Miss May I: Gameplay

TMAGP 6 Thoughts: Old Friends

Lots to talk about this time although maybe not lots to say. We'll see. This was a Jonny episode so that's bound to happen. Either way spoilers for episode 6 below the cut.

So, I think we all know the biggest thing here; mini-donuts are finally confirmed. Okay, for actual serious things; Alice likes Choco Liebnitz and has confirmed to have immaculate biscuit standards but alternate biscuit spellings.

For the stuff that largely doesn't matter we've got a "surprise" 4th returning character, a new avatar in a fun new flavour, and a statement you know people are going to try to cram into the desire theory.

Starting from the bottom up for no real reason this was a very overtly fear driven episode. I'm not going to spend too much time on this bit because I think trash talking this theory is in poor taste. But I don't buy it and think it's often very strained and ignores big chunks of things to justify itself, and seems to forget just how much of TMA was wrapped up in desires too. The cosmology was always set up to have some people running away from the Fears and some people running towards them. TMP hasn't really done much different there to my mind and this episode is a pretty hard break away from a lot of the things people like to latch onto for the desire theory.

Needles up next then and I'm a big fan. Harry Roebuck obviously did a great job, and the different formats continue to do some great work. There isn't really a lot to say about the incident in general other than the above. It's all pretty normal stuff outside of the fun with the format. But what is interesting, apart from another character we'll see return, is that Needles is both very close to and very far from a TMA character. Both ways you can take that. Obviously there are some pretty big Stranger and Spiral vibes here. Like, if you throw Needles next to Nikola they'd seem totally normal. That's almost certainly not accidental because of how it contrasts to the rest of them. Pain isn't out of place for the Stranger's lot as a threat but it is in such an extreme example of it. Needles is more about pain than they are about anything else they're not preying on the fear of the uncanny. That would typically be a great fit for The Desolation except the way it manifests here is pretty distinctly not part of the Lightless Flame's lot. The Hunt or the Slaughter are also bad touchstones here because Needles really seems to be about a slow and restrained sort of pain that's out of place in those ideas of it. Which is all to say this the most overt showcasing of different manifestations so far. We've seen lots of stuff like TMA fears but twisted in TMP already but I think this one is deliberately set up to hammer that point home. We see something that is on first glance very at home in TMA until the details leave it without a solid home in Smirke's 14.

Finally, the wonderful return of Lowri Ann Davies as Celia. Celia Ripley at that which I'm sure isn't a reference to anything. So, I'm sure some people will say this is more likely to be the Celia native to TMP but to that I'd say there probably isn't one. There is likely a Lynne Hammond in TMP but I doubt she also lost her name and took a new one. Combined with the whole "I don’t scare so easy these days." comment (especially if taken with her namesake) I think it's the contrarian stance to suggest this isn't TMA's Celia at this stage. It might obviously change as we get more info but another TMA character, especially a relatively minor one, shouldn't be a surprise in the TMA sequel. How she got here is more interesting because it's likely not how JMJ managed it and probably a more calculated effort through The Gap or a similar anomaly. Either way, very excited to see where that goes.

DPHW Theory: Another set of fairly unexciting numbers. This is good and bad. The more this occurs the more likely it is I'm correct and called it very early, but it's also less fun to dig into. Either way it's 4824 which makes a good deal of sense overall. I'd expect D to be a little higher just from the statement but Needles doesn't seem like they want to kill anyone really and it's the liminal state of uncertainty that is the sweet spot for them. Pain is their game though and an 8 is a very strong showing for it. So that's all good. 2 for H also makes sense they seem to be able to disable people but not in an overtly supernatural way and I wouldn't say it was a particular focus of the ordeal. Finally, a 4 for W tracks pretty well for out pointy Distortion-lite new friend.

CAT#R# Theory: CAT1RB leaves little to be said beyond what I've already said other than what it was that I said last time probably isn't right. But I've not found a CAT#R# theory that I particularly love yet so nothing of great import has been lost.

Header talk: Back to some measure of normalcy here with Injury (needles) -/- intimidation. And I might as well talk about my current ideas for how crosslinks work. For the first few eps I had a pretty solid idea based around emotional states. Regret, Trespass, Dysmorphic, and Guilt (assuming 3 was misfiled) all seemed like the central emotional weight of each incident. But then Musical happened and that didn't fit with that idea. So I thought maybe it's about preoccupation. It's not strictly emotional but it's driven by what the incident's subject has at the forefront of their mind during the events. That would track with each of them. But then, of course, Invitation happened which makes that theory not hold up. Afterwards I thought that it might be the vector instead and the more I think about it the more it makes sense. Crosslinks might describe the route an incident takes to manifest, how it finds its way into reality. Harriet's regret pushes her to contact whichever avatar Frankenstein-ed Arthur, RedCanary's trespassing triggered the Institute's protections, Daria's dysmorphia shaped how she was able to sculpt herself, Dr. Webber's guilt drew him into the infection's grasp/the plant life in the garden spread the infection, the violin collects its payment through music, and Voyeur claimed another victim via invitation. And now we have Needles who intimidates their victims for the fear they crave. I'm sure the next episode will ruin this theory too but that's half the fun.

Lord Stanley's BINGO: Daily Report

Finally, another eventful evening!!! @imperatorrrrr and I here for the summary.

Round 1 — Apr 26, 2024 ✔️ Something unusual on the ice mid-game (Six!!! Catfish on the ice, VAN - NSH Gm 3 and Kings fans throw trash onto ice, EDM - LAK Gm 3 (I can't find a good photo but I was at this game and saw it with mine own eyes-- don't throw trash onto the ice folks.)) ✔️ Game paused for maintenance of the rink (17:28 left in the 3rd, NYR - WSH, Gm 3) ✔️ Captain fights someone (Adam Lowry fights Miles Wood, WPG - COL Gm 3) ✔️ Gordie Howe hat trick (Evander Kane, EDM - LAK Gme 3) ✔️ A review that takes more than 5 mins (After the Andreas Englund hit on Evander Kane + ensuing scrum, EDM - LAK Gm 3)

If you think we missed something, please let us know; but, don't let our lack of inclusion of anything stop you from crossing it off!

Want to join in the fun? Use this link to auto-generate your own card. Once you have generated a card, make sure you save it as it will generate a new card every time you click the link. Feel free to generate multiple cards! If you make posts, please tag us or '#2k24 nhl playoff bingo' so we can keep up with your progress!!!

15 Questions, 15 People

I was tagged by @asamandra, who is a delightful bean!

Nickname: Meg, MegMeg, Meggle, Nutmeg, Butmeg, and hubby likes to call me Trixie (because that would be my stripper name, he started using it as a joke to make me giggle, and now he can't stop using it.)

Sign: Libra

Height: 5'3"ish, which is around 161 cm

Last Thing I Googled: inches to centimeter conversion (the one before that was Indian embroidery, since I'm reading a book that features that quite heavily.)

Song stuck in my head: Boom Boom by Vengaboys

Number of followers: ....I don't know? Don't really care to find out either, honestly. I'm here to carefully cultivate my trash heap, so if anyone else wants to enjoy my trash heap, by all means.

Amount of sleep: Typically average around 4 hours at a time, as my body naturally wakes up then. Which is why I sleep half at night, half during the day. Yes, people are rude about it. Often.

Dream job: Trophy wife, hands down. Trust fund baby would be a nice second.

Wearing: a dark purple shirt with "Me crazy? I should get down off this unicorn and slap you" in rainbow block letters on the front. I made it!

Movie/Book that summarizes you: Is there a book or movie about an average 30-something wife/writer/mom that likes food, is a pack rat, and loves Tony Stark? Because I wouldn't read/watch that, all the fun stuff happens in her head.

Favorite song: Can't pick a #1 fave, but my most recent obsession is with sea shanties. The Last Shanty by Nathan Evans has been on repeat for several days!

Favorite Instrument: Geez, no idea. I like several of them for specific and/or similar reasons. Clarinets for good bouncy music, pianos and cellos do really pretty and/or melancholy so well, mandolins make me feel all !!! inside, ukeleles are a different, calmer bouncy.

Aesthetic: Uh, probably glitter. Colorful glitter.

Favorite authors: JK Rowling, JR Ward, Julia Quinn, Lois Lowry

Random Fun Fact: I have a scar on my knuckle shaped like a J! I named it Jarvis, and it doesn't even have a cool story. (I also thought this was asking for like... a generic random fun fact for a second and I sat here trying to decide between an animal fun fact or something else.)

I'm not in a tagging mood, so if you see this and would like to play too, by all means, consider yourself tagged!

An Autopsy of Roguesci: the coolest way to lose an eye in 2005

If you've been online since the 2000s, you'll have noticed a shift from a web of many independent forums and websites to everything being concentrated on a few social media networks. The content grab started long ago, so many storied subcultures are being lost to digital decay. It's with this in mind that I want to tell the story of the Explosives and Weapons Forum.

Many websites served to dispense advice on gray area or outright illegal activity. There were the pyro forums, specialized toward both legal and illegal fireworks. Beyond fireworks forums there were sketchier places that dealt in more weaponized explosives, drugs and petty crime: Totse, Rorta, Bombshock. They attracted many a fan, but few a practitioner - everyone knew that the information was not the best. Try anything and it would be a dice roll between making something that can go pop, making a dud and blowing your fingers off in an accident in the midst of a felony.

In 1998, megalomania established Roguesci: The Explosives and Weapons Forum, a site to rule above all of these trash boards...or at least that was the expectation.

Roguesci, like others, grew from the mid 90s BBS subcultures and seemed to have been inspired by the writings of an Aussie who went by the name of "Lowry". Lowry was an Aussie pyro who made a little how-to file of various improvised weapons and fireworks (very dangerous to mess with, for chemistry reasons, so just don't). He resurfaced at some point with an obscure partial reup of his site, not knowing that a more complete PDF was going around and that there was another pyro forum with his old contacts.

But these BBS and Usenet lists had a problem that would carry on through the years: Low quality posters and files spread dangerous misinformation. Even widely published and famous books were full of information.

Roguesci would be the site with standards and the go-to for conversations about explosives, chemical warfare, improvised firearms and collection of historical chemistry texts.

So mega brought in his friend nbk2000, a lifetime hobbyist weaponeer, who self-identified as a psychopath and a Nazi to deliver HED, "hot electrion death" (bans) to all "kewls": Kids and young men who spread "cool" dodgy instructions for making dangerous chemicals. Advice was to be peer reviewed and unskilled members expected to lurk and study before posting. Using "crapbooks" like the Anarchist Cookbook was also a quick route to a ban.

(the joke "NBK likes to give HED" was prohibited on the forum)

Under their rule, the site thrived. It hopped from free hosting to its own dedicated domain with official explosives guide to explosives and their synthesis, written by mega himself.

The site thrived throughout the mid-2000s but ran into some scandals with an early user killing several people with a bomb, and whispers of users getting injured in lab accidents (I can't tell who but one user was said to have lost some fingers).

Dangerous content was its draw and vague connection to murders weren't going to slow it down. But its weakness was in a cult of personality around the vice admin, NBK.

To roguesci users, NBK was a mysterious, charismatic drifter who held the highest subject knowledge. Sometimes hated for his debates about the worthiness of non-white people. Usually respected because he had the most entertaining posts. His famous work was a pdf file and website of his name that mixed his own advice with reprints of a few books and contained "rules to profit by" for criminals. NBK had spent most of a decade writing what he said would be an encyclopedia of improvised weapons and advice for criminals.

NBK maintained one of the most popular non-technical threads, "Why I Hate Rent (rant)" detailing his beliefs that paying rent or property tax was slavery. He escaped this slavery by squatting at abandoned houses, and he blogged about his experiences in the thread.

One of his actually brilliant ideas came in handy when a guy robbed his squat: he kept his money in a safe made with a pipe and padlock. It was mistaken for a pipe bomb and dropped by the burglar.

Then one day, mega announced that NBK had died. There was no elaborating. Users poured out performative mourning (sentiments of respect and resentment were mixed, but the latter not shown as much).

Later on it turned out that NBK was alive but needed legal help: he was being charged with the murder of a guy who he was living with, and had fled to Canada where he tried to stay with another forum member (who promptly turned him in).

NBK2000, or Arthur Charles Carnes, was later convicted after using his history in weaponry to argue that he would have done a far better job of murdering the guy than whoever did (most likely nbk in a less composed, dumber incarnation of himself than he presented online).

NBK2000 unmasked: nerd

According to a forumite's investigation, NBK's friend (the victim) had falsely converted to Judaism so that he could sell kosher meat to the local Jewish community. NBK had decided that this was race treason.

The forum went down and reopened, with some in-house web crawling to preserve the information for the final shutdown that we knew was inevitable, and the inevitable came in 2009 with the site disappearing forever. Rumors of a reopening circulated but it seemed like there was too much heat on mega, and its heyday was long past.

A few users and mods tried to open successor sites and bring the community back together. They also disappeared.

Another of the old Roguesci mods, fierce opponent of seatbelts after a few near miss accidents, died after being thrown through his windshield in a car crash.

Another one lost an eye in an explosives accident.

Roguesci prided itself on having higher standards of accuracy than all the other pyro and weapon freak boards. But it fell short of its own self image and its prided top dog that the user base looked up to (in public at least), NBK, was actually a bit of a dumbass. Many forumites were dumbasses posting things they'd regret, but at their high point, they also distributed information on how to produce illegal weapons that could have killed thousands of innocent civilians if the wrong readers took interest.

In its wake, I've found nothing that is even similar in scope. The condensation of the internet to big social platforms and the ruining of search engines makes it almost impossible, and ironically with less conspiracy-riddled eyes it's obvious that if you wanted to engage in such hobbies, you could just get an ATF license and use explosives legally without resorting to hardware store chemicals that will blow your hands clean off your body as your skin melts off. That's right: explosives and munitions are legal if you fill out ATF forms and pay a fee.

Hey, you like urban critters, right? Rats, squirrels, crows, etc.? And you eat trash? Of course you do, look at you, you’re a paragon of taste. You probably also like card games, adorable art, public libraries, and wildlife rehabilitators? Then I have got GREAT news for you!

Varmints! is a game about eating trash! It’s for two players ages 10+, takes under 30 minutes to play, and will come with everything you need to start playing.

The fundraiser is now live on Gamefound! Rewards include: beautiful art prints, critter pins, tote bags, AND donation games for schools, libraries, after-school clubs, and folks who want to play the game but can’t afford to buy a copy. As a stretch goal, there are donation tiers for Urban Wildlife Renewal, a rehabilitation center in Massachusetts, USA. 

The game was developed by David Rose, and the art is by JelArts (Jessica Lowry). Reblogs help a ton, since donation games will be raffled off once the campaign is complete!

The Giver by Lois Lowry

1994 Newbery Medal Winner

Adapted by Presely, Natalie, Milo, and Konnor of University School (2024)

From Greeley, CO

Judges' Remarks: This movie was a fun, zippy review of the highlights of the plot of the book, with snappy cinematography and brisk editing that kept the story moving. The tense, dramatic music in the background gave it the propulsive energy of a movie trailer, and there was creative use of green screen. There were some standout moments, like when the baby has spasms before it dies (before it is unceremoniously thrown in the trash), or how Jonas groans "This was a mistake!" while sledding down a comically small hill of snow in a parking lot. Competent and entertaining.

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BRAIN DAMAGE Reviews of Frank Henenlotter's satrirical horror

‘It’s a headache from Hell!’ Brain Damage is a 1988 American comedy horror film written and directed by Frank Henenlotter (Bad Biology; Frankenhooker; Basket Case and sequels). The movie stars Rick Hearst (The Vampire Diaries; Warlock III), Gordon MacDonald and Jennifer Lowry. TV horror host John Zacherley provided the voice of creature “Elmer/Aylmer”. Street Trash (1987) director Jim Muro…

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Bill Gates MRNA Grift EXPOSED? Billionaire TRASHES Jab Despite Reaping M... Bill Gates przyznaje, że szczepionki mRNA nie blokują infekcjidodatkowo mają krótki czas działania. Jest to fragment jego przemówienia w Lowry institute w Australii na temat szczepionek mRNA na koronawirusa.

SHTFPreparedness might be compensated with a portion of the sales made through the links on this site. Northwest College sophomore wrestlers went antler hunting in Wyoming's Shoshone national forest with their friends over the weekend. Their sport was meant to be a break from school pressures and it turned out to be an intense competition. Kendell Cummings from Evanston weighed in at 141 lbs. Brad Lowry from Cedar City weighed in at 149 lbs. A grizzly bear weighed in at an estimated 800 pound. It was impossible to run away. Cummings, Lowry and August Harrison were collecting shed antlers. Lowry signaled that the day was ending. Lowry and Cummings parted ways to try to find more antlers, while the group continued to meander back to their vehicles. Lowry stated to KSL5, that they were forced to take a detour due to bear trash all around. Kenny looked at me and said, "There's a grizzly bear there." '" According to the Wyoming Game and Fish Department the young men found themselves "at close range and in heavy cover... west of Bobcat Houlihan trailhead." Lowry said, "Right after that, the bear emerged from the willows." It was thick. It charged me, pushed me off the cliff and into this gulley. Then it was going after me for a while. At 5:05 on @KSL5TV, a wrestler from Utah was attacked by a Wyoming grizzly bear. He and his fellow teammate were also attacked. They spoke only to me from their Montana hospital. They say their team saved them. #ksltv https://t.co/CDGLgIbs9h Although the young men used bear spray, they later remarked that it happened too quickly and that there wasn't any self-defense that could be done. Lowry was bitten by the bear. It was broken by the constant thrashing and pressure of the bear's bite. Lowry stated, "It shook my around and I wasn't sure what to do... I curled up and it got me several more times." Cummings then entered the ring. Cummings bellowed at Cummings, trying to get its attention. Cummings then kicked the bear, trying to get its attention. Cummings was the next target of the grizzly. Cummings said that "it tackled me" and "chewed me up a little bit before it left." Lowry, who was able to seek help, told KSL5 he ran to find his teammates and dialled 911. However, the ordeal was far from over. Cummings was once again in the sights of the bear. Cummings said, "It got it again, chewed upon me, and that was when it got my cheek and head." It then disappeared for no apparent reason. Cummings hadn’t tapped out. He was bloody and torn and stumbled towards his team, who were approximately five miles from where he had parked. WGFD reported that a hunter was present in the area, which helped the men get to the trailhead. There they were met by search-and-rescue personnel. Cummings was flown by helicopter to St. Vincent Healthcare, Billings, Montana. Lowry was first flown to St. Vincent by helicopter, but he was later transferred to Cody Regional in Wyoming. Lowry, sat beside Cummings at the hospital, said that he was glad they still have each other; glad all four of them walk off that mountain. ... I think no one else is as good as a wrestling team that has a similar bond to us -- they wouldn’t have done it as well. Dallas Lowry, Lowry's father, flew to Montana with him to be with his son following the draw with the bear. Cummings saved his son's life, he said. Kendell is my hero. Normal people would run, but the bonds they form in college athletics will last a lifetime. Lowry, in addition to Cummings, suggested that there was an additional force at work that proved to be salvific. "When I was underneath that bear... if that bear wanted to kill me it could have killed. Kendell and I were being watched over by someone.

Dan Smith, Cody Region wildlife manager, thanked Park County Search and Rescue and Park County sheriff’s office for their "quick response and coordination of rescue efforts." Smith stated, "In the area where the attack took place, reports from hunters and landowners indicate that there could be six to ten bears moving between low-elevation slopes and agricultural fields... Game and Fish will continue monitoring bear activity in this area and working with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will make management decisions in the public's best interests. Smith said, "This is a sad situation. We wish both victims a speedy recovery." Northwest College President Lisa Watson stated in an October 16 email that it took "no small measure of bravery" for this to end without tragedy. Their recovery will be quick and their spirits will remain strong. [embed]https://youtube.com/watch?v=I7yln9KH8RY&rel=0[/embed] Bonus: Root Cellar that Can be Used as a Bunker Do you remember the old root cellars our great-grandparents used to have? In fact, they probably built it themselves, right in their back yard. Easy Cellar is the best way to learn how to build your own backyard bunker, just like your grandparents did. Easy Cellar will help you: How to select the perfect site Cost-effective building methods How to protect your bunker against nuclear fallout and blasts How to hide your bunker Basic life support available at an affordable price Easy Cellar also reveals how a veteran built a small nuclear bunker right in his backyard with just $421 Also included:

Name: James Benjamin Ody

Nickname: Jay

Age and Birthday: Late July, age ranges from 22 onwards

Height: 5ft10

Pronouns and gender: He/him, guy

What they are: Genetic witch - fae blooded

Style and Appearance: Floopy mid-length, dark blond/light brown hair (it skirts the line, which way it falls is up to you). Green eyes. If I were to get purple prose about it, they’re a green like spring/early summer grass, before it fully dries out, but there’s some yellow undertone, and about as vibrant as eyes can be before it seems inhuman. Dresses like grungy, back woodsy, trash. Everything is either way too baggy or skin tight. Leather, denim, flannel. Second hand.

Piercings and tattoos:  No piercings. A stick and poke smoking alien on his left wrist, a bright neo-traditional style of red yucca, bluebonnets and firewheel flowers up his right arm. Another shitty stick and poke alien, but this time wearing a rainbow cowboy hat on his right wrist. Either wrist has a stupid alien. The moon cycle going up his back, with hidden runic script in the design. A round custom design sigil on his right hip. 

Scars and distinguishing marks: Long scars across each palm, and a scar that goes around his right ankle.

Sexuality: Gay. Will say he’s a verse switch who prefers to top, but he’s lying.

FC: X

Personality:  Stubborn. Sarcastic. Bitter dumbass, actual idiot, soft boy if you can get past all that. Just trying to figure shit out and make folks proud.

Abilities: Illusion magic is easiest for him, some general mind fuckery skills. Can also do a host of other things with work and attention, some mild ‘conduit’ powers, but nothing like his dads. He can just absorb wild energy better than the average human.

Weaknesses:  Anything that could hurt a human. Squishy boy.

Links:  Headcanons - Media  -  Fun Stuff  -  Playlist  -  Music  -  Threads 

Other bits and pieces:

Uses a host of other nicknames for James and various surnames depending on the stuation. The most used is just James Wylie. His dad used to use Mason Wylie for a lot of jobs, people could recognize it or research it, and it’s a solid alias. Others less so. Typical name variations: Jamie, Jim, Jimmy, Jace. Frequently used surnames: Ankerson-Smith, Lowrie, Travert and Mayhew.

Really into super spot bikes and going way too fast, way too recklessly. Damn good rider, just takes those big calculated risks with his own safety.

He will start a fight, chirp, push, throw a punch, but the idea of causing serious harm to anyone, or being responsible for it, terrifies him. He is the irritating character insisting you cannot kill someone. He’s been responsible for enough death. Doesn’t want more on his hands.

Likes to cook. Started learning wiith his grandmother, then taking care of himself for years as a small child, and finally got some lessons when in foster care. Not something everyone knows or gets to see.

Incredibly self destructive. It comes in waves. Usually tied to other reckless, self harmiing, behavior. Including substance abuse and really unsafe sexual relationships. He has undiagnosed BPD, as well as trauma issues. Zero self worth, no matter how cocky he might seem. Knows he’s pretty enough, and thinks it’s the only thing he’s good for.

Can play the guitar and sing. He’s not trained in either, so it’s more like there’s unpolished potential.

In all verses that are modern settings, he has a bike. In most it’s something along the lines of a Honda CBR500R. Affordable, but has both the speed and looks to quench his stupid ass desire for something so wretchedly fast and powerful it’s questionably street legal. In some verses, he might already have the next bike, some undecided actual supersport bike. He also, technically, owns his dads old touring bike - a harley electra glide. It’s gathering dust in a garage in NY.

Needs glasses, usually wears contacts, but has frames, too.

Long form backstory and bio (Least necessary read, but skip to the bottom for his other verses):

Hahaha here we go again. He is literally an original fiction character of mine, that I have revamped over and over again for years at this point. While this is an overview, it’s still Really Fucking Long... largely cause his dad, and other relatives, are characters who have exsted for over a decade, so there’s a lot of history.

OKAY. Born under unknown circumstances in a small mountain town in Colorado. Raised nearly exclusively by his paternal grandmother - Vanessa Ody, in the family home in upstate NY. She’s why he became ‘Jay’. His grandfather had been called Jim, but was also a James. She didn’t like calling him the same thing even though it had been many, many, decades since Jim had died. 

While there he also got to spend a lot of time with his uncle, Thomas, who still lived there as a recent college grad. However, all the real organizing and work done to get Jay to doctors, registered in schools, etc. was his other uncle, Ben. Yeah, yeah, he’s heard the jokes. Jay made them a lot as a kid.

Until he was nearly six, this was his living arrangement. Mason was on the road, desperately trying to personally undo generations of their family’s shitty legacy by putting good out in the world. At the expense of himself and time with his family. A few weeks before his 6th birthday, Jay found Vanessa dead. In her sleep, of natural causes. He strongly remembers dragging the kitchen foot stool across the lino floor to climb up and reach the landline phone and call Ben.

Mason showed up shortly after that. Taking Jay with him on the road. Behind the scenes, as Jay learned years later, this only happened because Ben and his aunt - Rose, who lived a few hours north near Lake Champlain - said no to taking him full time. They’d both hoped it would make Mason step up.

For six years, Jay traveled on the road with his dad. It’s where his love of bikes and travel comes from. Years of frequently breaking the law depending on where they were, riding on his dad’s giant fucking touring bike in a questionably safe arrangement.

It was a mixed bag. Jay would frequently be left with Mason’s friends and contacts for stretches of time ranging from a few days to a few months. All while Mason was off working. This included time with his half sister - Tabitha - and her mom’s - Molly and Amelia -, as well as time with Mason’s oldest friiend - Eli - and his family.

Sometimes it was great, when it was just them on the road and Mason wasn’t working, when he was present, it was everything to Jay, however, as Jay got older he stopped seeing it as all good. Frequent weeks of living with strangers, with being left alone in motel rooms for days, it all lost that shimmer of adventure and became hell.

Two weeks before his 13th birthday, Mason was talking to Jay about plans, about what they should do next, and laying out the options. Jay snapped and screamed that he didn’t care. He was tired of it all. One of the options was for Mason to take a short, easy, job in the area before they head out. Thinking he’d give Jay some time to calm down before trying to talk, Mason took that job. Jay was alone for over a week and a half before Eli found him, and he found out that Mason had died.

Mason’s will said Jay went back to upstate NY, to Ben or Rose. But they asked him, and Jay wanted to go to his sister and her moms. So Texas it was. It was a supremely normal time. Something Jay was wildly unprepared for. There was stability, two parents who were there, a big sister. He went to a normal school. He got kicked out of that normal school for fighting. He went to a Different normal school. Managed to stay in that one. Not without difficulty. Not the smoothest time.

Nothing good really lasts for this sorry fucker though. As he got older, his magic got harder to control. While Tabitha is also a witch, she never had the explosive emotional magic he does, and was able to happily learn from unrelated locals, and from online lessons with Ben and Rose. Jay wasn’t so lucky. After a particularly bad incident where he blinded another kid, it was decided Jay had to move back north to live with Ben.

He finished his final two years of high school in NY. Making himself a friend group of fellow small town weirdos. The first halloween he was there they had a great idea, break into his family’s home. Abandoned since he was six. While stumbling around and claiming to hunt for ghosts, all while high as fuck and getting progressively drunker, Jay managed to find the locked basement. Where he proceeded to activate one hell of a genetically triggered trap card. 

Newly possessed, and completely unaware, Jay’s formerly difficult to control magic suddenly got way stronger, far more controlled, and seemed to shift from illusion to life manipulation. As far as Jay knew, all that happened because the spirit was teaching him, but only when he returned to that basement. Over the months he inadvertently helped the demonic ghost of his great grandfather - Charles Ody - gain more control over him, sacrifice a good number of hikers, and get damn close to taking over entirely.

Jay became aware of everything only after he refused to help Charles kill someone he knew. Knowing damn well he was too strong for Jay to get rid of, and could often take physical control, Charles stopped making Jay forget. Even making him remember everything up to that point. All the pain and death he’d caused. On top of that, Jay’s refusal to help let his friend get away, so Charles took that frustration out on him. Leaving lines of what looked like scar tissue cut across his skin in intentional patterns, that flared up with burning magic occasionally, just to remind him of what happens, and what Jay could be capable of doing.

Not trusting Ben, Charles whispering doubt over months and while Jay was aware of it now, it didn’t make everything go away or feel okay. So he went to Thomas. His younger uncle also worked at the family store - The Village Witch - but had been weird to Jay since he’d moved back. Thom rushed as the chance to help and be involved in anything magical - the only one of Jay’s aunts or uncles not born with magic. They worked out a plan, gathered supplies, and went to execute it. Only. It wasn’t the first time Thomas had been in that basement, either.

Offered the magic he’d been denied, and a chance at power, he tried to take it. Instead of planning a way to banish Charles, he was going to help the demonic ghost of his dead granddaddy kill his nephew instead.

And would’ve gotten away with iit, too, if it weren’t for the alcoholic misanthrope that is Ben Ody. The only person who now gets to boast he’s killed the same person twice. Charles Ody was gone. Thomas was given a chance to leave with them, but he didn’t take it. Dying there as well.

It wasn’t super easy to go back to being a normal teenager after that, especially since all the control Charles had provided vanished, leaving Jay will even wilder magic. At least this time, he could learn for himself.

There were too many ghosts in the small town, and Jay took off the second he turned 18. Losing touch with all friends and family. Here’s where his base canon splits into two verses. Separated by some time. Pre-death, and post-death.

Pre-death, he can’t be older than 23. He’s got the same magic he’s always had, and is as squishy and human as ever. Gets money via gig apps like taskrabbit, and runs an Onlyfans (or whatever the current equivalent is since onlyfans tried to get rid of the nsfw stuff).

Post-death, 23 and over. Time is fucky in the fae realm, so to him, it’s been decades. Found out his life was claimed by a fae knight, entirely because hundreds of years ago some long distant relative made a deal with said knight. The payment was a child of their choosing. Their first choice, a girl with wild red hair and the same bright green eyes and penchant of chaos that Jay had, was turned into something he couldn’t take. Never dying properly, but walking dead. So he waited. Waited until a spark of trouble turned up. Blue eyes at birth that changed, like so many kids do, settling into that green. A flavor of magic that already made it clear he wasn’t going to be human, but that no one knew enough to pick up on.

To the fae, he was a novelty, and one they got bored of pretty quickly. Not reneging on the original deal, but making it clear that fae don’t play fair. The letter, not the spirt, has to be met. In order to get the ability to leave the fae realm again, to get some kind of life again, and become a fae, the knight said he had to prove himself as capable. Magically banishing Jay’s squishy little human ass to the middle of nowhere in a dangerous, wildly inhospitable, forest.

In order to just survive, he had to change. Over time tranformed by the background thrum of magic that radiates the realm itself. When he finally found the edge of the forest, so many years later, he attacked the knight who was so surprised, impressed, but embarassed by Jay’s survival, that he fullfilled the deal with a big help of spiteful fuck you energy. Fully solidfying the type of fae Jay became into what had already started. Wild. Rough. Feral. Claws and blood magic. Weak but adaptable and survivors. Big feathery wings that look like those of a red factor sun conure.

Returning to earth, he’s found it incredbly difficult to adjust back to normal humans. Somehow finding himself in almost the exact same position he had been before, tredging through the gig economy, only with a bit more control. Starting his own errand and courier business related to magic.

Existing other Verses.

Plain old human verse: Mason travelled because he was a wanna-be writer. He still died, but in a mundane traffic collision. Jay works as a line cook at a shitty TGI Fridays style restaurant. It’s miserable. Side hustle with Onlyfans and gig apps.

Were-critter verse: (Can or cannot be A/B/O, that’s up to yall) golden jackal. Moto-gp racer, and street racer, keeps him on the road, doesn’t earn a huge amount, but he can get some good money if he wins. No magic. Omega or beta, but with an attitude that might make someone think otherwise.

Fuck dying, I’m gonna be a vampire verse: That poor fuck of a fae knight has to see YET ANOTHER one of the humans he picks become a vampire instead of dying. While not in the best of places, Jay meets a vampire named Dima who twists Jay’s self destruction into something worse, eventually getting him to accept being killed and turned and used. Only for that wild redheaded woman to show up, recognize Dima, and drag Jay’s drunken ass away. He now more or less lives with her and one of Dima’s other victims. Making a go of the cooking thing, and the music thing, with their help and support. Could genuinely be the most healthy version of him.

Miss May I: Gameplay

Daddy duties

“We the people of the United States In order to form a more perfect Union Establish justice Insure domestic tranquility…” - Domestic Tranquility? Wait. What? - “We the People” - Vignettes. - Little slices of life in a variety of scales. - It morphed over time. Things have been added & things have been taken away, with one thing triggering the next. - I still don’t really know exactly what it is about. - Susan took me to the toy store today & she found these squishy little multi-fingered soft rubbery balls that I tried to turn into COVID balls. So tonight I added COVID balls and some extended trash to the base … tiny flattened metallic Budweiser cans and a super flat can of Bed Bull. - It’s George Orwell’s “1984,” it’s Margaret Atwood’s “The Handmaids Tale,” it’s Ray Bradbury’s Guy Montag running amok, it’s “The Giver” by Lois Lowry, and so many others … you get the idea. - I hope it will find a suitable audience. I’m sure it will piss some people off. That would most excellent. - I have to turn it in on Sunday, so it’ll be finished when I have to drop it off, I guess. - I’ve never really known when to quit. Maybe I should title every piece “Overkill.” - More is more I suppose. - Barry Chukerman & Susan Bishop Chukerman ©2022 - #gro #galleryrouteone #galleryrouteoneboxshow #theboxshow #theboxshowgalleryrouteone #workinprogress #thelastfouryears #thenextfouryears #forever #COVID #Abortion #Weapons #Drugs #Smallstuff #Trash #baddecisions #womensrights #climatechange #constitutionalrights #someoftheabove #alloftheabove #noneoftheabove #somethingelse #imadethis #istilldontknowwhy #becauseicaniguess #thelistisincomplete #implosion #dollarstoredinosaurs - For @galleryrouteone https://instagr.am/p/CfhGCplFUBr/

One for @jetsstars31 💙

As always, if there’s players and/or teams you wanna see, just message me. you guys have been so awesome with these.

ALSO, WE NOW HAVE AN (ETSY) GUYS! CHECK IT OUT!

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[DALLAS] [PENGUINS] [HURRICANES] [FLYERS] [SHARKS] [JETS] [AVALANCHE] 

Happy 0th anniversary of gay rights!

FUCKING SUPERB YOU FUNKY LITTLE WEEDMAN!!!