Hey, so while on this vacation, I found a colony of dwarves who got lost in the caves. Well, most of them are dwarves. There's a few shapeshifters and other such more intelligent natives of Hoxxes.

Everyone says they're pissed at DRG for leaving them behind, so they've dedicated themselves to finding any one else trapped in the caves.

They use a modified comms array to find miners and modified drilldozers to get to them. No sign of whoever this Karl is, though. Apparently his signal is coming from multiple places at once or something.

As for the bugs, those crawling bastards seem to have learned that this is no longer their territory. Hell, some of them have even been domesticated with the help of the native Hoxxes folk.

Oh yeah, one more thing. They're warning DRG management to not bother trying to take them out.

Now why did you have to do that? You could have had a nice vacation. You could enjoyed the natural sights, wonders, and terrors, of Hoxxes, and pretended the Cavers weren’t there. But no, you just had to put it in writing on a public forum, because you cannot comprehend the realm of corporate politics. And now I have to knowingly dispatch a full contingent of Corporate Marines to go down there and kill them all. They’re nice fellows, you know! You could’ve given them a chance!

I’d recommend leaving. The Marines can and will kill you on sight. You signed the waiver.

MY HERO ACADEMIA, CHAPTER 375 THOUGHTS

Right before Toga disappears we see Uraraka express regret that they still haven’t talked about love. This also parallels Shoto’s attempts to get Toya to stay with him rather than go after Endeavor. However, I think it’s important to remember that neither of them were actually trying to talk that much with Toga and Toya before that point. This is just as much a regret that they didn’t get the opportunity to talk, as it is a taunt to keep both Toga and Toya fighting with them so they can stay and be defeated. Which shows why the kids failed to keep them there, and also the butterfly effect that created this situation. More under the cut. 

1. The Butterfly Effect

It’s significant that the flames from Toya and Shoto’s fight, as well as Endeavor’s is what’s referred to as changing the weather so significantly that it’s brought about a sudden rain event. Afo goes on to add that it’s the emotions of Spinner that the heroes underestimated that allowed the villains to change the tide and create the right circumstances for the sad man’s parade. 

Endeavor, Enji, and Toya’s flames have always been a metaphor for their feelings, Toya is implied to have kept himself alive through a pure blazing grudge, Enji’s habit of overheating is a metaphor for his destructive and violent nature, Shoto has difficulty controlling his flame side because he has trouble reintegrating his father’s childhood abuse into who he is currently and trying to grow up as his own person. 

Toy’s blue flames are powered by his emotions, the quirk evolution that turned his flames blue happened when he started crying, the flame that burned him alive and started an entire forest fire happened again when he was crying. 

So flames = emotions, the emotions of everyone involved in this fight is so significant it’s literally changing the weather, and to top them all off, Spinner’s feelings have changed everything.

The current situation like a butterfly flapping its wings, is created by the feelings of one individual, and Hero Society as a whole has the habit of trampling on individuals in order to uphold the greater good of society. It is essentially the logic that Hawks used to justify the killing of Twice, he as an individual couldn’t be allowed to live because of the threat his quirk presented to all of society. 

All of this a long prelude to, before the fights itself not only have the villains made multiple attempts to have those feelings understood, and the kids have expressed interest in trying to understand what those feelings are. 

However, it’s incredibly important that at the same time, those same kids have then repeatedly tried to squash any attempt to sympathize with the villains they have inside of themselves, by remdining themselves of the destruction the villains have. Deku and Uraraka both mention seeing Toga and Shigaraki’s crying face, Shoto mentions he literally knows nothing about Toya even his favorite food. 

Then they immediately go back to squashing those thoughts. It’s important to realize the kids are actively trying not to sympathize with the villains, because it’s easier to just see them as villains and clears doubt from their head. This idea of crying is brought up by Toya too “whether you’re crying or smiling doesn’t matter”, the deeper meaning of that statement is that the people they are fighting against just don’t really care about what face that they are showing the world. Remember, Hawks actively dehumanized Toya’s mourning of Twice his friend, by insisting he couldn’t care because he was smiling even though Dabi literally cannot biologcally cry due to his burn wounds. The outside world just doesn’t care what kind of emotions they’re having, so might as well be strong and show a smile. 

All of this to say, the villains right now are the individuals the butterfly effect is referring too, they have continually been pushed down and insisted their personal grievances of society doesn’t matter because they are threats to the whole of society. But the butterfly effect statement reflects what Toya says to Hawks. A single person with a single conviction has the power to save the world. The collective isn’t all that exists, individuals are still important. 

All of this to say, the feelings of all the individual villains matter. All of the attempts to shut them up for the sake of the collective good have only backfired. We see this pattern repeated, Shoto, Uraraka, and Deku express an interest in what the villains feel only to just resort to physical violence. 

However, they never even act on their expressed interest to talk. Shoto asks Toya why he didn’t come home, and then proceeds to beat the crap out of him. Uraraka tells Toga she’s been thinking about her, and then proceeds to beat the crap out of her. Deku asks if Shigaraki is still there in the body possessed by AFO, but then doesn’t do anything else but beat the crap out of him. 

It’s not even that the villains didn’t reciprocate, Toya said very clearly that he still wanted to come bac home after being burned alive and only gave up when he thought his family had moved on without him, Toga was still trying to ask Deku to understand her and even says aloud that heroes are the only ones they count as real people and villains aren’t even considered human. Shigaraki breaks free from AFO’s control a couple of time and shows clear distress. 

Which is why I want to clarify, the villains themselves are giving clear hints that they don’t actually want to destroy, Toga hints she wants acceptance more than revenge against Hawks and the heroes, Toya makes it clear that there’s still a part of him that wants to go home (he literally tried to) Shigaraki still exists within AFO-Garaki. It’s the kids themselves that didn’t try to show them there was still a chance for things to go different, the plan wasn’t to talk to them ever the plan was to beat them up.Which is where we get to this chapter.

This isn’t an attempt to get them to talk, this is an attempt to get them to stay and fight. In fact during the Uraraka fight itself Urarka didn’t try to talk to Toga at all, the plan wasn’t try to de-escalate or try to understand Toga the plan was to sick a bunch of heroes on her at once and then... beat the crap out of her.

It’s even confirmed in the chapter itself, Toga’s incredibly impulsive and emotoinal, she’s not really a long term strategy or big picture girl. Yet, she survives in the fight despite being vastly outnumbered because she had to. It was the heroes attempts to just beat Toga down that forced her evolution and made her into a more cunning villain. A different strategy would have probably thrown her off of her game, but Uraraka had all the time in the world and didn’t even try it. 

Which is why the one hope the heroes might have right now is Uraraka getting thrown into the combat scenario with Toya, Enji, AFO, HAwks and now Toga. As none of those heroes except for Uraraka have ever expressed any interest in talking in the past. 

However, part of me wonders if Uraraka herself is going to have to actually question and challenge the adults present in order to actually get the character development where she acts on her feelings and desire to talk. (The feelings you’ve locked up inside...) those feelings are the only chance to turn the tides. THe feelings of one crying girl (Himiko Toga) have created this disaster, and the comfort given to one crying girl can be what stops it... 

However, I want to keep in mind that there is a reason all the kids have been suppressing their desire to talk with the villains, and that is their hero worship of the previous generation. Hawks makes it clear what he wants to do to Toga now that Twice is back (Kill her). The kids so far haven’t questioned the wisdom of the adults so far and that is what directly has led to repeating their mistakes. After all, Toya is here because SHoto agreed that despite Enji being the one who abused Toya, it was totally okay for him to have to skip any kind of confrontation with Toya and just leave all the responsibility up to Shoto. 

Toya bee lined to Enji, because Enji abandoned him for like the six millionth time. Toga herself, wants to target Hawks, because Hawks expresss no remorse over Jin’s death at all and given the chance would kill him again. Toga wants to fight Hawks, because she’s said several times Jin was someone important to her and his death is something she is still reeling from and mourning, and not even a single kid hero seems to question the fact that Jin was murdered in cold blood and Hawks the murderer went free. Toga pretty much told Uraraka to her face that Jin was someone incredibly important to her, and then later on that heroes just don’t see villains as people and Uraraka herself saw the broadcast that Hawks murdered Jin when his back was turned. Nobody else has acknowledged that Jin doesn’t deserve to die (not Uraraka and not Tokoyami) and therefore Toga’s grief for him is completely invalidated. 

Like, yes I think Toga killing Hawks and continuing the cycle of revenge would only make things worse. However, in the eyes of the heroes and even the kids (Uraraka and Tokoyami) Hawks did not do anything wrong in killing Jin. There’s no way the cycle of abuse can be stopped, if the cause of that abuse isn’t even addressed in the first place. 

Which is why the kids have to disavow the elders. They are the reason so far the kids haven’t been able to act on their desire to talk. Every time the kids have expressed a desire to talk, they completely squash it, and despite thinking they might be able to talk these people down they go along with the plans of the adult heroes that are essentially “Beat ‘em up.” Shoto decides to go along with Enji’s plan to just leave Toya entirely to Shoto, and abandon him yet again. Deku wants to save Shigaraki, and yet he builds a floating coffin and death trap in the sky with all the adults and just pummels him. Uraraka wants to talk to Himiko and yet the plan for fighting her is essentially just to have several heroes against one girl until she’s too exhausted to either run away or fight back. 

The kids have expressed an interest so far, but they haven’t changed. This chapter is about the power of the individual, the only way the world is going to change is if the kids stop going along with everything the adults tell them and learn to think for themselves. 

“Johnny Depp has not been arrested, charged nor convicted of any form of assault or violence against any woman.” 

Last Monday (August 9), was announced that Johnny will attend and be honored with the “Donostia Award”, on September 22, during the 69th San Sebastian Festival, in Spain. The Donostia Award is the highest honorary award of the festival, being given to a number of actors and film directors, every year since 1986. It recognizes outstanding contributions to the film world of great names that will be part of cinema history forever. 

On the same day, some people started to question why Johnny was chosen to receive an honorary award, due Ms. Heards’ Hoax about being a “victim” of domestic violence. And the director of the festival, José Luis Rebordinos, had to release an official statement to press.

“The Donostia Award to Johnny Depp is our recognition of a great actor, a man of cinema with a great career, who visited us last year as producer of the film ‘Crock Of Gold: A Few Rounds With Shane MacGowan’, by Julien Temple, which won the Special Jury Prize.”  ~ Jose Luis Rebordinos, Director of the San Sebastian Film Festival, August 9, 2021.

 But it was not enough. 

As soon as the news started to spread, it was revealed by BBC NEWS that those who still believe and protect Amber Heard’s lies, started to send hate messages and threats to those involved on the festival:

The The Women's Aid Federation, said this was “disrespectful to abuse survivors.” , while the Solace Women's Aid, which is one of the members of festival’s organizations, said that such awards were "misleading" and "insulting".

And the hate attacks continued:

> Sophie Francis-Cansfield, campaigns and policy manager at Women's Aid, according to the BBC NEWS, said: "When a perpetrator is celebrated, allowing them to continue to garner success and public approval suggests that abuse is acceptable and does not matter. Survivors must be believed and supported. It is crucial that survivors know that their experiences will be taken seriously and that abuse will not be tolerated by anyone."

Although neither she, nor The Women's Aid Federation shared a thing about it on their twitter, but on Women’s Aid account there’s a post written:

“Perpetrators often create justifications for their actions — to place blame on survivors and take away any responsibility from themselves.”

So, remember when Amber Heard CONFESSED she punched Johnny? 

“You didn’t get punched. You got hit! I’m sorry I hit you like this, But I did not punch you. I did not f*cking deck you. I f*cking was hitting you!” - Amber Heard (ambassador for women’s rights, outspoken domestic violence and sexual violence awareness)

> Erin Mansell, Solace's public affairs manager,  according to the BBC NEWS,   said: "When perpetrators of domestic abuse are lauded for their professional achievements in spite of evidence they have assaulted current or former partners, it sends a misleading message to survivors that the abuse doesn't matter. The decision to award this lifetime achievement prize is particularly insulting in the wake of a year where domestic abuse spiraled under conditions needed to address a global pandemic." 

> Cristina Andreu, president of Association of Female Filmmakers and Audiovisual Media (“Asociación de Mujeres Cineastas y de Medios Audiovisuales” - in Spanish), a professional association based in Madrid, said: “This speaks very badly of the festival and its leadership, and transmits a terrible message to the public… It doesn’t matter if you are an abuser as long as you are a good actor”. A full statement (in Spanish) criticizing the decision of the festival can be read HERE.  

Due to it, José Luis Rebordinos, Director of the San Sebastian Festival, released a new and longer statement on the festival’s site, revealing that evidences proving Johnny’s innocence were given to them BEFORE taking the decision.

“Following the announcement that the Donostia Award will go to the actor and producer Johnny Depp, the San Sebastian Festival has been accused of failing to display ethical behaviour in regard to violence against women. In the first place, as the director of and person holding the highest responsibility for the Festival, I would like to repeat our commitment to fighting inequality, the abuse of power and violence against women. As well as meeting the commitments acquired in the Charter for Parity and the Inclusion of Women in Cinema, the Festival has consciously promoted the presence of female professionals at the head of its departments. By means of its September programme and throughout the year it participates in the questioning of society from a critical and feminist point of view. We have also endeavoured to create safe atmospheres for women in the Festival places of work and sites and, in the event of inappropriate behaviour, which has occurred, we have taken tough and rapid action. 

But the Festival’s ethical commitments cannot only refer to the problems of women in a patriarchal society, despite the terrible nature of the situation in which we live, where hundreds of women are killed every year as the result of crimes by men. 

In these present times, when lynching on social media is rife, we will always defend two basic principles which form part of our culture and of our body of laws: that of the presumption of innocence and that of the right to reintegration. According to the proven data which we have to hand, Johnny Depp has not been arrested, charged nor convicted of any form of assault or violence against any woman. We repeat: he has not been charged by any authority in any jurisdiction, nor convicted of any form of violence against women. 

The rejection of all violent behaviour and the presumption of innocence are and will always be our ethical principles. 

José Luis Rebordinos, Director of the San Sebastian Festival (August 13, 2021)”

Just in case you didn’t know, it seems that these evidences has been giving to ALL of those who wants to contribute with Johnny, maybe given by his lawyers or even by himself to clarify and prove his innocence This had happen with J.K. Rowling (who saw and revealed has seen all the papers before giving him the role of Grindelwald), and probably with the following directors, producers and festivals with whom he has worked or was invited.

Can you imagine how sad it’s to show a paper and revive all those terrifying moments just to prove you are not the abuser, but the victim?

Has Amber Heard shown her “proves” of being a “victim”, or people has forgotten that she CONFESSED DOZENS of her abuses, lies, cheats, and all the bad things she did toward Johnny Depp?

So, what about those who believe him and KNOWS the TRUTH, tag them on Twitter and show the REAL evidences?  Let’s share the REAL truth. Information is never enough!

> To: Sophie Francis-Cansfield and The Women's Aid Federation:

Women’s aid Twitter: https://twitter.com/womensaid Sophie Francis-Cansfield Twitter: https://twitter.com/SophieFranCan

They also have an e-mail, open for “discussing what domestic violence and abuse is”, maybe some e-mails about who Amber Heard is may clear their minds. E-MAIL: [email protected]

> To: Erin Mansell and Solace Women’s Aid:

Erin Mansell: https://twitter.com/ErinLauraManse Solace Women’s Aid: https://twitter.com/SolaceWomensAid E-MAIL: https://www.solacewomensaid.org/about-us/contact-us

> To: Cristina Andreu  and the Association of Female Filmmakers and Audiovisual Media (“Asociación de Mujeres Cineastas y de Medios Audiovisuales ~CIMA”)

CIMA twitter: https://twitter.com/CIMAcineastas Cristina Andreu Twitter: https://twitter.com/CristinaAndreuC The open statement on twitter:  https://twitter.com/CIMAcineastas/status/1425342920522096640

Johnny Depp WILL NOT BE SILENCED or BELITTLED or ASHAMED or CANCELED again!

“Ultimately, the truth will come out in all of this and I will be standing on the right side of the roaring rapids. I hope other people will be too.” ~Johnny Depp

#JusticeforJohnnyDepp #JohnnyDeppIsInnocent #WeAreWithYouJohnnyDepp #IBelieveHim #AmberHeardIsAnAbuser

remus lupin, he was done dirty by dumbledore, too

You know who was always on Dumbledore’s side? Remus John ‘Wolfy McWolfface II’ Lupin. Even when Sirius, the last of his school friends and whomst he may or may not have been in love with was being asked to do questionable things by Dumbledore, Remus staunchly followed good ol’ Prof Dumbledon’t’s advice. Sirius got screwed over by Dumbledore and in the books, sometimes he began to realise it. Even Harry, Dumbledore’s man through and through, expressed his doubts, though he never really understood the extent to which Dumbledore’s presence in his life royally ruined it. Faced with Snape’s apparent betrayal at the end of HBP, Remus is flummoxed; he says he had assumed Dumbledore had more to go on than that. He had trusted this man i m p l i c i t l y, and it is not hard to see why.

Remus was made a werewolf when he was five, in a deliberate attack by Fenrir Greyback, as retaliation for laws Wolfy McWolf Snr. had made. Very little is known about Remus’ childhood, but his parents did not cast him out after he was infected, so they clearly loved him, and they must have been doing something to try and contain what happened to him once a month or else both of them would be dead, or werewolves too. Imagine being six years old and having your parents carry you down to the cellar once a month, locking you in there alone, feeling that intense and horrifying pain, waking up, covered in scratches and bitemarks you had apparently put there yourself, but you have only the vaguest memories of it. Your parents love you, but they also fear you enough to do this to you. There is a monster inside of you and you have to bury it or it will destroy everything you know and love.

You can’t have friends; it’s too much of a risk. They get too close and they may begin to wonder why you become so weak around the full moon, why sometimes you are covered in bandages, why you are covered in scars. You occupy yourself with books. Your best friends are buried in the pages. They cannot fear or judge you and they will never learn your secret. You learn fast and eagerly; you are clever, and talented, but you are warned that you must stay safe, stay secret.

There is a school but you cannot go. You cannot possibly go. How could you? You have a secret monster lurking under your skin and if anyone were to find out, you may never have a warm bed again. You understand this, even though it makes you sad.

Until one day, a man arrives at your house. He comes with kind smiles and a box of jelly beans; he talks to you directly, even when your parents try to take command of the conversation. He has thought of a way that you can go to school; he can help you. You can learn.

It’s not just school, he’s offering. It’s your entire life. It’s a future you didn’t even dare to daydream about. So you pack off to school, afraid but excited, knowing you still have to stay small, stay quiet, stay safe. You have to, or the web of lies that keeps you safe could come crumbling down on you. You have a secret monster lurking just under your skin, afterall. You are a risk to others; that is why you were not going to be allowed to go to school. So you stay small and safe, so you can keep everyone else safe from you, too. You don’t want people to be in danger, and they would be. You know this because your parents were afraid of you. You are afraid of you.

You go once a month, when it happens, to this miserable shack in the middle of nowhere. The school nurse does her best to patch you up the next day, but your injuries are cursed and so they can’t really be hidden. Your classmates stare and wonder what is going on. Some stare more than others. Some stare an awful lot. Too much. They start sticking their noses in your business and have no idea how disasterous it would be for everyone if they found out the truth. Sirius, James and Peter are funny, you would love them to be your friends, but they can’t be, because of the monster inside you, and you have to keep them away, for everyone’s sake. But they just won’t let up. They keep on and on and then, one day, Sirius Black, with his stupid floppy hair and sideways grin, he figures it out.

It’s frightening, it’s thrilling, and before he knows it, Remus has done the impossible, the forbidden; he has made friends. It’s better than he could have imagined; his friends are better than he could have imagined. Not only do they except the monster that is part of him without judgement or reproach, they actually help to tame it, learning to become animagi so the monster can chase and run with them. He doesn’t wake up injured any more. He wakes up exhausted, to listen to tales of night time adventures, of deers stalked and tails nipped and miles of countryside mapped under his own monsterous paws. And after a while, he even begins to remember. As though if he lets the monster out and makes his peace with it, the two of them can co-exist. Maybe the line between them is not so stark, is not so frightening. Perhaps the monster is not so much of a monster as he thought; dangerous, yes, but something that really can be managed.

And then he finishes school and becomes a member of the Order and Dumbledore, the man to whom he owes his freedom, his education, his friends, his whole life, he turns around and asks Remus for a favour. Unblinking, unperturbed, Remus agrees. Of course he does. He owes Dumbledore everything and this task is important; mingle with the other werewolves and report on their political opinions.

Remus does this and learns the life he would have had if Dumbledore hadn’t saved him. He sees these people suffering, cast out, slaves to the monsters they cannot even begin to hide. He is not accepted by them; how could they accept him, when by rights he should be living alongside them the slums but instead stands before them clean and learned and loved? But he does his duty to Dumbledore and reports back that the werewolves are disenfranchised, likely to be easy to radicalise. Of course they are. What has society ever offered them, why should they seek to defend it? Go back, learn more, Remus is bidden. Integrate, blend in.

Remus grows thin, tired. He cannot share what he learns with his friends, and does not see them for weeks, sometimes months at a time. He feels stretched, burned out, lonely, cold, isolated. But this is what Dumbledore has tasked him to do and he owes Dumbledore his life. Dumbledore helped him when everyone else could only see the bleak future he is now witnessing for himself up close. He would be one of these outcasts if it were not for Dumbledore. So he grits his teeth and gets on.

He learns the news last. James and Lily are dead, and Sirius betrayed them and murdered Peter to boot. He had hardly seen any of them in so long, it all seems surreal. The war - for now at least - is over. Remus has no need to stay amongst the other werewolves anymore, and all of his friends are gone, one way or another. He lives alone, in a tumbledown cottage in the middle of nowhere, scraping by. He exists on the fringes of society. There is a monster under his skin he must do everything he can to contain. There are no friends to run through miles of countryside with, no funny stories about pouncing and stalking through forests, no stags to nip at, rats to chase, nor dogs to wrestle in the grass. He is alone. The other werewolves will not have him; he is different from them, too.

What did Dumbledore see in Remus that made him fight to get him a place at Hogwarts? What was it about him that made him different from those beaten, starving people he saw slumming on the edges of wizarding society? What did he do to deserve to be saved? Nothing.

Dumbledore did not start a campaign to defend Remus’ rights. He did not champion him, did not say ‘here is this boy and you should treat him as your own because despite his illness, his curse, that is exactly what he is’. He did not say, it is wrong for werewolves to be outcast. He did not say we should be doing work to help these outcast people reintegrate with society. Remus is not special to Dumbledore. He is just convenient, and Dumbledore does not spare a thought on Remus once that convenience and usefulness is outlived, not for an entire decade, not until he becomes convenient and useful again.

And that, my friends, is yet another reason Dumbledore fucking sucks.

I’m basically exactly halfway through the Brick so I’m gonna stop reading and try and express something that’s been on my mind since I started this re-read. I’m not sure if I’m going to say things the way I want to, but I’m gonna try.

Something that I love about Les Miserables is the way Hugo talks about the long-term effects of prison, the trauma and instincts that come from it, as well as recidivism and/or inability to re-integrate into society.

This comes out most in how he portrays Valjean and writes about him, how he makes sure the reader never forgets that Valjean spent a long, long time as a convict. I’m not talking about Javert’s dogged searching for him; I’m actually ignoring that almost entirely when I talk about this.

What I mean is, the reader is constantly reminded of both the skills and traumas that Valjean picked up in prison. A sentence or two reminds us that Valjean has to work to not fall back into the instincts and habits he developed over two decades of incarceration.

Honestly the moment that made me think of this was at the very beginning of the book, specifically the description of Valjean entering and then leaving the galleys. He entered ignorant but at least dedicated and caring towards his family (if his sobbing and the gesturing of placing his hand on 7 little heads means anything) and left full of hatred and a rejection of god. His instincts are sharpened to aid survival and escape and avoid violence.

Something that fascinates me is how eloquently Hugo talks about the prison system, treatment of inmates, recidivism, trauma, etc. If you trade out certain details that are specific to the era (mainly, like, technology and how prison housing or punishment works etc) a lot of what he says could easily be applied to the prison system in the 21st century.

(It’s what makes me wish they’d somehow do a good modern interpretation miniseries (even though that’ll never happen), like an extended version of the 2014 Dallas show.)

Anyway, Hugo sets up Valjean’s early life in a way that, as far as I can tell, kind of seems to portray him as an “everyman” in terms of poor laborers: he lives with and cares for his sister and her children but his life is basically empty, he hadn’t felt any real kindness since he was very young, his life was hard and he had nothing, but he wasn’t evil, just immature and passive.

This effectively allows Hugo to talk about his opinions on the prison system and the huge ways it affects prisoners. “Valjean entered the galleys sobbing and trembling. He left hardened.” Hugo uses Valjean to describe the way that the prison system doesn’t allow for positive change or an attempt to better oneself. He says that punishment where cruelty is predominant is meant to slowly transform man into a beast by a slow numbing process, and that the prison system isolates, overwhelms, and numbs prisoners until they know nothing else.

A quote I wrote down from page 97 is,  “Liberation is not deliverance, A convict may leave the prison behind but not his sentence.” Again, something that can easily be transposed to modern day. A prisoner can leave the prison, but both his record and his trauma makes it difficult to re-integrate into society.

This hits hard specifically, I think, in the moment when Valjean is sneaking through the bishop’s house to steal the silver and run. The sound of the door sends him into terror, an all-consuming paranoia and fear that he’s going to be caught and sent back, and Hugo describes what is essentially a small panic attack.

And then, after the bishop gives him the candlesticks and tells him he must do good from now on, Hugo notes that “At times he would really have preferred to be in prison with the gendarmes, and free from this new development; it would have troubled him less.” Obviously this is a pretty paraphrased way of saying it, and Hugo is talking specifically about the moment that Valjean is leaving Digne, but I imagine Valjean is really struggling with reintegrating into society and relearning how to function through reactions and instincts that aren’t prison-based, and that these feelings probably continued for a little while. Because after Petit Gervaise runs away, he has another little panic attack-type thing. Here Hugo takes recidivism to the extreme and says that if Valjean does not become the best man, he will become the worst.

He also kind of repeats this sentiment later on, after Valjean escapes the Orion and retrieves Cosette: he says that Valjean’s return to prison had also renewed in him his disgust and weariness towards society and his anger at the fact that he’d gone to prison for doing good, and caring for Cosette kept him on the straight and narrow and didn’t allow him to return to old instincts.

There’s a lot of other little things Hugo includes that continually remind the reader of Valjean’s past: in his reverie when he’s trying to decide what to do regarding Champmathieu, his paranoia from earlier returns; also that after his stint on the Orion, his old prison instincts return as well; that he has the skills to keep hidden while walking in the streets; and later, in Petit Picpus, that “one of Valjean’s saddest talents” was “to live a long time in a box, to know how to be stifled without dying.” There are little moments of paranoia or strange little ingenious skills that always remind the reader the life Valjean lived for over 20 years.

Then Hugo goes into his discussion on crime and Patron-Minette etc. I think it’s really interesting that he seems to separate convicts and those who have spent so long in prison that they don’t know anything else from criminals like those in Patron-Minette or the petty criminals they interact with, who have grown up in this “third substage” and also know no better. I suppose it’s because Patron-Minette are sort of the foil/opposite of Les Amis de l’ABC but it’s an interesting hypocrisy on Hugo’s part to feel sorry for the convict who is ignorant but to see the criminal who knows nothing else in life and therefore cannot try to be better as “undermining philosophy, human thought, progress” etc etc.

I suppose Valjean is meant to be the exception as the example of the power of love and faith and kindness etc etc. Valjean could have been like those in Patron-Minette had he not been treated so kindly by the bishop and his soul been saved, essentially, through Myriel’s insistence that he must do good from now on. Hugo does emphasize that this “third substage” is essentially entirely maintained because of ignorance, and if ignorance were to be removed, so too would crime. Valjean is an example of that sort of success, while Patron-Minette and Thenardier are not.

Anyway, I just think Hugo’s thoughts on the prison system and recidivism and things like that are very interesting in that many of them can be applied to this century’s prison system and former prisoners. The fact that he says, not just about convicts but also sex workers, that the police will take away their liberty at will and without consideration, seems easily applied to modern day. So do his thoughts on cruelty in the prison system rather than a chance for reform and education.

I don’t think any of this is, like, a new discovery or new information or anything. It’s just some thoughts I wanted to get down in one spot.

Character profile: Shuri

Princess Shuri Udaku of Wakanda is the country’s resident teen genius with an eye for science and a heart of gold. Canonically the smartest person in the MCU, Shuri uses her intellect to improve her country and help her people whilst still being able to hold her ground in a fight, even against former Black Panther Killmonger. Additionally, in the comics, Shuri has a mire of superpowers brought on with intense training in the Djalia which include super-speed, animal transmogrification, density manipulation and the ability to reanimate corpses for short periods of time.  

Shuri’s personality and motivations pair well with her vast and complex skills and abilities, creating an overly rounded character that many viewers wound up getting attached to and protective over. 

Shuri’s most well-known characteristic is her intellect, a skill that is focused on greatly throughout the Marvel movies she appears in. In addition to having vast knowledge and experience in Design and technology, engineering and robotics, we can also use evidence to conclude that she has some background in medical science and psychology.

In Black Panther, it is heavily implied that Shuri performed the life-saving surgery on Everett Ross. Furthermore, at the end of the same film we see Bucky recovering from the HYDRA control, and Shuri’s lines make it seem likes she’s the one helping him recover and reintegrate into society. 

In Infinity war, she was entrusted with the important role of removing the Mind Stone from Vision’s head without killing him, something previously thought impossible by Bruce and the other Avengers. She went ahead with this despite not having a lot of time and knowing that the fate of her country and the lives of herself and her people were at risk. 

That protection and advancement of Wakanda is one of Shuri’s greatest motivations which drive her character. While her disinterest in following Wakanda’s traditions is reflected upon by multiple characters with various reactions, its is clear from her actions in Black Panther that she holds these customs and beliefs as significant to her. She actively fights for Wakanda when she learns of Killmonger’s plan to revolutionise which would have brought systemic change to Wakanda as well as the outside world. At the end of the day, Shuri may not be personally invested in cultural traditions, she likely understands and respects their significance to the people of Wakanda. She also uses her resources and scientific excellence to advance Wakanda far beyond any other civilisation in the world.

With that being said, Shuri shows an affinity for cultures outside Wakanda, with an emphasis on American cultural icons. She quotes vines, makes footwear-related puns and expresses excitement in visiting places in America. When T’Challa creates the first Wakandan International Outreach Centre, he appoints Shuri the head of the science and information exchange, to which she reacts with excitement. This would allow her to mix her cultural interest with her intellectual knowledge.

In addition to her intellect, we see Shuri fight multiple times throughout the MCU, first in Black Panther and again in Infinity War and Endgame. She maintains the use of the same weapon throughout all of this, a pair of gauntlets of her own invention which fire sonic/kinetic blasts of energy. These are entirely distance weapons, something that is uncommon within what we’ve seen of Wakanda, and from this we can draw that Shuri prefers to fight at a distance rather than close range combat. This plays to her strengths as she is smaller and younger than most other fighters, and does not have the assistance of the Heart-shaped herb to level the playing field for her.

This cannot be said for the comics version of Shuri, who has a number of superpowers including having taken the Heart-Shaped Herb and training with a spirit in the Djalia, Wakanda’s plain of collective knowledge and memory. She gained a number of powers from this, including the ability to transform her body into a flexible stone-like material with enhanced durability that cannot be dented by gunfire or powerful energy weapons. Comic Shuri is also capable of animorphism which allows her to transform herself and whoever she is in direct contact with into a flock of black birds, or a singular large dark bird, super speed and the ability to temporarily reanimate Wakandan corpses. However, reanimating corpses takes a lot of energy from her, meaning she can do it for only a short period of time.

Her passion for science, and success within Wakanda’s scientific field, leads her to be content within her role in the royal family. Shuri shows no grievance about her position as princess and seems to have accepted completely that unless something tragic were to happen to her brother, she will always be less powerful than him both physically and in the oligarchy of Wakanda. 

After Infinity War, Angela Bassett asserted in an interview with Screen Rant that both Ramonda and her daughter Shuri survived the Infinity War snap. This led a large amount of people in the Black panther Fan community to believe that, in her Brother’s absence, Shuri became the Black Panther and queen of Wakanda. However this turned out to be a misdirect and Endgame promotional posters and trailers confirmed she was, in fact, dusted. Her absence put a question mark over who lead Wakanda in those five years, a topic that is debated to this day. 

However, Black Panther fans haven’t given up hope that we will one day see Shuri take up the mantle of the Black Panther in a future Marvel movie like she did in the comics.

Many of Shuri’s outfits and choices of physical appearance have significance to different real-world African cultures, from the braids in her hair to the choices of necklaces and other jewelry. 

The outfit Shuri is wearing during her first scene in Black Panther features an Adinkra symbol, a set of cultural symbols from the Asante/Ghana region of Africa.

This Adinkra symbol, Wawa Aba, can mean many things depending on what you read and how you interpret. In a Vanity Fair interview, Costume designer Ruth Carter explained the symbol means 'purpose’, a reference to Shuri’s purpose within Wakanda as the scientific innovator. Other websites cite this symbol as representing hardiness, toughness and perseverance, all of which can be related to elements of Shuri’s personality.

Shuri’s personality itself is intricate and can be summed up in many ways. She’s a Disney princess, but escapes the connotations of a typical princess by not relying on anyone to fight her battles for her and by being unrelenting in standing up for what she believes in, which is a show of strength in itself.

Shuri takes pride in her work and chases innovation no matter what on whatever she invents, believing there’s no end to a device’s ability to be improved. She is 100% committed to any task and puts her mind to everything she does. Shuri also has pride in herself and her achievements, in her family and in Wakanda as a country.

Along with characters like Klaue, she’s mostly the lighthearted comic relief of the film. While she has her sombre and serious moments, her main goal is to be optimistic, funny and uplifting using comedic timing, teasing, sarcasm and punchy one-liners to lift heavy scenes. Shuri has an almost child-like demeanour and never really takes a stake in formality which balances out other characters.

Shuri is, in many ways, the perfect younger sister character that people could easily get attached too and form a bond with. She’s intelligent and optimistic with a balanced set of skills and a sparkling personality. 

Have we missed anything? Do you have something to add? We’re always happy to hear new information and make additions! Reblog or comment and let us know, or if you have a favourite gif or fics, feel free to leave them too! Thanks for reading!

Series Review Pt. 3/3

Part One

Part Two

All right, last one!

One of the things about adults is that most become increasingly less flexible the older they get. They learn to function in a certain way to get certain results and work themselves into a pattern that inhibits their ability to be creative or dynamic which is compounded the less they are challenged. This isn’t opinion - this has been a scientifically and statistically verified fact. Different levels of physical and emotional development fundamentally changes the way human beings process stimuli and conflict, and factors like physical injuries and trauma affect the ability of one to process and resolve stressful situations. This doesn’t mean adults can’t change the way they think or do things, but it’s much harder for them to mentally and emotionally break out of their preconceived notions unprompted whereas younger adults still largely maintain the ability to criticize and adjust changes in perspective and creatively adapt to new information.

The kids we see in HeroAca are in a particularly unique situation in regards to coming from a background of ideals (“If I work hard, I’ll see the fruits of my labor”) and coming to grips with the inherently unfair nature of the world (“Even the greatest hero can’t save everyone”). Combined with the early exposure they’ve had to the injustices in their society and their general disposition to maximize the positive impact they have on others the “next generation of heroes” is in a unique situation to completely overhaul the current system literally as they enter it by bringing in new ideals and embracing their diversity in thought and background to directly challenge failings in the old system as well as bring awareness to those who exist outside it. With an added sense of camaraderie and teamwork over rivalry they have the ability to foster more “human” conversations with the aim of improving the world as opposed to being purely focused on “business” when in uniform the way their predecessors were.

This isn’t to say that the grown heroes of the series have to be completely done away with, just that they have not had a generation so able to challenge them to action in the way their juniors do now. In fact, it’s a running theme in the series that the next generation of heroes either teach or save their mentors in unexpected ways and with varying degrees of intensity as they work through adversity together.

Red Riot has not only saved Fatgum in a literal sense in the battle with the Shie Hassaikai, but Fatgum explicitly states he underestimated the ability and resolve of the young hero. He also holds faith in his older mentee, Sun Eater, whom he regards as a hero unrivaled in ability in the current climate if he only could overcome his own self-doubt. Sir Nighteye’s confidence in Lemillion is evident from the start and to his dying breath believes the key to his ability to save is not rooted in the strength of his quirk but by his ability to make others smile. Nighteye’s previous disdain of Deku is eventually turned into awe and inspiration when he’s able to do what was previously thought to be impossible and theoretically change destiny itself. All Might’s faith in Deku has also been immediately obvious, but seeing that his symbolic value with the next generation as a hero hasn’t depreciated with his declining ability has given him the resolve to fight for his own survival again. Bakugo in particular has received a new, special place in his heart as a capable hero who together with Deku represents his two separate but related core values in a hero - winning and saving - but with greater potential then All Might was able to achieve alone. Shinsou has served as a personal means for Eraserhead to move past the trauma of violently losing his childhood friend and begin to truly encourage the next generation to accept the risk inherent in this line of work instead of letting his fears inhibit his ability to teach and mentor them. Shouto has been a catalyst for Endeavor to seek to restore to his family what he took away from them and to recognize that he can never fully restore or erase the trauma he inflicted on them nor does he have any right to ask to be included in their lives any further. Even straightforward, straight-laced Tsukoyomi has inspired Hawks to take a second look at what it means to raise up the next generation of heroes outside of his own troubled past with it to the point he now actively encourages and genuinely believes in them as a whole to possess the power to make changes he couldn't.

These conversations have largely not happened with the criminal side of the field as any opportunity for the children to touch the hearts of villains have been marred by the inherent life-or-death struggle of each encounter. Each side is literally too busy fighting for survival/victory to truly have some of these meaningful conversations, but the seeds they’ve planted in the hearts of their mentors as well as the rare heart-to-heart interactions they’ve had with villains have proven they have power; and that’s going to be the deciding factor in this literal war at the end of the manga - that is, this missing piece is going to be an opportunity for the heroes to save the hearts of the villains.

The key to this next generation “saving” an army of villains will be dependent on their ability to advocate for rehabilitation and reintegration into society - both for villains to accept the help and for broader society being willing to forgive them. Hawks has already started with his personal offer to help Twice, but it will be interesting to see how others are able to input offers for reform in the heat of battle and in light of their individual circumstances.

An example I hope we’ll get to see is an interaction between Dabi, Endeavor, and Shouto (assuming, of course, that Dabi is a Todoroki). Shouto would be the main deciding factor in the altercation as he has undergone the same kind of abuse and personal tragedy at the hand of Endeavor as Dabi has; but the outcome was completely different and he therefore may be able to speak to Dabi in a way that Endeavor definitely cannot. Shouto made the personal choice to not let his hatred for his father consume him and instead channeled the resources available to him to become a hero capable of saving others because he determined in and of himself to do so, rather than becoming a person obsessed with personal vengeance or merely operating as his father’s vicarious victory. It’s important to remember that Shouto has looked to the ideals of heroism (mainly through his admiration of All Might) as a good thing from a young age, but those ideals were overshadowed in the face of the constant abuse in his home and he became more and more cynical over time. As he began to accept that he was not bound by the burden of his upbringing and was capable of moving past the trauma to determine his own future despite it, he was not only able to change his entire outlook on his future for his own sake; but Shouto even began to cause Endeavor to reexamine the ethics and consequences of his actions even without the forgiveness of his family simply by operating as the kind of hero Shouto wanted to be for himself instead of the hero Endeavor tried to force upon him. 

In this light, Dabi’s personal vendetta is clarified to not be the pursuit of justice but a mere act of vengeance with understandable motivation but ultimately evil justification that has not only failed to constructively address the issue of neglect and abuse in his own home, let alone of hero families as a whole, but has caused undeserved collateral death and grief in the process. Whether this revelation will “save” Dabi is unknown as Shouto and Natsuo also still hold deep contempt for their father; but both of them have begun to move past the events of their childhood (if only in very small steps) and have begun to self-determine their relationship with their father individually, while Dabi is still operating out of pure spite. Interestingly, what we may end up seeing in this situation is a schism resulting in a fight similar to the final showdown between Zuko and Azula in Avatar: the Last Airbender. (And on that note, I don’t know how I didn’t notice the additional parallels between the families sooner between the scar, paternal abuse resulting in an estranged mother, and sibling with blue fire. I called Todoroki Frosty Fire Prince Zuko in the past as a joke, but this feels so obvious now; I’ve clearly been sleeping.) One more wild card thrown in will be if Hawks is present for this interaction and seeing his reaction to it as he will fight Dabi and has a similar story to both him and Shouto.

Where kids like Bakugo and Deku will be most relevant or impactful is not quite clear at the moment, though a clash with Shigaraki feels imminent. We do know at least that each are counted as capable heroes in their own rights with the distinction that Bakugo is a hero who wins fights and Deku is a hero who saves people so their role might look like something along the lines of Bakugo ending a battle and Deku ending the underlying conflict. There seems to be an insinuation that these two things rarely can be done at the same time, and that first the physical threat must be addressed before a sit-down and exchange can be made to talk about the motivations and underlying causes of the fight. Much like with the final fight with Overhaul, Eri was not considered to be completely saved until after she was removed from her situation and then allowed to heal - and even that process is ongoing.

If the heroes are able to refute the viewpoints of the villains at the end of the day and are able to truly move the public on their behalf, those who chose to cooperate will likely be given the chance to start over while those who continue to fight out of spite will be at best detained and at worst killed in the struggle. What this might look like, I’m not sure, as some have hefty crimes to answer for and may not have the opportunity to truly reintegrate. Any country/society/culture with as many people committing as severe crimes as these would have difficulty embracing change that would welcome these people back, let alone the specific context of Japan that brutally punishes criminals and so often permanently damages their reputations and social standing - sometimes for what many would consider only “minor” crimes. Nevertheless, it doesn’t mean that there isn’t hope for even the worst of them with a proper change of heart; and the fact that the Meta Liberation Army was as widespread a cultural phenomena as it was offers the idea that enough people are open to the ideas of the radical shifts necessary to address these concerns which increases the chance to make reforms peacefully.

As a focus point, consider Shigaraki. He’s the most important villain to reach not only as the head of this massive villain organization but as a dire victim of the current system’s shortcomings. His own biggest quarrel with hero society as it stands is that it makes people overconfident and apathetic because there's always a hero just around the corner - let them handle this person in need. While Shigaraki is not advocating for individual moral responsibility, a new societal emphasis on it could resolve most of the issues he has with hero society. A big enough cultural shift could also address instances of criminal activity on a case by case basis - a new focus that hurt people lashing out isn't acceptable behavior, but perhaps some other response than immediate punishment should be considered; as well as reconsider the role of the current justice system in the progressive intensity over a person’s criminal history to mitigate these problems before they manifest.

Right now what's holding up Shigaraki's power over others (outside of the terror he inspires) is the support of others predicated on a lie - and this goes both for the League and the PLF. If that lie is exposed, Shigaraki could wind up high, dry, and unsupported - vulnerable - depending on how individuals take the revelation. He does seem to genuinely care for the core members of the League, and their loyalty to him is undeniably profound and far reaching. Despite his nihilism, at the end of the day he’s still a deeply wounded and angry individual looking in extremes for some solace in the injustice of a world that rejected him. There are many ways this can go depending on who faces who in the final showdowns to come; but for that we'll have to wait and see.

If someone as far gone as Shigaraki can be saved then there's a bright future out there for everyone if they are willing to reach out together and grab it.

This review has left out many aspects of the story I reviewed as important but not necessary for this article, and at some 5k words that's probably for the best. Too much speculation at the moment doesn't feel very productive outside of how general themes and plotlines will tie up at the end, but I'll have to save some of those specifics for some other time. Thank you for sticking out with me this far, and thank you again to @baezetsu​ and @dorito9708​ for helping me review and edit all this information!

OC Character Sheet

2020 UPDATE

Setting: distant future post-post-apocalypse. Tired of the humans ravaging the earth many monsters and magical creatures rose up and took control of the planet to save it. Centuries later, some humans adapted and live side by side with the new supernatural neighbors, but most that survived still live separately in isolated city-states. Times however are threatening to change once again.

Notable Character List

Thaddeus Varni: main character. His mother was elected governess of his human city-state of Waldrand (in modern Austria/Styria) so he’s lived about a good a life as a human could in this world albeit very sheltered and vaguely stressed. He was turned into a vampire accidentally when the city was attacked by the small vampire nation. Now as a monster he cannot return home, his goal now is to become human again and stop the vampire nation from attacking again. The attack also damaged his throat significantly, the bite left him mute and with a large scar. He’s very self conscious about the scar, and especially in the beginning he wears things like scarves or a poncho to cover his neck. He communicates at first with writing on notepads but eventually learns sign language. He goes from very stiff and proper to more loose and expressive as a result of learning sign. A grump with a heart of gold, just wants to sit in his vegetable garden tbh. Thaddeus can be hard to get to know but once you do become his friend he is willing to throw hands with anything for you. He’ll fight anything actually (especially if that thing is much bigger than he is, which is usually the case as he’s rather short and slight). Most likely to eat pizza with a knife and fork. He hates it when people call him Tad. As a vampire he has the ability to shapeshift (his form is a pine marten).

Shahrazad Zargari: An alchemist originally from a city in the Iraq region. Thaddeus meets her while she is telling stories in the street using alchemy to make and animate little figures to go along with her tales. They eventually end up traveling together as she knows the outside magical world much better. As an alchemist she was meant to be traveling the world from town to town to offer services and alchemical medicine but she found she likes telling stories and creating art with alchemy better. Her family doesn’t know about what she’s been doing while traveling and she hopes to keep it that way (such is the life of a liberal arts student). She has a talent for creating golem which she considers friends even if they are only friend shaped empty shells. Shahrazad’s an actual ray of sunshine, most likely to be a studio ghibli protag.

Feliz Guillermo Rivera: a spanish sailor, he lives on a small caravel boat/ house boat named La Foca. He spends most of his days fishing and playing music and movies obnoxiously loud much to the annoyance of whoever he’s docked next to. Feliz makes his living selling fish and offering ferry services on his boat which is how he meets Thaddeus and Shahrazad. He was human but ends up tragically turned into a vampire during their adventures. They all learn to manage it together. Feliz was left with the boat after his parents were killed by a sea monster attack. Because of this Feliz is very attached to the boat and still struggles going out into large open waters instead preferring to stay close to shore. He also developed OCD tendencies as he struggled to cope ie intrusive thoughts and compulsive tendencies to count items and double check things on the boat in an effort to maintain control. He’s learning to manage it better with things like music and jigsaw puzzles. Most likely to eat all the marshmallows from the Lucky Charms. He can play the guitar, ukulele, and the accordion. As a vampire he has the ability to shapeshift (his form is a seal).

Ramon and Concha: This bonded pair are the kobolds/ klabautermann that live with Feliz on the boat the La Foca. They have watched over the family’s boat since the time of Feliz’s grandparents. They consider themselves family, and these two watch over Feliz as if he were their own. As klabautermann they protect the boat, in fact they’re practically are a part of the boat really. Concha tends to help Feliz with the sails or steering. She also likes joining Feliz in his music making, playing the accordion, even though the thing is about the size of her torso. While Concha is very sweet like an old granny, Ramon is much more rough and gruff. He tends to help with the cooking and keeping the ship clean and tending to the mechanics. He likes to take the form of a fire on the stove to cook. 

Hugh Wesley: Hugh was a doctor who was bitten by a vampire he had been treating as a patient. He was chased out of town for being a vampire and spent many years adrift. He found peace with his condition and has been able to reintegrate into society again under the guise of being a normal shapeshifter. He does not have a medical practice anymore, although he’s always willing to provide aide. Instead he owns a flower shop, selling plants from his greenhouse in town. He’s surrounded himself with other vampires who have passed through, confused and lonely as he had been. Although many of the other vampires come and go, several stay, and together they all form a loose sort of coven. As a vampire, he has the ability to shapeshift, Hugh’s form is a black fox.

Ava and Theresa Baumann: They met at university in the UK when Ava was studying spirits and spirit magic while Theresa was a seamstress. The two fell absolutely head over heels about each other, and married. Unfortunately Ava died suddenly and Theresa could not cope. Using Ava’s research she scoured the knowledge she could trying to find a way to save Ava. This eventually led to her finding and beseeching to the Spirit of the Dead. Theresa was able to get the power of necromancy from this spirit ie giving life to the dead, however this did not work on Ava as hoped. Theresa was able to call enough soul energy from the ether to animate Ava’s decayed body and summon Ava’s soul to be present but she could not actually combine Ava’s soul and body since the connection had already been lost. So now Ava’s body is animated, mindless and basically a zombie while her soul lingers as a noncorporeal ghost. So the two can speak to and see each other again but of course it’s not ideal. They just try to manage as best they can, unsure what would happen if Theresa tried to send either Ava’s body or spirit away. The two now live in a secluded cottage surrounded by forest and a large garden. They’re Hugh’s best customers. They have a 30 year old orange cat named Purrsephone.

Antagonists:

Queen Athanasia: Queen of the vampire nation in what was once Greece/ the city of Delphi. Also known by other names like Athanasia the Deathless, or The Dragon, The Great Oracle. She became queen after she lead a coup against her own husband, the old vampire King Ambrose. She is revered for her strength, vision, and powers of fortune telling. She speaks almost exclusively through telepathy (just to flex tbh). She has lost one leg which she has fashioned a prosthetic made of brass with talons on the foot. Vicious and swift, she has high standards for vampires she lets into her society, values strength above all else. While the vampires have drained their own people and the very land of life, she has now taken it upon herself to start moving into new territory for more souls and to Make Vampires Great Again. What’s the point of being an evil queen without world domination anyway? As a vampire, her shapeshift is a barn owl. 

Jan Rostami: When the vampires first started running low on souls to devour, they started demanding sacrifices from villages nearby to the west. Jan, as a sickly unremarkable member of her distinguished family, was volunteered as sacrifice quickly. This broke Jan. When she was faced with the vampires she did not fight back or beg for her life. It surprised them that instead Jan was willing to die rather than live with the shame and disdain. Athanasia offered Jan a chance to be turned and join the vampire ranks instead. Jan’s first act as a vampire was leading the attack on her ungrateful village. She’s reveled in her new strength and Athanasia’s supposed ‘love’ ever since. Jan’s vampire shapeshift is a rabbit

Erik Draugur: Athanasia’s main general and a trusted advisor. Draugur is very tall and thin, almost skeletal looking. A very grave man, but truly comes alive while hunting. He has a tendency to loom about silently over people’s shoulders. Draugur is also the one to generally keep the other vampires in line, especially Jan, whom he has yet to trust since she joined the court. His vampire shapeshift is a pale gray horse. 

Abraham Ruthven: one of the oldest vampires in Athanasia’s court, he was an old Lord that did not want his wealth to outlive him so he allowed himself to be turned. He has not aged well, he looks more waxy and decrepit by the decade. What Abraham lacks in brains, he makes up for in being terribly vicious. He has his moments, which is why Athanasia has seen fit to keep him in the court as a long time advisor. His fangs come from his two front incisors, this gives him a bit of a hissing lisp. His vampire shapeshift is a bat. 

Dwalin ~ Ornate

700 Followers Challenge!

Requested by @fentah

Words: 1,622

Warnings: Angst, uncertain ending

Dwalin sat quietly, staring at his hands, lost deep in thought.

The door opens on the darkened room, Balin peeking his head in before shaking his head and looking back at Thorin.  “I’ve never seen him like this.”

Thorin looks grave.  “There must be something that we can do.  We cannot just leave him there to wallow in his own grief and pity.”

Balin sighs, looking again at his brother.  “He loved Y/N more than he would ever say Thorin, with her gone…I don’t know if there is way back for him.”

“I only want to know,” Dwalin’s voice came from the room, causing both of them to look around the door.  “Why she didn’t tell me the truth.”

“We may never know,” Balin said, entering the room slowly, keeping an eye on Dwalin and noting the several broken items around the room already. “She always kept things close to her chest.”

Dwalin frowns but doesn’t look up, Balin and Thorin sharing a worried glance.  “They were s’posed to be old markings, one that didn’t mean anything anymore, things that were in her past that she’d left behind.”

Balin nods at Thorin, who clears his throat slightly and holds out a piece of paper.  “Dwalin...they didn’t happen to be anything like this?”

Finally, Dwalin looks up, his eyes red and puffy, but his hand is strong as he takes the paper and his eyes wonder over the intricate pattern drawn.

They watch as his fingers trace it out of memory, his eyes going distant for a moment before he sighs.

“Aye,” He said quietly.  “What does it mean?”

Thorin and Balin share another look.

“It’s an old symbol,” Balin started.  “From an old bloodline that slowly developed into a…group, of sorts, ones that made blood pacts to each other and wore their marks proudly. More often than not, they weren’t the nicest of dwarves.”

“They were thieves, bandits, marauders, among other things.” Thorin said.  “My great grandfather cleared them from Erebor long ago. With her…well, it looks like she’s just one creeping back in.”

Dwalin frowns and shakes his head.  “She wasn’t like that.”

“They knew how to act to get what they wanted Dwalin, she-”

“Wasn’t like that.” Dwalin said firmly.  “I know Y/N, and while she was rough around the edges, there was nothing that that spoke ill of her nature.”

A silence fills the room for a long moment, Balin and Thorin debating what to say.

“I just don’t understand why she had to go, with hardly saying a word.”  Dwalin finally broke the silence, his voice quiet and low, his question hanging heavy in the air.

“We may never know Dwalin,” Thorin said softly.  “But…with what’s gone missing lately, we only have to assume the worst.”

Dwalin gaze was dark as he looked at Thorin.  “How many times do I have to say that she wasn’t like that? I knew Y/N.”

“Clearly not enough to know why she would leave so quickly.”

Dwalin was on his feet, hands clenched by his side and a retort on his lips when they were all distracted by hurried footsteps along the hall.

Fili appeared, his face flushed.  “Uncle, you may want to come take a look at this.”

Thorin frowns at him.  “What is it Fili?  This is-”

“It’s Y/N,” Fili was already turning on heel and starting back the way he came.  “Come on!”

Thorin and Balin stood there shocked until Dwalin pushed his way through, hurrying after Fili, before they followed too.

The hall was a buzz of voices in Dwalin’s ears, but none of that mattered, not until he found you and see what was going on.

His step faltered as he saw you standing proud against a group of guards, their weapons raised; your hand on your sword, but you made no movement to draw it.

Dwalin growled and forced his way through them so as he was standing between you and their weapons.  “What do you think you are doing?”

The guards all shared looks.

“Sir, we have reason to believe-”

“You will lower your weapons and that’s an order.” Dwalin growled, the guards hesitating, but he didn’t see it as he turned back to you, quickly taking in your tired expression, even through the calm, he could see that something bad had happened, which was only made more evident when he spotter several bandages sticking through your armour.  “Where have you been Y/N?”

Your eyes softened on him and the beginnings of a smile started. “I’m sorry to have worried you my love, but I could not risk anything happening to you.”

Thorin and Balin caught up then, Thorin’s gaze mistrusting.

“Y/N,” He said a little uncertainly.  “Would you care to explain yourself?”

You glanced at Dwalin for a moment, something like worry flashing across your gaze, but you held yourself tall in front of the King. “First, an apology is order, King Thorin, it was never my intention for this to go as far as it did.  I must also convey that I have sorted the issue and returned what was taken from Erebor.”  You nod at the cart that several of the guards had surrounded and were poking at the bags.

“Sort the issue,” Thorin said slowly.  “And what was the issue exactly?”

“The Guilded.” You said easily, drawing a few murmurs from the crowd and a knowing look between Thorin and Balin.  “What was left of my people, as it were, no doubt you have worked it out by now with the small calling cards that were left behind at each thievery.”

You knew that Dwalin’s gaze was on you, not willing to believe the words you were saying.

“Considering you were banned from Erebor, I find it hard to believe that you worked your way back in so easily.”  Thorin said, frowning.  “And I find it even harder to believe that you are simply returning what was stolen.”

Your smile was sad.  “Trust me, my King, there was nothing easy about it.  There were already not many of us left when we caught wind of the return and reclaim of Erebor, and we all agreed that it was time to reintegrate ourselves into our people’s belief and culture, putting who we were well behind us.  It seemed, however, something that I sadly discovered once it was far too late, that old habits die hard for some.  It took me longer than I would’ve liked to track down those responsible, and even longer to…right the wrong that they have done, hence my prolonged absence.”

Thorin lets out a slow breath.  “You understand Y/N, that there are going to be consequences to these actions, that there will be recompense?”

A bow was your answer.  “I am ready and willing to accept the consequences my people have caused, because although I was not directly involved, I should have been more careful in how I allowed them to roam your city.”

Dwalin stared at Thorin.  “Surely you can’t be locking her away?”

Thorin licked his lips a little nervously.  “You need to see how this looks to the people Dwalin, they need to know that they are safe.”

“You can’t just lock her away!”  He said hotly.  “I will not allow it!”

“Dwalin, we don’t know if the others will return to-”

“There are no others,” You cut in calmly, all eyes returning to you.  “I am now the last.”

“Y/N,” Dwalin asked a tense moment.  “What are you saying?”

“I did what I had to do to protect those that I love.”  You said, not meeting his eye.  “And as none of them were willing to change their ways, I had to put an end to it.  As leader it was my responsibility to do so.  Of those few left in the city, most are already married and have integrated well into Erebor; you will never know the difference and I will divulge no names.”

Silence falls again, the air feeling heavy as Dwalin stared at you, trying to work out how much he really knew you before he looked to Thorin and saw him making a decision.

“Guards, take Y/N to a cell and keep her guarded.  I need to convene with the council to decide what is to be done with her.”  Thorin said it firmly enough, but his voice was ladened with regret.

“No.”  Dwalin said, stepping forward as the guards go to surround you again.  “I won’t allow it!”

He only faltered once your hand rested on his arm, bringing his gaze to yours.

“There's no way to stop it.” You spoke softly to him.  “I know the consequences of my actions and I am prepared to accept them.  Please Dwalin, don’t get yourself hurt for me, that’s why I kept you out of it to begin with.”

Dwalin’s shoulders sink as he sees the honesty and integrity in your eyes and with hardly thinking, wanting to put at least some of the pain in his heart to rest, he took you in his arms and kissed you deeply, uncaring of the watching eyes and bare whispers that followed.

He rests his head on your for a moment, speaking quietly so only you can hear.  “From now on, wherever you go, I follow.  No matter what.”

You smile warmly at him, even as he steps back to let the guards take your weapons and bind your hands.  “I love you Dwalin, no matter what happens, remember that.”

With a feeling of helplessness, Dwalin watched you be lead away. Thorin goes to say something only to be cut off by a dark look, Dwalin turning on his heel and marching back to his room, thinking heavily on what to do next.

on a related note:

i’ve seen a lot of posts go around mocking steven universe for its mantra of redemption > punishment. 

and, you know, i’m gonna let the cat outta the bag now: i do wish that the show/writers would mix their villains/defeats up a bit. not because i have an issue with redemption > punishment, but because i feel that as writers they limit themselves by only allowing the resolution to revolve around talking down the foe in the end. there’s really only so many ways you can do that. sure, the literal conversation changes, but the trajectory never does. it becomes predictable, somewhat stale--and i feel as though if steven encountered an enemy he truly could not get through to in the end it would establish a new status quo, a sense of uncertainty in the team and the fans, and like. the principle wouldn’t have to change. you always try to save people. but when you can’t you can’t. that is a very REAL lesson that kind-hearted people could afford to learn, firstly. and second, it would build upon threads we’ve seen planted from the bismuth and jasper arcs. steven would have to accept that he really  cannot save everybody. i respect the people who are okay with the show the way it is. but this is my opinion. i just wanted it out of the way so there’s no speculation when i get to the main point.

SO. what IS the point here?

well, i think that people who criticize the redemption > punishment aspect of the show? people who claim that villains just “get away” with what they did while having “no accountability” for their actions are forgetting that their redemption arc IS their accountability. it IS them making up for their actions. to say that they have no accountability is to confuse accountability for punishment. which, frankly, i understand. especially here in america, we run on a punish = justice mindset. our prisons are punishment and frankly torture-based whereas (some) other countries focus on reintegrating their criminals into the society via reformation tactics. steven universe is effectively this on steroids.

in the uh...universe of steven universe, we watch villains actively go through a reformation process--just not behind bars. and that’s okay--amazing, even! forgiveness doesn’t mean you don’t hold people accountable. steven was the first to forgive peridot, but he still actively guided her through the process of learning humility, respect, how to say please and thank you, her first apology--all of that was actively acknowledging that she had parts of herself that needed work and working tirelessly to improve those parts.

i will happily admit that we’ve seen more of some characters’ reformations than others (*cough the diamonds hack*). but that doesn’t mean it didn’t happen, that it wasn’t real, and that they weren’t being held accountable. remember--steven even directly scolds white diamond in just the first few minutes of the movie.she is still working to improve herself. she is still being held accountable for her beliefs and how she treats others.

and, you know, like it or not, watch it or not, i think that should be one of the very important takeaways from this show. yes, kindness is powerful. yes, love is strong. but also, forgiving and forgetting? they’re not mutually exclusive. not by a long shot. and one of this show’s strengths is showing how you can use forgiveness to create positive change.

peace.

it's mermay!! will mer!au get another installment??

HI BABE

Ah, I mean, I hadn’t really thought about the Mer-thing tbh and someone sent an ask about the last one being a little too dubcon-ish. Which, I mean, I can understand. 

But between you and me, I feel like it would go something like this:

Once Dr. Drake broke the surface of the water, gasping in a deep breath of dirty Gotham Harbor air–

–his tail turns back into legs, and he’s frantically kicking to try and keep himself and his large belly afloat.

It’s only by sheer luck a few fishermen are coming in after a day out with the nets and see him starting to tire on the swim back to dry ground.

“M-My clothes are gone!”

They give him a spare set and let him use the phone to call Tam, and get a very nice pick-up.

The clothes are for someone probably twice his size and hide his belly, and she looks positively horrified and immensely relieved at the same time.

She’s kept up the rent on his apartment, been checking with GCPD’s missing person’s unit, kept the university abreast that yes, Dr. Drake is still missing. So she does take him home, make him hot tea, and listen to the most INCREDIBLE story of her life.

“Th-they’re real? That’s! And you’re!”

“Yes and yes,” his voice is hoarse, the shakes mostly subsided. “We’ve found evidence in bits and pieces over the last fifty years, Tam. It’s not as far fetched as you might believe. The fact I’m…pregnant is another thing entirely.”

“Well, I mean, I can’t exactly throw you a baby shower, Tim.”“I need to find a doctor that can be discreet.”

At this juncture, Dick and Jay have gone back to their clan to tell them what has happened to their poor mate. The head of their clan gives them each a bit of magic trapped in shells.

“These will help you. You will understand the language of the land-walkers.”“How will we get to him?”“Use the magic, my clansmen. It will direct you to what you seek.”

It would be something for the two to get close to the surface and whisper to the shells how much they want to find their little mate. They want to love and protect him, they want to be by his side.

And the magic throbs in hand, gives them the legs they need to walk on land for the first time.

If anyone had seen how they wobbled and fell all over the beach trying to get used to standing, it would probably be hilarious. But in reality, the two are one hundred percent invested on getting this walking thing down so they can keep following the scent trailing through the city before they lose it.

It takes a while, but they’re able to walk well enough to see land walker coverings  behind some glass. Jay breaks it casually so they can get in and help themselves to some that fit quite nicely. They leave authentic gold doubloons on the counter as payment.

The foot coverings are odd, but it feels much nicer than when they step on the street without them.

The two walk and listen to land walkers, the magic shells allowing them to understand the language and many of the references to the world above the waves.

They’re probably suffering culture shock, wandering around Gotham to see everything and try to catch their mate’s scent again.

…while Tim has contacted the only expert he thinks could be discreet enough (and might believe everything) to help.

Dr. Ra’s al Ghul, Aquatic Mythos.

He goes in to his office at the University, has to explain to his research team where he’d been the last two months and hide the fact he’s pregnant.

It takes him a few days to get reintegrated with where they are in their work, and meeting deadlines for studies, etc. Business as usual.

(And does Tim angst about it after Tam leaves him alone finally and he has a night in his apartment to inhale everything, to rub his swollen belly and feel the little life kick inside. To love it without even really trying. To think about what could have happened if he’d stayed in the ocean, stayed with them–)

Tim gets used to his balance being off, to being hungry at odd times of the night, gets caught up on news and things during his spare time when he’s not catching up on work.

It’s only been a few days back, but he’s absolutely on his game (he’s going to have a child to look after), already setting up a request for a brief leave to go abroad and study on-site of a large research program. 

He’ll come back with (Minnow at the moment, but that might change depending on what he finds out if he can access to an ultrasound machine) a child in nine months, telling everyone it’s the child of a family member or something.

By the time the baby comes, he’ll have a plan.

As it turns out, his request is approved. He can go out to the coast and hide away, study, and swim in open waters until Minnow is ready to come into the world. Trust that it’s Dr. al Ghul to personally deliver the approval letter.

In his office.With the usual intense interest.But Ra’s may be the only one that could think of some archaic legend that could at least give him an idea how he’s going to have this baby or if mermen impregnating human men was ever, you know, a thing?

“I’m disappointed you have yet to come see me, Timothy,” while casually touching his hand and arm, “I was hoping you would have the moment you returned. And here I find you are off again so soon?”

“I’m doing some very important research,” he tries for casual, “I’d like to write another book soon. I think this one might be more…interesting…than the last.”

“Mm, I see. Should you have need of my extensive knowledge, Doctor, I am readily available.”

“I was kind of hoping you’d say that–”

Jay and Dick meanwhile have gone through the whole city on foot, taking in everything.

They meet so many land walkers and sit for hours in various parks, people watching, waiting, hoping for a sign.  Somewhere along the way, they traded a few shiny golds for much much greenery and someone on the street showed them what the paper meant.

They’ve eaten at different restaurants, gone to clubs and found the tradition of body writhing to loud sounds very fun.

But since Tim has gone against his instincts and told Ra’s al Ghul he might have proof of the existence of merfolk, the man is completely at attention.

(Proof? Then he would be welcomed back in the intellectual circles again, would regain his place and be out of Gotham for good.) 

When Tim starts asking about mermen mating humans, and any myths on children from that union–

–Ra’s al Ghul realizes the opportunity he has here.

“Hm. I seem to remember a few legends, but those books are in my personal library at home. Come over this evening and I’ll pull out a few of them. Perhaps we can uncover the details?”

Babe.

Babe.

You know what happens next. 

Ra’s drugs Tim’s soothing tea and unbuttons his shirt, finding out the truth.

Dick and Jay catch the scent of their mate from a creepy looking land walker carrying a bottle of sparkling cider and an evil grin.

When they see their mate pass out on the floor and the land walker starting to undress them, the fight is on.

The two are ruthless taking their mate from this man who dared touch his belly where their young lay.

And when Tim had admitted to Tam he was going to Ra’s tonight to do research about this little problem, she’d been worried enough to break into the records room of the university to get the address just in case. 

Jay is carrying their unconscious mate when a car stops right in front of them and Tam throws open the door.

“What are you doing with him!!”

The female is utterly terrifying.

“He is our mate!” Dick defends, stepping between her and Jay, “you cannot have him!”

“What?! He’s my boss, and you! You’re supposed to have a fish tail!”

Sirens rent the air and she yells at them to get in the damn car before the police come. Make it snappy fish-face!

It comes down to Tim waking up from the sedative Ra’s drugged him with laying on Tam’s couch in the lap of the two mermen holding him tightly and nuzzling against his face, patting his squirmy belly.

04/07/2020 DAB Transcript

Deuteronomy 31:1-32:27, Luke 12:8-34, Psalms 78:32-55, Proverbs 12:21-23

Today is the 7th day of April, welcome to the Daily Audio Bible I'm Brian it’s great to be here with you today coming from the rolling hills of Tennessee and moving out across the Internet into all of the different regions of this earth. It's such a joy, such and honor, such a marvel that this can even happen and that we can be here sharing this patch of history together. Like even that could have been off, right?  You were born 100 years ago and I was born a hundred years from now and we would've missed now together on earth allowing this rhythm of God's word to transform us in our lives. So, we’re fortunate, we’re fortunate to be around this Global Campfire. It could've been different and yet it's not. We’re here taking the next step and I’m glad we can do it. So, we’re continuing to work our way toward the final things that Moses has to say in the book of Deuteronomy before he dies, and a new leader emerges. And, so, we’ll pick up with that story. Deuteronomy chapter 31 verse 1 through 32 verse 27 today. And we’re reading from the Christian Standard Bible this week.

Commentary:

Okay. So, yesterday in our reading from the Gospel of Luke, Jesus was not making friends, right? He was using His light and shining it, aiming it at the religious establishment. In particular, the scribes and the Pharisees who were there listening to what he had to say. And, so, what He was doing is basically calling out their hypocrisy and revealing how they were perpetuating this, that they were basically teaching everybody to be a hypocrite, to not be true, to be one way on the outside and another way on the inside. So, as we kind of come that…and of course Jesus shined the light on them and they didn't acknowledge…they didn't say, “oh thank…like thank you for showing this to me, showing my falseness to me. How can I live in the light?” Instead, they got together and started plotting against Jesus, right? The darkness hating the exposure of the light and wanting to extinguish the light so that everything would remain hidden in the dark. And they were in such darkness that they didn't know what they were doing, which is why Jesus will ask for them to be forgiven, even as He's being nailed to a cross. And, so, in our reading today, that story is continued and Jesus is saying basically, “there…there is only one way, there isn't this false way that you present to the world and then this other thing that’s going on inside of you that's a relationship with God. Like there’s…there’s only one way and you have two acknowledge me as that way inside and outside because some challenging things are in your future.” And He goes on to tell a story of a of a rich person who built bigger barns, basically. But on the tails of that He’s saying like, “you can prepare for every eventuality you want. You can store up so that you can have an easy life, all that you want, but what if today is your last day? Like what if you’ve got all that built up and you’re like, ‘ahh…now I can coast for a while and you die that day?” And He’s continuing to starkly show us like, “you cannot just external…you cannot just prepare for external eventualities or external pleasures. Like, you have to grow from within and what is within you is what is true and then that will form what happens in your exterior life. You’ve got it backwards.” And we still do today. We think that a bigger house, better this, better car, more reliable this, more money, more bank account, more pleasure, more travel, more experience, more wine, more good food or whatever, that's going to make our lives great. And Jesus is teaching is a fundamental truth about how we were created - if you are at peace within yourself you are at peace in any circumstance and everything can be received with gratitude. So, on a very, very fundamental level what Jesus is after is the reintegration, like so that there's not this hiding, that there’s not this duel self, like this one we present and this one that's real. We just keep trying to make changes from without hoping that they will seep inward into our hearts when it is the change of heart that changes everything else. And, so, to end today all you really need to do is go back over the words of Jesus at the end of our reading. So, let me just read this to us and let's receive this as if Jesus were speaking to us right now, not because I’m reading it but because these are His words that I'm reading. Let’s take these and apply them to our day-to-day.

I'm telling you, don't worry about your life what you will eat and about your body, what you’re gonna wear. Life is more than food. The body is more than clothing. Look at the ravens, they don't sow or reap, they don't keep a storeroom or a barn, yet God feeds them. Aren’t you worth much more than the birds? Can any of you add one moment to his lifespan by worrying? If then you are not able to do even a little thing, why worry about the rest. Consider how the wildflowers grow, they don’t labor or spin thread. Yet, I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was adorned like one of these. And that's how God clothes the grass which is in the field today and is thrown into the furnace tomorrow. How much more will He do for you - you of little faith? Don't strive for what you should eat, what you should drink. Don’t be anxious. The Gentile world eagerly seeks all these things, and your Father knows that you need them. So, seek his kingdom and these things will be provided for you. Don't be afraid little flock because your Father delights to give you the kingdom.

Prayer:

We thank You for that encouragement Jesus. We receive that into our innermost selves, into the truest place that we know of within our hearts. We invite You fully to plant these words deeply into our lives. And we also acknowledge that You ended this by basically saying get rid of everything that is holding You back, money if that's what it is, anything else, whatever it is understand that there is inexhaustible treasure in heaven where no one and nothing can steal it away from You. And, so, we acknowledge, we've lived a lot of our lives, most of our lives, from the outside in hoping that if…that if we just keep moving things around, if we just keep on the run, if we just keep motion happening that we’ll be distracted enough to think that something good is happening when we’re just moving around stuff. But You're telling us from within can grow depths of living water. You’re telling us that where our treasure is that's where our heart will be. And, so, we set our affections on You and we seek Your kingdom and we ask that You give us eyes to see and ears to hear it. Lead us into all truth Holy Spirit. Show us the changes that You are making in our lives so that we don't fight against You because we acknowledge that we see in the Scriptures and what we have experienced in life is that You have no problem disrupting us in order to set us free. It’s just this we usually reinterpret disruption as some kind of inconvenience. And, so, we’ll ask You to take it away when You brought it to us in the first place. What You are doing in our lives, let us see this, let us embrace it, let us flow with it we ask in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Announcements:

dailyaudiobible.com is the website, its home base, its where you find out what is going on around here. So, stay connected.

Reminding you now that the entire book, Sneezing Jesus, all of the chapters are available if you just kind of scroll back in your feed. We finished that over the weekend with the final chapter on Saturday, Sneezing Jesus, which is…yeah…which is very poignant for the times that we are in right now. So, be sure to take advantage of that check that and check that out. It's a gift in these times of…yeah…unrest and disruption. I guess if you want a hard copy of Sneezing Jesus, you can get that anywhere you can get a book, including at the Daily Audio Bible shop at dailyaudiobible.com.

And speaking of the Daily Audio Bible shop, there are a number of resources there for the times that we’re in. And the times that we’re in isn't specific to a virus or something like that. It's day by day step-by-step forward, one step at a time through the Scriptures. And, so…yeah…like this is a…this is a good time where we have a little bit of extra time to…maybe to start journaling, to start writing things down as we go through the Scriptures and as we go through unique times in the world, to chronicle this in our own hand and write down the things that we’re seeing and feeling and saving this for our future generations, showing God's faithfulness in our lives. And, so…yeah…journaling is a big thing around here because remembering is a big thing in the Bible. Like remembering what happens so that you won't forget God's faithfulness. This is all throughout the Bible. And, so, you know, a more modern iteration instead of piling up a bunch of rocks so that when you pass by the road you can say this is what happened here, maybe a more modern way would be to journal, to write things down. And we have a way of trying to type things down a lot in this modern era, but there's…there’s something special about sharpening a pencil, sitting down with the Journal, writing on some good paper and you’re kind of using your body to say what you need to say instead of just kind of typing it on a screen. There is something beautiful about that. And we’ve found the best stuff we could find to do it, stuff that I use most every day myself. And, so, you can find that in the Daily Audio Bible Shop. Some of our Black Wing pencils, our journal that is custom developed, made for us as a community. So, check those things out. Also check out the Global Campfire section of the website. This is stuff that we can use and wear and carry and just remind ourselves, we’re not alone. We have a community. We are going somewhere together as we move through the Bible and…and we can weather these things together. So, check out those resources in the Daily Audio Bible shop as well.

If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible, you can do that at dailyaudiobible.com. There is a link on the homepage. And I thank you profoundly now and always. Thank you for your partnership. That’s how the Global Campfire keeps burning and I am humbled and grateful. So, there’s a link on the homepage. If you’re using the app, you can press the Give button in the upper right-hand corner or, if you prefer, the mailing address is PO Box 1996 Spring Hill Tennessee 37174.

And, as always, if you've a prayer request or encouragement you can hit the Hotline button in the app, the little red button at the top or you can dial 877-942-4253.

And that's it for today. I'm Brian I love you and I'll be waiting for you here tomorrow.

Community Prayer and Praise:

Good morning DAB family this is Tara Batrusee in Texas and about to start another day of trying to keep our business alive. It’s been a roller coaster week relying on God day by day, but I just want to remind myself and all of you that God’s word is true. His word is true to a thousand generations. The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of God stands forever. His word does not return void without accomplishing what He set it out to do. And we’re very grateful for Brian and China and the whole Hardin family for feeding us with God’s word. It says in Psalm 50 in verse 14, to offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving and pay your vows to the most-high. Call upon me in the day of trouble I shall rescue you and you will honor me. It says in Psalm 57 verse 2, I will cry to God most-high, to God who accomplishes all things for me. And in Psalm 56 verse 13, for I have delivered my soul from death, indeed my feet from stumbling so that I may walk before God in the light of the living. And in Psalm 59 verse 10 it says, my God in His lovingkindness will meet me. And in verse 17 it says, oh strength I will sing praises for God is my stronghold, the God who shows me lovingkindness. Don’t give up DAB family. Tomorrow’s another day and He’s given us this day. So, praise Him because He inhabits the praises of His people. Much love to you all. Bye.

Good morning my name is Lionel I’m from South Florida. First and foremost, Brian thank you for making this platform available because I enjoy listening to you every day and hearing the word of God. Today I ask for prayers for myself and all my fellow first responders. I’m a law enforcement officer as is my wife. And as I’m sure you know we don’t stop for anything. We go to work no matter what. And I pray and ask for prayers for myself, my wife, for all of our first responders, brothers and sisters, for all the healthcare workers during this very difficult time that we find ourselves in. And it’s scary, it’s really scary. I’m 43 years old and hear stories every day of healthy people my age getting sick and dying in a week and half. and it brings a lot of anxiety to me and I’m been praying about it and asking God to take the anxiety from me. I’ve been blessed. It’s a very scary time. And, so, I would ask for prayers and all of you DABBers and your families who are out there to, stay healthy and support one another. And again, thank you.

Hi DAB family this is Emmy from Illinois. Most of you know that my marriage has been struggling for at least the last year. And I just wanted to call in with an update and then just to pray for marriages in general. But my marriage is still struggling. My husband is back in “this is never gonna work” and for some reason he thinks that because we’re not quote unquote compatible that that gives him freedom to treat me poorly. So, life is a little bit miserable and then you add the stress of the coronavirus and everything else, things just are exacerbated and I know my marriage is probably not the only one that is going through struggles because of stress on each person and how each of us deals with this. Some of us are in tune to the news constantly others of us are sticking our head in the sand and wanting to ignore and just continue life as normal and there’s everything in between and how we react to stress. So, I just wanted to lift marriages up and families. Father God, I just ask that You would bring a piece to each of us individually, to our families and our spouses. God I just ask that You would use this time as a time to create new bonds and allow us to each be grace filled towards our spouses and our children as they may be reacting differently than they normally would or maybe they’re reacting the same but it feels worse than normal. God I just ask for healing and that You would restore marriages at this time, that Your power would be done, Your mighty glory would be shown in Your name. Amen.

Hey Daily Audio Bible I just want to say feel like I have so much disappointment in myself and my thoughts overtake me all the time. I mean there are a lot of times where I feel like I can’t be in God’s presence but I still think evil things and I just like sometimes I feels like it’s like something’s whispering in my ear but at the same time just these wild thoughts. I feel like sometimes it’s not even me. So, I don’t know why, and you know, it’s hard because I want to have faith and I want to be complete. So, if you’d be willing to pray for me to understand, have obedience, and to have a better heart because it feels like completely callused heart, just anger from God. So, I just…if…if you’d be willing I thank you. I hope you have a good day.

My rock and the hard place by Francis Parker.

I came up to a river dark and deep and swift and wide I wondered how I’d ever safely reach the other side there was no one to ferry such a current none could swim the Lord had led me to this place and so I questioned him wade in he said so gingerly I took a doubting step the water was so black and cold and far beyond my depths the stinking mud oozed up around my hesitating feet And murphy grinning ripples came maliciously to meet And then he spoke and low the threatening waters turned and fled In awful thrusting haste they left to leave their stony bed the downstream surges turned and tumbled frantically away while from the evil source the water simply stopped and stayed so quick the whelming threat had passed with grateful heart I crossed the cobble path He made for me where roiling waves had tossed And then He said now get some rocks and come and build a stack So to that rocky river bed I went and brought some back now pile them up from this day forth reminders shall they be that things impossible for you are not at all for me and so I did I stacked up faith I stacked up confidence and he’s my shield and trust in him and he is my defense I looked upon that stack a while fixed it in my mind in case of trouble still ahead that I might chance to find and then when trouble threatens I’ll look at my stack and see hard evidence that He provides and loves and cares for me and so with Him I’ll face each day with joy that hope affords because I know that come what may the battle is the Lord’s

Blessings to you all. Love this global community with all your different accents and all your different places of residence it’s like on earth as it will be in heaven. Thanks.

Hey Daily Audio Bible family I am just calling in to let you know I’m praying for all of you. I pray for all of your requests and I am so thankful for this community. What a blessing. What an amazing bunch of technology that is just coming to us right now in a time when we can’t get to our regular churches and our regular Bible studies. And it’s just wonderful. Thank you so much Brian Hardin. And thank you to all of you who call in. I’m not gonna mention names. I have been listening for over 10 years. I used to listen on my Zoom if you know what that is. That’s an old thing. Anyway, you all be very safe, take the precautions that the authorities are telling us to take and let’s get through this thing and keep in touch. And my name is Gramma G and I’m in Fort Lauderdale Florida. God bless you all. Bye.

Elizabeth Mikaelson - What If? Chapter 8

In my four hundred and seventy-five years alive only twice have I ever given in to my deepest and darkest desires, both times I felt broken beyond repair and Elijah had picked up the pieces one way or another, it took him a while to fix me but I always came out stronger. I remember what actions I had taken recently and I'm not sure how I can face him this time. 

We had come to Mystic Falls to help but I fear I have done the opposite. I'm scared in the sense he wont look at me the same. That he will be ashamed of me. This time though I feel different, I feel worse and I am worried that my recent choices will have put multiple people in jeopardy. 

In my mind I have a sacred place its plain, simple and I know I am safe here. Its a wide open space with blue skies, I know I'm asleep hence why I'm here and I can feel Elijah trying to get in but I don't want to see him just yet. Using all of my will I pushed him out.Voices of my past come rushing into my shattered mind.

"I'll show you the way to truly enjoy the advantages of human blood. Its the hunt that makes it thrilling."

"We need to push those urges down and lock them away."

"Your perfect the way you are however I can make you into the fearless predator I know you can be."

"You have a beautiful soul don't let eternal life change that."

"I love you."

"I love you."

I open my eyes once more to see Elijah walk up to me, smiling gently. I look down at the floor ashamed of what I had done. 

"Elijah I am so sorry...If only..." He places a finger to my lips to shush me and pulls me into his chest for a warm and gentle kiss, this embrace I craved for this for days but I was denied it and now to finally have it brings me a sense of calmness. 

"You have nothing to apologize for, you were never at fault and when I face Niklaus I will deal with him." He says gently. 

"I feel safe here Elijah, I don't trust myself out there. What if I revert to my old ways?" I ask him looking into his eyes while tears threaten to spill from my own. 

"I wont let it happen, but if it does I will be there every step of the way." He assures me. 

"I want to forget what happened, please will you do that...for me?" I ask as I tremble in his arms. 

"I will release you from Niklaus' compulsion however I cannot grant you your request, it would not be wise to do so nor would I be able to bring myself to remove parts of your memory. Your far too precious to me, I know the pain and confusion of memory loss by compulsion has made others go mad. I don't wish the same fate for you." He tells me. 

The wind had picked up blowing my soft hair. He takes a hold of my hand and brings it to his lips placing a kiss on my knuckles. "Mrs Mikealson will you dance with me?" He asks. 

A small smile forms on my lips and I place a hand on his shoulder and another in his hand. "Even though I may be dead, you never fail to make my heart race as if I were a human." Elijah whispers to me. 

"And yet I've never felt more alive." I reply softly. 

There was no music, no sound other then the beat of our un-dead hearts and shallow breaths as we looked deeply at one another with mixed emotions. 

"When this is all over I will take you away, we can go somewhere quite and then when your ready we can reintegrate back into human existence." My husband offers. 

"I would like that Elijah." I say placing a kiss to his cheek, my eyes revert back down to the ground. We pause from dancing and Elijah just holds my hands in his. 

"My dear what is the matter?" He asks with a worried look in his eye. I let out a sigh. 

"The times before when I have lost control I fed on blood, drowned myself in it so to speak but this time it were different all I wanted to do was to break down what control we had gained, what you had put in place and it seems I was hell bent on doing that but there was also a part of me that was using Niklaus for my own personal gain." I say.

My fangs dove into the neck of a weak and fragile human who tried to break free of my grasp. The blood rushing into my mouth and down my gullet, the feeling of the human dying in my arms was euphoric. It was the fourth body of the day and I had no intention of stopping I wanted blood and no one was going to stop me from getting what I wanted. 

"Niklaus I warned you this would happen now look at her! This is the second time I will not allow a third." Elijah fights with his brother but I didn't really care. I pulled away from the dead human and pushed their body hard creating a large thud bringing Elijah and his brother to look in my direction, using my fingers I wipe my mouth. 

"Will you two just give it a rest or leave to bicker elsewhere? You pair are putting a serious damper on my meal times." I snap.

I stare off into the distance, I was stood side by side with Elijah a hand interlaced with my own. "I think I'm ready to wake up." I say softly. Elijah turns to face me and places a hand to my cheek. 

"And I will wait for your return." He says softly and with that he vanishes leaving me alone once again. 

Both Elijah and myself were currently in a study going through some books while having afternoon tea. 

"I do believe a way on which we can control your urges, if we keep your mind occupied then we should gain an advantage. I suggest learning piano and start on a range of literature we can move onto ballroom dancing at a later stage if this method prevails." Elijah says closing the book he was reading. 

"Well I hope you have the patience of a saint. I'm a horrible dancer and I have no musical talent." I say with a chuckle. 

"We my dear have all the time in the world, come why not give the piano a taste I'm sure you will find it delightful." He replies and gets up from his seat and offers a hand for me to take and leads me to the ballroom where stood a gorgeous grand piano. 

The room then echos with the beautiful melody of ‘Fur Elise’ Elijah's fingers effortlessly molded into the white and black keys, his expression is calm and relaxed. I sit by him and close my eyes and gently sway to the music. After a few moments the music is brought to a halt. 

"Music has the ability to calm even the most difficult and restless minds, now watch closely." Elijah says showing me the order of the keys to recreate the same melody as before.  

I open my eyes letting them flutter, my vision was slightly blurred and my body stung and ached. I slowly sat up and I closely studied Elijah looking out of the window.  

"How are you feeling?" He asks as he turns to face me. 

"Thanks for the getaway Elijah. You were always a heartbroken mess with the waterworks." I said seductively quickly getting to my feet. 

"Elizabeth, wait." Elijah says in a strict tone intercepting me blocking my exit. His eyes bored into my own. "I want you to stop helping Niklaus, you are no longer influenced by him." Elijah compels. 

My eyes once again flutter at him. "Lijah? Whats going on? Why are we here? And why am I starving?" I ask him all at once. 

Downstairs I heard the strong heartbeat of the doppelganger and I felt my veins and fangs appear. I shivered at the sensation. 

"Breathe for me Elizabeth, concentrate." He says placing his hands on my shoulders for support. I breathe in and out a few time trying to steady myself but it was no use. 

"I need to get out of here." I pant. He nods at me and we both quickly left the house not saying a word to Elena or the two Salvatore's who watched us rush out of the house. 

We were currently down an alleyway at the side of the Mystic Grill Elijah had been able to compel an unsuspecting human for me to feed on and at present I had my fangs in the persons neck, gulping down their blood. I squeezed the body tighter to get a better grip, to get a better flow of blood. 

"That's enough." I heard my husband say as he gently removes the human from my grasp and bites into his wrist and places it in the humans mouth to heal them. Once they were healed.

"You will forget of this encounter, you needed some air as you were feeling unwell." He compels. The human nods and walks away, I watched the human leave us but I needed more.

A few days had past and I was starting to feel like my old self again, I was back to being smartly dressed and clung to Elijah a little more then before but considering the circumstances it would have been understandable. We were stood outside the Salvatore's residence. 

"Tonight is the full moon, Niklaus will surely act tonight right?" I ask straightening Elijah's already straight tie. 

"Indeed, he has waited over a thousand years he will break his curse tonight." He replies with a sigh. 

"How are you feeling?" He asks. 

"Better then before, I'm no where close to feeling perfect but I'm glad that the repercussions haven't have been as severe as before." I respond to him neatening my coat smoothing down the creases. 

We walked through the door. "Knock knock" I say making it known that we were present. 

"Elijah, Elizabeth nice to see you." Elena says to us, Stefan is stood with her. 

"And you as well, I do hope that things can be mended between myself and your friends." I say to her with a sheepish smile on my face. She nods. 

"Tonight is the full moon. We should assume that Klaus is prepared to break the curse." Elijah tells them. 

"Elena said that the Sun and the Moon curse is fake? That it's actually just a curse placed on Klaus." Stefan replies. I nodded at him. 

"You see Klaus is a vampire born from a werewolf bloodline, but the curse that is upon him stops his werewolf side from establishing he breaks his curse he becomes a hybrid both vampire and werewolf so he will be able to turn at will and no longer be a slave to the sun nor the moon." I explained. 

Damon must of overheard our conversation because he had walked down the stairs to join us.

"Then why are we letting him break the curse? We can kill him today. With Bonnie."

"Damon..." Elena warned.

"No. Bonnie can't use that much power without dying."

"I'll write her a great eulogy."

"It's not an option, Damon." Elena replied.

"All right, how do we break this curse?"

"Well, the ritual itself is relatively straightforward. The ingredients, so to speak, you already know." Elijah says placing a hand to my lower back. 

"The moonstone." Stefan replies. 

"A witch will channel the power of the full moon to release the spell that's bound within the stone." Elijah starts. 

"And after that, with Klaus being both a werewolf and vampire he will sacrifice one of each." I finish. The thought of my brother in law breaking his curse was terrifying he would be out right dangerous. 

"And where do I fit into it?" Elena asks. 

"That will be at the end of the ritual." I reply. Elijah takes a wooden box that was in his pocket. 

"Klaus must drink the blood of the doppelganger...to the point of your death." Elijah continues. He opens the box to show a jar sat on a deep purple velvet cushion. He carefully picks it up to show Elena after she, Damon and Stefan exchange a few glances. 

"And that's where you both come in?" She asks. 

"What Elijah has in his hand is an elixir, he had acquired it hundreds of years ago. For Katerina if I'm correct. The elixir itself has magical properties which should in theory resuscitate you." I explain. 

"Should?" Damon asks. 

"Yes." I reply. 

"So I'll be dead?" Elena asks us. 

"And then you won't." Elijah replies to her. 

"That's your plan? A magical witch potion with no expiration date?" Damon asks sarcastically. He exchanges another glance with Elena. 

"You want to come back to life, what about John's ring?" He continues. 

"Those rings only work on humans. The doppelganger is a supernatural occurrence. Odds are, the ring won't work." Elijah explains. 

"I'll take those odds over your elixir. What if it doesn't work, Elena?" Damon asks the girl. By the tone of his voice I can tell his emotions are a mix of hurt, anger and worry for the girl. 

"Then I guess I'll just be dead." She replies to him.  Damon once again looks at Elena and Stefan and then sends a glare to both myself and Elijah he shrugs his shoulders and leaves the living room. 

"Do we know if Klaus has everything he needs to do this? Does he have a werewolf?" Elena asks. 

"Klaus has been waiting to break this curse for over a thousand years. If he doesn't already have a werewolf, my guess is by tonight, he will." Elijah replies to her with a nod. 

"Elizabeth may I talk to you in private?" Elena asks me. 

I nod to her "Of course". 

Myself and Elena take a moment outside she leans on the wall outside the front door. 

"Can I ask your thoughts." She asks me. I walk over to her and perch against the wall next to her. 

"I do believe the elixir is your best option, but there is also the chance it will not be effective. I and Elijah's intentions are still the same even though my actions towards you and your friends said otherwise, I am truly very sorry. But we want to help you. I hope you understand that." I tell her. 

"Klaus made you do those things I do hope your ok." She tells me with a smile. 

"I may not have been physically hurt but mentally and emotionally he pushed me to my limits, please excuse me I'm feeling rather hungry and I don't wish to spill any blood. Best if I keep my distance." I reply and stand up and head inside back to Elijah who had moved into the library of the large house. 

"Do you mind if I wait in the car, while you finish up here? I'm not feeling so great and the less I'm around humans better chance my urges don't spring into action." I whisper to Elijah. 

Before he could answer Elena speaks up. "I can get you a blood bag if you'd like?" 

I shake my head and smile at her. "Thank you but I'm going to have to decline your offer, the fresh air and quite should help besides I have a good book that can help take my mind of things." I say to the doppelganger. I kiss Elijah on his cheek and make my way outside. 

As I was sat in the car I flicked through a few pages of my book, unable to concentrate I let out a sigh. I fished my phone from my handbag and searched through the contacts, pressing the call button once I had found who I wanted to call. 

"How dare you use me to try and help you and your shenanigans, we are meant to be family!" I shouted down the phone. 

"Nice to hear from you too love, but remember its only by name we're family but how are you?" Nik says with a chuckle. 

"You know that is the one question I wish people would stop asking me. I'm fine. Though you used to say I was family back in the day or has that Niklaus gone?" I snap my anger boiled with the sound of cockiness from my brother in laws voice and I hung up. 

I rushed out of the car leaving my handbag and phone in the passenger seat as I headed into the town to let out my frustration. I sunk my teeth into another one of the locals blood dripping down my chin as I drank my emotions away, tears fell down my cheeks but they were not out of sadness they were out of anger because I had let myself become so weak, unable to protect myself always have my noble husband take action. But that would not be the case any longer. I will get stronger and no one is going to get in my way. 

I broke away from the human with not a moment too soon any longer and I would have killed him, I fed him my blood and compelled him to forget. As soon as he left I caught another and another and repeated the process until Elijah had found me an hour later. 

"Comfort eating?" He asks dryly walking up to me with a handkerchief wiping the stray blood that fell from my mouth. I sent a soft glare at my husband making a subtle hint to not fuss and back off slightly, but it failed. 

"The elixir is now of no use, the eldest Salvatore made a foolish choice and now Miss Gilbert has vampire blood in her system." He informs me. 

"I see what happens now?" I ask. 

"That depends on which situation your referring too, Miss Gilbert's or your own." He tells me. 

"Not now Elijah." I reply bluntly and walk away from him, gently brushing past him. He turns to face me as my body walks away from his heels clicking on the pavement as the distance only grows. 

My mind had been shattered its going to take time for me to gather up the pieces to put back together. 

Not Elijah this time. 

Me.   

While the so-called Islamic State (ISIS) has lost control of its statelet in Iraq and Syria, the war against the remnants of the organization is not over, despite President Trump's claim to the contrary. Anti-Assad rebels still control various parts of Syria with non-ISIS jihadis controlling Idlib in the northwest and the Kurds commanding the northeast. Fighting over these enclaves will likely occupy the immediate future. In addition, any "deescalation" agreements remain subject to collapse or cancellation at the convenience of Assad and his backers. But the longer-term question is what happens next? Will the wars in Syria and Iraq finally end, or will there be another round of insurgencies? And will ISIS again go underground to rebuild as it has before?

The Situation on the Ground

While ISIS and other groups have made preparations for going underground to resume an insurgency, the success of such efforts depends on at least two factors: how well the Syrian and Iraqi governments reestablish effective governance and security and are able to identify and root out the rebel infrastructures; and whether these governments can manage reconstruction and reconciliation, especially reintegration of Sunni Arabs.

Governance and security. Reestablishing effective governance and security requires that national governments enforce and maintain effective control over areas previously held by ISIS or other insurgents. If the governments succeed, it will be much harder for opposition groups to go underground and remain functional.

But restoring security will be extraordinarily difficult. For a start, the anti-ISIS war is not over. Though their command structure has largely been shattered, there are still residual ISIS pockets and cells to dig out. Moreover, the parts of ISIS most likely to have survived—senior commanders and the security apparatus—are the parts most able to regenerate the organization. The war against the terrorists has also been only one aspect of the multi-sided civil war in Syria. There are ample opportunities for further wars there and in Iraq. These may be driven by rival nationalisms: Turkey has demonstrated its readiness to go to war against the Kurds in Syria and has occasionally talked about enlarging its borders, and Iraqi Kurds unsuccessfully tried to do so. Factional rivalries and competing ambitions between regional states as well as Israel's sustained efforts to prevent Iran's military entrenchment in Syria could lead to a wider conflagration. Various Sunni states may be prepared to continue support of Sunni factions as a way to distract Iran and other enemies or may look the other way when factions within those states give such support.

It is also possible that the Middle East is in the opening round of multiple civil and proxy wars within Islam: between governments and movements that have weaponized Shiite and Sunni Islam; between Shiite factions allied or opposed to Iran, and among the Sunni jihadists. These wars are likely to be protracted and bloody and will further increase religious polarization and violence within the region and within Islam as a whole, and can potentially destabilize much of the Middle East.

The capabilities of both the Syrian and Iraqi governments are limited; their ability to effectively govern and conduct long-term counterinsurgencies is uncertain. While the collapse of the Iraqi security forces in the face of ISIS has been widely noted, the collapse of the Syrian military was even more comprehensive. The Baghdad government and the Assad regime have only partially recovered, with many of the forces nominally aligned with them in reality being factional militias that serve their own agendas or those of foreign sponsors. This is most prominent in Iraq where the Kurds are effectively an autonomous government and where major parts of the Popular Mobilization Forces militias created in the aftermath of the 2014 Iraqi security collapse are under Iranian control. It is also the case in Syria where its Kurds also desire autonomy and where many militias such as the Lebanese Hezbollah function independently of the Assad regime. Will these forces accept and support government policies with which they (or their patrons) disagree? Or are they more likely to pursue their own agendas, if necessary at the expense of the national governments they nominally support?

Reconstruction and reconciliation. National reconstruction and reconciliation, especially reintegration of the Sunni Arabs, will present uphill struggles. First, there is some question about how much reconstruction the Iraqi and Syrian governments will be able to undertake even with foreign aid. Much of each country has been economically, socially, and physically devastated, both by ISIS rule and by the wars to drive the organization out and their aftermaths.

Large parts of Syria have been devastated by the civil war unrelated to ISIS. There are also millions of refugees, mostly Sunnis, which the Assad regime will likely be reluctant to resettle. Meanwhile, both the Iraqi and especially Syrian governments are effectively bankrupt. Assad's war has been largely bankrolled by Tehran, and his Russian and Iranian patrons are unlikely to be inclined or able to fund the enormous reconstruction costs, estimated to be between $250-300 billion. A preliminary World Bank estimate of Iraqi reconstruction costs from February 2018 was $88 billion. The Trump administration is also unenthusiastic about nation-building, and as of March 2018, had pledged only a $3 billion line of credit. And while the Persian Gulf monarchies have made promises to Iraq, and Riyadh has cautiously opened up to Baghdad to push back against Iranian influence, it remains to be seen whether these governments will actually come up with the money.

Meanwhile, the rest of the international community is likely to experience donor fatigue. Beyond this, is the question of how much of the available money will get to the Sunnis who have been hardest hit: As of early 2019, the Iraqi government had provided virtually no reconstruction money to Ninevah province, which includes Mosul). To whatever degree Syrian and Iraqi Sunni Arabs manage—or are allowed—to recover may be in spite of policies of their governments rather than because of them.

As for national reconciliation, while the Damascus and Baghdad regimes may have made some efforts in that direction in the past, the situations do not look promising. The continuing wars against rebels in Syria will likely be hard and protracted. It is all too likely that ultimately the victors (especially the Assad regime) will pursue a vindictive peace in an atmosphere of religious polarization and widespread individual and group hatred and revenge. Even now, the Assad regime has been confiscating and selling the properties of refugees and those considered rebels.

It is unclear how much the Assad regime will even try to reconcile its Sunni subjects. The Syrian president has made clear his intent to reconquer militarily all of the country, and one must expect the same brutal tactics he has used so far. Assad prefers brutality since his aim is not only to win the war but to intimidate the survivors. The idea that one cannot kill one's way out of an insurgency is a Western conceit that others, especially the Russians and Middle Easterners, dismiss with contempt—after all, that is precisely what Bashar Assad's father did to put down a rebellion in the early 1980s.

In Iraq, the previous government of Prime Minister Haidar Abadi made efforts to reconcile the Sunni Arab minority and protect it from blood revenge and collective tribal responsibility for the actions of individual members. Current prime minister Adil Abd al-Mahdi appears to favor a moderate policy, but how much he can actually deliver remains to be seen. He has no independent power base, controls his own government only partially, and has limited or no control over many of the Shiite militias of the Popular Mobilization Forces, who are frequently supported or controlled by Tehran and have driven a sectarian agenda. Meanwhile, it is reasonable to expect that the popular sentiment of much or most of the Shiite and Kurdish populations, not to mention the surviving non-Muslim religious minorities, favor punishing the Iraqi Sunni Arabs for being pro-ISIS or insufficiently anti-ISIS. Villages and tribes often take their own retribution whether it is government policy or not.

Clearly, there are ample grounds for pessimism.

The Future of ISIS

But the situation does not necessarily favor ISIS as the requirements needed to function underground may work against it. While there remains an atmosphere of massive Sunni grievance and a power vacuum that ISIS could theoretically exploit, how well it will be able to do so is still a question.

For a start, since foreign fighters have been killed, captured, or have fled and not been replaced, ISIS has reverted to being more and more Syrian and (especially) Iraqi. Foreign fighters provided much of the core strength of ISIS and replacing them will be difficult. But even if they stayed, these foreign fighters would be ill-suited for underground resistance in their host countries. Thousands of them came from outside the Arab world, in particular the West, sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, and areas of the former Soviet Union, and are likely to speak Arabic poorly and to appear non-Arab. These foreigners, as well as Arabs with non-Syrian or non-Iraqi Arabic accents, or for that matter anyone non-local, are likely to get close attention from the security authorities, hindering them going underground.

Various world, national, regional, and local security forces will also be trying to identify, locate, and eliminate ISIS holdouts gone underground. In the Mosul campaign alone, the Iraqi authorities had more than 30,000 suspects' names in December 2016, and by January 2018, had some 6,000 captured ISIS suspects awaiting execution. In addition, some factions may not be waiting on legal niceties. Local and regional services, in particular the Assad regime's, can be expected to err on the side of excess.

ISIS also made many other enemies who will be out for revenge. Syria's conflict, in particular, has been a multi-sided civil war with ISIS fighting many other anti-Assad factions, including nationalists and various other jihadists. The situation has also been complex in Iraq. Even if ISIS did have some local support that was not coerced or opportunistic, it ruled as conqueror even at the expense of local allies. Indeed, its first purge after taking over Mosul was of former allies. In particular, ISIS and al-Qaeda factions in Syria have spent extensive time and effort killing each other, and there are irreconcilable major differences between ISIS and al-Qaeda Central, particularly over leadership of the global jihadist movement. These conflicts can be expected to continue underground.

Finally, popular resentment of ISIS's brutal tactics has produced numerous personal grudges to be settled. An obvious way to settle scores will be to turn in ISIS fighters to the security forces. Financial rewards would be a further incentive. And if government screening seems too lenient, or corrupt, individuals personally may target ISIS members for revenge killings. 

ISIS is thus unlikely to have the same favorable atmosphere to maintain or rebuild its underground structure as previously, especially in Mosul, where its predecessor organization, al-Qaeda in Iraq/Islamic State of Iraq, was never really removed even when the U.S. military was present in force, and in Syria, where the Assad regime had tolerated, if not supported, their operations against the coalition in Iraq. ISIS may retain a degree of control in some pockets, but many of its survivors are likely to give priority to their own survival, not continuing the war. They may also turn to crime.

Another complicating factor for ISIS will be losing its claim of the right to rule. Aside from the loss of legitimacy due to losing a war and bringing vast devastation to the people on whose behalf the war was supposedly fought, as ISIS tries to return to the underground its narrative will have been discredited. It will only be able to spin defeat for so long. It is much more difficult to argue from failure than from success, and the physical and psychological attractions of the "caliphate" will no longer exist. ISIS will be unable to offer the thrill of being a warrior for God and a licensed outlaw, or promise the availability of sex slaves for unmarried young men, or the expectation of living in a truly Islamic utopia.

Much of the support ISIS received, especially foreign, was due to its claim to be a genuine state in control of territory and its apparent success in routing its enemies. Previously, ISIS could claim to be living up to its motto of "Remaining and Expanding." The self-named "caliph" Abu Bakr Baghdadi claimed his exalted position by right of conquest. Since these successes were considered manifestations of God's favor, what will happen now that those are gone? At what point will it become impossible to ignore that God is no longer intervening on their behalf or that the state Baghdadi claimed to rule is no longer on the map? Assuming Baghdadi has not fled, it will be difficult for him to claim to be ruler of much of anything. He is unlikely to find sanctuary in a neighboring state—such as al-Qaeda Central and the Taliban had in Pakistan and Iran after 9/11 and the previous iteration of the Islamic State had in Syria. However, Turkey remains a remote possibility as the Erdoğan government has been suspiciously lenient toward ISIS and may hope to use ex-ISIS fighters against the Kurds. If Baghdadi is shown to be killed, it will automatically dissolve all oaths of allegiance made to him, which will both dissolve the organization and leave the survivors up for grabs.

The Other Insurgents

While ISIS may find it difficult to recover, these difficulties may not apply to other insurgent groups, in particular Hayat Tahrir ash-Sha'm (HTS) in Syria and whatever Sunni nationalist groups have managed to survive in Iraq.

Hayat Tahrir ash-Sha'm. At one time known as al-Qaeda in Syria, Hayat Tahrir ash-Sha'm split off from ISIS (and also from al-Qaeda) and is, aside from the ambiguous case of the Syrian Kurds, probably the largest of the remaining non-ISIS, anti-Assad factions. Significantly, it appears to have learned from past mistakes and gradually modified its strategy and tactics from those previously standard to al-Qaeda. It may even have made these changes in spite of the policy of al-Qaeda Central, as did other al-Qaeda affiliates and branches, especially in Yemen and Mali. Among its major adaptations,

It has sought to collaborate and build alliances with existing Islamist (or even non-Islamic) rebel groups and to a degree reflects their concerns. It has thus selectively prioritized local rather than international operations, which means it can potentially tap into significantly larger reservoirs of support than ISIS, such as other jihadists that ISIS has alienated. It can also exploit latent support for jihadism and appeal to the substantial portion of Islamic opinion that is functionally radical by claiming to wage a defensive jihad rather than an offensive one.

Instead of trying to impose its version of Shari'a immediately, it has sought to do so gradually, pursuing what might be called jihadization from below, intending to cultivate a base of support and ultimately build a mass movement.

It has been more selective, or at least less indiscriminate, in targeting of terrorist attacks. In 2013, Aymann Zawahiri, leader of al-Qaeda Central, instructed al-Qaeda to avoid mass casualty attacks, especially those that kill Muslim civilians.

To deal with the collapse of governments, it has tried to set up a governing structure and enforce order. In Syria, it has assumed control of courts and law enforcement, leaving other administration to other groups.

For these reasons, and especially in comparison to ISIS, Hayat Tahrir ash-Sha'm has come to be considered a "moderate" extremist group, the only one that could plausibly provide other factions with protection from ISIS. These changes have the potential to make it appear less foreign, gain some local support, and at least significantly reduce the reasons for al-Qaeda's past loss of popular support. In particular, a degree of local support may enable Hayat Tahrir ash-Sha'm to maintain an underground organizational structure in Syria even if its current enclave in Idlib is overrun.

Iraq's Sunni Arab nationalist groups. The situation is different in Iraq. There the al-Qaeda brand has likely been profoundly damaged by ISIS as the direct descendent of al-Qaeda in Iraq/Islamic State in Iraq and the murderously bloodthirsty Abu Musab al-Zarqawi; al-Qaeda cannot claim any separation between itself and ISIS. Further, in Iraq, ISIS has pretty much monopolized the jihadists. However, this handicap does not necessarily apply to other insurgents, especially Sunni Arab nationalist groups. Prior to ISIS, the most significant of these was the Jaysh Rijal at-Tariqa an-Naqshbandia (JRTN, Army of the Men of the Naqshbandi Order /Naqshbandi Army). This is a nominally non-sectarian (though it claims some roots in Sunni-Sufi Islam) and neo-Baathist organization formed by Izzat ad-Duri, one of Saddam Hussein's top chieftains, after the Iraqi dictator was executed. Largely composed of Saddam-era military officers and officials, it aims to restore the Baathist system. In late 2014, it was considered the second most powerful Sunni insurgent force in Iraq after ISIS, with at least some degree of popular support. In the past JRTN has operated with and hired other groups, using them as a force multiplier. Initially it cooperated with ISIS (which designated a former Baathist general from the JRTN as the first governor of Mosul when it took over), but in 2016, it claimed to be attacking ISIS when coalition forces began the recapture of Mosul. However, at present, no additional information is available on the JRTN, its ties with other groups, with other Sunni nationalist groups, its present situation, or whether the group survived ISIS.

Conclusions

While ISIS may intend to resume its underground existence in Syria and Iraq, this may turn out to be much more difficult than expected. Although at first glance, the postwar environment may appear fertile for the terror group to pursue such a strategy, there are other factors that may make it difficult for ISIS fighters, especially foreigners, to go underground—in particular, widespread factional and popular hostility to ISIS and the loss of theological/ideological and functional legitimacy due to defeat.

But while ISIS may be less of a threat than commonly supposed, this does not mean it will not be a threat at all. ISIS survived and recovered from a previous massive defeat in Iraq because its enemies did not finish the job of eradicating it—a situation with ominous parallels to the present. Even more important, ISIS is not the only force of insurgents in the field, especially in Syria.

Hayat Tahrir ash-Sha'm, ambiguously an al-Qaeda offshoot, has modified its strategy and has pursued a long-game of sinking roots into Syrian society while pursuing jihadization from the ground up. Over time, the group is likely to absorb surviving jihadists from other organizations, possibly including ISIS survivors. Since there is no reason to believe that Assad will modify his murderous method of rule, one should expect at least one or more low-level insurgencies in Syria.

The present situation in Iraq is somewhat less acute, and the country has better prospects for recovery and reconciliation than Syria. But this depends on the Iraqi government effectively carrying out reconstruction and reconciliation policies. If this does not happen, it is reasonable to expect at least a continuing low-level insurgency, either by ISIS remnants or, more likely, by Sunni Arab nationalists.

There is not a great deal Washington can do to influence events in either country. If recent Middle Eastern history teaches anything, it is that one should never underestimate local players' ability to make bad situations even worse.

Today concludes “Second Chance Month,” which highlighted efforts to help the formerly incarcerated reintegrate into society. Unfortunately, we still have a long way to go, and I think deep-seated attitudes about good, evil, revenge, and punishment are a significant part of the problem. What I’m about to say applies to some degree to sentencing and prison reform, as well, but the main focus is on what happens afterwards. 

Many Americans welcome criminal justice reform. Some are now going out of their way to hire the formerly incarcerated. Success stories from the formerly incarcerated abound. I’m aware this is happening, and it’s great. But it’s not the norm yet. And, disturbingly, it seems like whenever I see some sort of article about barriers to employment (or myriad other aspects of a safe, happy, productive life) for people with criminal records, there’s at least one comment to the effect of, “Oh, well, don’t do the crime if you can’t do the time.” But, er, these people did do their time, and they’re still being punished, and a lot of us don’t care – that’s the problem. Why? It’s partially due to some people’s beliefs about punishment: that the primary purpose of the criminal justice system is to punish people who deserve to suffer for their wrongdoing, not to merely keep the public safe or to rehabilitate criminals. While punishment has always been one theory of imprisonment, it doesn’t make a great deal of sense when applied to what happens after prison. Why should we even let people out of prison if we’re not going to let them live decent lives? If the entire point of a prison sentence is for them to suffer, shouldn’t we see more life sentences? Or at least, shouldn’t all the consequences of a criminal record be laid out in the sentence? The fact that we don’t send all convicted felons to prison for life or to death row, and don’t include in the sentence something like “You shall face barriers to housing, licensing, and employment for life,” suggests that the point of incarceration is not only to hurt people who have commit crimes.

What’s the point of paying your debt to society if society never forgives the loan? - Mike Rowe

Not allowing the formerly incarcerated to live their lives as normal citizens is irrational. Many point out that recidivism is a problem for people who can’t get stable jobs and reconnect to the larger community. Besides that, the more people gaining new skills, getting jobs, and building careers, the better it is for society. It’s pretty stupid to have a subset of the population not allowed to reach their full potential and improve the world. That’s harming society as a whole. What if we’re talking about people who did really bad things, not just get caught with some marijuana? Well, they’re out. You may wish they weren’t, but let’s deal with the reality that they’re out in the most productive way possible. I don’t think giving someone another chance to make something of themselves is denying any harm they did. It’s just not letting what did years ago hold them back from contributing to society in the here and now. In the long run, we all benefit from that. Also, sometimes it’s important to put your own feelings about a person or their actions aside. Just because you could never forgive a particular person for their crime doesn’t mean nobody else can. Just because you can’t look past what they did doesn’t mean we as a society can’t. What about the victims? Revenge for the victims is still too big a part of how we think about punishing criminals (in cases of crimes with individual victims). This is a problem because we should be more focused on community safety and possible rehabilitation of perpetrators. It also affects how we think the formerly incarcerated should be treated down the road. To let someone back into society after hurting another person can be seen as an insult to their victim. Sometimes I even hear that people who want criminal justice reform don’t care about victims and just like criminals. But it’s not about liking criminals. It’s not about ignoring victims (and vengeance and punishment aren’t really what’s best for victims anyway). It’s about doing the most logical thing for the community and the country. Curiously, in murder cases, our concern for the victim is very high. But the victim is dead. The victim cannot be hurt by a sentence that isn’t harsh enough. The victim doesn’t care. The victim does not “finally rest in peace” once the murderer is found and severely punished. The victim does not feel re-victimized from the grave if the killer gets off, gets released from prison, or reenters society with a second chance. That’s actually a very disturbing view on life and death. The victim could be resting until the resurrection at the end of the world, at peace in heaven, journeying through another realm of existence, living on this planet again as a different person, or dead and never to rise again – but what worldview says she’s hovering around waiting to watch the killer suffer? A murder victim might have loved ones who are also victimized by her death. But does punishment really help them, either? It’s not like they get to directly participate in the killer’s punishment. Isn’t knowing what happened to their loved one and moving on with their lives while preserving their loved one’s memory what they really need? And perhaps, if they so choose, to face the killer and explain how he’s hurt them? The sentence itself isn’t what’s going to get them to move on. Besides, to circle back to the larger point, rehabilitating those who can be rehabilitated and getting them back into society is a higher priority than catering to a few people’s anger. Good and Evil Sometimes differences in opinions on crime and punishment come down to views on good and evil. There are people who believe that good and evil are real and can be objectively identified, and there are those who think crime is attributable to environmental and societal factors and has little to do with “evil.” And then there are disagreements among those who believe in a true and objective “good and evil” about what should be done to promote good and oppose evil. I think promoting criminal justice reform and second chances for people getting out of prison is an excellent way to promote good. Sorry, but I don’t believe that the desire to punish makes you a better person than one who doesn’t have such a desire. I don’t believe virtue signaling about how you believe a certain criminal deserves the death penalty or deserves to suffer makes you a good person. You can help people who did bad things change, become better people, and do something productive with their lives, and that’s standing on the side of good, too. That’s mitigating the effect of evil in our world. That’s turning something negative into something positive. That’s not letting evil win. That’s letting love, forgiveness, open-mindedness, and just pure reason win. There’s an emotionally compelling quote from conservative writer Daniel Greenfield that says, “Good means resisting evil. Good means fighting evil. Good means hating evil.” And I think that’s what so many people’s issues with criminal justice reform and second chances are about, deep down. I also think it’s got good and evil mixed up. As a believer in the Abrahamic God, Greenfield believes that in the beginning, there was only good. Evil rebelled against good. Evil opposed good. Good preexisted evil. Good does not exist as a reaction to evil. It’s the other way around. Sometimes people commit crimes that make us angry. Sometimes particular crimes get us really riled up. But if in your anger you lose sight of justice, truth, and reason, you’re not fighting for the good side. Being a good person is about much more than getting angry at bad people. Or at good people who did bad things. Or at formerly bad people who have changed and become good people. Let People Change I don’t know why lately we’re seeing a resistance to simply letting people change. Nowadays, so many of us want to dig up people’s past sins and call them out, even when they’re completely different people today. But helping the formerly incarcerated depends on letting people change. There are always going to be people coming out of prison who actually once did something very wrong – but they’re truly sorry and they want to live a different sort of life. Let them! Acknowledging that someone’s changed isn’t saying their crime doesn’t matter. It’s not saying victims don’t matter. It’s not favoring criminals. It’s not saying law and order doesn’t matter. It’s about dealing with the here and now and not remaining stuck in the past. It’s about making the best of a bad situation. It’s about not letting mistakes define someone – or any of us! – forever. It’s about benefiting entire communities by reintegrating people who are ready to contribute. If enough people understand this, I think there’s hope for comprehensive reform and better lives for the formerly incarcerated around the country.

“Weeds in the Garden”, oil on canvas by frankences

Talk delivered at Philosophers’ Camp, State University of New York, School of Environmental Science and Forestry, Newcomb, NY, October 6, 2019

This essay contains several Christian references. They just happened to be handy. This painting is not about religion. In fact, it is my belief that a religious version of dominion as human domination is problematic. Feel free to replace the word God with Universe or Source or Origin or whatever you wish. 

“Weeds in the Garden” is the title of this painting. It was originally inspired by the Pope’s Encyclical on the environment, titled; On Care for Our Common Home* (Laudato Si’ translated means “Praise Be to You”). Praise be to our common home! In this document the Pope clearly states that environmental justice is social justice and that allowing the globe to warm up further, endangers the world’s most vulnerable people. After reading the encyclical I was weeding in my garden and as I tossed out what I believed to be weeds I considered that we do this to people. We dismiss other humans as being ‘less than’ and toss them out. 

What is a weed? In the following definition I have replaced the word plant with the word human. The result is truly horrifying: 

weed: A human not valued for use or beauty, regarded as cumbering or hindering the growth of superior humans... An unprofitable, troublesome, or noxious growth. Human control is important on earth. Methods include hand cultivation with guns, powered cultivation with armaments, smothering economically, lethal discrimination by the media, bombing, or chemical attack with poisons. 

We label plants and humans when they don’t serve our purpose. Our inability to perceive the value in a plant or human does not mean that individual has no value. Should we toss certain people aside based on our bias and judgment? Contrast this approach to gardening with that of St. Theresa of Avila (1):

 “Beginners must realize that in order to give delight to the Lord they are starting to cultivate a garden on very barren soil, full of abominable weeds. His Majesty pulls up the weeds and plants good seed. Now let us keep in mind that all of this is already done by the time a soul is determined to practice prayer and has begun to make use of it. And with the help of God we must strive like good gardeners to get these plants to grow and take pains to water them so that they don't wither but come to bud and flower and give forth a most pleasant fragrance to provide refreshment for this Lord of ours. Then He will often come to take delight in this garden and find His joy among these virtues.” 

I think St. Theresa is referring to original sin in the beginning of this prayer but she goes on to talk about reconciliation which I will discuss later. Like weeds some people truly are trouble makers and cannot be allowed to continue to harm themselves and others. They must be separated but not tossed into the compost. 

Early last summer I decided to stop weeding; mostly because of ticks. As a result of this ‘neglect’ some interesting things happened. Surprising plants appeared like viper’s-bugloss, evening-primrose, and bee balm. Where did these things come from? I didn’t plant them. 

I took lots of photos of my garden to use as resources for this piece. One of the image files became corrupt when I loaded it onto my computer. When this image appeared on my monitor I thought it was beautiful! It has all the colors in my palette. This picture was reduced to its smallest parts in the form of pixels and serves as a perfect metaphor to describe how we all come from the same source and will return to this source. The following is a passage from Genesis:

“In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken; for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.”

 (Genesis 3:19, King James Bible) 

Outside of religious tradition materialists agree on the conservation of energy. Materials dissolve, they are transformed - one form dissolves into another form. Physicist Aaron Freemen expressed it this way in his essay titled “Physicist’s Eulogy” (2): 

“You want a physicist to speak at your funeral. You want the physicist to talk to your grieving family about the conservation of energy, so they will understand that your energy has not died. You want the physicist to remind your sobbing mother about the first law of thermodynamics; that no energy gets created in the universe, and none is destroyed. You want your mother to know that all your energy, every vibration, every Btu of heat, every wave of every particle that was her beloved child remains with her in this world. You want the physicist to tell your weeping father that amid energies of the cosmos, you gave as good as you got. And at one point you’d hope that the physicist would step down from the pulpit and walk to your brokenhearted spouse there in the pew and tell him that all the photons that ever bounced off your face, all the particles whose paths were interrupted by your smile, by the touch of your hair, hundreds of trillions of particles, have raced off like children, their ways forever changed by you. According to the law of the conservation of energy, not a bit of you is gone; you’re just less orderly.” 

Freeman doesn’t go far enough. Photons and neurons scatter but then what? Freeman is only describing the physical disintegration. He is describing only what we know at the present moment; what we are able to measure with our feeble instruments. That’s not the end of the story. The physicist David Bohm  (3) wrote about this in his papers about hidden variables that “depend both on the state of the measuring apparatus and the observed system.” Mr. Freeman probably thought this eulogy was comforting and there are parts of it that are beautiful, but the way he described our physical disintegration is part of a larger problem. The scientific method dominates our thinking. The way we look at the world is fragmented. We believe that everything is measurable and we often mis-measure. We don’t fully understand what happens when we genetically modify food. We don’t fully understand how some medications work. We artificially categorize people into races and classes. This is destructive. In his book, “Down to Earth, Politics in the New Climate Regime” (4), French philosopher Bruno Latour suggests that the people in power who are saying that climate change isn’t real actually know for a fact that it is real but choose to further the narrative that it is false. They understand that land masses are shrinking and are hoarding resources. They don’t care that indigenous people are especially vulnerable and are tossed aside to make way for money making opportunities. The Amazon is a perfect example of this. 

Now I will circle back to the idea of reconciliation that St. Theresa referred to. “Weeds in the Garden” is a painting about migration which will be exacerbated by climate change. In it, each plant is portrayed as an individual. They are looking toward the Omega Point, or Source or Origin or however one wants to describe ultimate reintegration. Our poem “Dust to dust’ refers not just to physical death but to reintegration. We were once integrated and now we believe we are fragmented but there is a growing movement towards reconciliation and it takes on two forms. One form of reconciliation includes philosophers who have reconciled to the idea that we are near the end as a species. The philosopher Jean Gebser for example, wrote that fragmentation taken to the extreme would bring about our eventual demise. In his book “Ever Present Origin” Gebser states: 

“If the mis-measurements are not stopped by fulfillment of the task assigned to us, they will lead to relinquishment of ourselves, and the final loss of mankind through atomization and dissolution.”

Philosophers like Sean Kelly, from the California Institute of Integral Studies (6) believes that we are at the end of the Anthropocene. Humans will become extinct. He suggests we take action as one would with a diagnosis of a terminal illness. We should use the time remaining to love and comfort one another. 

This is sad but there is good news. There are those who are making peace with creation. The Quakers in Australia are committed to having an integral relationship with indigenous people. The Quakers recognize their role, not only in Australia but globally, that has led to genocide and ecocide. They are willing to recognize their past belief in their own superiority and to embrace a new idea of interhuman relationship. They strive to understand and live by the Aboriginal law of love that they refer to as “that of God.” In her essay titled, “To Learn a New Song” (7) the Quaker environmentalist Susannah Brindle describes a mysterious experience in her own garden: 

“Some years ago we rented a suburban property which was impossibly choked with oxalis weed. With greater knowledge of this gardener's nightmare than I, (my husband) Ray took a powerful weedicide to it and, when that had no effect, I spent weeks systematically removing each little nut-like root from carefully marked areas. Our efforts netted an oxalis crop surpassing that of our neighbour's in determined virility. Only then did I remember ‘that of God’ in the oxalis. In less than six weeks not one oxalis could be found, although their acid-yellow flowers could clearly be seen on the other side of the fence. Our garden was free of them for over six months until we moved out. Then they began to creep back. We have a peace-pact, too, with the rabbits where we live. In spite of several warrens among the rocks and stories of devastation to everything planted by our neighbours, the rabbits cause no damage to our tree plantings or kitchen garden, and although we occasionally see them, their warrens seem no longer open for business. You may be wondering how an environmentalist can feel compassion for introduced pests, particularly one that has caused so much devastation to the soil of this country. When I consider the damage done by us whitefellas - invaders just like the rabbits and the oxalis - I am reluctant to get too self-righteous. As I have never heard Aboriginal peoples suggest that we vanish from their land, I feel obliged to look for less violent alternatives to eradication of other introduced pests.“

Susannah suggests that to know is to love and to begin the process of reconciliation we must get to know “that of God” about one another. In summary, humans are not weeds in the garden, nor rabbits to be exterminated. I offer no external solution. My wish is that the viewer will look within, to the inner garden, to clear blocks to receptivity. Our work is to cultivate what is beautiful. We must not struggle to pull the weeds. That is not our job. We cannot always foresee how a person will grow. It is hubris to assume we can predict what anyone will contribute. The fact that a plant or human exists is enough evidence of their worthiness.

References

* United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. (2015). On Care for Our Common Home: Laudato si: encyclical letter. Washington, DC.

(1) Teresa, Kavanaugh, K., & Rodríguez Otilio. (1987). The Collected Works of St. Teresa of Avila. Washington, D.C.: ICS Publications.

(2)  Aaron Freeman, born 1956, physicist, journalist, comic

(3) David Bohm (1952), Wholeness and the Implicate Order and A Suggested Interpretationn of the Quantum Theory in Terms of “Hidden” Variable. II http://physics.nmsu.edu/~bkiefer/HISTORY/BOHM_1952.pdf https://journals.aps.org/pr/abstract/10.1103/PhysRev.85.166 

(4) Latour, B., & Porter, C. (2018). Down to Earth: Politics in the New Climatic Regime. Cambridge, UK: Polity Press.      

(5) Gebser, J. (1997). The Ever-present Origin. Athens, OH: Ohio University Press. Gebser on dissolution (pgs. 536 and 537 EPO): “If we surrender to the destructive deficient powers, if we ascribe to rationality a character of exclusive validity, if we continue to measure time with inappropriate measure, then we shall have indulged in mis-measurement, a … hubris, presumption which is not only inadequate but runs counter to the task.” P538, “Today, while the integral is over determining and dissolving the mental-rational consciousness, the mental capacity of thought is being mechanized by the robots of calculation - computers - and this is being emptied and quantified. Prayer wheels, the fragmentation of myth, and computers are expressions of man who remains confined in his familiar consciousness frequency while the necessary “tide=turning” new consciousness mutation begins to superimpose itself over the exhausted consciousness structure. Each excess of quantification leads to powerlessness, vacuity and helplessness. Wherever this is evident it is an indication that the inadequate consciousness structure is already surpassed. In this light, the computers are a negative omen of the new consciousness structure and its strength.” 1973

(6)  Sean Kelly (2019), Living in End Times: Beyond Hope and Despair, California Institute of Integral Studies

(7) Susannah Kay Brindle (2000), TO LEARN A NEW SONG A Quaker Contribution Towards Real Reconciliation with the Earth and its Peoples, Published by the Australia Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), PO Box 108, Armidale North, Victoria 3143. Copyright 2000 by The Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) in Australia Incorporated. 2nd impression 2001. .