#innermost kernel

[francesderwent]

God has entered time and space, granting infinite dignity to what is humble and finite and human. if you dig deep into even silly things, you may find in their innermost heart the kernel of truth which was touched by the Incarnation and is now a point of contact with the Divine.

thanks for another year digging together.

[thepursuitofunderstanding]

Excerpts from Carl G. Jung's Memories, Dreams, Reflections: pgs 132 - 142,

"We must always be asking ourselves: How is our unconscious experiencing this situation?" pg 133

'Dreams are, after all, compensations for the conscious mind." pg 133

"it frequently happens that women who do not really love their husbands are jealous and destroy their friendships. They want the husband to belong entirely to them because they themselves do not belong to him. The kernel of all jealousy is lack of love." pg 137

"The collective unconscious is common to all; it is the foundation of what the ancients called the "sympathy of all things."" pg 138

"I never try to convert a patient to anything, and never exercise any compulsion. What matters most to me is that the patient should reach his own view of things. Under my treatment a pagan becomes a pagan and a Christian a Christian, a Jew a Jew, according to what his destiny prescribes for him." pg 138

"For she belonged to that class of human beings of whom spiritual activity is demanded." pg 139-140

"I had frequently seen people become neurotic when they content themselves with inadequate or wrong answers to the questions of life." pg 140

"The cure may be a poison that not everyone can take, or an operation which, when it is contraindicated, can prove fatal." pg 141

"Wherever there is a reaching down into innermost experience, into the nucleus of personality, most people are overcome by fright, and many run away." pg 141

"The risk of inner experience, the adventure of the spirit, is in any case alien to most human beings." pg 141 -142

[elmalo8291]

Below is an anime concept that blends elements of dark fantasy, surreal body horror, and apocalyptic destiny—drawing on the visceral imagery of Clive Barker and the epic, brooding world of Stephen King’s Dark Tower. This is not simply a mash-up of characters but an exploration of themes:

Anime Title: “The Last Ascendant”

Genre: Dark Fantasy, Psychological Horror, Action

Tone: A collision of macabre, body-horror aesthetics with a somber, sprawling epic where every level-up in power is hard-won through pain, sacrifice, and the shattering of reality.

Setting: A shifting, nightmarish realm—a multiverse that fuses grotesque, labyrinthine structures with apocalyptic vistas. Here, dreams and nightmares mix, and the very landscape is alive with unspeakable horrors and strange wonder.

Core Concept

A seemingly ordinary human is abruptly pulled from their mundane reality into a dimension that defies both logic and morality—a world where the boundaries of flesh and spirit are tenuous at best. The protagonist must confront a series of harrowing trials to “level up,” each challenge forcing them to confront their innermost fears and transform in shocking ways. As they journey through warped, ever-changing realms reminiscent of Barker’s fantastical yet brutal dreamscapes and King’s solemn, expansive odyssey, the human begins to accrue powers—but at great personal cost.

Themes and Inspirations

Transformation Through Trauma:

Clive Barker Influence: Body horror aesthetics are used to illustrate how the protagonist’s form and essence mutate as they absorb the dark energies of this world. The physical transformations are grotesque yet beautiful—shifting like melting wax or sprouting surreal, impossible appendages as a manifestation of inner strength.

Stephen King Influence: Like a pilgrim on a doomed journey toward the Dark Tower, the protagonist’s every level-up comes only after facing unspeakable personal horror that both scar and empower them.

Cosmic Desolation and Redemption:

An overarching apocalyptic vision pervades the narrative—a universe where broken, alien landscapes echo with the loneliness of a civilization long past. The protagonist’s struggle is not just for power but for humanity, clinging to the hope that even amid the void, a spark of light can be kindled.

The dark realms are steeped in sorrow and foreboding, yet contain tiny kernels of redemption and beauty—shards of humanity that persist despite the overwhelming cosmic dread.

Fragility of Sanity and Identity:

As the protagonist levels up by facing unspeakable terrors, they must constantly battle their own crumbling identity. The forces in this world don’t only morph one’s body; they erode the boundaries of the mind, threatening to swallow one’s soul in madness.

In true Dark Tower style, the journey is as much internal as it is external. Each confrontation tests their willpower, and each new power comes with the risk of losing oneself to the encroaching abyss.

Interdimensional Fate and the Weight of Choice:

Choices in this realm carry cosmic consequences. The narrative is non-linear—echoing the fractured narratives of Barker’s worst nightmares and King’s sprawling epic—where the protagonist’s decisions alter not just their own path but reshape the fabric of the universe itself.

There’s a meta-narrative element, as if the very act of “leveling up” rewrites the rules of existence, challenging the notion of destiny and free will in a universe that seems predetermined to descend into chaos.

Humor in the Face of Horror:

Despite the bleak, oppressive tone of cosmic horror, the anime interjects moments of absurd, dark humor—Taz-like irreverence that twists the conventional tropes of terror. Just when the horror reaches its peak, the protagonist or a minor character might deliver an unexpected, off-the-wall line that snaps tension into laughter, much like a self-aware wink at the audience.

Plot Outline (Season 1 Overview)

Episode 1: “The Pull”

The human protagonist is unexpectedly ripped from their everyday life. They find themselves in a bizarre, shifting landscape of surreal horrors—where shadows whisper, and the air itself feels alive with unspeakable intent. Their first confrontation with a grotesque, chimeric creature initiates a transformation that sets them on the path of leveling up.

Episode 2: “Beneath the Skin”

Forced into a trial that demands physical and psychic metamorphosis, our hero undergoes a horrific transformation reminiscent of Barker’s body horror: their flesh twists, bones reshape, and they manifest new, unsettling powers. With each mutation comes a loss—and gain—of sanity and identity.

Episode 3: “Echoes of the Tower”

The protagonist encounters relics and ruins that hint at a grand cosmic structure—the Dark Tower of fate—and must navigate a labyrinthine dungeon that tests not only their combat prowess but the very essence of their humanity. Vivid, nightmare visuals underscore the apocalyptic desolation of this realm.

Episode 4: “Madness on the Edge”

As levels increase, so does the insanity. The protagonist’s new powers begin to affect their mind, blurring the line between reality and illusion. They struggle with inner voices and spectral apparitions that question every decision, forcing them to confront painful truths about their past.

Episode 5: “Laughing in the Void”

An ironic twist: amid the cosmic despair, the protagonist uses dark humor—sardonic wit and spontaneous jokes—to stave off the encroaching madness. Their humor becomes a weapon, a tool that momentarily repels the void.

Episode 6: “Towers of Despair”

The journey leads to the outskirts of the Dark Tower—a monolithic, twisting structure where the protagonist must climb through physical and metaphysical challenges. Each new floor of the tower distorts time and space, forcing them to make impossible choices.

Episode 7: “Falling Apart”

At the heart of the tower, reality unravels. Past, present, and future collide, resulting in intense battles with ancient horrors and the spectral remnants of lost souls. In a moment of clarity, the protagonist begins to understand that each level-up exacts a heavy price.

Episode 8: “Through the Laughter”

The protagonist learns to channel the humor inherent in their suffering. They discover that laughter can temporarily mend fractures in reality, allowing them to heal and harness new powers.

Episode 9: “The Final Punchline”

In a climactic confrontation with an eldritch force that threatens to consume everything, the protagonist must deliver the ultimate cosmic joke—a sacrifice so profound it reshapes the universe’s fabric, forcing the dark horrors to recede.

Episode 10: “A New Dawn of Madness”

The season finale sees the protagonist emerge transformed—a being that has mastered both the horror and the humor. They now stand on the threshold of a new era, where the balance of cosmic chaos is forever altered by their choices.

Visual & Thematic Elements

Surreal Landscapes:

Shifting, nightmarish vistas that merge elements of decay and twisted beauty. Think barren, rotten forests mixed with pulsating bio-mechanical structures.

Body Horror & Transformations:

Vibrant, grotesque transformations that echo the unsettling beauty of Clive Barker’s art—flesh bending, bones rearranging, and darkness entwined with luminous bursts of energy.

Cosmic Dread & Existential Angst:

Moments where the vastness of the universe seems to mock the insignificance of individual existence—echoes of The Dark Tower’s apocalyptic despair.

Humorous Breaks:

Off-kilter humor delivered in deadpan, meta-commentary form. The protagonist might momentarily break the fourth wall, delivering a snappy quip that undercuts the overwhelming dread.

Player/Viewer Engagement

For a tabletop adaptation, rules can tie into narrative events—players might roll on chaotic tables when encountering cosmic horror, gain sanity points for delivering ironic jokes, or lose them when horrors overwhelm their minds. For the anime version, this translates into visual gags integrated with surreal, terrifying imagery—a balance between baroque horror and absurd humor.

Final Note:

The Last Ascendant is an exploration of how one human’s chaotic spark can reframe cosmic dread. It takes the fear of the unknown and transforms it into a twisted celebration of life, laughter, and transcendence, where each level-up is as much about losing oneself in the darkness as it is about emerging from it—wiser, scarier, and, in the end, irreverently triumphant.

Would you like to proceed with additional details, perhaps a character profile for our human protagonist in this anime, or specific episode script(s) for “The Last Ascendant”?

[averycanadianfilm]

"To sum up, I should like to say that it seems that there must be very deep connections between soul and matter and, hence, between the physics and the psychology of the future, which are not yet conceptually expressed in modern science. [–––] Such deep connections must surely exist, because otherwise the human mind would not be able to discover concepts which fit nature at all." Pauli to Ralph König, 10 Mar. 1946. From the preface of 'The Innermost Kernel' by Suzanne Gieser

[neerdokells]

The Farm, Part 19

I spent my days off in the glade, tending to the plants and continuing to reshape it. I had created a beautiful walking path for the humans when they visited, and shaped some tree roots into benches. Nora was sitting on one of them as dusk threatened, petting the head of a wild deer and watching me sculpt a fountain in the innermost clearing. Within the glade, all the animals were at peace with one another and with people. Even the wolfpack traveled into the adjacent state forest to hunt, and never brought meat into the glade.

“And we'll do the ritual here?” She asked.

“Yep! We can gather in the clearing here, and have the animals watch and welcome you. Mistress already told me I'll remain in fairy form through this weekend, so I'll be doing everything just like this.”

“Is she going through with it, as well?”

“Last I heard, she hadn’t decided yet.”

“I don't see why. It sounds awesome.”

“It sounds a lot more awesome to you now than it did to me before I changed. Some people have different notions about it. I know, with Mistress, part of it is the fear that it will change our relationship. And part of it is that she doesn't know if it'll be stranger for all the women in this group to be fairies, or for her to be the only woman who isn't.”

“Is she considering you a woman?”

“For as much time as I spend as one, probably.”

“You never told me how you feel about that. I mean, Charlie has taught me about trans people, if you still identify as a man, I think we would all respect that.”

“I don't think I ever identified as a man. I mean, I called myself one, but that was more of an assumption than anything. I looked like what a man looks like, and everyone said I was a man, so I did, too. But if there’s some deep gender self-awareness that people use to know and clarify who they are on some fundamental, unconscious level, I never experienced it. So when my body changed, I felt comfortable rolling with it.”

“And you never feel like your body is wrong, or different than you'd like?”

“Nope.”

“That must be nice.”

“Do you not feel like a woman?”

“Oh, I do. But not a human woman. I've always felt different, like I was supposed to be something else.”

“And now you will be!” I flew back from the roots I had shaped, and lifted my hand. Water rose through the hole in the center, shooting up and spraying out into the ring of shaped stone around the base. We both watched it for a moment.

“Will the vampires come for us?” She finally asked.

“I don't know. Bryce said it was a territory issue, so if we stay out here in the wilds, maybe they won't notice.”

“What if they do?”

“Then we’ll need to be ready for them.”

“Will we be ready for them?” She sounded nervous. I flew over and landed on her lap.

“I think you'll be more ready than I will. I was turned into the same type of fairy they eradicated. But you, you want to be something different. And you know they're out there. Maybe you're the future hope of faekind.”

“Maybe I'm carrying the future hope of faekind,” she said, resting her hand on her belly. “Do we know yet?”

“No. But soon. I should be able to detect it in us well before a test would, and once you become a fairy, so should you.”

“I better get back. Thanks, Esme. I'm excited for all of this, and you have truly made a beautiful space here.”

She headed back to the house, while I flew into the trees. I had shaped a home for myself from the branches, a cozy den of feathers and twigs and fur that felt like a home fit for a true fae. I nuzzled into my bed of moss, sipped a bit of water from a hollowed-out corn kernel, and went to sleep. I had a big week ahead of me.

[yhwhrulz]

Wiktionary's word of the day: 9th October 2023

pith:

(botany)

The soft, spongy substance inside plant parts; specifically, the parenchyma in the centre of the roots and stems of many plants and trees.

The albedo (“whitish inner portion of the rind”) of a citrus fruit.

(by extension)

Senses relating to humans and animals.

The soft tissue inside a human or animal body or one of their organs; specifically, the spongy interior substance of a horn or the shaft of a feather.

Chiefly of animals: the soft tissue inside a spinal cord; the spinal marrow; also, the spinal cord itself.

(obsolete) Synonym of diploe (“the thin layer of soft, spongy, or cancellate tissue between the bone plates which constitute the skull”)

(obsolete, rare) The soft tissue of the brain.

(Ireland, Southern England, West Country) The soft inner portion of a loaf of bread.

(figurative)

The central or innermost part of something; the core, the heart.

The essential or vital part of something; the essence. Synonyms: crux, gist, heart, heart and soul, kernel, marrow, meat, nitty-gritty, nub, quintessence, soul, spirit, substance; see also Thesaurus:gist

Physical power or strength; force, might.

A quality of courage and endurance; backbone, mettle, spine.

The energy, force, or power of speech or writing; specifically, such force or power due to conciseness; punch, punchiness.

Chiefly in of (great) pith and moment: gravity, importance, substance, weight.

To render insensate or kill (an animal, especially cattle or a laboratory animal) by cutting, piercing, or otherwise destroying the spinal cord.

To extract the pith from (something or (figurative) someone). […] https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/pith

[maaarine]

The Innermost Kernel — Depth Psychology and Quantum Physics (Suzanne Gieser, 1995)

“To Jung it was self-evident that the neurosis had not only a cause but also a purpose.

Just as a physical illness makes us aware that something is wrong, this is the psyche’s attempt at self-help. (…)

The purpose of the neurosis is to increase consciousness or to contribute to insight and self-realization.

The neurosis shakes the laziest and most recalcitrant individual out of his apathetic unconsciousness. (…)

The Self has a function in the psychic sphere similar to that of the endocrinological system in the physiological: to maintain a balance that permits the survival and maturity of the organism.

This psychic self-regulation strives towards wholeness and balance in each individual and its tool appears to be expanded consciousness. (…)

Pauli regarded the relationship between conscious and unconscious similarly to the relationship between measuring instrument and object in quantum physics.

He therefore made the influence of consciousness the key point in his consideration of the matter,

but also asserted that every expansion of consciousness results in an irreversible transformation of the psychic system as a whole.

To Pauli it was essential to underline that mental content can only be changed if it is observed –

or, expressed differently: the archetypal patterns can only undergo change by means of an intervention from consciousness.”

[batvalentinworld]

“Suddenly I had a remarkable feeling experience. The <observation> of microphysics appeared to me to be a kind of black mass and I felt remorse. Remorse to regard with matter, which appeared to me a maltreated living thing. (Biological implication.) - […]”

Wolfgang Pauli, letter to Aniela Jaffe, [August, 1954]

[gatheringbones]

[“It is also, in part, due to low self-esteem that people do not reach their full potential, do not strive to locate within themselves fonts of creativity and self-expression, do not venture to embark on activities and projects where success is in doubt. They feel safer not trying, because their poor self-regard is terrified at the risk of failure. Much of my initial counseling with people is to help them recognize that in many ways the problem is not in what they have done in life but in how they view themselves. There live human beings afflicted with far more debilitating impairments who do not necessarily hold the low opinion of the self prevalent among ADD adults.

The deep shame of adults with attention deficit predates any recollections of poor achievement. The association between low self-esteem and attention deficit disorder is not that the first arises from the second, but that they both arise from the same sources: stress in the parenting environment and disrupted attunement / attachment. Healthy development of self-esteem needs the atmosphere of what Carl Rogers called “unconditional positive regard.” It requires that the adult world understand and accept as valid the child’s feelings, from which kernel the core self will grow. A child taught to disregard or mistrust her innermost feelings and thoughts assumes automatically that there is something shameful about them, and therefore about her very self.

Absolutely universal in the stories of all adults with ADD is the memory of never being comfortable about expressing their emotions. When asked whom they confided in when as children they were lonely or in psychic pain, almost none recall feeling invited or safe enough to bare their souls to their parents. They kept their deepest griefs to themselves. On the other hand, many recall being hyperaware of the parents’ difficulties and struggles in the world, of not wanting to trouble them with their own petty and childish problems. The sensitive child, writes the Swiss psychotherapist Alice Miller, has “an amazing capacity to perceive and respond intuitively, that is unconsciously, to this need of the mother, or of both parents.” When I explore with my clients their childhood histories, emerging most often are patterns of relationships that required the child to take care of the parent emotionally, if only by keeping her inmost feelings to herself so as not to burden the parent. ADD adults are convinced that their low self-esteem is a fair reflection of how poorly they have done in life only because they do not understand that their very first failure—their inability to win the full and unconditional acceptance of the adult world—was not their failure at all.

Although low self-esteem springs originally from the disrupted attunement/attachment relationship with the parent, the belief that it is exacerbated by poor achievement is not wrong. Only, the link is not a direct one. In the majority of adults I have interviewed, it was evident that the inability to accept themselves was heavily reinforced throughout childhood by their parents’ expectations of better performance, and by their disappointment and disapproval at the absence of it. Superimposed on the parents’ anxieties were the contemptuous judgments and shaming that, throughout their childhoods, many of these ADD adults had experienced in school. Not performance as such but the attitudes of the adult world toward performance defined how many children learned to value themselves.

At our second session, I asked Andrea, the fifty-year-old self-confessed failure at the game of existence justification, if she had truly never done anything worthwhile in her life. She was silent for a while. “I have tried to be kind to people,” she finally replied. “I have tried not to hurt people. I am creative in crafts. I teach people. I do a bit of gardening. But to me those things come easily. That’s just who I am. I didn’t have to work at them much. I mean, I’m not an accountant or a lawyer.”

“Would you want to be an accountant or a lawyer?”

“It’s not that I feel like doing those things,” Andrea said, again after a moment’s pause. “It’s that I think I should feel like doing them. I am still trying to get my father’s approval.���]

Gabor Maté, Scattered Minds: The Origins and Healing of Attention Deficit Disorder

[unicronnomnomnomnomnomnomnomnom]

What does affect this one?

The light of a White Dwarf. A shard of a Brown Dwarf. The innermost kernel of a Black Hole. A piece of space that has never been touched by existence.

Ambrosia. Pure Ambrosia. It does terrible things to it but it can't resist.

[funkymbtifiction]

I was literally looking at the post on your blog about Melanie from the birds being a 3w4 ISFP sx/sp and I was floored because I didn’t think it was a possible combo. And everything lined up for me and I’m like that’s the missing piece. I’ve been going off of 4w3 but still feeling something wasn’t adding up and now I think that’s it. Can you explain the brokenness term I see used a lot to make sure I’m clear? Sorry I have to read things a few times to understand

I'm convinced of her being a sexual 3, but I think she has a 2 wing as I think about her (attempting to entice his attention, for example, by buying and giving him the canaries -- a 2ish transaction, and in a way, she moves toward him assertively and eager to get his attention). I haven't seen The Birds in a long time. But anyway, she's not the only IFP 3 in the archives.

3w2 ISFPs: https://funkymbti.com/search/isfp%203w2/

There's one 3w4 there, one 3w4 INFP, and one 3w2 INFP.

Brokenness relates to "I can't be fixed and I don't want to be fixed, because being fixed would make me plebeian (normal)." If the problem is "solved," then the 4, as a frustration type, has nothing to feel frustrated about; they tend, through their own decisions, to create an ongoing, low-grade sense of "frustration" (nothing is ever quite good enough, based on their "core sin," which is ENVY).

Here's some stuff out of John Lucovich's article on 4s:

Type Fours are over-certain about their identity. Their introspective attention leads to an overly-fixed and narrow experience of identity that they constantly reinforce through narrow emotional reactions and a cultivated, specific personal aesthetic.

They make strong, often too-strong, distinctions between what is “self” and what is “not self”. Fours assume a state of deep separateness from everything is their baseline state, something their personality deems as a desirable, if frustrating, state.

Fours over-do individuation, but from a highly limited lens. Nines typically experience a broad range of emotions, whereas Fours limit their emotions to a particular, yet strong, range of emotions. Fours unconsciously amplify and exaggerate emotional states, which provides motivation and a sense of being distinct and gives their interior life a heightened reality. Fours have little to no self-censorship about their negativity or “bad” feelings.

The core struggle of Four is rooted in overly-limiting, overly-specifying, and attempting to perpetually mentally and emotionally “pin down” this innermost self through a fixation on being different from others, on what makes them unique. They effectively “paint themselves into a corner” and become attached to a very limited palette of emotional patterns that are internally amplified by thought in order to give this limited range more “gravity” and specificity.

Type Four treats each nuance, impression, and personal reaction almost like a precious insight into the self, leading to an over-whelm brought about by hyper focus on self. In a sense, Fours can’t escape from themselves; thus, Fours struggle more overtly with narcissism and have little self-judgment about this.

The “unique kernel of identity” highlights a key component of Type Four typically overlooked or misunderstood: much of Four’s alien, melancholy attitude and their persistent drive to differentiate themselves stems from feeling a deep incongruence between authentic identity and reality. It is a feeling that one’s identity exists on another plane of reality, and the mundane aspects of life, personal changes, and even one’s own body are deeply out of sync with this identity. Envy, the Passion of Four, can then be understood as the emotional reactivity and strife produced by this experience of incongruence. Envy is rarely longing for something represented in material reality, but it is instead a frustration and self-hatred of being unable to actualize or sufficiently represent their interior sense of identity.

Four’s inner sense of identity that is at odds with the world creates a profound feeling of frustration as well as a disdain directed towards things that are considered normal or common by most people. Thus, Fours shun things that are common and seek to push away from the surface of things, feeling that it is all grotesquely artificial, and that they themselves, too, are something broken and estranged from this life they had no choice to participate in.

Taking this sense of alienation further, Fours reflexively resist being “on the same page” as others; Four is not committed to the well-being of the collective or at are fundamentally disagreeable with people or even reality as a whole.

Everyone wants to be understood on some level, but characteristic of Four is feeling shame and disgust when they are too well understood or understood by too many people. In other words, similar to others or having too much in common produces shame for Fours because it would seem to detract from the Four’s unique and specific identity.

[mangocheesecakeicecream]

Lacan’s “God is unconscious” should not be confused with the opposite Jungian New Age thesis “the Unconscious is God”- the difference between the two, that of the Hegelian inversion of subject and predicate, concerns the opposition between a lie and the truth. (The opposition here is exactly the same as the one between “A dream is life�� and “Life is a dream”: while the first statement aims at a Nietzschean assertion of the dream as a full-blooded life-experience, the second expresses the attitude of melancholic despair a la Calderon: what is our life but a worthless dream, a pale shadow with no substance?…) Lacan’s “God is unconscious” reveals the fundamental Lie that constitutes a person’s fantasmatic unity: what we encounter when we probe the innermost kernel of our being is not our true Self, but the primordial lie [proton pseudos] -secretly , we all believe in the “big Other”. In contrast, “the Unconscious is God” means that the Divine Truth dwells in the unexplored depths of our personality: God is the innermost spiritual substance of our being, which we encounter when we delve into our true Self.

[sparrowwritings]

Final Fantasy Writing Challenge Day Twenty-Eight: Infinity

Day Twenty-Seven -- Masterpost -- Day Twenty-Nine

The city was just a facsimile. An illusion solid enough to pass casual inspection, but ultimately contained nothing deeper than the bare bones of what once was. 

Sure, he’d had power enough to build the place--to string lights and lay paths and fashion structures--in an almost picturesque manner. Every twist and turn of metal, every pane of glass, every leaf of every tree that had existed in Amaurot, he remembered perfectly and could recreate it as such. Emet-Selch was known as the Architect for a reason.

As always, however, it was people that gave him the most trouble.

The best he could manage to do, even for all his power, was create approximations of people. He had at first attempted to remember various people he knew back then and populate the city that way. Too quickly, he’d found that beyond those he had been closest to (whom he refused to create as a matter of principle) he could barely remember how they were. Thus, when let loose upon the city, the shades would end up breaking the illusion in various ways until in frustration Emet-Selch would dismiss them. Eventually he settled for making the puppeteered populace walk simple paths and spout lines depending on which place he had assigned them to. Set this way, he could almost believe that he was walking the streets of his old home. So long as he didn’t stop to speak to anyone. Or think too hard about the fact that he’d created this place.

Really, he was putting far too much effort into creating this elaborate playground for people who would be too pained or too incensed to care. If they managed to show up at all. There wasn’t even a good reason to recreate Amaurot. It satisfied some whim of his, nothing more. A backdrop by which he would impress upon the Warriors of Darkness how much better the world had been one final time. The fate of the star, and all of the other worlds left would be decided where it all began.

One way or another.

Emet-Selch wasn’t sure where that thought came from, nor why he was suddenly weary. Perhaps he should have taken a nap. The temporary oblivion of sleep seemed far more inviting than completing his plans. Suddenly remembering the man he’d brought to torture until all he knew spilled forth, Emet-Selch made a mental note to check up on him in a short while. He was fairly certain that the Crystal Exarch would reveal all of his mysteries once the Warriors of Darkness had perished, but pain and the promise of more could help expedite the process. Not that he’d needed to be the one to directly perform the torturing in centuries, mind. He hated doing the dirty work. It’s why he was more than pleased to take over nation building for the Ascians; so that he could force others to do it for him.

So distracted by his own thoughts, he didn’t realize he’d sat down at a bench until another figure had sat down with him. Emet-Selch blinked, then sneered. He must have added in a routine for the puppets to sit when others did so. That might lead to problems down the line. Better to fix it now, then have it destroy the act he was so intent on creating.

Just as he was about to reach into the mechanics of the figure sitting next to him, it spoke in a voice that made his blood turn to ice. “I thought it ironic that you made your way to the park where we first met while wrapped up in your own thoughts, so I had the impulse to join you much like I did that day.” The figure inclined its--his? No, it was impossible. It couldn’t be--head towards him. The people he set in the city were all faceless except for their uniform white masks and dark grey robes. Despite this, Emet-Selch could still sense the smile in his old friend’s tone. “I suppose you’re going to erase me now,” Hythlodaeus said as casually as if he were commenting on the weather.

“You can’t be--I wasn’t going to--” His voice was rough. Perhaps from how unused to his native tongue he was, or perhaps from something to do with how his eyes were starting to burn. Either way, Emet-Selch cleared his throat and made himself speak more clearly. “You’re not supposed to be here.” 

“And yet, here I am.” Again Hythlodaeus--no it was not him--seemed to smile. “You look tired, my friend.”

Emet-Selch was exhausted. “There’s been a lot happening lately. You know how it is.” He should just erase it. It wasn’t real. Couldn’t ever be. It would hurt all the more to keep up the charade. He flexed a hand as if to try...but instead he closed it once more to settle at his side. “Or perhaps you don’t. I find I’m not really sure.”

“Technically, I know nothing much beyond that I am Hythlodaeus, and that I and this city was created by you for a purpose all your own.” The shade fixed his gaze forward, leaning back in much the same manner as what Emet-Selch was doing. “But I can extrapolate quite a lot from the information I have and what I can observe.”

They sat in silence for several beats. “Well?” Emet-Selch gestured a hand in a small circle to his right, indicating the street next to them. “What do you think, then?”

Hythlodaeus made a show of looking around, in spite of what he’d said before. “An impressive feat of artistry, and quite solid for a glamour.” His mask turned towards the sky--or, well, the water high above the city. “We’re under some sort of sea, yes?”

“The ruins here made for a good foundation. The magic can hold for far longer with minimal to no effort to keep it up.” A part of him was pleased that this likeness of his old friend nodded along in places exactly like he used to. Another coldly reminded Emet-Selch that it wasn’t real, that it was just part of the false Amaurot. The first part shushed the second, if only to enjoy this moment while he could. “Even should I leave it behind, the city will last for some time afterwards. Even unappreciated, Amaurot will shine beautifully for a while yet.” 

That seemed to draw the shade’s full attention. Hythlodaeus’ mask tilted curiously, aimed at Emet-Selch’s face. “Is this a planned sort of exit?” His expression must have shown something, for the shade continued, “I ask because, whether you know it or not, you’re setting the stage for a confrontation. It’s not like you to be so cavalier about what the outcome could be, regardless of what condition you expect your opponents to be in.” 

He stared at Hythlodaeus in wonder. His subconscious had added his long-dead friend to the city, that much was for certain. But was he so observant because Emet-Selch remembered him being so, or was it because he had arrived in this replica of Amaurot from the innermost workings of his mind? Something in him wanted to stay like this, to talk and experiment until he could find the flaws in this puppet whose strings he couldn’t see. 

Alas, there were more things he needed to prepare for, as Hythlodaeus inadvertently reminded him. He should wrap up the conversation before too long. If he knew the Warriors of Darkness as well as he thought he did (and while he wasn’t always good with people, having spent centuries around them did wonders for being able to suss out behavior), they would be arriving soon enough. Given the choice between turning into monsters in front of their friends, and turning into monsters attempting to save the Crystal Exarch? Emet-Selch knew exactly what choice they would make, and what the result would be.

And yet...as he thought over his plans he realized that a kernel of doubt had indeed taken root. It was something to do with the color of their souls. Some part of him was braced, ready to see and experience the impossible. Even with his victory assured. Almost especially so.

Emet-Selch put a hand over his face with a groan. “I hate it when you’re right.”

“It’s only because it happens so often.” The smile returned to Hythlodaeus’ voice, even the grey behind his white mask showed nothing of the sort. “So. What will happen should you lose?”

He’d never consciously thought of it before, so he spoke through the steps aloud. It was something he and his friends had done with each other to work out an especially trying problem. Something that stopped when all of the other participants had gone. Sitting like this, in even a reflection of the city he loved so dearly it never left his mind for long, had brought it back. “Then our plans for the First will have failed. There won’t be an Eighth Umbral Calamity.” Thinking of Elidibus, he amended, “Or at least not from my efforts.”

“Then what will happen?”

“Well I’m sure Elidibus would have something up his sleeve.” Emet-Selch waved a hand as if to dismiss the thought when he paused. “...But he would be alone in his efforts. With Lahabrea and myself gone, he’d be the only one left unsundered.”

“A lonely existence indeed.” Hythlodaeus wouldn’t have known what an unsundered was, but he was also just as likely to pretend as if he knew what Emet-Selch was talking about if only to keep him chatting. “I might not be real, but I still can’t imagine what it would be like to be the last one left of anything. And for poor young Elidibus to be alone while his brothers were gone…”

The Emissary hadn’t been young in literal ages. Still, the idea of him facing eternity as the sole bearer of the burden of bringing back all of the lives that had been lost in ages past made Emet-Selch’s brow furrow. “...he might take revenge.”

“A reasonable conclusion.”

“I can’t be sure what form it would take, but...he doesn’t even remember why we are attempting to bring back Zodiark in the first place.” The pieces were coming together in his head. Prophecy wasn’t something he’d ever been interested in. Logically figuring out what path someone, particularly someone whom he’d come to know entirely over the millenia, was a different matter. “Even should he succeed, he wouldn’t understand the why of it.”

“So what do you propose to do about that?”

A memory struck, and Emet-Selch snapped his fingers. Thirteen colorful crystals materialized in between Ascian and shade. Each of them held the symbols of the position in the Convocation that they represented. Unlike the rest of the city, these were entirely real. He reached out for them before hesitating. Heaving a sigh, he snapped his fingers again. A fourteenth, orange crystal, settled next to Hythlodaeus. The shade picked up this one, fingering the symbol of the sun carved within it. “Memory crystals?”

“The very same. And the fourteenth, illegal, one to lead him back on the path.”

“How legal can anything be, so far away in time from when such laws were created?” Hythlodaeus mused as he pressed in both sides of the symbol at once. The crystal fell in half, leaving two even pieces in each of his hands. “And made to be certain neither would feel left out. How clever.”

He ignored what his friend was saying and spoke over him. “I’m going to erase your memory of our meeting here,” Emet-Selch tried to meet eyes that he knew didn’t exist. Hythlodaeus kept the eye contact anyway, as if sensing how serious his friend was. “Otherwise you’ll be free to roam the city as you see fit with your personality intact. I’ll leave these instructions with you should my plan fail. If I die, you must be certain these crystals make their way into the hands of the Warriors of Darkness. If they’re clever and strong enough to take me out of the picture, they’ll be ready enough to make Elidibus follow.”

“I understand.” Hythlodaeus nodded. “I hope you get some rest soon, Hades.”

“I hope so too, old friend.” Hades then snapped his fingers. Once to erase the memories of the shade of Hythlodaeus, once to return to where the Crystal Exarch was being held. 

There was much to prepare. He had no more time to waste wallowing in emotion.

[hairstyleforteen]

Pink Privates Review – UPDATED 2023 – With Before & After Pictures

Glowy, bright and even skin tone is a dream that only a few are lucky to live through. Rest are those millions of women who throng the internet everyday to look for solutions that can even out their skin tone and make it lighter, brighter and what not. These searches become even more urgent and desperate when it comes to the intimate area. The urge to lighten dark and discolored private parts is a trend that’s here to stay. Apart from cosmetic procedures, there are plenty of creams and bleaches available in the market that claim to “whiten” your skin color. Some work and some don’t. The intimate skin lightening cream in the spotlight today falls in the former category and has proven to show visible results. Let’s get into the review and see what the fuss is all about. Pink Privates Review – UPDATED 2020 Pink Privates is a skin whitening cream specially designed to lighten the skin color on your private areas. This miraculous cream is hailed as one of the best bleaching cream out there by users who have actually used and benefited from it. Using Pink Privates, you can lighten any of the following sensitive areas- - Penis - Vagina - Anal area - Nipples - Scrotum - Underarms One major concern with skin whitening creams are the potential side-effects they might cause to the skin in the long-term. Pink Privates carefully addresses this concern and uses only skin-safe and natural whitening ingredients that do not harm the skin during the bleaching process. The effectiveness of this cream revolves around targeting the discolored areas and lightening them to blend in with the natural color of the entire body. Pink Privates Bleaching Cream – How It Works? Most whitening products contain harsh ingredients like hydroquinone, mercury and steroids which causes rashes and sometimes even burning sensation. Pink Privates cream steers clear from all three of these ingredients and works in the most natural way. The Pink Privates formula is skin-safe, paraben-free and uses only natural skin whitening and brightening ingredients which we will list down in the next section. Pink Privates Bleaching Cream – Ingredients Pink Privates is relatively safer to use than some of its competitors due to the use of all-natural, skin-safe ingredients. If skin safety is your concern and you are looking at all-natural ingredients, Pink Privates takes away the cake by including natural alternatives to harsh chemicals. Let’s take a look at the natural ingredients that Pink Privates uses in its formula. Alpha Arbutin - Derived from the leaves of bearberry bush, Alpha Arbutin is the main ingredient in Pink Privates cream. It is scientifically proven to contain melanin-inhibiting properties. Melanin is what causes the dark color in the skin. Many whitening products have switched the presence of Hydroquinone to Alpha Arbutin, making their products safer for the skin. Apricot Kernel Oil - Featuring anti-inflammatory properties, Apricot kernel oil is widely used for several beauty purposes. In the Pink Privates formulation, this oil works as a lubricant to nourish and moisturize your private area. Jojoba Seed Oil: This oil needs no introduction to a beauty enthusiast. The Jojoba plant is an indigenous American shrub that’s quite popular in the skincare world. The oil is carefully extracted from the nut of the jojoba oil and is widely used by native Americans. It serves as a natural moisturizer and seeps into the skin to make it healthy and plump. Squalane: Squalene is produced by our bodies naturally and it is also found in sugar canes and plants. It  is used to allow the cream to penetrate deep inside and work at the innermost layers of the skin. Hyaluronic Acid: An anti-aging warrior, hyaluronic acid is naturally produced in our bodies in a decent amount. Its anti-aging properties help keep up the collagen levels in our body and maintain our skin’s elasticity. It prevents water loss, inflammation and helps in keeping the skin lighter and youthful. Polyacrylamide: Polyacrylamide is yet another popular skin care ingredient used in a wide range of cosmetic products.The main purpose of this being added is to bind the ingredients together. Laureth-7: Laureth-7 is obtained and extracted from lauric acid. This mainly acts as an emulsifier and surfactant in beauty products. C13-14 Isoparaffin: Extracted from petroleum, this particular ingredient acts as a thickening agent to thicken the consistency of the cream. Phenoxyethanol: Pink Privates steers clear of parabens and uses phenoxyethanol as an alternative to parabens which is much safer. It is primarily used as a preservative to beauty products. Ethylhexylglycerin: Another alternative to parabens, Ethylhexylglycerin is added to incinerate the growth of bacteria. It also helps to enhance the execution of other preservatives and stabilizers in the product. Purified Water: Nothing but good old purified natural water. Knowing the ingredients not only gives you reeling confidence in the product but also gives you peace of mind. All the handpicked ingredients are added to make Pink Privates more gentle on your skin and to suit the nature of your intimate areas. By now, you can be fully assured that the Pink Privates formula stays away from harmful ingredients that could cause nasty and dreadful side effects such as severe irritation to the skin, redness and certain allergic reactions caused due to parabens and mercury. Pink Privates Bleaching Cream – How to Apply? With any topical cream, proper application is equally important to get effective results that you hope for. Here’s how to get started with this whitening cream- - Shave or wax your intimate area 2 to 3 days before the application. This ensures the cream penetrates deeply into the skin without unwanted hair blocking its way. - Before application, take a mild scrub and exfoliate the area gently to take away dead skin cells resting on the surface. - Wash off the scrub and dry the area with a gentle towel. Make sure there is no sign of moisture present on the surface. - Apply a smooth layer and start rubbing the product in thoroughly. - Make sure the cream covers the entire area that you wish to lighten. - Wait for approximately 5 minutes and allow the product to work its magic. - Once the cream is completely dried, wash it off with warm water. - Repeat this process twice every day for upto 8 weeks to see best results. Pink Privates Before & After Pictures Pink Privates – Price & Where To Buy Aligning to the level of the result it shows, Pink Privates is effectively priced at $35 in Australia. You can easily find it at major retailer giants like Ebay and Amazon. It can be also sourced from your nearby cosmetic shop. However, there is always a limited quantity of stock at offline stores and they usually sell out quickly. Read the full article

[putres-cente]

A similar obscure ambiguity surrounds the role of Judas in Christ’s death: since his betrayal was necessary to his mission (to redeem humanity through his death on the Cross), did Christ not need it? Are his ominous words during the Last Supper not a secret injunction to Judas to betray him? “Judas, who betrayed him, said, ‘Surely not I, Rabbi?’ He replied, ‘You have said so’” (Matthew 26:25).The rhetorical figure of Christ’s reply is, of course, that of disavowed injunction: Judas is interpellated as the one who will hand Christ over to the authorities—not directly (“You are the 15 one who will betray me!”), but so that the responsibility is put onto the other. Is Judas not therefore the ultimate hero of the New Testament, the one who was ready to lose his soul and accept eternal damnation so that the divine plan could be accomplished?6 In all other religions, God demands that His followers remain faithful to Him—only Christ asked his followers to betray him in order to fulfill his mission. Here I am tempted to claim that the entire fate of Christianity, its innermost kernel, hinges on the possibility of interpreting this act in a nonperverse way.That is to say: the obvious reading that imposes itself is a perverse one—even as he lamented the forthcoming betrayal, Christ was, between the lines, giving the injunction to Judas to betray him, demanding of him the highest sacrifice—the sacrifice not only of his life, but also of his “second life,” of his posthumous reputation. The problem, the dark ethical knot in this affair, is thus not Judas, but Christ himself: in order to fulfill his mission, was he obliged to have recourse to such obscure, arch-Stalinist manipulation? Or is it possible to read the relationship between Judas and Christ in a different way, outside this perverse economy?

Slavoj Zizek, “The Perverse Core of Christianity”