#but this is the first podcast that’s had be actively taking notes from episode 1 because there’s just so much of a puzzle to piece together

[maxgicalgirl]

Listen okay I just know in my heart Cecil Palmer and Sydney Sargent would be BEST friends

[bededebop]

I've been listening to the lazytown podcast (created by Mark Valenti), and man when I tell you they have interesting behind the scene stories. I'm gonna list some of the things i remembered from each interview:

WARNING ENGLISH IS NOT MY FIRST LANGUAGE!

Magnus Scheving:

-Magnus is aware that people prefer LazyTown season 1, but he himself prefer LazyTown season 3-4,. Because he said the background in season 1 is shit, and he always talks about it with his team on how can we fix this.

-Magnus is aware that he is a 'Pain in the ass' for the crew, but Mark Valenti objects tho.

-Magnus once ride the same car Madonna rides in back then, he was in Mexico I think. The driver had guns he said. Once he was passing a poor Neighborhood, he saw a bunch of people dressed up as the whole cast of LazyTown. He told the driver to stop there, and the driver said that the area is kinda sketchy and they never go there, but Magnus insisted. Turns out it was someone's birthday party, and they were gonna do a whole play. He said the costume was actually well made, so he goes there and told them he was sportacus. And he ends up doing the play as well.

-The Latin America dub of Sportacus has a very deep voice, he said they might have been confused on his voice because Magnus's voice is very high pitched and Squeaky? (I don't how to spell that sorry) . (Also he said 'Hi guys! ' in a high pitched voice you guys need to hear that lmaoo)

-His favorite episode is literally every episode, but if he has to pick it would be "Robby's dream Team" because Stefan was just amazing in it. (Wait I think this is true I forgot what episode it is exactly, but it has something to do with stefan being amazing in it)

Jonathan Judge Interview:

-They gave Jonathan Judge a few weeks to try produce/direct lazytown (I forgot which one). And jonathan said Magnus made him in charge when they were filming a scene where sportacus is Buggy Jumping. He said Magnus's face was very purple from hanging upside down. After that, they loved him and would not let him leave.

-Stefan and his wife was very sweet and would invite them to his house to hang out, watch TV, and fishing! Jonathan and Mark went fishing with stefan, right next to his salmon farm. They fished cods, and Jonathan asked what Stefan's father does for a living and he said "Oh he's a whale killer".

-And on the final shooting, Magnus picked Jonathan up with his car and drive him around town. Magnus pointed at a KFC and said "I built that" (Because he was a carpenter).

-Magnus said the people of icelandic belives in elf, Jonathan once asked a crew member if he believes in elf or not. The crew member said yes, he doesnt touch a certain part of his house because that's where the 'invisible people' lives (he meant elfs)

-Jonathan asked, "well are you an elf? ". Magnus was silent for a strange amount of time, Jonathan said it was like this one scene in twilight where this one guy reveal to bella he was a vampire (idk which scene that is lmao). And he was like 'is he gonna suddenly reveal that he's an elf?? '

Mark (Another Writer from LazyTown, also i forgot his last name im sorry)

-He said Magnus was very respectfull when it comes to writing. Unnamed crew once read his writing and told him it was crap, but Magnus never does that and only told him his vision of a certain things and that's it, he never really gave Mark a note.

-There was a director from Canada that Magnus have invited to dinner. She said the writing of LazyTown is very crappy and is ln the wrong track. And when she was rambling about how lazytown writing was crappy, Magnus just stayed quiet. But the he said something to catch her off guard, something about that at the end of the day LazyTown was his show that HE created and write, shoot on a studio that HE and his team build.

-Magnus likes to take his writing team on trips

-The crew member likes to have this activities together, they hike together and exercise together. But not all of them (including Mark Valenti) participates tho.

Ok so this part I wasnt from the lazytown podcast, it was from Chris Crow's interview from GetLazy.

So he interviewed David (The Voice Actor of Mayor Meanswell) and he was there when they shot the Lazy Dance episode. And there was this one scene where they're on the dance floor, and sportacus just lean on the wall like a sadsack (bc he doesnt know how to dance). And Stephanie was right beside him and she was very excited for the dance party, she was like 'oh! Oh! Sportacus hold my purse'. So sportacus did, and now he's sitting there with Stephanie's purse on his lap. David said it was funny because he looked like a husband waiting for his wife to finish her shopping. But David said Magnus didn't like that scene, and said this is not how he wants this character (Sportacus) to go. So Mark Valenti and the other writers set up some rule. Rule number one is to never show sportacus being weak.

Also one last thing, from the laytown podcast in stefan karl's interview

They won the BAFTA award because of the episode "Robbies Greatest Misses". And they we're quite suprised with the rising popularity of Robbie Rotten, and Stefan said they tried to 'die down' Robbie's popularity a little (Because you know, he's a villain you're support to make an example out of).

Also, Robbie Rottens make up quite literally ruins stefan's skin. And he have a specific step of skin care routine, so that his skin doesnt get ruined. But there were times where his body disagreed with him, the chin of Robbie won't stick to Stefan.

Man I am so going to draw a comic about that one scene in Lazy Dance episode

[anonymousad]

Re: your post about the Among the Stacks crowdfund, thank you for taking the time to write such a comprehensive and balanced breakdown of the issues with it. You're definitely not the only one who has noticed issues with the project overall, and I think they're very pertinent to a lot of the concerns you raised.

Things like the show casting while having little to no content written, the show's genre changing apparently at random (Nigel has definitively called it both "weird horror" and "fantasy mystery" on their Twitter), glaring proofreading errors in cast announcements (including things like attributing a different character to an actor in the tweet versus the graphic, misspelling a big-name actor's name in his cast announcement tweet, and huge formatting issues in text alignment on several actors' bios), Nigel's occasional use of the show Twitter rather than her personal Twitter to engage with other shows in pursuit of getting cast in roles (a choice that cannot have been accidental, given that the offending tweets end with "-N", despite no one else on the team seeming to have access to the Twitter), the way the show is marketed as massively collaborative but all communications and a lot of the content features Nigel front and center... the list goes on and on.

A couple of specific relevant points:

In regards to the traced art, as well as the show's logo and all of their non-episode graphics, those aren't credited because Nigel makes them. I had the same question when I saw the difference in style between the listed artist for Among the Stacks and the stuff being posted, and if you compare it to the style of the episode art for Nigel's other show (Hyperfixations) it becomes very obvious who's making them... which is just another way in which 90% of the content on the Twitter seems to come from Nigel and no one else.

Very little effort seems to have been made to promote the show's actual artist, which is weird both because she seems pretty talented and because it's pretty hard to sell people on wanting a design on a t-shirt if not enough people are seeing it to get excited about it. (I have my own thoughts about this and the aggressive watermarking on the crowdfund, but they're petty and baseless and mostly boil down to a suspicion that Nigel hates not being the center of attention.)

(You can find the full design that's on the shirt on the artist's Twitter, by the way. Not that you should have to go looking for it.)

Another thing is that at least one of Nigel's old shows (Archive Admirers) stopped updating without warning. If you search the show's handle (AdmirersArchive) on Twitter, one of the most recent tweets is from July 6th, 2022, responding to a February 1st episode announcement with:

"...is the podcast dead? You guys said episode 30 would be up May 23, and it's July... :("

Nobody from the show responded, the show has not been updated, and Nigel has actively tweeted about the show since. Note: the last time the show updated was a bonus episode on May 9th, but the show Twitter stopped being updated February 1st. No updates, no notice of hiatus, no explanation. Nada.

Huge red flags for show abandonment and overall attitude towards audience. (How hard would it have been to respond to one disappointed fan?)

Also, in regards to the annotated scripts promised on the crowdfund, the actual transcripts for half of the episodes of the prologue season not only aren't available, there's nothing on the website to indicate or explain which transcripts are and are not available, why certain transcripts are not available, why only the first three and last two are available, and when transcripts are meant to become available.

All episodes feature a "Download Transcript" button, but the buttons for "Prelude: You know they're playing it somewhere, but you have to find it." and Tales 1 through 3 redirect you to the website's homepage without explanation.

It doesn't exactly fill me with confidence about the quality of what people should expect from annotated scripts. The standard of care here seems to be inconsistent at best.

This is all publicly confirmable information. You can find 99% of this stuff by looking on Twitter.

And that's without even getting into the rumors that are circulating behind the scenes: rumors about Nigel taking everything personally and refusing to take anyone's advice, rumors about collaborators being so checked out of the project that at least one has told friends they don't think it'll see any actual movement for months, rumors that certain actors were guaranteed a baseline of pay regardless of the results of the crowdfunding, and rumors of early collaborators having been removed from the project without warning or explanation.

yeah there is a lot in here that I have also heard/seen going on.

I didn't really want to stray too far from the crowdfund specific stuff in my post, but this feels like the kind of project that will have a "post-mortem" investigation done by someone when it fully falls down.

as I tried to make clear, I am not trying to just hate on the project or fuck over someone, but I think that a lot of people are being taken advantage of to some extent here and that's not an okay thing that I want to see happening in our community.

I'm sure some of the fans are younger and more impressionable and so in love with the idea of this show, especially with how much it is marketed solely on the basis of being "queer". I don't want those people to be disillusioned with the medium or feel betrayed or lose their money.

I've been around long enough to have backed crowdfunds that went nowhere, things for which I wasn't able to see the obvious red flags in. there's an entire micro-genre of youtube content devoted to failed or scam campaigns and ALWAYS new projects to cover.

I don't want to see that here, in a community that is so accessible and trusting and loving.

my distrust of this project as a whole is based in love for the art form and the community we've built. I just want us to preserve that.

[emma00fin]

Week 43

Reading Edible Economics

I had a bit of a break from reading the book, but now I finished a few new chapters of it. One of them, called Banana, was about developmental economics which I enjoy studying, so it was even more enjoyable to read about. Here's some new words that I picked up while reading: propagated, meagre, cog, perishable, subsidiary, laden, deftly, imbibe, steeped in, sublimated, retrenchment.

Listening to Anything Goes with Emma Chamberlain

I really enjoy listening to podcasts on my free time, but I have had a really hard time finding any interesting podcasts in English. I decided to give Emma Chamberlain's podcast a go, and by doing some nit-picking with the episodes (by not starting from the first episode as my perfectionist self liked but choosing episodes with interesting themes) I am still content with the podcast series. Here's some of my thoughts:

Celebrity privacy (39 min) - Emma claims to offer a new perspective by being a B-list celebrity, but does really not state anything unheard of. All things said a layperson could have thought of.

Seasonal depression (50 min) - A very relatable episode. Emma was listing how she copes with seasonal sadness; as one of my coping mechanisms, I just started taking multivitamins with vitamin D and others in there. She also made an important note to remember to loosen up on the over-achieving during the winter hibernation time, as that will eat you up quicker than during the summer. She also brought up excluding yourself from friends & activities during the winter time as a side effect of seasonal depression: I was thrown a loop as I realized that has been a somewhat consistent problem of mine during the winter time, but I have never linked it with seasonal depression. The more you know!

HOURS

Listening: 42 h

Reading: 8 h 30 min

Spoken interaction: 3 h

Written and online interaction: 1 h 45 min (included the time it takes to write these posts, about 15 min each)

Spoken production:

Written production: 9 h

Total 64 h 30 min

[toughgirlchallenges]

India Cook - From Runner to Run Coach. Her journey of making running a more diverse, inclusive, and less intimidating place. Advocating for all paces and body types in the space of road racing.

India in her own words:

“I am India Cook, an avid Atlanta-based runner, marathoner, race announcer, YouTube vlogger, podcast host, and RRCA-certified run coach. I have a love for running and road racing, but I also have a passion for encouraging and guiding runners and those who aspire to become runners. I advocate for all paces and body types in the space of road racing.

My running journey started in 2008 on the quest to lose weight and also engage in a healthy social activity. Since 2008 I have completed distances from 5K to marathons. 

Throughout my running journey, I observed that there were limited running resources created by women of color to help individuals get into running or resources for those already engaged in the sport. 

Therefore, I developed a vlog “Miles From India” on YouTube. The vlog’s purpose is to educate, inspire, and motivate runners. Viewers can find tips and how-to videos that aid in helping runners navigate running effectively. Within the running community, I also find it important to ensure diverse running experiences and stories are highlighted. 

In 2018, I became a podcast host of, The Run Duo Podcast, with my co-host, Tommy Mitchell. On our bi-weekly podcast, we talk all things running as we educate and entertain our listeners and also interview casually to elite runners. 

In addition to content creation, I am also a race announcer and event emcee. I am the amazing voice that you hear at the start and finish line of a race that motivates you to keep going and cheers you in at the finish. As a fellow runner, I find it important to feed positivity and love during all points for racing and I am your fun energetic voice that does that. 

On the coaching side of the sport, I have a focus on helping ladies run confidently in any phase of their run journey, my background in mental health not only allows me to have a positive and healthy relationship with running but also enables me to help athletes build a similar relationship as well. I find it essential to make the sport of running less intimidating and relatable for all levels. 

My goal is to make the sport of running more diverse, inclusive, and less intimidating to my listeners and viewers. 

I will continue to use my training, experience, and voice to guide others in the community of running through coaching. 

I take the approach that everyone's journey is unique, and we should celebrate every step, stride, and mile. I believe that running not only boosts physical health, but it also rejuvenates your mind and fuels confidence” 

  New episodes of the Tough Girl Podcast go live every Tuesday at 7am UK time - Subscribe so you don’t miss out. 

The Tough Girl Podcast is being sponsored throughout March by Inov-8. www.inov-8.com

Get involved with the #MarchDailyMile Challenge. Run 1 mile everyday in March. 

  Show Notes

Who is India

Being focused on cheerleading and dance 

Doing a little bit of track and field

Focusing on sprinting

Not being a fan of running

Having a negative relationship with distance running

Starting with a 10k race

Wanting to start increasing her distance with running

Leaving college and not being active

Being in graduate school and wanting to be a pro cheerleader

Doing a season of semi-pro cheerleading

Figuring out that cheerleading was not for her 

Using running as her outlet to decompress from stressful work days

Doing her first race in 2008 - The Peachtree Road Race 

Starting to race every month

Running her first half marathon in 2013

Being surrounded by amazing people who were encouraging her with running

Not having a clue when she started running 

Struggling to find information that suited her needs 

Why it can be intimidating entering the world of running

The advice she wish she had received when she first starting her running journey 

Why movement is what’s important

Not training appropriately for her first half marathon

Calling herself a runner

The high points and low points of marathon running 

The mental experience of running a marathon

Running the NYC Marathon 

Running the Virtual Boston Marathon in 2021 

Tips and tricks for grit and determination while running 

The importance of knowing your why

Staying in the present and focusing on the current mile

Thoughts on the Virtual Boston Marathon 

Taking advantage of the unique opportunity 

Running a marathon independently and why it’s more of a challenge

Her running journey and becoming a run coach

The Run Duo Podcast

Wanting to interview people from the run community who aren’t elite athletes 

Goals for 2023 and how it’s a transition year

Moving her body and what that looks like

How to connect with India (see social media links below)

Final words of advice 

  Social Media

Website: www.milesfromindia.com

Instagram: @i_of_endigo_runs

The Run Duo Podcast: https://linktr.ee/Therunduo

Link to all places: https://linktr.ee/milesfromindia

YouTube: https://m.youtube.com/c/milesfromindia

      Check out this episode!

[imsadstuff]

Lights, Camera & Action! - A Jeon Jungkook Fic (Part 2)

Summary: Jeon Jungkook, a respected actor known for his serious movies, takes up a rom-com drama wanting change. He had one rule he stuck by through almost a decade of being an actor, never date an actor. ___ is a shy yet confident actor, who bags a role opposite Jeon Jungkook, a move that’s about to change her whole life. Somewhere between on and off camera, Jungkook’s starting to have a change of heart about his rule. 

Word Count: 6k+ Warnings: Sexual Themes, Recreational use of Marijuana, Mentions of death

First Part is available here Author's Note: This is the second part of the three-part series, the third instalment will be up soon! Enjoy reading! Any feedback is welcome

It was a Friday filled with meetings and discussions. Seokjin walks you into a huge corporate building, him being on the phone the entire time. “Where are we?” you ask him as the elevator doors open. “Bighit Entertainment” Jin whispers going back to the phone call. “Are they signing me? Am I a big deal now?” you joke and he gives you a death glare opening a conference room door. “This is exactly why I didn’t want you doing a drama with an indie production, they’re sloppy and slow” Jungkook and his manager Jimin are already discussing something in the conference room when you take a seat across them. “Well, I’m the talent, and I have the final say on what I choose and not. So, instead of fighting can we get to work” Jungkook fights Jimin mouthing you a good morning. “I can’t believe you’re my biggest moneymaker” Jimin huffs adjusting his blazer while you and Seokjin wait for him to acknowledge you. “I’m sorry for the animosity but my talent is being a tad bit of an asshole,” Jimin says and Jungkook chuckles passing you an iced coffee. “So, the Calvin Klein shoot is this weekend and we have to discuss contracts. Also, production has sent a new list of promotional activities, next month is going to be hectic” Jimin says passing around a list.

1. Online campaign with Calvin Klein (to be released around episode 6, to be shot today)

2. What’s in your bag, as characters for Netflix (to be released around the finale, episode 8)

3. Hello Korea! Radio Interview (November 5th)

4. Catch Up Podcast – Guest Episode (November 5th)

4. Vogue Korea Cover for December (November 5th)

5. Buzzfeed Co-star test (November 6th)

6. Swoon Korea Cook with Us (November 6th)

7. Swoon Korea Balance Game (November 6th)

8. TvN PR Interview (November 15th)

“We’re going to be on Vogue Korea, cover?” you shout startling everyone. “Yes, and there are going to be a slate of promo activities for them, interview, video interview, some stuff for their YouTube, they’ll email that later” Jimin mentions nonchalantly, and Jungkook watches you fidget a little. Quietly, he moves your coffee away from you. “What date will we finish filming?” “November 15th” Seokjin says going through pages of contracts. “Also, the press release is moved from 2nd November to 3rd, apparently, they found a bigger venue” Seokjin adds and you’re starting to feel anxious. “Okay, why don’t you give us the question list for the press release and we’ll be on our way for the Calvin Klein shoot” Jungkook stands up as Jimin hands him another stack of papers, and he pulls you out of the room by the elbow. “Deep breaths, most of this stuff is all about sitting pretty” Jungkook says in an attempt to calm you down. “Easy for you to say, you’ve done this a million times” there are a few staff members in the elevator who greet Jungkook and you. “I’m going to be right there, besides you” the elevator crowds even more as you stand even closer to him. “Thank you” you whisper, your head leaning against his shoulder a little.

Getting ready for the CK shoot doesn’t take too long, soon you’re walked to a rooftop as you clutch the loose shirt even closer. You watch as Jungkook gets his solo shots done, and you hope no one is noticing how dazed you are watching him topless. He spots you from the corner of his eyes, and immediately breaks the poker face, smiling shyly. “Let’s do ___ solo shots next,” the photographer asks as you sit on the stool, losing the shirt. You watch as Jungkook’s eyes stay fixed on you as you pose with a stoic face. He doesn’t even attempt to look away when he talks to someone like he wants you to know you have his attention. “I didn’t know you had tattoos” you note your eyes falling on the shoulder tattoos. “I want to get the complete arm done, but I don’t think I can” actors usually don’t get tattoos in any visible areas, so that was understood. “Don’t they hurt” you’re both waiting for instructions from the photographer as they get done setting up. “The first one did, but it gets fun by the second one,” he says running his fingers around the tattoos. “They’re kinda hot” you blurt out without thinking but thankfully the photographer starts with the instructions before the both of you can dwell on it. “So, I want you both to face each other. ___ your hands will come around Jungkook’s neck, Jungkook, your hands in her back pocket” the photographer says and Jungkook tenderly brings his hands around you and in your pockets. “Smiles, romantic” the photographer is clicking away as you circle your hands around him, bringing him closer. “Your eyes are really pretty” he whispers and you can feel your heartbeat quicken. All he does is smile as he watches the blush grow around your face and neck.

“Jungkook, I will kill you!!” you shriek holding onto him, tight. The photographer asked you to jump into his arms, and he’d been a little playful ever since, almost dropping you. “Have some trust in me” he says bringing you closer, “It’s hard to when you threaten to drop me” the photographer is clicking away. “Why are you being an asshole today?” you cry out feeling his warm torso against yours. “You get all cute and red when riled up” he says adjusting you in his arms a little, bringing you face to face with him. It’s hard to stay mad when he is centimetres away from you, smiling like he knows of the effect he has on you.

Episode four is pivotal for Hara and Yejun, while Hara and Daniel break-up and Yejun’s app takes off. It’s a bigger episode for Hara, because they delve deeper into her character, why she is the way she is. “Have you eaten breakfast yet?” Taehyung asks getting himself some bread from craft services. “No” you’re too busy re-reading the script to notice him place a plate with toasted bread, eggs and avocado in front of you. “I noticed you eating this the other day” he says taking a big bite. “Thank you” you’d usually chat with Taehyung but not today, it’s a big emotional scene and you think you’re not ready. “I’m worried you might be sick ___, because this is the longest you’ve been quite without questions” Taehyung jokes and you choke a little on the food laughing yourself. “I have to cry on camera again and I’m a little worried” you confess and he nods understandingly. “Well, it can be a difficult task, I’ve never cried on camera before” he says drinking his tea. “I’ve done it before for movies in acting school, but this is television” you groan laying your head on the table and he just laughs louder. Taehyung’s laughter dies down and you feel a presence beside you, “What’s wrong?” Jungkook asks handing you your coffee. “I have to cry on camera again and I’ve had a pretty sheltered life up until now, no trauma of sorts that I can use, last week they had to give me drops after five failed attempts of crying” you whine and Jungkook looks at you, concerned. “No heartbreaks of any sorts?” he asks eating some of your toast. “What about the pretty boys you told me about” Taehyung teases you and Jungkook nudges your shoulder, going along. “There have been pretty boys?” Jungkook sing songs and you groan even more. “Sure, I’ve had break-ups but nothing that made me sadder for any longer than a week” you say sipping on your coffee. “There has to be something, a childhood memory?” Jungkook says and it hits you like a thousand bricks, the emotions changing quickly from funny to heartbreaking. Jungkook definitely notices you tense up, but hair and makeup take you away before he can ask anything.

“___ I don’t even think you actually like me anymore” Daniel shouts attracting an audience on campus. “I think you’re right” Hara answers in a stoic tone, standing still. “Sure, I was initially infatuated with you but over the year of dating you, I’ve realised all the red flags I ignored” Hara says looking straight at Daniel. “It’s not like you didn’t have any red flags yourself, I know the cheerful and happy appearance is fake, you’re just trying to pretend like everything is alright” Daniel says with vengeance in his voice. “Yeah, nothing is alright with me but you never played along did you. The moment I started feeling a little better you brought me down with another fight” Hara fights back, a little louder this time. “It takes two to fight Hara” Daniel shouts inching closer and closer. “Can we not fight anymore? Can we just be done with each other?” she asks stepping away from him. “Sure” Daniel shouts pushing her shoulder and walking away. Yejun notices from far, as Hara breaks down in the middle of campus as Daniel walks out of frame, and her life.

“Cut!” the director yells and Taehyung walks back to you at double the speed he left with. “You alright?” he asks as Jungkook watches from a distance. “Yeah” you sob real tears into the tissue this time as Taehyung pats your head, trying to calm you down. “We need the boy’s reaction shots, ___ just pretend like you’re sobbing, you’ll be blurry in the background anyway” the director shouts and Taehyung reluctantly gets back in position.

Most of episode five takes place at an amusement park, and Jungkook has been a little elated jumping from one ride to another, trying to ride everything he can. “How are you not excited about this?” Jungkook asks slipping around. “Because you’re excited for the both of us” you joke walking with heels in hand. “So, are you going to tell me why you’ve been ignoring me?” he asks walking backwards in front of you. “I haven’t” you deflect immediately looking around the massive amusement park. “You have been, we haven’t had lunch together all week” he points out reaching the set and you spot the multiple behind the sense filing you both. “Can we talk about it later?” he nods understanding and making the camera busy filming him as he rides another ride. Jungkook’s energy starts to go downhill somewhere around midday, maybe the tenth ride got to him. “Okay, let’s try and lock this in one take” the director tells you both as you’re locked into a roller coaster. “I haven’t been on a roller coaster in ages” you confess clutching the safety rail tight. “This roller coaster is nothing, you’re not scared, aren’t you?” Jungkook asks as his hairstylist fixes his hair one last time. “No” you say and Jungkook laughs seeing how scared you are.

“Our last dinner has to be a big one, so tada!” Hara exclaims excitedly pulling Yejun along. “I’d rather you take us to eat steak and max out my credit card” Yejun huffs walking in the amusement park anyway. “Let’s just celebrate today, you’re not going to have to see my face after today” Hara walks the other way, away from the crowd. “It’s not that I don’t want to” Yejun murmurs as they take seats in the roller coaster. “Why have you been so pouty, are you afraid of roller coasters” Hara asks poking his pout a little, he keeps his panic eyes ahead and latch on the rails as hard as he can. “Yes, I am man enough to admit that roller coasters terrify me” Hara doesn’t tease him anymore, instead she reaches over for his hand, holding it tight as the roller coaster moves. “If I die, my mother is going to hunt you down and kill you too” Yejun shouts as the momentum builds and Hara laughs boisterously, finding all this very cute. The ride goes along as Hara shrieks with excitement and Yejun does the same with fear. They made it to the end, Hara smiling wide, and Yejun holding onto her hand for his dear life. “Let’s do this again!” Hara speaks, and Yejun practically jumps out the ride, “I will have you arrested for HARASSMENT!” he shouts getting out but holding onto a pillar because of how dizzy he is. “Come on old man, let me help you” Hara walks away from the camera, holding Yejun by his shoulders and waist.

You’d expect the writer to write in more cringy or romantic tropes into the episode to build to what it’s leading to. But instead, Hara and Yejun absolutely let loose, both getting that much-needed dose of fun. It highlights the friendship aspect of their relationship, and it’s a fun change. “Jungkook why can’t you stand still” you complain as an assistant snaps away pictures on the film camera Hara just gifted Yejun. “Because, I’m awfully tired and want to go home” Jungkook whines, a little out of character for him, he’s usually very professional trying to get as much work done as possible. “Just stand right beside each other” the assistant seems a little tired too, everyone is looking forward to the three-day production break, and everyone looking forward to getting five episodes done tomorrow.

Jungkook can feel the exhaustion taking over him as he changes into his clothes, the workout he scheduled for later tonight seems impossible. He just sits in his car for a while, not ready to drive just yet. “Hey” you knock on his window and he shakes terrified with a string of curse words. “Colourful, are you okay?” you ask and he nods no. “I think I’m exhausted from all whack-a-mole,” he says leaning even more in his seat. “That could be it, you were a little too hot earlier” you note and he smirks immediately, “Not like that you asshole, your arms were burning up, you might have a fever?” you check his forehead, and he definitely has a fever. “Alright, do you feel anything other than exhaustion?” you ask pushing his hair away from his forehead. “Some dizziness, I’m also very cold” he says and you remove your jacket and place it on him. “Move, I’ll drive you home. We also need to call your manager” Jungkook moves into the passenger seat, but holds your hand back from calling Jimin. “Let’s wait out calling Jimin hyung, he gets too over the top and will tie me up to a hospital bed” Jungkook whines some more, and the whining is making much more sense to you, it’s because of the fever. “Alright” you give in driving away.

“No Grace, I’m not kidnapped and tied in a basement yet. I’m at Jungkook’s place, he has a mild fever and is currently passed out on his couch” you whisper into your phone feeling Jungkook’s heavy body against your shoulder. “Alright, send me a pic so I have a last known location for when the police will have to find you” Grace says this kind of ridiculous crap in the most serious tone, you know she means business. “Yes, I’ll be home a little late so don’t try and bash my head with a pan, again” Jungkook groans a little his head digging into your shoulder. “Yes,” Grace says and you can definitely hear Seokjin on her side, you don’t have the energy to fight her today. The clock indicates that it’s around 8 pm, and you’re incredibly hungry. “Jungkook, let’s get you in a bed. Don’t want you also spraining your neck” you pat his face a little and he stirs awake, not moving away. “It’s cozy here, you’re warm, let’s be here forever” he snuggles even closer and you have to fight for the bigger cause of getting Jungkook in a bed and ignore your rapidly beating heart. “Come on, you’re not fighting me on this” it’s no use to try and pull him up, he’s much stronger than you are. Begrudgingly getting up, he follows you into his bedroom. “Do you have a first aid box?” you had looked around the living room, but found nothing. “Yes, in the closet” he answers from under the blankets and you walk into an incredibly organised walk-in closet, finding the box immediately. Jungkook’s fast asleep while you wander into his kitchen, finding the ingredients to make him some porridge.

“Thank you” Jungkook whispers finishing the last of the porridge, “No worries, now take these. Let’s hope your fever drops” you check his forehead for the millionth time and he’s still burning up. “I’m sorry for imposing on you, the first time this month we get off set early and I come down with a fever” he apologizes pushing his hair away. “You’re not imposing Jungkook, I’m taking care of a sick friend” Jungkook has a grateful smile as you sit across him. “I shouldn’t have napped earlier, I’m wide awake now” he disappears into his closet and comes back to bed in sweats. “You could watch the office” you joke getting up to leave, instead he pats the space beside him, inviting you.

You’re both quiet for a while, but something has been on Jungkook’s mind, it's clear by the way he’s looked at you a million times. “Out with it” you groan turning to face him. “I think I might have touched a delicate nerve when I mentioned the childhood memory thing earlier this week, I shouldn’t have. We don’t know each other that well” “Jungkook I’m in bed with you watching tv, I wish you were a little imposing” you talk with a hint of irritation. “What childhood memory were you thinking of, you were upset, a little too upset” Jungkook starts to ask questions directly. Taking a deep breath, you gather courage and speak up, “My parents are actually my uncle and aunt. My mother died soon after giving birth to me and my father was never in the picture” you answer stoically looking ahead. You don’t notice but your eyes are red with tears, but Jungkook does and he pulls you closer by the waist. “My parents have raised me with so much love and care, but I wonder how different life would have been if she was alive” you turn and look at him and his eyes are teary too. “I miss someone I never knew” this breaks the both of you and you’re sure you’re staining his sweatshirt. “I don’t know how to console you” he confesses still holding you. “Tell me something personal about you” you ask checking him for fever again, still hot. “I took the drama not because I wanted change, well there is some truth to that. Last movie I’ve done performed awfully with the critics. It felt like I was cast in major movies because I’m insanely popular, not because I’m a good actor. I took up think project because it’s more audience-friendly” he confesses drawing circles on your arm. “Jungkook that’s just not true, you know that scene in Imitation where you kill the guy, I’d watch that scene over and over again because you expressed sorrow, joy and anger, just with your eyes. That’s next to impossible to do” you talk calming down a little, “I’m feeling a lot better thanks to you” “I should go home” you both say together. “I want you to stay ___, I’m being imposing” There’s some distance between the both of you went you first lay down, but as the night progresses Jungkook fights his heart and reaches out.

“Hara is just done telling off her mother, her boyfriend broke up with you, she dropped out of college, breaking off every relationship she has in the world other than Yejun. She has a moment of vulnerability when she kisses him, it scares her to think of Yejun not being in her life too” Namjoon the writer explains as you get your makeup touched up. “Yejun on the other hand is in the prime of his life, just got a huge investor for his app, the girl he likes is not just single but is also kissing him, he’s excited and passionate. But it all comes crashing for him when she pulls away” Namjoon turns to a very intently listening Jungkook. “So, Hara is vulnerable and Yejun is intense, a combination that hurts then both” Namjoon wanted to explain it all the best he could, it’s an important scene. “There aren’t a lot of lines so the focus is really on expressions” the director pipes in and you both nod. “Alright, positions” the October wind is a little chilly, making Jungkook’s nose slightly red. You expected Jungkook to be a little awkward after last night, but he’s still the same and you’re glad that he’s not treating you as a fragile woman. “Action!”

“Come on, let me take you home-“ Jungkook says as Yejun and you shut him up with an intense kiss, like it’ a cry for help. Taking charge immediately, he holds you closer, intensifying the kiss. You were supposed to be counting in your mind as a reminder to pull away, but Jungkook’s warm lips make your mind all fuzzy. “Cut! ___ pull away at five” he reminds you and you nod looking at the ground. Jungkook has to look away too, he was not ready to pull away, just yet. “Action!” You’re glad that Jungkook’s kissing you again, and it takes everything in you to pull away at five, but you do “We can’t, you’re all I have right now” you pull away, looking away with shame.

Hearing cut, you hope this take will work, because if you have to kiss him one more time, you won’t be able to pull away. “This is amazing ___” Namjoon compliments you as all of you monitor the scene again and again. “We’re done for today, thank you everyone, enjoy the three-day break!” you can hear the director faintly as you shut the door to your trailer, trying to calm your head and your heart.

“I haven’t eaten with you in a while” Grace is delightfully surprised to find you sitting down and having breakfast this Saturday morning. “I know, that’s why I made you a sandwich too” you smile and she takes a seat opposite you. “So, are you and Seokjin just hooking up or is it serious?” you ask blowing your hot coffee a little. “We’ve only been physical yet, but I kinda like him” Grace isn’t the kind to blush about boys, so it’s a nice change. “I know you explicitly asked us to not hook up, but he's so hot” you can only laugh at this Grace you haven’t seen before, the kind to be excited about boys. “I’m fine, I was probably a little jealous of you guys, I haven’t been on a date or gotten laid in months” “Three months to be exact” she interrupts you and you swat at her hand a little. “You want me to set you up? All men I know are insufferable finance dudes” she jokes while you contemplate munching on your food. “No, I can’t sit through one more of them explaining to me what bitcoin is, I just want to one night stand you know. No emotional investment” Grace gives you a knowing look, she knows specifically who you’re thinking of. “We’ll you can go back to whatever your arrangement with Eugene was” “He has a girlfriend” “He had a girlfriend before, that didn’t stop you both” Grace and you hadn’t talked about Eugene, it was a morally grey area for you. “Look, I know how you feel about infidelity, and once the cloud of amazing sex disappeared, I haven’t seen him since” Grace doesn’t say anything yet, she just quietly eats for a while. “I’m going to ask Seokjin on a date, a real one” Grace says standing up and checking her handbag one last time. “Yay! Where?” “To that Indian place you were raving about, Seokjin says he’s never had Indian food” Grace leaves in excited spirits to ask Seokjin out and to also fight with her accountant about something. You go back to staring at the empty place opposite you, wondering what your day is going to be like.

“I’m sorry to barge in on your Sunday, but Seokjin and Grace are sickening” you say the moment Jungkook opens the door to his apartment. “My big Sunday plans were to exercise and I’ve already done that” he jokes following you into the living room. “I got us something” you say taking out a cigarette box from my purse. “I don’t smoke ___” “I know you don’t but I scored some weed” you reveal the joints and he gasps checking it out. “Is this for real” he whispers like the world can hear him. “Come on, let’s make good use of your balcony” you try and pull him by the arm but he doesn’t budge, you keep forgetting how strong he is. “Absolutely not, what if someone photographs us, I am not tough enough for jail” he complains, walking you both through his bed room and into his bathroom. “Now, how do we smoke these” he asks excitedly.

“I didn’t know smoking weed in your bathtub would be this good, but it is” you joke taking a big puff. “I have hands” Jungkook had been amused by the most trivial things, he’s cuter when high. “Yes, you do, you have two of them” he gasps at this revelation, and your loud laughter echoes in the bathroom. “To give you the best experience, I ordered us some pizza, come on” you offer your hands to help Jungkook out the tub, but it takes a while. “I think I’m just going to live here” he shrinks back but you don’t give up. After multiple stupid attempts to help him, it finally happens and now Jungkook is amused by his feet. “Okay, don’t move, just stay in bed, I’ll bring that pizza” Jungkook focuses on the pepperoni pizza for a while, amazed by how amazing cheese is. “Can I ask you something?” he asks stopping chewing for a while. “What would you say if I asked you on a date?” you aren’t high enough to not remember this. “Why’d you wanna go out with me?” “___ you’re fucking gorgeous, the way you smile makes my heart go crazy, you’re brave in ways that make me want to take risks” he stops to take a big bite of his pizza, still very high. “Also, you’re like crazy hot” he speaks with a mouth full of food and you can’t help but giggle. “I’d say yes” that’s all that takes for Jungkook to abandon his slice of pizza and jump beside you. “Come on, I know this place where they serve amazing steak” he asks excitedly, like a child. “You found hands interesting a few minutes ago, you’re too high” you chuckle and he takes the pizza from your hand and munches away.

“I fucking knew it, get up. Both of you!!” you don’t know who’s shouting but you are pulled up, all disoriented. “Jungkook, I am going to touch your marvel figurines if you don’t get up the second” this prompts Jungkook to shoot up in bed, almost knocking you out of bed. “Seokjin has been looking for you all over Seoul” you finally recognize Jimin and everything comes back to you immediately. You’re very entangled in bed with Jungkook but you don’t remember what day it’s supposed to be. “___ come on, I have a cab waiting to get you to the salon, we’re very late” Jimin shakes you once again and you finally get out of bed. “What happened last night, why does it smell off” Jimin checks the closet and was about to go into the bathroom when Jungkook jumps into action, closing the bathroom door behind him. “Okay we’re too late to analyse why he’s being weird, you go! Before Seokjin reports you missing you to the police” “So, avoid all questions about your upcoming projects” Seokjin talks as you eat your breakfast.  “Also, next time you disappear like this, I am going to get the police involved” he threatens with a very serious tone, “I was at Jungkook’s place in the first place because you and Grace are all in love and were having sex” you threaten with a low voice, hoping people can’t listen to you. “Okay, we’ll try and keep it in check, come on, it’s time for your first press conference” the PR person instructs all of you one last time, and you can’t find Jungkook yet, it’s not like him to late. Posing for pictures is easy, it’s just that you didn’t anticipate this many cameras. The focus shifts from you as Jungkook steps into picture, smiling brightly. Walking along, you pose together as the cameramen shout poses, “Good Morning” you whisper to him linking arms with him. “You look sickeningly adorable” he whispers back looking ahead. “If we could direct focus back to Ms ___” the reporter jokes, “Absolutely” Jungkook pipes in and the room erupts into laughter. “You had a pretty stable career as a runway model, why the shift?” “Well, I went to acting school with the motive of being an actor, modelling was something that has not only given me branding but also money to support my acting dreams” you knew this answer well, it’s what most people ask you when they meet you these days. “Is there a reason you gravitated towards the drama, it’d be wonderful if you both could expand on that” another reporter asks and you pick up the mic to answer. “Well, it’s a story about real people, they are struggling adults who have to face a different kind of failure, but they evolve anyway. That was one of the biggest reasons why I gravitated towards the script” you turn waiting for Jungkook’s answer but he’s staring at you very intently. Quirking your eyebrows, you snap him out of it.

There are a lot of questions but it comes to an end around 2 pm. “Why are you so distracted today?” you ask Jungkook as an assistant walks you both into another green room. “Because I’m still thinking about last night” you hear the lock snap and Jungkook smirks. “About how you said you’d say yes” you can’t help but reach over to fix his collar, it has been bothering you for a while now. “You know the rate at which you deflect is alarming” he talks as you pretend to fix his lapel. “I am not deflecting right now, I’m being quiet because I’m nervous” you talk not looking up as you feel his arms come around your waist. “Now, you’re deflecting” he lifts your face by the chin, and his dazzling smile is making your heart go crazy. “Can I kiss you right now or should I do it after I take you on the date you agreed to last-“ you know he's teasing you so you shut him up a hot kiss. He’s smiling against your lips as your hands mess up his perfectly styled hair. You’d always thought people talking about feeling fireworks and sparks were joking, but the way your heart is feeling right now is nothing you’ve felt before. Jungkook pulls away to catch his breath and he laughs unbuttoning his shirt even more. “Hey! Just because we kissed doesn’t mean we’re having sex, just yet” you slap his hands the continue unbuttoning his shirt. “You gave me a tattoo with a permanent marker last night” he reveals the very badly drawn pepperoni pizza on his chest and you almost fall over from laughter.

“Let’s talk first impression” Eric the podcast host asks and Jungkook gets on that answer before you can. “We took a screen test together and she had that mysterious and confident aura, it was a little intimidating. We didn’t get a chance to talk that time, but the next time we did, ___ was massively hungover” you try and mask your embarrassment by laughing by it doesn’t help. “She is nothing like she looks, she had a lot of questions and she’s never afraid to speak her mind, she’s pretty cool” you and him share a look, almost forgetting that this is being filmed right now. “For me, I actually knew him through his movies and interviews pretty well, my father is a huge fan. When I saw him at the screen test, I was sure I wasn’t going to get the part, an amazing actor like him being pared with a newbie seemed impossible” you stop to take a big sip from the coffee Jungkook handed you earlier. “Given how famous and experienced he is, I was expecting him to be a diva, but he was so warm and welcoming. To quote Phoebe Buffay, I just think that you don't expect someone so hot to be so sweet” the host erupts into laughter flipping to the next question. “Let’s talk ideal types, now you have talked about this before, but the internet is excited to know about you” the host and Jungkook both look at you intently waiting for an answer. “Um, I don’t have any physical traits I look for, but for me a relationship has to be like a friendship, someone I am comfortable and on the same level with. Someone who can be in a routine with me but also surprise me every now and then, someone who makes me happy.” Jungkook is looking at his hands, smiling about something as you go on, describing someone very much like him.

It was another press day, and today was much more chill with games, cooking and a lot of laughter. Everyone was setting up to shoot the Cook with Us video, and Jungkook had gone out to take a call. “So, what is going on between you guys” Your makeup artist Eunji asks, she has definitely noticed the glances. “Nothing is going on” “He was running in the lobby to get you coffee, that isn’t normal behaviour” Eunji says and you shrug your shoulder, not knowing what to say. “You guys are cute together and the way you bounce off each other, amazing actually. It would be a missed opportunity if you didn’t date” “Wouldn’t it be a little unprofessional to date on set?” you ask genuinely curious about this. “___ that’s what actors do, they’d be bored if they didn’t date their co-actors” she offers fixing your lipstick. “Let’s get started!” the producer asks as Jungkook walks into the studio, visibly disturbed about something. “Everything alright?” you ask offering him an apron. “Yeah, fine” he answers distractedly.

By the time you start with the balance game, Jungkook’s mood is much better. “I’ll say two things, pick your options at the same time” the producer instructs and Jungkook takes a seat on the sofa besides you. “Sunset or sunrise” “Sunsets” you both answer in a unison. “Glass half-full or Glass half-empty” “Glass half-full” you answer together again, Jungkook is proud of how in-tune you both are. “Pineapples on pizza, yes or no” “No” you shout out while Jungkook shouts a yes. “Hawaiian pizza is delicious” Jungkook defends. “Fruit doesn’t belong on pizza” “Tomato is a fruit” Jungkook is being a little too smug about this. “Cooking or being cooked for” “Cooked for” Jungkook answers first while you answer cooking, “I love trying out new recipes” you explain. “I love eating new recipes” he giggles answering. “Wine or Beer” you both answer beer together. “Jungkook loves beer” “___ doesn’t drink wine” the more the game goes on, the more you realise how well you know each other, it’s reassuring. “This is the final question, iced coffee or hot coffee” you let Jungkook answer iced coffee while you wince, dreading answering this. He turns waiting for your answer, “I actually prefer hot lattes, with oat milk” Jungkook stands up on his feet, enraged with your answer. “Am I allowed to swear?” he asks and the production staff nods yes. “Are you fucking kidding me, why have I been bringing you iced coffee for the past two months then?” he asks amused and you shove your face into the pillow he just threw on the floor. “Because the first time we met, you offered to make coffee on set and didn’t ask if I liked it hot or cold” you answer and he laughs sitting besides you again, still a little shocked at the revelation. “Why didn’t you say something?” he asks with a much calmer voice. “Because, um, you were so nice and I didn’t want to correct you” Jungkook is still shaking his head shocked.

Jungkook’s POV

Jungkook doesn’t remember how he got in bed last night, but he’s pretty sure that the hair sprawled all over your pillow are his. Barely waking up, he spots a very furious Jimin shaking him awake. “What the hell is going on” Jimin asks and he immediately shushes him, things coming back to him. Gently letting go of you, he pulls Jimin out his bedroom, “I had a fever last night, she drove me home” he doesn’t feel woozy anymore. “Please don’t tell me that you like her” Jimin complains pulling his hair. “Why are you here?” Jungkook asks getting some water from the fridge. “You stood up your trainer last night, I knew something was wrong. Also, answer my previous question” Jimin follows him to the kitchen, still very angry. “Yes, I like her, like a crazy amount and I plan to ask her out” Jungkook made his mind about this last night, and he is going to follow through on it. “Are you out of your mind Jungkook, there is a reason you don’t date actors, it complicates things at work” “Explain to me how me going out with ___ is going to complicate things at work?” Jungkook asks in a mocking tone, not so happy about being woken up so early. “The first episode tapes are going around to all casting directors and the biggest project is Bong Jo’s new movie. You and I both know that she’s going to audition for that, if she gets the role it’s going to be pivotal for her career” Jimin takes a second snatching the bottle of water from his hands. “Whereas, if you don’t land the role on that movie, it’s going to be make or break for your career” Jimin’s words hit hard, “You and I both know that marketing is not going to allow you both on the same project. She’s your competition Jungkook” Jimin explains in a much calmer tone, Jungkook doesn’t want to believe it but he knows it is true. “Also, there are bigger agencies trying to scout her, are they going to be happy when she comes with a boyfriend as a newbie, anyway we look at this you’re only going to be heartbroken” Jimin pats his arms trying to console him. “I don’t care hyung. Even if confessing to her is going to break my heart, for once in my life I want to be brave” Jimin sighs with defeat, knowing there is no way to make Jungkook change his mind. “Alright, come find me when you’re all sad and mopey. I’ll buy you a drink” Jimin buttons his blazer getting ready to leave. “It might not come to that hyung” Jungkook is determined when he goes back to bed, moving her hair away, he can’t help but adore how pure she looks, how he could get used ___ being in bed with him every morning.

Tag List: @sharkipoonis @artistkoo @madygswich @seolaquotes @pb-n-juju @sparkyprotectionsquad @twixxxpie @solastacia @bruisedscrewedandtattooed @canarystwin @livorna @jaedoyuchan (let me know if you wish to be added to the tag list!

[coffeeteaitsallfine]

I've been trying to convince my friend about tjlc and blog theory and season 5, but she's more of the 'do you really think it was THAT elaborately planned and anyway even if they had a plan wouldn't s4 bd different and s5 be announced by now' take. Any favourite bits of evidence I could share with her? Ty!

well first of all you can tell your friend that series 4 is the way that it is precisely because they have an elaborate plan.

here is a post that links to bunch of interviews or posts where they talk about series 5 as a part of their plan. my favorite quote is that S4 would leave fans "desperate for series 5." and ain't that the honest truth hiding in plain sight. also I can't find it but I recall moffat one time correcting an interviewer who assumed post-s4 that s4 was intended to be the last season (if anyone can confirm or correct me please let me know). Wild given that the show itself makes it "feel" like an ending that rings hollow and that's done on purpose.

you can draw a parallel between fan reactions to the original story "The Final Problem" and the episode itself. People were very upset and would write to doyle asking him to bring holmes back because he couldn't really be dead... Now, however, everyone already knows he wasn't really dead hence trf so seemingly killing off the Show-Sherlock is kinda the next best thing.

trf kinda foreshadows this in a way or at least echoes how the GA are supposed to feel about S4/TFP.

"And soon they began to wonder...‘Are Sir Boast-a-lot’s stories even true?’" "‘I don’t believe Sir Boast-a-lot’s stories. He’s just a big old liar who makes things up to make himself look good.’"

Then there's the fact that the "final problem" is staying alive. Either Sherlock get's 'the heart burned out of him' or he stays alive. just look at all of s4 and then the dvd cover and tell me that doesn't look like the heart is being burned.

Other than that it's hard to succinctly describe blog theory in an already long post but we do talk about this on the first episode of our podcast

Here is a (non-exhaustive) list of quotes from the show which really lay out their Plan or some aspect of it:

a fourth. there's been a fourth. something's different this time.

Ah, four serial suicides, and now a note!

we’d better upgrade their surveillance status. Grade Three Active.

John: Well, maybe that’s over, too. We’ve heard nothing from the bomber. Sherlock: Five pips, remember, John? It’s a countdown. We’ve only had four.

The painting is a fake, but how can I prove it? How? How?...The Van Buren supernova!

I don't care how you faked it, I wanna know why

Is this silly enough for you yet? Gothic enough? Mad enough, even for you? It doesn’t make sense, Sherlock, because it’s not real. None of it.

Bond air is go / Flight 007

1) The promise of love, 2) the pain of loss, 3) the joy of redemption, 4) then give him a puzzle. 5) Watch him dance...

From the moment of conception? How breathtakingly prescient...

of course it's not a trick, it's a plan

Sherlock: That’s not what happened at all. Mycroft: It is now.

If James Moriarty can hack every TV screen in the land, rest assured we have the tech to, er...doctor a bit of security footage. That is now the official version. the version anyone we want to will see.

and i'm sure i could keep going but alas. we have yet to discover a one size fits all formula for presenting convincing evidence but this is a start

[marilearnsmandarin]

So this is what happened in August, and what I’m planning for September.

Keep reading for full report + September tracker.

Listening to a podcast in the morning and opening Hello Chinese before going to bed (even if only to review what I have learned) have been consistent habits. Of the 3 days when I didn’t listen to Coffee Break Chinese, one was on a weekend when I stayed in bed muuuuch longer than usual, and on another Spotify wasn’t working for whatever reason. I’ve finished all episodes and repeated a few that haven’t stuck yet, but now I’m going to look for another podcast. But anyway, I don’t feel like I need to track this habit anymore.

I included watching the Coursera HSK1 online course with other input like Slow Chinese Stories and Peppa Pig, my reasoning being that with those I’m hearing language in context (and in a more active way than watching dramas, for example). I had been watching those very often before, but haven’t been consistent lately. That has to do with being back to work; I have less time during tha day and in the evening I’m just not motivated. I’ll keep watching those but probably sporadically.

I’ll keep tracking the Rosetta Stone habit. I wouldn’t recomment it as the only resource for studying Chinese, but I really like the lessons and love the no-translation methodology. I think I haven’t been very consistent for feeling tired after work and, not being able to just do a review like on Hello Chinese, starting a lesson (even though they are short) feels like a bigger commitment...

I’m still pretty much still listening to those three songs from the Word of Honor soundtrack on repeat, and let me tell you, it’s been a long time since I last discovered a new song that I got so hooked on. I’m loving it. I’m still trying to memorise all the words. (I did listen to other songs over the month though lmao)

I confess I expected to have finished those 2 graded readers by now, but it actually took me a long time to start. I don’t know why I was waiting, I guess maybe I wanted to study more characters before - which is, like, what reading the book is all about? But anyway, even when I did start reading ‘Welcome To Beijing’, I was reading mostly in bed (I was reading Lord of the Rings on my other “book reading time slots”) and couldn’t read much before falling asleep. I also kept forgetting the characters and going back so I read the first 2 pages like a million times. Only when the month was coming to an end did I start reading it in a more productive manner, and taking notes on the characters that I kept forgetting. And yes, Lord of the Rings is on pause for the moment.

I will post a review once I finish it (the reader, not Lord of the Rings). It’s basically a guidebook. I’m a fan of graded readers and recomment it if you find it for a good price like I did. I think I’ll be more motivated to read the others though.

For September, I decided that I will track my reading, writing and speaking practices. I think it will be harder to be consistent. I have lots of reading material and I will focus on the graded readers and the poetry book. For writing I’m including character practice, writing on my journal (what has been happening a lot is that I take a few notes over the week and only write them down over the weekend) and copying texts and dialogues, but not just new words or example sentences.

I think speaking is the most difficult skill to practice while studying alone. While considering my options I decided to try the 30 Day Record Yourself Challenge - but I'm already having a hard time thinking of what to say and Day 1 will have to be tomorrow. We’ll see how it goes.

(in my defense, Tuesday and Wednesday are particularly hard days at work and today I got home at 9:30 pm and started writing this...)

[notebooknebula]

Top 3 Aha Moments in Real Estate with Jay Conner & Chaffee-Thanh Nguyen

https://www.jayconner.com/top-3-aha-moments-in-real-estate-with-jay-conner-chaffee-thanh-nguyen/

Real Estate Investing With Jay Conner

Jay Conner was joined by his good friend Chaffee-Thanh Nguyen. They talked about some of the “Aha! Moments” in the real estate business.

In addition, they also conversed about “Private Money”. What is Private Money? How and where you can get private money to fund your deals.

All these and more in this episode of Real Estate Investing with Jay Conner.

Chaffee-Thanh Nguyen is an International Speaker, #1 Best Selling Author, and Business and Success Coach.

He holds a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.

After college, he worked in Corporate America for over 11 years as an Engineer and Senior IT Business Analyst.

He was a Certified Project Management Professional with the internationally recognized Project Management Institute for 6 years.

Using his corporate experience, he went on to start multiple businesses starting in 2002, including Real Estate Investing where he has invested in multiple states across the nation.

His passion, helping others achieve their highest potential in both business and in life.

As a refugee himself, Chaffee-Thanh Nguyen is committed to helping others and giving back. He is very active within his community serving within the Jaycees as a 10th Degree Jaycee, US Jaycee Senator #70583, and a JCI Certified National Trainer.

Timestamps:

0:01 – Get Ready To Be Plugged Into The Money

0:39 – Today’s guest: Chaffee-Thanh Nguyen

1:34 – Jay’s New Book: “Where To Get The Money Now” –https://www.JayConner.com/Book

2:13 – Chaffee, one of the editors of Jay’s new book talks about why you need to get this book now!

3:19 – Aha! Moments in Real Estate – Private Money Academy Conference

4:43 – Who is Chaffee-Thanh Nguyen?

8:42 – 1st Aha! Moment: Substituting the collateral allows the lender to continue earning interest on a loan for a longer period of time, should the original property sell in less than 6 months.

10:19 – What is Private Money? Who is a Private Lender?

15:43 – 2nd Aha! Moment: Sellers do not know what they will accept until you make the offer.

23:10 – How can you buy a property using Subject-to existing note strategy?

26:04 – Final Aha moment for today: You can make big money in the real estate business in a very small market.

31:49 – Chaffee’s parting comments: Go out there, do not be afraid to make offers!

Private Money Academy Conference:

https://jaysliveevent.com/live/?oprid=&ref=42135

Have you read Jay’s new book: Where to Get The Money Now? It is available FREE (all you pay is the shipping and handling) at https://www.JayConner.com/Book

Free Webinar: http://bit.ly/jaymoneypodcast

Jay Conner is a proven real estate investment leader. Without using his own money or credit, Jay maximizes creative methods to buy and sell properties with profits averaging $64,000 per deal.

What is Real Estate Investing? Live Private Money Academy Conference

https://youtu.be/QyeBbDOF4wo

YouTube Channel

https://www.youtube.com/c/RealEstateInvestingWithJayConner

iTunes:

https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/private-money-academy-real-estate-investing-jay-conner/id1377723034

Listen to our Podcast:

https://realestateinvestingdeals.mypodcastworld.com/11201/top-3-aha-moments-in-real-estate-with-jay-conner-chaffee-thanh-nguyen

Top 3 Aha Moments in Real Estate with Jay Conner & Chaffee-Thanh Nguyen

Jay Conner

00:03:06

Well, Chaffee, you’re the one that came up with the idea for the show today, and that is we can talk about the live event a little bit and we had 74, what we call “A-ha moments.” So, tell everybody what “A-ha moment” is at the live event, Chaffee.

Chaffee-Thanh Nguyen

00:03:34

So, first of all, let me say that this was one of the best live events that we had a long time in forever. And so to have everyone there, it was a full crowd, full room. Everyone was up in mixing and mingling and having the time and most importantly learning what to do in their business, following Jay’s processes and systems. And as you can see, it’s multiple pages before an “A-ha moment,” which is a moment where Jay talks and trains and teaches about what to do and how to do it.

And the little light bulb comes on and it’s like, “A-ha! I’ve got it! It makes sense!”  

Jay Conner

00:04:14

And the attendees are writing these down and they’re turning them in. So we give away prizes and such as well for people to share their A-ha moments. We don’t have near the time to review all 74 of them, but review just a few of the comments that the live event attendees wrote down and turned in as light bulb moments, from learning at the event. But, Chaffee, lets you take a moment and tell folks about your background and how it is we work together.

Chaffee-Thanh Nguyen

00:04:47

Sure. So when I was growing up, I was told you gotta go to school, get good grades and get a good job or J-O-B as we call it, right? And so that’s what it is. I did. I went to school, I got great grades.

I’m Asian, of course. So I get straight A’s and good stuff.  

Jay Conner

00:05:06

You’re really good at math, right?

Chaffee-Thanh Nguyen

00:05:07

That’s right. I was good at Math. So like a lot of Asians during my time, we were either doctors or engineers and I became an engineer, went to college, got big grades again and got a job as an engineer. So I’m working as an engineer in the corporate world at a multi-billion dollar company. And it was always nagging at me, Jay, that I needed to do more. I needed to do something else because I wasn’t made to be an engineer. I was made to do a lot more than go to a job, 8:00 in the morning and come home at 8:00 at night, 10, 12 hours a day working for somebody else, doing something that I might be good at, only I don’t really enjoy, or I don’t have really have a passion about. So during that time I decided to start something on the side and that was my real estate business. Started investing in 2002 and lost a ton of money on my first deal day.

Jay Conner

00:06:09

Uh-oh. There’s one big lesson right there.

Chaffee-Thanh Nguyen

00:06:09

That’s a book that I need to write, right? Of what not to do. And one thing that I didn’t have, just to share with everybody, one thing that I did now was a coach or a mentor to call up and say, “What’s going on? What am I doing wrong? Or what am I not doing? What should I be doing that I’m not doing?” And that’s really what got me in trouble, Jay, was really some of the things that I should have done that I wasn’t doing. So it wasn’t necessarily that I was doing something wrong. It was, I was missing some steps. I’m missing some things that I should’ve been doing. And so I lost a ton of money in that first deal. Learned, I went through the school of hard knocks and, and you know, lost a ton of money.

And then I got smart and I said, I need help. And so I got a mentor, I got a coach and started doing some more deals. And then I realized how powerful a coach and a mentor can be for somebody’s business and success. And that led me to personal development, which led me to fall in love with coaching. And so I started transitioning from real estate into coaching. And then while I was coaching at a real estate event, I met this guy right here, Mr. Jay Conner. And it was like a spark right away. It was like, I like this guy. He would resonate. And I like what he’s doing. And at that time you were just starting your Where To Get The Money Now course. And you’re like, I’m going to be a speaker and a trainer.

I’m like, “Me, too. I’m doing the same thing, I’m a speaker and a trainer, too.”

And so we’ve gotten in touch over the years. And then, Jay, you started blowing up. I mean, you started teaching and training a whole ton of people. And along the way, he said, “Hey, Chafee, come join the party.” And I was just like, “I’m there.” Like, where am I at? And let’s join the party and-

Jay Conner

00:07:55

You’ve probably been coming to all of our live events. It’s probably been 7 years or more, 7, 8 years, something like that. But yeah, Chaffee helps me run my mastermind group, as well. So, wow! Mastermind group is starting to blow up big time. Because we had 22 of us in the room, thereabouts, 20, 22 of us in the room, the week before last at the mastermind. And we almost doubled that now, but yeah, Chaffee’s a very, very important part of my team when it comes to working with our students and et cetera.

So anyway, as I mentioned, we just have gone through these A-ha moments. So let’s just go back and forth, Chaffee. This first one here. So I’m gonna read the A-ha moment, but then I’m gonna ask you to expand or to really talk about what it means in a very easy, simple to understand way. So George at the live event wrote down, his A-ha moment was, “Substituting the collateral while I was a lender to continue earning interest on a loan for a longer period of time, should the original property sell in less than six months.” So,how about unpacking that. First of all, a good place to start is, make sure everybody knows what we mean when we say, “collateral.” What’s collateral?

Chaffee-Thanh Nguyen

00:09:24

So collateral is what you get in place of the money that you’re lending.

And in our case, Jay, or your case, the collateral is the property. And so they get the property. If something happens and you’re unable to make that payment back to them, then they can go and get the property. And a lot of times they’ll end up with a lot more money when they get the property because you’re only buying those properties that are certain after-repair value, 75% of the ARV, as we say. And so they’re better off getting a property only, obviously you’ve always paid everybody back. And so they’ve never had to use that collateral.

Jay Conner

00:10:10

Yeah, these A-ha moments. So the name of the event that we just said is called The Private Money Academy Conference. So the emphasis of the event is on how to quickly and easily get a lot of private money. So let’s be clear, first of all, Chaffee, and make sure everybody understands what we mean by “private money.” What are we not talking about and who is a private lender or what is a private lender?

Chaffee-Thanh Nguyen

00:10:37

So just to be clear, private money typically comes from somebody that doesn’t really do real estate. They don’t want to get involved in real estate. They’re busy or they have other things that they want to do in their life. And they want a greater return on their money. Sometimes people confuse private lenders with hard money lenders and these are professional money lenders. And so they charge points and they charge high interest rates. And that’s what most people are familiar with. That’s what most people use, are hard money lenders. They’re not banks, they’re not institutions. They’re just people. Most of these people are retired or they’re professionals with high incomes and they have money sitting in a bank or in a retirement account, earning them less than 1% typically. And they’re looking to earn a lot more.

Jay Conner

00:11:33

So private lenders are human beings, right? As Chaffee just said, you’re not borrowing money from any kind of bank or mortgage company or broker of money. These are individuals. In fact, Carol Joy and I right now have 47 individuals that are loaning us money, investing with us to do deals. We pay them a higher rate of return, safe and secure, but nowhere near a hard money lender’s rates. One thing that’s very different about this world of private money is we make the rules as the real estate investor. We set the program, like resetting the interest rate. We determine how long the notes are. In Kentucky, they call it a 360. It’s actually a 180. So it’s the opposite direction of how it works when you’re borrowing money from a bank. When I was borrowing money from the banks up until 2009, my first 6 years, that’s where I thought, that’s what you had to do.

You had to go to the bank and borrow the money to fund your deals. Well, 2003 to 2009, that’s what I did. But since that time, and then this world of private money, we have created our own program. And like we said, the interest rate, how much interest rate would you pay, the frequency of payments, and et cetera. So back to this coming here on this A-ha moment, George says substituting collateral allows the lender to continue earning interest. So what I taught in the section was that when you have borrowed money for your real estate deal, and it sounded like I borrow a lot of what we call “seconds” or junior lien position, smaller amounts of private money, not a lot of money that I used to buy a house, but for rehab and say, for example, so I may have like a $30,000 note that I’ve borrowed to rehab a house.

Now let’s say I sell that house and the note has not expired. So if I have another property, another collate piece of collateral that I have, then I keep that note open so that the lender can keep earning their interest. And I don’t have to pay off that $30,000 note, in this example, I can just substitute or change the collateral that’s backing that note. Does that make sense, Chaffee?

Chaffee-Thanh Nguyen

00:14:07

Yeah. What you’re saying is that you don’t have to pay back that private lender and pay them on the interest because you still have time left on that note. So instead of them only getting interest on four months of payments because you sold the property within 4 months, you know, it’s a 12-month note, you got eight months left. You just take that and put it on another property and they continue to get paid on those 8 months.

Something that goes along with that is a lot of times when I have a new private lender that is doing business with us, if I cash out, I’m going to pay them off or whatever. One of the first things they say is, “Well, Jay, can’t you just keep the money? I don’t want the money back.” And the answer is, you got to either substitute- If you’re doing the business my way cause we can’t borrow any unsecured money. It’s all backed by real estate. Can I do that legally? Sure. But I want to protect and give the security to the private lenders. So they’ll ask, “Well, can’t you just keep the money, Jay?” And the answer is I can, if I’ve got another property that I can collateralize that note. And the worst, I can’t, I’m just not going to keep the money.

If you pay off and you’re also shooting the collateral, then the real estate attorney can’t keep it in their escrow account, what we call “unassigned” and I mean that they’re not a savings account, right? So either got to pay them back or settle through the collateral. We gotta do our next one, Chaffee. What we’ve got here on the sheet?

Chaffee-Thanh Nguyen

00:15:42

I like this one that Felicia had which is, “Sellers do not know what they will accept until you make the offer.”

Jay Conner

00:15:55

Yes. That’s always an A-ha moment. So the A-ha moment is that sellers do not know what they will accept until you make an offer. But now I’ve heard you say this a hundred times, Chaffee, “I’ve never bought a house that I didn’t make an offer on.” Right? So the reason this is such an important point is I just know from experience, it happens all the time and Carol Joy and I, and my team, we do 2 to 3 deals a month, right?

Not a lot of deals, but 420 rehabs since we started this back in 2003. What I’ve learned over all these years is that regardless of what the seller says is the least they will accept. Now, this is particularly if they’re talking to someone else on your team, like the acquisitions. So I have a full-time acquisitionist that does the initial negotiating with the sellers. So regardless of what they tell Kim, our acquisitionist, then I’ll run the numbers. I may not be able to offer that amount of money that he said was the least they would take. So a lot of times I’ll get back to Kim and I’ll offer much, much less. For example, we’ve got a house over in Beaufort right now, that lead came in from one of our bird dogs, a.k.a. Field Agent, a.k.a. Ant Farmer. Anyway, they sent me a picture of this FSBO sign.

And we got up into the seller, Chaffee, and the seller told Kim, in fact it was an inherited property, told him they weren’t going to take one penny less than $300,000. We ran the numbers. I couldn’t offer $300,000 to make it work. The most I could offer was 250,000. So I went back to Kim. I said, “Give them the offer,” and I’m just not offering 250,000, it’s how this offer is framed and presented. I said, “All cash,” i.e. private money, private in there to buy it. And then I could close in 7 days. I knew the house was vacant. I knew it was imperative. There’s no emotional attachment to this property. And these 2 sisters just want to cash out. And so I said, “We close in 7 days, all cash. Don’t have to go get approved for a mortgage or get approved for a loan.”

And that was $50,000 less than just what they said, the least they’d take is 300, and Chaffee, they accepted it. Boom, no conversation. They accepted it, $50,000 less. So as is written down here. They really don’t know. I think they may have really thought that in their head, they may not have been playing any games, but when you’ve got an all-cash offer offered to you and you can have all that cash in 7 days. I mean, that will affect the way you think. Right, Chaffee?

Chaffee-Thanh Nguyen

00:18:57

Absolutely. I mean that’s a $50,000 lesson right there, right?

Jay Conner

00:19:00

Exactly. Exactly. So the takeaway from that for me is, if you want the property, make the offer, period.

Chaffee-Thanh Nguyen

00:19:12

Let me add why I think that’s also very important is that before you even get to the conversation with the seller, Jay, a lot of students that I’ve talked to that have trouble or challenges finding deals always tell me, like I asked him, “How many offers did you make?”

And they’ll say like, “2 or 3.” I go, “Why haven’t you made more offers?” And they’ll say, “Well, the numbers don’t make sense.” And so that’s a wall for them, right? That’s a mental wall that says they look at the numbers from the MLS or the lead sheet or wherever they got that lead from and say, well, you know, it just doesn’t make sense. Like, they want more, it doesn’t meet the MAO, the maximum allowable offer, or it’s above that. So it’s not a lead, let me just throw it away. And regardless of what the numbers say, if you just make the offer, according to what your numbers should be, you’ll be surprised at how many people come back and counter the offer or start that negotiation process. Or as you said, Jay, just take it because they want out.

Jay Conner

00:20:17

Exactly, and there’s an art to making the offer as well.

So we’re going to make the offer, but we’re also going to justify the offer. Many times we will share my formula that I use with the seller. Now I say, the math is what makes the decision and what we can do. And we just get the white elephant out of the conversation, like right up front. In fact, the sellers that I was visiting with this past Friday, I sat down with them for two hours, I still make offers myself. I enjoy visiting people. So I’m sitting down with these people. And so I knew what their number was and we were $30,000 off. And so I had already gone through the house and looked at the repairs that they needed and etc.

And I told them right up front and I said, “Look, I think we’re going to have to work something out,” but I’ll tell you it doesn’t work out all the time. We call that the ‘takeaway,’ right? But I just get the white elephant out of the way by saying, you know what, unless this is a win for you and a win for her husband that was sitting there as well. And this is a win for both of you and a win for me then I don’t want to be a part of it. I don’t want to be involved in any transaction where everybody is not winning. And for everybody to win, all of us have got to give a little bit, too, for that to happen for a long time. So I justified the offer by actually sharing the formula and the math.  

I don’t want to come across as though I am just like pulling some figure out of thin air and just trying to make an extra $30,000 and be some greedy real estate investor. There’s an actual formula to where this comes from and I actually gave him a choice. And one I’m gonna bring up now is not on the A-ha moments, but we talked about it at lunch and that is, I gave them multiple offers. I gave them a choice. And quite frankly, I was happy with whatever choice they took, I said, “Look, I can buy this property.” Of course they never heard of the subject to the existing note, nobody’s ever heard of it. So you gotta like, dumb that conversation down, but I said I can pay you all cash, or I can give you $10,000 more if I buy it from you with what we call,

“subject to the existing note,” or “subject to,” as most real estate investors. And they immediately took the 10,000 more. That’s what they had in their- at least these people were current. I mean, they got fantastic credit. So just to make sure everybody understands, Chaffee, tell our audience and listeners and viewers here, what do we mean by buying a property, subject to the existing note?

Chaffee-Thanh Nguyen

00:23:21

So when we say “buy, subject to the existing note,” which is not something that you would actually say to the seller. You’re not going to say I’m going to buy your property subject to the existing note because that’s right over their head, right? So basically they have a mortgage on that property with the bank or with a credit union or some institution. And all you’re going to do is you’re going to make their payments for them.

So they’re not getting rid of that loan, instead, you’re just gonna pay those payments as they come on a monthly basis and they’re going to transfer the title of the property to you. So you’re going to own the property and make payments as if it was your loan, except the loan stays in their name. So that’s the only thing. You’re making their payments and you’re taking over the property and they can go on their happy way and live their life. So they don’t have to worry about those monthly payments anymore. And oftentimes Jay, with “subject to,” with the strategy that you use, if somebody is behind on payments, you’re actually helping them fix their credit because you’re making those on-time monthly payments. Now, in this case, they were on time. So you don’t have to do that. And as long as you continue to make those payments for them, that’s still helping their credit build up because that’s a loan on their property being paid on time

Jay Conner

00:24:38

Yeah. So they are actually getting in this transaction that I’m talking about, they are actually getting about $34,000 more than their payoff. So I’m buying it to the existing note, making the payments on that outstanding balance until I find a buyer and cash out. So the difference that I’m paying them, I explained to them, you’re getting the same amount of money in your pocket. Whether I pay all cash and pay off your mortgage, or if I buy it, this is what I call Option B and explained to them how “subject to” works. You’re still getting the same amount of money in your pocket. It’s just a matter of whether I’m going to be paying off your mortgage right now. And so what else am I going to do on this deal? I’m buying it, set it into the existing note, and then I’m going to borrow private money in a second position or a junior position, and use that little bit of private money to go ahead and give them their cash when we close on it.

One A-ha moment that I’ve read on here is they just made a statement that they heard me say to a lot of them all the time. And that is you can make really big money in this business in a very, very small market. So what’s the population of where you and your family live up in the Chicago area?

Chaffee-Thanh Nguyen

00:26:21

There’s about 8 million people in the city and the surrounding areas.

Jay Conner

00:26:26

Yeah. So he’s at 8 million. So me and Carol Joy are here in 40,000, so we did 2 to 3 deals a month, even when it’s become more challenging now to find deals in the market that we’re in.

But as I said, we do 2 to 3 a month, and we’re still averaging all this $70,000 profit per deal. Well, let’s fill up under contract that I’ve been telling everybody about. The after-repair value is right around 300,000 and I can put maybe $5,000 in this house. It’s already been totally rehabbed. There’s a little bit left upstairs. Well, here’s the math, I’m buying it for 160,000. It’s worth right at 300. And all I got to put in is about $5,000. So I didn’t have to take that to the committee to get the approval on that one.

Chaffee-Thanh Nguyen

00:27:35

Let me just repeat that so everyone listening understands, Jay, is that these individuals are current on their payments and the house is worth about 300 after repair. And they’re willing to sell it to you for 160 and they’re allowing you to take over their payments.

And is that a real deal, Jay? Do those kinds of deals exist?

Jay Conner

00:27:59

Well, I’ll be able to show you the contract. I’d be able to show you the deed this coming Monday. But this is not an out of ordinary deal by any imagination. One question someone may be thinking right now is, well, why would somebody trust me to make their payments and give up all that equity? Couldn’t they put the house in the multiple listing service? They could, even though it still needs some repair upstairs. But I always ask people, “How did you know where to find us?” And we did marketing consistently everyday. We do Facebook ads. We do Google ads. We do direct mail to people that are behind and in foreclosure, et cetera. So I asked this lady, I said, “How did you find me?”

She says, “We’ve been living here for 28 years and we know what you do.” I mean, if you live around here, you’re going to see my face and you’re going to see my marketing on Facebook. And so she’s “All I did was I just went to Google and I Googled ‘Jay buys houses.’ ” There it was. But back to the question, why would someone be willing to do what we’re doing? Well, people do things for their own reasons. Sometimes you’re not even actually sure, but since I sat down with these people for two hours, I know why. The husband is not in good health and it’s like a hundred degrees here. He’s been working on this house for over a year. And he came in from the heat last week and his wife is worried sick that something’s going to happen to him.

And she’s going to be stuck with the burden of this house. And she tells me that she tells me that multiple times. She says, “I just don’t want to have the risk of being stuck and having the burden of this.” And in fact, on this “subject to” things they never heard of, I said, “Well, you get with me giving you $10,000 more, option B way,” I said, “The only thing you have to decide is, are you going to trust me to make your payments?” And I said, “Why wouldn’t I make your payments? I can’t sell a house and fix it up and all that if I’m not making your payments, right? I don’t want the bank to take it away from me, particularly when I’m getting ready to put this rehab money in it.”

So the short answer to the question, “Who would be willing to sell their house this way?” And the short answer is, “A motivated seller.”

Chaffee-Thanh Nguyen

00:30:46

And that’s the key. So I hear it all the time, Jay, is that, “No, I don’t. I can’t find these deals out there. No one will ever sell me these properties.” And the reason is that you’re talking to unmotivated sellers. Most of them are For Sale By Owner because they’re too cheap to hire real estate agents. So they’re not motivated. They just want more money and those, I think For Sale By Owners, you can definitely find some deals with them. If you find the right For Sale By Owner, only is you have to filter through a whole ton, a lot of them. And I think that it’s good practice for you to learn how to speak to people and just realize you want marketing channels in place to get those motivated sellers contacting you so that you don’t have to go out there and talk to a thousand people for you to find the 1 or 2 motivated sellers from those FSBOs out there.

Jay Conner

00:31:40

Exactly. Well, Chaffee, we are about out of time. So I’m going to let you wrap it up with parting comments and final thoughts.

Chaffee-Thanh Nguyen

00:31:48

Parting comments is – Go out there. Don’t be afraid to make offers. Find somebody who you can resonate with, who you like, who has a system and a process that can help hold your hand to do this business and show you how to do the things that you need to do. Unlike me, when I first started, right? Find somebody that’s going to teach you this business so that you can do this business and it can allow you to change your life and live life with the passion that you want or do the things that you’re passionate about. Because, you know, I hear a lot of people all the time, Jay. I’ve watched 30 hours of YouTube videos every single week on how to do real estate.

And I hadn’t done a deal, right? Well that’s because you don’t have somebody like Mr. Jay Conner telling you, guiding you, teaching you step-by-step, what to do and how to do it. You’re watching a thousand different videos that tell you all different things. So you’re either going to pay through the school of hard knocks and learn through mistakes, or you’re going to find somebody and go through and hire a good mentor or coach that’s going to show you how to do this business and do it successfully. And it’s going to be a lot less headaches. So you can do this business, just find the right people to work with and it will change your life.

[lilypixels]

...............all of them.....?

It took me an hr to do this....🥲💀

1. coffee mugs, teacups, wine glasses, water bottles, or soda cans?

Teacupsss

2. chocolate bars or lollipops?

Lollipops

3. bubblegum or cotton candy?

Uhhh cotton candy

4. how did your elementary school teachers describe you?

Probably quiet and smart lol I did my school work and was friendly with everyone so I was a favorite and heard all the nice things 🙈

5. do you prefer to drink soda from soda cans, soda bottles, plastic cups or glass cups?

I kinda like bottles more but like the glass ones with the caps that could slice your fingers-

6. pastel, boho, tomboy, preppy, goth, grunge, formal or sportswear?

I’m for all but sports lol

7. earbuds or headphones?

Earbuds

8. movies or tv shows?

Shows cause I’m the type to watch an hr long episode vs hr long movie idk why but I’m rarely in mood for them

12. name of your favorite playlist?

Drop the beat (ie songs that are upbeat and I like most)

13. lanyard or key ring?

Hmm...I guess lanyard?

14. favorite non-chocolate candy?

Skittles or twizzlers

15. favorite book you read as a school assignment?

I had lots I had to read in school but only ever finished a handful lol my favorite I think was maybe Macbeth? I would say Odyssey but I don’t think we read the full thing cause I remember being disappointed about something like that...

16. most comfortable position to sit in?

Sitting with my legs bent up in seat with me in some way

17. most frequently worn pair of shoes?

Converse and some nice but cheap sneakers from Walmart

18. ideal weather?

Not too hot, not too cold, mild like before/after a rain (most the time), idc if it’s raining or sunny but as long as temp is comfortable I’m fine

19. sleeping position?

On my side most often

20. preferred place to write (i.e., in a note book, on your laptop, sketchpad, post-it notes, etc.)?

Phone and notebook

21. obsession from childhood?

Oh gosh uhhh I guess my like of dolls maybe? Or obsession with anything ✨unexplained✨ like ghosts, aliens, cryptids, etc

22. role model?

Kim Namjoon lol just kidding (sorta)

23. strange habits?

Ok I know I have some and my friends would be more than happy to point them all out but hm let me think...idk if these count as habits but I’ll never place a mirror facing a bed (this is more superstitious I guess than habit,,,) I can’t stand my food touching, if I have a tray like in cafeteria I have a certain spot for everything and uh my mind just went blank-

24. favorite crystal?

Moonstone, lapis lazuli, and I feel obligated to say garnet cause it’s my birthstone

25. first song you remember hearing?

Circle of Life maybe who knows xD

26. favorite activity to do in warm weather?

Walk or clean,,I’m more active and about with warm/nice weather

27. favorite activity to do in cold weather?

...stay inside where it’s warm

28. five songs to describe you?

Not this again😭 uhhh idk you tell me ajdbd

29. best way to bond with you?

Indulge me when I go off about things I like or learn 😔✊ I know I’ll talk your ear off and I’m sorry but know I don’t often talk about these things with people so once I start it’s hard to stop,,and it makes me really happy when people do listen to me about these things and send me related items every so often or even look into it themselves to learn more 🥺

30. places that you find sacred?

For some reason this feels like a trick question...um cemeteries and anything with ages of history I guess

31. what outfit do you wear to kick ass and take names?

Oof do I really have a true outfit?? I have shoes for this which are just black platform sneakers I call stomping shoes

32. top five favorite vines?

I never,,,watched these,,,

33. most used phrase in your phone?

“Yes”...?

34. advertisements you have stuck in your head?

State Farm and McDonald’s, always

35. average time you fall asleep?

10-11...usually...

36. what is the first meme you remember ever seeing?

Uhhh that one with the ginger dude (I think it was someone’s yearbook photo??) I don’t remember much else about the meme but it was on ifunny, or whatever the app was, a lot

37. suitcase or duffel bag?

Suitcase

38. lemonade or tea?

Easy, tea

39. lemon cake or lemon meringue pie?

...neither

40. weirdest thing to ever happen at your school?

Dude these questions really testing my brain power here- for senior prank someone put cereal in some bathroom sinks I think

41. last person you texted?

My mom

42. jacket pockets or pants pockets?

I’m gonna say jacket since I wear those often

43. hoodie, leather jacket, cardigan, jean jacket or bomber jacket?

Hoodie or cardigan

45. which genre: sci-fi, fantasy or superhero?

Fantasy

46. most comfortable outfit to sleep in?

Usually whatever shirt I’m wearing that day and some pj/lounge pants 🤷

47. favorite type of cheese?

Mozzarella

48. if you were a fruit, what kind would you be?

I-what kind of question is this? How does one even answer this?

49. what saying or quote do you live by?

What comes around goes around lol (yes I’m a heavy believer of karma)

50. what made you laugh the hardest you ever have?

Lol who knows, probably something dumb me and my siblings were doing or something we watched cause there’s been plenty times of that xD

51. current stresses?

Homework vs free time e-e

52. favorite font?

I like the gothic looking ones but it’s usually not practical to use so idk

53. what is the current state of your hands?

My hands...? They’re fine ??

54. what did you learn from your first job?

How to care for babies and little kids, how to put on a diaper lol

56. favorite tradition?

I can’t remember a particular one off hand but I’m trying to start few new ones like decorating cookies for Halloween uwu

57. the three biggest struggles you’ve overcome?

Uhhhhh like personally or...? Cause we’ve overcome homelessness before, um finishing assignments idk😭 oh maybe bullying?? That’s all I can think of since I still struggle with a lot,,

58. four talents you’re proud of having?

Alright let’s do thisss: creativity (mostly in writing sense), I can bake/cook, I have amazing organization skills and many work places have used that lol (bonus is I don’t mind, I actually really enjoy it, very peaceful), surprisingly good balance all things considered, I’m a quick learner

59. if you were a video game character, what would your catchphrase be?

“I’m too tired for this.”

60. if you were a character in an anime, what kind of anime would you want it to be?

Good question good question🤔 I don’t think I’d last in any of them/have a terrible side character role so 💀

61. favorite line you heard from a book/movie/tv show/etc.?

“Life’s too short to hold grudges.”

62. seven characters you relate to?

Dude this is gonna get embarrassing I can feel it🤠

Itaru, Iori, Sogo, Belle, Simeon (obey me), Nozaki (he’s clueless about romance irl and doesn’t know when someone has a crush on him yet can write romance well enough and yeah it’s me lol), and uhh Swindler/Ordinary Person in Akudama Drive (still can’t believe no one really has names in that anime but the way she gets wrapped in everything felt like something that’d happen to me lol)

63. five songs that would play in your club?

Like nightclub...? I’m skipping this ajdbd

64. favorite website from your childhood?

Probably the Barbie site, me and my sister played all the dress up games almost daily istg

65. any permanent scars?

Appendectomy scars and then looks like I have one on a toe but it’s possible it still might heal...

66. favorite flower(s)?

Nightshade, foxglove, baby’s breath, bellflowers, roses

67. good luck charms?

I don’t think I have any...

68. worst flavor of any food or drink you’ve ever tried?

Lemon

69. a fun fact that you don’t know how you learned?

Let me think...I read something once about flowers having ears(?) but like not ear ears just something about having a part that picks up sound waves

70. left or right handed?

Right

71. least favorite pattern?

Lolll animal print I think

72. worst subject?

Physics...the worst science

74. at what pain level out of ten (1 through 10) do you have to be at before you take an advil or ibuprofen?

6...?

75. when did you lose your first tooth?

I don’t remember, it probably happened when i was 6. I do remember losing one of my front teeth during my birthday one year and I was happy since the tooth had been loose for some time xD

76. what’s your favorite potato food (i.e. tater tots, baked potatoes, fries, chips, etc.)?

Chips I guess or just like fried in skillet

77. best plant to grow on a windowsill?

A succulent probably

78. coffee from a gas station or sushi from a grocery store?

Neither ew

79. which looks better, your school id photo or your driver’s license photo?

They are both about equally terrible

80. earth tones or jewel tones?

Earth

81. fireflies or lightning bugs?

Fireflies

82. pc or console?

I am on pc side now

83. writing or drawing?

Writing

84. podcasts or talk radio?

Podcasts I guess

84. barbie or polly pocket?

Barbie

85. fairy tales or mythology?

Mythology, it’s too fun and chaotic lol

86. cookies or cupcakes?

Hm...cupcakes

87. your greatest fear?

Uh,,,I don’t have many fears but I guess one would be falling from a great height? So I would get scared of crossing a bridge and it collapsing or riding a plane and it falling easily

88. your greatest wish?

World peace🥲

89. who would you put before everyone else?

My mom maybe...?

90. luckiest mistake?

I honestly don’t remember but something I do remember is I out semicolon instead of period and turned out to be correct grammar lol

91. boxes or bags?

Boxes

92. lamps, overhead lights, sunlight or fairy lights?

Sunlight or fairy lights, I don’t require much either way and prefer more natural lighting

93. nicknames?

Lassie, twinkle toes, Ash, poody butt (by 3 yr old I sometimes watch and play with lol he means it affectionately; I call him monkey butt and it’s catching on slowly instead)

94. favorite season?

Starting to be fall just a little more but I like transition times most

95. favorite app on your phone?

Let’s go with twitter

96. desktop background?

It is a moriarty and gang pic

97. how many phone numbers do you have memorized?

2: mine and my moms

98. favorite historical era?

Ooo tough one but I’ll say renaissance as some of the coolest things came from that time

[ma-lark-ey]

I'm making this post the disclose my current opinions on the Dndads discourse and how frivolous its become.

I would like to preface with one thing;

This post contains content of grooming and manipulation, as this has been the main discussion in this fandom and the issues. I am speaking from my own personal experience, as a former victim of grooming who only recently escaped my abuser. I will not say their name, those who I feel comfortable knowing further information on this already know.

this is my trauma, and I am speaking from my experiences. This is one of the hardest possible topics I could touch on, and I beg anyone who still cares to listen, whether I change your mind or not. Listen.

I've wrestled with my support of this podcast for eleven weeks now. Maybe longer. Since before the discourse became a major thing. I've wrestled with this since episode 34 was released, and I need you understand that.

I need you to understand that I believe the hosts have done what they can to fix these issues. And I genuinely do not see what people still want from them. I will address each topic one at a time, and if I touch on things lesser than others, please understand that this discourse triggers a trauma that I underwent less than a year ago. a trauma I am still processing.

1. Grant, and his over sexualization.

The jokes revolving Grant and his sexual orientation or exploration were sometimes in very poor taste, I am not that blind. I will not defend them or say they weren't as bad as they are. But here'd what people have to think about when we talk about this; Those jokes are already in the episode. They cannot be removed, and the best the hosts can do about that is avoid that humor in the future. Humans are not perfect, and humor is ever growing part of a person, its always a tossup of if a joke will land or not. These did not, and they have not made these jokes since they got called on it.

On the Discord claims about them discussing his porn history, I can say nothing on that. I've seen no sources or proof that that happened. I won't make any opinions or comments on that until I've seen concrete proof that these conversations happened.

2. The Unsafe Discord.

They're Discord is no longer unsafe. Blanket statement, no discussion open. Here's the thing and here's where I'm going into my personal experience; Discords minor precautions arent up to par either. The DnDads hosts have made their 18+ channels, they've made the Discord clear to not be a totally kid friendly place and has tried to separate adults and minors. But they genuinely can only do so much. Minors can easily bypass these guidelines, and that is where we get to the whole grooming argument.

As a grooming victim, this is not the slippery slope people make it out to be. And adult fans,,this is where I'm telling you to sit down and shut up for a minute. Listen, for just a moment. I know I'm "just a kid" but, I've lived the possible outcomes you've thrown out. I lived that experience, and I lived. I survived, and the way you talk about it is so invalidating to me its absolutely disgusting.

I'm prefacing this with this may sound ineloquent, and not as "pleasant" as I usually like to sound. Because with this I expect people to listen. Its not in the public ass Discord server where you should watch out for the child. Its if you see an 18+ individual actively DMing that person, and this minor speaking about this person as if they're a major part of their life.

I need you to understand that I was genuinely wary of one of our own community members when I first began speaking with them, because of this trauma. I wary of ALL of our community members. I didn't share my other socials with people in this community unless I knew their content first. There have been multiple times I've stopped myself from messaging who I will call "My Annus" because of this trauma I've endured.

And I'm sorry, but Waterdeep genuinely has no precautions set in place to separate adults and minors that the DnDads Patreon does not. You cannot act like saints and villainize them, when they adjusted and became you. Then either both of you are saints or both of you are demons.

Children interacting with adults is always a bit set back at first. But I've been groomed. Twice. And you people act like its obvious, like it can happen so easily. And it does, it happens easily. First its them texting you so much you feel overwhelmed, then its them becoming someone you rely on. Someone who makes you pity them.

And its not gonna be people who are SIGNIFCANTLY older. (i.e, I feel much less worry interacting with 30 year olds than I do 18-22 year olds.) Because the adult people that feel 'more understandable' to be friends with cause their just barely adults? they tend to pry harder. They can get away with it. Thats just fact. The people who say "Oh I'm eighteen, but I just turned eighteen" I'm always the wariest of. Not because I'm convinced they're bad people or whatever, but because both times; my abuser was one of those people. This was two different people as well.

And thats what the adults of this fandom won't address. That its not the slope they've made it out to be. Because then they have to retract statements they made, and a lot of people, minors and adults, just don't have the humility to do that.

The only advice I can give to people in the server, who are worried for the minors. These are the only signs I can give you, and this is from my experience or the experience of other survivors I've spoken to, and I'm by no means saying this is concrete.

Abusers tend to be /just/ enough of an adult to be considered on, but not so old that it'll be considered weird for them to befriend a minor. The age gaps I see most often are 14/19 or in that kind of range. They'll go for the lonelier or newer folks, the ones who haven't built their group in the community and are just entering. The ones looking for their place in the hierarchy. If you want to help protect us, you watch like a mother bear when a new minor joins.

A lot of us don't realize its happening until its too late, and by the time we realize the situation we've fallen into its too late for us to get ourselves out. The majority of us have weak wills and a fear of conflict.

3. What the Hosts have done in response.

I honestly, genuinely think the hosts have done a lot of steps in the right direction. And in recent episodes? man, they've tagged their shit better than the McElroys, and no I'm not reaching there.

Honestly, they kind of did before to, on topics they knew were really rough for some people.

When they warned for the Willy Stapler stuff, I was grateful. They warned me I may be triggered by Ron and Willy's dynamic before I was forced with it. The McElroys had a scene with grooming in Grad, and I wasn't warned. I couldn't mentally prepare myself and I had a minor reaction to it. And thats not at all to shit on the McElroys, anyone who knows me know I love that family more than anything. That they saved me. Thats just a statement I need you all to understand.

The Hosts aren't "ignoring us" they're listening to us. They genuinely are. They saw we wanted content warnings, and they gave us some of the best content warnings I've seen. They've content warned episodes I didnt see reason for content warnings.

4. The Transcripts.

Look, this is beating a dead horse at this point. I, personally, have debated beginning to transcribe episode. I know they said they will, and I trust their word. But thats all we can really do, right?

I've transcribed things myself before, guys, and thats hard. and it takes time. and knowing them, they'll want to get all the current episodes up at once, and thats gonna take a hot minute to get down. And we can go into "Well why didnt they transcribe from the beginning?" and well, that's because transcribing just wasn't a thing until recently? Like again, going back to MBMBAM and McElroys, they don't even have all of TAZ transcribed last I checked (I believe their transcriptions go from Grad-Stolen Century, and anything before Stolen Century doesn't have one yet. I may be wrong on that.)

I will not speak on the other grievances and issues people have brought up in the show. The topics I covered are the only ones I feel comfortable speaking on on a public platform, where my words can sway opinions.

There is no TL;DR, because as I said in the beginning; if you can't read this, you aren't listening well enough nor willing to actually discuss the issues you have. You're looking for something to be mad about. Period, end of discussion.

I don't say that to act like I'm some authority on this, or some higher being above all of you for "being forgiving." Because, frankly I don't forgive them. I will continue to support them for making steps in the right direction, and upping their game. But, I won't forgive them for their jokes or the brief lack of precaution in the server. But, I will move on and I will support them. Because, as a victim of the problems people brought up in those situations, the steps the took are the best ones they could have. And I am grateful for that.

If other survivors read this and disagree, you're perfectly valid in that. We all went something, and it effects each of us differently. My heart goes out to you, as well, I know how isolating and genuinely terrifying those experiences and situations can be.

To those who aren't survivors and have read this; I beg you to think about this.

I am open to discussion further on this, but to an extent. There are some opinions I hold in this message that I will flat out tell you to not debate me on, not because of anything other than what I said in this post was hard enough to me to say.

Thank you for your time. EDIT: I implore anyone reading to the read the notes on this post, more information and discussion can be found and all of it is just as important. 

[redwebpod]

Case #1: Lake City Quiet Pills

One person's Reddit post honoring their recently deceased friend triggers a series of findings including espionage, hacking, and potential military conspiracy.

[Image ID] A corkboard showing various pictures and notes pinned to it, as well as red string connecting various pins. Notable pictures and notes include what seem to be a photo of a potential suspect or one representing the person known as Milo, a sticky-note showing the coordinates (39.793135 x -77.204865) of where Milo’s ashes were scattered, the sticky note is layered over an image of where the coordinates show, a burnt piece of paper showing the back-end code for the website mentioned in the episode. There are several other notes that are blurry or partially shown that simply reference back to the episode. [End ID]

Trigger Warning(s): Mention of Murder (Assassination), Mention of Drug and Alcohol Use.

[ Episode ] [ Tweet ] [ Transcripts by AchieveZar, under the Read More ]

Transcript: 

Cast: Trevor Collins (TC), Alfredo Diaz (AD), Christian Young (CY)

[intro music plays]

TC: In 2009, a user on reddit submitted a post honoring their friend Milo, who had just passed away. Both Milo and this user were connected to a mysterious photo-hosting website. Curious internet sleuths started to dig deeper into this strange site, where they uncovered a globe-spanning web of intrigue and military conspiracy. Today, we will be discussing the mysterious website known as: LakeCityQuietPills. This is: The Red Web.

[intro music plays]

TC: Welcome, to the first episode of The Red Web, a podcast dedicated to internet conspiracies, mysteries, true crime, supernatural events, all sorts of things like that. I’m your host Trevor Collins, and with me, I’ve got Alfredo Diaz.

AD: This is just a podcast to terrify me, isn’t it.

TC and AD: [laughs]

TC: Yeah man! [sighs]

AD: I listened to that intro and I just— a slight shiver, down my, my body, I’ma be truthful to you right here, and I’m intrigued.

TC: It’s— It’s a deep one here. I wanted to start this show off with a bang. This one has many twists and turns, I’m really excited — You, you have no idea where this is gonna go ——

AD: No, not at all.

TC: —— But I’m really curious, as to what your thoughts are.

AD: It just is interesting, you know what I mean, uh, I think there’s a lot of factors that kind of like, suck me in.

TC: Mhm.

AD: The fact that it’s more recent, right, 2009 ——

TC: Mhm.

AD: —— Um, it, you know you have factors like Reddit in it, um, so things that I’m just, that I live daily?

TC: Yeah.

AD: So from there, I’m like, okay like, I’m, I’m invested, and, and there’s, what, a photo-hosting site? Like what the he— like, military conspiracy? Like, there’s so many little things that I have so many questions for.

TC: Yeah. Well let’s go ahead and just jump right into it, I think we’re gonna have to take a little bit of a different route on this one because, you know, we have a lot of pieces that all come together in the end. So let’s start at the very beginning. We have the user named [religionofpeace], now he was a moderator on reddit for the particular subreddit called “Jail Bait”. Now this was a very questionable subreddit that has since been banned, but he has a long comment history ranging from marijuana use, anti-socialism, to what kind of piano wire can kill somebody. He’s got a lot of pervy comments, he has a lot of comments on spam, and just calling things spam, and we have lots of comments— and he’s very active in the programming subreddit, which means he likely understood code based on some of the things that he was saying.

AD: So like, half of the reddit user base, pretty much.

TC: Pretty much.

AD: [laughs]

TC: I think I just described most individuals… [laughs]

AD: [groans] My goodness… this, ugh, yeah this sounds… deep, dark and twisted already.

TC: Yeah, uh, so. This user claimed to have military experience in security operations. He claimed to have served during WWII and most notably on D-Day. Now this goes all the way back, right, June 6th, 1944. So this is a looooong time that this man has been around. He’s claiming to have been 79 years old, there’s a few different comments that say that he’s essentially in his 70s. It isn’t exactly precise because some comments conflict with each other.

AD: This older man, he’s versed in reddit?

TC: Yeah, he’s out here typing away!

AD: Uh, you know, interesting, okay…

TC: Grandpa knows how to operate this website.

AD: Grandpa has more reddit posts than I do.

TC: [laughs] He, listen, I went to his profile. It’s out there. And in fact, to the day, it’s been about 11 years, maybe a few days either side the day of this podcast being released, was when his last post was made.

AD: Ooooh!

TC: Which was July 17th, 2009.

AD: It’s the anniversary.

TC: Mhmmmm. So we know a little bit about this man based on his… comment history, and, uh, and so notably he’s got a domain site that he likes to link to, called LakeCityQuietPills.com. When you go to the website, it says “That Old Guy’s Image Host”. It essentially is a website built for hosting images. It has a lot of users, a lot of images, and most of these images are pornographic in nature, and it was also shared on a website called DrunkenStepfather, which was another similar pornographic website.

AD: The, the the TERRIBLE, terrible name…

TC: What’s wrong with the name?

AD: [groans] DrunkenStepfather? There’s nothing good that comes from that!

TC: [laughs]

AD: No one ever said like, “Aw yeah man, you know I love my drunken stepfather, every time he drinks we play MarioKart and it’s fantastic!”

TC and AD: [laughs]

AD: Like, that never goes well!

TC: Yeah. So, thankfully he’s not directly associated with this website, this is just another similar website that started hosting him, which is probably where some of the users started to come from, but this is neither here nor there. We’ll come back to this website a little bit later but I wanted to provide some background on this guy, because at this point, he kind of went inactive. And on the very same day that he went inactive, on July 17th, 2009, another user made a post. This user was named [2-6]. We’ll just call him [2 6], and the title of the post was, “The End of [religionofpeace] — He Died Today”. And then within that post, he identifies [religionofpeace] as a man named Milo, and he goes on to talk about how miserable, mean and lonely this guy was, how he had very little belongings that were all being donated to various veteran causes, like the Salvation Army, he gave his cat away to his neighbor, and he planned to have Milo cremated and scattered in the wind, for he didn’t really have much of a religious affiliation. And so this is where we start to learn more about this [2 6] user as an individual and we start to look at his comment history.

AD: Mhm…

TC: So [2 6] was created on the very same day that [religionofpeace] made his last post, and of his five posts that he has, they’re all related to Milo, they’re all within that same thread, replying to people, discussing Milo’s nature. What’s strange is that he seems to have a lot of typos, he seems very defensive of Milo as a character despite him being a mean, grumpy old man. But within his comments he actually posted the coordinates to where he scattered Milo’s ashes, which ended up being at a present day Holiday Inn in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.

AD: Classy.

TC: Classy. And beyond that, he also claims to have hosted “That Old Guy’s Image Host” over at LakeCityQuietPills.com. So now we have a direct connection, somebody who knows this character in person, knows this Milo guy, has been to his house, he’s seen his things, scattered his ashes and everything. And for some reason this post about Milo’s death hit the front page of Reddit, which made everybody start to go, “Who is this guy and why should we care? Why is this on the front page of reddit?”, right?

AD: Reddit sunk their teeth into it.

TC: Mhm.

AD: I mean to me this sounds like, I mean, you’ve watch The Office, this sounds like a Creed, uh, move here, where’s it’s just, uh, creating a new identity, you know what I mean—

TC: [laughs] Right…

AD: — where you can put, uh, you can dump all the, uh, [laughs] all the debt onto Milo —

TC: Right.

AD: — and [2 6] is born. Terrible, like, new name, but yeah, you know…

TC: It’s interesting, I’ve never seen a reddit user name, so short. I didn’t even know you could have a dash in your name. But this is, you know, ten, eleven years ago. Old men used to run the place!

AD: [laughs] I didn’t know— old man on reddit, doesn’t sound like a great guy, you know, he’s a part of a reddit forum that didn’t sound like a great place, uh, and then eventually got banned —

TC: Yeah…

AD: — the forum itself.

TC: He’s a grumpy dude, little bit of a perv, questionable motive in place here, and then somebody who’s associated with him who then got the attention of reddit, and of course, as usual when something mysterious shows up, reddit decides to dig a little deeper, and so they started to scour the internet with regards to this Milo and this [2 6]. And someone somewhere discovered that there was a, on a website called Fark that there was an account called [Angeltwo-six] that was registered on October 11th, 2001. So this goes back just about seven or eight years, and, uh, in the bio of that account it says, “Dispensing Lake City quiet pills to lousy bastards in need of permanent rest since 1968.” His email address is also linked up to the LakeCityQuietPills.com website, and on the Fark account that they had, they claimed to have military experience, just like [religionofpeace] aka Milo had.

AD: Was this also— was it also a “-6” in his username?

TC: It was spelled out, but there is a dash. So it’s [Angeltwo-six].

AD: Ooooooh… interesting.

TC: It’s very interesting. So, and it’s funny because people started to compare this reddit [2 6] in the year 2009 with this [Angeltwo-six] on this Fark website back in late 2001, and they started to realize that there’s a lot of spelling errors that they’re making, and, so they’re thinking that this might be the same person. Eight years apart, having very similar spelling and comma and quotation mark usage, it’s very intriguing. Which now, so now we know our players involved, let’s dive into LakeCityQuietPills, the website, and what redditors start to find out there.

AD: Tell me about this, because this sounds like a, a terrible place.

TC: I wanna know, what is, what does your gut check tell you about the name, LakeCityQuietPills, because —

AD: LakeCityQuietPills…[sigh] it really rides the line of like, you hear it, you go, “eh, I don’t care about it, it sounds boring” but then also the same time, if you give it like a second of a thought, you go, “this could be some, like, dark web shit”.

TC: Right, I mean, you have Lake City, which is a location in Iowa, you have quiet pills, which seems like a metaphor for something? We don’t really quite know yet, so let’s kind of table that for now. And then, we’re talking about lousy bastards in need of “permanent rest” is what this bio for this [Angeltwo-six] is talking about—

AD: OH MY GOODNESS, is this like a hit man web— oH MY GOODNESS!

TC: It might, ooooh! Who knows?

AD: Aaaaaaah!

TC: You’re talking about “permanent rest”, you know like, what else is permanent rest other than death, right?

AD: This is what my gut instinct is telling me right now.

TC: Oooooh. So let’s dive into the website. So if you go to the website now, it says that the IP address cannot be resolved, can’t be found, it’s nowhere to be seen. The website was hosted on  June 18th, 2008 originally, and when reddit users started to investigate, it just looked like an image host. It just looked like there was plenty of pornographic images, all over the website, plenty of users, but then someone decided to look a little closer. They looked at the html code of the website and shared their findings via a post on the [wtf] subreddit. And within the html code of the website seemed to be these hidden messages in the source code. A lot of them were very cryptic, there’s a lot of misspellings, there’s a lot of acronyms, and there’s what appears to be job listings. Now I’ll read out one of these verbatim, so you can kind of get a feel for what this is… is talking about.

AD: Oh my god, it’s like, it’s like a secret underground, uh, craigslist.

TC: YEAH!

AD: You can hire people for some crazy shit.

TC: Male looking for hitman…

AD: Okay, okay, okay, ooooooh!

TC: I like that.

AD: This is, you know, you know what makes this terrifying?

TC: What’s up?

AD: — is that, I, I still don’t know the whole entire story and I’m, I’m sorry to stop it in its tracks for a second but like—

TC: Stop, stop it right now—

AD: Uh, whether this all ends up being just a, “lol lol lol lol lol, it wasn’t that big of a deal” or something like that, you know this exists, right, like the way, what I’m speculating here [sighs] it probably exists somewhere out there, and that’s terrifying.

TC: Absolutely. Movies are based on reality, mercs, mercenaries, who knows —

AD: Yeah man. Yeah —

TC: — The Craigslist of hitmen, is upon us.

AD: Again…

TC: Who knows how many are out there, but —

AD: This podcast was built to terrify me.

TC: [laughs]

AD: Continue…

TC: So I’m gonna try to read this verbatim, like I said, it’s a little cryptic, but I think this first one reads a little easier.

AD: Mhm.

TC: It says, “IMMEDIATE NEED. 8-10 CHINESE/KOREAN. FLUENT KOREAN, DIALECT ACCENT. DETAILS AFTER CONTACT. 12 WEEK HALF-PAY SEQUESTER ON REFUSAL.” Now there are several instances of lines like this that seem to look for individuals who can speak Spanish, Italian, they talk about different languages, various lines indicate how long these gigs are gonna be… It says for example, “NO EURO W/W” which is another thing that people started to theorize on, as to what that could mean. So some of these notes are really interesting and they definitely feel like, job listings.

AD: Right, yeah.

TC: And, on the surface, as you pointed out, they feel very much like someone seeking military contractors, mercenary work of some sort. You know, there’s acronyms, the talk about security, they reference various languages and locations internationally, and what I found was very interesting was right below these listings is a sentence, “Shade is maintaining the calendar and access to the filedump. Angel has the job postings for Europe and Asia. We aren’t sending anyone to ME. No one. Don’t ask for listings.”

AD: ME… Middle East?

TC: It might be. That seems to be... the most likely instance here because, you know, they abbreviate Europe to EU, they have the US in here, and so contextually, you would think the Middle East.

AD: Yeah.

TC: So as people started to dig deeper into this website they found more messages, and there’s one dated on 17 July 2009, which as you might remember is the same day that [2 6] posted about [religionofpeace]’s death on reddit, and that message says, “I am sorry to tell you that Old Milo died yesterday. He went quiet and calm, not like we all figured. I gave that fat mangy cat of his to the little girl next door. No services or nothin’, you know Milo. I’m taking his ashes back to where his farm was. Close to it, anyway. There’s a mall where his place was. So hoist a few for the old man, remember what he said, ‘keep the faith with the man who’s got your back’.” So this is where things start to wrap together where the reddit posts are continuing to lock in this website.

AD: It… it just seems like Milo’s a part of this community, and he’s, I mean, I guess, known enough to… have a post about him, right? Like...

TC: Mhm.

AD: To have some kind of announcement…

TC: Mhm…

AD: Yeah, no, and then sounds like, is that [2 6] then? Because…

TC: It sounds very much like [2 6], and I struggled to read it simply because they’re so many typos and weird word usage in there, but those line up exactly with what we know about [2 6] from his reddit posts. And as you remember, previously I mentioned that he had posted the coordinates to where he scattered Milo’s ashes, and in here, he reveals that he wanted to take him to where Milo’s old farm was.

AD: Right. Now, Milo, this is, like a confirmed, real person, correct?

TC: We aren’t sure yet.

AD: Ohhhh, okay… okay.

TC: I mean,  the details here and the fact that [2 6] has a different speaking manner, and the fact that he’s got this… pretty robust story and it seems that this post here on an, an otherwise anonymous message board, because it’s in the backend of this website, it would seem to indicate that he has no reason to lie. He’s talking to what would otherwise be private members of this website, so it seems to substantiate that there are now two confirmed individuals that know each other, one having passed away, the other one kind of, who had known him, was now handling his affairs…

AD: Right…

TC: And the story of the farm, sort of lines up with the coordinates that he’d posted earlier, because when the ashes were scattered, he talked about wanting to take it to the farm here in this post but then on reddit, he said, “I had to give it CLOSE to where I wanted to put it” because the land where the mall is was developed in early 2000 and the coordinates that he gives unfortunately go to a hotel. A Holiday Inn. However, that Holiday Inn, that land wasn’t developed until late 2015, which is after all of this stuff happened.

AD: Right.

TC: So it is very realistic, like, things are starting to line up.

AD: Mhm.

TC: It seems like an honest story that’s corroborated through a couple different places here now. So now he’s talked about his passing away, and there are more posts that happen throughout the rest of the year. On Sept. 30th, 2009, several months later, there’s a new post that says, “For those who have asked, I have bricked Milo’s iron key, the same day. All is well.” And so for more background on that, it seems like he’s talking to individuals now. There seems to be, individuals that know about these messages, and for those you who might not be aware, an iron key is actually an encrypted USB storage device, so it could be a key to something, or it could be holding secure footage and by bricking it, he essentially destroyed the device to the point where it is no longer… useful. Like a hard drive if you brick it, it essentially just becomes a hunk of metal. You can’t remove the data off of it, and you —

AD: [groans] Who is this man and what has he done?!

TC: It’s getting weird man! And he’s —

AD: [groans]

TC: — And he’s talking, saying “all is well”, so “calm down, I got the iron key, I bricked it”.

AD: So he typed that publicly on reddit?

TC: So this, this is all still on the backend —

AD: — of the site.

TC: — of LakeCityQuietPills, yeah.

AD: Crazy! And, and this —

TC: It’s crazy.

AD: — And this was months later, so…

TC: Mhm.

AD: I mean if reddit was going to town on this site, that must have been posted on reddit for the public to see and I guess…

TC: Well not yet.

AD: Oh okay.

TC: So we’re kind of, like, this is gonna be a very non-linear story.

AD: Got it.

TC: It’s very convoluted. So I’m gonna do my best to describe what’s happening. So right now, these are future revelations that redditors will have had.

AD: Oh my god… okay, okay.

TC: So these are things that redditors in the future will have looked back upon and I’m kind of like expanding upon these posts and eventually these two timelines will collide.

AD: Okay.

TC: So as of right now, these are entirely anonymous at the time of posting. The only people that know about these posts as they’re being made are these mysterious users of the website. But, you know, hindsight is 20/20, we’re kind of going through the backlog of these messages until eventually something, uh, something kind of sketchy starts to happen.

AD: Sketchier than what’s been already like, developed here… [laughs]

TC: I thought we were digging deep fast, it’s about to get deeper.

AD: What the hell, dude! Okay, okay.

TC: So now we’re into November, the same year. Almost at the end of the very same year that we kicked off in. And there’s another post that talks about Milo, and this is very riddled with typos to them int where I almost have to interpret a little bit? Of what’s happening.

AD: Okay, mhm.

TC: But he’s saying, “heads up, Milo’s will was, it cleared probation,” or “it cleared probate. Surprise, he’s loaded! Email Shade if we sent you out in 2005-2009. Shade will have checks cut for you, the amount is by how many times, not the pay total, and the share is $3-4K.” So now they’re talking about sending people out into the world, on jobs, they’ll have checks cut for you, Shade’s back in play, the secretary who was messing around with the calendar and the filedump…

AD: Yeah I mean yeah, now there’s like money involved, and I mean, this is already super suspicious.

TC: Mhm, yeah.

AD: And like I feel like as soon as you get money involved… uh, it crosses a certain threshold with the government perhaps? I don’t know, I could be out of my, like, realm with this, but…

TC: It’s just like, it’s continuing to build this very obvious, alright, there’s a secret message board on this website, way beyond, way beyond the pervy images that we discussed in the very beginning, we’re now talking about money, hitmen, countries, language, like, it’s all starting to build this picture and now, we start to get into what really kicks everything out of control. And so now we’re into January of 2010. And they’re talking about having a birthday party for the old man on the 19th. “The party starts at 1500, as usual. Send your RSVP to Shade, FYI we’re booking a room for three days for anyone coming out of the area, and an overnight for locals. So come hoist your Dutch for Milo.” So they’re basically talking about, hey, this is a big hurrah for Milo, it’s happening in seven days from now, so this was posted on January 12th, the party’s supposed to be on the 19th… Seems like, all fun and games, right? A celebration for an old passed away friend, right?

AD: This is the time for the government, this would have been the time, you know what I mean? This whole time I’m listening to this story, the government was also, they had the wires tapped, or whatnot, and then this is how they get them! They have this like, celebration, uh, of a sex party going down, this orgy…

TC: [laughs]

AD: And like the FBI just breaks into this whatever Holiday Inn as they’re celebrating this old man.

TC: We’ve got this Holiday Inn orgy of hitmen, you know, doing all sorts of weird things, we’ve got pictures of old 79 year old Milo, scattered about the place…

AD: [crosstalk] — a ton of money because they’re just loaded now!

TC: Ah man!

AD: It just, this sounds insane!

TC: Yeah.

AD: But okay, I think it’s very interesting too because like, you would think that something like this, they wouldn’t want to… contact each other more than they need to, they wouldn’t… and they definitely wouldn’t want to see each other’s faces, etcetera.

TC: Right.

AC: But, I don’t know, they just have it, so it’s just like, “Hey! Just come down and hang out, it’s a birthday party!” No big deal!

TC: Right! You’d think like, “What’s the password? Are we wearing masks, and are we doing anything kinky?” Right?

AD: Yeah.

TC: So the day before, let’s just like, orgy aside…

AD: [laughs]

TC: The day before the event, it’s the eve of the birthday party, details, another message comes through. They’re planning the birthday party, and he says, “We’ve got 38 rooms in the Marriott on 46. Shade has the keycards for locals. You pick them up at the party.”

AD: THIRTY. EIGHT. ROOMS.

TC: Thirty-eight rooms.

AD: That is insane!

TC: That is a lot of people. Big orgy.

AD: Oh… man, that’s crazy. [mutters] The clean up job on that must be insane!

TC: [laughs] That’s why you gotta go to the hotel, man, who knows, you don’t have to look the cleaner in the eye.

AD: [laughs] Put the card down, you know, for incidentals.

TC: So here’s this. They say, “Give your travel name to the desk and that’s it. There’s no ID needed, since we’re covering the bill. Keep the room service under $500, and the phones are not secure.”

AD: Damn. First and foremost, room service under $500 for what, like, three days?

TC: What did they say, three days?

AD: Holy hell! They, they ballin’ out!

TC: Jeez, yeah.

AD: The profits are high with this organization, you know what I mean? Buy the stocks right now! They’re successful.

TC: [laughs] “Only buy 20 bottles of champagne, okay? Keep it a little bit less than that, don’t go too crazy...“

AD: That’s, that’s insane, and especially for 38 rooms, right? Like…

TC: Right.

AD: Like what is, what is, hold on, let me just calculate real quick, wait.

TC: This is a full, full blown convention.

AD: Thirty eight rooms times…

TC: Yeah.

AD: $500… $19,000!

TC: Oh just a drop in the bucket, for Milo! [laughs]

AD: Okay. [laughs] Inter— yeah. For Milo, loaded, dead, loaded.

TC: Alright.

AD: Okay. So weird dude...

TC: Keep notes from this message. They’re discussing how the phones aren’t secure. They’re discussing how they have a travel name. They’re discussing how they’re picking up keycards and stuff from Shade. Shade’s back in the business, being shady. I don’t know what’s going on here, but the next message, and I’ll gloss over this one for a little bit because we will come back to it, but the next message on the website is on February 2nd, 2010, and it says, “Party Bills. Here’s the final for the party.” It breaks down all of the expenses incurred across this so-called party. “Hotel Rooms - $48,341. Limo - $6,080.”  There’s a bus, a bar bill, food, dancers, miscellaneous tips, miscellaneous expenses, and a weird one, but it says, “Med. supplies” which I can only imagine says —

AD: Drugs.

TC: — medical supplies.

AD: Drugs.

TC: Drugs.

AD: Yeah…

TC: Yeah, it’s fair enough.

AD: Yeah…

TC: And it says, “Fat Tommy and Stu are okay too.” I don’t know who these guys are but we have Fat Tommy and Stu. Now they’re in play.

AD: [sighs] Okay, okay. Fat Tommy, and Stu…

TC: We have a total, if you wanna guess, what this full-blown orgy convention might have totaled, what do you think? You know the rooms are $48 grand…

AD: [groans]

TC: We have a limo, a bus, a bar, some dancers, some food…

AD: I’m, I’m gonna say, six figures, may— um, maybe like $110k?

TC: You’re very close.

AD: Oh!

TC: This is a $94,080 endeavor, and it ends with, “You all did Dutch Milo proud. Thank you.”

AD: And this is all, again, still posted —

TC: Mhm!

AD: — uh, through the secret forums of this website.

TC: Right! They’re all on the backend. And nowadays, here in 2020, this isn’t so much of a hacker tactic, you could right click on any webpage and say “inspect” and it will pull up the code for the website, where you can scroll to your heart’s content and see key words and other various… hooplah… doesn’t really —

AD: Yeah, I’ve, uh, accidentally done that fifty times…

TC and AD: [laughs]

AD: You know, “oh shit? What is this? Did I break my web browser?”

TC: [laughs] So yeah! This is where we’re at. We’ve got all these messages, uh, you know, we end with what the bill is, and this is where the redditors start to come into play. This is where the redditors collide with this mystery of [religionofpeace] hitting the front page, they dig into his history, they notice this website being posted a lot, and that’s where we get all this information from. These redditors investigated this website, started to look at the code, and they noticed that there were these hidden messages. And they started sharing it across reddit, you know, the hive mind of reddit trying to figure out what the hell is going on here —

AD: Yeah.

TC: — what are these cryptic messages, is this truly a party or is there something else going on… Because there’s what appears to be mercenary work listings right next to the celebration of an old friend. So while trying to understand all of this it became very public very quickly, and upon making it public, they noticed that the code, it was just English, right, that this English then became encrypted ciphers.

AD: Ohhhhh… yep. ‘Cause they… yeah, they knew everyone was catching on.

TD: Yeah. Someone noticed that they were caught, and so then, of course, reddit’s like, alright, simple enough, let’s get to work on deciphering this. Boom, encrypted again.

AD: [gasp]

TD: So this kind of became like a back and forth.

AD: OOOOOOH, what a challenge!

TD: But then the website took the ultimate reply and went offline.

AD: Yeah.

TD: The website has been offline ever since, and so these screenshots that I’m reading from are about 11 years old at this point, because that’s all we had and the website’s down. And people have started to analyze some of the acronyms that were going into play. You know, I think one of the most prevalent ones was in every listing, it essentially said, “NO EU W/W” and I think the most prominent definition for what that acronym could say is, “wants/warrants” or “wet/work”. Which would basically mean, “wet/work” being murder —

AD: Yeah…

TC: — in the line of a mercenary.

AD: Yep.

TC: Um, but what makes more sense to me in context would be, “wants or warrants”. You know, “no european wants or warrants”. Essentially if we’re going to do a job in Europe, I don’t want you landing and immediately being apprehended or having the police looking out for your likeness. And then there’s other things, you know, we kind of talked about what ME could be and a lot of people thought that that could mean the Middle East and, uh, throughout there’s a bunch of other acronyms that could be related back to military, based on their context. There’s “nonconUS” which is all one word, which simply could be, “non-continental US”... you have “SEC” which could be “security”, you have the Fed listed in there which, obviously is the federal government, and a bunch of other acronyms, all harkening to the UK Navy or the US Navy. It’s very interesting. So the website’s taken down, and this is essentially the end of the road. The case… goes cold at this point. Or that’s what we think.

AD: Oh thank GOD, I was about to say if you left me like this Trevor, my goodness [laughs] It would be the biggest blue ball mystery I’ve ever had in YEARS!

TC: [laughs] And that’s our show!

AD: [laughs] And that’s it! Just, the site’s down! You know what, like, it’s, it’s, it’s crazy that like, imagine like being in that moment, right? Like, I’m not one to be a, you know, I’m not one that’s like in the reddit community or anything like that, I’m not posting on the forums, I used to do things like that, just no time for it nowadays.

TC: Mhm.

AD: But just imagine being in the thick of it right?

TC: Right.

AD: Where it’s just uncovering these things with other people and then all of a sudden… it turns into like this cipher and then you go, “Oh my goodness, like, it’s reacting to us, and, and let’s try and crack this now.”

TC: Yeah.

AD: And I’m assuming, when the cipher changed, uh, and they were trying, I think you said they cracked it, right?

TC: Well they were at least working on cracking it, yeah.

AD: Yeah, they were working on cracking it, then it changed again, then the site went down… I’m assuming it was a, like an info dump of like, “this is where we’re migrating to now, we’ve been exposed here” —

TC: Right.

AD: “So we’ll continue work elsewhere.”

TC: Right.

AD: — is my assumption of what happened, but… thank goodness there’s still more to this story.

TC: And what’s really fascinating to me, is that I mean the hivemind of reddit and other websites like it, it’s just, insurmountable. There’s so many people going after this mystery and I can’t imagine, like you’re saying all these people are hungry for conspiracy or mystery, you’re a young person on the internet, you stumble across something that is in the zeitgeist. You’re like “What is this [religionofpeace] thing?” And it actually has, like, you’re grabbing traction, you’re developing a story. You find this website, you find these hidden messages, just like you’re saying… What was really blowing me away, was that a couple of very astute users started to look at the dates of these posts and tried to line things up. And that’s where we come to January 19th, 2010, the same day that we’re talking about Milo’s birthday party? The same convention of orgies or whatever?

AD: Mhm.

TC: — is the same day that a very complex assassination took place at a hotel in Dubai. And that was the assassination of Mahmoud Al-Mabhouh. And I hope I’m pronouncing that correctly, but for those who don’t know who that is, Al-Mabhouh co-founded the military wing of Hamas, and Hamas was a Palestinian Sunni-Islamic fundamentalist militant organization. It’s classified as a terrorist organization among many countries, and many continents, such as Israel, the United States, Europe, Japan, United Kingdom, and Australia. And, looking into this assassination, he could be seen to be traveling alone. His movement was tracked on various security cameras, and through the cameras we can see that his path crossed with many individuals, leading us to have at least twenty-nine suspects on this case, involved with his assassination. Twenty-six of whom, had passports that were either forged or stolen from various European countries.

AD: [GASP]

TC: And essentially, what these cameras show, is that these suspects waited for Al-Mabhouh to leave his room, go about his business in Dubai, whatever that might be, they gained access to his room, and then they waited for his return to execute the hit. And what’s fascinating here is that the date and the time of both this assassination and Milo’s supposed birthday party, line up exactly.

AD: GAAAAAH.

TC: Even further, and we’re still going…

AD: Whaaaaat?

TC: It turns out that several of the suspects were given credit cards that were traced back to an area known as Storm Lake, Ohio, which is a fifteen minute drive, one county over, from Lake City, which is the namesake for the website LakeCityQuietPills. It’s nuts. So there’s another interesting aspect here that lends some more credence to the connection between this assassination and LakeCityQuietPills. So, if you remember back when we discussed [Angeltwo-six]’s bio, on the Fark website —

AD: Yep.

TC: — the main components were Lake City, quiet pills, and “permanent rest”. Well, many people theorized that these “quiet pills” refer to bullets, specifically, bullets manufactured at the Lake City Army Ammunition Plant, which is the largest producer of small-arms ammunition in the United States, or at least for the United States Armed Forces.

AD: Ooooooh!

TC: And so, once again, if permanent rest refers to death...

AD: [groans] Yeah…

TC: It’s like, okay, so we’re talking about bullets, we’re talking about permanent rest for lousy bastards, hitman sort of situation… it really starts to help lend credence to the combination of these two events.

AD: Yeah. It starts really leaning into it, and it’s just like, oh man, it’s one of those things where it’s just like, is everything starting to add up because we’re looking for stuff, you know?

TC: Right.

AD: Like a little piece there, a little piece here, just looking for anything that we could tie into this narrative that we’re piecing together? But, oooooh, I don’t know man, my mind is down the rabbit hole at this point.

TC: Yeah, it’s like, can you, are we reading too far into it, are we lining up only a few nuggets of information, and then are we reading really far between the lines? It’s really hard to say on this one. And so a little more about this ammunition plant, it’s actually in Missouri, not necessarily the original destination that we were all talking about, which is a little bit north in Lake City, Iowa. So I’m not sure if there’s a direct connection there, but they are close by state-wise, so…

AD: Yeah.

TC: But there is a little disconnect, when it comes to that piece.

AD: Oh, okay, so, oh my goodness, alright, alright, so there’s this whole get-together, ahhhh, you know, we’re over here joking, “ha ha ha ha ha, it’s a secret orgy”, and then there’s this assassination that happens elsewhere.

TC: Yeah. In a hotel…

AD: In a hotel, and I go “ehhhhhhh, you know, timing”, but then the number of people he comes across, the fake passports, and then the fake credit cards that tie to Iowa, it’s like, that’s hard to dispute, man.

TC: It’s very unfortunate timing if they were in fact simply throwing a very expensive birthday party.

AD: [laughs]

TC: And upon looking a little closer, some of these credit cards were traced back to being from a company called Payoneer which is a specific type of pre-paid credit card. And the CEO of that company, named Yuval Tal, was rumored to have direct ties to Israeli intelligence. And that plays right into the relationship that we have kind of started to see between Al-Mabhouh and Hamas, and Israel, having labeled them as a terrorist group. Some background, Al-Mabhouh actually claims credit for several attacks on Israeli soldiers in the past leading up to this point. Now we have a clear motive, right, you know this CEO could have supplied these pre-paid credit cards to these mercenaries in order to fund their endeavor to, to make this happen. But we don’t know. That’s… essentially as far as this goes, you know. There’s eleven suspects that have their photos public right now, released by Interpol, but as of right now, there’s no one convicted, and in February 2010, the chief of Dubai police actually stated publicly that this assassination was most likely ordered by Mossad, which is Israel’s intelligence force, and it was discovered that Israel had forged British, Australian and Irish passports, which correlates back to several of the suspects having forged or fraudulent passports, and so now there’s so much connected tissue bringing in this website, with this date... [sigh] It’s, it’s, it’s just blowing my mind how reddit essentially, potentially, stumbled backwards into, like, by looking at one person in particular they ended up stumbling into his website, which stumbled into posts, which stumbled into the planning of this potential assassination. It gets very wild.

AD: Yeah. I mean, to me this sounds like this was… right, kind of like this mercenary group on, on a backend, kind of like, website, and then from there they did whatever essentially they wanted to do, whether it would be killings, or kidnapping, or selling of uh, people, or whatnot, and uh, you know, who’s to say, but good or bad, they were hired to do this one thing, and that’s what went down.

TC: Mhm. And that brings us back to that February 2nd post, you know, going back into a linear timeline, where this is happening in real time, this assassination and birthday party, whether they’re the same or not, happened on January 19th, 2010. Several days later that’s when they go back to their website and they post those party bills, and say, “You did Milo proud. Thank you.” And that’s once again where we hear about new players involved, like Fat Tommy and Stu, maybe we get a little more understanding on what medical supplies could mean? Considering the post says they are okay?

AD: Right.

TC: Like something could have happened, there could have been a scuffle, you know maybe they were the ones that did the deed and got a little banged up from it, and once again in real time, this is the point that the website became discovered, encrypted, and then went down. And so this is where the trail ends, with no more details left to be uncovered, at least at this point and time.

AD: Right. I mean going back to Milo for a second, he was, you know, in the military, he had, what, experience? With like coding and stuff?

TC: We were pretty certain that he had a background in programming of some sort based on some of his post history, there’s comments, a lot of comments actually, in the programming subreddit, instances where he pulls code from the backend of a website to highlight certain keywords, just as part of the discussion. So it’s, we’re pretty certain that he has a rudimentary understanding, yeah.

AD: So I mean yeah, I mean, again to me this sounds like this is someone that was in the military, you know, and then, uh [laughs] grew, uh, grew to be older, and, and with his connections and whatnot, you know, eventually one day decided to, to do something, with his, uh, skills and uh… ability? If that’s how you want to put it, and uh…

TC: Yeah.

AD: — you know, connected with other people, because, I mean at that point he probably had a handful of different connections, right?

TC: Mhm.

AD: And formed this thing, yeah I know, that’s, that’s, pretty wild. Did they interview any of the suspects?

TC: I don’t have any of that information. I don’t know much about what the suspects have to say on the situation, but that would be interesting if that is out there. Christian, do we know if there’s anything from the suspects at this point?

CY: They had, they’d interviewed two suspects I believe in India, um, but they were only suspected of I think aiding? I don’t think they were, they had direct ties to the actual assassination. And from what I remember, I think those two suspects kind of didn’t really say anything.

TC: Yeah, so I guess, you know, a couple of the suspects as Christian mentioned — He’s, by the way, one of our producers on the show who does a lot of the legwork, he develops the outline and the timeline for a lot of these mysteries that we’re gonna cover, so, you’ll hear from him every now and then as we have questions that we can’t answer, but yeah, I guess we’ve got a couple of suspects in India that were interviewed, but no extra information came out of them. Which then leads us kind of to just the theories. And as always you’ve got the main two theories that we’re probably always going to have: people think that this is just an alternate reality game, like an ARG; or that it’s simply a hoax. However, in this certain instance, it’s pretty doubtful that this is a hoax, because this is a very long play. If you remember, [Angeltwo-six] was an account made on Fark, a separate website, in 2001, so why would they have any reason to make another account, almost eight years later, with the very same kind of way of speaking, the same typos, the same… it’s a very long play to have.

AD: Man, ain’t nobody got that much patience, you know what I’m sayin’?

TC: That’s true.

AD: Like, that’s insane.

TC: That’s, that’s, that’s super true. Like no one’s got the patience for a hoax like that, and I think the real giveaway for that not being a hoax is as soon as this hit reddit, boom, encrypted, right?

AD: Yeah. I don’t know, I just feel like if it was a hoax, you would want to play around, right? Because if it’s a hoax that you’re trying to like, piece and put together, I would assume you want kind of like, eyes, right? Or “fame” behind it.

TC: Mhm.

AD: And so, if reddit was to discover it, I would guess that you’d want to play around with it a little more.

TC: Right.

AD: As opposed to kind of just like, locking it down right away and go “moving on”, right? Because that’s just such a long play to just go, “okay bye!”

TC: Right! And it, it’s been eleven years, right?

AD: Yeah.

TC: Like, this podcast coming out in July 2020, this story kind of going quiet or kind of kicking off in July, where that’s where [religionofpeace] passed away unfortunately, and all that. But uh, for it to go so cold for so long is usually indicative of it not being a hoax or having some sort of other motivations like you’re saying. And so that leaves us with the pretty obvious, as we were discussing, is this is military contractor message board or some sort of contract assassin hiring board, something like that, considering it could be just coincidence that this assassination happened, but based on the language, some of the acronyms they were using, and the context of what appeared to be job listings, ehhhhh, it definitely feels like some international intrigue happening here.

AD: Right? Because you have those listings that you’ve, that have been there for a long time, way before this whole assassination thing happened, and then there was also on the backend of the site, this whole thing about the party that happened before the assassination.

TC: Right.

AD: So it’s not like all these things were pieced together after that, you know?

TC: Mhm.

AD: Again, could be… a huge coincidence, but my god, that’s…

TC: The way it lines up is just… it’s very interesting. And the fact that they have a lot of suspects but can’t pin it down… just makes it all the more intriguing, you know?

AD: Yeah. It all started because this old reddit creepy guy —

TC: [laughs]

AD: — was posting on the forums…

TC: His, his account is still perfect accessible if you wanted to look it up and see what he got up to, it was —

AD: No, no—

TC: —very interesting how he, there were so many posts where he just goes off the handle about spam, and insulting people, as if they’re spambots. “Spam, this is spam, die spam, stoooop”. Like, it’s just, exacerbated old man yelling at spambots.

AD: Yeah…

TC: Which is really interesting to me.

AD: The, uh, cyber equivalent of “get off my lawn”.

TC: Pretty much. Yeah. There’s a couple other theories that, that I think are interesting, where they discuss [2 6] and Milo simply just being titles, not necessarily individuals but a role. Because if you take a look at [2 6] it has some context in both the US Navy and also the UK, the British Navy.

AD: Right.

TC: In the US, it’s kind of slang for, “It’s going to take two surgeons six hours to remove ten inches of boot from your ass,” which is essentially just a motivator, like pick up your own weight, let’s go, let’s get going, right? 2-6. And in the British Navy, there’s a phrase called 2-6 Heave, which is simply a rallying cry to coordinate sailors who are on a navy vessel. Someone would cry 2-6, the team would then say “heave” all collectively while they pull at the same time. Just, coordinating, essentially, a large navy team. And I think that that’s very interesting considering [Angeltwo-six] seemed to be the coordinator on this website, whereas the slang 2-6 in the British version is coordinating a team on a vessel. And then Milo seems to, it possibly stands for “Military Intelligence Liaison Officer”. Now it’s not necessarily what it’s always called, usually like, military liaison officer, or something of that nature, but if they wanted to turn MLO or anything like that into a name, Milo’s the closest. And, uh, that type of title has existed for a while, also in the United Kingdom. So this title of military intelligence liaison officer kind of refers to a group or an individual who is a trained intelligence officer that has a broad background, that could be deployed in various missions and various needs across the globe, whether it be a potential peacekeeping operation or anything like that. And so this role clearly fits Milo, he seems to be the guy who’s a head of the website, he’s got all this, over 40 years of military experience. He actually, uh, is known for having gotten [2 6] into this job, because [2 6] has admitted that coming out of the military himself, that Milo was there, offering him a position, and once again [2 6] seems to be this coordinator position for the roles, and then we have these other people that we don’t really know about in any other way, like Shade, who seems to also be a coordinator of the money, the calendar, and whatever this filedump is. And that leaves us with the last theory, which seems to have the most connected tissue but the least resolve, which is the assassination, how all this came down, all the timelines lined up, how the credit cards coming back to Storm Lake via this company called MetaBank, we have Payoneer, who has Israeli connections potentially, which then has connections with Al-Mabhouh… it’s very interesting and my gut wants to say that this assassination is in place but I think it relies on a, probably too thin of a solution which is, too thin of evidence, which is simply having the same date. And I think Christian has some more information regarding the suspects that were interviewed…

CY: Soooo I was a little wrong. There were two initial suspects, two Palestinians named, I’m gonna butcher these names, Ahmad Hasnin, an intelligence operative of the Palestinian authority, and Anwar… Shekhaiber? I have no idea how to say that, um, but they were arrested in Jordan and then sent to Dubai, and they were suspected accomplices, um. People thought that, the, the primary suspicion was that they were giving logical assistance, um, such as providing car rentals and hotel bookings. But —

TC: Gotcha!

CY: — both of them, from what I’m reading, didn’t really say much when they were interrogated? And then —

AD: ‘Course not!

CY: — there was another suspect on June 4th, so about… five months after the assassination, there was a man arrested in, uh, Warsaw Airport with a fake passport with the name “Uri Brodsky” who’s wanted by German authorities, and [they] found out that Brodsky’s real name is Alexander Verin and he was suspected of illegally obtaining a German passport for another person, that name’s Michael Bodenheimer, who is a suspect in the assassination.

TC: Whoa!

CY: And then last but not least, there was a, uh, another suspect. Dubai’s police chief Lieutenant General Dahi Khalfan Tamim (once again, apologizes for butchering the names), he claimed that on October 11th, 2010, he claimed that a western country had arrested a top suspect of the assassination, about two months prior, but did not give any further details beyond that, so people are kinda… unsure about whether or not anything like that actually happened.

TC: Aw man, how deep does, does this web go —

AD: [laughs] Around and around and around we go...

TC: — on this particular… I knew I wanted to start this show off with a bang, but, this is… just deep and intricate, people knowing people knowing companies knowing countries? For example, you know how I talked about Yuval Tal, he was the CEO of Payoneer, the pre-paid credit card company, you know, they were owned by three venture capital firms, which also all had ties to Israel, and so it’s very much like, money laundering, except with blame, like.  This guy over here is forging passports for that individual to then hand those off to so-and-so elsewhere, and that person would go over and he might do this, and then you have somebody in India whose, or was it Israel, Christian?

CY: There were the two Palestinians —

TC: Okay —

CY: —- who were arrested in Jordan and then sent to Dubai and then there was the man who was arrested in Warsaw —

TC: Warsaw…

CY: — and he was wanted by German authorities.

TC: Gotcha.

CY: We’ve got, Palestine, Jordan, Dubai, Germany, and Poland. And then an unnamed western country.

TC: So many, like, six degrees from the, the, from the event. I’ll give you the information and the intelligence, you provide that to so-and-so — It must be that this huge network, this huge network —

AD: Hundred percent. Hundred percent.

TC: — they had thirty-eight rooms, right?

AD: Hundred percent.

TC: Man. That’s interesting. That’s really interesting. And I wonder if this kind of thing is known about, which is why it never resolved. You think maybe some of the countries in play kind of green-lit this as some sort of covert operation to stay entirely off the books, so that way country tensions wouldn’t rise ‘cause they could be like, “well, we didn’t do it, it was just a group of mercenaries from who-knows-where!”

AD: Yeah. I wouldn’t be surprised that there’s like different countries involved and they’re like, “hey, so, you know we helped coordinate this”, or they find, you know, they found out that someone did this, and they went, “well you’re kind of doing us a favor so, it’s no —“ You know...

TC: Mhm.

AD: Yeah, sure, it was like, an operation that had happened on our grounds that we didn’t greenlight but, it’s a bad person, you kinda just did us a solid one. [groans] It’s crazy, dude. This is —

TC: It’s nuts.

AD: — this is wild.

TC: You just never know what you’re gonna find on the internet and really, that’s what this whole podcast is about! You know, obviously we’re going to cover true crime, supernatural, I want to get into some scary stories down the way, but the bread and butter here I think, for unsolved mysteries, is on the internet. It’s the new frontier for mysteries.

AD: I think it’s a solid point, you know, and uh, just, uh, make sure to put it out there, we’re not investigative journalists, we’re not going to crack the case or anything like that…

TC: Oh no no no —

AD: But we definitely will outline everything there is to know, all the theories involved, and make it so it’s super easy to follow, so that way you can kind of like, dive in with us and get immersed with all of this.

TC: Yeah, for sure! And uh, you know, and that’s it! That’s the end of the first episode, starting out with a banger, lot of twists and turns… You know, we don’t know what’s going on here, maybe they’re still in play, these LakeCityQuietPill boys…

AD: —‘s weird. [laughs]

TC: It was weird. It was very weird.

AD: They’re all gonna be weird.

TC: It was very weird to keep it straight mentally as I was like, studying this with Christian, is, it’s just a lot going on, but if you guys like the show, feel free to let people know, rate it 5 stars or whatever you listen to podcasts, maybe it’s a thumbs up, and uh, we would really appreciate it, but word of mouth? That’s the best way to get podcasts out there. And if you want to follow us on twitter (@redwebpod), we’re gonna upload images and other ancillary content that will support each episode, so screenshots of websites we’re referring to, maybe small clippets, if there are security cam footage pieces like that… anything that might help build out the visual of what we’re describing here and give you a better idea of the mystery involved. But otherwise, we will see you guys next Monday for another mystery!

[outro music plays]

[jelloopy]

TAZ Grad Ep 27

The boys are in front of the Godscar chasm  (This is spooky right off the bat lets see where this goes)

FUCK Argo rolled a 1 and is being strongly affected by the chasm he grabs onto Fitz’ shoulder for balance (Maplekeen shippers come get yall juice.)

T h e m u s i c (I will lose my mind as soon as this album is out good lord)

Argo is seeing himself attacking his boys? (Holy shit where is this going?)

IT WAS A FUCKING DREAM THANK FUCKING GOD (This better not be one of those things like Duck had in Amnesty I’ll fight.)

Griffin being pissed that he rolled a nat 20 on perception in a fucking dream and declaring that he’s withholding that until a more opportune time.

Uh oh…. Where are Firbolg and Fitz?

awe they left him a note! It’s okay!

GRAY BETTER BACK OFF IM ALREADY PISSED IM NOT EVEN 6 MIN INTO THE EPISODE AND IM ALREADY DONE. THIS MOTHER FUCKER NEEDS TO DIE AND QUICK. s t o p h u r t i n g a r g o 2 0 2 0

”That’s just dad’s inner monologue” that’s… awe come on “sorry my son came in here and said that bullshit” “awe Henry come on man” “being a bad son is genetic it seems” (Pure gold I love this family)

Sabor saying he was “somewhere else for a second” (does not give me the best vibes ngl…. Sabor’s p sus)

Justin’s new podcast law around Sabor and Firbolg. (Tbh I was a big fan of the slow arduous talking scenes but I will live I suppose…)

Sabor…………………… why are you so sus rn. Ur just tired. Stop being cryptic p l e a s e.

”I have been giving this much thought” “hell yes.”

FESTOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO THE MUSIC CAME ON AND I BECAME INSTANTLY FERAL HOLY CRAP FESTOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO (I have been waiting for their return omfg)

”Would you like to party with the fairy’s?” “I need some sort of survival guarantee that I’ll make it through the evening” (This is an extremely viable request)

“Snippers don’t be like that…” “It’s okay I’m flattered!” (I need subtitles for Snippers p l e a s e)

“But this Lil guy is my familiar. He’s not the source of my magical powers, as far as I know… that would be a pretty late season twist.” “DAMNIT GRIFFIN YOU FIGURED IT OUT! All magic in Nua flows through snippers”

FESTO AND GORDY HAVE PARTIED TOGETHER WHAT A DUO (I need fanart of them STAT)

damnit they haven’t partied with Chaos

OH SHIT they don’t know about Fitzroy’s connection with Chaos

oop this is…. Oop. “if your source of magic is external you should not have been able to access it within the crypt.”

 “I also have a habit of delighting people” “HM!”

He lovingly refers to them as his “Boys”

“that wasn’t Argo that was your dad” “CLINT?! THE POWERFUL WIZARD!?” (Clint is truly a multidimensional and plane hopping wizard. We stan)

“we need a name for this multiverse that Clint Travels through” “How about the Clinterous” “TRAVIS. Honestly Travis! Are you fucking kidding me?!” (I………… why Travis… why)

Thank god they all use the restroom before they leave

Argo was literally stabbing in his sleep….?

Firbolg’s first pair of shorts! ‘N he enjoys them. V v happy with this

This means that Gray is actively in Argo’s mind, twisting what he hears! That’s dogshit he needs to stop (s t o p h u r t i n g a r g o 2 0 2 0)

Firbolg has yet to tell them about his dad’s passing and Fitz’ respects that. Argo on the other hand goes ahead and pries in on it.

(Fits their characters tbh)

“Are we just not going to class anymore?” “It’s all Virtual” (I had to stop and laugh for a good minute bc of the delivery by Justin. It got me)

Hero is in front of the Chasm… bb are you ok...

Fitz’ whistling to get Hero’s attention… (Fitz… he’s not a Dog anymore bud…)

Hero has been working up the courage to explore the Chasms! (Pls take him with you)

“you were a dog for a long time you think that you’d be used to people cleaning up your mess” it gets a smile out of hero AND Firby starts to dance! (I need all of the Firby cosplayers to make a TikTok with this and I need all artists to draw this stat. I need the dopamine p l e a s e)

“He does this any time he makes a slam dunk of a joke we just have to let him finish”

God I love when they back up for a min and do some good ol table talk

”I’m talking as a human being Justin Mcelroy father of two.”

“If you guys win a demon war? It’s at least an A-” “what would it take to get the A+?” “You could bring me a fruit basket” (The absolute Corruption… lmao)

Niceee Hero is gonna go work with Althea this is gonna be great.

Yes griffin giving that perception check NO CLINT WITH THAT FUCKING NAT 1 (Clint needs new dice that are blessed please)

Fitz sees Argo take out his blade and sees a look in his eyes. Firby sees it too. (aaaaaand I was right it was one of those “Duck” scenarios ….. damnit)

Firby uses thorn whip around Argo’s wrist and he doesn’t fight it. ( :(  )

Fitz insists that he goes into Argo’s mind to see what’s going on and Argo agrees but as Fitz gets near him he puts up a fight… (This is getting quite concerning)

FIRBOLG CASTS HOLD PERSON. HOLY SHIT. BRO. (I did not know he could do that… damn alright…)

Clint your VA is so good I adore you so much. (I just need to tell him that he is doing an amazing job. Pulling at my heartstrings constantly)

Maplekeen shippers come get your angst (I don’t ship it myself but I cannot imagine what the tags are gonna look like after this bc damn…)

CLINT YOU NEED TO FUCKING GET RID OF THAT D20 DUDE

Gray is in Argo’s mindscape. Mother FUCKER.

Fitz casts Thunderwave at Gray on-site and a Lil to cocky like Gray puts up a hand to block it but underestimates Fitz and goes flying about 10ft back (This is… mmmmm yes I’m very comfortable with the energy we’ve created in the studio today)

“Stop fucking cheating!” (YO HE CURSED REALLY WELL!!!!!! He’s learning!)

YEAH! THAT’S RIGHT MOTHER FUCKER BE SURPRISED BY FITZ AND RUN AWAY YOU COWARD (God I hate this dude)

“Festo wouldn’t do anything to hurt me” *silence* (Sus)

The portal in the Chasm... ever-growing… Opalescent being with white eyes...

ORDER?!

I’m very intrigued. I enjoy how Fitz is annoyed instead of angry most of the time. It really brings into perspective that this is kinda a useless war that doesn’t need to happen. That also the Warforged from the last episode was onto something with the question of “why six months?).

[genderbinaryisforlosers]

everyone on the carte blanche for the ask meme

everyone? oh boy this is gonna get long ajfhdsf

JUNO

First impression: i, like a lot of people who get into the podcast without knowing a great deal about it, was expecting at most an ambiguously bisexual angst machine with a closely-guarded heart of gold. juno being an explicitly bisexual genderqueer angst machine is perhaps the most pleasant surprise of my life. the angst machine heart of gold characters were kind of my type at the time, so i loved him right away

Impression now: every time i think about juno’s arc from depressed mess held together by bad coping mechanisms, safety pins, and a few good strong puns into someone who can talk about his feelings, feel comfortable about being happy, and recognise when he needs to change, i want to cry about it a little bit. the depth of my love for juno steel has only grown along with him

Favourite moment: juno has a lot of great one-liners and i’m still a big fan of the “on the other hand i wasn’t wearing a watch” bit and who can forget such classics as juno finally deciding to stop moping over nureyev and move on only for him to open the door to his apartment and find nureyev sitting in the dark dramatically, but honestly nothing will ever hit me harder than his sudden, pissed-off declaration of “i can’t die yet, i still have shit to do!” in promised land. god.

Idea for a story: oh i have so many and i want to write most of them so no spoilers, but juno accidentally kidnaps a baby during a carte blanche heist and shenanigans ensue

Unpopular opinion: obviously we all know he’s dummy thicc but i feel like a lot of people forget he’s an actual genius, like the stuff he notices and how he strings it together is sometimes so obscure and he’s almost always right. oh, also juno is not skinny and i will not be taking criticism on that

Favourite relationship: this is so tough because every dynamic is so good, but i think it has to be juno and rita. those two are so good! the best best friends in the world!! i’m really a sucker for any dynamic that’s ridiculously in-sync so i loved these two as soon as juno saw rita’s notes in prince of mars and went “makes perfect sense to me” (which it probably didn’t, because rita, but he trusted that she knew what she was doing which is the important part)

Favourite headcanon: this isn’t really a headcanon but i still think about how juno is (was?) deathly afraid of heights but when he heard rex glass coming he still attempted to climb out of the window. either his aversion to working with dark matters/other people in general was so strong is overrided his fear, or his office was actually on the ground floor. not sure which of these is funnier.

NUREYEV

First impression: we’ve all seen the memes about nureyev knowing juno steel for one (1) day and deciding to Risk It All by leaving him with his name, look at this Hopeless Romantic, this utter DISASTER of a homosexual. the fact the very next time we hear from nureyev (at least directly) he’s patiently waiting in juno’s dark apartment to surprise him with a heist definitely supports this image.

Impression now: even after literally being inside peter’s head, i feel like we didn’t get a real sense of who he is until man in glass, where we find out he aggressively compartmentalises everything that causes him stress. he’s also distinctly someone who’s had his heart broken before, i think, which makes those first appearances of his very strange. but it does remind me of what juno says about diamond, and how he decided to provide the trust first and wait for the trustworthiness to grow in (only to get severely hurt), and i think that’s exactly what nureyev did. i am also... very uneasy with how suspicious he’s behaving this season because obviously i want to believe he’ll sort it all out and not betray the crew but... oof

Favourite moment: the beginning of what lies beyond pt1 where he’s affectionately bullying juno into taking care of himself? cleared my crops watered my skin etc etc etc

Idea for a story: i’d love to hear more about his past as a young thief idolising buddy and vespa (i can’t actually remember if that’s canon or fanon but anyway i wanna read it!)

Unpopular opinion: i think people often cling to an image of him that more resembles his first impressions in season 1 instead of seeing the depth that we’ve been given about his character in season 3

Favourite relationship: him and juno but honestly it’s a close call between them and his budding friendship with rita. even though she learned it by accident, his name is still a point of intimacy and it’s one less secret to keep around her which has to be a weight off his shoulders, at least a little? they seem like they could be really good friends once ultrabots is out of the way. juno steel love (and also bullying) zone activates whenever they’re together

Favourite headcanon: i’ve said it before and i’ll say it again - nureyev has never done a household chore in his goddamn life. he doesn’t know the water needs to be hot when you wash dishes.

RITA

First impression: honestly i’m not sure? i don’t remember having a big awareness of her in murderous mask but i remember loving her “note-taking” in prince of mars, i thought she sounded really fun and cute

Impression now: rita is really fun and cute, she’s also an extremely hardworking and dedicated woman who had the guts to throw in with a detective fired from the force and then invest all of her time and money into helping him help people.

Favourite moment: Rita Gets A Knife. enough said

Idea for a story: i don’t know honestly! i really struggle to write rita because her thought processes are so wild and i don’t think any story i could come up with would match mega ultrabots of cyberjustice.

Unpopular opinion: this shouldn’t be unpopular because juno steel himself shares this opinion but all future-jupeter headcanons are incomplete without rita also being a huge part of their lives

Favourite relationship: rita + franny 4ever obviously.. jk it’s juno & rita have you heard rita minute 3 they’re too adorable for this world. im still Soft over their conversation at the end of soul of the people when he said he couldn’t stay in hyperion anymore but he wouldn’t leave with the carte blanche if rita wasn’t coming because he was done leaving her behind, and she threw out all her hesitations on the spot and said call the big guy. speaking of, rita & jet are a close second. instant best friends i love them.

Favourite headcanon: i think this is basically canon now but rita being literally half the height of jet is so good

JET

First impression: “haha lorge funny man puts juno in the trash”

Impression now: jet sikuliaq is one of the dearest characters to me out of anything ever. he is a huge, menacing, polite, kind, sincere man who i would very much like to give me a hug. he’s the best aro ace in outer space and while being generally very levelheaded and straightforward, also takes every opportunity to fuck with juno because it’s very easy and very hilarious to him personally. he is everything my autistic acearo ass needed and i’m so glad to have him

Favourite moment: all of them every single one. him putting juno in the trash is of course a classic and every moment jet chooses to be funny makes my heart happy, but also every piece of genuine advice he gives. i’m a particular fan though of buddy recounting her years in the lighthouse and him saying he became concerned when she didn’t come downstairs at the usual time. “you took the door off its hinges.” “i was deeply concerned.” king of understatement

Idea for a story: again no spoilers for you but..... tools of rust time loop au

Unpopular opinion: this isn’t “unpopular” as much as it is unknown but jet is buddy’s queerplatonic partner and i will keep saying it until everyone believes it

Favourite relationship: jet and buddy,,, just everything about them. the way he suspects when she’s lying, the way she makes tea for him when she expects him to drop by. the fact he comes to check on her when she is 41 seconds late to the family meeting because it’s unlike her to be late and the last time she was late for something her brain was turning to radiation soup. but most especially the way she snaps at him to stay out of her business and he said he could not because he made her promise eight years ago to never stay out of the business of her health, no matter how many times she asked. they r literally in a qpr

Favourite headcanon: i don’t think this is true but i still think it would be funny if the ruby-7 used to be painted red but when jet got it he had it painted green because he Just Really Likes Green (as evidenced by his hovercycle). it’s very funny to me.

BUDDY

First impression: it’s been a minute since i relistened to time gone by but i’m pretty sure the first thing she ever says in the podcast is sliding up to depressed accidental whiskey thief juno and say “that’ll be ten million creds,” scaring the shit out of him, so needless to say i was in love instantly.

Impression now: my love for buddy aurinko has only grown and if it sounds like i already said that in this post it’s because i did about juno and it’s appropriate because the parallels are astounding. the heart of it all gave us such depth to buddy’s internal monologue and why she always sounds like she knows exactly what to say and what that’s like and honestly will i ever be over the heart of it all as an episode? unlikely. i think i’m gonna have a little piece of it in MY heart forever.

Favourite moment: everything she’s ever said is iconic as hell i especially like “in an impressive fit of hubris i’ve decided not to prepare my words for this vow” which made me laugh out loud but once again i must give it up for her iconic “I WANT TO LIVE” moment. honourable mentions to her taking rita out for ice cream and giving juno shooting lessons while she’s in her actual wedding gown. i love her

Idea for a story: buddy and vespa as sun/moon dieties.... that’s all

Unpopular opinion: stop drawing her with a fancy high-tech eye like the theia!! it canonically looks like garbage and it’s described in detail, please, i’m dying, also don’t minimise her scars you bastards

Favourite relationship: buddy and vespa invented romantic love and the entire carte blanche crew’s relationship to her is great but you know by now i’m a slut for buddy & jet out-of-this-world queerplatonic partners. the way she checks in on him during tools of rust to make sure he’s not relapsing and he comes to find her when she is 41 seconds late in the heart of it all to make sure she’s not having a heart problem!! it’s the trust,, the devotion,, the mortifying ordeal of being known

Favourite headcanon: she can sing. absolutely tears it up at karaoke. i’m right

VESPA

First impression: knife lesbian goes STAB. she will heal your wounds but she will be threatening to give you more the whole time

Impression now: she is extremely strong, heart-rendingly tender, and despite being in the older half of the carte blanche crew somehow has unmistakable little sister energy which makes her downright hilarious. i’m so glad she got to marry buddy and they’re official space wives now they’re so good for each other

Favourite moment: both from shadows in the ship, either “GUN!!” “KNIFE?!” (iconic) or when she clocks the dark matters drone pretending to be juno because it called her crazy and juno wouldn’t call her crazy. i’m always a sucker for “shapeshifter fails to fool mark because they Know Each Other Too Well” and it was just *chefs kiss* so good

Idea for a story: i really want to write something about when she was first staying at the lighthouse with buddy post-reunion, and getting to know jet and stuff. i think it would be cute

Unpopular opinion: i know vespa doesn’t canonically have lots of scarring but people who don’t draw her with scarring? cowards.

Favourite relationship: once again, although buddy and vespa invented romantic love, i just love the dynamic between vespa and juno so much. they’ve come so far with each other and their weird sibling dynamic gives me life. at the end of what lies beyond when juno says “we’re not gonna kill her, vespa” and instead of sounding full of Rage and Suspicion she’s like “whyyy notttt?” and he’s like “because i said so!” and that’s just good enough for her even if she’s a bit grumpy about it. i love it.

this took.. a hot minute to do! jshkfjsdgsa thank you dyl ily <3

[panharmonium]

more rambling re: that last post (+ the merlin/will fic survey overview)

because i generally refrain from reading fic while i’m actively writing for a fandom, the only real ao3 reading i have done for merlin is my survey of the merlin/will ship tag.  and the only reason i undertook that survey in the first place is because while i was doing an introductory cruise of the various merlin tags during my first exploration of the fandom (after i finally finished S5 and was able to start looking into fandom dynamics without fearing spoilers), i noticed that a LOT of the fic tagged with this ship was also tagged merlin/arthur, and despite the fact that i personally am more interested in gen stuff, i started to get both suspicious and annoyed about what i was seeing.  but i also wanted to have the data to back up my annoyed feelings, so i made a little spreadsheet for myself and then just filled it in whenever i had time to kill and wanted something to do. 

the data, when i eventually finished, backed up my annoyance pretty much as well as i expected, which was disappointing, but not surprising.

to clarify - i’m not annoyed by the fact that will and merlin don’t have a whole lot of material in their ship tag.  will only showed up directly in one episode; i don’t expect him to be a popular subject.  what i AM annoyed by is the fact that there are actually more merlin/arthur fics in the merlin/will tag than there are fics that actually focus on...merlin/will.  by, like - an extreme margin.

(the rest of this is just me griping about fandom trends.  popping it under a cut so folks can just move on with their days if this isn’t relevant to their interests.)

The Numbers

two quick notes before i get into the nitty-gritty:

1) i originally did this survey a few months ago, but i updated it this week with fics that have been added since then, so the numbers are current.  

2) some of the data below would probably vary slightly depending on who was conducting the survey, so there’s a bit of wiggle room in either direction.  the criteria i had to use [aka what counts as just a ship ‘mention’ vs actual content] would be subject to reader interpretation, obviously, but even with that, i do feel that most stories fell into pretty clear categories.)

so, without further ado -

total # of fics in the ship tag: 145

number of fics that are inappropriately tagged (meaning either will himself or merlin/will as a ship does not actually appear [which is kind of bizarre, but which i saw happen surprisingly frequently], OR where there is only a brief reference to will or past!merlin/will and that’s the extent of their inclusion: 50

number of fics that are duplicates of works already in the tag (ie podfic), or (in one case) a meta podcast about the show: 5

so, that brings down our total number of fics with some sort of actual merlin/will content to 90.

of these 90 works, only 17 of them are actually focused on merlin/will.  

everything else in will’s ship tag, including the 54 works from the previously discussed "incorrectly tagged” category, is either a) fic where will is dumped, broken up with, or otherwise passed over in favor of arthur (and very occasionally gwaine, at least once mordred, once percival, once arthur and gwaine in a threesome, and once CENRED, which i’m sure will would be especially thrilled about), or b) fic where will is only included as a previous/ex relationship (again, almost always in lieu of arthur).  

moreover - of the 17 actual merlin/will fics, 7 still end with will dying or the relationship ending for reasons other than him being passed over for arthur.  an additional 4 are <1000 word PWP snippets, generally written for old LJ summer pornathons, one of which still somehow manages to be...you guessed it - all about arthur. 

in terms of actual one-shots/full fics where merlin/will is the endgame/non-dead pairing, there are only 6 stories.  

i repeat: will gets six earnest stories, IN HIS OWN SHIP TAG.  

i repeat once again: will, in a non-dead, endgame form, gets 4% of his own ship tag.

The Content

the in-fic trends are frustrating, if you actually like this character.

the asshole.  will is an abusive boyfriend.  he is a jealous ex. he’s a shitty friend.  he’s a stalker.  he’s manipulative.  he’s emotionally abusive.  he’s physically abusive.  he dumps merlin for someone else.  he cheats.  in one fic he’s so mad at merlin that he outs merlin’s magic to arthur.  in multiple fics, i watched him literally go off the rails and try to murder somebody.

the fuckbuddy. they’re just messing around, guys!  no, of course it’s not serious!  they just do this for fun!  of course there’s nothing to get in the way of arthur’s inevitable arrival!  no sirree!

the unrequited.  will is actually in it deep for merlin, but merlin doesn’t feel the same.  this does not, however, prevent merlin from using will for sex, companionship, comfort, distraction, etc - until arthur shows up, when will either steps aside in deference to merlin’s all-consuming passion for arthur or is dropped like a hot potato.

“not even will.”  that sentence.  over and over again.  merlin had never felt like this before, not even with will.  nobody had ever understood merlin like this, not even will.   even in fic when they were like.  married.  or engaged.  fanon arthur pendragon must be truly mind-blowing, y’all.

dead long-term relationship.  will was merlin’s husband/fiancé/long-term partner.  now he is Dead.  merlin getting together with arthur is what allows merlin to Heal.  (these stories sometimes contain some variation of “not even will,” as discussed above.)

lastly, in a related phenomenon:

who are you and what have you done with arthur pendragon???   i suppose in a way it’s nice to know that will isn’t the only one who gets the OOC treatment, but it is still really...something, to read fic where will is twisted into an unpleasant, abusive, canon non-compliant version of himself, and then to see arthur, on the very same page, transformed into a gentle, solicitous, kind, caring, equally canon non-compliant angel.  fanon!arthur is more worried about merlin’s well-being than literally anyone i have ever seen.  he is so invested in merlin’s emotional health.  he is so concerned about merlin’s boundaries.  he says things to merlin that no version of arthur pendragon has ever - EVER - in any universe, thought about saying to anybody.  he wants to hear all about merlin’s problems, and he’s all about taking it slow and making sure merlin feels comfortable and loved and worthy and safe (from all that horrible stuff done by that horrible other guy; that must’ve been so hard, merlin; ‘it’s okay, i’ve got you now’) - the man is utterly unrecognizable.  and you know what?  it’s okay!  it is fine to make your characters as OOC as you want.  it is fine to make them better/nicer than they were in the canon.  sometimes we all want that, right?  it’s fanfic!  have a ball.  i will never tell anyone to stop writing what they like, and i will NEVER interact negatively with a fic i don’t care for.  EVER.  do not do this, people - click the back button and move on with your life.   but i reserve the right to be annoyed, in my own space, about a persistent trend of will and arthur’s canon functions being flat-out reversed, in service of merlin/arthur.  not in the sense that canon!will is particularly gentle or sweet, because that’s not the case - but in the sense that will, in canon, is the one who actually cares about merlin’s best interests, whereas arthur is, quite frankly, the ass. a lovable ass (sometimes).  but an ass nonetheless, and one whose relationship with merlin is, from start to finish, an unhealthy, oppressive mess.

The Point

the point of me typing this up is not to say that what people choose to write is bad or wrong.  this is fanfic!  you can write whatever you want.  you can make characters as OOC as you want.  you can create as many AUs as you want.  i don’t mind fic authors writing stuff i don’t personally care for; someone else probably loves those stories!  and i am never going to interact negatively with anything i don’t personally enjoy - i am going to let people continue to have fun in their own ways, and i am going to grumble about my frustrations in my own space, and then i’m going to direct my energy into writing stuff i would personally like to read.

the point is just that i needed a brief second to complain, on my own blog, about my most familiar bbc merlin nemesis (otherwise known as ‘single-ship ubiquity’).  and what i mean by this is that it is REALLY FRUSTRATING that other little relationships are not even granted the tiniest concession of owning their own ship tags, in a fandom that is already so SATURATED with merlin/arthur content.  like - even if i’m generous and use the number 17 for the number of actual merlin/will fics in the tag, that still means 88% of will’s ship tag is actually fic about merlin falling in love with people who aren’t will (*cougharthur*).  eighty-eight percent!  of his own ship tag!  

(to put it another way - the ship tag isn’t supposed to be where you go to watch your character get repeatedly dumped or left behind for someone else, okay?  it’s supposed to be literally the opposite of that.)

will’s ship tag is already tiny.  and almost all of it belongs to arthur.  moreover, a significant chunk of it uses will as a convenient villain (completely contradicting every canon aspect of his characterization), when in the actual story will dies to protect arthur (who he doesn’t even like) and then lies to save merlin (at the expense of his own reputation, and despite the fact that he personally thinks merlin returning to camelot is a bad idea).  his behavior in canon is selfless, and wholly committed to merlin’s welfare, and yet in his ship tag he gets treated like trash.  

the kid can’t catch a break.  and it’s such a pervasive thing that even though i personally am primarily interested in merlin and will as friends (i am pretty romance-averse in general when it comes to media, and i have never written anything that isn’t gen, for any fandom, ever, in my life), i am also so indignant on will’s behalf that i’ve basically become invested in the well-being of this ship as a matter of principle.  it’s not my main thing, and it’s not necessarily how i view the canon-verse, but i am SO IRRITATED about how virtually all of will’s shipfic has been taken over by merthur (and about how maligned will is in his own tag) that i have actively committed myself to supporting merlin and will together in as many AUs as possible.  

(this is basically like when i trained myself to love allison argent after teen wolf killed her off.  i did that out of spite, y’all.  it’s the principle of the thing.)

so, y’know.  all i am saying is that i think will deserves his share of happy endings, and i think it would be nice to see fics where he is not just a stepping stone on the road to merthur or an unrecognizable parody of himself.

more importantly - EVERY merlin ship deserves to have a tag that isn’t completely swallowed by the local fandom behemoth.  merlin/arthur already owns three quarters of the archive.  a gargantuan oil tanker like that can afford to let the little rarepair canoes float down their own streams in peace.

[ieatmypizzawithaforkandknife]

MAG 016 - Arachnophobia

Summary: Jonathan reads the statement of Carlos Vittery, regarding “his arachnophobia and its manifestations.”

Carlos: “I. Hate. Spiders.” Me: “Cheers, I’ll drink to that bro, guess this is gonna be one of those episodes, huh.” Lo and behold, halfway through listening to this I had a mini heart attack when I thought I saw a spider in the corner of my room closest to my desk. (Spoiler alert: It was a piece of dust. I live for the scares, but I think that, like Icarus, I fly too close to the sun sometimes.)

Anyway, from here on I’ll be formatting the titles of these posts closer to how they’re written on the podcast and, from what little I’ve seen, what’s recognized by the fandom. I still feel like an outsider, being so late to things, but at least my posts won’t look as weird now.

So obviously this episode was about spiders. Well, one spider in particular - and I’ll come back to that. But first I’d like to point out that spiders have come up twice before at this point. The first (and more notable) is in episode 8, when hundreds of spiders burst out of the rotten apple that was inside the box at the base of the uprooted tree at the house on Hill Top Rd. The second was only a mention, and it was in episode 9 (the serial killer episode) when the narrator said, of the shed in her back yard, “As far as I was concerned, the sturdy wooden structure was just the home of spiders’ nests and the rusted garden tools my parents would use once a year to attack the overgrown wilderness that was our back garden.” I almost didn’t include this second one, since it’s so fleeting and seemingly innocuous, but it could indicate some kind of connection between the spiders and the creepy ritualistic murder that was being committed in that shed, which is...disturbing, to say the least.

I find it interesting that the first appearance of spiders had them coming out of a rotten apple though. In this episode, Carlos tries giving Major Tom (the cat) food, but he just sniffs at it and walks away, which Carlos points out is unusual (and any cat owner knows is unusual). At the very end, Jonathan tells us that the coroner’s report said that Carlos had “foreign organic material” blocking his throat (though we don’t have confirmation of what the “material” was) and that “his body was completely encased in web.” But spiders typically wrap their prey in silk prior to eating them. Are all of these things related to that recurring theme of bad/rotten food? I’m not sure yet.

As a sometimes-writer, I appreciated the subtle but definite escalation in the threat of the spider. First, it’s on his kitchen wall - unfortunate, since that’s the room where you go to get food, but fairly avoidable. Carlos shuts Major Tom in there for 2 hours and is none the worse for it. The second time, it’s on his TV screen. Its body was physically between him and something he was going to use, and if he wanted to watch TV he was going to be seeing that spider the whole time. And then finally it’s on the ceiling above the head of his bed. A person’s bed should be a safe and comforting place, a place where you can go to rest and rejuvenate - and this marks the end of the last remaining “safe space” for Carlos, as this thing threatens to descend on him as he sleeps. Excellent writing as always.

Building off of the idea of an escalation in the threat is the idea that there’s some kind of malicious intent in this spider’s presence. “I hate spiders, as I have said,” Carlos says at one point, “but I would have sworn that this one hated me back.” He describes it several times as staring at him, and one time describes its “mandibles twitching with anticipation”. Spiders shouldn’t be malicious, no matter how much a person might fear them or not like them. But this one is. Just like caves shouldn’t be malicious either (episode 15). The world of TMA is a scary place and I’m just glad I don’t live there lol.

Especially scary is the idea that this was all caused by an accident Carlos had when he was a child. He says that he tripped and fell into that spider and its egg sac when he was 6 - and nearly 25 years later it’s coming back to bite him in the ass. But I wonder - was there always something supernatural going on with that spider, even when he was a kid? The story he tells doesn’t have any obvious supernatural elements that I can see, and the “ghost spider” (as Jonathan calls it at the end) only appears after the Jane Prentiss worms. My first instinct would be to say that there’s nothing supernatural at all about the spider itself, and that the spider was somehow...activated, I guess?...by Jane’s presence. But I know spiders are important in the series, so right now the whole thing is a big question mark for me. Which came first, the spider or the worms?

This post is part of a series where I write my thoughts about each episode and obsessively connect dots in an effort to figure out The Big Mysteries of the series. All posts in this series are tagged “is this liveblogging?” Comments and messages are welcome but I have only listened to season 1, so I ask that you not spoil me for anything beyond episode 40. In the words of Jonny Sims…thanks for listening!

(Spoilers for the remainder of season 1 under the cut.)

So I’d like to take a moment to share with you a story about just how much of an Absolute Dumbass I am. Here we go.

I’ve been keeping an ear out for familiar names (of people and of places), so when Carlos mentions his apartment is on Boothby Rd, I did a quick mental check and, nope, don’t believe I’ve ever heard that name before. But wait, it’s in Archway? At that point I hit pause. I thought to myself, I know I’ve heard that somewhere before... Cue me looking back and seeing that’s where Harriett Lee lived in episode 6 (specifically, on Elthorne Rd), and the last known location of Jane Prentiss! Hmm...well, just how big is Archway, anyway? Are those two streets even close to each other? So I pull out a map - and would you look at that, the two roads intersect! I do a little happy dance from putting that together. Unpause. Carlos’ next words were “While nearby Elthorne Road was full of houses and gardens-”. OK, a little disappointing since they “gave” the connection away right there...but it would still take a really good memory (or in my case, really good notes) to remember Elthorne Rd being mentioned in passing 10 episodes ago, right? I no longer feel great, but I still feel pretty good about making the connection. Some 30 seconds later: “Our building had acquired something of an infestation of some sort of insect I didn’t recognize - small, silvery worms, almost like maggots, but slightly longer, and I assume that they provided a good meal for the eight-legged little monsters.” Friends...I cannot describe to you the deep, deep disappointment I felt in myself at this point. Not only had I paused the podcast and done actual research when the answers were literally in the next minute of the podcast, but I had completely forgotten the worms made an appearance at all in this episode. SMH.