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koreaunderground · 4 years

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(eff.org)(2021/03/08) The FBI Should Stop Attacking Encryption and Tell Congress About All the Encrypted Phones It’s Already Hacking Into

[eff.org][1]

[1]: <https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2021/03/fbi-should-stop-attacking-encryption-and-tell-congress-about-all-encrypted-phones>

# The FBI Should Stop Attacking Encryption and Tell Congress About All the Encrypted Phones It’s Already Hacking Into

Joe Mullin

10-13 minutes

Federal law enforcement has been [asking for a backdoor][2] to read Americans’ encrypted communications for years now. FBI Director Christopher Wray did it again last week [in testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee][3]. As usual, the FBI’s complaints involved end-to-end encryption employed by popular messaging platforms, as well as the at-rest encryption of digital devices, which Wray described as offering [“user-only access.”][4]

[2]: <https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2019/07/doj-and-fbi-show-no-signs-correcting-past-untruths-their-new-attacks-encryption> [3]: <https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/SJC%20Oversight%20Hearing%20-%20FBI%20Director%20Wray%20SFR%20-%203.2.2021.pdf> [4]: <https://twitter.com/ericgeller/status/1366804541451157504?s=21>

The FBI wants these terms to sound scary, but [they actually describe security best practices][5]. End-to-end encryption is what allows users to exchange messages without having them intercepted and read by repressive governments, corporations, and other bad actors. And “user-only access” is actually a perfect encapsulation of how device encryption should work; otherwise, anyone who got their hands on your phone or laptop—a thief, an abusive partner, or an employer—could access its most sensitive data. When you intentionally weaken these systems, it hurts our security and privacy, because there’s no magical kind of access that only works for the good guys. If Wray gets his special pass to listen in on our conversations and access our devices, corporations, criminals, and authoritarians will be able to get the same access.

[5]: <https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2021/02/incoming-biden-administration-officials-should-change-course-encryption>

It’s remarkable that Wray keeps getting invited to Congress to [sing the same song][6]. Notably, Wray was invited there to talk, in part, about the January 6th insurrection, a serious domestic attack in which the attackers—far from being concerned about secrecy—proudly broadcast many of their crimes, resulting in hundreds of arrests.

[6]: <https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2019/12/fancy-new-terms-same-old-backdoors-encryption-debate-2019>

It’s also remarkable what Wray, once more, chose to leave out of this narrative. While Wray continues to express frustration about what his agents can’t get access to, he fails to brief Senators about the shocking frequency with which his agency _already_ accesses Americans’ smartphones. Nevertheless, the scope of police snooping on Americans’ mobile phones is becoming clear, and it’s not just the FBI who is doing it. Instead of inviting Wray up to Capitol Hill to ask for special ways to invade our privacy and security, Senators should be asking Wray about the private data his agents are already trawling through.

### **Police Have An Incredible Number of Ways to Break Into Encrypted Phones**

In all 50 states, police are breaking into phones on a vast scale. An October report from the non-profit Upturn, “[Mass Extraction][7],” has revealed details of how invasive and widespread police hacking of our phones has become. Police can easily purchase forensic tools that extract data from nearly every popular phone. In March 2016, Cellebrite, a popular forensic tool company, supported “logical extractions” for 8,393 different devices, and “physical extractions,” which involves copying all the data on a phone bit-by-bit, for 4,254 devices. Cellebrite can bypass lock screens on about 1,500 different devices.

[7]: <https://www.upturn.org/reports/2020/mass-extraction/>

How do they bypass encryption? Often, they just guess the password. In 2018, Prof. Matthew Green [estimated][8] it would take no more than 22 hours for forensic tools to break into some older iPhones with a 6-digit passcode simply by continuously guessing passwords (i.e. “brute-force” entry). A 4-digit passcode would fail in about 13 minutes.

[8]: <https://twitter.com/matthew_d_green/status/985885001542782978>

That brute force guessing was enabled by a hardware flaw that has been fixed since 2018, and the rate of password guessing is much more limited now. But even as smartphone companies like Apple improve their security, device hacking remains very much a cat-and-mouse game. As recently as September 2020, [Cellebrite marketing materials][9] boasted its tools can break into iPhone devices up to “the latest iPhone 11/ 11 Pro / Max running the latest iOS versions up to the latest 13.4.1”

[9]: <https://cf-media.cellebrite.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/SolutionOverview_CAS_2020.pdf>

Even when passwords can’t be broken, vendors like Cellebrite offer “advanced services” that can unlock even the newest iOS and Samsung devices. Upturn research suggests the base price on such services is $1,950, but it can be cheaper in bulk.

Buying electronic break-in technology on a wholesale basis represents the best deal for police departments around the U.S., and they avail themselves of these bargains regularly. In 2018, the Seattle Police Department [purchased 20 such “actions”][10] from Cellebrite for $33,000, allowing them to extract phone data within weeks or even days. Law enforcement agencies that want to unlock phones en masse can bring Cellebrite’s “advanced unlocking” in-house, for prices that range from $75,000 to $150,000.

[10]: <https://beta.documentcloud.org/documents/20394507-installment_101>

That means for most police departments, breaking into phones isn’t just convenient, it’s relatively inexpensive. Even a mid-sized police department like Virginia Beach, VA [has a police budget of more than $100 million][11]; New York City’s police budget is over $5 billion. The FBI’s 2020 budget request is [about $9 billion][12].

[11]: <https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2020/06/26/how-much-money-goes-to-police-departments-in-americas-largest-cities/112004904/> [12]: <https://www.fbi.gov/news/testimony/fbi-budget-request-for-fiscal-year-2020>

When the FBI says it’s “going dark” because it can’t beat encryption, what it’s really asking for is a method of breaking in that’s cheaper, easier, and more reliable than the methods they already have. The only way to fully meet the FBI’s demands would be to require a backdoor in all platforms, applications, and devices. Especially at a time when police abuses nationwide have come into new focus, this type of complaint should be a non-starter with elected officials. Instead, they should be questioning how and why police are already dodging encryption. These techniques aren’t just being used against criminals.

### **Phone Searches By Police Are Widespread and Commonplace**

Upturn has documented more than 2,000 agencies across the U.S. that have purchased products or services from mobile device forensic tool vendors, including every one of the 50 largest police departments, and at least 25 of the 50 largest sheriffs’ offices.

Law enforcement officials like Wray want to convince us that encryption needs to be bypassed or broken for threats like terrorism or crimes against children, but in fact, Upturn’s public records requests show that police use forensic tools to search phones for everyday low-level crimes. Even when police don't need to bypass encryption—such as when they convince someone to "consent" to the search of a phone and unlock it—these invasive police phone searches are used “as an all-purpose investigative tool, for an astonishingly broad array of offenses, often without a warrant,” as Upturn put it.

The 44 law enforcement agencies who provided records to Upturn revealed at least 50,000 extractions of cell phones between 2015 and 2019\. And there’s no question that this number is a “severe undercount,” counting only 44 agencies, when at least 2,000 agencies have the tools. Many of the largest police departments, including New York, Chicago, Washington D.C., Baltimore, and Boston, either denied Upturn’s record requests or did not respond.

“Law enforcement… use these tools to investigate cases involving graffiti, shoplifting, marijuana possession, prostitution, vandalism, car crashes, parole violations, petty theft, public intoxication, and the full gamut of drug-related offenses,” Upturn reports. In Suffolk County, NY, 20 percent of the phones searched by police were for narcotics cases. Authorities in Santa Clara County, CA, San Bernardino County, CA, and Fort Worth, TX all reported that drug crimes were among the most common reasons for cell phone data extractions. Here are just a few examples of the everyday offenses in which Upturn found police searched phones:

* In [one case][13], police officers sought to search two phones for evidence of drug sales after a $220 undercover marijuana bust. * Police stopped a vehicle for a “left lane violation,” then “due to nervousness and inconsistent stories, a free air sniff was conducted by a … K9 with positive alert to narcotics.” The officers found bags of marijuana in the car, then seized eight phones from the car’s occupants, and [sought to extract data from them][14] for “evidence of drug transactions.” * Officers looking for a juvenile who allegedly violated terms of his electronic monitoring found him after a “short foot pursuit” in which the youngster threw his phone to the ground. Officers [sought to search the phone][15] for evidence of “escape in the second degree.”

[13]: <https://beta.documentcloud.org/documents/20394694-sw_38982> [14]: <https://beta.documentcloud.org/documents/20394714-st1700494a170155-search-warrant> [15]: <https://beta.documentcloud.org/documents/20394724-affidavit-19-5271>

And these searches often take place without judicial warrants, despite the U.S. Supreme Court’s clear ruling in [_Riley v. California_][16] that a warrant is required to search a cell phone. That’s because police frequently abuse rules around so-called consent searches. These types of searches are widespread, but they’re hardly consensual. In January, we wrote about how these [so-called “consent searches” are extraordinary violations][17] of our privacy.

[16]: <https://www.eff.org/cases/supreme-court-cases-cell-phone-searches> [17]: <https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2021/01/so-called-consent-searches-harm-our-digital-rights>

Forensic searches of cell phones are increasingly common. The Las Vegas police, for instance, examined 260% more cell phones in 2018-2019 compared with 2015-2016.

The searches are often overbroad, as well. It’s not uncommon for data unrelated to the initial suspicions to be copied, kept, and used for other purposes later. For instance, police can deem unrelated data to be “gang related,” and keep it in a “gang database,” which have often vague standards. Being placed in such a database can easily affect peoples’ future employment options. Many police departments don’t have any policies in place about when forensic phone-searching tools can be used.

### **It’s Time for Oversight On Police Phone Searches**

Rather than listening to a litany of requests for special access to personal data from federal agencies like the FBI, Congress should assert oversight over the inappropriate types of access that are already taking place.

The first step is to start keeping track of what’s happening. Congress should require that federal law enforcement agencies create detailed audit logs and screen recordings of digital searches. And we agree with Upturn that agencies nationwide should collect and publish aggregated information about how many phones were searched, and whether those searches involved warrants (with published warrant numbers), or so-called consent searches. Agencies should also disclose what tools were used for data extraction and analysis.

Congress should also consider placing sharp limits on when consent searches can take place at all. In our [January blog post][18], we suggest that such searches be banned entirely in high-coercion settings like traffic stops, and suggest some specific limits that should be set in less-coercive settings.

[18]: <https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2021/01/so-called-consent-searches-harm-our-digital-rights>

#https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2021/03/fbi-should-stop-attacking-encryption-and-tell-congress-about-all-encrypted-phones

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secret-engima · 5 years

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*snicker* Sorry, I just - had the mental image of the Nox!taur 'verse combined with your soulmates 'verse. And I just - had the mental image of Cor and secret!female!Ardyn switching places on Switch day - long before they actually *meet* in person. So here is Cor, utterly flabbergasted because he's long thought he was one of the few /without/ a soulmate, suddenly blinking awake on Switch day in an entirely different place and body and - are those wings. Are those scales. (cont)

hamelin-born said: (cont) He has a soulmate, and his soulmate is an /unknown dragon-taur?!/ His soulmate is a *Lucis Caelum?!* Meanwhile, Ardyn is - actually flawlessly pretending to be Cor and /getting away with it because 1) She actually learned about Switch Day and the existence of soulmates in time to anticipate this, and 2) Ardyn used to use illusions to assume other's identities for /fun/ (and blackmail purposes), she's /used/ to tricking others into believing she's someone else. (cont)

hamelin-born said: (cont) Ardyn's main worry is for her darling nibling - but they made all the preparations they could, just in case, and she knows that Nox can take care of himself. (Nox is. Currently being fed Good Food by Libertus, who immediately recognized that the person in Nyx's body Was Not Nyx, and is both welcoming him to the family and gently interrogating him. Meanwhile, Nyx is - literally in the middle of the wilderness, miles from everyone else, FREAKING OUT at the dragon-taur body she's in.)

hamelin-born said: Cont: It's later assumed by EVERYONE that a mixture of Lucis Caelum Magic, Niflheimr Magitek Science, and Astral Bleepery are to blame for the soulmates never switching until they were all well over 15.

Me: Can I just say I love this idea with every fiber of my being? Like- hgfdhgf. Not going to make it part of Nox!Taur canon but this is HYSTERICAL. Imma ramble on this because this is great.

Do you know what would make it BETTER? If neither of them had any clue it was going to happen. Ardyn just- woke up in the wrong body, looked around, and decided she had no idea what was going on but she was gonna ROLL WITH IT and is flawlessly pulling it off because she’s he master at addlibing. She picks up from some of the things mentioned as she goes about Cor’s day that 1. Apparently the switching thing is normal? 2. Apparently no one expects Cor to be switched because he never has and people assume that means his “soulmate” is dead or never existed. 3. That soulmates are a thing. Interesting.

Wait how is her darling nephew going to deal with this? Also this means Cor the Immortal is in HER body right now. Oh dear.

Cor meanwhile is Not A Happy Camper. He just- where is he. What’s going on. He SWITCHED? He has A SOULMATE AT HIS AGE (remember, switches only happen when the youngest member turns fifteen so Cor at first thinks his soulmate must be. Devastatingly young). Then he gets a good look at his soulmate’s body and internally Freaks Out. He has a dragon for a soulmate, there is ANOTHER LUCIS CAELUM RUNNING AROUND. Further, the caelum is STARVING TO DEATH. Cor can barely stand to haul this body to Hammerhead from the hunger pangs and dizziness and by the astrals what has his soulmate been doing to get into this state? (Answer: nothing, this is Ardyn’s normal state, she just literally doesn’t notice because compared to sharing a suit with thousands of screaming daemons the pain of hunger doesn’t even register as pain). Cor is further alarmed when he hauls the body to Hammerhead and Cid GREETS what he clearly thinks is the owner of the body, (ARDYN??? HIS SOULMATE IS ARDYN? IT BETTER NOT BE THE ARDYN HE’S THINKING OF) And Cor kinda gives the game away by yelling “YOU KNOW WHO OWNS THIS BODY?” And Cid blinks and goes “You’re her soulmate?” Then he squints because clearly Ardyn’s soulmate knows Cid too, takes in the posture and the scowl and goes “COR?”

In the middle of a private meeting between Regis, Clarus, Titus, and “Cor”, Regis’s phone rings. A quick check proves it to be Cid’s number and he answers because Cid never calls without very good reason. Listens with slowly widening eyes to whatever is being said, then lowers the phone to stare sternly at “Cor”, “I believe,” Regis says slowly as he turns the phone to speaker, “It’s for you.”

Ardyn is highly amused to hear her own voice trying to screech deeply as Cor yells at his soulmate over being half starved and also his soulmate and if you are causing his king any grief, soulmate or NOT he’s going to kill you.

Regis, Clarus, and Titus watch in minor horror as the person they were sure was just a slightly broodier Cor (which is normal considering what day it is) relaxes and smirks, body posture loose and totally different, “Me? My dear Cor,” purrs the person in Cor’s frame, “I’ve been causing no trouble at all! I even filed all your paperwork for you. No one has been inconvenienced in the slightest, have you, Your Majesty?” A bright smile that is eerie on Cor’s face and Regis stiffens. Then Ardyn flicks her soulmate’s lion tail and muses aloud, “I will admit to being confused over all of this however, this has never happened to me before.”

“Ah blame Mors,” Cid says over the line after shushing an irate Cor, “an’ the Nifs. They probably screwed with the soul bond or something.”

“Fair assumption,” muses Cor’s soulmate before smiling and bowing to Regis and Clarus with a dramatic, “Well, since Cor has given the game away, I suppose I should introduce myself. Ardyn Izunia, honored to make your acquantence.”

Dead. Horrified. Silence. Then over the line Cor starts swearing a blue streak.

Titus feels his Doom™ approaching. His boss is not only apparently FEMALE, she is COR’S SOULMATE. HIS SECRET BOSS AND THE MARSHAL ARE SOULMATES. HE’S DOOMED.

Turning to Nyx:

Nyx is … Nyx is not handling this well. She was expecting her Switch day to happen sometime soon, because there’s an average age range for soulmates and she’s creeping toward the longer end but not that badly. She was expecting a switch … she was NOT expecting to wake up alone, in the middle of nowhere, hungry and ACHING in her lower back where her taur half started, like a fire pounding in time to her heartbeat and making it exhausting just to stand up. Six, Six her soulmate must have just turned fifteen, a fifteen year old was out in the wildness, clearly INJURED and hungry-. She twists around to look at the injury, praying that doesn’t make it worse, and comes face to face with WINGS. Twitching, blue-scaled dragon wings.

Her soulmate is a dragontaur. Her soulmate is an injured, fifteen year old dragontaur in the middle of who knows where with no help or guardian in SIGHT-.

Six. Six this was bad. Who did she have to kill for this when she got back-.

“Nox? You okay?” Nyx whirls at the approach of the familiar voice, stumbles then rights herself clumsily (note to self, dragontaurs did NOT move the same way coeurltaurs did) and is both relieved and angry to see Axis cautiously trotting over.

“You KNOW who this is?” Nyx demands angrily, “Curse it, Axis, why didn’t you TELL anyone there was another Lucis Caelum running around?”

Axis freezes, several expressions cross his face, “Oh. I guess Nox turned fifteen recently,” he says aloud slowly, “You are?”

“Nyx. And the moment I’m back I am TELLING Luche and Tredd about this.”

Axis blanches, then sighs, “Yeah, I probably deserve that, come on, let’s get you to a Haven to figure this out.”

Nyx pauses, “I’m not sure I should be walking, he’s hurt.”

Axis whirls around in alarm, but after hearing Nyx’s description of the pain and a quick check under the shirt, Axis just shakes his head and looks … grim, “I knew he was always downplaying it.”

“…Axis?”

“You’re not feeling a wound. Those are just Nox’s scars. He kept saying they didn’t hurt anymore, but I always thought he was just acclimated to the pain.”

Nyx gapes for several seconds, already feeling fury building in her frame, wings mantling out without her control before she hisses, “Axis. Axis I literally feel like I’ve been mauled by a coeurl within the last week, HOW IS ANYONE ACCLIMATED TO THAT?”

Axis’s unhappy, protective look grows deeper, “By being stuck with it since childhood without proper medication or help. Now come on, you can’t fight in that body.”

Nyx follows, and suddenly doesn’t think the sick, twisting feeling in this body’s stomach is just hunger.

Turning to Nox!

Nox doesn’t realize the switch for a WHILE.

Mostly because he is dead to the world asleep.

He got switched to a body that doesn’t have anywhere near the level of aches and pains his has what did you expect but for him to conk out from relief?

It is that prolonged sleep that clues Libertus in that Nyx has finally had her first Switch, because yeah Nyx sleeps in sometimes, who doesn’t, but sleeping in until noon with no signs of stirring? Nyx hasn’t even done that when in the hospital unless she was drugged six ways from Sunday. So Libertus and Crowe carefully unlock Nyx’s apartment and scoot inside to wait anxiously in the living room/kitchenette of the tiny apartment. If Nyx IS just sleeping in somehow, she won’t care, and if it’s the new soulmate … Libertus is protective. He knows soulmates are supposed to be your ultimate match and partner, but he’s seen enough to know that sometimes … things just don’t work out. He isn’t going to let Nyx’s body get hurt because some stranger woke up and reacted badly to being a soulmate to a Kingsglaive.

When Nox finally wakes up, he registers his strange surroundings and FREAKS. Promptly falls over because coeurl legs rather than the dragon limbs he’s finally used to. Crowe and Libertus run in just in time to witness Nox having a panic attack. Libertus thinks that’s … an overreaction until after calming Nox down and listening to his confused, freaked out questions, they realize that whoever this is, he is SOMEHOW totally oblivious to how soulmates work.

Nox gets bundled into the living area with Crowe sitting on not-his-back while Libertus feeds him All the Good Food and explains the soulmate thing.

Soulmate.

This is a soulmate world. A taur soulmate world where soulmates find each other by SWAPPING BODIES for two days of the year.

Bahamut. Bahamut where are you Nox waNtS a ReFUnD-

Libertus asks some gentle questions and yeah it becomes immediately clear that Nyx’s soulmate was … not taken care of as a child. Or possibly ever.

Libertus wants to kill someone.

The soulmate, who’s name is Nox apparently, admits to having an- a relative he calls “Uncle”, and when Libertus and Crowe gently tell Nox that his soulmate is a Kingsglaive named Nyx … Nox bursts into tears. He can’t help it, he’s freaked out and stressed and this isn’t his body so his control is shot and that name is the name of the person who saw his father DIE in the other timeline-.

Crowe and Lib exchange looks, dreading having to tell Nyx her soulmate is an anti-refugee or something, when Nox struggles his tears under control and wobbly asks to borrow a phone. Libertus cautiously hands him one and Nox dials a number, but instead of the mysterious “Uncle”, Nox holds the phone to his ear and when the other end picks up asks with a cracking voice, “Axis? This is … this is Nox. Um … I don’t suppose you found … my body? Because apparently I’m not in it for the day? You did? Oh…. Okay. Okay good. …No. No I’m not … I’m just … this is a shock. No. No one told me about this, Uncle never said a word and it’s not like-. Yeah. Umm… yeah hang on,” Nox holds out the phone to Libertus (who is currently wondering what the odds are that the “Axis” Nox just called isn’t one Axis Arra who is about to be in so much trouble) and Libertus takes it.

On the phone is a teen voice, male, not Axis, “Lib, tell me my soulmate is okay.”

“Nyx. He’s … okay. This entire thing freaked him out pretty bad. You with someone right now?”

“Yeah. Axis Arra. Turns out SOMEONE didn’t feel the need to inform the Clans he’d adopted a DRAGONTAUR last year.”

Libertus rears back, stomping his hooves in shock, “A WHAT.”

“You heard me the first time.”

“By the Six.”

Nyx takes a deep breath on the line and Libertus settles immediately, “What. What else is there. Nyx, talk to me.”

Nyx’s tone, even in a foreign body, is the most fragile and angry he’s heard it in a long time, “I am in … a lot of pain right now Lib. Like-. Would willingly check myself into a hospital for the good painkillers level of pain. And according to Axis? This is NORMAL.”

And Libertus thinks of how his first clue to the Switch was Nox sleeping half the Switch day away. Thinks of how exhausting it is to suddenly not be in pain anymore. Thinks of a lone dragontaur with only a mysterious “Uncle” to care for him yet not tell him about soulmates, of a stray that Axis would feel wasn’t SAFE to be known as an Arra or introduced to the Clans-.

He takes a deep breath to keep from snarling. As it is, his rear hoof stomps with a sharp sound that makes Crowe look worried, “You and Axis haul your tails back here as fast as you can. We can … talk about this when you get back.”

“Right. But for the record? I’m never letting my soulmate out of Little Galahd without an escort again. And I’m going to be cashing in my med insurance BIG time.”

Libertus stares down at the body of his best friend, currently inhabited by one frazzled, shaking, probably abused dragontaur teen, and exhales slowly, “Once this gets out? You’re gonna have the entire Glaive pitching in. And the Ostium Clan.”

“Thanks, Big Guy.” Nyx hangs up and Libertus pockets the phone, only telling a nervous Nox that Nyx and Axis are going to make their way to Insomnia, because the only way to stop the switches is to meet face to face. Nox looks relieved and scared all in one and Libertus shares a look with Crowe.

Yeah. They’re never letting Nyx’s soulmate out of their sight again.

#SE asks #hamelin-born asks #Secret Engima Rambles #Nox verse #Nox!Taur verse #soulmate au

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malloryslourd · 5 years

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Goodeday's Daughter Throwing A Party At The Coven

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Warnings: Some Strong Language, Mentions Of Drug And Alcohol Use

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the chaos of just thinking about this is really sending me to some dark places

it was a simple idea: 1) the parents were out 2) it was a friday night 3) they would have the house clean

so the plan was a go

invites had started out small but of course it had gotten out of hand quickly

on top of Madison and Coco inviting basically everyone on their snapchat a bunch of the high schools in the area had hear about it and brought it upon themselves to go

Queenie and Zoe were out on drink and food duty

you and Mallory had set up the house

putting all the important things in a place where they couldn't be found

Madison called for some backup just incase things got out of hand, as she claimed, but really it was some frat guys she wanted to come who weren't going to be much help at all

once everyone had gotten ready, people had already started to show up

it had seemed tamed at first

that was until everyone realized Madi and Coco shouldn't have been in charge of invites

"There's like a thousand people here!" "And that's a complaint?" "You SHOULD be thanking us!"

for at least the first hour and a half it was pretty chill to start off- a regular house party

then things took a turn for the worst

if anything could go wrong at a party- it went wrong

somehow, magically, mysteriously, someone got into the greenhouse and made it the designated smoke room because why wouldn't they

there was at least four (4) vases broken throughout the house

some asshole decided he wanted to skate down the stairs and made a painting fall that was hanging up on his way down

the tv in the living room was knocked down and most definitely never going to work again

the door to the downstairs bathroom was broken by some drunk guy who then ran out the house before anyone saw who it was

the liquor cabinet where the special drinks for dinner guests had been broken into and practically emptied before anyone noticed

there was a fight in the backyard that no one had enough time to break up before one of the guys got a bloody nose and busted lip

and possibly one of the worst things to happen was someone spilled their drink on a portrait- not just any Supreme's portrait, oh no, Fiona's portrait

Zoe was the one who discovered this and by the way she screamed everyone thought someone died

when you all got into the room and saw it you almost cried because you knew this was what was going to get you all killed

Madison panicked the most surprisingly

"This is it. We're dead. We're literally going to die. What the fuck are we going to do? We can never fix this? It's over with!"

you had to snap her out of it because you two were still standing there in shock while everyone ran off to stop the OTHER fight happening in the backyard again

and it was only 11:15 at this point

Zoe had to take a minute and a few shots to calm her nerves and get into I-Was-Put-In-Charge-Of-The-House Mode

Coco swore she was going to fight the next person to slide down the stairs so you and Queenie had to clam her down before she did something she regretted

Mallory was literally having a full blown break down in the bathroom while Coco and Queenie tried to calm her down

she went up to her room until the party ended

you had gotten into it with a few guys from John Curtis

you were VERY reluctantly held back

"HIT ME! DO IT BITCH! YOU SAID YOUR DAD CAN PAY FOR THE LAWYER! HE MIGHT AS WELL PAY FOR THE FUNERAL TOO!" "Y/N STOP IT!" "FUCK ALL OF Y'ALL"

they were kicked out by Madison's friends before you set fire to the building and everyone in it

once the party had finally end at like 2am an official tally of all the things that need to be replaced, fixed, cleaned, or hidden was started

Mallory sent the list to the groupchat and it was divided among everyone

Queenie started an emotional/mental tally too

Y/N fighting JCC boys

Mallory crying three times

Coco almost hitting some pothead

you all stayed up to maybe 5am trying to clean but it wasn't even close to being finished

luckily Zoe and Madison were successful with getting Fiona's portrait clean before they turned in for the night

Madison knew just how to get the horrible weed smell out of the greenhouse

no one really questioned it

Queenie did a lot of the tidying up with Coco as they ran frantic with trash bags around the house

you and Mallory did a count of the price of everything you were going to have to replace or hide because it was broke and you replaced the broken door with an extra one in the shed

everyone's mentality is just: it's a big house, there's no way they're gonna notice everything... right?

everyone went to sleep for just a few hours before waking upon and starting right back where they left off

you and Mallory went to the city to buy everything you needed, both pushing through the killer hangovers

on your way home you got a call from Zoe asking for you guys to get more cleaning supplies because they had ran out cleaning the living room

you and Mallory turned around and bought like $350 worth of cleaning stuff

when you had gotten back the entrance was back in order

however when you two walked into the living room it was a different story

Madison had passed out on the carpet, gloves on and scrub brush in hand

before either of you asked anything Zoe had already asked for more bleach for the couches

you dropped off all the supplies and went back to what you were doing the night before- replacing broken stuff around the house

Mallory had put vases where they went and you replaced the fancy glasses in the kitchen and the few broken picture frames

Coco and Queenie were practically done with their work so they asked Mallory to help repair the damage left in the yard from the fights

that's when you got the phone call from Cordelia that they were going to be home in about two hours

when you told everyone else they went into a panic

Madison had went to the liquor store to refill the liquor cabinet

Queenie was trying to figure out how to get rid of all the trash

it was either burning it or finding a dumpster to throw it all in

a giant fire would've been hard to explain so Madison called one of her friends to load his truck up and throw it all away

"Why do these guys owe you so much?" "Mind your business"

with about thirty minutes to go, the finally steps of just wiping down the last of the counters and tables

literally right as the last paper towel was being thrown away the front door was being unlocked

"RUN!" "From what?" "... I DON'T KNOW!"

Misty and Cordelia had walked into the living room to find everyone very "nonchalantly" sitting watching tv

"...Hi?"

you all just smiled and greeted them hoping you hadn't missed anything

they hadn't noticed much just commenting on how clean the house was and how the yard had looked different oddly

Madison said she was practicing some new spell that had messed with the grass

that definitely raised some suspicion

everything had seemed to be fine and you had all relaxed

you had all went about your days, finally being able to talk about last nights events

Coco had taken some wild pictures and videos and you all made sure to have a laugh about them to kinda calm your nerves

everything had seemed fine before everyone heard Misty slam the back door

"WHOSE FUCKING BRA WAS IN THE GREENHOUSE?!"

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palettes-and-prompts · 4 years

Note

Prompts for someone who is very well meaning but makes a huge mess of things, yet it somehow all improbably works out for the best anyway? If ya don't mind?

Sure thing! I’m used to getting romantic asks so getting this one was kind of easier to do.

Dialogue Prompts

1) “Why would you do that?!” “It seemed like a good idea at the time!”

2) “You woke the dragon?!!” “I fell!” “You’re so clumsy!” “I’m sorry, let’s run!”

3) “Person A if you cough and get us caught I will gut you right here.” “[Insert Person A sneezing]” “They’re hiding over here!” “You’re. Dead. RUN!”

4) “I just ate lightning bugs.” “Oh my god why would you do that?” “The fairy queen said they’re enchanted and that it’ll give me magic.” “And you believed her?” “Why would she lie?” “Because she hates you!”

5) “I don’t know about you but I could go for some ice cream.” “We just murdered a guy!” “A guy who happened to be a serial killer. I think that earns us some ice cream.” “Oh my god.”

6) “Do you think I’m stupid?” “I don’t think you’re stupid. I know it. That’s why I wont let you do Math for anything.” “I just thought you liked Math.” “No, last time you did Math we ended up with twenty goats.” “And?” “And we only needed two!” “But we made so much goat cheese! We made a killing!”

7) “This road trip is going to take how long?” “About six days!” “Why didn’t we just book a flight?”

“I just thought we could spend more time together.” “Oh my god kill me.”

8) “I told Person A that B cheated on them.” “What?! Why would you do that?” “It was the right thing to do.” “No. No it wasn’t. B was going to tell them. B was going to explain everything but now A’s going to freak out and think B was trying to hide it. You made a mess of everything.” “I can fix it.” “Please. Don’t.”

9) “I may not have got the glasses right.” “Are you kidding me? One had poison in it, you didn’t think to make sure we didn’t get the fucking poisoned glasses?!” “I’m sorry.” “If I die I’m going to Freddy Krueger your ass and come back to murder you in your fucking sleep.” “Please don’t do that.” “You’d better hope I don’t have to.”

10) “Don’t be mad.” “Oh god, I’m already so mad that you’re telling me not to be mad. What did you do?”

11) “What if we kill it with the fireworks we have here? What if we put them all in the house, cover them in gasoline and then blow them up when they come inside?” “That’s so stupid it might work.”

12) “You’re an idiot. But your heart’s in the right place.”

13) “Do you think they hate me?” “You filled their entire room with spiders.” “I thought they said they liked them.” “They don’t.”

14) “How do we defeat the enemy?” “We make them watch The Ring and when they’re done we call them and tell them they’re going to die in seven days.” “Wow, that’s probably the dumbest thing you’ve ever said. Anyone else got any ideas?”

15) “I don’t know why you’re so mean to me?” “You just do nothing. You ruin everything and somehow it still works out for you in the end. Some of us have to work for what we want, the universe doesn’t just make us lucky like you!”

16) “What do we do? We’ve got to get rid of them somehow.” “I got it. We put witch hazel in their contact case.” “That’s so fucked up. Okay.”

17) “Do you think killing that guy makes us bad people?” “Oh god, is this what we’re going to do today? I’m not being roped into having a heart to heart with you where I convince you you’re a good person. I refuse to do it.”

18) “I mess everything up. I’m a failure.” “Yeah…” “That’s it? Those are your comforting words?” “Oh, right, comforting. Um… I don’t know how to be comforting. Let’s get ice cream.”

19) “I’m worthless, I ruin everything.” “It all works out in the end.” “But what if one day it doesn’t?” “Then I’ll prepare for that day. Now stop crying and let’s go kill your stepdad.”

20) “Do you think I’m a loser.” “Oh yeah!” “...” “Oh no, you’re crying. Oh shit. Um, I mean yeah I think of you as a loser but you’re a cool loser, you know? Like a, um, like in a we’re good friends kind of way.” “You’re so bad at this.” “Look, comforting crying people isn’t in my job description!” “Just tell me it’s going to be okay and hug me.” “It’s going to be okay… Do we hug now?” “Oh my god.”

Regular Prompts

1) A is always messing everything up but everything always turns out fine. When people start wondering why A explains they don’t know why they’re always lucky, they just are. That’s when A discovers they have the blood of a rare dragon who’s made of pure gold allowing them to be the luckiest person in the world.

2) A works in coat check at a fancy place and accidentally switches the coat they’re wearing with the coat of someone carrying spy information. When they track down the person they end up watching them die where the secret they were carrying could have been exposed. They get a phone call from another spy, Person B, who instructs them to go to a certain location. When they do Person B recognizes them and takes them with them, making A confused. They get kidnapped, shot at, drugged, but they always pull through and when they get to the right location B reveals that they recognized them as Person C’s son/daughter and knew everyone else would too because they look extremely similar. A and B are awarded for saving the government's secrets and it ends with A being trained as a spy by B.

3) A is the long lost son/daughter of a Queen/King who died. They are tracked down by people they think are the police. A has stolen something that belongs to the Queen/King and goes on a long chase by the people running the castle. They try to sell the item but just end up calling the police. They run off again, meeting Person B who’s a thief like them. They fall in love along the way and when the police finally catch up to them they explain their the last heir left. A explains they’ll only accept the crown if B’s allowed to rule beside them.

4) A accidentally drops an old key into a sewer near their house while moving things around the attic, not thinking it’s important they continue doing their thing. When A’s friend gets B to help A neither of them are happy about it. When they start moving around the attic the door closes behind them and locks. The key to unlock is the one in the sewer. Without their phones to call for help they’re forced to sit together in a room until someone gets back. This forces them to bond and get closer as either friends or more. (Bonus if they decide to hang out even when the attic is unlocked)

5) A accidentally gets two samples mixed up resulting in two different pregnancies but they’re not carrying the right person’s babies. A calls them to tell them this and the couples all meet up. As they talk they begin to notice they have more in common with the other people and by the time the babies are born they’ve swapped partners completely meaning the person pregnant got with the person who matches their baby in the end. (Bonus if they end up naming the babies something similar and are still good friends afterwards.)

6) A is cleaning out a rocket when they accidentally fire themselves in space. Panicking the person who was supposed to be in charge, Person B, gets in touch with them immediately and asks what’s going on. A doesn’t know what to do, they’ve never been in a rocket. They’ve quickly got to get used to it and get in the right suit. When they get in space they make it to a station that has food and water for them to pick up for the immediate journey back. A and B talk a lot more and end up bonding over mutual interests that they normally only talk about when A gets panicky. But when A gets to the moon/planet they discover alien life and end up bringing tons of samples back that they wouldn’t have been able to get because of some sort of timing issue. When A gets back instead of being fired they’re praised as a hero and decide they’d actually like to be an astronaut but never without B in their ear or by their side. (Bonus if the first person to greet them is B, especially if they’ve never seen each other in person before.)

7) A ends up getting kidnapped because they look identical to a prince/princess. The leader, Person B, notices immediately that they’re not the prince/princess because of their clothes. Turns out B is in love with the prince/princess and knows they’d never be caught dead in something like that. B explains that the prince/princess was supposed to get on their boat and they were just going to call it a kidnapping because they wanted to run away together to go treasure hunting. When they get back to the kingdom after a long journey to B, Person A and B end up growing closer to each other and A’s sad to leave the ship. Turns out the prince/princess got married so they could be a king/queen in another kingdom. When B doesn’t take it too hard Person A asks if there’s still a space left on the ship for them. B happily tells them yes and they sail off together.

8) After an accident A ends up getting super powers and immediately decides to be a superhero. When they try to save people they realize it’s way harder than it looks. They’re very bad at it but always manage to save the day.

9) A accidentally starts a war between kingdoms by sending a love letter from a king to the wrong person. It actually helps everyone deal with their issues and ends up bringing the kingdoms closer together.

10) A ends up finding some orphans by finding them on complete accident. Person A makes them food and offers to help them find a home. They get lost and end up with Person B, a recluse who’s never left their home before or been around strangers. Despite that they all hit it off really well and they convince B to leave their house and go out of the woods to see society. After a long journey together bonding over games, talks, good experiences, and horrible ones, they come to love A and B like their parents. When they get into town A heads to the orphanage but ultimately decides to raise them all on their own. B decides they want to sell their home and be closer to the kids. (Bonus if it ends with a wedding.)

Sorry this took so long by the way and if this isn’t what you wanted just let me know!

#prompts #writing prompts #dialogue prompts #dumb prompts #writer #write #writing #fantasy prompts #non romantic prompts #mostly #found family prompts #fic prompts

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hypno-sandwich · 5 years

Text

Hypnotic Advent - Day Twenty-Three

Miscellaneous Story Ideas/Prompts:

1. You find yourself at the door to a mansion dressed in formal attire. The butler opens the door and asks your invitation. You have no idea how the invitation got into your hands, where you are, or who you are.

2. There is a wireless earbud in your ear. Every time you try to remove it, your hand freezes inches away. Occasionally a Voice tells you to do something. You try, but you can’t resist following the commands.

3. A virus locks your computer. The screen shows commands- if you want your computer unlocked, you must stare at a spiral for an hour without moving from your seat. You can’t shake the feeling that this has happened before.

4. From number three- as you sit there, a box opens up on the monitor, showing your partner staring at their screen, motionless. Commands on the spiral compel you both to do the same thing at the same time.

5. From number three- a box opens up on the monitor, showing yourself staring at the screen. The word “broadcasting” appears. You have a deadline you cannot miss.

6. From number five- you are wearing clothes. the “You” on the screen appears to be out of sync. You slowly realize that the “you” on the screen is from five/ten minutes in future. You see “you” begin to get aroused and take off “your” clothes.

7. You are part of a catering staff for a posh dinner party with some very good friends of yours. You’re helping out a mutual friend who told you that his usual crew couldn’t make it, for some reason. All of you find yourselves compelled to do whatever the host and guests tell you. You are all trying to resist and figure out what is going on.

8. You’ve been drugged and kidnapped and are currently being interrogated by some evil hypnotist/mastermind. They are asking for some information. The problem is that you are 100% certain they mistook you for your neighbor.

9. Your best friend has been turned into a vampire. You were “never” attracted to them before, but now you find them extremely captivating.

10. You’re at a birthday party. Everyone keeps calling you the “party favor” and smiles knowingly. You can’t shake the feeling that you’re naked, even though you’re certain you’re wearing clothes.

11. You know how there was a virus that entirely shut down people’s ability to say no to suggestions? And we didn’t tell the people who were susceptible so they wouldn’t panic? Yeah... about that.

12. Your partner found a book of magic spells and has been experimenting on you. You’ve just discovered that one of the spells removes memories, and you’re beginning to realize this explains a LOT.

13. You’re at a HypnoCon. It’s Sunday. The last thing you remember is getting to the hotel on Friday. There’s a note in your handwriting with clues as to what happened. You decide to try to piece it all together. Your friends are “helpful.”

14. You’re at a HypnoCon and your erotic fiction writer friend and you have negotiated to allow them to make one of their stories “come true” with you. The only problem is that you have no memory which one.

15. You’re at a HypnoCon and have been tied to cross at the dungeon. You’ve been blindfolded and a sign has been placed on you allowing people to do certain things to you. You know you negotiated what’s on the sign, and the top is surely monitoring what’s happening, you just have no memory of what’s on the sign or that you’re being monitored.

16. You and your friends have been “Hypno drugged.” Only, you’re not sure what the “drug” is.

17. You’re at a HypnoCon. You consensually hypnotized your partner to think you’re the sexiest, best-looking person they could ever imagine. The only problem is that everytime they look at you they start moaning, crying, and then faint. You need to find another hypnotist to break the “spell.”

18. You’re at a HypnoCon. Your top “accidentally” gave an entire room party an index of all your triggers.

19. You’re at a HypnoCon. As a “punishment,” your top has removed your ability to go into trance. You keep coming close, but you never entirely drop. How long until you start begging?

20. (X-rated) You and your switchy partner/friend are being used as hypnotized sex dolls. The more aware you are, the more your body goes limp and immobile and vice versa. Likewise, your partner/friend is under the same command, only- the more aware you are, the less aware they are.

21. You and your friends are running a Hypno-scavenger hunt at a Hypno Con. The more things you find, the more into trance each of you drop. Will anyone make it to the end?

22. You’re at a coffee house trying to study. The couple at the next table turn out to be Hypno-ministers practicing hypnosis for their Psych class.

23. (Spoiler) You’ve fed the entire mcstories archive to an AI to draft the “ultimate” mind control story. The resulting story features you as a character slowly succumbing to a diabolical hypnotic trance disguised as a story written by a sentient AI.

#hypnotic advent

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xxisxxisxxis · 5 years

Text

Gateway Drug | Part Thirty-Nine

Table of Content or Part Thirty-Eight

Read here on wattpad

Word count: 4K

Warning(s): Explicit language, Drug abuse

Tag List: @unknownoblivion @sinningsixx @edwardtriggerhandzz @lemmyjelly @haileynicoleseavey17 @cierrasixx19 @oskea93 @mgkobsessed @vamprlestat @sharon6713 @itsametaphorbriansblog @miriampraez @allie-mcginn @rebeccaphillips14 @nicholeh7 @fandomshit6000 @lilmou5ie @tamedhearts @divaanya @kingbouji3 @evrsncnewyork @6ixx6ixx @ratedrkohardychick91 @floregrohlssard @oldschoolimagineblog @thanks2pete @abaldboi @swoopygorl @justjodeye @liith-ium @caos18blog @ytwahsog @shamlessobsessions @scarecrowmax @toadspleen @random-internet-user-4471 @solohqrry @loveofmyloif @sparxx27 @kaitieskidmore1 @xpoisonousrosesx @cruecifymesixx @ijustwanttokiss70srogertaylor @emmaelizabeth2014 @meetthesixxter @sixxsixxsexx @sublimeprincesswasteland @arianareirg @girlnight-terror @mcnibberachi

LET ME KNOW IF YOU WANT TO BE TAGGED

PMRC DEMANDS CENSORSHIP, DEVELOPES A LIST OF THE "FILTHY 15."

1. Prince, "Darling Nikki", flagged for sex/masturbation

2. Sheena Easton, "Sugar Walls", flagged for sex

3. Judas Priest, "Eat Me Alive", flagged for Sex/Violence

4. Vanity, "Strap On Robbie Baby", flagged for sex

5. Mötley Crüe, "Bastard", flagged for violence/language

6. AC/DC, "Let Me Put My Love Into You", flagged for sex

7. Twisted Sister, "We're Not Gonna Take It", flagged for violence

8. Madonna, "Dress You Up", flagged for sex

9. W.A.S.P., "Animal (Fuck Like a Beast)", flagged for sex/language/violence

10. Def Leppard, "High 'n' Dry (Saturday Night)", flagged for drug/alcohol use

11. Mercyful Fate, "Into the Coven", flagged for occult themes

12. Black Sabbath, "Trashed", flagged for drug/alcohol use

13. Mary Jane Girls, "In My House", flagged for sex

14. Venom, "Possessed", flagged for occult themes

15. Cyndi Lauper, "She Bop", flagged for sex/masturbation

Tipper freaking Gore, the wife of the senator at the time, Al Gore, and bunch of other political housewives got their panties in a twist in 1985 and decided to demand artists either censor themselves when creating music, leaving no room for even the slightest hint at sex, drugs, alcohol, satanism, occultism, violence, language, or anything else almost every artist uses one of to express themselves in their music.

When musicians across the board practically told Tipper, the other wives, and everyone else that called themselves a member of the Parents Music Resource Center, to go fuck themselves, they decided to slap censorship stickers on records that contained any of the mentioned offenses.

Even John Denver got hit with censorship for his song "Rocky Mountain High."

It didn't shock me when my mother was photographed with Tipper after attending one of the hearings.

Mötley was invited to a hearing to defend their content and speak their opinions with a handful of others being censored, but they never batted an eye when the news first came out because they knew having an "X" or "XX" or "XXX" rating for violence, language, sex, drugs, alcohol, etc. would only make kids buy the record more. And it did.

"It's bullshit." I state, tossing the news paper article aside.

"It's politics." Fred replies taking a bite of his bagel.

"These womens' sex lives must be atrocious or else they'd be spending more time on their husbands' dicks and less time on these people's." I motion to the article with the list on it.

"Babe--"

"If these polotical lunatics spent as much energy taking care of their own damn kids, as they're spending attempting to villainize artists who're expressing themselves, they would realize that it's not Mötley Crüe's or anyone else's job to raise their children. If you're so scared of your kids trying all this stuff, have a conversation with them about it and tell them about it, honestly, instead of relying on the music they listen to, to properly teach them about it. And at the end of the day, they're gonna buy the record whether their parents want them to or not, and they're going to try all kinds of stuff, no matter who talks to them about it, if they really want to try it." I continue my rant, Fred, Doc, Nikki, Vince, Tommy and Mick all looking at me, waiting for me to be done.

"Are you done, Sister Christian?" Vince asks me and I glare at him.

"Viv, it's publicity. Who gives a fuck?" Nikki asks me. "The kids are gonna go for the nastiest rated album anyway. The more 'X's the better."

"Yeah, but the audacity of--" Tommy's teaching his hand around my shoulder and covering my mouth before I can continue and I look at him where he's beside me.

"I've got a headache. I'm hungover, Viv. I love you, but I don't need to hear a Vivian Bitch Fit right now." Tommy explains to me.

I just look at him like he's lost his mind for shutting me up, and he cautiously moves his hand away.

I give him a ten second reprieve before shouting, at the top of my lungs:

"The audacity of these people pisses me off!" I finish what I was going to say and Tommy and Nikki are both jumping out of their seats a little at the sudden shouting, covering their ears, wincing, before Nikki's looking at me, sharply.

I roll my eyes at him and he grabs roughly at my thigh under the table, uncomfortably sinking the tips of his fingers into my flesh.

Ignoring him, I take a sip of my coffee, as he glances around and stands up.

"I gotta piss." He tells us, but I know why he's going to the bathroom.

I wait for him to disappear past the "Men's Room" sign in the Denny's before I get up and follow after him.

I walk in, catching the tail end of him snorting a line, and I cross my arms, waiting outside of the stall he's in.

I hear the familiar "click" of a needle being uncapped.

"Nikki. It's 10:00 in the morning." I tell him.

"Fuck off."

"Nikki."

"Fuck off."

"Nikk--"

"Fuck off."

"Make me."

I wait for him to come out of the stall and do what I dared him to, but I just hear the sound of him sighing out in relief as opiate hits his system, drowning out whatever argument we were about to get into.

When he didn't want to hear me complain or try to talk him out of stuff, he would run to his favorite room in his mind: his heroin den.

If we were at home, he'd lock himself in the closet, with me begging him to come out.

He'd open the door for me right before passing out so he could at least say he tried.

If we were in public or at a hotel, he'd lock himself in the bathroom and do the same thing.

The sound of vomit smattering the floor has me wincing as he mumbles "fuck it" and opens the stall door, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.

"Don't fuckin' give me that hit dog look." He tells me, moving past me to the sink, splashing some water on his face, smearing his already smeared eyeliner that makes him look like a raccoon that's been digging around in a dumpster.

"I'm not giving you any kind of look." I mumble, forcing him to look at me as I wet a paper towel and wipe his black-coated eyelids clean.

The smell of his vomit infiltrates my nostrils and I throw the paper towel away before pulling at his wrist to leave.

Being that he's perfected his magical potion, he isn't too jittery from the coke or nodding off from the heroin.

He's just quiet.

We leave Denny's and head straight to the airport to head back home, being they wrapped up the last show of the U.S. tour last night.

Next is Europe.

Once we land in L.A., Christmas music blares through the speakers of the airport and reminds me that it's already nearing the end of December.

Apparently Vince is reading my mind because he mumbles, "apparently time flies when you're in hell."

Amen, Vince. A-fucking-men.

The second Nikki and I get into the limo to take us to our house, he's busting out a vile of blow that's nearly empty.

"Fuck, I gotta get Jason over, asap." He tells himself and I rub my lips together.

"You know, we haven't even bought a Christmas tree since we've been married." I tell him, trying to distract myself from his previous comment.

"Yeah." He says, basically blowing me off and I reach the toe of my sneaker out and nudge him on the kneecap as he gets the tip of our house key and scoops some from the bindle, snorting a bump.

"Babe." I continue to tap his kneecap until he's got his hand around my ankle, loosely, stopping me.

"What, Viv?"

"What did I just say?" I ask him, crossing my arms.

He just blinks at me, smirking a little.

"I'll gladly tell you when I finish this." He holds the bindle up.

I lean forward and take it from him, holding it hostage when he attempts to take it.

"You'll get it back when I get a Christmas tree." I tell him, raising my brows.

"Are you fucking me right now?" He asks, chuckling, not thinking I'm serious.

"No...but now that you mention it, I want that, too. Then you can get it back." I add and he smirks.

By the time we get to a department store, get my clothes back on and his pants zipped back up, grab an artificial tree, lights and ornaments, and finally get to the house, it's nearly one in the morning.

"Okay, Saint Vivian, gimme my shit back." Nikki states, carrying the boxed up tree while I carry the bags of lights and ornaments.

"Put the tree up so I can decorate it and I will." I reply.

"That wasn't apart of the deal." He argues, his tone still light.

"Well now it is." I reply.

"That's cheating."

"I made the deal. I make the rules." I shrug.

"You're making me work for something that's already mine." His free hand pulls at my waist, turning me to him and I grin mischievously as he shakes his head a little. "That's it, Sixx." He tells me before crouching enough to wrap his arm around my thighs and throw me over his shoulder.

I laugh manically, partially out of fear that he'll drop me, but also because this is the Nikki I fell in love with.

Playful, lighthearted, aggravating but meaning well, Nikki.

He manages to dig his house key out again and unlock the door before stepping in and turning on the lights in the foyer.

"Baby, put the bags down for now." He tells me and I drop them as carefully as I can while he puts the box the tree is in, down.

He's walking us to the living room, laughing when he pretends to trip and I gasp, digging my nails into him like a cat holding onto its owner to avoid a bathtub full of water.

When he flips the next light on, he stops immediately.

My mind is in shambles for a moment as I try to put together why so many people are in my house once Nikki's nearly dropping me out of shock, not even hearing them all scream out, "surprise!"

Steven and Tansy are at the forefront of people as the explosion of glitter, a mixture of neon and pastel decor, an abundance of various alcohol options, scantily clad women, a handful of Nikki's friends he hangs out with outside of Mötley Crüe, and a big ass, two-tier cake with every curse word known to man written in pristine is cursive font on the sides of it is soaked in by mine and Nikki's eyes.

Steven's wearing a beer hat, smiling widely, while Tansy looks like a sallow Barbie doll, but she's still forcing out a grin for the sake of us, and everyone's waiting for mine and Nikki's reactions.

Nikki and I exchange looks, confused as ever.

"Why is it a surprise?" I finally ask, deciding it's best if I ask instead of Nikki, because all he wanted to do was come in, shoot up, have a few lines, fuck around with me some more, and pass out.

But instead he's being forced to socialize in his own house.

His safe place has been infested.

Steven and Tansy seem horrified that we don't understand the reason for the apparent party.

"...Because it's your birthday?" Tansy reminds me.

"And Nikki's was a couple weeks ago, but he wasn't here to celebrate it." Steven adds, his smile is long gone, his eyes focused on Nikki who looks like he could kill someone right now.

"Oh, right!" I pretend that I know that it's my birthday today, and everyone seems to let out a breath of relief. "It's been a long day." I explain, stepping to the two blondes, hugging them both tightly. "Thank you so much."

While everyone else starts going on with the party, music starting to blare throughout the house on the stereo speakers, cracking open beer, whiskey, and vodka, as girls strip down to bikinis to go swimming, Nikki's still standing at the door, the look on his face is a mixture or pissed off, disappointed, and "I need another dose."

"Babe." I say gently to grab his attention, hazel eyes looking to me as a jaw tightens. "C'mon, just for a couple hours."

"I'll be right back." He tells me, shoving through people to get to our bedroom.

I brush off his attitude the second I feel hands on my shoulders, squeezing them a little and I snap around to meet Duff's chest.

"Hey, birthday girl." He greets me cooly, and I'm hugging him before I can stop myself.

Something wet falls on my hand when I pull away, and just as I'm about to look around for whatever it was, his fingers that are sticking out of leather gloves that just cover his palms, are brushing at my face.

"What's up?" He asks me, furrowing his brows a little.

What is up? Why the hell are you crying?

"I-I'm happy." Is all I can say, chuckling, wiping more tears.

He knew it was bullshit. I was happy, sure. Happy to get the fuck off the road. Happy to get a break from Nikki and Tommy harassing Vince. Happy to get away from Doc's constant pressing for more tour dates to milk as much money as possible. Happy to be able to hangout with balls of optimism and sunshine like Duff and Steven and have Slash show me his pet snakes like he'd been meaning to, and for Izzy to tell me what music I should have been listening to, and for Axl to go on and on about Tansy but then completely deny he was interested in her because he was too much of a dork to just ask her out.

"I'll be right back, alright?" I tell Duff, looking around to see Nikki's nowhere to be seen.

"Okay." He tells me, swigging from a bottle of vodka.

I thread through people who tell me "happy birthday" and I thank each of them, genuinely, before opening up the bedroom door, and shutting it behind me, stepping to our bathroom.

"Baby?" I ask, seeing Nikki standing at the mirror, teasing his hair some more. "I had no idea they would do this." I tell him.

"I had no fucking idea it was even your birthday, apparently." He grumbles. "Shows how much I care, right? Husband of the year. Something else to be hung over my head anytime we get into a fight."

"Hey, I didn't even know it was my birthday. The guys didn't either. You've all been busy and working hard and tired. I'm not going to hold this over you, Nikki." I assure him, fixing a piece of his hair for him.

I didn't realize his pride was so hurt by the gesture Steven and Tansy made.

I found out later it was Duff who brought up the idea to Tansy, who recruited the Ken to her Barbie: Steven, to help her orchestrate it.

That was another indication to Nikki that he needed to slow down, forgetting his own wife's birthday, but he didn't listen to it a bit.

"I really don't want to do this shit, Vivian." He tells me, rubbing his eyes.

"And I do?"

"They're your friends." He sighs.

"What's mine is your's." I say as I kiss his cheek and he groans.

"You owe me." He tells me as I step out of the bathroom. "Matter of fact, I want my coke back."

"Um, I can't hear you, babe. I'm sure I will when these people leave." I tell him.

"Viv--"

"I-I think you're breaking up, I'll talk to you later." I keep going, walking to the bedroom door.

"I'll break something up when these people get the fuck outta my house!" He calls back and I shut the door behind me.

The night goes on as people play beer pong on the dining room table, dance on whatever and whoever they can, snort lines off any flat surface available, and chug whatever is in their cups, drowning pain and becoming oblivious.

I hate to break it to Nikki, but I don't want these people driving in their condition, so they'll have to stay here tonight or call cabs.

After a few hours, people are either pairing off or grouping off to go get laid, passed out, or too high to function properly and are just chilling out.

Steven's observing his work, drinking from his beer cans perched in his hat when I approach him, looking for Duff.

"Have you seen Duff?" I say over the music and he nods.

"Yeah, I think he's by the pool." He tells me.

"The pool?"

"Yep."

I furrow my brows, stepping to the French doors leading outside, seeing Duff and Tansy sitting down on the pool deck, talking

"Is he pissed?" She asks me, referring to Nikki, after I sit next to her.

"I would say go see for yourself but I don't want to toss you into the lion's den." I admit. "He hasn't come out all night."

"I'll go talk to him." She says. "If he's mean to me I'll just cry and make him feel bad like I do to Vince."

Duff and I exchange looks at her confident words before she's walking away in her neon pink bikini.

"Everyone calming down?" Duff asks in a slur, and I nod, glancing through the doors to look at the guests for a few seconds. "How does it feel to be twenty-two?" He adds, rubbing his nose and I raise my brows a little, glancing at the bottle of vodka he's been working on all night.

"It's weird." I mumble. "I was a senior in high school five years ago." The reality hits me and he raises his brows. "God, I'm old."

"You were seventeen your senior year?"

"In pre-k my teacher decided I was too smart for the class and vouched for me to be moved up to kindergarten, and it didn't take my kindergarten teacher long to convince the principle of the elementary school to let me start in the first grade since they hadn't really started in on their curriculum for the year." I explain.

"I couldn't even meet the basic requirements of alternative school." He tells me.

"You're a freaking genius, you just didn't apply yourself." I tell him and he shrugs.

"I had more important things to get done.

"I guess you did." I agree, gently scoring the bottle of alcohol away from him.

"I know you're tired of me saying this, but, Viv, you gotta get back to dancing."

"Yeah?" I ask.

"Yeah. I mean, imagine me giving up music for someone I'm in a relationship with so I can hold their hand or fucking babysit them or whatever. I mean, sure it shows I love them a lot, but it would just make who ever I was with look like a fucking bitch. And I've talked to Nikki before and he told me he didn't want you to quit dance and he wanted you to go to school." He explains. "Why didn't you?"

"I had more important things to get done." I repeat him.

"I don't know if you're selfless sometimes, or just not thinking." He says, before his face suddenly falls. "I sound like an asshole right now, I'm sorry." He apologizes and I shake my head.

"I'm not upset, I know what you mean." I assure him.

"Okay." He rubs his eyes again like a sleepy child.

"Do you need me to help you to bed?" I offer and he waves his hand at me a couple times.

"No, no, I got it." He assures me, standing up.

He nearly falls over.

"Yeah, I'm sure you do." I comment, helping him inside as he apologizes.

"I'm sorry I'm being out of hand right now, Viv, I don't get like this every night." He tells me as I open our guest bedroom and thank God nobody's in here, although it's obvious someone has been screwed to oblivion on the bed.

I just throw the blanket on the edge of the bed over the mattress and help him lay down.

"Thank you." He says as I pull his boots off and set them nice and neat on the floor at the foot of his bed.

"You're welcome." I reply, setting the garbage can beside him incase he needs it. "Goodnight."

I'm about to leave, but his hand gently grasps at my hand, stopping me.

"What is it?" I ask him.

"I'm really glad we met and we're friends, Viv." He tells me, grasping my hand in his like I'm going to walk out anyway and not listen to what he's got to say.

"I am, too, Duff." I say back, smiling a little. "Sleep tight, okay?"

"Yeah." He nods his head.

"Alright, goodnight."

I go to kiss him "goodnight" on the cheek, but my entire system and body locks up the second he misreads my intentions, and kisses me.

This sounds so counteractive to who I am now and what I stand for currently, and it was ignorant of me to think such a way back then, when so many people close to me were heavily affected, some of them even dying, by drugs and alcohol...but I use to wish I liked alcohol or drugs, or even felt drawn to them.

By '87 I'd had several miscarriages, my marriage was hanging by a thread after only being married for four years, I was having an identity crisis and my entire world was seeming to fall apart and it became routine to buy a bottle of vodka or whiskey, or pills, or blow and just stare at it--trying to convince myself to go for it--for an hour before pouring it out or flushing it.

The people around me, which by that point was mainly Duff and his band, started to pick up on this struggle I had. And although they knew I had to be in some kind of extreme pain to be considering reaching such lows, they carried an "if you don't laugh about it, you'll cry" method of pulling me out of such spells.

Anytime we would be hanging out and I'd opt to try something they were doing, they would call it the "Golden Question Game" because the "Golden Question" was always "is Vivian actually gonna do it this time?" and they wouldn't argue with me about it or try to stop me because they knew the answer would always be "no" even if I didn't think it would be.

I even made the reckless suggestion to try heroin, and got as far as Izzy getting it in the syringe for me, trying to explain to me how to shoot it, how to angle it, how to know I'd hit a vein, with Steven, Slash and Duff all waiting to see if I was that desperate for an escape.

Like everything else I would think about doing, I just sat on the floor next to Izzy and stared at the golden liquid in the syringe and thought, "who the fuck are you to get pissed and angry at Nikki and Tansy for their addiction to this shit, and how it's destroying them, and then turn around and do it yourself?"

I shot it into the air away from me, handed the empty syringe back Izzy, thanked him for letting me waste his time and dose of smack, went to the bathroom with Duff at my heels, and cried.

I never went through with any of it because I knew I would never, ever, come back from it.

I would've drank myself to death or drugged myself past the point of no return and would have ended up a statistic.

I just needed a new escape because my original high became a heroin addict, and December 23, 1985, had me realizing more about Duff than what I had noticed before: Vodka was a hell of a lot easier to be around than heroin.

#nikki sixx #vince neil #tommy lee #mötley crüe #the dirt #gateway drug

67 notes · View notes

yfere · 5 years

Text

Shipping Calculus! Live Updates from C2E62

Downtime (n): a word which here means “bust a drug ring and spy on war meetings,” with some home improvement on the side.

*wheezes* Anyway, we do math no matter how stressed we are, yes? A mathematician must never be daunted by mere….madness. Masterpost here.

+23 to Fjord/Jester Outside experts were necessary for this. On the one hand, Shipping Calculus Law states that you lose points for facilitating a relationship to another person….but if you do that while also clearly getting “heart eyes” for the whole affair? Those rules no longer apply. We have, here, Fjord’s Over The Top “I Am So Cool Pls Notice” at Jester referencing his bravery at rooming next to her, and mutual, uh, attempts to comfort that are Deflected By This Deflecting Pair! You Would Earn More Points For Not Deflecting! Oh no, Jester, are you worried about your mom I’m sure she’s oka—NAH, FJORD, HOW ARE YOU. Are you feeling uncomfortable latel—NAH, I’M FINE I’M HAVING ZERO ISSUES WITH THE WATER EXCEPT THAT IT’S IN MY EARS AND I CAN’T HEAR YOU. Lots and lots of banter, and Jester asking Fjord about whether this is his first home, and offering him a mural because she’s a sweetheart. Point loss because Fjord did not accept the mural invitation which makes Jester, deprived of this gesture of affection from her artistic soul, very sad. Also, Jester’s hair was gross and that’s a tragedy for all Jester ships this week.

+8 to Beau/Jester Speaking of gross hair. These two—still roomates! Beau looking for the Best Room, as always! And for some reason, they very much don’t mind in each other all the things that would make them awful roomates to everyone else? Jester happily deals with Beau’s horrific snoring (if they ever have to split, Beau and Cads need to room as the resident snorers), and Beau handles Jester’s Hair Fiasco with nary a complaint, only a surreptitious request for some incense from Caduceus. That’s love. Point loss for Beau complaining about Nugget’s drooling—you need to love pets to love Jester, and that is law

-30 to Jester/Pets. But pets….they may not love Jester. My darling….forcing your beaten and world weary weasel (a ground dweller) into a tree dwelling against its will, forgetting your weasel’s name….I mean, you would think that someone would have sat you down by now to talk about consent (and that you never call someone you love by another name).

+20 to Beau/Gaydar And she foooooooooooools Caleb into thinking it’s a faulty Straightdar that has her saying he and Nott have tension. Don’t worry, Caleb, Beau understands you a little too well. And as we all know, ejecting a man from your room is a Special Lesbian Power bequeathed from the gods.

+2 to Caleb/Fjord/Jester because Frumpkin also got to hang out and gape at Fjord’s tremendously awkward honeypot display at the apothecary. Those three made a stellar Team A to the two-team investigation, with Jester and Fjord distracting like champs while Frumpkin learned of the invisible guard! Also, +2 to Frumpkin/Detective Work!

+18 to Jester/Yasha for Jester’s incredibly thoughtful and sweet wildflower mural for Yasha, and Yasha’s equally sweet surprise and thankfulness. A perfect combination of the ancient and venerable practices of Seduction Through Art and Seduction Through Flower Arrangements—Jester is on top of her game. Point loss for sticking even a lovingly drawn dick anywhere in Yasha’s vicinity, that should be illegal

+2 to Beau/Yasha for partnering up to go to the library, yeah! A training pit, which is Ripe for Physical Contact Opportunities! Yasha being inspired by Beau’s bracers to get a set of her own, and you know how wlw love sharing clothing? I’m just saying.

+15 to Caleb/Caduceus A bit of an understated week, in the absence of Intense Conversation, but with a lot going on. Beginning, of course, with Caduceus making Caleb’s Special Gift the Literal Symbol of him “putting down roots” and spending a full week making it the centerpiece of the Xhorhaus and such an ostentatious landmark no one in the city will ever forget it. Caleb helps out with construction of the garden using cat-shaped spellwork, and also invites everyone he meets to Come To the Krynn’s First Treehouse the man is proud. Frumpkin, too, climbing the tree, and it’s only a matter of time before Caleb does the same. Speaking of, Caleb once more pulling the “O, Large and Attractive Man, Please Shield Me From the Haters” card in a Cramped Alley, which Caduceus himself sort of initiated by aggressively campaigning for Frumpkin Spying. Nott gets +5 to Cockblocking for pulling Caduceus away to Detect Magic. Caduceus making windchimes to help make feel Caleb safe—though Caleb is sadly dismissive at the time No point gain for Caduceus’ very sweet and genuine and incredibly unsuccessful attempt to prevent the wizard from choking to death on his grand plans. Point loss for Caleb preferring to use residuum to craft a protective ring, possibly over trying to fix the sword that Caduceus is fixated on. Can Caleb’s Sword make him forget about it?

+30 to the M9/Winning the Local Dick Measuring Contest. You take a tower, you add a 60 foot tree as an elaborate penis metaphor, spread your seed all over the rooftop garden, and put permanent daylight in a region that is permanently dark and worships the Light. All right. Okay.

+20 to Caleb/Essik oh gods, and now we have evidence that a cleaned up fashionable Caleb is perhaps also a little bit catnip for the NPCs. Caleb’s silver tongue and flirtatious finger-wiggling with his special Cat Spell? Bowing and opening the door with magic like A Flirt? The favor exchange convo which is how Every Male Character Woos Caleb Apparently? Essik, for his part, giving up his schedule for the moment, strutting his stuff with his fancy spellbook and chuckling and asking for Caleb’s permission and no one else’s to enter the home???? These boys move faaaaast. We’ll see how this develops with time. Also, between the spellwork Giving Caleb Game and Frumpkin detectiving, +50 to Caleb/Cat-Shaped Creatures, +30 to Caleb/Plot Relevant Magic Gott-damn

+35 to Fjord/Caleb So here in Shipping Calculus, Intense Conversations earn lots of points and uh, there was so much steam from this one it got sound effects. Clasping of hands, promises, declarations, in a callback to Every Major Widofjord Moment Ever. Not to mention, the ambushing-in-the-room maneuver straight (?) out of a romance novel. Caleb taking a gentle pry bar to the locked door of Fjord’s past and insecurities, as all Fjord shippers ultimately hope to see revealed on screen. The mention of Mighty Nein being family? Admiration and resentment? We can remake ourselves into something better? Admitting to worrying about everyone? Saying Caleb is not crazy (but he may be, crazy for someone?) Point loss for Fjord not…..getting the caring thing up until the end, probably. Oh dear. Oh my.

+55 to The Cast/Ashley Johnson. Yasha never fucking says anything, but Sam and Liam both love Ashley. Laura wants everyone to fuck off except Ashley, she’s an angel and we’re glad she’s here.

-100 to Caleb/Astrid/Eodwulf as Caleb says at one point Astrid was “The One” for him. But Caleb. Why could it not have been “The Two?” Throw me us a bone here.

+1000 to Nott/Yeza KISS! THEY KISS! And Nott goes on about not needing to kiss for some things. Spending time in the hot tub together, and in the Lab together (thanks, Caleb!) and being Dangerous Together. Yeza offering to be a house husband and clean up the place while they adventure! Nott being too protective of Yeza to send him without protection to the Coast or the Empire!

+14 to Caleb/Jester as Caleb aims the full force of his Worrywart self at Jester’s direction over the Astrid letter—all Jester ships gain points for distress over Marion Lavorre, as it should be. Jester alongside Nott immediately and frantically insisting that nothing letter-related is Caleb’s fault at all, but hey it’s not Jester’s fault either, it was Nott who told her what to write and she didn’t know anyyything. The suggestion for “The Salty Sea” that Jester and Caleb (and Fjord, hello +1 to Caleb/Fjord/Jester) are tied up with becoming the unlocking mechanism for a secret entrance to Caleb’s library. Jester unfortunately funnels many points into +20 to Jester/Foot in Mouth as she makes sad Astrid conversation but more importantly the horrific “you’ll always be an assassin to me” flirt. Jester. Jester no. Jester you know how he feels about his past right. Jester?

+3 to Beau/Hosting which was great until the cocktail racism, damn that’s a lot of point loss

+70 to Nott the Best Detective Agency/Detective Work as they uncover evidence of a SUUDE OPERATION and listen in on KING DWENDAL’S WAR PLANS. Interpretation of evidence once more provided by partner Beau and Lab Guy Caleb, who between their history and arcana checks and shady histories shed light on the puzzle before them.

-15 to Fjord/Charming the Neighbors. Caduceus is unfortunately too busy with home renovations to be his sweet Lets Bake For The Neighbors self, so Fjord ventures outside and proves why there need to be three high CHA people in this party. Because while Fjord can swing a honeypot in a crisis and intimidate like no one’s business, his inclination to dress people down and match insult for insult makes things go pretty sour with Bylan pretty quickly. The obvious solution, considering Fjord’s skill set, is to redress the issue by undressing the man.

+100000000000000000000000000000000000 to CR/Naming It The Xhorhaus because it got a SONG!!!!!!!!!

#cr spoilers #critical role #widofjord #widojest #fjorester #widofjorester #clayleb #beaujester #lavorregard #beauyasha #jestasha #shipping calculus

389 notes · View notes

thehanwen · 6 years

Text

Notes Part 1

Pairing: Klaus x Reader

Summary: Klaus gets out of rehab and tries to reunite with an old friend, but his addiction gets in the way. They do meet up eventually, cuddles happen.

Warnings: Canon Character Death? Mentions of drugs

Word Count: 2,229

A/N: So this is the first writing work that I have posted here. Its fluffy and cute. I just love Klaus a lot. I’ve written before but the tua community has just really inspired me to share this story. I tried to keep the reader gender neutral to include everyone. I hope you like it! Feel free to message me with critiques or feedback. Thanks to @octavia-marie-blake for the help!

Your stairs creaked as you climb to your third floor apartment, arms full of groceries. Maybe too many groceries, but you abided by the very strict one-trip rule. Plus you’re not climbing these god damned stairs again. You struggle to fit the key into the lock and once the door does swing open you drop your armful of bags onto the floor in shock. Your things are strewn everywhere; books on the floor, furniture turned over, couch cushions in the kitchen, even the mattress was lying askew. Someone had been here. Your apartment was broken into! Your finger lingers over the last 1 in 911, when you notice a note on the table. You put your phone down and look at it, curious.

Hey Y/N,

Out of rehab! Woo! Be back later

…Sorry about the mess

It was written in purple marker and there was a tilted smiley face in place of a signature. You could tell from the rough handwriting that it was Klaus. Sometimes you wonder why you care about that asshole. For half a second you can’t figure out what he was looking for. All of your possessions seem to still be here, just scattered about. That’s when you realize, the money. That man couldn’t stay clean for 2 hours after getting out of rehab! You sigh and run your hand through your hair, as you walk to the bathroom to check your medicine cabinet. Sure enough, the emergency cash you keep in an old pill bottle is gone. You’re gonna have to think of more creative hiding spots for that. You’re not surprised, but you do wish he had just waited until you got back. You could have helped him. You’ve done it before. Reaching into your pocket you fiddle with the wrapper of the present you picked up for him. If only he had waited just a little bit longer. Sighing, you return to your discarded groceries and realize the drop must have broken some eggs, as there is a clear liquid leaking out of one of the bags. Great.

You manage to clean that up and get your apartment back in order, before falling into bed. You were exhausted after a double shift at the bar, but had a hard time actually sleeping. You were anxious about Klaus, where was he? When was he coming back? How did he get in, in the first place? Obviously he wasn’t going to be sober. You get up and decide to leave your own note. You tape it to the outside of your door and head back to bed, too tired to wait any longer.

Earlier.

Klaus knew exactly who he wanted to see when he got of rehab. He bee-lined to your apartment, but found it locked. He pouted and stomped his foot at the door like that would magically unlock it. He trudged back down stairs when, of course, it did nothing. As he was walking down the alley he noticed the fire escape. A crazy plan popped into his head, so of course he executed it and was sneaking into your apartment within the span of 5 minutes.

He had every intention of just waiting until you came home and he did, for about 15 minutes. He checked out your nick-knacks, listened to whatever was on your stereo, and lounged on your bed, but an itch crept over his skin and ghostly screams wailed in the distance. All of a sudden he couldn’t take it anymore. He knew you kept some emergency cash around, all he had to do was find it. He felt guilty about it, but you knew each other well and after all this was an emergency. Actually he hated that he had to steal from you. But he had to. He could feel the lack of drugs in his veins more than he ever felt them when they were there. The ghosts were starting to reappear and they pressed into his consciousness and it terrified him. He entered into a kind of frenzy looking for the money, he knew he had trashed your place, but it didn’t really hit him until after he found what he was looking for.

“Aha!” He cried as he pulled a wad of cash out of a pill bottle. He kissed the money and then recoiled at the taste. Ben looked at him disapprovingly. “What?”

Ben turned his gaze to the ruined apartment. Klaus followed suit. He surveyed his handy work, seeing it for the first time, and grimaced. Oops.

“You are gonna clean this up, at least, right?” Ben said.

“Of course” Klaus waved his hand, as if to dispel Ben’s energy.

Ben wasn’t convinced.

Klaus could feel the symptoms of withdrawal getting worse. Without the goal of getting more, it was all he could think about. The ghosts screamed his name and it was getting louder. Soon it would be all he could hear. He needed relief. He fiddled with the fur on his coat as he desperately tried to control himself. He wanted to fix everything. He wanted to wait until you got back. He wanted to see you. But he needed his drugs more. Righting a lamp on your side table quickly was all he could manage before his addiction pulled his gaze back to the window where he entered.

“There! See? I helped” He said, spreading his arms in a half bow. Ben rolled his eyes. Klaus was halfway out the window when he thought better of just leaving and went back to scrawl a quick note, leaving it on the table.

He woke violently as electricity ran through his body. He gasped for breath and felt a rough tingling fade from his chest, through his limbs. His heart beat as fast as it could. This was almost as good as the high! He took a deep shuttering breath, letting the adrenaline course through his veins. He felt so alive! His smile over took his whole face as he put his hand up for a high-five from the paramedic, who obliged. They were good friends, after at least a dozen similar ambulance rides. That’s when a flicker of motion from the little television in the corner caught his attention. He squinted and blinked a couple times in disbelief at the news story about Reginald Hargreeves’ death.

The world seemed to slow and speed up at the same time for Klaus. He was having a hard time processing the actions of others. People rushed around him and he could only stand there like he was in slow motion, but no one else was. By the time they let him out of the hospital, he could at least hold a thought in his head.

He tried not to care about if his dad was dead or not. Why should he, the man never gave a shit about him or his siblings. He did some really awful stuff that Klaus would rather not think about. Despite all that, Klaus couldn’t bring himself to not care, though he would never admit that to his family. He knew Reginald would die eventually, he was old after all. He’d been old since Klaus could remember. But why should he feel like this. The man was awful. He only called them by their numbers! Number 4 this, Number 4 that, You’re a disappointment Number 4. He shouldn’t be sad, shouldn’t me mourning. He should be grateful that the old bastard couldn’t hurt anyone else. But he was still their dad, and now he was gone. This cyclical line of thinking led to some pretty confused and conflicted emotions in Klaus. Plus he was coming down from his high, which just made it worse. Klaus felt a wetness run down his cheek. He didn’t know when he started crying and he didn’t bother to wipe it away. He wandered aimlessly through the streets after he left the hospital, looking for a fix. He had nowhere to go. Though he supposed he should go back to the academy at some point. But not yet, he just wanted to feel numb and avoid this confused jumble of emotions. After a while he looked up and found himself in front of Y/N’s building once again. Forgoing the fire escape for the stairs, he climbed to the third floor and stopped in front of your door, where a large note with KLAUS written on the front was taped at eye-level. He ripped it off the door and turned it over.

Klaus,

I don’t know how you got in last time, but do that again. I’m not leaving my door unlocked while I’m sleeping and I don’t have a spare key. I’m still mad about the apartment, but I hope you’re okay.

Please come back… I miss you

-Y/N

Klaus lingered on the last part of the note. He knew he missed Y/N, but he never thought that they would feel the same. Y/N was always there for him. They’d helped him through a lot of heavy shit and he had tried his best to return the favor, but he knew he was a lot to handle and he never expected anything from them. He gingerly touched the words ‘I miss you’ and read them a few more times to let it sink in. Someone wanted him. Not just for his powers. Not just because they had to. Someone wanted him for him, despite all his problems, regardless of his addiction. He was even more excited to see Y/N now. He crumpled the note in his hand and stuffed into his pocket, a smile creeping its way across his face. He reached for the doorknob, turned it. It was locked.

Klaus sighed. Of course Y/N didn’t leave the door open. It was in the note too. How had he forgotten that. Y/N could never just make it easy could they? He ran back down the stairs and to the fire escape. Looking up at the height he sighed again, exasperated, and hefted himself up to start the climb.

You vaguely heard a tapping noise at your window, but were too asleep to respond. It was warm here, whatever that was could deal with itself. You just rolled over in bed and pulled the blanket up farther. Mmm warm.

Next a pressure on your arm jolts you awake. Your eyes snap open and you sit up fast, lashing out with your arms and almost hitting Klaus in the face before you realize its him.

“WOAH, Woah It’s just your friendly neighborhood junkie” Klaus cries out, holding his hands up and stumbling back from the bed.

“Klaus?” you say, almost disbelieving.

“Yeah, Doll, me” He looks at you quietly, taking you in after such a long time. His face softens as he studies you. You noticed the bags under his eyes were deeper, he hadn’t been sleeping and his eyeliner was smudged like he had been crying. He looked skinnier, his close hung off him in a different way. His hair was a mess, but it glistened in the moonlight streaming through the window. His cheek bones and jaw line made a striking outline in the low-light. He was beautiful. His eyes caught the light too, sparkling green. They always held so much emotion, but you could almost never decipher it all. You reached out your hand toward his face, wanting nothing more than to hold him.

“c’m’ere” you mumble.

He is even quieter now, as he tentatively comes back to the bed. He pauses, hesitating, before he shakes his hands at you, gesturing for you to scooch so he can lie down. He throws off his jacket, shirt, and pants and climbs into the space you made. He shuffles over the mattress, getting as close to you as physically possible. Laying his head on your chest, he curls up so his hand is on your stomach and his legs are somehow in your legs. He holds you tight, like he never wants to let go. You always loved how cuddly Klaus was. It was what got you through the hard times, anxiety, depression, you name it. Klaus was there for you. This is why you put up with so much of his chaotic life. Though you had to admit his party attitude was also fun on occasion.

You lean into his frame, playing with his hair and rubbing his arm in a slow rhythm. All of these sensations make Klaus exhale deeply and melt into you, finally relaxing. You take a deep breath too, inhaling Klaus’ scent like it was a freshly dry blanket. He smelled like pot, alcohol and strawberry hair product and you loved it. You’re about to fall asleep again when he mumbles something into your skin. You perk up, but don’t open your eyes, enjoying the softness of his skin on yours.

“hm?”

“I missed you. I needed you” he mumbles again, slightly louder. You thought you could hear a hint of desperation behind his words. As emphasis to his confession, he snuggles closer to you. You wonder how long he had wanted to say that.

“I missed you too, Klaus, you mean so much to me” You say, trying to match his level of emotion. You kiss his head, catching another whiff of strawberry, before falling into the most peaceful sleep you’ve had in a long time.

#klaus hargreeves #the umbrella academy #tua #klaus hargreeves x reader #umbrella academy klaus #ben hargreeves

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monstersdownthepath · 6 years

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Spiritual Spotlight: Charon the Boatman

(and featuring the arm of Dispater, in the upper right!)

Neutral Evil Horseman of Death

Domains: Death, Evil, Knowledge, Water Subdomains: Daemon, Ice, Memory, Undead

The Complete Book of the Damned, pg. 36~37

Obedience: Meditate upon your infirmities and the slow, inevitable progression of physical and mental decay inherent to the ravages of time. Mimic this progression by immersing yourself or a victim in icy water until nearly unconscious, or by consuming alcohol or drugs that dull memory and mental faculties. Benefit: Gain a +4 profane bonus on saving throws against necromancy and negative energy effects.

I greatly prefer the shrouded figure in a nice hat from the Bestiary, but I’ll be damned if the crotchety, coin-covered old man from the cover of the Complete Book of the Damned hasn’t won me over a little. Too bad the illustration inside the book is so... eugh.

Anyway, it’s odd to me that the most powerful of all the Horsemen has the simplest of all the Obediences. Simple doesn’t mean safe or easy, though. Icy water is difficult to come by without magic, especially not water cold enough to deal damage to you--note that it says you have to be rendered nearly unconscious by this submersion, implying nonlethal damage must be dealt by the freezing temperatures. A stickler DM may demand the water be at -0F or below, which deals nonlethal damage each minute, and may force you to bathe in it longer depending on how much HP you have, meaning this Obedience becomes more difficult as you level up.

Of course, that’s just a mechanical perspective. You can achieve the same result by meditating under the water until you nearly pass out from oxygen deprivation, in that case. A looser DM may also allow you to chill (badum-tish) in the water for an hour and consider it said and done... But beware, because you can’t just dunk yourself in ice-cold water over and over again without some longer-reaching side effects, such as frostbite or hypothermia. ... Both of which can be cured via magic, but y’know. It’s real hard to explain to any do-gooders in your party why you keep needing frostbite healed while in the middle of summer. It’s a very hard Obedience to keep a secret, is what I’m saying, especially since it requires a bathing vessel, a whole lot of water, and some method to chill it. The latter two can be done with magic, but the former is still pretty attention-grabbing.

Unless you cut out the danger to yourself and just use a Sack Of Rats and nearly drown one in freezing water every day, I mean. You save on water and on bathing vessels! It makes you look like a sociopath if you get caught, though. I mean, you are if you’re worshiping Charon, but it’s also real hard to explain why you’re dunking rats in ice water.

The potential alternative is no less deleterious to your character, either. Drugs which dull memory and mental faculties tend to do so by dealing Intelligence or Wisdom damage, and dealing damage to your own ability scores is never something you want to do just in case the DM has a monster in the wings that’s ready to do it for you. There’s also the danger of addiction, which itself can be cured by Cure Disease... but if you can’t cast it yourself, then there’s the whole “explaining things to your party” thing again. While carrying around drugs is a lot more subtle than hauling around a bathtub, it’s also more expensive and is likely to raise more questions and garner more attention if you’re caught in the act, ESPECIALLY if you’re in a majorly Good- or Neutral-aligned civilization at the moment. Not to mention it’s harder to maintain; what are you gonna do, stock up on a hundred days’ worth of Hazy Brain Juice in one city? And don’t forget that it’s ability score damage. Taking those kinds of drugs day after day is going to render you invalid quickly unless you have a method of repairing the damage.

And if you don’t, party shaking disapproving head etc etc you know the drill.

And, no, getting sloshed first thing in the morning isn’t any better, even if you can cure it right away. Being the Funny Drunken Party Guy is good fun once in a while, but not every single day at the crack of dawn. It DOES make it easier to disguise your true nature, though, because Cayden Cailean exists. You’d just have to put up with looking like a really, really terrible follower of good ol’ CC who misunderstood their own god.

Hoo man. That was a lot of writing! Anyway, the benefit is great. Necromancers and death Clerics are a very common enemy type, so it’s good to have the extra protection against them! .... Unless you’re in an Evil campaign, in which case you’re unlikely to run into as many negative energy effects or necromancers. That puts a pretty big dampener on its usefulness.

Boons usually come at levels 12, 16, and 20 if you merely take the Fiendish Obedience feat, but having levels in the Evangelist, Exalted, or Sentinel prestige classes allow you to unlock the respective bonuses much faster. The trio of prestige classes can be entered as early as level 7; taken as early as possible, you unlock the Boons at levels 10, 13, and 16 instead.

Daemon worshipers may elect to class into the Souldrinker prestige class instead of the Evangelist, Exalted, or Sentinel class, and may choose any of the three Boon lists they wish to have.

———-

EVANGELIST

———-

Boon 1: Death’s Blessing. Gain Memory Lapse 3/day, Catatonia 2/day, or Create Soul Gem 1/day

I’ve discussed the general usefulness of Memory Lapse previously in Tex Mex Ian’s article, so check that out under Evangelist!

Catatonia is a spell whose usefulness is SO cripplingly limited that the situations in which it’s useful are basically nil. For those who don’t know what the spell does--and I don’t blame you--it’s a touch spell that knocks the target into a deathlike state for 1hr/level. Their body is treated like a corpse in all respects until the spell ends or is ended by an outside effect. Can you think of a practical use for this spell that couldn’t be replicated by a different spell? I bet! What if I told you it offered no saving throw? That’d be AMAZING!

Except that it can only be used on a willing target.

Yeah.

I suppose you could use mind-control magic to make someone willingly accept the spell, but at that point you have someone mind controlled so there’s no real need to knock them out, unless you VERY SPECIFICALLY need to bring their corpse somewhere and have them regain consciousness to wreak havoc.

Create Soul Gem, however, is a... strange spell. Because it’s a spell-like, you don’t actually need the focus component (a crystal lens worth 500gp), but the spell itself transforms the crystal lens into a soul gem. I would discuss the exact way this manifests with your DM before it comes up, because in my opinion, you should be allowed to just use any old glass or crystal lens you have on you as the focus regardless of its worth. A player character will likely have little reason to actually create a soul gem unless they’re bargaining with fiends, or holding the soul of some unfortunate victim captive... But the spell wears off 1 day/level later, the gemstone crumbling and releasing the soul to the Boneyard for judgment. Some fiends likely won’t recognize the temporary soul gem, but most devils will, and a daemon definitely will.

Thankfully, though this ability may seem less than spectacular at first, it combos well with the next Boon...

Boon 2: Soul Crush. As a standard action, you can crush a soul gem (such as one you create via Create Soul Gem or one created by a Cacodaemon) to gain Fast Healing 15 for a number of rounds equal to your Hit Dice. This action condemns the crushed soul to Abaddon; resurrecting this victim requires a successful DC 28 caster level check.

... Oh boy does it combo well. Suddenly, Create Soul Gem reads as ‘once per day, fully heal your character over the course of a minute.’ Regenerating 15 damage every round you remain conscious is game-breakingly powerful, saving your party hundreds on spell slots, wand charges, and health potions as you gnaw on a delicious soul-filled rock rather than take up valuable resources. By the time you get this ability, it lets you restore over 190 HP to yourself per soul gem used, and that will rise as you level up.

This is one of the rare Evangelist Boons that can fit on any character archetype equally well. A frontline tank will adore the extra HP, and between their AC and Fast Healing, will likely outheal any damage the enemy can do. The midliners who can slip out of combat can dodge and roll as their entire HP bar grows back, and the backliners who get potshot by enemy attacks can bide their time in cover until they regain enough HP to peek out again.

The best part about this ability, though? The quality of the soul gem doesn’t matter, and there’s no daily limit on how many times you can use this power, only however many soul gems you have on your person. Stock up, and become the invincible soul-eater you always dreamed of being!

... Oh yeah, everyone you crush gets sent to Abaddon, too. That’s pretty neat! And also a horrible fate to inflict on someone! You bastard!

Boon 3: Death’s Clutches. You can use Soul Bind as a spell-like ability 1/day.

Hrm. Soul Bind is... A step up, I suppose, from Create Soul Gem. It’s basically Create Soul Gem, except the gemstone is permanent. That’s actually all there is to it; they even have the same range as one another.

Along with the same complication that results from the spell itself requiring a gemstone focus to bind the soul, but spell-like abilities typically ignore focus requirements. Whatever solution you and your DM came up with for Create Soul Gem will have to work with Soul Bind as well. Whatever the case may be, though, this ability might end up giving you a nice pocket filled to the brim with soul gems to fuel your immortality.

———-

EXALTED

———-

Boon 1: Death’s Grace. Gain Ray of Enfeeblement 3/day, Death Knell 2/day, or Sands of Time 1/day.

I’ve talked about Ray of Enfeeblement and Death Knell before, so the quick versions are:

RoE: Good spell to fall back on. Negated by a save, but 3/day makes it better.

DK: Decent. Extremely narrow use, but very good at what it does. A mediocre choice, but powerful if you can actually get the killing blow with it.

So. That leaves us with Sands of Time, a spell with no saving throw that instantly ages someone one age category up without granting them the age bonuses that usually come with an age-up. That is, at the very least, a -1 to Str, Con, and Dex which... Is not spectacular, really. But say someone is already middle aged? That means Sands of Time takes them to old age, and suddenly that’s a -3 to each of their physical ability scores. If you manage to swat an old enemy with it? They become venerable, and suddenly they’re buckling under the weight of a -6 penalty to Str/Con/Dex that lasts for 10 minutes per level.

Now, granted, Sands of Time loses a lot of its potency if you’re up against people in their 20s... or 120s, as ridiculous as it is, because the longer-lived races live really long and their age categories advance at a glacial pace. Unless the DM puts you up against exclusively human foes, it can be difficult to figure out how badly your Sands of TIme will affect someone; you may just end up giving them a meaningless -1 penalty which will get you killed instantly because I just saw that Sands of Time is a touch spell. Oops.

At the very least, you can also dump it on an object to accelerate its decay, dealing 3d6+1/lvl damage to it. It also works on Constructs and Undead in this way, dealing a decent chunk of damage with no save allowed. But, again, it’s a touch spell, and Exalted are fragile casters. That’s a pretty big damper on its usefulness.

Boon 2: Hunger of the Styx. 3/day upon successfully striking an enemy with a melee weapon, you may force them to make a Will save (DC 10 + 1/2 your Hit Dice + Cha mod) or be stunned for 1 round and staggered for 1d4+1 rounds. On a successful save, they are still staggered for 1 round. This is a mind-affecting effect.

Not entirely sure why the Exalted, the caster class, gets a melee ability. On the other hand, it’s a very handy Get Out Of Jail Free card, since it automatically staggers whoever it hits regardless of whether or not they make their save, preventing the attacked enemy from taking full-attack (or full retreat) actions. If they actually FAIL their save, the encounter is more or less decided right there. This ability is an amazing Save-or-Suck that’s unfortunately stapled onto--wait a second when did Clerics and Oracles get 3/4ths BAB?

Nevermind! This ability’s amazing!! Provided you somehow have enough accuracy to strike an important enemy’s full AC (unless you have some weird melee weapon that hits touch AC), something that gets less and less likely as enemy CR rises.

Boon 3: Grasp of the Styx. 1/day, you may cast Grasping Hand as a spell-like ability. This hand is made up of the bubbling, black water of the Styx. Any creature grappled by the hand must succeed on a Fortitude save (DC 17+Cha mod) or gain 1 negative level.

Couldn’t spring for Crushing Hand, eh Charon? I suppose the negative level makes it good enough, despite the unfortunately low save needed to negate it, and the fact that foes you’d actually want to grapple are likely immune to negative levels.

Then again, even if you get it as early as possible, it still has a +28 to grapple checks (+17 caster level, +10 Str modifier, +1 size modifier) that only rises as you level. Even without the negative level, being able to partially paralyze a single opponent from medium range (100ft + 10ft/lvl) for 1 round/level is amazing if they don’t have allies capable of breaking the spell. A tall order, to be certain, but grappling an enemy caster for even one round can make a fight much easier.

The biggest weakness of any grappler, though, is Freedom of Movement, which most classes get around level 10 (except Cleric, which gets it at level 7). Now, since it has somatic components it can’t be cast while grappled, but with a 10min/level duration, if an enemy with the spell in their repertoire knows you’re coming they’ll slap it on themselves the instant you breach their fortress. Even against enemies immune to being grappled, the spell still finds some use by interposing itself between you and a chosen enemy, granting you +4 AC versus more or less everything it tries. So I suppose, in that case, it’s never completely useless.

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SENTINEL

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Boon 1: Death’s Crusader. Gain Mount 3/day, Wartrain Mount 2/day, or Phantom Steed 1/day

Please direct your eyeballs and/or other visual sensory organs to Trelmarixian’s page, because every Horseman gives the same Sentinel spell-likes.

Boon 2: On A Pale Horse. As a swift action, you may call upon the phantasmal image of the Pale Horse of Death, which takes up a 10ft square adjacent to you. As a move action which requires concentration, you may direct the Pale Horse to move up to 120ft in any direction or path you desire. It is unaffected by difficult terrain and may move over surfaces that would otherwise not bear its weight (water, ice, snow, glass, etc). Any creature the Pale Horse passes through must make a Fortitude save (DC 10 + 1/2 hit dice + Cha mod) or be struck with a -6 penalty to Constitution, Strength, and Dexterity, as though they had been suddenly struck venerable. Creatures who normally gain power as they age, such as dragons, gain the penalties instead. A creature may only be affected by the Pale Horse’s power once per round, no matter how many times it passes through their space. This is an aging, curse effect. The Pale Horse vanishes at the end of the round

Lets get one very, very important detail out of the way, one I think has to be a misprint: There’s no limit to how often you can use this power, so long as you give up your swift and move actions to do it. Harsh for the martial Sentinel, not so much for the spell-slinging Souldrinker.

The fact that there’s no limit to the horses you can conjure means you can try, try again if your opponent saves against the first round. Though age penalties cannot take an ability score below 1, a -6 to all of their physical ability scores still means that, among other things: they do 3 less damage with their attacks and have a -3 penalty to all attack rolls, they have a -3 penalty to Fortitude and Reflex saves, they gain 3 less HP per hit dice, have 3 less AC. Plus, if any of their scores are brought down to 1, any amount of ability damage beyond that will likely kill them (or render them helpless, which is the same thing). 120ft of movement is a HUGE range, and provided all of your enemies are lined up in a nice little row for you, it means you can potentially hit up to 24 people with a single use of this power!

And by the by, the penalties are permanent until cured by magic.

The fact that it’s both a curse and an aging effect means that some enemies are immune to it, but the potential in the Pale Horse to instantly debuff a whole crowd of enemies at the same time outweighs that fact. And besides, you still have your standard action to take even after you send the steed into the fray!

Boon 3: Death’s Call. 1/day, you may cast Wail of the Banshee as a spell-like ability, except it lacks a sonic component. Creatures affected seem to crumble to dust.

With the snap of your fingers and a whisper into the air, you can will people around you to just die. Wail of the Banshee is a very, very powerful spell, capable of hitting a 40ft burst of people within close range (25ft + 5ft/lvl) and weaving its power between allies and people you want to spare, dealing a flat 10 damage per level to everyone affected. Because Death’s Call is not audible, it may look to all the world like a crowd opposing you simply crumbled to dust with nothing more than a glance. You don’t actually HAVE to perform any motions, but come on! Who wouldn’t gently sweep their hand over a group of hapless fools, each one your hand passes over turning to a burst of dust as their allies look on in horror?

Who wouldn’t want to be Thanos snapping his fingers and ending half an enemy’s group?

Of course, there is the small, annoying fact that it’s a 1/day ability completely negated by a successful Fortitude save (DC 19 + Cha mod). Unlike with Implosion, though, the damage is sent out all at once and is launched at a range. However, it’s also a death effect, meaning that most high-end enemies will be outright immune to it.

It’ll kill or severely injure everyone with them, though. Plus, there’s always the delightful thought of walking into a crowded street with this and clearing yourself a path through them. It’s what Charon would have wanted.

You can read more about him here.

#End of the World Month #Spiritual Spotlight #Sinister Spotlight #Pathfinder #Dungeons and Dragons

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thechroniclesofdaraliss · 7 years

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100 Mutants & Masterminds Session Ideas

One of my favorite RPGs is the tabletop game Mutants and Masterminds. This clever take on the classic medium of heroism serves as one of the most diverse scenarios for both DMs and PCs. However, with so much freedom, it can be sometimes overwhelming to find a scenario that will catch the attention of both parties. Based on my own experience, it’s best to contain the game to one-shot campaigns, but you also need to take the time to shake it up if you’re playing it in the long term. So without further do, here’s a list of session ideas that I’ve either field tested, or always wanted to try out. Enjoy!

1) A gang of villains steals NPCs close to the heroes to bait them into a trap 2) There are children going missing all across the city and nothing ties them together, save for the fact that they’re all mutants 3) A villainous Speedster is stealing advanced technology 4) A smuggling ring has been revealed, and it turns out that the contraband is a cover for something far worse 5) A meteor is hurtling toward Earth, and it doubles as a mobile nesting ground for invading aliens 6) A host of horrible monsters have been plaguing the city, but all of them turn out to be child experiments to create Mutant war machines, and they are simply desperate to find their way home, and are coping with the predatorial instincts that have been unlocked from their genetic code being tampered with 7) A villain has figured out a way to transfer his consciousness into the internet, and this could spell disaster for the entire city, maybe even the entire world 8) The local jail has been taken over and forced ordinary criminals and mutant villains into fighting in gladiatorial combat 9) A criminal enterprise has let its services become available to the common man for a reasonable fee. Secretly, the criminals have dirt on all who buy up on their services 10) A group of C-list villains joins forces to commit a crime that will make all A-list schemes pale in comparison 11) A microscopic species mingles with a viral disease, and is on the verge of becoming airborne and unstoppable 12) The archenemies of the heroes trade opponents to exploit weaknesses and win the fight once and for all 13) The forces of nature have been harnessed in an object or person in order to avenge the lives lost to pollution or a human-caused disaster 14) All of the inhabitants of a village/town/city begin killing one another, claiming that their loved ones have turned into monsters 15) A series of monsters, villains, and disasters appear randomly across the city. But when they’re revealed to be illusions, the heroes must investigate how the damage was done 16) A band of mercenaries are taking the fight to criminals, and it’s up to the heroes to decide what to do with them. Aid them in their blood-soaked path to a safer neighborhood, or bringing the mercenaries to justice. 17) Criminals have stolen advanced weapons and are using them to commit crimes 18) A series of demons are collecting contracts in your city 19) A race of leviathans break the seawall and invade the land to consume humans 20) A demented sorcerer has called on spirits from beyond to kill the heroes at the cost of his own soul 21) A young vampire has expanded his vampirism to the criminal underworld and the police. He has designs to live his eternal life in luxury and decadence, and take down anyone who stands in his way 22) An astral presence is possessing victims and driving them insane, and leaving them with violent psychic powers before leaving them 23) A cyber terrorist sends messages to the heroes, and threatens to take innocent lives for every riddle/mystery/problem they can’t solve in time. 24) The powers of young Mutants go into overdrive. Earth Elementals cause Earthquakes when walking, Mimics permanently steal the life forces of everything they touch, and psychics read minds of everyone in range all at once 25) All of the legal authorities in your jurisdiction (cops, lawyers, judges) have fallen unconscious, and their heartbeats get fainter every hour. Find out the cause before their hearts are silenced forever 26) One of your villains has declared that he/she has turned over a new leaf. Are they being genuine, or is it a scam? 27) An “Ultimate Mimic” sets out to collect the heroes’ powers. But along the way, it encounters something else, the capacity for human emotions. Both prove to be overwhelming 28) A time-traveler meets your heroes in the present day with some of the most devious criminal of all time (Jack the Ripper, Al Capone, Unabomber, etc.) 29) After averting a natural disaster, the heroes accidentally unleash an ancient being that has designs on ruling the world 30) A botched attempt at an eternal youth ritual turns the heroes or villains into children. In it, there’s a change to either rehabilitate them or to help them regain their original age 31) Alternate versions of the heroes claim that they are the true versions (robots who think they’re you, clones how need help understanding who they are, or runaway shape shifting aliens desperate to escape intergalactic authorities). 32) An old man is taking in the homeless and giving them superpowers in exchange for services. Yet his incredible gifts come at a terrible price 33) Dozens of death row inmates that have never met are claiming that they were framed by the exact same man 34) The apprentice of a hero (or villain) has received the last will of their mentor after they have died. It pleads that they kill their most hated enemy 35) Those with superpowers begin losing their abilities while normal humans gain superpowers 36) An alien war has reached Earth, and humanity is merely seen as collateral damage 37) A new designer drug turns addicts into zombies with repeated exposure 38) A Master of Disguise steals nanobots to kidnap his rivals. He then copes their biological signature before killing them. The nanobots then mimic the appearance of their victims perfectly, down to the last cell 39) The heroes are shrunk to miniscule size in a bizarre deathtrap. A rat mazes becomes a hunting ground with the heroes as prey. A cup of water becomes a boundless sea with little chance of escape. Or electrons become like wrecking balls and the world you knew before has vanished completely 40) A twisted business tycoon is capturing aliens that land on Earth and is keeping them in tanks, prodding at their bodies to discover treatments for deadly diseases 41) A hero (or villain) has been diagnosed with a deadly disease. All they want is to commit the ultimate act of heroism/villainy before they go out 42) A new procedure is unveiled that can turn even the most violent criminals into law-abiding citizens. While it proves effective, a group of villains want to use the procedure to turn innocent people into their minions who have no regard for morality 43) A monster of pure energy is created, and it has the ability to grow larger with the more power it consumes. If left unchecked, it will engulf the entire earth, perhaps even the universe 44) A top-secret military vessel has been stolen. If it is not soon recovered, the end result could be a modern pirate crew that can’t be stopped 45) A new island has popped upon the map. A massive glacier located on the equator. You are tasked with finding out how it got there 46) An ancient African spirit escapes his tribal burial casket and has designs of killing the most powerful warriors on Earth 47) A cult has kidnapped a child from one of the most powerful arcane bloodlines on Earth. However, the victim ahs no idea that they are the product of such a respected or powerful family 48) A drug ring has claimed a chemist who has discovered a formula that will make a hardcore drug for half the production cost, but with twice the potency. Will you save the chemist, or bring her to justice for illegal activity? 49) After collecting the artifacts of a great historical figure (Napoleon, Montezuma, etc.) an archeologist concludes that the subject may have had meta-human abilities. They may even still be among us! 50) A supposed alien spacecraft turns out to be a human-crafted Trojan Horse to steal scientific knowledge from a rival nation 51) The hero of an old war (WWI, WWII, Vietnam) is hiding in one of the wildest and least known portions of the world. It’s revealed that exile in luxury was his reward/punishment for his actions in his service to his country. Now he wants to fight another war…a war on mutants! 52) A false mage is using his supposed power as a cover up for an illegal arms race, but no one can catch him or debunk him on his false magic. The people who want to catch him are also superstitious, and it’s your job to bring him to justice when no one else can or will. 53) A once-respected scientist is breeding animals with immense strength, speed, or some other form of meta-human power. All for the sake of hunting humans for sport 54) An old woman has struck fear into the hearts of a village or town by threatening to kill them with an otherworldly creature that has a childlike affection for her 55) An entire forest has had its trees converted into incubation chambers. People are hidden inside, but for what purpose? Assimilating plant cells into animals? Nature consuming industry? Or perhaps a new stage in evolution? 56) A pack of werewolves are killing livestock across the countryside. Is it an attempt to satisfy their appetites without killing humans, or are they feeding the pups so they can hunt humans? Either way, the angry mobs are impatient for answers, and you must discover the truth 57) Arcane murders have been committed across the city. However, each victim has hidden out in a place they shouldn’t have been, there’s no sign of forced entry, and they are found in impossible circumstances (they burn without any sign of fire, gravity ceases to work in the room, or there are no shadows present at the murder site). 58) An alien race is discovered by a small band of heroes, and it turns out they have been on Earth longer than humans. Do they harbor ill-intent? Have they been hiding out of fear? What is their overarching goal? 59) A missile silo network has been discovered in a swamp. Is it the product of arms dealers, a fallen Cold War regime, or a secret government project? 60) NASA’s latest anti-gravity technology is being stolen for criminal purposes 61) A poacher has been travelling around the world collecting Mutants of all kinds for trophies. You happen upon his facility and discover that he’s also been keeping them in captivity like a zoo. Yet some of them seem incapable of assimilating into the regular world. Some may not even want to 62) An ancient fighting tournament has called all the world’s greatest warriors into mortal combat. Many of them are meta-humans, but there can only be one winner. 63) A new meta-human training program has started. If you’re new to this, you’re one of the recruits. If you’re an established hero, you’re a proctor. Those who pass the program get their “hero license” 64) A meta-human military program is revealed that turned the tide of the last war. The project was top secret, and now the lives of each member are in jeopardy when their secret identities are revealed to the world 65) A prominent hero has fallen unconscious. After a preliminary investigation, it’s revealed tha their mind was sent to the Astral Plain. It’s up to you to get them back 66) A young woman has been subjected to years of systematic experimentation to unlock her superpowers. However, the end result is transferring her horrific scars and injuries via touch. She’s been freed for the first time in decades, and she’s got a lot of hate to go around 67) It turns out that time machines aren’t needed to travel through the time stream. There are “Temporal Circles” that allow you to travel into the past and future. They have claimed hundreds of lives and are responsible for hundreds of missing persons. But the source is unknown, so it’s up to you to find out how it’s done 68) A powerful psychic has captured the heroes in a dream world where he is supreme ruler 69) A living brain in a jar has designs at attaining a human body. Preferably, it’s one that has superpowers and has physical strength to match its mental strength 70) A cursed suit of armor grants incredible strength to whomever wears it. However, it also develops an obsession in the user to kill 71) An archenemy approaches the heroes with the proposition of joining forces to take down a greater evil 72) A hero has been sent back in time as penance for a horrible act he’s committed, yet he has trouble remembering why. The danger becomes more intense as time police arrive to ensure that he doesn’t disrupt the time stream 73) “Mutant Factories” have popped up across the city/state/country and they take in the most destitute people in an attempt to have guinea pigs for creating their own personal mutant armies. 74) Unusual clues are left behind at crime scenes, and it seems as though someone wants to be found. Is it a kidnapping victim leaving a trial, a villain laying breadcrumbs for a trap, or an extra dimensional entity trying to contact you? 75) A series of strange sensations overcome random civilians (a cold wind, a burning sensation, the feeling that they’re being crushed). Something must connect them together. But what? 76) A hero has been called into court for a crime they didn’t commit. The penalty is severe (life in jail, stripped of their powers, death, etc.) and they are unable to prove their innocence. Prove it for them before time runs out 77) A natural disaster (earthquake, hurricane, fire) threatens to demolish an entire city, yet its source is not natural 78) Satellites have been hacked and are being used to disrupt/hack into military technology. It’ sup to you to take the culprit down before countless lives are lost 79) Local criminals have taken to the streets with advanced exoskeleton armor that can withstand shots from a tank 80) An eccentric Gadgeteer poses you a challenge at the local sports arena. You two are to engage in battle to see who is worthy of being called a hero 81) An organization of Mystics is using their combined power to block out the sun with a solar eclipse. This way, the creatures that come out at night will never have to hide again and heroes everywhere will be at their mercy 82) Dopplegangers of the heroes are reeking havoc in the streets, and blackening their names 83) A group of demigods destroy monuments of the mortal world, claiming that they are now the rightful rulers of humanity 84) The local villain prison has had all of its inmates escape 85) Sky Pirates have stopped over a major city and are embarking on skyward swashbuckling venture, stealing bank vaults, ATMs, jewels, and everything else of value 86) A villain gathers the most powerful minds on the planet and plans to extract their intelligence so he becomes unstoppable 87) A string of crimes mirror a crime spree that occurred fifty years ago. Any police officers alive that investigated the original disasters are soon ending up dead or missing 88) People are rapidly starting to experience devolution and turning into primates with immense strength and a hive mind. Discover the source of this mutation before it becomes too powerful to stop 89) A series of scrolls have been exhibited at a museum. But when they are stolen, the heroes must find them before its too late. When deciphered, these scrolls unlock the most ancient secrets of marital arts, granting their user incredible powers such as enhanced strength, element control, and invincibility 90) The heroes are transported to a labyrinth that holds their worst fears 91) A medical facility is unearthed that subjects its patients to numerous diseases in order to create cures for the rest of the world. But will you let hundreds suffer endlessly for the benefit of millions, or free them? 92) A master thief has discovered a method of controlling animals to steal valuables from wealthy homes 93) A villain captures one of his nemeses in an attempt to form a malevolent partnership, seducing him to the side of villainy 94) A cold cannon is fired into the atmosphere to cause a second ice age 95) The Rogues Gallery of a city have established a competition to see who can take down their mutual foe first. They are not to aid one another, and the winner gets to unveil the secret identity of the hero. 96) The villain sets up a trap to unmask the heroes on live TV 97) A freak accident renders a villain without powers for a time, but then gives them new abilities 98) Animals have been infused with mutated DNA. Some of the creatures become monsters, and some become human 99) A sinister robot faces off against the heroes, claiming that it knows all of their moves and strategies before they even do 100) An EMP goes off in the center of a city and shuts down all technology within. This leaves ample opportunity for looters and pillagers

#superheroes #mutants and masterminds #rpg #session ideas #campaign ideas #rpg world #story inspiration #tabletop rpgs

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Ethnomedicines and Health Management in Kenya: Which Way Forward?

Ethnic diversity and ethnosystematics have gradually evolved to give rise to unique cultures and ethnomedical practices and systems that have withstood the test of time worldwide. An estimated 70% of Kenyans rely on ethnomedicines as the only source of healthcare, with up to 90% using medicinal plants and animals as part of any treatment process. WHO estimates that as many as 70-95 % of the world’s people especially in developing countries rely on ethnomedicines for their primary healthcare needs and henceforth its recommendation in the Alma-Ata Declaration adopted by WHO and UNICEF in 1978 for its integration into primary healthcare systems, particularly of developing countries if the objective of the “Health for All by the Year 2000” was to be realized [1]. While about 100 million people use ethnomedicines in the European Union (EU) alone while more than one third of Americans and Europeans use assorted herbs for healthcare purposes, spending over £7.0 billion annually. On other hand, 1.5 billion people use Chinese Tradition Medicine worldwide and most modern conventional drugs have their origin of use and application deeply rooted in ethnomedicines. There is need therefore to understand the holistic nature of ethnomedicines so that it can be easily utilized and applied. This overview focuses on the composition and understanding of ethnomedicines, its historical development in Kenya, its challenges and finally suggests a way forward of unlocking its potential together with anticipated benefits. An illustrated example of unlocking potential of ethnomedicines is briefly given for Maasai Mara University with reference to its African Medicinal Botanical Garden under development.

Keywords: Ethnophamacology; Conventional medicine; Legal framework of ethnomedicines; Healthcare systems; Ethnopractitioners

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Introduction

Ethnic diversity and ethnosystematics have gradually evolved to give rise to unique and beneficial cultural and ethnomedical practices that have withstood the test of time in various human societies worldwide. The prospect of the sustainable growth, development and evolution of these ethnopractices (including social, cultural and religious practices) has been achieved due to a rich biological diversity closely associated with diversified ethnicity in which each existing ethnic grouping contributes a unique and yet useful ethnopharmacopoeia [2]. Achieving optimal wellness for humanity together with animals, minerals, soils, water, microorganisms, plants and the entire environment that humans take care, has ever remained the omnipotent challenge since antiquity! The aim of these ethnopractices therefore was to develop a pool of ethnomedicines that approximates to the aspirations and realities of a holistic approach to ill-health condition of humanity and the entirety wellbeing rather than the conventional curative mechanism of technological fix of specific diseases only [3,4]. Moreover, the packaged ethnotreatments take care of the environments in which the target organisms exist, thus making ethnomedicines very unique and indeed fulfilling as ethnopractitioners endeavour to reconnect the individual-based social wellbeing and emotional equilibrium of a target patient whose taboos, norms and other traditions are philosophically considered alongside the ethnic code of conduct, governing set of rules and existing relationships [5]. As Abdullahi [2] stated, in many circumstances, the ethnopractitioners normally and more often than not act as, “an intermediary between the visible and invisible worlds; between the living and the dead or ancestors, sometimes to determine which spirits are at work and how to bring the sick person back into harmony with the ancestors and/or spirits”. Ethnomedicines have proved powerful ingredients in our livelihoods at all levels as a reliable, independent and biologically evolving healthcare system since human existence [6]. For incidence, an estimated 70% of Kenyan’s rely on ethnomedicines as the primary source of care, with up to 90% using animals, minerals, soils, water, microorganisms and plants as part of any treatment process. While World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that as many as 70-95% of the world’s people especially in developing countries rely on ethnomedicines for their primary healthcare needs and henceforth its recommendation for integration into primary healthcare services [5,6]. And further estimates that about 100 million people use ethnomedicines in the European Union (EU) alone while more than one third of Americans and Europeans use assorted herbs for healthcare purposes, spending over £7.0 billion annually. While China estimates that about 1.5 billion people globally use the Chinese Herbal Medicines (CHM) [8,9]. There is also an estimate of over 50% of modern pharmaceutical drugs having their origin of use and technological applications in ethnomedicines, with plant species together with the ethnopractitioners that use them taking the lead as the main resources [10-19]. Nevertheless, the most disturbing picture is that out of an estimated number of about 390, 800 plant species known in the world today, only 15% of these plant species have been investigated for possible medicinal value. How about the medicinal value of more than 1.611 million existing zoological species so far named and described and another estimated number of about 10 to 30 million living organisms that remain to be discovered? This is just amazing and an incredible pharmaceutical resource that is yet to be utilized to benefit humanity worldwide! This aforementioned brief account on ethnomedicines and health management therefore provides an adequate amount of evidence for investment into ethnomedicines research and development with a view to identifying more resources for developing new pharmaceutical agents and adding value to the existing ethnomedical agents and practices in Kenya [20]. This overview of ethnomedicines outlines its composition and understanding, its historical development in Kenya, its challenges and finally suggests a way forward of unlocking its great potential together with anticipated benefits.

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Composition of Ethnomedicines and Names Uniquely Used for Describing and Defining it

Ethnomedicines is uniquely defined and variously described using a wide range of geographic- and ethnic-based terminologies worldwide such as, Ayurveda, Siddha medicine, Unani, ancient Iranian medicine, Iranian (Persian) traditional medicine, Arabic indigenous medicine, Islamic medicine, traditional Chinese medicine, traditional Korean medicine, ancient Greek medicine, Haitian folk medicine, Native American traditional herbal medicine, Uyghur traditional medicine, Irish medical families, Japanese Kampō medicine, traditional Aboriginal bush medicine, Georgian folk medicine, acupuncture, Celtic traditional medicine, Muti, Ifá, native healing powers and traditional African medicine (ancient Egyptian medicine). Other descriptive terminologies of ethnomedicines include: traditional medicine, folk medicine, indigenous medicine, natural medicine, home remedy (granny cure), herbal medicine, integrative medicine, complementary medicine, anthroposophic medicine (massage, exercises, counselling and substances from plants, animals, soils, water, minerals, microorganisms etc.), alternative medicine, pseudo-medicines, magical medical practices, quackery medical practices, homeopathy, skepticism, etc. Ethnomedicine industry is therefore marred with a lot of controversy, doubt, suspicion and skepticism, which do not ensure efficiency, sustainability, effectiveness and timeliness in service delivery in the entire industry, henceforth its failure to grow and develop. This haphazard consideration of the field of ethnomedicines shows that this particular discipline has not grown and developed across board uniformly and that it has not professionally curved its own niche and thus gotten into the mainstream administration of academia and research. However, given that WHO is a specialized agency of the United Nations leading and setting out the course for the use and application of ethnomedicines throughout the world, it has universally developed the most acceptable and favourable definition of ethnomedicines as, “the sum total of the knowledge, skills, and practices based on the theories, beliefs and experiences indigenous to different cultures, whether explicable or not, used in the maintenance of health as well as in the prevention, diagnosis, improvement or treatment of physical and mental illness” [7]. Throughout the entire text of this manuscript, the meanings of the following terminologies have been understood to be in the following context unless otherwise differently explained.

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A Critical Review of Concepts and Definitions of Fundamental Terminologies

Ethno

A prefix used in the formation of compound words in English language to mean the study of races, people, cultures, tribes, caste systems, nations, societal classes and societies with a common and distinctive origin and evolution in terms of language, communication, cultural practices, nutrition, norms, beliefs, taboos, traditions, skills, technologies, innovations and just the entire livelihood from its ancient times to current. Examples include: Ethnomusicologistsomeone who studies the music of different societies and cultures, Ethnocentric-believing that the people, customs, and traditions of your own race or nationality are better than those of other races and Ethnology-the study of different societies and cultures

Ethnography

A scientific description of cultures (including traditional knowledge, ethnopractices and customs of indigenous/native and local people) of a particular society by someone who has lived in it and/or a book containing such information.

Ethnobotany

The scientific study of the traditional knowledge, practices and customs of indigenous/native and local people of a given geographical location and/or ethnic grouping concerning the values, applications and wider practical utilization and interaction of plant species by humanity; including their clothing, construction, ornamental, initiation ceremonies, farming, nutritional, medical, religious and many other aspects of uses in the course of their life [2,21,22].

Herbalism

A traditional medicinal or folk medicine practice based on the use of plants and/or plant extracts intended for medicinal purposes or for supplementing a diet (nutraceutical) with the aim of providing healing effects. Herbalism is also variously known as botanical medicine, medical herbalism, herbal medicine, herbology and phytotherapy.

Phytotherapy

From the Greek, “phyton” meaning “plant” and “therapeuein” meaning “to take care of, to heal,” this is the term used to describe medical herbalism too, is a science-based medical practice of using plant-derived medications in the treatment, management and prevention of diseases based on their empirical evidences of their medical potential and value [23].

Zoopharmacognosy

Is a broad terminology referring to a natural-based behaviour in which non-human animals apparently self-medicate by selecting and ingesting, absorbing or topically applying plants, soils, insects and psychoactive drugs or humans using animals, animal parts and products to prevent and/or therapeutically to reduce the harmful effects of pathogens and toxins as prophylactic and/ or curative measures, respectively [24-27]. This terminology originated from the Greek roots, zoo (meaning, “animal”), pharma (meaning “drug”) and gnosy (meaning “knowing”) and ever since its origin in 1993, it has found its position in the mainstream of administration of academia and research as independent discipline [27-29]. It involves what Caroline Ingraham described in 1984 as “evolution of animals’ behaviour to cope with potential health threats including disease and injury, through the development of solutions to restore health by self-diagnosing and administering medicinal compounds naturally found in the immediate environment.” Nevertheless, Ingraham’s philosophical statement of Applied Zoopharmacognosy has been heavily criticized by the author of The Skept Vet (http://skeptvet.com/Blog/2016/10/the-natural-nonsense- that-is-applied-zoopharmacognosy/).

Geophagy (with ethnomedicinal and nutraceutical values) (also known as geophagia)

The practice, in some world tribal and ethnic societies of eating earthy substances (such as clay) that in humans is performed especially to augment a scanty or mineral-deficient diet or as part of a cultural tradition that is associated with ethnomedicinal value and/or bodily requirements of organisms [30-32]. From different viewpoints, geophagy has been regarded as a psychiatric disease, a culturally sanctioned practice or a sequel to poverty and famine [31,33].

Microorganisms as ethnomedicines

The search for drugs from microorganisms to manage human health and that of other organisms is more recent and not based on ethnomedicinal root records in time and space as is associated with evolutionary history of humans [34]. Probably of particular significance to note is a considerable part of the currently available conventional pharmaceuticals in clinical use being comprised of drugs derived from microorganisms too [13]. Through the practice of geophagy therefore, humans may be consuming a lot of microorganisms unknowingly and henceforth, benefiting greatly from their useful natural compounds available in the soils with curative, protective and preventive properties [32]. It follows with logical necessity that a considerable part of the medicinal value of soils may be attributed to the existence of these microorganisms as soil-based bioresources with medically useful compounds.

Ritual medicines

In this context, it refers to a sequence of activities and/or events practically involving gestures, words (utterances, known as performatives) and objects performed in a sequestered place and according to set sequence of social custom, taboos and/or normal protocol, more often as part of a traditional religious ceremony in performing divine and/or holy services but with a view to getting holistic curative, protective and preventive remedies [35-37]. Ritual is more related to performing religious services as a methodological measure of religiosity level although characterized by formalism, traditionalism, invariance, rule-governance, sacral symbolism and performance [36,38,39]. It is full of genres and anthropological theories that govern human evolutionary processes in the society [40-42].

Complementary medicine (CM)

The terms “complementary medicine” or “alternative medicine” refer to a broad set of health care practices that are not part of that country’s own tradition or conventional medicine and are not fully integrated into the dominant healthcare system. They are interchangeably used with traditional medicine in some countries.

Spirituality

It explores life purpose/meaning and relates to religious conviction, involving deep feelings or beliefs of a religious nature and the quality of being concerned with the human spirit or soul (and/ or mental or emotional communion) rather than the material or physical values or pursuits in life. However, religion and spirituality are not the same thing, nor are they entirely distinct from one another but the two are closely related and may offer questions and answers about the infinite, provide support during emotional crises and invoke a sense of awe, wonder, and reverence. Conversely, life issues relating to comfort, beliefs, reflection, ethics and awe are all common to both religion and spirituality, thus affecting the way one think, feel and behave in the society. Nevertheless, Mastin [43] defined spirituality as, the measure of how willing we are to allow Grace (loveliness)-some power greater than ourselves-to enter our lives and guide us along our way, thus being how loving you are, how unconditionally accepting you are toward yourself and others. Spirituality takes charge of one’s emotional health and wellbeing (a state of being in alignment (body, mind, and spirit)) and refers to the way individuals experience their connectedness, energization, contentment and balancing to the moment, to self, to others, to nature and to the most significant or sacred and/or supernatural powers.

Divinity

In religion sense, divinity or godhead is the state of things that are believed to come from a supernatural power or deity (holy being), such as a god, goddess, Supreme Being, creator deity or spirits and are therefore regarded as sacred and holy. Such things are regarded as divine due to their transcendental origins or because their attributes or qualities are superior or supreme relative to things of the Earth. Divine things are regarded as eternal and based in truth, while material things are regarded as ephemeral and based in illusion. Such things that may qualify as divine are apparitions, visions, prophecies, miracles, and in some views also the soul, or more general things like resurrection, immortality, grace, and salvation. Otherwise what is or is not divine may be accordingly defined based on the ethnicity, beliefs, lifestyle, religiosity levels and at times, personality and environmental situation in one’s life. Above all, supernatural powers and associated holiness and being sacred in divinity make sense in an ordinary life when it provides holistic curative, protective and preventive remedies in ill-health situations in the society [35-37].

Ethnoknowledge systems (such as Ethnobotany, Ethnozoology, Witchcraft, Ethnomedicines, Ethnography etc)

Is geographic and/or ethnic-based traditionally defined complex body of knowledge (information), practices, norms, taboos, cultures and believes that normally guide day-to-day livelihoods of individuals belonging to a specific geographic location and/or ethnic grouping regarding their socio-cultural wellbeing, health, leadership, governance, economic life, relationships, informal education etc. The coherent ensemble of this complex body of knowledge (information), practices, norms, taboos, cultures and believes is build up from a wide range of sources (inherently within and without) in time and space throughout the evolutionary history of that particular geographic location and/or ethnic grouping [44,45]. The holistic nature and interconnectedness of ethnoknowledge systems in human societies in which they exist, make them very unique, to be held in high esteem, independent and as a fundamental resource for growth and development of ever evolving humanity. It therefore follows with logical necessity that the efficiency and efficacy of every defined athenahealth system may be appropriately and favorably measured in a culturally appropriated way, and the failure to consider the existing cultural context and framework within which it operates may result in its misunderstandings and failure to achieve the desired results [46- 48].

Cultural life

Refers to upholding the professional ethics of ethnopractices, ethnomedicines, ethnoknowledge, norms, taboos, cultures and believes of the various components of ethnoknowledge systems within any one given existing cultural context and framework. Culture itself is the sum total of people’s way of life through evolutionary history since antiquity, thus referring to their entire social behaviour, mindset ethnic-based orientations and norms (informal understandings that govern the behaviour of members of a particular society) found in human societies and expressed in all sorts of forms, both physically (objects and architecture they make or have made) and immaterially (values, belief systems, attitudes, rules, norms, morals, language, organizations, and institutions) [2]. Culture also considers values of the people and the ways they think about and understand the world around them and their own lives [49,50].

Ethnosurgery mechanisms and fracture making

Is a highly evolved and specialized form of traditional medicine that breaks bones to remove bad areas and restores bone tissues to their original physical and mechanical properties using plants and their extracts and poultice together with splint without cast and with the application of systematic massage [51-56]. The use of natural products, majorly plant-based in healing bone fractures is an indicator that phytochemicals may be developed as potential therapy for facilitating the healing process of bone fractures [57]. Nevertheless, how traditional medicine achieves a highly sophisticated kind of postnatal regenerative process that recapitulates many of the ontological events of embryonic skeletal development [58], has ever remained a mystery to many observers!

Ethnopsychotherapy

Also called Traditional Psychotherapy, just like any other types of therapies, aims to mitigate social, developmental, behavioural and emotional difficulties and irrational thoughts, beliefs, cognitions, behaviours and feelings by use and application of the knowledge of the science of behaviour and mind, including conscious and unconscious phenomena, as well as feeling and thought to interact with another affected person to help change the person and overcome problems in desired ways [59,60]. The rationale of undergoing psychotherapeutic processes is to continuously improve an individual’s well-being and mental health, to resolve or mitigate troublesome behaviours, beliefs, compulsions, thoughts, or emotions and to improve relationships and social skills of the affected person in the society while integrating mind, heart, body and spirit but not spirituality unless it is regarding bereavement [61-64]. Certain psychotherapies are considered evidence-based for treating some diagnosed mental disorders in life of certain individuals [64-68].

Phytonutrients

(also called phytochemicals, originates from the Greek word, “phyton” meaning “plant” and from the Latin word, “nūtrīre” meaning “nourish”. These are substances found in certain plants, which are believed to protect plants from damaging environment in which the plants exist and are beneficial to human health and help prevent various diseases. Plant foods contain thousands of natural chemicals, which help protect plants from germs, fungi, bugs, and other threats. Phytonutrients aren’t essential for keeping one alive, unlike the vitamins and minerals that plant foods contain. But when you eat or drink phytonutrients, they may help prevent various diseases and keep your body working properly. Examples include carotenoids, ellagic acid, sulphides, thiols, flavonoids, Proanthocyanidins, flavan-3-ols, resveratrol, phytosterols glucosinolates, anthocyanins, lycopene, phytoestrogens etc., obtained from foods such as fruits, vegetables, herbs and spices including whole grains, nuts, beans, tomatoes, tea, tofu, dates, peppermint, cloves, berries, olives, nutrition-rich onions, leeks, grape juice extracts, cranberries, cocoa, strawberries, nutrition-loaded tomatoes, carrots, sweet potatoes, coffee, garlic, beets, black pepper, cardamom, blueberries, broccoli, asparagus, dandelion tea, earl grey tea, wine, chai tea and green tea are examples of foods high in phytonutrients. Phytonutrients are the basis for more than 40 percent of medications today and have become a great resource of treatment of a wide range of diseases such as pulmonary and cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, obesity and cancer. Phytonutrients also provide colour, flavour and smell to plants. Medicinal plants that are high in phytonutrients include: aloe vera, arnica, arrowroot, milk thistle, clove, dandelion, ginkgo biloba, ginseng, lavender, peppermint, St. John’s wort, Witch Hazel etc.

Nutraceuticals

Are products derived from food sources that are purported to provide extra health benefits, in addition to the basic nutritional value found in foods. Nutraceutical products have been found to prevent chronic diseases, improve health, delay the aging process, increase life expectance and support the structure or function of the body.

Traditional Birth Attendants (TBA)

Also known as a traditional midwife, community midwife or lay midwife, is a pregnancy and childbirth care provider who assists a woman during labour and delivery with skills learned by apprenticeship or personal experience rather than by formal training [69]. Traditional birth attendants provide the majority of primary maternity healthcare in many developing countries and may function within specific communities in developed countries [70,71]. Traditional midwives provide basic healthcare, support and advice during and after pregnancy and childbirth, based primarily on experience and knowledge acquired informally through the traditions and practices of the communities where they originated [72-74]. Many traditional midwives are also herbalists, or other traditional healers in their own unique ways. They may or may not be integrated in the formal healthcare system and sometimes serve as a bridge between the community and the formal health system and may accompany women to health facilities for delivery [69,75].

Anthroposophic medicine (massage, exercises, counselling and substances from plants, animals, soils, water, minerals, microorganisms etc.)

Anthroposophic medicine (or anthroposophical medicine) is a form of alternative medicine. Devised in the 1920s by Rudolf Steiner (1861-1925) in conjunction with Ita Wegman (1876- 1943), anthroposophical medicine is based on occult notions and draws on Steiner’s spiritual philosophy, which he called anthroposophy. Practitioners employ a variety of treatment techniques based upon anthroposophic precepts, including massage, exercise, counselling, and substances [76-78].

Naturopathy or naturopathic medicine

Is a form of alternative medicine that employs an array of pseudoscientific practices branded as “natural”, “non-invasive”, and as promoting “self-healing”. The ideology and methods of naturopathy are based on vitalism and folk medicine, rather than evidence-based conventional medicine. A Naturopath is a health practitioner who applies natural therapies. Her/his spectrum comprises far more than fasting, nutrition, water, and exercise; it includes approved natural healing practices such as Homeopathy, Acupuncture, and Herbal Medicine, as well as the use of modern methods like Bio-Resonance

Homeopathy

Is a system of alternative medicine created in 1796 by Samuel Hahnemann, based on his doctrine of like cures like (similia similibus curentur), a claim that a substance that causes the symptoms of a disease in healthy people would cure similar symptoms in sick people? Homeopathy, or Homeopathic Medicine, is the practice of medicine that embraces a holistic, natural approach to the treatment of the sick. Homeopathy is holistic because it treats the person as a whole, rather than focusing on a diseased part or a labelled sickness.

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Milestones in Ethnomedicines Industry in Kenya:Legislative and Regulatory Framework

It is not exactly known with certainty when humans started practicing ethnomedicines but documentations indicate early records began some 4000 years ago [79] and it may be as old as human history on the Planet Earth. Nevertheless, since pre-historic times, ethnomedicine industry within the various ethnoknowledge systems and ethnic-based cultural settings provided the only sources of healthcare systems worldwide, Kenya included [48,80- 82]. Therefore, since antiquity, this form of healthcare system was well established and unequivocally trusted to take care of any nature of ill-health in human environments [83-86], as its method of discovery must have presented a lot of challenges to these early humans who turned to be guinea pigs in the “laboratory” (in this case, bushes and/or homesteads) for testing. Risks involved consuming poisonous material that resulted into physical damage (both internal and external), chronic diseases, vomiting, diarrhea, coma and even death [20]. By this strategy, the early humans dis covered a variety of food stuffs from plants as well as a wide range of natural medicines [87]. Following scientific evolution and revolution, particularly from 15th Century provided an evidence-based standard of medication and the entire healthcare systems that gave birth to conventional medicine that spread around the world through missionaries, colonialism, slave trade and recruitment to participate into world wars took place [88]. Unfortunately, the spread of conventional medicine occurred at the expense of ethnomedicine industry, which was in return, severely condemned. In reality therefore, this conventional medicine should be the Alternative medicine and vice versa. For instance, in Kenya, the Colonial 1910 Medical Practitioners and Dentists Ordinance therefore did not recognize ethnomedicine industry as a result of its international condemnation and wholesome dismissal and henceforth, total rejection. Rejection of ethnomedicine industry continued post-colonial era with the succeeding African governments, for instance in Kenya, ethnopractitioners were continually condemned in 1969 by former President, the late Mzee Jomo Kenyatta, who did not want to embrace the practice of ethnomedicines at any level, albeit being brought up in such an environment under the care of ethnopractitioners. This was a case of the influence of the western powers on succeeding African governments, a manifestation of the importation of the European law (English Common Law) into Africa that experienced conflict between the foreign law and the indigenous African customary rules, norms, taboos, culture and heritage as the case of Kenya’s Witchcraft Act (Cap. 67) that came into force on 12th November, 1925, Uganda’s Witchcraft Act (Cap. 108) that came into force on 28th March, 1976 and the Tanganyika’s Witchcraft Ordinance (Cap. 18) that came into force on 28th December, 1928 [89]. Noted that these laws were completely rejected as they failed to take into account the customary rules, heritage and socio-economic ethos of the people of East Africa that they were supposed to regulate, notwithstanding the existence of other institutions for their enforcement. It is important to note that these laws were introduced to condemn the practice of ethnomedicines as was equated to witchcraft by the then colonial masters throughout the entire of East Africa region. By this kind of intimidation, the ethnopractitioners were practically threatened and put in a position of dilemma where they could not be able to provide culturally competent and appropriate healthcare services to their clients [90]. Following this reaction, many ethnopractitioners abandoned their work at the expense of Christianity, Islamic and other religious faith and being loyal to the then ruling political regime, a situation that led to the underdevelopment of the entire industry of ethnomedicines.

A. However, the state of affairs of the use and application of ethnomedicines drastically changed when World Health Organization (WHO) realized the value and importance of ethnomedicines in healthcare systems, particularly in Primary Healthcare System of the developing countries [1] Following this realization, ethnomedicines was incorporated into Kenya’s national health policy framework in the late 1970s following the Alma-Ata Declaration, adopted by WHO, UNICEF in 1978 [1], from where it was resolved that traditional medicine had to be incorporated in the healthcare systems of developing countries if the objective of the “Health for All by the Year 2000” was to be realized. “Although traditional medicine has been used for thousands of years and has made great contributions to human health, the Alma-Ata Declaration was the first recognition of the role of traditional medicine and its ethnopractitioners in primary healthcare by WHO and its Member States and Governments”, noted by WHO secretariat. However, African countries did not seriously consider this declaration as important as WHO itself. Nevertheless, Member States and Governments and WHO governing bodies, Kenya included, have adopted a number of resolutions and declarations on traditional medicines ever since the Alma-Atta Declaration of 1978 [1] and have differently impacted on member states and governments include the following noted milestones with special reference to World Health Organization where possible: a) In 1984, a Traditional Medicines and Drugs Research Centre (TMDRC) was established as part of the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI) to help validate the use and practice of ethnomedicines. For the last 24 years, TMDRC focused on research and development (R&D) without special attention to capacity building component at all levels and embracing the continuum of togetherness for specifically, strategic promotion of the sustainable use and practice of ethnomedicines amongst local and native communities. b) Kenya’s Development Plan 1989-1993 (34) recognized ethnomedicines and made a commitment to promote the welfare of ethnopractitioners who were condemned in 1969 by the then, President, the late Mzee Jomo Kenyatta. c) In 1999, Kenya’s Patent Law was revised to include protection for traditional medicines and its practices. d) Following WHO affirmative action, the Member States and Governments of the WHO African Region adopted a resolution in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, in August 31st, 2000 called “Promoting the role of traditional medicine in healthcare systems: A strategy for the African Region Committee.” This strategy provided for the institutionalization of traditional medicine in healthcare systems of the member states and governments of the WHO African Region. e) In Lusaka in July 2001, the Organization of the African Unity (OAU) Heads of State and Government declared the period 2001 - 2010 as the African Decade on African Traditional Medicine. f) In May 2002, World Health Assembly (WHA) launched the first ever WHO Strategy on Traditional Medicine 2002-2005 to help guide states and governments in developing legal framework that can help in integrating traditional medicine into primary healthcare systems. g) In May 2003, WHA made resolutions to promote traditional medicine, including WHA56.31.

h) In July 2003 in Maputo, the African Summit of Heads of State and Government was held and endorsed the plan of action for implementation of the Decade of African Traditional Medicine declared in Lusaka in July 2001 and the institution of the African Traditional Medicine Day in Member States to be celebrated every year on 31st August with effect from 2003. i) In 2005, National policy on Traditional Medicine and Medicinal Plants was drafted and emphasized the need to take inventory of all the medicinal plants in the country. It also sought to encourage the setting up of nurseries and herb gardens with the ultimate goal of bio-conservation and research. Unfortunately, these recommendations are yet to be passed into law by the Kenyan parliament [91]. j) In May 2008, the National Coordinating Agency for Population and Development (NCAPD), a semi-autonomous Kenya government agency that promotes and coordinates population and development activities in Kenya, developed a policy brief No. 1, Seeking Solutions for Traditional Herbal Medicine: Kenya Develops a National Policy. This policy brief summarized the major issues requiring consideration as Kenya worked to develop a national policy for guiding, promoting and regulating traditional medicine in the country. k) On 26th June, 2008 African Ministers of health and heads of delegation of African countries met in Algiers for the Ministerial Conference on Research for Health in the African Region and adopted The Algiers Declaration in which they agreed to promote research in traditional medicine and strengthen health systems while taking into account the socio-cultural and environmental situation in which the people of Africa live. l) In November, 2008, the first WHO Congress on Traditional Medicine, 7-9 November 2008, Beijing, People’s Republic of China was organized by WHO to further assess the role of Traditional Medicine/Complementary/Alternative Medicine (M/C/ AM), to review the progress of countries and to help Member States integrate TM/C/AM into their national healthcare systems. m) On 8th November, 2008, The Beijing Declaration was adopted to promote the safe and effective use of traditional medicine, and to call on WHO Member States and other stakeholders to take steps to integrate TM/C/AM into national health systems. n) In 2009, WHA resolution on Traditional Medicine was adopted on behalf of member states and governments (WHA62.13, 2009). o) In July 2009, The National Policy on Traditional Knowledge, Genetic Resources and Traditional Cultural Expressions, was drafted in Kenya in response to a growing need to address three main challenges facing the country: accelerating technological development, integration of the world economic, ecological, cultural, trading and information systems and the growing relevance of intellectual property rights to these areas of activity. The policy further sought to protect the owners of indigenous knowledge from being exploited through biopiracy and how accruing benefits could be shared amongst stakeholders involved. p) In 2011, World Bank survey estimated that there were potential 40,000 herbalists in Kenya compared to about 4, 500 conventional doctors. This presented and further revealed a very important human resources (health personnel) already existing in Kenya and whose shortage remains the biggest problem facing the national healthcare sector today as was noted by Dr Alfred Karagu, the then acting Chief Executive Officer at the Ministry’s National Cancer Institute (NCI). q) In 2014, WHO Traditional medicine strategy 2002-2005 was updated as WHO Traditional Medicine Strategy 2014-2023 to help healthcare leaders to develop solutions that contribute to a broader vision of improved health and patient autonomy. The strategy has two key goals: to support Member States (Kenya included) in harnessing the potential contribution of Traditional Medicine/Complementary/Alternative Medicine (TM/C/AM) to health, wellness and people-centred healthcare and to promote the safe and effective use of TM/C/AM through the regulation of products, practices and practitioners. r) Witchcraft Act (Cap. 67) that came into force on 12th November, 1925, Industrial Property Act No. 3 of 2001, The Copyright Act, 2001 (Chapter 130, 2014 Revised Edition), The Protection of Traditional Knowledge and Cultural Expressions Act 2016, and The Health Act 2017 ushered in the use and application of ethnomedicines alongside conventional medicine in Kenya. This Health Act of Kenyan Parliament for the first time legally brings Traditional Medicine/Complementary/Alternative Medicine (TM/C/AM) and ethnopractices fully under the national Ministry of Health alongside conventional medicine. While the bending private Bill at the National Assembly (Kenyan National Parliament), The Traditional Health Practitioners Bill, 20l4, sponsored by Member of Parliament, Rachel Nyamai and another similar Bill, The Traditional Herbal Medicine and Medicinal Plants Bill, 2014, sponsored by the Ministry of Health, once debated and passed, will contribute a great deal to the use, control, management and practice of ethnomedicines in Kenya. It therefore follows with logical necessity that in Kenya, the legal framework of TM/C/AM is gradually taking shape in time and space albeit its state of confusion/competition and resistance from the conventional practitioners. s) In 2017, the 2017-2022 Cancer Strategy launched indicated to educate its health workers and communities on the use and application of ethnomedicines for cancer treatment, control and management. t) These major developments from 2014 through 2015 and 2016 to 2017 culminated in efforts suggested way back in 2002 by the then Minister for Health, Prof. Sam Ongeri; to incorporate ethnomedicines at all levels of Kenya’s healthcare system in order to achieve “Health for All” but this was then strongly opposed by conventional doctors in Kenya, particularly the Kenya Medical Association.

u) In February 2017, during the 7th Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI) Annual Scientific and Health Conference, evidence was presented supporting the use of some more than 20 locally available herbs in treating cancer. v) On Thursday, November 23rd, 2017 Maasai Mara University launched the tree planting exercise of medicinal plant species in its newly established, African Medicinal Botanical Garden (AMBG) at its Main Campus. The AMBG is to serve as one of the main ex-situ and in-situ conservation site in Kenya, as a resource centre for medicinal plants for study, research, consultancy and production. Additionally, this is part of the government’s strategy to combat desertification and increase the county’s forest cover and push it to 10 per cent by 2020. w) On Friday, December 1st, 2017, Maasai Mara University in partnership with the Wuhan Botanical Garden (WBG) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and in collaboration with Sino- Africa Joint Research Centre (SAJOREC), invited His Excellence, the Deputy President of the Republic of Kenya, William Samoei Ruto to commission the established African Medicinal Botanical Garden (AMBG). x) On 15th February, 2018, during the 8th KEMRI Annual Scientific and Health Conference with the Theme: Health Research for sustainable Development held between 14th and 16th February, 2018 at Safari Park Hotel, Nairobi, Kenya, KEMRI’s Traditional Medicines and Drugs Research Centre (TMDRC) organized a special symposium to address the state and way forward of Traditional Medicine/Complementary/Alternative Medicine (TM/C/AM) in Kenya.

y) On 31st August, 2018 and following the endorsement of the plan of action for implementation of the Decade of African Traditional Medicine declared in Lusaka in July 2001 and the institution of the African Traditional Medicine Day in Member States to be celebrated every year on 31st August with effect from 2003, Maasai Mara University organized for the National celebrations of the African Traditional Medicine Day.

z) On Wednesday, May 22nd, 2019 Maasai Mara University launched the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) tree planting exercise of mainly medicinal plant species in its newly established, African Medicinal Botanical Garden (AMBG) at its Main Campus. The AMBG is to serve as one of the main ex-situ and in-situ conservation site in Kenya, as a resource centre for medicinal plants for study, research, consultancy and production. Additionally, this is part of the government’s strategy to combat desertification and increase the county’s forest cover and push it to 10 per cent by 2020.

As much as the three Acts mentioned in i) above need to be put into practice as the debate at the National Assembly awaits The Traditional Health Practitioners Bill, 20l4, and The Traditional Herbal Medicine and Medicinal Plants Bill, 2014, care need to be exercised in order to avoid contradictions and duplication of functions, operations, powers and authority of the various Acts involved in fostering appropriate integration, regulation and supervision at all levels, particularly the regulation of the capacity building, research, products and practice of ethnomedicines as well as ethnopractitioners

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Great Challenges with Ethnomedicines: Public Health Concerns and Required Concerted Efforts

The use of modern science and/or conventional knowledge to measure ethnomedicines as an independent and unique system and two, the failure of conventional medical practitioners to fully recognize and accept ethnomedicines in the healthcare system, pose great challenges on how to alleviate the mistrust that has endured for ages. Restoration of confidence in an ethnomedicinal system labelled as satanic, witchcraft, myth, quack, evil, apprehensive etc, requires concerted efforts at all levels, providing evidence-based knowledge in public domain. Growing use and application of ethnomedicines and their market expansion pose challenges on safety, quality and efficacy of traditional remedies, notably assessment of products and services, qualification of ethnopractitioners, methodology and criteria for evaluating efficacy, which is unique to Traditional and Complementary Medicine (T&CM) and ethnopractitioners. Contaminated an adulterated products are common in ethnomedicine industry and reports of T&CM–based toxicities are also alarming in public [92]. Continued use and application of endangered species such as Slow loris and Shark fins in ethnomedicines without precautions and proper guidelines endanger and threaten the long-term survival of ethnomedicine industry. There is need for the development of the ethnopharmaceutical production policy and regulations governing chain supply strategies of the ethnomedicine industry. This has to be supported by the political will to provide the enabling environment for working and implementation of the Acts. The effect of poisonous ethnomedical resources and use of human as the guinea pig in the “laboratory” is really a worrying factor! The maintenance of a working relationship between ethnopractitioners, conventional practitioners and the industry/academia is indeed challenging. Similarly, the sustainable integration of T&CM into conventional healthcare system and scaling to cover primary, communal and national levels is just an uphill task, in particular identifying and evaluating strategies and criteria for integrating T&CM into national health and primary healthcare (PHC) systems. Lack of development of national policies to guide the sustainable utilization, protection, conservation and preservation of ethnomedical resources: plants, animals, soils and microorganisms versus nature conservation. Limited national organizational arrangements for institutionalization of Traditional and Complementary Medicine. Lack of insurance cover of those patients seeking health services of T&CM. Capacity building in Traditional and Complementary Medicine: what levels and how should the curriculum be developed, controlled and regulated, and by who? In Kenya, the law under development is however silent on this particular aspect, thus presenting a dilemma and creating loopholes that may be used unprofessionally. There is need to develop concerted efforts to address the issues of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) of ethnoknowledge systems, equitable sharing of accruing benefits following commercialization of T&CM, bioprospecting and biopiracy at local, national and international levels. There is also need to ensure the availability of relevant information, enhancing access and promoting rational and international use and application of Traditional and Complementary Medicine

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Which Way Forward for Ethnomedicines? The Recognition of Ethnopractitioners And Continuum of Togetherness.

Dreaming big to improve livelihoods in the society as we all read from the same script without mischief! Recognizing the fact that ethnopractitioners, conventional practitioners and industry, research institutions and academia are all equal partners, collaborators and/or players in health industry in Kenya. As a matter of facts, the three partners/collaborators/players must agree that globally, they are co-existing, competing, communicating, coordinating, collaborating and cooperating in their own unique ways of embracing survivalihood and henceforth, continued evolution of life that is optimally taken care of. Upon this realization, the three partners/collaborators/players should therefore come together to develop concrete, attainable goals and objectives with shared vision and the unique purpose of co-existence. The relationships for engagement should focus on a 3C framework of embracing coordinative, collaborative and cooperative in order to realize the unique purpose of co-existence in the health industry. The collaborative arm will ensure that the three partners are all equally involved in a plan or activity work together in an organized way for effective results and mutual benefit, authority and accountability for success and sharing of resources and rewards. The cooperative arm will ensure working jointly with others or together especially in an intellectual endeavor for effective results. While the coordinative arm will ensure that the three partners are working together to create or achieve the same thing. All these levels of engagements will improve the weaknesses of the three partners a great deal while building their strengths to greater heights as they grow and develop a healthy society [93-96].

I. The suggested continuum of togetherness should be able to: 1. Develop a robust and sustainable strategic mechanism of sensitization of the ethnomedicines at all levels in the local and native communities. 2. Provide a harmonious working relationship between ethnopractitioners and conventional practitioners with a view to institutionalizing traditional medicines in healthcare systems, jointly developing sustainable policies and products for implementation and unbiased regulatory mechanisms. 3. Initiate ethnomedicines research and development agenda involving ethnopractitioners, conventional practitioners and industry, research institutions, industry and academia to help provide scientific evidence on safety, efficacy and quality of ethnomedicines where necessary as observed during the Ministerial Conference on Research for Health in the African Region, held in Algiers, Algeria, from 23rd to 26th June, 2008 and adopted as the Algiers Declaration, 2008. 4. Initiate a regulated and controlled capacity building framework at all levels, including refresher courses for leading ethnopractitioners, Professional Certificate, Diploma, Undergraduate Degree programmes, master’s degree and Doctoral Degrees. However, integrate WHO-based training tools in traditional medicines and Primary Healthcare (PHC) to the training programmes, syllabi and curricula.

5. Renew the lost glory in traditional medicines by recognizing ethnopractioners as equal partners through a well-structured institutional-based policy document on Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) to protect the interest of the indigenous communities and its ethnopractitioners and taking into account fair and equitable sharing of benefits of relevant holders, in collaboration with relevant partners with regard to WIPO requirements in Geneva and as per the multilateral treaty, Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) signed by 150 government leaders at the 1992 Rio Earth Summit. The Convention on Biological Diversity is an international legally binding treaty with three main goals: conservation of biodiversity; sustainable use of biodiversity; fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising from the use of genetic resources. The WHO guidelines and regulatory frameworks for the protection of traditional medical knowledge and access to biological resources to their specific situations can therefore be guaranteed.

6. Initiate the formation of a regulatory National Board for Traditional Medicines, which will regulate and control the practice of traditional medicines, ethnomedical resources and capacity building at all levels including, refresher workshop- based training programmes for leading ethnopractitioners, Professional Certificates, Diploma, Undergraduate Degrees, master’s degrees and Doctoral Degrees. Will focus on capacity building skills in problem solving, communication, synthesis of information and working ability. 7. Promote collaboration and partnership amongst the three partners and play a key role in allocating and mobilizing adequate resources and strengthening capacity-building. 8. Harmonize the relevant sections of The Protection of Traditional Knowledge and Cultural Expressions Act, 2016 and Health Act 2017 together with that of the bending Bills at the Kenyan National Parliament, The Traditional Health Practitioners Bill, 20l4 and The Traditional Herbal Medicine and Medicinal Plants Bill, 2014, into one formidable Act that addresses all aspects surrounding ethnomedicine industry in Kenya.

9. An all-inclusive national taskforce with clear terms of reference need to be set up, with leadership preferably from the academia (because of its robust constitutional mandates on capacity building, research, community outreach and consultancy) so that a concept is drafted for discussion with the parliamentary committee in-charge of health in preparation for the development of a Bill to be tabled on the floor of the Parliament for debate and subsequent development into Act. 10. Promote interdisciplinary systems such as Traditional and Complementary Medicine to work in integrated approach to generate solutions to complex, dynamic societal problems, manage adoptively and inform decision-making processes. 11. Enhance resource mobilization, wealth creation and improvement of the livelihoods of marginalized communities identified to be the custodians of the indigenous knowledge, Traditional and Complementary Medicine and ethnopractices faced with either exploitation and/or extinction.

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Anticipated Benefits Accruing from the Envisioned Continuum of Togetherness

Recognizing ethnomedicines as having a wide variety of therapies and practices and as one of the resources of primary healthcare services familiar to many people in the world, its growth and development through partnership and collaboration of ethnopractitioners, conventional practitioners and industry, research institutions and academia as equal partners in the health industry will result into a lot of benefits as follows:

i. Improved health and livelihoods in the society due to increased availability, accessibility and affordability of healthcare services. ii. Quality training/teaching of students, this is good for society. iii. Increase in business and profit-making for involved partners. iv. Increase in amount of research for partner institutions. v. Sustainable utilization of natural resources and conservation strategies. vi. Improved health industry at all levels. vii. Increased employment opportunities. viii. Ranking of institutions involved improves nationally and internationally. ix. The interaction makes staff improve in competencies. x. Increase in research output in form of products, publications and patents etc. xi. Pooling resources and individual strength together for a common goal xii. Increased and improved commercialization of knowledge xiii. Joint sourcing of research funds: easy to get! xiv. Sharing of research facilities and rewards.

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The Case of Maasai Mara University in Narok County,Kenya

Maasai Mara University has partnered with The Wuhan Botanical Garden (WBG) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), and in collaboration with Sino-Africa Joint Research Centre (SAJOREC) to establish an African Medicinal Botanical Garden (AMBG) at the Main Campus of the University. This idea of collaboration of a Chinese- aided China-Africa Joint Research Centre in Kenya, where African and Chinese researchers would conduct joint research, was conceived during deliberations between Prof. Robert W. Gituru of Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) and his Chinese research counterpart, Prof. Wang Qing Feng, in 1999. Ever since its establishment, the Sino-Kenya ties has yielded a lot of fruits, among them, the ‘Sino-Kenyan Scientists’ Workshops’, the JKUAT Botanical Garden, training sessions for African stakeholders to various Universities and research institutes in China, scholarships for Kenyan students to the prestigious University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, and the on-going work of African Medicinal Botanical Garden of Maasai Mara University, Narok County.

The University is developing the African Medicinal Botanical Garden on a 20-acre land to support teaching, consultancy, community outreach services, research and product development in the areas of Traditional Medicine/Complementary/Alternative Medicine (TM/C/AM) (Figure 1). The AMBG will serve as one of the main ex-situ conservation sites in Kenya, as an ethnobotanical and ethnomedicine resource centre for study, research, product development and consultancy, and as a centre for information dissemination on ethnobotanicals, ethnomedicines as well as general ethnoknowledge. The project commenced by planting a few available medicinal plant species (1053 seedlings comprising 67 species) from the nurseries of trees of Kenya Forestry Research Institute (KEFRI) headquarters and elsewhere in its branches during any rain seasons. Additional planting took place with medicinal plant species, which were raised in a plant nursery established at the University’s Main Campus, Narok County following capacity building of the University’s staff.

Careful observation of Figure 1 indicates that the area is a semi-arid one, therefore implying that the area has limited amount of water supply and/or availability. The University therefore innovatively devised a technology of cleaning wastewater using a biological means, which is Common Water Hyacinth plants filtering system. Semi-cleaned wastewater from the sewage is pumped into a series of joined compartments, each filled with the Common Water Hyacinth plants for further purification before it is released in the field for watering plants at various designated water points. Meanwhile, in preparing to ensure that as a stakeholder institution, Traditional and Complementary Medicine work in integrated approach, the University is keen at establishing the state-of-theart laboratories for teaching, research and product developmentIn addition, the University is planning to engage the local communities so as to partner and collaborate with them in research and product development in the areas of Traditional Medicine and capacity building.

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Conclusion

It is important to fast track the organization and integration of ethnomedicines into the mainstream conventional healthcare systems at all levels and in line with the WHO guidelines and standards as outlined in its resolutions, declarations and strategies within the framework of the country’s constitution. For sustainable growth and development of Traditional Medicine/Complementary/ Alternative Medicine in Kenya, the two Acts and the two Bills yet to be tabled in the National Assembly, there is need to be harmonized them into one formidable Act through a national task force, preferably led by the academia for its strong constitutional mandates on capacity building, research, consultancy, community outreach services and policy formulation. In this Act, clarity on control and regulation of capacity building, research, practice, Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs), well defined functions, powers and authority of the Council/Board, mandates of operating committees and sub-committees, and consultation and inclusivity amongst concerned stakeholders should not be ignored. It should be noted further that IPRs are protected in law by, for example, patents, industrial designs, copyright, geographical indications and trademarks to help foster a culture in which innovation and creativity are celebrated, protected and enable people to earn recognition or financial benefit from what they invent or create.

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Acknowledgements

We are very grateful to the Wuhan Botanical Garden (WBG) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), and Sino-Africa Joint Research Centre (SAJOREC) to partner and collaborate in establishing an African Medicinal Botanical Garden (AMBG) at the Main Campus of Maasai Mara University. We are also thankful to the organizers of the 8th KEMRI Annual Scientific and Health Conference with the Theme: Health Research for sustainable Development held between 14th and 16th February, 2018 at Safari Park Hotel, Nairobi, Kenya, where this manuscript was first presented and critiqued by colleagues during the KEMRI’s Traditional Medicines and Drugs Research Centre (TMDRC) organized symposium to address the state and way forward of Traditional Medicine/Complementary/Alternative Medicine (TM/C/AM) in Kenya. To them all we are very grateful.

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For more articles please click on Journal of Complementary Medicine & Alternative Healthcare

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magikalgaming · 6 years

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J.R.R Tolkien's Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit enthusiastically recommend dishes to Square Enix’s Final Fantasy 15 with their mouths half-full.

Drink of Choice: Lemon Water

Magic rings, delicious food, and sacrifice bring these unlikely friends in conversation. Tolkien’s works are undoubtedly foundational tools for most contemporary high fantasy stories, and the Final Fantasy series has grown with the the genre for over a decade. Oddly, both these narratives use a vastly overlooked and underrated symbol to emphasize the perpetual danger their main characters - Noctis and Frodo/Bilbo encounter - food.

Final Fantasy 15’s cooking mechanic is simple, less a mini-game and more an aesthetically pleasing feature that provides stat buffs. You could almost forget about it entirely, were it not for the incessant, meme-worthy quote from Ignis Scientia, “That’s it! I’ve come up with a new recipe.” Mid-dungeon Ignis finds he must tell you that Creamy Fowl Sauté is totally possible now. You beat a difficult mini-boss with an emotional cut scene,but the menu now has Fluffy Chiffon Cake, fam. The sheer amount of times players hear his token phrase is absurd, but on some level, it brings food in conversation with survival. Sure, you need food to survive, but why include the option to make recipes and gather ingredients? How do we reconcile staggering out of battle and picking up mushrooms after for the next five minutes?

The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit offer a very similar theme in the scope of their adventures. FF15’s and LOR/TH’s narratives drive back and forth between imminent danger and the desire for food. The very description of a “hobbit” includes their love for food, and events like Bilbo’s Birthday Party in LOR highlight that notion. The event’s magnitude is measured by how much food was ordered, and its success expressed by how much of the food was consumed. Main characters Bilbo and Sam/Frodo come pre-equipped with food being thematic and central to their personalities. Because these three characters had not experienced being outside the Shire and in danger before their quests began, we find food to be indicative of daily life and peace. Once the narrative takes the hobbits outside their territory and into precarious lifestyles, it becomes indicative of something much more important and overwhelming - the eventual triumph over evil. I’m careful not to use the word survival in this definition, as Frodo expresses throughout LOR that he expects to die during the scope of his trial. Like in FF15, there are many moments where Bilbo or Sam/Frodo engage in battle and after rest and eat.

FF15 conditions players to equate Ignis making food with safety and friendship. The campsites that the team retires to represents both sanctuary and camaraderie, and character relationships are strengthened when new or favorite meals are prepared. Ignis will also ask Noctis to assist him with the cooking, which highlights their relationship as friends and equals, rather than ruler and subject. These mealtime scenes also reveal past circumstances and a broader narrative foundation that would otherwise go unsaid. LOR’s version of Ignis is quite visibly Sam, who carries around pots and pans and, upon having to let them go near the end of their quest, feels woeful and reluctant. The role of the cook in both these narratives is the role of the nurturer. Both Frodo and Noctis carry a self-sacrificing burden, near inescapable, and feeding them becomes a small way of Sam and Ignis providing support in an impossible situation.

The absence of good food is palpable in both stories at select times. LOR weans Sam away from being able to provide nourishment once the duo enter Mordor, and they henceforth rely on lembas to keep their bodies functioning. It becomes akin to rations, bland yet encouraging. You could separate LOR’s good and difficult moments by evaluating if there is an abundance of food or an absence of it during a given moment. FF15 works the same way. DLC’s for each character removes them from the group dynamic in order to tackle a personal challenge. In a similar vein of survival, Episode Gladiolus features Gladio and Cor eating Cup Noodles at their campsites, and the tone is drastically distant and serious from the ones that feature the team of teens. Episode Prompto shows him eating canned food and dreamily thinking about Ignis’s cooking (much in the same way Frodo and Sam dream of the Shire’s cuisine during their darker days). Interestingly, Episode Ignis does not show the talented cook making himself meals. We see him drinking Ebony, a canned coffee that is said to be Ignis’s favorite drink. It’s odd to see such an integral part of his character, as chef, go unspoken and unused in his own DLC. It reveals that food isn’t a part of his character, but providing for his friends is. Why make Pork Cutlet Sandwiches when there’s no one there to enjoy them?

In an interview with FF15’s game developer, Tomohiro Hasegawa commented, “In the game, food is part of the expression of each city’s culture. However, what was important was not to focus on particular cultures, but to give the impression of traveling long distances by showing how culinary cultures change by region” (Reynolds). The road trip turned survival mission underscores the groups travel and unfamiliarity with their surroundings. Some recipes aren’t acquired unless you visit restaurants and try the local cuisine, such as Lestallum’s Bird Broth Rice and Curry, which unlocks Peppery Daggerquill Rice. On the other hand, chains like Crow’s Nest Diner offer the same dishes no matter where you go, reminding players of places like Denny's and ihop. The inclusion of eating makes characters more relatable and provides an edible record of the places Noctis and Co. have traveled.

You could easily make a similar record with LOR/TH. In moments of survival and struggle Frodo and Sam rely on lembas while Bilbo and Co. turn to cram. In LOR Gimli comments that lembas reminds him of honey cake made by the Beornings. These foods are described as bland but filling and long-lasting, and only lembas has extra magic included. Miruvor, an elvish mead, is given to Gandalf at the start of his journey in LOR to provide warmth and strength, through it is mainly used at elvish festivals. Held captive, Merry and Pippin are forced to down Grog by the orc Uglúk, and it grants them brief strength on their trip to Isengard. When evaluated, we find that most all food that is specially described and fictional in LOR/TH are foods that are self-sustaining and provide strength. Even Ent-Wash, which Merry and Pippin drink heartily, cause them to physically grow taller and larger during their attempts to overthrow Isengard. While food in FF15 informs players about friendships and emits safety, LOR/TH showcases food as a tool of war - necessary in order to turn the tides of battle.

The rings. How could we not talk about the rings? Both FF15 and LOR/TH feature reluctant ring bearers, and the rings themselves are charged with power. But what does this have to do with food? Well, if we think about food as that which is consumed and the eater as the consumer, I can’t help but think of Noctis and Frodo/Bilbo as predators turned prey. Both Frodo and Bilbo are almost literally eaten by their respective attackers, and Bilbo even listens to trolls discuss the best methods to season and cook him. While monsters never actually attempt to eat Noctis, he is hunted and, in the end, consumed by another force - the ring. The ring. The rings. Frodo’s constant psychic battles with the ring seems to invigorate and empower him while weakening his mind and heart. You could say that the ring consumes Frodo by feeding him. His reservations about surviving his relationship with the ring are slim, and the withdrawal effects are reminiscent of an addict starving for a drug. Power is food. Food is power.

And Noctis? Well, his ring feeds him by consuming him. One of FF15′s loading screens explains, “Harboring the souls of Lucian rulers of old, the ring allows its wearer to channel the power of the Crystal—but drains away one's life.” As a family heirloom, it represents leadership of an entire kingdom alongside its magical abilities. During a specific part of the game the ring is the only weapon available, making it a protective rather than a dangerous. However, toward the end of the game Noctis is consumed, literally, by a crystal. When he finally emerges time has fast-forwarded and the world is in ruins. He calls on all the forces of the ancestral ring in order to defeat Ardyn (the villain), and is ultimately sacrificed in the process. Both he and Frodo only truly accept the quest of the ring once they decide their lives are forfeit.

Food can be a magical and mysterious concept, but most often it’s a part of daily life and representative of normalcy. However, these two fantastical narratives encourage us to slow down, take it in, pull up a friend, and recover.

Credits and Sources

Reynolds, Whitney. “The Food in 'Final Fantasy XV' Is Insanely Realistic.” Eater,

Eater, 21 Dec. 2016, www.eater.com/2016/12/21/14030230/final-fantasy-

vx-15-food-review.

Tolkien, J. R. R., and Alan Lee. The Hobbit. HarperCollins, 2008.

Tolkien, J. R. R., and Wayne G. Hammond. The Lord of the Rings.

HarperCollins, 2014.

Final Fantasy 15. PS4, Square Enix, 2016.

Pictures/Gifs in order of appearance:

1. @celebquote, https://weheartit.com/entry/46608611

2. indeimaus, https://twitter.com/indeimaus/status/844791841492951041

3. https://gifer.com/en/VGZQ

4. kechua, https://www.gosunoob.com/final-fantasy-xv/camping-screenshots-from-ff-xv/

5. http://aagamerumahgamers.blogspot.com/2016/10/cooking-mini-game-on-final-fantasy-xv.html

6. ACTUALMAIRON, https://tolkienthinktank.wordpress.com/2015/10/02/lembas-flatbread-recipe/

7. Katie, https://www.thefandomentals.com/frodo-and-failure-at-mount-doom/

8. cine yuinimix, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YVDavUot3sI

9. TheGamesEntertainer, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qxGm67c4i3E

10. https://21stcenturyhobbit.wordpress.com/2015/01/03/happy-birthday-j-r-r-tolkien/

#finalfantasy15 #food #gamestudies #gamescriticism #closereading #lord of the rings #tolkien #thehobbit

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psychic-readingonline · 6 years

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Mysticism Research Paper

Contents

Hermetic qabalah (

Orthodox christianity (

Main article: perennial philosophy. scholarly

Black magic? tantra

Specially prepared diederich

Helpful occult truths

Mysticism is the practice of religious ecstasies together with whatever ideologies, ethics, rites, … This article is about mystical traditions. …. According to Ana Jiménez San Cristobal in her study of Greco-Roman mysteries and Orphism, the …

Kabbalah Mysticism Occult hermetic qabalah (from Hebrew קַבָּלָה (qabalah), meaning ‘reception, accounting’) is a Western esoteric tradition involving mysticism and the occult.It is the underlying philosophy and framework for magical societies such as the Golden Dawn, Thelemic orders, mystical-religious societies such as the Builders of the Adytum and the Fellowship of the Rosy Cross, and is a precursor Mysticism And Magic In Turkey Pdf Mysticism In orthodox christianity (From myein, to initiate).. Mysticism, according to its etymology, implies a relation to mystery.In philosophy, Mysticism is either a religious tendency and desire of the human soul towards an intimate union with the Divinity, or a system growing out of such a tendency and desire. As a philosophical system, Mysticism considers

Jan 16, 2019 … View Mysticism Research Papers on Academia.edu for free.

Scholarly approaches to mysticism include typologies of mysticism and the explanation of ….. main article: perennial philosophy. scholarly research on mystical experiences in the 19th and 20th century was dominated by a discourse on …

Mysticism Rituals Living Tantra, Part 1: mystical rituals. sex, drugs, and black magic? tantra is infinitely more powerful than that. A tantric master reveals the truth about this … Mysticism is the practice of religious ecstasies together with whatever ideologies, ethics, rites, ….. In the Hellenistic world, 'mystical' referred to "secret" religious rituals The use of the word

The comparative study of mysticism began in the mid-19th century, with the development of the modern meaning of the word, which had begun to be used as a …

Mysticism Unlocked Pdf PROBLEMS OF MYSTICISM. AND ITS ….. specially prepared diederich, unlocked and went in. When ….. I can but grope about In the psychology of mysticism;. mystical knowledge and helpful occult truths. … In Gleanings of a Mystic are found twenty-four lessons …… and who profess ability to unlock the gates of the. It is a

Jun 15, 2017 … Towards that end, this paper underlines the significance of mystical ….. years of neuro-scientific research has demonstrated the validity of …

Arabella Ciampi, University of Amsterdam, Dept of Sociology and anthropology, Anthropology Department, Graduate Student. Studies STS (Anthropology), Social Sciences, and Philosophy.

In a mostly Christian American sample (N = 1,379), confirmatory factor analysis of Hood’s (1975) Mysticism Scale verified the existence of Stace’s (1960) introvertive and extrovertive dimensions of mystical phenomenology along with a separate

View Spirituality & Mysticism Research Papers on Academia.edu for free.

This is the research paper I wrote when I did independent study of monotheism in seminary. In this paper I isolate and analyze several Qur’anic verses that insist on the oneness of God, then I explore their implications for the Christological monotheism.

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newyorktheater · 4 years

Text

James Corden at National Live at Home

Oscar winner Parasite debuts on Hulu

She Loves Me on PBS

Jodie Foster and Robert De Niro in Taxi Driver, on Netflix

Anne Hathaway and Hugh Jackman in Les Miserables, on Amazon Prime

There are no “openings” on stage likely this month, but there is much to see online for theater lovers and screen enthusiasts alike. Below is more than just the usual streaming services Amazon Prime, HBO, Hulu, and Netflix, though they’re all there. There’s also the newly created National Theatre at Home, which is streaming recordings of stage shows FOR FREE this month, from “One Man, Two Guv’nors to “Twelfth Night.”

Lovers of live theater should also check out Where To Get Your Theater Fix Online: Old Favorites and New Experiments — everything from BroadwayHD to the new downtown platform TrickleUp to 24 Hour Plays’ Viral Monologues. (Many of the exciting new theater-livestreaming sites haven’t yet planned a month ahead)

NBC has announced a rebroadcast of its Emmy-winning Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert for Easter Sunday, April 12.

National Theatre at Home

Each filmed production will be streamed for free on National Theatre’s YouTube channel for a week, starting on the date listed

April 2: One Man, Two Guv’nors The slapstick comedy starring James Corden

April 9: Jane Eyre Sally Cookson’s adaptation of the Charlotte Brontë classic

April 16: Treasure Island Bryony Lavery’s adaptation of the Robert Louis Stevenson novel, which premiered at the National in 2014

April 23: Twelfth Night The 2017 production of Shakespeare’s comedy, directed by Simon Godwin

PBS

Great Performances on All Arts

April 11 10 a.m..: She Loves Me

April 11 1 p.m. : An American in Paris The Musical

April 11 4 p.m.: Noel Coward’s Present Laughter

April 11 7 p.m.: Irving Berlin’s Holiday Inn The Broadway Musical

April 11 10 pm.: Kinky Boots

April 19 5 p.m.: Rodgers and Hammerstein’s The King and I

Playing on Air

The new season of this podcast’s short original radio plays

April 5: The Clam, by Amanda Quaid After a lifetime of playing it safe , a wistful clam (Tony Shalhoub) decides to come out of his shell, with the help of a therapist (Kristine Nielsen) April 12: Night Vision by Dominique Morisseau One night in Brooklyn, pregnant Ayanna (April Mathis) and her husband Ezra (Eden Marryshow) witness a sudden, violent attack. April 19: Wild and Precious Life by Patricia Cotter Friends and flames gather to celebrate and remember the life of charismatic, outrageous Sheila (Debra Monk) — but the dearly departed still has one more trick up her sleeve. April 26: Fake News by Doug Wright Anchors Bob Tunley and Fran Mercer are the iconic voices behind KLWP News Hour — but today, they’ve become the story. As bizarre and menacing soundbites interrupt their live radio broadcast, the studio crew begins to fear that they’re under attack. Starring Eisa Davis, Jeremy Shamos, Steven Boyer and Kate Finneran.

youtube

Hulu

Hulu highlights: 2020 Best Picture Oscar winner Parasite comes exclusively to Hulu on April 8. The Hulu/FX collaboration Mrs. America, which stars Cate Blanchett as Phyllis Schlafly, premieres April 15. A screen adaptation of Sally Rooney’s popular book, Normal People, will be available to stream on April 29.

April 1

60 Days In: Narcoland, Season 1

90 Day Fiance: Happily Ever After?, Season 4

Alone, Season 6

The Ant Bully

Bangkok Dangerous

Breaking Amish, Seasons 2 and 3

Bend It Like Beckham

Blazing Saddles

The Book Of Eli

The Boost

Bring It!, Season 5

Chopped, Season 36

The Chumscrubber

Cutthroat Kitchen, Season 12

Dance Moms, Seasons 2 and 6

Diary of a Hitman

Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives, Seasons 27 through 29

Dr. Pimple Popper, Season 3

Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears a Who

Dr. T. and the Women

The Eternal

The Family Chantel, Season 1

Free Birds

The Food That Built America, Season 1

The Full Monty

Fast N’ Loud, Season 13

Fixer Upper (How We Got to Here: Looking Back on Fixer Upper), Special on HGTV

Forged in Fire, Season 6

Fun in Acapulco

Gator

Get Smart

Gods and Monsters

Gold Medal Families, Season 1

Gorky Park

Hidden Potential, Season 1

House Hunters, Season 120

Hud

The Jewel of the Nile

Kabukicho Sherlock, Season 1

Kids Behind Bars: Life or Parole, Season 1

The Kitchen, Seasons 16 through 18

Kill Bill: Volume 1

Kill Bill: Volume 2

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen

Let Me In

Little Women: Atlanta, Season 5

Little Women: LA, Seasons 7 and 8

Love It or List It, Season 14

Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa

Married at First Sight, Season 9

Marrying Millions, Season 1

The Mexican

Misery

Moll Flanders

Phone Booth

Property Brothers, Seasons 10 and 11

Repentance

Risky Business

Romancing the Stone

The Sender

Shirley Valentine

Spider-Man

Taken at Birth, Season 1

Til Death Do Us Part, Season 1

TRANsitioning, Season 1

Trapped: The Alex Cooper Story

Victoria Gotti: My Father’s Daughter

Who Let The Dogs Out

The X-Files: I Want to Believe

Zombieland

April 3

Future Man, Season 3

Into the Dark: Pooka Lives

Your Pretty Face is Going to Hell, Season 4

Siren, Season 3 premiere on Freeform

April 6

Too Cautious Hero, Season 1

April 7

No Guns Life

April 8

Parasite

April 9

Who Wants to be a Millionaire?, Series premiere on ABC

Kono Oto Tomare!: Sounds of Life, Season 2A

Little Joe

April 10

Real Housewives of Potomac, Season 4

April 12

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Season 9B

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic en Español, Season 9B

April 14

The Bachelor: Listen to Your Heart, Series premiere on ABC

The Baker and the Beauty, Series premiere on ABC

Songland, Season 2 premiere on NBC

Vault

Unlocked

April 15

Mrs. America

The Masked Singer: Sing-Along Spectacular, Special on Fox

A Teacher

The Messenger

April 16

What We Do In The Shadows, Season 2 premiere on FX

Harry Benson: Shoot First

April 20

Paranormal Activity 3

A Kind Of Murder

April 22

Special-7, Season 1

April 23

Cunningham

April 24

Abominable

April 29

Footloose

April 30

2020 Billboard Music Awards, Special on NBC

youtube

Netflix

Netflix highlights: All six seasons of the TV series Community, the films The Social Season and Martin Scorcese’s Taxi Driver on April 1. The Good, The Bad and the Ugly on April 2. Despicable Me on April 16.

Also check out the ongoing video-captured Broadway shows, such as John Leguizamo’s Latin History for Morons

April 1

40 Days and 40 Nights

Bloodsport

Cadillac Records

Can’t Hardly Wait

Cheech & Chong’s Up in Smoke

Community: Season 1-6

David Batra: Elefanten I Rummet

The Death of Stalin

Deep Impact

The Girl With All the Gifts

God’s Not Dead

The Hangover

How to Fix a Drug Scandal

The Iliza Shlesinger Sketch Show

Just Friends

Killer Klowns From Outer Space

Kim’s Convenience: Season 4

Lethal Weapon

Lethal Weapon 2

Lethal Weapon 3

Lethal Weapon 4

The Matrix

The Matrix Reloaded

The Matrix Revolutions

Minority Report

Molly’s Game

Mortal Kombat

Mud

Nailed It!: Season 4

The Perks of Being a Wallflower

Pokémon the Series: Sun & Moon: S3: Sun & Moon – Ultra Legends

Promised Land

Road to Perdition

The Roommate

The Runaways

Salt

School Daze

Sherlock Holmes

The Social Network

Soul Plane

Sunderland ‘Til I Die: Season 2

Sunrise in Heaven

Taxi Driver

Wildling

April 2

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Violet Evergarden: Eternity and the Auto Memory Doll

April 3

Coffee & Kareem

La casa de papel: Part 4

Money Heist: The Phenomenon

Spirit Riding Free: Riding Academy

StarBeam

April 4

Angel Has Fallen

April 5

The Killing of a Sacred Deer

April 6

The Big Show Show

April 7

Terrace House: Tokyo 2019-2020: Part 3

April 9

Hi Score Girl: Season 2

April 10

Brews Brothers

LA Originals

La vie scolaire

Love Wedding Repeat

The Main Event

Tigertail

April 11

Code 8

April 14

Chris D’Elia: No Pain

April 15

The Innocence Files

Outer Banks

April 16

Despicable Me

Fary: Hexagone: Season 2

Fauda: Season 3

Hail, Caesar!

Mauricio Meirelles: Levando o Caos

Jem and the Holograms

April 17

Betonrausch

#blackAF

Earth and Blood (La terre et le sang)

The Last Kids on Earth: Book 2

Legado en los huesos

Sergio

Too Hot to Handle

April 18

The Green Hornet

April 20

Cooked With Cannabis

The Midnight Gospel

The Vatican Tapes

April 21

Bleach: The Assault

Bleach: The Bount

Middleditch & Schwartz

April 22

Absurd Planet

Circus of Books

El silencio del pantano

The Plagues of Breslau

The Willoughbys

Win the Wilderness

April 23

The House of Flowers: Season 3

April 24

After Life: Season 2

Extraction

Hello Ninja: Season 2

Yours Sincerely, Kanan Gill

April 25

The Artist

Django Unchained

April 26

The Last Kingdom: Season 4

April 27

Battle: Los Angeles

Never Have I Ever

April 29

A Secret Love

Extracurricular

Murder to Mercy: The Cyntoia Brown Story

Nadiya’s Time to Eat

Summertime

April 30

Dangerous Lies

Drifting Dragons

The Forest of Love: Deep Cut

Rich in Love (Rico de Amor)

The Victims’ Game

youtube

Amazon Prime

Amazon Prime highlights: Most James Bond movies are on offer starting April 1. The Bodyguard with Whitney Houston on April 1. The movie of the musical Les Miserables on April 10. The Joker, with Oscar winning actor Joaquin Phoenix, April 16. The musical drama film Footloose, April 29.

Check out also the musicals and other Broadway shows, some of them taped directly from the stage, that you can rent from Amazon Prime.

April 1

Bangkok Dangerous

Bird of Paradise

Blind Husbands

Broken Blossoms

The Bodyguard

The Boost

The Brothers Grimm

The Chumscrubber

Daniel Boone

Diamonds Are Forever

Diary of a Hitman

Die Another Day

Dishonored Lady

Dollface

Dr. No

Dr. T & the Women

Drums in the Deep South

For Your Eyes Only

From Russia With Love

Gator

Gods and Monsters

Goldeneye

Goldfinger

Gorky Park

The Hoodlum

Hotel Artemis

I Am Legend

Licence to Kill (4K UHD)

Live and Let Die (4K UHD)

The Living Daylights

The Lost World

The Man With the Golden Gun

Mark of Zorro

Moonraker (4K UHD)

Mutiny

Never Say Never Again

The New Adventures of Tarzan

Octopussy

On Her Majesty’s Secret Service

Repentance

The Sender

Shirley Valentine

Son of Monte Cristo

The Spy Who Loved Me

Tarzan the Fearless

Thunderball

Tomorrow Never Dies

A View to a Kill

The World Is Not Enough

You Only Live Twice

The Bureau: Season 1

America in Color: Season 1

Bronx SIU: Season 1

Dirt Every Day: Season 1

El Rey del Valle: Season 1

Foyle’s War: Season 1

The Mind of a Chef: Season 1

Molly of Denali: Season 1

Mr. Selfridge: Season 1

Our Wedding Story: Season 1

Vida: Season 1

April 3

Invisible Life

Tales From the Loop

April 10

Les Misérables

Rambo: Last Blood

April 14

Vault

April 16

The Lighthouse

Joker

April 17

Bosch: Season 6

Dino Dana: Season 3B

Selah and the Spades

April 20

Paranormal Activity 3

April 29

Footloose

youtube

HBO

HBO highlights: “The Plot Against America” and “High Maintenance” end their runs, and “Run” begins its run on April 12; the new series stars Domhnall Gleeson and Merritt Wever as people who flee into thrilling and comedic adventures, setting off from The Grand Central Terminal (where you could congregate without repercussions in a previous era.) Also worth watching: the fourth season of Insecure and one of my favorite movies, “The Kids Are All Right.” Theater fans might also be interested in “Glee: The 3D Concert Movie” and “Xanadu.”

April 1

Alpha and Omega, 2010 Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked, 2011 American Pie, 1999 American Pie 2, 2001 American Wedding, 2003 Becoming Jane, 2007 Clockstoppers, 2002 Daylight, 1996 Die Hard, 1988 Die Hard 2, 1990 Die Hard with a Vengeance, 1995 Dragged Across Concrete, 2018 Drop Dead Fred, 1991 The Family Stone, 2005 The Flintstones, 1994 The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas, 2000 Galveston, 2018 Glee: The 3D Concert Movie (Extended Version), 2011 The Great Gilly Hopkins, 2015 The Judge, 2014 The Kids Are All Right, 2010 The Lovely Bones, 2009 Loving, 2016 Monte Carlo, 2011 The Nice Guys, 2016 The Predator, 2018 Slumdog Millionaire, 2008 Something Wild, 1986 Sophie’s Choice, 1982 Team America: World Police, 2004 Ulee’s Gold, 1997 War Dogs, 2016 Water for Elephants, 2011 Xanadu, 1980

April 4

Good Boys, 2019

April 5

Atlanta’s Missing and Murdered: The Lost Children, Docuseries Premiere — HBO Original

April 11

It: Chapter 2, 2019

April 12

Run, Series Premiere — HBO Original

April 18

Stuber, 2019

April 19

Entre Hombre, Series Premiere — HBO Original

April 20

Shadows, Season 3 — HBO Original

April 23

We’re Here, Series Premiere — HBO Original

April 25

Bad Education — HBO Original

April 27

I Know This Much Is True, Limited Series Premiere — HBO Original

April 28

Autism: The Sequel — HBO Original

April 2020 Calendar of “Openings”: What’s Streaming on Netflix, National Theatre, Hulu, PBS Great Performances, Amazon Prime, HBO Etc There are no "openings" on stage likely this month, but there is much to see online for theater lovers and screen enthusiasts alike.

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