Naps Table Nap Of The Day HorseRacing.net

A running joke on this subreddit is that our users regularly crosspost thematic images from the subreddits "thanksIhateit", "tihi" (which also stands for Thanks I Hate It), "Cursed Images", and "oddly terrifying" while counterintuitively enjoying the content, but now it seems the time has come for us to actually hate something, and that something is the creative decisions made in V5 about Clan Tzimisce (although notably some in our community feel these changes are positive and they look forward to using the companion... I will leave it to them to make a 'top ten best features' listicle if they wish).
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I slowly and patiently discussed v5 problems and what it means to be a sell-out with u/Xenobsidian in a long public conversation through these ten past nights, while accurately predicting these issues (thanks to my pouch of flesh whispering visions of Auspex to me perhaps), and now Xeno has asked me to share my thoughts on the V5 companion, which seems strange since my opinion remains exactly the same through long years of service, and are also now openly discussed by other unhappy members of the community in this thread and this thread, and apparently on Discord, so I do not need to write further response. I tried to warn Paradox repeatedly in dozens of posts across multiple subreddits (or even to personally join the project) and even got permabanned by WWRPG, and now MANY OTHER angry fans complain (just like I did) that V5 is like the very bad and unpopular parts of the Chronicles of Darkness (and yet commenters still object to me characterizing my opinions in the plural to signify multiple parties in agreement, despite my vantage-point as one of the moderators of a Tzimisce subreddit).
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Anyhow, here are what I (and likely many others!) see as the top ten problem with the Tzimisce in the v5 companion, ranked from the very worst to the least-worst.
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1. Vicissitude is now totally reversible. The notes on the vicissitude ability state: "Changes can be mended as aggravated damage, with each change equivalent to a single level of damage". This was once allowable for kindred of higher generation but now applies to everyone. Why even bother to spend one's blood pool and risk bestial failures to inflict fleshcraft upon kindred adversaries when they can recover from the alterations at will or with a brisk nap? Personally I have no idea. As a result, the Tzimisce are now much less horrifying, because V5 (for some reason) was planned to be less of a horror title, which Xenobsidian defended with the idea that this game needed to 'appeal to a wider audience' (which seemingly does not include the hundreds of millions of dollars spent by horror fans around the world each year).
2. The Tzimisce are now on the Path of Humanity. You may have noticed that The Tzimisce now no longer have the nickname of The Fiends, because the Tzimisce are no longer fiendish. They are now commonly called The Stokers, who (instead of brutal violence) at most stoke weepy melodrama and petty grudges, much like the transformation of Aurora the Lasombra into soap-opera-fodder in LA by Night. I suggested that, by defending v5 so far, Xenobsidian was ok with the Paths of Enlightenment being thrown aside, and Xeno claimed to "not understand what I meant" and that I was straw-manning Xeno's positions, and that "I bet, you will see a version of paths of enlightenment very soon". Here soonafter we see the results... The clan archetypes are now doting gang leader and plodding special forces commandant waiting for eminent domain or state of emergency to be declared by other authorities. Tzimisce practices are now apparently compatible with the Anarachs because "the clan has numerous members in both the Sabbat and the Anarchs". Future volumes may add more complexity (as vaguely hinted at), but Parawolf seeks to make this companion part of a Design Bible for all future V5 games and stories in the WoD universe.
3. The V5 Tzimisce are very stupid. I have always considered the true threat of The Tzimisce to be their fierce intelligence and dedication to scholarship (with even the pack priests collecting scrapbooks of lore as exemplified by the Clanbook Revised), but the new disciplines and play-prompts dim the Tzimisce into becoming "Gangrels, but Bossier". But unlike even Gangrels, V5 Tzimisce have a kleptomanic compulsion can be triggered every scene, so inexperienced storytellers will lean on this to make the Tzimisce into slapstick comedy fodder again and again, and without the benefit of Auspex these characters will greedily, blindly stumble into every social or physical boobytrap and entanglement like the rogues in D&D. Disney's Abu takes a shiny diamond from the Cave of Wonders FOREVER. Gollum grabs the ring and falls into Mount Doom FOREVER. Aeofel grabs the sword FOREVER. It will be an inescapable Sword of Damocles or Chekhov's Gun in every single campaign. Somehow I believe it where in the companion it is written that ""no clan is as adept at blending in as The Ravnos", since Tzimisce infiltrators probably are too busy shoving shiny pebbles into their pockets to act accordingly. The writers of the companion included some few erudite vocabulary words and literary quotes throughout the volume to dissuade claims that this is a dumbed-down version of V20, but the short, simplified passages and lack of narrative complexity make it seem like a completely different target audience is sought, less focused on storytelling or lore or experiential gamecraft, and players more superficial, pliable, gullible, and (based on past interactions with the staff) likelier to show up at conventions in very tight clothing while prone to suggestion, than the current Tzimisce fans. Once again, Xenobsidian has claimed that all this is necessary, and I once again disagree.
4. The V5 Tzimisce all hate each other. While obviously not trusting each other in past versions, Tzimisce now fight against one another, divided and conquered. This is probably a worse hindrance for the clan than the clan curse. Collective Tzimisce culture and the teamwork of Sabbat culture through the viniculum no longer exist at all (so much for letters from the Sabbat Priscus of Moscow to fellow clanmates or The Oradea League or koldunic tutelage), and there now exists a codified and very undeserved dependency on other clans. Maybe this could make sense from a lore perspective if The Eldest sought to have each Tzimisce in his bloodline grab and hold what The Eldest sees as valuable without overlap, but in practice such enmity is incredibly counterproductive and saddening. Once, the title of Voivode was an honor bestowed on leaders of the clan from other members, and the Voivode of Voivodes was in the modern nights a ceremonial but hard-won position that entailed intrigue and assassination, but now everyone in the clan can be called a voivode, because no Tzimisce interacts with other Tzimisce if possible beyond fighting them (because that is how dragons act in racist Tolkien allegories that have nothing to do with the WoD).
5. The V5 Tzimisce are poor. the Tzimisce collect things, but have they amassed anything of consequence through millennia of effort? The Companion notes that it is another clan that has the benefit of an archetype of antiquarian collector of bibelots and curios. No such notable possession is referenced for the Tzimisce, A Tzimisce character (of any age or generation) is not noted to begin a game with any object or possession of value (beyond maybe being a landlord of a run down building?), or any necessary social influence of "the recognition and prestige of having an entourage" (which the Ventrue would call "Dignitas" if they still existed properly). The V5 Tzimisce are not noted to run the world economy in any manner, which seems strange given their age, acquisitive tendencies, and superhuman abilities.
6. Every Tzimisce is now Old Clan Tzimisce. I had hoped in cataloging Old Clan content here that they, including Dracula, would one day be brought through character development into rejoining the clan proper and share Vicissitude and Auspex and Animalism and Koldunism within The Sabbat... but instead (for marketability reasons thanks to Dracula) the entire clan now has the dominate ability while losing major aspects of its character (which, as noted by other players here, negates the mastery of the blood bond which was long worked upon and perfected according to the lore). A Tzimisce can offer the coterie extra healing when staying in the Tzimisce domain (so they can negate the effects of vicissitude even more effectively, wonderful!) It has been suggested that one can "homebrew Obertus revenants back into normal Tzimisce" but this is a rather depressing prospect which risks losing commonality with all game products and parity with all future Tzimisce characters and settings.
7. The companion is written with open contempt for the online Tzimisce Community. The companion does not reference the collective project of JustTzimisceThings (and why would it, the entire clan working, wittingly or unwittingly, for an ancient being seeking to unite all life is now uncollective for some reason). None of the ideas on this entire subreddit, or any other fansite I have journeyed through were seemingly adopted for this writeup, and further, hostile allusions are made to the Tzimisce fans being dissatisfied with V5 so far. From the prospective of people who only want to play Camarilla games, these fans repeatedly asking for the Tzimisce to be included are a strange nuisance, who cares if the Tzimisce exist? Why are these players so upset with 'non-humanity games' not being possible when you could be part of the glorious Camarilla? Why would anyone ever want to play anything beyond The Path of Humanity? Are they mentally unstable? Don't these fans read Anne Rice?! Obeying the Camarilla is tradition! This audacity is unacceptable!!!!!! How dare they mention that certain developers are making bad decisions and remember that for more than a few days! What a bizarre grudge they have "stoked" against decent, honorable Camarilla players!!!!

"Whether when claiming six blocks as inviolate domain or executing takeover of a mortal zaibatsu, relating to a world outpacing them can pose a significant hindrance". A Tzimisce may, for instance, see little wrong with controlling the minds of a score of mortals and may even believe that this is an act of “subtlety” on account of having left no bodies in their wake. Of course, the social dynamics of most coteries operate on a far less vertical model, but even so, many Kindred may see a value in feeding the Tzimisce’s ego. Individual vampires of Tzimisce frequently consider themselves the most important of all Kindred, and though they may observe delicate and fraught hospitalities as a courtesy to their fellows, this is often a somewhat obvious facade. Dragons can nurse grudges against other Tzimisce with enough vitriol to put a Toreador vendetta to shame.

1. Lore vacuum. No Tzimisce of the past have survived into this companion. The word "zaibatsu" would seem to reference the V5 Autarkis Prince of Tokyo, but none of the other canon characters appear as veiled reference, there are no nods (or Book of Nods) to the past, none of the past Tzimisce through various books or editions fit the new clan archetypes. None of the art references the fleshcraft style of past characters, and with the new V5 thematic paradigm one wonders how any memorable or iconic Tzimisce personality will ever emerge to rival past inclusions like the ones listed in our VIP directory. Do you see a new Sascha Vykos-level entity being invented through this companion? Jason Carl has committed to some of the LA by Night Vamily asking him that he intends to make a Tzimisce character, but I suspect that he has a difficult road (Via Humanitatis) ahead of him. LET US STOP THIS LISTICLE NOW TO PRESENT TWO OR THREE RANDOM FULL PAGE PICTURES OF PEOPLE STARING INTO THE FOREGROUND AND SMOKING BECAUSE ACCORDING TO THE COMPANION THAT IS DARK AND GRITTY AND ATMOSHPERIC APPARENTLY, MUCH MORE APPROPRIATE THAN ANY OTHER CONCIEVABLE CONTENT THAT COULD GO HERE. GOTHS SMOKE, RIGHT? YOU AND THIS SMOKER ARE SPIRITUALLY THE SAME! BUY OUR PRODUCTS!

9. V5 messed up the Vozhd. "It cannot choose to defy its master, nor can it creatively interpret its purpose. "It needs nothing to eat to sustain it". For people semi-seriously considering a Vozhd dating simulator at one point on Twitter, it makes me disappointed that the most famous of the Vozhd, Briareus from Ghouls: Fatal Addiction (who would take the role of the bad-boy parking lot slacker hunk at the Vozhd high school who never goes to class) has been discounted by these supposed experts.
10. Death of the Author: As noted in my discussion with Xenobsidian, do you wish to actively support developers with your money, time, attention, and brainpower by aggregating and advertising and helping new players, hosting campaigns, fostering discussion and entertainments, or managing fan properties for a fanbase when those players (even if only engaging in former versions) are drawn into a compromised IP? With every post in this subreddit I was sharing something that I felt was cool with a large, very underserved fanbase (many of which had never heard of fleshcraft), but with the eventual outcome of the V5 companion (and the further warning signs on the horizon) it feels like a possible mistake to have associated this IP with our community.

Synopsis: After hoodwinking Darkos, a holy priest, into escorting her back to her castle, Dark Enchantress Geela has one item left on her list: revenge on her ex-husband. With a confused Darkos in tow, she sets out. However, Geela isn't the only one with secrets. And Barney isn't the only old enemy who's about to get a visit.
Index ||| Previous Chapter ||| Next Chapter (and the start of arc 2)!!!
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To say the pair had been drained by their adventure would be an understatement comparable to the one Darkos had heard upon emerging from the catacombs. He’d had ‘a lot to explain’ the same way Geela needed a nap.
Her nap wasn’t pleasant, either. It was one of those feverish three day naps that was punctuated by sips of tea and broth and water provided by concerned parents.
“Mama, I don’t like orange tea,” she’d once mumbled upon waking from a delirious dream about krakens eating her feet while swimming at the beach with her cousins. It wasn’t until the tea was sitting sulkily in her stomach and she’d rolled back over, pressing a wetted cloth to her face that she realized she’d called Rakette ‘mama’. This flung her into a dream about her mother scolding her for summoning void imps during equinox festival, a dream far more stressful than the kraken one (especially since she hadn’t summoned the damn imps).
Once she heard voices murmuring above her. “She’s been like this for days… She’ll never get better.”
“Give her time, don’t give up on her now.”
Except Geela couldn’t tell if it was real, a dream, or a memory.
“...it’ll take her like it took her sister.”
Geela rolled over in bed, whimpering, and pressed the pillow over her head. She needed sleep to recharge but too many parts of her soul had been overstretched.
“It might be better to—”
“She’s still alive!”
“Won’t be long now.”
“Geela, how are you feeling?”
If this was a memory, and reaching back into the recess of her addled brain she could find some semblance to a yearly corn fever that ravaged the town’s young for some six years in a row, then it couldn’t touch her now. It was just a dratted memory.
“Geela?”
The voice that spoke now was a soothing presence to her ears. A man’s voice but not her father or uncle. A cool hand pressed to her cheek.
“Last time this happened she was out for almost 24 hours.”
“Well girl did mind control a thousand villagers,” Arthius said. A dream for sure then. Darkos’s parents weren’t ones for compliments.
“Good to know she can’t just nilly willy hypnotize a whole town without some form of payback.”
“Mom! She saved our skins.”
The woman’s voice, Rakette’s, trailed off, muttering something about a mountain and opals.
“Sorry about her,” Darkos’s voice whispered. “I doubt you heard that but she’s just rattled.” She felt a newly cool cloth press against her forehead and smiled in her sleep. No more memory, no more dream. Just her faithful Darkos.
The next time Geela woke, her hair, face, and clothes were so damp she’d thought maybe someone had gotten tired of her occupying their bed and had doused her with a barrel of water. She was reminded briefly of Darkos flopping a lily pad at his dad for the better part of ten minutes before just pouring water on the man. Maybe he’d learned.
But then she sat up and found that it was likely just her fever breaking. Finally. One day Geela would find a way to make over exerting herself less… unpleasant. Really though, the lasting damage here would be whatever nonsense she’d muttered in her sleep. Had she really called Rakette ‘mama’? No, surely that was just a fever dream. She would never.
—
“Of course, I was always ‘mom’ or ‘mommy’ to Darkos, so it was funny hearing ‘mama’. And imagine not liking orange tea!”
Geela sat at the breakfast table, sulking over a breakfast of eggs and bacon, smiling up at her. Yes, smiling. Like she was seven.
“Don’t be embarrassed, dear. It was sweet.”
“You know I’m older than you, right?” Geela scowled and flipped her bacon upside down. Childish, yes. But at least it reflected how she felt.
Darkos bustled back from the kitchen with a delectable smelling pan of cinnamon rolls and the promise of something sweet brightened Geela’s mood a bit and she smiled up at him.
“Geela! Your bacon is frowning.” He looked so alarmed at this development that Geela couldn’t stop her sweet ‘please give me cinnamon rolls’ smile from turning to a laugh.
“Mom did you give Geela sad bacon?”
Rakette peered at the plate, concerned. “I would never have.”
“Just give me a damn cinnamon roll,” Geela said, stifling another snort of laughter.
“Made them myself,” he said. “Extra icing—”
“Darkos,” scolded his mother.
“Hey. We saved the town. We deserve extra icing.”
“Still.” She planted her hands on her hips. “It’s not healthy. Arth?”
“They did just save the town,” he said, eying the rolls like a shark stalking an injured dolphin.
Rakette sighed. “I suppose you did just save the town.”
Geela fully agreed and soon her fingers were covered with the sugary glaze. Darkos may cook his steaks a bit well done and he may overcook his eggs and don’t get her started on his burnt chicken but he made a mean cinnamon roll. Perhaps even meaner than her still miffed bacon.
It was nice, having a domestic breakfast, even with Darkos’s parents. And she didn’t mind playing with her food a bit, because as Darkos mentioned, she deserved it.
He did too. It had been a hell of a day for the both of them, really for the whole village but, while Geela cognitively could sympathize, she really didn’t care too much about them. Right now she was focused exclusively on boosting the two of them back up to normal, or as normal as could be achieved so soon after the Alerion kerfuffle.
“So what’s next for the two of you.” Arthius slurped down a third egg and Geela shuddered just slightly. Unlike his son, Arthius ate his eggs so raw that a rooster could probably have still made a chick out of it.
“Two more Alerion villages to liberate,” Geela said.
“Jungle and Arid,” Darkos said, munching down on his own borderline powdered eggs. He poured some tomatoey sauce over top of them and Geela shuddered more now. She loved tomatoes but the sugary paste was already an affront to her senses. Seeing them on top of Darkos’s dried eggs... “Neither are too far and with Malevelo gone—”
“Presumed,” Geela said, collecting herself. “He astrally projected to take control of Leoth but we don’t know for sure his soul perished when the crystal was destroyed.”
“Right. What would happen then? Would he just snap back to his body? Like, how does astral projection work?”
“Well, void beings tend to need to possess a mortal entity in order to do much here physically. They can jump from body to body.” She bit into a piece of toast, polishing it off in two bites. “However, with the way the children of Noire possessed their hosts at the moment of conception, they’re pretty locked into that body. It gives them the bonus of not needing void energy to recharge; they just recharge the way humans do. It also does allow them some extra-body travel but that’s more limited. Give and take.”
Darkos nodded but stared rather inquisitively at his fork full of sausage. “Huh. And that’s something that’s hard to do, the astral projecting? Like you couldn’t accidentally do it.”
“The average person, no. That’s very challenging stuff if you aren’t predisposed to it. I can barely do it.” She lifted a shoulder in an unconcerned shrug. Astral projection was nasty stuff without anchors. It was miserable and disorienting. “Why?”
He shook his head quickly, smiling. “Just trying to figure out if Malevelo could have zipped back to his body.”
“If he did, he’d be comatose. Destroying his crystal like that would ruin him. Likely, if he survived, he just hopped back to the void, which is irritating but not terrible. It means Noire has to siphon power to bring him back or otherwise he’s pretty useless.”
Darkos nodded. “So he’s like, in timeout.”
Geela choked on her hashbrown, as the image of Noire lording over the Void Realm while Malevelo’s soul sulked in some corner floated in her mind. “Yes,” she sputtered, wiping tears from her eyes. “Yes, he’s in timeout.” She stared out at the remains of the breakfast feast the four (mostly Geela) had devoured. Dabbing away mashed potato from her face, she very pleasantly smiled at Arthius. “Breakfast was lovely, by the way. Thank you.”
“I’m glad you enjoyed the hash browns,” Rakette said. “You were asking for them while sleeping I think. Something about being a potato princess, so I tried to incorporate that into the meal.”
Geela lifted her chin, refusing to let the jibe slow her down. “Nobody makes potatoes like the Farm Region does. But they were passable.”
Darkos sprung to his feet to start clearing away dishes. Geela let him, crossing her fork and knife over her plate, signifying that she would not be finishing the remains of her meal. Good hearty food was exactly what she needed to replenish and she felt like, maybe after another nap, she could consider leaving.
“What’s after taking out the Alerion cults?” Rakette asked, joining Darkos with the cleaning.
“Move on to the next child of Noire,” Geela said. “A little bird told me that the Celestial City might be a good place to go.” Geela glanced back at Darkos, who was merrily splashing away in the sink as he washed, before grabbing Rakette’s sleeve and pulling her close. “Who did you say sent you to Sunnyville?” she asked, her voice a hiss.
“Professor Elle, head of the Realms Studies Department.” She looked at Darkos. “You think she might be involved?”
“I’m not sure but it is awfully suspicious that she sent you here. It’s either her or… what did you say the priestess’s name was?”
Rakette’s eyes grew wide. “Lune would never.”
“Just like Malevelo would never?”
“What are we whispering over?” Arthius asked, poking his head in on the two women.
“Geela thinks that the head of the Realms Studies Department sent us here intentionally, to put,” she dropped her voice to barely audible, “Darkos in Noire’s sights.”
“Didn’t work very well, did it,” Arthius said, which was a fair point. If the goal was to send Darkos to Malevelo, something had really broken down.
“True. But I can also see where the communications may have broke down. We took a vacation at the Beach Region before heading to Sunnyville—”
Geela held up a hand, cutting Rakette off. “You took a vacation? Your priestess tells you that your son is a void spawn that needs immediate attention and you take a vacation before running away?”
“Well.” Rakette crossed her arms. “It was the last one we knew we’d ever get to take. And we didn’t expect Dark to be born so early so we had to spend some extra time nursing him back to health.”
“Yeah, all told it probably took us a year when we said six months,” Arthius said. “So it’s possible that if someone did tell the cults we were coming, too much got messed up on our travels.”
Geela’s nose wrinkled but she couldn’t say anything to that. For once, he was right. This had probably saved Darkos from being immediately delivered to Malevelo. She sighed. “Well alright then, you probably did the right thing. I still need a word with the academy’s Realms Studies Department. I don’t trust the head. How would she have even heard of Sunnyville?”
“Promise, Eve’s not a bad person,” Arthius said. “And she literally knows every town on file. Of course she’d know.”
“Well, I’ve heard ‘not a bad person’ a lot recently. So excuse me for being suspicious.”
“Mom! Where’s the—what’s got you all so huddled?”
The group broke apart like magnets, all inconspicuously turning to something else.
“Just discussing where we’re going next. After the cults. Your parents are concerned I won’t take care of you.”
Darkos shuffled over to clear the last of the plates. “I’ll be fine,” he said, grabbing Geela’s plate. “Made it this far—Geela, you didn’t finish your eggs! And your bacon! It's angry! It has eyebrows now!”
—
It didn’t take the pair long to pack up their belongings the next day. They hadn’t brought too much and Geela’s bag ate most of it. Darkos’s parents pushed a good deal of food on them, which was very kind, even though Geela was beyond done mentioning it. Darkos could thank them for her. She was tired of them.
It was shortly before their final lunch there that Rakette pulled Geela aside, a motion that had become familiar if not miserable.
“Look,” the woman started and Geela was already over the conversation. “Darkos has been through a lot at—”
“I know. I already know. He’s talked a bit about it, about how this whole thing is harder than he thought it would be.” It had cracked her heart just a little to see him sitting on his bed, arms wrapped around his knees, chin tucked in. He’d struggled to find a way to phrase ‘killing people and dealing with grief is a lot more taxing than taking out your monster pets ever was’ without making Geela think less of him and it hurt just a little to watch. “He’s a hardy guy. He’ll be fine.”
“Geela,” she said, and now her voice was more urgent. “I just wanted to say that… I don’t like you. Don’t respect your work or the things you’ve done to good folk just to inflate an already massive ego.”
Geela considered this. “Well I don’t at all enjoy your company and if it weren’t for the fact that your son is better than we both deserve, my plans for this village would have been renovating it to about two inches high and very sooty.”
Rakette’s eyes narrow, an odd reaction given she instigated the insults. “Anyway. I wanted to make that clear. I will, however, put up with you at Darkos’s request.”
Geela’s fingers trailed along the window sill, scraping up dirt under a nail. “Charming. Well, dear, I’ll be sure to withstand your boorish nature should he ever convince me to come back up here.”
“Well he’d best! And when we come down to… wherever you’ve set up, I like to think we’ll be damn beter houseguests than you’ve managed to be.” She straightened her shoulders, gazing at Geela haughtily.
“First of all,” Geela wiped off her dirty finger on the bright yellow curtains, “I can’t imagine ever wanting you to visit my home. Maybe Darkos could convince me. Maybe. He’d have to have a damn good argument though because two,” she started scraping the dirty out from under her nail using a knitting needle that lay on the chair by the window, “I couldn’t imagine you’d be a better houseguest.” She smiled sweetly. “Fortunately, i don’t see us encountering each other again for a long time, so—””
“Oh don’t pretend. You may have him fooled but he still is a good enough son to invite us.”
“Invite you?”
“I saw him give you that ring before the invasion.”
Geela blinked. “The one—”
“And I’ve seen the one on his finger now.”
“The what?” All of Rakette’s absurd… well Geela couldn’t even rightfully call it an argument. More like ramblings. Perhaps even a racket. But it all went out the window as Geela’s shoulder tensed. “He’s got another one?” she asked. “Which ring? Was it green? I swear if he’s got the hydra heart…”
Rakette stared at her, outrage dripping from every pore. “Oh I bet you just have dozens, don’t you.” Her fists balled “Fine. As if you don’t know. It was the little sapphire one, the one on his pinkie finger.”
Geela’s face flushed so red so fast she thought she might pass out. She rounded on Rakette so fast the curtain in her hand ripped. “How in the hell How in the bloody, ever living, all evil hell…” She groaned as the picture floated in her head. Oh Darkos. Stupid, clueless Darkos. She forced a smile at Rakette. “I’m sorry. Or at least, pretend that I am. I’m sure that, to anyone else, what you’re trying to say is terribly important, but I need to rescue an engagement ring.”
Rakette’s lips flopped open but Geela had no further time and swept from the room to chase down Darkos.
Of course Darkos had that ring. Of course he did. Some two and a half years ago, the day Geela left her castle on a head-clearing tirade, was the last time she’d worn that stealth garb. It had also been the last time she’d worn her engagement ring. Oh, she’d contemplated burrowing to the core of the planet to melt it in the fiery inferno of whatever was down there, but she ended up shoving it in her pocket to deal with ‘later’. ‘Later’ was supposed to be that night when she got back to her castle. But instead of flopping in and draping herself over her favorite chaise, she’d found a large dragon that no longer responded to her safe words. So ‘later’ turned into after she found someone to escort her home. And that went just swimmingly.
So ‘later’ finally became now. Geela hadn’t given Barney much mind recently but now her stomach twisted.
She rounded the corner to find the dazzling sapphire still on his pinkie. The sparkling thing, once the crowning jewel of a frumpy nightshow patron, now sat on the little finger of a dopey ex-priest who couldn’t have looked more out of place with it on if he’d tried. How had she missed it? Maybe Darkos was rubbing off on her.
She forced a smile to cover how she shook at the unwanted memories. “Darkos, sweetheart, that ring…”
“Oh! Oh man.” He facepalmed, actually smacking his face with his hand. “Second time I forgot.” He grinned, a bit abashed. “It was super helpful though. I’m getting better at using artifacts though. You wouldn’t believe how much I bashed Malevelo. I collapsed a cavern on him.”
Geela’s lips went tight. “Right. You collapsed a cavern.”
“I think it was an ice bolt. It got all scummy in the void air though but it was enough to blow up the dire crystals and that gave me a way out.”
Geela stared at Darkos, brain clunking through this in record slow time. Darkos had just blasted a metric ton of void energy out of his pinkie finger, thinking he was using, what, ice magic from Geela’s engagement ring?
Darkos was also staring by now, his face probably mirroring hers in sheer blank stupor.
Finally Geela forced a smile. “That’s just dandy. Happy for you.” Good job, Geela. Very convincing.
He nodded. “Ok. Right, well, anyway, here it is back.” He pulled the delicate band off his finger. “Thanks, by the way. For giving me something defensive. For a sec down there I thought I was screwed. I did like the forcefield one better though. Ice magic is draining.”
Great, and now Geela felt like a shitty friend. She examined the ring, stomach sinking as her heart skipped a bit the way it did when Barney first slid it on her finger. God she needed to get a grip.
"How about..." She fumbled in her bag before withdrawing the old force-field ring he’d used in Haymaker, "...you hang onto this. It's already attuned to you and I shouldn't leave you entirely undefended."
His face brightened like a school boy's as he pulled the old ring on. "Awesome."
"Alright." Geela clapped her hands and looked around the two. "Alright, this looks good. Let’s grab some lunch before heading out. You ready to go?”
For a moment he looked like he might contest. “Next village, you do the sharing. I don’t want to be anywhere near it.”
“Given. It won’t be nearly as hard without Malevelo being a driving force and with one of the crystals shattered, so this—” she gestured at the general air “—won’t happen again. I am not possessing another town.”
“Don’t like it?”
“Hypnotized worship drains you, it doesn’t invigorate you. It’s like… eating spoiled food. It tastes alright and you feel like you’re eating but the next thing you know, the whole meal is on the floor, plus the last few and…”
She looked up where Darkos’s face had gone a tad green at the metaphor.
She tried again.
“It’s like writing a book and someone says they’ll publish you but ask for money instead of paying you. It looks good to someone who doesn’t know better, but it drains you more than it pays you. You just end up more broke.”
Darkos nodded, hopefully getting it. “Alright. Actually I suppose that makes sense. Ok so no possessing groups and I get to hide when you tell everyone the…” he trailed off, face clouding for a second before he shook his head, forcing a smile. “...bad news.”
“You’re going to be ok,” she said, voice dropping to a softness she didn’t love using but knew reassured him. “And you’re saving them. Remember that.”
“Ok. And you… You’ve got that.”
She tipped her head at him, at the guilless look in those big brown eyes, and smirked. “Yes Darkos. I will tell them all the horrible horrible crap Noire has done to their families. You can ride off free.”
“Are you sure—”
“A thousand percent.” There simply was no good reason to even contest this point but Darks seemed to need the reassurance.
“Ok. Ok, just making sure. I want to feel good about taking out Noire. Not all weird and bad. I feel like that’s been a lot of the successes. Weird and bad. Sinistrina choking on the sandwich and then obviously telling all the villagers that bad stuff but even, like, there was this little priest down in the catacombs and she was so scared and confused and hurt, physically hurt, and I just took advantage of that to—’
“To what? Did she die?”
“No! Geela!” He looked aghast at the suggestion. “She broke the crystal!”
Geela shrugged, really not seeing the point. “Honestly, with the exception of breaking the bad news, I don’t see what’s the problem.”
“I feel like I’m going bad. Like too bad. Like evil. Like… like maybe…” He stared at his boots.
“Like me?” Geela asked. “Oh, Darkos. I would never have felt guilty over the things you’re fretting over. Does that help? I didn’t slowly slide down this path. I started down here.” It was kind of interesting, lying to Darkos about this. Maybe it was a half-lie. She’d never been the most affectionate child but she hadn’t started out heartless. That came later. Yet here she was, totally guilt-free about lying to her friend about why he shouldn’t be worried about becoming her, because she was always evil.
“A little bit. Actually a lot. Sometimes I worry that I’m going to turn evil or something.”
Geela just rolled her eyes and grabbed her bag. “Evil people don’t worry about turning evil. They just are. Now, is there more morosity to moon over, or are we ready to go?”
“I think… no, I think I’m good. Thanks, Geela, again.” He smiled, for real this time, and nodded. “Alright then. Let’s make like a tree and leaf.” Geela turned this pun over in her head but before she could speak, Darkos hoisted his bag on his shoulder. “It was nice to be at home but I need to get out of this place. Need to get back on the road, see something new.”
Technically ‘make like a tree and leaf’ did make more sense than how she’d always heard it but it made her question how many puns she may have butchered in the past. But Darkos was staring at her intently so she filed this away for the future, slipped her satchel over her shoulder, and tossed a long golden lock over her shoulder.
“Wonderful,” she said. “Let’s say our farewells and then head out. We’ve got some cults to destroy.”
And there's your third chapter for the week!
I don't have too many updates except to thank you for your overwhelming support on Royal Road. I started the day at 11th on trending and ended it on 8th. One more rank and we're on the front page, so don't let up that momentum! (To give you an idea of the power of trending, in one week Geela got 200 new followers.)
I've got the next couple chapters already written and my beta writer is already super excited about them.
SPEAKING OF WHICH if you haven't checked out Vren's Fractured Song at this point, you're just insane because it is so good. Seriously, this me leading the horse to water because you'll want to drink this up immediately. He's done an amazing job being my ultimate, near-24-hour sounding board for Geela so go give him a read. You won't regret it!
See you Monday! Have a nice (long if applicable) weekend!!

As digital technology and homebuyer expectations advance and evolve, so too must your real estate marketing plan. Specifically, you need to start thinking digital—86% percent of home buyers consider real estate websites the most useful source of information when buying a home.1 In fact, 44% of all home buyers start their home search online.1
But let’s be real—the chances of a homebuyer stumbling across your company or your properties and becoming a lifelong customer are slim to none (sorry). If you really want to increase leads and sell more homes, your real estate firm needs to—literally—pop up in front of a homebuyer’s face at the moment they’re searching for properties. It’s doable, and how you do it is with real estate SEO.
Below you’ll find a guide to succeeding with real estate SEO—including six foolproof strategies and real estate SEO tips to make your website rank higher in search results, curated from our very own real estate SEO experts:

1. Make your website mobile-friendly, fast, and secure
2. Optimize everything for the right real estate SEO keywords and best SEO practices
3. Focus on local SEO tactics and keywords
4. Create a real estate blog and share your content via social media and email marketing
5. Take advantage of VR, photos, and videos
6. Solve home seekers’ problems in one-click, one-second

• FREESEO ANALYSIS
• ENTER YOUR WEBSITE TO SEE IF YOU COULD BENEFIT FROM SEO.
• http://www.*
• TRY IT - IT'S FREE!

WHAT DOES SEO MEAN IN REAL ESTATE?

SEO stands for “search engine optimization” and is the process of making your website show up higher in the search results. You need it because in order for you to get more leads you first need to be found—organic search equates to 95% of all web traffic and the first position on Google search results has a 34.36% clickthrough rate for desktop and 35% for mobile.12 Basically, if you’re not at the top of the search results you’re losing clicks, leads, and sales to your competitors.
There are more than 200 search algorithm factors that go into what makes a page rank high on the search results page, but the ones that matter the most are:

• Secured sites (HTTPS vs. HTTP)
• Websites that are mobile-friendly
• Schema markup
• Webpage content quality
• Webpage content length
• Optimized title tags and meta descriptions on all web pages
• Page speed
• Social signals
• Quality backlinks
• Optimized images
• Domain age

1. Make Your Website Mobile-Friendly, Fast, and Secure

44% OF ALL HOME BUYERS FIRST LOOKED FOR A PROPERTY ONLINE, AND 72% OF HOME SEEKERS USE A MOBILE DEVICE OR TABLET TO CONDUCT HOME-BUYING RESEARCH.

📷
This isn’t 1989, and the modern homeowner uses the internet to look for houses—frequently from a mobile device. That means if you want to capture the attention of today’s homeowner, you need to solve all their home-searching problems and you need to do it online. Not only that, but most home buyers look for homes on-the-go, which means your website needs to flow seamlessly from a desktop to a mobile device. That means your videos, photos, and landing pages all need to be optimized for mobile viewing, and you need to tailor your content for on-the-go consumption with features like easy-to-find (and easy to click) photos, neighborhood information, and property listings.
Bad news: most consumers will hit the “back” button if your webpage takes longer than three seconds to load, so make sure your website is fast enough.
What Homebuyers Want from Your Real Estate Website:

• 85% of home buyers want detailed information about properties listed on your website1
• 44% of home buyers find neighborhood information on real estate websites very useful1
• 41% of home buyers want your real estate website to have interactive maps1
• 95% of real estate websites feature property listings1
• 36% of commercial real estate websites show customer reviews and testimonials1
• 58% of real estate websites feature a mortgage/financial calculator1
• 56% of real estate websites feature community information and demographics1
• 55% of real estate websites feature information on the home buying and selling process1

2. Optimize Your Website Content for the Right Real Estate SEO Keywords and Best SEO Practices

We already discussed how the modern homebuyer’s preferred method of finding new homes has changed—90% of buyers now turn to the internet to solve all their housing needs, from finding out how to get a mortgage to making that final decision. In fact, 53% of buyers start their search online, frequently on a search engine. Since 55% of searchers click on one of the first three entries of Google’s search results, if your website isn’t in the top three, you’re losing listings to your competitors.
Search engine optimization was built around keywords, but not all keywords are created equal. Take a look at the difference in the search results for “find a realtor to sell my home,” and “homes for sale, Washington, DC”:
📷
(You’ll notice right under my search box in the image above is a little excerpt that says “volume” and “competition”. That is a feature of a keyword tool called Keywords Everywhere that I’ll discuss in a minute, so hang tight!)
There are two considerations when choosing keywords: intent and search volume.

• Search intent**: The “why” of the search**
• Search volume: How many people actually search for that keyword or long-tail keyword

The best ways to find your ideal real estate keywords include using the “Searches related to” section at the bottom of the search results page and an SEO tool to find search volume. We use a mixture of Google Ads Keyword Planner, Moz, and the free browser extension Keywords Everywhere (among others, including our proprietary SEO software). Here’s what the “Searches related to..” at the bottom of the search results looks like, and what the Keywords Everywhere extension looks like:
📷
WARNING: DO NOT KEYWORD STUFF**.**

3. Focus on Local SEO Tactics and Keywords

58% OF MILLENNIALS AND 46% GENERATION X FOUND THEIR HOME ON A MOBILE DEVICE COMPARED TO 33% OF YOUNGER BOOMERS.1

More than half of your target audience is searching for new homes and properties on a mobile device, which means you need to focus on local Montreal SEOtactics. Local SEO for realtors is slightly different than regular real estate SEO because of the emphasis on making it into the local pack of the search results:
📷
Here’s a rough summary of how to optimize your website for local SEO:

• Create content targeting local real estate keywords and search terms –
  • [City] homes for sale
  • [City] realtors
  • [City] real estate listings
  • homes for sale near me
  • real estate agent near me
• Clean up your NAP citations – Be sure your business’s name, address, and phone number are EXACTLY the same across all of your online assets like your website, social profiles, and Google My Business/Bing listings. Learn more about NAP citations >>
• Local directory listings – Claim and verify all listings on local directories including Yelp, Superpages, Foursquare, Yellowpages, etc. Learn how to get to the top of local listings >>
• Reviews – Reviews are key to local SEO. Regularly solicit reviews and engage in review-building tactics on social and search profiles. Learn how to get more reviews >>
• Localized onsight content – The more relevant your on-site content is to the searcher, the more likely it will show up in search results. This means creating pages for each neighborhood, having local resources, and featuring listing maps.
• Schema markup – Ask your web developer to implement local business schema on your website. It gives the search engines a clearer supply of local information about your business.

Consider these statistics:

• In 1981, 22% of home buyers read newspaper ads to find a home. In 2016, 44% looked for properties online first1
• The typical buyer used a mobile device to search for properties online. S/he looked at websites with photos, home listings, and information about the home buying process. S/he then contacted an agent and visited a median of 10 homes over 10 weeks before purchasing a home1
• 57% of all US online traffic now comes from smartphones and tablets9
• Mobile searches for “best” have grown over 80% in the past 2 years10
• 3 in 4 smartphone owners turn to mobile search first to address their immediate needs10

4. Create a Real Estate Blog and Share Your Content on Social Media

70% OF HOME BUYERS PREFER TO GET TO KNOW A REAL ESTATE AGENCY THROUGH ONLINE CONTENT OVER PAID ADVERTISEMENTS.

📷
You need to invest in content marketing like blogs, 360-degree guides, and relevant resources. Not only do you need this content on your website, but you also need to get the word out through channels like social media and email marketing. Write blogs on what to expect as a first-time homeowner, or create an infographic that sums up the homebuying process. Instead of creating your run-of-the-mill “Find Your Home” ads, share homebuyer stories from past clients in the form of a video. Consumers trust online testimonials almost as much as a recommendation from a friend, so creating videos highlighting happy customers is a smart bet.
Consider these statistics:

• Adding a blog to your site will increase your chances of ranking on search engines by 434%12
• 94% of realtors prefer to communicate with clients via email1
• 90% of realtors like to communicate through text messaging1
• 34% of realtors prefer to communicate through instant messaging1
• 91% of realtors use social media to some extent2
• 67% of realtors send email marketing campaigns more than once a month4
• FREESEO ANALYSIS
• ENTER YOUR WEBSITE TO SEE IF YOU COULD BENEFIT FROM SEO.
• http://www.*
• TRY IT - IT'S FREE!

5. Take Advantage of VR, Video, and Photos

50% OF HOME BUYERS WANT TO BE ABLE TO TOUR A HOME VIRTUALLY ON YOUR WEBSITE, AND LISTINGS WITH SHARP PHOTOS SELL AT OR ABOVE LIST PRICE 44% OF THE TIME.

📷

Consumers are all about the visuals these days, and they want to know everything they can about a home before visiting it. Having features like 3-D virtual tours and high-resolution photos can enhance your property presentation and catch more customers.
Consider these statistics:

• Listings with sharp photos sell at or above list price 44% of the time3
• 50% of home buyers want to be able to tour a home virtually on your website1
• 89% of home buyers find photos on a website extremely helpful1
• 78% of real estate firms show agent and staff photos on their website1
• Over half (51%) of home shoppers claim that YouTube is their favorite video research platform5
• 70% of homeowners prefer to list with a real estate agent who uses video marketing to advertise their home6
• 36% of home seekers used online video in their research process1
• Real estate is projected to account for 22% of all drone use by 20203

6. Solve Their Problems in One-Click, One-Second

📷

HOMEBUYING PAIN POINTS OF TODAY’S CONSUMER:

Take a look at the image above. This Washington, DC real estate company has made finding or selling a home stupid-simple—a visitor can get the information they want with one click within one second of landing on the homepage. You, too, need to solve homebuyers’ problems with one click and in one second. That means having content that predicts their pain points and proactively solves their problems.
For example:

• 52% of homebuyers say finding the right property is the most difficult step in the homebuying process1
• 24% of homebuyers say understanding paperwork is the most difficult part of finding a home1
• 17% of homebuyers say understanding the home buying process is the most difficult aspect of buying a home1

You could create three infographics that sum up the answers to each of those questions and feature it on your homepage—and you’ve already solved some of their most pressing problems.

Get More Clients With Real Estate SEO Services from Blue Corona—A Premier Real Estate SEO Agency

In order to sell homes, you need to be found. In order to be found, your real estate SEO strategy should make sure you dominate all the places homebuyers look for information: in the search engines, on social, media, and on your website. About 52% of home seekers say finding the right property is the hardest part of buying a new home. Make it easy for them with the help of our real estate SEO experts!
​

SOURCES:

1. https://www.nar.realtosites/default/files/reports/2017/2017-real-estate-in-a-digital-age-03-10-2017.pdf
2. https://www.nar.realtoresearch-and-statistics/quick-real-estate-statistics
3. https://www.psprint.com/resources/10-real-estate-marketing-stats/
4. https://www.benchmarkemail.com/resources/manuals/real-estate/realtor-marketing-statistics
5. https://boldcontentvideo.com/2016/03/17/real-estate-video-marketing-statistics-for-2016/
6. http://rismedia.com/2016/12/20/drones-real-estate-marketing/#close
7. http://easyagentpro.wpengine.com/blog/seo-for-real-estate-agents-the-complet-guide/
8. https://www.statista.com/statistics/241462/global-mobile-phone-website-traffic-share/
9. https://www.brightedge.com/resources/research-reports/mobile-first-57-traffic-now-mobile
10. https://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/data-gallery/detail/micro-moments-consumer-behavio
11. https://www.searchenginejournal.com/10-stats-to-justify-seo/36762/
12. https://www.hubspot.com/marketing-statistics

2017. November. 

27.11. Monday: the day of going to the Central Bureau for my exit documents and to the Pension Directory - partly by foot as the Chinese PM gives a party for their vassals from the ex-Soviet Zone here in BP. Back pain. 28.11. Tue. Morning home and resting. And then the whole day in school. Conference. B. A very good on Rosenzweig. S.A. painfully quoting Lacan. With an S. ---29. 11. We. Rabbi Sch. (letter on loud speech in his Library). Lesson on Esaiah. Then Conference: Professors B. G and V. Ch and R.Y P on Qumran. Belly issues. Rest, no O. Old People Home---30. 11. Thu. RZ and shul. Then I went to Uncle Laci /OLd P. Home for Christie reading... (after resting at Z-o garden house - now it was heated. Home, rest again. Talmud studies all day. Shabbat Tractate.---
December 2017
01.12. Fri. Runs. After morning shul I met P. Q. and we went to HMVH by train. Hotel is okay. Massage is okay - no ten people but all goes fine. He teaches me some yoga asana-s, nice. ---02. 12. Sat. Morning trains, P.- rest in Z. and K. temple plus Anna E. visited in U.P. then home and rest. NA. (Anna F. child fantasy). very cold weather (like minus 1). I do write next weeks http://patreon.com/giurokozmos the weekly pseudo-horoscope parody series.---03.12. Sun. Morning temple and café Like: meeting my piano teacher. Looking at a shop for microphones. Home, rest- learning talmud (for the Ph D home exam on 11.12.17.) Afternoon - my note on the prostate massage creates a funny misunderstanding with my wife. (Some years ago I did have normal massage with PQ and somehow she finds that it is not okay although i did explain it was a therapy tool.) I am learning Talmud online. then go to the temple- and meet Z. P a psychologist who wants to come wth me to HM next week. we celebrate High Cantor G.N.. Then i meet G. in the Like CAfé. Then come home to learn more.----04. 12. M. (Regular a RZ und dann fahr ich nach dem Sch schule, wo mein Ph D wird mich gegeben um es spaeter zu Frau R. bringen , Sie ist 88 und ich brauche ihre Meinung... Dann: Universitaet RT. Ich wollte den Signatur vom Prof Rav T.R haben aber dann bin ich lieber fueher weggegangen zu Frau E. R. Die Sekreaerin vom Doktorat-Shule ruft mich an, dass ich ein Hundert Tausend bezahlen muss nach dem Prüfung. Talmud online lernen. -05. 12 DTag. Csepel: Agatha Christie Reden. (Signatur vom Prof B.F. und GB naechste Woche. Und dann: Friseur. Und Tante Zsuzsa. Sie hatte ein Buch ueber den Talmud /von N. Kraus/). Eine Kollegin bei meiner Frau, Jutka. Talmud online. /Shomer hinam etc./ -06. 12. We. Signatur vom Prof. Rav Senior wenn möglich.(Noch nicht.) Dann treffen mit Prof. FB um ueber die Talmud-Humor zu reden. Es gibt ain Ari-buch: Hok Israel mit taegliche TAlmud und alles...Dann vielleicht zu Tante Marika in Altersheim. Anstatt ein Agatha Christie Film-gucken sie sagt mir wie ich mein System vom Horoskop-Parodie machen soll (mit Königen vom dem slben Horoskop was sowieso ist, mindestens einmal im Monat.../die andere Wochen sind "Hauser"/. -07. 12. Thu Signatur vom Prov Rav TR (nicht heute/ und Prof. Rav ZR.(Nicht heute) Barbier. Und Onkel LAci im Altersheim und neue Kontrakt. Abends: Die Mitwohner kommen um Dinge zu besprechen. (Merkwürdig: Antwort an meine Erkundigung - die Mutter vom Patriq bekommt ein Wohnung - sie hat Probleme und will sowieso nach Israel.) /Das Wohnung ist mit Holz-Heizung - unbequem für sie./ -08. 12. Fri Running. Buying kasher. (Lozsy shouting match and sorry) HMV mit Herr Hauptartz von NA, Dr. P. (Vom Nyirő.) He feels good there. The massage is painless. But now I have toothaches. (next Thursday.)
09.12. Sat Tempel Spaet- Tante Eetelka bringt mich zum neuerlich groben Fröhlich (Geburtstag dort) und erzaehlt mir was sie denkt ueber Juden und Humor. Nach Ujpest? nein. Berci ruft mich nicht. NAch Hause . Ich schreibe ein Interview mit Tante MArika. Die Aristo-Scope. NA: Guszti kommt, schaleft hier. Es ist angenehmer als allein 10.12. Sun. Tempel und treffen mit Neményi Mari - Sie hat andere ideen ueber meine Melodien die eigentlich Akkorden sind. Sie kommt herauf. Essen: Chicken. /Einkaufen im Aldi- kashu nut/. DAnn werde ich ein bisschen mich ausruhen. Doxa anrufen, David vielleicht spaeter, Richee- tells me t meet him in the Rudas. (Bath, almost 4 Th HUF but okay). He is 21 and listens to my therapy horoscope stuff so I am glad I went there, I explained my orphanage stuff too. These just get easier to handle but still lurking. Then Café Like and NA and home. (The door-cold-filter removed by Jutka.) 11. 12. Mon. regular temples and running. Official Workshop on Ph D. Es ist okay. Nachmittag: Sonnen-system und Melodien List am Karton (um fuer die Altersheim Tante MArika und Hanuka Presentation.) 12. 12. Tue. kommt nicht der Masseur (Prostate) Morgen im Senior Temple und NA Gusti (er malt) dann Fenyes Stunde (ueber Hanukkah ) .Onlel Laci im Olajág Altersheim anstatt Donnerstag: Christie mit Horoskop (Er verstaeht wenig aber passt auf.) Konflikt mit Ati G - er ist empöhrt wenn ich den Professor aergere. /Verstaeht nicht dass wir uns lange kennen.) Intensive urethral problems (erkaeltung?) Nachmittag: index-signing mit GB... Aristo-Scope: ich bin shr gluecklich dass dies Sonnen-Spot Minima sind eben die Ahnen DAtum List aehnliche Zeitpunte. 13.12. We. Csepel.Altersheim. Und Nachmittag: Nach ein bisschen Schlaf im Zugló - phone Vogt wer möchte am weekend kommen - Tante Marika im Altersheim, die Horoskp Projekt. Dann kosher fleisch - Schinken - zu kaufen und mit Paschkes lernen (HOK - Luria daily - nachste Woche.) Spaeter -nach NA- Ich mochte zu Latov Hanuka.
14.12. Tempel--Zahnarzt- extraction planned for January. Then Szeged: the boring dinner /4000 HUF for Pisti NA too/ I first try to sleep at the Rabbi - but he drank a lot and he talked to different girls on the phone when I ask him to go to his room he snaps at me "to look for a better sleeping place". Then I say he coughs so hard I must rather go to a friend (Pisti NA). Rain. An hour till I find his house. (Tenth storey.) 15. 12. Fri. Pisti takes me to HMVH- there introduced to an AA girl (wife of an attorney there) who accompanies me to the Café Zatony. Then prostate massage. Then Service with the previous Cantor, R G. /Works at a Mayor Office in a small town). Then the Hotel. 16.12. Sat. Bus in the morning. Arrive at 9.40 - as I tell Norbert from HMVH to come we do have a minyan. That is good. we talk in a Café with Norbert. Then I go to AA. (Peter there, 79 ys old now, i know him since 20 ys. He says I sound better.) I read a book (Johnson) on Rousseau and other immoral intellectuals (Shelley). I can sleep a bit. Then I spend time on mobile at Pisti's flat (he goes to his sponsor) 17. 12. Sun. Morning train to HMVH. Café Zatony, waiting Pisti, looking for Uncle Szigeti and Lidia - then sleeping in the office. Lidias house - visiting. (Ikon collecting is her hobby.) Then prostate massage again. Hanukah party.(R.G. is the star). Instead of the plan of an early car lift to the train to Pest, the President pays me another night in the hotel. (Jutka flied this day to the frosty NY to visit our daughter there.)
18.12. Mon getup at 4h -bus to Szeged, and home by train half asleep. Rona - Autogram Woche. PM: Paschkes? Forgot him. The Ivan-money will arrive. Going up to Shari, for TV. (new month tevet: Capricorn. Louis XV. Baal Shem Tov.) therapie serie am hbo bei Sari nachbarin. 19. 12. Tue Constipation takes away the running time. (Aber daann ist es weg.) Fényes, to sign index. Noontime Fényes. Une soirée á l'Université, avec des chansons. Nemedi Mari wird nicht am Piano mich begleiten.habe ein trumpet gekauft und ein Tonstearker mit Mikrophon.

1. 12. We. Bin gelaufen. Bin im Tempel gewesen (und den NA Gus getroffen). Tante Marika anzurufen...will noch überschreiben die Interview über dei Ahnen Horoscope. Shönr Lektion - unterschreibng. Lesen im Bibliothek. (Prof. Ung. dort - wir kennen uns nicht.) (Esiah, Buber). DAnn lernen mit B. L. (Und die staendige Aerger mot Cs.) DAnn nach HAuse (Ivan Charity bekommen /Für Sohn und die Grossmutti, beim Besuch naechste Woche.) (Tomi Gy hat geschrieben um zu treffen?) NA heute abend. (Kalt draussen.)
2. 12. Thu: RZ ist nach Israel weg. Kein Unterschrift heute. Róna Schule. Zahnartzt - ein abgebrochene Zahn repariert. DAnn Onkel Laci. Christie ABC Murder weiter. Und dann Ujpest Tante Anna. (immer im Bett.) Nach ha- use. Schnee. An Norbi geschrieben.
3. 12. Fri: HMVH der Museum Waechter laesst mich rein. meditation. dann Café Z. massage. tempel mit dem ton staerker. Der P aus AA kommt mit dem Wagen. meditation. Dann ins Bad. Ausgeuht ein bisschen. Sein fFreund schaut die Serie Therapie.
4. 12 Sat : Geschlafen in Szeged (kein 10 Mitglied zu spat angekommen) und dann nach Hause. et video EMDR.
5. 12. Sun. MG dans le village de la mere de ma femme. Photos s juste regardés á la EMDR
6. 12. Mo. Village. Visiter les cousins voisins et plus tartd les Teleks /relations plus loins/. Cassé son pied il y a 4 ans. Pas visité. Mon fils a rentré déjá- il a été tres triste avec Granma ("Je ne veux pas vivre longtemps") Photos EMDR. 26.12. Tue Village. Rentré á la Capitale. 27.12. We Ici dans ma ville. Au temple. Avec P (le Doc) NA. Écrit une lettre á mon fils (s 'il veut bien rencontrer un copain psychologue a cause de sa depression). Mais cela sera plus tard, ses jours lá, la priere - on dit. Alors je vais a Like Café pour l'omelette. Puis acheter pour le weekend a le year-end. Regarder des trucs EMDR. Essayer de dormir. G. de Nice ve venir visiter sa mere (la voisine). Mais je vais á la piscine avec les gars de NA.

28.12. Thu Home. Temple RZ. Peut etre il va signer. Oui. Puis rentrer et dormir encore. Puis aller dans la ville - lire sur Poirot a l'oncle L. /Et une nouvelle dame/. Et je recois á manger aussi. renter. (C'est á peu pres 2 heures aller et revenir aussi. Alors je vais faire de l'E?DR video. Puis je parle sur video a Norbi et faisons rapidement une séance EMDR (il va se doucher apres). 4 heures cela suffit j'arrete. (plutot des trucs de saggers) 29 12. Fri - temple (plus tard je prends le train pour HMVH - thérapie de prosthate. Puis parles au temple et chanter. je trouve une maison á louer (!0 milles HUf par mois - et l'Hotel et presque 10 par semaine.)Ainsi je peux aller 2 fois pour le massage par semaine. Pouvant ainsi rester lá de Jeudi á Dimanche. 30.12. Sat. Regarder la maison. Tout pres de la petite Gare de HMVH. Rentrer - en visitant mon fils (qui ne réponds pas au téléphone.) Norbo EMDR photo session on video. 31. 12. Sun.Dim. Temple. Petke (w Jewish schoolbook.) Ivan F. party.Leo does not come but wants m to find a psychologist (a women). So I do ask B. and Zs. 2018 01.01. Mon. Lun. Temple S. Then G NA (and the book reposited.) I rest a bit and go home- Jutka came home and tells about my daughter Zs how she lives in NY as an aprentice in Theatres. Then some sleep (after learning Isaiah) and back to the temple. (Keleny - RGR step family - JAhrzeit). Plus a coin of NA to someone in her 1st year, G sends it. Plus Regular party at JPs. I invite this NA girl to introduce her to Zs. M. Met Hermine (asked to write to the public notaire on Andrea's Mom blocking inherited manuscripts). The daughter of Gy T (Julia) asking about my sunspot scope. 02.01. 18. Tue. Temple Senior. I mistakenly thought today is our exam. rest a t school - a stamp into the index. then I go to the Kashrut Shop. Then to give the Asiri to the Antiquaire cousin. Then to Uncle laci in the pensioner Home. (Try to persuade him about wheat). Home to rest. Learning Isaiah in Haftarot. Feli the friseuse. Maybe Aunt. Zsuzsa 03. 01. Wed. Exams (at noon the one w S and 14h the one w F.B). It was okay. had some rest in Z. Uglo. met Hermine with her (hopeless) bid for getting stuff from Andrea's papers. Home, rest. HMVH: no renting as yet. 04.01. Thu. Temple RZ skipped. Runs, shops, writes on reddit. Afternoon plan: HMVH to go to the health massage. I sleep in the office in HMVH. 05.01. Fri. Szeged, meeting new guy R from NA and then - after leaving my luggage at a Wedding Shop, which is friends with NA Pisti, I go back to HMVH as usual. Full house (10 men). Sleep at the Hotel. 06.01. Sat. Szeged, maybe AA, yes after reading talmud in the Headquarters Building. Pisti NA carries my luggage to the train. (I left there some gluten free bread to not carry i on shabbat? Eruv?) 07. 01. Sun. Planned Second Massage nullified - home again, Temple Senior and NA Gus - he comes up to read and nap. I work on the sunspots irregularity. Afternoon I speak with N. (Barcelona). he will come home in April. 08.01. Mon. Temple S maybe - like all first three days of the weeks. Then exam (Kohelet) by Rav RT. (He just signs it- and I had some dispute withe other students why they should let me first - in vain.) Then I go to read Christie to Uncle L. and then I visit the old woman (A.Ék) at the other Pensioner Home (they almost stop me). Then my boss discovers that a whole year long I went to work for a double salary - and does not want to believe that I really did not perceive this anomaly. So after a few letters the higher boss accepts that i will work for a halved salary for two years. (Which I counter by offering two hours instead of one at all the places /which are implying a 2-2 hours of travel BTW/ and the same salary as till now). I am asking people in NY for a bed in March. (Pesah) 09. 01. Tue. Nothing doing. FB wrong. Asked for patreon crowdfunding. Some say they will give it outside the computer. I understand: i bought a Language repeater programme for 10 TH HUF and it does not work. Sends gibberish. NA. Sunspot 40 ys are important. I ask about dates from an expert (I found him on the net) 10.01. Wed. Temple regular (S. is in Israel). Home. NA, Máté. 11. 01. Thu. RZ signature okay. Kashrut kaufen. the sunspot expert gave me all the sunspot nubers in the last 1000 years. (he has a formula to compute it. Name: Salvador) Fantastic - till 1619 my ancestors saw murder cases - and the 44 years /they had 45 years on the List/ are the restart of a Sun magnetic field full turnaround. (met Gabi Both - children's book for Lauder - I sent her the data. Also: read an interview with Géza Röhrig - he claims his mom is dead. But I know she is just visiting him in the US. He wrote that I misunderstood him.) 12. 01. Fri HMVH. /Massage/ No 10 people. I come home in the evening. To spare money. For the dentist. 13. 01. Sat. I go to Darvas (ORZSE) and Alma temples. Talk with Gy. T. He debates my sunspot stuff. I minimize it on patreon. Home. Messenger talk with Zsozsó - how she sees the future, should I visit or not. Not in April, maybe June. Jack sends 5 USD on patreon. My other patron L. Sant says it gets better. (I skip sunspots and introduce the real author of the 45 year "Proust List" - my great Aunt Emma (von Ryttoch) and her Kingly Ancestor (as she exchanges letters with in-law Cécile Tormay.) Constipation. NA. Walk with NA members, Zoli and Peti. Constipation partly off after an hour. Jutka arrives from the burial of her Uncle in the village. 14. 01. Sun. Snow. Did not go to Temple S. I re-wrote a few portions of the Salve-scope (new name for it is linked on sfsalvo now by Jim Strope - who is in Swaziland right now, i see on FB.) i inserted Great Aunt Emma and Cécile as they discuss the pro and contra of sunspots - and melody matrix. And the real ancestresses are mentioned. Evening meeting - maybe. reading Madelaine albright since a few days (after the Joke book finish) 15.01. Mon. Snow.Run up. Temple S. Like Café with Jutka K.(Hatter) 2 Th HUF at the watch shop. Uncle Laci and signing the new contract (of half amount for 2 years). Homeward to Son - watching office (a comedy series). Trying to send the Solar Scope in 3 languages to journals through friends. 16 01. Tue Temple S. Noon: Csepel - I realize we need the Operas as soothing stress to each date of the Zero sunspot stress dates found these days. Afternoon: Dentist. No pain. Before evening meeting maybe Tompi comes up. No - has not time. (Long ago he promised to repair a lamp BTW). Cataflam against pain and antibiotics. 17.01. Wed. Dream - Erotic play w woman from behind. They do not let me. fear on green field. Found a racecar - broken, I take some part. Jewish Library women dismissive, feelin hurt./ Run up. Temple S. then 2 hours in My BAnk. Trying to send money. (N. flying in April.) Complicated but successful. Then I go to toilet in the Dentist office asking about the implant price. Okay. Then i go to the Aldi for salami (of fowl) and then to the Pensioner Central Bureau. To change the Bank account number - as my wife wants it on our common account. But the office guy explains it is a no-go zone: what if one of us dies? they close the double account. So I must go and pay 60 from my preliminary 80. Now for a few months this will go lik this. (Then it will be My BAnk doing it from the Hundred I will get. TH. HUF.) A. D, a famous director asks me about a famous psy-analist from the 70s (of my mom) and 80s) Me. And about the Dircetor friend of kult movies where I did the dialogue. Then I go to NA to meet Mate. (We listen to a, who has not yet found himself.) Mild windy weather. No more (much) tooth pain. FAntastic relief. 18.01. Thu. RZ. Then home. Still taking painkiller. And not too well. There is an Oradea University conference I sent my intro. (NA guy's gf sent it who lives there.) I collect some data for my sunspot data collection. No new great discovery. But I can make sunspot-music correlations on a Fb Horoscope sight. (And I am organizing a concert with Cs.F at Olajág for next Sunday. 19.01. Fri. Rzn. Temple. HMVH. Aldi salami 3d time. Healer. I told him I had 3 days when I slept 4 hours. Sunspots and Melodies. Home 20.01. Sat. No temple. Home. Sunspot data search.Instead of 1637 I put 1638 /as Cécile advised in her letter on the patreon blog./ NA. Tompi erzaehlt seine Geschichte im Auto. 21. 01. Sun. Temple S. Then Guszti (He is in a slip. I force hi to wrote to Unoka etc). Aldi: geflügel salami. Then to Aunt Anna Ek - the guard says the directress ordered him to call her first (and she was probably sleeping). New dates on blog - all will be closer to minima or maxima. (Instead of 82- 78 because it is a minimum. No 1792 but 1788 also a minimal year. And no 62- it is now 67 instead. And 1826 became 23. Also a minimal one. The rest is close to minima or a few maxima. No in between dates from now on. Phone to Norbeau. Letter to J Komol (Serious) on the Ujpest Pensioner Home ban. Rest. NA- talking with Imi M-yor on the Pensioner Directress issue. His gf organizes me visiting them as an University lecturerr in Autumn. In Oradea. Cold evening. Started to read Singer: Meshugah. 22. 01. Mon. S. Temple. I start to give advice on advertisements in orthodox newspapers. Café and the 2 TH HUF plus uncle Laci in the Bankut (got new 2 year half money contract) Finishing Christie slowly on ABC murders. Home rest. FB, reddit. Phone with Komol. reading Singer. 23.01. Tue. Again Temple S. (meeeting NA Gus - he is in a slip.) I got the USB about advertisements in the Orh. press. (I made photos on it and will describe them.) Then to the School: to sign some stuff on correpetition for money. (30 TH HUF monthly). Plus then I went to the post to get my document f the Pension Pre-payment. (80 Th HUF). (I asked the dentist: it will be 150+80 TH HUF) Did phone Pet-ke psy NA. Met a woman of 54 who might be interested in the sunspot stuff. Then I went up to the boys in my son's flat and got the other guy's phone number - if mom wants she can call him. Great. Home. Rest.Pe-ke phone once more. "What do you consider the main sign of your recovery?" /He wants to record my answer./ Singer. Ad text stuff. Maybe Gus and NA-evening. 24.01. Wed. Temple (short meet w Gus NA who is on a slippery slope). I buy some kasher meat. Home. Working on the advertisements topic (to help someone.) NA (Mate). 25. 01. Thu. RZ paye shiva at Megyeris. Dentist. Just looking at it. Then Library: Jewish periodical. (Egyenlőség). Post - another step in becoming pensioner, now I have a Staff Number. Afternoon I write a version and send it to my editor T.K. Then during the evening I am perusing all 3 Jewish papers in the 40 (January) about ads. 26. 01 Fri HMVH sleep there 27. 01. Sat Eggs in panzioegeto and Szeged and home. (Singer: Bet Din). The son of a friend claiming his friend thinks I molested him. I wrote a letter to family member. 28 01. Sun. Jutka working. Afternoon - Concert in Olajág w Cs. F. I felt it was a success. 29 01. Mon. The pedo-maniac family member says the guy is crazy. Today he wrote I am a secret police agent. School with index non-signed items. No heating in Zugló - home to rest. Uncle Laci Olajág. 30 01. Tue. No temple. Richee calling (NA) Up to CIB- sending my pension money to the family card. (FB: Mom of Andrea and F. Hermina in a conflict still - a neighbour anonymously writes a letter.) Still writing Emma-Cécile letters on my blog. Singer reading. 31 01. Wed. Temple S. (talking with Yosi on his topic - ads in the 30s/ Jewish stuff/ Csepel Olajág. First time that I can read from the letters of Emma R. and Cécile T. RB calling for the Ten TH HUF, so i go to the Bookstore and leave it there (And get a Maigret for Uncle LAci /Olajág - for next week. Rest. (Singer - book.) Evening: NA.
FEBRUARY 01. 02. Thu.