I’d like to share a story with you… something that happened to me in the past few days. I was driv-ing on the Turnpike and my front tire literally exploded. EXPLODED. I pulled over to the side of the road with a bit of panic in my heart… or rather, more aptly at the very least… a bit of weariness. It seemed just another thing in the long list of grievances I had to deal with lately. Immediately, a white car pulled in front of me and a handsome young man got out and offered to help with my tire. (Hello Tre)

We got to talking as he was helping me and I’m not quite sure why, but I told him who I was… what my story over the last two months had become. I saw the surprise register on his face as he recognized the name NinjaVideo and heard him say, as I was thanking him repeatedly, that once upon a time we’d given him many nights of comfort. That we as a community and as a website had touched him long ago and now here he was… in a position to help one of its leaders, and with that… I felt this beautiful warmth spread through to me. Felt that steel rod of heat that fortifies itself along my spine light up as I straightened my back and thanked him one final time. And ac-cepted his thanks for what we provided for him…

That’s life folks. That’s our life. That’s my life. We changed the world and we continue to do so everyday. We’ve affected the lives of strangers, near and wide… strangers that one day might help you change a flat, or offer you a home to stay in, or play counsel in the darkest of times. And you know what? That’s beautiful. That helps me stand… something that’s never meant more to me than it does today. For it is through Ninja that I’ve found a reservoir of strength I never knew truly existed within me… and it is through Ninja that I keep myself proud and strong. It is through Ninja that we as a community, as a society, stand united as kin.

No one will take that from us. No one will take away the fact that once upon a time… we touched and still touch millions. That we as blue and orange level members all have letters and messages thanking us for saving lives, for giving comfort, for providing solace… We have our home here, I have my home here… and it will always stay with us. Always be with us, whether we’re tapping away on a keyboard or pulled over on the side of the Turnpike.

I welcome you all to a very special edition of the NV Magazine… Perhaps once you’re done turning its pages, you too will understand a bit more of all that we are. And all that we mean.

Much love,

Phara

A Letter From The Head

Administrator

Letter From The Editor

Well here it is folks, the 4th issue of NV! For awhile it didn’t look like there would be another issue, but here it is. In commemoration of recent events I present to you a very special issue of the NinjaVideo Magazine. There are essentially two sections to the magazine, the first section contains some of the magazine team’s favourite letters to NinjaVideo and the second section highlights the NinjaVideo Forum which lives on without the existence of the main site. I hope you enjoy flipping through it and that it inspires you to become even more involved in the community.

As always it took many helpful people to put the magazine together. My thanks go out to Jubri, Chaba-zite, Fenris, Joesus, Phlebas, Kyphe, Wadswerth, Phara, Spamela, Solytaire, and SoberJoe for their help-fulness in bringing this magazine together. (BTW, SoberJoe can be credited with the fancy flash maga-zine version of the magazine.)

Did you know that the NV magazine is now a year old! I’m extremely proud that this magazine is still around, and grateful that there are still people in the community helping me out with it. You should con-sider contributing. Write anything at all and submit it to our new e-mail ninjamagsubmissions@gmail.com and it is very likely it will make it into the magazine. You can also get involved with the art and lay-out side. Perhaps you’re really good with fonts. (You could pick out something to replace SketchBlock!) Send me a PM on the forum with how you would like to help out.

Ninja has been around for two years now, the next two, I foresee, are going to be even better, hold on to your seatbelts because NinjaVideo isn’t dead yet! See you in our next issue.

Kirbz

“Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm!”

Sometimes I need to hear it in words, not just implications. So here goes.

You’re not crazy.

You’re not alone.

You’re not bad.

You are beautiful, strong, and can fight whatever the world wants to throw at you.

War, Dagnus, CrazyFreeSpirit

You honor people with your praise, those who read your works are blessed to be a part of something such as this. And this goes out to all of Ninja, every Contributor, Mod, Admin, every person who made ninja what it is today. Ninja is becoming bigger, more determined, and more thoughtful. This community is exploding with people who, when the going got rough, manned up and took a step forward, made a deci-sion to give back to the community they had taken from for so long.

Well, from a person who was that, I’m sorry. I’m here now, And I’ll be twice the person I can be, just to make it up to you. I wake up, get dressed, and think about what I can do to live ninja. Because to me, ninja isn’t just about a forum somewhere. Ninja is about real people, people who go to jobs, listen to music, read books, and speak with voices. People who sit in chairs, on floors, with laptops that might look like mine.

Even some people who are in big trouble right now.

Sometimes, ninja is about getting word out, letting people know about how unfair the industry is being, telling people every-thing I believe. Sometimes Ninja is about the Movement. But sometimes it’s not. Sometimes it’s about you, the person be-hind this screen reading this, and how I can help YOU. Do you want a poem to read? I

can write one. A short story? A novel? Do you want me to take a pretty picture, or argue with you? I’ll try and do that. Do you want a friendly ear, someone to complain to, to commiserate with? I’ll do that too.

I’m just getting to know ninja. But with the ease that people from this community have welcomed me into this family, I can’t wait to talk to ninja every day. I’m fully pre-pared for shoulder-punches, arguments, crying, manic nights supporting someone, somehow, and talking about subjects that maybe I’m not fully comfortable with. Be-yond prepared, I’m excited. All you new kids like me, you should be excited, too. Cause, man, this is gonna be an adventure.

I’m ready.

I’ve said this all before, in various places, I think. But this isn’t something that can be really described in small sentences here and there. I wanted the chance to show you how you’ve changed me, moved me, and maybe move you back. But it’ll never be enough. I’m just not good enough yet to tell you, to show you, what ninja means to me.

I think I’ll just have to do it one post at a time.

All my love,aliceelite <3

“when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government”

I‘ve hesitated writing this, simply because I wasn’t able to put words to fingers. My mind could come up with millions of words, but

not a single one of them would express what I re-ally have to say. Forgive me if everything comes out incoherently. I’m simply typing what comes to mind immediately as my fingers hit the keys. It might take a few edits to clear it up.

I started out just as a leecher. I found the main-site, and I was in heaven. Then one day I came across a video that wouldn’t play. And of course my noobish ass was incapable of paying attention to the format in which we were to report fucked vids, so I got a warning. After I had finished post-ing in the “Fucked Vids” thread, I realized there was much more to be found in the forums. I like to debate, if you can call it that, so naturally I gravi-tated to the CnD forums. Of course, most of what I do is mainly prattle on over and over about my opinions/belief on a particular subject, and leave everyone else to easily pick it apart. But I enjoyed it. It wasn’t originally for learning, or to make a point, but simply for the sake of debate on a top-ic, to get every point of view expressed. I’m not (completely) set in my ways, so I want to see ev-erything from as many angles as possible before I definitely make up my mind on anything. That’s what hooked me. With all the views expressed on various subjects, I could have that option.

It wasn’t the debates, or the number of times I got literally owned by everyone else that kept me coming. It was the diversity. The drastic, or minuscule, variations in ideas, beliefs, cultures, thoughts, the varying degrees as to what people find acceptable to themselves that showed me ex-actly how diverse the individuals that make up this site, and the world, are. It made me realize

more than ever that while people are similar in many ways, they are their own individual. They are unique. Not only that, I was able to learn more about these ideas that were so “foreign” to me, be-cause I could communicate with people who have firsthand experience with these ideas or beliefs, or at least a point of view differing from my own. While it may not change my stances on an issue, it’s better to have that person with firsthand expe-rience or more extensive knowledge to discuss a topic with.

But it wasn’t just the diversity that inspired me to stay and become part of this, it was the fact that a community was built in spite of this diversity. People of every variation of religion, social status, age, sexual preference, gender, nationality, politi-cal and social ideology, expertise and life expe-rience came together here. The world outside of Ninja said that this is what keeps the world divid-ed, but apparently we missed that memo. These differences didn’t matter. As long as you wanted to be a part of the community and respect your fellow members, then the community was open to you and people respected you. People still came back to the forums in spite of the fact that it was so diverse. They still acknowledged each other’s very existence, even when they disagreed or these “vast irreconcilable differences” that keep us sep-arated in the real world were pointed out. Then there was the voluntary nature of the forum com-munity. You could be a one time member. Make a single post and be on your way. Hell, you could make a couple of posts and then forget all about it. Of course, you never had to make a single post or be a part of the forum community either. You could still enjoy the mainsite without being a member. The admins were very open with the content. It was this completely voluntary participation in the

forum’s “society” that really sealed the deal with me. Pretty soon, I forgot about the mainsite for the most part. The only thing I logged in for were the forums.

The day the site went down, I was in a panic. I didn’t know what was going on. I believe the words I used were “It feels like an entire commu-nity has been wiped off the map.” That’s exactly how it felt. I didn’t see this as simply a site, but it was (and still is) a real, thriving community. I was informed of the “Refuge” so we could stay in communication, so I then started spamming all the fan pages on Facebook dedicated to Ninja to get people to identify themselves, so I could spread word. I even went as far as browsing the competi-tors’ forums to see if people had begun looking for a new forum to call “home”. I wanted to keep everyone together somehow. I didn’t want this to end. This was an experiment that the “powers that be” said couldn’t exist. We can’t voluntarily be part of a society in spite of all the vast differ-ences we have with one another. We must be in conflict because of religion, or skin color, or so-cial/economic class, or sexual identity. We can’t just get along voluntarily and let people live their lives without interference. Somehow, some way, we must be aware of our differences and argue amongst ourselves. The one thing this community has taught me: Although we may be in competi-tion with one another for many things in this life, one thing we do not do is let this divide us or bring us into conflict amongst ourselves. We can work together when it’s called for, and compete when it’s not. This community gives me hope for the future of humanity.

Ninja gave people like me an option as to when they’d get to watch the entertainment they al-

ready pay for. I am a subscriber to every pre-mium network that our satellite provider offers, except for the pay per view channels and non-packaged channels. However, that subscription doesn’t mean I get to watch what I pay for when it’s convenient for me. Instead, I’m expected to fork out even more money for a DVR or for On Demand service, or a Slingbox to broadcast my entertainment to where I’m at. I have to plan my day around my entertainment, rather than plan-ning my entertainment around my day. I’m con-sidered a pirate when I access the content I pay for every month at a time that’s convenient for me, even if I have to download it from someone that ISN’T my service provider or the entertain-ment distribution company. I find this disgusting. Is it wrong of me to want to enjoy a product I pay for on my terms, and on my time, without hav-ing to fork out hundreds of extra dollars? Ninja gave entertainment companies a reliable, and ob-viously profitable medium that was of acceptable quality to their consumers. Ninjavideo was pro-viding something consumers wanted, convenient entertainment, and was (I imagine) still generat-ing a profit. In fact, if entertainment providers had worked WITH Ninja, they’d probably be able to lower their prices to get more customers, STILL provide a quality service, and STILL generate a decent profit.

Now I’m forced to look for an alternative place to watch streaming content, wondering when I’ll be forced to find yet another way of accessing some-thing that I’m already paying for when it’s con-venient for me, rather than when it’s convenient for them.

- bigsexywzp

Disclaimer: The following is a work of fantas-tical fiction. Nothing in it is true. I have never done anything even remotely illegal in my life. Ever. Seriously.

I gladly watch shows on the networks’ sites, ads and all, even when they... See More don’t pres-ent the HD playback options that Ninja had, be-cause I want to support the show. I absolutely want them to make enough money to keep my favorite shows going. The problem is that they’re (usually) offering an inferior product (publish-ing lag of up to 2 weeks, no HD, ads, limited du-ration, no archiving, etc.) and expecting people to put up with it or even pay for it. Some shows aren’t available at all. And they’re doing it us-ing a seriously problematic update (DMCA) to a 200-year-old law that was only ever intended to deal with physical products (you could perform Oh Suzanna! to your heart’s content, for profit, without paying a dime in royalties). I used Ninja for stuff that wasn’t available at all, because I’m going to watch TV on my schedule, not on the network broadcast schedule, and I have cable and a Netflix account on top of that. Neither of them deliver a product as good as NinjaVideo’s was. (Netflix comes the closest with the stream-ing, lack of ads, and full-show archives, but still suffers from publishing delay of new episodes and an incomplete catalog.)

Fuck “legal.” The bottom line is that if it really WAS as dire as they claim i.e. piracy is costing so much potential revenue that they can’t make money off of TV shows and movies, then they’d no longer be making TV shows and movies. ... Huh, more Summer blockbusters coming out

next week; more shitty TV than I can shake a stick at.

Dear massive media conglomerates: stop of-fering us rotten carrots while threatening us with a giant FBI stick (ICE now, I guess). If you want us to pay for your products, they have to be worth the price. They have to be AT LEAST AS GOOD (and should really be better) than the free, illegal alternatives. (Legal) Digital de-livery isn’t worth the cost, because one hard-drive-corrupting power surge takes all of one’s content with it, and most services don’t offer re-downloads. I had to “steal” half of my iTunes purchases (which I paid for initially, and then again to upgrade to “Plus”) after I had both an iPod and HDD get scrambled, because I didn’t want to shell out a second $20/album for some-thing I already owned. Higher-quality, unlimit-ed-re-download FLAC rips were available via Bit Torrent sharing. This same dynamic exists with most internet content. Do you see the problem here?

A suggestion: a free DVD of the film you’re see-ing with your $15 ticket. You’ll double your box-office revenue. $5 for a season of a TV show instead of $20 to $50. Stop gouging your fans on prices, stop paying actors millions (trust me, there are PLENTY of good actors just wait-

To invoke Godwin’s Law... In Nazi Germa-ny, it was illegal to hide Jews. So the fuck what? Legal != Right

ing for a shot to do what they love for a modest salary), and stop crying foul when people get fed up with your bullshit. If piracy kills you, it will only be because you got too greedy to survive. No one needs nor even deserves to live like a movie star or top-level executive, and we little guys are sick of bankrolling gratuitous affluence. The worst part is, I can’t even boycott your product sales, because you’ll just claim my lack of financial contribution as proof that piracy is killing your business. I can’t even vote for people who will change the laws in our favor because your money makes sure that my only options are two people looking out for your interests above mine. This is whence the righteous fury behind our illegal actions comes.”

I’d just like to point out a few more things here, in addition to the original post. USA copyright law had no formal definition of “intellectual property” until the 1967 establishment of the World Intellec-tual Property Organization as an agency of the UN. Until the passage of the DMCA, a copyright viola-tion required, at minimum, that someone be of-fering a competing product or that they used the IP to make a different product for profit without proper licensing. The way I see it, NV has not been in competition with any legally offered products, as it is not, in fact, a product but a service offer-ing simplified access to products (all of which are someone’s IP). It’s not even in competition as a service, really, as any legally available services fall far short of what NV offered. That’s sort of like say-ing that airlines are in competition with the auto industry, as both offer forms of transportation. I guess, but it’s a stretch. And, of course, NV never charged a dime, so all of the for-profit consider-ations of copyright law are void.

This isn’t about market competition, and it isn’t even really about profit; despite a global economic recession and escalating production budgets, our entertainment industry continues to post record profits every year. It’s about information media control, privilege, and consolidation of wealth and power. It comes from this outlook that I just can-not understand: I’d rather lose a little while you lose more than I would gain a little while you gain more. EVERY SINGLE STUDY EVER CONDUCTED has found that “file sharing” and related forms of IP “theft” are strongly correlated with increased profitability. Cause, effect, or neither, “piracy” is just something that goes with the territory of a successful property. It has no discernible impact on profits, but the other side would rather see themselves lose money in order to prevent any of us from getting “their products” for free than they would make more money while some people are “stealing” their IP. It’s crazy.

Finally, some thoughts from Thomas Jefferson on the idea of intellectual property:http://press-pubs.uchicago.edu/founders/docu-ments/a1_8_8s12.html

Much love to NinjaVideo and the staff, especially those of you who are now under legal fire due to your efforts to bring a high-quality video content presentation service and wide-ranging internet community/discussion forum to the masses.

-John Horstman aka Johann7

I will miss ninjavideo a great deal. I have so much to say about this whole situation that I don’t know where to start, but I’ll give it a shot anyway.

For one, ninjavideo helped me get through a pretty lonely time in my life. I had just moved across the country, alone, for a great job oppor-tunity. My husband is in the military, so he had to stay behind at his base in Washington state for one year. I had nothing....save my car, some clothes and my trusty old laptop. Someone at work was generous to give me an old tv, but this was during the whole digital transition, and I really couldn’t afford cable at the time anyway. My days consisted of work and sleep, and the only thing I’d look forward to was coming home and being able to relax and watch my favorite shows (My God, I was a Lost junkie) even though I didn’t have television. It was great!

On a side note, I ended up spending that year alone and pregnant, of all things (I’ll spare you the details...but let’s just say my hubby came to visit once and that was that). smile My husband was able to spend some time with me and got to be there for our son’s birth, and I thoroughly be-lieve you guys helped him get through the two days in the hospital with me. I remember try-ing to watch an episode of...what was that weird show? The one about a high school basketball coach who lost his house in a fire and decided to become an “escort” with a female friend as his “pimp.” I can’t remember, but anyway he want-ed me to watch this with him a few hours after giving birth. Turns out labor is tiring and I didn’t make it through the whole episode, but I’m sure my husband was glad he had ninjavideo!

Anyway, my husband ended up getting stop-lossed and is currently deployed, so it’ll be two years apart (bummer). I recently sent him a DVD of The Big Bang Theory - Season One. Can you guess where I found that show? Yep, ninjavideo.net. So, I’m proof that your site actually gener-ated interest and income for “the industry” in some ways. I never posted in your forums, so I was a silent user I guess, but you really helped me get through a lonely time in a totally new city where I was completely alone. I wouldn’t have watched half the shows I now love if you guys had never existed. By the way, I also loved the captions that accompanied the daily lineup. I didn’t always AGREE with them, but they were always creative and funny in some way or an-other. Sigh...I am sad to see that gone (for now, anyway).

Good luck to all of you facing any charges....I feel that there has to be a compromise in here somewhere, and I truly hope you are able to get through this unscathed. I feel it’s a waste of time and resources to prosecute, when there are so many real criminals to hunt down and convict. Just my two cents on that.

Anyway, just wanted to share my little boring story. Thank you for taking all of your time to get media out to people who, for many different reasons, weren’t able to get it any other way. You guys are wonderful.

-Crystal

There is absolutely nothing I could say or do, that would make this whole thing any easier on any of us. What happened, wasn’t just losing a site that meant so much to so many people, it was like having a house bulldozed and then trampled on, like it was nothing more than a condemned place.

I will admit, I never joined the forums. It wasn’t that I didn’t want too, I just felt that I wouldn’t belong. That’s not the forums fault though, that is mine. I’ve never really belonged with other people, not quanti-ties of people. And forums for me = Trolls of hell. They scare me. I can’t take criticism the way other people can. I can’t brush it off, I never learned how too. The amount of times that I quit an account or whatever else it took, to stay away from specific peo-ple, is absolutely ridiculous. But not now.

NinjaVideo, although not being a place to talk with people for me specifically, was still an extra home for me. I would read stuff on the homepages, and laugh, and it became something for me, to go through all the little blurbs under the banners, or stuff posted up, about changes to the site, etc.. I loved reading it. I guess I could’ve always joined the forums to read and not write, but it’s the past now, and cannot be changed.

It’s when the entire site is seized for some-thing altogether extra on the site. It wasn’t for the shows. It wasn’t for the movies. It was for the people. The people that made this site, is what made this site what it was. The majority of people that went to this site, weren’t there for just the newest mov-ies posted up, or the newest episode of a show they’ve been watching. They were there, because it was devoted TO people.

Anyways, I just wanted to say, that movies, or no movies, NV was a wonderful place, and will always be a wonderful place, in my heart. It helped us, a small, young, family of 3, get through less-money times. We still can’t afford to go off and see movies any-time we want, and I think the media itself needs to learn that, most families can’t af-ford about 60-80 dollars, just to enjoy an 1 1/2 to 2 hours of entertainment. Right now, they’d rather just punish everyone else for their problems. We’re all gonna take some smacks and kicks from them, but they can’t keep us on the ground. We all learn to pick ourselves back up, and continue on our ways.

Love from a Canadian family of 3.

NinjaVideo was always more than just any other video site. Behind the massive site was a comparatively small group of over 20,000 people who were part of a community known as the NinjaVideo forums. The forum is what makes NinjaVideo such a strong force. While other sites shut down due to deterioration of quality, lack of resources, lack of will to continue, NinjaVideo grew and kept growing. As staff left for various reasons, there was always another dedicated member of the forum community who would step up and fill their role. It’s not hard to see why the forum attracts such dedicated people. It’s because it’s huge, with so many areas for people to find themselves a niche. Banter, Literature, Art, TV & Movies, C&D, Gaming, Lifestyles, Tech, there are so many areas to explore it’s impossible to say that there is nothing that in-terests you on the forum. Following are some articles about three of the biggest sub-forums.

The Forum

AntiAndy

Or CnD for short, said one way can perhaps sound pretentious, yet said in another way might sound minor and insignificant, at least to those who know not a the first thing about Ninja-Video and what Culture and Debate is as an entity and as a fundamental part of our commu-nity.

My history with CnD is no less fundamental, as though I was around during the founding of what became ninja I was more of an observer at that time, and would most likely have stayed that way were it not for the compelling and engrossing discussions being had in what was back then a single all encompassing culture and debate forum, ran by krazi for whom I had and continue to hold the utmost respect.

So in a nut shell, if it wasn’t for CnD I would most likely not be here and I feel the same can be said for a lot of people, even those that don’t actually frequent those forums general ben-efit from the atmosphere generated by the inclusion and participation in forum life of those who do, it creates a harmony, balancing often total lunacy with clear, deep and often abstract thinking. It gives us as people the avenue of intellectual discourse over many matters that other forums just cant broach at all or if they do its in the most superficial of manner and not in the expectation of any meaningful responses.

CnD made us way more than a video forum and continues to make Ninjavideo special on many key levels, thinking back to the many great discussions and hard fought battles I have had on these boards is a pleasure that keeps me coming back for more day after day. Good thing too as through those forums do i meet and get acquainted with some of the finest peo-ple on the web if i do say so myself, Only recently have people like Godeshus and Implosion made their mark, neither afraid to challenge my statements fiercely in a particular thread yet out of those discussions bonds of friendship form readily on the solid foundations of mutual respect.

If you have never participated in CnD I highly recommend it, though of course I’m not exactly impartial on the subject. It is by no means an intimidating format and given the recent drop-ping of the 20 post rule it is even more user friendly, the important thing is to give vent to that voice which is inside us all! put forth that opinion and have it tested by your peers and offer your thoughts on the opinions of others, its good for the mind, the body and even the soul if you believe in such a thing.

- Kyphe

Culture and Debate!

Literature“Words. They can tell stories, paint pictures and share ideas. They can inform, persuade, amuse and entertain. They can get feelings off chests and place them within others, whether good or bad. They can be fact, fiction or opinion but they are always powerful. There is an old saying that perhaps you are familiar with, “The pen is mightier than the sword” Although I feel it is not immediately true, (prick yourself with a pen and then with a sword and you will know what I mean) The essence of the phrase is clear; more can be achieved through words than through force. I think this is a fundamental understanding among many, especially among the Ninja community, who appreciate the importance of the words we use and that they should not be thrown lightly. Instead they should be constructed, with thought and effort, often to great affect.

The forum is made up primarily of words (as is this magazine) accompanied by some amazing illustrations and artwork. Together those collections of letters, colours and shapes can form an impression in our minds greater than the sum of it’s parts. As such, we would like to highlight a selection of these works of literature to you, the reader, in an attempt to show a part of the community that perhaps, you haven’t seen before:”

They stared at each other in complete silence, save the lively, but cheesy, TGIF atmosphere and the sound of his food being chewed as his gums and lips flapped and slurped.

She, clearly, had lost her appetite. She watched him shovel food into his mouth, mesmerised by the bar-becue sauce decorating the corner of his lips. Chew chew chew, slurp slurp slurp, pausing briefly to belch and complain about the evening’s traffic. This sight coming from across the table deterred her from even tasting her chicken fiesta salad, or whatever non-sense they were calling it. It was chicken and lettuce for Christ’s sake.

He could see that she was angry. Again. Or what she called “frustrated”, “fine” or any other “f” words. It all equalled to another f word: he was fucked. She had complained that he never took her anywhere nice or treated her special anymore and the thanks he got was to watch her pick at her food all night. He hated how she ate like a bird, slowly moving her salad around with a fork and not even tasting it. The silence ate at him more than she ate her meal and he tried to break the tension with light conversation. If only she would stop staring.

They no longer had anything in common. After 40

years of marriage they had experienced childbirth, unemployment, in-laws, and building a life together. They had seen both the good and the bad together, but now something had changed. Where was the man she had fallen in love with, the man who had driven so fast out of their home town that if she looked behind her she could have sworn someone had been chasing them. Where was the woman he had fallen in love with? The woman who was so filled with passion and fire that he couldn’t understand how her body could contain it.

These were not the people they used to be, worn down by time, by childbirth, by unemployment, by in-laws, and by building a life.So he ate not so silently and she judged not so subtly while stuck in a booth. It was as if TGI Friday’s had found a way to stop time and the couple was frozen, doomed to stare at each other for the rest of their lives. They had a past long forgotten and a future stuck with a stranger.

When they were done their meals he paid, he paid solemnly and they left without touching. When the couple left, the waitress cleared off the booth and readied it for the next party. This time the hostess sat a young couple in the booth on their first date. Their eyes showed nerves mixed in with hopefulness.

Strangers - Nephareo

I found myself lost,Void, emotionless, empty.I forgot what love was,How amazing it feels;The feel of her skin,The touch her lips,Her fingers in my hair,Her body pressed against mine.

I had forgotten how to love,Until I met you and I was awoken.A fire burning deep inside,My passion for you is so strong,It could set the world on fire.

You lift me up so high,I feel like I could fly.I hope you feel the same,Don’t be afraid to let it in.

Wading through this ocean of loveI want to dive in heart-first.I don’t care if I would drown.I would gladly drown to be with you

Baby I think that I’m falling in love with you,And when I look into your eyes I know it’s true.

Love Forgotten - Splashcoin

Free – allow meTo breatheThe air that sustainsMeMy lifeMy love

Free – permit meTo speakThe words that come to myMindOut ofMy mouth

Free – I just wantTo be meTo be ableTo breatheFreelyMy thoughts at leastShould go unpoliced

Allow meTo be freeTo be me

Free - Tiger_Vi

Zombie

I visit your grave daily. You are silent. I remember the times we spent together, they were the best I had, we had. I don’t want to let you go. I know you were my soul mate, I know I will find no other. I don’t want to let go.

I visit your grave. You still lie. Flow-ers have started to sprout. I hope the flowers mean something. I think of you always. I don’t even bother looking for another. You were the spark in my life and the warmth on a cold night.

I write of you now. A memoir of our time together. I hope to see you again. I hope to feel the warmth and comfort we shared. I know we’ll meet again, I know our love is inseparable.

I hear your voice sometimes. It re-news my hope, it brightens my day when I have none other. I know we will embrace again, I know it will be soon.

J0esus