Media Blitz

[Sean (@TheGilded)Moderator]

This media blitz right before One and Ascension is highly concerning. We’ve never before seen this level of direct PR before, and we’ve certainly never seen Them use a front man the way that they’re using Mr. Bousman.

Today, this page went up. Another first, as we’ve NEVER seen an in-line article on the Tension domain before.

I was quick to count this off as a ploy for a wider audience for Ascension, but Addison’s warnings are still concerning. As though this change in behavior will in some way impact or change One’s arrival. As though One’s arrival, despite being foretold 242 ago, somehow depends on us.

[RustyParticipant]

Agreed, @thegilded. To me, it is definitely a plea for a wider audience. Now is their opportunity as ASCENSION approaches rapidly.
I can only hope that Gatekeeper2 is able to provide us with guidance when we need it. It is my belief that she cannot offer specifics at the moment, but The One… where or when they make their appearance… will alter everything, I think. Unless the OOA is somehow able to prevent it.

[Kimberly @ElectricHippoParticipant]

@thegilded: I believe The One will appear in his own good time, regardless of what we do. On the other hand, our actions up until that time comes might serve to please or displease. A wrong move and we might find ourselves facing a very cranky Gatekeeper.

There is one loose end I keep in the back of my mind at all times. That journal. I can’t help but think it will still come into play in a significant way. For example, what if we are given the opportunity to return it to @gatekeeper2? How will she react? Could it be like screaming “Carlos?” Will this subsequently have an influence on the arrival of One?

I believe this media blitz is a diversion to have us miss the trick. Hey, look over there, and when we aren’t fully alert to our surroundings the arrival of One, the fate of 2, and whatever other surprises might be right around the bend are staring us square in the face. I will remain alert. It’s not a time for complacency.

[Pandace88Participant]

@electrichippo who is in possession of the journal at this time? I recall reading that it was handed over to BOS, is this correct?

Edit: I just read the thread about the journal. So to revise my question without confusion, I meant does a BOS member have it as in part of the participants one of us or do they have it as in one of the “actors” for lack of knowing a better way to phrase this question. Sorry hope I’m coming off clear :/ lol I’m not the best in communication skills.

• This reply was modified 8 years, 3 months ago by  Pandace88.

[Kimberly @ElectricHippoParticipant]

@pandace88: Yes, BOS has the journal. Specifically, BOS member @rizzzoooooo is currently in possession of it. He took it to make high resolution copies of each page for the community and was instructed by Sentinel to keep it safe until further notice. We (BOS) have reason to believe the journal will be relevant again some time in the near future.

[Pandace88Participant]

@electrichippo thank you so much for the clarification!

[ReidVParticipant]

*friendly reminder that the journal was stolen*

[AH-layParticipant]

Oh! Did someone snag it from you? Did you report this to Tension? Did you hear back from them?

[Susie JParticipant]

Whoa, the BoS obtained the journal under false pretenses? Not cool. I would think that whatever value it has as a relic should have been shared with @atticus360 before the exchange was made. *frowny*

[AH-layParticipant]

Are you sure about what you’re saying? Just because someone says it was “stolen” doesn’t make this true. So close to closing up with indoctrination and the unnecessary BoS crap is way too old. How many more times does it have to be cleared up for you guys?

• This reply was modified 8 years, 3 months ago by  AH-lay.

[Addison BornParticipant]

He gave the journal to @rizzzoooooo to scan after continuously failing to upload clearer pictures. At that point, Sentinel told BOS that the journal was not to be returned. @electrichippo talks about that a few posts up.

[Susie JParticipant]

Okay, fine, but the information has been disseminated. Why hold on to it? Unless there’s some further importance that has not been shared with the community.

[AH-layParticipant]

Why? Because like Addison just said and how it has been said many times before, BoS was told IG to keep the damn journal. OOG: you understand that Sentinel IS Tension, right? If BoS was told by Sentinel to keep the journal it was obviously for an IG reason, not a personal Max reason like everyone seems to be taking it.

[Susie JParticipant]

Calm your tits. Sheesh.

[AH-layParticipant]

My tits are fine, I just had to say it, in sure you or anyone else would have too after seeing how much this is being revisited over and over again.

[Susie JParticipant]

Okay, at the risk of your ire, can you tell me when IG Sentinel ordered that the journal was not to be returned and why? If this is going to kick off another argument because you don’t want to repeat yourself, kindly ignore me and let someone else field the question.

[Sean (@TheGilded)Moderator]

Emotions ran very high last time that this topic came up. My post here is not in reference to any one person, but rather because I see the same ramp up of emotions that I saw the last time we spoke about this topic. Both sides seem irritated at this

This close to Ascension, we can not tolerate more drama. Explain, talk about, even debate, but do not attack.

I’ll be staying out of this but will be extremely quick to close this topic if things get heated again.

Play nice, kids.

[Addison BornParticipant]

So yeah, Max gave the book to Rizzo to scan because Max was unable to take clearer photos of the pages. We found that many pages were actually left out of the original scans. After all pages present in the book had been scanned and shared with the forum, Sentinel asked that the journal stay in Rizzo’s hands, as he showed that he would take care of the very intricately crafted journal.

Here is a cat photo:

[AH-layParticipant]

Where’s the cat photo?? ❤️

I’m one of the nicest people you can ever meet, but also a blunt one, I do not mean any harm @monkeymuffin333

[Susie JParticipant]

Thank you, @addisonborn. I, for one, am am the last one to encourage the strife or antagonistic drama that we’re all sick of. So if we could just, you know, avoid reactionary rants to dumb people who aren’t up to speed, I think we’ll get along better.

[Susie JParticipant]

Floof

[Kimberly @ElectricHippoParticipant]

I’d like to explain to you @monkeymuffin333 because perhaps you weren’t here the day all of this was originally discussed.

Max agreed to hand the journal over to Rizzo, stating that he did not have means to make clean, fully readable copies (ie. a scanner). Max’s copies had been fuzzy and unreadable in many places, and a few pages were outright missing as were a handful of ripped text stubs. Maybe this was due to Max being in a hurry… I’m not altogether sure. Regardless, Rizzo very honestly drove to Max’s house to get the journal. His intention was purely to do a favor for the entire community who wanted to easily read and enjoy every page of the journal.

I notified Tension that we had the journal because it is their property and they should know it’s whereabouts and that it was safe. So, after the journal was already innocently in Rizzo’s hands for the copying, I was instructed by Tension to have Rizzo keep it. It was 100% NOT a mwahahahaha sneaky lying strategic game move. When Rizzo picked up the journal we/BOS had no intention of keeping it from Max.

To answer your specific question, there was no IG reason given to us by Sentinel for keeping the journal, although at a later time I was vaguely told it may come back into play at some time. The only real reason given at the time of the instruction seems OOG as it had to do with the integrity of the journal and it’s online legacy.

Bottomline, the person who treated the journal with respect and provided clear and complete copies was instructed to hold on to the journal until further notice. It just happens that person is aligned with BOS. If you had been that person then it is quite likely the journal would still be in your hands per the instructions of Tension. Max knows this. I spoke to him in detail about it. I’m not sure why he keeps bringing it back up as if he doesn’t know.

(I’ve written this with no malice or anger. I’m pointing this out because sometimes it can be difficult to read intent when it is in type. I hope events are clearer now.)

[Susie JParticipant]

Okidokie, artichokie! Thank you for elucidating. I hope that this is the only subject I’ve fallen behind on that might be considered a sore subject. Thank you @electrichippo.

[Hazel CloudParticipant]

GREAT WORD!!

e·lu·ci·date
ēˈlo͞osəˌdāt/
verb
gerund or present participle: elucidating
make (something) clear; explain.
“work such as theirs will help to elucidate this matter”
synonyms: explain, make clear, illuminate, throw/shed light on, clarify, clear up, sort out, unravel, spell out; More

[ReidVParticipant]

I bring it up because it was an OoG event that Kim and Sentinel intercepted without asking or telling me. I found out far after it was made an IG move.

I find this unprofessional and a betrayal of my friendship/devotion to this experience.

That fact I not received an apology or even a sliver of remorse is salt on the wound.

[MichelleParticipant]

@atticus360 I said it before, I’ll say it again, I thought it was a dickmove. I don’t care if my opinion pisses anyone off in BoS either. The fact you handed that over in good faith expecting it’s return and you’re expected to not feel betrayed because BoS is TENSION leaves me shaking my head and rolling my eyes. I’m going to stop ONLY because @thegilded has asked us to play nice. But, a lot of things that have occurred since the get together at Derek’s left me feeling a bit detached from the experience. Sending you a big hug, Max.

[BlondieParticipant]

Boy am I sad that this came up again while I was sleeping…

@atticus360 I am very sorry that you still feel this way, that our actions which were intended to *help* you have had a negative impact on your experience. I can’t apologise for the fact we never gave the journal back, that was their decision.

@halfbloodfangirl Maybe it was a dickmove. But not one made by us. Sadly, as has been said before over and over, this is The *Tension* Experience not The Hearts-and-Flowers Experience. If there are players who have made it thru completely unscathed then kudos to them. It doesn’t ever sit well with me to be the cause of any anger, pain or resentment, but it happens here as it happens in life.

• This reply was modified 8 years, 3 months ago by  Blondie.

[Susie JParticipant]

After having feasted on the cheesy breads of the North Woods and waking from the resulting food coma I have risen refreshed and resolved. Look, I’m sorry I kicked off this poop storm. But apart from the actual issue of the journal this discussion has highlighted a few essential issues. As gently as I can state this, without accusing specific parties…. Our manner of discourse has descended into completely unproductive hostility and bickering. It’s off-putting and divisive in an anti-experience way. We’re losing people. I personally considered quitting the forum last night. But I choose to remain because this is my community and I love you guys, bumps and all.

[AH-layParticipant]

@monkeymuffin333 I apologized for my passionate rant to you in private and I apologize again to you here in forum. So close to ascension I hope we can finally move on, accept things for what they are and trust in what Tension has in store for us for the rest of indoctrination.

[Susie JParticipant]

@aleocotillo I appreciated the apology and I bear you no ill will. But the fact of the matter is that if we’re at the point of daggers drawn over this something is wrong and continues to be unresolved. I don’t want to see it happen again. And with all due respect the excuse that this close to Ascension we shouldn’t be rocking the boat and burying this isn’t logic at all. It’s avoidance. Again, not directed at you personally, but to the whole forum. Words and deeds, we live by them.

[Hazel CloudParticipant]

@babyface has left the forum because of what he’s read. I hope this is not something that continues.

[ReidVParticipant]

@blondiecamps you sound like Kim, dancing around the question and avoiding blame. I expected better from you.

[Hazel CloudParticipant]

Wow… that’s not very nice…

[Anonymous]

@hazelcloud – Be really REALLY careful dredging this thread back up. We would like to let this one stay buried, please.

[Hazel CloudParticipant]

As a favor to a friend, I’m going to redact this comment.

Glory Be.

• This reply was modified 8 years, 1 month ago by  Hazel Cloud.

[Anonymous]

@thegilded or @mkarrett – in the interest of keeping the relative peace here, can or should this thread be shut down?

[Sean (@TheGilded)Moderator]

If people want it shut down, we can. But I’m extremely hesitant to use mod-powers for anything that doesn’t explicitly cross a line. There is a benefit to keeping a thread up, even if it was a… darker time in our history.

My default is to keep it open, but please feel free to post here or message either Melissa or I with your concerns if you want it down.

That said, it is one of the topics that we are keeping a very close eye on for anything that could revitalize old arguments

[Hazel CloudParticipant]

AHHH.. RESISTING the urge to engage.

• This reply was modified 8 years, 1 month ago by  Hazel Cloud.

[Anonymous]

@thegilded – thank you, that’s all I ask.

[Hazel CloudParticipant]

Why do you think it’s up to you? I really don’t understand this sense of entitlement and authority. These forums belong to ALL who wish to contribute.

There have been continued attempts to censor new thought and it has quenched the enthusiasm of MANY individuals. THIS is why my boyfriend avoids the forum like the plague. THIS is why voices are fading. STOP policing posts. IT’S NOT YOUR JOB.

Thanks. That is all.

[MikeParticipant]

@hazelcloud – it’s not a matter of policing posts in my opinion. You’re pretty new here and weren’t around for this thread in real time. It was probably the most darkest time on the forums and turned a lot of real life friends into real life “enemies”. This sparked a big OOG vs IG “war”. Those of us who have been here do not want to see this happen again. It’s one of those situations where the dust has settled and we’re trying to not make that dust go all nuts again. Emotions ran super high and so did personal attacks (that had nothing to do with the experience).

I understand you want to learn all you can, and that’s really admirable to do in such a short amount of time, but there are some things that won’t teach you anything except negativity, and I feel like this is one of them

The forum does belong to all that wish to contribute, but we, as a community, also police it ourselves so we don’t have personal attacks again.

[AmieParticipant]

@mike you are a lovely scribe.

[MikeParticipant]

@amieexists – you are just lovely <3

[Hazel CloudParticipant]

I appreciate and understand where you are coming from @mike. This may not have been the most suitable thread to relay this point, but I’ve been antagonized and this is the straw that broke my ability to keep my tongue.

I have been publicly chided for resurrecting old threads and creating new ones since I joined on the 28th of October. Joining this community (via the forum) has been an uphill battle. If it weren’t for the first meet up that @babyface and I went to that first weekend, I would DEFINITELY have quite Tension by now.

I don’t think you “alums” realize the negative impact you are having on “newbies” like me. At times, we think (me and @babyface) you don’t care. Other times we think it an effection. We know it’s not all of you, but that doesn’t really matter.

A LOT of people are wary of posting ANYTHING on the forums because they get lambasted if their form isn’t what certain individuals think it should be. I’ve received numerous messages from new members thanking me for posts that older members have publicly chastised me for. This has turned in to a critical and hostile environment not conducive to new members. If you don’t have a super thick skin, you won’t survive these forums…. and I don’t think that’s right.

Civility is judged by how a society treats it’s weakest members. With that in mind, how do you believe we fare? In my opinion, not well… but I’m here to change that. Whether you like it or not. Because we ALL deserve to be heard.

AGAIN, THIS may not have been the best thread to bring that point up… but I’m not the one who chose to bring it this far.

[Anonymous]

Censorship. You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.

This isn’t about censorship, or entitlement, or authority. This is about experience. This is about knowing exactly what happens every time this particular thread comes back to life. There is NO NEED for it. Voices are NOT being silenced in any way compared to what happened back then in real time. There was a lot of pain. I’m asking you to please be a respectful decent person and just let it lie.

[Hazel CloudParticipant]

Ironic how it would have if you hadn’t kept poking.

[MichelleParticipant]

@mike… always providing the best words of wisdom. You will always be our scribe.

@hazelcloud This isn’t a moment at all about censorship. Like @mike, I can appreciate your tenacity for wanting information being only a week or two in this. No one is trying to “censor” you. You’re right, everyone does deserve to be heard. However, this thread is incredible sensitive. Mike wasn’t joking when he said it escalated quickly and went OOG. Many of us were ready to leave over this incident. It was an ugly and dark time. There were a lot of tears shed, a lot of anger spread. I know I for one almost lost a friendship over this and only recently was able to mend the hurt feelings between me and the other participant.

The danger lies in commenting as if it’s occurring in real time not realizing the magnitude of hurt and anger this thread caused. As a community we moved on. We healed. It took a long time for me to let go of the anger I felt over it. There is a way to comment and ask questions without dredging up the hurt but the comment to Max about not being very nice… it seems to me to be unnecessary since this was months ago. It feels like poking the beehive to create drama. @coryphella said something not because of a feeling of entitlement but because she was at the center of it with Max and felt completely beat up on.

I’m not sure how many new members are being turned away because of the “alums” treatment of them. I believe we are a very welcoming community. I’ve gotten to know a lot of the newer members personally and have hung out with some of them. We truly are a community. You managed to attend two out of game events yet we aren’t welcoming? We could leave our events off the boards and shut out everyone who wasn’t part of Indoctrination but we don’t. Again, I may be clueless as to what new members are saying but I’ve not seen any complaints. I’ve also not seen any “alums” being hostile towards any new participants. We’ve taken a lot of care in building this community and, I’d say, we are extremely protective and proud of it.

[Hazel CloudParticipant]

Actually, now that you’ve brought up the OOG events… the second event was NOT welcoming. At all. I attempted to engage upon arrival and was very much met with a cold shoulder.

I didn’t take this personally. We had only met two people there before (Chelsea and Melissa, who were lovely and polite- don’t get me wrong- I think Max got there later). We felt uncomfortable and weren’t introduced to anyone. In fact, sitting at the bar (since no chairs were saved for us), we talked to the bartender about how we had just joined this community and there must be some interpersonal stuff going on, because people weren’t really interacting – at least with us or even with each other that we could see.

I don’t need to be catered to, but we definitely felt excluded and not a part of the event we had driven an hour to be present for.

Now, regarding old feelings… I get it. It’s hard having to face the past. It is IMPOSSIBLE however to move on from it without facing it. Maybe this is the perfect opportunity to resolve issues that you were too emotional to handle when first faced with them. I don’t know. I do know that there is no semblance of a resolution that I’ve yet read… maybe I haven’t gotten there yet.

If that is the case… me catching up on things shouldn’t be that big of a deal. This is an ADULTS ONLY game. We should be able to communicate how we feel without being met with derision. If people aren’t mature enough for that, that is what the MODERATORS are for. THEY are elected to help guide and protect these threads.

My problem comes in when old members tell me to take my nose and stick it elsewhere. You should, as adults, be able to reconcile events… if you had, me wondering about it wouldn’t matter as much. This is a big deal because you have refuse to deal with a root issue and are complacent letting dust settle.

I would rather FIX something once and for all than walk on eggshells.

[Anonymous]

@hazelcloud, no one is telling you any such thing. Go back and read what I said – I said to be careful, and to please let this thread lie. I didn’t tell you to take anything and shove anything. I did not try to censor you. I asked you to PLEASE leave it alone. YOU were the one who escalated it and “poked.”

What happened to us then bears no relevance to the game whatsoever. It was a community issue, it was personal, and Tension can be understood and enjoyed fully without ever knowing anything about it. It isn’t your place to pass judgement on how others handle things. Let this go.

[Hazel CloudParticipant]

I’m just going to spell it out, since it doesn’t seem to be clicking:

Stop telling me what to do. Seriously. You (Megan), Addison Born, and Michelle are the perpetrators here. You pick at what or where I’m posting instead of focusing on the message OR you consciously misrepresent my posts. Maybe you don’t actually read them. Maybe you just skim my posts and declare your verdicts. Honestly, the hostility is coming off as insecurity.

Everyone else here is SO chill. I believe that if it weren’t for your antagonism, we’d have more community participation. In fact, I’ve been told that by several people. Don’t shoot the messenger.

I shake things up. It’s what I do. Most people that have a problem with it seem to be afraid of losing something… status, involvement, authority…

What I know is that the people that matter have encouraged me to keep strong on my _path. I will not be deterred because you appear to be threatened by me.

[Addison BornParticipant]

Cool, great, it’s been fun. Have fun storming the castle.

[Hazel CloudParticipant]

Already having the BEST time.

[Anonymous]

Fine. Fuck me for trying to help out.

[Hazel CloudParticipant]

Cause that’s what you were doing. *rolls eyes*

[Addison BornParticipant]

Hey, so we’ve already moved on from this. And have moved on for a while. So digging it up isn’t doing anything but making yourself look bad.

You want to be a part of this, obviously. But instead of digging up old shit from four months ago, please contribute new shit. We’ve had many new users that had come in around the time you joined, maybe a little before, that fit in here without issue, because they contributed towards moving us forward rather than focusing on conflicts long past.

I’m not and I don’t think anyone is telling you to stick your nose elsewhere, but when you come into an established community with established rules, please respect what we have built.

We don’t need fixing and nobody’s walking on eggshells. We have a shared understanding of what we’re looking to get out of this. You may be looking for something else, but I really don’t see what you’re looking for rezzing old threads that have no bearing on where we’re at now.

[MelissaModerator]

Hi @thegilded I was at court, thank you for stepping in, Sentry. I agree with you that for now it stays open.

[Anonymous]

Thank you @mkarrett, I’m sorry to alert the two of you.

[MelissaModerator]

Naw, don’t be sorry. Comes with the Sentry title.

[Anonymous]

You must know by now, I apologize for everything.

[Anonymous]

If only there was a way for us to know what was going on behind the scenes.

[MichelleParticipant]

@blondiecamps

I needed to take a few days and reassess where I’m at on this. If I had shot off a response immediately, it would have come across as bitchy & emotional. Quite honestly, I was ready to jump down the throat of @aleocotillo for the way she treated @monkeymuffin333 – whom I consider an OOG friend. This isn’t to rehash anything about the journal but to honestly piggyback off of something that Susie brought up the other day that spoke volumes to me.

But, first, I never said I expected this to be “Hearts and Flowers” so I don’t know where that assumption is coming from. I am a Blackout survivor afterall. 😉 And, I don’t believe that anyone here would disagree with you that life doesn’t come without anger, pain, or resentment. Trust me, my life over the last year and a half has been a nightmare where the only thing to get me through the night at times has been a Xanax.

I’m going to share a very personal story. All you need to know is that my ex husband and I were separated. I thought we were in the middle of a reconciliation. However, he took “just a friend” over to his parents house because she “needed a place to crash.” My mother-in-law not only allowed her to spend the night, she allowed them to sleep in the same bedroom. When I confronted her about it, just like I’ve seen here, she deflected blame. It wasn’t her fault. I couldn’t be mad that she didn’t try to talk my husband out of it, my husband for 20 years, because she thought they were “just friends.” She didn’t apologize for her part in hurting me because, in her eyes, she wasn’t the one who hurt me. But, what I told her applies to Tension, how we treat people, our actions, is a direct reflection of our character. We aren’t performing in a “movie.” There isn’t a director calling “cut” and the scene ends. Throughout this experience people’s emotions have been called into play and it’s gotten personal. It’s one of the things that has made this experience so beautiful but also so ugly at times. People forget that, to varying degrees, we are emotionally invested in this. I’ve been wrapped up in this since April and have spent countless hours on it, have met and hung out with incredible people. How can I not be emotionally invested?

I’ve seen a lot of changes here that bother me. I’ve seen good people that I’ve become friends with OOG scale back their involvement because they can’t stand the drama and the way people are being attacked and treated. I’ve become hesitant to express an opinion that’s in opposition to BoS because I feel as though I’ll be attacked. I don’t think everyone in BoS is a bad apple but there are quite a few who need to slow their rolls at times. And, I expect someone to attack me after this post.

I have an issue with people deflecting blame and not taking ownership of what they’ve done. I’ve seen a lot of childish behavior, a lot of disrespectful and rude behavior all in the name of the game. I don’t like seeing someone being aggressively attacked and then a few posts later the attacker is saying “no hard feelings, I was just IG.” This has happened so much over the last few months. In the past, there was banter, debate, discussions and, even when some of them got heated, it was obvious it wasn’t personal. Now, it’s become a little difficult to tell at times. I know when I’m IG, I’m still me. I don’t become an uber asshole or psychotic bitch.

Susie just mentioned she almost left the boards the other day. Megan has scaled back her involvement. Max isn’t as dedicated anymore. I see others who used to be so involved and in love with this experience pulling back a little for one reason or another. That’s sad. To say that someone shouldn’t expect hearts and flowers just boggles my mind because a lot of the people who are pulling back aren’t unfamiliar with the haunt community. They’re just sick of the unnecessary drama. Sometimes it feels like high school in here.

I love a lively debate. Fuck, I thrive in that shit. But I won’t subject myself to being verbally attacked in a way that is disrespectful or personal. I also won’t stand for someone being two steps shy of calling me stupid because I have a life and can’t log on every minute of the day to be caught up on all things Tension. I hope that the personal attacks, bitchiness, and assholery stops. Otherwise, once Ascension happens, I’ll probably only become a ticketed participant and not so much involved on the boards as I was leading up to Ascension. You run out all of the Anti-BoS people from the forums, it’s not going to be that much fun here anymore.

I hope that people don’t take this wanting to stir the pot. I truly don’t want that. Maybe now that I’ve said my peace, I’ll be able to move onwards and want to participate again. I adore so many people here and have enjoyed the company of many of you and look forward to being able to see, hang out with some of you again.

[EziParticipant]

@halfbloodfangirl I am also one of those that have scaled back and concidered just leaving altogether. I am just lurking at the moment, there were a few times I thought about voicing an opinion, but I’m a bit sensitive when it comes to conflict, and I don’t need to put myself in a situation where I am going to feel bad OOG because of something I talked about on the forums, I’ve shed enough tears over tension already. I’m just gonna see the story through to the end, as I will be forever wondering what happened if I don’t.

I don’t really see myself as a participant anymore (if I ever was one), I am too far away and it’s harder to keep up, I’m too anxious to post (even posting this terrifies me), and the little hope I had of maybe getting a phone call or something so I’d have something to contribute story wise, is also gone.

Thanks to everyone who made me feel so amazingly welcome when I visited, generally speaking this has all been a fun experience. I hope those that get to attend ascension have an awesome experience and is hopefully able to give a runthrough at some future point! All my best wishes from here in South Africa.

[LucusParticipant]

Do you think this article contains spoilers? I listened to a podcast the other day that left my feelings a little hurt. Just wondering if this is safe to read.

[Michael RizzoParticipant]

I wouldn’t say it’s really spoilery… But it also depends on what you believe is a spoiler, this article talks more about the back stage stuff and what we’ve been through so far. They shed light to a few things we’ve questioned in the past but it doesn’t really spoil anything for Ascension story/room wise and it doesn’t spoil anything Indoctrination wise. Most narrative info in this article is already known.

[AH-layParticipant]

Agreed with Rizzo, If you haven’t heard or read anything of the backstage stuff and want to keep the illusion, don’t read any articles yet, lol.

[Susie JParticipant]

1. @halfbloodfangirl, please send me a picture of your ex and last known location. I have a pair of cleats that are dying to meet his front teeth

2. @ununpentium, after the first few articles (and this actually ties back into this thread) I found my energy waning noticeably. I have decided that I can do without the media articles. I have my ticket, I have this narrative. Too much intermingling dilutes my interest and enthusiasm. Suffice to say, it’s been presented to the Apostles of the Beginning that DLB and the entire “immersive theater” facade is a front used by the OOA as a honey pot to attract the unsuspecting to their infernal machinations. That is the focus I would like to follow up to Ascension. But that is only my opinion. Which brings me to my third point.

3. @halfbloodfangirl hit all my nails on their heads concerning in-game comportment and emotional investment. Thank you! Respectfully, members of the BoS, which story are you subscribing to? Are you going with IG actions because you got orders from an admitted “pawn?” Are we to allow a certain amount of latitude to you because you’re the rebel faction and what you say goes? I posit that your actions are as subject to speculation and debate as every other event that has occurred. And that we didn’t deserve an all out nuclear attack when we question what happened. Did the fourth wall shatter when that LA Times article broke and now are we sitting in the Mad Max post-apocalyptic rubble of our story? We are not LARPers pitching bean bags at each other and calculating XP here. This is a sophisticated, lovely, elegant experience that seduced us into its dark heart and now we’re tired and don’t want to question, don’t want to play, just want to sit quiet until cake and presents. Well, it’s not going to be a swell birthday party guys. It wasn’t supposed to be, never was.

[LucusParticipant]

Ya I’m pretty new to ARG and I’ve really never heard of immersive theatre so I’m trying to keep the backstage productions an illusion. I think I will take your advice and skip the articles after all you make a good point @monkeymuffin333 I have my path, “I have my ticket, I have this narrative.” Thanks for the help.

[ZannahParticipant]

Has anyone had any contact with Addison since the Periscope or anyone from OOA? I’ve read about some miss calls on the forums, but any specific information? It would be interesting to see if anyone has contact between now and Wednesday to ask about the media blitzing and see what kind of response they get.

I tend to think that the PR is simply to gain more recruits for Ascension. It may also be an excuse for the Clockmakers (OOA?) to distract us from GK2’s message. If she is trying to illuminate something they are up to, one of their ways to try to combat it is to, like @electrichippo said, say look over here so we miss what’s really going on.

We just have to remember what is important; Addison’s teddy bear, her journal, the e-mails she dropped off, and The One’s return. Hopefully, things will be clearer soon. Just stay on target.

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