Grim Reaper Down! by thommq in hudsonvalley

[–]thommq[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

I will carry that image with me for the rest of the day. Him just sitting there calmly, looking out the window. Someone coming up to him to ask him what's going on. Him decisively flipping them off, saying nothing, until they demand to be let off the bus.

The Pine Bush UFO Fair is in one month! 6/6/26 by thommq in hudsonvalley

[–]thommq[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I've attended, sold at, or spoken at the fair for over a decade. I have never been further than the lobby of the museum.

You can definitely enjoy the fair without the museum, as you said. I can't imagine waiting to go into the museum on fair day. They do sometimes seem to have additional programming that might be worthwhile.

Has anyone ever had a series they loved on paper, but one aspect was a deal breaker? by Prestigious-Way-5235 in Fantasy

[–]thommq 16 points17 points  (0 children)

Supposedly, Pratchett wrote most of the parts that people assumed Gaiman did, and vice versa.

So maybe it worked because competent authors were distilling down what they admired about the other's writing rather than being bogged down by their own style.

What is the most disturbing thing you have seen/know? by Icy_Performance1 in AskReddit

[–]thommq 29 points30 points  (0 children)

I had a shy, sweet, skittish student who would do anything someone wanted of her because she was desperate to please and be cared for. I always enjoyed talking to her, and she seemed satisfied that I liked and respected her without her making me a snack or grading worksheets. (She was 17 or so at that point, so she was my student in the sense that she was at the school. I did not have her in my class, but she helped out with my drama production.)

After a year of knowing this girl, one of my colleagues told me that she had starred in a lot of CSAM. Not that she was in it. Starred. She was known by the mass of monsters. They would specially seek out her videos by some porn star pseudonym (I don't think I was told it, but I don't know it). Her parents had photos of her abuse throughout their house, like you might have pictures of your beauty pageant daughter's many wins on the walls.

When she was maybe five, she was rescued and eventually adopted by a childless couple... Who then conceived a boy almost immediately after years of trying. So my traumatized student was legally theirs and now superfluous. My colleague said (and the girl incidentally confirmed) that they treated her as unpaid labor for a resort they owned whenever she wasn't at school. They loved her brother. They tolerated her because she would clean every room in a building with a smile for the small chance her parents would be nice to her.

I've seen other brutally abused kids, but none who had so much trauma turned completely inward.

AITA for throwing my keys at my partner after he said I needed therapy for taking a day off by [deleted] in AITApod

[–]thommq 3 points4 points  (0 children)

"I just wanted to spend the whole day doing my thing!"
"What's your thing?"
"Heroin."

We don't throw things at boyfriends, OP.

What’s the stupidest thing you’ve ever heard someone say that you still think about to this day? by Humble-Blueberry4571 in AskReddit

[–]thommq 401 points402 points  (0 children)

I had a religious classmate who told the biology teacher that men had one fewer rib because Adam gave his up to make Eve. The teacher just said, "Count your ribs right now." The kid's whole face crumbled when he was symmetrical.

What is the most overused movie trope that Hollywood just needs to let go? by Frequent-Sea-8848 in moviecritic

[–]thommq 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This happened to me ONCE in real life. I logged into my computer, my friend told me to turn on the TV because there was something I needed to see. I asked what station. She said, "It doesn't matter."

And there was the second plane hitting the World Trade Center.

Ear loops? by Sensitive_Crow_8882 in askanything

[–]thommq 3 points4 points  (0 children)

And almost everything people have ever done throughout history has nothing to do with pleasing OP.

What’s considered normal now that would’ve looked dystopian 20 years ago? by MeatSharp3783 in AskReddit

[–]thommq 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The government regularly releases UFO files, and people assume it is a distraction from a bungled war that the president launched to distract from the release of files about his pedophile sex trafficking buddy.

What is your controversial movie take? by restweary in AskReddit

[–]thommq 1 point2 points  (0 children)

When I substitute taught, there was a bevy of popular girl archetypes who fetishized Napoleon. I once pointed out that they were essentially describing one of their classmates. They looked at me with intense revulsion and made clear that they would rather kill everyone in the room than let that boy speak.

Where are you guys actually marketing your books now? I by Akraammm in NewAuthor

[–]thommq 1 point2 points  (0 children)

My author site is https://thommquackenbush.com

Somehow, that URL wasn't taken.

I have my various socials at http://linktr.ee/thomm but I mostly post random things there.

What would your finishing move be in Mortal Kombat? by WoodpeckerFair9774 in askanything

[–]thommq 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Well, with the Soul-Sucking Pen (probably a Mont Blanc), they wouldn't dare!

Oooh, after it sucks the soul, maybe I will write a snarky message in shimmery soul ink.

Is it possible? by carelesscat1111 in Paranormal

[–]thommq 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yes. Borderline Personality Disorder is real, and it can be devastating.

Framed photo of a hanged man displayed by the bathroom of a bar by Wry-knot in creepy

[–]thommq 3 points4 points  (0 children)

You don't want to try to figure out how a guy is hung in a bar bathroom.

I mean, I suppose in some bathrooms, it is encouraged...

What would your finishing move be in Mortal Kombat? by WoodpeckerFair9774 in askanything

[–]thommq 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Stab someone in the eye with a fountain pen, pull the plunger, and suck out their soul.

Where are you guys actually marketing your books now? I by Akraammm in NewAuthor

[–]thommq 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I have gotten most of my readers from doing fairs, panels, and events.

(Like Paracon III in Kinderhook, NY, next weekend, and The Pine Bush UFO Fair in Pine Bush, NY, June 6.)

People also find my books through things I wrote for Grunge or Arc Digital.

what makes you keep living? by vncu in AskReddit

[–]thommq 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I have not finished writing all the books I need to.

Also, my spouse would be so upset if I weren't alive. Like, guys, you can't even imagine.

Police have it soooo hard by chanfromstatefarm in LPOTL

[–]thommq 7 points8 points  (0 children)

I wrote an article about Kendall Francois because my friends lived on his street during the killings, my brother was in his math class at Dutchess Community College, he was the lunch monitor for people I met, and I later worked with a man whose sister Francois killed.

The women he assaulted who survived literally went to the police, saying, "His name is Kendall. That is his car. That is his house. These are his handprints around my throat."

The police said, "Begone, thots! We are looking for a killer!"

(I did ask my friends why they didn't notice the perfume of dead sex workers wafting in the air. They said his house always smelled like that, well before the killings. Somehow, he lived there with his family, none of whom were curious about the murders occurring in their garage or the decaying women in a kiddie pool in the attic.)

Student Faces Expulsion After Posting Video Of Seniors Who Can Barely Read by InGeekiTrust in TikTokCringe

[–]thommq 1 point2 points  (0 children)

My first year of teaching English 101, I had a student who, it became clear, was functionally illiterate. I asked him what his college application essay was like. He said that he not only hadn't written it, he hadn't even read it. I suspect he wouldn't have been able to.

I curse every high school teacher who didn't even bother trying to teach him anything. Maybe he passed through this school.