Something fishy on Reddit

[moon rocks]

If anyone is interested...here is the Straight Dope "Former Quiverfull Ask Me Anything" thread I posted about earlier: boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=738764&highlight=quiverfull

I've read a lot of Quiverfull stories. This one, by "Lasciel" just felt a little off to me, and as I said earlier, her style reminded me of Ruth. She also claims her father died of cancer, she wants to earn a doctorate in Library Science, and she has an obsession/phobia around medical stuff.

You can't solicit funds on the SDMB, so there would be no tangible payoff from creating a false persona there, but there are other intangible benefits.

Anyway. Just thought I'd throw that out there if anyone is completely bored with nothing else to do :D

I've been over at the Dope forever. Lasciel has never struck me as trollish, but I could've missed something. And although I've got some fundamentalist in my background, nothing even remotely QF, so I'm pretty new to the whole thing. Is there more that I should be paying attention to?

[lemonhead]

I've been over at the Dope forever. Lasciel has never struck me as trollish, but I could've missed something. And although I've got some fundamentalist in my background, nothing even remotely QF, so I'm pretty new to the whole thing. Is there more that I should be paying attention to?

Yeah, I've been on SDMB for about 10 years and I know she's an established member, so I'm not going all witch-hunty on her, I just thought there were a lot of weird coincidences in her story in comparison with other fake fundies we've discussed here.

I can't really put my finger on it...her story just has SO many fundie tropes, it's almost unbelievable. Although, having grown up fundie myself, I should know that there is inevitably some degree of shared craziness among us.

[Palimpsest]

I just wasted 30-45 minutes going page by page on the yuku archive to find this thread because it is one of my favorite Elle threads of all time.

http://freejinger.yuku.com/topic/6335/H ... GfeA8kfgto

That thread is amazing! :lol: It also explains why I don't remember Elle because I took a long hiatus from FJ around that time.

What is the link to Mrs. Grizzley's blog? I can't seem to find it.

I just remembered the name so I could search TAR: Possum's co-blogger was Berlzebub (Berlie) and he was real but not willing to talk. Also, I don't think (*think*) Calladus ever publicly conceded that Possum was "Ruth." He just stopped defending her. I got the impression, possibly from private atheist sources, that he had been convinced. She really preyed on him and took horrible advantage of his late wife's sickness and death.

Which brings up another question: FJ never allowed RR to solicit here, never set up a specific fund for her, and exposed her scam as soon as it became clear she was a fake. However, Calladus spearheaded a donation drive for her and defended it and her for years. Could he be held liable/complicit in the scam if he publicly admitted Possum was a fake?

That could be relevant if Mrs. Grizzley is RR -- note the IF -- and a reason to alert Libby Anne to the possibility quickly. Curious? What do you think? As no one seems to have come forward who knows LA are you willing to bite the bullet? Otherwise I could draft something up and send it as a concerned reader/lurker.

[treemom]

Calladus would only be held liable if he actually knew the was a fake and perpetuated it.

*i am not a lawyer. Not even an Internet one.

[martian]

Yeah, I went and looked up what seem to be Calladus' final words on the Possum - "stopped defending" about describes it. He did concede that there might have been nefarious activities that he didn't know about. I have questions but, considering how cruelly he was used, I don't blame him for just shutting down on the topic.

[Palimpsest]

Yes. Calludus is one reason why I am recommending that any approach cautioning LA is made carefully, thoughtfully, and probably just by one very credible person. Giving links to RR on here, SIAMN, and to Anita's last post on TAR (on the other thread) would be good too.

Calladus got inundated by thousands of hysterical messages from Gosselin fans and antis in the PennMommy debacle. That seemed to drive him further and further into a corner defending the sainted Possum against apparent vicious and malicious attacks by people of, um, questionable sanity. Reason went out the window -- in the face of pretty good evidence.

His refusal to accept the evidence for so long gave the appearance of collusion. Poor guy.

[moon rocks]

Yeah, I've been on SDMB for about 10 years and I know she's an established member, so I'm not going all witch-hunty on her, I just thought there were a lot of weird coincidences in her story in comparison with other fake fundies we've discussed here.

I can't really put my finger on it...her story just has SO many fundie tropes, it's almost unbelievable. Although, having grown up fundie myself, I should know that there is inevitably some degree of shared craziness among us.

Gotcha. I've been there since 2002, but don't know enough about the QF movement in general for her story to tip me one way or the other. Thanks for the explanation.

[Curious]

What is the link to Mrs. Grizzley's blog? I can't seem to find it.

That could be relevant if Mrs. Grizzley is RR -- note the IF -- and a reason to alert Libby Anne to the possibility quickly. Curious? What do you think? As no one seems to have come forward who knows LA are you willing to bite the bullet? Otherwise I could draft something up and send it as a concerned reader/lurker.

thegrizzleyden.wordpress.com/

This is her profile on discus:

Writer and generally creative type specializing in fantasy, steampunk fantasy, and assorted other fantastical stories alongside pixel art both in the microhero style and others

This is the About the Authors on the blog:

Maracae Grizzley is the pen-name for a writer who has been honing her craft from the tender age of six. Given the peculiarities of the Internet, she’s hesitant to use her Real Life Name at the moment… mostly because most of those who would know her would know her by other names. MrsGrizzley, Maracae Grizzley, Grizzy, Capnut Kate, Tiraleen, Telira, Lady_Goldeneyes… and possibly others that escape memory at the moment.

She is an active member on several websites, including the Fan Community of ElfQuest, the Final Fantasy Role Playing site of FFWorldzCom, and the pixel art community of Microheroes International.

The Mysterious Co-Writer is Maracae Grizzley’s assistant and partner in storytelling. Whether he will choose to make his identity known is a matter that is still to be determined, but his contribution is invaluable. They met through a role-playing site and quickly realized that they had complementary styles and could work well together.

Is she claiming to be fundie? I looked through a few of her comments and it's hard to tell from them. Some of them seem to allude that way.

These are decidedly unfundie things she is interested/involved in.

I'm willing to contact Libby Anne. Her reaction can't be much worse than NLQ's was ;)

[Curious]

Does anyone have any contact info for Libby Anne? I've looked all over her blog and can't find an email address. I don't want to post openly on the site over there, obviously.

[jerkit]

Does anyone have any contact info for Libby Anne? I've looked all over her blog and can't find an email address. I don't want to post openly on the site over there, obviously.

Lovejoyfeminism@gmail.com

[Curious]

Lovejoyfeminism@gmail.com

Thanks

[Mama Mia]

Iirc, Grizzley says she lives in Texas, and multiple other posters have offered to make the drive to meet with her. She's older, at least middle aged. C. is not in Texas last I heard, though, so none of those planned meetings would pan out if it's her.

Calladus finally admitted it was a scam?

Don't kick yourself about not kicking up a fuss about suspicions. Grifters are genius at exploiting normal people's reluctance to assume (correctly conclude) the worst and make a scene. Though, I am still kicking myself. Do as I say...

ETA: CallmeChaCha, I'm glad you're seeing it too. There's just a familiar feel to G's comments. For me, the tone is similar, but I don't know if we're thinking of that in precisely the same way. RR was less experienced in the world, had less varied subjects to talk about. Is Grizzley atheist? That seems to be a recurring character trait.

Maybe I'm just not reading the right comments of Grizzley's.......but I'm having a very hard time figuring out exactly how she's supposed to be some abused victim who needs tons if cash for her new life?

From what I've read so far she doesn't work, she doesn't go to school, she doesn't have kids to raise. The things she says about her husband are very, very vague. And mostly seem to be along the lines of " Oh, dear me, I never realized how controlling/terrifying/demanding my husband was-- but since you all point it out, I guess he really is!"

But the actual horrible things he does are stuff like suggest she go back to school once he finishes his degree, because they can't afford to both go at the same time. And she even says he didn't demand she not go back to school or anything, but she didn't know how to disagree. And she talks about how the ONLY possible job she could get was teacher-- but doesn't say why - or that it was her husband who was limiting her choices. And they got in an argument because she spends all night on line talking to her friends and he wanted her to make breakfast -- which, I'm sorry, since she doesn't work or anything doesn't seem unreasonable.......

It sounds like she's healthy, and she's not a sheltered young thing, she seems to have no actual reasons for why she can't do anything but play on the computer and complain about her husband --- but people want her out bad enough they set up an account?

Maybe I'm just missing the posts that would make more sense.

I don't have a clue if she's another incarnation of Ruth, or an unrelated grifter ( God knows there's a million of them), or just a little " off" somehow. She sure isn't someone who seems in desperate need of rescue.

I believed Ruth wholeheartedly, until I didn't. One thing my work taught me is that there are people who have far crazier, sad, troubled and constantly chaotic lives than I could imagine. And in endless variation. There are also people who just like to scam. If you think someone is in the first category - but it turns out they are actually in the second -- that's on them, not you. So I guess I am both very cynical AND very gullible :lol:

[ShesCrafty]

Does anyone remember the poster Evie Teale? I don't think there was ever any suspicion that she was a fake or anything, but hearing about all these posters I haven't thought about in awhile got me thinking about Evie and if she's okay. Her blog isn't up anymore, anyone have any updated news on how she is doing? Her husband always sounded like a grade A asshole.

[LadyBlue]

ohhh linkys?

The page she's been most active on is the FB group Bring Sonya Home https://www.facebook.com/BringSonyaHome?fref=ts. She is a rabid supporter of sending a 10yr old girl back into the care of people who abused the legal system for over 8 years to keep custody of her (& even lied to the girl about her identity). She's also posted lots of vicious comments on news articles about the case. The public group supporting the father is Sonya Is Home https://www.facebook.com/pages/SONYA-IS ... 03?fref=ts.

She's been very crafty about hiding her real location, despite apparently being open about it.

[Palimpsest]

thegrizzleyden.wordpress.com/

This is her profile on discus:

This is the About the Authors on the blog:

Is she claiming to be fundie? I looked through a few of her comments and it's hard to tell from them. Some of them seem to allude that way.

These are decidedly unfundie things she is interested/involved in.

I'm willing to contact Libby Anne. Her reaction can't be much worse than NLQ's was ;)

Many thanks, Curious. I see jerkit already gave you the contact info. You have more tact on your worst day than I have on my best. I think any warnings will come better from a fellow Admin and not a random reader. NLQ was a special case. Libby Anne may respond better. :)

The thing about Our Lady of Many Identities (AKA Ruth, Possum, Pennmommy and many others) is that she hasn't always been Fundie. She morphs as needed from Atheist (very relevant to Libby Anne) to Fundie, and mines many other genuine sad stories in other areas to present them as her own.

[Curious]

The page she's been most active on is the FB group Bring Sonya Home https://www.facebook.com/BringSonyaHome?fref=ts. She is a rabid supporter of sending a 10yr old girl back into the care of people who abused the legal system for over 8 years to keep custody of her (& even lied to the girl about her identity). She's also posted lots of vicious comments on news articles about the case. The public group supporting the father is Sonya Is Home https://www.facebook.com/pages/SONYA-IS ... 03?fref=ts.

She's been very crafty about hiding her real location, despite apparently being open about it.

Thanks! I've read about this custody case a bit when it was first starting, but didn't keep up with it. I try to keep a general eye on Elle, for obvious reasons. I admit I have been rather lax in that lately.

[Curious]

Many thanks, Curious. I see jerkit already gave you the contact info. You have more tact on your worst day than I have on my best. I think any warnings will come better from a fellow Admin and not a random reader. NLQ was a special case. Libby Anne may respond better. :)

The thing about Our Lady of Many Identities (AKA Ruth, Possum, Pennmommy and many others) is that she hasn't always been Fundie. She morphs as needed from Atheist (very relevant to Libby Anne) to Fundie, and mines many other genuine sad stories in other areas to present them as her own.

I wrote to her and gave her a link to this thread (where the discussion starts). I have heard back from her and it was polite. So I think she took my email in the spirit it was meant. I offered to help her if there was anything I could do, since we have a wealth of information she may not be familiar with.

[nelliebelle1197]

Does anyone have the links to forum where this is going on? I know the website, but not the specific pages?

[Rebelwife]

Does anyone have the links to forum where this is going on? I know the website, but not the specific pages?

I'm on my phone so I can't give the exact link, but most of it is discussed in the "Lesbian Duplex: Mrs. Grizzly edition" (or something like that).

[martian]

Thank you, Curious. Whatever Libby Anne decides to do from here, at least you gave her fair warning.

And Libby Anne, if you're reading, some people may hate this forum for a variety of reasons, and the Possum tried to play it off like a crazy witch hunt but, before she was exposed, people on this forum reached out to mother Ruth (Possum/ad infinitum) like a little, orphan fledgling. She was offered places to stay, career advice and mentoring, a professional wardrobe in a variety of sizes, furniture for her whole apartment, and money. Lots of money. I was personally planning to set up her kitchen and supply her with grocery gift cards. Ultimately, she only wanted the cash, though. She flaked out of every meeting she was supposed to have with me. And then it all unraveled. People may snark here and talk a little too much crap sometimes but, push come to shove, people here want to help.

[Palimpsest]

I wrote to her and gave her a link to this thread (where the discussion starts). I have heard back from her and it was polite. So I think she took my email in the spirit it was meant. I offered to help her if there was anything I could do, since we have a wealth of information she may not be familiar with.

Good. Again, thank you for doing that. All we can do is warn people of our suspicions and let them decide what to do with the information.

I'm not surprised Libby Anne was polite. Not everyone is going to behave like NLQ.

BTW, for those that haven't been following the saga, Callulu finally conceded that "Ruth" was a fake and finally took down her fictional story at NLQ. That took ages and, ahem, I might have been rather rude to her about the delay in taking down the story.

[CallmeChaCha]

Good. Again, thank you for doing that. All we can do is warn people of our suspicions and let them decide what to do with the information.

I'm not surprised Libby Anne was polite. Not everyone is going to behave like NLQ.

BTW, for those that haven't been following the saga, Callulu finally conceded that "Ruth" was a fake and finally took down her fictional story at NLQ. That took ages and, ahem, I might have been rather rude to her about the delay in taking down the story.

Did she take the stories down or did she just delink them (unlink to them?)? I know there was an issue with her saying she had taken them down but they were still on the website, just not easily accessible. Someone (you?) called her out on that and I don't know if she actually went back and deleted (for good) the RR entries.

[martian]

Maybe I'm just not reading the right comments of Grizzley's.......but I'm having a very hard time figuring out exactly how she's supposed to be some abused victim who needs tons if cash for her new life?

From what I've read so far she doesn't work, she doesn't go to school, she doesn't have kids to raise. The things she says about her husband are very, very vague. And mostly seem to be along the lines of " Oh, dear me, I never realized how controlling/terrifying/demanding my husband was-- but since you all point it out, I guess he really is!"

But the actual horrible things he does are stuff like suggest she go back to school once he finishes his degree, because they can't afford to both go at the same time. And she even says he didn't demand she not go back to school or anything, but she didn't know how to disagree. And she talks about how the ONLY possible job she could get was teacher-- but doesn't say why - or that it was her husband who was limiting her choices. And they got in an argument because she spends all night on line talking to her friends and he wanted her to make breakfast -- which, I'm sorry, since she doesn't work or anything doesn't seem unreasonable.......

It sounds like she's healthy, and she's not a sheltered young thing, she seems to have no actual reasons for why she can't do anything but play on the computer and complain about her husband --- but people want her out bad enough they set up an account?

Maybe I'm just missing the posts that would make more sense.

I don't have a clue if she's another incarnation of Ruth, or an unrelated grifter ( God knows there's a million of them), or just a little " off" somehow. She sure isn't someone who seems in desperate need of rescue.

I believed Ruth wholeheartedly, until I didn't. One thing my work taught me is that there are people who have far crazier, sad, troubled and constantly chaotic lives than I could imagine. And in endless variation. There are also people who just like to scam. If you think someone is in the first category - but it turns out they are actually in the second -- that's on them, not you. So I guess I am both very cynical AND very gullible :lol:

This has been building for awhile. Grizzley drops comments that make the husband sound like a monster almost in passing. There's a comment in the rescue thread, for instance, where she talks about him coercing sex.

I think what really gives me the Ruth vibe is the attitude of plucky helplessness. Ruth used to describe these situations, like the couple who wanted her to nanny for only room and board, where commenters on the blog would be all, "Sketchy! Illegal!! It's a trap, a trap!!!" And she'd be all, "Really? You think so? Alas, but I must because *reasons*!" And then Snidely Whiplash would tie her to the railroad tracks again. But she was sure a trier!

People can be such a damnable combination of troubled, tragic, and scammer. The scammers I know personally are, anyway. If they asked me directly, I'd likely just give them money or otherwise try to help, but the scamming is almost like a reflex they can't shake. I think Possum might be in that category. I don't waste any time hoping the karma train finally comes around for her - her ticket is already punched.

[Firiel]

So, I haven't thoroughly examined this yet, but I am leaning towards this NOT being "Ruth". I'm torn because it does sound SO much like "Ruth". Specifically, the sleep abuse thing. "Ruth" was notorious for staying up all night doing her online shenanigans and then sleeping all day. Mrs. Grizzley talks about her online friends and staying up late with them.

BUT. Mrs. Grizzley has a huge web presence. For years. Knowing all that "Ruth" was up to (and that her schemes didn't last forever) it seems surprising that she could be doing this stuff on the side. This is WHOLE new online life that seems (fairly) internally consistent. Which leads me to my other problem. "Ruth's" interests were reflected in all her stories. Disneyland is a good example of that. But Mrs. Grizzley has a whole new concoction of interests. ElfQuest. Pokemon. And again, internally consistent with her LJF persona and her ElfQuest persona (and her blogs). I haven't seen much evidence of her other stuff except for the fact that Mrs. Grizzley seems to be infertile and watched a show on babies ("Ruth" once pretended to be a child-free obstetrician).

She seems scammy to me because she sounds like "Ruth". She has a story about her husband horrible car wreck on the ElfQuest forum where she talks about how it COST so much more than she expected. She has the helpless, "Oh, that's bad?!" response. But I just can't imagine it being the same person because of what I wrote above. I think there is something fishy, though.

[Curious]

I'm still getting an Elle type vibe from it. I know she's into steampunk and fantasy and she has always kept a few balls in the air at once.

I haven't checked what her author pseudonym has been up to lately. The writing stuff is very Aria though, too.

It may not even be someone we "know," but things do seem to be....odd.