#52 Dark Magic

Stomping and breath spells have become an unexpected, everyday soundtrack. From ‘unruly’ children, including Pato, stomping to “kill my vibe” to the ’round’ white printer guy at UNO repetitively stomping loudly to ‘grab’ my attention, even the studio staff seem synchronized in their thunderous walk and vocal mimicry – like demons wearing human skin. They’re parroting my voice with an uncanny precision. It’s unsettling.

Is this conscious rhythm control or unconscious collective programming?

Their tactics are deliberate and increasingly brazen: rhythmic dancing, sudden movements, unnecessary physical contact, etc. – all designed to fracture my concentration and I do believe to scare me. Over the past six months, behaviors at work in particular have mutated from subtle to grotesquely performative. Foot-stomping, auto-tune humming, sudden dance movements, tongue clicking, teeth smacking, whistling, snorting – each a calculated attempt to disrupt not just my ability to communicate, but my very sense of the reality in which I am to communicate.

Each step feels designed to interrupt my “flow”and, to command my attention like a military directive. These aren’t just sounds – heels, boots, marching feet, tapping – it’s deliberate acoustic warfare meant to create a strange percussive language. They’re not just making noise; they’re attempting to colonize my awareness.

So, is this simply group behavior? Or, is the world really dark magic?