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A.W. Pafford

@pafford.bsky.social

Writer. Haunted skeptic. Avid indoorsman. Exploring the paranormal, history, folklore, and the edges of science. D&D/CoC enthusiast. Still making amends for all the stolen comic books.

1,595 Followers  |  1,494 Following  |  401 Posts  |  Joined: 16.08.2023  |  2.253

Latest posts by pafford.bsky.social on Bluesky

Hey thank you! I took Lent off of here and less so over there.

29.04.2025 18:57 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 1    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

I told him there wouldnโ€™t be any trouble. How weโ€™d covered our tracks. But that shadow was waiting for something. I asked him again about the gunshot. Was he sure nobody got hurt. He hesitated. The shadow moved.

2/2

29.04.2025 02:27 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 4    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

#microfiction When I looked behind him the shadow was still there on the wall. Not his shadow. The shadow of a woman, a good foot shorter than him. It stayed perfectly still despite his movements as he jabbered on about the job. About how the heat was onto us. He was a worrier. 1/2

29.04.2025 02:27 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 3    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 2    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

I love seeing you all. However, I do believe in sacrificing as a way of focusing intention. Iโ€™m giving up social media for the next 40 days. Iโ€™m going to focus on family, writing and my meditation.

You can pm on here and Iโ€™ll get back to you. I will still post writing bits.

05.03.2025 18:14 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 6    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

Dire wolf.

02.03.2025 15:40 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 2    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 1    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

Iโ€™d like to be able to help people like that, but fear holds me back.

02.03.2025 01:31 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 1    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 1    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

I wonder if itโ€™s terrible for them. Sounds like hell.

02.03.2025 01:16 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 0    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 2    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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This protest photo made me laugh because of the straightforward sign, "Rat Fuck".

02.03.2025 00:10 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 11    ๐Ÿ” 1    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

I like to say I didnโ€™t believe in any of it before it happened, and kept happening. Now, Iโ€™ve accepted that Iโ€™ve done what I can medically and psychologically to find another explanation. MRI, therapy, drugs. If this isnโ€™t real, I canโ€™t say what is.

01.03.2025 23:29 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 1    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 1    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

I respect those that comes out as experiencing ghosts. I don't claim to understand it, but I've seen, heard, and felt it. Many folks are afraid of friends and family dumping them. If I didn't meet others like me (and a therapist that has experienced it firsthand) I'd be haunting someone myself.

01.03.2025 23:11 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 8    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 2    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

Diving into some new books from @quillandcrowpublishinghouse.com. I have thumbed through both My Little Black Book of Horror by @cassandralthompson.com and @almaandthehorde.bsky.socialโ€™s My Split Tongue.

I think I will be jumping back and forth. ๐Ÿ ๐Ÿ‘… ๐Ÿ“– ๐Ÿ‘น

01.03.2025 00:39 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 7    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

Oh, glad to hear it! They just arrived!

27.02.2025 19:51 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 1    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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Iโ€™m excited to get my new books today from The Crow Shoppe. I was just told they were delivered. Bilingual poetry collection and short horror.

27.02.2025 19:21 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 3    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 1    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

The tapes are free here. Iโ€™m finding it to be very relaxing. The focus has just been on relaxation and freeing my mind so far (track 2). archive.org/details/gate...

27.02.2025 19:19 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 1    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

Have any of you tried The Gateway Experience? Itโ€™s a meditative practice that was researched extensively by the CIA in the 50โ€™s. Iโ€™ve been working through the tapes very slowly and find it helpful.

27.02.2025 17:26 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 2    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 2    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

Thanks for reading.

23.02.2025 17:47 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 1    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
The beast leans close, its breath heavy with your secret hope. 
You wince, already knowing you will take the bargain. 
You will let others bleed if it means your desire, that fragile lust floating just out of reach, might flicker into being. 
But the beast deals in illusions. It is simple for him: trade pain for the promise of relief. So, you do. You take the offer. You hurt them. 
And in the hollow after, you realizeโ€”there was only ever you. Every wound, every word, a mark on your own many bodies.

The beast leans close, its breath heavy with your secret hope. You wince, already knowing you will take the bargain. You will let others bleed if it means your desire, that fragile lust floating just out of reach, might flicker into being. But the beast deals in illusions. It is simple for him: trade pain for the promise of relief. So, you do. You take the offer. You hurt them. And in the hollow after, you realizeโ€”there was only ever you. Every wound, every word, a mark on your own many bodies.

The Deal #poem #poetsofbluesky

23.02.2025 17:39 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 5    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 1    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

Hereโ€™s the working audio. bsky.app/profile/paff...

21.02.2025 21:59 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 1    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

Thanks for taking the time to educate me. ๐Ÿคฉ

21.02.2025 21:19 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 1    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 1    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
I was seven the day the blackbirds came. Playing alone in a Pennsylvania field.
The warm sun turned dark as the wind kicked up. I thought of mom's many stories of tornados in Oklahoma and Missouri. I spun in a circle looking up, the wind in my hair.
The sky was black with their bodies. Hundreds of thousands of wings. Iran toward the house still acres away. There was a voice on the wind. Never forget. I pinched myself hard so l'd never forget. Never forget. The day the blackbirds came.

I was seven the day the blackbirds came. Playing alone in a Pennsylvania field. The warm sun turned dark as the wind kicked up. I thought of mom's many stories of tornados in Oklahoma and Missouri. I spun in a circle looking up, the wind in my hair. The sky was black with their bodies. Hundreds of thousands of wings. Iran toward the house still acres away. There was a voice on the wind. Never forget. I pinched myself hard so l'd never forget. Never forget. The day the blackbirds came.

Accessible version. Text in alt tag.

21.02.2025 19:48 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 1    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

Thanks for the reminder. Iโ€™ve posted this before as a graphic with the entire poem in alt text, as itโ€™s too long for the character limit. The video ironically doesnโ€™t allow alt tags. What would be the best way to make this accessible?

21.02.2025 19:37 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 1    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 2    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
Video thumbnail

Hereโ€™s the one with audio! The Day the Blackbirds Came, by me.

#poem

21.02.2025 15:44 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 2    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 2    ๐Ÿ“Œ 1

Sorry, I just realized this didnโ€™t work.

21.02.2025 15:43 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 1    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
The Day the Blackbirds Cane - A.W. Pafford. An image of dark feathers and trees blowing.

The Day the Blackbirds Cane - A.W. Pafford. An image of dark feathers and trees blowing.

Experimentation with audio recording of my poems.

The Day the Blackbirds Came

#poem

21.02.2025 14:28 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 14    ๐Ÿ” 1    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 2    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

Just the audacity to suggest more diagnosis in any way suggests abuse while they all sat around chewing Sackler snacks for fun.

15.02.2025 17:43 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 2    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
Sometimes love isnโ€™t enough. Adults must make choices beyond it. Saying โ€œguess it wasnโ€™t real loveโ€ is naive. A fairytale told to children to explain away pain. You can love someone and still need to leave them. They can love you and do the same fucking thing. It hurtsโ€”of course it does. But everyone you meet HURTS. Living hurts, and it only gets worse the longer you do it. Live a lot, love a lot, hurt a lot. This is heaven and this is hell and stumbling between them is all weโ€™ve got.

A poem

Sometimes love isnโ€™t enough. Adults must make choices beyond it. Saying โ€œguess it wasnโ€™t real loveโ€ is naive. A fairytale told to children to explain away pain. You can love someone and still need to leave them. They can love you and do the same fucking thing. It hurtsโ€”of course it does. But everyone you meet HURTS. Living hurts, and it only gets worse the longer you do it. Live a lot, love a lot, hurt a lot. This is heaven and this is hell and stumbling between them is all weโ€™ve got. A poem

#poetry

15.02.2025 17:33 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 12    ๐Ÿ” 1    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
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Beautiful sunset and a peak of stars.

07.02.2025 09:08 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 20    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 2    ๐Ÿ“Œ 1

Antique sex couch.

07.02.2025 02:00 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 2    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

Headed out of the country. A great time to escape. But Iโ€™d be lying if I said it was stress free, politics being what they are. See you on the other side, one way or the other.

06.02.2025 13:06 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 12    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 1    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
Quantum Information Panpsychism Explained | Federico Faggin PhD.
YouTube video by Essentia Foundation Quantum Information Panpsychism Explained | Federico Faggin PhD.

๐Ÿคฏ Quantum is a pet interest. The man being interviewed is the inventor of the first commercial microprocessor (Intel).

He proposes that consciousness is not an emergent property of the brain, but a fundamental aspect of reality itself: quantum fields are conscious and have free will.

#science

06.02.2025 00:26 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 3    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 1    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

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