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3B%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%7D%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%7D%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%3C%2Fscript%3E%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%3C%2Fbody%3E%0A%20%20%20%20%3C%2Fhtml%3E%0A%20%20","markdown":"**Prologue**\n\n\n\n\"To collide\" isn’t just an idea... it’s what is means to be alive.\n\n\n\nOver days and weeks, I’ve spoken with many about The Masquerade. Some angry. Some disappointed they couldn’t participate. Others just searching for where they fit. Through these conversations, through *The Masquerade* and Sam’s focus on collision, I’ve come to a realisation... this is the role I’ve always played.\n\n\n\nAs a father, husband, son, I’ve spent my life supporting others, enabling their paths, creating moments of impact. I’ve found meaning not just in my own collisions, but in fostering them for others. This extension of my observation is my way of embracing that.\n\n\n\nI am as much a conduit for collision as I am one who collides. And I will continue to lean into that. Encouraging, creating, and amplifying the moments where we meet and shape one another.\n\nAn Ode to Collision is an acknowledgment... of my own collisions and of the opportunities I create for others to rub against The Masquerade.\n\n\n\n[Manifesto](https://app.manifold.xyz/txt/ode \"Manifesto\")\n\n***\n\n**#614 (Position: Character lying in the muck under Luci and family)**\n\n\n\nI gaze upon a family sweet\n\nFrom Fallen’s repose\n\nPursuit of folly\n\nOver family I chose\n\n\n\nJarred from this conscious slumber\n\nTripped pursuing accolades\n\nAnd stacking numbers\n\n\n\nWhat have I done?\n\nWhat have I missed? Sacrificed my youth for this\n\n\n\nAttention’s game\n\nA loud refrain\n\nDrown out potential offspring slain\n\n\n\nNow a future past\n\nA future lost\n\nPondered softly in the moss\n\n\n\nLeft alone with my own affliction\n\nMy mistake, my decision\n\nA blunder by my own admission\n\nFull surrender to this position\n\n\n\nMaking peace with what’s left in pieces\n\nUnfolded paper but still it creases…\n\n\n\nMoments pass the feeling eases\n\n\n\nStill these lines will linger\n\nDiscernible ridge beneath my finger\n\nFold again a different way\n\nTry and salvage my end of days\n\n***\n\n**#615**\n\n\n\nThe central focus of the image should be the unmasked family unit.\n\nUpon further inspection, the Mask held above them causes one to reflect on what the newborn will hide behind as they grow.\n\n***\n\n**#616**\n\n\n\nHow the two main characters are completely oblivious to anyone but themselves while the rest of the chaos around them is in progress.\n\nIf you find your person, nothing else around you exists. \n\n***\n\n**#617**\n\n\n\nTo me, masquerade balls have long been symbols of mystery, transformation, and hidden truths.\n\nThe sietch gatherings in Dune—hidden beneath the desert, filled with ritual and secrecy—mirror the way The Masquerade reveals its layers over time, accessible only to those who truly engage.\n\nSimilarly, the underground, cave-like rave in The Matrix Reloaded embodies a raw, primal energy beneath a world of control, much like Spratt’s collectors peeling away the surface of his work to discover deeper meaning.\n\nThe masked ball in Eyes Wide Shut, drenched in opulence and secrecy, evokes the same sense of elite participation and hidden knowledge that The Masquerade cultivates. Each of these settings, like Spratt’s artwork, transforms a party into something more—a ritual of revelation where masks are worn, but truth is ultimately uncovered.\n\n***\n\n**#618**\n\n\n\nThe masks begin to crack and fade, As euphoria meets despair’s parade.\n\nThe centre's warmth, now cold and far, A spiral dance around the star. \n\nThe forest weeps, the music fades, Yet still they dance, in twisted shades.\n\nFor joy was once the brightest spark. Now lost within the forest dark.\n\n***\n\n**#619**\n\n\n\nThe remarkable calmness within the chaos of the scene. A sense of unboundedness & celebration.\n\n***\n\n**#620**\n\n\n\nNuance.\n\nNuance in the shading, the characters, the masks, the background, and the forest scene.\n\nNuance is everywhere in the Masquerade and in life, but is easily missed at first glance.\n\nNuance can turn a view from joy to despair, from fear to love, and drives our perception of the world.\n\nIn these days we often miss nuance shouting at each other online, and this work reminds that the beauty, complexity, and vibrancy of life lies in the little details, the nuances..\n\n***\n\n**#621**\n\n\n\nWhen I watched Sam's new thing, it just hit me in the gut.\n\nEvery single piece of the video and production was so perfectly put together - you could just feel how badly he wants this.\n\nThe way he had cameras catching him from every possible angle, like he couldn't bear to miss a single moment.\n\nEven down to his hair - you know he got it cut just for this. And the music, the shots, how it was all edited together... it's like watching someone build a monument to their own dreams.\n\nBut here's what gets me: there's something kind of heartbreaking about watching someone want something this badly.\n\nSam's out there building this massive ladder, right? Putting it together piece by piece, thinking if he just makes it tall enough, he'll finally reach whatever he's reaching for. But he doesn't see that he's trying to plant this ladder in the middle of an ocean.\n\n\n\n***\n\n**#622 (Position: Character climbing tree trunk just above sign that reads \"EXIT\" in Luciscript)**\n\n\n\nHidden amid nature's serene, I still have much yet to glean\n\nClothes I don guide through lives once deprived\n\nResurrecting souls and dreams long left behind\n\n\n\nCharacters play amid the courts, but I wonder if I might distort\n\nWhat are these interests? What is this disease?\n\nMust I have to appease?\n\n\n\nThen a kindred soul fills the void with lore so pure\n\nIgniting a flame destined to endure\n\nI ascend high branches where sublime visions allure\n\nLifting me towards realms both timeless and sure\n\n***\n\n**To conclude:**\n\n\n\n**Collisions cannot be forced… only invited. For those who turned away, the ripple remains, waiting for the moment they choose to meet it.**\n\n\n\nEach flower below is a silent marker of an invitation declined. A space where a collision could have been, but wasn’t. Yet even in absence, they remain. Ready for the moment when paths cross again.\n\n✻\n\n✻\n\n✻\n\n✻\n\n✻\n\n✻\n\n✻\n\n✻\n\n✻\n\n✻\n\n✻\n\n✻","markdown_url":"data:text/markdown;charset=utf-8,**Prologue**%0A%0A%0A%0A%22To%20collide%22%20isn%E2%80%99t%20just%20an%20idea...%20it%E2%80%99s%20what%20is%20means%20to%20be%20alive.%0A%0A%0A%0AOver%20days%20and%20weeks%2C%20I%E2%80%99ve%20spoken%20with%20many%20about%20The%20Masquerade.%20Some%20angry.%20Some%20disappointed%20they%20couldn%E2%80%99t%20participate.%20Others%20just%20searching%20for%20where%20they%20fit.%20Through%20these%20conversations%2C%20through%20*The%20Masquerade*%20and%20Sam%E2%80%99s%20focus%20on%20collision%2C%20I%E2%80%99ve%20come%20to%20a%20realisation...%20this%20is%20the%20role%20I%E2%80%99ve%20always%20played.%0A%0A%0A%0AAs%20a%20father%2C%20husband%2C%20son%2C%20I%E2%80%99ve%20spent%20my%20life%20supporting%20others%2C%20enabling%20their%20paths%2C%20creating%20moments%20of%20impact.%20I%E2%80%99ve%20found%20meaning%20not%20just%20in%20my%20own%20collisions%2C%20but%20in%20fostering%20them%20for%20others.%20This%20extension%20of%20my%20observation%20is%20my%20way%20of%20embracing%20that.%0A%0A%0A%0AI%20am%20as%20much%20a%20conduit%20for%20collision%20as%20I%20am%20one%20who%20collides.%20And%20I%20will%20continue%20to%20lean%20into%20that.%20Encouraging%2C%20creating%2C%20and%20amplifying%20the%20moments%20where%20we%20meet%20and%20shape%20one%20another.%0A%0AAn%20Ode%20to%20Collision%20is%20an%20acknowledgment...%20of%20my%20own%20collisions%20and%20of%20the%20opportunities%20I%20create%20for%20others%20to%20rub%20against%20The%20Masquerade.%0A%0A%0A%0A%5BManifesto%5D(https%3A%2F%2Fapp.manifold.xyz%2Ftxt%2Fode%20%22Manifesto%22)%0A%0A***%0A%0A**%23614%20(Position%3A%20Character%20lying%20in%20the%20muck%20under%20Luci%20and%20family)**%0A%0A%0A%0AI%20gaze%20upon%20a%20family%20sweet%0A%0AFrom%20Fallen%E2%80%99s%20repose%0A%0APursuit%20of%20folly%0A%0AOver%20family%20I%20chose%0A%0A%0A%0AJarred%20from%20this%20conscious%20slumber%0A%0ATripped%20pursuing%20accolades%0A%0AAnd%20stacking%20numbers%0A%0A%0A%0AWhat%20have%20I%20done%3F%0A%0AWhat%20have%20I%20missed%3F%20Sacrificed%20my%20youth%20for%20this%0A%0A%0A%0AAttention%E2%80%99s%20game%0A%0AA%20loud%20refrain%0A%0ADrown%20out%20potential%20offspring%20slain%0A%0A%0A%0ANow%20a%20future%20past%0A%0AA%20future%20lost%0A%0APondered%20softly%20in%20the%20moss%0A%0A%0A%0ALeft%20alone%20with%20my%20own%20affliction%0A%0AMy%20mistake%2C%20my%20decision%0A%0AA%20blunder%20by%20my%20own%20admission%0A%0AFull%20surrender%20to%20this%20position%0A%0A%0A%0AMaking%20peace%20with%20what%E2%80%99s%20left%20in%20pieces%0A%0AUnfolded%20paper%20but%20still%20it%20creases%E2%80%A6%0A%0A%0A%0AMoments%20pass%20the%20feeling%20eases%0A%0A%0A%0AStill%20these%20lines%20will%20linger%0A%0ADiscernible%20ridge%20beneath%20my%20finger%0A%0AFold%20again%20a%20different%20way%0A%0ATry%20and%20salvage%20my%20end%20of%20days%0A%0A***%0A%0A**%23615**%0A%0A%0A%0AThe%20central%20focus%20of%20the%20image%20should%20be%20the%20unmasked%20family%20unit.%0A%0AUpon%20further%20inspection%2C%20the%20Mask%20held%20above%20them%20causes%20one%20to%20reflect%20on%20what%20the%20newborn%20will%20hide%20behind%20as%20they%20grow.%0A%0A***%0A%0A**%23616**%0A%0A%0A%0AHow%20the%20two%20main%20characters%20are%20completely%20oblivious%20to%20anyone%20but%20themselves%20while%20the%20rest%20of%20the%20chaos%20around%20them%20is%20in%20progress.%0A%0AIf%20you%20find%20your%20person%2C%20nothing%20else%20around%20you%20exists.%26%23x20%3B%0A%0A***%0A%0A**%23617**%0A%0A%0A%0ATo%20me%2C%20masquerade%20balls%20have%20long%20been%20symbols%20of%20mystery%2C%20transformation%2C%20and%20hidden%20truths.%0A%0AThe%20sietch%20gatherings%20in%20Dune%E2%80%94hidden%20beneath%20the%20desert%2C%20filled%20with%20ritual%20and%20secrecy%E2%80%94mirror%20the%20way%20The%20Masquerade%20reveals%20its%20layers%20over%20time%2C%20accessible%20only%20to%20those%20who%20truly%20engage.%0A%0ASimilarly%2C%20the%20underground%2C%20cave-like%20rave%20in%20The%20Matrix%20Reloaded%20embodies%20a%20raw%2C%20primal%20energy%20beneath%20a%20world%20of%20control%2C%20much%20like%20Spratt%E2%80%99s%20collectors%20peeling%20away%20the%20surface%20of%20his%20work%20to%20discover%20deeper%20meaning.%0A%0AThe%20masked%20ball%20in%20Eyes%20Wide%20Shut%2C%20drenched%20in%20opulence%20and%20secrecy%2C%20evokes%20the%20same%20sense%20of%20elite%20participation%20and%20hidden%20knowledge%20that%20The%20Masquerade%20cultivates.%20Each%20of%20these%20settings%2C%20like%20Spratt%E2%80%99s%20artwork%2C%20transforms%20a%20party%20into%20something%20more%E2%80%94a%20ritual%20of%20revelation%20where%20masks%20are%20worn%2C%20but%20truth%20is%20ultimately%20uncovered.%0A%0A***%0A%0A**%23618**%0A%0A%0A%0AThe%20masks%20begin%20to%20crack%20and%20fade%2C%20As%20euphoria%20meets%20despair%E2%80%99s%20parade.%0A%0AThe%20centre's%20warmth%2C%20now%20cold%20and%20far%2C%20A%20spiral%20dance%20around%20the%20star.%26%23x20%3B%0A%0AThe%20forest%20weeps%2C%20the%20mu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