Story Seeds
Story Concepts
Story of a man who works in a huge sprawling office complex where [thanks to automation / politics / new administration / market forces ?] over weeks and months people are laid off or quit until there are very few people working in the building. Where he used to have friends and chat with people throughout the day, he often goes days, and later weeks without seeing anyone. The story could explore the varied senses as at first he feels empowered, having survived when so few had, and even a sense of domination, then loneliness, guilt, then paranoia.
This could be exhibited in the man's reactions to seeing / hearing other people - through corridors / in the distance - at first very friendly, later more reserved, finally hostile / manic.
Could attempt a reverse chronology, beginning with a madman and following it back to sanity.
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Mutually Assured Madness
The concept that only crazy people are sane - that with how insane the world is today with imminent threats around us, with rampant violence, rage, inhumanity, unnatural living - those who can rationalize and accept the status quo and lead a "normal life" are the truly insane.
We watch as politicians parse and debate minutiae all while a pile of "rogue" and hostile nations control nuclear and biological weapons capable of destroying all mankind - we see how frenzied we get at the least provocation in one tiny part of the world as madmen in major capitals do as they will manipulating economies, pitting man against man to divide and conquer.
At any time a despot in Russia or China or Pakistan or Turkey or even India [or Germany?] could secret away a warhead or two with very little accountability - the odds are there are many unaccounted for at the moment - And yet we go on with our mundane lives expecting "mutually assured destruction" to keep us safe.
[[Could relate it to the concept / theory that early man's brains were all schizophrenic to a large extent with visions / hallucinations / hearing voices and that civilization, society and urbanization led to brain evolution with those traits being relegated to the subconscious / dreams / a very small minority.
Ironically one of the leading environmental factors leading to modern schizophrenia is growing up in high population cities...]]
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My Neighbor's Diary - Thou Shalt Not Covet Thy Neighbor's Life
Story of a man who gets sick of writing his own diary because each entry seems repetitive and mundane - nothing exciting ever happens and every day is the same.
One day, after speaking to and continually "peeping" or watching his neighbor through a large window and seeing / thinking what appears to be a great life, he decides instead to write an entry in his diary about his neighbor - then AS his neighbor... this soon becomes divertive, interesting and even exciting until he starts to notice a few strange things... before long he begins to act more like his neighbor and appears to attract and repel some of the same things his neighbor does... [gets caught up in a different life?]
Homage to Rear Window, Truman Show, Groundhog Day, Brian and Bryan, etc.
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old idea but never written down I don't think...
Collect / gather humorous military / office / government stories and combine them in a cross between Dilbert and Catch22 - perhaps with a backdrop of the Korean / China / Russia / Japan problem or w/e.
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A member of a party who carries a "gig", a staff with the thicker end (top) split in 4 and sharpened, only he keeps the tips covered with something when not using it to hunt or defend himself. His companions just assume it is a fancy walking stick or perhaps a magical / shaman staff or something until they proceed on a journey and it is put to use for multiple purposes.
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The primitive / animal brain sees in images, abstractions - does not reason, but acts upon instinct - emotion - hormones.
The time between dreams and wakefulness is a time when the logical / rational brain is inhibited and the animal brain is given more free reign.
Free association - imagination - solutions - finding and following hidden paths
This can explain why creativity / ideas / inspiration comes at these times and also why memories are solidified etc.
Also, thinking and dreaming about performing certain activities (shooting free throws, doing pull ups) actually make doing them easier.
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you see a man on the street / subway who keeps looking over his shoulder
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"Among the three of us we exhibited all the traits of the MacDonald triad for serial killers. Danny wet the bed, Neal tortured insects and I lit my neighbor's yard on fire.
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a person who becomes a source in order to spy on the person running him / her.
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LIFE - story of a convicted murderer sentenced to life + 25 years who inexplicably lives to 135+ years old.
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Fortuna - The concept that fortune and luck (both good and bad / kharma) tends to "pool" in some places or around some people. Example: brother of kidnapped boy becomes serial killer;
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TISATAAFL - There IS such a thing as a free lunch.
The idea that with automation / technological advance, so much is produced that there is such an excess of food that much would be wasted if not consumed by people - a situation where the cost to the producer and consumer are close to nil. And that with rapid automation many are displaced and must be taken care of, which is easily paid for by the greater efficiencies of the automation itself.
One logical conclusion if this train continues very far is that much of humanity will not need to work to feed clothe or house themselves but instead choose occupations for completely different reasons. While our current economy is based on consumption, and and demand for new and better things keeps mankind producing, we are already at a point of "absolute prosperity" in much of the western world - as this becomes true for the entire rest of the world, the concept of employment and profession will change completely, as the necessity of a "livelihood" will disappear, and the mental concept of it will eventually fade away as well.
[3D Printed Meat, Stem Cell Hamburgers]
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The Scarecrow / The Smoking Man / Woman. A lookout who is always seen standing outside somewhere smoking.
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One of the dividing lines between good art and bad art is the sense of danger. - Scott Adams
[true for writing as well?]
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The Gift Ships - A study of a Utopian "Gift" / reciprocation based economy / culture, where the biggest givers are the most esteemed. The need to reciprocate leads to the biggest givers being owed the most etc.
"I store meat in the belly of my brother."
Similar to Johnny Lingo idea etc.
(See Wikipedia: Gift Economy)
Then transfer this same idea to the digital age of open source, shareware etc.
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The Inspector General - a modern day version of the Inspector General
Or a varied version with a secret representative of the king / government (alternatively the king himself) [Aragorn] travels to see what is really happening in his Kingdom.
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Alias: Melchior // Malchior - Internet Philosopher to the Stars
A Youtuber that gains fame for some reason despite knowing very little about anything, but is able to pass himself off as a genius through common sense application of real-time research / google searches. Slowly the compiled research and process of debate and idea exchange transform Melchior into an actual authority with solid ideas and philosophy, though with quite different conclusions from where he began...
The story of how he is able to justify / obfuscate / transform the original views that made him famous along with his fan base and audience to believe and think in ways somewhat contradictory to their original mindset etc. [leading >> pacing]
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Our competing versions of reality are not fact-based. They are based on "mind reading" and confirmation bias.
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The concept of seeking stability, regularity, cookie-cutter approaches as a response to PTSD or a period of chaos. A person chooses to live in a small house in a cookie-cutter neighborhood where he has few decisions to make etc.
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"...an advanced species can create a computer simulation with characters who believe they are real. It is far more likely we are one of the inevitable simulations than the original species."
[simulation theory]
How is this substantially different than the concept of life being a test with an immortal "spirit" gaining a "corporeal" form with which to experience "good / evil, pleasure / pain, happiness / misery" etc.?
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"One person’s legitimate news is another person’s conspiracy theory." Scott Adams
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"The best way to get a bad law repealed is to enforce it strictly." Abraham Lincoln
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WHat holds people back is not knowing what's possible. Once they see the impossible become possible, everything changes. (Bannister, the Moon Landing, Trump, Outside the Box thinking etc.)
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"I'm not an atheist per se. I just believe that none of us is very good at understanding our reality." Scott Adams
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Idea: A character / alien / sociopath who visits humanity / a particular (gifting?) culture and is completely unaffected / unhindered / unbound by the various "triggers" of behavior (Cialdini's INfluence) such as reciprocation, compromise etc. At first he / she is able to take advantage by accepting gifts while feeling no obligation to reciprocate, but eventually further exploits by GIVING gifts designed to gain highly unequal reciprocation.
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Idea: Instead of / in addition to having people "choose your own adventure" for my stories, have people write their own next piece of the adventure to get "buy-in" and have people vote to choose which one(s) make it.
Also could create an online writing group where our submissions are anonymous and we vote for what we like the best each week / month etc.
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The Law of Sacrifice - Story of a boy / girl who makes up their own (with friends?) fake Fraternity / Sorority / Secret Society? (and effectively advertises th;e secret nature of it to the satisfaction of others) in order to avoid the deprivations of Hell Week or other such indignities / ostracism. Explore how the more harsh the punishments / initiations / sacrifice / deprivations / degradations, the more devoted the adherents, and completely blinded to faults etc.
(The premise for the "new" society could be that they are "resurrecting" or simply continuation of an older defunct / banned society, claiming it had simply gone underground etc.
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Explore the Social Proof trend of more fatal "accidents" following well publicized suicides, including more single person fatalities following solitary suicide and more multi-person fatalities following murder-suicides... aka "The Werther Effect."
Could have it offhand in a story where there is a news report of a famous person's suicide that is portentous of some following calamity...
Opening line. "The King was Dead." or "Victor Kane was dead. Suicide." etc.
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A comedy sketch highlighting the inanities of the 6 elements of Cialdini's "Influence". (Reciprocation, Commitment and Consistency, Social Proof etc.)
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Story of an ancient army messenger deserting rather than delivering his message of defeat in battle for fear that he would be slain as a bearer of bad news. Conversely, the messenger could report victory, be wined and dined, then sneak out of town before the truth comes to light...
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Verbenschlitter? [awj] - word slicing / word sliding
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Phantom Islands - could write a book full of locations based on phantom island and paper towns (deliberate / accidental false map locations etc.)
Ghost words - same concept with incorporating fake words. (see abacot and kime; r ear drops)
Carjackistan, Bananastan
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Mirage - story of a witch or sorceress who manipulates air / ground temperature (perhaps through natural means) to create elaborate mirages etc. (horizon / aurora effects etc.)
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The story of Jezebel (and Elijah) told from Jezebel's point of view. (change names, place, time etc.?)
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Jezebel's daughter
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Story of an advanced race of beings and a slave class of much less advanced, but still intelligent beings where the slave class has their own government and hierarchy substructure and the thought of freedom from the master race is inconceivable to most due in large part to the strong mental control exercised by the masters and the relative state of contentment / lack of outright abuse by the maters.
Most atrocities are committed by various factions of the slave class and the masters are content to let these things be worked out by the slaves. In the end it is (maybe) discovered that the masters are manipulating people and events to keep the slaves from uniting against them. Could also be a commentary on modern day misinformation / propaganda of governments, media, elite etc.
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The Snake and the Staff
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Story of an immortal woman who couples with mortals for their lifetimes, then finds another - who ends up unwittingly marrying her own son whereupon her child's grandfather is also his uncle or w/e etc... (I am my own grandpa) Could push for paradoxes as in Asimov's stories.
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"You seem like a family man."
"I am."
"Then why are you here?"
"I was bored... and you're interesting."
"How long have you been... 'bored'?"
"A long time."
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"So what is so interesting about me?"
"Your cunning"
"Cunning?"
"Yes. You like to watch things in motion... to Set things in motion - and then watch the balls bounce and the wheels turn."
"How very observant of you."
"I suppose it takes one to know one. Though I don't know that I'm as good at it as you are. Certainly not as practiced."
"So what wheels have I got turning now?"
"Mine, for one."
"I see... You know, you're a bit interesting yourself."
"Just a bit?"
"Just a bit."
"How so?"
"Well, for one thing, most men would have made at least one pass at me long before now."
"I'm cautious by nature."
"So you're thinking about it?"
"I didn't say that."
"So you're not thinking about making a pass at me?"
"I didn't say that either."
"I see. Very well, I shall allow you to keep me in suspense for now."
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Stories of warring kingdoms based on Hen Ogledd (English Medieval Northern Kingdoms); could also use material from
fictional / true stories of the various kingdoms / chiefdoms of China / Norse etc.
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Grimhilda's daughter
The War-Weaver's daugther / apprentice
The Swineherd and the Weaver /// The Weaver and the SWineherd
The Swineherd's Daughter
The last / first Soothsayer
the Ninth Sibyl, the last Oracle, the Oracle's daughter etc.
Blood Eagle (brutal form of ritual execution)
The Peace-Weaver - story of a wandering shamaness / seeress / seductress similar to the Volva, worshippers of Freyja etc.
Peace-weaver has a double meaning - 1) those married to feuding tribes to ease relations / form alliances and 2) weaving as a sort of magic that women performed when the men went to battle / council to effect the outcomes / predict the future.
Story of the shamaness who was married off to another tribe or was intended for that purpose - she becomes intimate with a number of powerful men / warriors / chiefs etc. and changes the course of events?
Male practicioners of magic were persectuted / tortured / killed for "unmanliness" / "effeminacy" / "perversion"
Story of a king's son by a witch / seeress becomes a mage, and the father is bound to have him killed, but instead fakes his death by burning alive a group of sorcerers in a house that his son was able to escape from. (the other men were already dead?) (runes / writing = magic; in this story, reading is allowed for both men and women, but writing is generally a womanly pursuit, seen as femanine and in the domain of magic)
Story of a boy who wants to practice magic and a girl who wants to be a fighter / hunter / warrior who either switch places or pretend to be the opposite sex and later discover each other etc.
The Peace-Weaver's / Weaver's apprentice such as: A girl sworn to a Peac-Weaver wants to be a warrior which traits are unseemly for a woman. The girl is a commoner who's father saved the King from injury and thereby won favor of placement of his child in the King's court in the Peace-Weaver's retinue, as the Peace-Weaver was teh Kings' favorite concubine / lover / seductress / witch.
A son of the King and the Peace-Weaver / concubine is taught early by his mother to hide his "gifts" as he nurtures them. The boy teaches the girl to fight and she soon surpasses him in skill, just as the girl teaches the boy herbalism and other arts forbidden to males and his skill soon surpasses hers.
They fantasize about switching places, but only a crisis can make their dreams a reality. (Crisis could be invasion of warrior tribes conquering more agrarian such as the Aesir vs. the VAnir etc.)
Pre-conflict the Warlike Race (Ashra / Eshera? [Asa]) conquers / assimilates the Fertile / Wise / Magical race (the Velda [Vana] but slowly adopt its culture as its own while endowing the pastoral race witha more efficient administration leading to great but enviable prosperity which in turn leads to the future conflict in which our story is based.
(See also the battle between Devas and Asuras from Hindu mythology and the story of Sveigdior (Swegde) and Vana and their child Vanlandi who married (and abandoned) Driva, was bewitched by Huld / Grimhild's daughter, the witchwife at the beheset of Driva. Killed by a nightmare (Mara / goblin suffocating him in his sleep) Vanlandi's son Visbur was burned to death inside his hall by his own 2 sons Gisle and Ond with tthe aid of the sorceress Huld, for rejecting their mother, daughter of Aude the Rich, and denying them their heritage. heir Domaldi)
henbane
distaff / fate weaving
music / drums
phallic wands?
binding, weaving, string instruments, "spinning" charms, snares, halters, "flaxen thread" etc.
singing, spells, chanting, encantations
dancing, dervishes, hallucinegens
gemmed robes of blue with hood of black lambskin trimmed with white cat / ermine, carrying a skin bag for supplies /
talismans
Sacred Mead
Pigs / Swine (farmers) versus Barbarians (warriors)
Yngling family tree - Bloody Axe vs. Bleating Ox
runes / writing = magic
thunderstones (flint)
lodestones
the third estate (thrall / peasant / farmer) vs. 2nd (merchant / craftsman / artisan) and 1st (noble / warrior);
magic / priesthood is introduced by 3rd estate to compete / rise to 1st estate.
Galdr (spells, incantations, songs, yell, scream) chanted it in falsetto? [used for various things, i.e. by women to ease childbirth, drive someone to madness, raise tempests, blunt swords, soften armor etc.
#9 is significant
sigils / staves - symbols with magical effects:
Sibyls and Oracles (the Ninth Sibyl, the last Oracle, the Oracle's daughter etc.)
trial by ordeal, often rigged in favor of the accused as the guilty would often refuse the trial and plead guilty. important in societies without strong central government to resolve fueds.
Envy leads to all manner of wrongs - therefore greatest crime / sin (root of evil)
Outlaw = exile, cast out, wolf (doomed to live like a wolf, illegal to be aided by the tribe)
(could have a story included of an outcast that reasons with the wise man / woman that he should be given another chance / be allowed to join their tribe just as betimes wolves will become tame and will hunt with the tribe and sleep at their master's feet.)
"Nithings" - unvirtuous, villainous, evil doers, sorcerers, cripples, weird, strange, foreign
Islanding name Manuscript / runes / magical staves (has a font)
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Story of a baby born to a prostitute / botched abortion? and destined to be sacrificed in a black mass wherein one of the king's consorts / wives wishes to appeal to Satan to make her the favorite of the king and to grant her power over him.
Somehow the child is rescued before the mass and an already dead child / aborted fetus has to be substituted at the last minute, but the consort becomes suspicious and seeks revenge when her wishes are only partially granted.
The "sorceress" who performed the black masses used babies bought from poor people and prostitutes and generally only used very sickly children who were likely to die regardless. [during the plague?]
This led to the timing of the black masses to be urgent affairs coinciding with the birth of a suitable sacrifice.
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Interesting: Greek Fire (ignis graecus) was not just a technology but a complete weapons system:
Greek fire is best understood as a complete weapons system of many components, all of which were needed to operate together to render it effective. This comprised not only the formula of its composition, but also the specialized dromon ships that carried it into battle, teh device used to prepare the substance by heating and pressurizing it, the siphon projecting it, and the special training of the siphonarioi who used it.
Knowledge of the whole system was highly compartmentalized, with operators and technicians aware of the secrets of only one component, ensuring that no enemy could gain knowledge of it in its entirety. This accounts for the fact that when the Bulgarians took Mesembria and Debeltos in 814, they captured 36 siphons and even quantities of the substance itself, but were unable to make any use of them.
could write a story with a similar compartmentalized system of some sort, either weapons, spy network, potion / elixir or w/e.
Could have a wizard / alchemist captured and forced to give up the secret / "secret recipe", only to have the substance / plan blow up in the face of the captors when they attempt to use it, as the proper use / network / order etc. was not followed exactly.
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Jungle drums, Morse code, rocks in a pond etc. - encoding information into waves... [water memory?] the first coders?
(could use as a super-subtle call to primitivism or some such)
Also, first "modern" programming was of punched cards fed into a loom to produce different patterns of fabric. This also led to the first major case of anti-technology reaction / activism where the Nottingham weaver, Ned Ludd, led an attack on the programmed loom, immortalizing the term "Luddite" as one who resists technological advancement.
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Society / culture where along with the God / gods, the people also had actual / strong belief in a Tulpa / Imaginary friend / guardian angel / doppelganger / subconscious self? / instinct / sixth sense / shoulder angel / demon for each person with whom they can interact, build a relationship and draw power from.
If neglected they can become tricksters / agents of malaise or depression and if abused, malevolent. These beings can be manifest / manifest themselves physically if enough "energy" / "devotion"? is channeled to that pupose. Through something like hypnosis, some have tried with varying levels of success to manipulate the "doubles" / shades / reflex [reflection] / image / echo / Muse / signal / spren / expression" of other people. [reptile brain?; schizofrenic / primitive mind?]
(Dark Matter / Spren / Schizophrenia / Subconcious / etc)
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Game? or story of different races with different (travel / movement) powers - Air (flight), Land, Water, Subterranean, Light, Darkness etc. Units displayed on a map. Land Units can move x spaces per turn, slower / require help across water / mountains? Water race = converse, x movemnt in water, need help over land. Air can go x regardless of terrain but can't carry much. light Aven, Centaur / Human, Mer, Rodent / Insect, Ether, Shade - Hybrids? [reptilian = land + water etc.]
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Eustatius P. Merlin / Merlin Jones / Merlin Mandrake - Time Traveler. Story of how ancient magicians / sorcerers / wizards / prophets were really just time travelers with access to computers, smart phones, modern tech. etc. behind their crystal balls / miracles. (add some references to Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court for fun.
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A rationalization of many of the stories of the bible wherein the villains are redeemed to some extent and some of the heroes are less so. Examples include Lilith, Cain, Bathsheba, Jezebel, Goliath etc.
Could just introduce one or two of these characters and the rationalization in another story where they are but a character.
Example: Lilith [Lilya] represents women / was among the first human women from the earliest strains of mankind. Eve was from a later strain, and Lilith attempted to help Eve by leading her to knowledge [perhaps of how to avoid the abuse / control of men // perhaps with knowledge of childbirth / contraception / pain relief] but was seen as betraying Adam / Men / the New Race / the Patriarchy [perhaps Patriarchy had recently supplanted Matriarchy?] leading to disaster for Eve (and Adam) and teh banishment of Lilith and the First Humans (elves, neanderthals etc.)
In those times, men and women mated freely, though some clung to certain ones, women and men did not "belong" to each other. Even children were considered children of the tribe as all were family.
As the two (or 3 or 4) types of humans mixed, distrust was fostered and a hierarchy developed. The unified leadership of wise women and strong men were supplanted by cunning men claiming divin / supernatural sight, prophesy and supported by black magic - declaring wise women to be dangerous and unreliable and pretending to be subservient to the single ruler-ship of the strong man or king, yet making the kingship reliant on the cunning man's wisdom, counsel, sanction and anointing.
Originally a hunter/gatherer society where all was held in common, the newer groups began to settle and develop agriculture. Disputes arose over land and resources and private property began to be codified along with other laws and rites. [and the first lawyers].
Cain, a great hunter, was involved in a dispute with Abel leading to Abel's death and Cain's banishment (with Lilya?)
Along with the banishment of Lilya, Cain (and her children?) etc., war broke out where most of the "Firstmen" are slaughtered by the "Newmen" [which in reality was a mixed race of all 3 or 4 races.]
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a man being led to execution, recognizes an insignia on a guard's uniform / ring / mark and makes a secret sign of distress that is recognized by the soldier as belonging to the same secret society / brotherhood / family / lineage / village / race etc. leading to the soldier orchestrating the man's freedom.
"on the way to the place of execution a prisoner recognized Masonic regalia on the uniform of Confederate Captain Montjoy, a recently inducted Freemason then returning from a raid. The condemned captive gave him a secret Masonic distress signal"
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story of someone who keeps getting emails meant for other people who eventually gets frustrated / curious and attends one of the events he is "invited" to (shows up for a job, blind date, class reunion etc.) and realizes how easy it is to impersonate other people, leading to a life of alternate identities.
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The "lost cause" motif. A group who has been defeated and is living (subjegated or free) under a system they dislike / resisted.
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A group who plans and executes attacks / sabotage / crime / murder, then uses the crisis to assert the weakness of the current leadership.
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A group who makes a bomb with faulty wiring on purpose so it won't explode leaving evidence implicating a 3rd party.
The evidence is taken as credible because had teh bomb exploded it would have obliterated teh evidence.
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Story of someone who refuses to sign a debriefing / discharge form since the form says to sign after being debriefed, but the policy says not to debrief until the form has been signed. Therefore the person cannot be discharged and remains in the job for over a decade past his discharge date, haunting the establishment etc.
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An estranged couple with a friend that knows both of them but doesn't know they are / were together, in other words he knows the man from the gym and the woman from work or w/e. He convinces them to go on a blind date together as they seem perfect for each other. (Probably calls them different names / nicknames for some reason, therefore they don't catch on until they end up at the restaurant together.
Could also have it happen two or three times with different setups / people. It doesn't have to be intentional setups but things like a football game where their seats happen to be together even though they came with different groups, or at a party where everyone else is paired up leaving them the "odd people out" etc. As if the universe is pushing them back together again. Could call it "Lodestone"?
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Story of a member of congress / staffer who plans a trip and fakes / causes an illness / injury to force the plane to land in a country where some covert mission is underway so they can gain insight on the operation, probably because they don't have the proper clearances or are not on the relevant committees (intel etc.) to be briefed legitimately.
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Ancient Astronauts - story of travelers who encounter a primitive civilization and, tough under strict orders not to fraternize with native peoples, eventually get cut off from their home world / motherland etc. OR feel compassion / attachment to the natives and teach them the basics of their technologies and begin to have relations with them.
Eventually the home world is made aware of the transgressions and plan to destroy the civilizatio n(for some reason the spread of technology and / or the inter-mixture of genetics is dangerous / highly undesirable.
One man is made aware of the destruction plan and escapes with his family (extended) and starts a new civilization that is out of the eye of the home world (perhaps there is one leader who is aware / warned them and is surreptitiously observing.)
Could have 2 contending people / factions... one who wants to give knowledge, one that wants to withhold it until conditions are right. The one sneakingly gives the knowledge too early, only to lead to the extermination order, while those who urged restraint and patience again urge against extermination but are overruled and resort to saving a portion of the people to continue the work of improvement / progression / perfection.
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Story of a young girl who is picked up and taken to a rich nobleman / politician's house who was known to be a deviant / abusive, and when attempts are made to defile her she uses some skill (hypnosis, drugs, feigning a contagious illness (Breckenridge's Scourge), etc. She avoids the predation and eventually brings the man's downfall or gains power over him etc.
Could be a black widow type character who gets herself into such situations on purpose, feigning weakness only to spring her trap when they are vulnerable.
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An exhibitionist conspiracy nut who dances in skimpy lingerie in front of her TV set / computer webcam, convinced that the government is watching her.
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The Fool's Academy
Story about a school for aspiring jesters, bards, minstrels etc. with a darker side that includes political intrigue, spies and assassins.
Rupert is the 3rd son of a minor noble, and, as such will inherit nothing, will receive no military commission and has the choice of joining the clergy or ... joining the clergy. So, Rupert runs away, quickly runs out of money and finds himself begging for his dinner. He finds that singing and dancing draws crowds, which he attempts to fleece for a few coins. This yields more bumps and bruises than it does farthings, but Rupert learns to scrape by, and at least he can eat some of the food thrown in his direction.
Eventually, Ferit, a traveling minstrel / merchant agrees to feed him as payment for helping him load and unload his cart as he travels around the countryside, and the two form a mutual friendship. Rupert is a quick learner and pesters Ferit to teach him all he knows, which turns out to be considerable as Ferit used to perform for all the great courts in the land and was once a close confidant to King Luchis before his unfortunate demise.
Much of this information was slow in coming, as Ferit had been concealing his identity since the death of the king, along with his role in the various intrigues of the Kingdom and surrounding provinces.
Over time the traveling companions grew close, and Ferit recommended Rupert to the Fool's Academy - An ancient school for the training of a variety of lesser known and even lesser respected arts, but a place that still maintained a sizeable patron base and benefited by attracting the Middle Ages surplus of less appreciated, yet no less gifted talent.
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Historic dystopia, life after / during the plague. The plague was engineered by a dark wizard to destroy humanity.
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Twins, brother and sister, heirs to a huge fortune including extensive business interests to be given them control of when they turn 21.
They are orphaned and given as wards to a powerful friend.
Someone tries to kill the boy so they will only have one to control / kill at the right time. (a provision in the will, written before they knew they were born, specifies that if the awardee dies before they take control at 21, the fortune goes to charity / is liquidated.)
The boy survives but then learns of the conspiracy, so he allows everyone to believe he is dead. He lives on the street and watches his sister from a safe distance while attempting to unravel the mystery.
Possible plot twists:
The guardian(s) seem guilty but in fact is/are not.
The girl learns the truth, is nearly killed, the brother helps her escape / fake her death, then comes out of hiding feigning amnesia and playing dumb. The sister in turn takes his place on the street.
The girl could have a boyfriend who believes she is dead. He eventually becomes friends w/ the boy and eventually learns / figures out the truth. He either keeps the secret well or may lead the villain to her...(undetermined)
The boy likes a middle class girl who thinks he's riff-Raff at first, then warms to him. Then when he comes out of hiding and becomes rich overnight, she can tell he is hiding something, so she distances herself and he must start all over wooing her.
A bully from the street makes life hard for the boy, and seems to be a menace, but in the end sort of falls for the girl and sacrifices himself for them.
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During ancient times, the crones, hags and witches were frequently sages, leaders, midwives and healers in their communities and were revered for their wisdom and knowledge. As history evolved and a patriarchal society took hold, the definitions of the crone, (the crowned one) the hag, (the holy one), and the witch (the wise one) were distorted.
(These may or may not be accurate...)
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Werewolf Tag (minimum 4 players?)
different color beads
Black = Villiagers
Red = Werewolf
Green = Hunter
White = Doctor
Werewolves and Hunter run around and tag people, then show their beads to each other only. The tagged player is frozen / sits on the ground. The doctor may heal people by tagging a frozen / dead player, then both show their beads to each other. If the doctor heals a werewolf, the doctor dies.
*Idea: could describe a similar game from an observers perspective in a story - someone trying to figure out the children's game from a distance...
==========================
"Sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from Magic"
ABCD = Abracadabra
Grammaire (books written in Latin) = Grimoire
Alchemy => Chemistry
Astrology => Astronomy
============================
Story of people going to a bus stop / park and ride / office / w/e, told from their various perspectives one at a time.
A girl, getting dressed, noticing every flaw, seeing a guy at the bus stop, what she thinks of him [she likes his lavender shirt] [see's him squint and cover his eyes / put thumb and forefinger one either side of his nose, thinks he might be hung over from a wild night / weekend of partying][wonders about the piece of fruit in his hand, thinks it might be a metaphor for something]...
A guy, getting dressed, realizes he forgot to do laundry, has only one clean shirt - the "pink" shirt his girlfriend gave him that he thinks is a little fruity; finally puts it on and heads out the door with hardly a thought to his appearance otherwise. He sees a girl, thinks she's cute, wonders if she caught him staring, wonders if the fight he had with his girlfriend last week could be considered a legitimate break - then figures probably not... but no harm in saying hello... he squints in the bright sunlight and puts his fingers to his nose and closes his eyes. Enjoys the coolness of the nectarine / plum / peach in his hand as he walks, really wanting to bite into it, but doesn't want to turn off the girl that he will likely never see again... did she just look at him?
============================
more ideas
chough = king of crows
a secret society, handshakes, knocks
4 emotions (hindu?)
happiness, pleasure, sorrow, love
a thief who (using milton freidman's rationale) justifies his actions, calls himself a "public benefactor"
creature type: Bogling / Boglin (play off of Goblin)
A young man who makes a living traveling from town to town making people think he is some sort of soothsayer / sorcerer / magician, but he is just very observant / intelligent / charismatic. (medieval psych)
A young boy (12-14ish?) who runs away with his little brother (4-6 ish) to live in the forest (American South?) in order to avoid having his indolent parents put up for adoption / sell the younger brother to a wealthy family / traffickers?.
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Story idea = someone who pretends to have a bomb / foils the authorities etc. as an audition / to get an interview w/ the CIA / FBI
================
Story of a man / woman who woos someone (possibly a noble / royal) by telling her / him fragments of a story / stories but never completing one without starting a new one, requiring another invitation to hear the ending (kind of like the Panchatantra or Arabian Nights).
Also an original group of fables / moral stories depicting a certain code of conduct / laws of a civilization / group. (Like "The 12 fables", or the "99 adventures" or w/e)
======================
A story within a story of a group of people, that, on closer inspection, reveals to not really be about those people at all, but the names of the original people and places have been changed to those of a later group (who conquered the first, or borrowed... w/e), and when this substitution is understood it reveals great secrets lost to the ages (treasure, libraries of knowledge, hidden cities / civilizations etc.)
Similar to Christians "changing" or subsuming Pagan traditional festivals.
Example: Roman vs. Greek Mythology; Genesis vs. Epic of Gilgamesh, etc.
=========================
Ramblings
For people like me, a wanderer without home or inheritance, faith is more than hope in the unseen. It is also blood, family and nation. Keeping the faith is often as much about staying true to ones roots as it is a belief in various cosmic intangibles. And if those roots keep you tethered to those you love and are loved by, how can that be irrational regardless of how amorphous the evidence of its basis in reality?
"The Opiate of the Masses", he says, taking a drag of his cigarette. "I'll drink to that!" replied the bartender.
===========================
Amy(?)'s Story
Princess Leona / Manina
Castle Myonsa / Salorna
masara, nisa,
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Facebook Poetry:
Sara Smith: (facebook) Cleaned out fridge: 5 half used jars of spagetti sauce, 1 rotten bag of lettuce, 3 half used jars of pickles, 6 empty containers???, 1 half used cheese, four (open and not) sour creams, two july 09 yogurts vanilla flavored, three opened ketchup, 6 partially used salad dressings and one empty package for string cheese!
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a boy who starts seeing people from his dreams and dreaming of events that are like alternate events of what really ends up happening, leading him to be able to "figure out" the future to a certain degree of certainty based on the difference between his dream world and the actual world.
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a man wakes up in a room w/ out any windows or doors but with a lot of comfortable furnishings etc. He calls for help, looks for a hidden door, then sits down in a big chair by a warm fire to think, and falls asleep. he dreams of a woman and child that seem to be his, but he doesn't remember their names.
after waking he continues to search for a way out of the room and finally does. he finds himself in a hallway. He passed a number of interesting? rooms and finally reaches a steep stairwell. He goes down and finds even more enticing /opulent rooms the further down he goes, but he soon realizes that there are no windows and hence no light from outside. eventually he realizes he is in the basement of some large building. So he begins to head upstairs.
The further up he goes the more light seems to come from the outside, though the windows are opaque. However, many people try to keep him from going up. Some try to convince him that going down is better, and some official types try to take him to a clean room, but he runs away.
eventually he finds an exit and breaks out, but the sun is so bright that he passes out. He wakes up in the first room he found himself in and has to break out a different way, as the way he got out before doesn't work. He finds different ways out of the building but passes out each time.
As time goes by he meets different people and puts together clues of where he is and what is happening to him, and he comes to the conclusion that he must get to the top of the building to a certain "control room" where there is a "control device" that seems to be keeping him from escaping.
The further up he goes the more opposition he encounters until he finally reaches the top. When he gets to the control room he finds a woman? there. At first he wants to destroy the device and she pretends to want to stop him, but when he reaches the device after subduing the woman, he realizes that the device is not even on, and that the woman didn't really fight too hard to stop him...
Finally, instead of destroying the device he decides to turn it on. As he tries, the woman tries to stop him but it is too late. He is hit with a bolt of lightning and passes out again. He wakes up, and at first it seems he is back in the same old room, but realizes he is now in a hospital bed with devices attached to him. There are doctors there who talk to him and soon the woman in his dreams runs in. He realizes he had been in a coma the entire time and that the building / corporation was his own mind.
========
STORY IDEA GOOD FOR A MOVIE
A BIT LIKE YOU'VE GOT MAIL
COMPETING RESTAURANTS IN A SMALL TOWN THAT USED TO BE BOOMING
oNE PART OF A CHAIN, ONE MOM AND POP
THE OWNER OF CHAIN IN LOVE WITH OWNER OF MOM AND POP
SHE HATES HIM BECAUSE HE'S RUNNING HER OUT OF BUSINESS
FOR YEARS HE EATS BREAKFAST AT HER RESTAURANT B/C HE WANTS TO SEE HER.
THEY DEVELOP AN UNDERSTANDING NOT UNLIKE FRIENDSHIP OR MARRIAGE AFTER 20 YEARS.
THEN HE RETIRES EARLY (IS BOOTED BY A PARTNER).
HE STILL EATS AT HER RESTAURANT WHICH BY THIS TIME IS ABOUT TO GO UNDER.
HE OFFERS TO HELP OUT AT BREAKFAST TIME... (HOW CAN I MESS UP EGGS?)
SHE FINALLY RELENTS AND PEOPLE START COMING FOR BREAKFAST...
(HE'S AN EXCELLENT CHEF WHICH SHE WILL NEVER ADMIT... THE ONLY THING SHE KNOWS IS BAKING, SO HER FOOD ISN'T LIKE HER PARENTS, WHO WERE BOTH EXCELLENT COOKS)
SHE BARELY COVERS EXPENSES WITH HIS HELP AND THEY CELEBRATE (MAYBE KISS) AND SUBSEQUENTLY FIGHT.
SHE KICKS HIM OUT, SO HE STOPS COMING TO BREAKFAST.
SHE'S ABOUT TO GO UNDER AGAIN, SO HE CONCOCTS AND SPONSORS A HUGE PIE-EATING CONTEST.
FOLKS FROM ALL OVER THE STATE COME AND HER PIES BECOME LEGENDARY.
STILL JUST EEKING BY, ...(MAYBE SHE GETS SICK AND HE RUNS THE PLACE AND TURNS IT AROUND... WHATEVER, THEY MAKE UP AND HAPPILY EVER AFTER)
BACKGROUND:
SHE WORKS AT THE RESTAURANT AS A CHILD (HER PARENTS START IT)
OWNERS OF A RESTAURANT IN ANOTHER TOWN BRING SUPPLIES AND FOOD ITEMS EVERY WEEK OR SO, BECOME FRIENDS OF HER FATHER.
THEY SEE OPPORTUNITY IN A NEWLY BOOMING TOWN AND TRY TO CONVINCE HER FATHER TO EXPAND AND OPEN A SECOND RESTAURANT.
COMPLETELY OPPOSED TO THE "CHAIN" MENTALITY, HE DECLINES, BUT GIVES HIS BLESSING TO HIS FRIENDS... WHO'S BROTHER, AND FATHER OF THE HERO MOVE TO THE TOWN AND OPEN THEIR RESTAURANT.
THEY MEET WHEN HE'S LITTLE, PARENTS HAVE A FALLING OUT, THEY LOSE TOUCH, HE GOES TO COLLEGE, WAR, MISSION, (SOMETHING), COMES BACK, AND SHE ALMOST FALLS FOR HIM UNTIL HE TELLS HER WHO HE IS... BY THIS TIME SHE'S A BIT POISONED BY HER FATHER'S FALLING OUT. (EVENTUALLY THE OLD MEN MAKE UP?)
THEY DO VERY WELL AND EXPAND ALL OVER, GO PUBLIC, ETC., THEN THROUGH MISMANAGEMENT LOSE CONTROL OF THE COMPANY.
THEN WHEN THE TOWN GOES BUST THEY START CUTS... AND LEON (IF THAT'S HIS NAME) EVENTUALLY GETS THE AXE AS WELL.
MAYBE FOR TOM HANKS AND MEG RYAN IN THEIR GOLDEN YEARS? (MAYBE A LITTLE SOONER)
ENDING NEEDS WORK.
============
A land with no concept of borders / nations etc. (native americans?)
============
A pirate - turned diplomat b/c only he speaks all the languages. He has varying degrees of allegiance to multiple monarchs / nobles.
==========
a party on a long journey, very hungry, pass a farm but do not want to make themselves known, so they continue on. one of their number, seeing a chicken house, closes his eyes and concentrates, then continues on. a few seconds later one (or more) of the chickens flies out of the coop and follows the party. Later, as they sit around a fire watching a chicken roast on a spit, they question the person about his "magic" and ask if he has to be able to see the chicken to make it do his bidding or if is possible if they are out of eye-shot, to which the man replies, "oh, it is certainly possible, though that would employ an entirely different type of magic, if you could even call it magic... but then it would also likely bring us some unwanted company in addition to the fine feast." (implying dark/demonic/spiritual powers that would arouse some unknown dark/unseen force if used.)
"no, this was very simple magic. in truth, most wouldn't even call it magic. I simply made the fowl aware of his current condition, his eventual end, and an alternative path, much as I would do for any friend... though I will admit I did not want to overburden his tiny brain with the possible reaction of my famished friends upon finding such a pretty bird, too fat to fly properly, sauntering along in the middle of our path..." Sarkan sunk his teeth into a dripping drumstick.
====================
a group of soldiers posted at an outpost (or island) who lose contact w/ their command and stop receiving supplies / reinforcements. (2nd Thomas Shoal)
====================
Lahia / Lehia, the daughter of a prominent but no longer wealthy family who is betrothed to the son of a distant wealthy noble who she has only met once. She becomes friends with Elwin, the son of a gypsy couple who has recently squatted near some neighboring woods. The family of gypsies have 12 children, 2 of which are obviously adopted, though no mention is made of this from the family.
Lehia and Elwin become inseparable friends for years, all the while knowing that they could never end up together. A few months before Lehia's wedding Elwin decides to go on his wizard's journey (equivalent for magic-using gypsies), where for 2 years he travels to distant lands to learn his craft and seek out kindred spirits who could also be taught magic.
When he returns, Lehia is married and things are forever different between them... until years later he receives a desperate message from her...
===================
Story of a "Wish Witch / Fairie" who has granted (possibly forced to by some curse / obligation to monarch?) each person in the kingdom one wish when they become of age. You are allowed to request you wish once you turn 12? but may wait until you are 30 if you choose. There is a faction of people who are very fearful of the power of the wish and "preach" against it, citing many a story of ruin and debauchery due to the instant windfall combined with unforeseen consequences / externalities of the wish. One boy / girl who had not planned on making a wish, is on the verge of breaking to save someone she loves?
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"See here, Cox, burn a few barns occasionally, as you go along. I can't understand those signal flags, but I know what smoke means." General Sherman to General Cox at Kennesaw Mountain in Georgia June 27, 1864, recorded by Washington Davis.
Story of a general / leader who cruelly pillages to send signals etc.
=================
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/FantasyCharacterClasses
Story of a boy (or girl) who can tap into all the various types of magic.
He was born a sorcerer (with innate powers) but recognized them early and hid them.
He (became a Therugist / Warlock) was given special powers by a higher spirit / being. (Either in exchange for something or as a gift or payment for some favor / feat)
He learned special magics and summoning spells / raise dead / golums from monsters and other creatures he encountered in his youth.
He became a wizard by studying more magic
He learned illusionist and psychic and persuasive magic from the various bards and magicians he encountered
He learned natural magic from elementals, druids, animals, spirits, shaman, and nature (mother nature? gaia?)
He learned healing magic from herbalists, alchemists, witch-doctors and priests
plus voodoo, etc.
too much?
Or it could be about a group of people from the different schools of magic that end up together...
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Story of a Pirate / Thieves guild, and a man who is captured by bandits, but is accepted by them after showing proof of his membership to the thieves guild.
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In Early Modern English, the word 'kitten' was interchangeable with the now-obsolete word 'catling'.
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Story of a man on a road trip who stops to get gas and sees a guy outside the gas station with a bike and a sign asking for money to help him on his trip biking around the world. Intrigued, he speaks to the guy and gives him some money, then follows him on his blog as he recounts his adventures.
Years later it turns out that the biker was actually extremely wealthy but was just seeing if he could do it without any of his own cash. He ends up with nobody to leave his money to and decides to give a chunk of it to the man who helped him years before / the man's son or w/e.
====================
Story of a man who works in a huge sprawling office complex where [thanks to automation / politics / new administration / market forces ?] over weeks and months people are laid off or quit until there are very few people working in the building. Where he used to have friends and chat with people throughout the day, he often goes days, and later weeks without seeing anyone. The story could explore the varied senses as at first he feels empowered, having survived when so few had, and even a sense of domination, then loneliness, guilt, then paranoia.
This could be exhibited in the man's reactions to seeing / hearing other people - through corridors / in the distance - at first very friendly, later more reserved, finally hostile / manic.
Could attempt a reverse chronology, beginning with a madman and following it back to sanity.
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Mutually Assured Madness
The concept that only crazy people are sane - that with how insane the world is today with imminent threats around us, with rampant violence, rage, inhumanity, unnatural living - those who can rationalize and accept the status quo and lead a "normal life" are the truly insane.
We watch as politicians parse and debate minutiae all while a pile of "rogue" and hostile nations control nuclear and biological weapons capable of destroying all mankind - we see how frenzied we get at the least provocation in one tiny part of the world as madmen in major capitals do as they will manipulating economies, pitting man against man to divide and conquer.
At any time a despot in Russia or China or Pakistan or Turkey or even India [or Germany?] could secret away a warhead or two with very little accountability - the odds are there are many unaccounted for at the moment - And yet we go on with our mundane lives expecting "mutually assured destruction" to keep us safe.
[[Could relate it to the concept / theory that early man's brains were all schizophrenic to a large extent with visions / hallucinations / hearing voices and that civilization, society and urbanization led to brain evolution with those traits being relegated to the subconscious / dreams / a very small minority.
Ironically one of the leading environmental factors leading to modern schizophrenia is growing up in high population cities...]]
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My Neighbor's Diary - Thou Shalt Not Covet Thy Neighbor's Life
Story of a man who gets sick of writing his own diary because each entry seems repetitive and mundane - nothing exciting ever happens and every day is the same.
One day, after speaking to and continually "peeping" or watching his neighbor through a large window and seeing / thinking what appears to be a great life, he decides instead to write an entry in his diary about his neighbor - then AS his neighbor... this soon becomes divertive, interesting and even exciting until he starts to notice a few strange things... before long he begins to act more like his neighbor and appears to attract and repel some of the same things his neighbor does... [gets caught up in a different life?]
Homage to Rear Window, Truman Show, Groundhog Day, Brian and Bryan, etc.
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old idea but never written down I don't think...
Collect / gather humorous military / office / government stories and combine them in a cross between Dilbert and Catch22 - perhaps with a backdrop of the Korean / China / Russia / Japan problem or w/e.
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A member of a party who carries a "gig", a staff with the thicker end (top) split in 4 and sharpened, only he keeps the tips covered with something when not using it to hunt or defend himself. His companions just assume it is a fancy walking stick or perhaps a magical / shaman staff or something until they proceed on a journey and it is put to use for multiple purposes.
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The primitive / animal brain sees in images, abstractions - does not reason, but acts upon instinct - emotion - hormones.
The time between dreams and wakefulness is a time when the logical / rational brain is inhibited and the animal brain is given more free reign.
Free association - imagination - solutions - finding and following hidden paths
This can explain why creativity / ideas / inspiration comes at these times and also why memories are solidified etc.
Also, thinking and dreaming about performing certain activities (shooting free throws, doing pull ups) actually make doing them easier.
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you see a man on the street / subway who keeps looking over his shoulder
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"Among the three of us we exhibited all the traits of the MacDonald triad for serial killers. Danny wet the bed, Neal tortured insects and I lit my neighbor's yard on fire.
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a person who becomes a source in order to spy on the person running him / her.
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LIFE - story of a convicted murderer sentenced to life + 25 years who inexplicably lives to 135+ years old.
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Fortuna - The concept that fortune and luck (both good and bad / kharma) tends to "pool" in some places or around some people. Example: brother of kidnapped boy becomes serial killer;
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TISATAAFL - There IS such a thing as a free lunch.
The idea that with automation / technological advance, so much is produced that there is such an excess of food that much would be wasted if not consumed by people - a situation where the cost to the producer and consumer are close to nil. And that with rapid automation many are displaced and must be taken care of, which is easily paid for by the greater efficiencies of the automation itself.
One logical conclusion if this train continues very far is that much of humanity will not need to work to feed clothe or house themselves but instead choose occupations for completely different reasons. While our current economy is based on consumption, and and demand for new and better things keeps mankind producing, we are already at a point of "absolute prosperity" in much of the western world - as this becomes true for the entire rest of the world, the concept of employment and profession will change completely, as the necessity of a "livelihood" will disappear, and the mental concept of it will eventually fade away as well.
[3D Printed Meat, Stem Cell Hamburgers]
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The Scarecrow / The Smoking Man / Woman. A lookout who is always seen standing outside somewhere smoking.
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One of the dividing lines between good art and bad art is the sense of danger. - Scott Adams
[true for writing as well?]
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The Gift Ships - A study of a Utopian "Gift" / reciprocation based economy / culture, where the biggest givers are the most esteemed. The need to reciprocate leads to the biggest givers being owed the most etc.
"I store meat in the belly of my brother."
Similar to Johnny Lingo idea etc.
(See Wikipedia: Gift Economy)
Then transfer this same idea to the digital age of open source, shareware etc.
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The Inspector General - a modern day version of the Inspector General
Or a varied version with a secret representative of the king / government (alternatively the king himself) [Aragorn] travels to see what is really happening in his Kingdom.
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Alias: Melchior // Malchior - Internet Philosopher to the Stars
A Youtuber that gains fame for some reason despite knowing very little about anything, but is able to pass himself off as a genius through common sense application of real-time research / google searches. Slowly the compiled research and process of debate and idea exchange transform Melchior into an actual authority with solid ideas and philosophy, though with quite different conclusions from where he began...
The story of how he is able to justify / obfuscate / transform the original views that made him famous along with his fan base and audience to believe and think in ways somewhat contradictory to their original mindset etc. [leading >> pacing]
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Our competing versions of reality are not fact-based. They are based on "mind reading" and confirmation bias.
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The concept of seeking stability, regularity, cookie-cutter approaches as a response to PTSD or a period of chaos. A person chooses to live in a small house in a cookie-cutter neighborhood where he has few decisions to make etc.
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"...an advanced species can create a computer simulation with characters who believe they are real. It is far more likely we are one of the inevitable simulations than the original species."
[simulation theory]
How is this substantially different than the concept of life being a test with an immortal "spirit" gaining a "corporeal" form with which to experience "good / evil, pleasure / pain, happiness / misery" etc.?
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"One person’s legitimate news is another person’s conspiracy theory." Scott Adams
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"The best way to get a bad law repealed is to enforce it strictly." Abraham Lincoln
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WHat holds people back is not knowing what's possible. Once they see the impossible become possible, everything changes. (Bannister, the Moon Landing, Trump, Outside the Box thinking etc.)
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"I'm not an atheist per se. I just believe that none of us is very good at understanding our reality." Scott Adams
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Idea: A character / alien / sociopath who visits humanity / a particular (gifting?) culture and is completely unaffected / unhindered / unbound by the various "triggers" of behavior (Cialdini's INfluence) such as reciprocation, compromise etc. At first he / she is able to take advantage by accepting gifts while feeling no obligation to reciprocate, but eventually further exploits by GIVING gifts designed to gain highly unequal reciprocation.
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Idea: Instead of / in addition to having people "choose your own adventure" for my stories, have people write their own next piece of the adventure to get "buy-in" and have people vote to choose which one(s) make it.
Also could create an online writing group where our submissions are anonymous and we vote for what we like the best each week / month etc.
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The Law of Sacrifice - Story of a boy / girl who makes up their own (with friends?) fake Fraternity / Sorority / Secret Society? (and effectively advertises th;e secret nature of it to the satisfaction of others) in order to avoid the deprivations of Hell Week or other such indignities / ostracism. Explore how the more harsh the punishments / initiations / sacrifice / deprivations / degradations, the more devoted the adherents, and completely blinded to faults etc.
(The premise for the "new" society could be that they are "resurrecting" or simply continuation of an older defunct / banned society, claiming it had simply gone underground etc.
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Explore the Social Proof trend of more fatal "accidents" following well publicized suicides, including more single person fatalities following solitary suicide and more multi-person fatalities following murder-suicides... aka "The Werther Effect."
Could have it offhand in a story where there is a news report of a famous person's suicide that is portentous of some following calamity...
Opening line. "The King was Dead." or "Victor Kane was dead. Suicide." etc.
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A comedy sketch highlighting the inanities of the 6 elements of Cialdini's "Influence". (Reciprocation, Commitment and Consistency, Social Proof etc.)
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Story of an ancient army messenger deserting rather than delivering his message of defeat in battle for fear that he would be slain as a bearer of bad news. Conversely, the messenger could report victory, be wined and dined, then sneak out of town before the truth comes to light...
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Verbenschlitter? [awj] - word slicing / word sliding
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Phantom Islands - could write a book full of locations based on phantom island and paper towns (deliberate / accidental false map locations etc.)
Ghost words - same concept with incorporating fake words. (see abacot and kime; r ear drops)
Carjackistan, Bananastan
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Mirage - story of a witch or sorceress who manipulates air / ground temperature (perhaps through natural means) to create elaborate mirages etc. (horizon / aurora effects etc.)
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The story of Jezebel (and Elijah) told from Jezebel's point of view. (change names, place, time etc.?)
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Jezebel's daughter
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Story of an advanced race of beings and a slave class of much less advanced, but still intelligent beings where the slave class has their own government and hierarchy substructure and the thought of freedom from the master race is inconceivable to most due in large part to the strong mental control exercised by the masters and the relative state of contentment / lack of outright abuse by the maters.
Most atrocities are committed by various factions of the slave class and the masters are content to let these things be worked out by the slaves. In the end it is (maybe) discovered that the masters are manipulating people and events to keep the slaves from uniting against them. Could also be a commentary on modern day misinformation / propaganda of governments, media, elite etc.
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The Snake and the Staff
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Story of an immortal woman who couples with mortals for their lifetimes, then finds another - who ends up unwittingly marrying her own son whereupon her child's grandfather is also his uncle or w/e etc... (I am my own grandpa) Could push for paradoxes as in Asimov's stories.
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"You seem like a family man."
"I am."
"Then why are you here?"
"I was bored... and you're interesting."
"How long have you been... 'bored'?"
"A long time."
--
"So what is so interesting about me?"
"Your cunning"
"Cunning?"
"Yes. You like to watch things in motion... to Set things in motion - and then watch the balls bounce and the wheels turn."
"How very observant of you."
"I suppose it takes one to know one. Though I don't know that I'm as good at it as you are. Certainly not as practiced."
"So what wheels have I got turning now?"
"Mine, for one."
"I see... You know, you're a bit interesting yourself."
"Just a bit?"
"Just a bit."
"How so?"
"Well, for one thing, most men would have made at least one pass at me long before now."
"I'm cautious by nature."
"So you're thinking about it?"
"I didn't say that."
"So you're not thinking about making a pass at me?"
"I didn't say that either."
"I see. Very well, I shall allow you to keep me in suspense for now."
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Stories of warring kingdoms based on Hen Ogledd (English Medieval Northern Kingdoms); could also use material from
fictional / true stories of the various kingdoms / chiefdoms of China / Norse etc.
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Grimhilda's daughter
The War-Weaver's daugther / apprentice
The Swineherd and the Weaver /// The Weaver and the SWineherd
The Swineherd's Daughter
The last / first Soothsayer
the Ninth Sibyl, the last Oracle, the Oracle's daughter etc.
Blood Eagle (brutal form of ritual execution)
The Peace-Weaver - story of a wandering shamaness / seeress / seductress similar to the Volva, worshippers of Freyja etc.
Peace-weaver has a double meaning - 1) those married to feuding tribes to ease relations / form alliances and 2) weaving as a sort of magic that women performed when the men went to battle / council to effect the outcomes / predict the future.
Story of the shamaness who was married off to another tribe or was intended for that purpose - she becomes intimate with a number of powerful men / warriors / chiefs etc. and changes the course of events?
Male practicioners of magic were persectuted / tortured / killed for "unmanliness" / "effeminacy" / "perversion"
Story of a king's son by a witch / seeress becomes a mage, and the father is bound to have him killed, but instead fakes his death by burning alive a group of sorcerers in a house that his son was able to escape from. (the other men were already dead?) (runes / writing = magic; in this story, reading is allowed for both men and women, but writing is generally a womanly pursuit, seen as femanine and in the domain of magic)
Story of a boy who wants to practice magic and a girl who wants to be a fighter / hunter / warrior who either switch places or pretend to be the opposite sex and later discover each other etc.
The Peace-Weaver's / Weaver's apprentice such as: A girl sworn to a Peac-Weaver wants to be a warrior which traits are unseemly for a woman. The girl is a commoner who's father saved the King from injury and thereby won favor of placement of his child in the King's court in the Peace-Weaver's retinue, as the Peace-Weaver was teh Kings' favorite concubine / lover / seductress / witch.
A son of the King and the Peace-Weaver / concubine is taught early by his mother to hide his "gifts" as he nurtures them. The boy teaches the girl to fight and she soon surpasses him in skill, just as the girl teaches the boy herbalism and other arts forbidden to males and his skill soon surpasses hers.
They fantasize about switching places, but only a crisis can make their dreams a reality. (Crisis could be invasion of warrior tribes conquering more agrarian such as the Aesir vs. the VAnir etc.)
Pre-conflict the Warlike Race (Ashra / Eshera? [Asa]) conquers / assimilates the Fertile / Wise / Magical race (the Velda [Vana] but slowly adopt its culture as its own while endowing the pastoral race witha more efficient administration leading to great but enviable prosperity which in turn leads to the future conflict in which our story is based.
(See also the battle between Devas and Asuras from Hindu mythology and the story of Sveigdior (Swegde) and Vana and their child Vanlandi who married (and abandoned) Driva, was bewitched by Huld / Grimhild's daughter, the witchwife at the beheset of Driva. Killed by a nightmare (Mara / goblin suffocating him in his sleep) Vanlandi's son Visbur was burned to death inside his hall by his own 2 sons Gisle and Ond with tthe aid of the sorceress Huld, for rejecting their mother, daughter of Aude the Rich, and denying them their heritage. heir Domaldi)
henbane
distaff / fate weaving
music / drums
phallic wands?
binding, weaving, string instruments, "spinning" charms, snares, halters, "flaxen thread" etc.
singing, spells, chanting, encantations
dancing, dervishes, hallucinegens
gemmed robes of blue with hood of black lambskin trimmed with white cat / ermine, carrying a skin bag for supplies /
talismans
Sacred Mead
Pigs / Swine (farmers) versus Barbarians (warriors)
Yngling family tree - Bloody Axe vs. Bleating Ox
runes / writing = magic
thunderstones (flint)
lodestones
the third estate (thrall / peasant / farmer) vs. 2nd (merchant / craftsman / artisan) and 1st (noble / warrior);
magic / priesthood is introduced by 3rd estate to compete / rise to 1st estate.
Galdr (spells, incantations, songs, yell, scream) chanted it in falsetto? [used for various things, i.e. by women to ease childbirth, drive someone to madness, raise tempests, blunt swords, soften armor etc.
#9 is significant
sigils / staves - symbols with magical effects:
Sibyls and Oracles (the Ninth Sibyl, the last Oracle, the Oracle's daughter etc.)
trial by ordeal, often rigged in favor of the accused as the guilty would often refuse the trial and plead guilty. important in societies without strong central government to resolve fueds.
Envy leads to all manner of wrongs - therefore greatest crime / sin (root of evil)
Outlaw = exile, cast out, wolf (doomed to live like a wolf, illegal to be aided by the tribe)
(could have a story included of an outcast that reasons with the wise man / woman that he should be given another chance / be allowed to join their tribe just as betimes wolves will become tame and will hunt with the tribe and sleep at their master's feet.)
"Nithings" - unvirtuous, villainous, evil doers, sorcerers, cripples, weird, strange, foreign
Islanding name Manuscript / runes / magical staves (has a font)
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Story of a baby born to a prostitute / botched abortion? and destined to be sacrificed in a black mass wherein one of the king's consorts / wives wishes to appeal to Satan to make her the favorite of the king and to grant her power over him.
Somehow the child is rescued before the mass and an already dead child / aborted fetus has to be substituted at the last minute, but the consort becomes suspicious and seeks revenge when her wishes are only partially granted.
The "sorceress" who performed the black masses used babies bought from poor people and prostitutes and generally only used very sickly children who were likely to die regardless. [during the plague?]
This led to the timing of the black masses to be urgent affairs coinciding with the birth of a suitable sacrifice.
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Interesting: Greek Fire (ignis graecus) was not just a technology but a complete weapons system:
Greek fire is best understood as a complete weapons system of many components, all of which were needed to operate together to render it effective. This comprised not only the formula of its composition, but also the specialized dromon ships that carried it into battle, teh device used to prepare the substance by heating and pressurizing it, the siphon projecting it, and the special training of the siphonarioi who used it.
Knowledge of the whole system was highly compartmentalized, with operators and technicians aware of the secrets of only one component, ensuring that no enemy could gain knowledge of it in its entirety. This accounts for the fact that when the Bulgarians took Mesembria and Debeltos in 814, they captured 36 siphons and even quantities of the substance itself, but were unable to make any use of them.
could write a story with a similar compartmentalized system of some sort, either weapons, spy network, potion / elixir or w/e.
Could have a wizard / alchemist captured and forced to give up the secret / "secret recipe", only to have the substance / plan blow up in the face of the captors when they attempt to use it, as the proper use / network / order etc. was not followed exactly.
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Jungle drums, Morse code, rocks in a pond etc. - encoding information into waves... [water memory?] the first coders?
(could use as a super-subtle call to primitivism or some such)
Also, first "modern" programming was of punched cards fed into a loom to produce different patterns of fabric. This also led to the first major case of anti-technology reaction / activism where the Nottingham weaver, Ned Ludd, led an attack on the programmed loom, immortalizing the term "Luddite" as one who resists technological advancement.
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Society / culture where along with the God / gods, the people also had actual / strong belief in a Tulpa / Imaginary friend / guardian angel / doppelganger / subconscious self? / instinct / sixth sense / shoulder angel / demon for each person with whom they can interact, build a relationship and draw power from.
If neglected they can become tricksters / agents of malaise or depression and if abused, malevolent. These beings can be manifest / manifest themselves physically if enough "energy" / "devotion"? is channeled to that pupose. Through something like hypnosis, some have tried with varying levels of success to manipulate the "doubles" / shades / reflex [reflection] / image / echo / Muse / signal / spren / expression" of other people. [reptile brain?; schizofrenic / primitive mind?]
(Dark Matter / Spren / Schizophrenia / Subconcious / etc)
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Game? or story of different races with different (travel / movement) powers - Air (flight), Land, Water, Subterranean, Light, Darkness etc. Units displayed on a map. Land Units can move x spaces per turn, slower / require help across water / mountains? Water race = converse, x movemnt in water, need help over land. Air can go x regardless of terrain but can't carry much. light Aven, Centaur / Human, Mer, Rodent / Insect, Ether, Shade - Hybrids? [reptilian = land + water etc.]
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Eustatius P. Merlin / Merlin Jones / Merlin Mandrake - Time Traveler. Story of how ancient magicians / sorcerers / wizards / prophets were really just time travelers with access to computers, smart phones, modern tech. etc. behind their crystal balls / miracles. (add some references to Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court for fun.
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A rationalization of many of the stories of the bible wherein the villains are redeemed to some extent and some of the heroes are less so. Examples include Lilith, Cain, Bathsheba, Jezebel, Goliath etc.
Could just introduce one or two of these characters and the rationalization in another story where they are but a character.
Example: Lilith [Lilya] represents women / was among the first human women from the earliest strains of mankind. Eve was from a later strain, and Lilith attempted to help Eve by leading her to knowledge [perhaps of how to avoid the abuse / control of men // perhaps with knowledge of childbirth / contraception / pain relief] but was seen as betraying Adam / Men / the New Race / the Patriarchy [perhaps Patriarchy had recently supplanted Matriarchy?] leading to disaster for Eve (and Adam) and teh banishment of Lilith and the First Humans (elves, neanderthals etc.)
In those times, men and women mated freely, though some clung to certain ones, women and men did not "belong" to each other. Even children were considered children of the tribe as all were family.
As the two (or 3 or 4) types of humans mixed, distrust was fostered and a hierarchy developed. The unified leadership of wise women and strong men were supplanted by cunning men claiming divin / supernatural sight, prophesy and supported by black magic - declaring wise women to be dangerous and unreliable and pretending to be subservient to the single ruler-ship of the strong man or king, yet making the kingship reliant on the cunning man's wisdom, counsel, sanction and anointing.
Originally a hunter/gatherer society where all was held in common, the newer groups began to settle and develop agriculture. Disputes arose over land and resources and private property began to be codified along with other laws and rites. [and the first lawyers].
Cain, a great hunter, was involved in a dispute with Abel leading to Abel's death and Cain's banishment (with Lilya?)
Along with the banishment of Lilya, Cain (and her children?) etc., war broke out where most of the "Firstmen" are slaughtered by the "Newmen" [which in reality was a mixed race of all 3 or 4 races.]
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a man being led to execution, recognizes an insignia on a guard's uniform / ring / mark and makes a secret sign of distress that is recognized by the soldier as belonging to the same secret society / brotherhood / family / lineage / village / race etc. leading to the soldier orchestrating the man's freedom.
"on the way to the place of execution a prisoner recognized Masonic regalia on the uniform of Confederate Captain Montjoy, a recently inducted Freemason then returning from a raid. The condemned captive gave him a secret Masonic distress signal"
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story of someone who keeps getting emails meant for other people who eventually gets frustrated / curious and attends one of the events he is "invited" to (shows up for a job, blind date, class reunion etc.) and realizes how easy it is to impersonate other people, leading to a life of alternate identities.
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The "lost cause" motif. A group who has been defeated and is living (subjegated or free) under a system they dislike / resisted.
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A group who plans and executes attacks / sabotage / crime / murder, then uses the crisis to assert the weakness of the current leadership.
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A group who makes a bomb with faulty wiring on purpose so it won't explode leaving evidence implicating a 3rd party.
The evidence is taken as credible because had teh bomb exploded it would have obliterated teh evidence.
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Story of someone who refuses to sign a debriefing / discharge form since the form says to sign after being debriefed, but the policy says not to debrief until the form has been signed. Therefore the person cannot be discharged and remains in the job for over a decade past his discharge date, haunting the establishment etc.
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An estranged couple with a friend that knows both of them but doesn't know they are / were together, in other words he knows the man from the gym and the woman from work or w/e. He convinces them to go on a blind date together as they seem perfect for each other. (Probably calls them different names / nicknames for some reason, therefore they don't catch on until they end up at the restaurant together.
Could also have it happen two or three times with different setups / people. It doesn't have to be intentional setups but things like a football game where their seats happen to be together even though they came with different groups, or at a party where everyone else is paired up leaving them the "odd people out" etc. As if the universe is pushing them back together again. Could call it "Lodestone"?
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Story of a member of congress / staffer who plans a trip and fakes / causes an illness / injury to force the plane to land in a country where some covert mission is underway so they can gain insight on the operation, probably because they don't have the proper clearances or are not on the relevant committees (intel etc.) to be briefed legitimately.
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Ancient Astronauts - story of travelers who encounter a primitive civilization and, tough under strict orders not to fraternize with native peoples, eventually get cut off from their home world / motherland etc. OR feel compassion / attachment to the natives and teach them the basics of their technologies and begin to have relations with them.
Eventually the home world is made aware of the transgressions and plan to destroy the civilizatio n(for some reason the spread of technology and / or the inter-mixture of genetics is dangerous / highly undesirable.
One man is made aware of the destruction plan and escapes with his family (extended) and starts a new civilization that is out of the eye of the home world (perhaps there is one leader who is aware / warned them and is surreptitiously observing.)
Could have 2 contending people / factions... one who wants to give knowledge, one that wants to withhold it until conditions are right. The one sneakingly gives the knowledge too early, only to lead to the extermination order, while those who urged restraint and patience again urge against extermination but are overruled and resort to saving a portion of the people to continue the work of improvement / progression / perfection.
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Story of a young girl who is picked up and taken to a rich nobleman / politician's house who was known to be a deviant / abusive, and when attempts are made to defile her she uses some skill (hypnosis, drugs, feigning a contagious illness (Breckenridge's Scourge), etc. She avoids the predation and eventually brings the man's downfall or gains power over him etc.
Could be a black widow type character who gets herself into such situations on purpose, feigning weakness only to spring her trap when they are vulnerable.
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An exhibitionist conspiracy nut who dances in skimpy lingerie in front of her TV set / computer webcam, convinced that the government is watching her.
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The Fool's Academy
Story about a school for aspiring jesters, bards, minstrels etc. with a darker side that includes political intrigue, spies and assassins.
Rupert is the 3rd son of a minor noble, and, as such will inherit nothing, will receive no military commission and has the choice of joining the clergy or ... joining the clergy. So, Rupert runs away, quickly runs out of money and finds himself begging for his dinner. He finds that singing and dancing draws crowds, which he attempts to fleece for a few coins. This yields more bumps and bruises than it does farthings, but Rupert learns to scrape by, and at least he can eat some of the food thrown in his direction.
Eventually, Ferit, a traveling minstrel / merchant agrees to feed him as payment for helping him load and unload his cart as he travels around the countryside, and the two form a mutual friendship. Rupert is a quick learner and pesters Ferit to teach him all he knows, which turns out to be considerable as Ferit used to perform for all the great courts in the land and was once a close confidant to King Luchis before his unfortunate demise.
Much of this information was slow in coming, as Ferit had been concealing his identity since the death of the king, along with his role in the various intrigues of the Kingdom and surrounding provinces.
Over time the traveling companions grew close, and Ferit recommended Rupert to the Fool's Academy - An ancient school for the training of a variety of lesser known and even lesser respected arts, but a place that still maintained a sizeable patron base and benefited by attracting the Middle Ages surplus of less appreciated, yet no less gifted talent.
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Historic dystopia, life after / during the plague. The plague was engineered by a dark wizard to destroy humanity.
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Twins, brother and sister, heirs to a huge fortune including extensive business interests to be given them control of when they turn 21.
They are orphaned and given as wards to a powerful friend.
Someone tries to kill the boy so they will only have one to control / kill at the right time. (a provision in the will, written before they knew they were born, specifies that if the awardee dies before they take control at 21, the fortune goes to charity / is liquidated.)
The boy survives but then learns of the conspiracy, so he allows everyone to believe he is dead. He lives on the street and watches his sister from a safe distance while attempting to unravel the mystery.
Possible plot twists:
The guardian(s) seem guilty but in fact is/are not.
The girl learns the truth, is nearly killed, the brother helps her escape / fake her death, then comes out of hiding feigning amnesia and playing dumb. The sister in turn takes his place on the street.
The girl could have a boyfriend who believes she is dead. He eventually becomes friends w/ the boy and eventually learns / figures out the truth. He either keeps the secret well or may lead the villain to her...(undetermined)
The boy likes a middle class girl who thinks he's riff-Raff at first, then warms to him. Then when he comes out of hiding and becomes rich overnight, she can tell he is hiding something, so she distances herself and he must start all over wooing her.
A bully from the street makes life hard for the boy, and seems to be a menace, but in the end sort of falls for the girl and sacrifices himself for them.
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During ancient times, the crones, hags and witches were frequently sages, leaders, midwives and healers in their communities and were revered for their wisdom and knowledge. As history evolved and a patriarchal society took hold, the definitions of the crone, (the crowned one) the hag, (the holy one), and the witch (the wise one) were distorted.
(These may or may not be accurate...)
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Werewolf Tag (minimum 4 players?)
different color beads
Black = Villiagers
Red = Werewolf
Green = Hunter
White = Doctor
Werewolves and Hunter run around and tag people, then show their beads to each other only. The tagged player is frozen / sits on the ground. The doctor may heal people by tagging a frozen / dead player, then both show their beads to each other. If the doctor heals a werewolf, the doctor dies.
*Idea: could describe a similar game from an observers perspective in a story - someone trying to figure out the children's game from a distance...
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"Sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from Magic"
ABCD = Abracadabra
Grammaire (books written in Latin) = Grimoire
Alchemy => Chemistry
Astrology => Astronomy
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Story of people going to a bus stop / park and ride / office / w/e, told from their various perspectives one at a time.
A girl, getting dressed, noticing every flaw, seeing a guy at the bus stop, what she thinks of him [she likes his lavender shirt] [see's him squint and cover his eyes / put thumb and forefinger one either side of his nose, thinks he might be hung over from a wild night / weekend of partying][wonders about the piece of fruit in his hand, thinks it might be a metaphor for something]...
A guy, getting dressed, realizes he forgot to do laundry, has only one clean shirt - the "pink" shirt his girlfriend gave him that he thinks is a little fruity; finally puts it on and heads out the door with hardly a thought to his appearance otherwise. He sees a girl, thinks she's cute, wonders if she caught him staring, wonders if the fight he had with his girlfriend last week could be considered a legitimate break - then figures probably not... but no harm in saying hello... he squints in the bright sunlight and puts his fingers to his nose and closes his eyes. Enjoys the coolness of the nectarine / plum / peach in his hand as he walks, really wanting to bite into it, but doesn't want to turn off the girl that he will likely never see again... did she just look at him?
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more ideas
chough = king of crows
a secret society, handshakes, knocks
4 emotions (hindu?)
happiness, pleasure, sorrow, love
a thief who (using milton freidman's rationale) justifies his actions, calls himself a "public benefactor"
creature type: Bogling / Boglin (play off of Goblin)
A young man who makes a living traveling from town to town making people think he is some sort of soothsayer / sorcerer / magician, but he is just very observant / intelligent / charismatic. (medieval psych)
A young boy (12-14ish?) who runs away with his little brother (4-6 ish) to live in the forest (American South?) in order to avoid having his indolent parents put up for adoption / sell the younger brother to a wealthy family / traffickers?.
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Story idea = someone who pretends to have a bomb / foils the authorities etc. as an audition / to get an interview w/ the CIA / FBI
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Story of a man / woman who woos someone (possibly a noble / royal) by telling her / him fragments of a story / stories but never completing one without starting a new one, requiring another invitation to hear the ending (kind of like the Panchatantra or Arabian Nights).
Also an original group of fables / moral stories depicting a certain code of conduct / laws of a civilization / group. (Like "The 12 fables", or the "99 adventures" or w/e)
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A story within a story of a group of people, that, on closer inspection, reveals to not really be about those people at all, but the names of the original people and places have been changed to those of a later group (who conquered the first, or borrowed... w/e), and when this substitution is understood it reveals great secrets lost to the ages (treasure, libraries of knowledge, hidden cities / civilizations etc.)
Similar to Christians "changing" or subsuming Pagan traditional festivals.
Example: Roman vs. Greek Mythology; Genesis vs. Epic of Gilgamesh, etc.
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Ramblings
For people like me, a wanderer without home or inheritance, faith is more than hope in the unseen. It is also blood, family and nation. Keeping the faith is often as much about staying true to ones roots as it is a belief in various cosmic intangibles. And if those roots keep you tethered to those you love and are loved by, how can that be irrational regardless of how amorphous the evidence of its basis in reality?
"The Opiate of the Masses", he says, taking a drag of his cigarette. "I'll drink to that!" replied the bartender.
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Amy(?)'s Story
Princess Leona / Manina
Castle Myonsa / Salorna
masara, nisa,
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Facebook Poetry:
Sara Smith: (facebook) Cleaned out fridge: 5 half used jars of spagetti sauce, 1 rotten bag of lettuce, 3 half used jars of pickles, 6 empty containers???, 1 half used cheese, four (open and not) sour creams, two july 09 yogurts vanilla flavored, three opened ketchup, 6 partially used salad dressings and one empty package for string cheese!
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a boy who starts seeing people from his dreams and dreaming of events that are like alternate events of what really ends up happening, leading him to be able to "figure out" the future to a certain degree of certainty based on the difference between his dream world and the actual world.
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a man wakes up in a room w/ out any windows or doors but with a lot of comfortable furnishings etc. He calls for help, looks for a hidden door, then sits down in a big chair by a warm fire to think, and falls asleep. he dreams of a woman and child that seem to be his, but he doesn't remember their names.
after waking he continues to search for a way out of the room and finally does. he finds himself in a hallway. He passed a number of interesting? rooms and finally reaches a steep stairwell. He goes down and finds even more enticing /opulent rooms the further down he goes, but he soon realizes that there are no windows and hence no light from outside. eventually he realizes he is in the basement of some large building. So he begins to head upstairs.
The further up he goes the more light seems to come from the outside, though the windows are opaque. However, many people try to keep him from going up. Some try to convince him that going down is better, and some official types try to take him to a clean room, but he runs away.
eventually he finds an exit and breaks out, but the sun is so bright that he passes out. He wakes up in the first room he found himself in and has to break out a different way, as the way he got out before doesn't work. He finds different ways out of the building but passes out each time.
As time goes by he meets different people and puts together clues of where he is and what is happening to him, and he comes to the conclusion that he must get to the top of the building to a certain "control room" where there is a "control device" that seems to be keeping him from escaping.
The further up he goes the more opposition he encounters until he finally reaches the top. When he gets to the control room he finds a woman? there. At first he wants to destroy the device and she pretends to want to stop him, but when he reaches the device after subduing the woman, he realizes that the device is not even on, and that the woman didn't really fight too hard to stop him...
Finally, instead of destroying the device he decides to turn it on. As he tries, the woman tries to stop him but it is too late. He is hit with a bolt of lightning and passes out again. He wakes up, and at first it seems he is back in the same old room, but realizes he is now in a hospital bed with devices attached to him. There are doctors there who talk to him and soon the woman in his dreams runs in. He realizes he had been in a coma the entire time and that the building / corporation was his own mind.
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STORY IDEA GOOD FOR A MOVIE
A BIT LIKE YOU'VE GOT MAIL
COMPETING RESTAURANTS IN A SMALL TOWN THAT USED TO BE BOOMING
oNE PART OF A CHAIN, ONE MOM AND POP
THE OWNER OF CHAIN IN LOVE WITH OWNER OF MOM AND POP
SHE HATES HIM BECAUSE HE'S RUNNING HER OUT OF BUSINESS
FOR YEARS HE EATS BREAKFAST AT HER RESTAURANT B/C HE WANTS TO SEE HER.
THEY DEVELOP AN UNDERSTANDING NOT UNLIKE FRIENDSHIP OR MARRIAGE AFTER 20 YEARS.
THEN HE RETIRES EARLY (IS BOOTED BY A PARTNER).
HE STILL EATS AT HER RESTAURANT WHICH BY THIS TIME IS ABOUT TO GO UNDER.
HE OFFERS TO HELP OUT AT BREAKFAST TIME... (HOW CAN I MESS UP EGGS?)
SHE FINALLY RELENTS AND PEOPLE START COMING FOR BREAKFAST...
(HE'S AN EXCELLENT CHEF WHICH SHE WILL NEVER ADMIT... THE ONLY THING SHE KNOWS IS BAKING, SO HER FOOD ISN'T LIKE HER PARENTS, WHO WERE BOTH EXCELLENT COOKS)
SHE BARELY COVERS EXPENSES WITH HIS HELP AND THEY CELEBRATE (MAYBE KISS) AND SUBSEQUENTLY FIGHT.
SHE KICKS HIM OUT, SO HE STOPS COMING TO BREAKFAST.
SHE'S ABOUT TO GO UNDER AGAIN, SO HE CONCOCTS AND SPONSORS A HUGE PIE-EATING CONTEST.
FOLKS FROM ALL OVER THE STATE COME AND HER PIES BECOME LEGENDARY.
STILL JUST EEKING BY, ...(MAYBE SHE GETS SICK AND HE RUNS THE PLACE AND TURNS IT AROUND... WHATEVER, THEY MAKE UP AND HAPPILY EVER AFTER)
BACKGROUND:
SHE WORKS AT THE RESTAURANT AS A CHILD (HER PARENTS START IT)
OWNERS OF A RESTAURANT IN ANOTHER TOWN BRING SUPPLIES AND FOOD ITEMS EVERY WEEK OR SO, BECOME FRIENDS OF HER FATHER.
THEY SEE OPPORTUNITY IN A NEWLY BOOMING TOWN AND TRY TO CONVINCE HER FATHER TO EXPAND AND OPEN A SECOND RESTAURANT.
COMPLETELY OPPOSED TO THE "CHAIN" MENTALITY, HE DECLINES, BUT GIVES HIS BLESSING TO HIS FRIENDS... WHO'S BROTHER, AND FATHER OF THE HERO MOVE TO THE TOWN AND OPEN THEIR RESTAURANT.
THEY MEET WHEN HE'S LITTLE, PARENTS HAVE A FALLING OUT, THEY LOSE TOUCH, HE GOES TO COLLEGE, WAR, MISSION, (SOMETHING), COMES BACK, AND SHE ALMOST FALLS FOR HIM UNTIL HE TELLS HER WHO HE IS... BY THIS TIME SHE'S A BIT POISONED BY HER FATHER'S FALLING OUT. (EVENTUALLY THE OLD MEN MAKE UP?)
THEY DO VERY WELL AND EXPAND ALL OVER, GO PUBLIC, ETC., THEN THROUGH MISMANAGEMENT LOSE CONTROL OF THE COMPANY.
THEN WHEN THE TOWN GOES BUST THEY START CUTS... AND LEON (IF THAT'S HIS NAME) EVENTUALLY GETS THE AXE AS WELL.
MAYBE FOR TOM HANKS AND MEG RYAN IN THEIR GOLDEN YEARS? (MAYBE A LITTLE SOONER)
ENDING NEEDS WORK.
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A land with no concept of borders / nations etc. (native americans?)
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A pirate - turned diplomat b/c only he speaks all the languages. He has varying degrees of allegiance to multiple monarchs / nobles.
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a party on a long journey, very hungry, pass a farm but do not want to make themselves known, so they continue on. one of their number, seeing a chicken house, closes his eyes and concentrates, then continues on. a few seconds later one (or more) of the chickens flies out of the coop and follows the party. Later, as they sit around a fire watching a chicken roast on a spit, they question the person about his "magic" and ask if he has to be able to see the chicken to make it do his bidding or if is possible if they are out of eye-shot, to which the man replies, "oh, it is certainly possible, though that would employ an entirely different type of magic, if you could even call it magic... but then it would also likely bring us some unwanted company in addition to the fine feast." (implying dark/demonic/spiritual powers that would arouse some unknown dark/unseen force if used.)
"no, this was very simple magic. in truth, most wouldn't even call it magic. I simply made the fowl aware of his current condition, his eventual end, and an alternative path, much as I would do for any friend... though I will admit I did not want to overburden his tiny brain with the possible reaction of my famished friends upon finding such a pretty bird, too fat to fly properly, sauntering along in the middle of our path..." Sarkan sunk his teeth into a dripping drumstick.
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a group of soldiers posted at an outpost (or island) who lose contact w/ their command and stop receiving supplies / reinforcements. (2nd Thomas Shoal)
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Lahia / Lehia, the daughter of a prominent but no longer wealthy family who is betrothed to the son of a distant wealthy noble who she has only met once. She becomes friends with Elwin, the son of a gypsy couple who has recently squatted near some neighboring woods. The family of gypsies have 12 children, 2 of which are obviously adopted, though no mention is made of this from the family.
Lehia and Elwin become inseparable friends for years, all the while knowing that they could never end up together. A few months before Lehia's wedding Elwin decides to go on his wizard's journey (equivalent for magic-using gypsies), where for 2 years he travels to distant lands to learn his craft and seek out kindred spirits who could also be taught magic.
When he returns, Lehia is married and things are forever different between them... until years later he receives a desperate message from her...
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Story of a "Wish Witch / Fairie" who has granted (possibly forced to by some curse / obligation to monarch?) each person in the kingdom one wish when they become of age. You are allowed to request you wish once you turn 12? but may wait until you are 30 if you choose. There is a faction of people who are very fearful of the power of the wish and "preach" against it, citing many a story of ruin and debauchery due to the instant windfall combined with unforeseen consequences / externalities of the wish. One boy / girl who had not planned on making a wish, is on the verge of breaking to save someone she loves?
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"See here, Cox, burn a few barns occasionally, as you go along. I can't understand those signal flags, but I know what smoke means." General Sherman to General Cox at Kennesaw Mountain in Georgia June 27, 1864, recorded by Washington Davis.
Story of a general / leader who cruelly pillages to send signals etc.
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http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/FantasyCharacterClasses
Story of a boy (or girl) who can tap into all the various types of magic.
He was born a sorcerer (with innate powers) but recognized them early and hid them.
He (became a Therugist / Warlock) was given special powers by a higher spirit / being. (Either in exchange for something or as a gift or payment for some favor / feat)
He learned special magics and summoning spells / raise dead / golums from monsters and other creatures he encountered in his youth.
He became a wizard by studying more magic
He learned illusionist and psychic and persuasive magic from the various bards and magicians he encountered
He learned natural magic from elementals, druids, animals, spirits, shaman, and nature (mother nature? gaia?)
He learned healing magic from herbalists, alchemists, witch-doctors and priests
plus voodoo, etc.
too much?
Or it could be about a group of people from the different schools of magic that end up together...
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Story of a Pirate / Thieves guild, and a man who is captured by bandits, but is accepted by them after showing proof of his membership to the thieves guild.
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In Early Modern English, the word 'kitten' was interchangeable with the now-obsolete word 'catling'.
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Story of a man on a road trip who stops to get gas and sees a guy outside the gas station with a bike and a sign asking for money to help him on his trip biking around the world. Intrigued, he speaks to the guy and gives him some money, then follows him on his blog as he recounts his adventures.
Years later it turns out that the biker was actually extremely wealthy but was just seeing if he could do it without any of his own cash. He ends up with nobody to leave his money to and decides to give a chunk of it to the man who helped him years before / the man's son or w/e.
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