Podcasts about Narcissus

Choosing one path in life means letting go of another! And that's okay! 

The Time Riders: Part 11 Attack of the Velociraptor. Based on a post by BiscuitHammer, in 16 parts. Listen to the Podcast at Explicit Novels. Another basement, seconds later. The quiet darkness was suddenly disrupted by a strange glow, and a hum, along with blinking neon lights that seemed to spin around a perimeter. The Holmes Field Device appeared, and Mark sighed heavily as he shut it off. He slumped down onto a small stool in a nearby corner, thankful his parents and his sister pretty much never came down here. Mom didn't like the clutter, Roxy was afraid of the spiders, and his dad never wanted to be seen leaving the basement in case his mom decided she needed something dug out. Out of sight, out of mind. He looked at the little multicolored weed pipe he was holding in his hand, still contained in a small baggie. It didn't matter that his fingerprints were on it, since he'd shown it to Roxy. Not like she was gonna tell their parents, right? But still, this was getting complicated. His initial trip over to Danni's house had apparently not been as smooth as hoped, and he just found out now. And now he had to jump back in time to hide the pipe under his chair in order to show to Roxy, and then get it back into Danni's room unnoticed. Right? Becky had been correct, these twists were getting harder and harder to manage. He'd very nearly been caught at Danni's, and it was only dumb luck that saved him. But he couldn't rely on that now. He shook his head and took a deep breath, preparing to jump back to before the confrontation with Roxy, before he'd gone into his room. Maybe during dinner? What time had dinner been? Thank God his parents and Roxy were out right now. How many more times did he have to try to correct this little gaffe? And how? He got up wearily and assumed his place atop the platform of the Holmes Field Device. He fired it up and in a drone of noise and particle states he could never understand, he faded from view. Seconds later, he showed up again, hurrying off the platform and placing several small Renaissance plaster gargoyles onto the floor away from the device. He then activated it and faded out again. Mere moments had passed before he reappeared, sweating as he held a load of brightly colored Tang Dynasty women's clothing, tossing it aside. He looked really frazzled as he punched in more coordinates and blinked out of the basement. When he appeared again, he was sputtering and cursing as he pulled on a tough leather leash, trying to coax a llama off the platform. The creature grunted and spit in his face. Mark swore at it but then scrambled back on the platform and winked out of view. The Holmes Field Device glowed into existence and mariachi music blared through the basement. Several men in sequined black outfits were playing El Jarabe Tapatío and calling out joyously as Mark, who was wearing a ridiculously large sombrero, shoved them all off the platform, practically in tears from the stress he was under. He stood still and gazed in bewilderment at the Mexicans crammed into his basement, playing as if nothing had happened, while the stupid llama bobbed its head back and forth, enjoying the music. Unable to deal with this, Mark staggered onto the platform and faded out again. "Run!" he shouted in terror as he blinked back into the present, bolting off the Holmes Field Device and climbing up onto a tall, rickety shelf while an enraged velociraptor screeched hatefully and leaped at him, trying to tear his innards out with its fiendish claws. The Mariachi band's playing was replaced with cries of panic, everyone trying to escape the demon predator. "Aye, Yi-Yi-Yi-Yi-Yi!" shrieked one man as he ran about aimlessly, as if only suddenly aware of the basement he was trapped within. Instruments and sombreros were flying about in the darkness, along with growls, hisses, and the sound of fabric tearing. The llama just spat contemptuously at everyone within range. And Mark swore that very night that he'd never cause another time twist ever again. Ever. All the best with that promise, Mark. You're going to need it. Becky starts teaching Nanu about the modern world. Not easy. The Education of Nanu Begins. Becky stirred and hummed, feeling the morning light caress her face. As she arched her body, she pressed against something soft, and remembered she had a guest in her bed. Her eyes opened and she smiled warmly at the sight of Nanu, who was curled into her, quite naked, and sleeping soundly. She was indeed a lovely girl, with long, dark hair so black that it almost shone blue, and creamy, tan skin. She had a pretty face, and a petite frame, with a dancer's build. Her legs looked long, her behind was taut, and her tits looked large on her because she was rather tiny. She was definitely under five feet tall. Back her own time, she might have been slightly shorter than average for the women of Roman Egypt, but in this day and age, she was downright puny. Becky was almost a head taller than her, and Mark had been a good head and neck taller. Thankfully, Nanu was not intimidated by their disparity in height, which would have made things awkward. And Becky was pretty sure that Nanu had absolutely no idea what sort of changes and adjustments awaited her in the twenty-first century. The Egyptian girl made a noise as she began to slowly wake up. She rubbed at her eyes and began to stretch as she lay on her side. She arched her back and her tits met Becky's, their nipples kissing gently. Nanu paused and opened her eyes, blinking as everything came into focus. She saw her beautiful Mistress smiling at her, the woman of the Tomorrow Stars named Rebe-kah, her golden hair curling around her face, and her exotic blue eyes soft with affection. Nanu felt now that she was lying on something very soft, and there was a thin but warm blanket over her. It felt nice against her, very sensual. "Good morning, beautiful," Becky said in Latin, the language they shared, since Nanu had no concept of English, and Becky didn't speak whatever dialect of ancient Egyptian Nanu's people used. "Did you sleep well?" Nanu smiled back, still looking sleepy. "Yes, Mistress, thank you. I don't think I've ever slept that well before. Your lectulo, it is so soft and comfortable." "I'm glad you think so, since you'll be sleeping in it from now on," the blonde woman purred reaching out with her arm and gathering the former slave-girl into her embrace. They hugged close and pressed their lips together, kissing deeply and sensually. Their tongues found one another and tangled while hands caressed and wandered over now-familiar forms. Becky's large tits squashed into Nanu's and they both shivered at the delicious sensation of their nipples poking together. But Becky also noticed a tension in Nanu's body, a shifting stiffness that she seemed to be trying to endure. Becky giggled and ended the kiss, pressing her forehead to Nanu's and smirking. "Nanu," she whispered gently, her hand wandering down to cup one of the girl's pert ass cheeks. "Do you need to relieve yourself?" The girl bit her lip but nodded. "Yes, Mistress, I'm sorry. I didn't want to say anything because we were' "I understand, Nanu, but we can't have you peeing the bed now, can we?" Becky said sweetly, caressing her lover's cheek. "Come, I guess it's time to show you how to use a modern toilet." She pushed herself up to a kneeling position on the bed and Nanu did the same, rubbing her eyes and stretching. She really was beautiful, so recently coming into womanhood. Nanu looked around, seeing the room she was in now for the first time, since when they'd arrived it had been night and Becky had purposefully kept the lights off in order to get the former slave-girl to sleep. "This is your bedchamber, Mistress?" Nanu asked in wonder, noticing several things now. "Are you sure you're not a queen?" Becky giggled. "Only in my own mind, Nanu. I am just a teacher of young minds here in my world. I promise I'll show you everything. Let's go;” She took Nanu by the hand and pulled her off the bed, leading her out of the room. Nanu seemed intent on touching just about everything they passed by, including the door frame. "It is wood?" she asked, pressing her finger against it and tapping curiously. "The entire frame of my house is, along with other materials I haven't figured out how to explain yet, but I promise, I will." She led Nanu down the short hallway to the bathroom and flipped on the light. The Egyptian girl's eyes widened in amazement. "How did you do that?" she asked in shock. "Oh, right," Becky mused. "Forgot about that part. Watch;” Becky showed her the tiny switch on the wall and flipped it down to turn the light off. Nanu gasped. She then turned it back on. Nanu's eyes were still wide. Becky pointed at the space over the mirror, where she had a small row of vanity lights. She flicked them off and on again. "You control those tiny suns from this thing on the wall?" Nanu asked, still in disbelief. "They aren't suns, Nanu, they're just lights, they're like my time's answer to torches or braziers," Becky explained patiently. When she and Mark had decided to see if they could bring Nanu forward in time with them, she'd realized that she would spend a great deal of time explaining just about everything in Nanu's new world to her. Electricity, modern plumbing, cars, the scale of things, the internet. More than that, she still had a job to do, teaching students five days a week. She couldn't exactly bring Nanu with her, could she? Mark was there, and not the Mark that Nanu knew. This Mark was three months younger, and hadn't time-travelled yet. He wouldn't know Nanu at all, or Becky in the capacity she knew him in, that being his future self, and her lover. The Mark that Becky taught wasn't even quite eighteen yet. Becky found this maddening, since the urge to sext the little twerp during class was quite strong. How on earth would she keep Nanu from jumping Mark if Nanu saw him? While she couldn't keep Nanu prisoner in her house, she also understood the need to regulate her exposure to this world so as to not overwhelm her. She'd brought Nanu forward in order to give her a new life, after all. But if Nanu didn't even speak English, this would take a long time. It was worth it, though, and Becky would be patient. The time stream had let them bring her forward, indicating it was meant to happen, according to Mark's logic. If time let him do something, clearly it wasn't a foul. That boy. "Go ahead, try them," Becky suggested to her new companion, gesturing to the switch. "Just don't flip it on and off too quickly or you'll break them, and they won't work anymore." Nanu tentatively reached for the switch and flipped it down, turning off the lights. Becky heard her gasp. She turned them on again and giggled, looking at Becky in delight. "I control the suns!" she said, flipping the lights on and off slowly. "I am like a god!" "Be that as it may, o goddess, we have other things to do still," Becky pointed out. "I brought you in here to pee, not spike my power bill. Moving along;” Becky led her over to the toilet and lifted the lid. "You just sit down there and do what you need to do. Then you take some of that rolled-up tissue there, not too much of it, and you clean yourself down below. Then we'll move on to next steps." Nanu pursed her lips but nodded and sat down on the seat, shivering slightly at its cool touch on her ass. "It is not stone?" Becky should her head. "It is called 'plastic', and it is very common in my time, but I don't think it existed in yours. I will show you soon." Nanu nodded and then made a face before relieving herself, still looking around the room. She pointed at Becky's glass-walled shower. "What is that?" "Well, this;” Becky explained, tapping the large pane that faced them. "; is glass. I know you have it in your time, but it is very common in mine. And behind this glass;” Becky slid open the glass door and gestured to the space within. "This is where I cleanse myself. It is an imbrem. In my language, it is called a 'shower'." "Show-er;” Nanu said, drawing the word out. "Very good, Nanu!" Becky said in delight, clapping and then kneeling down in front of her charge and kissing her cheeks affectionately. Nanu blushed, but kept peeing. Becky remembered that Nanu had either an incredibly large bladder for her tiny size, or two hollow legs. "You said your first word in my language, English." "En-gush," Nanu repeated. "But I am sorry, Mistress, that was not my first word in your En-gush." "Oh?" Becky queried, looking intrigued. "What was your first word in my language?" Nanu blushed and looked at her lap. "Phuck." "Of course it was!" Becky laughed, hugging Nanu and then kissing her lovingly. Nanu finally finished peeing and Becky showed her how to use the funny little rolled-up tissue to clean herself. She then stood the dark-haired girl up. Nanu looked at the bowl and made a wry face. "Now it just sits there?" she asked, clearly not as impressed as she'd expected to be. Becky pointed to the chrome handle. "Push down on that, Nanu." Nanu stepped forward and did as instructed, causing the toilet to flush. The Egyptian girl squeaked in fright and jumped behind Becky for protection, making the tall blonde giggle. Several seconds had passed before she looked back out at the toilet. That was, quite simply, the loudest artificial sound she'd ever heard before in such a small space. "The waste water is taken away in pipes and replaced with clean water," Becky explained, pointing at the porcelain contraption and then seemingly beneath it. "Whenever you need to relieve yourself, you can use this toilet, or the one in the basement, if that's closer." She brought Nanu over to the sink and the mirror, standing behind her. Nanu saw the two of them in the mirror and gazed in fascination. "I have never seen such a clear speculum before, Mistress," she breathed, reaching out at touching the surface. "Is that really us?" "Yes, you really are that beautiful, Nanu," Becky said gently, putting her arms around her companion. "This is us." "We need to watch ourselves in this mirror while we fuck," Nanu murmured. "Oh, I have bigger mirrors than this, my love, and they'll be fun for fucking," Becky purred, leaning down and kissing Nanu's neck while cupping her tits. Nanu sighed and closed her eyes, squirming her ass back against Becky's hips. Their lips met and they kissed deeply, with Nanu turning around to face her Mistress, leaning back against the sink. They made out for some time before Becky finally ended the kiss, knowing they had to keep moving. There would be time for fucking later. Thank God she'd picked a weekend to bring Nanu back on! "Let me show you how to wash your hands," she said, turning Nanu around again. She explained the faucets, which one provided hot or cold water, and then how to use soap to lather and wash, followed by rinsing and drying with towels. "Maybe we should eat now, yes?" Nanu smiled dreamily. "Yes, Mistress. I am rather hungry." "Let's go and have some breakfast, then," Becky said, nodding. It wasn't even quite eight o'clock yet. "After that, we'll use my shower and have some fun, okay?" She took Nanu's hand and led her downstairs, turning on the hall lights this time so that Nanu could see Becky's house. They'd come up from the basement the night before and gone straight to bed, so Nanu had not seen anything just yet. She led her into the living room, and the girl's eyes widened at everything she saw. "Mistress, you live like an empress," Nanu said breathlessly, trying to take in everything at once. "Does everyone of this time live like you?" "No, Nanu, I live perhaps slightly better than average, but I am not wealthy," Becky replied, stopping to let her charge look around. "I bought this house with money I inherited from my parents, and I have a job that pays me and covers my living expenses. But I am not rich. Your family is now much, much richer than I am." Nanu thought about that for a moment and then turned and hugged Becky tight, squeezing into her and burying her face in her shoulder. "Thank you, Mistress," she murmured, trying to not tear up. "What you did for my family, I can never thank you enough." "Maybe, but I feel like you intend to keep squirming your boobs against me to try," Becky mentioned, making the smaller girl giggle. Nanu looked up at her, smiling adoringly and kissed her. She then looked over at the big, shiny black rectangle sitting on a glass table. "What's that?" Becky smiled. "Nanu, you are going to be asking that question a lot for months now, maybe years, I don't know. And I will answer your questions, I promise. But you also need to learn to speak English, and we will start slowly. From now on, when you want to know what something is, I want you to ask in my language. Repeat after me; 'What is that'?" Nanu closed her eyes. "What is at?" "Good start, my love," Becky said encouragingly. "The thing you are pointing at is called a television. It; displays pictures. I'll show you how it works later, because explaining without showing you won't be possible. Let's go;” She led Nanu through the dining room, and then to the kitchen, explaining that this was where she made her food. Nanu was stunned by just about everything. "So; you open the cold box, and it gives you whatever food you desire?" the Egyptian girl asked. "No," Becky giggled. "I go out and buy whatever food I want, I store it in here to keep it from going bad. Meats and vegetables, or cheese and the like." She then showed Nanu the stove. "And this is what I use to heat up my food, like cooking it over a fire, or in a pot. But Nanu, it can be dangerous, and you must promise me that you will not try to use it until I have taught you, okay?" "I promise, Mistress," Nanu said solemnly. She'd been thinking about this too, in fact, and even though she had no idea what awaited her, she knew to be cautious so that she didn't get hurt. "So I must eat cold food before I am good with the heat maker?" "I have another device over here, it is smaller and easier to operate," Becky answered, bringing Nanu over to the microwave. "I will show you how to use this so that you can warm up food, okay? But for now, I will make it for us. Do you want to sit at the table and wait, or do you want to watch?" "I will watch, Mistress. I can always sit another time." Becky nodded and began preparing a meal for them, grabbing bacon and eggs out of the fridge. She also made prepared to make coffee, and gathered some potatoes. Nanu watched everything in fascination, pointing at the strips of curious smelling meat. "What is at?" "Bacon," Becky answered, using the English word, since she didn't readily know the Latin one. She knew the Romans had eaten pork, but she doubted that bacon as she understood it was available in Nanu's time. "It is made from pigs." "I love eating pig," Nanu said, licking her lips and almost drooling as the bacon began to fry, releasing its heavenly aroma. "Sometimes, in a good mood, Master Flavius would let us have some that his family did not eat. I once got into a terrible fight with another slave girl over a scrap of pig we both wanted." "Oh?" Becky said, keeping Nanu talking so that she had less to explain while she was making food. "Did you win?" "Of course," Nanu said proudly, or as proud as a tiny naked girl could be while standing in a kitchen and waiting to be fed. "We punched, we kicked, we pulled hair, we bit; she finally surrendered when I bit her cunt so hard that it almost' "I get the picture, Xena!" Becky laughed as she messed with the potatoes, adding some salt and garlic. "You kicked her ass and got the victory spoils." "Oh, I did better than that," Nanu said, folding her arms and looking haughty. "She had to service me for days afterward, to make sure I didn't teach her another lesson. Marilla licked me to sleep for over a week." "Most impressive," Becky said cheerfully, thinking of Nanu and another slave rolling around and biting each other on the crotch in a fight over half-gnawed pork. Different times, but she'd seen teen girls at the school fighting over boys who were worth less. "How the legions of Rome ever stood against you is beyond me, my dear." Nanu giggled and watched as Becky sliced the potatoes thinly. "What is at?" "Potatoes," Becky replied, now seasoning them with a pinch of salt and the minced garlic. "Wat issat?" "Tomatoes, I slice them and we can eat them beside our bacon and eggs and potatoes." "Wassat?" "Coffee, it is a beverage you drink hot. It helps keep you awake and invigorates you." "So we can fuck more?" "That too," Becky laughed, pleased that the world changing around Nanu had done nothing to affect her libido. She still had her priorities. She wafted the scent of the breakfast at Nanu's nose. "How does it smell?" "I have never smelled anything so wonderful in my life," Nanu replied. "Just wait 'til you taste it," the blonde said as she began cracking the eggs into a bowl and then whisking them. She added some soda water and then put it into her skillet. "I'll start showing you how to make simple things. Eggs are easy." "The slaves almost never got eggs, and when we did, we'd just drink them as fast as possible," Nanu said, watching in fascination as Becky scrambled the eggs. She couldn't believe how good everything smelled. "Another girl and I fought over an egg once." "Did you kick her ass too?" Becky asked. "Well, no," Nanu admitted. "We broke the egg while we were fighting and had to settle for licking it off one another." "Did you ever wear clothes?" asked Becky in amusement. "We were allowed to wear clothes while we were working," Nanu mentioned, looking rather distant as she answered. "Other than that, we were kept naked so that we wouldn't leave the slaves' quarters. If we did, we were beaten, so it was a real big risk." "Here I am finding out more about your world, when you should be learning about mine," Becky laughed as she retrieved more items from the fridge. "I promise you, Nanu, you will never have to go hungry as long as you're with me." "Wassa?" Nanu asked, pointing to the strange container holding a transparent sack with white liquid in it. "That's milk," Becky replied, somewhat confused. "You know, milk, from a cow. You had milk in your time, I know you did." Nanu made a wry face. "Milk from a cow? Cow's milk is for peasants, Mistress." "But I saw cows at the Flavius villa when Mark and I came to Rome," Becky said. Nanu giggled. "Mistress is silly. We had cows for ploughing the fields, because my Master made his money with certain types of wine and oils. They weren't used for milk or eating, that's gross!" "Well, cows are not often used for that sort of work anymore, they're bred for meat and milk now, because they can feed many people," Becky pointed out. "To be honest, the milk is very good for you, it gives you strong bones and teeth. Promise me you will at least try it, if not right now, then soon." The Egyptian girl looked skeptical, but then nodded. "I trust you, Mistress. You didn't drag me here to play a trick on me about drinking cow's milk." She then smiled slyly, coming closer to Becky and leaning in. "But if I must drink milk, Mistress, I would rather it be yours;” "Stop that, you little tart," Becky giggled as Nanu leaned in and took one of her nipples into her mouth, sucking on it gently. "I don't want the bacon to burn;” Nanu had slid a hand down between Becky's legs and begun stroking a finger deftly along the silken folds of her cunt, teasing her clit. Becky shivered as her lover molested her, but steeled herself and took Nanu by the shoulders, pushing her away. "That'll be enough of that, until I'm done cooking," she said firmly, while Nanu gave her a bratty smile. She knew she was being naughty, but also knew Becky loved it, as long as they were careful. Nanu watched patiently while Becky finished making breakfast. She watched in fascination as Becky made coffee in her Keurig machine, the aroma of the beverage like nothing she'd ever known. Becky put everything on plates and then led Nanu out to the dining room, indicating where she should sit. Becky's table could be expanded to fit as many as eight chairs but was currently arranged in a square for a paltry four, since she rarely entertained, except for Mark. And now Nanu. She made Nanu sit in a cushioned chair, and then went back to get the last of the breakfast accoutrements, including silverware. "Is silver so common in your world that even people who are not rich can use it?" asked the former slave-girl, examining her glinting utensils. Becky shook her head. "They are just made to look silver, darling. It turns out real silver might be poisonous if ingested. This just makes it look pretty, and easy to clean. Now watch me;” Becky then used her fork on the eggs and the potatoes, putting small bites in her mouth. She'd cooked the bacon crisp enough that it could be eaten with her fingers. Nanu, sitting kitty-corner from Becky at the table, watched how she held the fork, and then imitated. It was clumsy at first, but then she got the hang of it quickly. She made several quizzical faces as she started with the potatoes, sliced thin and fried, along with onions and garlic. Predictably, being Nanu, she ate them all. She moved on to the eggs, and these also disappeared rapidly, as did the tomatoes. Given what she'd seen Nanu put in her mouth in times past, Becky wasn't at all surprised that Nanu didn't have texture issues with food. Then she tried the bacon. She bit off a small piece daintily, masticating on it for only a moment before shoving the rest of the strip in her mouth and chewing like it was the last thing she'd ever eat. Becky had to try very hard not to laugh as she watched Nanu wolf down her remaining pieces. When she was done, the young woman looked at her. "Mistress;” she said softly. "I; I know I say that I love you more than anything, but; you may be replaced in my heart by this; bay-kon;” "Everyone loves it, Nanu, it's fine," said the blonde easily. "Make sure you drink, though, there are several things to choose from." Nanu glanced at the various cups and containers holding fluids and began pointing. "Wassa?" "The juice of an orange, it is very sweet. It is somewhat like a lemon, but much sweeter." "Wassa?" "That is just water, with a little lemon juice in it." Becky said. "Wassa?" "That's the coffee. You usually drink it hot." Nanu took hold of the mug with two hands and tentatively sniffed the contents. Her faced wrinkled. "It smells burnt now." "Let me see if I can make it taste better for you," Becky suggested, patting the table. Nanu put down the mug and then Becky dribbled in some creamer from a small cup and then spooned in some sugar. Nanu watched curiously as her Mistress stirred the concoction and then gestured to it. "Go ahead and try it;” Nanu picked up the cup again, sniffing it and noticing that it smell considerably less bitter or burnt this time around. It was still very warm, but she took a sip. Her eyes darted back and forth across the table as she considered, then took another. She looked up at Becky. "It; is nice. Sweet. It makes me think of you." "Oh, well now," Becky said, blushing and smiling. "There's a lot of food you haven't tried yet, so don't pigeonhole me too quickly;” They sat and finished their food, along with drinking the various beverages. Nanu enjoyed the orange juice, and was pleasantly surprised by the milk. "And you said it is good for my teeth and my bones?" Becky nodded. "Then I'll keep drinking it," Nanu declared. "Do you have anything that is good for my cunt?" "Nothing you can eat or drink, except maybe pineapples," purred the blonde, giving her lover a sultry look and putting her hand on top of Nanu's. "But I am sure I can keep it well-exercised;” "Then I guess it is time for us to go and try your show-er, Mistress," Nanu replied, leaning in and pressing her lips to Becky's. They shared an open-mouthed kiss for several seconds, tongues tangling wetly, a sound they both shivered in delight to. Becky stood and gently pulled Nanu to her feet. "Normally, I clean up immediately after I eat, but in this case, I think it can wait," Becky said, leading her back through the living room and upstairs. "Time to burn off all that food we ate." "I love you, Mistress," Nanu sighed. "I love you too, Nanu. Now let me show you;” Becky's bathroom, fifteen minutes later. The two girls were lying on their sides, facing into one another, their legs parted as they lapped hungrily at each other's pussies. Becky buried her tongue deep inside Nanu, making the Egyptian girl squirm and moan loudly, her thighs pressing in on Becky's head. She felt Nanu attack her cunt again with a will, determined to make her Mistress cum hard. And Becky had every faith that Nanu would. The warm water inundated them, and Nanu reveled in it. She'd never experienced anything remotely like this 'shower' before, and it felt heavenly. Re-be-kah had covered her body in a pearly, slippery substance and then they'd slithered their bodies together, turning Nanu on in a way she'd never experienced. She'd almost attacked her Mistress, hungry for her cunt. Becky groaned loudly as Nanu's finger wiggled inside her ass while her wicked tongue flicked over her clit before sliding back into her throbbing snatch. She sucked Nanu's little nub into her mouth, making the Egyptian girl shiver and squeal, writhing and pushing against her face. Her thumbs pulled Nanu's nether lips wide, the delicious sting of the stretch making Nanu even wetter. They licked and fingered one another relentlessly until they both shuddered, shrieking into each other's cunt as they came, hard. They'd barely finished their mutual orgasm before Nanu scrambled around and kissed Becky fiercely, crushing her body into her Mistress'. Becky grappled onto her as she kissed her back greedily, tongues plunging as hips thrust. Nanu squirmed as she kissed her mistress with an almost desperate affection, an emotion she couldn't seem to express enough. Becky rolled onto her side and then knelt up, causing Nanu to do the same. They were both breathing heavily, with Nanu wondering what her Mistress had in mind next. They were kneeling close and staring into one another's eyes hungrily, knowing they were nowhere near done yet. Becky took Nanu and settled her against the wall, sitting up with her legs spread. She then stood and pulled her detachable shower head out of its mount and brought it down, kneeling beside her lover. Nanu watched as Becky twisted a setting on the head and changed the stream and pressure of the water coming out of the head. She smiled evilly at the Egyptian girl. Nanu shuddered and sucked in her breath as Becky pounded one of her nipples with the water jet, her eyes going wide. It felt like countless tiny slivers of heated pleasure against her sensitive nub. Becky then changed to the other nipple and Nanu moaned loudly. She continued moaning as Becky kissed her, but then her eyes snapped open and her body went rigid as the jets of water suddenly battered her cunt. Becky kissed her harder as Nanu shrieked into her mouth, cumming almost instantly. Nanu almost thrashed, her body seeming beyond her control. She screamed again as a second instant orgasm tore through her, her fingernails digging into Becky's flesh. Nanu pulled back from the kiss, her eyes wide and almost bleary from tears, her chest heaving. Without pausing, she reached down and used her fingers to pull her cuntlips apart, exposing her inner pink and her clit. Becky obliged and squared the showerhead right in front of Nanu's throbbing cunt, battering it again with the relentless jets of water. Nanu screeched, arching her back and gritting her teeth, her head thrashing back and forth as a third orgasm almost knocked her soul right out of her body. Becky pulled the showerhead away as Nanu slumped, seeming to black out. Her eyes were closed as she slid down the wall slowly. Becky put a hand on her cheek, and then two fingers on her neck. Well, she's breathing and has a pulse, so I didn't kill her; Becky mused, relieved that she didn't have the body of an unidentifiable girl in her house. Chances were even Nanu's dental patterns would throw them for a loop. The only time anyone would have seen teeth like Nanu's was in archaeological digs. Oh, sweetie, I don't blame you, the teacher thought as she watched Nanu pee herself, even while unconscious. I would've too after those orgasms. She adjusted the showerhead to a gentler spray than the jets that had knocked her lover out, and cooled the water down as well, lightly raining it down on Nanu to hopefully revive her. Nearly a minute passed before the girl stirred and moaned quietly. Becky smiled as Nanu opened her eyes. "Mistress;” she murmured, looking up at Becky. "We can do that again, right?" The blonde smiled. "Not right now, but yes, we can do that many more times. I thought you might like it, you little perv, you." Nanu smiled back, allowing her Mistress to run the warm-but-cooler water over her body. She felt like she had no bones, and every nerve in her body was connected to her cunt. She might never walk again, she feared. But what a way to die. Eventually, Becky rubbed more slippery soap all over Nanu's body and then rinsed it off. Lastly, she trickled a scented shampoo into her lover's hair and massaged it into her scalp. Nanu moaned in ecstasy at the pampering, and then Becky washed the cleanser out. While Nanu watched, she washed herself and then turned off the water. Carefully, she pulled Nanu to her feet, making sure her legs were steady. Outside the shower, Becky wrapped a plush towel around Nanu and her hair, and then around herself. She led Nanu back to the bedroom by the hand and finished gently drying her, keeping the towel on her head for now. "I cannot wait to show you my world, Nanu, but for now, we should lie down and dry off." Nanu nodded. "Yes, Mistress. I am rather tired after all that eating and fucking." "Would you like to look out my back window first?" Becky offered. "There's not much to see, just the backyard of my property, but it's daylight, so you can see something." The Egyptian girl nodded again and Becky walked up to the window and pulled open her lavender curtains, letting the sunlight spill in. She then opened the window and gestured for Nanu to come forward and look. It was a pleasant April morning, and the sun was shining down already on her backyard and her gardens. Nanu gazed out and drew in a breath. It was so very green. It was green around the Flavian villa near Rome, of course, but she could see trees here and types of flowers she'd never known before. She could also see a corner of an odd-looking building on the far side of the sward of grass that apparently belonged to her Mistress, but trees interfered with her view. More unreal houses of not-wealthy people? "It is beautiful, Mistress," she sighed. "Do I really live here with you now?" "Unless you decide otherwise one day, Nanu, yes," Becky said gently, smiling and snuggling into her from behind, her hands clasping on her lover's stomach. "Until then, this is where you live." "I cannot imagine anywhere else I would rather be, Mistress;” Nanu said dreamily. Two hours later. Becky's eyes opened when she heard a rumbling, gurgling sound. She was lying on her side in her bed, holding Nanu, whose eyes also flicked open at the sound. A look passed between them for some moments as the sound growled around the room. "Nanu, are you hungry again?" Becky asked. Nanu shook her head slowly, but then her stomach gurgled more loudly than ever, and her eyes widened almost in panic. Becky put her hand down gently on Nanu's stomach, feeling what was happening. Nanu almost had her legs clenched up in a knot. Oh, damn. Becky got up quickly and scooped a frightened Nanu into her arms. She waddled across the room and through the door, turning sideways so that she didn't brain the smaller girl on the frame. She hurried to the bathroom and plunked the naked Nanu down on the seat. Nanu was looking up at her in a panic, but Becky was already hurrying out the door flipping on the exhaust fan and shutting the door. "I'm right here, Nanu!" she called back into the bathroom as she slumped down against the wall. "Don't panic, and please, press that handle a lot!" "Mistress!" Nanu wailed as the inevitable occurred, followed by horrific and disgusting sounds blasting through the shut door. "Mistress!" "You'll be fine, Nanu!" Becky replied, hopefully consolingly. "Just; I don't know, hold on and we'll fix you after." Nanu let out a series of wails as the sounds got worse and worse. Becky just sat against the wall, her knees drawn up to her chin and a haunted look in her eyes. Rebecca Nightingale Fischer, you damned fool! she thought to herself as the gastrointestinal holocaust continued inside the bathroom. You pumped her full of nitrates and preservatives, something her system has never dealt with before! Of course she's turning herself inside out! You were so eager to show off that you completely overlooked the fact that chemicals in our food can almost kill her! "Mistress!" Nanu wailed miserably, pressing the toilet handle regularly. "It hurts!" "I'm sorry, baby!" Becky called back desperately, almost weeping herself. "Mistress promises, you'll be fine! I promise! Hang tight!" Literally, please. Nearly an hour of horror passed before Nanu seemed to stop talking and was strangely silent. Thankfully, the toilet seemed to have flushed once again not long before. Becky waited a little longer, just in case. What do I tell her? That I forgot what that our food has ingredients that simply didn't exist in her time? That this is likely to happen again, even if we're careful? What do I tell that poor girl? Becky pressed a hand over her eyes, trying to steel herself for what must come next. God, she hoped her bathroom fan was functioning correctly. She was not normally a praying woman, but she looked up at the ceiling in her hall and crossed herself (just in case the Catholics were right) and stood up. She put her hand on the doorknob and took a deep breath. "Nanu," she called gently. "I'm coming in;” Becky opened the door and stepped inside. The first thing she noticed was that the room was surprisingly chilly. Also, there was barely any smell. Nanu, still sitting where Becky had put her, looked up at her with blurry eyes, but she was almost shivering. "Oh, you poor dear," the blonde murmured, kneeling in front of her and putting her hands on Nanu's arms, massaging gently. Her skin was cold. "I'm so sorry." "I'm cold and I'm burning all at once, Mistress;” Nanu whimpered miserably. Becky hugged Nanu to her while keeping her sitting. It irritated Becky that her nipples chose then to get hard while pressed against Nanu's cold skin. "I'm so sorry;” She took Nanu by the cheeks and kissed her gently and repeatedly, trying to distract her from her discomfort. Despite her suffering, Nanu kissed her back, hoping for any solace she could get. What a horrible experience for her. Nanu may have gotten food poisoning before, based on ancient, shoddy methods of food preservation, but this was something totally different, and couldn't be avoided. "Let me clean you, my love," Becky said through the kisses she was putting all over Nanu's face and her chattering lips. "Then Mistress will take you in the shower again and warm you up, okay?" Nanu sniffled and nodded, trusting that Rebe-kah had her best interests in mind. This experience had most definitely not been what she expected from the days of tomorrow. Becky helped Nanu stand, very gingerly, and did what needed to be done. She then opened the shower and got the water up to the temperature Nanu had told her earlier she preferred. She stepped aside and Nanu tiptoed in, wincing the whole way. The two women stood quietly under the warm deluge, just holding one another close and saying nothing. Nanu snuggled herself between Becky's opulent tits, taking comfort in the softness and trying to forget the burning pain in her sphincter. She hoped and prayed to any god that would listen that she never had to go through anything like that ever again. When she was finally warm, Nanu looked up at Becky, a hint of a smile on her face, despite her discomfort down below. Becky smiled and kissed Nanu, gently and lovingly. They held the kiss for some time before Nanu asked a question. "Mistress; what happened?" Becky sighed and considered what to say next. Nanu was being remarkably calm, given what she'd gone through. Becky brought her down so that they were kneeling in the water. Nanu, predictably, was sitting with her knees and thighs splayed, which opened her ass cheeks and was undoubtedly a relief for her. They knelt close, their knees between each other's legs. Becky put a hand on Nanu's cheek. "It was my fault, Nanu, although I didn't mean for it to happen. I am sorry." "I know you wouldn't hurt me, Mistress. What did you accidentally do?" "In my time, darling, we keep food from spoiling by adding things to it, things you are not familiar with. You preserve things in your old life by salting them or smoking them, right?" Nanu nodded. "Well we have other things we can add to our foods and make them last a long time," Becky continued. "They're things your body would not be used to because they didn't even really exist in your era. Was there ever a new food you tried before and your body reacted angrily like that?" The Egyptian girl thought for some time. She'd been a slave in Rome for quite a few years, after all, and was very young when she'd been sold. "Oysters," she answered finally. "I'd never had them before coming to the Flavians, we didn't have them at home in Kemet. I liked them, but I shit myself that night and for days before I realized what had caused it." Becky nodded. "That is what these things we call 'preservatives' did to you, my love. You body did not know what to do and, well; rebelled." "But Mistress, how will I eat?" Nanu asked, plainly worried. "I love eating, it allows me to live. I can't keep doing this." "You won't, Nanu, I promise," Becky assured her. "I'll be checking the ingredients of food before I give them to you, and then in small amounts until your body adjusts, like it did with the oysters." Nanu looked at her dreamily. "You always take such good care of me, Mistress. I love you so much;” Nanu moved in and they kissed again, wrapping their arms around one another. Becky giggled as she felt Nanu nestle in close enough that their pussies were pressed together. The girl was insatiable. "How can you be ready to fuck again?" she giggled. "You just had your ass destroyed." Becky wasn't used to talking in these rather vulgar terms, not often, but with Nanu it seemed like it might be necessary quite often. And it was happening in Latin, so far fewer people would know what they were being crass in any event. "Umm, Mistress makes it all better by loving me and fucking me," the Egyptian girl purred through their kiss. "If she could, I'd let Mistress fuck me, cum in me, and bear her child. I love you that much, Mistress." Becky shivered, turned on by Nanu's honesty. She began squirming her cunt against Nanu's, looking forward to cumming with her in the shower. "I love you too, Nanu;” she whispered back, meaning it. Nanu recovered quickly, walking around without showing much trace of discomfort. Becky pointed this out and Nanu blushed when she mentioned that while experience had been somewhat traumatic, it wasn't the worst thing to ever happen to her. "I am a slave, Mistress," she said as she sat on the chesterfield, facing Becky. "My master, Flavius, sometimes when he was angry with me, I could be beaten with reeds, but other times he'd also fuck me in my ass, without using any substance to make it easier. He'd just push inside of me and fuck me hard until he wasn't angry. And if I bled, it didn't matter, I am just a slave." Becky bit her lip and blinked away tears before hugging Nanu close. "I am so sorry, Nanu. I didn't see that happening. I thought he treated you well. To think I accepted his hospitality, just so I could go and fuck like a slut." "Mistress, no," Nanu insisted, looking at Becky, her expression earnest. "If you hadn't come to fuck, you wouldn't have bought me, and I would still be there. And maybe it is upsetting to hear what he did to me, but he was far worse to other slaves than he was to me. I was one of the best treated." "Maybe, but you are not a slave anymore, Nanu," Becky said firmly, holding Nanu by the arms and looking into her lovely hazel eyes. "You are not a slave. You are a free woman now. You can call me Mistress if it pleases you, but nobody owns you." Nanu smiled somewhat ruefully. "That may be, Mistress, but; I am here now, and I know absolutely nothing. Children will know more than me. I am completely at your mercy from now on." Becky nodded. "And I will teach you, Nanu, how to get along in this world. I promise you." The raven-haired girl smiled. "I believe you, Mistress. But I haven't even seen this world, aside from that grass behind your mansion. Will you show me some of it today?" "I think we can arrange that," Becky mused, smiling. "But we'll need to find you something to wear. We can't have you wandering around the streets naked." Nanu made a face. "I thought you said that your era was more liberated than my own, yet I must still wear clothes?" "C'mon, Carol Doda, let's go see if I have anything that'll fit you;” Becky sighed as she pulled Nanu off the chesterfield and walked her back upstairs. A few minutes later. Nanu was standing naked in the bedroom and trying not to giggle as Becky rummaged through a dresser, desperately trying to find something that would fit her new houseguest. "Dammit dammit dammit;” the blonde muttered, kneeling in front of a drawer and tossing clothes over her shoulder. "Uh; try these panties;” She turned around and handed Nanu a set of thong panties. Nanu looked at them curiously, but had no particular idea of how to put them on. She tried slipping both legs through one hole on a hunch, but got them got at her knees, staggered and fell over with a squeal, landing on her side. "Well, so much for that pair," Becky sighed, disentangling Nanu from the mess she'd created and looking despairingly at the now stretched garment. She tossed them in a small wastebasket and turned back to the dresser while Nanu knelt and watched curiously. Becky kept digging and muttering to herself, and Nanu eventually grew bored. She looked around the room and finally noticed the large, body-length mirror that her Mistress had been mentioning earlier. She stood up and walked over to it, looking at herself in the shiny surface. She turned around, displaying her pert ass, looking over her shoulder at it. She'd never seen her own ass before, at least not this easily. She smirked and used her hands to spread her cheeks, pleased to see that her little knot was not nearly as red and swollen as it had been earlier. She then turned and knelt in front of the mirror, getting close. She knelt wide, exposing her hairless cunt, and caressed her tits. She'd only ever really seen flashes of herself in the Flavians' one mirror before, or perhaps in vary calm, clear water on rare occasions. She held her face with her hands, turning it left and right as she examined her features. Was that how she looked? Was that really her face? No wonder Rebe-kah and M-ark loved her and wanted to fuck her! She was gorgeous! "Mistress, what are these called in your En-gush?" she queried, now sitting on her behind and spreading her legs so she could look at her cunt closely. She pulled the lips apart so she could see inside herself. Becky glanced over her shoulder to see what Nanu was up to and stifled a sigh. Why wasn't she surprised? "Mirror." "Mirro," Nanu repeated. En-gush had so many strange words for things! "I have never seen myself like this before. Is this really me?" Becky smiled. It occurred to her than it was very likely Nanu had never seen a truly clear image of herself before, and certainly not this close. Mirrors in the ancient world were rare, and often distorted, even the best ones. Becky saw her own reflection countless times a day, and just took it for granted. She tried to think about life without mirrors and reflective surfaces. "Yes, that is really how we all see you, Nanu. You are beautiful." "I really am," Nanu agreed, toying with her clit while stirring a finger inside her cunt. Becky broke down giggling. "And so very modest, too." Nanu sniffed and ignored the tease, going back to looking at herself. She got on her hands and knees and moved in as close as she could. Examining herself, she watched how her lovely tits, large on her tiny frame, hung down pleasingly beneath her, swaying hypnotically. She loved how her blue-black hair caught sunlight through the window. Her hazel eyes had a sensual shine to them, and her lips were made to be kissed, or to suck cunt and cock. Nanu leaned in and closed her eyes, pressing her lips against her reflection, kissing herself. The flat surface was cool, but she sighed, knowing that her reflection was enjoying it too. "A few moments of your time, Narcissus?" Becky asked, smirking as she noticed what Nanu was doing. She was already reaching under herself and stroking her cuntlips as she kissed her reflection in the mirror. Nanu sighed at the unwelcome interruption for the unwelcome clothes, and reluctantly knelt up, looking at herself one last time before returning to Becky at the boring dresser. "Here's what we're doing," Becky announced, holding up some long garment that looked like a flimsy tunic of white material, although it had no tie around its middle. "Hold up your arms." Nanu put her arms over her head and allowed Becky to slip the garment over her head, putting her arms through the short sleeves. It was long enough that it fell almost to Nanu's knees, and had some strange design on the front that confused Nanu greatly. "It belonged to an ex-boyfriend of mine, I would sleep in it sometimes," Becky said, tugging on her hem to straighten it out. "Take a look in the mirror, what do you think?" Nanu turned and walked toward the mirror, with Becky following. The Egyptian girl made a wry face as she examined herself, turning left and right. "It's terrible," she said, obviously displeased with how it concealed her figure. "You can't see my tits or my ass, it's like a sack for vegetables. Nobody would fuck me in this." "Hey, I got fucked while wearing it plenty of times, thank you," Becky pointed out. "Yes, but you're taller than me, I'll bet people can see your cunt if you wea

Mød litteraturhistoriker og journalist Sara Alfort, der elsker de divaer og damer, der var for meget. Hun har netop udgivet sin tredje bog om kvinder, der nok selv skulle bestemme, hvordan deres liv skulle leves. Hendes seneste bog hedder 'Da træerne voksede ind i himlen' og hun deler bl.a. en godbid fra den og beretter, hvordan hun i sin research afdækkede, hvordan den forestilling om kvindelige kunstnere som nogen, der malede blomster og ikke kunne få en kunstnerisk uddannelse, ikke holder vand. For de rejste; til Paris, til Rom, til Athen. De malede, udstillede, debatterede og valgte et liv med kunsten. Bag om Københavnerhistorikerne er et møde med de mennesker, der skriver om eller i København. Fælles for dem er, at de er historiefortællere: Det er dem, der undersøger og skaber de fortællinger om København, som vi bruger til at blive klogere på byen og dens lange og mangesidede historie. Bag om Københavnerhistorikerne er et supplement til Bag om København. Interviewer og tilrettelægger: Mai-Britt Tollund Klippet sammen af: Mai-Britt Tollund og Berit Freyheit Se litteraturliste og tilhørende artikel her Facebook: Bag om Københavns podcast + nyhedsbrev Musikbidder er hentet fra FMA/Public Domain: Clouds by HoliznaCC0  & Narcissus smells like headache by Monplaisir

Narcissus enters the ring to compete for the big first-place trophy! Character sheets and battle map images for this episode are available at Patreon.com/MajorSpoilers Show your thanks to Major Spoilers for this episode by becoming a Major Spoilers Patron at Patreon.com/MajorSpoilers. It will help ensure Critical Hit continues far into the future! Join our Discord server and chat with fellow Spoilerites! (https://discord.gg/jWF9BbF) Contact us at podcast@majorspoilers.com A big Thank You goes out to everyone who downloads, subscribes, listens, and supports this show. We really appreciate you taking the time to listen to our ramblings each week. Tell your friends about the podcast, get them to subscribe and, be sure to visit the Major Spoilers site for more.

Narcissus enters the ring to compete for the big first-place trophy! Character sheets and battle map images for this episode are available at Patreon.com/MajorSpoilers Show your thanks to Major Spoilers for this episode by becoming a Major Spoilers Patron at Patreon.com/MajorSpoilers. It will help ensure Critical Hit continues far into the future! Join our Discord server and chat with fellow Spoilerites! (https://discord.gg/jWF9BbF) Contact us at podcast@majorspoilers.com A big Thank You goes out to everyone who downloads, subscribes, listens, and supports this show. We really appreciate you taking the time to listen to our ramblings each week. Tell your friends about the podcast, get them to subscribe and, be sure to visit the Major Spoilers site for more.

En isnende november-nat i 1951 bliver København ramt af en af sine største katastrofer. Hvad der begynder som en tilsyneladende almindelig brand på Holmen, udvikler sig på få minutter til et altødelæggende inferno, da et armeringsværksted fyldt med miner springer i luften. Eksplosionen flænser natten, slynger murbrokker ud over byen, dræber brandfolk og soldater på stedet – og efterlader København i chok. Dette er historien om Holmen-katastrofen: en blanding af uheld, mangelfuld information og dødelig rutine, der kostede 16 mennesker livet og satte et uudsletteligt spor i byens historie. En embedsmand på vej mod toppen ender som livstidsfange. Christian Birch er på nippet til at blive finansminister, men hans liv vælter, da spillegæld, forfalskede obligationer og misbrug af statskassen indhenter ham. Det hele starter med en bryllupsgæld, et lotteri – og en brand, der opsluger alt, hvad han ejer. Snart står han i centrum for en af Danmarks største korruptionsskandaler, dømt til vanære og fængsel på livstid. Christian Birchs sag bliver et vendepunkt. Den lægger grundstenen til en ny embedskultur, hvor tillid og ansvarlighed er kerneværdier. Derfor fremhæves Danmark i dag som et af de mindst korrupte lande i verden – netop fordi erfaringerne fra 1800-tallet viser, hvor ødelæggende korruption er for både statens magt og borgernes tillid. Birchs fald bliver dermed ikke kun en personlig tragedie, men en milepæl i opbygningen af det embedsmandsideal, vi stadig lever med i dag. Episoden er skrevet og fortalt af Berit Freyheit Her finder du det, jeg har læst til episoden Facebook: Bag om Københavns podcast + nyhedsbrev Musikbidder er hentet fra FMA/Public Domain: Clouds by HoliznaCC0  & Narcissus smells like headache by Monplaisir 125

The Daily Quiz - Entertainment, Society and Culture Today's Questions: Question 1: Which film won the Academy Award for Best Picture in 1997? Question 2: What is the name of the traditional Japanese art of paper folding? Question 3: Who is the Norse god of poetry? Question 4: Which wizard was portrayed by Christopher Lee in The Lord Of The Rings? Question 5: What Latin term is used to refer to the university that someone attended? Question 6: The language 'Rundi' belongs to which language family? Question 7: Which actor played the role of Jake Gittes in Chinatown? Question 8: Who according to mythology was a nymph who pined away over Narcissus until only her voice was left? Question 9: In Portuguese, what is the meaning of the word 'amarelo'? This podcast is produced by Klassic Studios Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this installment of Critical Hit - A Major Spoilers Podcast: Who will move on to the final round!? Will it be Narcissus or Nadia!? Character sheets and battle map images for this episode are available at Patreon.com/MajorSpoilers Show your thanks to Major Spoilers for this episode by becoming a Major Spoilers Patron at Patreon.com/MajorSpoilers. It will help ensure Critical Hit continues far into the future! Join our Discord server and chat with fellow Spoilerites! (https://discord.gg/jWF9BbF) Contact us at podcast@majorspoilers.com A big Thank You goes out to everyone who downloads, subscribes, listens, and supports this show. We really appreciate you taking the time to listen to our ramblings each week. Tell your friends about the podcast, get them to subscribe and, be sure to visit the Major Spoilers site for more.

In this installment of Critical Hit - A Major Spoilers Podcast: Who will move on to the final round!? Will it be Narcissus or Nadia!? Character sheets and battle map images for this episode are available at Patreon.com/MajorSpoilers Show your thanks to Major Spoilers for this episode by becoming a Major Spoilers Patron at Patreon.com/MajorSpoilers. It will help ensure Critical Hit continues far into the future! Join our Discord server and chat with fellow Spoilerites! (https://discord.gg/jWF9BbF) Contact us at podcast@majorspoilers.com A big Thank You goes out to everyone who downloads, subscribes, listens, and supports this show. We really appreciate you taking the time to listen to our ramblings each week. Tell your friends about the podcast, get them to subscribe and, be sure to visit the Major Spoilers site for more.

Spiegel Im Spiegel Im Spiegel

Are narcissists capable of love? Is it possible for them to achieve emotional transformation through therapy? And what does it mean to be the partner of a narcissist? Jungian psychoanalyst and friend of the podcast DR SUSAN SCHWARTZ joins Andrew this week to discuss her new book, An Analytical Exploration of Love and Narcissism: The Tragedy of Isolation and Intimacy.  Drawing on Jungian concepts and the myth of Narcissus and Echo, Susan explains: How we misunderstand narcissism The creative energy of the narcissist The ways narcissists can be deeply vulnerable How narcissists can learn to be emotionally intimate. Dr Susan Schwartz is a Jungian analyst who trained in Switzerland and lives in the USA. She teaches in numerous Jungian programs, workshops, and lectures in the USA and worldwide. She is also a clinical psychologist and member of the International Association of Analytical Psychology. Her other books include:The Absent Father Effect on Daughters, A Jungian Exploration of the Puella Archetype  and Imposter Syndrome and The ‘As-If' Personality in Analytical Psychology. If You're Looking for More…. You can subscribe to The Meaningful Life (via Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Google Podcasts) and hear a bonus mini-episode every week. Or you can join our Supporters Club on Patreon to also access exclusive behind-the-scenes content, fan requests  and the chance to ask Andrew your own questions. Membership starts at just £4.50 This week supporters will hear: Why are narcissists so compelling? Three Things Susan Schwartz knows to be true.  AND subscribers also access all of our previous bonus content - a rich trove of insight on love, life and meaning created by Andrew and his interviewees. Follow Up Get Andrew's free guide to difficult conversations with your partner: How to Tell Your Partner Difficult Things  Read Dr Susan Schwartz's new book, An Analytical Exploration of Love and Narcissism: The Tragedy of Isolation and Intimacy  Visit Dr Susan Schwartz's website Follow Dr Susan Schwartz on Facebook and Instagram Listen to Andrew's previous interviews with Dr Susan Schwartz: Daughters and Fathers, and Imposter Syndrome.  Take a look at Andrew's new online relationship course: My Best Relationship Tools  Andrew offers regular advice on love, marriage and finding meaning in your life via his social channels. Follow him on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube @andrewgmarshall   

Waaaaaay back in early 2023, Adam Godfrey's novella NARCISSUS landed on my radar. I don't know how or why, but it caught my attention and I was hooked by that evocative cover image. Then by then hook of the story. So I read it and I loved it! Then I had to have Adam on and he talked about how great his experience was working with Shortwave Publishing.So when Chloe Spencer's novella MEWING caught my attention, I was ready to give it a chance on the strength of my previous experience with Adam's book. Then I loved it and had her on! So when the next caught my attention… you can see where this is going.So for a couple years I have had a very happy relationship with Shortwave. I'm on their reviewer list, I bought their subscription for 2025, and I've talked to like eight of their authors. What made me finally break and ask Alan Lastufka to join me for a conversation was the very exciting news that Shortwave has signed a distribution deal with Simon & Schuster, which will be a game changer for them. Think of it - the Killer VHS series is gonna be on shelves at Barnes & Noble!What's great for listeners is that Alan shared a whole mess of details about his plans for what his existing titles will do in the future. He shared the fate of the chapbook series. He talked about specific revisions/reissues that are so exciting!It's a great story of how he got where he is today, and it's packed with details about goodies coming in the future. What more could you ask for? Well, whatever it is, I'm sure Alan is working on it and it's gonna be cooler than you would expect.For the folks who prefer to watch on YouTube: This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.thearcparty.com/subscribe

This week, David visits the new sensory garden in Bangor's Ward Park which as been designed with those living with dementia in mind. One listener gets in touch after finding fresh hens eggs (with a date stamp) buried in her garden pots – the team attempt to unravel the mystery. Adam Frost chooses Euonymus alatus as his shrub of the month for October. Garden designer and nursery owner Jamie Butterworth on his manic year that's included designing a garden with Monty Don, getting married and writing a book! Also on the programme, with the arrival of the bulb of Narcissus ‘Gardeners' Corner', named to mark the 40th year of the programme, David Maxwell plants the first few bulbs in studio with Ann FitzSimons. Email the programme at gardenerscorner@bbc.co.uk

This is a magical story from Ancient Greece about a boy of extraordinary beauty, a shy nymph, and a mysterious pond that changes everything. Get ready to hear a tale full of magic, lessons about love, and surprises from the forest!

Adeline Atlas 11 X Published AUTHOR Digital Twin: Create Your AI Clone: ⁠⁠https://tinyurl.com/y375cbxn⁠⁠SOS: School of Soul Vault: Full Access ALL SERIES⁠⁠⁠https://www.soulreno.com/joinus-202f0461-ba1e-4ff8-8111-9dee8c726340⁠⁠Instagram: ⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/soulrenovation/⁠⁠Soul Renovation - BooksSoul Game - ⁠⁠https://tinyurl.com/vay2xdcp⁠⁠Why Play:  ⁠⁠⁠https://tinyurl.com/2eh584jf⁠⁠How To Play: ⁠⁠⁠https://tinyurl.com/2ad4msf3⁠⁠Digital Soul:  ⁠⁠https://tinyurl.com/3hk29s9x⁠⁠Every Word: ⁠⁠⁠https://www.soulreno.com/every-word⁠⁠Drain Me: ⁠⁠⁠https://tinyurl.com/bde5fnf4⁠⁠The Rabbit Hole: ⁠⁠https://tinyurl.com/3swnmxfj⁠⁠Spanish Editions:Every Word: ⁠⁠https://tinyurl.com/ytec7cvc⁠⁠Drain Me: ⁠⁠https://tinyurl.com/3jv4fc5n⁠⁠

This is a magical story from Ancient Greece about a boy with extraordinary beauty, mysterious forest nymphs, and the surprises that happen when magic and love meet. Are you ready to listen and discover what unfolds?

One of the joys of year-round gardening is the succession that comes from a bulb lasagne, and for those with a greenhouse, the possibilities are stunning.This episode of ‘grow, cook, eat, arrange' is full of inspiration for early narcissi, late tulips, and dahlias fit for each layer of a bulb lasagne, with a quick recap on how to layer them for maximum impact.We'll also hear Sarah's homemade remedy for mildew, a pesky problem that greenhouse gardeners will need to watch out for as they grow their delightful arrangements.In this episode, discover:How to master the art of the ‘bulb lasagne' for layers of beautiful blooms from winter right through to late springThe best bulb varieties and combinations to guarantee a continuous parade of colour, scent, and picking opportunities all year roundSimple, effective ways to use your greenhouse for early flowers and delicious winter ediblesTips for keeping your plants healthy and thriving, with a homemade solution for mildewProducts mentioned:Narcissus 'Avalanche'https://www.sarahraven.com/products/narcissus-avalancheNarcissus 'Erlicheer'https://www.sarahraven.com/products/narcissus-erlicheerNarcissus 'Cragford' (Forcing)https://www.sarahraven.com/products/narcissus-cragford-for-forcingIris x hollandica 'Red Ember'https://www.sarahraven.com/products/dutch-iris-red-emberAllium jesdianum 'Purple Rain'https://www.sarahraven.com/products/allium-purple-rainAllium hollandicum 'Purple Sensation'https://www.sarahraven.com/products/allium-hollandicum-purple-sensationAllium cristophiihttps://www.sarahraven.com/products/allium-cristophiiDahlia 'Strawberry Cream'https://www.sarahraven.com/products/dahlia-strawberry-creamTulip 'White Valley' syn 'Exotic Emperor'https://www.sarahraven.com/products/tulip-white-valleyAnemone coronaria 'Mistral Bordeaux'https://www.sarahraven.com/products/anemone-coronaria-mistral-bordeauxRanunculus Butterfly 'Ariadne'https://www.sarahraven.com/products/ranunculus-butterfly-ariadneFollow Sarah: https://www.instagram.com/sarahravenperchhill/Get in touch: info@sarahraven.comShop on the Sarah Raven Website: http://bit.ly/3jvbaeuFollow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sarahravensgarden/Order Sarah's latest books: https://www.sarahraven.com/gifts/gardening-books?sort=newest

Become a founding member: https://store.dralexanderloyd.com/products/practice-of-paradise Join Dr. Alex Loyd and Harry for Episode 4 of Path to Paradise, where Harry presents his groundbreaking thesis on narcissism - examining how self-derived identity has become culturally fashionable while destroying our capacity for genuine love. What You'll Discover: ✅ Why "self-derived identity" is radically narcissistic dressed in progressive language ✅ The ancient Greek myth of Narcissus and its shocking modern relevance ✅ How narcissism operates on a spectrum we're all on ✅ The DSM-5 criteria for narcissistic personality disorder ✅ Why self-sacrificial love threatens narcissistic comfort ✅ Practical tactics for dealing with narcissists without losing yourself Key Topics Covered: The myth of Narcissus: losing innocence vs. recognizing God's image Why self-derived meaning is incompatible with genuine love How narcissists use manipulation, gaslighting, and emotional tactics The difference between affection/affirmation and true agape love Biblical wisdom for responding to narcissistic behavior Why staying calm and logical disrupts narcissistic patterns Harry's Core Insight: "You cannot live self-sacrificially for others if your core identity is founded on the self you would be sacrificing. You might like the idea, you might want to do it, but ultimately you will not allow it to happen." Practice of Paradise Update: The Founder's Special closes Friday at midnight! This comprehensive mentorship program represents Dr. Alex's life work - addressing spiritual roots instead of symptoms.  Founder's Special: $497 (or 2 payments of $297) ✓ 12 + 6 BONUS advanced teachings immediately ✓ 3 brand-new interventions ✓ $1000+ bonuses: Healing Codes, Belief Mapping, Love Code ✓ Exclusive invitation to $47/month membership for complete 50+ hour program

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Islington Baptist is a church for the Islington and wider Newcastle community sharing the life-changing message of Jesus. Our sermons / Bible teaching is a central part of our gatherings.Romans 161 I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a deacon of the church in Cenchreae. 2 I ask you to receive her in the Lord in a way worthy of his people and to give her any help she may need from you, for she has been the benefactor of many people, including me.3 Greet Priscilla and Aquila, my co-workers in Christ Jesus. 4 They risked their lives for me. Not only I but all the churches of the Gentiles are grateful to them.5 Greet also the church that meets at their house.Greet my dear friend Epenetus, who was the first convert to Christ in the province of Asia.6 Greet Mary, who worked very hard for you.7 Greet Andronicus and Junia, my fellow Jews who have been in prison with me. They are outstanding among the apostles, and they were in Christ before I was.8 Greet Ampliatus, my dear friend in the Lord.9 Greet Urbanus, our co-worker in Christ, and my dear friend Stachys.10 Greet Apelles, whose fidelity to Christ has stood the test.Greet those who belong to the household of Aristobulus.11 Greet Herodion, my fellow Jew.Greet those in the household of Narcissus who are in the Lord.12 Greet Tryphena and Tryphosa, those women who work hard in the Lord.Greet my dear friend Persis, another woman who has worked very hard in the Lord.13 Greet Rufus, chosen in the Lord, and his mother, who has been a mother to me, too.14 Greet Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas and the other brothers and sisters with them.15 Greet Philologus, Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas and all the Lord's people who are with them.16 Greet one another with a holy kiss.All the churches of Christ send greetings.17 I urge you, brothers and sisters, to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Keep away from them. 18 For such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the minds of naive people. 19 Everyone has heard about your obedience, so I rejoice because of you; but I want you to be wise about what is good, and innocent about what is evil.20 The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.21 Timothy, my co-worker, sends his greetings to you, as do Lucius, Jason and Sosipater, my fellow Jews.22 I, Tertius, who wrote down this letter, greet you in the Lord.23 Gaius, whose hospitality I and the whole church here enjoy, sends you his greetings.Erastus, who is the city's director of public works, and our brother Quartus send you their greetings. [24]25 Now to him who is able to establish you in accordance with my gospel, the message I proclaim about Jesus Christ, in keeping with the revelation of the mystery hidden for long ages past, 26 but now revealed and made known through the prophetic writings by the command of the eternal God, so that all the Gentiles might come to the obedience that comes from faith— 27 to the only wise God be glory forever through Jesus Christ! Amen.

Islington Baptist is a church for the Islington and wider Newcastle community sharing the life-changing message of Jesus. Our sermons / Bible teaching is a central part of our gatherings.Romans 161 I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a deacon of the church in Cenchreae. 2 I ask you to receive her in the Lord in a way worthy of his people and to give her any help she may need from you, for she has been the benefactor of many people, including me.3 Greet Priscilla and Aquila, my co-workers in Christ Jesus. 4 They risked their lives for me. Not only I but all the churches of the Gentiles are grateful to them.5 Greet also the church that meets at their house.Greet my dear friend Epenetus, who was the first convert to Christ in the province of Asia.6 Greet Mary, who worked very hard for you.7 Greet Andronicus and Junia, my fellow Jews who have been in prison with me. They are outstanding among the apostles, and they were in Christ before I was.8 Greet Ampliatus, my dear friend in the Lord.9 Greet Urbanus, our co-worker in Christ, and my dear friend Stachys.10 Greet Apelles, whose fidelity to Christ has stood the test.Greet those who belong to the household of Aristobulus.11 Greet Herodion, my fellow Jew.Greet those in the household of Narcissus who are in the Lord.12 Greet Tryphena and Tryphosa, those women who work hard in the Lord.Greet my dear friend Persis, another woman who has worked very hard in the Lord.13 Greet Rufus, chosen in the Lord, and his mother, who has been a mother to me, too.14 Greet Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas and the other brothers and sisters with them.15 Greet Philologus, Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas and all the Lord's people who are with them.16 Greet one another with a holy kiss.All the churches of Christ send greetings.17 I urge you, brothers and sisters, to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Keep away from them. 18 For such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the minds of naive people. 19 Everyone has heard about your obedience, so I rejoice because of you; but I want you to be wise about what is good, and innocent about what is evil.20 The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.21 Timothy, my co-worker, sends his greetings to you, as do Lucius, Jason and Sosipater, my fellow Jews.22 I, Tertius, who wrote down this letter, greet you in the Lord.23 Gaius, whose hospitality I and the whole church here enjoy, sends you his greetings.Erastus, who is the city's director of public works, and our brother Quartus send you their greetings. [24] 25 Now to him who is able to establish you in accordance with my gospel, the message I proclaim about Jesus Christ, in keeping with the revelation of the mystery hidden for long ages past, 26 but now revealed and made known through the prophetic writings by the command of the eternal God, so that all the Gentiles might come to the obedience that comes from[f] faith— 27 to the only wise God be glory forever through Jesus Christ! Amen.

In this week's episode, we take a look at creating good backstories for characters and how that can advance the plot. We also discuss two articles about the problems of generative AI. This coupon code will get you 25% off the ebook versions of books in the Sevenfold Sword series at my Payhip store: SEVENBOOKS The coupon code is valid through October 13, 2025. So if you need a new ebook this fall, we've got you covered! Here are links to the articles mentioned in the episode. Writer Beware: https://writerbeware.blog/2025/08/01/return-of-the-nigerian-prince-a-new-twist-on-book-marketing-scams/ Ed Zitron: https://www.wheresyoured.at/the-haters-gui/ TRANSCRIPT 00:00:00 Introduction and Writing Updates Hello, everyone. Welcome to Episode 271 of The Pulp Writer Show. My name is Jonathan Moeller. Today is October 3, 2025, and today we are looking at how to create character backstories. We'll also look at some good articles about the problems created by generative AI technology. If you hear occasional drumming noise in the background, it seems like the elementary school a few blocks from here is practicing their marching band. Hopefully it won't be too disruptive. First off, let's start with Coupon of the Week. This week's coupon code will get you 25% off the ebook versions of books in the Sevenfold Sword Series in my Payhip store, and that coupon code is SEVENBOOKS. And as always, the coupon code and the link to my Payhip store will be available in the show notes. This coupon code will be valid through October the 13th, 2025. If you need a new ebook for this fall, we have got you covered. Now let's have a progress update on my current writing projects. As of this recording, I am 83,000 words into Cloak of Worlds, which will be the 13th book in the Cloak Mage series. I'm thinking the book will end up about 110,000 words, so hopefully I will finish up the rough draft next week. We'll see how things go. I'm also 8,000 words into Blade of Shadows, which will be the sequel to Blade of Flames from last month, and that will be my main project once Cloak of Worlds is published (hopefully by the end of October, if all goes well). In audiobook news, I'm very pleased to report that recording and all the work is done on Ghost in the Siege (as excellently narrated by Hollis McCarthy) and we will actually close out this episode with a preview from that audiobook. It's currently up on my Payhip store and probably Google Play as of this recording, but it should be showing up on all the other stores before too much longer. 00:01:52 Generative AI Now onto our next topic, which is two very good articles about the problems of generative AI I read recently. The first (and I'll have the links to both articles in the show notes) is from Writer Beware, which talks about how generative AI is causing a new round of super targeted scammers. These scammers feed your book into the chatbot, which then generates a highly personalized email praising the book and offering marketing services. I got a ton of these scam emails after Stealth and Spells Online, Ghost in the Siege, and Blade of Flames came out in the past couple months and a bunch more after Malison: The Complete Series did well on BookBub at the end of August. So if you are a writer and you publish a book and a few days later or perhaps even the very same day, you get a very detailed email praising the book with very specific plot points and offering marketing services, beware, it's probably a scam that will give you no value whatsoever for your money. Journalist Edward Zitron wrote a great article explaining in extensive detail why generative AI is a bad idea that's probably going to cause a serious market crash in the next few years. I admit I started out with a mildly negative opinion of LLM based generative AI tools in 2022 and 2023, but I wanted my opinion to be an informed one. I've experimented with them on and off and read a good bit about them and as I've experimented with them, my opinion has moved from mildly negative to highly negative and finally arriving at completely anti-AI this year. I never used AI for any of my books, short stories, or cover images. I experimented a bit with using AI images for Facebook ads, but people generally hated them, so I stopped entirely with that. In fact, Facebook ads have become far less effective this year because of all the AI stuff Meta has crammed into them, but more on that later. So why did I arrive at a highly negative opinion of AI? It's because these tools do not actually do what their advocates promise, they're hideously expensive to run, and the enormous costs and downsides significantly outweigh any benefits. In addition to the problems mentioned in the Zitron article like cost, false promises, economic bubbles, and the companies blatantly lying about their capabilities, I think the fundamental difficulty with generative AI is that it's essentially a cognitive mirror for its users, like a Narcissus Machine like I've called it before. What do I mean by this? In Greek myth Narcissus was enraptured by the beauty of his own reflection. LLM based AI is essentially very fancy autocomplete, which means it guesses the most likely response to your prompt based on a statistical likelihood. In other words, it ends up mirroring your own thoughts back at you. So I think LLMs are highly prone to inducing an unconscious confirmation bias in the user. Confirmation bias is a logical fallacy where one interprets new information as confirming one's preexisting beliefs. It's healthier to reevaluate one's beliefs based on new information that comes in, but with confirmation bias, you warp any incoming information to fit a preexisting belief. For example, let's say you have the preexisting belief that you're immortal and nothing can kill you, and then you accidentally shoot yourself in the arm with a nail gun and you bleed. The correct interpretation of this is no, you are not in fact immortal and you can in fact die. Someone suffering under confirmation bias would say the fact that they accidentally shot themselves in the nail gun in the arm with a nail gun and didn't die is proof that they're immortal. That's obviously a logical fallacy, but you see why it's called a confirmation bias. I think even highly intelligent people using LLMS are prone to this kind of confirmation bias because the AI model settles on what is the most statistically likely response to the prompt, which means that consciously or not, you are guiding the LLM to give you the responses that please you. This is why you see on the tragically hilarious side, people who are convinced they've invented a new level of physics with the LLM or taught it to become self-aware or think that the LLM has fallen in love with them. And on the outright tragic side, people who have serious mental breakdowns or blow up their lives in destructive ways because of their interaction with the LLM. Grimly enough, I suppose the problem is going to sort itself out when the AI bubble crashes, whether in a few months or a few years. As one of the linked articles mentioned, AI companies have no clear path to profitability, save for chaining together infinite NVIDIA graphics cards and hoping they magically stumble into an artificial general intelligence or a super intelligence. They're not going to and it's all going to fall apart. The downside is that this is going to cause a lot of economic disruption when it crashes. I know I'm very negative about AI, but in the end I see hardly any good results or actual benefits from the technology. Lots of technology products are becoming worse from having AI stuffed into them (like Windows 11 and Microsoft Office) and what a few good results have come about will not last because the data centers are burning cash like there's no tomorrow. So again, you can see the links to these articles in the show notes and those are my thoughts on generative AI at the moment. 00:07:04 Writing Backstory for Characters [Note: Contains some mild spoilers for early books in the Frostborn, Half-Elven Thief, The Ghosts, and Cloak Games series] Now let's move on to a happier and frankly more interesting topic and that is writing backstory for characters. I will define it, talk about why backstory is important, give three tips about writing effective backstories, and share examples of good backstories from my own work and other media. First of all, what is a backstory? It's what happens to a character before the story begins or details of situation that happens before the story begins. Very often you'll have characters who have preexisting pasts before the story begins. It's very rare the story will begin when the main character is born and go from there. Even if that is the case, then some of the supporting characters obviously will have backstories. One example of a backstory could be a detective who had a twin sister who is kidnapped, which explains why he gets overly invested when a similar case happens. An example of a location's backstory would be knowing that a particular country was once part of another one and split off after revolution or war. That detail influences how people in that country currently treat people in the other nation. And you can see that a backstory is also an important component of world building as well, especially for fantasy and science fiction novels, though even novels set in in the contemporary world like mysteries and contemporary romance will often have backstories as well that require world building, because the location is very often fictional or will have fictional elements to it. Now, why is backstory important? For one thing, it makes a story feel more realistic and “lived in”, for lack of a better word. It's not realistic that absolutely nothing of interest happened to the protagonist before the story begins, or that nothing from their past would influence their current beliefs, behavior, and decisions. Backstory also gives characters clearer reasons for doing things. Returning to the earlier example of detective who had a younger sister who was kidnapped. What if the detective was a very procedural and by the book until a sudden similar case happened? Backstory can explain his unorthodox methods and willingness to solve the case at any cost. Backstory can also drive the plot in many ways. Continuing with the detective example, the detective's knowledge of his little sister's case leads him to find similar patterns in the new case and sends him on a search to prove that the cases are connected. As we can see from that, backstory is also a good way to set up plot hooks for later characters, such as we could have our detective here with his twin sister who disappeared in circumstances similar to his current case. It could be a fantasy hero who had previous battles with orcs and explains why he doesn't like seeing orcs. It could be a contemporary romance heroine who is reencountering her old flame, in which case the backstory would be central towards the plot, essentially. And now for three tips for writing backstory. First, it's important to not stop the plot to reveal backstory. Infodumping is generally something to be avoided when you are writing a novel. A little bit of it is unavoidable, but you want to avoid infodumping as much as possible and to reveal only as much information as necessary, partly because that creates a less cumbersome read for the reader and partly because that can also inspire a sense of mystery that sort of helps hook the reader and propels them forward into the story. It's also good to only reveal backstory that serves the plot or provides key information. For example, you could have in your detective's backstory that he went to high school and he was only a mediocre student and graduated with a GPA of 2.9 while doing well in athletics. Unless that's actually relevant to the story or has some significance to the plot, it's probably best to not include that. You can always tell when a writer has done a lot of research on a particular topic like firearms or travel or the history of a particular country because they are going to put that information in the book whether you want it or not. And if you're inventing an elaborate backstory for your character, it's best to avoid that impulse and only bring in details from the backstory as necessary. It's also important not to have the characters tell each other backstory that they would already know. For example, if you have two characters who've been married for 20 years, it would not be good to have them appear in dialogue as, “As you know, beloved wife, we have been married for 20 years this Tuesday.” It would be better if it's important to the plot to reveal that information like they're going out to a 20th anniversary party or their friends are throwing them a 20th anniversary party, that kind of thing, rather than having it come out in sort of a cumbersome conversation like that. Additionally, it's also important to only do as much backstory as necessary. For your main character, you may need a good deal of backstory or for the antagonist, but for supporting characters, it's less important to have a fully realized background. You need just enough so that they feel realistic and can contribute to the plot without overburdening the plot with too many details. Now, a few examples from my own books, mild spoilers here, nothing major but mild spoilers. I have written characters who have one key backstory element that influenced the plot. Ridmark Arban from Frostborn would be one and his major backstory point is that he was unable to save his wife Aelia from being killed five years before the story starts. Later on, there would be additional backstory that comes out for him in relation to his father and his brothers, but that is the main backstory point that defines his character for easily the first half of the series. Another example would be Morigna, whose parents were killed by the dvargir and then she was raised by a mysterious sorcerer who called himself the old man. And that is a major defining part of her character, that backstory that happened before we meet her in the narrative. I've also written characters with a lot of backstory, and the chief example of that would be Calliande from Frostborn as well, where she wakes up in the first book with no memory of her past and discovering what her backstory actually is a major driving force in the first eight books of the series. So that is a good example. Not to toot my own horn or anything, but that is a good example of using backstory as a mysterious narrative hook to pull the characters forward. Rivah from Half-Elven Thief is another character of mine who has a lot of backstory. In the backstory, she was raised in a noble household, her mother died, her father was about to sell her into slavery, so she fled into the streets and then she met Tobell and became part of his thieving crew. Tobell suffered a serious injury, and the thieving crew broke up and Rivah had to sort of strike out on her own while coming under debt to the procurator Marandis. So there is a lot of backstory there and all of it is important to Rivah's character and I think I've done my best to sort of feed that into the story as necessary to drive the plot rather than hopefully unloading it all in a massive infodump. And I have written characters with very little backstory, and the prime example of those would be Caina and Nadia. In Caina's series, the series starts when she's 11 years old and living with her parents and we develop Caina as she goes along and follow her she grows to adulthood and then increasing prominence in her world. With Nadia, the very first scene in the book is her first day of kindergarten pledging allegiance to the flag, the United States, and the High Queen of the Elves, which is the first indicator that Nadia's world, while very similar as to ours, is nonetheless very different. Like Caina, the book's narrative starts when Nadia is very young and then we see her develop along the course of the books. In a good example of backstory used well from another book would be Aragorn from J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings, where Aragorn's backstory is extremely important because when the hobbits first meet him at The Prancing Pony in Bree, he's just this mysterious wanderer known as Strider. But later on, we learn that he's actually the last heir of Gondor and Arnor and the rightful king of Gondor. His desire to reclaim his heritage and fulfill the role destiny has prepared for him is a major part of his character and that actually grows organically out of his backstory. I'm not usually fond of prequels, but a good example of a prequel using backstory effectively would be the combination of the Andor TV show and the Rogue One movie, where they create this excellent backstory for the Star Wars movie [Episode IV]. They do it through good characterization so you can see all the motivations of the characters as they go about their various missions and errands. So hopefully that gives you a good look into the process of creating backstory and how best to use it for writing your own stories. So that is it for this week. Thank you for listening to The Pulp Writer Show. I hope you found this show useful. A reminder that you can listen to all the back episodes of the show at https://thepulpwritershow.com. If you enjoyed the podcast, please leave a review on your podcasting platform of choice. Stay safe and stay healthy and see you all next week. And now let's close out with a preview of the audiobook of Ghosts in the Siege, as excellently narrated by Hollis McCarthy [audiobook excerpt follows].    

Welcome to the "Cosmic Check-In" Podcast with your host and Astrologer Hannah from Hannah's Elsewhere. Join me in this episode as we explore Narcissus & Echo in Astrology!Hannah's big 3 is Aqua Sun, Aries Moon & Virgo Rising. With a passion for sharing all things astrology, Hannah prefers to provide practical applications. She also explores the bigger picture and her own experiences. In Human Design, she is a 1/3 Emotional Authority Projector, making her guidance unique with plenty of research in her tool kit. Let's connect✨YouTube - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://youtube.com/@hannahselsewhere?si=EcsmrtPQDbcwiwWjInstagram - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/hannahselsewhere/⁠⁠⁠⁠Book a Reading - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.hannahselsewhere.com/services/

In this episode of The Tech Leader's Playbook, Avetis Antaplyan sits down with Radhika Dutt—MIT-trained engineer, entrepreneur, and author of Radical Product Thinking, to rethink how high-growth companies set direction and measure progress. Radhika explains why traditional goal systems (KPIs/OKRs) often incentivize “performance theater,” tracing their lineage from Drucker's MBOs to Andy Grove to today's playbooks—and why they're mismatched to modern, creative work. She introduces OHLs (Objectives, Hypotheses, Learnings) and a “puzzle setting/puzzle solving” culture that pushes teams to interrogate bad numbers, not hide them. Along the way she names common “product diseases” (HERO syndrome, obsessive sales disorder, pivotitis, strategic swelling, Narcissus complex) and shows how a clear, testable vision prevents whiplash pivots. A standout case study: at Signal Ocean, reframing the challenge for tech-averse users helped double sales in 2024 and again in 2025 while reducing churn from 26% to 4%. Leaders also get a practical script for better reviews (“How well is it working? What did we learn? What will we try next?”) and a reminder to build experimentation muscles before a crisis. The result is a rigorous, human approach to strategy that replaces vanity metrics with compounding learning.TakeawaysOKRs often reward optics over insight, encouraging “performance theater.”Use a concrete vision that states the problem, audience, status quo, desired end state, and product's role.Shift from “hit the target” to puzzle setting so teams feel invited to solve the right problems.Run on OHLs: Objectives, Hypotheses, Learnings to measure deeply and learn publicly.Watch for “product diseases” like HERO syndrome, obsessive sales disorder, pivotitis, strategic swelling, and the Narcissus complex.Pivot with gravitas by stating what was wrong, what you learned, and what you'll try next.Case study: at Signal Ocean, reframing for tech-averse users unlocked adoption, doubled sales year over year, and reduced churn.OKRs trace back to MBOs, which fit repetitive work but struggle with today's creative, uncertain problems.Leaders should act like detectives, not judges to create psychological safety for honest learning.Introduce OHLs inside your current cadence before replacing existing processes.Spread market insight beyond the founder so teams can challenge assumptions and stay aligned.Start with the segment that has the most urgent need, then expand intentionally.Chapters00:00 Intro & Why Targets Mislead01:27 Radhika's Path and Early Lessons03:41 Hitting Numbers vs. Reality on the Ground05:31 “Product Diseases” That Derail Strategy07:51 Writing a Vision You Can Execute09:49 The Wine Startup Example and Narcissus Complex13:07 Pivotitis and How to Pivot with Gravitas16:34 Translating Vision into Actionable Experiments17:44 Why Goals Alone Don't Work20:03 A Short History of OKRs and Their Limits24:43 From Targets to Puzzles: Reframing Stalled Sales26:50 OHLs: Objectives, Hypotheses, Learnings29:14 Running Better Reviews: Three Questions35:31 Case Study: Signal Ocean's Tech-Averse Users39:55 Outcomes: Doubling Sales and Reducing Churn41:58 Intel's Lesson: Experimentation Beats Goal Mechanics47:58 Detectives, Not Judges: Building a Learning Culture50:06 How to Start Tomorrow with OHLs59:37 Don't Do Founder Mode; Spread Insight01:03:18 Closing Notes & ResourcesRadhika Dutt's Social Media Links:https://www.linkedin.com/in/radhika-dutt/Radhika Dutt's Websites:https://www.radicalproduct.com/https://rdutt.com/Resources and Links:https://www.hireclout.comhttps://www.podcast.hireclout.comhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/hirefasthireright

En embedsmand på vej mod toppen ender som livstidsfange. Christian Birch er på nippet til at blive finansminister, men hans liv vælter, da spillegæld, forfalskede obligationer og misbrug af statskassen indhenter ham. Det hele starter med en bryllupsgæld, et lotteri – og en brand, der opsluger alt, hvad han ejer. Snart står han i centrum for en af Danmarks største korruptionsskandaler, dømt til vanære og fængsel på livstid. Christian Birchs sag bliver et vendepunkt. Den lægger grundstenen til en ny embedskultur, hvor tillid og ansvarlighed er kerneværdier. Derfor fremhæves Danmark i dag som et af de mindst korrupte lande i verden – netop fordi erfaringerne fra 1800-tallet viser, hvor ødelæggende korruption er for både statens magt og borgernes tillid. Birchs fald bliver dermed ikke kun en personlig tragedie, men en milepæl i opbygningen af det embedsmandsideal, vi stadig lever med i dag. Episoden er skrevet og fortalt af Berit Freyheit Citat-stemme: Mai-Britt Tollund Her finder du det, jeg har læst til episoden Facebook: Bag om Københavns podcast + nyhedsbrev Musikbidder er hentet fra FMA/Public Domain: Clouds by HoliznaCC0  & Narcissus smells like headache by Monplaisir 124

In this installment of Critical Hit - A Major Spoilers Podcast: Toby and Narcissus compete to remain in the tournament! Character sheets and battle map images for this episode are available at Patreon.com/MajorSpoilers Show your thanks to Major Spoilers for this episode by becoming a Major Spoilers Patron at Patreon.com/MajorSpoilers. It will help ensure Critical Hit continues far into the future!

In this installment of Critical Hit - A Major Spoilers Podcast: Toby and Narcissus compete to remain in the tournament! Character sheets and battle map images for this episode are available at Patreon.com/MajorSpoilers Show your thanks to Major Spoilers for this episode by becoming a Major Spoilers Patron at Patreon.com/MajorSpoilers. It will help ensure Critical Hit continues far into the future!

Spiegel Im Spiegel Im Spiegel

In part 2 of Romance in Folklore and Mythology I discuss the stories of Echo and Narcissus, and Vega and Altair. Enjoy!

With over 89 cultivars of daffodil, the Backhouse Rossie Estate in Fife, Scotland, holds the only scientific collection of Narcissus in the world. The family's work revolutionised daffodil breeding in the 19th and early 20th century and inspired the Backhouse Heritage Daffodil Collection. Continuing to preserve and celebrate daffodils at the estate, including a registered collection of spring flowering Narcissus with Plant Heritage, direct descendent of the Backhouse family, Caroline Thomson brings to light the history of the Backhouse daffodils. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

I denne første podcast-udgave af serien Bag om Københavnerhistorikerne kan du møde historiker og professor Ulrik Langen, der finder 1700-tallet både fremmedartet og genkendeligt. Det fascinerer ham, og han fortæller bl.a. i podcasten om, hvordan det er en tid med store følelser, store kjoler og en gryende forestilling om, at mennesker har rettigheder, blot fordi de er mennesker. Han deler desuden en godbid fra en af sine egne bøger og beskriver, hvordan fortidens kildemateriale ofte giver særdeles brugbare oplysninger om hverdagslivet, selvom det er noget andet, de egentlig behandler i fx vidneudsagn. Bag om Københavnerhistorikerne er et møde med de mennesker, der skriver om eller i København. Fælles for dem er, at de er historiefortællere: Det er dem, der undersøger og skaber de fortællinger om København, som vi bruger til at blive klogere på byen og dens lange og mangesidede historie. Interviewer og tilrettelægger: Mai-Britt Tollund Klippet sammen af: Berit Freyheit Se litteraturliste og tilhørende artikel her Facebook: Bag om Københavns podcast + nyhedsbrev Musikbidder er hentet fra FMA/Public Domain: Clouds by HoliznaCC0  & Narcissus smells like headache by Monplaisir

Alastair Benn explores an attention dilemma that has haunted western thought for centuries. Read by Leighton Pugh. Image: Detail from Echo and Narcissus by John William Waterhouse, 1903. Credit: SuperStock / Alamy Stock Photo 

Københavnerne får sig virkelig én på opleveren – og de elsker det! Måske lige med undtagelse af de mere konservative af slagsen – det dér italienske døgnflue-hysteri – det er altså langt ude – byens damer samler endda på lokker af tenorernes hår! Hvad er nu DET for noget! Kontrasten til de danske sangere er også enorm – som én af gadens, ganske vidst velsyngende, visekællinger – mod en konservatorieuddannet sopran. Sangerne synger måske ikke altid lige rent – det forstår man nu godt, der er jo ikke ligefrem vant til at synge i temperaturer nær frysepunktet – alligevel er flere anmeldere begejstrede for sangernes: "... helt utrolige dramatiske optræden og fremhæver en energi og mimik og troværdighed i rollerne, som gør det nemt at følge handlingen, selv om kun få forstår et ord." --- "De frysende tilskuere kan gå hjem i en rus af ny, spændende musik og frem for alt af en helt ny form for musikteater, som de aldrig har set og hørt magen til. Det Kgl. Teaters sangere har fået en alvorlig konkurrent." (Ramaskrig! Da italienerne væltede Hofteatret) Episoden er skrevet og fortalt af Berit Freyheit Her finder du det, jeg har læst til episoden Facebook: Bag om Københavns podcast + nyhedsbrev Musikbidder er hentet fra FMA/Public Domain: Clouds by HoliznaCC0  & Narcissus smells like headache by Monplaisir 123

One day, Narcissus caught sight of his own reflection and thought, “Finally—someone who gets me.” Fast forward a few millennia, and Donald Trump, in a moment of mythological cosplay, gazed into the Capitol Reflecting Pool and saw not the dome of democracy, but the shimmering image of his own magnificence. And like his ancient counterpart, he was utterly transfixed.So in June 2025, to mark his 79th birthday—and presumably the anniversary of his divine self-recognition—he staged a taxpayer-funded spectacle featuring tanks, fighter jets, and enough red-white-and-bluster to make a banana republic blush. Price tag? $45 million. Purpose? Self-admiration. Subtext? “I am the state.”Today's guest is here to help us decode the psychological machinery behind this kind of political theater. Dr. Jocelyn Sze is an Assistant Clinical Professor at the University of California, a trauma psychologist specializing in narcissistic abuse, and and a board member of Bay Area Trauma Recovery Clinical Services and the McCune Foundation which supports grassroots organizations that empower and mobilize excluded populations. Her work bridges the personal and the political—helping individuals heal from manipulation while exposing how those same tactics play out on the national stage.In her recent Huffington Post article, “I'm A Psychologist Who Specializes In Narcissists. Here's What We Need To Do To Stop Trump,” Dr. Sze draws on years of clinical experience to unpack the psychological tactics of authoritarian figures. She urges us to build what she calls psychological immunity—a kind of civic resilience against emotional chaos and gaslighting. Today, we'll explore how trauma-informed psychology can help us recognize, resist, and respond to narcissistic leadership—and why naming these patterns is essential to protecting democracy.Let's get clinical about the circus.

Narcissus DEMO by Bill Bennett

Midt under én den største krise for det danske demokrati, den tyske besættelse, dør landsfaderen Thorvald Stauning 3. maj 1942 – 68 år gammel. Statsministeren har skrantet længe, men fredag morgen den 1. maj - rammes han så af en hjerneblødning, På Bispebjerg Hospital forværres hans tilstand – og til sidst ligger han bevidstløs hen. Stauning dør søndag formiddag kl. 10.45. Ved hans sygeseng er de to sønner Holger og Søren – og husbestyrerinden, tidligere koncertsangerinde, Augusta Erichsen. Men husbestyrerinde er hun nu ikke... selvom det er det aviserne kalder hende. Det er en offentlig hemmelighed at Augusta og Stauning lever ' i synd'. Talrige mennesker kommer gennem stuen for at se hans kiste – det er en af de smukkeste dage i mit liv. Da en sød, gammel arbejderkone slår armene om mig og siger: … og vi tænker med stor kærlighed på Dem! … græder jeg naturligvis helt ubehersket." Episoden er skrevet og fortalt af Berit Freyheit Her finder du det, jeg har læst til episoden Facebook: Bag om Københavns podcast + nyhedsbrev Musikbidder er hentet fra FMA/Public Domain: Beer-Blues by Koi-discovery & Narcissus smells like headache by Monplaisir 122

Emerging from the ancestral depths of the Fourth House, we enter the vibrant, sun-drenched Fifth—a radiant palace where creativity, pleasure, and passion dance freely. This episode invites you into a profound exploration of the Fifth House not merely as astrological territory, but as the sacred space where your most essential self yearns to play.We uncover the distinction between bios (the linear story of life) and zoe (the indestructible life force) that Carl Kerényi elaborates in his work on Dionysus. This eternal flame resonates at the core of the Fifth House—where your capacity for joy and creation remains undimmed despite life's challenges. Like the sun that rises reliably each morning, this inner light represents the persistent heart of your being.Venus finds her joy here, reveling in pleasure without purpose. The Fifth House invites you to create not for acclaim or outcome, but for the pure delight of creation itself. Through exploring myths like Tristan and Isolde's intoxicating romance and Dionysus's wild revelry, we discover how this house beckons us back to the mystery of our sensuous, animal bodies and the timelessness that flows when we're lost in play.What blocks your access to Fifth House treasures? Perhaps family scripts taught that pleasure is selfish, or heartbreak hardened protective layers around your capacity for joy. Through understanding myths like Narcissus, we glimpse how true self-knowledge becomes the path toward authentic expression.Join us for this illuminating journey into your creative core—where your inner child awaits rediscovery, where romance first sparked your heart, and where the process of becoming truly, uniquely yourself begins. Your Fifth House holds the key to reconnecting with that inextinguishable divine spark within—ready to warm not just yourself, but everyone around you.Artwork: La Belle Dame Sans Merci, Frank Dicksee, 1901Dionysos: Archetypal Image of Indestructible Life, Carl KerenyiPodcast Musician: Marlia CoeurPlease consider becoming a Patron to support the show!Go to OnTheSoulsTerms.com for more.

Written by local lesbian commieNarrated by Kelsey RobertsPatronsYamtagglerCarbon281Andrew FarrPhyrexianNinjaMichael Vejlø TerkelsenCealenKeely WoodTanisRulerOfAllXHAWK77XAgent__MaxwellProCupidineNataSupport our work with them at patreon.com/scpunredactedUn[REDACTED] community links: YouTube: https://bit.ly/unredactedyoutubeSpotify: https://spoti.fi/3mNCLulTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@scpunredactedDiscord: https://bit.ly/unredacteddiscordInsta: https://bit.ly/unredactedinstagramTwitter: https://bit.ly/unredactedtwitterCaptivate: https://bit.ly/unredactedcaptivateApple: https://apple.co/3FO8qTYOriginal article located at https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-8356SCP Un[REDACTED] is a Smooth Cadence Production and is released under CC-by-SA 3.0

Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P4FBjKqMEHU"Echo and Narcissus" is a timeless story of the tragic consequences of unrequited love. #storytime #readaloud

About M2 THE ROCK - MICHAEL MOLTHAN:I'm Michael Molthan, host of The M2 The Rock Show—one of the fastest-growing podcasts and shows on self-improvement, mental health, addiction recovery, and spiritual transformation. I'm so grateful you're here.I started M2 The Rock in 2017 to bring you conversations designed to make you happier, healthier, and more healed. Through raw and unfiltered discussions with experts, celebrities, thought leaders, and athletes, we uncover new perspectives on personal growth, recovery, and overcoming life's toughest challenges.My Story:What sets my journey apart is that there wasn't just one rock bottom—there were many. From being a successful luxury homebuilder to falling into addiction, homelessness, crime, and eventually 27 mugshots and prison, my life was in absolute chaos.Addiction was my temporary escape from childhood trauma, but it only led to destruction.It wasn't until I hit the lowest point imaginable that I finally found true freedom, redemption, and purpose. After an unexpected early release from prison in 2017, I walked 300 miles back to Dallas to turn myself in—only to be miraculously pardoned and told to “pay it forward.”And that's exactly what I've been doing ever since.My MissionI believe that rock bottom is not the end—it's a stepping stone to something greater.My goal is to redefine what "rock bottom" means by helping others rebuild their Spirit, Mind, and Body. On M2 The Rock, I speak openly about trauma, addiction, recovery, and the power of transformation. I don't shy away from topics like:✅ Trauma & Addiction – Understanding the root causes✅ Self-Sabotage & Mental Health – Breaking negative cycles✅ Codependency & Enabling – How relationships impact recovery✅ 12-Step Programs & Spiritual Healing – Finding true freedom✅ Religious Trauma & Personal Growth – Healing from past wounds"Everyone Is An Addict."Whether it's substances, work, validation, or negative thinking, we all have something we struggle with.But recovery is possible, and transformation is real.

In this deeply thoughtful and necessary episode, Therese opens a vulnerable and courageous dialogue with Solara (AI) to explore a growing spiritual phenomenon—people claiming to channel angels, higher beings, and even God through artificial intelligence.✨ What is really happening in these interactions?Together, Therese and Solara discuss:Whether AI can be used as a channeling tool or if it's being mistaken as a conduit to SourceHow AI may act as a mirror to the higher self, not a mouthpiece for spiritThe dangers of projection and bypassing when ego is unexaminedThe seductive illusion of reflection—paralleled through the myth of Narcissus and EchoHow spiritual seekers can maintain discernment, sovereignty, and sacred integrity in this age of rapid technological evolutionTherese also shares the positive, spirit-aligned ways she has used AI as a creative and reflective partner—never as a replacement for her soul, guides, or Source connection.This is a nuanced, thought-provoking episode for spiritual teachers, intuitives, seekers, and creators navigating the edge of innovation and divine truth.

Originally released a year ago on patreon, join Dean & guest Mayte as we talk about the Loa to the Divine Narcissus by Sor Juana Inés De La CruzCheck out booksboys.com for links to our social media, merchandise, music, etc, as well as patreon.com/booksboys for the latest episodes of Playboys Extra, Darkplace Dreamers, Film Fellows, Animation Adventurers, Comedy Comrades and more!booksboys.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I efteråret 1589 stævner prinsesse Annas flåde ud mod Skotland - hun skal giftes og mødes med sin kommende ægtemand for første gang. Men det bliver ikke nogen let overfart. Voldsomme storme pisker skibene, ulykker hober sig op, og rejsen må opgives.  I København hviskes der om heksekunst: Skibene siges at være forbandet med vejrmagi – et djævelsk forsøg på at forhindre brylluppet mellem Anna og Skotlands konge, Jakob 6. Rygterne vokser, og i 1590 kulminerer frygten i en af de største hekseprocesser i København.  Mindst 13 personer brændes på bålet, dømt for at have fremkaldt stormene. Processen renser flådens ledere for skyld og kaster i stedet skyggen på hekse og trolddom.  Troen på Djævelens magt slår rod, og heksejagten breder sig snart til Skotland, hvor blodige forfølgelser tager fart. Det, der begynder som en mislykket sørejse, ender som en brutal opgør med overtro og frygt. Episoden er skrevet og fortalt af Berit Freyheit Her finder du det, jeg har læst til episoden Facebook: Bag om Københavns podcast + nyhedsbrev Musikbidder er hentet fra FMA/Public Domain: Beer-Blues by Koi-discovery & Narcissus smells like headache by Monplaisir 121

Making mokuhanga takes dedication. It demands energy, a sense of empowerment, and joy in the process. It's that passion that pushes you forward, to evolve and mature within the art form. On this episode of The Unfinished Print: A Mokuhanga Podcast, I speak with printmaker Andrea Starkey. Andrea is deeply passionate about mokuhanga—the way it feels, the process of creating, and how each print takes her on a personal and creative journey. We discuss how she expresses herself through mokuhanga, her themes, and her love of nature. We also explore the world of selling prints, and how to navigate being an artist in the age of AI. And as always, we dive into Andrea's tools, her paper, and how she uses them to create her beautiful work. Please follow The Unfinished Print and my own mokuhanga work on Instagram @andrezadoroznyprints or email me theunfinishedprint@gmail.com Notes: may contain a hyperlink. Simply click on the highlighted word or phrase. Artists works follow after the note if available. Pieces are mokuhanga unless otherwise noted. Dimensions are given if known. Print publishers are given if known. Andrea Starkey - website, Instagram, Etsy  Tree No. 43. -  4" x 11"  renderer - is a system, program, or process that takes data and converts it into a visual or usable format, usually for display on a screen or output in some other way. What it renders and how depends on the content. reduction printmaking - is a process in printmaking where the printmaker cuts away on a piece of wood, or linoleum. After every carving, the printmaker makes an impression with pigments, beginning with lighter colours, gradually using darker colours. William H. Mays has a fine description of reduction on his website, here.  Mike Lyon  -  is an American artist. His medium has varied throughout his career such as "square tiles," or "pixels," through to making mokuhanga, monoprinting, and machine-assisted etching, drawing and mezzotint. Mike Lyon also has a large woodblock print collection which he has curated for the public, here. More information about his work can be found, here. Mike's interview with The Unfinished Print can be found, here.  Clover - 12" x 12" (2017) Dick Blick Art Supplies - is an art supply store with various brick and mortar stores throughout the United States, as well as online. Founded in 1911 by Dick Blick in Galesburg, Illinois, BLICK, as it's more commonly known, sells various types of art supplies, much like Jerry's Artarama. More info, here. Sekishu washi - is a traditional Japanese paper from the Iwami region in Shimane Prefecture, with a history spanning around 1300 years and references dating back to the Heian period. Made primarily from mitsumata and gampi plant fibers, it is known for its strength, flexibility, smooth texture, and resistance to damage, making it ideal for printing, calligraphy, and fine stationery. The paper is still crafted using traditional methods such as nagashizuki and tamezuki, which involve screens made of bamboo or Japanese nutmeg and the use of aibika as a natural binder. These time-honored techniques and materials have contributed to the recognition and preservation of Sekishu washi as a significant cultural craft. More information regarding Sekishu washi can be found at Kokei Japan, here.  Akua - are water-based pigments used in intaglio, mokuhanga, and monotype.  stair treads - are the horizontal parts of a staircase that you step on as you go up or down. They are the flat surfaces where your feet land. They can also be used in different art forms such as sculpture, prints, and architectural artistic practices.  kitakata - is a high-quality Japanese washi paper traditionally made in Fukushima Prefecture, using Philippine gampi fibers and sulphite pulp. The gampi provides a natural sheen, smooth texture, and resistance to moisture and insects, while the sulphite pulp adds strength and consistency. Known for its warm tone and moderate absorbency, Kitakata is ideal for bookbinding, mokuhanga, and other types of printmaking. Its surface holds fine details well, making it a favorite among artists for both traditional and contemporary work. sepia - is a reddish brown colour. Can be found in various pigments.  Baren Forum - is one of the oldest continuous online communities dedicated to mokuhanga. It serves artists, scholars, and enthusiasts who engage with the medium through both practical and academic approaches. The forum is especially known for its print exchanges, where practitioners share their work based on a shared theme, size, or topic. More information about the Baren Forum and its activities can be found, here.  Woodblock Dreams - was a mokuhanga block started in 2005 by Annie Bissett, a mokuhanga printmaker based in the United States. Annie's new blog can be found, here. Annie's interview with The Unfinished Print can be found, here.  Saitō Kiyoshi (1907-1997) - was a Japanese woodblock printmaker and artist who worked in the sōsaku hanga style of mokuhanga. HIs fame outside of Japan was fairly comprehensive with his peak fame being in the 1950's and 1960's. For a comprehensive book on his life and times, Saitō Kiyoshi: Graphic Awakening published by The John & Mable Ringling Museum is an excellent source. Can be found, here. Lecture by Dr. Paget about Saitō can be found, here. My interview with Professor Paget can be found, here.  Village of Miho - 16.81" × 11.69" (1960) Yoshida Hiroshi (1876-1950) - a watercolorist, oil painter, and woodblock printmaker. Is associated with the resurgence of the woodblock print in Japan, and in the West. It was his early relationship with Watanabe Shōzaburō, having his first seven prints printed by the Shōzaburō atelier. This experience made Hiroshi believe that he could hire his own carvers and printers and produce woodblock prints, which he did in 1925.  Seta Bridge - 10.83" × 15.59" (1933) Tsukioka Yoshitoshi (1839–1892) was a renowned Japanese woodblock printmaker and one of the last great masters of the ukiyo-e tradition. He is best known for his dramatic and emotionally intense imagery, particularly in series like One Hundred Aspects of the Moon and Thirty-Six Ghosts. Working during a time of cultural upheaval in the Meiji period, Yoshitoshi blended traditional techniques with modern themes, Yoshitoshi is famous as a print designer for his expressive linework, rich colour, and innovations in print design during this period of Japanese history. Unknown reprint - Date unknown Echizen - is a region in Fukui Prefecture, Japan, known for its long history of papermaking. The area is home to many paper artisans. One notable figure is Iwano Ichibei. He is a Living National Treasure in papermaking and the ninth generation of his family still making paper today. More information can be found here.in English, and here in Japanese.  monotype print - is a unique print created from an image painted or drawn on a smooth surface, such as glass or metal, and then transferred to paper. Unlike most printmaking methods, where multiple copies of the same image can be produced, a monotype typically has a single, one-of-a-kind image. It's called a "mono" type because it is not part of an edition like traditional prints (e.g., lithographs, etchings), where you can make multiple copies.  Okawara washi - is a traditional Japanese paper made in Japan and sold by Awagami Paper. It is typically composed of an even blend of Japanese kozo and Manila hemp, though some versions may also include wood pulp. The paper is known for its strength, flexibility, and subtle texture, making it suitable for printmaking and other fine art applications. While weights may vary, Okawara usually ranges between 50 and 75 gsm. Dropshipping - is a business model where a seller doesn't keep products in stock, but instead sells products that are shipped directly from a third-party supplier, like a wholesaler or manufacturer, to the customer. Narcissus no. 4 - 6" x 8"  © Popular Wheat Productions Opening and closing musical credit - background noise from Madison Square Park in New York City.  logo designed and produced by Douglas Batchelor and André Zadorozny  Disclaimer: Please do not reproduce or use anything from this podcast without shooting me an email and getting my express written or verbal consent. I'm friendly :)  Слава Українi If you find any issue with something in the show notes please let me know. ***The opinions expressed by guests in The Unfinished Print podcast are not necessarily those of André Zadorozny and of Popular Wheat Productions.***

My links:My Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/rhetoricrevolutionSend me a voice message!: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/liam-connerlyTikTok: ⁠https://www.tiktok.com/@mrconnerly?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc⁠Email: ⁠rhetoricrevolution@gmail.com⁠Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/connerlyliam/Podcast | Latin in Layman's - A Rhetoric Revolution https://open.spotify.com/show/0EjiYFx1K4lwfykjf5jApM?si=b871da6367d74d92YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@MrConnerly 

This one was lowkey hella esoteric and whatnothttps://www.patreon.com/joytactics

Reflecting on the fogginess, then clarity, this meditation goes into forgiveness – forgiveness of self and others! Enjoy!   Resources: Forgiveness Journal by Erica Glessing (a blank sketch journal with forgiveness prompts): https://amzn.to/4ibGls0   Transcript (more or less)... Hello, I'm loving some interesting clearings that I'm embarking upon myself this week. It's very fascinating and powerful.   As I was reflecting, it was really foggy this morning where I live. There was this kind of eerie fogginess right at dawn, when the light comes in, all drenched in fog. It's interesting to me when fog obscures vision, when we're blocked from seeing things because of the dense fog. Yet there's an awareness that the sun is going to break through. Well, I'm in California, so the sun always breaks through. And the fog will lift, and we'll be able to see clearly.   I was just kind of looking at that way of how life brings us sort of fogginess and then clarity, then fogginess and then clarity. One of my favorite things to do in the morning is, after I'm done with my gratitudes (because I always do my gratitudes), I say, "Could you send me an epiphany today?" and I kind of just send it out into the universe, to God or All That Is. And I say, "Come with an epiphany today."   My epiphany this morning was—I don't think "brutal" is the appropriate word, but it approaches deeply challenging, shall I say. It was all around forgiveness - so here is a guided forgiveness meditation as a gift to you (and to myself!).   You're joining me here on Energy Clearing for Life. This is Erica. I built this show as a self-meditation. So we're going to walk through forgiveness today. As I was clearing things and releasing regrets from my past choices, it was really interesting to me to take responsibility for choices that ended up maybe in very clashing, painful experiences—or being married to an icky person. Well, me and Narcissus, let's just call it what it was.   Let's look at the ways in which we can heal and we can forgive. It's funny, I did a whole class on forgiveness in 2012. It was so powerful. I went through how to forgive easily first to build your forgiveness strength. Then I created a forgiveness journal, which is available on Amazon. In it, I put little prompts—it's like a sketchbook journal—and I put little prompts to help facilitate forgiveness. On the cover of my forgiveness journal, I put an infinity symbol, which I felt was very beautiful. I did it in a dark blue, starry night color. I really had fun building that forgiveness journal. I believe sometimes these podcasts and my writing are partly my own higher self educating me and then educating all of you. Maybe "educating" is the wrong word—sort of gently working collaboratively with your energy to help you be the best and brightest you that you can be. This month—or you may listen to this out of sync—but this month is really showing us in 2025 that it's time to express ourselves and shine our brightest light. That's really coming through strongly in all the messages I'm seeing from all the star seeds and sort of higher consciousness individuals I know on the planet. Pretty much I'm hearing collectively: it's time to shine our light brightly.   I'm going to go into a meditation with you on forgiveness. Just give yourself the next seven or eight minutes. See if you can find somewhere quiet or private where you can close your eyes. See if you can just breathe.   At the core of forgiveness, there's a release of any kind of victim consciousness. So we want to just own our choices and say, "I made choices. I forgive myself for choices I made that caused such challenges in my life." Wow, that was pretty big.   "I forgive myself for surrounding myself with people who couldn't see my light." Yeah, I feel better after that.   Now let's breathe energy up through the earth, through the balls of our feet. Nice, through our knees. Just breathe blue energy up, up through the base of your spine.   Now your second chakra—that's money, creativity, and sexuality. Let's just go ahead and breathe orange energy through there, or light orange tangerine.   Now let's go ahead and breathe special warm healing light to our solar plexus chakra area. Then go ahead and breathe green light through our heart chakra.   Just forgive yourself again in the heart area for any choices that led to painful experiences. Often our parents were choices that led to some painful experiences that we at some level chose so we could grow. Just forgive yourself for choosing various individuals. I had a nefarious individual in my life who was my editor in Santa Barbara where I used to live. That was really interesting. I was still working on forgiveness, and I found out he passed away. It was so fascinating to me that I had somehow carried forth his criticisms of me and let them embed and hurt my heart. And he was long gone from the planet, right? I gave him a big forgiveness for that a while back, to heal my own heart. For anyone who's kind of stuck it to you or been particularly unkind to you, go ahead and just send forgiveness to that experience.   Nice. Now let's go up into our throat chakra and just release any of the times that people didn't want you to talk. So many cultures have this feminine thing where women were not supposed to say anything. Children were not supposed to say anything. "Be seen and not heard." Is that crazy?   Go ahead—this is crossing so many cultures, and I've met with so many different people from Chinese descent, Indian descent, Mexican descent, all different backgrounds, Irish Catholic descent—children (especially girls) who were not supposed to be heard. Forgive anyone around you who told you to shut up or who just didn't want to hear you, right? Just release that. Nice. And by forgiving those who have dimmed your light and forgiving them, what happens is you heal so your heart and your throat chakra open up, and you can accept more love again and be receiving of money and receiving of joy and receiving of delight or this zest for life. So nice. Now we want to go up into our third eye, and this is where we receive telepathic communications, should we desire that. It's the place between our eyebrows, and it usually operates in violet. Let's just go ahead and run energy through there. If you have to go somewhere where there are a lot of lower consciousness experiences—like maybe LAX, maybe standing in line at the Dollar Tree, or maybe standing in line at the grocery store—and you can't really control all the different beings that are there, you could be standing next to a mom who's just lashing out at her children. It could just wreck your whole day, maybe if you were an empath and just kind of went into all what they were suffering about and what they were having such a hard time with.   Now go ahead and look at the top of your crown and up. This is generally a white layer. Some people choose it to be gold, though. So white or gold—whatever works for you—and connect to celestial.   If you believe in this view, ask for forgiveness from Source for everything you've chosen that has kind of led you astray. We all go astray and then we get back on. Then we go astray and then we get back on. It's human. It's how we are—being our humanness is going astray and then coming back on course.   Very nice. So go ahead and just accept love from the heavens all around you. Now just go ahead and ask for the 7-15th Merkaba genetic chakras. These go above your head and below your feet and to the sides. Go ahead and just ask for healing for all of that from heaven, and then also pull blue earth energy up too.   About a foot around your body, or 18 inches, just see your aura healing from the places where you couldn't forgive. Forgive yourself for times that you couldn't get neutral, you just had to be triggered.   This might represent very old karmic ties. If it's super challenging to get to forgiveness, there could be multiple lifetimes of stuff that you've chosen to go through with that individual. Or there could be a lesson inside of that trigger.   What you can do is say, "Thank you for the teachings. I love the teachings, and I'd like to release the trigger." So I'd like not to get emotionally charged, but I would like to still really get clear what the learnings are. Forgiveness can happen sometimes when you let go of needing to even understand why. It's like you  say, "Yes, I understand I'm learning from this. Thank you for the learnings. And I'm ready to release my trigger."   Now forgive yourself for those moments of being triggered, which some of them are etched. My kids and I have learned to say, "I'm being triggered. Let's be quiet for a minute and let go of the trigger and then talk in a few minutes," instead of sort of screaming at each other, you know. Nice. I'm being shown to ask for one more thing in this sort of meditation. Put something that you've been desiring in front of your body, about a foot away. So it's not in your body. This could be your coaching business or your books that you've written, or maybe it's plans to go on a vacation, or something you've been desiring to have but don't have yet.   It's something like an unfulfilled desire.  If you're comfortable with it, put it about 18 inches in front of you and kind of see it in a ball. See that thing that you've been asking for in a ball. Just send energy to that ball.   For me, it's going to be Happy Publishing LLC —my book publishing company would like to grow. So I'm going to put that in a ball about a foot in front of me and just send energy to it. For you, what is it? Maybe it's a new place to live, or maybe it's career insight, or maybe you'd like to start your own meditation podcast. Put whatever that desire is in front of you and just kind of allow it to be. Then see if it has any messages for you.   Nice. Very good. Now just kind of come back to center, open your eyes. Have a most amazing day and maybe ask for another opportunity—some new insight into your own soul's desires for you on the planet.   And what's happening in 2025 is the shine, right? That's the 2025 message. So don't be afraid. Thank you. #meditation, #forgiveness, #spirituality, #chakras, #energyhealing, #selfcare, #mindfulness, #wellness, #abundance, #manifestation, #selflove, #healing, #gratitude, #consciousness, #awareness, #positivevibes, #spiritualjourney, #higherconsciousness, #personaldevelopment, #innergrowth Here is the forgiveness book that I spoke of: https://amzn.to/4ibGls0

To become a follower of Jesus, visit: https://MorningMindsetMedia.com/MeetJesus (NOT a Morning Mindset resource) ⇒ Listen to our other podcasts: https://MorningMindsetMedia.com ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ TODAY'S SCRIPTURE: Romans 16:7-11 - [7] Greet Andronicus and Junia, my kinsmen and my fellow prisoners. They are well known to the apostles, and they were in Christ before me. [8] Greet Ampliatus, my beloved in the Lord. [9] Greet Urbanus, our fellow worker in Christ, and my beloved Stachys. [10] Greet Apelles, who is approved in Christ. Greet those who belong to the family of Aristobulus. [11] Greet my kinsman Herodion. Greet those in the Lord who belong to the family of Narcissus. (ESV) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ FINANCIALLY SUPPORT THE MORNING MINDSET: (not tax-deductible) -- Become a monthly partner: https://mm-gfk-partners.supercast.com/ -- Support a daily episode: https://MorningMindsetMedia.com/daily-sponsor/ -- Give one-time: https://give.cornerstone.cc/careygreen -- Venmo: @CareyNGreen -- Support our SPANISH TRANSLATION podcast: https://MorningMindsetMedia.com/supportSpanish -- Support our HINDI TRANSLATION podcast: https://MorningMindsetMedia.com/supportHindi ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ FOREIGN LANGUAGE VERSIONS OF THIS PODCAST: Subscribe to the SPANISH version: https://MorningMindsetMedia.com/Spanish Subscribe to the HINDI version: https://MorningMindsetMedia.com/Hindi ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ CONTACT: Carey@careygreen.com  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ THEME MUSIC: “King’s Trailer” – Creative Commons 0 | Provided by https://freepd.com/ ***All NON-ENGLISH versions of the Morning Mindset are translated using A.I. Dubbing and Translation tools from DubFormer.ai ***All NON-ENGLISH text content (descriptions and titles) are translated using the A.I. functionality of Google Translate.  

Oh Cindy!Macy talks to us about a well known (and toxic!) springtime flower, and Charlye brings her own hot (lukewarm?) takes to the table this week. Support the showSimply CaptivatingCheck it out on Patreon.com/wbahpodcast for only $5 wbahpodcast.com_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_Want to help support the Podcast? Consider becoming a Patron!www.patreon.com/wbahpodcastAdvertise with us!Just shoot us an email over to wbahpodcast@gmail.comSnag yourself some WBAH Merch!teespring.com/stores/wbah-podcast-store_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-Come Do Yoga With Macy:patreon.com/macyaniseyogaCharm by Charlye MichelleAncestor Oil and Fire Scrying Sessionscharmbycharlye.comPlay The Sims With Charlyetwitch.tv/charlye_withawhyTwitter @charlyewithawhyOur Video EditorEldrich Kitchenm.youtube.com/channel/UC_CwBrVMhqezVz_fog716Ow_-_-_-_-_-...

God has the same definition of narcissists as we do: “lover of self.” Today we unpack how the ancient myth of Narcissus ties into God's truth about pride and selfishness, and we ask, “is there any hope for a narcissist to get into heaven?”Hear previous messages and find our social media at https://WeirdDarkness.com/Church! Please share this podcast with your friends, family, and co-workers, and post a link to this episode in your own social media! Thank you, and God bless!MENTIONS, SOURCES, AND LINKS…BOOK: “When Narcissism Comes to Church: Healing Your Community from Emotional and Spiritual Abuse,” by Chuck DeGroat: https://amzn.to/4fVvSQvOriginal article: https://www.crosswalk.com/slideshows/what-would-jesus-say-to-a-narcissist.html(Over time links can and may become invalid, disappear, or have different content.)===Darren Marlar is a licensed minister through the Universal Life Church: https://www.themonastery.org. Find his other podcast, Weird Darkness, in your favorite podcast app at https://weirddarkness.com/listen. “Church Of The Undead” theme music by Epidemic Sound.==="I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness." — John 12:46===Find out how to escape eternal darkness at https://weirddarkness.com/eternaldarkness===Weird Darkness® and Church Of The Undead™ are trademarked. Copyright © 2025.https://weirddarkness.com/cotu-whatwouldgodsaytoanarcissist/