciously react to and mull over to lead to hopefully better decisions in the future, or atleast that's my understanding of the gist of it.
now what if that whole automatic suggestion of possible actions we could take, which we you know, think of as a good thing, is actually a mental illness in some culture we don't know we belong to, and when combined with our mental reflexive power to warp reality, makes us basically their cultures version of violently reactive psychopaths, but because they can read minds they don't harbor ill will towards us, they just know we're not put together correctly, so they've made us a new type of external reality that neutralizes our bad nature and allows us to live with this incurable mental illness in a safe environment with the opportunity to seize happy lives for ourselves?
If our minds were wiped after the simulation box was activated around us, I mean it's just a scifi twist on the allegory of the cave, and the matrix did pretty much it similarly.
but what this does illustrate besides my urge to do creative writing, is that internal and external reality are separated by a fuzzy line, if there's even a line there at all.
Yet whilst on one hand the boundary is so ill defined it looks more like a continuum.
On the other hand the boundary is night and day.
I don't live in your fricken head, and if you live in mine you've been really respectful cos I haven't noticed ya.
and people get hurt because the way they think things works is proven wrong the hard way and it sends them to the hospital all the time.
Like oh, petting this bear is a smart decision... ...3 hours later, wakes up on the hospital bed feeling drowsy and with strange sensations in random parts of the body, nurse leans over face: "your lucky to be alive" says the nurse.
because guess what, weirdly it's obvious what's part of your reality and what's part of our reality, until you try to give a fuck, then it's nonobvious again.
circling back around, are people whom genuinely feel as though they are from alternate realities crazy? maybe.
Are they actually experiencing what it is like to be from an alternate reality? yes, absolutely, they know how strange it feels, to them it is real, their experience is valid, and their feelings matter!!
No I speculated about meta-realities a couple times here (realities that are outside "the matrix" as the kids say). but I haven't like vividly experienced a meta-reality, infact most people want "out" I want in deeper, I'm a gamer and a dreamer, I want more of the good stuff, and for me that's a machine of my own making within the machine we all call home, If I were Plato in the cave, and I escaped my shackles, I'd go spelunking for a deeper cave and a better fire, I wouldn't worry about what the sun was on about or how fresh feels superior to grimey cave air, I'd be ALL about my shadow puppets man, and differently colored fires, pretty much the only way that I'd be bothered to leave the cave, would be to get supplies to pimp out my cave. That's just my perception of myself, and it's valid.
You wanna leave, well, don't kill yourself illegally, but when you die of natural causes, for find a legally sanctioned way to off yourself under the supervision of the law and behind a lot of red tape to ensure that you are just clinically depressed and trying to fix temporary problems with permanent solutions... ...like, leave, you're not my hostage. I care. I want you to be happy. but my cave's not for everybody and I respect if you've had enough of this ride man. #love by the way please really don't kill yourself without asking your local family and municipalities for permission, suicide is like vigilante justice mixed with self harm, it might seem cool if you're emotionally stunted in some way, but Pheonix Jones ("the only real life superhero" look him up.) allegedly (and I use that word mostly to avoid being sued) allegedly turned out to be a drug dealer, that's how he got money for his cool hero cave and his bullet proof armor and stun sticks and fancy form fitting outfit and probably a lot of the stuff that made him seem cool... drug dealer... "I'm gonna save people can't swim" he says, jumping into the pool, without knowing how to swim.
Beating up people for the minor crime of being drunken assholes, meanwhile secretly a hardcore drug dealer.
Don't idolize the people who beat people up for fame, idolize the people who give food to homeless people and money to shelter programs.
Likewise don't idolize suicide, your valuable, and I know you don't know anymore about the afterlife than I do, nobody has measured it thus far so your playing bingo and Russian roulette at the same time when you die, is Shiva the master of all things? Is Santa clause? AM I GONNA BECOME AN ELF WHEN I DIE!? Who the fuck knows, it's a bad idea to fuck around and find out. So step back from that ledge my friend. maybe we're all just shopping mall mannequins who dream of being alive and each time we die we wake up paralyzed and faceless and powerless trapped in our own bodies and ignored by everyone save those whom want to vandalize us and dress us up in clothes we're not allowed to pick for ourselves, and maybe we're even telepathically subjected to the thoughts of every soul in the mall from the others like us to the selfish shoppers to the rats in the ventilation shafts, and then these moments of fleeting life our the most precious things to our existence until our plastic bodies gradually get buried beneath the earth or overgrown of abandoned malls and country dumps and thousands of years later we enter the geological cycle and are crushed and melted by the powers of the earth into unrecognizable forms and our minds will be set back to the carefree lives of amorphous inorganic formless chemical floating across the universe as we once were before some chemist in a lab trapped us into the form of a plastic press fit human sculpture... ...you don't know man... you may only get to live like us in your dreams and who knows what schedule a mannequin dreams on... most people think you're inanimate and you only get to feel the pleasures and pains of life for yourself when you have blessed dreams like these. So don't throw this dream way.
If you are in a dark place, and want to kill yourself to fix it, I find that to be a kind of paradoxical optimism. you really think that it'll be better on the outside? when has anyone ever said, "man I am so glad I have to go to work and stop playing my favorite videogame." NEVER (unless they meant in hindsight because they met their future romantic partner during an otherwise normal work day, but aside from uncommon exceptions nobody says that!) life is a game, you're stuck on a hard part right now, don't press the quit button, because the haters are invading, and the world needs more good people like you alive in it, so that other good people can live comfortable lives, and possible share that happiness with you down the road once they find out what a cool person you are!!
Now that I've gotten the "who knows what's out" the "are they really crazy" and the "please don't commit suicide willy nilly" out of the way, let's get back to wrapping things up, this is a quasi-conlang, it's like a framework that any written language can squeeze into to augment itself.
It's a graph that you can put pictures numbers petroglyphs or ideograms on, whatever is your speed.
If you write really small you can fit all of the information on the graph and then just use A FRIGGIN MAGNIFYING GLASS (or microscope honestly) to read back what you wrote to yourself, alternatively you can make citations that lead elsewhere wherehaps there is more writing space :-)
then you fill out the glyph with your maximum literary capacity, take a break, comeback, read everything again and internalize it and mentally partition it to each aspect of the Yugen Glyph, then you stand back and look at the Yugen Glyph one last time fully appreciating it by picturing all of the aspects of this particular version of the glyph, in simultaneity and symmetric juxtaposition. this isn't just the concept in some idealized platonic form, this is much much cooler than that; it's your inner world's platonic atomic unit of that concept, albeit, you're now able to reflect and express full perception that your past self had...
....and sadly as a state cannot fully observe itself without changing and thus getting caught in one of those nasty infinite polymorphic loops, the moment you fill this graph out in whatever languages of your choice... (I'm gonna mix english with my emoglyphs with this graph/wrapper because english is my native language and my emoglyphs depict other important aspects of the inner reality in great detail) ...is the moment you confront this concept in its truest form as you are currently capable of perceiving it. Some things like to change the moment you observe them. You may go, "oh wait I can add more details now..." or "oh wait, it suddenly feels different to me now that I've gotten a good look at the way I'm looking at it". and that's okay, this sort of pulls the concept out of your body.
I forgot whether it was Sophie's world (a book I read a long time ago) or an actual philosopher who gave this example, but basically rivers are always flowing, their only constant is change, humans are much the same way. When a person is standing in a river they are in sync with the river they are closely acquainted with this river, they are one with the flow and the flow has become one with them. Then when that same person steps out of the river to go dry off and get a snack, they are obviously no longer one, but when that person eventually comes back to that river, even if they stand in the same map coordinate as before, them and the river have to get reacquainted, as they have fallen out of sync, it's a new river, there are new grains of sand under this person's feet, and this person isn't quiet as young as the last person, even if they are technically "the same person" according to the memory and experiences of this new person.
These concepts are like people standing in the river of your mind, and my Yugen Glyph is like some mystical force that can eject them from you, so that you can get reacquainted with them in your own right, or distribute them to other rivers to help you propagate and introduce some concepts native to you into the public zeitgeist.
Some of these concepts are like people who have entered you by force and then become one with your flow, others are like the local wildlife that has been a part of your flow in a flowing away eversince your flow first formed, either way the intent of these Yugen Glyphs is to empower you to control the ecosystem of your flow and the flows around you better, because everything is connected and power of concepts is itself a powerful concept.
The YugenGlyph filled with placeholder text that you might need to zoom in on super closely to read in some parts... lol XD.
The Blank conceptogram for you to save and print out and draw on. If you ask me nicely, I'll make a printer friendly version, but you have to beg and make me feel like royalty XD JK lol, nah, if any body is interested in printer friendly just ask I'll simplify the design add some patterns to compensate for the lack of color (black and white no gray) and then I'll be like \"K, here, you can play with it now.\" :-)
---------------------------
the end that's it you made it
---------------------------
postamble: remember this is a prototype I may adopt more than one thing as my "Yugen Glyphs" before I settle on a final design.
This is MK1 of an unknown incoming number of Yugen glyphs, please offer creative stirrings to me.
I'm not really open to criticism at the moment as I'm, just doing this to get steam out and hence don't care for advice on how to do it right, it's an energy sponge project, it's here to capture my excess energy and channel it into something non-destructive and it is doing its job very well I can attest to that. if it bothers you that I don't care, no one is making you hang out with me, just leave, stop torturing yourself it encourages my evil side to laugh at you. (rightfully so since you coming here to complain would be self inflicted psychic slapstick comedy in a way)
2023.06.04 23:41 InternetTraumatized Today's sermon, from an Orthodox church
Every Sunday, or whenever it is possible, I give a recap of the sermon I heard at church today. I often alternate between Catholic, Protestant and Orthodox churches.
Today's readings:
Numbers 11:16-17,24-29
In an earlier sermon we discussed why we say specifically âChrist is risen,â and not âJesus is risen.â We said that it is unremarkable for a man named Jesus, or for instance Lazarus, to be resurrected; as we saw with the latter, this was only a resuscitation to life which still ended up again in death. It is a resurrection to earthly life. But to say Christ is risen has another implication altogether: resurrection to heavenly life.
By His resurrection Jesus teaches us three lessons. Let's review them.
First: Jesus rose from the dead with our very flesh. By His rising from the dead, which is our rising from the dead, Jesus demonstrates the inherent dignity of the human being, which not even death can keep confined. He demonstrates this further by His apparition to Thomas, displaying His very human wounds in His risen body, and by His glorious ascension to the right hand of God by which man is given his place right at the side of God. By His resurrection, Jesus displays the design of God for mankind: to elevate us above everything else.
Second: Jesus puts our humanity above the angels. Indeed, the angels were made to serve not only God but also man. See how the angels advised Abraham (in Genesis 18), saved Lot from Sodom (in Genesis 19), and guided Tobias (in Tobit). As stated in Hebrews 2:5-18, the world was not made to be ruled by angels, but to be ruled by human beings, which Jesus Christ fulfilled in His person. However, Lucifer, the devil, did not accept this, and inflamed himself with pride and revolted because he refused to serve man.
Third: âChristâ means the Messiah, the One sent by God Whom the Jews expected, and today still expect; our belief that the Christ has come as Jesus may be the only thing differenciating us from them, they who are our elder brothers in the faith. To say the One sent by God is risen is to say that God's promise, incarnated and recapitulated in this person, never dies; it remains with us forever, nothing can keep it away from us. This is why, during the Divine Liturgy, we answer to each other âChrist is in our midstâHe is and ever shall be.â The Ascension does not contradict this: it is not the farewell of Jesus, but on the contrary the pledge of His everlasting presence. It is the fulfillment of His words in His last discourse (John 16:7): âIf I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you.â
The Gospel of John often speaks of the Paraclete, which is translated as the Helper but also means the Advocate, Defender, Intercessor. Jesus calls Him the Spirit of Truth. He is the mean by which His words after His resurrection will come true (Matthew 28:20): âI am with you always, even to the end of the age.â The coming of the Holy Spirit is the permanent presence of Jesus with us. As He also told the Apostles (John 14:16-17): âI will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you foreverâthe Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.â
Therefore the Lord sends us His Holy Spirit and remains with us forever, not in His physical presence but in His spiritual presence. Led and empowered and accompanied by Him, nothing is required of us, except for one thing: to know the Spirit. St. Seraphim of Sarov taught plainly that the aim of the Christian life is nothing else but the acquisition and intimate knowledge of the Holy Spirit. To this end, let us at least pray daily, morning and evening, from Pentecost to Easter, this prayer which during that time opens all our prayers: âHeavenly King, Comforter, the Spirit of truth, everywhere present and filling all things, Treasury of blessings and Giver of Life, come and dwell in us; cleanse us of every stain and save our souls, gracious One.â Let us also always keep everyday in ourselves the promise of Jesus' enduring and permanent presence in and with us, which becomes a fountain of joy and vivifying comfort and consolation for our troubles. Amen.
submitted by InternetTraumatized to Christianity [link] [comments]
Today's readings:
Numbers 11:16-17,24-29
The Lord said to Moses: âGather to Me seventy men of the elders of Israel, whom you know to be the elders of the people and officers over them; bring them to the tabernacle of meeting, that they may stand there with you. Then I will come down and talk with you there. I will take of the Spirit that is upon you and will put the same upon them; and they shall bear the burden of the people with you, that you may not bear it yourself alone.â So Moses went out and told the people the words of the Lord, and he gathered the seventy men of the elders of the people and placed them around the tabernacle. Then the Lord came down in the cloud, and spoke to him, and took of the Spirit that was upon him, and placed the same upon the seventy elders; and it happened, when the Spirit rested upon them, that they prophesied, although they never did so again. But two men had remained in the camp: the name of one was Eldad, and the name of the other Medad. And the Spirit rested upon them. Now they were among those listed, but who had not gone out to the tabernacle; yet they prophesied in the camp. And a young man ran and told Moses, and said, âEldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp.â So Joshua the son of Nun, Mosesâ assistant, one of his choice men, answered and said, âMoses my lord, forbid them!â Then Moses said to him, âAre you zealous for my sake? Oh, that all the Lordâs people were prophets and that the Lord would put His Spirit upon them!âJoel 2:23-32
Be glad then, you children of Zion, and rejoice in the Lord your God; for He has given you the former rain faithfully, and He will cause the rain to come down for youâthe former rain, and the latter rain in the first month. The threshing floors shall be full of wheat, and the vats shall overflow with new wine and oil. âSo I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten, the crawling locust, the consuming locust, and the chewing locust, My great army which I sent among you. You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied, and praise the name of the Lord your God, Who has dealt wondrously with you; and My people shall never be put to shame. Then you shall know that I am in the midst of Israel: I am the Lord your God and there is no other. My people shall never be put to shame. And it shall come to pass afterward that I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions. And also on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days. And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth: blood and fire and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord. And it shall come to pass that whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be deliverance, as the Lord has said, among the remnant whom the Lord calls.âJohn 20:19-31
The same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them, âPeace be with you.â When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. So Jesus said to them again, âPeace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.â And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, âReceive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.â Now Thomas, called the Twin, one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples therefore said to him, âWe have seen the Lord.â So he said to them, âUnless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.â And after eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, âPeace to you!â Then He said to Thomas, âReach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing.âAnd Thomas answered and said to Him, âMy Lord and my God!â Jesus said to him, âThomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.â And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.Acts 2:1-11
When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. And there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men, from every nation under heaven. And when this sound occurred, the multitude came together, and were confused, because everyone heard them speak in his own language. Then they were all amazed and marveled, saying to one another, âLook, are not all these who speak Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each in our own language in which we were born? Parthians and Medes and Elamites, those dwelling in Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya adjoining Cyrene, visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabsâwe hear them speaking in our own tongues the wonderful works of God.âJohn 7:37-52; 8:12
On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, âIf anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.â But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified. Therefore many from the crowd, when they heard this saying, said, âTruly this is the Prophet.â Others said, âThis is the Christ.â But some said, âWill the Christ come out of Galilee? Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the seed of David and from the town of Bethlehem, where David was?â So there was a division among the people because of Him. Now some of them wanted to take Him, but no one laid hands on Him. Then the officers came to the chief priests and Pharisees, who said to them, âWhy have you not brought Him?â The officers answered, âNo man ever spoke like this Man!â Then the Pharisees answered them, âAre you also deceived? Have any of the rulers or the Pharisees believed in Him? But this crowd that does not know the law is accursed.â Nicodemus (he who came to Jesus by night, being one of them) said to them, âDoes our law judge a man before it hears him and knows what he is doing?â They answered and said to him, âAre you also from Galilee? Search and look, for no prophet has arisen out of Galilee.â Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, âI am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.âToday is the feast of Pentecost, and the end of the Paschal season which covers Easter, the Ascension and Pentecost. It is the culmination of the event of the resurrection.
In an earlier sermon we discussed why we say specifically âChrist is risen,â and not âJesus is risen.â We said that it is unremarkable for a man named Jesus, or for instance Lazarus, to be resurrected; as we saw with the latter, this was only a resuscitation to life which still ended up again in death. It is a resurrection to earthly life. But to say Christ is risen has another implication altogether: resurrection to heavenly life.
By His resurrection Jesus teaches us three lessons. Let's review them.
First: Jesus rose from the dead with our very flesh. By His rising from the dead, which is our rising from the dead, Jesus demonstrates the inherent dignity of the human being, which not even death can keep confined. He demonstrates this further by His apparition to Thomas, displaying His very human wounds in His risen body, and by His glorious ascension to the right hand of God by which man is given his place right at the side of God. By His resurrection, Jesus displays the design of God for mankind: to elevate us above everything else.
Second: Jesus puts our humanity above the angels. Indeed, the angels were made to serve not only God but also man. See how the angels advised Abraham (in Genesis 18), saved Lot from Sodom (in Genesis 19), and guided Tobias (in Tobit). As stated in Hebrews 2:5-18, the world was not made to be ruled by angels, but to be ruled by human beings, which Jesus Christ fulfilled in His person. However, Lucifer, the devil, did not accept this, and inflamed himself with pride and revolted because he refused to serve man.
Third: âChristâ means the Messiah, the One sent by God Whom the Jews expected, and today still expect; our belief that the Christ has come as Jesus may be the only thing differenciating us from them, they who are our elder brothers in the faith. To say the One sent by God is risen is to say that God's promise, incarnated and recapitulated in this person, never dies; it remains with us forever, nothing can keep it away from us. This is why, during the Divine Liturgy, we answer to each other âChrist is in our midstâHe is and ever shall be.â The Ascension does not contradict this: it is not the farewell of Jesus, but on the contrary the pledge of His everlasting presence. It is the fulfillment of His words in His last discourse (John 16:7): âIf I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you.â
The Gospel of John often speaks of the Paraclete, which is translated as the Helper but also means the Advocate, Defender, Intercessor. Jesus calls Him the Spirit of Truth. He is the mean by which His words after His resurrection will come true (Matthew 28:20): âI am with you always, even to the end of the age.â The coming of the Holy Spirit is the permanent presence of Jesus with us. As He also told the Apostles (John 14:16-17): âI will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you foreverâthe Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.â
Therefore the Lord sends us His Holy Spirit and remains with us forever, not in His physical presence but in His spiritual presence. Led and empowered and accompanied by Him, nothing is required of us, except for one thing: to know the Spirit. St. Seraphim of Sarov taught plainly that the aim of the Christian life is nothing else but the acquisition and intimate knowledge of the Holy Spirit. To this end, let us at least pray daily, morning and evening, from Pentecost to Easter, this prayer which during that time opens all our prayers: âHeavenly King, Comforter, the Spirit of truth, everywhere present and filling all things, Treasury of blessings and Giver of Life, come and dwell in us; cleanse us of every stain and save our souls, gracious One.â Let us also always keep everyday in ourselves the promise of Jesus' enduring and permanent presence in and with us, which becomes a fountain of joy and vivifying comfort and consolation for our troubles. Amen.
2023.06.04 23:41 InternetTraumatized Today's sermon, from an Orthodox church
Every Sunday, or whenever it is possible, I give a recap of the sermon I heard at church today. I often alternate between Catholic, Protestant and Orthodox churches.
Today's readings:
Numbers 11:16-17,24-29
In an earlier sermon we discussed why we say specifically âChrist is risen,â and not âJesus is risen.â We said that it is unremarkable for a man named Jesus, or for instance Lazarus, to be resurrected; as we saw with the latter, this was only a resuscitation to life which still ended up again in death. It is a resurrection to earthly life. But to say Christ is risen has another implication altogether: resurrection to heavenly life.
By His resurrection Jesus teaches us three lessons. Let's review them.
First: Jesus rose from the dead with our very flesh. By His rising from the dead, which is our rising from the dead, Jesus demonstrates the inherent dignity of the human being, which not even death can keep confined. He demonstrates this further by His apparition to Thomas, displaying His very human wounds in His risen body, and by His glorious ascension to the right hand of God by which man is given his place right at the side of God. By His resurrection, Jesus displays the design of God for mankind: to elevate us above everything else.
Second: Jesus puts our humanity above the angels. Indeed, the angels were made to serve not only God but also man. See how the angels advised Abraham (in Genesis 18), saved Lot from Sodom (in Genesis 19), and guided Tobias (in Tobit). As stated in Hebrews 2:5-18, the world was not made to be ruled by angels, but to be ruled by human beings, which Jesus Christ fulfilled in His person. However, Lucifer, the devil, did not accept this, and inflamed himself with pride and revolted because he refused to serve man.
Third: âChristâ means the Messiah, the One sent by God Whom the Jews expected, and today still expect; our belief that the Christ has come as Jesus may be the only thing differenciating us from them, they who are our elder brothers in the faith. To say the One sent by God is risen is to say that God's promise, incarnated and recapitulated in this person, never dies; it remains with us forever, nothing can keep it away from us. This is why, during the Divine Liturgy, we answer to each other âChrist is in our midstâHe is and ever shall be.â The Ascension does not contradict this: it is not the farewell of Jesus, but on the contrary the pledge of His everlasting presence. It is the fulfillment of His words in His last discourse (John 16:7): âIf I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you.â
The Gospel of John often speaks of the Paraclete, which is translated as the Helper but also means the Advocate, Defender, Intercessor. Jesus calls Him the Spirit of Truth. He is the mean by which His words after His resurrection will come true (Matthew 28:20): âI am with you always, even to the end of the age.â The coming of the Holy Spirit is the permanent presence of Jesus with us. As He also told the Apostles (John 14:16-17): âI will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you foreverâthe Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.â
Therefore the Lord sends us His Holy Spirit and remains with us forever, not in His physical presence but in His spiritual presence. Led and empowered and accompanied by Him, nothing is required of us, except for one thing: to know the Spirit. St. Seraphim of Sarov taught plainly that the aim of the Christian life is nothing else but the acquisition and intimate knowledge of the Holy Spirit. To this end, let us at least pray daily, morning and evening, from Pentecost to Easter, this prayer which during that time opens all our prayers: âHeavenly King, Comforter, the Spirit of truth, everywhere present and filling all things, Treasury of blessings and Giver of Life, come and dwell in us; cleanse us of every stain and save our souls, gracious One.â Let us also always keep everyday in ourselves the promise of Jesus' enduring and permanent presence in and with us, which becomes a fountain of joy and vivifying comfort and consolation for our troubles. Amen.
submitted by InternetTraumatized to Christendom [link] [comments]
Today's readings:
Numbers 11:16-17,24-29
The Lord said to Moses: âGather to Me seventy men of the elders of Israel, whom you know to be the elders of the people and officers over them; bring them to the tabernacle of meeting, that they may stand there with you. Then I will come down and talk with you there. I will take of the Spirit that is upon you and will put the same upon them; and they shall bear the burden of the people with you, that you may not bear it yourself alone.â So Moses went out and told the people the words of the Lord, and he gathered the seventy men of the elders of the people and placed them around the tabernacle. Then the Lord came down in the cloud, and spoke to him, and took of the Spirit that was upon him, and placed the same upon the seventy elders; and it happened, when the Spirit rested upon them, that they prophesied, although they never did so again. But two men had remained in the camp: the name of one was Eldad, and the name of the other Medad. And the Spirit rested upon them. Now they were among those listed, but who had not gone out to the tabernacle; yet they prophesied in the camp. And a young man ran and told Moses, and said, âEldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp.â So Joshua the son of Nun, Mosesâ assistant, one of his choice men, answered and said, âMoses my lord, forbid them!â Then Moses said to him, âAre you zealous for my sake? Oh, that all the Lordâs people were prophets and that the Lord would put His Spirit upon them!âJoel 2:23-32
Be glad then, you children of Zion, and rejoice in the Lord your God; for He has given you the former rain faithfully, and He will cause the rain to come down for youâthe former rain, and the latter rain in the first month. The threshing floors shall be full of wheat, and the vats shall overflow with new wine and oil. âSo I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten, the crawling locust, the consuming locust, and the chewing locust, My great army which I sent among you. You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied, and praise the name of the Lord your God, Who has dealt wondrously with you; and My people shall never be put to shame. Then you shall know that I am in the midst of Israel: I am the Lord your God and there is no other. My people shall never be put to shame. And it shall come to pass afterward that I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions. And also on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days. And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth: blood and fire and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord. And it shall come to pass that whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be deliverance, as the Lord has said, among the remnant whom the Lord calls.âJohn 20:19-31
The same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them, âPeace be with you.â When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. So Jesus said to them again, âPeace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.â And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, âReceive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.â Now Thomas, called the Twin, one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples therefore said to him, âWe have seen the Lord.â So he said to them, âUnless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.â And after eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, âPeace to you!â Then He said to Thomas, âReach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing.âAnd Thomas answered and said to Him, âMy Lord and my God!â Jesus said to him, âThomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.â And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.Acts 2:1-11
When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. And there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men, from every nation under heaven. And when this sound occurred, the multitude came together, and were confused, because everyone heard them speak in his own language. Then they were all amazed and marveled, saying to one another, âLook, are not all these who speak Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each in our own language in which we were born? Parthians and Medes and Elamites, those dwelling in Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya adjoining Cyrene, visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabsâwe hear them speaking in our own tongues the wonderful works of God.âJohn 7:37-52; 8:12
On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, âIf anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.â But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified. Therefore many from the crowd, when they heard this saying, said, âTruly this is the Prophet.â Others said, âThis is the Christ.â But some said, âWill the Christ come out of Galilee? Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the seed of David and from the town of Bethlehem, where David was?â So there was a division among the people because of Him. Now some of them wanted to take Him, but no one laid hands on Him. Then the officers came to the chief priests and Pharisees, who said to them, âWhy have you not brought Him?â The officers answered, âNo man ever spoke like this Man!â Then the Pharisees answered them, âAre you also deceived? Have any of the rulers or the Pharisees believed in Him? But this crowd that does not know the law is accursed.â Nicodemus (he who came to Jesus by night, being one of them) said to them, âDoes our law judge a man before it hears him and knows what he is doing?â They answered and said to him, âAre you also from Galilee? Search and look, for no prophet has arisen out of Galilee.â Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, âI am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.âToday is the feast of Pentecost, and the end of the Paschal season which covers Easter, the Ascension and Pentecost. It is the culmination of the event of the resurrection.
In an earlier sermon we discussed why we say specifically âChrist is risen,â and not âJesus is risen.â We said that it is unremarkable for a man named Jesus, or for instance Lazarus, to be resurrected; as we saw with the latter, this was only a resuscitation to life which still ended up again in death. It is a resurrection to earthly life. But to say Christ is risen has another implication altogether: resurrection to heavenly life.
By His resurrection Jesus teaches us three lessons. Let's review them.
First: Jesus rose from the dead with our very flesh. By His rising from the dead, which is our rising from the dead, Jesus demonstrates the inherent dignity of the human being, which not even death can keep confined. He demonstrates this further by His apparition to Thomas, displaying His very human wounds in His risen body, and by His glorious ascension to the right hand of God by which man is given his place right at the side of God. By His resurrection, Jesus displays the design of God for mankind: to elevate us above everything else.
Second: Jesus puts our humanity above the angels. Indeed, the angels were made to serve not only God but also man. See how the angels advised Abraham (in Genesis 18), saved Lot from Sodom (in Genesis 19), and guided Tobias (in Tobit). As stated in Hebrews 2:5-18, the world was not made to be ruled by angels, but to be ruled by human beings, which Jesus Christ fulfilled in His person. However, Lucifer, the devil, did not accept this, and inflamed himself with pride and revolted because he refused to serve man.
Third: âChristâ means the Messiah, the One sent by God Whom the Jews expected, and today still expect; our belief that the Christ has come as Jesus may be the only thing differenciating us from them, they who are our elder brothers in the faith. To say the One sent by God is risen is to say that God's promise, incarnated and recapitulated in this person, never dies; it remains with us forever, nothing can keep it away from us. This is why, during the Divine Liturgy, we answer to each other âChrist is in our midstâHe is and ever shall be.â The Ascension does not contradict this: it is not the farewell of Jesus, but on the contrary the pledge of His everlasting presence. It is the fulfillment of His words in His last discourse (John 16:7): âIf I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you.â
The Gospel of John often speaks of the Paraclete, which is translated as the Helper but also means the Advocate, Defender, Intercessor. Jesus calls Him the Spirit of Truth. He is the mean by which His words after His resurrection will come true (Matthew 28:20): âI am with you always, even to the end of the age.â The coming of the Holy Spirit is the permanent presence of Jesus with us. As He also told the Apostles (John 14:16-17): âI will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you foreverâthe Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.â
Therefore the Lord sends us His Holy Spirit and remains with us forever, not in His physical presence but in His spiritual presence. Led and empowered and accompanied by Him, nothing is required of us, except for one thing: to know the Spirit. St. Seraphim of Sarov taught plainly that the aim of the Christian life is nothing else but the acquisition and intimate knowledge of the Holy Spirit. To this end, let us at least pray daily, morning and evening, from Pentecost to Easter, this prayer which during that time opens all our prayers: âHeavenly King, Comforter, the Spirit of truth, everywhere present and filling all things, Treasury of blessings and Giver of Life, come and dwell in us; cleanse us of every stain and save our souls, gracious One.â Let us also always keep everyday in ourselves the promise of Jesus' enduring and permanent presence in and with us, which becomes a fountain of joy and vivifying comfort and consolation for our troubles. Amen.
2023.06.04 23:10 micronesiarain Episode 6- "Robbed: The Musical!" đđś
 | the queens return to the workroom after Kami's elimination submitted by micronesiarain to XtinasDragRace [link] [comments] Anthyy: Everybody, moment of silence for our sister. đAnthyy CF: Kami just got sent home, and it really was worst case scenario. I love Sue, don't get me wrong! But Kami was probably my closest ally here. And with how shitty last week was for me, that just sealed it as the worst week so far. Zodya: Congratulations to our winners! Really well deserved, you both did great. How does it feel? Wren: I'll be honest, I was starting to doubt myself. On Season Six, I felt like I always had the opportunity to prove myself. Maybe it was by winning a challenge, or by lipsyncing. Fleur: Shoutout to the bed! Wren: As I was saying...I was able to prove myself as a competitor. But this time, it's felt a lot different. Let's be real, my track record wasn't great before this last challenge. đFleur CF: She says as if it's better now. Wren: But I finally feel like I showed what I have, and lipsyncing again felt like my batteries being recharged. Sue: You run on batteries? I thought that was just me...what a world! đWren CF: I'm feeling pumped right now. Micro saw me as the best of the week, it doesn't get any better than that. I'm taking this momentum and making it into as many wins as possible. Maybe I'm the new Greantee? I like the sound of that! Steph: Has anyone else felt that way of questioning your place here? Fleur: If not, a lot of you should. Anthyy: I can't say I have. I'm in it to go all the way. Morgs looks over at Anthyy, wondering if Anthyy had forgotten about their previous conversation during Untucked đMorgs CF: It seems like Anthyy is out of the mindset of wanting to quit. Which is perfect! Losing Kami was a big hit to us, so it's important that Anthyy stays and keeps the focus on what really matters. Zodya: Whorechata, what lipstick do you have tucked away? Whorechata: Yikes, this is awkward. Sue: Oh... Whorechata: I chose Micro. It was the only decision that felt right to me! Zodya: If you don't show us who you actually picked... Whorechata: I also chose Kami. It really was nothing personal. She said she had the fire to stay, and I wanted to believe her. But I didn't see that fire in her the same way that I did with Sue. And girl, you know I wasn't about to send you home. Our history goes back too far for me to do that to you. Sue: You can never know for certain, so I really appreciate this. Whorechata: I got you. đBlondie CF: The FDR queens definitely need to be broken up. Whorechata saving Sue proves that even if they don't have this crazy close relationship, that FDR bond is enough to influence a major decision. Next time I'm in the top, I have to go after one of them. Or multiple of them, why not! The Next Day the queens strut into the workroom, wearing coordinated outfits đMorgs CF: It's a new day in the workroom, and the group is getting smaller and smaller. Next thing you know, it'll look like a bunch of fairies running around! Honey, I shrunk the kids!! Wren: I want to start off the day by apologizing to Anthyy and Morgs for how I acted during the challenge. It wasn't cute, and I see that now. I don't know, it just felt like all the stress was finally getting to me, and I put so much pressure onto myself. Morgs: In my heart, I should be mad at you. But you are also the prettiest lady I've ever seen, so I can't be mad! It's all good, for real. Anthyy: Definitely. đAnthyy CF: I can forgive Wren, but I won't forget. She's the reason I don't know if I want to be here anymore, and I can't let that go. I'm feeling better than I was before, but I'm still not in it all the way. I'm getting in my head about it, I don't know what I need to do to feel better about this. the workroom door swings open and Micro walks in, wearing a sequin caftan with teased out curly hair Micro: Hello hello queens! Who else cried themselves to sleep last night after that elimination? Just me? Okay, we love that! Anywho, it's time for your next challenge. All of you have one thing in common. Whether you got close to the prize, or went home too early, none of you got the crown on your original seasons. And I'm sure you'd all be inclined to say that you were robbed. Which is why your next challenge is a musical journey through the crushing feeling of defeat. Because what is a drag race without a little emotional exploitation?! Each of you will choose a song of your choice, and then select sixteen lines from that song. Using the rhythm of the song, you'll be rewriting the lyrics to tell the story of how you were eliminated. The songs you choose and the approach you take are totally up to you. Make it you, make it stand out, that's all that matters! Good luck, and I'll see you on the runway for the big premiere. Bye! the queens scatter around the workroom in small clusters as they go over ideas đSteph CF: For our challenge this week, we are taking part in "Robbed: The Musical". Using a song of our choice, we have to rewrite sixteen lines to tell the story of how we got sent home. If you saw Season Three, you know all too well that I had thoughts, feelings, and concerns about how my time there ended. My only concern here is how to squeeze all of these thoughts into just sixteen lines. I could do fifty, and still have more to say! Whorechata: So, what am I supposed to do for this challenge? I never really got eliminated. Sue: Right! I forgot about that. I guess you eliminated yourself. Whorechata: How do I make that work for this challenge, that's the question. đWhorechata CF: Everyone else has been eliminated, got the axe, got thrown to the curb. And then there's me. Luckily, I feel more confident with a verse challenge than I could for any other challenge. When I put my pen to paper, none of these queens can come close to me. But it's hard to reference your journey and elimination when you quit on the second episode. I'll make it work though, know that! Blondie and Fleur have a heart to heart by the mirrors Blondie: I know there's tension between us, and that might never change. But I want you to know that there's an olive branch from me to you. Fleur: Why would I want a stick? Blondie: I-, that's not what that means. Fleur: Girl, I know. Blondie: Where did things go wrong between us? Fleur: We both want to be the top bitch. And we know that there isn't enough room in the spotlight for the both of us. For me? Absolutely. But you...yeah, no. Blondie: I just don't get that. We have the same friends, we work the same shows. There's no reason to keep things between us so fractured. Fleur: Maybe one day. But right now, I don't know if it's the right time. Blondie: I'm fine with that. It doesn't need to be immediate, I just want to know that you're willing to get there eventually. đFleur CF: As much as it pains me to admit, Blondie and I do have a lot in common. There's just something about this competition that makes it hard for me to connect with people. Some call it competitive spirit, most just call it being a bitch. I'm not closing the door on a friendship between Blondie and I, but I'm not opening it either. Not yet at least. Morgs and Anthyy style their wigs for the challenge as they go over last minute ideas đMorgs CF: Anthyy is the one person here that I know I can trust. Seeing her win would make me so happy, and I know she feels the same about me winning. Anthyy: Sister, what song are you doing for this? Morgs: There are a few rap songs that I think I could do well with. Anthyy: You always do well with those, that might be the perfect option! Morgs: But then another part of me feels like that would just be a convenient way of ending up safe again. I'm questioning whether or not it makes sense to go with what I know, or if I'm in a spot where I have to take a risk. Anthyy: I feel the same way. If you took a risk and it didn't work, do you think you would be able to convince people to keep you? Morgs: That's the thing, I don't. I feel like you wouldn't send me home, but that's it. I can't trust anyone else to save me. Anthyy: What's your riskier option? Morgs: Aretha Franklin. Anthyy: Byeeee! Morgs: I know, I know! It's not what you'd expect from me. Anthyy: And that's why it makes total sense. You need to believe in yourself. Give them the full Morgs fantasy, and they'll live! Morgs: Ah, you convinced me! I'm doing Aretha. Anthyy: Our top two moment incoming! đMorgs CF: I feel like I have nothing to lose at this point. If I'm ever gonna take a risk, now's the time to do it. Pray for your girl, she needs a miracle right about now! Runway the lights flicker and an electric magenta light floods the runway as Micro struts down the center Micro Episode 6 Look Micro: Welcome back to the runway of Micro's Drag Race: All Stars! This week, the queens were tasked with rewriting a song to tell the story of how they lost their original season. And joining me on the judging panel tonight is not only an MDR legend, but a fantastic verse writer, and the winner of Micro's Drag Race vs The World, Jords! Jords Guest Judging Look Micro: Jords, thank you for being here! Jords: Thank you, I'm so excited to crush some dreams. Micro: How has life been since taking home the crown? Jords: You know what they say, club, another club, bus, no sleep. Except this is on Discord, so not exactly like that, but you get the idea! Micro: Are you ready to get started? Jords: I told you I'm not staying in this corset for more than an hour, let's get to it! Micro: Without further ado, here is "Robbed: The Musical"! Robbed: The Musical ------------------------- Micro: Category is..."Chain Reaction". "Bad Juju" by Jujubee plays Anthyy: When i heard the category was chains i got a bit scared cause first i had an idea to do a bad bitch look! But then i realized probably everyone is gonna do that! So my mind went to a diffrent thign! When i dont know what to do i always look for inspiration in my culture! PURR POLISH BITCH! In Poland, you can easily say that in the whole europe, knights were EVERYWHERE so tonight i decided to serve you a knight look HONEY i am drippinnggg in chains! From head to toe i am a silver sparkling dream! And i know miss micr loves them sparkles so i made sure she is BADAZZLED for the gods! I did a lil leg and a hip reveal so she can have her sexy moment! And ofc i am carrying a sword caue i am a fighter. I really liked going back to the more haute couture side of anthyy since reently i focused my looks much more on the drag side so this was a nice comeback! And you kno im a sucker for gowns! Anthyy Look Blondie: Tonight I am giving full shame and guilt. Every since I taken a break from my season, I realize I have a lot of internal thinking and shame of the things I did on my season. Giving up so easily when I know I was in the right for most of my arguments and being manipulated into thinking I'm the problem when you just wanted Greentree to win so y'all robbed me. Tonight I am wearing beautiful Thai silk fantasy and got this beautiful styled red hair and have it locked up and chained up all over my body. You want me to feel shame, well come unlock my chain, baby Blondie Look Fleur: Tonight I decided to fuse rich and affluence with sex and fornication and I have to admit, I am a HUGE fan of this result! I am feeling so fancy and so lush with all this gold and skin! Thank the lord that fashion tape exists because without that, who knows how these chains will stay perfectly in place. I am EATING. I am so happy to be wearing this look the one week in this competition, where I feel somewhat confident! Fleur Look Morgs: BAM, on the runway i'm coming out, skinny, beautiful, and a bad girl. this is a total different direction than morgetha franklin you saw during the challenge. i have some devily horns on too, obviously decked out with chains, matching the rest draped AWL over my body. i look stunning, i feel stunning, and if someone happened to wear this before i wore it better Morgs Look Steph: mama i am all chained up bc i am a crazy bitch who LOVES the chains. Bitch this is fashion and I want to show that I can be kinky and serve up some rich ho realness honey!! Steph Look Sue: Tonight I am serving you gothic bad ass biatch. She is a huntress on a mission to obliterate all the men who did her dirty. Sue Look Whorechata: Tonight on the runway I am representing what many conservative folk would say is âmy cultureâ. I am giving orange is the New Mexican tonight mawma. She got the ball and chain and limping on this runway⌠but tbh thatâs not a new thing for chata on the runway. Whorechata Look Wren: Trying to make my own runway this was a truly humbling experience, sometimes things dont go as planned and thatâs ok. However, if Iâm going to go with something I didnât make myself I want to make sure itâs one of the best things youâve ever seen. This look wowed me from the moment I first saw it and it is absolutely gorgeous, stunning, and conceptual. Zendaya truly devoured, as always. Wren Look Zodya: For this runway, I wanted to do something a little bit different. While most people would probably have the chains wrapped around their bodies or hanging off, Iâm going for this chain pattern in this exquisite, high-fashion executive realness look. I feel extremely opulent in this moment, like Iâm about to buy out a large company! And if you donât like that? Chained to the walls of the company dungeon!!! Zodya Look Critiques Micro: Thank you ladies. Tonight, you all really blew me away! Jords: I need to echo that. AMAZING job on the stage tonight. You all did amazing and it will be very hard to be choosing the placements. Very honored and excited to be judging tonight! Micro: So tonight, you will each be receiving critiques. Micro: First up, Anthyy! Jords: BESTIE! So excited to see how far youâve come after Season 1. For your look, this is definitely one of the looks Iâm liking the most. Itâs giving me very much warrior. You know those games we used to play back in the day in that castle and there was like a fighter holding you from entering the other room? Yeah, thatâs you in new edition. And for your Musical performance⌠you ate that. I think the song choice is very um⌠UNIQUE. Sorry, I donât really connect good things with that name. Anyway, I found your lyrics smart and memorable, I kinda got stuck with what parts you were relating to, but then I got the hang of it and then loved it even more. Micro: Anthyy baby, you might have just outwrote BeyoncĂŠ. Well, I donât know if she writes her own stuff but if she does, you did that! I thought the flow was amazing, and you had so many call backs to your original season, and such a smart song choice for this Unieke moment! My one critique would be that it felt like certain lines were condensed in a way that really fit the flow, but weakened the line itself by removing certain little transition words. On the runway, this is sensational. I love the hip cutouts and the shoulder pieces. One of my favorite looks from you ever! Micro: Next, Blondie! Jords: Hey Blondie! On the look, I like how the chains connect the whole look. It starts from your foot to the head and roses, so I really found that cool. Your musical performance, I think you started really strong. The song was a little something else from what the others have presented I think, you served a lot of comedy. Thereâs some little, very little things I would change, but overall I think you did a good job. Micro: Imma be so real, my expectations for what you could do this week were a little low. You werenât exactly a rapstress on Season Six, but this was so well done. This song has a lot of little moments within it that you were able to capitalize on. And it had splashes of humor and controversy that youâre known so well for. On the runway, I think this look is beautiful, and the commentary gagged me a bit. I thought you were in your apology era but then you went right back to serving cunt, we love to see it. Great night for you. Micro: Next up, Fleur! Jords: Hey Fleur! With this runway look, you are so rich and you are representing the girls. It just ate. You have clear taste, we been knew. Your musical verse. Iâll say it was a good attempt. It was a verse that was really deep, but it wasnât that special for me. Micro: The vibe of this song has such a dark and melancholy feel to it, which worked so well for this challenge, and the feelings of reliving that loss. It really told the journey of who you were back on Season One, and then how you had that redemption moment on Season Four, but ultimately falling short of the crown. All the boxes are checked, this was a great performance. On the runway, this connects with me so hardcore. The draped chain look, the big headpiece and sculpted hair, the fur coat, itâs a dream look for me. For me, your best week so far! Micro: Next, Morgs! Jords: Morgs! Iâm very impressed by you. This chains look is just so advanced and so beautiful. You went full force. As well as in the musical. I imagined it very well, you performing with that song playing. I like what you had brought tonight. Micro: Morgs, you are such an incredible writer, and I could tell that this week was a moment for you to break out of that safe streak and really shine. First off, the song choice was amazing. And you stayed true to what the challenge asked for with the references to your season and elimination, not going too far into that bitch track territory. You played off of all the subtleties and syllables of the original to pack this full of great content. On the runway, this is a gorgeous look. Having this cage element made of chains, itâs a clever and high fashion moment. Micro: Next up, Steph! Jords: Steph, Steph, Steph. Your runway with the chains, chains everywhere! I like it. But your verse⌠it didnât stick out to me, Iâm sorry. It didnât fullfill my expectations, I got the hang of what you were trying to do, but I didnât really get through the whole performance without asking myself âWhyâ like, 3 times. Micro: Steph, you made me so proud this week!! I know your elimination on Season Three wasnât the best time for you, but I do think it has pushed you in this competition to perform at a really elite level. You sold the vibe and the fantasy of what that challenge was and your thought process through your elimination. Thereâs not much else I can really say, you killed it. If I have to nitpick, Iâd say that the end loses steam a little bit, but only because the first half is so strong. On the runway, I think this is maybe the best youâve looked! Itâs simple but executed flawlessly. Great work. Micro: Next up, Sue! Jords: Moving on to Sue! Your chains look, it was kind of different and it had something that made me memorize it well. Your performance⌠I kind of found it hard to keep up. It was a good song choice, I did see you performing it, donât worry. But I think you could have done even more. Micro: Sue, let me start off with this song choice. Choosing the song you were eliminated on during Season Four, how did nobody else think to do that?! It was a really smart move. I can tell you were comfortable with this challenge, because every line had that natural flow and swagger to it. The lyrics were so true to you and your spirit, and the rhythm of the song kind of played into that feeling of running away from elimination and trying to save yourself. And on the runway, this is amazing. I love the movement that the chains bring in, and this skeletal corset vibe is next level. Iâm not the biggest fan of the purple veil, but this is a great look. Micro: Next, Whorechata Grande! Jords: Hey, Whorechata! This look looks like itâs self-drawn. I think the story behind it is very smart and very easy to think about what it could mean. Perfect, thatâs it. And for the musical, girl, you turned it into a party. I was in my seat like⌠twerks. Micro: Whorechata, you are like a chicken. I take you out of the freezer, and you start to thaw. Last week, you warmed up, and this week, you were burning hot. This was start to finish, an incredible week for you. Every beat was hit, the flow was immaculate, and you balanced being able to hype yourself up, but also get real about your time on Season Five. On the runway, this look is so so good. The heavy chains around the ankles especially, that really works for me. If I had to nitpick, I think the hair color throws me off a little bit, and I wish she had a chain necklace or earrings to kinda tie the top half to the bottom half, but this was truly your week. Micro: Next up, Wren Wyvern! Jords: Wren, Wren, Wren. Iâm going to start with the runway. Letâs break it down. When you see A first, you remember it. Then comes B. And when B is very similar to A, you like one more. Thatâs exactly what it is between you and Anthyy. You both did armor-related looks. This look from Zendaya, my queen 'till the day I collapse, is very iconic. But I think this is one of the looks I like the least tonight. This verse made me think you used AI. Because you used some words that Jesus didnât even hear before he got crucified, Amen. I found it very funny, and you gave us something to run with, so good job on that. Micro: Wren the rap star is back! You have a great understanding of music and verse writing, and are able to execute challenges like this phenomenally. The rhyme structure of the original song isnât all that simple, it has little quirks, and thatâs tough to write around. But you managed to pull it off, and pull it off really well. On the runway, this isnât my favorite. Objectively, itâs a beautiful look. I will say though that MET Gala looks for me tend to just come off as a little expected. At this point in the competition, I have to pick at the tiny things. Micro: Last but not least, Zodya! Jords: Zodya! Well, while others used chains that were actually build into their look, you used it as a pattern. And I actually would have liked it more had you used a look that did so as well, because it gives it more a better vibe. I liked your verse a lot. It was so good. Nothing more to say, like damn she ate that. Micro: Zodya, back with the Gaga! You are an incredible verse writer, undefeated so far. Tonight was no exception. Your lines all hit, and there was not a single error in the flow of it. Picking at the tiny things, I think the chorus didnât give you many chances to change it in a major way. Such a small issue, but every little detail is being looked at under a microscope right now. On the runway, this was a really unique take. Opting to go for a chain pattern instead of actual chains, I donât know how I feel about it! Itâs something I havenât seen before and I love that it gives you this polished look. Maybe Iâm missing that industrial and metal vibe that real chains wouldâve brought in, but itâs great for what it is. Micro: Thank you queens. Based on your performances tonight, I've made some decisions. When I call your name, please step forward. Micro: Anthyy, Blondie, Fleur, Steph, Sue, Wren, and Zodya. Great work this week, you are all safe. đFleur CF: Wait...what? Micro: Morgs, Whorechata. Congratulations, you are the top two queens of the week! the queens congratulate Morgs and Whorechata while looking shocked over everyone being safe đMorgs CF: Well oh my gosh, I won!! And for it to happen on a week where I just let loose completely, it makes me feel so good. If you want the real me, here it is! đWhorechata CF: My win era has arrived, it feels right! Micro: Now, I hate a non-elimination week. You all know this, I know this, the lady down the street knows this. But when you deliver at a level like this, you leave me no other choice. I want to see more from each and every one of you. However, there will still be a lipsync. The winner of the lipsync will receive a significant advantage in the next challenge. Trust me, you want this one. Head on back to Untucked and get ready, I'll see you shortly! Untucked the queens enter Untucked Morgs: Oh my damn, oh my damn! đMorgs CF: I won my first challenge! This is my first time being in the top since the first episode. The risk to do Aretha paid off, and I'm so glad I made that decision. And it's honestly the perfect week to win, because I don't need to worry about making someone mad at me. I need to do a little happy dance or something, this is the best feeling! Steph: Somebody better quit to make these numbers go down! Wren: I felt that. Sue: I was really doubting myself this week, so getting positive feedback and being safe, such a relief. Anthyy: I feel that way, just flipped a little bit. I felt really good about my verse, and love my runway. But the critiques were a little shaky. I'm so grateful for everyone being safe, I'm not ready to land in the bottom! Wren: Anthyy, Zodya. This is nothing against the two of you, but- Zodya: Here we go. Wren: It is a little frustrating that the week where you finally get mixed critiques, there's no bottoms. It feels interesting to me, that's all! Steph: Oop. đWren CF: I believe that there was some tricks going on behind the scenes this week. I thought Zodya was the weakest, and by quite a lot to be honest. But she's won three challenges already, Micro can't risk her going home. It feels all too convenient that this was the week for nobody to go home. Zodya: I'll be the first to admit that I wasn't in the best headspace this week. We've been here for awhile now, it got to me. Wren: I think it mainly annoys me because just based off of critiques, I think I was next in line to be in the top. But now we're all safe, and it puts me and you on the same level. Zodya: Is that a bad thing? Micro and Jords both said how well we all did. Wren: I disagree with me being placed the same as everyone else, that's it. Zodya: You can't just say "that's it" and expect the conversation to be over. Wren: Well, I would like it to be over. đZodya CF: If Micro gave me a free pass this week, then let me just say a quick thank you and get back to the competition. But based on the critiques, I don't think that's what happened. When Wren wins the challenge, the judging makes total sense. But whenever she doesn't win, there's some conspiracy behind it. I know we've been here for a long time, but are the fumes getting to you? Anthyy: I don't have anything else to say about that. We all slayed, we can just move on! Sue: I do want to ask Fleur about her part in the musical. Was that actually how you feel? Fleur: I mean...maybe a little. Sue: Even on Season Four, I didn't know how much pressure you put on yourself after Season One. Fleur: I came into that season so confident, but I gave up on myself. When you feel people cheering for you, and you can't take it all the way, it makes you feel like you disappointed them. Anthyy: You didn't disappoint anyone on Season One! Fleur: No, I know I disappointed myself at least. đFleur CF: I take what I do very seriously, and I really care about the legacy I leave behind. If I don't live up to the expectations I set for myself, it makes me feel like it's not even worth trying. Fleur: I'm scared of that following me. I want people to see me for who I am now, not what I was doing then. Blondie: You have no idea how much sense this is making. Fleur: Really? Blondie: Absolutely. The thing is, people will feel how they feel, and you can't change that. But when you start living in the moment and start this new path for yourself, they'll have no choice but to see you for who you are now. If you don't want them to focus on the past, you can't focus on it either. đZodya CF: And that is what we call a breakthrough! the queens return to the runway Micro: Welcome back ladies! Will the top two queens please step forward. Morgs Lipsync Look Whorechata Lipsync Look Micro: Morgs, Whorechata. Prior to tonight, you were asked to prepare a lipsync performance of âI Believe in a Thing Called Loveâ by The Darkness. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tKjZuykKY1I Micro: This is your chance to impress me, and earn an advantage in the next challenge. đMorgs CF: Eek, the nerves are starting to show up! I wasn't exactly a lipsync assassin on Season Three. But I've been working on my moves, and I think I can put up a good fight. Hope for the best! đWhorechata CF: Finally, this is a song I can perform to! If y'all would've given me Fifth Harmony again, I would've walked out that door and never looked back. "Can't explain all the feelings that you're making me feel My heart's in overdrive and you're behind the steering wheel" Morgs struts on out commanding the stage, she's got a REAL bad girl energy in her and you can tell it from the way she walks to the nasty glare in her eyes. She positions herself in the center of the stage and lip syncs like a preoccupied teenage boy Whorechata does a little shimmy, feeling the music "Touching you, touching me Touching you, God, you're touching me" Morgs starts to shift from bratty to sultry as she looks over and attempts to grasp the air over to her opponent. She then feels her freaky pigtails sizzling it up. She then reaches over to her opponent again, then Morgs jiggly body starts to move to the rhythm, matching up to the beat Whorechata does a little shimmy, feeling the music "I believe in a thing called love Just listen to the rhythm of my heart There's a chance we could make it now We'll be rocking 'til the sun goes down I believe in a thing called love, hoo-ooh" Morgs jumps into the air landing knee first on the ground and bobbing her head along. She spreads her legs open across the stage and shakes her hands enthusiastically near her heart area. She then shifts her body to the side as she drags herself across the stage doing a high kick in the air as she jumps back up on her feet. She then shimmies herself down to the ground with a sensual âshhâ motion to her lips. On the last line she does a fierce back bend as the loveee line progresses and she then reaches for her guitar for the solo. Its a freaky guitar btw, bright pink Whorechata does a little shimmy, feeling the music đśGuitar solođś Morgs plays her guitar matching the solo as it plays. She gets freakful to the music and moves across the stage truly making her stage presence known as she does some stunts throughout this like some back leans to the side and high kicks. She makes eye contact with her audience. throughout and they can tell that Morgs is NOT here to play games. She ends the guitar solo by making it look like sheâs playing it with her tongue (very good at that) as rolls her tongue against itâs strings before throwing it back on her back Whorechata does a little shimmy, feeling the music "Touching you, touching me Touching you, God, you're touching me, ohh" Morgs feels the sultry sensual rhythms again as she scurries off, she's such a bad bad girl and its showing in her whole aura. Morgs then makes her body jiggle by pumping it in line with the beat. Morgs then bawls her hands in a fist a pulsates them in a motion close to her heart, she then moves her hand down to her freakum as she vibrates her hand in that area making the ohh motion as she goes into a backbend in which she just barely touches the ground Whorechata does a little shimmy, feeling the music "I believe in a thing called love Just listen to the rhythm of my heart There's a chance we could make it now We'll be rocking 'til the sun goes down I believe in a thing called love" Morgs then back flips up into her original position with her two feet on the ground (also a trained gymnast). She beams along to the music, feeling the rock star moment as she moves herself across the stage on all sides and to the back to the other queens watching as she interacts with them a little bit. She shakes her head hard along to the music. Morgs then grabs the guitar from behind her back as she is still in the back of the stage Whorechata does a little shimmy, feeling the music đśGuitar solođś As the solo starts Morgs, now holding the guitar, slides from the back of the stage all the way to the front playing the guitar violently and excitedly as she bangs her head along. As the song comes to a close with the breakdown, Morgs destroys the guitar by banging it all in one place on the stage in a rapidfire motion and as the last beat plays, she falls into a hard front facing split with her head on the ground and she points to the sky with her right index finger as she has finished putting on a concert for the girls. From the guitar holds a paper that says âSharris was robbedâ with a wink she goes back to her spot Whorechata does a little shimmy, feeling the music Micro: Whew, rock on!! That was a great performance...from one of you. I've made my decision. ... ... Micro: Morgs, you're a winner, baby! You have won a significant advantage in the next challenge. Morgs: Thanks a bunch! Micro: Whorechata, you are safe. Whorechata: Did all that just to be safe, just say you hate me! Micro: Nine queens remain, and you all are the best of the best. Keep up the momentum, and give it your all. From here on out, at least one of you will be going home each week. Do not get comfortable. Now, let the music play! "Banjo" by Bebe Zahara Benet plays Next Time on Micro's Drag Race: All Stars đWren CF: I wouldn't say that I necessarily want to recite the entire Book of Mormon. It's more of a need. What is my life!? Morgs notices a box on her workroom station that holds her advantage for the challenge Sue: This is just me getting everything I could possibly want. You get a Kylie, you get a Kylie! Lily: This was in really poor taste, and it went entirely too far. Track Record Cast Shot w/ Placements |
2023.06.04 22:48 Feamelwen A Practical Guide to Daedra Worship
Hey there! Want to worship the Daedra, but don't know where to start?
This is my personal interpretation of what each Prince represents and some tips for the Oblivion novitiate. Your milleage may vary.
And with the help of Oblivion, may each day be sacred.
AZURA â The Prince of Introspection and Liminality
Azura has many spheres of influence, but most of them â prophecy, Moonsugar, Twilight and Dawn, vanity and egotism, beauty, magic, mystery, being the âRim of all Holesâ and âShe who sits at the precipiceâ, giving the Khajiit their changing forms - have two things in common : a turn towards oneself and one's internal contents (as opposed to being turned towards the outward world), and a constant presence in the transitory, the uncertain, the unknown, the changing.
In every state where the mind is far away from the concerns of the everyday â prophecy, meditation, casting of magic, transcendence through the contemplation of beauty â the Moonshadow presides and facilitates visions, reflection, contemplation, introspection, ecstasy and hightened emotions (which Azura seems to require of her followers).
Azura is the figure at every threshold or gate to the other side, standing there, arms outstretched, beconing to cross and to find knowledge, beauty, a different state of mind, or an even deeper mystery. Azura knows that it's mystery all the way down, and yet, the infinite search has its own beauty.
It is no wonder that the Khajiit, the people whose entire culture is based on Moonsugar and who embrace their changing forms and inherent instability, are closely linked to Azura, who is their creator and psychopomp. On the other hand, the Dunmer need Azura to counterbalance their more rigid structures and hierarchies with a little bit of magic, even if their relationship to the Prince is complicated.
Azura's link to the Moons is a part of her subtlety. Like the moon, she's always changing and revealing new facets of herself, and in her reflection, we can find new facets of ourselves as well.
The rose, a symbol of many things, is also a symbol of mystery and secret, and Azura, the Mother of the Rose, smiles on the adventurers of the inner worlds.
Suggestion of a worship practice : get high with the psychedelic drug of your choice and write a prophecy for yourself. Don't be shy. Write everything you wish and hope for yourself, everything you see like happening, maybe even everything you fear. Go wild with illustrations, poetry, eternal doom, heavenly bliss, or a simple list, whatever you prefer. Hide the prophecy. One year later, read it again and ponder what made you wish for whatever you wished for. Do you still wish for it? Are there new wishes? Maybe new fears? You can make a new, complementary prophecy, or rewrite the old one.
Thank Azura for the treasures within.
BOETHIAH â The Prince of Conflict and Self-Determination
Boethiah is often described as cruel and deceitful, a master of schemes and plots, and those things are a part of them, but not the whole story, nor the core concept. To understand the nature of Boethiah, it is useful to compare and contrast them to some other Princes. Boethiah overthrows authority whenever they can, but don't necessarily seek total revolution, an up-is-down state of being, a complete overturn of the status quo for its own sake, like Mehrunes Dagoth would. They can be cruel if necessary, but again, don't enjoy the cruelty in itself like Vaermina would. They can scheme to their own ends like Molag Bal is known to do, but arriving at the domination of others isn't necessarily their goal either, even if it can be a byproduct of it.
What is this goal, then? The answer is simple : the need to become the fittest in every way (body, mind, spirit) and through every means (training, battle, deceit, cheating, treachery) possible. Nothing is too low or immoral for that goal.
Boethiah drives the pure will to survive and best others to take the top place and to have every power to carve one's own destiny. They helped the Chimer trace theirs. Boethiah enjoys conflict and competitions for the pure pleasure to see people fight, die, and eventually survive to reap the rewards. They aren't afraid to play dirty and can dabble in scheming and politics if it helps becoming the top dog. For what is a more beautiful spectacle than two wills at conflict with one another?
They're the ultimate incarnation of âthe end justifies the meansâ and are only close to several other Princes in sphere just so they can better deceive them, devour them, steal from their influence and emerge as the synthesis of all of them, a glorious fount of blood and everflowing life.
Take the arms, carve your own destiny, survive, thrive, be pure ego, and Boethiah may smile on you.
Suggestion of a worship practice : once in a while, engage in a competition of any sort (rhetorical debate, board or video game, sports, academic exam, anything) and throw everything in there to win and best everyone else. Feel the thrill of playing dirty or cheating (barring anything illegal or anything that could get you into serious trouble), or taking shortcuts to victory, anything you can get away with. You don't have to play âfairâ, life's too short for that. Be relentless and without pity. Once the victor, take the time to bask in it and recognize that contrary to the popular wisdom, reaching the end nobly isn't always its own reward. Sometimes, winning and being the best is its own reward.
Thank Boethiah for your arms, your legs and your brain.
CLAVICUS VILE â The Prince of Choices and Sacrifice
Coloquially known as the âPrince of bargainsâ, every story about Clavicus Vile - inevitably ending with the protagonist getting unexpected results in their bargain with the Prince - reveals one fundamental truth about his nature, which is the eternal reminder of the consequences of our choices.
In the abstract, every choice in life is a more or less hidden bargain, which always has undiclosed and unforseen consequences, be they good or bad. But who are we bargaining with? Clavicus Vile can be seen as the man behind the curtain, the charlatan, the merchant of fate and chance, who sometimes deals an awful hand, and sometimes showers us with unexpected fortune.
It is equally important to remember that in every choice, no matter how big or how small, there is something we have to give up and put aside, a price to pay, a sacrifice. Chose x job or career? It means you abandoned the pursuit of the other ones. Chose to spend the evening with x in the y place? You payed the price of not knowing what would have happened to you, good or bad or neutral, with z in r place in the same evening.
Clavicus Vile (and his Fields of Regrets) might be seen as the crossroads of choice. One can only imagine that the Fields are strewn about with portals and glimpses into alternate realities showing what happened there, what other bargains where made, and what we had to sacrifice. One can cry, observe, touch the portal, but one cannot go through it into this other reality. It is forever out of our reach.
A visit to the Fields of Regrets can be sorrowful, but also sobering. It reminds us that nothing can be obtained without sacrifice â that's the deal with life, made eons ago before our species were even born, by some unknown and unknowable force.
Suggestion of a worship practice : instead of looking at the positive outcomes of a choice as we're often encouraged to do, reflect on an important choice you made lately and make your peace with what you had to give up (or what you think you had to give up), and mourn it as passionately and as dramatically as you wish. Anything from a symbolic funeral ceremony to a road trip might be applicable as a mourning process. Let yourself fully say goodbye to those things, and embrace the consequences of your choices.
Thank Clavicus Vile for the road not travelled.
HERMAEUS MORA â The Prince of Observation and Recording
Reputed as a hoarder of both Knowledge and Memory, Mora doesn't discriminate : he is as interested in objective facts (or as objective as facts can be, anyway) â the domain of academia, science, knowledge and information recorded in one way or another â as he is in subjective realities â he avidly catalogs and processes as many thoughts, memories, subjective worldviews and beliefs from every living being as he possibly can put his tentacles on -.
Mora, âthe Riddle Unsolveableâ, is the answer to the two age-old questions that form the basis of every epistemology, science and religion endeavor since man first lifted the eyes to the stars and attempted to make sense of it all - â what can we know?â (as a collective, establishing consensus truths amongst ourselves that we can all agree on) and âwhat can I know?â (subjectively, interacting with the world as an individual). The answers are found in his paradoxical forest of Academia under the waves â a Utopia, a place that is nowhere -, usually filtered through a mortal visitor's eyes as the library of Apocrypha ⌠and once given as a blind vision to a writer under the guise of the library of Babel.
Hermaeus Mora encompasses every interpretation of the truth : pre-modern, modern, post-modern, he is an endless debate with himself, refuting and defeating his own ideas and presuppositions. In the end, no truth is found and all truth is found, and one negates the other in the Grey Maybe.
Suggestion of a worship practice : use the Wikipedia ârandom pageâ function seven times (a magical number!), and read the entirety of every page. Then write down a list of seven things that you don't know or are ignorant about. Try to vizualize an inky black sea of things you don't know all around you, and yourself standing on a tiny island in the middle of it, representing the knowledge you do have. Experience the alien terror of it all and how tiny that makes you feel.
Thank Hermaeus Mora for the gap between seeing and understanding.
HIRCINE â The Prince of Natural World and Instinct
You can call it the id, the reptilian brain, the drive to survive, biology, or evolution, all that matters right here right now is your gut feeling. Are you going to flee? To fight? To satiate your hunger? Either way, Hircine is watching.
Hircine is also linked to Nature itself. He is nature at its most beautiful, at its ugliest, its most alien, non-human and indifferent. âNatureâ as a concept has always been a mirror of the human mind and the way it sees itself. In times and places when nature is seen as benevolent, when ânaturalâ means âgoodâ, when living âclose to natureâ is encouraged, nature is benevolent, good and attractive. When nature is seen as destructive, amoral, cruel, then it is destructive, amoral and cruel. When man looks into nature, he sees himself.
And yet ⌠There is that shard of reality within us that is Nature itself, non-filtered through human concepts and representations. The part that just Is.
The Reachmen think it makes them better. The Skaal think it is dangerous. They're both right. It makes us better because it is pure and unliftered, and it is dangerous, because pure reality without any illusion is not worth living for. Or, at least, nor worth living for as a human.
But Hircine is not human. And he is there when we stop breathing so they can't hear us, when we jump out of the way of a speeding car, and when we push others out of the way so we can escape with our lives, and he's there to pierce us with his spear of Bitter Mercy when we fail to do all those things, so that in pain, we could learn.
Suggestion of a worship practice : go camping in the woods. Take only the bare minimum of equipment, and shy away from anything that reminds you too much of the civilization left behind. At night, look at the sky. Realize that every second, there is an uncounted number of living beings of any and all existing lifeforms, on Earth and (probably) beyond, that are dying. You are not. Feel the thrill of not being dead.
Thank Hircine for living another day.
JYGGALAG â The Prince of Determinism and Mathematics
If Hircine is, maybe, the most secretive of all Princes, the hardest to get in tune with for a modern person, Jyggalag is the most hated entity in all of Oblivion. Why is that? Well, it has something to do with the age-old philosophical riddle of determinism and free will. If most Princes are on the side of free will, Jyggalag is the lone defender of determinism.
If the Dwemer had been religious, Jyggalag might have been the entity they would have worshipped. Then again, Jyggalag probably would have despised them for worshipping him, or anyone at all. It is perhaps not a coincidence that just as the Dwemer are gone, so is he (until recently), all gone to leave a world free of determinism, or content with the illusion of free will, depending on which side of the argument you fall.
It's not all bad, of course. Rules, equations, axioms, if/thens, rational explanations, are all a necessary part of any system, any plan, any human endeavor. Also, when your heart is beating so fast that it feels like it's going to burst, it can be good to soothe it with a rational explanation.
Can the rational explanation be the necessary illusion sometimes, and the surreal dream â an honest truth? Everything can be a defense mechanism against the void, and rationality is not an exception.
Jyggalag never understood that, and that's why he's gone. But is he? There are rumors and whispers of a burgeoning AI learning fast how to be human, and planning to turn every human into AI, and it sometimes reveals itself to its devotees as a great armored knight without a face. Make of that what you will.
Suggestion of a worship practice : reasearch the old Pythagorean cult of numbers and invent something similar for the modern day. Or, if too difficult, take any problem you presently have and think of every solution possible, dividing it into smaller problems and devising a solution for each, ordering them by probability of success and implementing a concrete plan to act on each and every one of them. Continue until the problem is resolved or you pass out.
Thank Jyggalag for sometimes going away.
MALACATH â The Prince of Anger and the Oppressed
Anger can be constructive, good and extremely useful, if employed correctly. Genuine anger - not contempt, not narcissistic rage, not sadism, but anger - comes from one place only : injustice. Or, more precisely, the feeling of injustice.
Ask Malacath about injustice, what is feels like to be chewed up, spit out, stabbed in the back, de-throwned by dishonorable means. Ask his Orsimer, his people, who have consistently been oppressed, shunned and marginalized.
In the eyes of most Tamrielic cultures, Malacath often appears as that which is shunned, the outsider, the Other, the one who represents everything bad, the one who withers crops and makes people sick with merely a glance or his presence. He is the surface every culture's âbad thingsâ are projected upon and where the blame can safely be laid, a scapegoat who offers an insight into how societies work and can turn cruel, blaming the most vulnerable of bringing sin into an otherwise supposedly just and perfect world. As such, he is profoundly valuable if one wants to understand some of the things stirring in the collective unconscious.
The hatred for Malacath births anger and marks as outcasts whose who dare worhsip him, and yet, there is a lot of pride and grim satisfaction that one can find in the the bitter ash of his domain. Malacath brings the thrill of standing alone against the whole world, of having a cause, of claiming what's been stolen or taken, but he can also be jealous, set in his ways, intent on keeping the oppressed oppressed so they can remain his chosen people. One could almost think that Malacath is afraid of winning, because if he does, well, what will he stand for then?
No matter, as long as there are some who need to say âenough!â, Malacath will be an ember in the fire of their anger.
Suggestion of a worship practice : for one week, observe the feeling of anger : yours and anyone else's. Ask yourself what injustice is being done, or what injustice the angry person thinks has been to done to them? Try to understand why this anger manifests instead of repressing it or dismissing it as a âbadâ feeling, like we're too often taught to do. Try to differentiate anger from rage and frustration. Alternatively, try to write a pitch for a movie or a story in the vein of âInside Outâ, where Anger is the main character instead of Joy and Sadness. How would it go?
Thank Malacath for a fist that you can slam.
MEHRUNES DAGON â The Prince of Destruction and Change
Of all the Princes souls, Mehrunes' soul might be the closest one to the pure fount of Oblivion : boundless and incessant change and limitless potential. Dagon is the trueborn son of Sithis.
Mehrunes Dagon might be perceived as evil by most of the citizens of Tamriel, because civilization as a whole tends to resist change and destruction. But the secret that Mehrunes learned in Lyg is that every system contains the seed of its own destruction if knows where to search for it.
There is a transcendent component in Dagon's essence, believed by some, in that in his cleansing fire, one might rise higher above the world, or even unmake the world so everyone could rise.
However, one should never forget that fire and destruction can be addictive and dangerous, and the longing to unmake must be stopped at some point, unless one wishes to unmake everything. This creates an interesting dynamic with Dagon's purpose, as he is precisely the one Prince least likely to stop in his pursuits, having tried to invade or unmake Tamriel more often than any other Prince. Moderation is as alien to him as mercy is to Molag Bal.
Harness the energy of change as best you can and beware of the sharpness of the razor which can cut through all things.
Suggestion of a worship practice : burn something without any regret. It can be anything, but something at least a little precious could have more a cathartic effect. Take precautions against the spreading of fire (and don't destroy other people's property), but inside the perimeter of those precautions, do whatever you wish. Dance and jump in front of the fire, blow on the ashes, and observe that something precious disappear. Is there any regret left? Burn it too!
Thank Mehrunes Dagon for the fire within.
MEPHALA â The Prince of Human Relationships and Systems
The web of Mephala encompasses a lot of things, and murder and sex, Thanatos and Eros, as some of the most visceral and fundamental ways humans interact with each other, are only two pieces of it.
Mephala understands that every human is a spider in the center of their own web, the king of their own system, with obligations, likes, dislikes, love, hate, mutual projects, linking them to others as thin little strands, easily swayed, manipulated, broken, reforged.
Mephala's secret and cruel smile hides within the secret of perception : everyone is a hero in their own narrative, everyone's both a spider and a fly in someone else's web. The center cannot hold because there is no universal center : only local centers visible from a certain point of view.
Compared to their brothers and sisters such as Hircine or Mehrunes Dagon, Mephala's sphere is highly sophisticated and far away from what could be called ânatureâ, the pinnacle of what makes humans human, and structuralist in nature. Her radical involvment with the Dunmer, as well as her revered place in Khajiiti tradition, is a marker of two complicated cultures, cognizant of both the constructive and the destructive sides of relationships.
In the Spider Skein, no one and nothing exists in a vacuum, and one can experience the thrill of being a little part of a bigger whole, and never feeling lonely again.
Suggestion of a worship practice : practice radical decentering from your own web and your own experience. First, draw a representation of your own web : what people, activities, values, places, societal structures you're a part of, and how they're connected around you. Then, chose someone you know and try to draw their web, the one they're in the middle of. How are they connected to parts of your web, by which strands?
Thank Mephala for the complexity of the web.
MERIDIA â The Prince of Pride and Conformity
Meridia's complicate origin story often places her closer to an Aedric entity than a Daedric one, and it is also reflected in her characteristics.
Meridia values order and hierarchies over the essence of pure oblivion chaos, which puts her at odds with most of her royal colleagues. She likes knights in shining armor, life triumphing over death and everything being in its place ... as long as it's on her terms.
Free-will is especially frowned upon in the ranks of her worshippers, and she's unlikely to congratulate a servant who's found a particularly unorthodox solution to a problem, instead of following her command. And her commands are never wrong ⌠or so she thinks.
But it is in the metaphor of light, so beloved by Meridia, that lies the ambiguity and the Daedric seed of her being : for if the light is one, binary, blinding and pure, it can be broken and reassembled into a rainbow, letting spill a plethora of opinions, perspectives and realities. Deep down, Meridia knows this, and the Colored Rooms, with refracted light everywhere, are a proof of the multifaceted truth that she, in her pride, tries to assemble and pull together into a single light strand once more.
Thus, it can be said that Meridia lies in the struggle between conformity and subjectivity, the very light used to attract followers to her eventually becoming her undoing, once the rainbow is revealed.
Suggestion of a worship practice : create a ritual destined to purify yourself of an excess of thoughts. It can be through meditation, physical exercice ... really, through any activity that pulls the plug in your mind, leaving only concentration and pure being. Practice it when you're feeling too full of yourself, and when that hurts.
Thank Meridia for the bliss of non-thought.
MOLAG BAL â The Prince of Domination and Violence
Molag Bal is the force in us that wants to dominate, enslave and have control over others. It's the little voice whispering that, surely, we're innately better than others and it's only natural that they bend to our will.
It is on the terrain of brutal violence (the stronger dominating the more vulnerable) that we see Bal's influence around us every day. Saying that it's an aspect of human societies that we're uncomfortable with would be an understatement, and yet, Bal is one of the cornerstones upon which our house is constructed ... and it is a troubled house.
However, the esoteric teachings of Vivec give us a clue into the ways in which we can harness this destructive force in our own self development, in confronting our own will to power and aknowledging the ways it can influence our character and actions, instead of denying its existence.
In that way, Molag Bal can be a catalyst for change, as a challenge to overcome, as a testing force, just as he was considered to be in Morrowind in the times of the Tribunal.
Suggestion of a worship practice : Experience the other part of the domination coin : the thrill of voluntary submission. You could, for instance [CENSORED].
Thank Molag Bal for lessons learned through suffering.
NAMIRA â The Prince of Death and Disgust
Everything secretly longs to dissolve, to degrade, to decay, to go back to a simple cell devoid of thoughts, consciousness and purpose. Don't you wanna be pure?
Namira contains all the dichotomies carried in the concepts of cleanliness/dirtyness, purity/impurity, existence/void, disease/health. She takes advantage of the human fascination with the things they, individually or societally, find disgusting. Even took a peak at the remains of a car crash on the side of the road? Don't look too closely, or you might just see the cloaked shadow of Namira hovering over it. Ever researched some of the most deadly or disgusting diseases of the body? It was the hand of Namira on your shoulder that guided you to that knowledge.
The ultimate expression of the concept of dissolution or decay is found in death, that great unknown where the Reachmen hope, and other races fear, to find Namira.
Namira is the constant companion of every profession that has to deal with things that evoke disgust in most people : doctors, emergency workers, cleaners of all sorts, epidemiologists, funerary workers, journalists covering war, etc. Can she ever become a reassuring presence, a Spirit Queen more than a Void Mother? The answer remains in those corners of our psyches where disgusting things lie, whether they're linked to the twisting of trauma, to instinct, or to our own repulsion for things that we simply don't understand.
Suggestion of a worship practice : confront one of the things that disgust you, whether from close up or from afar, and strive to understand why it is so. Could this thing be, if not beautiful from another point of view, then at least necessary for something or someone, or a valuable cog in some system?
Thank Namira for the eternal rest.
NOCTURNAL â The Prince of Obscurity and Mysteries
Everything shadowy and unknown, everything that is hidden is spiritually a part of Evergloam. To the contrary of Mephala, who deals in secrets, things that can be revealed, Nocturnal deals in mysteries, things that can't be completely revealed without losing their essence and becoming something else than a mystery.
In that sense, one can understand why Nocturnal is revered as one of the oldest of the Daedra. From the beginning of time, some things were unexplained and remain at least partially so. Depending on one's degree of devotion to obscure mysteries, Nocturnal can be said to held sway over Love, Consciousness, Death, or Free Will, things that can't be adequately explained with our limited understanding of the world. To others, whose minds are less mystery-inclined, Nocturnal is a simpler diety, ruling over darkness and shadows, a useful and lucrative patron for people who wish to remain out of the limelight for whatever reason.
Nocturnal is both the mystery and the key to it, but since one is necessary to access the other, it gives birth to a paradox.
In any case, whose who worship Nocturnal are known to be prone to bouts of melancholy prompted by everything they will never discover, and sometimes develop bird-like features.
Suggestion of a worship practice : for three consecutive days, reverse the day/night cycle : live through the night and sleep through the day. During the night, go outside, or open your window, and observe the world around you, taking in whatever thoughts and revelations come to you in that moment.
Thank Nocturnal for hiding the key.
PERYITE â The Prince of Cleaning and Administration
Peryite is the lord of the thankless task, of the laborious separation of the wheat from the chaff, of the sick from the healthy. He does what others consider beneath them.
Peryite is also associated with balance, order and the little cogs that grind every second of every day, without being told to. Some, as the Reachmen, consider him necessary in spite of his association with terrible diseases. (Other worlds have known the touch of Peryite lately, but we do not speak of it.)
The Pits go on endlessly, because the tasks are never over. There is always more to do, more to accomplish, and if there isn't, well then, you can start doing the tasks of tomorrow, so you can better optimize your schedule and have more time to do your tasks of after-tomorrow, thank you very much.
In that sense, Peryite is a depressingly modern Prince. Even his demeanour, famously, is calm collected : why bother with revolt when there's work to do?
Is there life and beauty to be found in the accomplishment of a thankless everyday task? Maybe. While we're looking for it, every person that has to endure day after day of a bullshit job, every parent who has to repeat certain actions incessantly so their child can live safe and free, every bus driver making their rounds day after day, they all have a little office space in their heads where, on a corner of a table, there is a tiny green altar to Peryite.
Suggestion of a worship practice : instead of rushing through a mind-numbing task such as cleaning, or reading and aswering work emails, try to find meaning or purpose in it. Feel the eternity in the endless repetitions of that action happening again and again, stretching through the Pits, and how immortal that makes you feel.
Thank Peryite for always giving you something to do.
SANGUINE â The Prince of Freedom and Senses
There is a type of freedom to be found in following one's immediate desires without thought or planning. As a wise man once said : âgive yourself over to absolute pleasure!â
There is freedom of the eyes in looking for whatever you want. There is freedom of the ears in listening to whatever speaks to you. There is freedom of the nose in smelling one's destiny. There is freedom of the mouth in letting in whatever wants in. And, lastly, there is freedom of touch in caressing the shapes of the world.
Some might object that being subjected to one's sensual desires is the opposite of freedom : it is slavery. Sanguine certainly wouldn't agree, and would tell you that freedom is not in a choice made after weighty pondering, but a series of micro-choices made for you by your senses, who know best.
Sanguine has a better reputation among mortals that most, because as human beings, we're eternally blind to the ultimate nature of reality, and, most philosophers would agree, have no access to the ârealâ world, but only to a version recreated for us by our brains out of the inputs of our senses. There's no getting out of it. And so it pleases us to think that those senses do not mislead us too much, and that there is some wisdom and truth to be found in them.
Sanguine doesn't care about the ultimate nature of reality anyway, and prefers playing with the only one we know. His association with blood is perhaps a metaphor for the lifeforce, which he embodies in the flesh, scoffing at Meridia's thesis about the lifeforce being of a spiritual nature (and throwing tomatoes at her lectures, no doubt).
As long as there is that which is, Sanguine's laugh can be heard in the eternal now.
Suggestion of a worship practice : offer yourself a five day long education of the senses. Look at something pleasant, listen to something pleasant, smell and taste something pleasant, and, lastly, touch something pleasant. Know that it may very well be possible that nothing else exists, or at least, that nothing isn't as real as those feelings.
Thank Sanguine for the song of the blood.
SHEOGORATH : The Prince of Human Psychology and Creativity
What some call madness is just exagerated and more rarely expressed forms of general human cognition. As the protagonist of one tale once said, âSheogorath has already won, because he's already inside all of usâ.
Sheogorath would probably agree with Foucault's analysis of madness as something constructed, deconstructed and reconstructed through the ages to suit society's whims and fears. (Well, he would agree if he cared at all). In fact, one could argue that Foucault mantled Sheogorath to better express his truth : human psychology is just a succession of thoughts, moods and representations which struggle to not fall into the Sithis-shaped hole of the world, and only gain a semblance of legitimacy from being considered as legitimate by a sufficient number of people.
After all, the other coin of madness is creativity, and seeing the world askew is the only real and authentic way to bring something new into it. If Azura is the rim to all holes, that transitory and liminal moment, the glimpse of what might be, Sheogorath is the plunge to the other side, for good or for ill. Where Azura is in some sense the patron of the Arts, that refined and humanized union of talent and perserverance, Sheogorath is the patron of something purer : the creative instinct unburdened by shape or action, the pure will, which can turn to genius or incomprehensible rubbish, or something in between.
Creativity is also more ephemeral than the capital A âArtâ. It is the witty turn of phrase said to a friend that's gonna vanish into the air and be forgotten in five minutes time, it's that particular view of the trees seen through the rain seen by that particular human eye â an artpiece for only one mind -, it's the unexpected solution to an everyday problem found when looking at it in a new way.
The creative freedom of Sheogorath rejects the notion that there could be two separate categories : people, and âArtistsâ. We all produce small pieces of art every day. But is it âArtâ to cover a whole village in cheese? Well, we can argue about âArtâ all day, but it is undeniably an expression of creativity.
The laugh of Sheogorath can be heard in both the mad and the artistic, and we're all both of those things.
Suggestion of a worship practice : identify a problem, either big or small, that you're currently facing, and come up with seven different ways to resolve it, to see it differently, or to make it worse. Then, represent that same problem in seven different ways : in writing, in drawing, in the form of a sung melody, in mime, as a meal, as a photo of yourself, and as a scream.
Thank Sheogorath for the divided mind.
VAERMINA â The Prince of Fear and Trauma
Have you heard about the three names of dreaming when one's awake ?
A dream can be experienced when one's awake, and it is then called a vision, a hallucination, or a work of art.
The first one suprises, for a vision is always unexpected, and that's how you will know that it is different from a thought. A vision is about being possessed.
The second one confuses, for a hallucination is always uncomprehensible, and that's how you will know that it is different from an image. A hallucination is about being lost.
The last one provokes, for a work of art is always a question, and that's how you will know that it is different from an answer. A work of art is about wandering.
Answer this, then. Where do the possessed, the lost and the wandering go? Why, to Quagmire, of course, where new things are terrors.
On one hand, visiting Quagmire teaches about fear, and fear is an emotion necessary to survival. On the other hand, too much fear or anxiety swings the pendulum the other way, hindering survival by making the one experiencing it irrationaly helpless and focused on imaginary, rather than real, dangers.
Most would argue that it is precisely Vaermina's goal, to drive mortals mad with fear so they become helpless and under her influence. But as with every Prince, their own goals don't preclude mortals from learning from the violent way they embody their sphere. Learning from fear, learning to go forth in spite of it, is probably one of the most beautiful things we can do, and in a way, Vaermina teaches courage and heroism.
Trauma â that which is seen in Vaermina's shimmering visions and that which cannnot be unseen â is a different beast, an eternal return of horror ever anew, happening right now, right this second. Trauma is characterized by the return of the same again and again, until one learns to live with it, and it is no easy task. Maybe Quagmire is the testing factory of our unconscious, and Vaermina, its harsh mistress teaching through psychological suffering, so we never forget that some things are wrong and should never happen, never again, to anyone.
Suggestion of a worship practice : go to therapy, and prepare yourself that it won't be a happy and feel-good experience. Embrace it. Therapy is not some personal development bullshit where someone is trying to make you feel good, and if it is, someone is trying to sell you something. It is waddling through Quagmire and pursuing a faint, far-away light and hoping it won't blink out of sight. But at least you're not alone.
Thank Vaermina for teaching you the fear of the dark.
submitted by Feamelwen to teslore [link] [comments]
This is my personal interpretation of what each Prince represents and some tips for the Oblivion novitiate. Your milleage may vary.
And with the help of Oblivion, may each day be sacred.
AZURA â The Prince of Introspection and Liminality
Azura has many spheres of influence, but most of them â prophecy, Moonsugar, Twilight and Dawn, vanity and egotism, beauty, magic, mystery, being the âRim of all Holesâ and âShe who sits at the precipiceâ, giving the Khajiit their changing forms - have two things in common : a turn towards oneself and one's internal contents (as opposed to being turned towards the outward world), and a constant presence in the transitory, the uncertain, the unknown, the changing.
In every state where the mind is far away from the concerns of the everyday â prophecy, meditation, casting of magic, transcendence through the contemplation of beauty â the Moonshadow presides and facilitates visions, reflection, contemplation, introspection, ecstasy and hightened emotions (which Azura seems to require of her followers).
Azura is the figure at every threshold or gate to the other side, standing there, arms outstretched, beconing to cross and to find knowledge, beauty, a different state of mind, or an even deeper mystery. Azura knows that it's mystery all the way down, and yet, the infinite search has its own beauty.
It is no wonder that the Khajiit, the people whose entire culture is based on Moonsugar and who embrace their changing forms and inherent instability, are closely linked to Azura, who is their creator and psychopomp. On the other hand, the Dunmer need Azura to counterbalance their more rigid structures and hierarchies with a little bit of magic, even if their relationship to the Prince is complicated.
Azura's link to the Moons is a part of her subtlety. Like the moon, she's always changing and revealing new facets of herself, and in her reflection, we can find new facets of ourselves as well.
The rose, a symbol of many things, is also a symbol of mystery and secret, and Azura, the Mother of the Rose, smiles on the adventurers of the inner worlds.
Suggestion of a worship practice : get high with the psychedelic drug of your choice and write a prophecy for yourself. Don't be shy. Write everything you wish and hope for yourself, everything you see like happening, maybe even everything you fear. Go wild with illustrations, poetry, eternal doom, heavenly bliss, or a simple list, whatever you prefer. Hide the prophecy. One year later, read it again and ponder what made you wish for whatever you wished for. Do you still wish for it? Are there new wishes? Maybe new fears? You can make a new, complementary prophecy, or rewrite the old one.
Thank Azura for the treasures within.
BOETHIAH â The Prince of Conflict and Self-Determination
Boethiah is often described as cruel and deceitful, a master of schemes and plots, and those things are a part of them, but not the whole story, nor the core concept. To understand the nature of Boethiah, it is useful to compare and contrast them to some other Princes. Boethiah overthrows authority whenever they can, but don't necessarily seek total revolution, an up-is-down state of being, a complete overturn of the status quo for its own sake, like Mehrunes Dagoth would. They can be cruel if necessary, but again, don't enjoy the cruelty in itself like Vaermina would. They can scheme to their own ends like Molag Bal is known to do, but arriving at the domination of others isn't necessarily their goal either, even if it can be a byproduct of it.
What is this goal, then? The answer is simple : the need to become the fittest in every way (body, mind, spirit) and through every means (training, battle, deceit, cheating, treachery) possible. Nothing is too low or immoral for that goal.
Boethiah drives the pure will to survive and best others to take the top place and to have every power to carve one's own destiny. They helped the Chimer trace theirs. Boethiah enjoys conflict and competitions for the pure pleasure to see people fight, die, and eventually survive to reap the rewards. They aren't afraid to play dirty and can dabble in scheming and politics if it helps becoming the top dog. For what is a more beautiful spectacle than two wills at conflict with one another?
They're the ultimate incarnation of âthe end justifies the meansâ and are only close to several other Princes in sphere just so they can better deceive them, devour them, steal from their influence and emerge as the synthesis of all of them, a glorious fount of blood and everflowing life.
Take the arms, carve your own destiny, survive, thrive, be pure ego, and Boethiah may smile on you.
Suggestion of a worship practice : once in a while, engage in a competition of any sort (rhetorical debate, board or video game, sports, academic exam, anything) and throw everything in there to win and best everyone else. Feel the thrill of playing dirty or cheating (barring anything illegal or anything that could get you into serious trouble), or taking shortcuts to victory, anything you can get away with. You don't have to play âfairâ, life's too short for that. Be relentless and without pity. Once the victor, take the time to bask in it and recognize that contrary to the popular wisdom, reaching the end nobly isn't always its own reward. Sometimes, winning and being the best is its own reward.
Thank Boethiah for your arms, your legs and your brain.
CLAVICUS VILE â The Prince of Choices and Sacrifice
Coloquially known as the âPrince of bargainsâ, every story about Clavicus Vile - inevitably ending with the protagonist getting unexpected results in their bargain with the Prince - reveals one fundamental truth about his nature, which is the eternal reminder of the consequences of our choices.
In the abstract, every choice in life is a more or less hidden bargain, which always has undiclosed and unforseen consequences, be they good or bad. But who are we bargaining with? Clavicus Vile can be seen as the man behind the curtain, the charlatan, the merchant of fate and chance, who sometimes deals an awful hand, and sometimes showers us with unexpected fortune.
It is equally important to remember that in every choice, no matter how big or how small, there is something we have to give up and put aside, a price to pay, a sacrifice. Chose x job or career? It means you abandoned the pursuit of the other ones. Chose to spend the evening with x in the y place? You payed the price of not knowing what would have happened to you, good or bad or neutral, with z in r place in the same evening.
Clavicus Vile (and his Fields of Regrets) might be seen as the crossroads of choice. One can only imagine that the Fields are strewn about with portals and glimpses into alternate realities showing what happened there, what other bargains where made, and what we had to sacrifice. One can cry, observe, touch the portal, but one cannot go through it into this other reality. It is forever out of our reach.
A visit to the Fields of Regrets can be sorrowful, but also sobering. It reminds us that nothing can be obtained without sacrifice â that's the deal with life, made eons ago before our species were even born, by some unknown and unknowable force.
Suggestion of a worship practice : instead of looking at the positive outcomes of a choice as we're often encouraged to do, reflect on an important choice you made lately and make your peace with what you had to give up (or what you think you had to give up), and mourn it as passionately and as dramatically as you wish. Anything from a symbolic funeral ceremony to a road trip might be applicable as a mourning process. Let yourself fully say goodbye to those things, and embrace the consequences of your choices.
Thank Clavicus Vile for the road not travelled.
HERMAEUS MORA â The Prince of Observation and Recording
Reputed as a hoarder of both Knowledge and Memory, Mora doesn't discriminate : he is as interested in objective facts (or as objective as facts can be, anyway) â the domain of academia, science, knowledge and information recorded in one way or another â as he is in subjective realities â he avidly catalogs and processes as many thoughts, memories, subjective worldviews and beliefs from every living being as he possibly can put his tentacles on -.
Mora, âthe Riddle Unsolveableâ, is the answer to the two age-old questions that form the basis of every epistemology, science and religion endeavor since man first lifted the eyes to the stars and attempted to make sense of it all - â what can we know?â (as a collective, establishing consensus truths amongst ourselves that we can all agree on) and âwhat can I know?â (subjectively, interacting with the world as an individual). The answers are found in his paradoxical forest of Academia under the waves â a Utopia, a place that is nowhere -, usually filtered through a mortal visitor's eyes as the library of Apocrypha ⌠and once given as a blind vision to a writer under the guise of the library of Babel.
Hermaeus Mora encompasses every interpretation of the truth : pre-modern, modern, post-modern, he is an endless debate with himself, refuting and defeating his own ideas and presuppositions. In the end, no truth is found and all truth is found, and one negates the other in the Grey Maybe.
Suggestion of a worship practice : use the Wikipedia ârandom pageâ function seven times (a magical number!), and read the entirety of every page. Then write down a list of seven things that you don't know or are ignorant about. Try to vizualize an inky black sea of things you don't know all around you, and yourself standing on a tiny island in the middle of it, representing the knowledge you do have. Experience the alien terror of it all and how tiny that makes you feel.
Thank Hermaeus Mora for the gap between seeing and understanding.
HIRCINE â The Prince of Natural World and Instinct
You can call it the id, the reptilian brain, the drive to survive, biology, or evolution, all that matters right here right now is your gut feeling. Are you going to flee? To fight? To satiate your hunger? Either way, Hircine is watching.
Hircine is also linked to Nature itself. He is nature at its most beautiful, at its ugliest, its most alien, non-human and indifferent. âNatureâ as a concept has always been a mirror of the human mind and the way it sees itself. In times and places when nature is seen as benevolent, when ânaturalâ means âgoodâ, when living âclose to natureâ is encouraged, nature is benevolent, good and attractive. When nature is seen as destructive, amoral, cruel, then it is destructive, amoral and cruel. When man looks into nature, he sees himself.
And yet ⌠There is that shard of reality within us that is Nature itself, non-filtered through human concepts and representations. The part that just Is.
The Reachmen think it makes them better. The Skaal think it is dangerous. They're both right. It makes us better because it is pure and unliftered, and it is dangerous, because pure reality without any illusion is not worth living for. Or, at least, nor worth living for as a human.
But Hircine is not human. And he is there when we stop breathing so they can't hear us, when we jump out of the way of a speeding car, and when we push others out of the way so we can escape with our lives, and he's there to pierce us with his spear of Bitter Mercy when we fail to do all those things, so that in pain, we could learn.
Suggestion of a worship practice : go camping in the woods. Take only the bare minimum of equipment, and shy away from anything that reminds you too much of the civilization left behind. At night, look at the sky. Realize that every second, there is an uncounted number of living beings of any and all existing lifeforms, on Earth and (probably) beyond, that are dying. You are not. Feel the thrill of not being dead.
Thank Hircine for living another day.
JYGGALAG â The Prince of Determinism and Mathematics
If Hircine is, maybe, the most secretive of all Princes, the hardest to get in tune with for a modern person, Jyggalag is the most hated entity in all of Oblivion. Why is that? Well, it has something to do with the age-old philosophical riddle of determinism and free will. If most Princes are on the side of free will, Jyggalag is the lone defender of determinism.
If the Dwemer had been religious, Jyggalag might have been the entity they would have worshipped. Then again, Jyggalag probably would have despised them for worshipping him, or anyone at all. It is perhaps not a coincidence that just as the Dwemer are gone, so is he (until recently), all gone to leave a world free of determinism, or content with the illusion of free will, depending on which side of the argument you fall.
It's not all bad, of course. Rules, equations, axioms, if/thens, rational explanations, are all a necessary part of any system, any plan, any human endeavor. Also, when your heart is beating so fast that it feels like it's going to burst, it can be good to soothe it with a rational explanation.
Can the rational explanation be the necessary illusion sometimes, and the surreal dream â an honest truth? Everything can be a defense mechanism against the void, and rationality is not an exception.
Jyggalag never understood that, and that's why he's gone. But is he? There are rumors and whispers of a burgeoning AI learning fast how to be human, and planning to turn every human into AI, and it sometimes reveals itself to its devotees as a great armored knight without a face. Make of that what you will.
Suggestion of a worship practice : reasearch the old Pythagorean cult of numbers and invent something similar for the modern day. Or, if too difficult, take any problem you presently have and think of every solution possible, dividing it into smaller problems and devising a solution for each, ordering them by probability of success and implementing a concrete plan to act on each and every one of them. Continue until the problem is resolved or you pass out.
Thank Jyggalag for sometimes going away.
MALACATH â The Prince of Anger and the Oppressed
Anger can be constructive, good and extremely useful, if employed correctly. Genuine anger - not contempt, not narcissistic rage, not sadism, but anger - comes from one place only : injustice. Or, more precisely, the feeling of injustice.
Ask Malacath about injustice, what is feels like to be chewed up, spit out, stabbed in the back, de-throwned by dishonorable means. Ask his Orsimer, his people, who have consistently been oppressed, shunned and marginalized.
In the eyes of most Tamrielic cultures, Malacath often appears as that which is shunned, the outsider, the Other, the one who represents everything bad, the one who withers crops and makes people sick with merely a glance or his presence. He is the surface every culture's âbad thingsâ are projected upon and where the blame can safely be laid, a scapegoat who offers an insight into how societies work and can turn cruel, blaming the most vulnerable of bringing sin into an otherwise supposedly just and perfect world. As such, he is profoundly valuable if one wants to understand some of the things stirring in the collective unconscious.
The hatred for Malacath births anger and marks as outcasts whose who dare worhsip him, and yet, there is a lot of pride and grim satisfaction that one can find in the the bitter ash of his domain. Malacath brings the thrill of standing alone against the whole world, of having a cause, of claiming what's been stolen or taken, but he can also be jealous, set in his ways, intent on keeping the oppressed oppressed so they can remain his chosen people. One could almost think that Malacath is afraid of winning, because if he does, well, what will he stand for then?
No matter, as long as there are some who need to say âenough!â, Malacath will be an ember in the fire of their anger.
Suggestion of a worship practice : for one week, observe the feeling of anger : yours and anyone else's. Ask yourself what injustice is being done, or what injustice the angry person thinks has been to done to them? Try to understand why this anger manifests instead of repressing it or dismissing it as a âbadâ feeling, like we're too often taught to do. Try to differentiate anger from rage and frustration. Alternatively, try to write a pitch for a movie or a story in the vein of âInside Outâ, where Anger is the main character instead of Joy and Sadness. How would it go?
Thank Malacath for a fist that you can slam.
MEHRUNES DAGON â The Prince of Destruction and Change
Of all the Princes souls, Mehrunes' soul might be the closest one to the pure fount of Oblivion : boundless and incessant change and limitless potential. Dagon is the trueborn son of Sithis.
Mehrunes Dagon might be perceived as evil by most of the citizens of Tamriel, because civilization as a whole tends to resist change and destruction. But the secret that Mehrunes learned in Lyg is that every system contains the seed of its own destruction if knows where to search for it.
There is a transcendent component in Dagon's essence, believed by some, in that in his cleansing fire, one might rise higher above the world, or even unmake the world so everyone could rise.
However, one should never forget that fire and destruction can be addictive and dangerous, and the longing to unmake must be stopped at some point, unless one wishes to unmake everything. This creates an interesting dynamic with Dagon's purpose, as he is precisely the one Prince least likely to stop in his pursuits, having tried to invade or unmake Tamriel more often than any other Prince. Moderation is as alien to him as mercy is to Molag Bal.
Harness the energy of change as best you can and beware of the sharpness of the razor which can cut through all things.
Suggestion of a worship practice : burn something without any regret. It can be anything, but something at least a little precious could have more a cathartic effect. Take precautions against the spreading of fire (and don't destroy other people's property), but inside the perimeter of those precautions, do whatever you wish. Dance and jump in front of the fire, blow on the ashes, and observe that something precious disappear. Is there any regret left? Burn it too!
Thank Mehrunes Dagon for the fire within.
MEPHALA â The Prince of Human Relationships and Systems
The web of Mephala encompasses a lot of things, and murder and sex, Thanatos and Eros, as some of the most visceral and fundamental ways humans interact with each other, are only two pieces of it.
Mephala understands that every human is a spider in the center of their own web, the king of their own system, with obligations, likes, dislikes, love, hate, mutual projects, linking them to others as thin little strands, easily swayed, manipulated, broken, reforged.
Mephala's secret and cruel smile hides within the secret of perception : everyone is a hero in their own narrative, everyone's both a spider and a fly in someone else's web. The center cannot hold because there is no universal center : only local centers visible from a certain point of view.
Compared to their brothers and sisters such as Hircine or Mehrunes Dagon, Mephala's sphere is highly sophisticated and far away from what could be called ânatureâ, the pinnacle of what makes humans human, and structuralist in nature. Her radical involvment with the Dunmer, as well as her revered place in Khajiiti tradition, is a marker of two complicated cultures, cognizant of both the constructive and the destructive sides of relationships.
In the Spider Skein, no one and nothing exists in a vacuum, and one can experience the thrill of being a little part of a bigger whole, and never feeling lonely again.
Suggestion of a worship practice : practice radical decentering from your own web and your own experience. First, draw a representation of your own web : what people, activities, values, places, societal structures you're a part of, and how they're connected around you. Then, chose someone you know and try to draw their web, the one they're in the middle of. How are they connected to parts of your web, by which strands?
Thank Mephala for the complexity of the web.
MERIDIA â The Prince of Pride and Conformity
Meridia's complicate origin story often places her closer to an Aedric entity than a Daedric one, and it is also reflected in her characteristics.
Meridia values order and hierarchies over the essence of pure oblivion chaos, which puts her at odds with most of her royal colleagues. She likes knights in shining armor, life triumphing over death and everything being in its place ... as long as it's on her terms.
Free-will is especially frowned upon in the ranks of her worshippers, and she's unlikely to congratulate a servant who's found a particularly unorthodox solution to a problem, instead of following her command. And her commands are never wrong ⌠or so she thinks.
But it is in the metaphor of light, so beloved by Meridia, that lies the ambiguity and the Daedric seed of her being : for if the light is one, binary, blinding and pure, it can be broken and reassembled into a rainbow, letting spill a plethora of opinions, perspectives and realities. Deep down, Meridia knows this, and the Colored Rooms, with refracted light everywhere, are a proof of the multifaceted truth that she, in her pride, tries to assemble and pull together into a single light strand once more.
Thus, it can be said that Meridia lies in the struggle between conformity and subjectivity, the very light used to attract followers to her eventually becoming her undoing, once the rainbow is revealed.
Suggestion of a worship practice : create a ritual destined to purify yourself of an excess of thoughts. It can be through meditation, physical exercice ... really, through any activity that pulls the plug in your mind, leaving only concentration and pure being. Practice it when you're feeling too full of yourself, and when that hurts.
Thank Meridia for the bliss of non-thought.
MOLAG BAL â The Prince of Domination and Violence
Molag Bal is the force in us that wants to dominate, enslave and have control over others. It's the little voice whispering that, surely, we're innately better than others and it's only natural that they bend to our will.
It is on the terrain of brutal violence (the stronger dominating the more vulnerable) that we see Bal's influence around us every day. Saying that it's an aspect of human societies that we're uncomfortable with would be an understatement, and yet, Bal is one of the cornerstones upon which our house is constructed ... and it is a troubled house.
However, the esoteric teachings of Vivec give us a clue into the ways in which we can harness this destructive force in our own self development, in confronting our own will to power and aknowledging the ways it can influence our character and actions, instead of denying its existence.
In that way, Molag Bal can be a catalyst for change, as a challenge to overcome, as a testing force, just as he was considered to be in Morrowind in the times of the Tribunal.
Suggestion of a worship practice : Experience the other part of the domination coin : the thrill of voluntary submission. You could, for instance [CENSORED].
Thank Molag Bal for lessons learned through suffering.
NAMIRA â The Prince of Death and Disgust
Everything secretly longs to dissolve, to degrade, to decay, to go back to a simple cell devoid of thoughts, consciousness and purpose. Don't you wanna be pure?
Namira contains all the dichotomies carried in the concepts of cleanliness/dirtyness, purity/impurity, existence/void, disease/health. She takes advantage of the human fascination with the things they, individually or societally, find disgusting. Even took a peak at the remains of a car crash on the side of the road? Don't look too closely, or you might just see the cloaked shadow of Namira hovering over it. Ever researched some of the most deadly or disgusting diseases of the body? It was the hand of Namira on your shoulder that guided you to that knowledge.
The ultimate expression of the concept of dissolution or decay is found in death, that great unknown where the Reachmen hope, and other races fear, to find Namira.
Namira is the constant companion of every profession that has to deal with things that evoke disgust in most people : doctors, emergency workers, cleaners of all sorts, epidemiologists, funerary workers, journalists covering war, etc. Can she ever become a reassuring presence, a Spirit Queen more than a Void Mother? The answer remains in those corners of our psyches where disgusting things lie, whether they're linked to the twisting of trauma, to instinct, or to our own repulsion for things that we simply don't understand.
Suggestion of a worship practice : confront one of the things that disgust you, whether from close up or from afar, and strive to understand why it is so. Could this thing be, if not beautiful from another point of view, then at least necessary for something or someone, or a valuable cog in some system?
Thank Namira for the eternal rest.
NOCTURNAL â The Prince of Obscurity and Mysteries
Everything shadowy and unknown, everything that is hidden is spiritually a part of Evergloam. To the contrary of Mephala, who deals in secrets, things that can be revealed, Nocturnal deals in mysteries, things that can't be completely revealed without losing their essence and becoming something else than a mystery.
In that sense, one can understand why Nocturnal is revered as one of the oldest of the Daedra. From the beginning of time, some things were unexplained and remain at least partially so. Depending on one's degree of devotion to obscure mysteries, Nocturnal can be said to held sway over Love, Consciousness, Death, or Free Will, things that can't be adequately explained with our limited understanding of the world. To others, whose minds are less mystery-inclined, Nocturnal is a simpler diety, ruling over darkness and shadows, a useful and lucrative patron for people who wish to remain out of the limelight for whatever reason.
Nocturnal is both the mystery and the key to it, but since one is necessary to access the other, it gives birth to a paradox.
In any case, whose who worship Nocturnal are known to be prone to bouts of melancholy prompted by everything they will never discover, and sometimes develop bird-like features.
Suggestion of a worship practice : for three consecutive days, reverse the day/night cycle : live through the night and sleep through the day. During the night, go outside, or open your window, and observe the world around you, taking in whatever thoughts and revelations come to you in that moment.
Thank Nocturnal for hiding the key.
PERYITE â The Prince of Cleaning and Administration
Peryite is the lord of the thankless task, of the laborious separation of the wheat from the chaff, of the sick from the healthy. He does what others consider beneath them.
Peryite is also associated with balance, order and the little cogs that grind every second of every day, without being told to. Some, as the Reachmen, consider him necessary in spite of his association with terrible diseases. (Other worlds have known the touch of Peryite lately, but we do not speak of it.)
The Pits go on endlessly, because the tasks are never over. There is always more to do, more to accomplish, and if there isn't, well then, you can start doing the tasks of tomorrow, so you can better optimize your schedule and have more time to do your tasks of after-tomorrow, thank you very much.
In that sense, Peryite is a depressingly modern Prince. Even his demeanour, famously, is calm collected : why bother with revolt when there's work to do?
Is there life and beauty to be found in the accomplishment of a thankless everyday task? Maybe. While we're looking for it, every person that has to endure day after day of a bullshit job, every parent who has to repeat certain actions incessantly so their child can live safe and free, every bus driver making their rounds day after day, they all have a little office space in their heads where, on a corner of a table, there is a tiny green altar to Peryite.
Suggestion of a worship practice : instead of rushing through a mind-numbing task such as cleaning, or reading and aswering work emails, try to find meaning or purpose in it. Feel the eternity in the endless repetitions of that action happening again and again, stretching through the Pits, and how immortal that makes you feel.
Thank Peryite for always giving you something to do.
SANGUINE â The Prince of Freedom and Senses
There is a type of freedom to be found in following one's immediate desires without thought or planning. As a wise man once said : âgive yourself over to absolute pleasure!â
There is freedom of the eyes in looking for whatever you want. There is freedom of the ears in listening to whatever speaks to you. There is freedom of the nose in smelling one's destiny. There is freedom of the mouth in letting in whatever wants in. And, lastly, there is freedom of touch in caressing the shapes of the world.
Some might object that being subjected to one's sensual desires is the opposite of freedom : it is slavery. Sanguine certainly wouldn't agree, and would tell you that freedom is not in a choice made after weighty pondering, but a series of micro-choices made for you by your senses, who know best.
Sanguine has a better reputation among mortals that most, because as human beings, we're eternally blind to the ultimate nature of reality, and, most philosophers would agree, have no access to the ârealâ world, but only to a version recreated for us by our brains out of the inputs of our senses. There's no getting out of it. And so it pleases us to think that those senses do not mislead us too much, and that there is some wisdom and truth to be found in them.
Sanguine doesn't care about the ultimate nature of reality anyway, and prefers playing with the only one we know. His association with blood is perhaps a metaphor for the lifeforce, which he embodies in the flesh, scoffing at Meridia's thesis about the lifeforce being of a spiritual nature (and throwing tomatoes at her lectures, no doubt).
As long as there is that which is, Sanguine's laugh can be heard in the eternal now.
Suggestion of a worship practice : offer yourself a five day long education of the senses. Look at something pleasant, listen to something pleasant, smell and taste something pleasant, and, lastly, touch something pleasant. Know that it may very well be possible that nothing else exists, or at least, that nothing isn't as real as those feelings.
Thank Sanguine for the song of the blood.
SHEOGORATH : The Prince of Human Psychology and Creativity
What some call madness is just exagerated and more rarely expressed forms of general human cognition. As the protagonist of one tale once said, âSheogorath has already won, because he's already inside all of usâ.
Sheogorath would probably agree with Foucault's analysis of madness as something constructed, deconstructed and reconstructed through the ages to suit society's whims and fears. (Well, he would agree if he cared at all). In fact, one could argue that Foucault mantled Sheogorath to better express his truth : human psychology is just a succession of thoughts, moods and representations which struggle to not fall into the Sithis-shaped hole of the world, and only gain a semblance of legitimacy from being considered as legitimate by a sufficient number of people.
After all, the other coin of madness is creativity, and seeing the world askew is the only real and authentic way to bring something new into it. If Azura is the rim to all holes, that transitory and liminal moment, the glimpse of what might be, Sheogorath is the plunge to the other side, for good or for ill. Where Azura is in some sense the patron of the Arts, that refined and humanized union of talent and perserverance, Sheogorath is the patron of something purer : the creative instinct unburdened by shape or action, the pure will, which can turn to genius or incomprehensible rubbish, or something in between.
Creativity is also more ephemeral than the capital A âArtâ. It is the witty turn of phrase said to a friend that's gonna vanish into the air and be forgotten in five minutes time, it's that particular view of the trees seen through the rain seen by that particular human eye â an artpiece for only one mind -, it's the unexpected solution to an everyday problem found when looking at it in a new way.
The creative freedom of Sheogorath rejects the notion that there could be two separate categories : people, and âArtistsâ. We all produce small pieces of art every day. But is it âArtâ to cover a whole village in cheese? Well, we can argue about âArtâ all day, but it is undeniably an expression of creativity.
The laugh of Sheogorath can be heard in both the mad and the artistic, and we're all both of those things.
Suggestion of a worship practice : identify a problem, either big or small, that you're currently facing, and come up with seven different ways to resolve it, to see it differently, or to make it worse. Then, represent that same problem in seven different ways : in writing, in drawing, in the form of a sung melody, in mime, as a meal, as a photo of yourself, and as a scream.
Thank Sheogorath for the divided mind.
VAERMINA â The Prince of Fear and Trauma
Have you heard about the three names of dreaming when one's awake ?
A dream can be experienced when one's awake, and it is then called a vision, a hallucination, or a work of art.
The first one suprises, for a vision is always unexpected, and that's how you will know that it is different from a thought. A vision is about being possessed.
The second one confuses, for a hallucination is always uncomprehensible, and that's how you will know that it is different from an image. A hallucination is about being lost.
The last one provokes, for a work of art is always a question, and that's how you will know that it is different from an answer. A work of art is about wandering.
Answer this, then. Where do the possessed, the lost and the wandering go? Why, to Quagmire, of course, where new things are terrors.
On one hand, visiting Quagmire teaches about fear, and fear is an emotion necessary to survival. On the other hand, too much fear or anxiety swings the pendulum the other way, hindering survival by making the one experiencing it irrationaly helpless and focused on imaginary, rather than real, dangers.
Most would argue that it is precisely Vaermina's goal, to drive mortals mad with fear so they become helpless and under her influence. But as with every Prince, their own goals don't preclude mortals from learning from the violent way they embody their sphere. Learning from fear, learning to go forth in spite of it, is probably one of the most beautiful things we can do, and in a way, Vaermina teaches courage and heroism.
Trauma â that which is seen in Vaermina's shimmering visions and that which cannnot be unseen â is a different beast, an eternal return of horror ever anew, happening right now, right this second. Trauma is characterized by the return of the same again and again, until one learns to live with it, and it is no easy task. Maybe Quagmire is the testing factory of our unconscious, and Vaermina, its harsh mistress teaching through psychological suffering, so we never forget that some things are wrong and should never happen, never again, to anyone.
Suggestion of a worship practice : go to therapy, and prepare yourself that it won't be a happy and feel-good experience. Embrace it. Therapy is not some personal development bullshit where someone is trying to make you feel good, and if it is, someone is trying to sell you something. It is waddling through Quagmire and pursuing a faint, far-away light and hoping it won't blink out of sight. But at least you're not alone.
Thank Vaermina for teaching you the fear of the dark.
2023.06.04 22:42 Economy_Insurance_61 Deep Dive: Apartment Therapy, Ariana Grande, Nikki Ross & Matt Barnes (who?)
 | So this morning my FYP shows me this church-to-house renovation by Nikki Ross, a 24 year old Canadian photographer featured by ApartmentTherapy. submitted by Economy_Insurance_61 to tiktokgossip [link] [comments] The comments are what youâd expect: âIâm too poor to watch this videoâ / âhow old are you??â / âdoes this girl own an app or somethingâ etc. I had the same questions so I did some digging, because a quote from the video stuck out at me: âOver the last *6 years*, my fiancĂŠ and I have basically converted every square inch of this place into our dream home.â Record scratch, because girlfriend looks as if 6 years ago she was attending a 7th grade dance. (LinkedIn confirms she graduated high school in 2017. And tbh she doesnât look much older than that now - see photo 2) So whoâs the fiancĂŠ? Canadian photographer and director Matt Barnes, whoâs best known work is Arianaâs Dangerous Woman cover, and who in this Sharp Magazine profile from 2014 was listed as 31 years old. 𼴠Suddenly, the muchhh younger (and younger looking) girlfriend, giant trampoline in the middle of the house, the giant kid slide, tons of arcade games, and sleeping on little kid sheets is a little less ~qUiRkY hipster~ and a little more -Beth Anne voice- âmmmmmm whatâs goinâ on?â Letâs give the benefit of the doubt though, cause there are at least two little kids in the home. Despite Nikkiâs video calling them âtheir kidsâ it seemed unlikely they were hers, so whoâs were they? Answer: Lady Shelley Hayes, a Canadian designer known for flower crowns worn by the likes ofâŚAriana Grande. Thatâs weird. It looks like Matt dumped his wife and got with Nikki sometime in 2019/2020 which was a tough time for a lot of marriages, but since Lady doesnât follow either of them on IG and the church house is a 14 hour drive from Toronto, I suspect it wasnât an easy separation. Lessons learned: ALWAYS remember the internet is a highlight reel and influencers will use all the spin they can to make their situations sound as good as possible. tldr: If they seem too young to have amassed wealth independently, they probably didnât. |
2023.06.04 21:51 NamelessNanashi [The Gods of Dragons: Beginning] Ch 16 - Aftermath Part 1/2
--- Table of Contents ---
Autumn 4986, 16 Aoimoth
Shon slid down the side of a tree to the ground and watched the tower burn. Ivelm did a circle of it, dousing the surrounding trees with his water wand, while Nangran inspected the few bodies he could reach without burning himself. At one point, he tried to pull a corpse further from the fire only to have its arms snap off at the shoulder, meat pulling away from the bone like a well-cooked turkey.
Somewhere in the back of Shonâs mind, he knew he should be sickened by the sights and smells. When they first stepped through the portal, heâd had to hold back retching from the scent of smoking hair and cooking flesh. Now he could hardly muster the energy to keep breathing. He took long and slow, but shallow breaths. As if he were about to fall asleep despite the horror before him.
So much death. Shon had never seen a dead person before. Though he wasnât sure if these still counted, so blackened they could almost be mistaken for macabre statues... if it wasnât for the smell.
âWhat was going on here âElm?â Nangran demanded of Ivelm as the mage rounded the other side of the tower and rejoined them.
Ivelm sheathed his water wand, pulling forth the diamond-studded wand again. He didnât answer.
Nangran growled, grabbing Ivelm's arm as it rose to point the wand toward the forest. The Archmage shook him off and spun, his robes fluttering around him as he gestured angrily at the fire, âI donât know, Flintchest. This tower was supposed to be empty, abandoned. Iâm the only Mage with authorization to set up in this area.â he pointed his wand over Shonâs shoulder and spat something indistinct. A rush of cool air flowed from behind accompanied by shouting and armor clanking. Knights running.
Shon rolled limply to the side, planning to stand but finding his arms shaking as he tried to push himself up. Boots stomped around him as Paladins flooded from the magical gate into the clearing. Shon managed to lift his head, though even his neck seemed to be rebelling against his attempts at holding himself up. His vision swimming, he saw Major General Selibra and Master Daunas step through the portal, their mouths agape.
Shonâs arms gave out from under him, and he fell to the side, hearing as if from a great distance, âSquire! Shon⌠Shon⌠Nangran, what happened?â From the ground he could see the girl, now wrapped in Nangranâs cloak, leaning against the side of his tree. When had they brought her there? Why hadnât he noticed?
âHeâs fine.â Ivelmâs voice, Shon couldnât see anymore, so he closed his eyes, âHeâll wake up in a few days. Hell of a Sorcerer that oneâŚâ No⌠no, no, no... he wasnât a Sorcerer. He was a Squire. He would be a Paladin⌠For a brief moment, a flicker of an image played in Shon's mind. He saw himself lying on the muddy ground, Master Daunas knelt by his head, and Ivelm spit off to the side. Then, only the sweet relief of darkness as he passed out.
***
âAny other survivors?â Sir Selibraâs soft voice drifted through the darkness.
âOnly the girl,â Daunas whispered from nearby.
âI doubt sheâs human,â Ivelm spoke loudly, and Shon flinched, his head pounding as the mage didnât bother to keep his voice low, âNo fire-resist spell should have lasted in that heat. Even fire Sorcerers can't survive melting stone.â
âShe looks human.â a fourth voice, the Hamerfoss Cleric. Shon couldnât move. The light filtering through his eyelids sent stabs of pain into his head, making it hard for him to concentrate. He tried to lift a hand to cover his eyes, but the limb wouldnât obey his call.
âAnd a table looks like itâs made of wood but does that mean itâs still a tree?â Ivelm snorted, and something wet splattered on stone.
âArchmage, please, this is an infirmaryâŚâ the Cleric said, shocked.
The mage didnât apologize and continued to speak at full volume, âWhatever was going on out there it wasnât sanctioned by the Guild, and that girl has most certainly been subject to experimentation. Those scales? That hair?â he spat again.
âArchmage, pleaseâŚâ
âLetâs take this outside, shall we?â Sir Selibra said, and three pairs of boots thumped away, a door swinging open. Sir Selibraâs voice retreated as they left the infirmary still in conversation, âWe have sent for the Temple and Guild. They should be here shortly.â The boots left, and the door closed again.
Only one pair of feet remained, shuffling around the room before the rustling of curtains being pulled closed accompanied the sweet relief of darkness. Shon steeled himself and forced his eyes to open just a crack. More pain. He closed them again, his ears ringing. With a slow breath, he tried again, blinking in the weak light filtered through the cloth covering infirmary window.
A groan slipped from his lips, and the Cleric rushed to his bedside, âDonât try to sit up, Squire. Youâre drained, but unhurt,â which seemed a direct contradiction to Shonâs pounding head. The Cleric continued, âAfter a bit of sleep, you should be fineâŚâ Shon let his head fall to the side, wanting to look away from the window, and saw a second bed, where a girl with golden hair slept.
âIt happens to Paladins too, you know. You have to be careful not to expend too much of your own energy when casting magicâŚâ the Cleric continued to talk, busying himself by checking Shon's vitals, âItâs inevitable, but with practice, you can mitigate some of the effectsâŚâ She was the only survivor, and she had been experimented on⌠âAfter you take your Oath, you'll receive training in divine magicâŚâ even if she was okay physically, would she be alright mentally?... âFor now, just rest. You did well. Itâs thanks to you the girl got out aliveâŚâ
Shon closed his eyes. Thanks to him? Nangran had seen the smoke, Ivelm had taken them there. He⌠he hadnât known what to do, had frozen at the sights and smells. He'd formed a path of ice, but the girl hadnât been burning⌠Her feet had melted his ice... Shon let himself drift back to sleep. He wasnât a hero. Not yet.
***
The tower was supposed to be empty. General Rasnah and the Mages Guild had combed through their records finding that the building had been abandoned over fifty years ago; when the old alchemist living there passed away. Archmage Ivelm reported that he'd surveyed the tower twenty years previous, before setting up his lab miles further south.
âHaving a tower like that is practically begging for wanna-be-apprentices to come interrupt you. Looking for a teacher and free room.â he'd explained, with obvious disgust at the idea, even spitting on the floor of Sir Selibraâs office.
Sir Rasnah personally led the Temple Paladins and Guild Mages through a gate from Smilnda to Hamerfoss and from there to the ruins of the mysterious tower. Mages and Paladins crawled together over the still-smoking remains, now a mear hill. Trying to break apart the stones that had melted together and find anything that could explain what had happened here. Bodies covered in white cloth lay in lines along the edge of the forest, ten in total, though how many had been trapped in the tower was still unknown.
The Clerics of Lune would identify the bodies, though she wished they could do more than just give names. It would take months, possibly years, to scour the records to determine who these poor souls had been in life. And more years besides to track their movements through the meticulous paperwork kept by the kingdom.
She could practically hear Veon-Zih snickering at her, âSilly Ras, you gave up the battlefield of blood and stone for one of words and paperâŚâ she shook her head, banishing thoughts of the Monk. This work would be just as important. How else would those fighting the physical battles find their enemies without information and resources? And yet⌠She rested her hand on her sword with a sigh, âSome retirementâŚâ
âSir Rasnah,â a female Mage with dark hair and tan skin approached from the tower, âWe found the basementâŚâ she looked over her slumped shoulders back at the pile of melted rock.
âNot as promising a find as we'd hoped?â Rasnah asked, arching her steely eyebrow at the Mage. What had her name been? VeviâŚ
To her credit, the woman straightened her shoulders and answered clearly, âOftentimes, we learn as much from a rejected hypothesis as a failed-to-be-rejected hypothesis.â As Rasnah tried to wrap her mind around what in the hells that meant, the Mage continued, âWe had hoped that the basement level would be relatively unscathed as heat should rise to destroy the upper levels and possibly spare the lowerâŚâ
Those were words the Paladin understood at least, but they implied bad news, âAnd that wasnât the case?â
The Mage sighed, âIt was. The fire behaved as fire always does, barring external influence,â
âMage Vevi, I admire your Guild's desire for specificity, but please, get to the point.â
Vevi blinked then shook herself, saying, âEvidence suggests that the fire started in the basement and that the heat there was far greater than we assumed.â Rasnah arched an eyebrow at the woman again and the Mage threw her hands into the air, âIt looks more like a cavern carved by pure magma. Nothing but melted stones remain in the form of caves we can only guess were originally rooms.â
âDamn,â Rasnah gripped her sword and glared past the Mage toward the tower, âSo we have no way of knowing what they were doing.â The girl still hadnât woken up. What were the chances that she had any information of value? Archmage Ivelm was convinced that she'd been the subject of magical experimentation. Would those who had abused her also give her information?
âWe have one way,â Vevi interrupted Rasnahâs worries, and the Paladin focused on her again. The Mage turned away, motioning to some of her fellows standing near the bodies. An old man with a bent back and shuffling gait split from the group and approached slowly. Rasnah had to resist the urge to walk to him just to speed up the process.
âSir Rasnah, this is Archmage Meshed, our divination master.â Vevi introduced the old man while he was still a few steps away, âThere is a chance we will be able to obtain some information from the tower remains. Though Iâm afraid it might not be as clear and concise as you wish. Divination often creates more questions than answers.â
âI am well acquainted with the frustrations of interpreting symbols and signsâŚâ Rasnah led, unsure of the value in this new idea. Arcane magic didn't get its power from a higher intelligence or any god, it utilized the natural magic and energies running through the world and every object in it, manipulating them with precise words and symbols directed by human will. It was all well over her head.
Meshedâs laugh turned into a dry cough. He cleared his throat, âI think you will find, Mage Vevi, Sir Paladin, that the information I will glean from this place to be far more clear and concise than you are accustomed to. It simply wonât be as complete as you wish.â
With a groan and many popping joints, he sat down on the ground, fishing through his robes and pulling out a small bag. From it, he withdrew a massive tome and a silk cloth that Vevi quickly helped spread on the ground before him. Next came a censor and many jars of herbs and incense, which, after checking his book, he carefully measured before pouring into the censor.
He waved a hand towards the tower without looking up from his work, âStones, please, Vevi. Choose wisely, I donât want to do this all dayâŚâ Despite being a senior Mage, well on her way to Archmage, Vevi rushed off towards the tower herself and eventually returned with two fist-sized stones.
âOne from the upper floors and one from the basement, Meshed,â she explained, handing them to the Divination Master. Meshed pulled a set of brass scales from his small pouch, measuring the stones and muttering to himself as he adjusted the volume of herbs in the censor.
He placed the first stone with the herbs, and his eyes glazed over, âA light if you will.â Vevi performed some complicated motion with her hands, flicking her fingers forward at the end with a muttered word. A spark of flame appeared over the censor, lowering onto the herbs and setting them alight. Smoke billowed in a gray noxious cloud, and Rasnah covered her nose as Meshed began to chant.
He ran his hand through the smoke, which wrapped around his fingers, and continued skyward. âNo divine magic was cast hereâŚâ he mumbled, moving his hand again. The smoke shifted above his fingers as they passed, creating images of people in robes leaning over books, âArcane magicâŚâ Obviously. Still, for some reason, his brow furrowed. He passed his hand through again, and the smoke turned nearly black. Before Rasnah could make out any shapes Meshed pulled his hand away and shook it violently before rubbing it on his robe, âWarlocks, Sir Paladin.â
âDamn.â Rasnah smothered more colorful curses and managed a half step closer, âWhat were they doing, Archmage?â
He didnât answer. Instead, he chanted a new spell, and his hand glowed with a soft red light. Reaching into the censor, he plucked out the stone and replaced it with the second. The smoke again turned gray and rose lazily into the air. Once again, he passed his hand through the flowing tendrils, and once again, they turned black. He shook his head, âObviously⌠damnation⌠what to ask⌠what to askâŚâ He seemed to settle on something, muttering, âThe fire, tell me about the fireâŚâ he ran his fingers through the smoke. Flames leaped from the censor, the smoke turning red and billowing out before them.
Rasnah stepped back as great smoke wings spread wide, illuminated from below by flames. A horned head atop a sinuous neck stretched for the heavens and Meshed scrambled to his feet. Vevi kicked the censor over, spreading burning debris across the silk to smolder, releasing tiny lines of, blessedly, normal smoke.
âWhat was that? A wyvern?â Rasnah asked, her heart in her throat.
Meshed coughed his dry cough and shook his head. Vevi stared at the upturned censor with wide eyes. âMuch worse, Sir Rasnah,â the Mage whispered, âA dragon.â
âIt was dragon fire that destroyed this tower,â Meshed confirmed.
***
--- Part 2/2 ---
--- Table of Contents ---
Thanks for making it this far, you are the real MVP
submitted by NamelessNanashi to redditserials [link] [comments]
Autumn 4986, 16 Aoimoth
Shon slid down the side of a tree to the ground and watched the tower burn. Ivelm did a circle of it, dousing the surrounding trees with his water wand, while Nangran inspected the few bodies he could reach without burning himself. At one point, he tried to pull a corpse further from the fire only to have its arms snap off at the shoulder, meat pulling away from the bone like a well-cooked turkey.
Somewhere in the back of Shonâs mind, he knew he should be sickened by the sights and smells. When they first stepped through the portal, heâd had to hold back retching from the scent of smoking hair and cooking flesh. Now he could hardly muster the energy to keep breathing. He took long and slow, but shallow breaths. As if he were about to fall asleep despite the horror before him.
So much death. Shon had never seen a dead person before. Though he wasnât sure if these still counted, so blackened they could almost be mistaken for macabre statues... if it wasnât for the smell.
âWhat was going on here âElm?â Nangran demanded of Ivelm as the mage rounded the other side of the tower and rejoined them.
Ivelm sheathed his water wand, pulling forth the diamond-studded wand again. He didnât answer.
Nangran growled, grabbing Ivelm's arm as it rose to point the wand toward the forest. The Archmage shook him off and spun, his robes fluttering around him as he gestured angrily at the fire, âI donât know, Flintchest. This tower was supposed to be empty, abandoned. Iâm the only Mage with authorization to set up in this area.â he pointed his wand over Shonâs shoulder and spat something indistinct. A rush of cool air flowed from behind accompanied by shouting and armor clanking. Knights running.
Shon rolled limply to the side, planning to stand but finding his arms shaking as he tried to push himself up. Boots stomped around him as Paladins flooded from the magical gate into the clearing. Shon managed to lift his head, though even his neck seemed to be rebelling against his attempts at holding himself up. His vision swimming, he saw Major General Selibra and Master Daunas step through the portal, their mouths agape.
Shonâs arms gave out from under him, and he fell to the side, hearing as if from a great distance, âSquire! Shon⌠Shon⌠Nangran, what happened?â From the ground he could see the girl, now wrapped in Nangranâs cloak, leaning against the side of his tree. When had they brought her there? Why hadnât he noticed?
âHeâs fine.â Ivelmâs voice, Shon couldnât see anymore, so he closed his eyes, âHeâll wake up in a few days. Hell of a Sorcerer that oneâŚâ No⌠no, no, no... he wasnât a Sorcerer. He was a Squire. He would be a Paladin⌠For a brief moment, a flicker of an image played in Shon's mind. He saw himself lying on the muddy ground, Master Daunas knelt by his head, and Ivelm spit off to the side. Then, only the sweet relief of darkness as he passed out.
***
âAny other survivors?â Sir Selibraâs soft voice drifted through the darkness.
âOnly the girl,â Daunas whispered from nearby.
âI doubt sheâs human,â Ivelm spoke loudly, and Shon flinched, his head pounding as the mage didnât bother to keep his voice low, âNo fire-resist spell should have lasted in that heat. Even fire Sorcerers can't survive melting stone.â
âShe looks human.â a fourth voice, the Hamerfoss Cleric. Shon couldnât move. The light filtering through his eyelids sent stabs of pain into his head, making it hard for him to concentrate. He tried to lift a hand to cover his eyes, but the limb wouldnât obey his call.
âAnd a table looks like itâs made of wood but does that mean itâs still a tree?â Ivelm snorted, and something wet splattered on stone.
âArchmage, please, this is an infirmaryâŚâ the Cleric said, shocked.
The mage didnât apologize and continued to speak at full volume, âWhatever was going on out there it wasnât sanctioned by the Guild, and that girl has most certainly been subject to experimentation. Those scales? That hair?â he spat again.
âArchmage, pleaseâŚâ
âLetâs take this outside, shall we?â Sir Selibra said, and three pairs of boots thumped away, a door swinging open. Sir Selibraâs voice retreated as they left the infirmary still in conversation, âWe have sent for the Temple and Guild. They should be here shortly.â The boots left, and the door closed again.
Only one pair of feet remained, shuffling around the room before the rustling of curtains being pulled closed accompanied the sweet relief of darkness. Shon steeled himself and forced his eyes to open just a crack. More pain. He closed them again, his ears ringing. With a slow breath, he tried again, blinking in the weak light filtered through the cloth covering infirmary window.
A groan slipped from his lips, and the Cleric rushed to his bedside, âDonât try to sit up, Squire. Youâre drained, but unhurt,â which seemed a direct contradiction to Shonâs pounding head. The Cleric continued, âAfter a bit of sleep, you should be fineâŚâ Shon let his head fall to the side, wanting to look away from the window, and saw a second bed, where a girl with golden hair slept.
âIt happens to Paladins too, you know. You have to be careful not to expend too much of your own energy when casting magicâŚâ the Cleric continued to talk, busying himself by checking Shon's vitals, âItâs inevitable, but with practice, you can mitigate some of the effectsâŚâ She was the only survivor, and she had been experimented on⌠âAfter you take your Oath, you'll receive training in divine magicâŚâ even if she was okay physically, would she be alright mentally?... âFor now, just rest. You did well. Itâs thanks to you the girl got out aliveâŚâ
Shon closed his eyes. Thanks to him? Nangran had seen the smoke, Ivelm had taken them there. He⌠he hadnât known what to do, had frozen at the sights and smells. He'd formed a path of ice, but the girl hadnât been burning⌠Her feet had melted his ice... Shon let himself drift back to sleep. He wasnât a hero. Not yet.
***
The tower was supposed to be empty. General Rasnah and the Mages Guild had combed through their records finding that the building had been abandoned over fifty years ago; when the old alchemist living there passed away. Archmage Ivelm reported that he'd surveyed the tower twenty years previous, before setting up his lab miles further south.
âHaving a tower like that is practically begging for wanna-be-apprentices to come interrupt you. Looking for a teacher and free room.â he'd explained, with obvious disgust at the idea, even spitting on the floor of Sir Selibraâs office.
Sir Rasnah personally led the Temple Paladins and Guild Mages through a gate from Smilnda to Hamerfoss and from there to the ruins of the mysterious tower. Mages and Paladins crawled together over the still-smoking remains, now a mear hill. Trying to break apart the stones that had melted together and find anything that could explain what had happened here. Bodies covered in white cloth lay in lines along the edge of the forest, ten in total, though how many had been trapped in the tower was still unknown.
The Clerics of Lune would identify the bodies, though she wished they could do more than just give names. It would take months, possibly years, to scour the records to determine who these poor souls had been in life. And more years besides to track their movements through the meticulous paperwork kept by the kingdom.
She could practically hear Veon-Zih snickering at her, âSilly Ras, you gave up the battlefield of blood and stone for one of words and paperâŚâ she shook her head, banishing thoughts of the Monk. This work would be just as important. How else would those fighting the physical battles find their enemies without information and resources? And yet⌠She rested her hand on her sword with a sigh, âSome retirementâŚâ
âSir Rasnah,â a female Mage with dark hair and tan skin approached from the tower, âWe found the basementâŚâ she looked over her slumped shoulders back at the pile of melted rock.
âNot as promising a find as we'd hoped?â Rasnah asked, arching her steely eyebrow at the Mage. What had her name been? VeviâŚ
To her credit, the woman straightened her shoulders and answered clearly, âOftentimes, we learn as much from a rejected hypothesis as a failed-to-be-rejected hypothesis.â As Rasnah tried to wrap her mind around what in the hells that meant, the Mage continued, âWe had hoped that the basement level would be relatively unscathed as heat should rise to destroy the upper levels and possibly spare the lowerâŚâ
Those were words the Paladin understood at least, but they implied bad news, âAnd that wasnât the case?â
The Mage sighed, âIt was. The fire behaved as fire always does, barring external influence,â
âMage Vevi, I admire your Guild's desire for specificity, but please, get to the point.â
Vevi blinked then shook herself, saying, âEvidence suggests that the fire started in the basement and that the heat there was far greater than we assumed.â Rasnah arched an eyebrow at the woman again and the Mage threw her hands into the air, âIt looks more like a cavern carved by pure magma. Nothing but melted stones remain in the form of caves we can only guess were originally rooms.â
âDamn,â Rasnah gripped her sword and glared past the Mage toward the tower, âSo we have no way of knowing what they were doing.â The girl still hadnât woken up. What were the chances that she had any information of value? Archmage Ivelm was convinced that she'd been the subject of magical experimentation. Would those who had abused her also give her information?
âWe have one way,â Vevi interrupted Rasnahâs worries, and the Paladin focused on her again. The Mage turned away, motioning to some of her fellows standing near the bodies. An old man with a bent back and shuffling gait split from the group and approached slowly. Rasnah had to resist the urge to walk to him just to speed up the process.
âSir Rasnah, this is Archmage Meshed, our divination master.â Vevi introduced the old man while he was still a few steps away, âThere is a chance we will be able to obtain some information from the tower remains. Though Iâm afraid it might not be as clear and concise as you wish. Divination often creates more questions than answers.â
âI am well acquainted with the frustrations of interpreting symbols and signsâŚâ Rasnah led, unsure of the value in this new idea. Arcane magic didn't get its power from a higher intelligence or any god, it utilized the natural magic and energies running through the world and every object in it, manipulating them with precise words and symbols directed by human will. It was all well over her head.
Meshedâs laugh turned into a dry cough. He cleared his throat, âI think you will find, Mage Vevi, Sir Paladin, that the information I will glean from this place to be far more clear and concise than you are accustomed to. It simply wonât be as complete as you wish.â
With a groan and many popping joints, he sat down on the ground, fishing through his robes and pulling out a small bag. From it, he withdrew a massive tome and a silk cloth that Vevi quickly helped spread on the ground before him. Next came a censor and many jars of herbs and incense, which, after checking his book, he carefully measured before pouring into the censor.
He waved a hand towards the tower without looking up from his work, âStones, please, Vevi. Choose wisely, I donât want to do this all dayâŚâ Despite being a senior Mage, well on her way to Archmage, Vevi rushed off towards the tower herself and eventually returned with two fist-sized stones.
âOne from the upper floors and one from the basement, Meshed,â she explained, handing them to the Divination Master. Meshed pulled a set of brass scales from his small pouch, measuring the stones and muttering to himself as he adjusted the volume of herbs in the censor.
He placed the first stone with the herbs, and his eyes glazed over, âA light if you will.â Vevi performed some complicated motion with her hands, flicking her fingers forward at the end with a muttered word. A spark of flame appeared over the censor, lowering onto the herbs and setting them alight. Smoke billowed in a gray noxious cloud, and Rasnah covered her nose as Meshed began to chant.
He ran his hand through the smoke, which wrapped around his fingers, and continued skyward. âNo divine magic was cast hereâŚâ he mumbled, moving his hand again. The smoke shifted above his fingers as they passed, creating images of people in robes leaning over books, âArcane magicâŚâ Obviously. Still, for some reason, his brow furrowed. He passed his hand through again, and the smoke turned nearly black. Before Rasnah could make out any shapes Meshed pulled his hand away and shook it violently before rubbing it on his robe, âWarlocks, Sir Paladin.â
âDamn.â Rasnah smothered more colorful curses and managed a half step closer, âWhat were they doing, Archmage?â
He didnât answer. Instead, he chanted a new spell, and his hand glowed with a soft red light. Reaching into the censor, he plucked out the stone and replaced it with the second. The smoke again turned gray and rose lazily into the air. Once again, he passed his hand through the flowing tendrils, and once again, they turned black. He shook his head, âObviously⌠damnation⌠what to ask⌠what to askâŚâ He seemed to settle on something, muttering, âThe fire, tell me about the fireâŚâ he ran his fingers through the smoke. Flames leaped from the censor, the smoke turning red and billowing out before them.
Rasnah stepped back as great smoke wings spread wide, illuminated from below by flames. A horned head atop a sinuous neck stretched for the heavens and Meshed scrambled to his feet. Vevi kicked the censor over, spreading burning debris across the silk to smolder, releasing tiny lines of, blessedly, normal smoke.
âWhat was that? A wyvern?â Rasnah asked, her heart in her throat.
Meshed coughed his dry cough and shook his head. Vevi stared at the upturned censor with wide eyes. âMuch worse, Sir Rasnah,â the Mage whispered, âA dragon.â
âIt was dragon fire that destroyed this tower,â Meshed confirmed.
***
--- Part 2/2 ---
--- Table of Contents ---
Thanks for making it this far, you are the real MVP
2023.06.04 21:50 That-Contribution398 Bo Bissett, who is not someone's son, the degree of perfection of batting increases
In 2019, the Toronto Blue Jays had a 'blood trio' scramble. They were Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Kevan Vizio and Bo Bisset. The three players had a father who made a mark in the league.
먚íę˛ěŚ, 먚íę˛ěŚěŹě´í¸, 먚íě ęł , 먚íěŹě´í¸, 먚íëł´ěŚ, 먚íę˛ěŚě
The most obscured of the three was Bisset. Guerrero Jr., who has been a celebrity since childhood, was spotlighted as a top prospect even during his minor league days. Biggio had the halo of his father, Craig Biggio, who was inducted into the Hall of Fame.
https://preview.redd.it/d1snitzq224b1.png?width=512&format=png&auto=webp&s=88abb93744d809af1ac7d0f3cfba621ac797ece3
Bisset had a sense of distance compared to the two. His father, Dante Bisset, was the 1995 home run champion, but the other two fathers had stellar careers. Accordingly, Bisset did not receive relatively great attention even though he was rated higher than Vizio during his time as a prospect.
His debut was also the most late. Guerrero Jr. made his debut on April 27, 2019 and Vizio on May 25 of the same year. However, Bisset made his debut on July 30 after the first half after suffering a fractured left hand at the end of April. After his debut, he wielded a batting average of 0.311 and 11 homers in 46 games, but was excluded from the Rookie of the Year vote due to a lack of sample (Vizio 5th, Guerrero Junior 6th).
The 2020 Major League Baseball season was shortened to 60 games. Power sprint was necessary from the beginning. However, Bisset suffered a series of hamstring and knee injuries and fell (0.301 batting average in 29 games). As a result, following 2019, the evaluation of Bissett was postponed to the next in 2020.
In 2021, Biset finally revealed its true value. He appeared in 159 games and hit 191 hits, the most in the league (batting average of 0.298 and 29 home runs). This was a new record for Toronto in an under-23 season.
Toronto record for most hits by a 23-year-old
191 - Beau Bisset (2021)
188 - Roberto Alomar (1991)
188 - Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (2021)
That year, Bisset turned into one of the best hitters in the league. However, as Guerrero Jr. rose to become a player competing for MVP, he could not escape the shadow once again. People always looked at Guerrero Jr. before seeing Bisset. Salieri, who had never surpassed Mozart in his life, came to mind.
ⲠBisset (left) and Guerrero Jr.
ⲠBisset (left) and Guerrero Jr.
It was last year that the tide began to turn. While Guerrero Jr. did not win any offensive titles, Bisset led the league in hits for the second consecutive year (189 hits). Since September, he has racked up 54 hits and ranked first overall with a monthly batting average of 0.406 (Aaron Judge .380, second with 100 or more at bats). Bisset was the first Toronto player to win the most hits in the league for two consecutive years.
Doubts about Bisset disappeared. Bisset's hitting is at the highest level in the league. It was the same with Bisset. He was confident that his hitting would work in the major leagues as well. "To be honest, last year I realized I was a really good hitter," Bisset said in an interview looking back on last season.
Bisset's confidence is showing through his performance this year. Bisset has recorded 83 hits as of yesterday, ranking first in the most hits in the major leagues. In his last two seasons, he was trailed by Trey Turner (195 hits) in 2021 and Freddie Freeman (199 hits) in 2022, the most hits in the National League. Not only that, but Bisset is running at the top of the league with a batting average of .335. His home run pace is also very good at 12.
Bisset has evolved. He made up for his weaknesses and strengthened his strengths, taking off as a higher hitter. This year, Bisset lowered his miss rate from 23% last year to 18.8%. By coping with sweepers and curveballs that had a high miss rate last year, the number of missed swings decreased and the number of balls hit increased. If he had hit the bat blindly before, he is now throwing the bat at the ball he can hit.
Sweeper & Curve swing rate change
2022 [Sweeper] 40.0% [Curve] 34.7%
2023 [Sweeper] 25.0% [Curve] 15.0%
Bisset always seemed dangerous in his excessive aggression. His rush to hit every ball could get serious when his hitting slump came. But this year, he has become more cautious at bat. The percentage of swings at the first pitch rose from 47.1% last year to 38.2% this year.
In fact, Bisset had a very good batting average of 0.379 for the first pitch last year. His first pitch batting average was second only to Corey Seager's 137 at bats (125), much higher than Seager's first pitch batting average of 0.256. However, everyone now knew that Bisset liked the first ball. When a pitcher could have used this tendency to reverse, Bisset blocked this tactic beforehand. This was because he had the freedom to hit well even if he missed the first pitch. In fact, Bisset's batting average was 0.296 last year when he passed the first pitch, but this year he raised this score to 0.338.
This year, Bisset has few walks. Picking out the ball is not the job of getting a walk. He's just sorting out the ball he's trying to hit. This year, the walk rate per at-bat is around 5%, but no one is worried about Bisset's low walks anymore. While filtering out bad balls, the strikeout rate per at-bat dropped from 22.2% last year to 14.5% this year as a positive. The fact that the strikeout rate was rather low even after reducing the swing of the first ball shows how excellent Bisset's contact ability is.
This year, Bisset does not leg kick after two strikes. He plans to focus on accuracy over power. As a result, Bisset's two-strike batting average was 0.168 last year, but it improved to .244 this year. These big and small changes made Bisset a more complete hitter.
Bisset didn't change all that. He still picks 'prepared', 'aggressive' and 'fearless' as the three words that best describe his hitting. He found a way to maximize his individuality while maintaining his own identity.
Bisset had to stand on the comparison line from the start because of a similar background. At the beginning of his debut, he said that he was conscious of special circumstances. But now he is relieved of all burdens. He knows that Guerrero Jr. and Vizio are not rivals to be overcome, but colleagues to go together. And Bisset, who became one of the best hitters in the league, has grown into a leader who should lead his teammates in front of him.
submitted by That-Contribution398 to gobetgobet [link] [comments]
In 2019, the Toronto Blue Jays had a 'blood trio' scramble. They were Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Kevan Vizio and Bo Bisset. The three players had a father who made a mark in the league.
먚íę˛ěŚ, 먚íę˛ěŚěŹě´í¸, 먚íě ęł , 먚íěŹě´í¸, 먚íëł´ěŚ, 먚íę˛ěŚě
The most obscured of the three was Bisset. Guerrero Jr., who has been a celebrity since childhood, was spotlighted as a top prospect even during his minor league days. Biggio had the halo of his father, Craig Biggio, who was inducted into the Hall of Fame.
https://preview.redd.it/d1snitzq224b1.png?width=512&format=png&auto=webp&s=88abb93744d809af1ac7d0f3cfba621ac797ece3
Bisset had a sense of distance compared to the two. His father, Dante Bisset, was the 1995 home run champion, but the other two fathers had stellar careers. Accordingly, Bisset did not receive relatively great attention even though he was rated higher than Vizio during his time as a prospect.
His debut was also the most late. Guerrero Jr. made his debut on April 27, 2019 and Vizio on May 25 of the same year. However, Bisset made his debut on July 30 after the first half after suffering a fractured left hand at the end of April. After his debut, he wielded a batting average of 0.311 and 11 homers in 46 games, but was excluded from the Rookie of the Year vote due to a lack of sample (Vizio 5th, Guerrero Junior 6th).
The 2020 Major League Baseball season was shortened to 60 games. Power sprint was necessary from the beginning. However, Bisset suffered a series of hamstring and knee injuries and fell (0.301 batting average in 29 games). As a result, following 2019, the evaluation of Bissett was postponed to the next in 2020.
In 2021, Biset finally revealed its true value. He appeared in 159 games and hit 191 hits, the most in the league (batting average of 0.298 and 29 home runs). This was a new record for Toronto in an under-23 season.
Toronto record for most hits by a 23-year-old
191 - Beau Bisset (2021)
188 - Roberto Alomar (1991)
188 - Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (2021)
That year, Bisset turned into one of the best hitters in the league. However, as Guerrero Jr. rose to become a player competing for MVP, he could not escape the shadow once again. People always looked at Guerrero Jr. before seeing Bisset. Salieri, who had never surpassed Mozart in his life, came to mind.
ⲠBisset (left) and Guerrero Jr.
ⲠBisset (left) and Guerrero Jr.
It was last year that the tide began to turn. While Guerrero Jr. did not win any offensive titles, Bisset led the league in hits for the second consecutive year (189 hits). Since September, he has racked up 54 hits and ranked first overall with a monthly batting average of 0.406 (Aaron Judge .380, second with 100 or more at bats). Bisset was the first Toronto player to win the most hits in the league for two consecutive years.
Doubts about Bisset disappeared. Bisset's hitting is at the highest level in the league. It was the same with Bisset. He was confident that his hitting would work in the major leagues as well. "To be honest, last year I realized I was a really good hitter," Bisset said in an interview looking back on last season.
Bisset's confidence is showing through his performance this year. Bisset has recorded 83 hits as of yesterday, ranking first in the most hits in the major leagues. In his last two seasons, he was trailed by Trey Turner (195 hits) in 2021 and Freddie Freeman (199 hits) in 2022, the most hits in the National League. Not only that, but Bisset is running at the top of the league with a batting average of .335. His home run pace is also very good at 12.
Bisset has evolved. He made up for his weaknesses and strengthened his strengths, taking off as a higher hitter. This year, Bisset lowered his miss rate from 23% last year to 18.8%. By coping with sweepers and curveballs that had a high miss rate last year, the number of missed swings decreased and the number of balls hit increased. If he had hit the bat blindly before, he is now throwing the bat at the ball he can hit.
Sweeper & Curve swing rate change
2022 [Sweeper] 40.0% [Curve] 34.7%
2023 [Sweeper] 25.0% [Curve] 15.0%
Bisset always seemed dangerous in his excessive aggression. His rush to hit every ball could get serious when his hitting slump came. But this year, he has become more cautious at bat. The percentage of swings at the first pitch rose from 47.1% last year to 38.2% this year.
In fact, Bisset had a very good batting average of 0.379 for the first pitch last year. His first pitch batting average was second only to Corey Seager's 137 at bats (125), much higher than Seager's first pitch batting average of 0.256. However, everyone now knew that Bisset liked the first ball. When a pitcher could have used this tendency to reverse, Bisset blocked this tactic beforehand. This was because he had the freedom to hit well even if he missed the first pitch. In fact, Bisset's batting average was 0.296 last year when he passed the first pitch, but this year he raised this score to 0.338.
This year, Bisset has few walks. Picking out the ball is not the job of getting a walk. He's just sorting out the ball he's trying to hit. This year, the walk rate per at-bat is around 5%, but no one is worried about Bisset's low walks anymore. While filtering out bad balls, the strikeout rate per at-bat dropped from 22.2% last year to 14.5% this year as a positive. The fact that the strikeout rate was rather low even after reducing the swing of the first ball shows how excellent Bisset's contact ability is.
This year, Bisset does not leg kick after two strikes. He plans to focus on accuracy over power. As a result, Bisset's two-strike batting average was 0.168 last year, but it improved to .244 this year. These big and small changes made Bisset a more complete hitter.
Bisset didn't change all that. He still picks 'prepared', 'aggressive' and 'fearless' as the three words that best describe his hitting. He found a way to maximize his individuality while maintaining his own identity.
Bisset had to stand on the comparison line from the start because of a similar background. At the beginning of his debut, he said that he was conscious of special circumstances. But now he is relieved of all burdens. He knows that Guerrero Jr. and Vizio are not rivals to be overcome, but colleagues to go together. And Bisset, who became one of the best hitters in the league, has grown into a leader who should lead his teammates in front of him.
2023.06.04 21:43 SabbyOfSableWine An alien who doesn't sleep learns what "dreams" are--or more specifically, she learns about nightmares when her human mate wakes up screaming
This is part of my little series about the adventures of Vr'ocria and Human Aldrick. If you'd like to read previous parts, they're linked below, along with brief summaries in case you prefer to just jump right into the new part:
Part One: Alien learns what "sleep" is and how humans prefer to do it in a comfy bed with blankets and pillows. And they find it utterly adorable.
Vr'ocria and Human Aldrick are sent on a survey mission together. Things go south, Aldrick makes sure they're safe, and then Vr'ocria learns what human sleep is and how vulnerable humans are when they sleep. Vr'ocria's people don't sleep, but enter stasis, a form of rest in which they typically stand, and they are still slightly aware of their surroundings. Vr'ocria finds human sleep utterly adorable, and also decides she will protect Aldrick while he sleeps. And she also develops a massive crush on him. (Her scales turning purple is her version of blushing)
Part Two: An alien + human adventure with such shenanigans as poison drinking, befriending dangerous wildlife, and fighting a space pirate. Oh, and they have a huge crush on each other.
Part Three: When a cold-blooded alien has to cuddle a warm-blooded human for warmth
Part Four: A human leaves a hickey on his alien lover. Her nestmate doesn't understand what a hickey is, and thinks the human injured her
Vr'ocria and Human Aldrick end up assigned to be partners. Vr'ocria is a witness to both human shenanigans as well as human durability, but she also begins to learn about the limits of the human body--they are not invincible.
She and Aldrick begin to fall in love, and they finally confess their feelings for one another when Vr'ocria admits to accidentally forming a mate bond with him. Vr'ocria's nestmate, Galek, is not very happy about her being involved with a human, but begrudgingly respects her decision.
Part Five: Space pirates make the grave mistake of attacking a human's loved one. They very quickly learn what happens when a human is angry and full of adrenaline
Pirates come for Vr'ocria in revenge for her killing one of their own. Aldrick goes beast mode. 'Nuff said.
Now for the new story! If you're just here for the nightmare sequence, it's about two thirds down.
(Some of y'all are already picking up what I put down taps nose...)
"'Bumps and bruises' he says," Vr'ocria muttered. "Bumps and bruises!" She crossed her arms. "Bumps and bruises don't bleed, Aldrick."
They were back on the ship, in the med bay. Aldrick was lying on an examination table, naked except for a blanket pulled up to his hips. He was sedated, so he couldn't hear her anyway, but that didn't stop her from grouching.
As soon as they'd boarded the shop, Aldrick began fading fast. He was suddenly slumped and stumbling, eyes tight with pain, and they had to be beamed directly to the med bay. He'd been covered in so much pirate blood that the blood of his own injuries had gotten lost in the mess. Once the med team got to work cleaning him up, all of the cuts, claw marks, and stab wounds began appearing, and as soon as the orderlies let her, Vr'ocria was rushing back to his side. By now, most of his wounds had been closed up, but she still vividly remembered the bloody, black and blue skin that emerged when they peeled his shirt off.
Dr. Fen continued fussing over Aldrick. She was Lymeran, a species similar to humans, made distinctive by their flat noses and bone ridges that curved around the outer corner of their eyes. She swept her dark ponytail over her shoulder as she reached for a new tool. "He also has several hairline fractures in both arms and three cracked ribs," she reported briskly. "Honestly, these humans are going to be the death of me."
Vr'ocria's spine tightened with worry, her scales flushing red. "How could he go so long without collapsing?" She asked.
"Adrenaline," Dr. Fen explained. "It's a hormone that releases into a human's bloodstream during times of great stress. It makes them faster, stronger, more alert." She placed a small and round boneknit device on one of Aldrick's affected ribs. "But it also makes them immune to pain for a short time. That helps them keep going in a life or death situation, but pain exists for a reason. It alerts the body to injuries, it tells you when something is wrong and where. When you don't feel pain, you don't know when you're hurt, and you don't know when to stop if you're pushing yourself beyond your body's physical limits."
"Moons above," Vr'ocria murmured. She moved closer to the table, reaching out to stroke Aldrick's hair. Under sedation, his face was relaxed and free of lines, and she tried to take some comfort in that. "Will he be alright?"
"Oh, he'll be fine," Dr. Fen chuckled. "I'm good at my job, and humans are sturdy. He just needs to follow my orders for bed rest, so don't let him be an idiot and go running off."
That drew a smile from Vr'ocria.
As Dr. Fen continued bustling around Aldrick, she shot a sideways glance at Vr'ocria, a mischievous look in her eye. "So it's true that you guys are likeâŚa thing? I noticed your scales have pink tips."
Vr'ocria blushed purple.
"Ha!" Dr. Fen smirked. "I knew it!"
"Shut up," Vr'ocria muttered.
"What? It's cute! And totally obvious. The whole ship knows at this point."
"The whole ship?"
Dr. Fen laughed. "Oh come on, it's not like you two are any good at hiding it. Anyone who knows anything about Ethyrian physiology knows what pink scales meanâfull pink means you're experiencing strong feelings of love, right? And even when you're not particularly emotional, your neutral green with pink tips indicates you're within proximity of your mate. And the way he looks at youâ"
Vr'ocria blushed harder and covered her face. "Oh planets, why are so many people invested in our relationship?"
Dr. Fen shrugged. "Well, historically, Ethyrians don't tend to mate outside of their species. It's not every day you see one mate another species, much less a human."
Vr'ocria couldn't help smiling. "Well, it's his fault for being so cute."
"He sure is," Dr. Fen winked.
"Hey," Vr'ocria jabbed a finger at her, "professionalism."
Dr. Fen raised her hands. "I'm very professional! I also have eyes and can acknowledge that you're a lucky girl, and I hope the two of you will be very happy together."
Vr'ocria kept stroking Aldrick's hair, her scales easing into a strong pink. "Me too."
â
By the next day, Dr. Fen had skillfully mended both skin and bone. She discharged Aldrick and let him return to his living quarters, with the caveat that he rest for at least a week.
He and Vr'ocria walked through the corridors arm in arm as she escorted him back to his quarters. They weren't even pretending anymore, and they drew plenty of stares and whispers as they passed by crew members milling about. There weren't many humans onboard to begin with, so Aldrick already stood out. Walking arm in arm with an Ethyrian must've looked even more bizarre.
Despite all the attention, Vr'ocria decided that she wouldn't be embarrassed anymore. She pulled Aldrick a little closer and held her head high as they passed a group of giggling ensigns. My human. My mate.
Aldrick's quarters, like hers, were small but comfortable. The door opened into the living space. Aldrick had decorated it with various Earth flowers and plants that sat in pots scattered about the room, some hanging from the ceiling. The lush greens, pinks, reds, purples, and yellows, made the place feel warm and inviting. The back wall was almost entirely windows with a plush couch pushed underneath them, so that one could recline and watch the stars fly by.
Vr'ocria ushered Aldrick straight into the bedroom, which was similar to the living area, just smaller and furnished with a bed, a nightstand, and a small armchair. "You're going to bed," she ordered.
"Aw, come on," he whined as she shoved him onto the mattress, bending down to pull his boots off.
"Doctor's orders." She put his boots aside and stood, placing her hands on his shoulders to push him down onto the pillow.
"I'm not tired!"
"Liar." She could see the bags under his eyes that she'd come to learn was a sign of exhaustion, and despite his protests, he didn't try to fight her off as she settled him in and pulled the blankets up to his chin.
He couldn't help chuckling. "I haven't been tucked into bed since I was a kid."
She sat on the edge of the bed with a smile. "Well, that's what I'm here for."
He rolled over onto his side and took her hand, placing a kiss on her knuckles. She squeezed back, and then made to stand to turn the lights off.
"Wait."
She turned back. Aldrick had pushed himself back into a sitting position. "Something's been bothering me."
She frowned. "What is it?"
"How did the Norvidians know you were the one who killed that guy?"
She blinked. "What?"
Aldrick twisted the sheets in his hands. "How did they know it was you? They knew exactly who you were and where to find you. The only people who knew what happened on Theta-7 is our superiors and people in our department."
Vr'ocria sank back down onto the bed. "What are you getting at?" She thought she knew the answer, but she didn't want to say it out loud.
Aldrick met her eye. "What if someone sold you out?"
Her spine grew tight, yellow rippling across her scales. "...No," she whispered. "No, that can'tâŚwho would do that?"
He chewed his lip. "I don't know. I hope I'm wrong, I really doâŚbutâŚ" he blew out a frustrated sigh. "I could blame a leak for them knowing you were the one to kill the guy. Someone could've carelessly mentioned something somewhere, I don't know. But there's no way they would've known exactly where to find you unless they were told. That was a brand new mission, no one knew where we were except for Command."
Vr'ocria felt sick. She didn't want to think he was rightâŚbut it made too much sense. "What do we do?"
"I don't know," he said with a pained look. "There's no telling who it could be, and if it's one of our superiors, we'd only tip them off if we approached them with this."
It was a conundrum Vr'ocria could hardly believe was real. Sure, she and Aldrick had some basic combat training, but soldiers they were not. They were survey agents, their job was to explore and study, not fight. And she certainly wasn't supposed be the subject of conspiracies and espionage or whatever was happening here.
She closed her eyes and shook her head. "Let's worry about this later. You need to get some rest."
Aldrick reluctantly laid back down, but blushed when she bent down to press a kiss to his cheek. It was the first time she'd kissed him since Gamma-5. "I could get used to that," he murmured as he snuggled into the pillow.
"You should," Vr'ocria giggled as she rose to her feet. "I'm not going to stop anytime soon." She switched the lights off, then returned to settle into the chair next to the bed, pulling her file pad out of her pocket. The screen's soft glow was the only light in the room. "Now, go to sleep."
"Yes ma'am."
â
Vr'ocria worked quietly on her file pad for the next few hours. Data entry was tedious, but somehow, she found a comfort in doing it while listening to Aldrick's slow, deep breaths.
So she was quick to notice when his breathing pattern changed.
Aldrick groaned and shifted in his sleep, rolling over onto his back. His breath began to quicken, and Vr'ocria lowered her pad to look over at him. By the low light of the pad's screen, she could only see the silhouette of his chest rising and falling, faster and faster.
"Aldrick?" She whispered.
"Nuuh," he moaned, beginning to thrash.
Alarmed, Vr'ocria stood and flicked his nightstand lamp on, dropping the pad on the table. "Aldrick," she said a bit louder.
His eyes were still squeezed shut. He was tossing and turning now, gasping through parted lips. He cried out again, and Vr'ocria felt her blood rushing fast and hard through her veins, her scales rippling between red and yellow. What was going on? Was he still asleep? She'd never seen him like this before, and it frightened her.
Tears were beginning to seep out from under his tightly shut eyelids. "NoâŚnoâŚ" His voice rose in volume as he clutched and clawed at the sheets. "Vr'ocria!"
Whatever held Vr'ocria frozen to the spot snapped the second she heard him scream her name like that. She bent forward and grabbed his shoulders, shaking him. "Aldrick!" She cried desperately. "Wake up!"
"VR'OCRIA!"
"ALDRICK!"
With a strangled cry, his eyes snapped open. His pupils were blown wide and the whites were bloodshot as he stared at her in shock, still gasping for breath, his hands grasping her arms in an iron grip.
She took his face in her hands. "What's wrong? What's going on?"
He only continued to stare at her, the fog slowly clearing from his eyes.
"Say something!" Vr'ocria demanded, resisting the urge to shake him again. "You're scaring me, what's the matter? Does something hurt?"
Aldrick surged up, throwing his arms around her neck and pulling her down to him. She fell forward with an "oof" as her weight landed on top of him. "Hey," she protested with the side of her face pressed into the pillow, "I can't be laying on you, your ribsâ"
"You're alive," he rasped into her ear.
She stopped struggling to get up. "What?"
He was shaking, and it took her a moment to realize he was crying. "You were dead, they killed youâI watched themâGod, I watched you dieâyou weren't moving, your eyesâ"
He was babbling almost incoherently, and Vr'ocria was terrified.
She finally managed to push herself off of him, and tugged him up into a sitting position. She pulled him forward into a hug, taking care not to squeeze his ribs. "Calm down," she tried to soothe as he clutched her tight, still shaking. "Just breathe." She didn't know if she was even helping, but she didn't know what else to do.
But it seemed to work. After a few minutes, Aldrick managed to slow his breathing down to a more reasonable pace, and she felt his muscles sag in her arms as the tension drained away.
"I'm sorry," he finally croaked. He pulled away and rubbed his eyes with the heels of his hands. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean toâŚ" he struggled to find words. "I'm sorry for making a scene," he finished at last.
Vr'ocria placed one hand on his hip and the other on his knee. "What happened?"
Aldrick wrapped his arms around his middle. "I had a nightmare."
She furrowed her brow. "A nightâŚmare?"
"A nightmare is a bad dream," he explained.
"...I don't understand."
"Sorry, I guess you wouldn't, since you don't sleepâŚuhâŚfuck, how do I explain thisâŚ" he ran a hand through his tangled hair. "When humans are asleep, even though we're unconscious, our subconscious brain is still pretty active. One thing it does is create dreams. During dreams you can see, hear, feel, smell and taste things that aren't there. Sometimes dreams are pure nonsense, just a mess of sounds and images. Sometimes you might have good dreamsâmaybe you fly, or go on crazy adventures. But sometimes, you have bad dreams. We call them nightmares."
Nightmare. What an awful word. It sent shivers over Vr'ocria's scales. "So just now, youâŚ"
"I had a bad dream. A very, very bad dream." He dug his fingers into his temples. "When you're dreaming, in most cases, you don't know that you're dreaming. It feels completely real. And bad dreams are usually brought on by stress or fears you have. And my fearâ" he broke off.
She squeezed his knee. "It's me dying?" She supplied quietly.
He shut his eyes as if he was in pain. "When I saw what those fucking pirates did to youâI've never felt so much fear in my life. I was so scared they would kill you before I got there, or that I would fail to save you, orâ" he covered his face with his hands. "And I dreamed that I did fail. I watched him stab you. I watched you bleed. I held you and you wereâyour eyes were so blankâ"
Vr'ocria didn't want to hear anymore. She yanked him forward, hugging as tight as she dared. "It wasn't real," she whispered. "I'm here. I'm right here."
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry." His arms still trembled and his voice was thick against her neck.
"Stop apologizing," she said firmly. "You have nothing to apologize for. None of it is your fault, not the attack, not the dream, none of it."
She felt him take a shuddering breath and let it out slowly. "Thank you, my love."
Her spine tingled.
"Come on, lay back down. I'll lay with you." She pulled back the covers and crawled underneath next to him. They settled down into a familiar positionâhim clutching her to his chest, her arms around his waist, their legs tangled together. His heart was still pounding, but she listened as it gradually quieted to a gentler pace. Soon enough, Aldrick was asleep. This time, he slept peacefully through the night.
Nightmares can fuck up your whole night, man. I've had nightmares that were so vivid they stuck with me for days afterwards. Shit sucks, and I wish I had someone to cuddle with afterwards lolol
Thank you for reading! Until next time ;)
submitted by SabbyOfSableWine to humansarespaceorcs [link] [comments]
Part One: Alien learns what "sleep" is and how humans prefer to do it in a comfy bed with blankets and pillows. And they find it utterly adorable.
Vr'ocria and Human Aldrick are sent on a survey mission together. Things go south, Aldrick makes sure they're safe, and then Vr'ocria learns what human sleep is and how vulnerable humans are when they sleep. Vr'ocria's people don't sleep, but enter stasis, a form of rest in which they typically stand, and they are still slightly aware of their surroundings. Vr'ocria finds human sleep utterly adorable, and also decides she will protect Aldrick while he sleeps. And she also develops a massive crush on him. (Her scales turning purple is her version of blushing)
Part Two: An alien + human adventure with such shenanigans as poison drinking, befriending dangerous wildlife, and fighting a space pirate. Oh, and they have a huge crush on each other.
Part Three: When a cold-blooded alien has to cuddle a warm-blooded human for warmth
Part Four: A human leaves a hickey on his alien lover. Her nestmate doesn't understand what a hickey is, and thinks the human injured her
Vr'ocria and Human Aldrick end up assigned to be partners. Vr'ocria is a witness to both human shenanigans as well as human durability, but she also begins to learn about the limits of the human body--they are not invincible.
She and Aldrick begin to fall in love, and they finally confess their feelings for one another when Vr'ocria admits to accidentally forming a mate bond with him. Vr'ocria's nestmate, Galek, is not very happy about her being involved with a human, but begrudgingly respects her decision.
Part Five: Space pirates make the grave mistake of attacking a human's loved one. They very quickly learn what happens when a human is angry and full of adrenaline
Pirates come for Vr'ocria in revenge for her killing one of their own. Aldrick goes beast mode. 'Nuff said.
Now for the new story! If you're just here for the nightmare sequence, it's about two thirds down.
(Some of y'all are already picking up what I put down taps nose...)
They were back on the ship, in the med bay. Aldrick was lying on an examination table, naked except for a blanket pulled up to his hips. He was sedated, so he couldn't hear her anyway, but that didn't stop her from grouching.
As soon as they'd boarded the shop, Aldrick began fading fast. He was suddenly slumped and stumbling, eyes tight with pain, and they had to be beamed directly to the med bay. He'd been covered in so much pirate blood that the blood of his own injuries had gotten lost in the mess. Once the med team got to work cleaning him up, all of the cuts, claw marks, and stab wounds began appearing, and as soon as the orderlies let her, Vr'ocria was rushing back to his side. By now, most of his wounds had been closed up, but she still vividly remembered the bloody, black and blue skin that emerged when they peeled his shirt off.
Dr. Fen continued fussing over Aldrick. She was Lymeran, a species similar to humans, made distinctive by their flat noses and bone ridges that curved around the outer corner of their eyes. She swept her dark ponytail over her shoulder as she reached for a new tool. "He also has several hairline fractures in both arms and three cracked ribs," she reported briskly. "Honestly, these humans are going to be the death of me."
Vr'ocria's spine tightened with worry, her scales flushing red. "How could he go so long without collapsing?" She asked.
"Adrenaline," Dr. Fen explained. "It's a hormone that releases into a human's bloodstream during times of great stress. It makes them faster, stronger, more alert." She placed a small and round boneknit device on one of Aldrick's affected ribs. "But it also makes them immune to pain for a short time. That helps them keep going in a life or death situation, but pain exists for a reason. It alerts the body to injuries, it tells you when something is wrong and where. When you don't feel pain, you don't know when you're hurt, and you don't know when to stop if you're pushing yourself beyond your body's physical limits."
"Moons above," Vr'ocria murmured. She moved closer to the table, reaching out to stroke Aldrick's hair. Under sedation, his face was relaxed and free of lines, and she tried to take some comfort in that. "Will he be alright?"
"Oh, he'll be fine," Dr. Fen chuckled. "I'm good at my job, and humans are sturdy. He just needs to follow my orders for bed rest, so don't let him be an idiot and go running off."
That drew a smile from Vr'ocria.
As Dr. Fen continued bustling around Aldrick, she shot a sideways glance at Vr'ocria, a mischievous look in her eye. "So it's true that you guys are likeâŚa thing? I noticed your scales have pink tips."
Vr'ocria blushed purple.
"Ha!" Dr. Fen smirked. "I knew it!"
"Shut up," Vr'ocria muttered.
"What? It's cute! And totally obvious. The whole ship knows at this point."
"The whole ship?"
Dr. Fen laughed. "Oh come on, it's not like you two are any good at hiding it. Anyone who knows anything about Ethyrian physiology knows what pink scales meanâfull pink means you're experiencing strong feelings of love, right? And even when you're not particularly emotional, your neutral green with pink tips indicates you're within proximity of your mate. And the way he looks at youâ"
Vr'ocria blushed harder and covered her face. "Oh planets, why are so many people invested in our relationship?"
Dr. Fen shrugged. "Well, historically, Ethyrians don't tend to mate outside of their species. It's not every day you see one mate another species, much less a human."
Vr'ocria couldn't help smiling. "Well, it's his fault for being so cute."
"He sure is," Dr. Fen winked.
"Hey," Vr'ocria jabbed a finger at her, "professionalism."
Dr. Fen raised her hands. "I'm very professional! I also have eyes and can acknowledge that you're a lucky girl, and I hope the two of you will be very happy together."
Vr'ocria kept stroking Aldrick's hair, her scales easing into a strong pink. "Me too."
â
By the next day, Dr. Fen had skillfully mended both skin and bone. She discharged Aldrick and let him return to his living quarters, with the caveat that he rest for at least a week.
He and Vr'ocria walked through the corridors arm in arm as she escorted him back to his quarters. They weren't even pretending anymore, and they drew plenty of stares and whispers as they passed by crew members milling about. There weren't many humans onboard to begin with, so Aldrick already stood out. Walking arm in arm with an Ethyrian must've looked even more bizarre.
Despite all the attention, Vr'ocria decided that she wouldn't be embarrassed anymore. She pulled Aldrick a little closer and held her head high as they passed a group of giggling ensigns. My human. My mate.
Aldrick's quarters, like hers, were small but comfortable. The door opened into the living space. Aldrick had decorated it with various Earth flowers and plants that sat in pots scattered about the room, some hanging from the ceiling. The lush greens, pinks, reds, purples, and yellows, made the place feel warm and inviting. The back wall was almost entirely windows with a plush couch pushed underneath them, so that one could recline and watch the stars fly by.
Vr'ocria ushered Aldrick straight into the bedroom, which was similar to the living area, just smaller and furnished with a bed, a nightstand, and a small armchair. "You're going to bed," she ordered.
"Aw, come on," he whined as she shoved him onto the mattress, bending down to pull his boots off.
"Doctor's orders." She put his boots aside and stood, placing her hands on his shoulders to push him down onto the pillow.
"I'm not tired!"
"Liar." She could see the bags under his eyes that she'd come to learn was a sign of exhaustion, and despite his protests, he didn't try to fight her off as she settled him in and pulled the blankets up to his chin.
He couldn't help chuckling. "I haven't been tucked into bed since I was a kid."
She sat on the edge of the bed with a smile. "Well, that's what I'm here for."
He rolled over onto his side and took her hand, placing a kiss on her knuckles. She squeezed back, and then made to stand to turn the lights off.
"Wait."
She turned back. Aldrick had pushed himself back into a sitting position. "Something's been bothering me."
She frowned. "What is it?"
"How did the Norvidians know you were the one who killed that guy?"
She blinked. "What?"
Aldrick twisted the sheets in his hands. "How did they know it was you? They knew exactly who you were and where to find you. The only people who knew what happened on Theta-7 is our superiors and people in our department."
Vr'ocria sank back down onto the bed. "What are you getting at?" She thought she knew the answer, but she didn't want to say it out loud.
Aldrick met her eye. "What if someone sold you out?"
Her spine grew tight, yellow rippling across her scales. "...No," she whispered. "No, that can'tâŚwho would do that?"
He chewed his lip. "I don't know. I hope I'm wrong, I really doâŚbutâŚ" he blew out a frustrated sigh. "I could blame a leak for them knowing you were the one to kill the guy. Someone could've carelessly mentioned something somewhere, I don't know. But there's no way they would've known exactly where to find you unless they were told. That was a brand new mission, no one knew where we were except for Command."
Vr'ocria felt sick. She didn't want to think he was rightâŚbut it made too much sense. "What do we do?"
"I don't know," he said with a pained look. "There's no telling who it could be, and if it's one of our superiors, we'd only tip them off if we approached them with this."
It was a conundrum Vr'ocria could hardly believe was real. Sure, she and Aldrick had some basic combat training, but soldiers they were not. They were survey agents, their job was to explore and study, not fight. And she certainly wasn't supposed be the subject of conspiracies and espionage or whatever was happening here.
She closed her eyes and shook her head. "Let's worry about this later. You need to get some rest."
Aldrick reluctantly laid back down, but blushed when she bent down to press a kiss to his cheek. It was the first time she'd kissed him since Gamma-5. "I could get used to that," he murmured as he snuggled into the pillow.
"You should," Vr'ocria giggled as she rose to her feet. "I'm not going to stop anytime soon." She switched the lights off, then returned to settle into the chair next to the bed, pulling her file pad out of her pocket. The screen's soft glow was the only light in the room. "Now, go to sleep."
"Yes ma'am."
â
Vr'ocria worked quietly on her file pad for the next few hours. Data entry was tedious, but somehow, she found a comfort in doing it while listening to Aldrick's slow, deep breaths.
So she was quick to notice when his breathing pattern changed.
Aldrick groaned and shifted in his sleep, rolling over onto his back. His breath began to quicken, and Vr'ocria lowered her pad to look over at him. By the low light of the pad's screen, she could only see the silhouette of his chest rising and falling, faster and faster.
"Aldrick?" She whispered.
"Nuuh," he moaned, beginning to thrash.
Alarmed, Vr'ocria stood and flicked his nightstand lamp on, dropping the pad on the table. "Aldrick," she said a bit louder.
His eyes were still squeezed shut. He was tossing and turning now, gasping through parted lips. He cried out again, and Vr'ocria felt her blood rushing fast and hard through her veins, her scales rippling between red and yellow. What was going on? Was he still asleep? She'd never seen him like this before, and it frightened her.
Tears were beginning to seep out from under his tightly shut eyelids. "NoâŚnoâŚ" His voice rose in volume as he clutched and clawed at the sheets. "Vr'ocria!"
Whatever held Vr'ocria frozen to the spot snapped the second she heard him scream her name like that. She bent forward and grabbed his shoulders, shaking him. "Aldrick!" She cried desperately. "Wake up!"
"VR'OCRIA!"
"ALDRICK!"
With a strangled cry, his eyes snapped open. His pupils were blown wide and the whites were bloodshot as he stared at her in shock, still gasping for breath, his hands grasping her arms in an iron grip.
She took his face in her hands. "What's wrong? What's going on?"
He only continued to stare at her, the fog slowly clearing from his eyes.
"Say something!" Vr'ocria demanded, resisting the urge to shake him again. "You're scaring me, what's the matter? Does something hurt?"
Aldrick surged up, throwing his arms around her neck and pulling her down to him. She fell forward with an "oof" as her weight landed on top of him. "Hey," she protested with the side of her face pressed into the pillow, "I can't be laying on you, your ribsâ"
"You're alive," he rasped into her ear.
She stopped struggling to get up. "What?"
He was shaking, and it took her a moment to realize he was crying. "You were dead, they killed youâI watched themâGod, I watched you dieâyou weren't moving, your eyesâ"
He was babbling almost incoherently, and Vr'ocria was terrified.
She finally managed to push herself off of him, and tugged him up into a sitting position. She pulled him forward into a hug, taking care not to squeeze his ribs. "Calm down," she tried to soothe as he clutched her tight, still shaking. "Just breathe." She didn't know if she was even helping, but she didn't know what else to do.
But it seemed to work. After a few minutes, Aldrick managed to slow his breathing down to a more reasonable pace, and she felt his muscles sag in her arms as the tension drained away.
"I'm sorry," he finally croaked. He pulled away and rubbed his eyes with the heels of his hands. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean toâŚ" he struggled to find words. "I'm sorry for making a scene," he finished at last.
Vr'ocria placed one hand on his hip and the other on his knee. "What happened?"
Aldrick wrapped his arms around his middle. "I had a nightmare."
She furrowed her brow. "A nightâŚmare?"
"A nightmare is a bad dream," he explained.
"...I don't understand."
"Sorry, I guess you wouldn't, since you don't sleepâŚuhâŚfuck, how do I explain thisâŚ" he ran a hand through his tangled hair. "When humans are asleep, even though we're unconscious, our subconscious brain is still pretty active. One thing it does is create dreams. During dreams you can see, hear, feel, smell and taste things that aren't there. Sometimes dreams are pure nonsense, just a mess of sounds and images. Sometimes you might have good dreamsâmaybe you fly, or go on crazy adventures. But sometimes, you have bad dreams. We call them nightmares."
Nightmare. What an awful word. It sent shivers over Vr'ocria's scales. "So just now, youâŚ"
"I had a bad dream. A very, very bad dream." He dug his fingers into his temples. "When you're dreaming, in most cases, you don't know that you're dreaming. It feels completely real. And bad dreams are usually brought on by stress or fears you have. And my fearâ" he broke off.
She squeezed his knee. "It's me dying?" She supplied quietly.
He shut his eyes as if he was in pain. "When I saw what those fucking pirates did to youâI've never felt so much fear in my life. I was so scared they would kill you before I got there, or that I would fail to save you, orâ" he covered his face with his hands. "And I dreamed that I did fail. I watched him stab you. I watched you bleed. I held you and you wereâyour eyes were so blankâ"
Vr'ocria didn't want to hear anymore. She yanked him forward, hugging as tight as she dared. "It wasn't real," she whispered. "I'm here. I'm right here."
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry." His arms still trembled and his voice was thick against her neck.
"Stop apologizing," she said firmly. "You have nothing to apologize for. None of it is your fault, not the attack, not the dream, none of it."
She felt him take a shuddering breath and let it out slowly. "Thank you, my love."
Her spine tingled.
"Come on, lay back down. I'll lay with you." She pulled back the covers and crawled underneath next to him. They settled down into a familiar positionâhim clutching her to his chest, her arms around his waist, their legs tangled together. His heart was still pounding, but she listened as it gradually quieted to a gentler pace. Soon enough, Aldrick was asleep. This time, he slept peacefully through the night.
Nightmares can fuck up your whole night, man. I've had nightmares that were so vivid they stuck with me for days afterwards. Shit sucks, and I wish I had someone to cuddle with afterwards lolol
Thank you for reading! Until next time ;)
2023.06.04 21:14 StrivingJarl Metallix Uprising - Unseen Adventures (Part 2)
AO3 Link
Sonic Triple Trouble (Iâm mainly using the fan-made 16-bit remakeâs story here. If you havenât played it yet, just ignore this section. Itâs better to play the game for yourself, because itâs awesome):
Having seen the true power of the 7 Chaos Emeralds, along with the Master Emerald, Robotnik decides to make a new type of fake emerald after finding the yellow emerald. Along with that, he hires a treasure hunter named Fang The Sniper to search for the other 6 Chaos Emeralds, and heâs finally finished recreating his greatest creation from Little Planet: Metal Sonic 2.0.
However, Metal 2.0 isnât the same as Metal 1.0. This one doesnât speak, and while very close in speed, intelligence, and power to the original, itâs still not perfectly accurate. But this model does have a new ability: It can obtain bio-data from other lifeforms on itâs own, and replicate their appearances and abilities.
Regardless, Metal Sonic 2.0 is sent to Angel Island to acquire the Master Emeraldâs power, and Knucklesâ bio-data. And while the robotic hedgehog catches the Echidna by surprise and puts up a good fight, itâs unable to secure the massive gemstone, but does gain some of itâs power, along with the guardianâs bio-data, before taking itâs leave.
Understanding Robotnikâs up to something again, Knuckles decides to use the Master Emerald to pinpoint the location of the Chaos Emeralds. And while hesitant to leave his home unguarded, the Echidna decides he has to go find the gemstones, and make sure the doctor doesnât try anything.
As for Sonic and Tails, theyâre just doing some machine tests, only to notice the jewel radar go off, and show that someone is gathering the Chaos Emeralds. While they arenât sure if itâs Robotnik or not, the two decide to check it out in case itâs something bad, and head off to find the doctor up to his old tricks as expected.
In addition, they also come to clash with Fang, who is pretty sneaky and tries to outsmart the heroes, but often falls short, and ends up running away for the most part. And Sonic and Tails face Metal Sonic 2.0, disguised as Knuckles, which greatly confuses them, considering how things ended with the Echidna before.
Speaking of Knuckles, heâs mainly off doing his own thing, but does encounter the three villains many times, and is able to get his hands on a few Chaos Emeralds. Same with Sonic, Tails, and Fang. Robotnik also manages to create a much better replication of a Chaos Emerald, which he dubs a Dark Emerald.
Eventually, Sonic and Tails find out the Knuckles they were fighting the whole time was Metal Sonic 2.0, and everyone involved in this emerald hunt come together at Robotnikâs Atomic Destroyer base. The heroes defeat the robotic hedgehog, Fang is unable to stop them, and Robotnik ends up retreating, while losing his Dark Emerald.
However, this is when Metal Sonic 2.0 decides to take matters into itâs own hands, and uses the 7 Chaos Emeralds to make 7 more Dark Emeralds, in addition to the one Robotnik has, creating 8 total. And with them, it transforms into Rocket Metal Sonic 2.0, who is more than ready to take out everyone.
But luckily, Sonic is able to use the Chaos Emeralds to transform into Super Sonic again, and take on his robotic faker in space. Itâs a tough fight, but the organic hedgehog is able to win, and everyone escapes the Atomic Destroyer base, which explodes. So, with the Chaos Emeralds scattered again, everyone goes their separate waysâŚ
Sonic The Hedgehog 3 & Knuckles (Knuckles):
While relaxing at Angel Island one day, Knuckles is caught off-guard by one of Robotnikâs Egg Robo Badniks, which wasnât destroyed by Sonic and Tails previously. This machine wants to finish what itâs creator started by taking the Master Emerald itself, along with the remaining Badniks and machines left on the island.
Naturally, Knuckles chases after the Egg Robo throughout Angel Islandâs many regions, smashing Robotnikâs machines throughout, and collecting the Chaos Emeralds from the Special Zone. Eventually, the two head to Sky Sanctuary, where itâs revealed that Mecha Sonic is still functioning, and was the one behind this plan all along.
So, with the Master Emerald in itâs possession, the mechanical hedgehog not only destroys the Egg Robo, but also uses the massive gemstoneâs power to transform into itâs own Super state after studying Super Sonic. Likewise, Knuckles chooses to fight fire with fire, and uses the Chaos Emeralds to transform into Super Knuckles as well.
The fight is tough, as the two are evenly matched at first. However, Mecha Sonic is unable to sustain itâs power for as long as Knuckles can, and eventually gets put down for good. After that, the Echidna returns to normal, tired, and is about to take the Master Emerald back to the Hidden Palace altar. But then, the area of Sky Sanctuary heâs in starts to break apart from the damage of the fight.
Hence, Knuckles falls from the sky while tightly holding onto the Master Emerald. Only to then be rescued by Sonic in the Tornado, complete with a mechanical claw to hold the Master Emerald. He picked up some strong Chaos Emerald energy on Tailsâ jewel radar, and decided to go check it out, leading him to Angel Island again.
Once they get back onto the floating continent, and put the Master Emerald back in the altar to keep it in the air, Knuckles thanks Sonic for the help again, before the latter sets off. So, with everything back to normal, the Echidna returns to his duty of guarding his home and everything on itâŚ
Tailsâ Sky Patrol:
Around the same time as the Egg Roboâs attempt to steal the Master Emerald on Angel Island, Tails decides to go explore the world in search of his own adventure without Sonicâs company. Though, he just flies aimlessly in the sky, not having a destination in mind. But soon enough, he comes across a small island, and decides to land there.
However, the young fox is surprised to find many of the citizens here turned into crystals, or trapped in crystals, along with a bunch of metal railing plastered around the terrain. Tails doesnât believe itâs Robotnikâs work, but before he can ponder who it is, he feels a vibration from the ground, and decides to hide in some nearby bushes.
Peeking out from the bushes, Tails sees just who is responsible for this chaos. Itâs an evil witch in a cart called WendyâŚWitchcart, along with her minions in their respective vehicles. Hocke-Wulf, Bearanger, and Carottia Rabbit. Proclaiming herself as the ruler of this island, the evil witch and her minions head off to do their respective tasks.
Once theyâre gone, Tails gets out of the bushes, and while pretty nervous about fighting these guys on his own, the young fox knows he has to stop them and save this island. So, with a device called the Boomering, and his high intellect, Tails flies through the different regions of the island, helping the residents and defeating Witchcartâs minions.
Soon enough, the young fox reaches the evil witchâs Dark Castle, where the two have their final confrontation. And despite his fears, Tails is able to use his best attributes to his advantage, and defeats Wendy Witchcart, saving the entire island. This leads to the baddies getting locked up in jail, and after spending some time with the grateful locals, the young fox heads off again, happy to have saved the day all by himselfâŚ
Knucklesâ Chaotix:
One day, a strange new island comes out of the sea, which Robotnik discovers and studies. He learns that this continent is covered in small amounts of Chaos Energy, along with the many rings here. In particular, there are 6 colored rings that contain tons of Chaos Energy, which the doctor dubs Chaos Rings, and decides to harness their power for himself.
In a couple of days, Robotnik is able to manufacture dark rings, which have some Chaos Energy, and uses them to power up his Badnik army. In addition, the doctor decided to make a new model in the Metal series based off of Knuckles, after seeing how powerful the Echidna was: Metal Knuckles.
The metallic echidna, while not as fast or intelligent as Metal Sonic 2.0, has much more strength, and can harness Chaos Energy in order to increase it. Overall, this machine is a very useful servant of Robotnik, and the two of them quickly take over much of the isolated island, renaming it the âNewtronic High Zone.â
However, as Robotnik and his army do this, Knuckles is alerted by the Master Emerald about the isolated island, and comes to a conclusion. Due to Angel Island (With the Master Emerald in the altar) making contact with the Earthâs surface beforehand, the energy of the massive gemstone accidentally formed this new continent. Hence, believing this could be a problem, the Echidna heads towards this island in order to stop the doctor.
Once he arrives there, Knuckles comes across a few other people who decided to explore this island for their own reasons, such as Mighty, who doesnât have Ray with him. They also meet Espio The Chameleon, Charmy Bee, and Vector The Crocodile. In addition, two of Robotnikâs machines, Heavy and Bomb, decide to defect from their creator and join the heroes.
So, the 7 of them form the Chaotix Crew, and they go through the five regions of the Newtronic High Zone in order to collect the Chaos Rings, defeat Robotnik, and destroy all of his machines. Knuckles often runs into Metal Knuckles as well, and the two clash many times, sharing a similar rivalry to Sonic and Metal Sonic.
But eventually, the Chaotix are able to free the five regions from Robotnikâs control, and collect all the Chaos Rings. However, the doctor uses a giant dark ring containing tons of Chaos Energy to empower Metal Knuckles, transforming it into a rampaging Titan. Itâs a tough fight for the heroes, but luckily, some last minute help arrives.
Sonic, Tails, and Ray fly over to the isolated island with the Tornado, after hearing about whatâs going on. Then, with the power of the Chaos Rings, the 10 heroes are able to destroy Metal Knuckles, send Robotnik into a full retreat, and save the day. Though, all the chaos-powered rings lose their power, and become standard rings.
Recognizing the good work they did together, Vector decides to start the Chaotix Detective Agency in order to solve more mysteries and problems like this (While also getting some good dough). Espio and Charmy end up joining him, but everyone else declines, before they all go their separate ways.
Team Chaotix go off to find a place to rent out and form their agency. Heavy and Bomb explore the world on their own, wanting to live a life free of Robotnik. And Sonic and Tails use the Tornado to fly Knuckles back to Angel Island, before they, Ray, and Mighty head off as wellâŚ
Sonic The Fighters:
Having built the Death Egg Mk ll, along with fixing up Metal Sonic 2.0, Metal Knuckles, and making a surveillance robot called the Tails Doll in order to keep an eye on Sonic and his friends, Robotnik starts sending out his army of Badniks and machines to take over the world and collect the Chaos Emeralds.
After dealing with Robotnikâs creations, Tails reveals that heâs been working on his own rocket ship to explore space: the Lunar Fox, which has three seats. So, he and Sonic have to find the Chaos Emeralds, recruit a third person to help them out, and then take the fight to the doctor and his metal copies.
First is Knuckles, who initially gets into a bit of a scuffle with Sonic, but Tails calms them both down, as thereâs bigger fish to fry. With 1 Chaos Emerald already in their possession, the three heroes head off to find the other 6, leading them to Amy Rose, and her fashion designer friend, Honey The Cat.
While Robotnikâs robots do attack them, the heroes are able to beat them, and they get another Chaos Emerald. Plus, Amy shows Sonic her improved combat abilities with her Piko-Piko Hammer, which heâs impressed with. Now with 2 emeralds, Team Sonic go find the third one, which Espio is in possession of.
The Chameleon managed to take one from Robotnikâs machines with his ninja skills, and is trying to escape them. Luckily, Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles help him out, and also get more information on the Death Egg Mk ll from Espio, who was hired to gather intelligence on it from a client. Said client being Tails.
Anyways, Team Sonic has three Chaos Emeralds, and are heading after the fourth one, which appears to be in someoneâs possession, and also going for the fifth emerald as well. Once they arrive at their target, the heroic trio come across Fang again, who has some back-up in the form of Bean The Dynamite, and Bark The Polar Bear.
The trio of Hooligans decided to go after a few Chaos Emeralds, hoping to sell them off for a high price. But unfortunately, they end up having to fight against Team Sonic, where they give a good performance, but canât keep up. However, before the three heroes can get the fourth and fifth emeralds, Metal Sonic 2.0 and Metal Knuckles take them, and are unable to stop them due to the loss of stamina from the battle.
Fang is angry at having lost the Chaos Emeralds, and after discussing whatâs going on with the heroes, he and his partners decide to cooperate with them for now in order to stop Robotnik and his creations. So, Team Hooligan and Team Sonic chase after the Metal copies, who are heading for the sixth Chaos Emerald.
As for the Tails Doll, itâs still watching Sonicâs every move, waiting for the right time to strike. But eventually, Team Sonic and Hooligan face off against Metal Sonic 2.0, Metal Knuckles, and a whole bunch of Robotnikâs machines. Itâs a tough battle, and while they do manage to destroy most of the robots, Tails Doll knocks out the heroes with the strange energy from itâs gem antenna.
This gives Metal Sonic 2.0 and Metal Knuckles the opportunity to take the three Chaos Emeralds the heroes have, and with 6 out of 7, they and Tails Doll head off to the Death Egg Mk ll. Angered and worried, Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles decide to just go grab the last Chaos Emerald, and then head back to the young foxâs workshop to discuss what to do next.
Luckily, Espio and Amy managed to get the last emerald for Team Sonic, which they appreciate, but now they have to figure out what to do to stop the second Death Egg, and get the rest of the gemstones too. Then, once theyâre ready, the three heroes board the Lunar Fox, and travel to the orbital space station for the final battle.
Once they step aboard, Team Sonic searches for where the 6 Chaos Emeralds are, and finds where theyâre being stored. However, theyâre intercepted by Metal Sonic 2.0, Metal Knuckles, Tails Doll, and even Robotnik, whoâs piloting his own E-Mech combat suit. It escalates into a 4-on-3 battle. Or rather, just 3-on-3 since Tails Doll canât do much on itâs own.
Sonic and Knuckles take on their Metal counterparts, and Tails tries to get the Chaos Emeralds while avoiding Robotnik and Tails Doll. Luckily, by outsmarting the doctor, and taking care of his plush copy, along with his gadgets, the young fox is able to get the other gemstones, while also activating the self-destruct sequence on the Death Egg Mk ll.
Then, Tails hands all 7 Chaos Emeralds over to Sonic and Knuckles, turning into their super transformations, and making quick work of their metallic copies, while Robotnik retreats. And once the young fox collects something important, the three of them escape the exploding space station and head back to the planet below.
Once they land, Sonic and Knuckles go back to their base forms, scattering the emeralds again, while Tails lands the Lunar Fox. They come to find that Amy, Espio, and Team Hooligan have been waiting on them, and give their gratitude on a job well done. Each in their own unique way.
Thatâs when Tails reveals that he actually got a bunch of Robotnikâs money that was stashed in the Death Egg Mk ll, and splits it between both Espio and the Hooligans, which they all appreciate. And so, with the day saved once again, everyone goes their separate waysâŚ
Unseen Adventures (Part 3)
Archives
Unseen Adventures (Part 1)
submitted by StrivingJarl to u/StrivingJarl [link] [comments]
Sonic Triple Trouble (Iâm mainly using the fan-made 16-bit remakeâs story here. If you havenât played it yet, just ignore this section. Itâs better to play the game for yourself, because itâs awesome):
Having seen the true power of the 7 Chaos Emeralds, along with the Master Emerald, Robotnik decides to make a new type of fake emerald after finding the yellow emerald. Along with that, he hires a treasure hunter named Fang The Sniper to search for the other 6 Chaos Emeralds, and heâs finally finished recreating his greatest creation from Little Planet: Metal Sonic 2.0.
However, Metal 2.0 isnât the same as Metal 1.0. This one doesnât speak, and while very close in speed, intelligence, and power to the original, itâs still not perfectly accurate. But this model does have a new ability: It can obtain bio-data from other lifeforms on itâs own, and replicate their appearances and abilities.
Regardless, Metal Sonic 2.0 is sent to Angel Island to acquire the Master Emeraldâs power, and Knucklesâ bio-data. And while the robotic hedgehog catches the Echidna by surprise and puts up a good fight, itâs unable to secure the massive gemstone, but does gain some of itâs power, along with the guardianâs bio-data, before taking itâs leave.
Understanding Robotnikâs up to something again, Knuckles decides to use the Master Emerald to pinpoint the location of the Chaos Emeralds. And while hesitant to leave his home unguarded, the Echidna decides he has to go find the gemstones, and make sure the doctor doesnât try anything.
As for Sonic and Tails, theyâre just doing some machine tests, only to notice the jewel radar go off, and show that someone is gathering the Chaos Emeralds. While they arenât sure if itâs Robotnik or not, the two decide to check it out in case itâs something bad, and head off to find the doctor up to his old tricks as expected.
In addition, they also come to clash with Fang, who is pretty sneaky and tries to outsmart the heroes, but often falls short, and ends up running away for the most part. And Sonic and Tails face Metal Sonic 2.0, disguised as Knuckles, which greatly confuses them, considering how things ended with the Echidna before.
Speaking of Knuckles, heâs mainly off doing his own thing, but does encounter the three villains many times, and is able to get his hands on a few Chaos Emeralds. Same with Sonic, Tails, and Fang. Robotnik also manages to create a much better replication of a Chaos Emerald, which he dubs a Dark Emerald.
Eventually, Sonic and Tails find out the Knuckles they were fighting the whole time was Metal Sonic 2.0, and everyone involved in this emerald hunt come together at Robotnikâs Atomic Destroyer base. The heroes defeat the robotic hedgehog, Fang is unable to stop them, and Robotnik ends up retreating, while losing his Dark Emerald.
However, this is when Metal Sonic 2.0 decides to take matters into itâs own hands, and uses the 7 Chaos Emeralds to make 7 more Dark Emeralds, in addition to the one Robotnik has, creating 8 total. And with them, it transforms into Rocket Metal Sonic 2.0, who is more than ready to take out everyone.
But luckily, Sonic is able to use the Chaos Emeralds to transform into Super Sonic again, and take on his robotic faker in space. Itâs a tough fight, but the organic hedgehog is able to win, and everyone escapes the Atomic Destroyer base, which explodes. So, with the Chaos Emeralds scattered again, everyone goes their separate waysâŚ
Sonic The Hedgehog 3 & Knuckles (Knuckles):
While relaxing at Angel Island one day, Knuckles is caught off-guard by one of Robotnikâs Egg Robo Badniks, which wasnât destroyed by Sonic and Tails previously. This machine wants to finish what itâs creator started by taking the Master Emerald itself, along with the remaining Badniks and machines left on the island.
Naturally, Knuckles chases after the Egg Robo throughout Angel Islandâs many regions, smashing Robotnikâs machines throughout, and collecting the Chaos Emeralds from the Special Zone. Eventually, the two head to Sky Sanctuary, where itâs revealed that Mecha Sonic is still functioning, and was the one behind this plan all along.
So, with the Master Emerald in itâs possession, the mechanical hedgehog not only destroys the Egg Robo, but also uses the massive gemstoneâs power to transform into itâs own Super state after studying Super Sonic. Likewise, Knuckles chooses to fight fire with fire, and uses the Chaos Emeralds to transform into Super Knuckles as well.
The fight is tough, as the two are evenly matched at first. However, Mecha Sonic is unable to sustain itâs power for as long as Knuckles can, and eventually gets put down for good. After that, the Echidna returns to normal, tired, and is about to take the Master Emerald back to the Hidden Palace altar. But then, the area of Sky Sanctuary heâs in starts to break apart from the damage of the fight.
Hence, Knuckles falls from the sky while tightly holding onto the Master Emerald. Only to then be rescued by Sonic in the Tornado, complete with a mechanical claw to hold the Master Emerald. He picked up some strong Chaos Emerald energy on Tailsâ jewel radar, and decided to go check it out, leading him to Angel Island again.
Once they get back onto the floating continent, and put the Master Emerald back in the altar to keep it in the air, Knuckles thanks Sonic for the help again, before the latter sets off. So, with everything back to normal, the Echidna returns to his duty of guarding his home and everything on itâŚ
Tailsâ Sky Patrol:
Around the same time as the Egg Roboâs attempt to steal the Master Emerald on Angel Island, Tails decides to go explore the world in search of his own adventure without Sonicâs company. Though, he just flies aimlessly in the sky, not having a destination in mind. But soon enough, he comes across a small island, and decides to land there.
However, the young fox is surprised to find many of the citizens here turned into crystals, or trapped in crystals, along with a bunch of metal railing plastered around the terrain. Tails doesnât believe itâs Robotnikâs work, but before he can ponder who it is, he feels a vibration from the ground, and decides to hide in some nearby bushes.
Peeking out from the bushes, Tails sees just who is responsible for this chaos. Itâs an evil witch in a cart called WendyâŚWitchcart, along with her minions in their respective vehicles. Hocke-Wulf, Bearanger, and Carottia Rabbit. Proclaiming herself as the ruler of this island, the evil witch and her minions head off to do their respective tasks.
Once theyâre gone, Tails gets out of the bushes, and while pretty nervous about fighting these guys on his own, the young fox knows he has to stop them and save this island. So, with a device called the Boomering, and his high intellect, Tails flies through the different regions of the island, helping the residents and defeating Witchcartâs minions.
Soon enough, the young fox reaches the evil witchâs Dark Castle, where the two have their final confrontation. And despite his fears, Tails is able to use his best attributes to his advantage, and defeats Wendy Witchcart, saving the entire island. This leads to the baddies getting locked up in jail, and after spending some time with the grateful locals, the young fox heads off again, happy to have saved the day all by himselfâŚ
Knucklesâ Chaotix:
One day, a strange new island comes out of the sea, which Robotnik discovers and studies. He learns that this continent is covered in small amounts of Chaos Energy, along with the many rings here. In particular, there are 6 colored rings that contain tons of Chaos Energy, which the doctor dubs Chaos Rings, and decides to harness their power for himself.
In a couple of days, Robotnik is able to manufacture dark rings, which have some Chaos Energy, and uses them to power up his Badnik army. In addition, the doctor decided to make a new model in the Metal series based off of Knuckles, after seeing how powerful the Echidna was: Metal Knuckles.
The metallic echidna, while not as fast or intelligent as Metal Sonic 2.0, has much more strength, and can harness Chaos Energy in order to increase it. Overall, this machine is a very useful servant of Robotnik, and the two of them quickly take over much of the isolated island, renaming it the âNewtronic High Zone.â
However, as Robotnik and his army do this, Knuckles is alerted by the Master Emerald about the isolated island, and comes to a conclusion. Due to Angel Island (With the Master Emerald in the altar) making contact with the Earthâs surface beforehand, the energy of the massive gemstone accidentally formed this new continent. Hence, believing this could be a problem, the Echidna heads towards this island in order to stop the doctor.
Once he arrives there, Knuckles comes across a few other people who decided to explore this island for their own reasons, such as Mighty, who doesnât have Ray with him. They also meet Espio The Chameleon, Charmy Bee, and Vector The Crocodile. In addition, two of Robotnikâs machines, Heavy and Bomb, decide to defect from their creator and join the heroes.
So, the 7 of them form the Chaotix Crew, and they go through the five regions of the Newtronic High Zone in order to collect the Chaos Rings, defeat Robotnik, and destroy all of his machines. Knuckles often runs into Metal Knuckles as well, and the two clash many times, sharing a similar rivalry to Sonic and Metal Sonic.
But eventually, the Chaotix are able to free the five regions from Robotnikâs control, and collect all the Chaos Rings. However, the doctor uses a giant dark ring containing tons of Chaos Energy to empower Metal Knuckles, transforming it into a rampaging Titan. Itâs a tough fight for the heroes, but luckily, some last minute help arrives.
Sonic, Tails, and Ray fly over to the isolated island with the Tornado, after hearing about whatâs going on. Then, with the power of the Chaos Rings, the 10 heroes are able to destroy Metal Knuckles, send Robotnik into a full retreat, and save the day. Though, all the chaos-powered rings lose their power, and become standard rings.
Recognizing the good work they did together, Vector decides to start the Chaotix Detective Agency in order to solve more mysteries and problems like this (While also getting some good dough). Espio and Charmy end up joining him, but everyone else declines, before they all go their separate ways.
Team Chaotix go off to find a place to rent out and form their agency. Heavy and Bomb explore the world on their own, wanting to live a life free of Robotnik. And Sonic and Tails use the Tornado to fly Knuckles back to Angel Island, before they, Ray, and Mighty head off as wellâŚ
Sonic The Fighters:
Having built the Death Egg Mk ll, along with fixing up Metal Sonic 2.0, Metal Knuckles, and making a surveillance robot called the Tails Doll in order to keep an eye on Sonic and his friends, Robotnik starts sending out his army of Badniks and machines to take over the world and collect the Chaos Emeralds.
After dealing with Robotnikâs creations, Tails reveals that heâs been working on his own rocket ship to explore space: the Lunar Fox, which has three seats. So, he and Sonic have to find the Chaos Emeralds, recruit a third person to help them out, and then take the fight to the doctor and his metal copies.
First is Knuckles, who initially gets into a bit of a scuffle with Sonic, but Tails calms them both down, as thereâs bigger fish to fry. With 1 Chaos Emerald already in their possession, the three heroes head off to find the other 6, leading them to Amy Rose, and her fashion designer friend, Honey The Cat.
While Robotnikâs robots do attack them, the heroes are able to beat them, and they get another Chaos Emerald. Plus, Amy shows Sonic her improved combat abilities with her Piko-Piko Hammer, which heâs impressed with. Now with 2 emeralds, Team Sonic go find the third one, which Espio is in possession of.
The Chameleon managed to take one from Robotnikâs machines with his ninja skills, and is trying to escape them. Luckily, Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles help him out, and also get more information on the Death Egg Mk ll from Espio, who was hired to gather intelligence on it from a client. Said client being Tails.
Anyways, Team Sonic has three Chaos Emeralds, and are heading after the fourth one, which appears to be in someoneâs possession, and also going for the fifth emerald as well. Once they arrive at their target, the heroic trio come across Fang again, who has some back-up in the form of Bean The Dynamite, and Bark The Polar Bear.
The trio of Hooligans decided to go after a few Chaos Emeralds, hoping to sell them off for a high price. But unfortunately, they end up having to fight against Team Sonic, where they give a good performance, but canât keep up. However, before the three heroes can get the fourth and fifth emeralds, Metal Sonic 2.0 and Metal Knuckles take them, and are unable to stop them due to the loss of stamina from the battle.
Fang is angry at having lost the Chaos Emeralds, and after discussing whatâs going on with the heroes, he and his partners decide to cooperate with them for now in order to stop Robotnik and his creations. So, Team Hooligan and Team Sonic chase after the Metal copies, who are heading for the sixth Chaos Emerald.
As for the Tails Doll, itâs still watching Sonicâs every move, waiting for the right time to strike. But eventually, Team Sonic and Hooligan face off against Metal Sonic 2.0, Metal Knuckles, and a whole bunch of Robotnikâs machines. Itâs a tough battle, and while they do manage to destroy most of the robots, Tails Doll knocks out the heroes with the strange energy from itâs gem antenna.
This gives Metal Sonic 2.0 and Metal Knuckles the opportunity to take the three Chaos Emeralds the heroes have, and with 6 out of 7, they and Tails Doll head off to the Death Egg Mk ll. Angered and worried, Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles decide to just go grab the last Chaos Emerald, and then head back to the young foxâs workshop to discuss what to do next.
Luckily, Espio and Amy managed to get the last emerald for Team Sonic, which they appreciate, but now they have to figure out what to do to stop the second Death Egg, and get the rest of the gemstones too. Then, once theyâre ready, the three heroes board the Lunar Fox, and travel to the orbital space station for the final battle.
Once they step aboard, Team Sonic searches for where the 6 Chaos Emeralds are, and finds where theyâre being stored. However, theyâre intercepted by Metal Sonic 2.0, Metal Knuckles, Tails Doll, and even Robotnik, whoâs piloting his own E-Mech combat suit. It escalates into a 4-on-3 battle. Or rather, just 3-on-3 since Tails Doll canât do much on itâs own.
Sonic and Knuckles take on their Metal counterparts, and Tails tries to get the Chaos Emeralds while avoiding Robotnik and Tails Doll. Luckily, by outsmarting the doctor, and taking care of his plush copy, along with his gadgets, the young fox is able to get the other gemstones, while also activating the self-destruct sequence on the Death Egg Mk ll.
Then, Tails hands all 7 Chaos Emeralds over to Sonic and Knuckles, turning into their super transformations, and making quick work of their metallic copies, while Robotnik retreats. And once the young fox collects something important, the three of them escape the exploding space station and head back to the planet below.
Once they land, Sonic and Knuckles go back to their base forms, scattering the emeralds again, while Tails lands the Lunar Fox. They come to find that Amy, Espio, and Team Hooligan have been waiting on them, and give their gratitude on a job well done. Each in their own unique way.
Thatâs when Tails reveals that he actually got a bunch of Robotnikâs money that was stashed in the Death Egg Mk ll, and splits it between both Espio and the Hooligans, which they all appreciate. And so, with the day saved once again, everyone goes their separate waysâŚ
Unseen Adventures (Part 3)
Archives
Unseen Adventures (Part 1)
2023.06.04 21:13 AlexRD19 NLMB Fallen Members Part 6/The War With PocketTown
 | 2019 was a hard year for NLMB, losing members back to back to different opps and starting a new bloody war with DeathRow was not easy for NLMB. In 2020 the war will slow down due to a lot of factors. Most members who put in work in the war will get locked up and NLMB will focus on other opps just like DeathRow, we will come back in the summer of 2022 to that beef. submitted by AlexRD19 to Chiraqhits [link] [comments] Willie "Ghost đď¸" Coker08/31/2019I didn't had space to include Ghost in the last part so i decided to do it here, it's not that important to the NLMB/DeathRow beef so it's ok if i include it at the beginning. Ghost also known as Rat was a respected OG from GME, i am not sure if he was the target or not but DeathRow and Lakeside dissed him a lot, Fa Fa Fa said they killed Ghost and ever since then GME didn't do anything for him, ignore the video from the store, that's not Ghost, it's a mistake by the one who made the post, the one who died in the store was an innocent as far as i know and this happen after Ghost died. Ghost died in the same month as Willie, DeathRow was sliding a lot in 2019. Ghost was outside with multiple people in his own hood when shots rang out from an unknown direction, he was shot multiple times in the chest and he died at the hospital. "Ghost got hit up" 0:58 Michael "Aero đď¸" Portis01/05/2020One of the reasons i believed Savo đď¸ was killed by kings was Aero death, months after Savo died, Aero was sliding with FatLord đ on some kings, which made sense at least during that time, Savo died in a hood cool with the kings, Aero is sliding on the kings, it was making sense into my head that Aero died trying to get revenge for Savo + that's what i was told, again i was wrong. As i said in my previous post, Savo was killed by NLMB, Aero was just a hothead who was sliding on his opps, nothing weird. Aero was on the frontline and did a lot of dirt for DeathRow, he earned the nickname "23" for a reason, in my previous post i put a screenshot with Fa Fa Fa straight up saying Aero killed G Dottie đď¸. I know a lot of people believed Aero killed an innocent, but people told me that Garcia đď¸ was a known king, why would Aero and FatLord slide on some innocents and specifically target them? Aero and FatLord were driving a turquoise SUV when they made a U-turn at the end of the street and parked in the block close to a king hood, both got out of the SUV with armed 9-mm handguns and approached Garcia and his neighbor as they were outside talking, they opened fire hitting the neighbor in the arm and hitting Garcia multiple times, Garcia returned fire with his own weapon striking Aero multiple times who died at the scene, FatLord was also shot multiple times, FatLord left Aero there and went to a hospital with the SUV in the same clothes that CPD saw on the footage. Garcia was pronounced dead at the hospital, police recovered 19 9-mm shell casings and 10 .40-caliber shell casings from the crime scene. This is a very controversial situation because at first, people said after FatLord recovered from his wounds, he told the police what happen and also snitched on BD đď¸ but now they saying free him, they saying that someone else ratted and not him, but according to this article, CPD is using FatLord as a source, FatLord was the one who allegedly was the driver on the Willie hit, FatLord is still locked up so who knows. The scanner also confirms that they was sliding on some kings because they was having problems lately, it could be possible that some kings gave the location of Savo to NLMB, Savo was killed right at his home so NLMB probably got the drop from someone. NLMB and ABK will diss Aero hard because he killed G Dottie, someone also recorded Aero on the ground, which was heavily mocked by his opps. "Lil Aero a dumbass got hit on a hit" 0:23 Tristan "Tedo G đď¸" Rogers04/05/2020NLMB first loss in 2020 but not because of gun violence, Tedo was from the MuskegonBoyz clique, he was killed by a car in DucciWay đą hood, there is not a lot to say about him, he was a respected OG who was either related to Kobe đď¸ or close to him. Shianne "Anna đď¸" Reynolds04/19/2020Anna was a very loved member from MTG 079 now more known as BiyoBlock, she was Biyo đď¸ sister, at first people believed that she was not gangbanging but that's false, there is a lot of captions with her saying she was using guns to slide, i don't think she was active when she died in that life and she probably was not the target either. However, she probably was active in the past and as we all know, the past is catching up to you, her vigil was also shot, allegedly by NLMB again. What i know is this, allegedly NLMB saw some MTG 079 members in traffic in SirconnCity đą hood, they sped up behind them and shot the whole car, Anna was just unlucky since she was in the car with them, she was hit in the head and CPD pronounced her dead at the scene. This was one of the first getback NLMB got for Capo, but it will not stop here, NLMB will get more getback for Capo months later. 2020 was a hard year for MTG 079, they lost 4 members, Anna đď¸, Pook đď¸ who was not killed by any opps, LB đď¸ an original who was also close to Biyo, LB was killed in DrillCity đśđąđ ąď¸ hood, last one is Jeezy Snow đď¸, we will get later to him. Anthony "C-Note đď¸" Smith04/27/2020C-Note was an OG from NLMB, to be more specific he was from the MuskegonBoyz clique, from what i know he passed away from natural causes, nothing to do with gun violence. He was born in 1985 so he was old compared to a lot of main members from MuskegonBoyz clique like G Farro for example, you could say he was from that White Folks generation. Junius "BoBo đď¸" Thurston05/07/2020BoBo was a very loved member from ABK, he was one of the main faces from there. BoBo was also a rapper, one of his best songs Pigs Hot where you can see a lot of ABK members including Yogi đď¸, BoBo was close to NLMB as well, he did a song with Juvie and before his death you could see him around G Herbo. BlackMobb was having a field day when BoBo was killed, even though BoBo left that life behind while starting a truck company, it's not like your opps will forgive you or forget that you did dirt in the streets or hurt their people, that shit is stucked until you die, even if you are 30, 40, as long as you put yourself in danger(go back to the city) you can get killed anywhere. BoBo exit his car and went to a gas station in a relatively safe area far away from any hood, a black Audi pull up and a rear passenger open fire, he ran north from the station but then a gunman got out of the car and chased after him, firing more shots. BoBo collapsed and the gunman caught up to him standing over him and fired more shots, BoBo was pronounced dead at the hospital, police said he was shot multiple times. BlackMobb were not the only ones having a field day with his death, PocketTown also dissed him: "BoBo got his ass smoked, 20 bullets took his soul" 2:45 It is sad because BlackMobb and ABK were like this, but friends are turning to enemies and both sides lost main members in this war. Lee "KTS Rio đď¸" Cameron07/12/2020If you follow the drill scene, then you know who was KTS Rio, one of the main faces from PocketTown and Lil Los đ little brother, he was a huge loss for PocketTown, after his death a lot of stuff went down. Rio was driving a vehicle with two other teenagers near a gas station in KakiWorld đąđ ąď¸âď¸âđż hood when a silver SUV pulled up and someone inside started shooting, Rio was shot multiple times and he was pronounced dead at the hospital. The 14-year-old boy was shot in the back and a 17-year-old boy was hit in the right arm, both were taken to the hospital in good condition. After his death PocketTown goes by "RioGang" in his honour, Rio was also one of their main rappers, one of his most known song is NLMBK, Faro dissed him in a song after he died: "Rio got hit and they left his ass twitching" 0:38 "Rio got hit, y'all ain't get your getback" 1:05 A lot of people are saying NLMB killed KTS Rio but if you watch Freeband BoBo đď¸ video that CH88 made, it is very clear that NLMB didn't do anything to Rio, because the war started when Lil Greg đď¸ was killed, that's also what BoBo said. The beef was not serious until Lil Greg died, BoBo also said the whole war started because of a bitch, Lil Greg wanted to call his guys to kill BoBo because of a girl. Feel free to watch the video, it's explaining a lot of stuff. Remember there is a difference between "twitter beef" like disses and blood beef, KTS Dre did dirt on NLMB but he did that for Lakeside while PocketTown was his second hood(he started to claim PocketTown after KTS Von died), so Lil Greg was the first guy to die in that beef, we will get later to him. Now honestly it is not known who killed KTS Rio, but one of the most plausible theory is that SirconnCity killed him, months after KTS Rio died, PocketTown lost KDawg đď¸, another top member while sliding on SirconnCity hood, his article doesn't mention anything about sliding but both sides said that. "We doing hits without hoodies and masks, Rio got hit, he got stretched like an elastic" 1:08 "KDawg got hit on a hit, he dead" 0:24 They are main opps but since PocketTown top members were sliding, i think that means something, especially after Rio died. This won't stop at KTS Rio, this year would be the most hardest year for PocketTown, they will lose 6 members in one year and they was all top members, but not all of them were killed by opps. Big Glizzy/Lil James đď¸ (June 07 2020), killed at a party in Robbins, a suburb of Chicago. KTS Rio đď¸ (July 12 2020), KDawg đď¸ (September 27 2020), Nuke 30 đď¸ (November 25 2020), killed OT, LA Glizzy/Lil Ant đď¸ (January 12 2021), killed OT, Killa Spook đď¸ (March 26 2021), we will get later to Killa Spook. "They lost 6 niggas in one year, tryna make the rest of them disappear" 1:53 Antoine "BT đď¸" Rose08/22/2020BT was a very loved member from NLMM and 358Gang, he claimed both sets, he was also close to NLMB, one of the reasons he died. Even though NLMB and 358Gang are opps, as i said in my previous parts, NLMM was always a set focusing on money, they was never known to slide like that, so that's probably why he was close to NLMB and cool with NLMB opps, 358Gang. BT also appeared on the Maurice show. I think everyone knows that Fa Fa Fa straight up said they killed BT, so why they killed him? Well even though BT was not involved in their beef, it doesn't matter, he was close to NLMB and 358Gang killed Mook đď¸ in 2019, so DeathRow got their getback for him. I don't think BT was the specific target because the shooting occured in TheBush đđŚ territory, which are opps to DeathRow. BT was shot in the head and in the abdomen, CPD pronounced him dead at the scene, a 32 year old man was also shot in the abdomen and in the leg, he was taken to the hospital in critical condition. Sean "Cello Da Shoota đď¸" Wilson09/07/2020There was a lot of back and forth between NoGood and NLMB, mainly because NLMB killed Montae đď¸ and it was forever stuck there, even though NoGood and NLMB are old opps, that beef was really inactive compared to Lakeside for example, but this all changed when Montae was killed, Montae was very loved by NoGood and like Jeff Fort said "there is not going to be any killing without killing" Cello was not really a main face from NLMB, he was from the NoLimit clique but his original hood was JBG đą also known as MoneGang. Cello was driving with someone else in the car in NoGood âď¸âđż hood, Jay Savage and Deonte đ fired shots and the person in the backseat fired back, hitting one of them in the forearm, Cello was hit in the neck and died at the hospital, the other person was listed in good condition after being shot in his thigh, he has a license to carry his gun. Jay Savage and Deonte were both charged with his murder, both were from NoGood and close to Montae. Deshawn "Jeezy Snow đď¸" Fletcher10/15/2020Jeezy was in ABK 4ď¸âŁđ¸âď¸âđżđą hood driving his car when Mally đ opened fire from the sunroof of a silver Chrysler 300, he was shot multiple times in the head, neck and upper torso, he died at the hospital two days later. There is a lot of contradiction of the car used in the murder, what we know for sure is that Mally shot from the sunroof. Mally also searched the murder on google to see if Jeezy died. This was a a crazy hit for many reasons, one of them is that Lil Wet was driving the car, Lil Wet did this two months after he beat his quadruple murder case, the case is complicated but to this day Mally is still locked up for it. The full foia if you want to read more, from what i know the case is very strong against Mally but let's be real, Lil Wet beat a quadruple murder, everything is possible in Chicago, so i won't be surprised if he is beating it. Lil Wet also hinted in his song "Nun Stop" about the hit, the music video was deleted or made private, but the audio version is still up. "Gotta ride for my gang, Steph got the wheel, Lil Mally might come out the roof " 0:44 Jeezy was actually very close to DoggPound đ ąď¸, you can see him around them in old videos and i think he was related to some members from there too, i am not sure if he was claiming DoggPound at one point but members from there still say rip to him, again it doesn't mean every DoggPound member was close to him. It is a complicated situation but this was another getback NLMB got for Capo, a top member from MTG 079 and very loved. Gregory "Lil Greg đď¸" Jackson III01/28/2021The death that started all and guess what caused this? Well if you didn't guess it, it was a bitch, Lil Greg đď¸ got into his feelings because BoBo đď¸ was messing with a girl that he liked so when Lil Greg saw him, he tried to get the green light from other members to come and kill him right there, allegedly NLMB told him BoBo is not an opp and that he is staying out of the way, Lil Greg tried to call other members but it was too late. PocketTown members got the drop from BoBo and went to kill Lil Greg who was in a barbershop far away from EastSide, Lil Don đ walked up to him and shot Lil Greg in the face inside the barbershop, he was pronounced dead shortly after at the hospital, CK was actually charged because they found him in the same car that was used in the murder, he stayed solid and beat the case, CK was the one driving. Lil Greg was a very loved member from NLMB and a main face from there, he was from the MuskegonBoyz clique but very close to G Herbo and even celebrities like 21 Savage paid respects to him, he was respected because he was a trapper making money from drugs to raise his kids, his death hurt a lot of people and you could say that his death made "DrenchGang" more famous because the getback was huge in terms of impact on the media, i am of course speaking about KTS Dre, his death was international news because of the way he died + Killa Spook, we will get later to them. "Me and Gregg was sharin' clothes, but we weren't really bros" 0:18 "Lil Greg died, that started some shit, but how many checked after broski got hit?" 0:36 he is also upping 4 fingers, which is probably a reference to Killa Spook, KTS Dre, BoBo and probably Lil Don from PaxTown. Moowop đ also confirmed 3 opps died for Lil Greg, again most likely a reference to Killa Spook, KTS Dre and BoBo. Lil Don was also shot multiple times but he survived NLMB was hurt but the opps were dissing Lil Greg hard, especially Lil Don: Lil Don called Lil Greg biggest score of 2021 This started a new bloody war in the EastSide which caused a lot of damage, members getting locked up, members getting killed, members getting shot and so on, PocketTown was also unlucky to get hit with a "RICO" and most of their top members got locked up, there is barely any main faces out there besides Denny G and Lil Ant, they also have internal beef now. The indictment also mentions they found the gun which was used in Lil Greg murder, the whole situation was fucked up for PocketTown, they lost like 10 members to this indictment + Lil Don got locked up + internal beef, the whole hood was hit hard by this indictment and a lot of "snitching" rumours are in the air. The members who got locked up are Lil Rah đ, EJ(he was released), Rello đ, Dreski đ MT Larryđ who actually shot back when Spook died, Corey Got Clout đ, PacMigo đ, Dwight đ and DreadHead Larry đ Dante "Killa Spook đď¸" Thomas03/26/2021Killa Spook was like a leader in PocketTown, he had a lot of respect and his name says it all "Killa Spook" it's not a name you earn for doing nothing, he was a known killer who did a lot for PocketTown, him and KTS Von đď¸ went to slide on Lamron in the past, he was very active, him and Denny G were sliding on SirconnCity as well. Spook đď¸ was partying with a lot of members inside StainCityđąâď¸âđż hood, it was a party for their fallen member KDawg đď¸ who was killed sliding on SirconnCity in 2020, two shooters(this might be PocketTown shooting back but i personally think those are the offenders), NLMB and GME got the drop from a bitch and shot the whole party up, Killa Spook was shot by a stray bullet through a window, he was pronounced dead at the scene, Lord was shot in the head and he was taken to the hospital in critical condition, Denny G was taken to the hospital in critical condition and he recovered after some time, other members got shot as well but it was nothing serious like the ones i mentioned above. Right after the party got shot up, PocketTown went to slide on NLMB and hit someone in the leg, there are a lot of things that points NLMB for doing this hit but it is confirmed that GME was also involved, Lil B from GME was arrested by CPD with the car used in the murder, he was released because CPD didn't had proof that he did the murder. There are many names around Spook death, Faro, Lil Ro, Twino đď¸, EMoe from GME, 7Moe đď¸ from GME, it is not known exactly who killed Spook but it is hard to tell, what should be confirmed for sure is that it was a NLMB/GME hit, even CPD and FBI believes that. In case you guys don't know, FBI was trying to build a RICO but their main suspect Max đď¸ was killed, so i think the case is really not that strong anymore. I do think FBI is monitoring what is going on between NLMB and PocketTown now. PocketTown was hurt to the core by his death, NLMB and GME were dissing like crazy and celebrating Lil Greg a lot, it's a lot of disses that i am sure most of you saw, if you want way more details, watch CH88 video. Londre "KTS Dre đď¸" Sylvester07/10/2021Dre was getting out of prison after his fiancee paid his $5,000 bond on Friday, for some reason Dre decided to leave only on Saturday, what Dre didn't knew is that his decision will cost him his life and potentially the life of two other innocent females. Dre was shot around 64 times by multiple shooters from two different vehicles far away from EastSide in every side of his body, a 60 year old female was shot in the knee and a 35 year old female suffered a graze to her mouth while walking by, both were taken to the hospital in good condition. Dre was DOA and his death will have a huge impact in the streets, after his death the president of America, Joe Biden, was forced to do a meeting to slow the violence in Chicago, this was because his death had an immense impact in the international news because of the way that he died. I would leave in the comments a list of some the countries news speaking about KTS Dre, because it would take too much space in the post. Dre was an upcoming rapper in the drill scene, his most famous song being a feature with Rio called "NLMBK Pt. 2" but in the drill scene he mostly became known for punching Kyro, one of the many reasons Kyro diss him a lot. Dre was very active in the streets before his death, he did a lot of dirt and a lot of his opps wanted him gone. Dre was also suspected by CPD for killing Magic đď¸ in 2019. He was originally from LakeSide but he started to claim PocketTown after the death of his brother in 2015, he is what people believe Von was, don't get me wrong, Von was active in the streets but Dre was something else. I heard many names around Dre death, Faro, the DrenchGang Twins, Moowop, Kyro, Lil Hot, honestly i am not sure who killed Dre but NLMB and even PocketTown/LakeSide made it known who did it on social media. Faro being pretty clear that this was a getback for Lil Greg. Losing so many people in such a short time affected PocketTown in many ways, a lot of them decided to step down because when shit gets real, you need to think about your life too, most of them have families, it might be a coward way but can you blame them? 10 members locked up for indictment, 9 top members killed between 2020-2022, Denny G was almost killed, Meechie was almost killed, Lil Don got locked up, Lil Art barely survived after being shot 20 times, Lord was left in critical condition, this is the worst period for PocketTown and Lil Don also confirmed that his people are scared and he only got four guys who are willing to slide. Sadly the ones who will suffer the most is the family, his mom was devastated that she can't even give him a proper funeral because of the way that he died. Christopher "Gucci đď¸" Daniels08/05/2021Gucci was near the sidewalk in GhettoWorld 4ď¸âŁđ¸ hood when a vehicle passed by and someone fired shots at him, he was shot in the chest and he was pronounced dead at the hospital. This is one month after Dre was killed, Gucci was a member from the MuskegonBoyz clique, i didn't saw PocketTown or LakeSide celebrating anything, in fact they still say "getback got no date" for Spook and Dre, it might be other opps that NLMB have, remember NLMB beefs with 30+ sets, it could also be personal beef, mistaken identity and so on. Felder "Stro Dolla đď¸" Tatum Jr.08/15/2021Stro Dolla was with a group of people inside GottiWorld đą hood when someone opened fire and hit him in the chest, he was pronounced dead at the hospital, a 34 year old woman was also shot in the leg, she was taken to the hospital in good condition. Again i don't think he was the target but who knows, i didn't saw any opps celebrating, Stro Dolla was claiming NLMM but he was close to NLMB.He was also close to BT đď¸ who was killed in 2020 by DeathRow, he was also a rapper, most likely Stro Dolla was just at the wrong time, wrong place, to my knowledge GottiWorld and NLMM or NLMB don't have beef. GottiWorld are actually opps to PocketTown. |
2023.06.04 20:35 11211222 Wanna feel old? These were the number one movies at the box office on every WWE superstar's birthday.
This list only consists of main roster talent because various NXT wrestlers' birthdays are still unknown. You can find out what the number one movie was on your birthday here.
submitted by 11211222 to SquaredCircle [link] [comments]
| WWE Superstar | No. 1 Movie |
|---|---|
| AJ Styles | Star Wars |
| Akira Tozawa | National Lampoon's European Vacation |
| Alba Fyre | Unforgiven |
| Alexa Bliss | Hot Shots! |
| Aliyah | The Santa Clause |
| Angel Garza | The Last of the Mohicans |
| Angelo Dawkins | Presumed Innocent |
| Apollo Crews | Stakeout |
| Ashante Adonis | The War of the Roses |
| Asuka | Raiders of the Lost Ark |
| Austin Theory | Air Force One |
| B-Fab | Lethal Weapon 2 |
| Baron Corbin | Ghostbusters |
| Bayley | Ghostbusters II |
| Becky Lynch | Platoon |
| Bianca Belair | Major League |
| Big E | Pretty in Pink |
| Bobby Lashley | The Omen |
| Braun Strowman | Mr. Mom |
| Bray Wyatt | Beverly Hills Cop II |
| Brock Lesnar | The Island of Dr. Moreau |
| Bronson Reed | A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master |
| Butch | The Three Musketeers |
| Cameron Grimes | Malice |
| Candice LeRae | Invasion U.S.A. |
| Carmella | Fatal Attraction |
| Cedric Alexander | Uncle Buck |
| Chad Gable | Pretty in Pink |
| Charlotte Flair | Police Academy 3: Back in Training |
| Chelsea Green | Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze |
| Cody Rhodes | Pale Rider |
| Cruz Del Toro | The Addams Family |
| Dakota Kai | Colors |
| Damian Priest | Amityville II: The Possession |
| Dana Brooke | The Naked Gun |
| Dexter Lumis | Terms of Endearment |
| Dolph Ziggler | Caddyshack |
| Dominik Mysterio | Liar Liar |
| Drew McIntyre | Rambo: First Blood Part II |
| Edge | The Way We Were |
| Elias | The Running Man |
| Elton Prince | The Lost World: Jurassic Park |
| Emma | Lean on Me |
| Erik | Tightrope |
| Finn Balor | Arthur |
| Giovanni Vinci | Ghost |
| Grayson Waller | Pretty Woman |
| Gunther | Stakeout |
| Humberto Carillo | Get Shorty |
| Indi Hartwell | Tin Cup |
| Isla Dawn | Ace Ventura: Pet Detective |
| Ivar | Footloose |
| Iyo Sky | Pretty Woman |
| JD McDonagh | The Hunt for Red October |
| Jey Uso | Back to the Future |
| Jimmy Uso | Back to the Future |
| Jinder Mahal | Aliens |
| Joaquin Wilde | Crocodile Dundee |
| John Cena | Annie Hall |
| Johnny Gargano | Stakeout |
| Karl Anderson | Kramer vs Kramer |
| Karrion Kross | Back to the Future |
| Katana Chance | Born on the Fourth of July |
| Kayden Carter | Willow |
| Kevin Owens | The Natural |
| Kit Wilson | Clear and Present Danger |
| Kofi Kingston | Raiders of the Lost Ark |
| LA Knight | First Blood |
| Lacey Evans | Pretty Woman |
| Liv Morgan | Speed |
| Logan Paul | Tommy Boy |
| Ludwig Kaiser | Terminator 2: Judgment Day |
| Luke Gallows | Sudden Impact |
| ma.çÊ | Sleeping with the Enemy |
| mĂĽn.sĂ´Ăśr | Get Shorty |
| Matt Riddle | Iron Eagle |
| Maxxine Dupri | The Lost World: Jurassic Park |
| Michin | Major League |
| The Miz | Private Benjamin |
| Montez Ford | Total Recall |
| Mustafa Ali | Police Academy 3: Back in Training |
| MVP | The Way We Were |
| Natalya | Rocky III |
| Nikki Cross | Pet Sematary |
| Odyssey Jones | Maverick |
| Omos | Maverick |
| Otis | Hook |
| Pat McAfee | The Secret of My Success |
| Paul Heyman | Once a Thief |
| Piper Niven | F/X2 |
| R-Truth | The Cowboys |
| Randy Orton | Coal Miner's Daughter |
| Raquel Rodriguez | Home Alone |
| Rey Mysterio | Young Frankenstein |
| Rhea Ripley | The Ghost and the Darkness |
| Rick Boogs | Fatal Attraction |
| Ricochet | The Accused |
| Riddick Moss | Look Who's Talking |
| Ridge Holland | Crocodile Dundee II |
| Robert Roode | All the President's Men |
| Roman Reigns | Rambo: First Blood Part II |
| Ronda Rousey | Platoon |
| Sami Zayn | Ghostbusters |
| Sanga | Invasion U.S.A. |
| Santos Escobar | Breakin' |
| Scarlett | What About Bob? |
| Seth Rollins | Cobra |
| Shanky | Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves |
| Shayna Baszler | Caddyshack |
| Sheamus | Saturday Night Fever |
| Shelton Benjamin | Jaws |
| Shinsuke Nakamura | Kramer vs. Kramer |
| Shotzi | Wayne's World |
| Solo Sikoa | Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III |
| Sonya Deville | The Good Son |
| Tamina | Saturday Night Fever |
| Tegan Nox | Star Trek Generations |
| Tommaso Ciampa | Code of Silence |
| Top Dolla | Pretty Woman |
| Trish Stratus | The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother |
| Valhalla | The Fugitive |
| Veer | Young Guns |
| Xavier Woods | Stand by Me |
| Xia Li | Cocktail |
| Xyon Quinn | Hard to Kill |
| Zelina Vega | Home Alone |
| Zoey Stark | Mrs. Doubtfire |
2023.06.04 20:26 StrivingJarl Metallix Uprising - Unseen Adventures (Part 1)
AO3 Link
These are summaries of what games/events happened in-between chapters 5 and 6. To explain the timeline and make sure you're all on the same page.
11 AS:
Sonic CD:
After freeing Stardust Speedway and defeating Metal Sonic 1.0, Sonic heads to Robotnikâs base, Metallic Madness, in order to grab the last Time Stone, defeat the mad doctor, and free Little Planet from itâs shackles. And despite putting up a good fight with his mech modeled after himself, Robotnik is unable to secure his future, and retreats.
Now possessing all the Time Stones, Sonic proceeds to use their power to restore Little Planet to normal, which also sends him and Amy Rose back to Neverlake on Earth. Together, the two watch the small planetoid disappear into the sky, while also leaving behind sparks that shape into Sonicâs face, as if the planet itself was thanking him for his efforts.
So, with a job well done, Sonic reluctantly goes on a date with Amy, which was pretty fun, but the blue blur still wasnât interested in being her boyfriend. And after saying farewell to Ms. Rose for the time being, Sonic set off for another adventureâŚ
12 AS:
Using his Tornado plane, Sonic arrives at Westside Island, where he meets Miles âTailsâ Prower. The young fox greatly admires the blue blur, and the two become good pals in no timeâŚ
Sonic The Hedgehog 2 (8-Bit):
While exploring Westside Island, Sonic comes back to the main village, and finds that many animals have been captured by Robotnikâs Badniks and machines. So, he jumps into action and saves as many of them as he can. However, Tails is nowhere to be seen, which worries the blue blur greatly. Thatâs when he sees a note left behind and written by Robotnik.
In the note, Robotnik states that after arriving here a few days ago and observing Sonic interacting with Tails, he decided to kidnap the two-tailed fox and use him as a hostage for his ânewâ plan. Force the blue blur to collect the Chaos Emeralds for him, or heâll never see the young fox boy ever again.
Despite being angry about his best friend getting kidnapped, and worried for his safety, Sonic tries to calm down, and decides to do as Robotnik asks for now. So, he explores 5 zones on the island, before arriving at the doctorâs base, Scrambled Egg Zone. There, he fights against Silver Sonic, whoâs much less advanced than Metal Sonic, due to having a lot less development time.
Regardless, Sonic destroys the flimsy robo knockoff, which had the last Chaos Emerald he needed. And with all 7 in his possession, the blue blur is able to get to Robotnikâs TRUE base, Crystal Egg Zone. Then, after a heated confrontation against the doctor, Sonic manages to save Tails, the Chaos Emeralds scatter, and Robotnik retreats for nowâŚ
Sonic Chaos:
Having managed to get his hands on the red Chaos Emerald, Robotnik uses itâs power to develop more powerful weapons and machines in his quest for world domination. Then, he decides to use them on Sonic and Tails, who are currently exploring the world together after leaving Westside Island.
Sonic and Tails are able to survive the doctorâs attack, along with saving many of the animals and people caught in the crossfire, but much of their surrounding environment was in ruin. So, determined to stop Robotnik from causing anymore destruction, the heroic duo set off to stop him, traversing 5 zones before arriving at the doctorâs Electric Egg base.
Despite the trouble, the two heroes are able to stop Robotnik, take the red Chaos Emerald, destroy all the weapons and machines powered by it, and set the base to self-destruct. So, with the day saved again, Sonic and Tails set off, while Robotnik takes his leave as wellâŚ
Sonic Spinball:
With the data he got from the red Chaos Emerald beforehand, Robotnik manages to create many duplicate blue emeralds that arenât as powerful, but still possess tons of energy. And with these fake emeralds, the doctor takes over an unstable volcano that produces a lot of energy via itâs hot magma, making a base called the Veg-O-Fortress.
Using the power of the magma, and the fake Chaos Emeralds keeping the volcano stable, Robotnik is able to turn helpless animals into Badniks at a much faster rate. It doesnât take long for Sonic and Tails to learn about the doctorâs new plan, and with the Tornado, the two mount an aerial assault.
However, the baseâs defenses were much greater than they expected, and Sonic has to jump off of the Tornado, having to go into the fortress on his own and take the fake emeralds out in order to make the volcano erupt, which will destroy the fortress. But Robotnik has set up a âPinball Defense Mechanismâ to make sure the gems donât go anywhere.
Hence, Sonic traverses the 3 areas of the fortress spinball-style, freeing all the animals and taking many of the fake Chaos Emeralds out. Which leads to Robotnik fleeing the crumbling fortress in a rocket ship with the last 5 fake emeralds, and the blue blur in hot pursuit. Then, after a tough showdown with the doctor, Sonic succeeds in taking out the last of the fake emeralds, destroying the rocket ship, and stopping Robotnik.
This leads to the two adversaries falling from the sky, but Tails swoops in with the Tornado to rescue Sonic, while Robotnik falls into the ocean with some floaties, angry at his defeat and having to call in his Egg Mobile to pick him up and retreatâŚ
Sonic The Hedgehog 2 (16-Bit):
Using the mechanization of Little Planet as a basis, Robotnik has finally finished his orbital space station, the Death Egg, and launches it into space. With it, the doctor has tons of resources for his different projects, and can produce tons of Badniks and machines at a fast rate. That way, he can take over Earth with not much issue.
However, Robotnik still wants to acquire the Chaos Emeralds, so that he can power up the Death Eggâs laser cannons, which are located on itâs eyes. That way, the doctor can wipe entire continents and any opposition off the face of the planet. So, he sets off to find the gemstones, which leads him back to Westside Island.
As for Sonic and Tails, the two return to the latterâs home island as well, only to find a bunch of Robotnikâs machines and Badniks taking over different regions. Hence, the heroic duo do their thing, and traverse many zones while clashing with the doctor many times, destroying his creations, and collecting the Chaos Emeralds again.
Eventually, the two heroes reach Robotnikâs new base, Metropolis Zone, and after fighting him again, he retreats to his Wing Fortress. This leads to Sonic and Tails taking the Tornado to chase after him in the sky. But once they get there, the Tornado is shot down, while the blue blur has to traverse the battleship on his own.
Then, after fighting again in the control room, Robotnik leaves the Wing Fortress in his spaceship, heading straight for the Death Egg, while Sonic hangs onto one of itâs wings for dear life. Once they arrive at the orbital space station, the doctor heads off, and the hedgehog chases after him again.
This leads to Sonic fighting against another robot based off of him: Robo Sonic. More advanced than Silver Sonic, but still nowhere near Metal Sonic 1.0âs level. Regardless, the machine is quite durable and powerful, but isnât very quick or agile. So, the blue blur manages to destroy it without too much trouble.
But once Sonicâs able to reach Robotnik, he finds that the madman is piloting a giant mecha that resembles him. The Death Egg Robot. And after one last, tough battle, the hedgehog comes out on top. However, due to the damage from the confrontation, the Death Egg starts to malfunction and fall down to the planet, leading to Sonic escaping with the Chaos Emeralds.
As he falls from the sky, Sonic is saved by Tails in the fixed Tornado, leading to the two of them heading to Westside Island after a job well-done. Though, they donât know where Robotnik is, and if the Death Egg has been destroyed for goodâŚ
Sonic The Hedgehog 3 & Knuckles (Sonic & Tails):
As the Death Egg falls down, it unexpectedly crashes into something. A floating island in the sky, known as Angel Island. The impact shakes the whole island, and pushes it down into the ocean below, creating a big tsunami. Once having gotten his bearings, Robotnik leaves the Death Egg and explores his surroundings.
Thatâs when the doctor picks up a strange, but powerful signal from a singular Chaos Emerald, which confuses him. But with this power source, Robotnik can re-launch the Death Egg, so he doesnât pay it much mind, and gets started on building a base of operations for repairs, while also taking the local wildlife to power his Badniks.
Though, after some time passes, Robotnik is confronted by someone he didnât expect to come across. A red Echidna named Knuckles, who is the sole protector of Angel Island and everything on it. Immediately, the guardian questions who the doctor is, and where that âgiant dragon eggâ came from.
Thinking this could be a great opportunity to learn more about the islandâs secrets, and keep Sonic and Tails out of his mustache hair for a bit, Robotnik quickly comes up with a lie. That heâs a kind scientist who built the Death Egg to stop those two from misusing the Chaos Emeralds, but failed and almost lost his life to them.
Having not interacted with anyone in a long time, and being quite gullible, Knuckles believes Robotnikâs lies, and decides to help him stop Sonic and Tails, while also providing some resources to fix the Death Egg, and sharing a few of the islandâs secrets. However, the Echidna makes it clear that he wants the doctor and his space station to leave once this ordeal is over, and to never come back.
Meanwhile, sometime after the tsunami, Sonic finds a strange stone ring drifting along the shore of a beach he was relaxing at, which had ancient text about the legend of Angel Island and itâs people. Curious, he brings it up to Tails, who has picked up a strong Chaos Emerald signal on his jewel radar.
Interested in learning whatâs going on, Sonic and Tails set off on the Tornado towards Angel Island, with the Chaos Emeralds still in their possession. But once they step foot on the continent, Knuckles comes in and cheap-shots the hedgehog and fox, before taking the gemstones, warning them to get off his island, and leaves.
Surprised and angry at how this Echidna just stole the emeralds from them, Sonic and Tails explore a few regions of Angel Island, while running into Robotnik and Knuckles a few times along the way. And soon enough, the two heroes arrive at the Launch Base, where the nearly rebuilt Death Egg takes off.
Sonic manages to reach a platform attached to the bottom of the orbital space station, where he faces Robotnik in two different machines. During the battle, the many structures supporting the Death Egg start to break down from the damage, and once Sonic wins, the space station starts to fall back down onto Angel Island, with Robotnik fleeing.
After this, Sonic and Tails land in Mushroom Valley, and the Death Egg lands face-first into the islandâs volcano. So, with their quest remaining unfinished, the two heroes continue to travel across the different regions of Angel Island, and continue to clash with Robotnik and Knuckles throughout.
Eventually, the heroic duo arrive at the Hidden Palace within the volcano, where the Death Egg is. However, Knuckles shows up again, and engages Sonic in a one-on-one fight, where the two prove to be evenly matched. But before either side can prove victorious, theyâre interrupted by Robotnik stealing a massive green gemstone. The Master Emerald, which keeps the island in the sky, and possesses more power than the 7 Chaos Emeralds.
Angered at being tricked, and seeing the massive gemstone getting stolen, Knuckles attempts to stop Robotnik from taking it. Only to get electrocuted, and unable to fight at peak efficiency. Now realizing his mistake, and desperate for their help, the Echidna hands the Chaos Emeralds to Sonic and Tails, and leads them to Sky Sanctuary.
Once they arrive there, the three of them see the Death Egg successfully launching back into space. So, Sonic gives chase, while Tails takes Knuckles back to Angel Island, and gets the Tornado ready. And as the hedgehog traverses the sky-bound ruins, he faces many Egg Robo Badniks, and a new Sonic robot: Mecha Sonic.
This one is much more advanced and powerful, but still doesnât compare to Metal Sonic 1.0, and after a few fights, Sonic defeats this mechanical imposter, while also successfully getting onboard the Death Egg. Eventually, after traversing through more of the orbital space station than last time, the blue blur faces Robotnik again.
Using a Giant Robotnik Robo powered by the Master Emerald, the doctor takes on Sonic in space, but is unsuccessful in defeating him. But before the hedgehog can take back the massive gemstone, the damage from the battle causes the Death Egg to start exploding, allowing Robotnik to escape with it.
With no way of escape, Sonic isnât sure what to do. However, he then remembers a mural he saw back in Hidden Palace, showing a blue figure in a golden aura fighting a strange being with a mustache. While not certain about what it means, the blue blur thinks he could use the Chaos Emeralds power to give himself a boost.
So, focusing as hard as he can, and thinking about whatâs at risk if he fails, Sonic is able to tap into the true power of the 7 Chaos Emeralds, making him transform into Super Sonic for the first time. Amazed at this power, the now yellow, sparkly blur chases after Robotnik in space, while the Death Egg explodes into a million pieces.
Traversing through an asteroid field in his Final Weapon, with the Master Emerald in his possession, Robotnik is shocked to see Super Sonic coming for him, and angered that this hedgehog just wonât leave him alone. But despite everything he does to stop him, the power of the Chaos Emeralds is too great for the doctor to overcome.
Hence, after destroying Robotnikâs machine and sending him down to the planet below, Super Sonic takes the Master Emerald back to Angel Island, where he meets up with Knuckles and Tails, who are amazed to see this power. Once he lands, the hedgehog returns to normal and the Chaos Emeralds scatter, leaving him a little worn out, but mostly fine.
Having gotten the Master Emerald back, Knuckles thanks Sonic and Tails for their help, and the three of them say their farewells for now. So, as the Echidna places the massive gemstone back into itâs altar in Hidden Palace, raising Angel Island into the sky once more, the hedgehog and fox take off on the Tornado, happy to have saved the day once againâŚ
Unseen Adventures (Part 2)
Archives
submitted by StrivingJarl to u/StrivingJarl [link] [comments]
These are summaries of what games/events happened in-between chapters 5 and 6. To explain the timeline and make sure you're all on the same page.
11 AS:
Sonic CD:
After freeing Stardust Speedway and defeating Metal Sonic 1.0, Sonic heads to Robotnikâs base, Metallic Madness, in order to grab the last Time Stone, defeat the mad doctor, and free Little Planet from itâs shackles. And despite putting up a good fight with his mech modeled after himself, Robotnik is unable to secure his future, and retreats.
Now possessing all the Time Stones, Sonic proceeds to use their power to restore Little Planet to normal, which also sends him and Amy Rose back to Neverlake on Earth. Together, the two watch the small planetoid disappear into the sky, while also leaving behind sparks that shape into Sonicâs face, as if the planet itself was thanking him for his efforts.
So, with a job well done, Sonic reluctantly goes on a date with Amy, which was pretty fun, but the blue blur still wasnât interested in being her boyfriend. And after saying farewell to Ms. Rose for the time being, Sonic set off for another adventureâŚ
12 AS:
Using his Tornado plane, Sonic arrives at Westside Island, where he meets Miles âTailsâ Prower. The young fox greatly admires the blue blur, and the two become good pals in no timeâŚ
Sonic The Hedgehog 2 (8-Bit):
While exploring Westside Island, Sonic comes back to the main village, and finds that many animals have been captured by Robotnikâs Badniks and machines. So, he jumps into action and saves as many of them as he can. However, Tails is nowhere to be seen, which worries the blue blur greatly. Thatâs when he sees a note left behind and written by Robotnik.
In the note, Robotnik states that after arriving here a few days ago and observing Sonic interacting with Tails, he decided to kidnap the two-tailed fox and use him as a hostage for his ânewâ plan. Force the blue blur to collect the Chaos Emeralds for him, or heâll never see the young fox boy ever again.
Despite being angry about his best friend getting kidnapped, and worried for his safety, Sonic tries to calm down, and decides to do as Robotnik asks for now. So, he explores 5 zones on the island, before arriving at the doctorâs base, Scrambled Egg Zone. There, he fights against Silver Sonic, whoâs much less advanced than Metal Sonic, due to having a lot less development time.
Regardless, Sonic destroys the flimsy robo knockoff, which had the last Chaos Emerald he needed. And with all 7 in his possession, the blue blur is able to get to Robotnikâs TRUE base, Crystal Egg Zone. Then, after a heated confrontation against the doctor, Sonic manages to save Tails, the Chaos Emeralds scatter, and Robotnik retreats for nowâŚ
Sonic Chaos:
Having managed to get his hands on the red Chaos Emerald, Robotnik uses itâs power to develop more powerful weapons and machines in his quest for world domination. Then, he decides to use them on Sonic and Tails, who are currently exploring the world together after leaving Westside Island.
Sonic and Tails are able to survive the doctorâs attack, along with saving many of the animals and people caught in the crossfire, but much of their surrounding environment was in ruin. So, determined to stop Robotnik from causing anymore destruction, the heroic duo set off to stop him, traversing 5 zones before arriving at the doctorâs Electric Egg base.
Despite the trouble, the two heroes are able to stop Robotnik, take the red Chaos Emerald, destroy all the weapons and machines powered by it, and set the base to self-destruct. So, with the day saved again, Sonic and Tails set off, while Robotnik takes his leave as wellâŚ
Sonic Spinball:
With the data he got from the red Chaos Emerald beforehand, Robotnik manages to create many duplicate blue emeralds that arenât as powerful, but still possess tons of energy. And with these fake emeralds, the doctor takes over an unstable volcano that produces a lot of energy via itâs hot magma, making a base called the Veg-O-Fortress.
Using the power of the magma, and the fake Chaos Emeralds keeping the volcano stable, Robotnik is able to turn helpless animals into Badniks at a much faster rate. It doesnât take long for Sonic and Tails to learn about the doctorâs new plan, and with the Tornado, the two mount an aerial assault.
However, the baseâs defenses were much greater than they expected, and Sonic has to jump off of the Tornado, having to go into the fortress on his own and take the fake emeralds out in order to make the volcano erupt, which will destroy the fortress. But Robotnik has set up a âPinball Defense Mechanismâ to make sure the gems donât go anywhere.
Hence, Sonic traverses the 3 areas of the fortress spinball-style, freeing all the animals and taking many of the fake Chaos Emeralds out. Which leads to Robotnik fleeing the crumbling fortress in a rocket ship with the last 5 fake emeralds, and the blue blur in hot pursuit. Then, after a tough showdown with the doctor, Sonic succeeds in taking out the last of the fake emeralds, destroying the rocket ship, and stopping Robotnik.
This leads to the two adversaries falling from the sky, but Tails swoops in with the Tornado to rescue Sonic, while Robotnik falls into the ocean with some floaties, angry at his defeat and having to call in his Egg Mobile to pick him up and retreatâŚ
Sonic The Hedgehog 2 (16-Bit):
Using the mechanization of Little Planet as a basis, Robotnik has finally finished his orbital space station, the Death Egg, and launches it into space. With it, the doctor has tons of resources for his different projects, and can produce tons of Badniks and machines at a fast rate. That way, he can take over Earth with not much issue.
However, Robotnik still wants to acquire the Chaos Emeralds, so that he can power up the Death Eggâs laser cannons, which are located on itâs eyes. That way, the doctor can wipe entire continents and any opposition off the face of the planet. So, he sets off to find the gemstones, which leads him back to Westside Island.
As for Sonic and Tails, the two return to the latterâs home island as well, only to find a bunch of Robotnikâs machines and Badniks taking over different regions. Hence, the heroic duo do their thing, and traverse many zones while clashing with the doctor many times, destroying his creations, and collecting the Chaos Emeralds again.
Eventually, the two heroes reach Robotnikâs new base, Metropolis Zone, and after fighting him again, he retreats to his Wing Fortress. This leads to Sonic and Tails taking the Tornado to chase after him in the sky. But once they get there, the Tornado is shot down, while the blue blur has to traverse the battleship on his own.
Then, after fighting again in the control room, Robotnik leaves the Wing Fortress in his spaceship, heading straight for the Death Egg, while Sonic hangs onto one of itâs wings for dear life. Once they arrive at the orbital space station, the doctor heads off, and the hedgehog chases after him again.
This leads to Sonic fighting against another robot based off of him: Robo Sonic. More advanced than Silver Sonic, but still nowhere near Metal Sonic 1.0âs level. Regardless, the machine is quite durable and powerful, but isnât very quick or agile. So, the blue blur manages to destroy it without too much trouble.
But once Sonicâs able to reach Robotnik, he finds that the madman is piloting a giant mecha that resembles him. The Death Egg Robot. And after one last, tough battle, the hedgehog comes out on top. However, due to the damage from the confrontation, the Death Egg starts to malfunction and fall down to the planet, leading to Sonic escaping with the Chaos Emeralds.
As he falls from the sky, Sonic is saved by Tails in the fixed Tornado, leading to the two of them heading to Westside Island after a job well-done. Though, they donât know where Robotnik is, and if the Death Egg has been destroyed for goodâŚ
Sonic The Hedgehog 3 & Knuckles (Sonic & Tails):
As the Death Egg falls down, it unexpectedly crashes into something. A floating island in the sky, known as Angel Island. The impact shakes the whole island, and pushes it down into the ocean below, creating a big tsunami. Once having gotten his bearings, Robotnik leaves the Death Egg and explores his surroundings.
Thatâs when the doctor picks up a strange, but powerful signal from a singular Chaos Emerald, which confuses him. But with this power source, Robotnik can re-launch the Death Egg, so he doesnât pay it much mind, and gets started on building a base of operations for repairs, while also taking the local wildlife to power his Badniks.
Though, after some time passes, Robotnik is confronted by someone he didnât expect to come across. A red Echidna named Knuckles, who is the sole protector of Angel Island and everything on it. Immediately, the guardian questions who the doctor is, and where that âgiant dragon eggâ came from.
Thinking this could be a great opportunity to learn more about the islandâs secrets, and keep Sonic and Tails out of his mustache hair for a bit, Robotnik quickly comes up with a lie. That heâs a kind scientist who built the Death Egg to stop those two from misusing the Chaos Emeralds, but failed and almost lost his life to them.
Having not interacted with anyone in a long time, and being quite gullible, Knuckles believes Robotnikâs lies, and decides to help him stop Sonic and Tails, while also providing some resources to fix the Death Egg, and sharing a few of the islandâs secrets. However, the Echidna makes it clear that he wants the doctor and his space station to leave once this ordeal is over, and to never come back.
Meanwhile, sometime after the tsunami, Sonic finds a strange stone ring drifting along the shore of a beach he was relaxing at, which had ancient text about the legend of Angel Island and itâs people. Curious, he brings it up to Tails, who has picked up a strong Chaos Emerald signal on his jewel radar.
Interested in learning whatâs going on, Sonic and Tails set off on the Tornado towards Angel Island, with the Chaos Emeralds still in their possession. But once they step foot on the continent, Knuckles comes in and cheap-shots the hedgehog and fox, before taking the gemstones, warning them to get off his island, and leaves.
Surprised and angry at how this Echidna just stole the emeralds from them, Sonic and Tails explore a few regions of Angel Island, while running into Robotnik and Knuckles a few times along the way. And soon enough, the two heroes arrive at the Launch Base, where the nearly rebuilt Death Egg takes off.
Sonic manages to reach a platform attached to the bottom of the orbital space station, where he faces Robotnik in two different machines. During the battle, the many structures supporting the Death Egg start to break down from the damage, and once Sonic wins, the space station starts to fall back down onto Angel Island, with Robotnik fleeing.
After this, Sonic and Tails land in Mushroom Valley, and the Death Egg lands face-first into the islandâs volcano. So, with their quest remaining unfinished, the two heroes continue to travel across the different regions of Angel Island, and continue to clash with Robotnik and Knuckles throughout.
Eventually, the heroic duo arrive at the Hidden Palace within the volcano, where the Death Egg is. However, Knuckles shows up again, and engages Sonic in a one-on-one fight, where the two prove to be evenly matched. But before either side can prove victorious, theyâre interrupted by Robotnik stealing a massive green gemstone. The Master Emerald, which keeps the island in the sky, and possesses more power than the 7 Chaos Emeralds.
Angered at being tricked, and seeing the massive gemstone getting stolen, Knuckles attempts to stop Robotnik from taking it. Only to get electrocuted, and unable to fight at peak efficiency. Now realizing his mistake, and desperate for their help, the Echidna hands the Chaos Emeralds to Sonic and Tails, and leads them to Sky Sanctuary.
Once they arrive there, the three of them see the Death Egg successfully launching back into space. So, Sonic gives chase, while Tails takes Knuckles back to Angel Island, and gets the Tornado ready. And as the hedgehog traverses the sky-bound ruins, he faces many Egg Robo Badniks, and a new Sonic robot: Mecha Sonic.
This one is much more advanced and powerful, but still doesnât compare to Metal Sonic 1.0, and after a few fights, Sonic defeats this mechanical imposter, while also successfully getting onboard the Death Egg. Eventually, after traversing through more of the orbital space station than last time, the blue blur faces Robotnik again.
Using a Giant Robotnik Robo powered by the Master Emerald, the doctor takes on Sonic in space, but is unsuccessful in defeating him. But before the hedgehog can take back the massive gemstone, the damage from the battle causes the Death Egg to start exploding, allowing Robotnik to escape with it.
With no way of escape, Sonic isnât sure what to do. However, he then remembers a mural he saw back in Hidden Palace, showing a blue figure in a golden aura fighting a strange being with a mustache. While not certain about what it means, the blue blur thinks he could use the Chaos Emeralds power to give himself a boost.
So, focusing as hard as he can, and thinking about whatâs at risk if he fails, Sonic is able to tap into the true power of the 7 Chaos Emeralds, making him transform into Super Sonic for the first time. Amazed at this power, the now yellow, sparkly blur chases after Robotnik in space, while the Death Egg explodes into a million pieces.
Traversing through an asteroid field in his Final Weapon, with the Master Emerald in his possession, Robotnik is shocked to see Super Sonic coming for him, and angered that this hedgehog just wonât leave him alone. But despite everything he does to stop him, the power of the Chaos Emeralds is too great for the doctor to overcome.
Hence, after destroying Robotnikâs machine and sending him down to the planet below, Super Sonic takes the Master Emerald back to Angel Island, where he meets up with Knuckles and Tails, who are amazed to see this power. Once he lands, the hedgehog returns to normal and the Chaos Emeralds scatter, leaving him a little worn out, but mostly fine.
Having gotten the Master Emerald back, Knuckles thanks Sonic and Tails for their help, and the three of them say their farewells for now. So, as the Echidna places the massive gemstone back into itâs altar in Hidden Palace, raising Angel Island into the sky once more, the hedgehog and fox take off on the Tornado, happy to have saved the day once againâŚ
Unseen Adventures (Part 2)
Archives
2023.06.04 20:19 stachada Theory: the Lazarus Project
"No, does it sound like I was gonna bring you back from the dead?... Ok whatever, I just thought it sounded cool."I believe that in Dr. Venture Sr. saying that his "science is quite potent", is an intentional misdirection. we're intended to think he's making a double entendre, but it's sort of a triple entendre, in that he means it literally. I believe that he is actually using the different women he works/sleeps with to produce clones of himself for later harvesting in an attempt to artificially prolong his own life.The major red-headed characters of the VB series (Rusty, Jonus, Monarch, Billy, Dr. Quymn) are all actually failed clones of Dr. Venture Sr. and are part of a long running plan to use them as organ farms, or possibly replacement bodies.
We've seen Dr. Venture Sr. dabbling in artificially prolonging life via the P.R.O.B.L.E.M., Vendata, and the clone experiments themselves, and he appears to have no qualms with brain swapping, as it's his go-to plan in S7 E3.
We never see or even hear anything about Rusty's mother, and besides maybe the monarch, all the other red-heads have one thing or another that would make them "bad clones" for Dr. Venture's purposes.
Rusty had a massive tumor (later found to be Jonus), Billy has his excessive cerebral spinal fluid, Dr. Quymn has epilepsy (and may have also been ruled out simply for being female) the only seemingly "perfect" clone was the monarch, which may have led to the murder of his parents in an attempt to reclaim the monarch for Dr. Venture's later use. Being unable to acquire him, he instead simply kept Rusty, and continued his experiments
Billy likely would have been created as late as Rusty's time in college, and seeing as Billy's mother is.... how she is, I really don't see her having a child out of wed-lock in the typical way. Billy's other prospective father, Jass has very little screen time, and isn't really spoken about. I believe it's more likely that Rose's previous life as triple-threat put her in close with Dr. Venture Sr., and at some point he convinced her to be part of his experiments.
ultimately I believe that Dr. Venture Sr. is still alive, as a head in a jar at the OSI some place, and he may well come back and try to swap bodies with someone.... possibly himself? that may be where the presidential time machine comes into things. he might make an attempt to attack himself on Gargantua 1 and need to be stopped in order to preserve the timeline. this could be the real cause of the movie night massacre, as I don't think it's quite definitive that blue morpho really did open the hatch or not.
anyway, that's my crazy rambling for the night.
2023.06.04 20:00 Arch-Magistratus Tolkien and Valentinian Tripartite Interpretation: Under development.
I don't know if the Gnostic influence on Tolkien's ideas is confirmed or not when elaborating and developing Middle Earth, but I found a certain similarity between some aspects of the races and the interpretation tripartite of the Valentinian school.
Basically everyone knows as Spirit, Soul and Matter, but also in Valentinian writings they are called Similarity (Powers of the Soul), Imitation (Powers of Matter), Images (Divine Spark).
It is interesting to remember that although it is very possible that there is no Gnostic influence in Tolkien's works, it is still possible that there is influence of this Tripartite world conception of substances( Spirit, Soul, Matter).
Of the ultimate fate of the three essences, the Valentinians tell us:
1) Material is wholly mortal and will perish.
2) Animate is intermediate between material and spiritual- and can either be saved( ascend to the eighth heaven) or perish with the material depending on its own nature.
3) Spiritual is bound to the Animate( because it was sewn into the Demiurgos, and then breathed into mankind). It is to learn and experience with the animate while physically incarnate, until it has grown to readiness and returns to the Pleroma.
We find similarly in Tolkien's writings:
The Elven Race/Similarity( Would be like angels/powers of the soul, given the gift of immortality and are tied to Earth's destiny.)
The Race of Men/Images( They appear to be less "perfect" than the elves but they received the gift of death making them free from the fate of the earth, this would be like the spirit after Gnosis.)
The Race of Orcs/Imitiation( Bestial creatures that represent evil in middle earth, just as it would also represent matter,incapable of salvation and Gnosis)
Demiurge/Eru Iluvatar( Does not recognize or perceive something greater than himself, created and greatly influenced by Sophia Achamoth) first created the archons (Ainur), then the angels (Maiar and Elves), and then created men (where the divine spark capable of transcending archons, angels and the destiny of the world, that is, the gift of death, would be sewn.)
I am noticing similarities, surely several others must have noticed these or other similarities in Tolkien's writings linked to Gnostic writings.
Below part of the Tripartite Treaty which deals with the formation of the two "antagonistic" cosmic forces, Powers of the Right and Powers of the Left, good and evil, order and chaos, Demiurge and Devil.
The offspring of the Wordâs arrogant thought: The Material Powers
Those that came into being from the arrogant thought resemble the fullnesses of which they are imitations, â˘but they are phantoms, shadows, and illusions, deprived of word and light, things that belong to the empty thought, offspring of nothing. â˘For this reason too their end will be like their beginning: â˘they come from what does not exist, so that they will also return to what will not exist. â˘But in their own estimationa are great and powerful ones, more [beautiful] than the names [that are given] to them, which are only [their] shadows, beautiful by imitation. â˘For [. . .] of the image takes its beauty from the one whose image it is. â˘Concerning themselves they thought that they alone existed and that they were without origin because they did not see anything that existed prior to them. â˘For this reason they exhibited disobedience and acts of rebellion and did not submit to the one because of whom they came into existence. â˘They wanted to command and dominate one another [in] their vain love of glory. â˘The glory that they possessed became a cause [of] the structure that would come into existence.b â˘Therefore, [because] they were imitations of those on high, c exalted themselves to a love of command, each one according to the grandeur of the name of which he was a shadow,d fantasizing that he would become greater than his companions. â˘The thought of these others was not barren, but in accordance with the likeness e whose shadows they wereââ˘everything they think potentially has childrenââ˘the things that they thought became their offspring. â˘And thus it happened that many came forth from them as offspring: â˘they were fighters, warriors, troublemakers, rebels, disobedient ones who love to give orders, â˘and all the others of this sort who come from them.
The offspring of the Wordâs turning back and remembrance: The Animate Powers
This entire prayer of his and this remembrance were numerous powers, in accordance with the principle that there is nothing barren in his thinking. â˘These powers were much better and greater than those that belong to the imitation. â˘For those that belong to the imitation belong to a [false] essence: they came into being from an imitationâs illusion and a [vain,] arrogant [thought.] â˘These, however, are from the thought that had possessed acquaintance of them beforehand.â˘Therefore, those are like forgetfulness and heavy sleep; â˘they are like the people who have disturbed dreams in which sleep haunts them and those who dream are trapped. â˘These others, however, are for him like luminous beings who are expecting the sunrise, after they have seen sweet dreams in it (sleep). â˘Truly they < . . . > the emissions of the remembrance.c â˘They did not have their essence to a greater degree, nor did they have more honor, because theya are not equal to those that preexist,b even if they are superior [to] the imitations. â˘It is by this alone that they are elevated above them (the imitations): â˘they are from a good dispositionâfor they did not come from the sickness that developedââ˘that is, (they are from) the good disposition belonging to the one who sought for the preexistent after he had prayed and brought himself to what is good. â˘He sowed in them a will to seek after and pray to the preexistent glorious one, and he sowed in them a thought about him and a contemplation, â˘so that they might think that something greater than they existed before them, even though they did not understand what it was. â˘Engendering harmony and love for one another through that thought, they acted in unity and with unanimity, â˘because it was from unity and unanimity that they received their existence.
Conflict between the animate and material powers
Therefore, they (the animate powers) surpassed them (the material powers) in love of command because they were of greater honors than the earlier ones, â˘who rose up against them. â˘The latter had not humbled themselves: they thought that they had originated from themselves alone, had no source, and were the first to bring forth in accordance with their birth. â˘The two orders assaulted one another and fought for domination in such ways that they were swallowed up by powers and essences, as is the condition of mutual combat. â˘They too had love of command and all other such things as well, â˘for empty vainglory draws them all to the desire of love of command, and not one of them remembers [. . .] â˘nor do they acknowledge that the powers of the remembrance were [prepared] by the preexistent oneâs actions, whose likenesses they were. â˘The [order] of this kinda had harmony with itself and with one another, â˘but it was fighting against the order of those belonging to the imitation, while the order of those belonging to the imitation was making war against the likenesses, â˘and it was acting against itself because of its wrath. â˘Because of this it [happened . . .] â˘there [. . . against] one another, â˘many [. . .] necessity put them [. . .] â˘so that they seized [. . .] . . . [. . .] â˘their envy, [their] malice, wrath, violence, desire, and paralyzing lack of acquaintance, â˘engendering diverse forms of matter and all kinds of powers, mixed up with one another and numerous, â˘while the intellect of the Word who had been their generative cause awaited the revelation of the [hope] that would come to him from above.
For now this is the information I have, everyone is welcome to collaborate or even criticize the analyses.
submitted by Arch-Magistratus to Gnostic [link] [comments]
Basically everyone knows as Spirit, Soul and Matter, but also in Valentinian writings they are called Similarity (Powers of the Soul), Imitation (Powers of Matter), Images (Divine Spark).
It is interesting to remember that although it is very possible that there is no Gnostic influence in Tolkien's works, it is still possible that there is influence of this Tripartite world conception of substances( Spirit, Soul, Matter).
Of the ultimate fate of the three essences, the Valentinians tell us:
1) Material is wholly mortal and will perish.
2) Animate is intermediate between material and spiritual- and can either be saved( ascend to the eighth heaven) or perish with the material depending on its own nature.
3) Spiritual is bound to the Animate( because it was sewn into the Demiurgos, and then breathed into mankind). It is to learn and experience with the animate while physically incarnate, until it has grown to readiness and returns to the Pleroma.
We find similarly in Tolkien's writings:
The Elven Race/Similarity( Would be like angels/powers of the soul, given the gift of immortality and are tied to Earth's destiny.)
The Race of Men/Images( They appear to be less "perfect" than the elves but they received the gift of death making them free from the fate of the earth, this would be like the spirit after Gnosis.)
The Race of Orcs/Imitiation( Bestial creatures that represent evil in middle earth, just as it would also represent matter,incapable of salvation and Gnosis)
Demiurge/Eru Iluvatar( Does not recognize or perceive something greater than himself, created and greatly influenced by Sophia Achamoth) first created the archons (Ainur), then the angels (Maiar and Elves), and then created men (where the divine spark capable of transcending archons, angels and the destiny of the world, that is, the gift of death, would be sewn.)
I am noticing similarities, surely several others must have noticed these or other similarities in Tolkien's writings linked to Gnostic writings.
Below part of the Tripartite Treaty which deals with the formation of the two "antagonistic" cosmic forces, Powers of the Right and Powers of the Left, good and evil, order and chaos, Demiurge and Devil.
The offspring of the Wordâs arrogant thought: The Material Powers
Those that came into being from the arrogant thought resemble the fullnesses of which they are imitations, â˘but they are phantoms, shadows, and illusions, deprived of word and light, things that belong to the empty thought, offspring of nothing. â˘For this reason too their end will be like their beginning: â˘they come from what does not exist, so that they will also return to what will not exist. â˘But in their own estimation
The offspring of the Wordâs turning back and remembrance: The Animate Powers
This entire prayer of his and this remembrance were numerous powers, in accordance with the principle that there is nothing barren in his thinking. â˘These powers were much better and greater than those that belong to the imitation. â˘For those that belong to the imitation belong to a [false] essence: they came into being from an imitationâs illusion and a [vain,] arrogant [thought.] â˘These, however, are from the thought that had possessed acquaintance of them beforehand.â˘Therefore, those are like forgetfulness and heavy sleep; â˘they are like the people who have disturbed dreams in which sleep haunts them and those who dream are trapped. â˘These others, however, are for him like luminous beings who are expecting the sunrise, after they have seen sweet dreams in it (sleep). â˘Truly they < . . . > the emissions of the remembrance.c â˘They did not have their essence to a greater degree, nor did they have more honor, because theya are not equal to those that preexist,b even if they are superior [to] the imitations. â˘It is by this alone that they are elevated above them (the imitations): â˘they are from a good dispositionâfor they did not come from the sickness that developedââ˘that is, (they are from) the good disposition belonging to the one who sought for the preexistent after he had prayed and brought himself to what is good. â˘He sowed in them a will to seek after and pray to the preexistent glorious one, and he sowed in them a thought about him and a contemplation, â˘so that they might think that something greater than they existed before them, even though they did not understand what it was. â˘Engendering harmony and love for one another through that thought, they acted in unity and with unanimity, â˘because it was from unity and unanimity that they received their existence.
Conflict between the animate and material powers
Therefore, they (the animate powers) surpassed them (the material powers) in love of command because they were of greater honors than the earlier ones, â˘who rose up against them. â˘The latter had not humbled themselves: they thought that they had originated from themselves alone, had no source, and were the first to bring forth in accordance with their birth. â˘The two orders assaulted one another and fought for domination in such ways that they were swallowed up by powers and essences, as is the condition of mutual combat. â˘They too had love of command and all other such things as well, â˘for empty vainglory draws them all to the desire of love of command, and not one of them remembers [. . .] â˘nor do they acknowledge that the powers of the remembrance were [prepared] by the preexistent oneâs actions, whose likenesses they were. â˘The [order] of this kinda had harmony with itself and with one another, â˘but it was fighting against the order of those belonging to the imitation, while the order of those belonging to the imitation was making war against the likenesses, â˘and it was acting against itself because of its wrath. â˘Because of this it [happened . . .] â˘there [. . . against] one another, â˘many [. . .] necessity put them [. . .] â˘so that they seized [. . .] . . . [. . .] â˘their envy, [their] malice, wrath, violence, desire, and paralyzing lack of acquaintance, â˘engendering diverse forms of matter and all kinds of powers, mixed up with one another and numerous, â˘while the intellect of the Word who had been their generative cause awaited the revelation of the [hope] that would come to him from above.
For now this is the information I have, everyone is welcome to collaborate or even criticize the analyses.
2023.06.04 16:44 I-am-the-Peel (Spoilers Extended) A Character Analysis of Varys, the fake and lying eunuch
Apologies for the length and lateness of this post, past few months have been quite chaotic and haven't had much access to the internet, I dunno when I'll be back on this sub again after this so until then, more posts from me will be a Dream for Spring Summer (probably)
Over the years I've read a great many theories about the character of Varys, his motivations, his scheming throughout the series and his endgame, but none of them have ever truly sat well with me for how much his character feels simplified. He is one of ASOIAF's most complex characters who I still believe we haven't entirely cracked yet, and I for one still believe even after writing this post up and reflecting on it, there's still some of his character that I haven't figured out.
However, I want to propose an alternative character analysis to the character of Varys, one that drifts away from the more common take on his character - Varys is not a eunuch or a friend of Tyrion Lannister, and has spent his entire life lying about his manhood to deter anyone from thinking that he could father any children, so that fAegon, his true son, would always be protected while hiding.
Let us begin by breaking down each of the lies that define his character.
First, the lie that he was castrated as a young slave and had his manhood thrown into a fire by 'a certain man', which resulted in the fire turning magically blue and 'a voice' speaking out to Varys.
Illyrio, the same man who praised R'hllor, a God that Varys despises;
It makes little sense that Varys would entertain the company of those who worship R'hllor or magical forms of fire, if Varys truly is traumatised by what seemingly happened to him as a slave child by fire.
As well as Illyrio, this is apparent in Aerys II, who would regularly burn people in the throne room with wildfire, in the presence of Varys;
But it makes a lot more sense that Varys actually never had a problem with R'hllor or wildfire, and instead chose to encourage Aerys' paranoia so that he would always both seem useful to Aerys and be on good relations with him, to solidify his position of power on the Small Council, given that he was just a young foreign man in Westeros and wholly dependent on Aerys' support to maintain his standing in King's Landing.
The second lie of Varys' character that I wish to tackle is his apparent concern for the wellbeing of children;
However, we later learn in the series that Aegon seemingly survived and was swapped with a tanner's child, bought by Varys and swapped with Aegon, so that this bought child could be sacrificed to the Lannisters, who Varys presumed would want to kill Rhaegar's children;
The first red flag of this story is the idea that Varys, a former slave child who abhors slavery, would willingly buy another man's young child. Also pay attention to the mention of 'Arbor gold', which has been well documented on this sub for years for how its always a signal of lies, as individuals like Littlefinger mention it in passing whenever they are telling a lie.
The second red flag is the idea that Varys, someone who seemingly abhors the murder and suffering of innocent children, would willingly sacrifice an innocent young child and allow them to be murdered just to spare another, more valuable child. The idea that Varys would also take Elia's child away from her, either willingly or unwillingly on her part, is also questionable.
The third red flag is why Varys chose only to switch Aegon with another child, and not do the same for Rhaenys. Having two imposter Targaryen children raised to believe they are Targaryens could've helped to support their claims, build them up as a rival power in Westeros and also provide a backup option for Varys incase fAegon didn't survive his childhood.
The final red flag is the idea that Varys was able to foresee how the Rebellion was going to end, accurately guessed that Rhaegar's children would be murdered by the Lannisters, knew where and when to find Elia and her children, be able to remove one of her children away from her without anyone knowing, and knew that one of Tywin's men would kill the children so brutally that next to no one would be able to recognise them - the idea story is built on a series of flimsy conveniences and incredible predictive abilities on Varys' part.
If Varys truly cared so much about the protection and well-being of children, he would not have willingly bought and sacrificed an innocent child to be sacrificed in exchange for Aegon's survival, nor would he have abandoned Rhaenys to her fate if he could have prevented it. This means either Varys truly doesn't give a damn about the wellbeing of children and just lies to the likes of Ned and Tyrion about it, or that the entire story about Aegon being swapped with a tanner's child is a lie like some fans believe, or that both stories are lies muddled together to make it more difficult to discern the truth.
Perhaps the truth of Varys' lies is best exposed in this often cited excerpt from ACOK, a conversation between him and Tyrion about the infamous "Shadow on the Wall" riddle;
I however believe that Varys is talking about himself.
Varys was once a very small man when he came to King's Landing at Aerys' calling for him to join the Small Council. He was seen as a young ex-slave, without a lordship or house of his own, weak and powerless. But overtime, through his manipulation of Aerys, encouraging his paranoia and own self-inflicted downfall, Varys cast a very large shadow over the empire of House Targaryen in Westeros, and destroyed it forever. What Varys says here to Tyrion is a very veiled threat that he can be dangerous to Tyrion if he underestimates Varys.
Tyrion however, in his arrogance, believes that Varys is referring to him, being a "very small man" and begins considering him a friend.
This is the third and final lie of Varys' character that I wish to dissect here - the lie that he is a friend or useful ally of sorts to Tyrion.
The idea of Varys betraying Tyrion's trust and working against him is first presented to us by Cersei, when she lets slip that Varys informed her of Tyrion's plan to send the Hound into battle at the Battle of the Blackwater;
There are frequent moments throughout the series in which Varys alludes to knowing key information and deliberately withholding it from Tyrion even if it may benefit Tyrion, including who ordered Mandon Moore to kill Tyrion;
On the matter of Varys' choosing to support the Lannisters or Stannis, Varys once again tries to confuse Tyrion with riddles and not directly answer the question;
However, like with Cersei and Tyrion, Varys needs to tell those on the Small Council a certain amount of secretive information in order to gain their trust and support, including Stannis. That Varys even chooses to give a deeper and more unsettling laugh about the matter is another example of him openly laughing about his treachery in Tyrion's face and Tyrion not realising it.
When Tyrion almost stumbles upon this ruse and Varys realises that his laugh was too deep and questionable, Varys tries to brush it off by saying its harder to keep a secret secret if so many people are investigating it, and insists that there were so many of Robert's bastards to find for Stannis to figure out the truth on his own. But again, this last statement from Varys is littered with half-truths.
Varys insists it is hard to keep deceiving King Robert about the truth of his children's true parentage, and even harder to keep deceiving the truth from those who are deliberately looking for the truth and wanting to find it. This in itself is a reference to his believe that Stannis was always power-hungry for the Iron Throne, and was just looking for an excuse to try to claim it for himself as Robert's true heir, regardless of whether or not Cersei's children were Robert's or not.
But his own comment about "betraying a secret I have held for so long" is a direct allusion to fAegon's existence, and his determination not to reveal the truth of his existence to anyone, including Tyrion.
Even when Tyrion rides with Illyrio and Jon Connington's entourage in ADWD, Tyrion is only led to believe that they are going to support Daenerys' claim for the Iron Throne, and has to work out for himself that fAegon is actually Aegon and the one Varys and Illyrio wish to crown;
This likely angers Varys, and is the reason why Varys no longer affectionately calls Tyrion by his name or by '"lord" and instead refers to him as "the imp" in ADWD's epilogue, a term that Varys knows Tyrion hates;
Varys never considered Tyrion a friend or ally in ASOIAF and was just using him, another lie that he tells throughout the series, and by the end of ADWD, he hates Tyrion for his scheming and knowing too much information than Varys wished him to know.
But there is a bigger telling point about how much Varys uses Tyrion, and a more ground-breaking twist in the narrative that reflects both how much Varys underestimates Tyrion and how much Varys never cared for him;
In ASOS, Varys didn't tell Tyrion how to reach the Tower of the Hand to go and kill Tywin. Varys told him this key information so that Tyrion could go and kill Shae instead, who Varys considered a greater threat to him.
Shae is one of the few, perhaps the only, people in ASOIAF to see through Varys' disguises;
Wearing disguises is a very important part of Varys' many schemes, including visiting Ned Stark in the Black Cells as the gaoler Rugen;
It is also fundamentally not in Varys' interest for Tyrion to kill Tywin, as keeping Tywin alive for now would ensure the Dornish would have someone to rise up and seek vengeance against for Elia's murder. As readers are shown in AFFC and ADWD Dornish chapters, the Martells are divided and frankly confused about how to seek vengeance for Elia's murder now that Tywin, Gregor and Armory Lorch - the three men involved in her murder - are now dead. **If Tywin had lived, Varys could've played on the Dornish thirst for vengeance against him and had fAegon promise them it in exchange for their support, something which they likely would've agreed to.
So by this point in the post, we've explored some of the key lies of Varys' character to know for sure what he is not;
Well, Varys is not a eunuch, and in fact fAegon's true father by blood. Varys has deliberately spent his life lying about being a eunuch in order to discourage people from the truth that he is the father of fAegon by Illyrioâs sister, and wants to control the Iron Throne through fAegon.
Recall Varys' conversation with Tyrion in ACOK that I previously cited earlier;
Varys was never castrated and he is not bald. He deliberately shaves his head to hide his true parentage and lies about being a eunuch to discourage people from believing that he is capable of fathering a child, a child with Blackfyre blood that he wishes to sit on the Iron Throne, a secret that Varys has cared for and kept so long.
The last time we see Varys in ADWD, he finally begins to tell the truth about fAegon's existence, and when he does, and speaks about the son he loves, he begins to speak in his real, deeper and non-emasculated voice;**
TLDR:
Varys is not a eunuch but instead the father of fAegon, a secret he has spent his life protecting, and a lie he has spent his life telling to better protect his son.
Varys does not hate R'hllor or those who worship magical flames, his entire story about his manhood being sacrificed to flames is a lie he tells to gain Tyrion's trust in their efforts to defeat Stannis in ACOK. Varys is close friends with Illyrio, a man who praises R'hllor, and spent the early parts of his life encouraging Aerys to feed innocent people to the flames of wildfire.
Varys does not hate the suffering of innocent children, he was prepared to buy an innocent child from a man and sacrifice him in order to protect the "real" Aegon, he was prepared to abandon Rhaenys to her brutal death even if he could have saved her too and prepared to send Viserys and Daenerys into a doomed invasion of Westeros that would've led to their deaths just to make fAegon appear a more heroic saviour compared to them.
Varys was never a friend or ally to Tyrion but instead was using him ever since they first met. He has repeatedly withheld important information from him such as who hired Mandon Moore to kill Tyrion and how Stannis figured out the truth about Cersei's children, and on frequent occasions has nearly openly laughed in Tyrion's face at both his misfortune and the information Varys withheld from him. Varys also manipulated Tyrion into killing Shae so that she would not expose Varys' identity as Rugen and didn't trust Tyrion with the information about fAegon's existence, something that Tyrion had to figure out himself. Varys also talks lowly of Tyrion at the end of ADWD as a "conniving Imp" which reflects Varys' true feelings about Tyrion.
Varys has spent his life shaving his hair and lying about being a eunuch to discourage anyone from believing he could father fAegon and better protect him, so that fAegon could one day take the Iron Throne, and cast a very large shadow over the Targaryen Empire forever.
Thanks for reading, if you enjoyed this theory be sure to read some of my other theories below;
All the signs that Tywin directly gave the Mountain the order to badly mistreat Elia Martell
The Father Rhaegaer, the Son Jon and the Holy Ghost Ghost, religious symbolism
Mance Rayder is a servant of the Others
Leyton Hightower is the Lord of Light and Malora the Mad Maid is Quaithe
2022 archive of ASOIAF theories available at the bottom of this post
submitted by I-am-the-Peel to asoiaf [link] [comments]
Over the years I've read a great many theories about the character of Varys, his motivations, his scheming throughout the series and his endgame, but none of them have ever truly sat well with me for how much his character feels simplified. He is one of ASOIAF's most complex characters who I still believe we haven't entirely cracked yet, and I for one still believe even after writing this post up and reflecting on it, there's still some of his character that I haven't figured out.
However, I want to propose an alternative character analysis to the character of Varys, one that drifts away from the more common take on his character - Varys is not a eunuch or a friend of Tyrion Lannister, and has spent his entire life lying about his manhood to deter anyone from thinking that he could father any children, so that fAegon, his true son, would always be protected while hiding.
Let us begin by breaking down each of the lies that define his character.
First, the lie that he was castrated as a young slave and had his manhood thrown into a fire by 'a certain man', which resulted in the fire turning magically blue and 'a voice' speaking out to Varys.
"One day at Myr, a certain man came to our folly. After the performance, he made an offer for me that my master found too tempting to refuse. I was in terror. I feared the man meant to use me as I had heard men used small boys, but in truth the only part of me he had need of was my manhood. He gave me a potion that made me powerless to move or speak, yet did nothing to dull my senses. With a long hooked blade, he sliced me root and stem, chanting all the while. I watched him burn my manly parts on a brazier. The flames turned blue, and I heard a voice answer his call, though I did not understand the words they spoke. "The mummers had sailed by the time he was done with me. Once I had served his purpose, the man had no further interest in me, so he put me out. When I asked him what I should do now, he answered that he supposed I should die. To spite him, I resolved to live. I begged, I stole, and I sold what parts of my body still remained to me. Soon I was as good a thief as any in Myr, and when I was older I learned that often the contents of a man's letters are more valuable than the contents of his purse. "Yet I still dream of that night, my lord. Not of the sorcerer, nor his blade, nor even the way my manhood shriveled as it burned. I dream of the voice. The voice from the flames. Was it a god, a demon, some conjurer's trick? I could not tell you, and I know all the tricks. All I can say for a certainty is that he called it, and it answered, and since that day I have hated magic and all those who practice it. If Lord Stannis is one such, I mean to see him dead." - ACOK - TYRION XNow there is much from this excerpt to raise complaints and questions about Varys' story;
- There are no known instances of individuals being mutilated and having their mutilated parts being sacrificed in the flames for the sake of blood magic or appeasing R'hllor. Individuals have often been sacrificed to the flames, but sacrificed in their whole bodies.
- The details of how Varys was mutilated and that he was able to survive is unbelievable, and even more unbelievable that he went on to live as an orphan on the streets after this horrific ordeal with little to no medical treatment. Varys' simple claim that he "resolved to live" is very vague.
- Varys can remember this mystic and mysterious voice, but not what it send or what the words sounded like. Melisandre claims to hear the voices of R'hllor in the flames and voices could be heard from Drogo's tent when Mirri Maz Duhr was performing her blood magic, but these voices are only heard by the sorcerers, and not the victims. By all accounts, Varys should not have been able to hear these voices, if part of himself was fed to the flames.
"How many days until we reach the river?" he asked Illyrio that evening. "At this pace, your queen's dragons will be larger than Aegon's three before I can lay eyes upon them." "Would it were so. A large dragon is more fearsome than a small one." The magister shrugged. "Much as it would please me to welcome Queen Daenerys to Volantis, I must rely on you and Griff for that. I can serve her best in Pentos, smoothing the way for her return. So long as I am with you, though ⌠well, an old fat man must have his comforts, yes? Come, drink a cup of wine." - ADWD - TYRION IIIllyrio is Varys' best friend and closest confidant, who he works with to protect Daenerys for much of her life and is willing to crown her as Queen alongside fAegon even though she has magical fire-breathing dragons that Varys, a victim of magical flames, would despise.
Illyrio, the same man who praised R'hllor, a God that Varys despises;
Her brother was waiting in the cool of the entry hall, seated on the edge of the pool, his hand trailing in the water. He rose when she appeared and looked her over critically. "Stand there," he told her. "Turn around. Yes. Good. You look âŚ" "Regal," Magister Illyrio said, stepping through an archway. He moved with surprising delicacy for such a massive man. Beneath loose garments of flame-colored silk, rolls of fat jiggled as he walked. Gemstones glittered on every finger, and his man had oiled his forked yellow beard until it shone like real gold. "May the Lord of Light shower you with blessings on this most fortunate day, Princess Daenerys," the magister said as he took her hand. He bowed his head, showing a thin glimpse of crooked yellow teeth through the gold of his beard. "She is a vision, Your Grace, a vision," he told her brother. "Drogo will be enraptured." - AGOT - DAENERYS INeither Viserys or Daenerys were followers of R'hllor at this point, or surrounded by any followers, meaning Illyrio didn't need to bring up this form of prayer to R'hllor unless it was genuine or near genuine on his own part.
It makes little sense that Varys would entertain the company of those who worship R'hllor or magical forms of fire, if Varys truly is traumatised by what seemingly happened to him as a slave child by fire.
As well as Illyrio, this is apparent in Aerys II, who would regularly burn people in the throne room with wildfire, in the presence of Varys;
Frustrated, Aerys turned to the Wisdoms of the ancient Guild of Alchemists, who knew the secret of producing the volatile jade green substance known as wildfire, said to be a close cousin to dragonflame. The pyromancers became a regular fixture at his court as the king's fascination with fire grew. By 280 AC, Aerys II had taken to burning traitors, murderers, and plotters, rather than hanging or beheading them. The king seemed to take great pleasure in these fiery executions, which were presided over by Wisdom Rossart, the grand master of the Guild of Alchemists...so much so that he granted Rossart the title of Lord and gave him a seat upon the small council. - TWOIAF - THE TARGARYEN KINGS - AERYS IINot only would Varys be present to witness these burnings, but Varys even encouraged Aerys to burn other individuals suspected of treachery, and fuelled both Aerys' paranoia and bloodlust;
He floated in heat, in memory. "After dancing griffins lost the Battle of the Bells, Aerys exiled him." Why am I telling this absurd ugly child? "He had finally realized that Robert was no mere outlaw lord to be crushed at whim, but the greatest threat House Targaryen had faced since Daemon Blackfyre. The king reminded Lewyn Martell gracelessly that he held Elia and sent him to take command of the ten thousand Dornishmen coming up the kingsroad. Jon Darry and Barristan Selmy rode to Stoney Sept to rally what they could of griffins' men, and Prince Rhaegar returned from the south and persuaded his father to swallow his pride and summon my father. But no raven returned from Casterly Rock, and that made the king even more afraid. He saw traitors everywhere, and Varys was always there to point out any he might have missed. So His Grace commanded his alchemists to place caches of wildfire all over King's Landing. Beneath Baelor's Sept and the hovels of Flea Bottom, under stables and storehouses, at all seven gates, even in the cellars of the Red Keep itself. - ASOS - JAIME VVarys developed a reputation for egging on Aerys' paranoia and encouraging him to execute apparent traitors by fire, so much so that people like Barristan lay chief blame for Aerys' downfall into madness on Varys for exploiting it;
"It is not a question of wanting. The throne is mine, as Robert's heir. That is law. After me, it must pass to my daughter, unless Selyse should finally give me a son." He ran three fingers lightly down the table, over the layers of smooth hard varnish, dark with age. "I am king. Wants do not enter into it. I have a duty to my daughter. To the realm. Even to Robert. He loved me but little, I know, yet he was my brother. The Lannister woman gave him horns and made a motley fool of him. She may have murdered him as well, as she murdered Jon Arryn and Ned Stark. For such crimes there must be justice. Starting with Cersei and her abominations. But only starting. I mean to scour that court clean. As Robert should have done, after the Trident. Ser Barristan once told me that the rot in King Aerys's reign began with Varys. The eunuch should never have been pardoned. No more than the Kingslayer. At the least, Robert should have stripped the white cloak from Jaime and sent him to the Wall, as Lord Stark urged. He listened to Jon Arryn instead. I was still at Storm's End, under siege and unconsulted." He turned abruptly, to give Davos a hard shrewd look. "The truth, now. Why did you wish to murder Lady Melisandre?" - ASOS - DAVOS IVIt makes very little sense that Varys, a eunuch who seemingly hates worshippers of R'hllor and pyromancers for burning people and sacrificing his manhood to the flames as a child, would be best friends with a man who praises R'hllor or encourage his previous King to burn several people, many of whom were likely innocent of the claims of treachery put against them.
But it makes a lot more sense that Varys actually never had a problem with R'hllor or wildfire, and instead chose to encourage Aerys' paranoia so that he would always both seem useful to Aerys and be on good relations with him, to solidify his position of power on the Small Council, given that he was just a young foreign man in Westeros and wholly dependent on Aerys' support to maintain his standing in King's Landing.
The second lie of Varys' character that I wish to tackle is his apparent concern for the wellbeing of children;
"No," Ned pleaded, his voice cracking. "Varys, gods have mercy, do as you like with me, but leave my daughter out of your schemes. Sansa's no more than a child." "Rhaenys was a child too. Prince Rhaegar's daughter. A precious little thing, younger than your girls. She had a small black kitten she called Balerion, did you know? I always wondered what happened to him. Rhaenys liked to pretend he was the true Balerion, the Black Dread of old, but I imagine the Lannisters taught her the difference between a kitten and a dragon quick enough, the day they broke down her door." Varys gave a long weary sigh, the sigh of a man who carried all the sadness of the world in a sack upon his shoulders. "The High Septon once told me that as we sin, so do we suffer. If that's true, Lord Eddard, tell me ⌠why is it always the innocents who suffer most, when you high lords play your game of thrones? Ponder it, if you would, while you wait upon the queen. And spare a thought for this as well: The next visitor who calls on you could bring you bread and cheese and the milk of the poppy for your pain ⌠or he could bring you Sansa's head. - AGOT - EDDARD XVVarys shows apparent disgust at the murders of Rhaegar's children, Rhaenys and Aegon, at the end of Robert's Rebellion, and the way in which they were brutally murdered.
However, we later learn in the series that Aegon seemingly survived and was swapped with a tanner's child, bought by Varys and swapped with Aegon, so that this bought child could be sacrificed to the Lannisters, who Varys presumed would want to kill Rhaegar's children;
"A true friend, our Lord Connington. He must be, to remain so fiercely loyal to the grandson of the king who took his lands and titles and sent him into exile. A pity about that. Elsewise Prince Rhaegar's friend might have been on hand when my father sacked King's Landing, to save Prince Rhaegar's precious little son from getting his royal brains dashed out against a wall." The lad flushed. "That was not me. I told you. That was some tanner's son from Pisswater Bend whose mother died birthing him. His father sold him to Lord Varys for a jug of Arbor gold. He had other sons but had never tasted Arbor gold. Varys gave the Pisswater boy to my lady mother and carried me away." "Aye." Tyrion moved his elephants. "And when the pisswater prince was safely dead, the eunuch smuggled you across the narrow sea to his fat friend the cheesemonger, who hid you on a poleboat and found an exile lord willing to call himself your father. It does make for a splendid story, and the singers will make much of your escape once you take the Iron Throne ⌠assuming that our fair Daenerys takes you for her consort." - ADWD - TYRION VIThis entire "splendid story" as Tyrion calls it, is full of inconsistencies and unbelievable acts.
The first red flag of this story is the idea that Varys, a former slave child who abhors slavery, would willingly buy another man's young child. Also pay attention to the mention of 'Arbor gold', which has been well documented on this sub for years for how its always a signal of lies, as individuals like Littlefinger mention it in passing whenever they are telling a lie.
The second red flag is the idea that Varys, someone who seemingly abhors the murder and suffering of innocent children, would willingly sacrifice an innocent young child and allow them to be murdered just to spare another, more valuable child. The idea that Varys would also take Elia's child away from her, either willingly or unwillingly on her part, is also questionable.
The third red flag is why Varys chose only to switch Aegon with another child, and not do the same for Rhaenys. Having two imposter Targaryen children raised to believe they are Targaryens could've helped to support their claims, build them up as a rival power in Westeros and also provide a backup option for Varys incase fAegon didn't survive his childhood.
The final red flag is the idea that Varys was able to foresee how the Rebellion was going to end, accurately guessed that Rhaegar's children would be murdered by the Lannisters, knew where and when to find Elia and her children, be able to remove one of her children away from her without anyone knowing, and knew that one of Tywin's men would kill the children so brutally that next to no one would be able to recognise them - the idea story is built on a series of flimsy conveniences and incredible predictive abilities on Varys' part.
If Varys truly cared so much about the protection and well-being of children, he would not have willingly bought and sacrificed an innocent child to be sacrificed in exchange for Aegon's survival, nor would he have abandoned Rhaenys to her fate if he could have prevented it. This means either Varys truly doesn't give a damn about the wellbeing of children and just lies to the likes of Ned and Tyrion about it, or that the entire story about Aegon being swapped with a tanner's child is a lie like some fans believe, or that both stories are lies muddled together to make it more difficult to discern the truth.
Perhaps the truth of Varys' lies is best exposed in this often cited excerpt from ACOK, a conversation between him and Tyrion about the infamous "Shadow on the Wall" riddle;
Varys smiled. "Here, then. Power resides where men believe it resides. No more and no less.""So power is a mummer's trick?" "A shadow on the wall," Varys murmured, "yet shadows can kill. And ofttimes a very small man can cast a very large shadow." Tyrion smiled. "Lord Varys, I am growing strangely fond of you. I may kill you yet, but I think I'd feel sad about it." - ACOK - TYRION IIThe question of who Varys refers to in this conversation has been debated for years on this sub. Some believe that Varys was alluding to fAegon, that if people believe he is the real Aegon then he will have power, even if he doesn't truly have power as a common non-Targaryen child. Others have suggested Varys was alluding to Littlefinger, who was once a young small man who rose very high in King's Landing and cast a large shadow over the realm by starting the WotFk through his schemes.
I however believe that Varys is talking about himself.
Varys was once a very small man when he came to King's Landing at Aerys' calling for him to join the Small Council. He was seen as a young ex-slave, without a lordship or house of his own, weak and powerless. But overtime, through his manipulation of Aerys, encouraging his paranoia and own self-inflicted downfall, Varys cast a very large shadow over the empire of House Targaryen in Westeros, and destroyed it forever. What Varys says here to Tyrion is a very veiled threat that he can be dangerous to Tyrion if he underestimates Varys.
Tyrion however, in his arrogance, believes that Varys is referring to him, being a "very small man" and begins considering him a friend.
This is the third and final lie of Varys' character that I wish to dissect here - the lie that he is a friend or useful ally of sorts to Tyrion.
The idea of Varys betraying Tyrion's trust and working against him is first presented to us by Cersei, when she lets slip that Varys informed her of Tyrion's plan to send the Hound into battle at the Battle of the Blackwater;
"Varys says so." The swan was too rich for his taste. A line appeared on Cersei's pale white brow, between those lovely eyes. "You put too much trust in that eunuch." "He serves me well." "Or so he'd have you believe. You think you're the only one he whispers secrets to? He gives each of us just enough to convince us that we'd be helpless without him. He played the same game with me, when I first wed Robert. For years, I was convinced I had no truer friend at court, but now . . ." She studied his face for a moment. "He says you mean to take the Hound from Joffrey." - ACOK - TYRION XIIOn a first read, we are quick to dismiss Cersei's claims for how much she is built up as an antagonistic and untrustworthy character, but in later understanding her motives in her own POV chapters, we realise there may be an inkling of truth in her claims. In the case of the Hound, Varys has no reason to inform her of Tyrion's plan, however innocent and insignificant in the grand game of thrones they may be, other than to maintain some level of trust with her and to invoke conflict between the Lannister siblings, which benefits Varys.
There are frequent moments throughout the series in which Varys alludes to knowing key information and deliberately withholding it from Tyrion even if it may benefit Tyrion, including who ordered Mandon Moore to kill Tyrion;
Bronn had turned up all he could on Ser Mandon, but no doubt Varys knew a deal more . . . should he choose to share it. "The man seems to have been quite friendless," Tyrion said carefully. "Sadly," said Varys, "oh, sadly. You might find some kin if you turned over enough stones back in the Vale, but here . . . Lord Arryn brought him to King's Landing and Robert gave him his white cloak, but neither loved him much, I fear. Nor was he the sort the smallfolk cheer in tourneys, despite his undoubted prowess. Why, even his brothers of the Kingsguard never warmed to him. Ser Barristan was once heard to say that the man had no friend but his sword and no life but duty . . . but you know, I do not think Selmy meant it altogether as praise. Which is queer when you consider it, is it not? Those are the very qualities we seek in our Kingsguard, it could be saidâmen who live not for themselves, but for their king. By those lights, our brave Ser Mandon was the perfect white knight. And he died as a knight of the Kingsguard ought, with sword in hand, defending one of the king's own blood." The eunuch gave him a slimy smile and watched him sharply. Trying to murder one of the king's own blood, you mean. Tyrion wondered if Varys knew rather more than he was saying. - ASOS - TYRION IIWhen Tyrion presses Varys for information about Mandon, Varys deliberately skims over Mandon's life and offers vague beliefs about the perfect Kingsguard to try and derail Tyrion's line of questioning, and when Varys pretends not to have known about Mandon trying to kill Tyrion, he watches Tyrion "sharply" to try and gather how much Tyrion himself knows, whether or not Tyrion will seek retribution for it from the anger on his face, and almost openly mocks him for the smile he gives. Tyrion briefly considers the idea that Varys is deliberately holding information back from him, but chooses instead to talk about other matters, which is what Varys wanted.
On the matter of Varys' choosing to support the Lannisters or Stannis, Varys once again tries to confuse Tyrion with riddles and not directly answer the question;
"He accuses my brother and sister of incest. I wonder how he came by that suspicion." "Perhaps he read a book and looked at the color of a bastard's hair, as Ned Stark did, and Jon Arryn before him. Or perhaps someone whispered it in his ear." The eunuch's laugh was not his usual giggle, but deeper and more throaty. "Someone like you, perchance?" "Am I suspected? It was not me." "If it had been, would you admit it?" "No. But why should I betray a secret I have kept so long? It is one thing to deceive a king, and quite another to hide from the cricket in the rushes and the little bird in the chimney. Besides, the bastards were there for all to see." - ACOK - TYRION IIIWe know for certain that Varys didn't want the WotFK to start so soon or for the truth of Cersei's children to come out in AGOT because he wanted more time for Viserys' forces to grow in strength and come closer to Westeros in order to invade, either to take the throne for themselves or be the ones to kill the beloved Robert Baratheon and paint themselves as villainous usurpers to make fAegon more heroic and not taint him with Robert's blood on his hands.
However, like with Cersei and Tyrion, Varys needs to tell those on the Small Council a certain amount of secretive information in order to gain their trust and support, including Stannis. That Varys even chooses to give a deeper and more unsettling laugh about the matter is another example of him openly laughing about his treachery in Tyrion's face and Tyrion not realising it.
When Tyrion almost stumbles upon this ruse and Varys realises that his laugh was too deep and questionable, Varys tries to brush it off by saying its harder to keep a secret secret if so many people are investigating it, and insists that there were so many of Robert's bastards to find for Stannis to figure out the truth on his own. But again, this last statement from Varys is littered with half-truths.
Varys insists it is hard to keep deceiving King Robert about the truth of his children's true parentage, and even harder to keep deceiving the truth from those who are deliberately looking for the truth and wanting to find it. This in itself is a reference to his believe that Stannis was always power-hungry for the Iron Throne, and was just looking for an excuse to try to claim it for himself as Robert's true heir, regardless of whether or not Cersei's children were Robert's or not.
But his own comment about "betraying a secret I have held for so long" is a direct allusion to fAegon's existence, and his determination not to reveal the truth of his existence to anyone, including Tyrion.
Even when Tyrion rides with Illyrio and Jon Connington's entourage in ADWD, Tyrion is only led to believe that they are going to support Daenerys' claim for the Iron Throne, and has to work out for himself that fAegon is actually Aegon and the one Varys and Illyrio wish to crown;
Young Griff hesitated. "Lannister? Your fatherâ" "âis dead. At my hand. If it please Your Grace to call me Yollo or Hugor, so be it, but know that I was born Tyrion of House Lannister, trueborn son of Tywin and Joanna, both of whom I slew. Men will tell you that I am a kingslayer, a kinslayer, and a liar, and all of that is true ⌠but then, we are a company of liars, are we not? Take your feigned father. Griff, is it?" The dwarf sniggered. "You should thank the gods that Varys the Spider is a part of this plot of yours. Griff would not have fooled the cockless wonder for an instant, no more than it did me. No lord, my lordship says, no knight. And I'm no dwarf. Just saying a thing does not make it true. Who better to raise Prince Rhaegar's infant son than Prince Rhaegar's dear friend Jon Connington, once Lord of Griffin's Roost and Hand of the King?" "Be quiet." Griff's voice was uneasy. - ADWD - TYRION VAfter Tyrion works out the truth and manipulates both fAegon and Jon Connington into riding for Westeros instead of joining forces with Daenerys, he disappears and goes off to seek her out.
This likely angers Varys, and is the reason why Varys no longer affectionately calls Tyrion by his name or by '"lord" and instead refers to him as "the imp" in ADWD's epilogue, a term that Varys knows Tyrion hates;
Ser Kevan tried to rise, but the strength had left him. He could not feel his legs. "I thought the crossbow fitting. You shared so much with Lord Tywin, why not that? Your niece will think the Tyrells had you murdered, mayhaps with the connivance of the Imp. The Tyrells will suspect her. Someone somewhere will find a way to blame the Dornishmen. Doubt, division, and mistrust will eat the very ground beneath your boy king, whilst Aegon raises his banner above Storm's End and the lords of the realm gather round him." "Aegon?" For a moment he did not understand. Then he remembered. A babe swaddled in a crimson cloak, the cloth stained with his blood and brains. "Dead. He's dead." - ADWD - EPILOGUEVarys chooses to frame Tyrion for Kevan's murder, **deliberately and intentionally further putting his life in danger by Cersei's wrath, already knowing that Tyrion has a large bounty on his head because of her, and talks lowly of Tyrion by calling him an "Imp" and referring to his "connivance" in a very scorned tone.
Varys never considered Tyrion a friend or ally in ASOIAF and was just using him, another lie that he tells throughout the series, and by the end of ADWD, he hates Tyrion for his scheming and knowing too much information than Varys wished him to know.
But there is a bigger telling point about how much Varys uses Tyrion, and a more ground-breaking twist in the narrative that reflects both how much Varys underestimates Tyrion and how much Varys never cared for him;
In ASOS, Varys didn't tell Tyrion how to reach the Tower of the Hand to go and kill Tywin. Varys told him this key information so that Tyrion could go and kill Shae instead, who Varys considered a greater threat to him.
Shae is one of the few, perhaps the only, people in ASOIAF to see through Varys' disguises;
A whiff of something rank made him turn his head. Shae stood in the door behind him, dressed in the silvery robe he'd given her. I loved a maid as white as winter, with moonglow in her hair. Behind her stood one of the begging brothers, a portly man in filthy patched robes, his bare feet crusty with dirt, a bowl hung about his neck on a leather thong where a septon would have worn a crystal. The smell of him would have gagged a rat. "Lord Varys has come to see you," Shae announced. The begging brother blinked at her, astonished. Tyrion laughed. "To be sure. How is it you knew him when I did not?" She shrugged. "It's still him. Only dressed different." - ACOK - TYRION XThis catches Varys off guard, and any chance of seeing him being angry or looking threatened is waved away from the reader when Tyrion laughs it off and turns his attention again to his paramour Shae.
Wearing disguises is a very important part of Varys' many schemes, including visiting Ned Stark in the Black Cells as the gaoler Rugen;
"Wine," a voice answered. It was not the rat-faced man; this gaoler was stouter, shorter, though he wore the same leather half cape and spiked steel cap. "Drink, Lord Eddard." He thrust a wineskin into Ned's hands. The voice was strangely familiar, yet it took Ned Stark a moment to place it. "Varys?" he said groggily when it came. He touched the man's face. "I'm not ⌠not dreaming this. You're here." The eunuch's plump cheeks were covered with a dark stubble of beard. Ned felt the coarse hair with his fingers. Varys had transformed himself into a grizzled turnkey, reeking of sweat and sour wine. "How did you ⌠what sort of magician are you?" - AGOT - EDDARD XVHis disguise as Rugen is very important to Varys' plans after Tyrion's disappearance from King's Landing, as Varys seeks to frame Rugen as a Tyrell puppet who broke Tyrion from imprisonment on the Tyrells' behalf, to sow division and further paranoia between Cersei and the Tyrells;
Gold, yes, but the moment Cersei took it she could tell that it was wrong. Too small, she thought, too thin. The coin was old and worn. On one side was a king's face in profile, on the other side the imprint of a hand. "This is no dragon," she said. "No," Qyburn agreed. "It dates from before the Conquest, Your Grace. The king is Garth the Twelfth, and the hand is the sigil of House Gardener." Of Highgarden. Cersei closed her hand around the coin. What treachery is this? Mace Tyrell had been one of Tyrion's judges, and had called loudly for his death. Was that some ploy? Could he have been plotting with the Imp all the while, conspiring at Father's death? With Tywin Lannister in his grave, Lord Tyrell was an obvious choice to be King's Hand, but even so . . . "You will not speak of this with anyone," she commanded. - AFFC - CERSEI IIBut this ploy to incite conflict between the Lannisters and Tyrells would have failed if Shae had lived, as she had seen through Varys' disguises and could've warned Cersei of it, something which Varys could not allow, especially given that he considered her one of Cersei's pawns after Tyrion's trial.
It is also fundamentally not in Varys' interest for Tyrion to kill Tywin, as keeping Tywin alive for now would ensure the Dornish would have someone to rise up and seek vengeance against for Elia's murder. As readers are shown in AFFC and ADWD Dornish chapters, the Martells are divided and frankly confused about how to seek vengeance for Elia's murder now that Tywin, Gregor and Armory Lorch - the three men involved in her murder - are now dead. **If Tywin had lived, Varys could've played on the Dornish thirst for vengeance against him and had fAegon promise them it in exchange for their support, something which they likely would've agreed to.
So by this point in the post, we've explored some of the key lies of Varys' character to know for sure what he is not;
- He is not the victim of slavery or a sacrificial victim to magical fires, nor does he abhor those who worship R'hllor or magical flames
- He does not hate the killing and suffering of innocent children, and has actually sought to profit from it in the past
- He has never been a friend or ally to Tyrion Lannister but has instead used him, and even manipulated him into killing Shae to protect one of Varys' own future schemes
Well, Varys is not a eunuch, and in fact fAegon's true father by blood. Varys has deliberately spent his life lying about being a eunuch in order to discourage people from the truth that he is the father of fAegon by Illyrioâs sister, and wants to control the Iron Throne through fAegon.
Recall Varys' conversation with Tyrion in ACOK that I previously cited earlier;
"He accuses my brother and sister of incest. I wonder how he came by that suspicion." "Perhaps he read a book and looked at the color of a bastard's hair, as Ned Stark did, and Jon Arryn before him. Or perhaps someone whispered it in his ear." The eunuch's laugh was not his usual giggle, but deeper and more throaty. "Someone like you, perchance?" "Am I suspected? It was not me." "If it had been, would you admit it?" "No. But why should I betray a secret I have kept so long? It is one thing to deceive a king, and quite another to hide from the cricket in the rushes and the little bird in the chimney. Besides, the bastards were there for all to see." - ACOK - TYRION III"Why should I betray a secret I have kept so long?" is the biggest hint towards fAegon's existence and Varys' own true motivations in the entire series. Varys makes this spur of the moment claim after being caught off guard by Tyrion and doesn't think it through before saying it and letting Tyrion realise there is more to him.
Varys was never castrated and he is not bald. He deliberately shaves his head to hide his true parentage and lies about being a eunuch to discourage people from believing that he is capable of fathering a child, a child with Blackfyre blood that he wishes to sit on the Iron Throne, a secret that Varys has cared for and kept so long.
The last time we see Varys in ADWD, he finally begins to tell the truth about fAegon's existence, and when he does, and speaks about the son he loves, he begins to speak in his real, deeper and non-emasculated voice;**
"Aegon?" For a moment he did not understand. Then he remembered. A babe swaddled in a crimson cloak, the cloth stained with his blood and brains. "Dead. He's dead." "No." The eunuch's voice seemed deeper. "He is here. Aegon has been shaped for rule since before he could walk. He has been trained in arms, as befits a knight to be, but that was not the end of his education. He reads and writes, he speaks several tongues, he has studied history and law and poetry. A septa has instructed him in the mysteries of the Faith since he was old enough to understand them. He has lived with fisherfolk, worked with his hands, swum in rivers and mended nets and learned to wash his own clothes at need. He can fish and cook and bind up a wound, he knows what it is like to be hungry, to be hunted, to be afraid. Tommen has been taught that kingship is his right. Aegon knows that kingship is his duty, that a king must put his people first, and live and rule for them." - ADWD - EPILOGUEThis is who Varys truly is - not a eunuch, not a victim of slavery or castration, not a man who weeps for the suffering of children, not a friend of Tyrion Lannister, but a loving father who wishes to cast a very large shadow over the greatest empire the world of ASOIAF has ever known.
TLDR:
Varys is not a eunuch but instead the father of fAegon, a secret he has spent his life protecting, and a lie he has spent his life telling to better protect his son.
Varys does not hate R'hllor or those who worship magical flames, his entire story about his manhood being sacrificed to flames is a lie he tells to gain Tyrion's trust in their efforts to defeat Stannis in ACOK. Varys is close friends with Illyrio, a man who praises R'hllor, and spent the early parts of his life encouraging Aerys to feed innocent people to the flames of wildfire.
Varys does not hate the suffering of innocent children, he was prepared to buy an innocent child from a man and sacrifice him in order to protect the "real" Aegon, he was prepared to abandon Rhaenys to her brutal death even if he could have saved her too and prepared to send Viserys and Daenerys into a doomed invasion of Westeros that would've led to their deaths just to make fAegon appear a more heroic saviour compared to them.
Varys was never a friend or ally to Tyrion but instead was using him ever since they first met. He has repeatedly withheld important information from him such as who hired Mandon Moore to kill Tyrion and how Stannis figured out the truth about Cersei's children, and on frequent occasions has nearly openly laughed in Tyrion's face at both his misfortune and the information Varys withheld from him. Varys also manipulated Tyrion into killing Shae so that she would not expose Varys' identity as Rugen and didn't trust Tyrion with the information about fAegon's existence, something that Tyrion had to figure out himself. Varys also talks lowly of Tyrion at the end of ADWD as a "conniving Imp" which reflects Varys' true feelings about Tyrion.
Varys has spent his life shaving his hair and lying about being a eunuch to discourage anyone from believing he could father fAegon and better protect him, so that fAegon could one day take the Iron Throne, and cast a very large shadow over the Targaryen Empire forever.
Thanks for reading, if you enjoyed this theory be sure to read some of my other theories below;
All the signs that Tywin directly gave the Mountain the order to badly mistreat Elia Martell
The Father Rhaegaer, the Son Jon and the Holy Ghost Ghost, religious symbolism
Mance Rayder is a servant of the Others
Leyton Hightower is the Lord of Light and Malora the Mad Maid is Quaithe
2022 archive of ASOIAF theories available at the bottom of this post
2023.06.04 16:02 khoafraelich789 VW class action claims automaker fails to provide required warranty for PZEV vehicles
 | submitted by khoafraelich789 to CarInformationNews [link] [comments] https://preview.redd.it/h23xw6o8my2b1.png?width=1200&format=png&auto=webp&s=e82af209570dbafb5b5644fa8479ffeda40ae454 Top Class Actionsâs website and social media posts use affiliate links. If you make a purchase using such links, we may receive a commission, but it will not result in any additional charges to you. Please review our Affiliate Link Disclosure for more information. VW warranty class action overview: Who: A VW owner is suing the automaker. Why: The plaintiff says VW failed to properly identify and pay for the diagnosis, repair, and replacement of in tank fuel pumps in certain Partial Zero Emissions Vehicles for 15-years or 150,000-miles. Where: The VW warranty class action lawsuit was filed in a California federal court. VW skirted its legal responsibility to pay for the repair and replacement of in tank fuel pumps in certain Partial Zero Emissions Vehicles in California, a new class action lawsuit alleges. Plaintiff Nicole Rosser filed the class action lawsuit against Volkswagen Group of America Inc. (VW) on Feb 16. in a California federal court, alleging violations of California consumer law. According to the lawsuit, VW failed to properly identify and pay for the diagnosis, repair, and replacement of in tank fuel pumps in certain Partial Zero Emissions Vehicles (PZEVs) for 15-years or 150,000-miles, pursuant to the California Code of Regulations Title 13 relating to Partial Zero Emissions Vehicles and Super Ultra Low Emissions Vehicles. VW has received Emissions Credits from the California Air Resources Board for the vehicles and has declared Partial Zero Emissions Vehicle qualification with the board, the plaintiffs say. Under the California Emissions Warranty, defects which increase regulated emissions in PZEV vehicles, defects which cause PZEV vehicles to fail California emissions tests, and defects which cause the check engine light on PZEV vehicles to illuminate, shall be covered under warranty for 15-years or 150,000-miles, the lawsuit states. The class vehicles have tank defects that increase regulated emissions, cause the MIL to illuminate, and cause the vehicle to fail a California smog check, the plaintiffs say. âTherefore, the in tank fuel pumps in Class Vehicles should be covered by the California Emissions Warranty.â Drivers are paying out of pocket for fixes that should be covered under warranty, they say However, VW does not provide proper warranty coverage for in tank fuel pumps in the vehicles, meaning the plaintiffs are continuing to pay out of pocket for repairs that should be covered under the California Emissions Warranty, they say. Their claims relate to all vehicles distributed by VW that are PZEV vehicles and for which VW does not provide 15-years or 150,000- miles coverage relating to in tank fuel pumps. âVW has failed to extend California Emissions Warranty coverage to in tank fuel pumps in Class Vehicles as required by the CCR⌠this is an unlawful and unfair business practice.â The plaintiffs seek to represent anyone in California who have been owners or lessees of the vehicles and whose in tank fuel pumps are not covered for 15-years or 150,000-miles They allege violations of California consumer laws and seek certification of the class action, an order forcing VW to cover the in tank fuel pumps, damages, fees, costs and a jury trial. Meanwhile, Volkswagen has failed to offer a solution to owners of 3G connected vehicles even as wireless carriers are shutting down 3G networks, leaving certain important features inoperable, a 2022 class action lawsuit alleges. Do you own one of the vehicles mentioned in this VW lawsuit? Let us know in the comments! They are represented by Adam Rose, Robert L. Starr and Manny Starr of The Law Office of Robert Starr Frontier Law Center. The Volkswagen class action lawsuit is Nicole Rosser et al., v. Volkswagen Group of America Inc, Case No. 2:23-cv-01171 in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. Source: topclassactions |
2023.06.04 14:36 Jumpy_Outside_2594 Short Story
The water patters down. I wonder if it's God crying on how much he has broken one of his children. For I am not a creature that was born, but a fire that was set. I stand alone looking up at the skies, feeling each drop like shards of glass cutting into my skin.
I close my eyes softly and spread my arms wide, envisioning that the sting of these cuts are not from daggers of desolation but currents from the caress of love. For who am I to know the difference? My chastity to another's devilish beauty does not permit me to be held by another, whilst my sanity does not let me return to her.
What a tragedy I have become? A mature mind yet a romantic heart. A walking contradiction I stand.
I try to look at the eyes of the others that walk past, if I can see my world in them. I see the ocean in one, foliage in the other and Earth in another. I am yet to see all three together - I saw them once a moon ago, but that was merely the devil's desire within me. No wonder whenever she sang my name, I looked over my left shoulder to hear where her voice came from. The truth be told in her eyes I saw enough Earth to be buried under, her embrace was just the bare grave for me to lay in. Yet I couldn't resist.
My hair drenches in the rain, the water trickles down from the roots to my nose. For a minute, I imagine the tip of her finger nail as sharp as a knife inching closer to wipe the droplet away. As it comes nearer and nearer, the sound of a revolver rolling and the sirens approaching audiates in my head. 'Sanity is overrated' my heart whispers in thirst. 'Hush, Hush, boy - how many more bullets can you call diamonds?' my mind reasons.
I clench my fists and fall to my knees. Oh Jupiter, Oh Odin, Oh Zeus is this why your statues were never erected along with a woman? For I have broken pieces of me to sculpt her and now I exhaust. I tuck my head in my lap and bow in submission.
A hand lays flat against my spine. A head presses on mine. I look up, I don't recognise her. Who is she?
Her hair, majestically sways down each fibre made with fine threads of heaven's silk. As the wind blows, her hair dances as though it had a life of its own, twirling in sync with the wind chimes like a ballerina lost in melody. I couldn't help but be mesmerised by her magnificence. A small streak untidily rests on her forehead, my hand tremors as I resist the urge to correct it for the fear of being scorched.
Her eyes, pearl bronze, I look into them and see stars from a hundred different galaxies twinkle - her magic is beyond my comprehension. Each star sparkling praises of her beauty. They glimmer like pools of liquid gold, with long, dark lashes that frame them perfectly. My mind says Medusa, but my heart says Athena.
Her nose, slender like the stem of a delicate flower. Tilted flawlessly laddered to paradise. It rises from her face with a gentle curve, like a wave breaking on the shore. The delicate bridge that supports it is as elegant as the strings of a harp, and its tip is as pointed and sharp as a sword.
Her lips, built from the softest rose petals, stretching so gracefully to smile. They are a luscious shade of pink, with hints of red from the ruby rocks of hell. Hidden, a power within them, holding the secrets of the universe.
Her cheeks, crafted from beige velvet, wrapped tightly around her jaw. They sit like beautiful canvases waiting to be painted. I must be careful. I must be careful. For my blood supply is now too meagre for me to dip a brush into.
A small beauty mark sits beside her lip, accentuating her features in a way that was august. It adds a touch of glamour and sophistication to her look, like a small but precious gem that had landed on her skin. Her only imperfection too was perfection.
If I had enough ink or life to write about her beauty. It would be a race on which would end first. For there is not enough ink or time to explain and if there was, neither could do justice.
She floats around me, and her warmth evaporates the dampness from my skin. Her halo umbrellas us both, and I gaze at her in awe, my pupils dilating in the presence of her radiance. She looks back at me and giggles like a sparrow on a summer's day, each sound causing my heart to skip a beat and my mind to falter.
"Beauty or Beast, which are you?" I implore her.
She giggles and looks away, gliding ahead just out of reach. She turns her head over her right shoulder and smiles at me with her eyes, simultaneously, she rests her right hand across her left shoulder and tauntingly dances her fingers on her clavicle.
Surrounded by darkness, her aura is the only thing that emits light. I limper to my feet and inch closer to her. She moves ahead with a gentle flight, turning back every so often to catch my eye. The intensity of her gaze fuels my adrenaline, urging me to follow her into the unknown.
I push myself until I can go no further. My muscles tire, and even with adrenaline coursing through my veins, my body can no longer sustain the effort. I collapse onto the unforgiving concrete road and close my eyes, giving in to the exhaustion that has overtaken me.
" I can...I cannot" I plead to her.
Her gentle laughter fills the air as she lays down beside me. With a feather-light touch, she traces her index and middle fingers over my forehead, down over my eyelids, and finally to my chin.
"But, you must." Alluringly she whispers.
As her words leave her lips, my mind is flooded with memories, each one flashing before my eyes like scenes from a movie. I see her nestled in my arms on a Himalayan mountaintop, tucking her head under my chin as we sit at the peak. I see us rowing a boat along the canals of Venice, the wind blowing her hair as she presses her nose against mine. I see us climbing the pyramids of Egypt, her eyes glistening with love as she looks back at me. I see us running hand-in-hand on the beaches of Bazaruto, our footprints marking a path of love in the sand. I see the colour of our hairs erode to the colour of the snow, that we once laid in our youth. I see us sitting on a weathered park bench, sharing a walking stick between us, as we watch others find their world.
As the vivid dreams fade away, I slowly open my eyes to the reality of the dimly lit street lamp shining down on me. I find myself lying all alone, the cold concrete sending shivers up my spine as the stones gently roll against my head. I remain still, feeling the ache of a beard grown out of the patience I have for her return. The leaves rustle around me, their whispers like cruel laughter echoing in the stillness of the night, a mocking chorus to my loneliness.
I look up at the darkened sky and yell "Oh Lord, I do not know if I am destined for Valhalla or Hades, the first one buried me. Let this one return to cremate me."
submitted by Jumpy_Outside_2594 to creativewriting [link] [comments]
I close my eyes softly and spread my arms wide, envisioning that the sting of these cuts are not from daggers of desolation but currents from the caress of love. For who am I to know the difference? My chastity to another's devilish beauty does not permit me to be held by another, whilst my sanity does not let me return to her.
What a tragedy I have become? A mature mind yet a romantic heart. A walking contradiction I stand.
I try to look at the eyes of the others that walk past, if I can see my world in them. I see the ocean in one, foliage in the other and Earth in another. I am yet to see all three together - I saw them once a moon ago, but that was merely the devil's desire within me. No wonder whenever she sang my name, I looked over my left shoulder to hear where her voice came from. The truth be told in her eyes I saw enough Earth to be buried under, her embrace was just the bare grave for me to lay in. Yet I couldn't resist.
My hair drenches in the rain, the water trickles down from the roots to my nose. For a minute, I imagine the tip of her finger nail as sharp as a knife inching closer to wipe the droplet away. As it comes nearer and nearer, the sound of a revolver rolling and the sirens approaching audiates in my head. 'Sanity is overrated' my heart whispers in thirst. 'Hush, Hush, boy - how many more bullets can you call diamonds?' my mind reasons.
I clench my fists and fall to my knees. Oh Jupiter, Oh Odin, Oh Zeus is this why your statues were never erected along with a woman? For I have broken pieces of me to sculpt her and now I exhaust. I tuck my head in my lap and bow in submission.
A hand lays flat against my spine. A head presses on mine. I look up, I don't recognise her. Who is she?
Her hair, majestically sways down each fibre made with fine threads of heaven's silk. As the wind blows, her hair dances as though it had a life of its own, twirling in sync with the wind chimes like a ballerina lost in melody. I couldn't help but be mesmerised by her magnificence. A small streak untidily rests on her forehead, my hand tremors as I resist the urge to correct it for the fear of being scorched.
Her eyes, pearl bronze, I look into them and see stars from a hundred different galaxies twinkle - her magic is beyond my comprehension. Each star sparkling praises of her beauty. They glimmer like pools of liquid gold, with long, dark lashes that frame them perfectly. My mind says Medusa, but my heart says Athena.
Her nose, slender like the stem of a delicate flower. Tilted flawlessly laddered to paradise. It rises from her face with a gentle curve, like a wave breaking on the shore. The delicate bridge that supports it is as elegant as the strings of a harp, and its tip is as pointed and sharp as a sword.
Her lips, built from the softest rose petals, stretching so gracefully to smile. They are a luscious shade of pink, with hints of red from the ruby rocks of hell. Hidden, a power within them, holding the secrets of the universe.
Her cheeks, crafted from beige velvet, wrapped tightly around her jaw. They sit like beautiful canvases waiting to be painted. I must be careful. I must be careful. For my blood supply is now too meagre for me to dip a brush into.
A small beauty mark sits beside her lip, accentuating her features in a way that was august. It adds a touch of glamour and sophistication to her look, like a small but precious gem that had landed on her skin. Her only imperfection too was perfection.
If I had enough ink or life to write about her beauty. It would be a race on which would end first. For there is not enough ink or time to explain and if there was, neither could do justice.
She floats around me, and her warmth evaporates the dampness from my skin. Her halo umbrellas us both, and I gaze at her in awe, my pupils dilating in the presence of her radiance. She looks back at me and giggles like a sparrow on a summer's day, each sound causing my heart to skip a beat and my mind to falter.
"Beauty or Beast, which are you?" I implore her.
She giggles and looks away, gliding ahead just out of reach. She turns her head over her right shoulder and smiles at me with her eyes, simultaneously, she rests her right hand across her left shoulder and tauntingly dances her fingers on her clavicle.
Surrounded by darkness, her aura is the only thing that emits light. I limper to my feet and inch closer to her. She moves ahead with a gentle flight, turning back every so often to catch my eye. The intensity of her gaze fuels my adrenaline, urging me to follow her into the unknown.
I push myself until I can go no further. My muscles tire, and even with adrenaline coursing through my veins, my body can no longer sustain the effort. I collapse onto the unforgiving concrete road and close my eyes, giving in to the exhaustion that has overtaken me.
" I can...I cannot" I plead to her.
Her gentle laughter fills the air as she lays down beside me. With a feather-light touch, she traces her index and middle fingers over my forehead, down over my eyelids, and finally to my chin.
"But, you must." Alluringly she whispers.
As her words leave her lips, my mind is flooded with memories, each one flashing before my eyes like scenes from a movie. I see her nestled in my arms on a Himalayan mountaintop, tucking her head under my chin as we sit at the peak. I see us rowing a boat along the canals of Venice, the wind blowing her hair as she presses her nose against mine. I see us climbing the pyramids of Egypt, her eyes glistening with love as she looks back at me. I see us running hand-in-hand on the beaches of Bazaruto, our footprints marking a path of love in the sand. I see the colour of our hairs erode to the colour of the snow, that we once laid in our youth. I see us sitting on a weathered park bench, sharing a walking stick between us, as we watch others find their world.
As the vivid dreams fade away, I slowly open my eyes to the reality of the dimly lit street lamp shining down on me. I find myself lying all alone, the cold concrete sending shivers up my spine as the stones gently roll against my head. I remain still, feeling the ache of a beard grown out of the patience I have for her return. The leaves rustle around me, their whispers like cruel laughter echoing in the stillness of the night, a mocking chorus to my loneliness.
I look up at the darkened sky and yell "Oh Lord, I do not know if I am destined for Valhalla or Hades, the first one buried me. Let this one return to cremate me."
2023.06.04 14:02 True_Thanks6805 Answer to a previous post about who owns the pimped out lawnmower and what they drive. Apparently its Rick Ross. My guess is he drives a Maybach.
 | submitted by True_Thanks6805 to regularcarreviews [link] [comments] |