Our Syndicate family has lost a dear friend.

#1

Hello everyone,

I am afraid I some awful news. Our great friend and Syndicate original Turnip Head has passed away. It appears to have been quite recent, though I have no further details at this time. Our site has changed and grown a great deal over the years since its founding, and TH has been one of the truest mainstays within our community all along. I feel this loss deeply, and I know many of my colleagues on the site staff and among the longtime users will also -- as will our newcomers who have already had the privilege of knowing them. Turnip Head touched so many people around here both on the site and on our discord, and we're never going to be quite the same.

Click here to access the obituary and memorial page

Turnip Head's brother has given me permission to pass this information along to the site. Most of us will be unable to attend the physical service. Still, we may use the Memory Wall on this page to share our fondest thoughts, feelings, and memories of our friend. Nobody is obligated to do this. If you wish to do so though, it would mean a lot to TH's family. Be aware that the memorial page does refer to TH with male pronouns. I ask that you please be respectful to the family's terrible grief and do not make public comments to criticize that. We cannot know to what extent pronouns were discussed.

This will be difficult for us to process as a community. If anyone would like to speak privately, feel free to send me a PM or contact me on discord. I would be happy to talk whenever I am available. We may also use this space to celebrate one of our site's best treasures.

#2

Damn. That's terrible news. I didn't know TH very well besides some fun banter on the Discord server, but I thought they were great and it was a pleasure to know them.

#3

heartbreaking

#4

This is terrible news.

#5

I can't process this at all.

#6

I do not know how to process this right now either. But I want to pay tribute to TH in some way. Here are the nice words @JaggedJimmyJay had to offer in accompaniment with the lifetime achievement award just last month:

JaggedJimmyJay wrote: ↑Sun Jan 31, 2021 4:31 pm When I originally decided to join The Syndicate back in 2015, I was still in the middle of the Season 2 championship tournament. Three primary sources drove me here. First was a user we know here as a2thezebra, who often plugged this site in our RYM games. Then there was our founder M Plus 7, who had started playing with us at RYM just a short while prior. Finally there was one more Syndicate mainstay that I followed closely in their own tournament game immediately after my own, where they served as this site's first ever representative. They played a tight mafia game and made everyone here proud, but more importantly they did so with the class and respect that our site has come to be known for in outside circles.

That has never changed in the five years since, and it shows in the positive vibes and the fun that they bring to every game they play in (all while being more than formidable in any alignment). They also served for a good while as a site administrator, and they played a large part in showing me the ropes there when I eventually joined the team. Needless to say then, they have given quite a lot to The Syndicate, and this recognition is well deserved. They also kick our asses at Walrus pretty much every week.

#7

This is tragic. I didn't know Turnip overly well, but I'll remember them as a fond presence whenever we did interact.

For everyone affected by this, please do your best to look after yourself and reach out to good people whenever you need to. It's normal to be impacted by news like this, and it's perfectly healthy to grieve.

#8

Sadness. Great sadness.

**http://www.last.fm/user/nutella23** · #9

MacDougall wrote: ↑Mon Feb 15, 2021 3:05 am I can't process this at all.

this

i cant

amazing person. so much love.

#10

#11

This breaks my heart. All love to this community and to Turnip's family and friends.

#12

My condolences to his family. You will be missed..
I hope every person in this world is doing well and if they aren't they begin every day of their lives with a smile and a sense of contentment.

#13

Choutas wrote: ↑Mon Feb 15, 2021 4:50 am My condolences to his family. You will be missed..
I hope every person in this world is doing well and if they aren't they begin every day of their lives with a smile and a sense of contentment.

Hi mate. Good to hear from you. I hope all is well for you.

#14

I was just starting to get to know TH a bit really, and what I knew I thought was really cool. That’s a lame way of saying I wish I had more time to know them better, and everyone here that I do know well thought the world of them, which speaks pretty highly of them. They were a cool person with a good sense of humor and a good sense of empathy and they’ll be deeply missed. There’s not much higher praise I can give than that.

#15

Oddy, short for Odyssey (or TH, as they argued with me endlessly over the love of that nickname too), was a one of a kind person and loved by all who met them. They were kind, they were sweet, they were loving. They were generous, there were caring, they were forgiving. They always saw the best in other people, always ready to give others the benefit of the doubt and second (third, fifth, tenth....) chances no matter how much hurt they'd caused them. They were one of my best friends and we understood each other so well, felt each other's pain before either of us had spoken, and supported each other daily. We were going on road trips together and doing a big cooking extravaganza as soon as we got together post-Covid.

They were special and will always be remembered as such, they own a piece of my heart and they will have it till I die.

We kept each other sane during all the crazy pandemic with music, uplifting words, humor, and just unconditional LOVE every single day. They never judged, and loved everyone. That's all they wanted in life; to be able to be who they are and not be judged, be loved by those closest to them unconditionally because they loved back just as fiercely.

YOU ARE LOVED BY ALL OF US! CHERISHED!

I tried to remind them of that every single day, because sometimes they'd forget it and I couldn't let that pass. And they did the same for days I wasn't feeling it. And man did they make me feel special.

Well don't you dare forget it now, TH. I hope you can feel the love. And I selfishly hope you can watch over me and continue being the guardian angel you were to me all these years from above because I will continue to spread your warmth, the happiness you brought me, the lessons you taught me about forgiveness, and the love I was lucky to be swept by from you. <3

I love you forever, bestie.

Spoiler: show

#16

I don't have the words right now. I've known TH since 2009 when I started playing mafia back in the days of The Piano and Rev Mafia. TH was one of the kindest and most genuine people I've ever known. It feels like they took a part of me with them.

If I have the words at some point other than this rambling, I'll post them here.

#17

This is such shocking and terrible news. My heart goes out to THs family. I can't even imagine. They were so young and had so much more to offer to still. Even though I have known them for years I felt like more recently I was getting to know them better and I am deeply saddened by this news.

#18

Absolutely terrible news. I was shocked when I read it and still can't belive it.

Started playing Mafia with TH in the Lostpedia days and I've always had immense respect for them, both as a player and a person. My condolonences to his family.

#19

Ah, I see now by what was mentioned in the Walrus discord. This is truly heartbreaking. To think just a couple months ago I had asked TH to replace into my game, it’s almost unbelievable that that would be one of the last times I interacted with them. My heart goes out to everyone here in the community and the family, TH will be missed.

#20

I am truly broken by this news. Maybe at a later time I’ll be able to express more, but not right now.

#21

I keep trying to think of what to say here and I just don't know how to express such sadness. TH was one of my favorites to play mafia with or even just chat in discord. The world has lost a great person, so kind and so fun.

#22

This is very hard to process. I knew them for maybe 12 or 13 years, since the Lostpedia days, and I hope TH knew how much I respected them, and admired their kindness,wisdom and soul. They were always a favorite BTS partner of mine, they could channel my chaos more productively than most

Their opinion was one always worth listening to.

The world is a diminished place without them, and my condolences to those of you who were closer to them than I. RIP, Friend.

#23

I’m numb. I knew TH from all the way back to The Piano, Lostpedia, and maybe even SpoilerTV. Over a decade.

Too young. Too much love yet to share. Too much love yet to receive. I’m numb.

#24

My condolences to all family and friends. I wish you all peace to bring you comfort, courage to face the days ahead. Words seem so feeble in times such as these. I see people were richly blessed for having known them. It may be difficult today to see past all this sorrow, hopefully sharing in memories will help comfort all of you in the many days to come.

**http://www.last.fm/user/nutella23** · #25

dunya wrote: ↑Mon Feb 15, 2021 7:00 am Oddy, short for Odyssey (or TH, as they argued with me endlessly over the love of that nickname too), was a one of a kind person and loved by all who met them. They were kind, they were sweet, they were loving. They were generous, there were caring, they were forgiving. They always saw the best in other people, always ready to give others the benefit of the doubt and second (third, fifth, tenth....) chances no matter how much hurt they'd caused them. They were one of my best friends and we understood each other so well, felt each other's pain before either of us had spoken, and supported each other daily. We were going on road trips together and doing a big cooking extravaganza as soon as we got together post-Covid.

They were special and will always be remembered as such, they own a piece of my heart and they will have it till I die.

We kept each other sane during all the crazy pandemic with music, uplifting words, humor, and just unconditional LOVE every single day. They never judged, and loved everyone. That's all they wanted in life; to be able to be who they are and not be judged, be loved by those closest to them unconditionally because they loved back just as fiercely.

YOU ARE LOVED BY ALL OF US! CHERISHED!

I tried to remind them of that every single day, because sometimes they'd forget it and I couldn't let that pass. And they did the same for days I wasn't feeling it. And man did they make me feel special.

Well don't you dare forget it now, TH. I hope you can feel the love. And I selfishly hope you can watch over me and continue being the guardian angel you were to me all these years from above because I will continue to spread your warmth, the happiness you brought me, the lessons you taught me about forgiveness, and the love I was lucky to be swept by from you. <3

I love you forever, bestie.

Spoiler: show

beautiful words dodo. so so so much love

#26

Such sad news to return to the syndicate and see. Turnip Head was a good person and loads of fun. What a loss to the world. Condolences to family and friends

#27

This is very heartbreaking news and I’d like to honour TH, at least as much as short words and flickers of memory can accomplish this.

Turnip Head, together with Marmot and Roxy, was part of the mafia team in Mongoose’s Film Directors with which I debuted and earned my first win on this website. I will forever cherish that experience, above all how we bonded behind the scenes and tried to make it work (especially during a 4-5am endgame when TH carried us to the win, given how I accidentally fell asleep, heh).

Soon after we also played Death Note together and I remember TH being the only player who picked up on my game goodness being a total facade and sussed me actively. It was an exemplary display of case-making gamesmanship and heat-bringing tension.

Also from Death Note I remember nominating a reaction post of theirs for the Funniest Quote of that year - it was after a resurrection - something that can easily pass as a commonplace meme, but for me somehow highlighted their penchant for well-timed humour and light-hearted interaction. Coming from TH, such things were effortless.

Beside such personal flashbacks, TH was of course a valued admin, ambassador and friend of this community. Their time spent on and off this group didn’t coincide with my own, which means that, regretfully, we didn’t interact more in recent years. To the extent we did, however, I always admired TH most amiably and friendly.

This is too premature of a loss and, again, none of these words can honour properly. I only hope they will live long in the memory of this group as a person and as a player committed to the game, but also whimsical and inspired enough to play on their own terms - best combo there can be. May them turnips grow peacefully in a better place.

#28

I am so, so sad to read this. TH was one of my favorite players to be in games with, a fantastic FEB, hilarious, kind, and a joy to host in games.

I enjoyed getting to know them over the many years. Even if I haven’t been around in a while.

May their memory be for blessing.

#29

I’m crying.

I know it’s stupid but I interacted with TH almost every day on discord. They always had a cheeky or supportive comment for my stupid Warhammer diaries. Little bits of video game or political chatter.

Maybe we didn’t have a super deep relationship but in a year where we couldn’t fucking see anybody, having online friends has provided a degree of normalcy and comfort that has been priceless. I hope our time together helped them as much as it helped me.

#30

This is horrible news. I looked through the last few gmes I played with TH, and the most recent were Banjo-Kazooie, where they not only posted the most amazing rhymes in the game, but also teamed up with dunya to do a fantastic job sussing me out as a baddie, and Death Note, where they won as an independent. Their mafia record was sparkling, but it was nothing in comparison to their presence in the community. Truly a thoughtful, kind, and deeply caring person.

I don't have the words to do TH justice, but want to at least echo that they were an absolute joy to have as part of the community and will truly be missed.

#31

I don’t half a memory on this site that’s more fun than my interactions with TH in Epi’s amazing Arkham game. To tell it in short - we each thought the other was claiming the same role (based on the meme use of the phrase Why do we fall? throughout the thread) and so trusted each other almost fully. Then I had some sort of epiphany and deduced they had spent the whole game manipulating me, that they were playing a masterful baddie game and had me doing their bidding (yeah of course that was my reaction to the consequences of my own misguided instincts!). Nobody else bought it and we eventually made up. I couldn’t stop laughing! Neither of us had ever really claimed that role, and TH was not manipulating me but they sure were confused by me.

That silly anecdote just as a reminder of how much fun has been had here, and I would think in most people’s experience, how integral TH always was to it.

You always want to say the nicest things when somebody passes. When it comes to TH I couldn’t mean this more than I do: they carried some of the best vibes of anyone I’ve met online. They were hilarious, and kind, and empathetic. They were a reassuring presence that never acted in bad faith but took everything with good humor.

I don’t feel like I’m personally less for their passing, not at all, I feel enriched and happy to have coincided every time we talked over the last 12 or so years (since we were kids). I wish it had been more, but at any rate, it was always a positive contribution.
The world is less, though. That’s just impossible to dispute. What they gave to us they gave in active waking life and it will always be missing now. Rest in peace my friend.

#32

No words I could express would be adequate to reflect properly on this.

I especially appreciate a heart to heart conversation we had about our transitions and life experiences that I will value somehow even more now than I did before. Thank you from the bottom of my heart, Turnip Head.

I think it speaks to the value of this community and displays the impact that was had that so many people are coming together over this and sharing their memories. I personally appreciate the admirable courage and kindness from everyone who chooses to say anything, but otherwise I think any method of processing and grieving is more than valid. Please know that my heart is out to everyone else today.

#33

Very sad news.

#34

I didn't know TH nearly as well as many of you. In fact, barely at all.

But it speaks to something that this thread has suddenly filled with a whole bunch of old names I (and many other current TS regulars) would not know or recognise very well if at all.

That this many people have reappeared so quickly after so much time and with so much to say screams volumes about TH and their impact on the very real individuals behind the usernames.

If that doesn't suggest a life worth living I don't know what does.

#35

I had known TH for over a decade. This is gutwrenching news. It reminds me that, as a community, we really do care for each other. I will always remember the time we spent together in chatrooms, discord, etc. I could always count on a good team, a good time, and a fun game.

I really can't believe this.

#36

Master Radishes wrote: ↑Mon Feb 15, 2021 4:18 pm I didn't know TH nearly as well as many of you. In fact, barely at all.

But it speaks to something that this thread has suddenly filled with a whole bunch of old names I (and many other current TS regulars) would not know or recognise very well if at all.

That this many people have reappeared so quickly after so much time and with so much to say screams volumes about TH and their impact on the very real individuals behind the usernames.

If that doesn't suggest a life worth living I don't know what does.

Dom wrote: ↑Mon Feb 15, 2021 4:33 pm I had known TH for over a decade. This is gutwrenching news. It reminds me that, as a community, we really do care for each other. I will always remember the time we spent together in chatrooms, discord, etc. I could always count on a good team, a good time, and a fun game.

I really can't believe this.

This is very much true, and I think it would please TH to know that this is the feeling their heartbreaking loss inspired. They were a big part of many of our lives in varying degrees for a long time, and their kindness and grace will perhaps, for at least a little while, encourage us to cling together.

#37

Seeing all these faces from the past and this talk about the strong communal bond around here has got me thinking about my own early days on The Syndicate, and a nice Turnip memory from that time.

I arrived after many of you folks had already known each other and grown close for several years, and one of the very first things I was struck with was that The Syndicate was the warmest and most welcoming community I'd ever found anywhere online. It was something I appreciated then as much as I do now, but back then I was a newcomer and an outsider. You all adopted me and now this is my internet home. But before any of that, when I was still unfamiliar and a bit shy, and trying to introduce myself, I wanted to try my hand at hosting, so I submitted a loose game idea in the basement. The theme was Fringe (almost exactly 5 years ago to the day, apparently), and it was really just a rough sketch of an idea inspired by things that I'd seen here. I did not know anyone too well yet, and had no idea if anyone would pay any attention to the New Guy's game.

But then Turnip Head replied, and said they'd also been kicking around an idea for a Fringe themed game as well. We talked for a bit, exchanging ideas for what a hypothetical Fringe game could look like. The game has not come to fruition yet, but it has always been in the back of my mind as something I'd like to return to some day. I had planned to ask TH to run it with me if and when that ever happened. Regardless, this is one of my earliest memories on the site where I felt welcomed and accepted. It was Turnip Head who extended their hand to me when I was looking for it. I wish I could tell them how much I appreciate that now looking back.

Maybe I will dust the game off in the near future as a tribute.

#38

Master Radishes wrote: ↑Mon Feb 15, 2021 4:18 pm I didn't know TH nearly as well as many of you. In fact, barely at all.

But it speaks to something that this thread has suddenly filled with a whole bunch of old names I (and many other current TS regulars) would not know or recognise very well if at all.

That this many people have reappeared so quickly after so much time and with so much to say screams volumes about TH and their impact on the very real individuals behind the usernames.

If that doesn't suggest a life worth living I don't know what does.

Same here, for sure.

#39

Turnip Head and I used to trade DFS advice. We would cheer and jeer at each other's picks by way of PM on here.

Beyond that, Turnip Head was a clever and remarkable Mafia player, fun to play with and host.

More than all of that, Turnip Head is someone I will miss.

Today was a sad day.

#40

I am so very sad to get this news. TH was a fantastic friend, amazing player and host of epic games. Such a loss.

Much too young to be gone from this world.

RIP, dearest Josh.

#41

Hey LT. Does me good to see you.

#42

Tragic news.

I still can't believe this happened.

I feel really grateful I got to meet TH and chat with them, even though it was brief. They were such a wonderful and beautiful person inside and out.

#43

Turnip Head would be overwhelmed by how many people from our long ago past, present, and right now have come out to pay tribute to them. As everyone has already said, they were a very special person full of wonderful music, love for their friends, the ability to make us laugh and expert mafia playing. Charmed me more than once to jump in their pocket! They will be missed terribly.

One of Turnip's loves was our Walrus game where everyone submits music to share. When Dobby and I ran our small-russ we had a category "Something very meaningful to you" and asked people to tell us why it was meaningful. Turnip submitted the song below and told us the reason it was meaningful was self explanatory. Read the words, listen to the song (Dobby thanks for posting this on discord) and you will know TH better:

Spoiler: show

Finally, and this is for all of you who first met TH long ago when we were on the Lost website playing mafia (they loved Lost), one of their friends in rl left a message on the Memory page on Turnips obit which ended like this, and it's how I choose to close today:

"See you in another life, brother. It really wasn't Penny's boat."

#44

This is incredibly sad news. TH was one of my favorites to play mafia with, whether as teammates or opponents. Couldn’t even think of a bad thing to say about them if I tried. Truly a great person. RIP Josh

#45

I’m brand new to this site, and I didn’t know this person who was clearly very loved and very loving. I just wanted to express my sincere condolences and how truly sorry I am that you have all lost a dear friend. I know how hard this is, and how much it hurts to lose family. My thoughts are with you all.

#46

I really am in awe at the speed at which some members of this community came together. I've known a lot of you for more than a decade and it's heartwarming to see this in such a sad time.

#47

TH's brother is going to try and livestream their memorial at noon EST today (in under 20mins)

I will post the link here.

https://www.facebook.com/1094010460/vid ... 443197321/

#48

Dom wrote: ↑Wed Feb 17, 2021 5:28 am I really am in awe at the speed at which some members of this community came together. I've known a lot of you for more than a decade and it's heartwarming to see this in such a sad time.

I feel the same way Dom

#49

dunya wrote: ↑Wed Feb 17, 2021 12:42 pm TH's brother is going to try and livestream their memorial at noon EST today (in under 20mins)

I will post the link here.

https://www.facebook.com/1094010460/vid ... 443197321/

His brother's words were incredibly moving.

#50

TH was an amazing person, player, and friend. I'm no good at saying anything profound or meaningful, but I will say I love you guys.