I cannot get over this absolute banger of a front cover.

First we have Odasaku front and center, and then there's Dazai - split between side A and side B - right above him. There's a clear, jarring difference with Beast!Dazai's dead eyes, bruised skin, while almost drowning in bandages, compared to Main!Dazai's mischievous grin.

Their worlds are such vast contrasts to each other, and yet Odasaku remains unchaging in both, especially in appearance. Same old striped-shirt, beige-coat wearing Oda.

And then there's the cards. Someone made a really good tweet about the meaning of every card (here's the link) but basically, Beast!Dazai has cards that symbolise commitment and death - which greatly connects with the fact his main goal in the Beast world is making Odasaku stay alive, a plan that probably started way before he was fifteen - while Main!Dazai has cards that express genuine self, freedom, acceptance, and personal growth. Development that we see in the main story, nearly growing alongside him sometimes.

Now if that isn't a knife to the gut, I don't know what is.

Oh wait. I do.

The future of the Beast world. The frames that have Dazai and Oda's confrontation, where everything came crashing down until the jaw-dropping finale in Beast. I absolutely hate how I'm still not mentally, emotionally, of even physically recovered from this scene.

How can I when Oda described Dazai as a child about to cry 😭

Anyways, my parting words is that I wanna imagine the burnt page in Oda's hand signifies that because of Beast!Dazai's intervention, he "burnt a page" about the good relationship they could have had. For him to survive, Dazai made himself be the enemy in the Beast world and made something of a good world that still feels emptier than the original one.

🥲✌️

Foreshadowing

haha get it he probably died so his final resting place is the resting grou-

The foreshadowing throughout Quirrel's dialogue is so perfectly done that I just have to talk about it. (Below the cut. This is a long one.)

As seen in the above image and below quote, an instance of such foreshadowing.

"The city looks to be built into an enormous cavern, and the rain pours down from cracks in the stone above.

There must be a lot of water up there somewhere. I suppose, if the cave roof stayed strong this long, it should hold for us.

Before I leave this Kingdom, I'd like to see where all that water comes from. What a sight it must be!"

As we know, the rain comes from Blue Lake. And I must agree, what a sight it is!

Circled location is Quirrel

It is also proved by a quote I obtained [here], where Ari Gibson himself states:

"The only area that I can think of that exists purely for narrative reasons is the Blue Lake, which is above the raining city. And it's only there because there's all this rain falling on the city, and I just couldn't bear the idea that we didn't explain where this rain was coming from. So we put this big lake above it."

Quirrel's final location he is seen at is Blue Lake, without Monomon's mask atop his head, sat down on the ground and gazing out over the gorgeous lake.

The final location before his implied death, his second and final departure of hallownest, fulfilling his wish to see the source of the rain before he leaves.

"To persevere in this ruin, that old nail alone just won't be enough. Though that's no problem! One only has to look around.

Plenty have come before us and most have met their grisly end, many more equipped than you and I.

I'm sure they wouldn't mind were a fellow explorer to relieve them of their tools. It's a kindness really. The dead shouldn't be burdened with such things."

Quirrel's death (although uncertain if he truly died as stated by one of the devs themselves, saying "we don't know," but that is a topic for another time), or rather, his nail in the ground, is foreshadowed by the above dialogue.

Quirrel believes that a weapon is a burden to oneself when dead, encouraging the Knight to pick up a stronger weapon they may find.

Upon the re-entry of Blue Lake after the Knight has spoken to Quirrel, they will discover that he seems to have left the area, the remaining evidence of his existence there being his nail, which looks intentionally stuck into the ground, tempting one to grab it and use it to its fullest potential. After all, Quirrel would not want to be burdened by his own weapon much like past explorers have been. Whether he drowned himself, withered away of old age, or had been killed by enemies, it must have been intentional due to his nail's placement.

Free from the burdens of his weapon. Of surviving. Of life. He had lived life to the fullest and had seen all that the world has offered him, his mind freed from the awful events in between.

"All tragedy erased. I see only wonders..."

That is not the end, by the way. Although it is the perfect quote to end on, I still have the random tidbits of info he remembers to cover.

"What is this feeling?... So familiar. Drawn forward yet repelled.

And those shapes upon the door...To gaze directly at them turns my mind to fog."

"That lake... a revered presence once slept deep within...

Did it? What would make me think such things?"

"There is a city nearby, the old capital of Hallownest. I've heard a Nailsmith resides there. Seek the old bug out and you may find progress that much easier."

"...Who was it that told me of the Nailsmith? I can't even remember, yet I can almost picture the smith himself..."

For someone who is exploring Hallownest along a similar path to your own journey, he seems to know some pieces of knowledge in regards to the kingdom, whether he tells the Knight of the nailsmith, or the thought of Unn being locked within his mind.

The Knight later discovers that Quirrel has been in Hallownest before, although his memory of the place is mostly blank.

"Did she call you too then? I realise it's no coincidence we arrive together.

Though much of my memory is blank, this place I recall."

Quirrel had taken part in the Teacher's sacrifice to become a seal upon the Black Egg Temple, although he cannot recall the event, thus showing he has lived in Hallownest once, but remembers nothing but small fragments of information, the tragedy of the infection blocked from his memory upon departure.

"Twice I've seen this world and though my service may have stripped the first experience from me, I'm thankful I could witness its beauty again."

ok NOW I will end with the line.

"To live an age, yet remember so little... Perhaps I should be thankful?

All tragedy erased. I see only wonders..."

Ah, foreshadowing. A beautiful thing.

it still annoys me that legacies pushed so hard for hope to have biological children. first of all, you’d think that they wouldn’t make getting pregnant and popping out babies the main thing for a 19 year old girl to look forward to in life. secondly, the found family trope is one of the few things that was consistent throughout the seasons and this could’ve been the perfect time to actually follow through on it beyond the “your friends can be your family” notion.

imagine how meaningful it would be for hope to adopt a child? she grew up in a household were family was everything, specifically blood family. said blood family members, no matter how you put it, essentially move on in their lives, leaving her in the dust. in s1 there’s a specific scene that could’ve been a seed planted for this.

https://youtu.be/uU5pYTgbqeQ?si=tO7UvEDppd6SJz6G

hope: a crew isn’t the same. family is always and forever.

rafael: landon isn’t my blood, but he is my brother. maybe you should try doubling down on friends to make up for the family you don’t have.

hope disregards rafael and landons relationship completely in favor of the the mere idea of landon reconnecting with his biological mother. despite the fact that rafael was shown to be completely devoted to landon’s happiness and over all well being, hope tells rafael that it essentially doesn’t matter because no matter the fact that seylah presumably abandoned landon, she’s blood so she’s automatically more important.

rafaels response was really something hope needed to hear. he clearly wasn’t ONLY talking about klaus and hayley when referencing hopes lack of a familial unit. hope was preaching about “always and forever” as if she’s ever truly benefited from it. she hadn’t spoken to the mikaelsons in years by time that scene had happened, yet she clings to the idea of her blood relatives while pushing away the friends that showed much more regard for her happiness than the mikaelsons ever did in legacies.

a few decades along the line i can totally see hope finding a child struggling with their power and taking them under her wing. whenever i think of hopes future in terms of family, i always imagine a yennefer/circi type situation. hope changing the world for the better with her magic like she’s always wanted and exploring her power to its fullest potential yet still feeling empty. being one of the most powerful people alive but being lonely at the top. eventually on her travels she finds a young girl abandoned by her coven and angry at the world and decides to take her in. she nurtures the child the same way she wishes she was. promises to not make the same mistakes her parents did, despite loving her obviously, and doesn’t. eventually it would lead to her adopting more children throughout her immortal life.

i have no qualms about hope seeking out motherhood because it does make sense for her seeing how family oriented she is. i do however have a problem with it being done it a way that is (in my opinion) slightly distasteful and stunts her growth.

Prompt: Eddie realizing he has a big, fat crush on Steve before the upside down. Eddie swooning about his character development.

(decided to put the two together and created this atrocity)

Eddie Munson trying not to be a basic fucking bitch (and failing spectacularly)

aka

5 times Eddie denies having a crush on King Steve and + 1 time he can't anymore

Ao3

1.

Eddie Munson is a lot of things. If you ask most people in Hawkins, the first answer that comes (comes haha) to their mind will probably be "freak". Maybe "the dude who repeated the same year like 5 times" if they are feeling a bit more creative WHICH HE ALWAYS FINDS A BIT IRONIC BECAUSE IT WAS ONLY TWO TIMES AND MATHS IS ACTUALLY HIS BEST SUBJECT SO FUCK YOU TOO. Mayhaps even "satanic cult leader" if you go to the right places and the hypothetical person you are asking is particularly depressed over the knowledge that they will forever be stuck in this piece of shit that is more commonly known as Hawkins that day.

That is all to say that he is not "normal" or "boring" or god forbids "pleasant". In case you haven't noticed, Eddie Munson is weird. He is a weirdo. He doesn't fit in and, most importantly, he doesn't want to fit in. Have you ever seen him without badass eyeliner and rings (even including a replica of the ring)?! No. He can assure you that you haven't, because he'd rather hang himself on one of his guitar strings than allow that to happen. That's weird. So when he first notices your highness King Steve, he simply...doesn't.

His teachers always tell him that he is "so terribly obtuse" and "just refuses to know the simplest things"?! Well, jokes on you Angela, because he will be using this "stupidity" to its fullest potential now. Fuck you too.

No, his eyes do not automatically focus on popular jock Steve Harrington when he walks down the halls like every other girl in his vicinity because he is the self-proclaimed Hawkins freak, which means that he can't have the same taste as a fucking cheerleader. No, he does not care that Steve's hair looks ridiculously fluffy and he does not want to run his fingers through it and he does not give a fuck about his stupid perfect skin and even stupider stupid moles. If he needs forever to choose his outfit when he is going to the Harrington's in the weekend it is only because a rich clientele requires a little more effort, and if he very obviously stares when it is Steve's turn on the keg stand and beer is dripping down his body and his shirt rides up revealing a sliver of toned skin it is only because there is nothing else interesting to look at. Really, it's like watching a dissection - nothing other than vague curiosity and scientific detachment.

It is quite simple, actually. As long as he doesn't acknowledge that it is happening, it isn't. He is like Gandalf, but instead of smiting Balrogs he can keep living in a comfortable world where everything keeps it's natural order and the freak does not have a fucking embarrassing crush on stupid hot royalty.

2.

Sometimes Eddie really wishes his body was more into personality. Because having Steve spray paint "NANCY THE SLUT WHEELER" on the cinema should not fulfill all his bad boy fantasies (and it DOESN'T FUCK YOU HE IS GANDALF THE WHITE AND LIFE IS HIS CAMPAIGN SO IF HE SAYS THAT STEVE HARRINGTON ISN'T HOT HE FUCKING ISN'T)

He even considers inviting Nancy to Hellfire Club so he can pretend the heat that fills his body is righteous anger and not...something else. But she is a prissy and is probably going to be the valedictorian when she graduates without repeating even once - which is basically one of the unsaid prerequisites to join his awesome club and truly it's those losers that waste their time actually studying that are really missing out and he feels sorry for them - so he doesn't.

(But he did consider it for a second, which is a thought that is scary enough on its own. So maybe the BBEG in his next campaign is an obnoxious Type-A Half-Goblin who always carries stupidly thick books around to seem smarter than she really is. He never said he wasn't petty.)

3.

This is a grandiose occasion. An event he didn't think he'd ever have the joy to see in his lifetime. A major shift in the world as everyone thought to know it. A-

"Don't you think you are exaggerating a bit?", Gareth The Traitor whose paladin will definitely be dying in the next campaign interrupts his riveting speech. Eddie jumps onto the table and leans forward until they are almost nose to nose. "Exaggerating? EXAGGERATING?! Gareth, bless your innocent little soul, JUST TAKE A FUCKING LOOK AT HIM"

The "him" in question is Steve "The Hair" Harrington. Although, if things continue the way they are he might have to change his moniker to "pathetic" or "Lucifer" (it has double meaning: one because he is one of the hellish dukes that do their best to turn this already shitty place into actual purgatory, and two: because he just had a very dramatic fall from grace of epic proportions - see he can do religious bullshit, he just refuses to parrot the homophobic nonsense his teachers keep spewing.)

He sees the jock table leer at its previously adored ruler in the least covert way possible and laugh in an obnoxiously fake fashion. They also seem a bit more pathetic, he thinks, without a king to guide them, someone to gravitate towards.

Steve "Lucifer" Harrington (no the name has nothing to do with the fact that Lucifer was supposedly one of the most beautiful angels fuck you fuck you fuck you) is - and Eddie can't believe he is currently saying this - a truly pathetic sight. The most pathetic wet little kitten to ever pathetic. If said kitten had also gotten his ass kicked by an even tinier kitten, which really only adds to the whole "pathetic" thing he's got going. The pitiful sight becomes even worse when Nancy fucking Wheeler (aka Nancillot the Odious) and that weird Byers kid she's started dragging around everywhere (who coincidentally is also the one who punched the fallen angel in the fucking face) arrive and Steve's eyes light the fuck up as if she hung not only the moon but also the sun and the stars and the whole fucking world while she was at it to boot.

(His smile is different. Less harsh and sharp and more genuine. It makes his face look... softer, even with the bruises that are still healing aAND HE DID NOT JUST THINK THAT NO NO SOMEONE IS MIND CONTROLLING HIM OR SOMETHING EVIL THOUGHTS I BANISH THEE BACK TO WHERE TOU CAME FROM)

"You are blushing", Gareth lies like a fucking liar, and Eddie is already looking forward to their next D&D session.

4.

He hates to admit it when he is wrong, but maybe Gareth was right. Maybe he was truly exaggerating a tiny bit the previous year, because it looks like a small stumble in comparison to whatever the fuck is going on now. It is the same image as last year, except so much fucking worse.

Whoever he pissed off this time makes what Byers did to him seem like a tender caress. He is still hanging out with Nancy (except that she is now his ex-girlfriend who cheated on him but he is obviously still in love with) and Jonathan Byers (except that he is the guy his ex-girlfriend cheated on him with and now her current new boyfriend). The jocks are still being obnoxious, but his throne has officially been taken over by a cruel new emperor who makes Steve look like an adorable yapping little puppy in comparison. Not that that is an especially challenging achievement at the moment.

Luckily he has Gareth, his trusted right hand man, to stop him from straying from the right path. Every time he catches him staring at the fallen god (which he only does out of schadenfreude and pity, of course) the other elbow checks him so hard he almost falls out from his chair. Gareth also looks very judgemental when he presents his new NPC, Sir Stefano the Great, the next campaign. But everyone else loves him so fuck Gareth.

(4.5

There is no 4.5 because Steve Harrington working in his slutty little sailor outfit simply does not exist. Steve Harrington? Disappeared from his mind as soon as he graduated. Sailors? Never heard of them, definitely doesn't sound kinky or anything. A sudden obsession with scoops ahoy? It is very hot and US Butterscotch is just very....delicious. (Steve Harrington in a slutty sailor uniform does not exist. Steve Harrington in as lutty sailor uniform can't hurt you)

It is worth every single overpriced dollar)

5.

Eddie really thought he had escaped him. The Hair graduated from Highschool and the mall where he worked burnt down and any Steve Harrington-related thoughts were extinguished with it.

Or that is what should have happened, if it wasn't for fucking Henderson. The first day of the year he looks at those sad-looking little faces and already knows that he will be guiding them through a-many adventures (while having a grand old time mercilessly murdering their characters.) The little shits are actually smart and will probably never have to repeat a single year, and even worse, one of them is a fucking basketball player. But they have a meeting about it and Eddie is systematically and democratically outvoted (which he takes in stride, he isn't a tyrannical ruler like some others. Fuck respect for the dead or whatever) and so they are allowed to join even though they break TWO of the unspoken rules.

And that would've been fine.

EXCEPT FOR THE PART WHERE THEY FORGOT TO MENTION THAT THEY ARE SOMEHOW FRIENDS WITH FUCKING STEVE THE KING HARRINGTON.

This mind-blowing fact is soon followed by the even more shocking revelation that a) King Steve apparently BABYSITS (don't think about that one too hard don't think about that one too hard) and b) the kids worship the fucking ground he walks on.

He would've thrown them out again for this heinous crime alone, but Henderson somehow has managed to crawl his way into the black rotten hole he calls his heart and the way the Wheeler kid keeps obviously trying to copy him is admittedly very flattering, so he doesn't (he is glad to see that that particular bloodline still has some hope.)

(No, Gareth, the reason has nothing to do with how 'he would have to kick himself from his own club' or some bullshit shut your lying little mouth. And yes, the fact that his sudden fascination with movies coincides with the day he found out Harrington is now working on Family Video is absolutely a mere coincidence. Fuck you. Better start working on a new character.)

+1

He was trying really fucking hard ok?!

Eddie Munson's list of achievements is laughably short in comparison to his failures, but if there is one thing he is proud of is that he is into boys but somehow managed to dodge the bullet that is having a crush on fucking Steve Harrington

(okay, maybe the bullet grazed him a little bit. Whatever. It barely counts.)

The worst part of this whole thing isn't being called a mass murderer. Or the way Chrissy's body twisted in ways it should not be able to before she died in his trailer. Or even the fucking monsters from another dimension that would love nothing more than take a bite out of him like some particularly gangly snack (something he would be very onboard with in most other situations) No, the actual worst thing is that Dustin is fucking right.

Steve does deserve to have the ground kissed he walked on - and he doesn't even need to take off his shirt for that (although it doesn't hurt.)

Before the bat he can still somehow talk himself out of it. So what if he ogles a bit when Steve takes off his shirt? It's not a fucking crime to have EYES, is it?! So what if he is in awe when Steve doesn't even hesitate before jumping into the same lake where a boy just died hours ago? He can admire another man's virtues without being in love with him or something. (Oh God please don't let him be in love with Steve fucking Harrison, he will never live this down.)

When they arrive in the Upside Down, Steve is dying. There are so many bats crowding around his body the boy himself is barely visible, and it is in that moment that he admits it.

He imagines a world where he doesn't try to catch a glimpse of that stupid floofy hair whenever he picks up the kids to drive them home. He imagines a forced customer-service smile instead of a flirty wink that gives way to an embarrassed apology when Steve realizes that long hair does not equal girl. He imagines barely having time to get to know the real Steve before he is just gone and is surprised at how much the thought hurts. 

It also helps when he BITES OFF THE BAT'S FUCKING HEAD LIKE OZZY OSBOURNE OR SOMETHING AND WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK THAT WAS SO METAL?!?!?!?!?!?! AND WHY THE FUCK DID HE THINK THAT A DIRTY SHIRTLESS STEVE WOULD SOMEHOW BE LESS WORSE THAN A DIRTY SHIRTLESS STEVE WEARING HIS BATTLE VEST?!

So yeah, he can finally admit it now. He is a fucking basic bitch and he does have a crush on Steve Harrington like everyone else who lives in Hawkins and is into boys and maybe Gareth was right and he has been into him for years. Fucking sue him.

Earlier, I made an untagged post on my main about Noah's character after chapter 5 and the beginning of 6, and was surprised it got a few likes and reblogs from people who don't follow me. If there's actually demand for Noah character analysis I can do much better, so here's a longer analysis of Noah's story up to the beginning of chapter 6!

Spoilers below the cut, obviously. Also, please note that I haven't played much more than the beginning of chapter 6, so please no spoilers for the rest of the game!

In my original post, I said that Noah has the potential to be a selfish person. Here I'll take it one step further and say that Noah is a selfish person, it's literally his fatal flaw in N's case. He would rather give in and stop fighting for a better world to accept the world as it is if he can live a comfortable life with M, even if it means hurting other people and M herself. This is what Z calls the endless now.

Like N, Noah hates to fight, it's his natural instinct to avoid fighting, to surrender to the path of least resistance. The first time you really see this flaw is during the flashback where he got lucky seven from Riku. Noah lies to others about not being able to summon his weapons to avoid fighting. Riku calls Noah out by accusing him of wanting his friends to die, the natural outcome of rolling over and accepting what's coming at them rather than fighting back. Even after Riku gives Noah lucky seven, he still refuses to draw it in battle, he's letting it sit in its scabbard, not fighting with the full extent of his power.

The first time Noah uses lucky seven, to cut colony 4's flame clock, is a deeply significant moment for Noah's character. It represents the first time Noah's truly chosen to fight back. I don't think it's a coincidence that Noah uses it to destroy the flame clocks. Clocks display the present, the now, by destroying one with lucky seven Noah is metaphorically cleaving through the endless now, choosing to fight over rolling over and accepting Moebius's present.

Even after this moment, and after Noah starts to use lucky seven to cut through other colonies flame clocks, he's not really giving it his all. If he uses lucky seven, it's just briefly pulling it from its scabbard for an attack or to slice a clock. It's an improvement over not using it at all, but it shows that Noah is still holding back.

Another aspect of Noah's character that indicates his selfish nature is his relationship with death. Noah says that the reason he became an offseer was because he had to know the meaning of the smile he had seen on multiple people as they died. Noah thinks it's a smile of pity, because they get to move on, to leave behind the violence and chaos of the world and stop fighting, while he and everyone else are left behind living. Noah's desire to not have to fight anymore is so strong that he can't help but project it onto Crys, onto Joran, completely missing the real point of their smiles.

Both of these negative traits of Noah's born from his selfish desire to take an easy way out of fighting come to a head at castle Agnus. Noah makes the choice to fight and entrust the future to the ouroboros candidates if they don't make it, a decision that really shows his growth up to that point, but he still won't give it his all. He still won't wield lucky seven to its fullest potential, he still holds back in battle. And for that, he loses to N. The party are imprisoned, can no longer summon their blades, and Noah tries with all his physical strength to break out of the prison. But he doesn't once try to call on lucky seven, something Riku points out on the day of the execution. Noah's lack of conviction to fight, his refusal to truly give his all, is what results in Mio's (or rather, M's) death.

Only after her death and smile does Noah realize what the smile really meant. He finally realizes that it's not pity, it's them pinning their hopes, their dreams for the future on him. In this moment, Noah is once again offered the choice, to give into the endless now, as he's been doing on some level the entire story, or to draw his blade and fight. And, for the first time in the game Noah chooses with all his conviction to fight. He quite literally draws his blade and uses it to cut a better future instead of the endless now.

Noah is the last main party member to truly find their conviction, the entire story up to this point has focused on the rest of the party finding their own reasons to fight. But when he does, it allows him to become far greater than N. For the first time Noah is fighting with all his strength for a world better than the endless now that has tempted him for so long.

Ted Kaczynski was an awful dude, but the amount of times I've recently thought to myself "the Industrial Revolution and its consequences have been a disaster for the human race" (just that phrase, not any of his additional reactionary ramblings) upon seeing late-stage capitalist widgets, waste, and war has been nigh uncountable.

Uncritical progress narratives — upheld by both Pinkerist liberals and Promethean socialists — always presume that the good of modernity far outweighs the bad. Capitalism is seen as a necessary step in the arc of history, even as it dehumanizes billions and turns everything into a commodity at the altar of profit. People have to just "put up with it" in some sense because the deterministic march of destiny demands that humans develop the productive capacities, despite this putting the world ecologies on the brink of collapse.

The Industrial Revolution gave us polluting factories, concentrated exploitation, fascism, the nuclear bomb, state surveillance, car culture, AI art, the military industrial complex, the abstract movement of stock lines mattering more than the concrete material needs of human beings — the list goes on and on.

For the sake of balance, I don't want to act like modernity is all bad. Certain yet-to-be-realized worldviews and structures fostered in the pockets of capitalist civilization are definitely worth taking with us into a potential classless future.

Left-libertarian ideas of reconciling negative liberty and positive liberty, and reconciling the freedom of the individual with the larger collective good? Great stuff.

An internationalism whereby all people are seen as part of the same global community that can thrive via cooperation? Hell yeah.

A collection of sustainable technologies that can be used in a humanizing context to reduce toil, save lives, help us steward the Earth, or otherwise improve our lives? Sign me up.

But I don't believe that those things required dragging humanity through the slaughterhouse that was/is hundreds of years of imperialism and capitalism. We could have came to these conclusions and innovations through a different path, one that didn't put us at the mercy of industrialists and racists and bureaucrats and war profiteers. Hell, various indigenous groups and cultural communities throughout the world across the thousands of years since the Neolithic were realizing those above-mentioned positives in their own ways long before the modern west did; so the path was certainly not set in stone and the rest of humanity could have ended up following their examples. All of this outlines how west-centric progress narratives truly are — their conceptions of "development", their ideas of what structures are inevitable or necessary, their preoccupations with the dehumanizing technologies which have alienated the life out of people and planet.

We can do so so much better. And it's not because socialism will inevitably follow capitalism in some preordained script; it's because we always had the potential to realize a classless, cooperative, ecologically-rooted society by virtue of being human. Material conditions do matter, but that doesn't mean socialism requires capitalist conceptions of "development" — it doesn't mean that the good society is only possible once we've trudged through the back-breaking grind of an imperial machine at its apex, like some kind of proverbial Heaven at the close of a grueling sinful life and purgatorial repentance. Yes, it will take a lot of work to reach socialism, but that "work" shouldn't follow the dualistic laws of progress forced onto us by the civilizational leviathan presently setting the world on fire.

Socialism was, is, and shall be always immanent within humanity. Though there is no true "end of history" — no literal socio-political eschaton — socialism acts a kind of realization of our deepest and fullest potentials, as well as a negation of and ending to the eons of imperial civilization. Socialism is a metaphorical eschaton we absolutely must immanentize.

character headcanons ask game: hanzo if someone else hasn't already asked about him, or lucio if someone has. or both :D

i did hanzoooo (but i’m always down to do more pff) but i’ll do lucio cuz tbh i had to think about this a bit. what ARE my headcanons for my favorite frog boy 🤔

Sexuality Headcanon: this is a good question—i think for him it’s about the vibes—is he vibing with someone. tbh lucio strikes me as someone who falls in love with a lot of people in a lot of different ways; he’s always in love with someone or something. but at the same time i don’t know if the concept of being with someone is something that he’s truly thought out. he’s always on the move, always on the go, always living life to the fullest extent and in a manner of ways i think he just needs someone (or potentially plural) that matches his energy. might be poly-pan perhaps, i think that would work for him.

Gender Headcanon: nb masculine would be a fun headcanon for him tbh. i don’t know if i’m that pressed i just know he’s a dude lol

A ship I have with said character: i’m actually a pretty big bunnyribbit fan and when i’m not losing my mind over hana and daehyun (the real otp) then these two are always thick as thieves to me. just as i was talking about in the sexuality headcanon, i think hana just matches his energy. HONESTLY BIG BRAIN THOUGHT of hana, lucio, daehyun ot3 oh my god—

A BROTP I have with said character: in the same frame, the hana lucio friendship is chefs kiss but i think most people pair them as friends together. that aside, i think he and tracer are such cute friends!!

A NOTP I have with said character: hmm. him and junkrat ig? but i just think all the junkers are useless to the story and i dislike all of them fr. so its less to do with the ship itself and more like general disdain for all 4 (yes i include the fucking hamster) of those characters and that sector of the ovw universe. shoulda never been made imo.

A random headcanon: i think his love of jazz music came from his father 💛💛

General Opinion over said character: i love him 🥺🥺 definitely the first character after hanzo and cass that i got attached to because he’s black and fun and sweet and has such good energy and also frogs 🥺 but i think the fandom does have a tendency to… dumb him down a bit. like he doesn’t get as much agency and thought as other characters do, which is ridiculous because he literally led an entire revolution for his people??? but people sleep on it??? he is very good natured tho but i think its silly to think he never gets angry or wouldn’t kick someone’s ass cuz he can and did. AND DID.

Is there any lover that the Captain truly loved? Tell us about any such.

Truly love is tough because any he's considered lovers were given his fullest at a time, each taught him valuable lessons and unlocked heights of himself that wouldn't of been possible without converting that love and deep devotion to them, and maybe it wasn't enough to maintain them, or perhaps it was stricken before it could manifest to its prime potential. A character ingrained and rooted so deeply into lust is bound to run into someone who speaks his song of that current. It's unavoidable. Just like there's a song that could be found that would resonate with any stage of someone's life, there's connections that also aid in bringing that fulfill.

Captain's first love upon shore, used and broke him as a grand escape, nothing more or little, fitting for a charmer and seducer of his Crew, but as much animosity and rage there was initially for it, that boiled into him. Eventually undoing him and turning him feral and mangled. That break led to a calamity. Now it's seen as righteous justice.

It led to the next wave. Which led to a second love and there even as disgusting and animistic he had turned more beastly. Something as softly spoken as a flower culled that out of him. Even when you only feel pain, and believe it's hopeless to rid it, there's something that can remedied. When flowers often lose their petals, changing the environment, vases, can renew overtime. He held a taste of that fleetingness, before it was stripped from his lifestyle again, but without that he wouldn't have found what made him humane again.

His First Crewmate even though it boiled to a mutiny, and betrayal, it was also a stern untouchable love message. He delivered a cultivating promise to that man, and failed to deliver, painfully he had to stricken. That brought a scar and resentment for the longest time upon his cheek, something he sought to rid a horrible memory of! Until the ages of passages came to confront him with a stronger version of himself later on. A feeling that could only be experienced through survival, if manageable. Left in a pit of venomous snakes that coiled and wrapped around him. He didn't fight the constriction. He embraced it. And began to reflect of why. Finding sympathy and understanding he knew his outstanding promise that he'd fulfill another's dream, brought such turmoil to the thing that was supposed to feast him and devour. Understanding nature is to know it can't be forcefully changed. But it can be accepted which can make it easier to navigate through any difficulty.

Eventually he confronted and wore that scar again after administering it and fought for that dream and that memory. By accepting it, he found himself a very important piece. He was capable of not being helpless nor could he deny his interest in love expanded far further than any imagination. His reach and confidence was not as vocal or demanding and brash loudly he needed to put on a facade. It was within his core.

The longer we live it's very likely the more fragments we uncover, more moments we wish could be replaced or fixed, the danger of this thought is more damning, expectations can murder. You can break yourself into pieces until you are barely noticeable and that brings further issues. Than eventually you're a mess and then putting others in that situation to try cleaning it up, is just painful.

Others would like it if someone else could magically fix it or complete a puzzle you made of yourself, but will often be met with unsatisfacton and not many will want to complete that image when they get halfway there on the puzzle.

With his Third Love of sheerness, it was unfair of him in his recognition to leave his scars and his past, all under the hands of someone as incredible as Ayla who preferred the shades and night. No matter how empowered the orbit felt, even the Moon needs to cycle out. In his failures of not delivering, despite the split of himself, and everything he couldn't overcome a sense of doubt. Reliant so much on another to be his fullest.

Couldn't overcome his own entire egos. He needed to pull his own weight around in the haul. And although he had moments of clarity, and sense of being completed, it was still artificial and lacking.

He allowed the premise of the past, the mere thought of it repeating, to swallow the future and lick on his present too much. Complete fear without a name, yet born.

And under that guise. If a mirror was given, he was but the cruelest of villains. He was once again deserving of a steep wound.

His failure to listen accosted him happiness and a narrowing close, exit, a new alternative, happy ending. But instead of being there for her, he chose to dance with hunting down a devil, using his foul pride and sin's to exterminate things beyond him. He should've just stayed.

And that's his biggest mishap. Always on that shore. Jumping to his ship and leaving all those of land behind, each time, when returned, they grew less interested. He could return with bundles of plunder and riches, souvenirs but that wasn't what any of his hearties of the land wanted they just wanted him to be there - Stayed.

He made a soul and lifetime deal with the seas themselves as most sailors could attest to being not only called to them, but married, and true, it could be blamed on that, but not for a guy like him. Who has shown he's capable of much more. He overcomes boundaries and odds every breathing. Unable to find balance. Within himself and externally between where the shore connects and attaches. It was disheartening.

It was under drowning for a terribly long spell, he grasped, further the seas. Just like when in the pit of snakes from a mutual feeling of this inadequacy, every motion of the waves, the whisk of air that pushes sails and kisses backs, everything that called out, had a boundless teaching. Why wasn't he capable of this and change? Pondered again, under asking, 'why' is where he found clarity.

Captain is based on the stages of a Sun. Each exudes different lights, but no matter what you do, it's still the Sun. No matter how many shadows set, nor clouds cover it, or how high in the sky. It's still the Sun!

To know that is to be light. Captain found that in his current stage but he wouldn't have found it without his other solar shifts, all that came before were his True Loves, they were valid! You can't take his horizon away, for it's a part of him. At it's worst that is too blinding and bright, it could be cancerous, that's not all it can bring, it can rejuvenate life! Not just extinguish it! Which Sun did he wish to be?

He chose to burn those who were wrong and to bask those who did him right in light.

And inside him he began an internal conqueror. Not others, or strictly out of a past, previous or anything but himself at that current standpoint, and when he saw there may be nothing to gain, it mattered not, as long as he spoke for it, took to that journey just to see the treasure, not touch it, but acknowledge its importance, chase, existence. Called to it and dropped to a knee and relinquished himself and gave it praise. He began showing results.

Each love was his fullest at those stages of life, and through loving them, with everything he had... Eventually, he found a love for himself that was boundless. And with that, it makes him give TRUE Love.

Which beyond just romantically, it extends beyond all things. He's created a new forged heart from memories. His compassion which was his laughing weakness in his world. Is his most formidable force. That one-day will all be revealed in future stories just how worldly it can reach and go too.

(Thanks for the ask my shaded curiosity! Appreciated as always.)

F - Friend - What kind of friend are they? How do they judge potential friends? Where do they draw the line between platonic and romantic relationships? How far would they go for a friend? How do they handle conflict in relationships?

G - Growing - How have they changed over time? How has their self-image changed? Are they more or less of a risk-taker? Has their approach to romance changed?

For Giovanni :D

Headcanon A-Z F - Friend - What kind of friend are they? How do they judge potential friends? Where do they draw the line between platonic and romantic relationships? How far would they go for a friend? How do they handle conflict in relationships?

I've talked a before about how Giovanni has problems forming meaningful relationships. It's not really something he's consciously aware of, but he has a tendency to think of people as roles rather than as the people themselves. This is why he was able to lead Team Rocket with such ruthless efficiency, but it's also a tendency that goes both ways--he struggles to bond with the actual person behind the traits and struggles to believe that people actually bond with him instead of just what he represents.

Ergo, he was able to abandon Team Rocket so easily because he never believed that the people's loyalty was to Giovanni and not to The Boss of Team Rocket.

This is important because it really highlights how he interacts with the world and is the background for any potential friendships; because to Giovanni, people are inherently replaceable, and that's both the people he interacts with, and himself to them. This makes it extremely difficult for him to truly bond with people as friends, to the point that he's not sure if he's ever had someone he'd consider a real friend.

It's probably not much of a surprise that Giovanni doesn't go out in the world to make friends. Even back when he was a better person, he was more of an independent person, wo avoided close relationships when possible, again because he had no real comprehension of what a friendship was like. Nowadays, he'll 'make friends', but its more for the purpose of networking and for the chance of being able to use someone and get the favor returned if he ever needs them for something.

Sometimes, though, Giovanni will hang around with someone because he genuinely likes them. After all, he's still human and believes he should live life to his fullest enjoyment--he just fails to bond with people on a deep level or believe that anyone would ever truly bond with him.

As a friend, he's very much irritating in a calm, charming sort of way, the sort of friendly insults followed immediately with a grin and 'you know I love you.' He pokes and prods for reactions and prefers company that can withstand the full force of his personality and even take a few swings back.

He prefers companions that can think independently and understand that there's more complexity in the world than simply good and evil. They don't necessarily have to agree with him in his pursuits, but the respect and understanding that Team Rocket is more than just a strictly evil organization is necessary for any sort of strong bond.

Platonic and romantic are meaningless words to him, and he finds the world's obsession with the distinction to be childish. Sometimes interactions are more platonic; sometimes they lean more romantic; ultimately it doesn't matter so long as everyone involved is happy.

He's a highly empathetic man who and he'll go to great lengths to appease those few he considers his friends. Though it might seem counterintuitive given Giovanni's character, its important to remember that it's less that he's looking out for their best interests, but more that he's protecting his interests. When his friends are happy, he's happy, and that's what's important to him. Giovanni is more than willing to throw his outrageous wealth at his friends, and more often than not, he's a 'silent problem solver,' that is, problems that his friends have tend to mysteriously resolve themselves.

However, perhaps tragically, the one thing Giovanni would never give up for a friend (or partner) is his ambition. He'll always strive for more in life, he'll always be wanting the next thing. This doesn't have to mean Team Rocket or any criminal activities, but he's a restless, opportunistic individual who will always be moving onto the next target, and if that means leaving behind the people he loves, then so be it.

Giovanni believes that a certain amount of conflict is healthy; that without some degree of turmoil, life grows stagnant and that which is stagnant risks dying off. He's a masterful problem solver, and even though his behavior is mostly self-serving, his charisma and empathy make it easy for people to think he genuinely cares and works well for smoothing over issues. He has no qualms admitting fault and apologizing when he's done something wrong, even if its only to keep peace.

G - Growing - How have they changed over time? How has their self-image changed? Are they more or less of a risk-taker? Has their approach to romance changed?

In many ways, Giovanni is a muse that embodies change, he represents and embraces change and the differences it brings, and this is especially apparent when he's alongside Professor Rowan, who tends to represent tradition and consistency.

And yet, in many ways, I think it's inaccurate to say that Giovanni himself has changed, but rather his relationship to himself and his place in the world has changed.

His time as an Elite Four was incredibly unhealthy for him, as he forced himself to strive for standards that were difficult at best and impossible at worst that in many cases he didn't even personally believe in.

Creating Team Rocket gave him a chance to break away from those expectations, a chance to figure out who he was outside of the Marianelle's star child, the Elite Four member.

He began to see and respect himself for who he really was rather than the person he was trying to force himself to be.

Then again, when he was defeated by Red, he changed again, reevaluated his decisions and the fact that he was holding onto his hatred and existing in a way that was not only unhealthy but also unfulfilling.

So he allowed himself to step away and be free.

Over the years, he's become much less of a risk-taker, as he began to value his life and became less willing to sacrifice himself for something he felt was foolish. He learned how to be calculated and precise, to maximize efficiency.

Finally, romance. His approach to romance has changed a lot, too--to the point that when he was in the Elite Four, he wouldn't really get involved in it at all, as he felt his own desires were less important than the world as a whole.

Then, when he created Team Rocket; he felt almost as though he had to do so; he rushed into it; married someone that wasn't the perfect fit for him. That's not to say he regrets it or thinks poorly of Ariana--it's actually quite the contrary; he thinks that change and growth is natural, and thinks that divorce shouldn't have such a negative connotation. Again, he acts in his own best interest in health; creating and breaking relationships as needed. Nowadays, he's a lot more casual with his relationships.

Change is inevitable; challenge is a necessity for growth, and Giovanni has learned to embrace it.

Thanks for your response ( Anon from previous " Stefan" ask).Always a pleasure reading your insights.S3 was ,indeed, a great Stefan season especially the first 11 episodes.Early s3 Klefan and 1920s & present day Ripper Stefan were truly the best,right!? I personally loved how they wrote Stefan in s6 as well because a. he felt refreshing to watch after 2 whole seasons (s4,s5) b. I like to pretend that canon ended in s6 ( s6 was like a renassaince of TVD) although 8A Stefan was a great improvement.Before I digress and continue to rant,I have to ask 1. Your ideal TVD ending with no shipper bias. 2. Which relationship(s), according to you, was the best, if not "the best" (even though JP & Co. seemed to have zero knowledge how to write relationships) /deserved true endgame/should have been explored in the show ? 3. Do you think that awful triangle should have met its final demise in s3 or did you like how it got dragged until the end even when it was way past its expiration date?Thanks again!

Question 1: Ideal TVD Ending with no shipper bias?

Okay, the only way I can discuss this w/o a shipper bias is to not discuss ships at all so I won’t.  I’ll just discuss what I’d want for the main characters.

Stefan goes to medical school & becomes a doctor. In season 1 or 2, Stefan stated that he wanted to go into medicine, but couldn’t pursue it because of his blood addiction.  That was no longer an issue at the end of the series. So, I would have LOVED to see Stefan self-actualize and become a doctor. That’s the ending I wanted for Stefan.

Damon builds a life outside of Elena. I'm not implying that Damon & Elena should have broken up. I mean that Damon finds some passion, hobby, ambition, or interest beyond Elena’s love interest. I think that's my great frustration with Damon's narrative and why I enjoy Bamon so much.

Caroline has a long & successful broadcast journalism career like she always wanted.

Bonnie gets the hell out of Mystic Falls and travels the world. She might bring Damon or Caroline or Elena along as company, but Bonnie is focused on living life to the fullest and puts her happiness first.

Elena went to med school & became a doctor. Good for her. I wouldn’t change that. I just wish the other characters got to self-actualize too.

Question 2: Which relationships were the best / deserved true endgame / should have been explored in the show?

Katherine & Elijah. This one never got fully explored because of The Originals, but I would have loved to see more of Katherine & Elijah. I think that Katherine really did have feelings for Elijah, and their romance would have been a great way to explore Katherine and Elijah’s more vulnerable sides. I’ve written about their relationship before, which you can read here.

Besides Kalijah, there aren't any other potential romantic relationships I wish could have been explored on the show because TVD had so many of them. TVD didn't suffer a lack of romance. In fact, one could argue that the show had too many romances (see: Calaric).

Question 3: Do you think that awful triangle should have met its final demise in s3?

Hell yes. I was sick of the love triangle by season 4 because it felt stale. The love triangle didn’t offer anything new to the characters or the plot at that point. If the writers never intended for Stefan & Elena to stay together after early season 4 then they shouldn’t have put them back together at the end of season 3. It just felt like the writers were yanking everyone's chains with that decision.

And I’m not implying that Elena should have picked Damon in the season 3 finale. She shouldn’t have. Because Damon and Elena didn’t have the romantic history to justify such a decision. Instead, Elena shouldn’t have chosen anyone at the end of season 3. She should have been single at the start of season 4 because the back-and-forth between the brothers was boring and overdone after 3 seasons.

Proof Of Life

October 6, 2022, Day 6

Prompt: Proof of life (”I’ve got a pulse”)

Summary: As torturous as it is, sometimes, all you can do is hold out for a sign.

Readers: @cherryfinolahobbes @shieldagentnatasharomanoff @mehrere-musen @defectivexfragmented

Wong knew that it had been a terrible idea to let Stephen face that particular job alone. It had been a thoughtless decision on his part, certainly, but even considering arguing with Stephen was a losing battle, and Strange was nothing if not combative (whenever he set his mind to it, at the very least). Vishanti forbid his friend’s abilities ever come into question, lest his pride kick into high gear and he feels even more of a need to prove himself. 

(Wong wondered, sometimes, if Stephen fought so hard to prove himself for his own sake. He wondered how much the other man felt his opportunities to be the best, take control of the situation, and make himself a hero stemmed from the shame of his past, as well as the ego.)

And, to be fair, Stephen could be very convincing. He’d always had a certain air about him that had the potential to make him rather magnetic. Wong had certainly found it infuriating, but there was no denying the effect that it could have. His confidence had been so reassuring, the glint in his eyes a magic on its own, compelling in a way that came easily to Stephen Strange. The man had held the power of life and death in his hands for years, and when he had his mind set on fulfilling his role as the Sorcerer Supreme, one might almost believe that he truly was unstoppable. The Ancient One had faith in him, and though she’d had her faults, her intuition had always been spot on. If she believed in Stephen’s abilities, then so would Wong, and he would guide his friend along the path set before him to his fullest capabilities. 

Besides, they were dreadfully pressed on time.

“It’s kids, Wong. Demons won’t exactly have an interest in mercy for the sake of morals. Just keep an eye on the Sanctum for me.”

He’d be fine, he said; as Sorcerer Supreme, he had to eventually face the creatures of the Hell dimension, and all of the wickedness and craftiness that came with them. If he couldn’t do things on his own, then how was he ever supposed to manage filling the big shoes of his mentor? Always the sort to run before he can walk…

He’d insisted that Wong stay behind to keep an eye on Hell’s Kitchen and the surrounding areas, where the gateway had opened, ironically enough. And in his mounting frustration, against his better judgment, Wong had agreed. 

That had been three weeks ago. 

Wong hadn’t been a fool; he had started feeling concerned within the first few hours. It seemed like that was most of what he did anymore was worry. For Stephen. For the children. For the state of the world. Not because he didn’t believe in his companion, but because he knew that Stephen believed too much in himself, sometimes.

He’d scoured the Earth dimension, enlisting the help of his fellow sorcerers to look for any sign of their missing Sorcerer Supreme. The children had been found easily. Frightened and traumatized, but physically unharmed. They had been returned to their families and encouraged to have them seek help, and protection charms had been gifted to each one. A small consolation for the terror they had experienced. One child, a petite blonde girl with wide eyes and a quivering lip had been brave enough to relay what had happened to him. A great horned creature, vicious and reeking of sulfur, had gathered them up in a cage of dark energy before Stephen had come to their rescue. It hadn’t gone well, the apparent Hell-Lord cornering the sorcerer with violent threats to the children’s lives until compliance had seemed to become the only option. 

“It said someone wanted to talk to him. A really bad guy. M…” She’d paused, thought hard. She’d almost started trembling with adrenaline as she fought for her words. “Mem… phis…?”

Wong’s stomach flipped. 

Memphis, hardly.

But Mephisto…

Sending Stephen to face run-of-the-mill devils, Wong might have been able to justify. Nothing they could have done to him would have been worse than what he faced at the hands of Dormammu, and Strange certainly had a strong enough will to overcome less than creative psychological attacks they might have attempted. But Mephisto was, naturally, in a league of his own. The cruel, crafty ruler of Hell had a creativity that was unmatched when it came to torments. Even the feared Faltine had the potential to be put to shame. Wong couldn’t even begin to imagine what Stephen might be enduring, and he certainly wasn’t able to stand the thoughts that his weary, worried mind tried to supply.

His guilt was eating him alive. 

He hadn’t slept. Had hardly eaten. What little time he had spent outside of the Sanctum trying to scry for his missing companion, was spent searching the plane for any traces of Stephen’s return, or even a way into Mephisto’s realm, itself. If it had been any other fiend, his search might have been easier, but of course the missing sorcerer’s presence was cloaked from him. He had considered storming Hell, himself, demanding that Stephen Strange be returned to them, but he could already see how poorly such a halfcocked rescue scheme might work out. It was arguably what had gotten his friend into trouble in the first place. He couldn’t afford to endanger Stephen further than he surely already was, torn between the thought of whether or not he was adding to Strange’s pain by sitting there, keeping an eye and ear out for any traces of the missing sorcerer. 

The lack of knowing was killing him, but he had exhausted his options, and all that was left was the waiting game. 

He should have known better than letting Strange go alone. Placing so much blind faith in him, giving in to his whims and massive ego, not insisting that he help had all been terrible mistakes. And then, Stephen was forced to pay the price. 

It was the eighteenth day since Stephen’s disappearance when, finally, there was a sign.

A flicker of life, faint as candlelight, lit up in Hell’s Kitchen, and while Wong dared not feel hopeful, he was quick to respond. 

A crumpled figure, deposited in the filthy recesses of an alley. Small. Fragile. Completely immobile and too pale, wrapped up in a bright red, trembling Cloak. It perked up at Wong’s presence, like a dog coming to attention before it gestured wildly to its fallen charge. Wong was quick to rush to their side. For a moment, he couldn’t even bring himself to breathe, listening closely to the other man. He appeared frail, cheeks hollowed, eyes sunken and so dark that they appeared bruised. Lacerations and contusions lined his skin, made more apparent by how paper-thin and sheet white it appeared. Bloodless. Dead.

Wong’s heart sank at the sight of him, so devoid of life. Helpless. Pitiful. 

He could almost hear Mephisto laughing from his throne in Hell. How proud he must be, to have ruined the feared Sorcerer Supreme.

“Come on, Strange,” he whispered, his hand laid flat against Stephen’s too-still chest. The faint, fluttering feeling of a pulse tore a shaky breath from his lungs, before he hurriedly began funneling healing magic into the other man’s body. “That’s it, Stephen, keep it up. Hold on.” He was almost certain that he saw the faintest twitch of his friend’s mouth in response to his quiet prodding, willing him to return to the waking world. To be alright. Within moments, he was beginning to stir, though it felt like an eternity had passed when the unconscious sorcerer took his first audible breath. 

“Stephen,” Wong prodded again, fighting the urge to crack a tiny smile as heavy eyelids slowly flickered open. 

And panic immediately set in. 

If Stephen had been at full strength, his struggles would have been more unmanageable, but as it stood, he barely had the ability to lift his arms in an attempt to fight Wong off. The trembling in his hands had devolved into complete tremors, moving all the way up his arms and through his core. There was a wildness to his eyes, unseeing and frightened in a way that he hadn’t shown since coming back from the time loop. Wong could hear the rustling of the Cloak behind him, fretful as it remained helpless in the face of its charge’s anxiety. “Easy, Stephen. Steady. You’re home. Home. Safe.” And he repeated those assurances, steady and soft in an attempt to bring his struggling friend back to reality. 

Finally, it seemed to be enough. Recognition settled in those weary blue eyes, Stephen blinking slowly up at the other man, and it wasn’t until he got a good look at Wong that he managed to relax. His limbs slackened, his rapid breathing settling into a relative steadiness. His lips moved, and though no sound came out, Wong could make out the shape of his name on the other’s lips. 

“You absolute fool,” Wong whispered, though there was no heat in the chastisement. Stephen couldn’t handle much more than the start of a crooked smile, but it didn’t last. “That’s the last time I take your advice.” He paused, attention drawn to the way Stephen’s fingers curled weakly around Wong’s wrist. He would neither fault the other man for the wetness of his eyes, nor would he bring it up for the sake of that damnable pride. He simply let the other ground himself, drawn out of his head and away from the memories of whatever Mephisto had done to him. They could worry about that later, Wong told himself.

He was just glad to have Stephen back, and against all odds, still alive.

Today’s Reflection

A truly wise person knows when enough is enough. Because if one goes any further nothing more will occur, but wasted time and energy. Today in our gospel, this same wisdom is present; for Jesus knows that if he pushes his disciples any further in their present state of grief, they would break and no longer live to their fullest potential. Therefore, Jesus knows that it is enough and any further understanding of what it means to be a disciple of Jesus would have to wait for the Spirit of truth who would complete their training. This shows to us the true nature of the Trinity, for the three persons of the Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, share everything in its proper place and time. This occurs all for our benefit as we grow to our fullest potential in knowing the truth of God, because we trust God who gives to us eternal life.

Today’s Spiritual Links for May 08, 2024

National Eucharistic Review Today’s Mas Readings Today’s Reflection Rosary Liturgy of the Hours New American Bible Non-Scriptural Reading Prime Matters

236 and i have a love hate relationship. I refuse to read it but i know everything that happens 😭im just scared because if i read it in full i know ill sob like a baby but ill definitely read it before that season comes out

i hope the next time around Mappa takes their time with breaks and all :/ even if we only get an episode a month or the end product is still not 100% - i’d rather experience everything to its fullest potential

#sukugo is on par w stsg to me 😭 one of my favorite dynamics Ever

YES!!!! stsg lives in my head fr but sukugo… the way they are polar opposites yet also the closest people that can truly understand each other… lots to unravel and loads of potential there

#one thing abt akutami is he WILL not miss an opportunity to create the most homoerotic fight i’ve seen in my life 🙏🙏

i think i read a fic or a hc once (i forget who wrote it) where sukuna got off on fighting gojo and ari it was chefs kiss. perfection. i need to find it again. gege really cooked with that fight (still on a rollercoaster of emotions ab how gojo d*ed ; some days im completely behind it other days im like. wtf.)

#what if they turn sukuna vs gojo into a movie … i would Cry out of joy

jjk0 -esque… i can see the vision.. i just need that fight to be done justice thats all i beg for 😩😩

SOOOOO REAL OF YOU ANON i’m glad we agree on the sukugo dynamic they make me INSANE. the fact that gojo genuinely wanted to teach him about love…… that he wanted to reach out to him and save him from his isolation. goshhh they mean so much to me………. :(((

OOOOH AND AND AND i think i might know the fic you’re talking abt…. maybe not but this one fic on ao3 is what got me into sukugo and still one of my favorite jjk fics 🙏 the writing and characterization are so good….. i can’t find it anymore either though :’3 will try looking more later!!! pretty sure i have some screenshots of it somewhere…….

but yes pls take as much time as you need to prepare yourself before reading 236 ….. i genuinely sobbed. like actually. i couldn’t speak 😭😭 but it’s SUCH a wonderful chapter both art wise and dialogue wise….. i won’t survive seeing it animated i fear </3 (ALSO pls do yourself a favour and read the chapter on tcb because their translation is easily the best one 🙏)

AND HEAVY ON MAPPA’S PRODUCTION i’m begging them to give their employees a break next season….. i wouldn’t mind a monthly episode at all. just want them to be able to feel satisfied w their own hard work T_T !!

Feelings 12/12.. I think?

My grandfather thought they were killing him. I'm not sure if this was before or after he attempted to wrap the cords around his own neck in the hospital; Oxy is never good. I wish I never knew how good they hurt recreationally... They removed a tumor from his brain & he's left by himself among a people that are paid to care for him at night.. they weren't there in line waiting at White Castle while he told a story from his childhood that fell on deaf ears because two boys from different worlds come together, their grandfathers happen to be brothers. i'm sure Uncle Thomas misses him. One day those gates will open & with open arms, he'll welcome my grandfather... later, rather than sooner...I just wish he could see how much he means to us; how much he means to me. Stay with us just a little bit longer. I'm not sure what it would do to your son, but that would be selfish of us. What is the right answer when it comes to death? Are we asking too much when we hold on? Who should bear the weight of the pain; those living with it, or those that will? One must imagine Sisyphus happy, I wonder if we all have a bit of Sisyphus in us; we know how the story concludes, right? The immutable end.

Old man winter; a lovely Ale & why this scarf is wrapped around my neck. The ephemeral is this: a glass pint glass reads "Absolut Vodka," fleeting thoughts of death as the second-hand ticks in the background of My Fellow Creatures by Carlos Cipa as she sleeps peacefully in the other room. I discussed the US opposing a ceasefire within the Gaza Strip the other day with a friend & despite its transience, I felt a life renewed. Angela Davis spoke on the importance of understanding the intersectionality of these movements in order for freedom to truly exist, without the comprehension of how all the oppressed intertwine, we can never reach our fullest potential & upend the structured inequality that has suppressed so many for so long. Palestine is integral to a free people across the world & this genocidal epoch will determine who we are as a humankind. it doesn't require much critical thought to decipher who is at fault...but whether we do what it right despite the pressures of the powers that be...that is what will define us going forward as a people.

I'm ranting, I know. This is the first time I've expressed myself in written form in so long though, so relaxing as I stare at the Albert Camus on the shelf. I swear i'm not pretentious or a prick; i'm more self-effacing if anything, but that feels completely opposite when I say it..

The state of Texas has gotten the case of Kate Cox incorrect on the supreme level & who is to fix this? Since the days of Adam & Eve, we understand the libidinous male, but this controlling agency, the need to police the Woman is quite disheartening..we have lost who we are & the hubris of Man will prove to be quite damning when it is all said & done, I feel. How many others will have to risk their lives before we revisit Roe v Wade & undo what should've never been done in the first place? Stripping a woman of her autonomy over her own body, but who am I but just a man...drinkin' beer, vodka, & whisky dancing around his own feelings. Are these even connected? Should they relate? I haven't cried in awhile, does that mean I will become great? I don't know, I just wanted to rhyme.

Donna Tartt has one of my favorite interviews. She just feels so confident in her speaking in spite of the interviewer, whats seems like at times, trying to talk over her. I really need to finish Secret History & The Goldfinch, however I'm reading The Condition of Postmodernity by David Harvey. Are Identity Politics the problem? I had a slew of questions with responses typed out but I figured I would delete them because who cares about any of that, right? We'd rather focus on the drunk chronicles. I should make a TikTok video, maybe my first & last one ever. Trigger Warning, but i'm not referring to unaliving.. but more so, I am not the TikTok type. I'm not going to make a video. Okay, you've said that already.

December; your melancholy eyes

& facaded smile

Your desire; April, but she's preoccupied with May

& the flowers she brings.

But I'll never leave you alone

I'd miss the sugar cookies, gingerbread homes.

Countless carols of words I barely even know.

My grandfather loves your songs

But I love & I'd miss him so much more

please give him hope to keep holding on.

Feelings..I guess

My grandfather thought they were killing him. I'm not sure if this was before or after he attempted to wrap the cords around his own neck in the hospital; Oxy is never good. I wish I never knew how good they hurt recreationally... They removed a tumor from his brain & he's left by himself among a people that are paid to care for him at night.. they weren't there in line waiting at White Castle while he told a story from his childhood that fell on deaf ears because two boys from different worlds come together, their grandfathers happen to be brothers. i'm sure Uncle Thomas misses him. One day those gates will open & with open arms, he'll welcome my grandfather... later, rather than sooner...I just wish he could see how much he means to us; how much he means to me. Stay with us just a little bit longer. I'm not sure what it would do to your son, but that would be selfish of us. What is the right answer when it comes to death? Are we asking too much when we hold on? Who should bear the weight of the pain; those living with it, or those that will? One must imagine Sisyphus happy, I wonder if we all have a bit of Sisyphus in us; we know how the story concludes, right? The immutable end.

Old man winter; a lovely Ale & why this scarf is wrapped around my neck. The ephemeral is this: a glass pint glass reads "Absolut Vodka," fleeting thoughts of death as the second-hand ticks in the background of My Fellow Creatures by Carlos Cipa as she sleeps peacefully in the other room. I discussed the US opposing a ceasefire within the Gaza Strip the other day with a friend & despite its transience, I felt a life renewed. Angela Davis spoke on the importance of understanding the intersectionality of these movements in order for freedom to truly exist, without the comprehension of how all the oppressed intertwine, we can never reach our fullest potential & upend the structured inequality that has suppressed so many for so long. Palestine is integral to a free people across the world & this genocidal epoch will determine who we are as a humankind. it doesn't require much critical thought to decipher who is at fault...but whether we do what it right despite the pressures of the powers that be...that is what will define us going forward as a people.

I'm ranting, I know. This is the first time I've expressed myself in written form in so long though, so relaxing as I stare at the Albert Camus on the shelf. I swear i'm not pretentious or a prick; i'm more self-effacing if anything, but that feels completely opposite when I say it..

The state of Texas has gotten the case of Kate Cox incorrect on the supreme level & who is to fix this? Since the days of Adam & Eve, we understand the libidinous male, but this controlling agency, the need to police the Woman is quite disheartening..we have lost who we are & the hubris of Man will prove to be quite damning when it is all said & done, I feel. How many others will have to risk their lives before we revisit Roe v Wade & undo what should've never been done in the first place? Stripping a woman of her autonomy over her own body, but who am I but just a man...drinkin' beer, vodka, & whisky dancing around his own feelings. Are these even connected? Should they relate? I haven't cried in awhile, does that mean I will become great? I don't know, I just wanted to rhyme.

Donna Tartt has one of my favorite interviews. She just feels so confident in her speaking in spite of the interviewer, whats seems like at times, trying to talk over her. I really need to finish Secret History & The Goldfinch, however I'm reading The Condition of Postmodernity by David Harvey. Are Identity Politics the problem? I had a slew of questions with responses typed out but I figured I would delete them because who cares about any of that, right? We'd rather focus on the drunk chronicles. I should make a TikTok video, maybe my first & last one ever. Trigger Warning, but i'm not referring to unaliving.. but more so, I am not the TikTok type. I'm not going to make a video. Okay, you've said that already.

December; your melancholy eyes

& facaded smile

Your desire; April, but she's preoccupied with May

& the flowers she brings.

But I'll never leave you alone

I'd miss the sugar cookies, gingerbread homes.

Countless carols of words I barely even know.

My grandfather loves your songs

But I love & I'd miss him so much more

please give him hope to keep holding on.

Will Bulsiewicz Biome Broth Recipe

Hey there! I'm so excited to tell you about Will Bulsiewicz's amazing new Biome Broth Recipe. It truly is a game changer when it comes to nourishing your gut and improving overall health! Not only does this recipe taste great, but it also provides the body with essential vitamins and minerals that we often lack in our regular diets. In this article, I'll be walking you through all of the incredible benefits of this broth as well as how to make it at home. So let's get started! Biome Broth was created by Dr. William Bulsiewicz M.D., an expert in digestive health and nutrition. He believes that good food should do more than just fill us up - it should heal us from within too. That's why he formulated his powerful blend of nutrient-rich ingredients into one delicious soup base. Plus, making it yourself means you’ll know exactly what goes into each batch for optimal nutrition and flavor every time! Benefits Of Biome Broth I'm so excited to share with you my recipe for biome broth! I've been making it myself for a while now, and the health benefits are amazing. This type of broth is great for your gut health and immune system - two really important factors when it comes to overall physical wellbeing. The ingredients in this recipe are super simple: some chicken or beef bones, water, veggies like celery and carrots, herbs like rosemary and thyme, garlic cloves, onion skins, apple cider vinegar and salt. It's incredibly easy to make too - all you have to do is boil everything together until the liquid has reduced by half. It may seem like a lot of work at first but trust me – once you have made this nutrient-rich broth just once, you'll never want to go back! Not only does it taste delicious but it can help boost your energy levels as well as improve digestion and immunity. So if you're looking for an easy way to nourish your body from within then why not give biome broth a try? Nutrient-Rich Ingredients Having discussed the benefits of Biome Broth, we now turn our attention to its nutrient-rich ingredients. At the heart of Dr. Bulsiewicz's recipe is a commitment to incorporating micro biome-friendly foods that help support and nourish beneficial bacteria in your gut. These include cruciferous vegetables like broccoli and Brussels sprouts, garlic and onions, mushrooms, green leafy vegetables such as spinach and kale, healthy fats from olive oil or avocado, plus spices like turmeric, ginger, cumin, coriander and cardamom. All these ingredients come together to create a flavorful broth full of phytonutrients that help promote digestive health. In addition to providing essential vitamins and minerals for overall wellbeing, this combination of food also helps keep you more regular by promoting better digestion and absorption of nutrients from other meals throughout the day. It’s important to note that if you prefer plant-based proteins instead of animal proteins, there are plenty of non-meat sources available which can provide similar levels of nutrition while still supporting your microbiome health. By including Dr. Bulsiewicz's nutrient-rich ingredients into your diet on a regular basis you will be giving your body everything it needs to stay balanced so you can live life at your fullest potential! Making Biome Broth At Home I'm excited to share my favorite biome broth recipe with you! This dish is a great way to get your gut-brain connection in check while adding some cold weather flavor. It's packed full of nutrient dense ingredients, making it the perfect meal for all seasons. To make this amazing dish at home, start by combining one cup of bone broth with half a cup of vegetable stock and two tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil. Add chopped onions, garlic cloves, celery stalks, carrots and any other vegetables you'd like to use. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat then reduce the heat and simmer until all the vegetables are tender and cooked through. Finally, stir in fresh herbs such as thyme or oregano - whatever suits your taste best - along with salt and pepper to taste. Serve warm topped with freshly grated Parmesan cheese if desired. Enjoy! Dr. Bulsiewicz's Background I'm really interested in learning more about Dr. Bulsiewicz's background. He has a lot of training in medicine, which makes him an authority figure in the field of gastroenterology. He specializes in treatments related to digestive health and nutrition research. I'm sure his experience has been a factor in the success of his famous Biome Broth recipe. I'm curious to know what inspired him to create this recipe and how it has changed people's lives. I'm sure he has a lot of personal stories to share from his journey in the medical field. I'm excited to hear more about Dr. Bulsiewicz's background and learn from his expertise! Medical Training I'm proud of Dr. Bulsiewicz's accomplishments in medical training and alternative healing, especially when it comes to his work on digestive health. He graduated from the University of North Carolina School of Medicine, completed his residency at Duke University Medical Center, and is board certified in Internal Medicine and Gastroenterology. Plus, he has been a leader in educating doctors about integrative medicine for years! He truly believes that by combining traditional Western medicine with alternative healing techniques like nutrition, exercise, stress management, lifestyle changes, supplements and more; we can all achieve better overall health. It's no wonder why so many people turn to him for help managing their gastrointestinal issues - he knows what works best! Dr. Bulsiewicz often recommends starting off with something simple: his famous Biome Broth Recipe! This delicious broth contains ingredients that are specially chosen to nourish the body’s microbiome and promote optimal digestion. So if you're looking for an easy way to start taking steps towards improving your gut health, this recipe could be just what you need! Gastroenterology Specialization As a gastroenterologist, Dr. Bulsiewicz has made it his mission to help people with digestive issues get the care they need. He knows that maintaining gut health and microbiome balance is essential for overall wellbeing, which is why he offers so many treatment options aimed at restoring this vital balance in his patients. From recommending simple lifestyle changes like his famous Biome Broth recipe to more complex treatments involving nutritional therapy or supplements - he's got them covered! And as someone who has been educating doctors about integrative medicine since before it was mainstream, you can trust him to provide only the best advice when it comes to your digestive health needs. His passion for helping others achieve their optimal state of wellness makes him an invaluable asset in the medical field and one of the leading experts on gastrointestinal issues today. Nutrition Research Dr. Bulsiewicz is well-versed in the gut brain connection and immune response, so it's no surprise that he has devoted a great deal of his research to nutrition. He believes that proper nutrition plays an integral role in maintaining optimal gut health and microbiome balance. Through extensive research, he has developed nutritional protocols tailored to address each patient’s individual needs. Dr. Bulsiewicz also recognizes the importance of education when it comes to nutrition. He regularly holds seminars on digestive health topics such as the effects food can have on digestion and immunity. In addition, he often writes articles for medical journals about the latest findings in nutrition research related to gut health and its impact on overall wellbeing. With all his expertise in this field, it's clear why Dr. Bulsiewicz is one of the leading authorities on gastrointestinal issues today! Enjoying The Broth All Year Round I've been so inspired by Dr. Bulsiewicz's biome broth recipe that I'm finding new and interesting ways to enjoy it all year round. Not only is the flavor unique and delicious, but I'm also having a lot of fun experimenting with different cooking variations. With just a few simple ingredients, there are endless possibilities for creative recipes! In summertime, I love adding fresh herbs from my garden like basil or oregano to give the broth a bright and fragrant aroma. In winter months, warming spices like cinnamon or cardamom make the dish feel extra cozy on cold days. No matter what season it is, I always find something special about the flavors in this nutritious soup. One thing that makes this recipe even better is how flexible it is—you can easily adjust it based on seasonal availability of produce to create unique flavor combinations each time you cook up a batch. The versatility allows me to get creative in the kitchen while savoring every bite of this comforting meal. Frequently Asked Questions How Often Should I Drink Biome Broth? How often should you drink biome broth? It really depends on your individual health and lifestyle goals. If you're looking for general health benefits, it's recommended to have a cup of biome broth each day. For specific purposes (storing tips), you may want to increase or decrease the amount depending on what works best for you. Ultimately, drinking biome broth regularly is great way to incorporate beneficial probiotics into your diet! Is This Recipe Suitable For Vegetarians Or Vegans? If you’re looking for a plant-based diet, or vegan alternatives to the traditional Will Bulsiewicz Biome Broth Recipe, then this might not be suitable. While it can easily be made with vegetable stock instead of chicken broth and omitting butter and non-vegan cheese, there are other recipes that may better suit your needs. It's worth checking out some vegan options before deciding on any recipe. Is Biome Broth Suitable For People With Certain Dietary Restrictions? When it comes to dietary restrictions, biome broth can be a great alternative. The main ingredients are simple and easily replaceable with alternative options if needed. For example, the recipe calls for chicken stock but any other type of non-animal based stock can be used to make this recipe vegan or vegetarian friendly. Additionally, those who have allergies should take extra care when making this dish as certain ingredients may not agree with their sensitivities. With that in mind, having an allergy awareness approach is key when cooking biome broth so everyone can enjoy it safely! How Long Will The Broth Last When Stored In The Fridge? When it comes to storing your biome broth, you want to make sure it's properly refrigerated. This will help keep the broth fresh and prevent any spoilage. Generally speaking, if stored in an airtight container, the broth can last up to 7 days in the fridge. Of course, this all depends on how much of the recipe you made and how large your serving sizes are. It's always best to use a clean spoon for each serving so that bacteria doesn't spread from one person to another. What Are The Differences Between Biome Broth And Bone Broth? Biome Broth and Bone Broth both offer a variety of health benefits, but there are some key differences between the two. Biome Broth is specifically designed to promote gut health, while bone broth has more of an emphasis on immune support. Biome Broth uses specific ingredients that are geared towards improving your microbiome balance and providing necessary nutrients for good gut health. It also contains prebiotics, which can help improve digestion and overall nutrient absorption in the body. On the other hand, Bone Broth mainly provides collagen proteins as well as minerals like calcium and magnesium. These provide a boost to your immune system and helps you fight off illnesses more easily. In conclusion, both types of broths have their own unique advantages when it comes to promoting better health. Conclusion I'm so glad I tried the Bulsiewicz Biome Broth recipe! Drinking it regularly has made me feel healthier and more energized. And I love that this recipe is suitable for most diets, including vegetarians and vegans. Plus, it's easy to make in bulk and store in my fridge for up to a week. Overall, I think the differences between Biome Broth and bone broth are worth noting when deciding which one to try. While both provide many health benefits, the added advantage of using Biome Broth means that people with dietary restrictions don't have to compromise their nutrition needs while still reaping all its wonderful benefits. Read the full article