Addison

@mkarrett ( and @addisonborn ) I only met tall and manly Addison for the first time on Sunday. He seems cool. 😉

Thank you for sharing this, Russell, this seems important. Has Addison been having memory problems? She only became an initiate in March 2016 (according to that first newsletter), so it seems like a very quick timeframe to forget what her father looks like. (If that’s what’s happening here…)

People that got to wear the helmet / cap, didn’t they hear messages that it would alter their thoughts somehow?

Interesting you bring up memory loss @daela. That just made me remember about the helmet. I wonder if that messes with memory?

I don’t know… I had a helmet put on me and I don’t remember any memory loss

@thegilded <3

@reaton well if that isn’t her father, he certainly got his bell rung for no reason

@daela The phone call was brief but she did state that she was having issues with confusion. I know when I spoke with Tom, he stressed he THOUGHT the “helmet” may have had some effect on Addison… but obviously he is guessing.

@endlesspictures Yeah, he certainly did get thrown around, but remember that Addison did call him “Daddy” at one moment. Correct?

@111error I believe you are correct that someone mentioned in a private meeting got told the “machine” had helped them in some way… but the specifics I am not sure of. (Do not recall if that came out as the meeting started to disband… it may have.)

WAS this the first indication we got that:
1. Addison was being compromised (via the helmet)
2. Tom may not be her father
3. Something was wrong with Addison’s memory?

(It seems obvious now)

At this time, we had started getting rumblings that things were not as they had seemed due to a BoS/Mr. + Mrs. Barrows event that had happened just before for a few people and a few other things. At this time we had only recently started hearing about The Helmet and its effects, and I believe it was the first time that most of us saw Addison in person.

It was definitely the first implication that Mr. Barrow may not be Addison’s father, but as we had a broad idea of what The Helmet did, we suspected that loss of memory was a side effect of that process.

To directly answer your questions, for the most part this wasn’t the first time that we had heard about most of these issues but it was very near to it.

I see. Thanks for the clarifications on the timeline.

Good point, Jake O.

Agreed. Her nervous energy made sense the minute we all learned she was about to get all kinds of naked.

the last three days I’ve been slaving over what Addison said to me in our private yet brief moment:
“Whatever your instincts are telling you, they’re correct.”
Well, my instincts are telling me something fucking stinks. Oh, language. Sorry.

Anyway, I can’t help but feel I too didn’t do or say something I was supposed to. I hope she’s okay.

the last three days I’ve been slaving over what Addison said to me in our private yet brief moment:
“Whatever your instincts are telling you, they’re correct.”

DO you think she was straight up telling you that your natural reaction to the event was right?
LOOK around you- this is all a front- we are all acting. This is a show for your benefit.

Do you think Addison was being meta AF?

I’d ask that someone verify that Addison was called up to answer for her sins. That’s what I remember, but my memory is hardly the most reliable thing in the world. Can anyone else verify what the reasoning for her to be called up was?

I remember Addison being brought before us to be disrobed, not sure if they stated a reason. Rizzo was the one who was brought before us to answer for his sins.

@mumumusings I think Russell is saying that Addison may not remember that Tom is her father, not that the man who came in actually wasn’t her father. I may be misinterpreting, can you clarify @reaton

@endlesspictures makes sense if the cap is supposed to fuck with memory. assuming Addison at one point had the cap put on her.

Hey, @mumumusings and @endlesspictures. Addison did tell me she was “confused” and I believe she did call out “Daddy” when Tom first broke into the meeting. My impression is that she may just be having memory issues/clouded thoughts. She said she was “not sure” about the man, but it was not a statement that she did not know him or was not her father. Hope that helps.

@thegilded I can vouch for the “sin” thing. Her sins were to be examined and her position judged.

Pure speculation but maybe she has tattoos? Those would be “sins” that would require a disrobing

@mike ow Ow OW…. mind cramping… brain fitzing….

Yes, you have an interesting point!

If she can see this; Stay strong, Addison.

stay strong? More like, get this crazy anthropomorphic stuffed bear the fuck away from me!

Well, maybe a little of both of those messages!!!

I feel for her. I know what I’ve done…I still don’t walk quite right…

Very interesting point @jkonigsberg There is a common thread in much of what we have experienced that points to the choices we make that shape our lives.

@endlesspictures Really? I always wondered why you walk so funny.

Also, correct me if I’m wrong, but I feel like when I was first signing up, and watching every video and trying to play catch up, there was something that had to do with saying “wasting our time on media and pop culture” or something to that effect. If I’m wrong, then I guess I’m just projecting. HA!

@kasch I am right there with you, sincerely.

You’re not the only ones. She has far, far more support than she would likely believe, but I hope somehow she is starting to notice it.

Same. The context around her being at the event on Sunday is definitely raising a lot of dark questions about the OOA.

Whoa @halfbloodfangirl. Hadn’t heard about the tortured thing. That explains a lot, and is terrifying.

@halfbloodfangirl That makes a lot of sense. It definitely sounded like some strange type of punishment (or something) was about to take place…

@halfgreekgoddess @addisonborn In hindsight, it definitely makes sense.

Wow. I just saw your Lil story blurb now. 2 hrs of torture hey.
hmm. Now I am even more convinced.

It happened SO quickly we never had a chance to react, especially since we didn’t know what was happening at the moment. I know I felt like a deer in the headlights.

And any sort of strategic communication throughout was very difficult (and entirely restricted for some) throughout the event, the OOA leadership present had a way of working the room, making sure discussions they didn’t want happening were NOT happening.

@addisonborn I agree. I felt the same way.. a deer in the headlights.

@sovereignskies As a few have said, everything happened so quickly. You mentioned about us blocking doors. The door they took Addison out of, there was no way any of us were going to be able to get to that door before they did. We were situated from the middle of the hall moving towards the back. As a group or even just a few could have possibly blocked the back door where her father was being thrown out. However, again, I think a lot of us were shocked. I know for me, I was one of the closest to the scuffle between her father and the man responsible for “security”. There was no way my 5’3″ frame was getting in the middle of them. @thegilded wasn’t joking when he said her father got a beat down. The hole in that wall was real.

I think everything went from 0-60 so quickly it was hard for a lot of us to react. I don’t know what the test was for us during all of that and if there was one. I do know I also wasn’t prepared to take a stand and demand answers or truths from the OOA in that moment. I also recall the elder saying how he wasn’t there to give us any answers and that the answers were to come from ourselves. Someone please correct me if I’m wrong on that.

This raises a very interesting point.

Kind of mid in/out of game…

This whole experience is about choice and the fears that make us who we are, shaping our (in)actions.

Ascension is marketed as an experience that puts YOU at the center of your own movie… that being the case, it is up to us to determine what type of movie that is. OUR chosen “character” determines our _path.

Are you a passive participant, or the hero?

How much of the narrative is pliable and subject to that kind of character choice?

I, for one, am a more pro-active character- whether it be in life, business, leisure, or quest- no matter what I am faced with.

As far as I can tell, only a few have (for whatever reason) stepped up and filled those roles. I intend to be among them.

I’m a bit confused at what you’re recommending we should have done. Tom got halfway through the room, was stopped quickly by the gentleman that looked like a bouncer, got sick power bombed through the wall a little, then literally thrown out in the period of roughly a minute.

Should we have stopped Addison from being removed from the room? To do so would have gone directly against the OOA elders, something that I certainly had no interest in doing, and likely others didn’t either. If they did, they very recently saw the security put a man through some dry wall, it is unlikely they would be ready to challenge him.

Should we have joined the security in kicking Tom while he was down? Seemed like he had that handled. Should we have stopped the security guard from stopping Tom? Again, why would we help someone who wants to hurt the OOA in such a way?

I agree @thegilded. Even though I worry about Addison, I wouldn’t directly go against the OOA in such a manner.

If you’re asking me if I’m down to scrap, the answer is an unequivocal hell yes. I’m down to knock a motherfucker out regardless of number or size, and I’ve gotten scars and bruises to prove it. That’s not a question here, I know for a fact that a least a few of the Disciples are down to throw down when needed, but only if it’s needed and only if we know it’s right. The part I’m questioning is what you believe was needed and right.

What are the literal and actual actions that you would have recommended taking in order to obtain more clarity? Who would you have fought, who would you have stood up to, when would you have taken these actions?

Maybe it was a test. Like are you a flock of sheep or a pack of wolves?

Is one better than the other or does it just shape the experience differently.

Not judging at all, just musings.

My thoughts exactly.

Better to be a fox than a rabbit.

That makes sense, and I very much appreciate you explaining. I actually thought you were advocating us jumping an OOA member gangland style for a second there, that was definitely me misunderstanding you.

Your suggestion is certainly a valid one, and it may have worked. However, stopping the OOA from leaving and dealing with the problem as they’d like could be considered a hostile action against the OOA. If, hypothetically, people rose up to do that, I can promise that others would rise up to stop them. I don’t many people in that room wanted to take any action action against the OOA in the first place, and I know even less would have wanted to spark a Disciple civil war in that room.

Like you said, we are being tested. With things happening so fast, it is likely that people wanted to prove their loyalty more than they wanted to prove that they could try to strong arm the OOA into answers

I noticed shortly after posting my first comment on this thread, Gk4 became active. She never said anything and it could be nothing.
But this experience has taught me to listen to those little whispers we usually ignore.

Hahaha freaky! Did it actually feel like that? like there were multiple pressure points?
Imgine this type of technology with an updated Algorithm. 😉
Yeeehaw!

We need to find out the truth. 😢

mmmmffffffff…. heart.. breaking ……

Ugh, that’s not the best sounding message. I wonder if it had anything to do with more use of helmets?

Oh no! Thanks for sharing, @reaton. I wonder if we’ll learn what happened to her soon…

There’s two sides to every story

This can’t be good…

Screw that, Security Guy had a dead look in his eye that suggested he wouldn’t hesitate for a second to put me the hell down

That’s how I look at you all the time @thegilded <3

http://gph.is/10FfUBu

Where did you find this footage of us last weekend…?

JAJAJA!

She signed the waiver.

I do believe we just had the same thought simultaneously. As the video is titled “Rebirth” perhaps she must symbolically cut ties with her past (photos of her family). The wax seal and the blood seal of the OOA might also represent the separation from her past life and/or the idea that the OOA is her family/blood/kith & kin from now on.

@monkeymuffin333 and @kasch Since she seals the photos into the envelope, they seem to be intended for someone. I do not recognize anyone in them from the brief glimpse we get.

But, if this was a “Rebirth” for Addison, wouldn’t they insist on her using her own blood and hand to draw the symbol, not sure if it is her blood, are we?

(Not that I am really up-to-date on my blood ritual etiquette these days.)

I believe the blood is meant to supercede the influence of the subjects of the photos. Basically, “Whatever they meant to you, I AM NOW.” Addison did not seem to have any visible physical wounds and the man was drawing blood from his cupped palm. He may have cut himself to impose his dominance over her relation to whoever was in the photos. At least that is my understanding of the awkwardly named sympathetic magic that might be demonstrated here.

OH SHIT!!

Well, that all sounds warm and lovely.

@reaton Can you tell us who told you to never contact her again?

@amieexists No, I cannot… have no clue who it was, unfortunately.

Ok @reaton, thank you anyway! I wonder if we will see her again…