#both of them are implanted in my subconscious

[spicyliumang]

Me starting to realize some elements of Enya’s personality is a mix of Hachi from Nana and Momo from Peach girl 😭

[cassieoz]

Here is the full story , I called it the perfect host

Computer log 22 - subject has display no signs of pregnancy but we will continue to track them  progress before run another implantation treatment on them.

Breeding unit on Deta ship a common area that many ships that held host for new lifeforms to be born. Currently The Deta ship breeding program only house 5 to 6 host all human and all been taken to become host . Doctor Ein and their team were busy keep the host under so the newborns could grow without stress the host body out . “Host number four is carrying twin make sure we give her lot of iv nutrients as to help the pregnancy “,she said to her team .

Doctor ein look some what human beside looking taller than the average human and her three fingers.  She turned to see subject 2 the newest host watch her as they struggled to get free from they bindings . Doctor Ein move town the subject and then said “sh..you safe now back to sleep you shouldn't be awake but don't fear ,my dear you in good hand “

“No, don't put me back under” ,my mind scream.  “Damn it get off of me “,my mind scream as nurses of doctor Ein held me down while I once again was put under . 

“Make sure that this subject is give another dose in an hour “,said doctor Ein as a colleague of her walk in . “What about alternative reality room . Make the house think they are experiencing something else while the baby grows that way the host can't pull themselves out of that “. 

“I could try it but I never had a subject wake up before “,said doctor Ein.  

In my mind I felt body laying on the cold table before a small movement in my stomach made me feel sick but it fade as the drug kick in again 

Doctor ein rush on night when one of the subject gave birth at night . The subject awake crying out for pain as the baby inside them move out of the host body and onto the table . The host body began to leak milk as the nurse clean the baby before letting it latch on the host.  “Move the newborn to the nursery and take the subject to the reset pods tell they are needed again . 

The nurses obey as they wheel the crying and screaming subject.  

Computer log - subject implantation failed.  Retry in a few weeks.  Going to see if host body will take implantation if they are stimulate and aroused.  Will documents if they factor help . 

As the pod of subject pregnancy grows doctor ein is worry about subject 2 as most of the other host had taken their pregnancies and role but not this one they had fought most way to be implanted . 

You body could feel the cold tools could begin to open your legs as another tool went inside you and move though the birth canal before digging itself in your  cervix where it push itself into your  egg then began to fill your cervix with a cool gel before move out of inside you. Your subconscious heard the voice said “hopefully their body accept it this time ,give them something for pain then make sure they keep comfortable “

As time pass doctor Ein confirm the pregnancy and wrote down . Computer log subject 2 is pregnancy and body seem to adjusting well will continue to monitor progress as the pregnancy is still new “

Month one notes - the host was place on both higher iv nutrition since the baby isn't gain the weight we want . Subject two also awaken again this time fron morning sickness.  

You awake as your body throw up liquid as the unhuman creature clean up up and place you back under before you can protest. 

Month two - baby weight is good . Well continue to watch.  

Your belly showing starting to swell and stretch.  

Month 3 -nothing new 

Month 4 - host belly is growing and her first milk is showing sgin of coming in . Baby heart beat is good as well their size . 

Month 5 -host awake again this time was able to are make it to a pod before being put under again .

You awake and began pull the iv out and get free of the straps before see how big your belly was then ran down the hall toward what you hope was freedom. You fought the Guards as they injected you to put under again . You kick and claw to get free before the drug take effect

Month 6 -baby is growing at a health rate and size. This baby looks it first live hybrid we have .

Month 7 -normal process nothing to document.  

Month 8 - nothing to document since the host body is near her due date. 

You awaken this time in pain as you feel wetness between your legs . You cry out in pain not sure what going on . The creature and the others rush in and said “subject two water broken , subject have small contractions so began the induction procedure by began to giving a dose of Pitocin”  once the drug to effect you felt like your belly was on fire from the pain . You whole body was screaming to get this creature out . You body sweating as labor was progress slowly . 

The creature look at you and check your cervix and said “not long now just breathe “

You let out scream as the contractions come again “get this thing out of me …ah 

..”.  

Doctor Ein said “we give you something for the pain soon but try to relax as any drug will only alow it down “ 

Couple hours later . You felt the pressure build again as what felt like a head press against you as you cry out in pain . “You are crowning ,push “

 

You follow the creature order began to push as the pressure rises once more before falling off as you feel the baby move down and out . 

Doctor Ein move to help the baby who is more aware then most baby and move up the host body toward it breast to began to simulate the milk and began to nurse .

“What a remarkable sight this is , they are the first hybrid to be this aware meaning that it seem our DNA had enhanced the human awareness “

You scream as the creature move up your chest and began nurse off of you . You then feel the red hot pain again.  

The creature look at you and said"you crowning again push my dear “

You push as another creature come out of you and it too climb you to nurse you . 

The doctor smile watch it and said to the team “take subject two to the pod room allow the babies to nurse from her and make sure she is give another another couple of dose of drug to make them immobile and keep them hook to iv tell the baby are able to be ween . 

You spend what feel like forever we both the small hybrid nursing off of you and the doctor and their staff coming in to check on you .

Doctor Ein walk in and said “both baby are still active nurse off the host and the host had them a six week ago which would be the the end of the reset time but since they cant reset I would like for us to see about testing way to boost their milk to hopefully make the babies to ween in the next few weeks so we can began to breed her again to see if she birth another hybrid with this hyper-awareness . 

You watch as the doctor began to stimulate your body to make you feel aroused as your milk began to flow out and you let out moan in pleasure as you feel your jump from nearing climax the hybrid move off your body . And began show that they ween off of you . 

Doctor Ein said “keep them aroused tell I return “. 

Doctor Ein walk to another laboratory on the ship and said “Doctor Quill, do you have any subject that I could borrow for my project .I like to test what happen if my subject mate with one of our kind . Their last two offspring were hyper aware like or our children when they are born and so I want to see if their next offspring would also “. 

“I have someone in mind but if this work we must then run test of why this human can make these rare offspring vs the other host “. 

Doctor Ein said “hurry I have her ready for mating so send your person down quick since I don't think we can keep her on the edge for long “

Back in the exam room you feel yourself going mad from the hyper arouse you feel . When you spot the creature you try to make your body move but you can't.  

The creature smile as it move on top of you and began to mount you . The creature began to thrust into your cervix each time make you letting out moan . 

“No”, you scream inside you mind as you watch the horror of being rape by these creatures . You wish for this hell to end to go back to freedom of being a normal human not some incubator for this thing .

The creature thrust against you again and again before release it seed into you and the doctors around have the creature stay inside you tell they could injected you with a dose of another drug .

You pass out from the mating and when you wake up you back to being hook up to iv and on the cold lab table lock to it with now a large group of doctor and nurse looking running tests and check every inch of you to see what make your body the perfect host . 

You are a great writer - keep writing!

[aloyiouis]

elaborate on the motherhood

regarding motherhood and p3? Sure. I’ll use minato as a name, typing hero for too long gets annoying. general p3 spoilers as we continue.

first, we’ll seperate motherhood into two concepts. childbirth and maternal presence. childbirth is the process of becoming a mother. maternal presence is the aftermath. sometimes both can fit under the word, sometimes only one exists. it’s interchangeable. keep this in mind.

let’s skip to our awakening. to my knowledge, every persona awakening so far has only resulted in one being summoned. this is an unspoken rule of the world, so when minato presses the evoker to his head and calls to orpheus, things seem relatively regular.

until, minato starts to scream.

something is inside orpheus. and it wants out. the embodiment of minatos soul twists and contorts to fit this Thing inside of him. and then, it rips out, tearing orpheus to pieces.

orpheus’s head lurches back in a screaming position as the rebirth of death occurs.

“birth” isn’t just a means of granting life. it weighs heavily on the mother, irreversibly changing her entire body structure. you can never be the same after giving birth, you tear upon a wound that cannot be stitched together. birth is painful and life altering.

but, surely this is ridiculous. childbirth, seriously? there’s something missing here. the child in childbirth? where is the child? that thing is a strange and terrifying monster, where on earth is the-

oh, right. hello pharos. he arrived along with this being. it probably means nothing. they’re totally not the same fucking guy.

afterwards, minato passes out from exhaustion, and takes a long while to recover whilst in the hospital. for minato, carrying death was painful and life altering. since now, he can never be the same.

(this is personal input, but due to the mature appearance of mituru’s persona despite being 8 years old at the time during summoning, i think it was subconsciously filling in the lack of maternal presence. again, personal interpretation.)

moving on. we first meet minato, yukari, mitsuru, junpei and akihiko. minato had a mother, but she was slaughtered in an accident. yukari has a mother, but complications exist between them. mitsuru and junpeis mothers also seem to be out of the picture. i presume they’re dead, but i could be wrong. akihiko’s adopted, and his current ‘mother’ doesn’t seem very relevant in his life. either way, they’re all clearly lacking parental supervision in the dorms.

after speaking to the chairman (the only present adult currently) minato is now part of a group fighting against shadows, referred to as SEES. in other words, you’re a child soldier now. congrats! usually children with more stable support systems and family dynamics would be less vulnerable to such things. maybe if minato had a mother, she should see through the chairman’s lies. maybe he would’ve been protected. but he doesn’t. but he does now have a child that now visits him every full moon. maybe with enough love, pharos could grow to be unlike minato.

we are further introduced to other members of SEES. fuuka. her home-life exists behind closed doors, and she can’t wait to be rid of it. she does not speak of her mother, and that says enough about her. aigis. she was created by scientists. ken, a presumably bastard child with a single mother. he was orphaned after she was killed in an accident. and shinjiro is another orphan. Mother’s Day must be a blast for this mob.

the first death of the series to due to maternal presence. well, more like a lack of it. after shinjiro killed his mother, ken has been left alone. suicidal in primary school. poor thing. he would be happier if she was still here. he devises a plan to avenge her. in the end, shinjiro dies. but he is instead killed by strega.

strega is in a similar boat to SEES. if they had mothers, perhaps they could’ve been spared from this mess. instead they were experimented on, and implanted with beings that destroy them from the inside. hm. sounds familiar.

time passes. shadows of the arcana are defeated as something else grows. tartarus is described as a nest of shadows. it’s like an anthill. but we are yet to the see the mother, the queen. pharos leaves, says he’s remembered what he has to do.

we are then introduced to ryoji.

ryoji. he’s a masculine ladies man. bit odd at times, but well adjusted. sweet thing that seems to be made with pure love. a glaring contrast to the current state of SEES. but let’s not kid ourselves here. we know what ryoji really is. but he doesn’t.

death is a constant throughout the narrative. you can sort it into two categories. the death of a loved one and Death. the Death that Tartarus is built to host, the Death is the part of the moon, the Death that tore apart orpheus, the Death holding the contract. The Death extracted from Nyx.

Death calls himself ryoji mochizuki. and she is the avatar for the maternal being.

Nyx, the planet eater. referred to by feminine terms since a deity that caused creation of humanity and all cognitive beings can’t be masculine. men cant be mothers. according to the scientists, at least.

either way, this Death that has plagued the narrative has a label. and she is introduced as a mother. it’s contradictory combination. so far, hasn’t this discussion surrounded motherhood being the giver of life? but, persona 3 is about living as much as it is about dying. if you to say to live is to die, wouldn’t you say the same about birth? to be born is to die. you come from Her, and you will return to Her.

ryoji wears a scarf. it’s often joked to be random, but i think it’s supposed to look like a nuchal cord. for those unaware, a nuchal cord is when the umbilical cord wraps itself around the babies neck during pregnancy. although rare, it can result in strangulation. i think this is meant represent the only way he can be killed. which is by the being that created him.

the fact ryoji can only be killed by minato speaks for itself. minato had a entity that placed inside him as a child, and that thing will kill everything on this earth. Death ruined his entire life, placed a limit on his lifespan. Death is a parasite that makes him weaker by the day. nonetheless, minato holds no ill will to Death. so he spares him.

the final boss battle. the final cry. we meet ryoji, or what’s become of him. or her. you cant really tell anymore.

one unspoken point ive held though this entire post is pregnancy is a form of body horror. motherhood is a form of body horror. it can still be a beautiful and nurturing thing, but it all falls down to what you make of it. sometimes it is a role you do not want.

ryojis body is contorted and twisted into something barely recognisable. nyx avatar is primarily referred to as a she. although, she still has a flat chest and a deep voice. we see a character that was introduced to us as a child, now be fully ‘grown’ and now called Mother.

the inside the moon, you’re met with a being labelled as pure “Death”

to match the avatars avian appearance, the final fight of this game is between minato and an egg. it’s a perfect final form. i don’t have to explain to you what an egg means at this point, it’s the representation of birth of all life.

i could end it there, with the primordial mother of all life and death herself being presented by an egg. but i still have some things to about minato. as i keep repeatedly stating, by holding death minato was forever changed. and finally by the end of the game, he dies.

and he becomes a massive door at the ends of the universe, with six massive eyes. again, he will never be the same. if he had never created Death, if he had never held Death inside him, he would’ve lived. but in the end, like a loving mother (and The Universe, now protecting the world that nyx created), i don’t think he regrets a thing.

[icycoldninja]

reader comforting raiden during a panic attack? feeling some hurt/comfort mood and wanna see my guy again... (and cos i love the way you write him!)

Yes, yes! Enjoy!

Safe with me (MGR!Raiden x Reader angst/fluff)

Raiden had been through a lot in his life, from being used as a soldier when he was just a little boy to commit heinous crimes, to having his brain and spinal cord surgically removed, then implanted into a cyborg body against his will. He'd suffered a great deal, and as a result, had developed quite a few mental issues, including DID and anxiety.

DID was one thing; Jack the Ripper could easily be kept at bay as long as he turned on his pain inhibitors, but his anxiety was another thing. When he saw certain things, or heard about certain things, or was reminded of certain things, he couldn't help himself but worry, and when he worried, he began to feel the panic creeping over the edges of his consciousness.

Such was how he felt now, having returned home from a particularly harrowing mission. He'd had to rescue a group of children being transported across the country to serve as child soldiers for some despicable organization. Seeing those poor, starving, clearly traumatized yet so determined children reminded Raiden of himself, and for a moment, he wasn't a tough cyborg, but rather, a terrified boy who just wanted to go back to his quarters, curl up with his teddy bear, and cry until someone came to get him.

That's what Raiden did after freeing the children; he went home, headed straight for his room, and sat on the edge of the bed, his knees drawn up to his chest. He felt so scared for some reason, so frightened and tense. It was unbecoming of a professional such as him, but professionals are still human, aren't they?

You ended up walking in on the man shivering on the bed while hyperventilating and clawing at his own metal legs, his one visible eye wide and shaking with fear.

"Help me," He was whimpering, thrashing about like he was tied down. "Please help me...someone...anyone..."

It hurt you to see the man like this. He'd never been one to Crack under pressure, normally being very calm and always having at least an idea of what to do. To watch him shake and beg for help like an ordinary victim was both jarring and heartbreaking.

"Raiden, Raiden, I'm right here," You told him, rushing over and wrapping your arms around his shuddering shoulders. "I'm here, baby, I'm here. It's ok."

Raiden sucked in a deep, trembling breath, and clung onto you with all he had, his terrified expression clearly stating he was not in his right mind.

"Don't let them hurt me," He pleaded, clutching your arms so firmly, his claws dug into your skin.

"I won't," You assured him, pulling him closer to you, pressing his head against your shoulder. "You're safe, Raiden, safe with me."

He probably didn't hear you, since he didn't seem to be aware of where he was and what he was doing, but his body subconsciously relaxed and seemed to melt into your embrace. His mind might not be aware of it, but his body was--his heart was. He was safe with you, and always would be.

[alien-hybreed]

THE PROCESS

Two people are convinced theyre being abducted by aliens. Every night, the dreams are the same. Connecting online, they find their experiences aren't just similar, they're exactly the same.

But what are their alien abductors planning to do with them?

It started with the dreams. Every night, for weeks, always the same dream. Of bright lights outside your house, being carried up into the UFO by half-glimpsed alien figures. The experiments. Oh, the things they did to you. To us...

And every morning you'd wake in your bed, your crotch slick with thick, clear slime. Your body running a terrible fever as your muscles and bones ached. Naturally you took to the internet. That's how you found the online forum and me. We were both searching for answers, for likeminded people who had shared our experiences.

What we discovered wasn't just similar. What was happening to us was exactly the same. How could we not be obsessed with it? Every day we'd talk about it for hours as the dreams kept happening. Stranger still, we were starting to enjoy them. The dull ache in our bodies was turning into an itch. A need. For more.

It was your suggestion we try this. Sleeping with the windows wide open, no covers, no pajamas because we're too hot. I agreed, secretly hoping our alien abductors would see it as an invitation. I think you did too, neither of us realising how soon we would have answers.

Then finally the dreams stop being dreams. This time when you awake, you're aboard the mothership. Here you can breathe. Here you feel revitalised. Energised. Aroused. That's when they come and begin coaxing you.

Strapped in fleshy, biomechanical breeding stocks and stirrups. In the lowlight they look like latex, yet they Pulse and throb, moving as though they are flesh. Their touch is both calming and exhilarating, a reassuring massage further coercing our cooperation. All while you are being caressed all over by our abductors, leaving you gasping and panting for more.

You see me nearby and recognise me, smiling knowingly and I smile back. We both know we're glad to be here. A little rush of excitement makes us both mumble and moan. Our captors seem humanoid, skeletal. We used to always talk online about forgotten experiences being a subconscious influence on people. That maybe the works of Giger and his aliens was a half-remembered memory of real aliens and that's why it was so powerful. It seems you were right.

The instinctive pull is too much, we can't resist them. Why would we. This feels like home. They feel like home. We just need to recover from the humanity we're afflicted with. We want that. We'd like that. Lazily opening wide to receive gushes of slime and face hugging parasites that implant us with the next stage of our transformation.

Watching as they caress, stroke, pull. Crying out as I'm gently coaxed into full arousal. Eyes darkening as my newly forming alien mind compels me to act, to give them what they want.

All while the facehuggers squeeze tighter, their ovipositors rhythmically pulsing as they flood our eager mouths with slime before forcing their Pods down our throats. The sensation sending us into a state of feral arousal, instilling a desperate need for climax to release the hormonal chemicals that will kick-start the pod's transformation effects.

Feeling humanity fall away from me, it's worries and insecurities little more than a nagging echo as I relax into their embrace. God the craving for it is unreal. Gladly accepting the will of my captors as my own, just another one of them. Hungry for more humans to assimilate.

Thrashing furiously in our bonds, wild with desire as several aliens tend us, sucking at our crotches and milking us as we climax our humanity away. They're cumming into us helping the transformation go faster.

In us. On us. Violent spurts of slimy alien cum pattering against our exposed flesh, others hissing with delight as they massage it into us. We don't even realise we're hissing too, bucking our hips and eagerly sucking on our face huggers as they pump us full of the proteins our parasites need in order to fuse with us.

Near one another, would we even recognise each other when the parasites fall away? Bodies shuddering and dripping with cum as we are wracked by the initial changes. Each being administered by a single alien each, gently sucking us off as our hollow eyes stare at one another

I think I smile, remembering just enough to know this isn't a stranger. Someone who wants to be here. Someone enjoying this like I am, someone who also wanted this. Drooling and moaning as the alien bobs at my waste. My body shivering as the first strands of my exoskeleton begin slithering out. Panting heavily as I watch the spines begin jutting from your back.

Moaning and whining as I watch another alien gently stroke you. First your face, then your body. I wriggle in my bonds, jealous of the sensation. At some point they stopped hissing. Now we hear them rasping, praising us. Calling you a good girl, pretty little thing, blooming. Her eyes are hypnotic as you stare into them, the breeding stock slowly slithering free as you are led away to a separate chamber. The sounds that follow make me feral with need. The screaming, the thumping, the groaning and crying out, the shrill whimpers and wet slapping... I'm cumming over and over in my aliens mouth, it's not enough, I need whatever that is.

When you return, your spines are longer, skin a little paler. Moving like a robot, no longer held by our captors you walk among them, obediently returning to the breeding stock, body slick with cum and drool ad you resume our position with a smile.

I imagine you'd be no different when they lead me away. The howls of ecstasy, vigorous slapping, moaning and loud crying sending your imagination and envy into overdrive. Your Parasite eagerly twisting in your guts as I march back, robotic, compliant and caked in slime.

Absolutely dripping with it, spaced out, grinning and drooling a mixture of alien cum and my own slime as I resume my position with a soft moan, eagerly awaiting the next session with our captors. You can already see more of my exoskeleton sprouting amidst the slime. My jaws not fully closing as my fangs have outgrown them. At no point does my erection wane or stop dribbling precum.

Who knows how long this continues, not us. We gleefully savour every moment of our humanity being erased in each subsequent alien orgy. It's what we want. It's what we need. If we hadn't been neighbours in the stocks, we'd barely recognise one another by now. Thankfully we've instead watched each other's transformations, savouring each exquisite detail. Now, finally we are both taken to the chamber at the same time. We're doing so well, hiss our hivemates. We're going to do so well. It's going to be so good. After this next session, we will be cocooned and it will be wonderful... but first...

The whole chamber looks like the breeding stocks. Fleshy, latex appendages flexing in imitation of chairs, couches, harnesses. Dozens of the aliens stand in a circle, an empty space among them in the centre. We take our place in that empty space, bodies quivering. Trembling with anticipation.

There's no containing the pent-up need and instinct that's been drummed into us. What follows is primal, voracious. Clutching, tearing, thrashing. Tongues roam, bodies shake. Our forms colliding, mixing with reckless abandon. I roar and howl as I empty into you. Our hivemates squirm touching themselves, touching each other. As they watch us rut, they begin kissing, fondling, spreading out as a full blown orgy erupts. Several join us, licking my shaft and your cunt as I continue to throb in you. Pressing crotches to both our faces, pulling us apart, losing one another in a heaving sea of alien bodies all rutting and cumming in a roiling mass of alien flesh.

We finally come to our senses as we 69 amongst the others. Our parasites squirming as they nourish one another through the copious amounts of cum we feed into each other. Collapsing in orgasmic relief, we moan happily as fleshy tendrils pull us each into our own cocoon.

We don't sleep in our fleshy, translucent pods. Despite being submerged in thick green goo, we are fully awake, minds in a semi catatonic state as the tentacles that pulled us in work endlessly to jack us off without any pause, stop or change of pace. We hang there, edging for what could be days, ours, weeks as our parasites go into overdrive. Bones ache and muscles burn as our forms slowly change, gradually becoming identical.

You twist and thrash, sucking eagerly at the tentacles in your mouth. Just like I'm doing. Bobbing in our pods, pressing against their fleshy walls we stare at on another, hips bucking eager to resume what we last remember doing. That is why we're here isn't it? Eventually, the tendrils pull free, our pods bursting with a wet gush of slime carrying our limp, inhuman bodies out with it.

Legs shaking as we pull ourselves up from the puddle of slime, ovipositors stiffening as we sniff the air, we can smell our hivemates, we can smell each other's arousal. Hissing and clicking as we flex our claws, staring in wonder at our new bodies as the last vestiges of our human minds struggle to understand what we are, why we are still incomplete. We just want it. The change. The peace, the bliss. We crave the Hive. As if sensing this, our Hive mates return to wipe us clean, lovingly stroking us as they lay us down beneath them.

They hiss and purr, low rumbles commanding us to open, to take, to grow and complete. Lazily our jaws open to take their ovipositors, our tongues opening with a smaller secondary mouth that interlocks with the ovipositor. We purr happily, writhing as they pump their mutagenic slime into us along with several small gelatinous pods. Each bulging our throats as we gulp them down. Our bodies grow cold as the last changes set in, whatever shred of our humanity remained, are gone. We are Hive now. Hungry, yearning, loved. Once free of our mates, our pods need to be used, we feel the instinctive pull. Ovipositors pummelling each other as we pump fluids into one another's egg sacs until finally, we feel the pods growing into eggs. Just in time to eject them from our ovipositors, ready for the next group of humans. We then take our place amongst our hivemates. Indistinguishable from them, endlessly content with our new existence as drones, ushering more humans into our ranks.

[violethowler]

Me, My Self, and I: An Analysis of the Operation Kuron Storyline

Back when seasons 3, 4, and 5 released on Netflix, Voltron fans were split into two camps regarding what was going on with Shiro: One camp insisted that we were still seeing the same Shiro as the one we saw in the first two seasons, while the other argued that the current Shiro was a clone programmed with the memories of the original.

On the surface, the show’s 6th season appeared to side with the clone theory fans, and I saw multiple people who had argued for it being the same Shiro lamenting because they felt that all the development Shiro had gotten after the end of Season 2 had been wasted now that we knew the Shiro we’d been following since Season 3 wasn’t the real one.

Even then, however, fans who supported the clone theory were upset because they felt that the resolution of the original Shiro’s consciousness being transferred into the clone body was effectively killing off a separate, unique character who deserved to have his own life independent of the original Shiro.

Yet while I could understand where both sides’ complaints were coming from, I never had that same feeling of outrage.

At the time, I assumed it was just because I noticed that it served as a bit of meta commentary on how the original 80s cartoon took two identical looking characters in GoLion and melded them into a single character.

But after talking to @leakinghate​ and @dragonofyang​ a while back, I realized that there was a deeper meaning and symbolism to the whole Operation Kuron storyline that, in hindsight, I had managed to pick up on subconsciously thanks to being exposed to similar ideas in other stories.

And once I became aware of those similarities, I couldn’t help but look back at Voltron and realize that many of the assumptions the fandom has about the details of Clone!Shiro’s story are not actually supported by the show’s lore.

For example, despite the paladins referring to him as such in Seasons 6 and 7, the idea that the Shiro we see in Seasons 3-6 was a clone in the usual sense that we expect from science fiction - that is, being a unique individual made from an existing character’s DNA with their own separate consciousness who develops their own identity and personality independent of the person they were created from - is not actually supported by the show’s lore.

For starters, the only people who use the word clone to refer to the other Shiro are the human characters, who do not have any intel on how “Kuron” was created. Meanwhile, none of the characters who are involved in Operation Kuron use the word clone to refer to him at any point in the series. In fact, even Haggar herself treats “Kuron” and Shiro like they’re the same person when she’s telling him to lead Keith away in S6E05. When you would think that if there was no point in pretending anymore she would at least acknowledge that he’s not the original.

Furthermore, based on what we are shown of the technological and magical capabilities of the Galra empire, it is not possible for Haggar or the Galra to just download Original!Shiro’s memories into Clone!Shiro’s head. Pidge and Hunk speculate in S2E03 about the possibility that the Empire implanted fake memories of escaping in Shiro’s head via his prosthetic arm are part of an elaborate trap. But not only are they proven wrong, but the series never even confirms that such a thing is within the mystical or technological capabilities of the empire.

The Galra military is never shown doing anything tech based with memory manipulation or the kind of brainwashing that would be required to make “Kuron” think that he’s the real Shiro.

Meanwhile on the mystical front, the only person in the empire who is shown doing anything that involves messing around with other people’s minds is Haggar. And the only abilities that we have seen her demonstrate in that regard are:

Looking into someone’s mind and viewing their memories (seen with Zarkon in S3E07).

Using a person as a conduit for Haggar to spy on the person’s allies (seen with Narti in S4E03 and Shiro in Seasons 5-6).

Removing a person’s spirit/consciousness from their body and storing it inside herself (seen in Season 8 with the spirits of the original Paladins).

Forcing someone to comply with her orders and bend to her will (seen with Shiro in S6E04-5, Lotor in S8E06).

Flipping a psychic kill switch and remotely killing someone from a distance (seen with Luka in S8E01).

Projecting someone’s consciousness outside of their body (Seen with Zarkon in S2E03, S2E07, and S2E12).

Transferring a person’s consciousness from one body to another (Seen with Myzax in S1E02 and Prorok in S2E03).

Nowhere does she demonstrate the ability to create an exact copy of a person’s memories and personality that can then be implanted into another person’s mind so thoroughly that they think they are the first person.

Based on what we’ve been shown of Haggar’s capabilities, the only way it’s even possible for the clone to have Shiro’s memories and personality is for Haggar to transferring Shiro’s spirit into a new body.

Which is pretty much the same thing that we’ve already sen her doing when she creates her Robeasts in Seasons 1-2.

She transfers the test subject’s quintessence from their original body into their larger, robotic one. And her words to Myzax in S1E02 Some Assembly Required indicate that the Robeasts are all meant to remain aware of themselves in their larger form and have all of their memories intact.

Because why would Haggar bother asking if Myzax wanted revenge against Shiro if he wasn’t even going to remember anything after she turned him into a Robeast?

This basically implies that all of the extra Shiro bodies that we saw at the cloning facility in S6E05 The Black Paladins were basically the organic version of empty Robeast shells - lifeless and incapable of independent movement until Haggar does her ritual to transfer the pilot/model’s quintessence into the new body.

And she has previously demonstrated that physical distance from her target is not an obstacle to being able to transfer a person’s soul from Point A to Point B. Because Season 8 shows that Zarkon was one of the spirits trapped inside her mindscape, even though she wasn’t anywhere near the planet he died on in S5E02.

In fact, “Kuron” being Shiro’s soul moved to a new body would also explain how Haggar and the Operation Kuron staff knew to release “Kuron” when they did. How could Haggar know Shiro was missing from Team Voltron unless she already had the ability to locate, and therefore manipulate his consciousness.

But there’s still one question about the logistics and timeline of “Kuron’s” creation.

Because in S6E06, Shiro indicates that his consciousness has been inside the Black Lion since the end of Season 2.

So how exactly could Haggar have yanked his spirit into a new body if he was inside the Black Lion from the end of season 2?

Well perhaps it’s something akin to how Steven’s gem turned into a copy of him when White Diamond removed it in the finale of Steven Universe Season 5.

That even if she couldn’t get his entire soul before he got absorbed by the Black Lion in S2E13, she only needed a fraction of Shiro’s consciousness in order to animate the new body.

In theory, this could hypothetically allow her to split Shiro’s mind into multiple bodies at once, explaining why S6E05 showed that she had made so many extra bodies.

It would also mean that the merging of the two Shiro’s in Voltron was the equivalent of Steven and Pink Steven fusing back together: Two halves of a single individual being made whole again, rather than one character being sacrificed for another.

But if the lore indicates that this is one Shiro with two bodies rather than two separate characters, why does Shiro treat his clone self like a separate person?

In one of my older essays, I pointed out how the visuals of Season 6 frame Haggar reclaiming her identity as Honerva in S6E01 as a parallel to Shiro and “Kuron” being merged in S6E07

Once Honerva goes through her “merging of two selves”, she tries to distance herself from her actions as Haggar, acting like the things she did to Lotor and others were done by someone else.

And her reason for doing that is obvious: she doesn’t want to face the fact that she hurt and abused her own son.

So following the parallels between, Shiro treating his actions in Seasons 3-6 like they were committed by a separate person logically reflects a similar level of denial. 

Like Honerva, he doesn’t want to face the fact that he’s capable of doing the things he did as “Kuron”.

Because Shiro in Seasons 3-6 is not as patient or compassionate with his team. He’s less considerate of others, and focused on his own priorities above everyone else’s.

And Season 6, he physically attacks and in at least one case injures the people he cares about.

Thanks to WEP’s meddling with Seasons 7-8, the payoff where Shiro recognizes and makes peace with that part of himself got left on the cutting room floor.

But the parallels with Haggar helps to at least make it clear what the writers were going for and what the point of this whole storyline was.

I’ve seen multiple people over the years note that Honerva’s transformation into Haggar, particularly the state we saw her in immediately post-Rift and shortly after Lotor’s birth in S5E02 and S8E02, can be read as a metaphor for Post-Partum Depression or something similar.

If you use their status as parallels to apply a similar logic toward the existence of “Kuron,” then the entire clone subplot can be seen as a fantasy representation of how Shiro is affected by his PTSD.

He goes through a traumatic experience and comes out mostly the same as he was before, but slightly off enough that he doesn’t feel right.

He initially hides his struggles and tries to pretend that everything is fine, downplaying what he’s going through. But eventually the strain starts to become too much and he tries to reach out for help, as we saw him attempt with Lance in Season 5.

But as we saw, he was brushed aside and his concerns were not taken seriously.

Without support, Shiro eventually reaches his breaking point, culminating in a fight with Keith in The Black Paladins, where - in contrast with his silent and stoic demeanor when carrying out Haggar’s orders - he repeatedly taunts and antagonizes Keith as if he's trying to goad Keith into killing him.

But Keith refuses to leave Shiro or let him die, and makes it clear in S7E01 A Little Adventure that he will never give up on him.

By refusing to let go in S6E05, Keith demonstrates that he will always support Shiro unconditionally, no matter what. This allows Shiro to finally begin to heal and come back to himself.

He’ll never be the same as he was before, but all the pieces of himself are finally whole again.

As I’ve outlined in older essays, the main theme of Shiro’s character arc is learning to accept that you don’t have to deal with your problems alone, and that needing support from others does not make you weak.

So when viewed in that context, the entire Operation Kuron subplot serves as a demonstration of what happens when Shiro doesn’t get that help and keeps on trying to deal with his problems alone.

TL;DR: While I understand how the idea became so widely accepted, the concept of “Kuron” as a separate character from Shiro is a fan headcanon that isn’t supported by the show’s lore. Instead, the themes and patterns of the narrative indicate that the “clone” is literally Shiro’s soul in a duplicate body, and the whole Operation Kuron subplot is intended to represent the consequences of his reluctance to let others help him manage his PTSD.

[narashikari]

So, a while back I made this theory to counter the one regarding Rinne and Houtaro being siblings.

I think last episode's time shenanigans has definitely debunked the Houtaro-and-Rinne-are-siblings theory, since kid!Houtaro clearly has no idea who Kudo Fuga is, much less acts like he's his father, and vice-versa.

It also debunks parts of my theory, specifically the ones where it was the Alchemist Union that wiped Houtaro's memories of the Chemmies and alchemy (Fuga did that himself), and Fuga giving the Driver to Houtaro because he knew Houtaro's dad (it was because he'd seen Houtaro protecting the Chemmies).

But now we have something of a mystery on our hands....

There's quite a lot to unpack from this ep. For one, Kid!Houtaro somehow has access to that dimension that the Chemmies later brought him to as a teenager. For another, he already seems to have the ability to use alchemy and communicate with the Chemmies.

Now, this could be explained by how he befriended the Chemmies as a child, though we have yet to see how he came into contact with them to begin with. Since that could've happened for a variety of reasons, I'll set that aside for the time being.

What really interests me is this scene.

This line about these goggles... the ones that he turns into his Gotcha Igniter. Specifically, the bit about his dad having goggles that resemble them...

I do have to wonder... why associate Houtaro's new powerup to something about his dad? And one that's so deeply tied with his ability to use alchemy, too (having been created by him as a child using alchemy and being turned into its current form by him using alchemy)?

Even more so since in the present day, Houtaro seems to hold a bit of resentment towards him for not being around more. We know Houtaro's dad is always off on "adventures", which is why he's absent. And yet, the goggles that represent the very reason why he's nowhere to be seen became Houtaro's powerup?

Not only that... but it seems to parallel with what happened to Rinne. She became a Kamen Rider... with a gift from her estranged father, Fuga. And now Houtaro gets a powerup with an item that he associates with his distant father, too? What are the odds of that not meaning anything?

We also find out in this episode that Geryon has the ability to manipulate memories on a massive scale. Not just erasing memories like we've previously seen, but implanting false ones as well, as he claimed that he was the one who made everyone believe Kudo Fuga stole the Chemmies and was a traitor.

And he may be pulling similar shenanigans on Minato (e.g. with how Minato now believes the natural order is to use Chemmies to make Malgams, instead of preventing them from becoming Malgams). Notably, he has also unpersoned Minato from everyone not associated with the Alchemist Academy. "It's like Minato-sensei never existed...."

Putting all of this together... I'm now more convinced that Houtaro's dad was himself an alchemist as well, one that was opposed to Geryon. He paid the price for going against him by becoming effectively unpersoned within the alchemist's society by Geryon.

And he himself was unaware of the unpersoning, because he had his memories of being an alchemist wiped as well. His current wanderlust is maybe him subconsciously trying to find his "Gotcha", aka his alchemy, much in the same way Houtaro was aimless until he (re)discovered his alchemy.

As for Kudo Fuga not knowing Houtaro, perhaps his father and Fuga were not working together at all, but came to similar realizations by interacting with the Chemmies. Both separately came to the same conclusion that Geryon aims to misuse them. After all we know there are alchemists working outside the Union's purview, like Spanner and Kyoka, so Houtaro's dad could be one of them and figured it out like that while Fuga figured it out while he was working within the Union.

Or maybe Houtaro's dad was in the Union, leaving behind enough clues before he was unpersoned that Fuga pieced together the truth.

As for the goggles? Maybe they were part of the equipment his dad used in alchemical experiments (i.e., they were safety goggles). He was so attached to them that even after his memories of being an alchemist were wiped he felt like they were important (hence why he wouldn't just lend them to kid!Houtaro)... much like how Houtaro felt something tugging at his heart when he first met Hopper-1...

[kraviolis]

often times i scare my reflection

(The Owl House)

Rating: Teen Relationships: (All Gen) Hunter & Luz, Hunter & Gus, Gus & Luz Words: 5k Additional Tags: Hurt/Comfort, Dissociation, Dissociative Identity Disorder, Alter!Golden Guard, Set During Thanks to Them Timeskip, Protective Golden Guard, Paranoia, PTSD Nightmares, Depiction Of Past Abuse Within Said Nightmare Chapters: 3/3 Summary:

Sputtering for air now that his lungs works again, he leans against the basin with his arms, focusing on the sensation of it trickling down his neck. The cool air turns frigid against his soaking wet face and shirt.

“Belos is dead,” He whispers, wetting his dry tongue with the water dripping off his lips. “He’s dead, and you’re awake. You’re awake.”

AO3 LINK | Chapter One + Chapter Two CW for descriptions of magical torture + non-magical dissociation and paranoia

____________

Dinner is… strange.

Not the food. The food is delicious, of course.

The strange part is the way everyone seems to keep glancing at him when they think he isn’t looking. It makes him almost self-conscious in a way he’s never really been before, but he’s also too sore even after the shower and too hungry to care, really.

The Golden Guard all but scarfs the meal down, trying to eat it before anything gets the chance to interrupt and take it away from him. When they were twelve and had officially passed the trials to become a Coven Scout, it took them a month to learn how to eat entire meals within minutes without getting sick. The Guard would normally forgo utensils all together, they just get in the way for him, but Hunter still had some amount of decorum.

(Truth be told, the royal etiquette lessons they'd been given when they were a child were still implanted deep in Hunter’s psyche. He still raises his pinkie every time he drinks from a cup with a handle, and is so perfectly polite and mannerly at the dinner table that it makes Blight look like a rude slob.)

(Hunter's manners when he's away from the dinner table is a whole different story. The Guard is convinced that the very sight of a meal set atop a polished wooden surface activates something deep in Hunter's subconscious that makes him straighten his back and hold his utensils with a practiced grace that only seems effortless.)

Luz tries to keep spirits high. She really does. It’s an admirable effort but, considering that they had all seen her not even able to walk after getting beat up only hours ago, her jokes were destined to fall flat.

She sits there and picks at her meal with a grimace as Mrs. Noceda talks about contacting the school about their bullying problem. She tried to object at first, saying that it won’t do anything, but Mrs. Noceda and Amity had both silenced her with sharp looks. Willow and Gus had seemed sympathetic with her argument, though. 

After dinner, everyone disperses for an early bedtime, exhausted from the adrenaline comedown. The Guard follows all of their leads and settles down in the sleep sack on the floor for the night.

Gus watches him unsubtly after he willingly forgoes changing into any sleeping clothes. The jeans Hunter put on this morning were more than comfortable enough for him.

“Hunter,” The younger boy says, drawing the Guard’s attention. “Are you… sure that you’re okay? It’s just that… you really did a number on the human that hurt Luz.”

“It was a lesson.” He explains plainly, staring down at his hands. “I was teaching him about consequences.”

“And you think beating someone up like that is a… reasonable method of teaching?”

(“I am only trying to help you. You’ll never learn to succeed if you don’t understand the reality of what failure will bring.”)

“Sometimes,” He starts, his mind somewhere else. Somewhere lined in white and gold. “Being taught something the hard way is the only way a person will learn. Even if the methods seem severe.”

After he says it, Gus just stares at him silently for a long time. The Guard lays down onto his back, waiting for him to just say what he wants to say. 

“This might be too much to ask,” He says slowly, as if trying to soothe a wild animal, and the Guard is already done with the conversation. “But did… did you–?”

“No.” He shuts Gus down and rolls over, turning his back to him. “Goodnight.”

“...Okay. Night, Hunter.”

The Guard hardly even questions the decision to fall asleep, despite the taste of blood and dirt in his mouth. When he closes his eyes, the sound of the ticking clock on the wall melts into the beating of a heart. 

When he opens them, he is in the same place he's found himself in every single night for his whole life. 

He can smell it– that specific combination of polished metal, old stone, burning tree sap, bog mud, and rot . It permeates the room like a cloud of poison and leaves his mouth dry and his shoulders always tense.

Blinking away the darkness from his eyes, he can see the empty throne from his place on the floor. The side of his face that is currently pressed against the floor is burning, the skin layers scrubbed away by friction and already weeping into the warm stone. It’s always so warm here.

“Stand.”

When he tries to obey, it’s like swimming through abomination muck. His arms complain fiercely about continuing to move and his legs tremble like jelly.

“On your feet, Hunter.”

He lets out an involuntary whimper as he finally pushes himself up with his arms, locking his elbows even as they shake violently under his weight.

“Do not make me say it a third time.”

He swallows back the bile rising in his throat as he clings to the pillar next to him, desperately trying to plant his feet flat to the ground. When he stands with his legs under him, leaning against the stone heavily, he finally looks up to his uncle with blurry, fading vision. It's too hard to make out any details, but the green contrasting against the pale of his skin stands out like a raven in a murder.

Belos is holding his staff, the bulb glowing a terrible bright red. He stands across the room, mask off and frowning deeply. “You are making this very difficult, Hunter.”

He swallows the blood in his mouth. Each of his breaths are more like gasps, his lungs desperately trying to keep drawing in air even when each inhale feels like a sharp stab. “I’m sorry, Uncle.”

Belos clicks his tongue at him, frustrated. “Apologies mean nothing if you cannot learn from them.”

“I will– I am.” He rasps, bowing his head to fight the wave of nausea that rolls through him. “I swear. I swear.”

“So you’ve said,” Belos sighs. “And yet here we are, for the fifth day in a row. It makes me wonder if you truly want to–”

“I do!” The room spins. Drool drips from his lips as he fights to hold back any retching. It stains the glossy floor red. “I– I want to, please… please.”

For a moment, neither of them speak any further. The beating of the Titan’s heart fills his ears and makes his already concussed head pound in agony, the deep bass of the giant organ echoing against his skull.

Then, Belos heaves out a great sigh.

“Fine. I will heal you, but just this once.” The Emperor says. A bright red fills his vision and freezes his body in place. “Hold for a tick.”

The red grows brighter and he becomes weightless, his stomach dropping unpleasantly at the sensation. A warmth spreads through him, traveling through his nervous system and digging into his bones. It grows warmer and warmer, his limbs tingling as if waking from sleep. 

It does not stop getting hotter.

Within seconds, the nauseating fever transitions into a sensation not unlike swallowing a cup of pure molten metal. He chokes on the scream begging to burst out of his immobile throat.

Every inch of him feels as if he’s been set ablaze from the inside out, his blood boiling inside his veins and his nerves scorching white-hot across his entire body. The searing pain is agonizing and unending, every second like an eternity as his muscles seize and try to spasm even though he cannot move a single centimeter. The burning torment is unbearable; he would have passed out thirty times over already if not for the spell he's been caught in. The magic forces him to stay awake but renders him unable to do anything but sit there and endure the excruciating feeling of his marrow being broiled inside the bone.

There's no room for words in his head as his heart beats hard and fast enough that his chest expands and threatens to burst open like a birdcage. All that runs through his mind is a desperate pleading for his heart to give out, his lungs to implode, or his skull to cave in under the pressure, if only to just make it all stop.

It ends, suddenly and without warning. The pain is gone in the blink of an eye, leaving his body feeling icy and numb in its absence.

He’s dropped to the floor in the middle of the throne room, landing face down on the dark green carpet. Every inch of him shakes violently in the wake of his torture, but the pain and exhaustion has vanished. This time, he lifts himself to his feet without assistance. His mouth still tastes like copper.

“Better now?” Belos asks him, standing only feet away now. He forces himself to nod, keeping his head bowed to hide his watery eyes. “Now, I don’t want you to become reliant on being healed like this. You must understand, the world will not be as kind to you as I am. You will be forced to either kill, or be killed. That is what I am trying to teach you. Do you understand?”

“I understand, Uncle.” His voice comes out small, quiet. “Thank you.”

There’s a hand on his head, tipping it back to make him look up at the Emperor. “You are too important to lose, nephew. The Titan needs you.” Belos smiles down at him and releases him. “Now, let’s try this once more.”

He watches his uncle take several steps back until he's about twenty feet away, both hands gripping the staff. He swallows thickly and crouches into a defensive stance, bracing himself.

“Oh, and Hunter,” Belos calls from across the room. “I need you to know something important.”

“Yes?”

“This hurts me far more than it hurts you.”

He doesn’t even have time to put his hands up before Belos is already on him, swinging the staff right towards his head–

The Golden Guard wakes with a gasp, and slams a hand over his mouth before his strangled scream could bubble from his throat. 

The waking world slams into him all at once, pulling him from the throne room and back into the dark safety of the basement. He tries to breathe through it, but he can almost feel his veins still burning.

(He can still smell it– the stale air, the mud, the rot.) 

(He can still hear the Titan’s heartbeat pounding in his ears.)

The Guard can feel the way his mind is already beginning to pull away from him again, the seams already coming undone in his hands. He shakes his head and gets to his feet quickly, trying desperately to get a grip before the wallpaper of reality starts peeling at the edges.

With feather-light steps, he nearly runs into the basement's small bathroom. He doesn’t turn the light on or spare even a glance into the mirror, knowing the second he catches a glimpse of his reflection that the ground will fall out beneath him.

There's zero hesitation when he throws water from the tap into his face. The water, icy cold from sitting in the buried pipes all night, clears the static from his vision in an instant and makes him gasp. Sputtering for air now that his lungs works again, he leans against the basin with his arms, focusing on the sensation of it it trickling down his neck. The cool air turns frigid against his soaking wet face and shirt.

“Belos is dead,” He whispers, wetting his dry tongue with the water dripping off his lips. “He’s dead, and you’re awake. You’re awake.”

He splashes his face again and then leans down to drink straight from the faucet. It cools his throat and settles heavy in his stomach, grounding him. 

When he leaves the bathroom, all he can smell is old fabric mixed with something uniquely human and all he can hear is Gus's breathing and the clock on the wall ticking away. He manages to make out the time in the low light– he had only slept for a few hours before the nightmare woke him.

Then, he realizes that he is still himself. Or, rather, the Golden Guard realizes he is still in control. For a moment he considers attempting to sleep again so that Hunter can retake control in their sleep, but he huffs in frustration. 

There is no sleeping through the nightmares. At least, not for him, not unless he wants to spend all night going down memory lane. No, he needs to wait for Hunter to come back. Hunter is the only one who can get enough sleep to keep the body functional.

The Guard sighs again and runs his hand through his damp hair before making his way upstairs, leaving his sleeping palisman behind.

(How it can tell the difference, he will never know, but it’s become increasingly obvious that Flapjack prefers Hunter more. He can’t even understand the palisman whenever it chirps at him, and Hunter’s read enough about wild magic for the Guard to know that means the bird just doesn’t like him.)

The whole house is just as dark as the basement. The only light available comes from the various electronics and appliances scattered across the home and from the streetlamps outside. The yellow gleam filters in through the windows, casting eerie shadows across the walls.

Footsteps light as possible, the Guard walks close to the walls to avoid making the floorboards creak. He paces the whole of the ground floor, clearing corners and checking the locks.

(It’s exactly what he did for the first week or so here. When the nightmares were fresh and sending him into panic attacks every single night, ones that were so bad the two of them ended up blurred together in their head.)

(The Golden Guard couldn’t tell where he’d ended and Hunter began those nights, so they’d resorted to doing whatever they could to assure themselves of their safety until Hunter felt like himself again.)

With the first floor secure, he carefully climbs to the second. He doesn’t risk entering any rooms to check their window locks, but he still peeks in to make sure everyone is safe.

He lingers in the doorway to the girls’ room, watching Luz closely for a moment to make certain she was still breathing; that the steady up and down of her chest wasn’t just the shadows playing tricks on him.

Once he was certain, he went back downstairs and did another circle around the ground floor. All the rooms were clear and every possible entrance locked. Still, he feels unsteady. Just barely on the edge of safe and unsafe. The back of his neck prickles, the shadows playing tricks on him in the corners of his eyes.

(It feels like he’s being watched.)

After grabbing a heavy iron poker from next to the fireplace, unwilling to wake his palisman for this, the Guard sucks in a breath and steps out of the back door. The night is chilly, his breath visible in the air as if he were about to breathe fire. The Isles only ever got this cold on the Knee.

The Guard stands on the middle step of the small back porch, eyes scanning the forest line behind the house. He can hear the rustle of the trees in the chilled breeze, the soft scampering of nocturnal wildlife. An owl calls into the night, the hoot bouncing off the trees. 

The moon grants him just enough light to spot a rabbit just at the edge of the woods. Its fur helps it blend in with the underbrush, but the Guard caught the reflection of its eyes in the dark. It seems to have spotted him, too, and stares like a deer in the headlights.

For a moment, the world shrinks to just him and the rabbit. It stands perfectly still, looking right at him the way wild demons have before pouncing during run-ins in the past. The Guard wonders if Mrs. Noceda would forgive him for skewering it with her poker if it turns out to be like those rabbits from the human movie with the knights and the sacred cup.

The door behind him shifts and creaks, and the Golden Guard tears his eyes away to address the threat, brandishing the poker at whoever or whatever has decided to sneak up on him.

“Hey! Woah!” Luz startles, throwing her hands up. “Chill out, it’s just me.”

The Guard lowers the weapon instantly. “What are you doing?”

“Uh, what are you doing?”

He doesn’t reply, turning away from her again. His gaze goes back to where the rabbit was, but it’s gone. He didn’t even hear it scamper away back into the underbrush.

“Hunter?” Luz pokes her head out the door and glances around. “Did… did you see something?”

“No,” He says, keeping his eyes on the forest. “Do you?”

“No.” She echoes. Closing the door behind her, she steps up next to him.

“You should be asleep.”

“And so should you.” She puts her hands in the pockets on her vintage grudgby jacket. “We can do this back and forth thing all night, but how about you just cut to the chase and tell me why you’re out here?”

He huffs. “Go back to bed.”

“Nope.” Luz shuffles in place, seemingly determined to stand out here with him. He sits down on the steps instead. She follows without hesitation, tucking in close to him.

He stares into the middle distance, not focusing on any specific part. There’s a fog encroaching, covering his vision in mist. The world begins to blur as he sits there.

(There’s– something.)

The sky feels so big, almost too big. Like ants in an auditorium. There’s a numbness to his limbs. Maybe it’s the chill in the air creeping into his bones, but maybe he’s just losing himself again. 

(There. Right there.)

Any semblance of thought is beginning to slip through his hands like water, but the sky is black and starless and endless and he is going to trip and fall right into it.

(Did you see it?)

There’s something wrong with his lungs. They’re frozen in between one breath and another, almost petrified in the silence of the woods.

(Because it sees you.)

“Hunter.”

With a sharp inhale that straightens his spine and pushes back his shoulders, the Golden Guard’s vision sharpens. The haze lifts from his eyes, and his skin prickles with gooseflesh as he regains awareness of his limbs.

There’s a terrible heaviness in his bones. He tries to clench his hand into a fist but it’s as if there’s a half-second delay to it. Someone says a name again, and he looks up. Luz is staring.

“Did you hear me?”

He stares back. The idea of forming words with his throat feels like an insurmountable task. She doesn’t seem to mind, though. 

“I said we should go back in.” Luz tugs on his sleeve. Her hand is warm. “Come on. It’s been like, an hour. Nothing is out there.”

With little resistance, he lets the human drag him back inside the house. She even allows him to herd her in first while he follows without comment. As he turns his back to make sure the door locks behind them, Luz gasps. 

Adrenaline spikes through his heart (galderstone?) and it’s pure instinct when he shoves her behind him and holds the poker out in front of him. Yet, once again, there is no true threat.

“Gus!” Luz heaves out a sigh of relief upon seeing him standing in the kitchen’s entryway. The Guard lowers his makeshift weapon. “My guy, you gotta stop forgetting that humans can’t see in the dark very well.”

“My bad.” He says sheepishly, stepping from the shadows into a beam of moonlight. The Guard frowns. It’s far past curfew, why are both of them out of bed? “I was looking for Hunter. …What were you two doing out there?”

When Luz steps closer to Gus and begins to whisper to him, only for Gus’s eyes to immediately dart to him, The Guard decides to leave the kitchen to go replace the iron fireplace tool in its holder. The witches behind him keep talking in low tones, the words too quiet and muffled by the walls for the Guard to make out any words. He knows they're talking about him and he simply cannot find it in himself to care.

Instead, he checks the time again and… oh. Luz wasn’t exaggerating, earlier. That nightmare must have shaken him more than he thought. How come Hunter hasn’t come back yet? 

He wishes not for the first time that he had control over this. It’s never on purpose, even if his desire to take the reins often matches when it happens. It’s like their brain just knows when Hunter needs him most. Normally, he doesn’t have time to question why their brain works in this way before Hunter’s consciousness bubbles back up.

Though, this wasn’t a normal switch-off between them. When he’d taken control earlier, it was like a snap of his fingers and then Hunter was just… gone. They hadn’t even been blurred together first, like they did on most of their jobs during their time in the Emperor’s Coven. 

The Guard huffs in frustration and tears his eyes away from the clock. The ticking had begun to echo in his head, pinning him to the hardwood floor beneath his feet. He forces himself out of the living room and wanders to the front door, peeking out of the peephole first and then pulling back the curtain of the left window.

The street is still and quiet, just as the backyard had been. Not even a single car passes by as he watches. The golden street lights line the black asphalt in perfectly spaced rows and not a single lamp gives away the shifting shadows of any would-be enemies or intruders. There’s just the distant, muffled chirping that Vee had explained was coming from harmless insects, and that the human realm was not home to any of the wild demons that used the same noises to lure unsuspecting witches to their deaths.

“Hey, Hunter.”

Most of the time, Hunter nor the Golden Guard ever really interacted with the Coven Heads for long enough to end up so distracted that they could be startled, and neither of them would’ve dared to give the Emperor anything but their full and alert attention. No, it was normally the Scouts who always made the same mistake of sneaking up on them. 

The friendlier ones, the ones who weren’t either afraid or scornful of them and thus had no qualms walking right up and slapping them on the back out of camaraderie, often got hit hardest for it because they were the ones who never saw it coming. Even Steve had accidentally startled them on one of their especially bad days. The whole incident led Hunter to feel so guilty about it that he had personally escorted him to the Healer’s wing of the Coven barracks to make sure his elbow got set back into the socket as quickly and painlessly as possible.

(It was surprising that out of all the people he left behind in the Demon Realm, Steve was one of the people he missed most. Sure, Hunter was on good terms with Deamonne and Eberwolf, but the Guard wasn’t so quick to forget the past. Steve had always been a friend to both of them.)

So, really, it’s a miracle that the Golden Guard doesn’t instinctively drive his elbow right into Gus’s nose.

Instead, he freezes just as he reels his arm back. Gus doesn’t even flinch in response, showcasing the frankly terrifying amount of trust he has in them in such a casual manner. That look in the younger boy’s eyes is what makes his entire body just stop in the middle of an unconscious reaction.

(Gus may be younger, but both Hunter and the Guard know better than anyone that it doesn’t mean he’s any less intelligent. Truthfully, it’s almost unnerving how very aware of everything Gus is.)

(He has always been observant like that, but Hunter has been swearing to himself that something changed in Gus after the Day of Unity.)

(Looking at him now, the Guard is inclined to agree. There’s something in his eyes that wasn’t there before.)

“We’re having a TV night since apparently none of us can sleep.” Gus tells him, not even letting his own eyes move from the Guard’s wide-eyed gaze towards his slowly lowering arm. The lack of natural curiosity is suspicious. In fact, the boy’s innocent smile and arms folded behind his back all scream that he’s putting on an act.

The Golden Guard tries to get his throat to cooperate this time, but the words refuse to form. He’s forced to resort to tilting his head and squinting at Gus. This does nothing to deter him.

“Come on, Luz is setting it up.” Gus grabs the Guard by the wrist and drags him away from the door. With lightning-fast reflexes, he quickly makes sure the door is locked before he succumbs to his fate.

Luz is already comfortable on the couch and flips through channels before settling on one. She smiles at the pair as they enter, her busted lip pulling at the skin. Gus practically forces him onto the couch by sitting next to Luz and dragging him down until he sits on his other side. 

“Hope you guys like George Lopez 'cause that’s the only thing still on this late that's decent.” Luz says as she pulls down the blanket folded on the back of the sofa and lays it over her lap. 

Gus doesn’t hesitate in digging his scrawny legs into the blanket and making Luz yelp over his icy cold shins. She quickly slams a hand over her mouth, aware that she was far louder than she should have been, but when there’s no squeak of the floorboards to announce any new arrivals, she relaxes again. She does her best demon growl impression at Gus, who simply sticks his tongue out at her in response.

The Guard watches this happen idly but disconnected from the scene. He’s present and close enough to feel Gus moving against him as he and Luz begin attempting to out-shush each other, but it’s as if he were hanging on by nothing but a tendon and some sinew.

The idea of just letting go scares him. If he lets the tendon snap and allows himself to float away, how will he keep them safe? He can’t fight to protect any of them if all he can do is fight just to keep his head above water for long enough to have coherent thoughts.

His eyes drift to the darkened entryway. The shadows aren’t solid and thick, but filled with buzzing TV static. The floor and walls blend together the more he stares at them, both becoming an amalgam of darkness and a visual blizzard. The more he looks, the more he can’t look away.

Something in his chest catches when he swears he sees the shadow begin to swell and swirl around itself, as if trying to form into something more tangible.

A hand appears in front of his face, cutting through his vision. The curled fingers go up slowly one by one, and before he even realizes what’s happening, the Guard finds himself breathing in time with it like it's a muscle memory.

He doesn’t realize he wasn't breathing until he sucks in a breath. There's a feeling almost like his lungs are covered in cracked and dried clay but it's gone by the second breath. The shadows don't stop moving in the corner of his eye, but he can see there's no threat except his own mind playing tricks on him.

“You good?” Gus asks, and the Guard looks at him. He’s the one holding up his hand. When he gets a nod, the illusionist lowers it back down into his lap.

The optical susurration doesn't fade even as he settles down. It remains, disturbing his perception even when his eyes are closed. The Guard stares at his hands and watches the pale of his fingers blur into the dark of the floor and his jeans. He can see patterns across his vision, invisible but not. If he focuses hard enough, he can see something almost like smoke or steam rising from his skin. 

Luz tilts her head in the corner of his eye, drawing his gaze back to her. “You wanna talk about it?” She offers, but he quickly shakes his head no.

“That’s fine.” Gus is quick to reassure him. “But…”

He and Luz share a glance behind his back. The Golden Guard braces himself for more invasive questioning that he will continue to ignore.

“You know we’re all safe, right?”

He turns his head rapidly to stare at Gus. He stares right back. The Guard looks to Luz, who does the same thing.

“Yeah,” She backs Gus up. “You've done a great job, but you can rest now.”

Oh.

That was all he needed, wasn’t it? The assurance that he did well, that his mission was over. After all, Luz was protected and the worst of her injuries already nearly healed. Any and all threats were taken care of swiftly. The house is secured. Everyone is safe and sound.

"Okay." He rasps, moving his mouth and pushing air through his still paralyzed vocal chords.

It's enough. Luz says something before turning back to watch her show and Gus gets up with a comment about popped corn, but the Guard barely notices. All of his focus is on the fact that he can feel it coming, now. Like a sandstorm on the horizon. Or a receding tide before a tsunami. Something distinctly foreign but not making a home in his chest and behind his eyes and twitching in his spine.

The Golden Guard completed his main objective, and now he’s been formally dismissed.

It feels nothing like falling asleep. It doesn't even feel like losing consciousness. No, it's more like he loses focus on himself. The world blurs and he becomes distinctly uncomfortable in his own skin. Then, he blinks, and he's just... gone.

(The last thing he thinks before he lets go is how grateful he is that Hunter won't wake up alone.)

[cyberpunkonline]

The Greatest Cyberpunk Heists of All Time

In the edgy world of cyberpunk, where the neon-lit streets are as sharp as the wit of its anti-heroes, heists are the ultimate rebellion. These audacious acts of theft aren't just about getting rich; they're about flipping off the corporate bigwigs, outsmarting the system, and dancing on the edge of chaos in a world where power, technology, and grit collide.

Introduction

Picture this: a futuristic cityscape bathed in neon, where hackers, rebels, and renegades navigate through digital labyrinths and dystopian nightmares. Heists, my friend, are the lifeblood of cyberpunk. They embody the spirit of those brave enough to say "screw the rules," infiltrate high-security systems, and snatch the ungrabbable, all while wielding some slick, cutting-edge tech.

"Neuromancer" Heist

In William Gibson's "Neuromancer," Case, a washed-up hacker, gets hired for the ultimate heist—a plunge into cyberspace itself. This caper involves infiltrating the Tessier-Ashpool conglomerate's super-secure AI, Wintermute. It's hacking on steroids, with Case plugged into cyberspace via a neural implant. The chase between the hackers and corporate goons showcases the thrill of cyberpunk's obsession with corporate power and high-tech wizardry.

"Inception" Heist

Christopher Nolan's "Inception" takes heists and cranks them up to eleven by diving into the subconscious. Dom Cobb's team uses mind-bending gadgets to infiltrate dreams, stealing the juiciest secrets. Dream within a dream? More like heist-ception! The layers of dreams become a playground for mind-blowing technology, where reality is as fluid as a hacker's code.

"Blade Runner" Data Heist

Ridley Scott's "Blade Runner" throws a data heist into the mix of neo-noir, cyberpunk goodness. Roy Batty and his rogue replicants aim to steal data to extend their short lifespans. It's a desperate gambit, touching on themes of AI, identity, and morality. The heist's deeper message is that it's not just about swiping stuff; it's about challenging the very essence of existence in a cyberpunk world.

"Snow Crash" Mafia Heist

Neal Stephenson's "Snow Crash" mixes hacker culture with mafia drama. Hiro Protagonist and YT embark on a rollercoaster of heists, espionage, and a nasty drug called Snow Crash. With the Metaverse, a virtual playground, and Snow Crash, a linguistic virus, this tale blurs the line between reality and the digital realm, driving home cyberpunk's obsession with the interconnectedness of both.

"Heat" Bank Heist

Michael Mann's "Heat," though not your typical cyberpunk flick, explores heists with gritty realism. Neil McCauley's crew executes heists with military precision, showcasing high-tech gadgets, surveillance gear, and some serious firepower. It's a nod to cyberpunk's love-hate relationship with technology—the same tools used for control can set you free.

Conclusion

In the world of cyberpunk, heists are more than just heart-pounding thrillers; they're the ultimate middle finger to the system. These capers remind us that even in the darkest dystopias, there's a glimmer of hope. It's the belief that with a touch of genius, a dose of tech, and a dash of audacity, we can defy the status quo and rewrite the rules in a world ruled by shadows and neon. Cyberpunk heists are a celebration of the renegades who dare to flip the bird at the establishment and rewrite the code of an unjust reality.

- Raz

[adelinamoteru]

so i saw your post about jason todd and mcu characters, specifically deadpool, and i wanted to know your thoughts on how they break the fourth wall in different ways? like deadpool breaks the fourth wall for comedy, but still continues to play and follow the narrative, where as jason can kinda see the fourth wall in the fact that he knows gotham will never change and will never get better which is why he tries to control it instead, but fails bc he is a victim of the narrative.

Deadpool seeing the fourth wall is funny but for jason it just makes him so much more tragic, bc he wants to break out of the fourth wall and change his home so it's less hostile, but will never get it.

does this make sense?

hi! disclaimer: it is 2 am right now and I haven't actually engaged with a lot of deadpool content besides the movies and a few spideypool fanfics when I was going down the peter parker hole so take my speculations here with a grain of salt!

I think part of what differentiates them is definitely the narrative surrounding both of their stories, but also their placements on the hero to villain scale!

deadpool is aware of the fourth wall to the point that he can actually break it and speak to the audience whereas with jason it almost seems like he's only subconsciously aware of the fourth wall? kinda like he woke up from a deep coma with memories and knowledge implanted into his brain but there's no substantial proof of whether its anything more than just whatever he experienced in a dreamland far far away.

deadpool also literally gives almost zero shits about morals and part of that is because he can break the fourth wall. he's mostly a solo runner and he'll kill and do whatever he wants because he's aware that there are no real consequences that he, at least, can face! jason however, morphs his morals around the fact that he can, to a certain level, access the fourth wall. he knows that there's no saving gotham the way it currently is, but he still tries! and that's where being a victim to the narrative comes in. he chooses his alignment because of this fourth wall, but ultimately it does him no good when he's the only one who can, especially because in his world he is able to face real consequences! just like you said! he tries to control it but ultimately doesn't have the same character standing and environment deadpool does for it to create any change or development in the story.

jason's slamming himself against the fourth wall trying desperately to break free as if he was truman in the truman show. whereas deadpool just pops in and out whenever he desires, as if he was the characters in the truman show that are very aware of whats going on! it's torture from jason's standpoint and just another day at the job for deadpool!

I don't know whether this really added anything interesting to the conversation for you, but it definitely is something very fun and cool to explore!

[meirimerens]

You talk about Farkhand haunting Peter and Andrey, which is awesome, but do you think he’s a vengeful, angry spirit that haunts the duo because his murder will never let him rest, or do you think he’s a lost soul that haunts the twins because he doesn’t understand why he was murdered and thus can’t find peace? I think both are cool but I wanna hear how you view the haunting of the Stamatins

He's neither and both and neither again... :3 he has elements of both to become something that's both anchored in thoese archetypes and yet aside from them (because In My Mind he bears the traits of archetypes [typically portraiture archetypes, character archetypes] but exists as his own person beyond them)

I think he haunts out of a desire to hang over them as the ghost of guilt, and also because it is a continuation of his magnetism in life. As an alive man, he inhabited people through his charm, his charisma, and now dead this charm and this charisma has folded itself as something wicked. People let him into their mind due to this fascinating air to him, and once implanted... he stays.

He haunts them both as himself (ghost) and as the memory they have of him.

He's vengeful, but not angry. I think when Andrey led him to the slaughter, he knew what was gonna happen, but he also... I think knew he had implanted himself too well/well enough in the twins' mind to know that he would stay, he would get to stay. It is less that his murder will not let him rest, more that his murder will not let the twins rest, and as long as they are haunted by the guilt and the restlessness, farkhad has direct access to their minds.

He is not lost, he is more... untethered. And untethered, he goes where he is invited (even subconsciously so). I don't think he doesn't know why he was murdered - I think he has a very good idea. He might still have interrogations, might not know everything, but I think 1) he doesn't care too much, because he knows enough 2) not knowing everything means he gets to ask them, night after night, shadow after shadow, until they start asking themselves. He needs not find peace: he just needs(/wants) to keep the twins from finding it.

Yes, vengeful, but almost a player in the way he haunts, in a goofy silly mood... he stays silly... but also he will not let them rest... just because be Expected them to murder him doesn't mean he's happy with it! Hell On Stamatins Technique

[shadowsshowdown]

Deus Ex: Human Revolution Shadow’s Showdown 50

The Truce.

Berlin. Year 2010. When Laura opened her eyes, Joe was sitting in the armchair next to the bed, checking the order forms. "Making sure I don't escape?" she muttered with a yawn. "I already told you you were a guest. I was waiting for you to wake up. I wanted to... talk," he explained putting the cards into an even stack. "You're partially right. I was afraid you'd run away, but I didn't guard you." "You were afraid?" she asked surprised, raising an eyebrow. She rolled over onto her left side, resting her head on a bent arm. "You don't even know me." "Look, we ended our last night's conversation the wrong way. I don't want you to leave here in an atmosphere of anger. It's just that opening night is something special for me, a moment of remembrance. Neither Toby nor I have told you about it. I always lock myself in my room then and spend time alone." "This time did you forget to lock the door because of me or did you subconsciously want me to come in?" "I don't know." "Let me tell you something. No one should suffer in solitude. Therefore let me be with you then. I can sit quietly." Joe smiled slightly. "We'll try it next time." "And one more thing. I'm staying here." "And your parents? They're probably worried." "They died in a car accident. I, unfortunately, survived." "Sorry, I didn't know."

"You can't read minds. It's understandable you don't know."

This was what she had hoped for, that she could enjoy this illusory closeness to Joe, hidden in the scent that permeated the fabric deeply. When he left, she took a solid shower and washed her hair. Wrapped in a towel, she walked over to the dresser, slid open a drawer and selected one of his purple t-shirts and boxers, which she clipped together with a safety pin found in her bag. Eventually, he offered his clothes himself. She left the room with the intention of looking for something to eat and looking around the club. By chance, she heard the conversation that was just going on in the corridor.

"I see you've taken a liking to Laura," Toby stated while picking up the forms. "You could say that. She seems quite nice," Joe replied. "I sense some unspoken 'but'," remarked the bartender. Aug sighed. "Well, those fancy earrings in her ears I can put up with, but the one in her nose I can't and then there's that chain. If that boy had pulled on it yesterday. It would have torn her nose and ear." "She's just a child, she'll find out after a while that it doesn't suit her," Toby assured him. "Maybe she'll change her hair colour and hairstyle in the process," he muttered. "You're too picky. After all, she's not your girlfriend." "And she won't be." Laura turned on her heel and ran into the room. They saw the kid in her, especially Joe. She didn't know why she cared so much about his opinion, but as soon as she returned she immediately removed all her earrings and went to the bathroom. She started looking for scissors but only found a razor blade. Looking in the mirror with tears in her eyes, she cut more strands of hair that fell into the sink. She wanted him to appreciate her, to say she was pretty. Despite her efforts, she looked even worse than before, and she didn't notice she had cut her finger and smeared her cheek with blood. She sat against the wall wrapping bent legs, bursting out crying. "Laura? Are you here?" She ignored Joe's voice coming from the room. She hoped he would go away, acknowledge she had left. "Here you are. I thought..." He broke off, seeing the hair in the sink and the girl sitting on the ground. He scolded himself in his mind, realizing she had heard everything. He should be more careful. Even if he doesn't like her looks, making such comments is inappropriate. "Why did you do that?" he asked sitting down next to her. "I'm ugly, aren't I?" she sobbed, covering her face with her hands. "I'm the one who's old and stupid," he replied, uncovering her face. "I shouldn't say that." "You're not old," she uttered. Joe managed to smile. "I'm twenty-four years old. You still think I'm not old?" "Still. I'm almost seventeen, and act like a child." "Being a child is a luxury, you should enjoy it as long as you can." "I don't want to be treated like that." Not by you. "So you need to grow up, start thinking, then acting and taking responsibility for your actions." His voice was rough and stern like a father lecturing his child. Laura sighed loudly. "Don't sigh just take action."

Joe was cruel, and she had hoped for something completely different. She saw him as someone he wasn't.

"I'll start by cleaning up," she muttered and walked over to the sink. "I'll go make breakfast. I'll call you when it's ready." Laura washed the blood off her face and bandaged her cut finger. About a quarter of an hour later Toby came in. She already knew that Joe was avoiding her for some reason, so she didn't want to stand in his way. She ate her fried egg with bacon and toast as slowly as she could while she waited for them both to leave the kitchen. When they were out of sight, she started searching through the cupboards. Fortunately, she found everything she needed to carry out her plan. No one looked into the kitchen for the next hour, so she had time before anyone noticed. It was late afternoon when Joe and Toby returned to the living area. DJ saw a plate with kanelbulle piled on it. It wasn't hard for him to guess that Laura had baked them, so he didn't hesitate to treat himself. The bartender also let himself be tempted. "Joe, there's a card here," he remarked when they were halfway through eating.

"Let me see. Maybe I accidentally left a form," he replied, unfolding the piece of paper.

"Thanks for everything but you're better off without me. L" DJ choked on another bite so hard that Toby had to pat him on the back several times. Kanelbulle suddenly became bitter, so he reached into his trouser pocket for cigarettes and a lighter. "You just let her walk away like that? That's not like you," the bartender commented. "She's..." He wanted to say 'grown up' but both in age and behaviour she wasn't. "Laura is entitled to her own decisions." Toby snorted and shook his head at hearing these ridiculous explanations. He wanted very much to say something cruel to him but restrained that intention. "Don't make the same mistake a second time," he said and left.

  The streets of Berlin.

Laura felt the cold penetrate her thoroughly. She was wearing only a cotton hoodie with a shirt underneath and worn-out trousers. In the blink of an eye, the rain had turned into thick snow, so she hid in the depths of a side alley, hoping not to run into that bunch of idiots again. She sat on a pile of rubbish bags, cringing to retain as much warmth as possible. The suffocating stench of decaying food made her feel like throwing up, but she had to endure. Time passed and with it her hope for survival dwindled, shrinking to the size of a thread, then a hair. The girl struggled to keep herself from closing her eyes. The image was blurring into greyish patches, she could barely move her fingers. The lantern lighting up was the last thing she saw. The night embraced her tenderly, welcoming her into eternity. She flew through the darkness, beyond time, slightly in stillness, carried by an indefinable force that did not belong to her. Then she drowned in the oriental, spicy scent of ginger. If this is what death looks like, she could die without end. Accelerated heartbeat, hot breath, reached her with fragments of sensations. Everything and nothing at the same time tallied up. She fell as lightly and gently into the cold, which changed into warmth in a split second. "...oby ...ring th... therm...ore. Hur... up!" Slowly she moved her toe, wanting to open her eyes but couldn't manage to do it. "You... ...ot ...ere ju... in ...me." "Hea... rhyt… ...etur… to ...rmal. Stay ...ith us Laura!" Inhale, exhale. Light begins to reach under the eyelids. It irritates the eyes, is intrusive and merciless. A blurry face leans in, a hand touches her forehead. "She has a high temperature. Prepare an injection." The sting was something that snapped her out of this strange state of suspension. It brought her down to earth with an intense thump. "Is that you, Joe?" she said barely audibly with lips dried and cracked from the cold. He wanted to yell at her, to say what he thought about all this. "I'm here. You'll feel better soon," he assured her with fatherly concern. "Why..." "Rest," he interrupted her more because he didn't want to explain. He left shortly after Toby returned, carrying an intravenous line with him. Laura rolled onto her side. "Hey, turn around for a second. I need to insert a needle, and don't want to sting you more than once," he said setting the stand by the bed. "I don't want to," she muttered. "No one asked him to look for me." "You really don't understand why he did it?" "Because he's stupid." Toby sighed. The girl did indeed have a difficult character. "He cares more than you think." "A-ha," she snarled. The bartender didn't have the strength to fight her, nor could he find an argument to convince her. "All right, if that's the way you want it let's..." He was interrupted by the hiss of the door opening, he looked to his left and saw Joe carrying a tray with a bowl of steaming broth. DJ nodded to him suggestively so he left. "Get out of here," she growled warningly like a cat ready to attack. He felt like telling her that he was actually at his place so she should be the one to get lost, but stooping to her level was a bad idea. He set the tray on the nightstand, moved the armchair near the bed and sat down. He found the secured needle from the intravenous line and then grabbed Laura's hand. She wanted to jerk it away, so badly with all her strength and from the depths of her soul but she couldn't. Joe's touch overpowered her. She didn't even feel it when the needle penetrated her skin. The man took the bowl and scooped up a spoonful of soup. "Now eat. You need to build up your strength. I propose for the grumpy, unfriendly, Joe." The girl looked at him for the first time since she regained consciousness. On the surface, he looked like an older brother caring for his sick sister, but there was something strange about him as if conflicting thoughts and emotions were fighting each other. Joe put down the empty bowl and rubbed his temples. "You said I was no prisoner, yet you brought me here. To the place, I left voluntarily." "To a place from which you fled for a reason unknown to me." "I left," she persisted. "If you had, you would have at least come to say goodbye in person instead of leaving a note," there was clearly a hint of regret in his voice directed sharply in her direction. "If you'd been more tactful, this wouldn't have happened," she retorted. Joe rose abruptly from his armchair and began walking around the room. Laura had hit home, he should refrain from such comments even if he thought she wasn't around. "You're right, it was inappropriate," he said turning back to her. "But how many times do I have to apologize to you?"

"I don't know," she muttered. Joe sighed loudly, took the tray and left. Half an hour later Toby came in. He disconnected the intravenous line, took her temperature and gave her a spoonful of some disgusting-tasting syrup to drink. He did not say a word to her, so the situation must have been very tense. After all the stuff they had put into her body, Laura felt much better so she got out of bed and wanted to find Joe. She thought he was upstairs but as she was walking to the lift she heard music coming from behind the door of his room. She wanted to knock but the photocell worked.

For you, for you I would bring down the heavens on this earth For you, for you I would even trust the devil for rebirth

Joe paused and looked to see who had appeared. He put his guitar aside and didn't look happy about the fact she was the one who had come.

"What do you want? You should be lying down," he said in a husky tone. "I wanted to talk. I'm sorry that..." "We have nothing to talk about," he interrupted her. "...I didn't knock but the door opened by itself," she finished. "I think we have a lot to say to each other." "It's a little late for that." "Give me five minutes and then I can disappear forever if that's what you want."

I don't want to.

"Well, come in," he agreed, letting out a loud breath through his nose.

Laura slowly entered the room, intertwining the fingers of both hands nervously. She stood next to the bed where Joe was sitting.

"Don't just stand there, I'm not biting," he said, trying to spark a pleasant tone out of his voice. "I acted like an idiot." "That I already know," he tried to provoke her. He wanted to see if she would really start to get over herself. "You've already helped me twice when you didn't have to. You gave me a roof over my head, and I'm still angry about some stupid earrings and hairstyle. Let's start all over again, shall we?" "Now you look even worse," he added. DJ couldn't continue being serious and laughed.

The girl looked at him frowning. "Wait, wait a minute. I'm trying to fix everything, and you're laughing?"

"Yes, because I forgave you ages ago. I can't stay angry for long," he shrugged his shoulders. "Especially at pretty girls with bad haircuts." "Joe!" she exclaimed and hit him with a pillow. "But seriously. You should go back to bed. You were in a bad shape when I found you, and the drugs you were given will soon stop working." "All right, Doctor," she joked walking to the door. "I'll come in a minute," he said. "Of course if you want." "It will be a pleasure," she smiled."

Joe still had to attend checking paperwork and picking up a delivery which he hadn't planned to do, but Toby had rightly pointed out the urgency.

"How's Laura?" he asked when the DJ put a piece of paper down on the bar top.

Joe moved restlessly on the bar stool. "Better, she's resting at her place. I said I'd look in on her in a bit but as you can see my plans have changed," he replied rubbing his temples.

"So you two have already reconciled and explained everything?" the bartender inquired.

If they didn't know each other so well, the DJ certainly wouldn't be so polite and calm.

"We've called a truce, but I don't know how long it will last." "Joe, stop pretending, you like her, and it’s not an ordinary ‘like’. But if it comes from the fact that she's a lot like..." "Enough!" growled the DJ. "Don't ever mention her!" "Interesting, because you're the one carrying on some sick private vendetta. You lurk through the streets of Berlin at night looking for clues. You pretend to be a knight of the night, an angel of justice, and where has that gotten you?" "I have to find these bastards. That's all I'm interested in. And I'll do it with or without you." "Just don't drag Laura into it."

It was far too late for that. Joe had already made a strong commitment and it was something deeper than just a simple human desire to help. Something he feared and couldn't prevent. Laura was too young, they could convict him under the law, but she had a light in her that could warm his cold soul and air that made him breathe again.

"I'll go check on her," he muttered and stood up. "I signed the delivery acceptance and checked the documents. I won't be at the opening today." "Joe, think about it some more. She's going to suffer, and it's going to be your fault."

DJ disappeared behind the shelves. During the lift ride, Toby's words tormented him. It was true, that Laura would suffer, but she would decide that for herself. Once he was outside her room remorse caught up with him. He had said he would come in a moment, and it had been over an hour. The door opened for him and he let himself in. The girl was asleep, but he heard her repeating the words "Mom", and "Dad" and immediately after that she started screaming. Joe was at her side in a split second. He held her in his arms when she woke up. He touched her forehead. It was inflamed with the fever, which he feared."Joe..." she whispered cuddling tightly into him and tightening her fingers on his shirt.

"It's just a bad dream," he reassured her.

The man wanted to get up, but she wouldn't let him. "Stay, please."

"I'll be right back, I have to go get some medicines."

DJ walked down the long corridor and stood in front of a massive door locked with a combination lock and access card.

"What about her?" he heard Toby's voice behind him as the green light came on and the door opened.

The room they found themselves in was a hospital room with glass medicine cabinets, a recliner and all sorts of medical equipment. It was white and green, reeking of disinfectant preparations with a dominant hint of spirit.

"Bad again," he said resignedly, opening one of the cabinets. "She's got a fever again, I'm afraid she might not survive until morning. I can't give her anything but pills," he sighed taking one of the packets. "Well yes, you can't give another injection until a day has passed since the last one. Alex and I will take care of everything. As you said, don't come to the opening today." "Thanks," he replied trying to smile.

Joe returned to the sick woman, picking up his guitar on the way. Music always helped, so he should try anything. The girl swallowed two pills, and the DJ covered her with some blankets. He sat down in his armchair and gently tugged the strings. He frowned, hearing the wrong sound and tuned the instrument.

When I feel so alone out here And freedom means I am lost When everyday seems a slow motion suicide You reignite my lust for life

Joe hummed softly, looking helplessly at Laura. He wished he could do more, use his enhancements to save her, but right now they were just a worthless bunch of wires wrapped in synthetic skin. He had never been someone who easily gave in to emotions and succumbed to feelings, now he was lost like a small stone tossed into the depths of the ocean. Toby is right, he should let go, stop looking for ghosts from the past, and dwell on what was four years ago. Unfortunately, he couldn't. He leaned his guitar against the nightstand, got up from his armchair and sat on his heels in front of the round bed so that he could see Laura when he finished meditating.

From delusion lead me to truth From darkness lead me to light From death lead me to immortality. Let there be peace everywhere

When the five senses and the mind are still, and reason itself rests in silence, then begins the Path supreme

He repeated again and again, trying to get the inner peace he needed now more than ever.

"Joe?" murmured a voice that he ignored. "Joe?!" came back with redoubled force, invading the recesses of consciousness. "JOE!" the inner calm cracked and shattered ringing like broken glass. The man opened his eyes. Laura was sitting on the bed with a furious look on her face. "Doggone it, I haven't died yet and you're already holding funeral ceremonies!"

DJ laughed. It was the only thing he could do now.

"Well, what are you laughing at, idiot?! You were supposed to come to me." "Sorry," he tried to reply but couldn't stop laughing. "Toby brought some urgent paperwork. We had to take care of it before the opening." "Wait, you were here with me the whole time?" "I was scared... You had a high fever, and I couldn't do anything." "But it's all right now. Unfortunately, I will continue to annoy you so don't sit on the ground." "Okay, I'll go back to the armchair," he replied standing up. "No," she protested. "Here, beside me," she commanded. "Out of the question," he muttered, intertwining his arms across his chest. "Then I'll go." "This is emotional blackmail." "It is. What's it going to be?" she asked tilting her head. "I give up," he said raising his bent arms in the air.

Despite everything, he was happy that his worst fears had not come true. He took off his shoes and sat down next to her on the bed, intertwining his hands behind his head. He hadn't even had time to make himself comfortable when he felt her head land in his lap and the girl begins to squirm.

"Not too comfortable for you?" he asked, glancing down at her. "A little hard, but manageable."

Joe snickered but didn't answer.

"Did I do something stupid or say something?" she asked looking at him closely.

DJ shook his head negatively. "No, but you called your parents."

"I miss them," she said quietly. "I remember that day like it was yesterday."

Uppsala, Sweden. 2009.

"Honey hurry up, we have to make it to the airport!" urged a female voice.

"I'm coming, mum!" "I've packed all the luggage, we can go," announced the father.

The girl came down the stairs holding the phone in her hand and the headphones wrapped around it. She slipped it into a rag bag slung diagonally over her left shoulder.

"I'm nervous," she said.

Her mother put her arm around her. "You'll be fine, you'll see. You've trained long and hard, you deserve to be Odette," she assured her.

Laura put on her jacket, grabbed ballet shoes and then they all left the house and got into the car. The winter day was actually a night in Sweden. They drove along a road winding through a dense forest. The girl was listening to Poets Of The Fall, wanting to calm her thoughts, to stop being so nervous. Their music always had a positive effect on her and helped during her worse days. She didn't know when it happened. There was a scream and a bang, and then darkness.

"You're in the hospital," she heard someone's voice. "Please lie still, no sudden movements." "How did it happen?" she asked with difficulty forcing her throat to make sounds. "You don't remember anything?" "A scream. Something like: He's driving in the wrong lane! Hold on!"

The blurred image was coming into focus, forming the face of a man in a medical coat.

"Where are my parents? They're fine, aren't they?"

This was the hardest part of being a doctor. To tell the truth or still spare the patient the shock.

"I'm sorry. You're the only one who survived." "That's impossible!" she jerked her body violently, but the nurse grabbed her shoulders. "Why can't I feel my leg! What the hell happened?!" "It was crushed by the force of the impact. We had to amputate it." "No. No! NO!!!" the girl began to struggle.

The doctor nodded to the nurse, who reached for a syringe. There was darkness again.

When I feel so alone out here And freedom means I am lost When everyday seems a slow motion suicide You reignite my lust for life

Though this ship's run aground You can still come around What is lost may be found Safe and sound And on this sorry-go-round Don't know which way we're bound What is lost may be found Safe and sound

All  chapters can be found: [AO3], [dA], [Wattpad] and [Tumblr]

[seneon]

I LOVE YOUR HEADCANNON OF DABI PUSHING YOU WITH HIM FROM A BRIDGE AAAA I NEED MORE STUFF LIKE THIS I’M BEGGINGGGG

COME AROUND ──── touya todoroki.

about. he gambles with life and death using you. gn! reader. apart of kiss me until my lips fall off. wc of 800+

notes. omg people wants my hcs to be written in full fics 😳 keep sending in requests guys. @bbluefllame type shi

the night is young, the city below shone a wonderful show of bright lights that seemed like fuzzy little balls to you.

gentle wind blew kisses onto the skins of both you and touya. your hair swayed along the flow of the wind, touya's own hair danced a little to his dislike.

above the two, the moon watched as it showered its silver and ethereal hues all around the city, giving it a magical feeling. or like a selenite blessing to the night from heaven.

stars accompanied the moon, millions and millions of them dancing around the moonlight and showering the black sky with twinkling diamonds.

it was truly a beautiful sight to behold on a night like this. it's also indecisive to you whether you want to fix your gaze onto the city, or the moon.

much to the villain's surprise, you were oddly silent when it came to staring into the night sky or gazing down the busy night city. just gazing at the stars alone made him wonder what connection could you possibly have with the night to hold you under so much control.

truth is, you were a selenophile, someone way too in love with the moon to have it ignored every night. stargazing and moon-gazing were one of your hobbies besides causing trouble for others. the night simply had so much influence on you.

touya is seated at the edge of a tall building which he somehow managed to sneak in with your help. turquoise eyes looked down at every little life below, his hair dancing in the wind. while you're beside him standing on your feet, arms propped onto the only thing that blocks you from kissing the start of your death.

you let out a sigh and he catches it, glancing to the side and looking down at your bored self.

“what? getting bored from staring at the moon now?”

“yeah. what exactly are we up here for again?” you asked him to recall anything that might've been mentioned but slipped through your mind because honestly, you have no idea why you even agreed to help him sneak up a building that's just a little taller than the rest.

at your question, touya shifted in his seat, now moving to stand at the edge in resemblance to a circus show as you watched him in complete silence.

“stand up here,” he tells you— well, demands you, while you simply raise a brow at his words. “are you crazy? do you want me to die?”

“crazy, yes. dying, no. get up and stand with me anyways.”

you could see him rolling his eyes and feel his coat flowing backwards and flaring right beside your ear as seconds passed by. you hesitated, for a long while, before you let out a defeated sigh and joined touya in his life or death game.

it brought a victorious smirk on his face, a smirk so triumphant that it has you thinking more than twice about your life choices.

“you're not gonna die. i think,” his words echoed throughout your ears as it played through the image of you walking on a thin string just like the one circus performers will walk on without failing.

touya's hands slithered around your waist, pulling you close to his body as you stumbled a little in your foothold, the sudden fear of heights kicking in as shivers immediately made their debut to implant themselves onto your skin.

“oh. my. god, don't do this to me.”

only a chuckle elicited from his lips as your hands subconsciously moved to hold the man’s torso.

without a single warning, you felt him pushing the small of your back, bringing you down and over the edge as he pushed his feet off the ground. now, it is just you, touya, and your screams that echoed through the night. and of course, the physics of falling right into the surface of your death.

in those few seconds of you screaming, your screams twisted into a cheerful cry.

touya held you close, glancing to the side as he watched your fears slowly disintegrating along the wind that ran past the two of you upon falling. he too, felt the need to let out a few laughs here and there to relish in the thrill of gambling with life and death.

in about twenty seconds or so, once the surface nears the two of you, the villain used a fair amount of his blue flames to shoot it on the ground, pushing him backwards so he can have a safe and perfect landing with you in his arms.

now seated on the ground, dumbfounded and dazed from the near-death experience, you let out a stifled laugh before your faded fears returned.

“never do that again!”

“you looked like you had fun,” touya simply said, swinging his hands around to put out any remaining flames.

“you're trying to kill me!”

“we'll die together then.”

“yeah, that's sooooo romantic.”

you rolled your eyes and stood up, brushing your clothes before shivering once again at the replay of the experience in your mind. “at least warn me next time.”

touya let out a scoff then a tiny smile. “i knew you'd come around to the idea.”

© SENEON 2024 ♱ do not repost, alter, or translate.

[liliallowed]

guys i just realized something so subconscious. about me being biased and... uhm... close minded for a split second.

this is both a confession and a footprint for my own growth. I will put this here to remind myself I am NOT above anything.

that I always need to change and be better.

like I'm not sure if I should call it "racism"... I feel horrible for that single intrusive thought.

I'm so glad I caught that. I won't elaborate but yeah. I caught some bad thoughts and thought: "wait that sounds mean. do I really think that?"

remember! sometimes those thoughts are hidden away and you don't realize it!

I mean I assume I'm accepting but I can never been too sure. finding out you were raised in a racist place and that the norms implanted in your brain since childhood... I'm just figuring this stuff NOW from the new "adult" perspective I have.

some stuff stock with you even if you don't like... actually believe them or want to? it's weird. it's like really deep down beyond the places I am self aware about.

it's so bizarre. I don't feel this way towards western people but I feel a faint resentment towards neighboring countries... that's WRONG. that smells like discrimination. looking at it now I want to unlearn it. I want to be accepting. I don't want to let dumb propaganda or biases cloud my judgement.

we're all just people in the end. we've all been wronged and one's identity should not be defined by their governing order or birthplace.

it was a small intrusive thought. not even an action. just a "this clothes makes me uncomfortable" but... I felt it. I felt uncomfortable.

I'm not above that. I'm a human being that makes mistakes.

important thing is to change and grow. I'm so glad I found that specific issue about myself. I will think about it and work hard to unlearn my biases.

also. I've decided to be open about this. I could have not posted this but this is me aknowledging my flaw and taking accountability.

not for you but for myself because I want this to be a testament to my determination to change.

I really didn't expect these thoughts from myself either. it's surprising... but yeah. not denying it. not running away. I'm facing it head on! fuck you generational racism! I WON'T RUN AWAY IM FIGHTING YOU HEAD ON!

[leviiackrman]

25 - 30 for my beloved jody <3

25. What do they find funny? Do they have a good sense of humour? Are they funny themselves?

Jody has a semi reserved sense of humour. She really likes stupid puns (especially science based ones) but lots of jokes go over her head either because she wasn’t listening fully or she just genuinely doesn’t under stand the joke. Smart people can be quite dense sometimes haha!

She’s not the funniest of people tbf, around her friends she’s a bit more charismatic but generally she just enjoys other people talking/making jokes (when she understands them that is haha)

26. How do they act when they’re happy? Do they sing? Dance? Hum? Or do they hide their emotions?

Jody has tappy feet - which comes out for a variety of reasons. When she gets excited/happy she’ll do little jumps and tap her feet, but when she’s anxious she’ll tap them subconsciously. She may sway as well when she’s just slightly happy, just little movements!

27. What makes them sad? Do they cry regularly? Do they cry openly or hide it? What are they like when they are sad?

Messing up on projects or making ‘bad’ decisions. A lot of her work is dedicated towards supporting her family, so if she makes mistakes, she thinks they’ll be really disappointed in her. Before her implant, she used to be a silent crier - but it would happen quite often. This was mostly cus she didn’t feel good enough and had v low self esteem, which is one of the reasons she opted to be the test subject for her implant in the first place. She gets v reserved when she’s sad, but now that she has the implant, it’s made her more outgoing and confident in general, so when she’s sad she doesn’t hide that she’s upset to people.

28. What is their biggest fear? What in general scares them? How do they act when they’re scared?

Jody is a pioneer for physiological studies, so not a lot scares her. Granted she understands risks involved with her experiments, but as a whole they excite her more than scare her! Her biggest fear before the implant was making her family suffer because she couldn’t support them, but with the implant her biggest fear would be having her powers taken away. The new her is something she always wished she was, but even tho the implant has A LOT of side effects (even ones she’s not aware of) she would still never want to lose it.

29. What do they do when they find out someone else’s fear? Do they tease them? Or get very over protective?

I think Jody is a solid mix of both. She’s v understanding but try’s to find logic in these situations. She understands people have different fears for different reasons, but it’s still a matter of understanding WHY for her. After the implant again, she gets more cocky in using people’s fears against them, but after feels v guilty about it afterwards

30. Do they exercise? Regularly? Or only when forced? What do they act like pre-work out and post-work out?

Pre implant: she is stick thin and can’t lift anything. Post implant: she uses her abilities to make exercise easier for herself, so she’s not actually v athletic still, but her powers allow her to be more so. If she were to do a full body work out she would be struggling the whole time and complain at the end that she’s exhausted, with or without the implant lmao

SUPER DETAILED OC QUESTIONS

[logos-of-experience-and-truth]

Episode 20 - The Veil of the Unknown

Piercing Through the Veil of the unknown The Bible states that at Christ’s death the veil to the temple was torn asunder. Though dramatic when viewing this in light of the claim of Christ being the rejected Son of God and this moment thus confirming His royalty, there is a deeper more mystical meaning behind this. There is a boundary buried deep within our mind that separates the known from the unknown, the physical/external and the invisible/internal, the chasm that separates Man from God. Entering into this boundary is the essence of mysticism, was and is the goal of both the ancient and modern Mysteries and the accomplishment of this merging of the duality of the internal and external, the microcosm and the macrocosm, body and mind, conscious and subconscious, even if it only occurs for an instant is what brings about the mystical experience and shows the Beatific Vision of God to the individual. But the veil must be removed, and it only occurs when Jesus dies on the cross or when we’ve died to ourselves to allow for the spiritual rebirth within. Many know of what I speak but how this is accomplished is difficult to convey. This episode will focus on the types of thoughts and the method of thinking and questioning that occurred during this time period that led to the drug-free mystical experiences I’ve spoken of across these 20 episodes of Season 1 and Season 2 of the Logos of Experience and Truth Podcast. Click Link for Transcript Timestamps: - The exercise of writing and speaking of these experiences is like the life review discussed in the near-death experience, just now in reality-land and not in some mystical experience (01:13)- Near-death experience in 2001 created a nexus point of thought and the next experience in 2018 shifted that center of gravity into the new (03:22) - Questioning and positing the cyclical nature of the mind and its seasons especially if no external or internal stimuli has triggered it (04:06) - Conspiracy material I’d been exposed to (Flat Earth Theory) and was contemplating during the time of the mystical experiences in 2018 (06:05) - Contemplating the lies purported in a conspiracy theory are meant to stimulate your mind to see the lie of the illusion of reality automatically created by your brain, what neuroscience calls simulation (06:44) - Stance on such conspiracy or alternative theories alongside one’s perceptions and beliefs if one can truly ask if they chose to believe in any belief that dwells inside of their mind or if the belief was slammed into their mind unawares (08:05) - The use of my stance on the Lotus position for meditation to illustrate the idea of whether or not choice determines a belief (09:01) - The use of the scientific concept of a paradigm to further illustrate this question of whether or not belief is actually chosen or implanted into the mind (10:19) - Do we believe consciously or is it subconscious? (12:43) - Next example of a paradigm of belief surrounding a more hot-button topic of abortion (13:14) - Another benign example using the Pepsi Challenge to further explore paradigms of thought and belief (15:09) - Further conspiracy material found online during this time period in 2018 (16:36) - Getting real after understanding that there are paradigms that exist in the mind and wondering how to change them (17:52) - The path Christ taught when it comes to paradigms (19:19) - Paradigms tend to create animosity or enemies of the opposing paradigm: video game wars used as an example (19:39) - The problem with paradigms of thought and beliefs is we think we’ve consciously chosen them all and thus assume our enemies have chosen their paradigms as well (21:19) - The venomous USA political media climate and the paradigms citizens exist in (22:28) - Challenging one’s paradigm or seeking to change it is difficult for it is like causing one’s own inner death (23:23) - Mysticism teaches one to identify the false self within and to find the real self but until one accomplishes this, the false self is seen as the real self (23:51) - To find God one must be willing to lose God (24:17) - Paradigm shift that occurred to me during this time was studying the Ancient Egyptian and Sumerian having never done so and causing a paradigm shift in my mind regarding religion and the mysteries (25:06) - Thor’s explanation in the Avengers of impermanence to speak on the paradox of duality (26:32) - Holding the paradoxes of duality in the mind are what pierce through the veil of the known and the unknown (27:32) - Remembering a video seen of Stanley Kubrick and the moon landing long ago (28:48) - Overview of the conspiracy topics considered regarding the moon and Flat Earth (29:34) - Using body/physical mysticism to make sense of the Flat Earth versus the Solar System ideas of the microcosm and macrocosm (31:35) - Clearest explanation of how merging the duality of the external and internal within the mind is what brings about the mystical experience of the Beatific Vision (33:54) - Using this mystery of the microcosm and macrocosm to explain a “reason” for Christ Incarnating physically (34:43) - You only see Christ in your mind when you realize that you only see Christ in your mind (35:25) - Mystical understanding of the Second Person of the Trinity (35:32) - There is no reconciliation between paradigms unless common ground is found (38:31) - The ultimate goal and hope and reason for the Logos of Experience and Truth website and podcast (38:43) - The image that unites each of these apparently different paradigms can be seen and studied at the logosofexperienceandtruth.com (39:40) - The current paradigm as determined after seeing the connection between the images of the Beatific Vision of God (40:57)

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