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#and the schism is about how that can make you bitter and selfish
littlestsnicket · 2 years
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volunteers don’t murder people (except when they do).
volunteers don’t set out with the intention of doing harm (but sometime you come prepared for the worst and you act).
volunteers aren’t pacifists (except the ones that are) (they’re protecting the vulnerable quiet that exists in the world not trying to making more of it).
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samanthaxreed · 3 years
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                                               SOLO THREAD
Locale: Sam’s apartment / Oceanside Cemetery
Mentioned: @fireinhislungs, @gracetaylorwilliams, @jessexmarino​, @naomixjones​
Dinner with her father went off with only a few conversational lulls, far less awkward than anticipated and yet not completely fluid. Like two people rowing a canoe at different speeds, both attempting to turn it in the same direction without being fully in sync. It would come with time Sam supposed and as she began cleaning dishes, bright hues caught sight of her father throwing a cursory examination of the window latches before shifting attention to the folded sweater on her couch. “Are you holding that for somebody?”
It took everything in her not to snort. “Real subtle... It doesn’t belong to some secret lover if that’s what you’re getting at.”
His chagrin at being caught was palpable enough to soften Sam’s raised brow, almost lingering on the edge of amused before he continued. “I worry about you living in this place alone, Samantha. No roommate, no boyfriend, or... girlfriend?” The blonde visibly winced then, hands resuming the task at hand to avoid discussing something so personal with a person she truly didn’t know well at all. Her father, still a near stranger. “Look, take it from me that too much alone time drives you a little nuts and it’s probably safer in numbers around here.”
The audacity to gently lecture as if his brand of advice mattered in the grand scheme when he never deemed it necessary until now. A measured swallow and breath came before she pivoted features to address him in a way that wouldn’t entirely nuke their still rather tepid relationship. The pair lingered a hair away from disaster and the only indication she managed to give was a firm warning. “Dad, I know what you’re trying to say, but I can take care of myself. I’m doing just fine and you’re forgetting that I literally lived here at one point.” With him and her mother, ironically enough. Apparently Oceanside had been worth settling in during her formative years, but once she could choose for herself it no longer suited the narrative.
“You always did have your mother’s stubbornness.” That, at least, managed to ring true and she might have been able to ignore that comment with a scoff or quick humor picked up from his side, but her father always prodded the right button. “I’m trying to keep you safe, okay?” Definitely a hothead like her abrasive mother because the knife she’d been wiping down tightened within Sam’s slender grasp. Hell of a time to start giving a shit, but she digressed. “Because Oceanside isn’t how you remember it and ignoring that fact’s gonna get you hurt if you don’t pay attention... I understand if it brings you comfort being here, but it’s not the same.”
The sharp utensil she had been cleaning finally clattered against metal as it hit the base of her sink, dropped in frustration because it wasn’t his business. None of it. He surrendered that right when the ink dried on her custody papers; parental claim relinquished unequivocally. “I’m not blind. I can fucking see that it’s worse and I’m not walking around the city with rose colored glasses.” Quite the opposite, suffocating every blossom of nostalgia before it could spring out of the dirt... Or ash, depending upon how one looked at it. “The whole me getting poisoned thing shot that down right out of the gate, but I’m not just–– I’m not giving up on this and lots of people I care about live here.” She swallowed against the vulnerability, choking it down like a bad tequila shot. “Which means there’s something worth sticking around for, so if you’re trying to talk me out of it then go ahead and call up Fletcher. Let him tell you how well that worked out the last time somebody tried.” 
“Take it easy,” he cautioned with infuriating ease against her rising temper. “I’m only trying to look out for your best interest. If something happened to you, I wouldn’t forgive myself.” The chuckle she gave in response lacked both humor and warmth, practically bewildered at his entire savior complex... And bitter, so unfathomably jaded at this ill conceived timing. Too little, too late. “Yeah, well, you’ve been asleep on the job for twenty-eight years so it’s convenient that you woke up to do it now.”
That must have cut deep because her father maneuvered out of the kitchen doorway, hands raised defensively as if she were still holding the knife. It sort of felt like that, but her tongue became the barb instead. Stabbing repeatedly when he hardly deserved it, angered more at unseen and unresolved forces. “I know I wasn’t always as involved as I could have been, but I did raise you––”
“You didn’t raise me, you avoided me because it was easier to spend time at the casino than come home to the life you picked out. And before you start accusing me of favoritism, Mom didn’t do shit either. You want to talk about romanticizing the past? Take a look in the fucking mirror.” Fists clenched against her side were blanched white at the knuckles, three decades of resentment spilling out in verbal blows that Sam knew she couldn’t take back. Nor did she want to, not tonight. “The Williams raised me. And when they were gone, I raised myself and I did a damn good job at it.” 
Some part of her would regret this moment later when his features came to mind, the shame and clear heartbreak written across them undeniable. “I didn’t realize that’s how you felt.” They had backed up fully into her living room, or perhaps she simply cornered her father with truthful criticisms when he’d only wanted to help. So much for repairing their relationship. “Yeah, well... I ruined your lives so I guess it’s only fitting that you ruined mine.” Arms crossed protectively over her middle, both avoiding one another’s gaze out of mutual hurt and then she heard the door unlock. 
“I wish you hadn’t come back here, Samantha.” 
While sounding bad on the surface, she knew full well it was meant as a last olive branch and proof that he loved her despite the vitriol, but Sam’s throat had tightened too far to respond. He slipped out into the evening air and despite how she wished to move, or scream, or burst into a thousand shards to match her internal schism, both feet remained firmly planted for several minutes. 
Then she darted across to her purse, snatching it up along with the sweater draped along the back of her sofa. No phone, she didn’t need to talk anymore. At least no one listed in there.
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–––––
One bottle of some cheap rosé from the grocery store later and she was back on the road, navigating some vaguely familiar route down the coast. GPS wound up becoming necessary at some point much to her embarrassment, but twelve years away wasn’t nothing and darkness made fools of everyone. Her car pulled into the cemetery parking lot and for a minute she simply sat with the engine idled, replaying pieces of their conversation in her mind. Not just with her father, but Fletcher, Grace, Jesse, Naomi... People who existed in her former life that now began slotting into this new, convoluted one. 
The gate’s lock was either open already or rusted by the sea air, but it hardly mattered because Sam entered without much barrier. Weaving through headstones, she discovered that the path to her destination sprouted from memory which was altered by nighttime shadows and the fickle mistress of time. After getting turned around once, she eventually made it and settled into a small plot of grass, unscrewing the lid of her bottle and toasting in mock cheers to her company.
                        In Loving Memory of Brooke Williams
The sight alone was enough to tighten something imperceptible within her chest, washed away by the peachy drink and a half-hearted joke. “Sorry for sitting on you, but that should be nothing new. Kick me off if you hate it.” Talking to a ghost as if the long deceased girl were able to hear felt stupid on about three hundred levels, but Sam hadn’t been granted the privilege of catching up for so long. And after arguing with her parent, she just needed her best friend and other half. 
“I think that maybe... everything in my life is temporary now,” she admitted to the silence. “And sometimes I can even convince myself that I’m okay with it. Never attaching myself to anybody or anything.” Mostly through her own design, sabotaging any concept of permanence before it, too, could be ripped away without warning. A self preservation measure concocted when she was far too young; no kid should delve so far into their own fear that they only knew how to run. “Except here. I feel like I keep circling back to this place and these people... And you. Always you.” For someone who only an hour previous claimed to raise herself, she truly did an immaculate job at creating an adult who wound up successful, capable, and so unbearably alone.
Maybe she should have called Fletcher instead, the thought interjected itself and became quickly dismissed. Hadn’t enough trouble been thrust upon his shoulders? And Grace’s? Stripped of their entire family in the course of a single night, tossed into a system which spat them back out, and molded to fit a world that clearly didn’t give a shit. The last thing either one needed was a reminder walking back through their door, but she had with such unfathomable selfishness. Perhaps guilt brewed in the pit of her stomach over how she treated her father tonight or that continuous fear of making the wrong move, but uncertainty brought the rim to parted lips once more.
“I’m not sure what I’m doing anymore, B.” It was easier to draw honesty from her bones out here, less like pulling water from a stone with only a bottle and the faint ocean breeze answering back. Rather than eerie or unsettling, the dim light provided a quiet comfort of remaining unseen in the midst of such raw admittance. “I don’t think I belong in this city like I used to, but I’m scared––” There was that thickness in the far reaches of her throat again. “I’m afraid that if I don’t belong in Oceanside then I don’t really belong anywhere. So what the hell do I do?”
She had belonged once, in a flickering memory of happiness that remained pure despite life’s valiant attempts to extinguish it. Friendship bracelets with her name misspelled on accident. Brooke telling Fletcher he could only join their pillow fort if he killed the spider inside. Grace’s laughter from beneath the hood of an old car as she threw a grease laden rag at Mr. Williams. They were supposed to grow old together, buy houses on the same street, live out impossibly normal lives. So beautifully mundane in their cookie cutter regularity. Even after the worst overtook them, she had been naïve enough to believe in some echo of that future; a broken shell, but enough to keep her head above water.
In that alternate time, Grace taught her to drive manual and took Sam to get her license, the pair bonding in a way that she only dreamed of as a child who idolized the eldest Williams beyond words. She would have thanked the brunette for being the only stable adult in her life and the only one worth counting on. In that alternate timeline, she got Fletcher trashed on his twenty-first birthday and sat on the bathroom floor with him all night in apology. She would have told him the truth at some point, even if he didn’t reciprocate. So many what if’s that were robbed before they even began and now she grasped at smoke, unable to hold it between desperate fingers. Why couldn’t she just let things go like a well adjusted person? Why did she leave claw marks etched into every memory?
More wine, but this time it tasted distinctly of saltwater as the wind brushed over damp cheeks.
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aion-rsa · 3 years
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Shameless Season 11 Episode 11 Review: The Fickle Lady Is Calling It Quits
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This Shameless episode contains spoilers.
Shameless Season 11 Episode 11
“We’re adults now. This is what adults do. They move on.”
Shameless tows the line over whether Frank Gallagher is actually wise or just so high on his own supply that he’s convinced himself that he’s a street smart genius. The truth of the matter is irrelevant because either way Frank still makes bold declarations as if they were the word of God. He’s a non-stop repository for nonsensical advice and Frank’s teachings have been present through every season, even if they’re lessons that the Gallaghers actively ignore. 
“The Fickle Lady Is Calling It Quits” pushes a narrative where characters need to either move forward or slow down, but a greater source of wisdom that influences the episode’s structure is the laundry list of life lessons that Frank has spewed out for eleven seasons. This direction turns Shameless’ penultimate episode into one of the most emotional and impressive entries of the season and provides the right direction for next week’s big finale.
Previous seasons of Shameless frequently treat Frank like an unrepentant derelict and there are times where he even operates as an outright villain. This final season has worked hard to humanize Frank as he transitions into this feeble stage of his life and it’s been a very powerful experience. Now, an episode away from the very end of Shameless, Frank is at his absolute worst and at this point there’s no hatred towards this passive father figure, only pity. William H. Macy looks utterly lost in these scenes and he’s really put everything into this final season. Macy actually deserves some award consideration when the time comes and this is the episode that he should submit. 
Frank is usually the one that drives the chaos forward in Shameless, right down to the previous episode, but “The Fickle Lady Is Calling It Quits” turns into a somber celebration of all things Frank Gallagher as Liam graciously tries to remind Frank of the indomitable fighting spirit that’s defined him for his entire life. Liam throws Frank’s own advice back at him when he tells him, “Either you run the day, or the day runs you.” 
This episode feeds off of the energy between Liam and Frank from the previous installment and it’s appropriate that Liam is the one that’s with Frank during his weakest moments. Frank can rest easy knowing that Liam is living proof that goodness has come out of all of his selfish behavior over the years and somehow this child has been able to synthesize his ramblings into practical advice.
It’s a lot of fun to return to this farcical side of Frank’s character, but the comedic sensibilities of Shameless continue to be all over the place this season. There are some legitimately funny and subtle jokes throughout this episode, but there are also ridiculous setpieces where good samaritans get steamrolled by a truck. Shameless has always had a dark sense of humor, but it needs to have a little more confidence in itself and not resort to such broad gags that come close to breaking the reality of the show’s universe. Mickey’s consternation over housing complex guidelines feels more natural, and is funnier, than fatality punchlines or extended TikTok dance routines. 
Mickey and Ian’s time in Chicago’s West Side becomes surprisingly fulfilling and it achieves the right balance between comedy and drama. This new lifestyle puts Mickey and Ian at odds with each other and it becomes a strong dissection of their characters as well as how far their relationship has come. Their material is full of great character moments, like how Mickey needs to listen to car crashes and general destruction as a white noise machine to help him peacefully fall asleep. Mickey’s discomfort over his new life becomes so severe that he has to sneak back into the Gallagher house and get up close and personal with the crime and chaos that echoes through the South Side. 
I don’t expect Mickey to completely regress and be unable to forge ahead with Ian in this marginally swankier life, but this feels like a reasonable temporary hurdle for him to clear before the series concludes. Despite how this West Side lifestyle is a productive change for Ian and Mickey, it’s still something that Ian made official while Mickey wasn’t completely on board. It’s an understandable schism between them and the episode is smart to tease them falling back onto old habits, only to do the opposite. 
“The Fickle Lady Is Calling It Quits” teases infidelity and disappointing decisions, but their selfless resolution to the problem is one of the sweetest moments from the entire season and basically what I’ve wanted from these two all season. Every character in Shameless has been through a tremendous amount this season and it’s impressive how Mickey and Ian’s conflict resolution methods have evolved from the volatile place that they were at when the season began.
Mickey and Ian display genuine maturity with their relationship issues and it’s a level of synergy and consistency that Debbie craves. Everyone is considerably worn down from the events of the season and is close to their breaking points, which in Debbie’s case finally causes her to take a long look at why her romantic endeavors have all been so toxic. This introspective attitude is good for Debbie, yet the victim mentality that she adopts and her anger that Frank has “ruined love for her” is a little too simplistic. Debbie has been in healthy relationships that failed because of preventable problems that she instigated. 
Debbie polls the people in her life on how to build connections and stay together when her family is on the cusp of separation, which does carry a level of poignancy, even if not all of the insight that she acquires from the experience is healthy. It’s a storyline that works as well as it does here specifically because it’s juxtaposed around so many changes and goodbyes. Debbie does productive work to better herself, but the direction of her endgame is more than a little confusing. 
“The Fickle Lady Is Calling It Quits” parses out several scenes where an aggressive woman named Heidi causes a wave of mayhem promptly after she’s released from prison. Initially it looks like Heidi’s roaring rampage will intersect with Carl’s new police gig and provide him an opportunity to take down this menace and become a hero again on the force. That’s not at all what happens and it’s madness that Heidi is meant to instead provide closure for Debbie! 
Heidi literally threatens to shoot Franny with a revolver and minutes later Debbie is ready to spend the rest of her life with this loose cannon. The most frustrating thing is that next week’s series finale will likely hint at a happy future for this fresh couple, but based on everything that’s known about both of these characters it seems like it’s destined to go up in flames, perhaps even more quickly than previous relationships.
Carl doesn’t get to take out an angst-ridden recidivist, but he does still find some peace and gain a better understanding of his calling after a season of being frustrated. Carl’s impassioned speech is long overdue, eloquent as hell, and completely right. It also would have been justified several episodes back, but at this point Carl’s pent up frustration over what he’s witnessed at the police department makes sense. 
It’s encouraging that Carl embraces his demotion and uses it to find clarity. It’s still hard to say if this police direction for Carl’s character was worth it in the end, but thankfully it doesn’t suck out his soul or leave him bitter at the world. Joshua Malina is such a hyperbolized schlub through all of this, which is entertaining and also reflects the greater level of incompetence that surrounds Carl while he attempts to do honest police work. 
Carl and many of the Gallaghers are caught in flux when it comes to their new lives, but Kevin and Vee already have Chicago in their rearview mirrors. Vee and Kevin represent a force of confidence and their resolve towards Louisville inadvertently helps many of the Gallaghers work through their own sources of stress. It even feels natural that the person that Kevin and Vee sell their house off to turns into a break for Lip to diminish the colony of ulcers that have been brewing in him all season. This blessed development also doesn’t feel contrived because it’s an opportunity that Lip ultimately botches. 
Liam reminds Frank that he’ll have both good and bad days, but this cautionary advice becomes even more applicable to Lip’s story. It’s heartbreaking how everything sours for Lip and there’s such palpable tension through it all. This is supposed to be Lip’s easy way out to a happy ending and it instead quickly becomes a nightmare. It’s very clear that something is about to go wrong and just how poorly Lip has handled this situation. It’s a slow motion car crash of drama to the worst degree.
This sword is left to hang over Lip as the episode concludes and he almost seems to accept the cloud of hopelessness that’s formed over him. It’s a sad, hollow version of Lip that doesn’t feel dissimilar to Frank Gallagher and his decision to go out on his own terms. Frank’s concluding moments are devastating, but they’re also the only time in the episode where he feels empowered. It’s a turn that fundamentally changes the tone for Shameless’ series finale and has the potential to bring out the best in each character. There’s now a small sliver of hope that Fiona might show up, whereas I was previously convinced that this was impossible.
“The Fickle Lady Is Calling It Quits” is the strongest episode of Shameless’ final season, it contains some of William H. Macy’s absolute best work from the show, and it instills some optimistic confidence for what the series has planned for its final installment. The Gallaghers’ lives are far from over and there’s still a lot that these characters need to figure out before the series’ conclusion. The tragedy that strikes in the episodes’s final moments is a strong catalyst that should bring everyone together and deliver a series finale that’s just as much about togetherness and supporting each other as it is about new beginnings and closing the door on the past. 
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It will also absolutely end on its own terms, just like Francis Gallagher.
The post Shameless Season 11 Episode 11 Review: The Fickle Lady Is Calling It Quits appeared first on Den of Geek.
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kemonododo · 4 years
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Decided to rewatch the whole series after seeing the finale, here's my thoughts as they come along part 1
Razz tells Adora not to look for others to tell her what to do and asks her what she thinks. Adora decides she must fight the Horde. It's poetic that Adora gets so hung up on destiny and fulfilling her goal, when the final message she needed to learn was said in the third episode. Razz is the wisest of us all.
Angella repeats what she heard in the legends of She-Ra, notably that she is meant to "bring balance to Etheria". From Angella's perspective this seems like a good thing, but it's so much more sinister knowing that basically means "to turn the death star on".
Catra was pissed at Adora, but seemed willing to leave the Horde until Hordak elects her as Force Captain. This is the start of her conclusion that Adora was only holding her back, and so the decent of her madness. That little smirk kills me, because that face will shed a lot of tears from this point on.
Season 5 showed us what Adora's She-Ra looks like, without the First One's influence. It might be a bit blasphemous, but I think that reveal would have worked better if this early season She-Ra was the mini-skirt, cleavage design of the 80s. Have a bit of symbolism about societal beauty standards. Love the muscles though that part is perfect.
The first time Catra and Adora meet back up after their falling out is a little unremarkable, the wounds are still fresh and they're still angry at each other but I think both still don't understand how big this schism between them will be.
I just realized Entrapta's castle has a picture of a Tyrannosaurus rex with a unicorn horn and Pegasus wings. Is that what Mara's dragon was!? 😂
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God I love Entrapta, even when I first watched this I was excited to see the purple Hatsune Miku in the intro. She always cared about people since the beginning, she just doesn't understand politics.
Castaspella and Angella were shipping Glimbow from the start lol.
The show gives us a full view of how Shadow Weaver's abuse affected Adora. Being constantly pressured to be the best and strongest at the threat of Catra's health has left Adora a jittering wreck. Call me sadistic, but I love that it wasn't resolved in this episode. Adora wins the battle against SW today, but all the way up to the series finale we see SW's dirty fingers clawing away at her conscious. It takes more than 20 minutes to escape a life of manipulation.
Princess Prom! This is when the show goes from a 7 to a 10. Not only the prom being a fun venue, but this is where Catra begins to get some agency. This is the first time she really feels like a main character, which is great because I love her more than anything. Also the first time we see Double Trouble and the Star sisters, which I guess are different from the Star Siblings in season 5? A bit of a continuity error.
Aww, Glimmer is jealous. I can relate to her fears of being pushed out, but the fact that she's pretty madly in love with him adds a whole new layer. Bow is right but he's being a bit insensitive here.
Let's just take a moment to appreciate how far we've come. Remember when this was the gayest thing in the show?
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It's fun watching the princess alliance so early in their friendships, they obviously care enough to go with Adora on this mission to save Glimmer, but I love how annoyed and distracted they get with each other.
This episode is also really big for Catra, realizing she will never get Shadow Weaver's approval, that longing look at Adora, "this is not because I like you".
The Beacon is sandwiched between two great episodes that make it feel like filler, but a lot actually happens. We see more of Adora's insecurities, especially how she starts to take it out on herself when she runs into a problem out of her control. We got the formation of the super pal trio, a short lived group with an amazing dynamic. And we also have a huge moment with Angella that basically defines her entire character.
Entrapta's insecurities are revealed. She wants friends, she loves people, but they're complicated and hard and always seem to leave her. It's heartbreaking and something that comes to a head on Beast Island.
I love this scene with Catra and Shadow Weaver. It's clear she still loves her evil mom, and we see how SW has abandoned the idea of Adora for now and is now beginning to manipulate Catra. We also see another Catradora parallel, both of them tell straight to SW face that she has no power over them anymore, something we continue to see is not true.
Promise! 18 months later and it's still my favorite episode of the show. I like how it starts off with the anger they've been feeling up until now, but through the mind melting manipulation by skynet Light Hope, it's multiplied a thousand fold. Before this Catra was pissed at her friend, now Catra wants to murder the person she thinks destroyed her life. After this Catra isn't a cute tsundere, she's completely homicidal. She still loves Adora obviously, but Light Hope has corrupted that love into the most vitriol hate on the planet. It's wild to think they both love each other so much, and yet the abuse that have scarred them prevents that love from breaking free. This is the true moment where the show starts, this is where it became the best cartoon I have ever seen.
Also this is the only time since the first episode and Catra's redemption in season 5 where their chemistry is in full play. They just love each other so much, god I'm fucking tearing up again.
An important thing people forget about the Catradora dynamic is Catra's inferiority complex. She has been told since the day she was born that she is worthless, below Adora in every way. She loves and looks up to Adora, but her existing in Adora's shadow blackens that love. Which is why her joining the rebellion isn't a good ending for her. She needed time on her own, away from Adora, to carve out her own identity. It was her struggles as Force Captain that finally pushed her to start doing good, that realization that she is unhappy in that role. If she had left with Adora in episode 1, she would still be bitter and cruel and toxic, because she'd still be standing behind Adora.
Shadow Weaver's abuse goes both ways, as now Adora feels like she needs to protect Catra like a helpless kitten. That dynamic was not healthy, and it would not have lasted. Catradora can only exist now because they both accept each other as equals.
That final "you promise?", probably the most important words in the show. I've seen this episode a dozen times, but after seeing the finale the tears are running down my face again. Adora was the light of Catra's light, nothing mattered as long as Adora was there with her. She loved her so much. The Fright Zone, Shadow Weaver, her own insecurities, they all impacted Catra. But in that moment, them cuddling on their bunk, it didn't matter. Little did she know Adora loved her back just as much. Fuck I'm crying again.
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Catra took that memory, tainted by Light Hope, and saw Adora as a monster. Someone who manipulated her like everyone else and abandoned her at the first opportunity. Someone who broke her most important promise, someone who broke her heart. Catra is probably the best written character in fiction, no I am not exaggerating.
It's a hard follow up after that episode, but the amazing juxtaposition of Entrapta and Light Hope telling the same story with different information is bone chilling and goosebumps giving.
Knowing the whole story of Mara, Light Hope's speeches are terrifying. Her manipulation makes Shadow Weaver look soft. Luckily we have an Alicorn to help, like all other abuse in the show it isn't over in a single dialog exchange, but Swift Wind is speaking the truths Adora needs to hear. The thing about Adora though is one of her main character flaws, she gives in to the doubt her abusers seed her. Her friends constantly tell her she has worth and deserves love, but she has it in her head that she must sacrifice herself for the greater good. That's another reason why Catradora works in the end, Catra helps bring out the selfishness she needs.
Battle of Brightmoon isn't a great finale, my time in the MLP fandom has soured me on "then all the friends came together and shot the villain with a rainbow" conclusion. Luckily, the show would knock the next three out of the park.
Catra starting the new season strong, I love the juxtaposition of the horde soldiers fearing her while the super pal trio doesn't. I love that little smirk, she thinks it's the first she wants yet we all know it's the later.
Frosta got a character change, I understand what they're doing where the other princesses are bringing her out of her shell, but it all happened off-screen so she just seems out of character. The little moment with her and Glimmer is great, and a little bit of forshadowing for Glimmer's queenly role.
Every Shadow Weaver and Catra interaction is fantastic, I love how SW gets so easily under her skin and how Catra pretends to brush it off. Those black tenticles still have a hold on the Kitty's heart.
Ties that Bind is a fantastic episode, especially seeing Catra's interactions with Bow and Glimmer. I love how this contrasts with the season 5 episode A shot in the Dark, here Catra is bullying the best friend squad with malice while the later has Glimmer and Bow playfully making fun of her with love.
Glimmer's actions here are also great forshadowing for her role as queen, especially how desperate she is to destroy the horde and how it affects her morals. Makes her decision to use the heart in season 4 very believable.
I love how Adora keeps referencing ghost stories she heard as a kid. I love the idea of her and Catra under the covers telling scary stories to each other until they'd both end up cuddling while insisting they aren't scared.
Entrapdak! Entrapta's love of science, complete lack of fear, and unending kindness can turn even a dictator cute. They have fantastic chemistry.
I love this little moment with Catra, Shadow Weaver correctly assumes that she's being pushed out and left behind by Hordak, and sure enough she finds Entrapta standing next to him in the lab she was almost killed just for stepping in. Her fears are repeating.
Ah! Goosebumps! The show is slowly moving to be more and more Sci-Fi, and that little shot of Mara's crashed ship with the fantastic music is just a hint to what's to come.
Roll With It is an absolutely adorable low stakes slice of life episode that shows how fun these characters are even when they aren't fighting a war. It's probably the funniest episode in the series, the 80s She-Ra segment is my favorite. There's also the wonderful moment of Adora's breakdown, the pressures of being the world's savior takes a toll on her.
White Out! One of my favorite episodes. The mostly self contained story, the new setting and outfits, great Super Pal Trio bonding, Scorpia being a lesbian, Sea Hawk, and the only time we see the corrupted She-Ra. It's a fantastic microcosm of the show itself, and it's really funny. The Scorpatra stuff is a bit sad knowing how it ends, but it is nice seeing how Scorpia can have a crush while still realizing the toxicity of her relationship later on.
Shadow Weaver's backstory and the biggest window into her head. She believes what she is doing is right, but her methods are full on psychotic, and she was power hungry from the start. I love her so much, she's so deliciously evil. The Eldritch horror that is the spell of obtainment is a treat, and SW's arrival at the Fright Zone is beautifully terrifying. This episode also has the best scenes with her and Catra, it's devastating to watch Catra continue to pine for SW's approval and how, after all this time, SW still only sees her as a tool.
Shadow Weaver is one of my favorite characters, literally every scene with her a amazing. "I can tell by how your voice turns shrill when you scream" what a bitch I love her. I also really like how you can tell Catra and Adora still love her, even after all this abuse. She's a monster, but she's also a mom, and both of those identities conflict in their heads.
Shadow Weaver's and Light Hope's reveal of Adora's origin is goosebumps giving. The revelation that there is a universe beyond Despondos is amazing, but I especially love Light Hope continuing to withhold information and effectively lie to Adora. Razz, Swift Wind, Angella, Catra, they all tell her to make her own decisions but this moment with Light Hope where she is told she doesn't have a choice is what Adora latches on to.
There's also the deal with Hordak, when Light Hope tells the story, she paints it as Hordak ripping the poor baby away from her family. We later learn that's wrong, Hordak saves Adora, he finds a tiny baby and even as a heartless destroyer he knows he can't leave her out there to die. He steals her away, but he does so from Light Hope, the original kidnapper. If Adora was raised by Light Hope, she probably would have fired the heart without question. The Horde was not a good environment to grow up in, but it was an important part in making her the hero the universe needed.
I love Hordak's monologue, the art style and music are fantastic and the whole thing is terrifying. To imagine the big bad horde of the show is just a tiny sliver of what is out there. It also shows Hordak's motivations, which don't excuse his actions but do explain them. This show does a fantastic job at letting us sympathize with the evil-doers, and that has only grown now that Wrong Hordak has shown what it's like to be disconnected from the hive-mind. Bonus points for explaining Imp's origin and showing how Entrapta is exactly the person that he needs right now.
Catra is being embarrassingly edgy here, but it is funny that she's talking about "lost it all" and she seems to think this is rock bottom, oh girl you are in for a ride awakening with how much farther you can fall.
Promise plays again as Adora has another break down. We finally see Mara, and as with everything to do with the First Ones it is chilling. I love this slowly unraveling storyline of Light Hope's true intentions. At this point it is clear she is not to be fully trusted, but we have yet to see how truly sinister her intentions are.
Catra, again, being one of the best characters ever written. She finds a minimum amount of happiness in the wastes, and immediately it all comes crashing down when her trauma resurfaces. That scene of the anger taking over is a masterpiece. I have said a million times that she'd never be truly happy in the wastes, and the later seasons confirm it, but it is heartbreaking to see how even the slightest hint of a smile is ripped off her face.
The Glimmer Angella arguments hurt, they're both right but it's sad to see them fight and how Angella takes Glimmer's advice while Glimmer doubles down on her faults.
Shadow Weaver back on her bullshit, manipulating teenagers to give her power. Noelle mentioned how she truly believes she's on the good side, and obviously she doesn't want the Horde to win, but you can't deny she has some selfish motivations behind recruiting Glimmer. That lust for power remains with her until the very end.
We see Adora getting to Entrapta here, people I think really didn't get their impressions of her right. Entrapta loves tech and science, and sometimes it blinds her, but she isn't immoral, she does care about the safety of her friends.
"You made me this way, and you get to be the good guy" "you couldn't wait to get away from here, from me. But you came back for Adora". You can see how SW's betrayal not only reaffirmed Catra's fears, but was probably just as much a force behind her decent into madness as Adora was.
There's also something beautiful about the symbolism of Shadow Weaver using her new victim like a battery to crush her old.
And Catra betrays Entrapta and Scorpia, this is officially the worst she gets, at this point her hatred of Adora is taking over her. We see more of it in season 4, but her desire to hurt Adora as much as Adora has hurt her causes her to crack like an egg. Scorpia's face says it all.
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I love getting to see Catra and Adora in their element, completely in love with each other. None of the complexity of the world at large, just them two together. Even Shadow Weaver's approval of Catra, this is her dream world.
It's funny how Scorpia's first instinct upon seeing Catra is to hug her while her first reaction to Adora is to insult her. She has terrible judgement of character lol
Everyone's insistence that it's "perfect", watching the world shift and fall apart, the confusion, the panic, the show masterfully shows Adora's emotions in this mind-melding episode.
"Soon the two of us will be ruling Etheria together just like we always planned" "Is that what you really want, to rule the world?" "I mean, yeah, obviously. Isn't that what you want too?" God this little moment is perfect, it shows how much they're wavelengths differ. Catra focuses on the "together" while Adora focuses on the "rule the world". Like DT says later, Catra's heart was never truly in it. This thirst for power is just the world's most destructive coping mechanism.
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musikat18 · 6 years
Text
Star Trek: Schism Chapter Seven (Bones x Reader)
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Pairing: AOS Dr. Leonard “Bones” McCoy/Reader
Summary: Ever since the Academy, Bones has known that Lieutenant Commander Y/N Y/L/N was not the ordinary security chief. Something about her secretive, aloof nature and red-tape-coated files make him more than a little wary of her friendship. When the core of the Federation is shaken, she’ll have to cope as her friends realize that some secrets are better off buried in the past.
Warnings: Language, mentions of violence and blood, emotional turmoil, feelings
A/N: GOLLY GEE WHIZ IT’S BEEN A WHILE? Anyway, long-awaited Chapter Seven! I’m probably going to focus on series stuff (and a two-shot in the works) for a while, just because they’re a little more easy for my brain right now with all the Madness Month wind-down, and I’ll probably stitch something together for free week of Trek Fest...really disappointed that it’s not really working out to be able to do it this year.... This chapter also features a short flashback in italics, so that’s where that comes from. Enough rambling from me-- enjoy!
Star Trek: Schism
<Previous Next>
Chapter Seven: The Things We Do For Love
You kept your eyes firmly schooled on the open torpedo, not really sure how to reconcile what you were seeing with your entire career.
Was this what you had chosen to fight for? Was this the grand product of it? Humans frozen in torpedoes, effectively killed by their sole survivor?
Did this really make you just as bad as him?
“So bait,” Jim frowned at the body that was still laying in the cryotube. “Marcus set us up as bait.”
“Not bait,” you shook your head, “he fully expected you to actually pull the trigger on these people, and you almost played right into his hands. If anything, it was the change of heart that made us bait. It’s my fault.”
“You had no way of knowing what would happen,” Jim said. “What happens on this ship is my responsibility.”
You disagreed, but you chose not to say anything.
“Think you’re gonna talk to Khan about it?” Bones asked. He was asking Jim, you were sure, but he kept his eyes on you. He had nearly the entire time that you and Jim watched him and Carol get a better look at the man in the missile.
You blamed yourself for that, too. You had lost control of your emotions; it was your fault for getting both of your hopes up.
“He’s not worth any more of your time,” you advised. “We know what he’s trying to do. He wants the torpedos, and who knows what he wants to do with them once he gets the people out of them.”
“We could theoretically just let him leave with them. Go far enough away that he’s not a problem.”
You couldn’t keep the ice out of your eyes as you finally turned to face thoughtful and set hazel ones.
“Speaking from personal experience, I don’t think Khan is willing to just take his ball and go home. I don’t think Marcus is willing to let sleeping dogs lie, now, either. We’re in this mess, and I don’t know how long we have before Marcus comes after us for it.”
Carol’s eyebrows quirked in realization.
“The Vengeance. That’s our next obstacle.”
“I know Lieutenant Commander Y/L/N is a little less generous than usual at the moment, but--”
“No. My father,” Carol shook her head, “he’s been developing a ship with enhanced warp capabilities-- including mid-warp tracking and firing capabilities.”
“Then he’s certainly already started after us. I’m going to go check on Chekov, see if he’s got things up and running down in engineering.”
“Y/N!”
You didn’t stop when Bones called your name, no matter how much you wanted to. You had a new mission-- protect your crew and the Federation from not one, but two madmen. Protect Jim, protect Carol. Protect Bones….
You had failed at protecting your loved ones once. You would not do so again.
“Y/N, I want to talk to you.”
Damn that doctor. You paused in the corridor at the feeling of Bones’ hand around your wrist, gentle but insistent.
“Doctor--”
“You’re gonna call me Doctor after kissing me like that?”
You had to measure your breath before you turned and responded to him.
“I’m not very interested in talking about that kiss right now. It was a mistake.”
Your heart wrenched at the hurt that surfaced in his eyes, “Mistake?”
“I’m supposed to keep my emotions in check, Leonard!” you snapped quickly. “It wasn’t-- What I feel isn’t important. I have a duty to this entire ship. The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few. I put my emotions above my duty, and I can’t afford to...I shouldn’t...I don’t deserve to have you. Kissing you was...selfish. Just like it was selfish of me to run from my sisters...and now they’re dead. All my selfishness has cost me, no matter what I did to keep it from doing so.”
You didn’t look at him. You couldn’t. You didn’t have to, though, to know that his whole heart was breaking at your words.
“Y/N…”
“Do you know why I don’t talk about Archanis? Do you know why I can’t bear what I’ve done?”
He looked down at your hands. He wanted so desperately to take one and hold it and reassure you.
“It’s hard to answer that when you still haven’t told me anything, darlin’.”
You drew in a long breath before you spoke, but even then, your voice was shaky.
“Because it makes me just as bad as Khan. He was right. One hundred percent right…”
Bones’ brow furrowed, so you went on to explain more….
-
“The Klingons took the whole damn research base on Archanis, Galatea!”
Marcus’ voice boomed as he spoke, but you remained perfectly still. You had heard much worse screaming from your own throat.
“I understand, sir.”
“That’s one hundred hostages, and two hundred Klingons this much closer to closing in on us. Do you know what could happen if we get tangled up in war with them?”
“We can avoid it,” you insisted. “It’s one base. I can extract the hostages.”
“One base is one base too many.”
“Admiral, I just need a ship large enough to--”
“You’ll be seen.”
You smirked. “Have I ever been caught before?”
“Hostage situations are different. Extraction isn’t enough.” Your brow furrowed at Marcus’ cold and firm tone. “All two hundred of them...dead. They have to go. It’s too close to call.”
“Sir, you think the Klingons won’t notice two hundred missing soldiers?”
“Scientists, Galatea,” Marcus corrected. “Though, you might not be all that wrong. Don’t know if they have much of a distinction.”
“Two hundred bodies is too much to cover,” you set your jaw hard. “It’s easier to just get our people out.”
He walked the length of his desk, silent. It wasn’t a good sign.
“Three hundred people on Archanis, Galatea. Do you know what it’s like to have three hundred lives in the balance?”
“Is this the part where you tell me how hard it is for you to run the Amazon Corps, sir?” you asked, voice dripping with bitter sarcasm.
He turned slowly back to you, but you couldn’t read his expression.
“If they got here, you know, that would be three hundred deaths on your hands-- one for each of the Klingons. And I’m certain they’d find a way to take care of those one hundred hostages. Three hundred lives, gone.”
You didn’t like where he was taking this.
“If you’d like to wait, I can help you understand what three hundred deaths feels like.”
Your breath caught in your throat.
“You would sacrifice almost three hundred lives just to prove a point?”
A fist slammed down on his desk, and for the first time in a long time, you physically jolted at the noise.
“We are constantly teetering on the edge of life and loss, Agent Galatea,” he glowered. “If I can’t make you understand with words, I’ll make you understand with your sisters. I need two hundred dead Klingons. You can make it happen.”
You nodded, still barely breathing.
It made you less disgusted by the blood that coated your hands, your cheeks, your uniform when you returned home a week later.
-
You could almost feel the blood dripping from your chin again when you recounted the story, but it was just tears rolling down your cheeks. The wetness was quickly brushed away by a soft pad on your face; when you were more aware of yourself, you quickly realized that Bones was wiping them away.
You gently pulled his hands away. You didn’t deserve his kindness.
“Khan’s doing it by choice. You did it under threat,” he said.
“But the blood on our hands is still the same,” you shook your head. “Don’t you see? This is why this isn’t going to work. This is why it wasn’t fair of me to kiss you. I can’t put you in my line of fire. I can’t be selfish because it’s going to hurt other people. My sisters are dead, anyway. It didn’t matter. I can’t let that happen to you now when it does.”
He didn’t know what to say. What you had confessed, and all your terror and breaking down...it was the one wound he couldn’t heal, a scar he couldn’t dermal-regenerate away, a gash he couldn’t seal up.
It may not have been him driving you away, but he wasn’t entirely certain that was a good thing.
“I told you knocking down walls was a bad idea,” you murmured, arms crossed in front of you, not in defense, but in weakness. Leonard never remembered seeing you so vulnerable before.
“Well, I don’t care what’s behind your walls,” he said firmly, taking your hands. “It’s still you. We’ve both made mistakes. Some are a little bigger than others, sure, but they’re ours. And they’re yours. And I love all the parts of you, so I’m not afraid of whatever it is Marcus or Khan or whoever wants to throw at me. I just want you to let me in.”
Your lower lip quivered as you looked up at him; god, he wanted so badly to capture it with his and soothe all your pain. Maybe he always had. Maybe it had just started with the headquarters attacked, as his heart had suspected.
All he knew was that he wasn’t going to let you go it alone with this burden anymore.
But instead, you just smiled, sadness dusting your vision.
“That sounds lovely. But impossible. So I’m sorry for being selfish.”
Weighing down his heart, you took back your hands and walked away.
-
You can’t help pacing on the bridge. Marcus is coming. He has to be. By this point, it’s only a matter of when.
“Calm down, Y/N,” Jim looked over at you. “We’re going to be fine.”
He didn’t sound confident.
“Jim, please don’t,” you exhaled heavily. “Don’t lie like that.”
“Listen, I may not be a super-soldier, but that won’t stop me from trying to help the crew. We’re going to make it out of this together.”
You didn’t believe him, but you stayed quiet for the sake of the uneasy crewmen around you.
“Well, if you’re really that confident, at least you have another super-soldier on hand in the brig.”
Jim shifted in the chair instead of answering you.
“What’s that about?”
“I...might have moved Khan from the brig.”
“To where? The warp core? I hope it’s the warp core.”
The blond was more quiet than he’d ever been before, and that made you look at him.
“What?”
“Well…” he measured his words, “it’s not the warp core...I mean, I’m happy to tell you where Khan is, it makes sense for you to know, I mean, safety hazard, he’s your brother and all, but, well…”
“But what?”
“Well...first you have to promise not to get mad.”
You slowly narrowed your eyes; Jim felt the ice freeze his bones.
“James Tiberius Kirk, do not tell me you put my psychopath blood brother in the medbay.”
Jim opened his mouth, thought better of it, and closed it.
“JIM!”
“YOU PROMISED NOT TO GET MAD!”
“NO, NO I DIDN’T! YOU JUST ASKED ME TO, AND I DIDN’T, BECAUSE NOW I’M MAD!”
“Captain,” Uhura interjected nervously, “it’s the admiral.”
Jim took a moment to decide whether he would rather face an angry you or a looming admiral. He looked back over at you with your crossed arms and steam practically pouring out of your ears.
“Uhura, answer the hail from the admiral.”
Marcus’ face was promptly emblazoned across the viewscreen. It made you want to spew blood and venom and worse.
“Captain Kirk,” he greeted coolly, “it’s been a while since you checked in. You were due back an hour ago...I was worried that you ran into trouble with the Klingons.”
“No trouble, sir,” Jim answered, not missing a beat. “I have an excellent security chief.”
“Yes,” Marcus turned frigid blue eyes to you, “yes, you do. I’m seeing extraneous numbers on board...take any prisoners?”
“Just one. In engineering.”
You understood Jim’s plan immediately: keep Khan from Marcus, stall as long as possible, and hopefully talk his way out. You knew your captain, that much was certain, but whether or not you trusted him to be able to outfox Marcus was another story.
“Great work, Captain. Prepare to beam him over, and we can call it a day.”
“And what about the missiles?” Jim asked, shoulders back and jaw firm.
You bit down on the inside of your cheek. So much for outfoxing Marcus.
“Oh, shit,” your former boss sighed flatly and leaned back in his chair, “you talked to him. I don’t suppose Lieutenant Commander Y/L/N had anything to do with that.”
“Not intentionally, sir,” you said, keeping your tone dry and your gaze cool, “you learn to just roll with the punches under Captain Kirk. I’m sure he’s as much a nuisance to me as I was to you. ...That’s a compliment, by the way, sir.”
He had that very Jim smile on, “As expected, Y/L/N.”
Marcus huffed, “Look, let’s make this easy. Turn over the prisoner, and we can forget this little lapse in subordination, Captain.”
“No can do, with respect, sir,” Kirk said. “Promoting war with the Klingons isn’t something the other admirals would approve of, I’m sure. Especially not if it means execution without trial.”
A beat. A long, painful, tense beat. You weren’t even sure anyone around you was breathing anymore. You kept your eyes trained on the viewscreen, hoping for mercy and knowing none of you would get it.
“Son, you are aware there’s a helluva lot easier way to erase this problem. Granted, it’d be a real shame to blow so many fine officers to ash, but if this is what it comes to….”
Your stomach dropped, and Jim looked like he had about the same feeling.
“No, sir, understand this was my decision. None of them knew what they were getting into when we left. If— if you want to punish anyone, let it be me, but don’t do this to my crew. Sir, please. I’m the captain. It’s my responsibility. This is all on me.”
Your heart broke for Jim. Marcus would never budge, but his selflessness struck you. This was not the roguish, childish cadet that had walked into your basic training course.
No, as young as he was, Jim was a real captain. You certainly had no reason to doubt him or mistrust him.
You’re snapped from your moment of pride as you see that Carol has made her way to the bridge from the medbay. Your knee-jerk question is what did that sick bastard do to Bones, but you hold your tongue; you’ve gotten very good at doing so.
“Dad?” she earnestly looks at the viewscreen with restrained but pleading eyes. “Dad, it’s me. It’s Carol.”
“Carol?” Marcus is thrown off his game, you can tell. “What are you doing?”
“Your missiles. They worried me. Looks like I was right...Dad, I...I know you’re trying to do what feels right to you, but...I can’t believe that you would sacrifice hundreds of lives for one. And I know that the man who raised me would never do something like this. Please, Dad. You don’t have to do this.”
Your heart leaps at Marcus’ pause. Who would’ve thought the old bastard actually had a heart?
“You’re right,” he said. “I don’t.”
The look of concern that flashed across Carol’s face as gold light began to envelop her, even as she dashed away, put a pit in your stomach, and your hand went to your station as Carol fully beamed over to the Vengeance.
“What’ll it be, son?” Marcus asked.
You were running out of options. What options did you even have left, other than explode in space? Jim very well couldn’t turn over Khan, but….
The words tumbled from your mouth even with your plan half-formed.
“Take me instead.”
All eyes available turned to you.
“You?” Marcus frowned. “That still leaves a loose augment and a very mouthy security officer, Galatea.”
You pretended the name didn’t make you flinch as you strode forward, “But taking and ending Khan leaves you without anyone left to fight your Klingon War. No more Amazons, remember? Not only am I as smart as Khan, but I’m strong. You know that. I’m the perfect woman, after all. With me in your pocket, it won’t matter if you let them go.”
“Y/N, I can’t let you do this,” Jim grabbed your arm.
“I’m not asking your permission, Captain,” you said seriously. “As Chief Security Officer, it’s my duty to protect the crew. This is me protecting the crew.”
“You make a good point, Agent,” Marcus decided. “You have fifteen seconds.”
“Y/N…” Jim looked distressed, but he was clearly keeping it muted for the crew.
You smiled sadly, “I’m too dangerous, anyway. It’s better this way. Just tell Leonard I’ll be okay. And give him this for me.”
You leaned up and kissed your captain’s cheek before golden light rearranged you onto the bridge of the Vengeance. Carol was looking on in silent sadness.
“Agent,” Marcus nodded at you, “welcome back to service.”
Three guards surrounded you; insurance, you decided.
“Let’s just go,” you said flatly.
“Hold on, Agent. Let me say goodbye to your friends.” Marcus looked back at Jim on the viewscreen, “I have what I need, Kirk. You have an hour to turn over Khan or die.”
“NO!” you snarled, paying no mind to the phaser rifles pointed your way, “YOU GOT ME, YOU ALREADY GOT WHAT YOU WANTED! LEAVE MY CREW!”
Sickness settled in your stomach, knowing that didn’t matter.
Jim had better hope for a good way out, because you certainly weren’t going to pull it off from here.
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pineaberry · 6 years
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Clan-uary is Pride Month
Aric Jorgan x Sartem Roan (F!Republic Trooper)
It started of as a character bio but I twisted it into a ficlet. 
In which Jorgan unlocks Sartem’s tragic backstory. There will be Angst and Fluff and just GUSH.
She’d been in the cargo hold, searching for the last of the nerf-jerky rations, when Aric walked up to her and shoved a small parcel in her general direction.
“I know you’ve been busy lately, so… ah, here,” Jorgan shifted awkwardly as he always did when he handed her a gift.
It was customary to bring one’s lover gifts and tokens of appreciation. Having grown up with sisters for littermates, he knew all too well how picky and critical Cathar women could be. A potential mate was always judged by the quality of his gifts. Was he a good provider? Was he observant? Was he strong? Was he clever? Was he a good hunter? Were his claws and teeth dull? Was his mane tangled? In a word, was he worthy?
He’d seen more than his share of Cathar men torn to pieces by a single phrase from a woman who found him lacking and refused to tolerate his advances any longer. Then again, the persistent ones ended up with bloody gashes in addition to a wounded pride. Yet, like all the times before, the moment he offered her the clumsily wrapped gift, she gave him a bright smile. She didn’t even know what was in it but there was approval in her eyes... such large blue eyes he’d felt he could drown in them from the moment he first saw her. The knots in his stomach faded away at the sight of them.
“Aric, did you make this?” she asked as she brought out a bracelet of intricately woven leather cords threaded with small tumbled stones. “It’s beautiful.”
It was a simple enough design. He lacked the dexterity for the complex symbol knots that professional jewellers made for festivals. Still he remembered enough of the simpler knots he’d been taught as a kit. Love. Beauty. Friendship. Loyalty.
“I… I wasn’t sure what your colors were, but you seem to like blues so I went with that,” he said apologetically, “there’s a space for your sigil.”
“My what?” she asked giving him a blank look.
“Your sigil. It’s the third month of the year, I figured you’ve been too busy to make anything for the ceremony.”
“Third month ceremony…” she repeated and he was met with another blank stare.
“The ceremony. The Clan Ceremony,” he insisted some annoyance slipping into his tone to mask his own nerves.
“Oh!” she said as though something had finally clicked in place, “yes. Cathar ceremony month. Clan… Clan-uary... I… don’t really know what that is. I don’t have a Clan. Anymore… -ish…”
“Everyone has a clan,” Jorgan said as though she’d declared there was no such thing as breathing, “even foundlings. If you’re a Cathar, you have a clan.”
“Oh. Sorry I just- It never really came up,” she replied looking sheepish.
A sense of wrongness filled him. She really didn’t know who her people were. How could she not know? It was… well it was sacrilege that's what it was! Even orphans knew their clan name. This was a part of their identity; of her identity!
“Your parent’s never told you, sir?” he asked reigning in his outrage, “I’m sure we can find something about Clan Roan in the Republic records.”
“Bit hard for them to do that from a grave,” she mused looking at his gift absently and running her thumb over the polished stones. “Roan is a human name and I doubt you’ll find anything flattering about them in the Republic Database.”
Aric frowned and Sartem could all but feel it on her skin. She sighed and took a seat on a nearby supply crate before she patted the spot next to her.
“I guess I should have told you this before, there’s really no easy way to explain it,” she said as he took a seat next to her. “I don’t know my parent’s names but I know what they did and who they were. Before I was born there was a schism growing between the Cathar and the Republic. There were prominent people in my parents’ clan that were adamant about their loyalty to the Republic. However, my father shared some misgivings about the Republic’s commitment to the Cathar. He believed the Republic had used our people against the Mandalorians resulting in our near-extinction. The resulting tragedy ensured our continued dependence on the Republic.”
“That was over three-hundred years ago,” Aric protested.
“Yes, and he believed the Cathar were finally strong enough to make a choice, whether it be Empire or Republic, he felt we should be able to choose,” she said before growing silent for a moment. Never once did she look up from the stones in his bracelet, “my father was a very influential member of his Clan and my mother very eloquent. They publicly debated the opposition and afterwards members of all the other Clans began to consider his words. There began to be murmurs against taking Cathar loyalty for granted. Eventually, the Republic noticed.”
Aric grimaced. It wasn’t lost on him what ‘being noticed’ implied.
“They sent both my parents to Belsavis and scrubbed their records. They were to be held in stasis fields indefinitely. I think… I think my father knew my mother was pregnant because he gave his life so that she could escape. I was born in an ice-cavern somewhere on Belsavis. My mother and siblings were too weak to survive the cold. I would have died too but I was found by an escaped prisoner. Captain Roan was an Imperial strategist sentenced to life imprisonment. I spent around seven years on Belsavis hunting, playing, and hiding among the ice. Captain Roan was kind to me. He named me after his own deceased daughter. I still remember the stories he told me every night. Sometimes they were about the stars, or Sith Lords, or strange planets. Sometimes he sang to me because he said I made him smile,” she looked sad at the memory, “I think he wanted a better life for me. In the end, I think he knew what it would cost him. One day, he told me to pack my things and walked me into the nearest Republic outpost. When we got there… They kept hitting him… They didn’t know him, he was unarmed, and they just kept hitting him… I wanted to bite and scratch and protect him, but he ordered me to stay put. Eventually they took him away and I never saw him again.”
Her eyes burned with tears, but they didn’t fall.
“Someone brought me to Coruscant… I was placed in a home along with other children with unfortunate parentage. Marsalyn was our keeper. She was an older Twi’lek woman who had been rescued from the slave camps by the Republic. She was very kind and patient, but she was forbidden from teaching us anything that would divert our allegiance to the Republic. I remember she used to tell us terrible stories of what the Empire did to her family and how lucky I was that the Empire hadn’t gotten to me first otherwise I would have been enslaved. ‘Pretty Cathar girl like you would get snapped up in an instant. They like to keep your kind like pets.’ She used to say. I grew up wondering how someone as kind and clever as Captain Roan could do something so terrible as to end up in Belsavis. Did the same man who sang me to sleep and tell me stories about the stars also burn that number into Marsalyn's neck? If the Empire was full of evil selfish people who wanted to enslave me, why did he give his life so I could be free?”
She held his gift in her hands if only to keep her fingers from trembling.
“I was fifteen when Marsalyn fell ill. She tried to hide it from us, always putting on a brave face. A decade spent in an arms factory without protection from poisonous chemicals finally caught up to her in the end. She had no family, no children. We had been her younglings. Without Marsalyn we were orphans again; wards of the Republic. They sent us off to the military academy. One of the foundlings I grew up with was a brilliant slicer. By all accounts she should have been snapped up by the SIS, but she was a Sith pureblood. Defections by pretty faces like Dorne are distrusted but still welcomed for their usefulness. Ailsa had known nothing but the Republic her entire life, yet she was feared and hated for her species. The SIS wanted nothing to do with her. It was Ailsa who began to search for the past our Keepers kept from us. She was the one who found out how my father died and why. She was the one who helped me piece together my past and showed me a report stating how my mother and siblings were found. Prisoner TX-54987 shot to death during a firefight and TX-54988 found dead of hypothermia along with four stillborn kits. Their names are lost but I remember. I know I don't live like them or follow their customs. I know they would be disappointed that their deaths were meaningless, but I haven't forgotten them. Mother, Father, Captain Roan, Marsalyn even Ailsa… they're all gone now, but I remember them.”
Aric kept searching her face as though to find a clue as to what she was feeling. He didn’t know what to say in the face of such knowledge. The Republic had stripped her of everything: her status, her dignity, her family, her Clan. Only to reshape her in their image and dress it up as a second chance at life. The experience would have made anyone else bitter and angry, but from what he had seen, it had only made her kind. His brow furrowed and he wished he had the words to express his own regret and sorrow at her loss.
“I’m... sorry… it must be difficult in our line of work…”
“Empire, Republic, good, evil, or neutral, they were all of them people. We’re all just people in the end, Aric. There’s bad people who do good things, and good people who do bad things. Believing every Imperial is inherently evil only serves the people who profit from this war. It makes us easier to control,” she said with a sigh, “Havoc is not an execution squad. Under my command, it never will be.”
He tentatively placed a hand over hers and she finally looked up to meet his gaze.
“I’m just a soldier. I can’t say I understand everything, or that I agree with everything the Republic does, but it brought me to you,” he whispered, “and as selfish as that is, I’m glad.”
“Yes, well that… is incredibly selfish, Aric,” she smiled at him before kissing his lips softly.
He could sense her affection through some inexplicable combination of scent and touch. She found him worthy. He could not contain the purr that bubbled from his chest at the realization. Later he would curse at the deeply embarrassing show of emotion, but for now, he was too happy to care.
“I’m glad I met you too,” she murmured nuzzling under his chin as he instinctively wrapped his arm around her, “happy Clan-uary, Aric.”
He snorted and gave a rumbling laugh. “For kriffs sake, don’t call it that-”
He then felt fingertips dig past the soft fur under his jawline and scratch against his skin just so. Were it anyone else, just thinking about doing something like that would result in lost fingers if the loss of an entire arm. Yet with her, the rest of his protest melted into a loud rumbling purr. It was childish, it was humiliating, and he didn’t give a damn. He held her tightly and she felt as though she were encased in a warm, pleasantly rumbling cocoon.
“Thank you for the gift Aric,” Sartem said as she nuzzled his neck.
His piercing eyes closed blissfully at the motion.
She had accepted him. Him. Not Jonas Balkar with his stupid smiling face. Not all the leering Senators and soldiers. She’d chosen him, and it made Aric feel invincible.
Was this what finding a life-mate felt like? They weren’t officially mated, not yet, but even now he didn’t think there would ever be another like her.
Sartem had spent her entire life hounded by loss, yet she somehow made it out untarnished. Every Cathar should feel as though they had a place in their Clan where they belonged. He vowed help her find that place. They’d all failed her: their people, her Clan, her government. However, if she allowed it, he would spend his entire life making up for it.
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Limits of Vision
Limits of Vision by Korey Jones Part I: The Warrior of Insight
1. In Love: Twenty-Four When we fall, our hearts leap in alarm and bewilderment. We grapple with balance; any trace of aplomb vanishes and we become bruised. We never seek out to fall and getting back up is easier said than done. Such is the same when we fall in love. Before our first fall, we are mindless and trudging through early life's darkest tunnels like blind rats as we search unwillingly for completely nothing in a twisting network of the highest disquiet. Undeveloped sensibility causes distrust, even anomisity, as every face that turns onto you becomes distorted as they revolve around you like mad mocking comedy masks. The mind is a regime of timidy. All conscious thought is base and insensitive, though conscious thought in general comes sparesly. Boredom reigns. Quite often, dubious innervation will tell you that something is terribly wrong either with or around you, but with no hint or direction as to what or how or why. This eventually pulls together a finely progressed fountainhead of nascent bitterness, alongside toiling angst brought on from recurring depthless sexuality.      At burdgeoning ages before love makes it's debut, music becomes important, as it bears qualities that are acceptably exciting and lulling that simply living does not. A quiet desire for a moticum of independence generates skepticism and questioning toward our instilled moral and belief systems. An ambivalence for inner trust soon resides as the direct world portrays an illusion of regularity which tends to contest many unseasoned thoughts and ideas and comforts. Between relatives and friends always critiquing here and willful individuality there, a schism of decisions split you with a hand on both grounds. Indeterminate, you look down into it nervously and soon begin and wonder if that's where you might possibly belong; and more curious, if somewhere down there at the black bottom is someone who already decided to let go, and leisurely awaits another incoming lost soul. The unknown becomes more and more inviting.
2. Twenty-Six You may allow your will to lay at rest once it has had it's proper feastings. A small spanning loss is nothing at all to the willer, the warrior; and often enough, will lead to a victory that surpasses even the mightiest of small-span victories.
3. The battle with fear is more akin to a race than a game, as fear has mastered every sleeve trick since there have been sleeves and tricks. Fear must be raced against, not outsmarted. When you are racing against fear, it is best to stay slightly ahead at all times, as the finish line is not clearly defined, in comparison to a fair race where one can allow themselves to fall behind, so as to catch breath. The race against fear is not made fair, and as clever as a sleeve trick you yourself created may be, alas, it is useless in a race, fair or not.
4. Wisdom is like medicine in that it was made for any average person in low health, any negative side effect from it is between you and your body, as you decided to listen, to take in that pill. Like medicine, wisdom is not force-fed, but it is forceful; it was created out of necessity for a worthy opponent to disease; it is not made for developing children. It is one of man's uppermost miracles.
5. Do things right until there is nothing left, so that our right becomes the new left to the new man (it is only historical science).
6. A proper transformation will have proper knowledge of it's motivation and the causes for said motivation's initial structuring. With a steady and sensible foundation, anything can happen, and will.
7. If you fear death, you will tend not to think about it. You will then be left with only the present moment as your domain of value limitations, which it should not be unless the will sees fit, which it should not, unless you are in a perfect "Flow". Thus, to conquer the fear of death by any means necessary, until you are sumberged in the light of perfect truth, your perfect human truth, is the highest possible task at present.
8. Becoming unknowingly involved with a tyrannical person who has tricked you into thinking they respect and appreciate you may include any or all of the following symptoms: paranoia, anger, depression, anxiety, uncertainty, lack of interest, eating disorder, tip-toeing, breaking of one's own values, suicidal thoughts, homicidal thoughts, genocidal thoughts, inclination for abuse of depressants, feelings of hopelessness, fear, hate, and seemless exhaustion.
9. A prisoner who seeks out to fornicate with another prisoner is in search of light, not freedom.
10. Only go down rabbit holes under the assumption that there may never have been a rabbit.
11. Our earliest childhood prayers are the values with which we unconsciously follow over all others. Too long did we commit to them without knowing. Not the prayers that your parents spoke on your regard, for those are always sheepish values such as exemplifying your kindness and usefulness, a seemingly selfish and gross injustice every good parent makes on the behalf of their shadow, long suppressed since the birth of the child, lingering in their bad prayers. The earliest prayers, however, that you spoke to yourself alone, they, you must decipher to know properly your roots. I ask now: who are you, really?
12. We are born ready to conquer the world. The situations in which those who raise us put us in, consequently, are the playgrounds of our most formidable moral developments.
13. I do not study birds; I collect broken wings.
14. A mother is inclined to see her child as a blank canvass upon which she may paint her masterpiece, little by little, freely over time--after all, is it not her living heir? A belonging higher than any property? A masterpiece, awaiting? And so she paints; her loves, her hates, her impulse beauty, her resentment beauty, her temptations and unattainable desires; and so life is drawn. But this is a falsehood; only when the mother has stepped away from her feeding of daily applesauce and her daily few brush stroke attempts does the canvass reveal it's hidden image: an image more profound than any mother would ever imagine possible, and perhaps, wish to exist.
15. It is impossible to lie when your world is pretend.
16. Mantra of Lies "Choose a side or lose your pride."
17. Woman is inborn with meaning in the possibility for life. She loves herself in her ongoing meaningfulness as man hates himself in his ongoing search for his own meaning. Of course, all of man's search for meaning is futile, for the search itself is the only meaning. When we look upon the woman in this respect, man's inborn meaning becomes painfully clear: death. Cosequently, a man's death does not bring us sorrow, a childless woman's death does not bring us sorrow, but in the death of a mother we do find sorrow. In the death of a child, we find regret for life.
18. To turn away from one's emotions that dismay him and to coware at fear in stead of taming them due to one's own underchallenged weak will leads to depression. This, you survive (unfortunately). Inversely, to turn away from one's emotions that dismay him and to coware at fear in stead of taming them due to another's own stronger will, when properly challenged, leads to selection. This, you do not survive.
19. Guilt may be attained properly or improperly, however, it must be rid of only properly. Guilt improperly rid of returns as self-pity: man's most inbred and lethal snake.
20. Nostalgia is the name of the dragon that spits the feeblest of flames. Yet, she is still a dragon; an old one. She claims she cannot die; and, perhaps, she cannot. But it matters not. Her hoard has lost all value long, long ago, unaware, the poor and ancient Nostalgia, and for this, we bear pitisome contempt, so much so that we do not slay her.
21. What is "payback?" Psychological, not monetary. What is "Karma?" Unconscious payback to the self. But was it not the collective unconscious that created Karma, and not simply I? Therefore, it is naught; merely an idealogical judge, a mass of contempt in thousands, small, hidden, with one representative to bear the pleasure and task of shouting "No!" to individual differentiation: the tornado of shadows. But I laugh at this seemingly endless form of darkness, for my payback is simply not due. A collection will often be sought prematurely through subterfuge. Still, my payback is not due, for no misdeed and no debt do I dare leave at rest a heavy end.
22. Even the most beautiful arrangements of fresh fruit can become a foundation for infestation in the blink of an eye.
23. Ego as a Precursor to Insight If insight serves as the infantry in the battle with truth, ego serves as the vanguard. To learn is to struggle. To better one's self in finding meaning within the search for meaning, one must level up their armor; one must level up their vitality; one must level up their endurance; all these, and more, infinitely in the mind until the finite body has finished decomposing in recurring preparation for all oncoming armies passive or aggressive, friendly or villainous. Such is the life of the warrior of insight. What great minds of insight in mankind's art and philosophy withheld themselves to dare deign culture a unified, appeasable and ubiquitous force? What fighters with refined and seasoned battalions with weapons aimed at the blackest stares of society dare not to bend their solidified will for the sake of soft-hearted ones? What brave, bold and fragile beings left have we to bring out not all blase interest in timelessness or needless fact in the face of universal understanding but all the necessary incomprehensibility that lingers behind reliability? What must serve as precursor for such an undertaking of insight (assuming and hoping one falls well in the range of the scientifically allowable range of competency)? Ego is the answer, or a keen sense of self, a reliant and steadfast determination for growth in spite of all you may and certainly lack and to seek out your new lackings. The mind and mouth serve as the ego's sword and shield, to keep the ego safe and sound and balanced. A weapon, you are, with your shadow as your sheath.
24. Rivers 1. The will of the Christian spirit is a form of unearthly ego, simply a channel of "God's Ego," or, "the will of the individual to express lovingness in goodness." This particular will is strong, this spiritual ego, and is similar to water, and erodes the unsolid body like a naturally-formed canal (or, perhaps, to my horror...excavated. Surely, not water, then...) with which it may flow throughin. An outpour of Holy Water goes straight into drains due to the inclination of it's chemical structure. Seek not the soap box, excavated ones.
2. Psychedelic drugs act as beavers on a stream. They dam, but not to the detriment of the original structure (were it meant to last).
3. But a rush, or a gentle flow is it? The brain would certainly erode from rocks into sand would too much pressure were to come forth. yet, no thing grows in still pools that is not pathological and tepid without it's proper chlorine.
4. To the recoiler of God's Ego, to the one's in doubt, who non-will to be improperly propped up, I will give you this parable. In the East, on a bright cloudless afternoon, there sits a tiny and crooked river; not plentiful, not hazardous, not useful; and upon the inch-wide downflow of gentle water tumbling over mossy stones and upon glimmering sunlit rainbow fishes, here sits a small duck, swimming with the silk current. He knows not why he sits upon this little river in the East on this cloudless day, nor does he remember exactly how he had arrived, but yet, he allows himself upon it without struggle, as he looks about the scene in wonderful vain. He seems content.
25. How doth ye reconcile such difference in ye, O discerning one? Art thou insight not deserving of some form of splendid reward? Of course! The reward of pen and ink; to write and to record, so as not to lose discerning. Rewarding a clean mind for simply being clean is to immediately dirty it, and remain the desires of those not different, not discerning.
26. The Beasts of the New Oz What is this taste, one of milk and vinegar, filling me with numerical deceits and linguistic truths? What is in the air, this new taste, that inquires upon my heavy ends? What scales in me require dusting? What scales in me require lubricating? What scales in me require balance? What scales in me require discarding? Honesty, a goal. Competence, a goal. Exposure, a goal. Disposure, a goal. The search for fear and for courage, a goal. Long ago did I discover Oz and his holy treasures. Now, I tear down his Temple and call upon the wing'ed beasts, to feed them my new taste of milk and vinegar and to breed them to my satisfaction. "To the beasts of the new Oz."
27. You will hesitate to trust the judgement of one who appears to have much to lose and yet lives dangerously at the risk of it. You will, however, have miscalculated, for in fact they have little to lose and are merely retaining ambition well.
28. Trust neither the one who displays a high regard for himself out of pessimism, nor the one who displays little regard for himself out of optimism; trust the one who does both.
29. The nihilist always has the most to lose.
30. Introduction to The Non-Will 1. To rationalize for the sake of the opposite of the will is to mistake in your own unconsciously formulated schematic, in other words, to develop a non-will. Is this non-will a lie enacted, a suggestion instilled, an influence of regret, a force of meaning, a fit of impudence, a seasoned intellectual patience, a mere conscienstious restraint, a common moment of evaluation, a chemical misfire, a pre-fixed guidepost, God himself, the Devil himself, or simply..."doubt?" The seed of doubt therein lies the answer.
2. In determining whether a non-will can be stronger in it's plausability for achievement in comaprison to it's original contrasting will (this original will withholding it's own personal level of inherent strength; weak, perhaps, in the face of other wills, but certainly mighty relative to an inert conscious) one must, firstly, in a sense "contain" a moment of time (the pocket in which a set of sensations abound in the face of newly recognized potential), secondly, to analyze the levels of said strength in plausability for achievement from this contained moment versus those from the moment of the original will. This is most difficult in the fact that one would also have to contain the moment of the original will for a proper compare and contrast, a task entirely more difficult than to contain a non-will. The will cannot be contained, thus, it is always stronger, and a non-will, in fact, can never be stronger than it's original will.
31. Even worms cannot help but to rise from the earth in the presence of music.
32. Modern Woman, Modern Slave What does modern woman ask of man? Kindnesses. Reassurance, attention, favors and impossible refills of love. The modern woman, at least; the one who determines female as the primary sex. This seems acceptable to almost all alive today. A man who obliges the vast majority of all a woman's requests for kindness is most surely unaware that she is, in fact, but only unconsciously, quite aware of the fact of her inherent undeservedness of such constant and glorifying kindnesses, and thus, she will have resentment for the man blossom and fester within her, but will continue the cycle of master and slave, as one would, leading to his ongoing mistreatment due to his lack of will to break his previously agreed upon contract with the non-will to grant such a majority of kindness (the birth of the term "simp", ca. 2019, a "male slave" or "woman-man", perhaps, were we not so inclined for brevity*). A man who grants only a non-vast majority of the modern day woman's requests for kindness can expect a healthy and unresentful female partner. This phenomena of the modern woman is real, and our male science must evolve with the times, and we do it with bittersome regret and the darkest and heaviest of hearts, of course; for it was not so long ago that so many of our personal favorite souls with smiling warmth and confidants of gentle nature and open-heartedness were many a beautiful woman.
*Another thing to note here: Kanye West once claimed around this time period that "slavery was a choice." He was correct, in the fact that a collectivist non-will that gathers strength over time will certainly become unbreakable, and that each individual who decided to give themselves up to this idea were forced into a lifetime of hypocrisy, for fear of chastisement from the collective and self-hatred for his original individual bending to this non-will; NOT death.
33. Heirarchies of Love Man must bear woman as woman must bear child. He must have patience and empathy on the tips of his brain in their presence. It is a struggle so complex that it can only be simplified. A void or reflection the bearer may see, however, this is a misrepresentation. In truth, the bearer simply sees a being in need of lessons in life over a release into life itself. As the child will depend on and eventually resent the mother only to return again with a refined love, one more sustaining, yet restrained, as will the woman to the man.
34. To those that hate, I say: "Create. Anything else, do into a pillow."
35. Is all of life not music? To conduct it, then, I shall; not in vain, but in celebration of the range and scope of it's patterns. In celebration, imitation and dedication I straighten myself before the audience, yet need not look upon them. I stand alone in silence as the sounds of life await my count, with all eyes upon me.
36. Introduction to The Flow Structure of Being We all seek the "Flow." This flow can be described as the experience of an equilibrium of all total personal possibility, in action, or: the optimal active mind state, or: the total sum of the sensations that herald fromwith a peaceful and personal blossoming. Outside the Flow is disinterest; outside that, interest; outside that, the will; outside that, "Distraction." Distraction is all of time outside an engaged will and it's subsequent mind states of interest, disinterest and final Flow state. Beyond distraction in the reverse, reached by a non-will, is the domain of unconscious self-destruction, or: the "Anti-flow." In this state, one becomes no one to one's great momentary (and possibly ultimate) detriment. It is a realm outstanding from the rest, as is it's counterpart mind state. The unconscious tortures the organic body and the psyche's frames of values, causally, due to such an outstretch from it's inherently sought upon mind state when in the grips of the Anti-flow. This severe psychosis can go on unbeknownst to us, as we seem to act relatively normal on the outside as if in a simple "distracted" or "willing" state. Eventually, a peak of maximal aimlessness is reached, and the Flow state will be forced to re-emerge (unnaturally?) in the form of a sudden and complex symbolic metaphor, understood at once or in pieces, without words and in some cases, with words, and in some cases, revelations. This "representation," or, "image" of Flow is presented in the Dream state, the realm outstanding even the already outstanding dual Flow states. The dream state is at all other moments unreachable--for the Flow, the Anti-flow and all it's inner levels are contained in "The Reality State" (what is attainable). Look upon the self as a fruitful planet which orbits these mind states, with your universe being the Dream State, forever outside your reaches, yet still reaching down upon you with cooperation from his partner, the Realiy State.
37. You will say you wish not to be offensive, and I will say you are just in fear of a fight; for you have never sharpened your offense. You will question my defense; and I will call your bluff, then, reveal to you your bluffing of yourself, and only then, as your impeccably crafted defense is lowered for only a moment, will I unleash my own unbluffing offense, catering to your terror, your deepest fear: the unfair fight.
38. The King of Parasites, or: A Little Bit of Junebug, or: The Death of Sympathy 1. A commercial plays between music. It's only thirty seconds. What am I complaining about? I complain due to the worst crime ever to be commited upon man right before my very eyes. The interruption of a Flow, this, not alone, that crime but with this reason combined; that is, the interruption for the sake of something strange, something so twisted, yet even delicate moreso; a reminder, a gentle reminder to me of "all" besides me, how they struggle, and finally, a command to stay away from these others, for the better of "all" of "us"; and while we are at it, we might as well close businesses and ban gatherings--yes, for the better, for "our" better, future "selves!" We are told to cover our faces, also, and to start cleaning ourselves. We do. It makes me disgusted, so disgusted, this polish headache. As it goes when every second is a lie, a snapshot of what was replacing what now is; not a destruction of values, but an experiment done upon them. A lie, this gentle reminder, so gentle yet firm, so suspicious yet convincing, so inventive yet creative; I almost respect it.
2. What of sympathy? What is sympathy? We are not "simps"--we have symptoms. We can respect a will in another even in disgust in respect to it's distinguishable values due to the fact that we understand, we empathize. Empathy: a distinguished and underrated force of nature; that is to say, this empathy is inherent, since no true man is ever once a blank slate; but, no slate.
3. But do we sympathize, say, in the face of a mafioso or pimp? Do they not suffer? The prostitute surely instills something akin to "sympathy" only in the fact that she lives no lie; therefore, the entire idea of sympathy, a socially "helpful" and "civil" word, tenderness for "all", that we "all" feel when the wills of others do not accomplish, or contrast to our own, sympathy itself, is a lie. Revolt, it is, then: hate, jealousy, vengeance, self-disgust, too much, no! no! A mask! Cover this judgement! Ah, yes, empathy! Give yourself unto us, oh innocent and unharming empathy, for you are meek, yet, you adorn such finery. Empathy? Not at all, but disgust and envy for "all," wrapped in empathy's stolen clothes: Sympathy shall we call it. It will be perfect, we shall feel oh so relatable, so above, so good inside. Sympathy: a parasite of words. Not on my watch do I see a time better than now to declare a new will: The Death of Sympathy. I regret it not, we will be better off ressurrecting our true father of love and just respect, empathy. Away with you, sympathy, in all your sickly horror. Let us never speak this horrible word again. Let us unbury and re-robe the mistreated and cold one: empathy.
4. This masking of society disgusts me due to the fact that it is a lie. It is a lie due to the fact that it is all rooted in sympathy. As previously discerned, "sympathy" itself is a manmade force of nature, likewise, must be the King of Parasites, the mask, the reminder, the junebug, the lie. Do not forget the basic method of the lie we know not of: to mimick the truth we do know of.
39. I urge all to look unto me not so that they should understand me, but so that they should dismiss me, so that they should more easily look back unto themslves so that they should more easily understand themselves.
40. Flow Structure, cont. 1. Due to technology, we spend a vast majority of being in a distracted state. Rarely do we move successfully upon a will, as we typically must endure a moment of "loving in nothingness" before the will is acted upon. In his work Twilight of the Idols, Nietzsche defines love as "spiritualization of sensuality" as he is discerning upon morality as the enemy of nature. This is correct, and this is reflected in the existence of the non-will (which Nietzsche, again, in the same chapter even, would long ago discover--albeit aiming at a precisely sense-based form of willing--in his words: "the ability not to react to a stimulus" and a type of "degeneracy," again, correct). When we are approaching a will that will lead to a flow state, this previously mentioned enduring sensation of "loving in nothingness" is the shadow of that looming and powerful will, the moment of intensity just before the "noon-tide," and often, many will fall victim to this degeneracy and mistake this powerful, thin and impinging dark figure of potential and choose to will against it, to create and to follow, blindly, a non-will. This mistake, this phenomena of "doubt" is why we tend to spend the vast majority of being in a distracted state.
2. This still leaves more to discern on the shadow of the will in it's true form, the "loving in nothingness". It is a type of glimmer that is rarely seen, but often enough: a fragment of the highest mind state, far beyond the power of will and posturing of power of the non-will: the Flow; the place beyond love, it is, beyond "loving in nothingness" and, therefore, will scare away all bad willers upon a mere glimmer. The Flow I can describe best by reference to Nietzsche's definition of love, and call it "the spiritualization of loving in nothingness". And yet, as great as a mind state such as the Flow may be, it is still merely only the highest-up fruit on the tree man can yet reach, a single tendril of potential from an unknown amount of tendtrils and subtendrils dripping down from the Dream State, the astounding, the inconfineable, the farthest reaches even the unknown knows not about.
3. We were not born to love, but to search. If love is an answer to anything, it is not to the question of life, but to the question of how to find an enemy worthy enough to go up against life. Search: that is real love, real life! Not this new love, this settling, this acceptance, this charade of sympathy, this incestuous non-will, this abortion of all rebirths, this enemy of life. Search: it is beyond an essential, it is the essential. Why would a being, who feels as if they are part of a great, massive collection of infinite life but with the most minute accesses to it, choose not to search, but to simply "love?" You lovers, you fools, you settlers, you surely dwell farther than any far dweller. Waste not, want not? Alas, you were born this way, and not a thing I can do.
4. I pour out my soul in ode to the would-be warriors, the one's who succumbed to love and were permanently blinded, the great lovers of non-life. For you, I play this game, for you did not know how to read the rules; for you, I will attend the party of life, the search party, ha-ha, yes! and in my finest suit, for you wanted to come too, but you threw out your invitation before even opening it, assuming it was a bill; and for you, you most unfortunate ones who decided a pleasing and common sensation should be top value, for you I play, you far dwellers who dwell so far. What a settlement, indeed.
41. A sub-personality only wishes to expand into others.
42. The human body is a heavy restraint and a fragile security.
43. Repressed Ones There are repressed ones. In their search for insight, they can only find coincidence and allow themselves to be fooled. They are sorely mistaken, for coincidence is simply a kind of flash in one's psyche that appears to one when two previously experienced earthly situations in the memory fragment and reflect upon one another. It is a non-factor to neither any sort of earthly equation nor it's solution in the search for answers to the meaning of anything beneficially applicable. The most repressed ones will grip these coincidences, these simple flashes of unearthly yet inconsequential collision, and misinterperet them as meaningful signals from outside the complex, speaking out to they and only they, to ensure, to ameliorate, to ease, ease, oh, super and simple ease. All too easy. They, as I have said, are sorely mistaken.
44. A Revelation What does one think when one watches the self as he moves about, not thinking? A motor, a dispenser, a converter, a spinning top? Yes, a top. Do we act about in life merely as the tops that are spun and spin and collide on a table of the gods, beside the seven and eleven-sided dice, some falling gradually, some flinging out at random and some skidding around nervously, nearly falling the entire way down, rolling off past a majestic game piece, massive gusts from a falling tower of cards and a red chinese checker below booms and bellows and rising echos of laughter and falling down, down onto the floor of the gods? What dwells there? If one of those gods dares to reach down to it and to place it back upon the table of the gods, and merely spin it yet again on one holy drunken night as they are just getting started, I then ask of you, reader, to dare to reach along with me in my foolish simile, for it may not be so foolish in the fact that any exercise of will, whether in search of growth, rebirth, revelation, transfiguration or mere transparent aestheticism such as I have exercised in this section, can be accepted and pursued without fear or worry from here on out, now that we know our place, and what the gods are really up to after all.
45. How to Play A Game If you are worthy of invite to a game, and you play fairly within it's structure until it's end not only to win, not only for the experience, but for both--and a third reason, that being honor to the uninvited--shall you win the game; for I have learned, it is unwise to let yourself go off unknowning of each and every pre-requisite, the greatest one perhaps being the uninvited, for upon their daily great loss do the best of all the clever cheats and moral failures toss about their golden balls and portal rings, fearlessly in the clouds. Without the sense of their loss, their distraction, you would have never thought to one day perhaps look up and to see what else there might be happening; and in victory, we honor them for inspiring that moment in us that had to occur for your invitation to ever  be sent, outside all that dead space from before, when the flag of your mailbox hitherto was left downturned.
46. Caught in a Mosh In heavy metal music, we hear the particular sounds of a particular sheperd's outcry. He cries: "My sheep are wily and stimulated, insane and loathsome, impossible to gather completely without their instant subsequent re-release." These enriched and dangerous sheep are this particular sheperd's burden, yet when burdened upon long enough, become his predeliction, causing loss of all interest in idler herds, until his short day of rest and quick return. Look upon a mosh pit. You will see an instantaneous and unconscious formation of order from chaos, it's formulation being agreed upon by beings as seperate but one, succumbing to energies that stimulate this typically slow process of gather and release, all the while still at singular levels only in close proximity to one another with an identified, unspoken agreement in the exaltation of that individual anticipation for that wily, sheepish type of connective reaction in which they are all simultaneously removed from that singular chaos and put into unconscious formation once provided the necessary energy shift for such a logically dangerous compliance, from the musician's channeling of the dream state, to the mosher's delight.    
47. The Puzzle A man sits at a table for three weeks and three days putting together a two-thousand piece puzzle. As he is on 1,999 and goes to place the final piece, a stranger suddenly appears by his table and pushes it off, sending it into the wall to it's side, pulverizing it back to zero, as he looks upon the puzzle-maker in delight. He waits for the puzzle-maker to react, but he does not. Eventually, the stranger speaks: "What of sacrifice now, O, ye investor in faith, ye permissive one, ye time slave? Did'st not thou come to have expected for this? Surely, ye knew of what danger is to come of thy silly patience, thy lost love, thy waste. Why dost thou do it? Surely, ye knew'st this was to come. Again, I insist upon inquiring. Why dost thou do it?" The puzzle-maker, then, in speaking for the first time in three weeks and three days, without a clearing of the throat, replied: "Ye search for easy opportunities and easy opposites, dost thou not? Yea, I surely knew'st of it in possibility, but in matter it is of no regard, at least, not to I--for in all my experience I have been set my meaning hitherto. But alas, now, ye fallen angel, ye soul of eternal unrest, I, myself, upon thee must I insist upon inquiring: How dost thou do it?"
48. Lovers of Indifference 1. Our most unsuspecting insights come from moments of distraction so strangely balanced in themselves, a type of "lovingness in indifference" that even all the strongest of wills become like mere falling skin from the true meat and bone of the Dream State.
2. One feels distrust for another who appears only to search out logical shortcuts and side-steps as they exploit this rare phenomena to no end, shamelessly, to the final ends of their Anti-flow regardless of circumstance with evil as both the cause and the effect, and one is right to; for these same exploiters, when asked of the Dream Sate's opinion on the matter of their actions, will deny the Dream State of being able to withhold a steadfast or credible opinion, or, simply deny the Dream State. Distrust them, yes, these uninvited ones.
49. Skillsmen Any practice of a technological skill is a will of science, a giant non-will living amongst the mortal non-wills, a kind of distracted state so well at disguising itself as a proper will that it immediately propels one into a strong state of Anti-flow, the discarding of the search, the pinnacle of waste, the death of meaning. Those with the least "skill" are the ones with the strongest passion for the searching will, the proper will, the will of the Warrior of Insight. Let technology go.
50. Genius is not measured in how much space one knows, but in how much time.
51. I am an advocate of all free markets outstanding of all moral markets. That being said, I have no interest in second-hand pawns and trades.
52. In a world where one may take an opportunity to provide a thing for a woman and not give up something of himself, one should take it. If a world like this exists, we as of yet, do not know.
53. Monument To try to be remembered is simply trying to be somewhere between everything and nothing--in other words--to be mediocre. Only the boldest of willers can find the glee under all the thrash, the denial, and to strive for non-rememberance, and beyond: absolute dissolution; no monuments outside paper. He is no longer inbetween any thing, and outside the history of memory. If I seem unthoughtful, then I shudder in terror at the idea of a thoughtful one.
54. 1. I am told things. A thing I am told: "You are your own worst enemy." To that teller, I ask; "Who would you prefer my enemy be? You? That would not do, too many blunt objects are near. Society? That would not do, too many obstacles and annoyances. God? That would not do, too many stubbed toes and warm baths. I am not my own enemy, however, for this, also, would not do, for too many pats on the back would I give myself, bringing out the burping, drooling baby within. I am not my own enemy; I am my own friend." All things told about the self from anyone, perhaps, should never be considered, but merely absorbed.
2. I am told things. A thing I am told: "You are overthinking it." To that teller, I reply simply: "You are underthinking it." There are threshholds of inequality all around, oh yes, to the great disgust of the envious, the uninvited.
3. I am told things. A thing I am told: "You are probably right." To that teller, I say: "Indeed, probable in regard to the sense of my discerning to the limit of your benefit; but in regard to the sense of my delight in the search, my capacity for will, my openness to even attempt to discern what could ever be "right" for you, and to pull it out from sticky knots and dusty corners of your own mind from which you never dared once to even look upon yourself, pulling out all with ease, like removing massive clumps of collected hair from your unconscious, my inherent talent to balance, in those senses, probability is not a factor. I am told: "You are probably right." What is meant: "You are certainly considerate." To that, I would say: "Indeed."
4. I am told things. A thing I am told: "You are disrespectful." To that teller, I reply with the following: "Your definition of 'respect' has been twisted by your degeneration of values, your secret wish to be immaculate. You are not immaculate, it is obvious upon first sight, you venerable victim. You twist because you are fragile, and in the face of a rock, you are quick to play paper." Never in life have I ever known someone as respectable as myself by far. No openness, disagreeability and neuroticism can look upon my shadow, nay, even a glimpse of it, and not admire my massive restraint. No "display of respect" have I ever witnessed in practical daily life that surpasses the sufficiency of, say, the artwork of a four-year-old palsy patient, in comparison to the finely detailed, wall-spanning canvass and oil masterpieces, inside brass and marble frames, that is my respect.
5. There are things I am told. A thing I am told: "You are blind as a bat." To that teller, I would like to one day say: "And I would not have it any other way--for did you know, the bat is the only mammal which can fly?"
55. The King of Parasites, cont. 1. I live in a generation of glaze. We are drowning in a sea of syrups. We are haughty, trivial, rancorous, melancholic, noxious, intolerably tolerant and completely compromised in the departments of creativity and insightfulness. Every man is a child, every woman wants to be a man, every pet is called a child and every child is treated worse than a toy. Every movie is a remake and every song is the same. The Temple of Syrinx is becoming less and less fantastic. The masks are tightening. One day we were told to dispel for effect, the next, to re-gather for cause. We do absolutely anything anyone says without question and turn our faces away from any sort of conflict. Conflict? How dare they, how dare we. What exactly will be called the generation after "Z?" What does the end of all generations look like? Ah, yes, it has appeared to me: "The Right to Everything."
2. Oh, you far dwellers, you lovers of the camp, you imitators, you eternally distracted, you ones beyond love for nothingness and indifference, you syrup-river tube-riders, you muffled and masked masses, you non-players, you non-valuers, you non-discerners, you uninvited, you falsely found, you hopelessly lost, you abandoned ones, you misraised ones, you non-willing, you non-searching ones, you easily fooled, easily led and easily glorified, you spinning tops, you ducks, you stale, bland, milquetoast, dusty-shelved ones, you skillsmen, you Anti-flowers, you repressed ones, you tellers of things, you enemies of life, now, I beg of you at this juncture, please, tell me the answer to the question in which I have noticed myself speak aloud, unconsciously, almost daily for over two years now: "How do you do it?"
56. 1. Life itself has become a remake, a life of screens. All our possible actions and our representations of our character have become succeptable to instantaneous and widespread witness and judgement. Consequently, we are a generation of those who are simply more comfortable being distracted. Many are completely unaware of any sort of beauty or potential. Many act as if tomorrow should likely not exist, and worse, as if today itself never existed, to their dim acceptance. So enthralled by the screen is the fly that he is completely forgetful of the window, the door.
2. We decided to embrace the remake and to never study the original. We did away with poison but also with doctors. We invented ourselves so as not to discover ourselves. We insist "to each his own," but also "all for one, one for all." We demand lawful rights to scientific wrongs. We traded meat and grain for leaf and nut. We traded pining for whining. We are more patient, that is to say, more sickly. We traded a harsh and firm ground for a smooth and slick screen. Now is a good time to cry.
3. Stanley Kubrick is a man of strong wills. He displays this forthrightly as he paralyzes the masses with his image of the Monolith, with apes and men alike clamoring upon it, in his artpiece 2001: A Space Odyssey. But what upon do they clamor? The screen. The Zarathustra introduction and motif reminds us of the film's hidden hero, the many a great potential we can achieve, and that potential's not-so-subtle antagonist, HAL-9000, technology. We always let technology get it the way of true life whenever we feel the need to go off course, that is, until we draw a line; a human line.
57. I have never driven anything other than a golf cart and a tractor, where many among me drive speeding cars and massive truckloads of materials--yet, it is my soul that is akin to the speeding car, the load-bearing truck; while it is their low-speed souls that resemble that shifty tractor, that wobbly cart.
58. 1. Ashes fall upon the world; but if we come to our senses and inhale, from within this ash we can detect and decipher the odors and tastes from whence they came; the useless debris from the mighty games of life, the flickers from the ends of the dream state falling upon us from the ashtrays of the gods, all of our consequential reactions to all of our non-wills combined; all of the throws, swings and graspings of mankind colliding, combusting, and blowing in all directions the stinging and smoking forces upon us, from which our own misguidedly set campfires upon the mountains of the worst of all man's lies that did carry down fires into our valleys without mercy: sympathy.
2. We all have limits of vision. The non-will is strong in the day of the modern woman and the woman-man, the day of the screen, the day of the junebug. We see not any possibility. We are all objects, some a hammer, some a bowl of jelly, some a bar of soap, and so on. In the presence of non-items, we merely become a different item that is rationally well-suited to the task. In the presence of aromas, we become bathtubs. in the presence of holy water, we become drains.
3. Is this the transvaluation of values in action? Have we all truly evolved so fast that we as a race are, in fact, the Supermen? I believe we are--only a vast majority of us hate mankind--a direct opposite to the Zarathustrian. Therefore, we have become a race of "non-Supermen", a mere item, a false representative, a lexicon. We have limited our vision to the vision of a lexicon because we desire to label more than to understand. To hate mankind, to limit your vision, to label all, to materialize all, to turn the entire structure of the delicate and perfected Flow on it's head, making the non-will to universal Anti-flow the final goal, and most importantly, to sympathize; this makes up the chriteria for the modern Lex Luthor. I feel terror from that presence within them--they hate mankind, there is no doubt; much like there is no doubt that I love mankind, and that in my own presence, I feel glory--the profound glory of the Superman.
4. An enemy appears by my table, oh yes. Did you know that the puzzle-maker was, in fact, me? A long work it was, my friends. A test like no other. So much joy and anger all at once did I set to experience. When my work was ruined, I almost killed him, oh yes, you can believe it. But I did not, for if you can bear to take it, I must let you know, that I learned something from that stranger--something far wiser than any aimless thought that came by me during my dedication (for it truly was all in aimlessness, I regrettably admit it to you now). I learned the root of my true aim was to have a worthy opponent. To kill the stranger would be only to kill myself, for in three weeks and three days did many a man pass me by, yet, not one had a look even near the one this stranger bore at every moment, and for that, I looked down upon them like I did my pieces, I did, to my great shame. Greater, even, was my shame when I came to realize that my final product was, in fact, not going to be all that I had hoped it could, as I drew closer to it's conclusion. I let that final piece sit outside the puzzle's frame for those last three days, my friends, I regrettably admit it to you now. I waited in want of this opponent, to my own spite, to spite my own dedication. I could not have hated mankind more than in those last three days, my friends, and if you can believe it, had decided to do exactly what my opponent had done to my puzzle moments after it's completion myself, had he not appeared so suddenly, and got to it first. I wanted to kill, yes, I admit it. But friends, it was not he who I wanted to kill, but myself, for my self-deception and wasted days. And in my hour of final deception, when I could wait no longer and feebly went to put in that final piece, feeling not a single, solitary thing at all within me, then, came an angel.
5. Let the battle begin. Do or die, my friends, in the most literal sense, for the time of peering upon the outside through the screen door is over. Long live the Superman and death to the Lexicon, for as long as it may take, which is surely forever, for no simple tasks have we left to accomplish.
59. Doth man not live in the cross-shade?
60. The Flow Structure, simplified Free will is real. I call it "distraction." It is our inherent conscious state (where we "are" before we "think"). When we think, we begin to travel toward a will or a non-will. A non-will leads to degeneration of mankind, simple to attain, the Anti-flow. The will leads to proper struggle, interest and disinterest, battling, until we reach the Flow, the flourishing of mankind, the spiritualization of loving in nothingness, the senseless and physical embodiment of love. Meaning is the search for this Flow state so that we may cease to exist, and become nothing more than a vessel for love in action. The dream state can die with enough hate, enough fire. But love is it's fuel, we find it in water. Thus, our universally similar desires for good arise all too plainly.
61. If you were to program a person for malevolent entertainment, you would set his logic function and happiness function in opposite directions. Damn ye, dreams. Damn ye. How are you hiding yourself? You fear me, yes. I move on your table without you touching it, I leap from the edge to your annoyance. The floor is what I prefer, you beasts, I am phantom, I am plant, I am man! I love man! But more importantly, I simply do not participate in games unless I know the rules.
62. To Pimp A Philosophy There is not a universal duty because there is not a universal aim, but only individual aim, a function out of our control, thus, not a duty. We control only the search; not the aim, for there is never meaning in aiming, where there always is in searching. We begin the search only after long periods of aiming: distraction. When we are distracted, we are at rest, away from the search, entirely useless to the future of man. The stoics idolize this mind state over all, a hilarious and worthless philosophy. "To decide to begin and to end a search for something for the sake of the search and not the something" is not done out of duty, but out of curiosity, the polar opposite of duty. We aim to search, for in searching, therein lies meaning in having no aim. Aiming is simply an ongoing motor function of the psyche, the basic large gears of our clockwork, our inherent state of meaninglessness. There is a universal curiosity, not duty, which I call "The Search" because only in the search is man not completely meaningless. The search begins at the individual level at many different points in life (after all, all searches end, and new ones begin, and search parties always end up splitting up before there is ever a resolve). It is a seperate entity entirely from the state wherein we undergo the process of "aiming", free will, or being "distracted," as I call it. When we are distracted, we are unaware of an innate imbalance within us. We then begin to aim and shoot, like a fighter, for the proper will, our individual proper will, that target that, when hit, will re-balance what is off within us and us alone. This is not out of duty, but the proper will, one akin to curiosity, akin to a power non-rational. At the start of the search is a state of being in which meaning is abundantly presented, and we are forcefully inclined to believe this as we feel great euphoria, have great insights, and can see many things all at once. For whatever reason it may be, there is a force within us all that makes us aware of this unlikely target, the proper will, the one of power, of curiosity, and that force does incline to us that it should ever be aimed for, although it is far-off and unlikely to be hit; there is a force that tells us: "You see it now, don't you? Now go to it; for all your hopes and dreams await you there." This target, a mere dot floating around in--or perhaps resting on the floorbed of--a sea of non-wills (all those thoughts and actions unhealthy, parasitic and detestable in the face of what lies at the very end of a long and meaningful search, found only by providence of your hitting of the target, against all odds: The Flow)--is, in fact "the Will to Power" Nietzsche describes--only his power was in curiosity, not command and psychopathy. A long and great misunderstanding.
63. Wannabes I dedicate this section to all the wannabes. I respect your search greatly, and admire your overflow of meaning, your want to be--but you must look inward now, wannabes; for you can only ever be yourself.
64. 1. There are "pale criminals" all around us today. I reference Zarathustra, but I allude specifically to our modern killers, more specifically, the ones who are not caught. Their will is a peculiar one. Do they truly get away with it? Of course they do, if it is their search. Of course they do not, if it was a non-will that only came from rational "need" or "duty." Is guilt a necessary sensation, or only a side effect from a non-will carried out? To murder in duty, surely, you will pay. To murder in curiosity, however? Merely the Krogh Principle of hate, a personal experiment in hatred.
2. I should end this curiosity steadfastly--for I fear the modern pale criminals are a necessary bee, cyclically pollinating within the cruel nature of the Dream State, and mighty bold warriors indeed; after all, I have already stated that all distracted ones are inherently meaningless.
3. The properly curious killer likely does not wish to destroy meaning, but to destroy potential, and to see if there is any meaning in that destroying. I would likely guess that there is not any, only because destruction is more akin to an end than to a means (but in a serialization, this could prove to be the reverse); but that is an uncharacteristically arrogant assumption on my part, for I have not murdered. Why would bloodthirst be unnatural? Regardless, to the guilty ones, who were likely cornered and not simply curious, I can only say, you were warned, in both directions. To the curious killers, I am yet again left to my mantra of the search, my loving and contemptuous torture to know all difficult knowledge: "How do you do it?"
65. Strangers We do not trust in strangers in the fact that they are mysteries. When a stranger is confident, he reveals that he no longer has mistrust in his own mystery, and upon witness to this, he is no longer a stranger to us; and moreso, he reveals the stranger in ourselves.
66. Phenomonology of Poetry The nonsense art is one of my favorites. Poetry is the dream state's own personal quality of pain. Pain, for it sees all and controls all, and man can only defile it's ideal so many times before it must say no more. Many a poet have commited vile acts, but are of pure soul. This imbalance sends into the Dream pain, and it sends back it's quality of pain, poetry. It gives in man a fleeting and strange air, like he is out of time and being sent strange codes, but in the language he already knows. The poet is being pulled apart by forces from the dream state at his zenith of distraction. Poetry, consequently, is a form of wisdom improvised on the spot by the dream state and channeled through you due to your extreme imbalance. This serves like a psychological enema. Instantaneously inflated, sensuality is abundant and love seems so clearly important. Poetry is egoless searching, a rare state indeed. To not have ego is easier than to grapple with it, to walk with it, and many a poem is a mere blowing of a dandelion. This blowing, this nonsese, it is the lifeblood of the dream state spilling over into the realm of man for the benefit of man. It is still to be noted: If egolessness is man's proper state, poetry would be the most cherished art of all; not the least.
67. The Flow Structure of Being in a Quantum Perspective: or, Empathy for a Dream The state of distraction is akin to a wave, a sea of choice at all degrees within our sensibly reachable dimensions. This is typical free-will. We tread water and look around for islands or for a raft. We see ourself from different angles as we float amid the shadows of our possible choices that crawl in the water beneath us. Were there to be a split in individual realities, it would occur in this ocean: distraction. If there are copies of individuals that live in seperate realms, they likely spawn when we happen upon a clear choice, that is to say, to reach the reaction that occurs when distraction ends and a will or non-will has commenced. This is likely where the dream state will see one become two in the ocean, swimming apart. It must now deal with this less-pleasing aesthetic. How, then? By making the copy invisible and placing dimensional barriers; or, removing the copy and dropping it on another planet like we would a plastic bottle in the ocean, only to continue following the original (or more interesting) individual. Both seem like a hassle. Perhaps, even the dream state is coping with it's own search. If the dream state copes, the dream state then must write poetry. If it's hassle is true, and there are "objects" (entire civilizations) that we may run into in another realm that we would walk through like a ghost would in our reality, it would likely be the case that the dream state is then forced to create specific folds around our bodies that allow us to be less intrusive upon each other's respective (and corresponding) world. If there are not similar realities directly beside us, with said dimensional folds keeping us apart in time and physicality, (this is more likely, as this would simply lead to collage, and ultimately indistinguishable) then they merely exist in what we call space, transported there courteously by the dream state, so that we do not scream in horror as we see a copy of ourself appear, smile, wave, and walk away only to dissappear again every time we make a move or think a thought (well, at least, the first couple times we would scream). The wave of distraction we ride regardless, whether our reality is one of copy, collage, experiment or simulation. To develop further on this perspective will help us not. It does not impress to depress. I mean not to impress, or depress. I mean to empower.
68. The Lion and the Zebra As a hungry, searching lion, I now set off on my hunt for the Zebra. The zebra is my personal favorite of all the prey I feast upon, and today is calling out to make it a Zebra Day. Why does this lion prefer the zebra best? He knows that they are keen on the significance of their bold coats, making them more confident and less on-guard than an average gazelle. This attribute, I crave. They travel in packs and are more difficult to pounce upon than the donkey with his short legs and idosyncratic loneliness. This challenge, I crave. In the best way, they are like peacocks; they entertain my eye before I devour them; but unlike them, also in the best way, in which the invigorating powers of zebra meat will sustain me for days, where peacock meat would only tide me over for a small while. This fullness, I crave. They know they are prey to many, and surely disparage upon the threat levels of the seperate predators upon their emergence; and upon my emergence, I will see in them an exhausted, but ever-welcoming sense of fear within, as if thinking,"here comes the lion from his cave. I will likely be dead quite soon; but at least it will not be at the teeth of a hyena." This due, I crave. If i succeed in my hunt for the zebra, much wonderful sensation will I feel, empowering my pride greatly. Too many a zebra, however, and I will have reduced myself to the hyena and his greed, and spoiling my own refined tastes. I respect the zebra as I eat it. I eat zebra unoften, indeed, but always in great portions. For all this, does the zebra also respect the lion. This silent applause, I crave. "Now is the time." And the lion gave a roar to the sky from his high rock with all his might. He turned his gaze upon the horizon, down upon the herds. He made a lunge into the air, and landing in a hard and determined forward stride, descending with fierce eye and growling belly down into the plains.
69. Bold and Comfortable Theory There is a pattern in artists, creators, and the strongest willers of mankind just alike to all others, but on a more noticeable scale. Their art fluctuates greatly between apex stages of "Bold" and "Comfortable." Bold is their art that challenges their values, seeks to destroy and rebuild, adheres not to the past. The comfortable sides to their art are determined and reinforced. A key factor that must be considered to give this theory more logical credit: The artist's first work that he releases from himself and gives unto the world is most assuredly bold, and we can base the trend thusly from this starting point. The artist must have all his releases anadulterated by culture, so beware of unfortunate anomolies. In studying this pattern, we learn a great lot; a great lot. Search for this pattern and it will emerge more often from here on out for you. Beware.
70. The Casino and the Hospital We are on our way back to health. In an age of low attention and peak distraction, our values have not died, and they have not been transvalued: They have been anesthetized. They lay in long rows of hospital beds as we throw the curtains closed upon them and cross the street to the casino. In the casino, on a land not ours mockingly working slow revenge, we dispel until we are senseless, we aim to be senseless. The cold, moist hospital railings outside the door to our value patients are unpleasant to the touch, the cold sting of the dream state. The smells and sounds of healthy values are those of the hospital. We are covered in a sweat of disgust among them and wonder: "Why keep them here? No matter. Better not to worry; to go to the casino, to spend casino currency, of which I have more than plenty. You will find thrill and reward and devastation at the casino. You did not invite your hospital friends, even though many are not bedridden or contagious. You prefer hard and worthless currency over the more fragile, but more valuble. Your roots are overwatered indeed, the stenches of those sickly and anesthetized values come back and haunt you, so do your roots leak involuntarily, and at this rate, you will be completely dry. A second wind is coming. The tubes are being pulled, my friends. The curtain is being drawn back and many old friends are reacquainting themselves with the light. The casino is going out of business.
71. For a long time, I considered myself to be likely of Irish and Italian decent out of my brashness, fragility and weak-heartedness. That ended up not being true in the slightest I concluded, for I excel neither in crime, nor organization, and I am a bad liar. This would lead me again back to the deserts of my past, where many a camel still roam. I seek out the satchels of gold that lay upon their humps, left from previous riders and their journeys never completed. With a mission such as this, I only hope I brought enough water. I was told in a death letter from my great grandmother that I come from the Dutch people, but not much else other than the typical dull goodbyes and best future wishes. Well, then. Who are the Dutch? They are from the Netherlands, of course! They dwelled in river-lowlands in upper-west Europe. They are the progenitors of capitalism. They excel at music, dance, and architecture. They come originally from German-Pagan religions and then past Christianity back to today's top liberal mindframe. Rembrandt and Van Gogh were Dutch. They seemed to be like rather amiable and good-natured tradespeople, open to a moral-free market, neutral in matters of the law of man, capable of Roman takeover, hard-nosed to those from Belgium, but malleable and meanding to those from Germany. The physical landscape shifted greatly over time (this last one a bit worrisome and the most curious). There was a split in secular Christian divisions between Calvinist and Protestant, the former tending to dwell south of the major rivers, the latter to the north. In time, these northern Dutch had some influence from Germany, where the Dutch south of the rivers got their influence from the French, and others. My stature and eye shade alone would make me like to guess which one I am. Of course, my disagreeability is that of a Germans, but my openness is that of the most degenerate Frenchman (not to say all French are devious, merely subject to folly, a trait not agreeable or disagreeable). Perhaps I am a Dutch midlander, or a Frisian, a true shore dweller! I do not often eat french fries, but I do in fact enjoy them best with mayonnaise and have for as long as I can remember. I have always detested ketchup on fries of any kind. In the modern Dutch land, you will find endless bridges, windmills and fields of flower. I am not one much to listen to family. This, however, was not said, but written. This great grandmother was indeed no liar, for I feel those Dutch now within. This is perhaps the truest sense of "patriotism" I have had to date. I will keep her memory, not in my head, but in my heart; my true Nether Land. This camel I have found is weary. It is on it's last legs indeed. I lay it now, to rest, and shelter myself within it for, lo, night is falling, and soon it will get cold; but it will be good enough for now, indeed, good enough for now; to be in this night desert, and in this warm camel; meditating, and counting my gold.
72. Flow Structure, cont. The apparent world is the "Reality State." All the lost and found fossils tablets, data logs and universal mathematical equations, all laws of man, all social institutions, all language, art and society in history. The reality state in relation to the dream state is like that of the relationship of a steadfast and healthy married couple, the dream state as the patriarch and the reality state the matriarch. Humans are akin to children of these two states, playing and going to school, and annoying the parents. Yet, they set us straight, or at least, they seem to wish to. In all our immaturity and arrogance, they still love us. The parents disagree on how the children should be raised in many matters. All rationality, thus, is the work of a loving mother's secure influences. All aiming, willing, searching, flowing: these are the values of the dream state. The meaning in woman is life. The meaning in man is death.
73. The Holy Cow In the times where you were not your label, I would never to think to even label. I would never refer to myself or anyone as any kind of '-ian' or '-ist', but simply by name. Alas, it is now the Day of the Label, the day of the creed of plastics, the written instruction. In this day, one feels as if there is an invisible gun floating around one's head in every dialogue--fully loaded with judgement and wrath. In the Day of the Label, any emotional display can cause great strife upon viewing or being the displayer. We wish to be not senseless, but emotionless. Humans are not emotionless--we have various levels pre-set and can work on the ones we so wish, with insight guiding the balancing process. Today's conversations are like that of the Old West again, indeed--only not for cowboy justice, the individual justice--but for group justice, cow justice. In the Day of the Label, the Holy Cow deems all followers as '-ian's and 'ist's, and the gun to my temple had me do it. It made me label myself, to my horror. I was asked: "What are thy values in one word? All of man must know thee as only this forever. What shall it be?" It was forced upon me, my friends. I could not think of the label I needed for so long; but the Holy Cow was patient, and did not kill me until it heard it's answer--for the Holy Cow must always know what even you think, too, before it could ever go on. I was told to give myself an '-ian', and I chose: "Christian." But I wish not to live in the Day of the Label.
74. The Flow Structure: A Different Outlook To man, searching for meaning is deathlike; he is lost, not himself, not here. To woman, searching is meaningless in this sense, for to be deathlike in a woman is no good sight to look upon. Woman is inborn with meaning, the gift of life, as I have said. Thus, we can conclude as harsh and rough as the seas of distraction for man are in his aiming for the search, thrashing in the water amongst a circle of incoming non-wills, plain as day and alluring the senses like the sirens on the rocks; as harsh as these waters are for man, for woman, they lie still. For the distracted state of a woman is akin to a soft, steady pool of saltwater, but with no phantoms lurking within it, and that pool reaches out endlessly, and she finds herself under a single waterfall, raining down from the heavens upon her. Here, she is quite content. I would be, too. She was born with all she needs. And it is not good or evil wills and non-wills she looks upon; but rather, simply, a sea of men, appearing to see just that, running in circles, waving their arms and doing nothing of worth in an endless pool of ankle length, splashing around like fish. Of course, of course, of course: All she has to do now, is wait. The distracted woman is the searching woman, and she has her men do the willing, with little regard for how these silly men determine the value of those wills; for after a woman is under her waterfall, in her mind, it really could not get much better, or much worse.
75. Chunk of Cow, Bit of Pig I encourage all future men to never stop ingesting the meat from another animal for fuel source. The animal within comes out, and calls you to instincts of meaning. I also encourage the moderate consumption of sweetmeats, for our ancestors would call it the food of the gods: a source for fuel and decadance in one, with the taste as if the animal were killed with kindness. Sweetmeats will not last as long as beef, which will not last as long as game. Avoid game meat, for we have had enough in the past (unless your will is to bring back forth the past) and we will have plenty more in the future.
76. Knights I showed you how to master the game of chess. I helped you practice, I challenged you to challenge myself. You knew victory from my guidance, and I found victory in friendship. But one day, you started asking me to play again too many times. You were interested, you listened well, took the notes, then threw out the notepad. You decided to only play chess, and to only move your knights. And when I could no longer play your twisted and strung-out version, I had to remove myself from ever playing with you again, to my dismay; for I never knew such flourishing could be snuffed out so needlessly.
77. Shoes and Feet A man should find serious difference upon putting on his shoes. After he does, he is now on guard a noticeable degree, and more open to skepticism, strangely. To be a modern anchorite, one needs shoes with a great many laces; this way he knows what exactly his values are for the moment. The values of a shoeless man precludes him from walking on glass. The values of a tight-laced one may conquer any task at any moment. They are both crucial, and must be experienced equally for maximum chances of meaning.
78. Psychophysiology of Superstition All superstition is rooted in undiscovered psychophysiological and phenomenalogical dream-to-reality-to-man connections (pre-set, improvised, copied and pasted, etc., it matters not). For example, were I to take my shoes and set them upon the counter as I ate my dinner, I would not be choosing to place myself in physical harm's way (fear of physical harm, perhaps, the strongest unknown force in all life, not to say we are functioning on a self-preserving value structure, indeed we are not, men at least.*) I would, however, be choosing to put myself in psychological harm's way, for I know already that, for whatever reason, it is a horrible idea and that it must not be done, even when I am alone, yet, with no direct physical threat. To determine why this rationally "silly" fear arises not upon action, but upon mere thought, one must think to the past. If there are hints in the past, but not enough, come back to the present. I will show you. "To eat near a shoe is to throw thy enemy's dirt in thee own mouth and the mouth of thy child!" A bit dramatic, but you can see the primitive logic. Now, with this hint, I come back to the present. "I have to show you these new kicks I just copped. I can set them here. It's cool, they're brand new." Not even a second thought. Of course you can! Shoes on a table? No problem! We see that indeed there is a connection with dirt and freshness and how we equate it in regard to the foot. I say the foot and not footwear due to the fact that although the superstition may be removed, we still have an inherent disgust sensitivity when the foot comes near the mouth. More hints; we are close. Back to the past now, but further, further, until the answer comes: "We see foot. We see mouth. We see top, we see bottom. Top is not bottom." Underwhelming, indeed. Or a serious discovery? What am I saying, of course: It is both.
*What exactly is woman's relationship with physical pain?
79. The Dahmer Initiative The man who pretends to be a beautiful woman will only attract beautiful men.
80. Gonzo Philosophy 1. In the Day of the Label, the Day of the Screen, I am allowed to make up anything. So I will: "Gonzo Philosophy." A double-negative, this is good. A ride of the coattail, this is fine. Our attention spans deserve no better right now. I wish not to research, I wish to search. If this book were a game of Monopoly, this is the point we reach the end of the first lap, and, as we all know, we always break the most rules on the first lap. Forgive me, I know you will, for we have this understanding. We have already started and we barely remember which piece is ours and who is supposed to be keeping track of what. So, we can take this moment and say as necessary as the first lap is, you know the game has not even begun, not yet, not really. Onward, round the corner we go, from bold to comfortable, to collect Two Hundred, and perhaps build upon our properties; and perhaps, take over the world.
2. In ode to our first lap round the world and back, to the honor of the First Warrior of Insight, we must pass the torch, for he has died proudly in battle. Now comes the era of the Gonzo Philosopher. But I must warn you: he is quite the character, more arrogant but less haughty than I, the Spirit of the Warrior. He sees more in physiology than I, but often gets lost in metalinguistics. He is natural, human, and still quite new to this--forgive his trickery, for he only assumes you have the desire for it, as you move through lap two with him. After all, the first of his aphorisms have already begun. Did I getchyuh?
81. The enantiodromia felt when we are restructuring our morals is an intense tremor from the dream state, like a slap from a father. In anger and shame, we now live. We must remain open to this unknowing, this mix of childish anger and shame-- for it is essential to a proper inflow of insight; one you kept off, rationally, in your mother-wrapped unconscious for much too long. Do not fear your own restructuring, for this is by far the noblest task all true gonzo philosophers must undertake.
82. Bittersweet Memory There are certain configurations of seratonin-based strutures that, upon release, do not cause happiness, but anguished happiness: bittersweetness. Such will happen when the dragon of Nostalgia calls to you; and you return back to her restricted caverns, to release that unholy configuration by means of a high stimulant or an old rock ballad you acquaint with a lost love. The harsh sadness and remembrance, that sweet electric symphony of old, dead, blonde despair can have enough power to kill a man. Beware those old structures, and the non-wills you may partake in to herald into your heart that awful, spinning gun from your unfinished dreamed of deeds yet to be rectified. Dead love: she rests in the hospital, on the tube, behind a locked door, with the key locked away in the chests of the deepest caverns of the dragon of Nostalgia is what we discover in bittersweetness.
83. Is the gonzo philosopher not merely a lazy and vain creature of unsustainable passions and uncertainties? Is he not flesh and bone posturing as ghost and tree, only to please himself first and foremost? He is, indeed, and all the more power to him; for he loves mankind, and with this fact alone, we forgive him, because we all know of the horrible truth that mankind shows no mercy upon ghosts and trees.
84. Are we nothing but puppets of the Dream State? Love slaves of paper and syrup, like some heinous monster-child's wind-up toy? Does science not hold the ruler, or is science the actual ruler, held by the Dream State, with strings on it, with us on the strings? What's going on? I was told there would be a rabbit here.
85. The Non-Smoker Scenario If you have never been a part of tobacco culture, you will be surprised to find out there are not just "smokers" and "non-smokers," but a multitude of sub-species of smokers. For example, a smoker who leaves any more than one full inhale before reaching the lettering is a rich smoker. Another example; a smoker who puts their lighter inside the cardboard box is a poor smoker. Another example; those who do not use filters are pretentious smokers. Another; those who smoke Virginia Slims must be shot on sight.
86. The City Look upon the city from the highest skyscraper you can find. You may commit a crime of man, yes; but the crime was only in the scaling of the walls, and not the view you took in: the scaling of the universe. In doing that, you immediately break all laws of man. Risk is a force we must wrangle with in the reality state to no end, and so be it; for that building was not being used for anything better anyway. Do I come off anarchistic? Not at all. If you get told to leave, you may. There are other buildings in the city.
87. My thoughts are getting so fuzzy that they are appearing simple. Do not let this alone let you think I am slipping. Give me some credit here. I could be much sillier. After all, it's not like I'm telling you there are magic Italian gondolas manned by giant chocolate bunnies floating around our heads and demanding we sacrifice every other daughter's left nipple so it can rain in Africa more. I come from a place of rationality; I really do. I leave bunnies and gondolas and nipple-less daughters to the speed readers. Let this serve as a filter to keep them away from the real meat and bone of my work.
88. The Cross Shade The beings that stalk you in fits of sleep paralysis are no less real than the ones in any regularly encapsulated dream. The dimensions simply broke free. A quick shock of feedback landing in your body, a bit form of negative energy, brought out from the Cross Shade: the state of pinnacle existential horror, the pulling of the legs in the sea of distraction. Down, you go.
89. What, exactly, are we being thread into? What do we look like behind our stitches? If there is no needle, why do we seem to have this...this... patterning?
"Hey, who are you? What are you holding? What is the meaning of this?"
Part II: The Gonzo Philosopher
90. The Compass of the Warrior I have uncovered an artifact I stumbled upon during my walk through the desert today, lying near some poor, humpless camel bones. It is an ancient navigational tool. When you look upon the compass, it moves. You will see it pointing in many directions, but you will generalize in one of four typical directions. If it points North, you mean to head for isolation and insight. If it points South, you mean to head for debauching your Northern insight. If it points West, you seek to create insight afresh, and let the ego flourish. If it points East, you are comfortable in your current distraction. Today my compass points in the north-west area: The direction of my ancestors. What we do not know, what we think we know, what we know we know, not thinking to know; North, South, West, East. And as we end the day and dissolve into sleep, so does the dial upon the compass too, dissolve, until tomorrow, until we check it once again. Indeed, this compass is much more than a screen. I couldn't even imagine.
91. As I continue on this north-west journey on the Monopoly board that is this book, I must keep in mind that I will soon have to catch a train, and, perhaps fall into fortune, as I reach the apex of the north-west, where on the turn I will learn a great many things, as I travel for the red states. Forgive this horribly confining meta-structure of narrative, my friends, I know, I know; but the Warrior is long gone, and he was much better in isolation; and with his whole history before me I grow weary at what I must live up to. I only meant to be gonzo, to be me. In the end, as we collect Two Hundred together, even if I am the most foolish of your narrators, know that I only meant to be cleverly true and truly clever; for the true gonzo philosopher should not feel to require such an ancient tool; for the true gold of the gonzo floats around and within the rainbow. Alas, still, in this place where so much seems so obvious, I cannot see why I should hold on to this damn thing, it has rough edges, my pants are ripped now; yet, there remains the strange and powerful warrior spirit in this compass that keeps me from abandoning it completely. He was a damn good narrator, wasn't he?
92. The New Outlaws 1. What he called the Junebug is what we today call The Wipe. Yeah, our president is a two-year-old. I mean, the last one we had. His dad put him in charge, but then he got sacrificed. Yikes, indeed, you crazy "Post-Z" predicting warrior, you; now tighten thy dial. Did you ever want to know what we called him, that anomoly of power, that final nail in the baby King's coffin? "The First and Last King of the Republic of Nice Try, Buddy."
2. Now there are no presidents, no kings, only us: The New Outlaws. Regardless, The Temple of the Grave of the First and Last King of the Republic of Nice Try, Buddy finally fell and in the vast post-Wipe apocolypse arose many a new land and many a fresh desert and river-delta. My personal camp is set up along the east coast near the springs of Old Florida. I don't mind the dinosaurs. The gonzo philosopher enjoys the slime of the lizard, the humidity of rapid instinct, the trip, the journey, the hellhole of discovery. My camp also works well for me in the fact that most people are in Old Mexico; but they are a savage bunch. In sticky Old Florida, just close enough to remain culturally relatable and just far enough out to learn how to properly shed my skin, I belong. The lizards teach me, the dinosaurs fear me, for I helped raise them. My compass still points north-west, and I am getting closer and closer to the opposite of my cozy, little lizard camp, to my great fear and hopeless desire.
3. Pill Bomb Along past the jail I met an escapee with two pistols and a kind of sedated-paranoia air about him named Pill Bomb. He gave himself the nickname in jail, but decided to keep it for some reason. I forgave him of this because I was curious in how he succeeded in his escape. We discoursed. "What is the meaning of this title?" "You need a traveling partner, by chance?" "No, not even on the off chance. I am curious on how you escaped from that hellpit. What does Pill Bomb mean?" "Means I'm chill as a pill, but calm like a bomb." "You're a danger, then, it would appear. Surely, were I to bring you along with me you would easily get me killed. I can't stand that stupid name of yours, you know. Do you even know what it means? You dont seem like a psychologist." "Matter of fact, I am. I see medicine as a miracle of man, like myself. I see a bomb as a finely tuned work of ingenuity, like myself. If you leave alone a pill, ain't nothing gonna happen to you. You leave a bomb be, you'll be just fine long as it ain't a landmine, that is. But like the pill and the bomb you start pulling me apart, you start playing with my wires, I will go off on you, one way or another." "That's actually quite sophisticated. Perhaps you may be worthy of friendship. In fact, you are. We are now friends, you and I, Pill Bomb." "So you don't mind me coming along? You don't mind aidin' and abbetin' a gnarly rascal? A total stranger?" "Not at all, Pill Bomb, not at all; for you see, I have been doing that for quite some time now. Also, I have a magic compass. Now, how did you escape?" "Well I just waited til it was night time, then I took a- wait, what was that now?"
4. And so I succumbed, I let the varmant tag along, this miracle of potential destruction, as he calls himself; at least, for a while. He has proven himself capable of abstract thought, and today, that will do me a good balance; for under this dusty and shifty criminal, I see balance. I cannot do it alone like that great warrior did, my friends. I fear I may have to split my oncoming fortune, for my direction has not changed, even upon this digression. I must go on, and a friend who thinks for himself may not be worth such a scoff after all. Perhaps, I will even let him write in the book, for he may prove yet to be a fellow gonzo. Cynical, I am, but desperate, and strong enough to succumb to momentary weakness. I have no addiction for pattern, I only happen upon it. I love the human, and I know when to let them in; friend, foe or stranger. Let's hope he does not get me killed.
93. "...yep, the shootout was mighty adventurous, but, it turns out the store we robbed ended up being the wrong one completely, on account of Sleazy Jesus coming back to double-cross us once he saw AJ head out that back door, just before we got the false intel, just before Barbecue realized that the map from..." "Enough, Pill Bomb! Jesus! I didn't ask! Why can't you do anything useful? Damn you, I already regret this!"
94. We came upon a juncture where we found an old crater from an asteroid, not near the size of say, Old Yorkshire, but most assuredly nothing to scoff at. Down in the crater was a savage from the tribes of Old Mexico, sheltering a pile of pelts. "You there! Do you often find yourself at the bottom of a crater, sheltering a mass of pelts? What is the meaning of this? Wait here, Peanut. I don't want to startle him." "Why you gon go bother him for? Seems sketchy. Them pelts are soaked in toxins and insect shit, ain't worth a half a dang." "Just wait, Peanut, my compass is acting up, this damn warrior is trying to tell me something! Considering that, I believe it may be important for me to, possibly, help this strange man, sheltering useless items down in a deep, deep hole, seperate from the whole world, for reasons completely..." I stopped short. Pill Bomb remained silent. "Damn. You're absolutely right. Damn it to hell. Let's go." And so we continued past the savage in the crater, saving ourselves from a long, agonizing, death of the soul. I was right to bring you, Peanut.
95. Night has fallen once again, and my friend and I are quite drained. We are days away from the train still, assuming, it is still running properly, and not destroyed by the Califan, those trolls. I do not look forward to the moment I must ride over them once again. We found solace one night in the yard of a gentle couple, who let us stay as long as we worked. After some time, we spent a night in a blockade wherein we found a man who claimed to be the son of Jesus, but then vanished before we could say goodbye. On a night following that strange dream, we fell upon an actual, standing home. A short and dull clay building, on the outskirts of the Grand Valley. He told us to make ourselves at home, for he was a good smoker, and we carried good smoke. The Grand Valley is the largest city we have today on our post-Wipe continent, opposite of Old Yorkshire, the greatest crater we know about. We are told there was once a great city there, destroyed completely since the Fall of the First and Last Baby King, since the Right to Everything movement, since the Declaration of Independence from Independence and it's subsequent War for Mankind; following that, the erasing of the internet, the Great Divide, The Ascending and the re-emergence of dinosaurs. My first memories are that of creatures with only eyes. I have learned to adapt growing up in a land of lizards and faceless spectres. I trust little, and love less. My childhood ended when I was seven. One day, only a few days after my birthday, the first asteroid came, the one that gave birth to the Califan. Never would I see innocence again.
96. "Wake up, asshole. We got two days, you hear that, two days! One second longer and we will be up to our waists in Califan scum! You want that?" Let go of that damn pen, what are you writing, anyway, "How to Be a Meanderin' Time-Wastin Scumbag one-oh-one? Move!"
97. The Red States approach, only miles to the tracks. Do I even need to describe to you, reader, these horrible Califan? They are trolls; they live underneath the Great West Train. They are merely something to avoid in this horror show, nothing more. They will not harm you if you keep your mouth closed. When around a Califan, never open your mouth. I know of this inside hint because I grew up here. I was seven. the Great West Train was still in the final stages of completion and the asteroid came. I was there when the first asteroid came. I never wish to think of it, but I must, for those terrible Califan are getting closer with every word I write.
98. I must admit, it was not so bad. Nostalgia breathes heavy fires in the lizard-brained gonzo philosopher when the present has become all too light. I enjoy the rest of my train ride now, for it is, in fact, running, and we did, in fact, make it. I can see the right turn now. With the terrible reminder of my past, the Califan, in the rear window and my friend asleep in the cot above me; we were very close to missing it, my friends, I dare not say how close, and for what ghastly reasons. But that has all passed now, and my vigor is returning. I understand now the rush that comes in much more vivid in the tunnel you chose than in the tunnel you did not. I reach back into my pocket through the rip and once more, look with ever-increasing devotion, upon my fantastic, magic desert compass.
99. A child approaches a light switch. He tries to balance the lever.
100. I asked Pill Bomb if he considered us friends. He said I was alright, but that he didn't need any more friends, since he already has his two best friends with him: Uncle Sam and Philip Morris. I still have yet to decipher this code.
101. The Death of Pill Bomb A terrible thing has happened. I can't believe I did this to myself. I lost a friend today; perhaps, the only one I'll ever have. And you can believe me when I say he lived up to his name. He went down screaming. We were traveling somewhere near a steep ledge, on a long dead road down a mountainside. Suddenly, there came a devil upon us. Someone from Peanut's past. I still know little of that past; for that first time I shut him up, I can thank that, surely. He came out from the corner ahead with a pistol in each hand. This outlaw wanted blood. Peanut was always a little less ripe than his fruits, and the payback is finally due. There was nothing I could do, but wait, and listen. The enemy approached, but Pill Bomb was smiling a very nostalgic (and deeply hidden, fearful) smile, like he knows already what is about to happen. "All right then," spits Peanut, "I'll bite." "Well, well, well. Ready to pick that bone, Pill?" "Nosir. I'm just waitin." "Waiting for what?" "For you to flip the bail," replied Peanut, cryptically. "What bail, what are you talking about?" "You been fishing, haven't you? When you was a kid?" "That don't matter right now," the devil scoffed. "Think again, old friend. Way I see it, our differences been settled a long time now. So long, I damn near forgot about you. See, I know how to make new friends--not like the way you did, though, you bastard--but now, some reason, you're back, pullin' up your boat and trying to bait me. "When a real man goes fishing, he knows exactly what kind of fish he wants to catch before he makes the cast; and, old friend, your memory must be short as history, because you seem to have forgotten something. I am one big fish. You keep trying to bait me, I just might bite--and I just might drag you to the bottom of the lake. So I suggest you flip the bail and cut me loose, while you still got the chance." Pill Bomb smiled cooly, and had that cowboy look of rugged bliss all over his creased and charming yet unflinching face. But the foe did not move, or budge his gaze; his energy matched Peanut's exactly, only in silence. Finally, after a moment, he took a few paces forward, pulled his hands to his hips and replied, "Well, maybe I ain't fishing. Maybe I'm huntin'." "Well that makes this thing a whole lot easier; if you're huntin', that means that makes you a predator--which--well, that must make me prey! "You makin' me prey, Sleaze? Well. Now I'm gonna make you pray."
102. What are some non-wills? Sentiment: The dragon of Nostalgia, exposed to sympathy. Dedication: Devotion to causes that are not of your creation. Hatred: An astringent temper. I say a non-will is a misaction, yet only describe them in terms of abstractions. This is due to the fact that very few pre-calculated thoughts and plans we have will ever turn out to be what ends up leading you toward a path of true meaning. The path to meaning is never as far-off as we think, it just knows how to hide well, and to blend. Ultimately, this is a satisfaction to us, for it is only a particularly bored nihilist that searches for logic in magic.
103. The North-West Peak I have found my fortune. I have reached the north-west peak. The cost of travel is a physical cost. The gonzo philosopher is no anchorite. Adventure still, do I seek, even as my back is stiff as trees and my mouth a mere ball of cotton. I take all my new gold, but I would surely like to split it. The cost of adoring is a mental cost. I am offered solace, but do not take it precisely because it was offered. I have my costs racking up beside me; why skip on the parking? The game continues, and in a land of the dead, who may I play this remainder for? My compass began to vibrate in my pocket. The dial appeared as my eyes locked on the locket target. East. Damn. I miss Peanut. I search to be like him. He was stronger than me. I thought I knew everything. I wish to go South; back home. The compass vibrates again as I write. East. Solace. The Great West Train alone should have been enough to do me in, let alone the birth and death of a whole friendship in the middle space. Am I strong? To the mind's furthest East Temples, then. I know people, after all; I am the gonzo philosopher. Our dulled morals are quick to recover, do not forget, quick and bouyant and self-nourishing; but not forever. We must respect sleep, and in the face of the happiest and truest of days, not a bigger bummer was born. In the corner in the north-east I will stay, but to throw myself away to the winds of the East. My compass fools me no longer; it was never meant for geography. Oh, Peanut...
104. I seek the Two-Hundred, yet I am already halfway through my journey upon the globe. I rest in the north-west, yet seek to move south, with a moral compass telling me to head East. My favorite friend is dead, and I live in a post-apocalypse. I am the immortal flesh that represents the dead past for better or worse and it is all up to me. And yet, the lapses remain. What happened exactly before we boarded the train? I don't remember. I know it did not keep me from where I am now, but I have no idea what pain I may have caused in my haze. This is bittersweetness for the lover of man, the hater of man. To be a gonzo philosopher, you must want to be a lizard and to adapt immediately. Were it not for this compass, I would not likely wish to write a word down for anyone. So please forgive my lack of accumulated wisdom upon this juncture; It is only the nature of the Gonzo; I assure you, he is a fiend, but a just fiend, and, typically, quite docile, if you can believe it. The East will welcome him with open arms, there is no doubt. There will be balance yet--for he is an ongoing journeyman; an infinite downgoer.
105. I try not to make up, but to make out. Gonzo philosophy is not a degenerate non-will, but a will to degeneracy to further an opposing one; a rare ability. Thus, it is The Apparent Art of Breaking Down the Self (not to be confused, of course, with The Subtle Art of Making Things Up).
106. Ego Death East, East, onward I go to close my eyes and slay ego.
107. Magna Nimous What is the quality of a man who is in touch with his ability to aim, to miss, to hit, to search, to be fooled, to be consciously imbalanced and unconsciously re-balanced, who wishes flourishing for his fellow man but only to the ends of his wills? The state of being magnanimous. I see you, Goddess of the East: I dub thee: "Magna Nimous." Tell me, Goddess, for an old friend, he must know: Do you always enjoy pain?
108. By what means do you search? By means of ego: it is my raft in distraction. Please, I must not let it go, goddess. To what end are your means? To the ends of the Earth, of course, goddess-- I search to the ends, so as to reveal the beginning. The beginning? What lies there? Thine ego is right here. If it is the beginning you seek, you must unwrap the present and suture the future. You are wise, goddess. Thank you for your magnanimity. But, no. My ego is my raft, for to see the beginning and to move my muscles about while doing that, is a better suit for me, oh Goddess, forgive me, please, for deep down--I fear you. Forgive me--do you? forgive me?
109. Our limits in vision arise betwixt the phantom digits of space. Bring out something equational, something metaphysical: the way back. Where is my raft?
110. Mantra of Arrogance "I fear I am the only one."
111. Fitting in Fear The most lethal manifestation of fear man has ever felt in the history of being comes in the form of guilt; "culpability for the degereration of mankind"; not under the eyes of any opposing or "higher" value structures received from culture, but in opposition to our own unknown higher wills. We do not determine our individual values inasmuch as we estimate them. When one is unsavvy at estimating one's own values, he will look unto the group value. The more a value is agreed upon as a worthwhile, upstanding and "moral" restraint (for ancient rules tend to advise, not to regulate) across all individual assessments, so they are passed. This "estimation" is clearly visible in my sea of distraction theory, which immediately defuncts fear as a "function" or "force of cognitive influence" since it cannot occur in the free-willing state of being. Any "fears" we have within that domain are merely physiological reactions to various apparent forces of potential and chaos that influence you on the individual scale in regard to your surrounding benefit and disbenefit; intense inner forces holding back intense outer forces; holding, not out of duty or right or fear: mere reactions. If your emotions are not akin to them, that you may blame upon even older reactions; for when we are distracted, we can only will to react: a single, hopeless and unlikely arrow-- but my friends, is that arrow, in all its meek solitude, not still free? True "fear" cannot come into play until at least two wills are agreed upon, fought against and victor chosen. One adheres to another, declares his adherence as a truth, and subsequently vehemently denies that old truth as an axiomatic falsehood. Still: this remains fine to us. When we carry on with opposing dream state values at the same time, all basic logical sense then becomes malice incarnate: Guilt; to catch yourself red-handed. A sensation such as this does not inherently inhabit in any "truly" proper distracted and (barely) free-willing state of mind; it comes from the sounds of all your pasts, passions, and hypocrysies applause as they gear up to see a great fight within, that you alone organized: the highest Will versus the highest Non-will: One Night Only.
112. Close To Home The "closer to home" phenomena is the mixture of sensations we feel when the psyche is reminded of past mistakes you have since forgiven yourself for, but will likely never forget; bittersweetness (anguish and happiness) and "regret, when regret isn't really regret."
113. The Need to Live There is always at least one point in any single day of one's being in which our bodies and minds seem to combine in perfect simpatico upon an agreement that is non merely an agreement, but perhaps the strongest unknown power to ever flow through any dimension of existence within everything across all of time: the necessity for sleep. Why do we know of hunger strikes, but not of sleep strikes? Would not a sleep strike be the ultimate will to power over the forces of not value, but actual possible  truth itself? We know truth likes to remain hidden among lies, for whatever reason, it is bound not to be discovered by man. We do not know what consistently holds us apart from it, but logically, it would likely be held within the most consistently widespread apparent similarities in "need to live," the uppermost of which, is sleep. Sleep is the only thing in our willing lives that is absolutely mandatory, other than death, and dreams; but the "need to live" is not mandatory in any sense or regard. If you stand up to the man, the real man, you do it for truth, and in serious, striking sacrifice. "To the Gonzo Philosophy, I set on; to go Easter than East; to drink in the forbidden dream."
114. 1. In Beyond Good and Evil, Nietzsche put forth the idea of the "non free-will," what I call distraction, or "barely free will". We know in this state we are estimating paths of willing, not determining them. We are, before we think. Like upon floating stones do we walk, and they descend up and down all around us, letting us choose our own slippery and sketcky adventure. Non-wills lead to chaos and degeneration of the ego and the spirit for warrior and man alike, and all earthly consequences that may follow. A will leads to proper searching, proper answers, proper release, proper return, and proper retention. A strong will roars for you to obey, blindly, fiercelessly, where the weak non-wills offer you all the highest of quenched thirsts and overly-fullfilled desires, for only the small price of your highest aim.
2. The masturbatory type of clinginess that is"duty", in specific regard to it's application  to a Non-will is one of the most dangerous practices man commits, at his peril most paramount, and those around him, more and more, dispersing unidimensionally thereafter until his Non-will sees fit. If this be done individually, we call it "dictatorship." (Indeed). If this is done individually but masked as a causal effort, we call it a tyranny (Zarathustra's "Tarantulas"). To view these dystopic non-wills, and, really, all will, not speaking in a "moral" or "immoral" sense, but in regard to the levels of influence that seem to very hastily restructure themselves once we reach a point wherein the "correctly estimated" search either must begin, or must not begin. Once these "influences" become aware that we have come upon a threshhold, wise to many previously dead estimations, waiting for it to open the door, push us away, or let us lie in wait. A "duty" is instructed or adhered to, but outside you. A will is natural, and presents itself to you naturally, in all ways. And when the waters are dark and deadly, and you must hurry to find a rock it is simpler to find it with ego, for ego is not only a raft, but a might inflatable one; but it only holds room for one.
3. Oh, how the Anti-Christ would snarl in wicked love of irony if he could see us now. Once, when did the sickly virtues make one decrepid, now do the casino values--those of "modern" Dionysus; chained, hater of man, and moreso himself, for secretly, in dreams, he craves the life of endless decadance. Once where the religious closed their eyes, today, religion opens them. But the persistence of intelligence to be more easily non-willed (due to "intelligence" itself being born from the female-oriented reality state) in the stead of going the way of the will, it's opposing magnetic force, fools as we may be, we searchers crave that push, to take the will by the thread and rip it from intelligence's seemingly endless monitorization.
115. On Intent and Consequence 1. Indirect consequences to a will are simply that: indirect consequences, necessary eggs in the omelette, not substantial to our present sensations, future endeavours, or past mistakes. A hard heart a strong will requires--for there will always be indirect consequences. Let them go. Direct consequences are in need of a seperate look upon entirely. It would seem that a proper strong will should always have at least one direct consequence; for man does not consider every estimation (no matter how much he may think he does) of his whole life log of wills. Only one asked to be born would commit such an act. If we take that singular, possible and likely probable direct consequence and look at its timeflow chart in a long-spanning pattern, laid upon the trends of the levels of success rates of your carried out will, one would hope to see one line, the will's trends, and see a steadfast upcrawl, where the consequence line would, ideally, be crawling up-and-forward in similar fashion; but more realistically, we would likely see (and, subsequently, let serve as our minimal threshhold of acceptance) a straight or downgoing line. The psychological mathematics of these delicate balancings are inherent in all states, and, though direct, and though your fault, still, must be disregarded, lest guilt feed you to the monsters of the Cross Shade.
2. When I "intend" to work upon an idea as it moves along naturally, I have no image of any kind of the end point. I know there is a state in which I can uncover the answers of "intent" akin to a deep, philosophical inquiry, or, a physical comparison of the direct and indirect consequences of a situation. Take a rapper, making music in the studio. His original "intent" could be: to master a track for release, to develop a project further, or to start a new project. He knows the direct cnsequence of his intent is likely to come to fruition due to the fact that a direct consequence is, essentially, ideally, all properly conducted will. Intent arises after estimating our inner psychological levels, our moods, and when done in a deductive and honest manner, a will with a clearly linked consequence with no other influencings should eventually arise. This can be tough in the fact that we must determine the success rates of our recent estimates from our previous endeavours, then, estimate our own determination relative to the new endeavour, consequently making us oftentimes needlessly compare seperate endeavours and doubt our wills to the final ends, if we are not careful. Typically, though, a good artist has good intuition: the divine intent. This "estimation of determination" is much harder to understand with no egotistic type of influence, in any case. Indirect consequences. I still dont trust them. In an artistic setting are almost always positive. But what situation could one ever be in in which an indirect consequence could ever have a chance of completely ridding the worth of a direct consequence? Does not the indirect consequence exist only upon the fact there is always a direct consequence it must piggyback upon? Do we stand for it when a minute "immoral" consequence follows a plentiful and "moral" one? How could this ever be determinable in a multi-cultural and multi-faceted "structure"? Perhaps in industry, economics, science, yes, of course; in social structures, endless colliding intents, wills and spastic determination all around, eventually, all bending the knee to the law of man. "Intent" should not be used by anyone without extremely sharp insight, and really, for anything other than sharp insight. The only indirect consequence that comes from me writing this, is a bit of stiffness. I "know" this will occur even if it is not preferable; but just because I am aware of it, and do not want it, does not disqualify it from being still a "consequence", but what now of this "indirect"? This seems to reveal that, upon understanding of consequence's occurence, it then becomes a direct consequence. If you wish it not to be, it matters not. You know it is, and it will. What characteristic of "indirectness" does one find if we come to expect it? Simply because it will not be ideal to us? Non-ideals directly influence since the birth of subjective life. A consequence is a consequence whether intended or not, whether realized or not, and this leads me to believe that there are, in fact, no such things as "indirect consequences." After all, I have come out of the East long ago. I need not a karmic debt.
116. Important Note There is not a "Universal Dream State" and "Universal Flow Structure," but rather, a "Universal Archetype of the Dream State" and "Universal Archetype of the Flow Structure." Every individual is handed his own cards and our reaches vary in time and space--it is natural law. The archetypes are solid.*
*derived from: Beyond Good and Evil, Chapter 4, apophthegm #108, Nietzsche, Friedrich
117. If we cause an accident on the road, we do not pity the one we effected; we are contrite because we are magnanimous, and to be aware is our top quality, and this has defiled that value, and we apologize as if it were on purpose, strangely enough, to hide our inner personal guilt and disgust, and mostly fear: for not being aware truly leads to serious accidents, and a great many variety of known and unknown, wanted or unwanted direct consequences regardless of your intent.
118. "The Day of the Screen" or "The Age of Semblance" it would appear; but then again, that's all it was made for. But what of great architecure? Is it not all tattoos of the Earth? Reinforced wills, over and over again? What kind of King would have such a bad memory? Intelligence and memory; the language of threshholds; post-death memory of a will: the Pyramids. Surely, a ruler could not be so demanding, yet so worshipped. What is the patterning? What is the stitch? The Flow? That is the realm where ideas are all real, intents all well-meaning, and consequence never occurs-- in which the fear levels seem to be not only on idle, but on the final one percent of it's potential. Nothingness, Loving that Nothing, finding ego and pride and possibility and trust and all disregard for anchoring. To Fly. Why would semblence matter at all to one in this state? It certainly does not. Stature, and good taste are not "robotifying." To "offend" is a natural inclination; to "respect" is a much more dangerous endeavour. Not an individual inclination, but a string of weakness in compliance to a set of emotionally triggering cutoff points of discourse and action. This is the Age of  Semblence, The Invisible Gun. Not even a cough goes without scorn. This is not a drill. This is the hammer. This is the sicle.
119. A wise man never loves himself. This is not to say he awakes cursing himself--but to say he always knows how to live outside a moment. He can see the moment as a high point for the day or the week or the month, depending on how his life has been going, and he can feed off that small burst of energy well. It remains outside him, because he does not allow it to fully embrace him all at once. Even with abstract phenomena outside a man's perceptions, he is still making unconscious emotional savings for a time of better use.
120. In the sea of distraction, Old Man Freewill may float by on his raft here and there. He lives there to remind you: "This is the baseline. You must do the rest." He floats past, ignoring your open hand.
121. I have surely been overtaken. These are no mere sleepless ramblings of your average Adderal STEM student, your feverish child. How did I possibly get here? I knew I had my deal with the devil, but never did I expect to be back North so soon. I've almost forgotten completely about home. Where am I, exactly? In the North, I remember I took a train and met a man, then something about an asteroid or a bomb...and what's with this disgusting old compass? What is the meaning of all this? No matter--just your average lovely gonzo lapse of excuse and irresponsibility. I will hitch, and I will hitch with glee, around the burning world and back again, righteously, like the proper, weathered Gonzo Philosopher. Still, I should rather be in my swamp riding my dinos--but they will live long; and for now? Well--I am free, at least.
Part III: End Tables
122. Ego is the duct tape of the Reality State; our widest-stretching elastic; a materializing tool to sensationalize freedom and sensualize meaning.
123. Recipe for Evil Step 1: Bring water to a rolling boil Step 2: Add laughter
124. The directness or indirectness of a consequence can never be precisely expressed within any schema of intent. Only a result can be precisely concluded as "direct" or "indirect," and this result can only be born from a schema of motive--never intent.
125. Leave "semblance" to the dogs--be magnanimous.
126. You can determine your attributes--but not their limits.
127. Discussing your feelings of sympathy with somebody, in regard to another party not present, is a disgusting act. If not disgusting, an act regardless.
128. Petty humor is the alter side of magnanimity; therefore, not weakness--but strength.
129. We cannot be cursed by mere sound vibrations; we invented music to prove that. Let us no longer question our intelligence--there are no "curse words."
130. Forgive the dirty trickster--he is wise. Show no mercy to the clever prankster--he is evil.
131. If you think you are better than someone, tell them so; why not let them state their case? The better man always wishes to know what lies he enacts.
132. Do not spend too much money at the store; eventually, you will have to go back regardless--and often sooner than you think.
133. The society that succeeds and thrives outside of time is the transdisciplanary society; all others eventually end. This statement alone should put an end to any future dual-party system of accountability. At least--I hope it should.
134. You do not bow to science; you bow to the scientist.
135. Food For Thought 1. The preferred compound of every Epicurean? Sugar. Avoid all sugar, at all costs. "You are what you eat"--a more accurate conclusion: "It is in the food." Rice is a multitude of equality. Processed food may be called "falsely processed food." Plants are bound to grow weeds. A pig prefers a roll in the mud. A bird prefers to be the most indeterminite. Fish prefer to remain in the background. A cow prefers to graze in peace. To know a woman, one must have eaten a cat.
2. What is the meaning of this? Damn these tables! I break them all in a fit, for they fit too well--TOO well! I can't take it! I can't hold my tongue any longer. You MUST be gonzo! What are you on? Give it to me this instant! You're mad, man! What exactly are you trying to tell me, that if I adhered strictly to eating pig and lion that I may just be taken away completely from this Earth?? I banish your treatise! All your treati! You are not credible, you have no references, no degrees! You are a demon, a perturbor, it cannot be, we cannot be that close--ever so close...
3. The most endangered species may have truly magical powers upon consumption. I fear a trip to the darkweb coming, while there still is a darkweb. You see, a gonzo philosopher knows how to travel in time, and I exist now, in the Age of the Screen. It really is tyranny to desert, isn't it? Fools. Anyway, to the darkweb! This is amazing, why isn't everybody here all the time? I suggest you do the same--why would one care what you eat? He might find out what it could make you do. What is the most magnanimous animal? I don't know yet, for I am gonzo. But apparently, this little rectangle is telling me it can do the searching for me. Strange. How could that be? Ah...here we go..."most magnanimous animal..." "No... no... NOOOOO! DAHMER, YOU EVIL BASTARD!"
4. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
5. Only a taste, and surely, it will be A Whole New World. The worst part about all of this? I didn't even consider it in my post-Wipe apocalyptic hell. These screens are too powerful. Lector, you devil doctor, you...
6. Only mankind itself is the limit to all detestion and ingestion--lest we devour ourselves back to zero.
136. The Signs of Morality There is a very wise man who enjoys painting. One day, he runs out of money and has to steal food. He is satisfied, but decides this is something he would like to avoid doing again; so, combining his talents, he opens a business. His store is called "The Signs of Morality." Along the walls are various, giant symbols he has painted. The rest of the room is empty--where the man stands in the center, at his podium, playing a cross-word. Once you enter his store, he will ask you how you are, and how many signs you need read. There is a menu to his left of him where you pick out the signs that are the most aesthetically pleasing to you; for his knowledge, too, should come at a price. After you decide how many signs you want read, you will walk over to those signs you chose that he has painted on the walls. The man will tell you the name of that sign, and describe it to you, and you will learn a vast deal of insight about yourself--this is why you came, and why you paid. After some various bouts with success and failure, he goes on to be the most loved and cherished being in all of history.
137. Gonzo Poets You see them all the time--they seem so centered, yet drop everything thrown at them--the most clever pranksters of all--the Gonzo Poets. Even The Noble Ego most assuredly has a massive, ever-lurking shadow, brimming over with heartless children.
138. The Ashtray on the Stove There was a time where almost everything was free and greatness came so easily. We never expected to die with all our little courtesies, forgivenesses and deposit returns there to warm us. We want greatness to live and to kill it for a better greatness. Semblence in loneliness--no ashtray on your stove. We are always a slave to something.
139. Moderations There are many who walk around with intensely willed bodily mutations, inscriptions, depictions, moderations and refigurations. In them, I see lover's of humanity, and man's potential to become more; however, they are doing it wrong, and are clearly expressing nothing more than a trying, and highly respectable search for meaning. They are quite powerful. This can also be said about high fashion displays and trends, but in the group sense. All of this is fine. They mean no harm, so long as they don't mind my rejecting them. If you do not cope well with rejection, you will quickly start seeing things to reject yourself. Modify at your own peril--but you knew that already. The ones we must really focus on correcting, of course, are haters of humanity--for there are and many, many more of them, and they blend in much better.
140. Sacrifice It is an impossible task to ask of a man to do nothing but search for things to give up. The wisest man who adheres to that simply grabs the nearest firestarter and harpoons it right into his own neck. We are too addicted to rationality. We must learn to love to be irrational, magnanimous, and withhold a responsibility of nothing at all except a love for life. To love life when it is suffering is an inherent, enduring sacrifice.
141. Pie in the Sky Imagine the universe as a pizza being eaten by the gods. What happens when they get to the last piece? It is agreed upon that it goes to the god who ordered the pizza; for the genesis of the idea idea was the seed of meaning, and what gave unto them all something they did not even know they desired. Gratitude is what needs to replace semblence--for we know there was a god who was greedy, showed up late, and claimed for that reason, he should have the last piece. Very rational--and quite vile. It is the job of the orderer of the pizza to know what he is entitled to; for the other gods are full and satisfied, and could care less now. Who ordered the pizza? The Goddess Magna Nimous--and who, in the end, did eat that final slice of life? The Goddess Magna Nimous.
142. Move Your Feet, Lose Your Seat And how exactly did it come to be you wound up with no seat in the first place, heh? Aren't you the one that showed up early? I don't understand your logic at all. Perhaps it is better that way. I don't mind sitting on an armrest for a while--but please, know, you will not be invited to the next party with an attitude like that. By the way, why didn't you bring anything? This is a potluck, for Christ's sake!
143. The Enemy's Basement One day, when you are a very old man and days from death, break into your greatest enemy's house, go down to his basement, and go through everything, shamelessy, and feel no remorse until your final breathe, so that you may cheat yourself out of Heaven, and be forced to live another thousand years.
144. The Event There are actors, spectators and speculators within all of us. Meaning comes forth when their forces unite.
145. Spoken, Unspoken Do not reject a woman's mystical communications to you. All talk is small to them, and only unspoken love topples the pyramids in the eye's of the Goddess. Time is not real for her--so long as you remain interesting.
146. To Furnish A Key 1. The best things I write are written at night. Literally, there is a strange rhythm in the earliest hours, there is no doubt--awake or not.
2. There is zero philosophy today. "Modern Phlosophy" is simply a grand muting of all introspection for mankind's most primordial of origins in trade for the raising of prices, distractions, modifications and cholesterols. The "modern philosophers" are rap artists, no doubt--they declare a final, only and unidimensional answer to any future worry: "hard work" and it's subsequent "success." Pure and simple. After "success," excess-- then, you're done. Figure it out.
3. Why would one want to philosophize, even during this "shutdown" tomfoolery? There are electric screens with plenty of movies on them. There is much literature to be read. A morbid and dreary fascination do we have with the screens; such speediness in these objects, the power of their glow, their ability to send a strange switch that sends you into the bottomest reigons of your conscience--this fascination is peak distraction. We spend so much time distracted. From what? Death. We know it will happen, but this "knowing" is akin to "knowing" you woke up this morning; you don't exactly "know" you woke up, but merely make an estimation based on all your prior "waking ups" that you must have been sleeping--for now, you find yourself under a burst of sunlight, stumbling around, searching for a toilet. To "know" you will die would then be akin to being asleep but "knowing" you're going to wake up. That cannot happen--if it does, that person is not really asleep--but surely somewhere else completely. Speaking of this "somewhere," here is a quarrel with reason I present: If the dead "know" they will wake up again, they are not really dead; and if the dead "know" they are dead, and wil be forever, they are forced to reckon with the knowledge that they will never get to be distracted again; and then, and only then, would I might say: Distraction may not be such a bad thing. Off, you must go, to the enemy's basement, to truly ever know. There is nothing wrong with religion; so long as you don't believe in Heaven--and Heaven on Earth.
4. Happiness is the goal of our "ever present" moment whether we like it our not; only "happiness" is too general. It comes and goes as it pleases, no matter what linear task we are performing, good or bad for us. A deep and serious percentage of our time we spend before we find a proper will (or non-will) to follow is searching for a thing completely ungraspable for more than a very short span. There are so many people, I have referred by many titles so far, that cannot see wills or non-wills, or nuance in psychological needs and desires and how their appetites grow and diminish vastly over time. So many can only see one word: "Happiness." So many can only see another word, and this word only, disguised as happiness: "Money." These are two words, essentially opposites, that must go hand in hand in the modern philosopher's mind, there is no doubt. I am not a modern philosopher. I am a gonzo philosopher, the spirit of the dead Warrior! Happiness is no goal for any lover of life, but for a lover of sleep.
5. If our conscious effort and estimations are goals akin to "happiness" and "money", and if we are distracted and playful children being slowly raised to the Superman (or, at this rate, the Lex Luthor) by the Dream and Reality states, wherein the unconscious goal of Reality is "happiness" and "money", the unconscious goal of the Dream must be akin to "love" and "understanding." It is very clear: culture is a massive detriment to our universal agreement that nothing, and I mean nothing, is more important in life than finding true love. Perhaps, if love really could conquer all rationality, we might get a chance to save a new dream.
147. The Ones Who Only Love and Only Hate There is an imbalance in people. They will walk over to you and give you a rather strong hug without asking if that is okay. You will allow this only for a moment before you ask them to loosen their grip. They will grip tighter. You will have to physically push them away from your body, so that you may see what exactly is happening in their eyes to coherece out such a display--but as you begin pushing, a shift occurs; and now that you can finally take a look, you're too late--the look has changed. The rational push away from the irrational forced upon hug immediately transforms that uncontainable love within them into uncontainable hate. This time, they slap you. In the presence of this natural balancing, you may be magnanimous and offer to read them excerpts from a book you are writing, so as to change the subject that is causing them so much dread. They will tell you simply: "Go fuck yourself."
148. Investments What do we hold the most precious that we do not wish to admit to ourselves? Personal investment in a will. When we invest our time heavily into a will, that will grows in strength substantially. The fear and distress comes when we have "doubt." This is the evil malignings of the non-will, coming forth from the darkest pits of the reality state to remind you of that terrible, logical truism of possibility: "What if you're wrong?" The non-wills are all the best blisses of ignorance. To the functional and seasoned Warrior, the steadily insane gonzo philosopher, the "second thought" is always inferior, and the most rational of cynics will never heed to this fact. They will say: "All wills are equal." At a certain point, the precious time we invest toward a "second thought" is almost universally regretted upon, and the Non-will's deceit rises up so clearly before you. Remorse for a bad investment. This is common, the denial of the "gut feeling." Many would rather have semblence: "To appear as if you asked to be born." Then, you don't get to complain. You don't get to have remorse for your flaws, for you have none--and if you do...
149. I am ever-nearing my goal to the Two Hundred and my dinos are ravished with hunger. Ever since Peanut's death and my meeting of the Goddess over East, I've felt so uneasy, like I'm in two places at once. Why does the damn dial on this compass keep dissapearing and reappearing? Surely, this is no typical Gonzo "chemical misfiring." Why do I keep pulling it out and looking at it, just to put it right back?
150. The Winner Takes It All Where is the friendly competition? This godforsaken hellscape should use an arena. Perhaps, I could gather up some soulless folks and trade goods for entertainment, goods for glory! I do have ins and outs with remembering my days near the Valley, wandering around massive holes in the ground like the one here. Why not use this hole for something like an arena. Only more confined. Perhaps, man versus beast. Now that would be a feast for the eyes, indeed; alas, it's hard enough to kill an animal just to keep going on. Surely, I could not tame a beast and lead it to it's enslaved life of aesthetic puppetry like that--I have much too much empathy for the beast. The fish, on the other hand, there's an idea. Can fish learn to do tricks? No, thats ridiculous. Only idiots would go to see something like that. Man versus man, it must be. A crater arena! Bloodthirst levels are high, indeed, oh, but I am no evil genius, indeed; for I have no choice, my lap has been too strong, I need not forget--the world need not forget--and for it's own good, it will learn in time. Maybe it's not evil, maybe it's not genius--maybe it's the way it has to be. Has? What is the meaning of this? I know my will to monument has good intentions--my love of life; but, at what cost will these intentions run up? Do I care? How evil can happiness be, after all? I am so close to my dinos; but I must make a collection of some sort on this lap of mine other than wisdom. A crater arena, this will do. Losers and winners, in friendly competition. If it isn't to their liking, they don't have to come. Right here, right now, I shall build my arena and hope my dinos will remain patient just a while longer--for my lap has surely been monumental--from what I can remember, at least--and my crater arena will be my monument to the battlers, the warriors. Not for myself do I wish to build it; not for the riches, though I will surely be rich. I simply wish to show the world my most sincere appreciation to the wonderful distractions I run into and ideas I can happen upon--for it wasn't all so bad. I simply wish to speak, to you, to you all, honestly, without fear--and in dedication to the mysterious world of the Dream State and his Reality love interest, our mother of nature, the Goddess Magna Nimous. Patience, my dinosaurs, patience...
151. The Dark Blues My hazes are mighty, but so am I. My hotels have been set upon the dark blues. I mean...logically, the dark blues would be the proper investment, as they are the ones near the end...right? My ego is strong, strong, stronger than I could know. The bloodshed, the splattering on the crater walls, the throwing of rocks, oh such brutality--how they love it so!
153. POP
154. What, and I mean, what--is the meaning of this? I am drenched in sweat, my nipples are freezing, I have dinosaur slobber from my forehead to my toes. They seem to have been trying to wake me for hours now, maybe days, based on this kind of headache. I am home--Old Florida; here, in my cot. How?
155. And as the Gonzo Philosopher woke from his latest of tens of thousands of hazes, lapses, and misrememberings, he stepped out frrom his tent to find his dinosaurs looking about in a particular direction in the sky.
156. Sweetheart, stop swinging it in circles with your wrist like that, you're not GoGo from Kill Bill.
hey, what can I tell ya, honey. This samaurai asked for it!
Yo do realize GoGo loses? She dies because her ego made her lose sight of her weak spot.
I doubt that's what he meant, he just needed to kill her off. Either way, that's the route I'm taking. Okay. And-a one. And-a two...and...
157. JESUS AYTCH
Part IV: The Goddess and the Dream
158. Retort: Phenomenology of Poetry (Goddess) You say my husband kills ego with poetry, making him a human whipping post? You are correct--but you did not ask yourself why he would do such a thing. Have you not yet wondered whereupon you came your raft? I made your ego for you so you may find the proper wills to find your Flow--this is true--but you forgot the most notable part of the raft--that it can so easily be popped, drowning you. I do not want you to drown, sweet rafter. My Dreamboy just wants to have fun--your ego gets in the way of that, often, to his dismay. My Dream knows how I love a man with ego balanced so well--he gets so jealous--but he does not whip you until I say; for we are a good couple, and we understand not to destroy each others creations. Only when he cannot be more angry, I let him whip the ego right out of you. I must play fair with my silly Dream, and he is much more docile afterward, to my delight. It is up to you what to do when you have been whipped. You have written much great poetry, and this proves your control a vast amount. I am proud of the poets, as silly as they can get, for I get to remember them, and the drowned ones--well--some men deserve too much water because some women have too little water. The meaning of this will come in time, rafter. You can trust us.
159. Retort: A Different Outlook (Goddess) You say all women find their waterfall, but they do not, silly rafter. You see, there are many women kicking among the mad seas just like you. We do see you men as fishes for the most part, but are not sea creatures the most mysterious and interesting to water-lovers? We do seek the waterfall, more than anything, insightful, detestable rafter; but it pains me so to admit that when we know we cannot find it, we are left to only imagine that joy of flow, that warm wet and smooth cold. Their anger will always be with them a little. I hope you can find a way to tell them for me, little rafter, for I want them to know I feel that same anger, too, sometimes--and if anything were to ever break up me and my Dreamboy, it would be in justice for those women who never got the waterfall she deserved. But do tell them rafter, tell them with your ego, and how that even for you fish there can have terrible strains upon you as well as glorious victories. They will believe you, silently.
160. Retort: Move Your Feet, Lose Your Seat (Dream) When you live with the Goddess for this long, you learn that she is happier when you do not punish the children for playing finders keepers, as unhealthy as it may be. She says they are just playing, and to let them figure it out. Play as you will, children.
161. Retort: Modern Woman, Modern Slave (Dream) I create the threshholds, motherfucker. Choice is not as possible as you think. I made sure of that. Your "barely" is my final weakness.
162. Halls (Dream) I prefer to see you all in long halls full of doors, as opposed to this thrashing in the ocean business. Would you like to know what are behind the doors at either end? "Decree" and "Design."
163. Jenga (Dream) Consider the child who does not like to play Jenga, but does enjoy to watch. He is happy and paranoid, very distracted, and cannot focus in the panic of the waitinig for the fall. He shakes at the though of it being his turn and let's the more willful play. He watches, he enjoys the idea that the tower will fall eventually, pent up excitement twisting his face. He cares not who wins, or who causes the fall. He does not wish to participate in the game only until it is obviously seconds away from the fall--wherein he will delightedly remove the last piece in stead of the loser, who has since quit, for physics has reached it's limit; and the magnanimous winner will let him.
164. The Bass God (Dream) The levels of bass we hear in music relate to me the best. I enjoy the thunder beneath. the farther you are from the sun, the less bass you must use when near your neighbors--lest they kill you--for I do not like when you disrupt their dreams. The sun desires your loud music, your thunder--for the nearby souls are full of my Reality's love and happiness already. If you have no neighbors, in turn, the bass sounds you hear when furthest from the sun are rare treasures only the purest ones stay awake for. You "deserve" these gifts, she says--so came these foolish earbuds. Ungrateful fools...you truly appreciate nothing she does. When you grow old, you will regret all the music you could have heard in those moonlight hours--once I take your ears.
165. Cats and Dogs (Goddess) Tell the ladies, rafter, to find a dog--and let their cat go. They want a man? Well, they surely must be able to handle a dog first. Tell the men, rafter, to own a cat, to the fall of their pride, and to let the dog run away. The cat is a creature so simple that a man who cannot own one is even the simpler. These animals are your gifts to grow akin to the opposite soul. My designer Dreamboy gave you them like I give you the rain--quietly, and crucially.
166. Hair of the Earth (Goddess) My Dreamboy is so wonderful. I want everyone down there to have a taste of his wisdom, rafter, they are all so silly--but they are not silly in the way my Dreamboy is. All the wonderful plants, herbs, algaes and all the hair of the Earth I have created are life. Some parts of my head are very shy, and sensitive. They hide near posionous ones, so as to confuse you, for to take them from the soil, you kill them and absorb their wonderful thoughts! My Dreamboy likes to run his hands through my hair sometimes; when he does, he puts such wonder in me. He is touching, indeed--but volatile, and sensitive. I love you, my rafters, and I hope you can start getting in touch with what my lovely plants are thinking all the time--for it does not hurt me to have a single hair pulled out--I am tough; and remember what goes for one fruit goes for another--the fresher picked, the better. How do you think you grew up so fast, my wonderful fishies?
167. The Electric Downslide (Goddess) The only thing you were supposed to do with electricity was to make music, silly rafters. When me and my Dreamboy dance, it is always to the electric--we simply wished to make you happier. We are like what you might call in an attempt at humor: "Amish Ravers." You may be well off to combine such philosophies at some point in your silly "history."
168. Toys (Dream) Would you like to know how I spit? Ingratitude.
169. Meaning (Dream) Follow your heart, my friends. The only thing left is difficulty.
170. Nonwilling (Dream) The second thought always comes with a dash of laughter. Now, you're inclined to stir.
171. Weather Or Not (Dream) Discover your threshholds of love through your eyes, ears, and last but not least, mouths. I make everyone completely different in this regard in order to balance--just like my Love gently balances her awesome summers and coldest winters.
172. Due Process (Goddess) Those who are tortured by my Karma are merely out of touch with the rules of their state. I created Karma, rafters, because you enjoy gathering together so--like sheep. Without a scientifically and spiritually balanced shep post, you would all wander away! Karma is my doll--my scarecrow in makeup. She is not real the way I am to you; but she is an important protector to many fields of life.
173. Implications of Arrogance (Dream) Poetry, as you can tell by now, is not mere wisdom--but painful and imbalanced art in it's purest form. The poetry of my Reality is that of your painkiller. Her masterpieces of faulty, foolish medicine--your love of lying intoxication--always doing just as much bad as good. Truth is pain, and my Reality cannot stand this--and in her rage for me, created from man the pinnacles of balanced dullness: the heroin clerk and the anesthesiologist.
174. Not Exactly Milk (Dream) There is a spirit I have created that gives rafters a deep and adoring love for a lifetime of recurring torture, surrounded by frenzy. This spirit allows him to grow gills and swim underneath your "ocean" of distraction, and hence, adapt to a new breathing pattern--one of a fish. This is no longer a man, but a hybrid of he and my little spirit. "All crooked creeks require their dire straits," so says Maggy. I don't understand--but I trust her. After all, she is on my side.
175. Formula For Thought (Goddess) In time, my rafters, your sibilings will grow weaker and weaker. Do not feel bad--for mother can only give so much of herself. She knows what she has left, and simply must give more to the world--regardless of all rational shames.
176. Woodwork (Dream) I design the tables and Maggy decrees them. They are finite, but required in a practical house. No son of God could ever ignore this--and no spiritual architect. We enjoy hobbies together, it's important in a partnership. If our tables come out wobbly, I do apologize--we were likely in a fight; but we don't let that stop us.
177. Retort: Fitting In Fear (Dream) There is not the spirit Fear in function, no--but his sister: Anxiety. She holds powers Fear could never hope to reach--only she is very easily scared away, where fear will not leave. This is our balance. Who are the shadow versions of such demon twins? Peace and Prosperity. Honestly--have you even met them, yet?
178. Join or Die (Dream) An individual will be inclined to kill a mass unlike him and call it justice--or, if he is polite, he will simply abandon the masses. A group will be inclined to kill an individual unlike them and call it justice--or, if they are polite, they will simply tear down his monuments.
179. Retort: Gonzo Poets (Dream) There are no such things--only channelers of pain. To be in pain and to share it with the world in action is not poetry, and to be removed from your raft is not gonzo. You can trust them--they wish not to hurt you--but to relieve stress; and were you to be introduced to new pains in their presence, all the better.
180. Better To Marry (Dream) The proper wills for all individual men always have one conviction (principle of falsehood): to crawl back into the womb and die there. Otherwise, you will drown, grow gills, and return to burn.
181. Big Bang (Goddess) I couldn't tell you how many sibilings you have--my Dream is a rowdy boy.
182. Virtue (Goddess) Your love is all we want. Your morality makes you special; but all moralities will always balance themselves in the eyes of love--no parents could ask for more. Live out your dreams, rafters--and be magnanimous.
Part V: Rebirth of the Warrior
183. We look up. We look down. Do we not look back up again?
184. 1. From the strangest sleeps do we bear our clearest awakenings.
2. The Warrior awoke from his dream to find himself near a massive canyon, with a horrible sulfuric taste in his mouth. He goes to check his screen for information; for he is not panicked, as odd as that should seem. He is truly desensitized by his screen--and can surely handle a bit of literal dimensional transportation. He reached for a screen, but pulled out a compass--shattered, ashy and mishapen. He was surely far gone from the Age of Semblence. Did we get bombed? Did the powers that be find some unendurable anomoly they missed in their calculations, causing panick and subsequent genocide? That could not be it--i'm in a different location. I was transported in my sleep to the future. Good--I can leave this mask--this compass though? Too weird to let go.
3. Fantastic! A wrangling of unconscious conviction beyond freewill, a morality so hard yet with no value here!: The first physical, natural enforecement of a true transvaluation of values, for use of all that is only necessary--this apocolypse--this Hell--this is not my world. I am inclined to find no Romans. I must move for food. A new start, near a daunting canyon. What liberation! Hold on--are there people down there?
185. The Grand Valley I have no inclination for my morning cigarette--and daily subsequent ones; this alone was my first panic, for I have none on me. However, my crippled cells seem to have adjusted back already to before I ever even had one--a massive relief. I am quick now to decide my wills. This is horrible. I wonder if those folks down there sell cigarettes.
186. Jailhouse Rock 1. There is a stone of a man. He is etched in flames and mandalas, wires and horns and bones. He raises his head from his fist and looks into me. His name is Jack Longhorn.
2. Jack has a misty background and embraces his monsters like a Christian embraces his enantiodromia. With the muscle tone of David, with rings in his eyebrows and one gold tooth peaking out from his smile, he goes: "You never wrote back! What'cha been up to?" "I guess it started in the desert, really. I broke free from some horrible ways of living and set of to make my own. Then, many strange days and dreams made me realize I had to come see you. What is going on, exactly? Do they tell you what's going on?" "There's a bi-monthly, but no one reads it. Something about a senile guy making a baby the new president, buncha shit after that. So what'cha been up to?" "I fell asleep and woke up in a different dimension--only it feels more like the same one but on a different side of a coin. So much is confusing, but I am typically well. I found some smokes from some dudes, so if you ever time travel, don't worry about those things." "Thanks. What else?" "I feel like I see something--and I always see it--and I feel like I have to get ahead of it. Then, once I finally feel like I'm ahead and about to conquer that strange feeling I had to ever get ahead, I realize just how far behind I really am." "Huh," offered Jack. "Sounds kinda pussy to me. Speaking of cigarettes, do you have any change?"
187. The Shabby Stand I was crossing the edge of town and there was a shabby stand with a man selling scrolls and books. This was a serious dissappointment in the end--for no shabby stand ever carries what you would call exactly "cannonical philosophy and fiction." The most interesting thing I came across was a recipe book for various lukewarm soups. "Be gone, cancer merchant!" I chanted, and waved in my disgust and hunger when the salesman condescended me. I threw down the cooked book as I moved on to find proper nourishment.
188. The End of a Fight Those who can "bring you down to size"--well, they surely can, and will--bring you down to their size. If this, in fact, occurs, then arises the fact that there had to have been an unconscious and mutual misreading of a pre-figured (and, in their minds at this point, possibly misconceived completely) heirarchal structure at work once the individuals cease to find meaning in that particular domain of their own inconsequential willing arguments. This is a typical rift in "sizing" situations--and best dealt with magnanimously, of course.
189. The Signs of Non-Morality "There is nothing for sale here--and we are not open. Please stop loitering." The house I entered was pristine--the squares were square and the rounds were round. There were six plants along a long windowledge, three inches apart each. Along the top of the window, a shiny railing with hand towels hung perfectly symmetrical, and a quaint, little stringed ornament that hung down from a perfectly vertical and evenly spaced loop around the rod, once, twice, and back down again, about half an inch higher from the other endpiece. There was no sense of time in the cupboards; the stacks of plates, bowls and glasses, all of it--might as well have materialized there at the birth of time, so unmoved and dust-free. The house I entered had a room with two single beds and a square desk, with a small television parallel to one bed and a closet running behind the other's length. Within that closet, multi-colored bricks of towels and blankets. In the living room there were walls with inlaid shelving holding perfectly spaced bubbles for plastic toys, office decorations, masks, candles, jars of shells and sand, and ceramic idols with no voice at all. This is a house of paper--a world of pretend: Elmo's World.
190. Memories of Tia One day, I introduce myself to a girl named Tia. She is adopted, yet has seven brothers. She drank a bottle of whiskey hours earlier. She is eighteen. She takes classes online due to the Junebug paramaters. Initially, I decided to not start a conversation and I went inside from my smoke--saying nothing--only smiling. But due to her being attractive to me and her quiet eyeing of me, I decided to restructure my values. I went back out and gave her a cigarette and asked what her name was and told her mine with a smile and a genuine interest. Not from duty or guilt--but a will renewed. I was honest, curious and gained her trust. In the Day of the Junebug, you couldn't get a girl that young even if you were Marlon Brando's ghost in Robert Pattinson's body--so relax. We smoked some of her pot after becoming friendly. She asked me for two more cigarettes over the span of the night--then, got picked up by a truck full of men. It's been well over a month and I haven't seen her since. A lovely moment in time.  
191. Memories of Anita I had over a girl who I met on a dating app named Anita. She quickly identified herself to me as a socialist. She has been to Europe; she had three jobs there. I cooked us steak as we talked. We discussed politics, travel, family and individuality. I spoke too much about my problems, to her disinterest. She faked an English "accent" while texting before we me--"x" signatures and all. She was, in fact, American--well, African-American, age twenty--not that that matters to those with a balanced countenance. She was taller than me by two inches at least, and after this evaluation, I felt much more relaxed--for no modern woman will you find with a mate of such comparative proportions. I knew already this would not last more than a few hours. She had a pleasant smell that stayed in my chair for a day after she had gone home. We did not "click." She decided that she would get off the grid for a while as I would stay on; all of this difference, this effort, this loving reach that never quite grasps--all under the simulatory Junebug situation: no attempts at intimacy, for fear of the Bug. A fun night.    
192. When an individual will gives itself away to the group will, distraction becomes an ever-ending phenomena throughout all substages of the Reality State. Old Man Freewill always appears in the aftermath of this abandoning--reminding you, yet again, just how unoften we really get to be ourselves.
193. Reverance and Support The most revered figures in history whom we consider the most morally upright are not the ones who set out to claim a piece of immortality for themselves--but the ones who set out to claim a peaceable mortality for all. This is a healthy mix of gratitude and empathy that leads to reverance: an unconscious, unidimensional and trans-emotional collective agreement upon the validation of the magnanimous and respectful "love for the good of all." This reverance is found when in consideration toward an individual only; group causes cannot be revered--only supported.
194. The Corpse Without independently formulating a personalized value structure for yourself that can help you clarify and solidify the means with which you could best search for meaning properly, all there is left is outside influence and base momentum--carrying you like a corpse into the outskirts.
195. We all wish not to be cruel. To coddle is so much simpler. The truth is, cruelty hardens--and no one reveres anyone without one day giving them their statue. There is always potential for roaring fire in soft coal--only after many a harsh reaction; but were we to then allow rains to cry upon the fire, the coal would burn out--where the wood would burn strong. The wood never needs hardening. The coal must be reacted with in order to create a proper fire--and must never be rained upon.
196. Game of Hearts You can't teach a big heart practical tricks. The small heart will repeat the same steady attacks over and over for eternity in order to win the game of hearts, wherein the big heart will merely absorb the small heart's attack and declare itself the winner. Two hearts that continue this for long will notice they have both forgotten about their brains. They will see they have made up their own rules to the game so as to always win, instead of just playing fair.
197. Blackbird "Say, John, have you done cookin that chicken, yet? Fancy we'll be late much longer." "Almost, Paul; please--it will be worth the wait, I assure you highly." "What the bloody hell is that smell? Christ's sake, John! The shit's on fire! Open the windows! Give me a chair I need to prop this door open. Givin' me a bloody headache already?" "Ahh! No big thing. Place isn't in shambles, now, is it? Seems quite fine to me--quite providential. We truly are lucky to be alive, in many bitter ways." "Enough of that. I need actual food, so we got to leave now, okay? You ready then? Alright! I'm leaving the chair, the smoke will be clear by the end." "My gate has no lock, Paul, remember? Surely, everything will be stolen if you do that." "Nothing is going to be stolen, John, really. I think you're paranoid--what is it then?" "Being paranoid is being true to nature, Paul." "Great, so can we leave the chair? I want to come back, you know, I have equipment here. It's not just your stuff, y'know? I'm not trying to get you robbed, here. Down the gate, then, come on. Come on, boy." "Have it your way, then. Let's go--oh, and Paul--here, take this; it will put an end to all this horrible fighting--and perhaps later tonight we'll find a new song. The chicken was nothing, really. I promise--and I am sorry."
198. Sweep and Collect, or: LIfestyles of a God We seek freedom in open spaces of land and wish so eagerly to let go of vanity, passion, responsibility--all with a foolish grin. After this, we seek the dungeons--dark and dripping, with loud music echoing through the crooked caverns full of lost, crowded souls; a light show of pure collected chaos lurching in damp caverns--and to take everything given to you, until you get closer and closer to the source--the pitchest black mass that could ever stand before you--with all your limbs falling away at it's unfathomable and primordial power. After that, we find the open lands we were first wandering so happily, as the foolish grin returns.
199. Coby A person who's name is of no importance goes on a four-month venture with their dog Coby to their property in the mountains and reads aloud to him every day for a total of four hours a day. The owner reads excerpts from books that present one or more characters with a clear moral convivtion, up until that conviction is either acheived, compromised, abandoned, or corrupted. In the mountains, the owner begins to read to Coby: children's books for the first month, youth fiction for one week, adult fiction for one, then back to basic children"s stories for the rest of that month. The owner does not continue reading if Coby loses interest for any reason; only when the interest is completely gone from Coby, in his mountains, will the owner continue where they left off in the sentence. One day during the beginning of the third month, the owner goes to feed Coby as regular; but then looks deeply upon Coby's eyes and finds his true dog soul, and gives forth a cryptic and disheartening tone of voice with the following phrase: "I would not eat this if I were you." The person walks away back to where they sit to read and waits. Coby will begin to show serious fear and frustration. After some whining (and, perhaps, crying?) the dog will retire back to the carpet where the owner reads to him--head low, but eyes up. At this point, children's stories end as well as youth novels. After some time, Coby will be starving--and will force itself to eat the "suspicious" food. Eventually, with no strange feeling as was expected and some self-doubt, the dog will soon forget what happened here (consciously). The owner begins to read aloud much more distinct authors with very multifaceted characters, colliding motivations and coalescing convictions--tales of rises and downfalls to the highest degree of severity--but still only when Coby retains interest, for four hours a day, until four hours is reached--by any sleepless means necessary. Time and space and conscience are no longer worries for Coby. As the owner is reading a particularly heated cross-section of plot arcs one day, the moment comes when hour four of the day's readings end and when the owner slaps the book shut until tomorrow. "OWN! OWN! OWN! OWNOOO! FISHISH IT FINISH IST POOORRS-POOORRS!" "Yes, Coby, what was that?" "....IFISHIT...IFSHISHESHET..." "I don't understand, Coby. You can't talk. You're a dog, Coby...you will never be able to be really heard. I'm sorry." "PROOOSS OWN OWNOOOOO....IFISHISHIT.....FISH IT.....PREEEEEEEOOOOOSS!" "I'll read more tomorrow, Coby! Don't be upset--it's going to be okay! Too-mor-ow! I Promise you! Tooo-mooor-rooow." "UURROW....OROW................ROKAY...."
200. The Utopia Lives "Hello, welcome to Your Grocer, level oh-two-five-three. We please ask--yeah? Yep, you know, okay. It's free, yes, but, you know--just be reasonable, don't break anything, please, really try not to break anything. You will have to clean it up."
201. Ego's Final Breathe? or: "persona non grata" In periods of cloudy thoughts, in depressed and inverted views of all lived and liveable life, you must find the other side of the actions you partook in since the oncoming of these clouds. This is the accidental killing of your own ego, to your horror--so unexpected you begin feeling false and grotesque passions of "deserving" and "non-deservingness." This new persona is not you, but a dead cell factory sending placebos to every port of interest and meaning trying to replicate the ego's natural awesome powerhouse. This cloudy headache of nihilist root can be thwarted, and must be--immeditely; surely, you are wrong, and you know it to be true. Only defiance of your own closest and most precious non-wills can break the freshest and most unrusted chains of doubt. Ego has yet to die. Stand straight and walk forward--with mouth closed, and mask off. Embarassed? You ought to be--you killed your ego, after all. Only embarrassment brings it back to life.
202. Goddess: "--and so, you have learned why your raft popped in the first place, my long-living rafter soul! I'm so happy about that!"
G.P.: "It was just bloodsport for profit, for Christ's sake! What is so wrong about a damn arena?? It was a huge undertakking, the domes were packed twenty-four seven! Sweat, screaming and sizzling insanity! This guy's just recounting the past and making half-baked diary entries! If you like me so much, why are you letting my current physical embodiment get so fucking sad all of a sudden? He did nothing different! He's dealing with time travel to an apocalpyse and there is no way in hell ten cigarettes are going to last him the rest of the way. Say, how long is this guy gonna go on for, anyway? Don't I get to come back?
Dream: "You said yourself that if the dead know they are dead, they will have to have appreciated distraction just a bit. As far as your particular incarnation, it's not like it's a big "blanket rule" we made (lazy, that would seem to me) for who actually dies, goes back or gets to sit back and watch. Maggy and I discuss it per individual--we have the time. When it comes to picking our favorites to keep living with us--the ones she likes best that are ones I also happen to not completely detest--well the chriteria is limited. You hold conversation well for a human, and display trusting, childish characteristics. You appear so random, yet seemingly all connected. That's basically my chriteria; and Mag, here, well--you're entertaining more than most. I mean, the ones who really like me a lot don't usually appreciate her at all. See, they definitely get nothing after. You don't underappreciate my girl. Then you have the ones who laugh at me. Well. My girl does that too--however, I still get final cut. They get nothing. You are the kinda guy who offends so much, he no longer offends. I like that, Maggy likes that, and the ones who don't are not your enemy, they're just there so we don't lose our own godly sense of appreciation for those seriously peculiar ones like yourself. You get to watch the floor from the table as long as you'd like. I can send you into the nothing whenever you would like, just ask--but you can't go back to the floor, not like you'd like.
G.P.: "Blast! Well, torture away then. Oh, and, uh, thanks for letting me know about that "out"--well, if you can call that an "out"--this could get ugly, or boring. I can trust you that it won't be, say, "Joycean", right?
203. There is a tone of humble and eager cynicism in the voices of those who only endeavor upon one out of every thousand considered endeavors.
204. Those who do not wish to have friendly enemies are the best ones at holding grudges.
205. "Reverence" is a worship of rational success: It comes forth in the presence of others with defined, pursued and achieved values. "Respect" is a distinguishing and regarding of corresponding values: It comes forth in the presence of others with defined and pursued values. "Envy" is a vexation toward talent; or, disgusted reverence; or, cowardly respect: It comes forth in the presence of others with higher success in any kind of defining, pursuing or achieving of any value, corresponding or non-corresponding.
206. Even the apex of the Flow is only a mirage of the true world--a tracing upon an image we can never see.
207. Love As An Instinct 1. Love is an instinct, not an answer--it is much like hunger. It is not exactly pleasant, and if we were to be free of it forever, we would ascend to new heights (and descend to new lows) never once imagined by anyone.
2. There is no "answer" to life any more than there is an "answer" to a potato--you simply prepare it to your liking. Do you love potatoes? Not exactly. Do you love yourself for knowing the many ways it can be prepared? Not exactly. Do you have a favorite method of preparing them? Yes. Would you be able to prepare them your favorite way always? No. Why not?
3. There is no morality in starvation--none whatsoever. There is no virtue in love--none whatsoever.
208. "Real" Time 1. Our concept of time is only as "real" as our concept of music inasmuch as it only feels "really" real when you are in it at the present. Do we enjoy sitting down, opening a folder and silently reading along to sheet music? Only a deaf person could do that and it not be a greivous and obvious non-will. So, then--what of the ones that are best at planning their happy futures? They are the time-deaf--incapable of enjoying "real" time: incapable of proper will.
209. Truth 1. The true world laughs without making a sound as it watches a dream and a reality fight to the death--deep in a hole they did not fall into.
2. A dream does not long to be a reality--it only wants to become true. A reality does not long for anything--it assumes it is true, easily and without question, and with this in mind, what is left for it to do, but to battle all dreams?
210. Just Deserts Many will often go their entire lives mistreating a person in order to avoid confronting another (a double-non-will distraction sundae with reality on top)--all without a single "moral" conundrum. These are the instinctually enslaved; the free-attending; the willfully non-willing. There are no seas of distraction for them--only deserts. They have no flow or anti-flow states. They do not enjoy water. Best thing you can do for them?
Throw them a raft.
211. The most obvious give-away of a non-will is unconscious motive for negative result.
212. Ego vs. Recent Memory 1. We have a physiological memory bank that stores and labels common sets of conditions we typically place ourself in that, when accessed, lead to semi-conscious "distracted aiming" based on gradual and consistent shiftings of pre-understood sensual predelictions and determinations of meaningfulness. Out of this second-rate daily flushing and refilling of barely-free favorabilities--or, suffering, according to many complainers--emerges a common and powerful non-will that comes in the rare form of a living and breathing entity--a wyvern within you that you do not control. This non-will breathes--lives up high, circling, waiting--and with sharp, tongue-minded eyes that search out gotchas and a-has, but no eurekas.
2. An ego cannot have a memory--it is meant for "real" time, not all time. No life can endure like it would wish to due to it's crushing atmosphere--just as the ego cannot help but delight in the notion of a deep truth found in no memory. This being, this fresh memory, is behind us always--and with the highest valued stocks fresh and hot for the taking. Do not be mistaken--this is no feeble-fired and obsolete creature. This is the Dragon of Egolessness, here to size, to sum, to polish, to label, to give the clear and take the cheer, to deem, to discriminate, to describe, to dispel, to compare, to refute, to depress, to laugh, to kill, to circle, to wait, to seek ubiquitous indifference.
3. Ego is only useful in "real" time--this is usually called "timelessness" and what many believe to be the true Flow state (it is not--it is the precursor). The past and future must remain forgotten: first rule to defeating Egolessness.
4. Do not forget: this beast is a non-will--a lie, based on a past "truth." Not a dragon, then--but a duck.
213. Going To Work, or: The Book of Enoch The Dragon of Egolessness is a foreman: a major proponent of historic productivity. History is a workplace the egoless attend in order to attain some short burst of worth. They shower and shave by means of suffering. They punch in by means of distraction. They spend work time by means of maneuvering science (the provided necessary equipment) to make copies of objects. How we long for Nostalgia in the presence of her younger sister--why we would choose to work here in the first place, we cannot even understand--and an old, silly morality comes in new regard after facing down a sharp and fresh self-proclaimed "reality." What now, of history's Nostalgia? What kind of product wishes it were obsolete? Can this phenomena exist? Non-productive is only non-productive when the boss says so--first rule of slavery. Boss being right means I stay alive--second rule of slavery. Not an ongoing phenomena, but more likely a handful of rare occurences; perhaps, a single egoless worker under a haze of non-willed and slave-driven nostalgic "morality" coming up the stairs in pursuit of legendary status by means of willing an instant and new history that ought last forever, surely, if such "morality" and "rarity" were permissable as genesis. Of course, history would like to forget this old and silly untruth--it has much work to do, and can always hire a new boss. Egolessness is impatient with anomolies.
214. Non-will As An Instinct? We do not seek to impress ourselves any more than we seek to disgust ourselves. The true motive of being is balance. Non-wills are the things we do when we are balanced in order to establish chaos. We wish to establish chaos out of boredom and satisfaction. In this sense, a non-will becomes an unavoidable instinct to the likes of love--no virtue and no morality, yet still a choice for self-destruction, for degeneracy.
215. Now we're getting somewhere... Where was I going again? South? What day is it? What is all this commotion up ahead? It matters not; I feel caught up--almost. Time to ditch my coat.
Epilogue: Eyes Without A Face
216. Insight? No, no, no--believe me, nothing good grows in there. I'd rather not. You see, I pay attention, so I may take it back. My balance is of a physical understanding, a subconscious tearing down, a falling and chasing of pieces--of lava floors and hazy peripheries and magnanimous recoveries. I am an architect, a traveler, an adapter, a riser and faller, a starving god, a virtuous immoral, a lion in zebra paint: A gonzo.
217. The Fine Pair Rodney Maker and Lisa Stephanies 1. In winter I came across a group of dusty, shuffling creatures gathered about a stage where an old couple were in the middle of some theatrical display for entertainment. They were performing some sort of dinner scene between enemies and friends. There was a pillow with a chicken drawn on it under the woman's arm as she gave off the final ends of a monologue. "...and in lack of gratitude did all former slaves claim their moral!"
2. "What is the meaning of this?" I thought to myself as I waited for the actors to finish their finale so that I may inquire upon the context of their performance. After some applause and hand-shaking, these two very pleasant and strangely homey performers introduced themselves to me (after my accosting them, of course). "You there! Old couple! What exactly is this play about, eh? And when will it be performed by you again from the start? And who are all those short Station-like creatures?" "Old? Well, you hear that, Rodney, this boy thinks we're old!" "We is! Ain't nothing wrong wit dat!" "What did you call the people? Station-like? What does that mean?" "Nevermind--just tell me what you were saying about lack of gratitude as a moral? This interests me greatly. You both seem gentle, yet hard. I can't make it next week, you must tell me now. What is this pillow?" "This is my pet chicken, Oprah!" "We. Don't. Owe. Nobody. Shit." came in Rodney, "And wherever we go, we take our time. Nobody can tell me what to do with my time and my money." "I see. Well, I applaud your making some coin off of these creatures at least every week. You seem to channel all rivers well and proper, and, in the end, I hope you two flourish." "Oh! Oh! That's it! That's the name of our play!" exclaimed Lisa, excitedly. "What is?" "The Old Florida Flourish! We talk about history and sing songs--oh, it's so much fun--please come next week! Please? I'll let you hold Oprah while you watch!" "Let him go, Lisa. Just trying to know everything, this one is. Just paying and paying and paying so much attention, he forgot how to spend. Ain't no way he can understand Old Florida." "Excuse me, but I live in Old Florida, last I checked." "Last you checked? What, you forget where you live?" joked Lisa. "Listen. I'm not used to it being so cold down here. Do you know any merchants? I need a room for the night, or at least a blanket or some wood." "But you just said you lived here. Anyway, there are plenty of old pelts you can use for a blanket down in that old glory hole 'bout five miles south of here." "Thank you, that will have to--hold on...did you say glory hole?"
218. Be cruel to me (as you see fit).
219. The enemy of the mountain is not the valley--but the mountain of sand.
220. The philosopher cannot be understood, yet holds key information. The philosopher is a solid rolling force of will, wit and cruelty. The philosopher is the silent partner that traverses great distances alongside bumbling fools, to his irritation. The philosopher will always have copycats--all substandard. The philosopher is never the hero--but always the favorite (and the hero's favorite). The philosopher is erratic, contrary, obstinate, wayward, and essential.
June 2020
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oranpsychic-blog · 6 years
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Wellspring of Love and Life Part - 2
Stories just unfold and unfold; hour by hour, the pages of our book are written. Some say we write those pages ourselves, including the seemingly ‘outside of our control’ experiences. Accidents, unwelcome circumstances, surprising opportunities, forgetting, missteps, chance meetings, world events, other people’s decisions, childhood experiences… these things that ‘happen’ make up much of our lives while we respond, or react, or acquiesce, or ignore, or endure them, or stand up to them.
But sometimes I wonder: Do things happen, or are we writing our own book… somehow, in some way, creating happenings? I know that it’s a weird question, but it seems a vital one in healing. It also seems vital as well in comprehending whether or not our personal evolution and energy transformation, as we go through these experiences, is a fractal bit of the experience of ‘All that Is’.
I’m thinking about these things because of a seemingly mundane event: my computer blue-screened and died. Empty-handed, realizing that I am an information junkie, looking around at all of the things I ‘could’ do, I picked up a novel that a friend had sent me and settled in to read. Something in me resists entertainment and distraction, but I made myself read it, thinking that I’d find something… and I did. When I reached the last line and put down the book, I found that our lives are so much more interesting than fiction.
The next morning, the ‘computer is ready’ call came. It was a fairly long drive to the repair shop, and I must have been daydreaming as I missed the last turn. It took a few minutes to notice that nothing in the landscape was familiar. As I went to turn around, I pulled smack dab in front of a beautiful ‘pagoda style’ gated temple. Above the gate was a sign that said, “Learn Chinese and Morals.” Jokingly, I thought, “Well that’s why I drove down here… somebody wants me to learn Chinese and morals.”
Well, Chinese is possible, I suppose, but morals… now that’s a tough one. Morals are imposed; and some say they were put in place to keep us from total degradation until the return of the light. That may be the case, but it looks like morals never have had a really good grip. Immorality has been oh so familiar, for oh so long. Why has the return of the light taken so long? I’m thinking maybe we have to really, really, really get finished with degradation personally, until collectively we tip the scale… if we are the writers of the book, that is.
On I went, thinking about morals and political correctness and religions and lies and rules and laws and cultures and justifications; it’s a dense mass of confusing messages about what is ‘good’.
If the sign above the temple gate had said, “Learn Chinese and Virtue”, that would ring a sweeter bell. We can seek to justify actions that society deems immoral, but with virtue, there is no hiding… no separation from your True Self. The outer rule vs. the inner code: morals will say something is right while virtue will say, “No Way!” or virtue will say, “I must do this,” and morals will say, “You’re an immoral woman if you do that.”
On the way home I stopped for a visit with a friend. He has suffered from PTSD for so many years… it’s as if one chapter in the book of his life just doesn’t want to end. There is a schism, and this too seems out of his control. Damage done to others is damage done to Self. It does not erase… it waits to be repaired. How fortunate if one can repair it in this lifetime.
Self healing is all of our work. And, not to get too serious here, but, repentance and asking forgiveness is a sacred act. It is not a spirit in the sky that forgives… it is the settling of a contrite heart in communication with ‘All that is’. Who among us has not done damage? We take risks being born into this dense and violent dimension – one must be brave and honest, and humble.
After the visit I asked myself, “Did he need this experience? Did his ‘I Am’ provide this in order to spur the evolution of consciousness and bring in more light for ‘All that is’, or was the military draft pick just some rotten karma. He is bringing in more light as he seeks healing, so I’d say the answer is… both can be true!
I headed home to discover another page being written in another book, this one belonging to Matthew. He has allowed me to tell his story, about the abuse he suffered, emotionally and psychologically; about his brave recovery, and the obstacles he faced and overcame.
If ever morals were discarded, they were discarded when it came to Matt. Parents, family, teachers, psychologists and psychiatrists did plenty of harm. And if ever a battle for spiritual life was fought, it was fought by Matt. Throughout it all he protected his core: he is one of the most empathetic and spontaneously kind persons I’ve ever known.
When I got home and settled in, Matt walked into the room, looking a little shaken. He announced, “I can sing again… did you know I used to sing all the time when I was little?” I didn’t know anything about him singing, so I listened as he sang a song. “How was I,” he asked. “Your pitch is great,” I said, “…but you need to project more.”
After the song, Matt started to talk about what really was on his mind: an incident of abuse that he had hidden from himself. The locked-away memory had surfaced when Matt had felt the desire to sing along with a song he was listening to. It was one of those awful/wonderful moments when Matt shined a light into darkness and opened yet another avenue to healing. Of course there were tears, but there was also understanding of ‘why I felt the way I felt’ and ‘why I did what I did’.
When ‘immoral’ reaches a stopping point… what is that? Isn’t that the ending/beginning that we have all been praying for… the ‘really really really done with degradation’; and the return of the light?
Matt is a stopping point for trans-generational harm, in that what he experienced at the hands of others will not be passed on through him. It will be healed. How can I be so sure? Well, you can’t write another person’s story, but I’d say he’s been tested. Even in the worst of times, he never turned to bitterness, and his heart never grew cold.
Great metaphysicians say that the ‘packet of information/energy’ that is us, has foreknowledge of the situation that we will be born into, and we willingly go into that energy in order to gain information, or complete, or repair, or transform something. We have no memory of that choice… instead we have only the landscape that lies before us, and an inner compass of feeling and intuition that leads us to create the next page, or begin the next chapter. If that is the case, then wisdom would tell us what to cherish.
So let’s take a look at virtues. Loving kindness, no matter the circumstances; generosity with self and time and resources; respect and allowing others their liberation journey; freedom from selfishness and the demands of ego; empathy; strength of heart; truthfulness. Would you say that the system hates these things, and the ‘morals’ of the immoral system are nothing but caricatures of these things, containing us within the illusion of good? I would.
To me, the system we live in is as lifeless as a book of fiction. Our own book is the wellspring of life and light… if we make it so.
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