#how some ND thing works in their life or like. what it entails | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

junkbbykow · 2 years

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ɪꜱ ꜰᴀᴍᴇ ᴡʜᴀᴛ ʏᴏᴜ’ʀᴇ ʟᴏᴏᴋɪɴɢ ꜰᴏʀ - ℘ąƈ

Is fame your genuine desire? 1, 2, 3, 4

Pile 1 - Silver Platters

Why U Desire This Life

Your truly passionate about it. I don’t think there’s any doubt about if you are determined to reach this goal. The universe here’s your cries for this. Cry Your Heart Out by Adele just started playing. I think part of this dream of fame is a desire to feel like you. I think some part of you feels as if you NEED the recognition (giving 10h stellium lol). But also nit having this makes you feel down. Your desire for fame is wrapped up in your worth and desirability. I think you want to go outside and feel seen and heard. Imo this isn’t healthy. Ofc you have to decipher this for yourself! Fame is definitely something you can achieve and I think doors are opening in whatever industry you want fame in but it’s on you to take it. Is this what you really want? For some of you, this time period is a test. Do you want this.

Spirit Advice

I think you are constantly given signs by the universe to the many ways you can live this life that you desire without being a public figure. fyi - people who build generational wealth typically aren’t famous or not pop star famous. I think spirit truly respects and admires your determination in this pursuit but they genuinely are unsure of it you want it. I think they want you to walk through the kinks of your desires for fame. I think you came from something harsh. You haven’t lived. And you see fame as your ticket out. No more strife, you’ll have cushion. But I think that’s partly an illusion. Zendaya doesn’t even think she has that kind of security. I’m not saying this level of fame is impossible. Everything is possible. You may be underestimating what fame is. What you have to entail, how lonely it can be, the constant grind and hustle. Your trading in one hardship for another if your not careful. If your desire is to work less and party hard you need to make your celeb lifestyle be in alignment with that. Actors, influencers, and pop stars are constantly working and they typically don’t go into retirement and some work til they die. I think SOME of you in this pile are too idealistic about fame and some of you simply need to confirm to yourself that your ready. If your that second group you probably felt called to another pile. Also don’t let this get you down. This pile is incredibly confident and success that you desire is coming to you just make a decision, truthfully. Be honest with yourself.

Shadow Work

How many of your desires for your life have to do with fame?

Does your desire for success, stability, and luxury have anything to do with being in the public eye? How so, and what do you desire from being in the spotlight?

Explain fame and explain luxury/stability. Then, explain why both are for your highest good.

Why do you want public acknowledgment?

What do you gain from having your career, life, and/or other personality attributes broadcasted?

Imagine/brainstorm your desired lifestyle including your celebrity status. How do you want to become famous. What field do see yourself going in. Could you pick 1 to 3 celebrities you would want to a similar status to and social presence (explain how nd why you chose these figures) Literally walk through every detail of your desired life as a celebrity and acknowledge less than savory attributes. Will you need to avoid paparazzi, how do you keep certain things private, do you mind dating in the public eye, does this effect the people around you?

old money, easy life, pampered

I hope you enjoyed your reading! I appreciate all likes, reblogs, and feedback! Please visit my masterlist for more PACS, Ask Games, Paid Readings and more!

Pile 2 - Influencers

My phone died writing this 😅. I think y’all are facing a great deal of obstacles.

Why U Desire This Life

Pile 2, I think you see no difference from you between other influencers so you don’t understand why you shouldn’t at least go for it. Which is fine and dandy but don’t uproot all your hopes and dreams just to be like everyone else. Do what you desire. I also feel like this pile believes they’ll gain community this way. You want to have friends, companions, attend parties and whatnot. Fame can be incredibly lonely at times or too prying. Community can come in many shapes and sizes why does fame have to be apart of the picture. I see you comparing lifestyles to others and some of you even acknowledge how plastic being an influencer can be, but you want the lifestyle. Almost as if you want to be the popular girl/guy and get nice dates, gifts, and show of all your abundance. How much of this is for you and where are your true desires for fame. Fyi I don’t see this message as a no to fame, but maybe find a healthy and true reason for fame. Honesty will bring this manifestation to you. I also see you want to the good life and see being an influencer as an accessible way out. I genuinely think a lot of you are not dreaming bug enough or limiting yourself to what’s already been done. You are not them, your better.

Spirit Advice

Lmao hi pile 2, Y’all desire fame because of how you see others on social media and a great deal of you want to be influencers. To start their are a lot of obstacles in your way. Every time you thinks something is viral your views are down or your not seeing results where you think you should. Y’all are confronting something that the universe is blatantly trying to tell you. You may not even know what I’m talking about right now that’s how oblivious these signs have been to you. Y’all need to switch it up. Try something new. Your competing in other peoples lanes. People become influential by making their own lane and having authenticity (in most cases). Some of you may be attracted to pile 1. I suggest you read that as well. In this pile, I see a lot of you wanting to gain fame for your personality, but then refuse to post the real parts of you online. Being an influencer honestly takes vulnerability or at least a great deal of calculation. And I don’t think the calculative methods are suiting you pile 1. Enjoy yourself online. If you want to be an influencer make your platforms your new bestie. Tell them everything (within you boundaries) just be honest. Share ups, downs, unexpected, mundane, all of it!!!! Pile 2, you are in a lack mindset. Maybe even broke mindset. You are functioning outside of alignment with wealth and abundance.

Shadow Work

When you stop comparing yourself to others do you still want fame?

Do you actually desire the ‘fast life’? Are you willing to work in a hustle mindset and share personal aspects of your life?

What kind of influencer/celebrity do you want to be? Why does this bring you satisfaction?

Instead of trying to market yourself, just be yourself. Marketing comes after gaining traction.

Think about your finances. How will you save and plan for the future? Do you simply want money to keep up with trends.

california, broke, companionship, sustainability, save me

I hope you enjoyed your reading! I appreciate all likes, reblogs, and feedback! Please visit my masterlist for more PACS, Ask Games, Paid Readings and more!

Pile 3 - Philanthropist

This pile was interrupted by a shadow energy. Please look within yourself but also protect your dreams from outside influences

Why U Desire This Life

You have had a good life or at least in your eyes. You have a home and your basic needs. You might even been born into an upper-middle class family. This pile is full of caring people who want to share the wealth of knowledge and resources have brought them. This could be being privileged financially, being able to attend college, or being of some ‘higher’ status. You genuinely see every creature on this earth as deserving of equity and love. You are ready to fight for this dream to. You get disheartened by greed and misuse of power. You see how people respect and listen to influencers. You want status to actually sway the masses for change. Pile 3, we need y’all/srs! Pro tip: being generous is lovely and wanting to give is admirable but just hold back for a while and nurture your abundance, ideas, and so on. Make sure their fully grown before you jump in to help people. We need your project(s) to last. I really encourage this pile to research your many interests. The more knowledge you have the more credible and empathetic you can be. Acknowledge the underdogs :) This pile is specifically for those looking to start a nonprofit or some kind of activism (even outside of traditional senses).

Spirit Advice

Spirit isn’t being very vocal with you pile 3. They fully back up your plan. They want you take take the right steps and plan. You should dedicate yourself to this project. Bring it to life. Maybe start with small initiatives or just put all your ideas on paper. List everything you’d want to do with your platform and build it from the ground up in your mind. Pretend spirit and the universe are tour contractors. Tell them how you want it and they’ll get to work. They’re extremely proud of you like immensely. It’s an overwhelming feeling of love and belief in you. You got thisssssssss <3

Shadow Work

How are you planning to make this a reality?

How can you ensure your plan/project will be able to expand?

What knowledge could you acquire to help push forward this idea?

Are your current actions in alignment with your goal?

financial planning, mutual aid, nonprofit, research

I hope you enjoyed your reading! I appreciate all likes, reblogs, and feedback! Please visit my masterlist for more PACS, Ask Games, Paid Readings and more!

Pile 4 - Disrupters

Why U Desire This Life

Pile 4, fame to you is ultimate fulfillment. In your eyes at least. I also feel like a majority of you feel that intuitively fame is in your cards this lifetime. I see y’all as so confident in this in fact you aren’t even rushing or wondering where it is because you have no need to desire it. It’s yours. You want to share your gifts or perspective. This pile is very creative, alternative, and eccentric. A lot of you want to change how celebrities are seen. Similar to Pile 3, y’all want to spark change but through your personality. Dennis Rodman is the perfect person for this pile because this super masculine man was a AN ICON for his femininity and alternative style especially for a straight, Black, basketball player of the 90s. He did some much for gender expression like 🥹 I love me some him but anywaysssss you have something unique and you know that the world should get to see it. Y’all will see fame when you align and express your genuine self.

Spirit Advice

Nurture yourself. Take care of your dream and don’t share it. Don’t mix the energy of those with limited mindsets to your dream. Your energy to this goal is so pure and should be left untainted. Learn about yourself and who you are. Also practice, practice, practice if you want fame from a skill or art. You have what it takes just devote yourself to this goal. You will probably experience a (or many) rebirths before you see the limelight. I think spirit is being quiet because you should find your way on your own since your fame is so closely connected to being one with yourself.

Shadow Work

Do you wear a ‘mask’ for other people or the public eye?

What aspects of your authentic self do you not see as deserving of being seen publicly? Why? Do you believe this because of your own perspective or the input of others?

How can you be more authentic with yourself and others?

How can you be more authentic in your craft?

What aspects of yourself do you expect to be rejected? Why?

craftsman, quirky, resolve, integrity, outcast

I hope you enjoyed your reading! I appreciate all likes, reblogs, and feedback! Please visit my masterlist for more PACS, Ask Games, Paid Readings and more!

Hope you enjoyed,

JUNKBBY KOW

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pluckysidekick · 2 years

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OMG. We went 180 degrees from last week’s desert to this week’s paradise of riches in CW’s Nancy Drew land! We knew Larry Teng and the whole crew wouldn’t abandon us with the BTS content. After the seemingly epic filming of episode 6 when it was all quiet on the set last week, we’ve gotten hints from Kennedy and onset photos for Ep. 6, we’ve heard from exciting new ND writers, and saw some glimpses for Ep. 7 that’s filming right now. Let’s get into it!

I have to start with this incredible “team meeting” cast photo Kennedy posted in non-wardrobe from the Icarus Hall set. So happy to see them together, masks and all! Note Leah with her tablet, Maddison with her phone, Alex going old school with his yellow lined pad and pen, while Tunji and Kennedy are both like “I don’t need to write it down, I remember everything” 😂.

Larry shared twin pics from (presumably) the Ep. 6 set of the women and men of the Drew Crew, and they are perfection.

Nancy, Bess, and George having a heart to heart at the Claw is everything to me. I love these three together whether they are talking ghosts, relationships, career, family, or anything else. Also note the wardrobe, loving George’s yellow blazer and Docs especially. And of course, the Claw is closed, no customers as per usual!

Seeing Ace and Nick together in action is just…no words. Love their looks, love the intensity, just the best two characters together. Of course we’re wondering what’s going on - are they dumpster diving? We saw George and Bess in front of a burned out van back in Ep. 3 - is there a junkyard theme this season 😂?

Ace’s shirt looks a lot like the one he wears in 2x15 (Tom Swift episode), and it’s also a very similar (but slightly different) to two earlier looks, the cast photo from Ep. 2 and the early morning pickups photo from Ep. 3? 4? (some kind of blue/green button down and white T-shirt combo). Coincidence, or is there something else timey wimey going on with Ace? BTW if anyone from production is reading, we’d love to see a nice colorful old man shirt for Ace in one of the eps (also thank you for reading lol).

Speaking of Ace, Kennedy gave us another heart attack on Twitter this week when she gave an emoji hint for Ep. 6 that amounted to someone dying “a little.”

Since we know from Larry that Ep. 6 epic and special effects heavy, I wondered in an earlier post if the crew tries to break the curse in this one. Could things have gone wrong, with Ace being “mostly dead” (shout out to Carly for the perfect Princess Bride reference)? Did they trigger the curse instead, or deliberately try to flatline him like Nancy once thought about doing to George? Or can they somehow use the shroud to flatline Ace and George, revive them - and possibly switch bodies? The possibilities are endless.

Alex did show up for the Ep. 7 team meeting pictured above, so here’s hoping Ace recovers to be with his soulmate (and all that entails) for him and for us, e.g. we’re expecting great things that top that S3 finale dreamscape scene of Nancy and Ace!

So excited to see new writers working on ND this season! Lauren Andrea and Tiffany Irene both posted pics from the set and talked about how great the experience was. So important to see diverse representation in the writers’ room, and also love to hear about how awesome the whole cast and crew are on ND - it really shines through in every episode IMO. So happy for them, and can’t wait to see their words come to life in S4!

Onto a few early hints on Ep. 7. Maddison posted an IG story that Ep. 7 started this week (confirming Larry has a break while he preps Ep. 8, which we know he’s directing). Check out her cute white top from wardrobe hanging up in the closet. DP Nick Thomas posted some gorgeous, spooky photos to his stories from the Historical Society exterior. Are those Riley and Maddison’s stand-ins? Ace and George? Or some combo? Can’t wait to find out.

I may have broken Tumblr’s long post rules, but really hope you enjoyed the pics and speculation. I am almost done with Chapter 9 of The Space Between (S4 spec. fic), it will most likely go up next week. If you haven’t tried it already, I can promise lots of action, angst, and wackiness with the whole crew including meetings at the Claw, Ace and Nick bonding, Ace’s earring, and much more to help tide us over. See you soon, my guess is we get tons more content!

#nancy drew #nace #nancy drew cw #ace [redacted]#nancy x ace #cw nancy drew #ndcw #ace x nancy #nancy drew season 4 #nancy drew s4 #maddison jaizani #kennedy mcmann #alex saxon #tunji kasim #leah lewis #bess marvin #ned nickerson #george fan #author: pluckysidekick

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queer-reader-07 · 5 months

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5 + 12 for the ask game? (:

5: who do you feel the most you around?

oh i love this question! i have a few answers because i'm indecisive like that. i feel like when i'm with my dad i can be me in a really special way. he remembers things about me that i've forgotten or was too young to remember, he knows me in a really deep way that i think only a parent can. and i see so much of myself in him, his personality and his attitudes towards life have shaped me, my mom often says that i'm like the "better, younger, prettier version" of my dad and he agrees.

my best friend, we'll call her N, and i have known each other since we were infants in daycare and i swear we imprinted on each other. i can tell her anything and i know she will listen fully and wholly and with so much love. i can be my weird, nerdy, loud self with her and she just matches the energy so. damn. well.

my friend, R, is one of my favorite people. i've only known her a few years but i could talk to her for hours and never get tired, and i feel so safe and comfortable in those conversations. she's never been weird about my being neurodivergent and all that that entails, she told me recently "i feel like you and i have had some of the deepest conversations of my life without ever looking one another in the eye" and i think that really sums it up.

and, lastly, my friend U. he is the ADHD one in our stereotypical autsitic/ADHD dynamic and when it's just the two of us we are at peak ND controlled chaos. when we would have classes together in high school it was a lot of mildly unhinged, topic jumping conversations about everything from cellular respiration to shitting on aristotle to the cool shoes he wanted to buy. he and i do this thing where we send each other videos of ourselves talking when what we want to say is too long for or can't probably be conveyed via text. and i don't think i'd ever do that with anyone else but him, and that's a testament to how comfortable and Me i feel around him. (oh, also trans solidarity in a friendship at its finest. he's my only close irl friend who's also trans and that's a special kind of closeness)

that was a lot, thank you for bearing with <3

12: how are you?

thank you for asking! i'm mostly good. currently dealing with standard (for me) anxiety. my life right now is mostly school (which i should probably be doing work for but instead i'm on tumblr) and i'm currently being faced with what is basically the first time i've ever properly struggled with math (i'm in calc rn) while also being excited by the challenge. idk it's hard to explain, but i'm doing good overall even if a bit overwhelmed.

soft asks/ask game

#asks answered #answered asks #soft asks #ask game #personal #tell your friends you love them

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starrykitty013 · 3 years

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Sneak Peak!! Gotta Go Hard Ch.5

Full Chapter: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30983819/chapters/80906605

Reminder that all my sneak peaks are unedited and will be severely altered in the actual story.

Enjoy!

This kind of assignment shouldn’t really surprise him.

He has always been assigned to mutant cases, it was kinda his thing what with harboring so many super powered individuals on his main team. It was only natural that Fury trusted him with this assignment.

Although it was a little weird. Fury was oddly content with just monitoring one Peter B. Parker (and he’s known he heard that name before, he just couldn’t put his finger on it.) aka Spiderman and not enlisting him as an asset. Albeit, the kid wasn’t even in high school yet, but he was still of an above average intelligence that set him apart from his peers; besides the, ya know, superpowers and all that.

Maybe it had something to do with Tony Stark vouching for the kid when he was successful in taking down a potential risk to society - or New York, at least - successfully. Two if Scorpion would be included. It seems like Spiderman was starting to indicate a pattern of stopping risks before they could become full blown dangers. Like a soon-to-be drug lord, or a alien hybrid weapon dealer. Phil had to admit, it was impressive.

Spiderman didn’t seem like a threat, although everything was a threat in this line of business. If it wasn’t with you, it was against you - that sort of thing. But Spiderman seemed to genuinely be one of those things that was as non-lethal as they appeared; well lethal non-lethal, the kid could still throw a bus, no problem.

And it’s not like SHIELD had never turned a blind eye to vigilantes. Daredevil being the prime example, which no one could ever figure that one out - that must frustrate Fury beyond belief. But there was no reason to uproot a kid who hasn’t done anything but help so far. Although, one wrong move and he’d be neutralized; but until then they might as well reach out and acquaintance themselves. Before some bad guy gets the drop on an impressionable pre-teen, went without saying.

The ideal solution would be to shut the entire Spiderman thing down, but Stark had already tried that and that only lead the kid to take down one of his planes. So normal life fix was out of the question, so next best option was to make nice and hope he doesn’t stab them in the back - which would be very hard, considering they were still suspicious of the Avengers.

Making nice, as Stark suggested, would be upgrading that eyesore of a suit. Phil couldn’t help but agree. How the hell had a child in a hoodie and beat up converse taken down an entire plane without getting shredded? Phil found that highly unlikely, and a little part of his bleeding heart ached in sympathy.

The kid was approximately 43 seconds early when he dropped silently into the elevated alley that Phil had set the randevoz at. All he had to do was have Stark send a encrypted message to the kid’s phone - although there was some bellyaching about it being a tad harder what with outdated technology and fucking firewalls how does he even get it that strong? Or some other nonsense like that.

“Gotta admit, I thought I was gonna get kidnapped and experimented on.” he said in a casual tone.

“Night is still young.” Phil joked with a plastered friendly smile, that elevated none of the tension in Spiderman’s posture. Huh, not easily fooled. Daisy did say that his smile could come off a little creepy with a splash of pedophilic, maybe she was right. “You’re shorter than I thought you would be.” Because seriously, this kid was basically a step up from a fetus. A foot shorter than Phil, who was admittedly short for his age, and scrawny as all hell - though the oversize stitched up hoodie did obscure that a bit.

“Rude.” the kid muttered “So if not to kidnap and syphon my blood, what does SHIELD want me for?” he asked, getting straight to business.

“Got somewhere you need to be?” Phil quirked an eyebrow and the kid scoffed, but didn’t say anything more. “We want to be allies.” he stated.

“Sorry, I don’t do teams. Lone wolf-spider kind of guy, ya know.” he said and Phil’s mouth quirked at the pun.

“You misunderstand. You aren’t eligible for the Avengers.” yet. SPiderman shifted a little “Ally was a strong word, more of an acquaintanceship if you will.”

“Is that even a word?” the kid asked skeptically.

“It gets my point across, no?” he quirked a brow up.

“Yeah, I guess so.” Spiderman said rocked on the balls of his heels and swinging his arms a bit, a very child like gesture that Phil filed away for later “So what would this ‘acquaintanceship’ entail?” he asked with a cocked head and a curious lit, Phil smiled a little more genuinely. He couldn’t help it, this kid was fucking adorable. He knows most accounts say Spiderman is annoying, but he guesses he shouldn’t take the people he put away word for anything other than petty insults - although he can see why, it must be irritating to be taken out by a 4’ 5” kid in a hand-me-down track suit. Speaking of

“Well, let’s start with the attire.” Phil held out a brief case and SPiderman looked at it then him then back to the case and paused “You gonna take it, it’s kind of heavy.” he said, just to get Spiderman to take a cautious step forward and delicately exchange the briefcase and set it down to gingerly open it. As if it were a bomb. When it didn’t go off, he inspected the suit in the case. Running his hands over it carefully.”Stark made and approved.” he said as the kid explored the high tech polyester “form fitting and flexible for anya nd all acrobatics. HIgh tech lenses to manage your super senses too.” he recited from what he knew when Stark explained it ot him. There were a million other things, but Phil didn’t really care about them.

“It’s bugged.” the kid concluded flatly, shutting the case and looking up.

“Then debug it.” Phil said with a shrug “That was Stark’s addition, it’s not required.” the pre-teen nodded curtly.

“So what’s my contribution?” the kid stood up, handling the case with him. “This isn’t free, I assume.” he wiggled the case a bit.

“You assume correctly.” Phil smiled “And that’s on a need to know-”

“Yeah, I don’t roll that way.” the kid cut off dryly “Tell me up front, or you got no deal.” Phil was a little speechless.

“Disclosure is up to my superiors-”

“Then get permission to disclose.” Spiderman jutted the case out “I’ll wait.” he said and Phil looked at the case and then at the tiny kid who had gave him the oddest ultimatum he had ever heard, then laughed. The kid stiffened. “What’s so funny?” he sounded near offended and Phil waved him off.

“Nothing, just that,” he sighed good naturedly “You are a smart little tike aren’t you.”

“I’m not a toddler.” the kid grumbled.

“Well, I’m not supposed to but since you leave me no other option and I really don’t wanna play messenger for my grumpy boss and a little prepubescent vigilante, I’ll tell you.” Phil sighed, he was so gonna get torn into for doing this. Oh well, he’s done worse. The kid straightened, but didn’t retract his hand. “You can keep the suit, if we can call on you for missions. Back up and what not.” the kid analyzed him for a second and finally hummed.

“Okay, how about this. I keep the suit, but you don’t get to parade me around like a monkey. I won’t be your lackey.” the kid retracted the suit and Phil furrowed his brow and opened his mouth in protest, but the kid cut him off “I will however, act as a consultant. You need information regarding and surrounding or about anything going down in my stomping grounds, I’ll give it to you with no questions asked.” Phil closed his mouth as the kid took a deep breathe “And, additionally, if you need any back-up, in New York, I will provide it.” he said resultly. “Deal?” the kid stuck out his free, tiny hand.

“Hmm.” Phil considered. How good could a child’s information even be? Good enough to stop a drug empire and entire illegal weapon cyndicate. He also seemed to have good intuition, and having a little spider look out jumping around and keeping an ear out for them wouldn’t be so bad. “Deal.” he took the kid’s hand and shaked firmly, which caught the kid a but off guard but then he matched the strength.

“Okay, cool.” he said as they separated, and awkwardly fidgeted - losing most of that confidence he had a moment ago when he was demanding a fair deal. Phil almost laughed at the contrast. “Uhm… yeah that all?” he asked awkwardly, Phil nodded once. “Cool. Kay, see you around Mr. SHIELD-agent-dude.” he waved and then shot a web off to the nearest building and swung away as Phil looked after him. As he disappeared up and around the corner, practically flying away, Phil couldn’t help a more genuine smile spread across his lips.

Fascinating.

OoO

for more on this series go to: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1415002

#marvel #my fic #fanfic #my writing #sneak peak #prequel #starry post #spiderman #Phil coulson

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sunnykeysmash · 4 years

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The connection between Brian LeFevre, death and macdennis/sunny meta

In my time obsessing over sunny recently I ended up noticing interesting stuff that I’m gonna try to show here, that was greatly expanded in s14 and that I believe gives us great odds over whether dennis will be acknowledged as gay in s15 or not.

Thesis: There has been an ongoing dichotomy, or “choice”, for Dennis, between Brian/Death/Son/Mandy and Dennis/Life/Love/Mac. Additionally, there has been purposeful ambiguity between what is sunny meta and what is dennis meta in season 14, enough for me to consider them one and the same in most cases. Information which puts Big Mo under a completely new light.

Long analysis under the cut.

Basically, Brian has been symbolically linked to death, thanks to an extensive use of metaphors and parallels, because Brian represents the death of Dennis’ identity. Not a true physical death, but the death of Dennis as a person.

Starting from the very beginning, of course, Brian is a dead guy.

In Dennis’ Double Life, it’s established textually, metatextually and visually that Dennis has an actual mirroring double life (Mandy vs Mac, Brian vs Dennis) and is stuck between the two of them.

This is also thanks to the heavy callbacks to suburbs. Here’s an excerpt from a previous analysis of mine explaining it:

(read more here, seriously I recommend it)

During this episode Dennis’ actually eventually fakes Brian’s death to try to get out of trouble, which is the second clear link to death for the persona.

It doesn’t work.

Mandy: “You can open your eyes now, I know you're not dead.”

Which also works as the first acknowledgement of Dennis not really wanting what the Brian life entails, as it’s a character death as much as it is the death of Dennis’ true wishes. He is not dead, he is not Brian, who IS dead.

Then, as he holds his son, something changes inside him. Suddenly, he is a father. His emotional involvement in choosing between the two lives changes drastically with this.

Nevertheless at the end of the episode Dennis is once again presented with the clear choice, which from this point forward I will address as Son/Death vs Love/Life, he looks at the RPG looming in the background and decides to go, not before a long hesitation and stopping immediately when he thought he was being asked not to go, showing us where his heart lies.

This, him choosing to go away, is because at this point in time, Dennis is still not in the right headspace to accept the right path for him. As Chop will put it, he feels “lonely and needs to do something extreme to feel special”, most of all though he feels lost. The conflicts that started in Boggs and Suburbs still make him unsure, and the presence of his son makes him feel like he has to be better for him, despite himself.

As he goes away, Mac blows up Dennis’ Range Rover with the RPG, car which is later in New Wheels metaphorically linked to Dennis’ identity.

Basically, as Dennis chooses Brian’s life, his actual identity dies.

So during the first half of season 13, he is nobody. He is not Brian and he’s struggling to be Dennis. He’s trying to get back into his old identity, desperate for any semblance of control and to belong, so he ends up looking like a caricature of himself, or rather, precisely who the gang thinks he is and who they see him as, not who he truly is.

New Wheels perfectly shows Dennis desperate to belong when he finds a new group of people, he tries on a whole new and different identity, which isn’t entirely him, but that at least feels welcoming enough. But it’s also a showcase of what Dennis truly wanted, which is to be acknowledged and seen by the gang, but particularly by Mac, feel like he matters to them and to him.

I say Mac specifically because the framing during the beginning scene seems to be fixated on a behind-Mac perspective on Dennis, almost like the conversation were happening just between the two of them, like Dennis was talking to him specifically when he pleads for questions.

These are all different shots, not the same one.

By the end of the episode he finally becomes himself again. And that’s that for s13.

Another thing worth pointing out though is that Dennis apparently has not been kicked out from ND, he himself says “I may go back” in New Wheels, and although in context it sounds more like an empty threat, it’s not empty because he can’t go back, it’s empty because he doesn’t really want to, as can be guessed thanks to his tone. This is because it’s then reinforced at the end of Chop with these lines of dialogue:

Charlie: “I can't believe how quick you gave up Poppins' puppies, though, you know? You didn't even think about keeping 'em.” Mac: “Well, that's a lot of responsibility, Charlie, right? And plus, there's no doggy paternity test to actually prove that they were Poppins' puppies in the first place. But, hey, if Poppins wants to stop by and say, "What's up?" and, like, be a dad for while, he's gonna. Or he won't. Dennis: “Yeah, that's how I do. That's how I do.”

Because of this, it can and should also be argued that the choice I am explaining in this analysis is something that Dennis still has to make, because he is, as it stands, still stuck between the two lives, and he has to settle on one, so choose between them, in order for the struggle to end. During all of s14 he is stuck trying to figure out which of the two he should choose, which is also the cause of his growing frustration. Currently speaking, getting a little speculatory here, I think everything feels like death to him, which is why he is having such a hard time deciding. He obviously doesn’t know the outcome of either option, because he’s not the audience or RCG, which means either of them can potentially kill him, and they both feel like they might to him.

Now, in season 14 is where all of this (the dichotomy of Death/Son vs Life/Love) starts to really become prominent in metatext, and this happens as the episodes start to purposefully confuse meta about the show itself with meta about Dennis. Let’s go through it in order one episode at a time, as that’s easier for me to dissect.

First of all, the backwards message at the end of all season 14 episodes, which is this:

“They leave but they all come back”

Is already a clear example of what I’m talking about. Is it about the show because of the false ending of Big Mo which actually ends with the message that “they’ll never stop doing sunny”? Is it about Dennis coming back from North Dakota? Unclear, but that’s entirely on purpose.

Episode 1: The Gang Gets Romantic

Now, there isn’t any clear connection to the choice as far as I am aware, but it is a first approach to the themes of romantic love, death, sons, as a whole. In this episode, while Frank and Charlie are paired with a father and son, Mac and Dennis get paired with a couple mourning a son (Dennis Jr, the “son” in the metaphor, is dead, but more in general it’s pointing to them slowly healing from the Suburbs conflict in my opinion though).

As a bonus fact, Charlie+Frank have always been set up to mirror Mac+Dennis. It is explicitly said in the Mac and Dennis Break Up commentary, and it shows in a bunch of episodes such as Dines Out, Chokes, or hell that one time Frank got a Charlie mannequin. Anyway, word of god, they are parallels.

TGGR presents us with two plotlines that mirror each other while going in the exact opposite direction, and the mirror element is the “structure”. Charlie and Frank’s plotline follows the romcom tropes closely, its structure, and is thus rewarded with a positive ending. Mac and Dennis’ plotline struggles against them (since the tropes are applying to Mac+Dennis, not Dennis+Lisa and Mac+Greg), which is why their plotline resolves negatively.

At the same time, this episode can have a sunny meta interpretation.

In this perspective, the Mac+Dennis plotline is the option for RCG to end sunny and each do their own thing, while the Charlie+Frank plotline is the option to keep it going, and at the end they conclude with the C+F one, seeing as it’s the option to keep going, which is ultimately what RCG wants.

So when this dialogue happens:

Mac: “You think they're gonna give us a bad review?” Dennis: “Yeah.” Mac: “I guess we're not gonna get that romantic comedy ending after all.”

It is about RCG choosing not to end the show (supported later by Big Mo), as it would not provide anything positive.

Or this:

Dennis: “It just feels like a lot of effort, and it feels desperate, you know what I mean? Like, I never put this much work into banging some cute meat.”

It can be interpreted as the effort to win an Emmy, especially since the Mac+Dennis plotline is the tired one, the one that’s failing.

And then when Alexi and Nikki say they’ll be back “next year”, and Charlie yells back “I love you!”, it can be interpreted that metaphorically Alexi and Nikki are sunny. Which also creates another link between love and the show continuing, or “staying alive”.

Finally, all the talk about “structure” and “acts”, particularly the three act structure, is a writer’s process, which also serves as an additional link to the RCG meta interpretation.

Episode 2: Thunder Gun 4: Maximum Cool

This episode leans heavily in the dichotomy, through various pieces of dialogue.

Starting from this:

Girl: "So, this is the midpoint twist. Thundergun finding out he has a son." Frank: "He has a son?" Girl: "Yes." Frank: "But how is this the twist? I mean, because he's got a kid? I mean, he's probably got a thousand kids, all the raw-dog loads he drops."

Which also calls back to the episode prior, where Dee’s role is called “diversionary plot-twist at best”. Now, all these words, midpoint and diversionary, imply an endgoal that is also opposite of what the twist shows.

The twist, obviously, being that Dennis has a secret life with a girl and a son.

It continues:

Dennis: “We’re feeling a lot of outrage right now, you know, because we want something, and we know we deserve it, - but we’re not getting it. [...] I wanna cling to the way things were, but they’re done. […] Let’s run from this.”

Being now aware of the metatext from Big Mo, once again, is this about RCG not getting an Emmy, being discouraged and wanting to end the show because they’re feeling stuck? Or is it about Dennis running away to North Dakota after he realizes in DDL that things have changed permanently despite Mac’s attempt at keeping them the exact same (the apartment restoration)?

The ambiguity that connects Dennis meta with Sunny/RCG meta continues.

Finally:

Dennis “No-no, you guys don’t get it. It’s a cliffhanger. Yeah? It’s a cliffhanger. We’re gonna find out what happened to John in the next movie, Thunder Gun 5.”

Dennis himself going against what is metaphorically his choice in DDL.

Let’s actually look into that, into what happens to Thundergun.

He sacrifices himself for his son, and dies in the process. Said film is then leaked by the gang and the audience hates it, so the franchise decides to “go back to its roots”. Very clearly sunny meta, but it can absolutely also be seen as Dennis meta. Dennis hating his choice (his thunderson ending) and deciding to come back (go back to his roots).

Additionally, Dennis literally says “give me dong or give me death” at one point, which in the context of all of this feels rather significant, you know?

Episode 3: Dee Day

Surprisingly, and thankfully for me, not much that I can see.

There is this:

Dennis: “And who cares about her feelings anyway? Nobody, that’s who. What about my feelings? Now, that’s interesting, okay?”

Which implies something going on with Dennis’ feelings, and which will more substantially be addressed by Jumper when it’s implied that Dennis tries to completely disregard them when it comes to choices, but other than that, really not much else.

Episode 4: The Gang Chokes

Once again we see a Mac+Dennis and Charlie+Frank parallel conflict. Charlie and Frank resolve their own with words (that mirror Dines Out) while Mac and Dennis resolve theirs with actions, while also solving the much bigger conflicts started by Suburbs (again, check out the other analysis for more context on this) and DDL.

It should also be stressed that Chokes starts by saying:

Charlie: “Uh, guys, I'd like to raise a glass to Frank. Frank, another year has gone by since you came into my life.”

He’s making a toast, which implies that they are celebrating their anniversary, as they were in Dines Out, and so the parallel becomes not only implied in dialogue as I’m about to show, but direct. It is unclear whether this is also a monthly dinner for Mac and Dennis or not, as I don’t think it was ever specified one way or the other.

As for the parallel in dialogue.

In Dines Out:

Mac: “I didn't have your back before, but now I'm gonna be the wind beneath your wings.”

In Chokes:

Frank (to the Waiter): “Hey, you had my back. Now I'm gonna have yours.”

and

Charlie: “Look, Frank, I'm sorry, dude. I screwed up, man. I should've saved you, and I'll always save you from now on, I promise.” Frank: “Thanks, Charlie. I knew you had my back.”

With Brian representing a death for Dennis, it is implied that what Charlie and Frank are saying in words is supposed to be fully applicable for Mac and Dennis, as there is a parallel between Frank almost dying by choking and Dennis almost dying by going to ND.

Therefore, this is about Dennis going to North Dakota and how he wanted to be stopped, “saved” by Mac. This is Mac apologizing, Dennis accepting the apology, and them implicitly moving forward from this conflict in their relationship and for any similar ones in the future if they present themselves. Mac learning the tools to deal with it, “I’ll always save you from now on”.

Which in a way further solidifies that the option that isn’t Brian, Death, Son, Mandy is fully intended as Dennis, Life, Love, Mac. Mac plays a role in the second option, so when choosing life, love, etc, Mac will be involved. As he is the savior in the context.

Continuing on Chokes, the episode itself again focuses a lot on death, both real and perceived, and being saved. There are three main points for this.

First point: Frank’s death.

So, he almost dies and no one helps. Sound familiar? It’s what happened when Dennis went to ND. As a result of no one helping him, Frank lashes out and decides to move out and distance himself. It is then shown that Frank keeps missing Charlie and comparing the Waiter to him subconsciously. It is constantly shown that Frank rejects Charlie’s attempts at helping him despite actually needing him. Which is also what applies to Mac and Dennis, throughout the episode Dennis is shown needing Mac’s help and taking it while verbally refusing it.

Charlie proposes to chew Frank’s food, Frank refuses his help, Frank chokes, Charlie doesn’t help.

Mac constantly helps Dennis, Dennis starts to push him away, Dennis “dies” (chooses to move to ND), Mac doesn’t help.

The episode concludes with the acknowledgement that they should’ve helped, and with the offended part forgiving the other.

Second point: Dee’s death

She witnesses death and is subsequently enthralled by it, seeking thrill by living on the edge. We can draw a parallel to Dennis’ enjoyment in “living in another man’s skin”, you know, “getting off”. It’s how Dennis started the double life he then got lost inside after all, it gave him a thrill. Then, it happened to him exactly what ends up happening to Dee. She experiences real death, is scared shitless by it, and decides to never do it again, going as far as to say this:

Dee: “I saw the other side. I didn't like it. I hated it. It was just blackness. There's nothing there. It's just dark. That's it. Just lights out. I don't want to do that anymore. I don't want to live on the edge. I don't want to die.”

So once again the choice rests on LIFE, it is like this for Dee, as it is for Sunny, as it is for Dennis.

It’s also interesting to point out that Dee is rescued by a third party, after Mac is able to say “No”; as if symbolically that is what should’ve happened to save Dennis, back when he was about to go. A “no”, to stop him.

Third point: Dennis’ death

Dennis witnesses Frank dying and no one helping him and is immediately reminded of his own situation, which he then proceeds to discuss when at home, with Mac. Thanks to Dennis making this correlation we can once again assume that it is meant to be interpreted as a nod to the ND twist. Not only this but it then keeps linking Dennis to the concept of death and being saved.

This dialogue happens:

Mac: “I would've stepped in, but, of course, I was taking my cues from you.” Dennis: “Why?” Mac: “Well, you didn't tell me whether I should save him or not.” Dennis: “But why? I mean, why do I still have to tell you what to do? Why do I still have to order your dinners for you? And why is it up to me to decide whether or not you're going to save a man's life? You know what the problem is? I can't depend on you. I can't depend on anyone. You know, I mean, if that had been me choking tonight, no one would've saved me.” Mac: “No. I would've saved you, Dennis. I would have saved you. If you told me to.” Dennis: “Oh, Jesus Christ if I told you to?”

Dennis is clearly still upset about no one helping him when he needed it, which is, no one stopping him from making the worst decision of his life, a well established metaphorical death, and is projecting this frustration by applying it to Frank’s situation.

Later on, again:

Dennis: “Christ. I feel like I'm dying.” Mac: “Just let me help you, Dennis!”

Then:

Mac: “Look, all the gluten and the sugar and the dairy just wreaks havoc on his system, you know? And it makes him so weak. And then he's gonna depend on me to take care of him, to bring him back from the brink of death.”

Or “from making a wrong decision”.

Continuing:

Dee: “But if you want Dennis to really depend on you, you’re gonna have to save his life for real.”

And:

Dennis: “So you were still gonna rely on a decision that somebody else made, only, this time, you were potentially gonna kill a man?”

In which Dennis is once again, always without fail, the dying man, and Mac the person who saves him, or tries to. Dennis is very adamant in wanting Mac to choose for himself, which is surprising for a man so “obsessed with control”, and specifically it ticks him off that Mac’s decision was once again gonna provoke the death of a man because he couldn’t take action.

All this implied connection between Dennis, North Dakota and Death reinforces the Death/Brian aspect, while also reinforcing the Life/Mac one, as it is Mac that is supposed to save Dennis.

Episode 5: The Gang Texts

A shorter one, but here things get a little interesting, because the dichotomy is highlighted by one particular joke.

Mac: “Bathrooms at zoos are, like, big Grindr spots for closeted dads.”

Mac says this, then later on, in comes Dennis, a dad, and if it weren’t enough, it’s Mac himself who points to the situation once again by asking if it’s a “grindr thing”.

So going with this, his particular struggle (Death/Son vs Life/Love) is being highlighted with a very fitting choice of words, as he is a dad, and so... also closeted. Going with this. These are the words chosen to describe him in the joke, and it ends up being very telling overall.

Episode 6: The Janitor Always Mops Twice

Nothing, pretty much. lol

I’m gonna use this empty space to write that I just realized that Mac is even more linked to the theme of romantic love because he gifts the RPG specifically on Valentines Day.

Also, generally speaking, Dennis leaving would imply the death of the show, so that’s another way in which dennis meta and sunny meta are linked, because every time one is referenced, the other is automatically implied. The show cannot exist without Dennis in it, and Dennis cannot exist if the show ends. And if that’s not enough, in Big Mo they outright link the end of the show to actual death, in a lot of ways that I’m gonna look into in a bit, so once again, remember that.

Finally, Dennis is very adamant on Mac acting in s14 because if Mac were to do it, he would basically make the decision for Dennis, something that he used to do all the time, if you recall Mac and Dennis Break Up.

Episode 7: The Gang Solves Global Warming

The subject itself can be considered a slow death of sorts, so it feels especially significant that it’s Dennis the member of the gang who cares most about stopping it, despite not being able to because Mac doesn’t help him.

That’s not the only reason he fails at the end though.

He keeps trying to be rational and keep feelings out of it, to rationalize with the situation, which is what ultimately crushes him, as that’s impossible long term.

In this episode, he keeps getting mad at Mac for not taking action and instead trusting God’s will.

Frank: “Where is your God now?” Mac: “He will reveal himself at some point.” Dennis: “Well, is he gonna do it before all these people revolt and destroy the place?” Mac: “I don’t know. I don’t question God’s will. If he wants to destroy the Earth, that’s on him. - I support it!”

I think this is stretching it a bit, but this can also be read as Mac accepting Dennis’ decision to leave despite hating it. Dennis is also frequently presented as “God” so it would make some sense.

The crowd “not wanting to stop” and rioting can be read as sunny meta also, though that’s also kind of a stretch to me, I’m pointing it out.

In the end, the whole episode Dennis and Mac keep arguing about action vs inaction, with Dennis insisting that Mac should take action and being distressed when he doesn’t. They also keep arguing about rationality vs God, something that will come up again in Jumper, surprisingly.

Episode 8: Paddy's Has a Jumper

Now, starting from the very obvious, because that’s what’s easy to me, the jumper is called Bryan O’Brien, and if that doesn’t scream Brian=death, then boy I don’t know what does.

Not only that, but the episode spends a significant portion really stressing and beating you over the head with the fact that the jumper is paralleling Dennis.

Not only is Frank mistaken for the father, but Dennis’ dialogue as a whole really insists on this in multiple points. But again let’s go in order.

Discussing his motivations and intentions:

Mac: ”I mean, maybe God is testing us.” Dee: “He's not gonna do anything. This is a classic cry for help.”

Plus, this episode feels like a writers’ room. When they say stuff like:

Charlie: “It doesn't matter if he wants to or he doesn't want to. He's not gonna die falling from that height.” Dennis: “Whoa. Hard disagree, pal. You could absolutely die if you jump from that height.”

This to me sounds equally about RCG discussing the choice for themselves (implying they did at one point consider outright killing Dennis, or at least argued the theoreticals of it in the writers room, as in “would he actually even die with a decision like that?”) as it is the characters arguing the ND thing in the metaphorical sense, with Dennis insisting that a jump would be fatal while the gang thinks he’s completely fine. So, again, the jump represents him moving to North Dakota, as we’ll see.

Also, in general, the whole episode sounds like RCG arguing over whether they should pull the plug on their own show or not (”become a suicide bar”, because again, without Dennis there is no show, if he chooses death, so does the show), RCG themselves stuck in Dennis’ choice. In particular with the whole “Could he? Would he? (choose one or the other?) Should we?”.

But in addition to this, the algorithm, actually algorithms in general, are once again something that Dennis uses regularly to solve his own problems (D.E.N.N.I.S system, hello), which is his downfall.

Dennis: “Based on the analytical conclusions that we draw here, we're gonna be able to come up with a mathematically-accurate, non-emotional answer to all of our questions. Okay? We just need to think like a computer.”

Speaking of rationality vs feelings.

Mac: “Let's not bring science into it. Okay? I mean, this is life or death. This is God's territory. All right? I mean, there is no science.”

Now, this is very important because it allows me to talk about another thing. If it hadn’t been clear enough by now, this choice Dennis is presented with is also one between rationality and feelings.

Choosing to care for your son and move to ND, that is the rational choice, and rational is everything Dennis has always tried to be, especially in this episode and in Global Warming (which also mentions God a lot!).

But throughout s12-13-14, as I have highlighted in this post so far, we have seen where Dennis’ heart lies, his feelings.

It is funny to notice that both in Global Warming and in Jumper, Mac is the half who keeps arguing for the side of religion, of faith, of feelings, while Dennis keeps arguing for the side of rationality, of objectivity, always wanting to keep feelings completely out of the equation.

Dennis: “I think I have a way that we can solve this argument without human emotion mucking it all up.”

Then:

Charlie: “I think what we learned is that there's no way that the jumper's gonna die from this height. You know? So there's no reason for us to do anything about it.”

Once again the gang not recognizing the gravity of the situation and choosing inaction, to which Dennis seems unsure and wants to do more testing.

Ok so, here’s where things get interesting, the biggest parallel links between Dennis and Bryan are brought to light as they are looking through his social media.

“Yeah, it looks like he likes to travel. He was recently on a cruise.”

Referring to how Dennis actually liked being in another man’s skin in general, and he was recently away to do just that.

The Gang: “Okay, so it looks like he's got a lot to live for.” “He's eating food.” Dennis: “Or-or-or is he? Because is-is that just what he wants you to believe?”

Once again it’s Dennis counterarguing, specifically on the points that sound most like himself, though this irony is lost on him. This also once again sounds like RCG discussing Dennis as a character and how the choice would actually impact him and has impacted him.

Generally, speaking about Dennis, everyone thought he was gonna be fine because on the surface, his choice in the s12 finale sounds like a pretty sweet deal, and exactly what Dennis has supposedly wanted ever since The Gang Misses The Boat, though even that episode itself proves that it simply isn’t what is right for him.

“He's hardly a child, but he's still hanging on to his youth. That suggests to me that maybe he's got some daddy issues. Abandonment, abuse.”

All things that perfectly apply to Dennis and that give us interesting insight on him.

“But recently the girlfriend, she's disappeared from his pictures, which tells me that, uh, she probably broke up with him, you know, because of all his father issues, and 'cause he's an alcoholic, and because of the copious requests for butt-eating, which, she was thinking was more of a one-time thing, and he was thinking, this is a thing now, like, from now on.”

Disregarding Dennis’ surprisingly canonical love for getting his butt ate, lol (despite how that could count as more indication of where his true feelings lie, knowing RCG and what their writing intentions might be), he brings out alcoholism out of seemingly nowhere, another thing that again confirms the link between Dennis and the jumper, Bryan.

Dennis: “Basically, what we've concluded is that it would actually be good for the bar if this guy jumps and dies. So the answer to the question of "should we get involved?" is actually yes. [...] You see, we've already established that this guy wants to die and that it would actually benefit our bar if he dies. Now, of course, from an emotional standpoint, we feel as though we should get involved, we feel as though we should save this guy, but the algorithm is actually telling us that that does not benefit anybody.”

This feels to me like Dennis realizing mid discussion that he should pick rationality aka Death, for the greater good, but being emotionally incapable of actually making that choice because of his feelings, and so implicitly pleading the gang to help him do it, to get involved and push him.

It also sounds like RCG coming to the conclusion that the algorithm, aka the show’s FORMULA, is telling them that Dennis ending up in the bad option of said choice is what would normally happen in a show like sunny, although they themselves don’t really want to go through with it.

Charlie: “Can I say something, though? I think this is for the best. You know what I mean? Like, we were going down a road I was not totally comfortable with.” Dee: “You guys want to go back to watching our show?” Charlie: “Let's get back to our show.”

So, a couple of things here. The jumper does not jump, he chooses life, which implies the same fate for Dennis. Coincidentally, pay attention to how the gang calls it “our” show, not like, “that” show, because this is, at the same time, RCG being glad of the decision to not end the show and kill Dennis off.

But here’s where things get real FUN, because the Melon is also used as a metaphor for sunny. Generally speaking, smashing it would’ve been ending it, it’s not a coincidence that the melon represents the jumper, they’re all one and the same.

Cricket: “Guys, why the hell are you wasting a perfectly good casaba melon?”

Why end a show that is doing perfectly fine?

Frank: “Where's my melon? Where's my casaba?” Dennis: “It's right here, man. Why do you care so much about this thing? What is the deal?” Frank: “It's where I stash my Maui Kush.” Charlie: “You hide your weed in a casaba melon?” Frank: “Yeah. In case the cops ransack the place, you got to find a good, unsuspecting spot to stash your drugs.” Mac: “Pot's pretty much legal now. You don't really have to stash it anywhere.” Charlie: “I don't think you have to hide it, man.” Frank: “When did that happen?”

Ok so, this might be the most speculative point I’m going to bring up, but I will anyway, because it’s my post and I do what I want. I think they’re talking about gay subtext here. It is simply something that is kept hidden (thus, subtext, duh), and that they don’t really need to hide anymore. The reason I think this has a metaphorical value is specifically because of how Charlie words “I don’t think you have to hide it, man” which beautifully applies to a Dennis who is still in the closet in the year of the lord 2020, if you catch my drift. Plus the whole situation reads kinda with a weird vibe in general, almost forced. You have to consider that they chose to include this dialogue over stuff like Frank bragging to Dennis about meeting Jackie DeNardo. He doesn’t bring her up at all, actually.

Mac: “Maybe that's, like, part of the problem of taking the humanity out of decisions.” Dennis: “Perhaps the science just isn't there yet.”

They acknowledge that any choice should be made following your feelings, not like a machine, and Dennis agrees with the point. Now, I don’t know about you, but to me Dennis agreeing that sometimes considering feelings in certain situations is necessary is something HUGE. Of course it is for the thesis I’m arguing, as it implies Dennis following his feelings when making the decision he is currently weighted by, and we know where those stand, but it is huge just in general, also. Dennis usually doesn’t do feelings, at least, he tries to repress them usually.

Cricket: “Where did we land on the casaba?” Dennis: “I think you can eat it, man. I think we're done with it.”

Basically, with the tinkering over, and a decision being made by RCG, they can hand it to Cricket (David Hornsby) to write the season finale.

Episode 9: A Woman’s Right To Chop

The salon’s insigna, pictured above.

This episode is full with dennis/sunny meta (which doubles as abortion meta, so bear with me), but it also has a son=death link once again, as “Poppins” is pregnant and were she to have the puppies (which are later directly used as a metaphor for Brian Jr as I already quoted in this post when explaining why Dennis could technically return to ND) she would die.

Poppins himself is linked to Dennis metaphorically, and as we all know it is a dog that simply does not die.

Mac: “Poppins! He came back! My dog came back!” Dennis: “How the hell is that dog still alive?” Dee: “Yeah, Mac, why don't you just put that poor thing out of its misery?” Mac: “Put him down? What, are you crazy? This is my dog, Dee. I love him.” Dee: “Well, he doesn't love you. Comes around every three or four years, eats a bunch of batteries or whatever, takes a giant dump on the floor, and then leaves again.” Mac: “Dee, Poppins comes and goes as he pleases 'cause that's his right as a male.”

Once again Mac is responsible for keeping him alive, and he does so because he loves him. As for “he doesn’t love you”, I mean, it’s Dee, the Gang’s perspective, of course they think that. They also thought Dennis had no feelings. But we know he does, they are why he came back after all.

Dennis: “And if we decide to leave, we're gonna leave. Yeah, 'cause that's nature. That's tradition.” Dee: “That's bullshit. Traditional roles are ridiculous, and they're made up by men.”

The episode discouraging the option of leaving from Dennis.

Now, cutting hair (while yes, abortion stuff, I’m not talking about that here) can also be interpreted as both a metaphor for ending the show, or Dennis cutting ties entirely. It works for all of them.

Dennis: “With luxurious locks like yours, it could take, oh, three, four years to grow back to its current length. Yeah, if it ever grows back.”

Ending the show with all the risks that it would imply, because it could take a while for them to get another show to get off the ground and a new thriving fanbase (years to grow back hair), that is, if it ever happens.

With relationships as established as those Dennis has, it could take years for him to find other people he can be close with, that is, if he ever finds them.

Dee: “Will you please leave these poor women alone? They're clearly bored and lonely and needing to do something extreme in order to make themselves feel special.”

That just screams “reason why Dennis went to ND” to me.

It’s also funny to consider that the episode as a whole is about choice.

And it’s also interesting that in this scenario Dennis is arguing to stop them from having the choice of “ruining their life”, which sounds rather dramatic and also like a lot of self projection on his part.

Reading the script, it also came to me that other people having a say in whether a haircut is made or not sounds like fans having a say in whether a show ends or not, so there’s that.

So, the burping in this episode is a metaphor for emotional pain.

In this case, Dee wants to get the haircut simply because she can, without understanding the ramifications of her actions, and this upsets Frank who actually does understands. He once had long beautiful hair, cut it and gave it away, and it never grew back. This fits in all three metaphorical perspectives, once again. In the end she ends up getting a haircut anyway, despite people trying to stop her, and ends up with a substitute wig that looks pretty much the same.

Dee: “I'm getting the haircut. I'm getting it.” Frank: “Don't do it, Deandra. You'll regret it! I'm telling you!” Car salesman: “What was that all about?” Frank: “Just trying to save a life.”

This is yes, a metaphor about adoption instead of abortion, but it doubles as Dennis meta for everything else we have discussed.

Not cutting, not jumping, not running away, is saving a life. It all works towards the same message without neglecting the episode’s main message.

All in all, I feel like the parallels and metaphors in this episode are only surface level, and the rest works to make the plot and the abortion stuff make sense. It is still significant though, it’s there.

Episode 10: Waiting For Big Mo

Not even gonna try to make sense of all the metaphors in here as I don’t even think they necessarily make sense at all.

The point of it all here is simple, and it is once again sunny meta as much as it is Dennis meta, which ends up being very important.

They always play the game guarding the base, never letting themselves have fun but following a clear formula (word actually used in the episode), because that is simply what has always worked. They have it down to a science.

Yet the desire to have fun keeps messing with it, getting them lower on the leaderboard, and so on so forth.

Dennis is afraid that this will bring on a death, if they can’t guard their base from Big Mo, so he keeps discouraging fun, and asks people to stay on track, manipulates them to reach this goal, even if it makes him miserable.

This is about Dennis keeping his perfected facade instead of following his feelings as much as it is about RCG following the formula instead of having fun with it. For Dennis, the goal of doing this is being perceived as perfect, being accepted, belonging. For RCG, the goal was winning an emmy and staying relevant.

So the episode starts by painting having fun (feelings in Dennis’ case) as something that will bring an inevitable death, which must be how it felt to RCG (if you don’t follow the formula they’ll cancel your show) and how it felt to Dennis (who knows what would happen if you opened up), which is what led him to make the wrong choice in the first place, to avoid getting hurt.

Except the episode then proceeds to make fun of that very notion:

Mac: “Who cares if we're losing?” Charlie: “Dennis said, like, if we leave the base, death is gonna come in the form of a fat kid who's gonna turn us into fart ghosts or something like that. So I got to stay.” Mac: “What?” Charlie: “It sounds crazy now that I'm saying it. Dennis explained it a lot more better. Dennis, we can't leave the base, right? That's the deal?” Dennis: “No. Frank was right. Rutherford B. Crazy's real name was Larry Takashi. Yeah, and he was the founder and owner of Laser Tag Fun Zone. Well, apparently, he killed himself.”

In the episode, Frank is the first to reveal the news to Dennis, and he doesn’t believe him. Up until that point in the ep, he had been using Rutherford/Larry (is it a coincidence that he also has two names? I’ll let you decide) as inspiration for himself and to keep going with his plan to win, the guy was always working towards his goal tirelessly, never having fun. His family hated him, he had no friends, he was completely alone. He died alone and miserable.

This part of the episode in particular feels very heavy, as we notice that Dennis (and it isn’t random that he’s the one having this revelation) is the only one who’s sitting, looking visibly shocked.

Now, Larry Takashi is based on Larry David, creator of Seinfeld and Curb Your Enthusiasm. This isn’t only obvious because of the first name, but also because Larry was the person who Rob met that convinced him to not end the show.

He said this to Rob:

“Don’t be an idiot. Never stop. Just keep doing it. One, because it’s the greatest job you could ever want and two, because if you do a final episode they’ll just destroy you for it.“

So it’s easy to assume that this character is an homage to him.

Anyway, Dennis has this realization, and it feels important that he’s the one having it, as the whole season has been subtly about him and his choice, him feeling like he has to be a father but secretly wanting to be Mac’s “leading man”.

Dennis: “I mean, the guy was miserable. But he spent his life building this empire, and it all meant nothing? Shit. So Rutherford be rich. Rutherford be successful as all hell. But you know what else Rutherford be? Rutherford be right. Because it all means nothing if you're not enjoying it.”

This works both ways, and is the right message, but it then gets twisted into “choosing death on our own terms”, obviously for the sake of tricking the audience with a fake finale; as we now know, they have actually chosen life. The dialogue continues to be specifically about sunny.

And with that, it segues into the fake finale, with them saying “time to end the game”, “goodbye base” and all of that.

And it seems like with that they’re giving up, accepting death as something that will happen regardless, ending the show. Saying “screw it, we won’t let others cancel our show, we’ll end it on our terms if that needs to happen”. Or in Dennis’ case “If I’m gonna have to live a miserable life might as well directly kill myself” as, again, so far the implied death of choosing Brian has been METAPHORICAL, the death of Dennis’ identity. Not, you know, real.

Whereas the show ending would imply his eventual real death.

But that’s not how it ends.

“Oh, what? You thought we'd gone? You'd like that, wouldn't you? We ain't going anywhere. We're never leaving, you little piece of shit.”

They’re never leaving. And so, by progression of the metaphor, neither is Dennis, of course, which implies the choice of the other option. Dennis, Life, Love, Mac.

So as the show chooses to live forever, then so should Dennis also choose the option for life, and everything that it implies with it.

And this is why all of this talk about meta and symbolism was very important for me to make, because this is the logical conclusion I have reached.

Logically speaking, for me, this is where all the signs seem to be pointing, and that’s very exciting.

Because as RCG chooses to keep their show alive, they are also choosing to have real fun with it, and this seems to imply that they won’t stick to the formula as closely.

So in a way, Big Mo, as this fake finale, does end up representing the end of sunny as we know it, if I’m reading into it correctly. It ends up being a proper finale and send off, but sunny is not over because of it. Only the one we are used to, whatever that means.

So not only is Dennis choosing that, but it seems RCG might be taking some real artistic liberties or whatever, not be afraid to sink down in the leaderboards anymore but simply do what they please.

So... macdennis? Well, come back to me in a year and we’ll find out together. That is another reason why I made this post after all, to look back at it in the future and see just how wrong or right I was.

Let’s see how Rob chooses to embrace sunny.

#iasip #it's always sunny in philadelphia #analysis #macdennis #macden #meta #dennis reynolds #mac mcdonald #season 14

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constantviewings · 3 years

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The TV Show Trials - Inside No. 9

Inside No. 9 is a British black comedy anthology series that first aired in 2014. It is written by Reese Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton. Each 30-minute episode is a self-contained story with new characters and a new setting, and all star both Pemberton and Shearsmith.

12 Days of Christine

When Christine brings Adam home from a costume party, her life begins to unravel. Her happiness slowly turns to sorrow.

It’s only fitting that this episode is the most popular as it is what introduced me to this entire series. This episode is phenomenal and I really enjoyed it, even though I knew the entire plot going into it. Shearsmith and Pemberton where really smart in placing the elements of the conclusion throughout the entire episode for you to piece together at the end.

Rating: 5

The Devil of Christmas

In a film within the episode, The Devonshires arrive at the alpine chalet for a holiday. The caretaker, Klaus, tells them about a local legend of Krampus, the Devil of Christmas. Meanwhile, the film’s director provides audio commentary.

I really like the production of this episode, with it being shot entirely on equipment from the 70s, but I have issues with the ending. The ending, and the twist, feel unceremoniously tacked onto the third act and come out of nowhere, which left me confused and unaware of how to feel.

Rating: 3

Cold Comfort

Andy takes a job at Comfort Support Line’s call center, a helpline for the lonely and desperate. Will he be able to cope with the emotional stress after he becomes the target of a stalker?

The choice of having this all shown through security cameras is fantastic, as you can watch camera-by-camera as a character does something and provides visual interest to otherwise standard framing methods. The story is also pretty good with the twist being satisfying, but it doesn’t make much sense in the context of the characters.

Rating: 3

The Riddle of the Sphinx

Nina breaks into the office of Cambridge Professor Nigel Quires, who publishes cryptic crosswords in the student newspaper as “The Sphynx”. Squires proceeds to teach Nina how to solve cryptic crosswords using the next day’s puzzle.

This is my favourite of the episodes that I watched. I’m a big fan of ‘double twists’ where a character thinks they’ve won, but they’ve actually lost everything and that happens twice in this episode.

Rating: 5

Tom and Gerri

Tom is a frustrated primary school teacher and aspiring author. One night, a homeless man named Migg returns Tom’s lost wallet, and Migg ends up living with Tom, to the frustration of Tom’s girlfriend Gerri. Tom’s life changes dramatically as a result.

This episode doesn’t stand out to me like any of the others, it’s reasonably enjoyable but didn’t leave a lasting impression.

Rating: 2

The Bill

A group of friends go out for tapas at Number Nine after a day of golfing; but tempers escalate quickly when they can’t agrees on how to settle the bill. Who will pay the ultimate price?

I’m going to be completely transparent, the bickering between the four main characters is extremely grading and I was over it ten minutes into the episode; but I’m interpreting that as fantastic writing. I also think they could have been a bit more inventive with the ‘No. 9’ element of this episode by having it take place at table nine instead of the restaurant “Number Nine”. Despite those two less than stellar elements, the final twist almost makes the thirty minutes of grading bickering worth it.

Rating: 3

La Couchette

A group of passengers in carriage nine on a train from France try to get some sleep, but the compartment quickly fills up and the possibility of sleep dwindles away. Then one of the passengers suddenly dies.

Similar to Tom and Gerri, I could take or leave this episode. It’s not that it’s particularly bad, it just isn’t particularly good or memorable. In a hypothetical situation where you can only choose five episodes of Inside No. 9, this one wouldn’t make the cut unfortunately.

Rating: 3

Once Removed

According to the Holes and Rahe Stress Scale, the three most stressful experienced in life are the death of a spouse, divorce and imprisonment. Moving house is only 32nd on the list. But anything could happen in the last ten minutes inside no 9.

I’ll be honest, most of the points for this episodes rating can be chalked up to its unique story structure where it jumps back in ten minute intervals whenever the plot catches up. Other than that, I found this episode quite standard.

Rating: 3

To Have and To Hold

When Adrian’s career as a wedding photographer starts to get in the way of his own marriage, his wife Harriet is determined to find out why.

This episode is somewhat mediocre, until the twist rears its head and then it’s all uphill from there.

Rating: 4

Bernie Clifton’s Dressing Room

It’s been 30 years since Northern double-act Len and Tommy last appeared on stage together. Then Tommy walked out on Len, and that was curtains for Cheese and Crackers. Until now – and one last gig in front of an invited audience.

This episode hits different, the entire episode (apart from maybe a minute) is just Shearsmith and Pemberton doing old, outdated skit comedy and it’s fantastic.

Rating: 4

Thinking Out Loud

Inside house no. 9, seven extremely disparate characters share their stories with a camera, their fats inevitably, inextricably, and unknowingly set for a head-on collision.

I’ll be completely honest and say that I was let down with this episode. Every time a new character was introduced I was piecing together the ways in which they could be connected to the others, only for them to all be split personalities. While I can’t comment on the accuracy of the portrayal of DID, it still felt stereotypical as a narrative device.

Rating: 3

And the Winner Is…

We join jury no. 9 of a television awards company as they decide on who is going to win the Best Actress award. But only one of the eight actresses can be chosen.

This episode was a little bit, dare I say it, uninspired? While it stars an impressive cast, it doesn’t make up for the lacklustre story. Maybe you need to know more about the industry to get it…

Rating: 2

Zanzibar

Strangely-farcical goings-on are in store for a group of unwitting guests, who have all booked adjoining rooms on the ninth floor of the Zanzibar hotel in London. This episode’s dialogue is written entirely in iambic pentameter.

On top of all taking place in a single hallway, this episode has another gimmick in that it is all performed in iambic pentameter which adds a unique charm to an otherwise unimpressive story.

Rating: 4

The Harrowing

In this horror comedy with a grim twist, a teenage girl is hired to housesit a gothic mansion, but it appears that there are scary things going on inside no 9.

I’ll give them this much, they tried something different. Did it work out? Not for me. Though Shearsmith singing Lord of the Dance flung me back into catholic school mass…

Rating: 2

Sardines

Rebecca and Jeremy hold their engagement party as Rebecca’s family mansion. The guests play a game of sardines, and as Rebecca’s friends and family are packed into a wardrobe, secrets are gradually revealed, leading to a dark and sinister discovery.

Like the 12 Days of Christine, I cheated slightly with this episode. This was the first episode I ever watched of Inside No. 9 and is the whole reason I am reviewing the show. This was my third time watching the episode, and it’s still just as good as the first two.

Rating: 5

(Bonus Episode) Dead Line

When Arthur finds an old mobile phone in his local graveyard, he makes the mistake of trying to contact the owner. But some mysteries are best left unsolved, and as Halloween draws near Arthur is plunged into a nightmare of his own making.

The plot description above isn’t exactly what the episode entails, because this is the live broadcast Halloween special from 2018 where they faked the whole thing going wrong. While it doesn’t have the same effect watching it on a laptop two years after the fact, if you can put that aside and fully immerse yourself into believing what they want you to, it’s still amazing.

Rating: 5

Did I like it? Most of the episodes, yes.

Will I continue watching? God yes, thank god it’s been renewed for two more seasons…

#The TV Show Trials #Inside No 9

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elegantminecraftknowitall · 4 years

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Minecraft Monster Traps

Educators have had many challenges over the past decade as the educational system has undergone change driven by new government and group insurance policies geared toward enhancing educational outcomes and shifting focus in step with changing career and trade landscapes. And like every giant trade, there was much disagreement internationally with among the modifications, most famously in recent time adding the "A" for arts to STEM to evolve it into STEAM education. And as blended and multimodal learning positive aspects more and more credibility, a common query that invokes debate is whether or not STEAM academic games can be used as a severe instructional software within the teacher’s toolbox. Games naturally assist this form of schooling. Some consultants argue that games are, at the start, studying techniques, and that this accounts for the sense of engagement and leisure gamers experience. STEAM educational games are designed to create a compelling complicated problem space or world, which players come to know by self-directed exploration. Their meta-game and quest systems are designed to deliver just-in-time studying and to use information to help players understand how they are doing, what they should work on and the place to go next.

All wayz speel chek you're maps. I HTE porly speled signal nd boks

Climb the very best Mountain You'll find

A fantastic screenplay

10 months in the past

8 | TOY STORY 2 Adventure MAP [ENG] [PL] [ESP]Minecraft Project

Type %appdata% into the Run program, then press Enter

Roblox: Free Game for the Social Crew

Craft 10 wood strain plates

To kill the monster with this lure, you could use a bow and shoot on the monster twice through a hole in one of many doorways with a bow and arrow. You was once in a position to make use of a sword and swing through the holes in the door, however that may simply open the door. If you happen to do accidentally open the door whereas a creeper is trapped, rapidly close the door and back up fast, so the creeper does not blow up the trap or you. This trap is one of the simple to construct, in addition to the door lure. It mostly simply entails digging a pit, and no crafting is totally mandatory. Dig a gap 4x4. Place glass, or one other block, lining two sides, as depicted to the proper in image 1. Then, dig down any variety of blocks in the 2x4 space in the center of the opening. I dug down 6 blocks further than what was already dug, for a total of 7 blocks deep.

Just a few extra flowers may also grow in the basic biomes, and new mushrooms will pop up in every single place, including inside of caves. Speaking of the configuration file, which may actually be the perfect part of this mod. Everything in the mod is adjustable, from the amount of water on the earth, to whether the brand new gadgets are added to dungeon chests, even the doable places for villages and strongholds can be modified. You may also disable or regulate how frequent every area is, in addition to disable the adjustments to every individual vanilla biome. As great as these options are, in all probability the biggest cause for the mod's popularity is that there really is little or no that may be thought of mistaken with it. There are sometimes extreme differences between biomes which could make it extremely apparent once you spot a new space, but that was already an issue in the original game. Just like in vanilla Minecraft the villages can generate into hilly terrain and turn out to be slightly odd looking, although this can be exacerbated by the higher terrain of the mod's extra mountainous areas. And one other difficulty alongside borders is that taller areas can have the terrain of close by biomes proceed to look fairly far up their sides, which makes for weird conditions like beach sand "climbing" halfway up the Alps. This again, is a normal Minecraft situation, and really virtually all of its issues are basically just the sport's normal issues strengthened by the mod's love of variety. Otherwise, it is extremely stable and compatible with just about every other mod. Sign in or join and publish utilizing a HubPages Network account. Zero of 8192 characters usedPost CommentNo HTML is allowed in feedback, but URLs will be hyperlinked. Comments will not be for promoting your articles or different sites.

I really dig Crowfall. I actually have my share of bias as an investor, however I’ve been following this effort since before they even introduced their Kickstarter. Right off the bat, I felt like Crowfall was going to be something special. I don’t expect it to be everyone’s cup of tea even after they get to release, however I definitely think they’re bringing an thought that may change the way in which video games are made from now on. The idea of randomly producing maps isn’t a brand new one, nor is PvP. Smashing the 2 collectively to create dynamic worlds that live, change, and die over time is new, though. What’s more, it scratches an itch that I believe has been plaguing the MMORPG style for a really long time. The late 90s kicked off a two-decade-long run with MMOs. For the primary a number of years, avid gamers would pick their favorites from a relatively small listing of options and then stay with that game for a 12 months or two earlier than moving on to the next. As time’s gone on and extra MMOs can be found, many from smaller and really artistic studios, the time players stay with any of them has persistently gotten shorter.

An asteroid is bearing down on the planet of Future City. A planet is on the trajectory of the asteroid. Future City is in Danger. which minecraft mob are you . Go to %appdata% from run. Go to the .minecraft/saves folder. If the “saves” folder does not exist you may create saves folder. Drag extracted map folder into that folder. Atropos is the identify of the eldest of the three sisters of destiny in Greek mythology, the one accountable for slicing the thread of a mortals life with the shears. It's also the title of this very cool map! Go to your %appdata%/.minecraft folder. Open the “saves” folder. Unzip the map you downloaded, and put the unzipped folder into the saves folder. You should now be all set to benefit from the Atropos 2 map, have fun! Puzzle maps aim to check your drawback-solving abilities. They usually require you to complete a certain task with a view to proceed to the next puzzle. PortalCraft map Minecraft PE relies on the favored recreation. This map requires PE Portal gun mod by Desno365. Kagio - Minecraft Resources will have loads of challenges where you need thing logical.

#minecraft mac

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braincoins · 5 years

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roadakamelot replied to your post: Hi, Socks! I hope you're having a good day!

Its so good to finally have things make since when you figure out whats up with your brain. If you ever wanna talk Im always here for ND talks

Thank you! I might take you up on that sometime. ^_^

It’s so nice to be listened to and believed, too. Before this, the closest I came was a therapist who was like, “Eh, you might be mildly autistic, maybe? But you’re dealing with it well.” And that was The End of that conversation.

But today my psychiatrist is like, “Oh, I can absolutely see that,” when I brought up possibly being autistic. She started listing off things I do and seem to believe that would indicate being on the autism spectrum. She agreed that it’s mild and that I’m dealing with it pretty well, but she was just immediately like, “Oh yeah you’re almost certainly autistic.” And just that much meant SO MUCH TO ME.

She’s a little more on the fence about the ADHD, but I think that’s mostly because it entails medication like, well, Ritalin. But we’re going to start me on a small dose and see how I do - she wants me to call in a week and let her know how I’m doing.

If the Ritalin turns out to really be helping, she’ll probably refer me to a colleague that specializes in ADHD for a formal diagnosis.

The fun of mental illnesses, folks! Do I have depression and anxiety (as I was diagnosed several years back) or do I have ADHD that just looks like depression and anxiety OR do I have ALL OF THE ABOVE because comorbid conditions are a pain in the ass?!

My psychiatrist kind of has the opinion that the formal diagnosis is less important than finding out how to fix what’s wrong, which I can understand. If this particular combo of meds works for me and improves my life, then that’s good, right? AND IT IS! But knowing. THE KNOWING IS SO FUCKING IMPORTANT. And I don’t even intend to be like some sort of super, in-your-face advocate type? I don’t intend to build my entire identity around what’s wrong with me. >_< (Part of the reason I hate cancer ribbons and such. I get that it’s helpful for some people, but to me, it reduces me to my diagnosis and I am so much more than just a melanoma survivor, dammit.) I just really badly want a name for the face of my disorder(s).

#roadakamelot

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wildflower8281 · 6 years

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Some of the Crazy Shit in #nunlife

I’m trying to understand why I’m feeling so moved to write (again!) about much of this and share it. I think the answer is 3-fold:

1.) To bring awareness to an institution that is little known and that does a few things well, but a buncha things not so greatly. Incase any friends, parents or girls considering religious life ever read this – I have been and am happy to be available to connect and share more. I’ve been doing this for years offline – just sharing the behind the scenes, so as to remove the idealistic view that this order portrays. People be free to make their own decisions, tho!

2.) For me, there is a release and a letting go that happens when I write and share it out. It’s like the energy of it all is no longer lingering in my body and mind. It’s on the laptop and it’s out in the world. While I’ve had lots of pieces of my transition on my tumblr for years and other #nunlife posts on fb before, for some reason I’m feeling moved to write this way and share now, so here I am!

3.) I think my #conventlife is also like a really good book. You can revisit it at various points in your life and see new things, take in new messages, read the nuances even further. It’s pretty fascinating to me, so I enjoy revisiting, looking at parts from new perspectives, and allowing new lessons and wisdoms to appear for me.

(Below, basketball games and birthday celebrations with some of our very favorite youth and families.)

In my last post, I shared a lot of what life in Spanish Harlem was like, as a missionary sister, living day to day. Pretty basic nun stuff, even if it was new to readers. Here I’m going to follow-up with some events during my 4 years in San Pablo that I have a love/hate relationship with. I love them because I’m pretty sure without them taking place, I may never have left (and leaving has been all things awesome, so!)….and I hate them because they were truly some of the most difficult, exhausting, dark years of my life on all levels. Looking back, I’m pretty confident it was the Universe going: “Here – you are getting the intensive course on burnout…Imma send you a legit crazy (1 definite, a few mas or menos) and make you literally in charge of everything…for 2+ years. Then, you’ll die, want to leave and get on with your life.”

I think like any people-pleaser, like anyone who can’t say no, like anyone who knows not their own voice – my story is no different, with the exception that I was wearing a bright blue habit and a veil. The rules were a little more dramatic – to say no, was saying no to God….and quitting was quite literally scandalous….but still, same structure. I think we all have our own levels of what drives us to our utter exhaustion and burnout. For me, it was a mentally ill sister and replacing another who left, with little support in either situation. This is not a complete piece about why I left – as ultimately the motivation was much more interior - but more a list of external events and circumstances that led to my utter collapse on all levels.

How To Get Girls to Leave Religious Life in 3 Easy Steps:

· Make them Superior. Firstly, being the “superior” of nuns older than you both in religious life and real life just felt uncomfortable. Dealing with the Pastor without having any mission experience was also highly uncomfortable, and it didn’t help that he was the most stoic priest ever and only spoke when necessary. It was annoying and scary at first. (After getting to know him over the years, however, that eased up & I learned he was like a really big-hearted Uncle, who had drank the Stoic Koolaid. It’s cool. I admire him for many things still to this day. He has actually since left the order, but is still a priest!) Being sent to Harlem as superior was like this: “Here, be in charge of all operations in this place you’ve never been to, and be in charge of these people who have been here longer than you.” It was just annoying and stressful!!! That’s what I got for being responsible & docile. Of course, I looked to the sisters who had been there longer for most of my answers in those first years. I knew how to be humble, yo! But still – I really didn’t enjoy being the Superior.. Training was joke – barely a week. It’s “the missionary adventure!” they said. “Trust the Holy Spirit!” they said! “Grace will provide!” they said! #Koolaid, I say, to help the cray go down easier.

· Send them a Crazy. My 2nd year there, the Provincial Superior decided to send me a “troubled” sister. Due to my “calm and peaceful nature” she thought I could handle this sister and would be a good superior for her and that I should really try to bond with her, so that she would trust me & get better, etc. This sister was notorious for her emotional outbursts & instability and for having been shipped from convent to convent, because of the trouble she caused....

Long, long story short-ish – she ended up having Borderline Personality Disorder, which we discovered during her stint in Harlem. (Before I go any further, please know I take mental illness very seriously. If there is any circumstance that made me realize it’s a very serious thing, it would be the one I am describing here. It’s no joke, it’s not her fault, but many versions of BPD do require intense programs to really get anywhere. I learned and read a shit-ton about it all, not to mention lived it on a daily basis in a very intimate way. I am in no way here blaming this sister for her antics, as clearly the #ssvm is to blame for not responsibly providing her the care she clearly needed.) She was officially diagnosed by a psychiatrist and it was recommended by him (note, a doctor who specialized in treating catholic religious….) that she be put into an intensive treatment program – like a 3-4 day a week program. It was also suggested that she go home to Argentina until she was well, or just for good. Well, the order carried out none of the recommendations of the doctors blaming money constraints and also because “the sick are our chalices” – a brainwashy line in our rulebook to make us think it’s virtuous and saintly to care for every member who is sick in any way, and never send them home. Keeping them with us and taking care of them is like making spiritual bank, basically. So, she stayed in our convent for 2+ years, basically causing unrest on a weekly and, often daily basis. Personally, it was emotionally exhausting for me, as I was the person closest to her & obliged always to care for her (the rest of the sisters basically avoided her and walked on egg-shells around her.) If you know anything about this mental illness, you know that it’s the people closest to them that they manipulate, abuse and have a love/hate relationship with. I think I went to more doctors appointments with her in those 2 years, than ever in my life – every specialist of every kind, there was always something. Basically anything to get my attention. Days when she would cry for hours on end, lock herself in the bathroom, bang her head against the wall, threaten suicide, be totally rebellious….and most of these situations, it was just me and her in the convent. Everyone else was out doing their things in the parish, but I was stuck at home, dealing with her. Despite that though, she found a way to piss off, provoke and drive all my sisters crazy. People with this mental illness are very emotionally savvy and know exactly what to say to provoke and push buttons. The sisters fell for it over and over again, until they finally learned & paid her no mind, which is what she could not stand. Same with me. This is how I learned to not engage. It’s been one of the wisest practices of my life & has saved me a lot of bullshit. The provincial superior, no matter how many things I shared with either of them (there were 2 during my 4 years in Harlem,) never did much to actually help me. It took my spiritual director (priest) to ask the provincial superior to remove this sister from our convent, for my sanity. Did I mention that I was sent with her to Argentina to visit a special doctor?! This was the last straw for me. I ended up cutting my part of the trip short, and flew home alone from Buenos Aires to New York, because she was absolutely nuts and if I stayed any longer, I was going to lose my mind. After that trip is when I asked Father to beg to have her removed from my care and from my convent. It was emotional and mental manipulation at its best by her, who was ill, and then to feel that my own superiors and order would not remove this situation from not only me, who also had anywhere from 3-5 other sisters to be present to, but would not remove the situation from our house, where it affected the peace and happiness of our convent community. I am positive it was this situation in particular that really began breaking my circuits. One at a time, the breakers were being flicked off. My brain had less and less mental energy to make decisions. I stopped caring about anything…

· Add Work, Remove Support. My 3rd year there (still with Sister Borderline), one of our mainstay sisters (the bitchy one) had not gotten laid yet, but had to go back to Argentina to help her mother. She ended up staying there for an entire year and no replacement was sent my way for her. I was asked to take over her parish duties, which was basically a full time job. She was the Director of Religious Education of our huge bilingual program – over 400 students, half on Saturday in Spanish, the rest on Sunday in English. It was a huge beast of a job (like in other parishes, is a regular paid FT job) that I was tasked with, with minimal help. The provincial house sent me 1 sister for a few hours a week to help me, but that was it. This job entailed not only weekend classes, but catechist formation classes (teaching adults how to teach and about the faith) and a ton of reception of the Sacraments, like coordinating hundreds of parents, sponsors and students for Baptisms, 1st Communions and Confirmations with the Bishop and all that insanity. I asked for another full time sister – someone who could really take over and was not given any more help than a few hours a week. Plus, I was still the provincial liturgist, having girls visit our convent, and doing all the things I originally had to do in the parish and as a superior. I was relieved of nothing, just tossed a full time job on top. So, at home I was being driven utterly insane (oh, and of course she was jealous that I was at the parish so much more, so of course she would have bouts of emergency illness, random piercing pains, etc, anything to get me to come back home and check her out, give her attention, make an emergency doctor visit, etc.) and at work, I was overloaded, but expected by Father and the parishoners to keep everything status quo. Not to mention the people of the parish obviously had no idea about the stressor of Sister Borderline and Father knew only minimal information and really didn’t care. He needed shit to get done in his parish and he didn’t care about an angry, whiney, emotional nun in the convent who didn’t work in his parish anyway. Nice set up, huh?

I mean – is it no wonder I left, I don’t like responsibility and I don’t like people?

Is it no wonder I can spot the red flags of people’s bullshit a mile away and be like #talktothehand. Peace.

Is it no wonder I aim to keep my lifestyle simple, free and lighthearted?

Is it no wonder I never want my work or job to become my life?

Is it no wonder that I go crazy when I see people who just don’t say no, and let people or organizations bulldoze over them?

Is it no wonder I never want to be in charge of shit, plan events or do someone else’s work?!

(Below, amazing youth at my farewell party...I was sent to the mission in Avondale, PA in July 2011 to be a regular sister and take a breather. This breather allowed me to realize and accept it was time for me to go home. Story for another day! Far right is now a NYPD!)

So, like I said at the beginning, it’s a love/hate relationship with these aforementioned circumstances. They totally sucked and at the same time, taught me so many lessons and infused me with loads of insight that I use daily. This is why the children, youth and families of Harlem are my absolute faves – in order to escape the stress and heaviness and utter out-of-controlness of my life, I would just go and hang with them. Laugh with them, eat and play with them. They helped ground me, allowed me to breathe and just always loved on me. And they still do to this day.

How interesting that my own religious family would not support me in these circumstances, and does not see me (or many of us who have left) as family even today? Yet the people of San Pablo always did and still do. I have real friendships with the people I met in Harlem, literally to this day. And when I go back to NY, I visit them. And yet, with the exception of 1 human, no one from the ive or the ssvm would consider me family today. #whoislivingthegospel? #irony

I’m not throwing shade….well, ok, maybe I am, ha! Sometimes, shade’s gotta be thrown, yo! #truth

#nunlife #formernun #exnun #catholic #catholiclife #lefttheconvent #spanishharlem #mentalillness #balance #family #conventlife #catholicnun #religioussister #nuns

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magnusappreciation2kforever · 7 years

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MAGNUS APPRECIATION MONTH IS HERE!

IT’S HERE! THE MASTER LIST OF THE MAGNUS APPRECIATION MONTH PROMPTS!

The prompts start tomorrow! Here’s the master list so you can start brainstorming about what you want to do with each prompt! Don’t forget to check out the rules for participating!

An Introduction:

Okay, I’m going to do a little blurb with each one for inspiration so it’s not just throwing a word at people. Here’s the format of each prompt:

Word: (Date of Prompt) This word could mean this. Or maybe this! Or hey, maybe it’s this AU. Or something completely different. But you don’t have to do any of these... Take how it how you want!

remember that you don’t have to follow the suggestions given with each one word prompt, nor do you have to do it exactly the way it says (for example, if it suggests that you could draw something, you can write instead! it’s okay!). they’re just there for inspiration, to throw around some ideas! have some fun with it, do what you’re inspired to!

also: malec is allowed, even encouraged! just try not to make it all about alec and malec. this is magnus appreciation month, after all!

don’t forget to tag everything (especially on tumblr and ao3) with #magnusmonth or #magnus appreciation month

- @thesorrowoflizards

UPDATE: the 27TH was accidentally left off. This has been fixed. Oops!

FIRST WEEK: 1ST THROUGH 7TH

History: (December 1st) Explore Magnus’s past relationships, or write a fic wherein someone mysterious from his past returns. Or write about how Magnus was present for an infamous historical event, or draw him with your favorite historical figure! Or, hey, something completely different- a Pride and Prejudice AU or an arranged marriage. Up to you!

Flowers: (December 2nd) Has anyone every given Magnus flowers? Has he given someone else flowers? What’s his favorite flower, and why? Is he allergic? Or perhaps go into the deep shit: symbolism and flower language.

Music: (December 3rd) Write about Magnus’s relationship with music and dancing, or make a Magnus themed music video. Write a songfic based around one of your favorite songs and how the lyrics might apply to Magnus. Or try writing something about Magnus singing, or attempting to play the charango…

Fashion: (December 4th) Magnus has quite the style. How did he get into fashion and makeup? How did he learn? Did he have any mishaps? What does he like in particular, what are his favorite outfits? Is there any particular jewelry piece or article of clothing that is special to him? Your choice!

Badass: (December 5th) Exactly what it sounds like! Magnus being a BAMF, whether it be on the battlefield (fistfight, magic, or sword? who knows!) or in a diplomatic meeting, or verbally eviscerating someone for being an asshole. Basically, Magnus kicking ass with your choice of weapon!

Marriage: (December 6th) What does Magnus think about marriage? Has Magnus ever wanted to marry someone? Has anyone every proposed to him, or vice versa? Or hey, maybe you’d rather write a fluffy honeymoon fic or draw a Malec wedding. Up to you!

Cat: (December 7th) You could draw Magnus and Chairman Meow, or write a witch and familiar AU, or perhaps even write about how Magnus got his cat. Or you could draw Magnus’s warlock mark, or write about how he feels about his cat eyes. Anything goes!

SECOND WEEK: 8TH THROUGH 14TH

Birthday: (December 8th) All about Magnus’s birthday! Does he know his actual birth date, or just a general time of year? Did one of his friends give him a date to celebrate or his birthday, or does he refuse to celebrate it all? If he does celebrate, how? With who? If he doesn’t, why? Or, hey, just write a fluffy birthday fic. However you want to take it!

Jobs: (December 9th) What sort of jobs has Magnus had over the years? What sort of jobs could he have? Maybe you could write an AU where he’s an author or a marine biologist, or perhaps at some point in his long life he worked in retail or fast food. Ugh. You could draw him as a cop or a lawyer… Or you could focus on his role as the High Warlock of Brooklyn and all the responsibilities it entails… Whatever interests you!

Queer: (December 10th) Queer themes day! Time to break out those LGBTQ headcanons! Write a high school AU wherein Magnus runs a GSA, or all about Magnus being nonbinary or trans. Anything is possible!* You could go into Magnus’s journey of self-discovery, realizing his bisexuality and gaining the confidence to become the out and proud freewheeling man he is, or you could write about the inevitable discrimination he’s faced because of it. Whatever feels right!

Malec: (December 11th) What it says on the tin! How is Alec different than the other relationships Magnus has had? What did Magnus think when they met, or when they got married? Or perhaps a missing scene in the show, or an AU of your choice. You could draw them together, dancing or on a date or whatever you choose. Anything Malec-themed that catches your mind!

School: (December 12th) You could go with the classic high school AU, or perhaps talk about how Magnus learned to control his magic. Or perhaps in his many years, Magnus went to college- where did he go? What did he major in? What classes did he enjoy? Or you could write about the lack of schooling in his early years… struggling with illiteracy due to his upbringing, or learning to read as an adult. Or, go more light-hearted and draw Magnus at Hogwarts, or some other fictional school from a book or TV show you enjoy.

Hero: (December 13th) Who does Magnus look up to? Who looks up to Magnus? Or you could take it in a different direction and make it a superhero AU! What would Magnus’s powers be? What would he look like?

Angel: (December 14th) Magnus has fallen angel blood, which allows him to activate seraph blades and such (perhaps even take runes? who knows). Not to mention the irony of how shadowhunters treat Magnus and other warlocks because they believe that their shadowhunter blood makes them “better”, when in reality, he probably has more angel blood than them. Or you could go a completely different route and write a wing AU, or draw Magnus as an angel! It’s totally up to you.

THIRD WEEK: 15TH THROUGH 21ST

Friends: (December 15th) Let’s explore Magnus’s platonic relationships. How does he spend time with his friends? How often do they meet up? What do they do together? How did he meet them? Do they have any inside jokes? Or you could draw them together, perhaps even draw Magnus and his immortal friends in another era. Whatever catches your fancy!

Father: (December 16th) You could write a fluffy future fic, or a single dad meet-cute. You could draw a Malec family scene, or even just Magnus with one of his downworlder kids. Or instead, you could draw Asmodeous lurking in the shadows, or write about and explore Magnus’s dark heritage. Or, hey, go a different route. Whatever inspires you!

Dragons: (December 17th) Woohoo! Dragons! You can draw an AU wherein Magnus is a wise old dragon, or is riding one, or write about him facing a dragon demon in canonverse, or perhaps in his life he’s met an actual dragon on some mountain somewhere. Hey, you could even give him a pet dragon!

Warlock: (December 18th) Magnus has a complicated relationship with other warlocks. He’s a leader who has to make hard choices and protect his people. He’s powerful and respected, but also controversial thanks to his relationship with Alec in canon. You could write about that, how he’s protective of his people, write about him interacting with them, or about the politics of his position in the downworld. You could draw him practicing his magic, making a potion, or talking with other warlocks. You could also explore what it means to him to be a warlock- his warlock marks, the discrimination he’s faced, his immortality, his intimate relationship with his magic, or even the circumstances of his birth. Anything goes!

Mythology: (December 19th) Time for those greek AUs, Percy Jackson AUs. and AUs wherein Magnus is a god or a hero from whatever mythology you choose. Or it doesn’t have to be an AU at all- perhaps Magnus is a fan of Egyptian mythology, or has studied Greek myths. Who knows? Only you!**

Kink: (December 20th) You know what this means.

Language: (December 21st) What languages is Magnus fluent in? How many of them? Why did he learn them? What’s his relationship with his native tongue- does he use it often? Was it hard for him to learn English? Who taught him?

FOURTH WEEK: 22ND THROUGH 28TH

Romance: (December 22nd) Let’s talk about Magnus’s romantic relationships. How fast he falls in love, how he feels about intimacy. What’s the stupidest thing Magnus has ever done to impress someone, or get their number? Or maybe you want to write about Malec, or draw them together. Or hey, maybe you ship Magnus with someone else! That’s fine, too.*** Today is all about romance!

Royal: (December 23rd) You could draw Magnus as the badass Prince of Hell, or write a medieval royals AU, or you could even make an AMV with the song “Royals” by Lorde. Whatever works for you!

Death: (December 24th) Draw a tragic death, or write about Magnus coping with the people he lost a long time ago? Or maybe Magnus has a cliché out of body experience after a near-death experience! Or you could go with the potentially much more light-hearted theme of Magnus befriending the grim reaper, or Terry Pratchett’s famous character Death.

Holidays: (December 25th) What holidays does Magnus celebrate and when? How does he celebrate, and who with? Has he been alone in the past, or has he always celebrated with his friends? Does he celebrate with his new family- his husband and children- now? Or maybe he doesn’t celebrate at all. (Keep in mind this doesn’t have to be Christmas, although it can be!)

Bane: (December 26th) Why did Magnus choose his name? What made him choose something that meant “Great Destruction”? Or, hey, make a Batman joke. Either way. Or something entirely different!

Nephilim: (December 27th) Magnus has a complicated relationship with shadowhunters. He’s met good ones- Henry Branwell, Will Herondale, Alec Lightwood- but he’s met far more bad ones. But then, Nephilim are complicated creatures. How do you think Magnus’s opinion of them changes over the years?

Red: (December 28th) The color of blood. The color of angry magic. The color of fire. Passion. Destruction. How does Magnus feel about the color red? Or draw something centered around red- a red seraph blade, or a red pool of blood, or a red silk shirt.

LAST WEEK: 29TH THROUGH 31ST

Healer: (December 29th) Magnus Bane is many things: a leader, a fighter, a friend, a lover… and a healer. Whether it be potions or spells, Magnus has never been one to turn down someone in need. Write something about Magnus helping someone, or using his magic to heal them. Or write an AU where he’s a doctor, or draw him brewing a potion or healing someone wounded. Write about Magnus learning how to make potions or treat wounds. Who did he learn healing magic from? Did Catarina help him master it, or did he teach her first and then she surpassed him? Was he a child when he first learned how to heal, and it was the first time he saw his magic could be used for good? Or did he seek it out as an adult?

Alternative: (December 30th) What’s your favorite Magnus-centric AU? Is it canon divergence or completely different? Is it a Malec AU wherein they meet in wildly different circumstances, or focused on platonic relationships, such as Magnus in the World Inverted befriending Luke… or is it focused completely on Magnus’s alternate life as a painter who’s down on his luck or a CEO trying to do good? Or, of course, something completely different? Any time, any place, any AU.

Ghosts: (December 31st) Literal or nah? Who knows. Maybe Magnus talks to Ragnor’s ghost, or perhaps in another world he haunts an abandoned mansion and scares teenagers who sneak in. Or maybe you want to think all about the skeletons in Magnus’s closet, the people he’s lost who still haunt him… Or a silly Buzzfeed Unsolved or Ghostbusters AU! Whatever you want!

*This does not mean you can erase Magnus’s bisexuality. If I see one more person calling Magnus gay (or straight), I will scream.

**Unless you are Native American (or whatever culture corresponding to the AU you’re writing), don’t be an asshole and use Native American beliefs, or any other existing religions. Ancient greek myths are just that: myths. Native American beliefs (and other beliefs that may apply) are a religion. There is a difference.

***See rules on not shipping incest, abusive relationships, and other such relationships.

don’t forget to tag everything (especially on tumblr and ao3) with #magnusmonth or #magnus appreciation month

#magnusmonth #magnus appreciation month #magnus bane #shadowhunters #malec #harry shum jr

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naturopathytreatments · 5 years

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How Naturopathic Medicine Works & How It Could Help You

Sick and tired of feeling sick and tired? A naturopath may be exactly what you need.

If you are open to trying an alternative approach to health or medical treatments, you may want to consider working with a licensed naturopathic doctor or traditional naturopath. Interested in an integrative treatment? Find out exactly what naturopathic medicine is, and exactly how a naturopath can work with you to achieve optimal wellness!

What is naturopathic medicine?

Naturopathic medicine is a distinct type of primary health care that concentrates on whole-patient wellness. It blends age-old healing traditions with the latest scientific advances and research. It’s guided by a unique set of seven principles that emphasize prevention, natural remedies, and the promotion of a person’s inherent ability to self-heal.

Naturopathic doctors, also known as naturopaths, take on a very individualized approach to medicine, embracing a range of therapies, such as massage, herbs, acupuncture, meditation, exercise, and nutritional counseling.

What is a naturopathic doctor?

Licensed Naturopaths (NDs) or Naturopathic Medical Doctors (NMDs) are clinically-trained primary care physicians who utilize a range of therapies to find and address the underlying cause of a patient’s condition. NDs diagnose, treat, manage, and prevent acute and chronic conditions, while also addressing health at the level of mind, body, and spirit.

When you develop complicated health problems and need a multitude of specialists, you’ll often appreciate an ND’s quality coordination of care!

What should I expect when seeing a naturopath?

While you may know what it’s like to visit an MD’s office or the ER, people are often pleasantly surprised by what they find during their first visit to a naturopathic doctor. Here are some things to keep in mind when you make your first naturopath appointment.

Get ready to get comfortable. The first office visit may last between 60-90 minutes. The backbone of naturopathic medicine is built on an individualized treatment plan, which means filling out a rigorous health history questionnaire and an in-depth oral interview.

Think about why you are seeing an ND. You’ll be asked what your desired outcomes are. Do you want more energy? Are you trying to conceive? Your ND will personalize a treatment plan around these expectations.

Do you have trouble sleeping? Your ND will want to know about your sleep patterns. Familiar with the saying ‘you are what you eat’? Food will be a focal point of the consultation!

Don’t be surprised if your ND wants to take a closer look at your eyes, skin, nails, and tongue. What’s going on outside may be a clue to what’s happening inside the body.

Are you taking any medications or supplements? Certain herbs and nutrients can interact with other medications or lead to nutrient depletion. Your doctor will want to know anything that you’re currently taking.

Be prepared to collaborate with your MD and other healthcare providers. NDs are experts at coordinating healthcare and consulting with other practitioners to form an individualized approach to well-being.

What is the Naturopathic Therapeutic Order?

The therapeutic order is a set of seven guidelines that are used to help naturopaths approach treating patients and addressing health concerns holistically. Think of it as the backbone that governs a naturopathic doctor’s clinical decision-making. The therapeutic order begins by offering minimally invasive therapies aimed at supporting the body and ends with more aggressive techniques using pharmaceutical substances or surgery.

A naturopathic doctor will only lead you down the path of invasive and costly treatments if you are unresponsive to less-invasive modalities. They will also continue to support you naturopathically when you may require the removal of an invasive disease.

The 7 steps of the Naturopathic Therapeutic Order

According to the American Association of Naturopathic Physicians, these are seven steps of the Therapeutic Order:

Remove obstacles to health

The first step in naturopathic health is removing entities that disturb your health and setting the foundation for optimal health. Naturopathic doctors put together a healthy regimen based on an individual’s “obstacles to health” to change and improve the environment so diseases don’t develop. This allows additional therapies to have the most beneficial effects possible. Examples include addressing poor diet, ensuring restful sleep, fostering relationships, managing stress, encouraging hobbies and passions, and even supporting spiritual and moral fulfillment.

Stimulate self-healing mechanisms & power of nature

Once obstacles have been removed, NDs will use therapies to stimulate and strengthen the body’s innate self-healing abilities. This entails harnessing and building up vital force (also known as the healing power of nature). Modalities such as acupuncture, visualization, meditation, yoga, homeopathy, hydrotherapy, journaling, and prayer aim to strengthen vital force, which awakens one’s ability to self-heal.

Strengthen weakened systems

This stage of the therapeutic order is implemented when a long-standing condition or poor lifestyle choice has resulted in damage to organ systems, and someone is experiencing chronic pain. The bodily systems that are explicitly hurting and need repair are addressed at this level of naturopathic healing through different therapeutics. Naturopaths will often use lifestyle interventions, dietary changes, botanical medicine, orthomolecular therapy, and/or homeotherapy at this stage. This is often the stage where many people will turn to medications to manage symptoms rather than trying to support their health naturally.

Correct structural integrity

At this stage and sometimes earlier, NDs encourage proper alignment of the skeletal and muscular system. Ensuring proper skeletal alignment is essential for health and well-being. Physical modalities such as massage therapy, stretching, acupuncture, spinal manipulation (think chiropractor), and craniosacral therapy are used.

Try natural substances to restore and regenerate

Once you get to level five of the therapeutic order, the root cause of the disease is bypassed, and the symptoms are addressed directly. NDs will now focus on the therapeutic goal of treating symptoms over treating the root cause. No one likes to be in chronic pain. Naturopaths will use safe, effective, and natural substances and therapies from previous steps that do not add toxicity to the body to restore health.

Take pharmacologic substances to halt progressive pathology

Depending on where you live, the naturopathic scope of practice may end here. Only some NDs are trained and actively practice pharmacology and how to use pharmaceutical grade drugs when necessary. If their state license permits, they can prescribe these agents themselves. If not, they often refer a patient to a conventional medical college.

Use of high force, invasive modalities (such as surgery or chemotherapy)

This stage of the medical order is performed by medical specialists (not NDs). When life, function, or limb must be preserved, an ND will refer patients to a medical doctor who is expertly trained in the area of invasive treatment. At the same time, the ND will continue to use complementary and supportive therapies to decrease the side effects and increase the effectiveness of these invasive procedures.

What is the difference between a licensed naturopathic doctor and a traditional naturopath?

The difference between a traditional naturopath and licensed naturopath can be a bit confusing. This is because both type of practitioners use the title of ‘naturopath’. While both traditional NDs and licensed naturopaths aim to heal the body and mind through natural substances and therapies, they are not one and the same.

A licensed ND is trained to diagnose and prescribe, while a traditional naturopath (or naturopath) has no standard curriculum and cannot legally diagnose or prescribe to patients.

So depending on how they learned to practice naturopathic medicine and where they live, a naturopath’s scope of practice can vary greatly.

The post “How Naturopathic Medicine Works & How It Could Help You” was seen first on Fullscript

For all your naturopathic medicine needs, visit Dr. Amauri Caversan at his wellness center in Toronto, Ontario.

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vanquisher2099 · 5 years

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Part Fifteen: A Waitress Breaks a Rule

Jennifer and Clarissa were sitting in the café near the diner, having just finished a shift. Clarissa had been strangely quiet, and was toying with her coffee cup like she was trying to work her way up to something. Jennifer, on the other hand, was relishing the feeling of being relaxed and something approaching happy for the first time in years.

Eventually, Clarissa spoke up. “Hey, Jenn?”

“Yeah?”

“I have a weird question.”

“What’s the question?”

“It’s kind of… I don’t want to overstep or anything.”

“Overstep?”

“It’s just uh, who’s Maddie?”

Jennifer felt her heart skip a beat. Keeping her voice decidedly even, she asked, “Who?”

Clarissa seemed to be choosing her words carefully, well-aware of how silly she probably sounded. “Well, remember the other night? You woke up all in a cold sweat? You shouted something about a Maddie just before you woke up.” She rubbed the back of her head in a nervous gesture. “It just seemed like you were pretty distressed, is all. I guess it might’ve just been nonsense, but…”

“Yeah…” Jennifer said, quietly. She unconsciously rubbed at a scar on her shoulder. How long had it been? Nearly four years? She didn’t remember a nightmare, but she did remember waking up in a cold sweat, although it was a fairly common occurrence. Oh what the hell, she thought, it might be nice to talk about it with someone. “She’s uh, an old girlfriend.”

“Oh.” Clarissa looked deeply embarrassed. “I’m uh, sorry I brought it up.”

“No, it’s fine. We uh, it…” Jennifer frowned, trying to figure out how best to talk around things. “It didn’t end well?” She nodded decisively. Not ending well seemed like a pretty accurate description. “It didn’t end well. It’s… it’s kind of why I’m out here.”

Clarissa’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. “Wow, that’s pretty not well.”

Jennifer failed to suppress a laugh. “Yeah, you could say that.” She sighed. “It was my fault, really. I was so sure that I knew what was best, and it wound up driving us apart. This will shock you,” she said, with a wry grin, “but I had this belief that I needed to do everything myself.”

This did in fact seem to surprise Clarissa a bit. “News to me.”

“Yeah, well, I learned that lesson the hard way. Turns out that if you keep trying to do everything on your own you end up driving people away.” Or you end up making the wrong call and damn yourself to being on the run forever, she thought.

Clarissa took this all in quietly, not really knowing what to say. She settled on, “Well, I’m glad that you felt like you could tell me. It kind of goes without saying, but I’d hope you know you can lean on me when you need to.”

Oh kid, Jennifer thought to herself, if you had any idea what that entails you’d never make that offer. She gave what she hoped was a reassuring grin and said “thanks” instead before jokingly saying, “What about you? Got any dark secrets I don’t know about?”

“Afraid not.” Clarissa said, shrugging. “Grew up not too far from here, had a couple relationships that never really went anywhere, ended up in the waitressing game after the Crash more or less made paying for school an impossibility.”

“I’m surprised.” Jennifer admitted. “You seemed… huh.”

“What?”

“I just realized there’s no way I could say ‘you seemed like you’ve been to college’ without sounding like an asshole.”

“Yeah pretty much.” Clarissa said, laughing. “I assume that means you went to college?”

“Yeah, I was lucky. The Crash didn’t happen until I was in my last year. There was just the one year of debt to deal with. Which uh…” Jennifer almost said ‘I faked my death and it doesn’t matter anymore,’ but settled on “I’m still kind of paying off? Which isn’t much of a surprise, really.”

“See, that’s why I didn’t bother. Plus, my parents needed the help to keep our house.”

Jennifer felt a pang of guilt as she stood and stretched. “Yeah, that sounds about right. You ready to get out of here?”

The sun had set, and Clarissa somewhat reluctantly stood as well, grabbing her jacket from where it hung off the back of the chair. “Yeah, let’s go. You uh, mind dropping me off at my place? Speaking of parents, mine are coming to visit in a couple days and the place is a mess.”

Jennifer shrugged easily. “Sure, of course.” She looped an arm over Clarissa’s shoulder and smiled. “You want help with that, or would you rather I didn’t silently judge your poor housekeeping?”

“I mean, if you want to judge, you can feel free to. I don’t think it’s any dirtier than your place though – and I’ve got the additional excuse of roommates.”

“Roommates who don’t clean up, eh?”

“I didn’t say they were good roommates.”

As the two walked down the street, Jennifer suddenly felt the hairs on the back of her neck prickle. Casually, she pretended to stretch her neck out and caught sight of a few figures following behind, although she could possibly chalk it up to paranoia. The smart play, of course, would have been to get to the car as quickly as possible and hopefully get out before the possibility of a confrontation with, she assumed, some desperate criminal element who assumed a few women were an easy target for a mugging. That was not the worst case scenario, which was that the two following them were d3m3t3r’s people – although Jennifer assumed in that case she’d already be dead.

Clarissa seemed to notice her sudden shift in attitude, because she whispered, “What is it?”

“Nothing,” Jennifer said, trying to reassure herself, “long day just caught up to me, I think.”

“Ah, old age is rough, huh?” Clarissa said, in a teasing tone.

Jennifer snorted and gave Clarissa a shove. “Keep that up and you’ll have to walk home.”

Clarissa gasped in mock horror. “You wouldn’t dare! A young lady, out on her own at night? How unchivalrous of you!”

“Please, it’s the 22nd century. I think we’re past chivalry being a thing.”

They were a block from Jennifer’s car when one of the two behind them spoke up. “Excuse me, ladies? Could you happen to have some change for the bus? I seem to have lost my wallet.”

Clarissa turned, already reaching into her own pocket. “Of course! How much does the bus cost these days, anyway?”

Jennifer watched as the one man quickly moved to flank them while the other pulled out a knife and grimaced. “Well, you know how it is with busses.” The one said, smiling in a less-friendly way. “Best to give us everything you have just to be safe.”

Understanding dawned on Clarissa’s face and she froze. “Ah.”

“Do you really want to do this?” Jennifer said, sighing. “We’re waitresses, you know. Not exactly swimming in money.”

“Oh I’m sure if you don’t have much money there’s other things we can take.” The man smiled nastily. “That arm of yours for a start – cybernetics go for a pretty penny these days.”

“Unfortunately I think I’m a little attached to it at the moment.” Jennifer said, narrowing her eyes. “But we can give you the money we’ve got and you can go on your way.”

At this the other man spoke up, mockingly. “You’re not in a position to be cutting deals, miss. I think you’ll find we’re the ones giving orders, and you’re the ones obeying the orders. So we will be taking that arm of yours.”

Maybe it was something about his tone that did it. Jennifer wasn’t quite sure at the time, and later on she still wasn’t sure. It didn’t really matter in the end, of course, because what happened next ended up being the important thing. Jennifer smiled, and stood up a little straighter, and honest-to-gods laughed. She even applauded a little, causing Clarissa to send her a worried look.

“Now that is a hell of a line. I wonder, do you practice that in the mirror? No, no, don’t tell me, I think I would just be disappointed if I ended up being right.” Her face hardened, sharpening her smile into something dangerous. “So, I’ll make you a deal. You two leave us be, and go think about how you should give up this life of crime – or at least, cause trouble for the folks with a little more money than a couple waitresses. In return, I won’t beat you both senseless, which will doubtless bring the police into things and ruin your chances of being able to give up your lives of crime. How about it?”

The two men looked at each other, and then moved menacingly forward. Jennifer pushed Clarissa back out of the way and propelled herself in the direction of the one with the knife with a gleeful shout. This movement so surprised him that he actually seemed to hesitate for a second, which was all the time Jennifer needed to spin to the side, avoiding the knife, and bring her elbow – the metal one – into contact with the back of his head with an audible clang. The man’s head snapped back with the force of the blow, and he dropped to the ground in a senseless heap.

His partner brought his fists up and came in swinging. Jennifer brought her own arm up, deflecting the blows easily. She gave ground, letting him come forward and gain confidence, then used the momentum from one of his punches to spin around him and deliver a blow to the temple that caused him to stagger to the side. At that point, Jennifer brought her leg around and took his knee out, with another blow to the head sending him to the same unconscious realm as his partner.

Jennifer looked at the two unconscious would-be muggers and brushed her arms off, feeling satisfied. The feeling didn’t last as she quite suddenly realized that Clarissa had just witnessed the entire scene and was staring at her wide-eyed. “Can you call the police? Or we can just leave them here and go. If you don’t want to uh. Deal with cops.”

Clarissa seemed to be in a state of shock. “What…?”

“The police.” Jennifer said, patiently. “Do you want to call them, or do you want to just go? We can do either.”

“You just… that was…”

Jennifer placed her hands gently on Clarissa’s shoulders. “Hey, look at me. Breathe, okay? Focus.”

Clarissa stared back into Jennifer’s eyes, and seemed to master herself a little. Her breathing, at any rate, seemed to have slowed down.

“Good.” Jennifer said, still not taking her hands off Clarissa’s shoulders. “Now, do you want to call the police? Or do you want me to just take you home and these two will wake up with headaches in ten or fifteen minutes?”

Clarissa thought about the question for a moment. Eventually, she nodded. “I’ll… I’ll call the police. Just to be… just to make sure these guys don’t come back for us or something.”

Jennifer nodded. “Okay. Make the call. We can give our statements, and then I’ll take you home. Sound like a plan?”

“Yeah it uh…” Clarissa looked down at the two unconscious men again. “Holy shit Jennifer, where did you learn to do that? How did you—”

“Long story.” Jennifer said, a little brusquely. “Well, not that long of a story, actually. A buddy of my brother’s taught me how to fight. As a favor.”

“As a favor?”

“I’ll tell you the whole story some other time, okay? I don’t know how long these two will be out, so the sooner you call the police the better.”

Clarissa nodded and made the call while Jennifer paced back and forth and felt the adrenaline bleed out of her system. Things were, Jennifer knew, about to become complicated – obscenely, frustratingly complicated. The police would take a report, and that would get digitized, and while it was a fairly minor incident, it expanded her footprint. It put her on the radar of those with eyes to see it, even if there was nothing necessarily identifying about her. It also meant having to talk to the police, which was not something she was particularly willing to do in the best of situations, never mind in a situation involving assault and battery.

The soft sound of Clarissa’s footsteps behind her brought Jennifer out of her thoughts, and she turned around, arranging her expression into something a little more relaxed. “Hey, kid. Cops on the way?”

“Yeah, they say they’ll be here in a couple minutes.” Clarissa said, still looking a little rattled. “Think they’ll still be out when they get here?”

Jennifer shrugged. “Probably. If they aren’t, I’ll deal with them. They aren’t exactly professionals.”

The look Clarissa gave Jennifer spoke volumes. “Are you?”

Part Sixteen

Part Fourteen

#science fiction #serialized fiction #cyberpunk #vanquisher 2099

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samsegrist · 5 years

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Twin Peaks Time Capsule

By Sam Segrist

May 21, 2017

Tonight, in less than half a day, I’ll be seeing something I never thought I’d see: a new episode of Twin Peaks. For fifteen years, there’s been an ache in my heart at the lack of resolution to the season two finale, which—for my money—is television’s greatest unresolved cliffhanger. Perhaps this is why I’ve grown fond of making a semi-annual vacation to this strange and beautiful mountain town which reminds me of my own home, Scottsbluff: a place of weird, desperate, flawed, good people. Repeated viewings never fail to allow me to savor the bittersweet quality of this enigmatic narrative puzzle, a 29-episode loop which compels viewers who fall under its spell to return to the scene of the crime, always just outside of the Martells’ estate, by the lake and the big rock, where millions of people can find, over and over again, the plastic-wrapped bouquet of Laura Palmer’s body.

Over the years, if there’s one thing I’ve discovered, it is that everyone who loves Twin Peaks has a story about when, where, why, and how they fell in love with the show. Mine was back in 2002, when I was working overnights as a telephone switchboard operator for the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. I was a college student, spinning my wheels academically while finding out that working from midnight until 7 AM, while good for my grades, was not so good for my social life.

This job entailed sitting in front of a computer, with one other operator in the elevated cubicle behind me, waiting for an emergency call to come in or (usually) a false fire alarm. Most nights, nothing happened in the quiet call center of Nebraska Hall. I worked with two other nerdy, but nice enough, guys: a middle-aged David with a mustache who looked like Van Dyke Parks, and a guy named Clay, who resembled a much less creepy Jacque Renault.

There was a television in the upper corner of the call center that was always on. Back then on boring nights, we’d flip through channels to find something, ANYTHING, to watch that was remotely good. We found out Bravo broadcast two back-to-back reruns of Twin Peaks between the hours of three and five A.M. (Before this exposure, I had seen Dune, Blue Velvet, and Lost Highway, and, while they disturbed me, they didn’t hook me with the same fascination as Twin Peaks.) I can’t remember what my first episode was, but I do remember the odd magnetism of the show, how it pulled me out of the sterile cubicle environment and into its dream-world.

Going to work often meant leaving house parties-in-progress or Halo marathons with my roommates, but I looked forward to this mid-shift excursion when I hoped no calls or flashing lights would break the dream reality of the show. (“Through the darkness of future’s past/One magician longs to see/One chants out between two worlds/Fire alarm don’t interrupt me…”) The one-two punch of weirdness which I viewed every shift was compounded by the fact that I missed several episodes on my nights off. Over the course of several months, I saw every episode, but never in consecutive order. A few nights ago I was relating this to my friends Chelsea and Dylan (pronounced Dye-lan), and the realization struck me that I saw Episode 29 several times before realizing the finale, with Dale and the toothpaste and the cracked mirror, was the end of the show! I remember being somewhat mystified when I would show up for work on the next night only to be right smack back at the beginning with the pilot episode. My lack of context regarding the show’s history only added to the mystery and the yearning for resolution.

So, every two weeks, the show would start over, and I would tune in. Both David and Clay seemed to enjoy revisiting the show. I distinctly remember Clay exclaiming “Coop! I love that guy!” when Kyle MacLachlan first showed up on screen.

I eventually lost that overnight switchboard job because I realized I was missing out on too much college life while living at the Blue House. (I had called in sick so I could go on a date with a beautiful girl named Sarah. ((I remember us grilling shish kabobs at my drummer’s house.)) Someone at work somehow knew about this, squealed on me, and my boss figured they’d give me the benefit of the doubt, give me the chance to explain myself, but I was a no-call no-show the next night. D’oh! I guess I was so lovestruck I didn’t care about the consequences. No worries, though, it all worked out: my next job at Blockbuster was to be a much more significant place of employment, but that’s a subject for another entry…)

One thing which initially appealed to me about Sarah was her love of similar things dark and quirky, things like David Lynch. It was at one of the infamous Blue House parties where our conversation led us down this path. I figured any girl who was into Twin Peaks was all right in my book. I later found out her mother was a big fan from back in the day and had programmed her VCR to record the episodes. That’s dedication to truly can’t-miss-television back in the day! As the years go by, Sarah reminds me more and more of Norma, which I suppose makes me more and more like Big Ed. C’est la vie for sweethearts of the past…

It was sometime after that in the middle-aughts that a couple named Nick and Sara Arling invited me to their apartment for a biweekly Twin Peaks viewing. It’s funny, but I don’t remember meeting these two wonderful people at all; all I remember is how fun it was to go to their house in the Near South of Lincoln every other Sunday evening to watch three episodes with a group of people. This was how I also met a great young couple named Justin and Noel (pronounced No-elle). Years later, they would invite me to a Halloween party at their house where I met a stunning brunette named Stacy. I was dressed as a chocolate shake. She was dressed as Audrey Hepburn’s character from Breakfast at and was impressed when I complimented her on her Holly Golightly costume. (Any other schmoe could have just said “Nice Audrey Hepburn outfit.”) It was only later on, I realized how striking of a resemblance she had to Sherilynn Fenn BKA Audrey Horne. Funny how the love of a show can lead to love in real life.

One final thing about this Sunday Night Twin Peaks Club is that it was the first time I saw the entire series in chronological order with the Log Lady intros. The entire series was not yet available on DVD, so seeing the show in its grainy VHS was probably the closest I’d ever get to seeing the show the way it was originally seen.

To augment my love of the story, I hunted down the out-of-print books The Autobiography of FBI Special Agent: Dale Cooper: My Life, My Tapes and The Secret Diary of Laura Palmer. Besides being good reads, they were inspirations for how to write an epistolary story for my master’s thesis and first book.

In the spring of 2005 (or 2006?), I drove to Fairfield, Iowa to attend a weekend conference on Transcendental Meditation at the Maharishi University of Management to hear David Lynch speak. It was like getting to spend a weekend with an eccentric and groovy uncle, but perhaps the best thing that came out of it was I was able to ask him two questions during a Q & A which I then put on YouTube. You can check it at this URL (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R1E5SJaXc30&t=87s) or by searching for “David Lynch Q & A on Season 3 of Twin Peaks “ to see what he has to say about my idea finishing Twin Peaks. Keep in mind, I never thought they’d ever actually make another season though!

One sticky point of contention, I’ve only ever seen Fire Walk With Me once. I was one of many fans who was disappointed that Lynch didn’t use the movie as an opportunity to finish the story. The cinematography is gorgeous, but it veers too far in tone from the delightful mix of the television show. I also find it way too disturbing, obscene, and unnecessary to actually see the rape scenes. Now that the new show is almost upon us, I worry the R-rated freedom Lynch will have will mean these new episodes will also be more darkness than light. Say what you will about censorship, but I think Lynch thrived under the limitations of broadcast television because there was a line he could press up against, but not cross. When there is no line, some creators don’t know when to stop…

Fast-forward to 2007-2008 and I was a first-year teacher in Omaha. I was so excited that the Gold Box, the complete edition of Twin Peaks was coming out on DVD that I spent more money than I should have at the Borders at 72nd & Dodge (R.I.P.) and watched them all with my girlfriend Rachel in my little one-bedroom apartment in the Old Market. That was a really hard year for both of us. I was woefully unprepared to teach children of poverty and she was trying to figure out what she wanted to do with her life after graduating from St. Andrews College in Scotland. Though there was much tension and drama, I do believe we helped each other get through that year. One of the many things I love about this show is sharing it with people who’ve never seen it before, to see their reactions.

The last girlfriend I would ever watch it with was Abby in the fall/winter of 2008. Things were not going well with our whirlwind of a romance, and I remember sensing things were darkening and souring between us. As we neared the end of the show, there was a sense of an ending brewing. She didn’t know about the cliffhanger finale, and I remember her wondering aloud how the show could possibly wrap up all its threads in the last episode, but as soon as Episode 29 ended, it was like she felt like it was okay to end the relationship because we had concluded the business of our mutual vacation in Twin Peaks. It wasn’t meant to be, and that’s okay.

Fast-forward to Christmas 2014. My brother and I have an annual tradition which we picked up from our grandmother Betty where we send each other a list of potential gifts we’d like to get, not knowing which one will actually be chosen. This way we always get something we’re sure to enjoy, but there’s still an element of surprise. That Christmas was one of the best ever because my dear brother Mark got me the Complete Mystery box-set on Blu-Ray. (Hint, if you ever want to feel creepy, just run your finger over the front of the set and you’ll be able to feel the contour of Laura’s eyeballs through the blue eyelids. Who thought of that? Who greenlit that icky detail? I want to know.)

And then it was 2015 and the internet found out the rumors were true and the show was coming back. I suspected at the time (and still think) the whole “David Lynch is walking away from the revival because they’re not going to give him enough money to do it right” was a publicity stunt to drum up a fervor online, to measure just how many people care about the show coming back. I remember thinking, Oh, the dispute was about money? And now they’ve doubled the number of episodes from 9 to 18? I wouldn’t rule it out in this day and age of innovative and unorthodox market research, but I digress…

Once I heard they were bringing back the show, I thought it’d be fun for my wife Maddie and I to watch the show together, but she can’t get past the quirky cheesiness or kitsch of it all. She just thinks it’s a bad show and rolls her eyes. I hope she gives it another shot in the future, otherwise our trip together to Snolqualmie, WA to see the locations of the show will not be as much fun! Haha!

[When I think of the Giant’s warning that “It is happening again” I just think that’s such a cryptic and terrifying statement. What is “it”? When did it last happen? What happened? What was the result? Wait a second, the verb “happen” is in the present progressive tense! It’s occurring right now! When will it stop?!? J I’ll likely write about this at greater length later on, but I believe there is a Holocaust subtext to Twin Peaks, and something about the dark return of this show somehow anticipates and foreshadows the rise of Trump. That’s all I’m going to write about that today…]

As the big date of the return has drawn nigh, I’ve enjoyed listening to the vinyl reissues of the soundtracks and reading the 33 & 3rd book about Angelo Badalamenti’s score. It’s also been a treat finding out that cool students of mine like Caitlyn are interested in the series. I’m an (old) millennial fan, which means I only got into the show AFTER Twin Peaks mania. It’s a strange feeling to become so fanatical about something that was once SOOO popular which then became a weird cult show. I wonder what it will be like to revisit Twin Peaks: The Return in 25 years.

My most recent reviewing of the show happened this spring. I had the joy of watching it all with my sister Katie. She got hooked on the show like crazy. I’m glad we were able to watch the show together because in about a month she is moving to Alabama, and we may not ever live in the same town again, but we’ll have had this brother-sister bonding experience.

Anyhow, I’m cutting this real close, but the show will be live in about forty minutes! So I thought I’d wrap this up briefly outlining what some of my fears and desires and questions about the new show will be. I wonder how the show will maintain the atemporal vibe. Will there be cell phones and texting in Twin Peaks? How will they advance the story and resolve leftover mysteries from Season 2? I know Showtime probably wants the show in widescreen, but I feel like the 1.33 aspect ratio is practically a character or a force of nature in the show, forcing the director, cinematographer, and actors to compose every shot a certain way. I suppose what would be the best of both worlds would be if they stream/broadcast it in widescreen and then make a Blu-Ray collection where there is a full-frame option. I doubt that will occur, but you never know.

I know, I know it will never and can never be the same, but I am cautiously optimistic that Frost and Lynch will find a way to capture the magic again and transport millions of viewers to that sublime place we call Twin Peaks. In this age of Netflix-pioneered season dumps, I find it exciting that the Summer of 2017 will be ineffably tied to a weekly installment of this show, so that we’ll get the opportunity to watch each episode as they come out and then run to the Great Online Watercooler to converse with all the other fans. If the show is bad, I know I will not be able to unsee it, and I’ve been down this pop-cultural road before where long-awaited and unexpected returns/revivals/installments become bitter disappointments, which are sometimes so bad that they retroactively taint the way one thinks of the earlier work. (I’m looking at you, George Lucas.) It is for that reason I wanted to make this memory time capsule, documenting just how much this show has meant to me throughout these last fifteen years.

There’s less than half an hour until the new show starts. I was almost done when I got a call from my best buddy Zach. He recently watched all 29 episodes and didn’t know that the new season was about to start tonight. We’ve made plans to talk as soon as the premiere is over. I told him he’d be a part of this document. I like to think he and I have the kind of love for each other that FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper and Sheriff Harry Truman have for each other, and hey, we do!

So, now it’s getting dark and the trees are not stirring on this windless May night in Lincoln, Nebraska. All these words are now written down for posterity. They may not be wrapped in plastic, but they’re still beautiful. I know I will write about this show more in the future, but for now, I’ll just have to trust that I’ll see you in the trees.

#TwinPeaks

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